May Recap

I have come to the conclusion that Joseph spends way too much money. Obscene amounts to be exact. I couldn't even keep good tabs on our spending this month because he would buy stuff and lose the receipts(or bought a ton of scuba equipment off Ebay)

His mom gave him a boat that she bought cheap(she lives by a lake). It's a nice boat except it had no motor. He looked around and the cheapest used(which surprised me with all the major lakes we have around here) was $4000. Holy smoke! You can buy boats and motors for that. So I gave him the bright idea of looking on Ebay. Well, he found one, in Wisconsin. So he and my step dad fired up the Cadillac(gets good gas mileage) and headed off. He purchased it for $600 plus $350 in gas and $900 in "other"expenses(he has to go back in 3 weeks if that gives you a clue on other expenses) He gets it home and can't get it wired up. So he takes it to a boat shop and they now say the motor needs repairs. AHHHHH!!!!!! He did assure me that his dad was going to reimburse him for the motor(minus the "other" expenses)

~sigh~

Anyone else have a significant other that counteracts your saving behavior?

Here's some numbers for the month

Groceries $289.74 $210.26 under

budget! I think the majority of that was spent on milk, lol.. Thankfully, the monsters only used 2 gallons of milk this week. Joseph is in Florida for a couple weeks so we should start off June spending very little.

Household $104.97 $45.03 under budget

This would have been lower if I hadn't stopped at Walgreens last night but this is much better than last month.

$23.96 will be returned for Walgreen Rebates

Small victories

I cut out paper plates last month and even though I only spent $7 a month, that's $84 a year(or 1 month of Thing 2's martial arts class and trip to McD's, lol)

I'm reading The Complete Tightwad Gazette in my spare time to hopefully learn some more tricks.

Budget Busters

Gas $575

That does include $350 for Joseph's Wisconsin run(which his dad is supposed to give him that money back)

Eating out $311

I nearly passed out when I seen this. That does include 3 trips to "nice"restaurants(2 times was Japanese with one of these trips being $130 for the 5 of us, mil, and Joe's cousin visiting on military leave)

Joseph's plane ticket $205.xx

One way from here to Florida used to cost less than $90 just a few months ago. Even though this is still cheap for a direct flight, it does stink it has doubled. It is still cheaper than driving there.

Overall, our monthly spending increased by almost $1000 from last month. I know once the boat motor is fixed, we will get that money back but at the moment, all I see is negatives in the budget.

Me and Joe have had "discussions"of me looking for a part time job but I cannot convince him, he is the one spending the money. Aside from hiding his debit card, I don't know what to do. I know adding childcare for 3 kids won't help either.

The kids made some money this month. The grandparents made their rounds with end of the year congrats and money. Both of them received $40 in Walmart gift cards and $35 cash. I told them to save the cash for slushies at the convenience store or snacks at the pool. Me and Joe put them $50 each in their savings accounts so they could have their other money to spend. Even Baby Girl got $10 from the various grandmas and grandpas. I stuck it in her savings account.

My money making wasn't so good. I didn't stay inside much to do Cashcrate or Paypal.

I did make $39.25 from Jordan Essentials,

$10 for the Money Exchange(goes for Back to school stuff)

$10 for 2 haircuts

for a total of

$59.25

Not much...grrr

I need to make$260-$300 a month to help with dance and martial arts. Thankfully, there is no dance in July and August(except for camp which we are not doing this summer)

I did find out old camcorder(no battery) and an old camera(flash doesn't work) that I need to list on Ebay for parts. Me and mom also need to start sorting out my grandmother's stuff she doesn't want(mostly a ton of holiday decorations) in order to have a yard sale(grandma is paying $120 a month to rent storage units to store it all) It should net some nice Back To School money(I've never had a yard sale and made less than $300). Even splitting with my mom, should give a nice working amount.

I hope everyone did good on their budget this month!

Super Savings Saturday

The deals were a little blah this week(at least in my neck of the woods). This was more of a stock up week for me.

Walmart

Joseph loves those Bush's grillin beans so I went online and bought, uh, 45 coupons. I also found some more of the Farmland Select coupons and the Dixie napkins.

