Seven Mondays and Counting

Now is a good time to be thinking about Christmas lights, especially if you decorate with lights outside like we do.

I didn't use many lights outside in years past because of the way that Christmas lights really hit the electric bill. But today, ahhh today we are blessed with LED lights and these babies are energy efficient!!!

Last year I did a post on the efficiency of these lights and how wonderful they were. Click here to read that post.

LED's can be expensive, but thanks to Home Depot and the promotion they are running between now through November 15th, LED's are very affordable.

If you bring in a string of your old Christmas lights, Home Depot will give you a coupon worth $3 off the purchase of LED's!! To make this an even better deal, through the promotional period, they have their LED's for $5.97 each, minus the $3 coupon means you can get these lights for $2.97!!! AND if that isn't enough, you can do this 5 times!!!!

(As with any promotional, check your area's Home Depot to make sure they are participating in this!)

I believe the light they give off is much prettier than the traditional lights and they don't get hot to the touch!!!

So, grab 5 sets of your old lights and $15 (or so) and head over to Home Depot! Your wallet will be glad you did!

Eight Mondays and Counting

Let's face it, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, and tons of baking to be done for that day, now is a good time to bake some cookies and some bread for the freezer.

Most cookies and bread freeze well and taste fresh when they are thawed out.

All of us will have parties and get-togethers to attend and wouldn't it make it much easier to just thaw something out, put it on a pretty platter and go? Imagine how much more you would be able to enjoy the time with friends and family!!!

It's never to early to plan your Christmas menu and start watching those sales so that you can purchase the things you are going to need.

The biggest mistake I ever made in planning the menu was thinking that my crew wanted the same thing every year. There are a few items that they won't budge on..ham and homemade rolls...but especially as the kids have gotten older, tastes have changed and they've wanted to have a hand at making a dish for Christmas dinner.

So now, we sit down and discuss what we'd like to have and go from there. Of course, there have been times when I've had to remind them that I'm feeding four not forty!!!

One thing we've done in the past is ask our pastor if he knew of anyone in the area who did not have family to spend Christmas with. If so, we then contacted them and if they accepted, they were included in the meal planning. Let me add that if you've never done that, I'd encourage you to give it a try. You will be more blessed than you could ever imagine!!

So let's recap:

By now you should have your Christmas cards ready to mail the day after Thanksgiving. You should have a budget in place along with a list of people you are giving gifts to. You should have some ideas to match the personalities of those receiving your gifts, and you should be (if you haven't been at it all year) making those gifts or purchasing them from yard sales, thrift stores and clearance racks.

I hope you are feeling the stress that comes with the season becoming less and less. Won't it be wonderful to actually enjoy the birth of our Savior this year?!!

Nine Mondays and Counting

As promised I'm going to share a couple of recipes for gifts in a jar that are economical and fun to give and receive.

How many times have we gotten gifts that we just can't use? All that's going to happen to them is they're going to get stuffed in the back of a closet, set on a shelf and collect dust, or re-gifted. (I'm not the only one that does that..am I???)

That is why I try oh-so hard to match gifts with personalities. I try to truly listen to friends and family during the year and find out what they really love.

I have one friend who LOVES candles. She loves different scents and she almost always has one burning. It just makes plain sense to spend some time looking for a candle that she will love. I begin early and search and search until that one just pops out at me!! Like me, she loves a bargain, so she's not going to be offended if I waited until Hobby Lobby had it half off or if I got it free with coupons!! Her family struggles with "always buying candles", but my thinking is that if that is what she truly loves, then wouldn't it make her truly happy????

What I'm trying to say is plan, plan, plan.

If you can't afford to buy individual gifts, then do family gifts. You can easily hand out warm fuzzies for $2-$10 a family!!!

Each time I'm in the thrift store, I go back to the glassware and look for mason jars. Most of the time I can find them for 25-35¢. That's a bargain in anyones wallet.

Below is two of my favorite recipes for gifts in a jar.

Hot Cocoa Mix

4 Cups instant non-fat dry milk powder
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup powdered non-dairy creamer
2/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa
Mix all the ingredients in a dry bowl. (Using a whisk makes this much easier!) Make sure you have no clumps in your mix. You can put this into your mason jars or if you have found some decorative canisters that seal well, you can use those.
Tie a pretty ribbon around the jar and attach a card to it with this on it:
Put 1/3 cup mix in a mug. Fill boiling water to the top. Mix well.

Sand Castle Brownies

1/3 cup chopped nuts
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1½ cups all-purpose flour

In your jar or canister, layer these 6 ingredients in the order listed, packing well.
Again, tie a pretty ribbon around the jar and attach a card with these instructions:

Sand Castle Brownies

1 jar brownie mix
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix well in a bowl. Spread into a greased 8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

A couple of other ideas that are cheap, yet will bring smiles to a family are:

~~Look at your thrift store for beautiful platters. These can often be found for 50¢-$3. Fill them with fresh cookies and banana bread from your kitchen.

~~Give a movie night. Purchase a large, festive, plastic bowl, some microwave popcorn and a $5 movie rental gift card. Put the popcorn, and gift card inside the bowl, wrap with ribbon!!

~~Go to the dollar store and purchase mugs for each member of the family. Make sure you match the mug with the different personalities. Pick up some plastic spoons and some chocolate almond bark. Melt the chocolate and dip the end of the spoon in the chocolate. Let harden. Wrap 2 or 3 of the spoons in plastic wrap, tie with a ribbon and put them inside the mug. Set the mugs in a basket, again tying a pretty ribbon to the handle of the basket.

~~Give a board game. In our electronic age, board games have fallen by the wayside along with family together time. A sharp eye can often catch board games on sale for under $10.

