Clarisse's Financial Notebook

Christmas is a Craft - Part 1

2009-11-25T19:15:00.001-08:00

*My good picture wouldn't load - bummer!*

Bath Salt Sundae
Ingredients:
- Epsom Salt ($3.29 for 4 lbs)
- Food Coloring (only a couple drops)
- Bath Puff
- Sundae Glass ($1.00 at Dollar Stores)
*or Peanut Buster Parfait cup
- Bath Beads
- Straw (if desired)

Instructions:
1. Put Epsom salts in a bowl, add a couple drops of desired food coloring and mix well.
2. Put colored bath salts in sundae glass – filling glass enough to meet bath puff.
3. Place bath puff on top.
4. If using a straw, it helps insert straw through bath puff before putting the puff on the top of the sundae.
5. Top with bath bead (if you can find them – they are hard to find).

Recycled Bookmarks

Old Chandelier Earrings
Matching 1 inch Ribbon
Hot Glue Gun

1. Remove the earring part of the chandelier earrings.
2. Thread the ribbon through the earrings (make sure the pretty side of the ribbon and the front of the earrings are facing the same way).
3. Take hot glue gun and affix earring onto the ribbon.
4. While glue is still hot, take the end that you threaded through and line it up so it creates a “seal” to hide the entire top of the earring. That end is completed (repeat for other end).
5. The beaded parts should dangle down from the bookmark.

Beaded Bookmarks

Plastic threading (sold at craft stores)
Glass beads

Simply cut the plastic threading to about 4 inches more than desired length and tie a knot in one end, making sure knot is large enough to stop beads from falling off.

String 4-5 beads (depending on size) onto threading and tie a knot to keep the beads at that end of the bookmark.

Place a knot at the desired length to keep beads from falling down the bookmark. String 4-5 beads onto threading and tie a knot to keep the beads from falling off. Cut excess threading.

Now I have NO idea how to make these at all, BUT if you can sew, they are a cute idea for kids. Each crayon has an individual pocket for it and you just roll them up. How cute is this? This is from one of the gals in my Dave Ramsey Fans group - she is so talented when it comes to sewing!

*again I have NO idea why this is sideways!!!*

Clothespin Clippies

Clothespins
Elmer’s Glue & Scissors
Scrapbooking paper & paper cutter
Self-adhesive magnetic sheets

1. Measure & cut scrapbook paper to desired length & width to fit clothespins. You can make them a little longer than needed.
2. Apply glue to clothespins and spread evenly with finger.
3. Apply paper to clothespin and press to remove any bubbles or lines.
4. Trim excess paper from clothespin.
5. Measure & cut magnetic sheet to desired length & width.
6. Apply to back of clothespin.
7. Add any embellishments, glitter, etc. as desired.

Christmas is a Craft - Part 2

2009-11-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

Snowman Candy Bars
Ingredients:
- Large Hershey Candy Bar
- Thick White Paper
- Markers (for drawing on faces)
- Fleece (6 inches by 1 yard for less than $1.00 at Hobby Lobby)
- Tacky Glue and Scissors

Instructions:
1. On the white paper, draw smiling snowman faces with a carrot nose. (you can use tiny buttons for eyes and a fabric nose if you wish to be fancier).
2. Wrap the candy bar with the white paper making sure that face is about 2 inches from top of candy bar.
3. Glue on a tall strip of fleece and allow to dry. It will look like a sleeve.
4. Once dried, take thread and wrap it around the tip of the hat to gather it together. Take scissors and cut the ends to make a pom-pom.
5. Take thin strip of fleece, cut ends and glue scarf on snowman.

*I have NO idea why the picture is sideways!!*

Sweet Treat Filled Pot Holder
Ingredients:
- Christmas Potholder ($1.00 @ Dollar Store)
- 1 Bag of Brownie Mix or Muffin Mix
- White Paper & Pen
- Needle & Thread (color to match)

1. Insert the bag of brownie or muffin mix into the potholder. You may have to shape it some to make it fit.
2. Once mix is in, make a couple stitches in the bottom to keep the brownie mix from falling out.
3. On strip of white paper write down cooking directions & affix to outside of potholder (make sure it can be removed) or insert inside potholder before sewing it up (unless using muffin mix, then just put a note that says "You're Getting Muffin for Christmas).

Hot Cocoa Cones

Disposable Decorators Piping Bag
Hot Cocoa
Marshmellows
Optional: mini chocolate chips, crushed peppermint, peanut butter chips, crushed Andes mints or peppermint pattys.
Ribbon & embellishments as desired.

Fill disposable piping bag about half full with hot cocoa mix. Add optional toppings if desired. Top with mini marshmallows.

Twist top of bag and secure with twist-tie or rubber band. Add ribbon and any embellishments as desired.

Reindeer Poop

We were awakened
When we heard Santa call,
“Now dash away, dash away,
Dash away all!”
But soon we discovered
Out in our lawn
Santa and his reindeer
Were all gone.
With our little shovels
We started to scoop,
All of the droppings,
YUCK! Reindeer poop!
But then we so generously
Filled up your sack,
Have a Merry Christmas
And enjoy your snack!!!

Directions:
2 – 7 oz. Hershey bars
1½ cubes butter
1½ pkgs. Mini marshmallows
1 lg. Box cocoa puffs
1 pkg. Skor pieces
1 cup mini baking M&M's
1 cup Angel flake coconut (optional)

In sauce pan or in glass bowl in microwave, melt Hershey bars, butter & marshmallows.
In a LARGE bowl mix together cocoa puffs, Skor pieces and coconut. When chocolate mixture is all melted, pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Add M&M’s last so they don’t all melt. Seriously, you need a HUGE bowl for this!!!
Spread out on wax paper to cool. Give as gift with poem.

Snowman Soup
When it's so cold that
you holler and whoop,
It's time to bring out
the Snowman Soup!

Pour the packet in a mug.
Add the snowballs too.
And throw in the kisses
from the snowman to you.

Now add some hot water
and use the cane to stir it.
Sip slowly and soon you'll
feel the warm winter spirit!

Directions:
Mug
Packet of Hot Cocoa Mix
10 Mini Marshmellows
3 Hershey Kisses
1 Candy Cane
1 Small Plastic Bag
Cellophane & Ribbon

1. Place hot cocoa mix in mug.
2. Put 10 mini marshmallows in small plastic bag that has “Freeze Dried Snowballs” on the outside.
3. Put 3 Hershey Kisses and 1 candy cane in the mug.
4. Wrap mug in cellophane & decorate with ribbon.
5. Add poem to complete the wrapping.

Christmas is a Craft - part 3

2009-11-25T18:44:00.001-08:00

Decorative Chip Clips

Any chip clips (can even be old ones)
Scrapbook paper
Ribbon
Embellishments
Glue (Tacky Glue or Modge Podge)

Cut scrapbook paper to fit the chip clip. Glue on paper and allow to dry.
Once dry, decorate with ribbon, embellishments, glitter, or any other items to make it more of a personalized gift.

Chocolate Dipped Spoons

Melting Chocolate (or almond bark)
Plastic Spoons
Crushed Peppermint, mini chocolate chips, etc

Melt chocolate
Dip spoon into chocolate & wiggle off extra chocolate.
Sprinkle with crushed peppermint or other desired "toppings"
Allow to dry (I put mine in the freezer to speed up the process)

Movie Night

Popcorn bucket - $1.00 at Target or 2/$1.00 at Dollar Tree
Individual bag of popcorn
Candy
Movie Tickets, Blockbuster Gift Card, or a DVD

This isn't a craft but it's a cut inexpensive gift idea.

Homemade Cards

Scrapbook supplies

This is for those who already do card making or scrapbooking (or who want to learn).
Simply make a pack of 6-12 cards for various occasions and give as a gift.

Perfect for those who do visiting teaching – there can be a card for every month so that way there’s always a way for them to do their visiting teaching.

Family Proclamation

16x20 frame matted to 11x13
16-20 favorite family pictures
Elmer’s glue stick
Family: A Proclamation to the World

Get frame at Michaels on sale! Keep the picture insert to use as a guide.
Begin cropping favorite pictures so that most background is gone.
Line pictures up on the picture insert and crop as needed. It’s okay to let the pictures go above/below/to the side of where the matting will cover and where the proclamation will cover.
Lay proclamation down to make sure it doesn’t cover faces and adjust pictures, then begin to glue them in place onto the picture insert. Glue proclamation in center of pictures (it will overlap some).

A Stimulus Package We Can Actually USE!

2009-07-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

This is a link for a coupon for a FREE Mars/M&Ms candy bar. Every single Friday they are giving away 250,000 coupons for a free candy bar. This is good on Fridays only, but you can get them to send you an email reminder!

Real Chocolate Relief Act

Kraft Coupons - Limited Time Only

2009-05-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay my coupon lovin gals (and guys)....if you go to www.kraftfoods.com and register to print their coupons, you can get access to $50 in coupons. You can print each coupon twice, so that's a potential of $100 in savings (providing you use that stuff).

To make things even better, you can go to www.coupons.com and print those exact same coupons 2 more times. So, you really have access to $200 in savings on those coupons. Sure, you probably don't use ALL of those products, but hey...every little bit helps.

Hurry though, this is a limited time offer. I have no idea how limited, but the coupons became available on the 11th, and so I'd imagine they'd be up for at least a couple days.

Happy couponing!

I'm Being Featured!

2009-03-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

Oh I am just so giddy that CafeMom's dailybuzz (toddler buzz) wanted to feature me in a special section - the Recession Guide.

This is the first section: Secrets of a Super Thrifty Mom - part 1

The second section: Secrets of a Super Thrifty mom - part 2

The third section: Secrets of a Super Thrifty Mom - part 3

A Must Watch Clip From Dave

2009-03-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Watch TV for Free

2009-02-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

Besides getting a converter box and a digital antenna, the following websites will allow you to view television, cable/satellite TV shows for free. There are also full length movies on them as well. Sometimes you do need to look for ones that have an "FE" beside them to see full episodes instead of just clips.

www.hulu.com
www.byu.tv
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/
www.foodnetwork.com - click on the "Missed an Episode? Watch it Now" link at the VERY bottom of the page.
http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/
http://www.scifi.com/rewind/
http://www.nick.com/turbonick/index.jhtml
http://disney.go.com/videos/
www.playhousedisney.com - click on Watch More Videos on left under the little TV

Go to the website of your favorite channel and see what they have to offer. It might beat paying for TV.

A Must Read MSN Article About Suze Orman

2009-02-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

The article in question - Stop Listening to Suze Orman.

Well you all know I'm not a Suze Orman fan - she actually makes me want to gag when she starts giving advice because most of it is just bad. I think the article was a little harsh especially when talking about her background as a waitress - that has nothing to do with that. While I'm well educated, I'm a SAHM, and if I were to ever choose personal finance as a career path once my kids are older, I'd hate for them to say "she was unemployed for ___ years" so I think they could cut her a little slack on that kind of stuff.

As far as keeping up with the FICO score - she's paid by FICO's parent company, so yes, she's going to say that. As far as fleecing a car - of course, she's getting paid to say that. She's a sell out. That's the flaw with her - she's a sell out and is in it for the money. Dave is not. He's got money and truly wants to help people. I see it within our community (he lives in the Nashville area too) and so he's a good guy. Dave promotes common sense and freedom from debt, Suze promotes pushing the envelope as far as you can without sinking and managing debt. The two plans are oil and water - they do not mix.

As far as I'm concerned, MSN did a huge favor to a lot of people by putting this article out - why? Because now they will have to examine things a little more closely. Just because she's on Oprah doesn't mean she's right, but a lot of people think that she MUST be if she's everywhere. It's going to make them question things and look a little deeper.....just my thoughts.

So, read the article yourself - Stop Listening to Suze Orman

Proctor & Gamble Sampler

2009-02-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

If you go to the Proctor & Gamble Sampler website and create an account, you can sign up to receive coupons & free samples of their products in the mail. I have already received Pantene shampoo & conditioner, Tide laundry detergent, and Prilosec OTC. I just signed up for some Head & Shoulders shampoo & conditioner and some whitening strips. So sign up and check back often for the samples!

My Deals at CVS (week of 2/8)

2009-02-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

As usual, I went in on Saturday night to get my "scores" for the week. I scanned my CVS card at the magic machine and out popped a cute little coupon for a FREE CVS 250 ml mouthwash. Sweet!

For tonight, I got the following items for free. I only had to pay tax because I used coupons, but all in all....it was free. 2 Glade sprays, a small box of Wheat Thins, a small box of Ritz, and the free mouthwash. I used a CVS coupon for $1.00 off glade, the CVS coupon for the free mouthwash, a save $1.00 on 2 glade sprays manufactuer coupon, and a $2.00 off 2 boxes of Wheat Thins or Ritz crackers. Since the Ritz & Wheat thins were $1.00 each they were free. Same with the Glade sprays - $.99 each - with $2.00 in coupons off. Yay! I love FREE!

Now I'm just waiting for the Sunday paper to get my Gillette Fusion Gamer coupons and then I'll hit my stores later so I can get those free razors!

More Free Fun for Kids

2009-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

What do you do with those old broken crayons?
Make Melted Crayon Art!
Sounds a little scary, but take a butter knife, pencil sharpener, or potato peeler and begin shaving the crayons onto a piece of paper. Then, have an adult lay a piece of paper over the top of the other piece (with crayon shavings on it) and run an iron over the top of the paper. Immediately remove the top paper, and both sides will have beautiful works of art.

Potato Stamps:
A couple potatoes (not too big - comfortable to fit in your child's hand)
A knife
Paint

Take the potato (wash it & dry it) and cut it in half so that each end looks like a handle and there's a circle of potato exposed. Then take a knife and begin cutting a shape. You will want to remove the edges of the shape so that the shape itself stands out further than the rest of the potato. Dip potato stamp into paint and create works of art.

Stained Glass Windows:
Gather bits of celophane - preferably colored. Have your child cut out different shapes and create a stained glass window (on a window in your home that gets a lot of light shining through it). You can either use a spray bottle of water on fine mist to get the celophane to stick to the window or you can use some scotch tape. Your child will have a masterpiece (and it will keep him/her busy).

Rumble heads:
These are my personal favorites from my childhood. Take a balloon (any will do) and put 10-20 beans (depending on size) in it. Then blow up the balloon and tie off. When you shake the balloon it will make a rumbling sound from the beans hitting the sides of the balloon. Draw some shoes on a piece of heavy paper or cardboard (with the feet together) and cut out. Let child decorate the shoes. Make a slit in the front and back of the shoes and attach the balloon by wrapping the end of balloon around from the back slit to the front slit. Let child decorate the face, hair, and ears of the Rumble Head. If you prefer, you can cut out facial parts and let your child glue them on, or just let him/her draw them on with a sharpie.

My kids LOVE making Rumble heads! They think it's the coolest thing on the planet!

Paper Bag or Sock Puppets:
Well, those are pretty self explanatory if you had a childhood. Get creative. I'm sure you have some socks laying around the house that are missing their match. What a great way to use them. Glue on some eyes, hair (yarn), color in a mouth, and there you go - instant entertainment.

Bubble Flyers:
This is pretty neat. Use the good bubbles (the cheap ones don't work as well) or make your own bubble solution from dishsoap and water. Before you blow the bubbles take tissue paper (you know, the stuff that you stick in gift bags) and cut out small figurines. Make boys, girls, people with their arms in the air - whatever. Then blow a bubble. As you're blowing try sticking the tissue paper person to the bubble. It helps to have a large bubble, as it will lift the tissue paper person up and float it around the room. My kids thought it was pretty neat.

Homemade Craft Recipes

2009-02-06T13:39:00.001-08:00

Make Your Own Fingerpaint:

2 Tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup clear dishwashing liquid (colored will work in a pinch)
food coloring

Mix together the sugar and starch in a small pan, then slowly add in the water. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes a smooth almost clear gel (about 5 minutes). Let cool completely.

When the mixture is cool stir in the clear dishwashing liquid. Divide among airtight containers (small margarine tubs work well or you can by small tupperware containers at your local Dollar store.). Stir in food coloring for desired colors. Voila!

Homemade Playdough:

2 cups of flour
1 cup salt
2 packages dry unsweetened Kool-Aid
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together and all the liquid ingredients together. Then pour the liquids over the the dry mixture. Stir until it forms a ball. As it cools it will become less sticky. After it has cooled knead it until it is smooth.

You can substitute food coloring for the kool aid. Add glitter to playdough for fun.

Homemade Silly Putty:

2 parts Elmer's Glue-All
1 Part Liquid Starch
Food Coloring

Pour starch slowly over the glue and mix. Add food coloring (any color you want). If it is too sticky you can add more starch. Cover and refrigerate overnight. It may need to dry out a bit before you can use it.

Store in an air tight container or plastic bag.

Liquid starch can be found in the laundry aisle of most grocery stores.

Some Great Upcoming Deals...

2009-02-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

At CVS:

The Week of 2/8: Looks like we'll be getting a Listerine coupon for $2.00 off (including tooth defense variety) in the Sunday paper on the 8th. CVS will have their Tooth Defense Listerine (and all Listerine varieties) for $3.00 off regular price. IF the regular price is $4.99, subtract the $3.00 savings for a new price of $1.99. Minus the $2.00 coupon = possible FREE listerine!

Also, if you happen to have the Save $2.00 on 2 Ritz, Wheat Thins, or Triscuit varieities coupon from a couple weeks ago, CVS is having the small ones on sale for $1.00 each. So, buy 2, use the coupon and they are FREE!

It's also rumored that there will be another $4.00 off any Gillette Fusion Razor coupon in the 2/8 Sunday paper. There is a sale (this week, next week, and the week after) that if you buy the Gillette Fusion Gamer razor for $7.99, then you get $4.00 ECBs. With the coupon mentioned above, you spend $3.99 and get $4.00 ECB, so it's FREE after ECB! Great deal on that one. I already got 2 before the old coupons expired on 1/31. Can't wait to get more!