Here's what I bought

20 cans of Bush Grillin Beans(I thought it was wise not to use all the coupons at once, I might get thrown out of walmart. The cashier wasn't too happy at the conclusion of this transaction anyways)

$25

4 Packages of Farmland Ham

Steaks

$11.52

6 packages of Dixie Napkins

$8.82

2 bags Mission Pork Rinds

$3.38

Total before coupons $48.72

used 20 $1/1 Bush's Grillin beans

4 $2/1 Farmland Selects

6 $1/1 Dixie Napkins

total before tax

$14.72

Saved $34 or 70%

My Walgreens trip is here

Want to see more great shopping trips?

Check out Money Saving Mom, BeCentsAble, and The Centsible Sawyer

Walgreens

I couldn't resist the $10 off with a $30 purchase today at Walgreens, especially when they had Huggies on sale. Here's what I got

3 packs Huggies diapers

$28.47

1 pack of Clean Team wipes

$3.29

Total $31.76

used $10/$30

3 $1.50/1 Huggies diapers

$1/1 Clean Team Product

Used $10.99 from a gift card

OOP $5.27(before tax)

and I can send in for the $5 rebate on 3 packages of Huggies!

Yippee!

Want to see some more Divas at work? Check out The Centsible Sawyer's Drugstore Divas!

Frugal Fridays

Woohoo! It's Friday! Today is Thing's 1 and 2 last of school for the summer. I'm sure they are antsy today. Joseph gets to celebrate by leaving for Florida tonight, leaving me with the first rounds of the "I'm bored's"

My Frugal Friday is some of my not so frugal buys. My list of "I'm buying this even if I don't have a coupon and it never goes on sale hardly ever items"

Miracle Whip
You know the slogan and for me it's true. I can't eat a sandwich without my Miracle Whip. Or make macaroni or potato salad without it.

Country Bob's
We never buy ketchup or any other kind of sauce. Country Bob's is great for your burgers and your fries. I do get lucky occasionally and they run a free bottle offer.

Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Plain salt doesn't cut it for me. I love this stuff on everything, even scrambled eggs. We buy a ginormous container at Sam's that lasts us a couple of month's(not so much since grilling season is here though).

Oreo's and Pecan Sandies
You would think as many oreo's I ate while pregnant with Thing 2 I would be sick of them. Oh no...especially those evil Strawberry Milkshake ones. Joseph loves the Pecan Sandies. Give him a pack of those and a tall glass of milk and he's happy(at least until he runs out of cookies). These are the only cookies I still purchase at the store.

Coca Cola
This is Joseph's. I successfully gave up the stuff almost 2 years ago. I do drink Dr pepper but a case lasts me almost a month. Joe, on the other hand, drink 4 12 packs a week.

The following 2 are not groceries

Pedigree Dog food
The cats can handle generic food just find but it is Pedigree for the dogs. They seem to have less problems when they eat this brand(gas, etc)

Tidy Cat Scoopable litter
It's almost $12 for 35 pounds(versus less than $8 for a 50 pound bag of the Tidy Cat regular litter at Sam's). i tried the regular litter once and was constantly cleaning out the litter box throughout the day(versus once or twice with the scoopable). Definitely not a job I like doing all the time. (not to mention the regular doesn't absorb oders very well)

Hopefully the manufacturers of these products will see this post and be kind enough to send me some coupons :)

Do you have not so frugal buys or had some and broke the habit?

Want some better frugal ideas? Check out Biblical Womanhood for Frugal Friday!

Slackeritis Strikes Again

I'm terrible.

I seriously need some help. Sometimes I wonder I manage even to get myself dressed in the mornings. Joe swears I have ADHD. I was going through some papers (ok, piles) on my desk and discovered I forgot to send in the Handi Vac Rebate. And the Glade Car Freshener rebate. GRRRR! The Handi Vac rebate is in the envelope and stamped but I have no idea why it didnt make it the mailbox. The Glade rebate is still in my binder. And I have no clue what I did with the one for Honey Bunches oF Oats.

Isn't there a pill for chronic slackeritis??

:P

Ramblings

School is out this Friday. I don't know whether to do a happy dance or scream. This will be my first summer in a long time around them 24/7. How do you homeschooling moms keep them entertained? My older 2 will be in summer school 4 days a week for 4 hours a day(it lasts 6 weeks total) I do have to give a big thanks to the school for sending home reading lists for the summer(about 10 books each) I told them if the read all the books, we would do something special(like Chuck E. Cheese) Hopefully, that will offer some motivation. There are several public pools(that cost) and then there is some fountains(free) that they can play in. My oldest is gifted and needs mental/creative stimulation and my son is more physical but also needs academic stimulation or he will backslide in school.

