It's the little things toward your GOOOAL!

It's the little things that can really add up to make a big difference in the amount of money you spend every month on the things you use. You just have to keep your eyes open! Here are a couple of deals for this week:

CVS:

• Dove Visible Care 10oz Body Wash on sale for $1.99- $1 off coupon from the 1/30 Red Plum insert makes it $0.99
• Excedrin Extra Strength 20-24ct on sale for $1.99- $1 off coupon here or from 1/9 Smart Source insert, makes it $0.99
• Stride Spark or Trident Vitality Gum $0.99 (with card), get $0.99 back in extra rewards toward your next purchase. It's like getting it for FREE-- limit 1.

WALGREENS:

• Skippy Peanut Butter or Ragu Pasta Sauce- 2/$3- $0.50 coupon from 1/30 Red Plum makes Skippy $1.00; $1/2 coupon from 1/30 Red Plum insert makes Ragu $1 each, too.

Do you have a "bucket list"? I don't have an official one, but do kind of have a running list of things in my head that I would like to do before I "kick the bucket." We all have things we'd like to cross off our lists, even if it's just to truly be able to say, "been there, done that, got the t-shirt." I'm not a ball player. I don't have the hand-eye coordination for it and, quite frankly, would probably either injure myself or others just trying. However, I have discovered (in my adult life), that I'm a decent distance runner. I'm not the least bit fast, but I do keep a steady pace-- think tortoise. :)

A few years ago, I ran a marathon and am just nuts enough to say I'd like to run another. Before I ran my first, I couldn't even run a tenth of a mile, not even with someone chasing me, so 26.2 miles seemed nearly impossible. The first time I ran 5 miles without stopping, I called Financial Guy at work to share my good news. The only issue was, I probably should have caught my breath first. I called him all breathless & panting in the phone. Of course, he naturally assumed something was wrong and probably thought I was being chased! :)

Why in the world would I spend all the time and energy clippin' and savin', dragging 4 children along for the ride-- and how in the devil does this relate to running? Because we are working toward some financial goals. Dave Ramsey lays out what he calls the Baby Steps to help people achieve their goals.

STEP 4: SET GOALS

If money were no object to you, what would you do? Plan for the future of yourself or your children? Invest it? Spend it? Travel more? Give it away? Without setting goals financially, you're sure to never meet them. A quick on-line search will show Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." He should know; he's taken a lot.

If you haven't, sit down and lay out your family's financial goals for this calendar year and the next 3-5 years. If you're also not currently on a budget, consider that, too. But just like there's a person constantly moving to keep attempts from going in the intended sports goal, our financial goals are also moving targets. Move with it! When you have setbacks (and you will), line yourself up again toward making that goal! One of these days when you cross the finish line of your "marathon", you can also say, "been there, done that, got the t-shirt."