There are other times during military life when the amount of money you are bringing in goes down, even if just for a short amount of time. Coming back from overseas you will lose COLA. After a deployment, you will know longer get deployment pay. When you PCS you might end up getting less for BAH. You have to keep all these changes in mind and adjust your budget accordingly.
*This is a sponsored post. I wanted to promote this topic with my readers. All opinions are my own.
The holidays are coming, Christmas and Hanukkah will be here before we know it. I am already trying to figure out our budget and what we will be getting the boys. My three are pretty into Legos and Minecraft these days. My 5-year-old is also a huge Power Rangers fan. I have been asking my three boys for their Christmas lists so I have an idea of what they are most interested in.
I like to find deals on the toys we get our boys whether it is for their birthday or Christmas. I never want to pay full price unless I can’t find a deal. We also like to buy toys from Toys R Us. I find that they do have a lot of the toys we are looking for. I have recently found out about Groupon Coupons. You can use them to get special deals from places like Toys R Us. How great is that?
Right now you can get a $10 gift card to Toys R Us when you spend $75 or more between 12/1/15-12/24/15 by going through Groupon Coupons. That extra $10 can make a difference in your holiday budget.
You can also head on over and check out some of the deals of the week. Some are online and others are in-store only.
“2 for $24 ALL LEGO Dimensions Fun Packs reg $16.99 ea.“
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“20% off ALL Star Wars 3.75″ figures & vehicles“
You can check out the rest of the deals on the Groupon Coupons Toys R Us pageor take a look around at other Groupon Coupon pages if you are looking for other types of gifts. They can change often so make sure to check back throughout the next few weeks to find the deals that can help you save some money this holiday season.
I plan to keep checking to see what deals they have and if I can save money on toys I was planning on getting my boys anyway.
We love snacks in this house! The older my boys get, the more of them they want to eat. They will be teenagers before I know it. I always try to have quite a few snacks in the house for them to have after school or right before bed. I love having that variety so we have something to grab depending on what we feel like eating at the moment.
One of the places I love to buy snacks at is Publix, especially when I can find Savings at Publix. They put one in close to our home a couple of years ago. I had never been before but quickly fell in love. It really is a pleasure to shop there. I love how clean and organized it is there and everyone who works at Publix is very nice and helpful. They will also help you take your groceries out to your car which is nice when I have all the boys with me.
Some of our favorite snacks are Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Chex Snack Mix, Fiber One Cookies and I am a big fan of the Yoplait Greek 100 Whips. I discovered them not too long ago and enjoy them for breakfast or a quick snack. My 4 year old would eat a whole box of the Granola bars if I didn’t watch them. I love those too and remember eating them myself as a child.
I love to find savings at Publix by using coupons and shopping their sales. They have some amazing Buy One, Get One free deals. Another way you can find savings at Publix right now is to head on over to their Snack, Share and Save Event they have going on right now.
Save $5 on your $20 purchase of participating snacking items when you share the Publix Snack, Share, Save event with friends!
1. Go To SnackShareSave.com and Choose a Design to share on your social media account
2. Log In to your Publix Skip The Clip Account
3. Share the social media design via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest
4. Check your Skip the Clip Account for your $5 Coupon.
If you don’t already have this, you can register for an account. It only takes about a minute. you don’t want to miss out on these Savings at Publix!
You will also be able to save $5.00 instantly when you buy $20 worth of participating items from PepsiCo, General Mills, & Unilever between 9/24 and 9/30.
How you would like to win $15 Paypal Cash to go buy your own snacks?
Enter the giveaway below by answering the question that is asked! Good luck!
Every since we moved back to the states I have been a little conflicted about which grocery store was cheaper. I had essentially three main options. Kroger, Walmart and the Commissary. I came to the conclusion that certain products were cheaper in certain stores. A lot of people swear by the Commissary but since it takes me about 15-20 minutes to get there and most of the time that I am already on post, I don’t always have the time to go there. Plus, I want to avoid the Commissary on payday.
We use to live right by a Walmart so we went there all the time. I really like being able to shop about 5-10 minutes from my house. We moved and then Kroger became the closest place to shop. I still went to the Commissary sometimes but not regularly.
Then Publix opened 5 minutes from my house. When I first went I was pretty impressed with the look and the feel but since I had no idea what I was doing I spent way too much. For the most part, their regular prices are more expensive than other stores. But then I went to a coupon class at my church and then one at MOPS and I decided I want to get back into couponing.
For the last month or so I have been going to Publix for my big shopping and I have been saving money.
The big thing is matching sales with coupons. I go to www.southernsavers.com for this although there are many other blogs who post the match-ups. I just go through her Publix list and write down anything we need that is on sale. She will tell you where to get the coupons. Either from the paper, the printable ones or the Publix coupons. I would say over half of what I buy each week is on sale with a coupon. For an example for how this works I can tell you about a deal I got last week.
Betty Crocker Mashed Potatoes. They are listed at $1.89 at Publix. I have seen them for $.99 at Kroger and the Commissary. At first glance, it isn’t a deal to get them at Publix. But they are Buy One, Get One free right now so you will be paying $.94 a box. Another great thing is if you only want one box, you will get it for half-off. You do not need to buy two of them if you don’t want to. I had a coupon for $.50 off 2. Since Publix will double any coupons $.50 or lower than I got a $1.00 off for two. So I paid $.89 for TWO boxes or about $.44 a box. The coupons will double automatically too. You don’t have to say anything.
Another great thing about Publix is that they take coupons from Kroger. This is based on where you live so if you have a local Publix ask them. Some Publix stores will take Target too but ours won’t because our Target does not have a grocery. This even includes the coupons Kroger sends you for $5 off a $50 purchase or anything like that.
Publix is also really good about the printable coupons. If your ink isn’t quite right and they won’t scan, they will enter them in manually. Other stores are more picky about it.
They also will let you use a store coupon plus a manufacturer’s coupon.
I have only been at this for about a month but I am learning that organization is the key to making this work. I spend about an hour a week making my list and sorting through my coupons. I also find that sometimes a deal with a coupon isn’t as good as another brand. I also don’t want to buy things just because they are on sale. I only want to buy what we need. I have heard that most sales come back around ever 6-8 weeks to I try to keep that in mind when it comes to buy more than one of something.
I am not sure if I will buy the paper every single week. I get a lot of my coupons online. If you have Swagbucks you can print from there and then when you use them you get 10 points for every coupon. Just an extra added bonus to using the coupon.
Not everyone likes Publix or even lives close enough to one to make it work but I do and I really enjoy shopping there. I still go to Kroger, Walmart and the Commissary for certain things but I think I will do all my big shopping there.
Horror stories of soldiers accruing debt while serving are far too numerous. Financial preparation could lessen the nerves of the moment and save money for both the service member and his or her family. However, how does one save? And what are some last minute tips for soldiers with no emergency fund?
Military members could save a lot of money while deployed. They could even potentially end with more money than they started. How?
It is important to make sure family and friends are on the same page about the actions taken to protect funds. Assure them of insurance coverage as well as the protections under SCRA. Be strict about spending and the use of personal property while away. Taking the above precautions will leave one with money in the bank as opposed to substantial debt.
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