role reversal...

So back in May of 2007, I was let go from my job during my pregnancy with O. I was not actually "terminated" (what an endearing term :eyeroll:) from my employer until August, but was told I had to take Medical Leave due to my restrictions during my pregnancy. Although I cannot say for sure (but it is obvious to just about everyone), my employer at that time KNEW that I would not have delivered O by the time my medical leave ran out, and then they could terminate me. August 3rd, I met with the HR rep, my medical leave was running out on that Friday and they offered me a 7 week extension, which put me at one week past my surgery date at HAVING to return to work or being terminated. After discussing this with the HR rep and telling her that there was no way I could return to work 1 week after a c-section with no restrictions, as they required for my return, they terminated my employment that day. It was a bittersweet day, as I knew I would miss a lot of my co-workers but I was so happy to be done with that employer. I gave up a lot during the almost 5 1/2 years I worked there. I loved my job but I did not like the stress and I did not like the way some things were handled. I was often singled out because I was not shy about telling the bosses what I thought about certain situations. In retrospect, I think that is why they wanted me gone. They wanted "yes" men and women and if you know me, you know that is not me. Oh, I would do the work they asked and then some, but when I thought something was ridiculous, I was not afraid to take the issue up with those in charge and tell them why I thought it was ridiculous and what I thought could be done better. Most companies and/or bosses like that, but not there. I think that is why I like my current employer. If I have an issue, I can tell my boss and she will look into it or at the very least tell me that my idea has been tried and didn't work because of this reason or that. She doesn't get mad, she explains and she doesn't take credit for an idea that I have that is implemented. She gives credit where it is due.

Ok enough about that....The real reason I am writing this is because during the time I was not working, I was getting short-term disability payments from my employer's insurance company. It was nice but not as much as if I had been working. Not complaining though, as I did not have to pay for K to be at a sitter since I was not working, so it pretty much evened out. But the day I was forced to take leave, R and I sat down and figured out our bills, we owed on his car, my car, more than a couple grand on my credit card, a grand on his credit card, and mounting medical bills. Plus we did not stockpile and used disposable (name brand even) diapers on K. I did not garage sale very often, R and I only bought new clothes for ourselves-never thrift store stuff but we did buy for K from the thrift store. Never used the bent and dent grocery, never used coupons, didn't stockpile gifts, basically everything I do now, I didn't do before. We figured that we owed $32,000 not including the mortgage. Currently, just 18 months later we owe $2700, just over $200 on a credit card and $2500 on my car!! WOW!! While I was not working and before my disability checks started to come, R covered all of our bills including my credit card payments and car payment. Ok to most this is the way it is supposed to be but we have seperate accounts, which I believe I have touched on a bit in a previous post.

The role reversal~
Now that R is laid off and I am working, I have been paying off his credit card. We don't owe on his vehicle so I can't help out there but I have been paying on his card like he was on mine 18 months ago. He has become very watchful of HIS spending and our combined spending, whereas before I was the one watching the spending and telling him if we could or could not afford to do something. I still take care of all of our bills but R is more aware of the financial situation in the household than he ever was before. It is nice in a way but I have also found that I am more lax. Not lax in watching every dime, but more lax in saying, dang it, I work hard for my money, I want this shirt or I want to buy the kids a toy. It doesn't happen often but it does occaisionally. That is how R used to be and now the tables have turned and it is soooo nice having him on the same financial page as me.

a couple things for cheap food...

angel food ministries. check the website for a distributor in your area. Basically you order a box of food for a set amount and pick it up. Cheaper than grocery stores but I have heard that the quality from here is not that great, IDK because we don't have one local.

www.sharewi.org. you buy the box of food for $25 and it is supposed to be 35-50% cheaper than grocery store prices. There is one local to use and I think I might try it for Feburary. Lots of meat and fresh produce. Supposed to be good quality food.

what's in store for 2009?

I don't know...I hope that we can continue to make it.

I want to keep working on the stockpile.

I want to come up with a better way to organize my coupons.

I want to find more ways to get the things I use/need cheap and especially free.

One thing I am excited for in 2009 is paying off my car. Yep that is the goal for this year. I will have that car PAID IN FULL by the end of 2009. One more step toward being debt free.