Hope this encourages you, inspires you and helps you to release the pressure that we often put on ourselves that if a gift isn't expensive, folks won't be happy.

Ten Mondays and Counting

Now that you've set a budget, determined who you're giving gifts to and began writing out those Christmas cards (see this post) it's time to begin deciding and either making or purchasing those gifts.

We use our Christmas Club monies to buy for our immediate family and usually for the fixin's for our Christmas dinner, so that means that what we give to others comes out of our household budget. That means cutting corners on other things, which is perfectly okay, but that's why it is so important to begin right after Christmas getting ready for next year.

I have a shelf in my laundry room that is totally dedicated to Christmas gifts. Anything that goes on that shelf, I automatically know (and so does everyone else in my house) that these are gifts for the following year.

Our extended gift-giving list for this year is as follows:

My Mom
My Dad
DH's Mom
DH's Stepdad
My Sister *
DH's Brother & Sis-in-law * & her Mother (She lives with them)
DH's Sister *
DH's Brother-in-law*
DH's Brother & Sis-in-law
DH's Sister and Bro-in-law *
4 Nephews *
3 Nieces **
Piano Teacher *
2 Sunday School Teachers **
DD's BGF
DS's GF
My Best Girlfriend and her Hubby
"Adopted Son"
"Adopted Daughter"
OCC Boxes (4) *
An "Adopted" family

This may be quite a lengthy list for some and for others no big deal. There's been much discussion in our extended families about drawing names, only giving to our parents and nieces and nephews, or just not giving gifts at all. DH an I have discussed these options together and decided that, for us, we prefer to give a little something to everyone. Everybody loves to get a gift and with proper planning, you can do that without blowing your budget.

For those on our gift-giving list, our parents always get their own gift each. We look at those personalities and give a gift according:

My Mom--Anything that will make a beautiful scent in her home: Candles, air fresheners, potpourri. Candles are often on sale at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. I must say I'm particular about buying candles. Just because they're cheap doesn't mean they give off a pleasant scent....if at all. Use those coupons and match them with sales to get air fresheners and warmer units for little or no expense at all! Potpourri is everywhere and even at the dollar stores, this stuff always has a beautiful scent. A couple of bags of that along with a beautiful dish and I have a very happy Mom!!!

My Dad--Anything odd. He's always looking for a new gadget or an odd, pickled food he's never tried before. I can usually find him something at local flea markets or I can pickle something up around the first of November that will be ready to eat by Christmas!!

DH's Mom--Like my Dad, she also likes anything odd. She also loves something family memory oriented or useful. I've made family photo albums and one year I made family recipe books!!

DH's Stepdad--He retired from John Deere and collects anything and everything John Deere. Again, flea markets are a gold mine for these things!!

By knowing someone's personalities, it makes gift-giving so much easier!! By the way, for those four people I just mentioned, we spend $20 or less!!....total.

Piano and Sunday School teachers usually get homemade ornaments, which I will be telling you how to make in the next couple of weeks. You can also pick up several ornaments after Christmas for 50¢ or less. Those 3 gifts...$1.50!!...total.

Nieces and nephews have a $5 limit to that spending. Depending on age, you can find crayons and color books, reading books, stickers, nail polish, body wash, free weights. Yes I said weights. I have a teenage nephew and I found some free weights, hand grips and a jump rope a year or two ago for $3!! Total...$35. I rarely spend that much because as I've mentioned, I shop all year for these gifts. A more realistic amount would be $20-$25.

For the BGF and the GF, we will spend $20..total. This year I have one seriously into music and one that loves to draw. Hobby Lobby and our local Christian book store may help me cut that total!!

My best girlfriend and her hubby will get something from the kitchen. I'll usually give it to them on a beautiful platter or in a bowl that I've found at a yard sale or thrift store. Money spent...less than $3.

"Adopted" son and daughter---$10..total.

For the above, we've spent roughly $80. Doable for some, not for others. That is why I can't emphasize enough how important it is for you and your spouse to set a budget, create a list and work together from there. There have been years where that dollar amount has been pared down to $30. Yes, it can be done, it just means being more creative.

Our adopted family is a result of pooled together monies to bless a family that might otherwise not have Christmas dinner of gifts to share. While we are just as careful in this spending as with others, we ask God to show us what they need and allow Him to provide all that He wants us to share with them.

Another ministry we do every year is Operation Christmas Child. This is a ministry headed up by Franklin Graham and is something my family has been a part of for more than 12 years now. To learn more about this life changing ministry, click here.

I love to give. I'd much rather watch someone open and enjoy something I've given them. To see their excitement and happiness is their gift to me!!

Next week I'll be sharing how to make gifts in a jar. This is a great way to make gift giving go a lot farther and put less strain on your budget....all for the price of some flour, sugar and some thrift store mason jars!!

Tips and Quips

It is still raining at my house!!! It has been many, many years since I've seen this much rain during the fall of the year in our neck of the woods. It takes me back to when I was a little girl and fall and winter were always wet!!

With all of this rain, my sweet little umbrella is working overtime!! But what to do with that wet thing when I get in the car or go into a store, library or even church??

Easy.......

Do you have an overload of plastic bags that you get from almost every store you frequent? You get them at Wal Mart, K Mart, the dollar stores, grocery stores...bags everywhere!!!!!!! I have become a big fan of reusable canvas bags, but I still rely on those plastic bags for a few things, especially when they can save me money. I use my canvas bags a lot, but when I catch myself running low on the plastics, I say, "Plastic please." Why would I do that you might ask? Well.......

~~Use those plastic bags to stick that wet umbrella in. Keeps your car dry and it also keeps you from dripping water all over the place and maybe causing someone to fall when you go in the store. You can also use those plastic bags to line your small garbage cans in your bathrooms and office. We also use those bags for used kitty litter. Just put kitty's....business...in one, tie it up and throw it in the trash. No odor!! Fantastic!!

