I have gotten off track for a lot of things this past year.

My couponing is none-existent at this point. I'm moving in several months and I need to get on the ball with it. Especially for paying off my debts.

When I move that'll save me a lot of money and I'll be able to put a majority of that towards debt but I really do miss couponing.

Being able to save over half of the retail price sometimes is an awesome feeling and I miss that. Time to get on the ball!

Lucky for me the shop on post takes coupons up to six (6) months old!

Before I left Afghanistan I went into a website (this is no longer available) in order to receive a Blood Glucose Monitoring System. I didn't think that this would actually happen, especially since I didn't pay for any shipping.

I don't need it but I figured that somebody would.

So today I go to my mailbox and there's this package. You guessed it, it's the monitor! It also contains 10 test strips and discount card for the strips.

I'm going to donate it to a retirement center or to another place that would need them. I wanted to look at the cost of the monitor and the strips just to get an idea.

The monitor costs and average of $20 and 50 strips can cost $20 - $25. So this is going in my donation box for the retirement center.

I've already started my donation box to the humane society. How you ask? The local newspaper company is mis-delivering my newspapers. I asked for just Sunday/Wednesday delivery and I'm receiving it everyday.... Go figure...

I'm going to call them and let them know what's going on so that I'm only paying for what I requested.

I still haven't gotten my taxes done yet but I've made an appointment for next week to do so. This will more than likely be the only year in which I'm not doing it myself which is my normal course of action.

But this is starting off my couponing for me (the monitor). I'm also receiving my extra Sunday coupon inserts already. So I really do have to go through all of those (I pretty much have a small box of just couponing items that I need to put together...)

I just remembered that I have also requested to receive something else for free but I can't remember. Maybe I'll get that in the next few weeks.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

I have found a coupon insert deliver service. What's so special about this service? It's actually a subscription service. So instead of getting one or two delivered I can actually set up to receive a certain amount of inserts weekly until I cancel it.

I've been looking for this type of service for a few weeks now. I'm so glad I've found it. It just means that I will be able to really be ready to go when I get back stateside. WHOOHOO!!!

If you're trying to find one here's the link:

http://neclippers.com/

Well I know they aren't kids anymore but they're still MY kids.

But I've been in their current shoes. One has just moved to a new place with my granddaughter and her new husband. The other has moved into her first apartment with her boyfriend and are expecting my other grandbaby.

Well I've decided to help out my kids. I'm not giving them money. I'm actually giving them things that they need instead.

I know for my youngest, I'll be getting her diapers, baby food and whatnot for the new baby as well as laundry detergent, paper towels, cleaning supplies and toilet paper.

As for the oldest one I'm not sure what I can give her yet besides the same as above except for the baby stuff. (unless she's expecting and hasn't told us yet). The older one knows how to coupon but she who would say no to extra help. I'm not sure if the younger one knows how to coupon (if not she needs to learn).

I'm not actually spending extra money to get these items. I know how to get the majority of these items for free (such as diapers and laundry detergent).

Since this doesn't actually affect my budget I'm not worried about cost.

I've also will donate to at least two other types of organizaitons. A humane society, retirement home and possibly a women's shelter.

I actually know what the humane society in my area want/need. But more than likely I'll need to visit the shelter and retirement home to get an actual list of things they also want/need.

I have the ability to get certain items for free or near free and not a lot of money. I figure that since the actual item is more valuable, I'd donate that instead. In other words, since I can't afford to give them $20 but I can buy a few items for less than $5 but it actually would have cost $20-40 without coupons, I'd rather give them the product.

I don't know if that seems selfish or anything. I'm not sure if anyone will think that I'm not "donating correctly". I really don't care what they think. This is within my capabilities to donate the way I've described.

I've already decided to have several boxes for this. I figured that if I do this every few months then I'd have a good supply to give. (I plan on visiting my children so I'll just take them with me instead of mailing them).

By the way, I also donate my coupons (the ones I don't use). You can donate your coupons to the military overseas (they can use expired coupons up to six months after the expiration date).

Go to this link for more information about it: http://www.ocpnet.org/

I have made a tentative budget of $200/mo for groceries. This not only includes food but also hygiene products, cleaning supplies and whatnot. I didn't think that I would be able to do this but I've reminded myself that I've done this before on less with coupons.

I've been thinking about something though. What if at the end of the month that I've spent less than $200 for all my groceries. Should I:

1. Roll over the difference for the next month
2. Use the difference to pay towards debt
3. One month rollover, then the next month put towards debt.
4. After 3 months rollover to savings.

I'm leaning towards number "3".

Normally when you go to the grocery store you try to use coupons and buy things that are only on sale. Well I know that a lot of people get tired of doing that. I found a way to help solve the issue.

Well just to let you know, I'm a couponer. I'm not an extreme couponer. I can't go to a store, get $100 worth of stuff and only pay $1. Not yet at least! What I have done is pay $71 for $147 worth of groceries and I've paid $53 for $109 worth of groceries. Couponing isn't easy!! But I do believe that it's worth it!

You have to organize your coupons so that they work for you. But before I left for Afghanistan I donated all my coupons to the military.

Did you know that military personnel can use coupons up to six months AFTER they've expired!!

I sent them to a woman who then gathered up all the coupons sent to her and mailed them to a representative. There is one in each area/region.

But right now I don't have any coupons. So I need to restock but I don't want to start from scratch. So I've been thinking of having Sunday newspapers sent to my brother's house (he has my stuff anyways). But only for the three month subscription, that way I can stock up a bit and be able to shop for groceries right when I get home!

It only costs about $37 for the (13 week) subscription which is saving money from actually buying it every Sunday.

This is what really helps me budget for groceries every month. Don't get me wrong, not everything needs a coupon for me to buy. But I will try to wait for a sale if I can, but since I literally have to restock my kitchen I'll need to purchase almost everything!! UGH!!!

Funny thing is that when I get home, the newspaper in my area costs substantially less than the one in my brothers' area. But he gets more coupons. Oh well...