Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter!  We had a really lovely day.  I had to work, but the sun finally came out and it was a beautiful day! 

NOW, be sure to check out those AFTER EASTER CLEARANCE DEALS!!!!  All the stores are having deals right now, to clear out thier easter stock.  Go and get your stuff for next year at 50% off.  You can get an egg dying kit,  toys or treats for next years baskets (don't get chocolate that will melt, or anything that will get stale)  toys, and decor at half off!!!   

Hurry! don't wait too long because alot of it will disappear.  They will  cut the discount to 75% and 90%, but by then, there may not be much left. 

Tips for the online shopper

Today I'm letting my friend Michele take the reins. She does a great job at shopping online so I asked her to go ahead and put something together for a guest blog post. Please comment and let her know you liked it. Enjoy!!!

Hello. Let me introduce myself. My name is Michele and I've been friends with Melissa ever since our sons were 3 years old. During that time I've been incredibly inspired by Melissa to learn about couponing in order to save on my once ridiculous grocery bill. Up until January of this year I was easily spending over $220 a week for a family of four. This seemed absurdly high and after talking to Melissa and reading her blog I realized how I could save money. (Couponing, doubling coupons, shopping the sales etc). I have saved approximately $380.00 a month since then by using Melissa's methods. This is significant!

In talking to Melissa almost daily I told her that she may be the queen of coupons but I have a serious knack for shopping online and finding online promotions, free shipping, stacking coupons and other wonderful things. She suggested I be her guest blogger so I could share how to find great bargains online and never pay full price.

The first thing I would suggest to you is to set up a 'spam' email account. This is an account where you can register for coupons, newsletters, and emails and not have to worry about if other spam comes your way. It's sort of your junk email account but you can still manage it. I use Yahoo and I'm able to filter out a lot of the other junk that ends up in there.

The main thing I buy online these days are children's clothes. I get emails from Carters, Osh Kosh, Gymboree and Lands End among others. These inform me of upcoming sales and Carters and Osh Kosh typically email me 20% coupons several times a year. Once I have these coupons is when I'll start surfing their websites for the sales. I just got a Lands End Bomber Coat from $65 for $19. I also got another jacket from $45 to $12. By shopping the sales and clearance with coupons just like Melissa does with grocery shopping, you can save a mint.

But what happens if you don't have an online coupon or promotion code? Simply surf the net for one. (Note of caution - be careful what sites you click on. Yahoo's browser tells me what sites are safe before I click on the link.) The following sites are legit and are where I find the majority of my promotional coupons:


http://www.couponcabin.com

http://www.retailmenot.com/ (Just featured in a Consumer Reports type magazine as a great web site for coupon codes)

http://www.couponmountain.com/


http://www.couponalbum.com/

You can also search for things like "Kohls Coupon" and see what comes up. My rule of thumb would be, if you don't find what you are looking for on the first page of your web search, it doesn't exist at this time. The further you go into your search pages, the more junk sites you'll find.

The best way to get an online deal is to meet their free shipping requirement. Amazon, I'd have to say, is the best for this. I do about 85% of my Christmas shopping through Amazon. When you surf Amazon for let's say "Blue sandals size 9" make sure you check off the "Free Super Savings Shipping" option on the middle left of the page in your search options. This will bring up all the items that will ship for free if you reach $25.00. By combining items you'll save tremendously.

I was in Target the other day with a book in my hand, it said "buy 2, get 1 free". I almost did it. Instead I came home and found the same book for $6.00 that Target had for $14.00. My son wants this Thomas the Train DVD for Easter. I found that too for about $3.00 less than Walmart and ordered that. Plus you don't pay state sales tax which between the Free Super Shipping Savings, their low prices and no tax makes Amazon the place to beat. You will be hard pressed to find prices lower than Amazon on pretty much anything from toys, shoes, books to household goods. Books are cheaper here than Waldenbooks, Borders and Barnes and Noble - up to about $3.00 at least. I use Amazon as a price comparison constantly when shopping online, also. If I can get it cheaper than Amazon, it's a GREAT deal.

