The New Frugal Mom

Frugal Friday: Riding Life's Ups and Downs

2008-07-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out MoneySavingMom's other blog, take a look over at her Frugal Friday post today. She talks about taking a break from bargain hunting; there's LOTS of great frugal faithful linkys, too.

Who knows, you may feel inspired to add your two cents! I know I did. :)

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Forgive Yourself for Your Less-Than-Frugal Past

I've always couponed in one form or another, all the way back to the years when my dear hubs was an Officer in the Navy and we didn't have children yet. When I discovered that our Commissary's already low prices on brand name items could be slashed even further with coupons, I clipped my inserts every week and brought all of them with me so I could match them up with the best deals.

Fast forward to the our post-Navy years (my husband served his required five year commitment, then resigned his commission). We lived in a small town in Illinois where my shopping choices were few - namely Wal-Mart, a local grocery chain (whose prices were through the ROOF), Save-A-Lot (their produce was outstanding as they only bought from local farms), and Aldi's.

I spent the majority of our grocery $$ at Save-A-Lot and Aldi. Both offered great quality items, but few opportunities to use coupons as they both carry most of their items as store brands. I did learn how to "make" some extra spending money each month by playing the Walgreens game. At that time, I took my monthly ESR $$ as a check rather than a gift card and would keep those extra $$ handy for walking around town with my little ones. I always had a few dollars for a cheeseburger at the local Rally's or an ice cream treat at McD's as we walked to and from the park each day.

(Don't mind me...sniff, sniff. I'm just getting nostalgic about those bygone double-stroller days!)

When we made our move back to Ohio, I was overjoyed. Not only would we finally be able to raise our children near family (we are a tight-knit Mouthy Irish Bunch ), I would finally be able to shop at that most glorious of grocery stores: Kroger! My dear Knute has many happy memories of Krogering with his mom and siblings while growing up and my mother-in-law used to save all her coupons for those heady days of old: TRIPLE coupon days at Kroger. Can you even imagine those now? I think Kroger should bring those back just once a year, at the holiday season (hint, hint, should any Kroger Corporate folks be reading this post).

I started couponing again once we made the transition back to Ohio in the fall of 2004. I wasn't nearly as organized as I am now, but I still managed to do well overall on our budget.

Then, 2005 arrived, and with it arrived the dawning knowledge that the job that had brought us back to Ohio was not going to work out for the long term. At least, not in Ohio. My husband faced the very real prospect of transfer to Phoenix within a year if he stayed with his current company. And that, dear frugal faithful, was not something we were willing to do after living away from family for the better part of ten years.

So I began, between bouts of morning sickness (I was pregnant with our third) and all the usual mommying to a preschooler and a toddler, to scour Monster and Career Builder for my dear hubs. After eight months, he landed his current job which is coincidentally just where he wanted to be when he left the Navy in 2000. All things in God's time, right?

But, during those eight months, and for the next ten (while we waited for our house to sell in one part of Ohio and my hubs commuted 14o miles each day to work in another part of our fine state), couponing took a back seat.

I wish I could tell you that I was a frugal mom during 2006

I wasn't.

At least, not as frugal as I could have been.

I was instead a mom to three small children (four and a half, two and a half, and a newborn). A mom who slept very little and prayed whenever I was awake. I prayed for my baby to stop screaming (he was by far the longest and loudest screamer of my three - his nickname: Sir Screamsalot).

I prayed for one of the many looky-lous who called at six or seven in the evening requesting a bright and early nine in the morning showing of my home to buy it, rather than drop in for ten minutes then leave, disappointed that it really was just a three-bedroom home.

I prayed that my children would have their mother back full time, not just here and there between endless cleaning and polishing of the house that needed to be kept perfect all the time.

I prayed for my dear Knute's safety (and sanity) as he spent so many hours driving to and from work on busy Interstates.

I prayed.

A lot.

And I don't think I used a single coupon during those months other than the usual new baby high dollar coupons that I received in the mail. I was simply too overwhelmed by the business of keeping us altogether, of keeping us healthy, of creating the facade of a perfect show-home (when in reality three children and two large dogs lived there) to worry about coupons and deals.

We finally sold our home in January of 2007 and made the transition to our new home and town in February of 2007, our sixth move in eleven years. In the fall of 2007, I started my personal blog, encouraged by my friend Em's blog.

Not long into blogging, I discovered MoneySavingMom and realized that I could seriously slash our grocery budget by becoming better organized and more focused on my couponing efforts.

Now, as we work hard at eliminating what consumer debt we have, I look back on those eighteen months and have moments when I feel disappointed in myself - could I have done better on our budgeting during that time?

Maybe.

But, as my dear hubs Knute reminds me, no one is perfect. And you have to forgive yourself for not being perfect through the tough times.

I write this post for you, frugal faithful, because I know many of you are new to living on less (something we've always done as we've had a financial plan in place since our mid-twenties). Many of you carry a load of debt you're trying hard to eliminate (we have our debts, too, and we're eliminating them as quickly as we can).

I know many of you may feel like you can't speak about living frugally simply because you haven't lived frugally in the past.

So - here's where you take a deep breath...and give yourself a healthy dose of self-forgiveness.

None of us are perfect.

But each of us has the power within ourselves to decide to wake up each day and try to do better than we did yesterday.

So, for Frugal Friday, I encourage you to read some of the fine ideas over at MoneySavingMom's other blog.

And I encourage you to embrace frugality a little bit more each day, no matter what your personal finance past may be.

Happy Savings!

Fabulous Freebies and Coupons

2008-07-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

A quick round up of what's in my inbox; enjoy!