So, do any homeschooling moms have any academic recommendations for a would be 6th grader and a 4th grader? Any ideas would be a appreciated!

Also, I want to extend a big THANK YOU! to Thing 1's middle school. They already sent home a supply list(unlike the elementary who wait a week before school!). After I raid my supply closet and see what I already have, I can use the remaining supplies as fillers for CVS!

Happy Memorial Day!

glitter-graphics.com

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Check out LA Police Gear today for that special someone in your life! They have a great selection for Father's Day gift ideas!

Menu for May 26-June 1st

I can't believe that this is the last week of school! Thing 1 will be in middle school in the fall and Thing 2 will be a 4th grader. Think I'm going to cry ~sniff~ There is a ton of activities going on this week, plus Joe is probably heading to Florida again at the end of the week, so everything is light and easy

Monday(school is out for the holiday)
Poptarts, apples
Sandwiches, chips, grapes
Ham slices, baked beans, homemade bread

Tuesday
Cereal, bananas
(volunteering for Thing 1's Pizza party so I get lunch there)
Eating out at Thing 1's favorite Mexican Restaurant before her graduation ceremony

Wednesday
Boiled eggs, grapes
Salad, apples(or having any leftovers from Tuesday dinner)
Grilled brats, zucchini, onions, and bell peppers cooked on the grill, bread

Thursday
Cereal, apples
Eating lunch with Thing 2
French Onion Soup with cheese and bread

Friday
Oatmeal, bananas
salad, grapes
pizza, salad

Saturday
scrambled eggs. hash browns, bacon, toast
clean out the refrigerator
sandwiches, chips, fruit

Sunday
pancakes, sausage, fruit
clean out the refrigerator
Stuffed bell peppers(Thing 2's request), biscuits

Desserts for the week
Brownies
Homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies
Apple Crisp




Check out I'm am Organizing Junkie for some more great menus!

What's in your mailbox???

Mine was kind of boring this week. The only freebie I received was my Smart Ones insulated tote. I have to say, I am really please with it. It's bigger than most lunch totes you buy. It will be perfect to put some sandwiches in when I take the crew to the pool this summer!



The other thing I received was my House Party supplies. I signed up for several and was selected for the SC Johnson Party. My box came with a tote bag, a kitchen timer, some dusters, and some really great coupons(there's some more stuff in there, I haven't had time to look through it all) Want to know what a House Party is? Go here.



Want to see what other people have got in their mailbox? Check out the Thrifty Soaper's Super Sample Sunday!

Weekly recap

My secret to super savings this week, don't go to the store!(well, except for groceries)

Woohoo! I stayed out of CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens(even after receiving the $5/20 coupon!) this week! I had all of my ECB's used for the month of May(except for $5 expiring next Friday, which I will use next week) and Walgreen's did not have anything I needed. Yes, I said needed, not wanted. I did a little inventory(ok, a whole lot of inventory) and we should be good for quite awhile on razors, shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, and assorted cleaning products. I have only spent $82 on household items and the only thing we will need before the end of the month is dog food.

Groceries, on the other hand, I spent $94.83. We were low on meats(been doing a lot of grilling since the weather is warmer) and the kids plowed through 3 boxes of cereal and 'gasp' opened their 5th gallon of milk this morning(in a weeks time!). All 3 have been inhaling the milk this week even though I have tried to push water and juice. Hopefully this is just a phase because generic brands of milk run anywhere from $3.80-$4 a gallon here. They have been drinking all this milk before school or after and now they get 3 days off from school with Memorial Day. Something tells me I need to hide the milk. My budget will skyrocket in less than a week if they keep this up after school is out.

Want to see some savings better than mine? Check out Money Saving Mom, The Centsible Sawyer, and BeCentsAble

Frugal Fridays

I love warm weather. Unfortunately where I live, it doesn't stay warm all year long. One of my favorite articles of clothing are capris. They can be casual or dressy, up towards the knees or closer to the ankles. They hide my fat thighs and keep me cool.

I also hate shopping and spending lots of money for seasonal wardrobes on myself. My winter bottoms also work as my summer bottoms. You are probably thinking this crazy lady wears capri's in 15 degree weather with snow on the ground. Only if I am staying inside!

I buy boot cut jeans and once the temperature hits 50, I roll the legs up neatly and voila, instant capris. Depending on the temperature(or if I'm playing in the kiddie pool!) help me decide how high to roll them. Cold weather arrives and my pant legs go down.

