What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us. ~Julia Cameron*
I'm psychic! You think I'm kidding? Yeah, you are probably right..but I'm going to enjoy being psychic. I knew Corbin was a boy, knew my sister was having a boy, and just the other day, I told Richard we needed a new tape in the video camera practically a milli-second before it cut 
off...I'm totally psychic :) Anyway, while I was pregnant, Richard and I were banking money for a rainy day or "just in case I decided to stay home with the new baby". We'll say I was "psychic" or at least that's what I tell him..ha ha! Anyway, that "rainy day" has come and gone, along with some of our savings. I was told babies were expensive, but no one told me about Corbin. In recent months, he is eating us out of house and home...clocking in at practically a car payment a month just for food and meds. Thanks Corbs, you'll get my invoice when you turn 18!
off...I'm totally psychic :) Anyway, while I was pregnant, Richard and I were banking money for a rainy day or "just in case I decided to stay home with the new baby". We'll say I was "psychic" or at least that's what I tell him..ha ha! Anyway, that "rainy day" has come and gone, along with some of our savings. I was told babies were expensive, but no one told me about Corbin. In recent months, he is eating us out of house and home...clocking in at practically a car payment a month just for food and meds. Thanks Corbs, you'll get my invoice when you turn 18! *
He has hit his peak recently, taking close to 34oz on some days and we are just up to two solid meals. You would think the kid was starving, but..oh how he sleeps :) I'll definitely keep paying for that one. Since his tummy is such an issue, we had put off starting him on solids until about 2-3 weeks ago. So far, so good. He had an allergic reaction to rice cereal, but loves sweet potatoes and avocado. But with the expense of his formula and his new bottom-less belly, things are a little tight. We figured during this transition to cheaper food, it would be. So to alleviate any financial stress in our house...I have made my trip to the dark side...yup, the coupon dark side. Now it is pretty stereotypical for a stay-at-home mom to cut coupons. Every new thing I take on that seems so common sense to most women has just been a new surprise to this new mom. I don't know what fantasy world I was living in..but the thrill of coupons is both fabulous and a little hilarious all at the same time. Now that I'm in this money saving state...I ask myself why I ever bought ANYTHING at full price. I'll tell you my story of how I became the "Coupon Queen" in the Bray/Shah households!
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So Corbin started eating us out of house and home..skip forward to all the mommies on Charlotte 
Mommies going mad over "triples". Yes, I was just as lost on it as you may be. My first thought was that I really didn't need all that cleaning crap and a bunch of condiments, so I would skip out on the whole confusing adventure. But as "triples" started and I got sucked into these women's results...I had to try it. I've been cutting coupons for a while now and had a reserve that we used twice a month when we went grocery shopping. I was stoked the first time I saved $20. Amateur! Yeah, some of these women were cutting 98% of their grocery costs...how you ask? You better believe I did! Oh yes, there is a huge strategy to coupons that had fallen on deaf ears if anyone had told me before, but if I had to eat Ramen noodles any time after I graduated from college..it would have been too soon. So off I went...to Google... to find my own method to the madness. Turns out that you can get all kinds of stuff for crazy cheap and even free...not to mention some of these women were leaving Harris Teeter with groceries and MORE money in their pocket! It's insane! So Richard and I found all the stuff we needed and I made a late night trip to Harris Teeter for my first shot at triples. Mistake number one...you don't pick which coupons you want to use..you follow the sales to determine that..duh! So I go through the store and get my coupons as I'm looking at sales and figure out that it will cost me $11 for all the stuff I had....cereal, yogart, Balmex, deodarant, etc. So she rings it up and much to my disappointment..it was $40! What the hell!! I ask why she didn't triple all my coupons...much to my surprise, I didn't research enough. The only coupons that triple are .99 or less...well that's some shit! But I did save 50% on my first trip..not bad for a rookie. And I was soooo hooked! Yes, Richard makes a weekly trip to my parents house to steal their Sunday coupons and then a stop to buy an extra paper. I clip, categorize, and file them away for the optimal time to use each one. I think I'm going to need to go get some sort of therapy, but in the past two weeks since my first shot at triples, I have saved $124 on $243 worth of stuff...so I'm pretty much averaging 50%. It's hilarious! I'm in heaven when I see a killer coupon and have had several dreams about what deals I may find. :)
