This is how we save $$ in the budget!

I did my shopping today! I'm kind of on a high cloud right now!
Here's the breakdown in photo order:
(meijer trip)
(2) Friskies treats FREE $1ea -2 $1 coupons
(2) Pepperoni FREE $1ea -2 $.55c doubled to $1ea
(2) Travel Deo FREE $1ea -2 $1 coupons
(2) Travel Tide FREE $1ea -2 $1 coupons
(2) Butter tubs FREE $1ea -2 $.50c doubled to $1ea
(4) Canning lids $.49c ea = $1.49 -4 $1 coupons
(4) Barilla pasta $.25c ea = $1ea-2 $1/2 coupons stacked with 1-$1 off 4 meijer coupon
(2) HV dressing $.31c ea = $2.81-2 $2 coupons stacked with 1 $1 off 2 meijer coupon
(1) Meijer brand coffee $2.89 (no coupon)
(1) 4.75lb of chicken $.75c = $3.75- 1 $3 off any chicken or beef purchase coupon (catalina printed from when I got all that taco seasoning last time! Which was also free by the way! So basically I got 6pk seasoning and 4.75lb of chicken for $.75 after coupons!)
TOTAL Out of pocket was $7.97 for everything in the picture!!! I saved $24.92 by using coupons!

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(Kroger Trip)
I wont do a break down of this trip because there was so much other stuff I didn't get on sale/with coupon, but some of the highlights are:
B1G1 free on the eggs, so I got 4doz for $2
Arm & Hammer laundry pwd was free with the coupon I got from the manafacturer, saved $6.29
Tasters Choice packets were $.09 after $1 coupon
Dawn Hand soap was $.47c each after using 2 $1 coupons
Right Guard deo was $1ea after using 2 $3 off 2 coupons
Edge shave gel was B1G1 free with coupon
(I'll tell you about the rest of the items in the next picture)
Total spent at Kroger was $39.95 but I saved $68.92 after sales and coupons!

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This is my favorite! All the free items combined from both stores! (forgot to picture the free Arm & Hammer detg powder)
2 Friskies Party Mix FREE! $1ea - 2 $1 coupons
2 Degree travel deo FREE $1ea - 2 $1 coupons
2 Tide detg travel FREE $1ea - 2 $1 coupons
10 Philli cream cheese FREE $.99ea- 2 $5/5 Kraft product coupons
5 Butter tubs FREE $1ea - 5 $.50c coupons doubled to $1
2 organic tomato paste FREE $.99ea - 2 $.75 coupons doubled to $1
2 pepperoni FREE $1ea - 2 $.55 coupons doubled to $1
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I know it's hard for some of ya'll to have the time to clip coupons, check sales and actually go get things, but it is sooooooo worth it! Creating a stockpile is such a big help in those down times when we won't have the money to get butter, pasta or cream cheese. I owe most (not all ! ;p) of these deals to www.moneysavingmom.com and www.happyhomemakercindy.com !

Today Is Mega Swagbucks Day!

Today is MEGA Swagbucks Day at Swagbucks.com!

Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day (MSBD), which means better odds of winning our BIG Swag Bucks denominations! Simply search naturally, and with a little luck, you’ll be winning large bills starting at 20 Swag Bucks and up.

Mega swagbucks is only on Friday but you can still win $10 to $50 Swagbucks any other day!

Not a member of swagbucks? Join HERE (you get 30 swagbucks for registering)

**Remember you can get a $5 Amazon.com gift card with only 450 swagbucks! I've already gotten some and added them to my Amazon account! (letting them accumulate!) ***

Shopping Trip 10/4/10

It's been soooooo long since I posted a grocery trip! (probably because I haven't gotten the deals lately!)
Well today I was just plum tickled with everything I got at Meijer! Here is the breakdown:

1 loaf oat bread $2.50 - $.55 doubled to $1.00 = $1.50

Oreo double stuff $2.98 - $1.00 coupon = $1.98

4doz eggs $.99ea x4 = $3.96 - 2 B1G1 free coupons = $1.98 For 4 dozen!

4 Nivea lip care $.99ea x 4 =$3.96 - 2 $2.00 off 2 lip care coupons = all FREE!

Tide travel detg $.99 - $1.00 coupon = FREE!