I have to admit, I do own 2 pairs of regular capris. I save these when the situation calls for something a little more dressier. I try to find a new pair at the end of the season when they are marked down.

Want to find some more frugal ideas? Check out Biblical Womanhood!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

One of my Mother's Day presents was I get to pick a new camera. I have finally narrowed it down to 2. Granted, these are point and shoots, not a SLR like I want but with my eyes being messed up, I can't get my dream camera until after my eyes are fixed

.

I have narrowed it down to either a 12 mega pixel with a 5x zoom and a 10.1 mega pixel with a 12x zoom(both are better than my current 7 mega pixel with 3x zoom) AHHHHH! I can't choose! Input anyone? Both are Kodak cameras(I seem to always buy them for some reason)

Check your emails!

If you are registered with Walgreen's online, check your emails. I received a $5 off $20 purchase good for tomorrow(Friday)

this has been a test....

Testing 1 2 3

Wordless Wednesday

Works for me Wednesday

Baby Girl can pee a lake full, especially at night. Personally I think she saves up and waits till she is sleeping to go. Mornings are welcomed by an overflowing diaper, a soaked bed, blanket, and a screaming, smelly baby. At the last CVS diaper sale, I had to get 2 packs of size 4 diapers(her normal is a 3). A few nights ago, I was fumbling around for a pack of diapers and accidentally opened one of the 4s. Her bed was dry the next morning! Her diaper was full, but not overflowing. Even her pj's were dry. Whoo Hoo! That's how I like my morning to start off. guess it is size 4s for bed!

So what works for me is to put her in a one size bigger diaper at night to help with overflow. We all wake up to a better morning!

Check out Shannon's blog for more ideas!

Make It Yourself Monday

One of our favorite places to eat out is Texas Roadhouse. I will admit, I go mostly for the cheese fries. The very expensive but oh so delicious, cheese fries. Dear Joseph can make these at home(thank goodness!) for a mere fraction of the price.

Here's what you need

Potatoes cut into steak fries

Cheese(we use Mozzarella and Sharp Cheddar)

Bacon(as little or as much as desired)

Ranch and Blue Cheese salad dressings

Turn oven on to 400. Cut as many fries as needed and place on a cookie sheet, season(we use Seasoning Salt and pepper) Place in the oven to bake. Fry up bacon in a -skillet while potatoes are cooking. When it is done, cut or tear into small pieces. When potatoes are almost done(you can also skip the oven and fry them if you are in a hurry) place in a smaller dish(we use 2 cast iron skillets), top with cheese and bacon and put back in oven with the broiler on low. Remove when cheese is melted.

We just take the skillets, sit them on top of the table with a pot holder under them and dig in!

Check out Thrifty Florida Mama's site for some more ideas!

Menu Plan Monday

9 more days and Thing 1 and Thing 2 are out for summer vacation. 9 more days and I think my grocery budget is going to skyrocket. Anyone have any tips on keeping under the food budget when you are adding an 11 year old and 8 year old for 2 more more meals a day that they don't normally eat?

Breakfasts

Cereal

Oatmeal

Eggs

plus a fruit daily

Lunches

Sandwiches

Soup

Salads

leftovers

plus a fruit and veggie(if needed) daily

Suppers

Baked pasta with Italian sausage and Mozzarella Cheese, garlic bread, salad

Stuffed Bell Peppers, bread

Sloppy joes, Homemade Fries, Corn

Ham steaks, hash browns, fruit

Grilled fish, cole slaw, biscuits

Baked Chicken(or grilled), broccoli, homemade bread

Only 6 suppers because we are going out to eat tonight(relatives in town)

Desserts

Homemade cookies

Strawberry Shortcake

Cheesecake

Freebies, Freebies and more Freebies

The mail is a lot more appealing since I started signing up for free samples. Baby Girl loves her new boxes she gets to destroy, too! Heres what I received just this week

Fibersure sample and coupon from Vocalpoint

1 Huggies Diaper

Yogitea

Neutragena Stress Control Acne Wash

Icy Hot Patch

Dove Pro Age Lotion plus Coupon

Caulk Single

Total Cranberry Crunch plus Coupon

Schick Quatro Razor

Blue Buffalo Dog and Cat Food

Sensodyne Toothpaste

Seattle's Best Coffee plus coupon

Betty Crocker Mini Delights(Thing 1 and 2 are excited about these, we don't have a microwave but I told them they can be a special treat next time they go to Nana's house)

What do you do with your samples? The toothpaste, body washes, and small shampoos I am saving for Things 1 and 2 for when they head off to their scouting camps this summer. That way, they don't have to carry big bottles with them. Thing 1 likes the sample size deodorants to carry in her purse. Any coffee samples I get I am saving for my MIL for Christmas to make her a nice basket of goodies(she loves coffee)

Want see more freebies? Check out The Thrifty Soaper for her Super Sample Sunday!