The Week of 2/15: Suave products will be 3 for $6.00 and you get $2.00 ECB when you buy 3. If you happened to catch that Suave freebie, we may have the coupons in by then. (if you missed it - sorry) So, you could redeem that free coupon there. In the paper last week (1/1) there were also coupons for Suave products. So, if you have the right coupons, you could get a good deal on that.

Also, Colgate Total Advanced toothpastes will be on sale $2.99 with $2.99 ECB. There are coupons out there from previous papers for these toothpastes (one for $.75 off any colgate toothpaste, or $1.00 off the colgate total advanced). But hurry, they expire on 2/21.

What could also be a good deal - if you happen to have 2 of the $2.00 off any Loreal HIP makeup product coupons - is the B1G1 Loreal HIP. You can use 2 coupons on a B1G1 deal, so you'd have $4.00 off the price of one of those products. Not free, but a good deal none-the-less.

There are more, but those are just what looks really great to me.

At Walgreens:

The week of 2/8: Windex! If you got the paper a few weeks ago there was not only a coupon for windex, but a Mail In Rebate to make the windex wipes or antibacterial windex FREE. The Windex wipes are going to be 2/$5. There is a mail in rebate on 2 of them for $2.00 through Walgreens, but to me....I'd much rather just pay $2.50 for one, use my coupon for $.40 off and then get $2.10 through the Mail In Rebate from Windex. If you have multiple coupons for this deal like I do, then make sure to cash out separately on each transaction. There is a limit of one rebate per household, but my mom, 2 sisters, neighbor, and best friend certainly could use the rebates, huh? (wink, wink)

Also, scrubbing bubbles wipes are 2/$5. There is a coupon for $3.00 off 2 Scrubbing Bubbles products that would make them 2/$2. Then you turn in the February Mail in Rebate from Walgreens ($2.00 on 2 products), and that makes them FREE after MIR. Again, if you have 2 of these deals, your mom or sister could use a MIR right? (wink, wink)

Again, there are more good deals out there, but these are just the ones that are exciting to me!

I Normally Steer Clear of Politics, but...

2009-02-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

I normally steer clear of politics, but I just can't shut my mouth on this one today! It's so far under my skin that I want to rip someone up by the shoulders and shake them senseless - or maybe shake sense into them, since apparently the morons in Washington are already senseless.

So, Mr. Obama, with less than 1 month in office, has tallied up about $900 BILLION for his economic stimulus plan. Ha...$900 BILLION - that is just an astronomical number to even fathom as a debt, but hey - why not?? (rolls eyes!!!)

So apparently the S CHIP (State Child Health Insurance Program) bill has passed the House and the Senate, and is on the way to Mr. Obama's desk to be signed into law today. Fan-flipping-tastic. Let's take $32.8 BILLION and just get the nation one step closer to a universal healthcare system, because who doesn't just LOVE waiting in long lines to be seen by a crappy doctor just because it's free healthcare? Better yet, let's just have EVERYONE do this so that we can have a healthcare system like Canada that DOESN'T WORK!!!!

I am not sure what ticks me off more. The fact that my husband and I do what we're supposed to do, have a household income of $31,000/year for our family of 5, and SOMEHOW we have managed to have private insurance for our family since before our oldest son was even born.... or the fact that they are opening up our tax dollars to millions of people who leech off of the system and want free healthcare!

Seriously, people who have private insurance and fall into the low income guidelines will flock to a FREE health insurance program for their kids. Well, maybe everyone but me and some other sound minded individuals who have a brain in their heads!

Are you serious?!?! So, let's go $38 BILLION in the hole just to provide health coverage to some people who already have it - they just pay for it (and 2.4 million kids are estimated to make that switch), some people who need it (and I'm okay with that group) and a large portion of it to people who are new immigrants. Now if you have a child with a medical condition and cannot get private insurance, I am glad it is there. If you do not have private insurance offered to you through your place of employment, I am glad it is there. If you are a single mom and cannot afford private insurance, then I'm glad it is there. It's just when people who have been making it work for years all of a sudden will take their kids off private insurance to save a few bucks - that ticks me off. When people who won't go out and work for what they want, that ticks me off!

What will this do to private insurance companies? Well, they may go out of business, cut jobs, and probably increase rates. Great....isn't that just exactly what we, who will always CHOOSE to pay for our own insurance, want to hear. I am sorry, but parents have the responsibility to take care of their childrens' needs. They prioritize those needs and do what is necessary to meet them, and healthcare is one of them. I am very proud to say that I will NOT be jumping on the free healthcare bandwagon, because it sucks! I don't want my kids to have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment because the doctors who accept state healthcare are too busy with the other 3 million kids they have to see. I don't want my kids to be stuck seeing crappy doctors and getting crappy care. I refuse! I will work 100 jobs before I let that happen. What is wrong with America? When did we lay down and say "I'm done working for what I want - the government needs to take care of me???"

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!! Ugh!!!!

Homemade Household Products

2009-02-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

Laundry Soap (liquid): - cost is about $.01 per load

1/3 bar Fels Naptha (laundry Isle) or Zote soap, (Hispanic Isle)
½ cup washing soda (yellow box; not baking soda)
½ cup Borax powder

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~ (Ice cream bucket works well)

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.
The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that some ladies have accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

Laundry Soap (powdered): cost is about $.01 per load

4 bars of Fels Naptha soap or pink Zoat
1 box of borax,
1 box of washing soda (not baking soda; yellow box)

Grate the bars of soap (or use food processor to chop and then grind it finer with the grinder blade). If using your food processor, add some borax or washing soda to ease the grinding process. Otherwise the machine works too hard and can burn out!

Put the grated soap in a big bucket, add the rest of the ingredients and mix. You only need 1/2 Cup per load, seriously! It's great stuff. You can also use either recipe in your front loaders as well!

Fabric Softener:

Add one cup of undiluted white vinegar to the laundry rinse cycle instead of commercial fabric softener. White vinegar softens clothes and cuts detergent residue--a plus for family members with sensitive skin. And NO, your clothes do not smell like vinegar once they're dried.

Homemade Baby Wipes:

One roll of Bounty paper towels
One-gallon ice-cream bucket, clean and empty
Two cups water
Two tablespoons baby oil
One tablespoon rubbing alcohol
One tablespoon baby bath (optional)

Cut a whole roll of Bounty paper towels into thirds. (We've found that Bounty is the only brand that works. Use an electric knife for best results.)

Place one of the halved rolls vertically into an empty and thoroughly cleaned one-gallon ice cream bucket. In a large measuring pitcher, mix two cups water, two tablespoons baby oil, and one tablespoon rubbing alcohol. (Some families also like to add a tablespoon of baby bath.)

Pour the liquid over the halved roll of paper towels in the ice cream bucket, and soak for 30 minutes. Remove the cardboard center. Feed the top corner of the paper towels through an X-shaped slit you've cut in the lid of the ice-cream bucket so you can pull out and tear off one "wipe" at a time.

Household Cleaners:

Homemade Spray Cleaner Recipe
Mix in a sprayer bottle:
1 cup white vinegar1 cup water

In the kitchen, use vinegar-and-water spray to clean countertops, lightly soiled range surfaces and backsplash areas.

In the bathroom, use vinegar spray cleaner to clean countertops, floors, and exterior surfaces of the toilet.

For really tough bathroom surfaces such as shower walls, pump up the cleaning power by removing the sprayer element and heating the solution in the microwave until barely hot. Spray shower walls with the warmed solution generously, allow to stand for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub and rinse. The heat helps soften soap scum and loosens hard water deposits.

Undiluted white vinegar straight from the jug makes quick work of tougher cleaning problems involving hard water deposits or soap scum.

Use undiluted white vinegar to scrub the inside of the toilet bowl. Before you begin, dump a bucket of water into the toilet to force water out of the bowl and allow access to the sides. Pour undiluted white vinegar around the bowl and scrub with a toilet brush to remove stains and odor. Use a pumice stone to remove any remaining hard water rings.

Clean shower heads that have been clogged with mineral deposits with undiluted white vinegar. Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup vinegar in a plastic food storage bag, and secure the bag to the shower head with a rubber band. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then rinse and buff the fixture to a shiny finish.

Baking Soda Scrub (replacement for scouring powders)

Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge to tackle grimy bathtub rings, scour vanities, or remove food deposits from the kitchen sink. For tougher grime, make a paste of baking soda and water, apply to the tub or sink, and allow to stand for 10 to 20 minutes. Dirt, soap scum and deposits soften and are easier to remove.

Slow-running drains? Keep bathroom drains running freely by pouring 1/2 to 3/4 cup baking soda into the drain, and dribbling just enough hot water to wash the solution down. Let stand for 2 hours to overnight, then flush thoroughly with hot water. The deodorizing effect is an added bonus! [Do not use this method on blocked drains.]

Glass Cleaner Recipe

Mix in a sprayer bottle:
1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol provides the base for an evaporating cleaner to rival commercial window and glass cleaning solutions. Use this glass cleaning spray recipe for windows, mirrors, chrome fixtures and for a shiny finish on hard-surface ceramic tiles.

Cleaning Wipes
Use a round plastic container, drill hole in lid about 1/2 inch, get an ex large roll of good paper towels cut in half to make two small rolls (leave plastic covering on while doing this, electric knife works best doing this)! Place one of the small rolls in plastic container save the other for later as a refill.
Cleaning solutions:
General Surface Cleaning
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water

Window and Glass Cleaning
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Which ever one you pick or if you decided to use other half of paper towel roll in separate container. Pour one solution on top of the roll in the container. Place lid on container, allow paper towels to absorb the solution for 4 hours to overnight. Open storage container and take out the wet cardboard tube from the center of the paper towel roll and toss. Now thread the inside of the paper towel roll where the card board was through the hole in the lid and close lid. After awhile paper towels may dry out, if so add more of the solution and let sit overnight before using again!

Homemade Lotion:

½ cup distilled water
½ cup olive oil
1 TBS lecithin
6-8 drops of geranium oil
2-4 drops Myrrh oil
400 IU vitamin E oil (1-2 open capsules)

Geranium oil is good for supporting balance and rejuvenating dry skin conditions and for wrinkled and matured skin. Myrrh is a gentle oil that is effective in replenishing moisture.
Vitamin E oil is an excellent and helps to protect the skin as well as a nice preservative.

Blend all ingredients in the blender either on whip or cream. You will have a nice creamy firm lotion. Add more water to make a lighter lotion. Store in the refrigerator in hot climates or store in a cool place. Shake well before use.

Homemade Deodorant:

1. Go buy the cheapest deodorant stick you can find. Roll it all the way up, break it off and throw it out. (If you have serious odor, none of them work well anyway.)

2. Clean the container, and roll it back down.

3. Buy some coconut oil and baking soda. If you can't find it locally, buy 92 degree oil, which is solid at room temperature. Coconut oil contains powerful antimicrobials that fight odor-causing bacteria without impairing sweat functions. Organic oil seems to work better for me, probably because it had to fight off more microbes during development. Only use 100% pure coconut oil. Additives can break long-chain fatty acids, impairing function.

4. Warm approx 1/2 cup of the oil in a microwave-safe bowl for a 20 seconds or until it's liquid.

5. Thoroughly mix in 1/4-1/2 cup of baking soda. It should dissolve completely. Some people say that they use less, some more. If you use too much, it can be too strong, causing redness, so start with a little bit. Baking soda is generally mild, acts to absorb odor, and when suspended in oil, it's usefulness lasts all day long. Mix slowly as it cools. You can put ice under the bowl to accelerate cooling.

6. Pour the mixture in the empty roll-up, put the cap on and refrigerate in an upright position. You will have to keep it refrigerated unless you use 92 degree oil, or your house is kept cool.

**a kind thanks to everyone who was willing to share their recipes with me!**

CVS Trip - Week of 2/1 - 2/7

2009-02-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

This week (2/1 - 2/7) at CVS: Loreal Revitalift Cleanser or Towelettes $5.99 and you get $10 ECBs when you buy 2. This Sunday's paper had $1.00 off coupons in them, and there were $2.00 off coupons in the paper a couple weeks ago, so you can get these for FREE after ECBs.
Excedrin 10 ct. vials are $2.49 with $2.49 ECB = FREE. If you can find an excedrin coupon online then you can either get it for $.49 or $1.49 and get back the $2.49 ECB. I scanned my card at the magic machine in our CVS a couple days ago and was given a CVS coupon for $1.00 off Excedrin.

Glade essential oils jar candles, scended oil refils, or scented oil candle refils are 4 for $10 with $5.00 ECB back on 4. So it's like you're paying $5.00 for 4. If you have the coupons from Sunday's paper (2/1) then you can get B2G1 scented oil candle refils, or there are a WIDE variety of other glad coupons out there to use. I'm going tomorrow to get 8 items - 2 scented oil refils and 6 scented oil candle refills. With my coupons I will be paying $12.50 (well not really paying because I have $12.49 in ECBs to use, and I will get back $10 in ECBs because I am doing the deal twice.

There are also 2 good looking FREE monthly deals - the CVS brand chewable 81 mg asprin (childrens or adult will work for this) - $1.99 with $1.99 ECB and the Earrinse $7.99 with $7.99 ECB.

Palmolive (10-11 oz) is $.97 and there was a $.25 off coupon in today's paper. Softsoap is $1.00 and there was a $.35 off coupon in the paper today. Irish Spring is 2 for $7.00 - and if I'm not mistaken, you might be able to find a value pack for less than that that also earns you some ECBs, and there was a coupon in today's paper for Irish Spring. Colgate 2/$5.00 and there were $.75 off coupons in the paper today as well. Out of all of those things, if you spend $15.00 (before coupons) then you will get $5.00 ECBs.

Here's what I got the first time around - I am going tomorrow to get the glade since I totally spaced that they were doing that deal. Our CVS lets me get the sales the night before (on Saturday night) so I did that for these deals, but I didn't remember that the glade was going to be on sale, so I have to go tomorrow to get them). Glad my mom was with me so we could use her card to double up on the deals that have a limit 1 (the excedrin and the asprin).

This is from my 2nd trip this week! I got an amazing deal on the glade products! I bought 6 Scented Oil Candle Refills, 2 Glade Candles and 2 Stayfree pads on the first transaction. I used 2 B2G1 Free coupons for the candle refills and a $1.50 on 2 coupon for the regular candles. Then I had a B1G1 Free coupon on the stayfree pads. The best part was that the manager, who was cashing me out, didn't scan my CVS card right away - he did it after entering the B2G1 coupons. So instead of taking off $2.50, he took off $4.39 and $4.69!!! I did tell him that they should be $2.50 and he said "don't worry about it" and scanned my CVS card. I used a $10 ECB and a $2.49 ECB (from my transactions earlier), and my total cost (before tax) was $.92! Yep, less than a buck. I received a $10.00 ECB and a $4.00 ECB, so I kinda made $1.51 on this!

My second transaction was for 2 stayfree pads. I used a B1G1 Free coupon, and I used my $4.00 ECB from the first transaction. My total (before tax) was $0.00! Yep, FREE!!! I did have to pay the tax because I used the B1G1 coupon, but $.37 isn't too too bad. :o) Plus, it earned me another $4.00 ECB!

Why Trading Your Car In Might Be a Bad Idea

2009-02-01T18:44:00.001-08:00

If you are thinking about trading your car in for another one at a dealership, you need to take a moment and really think about this move. That is especially true if you still owe money on the car you're wanting to trade in.

When you trade in a car that still has a lein against it, you are essentially giving the dealership the authority to sell that vehicle on your behalf. They sell it, make money on it, pay off that loan, and everything is hunkey-dorey, right? Wrong! Many residents of California and Florida are now being slapped with 2 vehicle payments because the dealership they traded their cars in to are now closing their doors, and are not paying these debts. So, the lein holders have the right to go after you, the person who took that debt out! YIKES! That means that people who can barely afford the one car payment (since they paid too much at a dealership to begin with) are now REALLY not able to afford two car payments! This is causing a huge wave, and unfortunately, with the economy the way it is, we might not see the ripples in this pool end any time soon.

So, if you're thinking about giving your car to a dealership, and you still owe money on it - do the smart thing and just sell it outright to a real person. Put an ad in the paper, stick a "for sale" sign on the windows and get rid of that puppy on your own. At least you will know that it will be done and taken care of properly!

This Week's Deals - 1/25 - 1/31

2009-01-31T06:48:00.001-08:00

This week at CVS I got 5 Head & Shoulders Shampoos, 6 Gillette Shampoos, 2 Gillette Fusion Gamer Razors and a Hershey bar for FREE!! I just had to pay tax on the portion that the coupons covered.

At Walmart, I was able to do a price match to the Colgate total sale going on at Walgreens, so they charged me $.99 for each. I had $1.00 off coupons, that were modified to $.99, so they were free as well.

Also last night at Walmart, I was able to use those $.75 off on 2 Ortega products coupons. I found seasoning mix packets for $.47 each, so I bought 12 of them (since I had 6 coupons) and I got all 12 for the whopping price of $1.14 - what a deal since I would have spent more than that on just 3 at regular price.

Kroger had some great sales going on - $1.49 for Kraft shredded cheese, and I had 3 $.75 off coupons. Velveeta cheese was on sale at Walmart for $4.74 and with the $1.00 off coupon from www.velveeta.com it was a good buy, so I picked up 4 since I had 4 coupons (2 from velveeta site and 2 more from www.ppgazette.com). The Velveeta is great for food storage since it doesn't need to be refrigerated until after you open it.

I had some more of those lovely Old El Paso coupons - Save $1.10 on 2 products. The taco shells we like are $1.10 each, so it's essentially a B1G1 deal with those. And Walgreens had Red Baron pizzas on sale 2/$5.00. Combine that deal with the $1.00 off on 2 coupons that I had (4 of them), that made for a really great deal to stock up on.

I am heading to Publix later today because I got a $5.00 off Huggies coupon good only at Publix, and I have a manufacturer's coupon for $2.00 off a box, so that's a total of $7.00 off the Huggies! So, if you haven't signed up for Publix baby club yet, you need to do it. The coupons are amazing! And as lame as this sounds, we have $1.00 off any dairy item coupons, and $1.00 off any deli items coupons, so we're going to go ask for $1.00 worth of deli lunchmeat or cheese and I'm hoping to find a good use for the $1.00 off a diary product so I can walk out of there with some free stuff!