~~If your family is like mine, you find yourself with only a tablespoon or two of leftover veggies after a meal. Don't throw those leftovers out!! Put a plastic ice cream bucket or bowl (anything with a lid) in your freezer. Put those bites of veggies in that bowl and let them freeze. When the bowl gets full, you're ready to make some homemade veggie soup and it didn't cost you a thing!!

~~And along those lines, not many people are fond of the heels in the loaves of bread. Just put those in your food processor, give it a whirl, add some seasonings and you have bread crumbs. Don't need those bread crumbs tonight? Put them in a plastic bag and stick them in the freezer. Ready when you are!!

~~Everyone loves a bargain and bell peppers are rarely cheap where we live. So, when they do go on sale I stock up. When I get home I wash them, seed them and chop them up. I then put them in individual portions and stick them in the freezer. Ready when I am and it also saves me time when I'm preparing a meal!!

~~I do the same things with onions as well. Don't let them go bad!! Chop them up, portion them out and stick them in the freezer as well!!!

Have I mentioned that a deep freezer, even a small one, is a great investment?? :o)

Eleven Mondays and Counting

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....eeevvvverywhere you go!..." Well, maybe not everywhere you go, but there is no denying that the stores have the decorations out and the enticing begins.

The commercials begin telling our children of all the things they just can't live without. The magazines tell us that this is the best way to decorate our homes so we and everyone who enters can be in the Christmas spirit. Everywhere you turn, you begin to feel more and more like you're not a good parent/spouse/neighbor/friend...if you don't buy this and do that.

Well, let me dispel that myth!!!

We all realize that, sadly, Christmas has become so commercialized you can hardly tell why we celebrate in the first place. Except for a manger scene here and there, Jesus is consistently left out of the picture.

No one loves the Christmas season more than I do. It is truly the one time a year, when the total child comes out in me and I walk around with huge eyes trying to drink everything in.

Ahh...but.....

I can also find myself falling into the commercial pit that has been dug for us.

So, for the next Mondays leading up to Christmas, 11 to be exact, I'll be sharing some things that I do to help kill the pressure and the busyness that seems to take over at this time of year.
I'll share ideas for gift giving that won't break your budget, how to decorate on the cheap, and steps to take to make sure that you're not running around on Christmas Eve all wild-eyed and foaming at the mouth trying to get every last minute thing done.

~~There are a couple of things I do throughout the year to help our Christmas budget. Now, if you haven't sat down with Jesus and your hubby and set a budget for Christmas yet, then that is the number one thing on your to-do list.

It is so easy to buy this and that for so and so and before you know it, you've spent hundreds if not thousands that you had no intention of spending.

Our bank offers a Christmas Club. This is just a savings account in which they transfer so much from our checking account each pay period into this account. You can put as little as $5 a week into this account or as much as you choose. The first week in November, the bank sends us a check for the amount and we can finish up our Christmas shopping. This really works for our family because we don't miss what we don't have and it truly is a great comfort to know that check is coming in November!!

~~I say we use this and finish our Christmas shopping because I also shop all year for those Christmas gifts.

We give gifts to each other of course...me, DH, DD and DS. We also give gifts to:
My Mom and Dad
DH's Mom and Stepdad
My Sister
DH's Sister
3 Married siblings
7 nieces and nephews
SS teachers, piano teacher...
and like everyone else, we have those last minute gifts that always seem to pop up.

Right after Christmas, I make a list, broke down into families, of who we buy for, then I begin the hunt. All year I'm looking at clearance racks and shelves, yard sales, thrift stores you name it. I try very hard to give gifts that match the personalities of the ones we are giving to.

For the 3 couples, we give couples gifts. I've thought about doing family gifts, but for now, all of my nieces and nephew are quite young and they still love the thrill of opening a gift of their very own...and honestly....who doesn't??!

I also look at thrift stores and yard sales for canning jars in good condition. These can often be found for 30¢ or less. I use these to do Gifts in a Jar. These are great couples, teacher, or last minute gifts. In the weeks to come, I'll be sharing some of our favorite ways to make this gift.

~~It's also time to begin Christmas cards. I still love to give and receive Christmas cards....the old fashioned way....through the postal service.

I love to open the mailbox and see the stacks of card in there from friends we've made over the years and family that lives too far away to spend Christmas with. It gives me a wonderful warm fuzzy to sit in front of the fire with my hot cocoa and open each card and read the verse inside and more importantly the personal note that was added.

You can usually buy Christmas cards for 50-75¢ a box after Christmas but even now, the Dollar Tree has a great selection.

Decide who you want to send cards to, buy your cards and stamps and start now addressing those cards. Just doing two or three a day will have you ready to mail those by the day after Thanksgiving!! The hardest part about this is deciding who not to send a card to. After all, you are trying to stay in budget so ask yourself if it's necessary to send a card to the nurse who was in the delivery room 23 years ago when you delivered your first baby. If you've stayed somewhat in touch over the years, maybe the answer is yes, but if you find yourself wondering if you even have the right address............

Hopefully this encourages you to get started on your way to having a calm, peaceful, true to the Reason, Christmas season!!

Pleasantly Surprised and Saving Money to Boot!!

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned making my own laundry soap and hoping it would turn out okay. Well let me tell you that I am absolutely thrilled with the way this laundry soap has turned out!!!!! It is so quick and easy to make and one batch has lasted me about 3 weeks which is far longer than I've gotten out of a bottle of laundry soap!!

I went a step farther and made homemade fabric softner. I am very pleased with this as well.
Instead of bleach, I have begun making homemade Oxy clean and so far, I'm still thrilled with bright whites!