6 Taco Seasoning $.75ea = $4.50 - 6 $.5o coupons doubled up to $.75 = all 6pks for FREE!

Total OOP= $5.46!
And since I bought 6 Old El Paso taco seasoning, I got a catalina coupon for $3.00 off my next beef or chicken purchase! (Which, paired with a sale, will make a great freezer burritos will all the taco seasoning I just got!)

I got some other items not pictured, these are just the ones I used coupons on, but I still only spent $15.06 on all the groceries I bought today!
My receipt shows a savings total of $31.42!
Coupon savings of $ 14.46 +$5.00 meijer coupon,
so I saved $19.46 by using coupons today!
Awesome!

WooHoo! It's Mega Swagbucks Friday!

Today is MEGA Swagbucks Day at Swagbucks.com!

Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day (MSBD), which means better odds of winning our BIG Swag Bucks denominations! Simply search naturally, and with a little luck, you’ll be winning large bills starting at 20 Swag Bucks and up.

Mega swagbucks is only on Friday but you can still win $10 to $50 Swagbucks any other day!

Not a member of swagbucks? Join HERE (you get 30 swagbucks for registering)

**Remember you can get a $5 Amazon.com gift card with only 450 swagbucks! I'm 1/3 of the way to my KitchenAid grain mill attachment already! (I hope to get it before the end of the year!)***

Gloomy day snack

Today is such a gloomy day! 55degrees and raining.
I was going through the fridge around lunch and remembered I had this pkg of corn tortillas in the freezer! Naturally tortilla chips are on the menu for today. ;)
I'm not a big fan of corn torillas for tacos and such, but I had gotten these free (after using a coupon of course!) and thought about future experiments!

1. Cut into 1/8ths
2. Spread out on cookie sheet in single layer
3. Using a pastry brush, brush the pieces lightly with oil (or you can use a spray oil)
4. Sprinkle with salt and taco seasoning (you can use whatever seasoning you like!)
5. Bake at 350 for 10min, stir around, and continue baking and stirring (5min intervals) Until they reach golden brown!

Tada! Just as good as the mexican restaurant !

Cellar Space

This is a before picture in part of the cellar! The old shelf was there when we moved in, and my canning for this year was overflowing, and I needed another shelf! (the cardboard flats were disintegrating from the moisture & mold we had trouble with before we got a dehumidifier, thankfully we now have one!)

This is the other shelf my wonderful hubby
made fore me! He used leftover materials from a job to put it together and it's VERY sturdy!

(Sorry about the underlining, I can't figure out how to take it off!)

Here is everything afterwards! All organized and on the shelves, no cardboard or clutter!
We are working on the cellar one step at a time to make it look as nice as we can! Hope to paint the walls and floor, replace windows and put the ductwork up in the floor joists so we don't have to duck under them all the time!

Tomatoes Done!

The tomatoes are all done! I really enjoyed doing it this was, there was much less mess! 2-5gal buckets of tomatoes made 14 quarts, (minus a few cherry tomatoes for more BLT bites =p) more than I was expecting! There was a little bit left over, so we're going to have taco/chilli soup for supper. Mmmmmmm!

Tomatoes Today!!

Here is what I have to do today! The day before yesterday I went out to the garden (can't really call it a garden when all that's left is the tomatoes!) just to see what was out there. I was shocked! The super romas were very ready! Don't be fooled by that first bucket with the cherry tomatoes, it's really half full of romas as well.

I'd been canning pizza, spaghetti, and just regular tomato sauce so far, but my hubby would like some stewed tomatoes, and that's just fine with me! That means I wont have to run them through the Squeezo (AKA hand cranked Victoria Strainer)
Here my pots are ready!

Super Swagbucks Friday!!!

Today is MEGA Swagbucks Day at Swagbucks.com!

Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day (MSBD), which means better odds of winning our BIG Swag Bucks denominations! Simply search naturally, and with a little luck, you’ll be winning large bills starting at 20 Swag Bucks and up.

Mega swagbucks is only on Friday but you can still win $10 to $50 Swagbucks any other day!

Not a member of swagbucks? Join HERE (you get 30 swagbucks for registering)

**Remember you can get a $5 Amazon.com gift card with only 450 swagbucks! I've already gotten several and added them to my Amazon account! (letting them accumulate to save for a special item!) ***

+++I've gotten 24 swagbucks just this morning so far!+++

BLT Bites

Don't these look yummy???? I just now whipped them up as a snack for supper tonight!
All you do is scrape out the tomato centers and add a mixture of crumbled bacon, mayo, cheese and parsley (and whatever else you like!)
My hubby is Really going to like these!

