do you ever.....

put your headphones on and hit shuffle on your music library? I haven't in a long time so I decided to tonight...gosh every song has a memory... I am going to type some as I am listening....feel free to completely skip the rest of this meaningless, not thrifty blog entry if you so desire. I won't be offended. I just feel like rambling and this is a good way to do it. LOL

Hillbilly Shoes Montgomery Gentry, this song brings me back to 19. (3 years ago...HA! ) I had a BF in the army and this was his favorite song. I loved his truck. I loved going to KY to see him but alas I did not love HIM.

Podunk Keith Anderson This is my area, where I grew up, where I live now. Basically this song is soo much like my life...it's like he wrote it about this area and the people in it.

Gunpowder & Lead Miranda Lambert you should really hear my K sing this song...she knows EVERY word but I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. LOL Fortunately she does not understand the meaning of the song....yet!

Whiskey Drinkin' Woman Nazareth this song reminds me of my dad. I can still hear my dad singing this song in the car. I was probably 5-8..IDK...wierd...whenever I hear this song I hear my dad singing it.

Rock Your Body Justin Timberlake to this very day, this song makes me laugh. I had this friend...probably 6'5" 230 ish lbs. Big guy and sooo funny. One night we were all out and he decided he wanted to dance. His roommate was macking on this girl and my friend walked up to his roommate when this song started and started touching him and sang "don't be so quick to call me gay"....I laughed so hard beer came out my nose. It was hilarious and the rest of us had to leave the dance floor but my friend was out there dancing and serenading his roommate who was 25 shades of red by the end of the song. Imagine a 6'5" bald guy with no coordination dancing like JT.....hilarious right?

Don't Blink Kenny Chesney This song reminds me of everyone that I have loved and lost...Kenny.....my BIL who died too young at age 30, My grandmother, My grandfather, Josh...my boyfriend who was killed in a traffic accident at the young young age of 21, Nicole...another traffic fatality that left behind a young son, Joel...motorcycle accident, R's grandpa, R's grandma,

Hero of the Day Metallica Reminds me of my first BF and IDK why because he hated Metallica but I think because he looked like the guy in the video...hmmmmm....IDK he was such a loser but I was 16 and exercising my independence...but I came around. LOL

If You Ever Stop Loving Me Montgomery Gentry wow...parts of this song speak to me. I LOVED seeing them in concert and if they EVER come this away again I am soooo going! It was AMAZING!!!
Hard times... Bad luck... Sometimes life sucks -ain't that the truth?!?!
That’s alright... I’m ok It ain’t nothing but another day I love that line
I been waylaid... freight trained... short changed by bigger and badder men and all I got to say is bring it on I LOVE that line...that is so me and it gives me the strength to stand up when all I want to do is lay down and let the world take over
Hard rain rough roads... so my life goes YEP

Live Like You Were Dying Tim McGraw I just love the message in this song!

Hot Mama Trace Adkins Love it! I just love the song

Me So Horny 2 Live Crew the quintessential redneck rap song...it is all just about ever bar in this area's jukebox and dj's playlist....because we are just cool like that. You should have seen me dance to this in my younger years. LOL...I had some mad dancing skills. LOL

Good Time Alan Jackson because no country girls playlist is complete without some AJ. LOL

Wicked Game H.I.M. an awesome rock remake of the original slow song!

Not Ready to Make Nice Dixie Chicks a good angry song

You oughta know Alanis Morrisette my all time favorite belt out the anger song!

Pink Aerosmith In my very first apartment, we had A LOT of parties. One night a male friend got drunk and was passing out on my pink bean bag chair. We asked him what his favorite color was trying to keep him awake and he said "pink" in the most feminine voice his deep voice could muster and we were all laughing so hard. This song reminds me of him. LOL

Poison Bell Biv DeVoe This song reminds me of the episode of Scrubs when Turk tries out for the Air band...my favorite episode ever...because Turk reminds me of R's best friend.

Nothing Else Matters Metallica one of R and I's wedding songs
It fits us so well. Examples:
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know

Our long overdue date

We planned to eat at the newly opened Sonic, but they were having computer issues and the line was a mile long and the employee that came to the car said it could be 1/2 hour or more before the computer system was even up again. So we opted to go to Olive Garden. Good choice. We were seated immediately, the food was excellent and we were out of there and at the mall in 1/2 hour. How great! At the mall, we wandered, it was DEAD! We went to Bath & Body works so I could get mom some of her favorite scent. $3 a bottle for the full size bottles with the clearance sale going on. Then we went to Children's place and got our due in May neice, a hoodie for $5. It is adorable. Pink and says Princess in gold lettering. We then left the mall and went to Old Navy where I got K 2 shirts for 75 cents each and our other neice a shirt for next Christmas for $1.49 and my brother a t-shirt for watching the kids for $2.25.

It was a great date. We enjoyed each other's company very much and discussed a plan for the future and R's thoughts on something that I am not planning to disclose yet as it is in the very early stages. When/if this happens, you will receive full disclosure...I promise!! R's thoughts were very positive and I was happy to hear that as we have not had a private moment to discuss it since I first found out....no I am not pregnant. LOL

Notes from our day

We went to the Bent and Dent. They had just got in restaurant grade roast beef, presliced for sandwiches. $5 for 2.5 lbs. We got one. I can make at least 2 meals out of it. We also got 4 boxes of Strawberry Toaster Strudel $1/box, Ring bologna for 80 cents a lb, Grilling ham steaks $1.50 for 3, 3 16 oz cans of Campbells Tomato soup $1/can and a case of Campbells chicken noodle soup 16 oz cans for FIL.

Then we went to Walmart for cat food and cat litter. They had t shirts clearanced out for $1 so I got one for me and 1 to put away for mom as a gift. R got some juice, and we got mac n cheese because IMO the walmart brand is great! Better than Kraft although R would disagree.

My mom gave each of the kids $1 to buy a treat. O picked a sucker and K picked a candy bar. I let K pay for her own candy bar and she got the change back to feed her piggy. We get out to the jeep and she says I gave that lady my dollar and all I got was this measly candy bar. I said welcome to the real world K. When you have kids and bills you will get very little for a lot more money. She said well then I am just not going to have kids. Then I can feed my money to my piggy and keep it! I am glad she is learning about money and the cost of things earlier. But that kid is a trip!

We will be heading out for our date shortly. I am so excited to get some time alone with my hubby!

I want to share a very informative link

regarding stockpiling. This site is wonderful and has some very useful information.

Stockpiling guide

I forgot to mention

When I was at the store today picking up our WIC stuff, they had free chex mix seasoning if you bought a box of chex cereal. I picked one up and am going to make chex mix soon!

2/1 coupon preview

Remember these can vary by region: I know mine will be different because some of these things I have never heard of. LOL. Put the majority of the coupons are accurate.