I've never been one to pay high prices for too much of anything, but even at the prices I pay, in 3 weeks I've estimated that I've only spent around $1.70 to clean my laundry!!! My normal spending for 3 weeks was usually in the neighborhood of $7.50--a savings estimated at $5.80!!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised that my laundry smelled....clean. No perfumy smell, only clean laundry. Any soils and stains came right out and my laundry was just as soft as it had ever been.

Note that a normal wash week for me is 15 loads a week, give or take a load here and there.

In an average year that has me spending around $28 to wash my laundry. With commercial detergents I spent on average $128 per year. So adding $100 a year to our budget sounds pretty good to me.

It really takes only about 15 minutes to whip up a batch of laundry soap and so in the grand scheme of things, not long at all.

There are two sites that I've found that I absolutely love that share economical ways to do things we do everyday.

One is Tip Nut and the other is Grocery Cart Challenge.

All of us are on board when it comes to saving money, and quite honestly I love the idea of taking better care of our planet as well. Think of all the packaging that isn't going into the landfills if we make more of what we use from scratch!

I really want to encourage you to check out the above sites and give a few of these things a try.
I'm sure, like me, you'll be glad you did!!

25¢ Pizza!!

We love pizza in our house, but we seldom go out for pizza. It's just a lot cheaper to make pizza from scratch.

BUT....if you could get a large, one-topping pizza for 25¢...THAT would be a deal for anybody's wallet!!!

So click here and register with Papa John's. If the opening kick off of the BIG GAME is returned for a touchdown, everyone who pre-registered will get a large, one-topping pizza for 25¢!!!

Yummm!!!!

Blessings.....

My Shopping Trip Results

I just wanted to share how I did on my shopping this week.

We weren't out of everything, but we were almost out of meats. So, of course, a good portion of that spending was on meats.

I started with $240.

My first stop, as usual, was at our Bent-n-dent. This actually wasn't a good week there to rack up on some bargains. I picked up 10 more cans of tomatoes at 39¢ a can, peanut butter at $1.39, milk at $2.98 a gallon (I bought 3 gallons) and a few other odds and ends. I spent $27.94 and saved $4.80.

I spent $1.59 at Dollar General for some liquid potpourri (remember that's my weakness......), $18.36 at the Dollar Tree. I bought mainly cleaners, anniversary cards (I still send cards snail mail and noticed I was out of anniversary cards..), toiletries, a few items for an upcoming baby shower and chocolate frosting.

From there I went to Winn Dixie where I spent $10.80 on pop. Yes, we drink pop. Yes, we like pop. Yes, we could save money if we didn't buy pop, but I haven't made it to that place yet. I did buy our pop on sale and saved $4.45 though!! :o)

A trip to Wal Mart for those things we just can't live without...really... I picked up some of the much needed meats as well and spent $94.45. I didn't use many coupons this week (remember, if you don't need what you have a coupon for, then you're not really saving) so I only saved $1.25 with coupons. I priced matched leg quarters, saving $2 a bag (I bought 3 bags). Fresh tomatoes were on sale, 50¢ saved there. Total savings at Wal Mart, $7.75.

A trip to Sav A Lot where I spent $48.03 and finally a quick stop at Food World for potatoes. They were on sale for $1.49 a 5# bag. I bought 2 bags and a few other items on sale. Spent $7.52, saved $7.00.

Total spending: $208.69!! Total saving: $24.00!!

I was so thrilled at not having spent the whole $240. That means if meats are on sale this week I can purchase them. If not, I can apply that to the next grocery shopping day or put it in savings!

I seem to be doing better at staying under budget, but I'd love to see my 2 week spending be under $200. Once I achieve that, I'd like to try to get to $175. Of course, that's going to take a lot of planning and no lying back down in the mornings (see earlier post) so that I can cook more from scratch and redeem the time God has given me in a way that will please Him.

How about you? Do you have a grocery budget? How are you doing on your spending? I'd love to hear what you do to make those hard earned dollars go farther.

Blessings......

Do You Thrift Store??

I just wanted to give a plug for checking out your local thrift stores.

Now..I know that everyone already knows this. I know that everyone already shops thrift stores and yard sales and everyone loves hand-me-downs!!...I'm serious here....

Let me give you an example of savings just by looking at the thrift store first...

Earlier this week, DS started a new job at Zaxby's. They provided him with a Zaxby's shirt and hat. He had the shoes, he had the socks, he had the pants...or so we thought. Turns out that every restaurant in our area uses black pants except....you guessed it....Zaxby's.

The day he turns in his work permit, they told him to be back at 10:15 ready to go to work. It's a little after 9 at this point and so driving home only to turn around and come back was a total waste of gas. I decided to take DS out for some breakfast..kind of a celebration of sorts (and we were really hungry!!). As we were headed to eat, DS told me, "Mom, I've got to have khaki pants. Not black." What!!....So, nothing to do but head to Wal Mart for some new khaki pants.

Why not the thrift store?? Because there was no way to get them washed and dried and him back to work in less than an hour and my policy is to wash everything (sometimes even brand new) before wearing..

At Wal Mart we find khaki's at the wonderful price of $16.95. Hmph.....I'm not too happy, but what do you do?? So I spend the little over $17 and take DS to work.

Today finds DS and DD at work and DH at the church with the men just taking care of those things that need taken care of. I decide to do some Mom time which consisted of a trip to the bank, filling up the car with gas (at this point DS and I are sharing a car until he can save up his half for one...very frustrating for this mom who likes to have her car available..but that's for another day....), a stop at Sonic cause I LOVE their $1 chicken sandwiches and a trip to the thrift store.