From SC Johnson's Clean Home Journal, print Scrubbing Bubbles coupons worth $8 here.

~ This includes a $5/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. Not sure how well these work as I still tackle my shower with basic cleaning solutions and a Magic Eraser. Still, that's a high-dollar coupon, sure to be useful at your local CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid.

I've got a bunch of offers from the Coupon Mom newsletter, too:

Vista Print is offering a bunch of stationary freebies here, including:

*250 Business Cards

*1 Address Stamp

*1 Customizable Sticky Note Pad

*140 Address Labels

*25 Customizable Magnets

*100 Postcards

These aren't 100% free as you'll still need to pay shipping and handling, but some of them are pretty useful for small business folks or non-profit organizations. My Girl Scout Service Unit Team was just discussing getting magnets printed with key info/numbers for all of our new Leaders - we can easily do this for pennies using Vista Print. And I got a bunch of magnets with a nice family photo I uploaded printed for free about two years ago - they made nice stocking stuffers for far-flung family members.

Sign up for the Dairy Queen Blizzard Fan Club here and get a B1G1Free Blizzard coupon by email.

~My fave flavor: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - YUM!

Lots of new free samples at Walmart's free sample page, including:

*Benefiber

*American Greetings Cards

*Nivea for Men

*Playtex Gentle Glide

*Old Spice Red Zone

*Serenity Tena

What I love about Wal-Mart's free sample is that they really do ship quickly. It's always a fun suprise to find goodies in the mail, especially ones I usually forgot that I signed up to receive!

Traveling by air and using long-term parking? There's coupons even for this! Check out LongTermParking.com; from their site:

FREE U.S. airport parking discount coupons!

FREE U.S. airport parking reservations - No membership or credit card
required.

Over 130 U.S. locations to choose from!

Print a free coupon and save money now.

FREE parking with a hotel stay at some airports.

Convenient auto services like oil changes and tune-ups.

FREE newspapers, donuts, coffee and bottled water at some
locations.

Valet and Self-Park options available at most airports.

Over 10 million coupons served since 2001!

CVS 6 x 8 Photo Book MONEYMAKER, July 13 - 19

2008-07-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

I know, I know, I'm breaking bloggy silence here after stating more than once that this blog would be shut down.

However...this deal deserves to be shared with the frugal faithful and I know many of you still subscribe to this blog's RSS feed. I'm hoping one of you savvy shoppers out there will read this post and find this coupon in your CVS.

Before I break down how you can get (2) of the 6x8 Kodak Photo Books at CVS for $0.98 this week, AND earn back $15.98 in ECBs, let me show you a picture of the CVS coupon for $3/1 6 x 8 Photo Book:

These have been stacked up by the Kodak kiosk in the front of my CVS store for the past three weeks or so. I've picked up one or two every time I've been in CVS (which is not much lately as the deals have been scarce) since eventually, every CVS coupon comes in handy.

And this is the week to cash it in, CVSer's!

Here's how it breaks down:

Buy (2) 6 x 8 Kodak photo books, $7.99 w/Extra Care Card (limit 2)

Total before Coupons: $15.98

*use $3/$15 CVS coupon found here (thanks to Crystal, Denise, Jennifer, Andrea, and Alyssa, my fave frugal faithful bloggers)

*use (2) $3/1 Kodak Photo Book coupons; 5/4 SS and 6/8 SS

*use (2) $3/1 CVS Photo Book coupons (exp. 11/15/08, so grab a bunch if you find them!)

Total after coupons: $0.98 OOP (cash or ECBs)

New ECBs Earned: $15.98 ($7.99 on each 6 x 8 book)

Net Profit: $15.00 in new ECBs! Oh, happy day!

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I know I was lucky to stumble across these coupons as not every CVS store has the same coupons available (I've missed out on some great finds that I've read about in the blogosphere).

I would advise you to take a look around your local CVS, particularly around the Kodak kiosk and photo department. Heck, this deal is so good, it's worth making some phone calls to the CVS stores in your area to see if they have this coupon available for their customers.

These photo books are beautiful - the quality is amazing!

For me, these books offer a chance to finally start "scrapbooking" some of the hundreds of digital photos I've taken of my two, then three, children since my hubby gave me a digital camera for my birthday almost three (!) years ago.

I certainly hope this post helps another savvy CVSer score an awesome deal on heirlooms for near-free!

Happy Savings!

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I'm still trying to figure out what to do with TNFM; I had planned on combining it with my personal blog, but the goal and purpose of each blog is uniquely different. Combining them may not be in the best interest for my readers, and that's an important factor for me in making a final decision.

I may be back here with more deals and frugal living posts on a more limited basis. School starts for my two oldest children in five weeks...LOL!

To those of you who have visited during my hiatus, thanks for your support.

And to those of you who still subscribe to TNFM's RSS feed - thanks so much. You're all wonderful! Wonderful, I say!

The CVS $5.00 Challenge: Update!

2008-06-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Well, for those of you who might be checking in here to see what's up, I'm still working on the whole process of shutting this blog down and adding the best of the content here to my other blog.

I won't lie to you (it just wouldn't be me!); I've done very little on this project other than think about what I want my main blog to be and how I can best present my content online.

That, and chase my three children from 6 am to 9 pm every darn day -- ahhh, summertime. Is it August yet??

So, this site will stay up for a while (school starts August 22; just kidding - I hope) as I work through the changes. To those of you who've clicked over to my other blog and left a hey howdy hey along with your input/ideas, thanks ever so much!

No matter what happens, however, the deals do go on!