Some of my January Freebies!

2009-01-23T06:23:00.001-08:00

These deals were from earlier in the month from both CVS and Walgreens. I paid $5.00 out of pocket at Walgreens for 5 dimetapps, 5 robitussin, 2 packs (6 boxes each) of kleenex, 1 orange fantastik, 1 bottle of holy cow window cleaner, 3 Garnier Fructis products, and 2 Glade scented oil candle warmers.

At CVS, I didn't have any out of pocket expense for the 2 Gillette body washes, 3 Pantene products, 4 Dawn dish liquids, 2 Soft soaps, and 2 Glade scented oil refils.

After these deals I had also gotten 10 boxes of SoyJoy bars (I didn't take a picture of them before I gave them away), I also nabbed 2 Loreal HIP eyeshadows. They were clearanced out for $2.50 each, and there was a B1G1 sale. I also had a $2.00 off coupon, so I got 2 eyeshadows for $.50 - they were originally $9.99 each!

This week's deal at CVS: 1 Herbal Essence Hydralicious Conditioner and 7 CVS brand hand sanitizers.

On the backs of the hand sanitizers there are peelies (coupons you pull off) and it says they are good for the bigger bottles, but the $1.00 off coupon works for these, making them $.19 each!

Since I had ECBs, I didn't pay a dime for this stuff.

And just because I think it would be fun, here are some of the deals I had gotten in November and the first part of December. There are quite a few things missing from them, mostly because I had forgotten just what I had gotten, where it was, some stuff I gave to friends and family, some I had given to other people I knew. It also doesn't include food items that we ate or just didn't put out because I didn't think about it. So, here's a good look at just what kinds of stuff you can get for FREE if you play the CVS/Walgreens games. (and to think if I had counted the stuff I spent very little money on)

There was a HUGE sale on December 21-22 at CVS and I had gotten a TON of stuff that isn't pictured here. I got 10 Arm & Hammer Essentials Starters Kits, 2 bags of Halls cough drops, 15 Listerines, 3 Excedrin Express Gels, 8 Complete contact Solutions, 3 Zantac 150's, 2 benefiber drink mixes, 4 Sally Hansen nail polishes, 4 Loreal HIP eyeshadows, and 2 Thermacare heat wraps. Thankfully my mom was willing to go along with me with her card, and the other stuff I got up in Ohio with my MIL's card (we left that day). So you can see, a lot of stuff can be picked up for FREE!!!

Publix is my new favorite place!

2009-01-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

For those who may not know what Publix is, it is a regional grocery store chain, so if you're not in the great states of Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama, then I am sorry that this won't help you very much.

Publix is known for it's catchy little saying "Where shopping is a pleasure." It sure is. The stores are immaculate, they have a WIDE variety of products, and it really is a soothing experience....until you look at the price of things! Yikes -their prices can be pretty steep, BUT...there are ways to navigate around that and find some AMAZING deals!

First, Publix has some clubs you can sign up for online. These clubs send you newsletters (in the mail), free gifts, and lots of coupons! You gotta love those. The coupons are only good at Publix, but you will see why they are so valuable later on.

Publix also has a lot of B1G1 items on sale each week. It's their way of sucking us in each week so we spend more money at their store. That's just fine with me because I can go in, get ONLY what I need and walk away with a big huge smile on my face!

Here's how to save a ton shopping there: B1G1 deals sound good enough, but did you know that you can use 2 coupons on those products? Yep, that's right, 2 coupons - one for each item. Each item that is B1G1 rings up at 1/2 price, so you can use one coupon per product. Since Publix doubles coupons up to $.50 every single day, then you can get some great savings. For instance, last week they had Go-Gurt yogurt on sale. I think it was 2/$2.49. I happened to have 2 coupons for Go-Gurt from a previous Sunday paper, and they were for $.40 off one pack. Doubled, they were each for $.80 off. So, for 2 boxes of Go-Gurt, I only paid $.89! They had their Light & Fit Yogurt on sale for $.40 each, and there were little coupons coming from a machine near them for B1G1 Light & Fit. So, I was able to get 2 yogurts for $.40. I had gotten coupons for $.50 off some French's Mustard and some French's Worcestershire Sauce. I believe that they were each $1.49. Since the coupons doubled, I only had to pay $.49 for each of those products. (Of course I had several coupons, so I picked up quite a few of them). The "I can't believe it's not butter" was B1G1 and with 3 $.50 off coupons, I had a great run with those. I think it was $.49 for each item. I also had a coupon for $2.00 off my next purchase at Publix!

They also have (on Sunday and Monday) an item that is $.01. Yep, that's right, a penny item. If you spend $10 - before coupons - then you can pick up that item for just one penny. This week's item was some hot cocoa.

Another great find for this week was the 2/$5.00 Huggies baby products on sale (like baby wash). Because I am part of the Publix baby club, I had a B1G1 Publix coupon for Huggies baby products. I also had 2 $1.00 off manufacturer coupons for these products. Since I was able to get the sale price, and use both the Publix coupon and the manufacturer coupon, I walked away with a Huggies baby wash and a baby lotion for $.50!!!! I also had coupons for some Huggies baby wipes - $1.50 off Publix coupon and a $.50 (which gets doubled) manufacturer coupon. I got a tub of baby wipes for $.49. So for $.99 I walked away with 2 Huggies baby care products and a tub of Huggies baby wipes!

Here are pictures of my great deals this week. Except for the go-gurt (the kids already ate those), 3 mustards (I gave to my sisters since we don't eat much mustard), and 1 Worcestershire sauce.

A pretty great deal, don't you think?

And I can't wait until next week to get some more fantastic deals! Hooray!!

TP Sale This Week

2009-01-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

So, if you are in the market for stocking up on some toilet paper, then there are some pretty good sales going on. First is for Scott TP - Food Lion has the 12 roll packs (our personal preference) for $4.99 (limit 2 but you can do the price match thing at Walmart and get more). Kmart also has Scott TP on sale 2 for $10. If you like the extra soft Scott TP, then you can print out 2 coupons from www.scottbrand.com to save $1.00 off each. So, that would make it 2 for $8.00.

CVS has Cottonelle TP Bonus packs on sale. Well, not so much of a sale really...it's $12.97 for 20 double rolls, but you get $4.00 in ECBs to spend on your next purchase, so really it is kinda like getting it for $8.97. There are also several coupons (from past Sunday papers) to save money on Cottonelle TP, so you can save a little extra on those if that's your brand of choice. From what I understand, this will be on special until February 14. I know it at least goes through 1/24 for sure though.

If you like Charmin, CVS also has 16 big rolls of Charmin for $9.99 this week.

At Walgreens, looks like Quilted Northern TP will be on sale from 1/25-1/31 for $6.99. Also, from 1/18-1/24 Walgreens will have Charmin 12 big roll packs for $6.99 and Angel Soft TP 4 roll packs for $1.29.

Not sure how all those prices compare, but I am just excited about the Scott TP being on sale this week. Yes, I know....I already have enough....but can you ever have too much?!

Save Money on Electricity

2009-01-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I am sure I'm not the only one suffering at the shock of our electric bill this winter. We all knew it was coming, but even I couldn't be prepared for a lovely TVA service fee of an additional $53 - on top of what we used for electricity! Yeah, an almost $300 electric bill is enough to make you want to go out spend the $8,000 to convert to on-the-grid solar power - just to stick it to the electric company.

After I picked myself off the floor, I did a little digging. For those of us who live in Tennessee, parts of Southern Kentucky, and northern Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi - who get our electricity from the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) - we are about to be in for a HUGE shock come our next electricity bill. We just heard word that they are lowering their rates by 6% (which is about a $4-$8 savings per month), but what they haven't broadcast all over the news stations, is that the TVA FCA charge (fuel cost adjustment) is going to DOUBLE, and it started January 1. Yep, instead of .7 cents per KWH, we will be looking at 1.4 cents per KWH. So if I kept our energy consumption at the same as it was last month, then instead of a $53 charge, we will be seeing a $106 charge. Isn't that just LOVELY!?!?!?! UGH! I should have converted to solar power!

So, since we're all stuck with our stupid electric companies and their high prices and astronomical charges, here's a list of things we can do to try to lower our electric bills and hope and pray that we can make it through this winter!

1. "Repair any holes in your roof, walls, doors, ceilings, windows and floors. This saves up to 10 percent of your heating/cooling costs!"
2. "Close the damper when the fire place is not being used. Try not to use the fireplace and central heating system at the same time."
3. "Use low-wattage light bulbs. You can lower your lighting bill even more by converting to energy-efficient fluorescent lighting."
4. "Install shades, awnings or sun screens on windows facing south and/or west to block summer light. In winter, open shades on sunny days to help warm rooms."
5. "A low-flow shower head can reduce water use by 50-70 percent. And it works just as well, despite its goofy name"
6. "Add extra blankets or insulated padding to waterbed mattresses to retain heat."
7. "Plan meals so you'll cook and bake several items at once. Preheat as little as possible."
8. "Wash only full loads in a dishwasher and use the shortest cycle that will get your dishes clean."
9. "Plug gaps around pipes, ducts, fans and vents that go through walls, ceilings and floors from heated to unheated spaces. Savings: 1-3 percent of space heating costs."
10. "Use insulating shutters or drapes and keep them closed during winter nights and summer days. Savings: 8-15 percent of space heating costs."
11. "If you have a microwave oven, use it for reheating and cooking small quantities of food." "Cook on range top burners when practical instead of in the oven."
12. "Make sure heat producing appliances like televisions and lamps are away from your thermostat. They will raise the temperature at the thermostat."
13. "Don't move your thermostat temperature up and down during the day; try to keep a consistent level of cooling. Changing the thermostat temperature back and forth to extremes causes your air conditioner to work harder costing you more money."
14. "Try to do dishwashing and laundry in the late evening well after the sun has gone down or in the early morning. The cost of generating electricity reduces after midnight through the early morning."
15. "Remember when you permanently leave rooms in your house, turn the lights out and appliances off, including the TV and radio."
16. "Turn off heat and close doors to unused rooms if you have individual room heat. Do not close doors and vents to unused rooms if you have a heat pump central air system."
17. "When cooking on a stove, use the smallest pan necessary to get the job done."
18. "When you're home during the winter, keep the thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature."
19. "Wash full loads of clothes in the coolest water possible. Rinse clothes in cold water."
20. "Close the drapes on the sunny side of the house during the day. "
21 "Stop the dryer as soon as clothes are dry, or use the moisture sensor control to automatically shut off the dryer. Over drying wastes energy and sets in wrinkles."
22. "Keep air conditioner filters clean. Aluminum mesh filters may be washed. Fiberglass filters should be replaced."
23. "Besides cleaning your lint filter after every load, make sure you dry full loads of clothes without overloading."

New Year's Financial Resolutions

2009-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

If I put it out there for the entire world (well...whoever stumbles across my blog) to see, then I have to stick to it, right!? So, here are our financial goals for 2009.

1. Keep $1000 in our mini emergency fund.
2. Pay off the following Student Loans from old lady Sallie Mae:
Student Loan # 9
Student Loan # 7
Student Loan # 6
Student Loan # 3 (this will be a HUGE stretch, but who knows...we might make it)
3. Build up our food storage
4. Refinance our existing crappy mortgage to a low rate fixed loans.
5. Have 2 yard sales to bring in some extra cash.
6. Find a 2nd job for my hubby (or a 1st job for myself) to help pay off debt faster.
7. Keep up with my blog better!!!!!!!!!!

So, that's it....that's what we're looking at for 2009. It's already the 12th, and so far so good. Well, except for keeping up with my blog...but I will try to be better...I promise.

I Just Don't Get It

2008-12-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

We see on the news every single night (at 4, 5, 6, and 10) how bad the economy is - how everything is in a complete and total meltdown. We see stocks on Wall Street take a 600 point plunge, and you hear about people being laid off at the local plant. Yet...there is that one story that makes you want to grab everyone and shake them by the shoulders. Yes, tonight I heard that consumer spending for Black Friday and Saturday is up 1.8% from last year. What? Is that correct? How can that be? We're in a recession (some say depression) and yet people still went out and spent so much money that sales are actually UP from last year!

It apparently doesn't matter to anyone that they are broke, that the economy is in the toilet, and that one paycheck is often all the separates them from being destitute. Regardless of how bad things seem, we just can't get enough STUFF! Ugh....it makes me sick.

It makes me sick to think of how many of those people bought stuff that they don't need just because it was "on sale" and they put it on a credit card. Those same people are probably going to be the ones crying and whining the loudest when life happens and they lose their house or declare bankruptcy. And then the people like us, who live on a $31,000/year income with 3 kids (ages 3 and under) and don't go out and spend frivilously, who pay all of our bills, will be the ones to have to clean up their mess!

Come on people, WAKE UP! It is just STUFF! What kid really needs an Ipod? What kid really needs a PS3 or Wii or XBox 360?? Yet there people go and they get in fist fights over this stuff. A Walmart employee in New York was trampled to death by shoppers trying to get some STUFF on sale.

I am ashamed that I was once one of those people who would buy and buy and buy, and not think of the consequences. I thought that I could buy happiness...boy was I ever wrong. Infact, it wasn't until I started to live within our means and become an insanely frugal person that I realized what brought happiness. Well obviously the Lord and family were always things that made me happy, but simplicity is what has made me happy. Simplicity and not having to worry about bills and money because we live within our income. I can sleep at night knowing that all our bills are paid, there's food on the table, and that we're close to being debt free.

I have never been more proud to say that I don't care about STUFF! I am glad that my kids will not be raised with a bunch of STUFF, because I truly believe that one day we will all have to do with out a lot of things we are used to, and today's kids (teenagers and kids) will have a really big wake-up call. I believe that the age of stuffitis will soon come to an end, and then what? What will people do when they can't overspend? I fear many will implode because they've built themselves up on "keeping up with the Joneses" and without that - they will have nothing. Sad, sad, sad.

The next time people whine and cry about how bad the economy is, I want to ask them "Did you go shopping on Black Friday & Saturday" or "What did you buy for (or spend on) Christmas?" I'm not sure why Christmas has turned into the most greedy holiday there is (which is SO not the point of Christmas) but it has. I'm glad that in our house, we have a small, meaningful Christmas. None of this me, me, me, want, want, want crap. On 3 kids we spent $50 (together - not each) and we'll have a grand old Christmas...one where we can focus on the REAL reason for Christmas.

Black Friday Wags Trip

2008-11-28T05:55:00.000-08:00

What a morning! Okay, so there were more deals to be had than what I bought, BUT my Walgreens store was stripped! I guess getting there at 7:15 was too late for some of the stuff I wanted, but that's okay...rainchecks are just as good.

So, we did 2 transactions. The Say Yes To Cucumbers/Tomatoes/Carrots Body Butter was $1.99 on sale. I had 2 B1G1 online coupons (join the carrot club), so 4 for $3.98 (which is way less than the normal price of 1 - $12.99). Then we bought 6 Hot Wheels cars since the boys just love them. They were $.49 each (with in-ad coupon). For all this stuff, we spent $6.92 (plus tax), which would be about the price of the Hot Wheels alone. Yay for Black Friday deals!

CVS Black Friday (on Thursday) Sale!

2008-11-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is the BEST shopping day EVER at CVS! I bought all this stuff and was able to get some fantastic deals!!!!!! I spent a total out-of-pocket of $4.27 (only because I forgot to put up one of my $1.00 off coupons! DUH!! So, it would have only been $3.27 if I hadn't dropped the ball on that one transaction. So, for $4.27, I bought $124.17 worth of stuff!

This is how I broke it down. Transaction 1: 1 Aussie Conditioner, 1 Playtex Gentile Glide Tampons, 1 Johnson's Soft Lotion, 1 Schick Quattro Titanium Razor, 2 Colgate Total Toothpastes, 1 Garnier Nutritioniste Towelettes, and 1 CVS Advanced Healing Lotion (for a filler product). I used a Save $2.00 on a $6.00 Lotion purchase (CVS Coupon), $2.00 off Titanium razor coupon, two $1.00 off Colgate Total toothpaste coupons, $1.00 off Johnson's Lotion coupon, $1.00 off Garnier product coupon, $1.00 off Playtex tampons coupon. I also used $15.00 ECB and an $8.99 ECB, for an out of pocket total of $.13 ($.88 after tax). ECB's I received were $2.99, $3.00, $6.00, $6.00 (should have been $5.98 but the register didn't print it so they gave me $6.00), $6.00.

Transaction 2: 1 Reeses King Size Candy Bar, 1 Bic Soleil Razor, 1 Loral Colour Juice Lip Gloss, 4 Soft & Dry Deodorants, 1 Gatorade G2 Water, 1 Mr. Bubble, 2 Dentyne Gums. I used four $.55 off Soft & Dry Deodorant coupons (on the deodorants themselves), 1 $1.00 off Loreal coupon, and 1 B1G1 coupon for the dentyne gum. (I forgot to also use one of my $1.00 coupons on the Soleil razor -ugh!). I used $2.99 ECB, $3.00 ECB, $6.00 ECB, and $6.00 ECB for a total OOP off $2.52 ($3.15 after tax). I received $1.00 ECB, $1.49 ECB, $5.99 ECB, $6.99 ECB, and $1.00 ECB.

Transaction 3: Loreal Colour Juice lip Gloss, 1 Gatorade G2 Water. Used $1.49 ECB and $6.99 ECB. Total OP = FREE ($.12 after tax for some reason!). I received $1.49 ECB and $6.99 ECB.

Transaction 4: 1 Phillips In-Ear Headphones and 1 Gatorade G2 Water. Used $1.49 ECB and $6.99 ECB. Total OOP = FREE ($.12 after tax for some reason!). I received $1.49 and $6.99 ECB.

Transaction 5: 1 Universal Remote. Used $6.99 ECB. Total OOP = FREE!!!! (no tax this time). I received $6.99 ECB.

Transaction 6: 1 Covergirl Smoothers Foundation. Used $6.99 ECB and $1.00 ECB = FREE!!!! (no tax this time either). I received $7.99 ECB.