At the thrift store I pick up a couple of kids Bible storybooks to give away and then I head over to check out the bedspreads, curtains and finally men's pants.

Yes, I'm specifically looking for khaki pants for DS, because they are going to give him another Zaxby's shirt which thrills me because I don't like trying to make up a load of laundry every day. Seems like a waste of water and electricity to me....

I find at least 7 or 8 pair of pants, each for under $4!!! I settle on 2 pair (because I'm not sure how they'll fit) and each pair was only $1.98!!! For less than $5 I got 2 pair of pants. 2 pair of khaki's at Wal Mart....$33.90 before tax. 2 pair of khaki's at the thrift store...$3.96 before tax. A savings of....$29.94!!!!

A no brainer for this gal!!

So...check out that thrift store, or Salvation Army, or Goodwill, or whatever it's called in your area. You may have to try a few times to find what you need, but the hunt is fun and the savings is worth it!!

Blessings......

My Shopping Trip Update.....finally....

My shopping trip went well Friday, although I'm sure as I write this and review, it could have went better. This is good for keeping me accountable and hopefully reaching my own goals of being a better shopper and saver.

I had $250 for two weeks. When I shop, I shop for everything. Birthday presents, household items, cleaners, paper products, groceries, etc..so my list is quite lengthy. I also shop every two weeks, only buying bread or meat sales in between.

As always, my first stop was the Trade Market (Bent-n-Dent). I bought 3 gallons of milk, saving $1.71 on those 3 gallons. I stocked back up on cans of diced tomatoes at 39¢ a can. I bought 10 cans and saved $2.60. Several other items gave me a savings of $2.45 for a total savings of $6.76. Even if I only save a few cents, I will go ahead and buy what I need there. There is truth in, 'A penny saved is a penny earned.' I spent $24.12

I made my way to the Dollar Tree where I purchased our body wash, shave cream, glass cleaner and some black socks for DS's new job (?)--(see earlier post) among other things spending $7.56

From there, Wal Mart. This is usually where I spend the bulk of our monies. I had quite a list which also included out of the ordinaries like: 2, $5 gift cards, socks for me and undies for DH. I also had to download my pics on a cd and I printed off a few as well. DD needed contact solution and she has to use a certain brand which isn't the cheapest! These items alone came to $28.90 before tax. Then I made other needed items that are of a normal sort. I'm not going to bore you with my entire shopping list, but it was quite lengthy. My subtotal before coupons was $128.92. I had coupons for many of the items and the total on the coupons was $12.47. My complete total after taxes was $115.16.

On to Dollar General where I spent $6.48 on trash bags, fabric softener and the store brand of Lysol.

My next stop was Save A Lot. I needed cans of veggies and cream soups. I also bought 4 pounds of ground turkey. A few other items gave me a grand total of $33.82.

My last stop was a local grocery store. I threw my receipt away, so I can't remember every item I bought. I do remember I bought some ice cream, green beans and some other items spending $18.28.

We went out on Saturday and I picked up some things on sale at Target and spent $9.35. I had $1 in coupons.

Add in the 52¢ I spent at CVS. Here, I saved in coupons and ECB's.

My spending total so far was $215.29.

My savings total was $27.73.

I still have a little more than $34 for the bread or the meat sales that may happen over the next 2 weeks.

I'm pleased with how this turned out, but I believe I can make better use of my coupons.

We'll continue this journey and I hope you'll share how your shopping and saving is coming along.

Blessings.....

CVS, Part 3 and My Last CVS Trip

For part 3 of learning how to shop at CVS, head on over to Centsible Savings.

I truly hope you have found this to be helpful and I'd love to hear if you gave it a try and how well you did.

To be honest, I had whittled my bucks down to only $3 and I didn't earn any this week with my purchases, so in some eyes, I may have failed, but like I shared before, I'm not going to buy something, simply to earn an ECB. I've got to need it in order for it to be profitable to me.

My CVS experience last week was as follows:

1, 6.5 oz Aquafresh toothpaste, $2.50
1, Palmolive 10 oz dish soap, 97¢
1, Waterproof Mascara, $2.99
2, Rolls CVS paper towels, 99¢ & 49¢

I used a $2 coupon on the toothpaste, 50¢ coupon on the dish soap. These were manufacturer coupons.
I used a $2 CVS coupon on the mascara and the paper towels were buy one get one half off.
I had $3 in ECB's.

Grand total, plus tax: 52¢!!

No, except for the paper towels, I didn't need these things at the moment of purchase.

Yes, they will most definitely get used and they will not spoil.

Too good of a deal to turn away.

Later today I will try to get the post out on the rest of my shopping trip.

Together we can help each other become more aware of what we're spending and how to get the most with that money.

Blessings..........

A Submissive Wife and a Busy Day

I've got a busy day ahead of me today.

Today is the first real shopping day of the new year for me. DH and I decided that instead of trying to do the finances our own way separately, we would start the new year working on them together. We admitted that in our marriage, finances were the only spot that we were on separate pages and frankly it wasn't working for us. I spent too much and he doesn't want to spend anything.

Now...I know I have all of these posts on saving money, so you're asking how do I spend too much?? Well, like I've confessed before, I have a very hard time passing up a bargain and believe me...there are truly a lot of bargains to be found!! But when a bargain causes you to overspend, it's no longer a bargain.
DH thinks that you can still buy a gallon of milk for $1.25,a loaf of bread for 50¢ and feed 4 adults and the occasional friends on $30 a week...he needed a wake up call as well.

I was concerned at first that when we got ready to sit down together, major problems might surface. I mean, it's not like I have a smart aleck attitude or anything.......But we pray before we begin and as always, God has been faithful. He just takes that big, mighty hand of His and wraps it around my big, mighty mouth! DH and I have actually done a very good job talking about things and staying on the same page.

