Happy New Year’s!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful 2009 and that we all can have an even better 2010!  New Year’s is always very interesting to me…  People love to make resolutions and I always giggle when I hear other people’s goals because I know that 99% of the time, the resolution will be forgotten and overlooked once we are just a couple weeks into January.  That said, I am all about setting and attaining goals.  And, if you are like me, then you are as motivated as me to make positive changes in your life that will impact you financially, physically and spiritually!  One of the best way to set goals, besides looking to the future, is to look to the past and honestly evaluate how you lived your life this past year.  It is through past successes and failures that we will truly learn how to make positive changes in the future.

Financial Goals

It seems that most of the people I come across, whether it is friends, family or simply new acquaintances, are looking to save money.  The economy is very tough right now.  So many of my friends are dealing with decreased equity in their homes, job loss, fear of job loss, rising credit card debt and general stress over money.  I created this website (well, my friend created the actual site, but I came up with the concept of having my own website) when I learned how to save at least 75% at the grocery store each and every time I went.  I would talk to my friends about my huge savings, they would want to learn more, and the next thing I knew, I had a small group of friends that I would email on a daily basis.  I would email them great coupon links, huge sale items at Publix or CVS or Walgreens, free samples via the mail etc etc.  The next thing I knew, my friends were becoming as addicted as I.  Saving money is EASY.  It takes a bit of work at first as you learn everything.  But, once you understand what you are doing, it will take you 60 minutes or less preparing for your grocery trip.  I had one woman say (a bit snottily I might add) that I saved so much money because I worked from home.  It was as if to say that SHE couldn’t save money because she had a full time job and she didn’t have the time, whereas I had all the time in the world.  Not true.  I spend one hour a week planning out my weekly grocery trip.  This includes cutting coupons, writing my grocery list and figuring out how much money I will have to spend.  We all have an extra hour each week.  And, to this naysayer, I wonder if she would find the value spending one hour of her time each week if she spent 50% less on each week’s grocery bills?

• Set your financial goal in baby steps.  When you first try saving money, don’t expect to save 50%.  Instead, try to save more money than you usually do.  It is all about baby steps.  Make it your goal to start using more and more coupons each time you go to the store.  My goal is to use coupons on every item I purchase besides meats and vegetables.  It’s a daunting task, but as I’ve learned how to save, I’m meeting my goal more and more often.
• Become familiar with my website.  To the right of my website I have a column which lists out Categories.  If you are looking for High Value Internet Coupons, click on the “Coupons” link.  If you are about to go to CVS and want to see what you can get for free this week, click on the “CVS” link.  It is that simple.  Email me any questions you have along the way.
• Read my Introduction to Saving blog.
• Read my Introduction to Coupons blog.
• Read my Introduction to Publix blog.
• Read my Free $5.00 Amazon Gift Cards blog.  If you are not a member of Swagbucks, what on earth is stopping you?  I have an $85.00 credit in my Amazon account thanks solely to Swagbucks.
• Subscribe to my website.  Every day, you will receive an email with an update of each and every blog I posted.  This is a great way to make sure you don’t miss out on any great deals!
• Email me with any questions you have along the way.  I would LOVE to help you save hundreds of dollars each month.
• Keep your eyes posted for upcoming couponing seminars I will be holding.  And, if you and your friends would be interested in meeting with me whether it is at your home, church, coffeeshop, etc, please let me know.

I have huge goals for this website for the year 2010.  Thanks to you, I have had thousands of hits since this website started in October.  I am in awe!  Shortly, I will have more Introduction blogs added to the collection.  I will have CVS, Walgreens, Stockpiling, Walmart, and many many more.  Eventually, I would like to expand my grocery stores beyond the Tampa Bay area as well.  I will also highlight some of the websites I use to make money.  I am also going to add a weekly, monthly and annual tally of how much money I spend on each and every grocery or drugstore purchase.  Thank you for being loyal readers and for making this website a success.  I have HUGE hopes for this website and I have HUGE hopes for you as you learn to navigate my site and save thousands of dollars!