So I am left with $7.99 ECB, $1.49 ECB, $5.99 ECB, $6.00 ECB, $5.99 ECB, $1.00 ECB to use next time!!!!!!!! I also have a ton of rainchecks for the items they didn't have!

The best part.....My mom went with me this morning and she did her own shopping. She had to cash out 14 times (this is her first trip) and she bought all this stuff for $6.59 OOP (not bad for a first timer!). The total for these items was $94.59, and she walked away with $1.00 ECB and $6.99 ECB!

She bought 2 Aussie Conditioners, 1 Playtex tampons, 1 Johnsons Lotion, 1 Gatorade G2 Water, 2 Colgate Total Toothpastes, 2 Maybelline Mineral Power Foundations, 1 CG Smoothers Foundation, 1 Garnier Nutritioniste Towellette, 2 Phillips In-Ear Headphones, and 1 King Size Hershey Bar! Yay for my Momma! I think she's hooked!!!

My Walgreens Trip 11/25

2008-11-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day at Walgreens. I had some Register Rewards (RR) I needed to burn before they expire, so I was able to get a lot of stuff for just a few bucks.

I bought 2 Kleenex tissues - $.89 each after in-ad coupon. I also used one $.40 off coupon, so the total for these was $1.38

The M&M Premiums were on sale 2/$7 after the Easy Saver Catalogue ESC coupon, and I had 2 manufacturer's coupons for $1.00 off, so I was able to get 2 boxes for $5.00.

Then the Excedrins were on sale B1G1 for $4.49. I had 2 $1.00 off Excedrin coupons, so the total for these two was $.49. I was so glad that they took 2 coupons on the B1G1 deal - sometimes they don't, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?

The best buys of the day were the Sure deodorants. They were on sale (after the ESC coupon) for $.49 each. I had 3 coupons for $1.00 off Sure deodorant, and they let me use them! So, I was able to get all 6 of them for FREE!!!!

Oh, and I had gotten a coupon from the register after buying all that stuff to save $3.00 on any magazine purchase of at least $3.00. I found the little Christmas cookie recipe booklet with the magazines for $3.99. Since I LOVE baking Christmas cookies, I thought - "What the hey!"

I used $5.00 in RRs and my total out of pocket was $4.24 (before tax). That is less than the cost of one box of the M&M Premiums alone! Woo hoo!!! I love shopping days like this!!!

Oh, and my 3 year old was Mommy's little helper today, so he got to buy his very own bag of M&M's (the regular ones) for $.39 of his own money...he had a coupon! :o) I'm so proud!

My CVS Trip 11/24

2008-11-24T21:15:00.001-08:00

This was my first trip today. I apparently have been losing it because I keep finding things I need to get after I get home from my first trip. So, here's the break down:

1 Right Guard Professional
minus $.50 off Rightguard coupon (online) - enter Rightguard in the field, fill out the info & a link will be mailed to you to print the coupon.

B1G1 All Small & Mighty detergent
minus 2 $1.00 off All detergent coupons (online) - you can use one for each

2 Butler Gum toothbrushes (from a previous raincheck - FREE)

I used a $10.00 ECB, so my total OOP was $2.98 and I received $7.00 in ECBs.

Next Transaction:

1 Right Guard Professional
minus $.50 off coupon (see above)

I used a $7.00 ECB (from previous purchase)

My total OOP was $.49 and I received $7.00 in ECBs.

My next transaction was the same. I would have gotten more, but they only had 3 of the deodorants left. :o( My total OOP for this trip was $3.96 and I bought $38.95 worth of stuff (not including the 2 2-packs of toothbrushes at $3.99 each)!!!!!

This was my 2nd trip for today. I had forgotten that I had a CVS coupon (from a receipt) for a FREE Goody's headache powder 4 pack ($1.49 price), so I got that.

Then I bought a Maybelline Mineral Power foundation on sale $8.99 and you get $8.99 ECBs back. I didn't have a coupon for this, but I used my $7.00 ECB from earlier today, and a $1.00 ECB that I had from before, so my total OOP was $.99 and I received $8.99 in ECBs.

My second transaction was another of the foundations, because I found out that there's a limit of 2 - not 1 like the ad said - YAY! I used my ECB from the first transaction to get the second one for FREE and I got another $8.99 ECB to use this Thursday for the Black Friday deals. So for a total OOP of $.99 (for this trip), I got $19.47 worth of stuff.

And yes, CVS is open on Thanksgiving and the deals start that day! Hip-hip-hooray for free stuff!!!

The Walgreens Game

2008-11-22T19:33:00.001-08:00

The Walgreens (or Wags) Game is much like the CVS game in that you can get a lot of free or nearly free items. Walgreens does not have a loyalty card or anything like that; however, I have heard that they are toying with the idea. With planning and coupons (you always need the coupons!!) you can get some really great deals. To get the sales ads ahead of time (several weeks in advance) you can go to http://www.iheartwags.com/.

Instead, they have register rewards (RRs) that will print out in the form of a long thin coupon when you buy participating items to receive the rewards. These RRs are as good as cash and can be used on your next purchase. They act just like a coupon and subtract the amount they are for from your out of pocket expense. The items that earn rewards are listed in the weekly circular, and are sometimes difficult to pinpoint. They will usually have a wavy line at the top that says something to the effect "Buy 2 and earn $1.00 register rewards" and/or it will have a box at the bottom of the picture that does some creative subtraction "(Sale Price) $3.99 - $1.00 (register rewards good on next purchase) = (like paying) $2.99"

But you have to be careful of those boxes because there are also instant coupons that they show in those little boxes. The instant coupons can be found in the Easy Saver Catalog (ESC). Each month, Wags puts out a little booklet full of their coupons. These are coupons that are good from the 21nd (or so) of one month to the 22th (or so) of the next month. There are usually a couple days that overlap, so you could use a coupon from one and a mail-in rebate from the other for extra savings. The ESC booklets are wonderful because they will save you a lot of money, you do not have to actually clip the coupons, just let the cashier scan them, AND you can use manufacturer coupons WITH the ESC coupons! There have been many times that I have found an item on sale, then I'd use the ESC coupons AND a manufacturer's coupon, which would make that item free or nearly free.

There are also coupons in the Walgreens circular. I have always had to cut those out, which is a pain, but oh well...they offer good savings. Those too can be used with manufacturer coupons for double the savings.

Often the coupon will say one coupon per item, and it has been my experience that I have only needed one of the walgreens coupons and it will automatically multiply itself to match the number of items. For example, if I bought 4 packs of the walgreens diapers and I had a walgreens coupon for $2.00 off a pack, then it would give me a total of $8.00 off of my purchase. Gotta love that!

I do not get nearly as many FREE things from Walgreens, but the deals I do get, cannot be beat. Even the cashiers are amazed at how much money I can save there! I also love that they have an amazing assortment of clearance stuff. I found the Glade Glass Scents for $1.30 each on clearance, and I had 2 $1.00 off coupons. I bought 2 of them for $.60 OOP (out of pocket).

Walgreens will also do rainchecks on the products that are on sale that week. If it is the end of the ESC month and they are out of a product, they will subtract the cost of the walgreens coupon and give it to you for the price listed on the circular. Gotta love that!

One major tip I have is to always, always clip every coupon you get. Whether it come from the Sunday paper, a magazine, the internet, wherever....always clip the coupons! Sometimes you will find some stellar deals that offer register rewards on products you might not want to use. Last month (Oct) there was a deal on Benefiber Sick Packs. I do not use fiber suplements, BUT...I had coupons out the wazoo for these things. There was also a coupon for them in the ESC. The coupons and the walgreens ESC coupon made these suckers almost free, and I'm talking pennies on the dollar here. If you bought 3 (which was easy with them being almost free) you received $8.00 in register rewards! That was about a $7.00 profit right there! What did I do with the fiber - gave it to someone who wanted it.

Another great thing to remember is that Walgreens will put out coupons on their ads from time to time where if you transfer a prescription to their store (not from another walgreens) then they will give you a $25.00 gift card! SWEET!!!! The best part (if you fill prescriptions regularly) is that since CVS also honors the walgreens coupons, you can switch your prescription to CVS if it is currently at Walgreens and then maybe switch it back the next month. You do have to have the Walgreens coupon though - so look for them on the circulars and grab a couple (or however many you need). One coupon per transaction. You can do a couple prescriptions - just do them separately.

How To Play The CVS Game

2008-11-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

If you are lucky enough to have a CVS pharmacy near you, then you can play the CVS game. It's pretty easy to do, although it does take some planning, a little trial and error, and a lot of coupons.

First step, get an Extra Care Card. They are free - just ask for them at the register. It's the equivalent of a Kroger card. It gives you the sale prices on items and lets you earn these wonderful little things called Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) on participating products.

Next step, make sure you get the Sunday paper for the coupons. I have found that you get the best (and all of the) coupons if you either order it and have it delivered to your house, or buy it anywhere other than Walgreens. There's a reason those papers are $.99 - they are often missing one or two of the coupon inserts. What a bummer!! Also, collect ANY coupons you come across. There isn't a coupon in the world that isn't worth saving - even the colon cleanse and benefiber ones. So, when you clip your coupons, keep them all!

Now that you have your coupons and your Extra Care Card, you're ready to play. I highly recommend coming up with a game plan before you walk into CVS. Go to www.iheartcvs.com and look up the sales ads for the upcoming week (or weeks since they have them pretty far in advance). When you are just starting out, it is best to look for the deals that are FREE after ECBs. And really, I only focus on the ones that are FREE or $1.00 or less after the ECBs.

Essentially, you will have some money out of pocket (OOP) to start out with. Let's just say (for kicks) that Bic Soleil razors are on sale for $6.99 with $6.99 ECBs. That does not mean you walk out of the store with them for free. It means that you pay $6.99 out of pocket and you get a little thing at the end of your receipt that says, "$6.99 EXTRA BUCKS" with an expiration date and a barcode underneath it. You will cut that portion of the receipt off and save it for your next purchase of $6.99 or more. It's as good as cash when you're shopping at CVS.

Now let's just say that there's a limit of 3 on those Bic Soleil Razors. Well, once you get your first $6.99 ECB, then you can then cash out with another razor. They will subtract the $6.99 ECB from your first purchase, making that razor 100% FREE. It will also print out another $6.99 ECB to use on another purchase. Tear that one off, and then do a third transaction with the razors. You'd get the 3rd razor for FREE and you would also get another $6.99 ECB to use on another purchase. You can either choose to use it on products you would need, or (if you're like me) you would use that towards the purchase of more items that earn you more ECBs. I always make sure to have a continuous supply of ECBs so that I keep getting things for FREE or for very little OOP expense.

Why use coupons then? Because you are making your ECBs and money stretch even further. Imagine if you will that you had a $2.00 off coupon for those razors I mentioned above. That means that you would only spend $4.99 OOP to start out and you'd still get your $6.99 ECBs. That's a "profit" of $2.00. If you had multiple coupons, then you could buy $2.00 worth of stuff you need (or more items that earn you ECBs), and you'd still get the $6.99 (or more if you bought other things that earn ECBs) in ECBs.

A few things to remember: Not everything earns ECBs. The items that earn them are always marked in the sales ad - and it looks like a subtraction problem beside or under the item. Sometimes it will say "FREE after ECB" and those are the ones I look for.

Sometimes you will not be able to get the FREE after ECB products because other people (like me) have gotten to them first. :o) That is okay. Just ask your CVS store when their truck comes in, and hopefully you can get a 2nd chance at the deals. I have found that many times our store will get very few of those products in on the truck (ours runs on Friday). So IF they do not have any of the products you would like after their truck has come in, then you can ask for a raincheck. The rainchecks are sometimes much better than the actual deal because they subtract the ECBs from the price and give it to you for that amount. If it is an item that is FREE after ECBs, then they will give you that item for FREE. Yep, that is right - FREE, nothing out of pocket. Of course, you do not have any ECBs to use on another purchase, but hey - you didn't have to pay anything OOP to start out with. I love rainchecks! Oh, and make sure that if you get one, that they put the limit on there. Sometimes there's a limit of 3, 4, or 5 and that means that you can get however many the limit was for FREE!

Make sure to guard your ECBs! You have to keep that portion of the receipt and present them WITH your card in order to get the deal. The ECBs will only work with the card that was presented when they were given. So, your mom can't give you any ECBs she earns with her card - they won't work.

What if you don't need the FREE after ECBs products? Well, if you have some ECBs to burn and you won't be out anything, then I say get them. There will always be a friend, family member, person from church, or a women's shelter that could use the items! That's another reason I say to keep ALL of the coupons. You never know what you are going to find for FREE that can benefit other people!

Sometimes to get all the free stuff you will have to cash out a few times. Don't feel bad about having 10 different transactions. If you're alone in the store, no biggie. If there's a line, be courteous and after a couple transactions, go to the back and do it again.

Oh, and leave some of the deals for other people!!! There's nothing I hate more than when people clear out everything in stock! Yes, they have great deals, I get it. But when people have 5 or 6 cards and are reaching the limits on all the products by 10 a.m. on Sunday, it isn't any fun for anyone else. So please remember to be fair. Use your one card and get the deals. You can always get a raincheck if you need to later on in the week.

It does take some time to get into the swing of things. After a couple months where I didn't play the game (after having a baby) I am still trying to build up my ECBs. I only have $15.00 worth to use for the Black Friday deals (starting on Thanksgiving), but with the right plan of attack, I should be able to only spend $.71 OOP and then have $25.00 in ECB. Here's hoping!

So, good luck - go forth and get free things! I'll be posting more about my deals and steals from both CVS and Walgreens as I get them. My bathroom closet looks like I own my own CVS/Walgreens store because of all the free stuff I keep getting, but hey - it comes in handy for my long-term storage goals, and I am able to help others out with the things I get.

Coupon Websites

2008-11-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

The only stores I've found to take the internet printed coupons are Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS - but if you shop there, then you can get some great deals with these. You usually have to click on Promotions or Special Offers links to get to them. Sometimes they will have a coupon link.

http://www.kelloggs.com/
http://www.ppgazette.com/
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
http://www.bar-s.com/
http://www.pillsbury.com/
http://www.gerber.com/
http://www.huggies.com/
http://www.pampers.com/
http://www.grocerygame.com/ (you do not have to join - just print the free coupons)
http://www.homemadesimple.com/
http://www.boxtopsforeducation.com/
http://www.everydayeating.com/ (Nestle Foods)
http://www.stives.com/
http://www.tylenol.com/
http://www.wyeth.com/
http://www.rembrandt.com/
http://www.degreewomen.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/
http://www.rightathome.com/
http://www.scottbrand.com/
www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
http://www.countrycrock.com/

the ppgazette website is for the Penny Pincher Gazette, and I love that site because it also lists the sales ads for your area. You can see what is on sale, and where - just by typing in your zipcode.

Another great tip/trick is to go to the website of the product you're wanting a coupon for and see if they offer some. Whenever I am putting together my list, I go to each website of the product I'm trying to get a coupon for and most of the time they will offer a coupon. It really comes in handy.

Free Sample Sites

2008-11-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

Want free samples - let me give you some of my favorite sites.

http://www.walmart.com/ (click on the In Stores Now link, then click on Free Samples)
http://www.mysavings.com/ - TONS of free samples
http://www.olay.com/
http://www.sunsilk.com/
http://www.similac.com/
http://www.enfamil.com/
http://www.verybestbaby.com/ (Nestle Good Start)
http://www.juicyjuice.com/
www.playtexbaby.com/bpafree/info.html
http://www.always.com/
http://www.playtexsport.com/
http://www.tampax.com/
http://www.kotexwings.com/
http://www.stayfree.com/
http://www.dove.com/
http://www.startsampling.com/
www.ky.com/kyintrigue/intrigue_sample.jsp (click on connect)
http://www.pull-ups.com/
http://www.gerber.com/ (register to receive coupons - they will sometimes send you samples and coupons for free things - like a glade plug-in)

Free Kraft Food & Family Magazine

Building Food Storage On a Budget

2008-11-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I've been on a kick about gathering a year's supply of food storage without breaking the budget. I am not a survivalist nut-job, but I do think that having food on hand for emergencies (whether they are big catastrophies or small ones like a job loss) is very important. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attending a meeting where some great ideas for food and water storage were discussed, and I was also able to talk a little about how you can be financially responsible and still get a year's supply of food storage together.

My first tip is to stock up on free samples. I have a lot of websites listed on my blog (see Free Stuff and Ideas on the right side of the page) where you can request free samples. These samples really do come in handy because they range in everything from baby bottles, to hygiene products, to laundry detergent - all of which are handy if you encounter an emergency. There are also many food samples (like taco seasoning mixes, cereal, granola bars, etc.) that are not only yummy, but they can go into a "go bag" or "72-hour kit" for emergency evacuation. The best part is that all of these things are FREE. You can't afford NOT to sign up for the freebies, because they are free, and they can translate into saving some money on the products you would need to have in an emergency "go bag" or in your year's supply of food storage.

Another great way to get free things for your food storage is to use coupons. Yes, I know...couponers are evil and take forever to check out at the grocery store, but hey - we save a lot of money and get free stuff all the time! Usually I can shave a minimum of $40 off of each shopping trip by using coupons in conjunction with sales ads. You can not only save money on your groceries, but you can pick up many products for free. On my last shopping trip, I was able to walk out of Wal-Mart with 2 free boxes of Old Elpaso Taco Shells, 2 free Ortega taco seasoning mixes, 2 free Hamburger Helpers, 3 free cans of Chef Boyardee pasta, 3 free bags of Birdseye Frozen Veggies, 1 free bottle of Kraft Salad Dressing, 2 free Edge Shave Gels, 1 Free Old Spice Deodorant, and 1 free bottle of Huggies baby lotion. How did I do it? I found sales ads for these products (or they were already on sale at Wal-Mart), and I had some great coupons. For instance, I had 2 coupons (printed from http://www.ppgazette.com/) that said "Save $1.00 on 2 Old Elpaso products" and since the taco shells were $1.00 per box, I picked up 4 boxes (2 sets of 2)and used my 2 coupons. I paid for 2 boxes and got 2 boxes for FREE. The exact same scenario with the Hamburget helpers, edge shave gel, and frozen veggies. In the Sunday paper - a few weeks ago, there was a coupon to save $1.00 on 2 Ortega products. Wal-Mart happened to have their Ortega seasoning mixes priced at 2 for $1.00. So, that means with my coupon, those packets were FREE! All of these products went straight into food storage (except the frozen veggies), and we were still able to come in under budget. See how great that is!