I just paid off my credit card again. I had charged a bit and just sent the payment in for that to be paid off once again. Dh's balance will be paid off next month. His balance is from paying his life insurance in full so we could get the discount on that which saves more even figuring in the interest from charging it. While paying off my credit card feels fantastic each and every time, nothing can compare to the time I paid it off completely after working on it for months and months. Now the little bit I charge is paid off within a month (sometimes 2) and it feels good but not as good as the initial payoff. At one point my credit card balance was over $3000. I know a lot of people have more than that but to me that was just crazy. It took a lof of discipline to not charge and to get that sucker paid off. I can only hope (ok well I guess I know) that paying off my car will give me such an adrenaline rush of accomplishment, especially that I will be paying it off early.

One thing that kinda hurts the budget but not kills it, is the fact that our bank was bought out this year and our payment will go up on the mortgage due to their escrow requirements. They are requiring more of a cushion in the escrow account than our previous bank did so our mortgage payment is going up by $16 a month. That is really not a budget killer because I put away an extra $30-$40 a month anyway and I budgeted all of our other bills high so we do have extra saved for emergencies or in case one bill is higher than I budgeted for. I am going to have to adjust the budget though by $5 a paycheck because I want to keep putting away that little cushion.

This is what our budget looks like:
Mortgage $580 (including taxes and insurance)
cell phones $95 (actual bill is $92)
Electric $125 (actual bill is $72-$105 normally..this includes our water and sewer as well)
cable and internet $100

household bills $900/month

Our new house payment will be $596/month so I will adjust what I deposit each week from our paychecks up by $5/week and we will be set.

We used to budget out for our car insurance and LP fuel for the winter and we still do but we don't do it monthly anymore. We use our yearly tax return for that $1000-$1200 for fuel, and $650 for our car insurance for the year also we try to pay our life insurance premiums each year out of the tax return. Whatever is left from our tax return each year goes into savings for a home improvement project or for something else.

We have talked about adjusting our withholdings and getting more money back throughout the year from our paychecks but we enjoy the little "windfall" in the spring so we will keep doing it how we are for now. I will look at it again this year at tax time and see if we should adjust.


I am hoping to hit garage sales again this year but not so much for the kids. I need smaller clothes for me and I am hoping to find some good bargains. I will again be holding a garage sale during the city wide sale weekend but I will also hit sales that weekend because my brother and I are taking shifts at my garage sale so we can each hit the other sales. I have already collected 6-8 boxes of stuff for my own garage sale. Stuff the baby has outgrown, clothes that are too big for me now, dishes that I don't use, toys the kids don't play with, clothes that are too small for hubby now, and miscellanous things from the house.

Coupons tommorrow...

just P&G insert...check out taylortownpreview.com for a list.

Upcoming Walgreens Ads...

Easy Saver Catalog for January Starts 12/28

12/28-1/3 ad
Dawn dish soap is a good deal if you have the 50 cent/1 coupons use two and the in flyer coupon and get 2 bottles for 99 cents


Glade scented oil candle kit for $2.99 after rebate. I have a $2/1 coupon and by using my WAGS reloadable gift card. I will get back $1.10 and pay $.89 for one kit.

on page 12 the gillette fusion razor with the RR might be a good deal depending on the coupons that come out that week. Also page 14 the gillette body wash or shampoo depending on the coupon might be a good deal.

1/4-1/10
Garnier Fructis on the 1st page will probably be a good deal possibly free, with the coupons that might come out that week or the week before and the easysaver coupons.
Glade on page 7 might be a free or cheap item depending on coupons you might have. There are $1/1 coupons out making this FREE!! I just got 10 so you KNOW I am going to be stocking up. Passed the deal along to my brother who is super excited about it as well.

According to the ad...Suave will be having coupons out that week soooo if you need deodorant the best deal I have found is using the coupons at Walmart on the small size that is 94 cents and getting deodorant for pennies...depending of course on the coupon. That is where I will be using my coupon for Suave.

1/11-1/17

Cottonelle on page 1...use the flyer coupon and the .50/1 ( I have to check the expiration date on that though) Get 4 double rolls for $2...not a stock up price for me but decent enough if you need TP.

1/18-1/24
Dawn dish soap again

but the pepsi deal!!! awesome!!!

Here is my math on that deal:

Spend $20 get $10

so I will get 7 12 packs of pepsi products for $21 + tax and get $10 back!!!
After RR the cost would be $1.57 per 12 pack...That is a definite stock up price.






I will post more deals as I see the coupon previews and things that interest me.