For this reason, I'm handing over complete control and (hopefully) serious linky love of The CVS $5.00 Challenge to my blogging buddy, Alyssa, at Kingdom First Mom.

Go give her a visit if you haven't already and be ready with your best $5.00 CVS dealios, m'kay?

Also, just a reminder: the FREE $25 from RME is over and done. You can, however, still sign up for a new account for free, then earn the $10 referral fee on anyone who signs up for a free account using your referral link or button. To those of you who have done so over the past week using my button, thank you very much and I wish you much luck in gaining your own referrals. If anyone's used their RME account to buy/sell on eBay or elsewhere, comment with your experiences -- was it easy? Or a hassle?

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Walgreens just released yet another $5/$20 coupon good only on Friday. Go visit my good friend Andrea's post at MommySnacks to print your own coupon.

Just like the last one released by WG, this coupon is good only for one day (6/27) and your total must be $20 after ALL other coupons and discounts, meaning you'll spend at least $15 oop. But this is a good Register Reward week at WG so you can still stack up some great deals on RR earning items, then take those RRs and use them to buy June Easy Saver FAR items.

As always, I wish you happy savings and thank you for reading TNFM and W-M!

What Will Happen to The New Frugal Mom?

2008-06-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of you who might still be catching my feed in your reader or via email!

I just wanted to let you know what will happen as I shut down this blog because I'm still very much online here at my personal blog.

I plan on importing much of the best content from TNFM over to W-M beginning this weekend. I also will continue to post about frugal and financial ideas. If you'd like to chime in with a comment on this post, you can let me know what you'd like to see me continue to write about/offer to my Frugal Faithful readers.

Blogging at two blogs with very different purposes and styles was like living a double life -- with double the work! I intend to blend those purposes and styles into one blog at W-M. I fully believe that the benefits of free information via blogging are too important to just abandon the effort to help others.

Thanks for your readership, your kindness, and your support. All of you ROCK!

And, let me pass this email message on from kind reader Krystal regarding the RME $25 sign bonus which looks to be kaput. But it sounds like you can still get the $10 referral from people who sign up under you, so it might be something you want to consider.

I certainly don't want anyone to feel misled; I just found this in my inbox this morning.

I just signed up for the RME account using your referral link, but it looks
like the $25 sign-up bonus is gone. I did not get any kind of sign-up
bonus and nothing is listed in my pending amounts. I know that you are
shutting down your blog (best of luck to you, although it's a shame for your
readers!) but I wanted to let you know this in case you want to edit your latest
post about it on your site. I understand that you have no control over RME
deals, but thought you would want to know so you can potentially avoid having
readers use your link and be in for a disappointment when they find out the only
payment made is to you as the referrer. Looks like new users can still earn $10
referral bonuses, though.

Thanks for your readership and bloggy friendship; I'll keep you updated through the changes ahead!

Thank You and Goodbye

2008-06-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

After much thought and consideration, I'm ending my blogging efforts here at The New Frugal Mom and will close down this blog in one week's time.

Blogging takes a great deal of time, especially when you as the author strive to bring quality content to your audience. Beyond the writing, there is a great deal of behind-the-scenes work that must be done including research, design elements, and communications to name just a few of the many tasks.

I spent Monday at Girl Scout Camp with my daughter and I was reminded of how important it is to enjoy simple day-to-day moments. When blogging becomes a "job" rather than a hobby, it's harder to be fully present in the lives of my children, my family, and my community.

I fully intend to keep blogging at my personal blog. I also intend to move some of the more valuable posts I have here at TNFM over to my personal blog and add them in a separate section I'll create just for this purpose.

I will keep posting weekly Kroger (Cincinnati) Deals as part of Be CentsAble's Grocery Gathering at my personal blog. Look for the Kroger Deals post on Monday mornings.

To all of my readers and members of the Frugal Faithful, I thank you so much for your time and comments. You've been inspiring!

And I will still be visiting these fine frugal and personal finance blogs as I'm still on my own Frugal Journey; I urge you to visit them if you have not had the time to do so yet.

Be CentsAble

Frugal Hacks

iMommies

Handprints on the Wall

Keeping the Kingdom First

Mommy Snacks

Money Saving Mom

Paid Twice

Sense to Save

Sisterly Savings

The "Cents"ible Sawyer

Thank you again for reading and I wish you the best of luck in your efforts to become a more informed and effective frugal manager of your household.

Happy savings and may God bless all of you!

Bloggy Day Off

2008-06-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

For those you tuning in for Kyle of Rather Be Shopping's weekly guest post, I hope you're not disappointed in finding just me.

:)

Kyle will be back next week.

As for me, I spent yesterday at Girl Scout Day Camp with my daughter and four hundred other Girl Scouts from our area. It was wonderful to be completely unplugged from technology while I roamed the woods and went creeking with my girls.

For more about why I believe so strongly in Girl Scouting, read this post at my other blog.

I'm taking the rest of the day off to catch up with blogging friends in person. I had the pleasure of finally meeting up with Andrea of MommySnacks this morning. She's just as wonderful and sincere in person as she is on her blog. Go visit her soon if you haven't yet, m'kay?

And I'm on my way to meet up with my old buddy Em this afternoon; she and her cousin Jenny write MomminItUp! No one does CVS better than Jenny!

I'm hoping to begin attacking this Kick the Clutter project tonight...

It still looks about the same, minus the cereal bowl and HSM Microphone. Real life for me means putting the kids before clutter.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Fabulous Freebies: FreeFly's

2008-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Have you stumbled FreeFly's yet? It's a great resource for freebies -- you'll need to click past a bunch of offers after you register, but it's worth it.

