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Archive for January, 2015

Help! I Use Coupons, Why Am I NOT Saving Money?

Help! I Use Coupons, Why Am I NOT Saving Money?

7BM_LandingPage2My my long anticipated couponing eBook, 7 Biggest Mistakes Couponers Make,  is finally finished.  I’ve been working on this eBook for the past several months and I’m so excited that I’ve finally finished it!  This is my very first eBook and I hope there are many more to follow in the months and years to come.  This particular eBook is full of practical advice and useful tips to help both the newbie and experienced couponer succeed with couponing!  All seven mistakes that I’ve discussed are my own personal mistakes that I’ve made on my coupon journey, and I wanted to share them so you can avoid the same mistakes I’ve made.  

I’ll answer one of the questions I hear most often, “I use coupons, but why am I not saving any money?”  This is a common misconception of couponing – just because you use coupons, doesn’t mean you are going to save money.  There are a lot more factors that contribute to big savings at the grocery store.  7 Biggest Mistakes Couponers Make discusses all of these misconceptions and provides practical advice on how to really save your family some money at the grocery store. 

Download my FREE eBook right now and please share it with your friends and family, and with anyone you know who needs help couponing!

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January 24, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s DIY Tip #1 – Flowers LOVE Mouthwash

Katrina’s DIY Tip #1 – Flowers LOVE Mouthwash

flowersDid you know that fresh clipped and store bought bouquets of flowers LOVE mouthwash?  Oh, yes they do!  If your adoring husband or significant other, brings you a lovely bouquet of beautiful flowers, add just a couple teaspoons of mouthwash to the water in your vase and your flowers will keep much longer than just a few days!

The pictured flowers are from four days ago and they are still looking amazing! I can usually keep my flowers looking and smelling fresh for up to two weeks or more, depending on the flowers of course (Carnations do really well and can last for nearly a month).   Remember to add fresh water and mouthwash every few days (as you can see from the picture, I just use generic mouthwash – nothing too fancy – just use whatever you have a coupon for), as well as trim the stems if they are starting to get slimy.  I also trim my flowers of all leaves that are submerged in the water (just helps to keep the water cleaner).

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January 19, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #4 – Hunt for FREE Inserts

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #4 – Hunt for FREE Inserts

CT4_HuntForFreeFREE coupon inserts can be found in all sorts of places!  You just need to be creative!  On Sundays mornings make a stop at your favorite bagel/coffee shop – you can usually find a discarded Sunday paper lying around.  Ask the owner if you can have the coupon inserts!  Try any place you can think of where people like to go sit and read the paper – places like bookstores, restaurants, coffee shops, even grocery store coffee shops.  Be honest and make sure you ask permission before you take home any inserts!

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January 14, 20150 commentsRead More
How Long Do Your Resolutions Stick?

How Long Do Your Resolutions Stick?

In the spirit of the new year, setting goals, and making resolutions, I’ve taken a moment to reflect. In years past I’ve noticed that my resolutions don’t stick very long, so here recently I haven’t made any. Last year I decided not to make any resolutions at all – mostly because they remind of goals that I don’t ever seem to accomplish. I think my problem is that the resolutions I would make were way too hard to fulfill, even for Superwoman (and deep down I really am Superwoman). I remember one year I resolved to make a million dollars by the time I was 30, seriously. Granted, I was 17 (going on like 25), I was in my senior year of high school, President of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), running our school’s store, and I thought I success_aheadwas going to be the most amazing business-woman alive. I had huge goals, huge dreams, and I had no idea how to accomplish them, but I resolved that they would come true. Well, I grew up, I turned 30 a few years back without my million dollars and somehow my Superwoman cape missing. I came to the realization that resolutions are just words with good intentions behind them.   They seem great and inspiring when you make them, but as time goes on and they are not coming true they are like a weight strapped to your ankle dragging you down. Talk about failure…yep, I feel like a failure to my own made-up dreams.

I’m older and I’d like to think I’m wiser now too, and the reality of feeling like a flop with my own dreams and goals has hit me hard this year. I went to an amazing Bible Study this morning and the speaker had a great devotional on resolutions. She talked about how she always sets New Year’s Resolutions that would cause her to strive for great stuff in her life, but she finds herself, year after year, failing at just about every resolution she sets. Striving and Failing. Think about both of those. I looked up both words in Webster’s Dictionary and below are the definitions.