As always...these ads are courtesy of Hot coupon world. Check them out if you haven't already done so...

my shopping day ~after Christmas sales

I got quite a few things...3 gillete gift sets for men $5 each, bod body spray for $1.50 (like 8 bottles total), bath stuff for me, bath stuff for the kids, a t-shirt from Old Navy for $2 something and a movie for K for $5. Including food for the pets I spent about $90 but $25 was from a gift card and $25 was for the pet food so I did pretty good. Gifts for the men in my life, gifts for the ladies and gifts for the kids. I am set for Birthdays and holidays this year and I have a good jump on Christmas for next year.

2008 Reflections

2008 was a good year for us. We had some hard times, who didn't though, and we had some good times.

In 2008 I was hired on year round at my Seasonal employer, my husband was laid off more than once, we paid off a vehicle, we paid off our credit cards, I got a chance to be a SAHM for awhile, I learned couponing, I learned a lot about saving money. We realized that we took a paycut of over 50% from previous years but we would be ok. We found ways to survive that we did not even know existed. We made sacrifices and we worried but everything turned out ok. 2008 brought us a lot of changes, good and bad, but we grew stronger as a couple and a family, IMO.

One of my favorite memories of 2008 was our family hike and ferry ride.









One of the scariest times of 2008 was being seperated with my older daughter from my hubby and baby by flooding and the closure of the main bridge, our only route home. Taking his vehicle left him here with no vehicle he was able to drive to get out and no way for me to get home. After a brief moment of panic, I got my head together and K and I set off. 2 hours, lots of backtracking and trying alternate routes and we were finally able to get home to them. It was scary. I am happy that I was able to get calmed down enough to get home. We evacuated that night and it was very scary not knowing if we would even have a home to come back to but we did and I am grateful for that!

Here is a look at our June Flooding...pictures are worth more than what I can write. The pictures don't show the emotions involved seeing the town I have called home for years pretty much destroyed but we survived.

In 2008, we did a few home projects ourselves. Hubby and my brother reinsulated our attic which is saving us money in heating costs. We also sealed a bunch of cracks in our foundation ourselves. Hopefully that will help during the spring thaw and keep water from getting into our basement again.

2008 brought us extreme weather. From over 100 inches of snow to the threat of Tornados and tornados just missing us, massive flooding, and very hot for this area conditions.

In 2008 we started our first garden, we adopted Sheena, I rediscovered my love of garage saling, I was able to provide a nice christmas for the kids and my family on a small budget.

all in all I have to say 2008 was a pretty good year!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas every one....I hope your day is filled with love.



Tommorrow I will rise early and head out for the deals with my friend who is home from the military and as a Christmas gift my husband is keeping the kids home so I can better scope out the sales. YEAH!

Old Navy deals today...

I figured I would wait until AFTER Christmas and send my friend a gift to where she is stationed (she is in the military). Well, she decided to take a short leave and come home for Christmas and I need to have a gift for her like RIGHT NOW! So the kids and I went to Old Navy outlet. I got her a full zip fleece pullover for $7.80 and a fleece throw blanket for $3. I also got a fleece blanket for our neice for her birthday in January which I will take to work and monogram with her name on it. I got myself a fleece V neck shirt for $5. Good scores today!!

thrifty surprise...

I cleaned the carpets today and I left the bottle of renuzit spray open after I dumped some in the shampooer. I didn't even think about it until later. I was thinking gosh the house smells great. Then I walked in the livingroom and it didn't smell as nice. hmmmm.... So I figured out I left the bottle open with just a few drops in the bottom. Like a nice air freshner, the house smells like the renuzit spray so I moved the bottle into the bathroom. I think from now on when the bottles are empty I will leave them out in a hidden spot for a couple days and let the fragrance fill the house. Cheap and great smell way to freshen up the house!

a quote

But Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank argued that failure to act "will cost us even more."

"This economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression and if we do not respond in a very firm way, it gets worse and worse and feeds on itself," he told CNN.

I couldn't agree more!! Since my lifetime began anyway, I don't remember a harder time in this country and I am not yet 30 so maybe there was and I don't remember it. We had hard times growing up but I don't ever recall such a widespread hard time.

What excites me more than Christmas?!?