All it takes is about 1 hour a week, and you too can have some major savings (and some major free stuff)at the grocery store. With prices on the rise, you can't afford NOT to sit down with the sales ads, clip coupons, and go online and print the coupons out. You can't afford NOT to request free samples (which often come with coupons). These things will not only help with your daily needs, but they will help you bulk up your food storage on a budget.

My Top Money Saving Tips

2008-11-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

In our quest to cut expenses, we tried anything and everything we could think of to reduce our monthly bills. Some of the changes are very small, and the results are equally small, but when you add up all the small savings, you get big results. I generally get a lot of questions like, "How on earth did you do this on such a small income?" or "how can you live on half of what you make?" Well...it isn't easy and it take being proactive to get results, but these are some things that we did to save on our normal utility bills and household expenses.

Electricity:
Turn every light in the house off during the day.
When you leave a room, turn off the light.
Unplug the appliances you don't use on a regular basis (like toaster, can opener, radio, DVD player).
Unplug the computer and TV at night.
Wash your clothes in cold or cool water.
Take cooler showers - not cold, just not blazing hot.
Light candles at night for lighting.
Don't stand in front of the fridge with the door open wondering what to eat.
Bake less in summer, more in winter.
Put the thermostat at 78 in Summer and 70 in Winter.
Open the windows and turn the air off in Spring and Fall.
In winter, open the blinds/curtains when the sun in shining directly in a window.
In winter, close the blinds and curtains when it is dark out.
Unplug nightlights during the day.
Use ceiling fans instead of a/c as much as you can.
Change your air filter regularly. - You can even use your vacuum attachment to clean them between changes.
Switch to CFL bulbs.
Don't leave the outdoor lights on overnight (and especially during the day!)
Try line drying clothes in the warmer months.
When drying clothes, check them about 20 min before the cycle is over. They might just already be dry.

Water:
Wash only full loads of laundry.
You can wear your jeans 2-3 times before you wash them (unless they are obviously dirty).
Handwash dishes at least 2 times a week instead of running the dishwasher (saves electricity too!)
If running the dishwasher, wash only full loads.
Take shorter showers.
Limit the number of baths taken in the household.
Rain barrels are great for watering plants, flowers and gardens!
Water your lawn only if you MUST. - If you have to water it, then do it by 6 a.m.
Make sure no faucets or toilets are leaking. - if your faucet drips one time a second, that is 3000 gallons of water per year!
You can adopt the "if it's pee, don't flush till three" methodology - of course, "if it's brown, flush it down!"

Gas (fuel):
Carpool if possible
Make fewer trips.
Grocery shop twice a month instead of once a week.
Empty out the trunk!
Check the air in your tires.
Keep your oil changed on time.
Don't overbook yourself, causing a lot of road time.
Relax, life doesn't have to be full of playdates and activities!
Try walking or biking if you're going somewhere within reason.

Food:
Buy generic - it's usually just as good as the "real" stuff.
Shop at Aldi (it's SO cheap but SO good!!!)
Use coupons and sales ads to your advantage (see my post!)
Plan a menu for 2 weeks (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
Make a list and buy only those things on the list.
Cut out the junk food.
Make meals from scratch - it saves a ton of money.
Never buy prepackaged foods. (like the individual bags of chips - buy a big bag and divide it out yourself).
It's cheaper to make meals like lasagna than to buy the frozen ones. You pay more for convenience foods.
Cut down on the amount of soda you drink. - drink water (from the tap with a filter on it!) it's healthier and saves money!
If you're broke, you can't have caviar taste on a beans and rice budget!
Try going meatless 3-4 nights a week.
Buy meat when it is on sale and freeze it.
Use your leftovers!

Household Money Savers:
Cut babywipes in half - perfect size for little messes and they last longer!
If the diaper tab breaks off, duct tape it back on.
Cut dryer sheets in half - they work just as well.
Use 1/4 less laundry detergent - they still get just as clean.
You can use vinegar as a substitute to liquid fabric softener (and you really can't tell).
You can use a vinegar and water solution for cleaning.

Services You Can Live Without:
Cable TV (WHAT? Well, we do it just fine! CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX aren't THAT bad).
A landline if you have cell phones.
Lower your cell phone plan if possible and get rid of text messaging and stuff you don't need.
The ladies will hate me for this but: - dye your own hair - do your own nails - do your own pedis - facials can be done at home too - massages are nice, but teach hubby how to do it.
The guys will hate me here (some ladies too) but: - the online gaming stuff is not real - it costs money so get rid of it!
Cancel magazine subscriptions when renewal time comes.
Instead of renting movies, try out Netflix or the Redbox.
XM and Sirius is nice, but not necessary if you're broke.

Other ideas:Periodically check your insurance policies (homeowners, life, auto) to see if you are getting the best rate possible and to see if you can adjust your limits, premiums, etc to save money.Look at your bank statements - how much money was "wasted" last month? - make the changes so you don't "waste" any this month.Buy only the things you need - not the things you want.cut out (or severely reduce) the amount you spend on going out to eat.Plan free activities for the family - there are a lot of them out there.Hold off on vacations until you are debt free and can pay cash for them

Preparing for Trying Times

2008-11-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

In these uncertain times where the country looks as if we're balancing on the edge of disaster, I've been asked if we should be stock-piling food. With a rumored wheat shortage, a rice shortage, high gas and increased grocery prices, it's no wonder people are worried. I'll admit - I'm even a little worried. My church has always recommended that each family have a year's supply of food for the emergencies - both big and small - that life can throw at us. A year's supply of food is A LOT, and it takes time to aquire. BUT stockpiling food is not going to do anyone any good. What it will do is generate an unnautral demand for products, which will create shortages (short term) and thus increase the price even more. Not to mention, the foods we buy today, only have a limited shelf-life. If I bought 20 cases of vegetables with only 12 cans per case, that means I would have 240 cans of vegetables to eat between now and December 2010, when they expire. And of course I wouldn't start eating them now, I'd want to save them for "a hard time." Then when January 2010 comes around, we'd realize - "wow, we have more than 200 cans of vegetables to eat in the next 12 months. That's A LOT of vegetables, and chances are you'd end up throwing some of them out. It's just how things go.

Instead, I will recommend buying a little extra every time you go grocery shopping. If you have to already buy 2 cans of corn, buy a whole case. You'll have 10 extra cans, and you won't be spending THAT much more. When you use the 2 cans, replace them with 6. That's a great way to begin getting a supply of food together. The same goes for pasta, boxed goods, and water. If you're already buying one, try to buy an extra one. Now, this does NOT mean to go out and double your grocery budget. There's no reason to buy double your groceries...but pick a couple things a paycheck or a month to focus on, and go from there. Plus, you may be able to take advantage of buy one get one free deals. If you were planning on buying 2 of something, and it's buy 1 get one free - buy 2 and get 2 free. That's a great way to get a little extra food on the side. You're not breaking your budget.

Stockpiling is NOT a good idea, but having an emergency supply of food is.

How Do You Rotate The Food?
How we have always rotated our food storage is that when we buy canned or boxed goods (or any other type of non-perishable food item that we store), we will write on the front label and on the top of the can "Best By _____" (whatever the date on the box or can is). That way, it is easier to see a black permanant marker, than the little writing they put on the bottom of the cans or boxes. We move the older items (with closer expiration dates) to the front, and we put the new items in the back. Whenever we use a can of peaches, we know to buy at least another can of peaches to replace what we used. By putting the newer items behind the older ones, we know that the older ones will be eaten first. Plus, we can always look and see what the expiration dates on the front cans or boxes are, and we know that we are going to be eating a lot of peach cobbler that month to use them. :o) (Yes, I speak from experience - which is why I say don't stockpile - I did on certain things and ended up eating peach cobbler for 2 months straight!).

Where Can You Store The Food?
Many people may live in apartments or not have a lot of room in their houses. That's okay - you can still have quite a bit of food in your house, even with limited space. My number one hint is to take the shelves out of the cabinets and keep the canned goods in the cases they come in. You can stack approximately 1-2 more cases in a cabinet without the shelves than you can with the shelves. It might not look pretty, but it's functional. I also make sure to turn the labels on the cans out so I can see what's in each case and I wrote the expriation dates on the cases so I know how long we have.

Another idea is to store things under your beds. There's usually enough room to fit cases of canned goods. If your bed is too low for some of your items you need to store, then you can get blocks and raise your bed a few inches. Just put a block under each of the legs, and you're good to go. The bed skirt will usually hide them and no one will know.

A friend of ours would also get boxes (all the same size) and put her food storage items in them. She'd stack them 3 high and put a table cloth over it. It made a very nice end table, and unless she told you, you'd never know what was there.

The tops and bottoms of closets, unused dresser drawers, behind bookshelves on an angle, under furniture, and on top of your cabinets are all good places that you can store your food.

What Foods Should You Store?
Well, that depends on what foods you like, and how much food you want to store. For most people, a 1-3 month's supply of food would be desirable and adequate, so that's what we're going to discuss first.

If your family doesn't like beans (as an example), then buying beans would not be a smart move. You'd be stuck with beans and if you were to need them, you'd really not enjoy eating them. Instead, use the money to buy foods that you actually like. You will want to buy foods that offer you nourishment and sustinance. A good mix of canned fruits, canned veggies, canned meats (yes, I know - but tuna and canned chicken aren't that bad), and dried goods like pasta, rice, and other grains is a great place to start. You will want to make sure to have salt, spices, and seasonings on hand. Believe me, a diet of pasta and veggies can be much tastier with a few seasonings and some salt. Another good idea would be to have powdered milk. Yes, it's skim milk and most people think it's nasty, but if you had no income coming in and had no food or money for milk, then believe me - that powdered milk would taste like gold over your cereal. You will also want to have baking supplies (flour, baking powder, vegetable oil, yeast). Our 3 month storage consists of all of those things, and I know we could manage to live at least 3 months without having to go to the grocery store. You will also want to have frozen foods as well. In most of the "emergency" situations we will face in life, we will still have electricity and will be able to utilize what we have in the freezer, so don't be leery of buying perishable foods as well - just remember to rotate and not overbuy for your needs.

If you are planning on doing a long-term year's supply worth of food storage, then you will want to do all of those things - PLUS you will want to buy the staples. Wheat, rice, oats, beans, sugar, honey, and pasta. If stored properly, all of those items (excluding the honey) all have a shelf life of approximately 30 years. I'm not sure how long the shelf-life of honey is, but it is more desirable of a sweetener than sugar in hard times, which is why I recommend getting some of that. Also, you will want to have vegetable oil - that has a shelf life of about 20 years, if stored properly and is of a good quality. It can make even the most bland foods (even non-traditional edible items like wild flowers, roots of shrubs and trees, and grasses) taste better. After WW2 in Germany, one could buy any other item they wanted with a quart of vegetable oil. The vegetable oil could get them 3 bushels of apples or even 300 pounds of potatoes! The powdered milk is also another thing you will want to store, and it too (if stored properly) has a shelf-life of 20 years. If your long-term storage has enough grain, vegetable oil, powdered milk, and honey - along with water, renewable food sources (vegetables from the garden) and salt - your family can survive exceptionally well.

You need to know how to prepare the items you store. It will benefit you nothing to have 2000 pounds of wheat storage and not have a clue what to do with it. If you do not have a grinder, than you will be eating a lot of boiled wheat....yum. With the right ingredients, you can even make gluten out of wheat, which is a meat substitute. You just have to know how to use what you store.

The Importance of Water
Whether you and your family opt to have a 3 months supply or a year's supply of food - the most crucial item you can store is water. Water is everything in sustaining human life. We use water not only for drinking, but for preparing food (try making rice or pasta without water!), washing the dishes, cleaning our-selves, and washing the clothes. Should we ever find ourselves without water (due to a disaster or even without water for the day due to the utility company working on the lines), we will soon realize how vital it is to our survival. I have been caught without any water in the house, only to find that the water company had to shut off the water due to an emergency situation elsewhere in the town. I had NO water for a baby bottle, and it freaked me out. It was then I realized how important it was to have some water on hand, because you never know what life can throw at you. No, it wasn't a major disaster, but if it had been - what would we have done besides pray for rain?

You would want to store 1 gallon per day per person in your household. Yes, that is A LOT of water to put somewhere, but that's where the under the bed trick comes into play. You will want to store water in plastic bottles (that soda comes in) - just make sure to clean them thoroughly and make sure the cap is very tight. They need to be rotated every few months, which is fine - you can use them to fill your washing machine or even wash dishes. You can even drink them - just transfer them from glass to glass a couple times to improve the flavor. Milk jugs are not preferable for storing water, as the plastic often becomes brittle over time, and they do not seal correctly after having been opened previously.

Other Recommendations
You can also store toiletries and other household items you may need. I know that my biggest fear is not having toilet paper. (Yes, go ahead and giggle now!) I am about to have a stroke actually, because we are down to only 5 12 packs of toilet paper in our house! I mean, if we were forced to live through a depression or a disaster - I could give up a shower a day - I could give up a lot of things - but by golly - I'm going to want my toilet paper! lol. Seriously though - I have always felt more comfortable when I have some extra toiletry items in the house. If this is something you want to do, then by all means - get a storage system going for those things. The best part is that you can get many of these things for free by playing the CVS game. That's where coupons and sales ads really come in handy - you get your toiletry needs taken care of for free. It can't be beat.

***PLEASE READ****
I certainly hope this doesn't scare anyone into feeling insecure about their food supply. It isn't my intention. I do not want people to divert from their paths of getting out of debt, because that goes hand in hand with emergency preparedness. You will need to be able to have a roof over your head in times of trials. You will need to be able to keep the lights and water on - that's the most important part of being prepared. You definitely need to get your financial lives in order and break yourselves from this bondage of being in debt. We are still as gazelle intense as ever with our debt, but that doesn't mean we can't buy an extra box of hamburger helper a month, or buy a few extra cans of veggies. Food storage doesn't happen overnight - that would be stockpiling, and that would be stupid. It is about preparing yourselves to win - no matter what life throws at you - step by step.

Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes. The loss of a job is an emergency - and if you had some extra food in the house, that would be one less thing to worry about. (see how Dave's plan goes hand in hand with food storage?!). Being put out of work early due to pregnancy complications is an emergency. Having the utility company work on a water line without notice is an emergency. Natural disasters are emergencies. We may never have another depression in this country - or we might - I don't know. That's the thing - we never know what life throws at us, but we can do small things, bit by bit, to prepare ourselves to buffer life's emergencies - both small and mighty. Stockpiling is not a good idea - it never has been and it never will be. It puts you in a bad position, and it only offers you a temporary sense of relief. Doing little by little (but being vigilant about it) is the best way to go.

I do not want to lead anyone astray or make them feel uneasy. I want everyone to win in life, and being prepared sets us up for winning. I'm not one of these survivalist people (not that there's anything wrong with that) and I'm not going to say that there will be social anarchy one day and we'll all have to live off the land. I don't know that. I just know that I feel good knowing that I've got a full 3 months worth of fruits, veggies, pasta, and boxed goods in this house. We are ordering 100 lbs of wheat, 100 lbs of rice, and 20 lbs of oats THIS YEAR - throughout the year - not because I'm worried about the economy, but because it was on the schedule for us to order it. A schedule I made out over a year ago. I don't have a year's supply of food in this house. We could probably make it 3 months. I'm okay with that. I'd like more, and I'm working on it. But I'm not going out and buy 1200 lbs of wheat and rice and 240 lbs of beans (the recommended amount for a family of 4 for 1 year). That would be stupid. Yes, they last 30 years, but for pitty's sake - we'd have to rotate that much, and 1200 lbs of wheat and rice is A LOT to rotate! lol. Just relax - don't let the media get to you, and get things little by little. It has taken us a little over a year to get the amount of storage that we have. It's not been easy to always fit it in, but 1-2 extra things a shopping trip will really add up.

You can always join in and get more information on Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness at my Cafemom group Food Storage 101.

The Envelope System

2008-11-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

If you're a fan of Dave Ramsey, then you have heard him talk about the envelope system and about using cash only when you make purchases. We have been using the envelope system for a long time - over a year at least, and I've seen some tremendous progress because we've used it. Using cash for purchases is the only way to go! It saves you money in the long run, and it helps you stay on budget.

Why use cash?
Because there's something in our brains that makes us actually "feel" the cash leave our little hands. There's an emotional connection to cash, and we are less likely to spend as much money when we use cash. When we use plastic - either debit or credit (boo - credit!) there's no emotional connection. It's a piece of plastic that magically deducts money from our account, and it is a painless process. When using plastic as opposed to cash, you're likely to spend 12% more on a purchase (sometimes more than 12%). Just think - how many times have you been pumping gas (using your debit card) and you planned on getting $30.00 because that's what is in your budget, and oops, you missed the mark and now you're at $30.21???? So, naturally you want a nice even number, so you go ahead and round up to $31.00. Okay, so yeah - a dollar isn't going to break the bank in most cases, but you've already spent 3.3% more than you planned. When you use cash, the gas station attendant shuts the pump off at $30.00 so you don't ever go over in that case. The same goes for "just a dollar or two over" at the grocery store, the restaurant, and the mall. Those dollars add up and can easily break a budget. That is why we use the envelope system.

What is the envelope system?
The envelope system is just that - a system of envelopes. When you do your budget you factor in things like food, gas, clothing, oil changes, Doctor co-pays, eating out, blow money, and other similar things. Those are all things that you can pay for in cash, as you are making purchases. Insead of carrying your debit card or writing a check for these things, Dave suggests using cash. When you get paid, withdrawl the cash from your bank account to cover the purchases you'll be making for either the month or for the 2 weeks (depending on when you get paid). You then put the money you budget for groceries in the "groceries" envelope, the money for gas in the "gas" envelope, and so on. Anything that you will be spending money on needs an envelope.

