Nice Pumpkins

My Favorite Things Part 1 (Just Call Me Oprah)

2009-12-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well, Oprah without all the money and all. As you read in my last post I lack in the shopping gene (well outside of groceries), and I can be pretty cheap with myself. However, I do have a a few items that I come to just fall in love with madly, and some I have spent a little money on (or got as a gift, that counts, right).

So without further ado, here is My Favorite Things, in case you haven't completed your shopping yet, and you are so pathetic that you would look to me for holiday present advice.

1.) Butler Bag by Jen Groover

I originally talked about my fascination about this bag a year or two ago on this blog before I even owned one. I saw it, knew it was perfect for me. Since I never want anything my husband was thrilled to have something easy to buy me for my birthday. It was as simple black bag with the organizer of all organizers inside. It was love at first site. That was over a year ago and we are still in love. I do have to admit I did switch to another bag for a little. One of those typical bags where everything just gets throw in the bottom of it. But that lasted about two weeks before it drove me crazy and I went back to my Butler Bag.

The inside of my hybrid Butler Bag contain 6 small compartments and one large compartments. You can fit several things in each of the small comparts. I have one that has my Iphone, Ipod and headphones in it. Another that holds 4 tubes of lipstick/gloss, a compact and a container of hand sanitizer. The large compartment is great for all sorts of things. I have a compact umbrella and hairbrush in it, but I have room for more, like a water bottle, scarf, lint roller etc. There is even room on both sides of the organizer for flat items, like paperwork, full sized notebook, that great novel you are reading or the latest grocery store circular. There is a zippered change purse and the bag is sturdy and fashionable.

The greatest compliments I have gotten on this bag, for real, have been from security people. When I have had to open my purse at the airport, concert, tv show, etc., I get the toughest men and women ready to scrutize the contents until I open it up and they all go soft and say "Oh wow, that is the coolest thing I have ever seen". I'm not kidding. It has happened just twice last week.

I love my Butler Bag and hope Santa (hint hint) gets me another one in a different color this year. Please check out Jen's site. They are worth the price and are cheaper than those fancy foo foo bags all the girls carry in the mall.

Butler Bag by Jen Groover

2.) Iphone

My husband is an Apple junkie. If its made by Apple he wants it. He stood outside the Apple store in line when the Iphone first came out. He was on it 24/7, he raved, raved, raved about it. I held my ground and kept my cheap old phone saying I didn't need all that fancy stuff, I just need to make a phone call now and then. I even called him Paris Hilton when he would text and basically sit glued to the phone where we went.

About a year later my phone really started to die on me and I knew I had to get a new one. My husband insisted I get an Iphone and promised me I would love it. I gave in and he drove me right down to the Apple store. I walked a little bit later with a brand new Iphone 3G (didn't need the 3GS). I must say the Apple employees are quick and wonderful with your purchases.

At first I just played with what came on the phone and it took me a while to get the hang of it, but I still was convinced I would get overly into it like my husband. Once I found the App store that all came to an end. I was addicted. I loved sorting through the applications I could get for free and purchase that would make my life easier. Some I didn't like and erased shortly after getting them, but some have become things I can't live without.

Its an amazing phone and I'm sure you heard people whoop and holler all about it, but it really is worth it. Its my daily organizer, financial planner, internet, e-mail, Ipod, camera, tape recorder, radio, file cabinet, game center, cookbook, map finder, and card store all into one, plus more. The only thing I am hoping is that Santa brings me a car charger for it, as I tend to burn the little monster into the ground over the course of the day.

So yes, I love my Iphone. I'm not ashamed to say so. I highly recommend.

Apple Iphone

3.) Hamilton Beach BrewStation

I got my love of drinking coffee from my grandmom. When I was a teenager I would sleep over her house in the summers and she would make me breakfast. She would always have instant coffee with her meal. I loved the smell of it from the beginning. At first she let me have a sip now and then and as I got older she would let me have a cup now and then. It wasn't again until I was in my mid twenties that my love of coffee came back. But the only place I liked to drink it was at a diner. They have great coffee, don't know why.