The day AFTER christmas sales. Oh boy! I get so excited over them. I hit Kohls (sometimes), Walmart, and this year a new one SEARS!! with my discount I should score BIG there. I love getting a nice bunch of gifts for holidays and birthdays for the next year at 1/2 off regular prices. The day after Christmas shopping is a tradition in my family. It is my mom's birthday so we all get together go to Walmart in the morning and then out for breakfast and then we all go our seperate ways to the store we each want to hit. Usually my brother and I stick together and get some bigger stuff 1/2 off. Not sure if he is going to go with us this year but I still am. I also get paid that day so I set a limit and will shop, shop, shop. YAY!

how does a thrifty momma get rid of almost a foot of snow?

with a shovel? nope. With a snowblower? yes but not just any snowblower. A piece of junk snowblower. One that is older than she is and runs like crap but this thrifty momma also knows a bit about making things work so when it would not staying running because the carburetor is messed up, this momma took some scrap wire that was in the garage and wired the choke into the on position, wide open, and blew the snow out of the driveway. There were flames coming out of the side of the snowblower, more like long sparks, but I was not shoveling our 150 ft driveway or our 2 sections of sidewalk, nor the end of the driveway that had a good 4 ft of snow in it from the snowplow. I maybe thrifty and I am definitely not lazy but I am not stupid either. LOL.

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free 8X10 pic from walgreens through tonight...use code freegift at checkout. no other purchases necessary. Ordered mine for my parents as a christmas gift. good for one hour photo too.

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no coupons for the next two sundays. Boo! but on the other hand it gives me a good chance to get my coupon organizer cleared. I did a good job of that with the walmart trip the other day but there are a few more things that I need to clear out of there and then I am redoing my system for 2009. I hope to get a baseball card organizer for coupons for Christmas. It is on the wishlist!

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Have you been reading the financial news lately? It saddens me. Some reports are not expecting a turn around to the economy until 2011. oh my!! It scares me. Last night I had a long chat with a single male friend of mine. I don't generally discuss my couponing, etc with guys because they just don't get *it*, but I talked to him about it last night because he is concerned about us, with hubby being laid off and he heard some pretty dire things about the company my hubby "works" for. The things he said were not a shock to me as I always anticipate the worst so when what other people consider the worst actually happens, I think it is pretty good and not as bad as I thought. That is just a wierd quirk I have, but it gets me through times when others would be completely lost. So anyway, I told my friend about my stockpile of food and other essentials and I'll tell you his response came as a HUGE shocker to me. He uses coupons as well. OMG! But the biggest shocker, he was not at all surprised by my thrifty-ness. He was actually pretty impressed by it and asked me to give him some pointers and maybe even join in on our barter system with my brother. Way cool! He is a mechanic, self and school taught, so I am thinking this barter thing may really pay off for us and for him as well. Like most men, he despises shopping but considers it a necessary evil, so if I can do the shopping for him and he will change the oil in our vehicles, or say put a new muffler on a certain thrifty woman's car that so badly needs one, we can work out a pretty good trade I think :)

the nice thing about my stockpile is.... (and other random things)

I never have to worry about having something here for dinner. The problem is WHAT to have for dinner. It is not a bad problem to have but sometimes gets boring. We eat seasonally generally speaking. Meaning that the foods that you see on sale in the winter are what I have stocked now, in the summer we have a lot more summerish foods stocked.


I talked to my boss about coupons the other day. She is a thrifty gal as well and knows how to stretch a buck however she doesn't stockpile. I explained stockpiling in layman's terms and she asked if it was because of my hubby's layoffs (my boss and I have a good communication, I tell her when Hubby is laid off so by some miracle if there are more hours available she will ask me to work them or call me first). I told her I started because I did not anticipate being asked to stay on year round where I work now as it was just a seasonal job and I was told it is really hard to get hired on year round (it is!!) and my unemployment was running out and I wasn't sure that we could afford everything if something unexpected came up like a vehicle repair, emergency room visit, or something like that so while I had the money I wanted to get us a little ahead of the game but my wanting to get us ahead and save money turned into stockpiling because that is the best way to save money. She didn't get it right away but I explained how using the coupons she uses now when something is on sale at the lowest price it will be at and using multiple coupons to buy multiple items (enough for 4-6 months) would ensure that she would never pay full price for that item and if she did run out she would know for next time and be able to buy more with the coupons next time and maybe only have to buy 1 at full price. I told her sales are cyclical and once you figure out the sales cycle for what you stockpile it is a piece of cake to buy for a stockpile. She was intrigued and pretty impressed by my knowledge. I think part of what impressed her is my young age (relatively speaking) and the fact that I figured this all out.

