Ummm Excuse Me...I Asked for Medium Well!

My mother says I am a serial complainer. Well I am...sort of. But I have some making up to do because for years I left so much unsaid.

I am talking bad food, bad service, the wrong order, a long wait, the wrong change...I could on and on. I cannot tell you how many restaurants and fast food chains I have dined at, and had bad food or service. I can be picky. I like my chicken sandwich a certain way. No one ever seems to listen. 9 times out of 10, my chicken sandwich is wrong. Now if I am paying $5 to $10 bucks for a darn chicken sandwich; well I expect it to be right. But when it wasn't, yes I sent it back. Or sometimes if I went to the drive thru, I'd get home and be all pissed. But mostly I was mute. Sure, I moaned and groaned to whoever was within hearing range. Just didn't take the next step.

Here's a little secret. Restaurants want your feedback. And managers want to please us. They want us to come back. Almost every restauant across the country has a website. So go on it some time, dolls. It is amazing what we've been missing out on.

First, if you have a complaint...then let them know. Most websites have a link at the bottom titled "Contact Us." Use this link to let the restaurant know what they did wrong. Always do this. I have complained about a meal I had 3 weeks ago. Now you don't want to push it. Only issue a complaint for a recent purchase (say the last month or so) and make sure the complain is legiment. If you are complaining just to get a free meal, then you are stealing. And you are giving that restaurant an unfair rep.

So if you have a real complaint or concern, let them know. It can pay off big. In the last year, I have issued complaints to a handful of restaurants.

McDonalds - My chicken sandwich was wrong. I complained. Received $5 in McDonald's bucks in the mail.

Wendys - I went there late. Hey they were open. Maybe they shouldn't have been. The fries were cold and nasty. My sandwich was as tough as a brick. I complained. Received 2 coupons in the mail, each for a free combo.

Outback - My favorite place in the world, let me tell you. Usually really good service. But a few times I got carryout, my steak was not cooked correctly. One time I got no bread (I LOVE THEIR BREAD) and on occasion my mushrooms were cold (Just ewe.) So one night when my order was not up to par, I finally complained. I received an apology email from the local manager, and a gift certificate in the mail worth $45 bucks.

Pizza Hut - It was wing Wednesday, and we wanted some wings. I placed the order online and was given an estimated wait of 1 hr for delivery. An hour later I called to check the status. The guy told me it was on it's way and then hung up on me. A half an hour later, I called back and asked for the manger. My $20 order went down to $11 bucks. And my pizza and wings finally arrived another 15 mins later. Apparently wing Wednesday is a popular night.

So...this is about standing up for yourself as a consumer. I have probably spent a small fortune at McDonald's throughout the years. So if my order is wrong, I feel I deserve a complimentary meal on them. And most restaurants feel that way too. They messed up, and they want to make it right. I will say that holds true for most places. But there are exceptions. I have issued complaints to Popeyes and Starbucks before...never heard a peep.

Now its not all about the bad. I strongly recommend you go leave the compliments too. Often you will be placed on their mailing list, and receive great coupons via email or snail mail. Plus, if a restaurant really does an awesome job...you should tell them. It helps motivate them to continue providing excellent customer service.

Let me also recommend coupons. Just last week IHop had a half page of coupons. One was buy 1 meal, get 1 free. So when a friend said she wanted to grab a bite, I suggested (drum roll please)...IHop! We got a $10 meal, got one free and split the cost of the second. I walked out paying $7 bucks for a really great meal. We both saved...so it's a win win. And who doesn't love those friends who are not interested in the coupon. I am happy to hop on their bandwagon. If they want to pay full price, by all means do so. I am going to hand my coupon right over and walk out of there paying nothing but the tip.

Now there is big talk about the site Restaurants.com. In truth, they are pretty awesome. It just rarely works for me. The restaurants listed in my area are usually ones I have never heard of or be a patron of. Some are way out of my price range, discount or not. This is definitely not the site for fast food lovers either. But, it does work for many. You can sometimes get incredible deals. But make sure they are restaurants you frequent. They should be ones you enjoy and can afford. Don't buy just because there is a great deal. You may get their and find out their cheapest entree is $40 bucks! So be smart about it. If you find a great deal on an unfamiliar restaurant, take a moment to research the place. Most have online menus and pricing. I check the site regularly. If a deal comes up like a $25 dollar Outback gift card for $3 bucks...well I will probably be buying 10 of them. Most never expire. So if you find the right deal for you, go for it.

