Ask and You Shall Receive

Hi everyone! I cannot believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted! Wow! That's what happens when you're 34 weeks pregnant and you've got a few other things on your plate, I guess. :) I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and that 2011 has started off on a great note!

Here in my household, we are fast and furiously preparing for our baby girl's arrival in mere weeks...and with that comes dropping some serious dough. Or does it? As you know, my husband and I purchased our first home early last year. While the house was in fantastic condition pretty much all the way around, we knew we were going to eventually replace the carpet. It was pretty heavily stained and while I'm not exactly a germaphobe, I know that carpet can get DISGUSTING. The sellers even apologized for the condition of the carpets. So now with baby on the way, we wanted a clean slate and started to price out how much it was going to cost to get new carpet in three bedrooms. First, Empire Today came to our home to give us an estimate - initially $2100! I had no idea how much installing carpet was, but I wasn't going to pay that much. I told the representative that it was much more than I had anticipated, and we were going to continue to look. Almost immediately, he dropped the price down to $1600. Did you hear that? Just by asking and refusing the first offer, I saved $500! After pricing around other companies and retailers and figuring cost of installation, haul away, etc, Empire Today did have the best deal.

Lesson: never accept your first offer. Always see if you can negotiate a better deal.

Part 2 of Preparing For Baby Without Dropping All Your Dollars: we have to make our small space work for us in more ways now. Our 3rd bedroom now has to serve a multifunctional purpose of guest room/office. To increase our space, we got rid of our full-sized bed and are replacing it with a sleeper sofa. We waited and waited for our dream sofa at West Elm to go on sale...and it did! Not only was it $400 cheaper than the original price, BUT if you ordered online, you saved an extra $200. Uh - guess who ordered via phone where the $200 off didn't come into play? But guess who realized that, called back, and talked to customer service to get that extra money back in Claire's college fund? And isn't the couch so pretty?!

Lesson: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you're not completely satisfied with your experience, speak up. More than likely, the customer service department will do whatever they can to keep your current and future business.

In one week and two shopping experiences, I saved our family over $700 by being proactive, doing some research, and not taking "no" for an answer. Don't be afraid to ask for a better price - in this economy, many people are willing to be flexible and are more responsive to customers' needs.

How about you? How have your negotiating skills benefitted you recently?

Holiday Decorating on the Cheap 2.0

Ah, the holidays have officially arrived! You may remember my Christmas home decor spread from last year that cost me less than $15 dollars. This year, my Martha Stewart/nesting mode is really kicking in - I've decided we're going to get a REAL tree, so that means that I should spend a lot more money on holiday decorations, right? Wrong. Here are some things I'm doing this year to keep my house looking magical but keeping some extra dough in my pocket:

1) Using fruit - I did this last year with cranberries, and I did it this year for my Thanksgiving table scape (yeah, I just threw out the words "table scape"). There are beautiful in-season fruits, like clementine oranges, apples, and pears that are perfect for having around the house. Bonus - you can eat your decorations! Plus, you can pair spices like cloves and cinnamon with your fruit to make wonderfully smelling decor! In elementary school, I used to stick cloves in oranges to make pomanders and give them as gifts. The cloves help to preserve the oranges, too!

My "horn-of-plenty deconstructed" table scape.

2) Repurposing what you have - have some empty frames? Put some pictures of holidays past around your home. You could also make a holiday sign - print out "holiday" words, like "joy"or "snow", put in a frame, place on your mantle and voila - something that costs at least $15 at a store you just made for pennies. You could even frame holiday wrapping paper for a fun holiday piece of art. What about spare vases lying around? Fill it with ornaments and place on your coffee table. How about metallic ribbon? Use it to tie around doorknobs, drape around shelves to make anything look more festive.

My hurricane and apothecary jar stuffed with ornaments

3) Decorate with candy - by going to a drug store or a discount retailer, you can pick up your decorations and stocking stuffers! Candy canes are classic - you can hang them on your tree, or put in a vase or a jar. Fill a hurricane or glass bowl with Hershey kisses - this also works as a snack! And who doesn't like a gingerbread house? Using milk cartons, graham crackers, frosting and candy, you can make a great and traditional holiday decoration!

