Archive for the 'frugal' category
Deal of the Day
December 3, 2008 11:39 am1. Go to Ebates and sign up if you have not done so yet. It only takes a few minutes- It gives you cash back for online purchases when you shop through their website. Plus it has great deals/coupons for online shopping!
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=gLCBTXwTGdLXALAdxMnwtQ%3D%3D
2. On the right side of the page pull up store “eToys.com” or search for it in the search tool.
3. Once on eToys site, Search for Item Number: 785756 it is ONLY $29.99 with free shipping and you will also get a 2% rebate from ebates! (which ebates works- I received my first cash back after I purchased an item through ebates on Ebay!)
Levi still plays with the train set that he received on his first birthday and Jack loves chewing on it now! 
Great thing about the wooden train set - it is universal all the Thomas the Train stuff hooks to it, as well as any other brand!
Happy Shopping~
Frugal Monday & Family Updates
October 20, 2008 11:29 amFrugal Monday & Family Updates
October 13, 2008 12:31 pmFrugal Monday - I decided instead of frugal Friday - I would have frugal Monday…..I have more time Sunday afternoons to clip & organize coupons & scout out all the sales, because one or both of the boys go to Paw & Nanny’s house after church or they nap all afternoon until it is time to get up and get ready for church at night. so….I use Mondays as my “stock up and save” day!
Today was RiteAid. I thought it might be a disaster trying to go with both boys- little shopping carts + Levi having to walk next to me = potential disaster! BUT I had my list & coupons in hand, I gave Levi a “list” and pencil and we got what we needed & left in recorded time!
Deals of the Day-
3 packs of Huggies diapers - size 3 (for now), size 4 (Jack is getting BIG), & pull-ups - I had a $1, $1.50, & $2.00 coupon + $10 RiteAid rebate if 3 packs were bought! YAY!
2 Jumbo packs M&Ms - sale 2 for 3 plus $1.00 coupon
The rest of my buys were FREE- yes FREE after rebate (besides tax!)
2 chapsticks - stocking up for winter
Triaminic Flu - stocking up for the months ahead
Soft Lips chapstick - never have too many!
Little Cold - for the months ahead
Children’s Advil - bought for Haiti
Excederin - bought for Haiti
I purchased all of this for a total of $25.46 after sales, coupons & rebates!! That is less than what I normally would spend on just 3 packs of diapers!!!! so great day for me today!
plus when I went to pick our mail (from Saturday) at the post office- there were LOTS of coupons sitting right on top of the trash - I didn’t dig in the trash, just moved some around to make sure I got all the good stuff and my mom had all the Sunday paper coupons, so I got those too! Can’t wait to make my next grocery list!
Ebay- plan on selling some more on Ebay this week….I have really thinned out the boys clothes. Most summer stuff went with my mom to help out a village in Haiti. I plan on using this weeks profits to buy a wedding dress so that my mom can take it with her to Haiti in November during their church missions trip. I have previously purchased a few wedding dresses off of Ebay for Haiti! It’s a lot of fun, and the Haitians LOVE lots of lace & beads. I got one New with Tags for $18.00!!! I also plan on trying to look for lots of baby blankets for the children. If any of you moms out there have thin cotton baby blankets that you no longer need or want and would like to donate them to Haiti- contact me.
Family Updates - Jack is crawling all over the place. He pulls up on everything, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he walks early. He is still a very easy baby, but has quite the temper when aggravated! I think he is getting more teeth, so his sleep is interrupted occasionally. Levi is currently sick, just a low temp and the sniffles. He is really becoming so big and so smart! We are amazed at the knowledge that he soaks in daily. He loves learning new things & loves playing “pretend” - he has a HUGE imagination!
*there are new pictures in the October album
The End of Frugal Week but not the end of being frugal.
October 1, 2008 11:48 amOur “frugal week” challenge ended on Sunday…
It was actually refreshing & fun to learn how to spend less, use what was already in the house, & still be full, clean, & happy at the end of the day.
As a wife & mother, it was rewarding to have food prepared for each meal & to stay at home and eat - not like what is sometimes the norm of “uhh….hmmm….nothing in refrigerator or freezer, yeah, let’s just go out to eat or how does a sandwich sound?”
Also, although I do not help in “bringing home the money” - I can be a HUGE help in saving money by learning to cook more affordable meals, being coupon savy, consolidating errands, cutting back on unnecessary spending, bargain shop, etc….
I have MUCH more to learn on being frugal, and not just in the “money spending” aspect. One of the main things, I have been challenged by this past week is on being a homemaker….not just a stay-at-home mom….that is a whole other topic in and of itself, maybe I’ll blog on it in the future……..
Matthew 25- tells the parable of the talents. Our desire is not to be as the man who was lazy and who did nothing with what he was given, but to be as the first & second servant - “good & faithful” We want to use wisely what the Lord has blessed us with.
This week, we have been reminded of how fragile life is, and how life is “but a vapor. ” (James 4:14) & how only what was done for Christ will last.