People also talk a lot about Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com. Another case where you can get great deals. It all comes down to your own personal interests. You will usually get 1 email a day annoucing that day's deal. They are local deals. For Groupon, you may see a deal for 2 movie tickets for $11 bucks. If ten people take the deal, you all get the savings. Living Social has a daily deal that you can take advantage of. Usually half price massages or a dozen cupcakes half off. Sites like this tend to annoy me to be honest. I guess they are just not for me. I have maybe gotten 2 or 3 great deals from using these sites. I guess the problem is the deals are in no way tailored to me. I don't have time or interest in ballroom dancing, or expensive massages or cliff diving. I know many people do have these interests. But I find most of the deals are for people with a bit higher budget than mine. You have to judge for yourself. Sign up freee and watch your email for the next couple of weeks. Maybe you are rolling in deals and loving every minute of it. But maybe not. Either way, it doesn't really hur to get the emails. You never know when a great deal may come your way :)

For me, being on a budget felt like it would suck the fun out of life. I love to dine out. So when I can go it for free, I jump all over it. I love restaurants where kids eat free. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I can, so that being on a budget does equal zero social life. And I really want you to know you don't have to give up on eating out altogether either. Of course you  may want to cut back if you are eating out every day. But you can treat yourself and your family; and do it smartly. So hit the town sometimes. You deserve it. Just don't pay an arm and a leg to do so.

Break Down

I wish my situation was unique. But its not. The truth is too many of us live paycheck to paycheck. Bills get behind. Groceries deplete. We run our gas tanks on empty. I have more than once washed my clothes in the bathtub because I had no money to wash them elsewhere. I have taken out payday loans and sold too many things at the Pawn Shop. I have called off work because I had no gas to get there. I have written bad checks to get groceries in the house. Closed bank accounts because I was so far in the negative. I have had nights where I ate bread and butter for dinner. Cellphones turned off for weeks at a time. I was drowning.

I will be the first to admit I have not always been great with money. I budget poorly. But I am learning. I hated the fact that I would work hard all week, but could not afford to get an ice coffee every day. It was a small thing. A luxury. But I just wanted to be able to pay all my bills, fill the fridge and the tank and still be able to treat myself or my children from time to time. So maybe I could not completely change my desire to have more. But what I found was that I got more...if I did it wisely, I wouldn't be broke every week! I could make it until the next payday. I could even find that extra cash to put into savings. Because we all struggle at times, but it shouldn't be extra day. Life should be enjoyable. We work hard. Shouldn't we get some reward for it?!

So we all know there are ways to save. But too often we don't utilize them. Couponing is a big one. Now I do not claim to be an extremist. You can google extreme couponing and find a thousand sites. Some are totally easy...some more confusing than their worth. Couponing takes a lot of time, patience and effort. You will not become an expert overnight no matter what some sites may claim. You will not have a stockpile within a month. So as a real mom and a real couponer I can teach you what I know. Its on a smaller scale than the extremists. When I tried to go extreme I started lacking in other areas of my life (work and family time.) Some people can do it all. But I had to scale down my couponing and still save hundreds. Which I did. And I can teach you how to do it as well.

There is also a ton of information out there about saving money. Many sites like Groupon and Living Social. Cheap eats like Restaurants.com. I got pretty overwhelmed by all the sites out there, and the hundred emails I started getting every day if I created accounts on some sites. So... I will give you the breakdown on different savings sites. What works and which ones just waste your time.

There are ways to save every day in every way. Sound cheesy? Maybe. But so true. Once I opened my eyes, I was amazed at the ways to save. I realized I had spent so much time complaining and feeling down on life and money that I missed opportunity. You can get free meals at the nicest restaurants in town. Stock up on toothpaste for a year on budget of $5 bucks. You can save on electric, cable and phone. I want to help you open your eyes. To become a wise spender. To break it all down, so saving doesn't seem more overwhelming than spending!

