"Money, it's a gas"

I am going to keep this short because I have my big, bi-weekly shopping trip tomorrow morning, and I have coupons to clip and lists to write. I am a nerd. But a happy one. And I feel like I haven't written anything in a while. So this will sort of be a (hopefully) brief catch-all of the goings-on around here of late.

Today I got Gain fabric softener for free with coupons. My first totally free-after-coupons purchase. A nerd milestone. What made it feel even more awesome was that the cashier kid was impressed. He kept looking at the screen then down at the coupon and back again, and said, "That's crazy!" (He was using a voice full of awe and wonder and was not making fun of me, I assure you of this). Me with my one item and my one coupon. It was a moment. (I was disappointed to learn that I still had to pay sales tax for a $0 transaction. So technically I paid 20 cents for my free item. Stupid taxes.)

We got our tax refund money, but more than half of it ended up being garnished to pay off Timm's student loans (well, I'm hoping they are now paid off. He'll have to call the loan company to be sure). So it's a blessing and a curse. We will hopefully still have enough to pay for the things that need to be taken care of and still have a little left over to save. We were hoping to put a lot more into savings, but it's a relief to know that a small chunk of our massive student loans are off our plate.

Money. It seems like I've been dealing with a lot of money stuff lately. I am a stay-at-home mom, but I am becoming a full time money management specialist (at least in this house).

My coupons are calling...