Here's some of the better offers I found:

Free sample of Folger's Gourmet Selections here.

Request a coupon for a free FitSmart Bar here (cereal bar loaded with fiber).

Free sample of Sun Cystals Sweetener here (you can also print a $2/1 coupon from this site).

Join P&G's new bloggy-type site, Vocalpoint here and receive coupons and offers on new products by mail. (I already belong to this and just received a free sample of a new Kashi Probiotic cereal with a coupon for a FREE box, plus a bunch of $2/1 coupons.)

Free sample of Sani-Hands Wipes for Kids here.

Enjoy!

Kroger Deals: June 16 - June 22

2008-06-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Time to look at the Kroger Deals in the Cincinnati Region for the upcoming week - once again, it's another lean week. There are a lot of Kroger brand deals featured with a re-run of many of last weeks deals.

As always, I'm posting these deals as part of BeCentsAble's Grocery Gathering. Be sure to check the Grocery Gathering on Monday and Thursday to find the best deals at your local stores.

Just a reminder, my Kroger doubles coupons up to $0.50 (doubling to $1.00); my final price reflects doubling. I hope your Kroger doubles, too!

Buy a $300, $600, or $1200 Kroger Gift Card, receive an additional 10% ($30, $60, $120) FREE. Good through July 31, 2008.

Kroger, like many retailers, wants to grab those tax stimulus check $$. If you have the cash in your budget to do this and you're a dedicated Kroger shopper, this is a smart way to get some FREE money.

Tennessee Pride Sausage, Fresh or Fully Cooked: $2.00

$0.50/1 any type, RP 5/18

Final Price: $1.00

Oscar Mayer Wieners, 16 oz: B1G1Free - save up to $4.19

$0.50/1, SS 6/15

Final Price: Price varies; use two coupons for maximum savings

Knorr Side Dishes, $1.00

$0.75/2, RP 5/18

Final Price: $0.50 ea

Kellogg's Cereal, asst'd varities, $2.50 ea

$1/produce When You Buy (WYB) 2 Kellogg's Cereal printable here

Final Price: Varies based on amount of produce purchased

Tostitos Tortilla Chips: $2.76

$0.55/1 Tostitos Chip + 1 Dip, SS1 5/18

Final Price: Varies based on cost of dip

Charmin Ultra Bath Tissue, 9 Mega or 18 Regular Rolls, $9.99

$0.25/1, PG 6/1

Final Price: $9.49

Bounty Paper Towels, $9.99

$0.25/1, PG 6/1

Final Price: $9.49

Honey Maid Graham Crackers, $2.50

$1.00/1 Honey Maid, 1 Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallows, and 1 (6) pk Hershey Bars

Final Price: Varies

Tyson Breaded Chicken Frozen Bags, $7.99

$1.00/1, SS1 3/16

Final Price: $6.99

Dannon Activia or DanActive Yogurt, 4pks: $2.50

$1/1, SS 2/24

$1/1, SS 6/15

Final Price: $1.50

Ragu Pasta Sauce, $1.64

$0.50/3, RP 5/18

Final Price: $2.28 for 2

Vlasic Pickles, $2.49

$1/1 printable here (must play game first)

Final price: $1.49

Ocean Spray Juice Cocktail: $2.49

$1/1, RP 5/11

Final Price: $1.49

Nature Made Vitamins, B1G1FREE

$1.50/1 softgels, SS 6/1

$1/1, SS 6/1 and SS 4/20

Many, many high dollar ($3 and up) printables for specialized formulas here at these two locations:

Nature Made and Mood Plus

Final Price: Varies; use (2) coupons for maximun savings

Slim Fast Optima 6 pk, $6.00

$1.40/1, RP 5/4

Final Price: $4.60

SunSilk Hair Care, $3.00

$1.50/1 styler, RP 5/18

$1.00/shampoo or conditioner

Final Price: $1.50 or $2.00

Excedrin, 24 ct: $1.99

$2/1, SS 6/8

$1/1, SS 5/4

Final Price: FREE or $1.00

Colgate Total, 5.8 oz: $2.50 ea

$1.50/1, SS 6/1

Final Price: $1.00

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Other Good Deals This Week

Peaches: $0.99/lb

Seedless Grapes, Red or White: $1.25/lb

Kroger Eggs, Lg or XLg, 1 Dozen: $1.00

Kroger Buns, sandwich or hot dog: $1.00

Eckrich Bologna, B1G1Free (save up to $2.99)

Kroger Cheese, Bar or Shredded 6-8 oz or 12 ct Slices: 3/$5.00

Sweet Vidalia Onions: $0.68/lb

Sweet Corn: $0.25 ea

Please comment if I missed any deals; thanks in advance!

The $5.00 CVS Challenge: June 15 - 22

2008-06-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

For this week only, I think I should rename this The $5.99 CVS Challenge because the best deals out there cost $5.99 after coupons but earn you $5.00 in ECBs back. ;)

Again, the idea of The $5.00 CVS Challenge is to "roll" or "grow" your $5.00 in ECBs into the same or (hopefully) more ECBs, or use $5.00 cash OOP (out of pocket) as buy-in money if you're a beginner at CVSing.

For a more in-depth explanation of how the CVS ECB (Extra Care Bucks) system works, read this post.

You can read a previous $5.00 CVS Challenge here; since it features a Monthly ECB deal, it's good through the end of June if you haven't already bought those items.

I'm so thankful to all of my readers who have already participated in the previous two challenges. By sharing your sweet deals, you've helped others!