And please share your thoughts and saving tips. I really want to reach out and help inform others; but also inform myself. I do not claim to know everything. I discover new deals and ways to save all the time. So I would love your feedback and personal saving stories.

Here are just a few saving strategies you will learn throughout this blog;

How I got a $45 dollar Outback dinner for 0 dollars

How I got my cable company to pay my bill for 2 months

How to create a coupon system and strategy

Planning a party for next to nothing

How I learned to get paid to eat out

Teach your kids to be wise spenders

The magic of craigslist

And so much more. I wish I could fill up this whole blog in one day. But I really want to build a following, and touch on real money saving issues. I want my readers to have time to dive into each blog, use the resources, master strategies and send me questions, comments or concerns.

Let me say this...life is not always easy. We all know that. I was fifteen the first time I truly fell in love. It seemed at the time all I needed was him. So after high school we moved in together. We both got jobs, and I put college plans on the back burner. I was 21 when I got pregnant with our daughter. He left me about 4 months later for some girl he had met in North Carolina. I had the baby without him. And he seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth. I couldn't find him, therefor I got no support financially from him. Back then I thought he loved me too much to ever leave. He treated me like I had hung the moon. Young love is naive. You think life belongs to you both. Can't imagine ever being apart. Now I realize the only thing he ever gave me was Makayla. And I also realized that is all I ever needed from him. All I wanted from him. 4 years later when he contacted me, I felt nothing. Such a deep nothing. Life goes on.

A few years after Makayla was born, I fell in love with a guy I had known my whole life. Our families were good friends, and we had just always crossed paths over the years. We fell pretty hard pretty fast. And oops...I got pregnant. Best oops ever let me tell you because a year later Leah came into the world. Now he and I are working on things, but unfortuntely he is not working. He just quit his job one day because he got mad. So it all falls on me again. I swear I live under London bridge and it jsut keeps falling down :)

You know, I wish I had gone back to school. I did a year of online college, but didn't finish. I will talk more about that in another entry. I know I still have the option to go back one day.

I also wish I had a better job and made a boatload of money. But in truth, I have a good job and make decent money. So let me get really personal here. I make around 35K a year. Now let me break down my bills and show you what my budget was.

Monthly:

• RENT $926.00
• DAYCARE $337.60
• CELL PHONE $30.00 (and yours can be too, more on that later)
• DANCE CLASS $45 (my daughter is in one activity now, hope to add more later)
• ELECTRIC $100
• CABLE/PHONE/INTERNET COMBO $150
• PARKING $70 (At work garage)
• AFLAC $72.36 (Strongly recommend this, more on that later too)
• DENTAL/HEALTH $75.80
• CAR NOTE $240
• TAXES $602.58 (State and federal, they come out of my paycheck. I claim only 1, so I get a bigger refund check. Not for everyone. More on this later to see what works best for you)
• GROCERIES $400.00 (Typically)
• GAS $120 (Typically)

Total $3169.34

My gross pay a month is $3190.52 

So minus my expenses and that would leave me a whopping $21.18 leftover for clothing, household supplies, diapers, a pizza delivered on a Friday night and of course my ice coffee. Doesn't work out, does it??

So I had made some changes. My old cellphone plan ran me $100 a month or more. And I gave up shopping for myself. I even gave up my ice coffee. But I still wasn't making it. So I learned how to save money in every way possible. And you can, too. Take out a pad out paper or visit http://www.budgetsimple.com/ to create a budget free. Write down your bills. Break it all down. Be realistic. Then break down your income. This includes tips, child support, grants, bonus' and so on. You need the complete picture. Now total up your expenses and your income. If the figures alarm you, you are not alone. If the reality of your finances feels like a brick on your chest...you are definitely not alone!

But here's the point. You can be poor; and let me explain how I define poor in this instance. More expenses than resources. Living paycheck to paycheck. Zero savings. Overwhelming debt. Because living this way, we are truly only a paycheck or two away from poverty. So we are poor. But with that being said...you can live richly! I promise. Just read on.