Janet Bauernschmitt entered into eternity with her Heavenly Father on Sunday morning after a car accident. She was only 24. Although we met once and only knew each other through mutual friends, we have been touched by her life. Her obvious love for the LORD is displayed in the hundreds of people that knew her and have shared what an incredible testimony she had. One post that jumped out to me stated : “Janet loved everyone, she did not see someone as just a person, but as a soul.” During her short time on this earth, she furthered His Kingdom & brought glory & honor to His name. She was a good & faithful servant.
Frugal week days 5 & 6
September 27, 2008 11:06 amThis week, we truly lacked for nothing. We ate great meals, wore clean, nice clothes, & had lots of fun playing & working around the house.
yesterday…
breakfast -same ole’ - cereal & sausage biscuits
lunch- levi & mommy - sandwich & strawberries, daddy - meeting (bought lunch with money that was found this week
supper- DATE NIGHT!!! yay! Paw and Nanny took the boys, and we went to Opry Mills. We were suppose to buying a shower gift for a party tomorrow but somehow managed to forget to pick it up on the way out of the mall. We ate TGIFridays and the meal for both was $18, not too bad, we had water and ordered off the right size right price menu. We did get some awesome deals will shopping. Carters Outlet - camo pants for Levi - $3.99 ($24 savings) & the cutest sports blazer/jacket for $3.99 ($28.00 savings) & the best deal was GAP - we got sweatpants, sweater, tshirt, jeans, and hoodie for $30! (40% off clearance, 15% off -from doing a survey, and a $30 gift card) We did splurge and spent $10 getting Levi a pirate hat & sword for staying dry during naps and nighttime. (It was well worth it when you saw his face when we showed it to him!)
Today,
breakfast - cereal
lunch- grilled cheese, chips, raisons
supper- not for sure - I have chicken, we might grill
*all my ebay stuff has bidders - hopefully the prices will go up!*
Well tomorrow is day #7! I’ll update one more time and give some of my thoughts on what I have learned and what the Lord has been teaching & challenging me with throughout the week.
frugal week day #4 - Dirt Cheap
September 25, 2008 8:07 amThe saying “dirt cheap” is kind-of untrue. Dirt isn’t cheap…..ask my parents who buy LOTS of it to put in the pots for the plants in their greenhouse.
Yesterday, we were going to have to buy dirt. Not necessarily the kind of thing I like to spend money on, but we need to fill in our yard before Friday so that our yard can get re-hydroseeded. Luckily for us though, some of our friends are contracting a house and they just broke ground and and have too much dirt so we were able to go get some for free!!! Donald with some help (thanks Cody) went and got the dirt and with the tractor Tim dropped off (thanks Tim) we were able to fill in the yard for free! Levi loved driving on the tractor and being “a worker man” (as he likes to be referred as) Hopefully in the next few weeks we will have a beautiful yard with grass! (Levi will be sad to know that his little dirt patch he plays in will be gone!)
Our Frugal Week is going well….
Breakfast - toast & dutch cheese, cereal
Lunch - leftover taco meat & beans on chips, Levi - ham & cheese sandwich & raisons
Supper - the boys & I will have tomato soup from the freezer and grilled cheese, Donald has to teach so he picks up something during his break.
I did finally get to Kroger. Ughh….didn’t have as many coupons as normal. I saved $6.95 on regular coupons, $1.40 on doubled coupons, $21.50 on Kroger Plus card. Not too bad I guess. Milk was not on sale, and ouch! chocolate milk is expensive, but it is a must in our house. I did stock up on some chicken breasts (great sale), laundry detergent (half price, plus coupon), brownie mixes (half price), & lots of baby food (lots of coupons) all in all it was a good trip, I stayed at our budgeted amount, and I had a great cup of free coffee.
our free tractor rental & free dirt
frugal week day #3
September 24, 2008 8:21 amBreakfast - toast & dutch cheese for Levi, granola for me, business meeting for Donald (breakfast included)
Lunch - leftover hotdogs from last night, sandwiches
Supper- beef and bean burritos (extra ground beef from last night) & rice
I never did make it to Kroger yesterday. I will definitely have to go today.
I did get some things posted on Ebay, and already have several “watchers” so hopefully that will mean several bidders. I started organizing Jack’s closet yesterday - transitioning to fall clothes. Most of his summer clothes that I don’t save - I send with my parents to Haiti. I definitely bought the wrong size last year when purchasing ahead of time. Jack is much bigger than I thought he would be! Oh, well, now I have some boy gifts, & will sell the rest on Ebay.
One of my cousins sent me a link to this website - www.babycheapskate.blogspot.com
great for all you mommies!!!
Levi having his lunch outside!