With that being said, I want to share a couple of other things before I head out for my day:

Centsible Savings has posted part 2 on CVS shopping. Head over and check it out. I don't have a big CVS run today, but I'll share my small trip with you later.

I also wanted to get my post out on yesterday's "wife" lesson.

Lesson 4's title is "She Brings Him Good Not Harm". We can see by the title that I'm already in trouble here..

2 statements on the first page: "Each partner must be willing to minister to the needs of the other regardless of the response" and "...our highest purpose as husbands or wives is to be an instrument for promoting our partners' spiritual and personal welfare." (Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr.)

Like I've said, I think I do pretty good in the submissive wife category, but do I willingly minister to DH regardless of how he will respond? Uhh...not always. I mean, he's suppose to appreciate everything I do. He's suppose to praise me and tell everyone what a blessed man he is to have me in his life. Right?? Well, in all honesty he does these things, but there are times when I do things I think will cause him to rejoice from the rooftop and he never says a word. My feelings get hurt and I run to my corner and pout. Then I decide that if that's the way he's gonna be, we'll see how long it is before I put myself out there again.

But...that's not what I'm suppose to do and it's certainly not how a wife should treat her husband.

A little more studying brought Genesis 3:16 to light.....you know, the more I study this, the more I realize just why the Bible is called the Living Word....I've read this stuff countless times and I'm noticing things I've never "seen" before...
This verse says, "....And though your desire will be for your husband, he will be your master." (NLT) What!!?? Another translation reads it like this, "....Yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (NASB)
Again....What??!!! Plain and simple...he's in charge. Sad thing is, now he has to fight for it.

In Eden, sin corrupted the submissive wife and the loving husband and has been replaced with a struggle for power. This is very evident in today's society. Every where you look, women are demanding to be treated as equal to a man and quite plainly..that's not Bible. That's not how God set this up. It is the very reason so many marriages are in trouble and divorce is rampant. We....I...want to do things my way, not God's and that goes against God in every way.

We also need to realize that, as women...as wives, we influence our husbands. That was made obvious when Eve influenced Adam to eat the fruit. Not only do we influence our husbands, we influence our children. They see how we treat their dad, and they mimic that. If we treat Dad with love and respect, so will our children. If we are hateful and have a bad attitude toward him, so will they.
That is a lot to think about and it's very important to keep that at the front of our minds at all times.

So..here I go again. Thinking I'm doing pretty good and realizing there is much work to be done.

I have an amazing husband. He is definitely the man God chose for me, even when I didn't acknowledge God at all. I am so thankful to be so blessed and he's the very reason I decided to get serious about who I am in Christ and who I am as a wife and mom. I want to do him good, not harm, all the days of my life. (Referring to Proverbs 31:12)

Blessings.......

2 Praises and CVS

I want to share a couple of things in this post and then I'll be back later to write a post about this submissive wife thing I'm studying...talk about getting a swift kick in the pants this morning......

We have two praises to share!

First, DD's....exam...went well. Doc was great, she survived and the minor problem she was having was determined to be easily fixed.

Second, DS got a job! In today's economy, with so many losing their jobs, this is a blessing!

Now..in a faaarrrr earlier post (that I can't find at this point), I mentioned shopping at CVS. If you match their sales with coupons, you really can get stuff free or for pennies. It does take some patience and in my humble opinion, some good sense. I honestly refuse to buy something that I absolutely don't use just to get ECB's back. I feel that's wasting and according to some hard core CVS'ers I'm off my nut, but that's okay.

I would try to explain CVSing to you, but I would only confuse you to the point that you would know I'm off my nut so...go on over to Centsible Savings . She is running a 3 part series on how to make CVS work for you. I read part one this morning and she explains very clearly how to get started.

Walgreens does something similar with Register Rewards or RR's as they are better known, but I've found that I don't do as well at Walgreens as I do at CVS.

I'll be back later, but must go wake everyone up to get our school day started!

Blessings....

Does "Convenient" Cost More?

I was reading an article today that I found quite interesting. It was one of those articles that reminded you of what you already knew, but didn't practice, but complained about because things are the way they are because you don't do what you already know you should do! Following me so far???

This article was talking about convenience foods and the fact that they are not frugal or thrifty at all. They gave the example of the fact that this family was coming up on a very busy two weeks and so they went to the store and bought bottled water and string cheese to be used only when they were in travel mode and had to have something in a hurry. Turned out that in that first week, everyone was in a hurry and so just grab a bottle of water and some cheese and head out the door. And guess what?? There wasn't anything left for the next week!!

I had to smile. I couldn't believe someone had taken the time and effort to follow my family around and then write an article on us!

No...really. This happens on a very regular basis in our house. I'll buy bottled water, or cans of pop. I'll buy snack cakes or some type of on the go bar and make the grand announcement, "These are for on the go only!! When you're here at home, eat or drink something else." Then at different times during the week, I'm quite certain I must be losing my mind because I see people eating and drinking the very things I'm pretty sure I told them not to. I'm sure I'm losing it because I will ask these people, "Don't you remember me telling you these were for on the go only?", and they'll look at me completely serious and say, "No. You didn't say that." (Pulling my hair here....)

We have 4,681,292 sports bottles in our house. Well...maybe not that many...it's more like 8 or 9 but when they are whacking me in the head as I open the cabinet door, it sure feels like more....

Why in the name of all that is cheap, can't we....can't I....grab that sports bottle, head over to the fridge fill it with ice and water, screw on the lid and head out the door? Does it really take that long to do that?? See, I'm as guilty of ignoring me as my family is.