I invite everyone to participate in The $5.00 CVS Challenge - no deal is too small, believe me!

Post your $5.00 (or, for this week, $5.99!) scenario on your blog (be sure to note coupons used and their locations to help the newbies), then come back here and drop your post's permalink in the Mr. Linky box below. Please link to this post somewhere in your post; if you want to grab my button above to use in your post by right-clicking and saving it, please do!

Don't have a blog? You can leave a comment with your scenario, too.

And, since I mentioned comments, I really appreciate all of you who drop a note after reading my posts. I absolutely do read all my comments and am happy to say that I've only had to delete one for negative content. That says a lot about you as readers and about the blogosphere in general, IMHO.

I do try to make my rounds in the blogosphere to give y'all a shout out in reply if you've commented here. But LIFE (in the form of my three children) usually gets in the way of my social graces when it comes to blogging etiquette. As so many of you frugal faithful are parents, I know you understand that reality and thank you for that understanding.

Alrighty -- onto the Challenge deals!

Deal #1

Buy (1) Almay One Coat Mascara, $6.99

$1/1 Almay, SS 3/9 or SS 5/18

Total OOP (ECBs or Cash): $5.99

New ECBs earned: $5.00

(There's a limit of {2} for this deal, so you could easily do it twice over two transactions, rolling the ECBs from the first transaction and paying the extra $0.99 in cash.)

Deal #2

Buy (1) Sally Hansen Color Quick (Nail Color Pen), $7.99

$2/1 Any Sally Hansen, SS 3/30

Total OOP (ECBs or Cash): $5.99

New ECBs earned: $5.00

(This one has a limit of {5}, so just like above, you can do this transaction again by rolling that $5.00 in ECBs and paying $0.99 in cash. Or, do the one above and then use the ECBs earned in Deal #1 to do Deal #2 -- roll, baby, roll!)

Deal #3

Buy (2) Oral B Cross Action Power Toothbrush, 5.99 {limit of 5}

B1G1Free, SS 6/15 (as previewed at SlickDeals)

Total OOP (Cash or ECBs): $5.99

New ECBs Earned: $6.00 ($3.00 per toothbrush)

(Again, if you have {2} of the B1G1Free coupons, do this transaction again and use the $6.00 ECBs earned the first time to pay your OOP the second time. Or use this deal as your first transaction then roll the $6.00 ECBs to Deal #1 or Deal #2)

And...finally...

Deal #4

Buy (2) Alavert or Alavert D, 12 or 15 ct, $6.99 ea

$4/1 printable here; print one, then hit back, refresh, and print a second one

(I can't guarantee these will print; as I've been typing this post, I've had this screen open in another window and it hasn't printed for me yet. But my printer and Alavert's website might just be arguing. If you need allergy meds, it's worth trying to print these from your computer.)

Total OOP (ECBs or Cash): $5.98

New ECBs Earned: $5.00

I can't wait to see your $5.00 deals! Thanks for participating!

Kick the Clutter: Cleaning Up My Desk

2008-06-14T06:04:00.001-07:00

I'm no domestic diva, but I do like a clean and neat home simply because when things are organized, I save time. And your time, my dear frugal faithful friends, is so valuable because it's a non-renewable resource. Once it's gone, it's gone - you can't make, find, or earn more of it.

While I can stay on-top of the big things around my home - the kitchen, the laundry, the bathrooms, the toys - it's the little day-to-day things that get me. Specifically, it's the day-to-day things that affect me that I usually let slide as I put someone else's needs before mine, tasks like tidying up my closet or my desk.

It's typical of us mommyfolk to put others first and honestly, I'm generally ok with that. But it's important to remember to value yourself and value your time as a mother and a woman. By getting something that's exclusively in your domain organized, you've taken care of yourself by making your day-to-day life a bit easier.

Today and tomorrow, I'll be tackling my desk. And here is a picture of what it looks like right now (I can't believe I'm sharing this):

As messy as it looks, I really do know where everthing is. But I'm clearly in need of some better organization and I'll be working on streamlining my systems and shredding old documents this weekend. I'll revise this post with an after picture once I've got the job done.

(Rev. 6/14 7:46 pm)

And, being a realist as well as a busy and over-volunteering mom (I'll be at Girl Scout Camp on Monday), I may not have this little project done until next week!

So let's just make this a week-long project. Feel free to post your link whenever you're done with your Kick the Clutter project. I'll post a my next project next Saturday (with another picture that proves I'm so not perfect), m'kay?

*****************

Want to play along?

Pick one small area of your home and Kick the Clutter, too! Post some before and after shots at your blog and drop your permalink below in the Mr. Linky box.

Inspire us -and take care of yourself -with getting one small space organized.

If you want to grab my little banner at the top of this page and use it on your post, please do! Just right click on it, save the image to your computer, then upload it to your post.

Be sure to link back here to this post somewhere in your post. Thanks! You're a peach!

Super Savings Saturday: CVS and Rediscovering Save-A-Lot

2008-06-14T05:19:00.001-07:00

Well, it was an slow week for me, deal-wise. But to be honest, I didn't go looking for many deals other than my usual Krogering and CVSing. My daughter's t-ball team (coached by my hubs) plays 3x/week in June and swim lessons for all my children started this week. Life is always busy here for our bunch.

I did take advantage of the Nivea deal at CVS to stock up my husband's shave gel supply and grab milk for the week. I'll be sharing some with my brother-in-law, too, the next time he's here to visit.