Now a word on why Kohl's is not the big deal maker they promote themselves to be. Yes, I shop Kohls, yes I have a credit card and yes I love their 30% off coupon. However, they are famous for having ALL their stock ALWAYS 50% off, 65% off, buy one get one half price. Their shirts are listed for $44. But lo and behold how lucky are you because the day you happen to be in the store that shirt is now only $20 (normally priced!). Don't get sucked into Kohl's marketing ploy. Shop wisely and pay off your card quickly as their interest rates are crazy - even if you do have great credit. Also, watch out for their big "All toys 50% off" sales.

At Christmas I was happy to see this and got online to see what I could find. I found the Batman Imaginext toy on sale from $79 to $39.50 Wow.. that's a great price! Right? WRONG. I got that same item, regularly priced, at Toys R Us 6 months previously for somewhere around $35-$39. When I went to Amazon I saw that that toy was NEVER listed for $78 anywhere. Toys R Us same thing - they had it for the REAL price which was $39. Kohls jacked up the price of their toys and then told you there was 50% off to get you in there but the price of the toys was then regularly priced after that. Truthfully I think they should be reported to the CT Attorney General for this kind of practice - but that's another story! Again - ALWAYS do your homework on the item first to determine if it really is a great deal. Kohl's is sneaky so pay attention. Plus - remember anything over $25 ships free from Amazon..so if it's cheaper there - go for it!

The second worse place to shop online is Sears. They just revamped their website and when you search for items you come up with 1,595 of them. Whoa! Sears has that many washing machines? Answer is no they don't. They are featuring products FROM OTHER WEB SITES on their main search. Be very careful about this. If you are expecting a great warranty from Sears you want to do a store pick up, or want to use their credit cards, you have to make sure you actually BOUGHT it from Sears. You can select at the top to "Search Sears only" but I still find the site cumbersome, the deals aren't great and it's my least favorite place to even look for deals.

Back to a couple of fun sites: www.slickdeals.com and www.woot.com. Slick Deals users post where to find some of the day's best deals. That's how I found out about Lands Ends clearance sale and the code to take an additional 20% off. Some of the deals are 'lightening deals' and you'll see a little flame next to it. This means hop on it fast because it won't last. I check this site several times a day. You never know what will turn up.

Woot is a web site that posts one daily deal at a reduced price. You do have to sign up to be a member in order to purchase anything. I got a handheld steam cleaner machine for half off what it was in Target. Deals ship for a flat rate of $5. They also have 'sister sites' of Wine Woot and Kids Woot. However, the BIG however, is always double check prices against Amazon, Best Buy etc on anything electronic. Sometimes you can get a new item, not refurbished for only a few bucks more with a better warranty. Not all the 'deals' on Woot are fantastic deals. Several times a month they have a "Woot Off" where they sell a bunch of items, one at a time, until they sell out. That's always fun to see what they are offering next. Don't be hasty on Woot though, compare notes, read reviews and make sure you are getting what you think and it's the latest and greatest model, has company warranties, etc.

Famous Footwear is another great place for great online shoe bargains, as is DSW. I was able to stack several coupons at DSW, plus my rewards points, plus free shipping code and I got two pairs of shoes that would have cost me $229 for $45 shipped. Shoes I wouldn't have bought otherwise because they were ridiculously expensive. At Famous Footwear I got the buy one get one 1/2 off and was able to stack a 20% coupon I found online and $5 off. THESE are the types of deals that you can only do online because you wouldn't have the printed coupons at hand. Sign up for DSW Rewards online and you'll be notified of sales and start earning points towards credit off. Same as Famous Footwear.

Not every place will let you stack the coupons. Sometimes you have to opt for free shipping vs. 20% off. Just do the math and figure out what coupon gets you the best deal. Always aim to reach the free shipping limit when possible. Land's End was just offering free shipping, no minimum. That's awesome! If you use a 20% coupon there on clearance, you made out!

A note on shipping charges. No one wants to pay shipping charges. It seems like a frivolous waste of my money to do so. BUT, with the gas prices being the way they are, with the big mall being 35 minutes from me, Carters is 50 minutes away, with my truck getting 16mpg, sometimes it DOES make sense to ship your item and you DO save money. What I save on time and gas and aggravation to drag my 3 yr old to every store is worth it for a $6 shipping fee. It would cost me more in gas to get there at almost $4 a gallon. Weigh it out and you may find that some of the shipping fees are quite worth it! Some sites will also do a free ship to store option for you. That is definitely worth it if you find great online promotional codes that you wouldn't have been able to use in store.