4) The great outdoors - bringing the outdoors in keeps things really festive and seasonal. In lieu of getting holiday flowers that die within a week or so, try holly. Head to a nursery, get a few sprigs of holly, and put in a vase - it would be a beautiful centerpiece. I mentioned this in my post last year, but hit up Christmas tree farms for spare branches that make excellent table decor. Home Depot keeps a bin in their outdoor department of branches people wanted cut off, or branches that were broken off. You might get a little sap on your hands, but for free decorations, I feel like it's worth it. Hunt around your neighborhood for pinecones and red berries.

5) Using candles - in my opinion, candles make everything better. Simple white tealights or small pillars grouped up on a table look simple, elegant and cheerful. Wrap a ribbon around your candles and they look even more festive.

6) Decorate with cards - I hope you still get holiday cards and letters from family and friends (why people think a "happy holidays" text is acceptable is beyond me). Once you start getting these in the mail, punch holes in them and string them up around your house with ribbon or yarn. Keep them for years to bring back memories of the good people in your life.

7) Get crafty - okay, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not super crafty, but there are some really simple decorations you can make with things likely around your house. Paper snowflakes, paper chains, magazine trees - check out Martha Stewart's great ideas!

With all of these good ideas, I have to get decorating!

How do you all decorate for the holidays? Any ideas for not breaking the bank?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Apologies for not writing a real blog entry in almost a month (yikes!), but I wanted to make sure to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I've got so much to be thankful for...

In 2010, we bought our first home....

We are pregnant with our first child....

We witnessed many happy occasions of family and friends...

.

Just goes to show you that although money is important (and I'm so thankful for mine and my husband's jobs), it definitely can't buy you happiness.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones and eat lots of delicious food! Definitely thankful for socially acceptable elastic waistbands during the holidays... :)

Emergency Fund = COMPLETED!

Happy Monday everyone!

I just had to give myself a little pat on the back - my husband and I saved and saved and saved the past few months - having a little one on the way will definitely do that to you! And within 6 months, we've saved up 6 months of living expenses! Our emergency fund is done! This is literally 6 months of exactly how we live right now; I think if we scaled back more on expenses, our fund could probably last for 8 months if we needed it to. We have it in ING's Orange Savings Account, so it's liquid, plus we're still earning 1.1% interest - it's not much, but every little bit helps!

Our saving journey is not over - we're putting money aside for our estimated hospital costs of labor and delivery, starting a college fund for the bambina, and putting aside other money for general kid expenses. And I know I've been saying this for almost a year, but we're going to start a Roth IRA before the year is over! What a way to start November!

How about you guys? Any goals you've achieved recently? Do you have enough in your emergency fund?

Freaky Friday Deals!

Greetings everyone! It's the Friday before All Hallow's Eve, and I've got some great deals for those of you looking to not break the bank to celebrate Halloween.

*TGI Fridays is celebrating Halloween all weekend - come in costume on Friday or Saturday and get a FREE appetizer (mozzerella sticks, pot stickers or green bean fries). Make your money go even further on Saturday, and use this coupon to buy one entree and get the second for half off. If you come in on Halloween, kids in costume eat FREE (one child per paying adult).

*IHOP is giving away FREE scary face pancakes to kids 12 and under today, Friday October 29th. No costume necessary but you must dine-in. Call ahead because not all locations are participating.

*Chipotle is doing their boo-rito campaign - go to a Chipotle location between 6 PM and close on Halloween and for $2, get a delicious burrito, bowl, salad or tacos. The catch? Dress up as a "horrifyingly processed food". The money goes towards Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which encourages people to make better choices when it comes to eating better food.

*Buy 1, get 1 FREE item at Gap Outlet stores! This offer is only valid on Saturday, 10/30 and in-stores only. Here's the coupon!

*Buy 1, get 1 FREE Pumpkin Smash smoothie at Jamba Juice with this coupon. Good today, October 29th - Sunday, October 31st.