02/01/09 SMARTSOURCE
Air Wick I-Motion Starter Kit - $4.00 off any 1 (x3/15)
Air Wick Scented oil refills - $1.00 off any 2 (x3/15)
Air Wick Scented Oil Warmer FREE wyb any Air Wick Scented Oil Refill fragrance – up to $3.19 (x3/15)
Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-ups Fruit Stickerz Fruit Flavored Snacks – 50 cents off 1 (x3/28)
Chex Cereals any chocolate, honey nut, strawberry, or cinnamon $0.75/1 (ex. 3-14-09)
Citre’ Shine product, any 2 full size - $2.00 off 2 (x5/01)
Citre’ Shine product, any full size - $1.00 off 1 (x5/01)
Colgate 360 Sonic Power Toothbrush – $1.00 off any 1 (x2/21)
Colgate Kids or Adult’s Manual Toothbrush – 40 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Colgate Toothpaste, any Adult or Children’s (4oz+) – 75 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Colgate Total Advanced Whitening, Advanced Clean, or Advanced Fresh Toothpaste only 4oz+ $1.00 (x2/21)
Cottonelle Fresh or Cottonelle for Kids Flushable Moist Wipes – 50 cents off 1 (x3/15)
Cottonelle Toilet Paper – (2) 4-pks or (1) 12-pk+ - 50 cents off (x3/15)
Cottonelle Ultra or Cottonelle Aloe & E Toilet Paper (4-pk+) – 50 cents off 1(x3/15)
Cuties – 55 cents off 3lb bag (x2/28)
Cuties Clementines - $1.00 off 5lb box (x2/28)
Dannon 6oz Single Serve Yogurt Cups – 60 cents off 6 (x3/15)
DiGiorno*any unltimate pizzeria style pizza $1/1 (ex. 4-5-09)
Dole Canned Fruits - $1.00 off any 3 (x4/25)
Duncan Hines Brownies – 35 cents off 1 (x5/31)
Egg-Land’s Best Cage Free Dozen or Organic Dozen Eggs – 50 cents off 1 (x6/30)
Egg-land’s Best Eggs – 35 cents off any (x6/30)
Egg-Lands Best Hard-Cooked & Peeled Eggs – 35 cents off 1 (x6/30)
Glade 4oz Jar Candles or 2 in 1 Candles - $1.50 off 2 (x3/14)
Glade Fabric & Air Odor Eliminator – BOGO up to $4.29 (x3/14)
Glade Scented Oil Candles Holder – BOGO up to $7.99 (x3/14)
Glade Scented Oil Candles refill pack - $1.00 off 1 (x3/14)
Healthy Ones packaged lunchmeat, deli presliced, or 1lb deli meat – 75 cents off 1 (x4/30)
Irish Spring Body Wash, any 1 (excludes 2.5oz size) or any 2 Irish Spring Multi-Bar pack (3-pk+), 50¢ (x2/21)
Kozy Shack Ready Grains product - $1.00 off 1 (x4/30) DND-5
Lime-A-Way cleaner - $1.00 off 1 (x3/29)
Lindor Truffles item 5.1oz+ - $1.00 off 1 (good from 2/1 until 5/31)
Lindor Trufles Trio 1.27oz FREE wyb Lindor Truffles Trio 1.27oz – BOGO up to $1.50 (from 2/1 until 5/31)
Lysol Disinfectant Spray 12oz+ - $2.00 off 1 (x3/30)
Lysol Disinfecting Wipes - $1.00 off 2 (x3/30)
Lysol To Go – 50 cents off 1 (x3/30)
Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends - $1.00 off 2 (x3/15)
Palmolive dish liquid, any – 25 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Palmolive Pure + Clear liquid dish soap 20oz – 75 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Rachael Ray Isaboo Treats - $1.00 off any 1 bag (x5/31)
Rachael Ray Ntruish dog food 6lb+ - $2.00 off 1 bag (x5/31)
Rid-X Septic System Treatment product – 50 cents off 1 (x 3/29)
Rid-X Septic System Treatment product – 50 cents off 1 (x 4/26)
Romano’s Macaroni Grill Restaurant Favorites Dinner Kit - $1.00 off 1 (x3/28)
Sargento Salad Finishers or Potato Finishers – 75 cents off 1 (x3/31)
Softsoap brand Body Wash (excludes 2oz) – 75 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap – 35 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Speed Stick 24/7 or Lady Speed Stick 24/7 (excludes 0.5oz product) – 75 cents off 1 (x2/21)
Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick Antiperspirants/Deodorants – 75 cents off 2 (x2/21)
Sucrets product - $1.50 off any 1 (x6/01)
Sugardale 1lb Bacon or Ready Bacon – 55 cents off 1 (x3/15) DND-5
Zucol Coldcare - $2.00 off 1 box (x8/31) DND-5

RedPlum 2/1/09
Bayer Aspirin 24ct + - $1.00 off 1 (x3/31)
Breeze2 10-test discs or Contour Test Strips - $20.00 off (valid only towards patient’s health plan co-pay) (x11/30)
Breeze2 or Contour Meter by Bayer - $30.00 off (x11/30)
Gatorade or G2 Powder Packs - $1.00 off 1 box (x4/30)
Kellogg’s Fruit Flavored Snacks - $1.00 off 2 (x3/29)
K-Y brand product (E-T-S) - $2.00 off 1 (x6/30)
K-Y brand Yours+Mine or Intrigue product (E-T-S) - $5.00 off 1 (x6/30)
L’Oreal Colour Riche or Any L’Oreal Lip Product - $1.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’Oreal EverPure Shampoo, Conditioner, or Treatment - $2.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’Oreal HIP Eye or Lip product - $2.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’Oreal Infalliable Face Product, or any L’Oreal Makeup, Powder, Blush or Concealer - $2.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’Oreal Moisturizer or Treatment - $1.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’Oreal Preference or Dream Blonde - $3.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’Oreal RevitaLift product - $1.00 off 1 (x4/26)
L’oreal Skincare Products - $3.00 off 2 (x4/26)
M&M’s Premiums Chocolate Candies - $1.00 off 1 (x3/31)
Marzetti Dressings - $1.00 off 2 (x4/30)
Milk-Bone Dog Snacks – BOGO up to $4.99 (x4/01)
Nature’s Bounty Product - $1.00 off 1 (x3/15)
Neo-Synephrine*any product $1/1 (ex. 4-30-09)
Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough - $1.00 off 1 (x3/01)
Quaker Simple Harvest All Natural Multigrain Chewy Granola Bars - $1.00 off 1 box (x3/31)
Robitussin product - $1.00 off 1 (x5/31)
Scotch-Brite Ultra NailSaver Absorbant Scrub Sponge, Scrub Sponge, or Scour Pad products, $1 off 2 (x3/31)
Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend - $1.00 off 1 (x4/30)
Smart Balance Buttery Spreads - $1.00 off 2 (x4/30)
Smart Balance Cooking Oil or Pan Spray - $1.00 off 1 (x4/30)
Smart Balance Peanut Butter - $1.00 off 1 (x4/30)
Smart Balance Popcorn - $1.00 off 2 (x4/30)
Smucker’s Jams, Jellies, Preserves, or Fruit Spread products - $1.00 off 3 (x5/01)
Sparkle Paper Towels, 2-Giant Roll pack+ - $1.00 off 1 (x3/02)
Suave Body Wash - $1.50 off 3 (x2/28)
Suave Body Wash – 75 cents off 2 (x2/28)

copied from afullcup.com

My newly reorganized freezer

I *just* thought of something

Our stand up freezer is organized yet unorganized. We have veggies on one shelf, pork on another, beef on another, ground beef in the bottom. I read somewhere that a lady bought some milk crates to organizer her freezer but I got to thinking and I could do it even cheaper than that by using boxes. Then I can write on the outside of the box what is in there and it would make it soooo much easier to defrost. I could just remove the boxes and ta-da...instant defrosting and all I have to do is put the boxes back in. It would also be so much easier to find stuff and less stuff falling out to break my toe. Brilliant! I am going to start tonight!

FAR items for February that I plan to buy

the multipurpose solution. I am out so this is great timing.

Possibly the Garnier fructis shampoo.

walgreens deals for 2/8-2/14

nothing to exciting. I might be interested in getting a swiffer wet jet, if I have a good coupon.

I am also thinking that this might be a good time to get R an Axe shampoo. I love the way Axe smells and would like him to try it and it is a FAR item this month so it would be a good time to try it.

walgreens deals for 2/1-2/7

nothing interests me except for the Razors that are $2.99 after RR. That depends on the coupons that come out however!

Old Navy clearance sale again

Take an EXTRA 50% off Old Navy Clearance!*5 DAYS ONLY--exclusively onlineDon't miss your chance to save even more on already low prices,now through February 2.Enter promo code HALFOFF at checkout.

*Offer valid on Old Navy Clearance merchandise only from 1/29/2009at 12:01 am ET through 2/2/2009 at 11:59 pm ET in the U.S.(including Puerto Rico) at gap.com, bananarepublic.com, oldnavy.com,piperlime.com while supplies last. Not valid at Old Navy Stores.Select styles and colors only. Discount applies to Clearancemerchandise only, not value of gift cards purchased, packaging,applicable taxes or shipping & handling charges. Online code limitedto one-time use only. No adjustments on previous purchases. Notvalid for cash or cash equivalent. Cannot be combined with otheroffers or discounts, including Gap Inc. employee discount. Gap Inc.is not responsible for lost or stolen coupons.Select styles only. For a limited time, while supplies last.

I failed...and more.....

ok so through today...here is what I bought:
$3.78 at grocery store
$2.11 for boone's wine ( I needed it BADLY Saturday night!!)
$0.88 diapers at Walgreens
$1.35 bottle of soda at work
$3.71 at gas station for bananas, bread and these awesome breadsticks with cheese inside
$2.38 for grapes
$1.20 for 2 donuts.
$3.58 for 2 packs of cheddarwursts
$17.12 for 5 t-bone steaks
$1.77 for 3 cans of mandarin oranges

Some things (in purple) I could have skipped. The steaks were a must buy. $3.99/lb for T-bones is awesome and we are low on steaks in the freezer so that was a must. The bread and bananas were need. The diapers, although I have quite a few packs, I needed to use my RR so that was the best way to use them.