Physical Goals

We all want to lose weight.  Every year in January, we are bombarded with commercials, magazine articles, new specials, etc reminding us that we need to lose weight and be healthier.  It doesn’t matter what size jeans we wear, what we weigh on our scales or what our Body Mass Index is, it seems that women are always looking to lose at least a few pounds.  There usually isn’t anything wrong with losing weight.  However, I think one of our problems is that we don’t necessarily want to lose weight for the right reason.  When we should be losing extra pounds to be healthier, to feel better when we go up a flight of stairs, to live longer, to prevent obesity related health problems from occurring, etc etc, we are often just trying to lose the weight so that we can attempt to look like the models we see in magazine ads.  Once you realize that you are trying to lose weight to be HEALTHY and not look like the 19 year olds on tv, the pounds will fall off.  I lost 45 pounds two years ago and it was because I made a conscious decision to feel better physically.  I was tired of the way I was treating my body with overeating and other forms self sabotage.  It wasn’t easy, but once I understood the equation of more exercise and healthier eating, the pounds began to fall off.  I LOVE goals.  So, I started my weight loss by signing up for Susan Komen’s 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer.  When I signed up, I seriously couldn’t walk 3 miles at that point without feeling sick, but I knew that with steady training and eating healthier, I would be able to train to walk 60 miles in 3 days.  Over 6 months, I trained for the walk, worked with an awesome nutritionist and lost about 30 pounds.  I completed the walk and then immediately began training for a full marathon.  I lost the last 15 pounds during this time, and have maintained my current weight for the last 18 months.  All this to say, if I could lose the weight, anyone can.  You need to evaluate your goals and most importantly, your reasoning for your goals.  Here are some awesome links of physical fitness sites you might want to go to to begin your path to physical fitness.

Susan G Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure (Walk 60 miles in 3 days and raise $2,300 to help cure breast cancer – this was an AWESOME experience.  However, raising the money was stressful.)

Susan G Komen Race for the Cure (this is a shorter walk/run – 3.1 or 6.2 miles and you don’t have to raise money – these are AWESOME races and I’ve participated in them for the past two years!)

Active.com (this site is awesome – it lists out all of your local triathlons, races, etc that you can sign up for!  I use this site to sign up for all of my races.  **Savings tip, if you find a race to walk/run, go the the race’s separate website to see if there is a mail-in registration form – it is usually cheaper to mail in versus signing up online.)

YMCA (find and join your local YMCA)

EBAY(buy a gently used elliptical or recumbent bike – my favorite brand is Precor)

Sports Authority (before you start exercising, make sure you have a good pair of sneakers – and to save $$, sign up for Sports Authority’s newsletter and they will email you coupons!)

Spiritual Goals

Everyone probably has different goals in this area.  But, for me, one of the goals/resolutions I have on a daily basis is to strive to become closer to God.  And, for me, the way to do this is to realize that God is so much more than a fairy tale figure in the sky.  I heard it said once that we need to view ourselves as more than just humans going from day to day in this world.  We are more than just moms, wives, bankers, realtors, etc etc.  We are children of God.  When I remind myself that I am a child of God, all of a sudden, my perspective on everything changes.  All of a sudden, my self esteem does not revolve around what others think of me or how I compare to the latest actresses on tv.  My perspective becomes eternal minded as I remember I was created by God for God.  And, the best way for me to learn more about this and to truly understand this is to read the Bible more.

So, if you are setting a “New Year’s Resolution” to get into the Bible more, I would encourage you to read your Bible (or purchase one if you don’t own one).  There are also many awesome websites you can go to to read the Bible for Free.  Some of my favorites are below:

One Year Bible Online (read the entire Bible in one year using this website.)

Billy Graham’s Website (this link brings you to “Steps to Peace with God”)

Crosswalk (sign up for daily devotionals to be emailed to you)

~~~Thank you again for following this website and making it successful!  I pray you have a year full of successes in every endeavor!