Saving Money 101 and beyond.....

First of all, before dealing out all the coupon deals etc, I'd like to share with you how I keep track of my budget, bills etc.

For keeping track of how much I spend budget wise, there's always online banking, but even that's not good enough sometimes, writing either, we forget that. So what I do, is have a little zip pouch that I keep all my receipts in after I make purchases, take that out when I go shopping, then insert it into my Quickbooks Simple Start 2009.

What is Quickbooks Simple Start 2009?
QBSS09 is a great tool for keeping up with the family budget! You can track whats in your bank account, track paying bills, writing checks to people etc, better than online banking! I use it to track my budget, and it gives me an idea of how much I'm going to loose/make monthly just by inserting things earlier and it does all the math for you, even has a profit/loss section. (Not saying you should diss online banking, but this helps) It even can help you keep track of the inventory that you have in your house with an item list. I.e. we have so many things from stocking up, but if I need to see what I have, just pop up the item list and see the quantity, (you may have to remember to put in the quantity you start with then as you use them make an invoice etc). A great way to also "bill" family members to keep up with who maybe wasting some items, or teach the kiddos about saving as you can use several bank accounts.

To download this free software go here quickbooks simple start 2009 download

**please note this has a FANTASTIC step-by-step guide, anyone can learn it!



On couponing
Great resources - your local paper every sunday
www.coupons.com gives you loads of free printable coupons (note: not all places accept online coupons)
www.afullcup.com has loads of free stuff updated daily!
Bricks Coupons Direct Link for all those fabulous coupons!
www.shopathome.com
www.ebates.com gives you money back for shopping online
www.alice.com great site for cheap items that might not be available in some areas

How do I organize my coupons?

I have a little organza fold out that I keep most of my coupons in and duplicates etc in folders in my desk, I carry a bag with that in it and all the ads that came in my paper to review in case, and most online offers that I'm not sure I'll use, but just to be on the safe side I carry them with me.