The things I could have gone without...the grocery store stuff...shortening and margarine for a recipe. I could have just not made the cake but oh well. The wine...as much as I needed it Saturday night, I could have gone without. The bottle of soda at work I definitely could have done without but I had to work last minute and needed a pick me up after a rough night with a sick kiddo. The grapes we could have done without but the kids were dying for grapes and we haven't had any in a long time and they were on sale. The donuts...not even going to go there....moment of weakness. The cheddarwursts....we already have a bunch but they only had 2 packs left at the sale price and I never see them that cheap so I grabbed them...ate some for lunch today too. The cans of mandarin oranges....the kids really don't eat regular oranges but they love the mandarin so because they are sick and could use the vitamin C boost, I got some.

Overall, I feel crappy for not meeting my goal but I did not spend too frivolously, which was my objective. I still have one day left but since I went over...it is over. I didn't even make it to the bent and dent today. 2 sick kids, a crabby sick husband and a big mess with scheduling at work lead to me not even wanting to go. I am going to try again next week. Starting Saturday and going through Friday.

cheap dog shampoo

LOL Sheena decided to jump in the bath with K tonight. Since she was already in there I decided it was a good time for the dog to have a bath. So I wetted her down and realized I had no doggie shampoo. Crap! So I used some of the Suave that I have so much of. It worked like a charm. Sheena is soft, fluffy and smells great.

long talks and strategizing....

R and I had a long heart to heart today. He is understandably worried that his employer will be shutting the doors for good. He received a call on Monday from his boss and even though his boss is not laid off, they cut his hours down and they are operating on bare bones staff. The machine my hubby runs has not even ran in two weeks. We sat down and strategized. Because he knows I am a planner and a worrier, he figured I already had a plan in place. To his utmost shock...I do not. I am flying by the seat of my pants and hoping for a miracle. I know how much we have in savings and I know how long we could live off that money with keeping the house. What I did not know until I sat down to write out the bills tonight for this month, is that we have an additional month in our household bills account. Hallelujah!

R has been looking at other employment, really looking, but in this area there is no employment. There are retail jobs, a couple banking jobs, housekeeping at the hospital and a few other similar jobs but not jobs that R can do and support the family and for us to pay for daycare so we keep looking and hoping. At this point that is all we can do. I have been looking at a job change for myself as well. Not that I do not love my job, I do, it is just that the hours I need are not there. But I need to stay on with my employer through April in order to receive my bonus. The bonus should be between $300 and $500. That is a lot of money to throw out the window by quitting and working elsewhere now. Besides the project is starting soon and that should give me enough hours to make it worthwhile to stay. They are planning on working weekends and nights to get this project done so I know I will get the hours I want and need. The project will last "several weeks". How long is several weeks? IDK I am guessing 4-6 which would put me into March-ish for going back to only working one day a week. The bonus is estimated to be paid out around the 15th of April so if I can just stick it out that last month or so we will be sitting good. That month could be rough. IDK. I hope it turns out ok. I hate to wait for that bonus and cause financial issues, that is why I am glad we have the extra money put away.

my current plan is to continue to make my "car payment" to the savings account when it is all paid off to give us even more of a cushion. I hope I can keep on that plan because it sure would be nice to be able to put a couple hundred away each month.

the spending freeze is

going pretty well but I think I might end up going over the $30...actually I know I will because FIL has asked me to pick up some things for him. I will get that money back so IDK if I should count it or not...probably won't. But the kicker is...he asked me to go to the bent and dent...my favorite one...to get him a case of soup and some other things. SIGH...whenever I go there I end up spending money and I have yet to put gas in my car this week. Luckily I am still at just over 1/2 tank but I still have 2 days left of the spending freeze. SIGH...probably going to end up over the $30 limit...but not my much. oh well...I guess.

Next week I start on a major project at work, I will most likely be working 6 days a week again. Therefore I cannot make any bent and dent trips, nor can I make any trips to the grocery store to wander. It is going to be a busy few weeks but the money will be nice. I am sooo close to getting my car paid off. I currently owe...$2360! wow! so close yet so far away....I wish I could just have it done with now. Alas..I keep plugging away at it and it will be paid off in no time.

I am a coupon puller...and so is K

Last week when K and I were at a store, we saw $1.50/2 coupons for miracle whip. R loves miracle whip. I use a lot in the summer to make salads, etc. We grabbed a couple of the coupons since they don't expire until the end of May and guess what! this week it is on sale at a different store for $2/jar. LOL my coupons make it $1.25/jar! Awesome!


now if wonder bread would go on sale with the coupons I got the other day. LOL

Geez...

it is so hard to write about anything thrifty when I am on a spending freeze. The good thing though is that nothing I want or need is on sale at the grocery stores this week. Overall the sales ads are kind of lacking.

One nice thing about planning the spending freeze for this week is that the charity radio auction is going on. Being on a spending freeze means I can not/will not buy any overpriced baked goods. LOL

the dangers of a too full freezer

Having a too full freezer can be hazardous to your health and pocketbook:

• Items can get shoved to the back (or bottom) and forgotten about and then you have freezer burnt food...which is sometimes salvageable but most often not
• You see a great deal on something but have no room so you have to pass
• you open the freezer to get out a popsicle for your sick child and a container of frozen juice falls out from the top shelf and breaks your toe. Yeah that happened. I am serious!

What is your vice?

you know the one thing that you love that you won't/can't give up? For me...it is soda...diet coke or diet pepsi or even store brand diet cola. I don't care really I just need my diet soda.

To keep the price of my vice in check, I buy on sale or buy generic.

R's vice is beer. He likes beer. He has switched to drinking cheaper beer when we don't have the money for budwieser or the microbrews that he loves, which is quite often. Natural Ice or Natural light...both made by Anheuser Busch, are his new go to beers. $12.65 for a 30 pack with tax. Not bad at all and it lasts him quite a while.

R has another vice too...Mountain Dew. No generics will ever take the place of that so I stock up when it is on sale. Recently he has cut back his dew consumption and started drinking my diet soda! :sigh: of course he only drinks the name brand diet because in his opinoin the generic tastes funny.

Diaper STEAL

oh it's not just a deal...it was a STEAL!

Walgreens brand diapers are on sale for $5.99/pack

I got 4 packs for a total of $25.28
I used 2 $10 RR from the pepsi deal for $20 off
Then I used my rebate gift card for another $4.40 off
My OOP total...............88 cents for 4 packs of diapers

added a new ticker on the side

Last time I did a spending freeze I did a post each time I spent. This time I am just going to add it to the ticker and post at the end of the week (next Friday) how much is left and what I bought.

I want to do the spending freeze for 2 weeks so I will reset it next Saturday with $30 again.

It is almost 5 PM on Saturday, Day 1, and I have yet to spend even a dime.

Found something!

LOL during my decluttering mission today I found a $20 gift card to Pedro's. Since R and I are not going out to eat any time soon, I think I am going to add it to the gift stockpile. It would be a really nice gift for Josh or Heather or my parents. I think Josh and Heather would enjoy it most so I will probably put it in the money clip and give it to Josh for his birthday.

I got my bedroom decluttered and added more priced stuff to the garage sale pile...HOORAY! Only 4 more months to my garage sale. LOL

One of the nice things

With a spending freeze is that I find myself bored...and productive. I don't go anywhere just to get out of the house so I don't spend money AND I find ways to keep myself busy. For Example: Today with R's help, I decluttered the livingroom. That stereo that was sitting on top of the entertainment center, unused for quite some time, into the garage sale pile. The top shelf of the desk is now junk free. I also dusted. Now if only the kids would stop fighting long enough to allow me to work in another room, I would have the kitchen done. That requires standing on a chair to reach the upper cabinets and I cannot trust the kids not knocking me down. O tries to climb on the chair I am standing on and then K tries to get her down which would probably result in me falling so I will do that another time.

K cleaned up the toyroom, without much of a fuss, today. I think my making her clean is finally starting to pay off. I learned though that if I have O help, K is better about it and I am hoping that it pays off in the future with O not as bad about helping as K can be.

Next step in the decluttering day is my bedroom. Not too much left to do in there because I went through clothes a month or so ago.

I am a worrier

I know I am. Always have been. Even in Highschool. I worried about stuff. Stuff I couldn't change, stuff I could, things that were not affecting me in any real way. UGH!

Now that it has been 2 months since R worked, I find myself worrying. I am quite happy that we have some money in savings to cover the mortgage for 6 months. R's unemployment will run out about June. With what we have saved we could make it to December staying in our house. Surely, some thing would change by then right?