*New York and Company is having a great sale - get $50 off when you spend $100! Plus, they've got a lot of cute stuff on sale.

*Go door-to-door in your neighborhood to get FREE candy! Oh, you knew that already? Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Hot (Deals) for Teacher!

Are you a teacher or do you know someone who is? First, please thank them. Not only are they in charge of educating our young minds, but they put out fires on a daily basis, they have to deal with under or over involved parents, the politics of schools...it's a tough job, that's for sure. Thanks teachers!

To make sure you know how much you're appreciated, I found some surprising deals you are eligible for just because you're a teacher - and some of them have nothing to do with education (unless, of course, you count dressing smart as a part of your curriculum).

1. J. Crew - I just found this out a few weeks ago! J. Crew offers a 15% in-store discount with a valid teacher's ID. College students are also eligible for this discount with a valid ID - but if you're a college student and you can afford J. Crew, you'll have a rude awakening when you join ranks in the Real World. Or maybe I'm just jealous.

2. Apple - in the market for a new computer? Apple offers up to $200 off a new computer purchase for students and teachers with a valid ID. I'm not sure if it's only valid in stores, but when my husband and I bought our new Mac, I definitely took advantage of shopping with my mother-in-law (high school Spanish teacher) AND purchased in Oregon (sales tax free). Booyeah!

3. Ann Taylor LOFT - sign up for LOFT Loves Teachers and you're eligible for an immediate 20% off introductory offer, plus 15% off every time you shop. And um, I may have also signed up for this (I'm not a teacher but I work with kids in schools) and it has yet to ask me for a valid teacher's identification. I may feel too guilty to use it, but just sayin'...

4. Bookstores - obviously this makes a lot of sense, but stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders offer at least 20% off purchases in store and online with their educator programs. If you like to frequent your small local bookstore, ask to see if they offer teacher discounts.

5. Office supply stores - this is another no brainer, but Staples, Office Max and Office Depot have special perks for educators. The reward programs can be 15% discounts, cash back on purchases, special times of the year to save more...check them out!

6. Home discounts - yep, I'm serious. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a program called Good Neighbor Next Door. You can get up to 50% off the list price of a home if you are a teacher (or a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or emergency medical technician). It sounds like there's potential for a lot of red tape (you have to purchase in a certain area, you have 5 days to purchase the home, etc), but check out the listings nonetheless. You could save a TON of money!

7. Cell phone companies - this isn't just good for teachers, but cell phone companies offer discounts for employees of many companies. Talk to a representative or go online at your specific carrier. Usually, you just put your work email address in and it will let you know if you're eligible for a discount. It's not much, but every little bit helps!

Keep in mind these discounts are good to teachers year-round! Some stores do other promotions during back-to-school time or Teacher Appreciation Week (the first week of May), so definitely keep your eyes open for other deals at certain parts of the year. Not only that, but feel free to ask your favorite retail store if they offer discounts for teachers - the worst they do is say no, but the best is you save some money! Just be prepared to have your school identification with you.

Any other cool teacher discounts you know of? Anyone thinking about a career change?

Friday Deals!

Sorry I'm a little late in posting this (internet problems!), but here are your Friday Deals!


*FREE Quizno's small sandwich when you buy a bag of chips and a regular fountain drink. Coupon expires on 10/27, so you have a few more days to use it.

*Ann Taylor LOFT is clearing out their sale items - take an extra 50% off all sales! They definitely have some cute stuff left, but sizes and colors are limited so go quick!

*FREE sample of Garnier Ultra Lift moisturizer.

*$2 for a $25 gift certificate at Restaurant.com when you enter the code PUMPKIN. Ends on Monday.

*Old Navy is having all kinds of sales! Use this coupon to get 30% off now, shop online and get up to 50% certain items, take an extra 15% off when you shop online using code ONTREAT aaaand....FREE shipping when you spend $50 or more (use code ONSUPER50).

*Old Navy's big brother Gap is having an online sale of their own - take 25% off TODAY online for online purchases when you use code GAPSAVE25 at checkout.

Any other good deals you guys see out there? Leave me a note in the comments!

Have a great weekend!