Which brings me in summary to: When you order online always double check the return policy. Some places will offer free return shipping. Some places will allow you to return items to the store like Gymboree and JC Penney. Also know, just FYI, that Gymboree, Osh Kosh, Old Navy and Carter's clothes tend to run big for kids sized 4 and up. I've had to return a few things here and there and exchange for the size smaller even though their measuring chart read correctly.

I hope these ideas help you to shop online and find bargains. I can honestly say I never pay full price when I shop online and always find a promotional code to reduce my purchase! Good luck!

Thanks Michele!!

Stacking coupons at Target

This is a tutorial post as I've had a few folks tell me lately they didn't know you could do this.  Yes, you can use 2 coupons for the same item at Target!


In fact, you can do this at pretty much any store, as long as 1 of the coupons is a Store coupon, and the other is a Manufacturer coupon.  A store coupon will say across the top 'Target Store Coupon', or whichever store.  A Manufacturer coupon will clearly say, usually across the top, 'Manufacturer coupon' next to the expiration date.  As long as you are shopping in that specific store, you can use  both coupons on 1 item.   'Stacking' coupons like this is extra savings, especially for a store that does not double coupons.   When I shop at Target, I try to stack as many coupons as possible.

Case in point, quite often Target issues thier own coupons in your sunday inserts.  I've gotten Charmin, Bounty, and Tide.  I took these coupons down to Target, combined them with my MC, and saved upwards of $2-3 per item, as opposed to just a simple $1 savings.

For the current list of printable coupons at Target.com, click HERE.   

Try it out for yourself and tell me how you do!

Shoprite, my store of stores....

I don't keep my grocery savings a secret, I  love to share it around and let everyone know where to get the good deals.  And one of my favorite places to shop is SHOPRITE!!    There aren't very many here in CT, and we are lucky enough to have one right in Norwich.  Its mostly a New Jersey based store, so their facebook page pretty much only focuses on those stores. However, there are some blogs that are mostly based on Shoprite shopping, and to those blog owners, I say THANK YOU and Hurray!!  One of my favorite blogs to follow is called Living Rich With Coupons.  

Its owned by Cindy, who is also based in NJ, but does ALOT of work helping to keep all of our grocery bills down, by telling us the best coupons to use and which deals to take advantage of.  I really enjoy her posts, and her followers are great too, picking up on the deals she missed.   I've never gotten so many free things before, or been able to take advantage of catalinas, working them to my best advantage.  Thank you Cindy!

Be sure to check out LRWC, and let me know what you think!!

Quick and Easy Dinner recipes

I just found this new blog today when I was doing a search for some easy dinner recipes.  Baseball season is starting up this week, and with Girls Scouts, Cub Scouts,  and everything else my kids have going on, dinner has be ready before I even have a chance to think about it! LOL 

Check out this site and tell me what you think! I've already found several recipes I want to try! 

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes Blog


Another blog I like when it comes to having to come up with something  quick, easy and CHEAP, is $5dollardinners. Each recipe is counted out for you so that you only spend under $5 for each one.  Try it out and tell me what you think of this one too!

How Frugal are you?

Are you as frugal as ME?? LOL  I find myself to be pretty frugal and I think I do somethings that others might find silly or a waste of time.  Tell me what you think??

*When I wash my dishes, I always microwave the sponge when I'm done.  It helps kills the germs, pluse keeps the odors away, thus making my sponges last longer.

*I save my plastic bags that holds the cereal.  There is always a good use for them somewhere.  Most of the time I use them to make my own 'shake and bake' type meals,  saves my Ziplocks.

*When I buy chicken, I ALWAYS cut them thin before I portion and freeze them.  A full portion of meat is only about 3 to 4 oz,  a full breast is usually about 6 to 7 oz.  SO I cut them and make my 5 breasts into 10,  then portion and freeze them.

* I save coffee.  When its leftover in the pot and I'm not going to drink it, I put it in a pitcher in the fridge  and either use it to water my plants or drink it for ice coffee. LOL (another tip, pour some in a ice cube tray and make coffee ice cubes  for your ice coffee! This way it doesn't get watered down)

*After supper, I take the leftover veggies, no matter how little is left, and put them in little containers then freeze them.  Once I have enough, I'll defrost them and serve a 'mixed' vegetable for supper.