We are not even close to losing our house. We have not been late on payments and our mortgage is very affordable. So why the worry? IDK I guess just because I don't know what would happen to us. Properties are more in rent here than our mortgage payment is and if we couldn't afford that payment, how could we afford to rent? I guess I am just worried because it does not seem to be getting better, only worse.

I saw last night that Old Navy is hiring. The drive would kind of suck on bad weather days but it is day shift hours and some weekends. I am considering applying. I want to call and talk to my boss at Lands end first and find out about this project I am supposed to start. My Employer pays better, when I am working, and is right here in town, which I prefer. But not getting paid, even if my wage is better there, does not pay the bills. At times, I wish the kids were older, so I could work my regular job and a weekend job. Bring in more money.

I wish I could shut off the worry. I worry and worry and it always seems to work out so IDK what I worry for...I just worry. UGH!

Everywhere I read, everything I hear

layoffs, layoffs, layoffs, lost my job, foreclosure, job in jeopardy. UGH! I feel so bad for these people. What is this world coming to? I know for us, we worked all of our lives until recently. Now here we are. We are fortunate enough to not be close to losing our house like other families. Where would we go? what would we do? It pains me to even have to think about that! I feel terrible for those people. Something needs to change.

priceless

carmel puff corn $2.19
Tinkerbell movie from Redbox $1.06
box of brownies $1.59
pack of juice boxes 99 cents....on sale!
Cuddling up on the couch with your oldest daughter and having her say she loves you.........PRICELESS!

yep that is how we are spending our Friday night...R in bed, O in bed, K and I are going to cuddle up on the couch, snack and watch Tinkerbell.

Yet another trip to the bent and dent

Since we were in the area with Sheena's appointment and my mom wanted to go, we went to the bent and dent. I got:

5 packs of Johnsonville Brats $2 each
3 boxes of Organic Mini Waffles 75 cents each (The owner marked them down from $1 for me if I took the last 3 he had)
1 box of bagelfuls $1
2 boxes of Purina Cat foods 75 cents each
3 cans of Dora corn 25 cents each
Soda for me 50 cents
Juice box for K 10 cents

for a total of $16.10

The freezer is full once again.

Mom and Dad took K and I out for lunch. We had Chinese. It was sooo good. It had been so long since I had been to a sit down restaurant to eat and even longer since I ate chinese. R doesn't like it so we don't ever eat it.

After we ate, we stopped at a thrift store and I got O a new pair of shoes for 25 cents. They are like new they were 50 cents put all kids clothing and accesories was 1/2 off.

The Spending freeze starts

Tommorrow.

I am changing my rules a bit. I will allow myself $30 each week to spend instead of $20 because we will need cat litter, cat food, a prescription for O, and diapers are on sale at Walgreens starting Sunday. I hope to transfer O's prescription and get the $25 gift card they are offering with a transferred prescription, depends on if Walgreens takes our insurance or not...cross your fingers! I will save that $25 gift card for lean times but I may buy a couple packs of diapers with part of it. I also need to put gas in my car (which counts toward the $30) and the jeep but I do not count that toward my spending freeze. My spending freeze is on...clothing (new or used), household stuff (again new or used), groceries (I count sale items I do buy toward that $30), stockpile items, and any unneccessary things.

The coupon list is up at taylortownpreview.com. There is nothing I cannot live without so I am skipping buying a paper this weekend. I know I might pay for it in the future but oh well.

Why am I starting the spending freeze now? Because the project we were supposed to work on next week at my job has been postponed, and because they had me down to do the project I got NO yep ZERO scheduled hours next week at work. Ouch! That hurts! So I will only get my unemployment payment and I need just about every dime of that to pay off my car. So I will send almost all, except the $30 I am keeping in cash) to my car. Wish me luck. I didn't work at all this week either so these next two week are going to be rough. May be rough even longer IF the project gets delayed any more.

Rodney and I each have a bit of spending money out of our checks. Gas for my car...my responsibility. gas for his jeep....his responsibility. Normally I do not count gas as a part of a spending freeze as it is needed and not something we can stockpile before hand but at this point I need to watch every dime so I am counting gas toward the $30.

I got the money clips today

They are so cool! The guys are going to love them. R already does. He took his already although I planned to add it to the gift stockpile. I showed my brother his tonight since he was admiring R's and I told him he could pick his birthday gift, money clip, new boxers, new flannel pjs pants, or a gillette shaving set. He said holy crap you bought that all for me already. I laughed and said yeah but it is one gift for your birthday and the rest for Christmas. You are done for Christmas now and he thought I spent a ton of money. You would think he would know me better than that by now! I told him all totaled I spent less than $20 on him (actually it was less than $15 because he bought his own shaving set with the gift card he gave me for Christmas, LOL). So he was cool with that.

unexpected trip to the bent and dent today

The kids and I left the house for a bit to give R some alone time, which he REALLY appreciated. He cleaned the house!!!!!

When we were headed back home the kids fell asleep and I don't know about your kids, but if mine take a "car nap" even a short one, they are a pain to wake up and are so crabby. A longer one is ok but a short one is like HELL!!! So I saw they were falling asleep...so I thought to myself what is the best thing to do. KEEP DRIVING!!! So I decided that a trip to the bent and dent was in order. It is about a 20 minute drive. Long enough for them to get a pretty good nap in and once I got onto the back roads, I drove slow...turing the 20 minute drive into a 35 minute drive..LOL. I needed to go anyway as I promised the sitter I would get her a case of soup and she wouldn't accept payment for babysitting the kids so I decided to pay her in soup. So we got there and we got the soup 12 16 OZ cans for $13.60, we also got 2 packages of Johnsonville Brats for $2 each...very cheap!, and 6 more boxes of toaster strudel and 5 boxes of "toucans" AKA Kraft Strawberry Bagelfuls. All that for $28.60. Regular price would have been $53 at a grocery store! I saved almost $25. Wow! I know in a previous post I said we have enough but sometimes I just can't pass up deals especially on things like Brats and Bagelfuls. I have to take Sheena to the vet tommorrow and when I told my mom about the brats, she said she wanted to go tommorrow so we are going after the vet appointment since the vet is only 10 minutes from the bent and dent. YEAH! I am going to finish stocking the little bit of freezer room we have left with brats...lots and lots of brats!

Update on Sheena

she has been her almost 2 months now. She is spayed, has her shots and is the best friend to O. O and Sheena play together all the time. Sheena is soo gentle with O and K too but K is a little rougher than O. It is so cute. O will sit on the floor and Sheena will instantly go and lay beside her and O will pet her head and Sheena will start licking her and O will laugh and laugh. O calls her NEEEEEEE NA and throws the ball for her. 2 of the 3 cats have adjusted well. The 3rd cat is finally starting to come around. K was so upset the night Sheena got spayed and stay with the vet. She told me to bring Sheena back and take sissy to the animal shelter . We took Sheena back to the shelter for a visit and to give them proof she had been spayed so we could get the deposit back. She has been the best addition to our family. The shelter has called about once a week just to see how things are going, and they gave us a gift of 30 days of pet insurance which was sooo nice. If you are ever in the market for a pet, I highly recommend checking out an animal shelter. We found our new best friend at ours and I couldn't be happier. Sheena is such a great addition to our family...even if DH didn't think so at the time. Here she is stealing DH's spot on the couch when he got up.

do you ever just sit back and think ENOUGH?

I do. I am to that point in my stockpiling. IDK how much more I can do. I have a year (and more) supply of pretty much everything not food related. I have gifts bought for Christmas, I have enough food in this house to feed 10 families for a couple months. IDK I just sometimes get this whole ENOUGH thing in my head and I will go for a long time with only buying basics. I think I am to the point that I need to do that again. I need to be accountable though. So starting with my spending freeze and moving on from that I am going to try harder to keep myself in check, only buying rock bottom low prices on stuff we need and not buying anything we don't. Of course I need to go check out double coupons on Friday LOL but after that I am DONE for a short time anyway. Time to get motivated at getting my car paid in full!

WIC appt today and more

we are back on WIC. I hated to do it because we are doing ok but I need to think of the kids and when we get down to the last part of a gallon of milk and it is a couple days til payday and I am sitting with $5 to my name...well, the kids come first so we signed up for WIC again. K and O both got iron levels checked and those were really good. K did not have to get a lead level check but O did and they just said it was low. They didn't give me a number. They had some really good information for me. I really do like WIC. It is a great program and helps alot. The girls don't really like any of the cereals we get from WIC so we usually skip them. Anything we don't need we don't get. I was so thankful for WIC when O was born. They helped out a lot. I would really like to get a job someday with WIC. Those people that work there (at least in our county) are wonderful!