No pictures, but here's what I bought at CVS:

(2) Gallons milk, $3.39 ea

(2) Nivea Extreme shave gel, $3.99 ea

*used $4/2, 6/8 insert

(1) Nivea shave gel, $2.99

*used $2/1 printable here

ECBs used: $12.00

OOP cash: $2.25

New ECBs earned: $5.00

Yeah, I burned some serious ECBs on this transaction, losing $7.00 overall. We needed the milk and while I do try to grow my ECBs, some weeks just don't match up to our needs. The beauty of CVSing is there's always another great deal coming along in the future.

I still have another $4.00 in ECBs along with the $5.00 I made on this transaction. I may swing through CVS later today to see if I can stockpile some of the GM cereal/cereal bars and grow my ECBs, too.

Looking for next week's deals at CVS? Read the Weekly Ad and the ECB deals here, courtesy of SlickDeals.

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We were out for our usual Thursday adventure (every day requires and adventure/activity of some sort to survive the summer months with kids underfoot) and I realized I couldn't make apple pie (as requested by my three weefolk) since we were out of cinnamon.

Rather than stop at Kroger, I swung through the Save-A-Lot down the street from the library.

When we lived in Illinois, I shopped at our small town's Save-A-Lot almost exclusively. My other choices were Super Wal-Mart (whose prices were higher and produce was icky) or the local grocery chain whose prices were so over-the-top expensive it was laughable.

I really liked Save-A-Lot then; the store was small, making it easy to navigate with a toddler and a baby. The staff was friendly and kind. The produce was the best in our town since Save-A-Lot buys local produce to save on shipping costs. And the prices were very, very good, even without coupons.

As I walked through Save-A-Lot, I took note of prices. The produce at this store wasn't any better priced or better quality than what I find at Kroger. Where I found the real savings was in the baking aisle.

Here are some of the prices I found on baking staples; I intend to take a trip back with a pen and paper and make some more notes for a more in-depth price list:

Flour, 5 lbs: $1.59 {I pay $1.89/5 lbs at Kroger}

Spices, 4.25 oz (the big bottles): $1.19

Shortening, 3 lb can: $2.99 {I paid $4.49 earlier this week at Kroger for this size in their brand}

Chocolate Chips: $1.29 {I paid $1.74 at Kroger this week for their brand}

Flavor Aid 12 pk: $0.89 {What's summer with out Kool Aid -- or a generic version of it? This is a great price!}

I do a lot of baking here for my bunch - bread, cookies, pies, brownies, etc - and coupons or deals for baking staples aren't as easy to find as others. So finding prices that beat even Kroger's brand prices is a great discovery and I certainly plan to add Save-A-Lot back into my shopping rotation just for these items.

Do you shop your local Save-A-Lot? On which items do you find the best deals? Does your Save-A-Lot accept coupons; if so, do you find even better deals with coupons?

Share because you care!

Summer Survival Kit: Angel Hands Apron

2008-06-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm very happy to host my blogging buddy Andrea's Summer Survival Kit.

Each week, she or a host blog (like yours truly) will feature a fun and easy craft you can do with your kids this summer.

Check out her first week here and be sure to check her site every Friday for more ideas to combat the summer blahs. (Is it me, or do I hear echoes of, "Mom, I'm bored!")

Without further ado, here's my craft (I must warn you, I do adore a messy craft!)

Angel Hands Apron

I've done versions of Angel Hands with my children's handprints in the past. My favorite was making Angel Hand Christmas Cards with my daughter's hands when she was three. I still have some of those cards - they were that cute and meaningful to me.

When I made those cards, I used a Sharpie and simply outlined my daughter's hands. For this project, I upped the ante to paint. Lots of paint.

I'm making two of these aprons as birthday gifts for my mom and my dear MIL, both of whom have summer birthdays. While I would never label myself a domestic diva, I do love a cute apron. Wearing one while I'm cooking helps reduce the chance of splatters and splashes on my clothes, a trick I learned from my dear MIL.

My daughter and I even have matching aprons (I know, I know - you're shaking your head at me; I promise, we have no other matching outfits); she loves wearing hers as she "helps" me in the kitchen.

If you're not into messy crafts, I want to tell you that it's entirely possible to finish this project using just a wide assortment of colorful Sharpies. You'll just need to hold your child(ren)'s hand(s) very, very still while tracing them.

Here's what you'll need:

Craft Paint (I had some on hand, so this was a freebie for me; you can buy for around $1.00 ea. at just about any major retailer.)

Sponge (Again, on hand for me; buy a 2-pack in case you make a mistake.)

Apron (Courtesy of Wal-Mart, $4.97.)

Sharpies (Love 'em! Always have a bunch in my cabinet.)

Scissors (Grabbed the pair from the crayon box on the counter.)

Cute little hands (I have three pairs of these happily smearing up my walls each day!)

Step 1:

Cut your sponge like this (remember what I mentioned about mistakes?).

Step 2:

Spread out the apron on top of some newspaper. When I spread mine out, I noticed how the folds made perfect dividing lines and decided to use them as my centering points for each angel.

Step 3:

Grab your first little hand and slap some paint on it! I used some of the leftover sponge bits to "paint" my children's hands. Use a lot of paint - it should be wet on their hands.

Step 4:

Center the painted hand on your line and press it down firmly. Hold for at least 5-10 seconds, being sure to press the fingers firmly, too.

Peel up slowly, wash the first hand (to lessen the chance of smears) and repeat with the other hand. This picture shows the wings as well as the angel's head and body. I added the head and body on while the hands were still wet by "painting" my cut out sponges above and stamping them on the handprints. The head at the top of the thumbs, the body below.