Mommies going mad over "triples". Yes, I was just as lost on it as you may be. My first thought was that I really didn't need all that cleaning crap and a bunch of condiments, so I would skip out on the whole confusing adventure. But as "triples" started and I got sucked into these women's results...I had to try it. I've been cutting coupons for a while now and had a reserve that we used twice a month when we went grocery shopping. I was stoked the first time I saved $20. Amateur! Yeah, some of these women were cutting 98% of their grocery costs...how you ask? You better believe I did! Oh yes, there is a huge strategy to coupons that had fallen on deaf ears if anyone had told me before, but if I had to eat Ramen noodles any time after I graduated from college..it would have been too soon. So off I went...to Google... to find my own method to the madness. Turns out that you can get all kinds of stuff for crazy cheap and even free...not to mention some of these women were leaving Harris Teeter with groceries and MORE money in their pocket! It's insane! So Richard and I found all the stuff we needed and I made a late night trip to Harris Teeter for my first shot at triples. Mistake number one...you don't pick which coupons you want to use..you follow the sales to determine that..duh! So I go through the store and get my coupons as I'm looking at sales and figure out that it will cost me $11 for all the stuff I had....cereal, yogart, Balmex, deodarant, etc. So she rings it up and much to my disappointment..it was $40! What the hell!! I ask why she didn't triple all my coupons...much to my surprise, I didn't research enough. The only coupons that triple are .99 or less...well that's some shit! But I did save 50% on my first trip..not bad for a rookie. And I was soooo hooked! Yes, Richard makes a weekly trip to my parents house to steal their Sunday coupons and then a stop to buy an extra paper. I clip, categorize, and file them away for the optimal time to use each one. I think I'm going to need to go get some sort of therapy, but in the past two weeks since my first shot at triples, I have saved $124 on $243 worth of stuff...so I'm pretty much averaging 50%. It's hilarious! I'm in heaven when I see a killer coupon and have had several dreams about what deals I may find. :)*
So here are the rules for any of you wanna-be Queens out there...Bi-Lo, Lowes Foods, and Harris Teeter double any coupons under .99 every day. Harris Teeter triples cou
pons for three days once a quarter and the trick is to use a double/triple coupon on something that is already on sale. For instance, I made my first FREE transaction the other day. I got a box of brownie mix, a box of rice, and three boxes of cereal...guess how much...they OWED ME 40 cents! WAHOO!! I, of course, called and bragged to everyone I knew. Who probably weren't as impressed as I was...I've even landed 4 boxes of toothpaste from Target for free because you can use a Target coupon and a mfg coupon on the same product...can you hear the excitement in my voice???? I know its sad, but you better believe that $123 has me laughing all the way to the bank!
pons for three days once a quarter and the trick is to use a double/triple coupon on something that is already on sale. For instance, I made my first FREE transaction the other day. I got a box of brownie mix, a box of rice, and three boxes of cereal...guess how much...they OWED ME 40 cents! WAHOO!! I, of course, called and bragged to everyone I knew. Who probably weren't as impressed as I was...I've even landed 4 boxes of toothpaste from Target for free because you can use a Target coupon and a mfg coupon on the same product...can you hear the excitement in my voice???? I know its sad, but you better believe that $123 has me laughing all the way to the bank! *
I've also recently landed a part-time, stay-at-home gig..paying a nice salary! I'll be working 12 hours a week in the office until the end of Sept and then I will be doing her books for the same amount of time from home. It's pretty sweet! A litte extra cash, something to do when Corbs is napping, and all in my PJs! This I also found on Charlotte Mommies...so this post is for you lovely ladies who are keeping me from eating Ramen noodles while my son eats "Morton's" milk :)
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I just find it so funny how you always get what you need when you need it...turns out that my new salary, after-tax, is the EXACT amount a month that we have been spending on Corbin. Someone is definitely looking out for us. The extra money I'm saving with my new passion can easily go towards putting our savings back to where it was and even give us an occasional date night while Corbin gets some much needed "Grandma" time. Most people find any financial woes to be so depressing, but the challenge makes staying home with Corbin that much sweeter. I can't imagine doing anything else and I would definitely eat Ramen noodles, three meals a day, until the day I die to get to see him all day long. Its so hard to explain how you never feel "full" off the time you have with your baby. He started saying mama and dada recently, plus he has started reaching out to you when he wants you to hold him. So, this is what I say to that....Pass me the bowl because I'm not going anywhere anytime soon :)