Also...my spending freeze will start on 2/1 and go until 2/7 as I forsee it now. I will keep track here.

added 2 more things

to the gift stockpile. Tonight, because my ear was hurting and I just got done at urgent care but did not want to go home and deal with bedtime and 2 crying kids, I went to Kohls and walked around. It is very quiet in that store. No annoying loud music, no screaming kids. I ended up finding another pair of Xbox boxers this time for my brother since Hubby claimed the first pair. They came in this cool controller shaped tin and were on clearance for $2.80 and I got Hubby a pair of AC/DC ones for the same price also with a cool tin. So I added them to the gift stockpile. I did not go intending on buying anything, just to walk around and enjoy the solitude but for just over $5 for 2 pairs of nice boxers I can't refuse and I got a coupon for $5 off my next purchase. I plan to use that when they mark down the kids clothes a little bit more.

Our sitter had the kids for a few hours last week when I worked because R needed a break. I stopped by to pay her tonight and pick up K (who had begged to go over there tonight because she was watching her granddaughters). I had dropped K off on my way to the Urgent care because we had planned to go over there anyway but my ear was hurting too bad to want to sit over there. Anyway our sitter refused and told me to get her a case of soup from the bent and dent instead of paying her LOL. Goofy but it works. It saves me about $20!!

Sweet score today!

I went to the grocery store to get milk and I scored some reduced price lean ground beef, 6 lbs, and a bottle of ketchup for 50 cents.

Lots of good in store sales but I was unable to take much time checking it out because the girls where ready for naps. I hope to go back later and scope it out...and take my coupons!

mindless babble again

I was sitting here trying to think of something profound to say...and I came up with nothing. My knee is throbbing from hitting it on the pantry last night. I didn't get alot of sleep even though I took some PM pain relief. Everytime I moved, it hurt. Tommorrow is our WIC appointment. I need to go to my employer and get my schedule for next week and while I am out I want to stop at the grocery store and pick up more Hillshire farms cheddarwursts. Of course I have no coupons for them and even if I could find some online, this particular store will not take IPs anyway. But $1.79 a package is a very good price. They are usually $2.88 at Walmart and $3.00 at our other local store. The cheapest I have seen them is $2. so this is a good price. I also would like to go to Kohls and get R and my brother more of the boxers I got on clearance the other night with Heather. I just can't get motivated to get out of the house. I am still in my pjs. R is napping and I am bored. I cleaned the house, did dishes, and started laundry. R got up with the kids this morning because I was sleeping in. I need to clip my coupons, I need to plan for double coupons at the grocery store this weekend. I said I was going to skip it but after looking over the ad more and checking out the instore unadvertised sales last night, I think I can get a few free things so I need to plan on that. UGH! Why can't I get motivated?

tentative spending freeze

from 2/2-2/8 I am planning on a spending Freeze. I am going to take out $20 in cash and that will be what I have to spend for that week. I know I can do it. I need a little bit of money for milk but I will not buy anything that week. The plan is to only buy what is necessary, which is milk, bread and bananas. I was thinking that I could just buy that for the week on 2/1 but I will take the $20 out anyway just in case. I will still be paying bills but I will not buy any other items that week. The plan is to:

use up stuff we have here
plan meals around what we have in the house
send as much as I can to get my car paid off
try to do this weekly but with more money obviously.

I am going to rethink a lot of things we are doing currently because I really need to buckle down and get some money in savings and get my car paid off. The job prospects in this area are not looking good at all and I want to set us up better in case R's layoff goes from temporary to permanent.

More info to come.

this kinda sucks

I got my shift cancelled for today. No working for me. The boss said she didn't even have enough work for the full-time people to work more than 4 hours. Yikes! Thank god for the project coming up! But I guess I can do some more garage sale pricing and decluttering!

Have I ever mentioned

how whining about a financial situation annoys me? To ask for advice is one thing but to say "gosh I just don't know how you and R are affording to live with him not working. We are struggling and we are both working. You must be working a ton to make ends meet or using your credit card alot." We do fine, thank you. Sorry to hear that. NOPE and NOPE! I get a lot of crap and poor pathetic me stories from someone that we are related too. He works, his wife works, they have kids. R and I are in a better place financially because I made us that way. It takes a lot of work to do what I do. I would very gladly help but they don't want my help. They want me to feel sorry for them and I do not. When I get told that I am cheap for buying my kids clothes at rummage sales and thrift stores, making things from scratch, using coupons, "buying more than we need at that moment....how can that save money?" and my favorite....GASP! going without new clothes or shoes for myself or R because we want to get our debt gone. :Shaking my head:, I refuse to help these people. In fact, last year I was "not good enough" to do their taxes even though I had done them the year before and got them more back than the tax guy said they would get, now this year lo and behold, they want me to do their taxes...for free. F*&% that!

DUH!

I am such an idiot sometimes. I did a couple rebates this month at Walgreens. One was the glade candles (1 rebate on my card and 1 on my mom's for $4.40 each) and I just now realized that all this time I have been stocking up on R's PM pain relief that the 50 ct packages are also on rebate this month. DOH! buy 5 get $10 back(extra $1 ...10% if you put the rebate on a walgreens gift card). I have been buying because they are buy one @ $3.99 get one free. So stupid me. I still had to get 4 more (getting the 6th one since it is free). Had I remembered this I would have just gotten 4 of these instead of 4 of the regular acetaminophen that I bought last week. Oh well. I am not going to return them because we will use them. Anyway I went tonight and got the other 4 so I can submit that rebate and use it on the diapers that are on sale next week. I will have $19.80 in rebates and $20 in RR to use for diapers. Sweet, huh? At 5.99 a pack, I will be able to get 6 packs and have 3.86 left for the bread that is on sale and tax. If my figuring is right on the tax for the diapers my OOP next week will be......nothing...I should still have 38 cents left over on the gift cards for 6 packs of diapers and 1 loaf of bread. Sweet deal...more than makes up for the pepsi OOP this coming week and last. LOL

the rebate math:
3 bottles of PM pain relief $11.97
3 bottles of PM pain relief $ 0.00 (b1g1f)
___
6 bottles for $11.97
rebate for buying 5 $10.00 +$1 ($1 is for 10% extra for putting the rebate on a Walgreens gift card)
so .97 for 300 PM pain relief pills. My kind of deal!!!

Mindless babble

I was once asked if I tend to be more "liberal" with the use of stuff since I have so much. Do I not empty the shampoo bottle before I toss it, Do I use every drop of laundry detergent or just use what I can and not worry about the last little bit? I am happy to say I still use the last drop of everything. that little bit of laundry detergent left....I just add a bit of water to the jug, shake it and let it sit upside down until I do the next load. Conditioner, Shampoo, body wash...I squeeze out every last drop and will even get the lid off and pound out the rest on my palm. Deodorant, I use it until the end. Yep. That 1 or 2 extra uses I can get out of stuff is saving money so I do it.

I tried something new to shampoo carpets today. I don't have any of the expensive cleaner here so I added a dash of vinegar and some suave shampoo. The carpets and clean and soft and smell good. LOL whatever works I guess

I currently have 2 FREE candles burning and I went to the stockpile and got out a new bottle of toilet bowl cleaner, shampoo, febreeze (well the glade version), and shampoo for the kids and for me. Yep I use my stockpile. LOL

The kids are being terrible today. They are driving me insane. Constant fighting and screaming. UGH! It is a timeout right now for ME. I can't wait to go to work tommorrow. I need to decide what to have for dinner yet.

coupon Sunday

I went and got my paper. I always get the ones that have the P&G insert but I don't always but the rest of the month because I get them from FIL. I used the $1 off quilted northern and I got a 12 pack of double rolls for $4 at Pamida with the double coupons. That is all I used. I didn't really take the time to look at them...just glanced and found the quilted northern one quick so I could go get that. I got the ultra plush.

R fixed the dryer. The vent came off the back and while it made the house warmer...the dust was unbelievable. We weren't aware it came off for a couple loads. I went into the laundry room when the dryer was running and it was so dusty and hot in there, I knew right away. I am now finishing laundry. UGH! I have to work tommorrow. Wednesday we have an appointment, and I will find out tommorrow if I have to work the rest of the week. I know I will have Tuesday and Wednesday off however.

So the plan for today is finish laundry, vacuum, shampoo the carpets, get a roast ready for R to cook tommorrow and clean the house. FUN FUN!

oh yeah!

I forgot to mention on my Gift stockpile post that the bath sets were all bought with a gift card from my brother for Christmas and cash from my parents for Christmas so my actual OOP on those items was very low....like nothing...LOL. I completely forgot that until now when I was looking back over that post. crazy!