*When I do my laundry, I only use 1 ounce of detergent.  You really don't need much more than this,  it still gets my clothes clean, and it still gets sudsy.  Then I toss my clothes in the dryer and only use half the dryer sheet.  A box of 40 dryer sheets is now 80.  And to be honest, you don't even NEED the dryer sheets, but I prefer them to keep the static off my clothes.  

*Everyone who knows me know I'm a coupon clipper!  But I don't buy the paper, I  get my coupons from family and friends who save thier inserts.  They are just gonna throw them out anyway, so I'll take them!  

*On the rare occassions I take my kids out for fast food like McDonald's, I don't let them get happy meals anymore.  For the most part they are okay with it, they don't even ask anymore.   We will usually order 1 Value meal, and share the drink and fries.  Then they get what they want, usually a doubler cheeseburger.  And here is another tip: Did you know that the 6pk nuggets are 2.63, BUT the 4pk is only $1?? If you order 2 4pks, its only $2 and you are still getting 2 extra nuggets!   

*I don't buy cleaning products.  I clean my house with bleach, vinegar, and Dawn dishsoap.  I will 'splurge' on Magic erasers, and Scrubbin' bubbles.  I've found  those are the BEST products for cleaning my tub and keeping it white.  And I don't buy the name brand erasers, Target and Walmart's brands work just as great and half the price.   I use them all over,  those are truly magic! LOL  Otherwise,  I use vinegar on pretty much anything to clean it,  bleach to disinfect what needs to be, and Dawn is a great grease cutter, stain remover.   Thats all you need! 

*When I pack my kids lunches, I try to use reusable stuff as much as possible.  I don't buy prepackaged or portion control items, its cheaper to buy the box of crackers or cans of fruit and portion them out myself.    I put thier sandwiches in reusable sandwich box, not a ziplock bag.  I do purchase plastic utentsils, but I wash them everyday and put them back in until they break or get lost.  I do buy juice boxes, for some reason my kids just won't drink out of those little plastic containers with the straw. And I have trouble keeping them clean and deodorized so to me its actually worth it.   My oldest prefers a 'hot' lunch to a sandwich, so if there is pasta or mac and cheese leftover from a previous nights meal, I'll heat it up and put it in a insulated container for her.

*SO how frugal are you??  Do you use some of my ideas or have any of your own you want to share with me??

Wal*mart's NEW Coupon policy

Did you know that Walmart actually has a written coupon policy?   Click HERE to see it.

Its a good idea to print it out and take it with you when you shop at Walmart.  This way when the cashier starts in with you and says "Uh we don't accept printed coupons!"  you whip it out and show her the part where it says:




Walmart accepts the following types of coupons (see guidelines below):

• Print-at-home internet coupons
  • Must be legible, have "Manufacturer Coupon" printed on them, have a valid remit address for the manufacturer, valid expiration date, and have a scannable bar code.
  
  
  
   There are some new things to be aware of now with the NEW coupon policy.  They updated and clarified.    They will now accept Catalinas from other stores, that means those awesome coupons I get from Shoprite or Target printed out at thier registers will now be useful at Walmart!  They are now allowing overages,   AND they do take SOME competitor coupons.  The rule is though, it must be for a specific amount and and specific item.     That leaves out alot of other coupons, but it's still a great change.
  
  Get familiar and print this out, stick it in your coupon binder and  Happy Couponing!

Free CoffeeMate today only

Woohoo!  I love my coffee and its even better with a little bit of liquid heaven! LOL   I'll never use milk and sugar again.  And to be honest, there are usually so many deals on coffee creamer, that I will always have it on hand.  Its not as expensive as what people might think it is, quite often I get it for free with coupons  and pay nothing.  And I'm not a snob, I will get whatever I can with coupons, doesn't matter on the brand for me.  Coffeemate, International Delights, and Bailey's are the top ones you can get free or very very cheap after coupons.  Every week, one of them are on sale at Shoprite!  You can store this, even though it says on the bottle, Do not freeze, you can freeze it.  SO If its on sale and I have the coupons, I'll buy ahead and freeze them.

There are many more uses for coffee creamer other than just flavoring your coffee, you can use it in your baking too.  Where it says to add milk, add some french Vanilla cream for a different flavor.   And some people use it in their regular cooking, use it instead of milk in your mashed potatoes.