You see, the last time I told her that hubby was getting laid off she was worried I was going to quit and go work full-time elsewhere to pay the bills. She was worried that our income would not pay our bills and I would have to leave to make more money but once we talked and she figured out that I know how to stretch a dollar like it is a rubber band, she calmed down. She enjoys sharing her coupon scores with me and I like to tell her about Walgreens deals or the Kmart super doubles a couple weeks ago that she had no idea was going on. She is of the opinoin that taking the sales ads from other stores to walmart and price matching and using her coupons is best but once I told her a bit about walgreens and some other tricks I learned, she is quite happy to make a stop at walgreens after work.

Since stockpiling I have had people ask if we use more because we have more and honestly no. We don't eat anymore than we ever did. We still get every last drop out of a bottle of shampoo or conditioner, I still use my deodorant until there is none left. Hubby may waste a bit more but I trick him sometimes too. He refuses to go into our basement (long story) so I keep the supplies down there (not for that reason alone, just so I can keep them neat and organized and out of view of people who think I am nuts or think the stockpile is fair game since I "never pay for that stuff anyway so why do I care if they take deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner..oh and we are out of laundry soap. Gee thanks for saving me a trip to the store. You are so nice!" (catch the sarcasm there, please!!!) So anyway, I will just *forget* to get out a new bodywash or deodorant for hubby, knowing full well that he can get one or two or five more uses out of the one he has already so why toss it? I don't always do this but there is no sense in wasting stuff, even if I got it free or very cheap.

Updated stockpile pics

Preparedness...

As I have written before preparedness is my "security blanket". Because I KNOW next week is my last full week of work until June and because I KNOW that my hubby's layoff is going to last for a while and also because I had 5 1/2 hours of OT this week, I went on a shopping spree. Not a shopping spree though like most people have a shopping spree. I went on a grocery shopping spree. We are stocked and once I get reorganized I will post new stockpile pics.

anyway tonight I went with my mom grocery shopping and used my coupons and bought everything I wanted and needed and a few "extras". Here is a partial list:

cat litter (generic)
cat food (2 bags) (had $1 off coupon for one bag, bought generic for the other)
dog food
5 cases of diet coke
5 cases of mt dew ($1 off coupon on each!)
8 packs of gum (b1g1F coupon)
generic frozen fries
2 bags chips
1 bag tortilla chips
9 boxes betty crocker potatoes (1 $1/2 coupon and 7 $.35/1)
4 packages hot dogs (4 $.25/1 coupons)
Ham
ham steaks
chicken breasts
cookies
chocolate animal crackers
2 toaster strudel
1 bag frozen broccoli (FREE with $1/1 coupon)
chocolate chips
bag of carrots
gravy mixes
sliced pineapple
4 bags bliss chocolate (2 $2.50/2 coupons)
suave deodorant (.75/1 coupon making this .19)
5 tag body sprays (5 $1/1 coupons)
2 packs rayovac batteries (.94 cents each and $1/2 coupon)

I ended up using 34 coupons today. WOW! All on stuff I was going to buy anyway so I wasn't buying not needed stuff (well except the 5 body sprays but 2 are gifts and the others are to add to hubby's stockpile :)

My total before coupons was $211 (this also included moms stuff but I didn't write that above) after the coupons and a discount the total came to $168. Mom's stuff came to about $30 ish. So really I only spent $138 and 50 of that was soda and another $25 was on the pets.

welcome home Sheena!!

we got our dog. I will post pics and her homecoming story soon!!

Kmart super double coupons this week

Starting today and going through Saturday 12/6 Kmarts are doubling coupons $2 and under. Manufacturer coupons only, no printeds. My somewhat local Kmart is FINALLY participating in this!!! I went today. The above photo is what I got and I spent only $24.45 on all that. Not too shabby.

some of the stuff was free and I will sit down later and go over the receipt. Right now I am trying to clean up the house because I have to work the next 6 days. UGH!

_______________________________________________

Here are some highlights:

Free glade holiday candle holder $2.99 and $2.00 off coupon which they only double to 99 cents but I got it free.

Free scented gel plug in $1.50 sale $1.00 off coupon doubled to 50 cents

29 cent colgate toothpaste 4.0 oz 3.29 price $1.50 doubled coupon.
49 cent Diego toothbrush $2.49 $1 doubled coupon
99 cent each 3 dove conditioners $3.99 each $1.50 doubled coupon
79 cent Dove conditoner $3.79 1.50 doubled coupon
2.39 tag body spray $4.39 $1 doubled coupon
$1.49 tampax conpak pearl tampons $4.49 $1.50 doubled coupon
89 cent glade 4 oz candle $2.89 $1 doubled coupon
99 cent aluminum foil $2.99 $1. doubled coupon
2.99 cat chow $4.99 $1 doubled coupon
free glade carpet powder $1.50 $1 off doubled to 50 cents making it free
50 welchs juice $2.50 each $1 off doubled coupon
50 cent frosting $1. off doubled coupon.
50 cent suave lotion $2.50 $1 coupon doubled
49 cent deodorant $1.99 75 cent coupon doubled.