A week of savings

I hit CVS, Walgreen's, and Walmart for several things this week I could get for cheap. Here are some of my goodies

CVS

I think this was my lowest OOP to date

Transaction #1

1 Xtra detergent on sale for $1.99
1 Adidas Deodorant $4.99

used free Adidas coupon and $2 ECB

OOP $0.33

earned $4.99 ECB

Transaction #2

3 Xtra detergents

1 Adidas Deodorant

used Free Adidas coupon and $5 ECB's

OOP$1.38

earned $4.99 ECBs

Transaction #3

1 Lifestyle glucose monitor

1 Adidas Deodorant

1 20 oz. Dr. Pepper

used Free Adidas coupon, $10.98 ECB

OOP $0.73

earned $14.99 ECB

The grand totals

$105.31 worth of stuff for

$2.44 OOP, $17 in ECBs and earned

$24.97 ECBs

Walgreens

The only thing I went by Walgreen's for this week was the Gillette body wash. I purchased one and got the Catalina for another for free. Well, they must have fixed the glitch from last week because it didn't print out another Catalina when I got my free one. I got 2 for less than $4.

Walmart

No pictures for my Walmart buys but here is a list of stuff I found for cheap after coupons

3 Dixie 160 count napkins

$0.47 each after coupon(2 are donations for end of the year school stuff)

3 boxes Bagefuls

$0.92 each

3 Bush's Grillin Beans

$0.25 each

2 Luzianne Tea 24 count

$0.98 each

2 Farmland Ham Steaks

$0.88 each

I would really like to get more of the napkins, ham steaks, and Bush's Beans. Does anyone know how I can get a lot of these coupons(besides Ebay?)

I set my grocery and household budget at $100 this week. I spent $25.50 for household, including CVS, Walgreens, cat, and dog food and a total of $39.74 on my Walmart loot, meat, milk, and a couple other things. My total $65.24!

Want to see some more great deals? Check out The Centsible Sawyer, Money Saving Mom, and Becentsable!

Frugal Fridays

Check out Crystal's blog for some more great frugal ideas.

I have never been much of a parent volunteer. at school. I always worked instead of taking off to go enjoy activities with my kids at school. Since I quit work in December, I have been making an effort to attend their class parties and field trips. Today was Thing 1's 5th Grade Graduation trip to Branson. Even though we only live 30 miles away, we never go. So today I got to experience 2 places I've never been before with my firstborn.

Dixie Stampede

Thing 1 waiting to go inside and see the show

Miss K., Miss H. , and Thing 1 posing in front of the Titanic

Now, you are probably wondering what this has to do with being frugal? I paid $15 to go to both the Dixie Stampede and The Titanic Museum all for volunteering to help wrangle 95 5th graders. So my tip is, if you the chance, volunteer for a field trip, especially if it is someplace you have never been before. You will have the best time!

Works for me Wednesday

Hi, my name is April and I am suffering from slackeritis. This affliction peaks at 70 degree weather. Symptoms include lack of ability to focus(unless you are making flower jewelry), extreme thirst(only quenched by iced tea), a darker complexion(usually associated with being outside) and a complete lack of interest in anything that happens indoors(except running inside for more marshmallows!)

Me and Baby girl were confined inside yesterday due to rain(grrr!) so here is my solution to out of control receipts, an old coupon organizer. I now have a handle(sort of) on ECB's, RR, Rebates, and receipts to track our spending(what sucks is my laptop is broke or I could plug them into the computer OUTSIDE!)

Check out Shannon's blog for some more great ideas!

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle It Tuesday

Join 5 Minutes for Mom for their Tackle it Tuesday!


I've been suffering from slackeritis. I think it has something to do with the warm weather. (seriously, who wants to stay inside when it hits 70?) My receipts had got out of control. I couldn't find ECB's. Walgreen's receipts for the Easysaver Rebates, and I knew I had some receipts with Huggies diapers I needed to get sent into the Caregiver's Marketplace.

