Well it's been exactly a year since I began my couponing journey! In an effort to improve my lifestyle by minimizing my spending and become financial stable. It's been a very interesting year adjusting my brain to think "minimal" hasn't been easy. Just consider all the things we buy in the course of a month which are so small we tend to not even remember how much we spent on them. As I look back at my past, destructive Money Mindset I am torn between the sadness of how much I've blown while I am ecstatically excited about possiblities I opened up by improving my credit and spending habits. I have come a long way and I learned that it starts with your thinking. 

  I have never considered credit important. Growing up it was not a widely discussed issue in my household either. I received my first credit card at 18 years. Once I began community college the sharks began circling my not yet formed FICO embryo. They stalked me daily via mail with promises of new outfits, tv's, shoes, jewelry, with "No interest or payments till next year!!" Oh boy!! I accepted Capital One and the rest is history!! I screwed up my credit before it ever had a chance! Not because I was given credit, because I wasn't given Knowledge of Credit. 

Today I am doing much better and I want to share with you how. I'll start by showing how I saved over $3000 on household expenses in the past year!!

  Here are a few apps and links to get you started on the road to saving and financial freedom. None are intended to get you rich but I promise if utilized efficienlty they will save you tons and even get you a few Big Fat payments per year just for doing what you already do!

MY TOPS WAY I SAVE ON EVERYTHING!!::

1.

<------CLICK THE LINK TO START SAVING NOW!

My first favorite app is Ebates! The concept is super simple. When you shop online, instead of going directly to the stores site, sign in to Ebates search engine first. Every major retail store is shoppable through Ebates so you don't miss out. Once you've found your items you make your online purchse as usualy. Except with Ebates you will be receiving a generous 3-10% cash back via your paypal every quarter!! Who doesn't want to get a refund?! 

2.

RECEIPT HOG

This app is extremely simple to use! Download the Receipt Hog app onto your cell phone. Scan your purchase receipts as old as 14 days and get receive coins for your purchases. These coins quickly add up and are redeemable for cash via your Paypal or Amazon account! Free money to use as you please. Don't forget to collect your friends and neighbors receipts and scan them as well for even more free cash. I even pick receipts up in the parking lots!! It's that easy to earn cash with Receipt Hog!

3.   

SHOPKICK ----------> http://get.shopkick.com/delaware36743

My next favorite app is Shopkick!! I love this app because it's so easy to earn free money while spending absolutely nothing! Download the ShopKick app to your phone, walk into stores and automatically receive shopkicks(points) just for being inside the store!! How easy is that!! The points add up rather quickly and are redeemable for giftcards for over 30 stores including Target, Macy's & Walmart. The gift cards are immediately redeemabale from your phone as soon as you have enough points! 

4.

Home Chef----->  https://www.homechef.com/invite/wGbGoCK6p2Ba

 If your like me you love to try new foods and eat out qutie a bit because of it! I love trying new recipes as well but the ingredients can be a bit costly, and rarely used. So i decided to give Home Chef a try! I love it! With Home Chef you can order full meals for your family and they will send you a complete package with EVERY INGREDIENT you need! Its awesome because the variety of meals is astounding: Mexican, Spanish, Italian you name it! I' ve been able to cook with ingredients i've never even knew existed. And it's all organic, GMO free!!  The meals are great for those who struggle with portion control as well. The best part is when you use the link above you receive $40 off your first order! I paid around $5 per meal and it was absolutely delicious!! 

   Our temperament, plus our experiences, equals our personality. There are many different varieties of personalities in a society.Some people are easy going, while others are irate.  A person?s personality is closely related to their developmental care, physical growth, and even their social interface. There are eight theories which have been adapted to explain developmental growth.

  The Developmentally Appropriate Practices Theory, or D.A.P., is one develop mental theory. This theory is based on the fact that children learn best when highly motivated, and interested in the material they are learning. It emphasizes individual needs and differences, and caters to the child accordingly to the level of development they are on, not the level that every other child in that age group is at. This theory encourages caregivers to treat every child as a unique person, and be aware of the child holistically. The basis of this theory is that for learning to be most favorable it must be rewarding, real, and have a good foundation.