How hard is it to get a plastic bowl with a lid and put some pretzels in it? Or even....some cookies!!! Got my water, got my cookies and I'm out the door. Didn't cost those jokingly "convenient" prices and if I get hungry or thirsty, I'm armed and dangerous for a fraction of the cost.

I don't know about you, but again, for me, it boils down to laziness. I mean after all, it takes about 2 minutes longer to fill up that sports bottle and bowl than it does to grab a "convenient" water bottle and on the go bar. Hey! If I'm that pressed for time, then there is a lot more action I need to take in different areas of my life before I ever get to the frugal part.

We'll take tomorrow for instance. DD has a doctor appointment at 1. I know this. I also know that in the neighborhood of 11:30 I'll be grading those last few papers and getting ready to go. I'll be too busy to worry about that sports bottle. So, why not, before things get crazy, get my bottle, fill it with ice and water and set it in the fridge?? That ice isn't going to melt quickly sitting in the fridge and even if it does...uhhh..it's water...

So now, when we're running out the door I can just open that fridge, grab my water and never miss a beat.

How our grandmothers and great grandmothers managed without all of this convenience is beyond me.

We've got to quit kidding ourself if we're going to get serious about living a more frugal life and getting rid of the debt that is keeping us in bondage.

So let's pass on the bottled water and pre-packaged snacks. Anyone need a sports bottle??

Blessings.......

She Can't Possibly Still Be Talking About Christmas!!

I promise...someday I will get on a subject other than Christmas...I really will...well, I'll do the best I can anyway.

See, I have been "there" so many times. "There" being stressed, over-budget, clueless. I don't like being "there" and I don't want you to be "there" either.

Anyway...today DH and I made a quick trip into town for last minute items needed for a birthday party tomorrow. Remember DS turned 16 about 2 weeks ago? Well, DD will turn 18 in 2 weeks and they decided that for the first time in years, they wanted a birthday party...and..for the first time ever..they want to have it together!! This is great!! I think....It's a combined birthday party complete with folks from many generations. Teen friends to grandparents. I'll let you know how it goes!

Anyway..I promise I'm getting to the point of this post...while DH and I were in Wal Mart, we were busy checking out the clearance isles. I got bows, 40 in a pack for 25¢. Loved it! BUT the best deal was.....I can't tell you. Well, I can't tell you exactly what I bought..BUT..I can tell you that I bought couples gifts for our brothers and sisters..5 gifts in all..and spent.......$10.80..tax included!!!! I fairly shouted in the middle of the store!

Please, please, please, now is a great time to check out clearance items and you may need to do it soon. I noticed today while we were in the Dollar Tree, that they still had items at 50% off, but were taking inventory of them and boxing them up for next Christmas.

It really does pay to look in those clearance aisles.

Got to go bake a cake!!

Blessings........

Begin Next Year's Christmas Shopping Now

I realize it is New Year's Eve and here I am still talking about Christmas. This time though, the topic is going to cover gifts for the family that you can make or where a little can go a long way.

I'm choosing to talk about this early because let's face it, Christmas gift buying can really put a strain on our finances. We did well this year, staying within budget and looking for those bargains, but I believe we can do better. Especially since this year we'd love to see at least one of our credit cards paid off and the next one paid way down.

Since we've already exchanged gifts with both sides of our family, I can share what I chose to do for our brothers and sisters and their spouses this year.

I spent the year putting together a family cookbook!

I anticipated that it would take me several months to get recipes collected, so I started early. I contacted all of the female..and some of the male..family members and asked each of them for their favorite family recipes. I asked that I get at least 4 or 5 recipes from each person and that they would be a mixture of main meals, side dishes and desserts.

As I would get them, I would type them up and print them out on some colored paper. I would then put the recipes in page protectors and into a 3 ring binder. I also printed up a cover page for the front of the binder.

As the year went along, it was great for me to read over these recipes and think about our families and how they fix these very same meals for their own families.
Looking at the ones my mother and mother-in-law gave me, it brought back a lot of memories of meals and laughter shared at their homes. It was definitely a warm-fuzzy time.

I watched as everyone opened their cookbooks and I caught the same look in their eyes as I'd had in my own. Just remembering those dishes we've all shared together over the years.

You could personalize it even more with pictures of the cooks and their recipes, or maybe jotting down some memory that a certain dish brought back to you.

All in all I printed out 10 cookbooks. I bought my printer paper at the dollar store as well as my page protectors. The 3 ring binders came from Wal Mart and whenever I needed ink, I waited for a sale at Walgreens and filled my cartridges for half price or free. Total cost for 10 cookbooks: $30. 7 cookbooks were given to extended family and I kept 3. 1 for me and 1 for each of my kids.

Other ideas that you can work on throughout the year:

1) Look at the thrift stores and yard sales for interesting jars. Clean them up and fill them with the recipient's favorite candy. Cost shouldn't be more than $3 depending on the candy.

2) Again looking for interesting jars...fill them with the ingredients for "Cookies in a Jar" These gifts are a big hit and sure to be used. Cost shouldn't be more than $2.

3) Have a gardener in the family? Look at the dollar stores at the end of summer and you can find those tiny hand rakes and trowels for $1 each...I've even seen them at 50¢. Add a few packs of seeds and a pot and you've spent around $3-$4.

4) A movie buff? Again...the dollar stores are notorious for having old movies for $1-$3. Add a pack of microwave popcorn and for $3 or less..your set!

My biggest piece of advice is to start now. Plan early. Shop ahead. When we wait till the last minute, we tend to overspend because we're just grabbing whatever is on the shelf in order to get someone something. Who needs the added stress on themselves and their budgets??

Every time you go shopping, take a little notebook with you and look for those gifts. When you find one, write in your notebook who it's for and what it is. You'll be amazed at how freeing it is to not be scrambling at the last minute!