My mother in law was the first person I knew who had the Hamilton Beach BrewStation. I loved the look of it, the lack of glass carafe, and the coffee pouring out of dispenser, all hot when you need it. I told her how awesome I thought this was. A few months later guess what I got for Christmas from her? You got it. I still have that same BrewStation a few years later. And I love it. I am the only one in my house who drinks coffee but it still gets a good use just from me and when I have company over. It works as good as the day I got it. Its easy to use, easy to clean and looks good on the counter.

The picture above is the the version I have but Hamilton Beach makes all sorts of versions of BrewStations now. I highly recommend for the coffee lover in your life.

Hamilton Beach BrewStation

You Ever Feel Inadequate As A Real Woman?

2009-12-03T10:04:00.000-05:00

Over the course of my 37 years of life, I've noticed that I lack in a few areas where women are either supposed to excel in or just go batty for.

And lately I have had the pleasure in meeting some great new friends who really bring these inperfections to my persona up to the light.

1.) I don't like shoes. I mean I see ones that look cute. I see them on other people and think they are cute. But I really only think of one thing when I see shoes, BLISTERS. New shoes hurt and in my opinion they hurt enough to make me not like them, and not want to buy them. I am probably one of the only women I know who rarely gives a glance when passing by the window of a shoe store.   I love Sex And The City, but I ain't wearin' the shoes. I buy a pair of shoes, and wear them until my toes are peaking out the holes. What you see above is the type of shoe I wear all the time. I do have a collection of shoes in my closet that look great but I have banned them from my feet cause they just freakin' hurt. But I hate to be barefoot so I really can't win here.

2.) I can't accessorize.

I own 3 belts. A black belt that is basically falling apart, came free with a pair of pants and has holes I made in it to fit my various sizes my waist has been. A green belt that again came with an outfit and another black one with rhinestones on it that my husband actually picked out for me at a fancy store in AC. That is my fancy belt and only comes out on special occasions. That is it.

Scarves. My husband had to get me into wearing scarves. Most women just gravitate towards what the hot trend is and then seek out what they need to make it work. Not me, I have my husband. He says "You should buy some scarves and wear them like all the girls are wearing them now." He then proceeded to pick some out of me and made me buy them. He also looked at me with such disgust and disappointment as a woman when I went to wear one one night and had no clue how to wear it. I actually looked on the internet to see how you were supposed to wear one of these. I still only know one way to wear a scarf. The others were just too complicated.

3.) Hair. I hate going to get my hair cut. I do love a good cut the next morning when you get to try it yourself for the first time. But I completely despise sitting in the chair and engaging in that fake conversation with the stylist who really could give a crap about what you doing this weekend but feels the need to ask. I had an amazing stylist about 10 years ago who not only did great hair but would be pretty engrossed in conversations with the stylist next to her while she did my hair. So we barely had to talk, she did great hair and then she went and quit the salon to stay home with her kids. If I could I would seek her out and hire her privately, but I'm poor.    Because of this I wait long periods before I give in to get my hair cut. The last time I went was in July, yes, JULY.

What spawned this was the conversations I was privy to with these great, fabulous new friends on a day trip to NYC this week. They were discussing great moisturizers and face creams. Brands that I never heard of. I realized that I use whatever is cheap or whatever I get for free at CVS.    They make me aspire to be more of a woman or at least try to get my hair cut once a season.

I'm working on it. To be continued...

CVS Deal November 27th: Black Friday

2009-11-27T13:01:00.000-05:00

I remember last year I made a killing of deals at CVS on Black Friday. This year it wasn't too bad, but could have been better. And I did need body wash, so that is always a good find.