  Another developmental theory is the Psychodynamic theory. This theory was, adapted by Sigmund Freud, and Erik Erikson. Freud alleged that human beings have three motivating drives: sex, survival, and destruction. Erik Erikson believed culture widely influenced behaviors, thus affecting emotions, and learning.  He classified life into stages of development and their opposites: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame & doubt, Initiative vs. guilt, and industry vs. inferiority. He believed that if you were nurtured correctly you developed the more positive traits, and if you were not given a good, loving foundation, you developed the less positive traits.

 "It is human to have a long childhood; it is civilized to have an even longer childhood. Long childhood makes a technical and mental virtuoso out of man, but it also leaves a life-long residue of emotional immaturity in him."?Erik Homburger Erikson (1902-1994)

  The Behaviorist Theory, adapted by Watson,Pavlov, Skinner, and Thorndike, stresses behavior modification. They believed that all behavior can be changed with the proper stimulus.  Pavlov conducted an experiment to back this theory. He showed how dogs when presented with a bell, and dog food for stimulus could cause the reaction of salivating in dogs, even after the food was no longer presented. He believed that there is no behavior that cannot be modified.

  Piaget's Cognitive Theory was built around thinking, and reasoning. He believed that logic in humans was constructed in three stages: sensory motor, preoperational, and concrete operational stage. He stated that in the sensory motor stage, from birth to age two, you learned through your senses; touch, taste, etc. In the preoperational stage you acquired new knowledge with very little, or no logic on how to use it. In the concrete operational stage he believed you also gained knowledge. Unlike the preoperational stage, Piaget thought that in the concrete stage you are more aware of how to use the knowledge acquired. Piaget considered development to bean ongoing, cumulative process of learning, and integration.

  Vygotsky's Socio-Cultural Theory emphasizes the importance of social interactions. He believed children learned the most from the people who they interacted with the most. His theory relates tradition with development. He believed that we alllearn from the person who raises us, and they learned from the one before them,and so on.

  The multiple intelligence theory alleged that all persons have at least one developmental strength. Gardner broke down developmental strengths into eight categories: Logical/mathematical, music/rhythm, spatial/visual, bodily/kinesthetic, Interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and linguistic. He believed that all human being developed a strength in one, or more of these categories.

  Gessel believed that maturation is physical, and mental process, determined mainly by heredity. He believed that all children developed the same, and went through the same process. However, he thought that they reached different developmental stages at different ages. He also believed that growth was not even among allchildren. This theory is called the Maturation Theory.

  The Humanist Theory was adapted by Maslow.Maslow believed that human growth could not occur without certain basic needs. He thought that learning was impossible until your basic needs are fulfilled. He constructed the hierarchy of needs based on this theory. Maslow stated that your needs included physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem. When all these needs are met, only then can you have the most important need, self actualizing. Maslow approached human growth with a holistic awareness.

   While some of these theories differ drastically, they all point to one similar indication; development is indeed a process which takes time. Some develop rapidly, while others require more time, and nurturing.

  Did you know the human brain is known as the "use it, or loose it" organ?  It's true. Studies have shown that infants who are not provided with an active, stimulating environment do not display proper brain growth.

  All healthy human brains consist of two hemispheres. The left side focuses on detail, and the right side focuses on the broader aspects of life. Most men are dominated by their left brain. Most  women are dominated by their right brain.  The brain also has four lobes: occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal.  Surprisingly, only the temporal lobe is functional in utero.   This section of the brain allows fetuses to hear, and recognize voices.  It also controls posture, and balance as we develop.  Our prefrontal cortex, which controls our judgment,  planning, and consequence awareness, does not fully develop until nearly age 18, sometimes longer depending on the individual.  Your brain is made up of 100 million neurons, or brain cells at birth. This is all the neurons you will ever get, and they do not replenish!  These nerve cells communicate with each other so that your brain can send signals to your body parts.

   It is important to understand that all brains are uniquely different,  this is the reason that all people perceive things differently in life.  For instance, I may observe  a zebra and see white with black stripes.  Someone else may see black with white stripes.  Your life experiences will determine your brain development, and how you perceive the world around you.  Children who experience ongoing stress, in or out of the womb, will eventually develop learning disabilities 100% of the time. 

  Children's brains grow very quickly between ages birth to five years old. This is a crucial learning time for children.  As adults, and caregivers we can influence children's growth by giving them a sense of consistency, safety.  Also by caring, talking, reading to them, and encouraging safe exploration, and play. What a child learns in the first five years can shape their characteristics, personalities,  and intelligence for life!