When the money in that envelope is gone, it is gone. There is no more money, and you cannot make another purchase without money. It's a really great way to keep your budget in tact and on target. Plus, you end up spending less because you don't want to look like an idiot at the check-out counter when you have to put a few items back because you don't have enough cash to cover the costs. It will only take once for that to happen, and you will quickly learn to shop for the bargains and to really watch what things you put in the shopping cart.

What are some categories for envelopes?
Every family is different and has different needs, so your envelopes will look different than mine. I will list the envelopes we have (and a couple we don't but could have), but feel free to make your own to suit your family's needs.

Groceries - this includes toiletries, diapers and cleaning supplies for us.
Gas
Doctor Co-pays
Oil Changes
Clothing
Entertainment - includes eating out
Birthdays
Christmas
Pest Control
Blow Money

What kind of envelopes do you use?
Personally, I use the cheap-o ones from the dollar store. I never actually seal them, so it doesn't matter if they don't have the best sticky stuff on them. I've also known people to use the little envelopes that the bank gives them! So, they get their envelopes for free - that certainly beats my $1.00 envelopes! Dave Ramsey does have a very nice envelope system set. It has pretty envelopes with a nice carrying case, but personally I don't have to go that fancy. Some people do and swear by them, so I think it's a matter of personal choice. Me, I'm a cheapskate, so I'll cut corners and save money wherever I can. Regardless, you can find envelopes that work for you, and just use what you have.

What happens if you run out of money?
Well, you have 2 issues then - 1. you have more month than money, and 2. your budget doesn't work. If you run out of grocery money, then it's going to be mac & cheese and ramen noodles until payday rolls around again. If you run out of gas, then you may have to dip into another envelope or re-work the budget to see where you can get the money from. The next month, you will be certain to make sure that your budget isn't quite as strict, and that you plan a little extra fluff in the necessities envelopes.

You will learn, though, that the longer you do it, the less you will spend. I budget $200-$225 a month for groceries (and toiletries and diapers) for our family, but I typically have at least a few bucks left in that envelope at the end of the month. The same goes with the other envelopes. You will start to watch where you're spending your money, and you'll find that you begin to have some left over every month.

What do you do with left over money?
Whatever you would like to do with it. You can either save it in the envelope for a little extra padding just incase you find a good deal on something, or you can put it onto a debt for the debt snowball. You can even choose to save it for a nice dinner out. It's completely up to you, but I would definitely be proud that you stuck to the budget and even came in under budget.

Does it really work?
YES! It really works. We've not gone over budget for a very very very very very long time. I can only attest to the last year (because I can't really find my old budget notebooks at the moment) but for the last 12 months, we have been on budget (or under) EVERY SINGLE TIME. I can honestly attribute that to the envelope system. I was the worst at going over at the gas pump and spending a few dollars more at the grocery store when I used the debit card. Now that I've used cash, I see that it is the only way to go. I'm more careful, I pay more attention, and I'm less willing to part with it unless I'm getting a deal. So, yes, the system works. It's definitely scary to start because we've all become so reliant on our debit cards, but once you get it down, you won't want to go back.

Free Family Fun

2008-11-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

If you guys are anything like us, the last thing you want to do is drop a load of money on any given Saturday to do family things. Of course, you really want to do things with your family and make memories with them, and unfortunately we all sometimes come up short with some creative ideas on how to accomplish these tasks. So, I have been racking my brain for some cheap activies you can do with your family (or even just your spouse). Of course, when teenagers are involved that may be a whole different thing, but for the smaller children, these activities may be just what the doctor ordered.

*disclaimer - activites are to be performed at your own risk, and I have no liability if they are lame! LOL!!*

Monster Sundae - get the biggest serving bowl you can find, and as a family make a huge sundae. You can have various kinds of ice cream or just one kind - it's up to you. But get creative with the toppings and sit at the table and enjoy. Yeah it's a mess, but it's fun to get messy!

Picnics - Picnics are not only for the park. I have had many picnics in other public places. In Nashville we have this HUGE hotel called The Opryland Hotel. Inside the hotel, there is a conservatory and another part called The Delta. It has plants, a little water taxi, and a big water and laser show. We will pack up a picnic lunch, go to the hotel and eat it right in front of the water show. We make a day out of it. If you have any place like that you can go, grab a picnic basket and have fun!

Local Festivals & Community Celebrations - If you can watch the local news or read the paper, then you will find that many of your local communities will have festivals and celebrations that are free to the public, and they can be rather interesting. In Tennessee, we have one town that has a Mule Day celebration (sounds totally lame, but it is actually quite fun and interesting for the kids). In my town we have the Strawberry Festival every May. There's a parade, all the strawberry foods you could ever buy (and they are really quite cheap since our town is known for its strawberries), and they even have activites and games for the kids.

Scavenger Hunts - Who doesn't love a good scavenger hunt? A group of adults can even participate. All you have to do is be a little creative and plan ahead. Our neighborhood had a Halloween scavenger hunt that resembled the Amazing Race. We had to drive in teams of 2 (not husband and wife either!) and we had to complete certain tasks. One was sweeping the floor of our local Papa Johns and another was helping someone wash their car at the car wash for 1 minute. lol. It was really fun to race around and try to beat everyone else. You could do that with your kids - just break up in teams of 2 (or whatever works) and try to find certain items on a list. You don't buy them....just find them or take a picture with your camera phone or digital camera.

Make Your Own Movie - Kids love to be on camera, so why not have them dress up and act out a movie - if you own a video camera or a digital camera with video capabilities. When it is finished, you can watch it and enjoy your own brand of entertainment.

Camping - You can go camping in the back yard. If you can get your hubby to go along with it, make a fire (yes, that means digging up the beautiful grass) and make some smores. What is better than that?

Science Experiements - Make an erupting volcano together. Go outside and look at the stars - try to spot some constellations. There are a ton of safe experiments you guys can do at home that are not only educational but fun.

Go Hiking - get out and go hiking. Maybe you and your kiddos can learn how to use a compass - or better yet, teach them how to find directions WITHOUT a compass. You never know when things like this can come in handy! But don't get yourself and the kids lost - remember safety first!

Playgrounds/Parks in the early evenings. Usually about dinner time the parks and playgrounds clear out. Some of our local playgrounds don't have a closing time because with adequate light and observability from the road, it's still a safe place for kids to play at all times of the night. If you have an area like this - take your kids out at dusk and have the run of the playground with them. It's amazing how quickly the same old playground can turn into a pirate ship or castle for a princess. Play with them. Most of the equipment can handle 150-200 lbs. Be a kid again and have fun with yours.

Go Shopping Without Buying a Thing - We always did this when we were kids. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, and as a pick-me-up for us (and I think for herself too) my mom would take us to Toys-R-Us and let us pick out 5-10 things we wanted. She would just let us play and have the best time there. We all had the agreement that we wouldn't be buying ANYTHING, but we could play all we wanted and we could put the things in the cart that we really wanted. We would just leave the cart behind and we'd leave without spending anything. Sure the Toys-R-Us people probably hated us, but it was my mom's way of shopping without shopping. When I first started on the Dave plan, I LOVED to shop, so to get it out of my system, I did the same thing. I pick out all the things I wanted, and I'd either slowly put them all back, or I'd walk away from the cart. It helped curb those cravings to shop. But I honestly see nothing wrong with going to a store and letting your kids play - as long as they try to pick up afterwards.

Downtown Parks - In a really nice park in Downtown Nashville, they will have MANY free activities throughout the year. Sure we have to drive to get there (about 45 min), but it is worth the drive once we get there. They usually have a Shakespeare In the Park even. Once a year they have the Celebration of Diversity, where you can watch many different cultures display either their dance, art, history, and food. It's fun and free. You may not have anything like this in your town, but if you have a major metropolitan area, I'm sure they have activities like that.

Symphony Centers - Many symphony centers will have 1 free night a quarter or every 6 months. This is on a first come, first serve basis, but it is a good way to either get a date with your hubby OR introduce your kids to the symphony. They usually cater to families on these nights too.

Art Centers, Museums, and Tourist Attractions - Like the symphony center, many of these places have a free day every 6 months to a year. As long as you get there early, there's usually not a problem with parking. In Februrary the Bellmont Mansion had their free day in Nashville.

Performing Arts Center - this is mostly for you and your spouse, but you can volunteer as ushers at the performing arts center, and you will be able to watch the show for free. Usually you have to stand through it, but considering the cost of tickets, it is worth standing and maybe opening a door or two if people need to go to the bathroom.

Movie Night - Clear out the furniture and either move the mattress or pile up all the blankets and pillows you own into the middle of the room. Curl up as a family and watch a flick. Popcorn, drinks and candy optional, but highly suggested!

Game Night - Actually use those board games you've bought and been given as presents. They are not only fun, but they give you some together time. If you have to bribe your kids to play, then you can have a prize for the winner. Doesn't have to be anything major - maybe 1 free day of chores or 1 trip to the mall....whatever they might be into.

Arts & Crafts - Not the typical arts and crafts stuff. But how about tie-dying shirts, painting on the lawn - non-toxic stuff of course (it comes up with a couple of mows), face and body art, costume making, etc. For older kids (teens), how about letting them decorate their rooms with some artsy stuff? You can paint and glue stuff to lamps and shade to "make them your own" at a really low price.

Service Projects - Get your family involved with helping others. It will not only bring you closer together, but you are helping someone else. You will be teaching your children how to help others and how to serve others without expecting anything in return. Maybe help do yardwork for a widow on your street, volunteer at a nursing home, children's hospital, or homeless shelter. Maybe you can get your kids to donate some clothes and toys to a battered women and children's shelter. They can deliver them with you and see how appreciated their items are. Get them involved - it will teach them to be givers in society.

Dealing with Creditors

2008-11-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

If you haven't let the phone ring because you just couldn't deal with another call from a debt collector, then you can consider yourself lucky. For many Americans, the dreaded phone call from the collection agency sparks an instant feeling of disgust, despair, and maybe even an upset stomach. So, how do you know when you're being treated fairly, and how do you deal with these guys? I don't know all the answers, but I will share what I do know with you. I've seen the other side of it - my ex-husband was a Vice President over collections, so I would hear about various tactics they employ.

Collection Agencies
These bozos are a piece of work! There is a high turnover at these places, because they are just temporary jobs for snot-nosed punks. You don't hear of anyone having a career at a collection agency - why? Because it sucks to work there, and they don't care about the job. They are about as expendable as kleenex tissues, just not as useful. :o)

To really get much of anything done, you will have to talk to a supervisor, or two, or three, or four. Most of the time the first "supervisor" you get is the guy in the next cubicle over. Eventually you can get to a supervisor, but it takes a lot of determination. The supervisors are generally the only ones that can lower your payments, offer a settlement, or even remove fees or interest. So, why bother with the little peons when you don't have to?

If you can keep the debt you owe from going to a collection agency by working with the original creditor, please try to do that. It will save yourself a lot of headache and hassle.

Do You Have To Take the Calls?
No, you don't. You can tell them to only contact you in writing; however, when you ignore them or tell them to stop calling, it usually results in them taking the next step. Sometimes it's getting sent to a collection agency, and others it's getting sent to the attorney. Sometimes you want to actually talk to them. If your account is still with your original creditor, they may be able to work with you to get you current again, and they may be able to reduce your monthly payment or your interest rate, so that you CAN make the payments. Many times, when it is your original creditor, they WANT to work with you because they want to get paid. I would hear my ex-husband say all the time, "If people wouldn't run or ignore us, then we'd try to work with them and get them current. When they run, we have no other choice."

You do NOT have to accept calls from them at work. You can request that they no longer contact you at your place of employment and only at your home, and that will usually not bump you to the next step.

Now I will admit, that there are many places out there that do not feel the same way, but generally speaking, you can do more through your original creditor than through a collection agency. You typically are not sent to a collection agency until you are either 60 or 90 days late.

What Can They Say To Me?
Unfortunately in today's world, there are a lot of rogue debt collectors, and they employ dirty techniques. You DO have rights as a consumer. It is called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Familiarize yourself with this act so you know what they can and cannot do the next time they call. The more you know about your rights, the less they can bully you.

Not all creditors and collectors will bully you, but the majority of them will. My ex-husband would refer to people who were even 30 days late on a loan as "deadbeats." They do not hold in high regards people who are late, eventhough it may be the first time and only because a spouse was out of work for a month due to surgery....it doesn't matter to them. Their job is to get the money coming back in and collect the past due amount. That's all they are there for, and the more they can scare someone into paying them, the better their numbers look. Yes, they will try to scare you into it. They will threaten lawsuits, garnishments, and all sorts of things. Yes, those things are legal courses of action; however, the way they go about with the threats may or may not be.

They are not allowed to call your family members, divulge information about you or your debt to neighbors, family member, or friends. There have been many cases where collectors have called neighbors or family members have have told them that they were trying to contact you and to give you the message. That is NOT legal, and you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Complaints about debt collectors are on the rise. They've increased by 43%, according to the BBB, in the last 5 years alone. Why so many? Because the collectors don't really care about their job and all they want to do is get you to pay them some way.

They are not allowed to swear at you, use vulgarity or profane language, or threaten arrest. They cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. They cannot misrepresent the amount you owe. (apparently some have been saying you owe more than you do and then offering to lower it!) You definitely want to know your rights before talking with these people!

Whatever you do or say is recorded in their database. That way, if they know you are a crier, then the next collector to call you can play on that. They can play on your anger and your emotions. If they can get an emotional reaction out of you, then they know you are more likely to make a payment to them, than if they cannot. Whatever they say to get an emotional reaction out of you will be recorded on that log, so the next collector can take off with that same strategy. Do NOT give them an emotional reaction.

Not all collectors are unethical. It only takes 1 bad apple to spoil the whole bunch. Some collectors will work with you. You just need to know your rights.

What If They Offer A Deal?
Get it in writing on company letterhead! One tactic they use for settlements and even payment arrangements is to get you to make a deal, and then they amazingly come up with amnesia about the whole event. Either Tom or Nancy (the person you spoke to) doesn't work here any more, and they didn't put anything in the system, or your phone call with them never happened. What about the "taped for quality assurance" tapes - conveniently missing or taped over.

Hummm...isn't that cute? So, yes, whatever they say they are going to do for you - get it in writing. While sometimes they do really genuinely try to help you, most of the time, they are just trying to get you to pay them SOMETHING this month and then they can stick it to you next month.

You Can Take Charge
If you're getting the calls, you are already aware that you're late on your payments. You may have tried to work something out with them, and they wouldn't budge. When all is said and done, you can take charge of the situation and deal with them on your own terms.
One tactic I think is great is telling them that your situation has not changed and it will not change. If they would like, they can call you once every two weeks on Friday (or whatever day you get paid) and they can see then if your situation has changed, but they are not to call any more than that. Then if they call during the 2 weeks, you tell them "I told you when to call - I will only talk to you at that time." and let them hear the dial tone. Make sure to take their calls when you say you will, but that will keep them from calling every day or every week. It makes it a little more manageable.

Do not pay them over buying groceries. Above all, you always want to meet your needs for housing, transportation, utilities (not including cable or cell phones) and food. Beyond that, you can try to pay them what you can. You can tell them that you will only have X to pay them this month and that's it. You cannot get blood from a turnip. It just doesn't happen.
If you happen to get a rogue debt collector, report them to the BBB and the FTC, and TELL them that you are going to be reporting them. That will go in your file.

If you know your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you can tell THEM what your rights are, and you had better be sure that goes in your file - "she knows her rights" and they won't try to mess with you as much. (if they have any kind of a brain in their heads)
The more you know about your rights, the better off you will be!

Grocery Shopping With Coupons & Sales Ads

2008-11-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

We all know that the prices of groceries are on the rise. For most of us, we feel like we are violated the moment we hear the total of our 1/2 full shopping cart of groceries for the next 2 weeks! "You've got to be kidding me!"

Well, if you are anything like me, you want to do something about it, but not eating isn't really an option, now is it? Well, that's where my handy dandy little friends called coupons and sales ads come into play!

"Oh, no - you're one of those crazy coupon clippers who take an hour to check out at the register!"

Yes I am honey, and I save a TON of money doing it too! Now I'm not one of these women who can get $300 in groceries for $2.10. I wish I was, but I've apparently got a lot to learn still. At any rate, here's what I do every 2 weeks to make my dollar stretch a little further. I will say now that I live in a fairly rurual area in Tennessee, so my grocery prices are not the same as someone living in Los Angeles, so that that into consideration when figuring all this out.
For a family of 4 (soon to be 5) with 2 in diapers and pull ups, we need to make every single penny of our $200.00 a MONTH food, toiletries, and diaper budget stretch as far as it will go. Thankfully I have some great resources. The Sunday paper is probably my biggest helper. In one place I get all of the local sales ads and I get quite a few coupons. I actually have started getting 2 papers (sometimes more if it's a VERY good coupon day). Other fantastic places to go find coupons are online! True, not all stores will accept printed coupons, but call your local store and see if they do. Most Wal-Mart stores will accept them as long as they scan (and I've never had a problem with that). You're probably wondering, "Well, where do I get these online coupons?"

Glad you asked! http://www.thegrocerygame/ (I just print the free online coupons and download the toolbar which gives you access to like 100+ more coupons!), http://www.pillsbury.com/, http://www.chefboyardee.com/, http://www.mentadent.com/, http://www.rembrandt.com/, http://www.huggies.com/, http://www.pampers.com/, http://www.gerber.com/, http://www.enfamil.com/, http://www.similac.com/, http://www.verybestbaby.com/, http://www.boxtopsforeducation.com/, http://www.homemadesimple.com/. Some require you to sign up for their newsletter - just make an email account for the junk mail...that's what I do. I will admit, I do periodically check their junk mail and will sometimes find some great coupons there too. Oh, and you can print the coupons out 2 or 3 times each, so you can even stock up while saving money!