I did the head/body while wet so there would be some bleeding through of the handprints - I wanted those to be visible.

And here's angel #2:

And the beginnings of angel #3.

You'll see I had some smears from my youngest around this angel's wings and that's ok! It's not supposed to be perfect (none of us are), it's just supposed to be made with love.

Step 5:

Let the paint dry overnight, then come back and finish the apron with your Sharpies. I added faces and hair to match my children.

Then I had them sign their names by their angels. I helped my littlest - who's 2 and a half and can write his "M" but not much more - and added a message in the middle along with the date we made the apron on the hem.

That's it! You're done! For less than $10, you can make this great gift for your fave chef in the family.

This would make a great BBQ apron for a Father's Day gift, too.

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Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. (Hebrews, 13:2)

I hope you find my little blogjoints to be hospitable places to visit; I appreciate and am thankful for all of my readers.

Walgreens $5/$20 Coupon, Friday (6/13) ONLY

2008-06-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Smoking hot dealio!

Click here to print your own $5/$20 coupon good for Friday, June 13, 2008 only at Walgreens!

Revised 6/12, 11:15 pm:

As one kind commenter noted below, this coupon is printed with these words:

Minimum subtotal must equal $20 or more before sales tax; subtotal must
include all other applied coupons and discounts.

If you do use this, expect to pay a full $15 or more oop. If you have your gift card recharged and can get some good deals on the Free After Rebate items or Register Reward items, it might be worth the trip. As for me, I'll skip this one, Walgreens. ;)

(Thanks to Denise for posting this; it didn't hit my inbox!)

If you've cooked up a great deal with this coupon, drop a comment here and spread the word!

Share because you care!

Gather Pennies: Little Ways I'm Monetizing This Blog

2008-06-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

I've got some more undercover work to do here on the template/design of this blog; thanks for your patience while I make things better.

I also am increasing the ways I gather pennies by monetizing this blog. Blogging, as I mentioned in my last post, is a time-intensive endeavor. If I can gather pennies by earning a few dollars off my work here, then I've got a little more to throw at our monthly budget/debt reduction.

I want to share these ideas with you so you'll know what's going on here as well as perhaps give you some ideas of how you can gather pennies with your blog.

Advertising:

*I use AdSense from Google. As this blog is run on Blogger, this is an easy plug-in for me. I encourage you to check it out for yourself. The minimum payout by check is $100.00; thanks to your readership, I currently have a whopping $10.41 - hey, I'm not complaining! It all adds up!

AdSense is one of those programs that the more you educate yourself about how to best implement it, the better your ads will perform. I've yet to much analysis so I'm hoping to increase my performance with time.

*I'm an Amazon Affiliate, but haven't done much with it. Amazon offers many great ways to implement their programs across an infinite range of products. If you're a reader and have books you'd like to recommend to your blog's audience, that's a great starting point.

*I run BlogHer Ads on my other blog and I hope to add them here. If/when I'm approved, you'll see them in the top of one of my sidebars. You need to meet their application requirements; you can read them here. My other blog gets sloooow traffic, so I've yet to receive a payout. I'm hoping that adding them here will increase my revenue.

Affilite Programs that help me help you:

* I just applied to be an affiliate for Coupons.com. You'll be able to view/print coupons from the sidebar and I'll receive a small compensation (I'm assuming micro-pennies) from each printed coupon that is redeemed in-store.

*On my left sidebar, you can click on my Revolution Money Exchange button (or click on the one below) and sign up for your own RME account - you'll get $25.00 for FREE and I receive a $10 referral fee.

Make your sign-up sweeter: sign up yourself ($25), then refer your spouse (you'll get $10) and sign them up (they'll get $25). Your household will receive a total of $60 FREE which you can opt to receive by electronic transfer or have sent to you via paper check (there is a $2.50 fee for the paper check).

My advice: spread the word! Add your own button to your blog or use the referral link provided by RME to email your friends and family. Share the knowledge and the green!

* I just opened an affiliate account with CPA Storm. This one is very exciting because I can bring you quality survey offers that fit the mission of this blog.

CPA Storm works by paying it's affiliates for referrals on surveys and also on referrals for new Affiliates. If this is something you'd like to explore for your blog, please click my referral link here: CPA Storm - Make Money! I'll be bringing those offers to you as soon as I sit down and get educated on their program.

I hope these ideas spark some ideas for you if you're looking for small ways to monetize your blog.

My best advice: blog about something you love because blogging is a labor of love, not a get rich scheme. Then educate yourself and make the best decision on whether or not any of these or other revenue-generating programs would work for your blog's readership.

How do you gather pennies with your blog? Which programs/ideas work for you and which ones are just a waste of time? Don't have a blog - that's ok! Feel free to share any ideas or programs you do online that help you gather pennies.

Share because you care!

HELP: Why I Started This Blog

2008-06-11T06:38:00.001-07:00

Blogging is not an easy endeavor no matter what your blog's subject topic is.

Blogging takes:

Time
Honesty
Research
Tech-Savvy
Dedication

and, let me say it again:

Time

So why did I start this blog when I already blog here about trying to find time to write while raising my three children?

Simply put: I started this blog to help others learn more about saving money through couponing and making more frugal choices. But most of all, I started this blog as a place to help me.

The level of personal accountability I have for my family's finances is amplified by writing about how I manage them here. Add to that all that I learn reading my fellow frugal blogging buddies posts and this blog becomes a great tool for me to use on my own Frugal Journey.

I share this with you, my Frugal Faithful, because it's important that I'm honest with you about who I am and our financial picture.

