Attention Moms, Future Moms, & Soon-to-be Moms: Awesome Deals

I did not know this, and I thought it was too awesome not to share.

Apparently, when you make an account at the register of Motherhood Maternity, they give you a little gift bag that includes some samples, plus a bunch of papers with coupons and information about cord blood banking, etc. I was about to throw it all away when I realized that some of the discounts are actually really good including a few that give you items 100% free!

I just got a carseat cover, nursing cover, nursing pillow, and sling for FREE besides shipping! (It's like $12 shipping for each item, but so worth it because the items all together would have cost more than $165, plus I needed all of these things!)

They have cute patterns for each item and after you make your first purchase, they provide a code that you can use for the other sites and get more stuff for 100% free. I figured they would make me buy something else in order to get the deal, but all I had to do was pay for shipping. I should receive the items next week so I will let you know how they turn out but I've heard from a few people that they loved everything they got. I am so excited!!!!! I also received a $20 giftcard to Shutterfly (which allows you to make some kind of online album, etc. so I will be saving that for when our tiny sweetheart is born!)

Here are the sites:

carseatcanopy.com

I loved this one... 

Grey and white damask print with lavender minky material

....but ultimately decided on this one (because it was more gender neutral and I have to have sons someday...we're the only ones carrying on the Gunnell name! Eek!).

Black and white pattern with grey minky material

uddercovers.com

This is the one I chose:

This one is called Taylor and I love how bright and happy it is!

sevenslings.com

I had the hardest time picking a sling pattern!

I chose the lavender Koi pattern even though I loved the Sonic, Black, and Cyrus ones, too.

nursingpillow.com

I am so glad I was able to find one of these for a great price! I know I'll be needing it. 

This is Starry Night, but I liked Serenity a lot, too!

Anyway, the stuff is pretty cute and I was able to get a great deal, so I hope this helps someone else! Three of the codes they gave me that I didn't need to use (because I already had some from Motherhood Maternity) were: UCOVERS, CARSEAT, and SEVEN, so try them out (each one should work for all four sites unless they've been taken by someone else).

Did you know about this? If so, what other great deals are out there for baby stuff that I should know about??

How to Get Rich...

Would you like to know the secret to getting rich? I'll tell you my opinion. I may not be qualified to write this post, as I most certainly am not rich by the world's standard, but I have learned a thing or two about saving money--especially since I've been married. Here are some good tips and changes that are easy to make:

Don't spend more than you earn.
Duh. This seems so obvious, but it is a real challenge for many people who were raised with their parents taking care of everything for them. Keep track of how much you earn and delegate how much of that income will be put toward your basic needs, how much will go into savings, and how much will be left over. This is the most basic budgeting skill and is essential if you truly want to save money. 

Don't go into unnecessary debt. 
Sure school is expensive, but as long as you are saving to pay off school loans, you won't be in debt forever. Make that payment your priority. Save up and pay it off as quick as you can. We are trying to save up to pay Dalin's student loan off by graduation. Fortunately, we have been able to earn scholarships to help us save money. The same advice applies to homes and cars. You may have to settle for less before you can save up for something better. 

Budget. 
If you don't, it's going to be really hard to save money. Limit yourselves to going out once a week. Choose free date alternatives as often as you can. If you are the type who likes to splurge, try this simple solution--don't go out. If you don't want to spend money, don't go to the store. That has helped us save SO much money these last two years. If you love shopping and stopping completely is difficult for you, only carry a tiny bit of cash when you go. Leave your credit or debit cards at home. Pretend you're back in middle school or high school when $20 was all you had. 

Search for deals. 
Paying full price for anything is not very wise. Most things always go on sale at some time or another. Especially with clothing, shoes, and items for the home. If you want to be really thrifty, practice good shopping habits by making lists and searching for coupons or special deals on groceries and home products. Check Groupon and other money-saving sites. You would be surprised at the many ways you can find deals and discounts when you take a few minutes to look. I will admit, I always look for deals when it comes to clothing, but I have not yet gotten into the habit of seeking the best deals while grocery shopping. I attribute this to lack of time, but really it would be worth doing it to save even $15 a grocery trip. Something for me to work on. 