SO check in today and get your FREE Coffeemate at 12pm EST, 9am PST, and get one of 100K coupons for a FREE bottle of Coffeemate creamer! 

Christy's home made Laundry Soap

Have you ever made your own laundry soap?  My friend Christy does.  And she posted all about it HERE. 

I think I may give this a try!  Its ultra frugal, and I love frugal! LOL

Enjoy! Have a great day!

September Grocery Totals!

Okay so I'm going to finally tally up my receipts from the rest of Sept for a final total.   Current at mid month I had spent $162.42.

Following that I had spent 48.23 at Shoprite.   I had a date night with my husband and I made sure I hit the Shoprite BEFORE the sale ended! LOL    I got a few good deals, I know he was bored, but is proud of me and how I can  bargain shop with the best of them.  This wasn't a huge savings trip, but I only spent a minimal amount for a good amount of groceries.

I did hit the gas station and buy 2 gallons of milk. That came to 5.36.

I had 2 trips to Walmart.  On one trip I spent 52.87 and on another I spent 24.45.

That brings my total for these 4 receipts$130.91

My total spent on ONLY Groceries  is  $293.33.

Not bad!!  I fed a family of 5 for less than $300 for the month of Sept!  I'm quite positive that I won't do that again for Oct, but I will try.  I may be closer to $400, but I vow to NOT spend more than that.  

Have you added up your receipts lately to see how your doing??  HOW are you doing??

Have a great day!

Grocery Budget update #1

Okay!  Remember this month I'm keeping full track of my grocery budget so I know exactly how much I spent this month.   At my last tally, I was at   $120.65 and that was last week.

Things were tight this week, I only got to go out 1 time.  I went to Shoprite and bought sale items and combines my coupons with the sale like I always do.  I managed to get Fruitables for 1.89 which is cheaper than Capri Suns.   In some of the Fruitables, they have coupons for .55 off.  This week Fruitables were marked down to 2.99, I used the .55 coupon  and they doubled it, taking $1.10 off them, for a final price of 1.89.   Thats WAY cheaper than I would have paid at Walmart!

I also got some more chicken, they had leg quarters for .69lb,  That made a great dinner this week.  I steamed/parboiled them before baking them in my oven.  I created a stock when I did that, which I saved and used to make a fantastic Chicken noodle soup.   Can you beat THAT for .69lb????

I also got a tip from the guy stocking the produce, always pick from the right.  The older stuff gets moved to the back and the left, (why would you move it BACK???)  so if you want fresh, make sure you pick from the right.   I got some baby carrots 1.50 for the 1lb bag, a cuke, a pepper and some tomatoes.  They had a sale on Shoprite Deli ham, AND Carolina honey Turkey, I got a lb of each for 2.99 per pound, took it home and froze it. 

I specifically buy the bread when I go there, its always .99 a loaf for the enriched white bread, but this week they finally raised the prices on it.  Its back up to 1.19 so I only got 3 loaves.  That is STILL cheaper than Walmart who charges 1.24 for a loaf of bread, and if they are sold out, you are stuck buying  another brand that is more than $2 a loaf.  I hate that. LOL I always make sure I buy up to 4 loaves at Shoprite, no matter what and freeze them. 

I also got Ice cream, 3 Ragu for .58 a jar after coupon,  and many other goodies.  In the end I spent 41.77. I added that to my 120.65 for a mid month total of  162.42.     Not to bad YET. 

What do you think?

Have a great day!

Shoprite Deals 9/15-9/25

I havn't checked the other blogs yet to see what else is on sale, but Holy Moly!  I already see a bunch of great deals BEFORE coupons!!!  These are deals you can NOT miss.

Here first are some NONCoupon deals.  These deals I can't find a coupon for, but you don't need one cuz they are already at a great price!

Friendly's Ice cream 1.99
Eastern White 5lb bag Potatoes .99
Cantaloupe .99 EACH (limit 2)
Yellow Onions 3lb bag .99
Bartlett pears .49lb
Philadelphia cream cheese .99 each
Chicken of the Sea Solid White Tuna .99 each
Perdue Boneless Chix Breast 1.99lb
Perdue Oven Stuffer Roaster .79
Peter Pan 3pk PB 2.99 (that's less than $1 per jar)
Gatorade or Propel .69 each (limit 4)
Shoprite Zipper sandwich bags .99
(Most of these items have limits, I didn't list all of them, you'll see them in your own flyer or on the shelf marker)

Get your Kellogg's coupon ready, HUGE Kellogg's sale.  Many items on sale for 1.99 including cereal, pop tarts, cookies, and crackers.