Double coupons at Pamida and other babble

our craptastic local store. An overpriced, understocked poor excuse for a store. I went anyway. LOL. I got Kotex tampons for $1.38 and pads for $.88 yep...that's what I got. I compared coupons but nothing good was on sale and the prices...even with my coupons doubled....were more than I was willing to pay. Gosh I love having a stockpile, no need to buy things for us because we NEED them. LOL I can just wait until they go on sale and I have a good coupon making stuff nearly free.


Speaking of nearly free....I am anxiously awaiting a GOOD coupon from Victoria's Secret. There are a couple things I want to get as gifts but after the deal I got last year (slippers for 53 cents a pair..shipping and tax included) I REFUSE to get them without getting a good deal. Nothing will be as good as that deal I am sure but I won't pay what they currently want for them. R says I am getting spoiled by all my deals but is that a bad thing?...to not buy something that I don't need unless I can get it for almost free? I don't think so. I think it is a very good thing.

Another good thing....Although I have recently used my credit card, I will be able to pay that amount back off very quickly. Sweet! R has used his as well and his will take a bit more time to pay off but his sanity is more important than a credit card balance as long as his sanity is not costing us more than a couple hundred bucks. He also knows that he doesn't get any more "sanity saver presents" for a long time so he is good.

I am still feeling a bit mad at myself for buying the gifts I did. I know I saved money but I also spent alot at Walgreens this past week getting our soda stockpile up. UGH! In the next week or two however...and even longer....I shouldn't have to spend much money at all. So that kind of makes up for it. I talked to R's Aunt today when we were at the inlaws and was telling her about my latest deals (she is a couponer/bargain shopper as well) and I told her the full retail price and how much I spent and she said wow you did good. I told her I know and I was very proud that I only used the CC online and once at JCP to get K's coat and the other things that day so the balance is low but I didn't want to use the CC anymore. She said well look at it this way...you would probably not have gotten K that coat next fall but probably spent $20ish at Walmart so you got a much better deal on a better coat for a better price and the online stuff is "safer" in her mind by using CC. IDK I have never had a problem but if it were to be a problem, like getting overcharged by alot or whatever and having that come out of the checking via debit card, I would be screwed with overdraft charges etc. So yeah I did good but why do I feel like crap about it? Maybe because we don't HAVE the money to spend....oh we have the money but my car is supposed to be priority and every extra dime was supposed to go to getting that paid off. It also doesn't help that I bought stuff at Walmart (groceries), the bent and dents. I guess the MAIN reason why I feel bad (but happy...does that make sense?) is that I have been only working 1 day a week so I have very little $$ coming in right now. At least I know after next week I will be working a lot again and everything is going to the car.

My local overpriced grocery is doing double coupons again this weekend and I think I am going to skip it. It is a once a month thing and we don't need anymore food in this house. I know there is nothing I can get for FREE so I think skipping it is a good thing this month. No stressing over getting coupons ready for it either. LOL.

The gift stockpile

AKA my craziest start for next Christmas EVER!

Here is what is in the gift pile: YIKES! that is all I have to say.
Some of it is already doled out. Other things not yet. Also I do not know when the person it is for will get it, Birthday, Mother's/Father's day, anniversary, Easter (for the kids), Valentines' Day, or Christmas. IDK yet..I just know certain things are for certain people...bought specifically for them. The ornaments are obviously for next Christmas but other than that IDK.

so here goes...the list...grab something to drink before you sit...it is a long read...longer than I anticipated.

2 pair Arizona Jeans for O.....$2.98 each pair
2 pair Arizona Jeans for K.....$2.98 each pair (but I might give one to our niece, IDK yet)
2 outfits for O..........................$2.98 each
2 shirts for O...........................$1.18 each
3 Packer ornaments for MIL$1.78 each
2 Angel ornaments for sitter $ .60 each
4 Pooh & friends ornaments $1.74 set for my new niece or nephew
3 Dora ornaments $ .79 each (niece, K and O)
1 Diego set of mini ornament$ .79 set for K
1 Dora set of mini ornaments$ .79 set for O
1 Barbie set of 4 ornaments $1.74 set for K
2 Princess sets of 4 orn. $1.74 each set for Niece and O
Princess waterglobe set of 2 $ .79 each set (2) for Niece and O

Tink water globe set of 2 $ .79 set for K

Tub time bath set for K&O $2.50
Tinkerbell bath beauty set $5.00
Princess tea party bath set $5.00
2 sets of 3 bod spray $2.50 each set
Dale Jr ornament for MIL $2.50
bath accessory gift set $2.50 (loofah, sponge, pumice stone, bath poof, nail brush)
2 wooden ornaments $ .50 each
2 hairbrush & ponytail sets $2.50 each
2 white cherry bath sets $2.50 each
bubble bath and book set $2.50 (Disney princess)
2 Hannah Montana lip sets $1.50 (for the sitter's granddaughters)
bubble bath & beads set $1.50
3 Gillette mens sets $5.00 each (body wash, shampoo, razor, shave gel, deodorant)
4 mini Angel figurines $ .24 each (for the sitter's collection)
3 larger Angel figurines $1.50 each (for the sitter's collection)
2 Mr. Potato Heads $1.59 each...clearance
3 Leather Money clips $4.70 each (including shipping) Dad, Josh, and R
2 prs Old Navy pj pants $4.74 each (including shipping) Dad and Josh
1 Old Navy perfect fit T $3.49 including shipping for Mom
1 Old Navy pj pants $5.99 including shipping for Nephew
1 pair leggings for O $1.99 including shipping

The following are for gift baskets throughout the year
Luminar candle FREE after coupon
2 febreeze noticables kits $.50 each after coupon
2 scented oil plug ins FREE after coupon and rebate
1 scented oil refill FREE after coupon and rebate
2 scented oil candle holders $.50 each after coupon and rebate (might have been free though)
1 candle holder for oil candle FREE after coupon
4 packs scented oil candle refills $.24 each after coupon and rebate

Total of $141.27....and that is how you do gift giving on shoestring budget! I have at least one gift for everyone I normally give gifts to. Now I can browse clearance when I feel like it or when I find a really good sale online and I can get it if I want or pass. These gifts are just not bought at random either. I think about each item. The bath stuff is kinda random because everyone likes bath stuff (OK everyone in my family) so I know it will get used by someone. The other gifts minus the gift basket stuff, is thought out as I browse...hmmm who would like this....if I cannot think of someone that I need a gift for...I don't get it. Simple. My Christmas shopping is a year long process. I browse year long for gifts for MIL, FIL, Dad, Mom, Josh, Josh's GF, K, O, niece and nephew, and the sitter and our friends. I have found some NEW things at garage sales that are perfect gifts as well. So I don't stress too much about it but I like having gifts here that I can give when an occasion arises.

I will take the Gillette gift sets and the Bod spray and break them up because there are certain things that R will use that the other two won't and R only likes one scent of the bod, Josh likes one and Dad likes the other.

I also have some fancy bottles of hand soap I picked up that I will put into gift baskets throughout the year and Voila! gift giving on a dime! If Christmas were tomorrow I would be set except for FIL but he likes gift basket of snack foods every year and that is not something I can hold onto until next year. LOL.

My theory is if I buy the gifts on clearance, I save time in having to run to the store to get a gift for whomever birthday or whatever and time in picking out a gift because I pick them out when they are on clearance, money in having to pay full price for a gift, and embarrassment that comes from forgetting someones special day.

old navy deal

use code extra50 at checkout at oldnavy.com to get an extra 50% off CLEARANCE items. good deals to be had...if you hurry!

Cabin fever has struck

I find myself browsing online so much lately. UGH! I find myself finding deal after deal after deal. Really good deals. In the last 4 days I have spent:

• $24. at OldNavy.com on 2 pairs of flannel pants ($3.74 each-Christmas gifts for next year) 1 pair of flannel pants for our nephew for his birthday (with deer on them which he will LOVE) $4.99, a shirt for my mom for $2.49 for Christmas next year, a pair of leggings for O for 99 cents.
• $15. at Sears actual store-buttload of ornaments for gifts for the kids next year
• $40 at JCP actual store-clothes (that were needed and a great deal)
• $15 at Kohls-finally got something for ME!
• $14 at Wilson Leather-gifts for Dad, Josh and R.

So altogether I have spent around $108. YIKES! It kills me that I have spent that much. But the credit card was only used for less than 1/2 of that AND I have got gifts for all throughout the year and saved $459 dollars off the regular retail price. That is awesome really. I saved ALOT of money. But I think...did I really need to spend that money? let me justify it...