Striveto struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance

Fail: to fall short of success or achievement in something expected, attempted, desired, or approved

To struggle vigorously – that perfectly describes how I feel about a lot of my resolutions. I feel like I struggle a lot, I try to put in some effort to change behaviors, and then when I’m at my wits end, I just give up and find myself in the exact same spot I was the year before. It’s terribly frustrating and ever so futile.  I think the answer lies in my perspective. Rather than setting myself up to fall short this year, I’m going to change my perspective on my resolutions.

Instead of a making Resolutions: the act of resolving or determining upon an action, – I’m changing them to Goals: - the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. To me, a goal is something you achieve when effort is placed toward it. A resolution is just making up your mind to change, or willing something to happen, but you are missing the action. When you make a conscience effort to work toward a goal, you absolutely achieve every time. Part of changing your perspective is not getting so wrapped up in the “what” or the “how much” you achieve, but celebrating that you have achieved something toward your goal, and to keep on achieving.

I’m also choosing to make a list of Aspirations: a goal or objective that is strongly desired that are more lofty and harder to reach, but are something I do wish to attain, but won’t feel like a failure if I don’t reach them.

So, what are you goals and aspirations this upcoming year? I’d love to hear some. Want to hear mine? My top business goals this upcoming year are to reach 500 followers on my facebook.com/MomKatrinasWorld page, publish 3 ebooks, and grow my business by 3 levels.  One of my aspirations is to finally go on a fancy vacation with my hubby – somewhere with a nice warm beach.  Tell me yours!  Dave Ramsey says, “If you aim at nothing, you will reach it every time.” Aim high and then go get it!

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January 9, 20150 commentsRead More
Success Of Your Business Is Up To You

Success Of Your Business Is Up To You

Your business is what YOU make of it.  Really, it is.  The success of your business is all up to you.

Thanks for the slap in the face Katrina! Geesh!  All joking aside, this fact was proven true this weekend as I was cleaning out some old business card buscardsholders that I had. I pulled out hundreds and hundreds of old business cards from the last 8 years. As I read over them and remembered the amazing people I met and then realized just how many of them were not in business in anymore I was struck with the startling realization that I’m not in that same business anymore either! I’m one of those thrown away business cards too! I know for some of those people in my throw-away stack their businesses failed. For others, their business is still thriving, and for still some others, they have just moved on to new businesses and dreams. This is where I find myself. I’ve laid my old business venture to rest but am still pursuing a new dream and business venture full force! I’m not counting on anyone else on my team to make me successful, I’m building my business and am excited for anyone who wants to join me in my pursuit!

You can’t count on anyone else to make you successful. Your business is not about the next great lead, or the next big bid you sign, or the next great “go-getter” you sign up. It’s really all about you and how much effort you dedicate to your business. You ARE the business, if you don’t make it successful no one else is going to either.

For all the business owners and the MLM’ers out there, you totally know what I’m talking about. You may have a brand new sign up who totally seems like they are going to go out and sign up every person they know and won’t stop until they have reached the top. You are stoked because you might finally get to take a few days off and relax a little bit on your own efforts because this new sign up is going to really grow your team. Then 3 months down the road when they realize that business takes real work and effort, they are not only slowing down, but decide to bail and jump ship. Now you have lost what you thought was going to be your “golden ticket” and you realize that if your business is going to be successful, you better get out there and start selling again.

There are no guarantees in life, that’s the great thing about life. It can be exciting and exhausting all at the same time! But, remember this, your business is your responsibility. If you want to be successful, then you have to do something about it. Don’t wait for someone else to make your dreams come true!

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January 5, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #2 – Get Organized

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #2 – Get Organized

CT2_GetOrganizedYou must have a system to stay organized.  There are a bunch of different systems you can utilize, you have to find what works best for you.  I love my coupon binder.  It’s big, has a handle, zips up, and I take it with me to the grocery every time I shop.

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January 1, 20150 commentsRead More
Katrina’s Coupon Tip #3 – Utilize Rebates

Katrina’s Coupon Tip #3 – Utilize Rebates

rebateRebates are a MUST-DO by anyone looking to save money and score FREE stuff! Are you now scratching you head wondering what I’m talking about? Free product rebates are usually found in the newspaper coupon inserts and will say,“Try Me Free.” These are available because the manufacturer wants to get consumers to try out a new product.  That is exactly what you do! You pick up the product at the grocery store and mail in your receipt and you receive a rebate check or gift card in the mail! You just scored a FREE product!

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