***Now with the grocery game, some people find the $4/a week (or whatever the charge is) is worth it to join, but I try to do it all on my own - it's cheaper that way! I do check out all the coupon sites because sometimes you can print some from each. **

One site I'm completely addicted to is Penny Pincher Gazette's site - http://www.ppgazette.com/ - they not only let you print the online coupons, but they have the sales ads for your area in one handy-dandy place! It's a one stop place - get your coupons, get your sales ads and go!

So, now that you have coupons up to your eyeballs and more sales ads than you know what to do with - what is the next move? Well, it's making a menu. Come up with the meals you would like to make in the next 2 weeks (or week - however you prefer to shop) and figure out what you need to fulfill that menu. Once you have your list, you start looking at the coupons that you have access to online and the ones you get in the paper. Surely if you need sour cream, you can find a coupon for sour cream. It may not be for your favorite brand, but come on - $1.00 off to switch brands this once is worth it! Now is where the fun part comes into play. Take a look at the sales ads you got in the Sunday paper and see if you can find that kind of sour cream on sale somewhere. I bet you can. If you can't, then you need to go to the Penny Pincher Gazette website and click on "circulars" and see what you find there. While it is easier to wade through the actual sales ads because they have pictures and are pretty, this website lists things that are on sale that may not have been mentioned in the circulars, which is beyond fantastic! Just print out the ones you need and you have all the info for the lady (or man) at the check-out line. And like I said, you can usually find a coupon to match each sales ad (and vice versa).

So now, with your list in hand, your coupons and your sales ads in tow - you are ready to attack! The most efficient way I've learned how to do this is to go to one place. Walmart will price match their competitors sales ads, take regular and online coupons....so they win my business 99% of the time that I'm doing this. When I shop, I pick up everything I need. Sometimes I can't find a sales ad for the things I need, and that's okay - you can't win EVERY time with this. But, I do make sure to put the things without sales ads on one half of my cart (usually the right side) and the things I have sales ads for on the left. It makes checking out SO much easier to keep it separated! So, I do my shopping and get what I need (and only what I need!), making sure to meet the requirements of the coupons and sales ads (like size, quantity, or type of things).
Now, it's check out time. Ugh. It's probably the most daunting part of it all, but where you can really see the savings add up. I usually pick a line with someone in front of me who has a lot of stuff. It gives me time to get it all up and I don't feel so rushed. So, I put the stuff I don't have a price match on up onto the conveyer belt and I leave a little room to separate the price match stuff. When the cashier starts ringing up the stuff, I politely tell them that I'm one of "those" people and I'll try to make it as easy as possible. I tell them all my price match stuff is at the back. They do their thing and then I step in and do mine. I make sure to tell them the price match price and the location of the sale item for each item. I will show them the sales ad, but usually they could care less by that point. It's definitely important to have them with you - even if they don't care...there will always be that one who will! So, after you're done, you'll get your total - then you bust out the stack of coupons. One by one, you get to see your total go down, down, down, down! It's a rush!

I can generally walk out of the store with about $150 - $200 worth of groceries for $100 or less. I have yet to save less than $50 on any shopping trip where I've done this. And the best part - you can stometimes get items for free. I've gotten free boxes of taco shells, free hamburger helper, free spaghetti-o's, free cereal, free deodorant, free shampoo, free shaving gel, and free maxi pads - AND MORE by doing this! It's AMAZING! I've gotten Huggies diapers that are normally $21.88 for $15.79. The savings are tremendous! So, give it a try and see how much you save!

Yard Sale Tips & Tricks

2008-11-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

I love yard sales. It's where I can sell my unwanted junk to people who are more than willing to pay for it! Ahhh, there's nothing better than the smell of money in the morning!

So, for those who were like me, and were clueless about how to even hold a yard sale, here are some of my tips and tricks. Now I'm no expert and I actually don't even go to other yard sales (if I do, they cost me money, and that defeats the purpose of having one myself), so this is just what has worked for me. To date we have made approximately $3400 on several yard sales, so I consider it a success.

The night before the sale, make sure you are ready to start bright and early. I start setting up at 6:00 AM! You'd be amazed how many early birds are out there! I have people stopping by 6:30 to see what I've got! Also, make sure you have signage. I use the neon pink poster board and the biggest black marker ever to make the YARD SALE signs with an arrow. It doesn't need all that extra junk. Just make sure it's able to be seen from a distance away. You can advertise, especially if you live in a more rural area. Usually you have to have it turned in by the Tuesday or Wednesday prior to the sale. Either way - make sure people can find you, or you won't be selling much!

What do you sell?
Well, anything you don't want any more, of course. That sounds so silly, but don't be afraid to put the strangest things out there. You never know what someone else is looking for. That set of Russian nesting dolls that have been collecting dust on your shelves might just be the one thing some sweet little old lady is looking for. Those really gawdy Halloween necklaces might just tickle someone's fancy. You just never know. I've sold my fair share of strange things that I never thought would sell in a million years. Believe it or not, yarn and fabric (1/2 yard or more) are hot commodities in the yard sale world. Tacky costume jewelery will sell like wildfire, and it's been my experience that clothing does equally well. The only things I do NOT suggest selling are undergarments, used lotions or perfumes, earrings (unless they've not been worn), and other iffy items. If you aren't sure - don't put it out there.

Also, you will want to ask your friends and family members if they have any unwanted stuff they can give you. Sure it's kinda like begging, but hey - whatever works, right? You will be amazed at how much your parents have stashed away somewhere that they're glad you're taking off their hands. Most people have a lot of stuff they could get rid of, but they don't want to bother with loading it up and taking it somewhere. So, you're actually doing them a service if you offer to come get it and take it away for them. People will be more than happy to donate, especially if you tell them you're getting out of debt with your yard sale proceeds! So, just ask! You'll be amazed at all the extra stuff you will get to sell! More stuff equals more money!

Pricing
Okay, this can be a bit touchy. Sometimes we have a tendancy to want to make a truck-load of money off the stuff we sell, so we set the prices too high. Other times we have a tendancy to just want to get rid of it and price it way too low. Just remember, the point of having a yard sale is not to become instantly rich - it is to get rid of your junk and make a few bucks in the process. Your unwanted stuff that you'd normally donate to Goodwill is worth more to the buyer than it is to you. So, the pricing of these items can be a delicate process. My suggestion would be to put yourself in the buyers' shoes. How much would YOU be willing to pay for that item at a yard sale? That's usually a good starting point. If you have no clue, ask your friends and family what they'd be willing to pay for that item and go from there.

You also want to make it easy for people to understand how much they will be paying for the items. You want to keep things fairly easy - $.25, $.50, $.75, $1.00, $1.25 and so on. No one wants to count out pennies (and you won't want a whole pocket full of them at the end of the day either!). It also helps to have signs that say things like "This table - $1.00 items" or "All Adult Clothing - $1.00 per article" to help avoid confusion on the prices. I've found that selling adult clothing for $1.00/article really makes them sell and gets them out of my life! If I have coats, then I will put them separate and charge $2-$3 for them. For baby clothes, I usually charge $.50 per article or $1.00 per outfit.

Don't be afraid to negotiate. These are people who want to get a good deal, too. So, be willing to haggle a little. Already have a lowest price you'd take for the item in your mind, and hope that they don't go that low. If they do, then it's okay to counter offer. Just bear in mind that you are selling it - you don't want to bring it back in, but you don't want to give it away for free. Be mindful that there will always be that one lady (or man sometimes) that will try to get something good for pennies. Don't be afraid to tell them no. You aren't giving your stuff away for free, so if they make an insane offer, tell them no, the lowest you will take is X and go from there. I mean, you're stupid if you let a $10.00 item go for $1.00! Someone else will see it, like it and buy it for $10.00!

How to Display Your Items
I firmly believe that this is one of the most important parts of the yard sale experience. If your yard sale looks junky, people won't stop. If your items are dusty or dirty, they won't get as much money as if they were clean. You have to show the items in the best possible state, so you make money.

Clean the stuff up before the sale! Polish the stuff, make it shine! Dust the things that need to be dusted, try to get off any marks, and make sure the items work (and you have the ability to show people they work). If it's in it's original packaging, make sure you keep it and place it near or under the item so people know it's there!

Make sure everything has a price. Those lovely little circle stickers are GREAT! For a couple bucks, you can sell so much more because people will KNOW how much you want for an item. Invest in them! If an item has the original price tag, leave it on there - let them see how great of a deal they are getting. Put your new price tag next to the original one.

Group like things together. Put all the picture frames together, all the ceramic figurines together, all the vases together. Have an area for kids stuff and an area for things men would like. Have another area for things women would just LOVE (unused perfumes, unused lotion gift baskets, jewelery, unused makeup, etc). The more you can make your yard sale look like a store, the better.

Hang the clothing up for pitty sake! I think having the clothes on a hanger looks SO much better than putting them on a blanket. People will actually BUY your clothes if you hang them up! Sure things like shorts and stuff can be folded, but put them on a table so that people don't have to bend. You have to remember that the people coming to the sales are sometimes older, and bending over just isn't their thing. If your items are easily accessible, they will be sold. Get as many tables together as you can. We use 1 card table, 2 patio tables, our dining room table, and a long folding table. It's a lot to move around, but it makes it look SO much better!

If you're selling furniture, put big signs on it. That will pull people in if they know it is for sale. Utilize space on the tables and shelves you are trying to sell. Show them that the coffee table looks fantastic with that floral arrangement with it.

Don't be afraid to spread it out! We usually have one row of tables with all our stuff on them, then behind the tables we will hang our shower curtain rods for hanging the clothes up. The more it looks like you have, the more people will stop.

The Extras
If you're into it, you can do little extras to set your sale apart. It can be anything from having neon pink or neon green signs leading the way, to selling lemonade or cookies at your sale. Most of the people shopping have been out for a while (or will be out for a while) and could use a little something to snack on. The cost of making the cookies pales in comparison to how much you could make off of them! The husbands will LOVE you for this!

You can always have a box of free stuff too. You can request that there's a limit of 1 free item per person, but it will give people warm fuzzies that you're giving stuff away for free....even if it has a ton of McDonalds' toys in there!

Make sure to have plastic bags (gotta love Wal-Mart!) to put their items in. Have an extra seat or two out there just incase someone gets too hot and needs to sit down for a minute. You want to be remembered as the best yard sale, especially if you plan on having more! So do something to stand out!

Well, I hope this gave you guys some ideas. Some sales go well, some are a bit slower. It just depends on how many people are out looking for stuff. I've made over $700 in one day before, and on another occasion I only made about $200. It varies, but stick with it. If your stuff doesn't end up selling this time, put it away for a few more weeks and try again. I've had a total of 7 yard sales now and have gotten over $3400 total. Most of the stuff was given to me by friends and family. It's definitely worth a day or two of work to get a yield of that much money. So, get going - start going through all that clutter and start hitting up your friends and family, and get a yard sale going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Making Your Dinner Dollars Stretch

2008-11-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

If you're anything like me, you're trying your best to stick to your grocery budget, but the high prices at the grocery store are getting in your way. Well, if you're tired of eating your hard earned money instead of being able to use it for the debt snowball, then maybe these tasty solutions are just what you need to stretch your dinner dollars.

Use Fillers
This is my number one trick because it's the easiest and cheapest way to make a difference in your budget. Now I'm not talking about stuffing things with other things. I'm talking about those lovely little things you can add to your meals to make them more filling.

Whenever we make hamburgers (which is rare because it uses so much meat and meat costs money), I make sure to throw in a little extra stuff that people never even notice. If we're making 4 hamburger patties, we will use enough meat for 2 1/2 hamburger patties, and the rest is filler. We will put in some worchestershire sauce, some garlic powder, and some Italian bread crumbs. Actually, we throw in a lot of bread crumbs. Enough to make the meat almost double in size. Another great filler is onion soup mix (dry) and plain bread crumbs. The more stuff we can throw in the hamburgers, the further the meat can go. We do the same exact trick to meatloaf, meatballs, and any other ground meat meal we can come up with. The bread crumbs pick up the natural flavor and texture of the meat while giving it more volume.

For pasta and rice dishes, you can throw in steamed veggies as filler. Who doesn't love a good chicken broccoli alfredo? Well, use half of the chicken, twice the amount of broccoli and it's equally as filling. You don't even have to stop at broccoli, throw in other veggies - peppers, carrots, peas - whatever you like. If you're having just run of the mill spaghetti, you can use less sauce by adding chunks of cooked or stewed tomatoes. You can also make your own homemade spaghetti sauce to save even more money.

If you are going to do an actual piece of meat (not chunks of meat, ground meat, or shredded meat) then you can get creative about your sides. Add rice - any kind of rice is filling, and if you add it to the meal, everyone will get full. Even if you're making tacos or burritoes, throwing in some mexican rice with the meat will make it look like you have more and it will fill everyone up faster. Utilize the filling power of potatoes.

Make Smart Substitutions
My favorite substitution is to change out ground turkey for ground beef. We love the taste of ground beef, but we HATE the grease. The ground turkey isn't quite as flavorful, but that's where spices and herbs come into play. There is much less grease (actually no grease) to drain. Have you ever noticed how your ground beef shrinks down to a miniscule size once you cook it (especially for things like tacos or meat sauce for spaghetti)? Well that's because it loses a lot of its volume in grease. All that lovely stuff you drain off and discard took up room in the packaging. The less of that junk you have, the more meat you're getting for your money. That's why I always buy ground turkey instead of ground beef. Even the lean ground beef can't compete.

Instead of fresh fruits and veggies buy frozen. They are equally nutritious and there's not much difference if you're cooking them anyway. Plus, frozen veggies last longer. Instead of having to eat what you buy all at once, you can space them apart. While veggies aren't incredibly expensive, any money you can save is a plus.

As exampled above, harness the power of rice and potatoes. Instead of having 2 vegetable sides, have 1 side of rice or potatoes and one side of veggies. Again, veggies aren't that expensive, but you'll be getting more for your money if you can cut down on the number of sides you have for any given dish.

Cut Portions
Most Americans actually consume more meat than is recommended, so cutting your portions of meat isn't going to kill your family. Instead it is probably better for them anyway. Instead of 2 pork chops, eat 1. Instead of a whole chicken breast, eat half per person. You can cleverly disguise just how much meat the people in your family are getting by cutting it up, dicing it, shredding it, and mixing it in with stuff. We can feed our family of 3 on one chicken breast because we will cut it up into bite size chunks and throw veggies in there with it. My husband still has no clue we eat so much less meat than he thinks we do.

Use smaller plates. I know that sounds like a huge trick, but your food looks so much bigger if you can put it on smaller plates. We have plates that we use for our every day lives and they are about an inch in diameter smaller than the plates we had before. We eat less because we have less room on the plates. They also have a frilly pattern on the side that we tend to not put food on, so that's even less room. We still get enough to eat, but it sure looks like we eat more. lol. Similarly, don't lump the food all together on one plate. Spread it out and let it look like it fills the plate. It may seem stupid but these visual tricks actually work. I've been doing them for a while now and my husband hasn't noticed a thing. :o)

Instead of leaving the food out for people to pick on after they are done eating, put it away quickly for leftovers. Our bodies and brains don't sync up when it comes to processing when we are full. If you keep the food off of the table for seconds or put it away, it's out of sight, out of mind. That also helps avoid the over-full feeling. Most nights we won't put the food on the table, I will make the plates and take them to the table. This way, we are all getting the right portions, and the food isn't there to tempt us into eating more than we should.

These tips aren't going to make you rich, but they might make you think about doing things a little different. They might just get your creative juices flowing so that you can find ways to make those dinner dollars stretch. In today's economy, every little bit helps.

Fixing Fuel Pump Woes

2008-11-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Things You Can Do To Your Car:
Check your tire pressure
Change your oil on time
Change your air filter
Take the junk out of your trunk
Don’t top off – the extra sloshes around and seeps out.
Tighten up the gas cap
Park in the shade
Actually use the garage for parking your cars – not storing junk
Don’t blast the AC in summer or the heater in winter
Get a tune up
Don’t carry items on your roof rack
Change your tires – deep tread or big tires use more gas
Use the lowest octane fuel you can for your vehicle

Ways To Save By Driving Better:
Don’t floor it or accelerate too quickly
Don’t stop abruptly (unless completely necessary)
Use cruise control when on the interstate
Follow the speed limit
Avoid rush hour – the stop and go will kill fuel efficiency
Combine trips
Carpool
In town, roll down the windows On highways, use AC on the lower settings
Don’t idle your car
Don’t tap the brakes or rest your foot on the brake – creates drag
Don’t drive aggressively

Ideas On Making Fewer Trips:
Shop bi-weekly instead of weekly
Shop at the stores closest to your home most often
Walk to the park or playground
Ride bikes
Public Transportation
Carpool with co-workers or even neighbors who work NEAR you
Have a plan where you’re going – don’t just drive around
Get directions
Plan activities your family can do at home or in the local community

Freebies for Mommies

2008-11-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

Since I'm expecting our 3rd child in 3 years, I'm scouring the internet for a bunch of freebies. Some I've already gotten before, but I don't mind trying to get them again. Some are new to me. Either way, I'm going to share them with you guys. If you or someone you know is expecting a baby, then be sure to sign yourself (or them) up for these freebies and offers. The only ones I'm going to suggest staying away from are the Gerber life insurance plans that are sometimes offered at the sites - those are a ripoff!