Cinnamon Apples

Hello all! I'm still here! Thankfully my husband hasn't needed my help on this current basement job. I've been able to get caught up on some things here at home!
Here is my latest accomplishment - Cinnamon Apples! Yummmmmmy! We had gotten a couple buckets of apples from Andy's grandparents tree and I was wanting to do something different with them.

Soaking in the cinnamon/sugar syrup

Bottling up for the canner

First canner load done!

Aren't they pretty?

I apologize for the lack of good pictures, my hubby has the camera at work so I have to use my phone!
I canned a total of 7 pints and 13 quarts! It was such a blessing to be able to can food that didn't cost us anything

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is Mega Swagbucks Day

Today is MEGA Swagbucks Day at Swagbucks.com!

Every Friday is Mega Swag Bucks Day (MSBD), which means better odds of winning our BIG Swag Bucks denominations! Simply search naturally, and with a little luck, you’ll be winning large bills starting at 20 Swag Bucks and up.

Mega swagbucks is only on Friday but you can still win $10 to $50 Swagbucks any other day!

Not a member of swagbucks? Join HERE (you get 30 swagbucks for registering)

**Remember you can get a $5 Amazon.com gift card with only 450 swagbucks! I've already gotten some and added them to my Amazon account! (letting them accumulate!) ***

+++I've gotten 35 swagbucks just today so far!+++

***Hey there all! I'm so sorry for the delay in posts! Something funny was going on after i hadn't been in for a while, just now got things ironed out so I'll be doing some catching up today! ***

I just got back from an AWESOME trip to Kroger!
Needed to get just a few things, and found some wonderful sales matched with coupons I had on hand!

Milk (2) $2ea $4.00
Kroger cheese $1.99
Ibuprofin $1.99
Mushrooms $. 54
Jiffy Pizza crust $. 69
Whole Wheat Bread (managers special) $1.69
Flax Seed Bread (managers special) $1.69
Purex $1.99 -$.35 Q (doubled) $1.29
Dawn soap (2) $2.98- 2 $1.00 coupons $.49 ea
Dial Hand soap $1.00- $.35 Q (doubled) $.30
Snack Pack (2) $2.00- $.30 Q (doubled) $.70 ea
Pace Salsa $3.39-$4.00 coupon FREE + $.61 overage!
Suave Deo (2) $2.38- 2 $.50 Q (doubled) $ .19 ea
Cottonelle $5.99 -$1.00 $4.99
Right Guard Deo (8) $1.00 each - had 4 $2.00 off (when you buy 2) coupons making them all free!
The total out of pocket was only $21.87! I saved 64% after sales and coupons! I have never spent so little for what we needed on a shopping trip, so I'm on a cloud right now. =)
I normally wouldn't have gotten the deoderant, since we're pretty stocked in that area, but I just couldn't beat free! I'm sure we'll be able to find someone in need!

Giveaway: Kelly Joy Boutique (guest post)

This is from www.amysfinerthings.com. If you want to enter the giveaway, you must leave the comments on her site, not mine! =p

by Amy on August 12, 2010

I love that I’m raising girls. My girls are outside farmin’, softball scoopin’, football catchin’, climbin’ and jumpin’ girls…

but they are also pretend playin’, ballet dancin’, fairy-tale readin’, princess dressin’ girlies.

Love it.

You know what else I love? Etsy shops run by sweet mamas. Buying quality, handmade items from real women. Supporting “from the ground up” businesses.

Kelly Joy Boutique is one such place. Beautiful, unique, “handmade flair for girls of all ages” direct from her shop to your door. Kelly recently sent us this cute little clip.

I’m crazy about the vintage-looking button pulling it all together. My girlies are crazy about the pink. And the flair. And the cute.

This week, Kelly is giving you a chance to win some cute! Take a glance around her shop and let me know what you’d buy with your $15 shop credit.

If you want to up your chances of winning… (leave a separate comment for each)

• Follow Kelly on Twitter or Facebook
• Promote this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your own Blog

Random.org will draw a winner Sunday evening, August 15. Good luck!