This weeks flyer has some GREAT Super Coupons .  This means you need to spend $15 before you can use them. Spending $15 will be easy to do based on the great deals I already posted. Once you do that, you can use the coupon and get:
Iceberg Lettuce for .49
The Perdue chix breast you already bought will now go down in price with coupon to .99lb.
Florida's Naturals OJ .99
Pepsi 2Lts products are 5 for $3!
NOTE: You will not find Super coupons IN store.  You can only find them in the circulars sent to your house, either through your sunday paper, or in any mailings you get including the circular.

 I'll update as soon as I find some great coupon matches, be ready and check back!!

Do you 'Groupon'?

By now you must have heard of Groupon.  Its collective buying power.    When you sign up for Groupon, they send you a daily deal to your inbox each day. The more people that purchase the groupons, the more likely they will send out more and better deals.  The more that buy, the higher the discounts.  If you have checked this out, this is something you need to get in on!  You never know what might come through your inbox.   Its completely FREE to join, you only pay when you purchase the groupon.

Today's deal of the day for Hartford groupon is a $10 ticket for entrance into Old Sturbridge village.  A regular ticket costs $26, so this is a savings of $16! I think you can purchase more than 1.  This is a deal that can not be missed!  Don't forget to check it out!

If you do plan on joining and purchasing this groupon, please do so through THIS LINK.  I get $10 for each person I refer that purchases their first groupon.  Once you join, get your own referrals and get $10 each time they purchase groupons as well. 

Have a great day!!

My Grocery Budget

Have you ever sat down and wondered, really wondered what you spend on groceries each month?   Do you think you could do better?  Should you spend more?   I decided to put myself to the test and see how much I spend this month and how much I actually SAVE using my coupons. 

For me, I'm a stocker upper, meaning I buy what I can for a super low price then put it away for when its needed.   So sometimes my bill is a bit on the high side, but I'm buying ahead. It evens out as sometimes I'll have a really low bill, just buying what I need because I've bought ahead previously.

I havn't had a huge shopping trip yet, but I've a few little ones.  Some I spent cash, some I used my debit card.  So here are my totals so far:

On Sept 1, I went to Better Valu and bought 2 steaks, a package of chicken drumsticks, a lb of grapes, 1 container of Hood Sour cream, and 2 packages of Bologna. My total was 17.68. I didn't use any coupons.

On Sept 6, I went to Walmart and bought several items I needed.  My total there for 8 items was 15.58. I didn't use any coupons on this trip either.

Yesterday, I did my weekly shopping, I went to Shoprite.  I had a bunch of coupons, some really great ones that got me a bunch of items for less than $1.  Love those! I usually only shop sale items too, you'll find that when you do that, alot of the items you need are cheaper than Walmart! For instance, Shoprite has loaves of enriched white bread for .99!  Yesterday, they were on sale for .88.  Thier 'regular' price  for certain items is better than those big box stores, and its worth the trip!  SO I spent $52 there (I don't have my reciept in front of me), and I think I save around $45 with coupons and store sales.

Finally, I popped into Walmart to get a few items I needed there.  I got lunch meat, yogurt, cat food, litter, and a few other items, my total there was 35.39.  I saved .50 with one coupon.

So far my total spent for the month of Sept is  $120.65.  I am on the 10th day of Sept, I've got 3 more weeks to go.  How much do you think I will spend for the month?? How much do you think I can save???
Let me know what you think!

Have a great day!

Check Shoprite this week for some great cereal deals!

This week shoprite has select General Mills cereals for 1.99.

Cinnamon toast crunch
Reece Puffs
Apple cinnamon or Honey Nut Cheerios
Cocoa Puffs or combos

Print these coupons for .55 and after doubling, the coupon value is 1.10, making your cereal .89!

This one let me print 2 Bricks coupons for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, click HERE.

Get .55 off Reece's Puffs (before doubling) HERE


This one might help too:Save $1/2 GM cereals

So GO stock up on cereal today! 

Enjoy! Have a great day!