Avoid credit cards. 
I am far from an expert on credit cards, but I do know that everyone mistakenly seems to believe they must have one. Establishing credit is good when the time comes to buy a home or car, but it is not the only way. If you do have a credit card, make monthly payments on time and do not exceed your limit. Dalin and I prefer to use a debit card. We know where the money is coming from (straight from our checking account), and this prevents us from spending an unreasonable amount. Because we are leasing our car, we make monthly payments (ON TIME!) which helps us establish credit. If we need to, we can borrow our parents' credit to get a home when we find ourselves wanting to settle down. The point is, credit cards are okay if you know you can afford to make the payments. 

Save. 
Save, save, save. Put as much money as you can into the bank. Have a stash at home for emergencies. Put money in separate envelopes or jars to go toward specific trips, vacations, or other fun activities. Plan out what you are saving for and a rough estimate of how much you need. I usually find that rounding up when considering how much you think you will need is safer. 

Give. 
I love the quote by Anne Frank: "No one ever became poor by giving [too much]." How true! I also believe that giving to those in need blesses your life and, in turn, you will have more. I would rather be rich in blessings than money any day. 

Pay tithing. 
Heavenly Father gives us everything we have. We are only required to give 10% of it back to him. I would say that's fair. Especially considering the many blessings we receive as reward for our obedience to this simple commandment. It is one of the only commandments we can truly be perfect in.

All of these things combined will help you. Like I said, I am no expert--and I could stand to follow my own advice a little better--but I know that there is nothing better than being self-sufficient and feeling truly free from financial burdens. 

How do you save money? 
What are your best tips that I could use?

The To Do List: Provo & Orem Edition

I'm not going to lie--I am starting to like Utah a little bit. You may be thinking, "Sheesh, it only took two whole years..." but seriously, we have found a few things around here recently that we never knew about until now (like a sweet short-cut to Orem for one...) and it has changed my outlook on living here dramatically. Not that I would want to make it a long-term thing--I'm still an east coast girl who needs the clear blue lakes and ocean--but I need to take the advice of numerous sisters in the church and "bloom where [I'm] planted." 

So I'm creating a "To Do" list, which will also be a bucket list of sorts, or basically a compilation of ideas and suggestions from people in the area (or previous residents). It can include restaurants, cafes, sights to see, or fun places. Or it can just be something we should do at a certain time of year and get a good deal (like near particular holidays for example).

What I would like from those who make suggestions are the following:

• the name of the place
• a summary of what it is/what there is to do (or what YOU did/ate there)
• the general location (preferably Provo/Orem area because we don't travel much)
• an idea of the cost (FREE, cheap, or kind of costly)

If you could give me a few ideas, I would SO appreciate it! We have just one year left here and I'm going to do my best to make it fun. So please,

Give us your suggestions! :)

Quick Tip (Save Money on E.L.F. Makeup!)

So I received a $10 giftcard for e.l.f. makeup which I was really excited about. 
The only problem is you can ONLY use these online (at least, to my knowledge and Google's apparently). So I did a little research because $10 doesn't go too far when the flat rate for shipping is $6.95. First I checked if e.l.f. ever does free shipping deals. It looks like not very often. But wanting to use the card fairly soon, I checked if there was any other location where I could use the giftcard. The answer was no. So then I started looking for deals. And finally I had some success!

Using a code at this link, http://www.dealigg.com/story-elf-Cosmetics-Coupon-Codes-Promotions I was able to get $5 off. I used the "bdayfive" code. Then, because they happened to be having a sale on the products, plus with the added bonus of my $10 giftcard, the total for me came to $0! I got two products I really wanted to try and they should be here by the end of the week. So I'm psyched! If I had been patient and waited for a shipping deal, I probably could have done even better.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out. I thought it was pretty awesome. Also, I've never used e.l.f. products before so I'm really looking forward to trying them out! Best of luck!