Coldstone Creamery: 2 “Like It” Creations for $5

Print a coupon for two “Like It” Creations from Coldstone Creamery for only $5.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

First Makeover Project: Complete!

Back in July I started my blog with a makeover on a little stand I'd gotten at a yard sale for $4.00. After much sanding and painting and fussing and more painting it's finally done! And I tell you what, I sure have learned a lot, but just love how it turned out!
Here are the before pictures.

The plugs were missing from legs, so I just used Gorilla Glue and added marbles to fill the holes (I made sure that the legs were tighter than tight before i did that!)

The top is all sanded down! I was doing it by hand, then my beloved husband got his palm sander out! (Lesson #1 Always use a palm sander when able!) It had a ugly paint on it.

After getting it all sanded down I realized that it was just a piece of plywood! I was really disappionted that it wasn't a solid piece of wood, but I thought I'd put some stain on it just to see how it would look.

I loved the top part! But the sides showed the layers of the plywood, and I just didnt like it, so out came the paint.

Tada! Here it is! I apologize for the grainy pictures, my hubby took the camera to work with him, so these are with my phone.

I had the hardest time trying to put the picture on the top! I tried spraying over the stencil, I tried painting over the stencil, I finally just traced the pattern in pencil and painted it by hand.

I'm so excited to have it done! I learned a lot! Not sure where to put it in the house yet. It doesn't really go with any of my decor in an old farm house, so It might become a gift!

My New Toy!

I am finally getting pictures up of my new toy! We are absolutely THRILLED to have finally gotten a Kitchen Aid mixer! (By we, I mean my hubby also! He has made mashed potatoes in it a couple times.)
When my sister-in-law was visiting us a couple weeks ago, we and my MIL decided to visit the Kitchen Aid store in Greenville (Greenville Ohio, there is a manufacturing plant there) Little did we know that Greenville was having their annual Annie Oakley days and the store was having some AWESOME sales! Deborah and I were so thrilled with what we saw that we had to come back the next day after she had talked to her husband and I had brought along my hubby! We both bought the Professional 600 series mixers (An employee told me that this is the largest home size that they make!) When you bought a mixer you got a cookbook, ice cream scoop, timer (these aren't some cheap items either!) and a choice btw the food grinder attachment, or the ice cream bowl/maker attachment FREE! We picked the ice cream bowl, since it was the highest value, and bought the grider attachment. (everything we bought that day came to less than half the price of the mixer itself, new!)
The mixer is refurbished (before you all get panicky let me explain =p) We were told that the refurbished items are actually better than the others! The new ones are fresh off the assembly line, whereas the refurbished ones have been tested, sent back and gone over personally and adjusted with a fine tooth comb.
As you can see from the picture, I broke it in with a good batch of chocolate chip cookies! =)

Bath & Body Works: Free travel sized item with any purchase

Bath & Body Works has another great coupon available! Get a free travel-sized item (up to $5 value) with any purchase. This coupon expires August 25, 2010.

Remember that this can literally be ANY purchase — even a gift bag.

Double Frame Clock - Guest Post

Isn't this absolutley wonderful??!

Guest Post from -The Hand Me Down House-

So by now I'm sure you have realized that the thrift store is my friend (it should be your friend too). I visit the thrift store weekly -- sometimes I leave with nothing, sometimes I leave with a bag of stuff. For example, last week when I was there I found a sham for our bedding set from Target still new in the package. SCORE! And for two measly dollars I snatched that puppy right up. Well I ALSO found these two sets of frames:

YIKES, right!?! But I have to say I'm in LOVE with oval frames right now., and these frames had some character. I was so excited when I found the first set and then I was ecstatic when I saw the second set. I was actually going to make these into cute little hooks by adding glass knobs to them, but ended up changing my mind (I've been known to do that).

I decided on making a clock for our living room. I spray-painted my frames a lovely shade of greyish blue. I left the glass out of the frames for this project (I'm getting quite the collection of glass from frames -- I better find a project to use it all up!)

I added some elegant scrapbook paper to the background of each frame. Next I glued the smaller frame inside the bigger frame.

Then it was time to add the clock kit, which I painted black. I found the clock kit at Joann's and followed the instructions on it to install my clock and hands. I cut holes in each of the frames to push the clock peices through, like this:

After the clock hands were in, I placed my frame on a picture frame stand and VIOLA!