Regroup & Refocus for 2012~Take the Savings pledge!

Ok everyone……holidays are over (mostly) so it’s time to regroup and refocus. Let’s make 2012 a great financial year for all of us. On your to-do list for this week, look at your household budget and take the Savings.com Savings Pledge. While I’ve exercised a lot of restraint the past few weeks, and haven’t nearly spent what I would have liked to have spent…….I still did quite a bit of unnecessary spending. I need to discipline myself, refocus, and remind myself to get back on board with this.

What’s your goal? What are you saving for?

So proud to be a DealPro~here’s why!

Earlier this year I was picked by Savings.com to be a DealPro-and it felt like an honor then and it still does today. Maybe you’ve seen the button on the blog, or have read me reference it a few times and were wondering what  DealPro is. Luckily, Savings put together this cool video that sums it up. For the DealPros, it’s not just about blogging–we genuinely care about our readers and enjoy sharing our tips. Pssst-if you’re wondering which one is me, I don’t talk on this video, but I am wearing a navy & white striped scarf.

 

 

 

 

Hopelessly Suburban prepares for NYC blog conference

Due to some promotions and contests I’ve been participating in, I have many new followers and readers. Welcome! Occasionally I do a “Hopelessly Suburban” post, because after living in the suburbs for a few decades and being a mom, I’ve fallen into a rut. My goal is to lose my “Hopelessly Suburban” status and become more cultured and sophisticated, and step out of my comfort zone.

Early in the summer, I was chosen by Savings.com to be one of their 2011 Deal Pros. One of the perks of this honor is that I get to go to a 3-day conference next week in……..New York City! The most un-suburban place in the country!

Ok, so first of all, let me say that I am not so hopeless that I just fell off the turnip truck;  I have in fact been to NYC on many occasions. But even in visiting NYC, I have my comfort zones. I can safely and comfortably navigate my way from the bus or train station to Times Square, buy some show tickets and so on. And, on most occasions, I have been with someone else, so the experience wasn’t that scary. The exception was that for several years, I’d go to the Westminster Dog Show every year by myself. But that’s easy, I mean, the train practically drops you off in the lobby of Madison Square Garden.

Make sure you follow all of my adventures next week!

So far, this is what I am anxious about–how am I going to get there? I can take the train, which I have done many times the difference being that this time I’d have luggage including my laptop. The other option is that I drive, but gah! Driving into NYC! By myself?!?! I don’t think so. I’m going to make train reservations tomorrow. And then my only anxious moments will be packing and trying to reduce the amount of stuff that I take and then getting from Penn Station to the hotel.

As I’m preparing for the week, I’ve just come to a level of acceptance as far as my clothing. I have nice clothing but am just accepting the fact that none of it is high-fashion or NYC sophisticated. One email I received did call for “comfortable shoes” which leaves me wondering if my New Balance hiking shoes will be appropriate after all.

Make sure you stay tuned for all of the cool activities and giveaways going on as the event gets underway!

Savings Pledge update

A few weeks ago, Savings.com named me one of their 2011 Deal Pros! Exciting, huh? Well, for a coupon nerd like me, it is. We kicked off this honor by encouraging all of our readers and followers to take the Savings Pledge. I pledged to save $100 a week. So far, not doing so great, but I am on the right track.

We are now almost three weeks into the pledge, but it’s not too late to join. All together, we’ve encouraged over 1400 of our readers, followers, and members to pledge to save $4,480,734! There’s a button on this blog and a tab on the Facebook page if you want to join us. I’d love to see us grow those numbers! Continue to stay tuned for weekly updates as well as ideas and tips to help you reach your savings goal.

Here are some tips to get you started. It’s a post from a few weeks ago–10 Tips on Finding Hidden Money.

Happy Savings!