I am not a financial planner or expert.

I am not a die-hard Dave Ramsey fan (haven't read his books yet, but already think I disagree with a couple of his strategies as I've seen them explained in the blogosphere).

I am not coming under my grocery budget each week (although I'm doing much better than I was before I started serious couponing).

And, I am a very lucky, hard-working stay-at-home mom, married to my best friend. Because of the income/benefits he earns, I have always been at home with my children. This is a huge blessing, but one that hasn't just fallen into our laps unaided.

We've always saved, we've always invested, and we've always tried to stretch our dollars. But we've also been people of faith who are willing to take risks and assume some debt if it will get us to where we wanted to be - namely, here in SW Ohio, where my husband has a career he loves and where we can raise our children among family.

So, why do I share this?

Because I want you to know that while I'm blogging deals and ideas here, I don't have all the answers and would never assume to tell you how to best manage your family's finances.

Because, like PaidTwice's excellent post here, we sometimes backslide on our debt reduction journey, too.

Honesty in blogging matters; why should I expect any of you fine readers to drop by if I'm saying one thing but doing another, right?

So, here's to honest bloggers like PaidTwice and my blogging buddy Denise over at The "Cents"ible Sawyer - she just posted her story about trying to create a budget. I admire all of you who so bravely share bits of your financial life.

And to my fine readers, those of you have grabbed this feed and who drop by every day, thanks for coming over to my blogjoint for a while. I appreciate every single one of you even if I don't always get back to your emails or comments as quickly as I'd like.

Thanks for reading and keep pushing forward!

Guest Post by Kyle at Rather-Be-Shopping

2008-06-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

Once again, it's Tuesday and Kyle from Rather-Be-Shopping is helping me out with another of his guest posts.

If you shop online, be sure to bookmark his site - he has an online coupon code for just about everything under the sun. And if you don't see what you need, email him. He'll do his best to find it for you!

This post is right up my alley as we share our home with two German Shorthair Pointers. They're not just pets but members of our family. I can't imagine not having a dog in our family (nor could my husband) even if pet ownership isn't a frugal endeavor.

Of course, I do have a lot of fun when telemarketers from home security companies call and try to sell me their systems - I simply hold up my phone, knock on the wall, and let the salesperson listen to my four-legged security systems!

Enjoy this post from Kyle!

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Love Your Pets, Frugally!

My wife and kids, and I, have a couple furry friends at our house. A Golden Retriever and a Basset Hound to be exact. Quite a combo, they look like the old-time cartoon characters 'Mutt and Jeff'!

The bottom line is that pets can get expensive, especially if you give them monthly flea and tick medicine. Since we live out in the country and have ticks, this is a necessity for us. Now if I can only keep the poison oak off their fur! Our 1 year old girl came down with a poison oak rash a couple weeks ago and needless to say we don't let her pet the dogs now unless they have had a bath.

But there are some things you can do to cut down on the cost of being a pet owner. Here are a few things we do that help quite a bit.

~ Ask Around About Vets. - The veterinarian closest to your home might not be the most affordable. When getting a new pet, ask friends and neighbors with animals who there vet is and what their experience has been. Make an informed decision about the vet you will choose. Nothing worst than picking a vet and then getting your first vaccine and physical exam bill and having it be way more than you expected. I would recommend finding a happy medium as you don't want a cheap vet who you don't trust with your pets either.

~ Buy Supplies Online. - I buy all of their heart worm medicine and flea/tick treatments from 1-800-PetMeds.com. I get if for 15% less than what our veterinarian charges for the same exact stuff. I have not had any problems with their service and they send you handy email reminders when you need to order more. They also have online coupons which I have included at the bottom of this post.

~ Groom Yourself. - I assume you already do this every morning! But I am referring to grooming your pets yourself. Rather than using an expensive professional dog groomer, you can buy clippers and give him/her a haircut yourself. I do this with our Golden Retriever at the beginning of every summer and it saves us a lot of money. Although I have a feeling that people that do take their dog to a groomer probably aren't into frugal living in the first place!

~ Get Creative / Thrift Stores. - I make my own dog toys! A little imagination and some spare parts and you are good to go. I take some old string or rope and old tennis balls, put a small hole in the balls and thread the rope through the hole and I have a great throw, chew, and pull toy that entertains both our dogs for hours. Also, keep an eye out for second hand toys, bedding, and supplies at thrift stores. We scored a great deal on a barely used dog house at out local thrift store a couple years ago.

Feel free to add your own tips. Does anyone make their own dog food? How about carry pet insurance? And of course, here are some online pet coupons to help you save even more.

1-800-PetMeds.com
Get $5 Off your Entire Online Order
Coupon Code: WEBC5
Expiration: 12/31/08
See All: Coupons For 1-800-PetMeds

PetCareRX.com
Get $10 Off your $100+ Online Order + Free Shipping through this Link
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/30/08
See All: Coupons for PetCare RX

Petco.com
Get Free shipping when you spend $40 or more
Coupon Code: affreg
Expiration: 6/27/08
See All: Coupons For Petco

PetSmart.com
Get $5 Off your $50+ purchase, $10 Off $75+, or $15 Off your $100+ purchase thru this Link
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/16/08
See All: Coupons For PetSmart

Entirely Pets.com (Minimum Purchase Way Too High!)
Get $5 Off your $150+ Online Order + Free Shipping
Coupon Code: MAY5
Expiration: 6/15/08
See All: Coupons For Entirely Pets

Target.com
Save $5 Off your $50+ Online Order through this Link
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/30/08
See All: Coupons For Target