1 Schick Quatro $9.99
1 Vaseline Sheer Infusion $7.99
1 St. Ives body wash $3.99
2 Bic Soleil razors $6.99 each

Total $35.95

Coupons
(1) $1.00 off Schick Quattro
(1) $1.00 off Vaseline lotion
(1) $1.00 off St. Ives body wash
(2) $2.00 off Bic Soleil Razors

ECB's Used $23.95
OOP $4.95 + tax
ECB's Earned $28.99

Made some extra ECB's. One of my ECB's didn't work, and that is why I had a $4.95 oop cost. But still not bad. Hopefully they keep good sales running for the next few weeks.

ShopRite Deals November 15th

2009-11-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

We have been pretty well stocked up on some things for a while. So I just hit ShopRite to take advantage of some sales and the basics.

ShopRite

2 Friendly's ice cream $1.88 each

Cool Whip .99

Salad dressing $1.99

Real Goodness milk $3.69 - $1.00 q = $2.69

4 Texas Toast croutons $1.00 each - $1.00 off 2 q's = .50 each

3 College Inn broths 3 for $2.00 - $1.00 off three = .33 each

1 Mrs. Smith pie $1.99 - $1.00 q = .99

1 Hefty trash bags $2.24

3 Philadelphia cream cheeses .99 each - $1.00 off three = .66 each

2 Quaker life cereals $1.99 each

1 pk of tomatoes $3.99

1 head of lettuce $1.99

1 Gillette shaving cream $1.99 - $1.00 q = .99

2 LA Looks gel $1.24 - $1.00 q = .24 each

1 Reynolds wrap $2.49 - $1.00 q = $1.24

Total spent $31.20

CVS Deal November 15th: Getting Better

2009-11-15T15:23:00.001-05:00

Hey I said I was getting back in the game on my blog, but then I put it off again for a bit. What the heck.

Well here we go. Back to CVS. Not bad deals this week, considering the last few weeks they have been absolutely dreadful.

1 Scope Outlast $3.49
2 Glade Sense & Sprays $6.00 each = $12.00
1 4 pk Duracell batteries $2.99

Total $18.48

Coupons
(1) $1.00 off Scope
(2) $4.00 off Glade Sense & Sprays
(1) $1.00 off Duracell

ECB's used $8.00
Total oop $1.77
ECB's earned $7.00

Not a money maker, but I have found lately that not alot of the deals are. But still good to stock up on some things. I am hoping the deals get better as the holidays get closer.

Call Off The Search Party

2009-10-16T16:06:00.000-04:00

I'm back, I'm alive and ready to post.

I took an unexpected leave of absence from the blog when alot of stuff was going on in our lives. Been through alot, learned alot. But everything is good, and ready to get Nice Pumpkins back rolling again.

I did learn through my hiatus that my stockpile was a godsend. There were many times I could get to or didn't feel like shopping and I had my storage to use. Unfortunately it took a little hit from that, and now I definitely need to replenish some things.

As for the finances well.......and I have to be honest.......they took a hit too. I wasn't so good with the credit cards and the emergency fund when my stress increased. But all you can do is get back on the horse and continue the journey (how cheesy).

So I now continue with the shopping, the couponing, CVS, the deals and back to the debit paying and savings plan. Stay tuned...

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-06-07T15:09:00.005-04:00

I went to SuperFresh on Saturday because they were having triple coupons. Been a while since I've been to one of those. And this one didn't work out too bad. I also got some meats, as we needed to stock up.

SuperFresh

2 boxes New York bread products $3.70 - .50 q tripled = $2.20 each
1 pack steaks $4.15
1 Weight Watchers cream cheese $2.59 - .75 q's = .34
2 pks chicken thighs $2.50 and $1.59
1 Blue Bunny ice cream $2.99 - .75 q's = .74
4 Newman's Own dressing $2.50 - .75 q's = .25 each
4 Tabasco sauce $1.89 - .75 q's = Free plus overage
1 Febreeze $2.50 - .75 q's = .25
1 Marzetti cole slaw dressing $2.99 - .75 q's = .74
1 Milk Way Bar = Free with coupon
1 Mr. Clean magic eraser $2.50 - $1.50 = $1.00
1 Oscar Mayer franks = Free with coupon
1 Velveeta cup $1.39 - .55 q's = FREE
4 McCormick spices $2.29 - .75 q's = .04 each

Total spent $20.45

Off to Vercchio's, the produce market, and then to ShopRite to finish up the deals.

