2009 – oh, what a year it was!  The year just gone by will forever be remembered in the Jones house as the year of change…big, ginormously big, dramatic, life-altering (sometimes excruciatingly so), mind-bending CHANGE!!  Of course, you are reading this blog so there is a 99.9% chance that you know the reason for all of this…hmm, what is another word for change…how about this:  ADAPTATION. Obviously, the Fab Five had an impact on our family that will never be undone, which is a really, really awesome part of the change that has happened in our lives.  But what I do not refer to very often on the blog, but has no doubt been a very active participant in the remaking of the Jones family dynamic, is the financial side of our world since, well, January…2009.  Like I said, oh what a year it has been!

I won’t go into details, but I am sure you can imagine the enormity of the impact that bringing five babies into your world can have on the bank account.  Couple that with The Great Recession we have all endured the past 18+ months and you have one heck of an ADAPTATION in the battle to balance the budget!  (You like that…adaptation?  I’m a walking thesaurus ;-)) I know that we are, unfortunately, in very crowded company where the money pinch is concerned so I put together a collection of tips, tricks, and little known freebies that will help us all with that wonderful TRANSITION into the brave, new world of pinching those pretty, under-appreciated pennies (hmm…I think I like adaptation better, but transition is probably more accurate).

For example, did you know that Wal-Mart gives away stuff…for free…all the time?  I had no idea…until now!  Music, product samples, and all kinds of free software tools to help you manage your diet, your days, and your dollars are all offered for, as my Spanish-speaking friends would say, “gratis…por nada!”  (That means free for all you gringos out there.)  Did you know that they also have a whole website dedicated to clearance items and also an online auction site similar to Craigs List and Ebay where you can save major bucks on the things you need every day?  Pretty awesome stuff!  But the list isn’t just all about products; there is also an article with 50 different money saving tips, another site that lists Amazon’s coupon codes for the month of January, and a site that offers free budget software and budgeting tips to help you corral the cash in times of…REVOLUTION (oooh, I like that one…sounds so stickin’-it-to-the-man~ish!).

So play around with the widget I’ve loaded at the top of the page and START SAVING TODAY!!  That’s how the commercials say it, right?  Check out the lists and, most importantly, give me your feedback! Give the individual items, lists, etc. a thumbs up or thumbs down, suggest your own items, leave comments…interact in any way that will benefit the members of the JonesLife community!  I am pretty certain that most of us reading this blog have had to do some major belt-tightening this past year so let’s help each other out by sharing your own stories of how you’ve been able to ride the waves of CHANGE to a brighter, happier day!!