Jack “helping” mommy with dishes!
frugal week day #2
September 23, 2008 11:01 amWow, this day started out EARLY….2 am Levi woke startled us awake when he was all the sudden in our room crying…after a few minutes of consoling him, I put him back to bed, just in time to hear Jack crying. Thinking he may be hungry due to his schedule being all out of sorts with him being sick, I thought I would try to feed him. Well that was DEFINITELY not the problem!!! After 1 1/2 of crying, screaming, and high pitched wailing from Jack, and us trying to console him every way possible, I gave up to our last resort, put in bed with us. Now that always worked for Levi, not for Jack though, he is a stomach sleeper and with Donald taking up 3/4’s of our queen and me hanging off the side of the bed, Jack did not have enough room to really get comfy. So as soon as he calmed down and was dozing off, I put him back in his bed, of course he woke up instantly, but I just left and he fell back asleep after 2-3 minutes of crying, and stayed asleep till 8.
SO…..this mornings breakfast was not great. I planned on getting up early and making something fun & yummy, but at 4:30 when I finally crawled back in bed, I also shut off the alarm clock!!!
Breakfast - we resorted to cereal & egg sandwiches. Kind-of blah, but filling none the less.
After breakfast, we went to the post office & library- returned some books on Curious George and got some books on PIRATES. Levi is very excited. We wanted books on cowboys, but once he saw these he was ready to go! Levi of course wore his daily outfit of cowboy boots, hat, & his toy gun in the library. He was shooting everything that moved. He wanted to take it into the post office, but I told him that wasn’t allowed. No guns in federal buildings. He thought that was silly.
Lunch - Levi had PB&J sandwich, pretzels, and raisins. Donald & I had leftover pork roast that I shredded and added bque sauce to and put on buns. (I’ll be honest, the pork roast last night was so-so, but the sandwiches were good!)
Supper - I planned on meatballs (ground chuck from freezer) & veggies, but hubbie had other idea. So hamburgers & fries (all from freezer) it is!
I have to make a Kroger run sometime today! We are running low on milk, eggs, & bread. and Jack is going through diapers & wipes like crazy….guess it is the teething!
I plan on taking our “big pot” of change with me to see how much money is in it. We usually plan something fun with that money, this year we were going to use it on our big 5 year anniversary that’s coming up in December. BUT instead we are hoping it will amount to something large and help us so that we can be “medically debt free” - we have had quite the year on medical expenses with Jack’s surprise c-section and 5 day hospital stay to his CT scan and ER visit. We have surprisingly met our deductible and have paid off all our expenses as far at the birth of Jack are concerned (or so we hope, we just paid a “surprise” bill from the guy who stood by me during the c-section!) - all we have left is Jack’s Vanderbilt bills which hopefully with our “pot of change” will be paid off in the next few weeks!!!! yay! then we are going to save change like crazy till December!!!!
I’ll let you know how the shopping trip and “pot of change” go later today!
*I put some new pictures in the September gallery* Levi playing with a bottle of water in the dirt (I told him if sprinkled water on the dirt he would “make cement” - he loved it!! & Jack has a new trick - standing up in bed! He is quite proud of himself! Makes nap times fun!
Frugal Week
September 22, 2008 12:26 pm*Frugality is the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal.[1](wikipedia) *
I am not an impulse buyer or heavy spender, but I definitely am still learning how to be frugal.
I have recently really started watching how much we spend on things. Especially groceries & everyday necessities. I have always clipped coupons, but I am now making my grocery list & meals according to what coupons I have. There is a thrill in seeing how much you save at the bottom of your receipt! I love when coupons are doubled & tripled. The other day the bread we buy was on sale for 99 cents and we had a 55 cent coupon that was doubled. My sister-in-law was telling me she bought something that was on sale with a coupon and a rebate and made money!!! We are pretty crazy about saving money right now, we even print coupons off that we find online (of course you have to be careful not to use $5 worth of ink for a 50 cent coupon
SO this is the week of frugality…..we will see how it goes…..you’ll have to check back daily for updates.
so far so good….
We had a great breakfast - cereal & scrambled eggs I know great combo - Levi likes it, so whatever works!
Lunch was sandwiches & leftover chicken strips from freezer.
Supper is in the crockpot - a $4 pork roast with potatoes! (hope to have lots of leftovers for sandwiches tomorrow!)
We have not left the house, so no expensive gas wasted! Levi has had a fun day playing puzzles, play-doh, & guns. He is now napping. Jack is sick. He has been running a temperature since yesterday. I think it is his teeth. He is extremely cranky and just fell asleep for a nap. I hope his tylenol kicks in and gives him some relief!
One of my goals this week is to go through the boys clothes and put the ones that can’t go to Haiti on EBAY #1 reason- make some money for fall clothes for the boys #2 - clean up some of the clutter *side note - I love ebay…..Donald makes fun of me by telling me he has to watch out because if he doesn’t use something for a while I will sell it on EBAY. ha! he is kind-of right! I sell all kinds of things on EBAY. It is slightly addicting! The greatest thing is - I can dress the boys in adorable clothes that I (or Oma) buy on sale/clearance and then sell them used on EBAY for more than what we paid for them to begin with. *I just sold a shirt for $15.50 that I bought last year for $4.99!*
Completely off the subject, I took pictures of Jack last week, and put them in the gallery. They are under September 08. They are the cutest pictures ever, I know I am bias!
