Here's What Happened When I Took a Blogging Course And What I Recommend Instead

FTC disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.

In early 2016, I decided to take a blogging course.  It was quite a bit of money, but I also know that investing in myself is something I need to do from time to time.

The TL;DR version is:  I got my money back from the author of the course and I recommend other things instead of a high priced course.

Why?

1.  My page views went down.   I recently took the GRE and scored at the 82nd percentile of writing, so my page views are not reflective of my writing ability.  I think what happened was two things:  I deleted tons of old content which would have been drawing a little traffic to my blog, and secondly, I felt very forced in what I had to write.  A year later, and I'm still struggling to get page views back to where they were.

How to DIGITAL Coupon at Dollar General

For years, I have loved the $5 off $25 purchase coupons at Dollar General.  Dollar General is a great place for inexpensive items, and that coupon has helped me get some super bargains over the years.

Now that Dollar General has an app where you can load coupons to your account, there are so many more savings opportunities!

It seems that most Saturdays you can download a $5 off $25 coupon right in the app.  The wonderful thing about this coupon is the discount is taken BEFORE coupons apply.  (A few stores may do it differently, but my stores take it from pre-coupon discounts).  So in theory, I can make sure I buy items using coupons.  The original pre-coupon price only needs to hit $25 for the $5 off $25 coupon to be deducted.  The $5 off $25 coupon also works on sale and clearance items.

Save Big by Shopping at A Grocery Store Outlet

FTC disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.

If you have been following my blog for any time, you know that I love a good bargain.  I have been using coupons for nearly a quarter of a century -- since I was in my teens!  But today I am going to talk about shopping at grocery outlets.  I am fortunate enough to have one about 20 minutes from me, and a different one, which I try to visit a couple times a year just two hours from me.  There are other things I do in that town, so it's not just a trip to visit the outlet, but the car sure does come back filled!

Grocery outlets usually don't accept coupons, but that's okay because many times you can get items as cheap if not cheaper than double coupons.

The most unfortunate part of outlets is if they run out of something, they might not get it back in stock.  So if you see your favorite cereal there get as much as you will use before it goes stale.

Life Update February 2017

I haven't given a life update / Adoption update since August, so I thought it was time to fill all of you in as to what has been going on in our lives.

Yes, we still want to adopt.  That is a huge desire.  But while I wouldn't say life has been getting in the way, we have been trying to prepare ourselves for that.  We've been doing a lot of work on the emotional and mental preparation that comes with fostering / adopting.  We had more to do on that than I had realized, so this has been taking some time.

We are still working on the house.  Not only does it need to be up to code, but I am still getting rid of "stuff".  What is this "stuff"?   Mom had, as her best friend from high school put it, "Many Treasures".  Not long after Mom passed away I had some work done on the house.  Most of this was put in tubs and needs to be unpacked and sorted through.  (A few keep items, some to give away, some will get tossed.)  This is slower going than I had anticipated, and it is also mentally exhausting as well.  

Christmas Without Debt: February Edition - Stationary

FTC disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links.

Welcome to my monthly series on how we can plan to have a Christmas without debt.  Not having debt eases stress and anxiety, which means we will appreciate the holiday more and be able to enjoy the extra time with loved ones without worrying about the bills that will come due in December.

As I mentioned in my December Christmas without Debt post,  you should know how much you should set back each month based on your spending last Christmas.    You should plan on either spending that whole monthly amount through the year -- or setting it back for use at Christmastime -- or a combination of the two.

This month we are going to focus on cards and greetings.

I Was Kicked Out of CVS Over Legit Coupon Useage!

I have been a CVS shopper for years, and yesterday I was in our "city" (town of 35,000 or so) and decided to pick up some stuff at CVS before heading home.  I didn't go to the one I prefer in that town because it was snowing, and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible.  (Little did I know that I should have gone to the CVS I preferred because although inconveniently located, they are well trained to handle coupons.)

I bought a number of items, including the eggs at 99 cents which were limited to two per person.  I have always obeyed limits when shopping.  I read a sign (or misread, I will say I may have been at fault here, but this is important at check out) I read a sign that said Coke products were 3 for $15, spend $30 get $10 back in Extra Care Bucks.