Ebay

Its time! 

I am finally listing some things on eBay.  My husband expects me to get a 'real job' next month once all 3 kids are in school full time, I really don't want to.  I'm hoping that I can make some money this way, and possibly, if this goes well, sell for others too.   Back 'in the day', I used to be a very avid eBay buyer and seller, I have gotten out of that quite a bit and literally haven't used eBay in over a year. 

I've been trying to get my basement cleaned out, and realize I'm sitting on SO much money down there with my children's outgrown clothes.  they are taking up SO much room, and its ridiculous  that they are just sitting there with no use.  If I sold them and got them out of here, its a win-win.  I've just got to do it.

I spent yesterday taking pictures, and uploading  so now I'm looking forward to spending today getting everything listed and launched.  Here's hoping to big sales and lots of money! My seller name is Sugar*Spice*puppydogtail so look for me.  I have 100% positive feedback,  and do my best to make sure everything is accurately described.   If you are looking for something specific, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Have a great day, and Happy Ebaying!!

FREE Backpacks at Staples

Don't miss out on this deal this week! 



Staples  has backpacks on sale this week.  After you fill out the rebate form and send it in, they will give the cost of the backpack BACK to you in the form of a Staples Gift Card.  That's basically FREE.  Hurry up and get this deal!!  THIS week only!  You can order online, by phone, or in store, but hurry!! 

Celebrating Sunday

I love Sundays.

Today is 'my' day off.  My oldest daughter spent the night at her friend's house, and my other 2 went off with Daddy today to go swimming.  I'm sitting here in my air conditioned house, drinking my coffee, enjoying the peace and quiet, and just relaxing.   I spent so much time being Mom, this was a hard week for me, and I found myself wishing for school to start, then feeling guilty because I should be enjoying my time with my kids.  All year long we rush rush rush, and spend no time together, summer is supposed to be our time to reconnect, and I spend most of it yelling at them to stop fighting and to pick up after themselves.

SO here I sit, I'm not going to clean up after anyone, I'm not cooking, I'm not breaking up fights, I watching the Teen Mom marathon on MTV, without lame comments from my husband.   I'm not spending money, I'm not eating, (except for my Yoplait delights Caramel yogurt and coffee).   I got my paper, but havn't gone through my coupons yet.     I'm hoping to get a bit of time this day to make up my shopping list and go out early this week.   This is so much easier to do without everyone clamoring for my attention. 

Enjoy your Sunday and have a great day!

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Have you ever been really broke?

This is an old post over at Mommysavers.com, but its just as relevant today as ever.

Have you ever been flat out broke?

It really makes you stop and think to a time when you were really truly broke.  When was that time for you?  For me, I have to stop and think.  I'd like to say its now,  but I think broke can be a whole bunch of different ways. When we were first married,  we were broke,  neither of us understood frugality, or the importance of saving, so we didn't.  We found out quickly that there was no way we were gonna survive that way. 

About 1 year and a half into our marriage, my husband lost his job,   and we were living off credit cards, among other things. I worked, but it certainly wasn't enough to pay our rent.  Looking back now and knowing what I know now, I wish I had done things so much differently.  I remember thinking it just couldn't get any worse, how could it?  Eventually, my husband found a job, and our first daughter was born.  I took a better paying job and we bought our house.  Things were looking so bright.

Fast Forward to today.  I can't work due to the fact that I have 3 children that need me at home right now.  My husband works hard and long hours, putting up with so much, and we do pay the bills each month, but there are usually some things that we have to sacrifice paying to get by for the month. This month its the dentist bill.  Next month I'm praying the oil bill will be all set.   Its a never ending cycle, and I sit and stress, wondering, can this get any worse?  I feel like I get creative with the bill paying,  I clip coupons, I do free stuff with my kids, but how much more can I do??  Frugal fatigue at its heart, especially  when you feel like there is no return on the investment of all the hours I spend being a frugal person.

But I know in the long run, we aren't broke.  We still have our house, we still have food in our pantry and fridge, and we still have each other.  I have to remind myself of this sometimes, even during my darkest days.  Is anyone really truly broke??  When it comes to money, maybe.  But with everything, we have to evaluate and put it all in perspective and understand why we are broke, and how to fix the broke.  

So have you ever been flat out broke?  How do YOU fix it?