Vercchio's
2 bags of tomatoes
3 bags of bananas
1 bag of apples
1 bag of Romaine lettuce
1/2 lb of swiss cheese
1/2 lb of corned beef
1 loaf of rye bread

Total $20.00

ShopRite
3 Land O Lakes lite butter $1.99 - $1.00 q's = .99
1 Land O Lakes Fresh Butter Spread .99 - .55 q's = FREE
4 boxes of Carolina rice .99 - .50 q's = FREE
3 Ocean Spray juices $2.77 - .55 = $1.77

Total $9.44

Total spent $49.89.

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

CVS Deal May 31st: Thanks To Thrify Mama

2009-05-31T13:57:00.003-04:00

I actually wasn't going to go to CVS this weekend because there were no good ECB deals. But then I went to a favorite site of mine The Thrifty Mama, where she posted that Clairol Natural Instincts haircolor was on sale for only $3.99 and there are $4.00 q's out there from an April RedPlum. I have been wanting to cover up the greys (yikes) for quite a while. I bought three boxes. Two of a nice honey brown color and one of a more striking red. I tried the honey brown today and I really really like it. So thank you so much Thrifty Mama.

3 boxes of Clairol haircolor $3.99
2 cans Campbell's tomato soup $1.00

Coupons
(3) $4.00 off any Clairol haircolor

Total oop $1.84
ECB's used NONE
ECB's earned ZERO

But I got free haircolor. So it was worth it.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-05-31T13:47:00.005-04:00

Got to ShopRite nice and early today to get the super cheap trashbags and plates. Good thing I did. Got there around 8:30am and they only had four boxes of the trash bags left.

ShopRite

1 Rotisserie chicken $3.99
2 boxes Blue Bunny ice cream sandwiches $1.99 - $1.00 q's = .99 each
2 Tree Ripe OJ's $1.77 each
3 Eggland's best eggs $1.77 - .35 q's = $1.07 each
4 sets of Chinet casual plates $1.24 - $1.00 q's = .24 each set
3 Hefty trash bags $1.24 - $1.00 q's = .24 each
2 Hefty one zip bags $1.67 - $1.00 off 2 q's = $1.07 each
1 ShopRite aluminum foil $1.49
3 2000 Flushes $1.49 - $1.00 q's = .49 each
2 bags Goodlife dry cat food $4.99 - $3.00 q's = $1.99 each
3 ShopRite American cheese singles $1.49 each
2 Dannon Light N' Fit 6 pks $1.49 -.75 q's = .49 each
2 Light Silk soy milks $1.99 - $1.00 q's = .99 each
1 Kotex tampons $2.49 - $1.00 q's = $1.49
1/2 lb roast beef $4.15
1/2 lb Swiss cheese $2.64 (for the man's lunch on school days)

Total $41.86

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

RATS!!

2009-05-28T10:36:00.004-04:00

I ran into my mom in ShopRite last week. She had just come from The Dollar Tree next door and gave me the bad news. The sign on the store said that The Dollar Tree would no longer be selling the Philadelphia Inquirer, our major newspaper. I was shocked and was hoping it was just that one Dollar Tree. I stopped in another one near my house the next day, and saw that there newspaper bin was nowhere to be found. I also checked on the internet and found others in this whole area were told the same thing. The Inquirer recently filed for bankruptcy. So I guess they couldn't afford to give them away for a buck.