As a side note....Wal Mart has their Christmas ornaments at 50-75% off right now. These are great gifts for a teacher, mail person or a last minute gift that comes up...and at my house...that is a very normal occurrence!!

I bought 4 yesterday and will check again when I go back to the store. The Dollar Tree has all of their Christmas merchandise at 50% off..which means you are only spending 50¢ per item. I bought stuffed animals for Operation Christmas Child boxes for next year and also got some pillar candles (because that is one of my true weaknesses).

Leave no stone unturned. Remember this is your budget. Make it work for you.

Blessings.....

Wait!!

I hope all of you are having a very Merry Christmas and truly enjoying the holiday with those you love.

I have some funny stories to share with you about our Christmas in the coming days!

I know I said I probably wouldn't post today, but something just "hit" me that I want to share with you before tomorrow.

If you are one of those people who hit the day after Christmas sales then I'm asking you to reconsider. Here's why...

Yes, there will be a huge variety of things marked down tomorrow. Yes, you will save a lot of money. You will have a lot to choose from at a very reduced price. BUT....if you will wait about a week, items will be marked down even more. I usually get things like wrapping paper, bows and Christmas cards at literally 90% off!!!! It's true you may not have as much to choose from, but the savings are so much greater that it is truly worth the wait!!

Have a wonderfully, blessed Christmas day!!!!!

Blessings.....

Shopping Savings

A few weeks back, I wrote a post on saving by going to the Bent-n-Dent. (Look at post "here") Since I did my shopping trip yesterday, I decided to show how that works to make for great savings.

I'm going to list what I bought. These are items that had to be bought regardless. The first column will show what I would have had to pay at the cheapest price I could find, (Wal Mart, Sav A Lot, etc.). The second column will show what I paid at the Bent-n-Dent.

Milk (3 gallon--------------$3.19 x's 3-------$1.98 x's 3
Honey Nut O's (2 bags)--$2.78 x's 2-------$1.00 x's 2
1½ dz eggs----------------$2.28--------------$1.59
Tomatoes, 14.5 oz (8)------.59 x's 8-----------.39 x's 8
Green Beans, 14.5 oz (3)---.49 x's 3-----------.39 x's 3
*Ranch Dressing, 16 oz--$1.19------------------.99
Potatoes, 10 pounds-----$4.79----------------$1.99
_____________________________________________
-----------------------------$29.58---------------$16.80

* Normally I buy store brand dressing which is $1.19 for 16 oz. This was actually Kraft brand which would run $2.24 at Wal Mart.

The savings: $12.78!

I also saved $16.25 in coupons.

$17.11 at Walgreens and got a $5 coupon off my next purchase

$ 2.99 at CVS. I had $3 in ECB's that were about to expire so I bought a tube of toothpaste for $2.99 and a caramel candy (because CVS can't owe you money) and got $2 in ECB's back**

Total savings $49.13 with $5 in Walgreens RR and $2 in ECB's

DH and I sat down and found that we really needed to revamp our budget. I have to admit I wasn't entirely happy about that, but given the current situation with the economy, we want to be on the side of caution.

My entire spending for 2 weeks for basically 4 adults was $214.14. That included household items, dog food and meat (we had almost emptied the freezer!!) and those extras for Christmas dinner. It was a bit of a challenge for me, but I honestly prayed before we left and God opened doors of savings that I didn't even expect!!

Hope this helps you to understand why I value having a Bent-n-Dent so close.

Check out your area and see if you have access to one of these awesome places!!

** To learn how to make CVS work for you, check out Money Saving Mom. Look in the right column and click on the CVS 101 and Walgreens 101 labels.

Blessings.....

Christmas Planning

I've spent this week wrapping gifts for my extended family--nieces, nephews, in-laws--and I have had most of this bought since early this year.

Since some of my family members actually read my blog, I can't post what these gifts are...but I can share the amount of savings.

I start buying gifts for Christmas next as soon as Christmas now is over. Yes, this does mean that I have to have a place to store them for a year, but the savings is well worth the small amount of space that I have to give up.

I've shared before that I buy for 7 nieces and nephews as well as parents and brothers and sisters (we do couples gifts for our brothers and sisters and their spouses) in our extended family.

I still need to purchase something for my dad...he's the man that has everything and needs nothing, has no hobbies, can't think of a thing he needs or would like to have..you get the picture..

Anyway, to date, like I said I have all gifts bought except my dad's and I've spent $63 on18 people. Not too bad. Now, I've been buying all year, hitting sales and clearance shelves. If I had paid full price, I would have spent $111.90--a savings of $48.90! I'm pretty tickled with that!

I have a notebook, complete with Christmas scene on the cover, that I keep especially for Christmas purposes. I take this with me when I go shopping throughout the year. When I buy a gift for someone, I write the person's name in the notebook and what the gift is. That way I don't end up with 3 gifts for the same person. (Anyone who knows me, knows that this would happen!) When it is time to wrap, I just bring out the gifts and the notebook to remind me who gets what, and I'm in business!

I would also encourage anyone who can to begin a Christmas club at their bank. DH gets paid every 2 weeks and we have $15 taken out of our checking account and put into this Christmas club. We never miss the money (you don't miss what you've never had). The first week in November the bank sends me a check for around $400! Usually we use this to purchase for the kids and ourselves and maybe anyone that we just couldn't find something for throughout the year...Dad....

If you're fortunate enough to have everything bought before that check arrives--that never happens here--then just deposit it in your savings account or pay it toward some debt you may have. It's a win-win situation.

I'm all about trying to eliminate stress and especially around Christmas. A little pre-planning and time throughout the year really helps with that.

Blessings....