Some Tips for a Successful Experience

I know the last week has been a whirlwind of posts and information and it's a bit much to stomach all at once. But as you take the time to go through things little by little and as you try the process out yourself, it should all begin to make sense.

I have had a few comments here and there on the posts that I've made with some suggestions to add. So I thought I'd post a small section on tips in order to capture all of these great comments. So, just as a side note, here are some tips that will help make your experience more successful:

1. When you are signing up for internet coupons at different sites, they usually require you to list your email address. One comment suggested that you get yourself a junk email address so that all the extra stuff that they might send you will go to this other email instead of clogging up your home email. I already have one of these I've used for any online purchases, sign-ups, etc. and I've been tremendously grateful I haven't used my home email for stuff like this. Most of the sites have a little box you can check on or off depending on whether you want to get extra info from them. I usually say yes because they do sometimes send you different offers and coupons that others might not get, but you have the option to say yes or no to that. It's up to you, but if you do say yes, I would sign up for a free email through hotmail, yahoo, or many of the other free online emails so that all that extra stuff can be stored there.

2. Only buy what you will use. This seems simple enough, but as you get going, you can find yourself caught up in the "that's a good deal, I'm going to buy it" frenzy. Even though things are a good deal, if you aren't going to use them before they expire, then don't get them. I remember when I was first starting out, they had a big sale at Albertson's and with the store savings + coupons, I was able to pick up the Wishbone Salad Spritzers for 19 cents a piece - I was excited about how good of a deal that was and bought as many as I could (5 total). It's now been over 6 months and I still have 1 in my fridge, 2 sitting in my pantry, and I've farmed two of them off to my sister to use. The worst part is that they expire here in the next week or so and there is no way I'm going to get through them all before then. So even though the deal was fantastic - 5 bottle for less than $1, since I won't end up using them, I might as well have thrown that dollar in the garbage. Since then, I've wised up a bit and now that I know how often things go on sale, how often coupons come out, and what things we'll eat and what we won't, I'm a bit better at only getting what we'll use. Now that doesn't mean that you can't switch over to using different products because you get them for a good deal. I typically use Purex laundry detergent, but I am now currently using Tide and plan to use All before too long - both of which I've stocked up on during recent sales. What you'll use and how often is entirely up to you and your family, I just want to caution you against picking up a ton of stuff just because it's on sale and finding out later that you won't use it all.

3. Set aside some of this year's tax return to get stocked up on groceries, food storage, or emergency preparedness. If you're like us, you play it safe and pay more taxes that you need to during the year, so you get a little tax refund check in the spring. My husband and I decided right after we were married that we would take some of that return every year and put it towards some sort of preparedness. Each year has been different in what we've used it for, the first couple of years we got our 72 hr personal and family kits together, after that we concentrated on canned goods during the case lot sales, the last couple of years we put all of it towards the LDS Cannery items in order to stock up on our year's supply. This year we're probably going to do a mix of things, but it will depend on what we're in need of most once we re-evaluate our current stock. Even if it's a little bit, you can really get yourself going on either grocery shopping (or your 3 month supply for us) or something else that you are in need of. The good thing about this money is that, at least for us, it's not something we count on in our monthly budgeting, so it's money that we don't already have dedicated to paying something. We've discovered that for us, it's a lot easier to get ahead if you have a bit of money to start off with. Then as you save later on, you put that money back into your "stock up fund" and when things come on sale later in the year, you have a bit to use.

These are just some thoughts for you to consider and do as you see fit. Hope these help you have a better experience in getting yourself stocked and prepared. If you have other tips or tricks that you think might be useful to mention, please comment or email me and I'll post them for us all to read and use!