Welcome 2009!

Ready or not, it's here - 2009!

I am going to start right off and admit that I am not going to be one of the bloggers posting that I am going to be going to setting a goal of an awe  inspiring food budget for the year.  I truly admire those that can, but for us it just doesn't work, my shopping not only include my family of 4, but it includes extended family, 3-4 weekend events where I feed approximately another 45 people of the weekend, and I donate to several causes.

If you want to see what some of the awe inspiring budgeters are doing check out:

Jane4Girls  $800 Annual Budget (single mom of 3 girls!)

Retire with Coupons   $1800 Annual Budget (family of 5)

Adventures in Couponing $2000 Annual Budget (family of 5)

However, I am going to do my best to:

Keep my blog updated and honest! I'm not perfect, my deals aren't always the best, and i've certainly had deals not go as I thought they would, or missed a better deal  just down the street.  But what I hope to offer is for others to learn from my mistakes and from what I do right.

I always want to make better choices and try and plan better with my purchases.  I had some great deals in 2008, but there were a few that I overstocked on, and some that I really understocked on.  

And probably the hardest for me, is to try and get my coupons under control!  I have switched to the binder system, which in a lot of ways I like alot better, but I still need to do some modifications to make it work for me.

Other goals:
Purchase / obtain an upright freezer - I have passed on way to many deals because my freezer was already bursting at the seams (even though I upgraded to a larger fridge/freezer in 2008).

Better evaluate and plan my revenue gaining activites (AKA Work).  My employment background is insurance, but I have been out of the  9-5 (ok 8-6) office life for about 4 years now, and I have no intention of looking back.  But the insurance auditing I was doing has dried up, I am pursuing other possibilites with insurance auditing, but am keeping my options open.   I have also found that well planned merchandising routes can be very beneficial, and still allow me the flexibility I need with the kids.   I also recently started with a company that I work from home making customer service review and training phone calls.  I LOVE not being on the road so much (and it extends the life of my 1999 car!).  I just need to work on my speed at handling those calls to make my time spent more profitable.