Here's the problem

Here's what would hopefully be the solution, a coupon organizer

And problem fixed!

I put labels for ECb's, CVS receipts, WAG RR, WAG receipts, Walmart, Dillons, The Caregiver's Marketplace, Other rebates(like the glade car freshener), Other Grocery stores, and misc. receipts. Hopefully this will help tame the beast!

Menu for May 12-May 18

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! We stayed home, watched some movies and grilled steaks and ribs, yummm!

We have a crazy week. My older 2 get out of school at the end of the month and there are a ton of field trips, pizza party's and last minute concerts and of course, Thing 1's 5th grade graduation coming up! The next couple weeks are going to be simple foods!

Monday
Boiled eggs, grapes
leftovers
spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Tuesday
Oatmeal, apples
Leftover spaghetti
Pancakes, bacon, fruit

Wednesday
cinnamon toast, bananas
pbj sandwiches, chips, grapes
hot dogs, mac n cheese, salad(Thing 1 has an orchestra concert 1 hour after she gets done at dance)

Thursday
scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, apples
salad, grapes
grilled chicken, baked potatoes, corn on the cob

Friday
I'm going to Branson with Thing 1(and about 80 other 5th graders) for their graduation trip. We are going to the Titanic Museum and then to Dixie Stampede. Baby Girl is going to my mom's for the day and Joe is on his own for breakfast and lunch.

Dinner is pizza, salad

Saturday
Scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, fruit
Leftovers/clean out the refrigerator
Grilled fish, mashed potatoes, green beans

Sunday
cereal,fruit
leftovers
roast, potatoes, carrots, homemade bread

Happy Mother's day!

glitter-graphics.com



Hope everyone has a great day!

CVS'd again

I went to CVS today on a mission to spend almost $42 in ECB's. I was fully expecting on walking out with 3 Glucose Monitors for my grandma, but was pleasantly surprised that my first list of scenarios actually happened. Aside from a very rude cashier(I regret not finding a manager and complaining at the time, but Baby Girl was about ready to have a meltdown), it was a good shopping day.

Here's my transactions

#1

1 Freestyle Glucose Monitor (goes to Grandma!)

1 Tums Quikpak

1 360 Toothbrush

1 Aquafresh toothpaste

used $19.95 ECB

OOP $1.84

earned $21.67 ECB

#2

1 360 toothbrush

1 Tums Quikpak

1 Aquafresh toothpaste

used $10 ECB

OOP $1.78

earned $11.67 ECB

#3

1 360 toothbrush

1 Aquafresh toothpaste

used $5 ECB

OOP $2.12

earned $6.98 ECB

Here's where the cashier was getting rude and I started getting flustered

#4

2 Orapick Travel twin packs

Used $5 ECB

OOP .62

Earned $5.58 ECB

#5

1 Glade Car Air Freshener(the one with the rebate)

used $1 ECB

OOP $3.19

#6

1 Arizona Sweet tea(not pictured, had it chugged before I got home)

used $1 ECB

OOP $0

So I was OOP $9.55, used $41.95 and earned $45.90 in new ECB(good to June 8th!) plus the rebate on the Glade Car Freshener. The Glucose Monitor has a rebate too so before I take it to Grandma, I'm going to look at the info on that. Despite the fact that I had no coupons to use, I think I did pretty good.

If you want to ooh and ahh(plus share your own finds this week!) check out The Centsible Sawyer , Money Saving Mom, and BeCentsable!

Frugal Fridays

My contribution for this week is things you can reuse before you throw them away(or recycle) I always try to find a purpose for something else before it heads out the door,

Baby food jars Great for holding small items(especially for crafts) Can be used to make snow globes or a variety of other crafts. Use them to hold paint for painting projects

Baby Formula Cans Hats off to all you breastfeeding moms. I was medically unable to breastfeed all 3 of my monsters, so we had no choice to use formula. Some uses for the cans:
-use to put grease in,
-Joe has some in the garage to put screws and other small parts in,
-wash out the inside and "scrap" the outside and lid, then punch a couple holes in the side to tie ribbon for a handle(compare to the "scrap your own buckets" you find at the craft store.

