Happy New Year!

A Glimpse of What's to Come
Happy New Year!  I hope that you all had a great 2010 and are excited to start 2011.  As you may have noticed, I am big on setting goals.  Here are a few of my goals for this blog in 2011.

1. Continue to share my favorite coupon and store deals.
     I apologize that I do not always post about the most recent store deals.  I do post about my favorite deals and great sales, but great deals often depend on individual needs.  In order to better help you find the best deals on the groceries you need, I have added a Store Deals tab on the top of my blog.  On this page I have links to my most recent favorite deals for that store along with a link to a complete list of store deals.  The complete list of store deals will direct you to another blog that consistently updates deals for those stores.   

2.  Share more simple, inexpensive craft ideas.
     I love crafts.  I plan to spend more time crafting and posting about my simple, inexpensive craft ideas and do it yourself projects.  I will also be sharing my sewing adventures as I learn to use my new sewing machine.

3.  Share my experience as I try to be more efficient in the home.
     This year I will be making the transition from working out of the home to being a stay at home (hopefully work at home) mom.  My goal is to learn to be more efficient in the home.  Here are a few of the topics I plan to explore:

• Freezer Cooking- I have done some freezer cooking in the past, but I want to try more recipes.  I  usually freeze one or two meals at a time.  I want to work up to freezing 15-20 meals in one day.
• Time Organizing Ideas- It is easy for me to get side tracked on an exciting project and not complete my basic chores for the day.  I will be sharing my experience as I try some time organization techniques.  I hope to learn ways to be more efficient with my time.
• Coupon Organizing- I currently have a coupon binder, but I am not great at keeping it organized.  This year I am going to experiment with other ways of organizing coupons.  My goal is to find the simplest organizing technique that works for me.  I will let you know which methods I try and what I decide.

4.  Continue to share my financial goals, and budgeting techniques.
    A big part of frugal living is learning to handle money wisely.  I will continue to share our financial goals and progress, grocery budget progress, and my budgeting experience and tips.  As I share my experience, I hope you are encouraged to make and stick to your budget and financial goals.

If you have any suggestions or things that you would like to see on The Coupon Basics in 2011, simply send me an email at thecouponbasics@gmail.com.  I would love to hear your input and suggestions.

The purpose of this blog is to motivate myself to reach my goals and learn new things while inspiring others to set and reach goals in finances and in the home.  Join me on my journey as I explore ways to make frugal living a lifestyle in 2011.