Flannel sleep pants~I get my dad and my brother these every year as they seem to wear them out. IDK why but they do. I have one pair I have worn since R and I got married but Dad and Josh are hard on them. Sale price at Walmart is usually about $5 on the Black Friday sale so $3.74 is cheaper than that. Great deal...check!

Sleep pants for our nephew~he loves hunting. He is impossible to get a toy for and $5 cash (which was the plan seems really cheap but $5 on a pair of pants...cool) something he will love that I got for a steal.....check!

Leggings for O-not needed but only 99 cents. She rarely gets anything new so I splurged a bit...not necessary but good price...still not giving myself a check on this one however.

Shirt for mom~$2.49 is really cheap for an Old Navy shirt. She loves old Navy shirts...great deal on something she likes....check!

coat for K $11.98...not needed right now but definitely will be next year. $80 coat for $12...awesome deal...check!

pants and shirts for O...she has a ton of hand me downs that I am sorting through and it is nice for her to get something new once in awhile so I am giving myself a check on this one....check!

Pants for K....a growing girl has to have clothes and $3 a pair is just slightly more than I would have paid at a garage sale for an off brand. Ok...check!

Pjs for me...not needed but definitely wanted...no check.

ornaments...not needed but will make a fantastic gift for the kids next year...and 90% off who can say no to that?!?! check!

I feel a little guilty for spending the money that SHOULD have gone to paying off my car but how I can say no to gifts for next Christmas and throughout the year. I won't have to rush out to the store and pay full price to get a last minute gift for so and so for their birthday or whatever. Spending money to save money...LOL...that's what I will tell R. hahahahahaha...He doesn't care what I spend as long as the bills are paid and he has some spending money.

now...just to find a AMAZING deal on slippers....lol

Kohls Clearance

Kohls is having a clearance sale right now. While it is not as great as JCP, it is still good. I have been in the market for quite some time for some GOOD winter PJS. Fleece preferably and nothing old lady-ish. Well I scored a fleece 2 pc set at Kohls tonight. Originally $40 marked down to $12. Tons of kids clothes on clearance but I didn't buy any. I did get Hubby some Xbox 360 boxers in a tin shaped like his controller on clearance for $2.80 and Heather scored Josh some boxers in a guitar hero tin for $4.40.

Wilson's leather steals!!

Check out Wilson's leather online. You get an additional 75% off the clearance price and free shipping. I just ordered 3 money clips for R, My brother and my dad for $14.12 shipped! Good deal!! Awesome because DH is in need of something for holding money and even the fake leather wallet at walmart was $10! Dad needs a new one every year (he's a welder) and perfect for my brother. Awesome. Also if you use mr. rebates you get another 4% back. Sweetness!

Thank you to a diaper swapper member for posting the original info!

Coupon Preview is up

http://www.taylortownpreview.com/id89.htm

some freebies and sweepstakes

Kotex for a year (sweepstakes)

Always infinity sample

Kotex light days sample

Dove hair care sample

So I got to thinking today

about how to explain RR's to R. See he understands it sort of but doesn't quite get it. Here is what I came up with.

RR's at walgreens are like an instant rebate that you can only spend at Walgreens. I told him it is like "free" money. Yes I have to spend $22 on Pepsi Products to get the $10 back but since we drink Pepsi Products and the soda is on sale (cheaper than our grocery stores) it is a good buy. It is free money in a way. We would spend at least $3 per 12 pack at the grocery store so why not get it at Walgreens, save a little money and get money back. Yeah we have to spend that $10 (or $40 as I had before I spent $20 today) at Walgreens but I am shopping with Walgreens Money not ours. And the stuff I bought, we would buy and use anyway so it is not like I am wasting it. Plus I use my RRs on sale items to save even more. I said look at it this way I spent $3 on a 12 pack but I got $1.43 back per 12 pack that I was able to use to buy other stuff that we needed. I think he understand why I bought so much soda the last week. LOL. We do have a lot of soda but we both like it. I take it to work instead of paying $1.35 per bottle at work. When R was not laid off he took 4 cans to work instead of paying the $1 per bottle at work. It works out well and I can't pass up a deal on something we will actually use.

*********************************************
So I saw today that my preferred grocery store is looking for part-time help. I thought about applying but I didn't right there. I figured I would debate for a bit. Well as it turns out, my regular employer called and asked me to take part in a project for a month...maybe a bit longer. Guess I won't be needing that 2nd job after all. LOL

ALONE time today!!

I did well.

Sears trip
All Christmas stuff was 90% off. Since I am into getting the girls an ornament for each year I got the below stuff which is also for our neice and nephew and the sitter's angel collection...my total after my discount was $15.56...regular retail was $108.85!!!

JCP~
2 Shirts for 0 originally $9.99 each $1.18 each
2 pants for K originally $21.99 each $2.98 each but I realized after I got home that I got 2 that are very similar DOH! so I think I might put one away for our neice for Christmas.
3 green Bay packer collectible ornaments for MIL originally $15 each clearanced to $1.78 each
Total OOP $14.41 Original Retail $108.96

Walgreens 1st store
Sqeauky toy for Sheena $2
PM pain relief for R $7.99 for 150 pills but they are B1G1F this month so $7.99 for 300 pills
Candy bracelet for K as a filler $.39
Total OOP .95 used $10 rr from pepsi deal
Saved $23.99

7 12 packs of pepsi products $22.16
got another $10 RR
Saved $13.93-not counting the RR as I count them when I use them

2nd Walgreens store
Migraine relief $3.99 for 50 also B1G1F so $3.99 for 100
Childrens ibuprofen $4.99 for 4 oz also B1G1F so $4.99 for 8 oz
Wonder Bread $2.19
Total OOP 1.66 Used $10 RR
Saved $19.98

Overall Not a bad day at all.

Going back to JCP

I am taking a few precious hours to myself and going back to JCP tommorrow. My hope is to get some jeans for K in the next size and something for our nephew for his birthday and maybe if I am super lucky something for our neice for her birthday. I am going in with $20. I also want to check out Sears..which is just across the parking lot because I am pretty sure they have a good clearance going on and I get a discount. I really hate to spend the money but I know these deals don't come around often and they are not much more than spending at a garage sale and the stuff is NEW! So it is off to bed for tonight so I can have energy for my day tommorrow!

Thinking of a spending freeze

I really want to buckle down and save money so I am thinking of going on a one week spending freeze. It would be awesome to get through a whole week without spending any money. I don't think that is possible because we need milk, I need gas to get to work, etc but I think I am going to set a $20 spending limit each week for 2 weeks so $40 for two weeks. I will need to get some more soda from the pepsi deal at walgreens so I can't do it yet. LOL we don't NEED soda, but it is one of the very few luxuries that R and I have so I am going to get it while it is cheap, I think I will start it the week of 1/25 and go for 2 weeks from that point. I will let you know when/if it happens.

OMG you have to check out JCP

in store not online. The sales are absolutely phenomonal. I went today and got K a new coat originally $79.99 marked down to $11.98!!!! this is the coat I got for K.
I also got O a few things for Christmas next year. 2 pairs of Arizona Jeans Originally $21.99 each marked down to $2.98 each! 2 outfits originally $19.99 each marked down to $2.98 each and 1 shirt originally $9.99 marked down to $1.18


It was just insane. I could have spent a lot more time but K was having a fit so I left. R and O were out in the car so I had to go quickly anyway but I am very impressed. The original cost of everything was $173.94 and I paid $26.46 According to my receipt I saved $148.86. WOW!! AWESOME!

Here is a pic what I got. I saw the coat online last night and fell in love with it for K! It is perfect!

Walgreens 1/25-1/31

1/25-1/31 Walgreens ad Thanks to HCW for the ad!

Lots to spend my RR on!!
Lays chips-I need 2 more bags for the pepsi rebate and they are B1G1F at Walgreens that week. YEAH!
Wonder bread $1.50
Diapers $5.99-currently we have 13 packs in the house but I starting to get some for my brother and his GF so I can get a couple packs for them with my RR and a couple more for us!
Excedrin and I have $2/1 coupon that expires on 1/25
Walgreens brand pain reliever and cold medicine B1G1F~ R loves the PM pain relief so I will be getting a lot of that! Hoooray!

$10 in coupons

Betty Crocker coupon booklet
Click on the link above and get $10 coupon booklet mailed to you.

The bent and dent

The kids and I took the sitter to the bent and dent today. I had not planned on getting anything but I did.

