An award and some of my favorite bloggers

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Meg's Musings gave me this award and I am supposed to list six things I love and then pass the award on to some others. I have the special privilege of knowing Meg in real life and she is just as entertaining in person. Her outlook and energy are very refreshing.

1. I love reading (latest fav. is the Twilight series)

2. I love my pets, we have a new kitty and as soon as she comes out from under the bed he will make his internet debut.

3. I love spending time with my friends

4. I love reading blogs, but struggle with the posting

5. I love the feeling of triumph when you get a really good deal

6. Garage Sailing!

Now, I get to pass the award on to some very creative bloggers!
Julie from My life with boys is a missionary mom who is serving in Hungary) She is very creative with her learning opportunities for her boys. I have several of them marked in a mommy folder on my google reader.
Nikki at Project Domestic Bliss. She, unlike me is great at showing us all exactly how to do any number of her creative crafts. She has even been known to throw in a video.
Shynea at Penny Pinching Diva is the one I always rely on for the up to the minute news about where to go to get those hard to find coupons, and when I am looking at a pile of sales fliers and coupons, I always check to see how she combined sales with coupons for great savings.

Christmas Card

Monday, November 10, 2008

This is our Christmas card for this year. The photos were taken my Christina, aren't they fabulous?

I created it on scrapblog.com. It was super easy to create but a little more difficult to actually get it once I was finished. They would like for you to purchase it from them and order the cards for a dollar apiece. A little too much for me. I had them sent to my flicker account and then copied it from there to print. Each year we do Christmas postcards instead of cards. Postage is much cheaper this way. I always order from vista print, their prices are very reasonable. I also ordered thank you post cards for our wedding gifts there. You can type out your message for the year on the other side. I paid $10 for 50 cards and if you are a an ebates member you can go through their site and get some cash back. I have also used scrapblog to make my blog header and desktop backgrounds. Enjoy playing with it.

***A note about ebates***

I have recently discovered ebates. If you go through their site to buy things you are already purchasing online they send you a check each quarter. My husband and I have made $25 this month already (due largely to the fact that we signed up for netflix through them, but we were going to get netfilx anyway). This could add up to some guilt free garage sale money. I tell my husband it is great that someone is finally paying me to be a smart shopper.

Click here to sign up:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=iPM5zB2fvMRdRjfHfq1NTw%3D%3D

Happy shopping!

Giveaway's on Tip Junkie

12 Days 2, winners per day!
Starting tomorrow there will be really great stuff given away on Tip Junkie. While you are there check the links for some of the great stores, I have already found several things that would make great gifts. Happy shopping!

Versitile Seasonal Decor

Saturday, November 8, 2008

This is my honey do list. (because it is the first thing seen when you walk in from our garage. I showed it a couple of weeks ago and it was looking a little nanike (naked). I have since gotten some more of the metal fabric hoops and filled them accordingly. Christmas is going to present a bit of a challenge. I have a little christmas tree in the kitchen with it's own little theme one in the living room with a certain color scheme and the one in the dining room with another. It is the closest to the one in the kitchen. We shall see how it goes. The plan is to change out the fabrics and the chalk color in order to go with the different seasons. Tune in to see what I find for christmas. I have had a great time collecting fabrics at different rummage sales.

Dust ourselves off

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

America has spoken and even though it is not what I would have chosen, I accept it and I will not wallow. My heart was very heavy this morning and after reading what some very beautiful ladies with gorgeous hearts said. Check out what Nikki wrote. It was very encouraging. Also read the comment by Kristi.

Sunday Savings

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It is Sunday again and that is my couponing day. After Church my husband plays softball with friends and family and I head to my local convenience store and pick up the double paper and get to clipping. I grew up clipping coupons. I remember mom teaching me about saving by letting me keep the money saved by the coupons. I only wish I knew as much about it then as I do now. I have had a lot of help from the money saving mom and the Penny pinching diva. They work hard and usually will give you a heads up about what to look forward to in the weeks Sunday Paper. Here are a few things that are important to remember when trying to work your coupon magic.

1. Pay attention at the register, make sure things are ringing up correctly. I usually hold all of the things I have coupons for until the end.
2. The key to saving a lot of money on things is to wait for them to have a good sale AND THEN use your coupon.
3. Stock up. If something that you use a lot goes on sale. STOCK UP ON IT. Sodas, are one that we are known to buy four 12 packs of the same thing.
4. Many of you already do this, but you can also plan your menu, snacks, breakfast, etc, on what is on sale that week.
5. Know your stores coupon policy. I know that most stores double coupons that are .50 and below. Therefore, don't overlook those .35 cent coupons when you are clipping. When I see .50 cents on paper, I see a dollar in my mind. I hate those pesky .55 cent ones, but I still cut them.
6. Know how low things go. My example for this is Goldfish. I am hooked on those little cheesy crackers. But I don't buy them unless I can get them 10 for $10. And when they do I stock up. Same thing goes for sodas. I have a price in my mind that I will pay and not a penny more.
7. Have a good system for organizing them. I will show you my system that I got from Nikki at Project Domestic Bliss. She made a handy video. The only thing that I would change is not organizing it based on one store. I go to the store that packs the biggest money saving punch for me.

My System

Here is my notebook. I still need to make it cute like Queen Bee, but it works for me. I keep a little pockety thing in the front. I think it's original purpose was to store floppy disks in. I use it for keeping extra care bucks (CVS), rebates, and coupons divided by stores. I have a miscellaneous pocket for stores that I don't usually frequent. Next is where I keep my lists. I have a list of Thanksgiving things to purchase, Christmas gifts I am looking for and then my list for the week. I list the things that I definitely need at the top. So I can keep them in the forefront of my mind. Then, I make a list like I am going to each store(I definitely don't actually go to them). But I want to make sure that I get the most out of my time and money. Some weeks I will go to more than one. I don't go out of my way, I just stop by on the way home if the thing on sale in addition to my coupon makes it a deal I can't resist.

After I am done making my list I prioritize from the store that I need to go to the most to the one I need to go to the least. Often there will be certain days that I want to hit a certain store. Publix for example has coupons for penny items in the Sunday paper. They only do this on Monday. This item is always a mystery, but in the past two weeks I have gotten two packs of four rolls of toilet paper and two loaves of publix white bread. So, if Publix is one of my top priority stores for the week I try to go on Monday. Note: I got two of these items because I had two of the coupons. I was told that they are not supposed to give two, but so far they always have and I didn't even ask. Good Luck with your couponing, I hope that something here will help you and your family save money. Every family is different, so take a system and make it work for you.