Plus my associate discount total with tax was $24.45

for the love of Sheena...

this is not a thrifty or money saving post. In fact this situation is going to cost us but will hopefully give back big returns in the areas of love and affection.

We have talked for months about getting a dog. We knew we wanted a small dog, already housebroken, good with the kids, female, and preferrably a shelter dog. WE have looked and talked about getting a dog for the last 6 months or so. Friday, completely utterly unexpectably we found our dog. We hope!

Sheena is a pomeranian mix. A mix of what, I am not sure. But she meets all of our requirements. She is wonderful with K and O. She fetched a ball that K threw, brought it back, set it at her feet and when K went to pick it up, Sheena started kissing her. K and Sheena ran around the yard at the shelter for at least 15 minutes. K tripped, fell and Sheena ran right over to her and started kissing on her. It was so cute to watch. Sheena was even affectionate with O. After a short discussion, R and I decided that Sheena should be ours and we filled out the adoption paperwork. Unfortunately we will not hear back until early next week as she needs to have a test before is can be adopted. The shelter staff is sure she will pass the test as she has already been there 10 days and shows no sign of sickness. We are first on the list for Miss Sheena and our paperwork has been approved. Now we will just have to meet with the shelter director if Sheena is declared adoptabled and she will watch us interact with Sheena one on one and as a family unit and see that we are a good match and if she decides we are, we can bring Sheena home that very day. We have to pay $125 to adopt Miss Sheena and we also have to put down $100 deposit for spaying since Sheena is unaltered. Once we have her altered we get the $100 back. We also have to invest in a crate for her to sleep in and she will spend time in it while we are gone to work until we know she is used to the house, us and our expectations, a collar, a leash, a bed, bowls, food, and her first vet visit. I imagine this first month with Sheena will run us around $500!! But the look of joy and love on K's face when we told her we wanted to bring Sheena home was worth every single penny of that money. K has not forgotten either. She asked about Sheena last night before bed. K asked about Sheena first thing this morning. She was not even interested in her birthday presents. She just wanted Sheena to be here. Every person we have seen she has told about Sheena. Yup, it is the right decision. For all of us. I pray that everything works out in our favor and in a few days we will have our Sheena here with us.

last minute walgreens dash.

I had to make a quick trip to Walgreens tonight. I am sick and although we have a stockpile of cold medicine we did not have any left of the kind I prefer and even sick I managed to get a deal. LOL.

Here's how it went:
3 different types of tylenol cough, cold and flu stuff $4.99 each on sale
$1.50 off coupon on one of the bottles
$1 off coupon I had
$1 off coupon I had
And $5 back in register rewards. $6.47 for 3 bottles

2 bags storck chocolate riesen (because nothing makes me feel better than chocolate..LOL) B1G1F sale 2/$2.29

and a 2 pack of snoopy toothbrushes for .99 (because older daughter just HAS to have a new toothbrush every couple of months)

I paid $11 of it with my gift car and $4.76 cash

I saved a total of $13.29

Went shopping today

First the baby and I went to Walmart to get Older Daughter a gift for her birthday. I already had her gifts bought months ago but she had a couple other smallish requests that I wanted to fulfill.

I ended up spending almost $60. I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart. I got a few things we needed like soda, mac and cheese (we really didn't need more...we had 10 boxes here but I got another 6, Kraft on rollback for 50 cents each.
The mountain dew for hubby was $5.98 and my diet coke was $5.48. I got 2 of each. UGH! I hate spend that much on soda but we take it to work instead of buying it and I don't think either of us could make it through the day without soda. I got a few other things and got older daughter a Tinkerbell feety PJ set, a tinkerbell bubble bath, and a "Hannah Tana" lip gloss set of 3 in a guitar shaped container for $3. She will LOVE that. She loves my makeup and always wants to wear my lipstick. LOL.

After the kids were in bed this evening, I went to our local grocery store to use up a few coupons that were expiring soon and the fill DH's jeep with gas. I had to go to that side of town to do it so I could use my fuel rewards card. We get the discount on up to 15 gallons of gas and my car doesn't even hold 15 from empty so we are best off using the discount on his jeep to get the maximum benefit.