Used envelopes Make great paper for writing down grocery lists, use as a bookmark, or to cut into labels

Tissue boxes use as a plastic grocery bag dispenser

Laundry Bottle Caps & Scoops: Wash thoroughly and use as sandbox, pool, bathtub toys or pet food scoopers (for dried food)

Hangers old hangers you no longer need can be used to make mobiles(metal ones I usually wind in a floral tape, especially if they have a chance at rusting) Even ones that have the hook broke off(tie a ribbon on it to hang).
-the plastic hangers that are used in stores to hang pants(or any hanger with attached clips) can be used to dry/display artwork

Leftover scraps of different textured material, sandpaper, foil, ribbons, buttons, etc put together with some recycled cardboard(cereal boxes work good) can be made into a sensory book for toddlers.

I'm sure there are tons more that can be reused, check out this site

Leave a comment if you have a creative way you reuse things

Check out Crystal's blog for some more great frugal ideas!

Walgreens...again

No surprise, huh? lol I went again for more toilet paper...and paper towels.....and more razors.

Ok here is my grand total
6 packs of Charmin
5 packs of bounty paper towels
3 Venus Razors
2 Oral B Toothbrushes
2 Orajel revealing Rinse
1 pack of energizer e squared batteries(love these in my camera)

OOP total $33.18 plus will get back $23.96 on rebates and I earned a total of $18 RR(re used on the toilet paper and paper towels) Plus 2 coupons wouldn't ring up for some reason so my total would have been $0.50 cheaper


After Rebates I will have saved a total of 89%

Tomorrow I have no choice but to go to CVS because I have $43 in ECB expiring(there's not much I'm really interested in so I'm going to try to pick up some of the glucose monitors to roll my ECB's (I'm giving them to my grandma)

Works for me Wednesday

Shannon put a little twist on her usual WFMW Today we reveal something that doesn't work for us(and let me tell you, I could be here all day but I'll narrow it down)

These are my domestic failures I've discovered since staying home full time(a whole 5 months now)

I never had, nor will have a house that looks like the pages in a magazine

I beat myself up everyday over this one, but in reality I would rather play with Baby Girl.I keep the house clean..the floors are mopped, dishes washed, toilet scrubbed, laundry done every day,etc but you have to navigate around toys, shoes and whatever else is on the floor. I started out chasing her around all day picking up her chaos as soon as she caused it but now I straighten a little when she takes a nap(generally so I can sweep the floor and mop)and then don't worry about toys, papers, etc until after she goes to bed at night. I have children. If someone shows up at my house and can not understand it, phooey on them.

I am not Paula Dean, Rachel Ray, or any other food network star

I would more than happily eat something they cooked, but will not attempt it myself. I am not a cook(nor do I like it) My kids eat simple, nutritious meals and the only complaints I get is when I don't fix enough.

Martha Stewart doesn't live here

As much as I would like a perfectly manicured lawn and be able to make the most perfect souffle, I can't afford to hire the assistants to help.

As much as I would like to throw in the towel and go back to working a full time job out of the house, Baby girl looks at me ever so sweetly and dumps a glass of iced tea all over my freshly mopped floor while Thing 1 and 2 are fighting over the last brownie(HOMEMADE!) in the background, and I realize I wouldn't change it for anything!

Happy WFMW!

Wordless Wednesday

My oldest(10 at the time) and my youngest(approx 3 months at the time)

Walgreens

I went to Walgreens today because we had a serious short supply of toilet paper. I'm so proud, I resisted the great Register Reward deals even though I had a plan and the coupons. Here's what I did do:

Transaction 1
1 Venus Razor
used $4/1

OOP $6.67
earned $6 RR

Transaction #2
2 Bounty 3 packs Paper towels
used 2 $0.25/1
2 Charmin 6 roll packs
used 2 $0.25/1

used coupon from Walgreens ad for an extra $2 off
used $6 RR from Trans #1

OOP $5.71

Transaction #3
1 Oral B kid's Rinse $4.99
1 Oral B Cross action toothbrush $4.49
used $0.75/1

total $8.73
OOP $0! (used gift card with March's Rebates on it!) will get $9.48 back in rebates

I saved a total of 70%

Make It yourself Monday

Check out Angie's blog to find some more great ideas to kick the fast and convenience food habit. My contribution for this week is Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan.



Here's what you need, your portions of chicken will vary. This is a really filling dish, we feed 2 adults and 3 children on 3 nice sized breasts(especially after you add pasta, salad, and garlic bread)





Boneless, skinless chicken Breasts

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 jar(26-28 ounces) Ragu Old Worldstyle Pasta Sauce(or similar sauce)

3/4 cup(or more) Italian seasoned dried breadcrumbs(use Angie's tip!)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese



1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dip chicken in egg, then coat well in breadcrumbs.



