How Do You Save/Make a Little Extra Money?

I think the topic of this post is something that is on everybody's minds these days. I see this question posted on people's status update on facebook. I'm sure there are about a million blogs dedicated to this topic alone. I also know that my husband and I talk about this ALL the time! Here's the ideas that what we've come up with so far.

1). We shop at Costco and Walmart. I know, I know...Wal-Mart makes me want to tear my hair out too, but we found a Wal-Mart that is ONLY a grocery store. It actually has great produce, a lot of selection and the lines aren't very long. I feel like I'm typing an oxy-moron when I say the lines at Wal-Mart aren't very long..but it seems to be true at this store. (I think it's called The Market?..it's just a branch of Wal-Mart.)

2). I iron ALL of Joel's shirts. I hate this job. I LOATHE this task...but I guess the extra one hundred bucks a month is worth it.

3). I sell items on Craigslist. We always seem to be accumulating stuff we don't actually need...this is a great way to make a few extra bucks.

4). We try not to eat out much. It's impossible to NEVER go out to eat. One might seem a bit anti-social if they NEVER went out...but we do pack our lunches every day with PB&J.

5). We work out at home. This not only saves money, but also time. No more trips to the gym! That cuts about 40 minutes of traveling time from our day.

6). We share a car. I'll admit that sometimes this can REALLY be a pain. It really saves money though...plus we get to spend a lot of time in the car together.

7). I make my own daily shower cleaner. It's easy and it's cheap!

How do you save/earn extra money? I'd love to hear your tips. I know some people make their own laundry soap any other creative ideas out there?

my first and probably only purchase from the TV

I purchased P90X. Chances are you've heard of this home exercise regimen; their marketing efforts have been significant. I actually didn't learn of it on TV; rather, I had a friend who followed the program and lost a good amount of weight. Caron and I were thinking what money we would ultimately save by building a home gym in our garage and we really needed a change of pace. So..

We purchased some dumbells, fitness bands, a yoga mat and block, a pull-up bar, and a tv/dvd.

As an exercise physiology major in college, I recommend P90x because it is real exercise. It's not a gimmick. Each routine is hard work and there is sufficient recovery time between routines to avoid overtraining. There's a nice balance of cardio, strength training, and stretching. All of the variety in the workouts has really allowed my muscles to respond and I've made significant strength gains (I started at 2 pull ups and now can do 12).

I have 1 week of the 90 day program left and have lost 7 lbs. I've probably lost more than this, considering the muscle I've put on. And, consider that I haven't done the plyometrics, abs, core, legs, or kenpo workouts as scheduled. Basically, I've done half of P90x, with a very healthy diet (no starches after lunch) and gotten great results. I hope to get my core injury rehabilitated soon so I can add the abs and leg workouts for even better results. It's been fun to work out together on occasion and to see visible results of exercise-joel

I'm Makin' My OWN Storage

Lately, I've been reading a lot about organization. Apparently, in order to have an orderly household, one needs numerous shapes and sizes of storage bins. Easy Sneezy, Right? I thought so too..until I saw the price tags on all these nifty "life-savers." So, I decided to make my own. Now, it's not as beautiful as the ones that you may see in the gleaming pages of your newest Pottery Barn magazine, but it is MUCH prettier than using plain old cardboard boxes. Here's what I did.
1) Found an old cereal box (it was a heavy duty one from Costco).
2) Ripped apart the material from my old hamper (it was ripping anyway)
3) Had my husband fetch his staple gun
4) Wrapped the box like a present
5) Put one staple on the bottom and one on the side
6) Hot glued the rest of the sides together.
The picture above is the end result. You could always use more exciting mat'l, but this is what I had on hand. I would have tried sewing the mat'l to the box...but I don't even a needle or thread. (My mom is probably astounded by this)
So, there you go folks. I just saved myself about $15.

Probability of a Bird Pooping on You.

Today, Joel and I decided to sit outside while he enjoyed a nice cup of ice cream from Costco. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and figured he was flicking a bug off of my sleeve. BUT NO....I was wrong. A bird POOPED on my shirt. This is the SECOND time I've endured the embarrassment/disgustingness of this type of situation. I mean seriously...how is it that I've been pooped on twice by a wild bird and JOEL has NEVER been victim of the free-falling defecation of our feathered friends?
I'm just wondering if anyone knows how to figure out the probability of this happening? I tried to research it on google..but found nothing. I did learn that birds have bm's every 15 minutes. Yikes...can you imagine?? I'm glad I'm not a bird!

VA REALLY IS for LOVERS!!

I finally decided to change the name of "our" blog to "VA REALLY is for LOVERS!" I decided that this was a great name (thanks to the TX Ueckers!) Since Joel and I met here and have spent the first 2 (well, almost 2) years of our marriage together...I thought I'd reflect that in the name of our blog. Don't worry...our blogs won't ALL be about how much in love we are!

Elite Seats..

Joel thought it would be funny to take a picture of the outhouses Kalen and I had to use when we went to a Christmas activity. BELIEVE me...these were anything but ELITE!!

20 Percent? REALLY?

I just discovered that not only supposed to tip my server 20 percent, but my hair dresser and dog groomer, too?!? (I knew about the server part..just not the other two) What? That's craziness? No offense to all you dog groomers and hair dressers out there...but that seems like pure ridiculousness to me! It just doesn't seem fair that someone who fixes my hair should make as MUCH an hour if not MORE per hour as I do! I'm out there saving lives! I don't get tips?!? I pick up poo..I get it on my face...if that doesn't deserve a tip...I don't know what does!I mean seriously, a $20 tip just to get my hair highlighted seems very unfair. I'm boycotting.