My savings at this store was not too great $11.84 or 43%. But I didn't buy much either. I got;

3 boxes of GM cereal on sale for $2/box had $1 off 3 coupon
2 containers of frosting on sale for $1.50 each had 2 50 cent off 1 coupons
1 box of garlic toast $2.69 had 40 cent/1 coupon Also got 5 cents in fuel rewards so I saved another 75 cents.
3 packs of hotdogs for free were $1.59 per pack. had a $5 gift check for writing to a company about their product.
1 package of cheddarwursts $2.50 sale had 55 cent/1 coupon

Overall not too bad of a day.

haven't written in awhile

I have been so busy with work that I haven't taken the time to deal shop lately but I will say that we are using up the stockpile and adding bits and pieces. I am getting excited for black friday. I love the deals. I haven't seen much this year in the previews that gets me excited except Walmarts ad that I saw tonight. I generally don't care for Walmart but in this area it is pretty much walmart or nothing and since I am boycotting Target currently (there isn't a Target in the area anyway but I had an online order cancelled and their notification was not very nice. I expected the order to be on hold or something but they just went ahead and cancelled it and THEN notified me.)

My Black Friday list is

$1.50 bath towels. We are in need of new bath towels. I want to get 6-10 of these
$10 cabbage patch newborn with the baby's birthdate
$5 Barbie and the Diamond Castle doll (maybe 2, IDK yet)
$4 fleece pj pants for me
$8 LEI jeans for me (probably going to get like 3 pairs!!)
$3 Tinkerbell Towel for our neice for her Birthday that I am going to take to work and sew her name in. I was thinking I might do the same for my girls too.

That was all I found exciting honestly. I am really glad I got my Christmas shopping done early. Now I just hope the after Christmas Deals are awesome!!

$17.19 at Walgreens...tax included

That is all the above cost me OOP. How cool!

Here is the breakdown:

diapers $8.99
diapers $0.00 (b1g1f sale)
diapers $8.99
diapers $0.00
diaper coupon from pharmacy -$8
glade scented oil candle holder $3.99
glade scented oil candle holder $3.99
glade coupon b1g1f -$3.99
glade coupon -$2 on one holder
glade scented oil refills $2.50
glade scented oil refills $2.50
glade coupon b1g1f -$2.50
glade coupon -$2 on 2 refills
tag body spray $2.99
tag body spray coupon -$1.
quattro razor $5.99
quattro razor $5.99
quattro razor $5.99
quattro razor $5.99
walgreens coupon ($3 off 1 razor) -$12
shick coupon b1g1f -$5.99
shick coupon bigif -$5.99


so how this works out is...I got the razors free and made .02 on them! the diapers were $2.63/pack. The tag was $1.99, the secented oil refills were 25 cents each and the holders were $1 each. I am more than happy with this shopping trip!!! My total savings came out to $73.63!

4 packs of diapers for $10.53!!!!

Get your attention!?!?!

here's the scoop. This week Walgreens brand diapers are B1G1F. Ask at the pharmacy about the prescription savings club and they give you a coupon booklet. Inside that booklet is a coupon for $2 off walgreens brand diapers. Buy 4 packs (or only 2...whatever. 4 is the limit and although my store doesn't enforce that I follow it usually). The coupon will take $2 off each pack you buy. Making the packs of diapers $2.63 each with tax (our tax rate is 5.5% so your OOP may vary depending on your tax). These are good diapers. I wouldn't say great but they do the job and they are cheap enough. We are going to try size 6 on the baby at night as she is occasionally leaking through.

haven't written in awhile

I put us on a spending freeze. I did not spend any unnecessary money for the last 3 weeks. It has been rough. No building my stockpile, not a single unnecessary purchase due to some circumstances beyond my control. It has been resolved now and I hope in the next couple of days to be able to start posting my upcoming walgreens scenarios.

My double coupon deals today

It is double coupon week at my local overpriced grocery store. I got a few things that were deals. Mostly junk food or quick meal stuff but that is sometimes a necessity.