4 boxes of organic mini waffles $1 each
2 boxes of toaster strudel $1 each
1 bottle of vanilla $1.50 (real vanilla for baking-not the imitation stuff)
1 6lb 9 oz can of portobello mushroom and garlic pasta sauce $3
1 doz organic eggs $1 (farm fresh!)

I am quite excited about the pasta sauce. Once I open it, I plan to freeze it and we will have pasta sauce for about 7 meals for 43 cents per meal. Much cheaper than even the generic spaghetti sauce at $1/jar.

I have a plan

That I am going to put into action as soon as O wakes up from her nap. We are supposed to have very cold weather starting today and going through the next few days. Our basement is heated but not very well and we have exposed pipes down there. I plan to wrap the pipes with towels to keep them from freezing. It is the cheapest way I can think of to keep the pipes somewhat warm. I will let you know how it goes.

Pepsi deal again

I went to Walgreens and did the Pepsi deal once again. 4 Dt pepsi, 2 Mt Dew and 1 Pepsi. I got another $10 in Register Rewards. Since you cannot use a Register Reward from 1 deal to pay for that same deal again, I have to "collect" them. I am not sure what I will do with all of them yet but as I posted before I have a few ideas.

The cashier was so funny (Not the old Bat). The guy in front of me got 5 and got his $5 RR, well I got 7 and she said do you want to do a seperate transaction so you get $5 and you can go back and get another 3 and get another $5. I said nope 7 is fine because I KNEW the $10 would print. Well it did and she said you got a GOOD DEAL! I said yep. Then she said something about knowing how to work the system and I just laughed.

Free bottle of Suave on 1/14

I don't remember where I first saw this but if it was you...leave a comment and I will give you credit!

http://www.suave.com/nomics/index.html
go to the site above on 1/14 and they will send you a coupon for a free bottle of Suave. Nothing beats free...even if I have a bunch already! LOL

This week's plan!

Monday~worked and decorated a plastic storage bin for K for a toy box. She loves it and it takes up much less space in her room and hopefully she will keep her toys picked up now. Came home to a clean house, R even vacuumed the whole house! I was so impressed, I made a very nice dinner even though I was tired from work. I was hoping to get the paper today so I could sit down and get my grocery list ready for the week but the mail never came today. We are in the middle of yet another snow storm so perhaps that is why. IDK.

Tuesday~tentatively, my shift was cancelled for tommorrow at work but I am on call because of the snowstorm. If I do not work, I am going to price some stuff for our upcoming spring garage sale and sit down and go through the ad for grocery shopping.

Wednesday~I am taking the sitter to the big bent and dent. She has never been to this one so I wanted to take her. I took her to the Amish one I frequent once and she did not like it but I think she will love this one.

Thursday and Friday~no plans

Saturday~our neice's 3rd birthday party. I picked her up a disney camera on clearance for $5 and I got her an Old Navy blanket on special for $3 a while back so I took that to work and monogrammed her name in it. The blanket is a bright pink and I used light purple thread. It looks awesome. I hope she loves it!

From what I could see online, it looks like I will be buying Hungry Jack potatoes this week. $10 for 10 and I have $1/2 coupons, making them .50 a box. They make an excellent casserole if you had hamburger or ham or chicken and a veggie.

I am also planning on doing the pepsi deal at Walgreens a couple more times this week and next week. I will have about $40 in register rewards then. Not sure what I will get with them. I am thinking disposable diapers (if they are on sale) otherwise the toilet paper that is on sale this week would be a good thing to stock up on. I need to go over next weeks ad to see if there is anything I need (LOL...like I really need anything more at this point). I was also thinking that I might peruse the clearance section and see if there is anything I could get to put away in the gift stockpile. My walgreens still had some of the Christmas gift sets so I might get a couple of them.

Walgreens pepsi deal this week.

so I got 8 (because I cannot count I guess) 12 packs of pepsi products today for $25.32 and got a $10 RR. So I can use that on my next purchase...of anything BUT Pepsi products and I will get $10 off my purchase. I only needed 7 12 packs but for some reason my head (probably the migraine that was starting) decided that I needed 8 to get the deal. Oh well I got my $10 RR. The ad this week says buy 5, get $5 but the deal for next week is already working so I am going to try to get my supply this week and beat the rush.

From what I hear though this deal is not working at all Walgreens so perhaps it is not at my local one. I went to the one near my in-laws house today for the deals.

Now....what to spend that $10 on? I have a couple weeks so I am going to peruse next week's ad and see otherwise...probably diapers or toilet paper. Maybe some free after rebate items to get my gift card balance back up. IDK yet.

Kmart Super doubles trip today

I went and I loved it! Not so much the deals...just the alone time.

Prices..
$4.99 Sippy cup 2 pk
$5.49 Flintstones chewables
$1.49 Halls cough drops
.89 Mens boxers (don't care if they are halloween items for that price. I will wear them to bed)
$2.29 Lysol Toilet bowl cleaner
$2.00 Trident Gum 3 pack
$2.00 General Mills cereals
$3.99 Beef Sticks
$2.99 3 musketeers minis
$2.00 Juicy Juice mini boxes
______
$53.86 total with tax before coupons

coupons brought my total down to $28.43 and after my employee discount and 2 gift cards I got for an online order they messed up..my total OOP was $22.14. 58.89% savings.

My brother and bartering

Gosh I love my brother...most of the time. So my brother stopped over tonight. He came by to drop off a couple coupons he wants me to use for Kmart's double coupon deal tommorrow since I am going ALONE. I am dropping R and the kids off at his parents and then going. Oh YEAH!!!!! and he saw my (free!!) luminair candle thingy and he said oh cool I want one. I said ya do huh? I have one I could trade with you. For what he says....and I put him to work. He carried the desk down from upstairs that I wanted to move and he moved the computer for me and helped me move the rocking chair and a stand. LOL I made him work for that candle but he got the candle he wanted. Gosh I am evil.... (lol)

I love to barter with my brother. He loves it too!

Holy Crap Jessica Anne!

That is what my mom said to me tonight. She was trying to give me some $$ and I was turning her down and I told her here...let me show you why so I took her to the basement. She has only ever seen part of the food stockpile...never the basement, HBA and cleaning stuff stockpile. So I opened the cabinet doors she exclaimed Holy Crap Jessica Anne...is this all with coupons? Yep...coupons and sales. Got most of it free or very cheap. See...don't worry about R, the kids and I. We are fine. She is worried because of R being laid off, my hours getting cut...etc. But we are fine, couldn't be better!!!

So I think it IS K

that is getting me the good deals. LOL. I took her tonight and the lady said that she is not "supposed to" let me use all the coupons together but she did. It was a different lady than before. These walgreens people are really making me mad. They don't even understand their OWN coupon policies posted on THEIR OWN website and they like to make crap up as they go...pisses me off. I think I need a job there so I can teach them all. LOL

Sam's Club

Ever thought about joining Sam's Club? Well if you have...January 15th - 21st would be the best time. They are giving away a $25 gift card to new members-in store only. The membership cost is $40 so with the giftcard it would only be $15 for the year. Not bad at all. Our nearest Sam's is an hour away so I will not be taking advantage BUT those that can...it sounds like it could be a really great deal. LMK if you do! Details on Sam's club "deal" here

As Promised

my updated pics. I did not take pics of the panty but the redone freezers, my new storage and the basement storage are all here.




Would you look at all that extra space! I am excited!!

Coupons tommorrow...

the list is posted at taylortownpreview.com

I have seen 2 different types of suave coupons listed on 2 different websites, I found this one to be closest in coupons to our biggest Sunday paper. I am hoping for the Suave coupons listed here for the Kmart Super Doubles to at least check prices.

I know of a deal for the Suave $2/3 coupon. Walmart...last time I checked...had their small (not trial size) deodorants for .94 each.
$2.82 for 3 deodorant
-$2/3 coupon
_____
.82 for 3 deodorant
or .27/each.

Some coupons I *think* might be good for super doubles at Kmart:
Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel $1
Smartmouth Whitening Toothpaste, 6 oz. $2 (I have not idea how much this is but $4 off...It can't be much more than that right?)
Suave Product, any $1/2
Suave Product, any $2/3 (the 2 suave might be of better savings at Walmart however)
Huggies Diapers, any $1.50
Kotex Pads, any $1
Kotex Security Tampons, any .75
Kotex Lightdays Pantiliners, any .75
Pull-Ups Training Pants, any Jumbo pack+ $2
Schick Quattro Disposable Razor, any $2
Schick Xtreme 3 Disposable Razor, any $2

R has promised that we will go to super doubles on Sunday...well I will go. His parents live near the town with Kmart in our area so we are going to their house, where I get to leave him and the kids and go shopping! YEAH!