Formula & Feeding
Even if you plan on breastfeeding your baby, you never know what life might throw at you. Believe me, I planned on it with my other 2 but it only lasted 4-6 weeks after birth due to health complications on my part. So, you want to be prepared in the event that you find yourself needing some formula. Not only will you get coupons and some actual cans of formula, but you also get some really neat gifts too. I have gotten a baby's first year calendar from Similac. Enfamil sent me an ABC poster. So, you just never know what cool things you'll get when you register at these sites. http://www.enfamil.com/, http://www.similac.com/, http://www.verybestbaby.com/ (those cover Enfamil, Similac, and Nestle Good Start). Even if you use only one formula, you can always register for the others (incase of allergies) and you can always give the coupons and cans of formula to other mothers who might be in need of those kinds of formula. It's a great way to help others out! You can also go to http://www.gerber.com/ and check out their special offers - they have coupons for baby food they will send you (and continue to send!!!!) http://www.juicyjuice.com/ will send you a free sippy cup. You can also find a free sample of Playtex Drop-Ins at http://www.playtexbaby.com/bpafree/info.html and also a set of Cooling Care Nursing Pads at http://www.maternalconcepts.com/?p=cooling_care_sample&id=e4643974feed3d4e1564af3f6e3e3c1d

Diapers
We all know diapers are pricey, but unless you feel like washing poop out of cloth ones (which I'm not putting down if you're cool doing it), then you will be stuck buying diapers for the next 2 years (or more). These companies will not only send you samples of their diapers, but they send you coupons.
http://www.pampers.com/, http://www.huggies.com/, http://www.luvs.com/ (the Huggies people have LOADED me up with coupons). Have some coupons sent to your mom, sisters, friends, etc. Then they can give you the coupons and you'll have even more and save even more.

Miscellaneous Fun Stuff
I registered with http://www.babycenter.com/ and I not only got weekly updates of my baby's growth and progression, but there's a section with contests and other gifts. There are also helpful articles, due date calculators, and just a bunch of other fun stuff on thier site.

http://www.walmart.com/ offers many kinds of free samples - just click the In Stores Now tab and then click on Free Samples. Right now they are offering a sample of Huggies Diapers and Goodnites boxer shorts for kids! They change samples all the time, so check back with them frequently.

Another great site is http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/. If you have this in your local community (which all of the state of TN has it), then your child will receive 1 book every month for FREE until they are 5 years of age. You can enroll children up until their 5th birthday, and like I said - the books are free.

Fun Sites to Check Out
These don't really offer anything for free (at least not now), but they are pretty fun to check out. http://www.thelaboroflove.com/chart/ for a gender predition chart. http://www.babynames.com/ to find a name for the baby. http://www.cafemom.com/ to chat with other moms in your area and around the world about pretty much anything. I'm on there all the time!!!

Debt CON-Solidation

2008-11-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

There has been talk here and there about whether or not debt CON-solidation places do the job. And you may also be wondering - "why on earth does Clarisse always type CON-solidation with such big letters?" Well, that's because debt CON-solidation is a huge, big, fat, ugly CON. I am also going to lump debt management places in with debt CON-solidation places, because they are both bogus!

Yes, it is true - it's a CON. They're junk, it's a rip off, and you should avoid it like you would the plague. "Oh but why is it so bad?" That's simple: because they charge you money to do the same thing you can do for yourself for free - if they even end up doing it. There are some places out there that are actually legitimate, but there are far more scams out there. They can charge hundreds to thousands of dollars to do a consolidation loan. Sometimes they charge a person upwards of $30 (sometimes even upwards of $150!) per month to "manage" or "eliminate" their debts.

But Can't They Negotiate With My Creditors?
Well, maybe. But YOU can too! You can actually call your creditors and hang up with the same outcome. How do you do that? By talking with someone with a brain. That's IS pretty difficult in the world of collections and credit card companies, but after you've spoken with a couple managers, you will eventually find one with a brain that can actually help. Once you find that person, you need to explain your situation and stress to them the fact that you WANT to pay off your debts. As them if they can help you do this.

These people want your money. Especially with a sluggish economy, and with so many people drowning right now, they are happy to work with people as long as they are actually getting SOMETHING. Take advantage of that. Ask them what they can do for you. Ask them to lower your monthly payment. Ask them to close your account and see if they will give you a lower interest rate if you do. I have known people who have gotten their interest rates on credit cards dropped from 19% to 5% just by closing their account while there was still a balance. I call that a pretty dang good negotiation.

Sometimes they will lower your rate to keep the account open. Heck, take them up on that and cut the card up. Sometimes they will be able to remove over the limit fees or late fees. All you have to do is talk to them and ask. Just remember, the guy answering the phone can't do anything for you - just talk to supervisor after supervisor after supervisor until you get someone who can really help you out. It takes patience, but you can do it, and all it takes is a little time, effort, and a phone call. That's a lot better than $30 a month.

But Paying One Bill is Easier...
Well, if you want to pay on that one bill ten times longer than it would take you to pay the 10 individual bills - okay. But it honestly doesn't make much sense. If you can follow the debt snowball method of paying off your debts. You will not only be out of debt faster, but you will have saved yourself money. Just make minimum payments to all but the smallest, and then put every single extra penny onto the smallest debt. It will go away faster. Then you will only have 9 bills left, and before you know it, you will be debt free and smiling all the way to the bank!
Paying $30 or more a month for "ease" because they "manage" your debts isn't smart. Do it the "hard" way and put that $30 a month towards your debts so you're done faster. With some debt consolidation places, you can pay a one time fee to get one big loan to cover it all, but if you had the money for that fee - wouldn't it be smarter to put it on your debt and probably pay one or two of them off with it? Maybe it's just me being a weirdo, but I don't like to give people my money for making my life "easier" when I can do it myself.

The Truth
The biggest misconception about debt CON-solidation is that it will help. Most of the people who go through debt CON-solidation end up coming back time and time again to do the same thing. Why? Because they didn't learn their lesson. They didn't feel strapped for cash, which led them to feed their impulses. They racked up more debt. Instead of having the say $20,000 they owed before, they now have that $20,000 consolidation PLUS another $20,000 that they racked up on those cards they CON-solidated. So, now they have $40,000 and are no better off. That's how they get you!

Personal finance is only 20% math and 80% behavior. When you change the behavior behind the debt, then you can control your financial situation. When you take the "easy" way out, you are not changing your behavior, and you will fall back into the same behavior that got you into the mess in the first place. If you pay off your debts on your own, through your own sweat equity, then you LEARN from your mistakes. You see how hard it is to get out of debt, and you vow never to do stupid again! And let me tell you - it works. When you've worked to get out of debt, you learn that debt is no longer a part of your vocabulary. It is not something you want to ever get into again, so you will avoid it. Then, you know your behavior is changed.

People will always believe what they want to believe, and some people will swear by the seat of their pants that these companies help, but these are the people that will keep coming back to them over and over again. In the end, it is a person's personal decision whether they go through this or not, but as for me and my house - we will work our butts off to pay off our debt - not pay someone to do it for us eventually.

The Insurance Talk

2008-11-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm definitely NOT selling anything, but insurance agents all over America are. They are giving you all kinds of insurance so that you are "protected", and it just so happens that their wallets happen to get a little more money in them from your "protection." Isn't that convenient?
Dave Ramsey is the one who taught me all about insurance. This is a boring subject, but it is the one that can hurt your finances and steal your sleep at night if you aren't covered. Insurance can be the difference between keeping all that you've worked hard for, or losing it all in an instant. The sad thing about it is that eventhough insurance is one of the most important things we can have in place - most of us don't understand what we're buying! We are entrusting our financial lives to our insurance agent, and I'm pretty sure I'm like the rest of America. I've met my insurance agent twice, and I found him in the phone book. That's a bit scary when you think about it. Your livelyhood is in the hands of some person you just met, who was kind enough to sell you home, auto, life, or medical insurance. Do you understand what you were just sold? Probably not. And that's scary!

Well, I hope to try to help straighten it out a little bit, and I highly urge you to listen to Dave Ramsey and his advice on the subject as well. I'm not a professional - I'm a common stay-at-home mom that decided I was going to understand the products I pay for and trust our financial futures to.

Medical Insurance
In America, there are many uninsured people, and these same people will one day get sick and need a doctor, hospital, or clinic. Without health insurance, they are left to foot the bill. Anyone that has been to a doctor and received a bill will quickly realize that a simple office visit can easy rack up charges for bloodwork, tests, and heaven forbid they actually have to send you somewhere else. The prices for anything medical related is astronomical, but there's nothing we can do about it, because we NEED their services when we are ill. We NEED doctors and nurses. We NEED the hospitals, and unfortunately the price matches the need. The only way to somewhat buffer that cost is to have health insurance.

If you have the ability to have health insurance and don't, then you are s-t-u-p-i-d! Many of the people who declare bankruptcy, have to declare bankruptcy because they have an amazing amount of medical debt. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, and heaven forbid tomorrow is the day that you get the news that you have cancer. You WILL get treatment if you aren't insured, but you can expect to get bills for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Heaven forbid you walk into a minute clinic tomorrow and you are diagnosed with a disease that is now a "pre-existing condition" and will prevent you from getting medical insurance again. Waiting and gambling with your health until you can "afford" insurance or until it is "offered by your employer" is just dumb. You can't afford NOT to have health insurance. Asking for a higher deducatable will lower the premium so that it can be a bit more affordable.

Life Insurance
Life Insurance comes in a wide variety of types. There's whole life (universal, variable, and cash value life) and term life. The difference between these insurances is DRASTIC, and especially when you consider the cost behind them, you can see a huge difference. Whole Life, or universal or cash value life, insurance is an insurance policy that lasts until the day you die. You choose an amount (say $300,000) and you pay a high premium to keep this in place throughout your whole life - no matter what you may end up being diagnosed with - this stuff is there. The premium (depending on age, health, weight and other factors) can be hundreds of dollars a month - we were quoted a monthly payment of $148 each for whole life - which is an annual cost of $1776 EACH for a $300,000 policy (of course this was a quote and not set in stone, so it may have been higher). Many of these policies also gain "cash value," which means that you can take the cash value out if you ever need it. At this point, most people think, "Wow, what a great idea - an insurance policy that I can get money from while living!" Um...no - it's not a good idea. Why? Because you pay WAY too much every month and if you just so happen to NOT take out the cash value before you die (like most of us know when that's going to be), you lose all of the cash value you "build up" and your family only gets the face value of the policy. Oh, so all that "cash value" goes down the toilet when you die. YEP - what a lovely product.

Term Life Insurance is where you set a limit of the years you will be covered. They usually come in 10, 15, and 20 years (there may be more like 25 and 30, but for all intents and purposes, we're going to stick with 20 year). A 20 year level term life insurance policy will cost you between $15-$30 a month (depending on your age, weight, health, and other factors). With this type of insurance, you will want to choose a policy that if for 8-10 times your income. If you are a stay-at-home mom, then you will base it off of your husband's income. For a $300,000 life insurance policy each, my husband and I pay just under $300 a year each for our 20 year level term life insurance. In 20 years, we will have paid less than $6000 each.

When that 20 years is over, we will not have any type of life insurance. Why? Because we will be self-insured. We will have been working for 20 years to set ourselves up in a winning financial position. We will not have any children left at home, we will own our home (15 year mortgage), we will have been debt free for MANY years, we will have been contributing to reitrement accounts, and we will have been building wealth during this time as well. If one of us were to die, then the other would just have to suffer through it without any payments and living off of all of our investments and wealth. Plus, retirement would still remain untouched for the surviving spouse.

If you were to take the difference in the whole life policy compared to the term life, we would have had a difference of $124 per month for each of us. If we took that and invested the difference in a good growth stock mutual fund, then we would be independantly wealthy and not even have to worry about having life insurance. Do the math for your situation and see how well you could do! You want to make sure you have enough insurance so that your spouse and children are taken care of, but you don't need a $1,000,000 policy. That will just make you sleep with one eye open at night. You only need 8-10 times your income. Make sure you are covered!

Oh, and stay away from accidental death - you're not double dead because it was an accident. No matter how you die with regular life insurance (except suicide) you still get paid. Accidental death is a way that the insurance people get a bigger building.

Do not buy life insurance for children because they bring no income into the home. The Gerber plan is a RIP-OFF! Get a rider on your term life insurance policy to cover burial costs.

Auto Insurance
We all need auto insurance - not only because most states require you to have it, but because it's just a good idea. Well, how do you pay less for your auto insurance? First, you shop around. There is no reason that you have to stay with mom and dad's insurance company just because you know who they are. Shop around! Get a good rate from a reputable company. Lets say you are happy with your current insurance agency and carrier. Okay, great - well, pull out your policy and take a look at it. We're going to save you some money.

What is your deductable? If you have your $1000 emergency fund, then you are able to raise your deductable to $1000. Raising your deductable will LOWER your premiums. Having a low deductable raises your premiums, and being enrolled in those special "money saving" programs that lower your deductable automatically raise your premiums a lot! If you have your emergency fund, there's no need to fear that $1000 deductable.

What else are you paying for? I went through our auto insurance and saw that we were paying $4.50 every 6 months for towing insurance that had a maximum of $50! $50 won't even get the tow-truck to come get you - what a waste! I got rid of that. I saw that we were paying $21.50 every 6 months for a $1000 per person for automobile medical payments! We have health insurance - that was just completely unnecessary! We were paying $23.47 every 6 months for rental reimbursement that was only $30 per day. We have 2 vehicles and could manage if one was out of commission. So, in those examples alone, I was able to come up with an annual savings of $98.94. Look through your paperwork and see what you are paying for that you don't need.

On the flip side, you need to make sure that you have adequate coverage. I think too many people make the mistake of having low deductables and low liabilty limits. I mean, $25,000 for bodily injury goes REALLY quickly! $25,000 for property damage doesn't go very far either. If you run into the side of a house, $25,000 isn't really going to cover it. If you run into and total a lexus, that $25,000 isn't going to cover the cost! If you end up sending someone to the hospital, that $25,000 isn't going to last very long. It is a good idea to increase your liability insurance, because you never know what you're going to run into (ha - what a pun!). But seriously, increasing the limits to $50,000, $100,000, $50,000 will save you a lot of headaches down the road. Yes, it will cost more, but if you raise your deducatbles, then you with still either save money or break even. At least you will have the coverage you need.

Sometimes on an old car, it makes sense to drop colission insurance. But ONLY if you own the car and could easily part ways with it if something happens. And also, you will want to have some money stashed away in savings to buy a new car if you drop the colission insurance. Plus, it never hurts to get a quote or two to see when and where you can save money. It's something to look at.

Homeowners Insurance
The same basic guidelines apply for saving money as with auto insurance. Make sure you're not paying for stupid things that you don't need. We just found out that we had $11,490 for "other structures protection." That is A LOT of money for a stupid deck (that is pretty tiny) and a $2,000 shed that we'd be fine with if we lost it! So, apparently we need to do a little re-working there.

Homeowners insurance is one place you do NOT want to go cheap. This is your home and you want to make sure that you are covered against anything that might happen. Make sure you have guaranteed replacement cost insurance on your home. Replacement cost on your homeowners insurance, it means they replace your home regardless of the limits. This may be difficult to find, since most of the major carriers stopped doing this because they weren't making money on it. Also, make sure to increase your coverage as your home increases value. Usually you will want something in the realm of the value of it plus 25%. The worst thing you can have is an insurance policy for $125,000 and your house is worth $175,000 when it burns down. You just lost $50,000 because you didn't call your insurance agent to increase the value. They aren't going to do it automatically for you - you HAVE to call them and do it.

You may also want to look at an umbrella policy if you have some assets. It is to transfer the liability from you incase some idiot falls against the side of your car and gets hurt. People will sue you if you have assets, and having an umbrella policy will put some distance between you and the idiots...it will let the insurance people deal with them!

Other Types of Insurance
Everyone needs to look into disability insurance. It is to replace income lost during disabilty. You are more likely to be diabled than to die by the time you are 65, and if you don't have that insurance then you are out of income. You want to buy own occupation or occupational disability, which means that if you can't do what you are trained to do, then you get paid. If you are trained to be a surgeon and can't do that but could work at mcdonalds, you'd still get paid. It's a good idea to have it. Regardless, long term disability is very important to look at! Unless you are planning on having children, short term disability may not be the smartest move. It only lasts for 90 days, and it can carry a pretty high cost (depending on factors). If you are truly disabled, then short term disability would be like shooting a tank with a b-b gun. If you have a 3-6 month emergency fund, then you will not need short term disability, so save your money. Invest in the long term disability. If you can get on with a group diability plan, take it! It's the best value for you!

Long Term Care Insurance is recommended for people 60 years old and up. This is insurance that you would pay so that you don't have to be stuck in a state-run nursing home. The largest expense we are looking at is elder care. You may need to have the nursing home talk with your parents. You do NOT want to put them in a medicare nursing home, and you probably won't be able to face the expenses of the other options. 60% of the people over the age of 65 will need some type of nursing home care in their lifetime. Also, you cannot hide mom and dad's assets so that they cannot be sold to pay for nursing home care - it is a federal offense if you do that, and they can go back upwards of 60 months to undo any transfers! You could have a million dollar net worth and if you or your husband end up in a nursing home, they can take everything but the house, 1 car and $71,000 if the other spouse is living at home. If you AND your spouse end up in a nursing home, EVERY SINGLE ASSET can be sold and depleted for your care! For a lousy monthly premium, it is WORTH it to have Long Term Care insurance.

Unnecessary Insurance Products
Agents will always try to sell you unnecessary insurance products. You do not need pet insurance incase Fluffy or Fido gets sick. That's why you have an emergency fund! Pet Insurance is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of in my life!

Credit Insurance is STUPID! You're going to pay them a premium so that if you lose your job, they will pay your credit cards for X months. Well, if you were smart, then you wouldn't have had the debt in the first place, but if you did have the debt, you could take that premium and stick it in a savings account. Lo and behold, if you need it, it is there, and it will buffer the cost of your bills! I have bought these products on personal loans and on auto loans. I NEVER used them. If I had taken the amount I spent on those products and had used it towards the balance, we would have saved a ton of money on interest alone!

Pre-paid Burial Policies - just save up for it for pitty sake. If you invested even $3000 in a mutal fund from age 40 to 80, then you would have $355,000. I think that would bury you! Paying for this is just parking your money with the funeral home and investing it at the rate of inflation. If you want to pick out the things you like and would want, that's fine...but don't pay for it now.

Duplicate Coverage - Don't have double coverage on medical. They will fight with eachother who is the primary insurance and it will take forever for anyone to actually pay anything. Just 1 kind of coverage is sufficent.

STOP LETTING INSURANCE AGENCIES RIP YOU OFF ONE DOLLAR AT A TIME! Call your agent and get things straight. Save yourself some money and get the coverage you actually NEED!