My first trip today (for a pizza for dinner) resulted in savings of $13.80. I got

2 Toaster Strudels $1 coupon ($2 double)
Pizzeria dip'n stix 40 cent coupon
2 jack's pizzas on sale for $2.50 had 2 75 cent coupons so I paid $1 a pizza
2 boxes of pizza rolls on sale for $1.50 had 1 $1/2 coupon so I paid $1 for 2 boxes
Digornio for one pizza ($1 off coupon on sale for $2.75...OOP 75 cents)
1 gallon of milk (no coupon but on sale for $2.89)
1 bag of tidy cats cat litter (95 cents after doubled coupon)
1 bag purina cat food ($3.89 after doubled coupon)


Trip after the kids were in bed so I could actually take the time to compare prices on other stuff:
3 boxes of pizza rolls (1.80 total after coupons)
2 banquet tv dinners (.50 total after coupons. I hate these but Hubby likes them for a quick lunch when I am not here)
another bag of cat food and cat litter
1 jacks pizza ($1 after coupon)
2 boxes toaster strudel
2 cans disney soup (1 Dora 1 princesses 40 cent coupon that was doubled. I normally don't buy this but whatever it takes to get K to eat for hubby when I am at work)
My total after coupons was $14.32 I saved $13.

My favorite deal of the day comes from walgreens though...
I got a covergirl tru blend foundation, a new mascara and some makeup wedges for $2.14 OOP. I had 1 B1G1F coupon, 1 $1/1 coupon and $9.91 in rebate money on my rebate gift card. Sweet!

super thrifty day

The kids and I visited an old friend and played with his dog for a bit. Then we went shopping with my parents who would not let me pay for a thing and gave me gas money to boot. I got 3 cans of "Dora" corn for the kids for 25 cents each, a package of kotex thin overnight maxis $2, 2 boxes of playtex beyond tampons $2 each and a covergirl lip slide lipstick for $1.25.. I paid for nothing because my parents refused to let me pay.

At walmart I got ODD a pair of pants for her Halloween costume on clearance for $3, and got gloves and hats for the kids for winter and myself some gloves, and got a couple other things...mom and dad paid. We went to lunch at McDonalds and they paid. And then when we got back to their house they gave me $10 for gas. I told them not too but they did anyway.

After we left my parents, I took the kids to a friend's farm and we petted a newborn calf. The kids loved that.

60% off toyrus instore only

Toysrus sale instore only. I am not close to a store but thought I would share for those that are. Got this in an email today

a favorite treat of Oldest Daughter

Crunchy cherries. It is easy, quick and pretty cheap.

1/2 can cherry pie filling (I use lite version)
some butter or margarine
quick oats
Brown sugar

melt the butter in a pan, add in brown sugar to melted butter and stir until dissolved. Add in some quick oats and spoon mixture on a bowl of cherry pie filling. Serve warm or cold for a tasty kid approved treat! Or you can stir the mixture in with the filling as well.

Interest article and what are you thoughts for the holiday season shopping?

Here


I am sooo interested in seeing what the after Thanksgiving deals will be this year. We have been discussing buying a HDTV for some time now and if they are low enough we just might. Hubby of course wants a giant screen but IDK what his plans are for sure. We have Christmas done for friends and family (we never buy each other gifts however) so we are thinking of getting ourselves a new TV for Christmas but have yet to decide.

Updated stockpile pics and why I should take a break

Here are some update pics and I think I am taking a couple month hiatus from couponing and stockpiling. Reasons:

1. Winter is almost upon us and I have lots of yard work to do.
2. I have soooo much stuff already.
3. I want to be able to switch up my stockpile to spring and summer stockpiling items as winter comes to a close and at the present time I would have NO room for more.
4. I am afraid that some of what we have would go bad if I continue and forget to rotate.
5. I need a break

And the most recent stockpile pics...taken about 1 hour ago.

My feminine product and toothpaste stockpile


My razors...great deal on these with B1G1F coupons.


soup-some of this is for FIL as well

Hamburger helper and baked beans




Diapers. 4 more packs on top of the freezer. They are on sale at walgreens this week and I had a bunch of RRs to use making them $3.32/pack including tax.























my gift stockpiles

extra random gifts


for my MIL...less than $5 total!!


for our nephew-less than $9 total


for our niece-less than $5 total


For ODD for her birthday...less than $8 total. The barbie in the package was only $3 on clearance at Walgreens and was FREE with RR!!


for a close friend. $5 total!


2 extra gifts for ODD or another child. The pots and pans were clearanced for $2 and the potato head was $1.59 on clearance!


For my brother and his GF. I am also going to throw in some toothpaste and other stuff from my stockpile.


for my parents..Not sure what else I am going to add from my stockpile yet. Dad wants a pair of PJ pants yet and then they are DONE.