2. in a 13x9 glass baking dish, arrange chicken. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.



3. Pour sauce over chicken, then top with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.



While chicken is the oven, cook pasta and toss a salad!



Serve chicken and sauce over pasta


The price varies on this depending on your chicken cost and the price of your sauce. For the most part,you can feed several people for a price less than one order of Chicken Parmesan at Olive Garden!

Enjoy!

menu for May 5-May 11

I hate to cook. There, I said it. I can bake all day long but when it comes to meals, I lack enthusiasm. This week is one of those weeks. But, seeing how the children have to eat or they get a tad grumpy, here I go.

Breakfasts

Cereal

Eggs

Oatmeal

Toast

plus a fruit daily

Lunches

Sandwiches

Soup

Ramen noodles

leftovers

Salads

plus a fruit and veggie

Dinners

Grilled hamburgers, salad

Steak, baked potato, corn on the cob

Fish, homemade french fries, green beans

Baked Pork Chops, stuffing, spinach

Pizza, salad

I only have 5 dinners planned this week, Joe is getting grumpy about not picking something to fix so I'll leave one for him and I'm pretty sure we are going out Sunday for Mother's day.

Desserts

Chocolate Pie

Brownies

Cookies

Also I am looking for a delicious Coconut Cake recipe. If anyone one has one, leave the recipes in the comment section or send an email! Thanks!

Revolution Money exchange

I finally got the link to work! If you want free money, sign up now! This $25 could go towards some fun at CVS! For every referral you get, you get $10, so more free money! Any referral money I get is going into the Thing 1 and Thing 2 Back To School fund and with Thing 1 starting middle school this fall, I need all the help I can get!

CVS and Walmart

I had some ECB's expiring May 1st so I had to make a trip to CVS. I had planned on getting some of the EOB gift bags, but, of course, they were out. Here's what I ended up doing

2 of the large SoftSoap Spa's $5.49 each

3 EOB lip gloss(great stocking stuffer for Thing 1!) $2.50 each

OOP $5.85, used $12.98 ECB's, earned $15.98 ECB

Saved 72%

Walmart

I stopped by Walmart because Joe was dying for some pork rinds. While I was there I made a trip through the kids clearance clothes. I found Thing 2 7 long sleeved T shirts for next winter for $3 each. I only found Thing 1 one shirt. I paid only $3 for it too. I found 8 shirts total for $24, saving $28.

If you want to see more great deals, check out The Centsible Sawyer and Money Saving Mom

Frugal Fridays

Check out Crystal's Blog for some more great ideas!

This is from Make It Yourself Mondays but since it also is a more frugal way to do something, here I go.

My contribution this week is make your own cereal bars. I pretty much realized you can make these just like you do Rice Krispie treats to make morning rushes a little easier. Here's what you need:

Your favorite cereal (some ideas: Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Fruit Loops) experiment!

package of marshmallows or jar of marshmallow creme

1/4 stick of butter

favorite add-ins...raisins, dried cranberries, peanuts Get creative!

You make these like you do Rice Krispie treats
Melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the marshmallows or marshmallow creme. Continue stirring until melted. Remove from heat. Depending on how gooey you want your treats, it will take anywhere from 4-6 cups of cereal. Slowly stir in cereal. If you like, stir in some raisins or nuts for some extra nutrition.(Next time I make some I am going to try dried apple pieces) Spread out in 9x13 pan. Place in refrigerator until set up. When cool, slice into desired size bars. Place in Ziploc baggie and keep in the refrigerator. Now they are ready to grab and head out the door. Great for easy afternoon snack with a glass of milk and fruit.

Great way to use up cereal that is found really cheap. I haven't tried freezing these yet, but if anyone does, let me know if it works.

A box of 6 cereal bars run $3 or more here. This makes approx 12(depending on how they are cut) for less than $2(depending on how much your cereal cost, prob a lot of you less than a $1 a batch)

Walgreens Rebates online

I seen on a couple blogs that everyone can fill out the Walgreen's Easysaver rebates online now. It took me a whole 5 minutes last night! A big thank you to the Walgreen people! No more filling out the forms, scanning every receipt, and then trying trying to cram it all in an envelope.(plus worrying if it even got there) I was also to see that my March rebates were mailed on the 24th, so hopefully those will be here this week sometime!


Happy May Day everyone!