So that is the end to that money saving tip. Having to only pay $4.00 for four Sunday or early Saturday papers with all the good coupons is gone. I have been told that some Walmart's sell the Saturday edition at a discount, so I will check it out. If not, its back to my old way of paying $7.00 for four of them at Wawa. Still not terrible considering all the money you save with the coupons, but still stings.

CVS Deal May 24th: Starting From Scratch

2009-05-24T10:39:00.004-04:00

Because we took a few weeks off from shopping and lived off our stockpile, the last of my ECB's were going to expire. So my husband needed a few things and I let him use the last of them up to keep his out of pocket low.

So now here we are back to the beginning, no ECB's and having to build them back up from scratch. The great thing is holiday weekend's are the best time to build them back up. CVS tends to have lots of great Free after ECB deals on holiday weekends. So I picked several items I had coupons for, had to pay way more than I usually do out of pocket. But now I will be back in the swing of paying very little in the future.

1 Revlon nail polish $3.99
1 Playtex Sport tampons $3.99
2 boxes Band Aids $2.99 each
1 Clearasil face wash $3.99

Coupons
(1) $1.00 off any Revlon product
(1) $1.00 off any Playtex Sport
(2) $1.00 off any Band Aid product
(1) $1.00 off any Clearasil product

Total oop $13.65
Total ECB's earned $13.99

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-05-22T08:02:00.007-04:00

Hey back again. Trying to get back in the swing of things. Had some things to take care of so I was really happy to have our stockpile to live on for about two weeks. But now it is time to get back in the grocery game.

My husband I went to ShopRite last night to avoid the holiday crowds this weekend and we didn't do pretty bad for our first time back out. I let him pick some stuff out for BBQ'ing this weekend. Sorry the picture is darker, it was later in the evening so the lighting was off.

ShopRite

1 Friendly's ice cream $1.99

5 boxes of Purina Kitten Chow $2.19 each - Free Kitten Chow coupons = FREE

3 Kraft BBQ sauces .89 each - $1.00 q's = FREE with overage

1 Hunt's ketchup $1.00 with Free Hunt's ketchup coupon = FREE

1 Friendship Priobiotic cottage cheese $1.64 - $1.00 q = .64

2 Penn Maid sour creams $1.00 each - $1.00 off 2 q = .50 each

2 Johnsonville Brats $1.99 each - $1.00 off 2 q = $1.49 each

6 Yoplait Whips yogurts .41 each

4 Bar S packs of hot dogs $1.00 each - $1.00 off 2 q's = .50 each

5 McCormick grilling seasoning packs 5 for $4.00 - .50 q's = FREE

1 soy sauce $2.29

1 rotisserie chicken $5.99

2 Hormel Chili masters $2.64 - $1.00 q's = $1.64 each

1 French's mustard $1.89 - .50 q's = .89

2 packs of ribs (let the husband pick these out for BBQ'ing) $21.19 total

4 jars pasta sauce $1.00 each

2 bags of rice from Walmart $1.19 each

Total spent $53.31

Just a pinch over budget. But not bad for my first week back in the game and for taking the man along. He doesn't like to buy cheap meats.

I Gotta Stand Up For One Of My Shows

2009-05-20T08:49:00.004-04:00

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. More on that later.

But I just found out last night that one of my favorite shows My Name Is Earl has been cancelled by NBC. Its ridiculous, as its a fantastic show with one of the best characters ever on television, Joy Turner. There is talks that maybe ABC or Fox could pick it up like they did with Scrubs, but who knows if that will happen.

What can you do? Write NBC and if you belong to Twitter please follow @EarlTwitition save the show!

SAVE EARL!

Review: Quaker Quakes

2009-05-04T16:11:00.004-04:00

As you can see from my previous grocery list that I got 5 bags of Quaker Quakes free at Acme. So I couldn't resist giving the ranch flavor a try this weekend.

Quaker Quakes are just small flavored rice cakes. But the taste of the ranch is outstanding. I liken it to a healthier version of the Cool Ranch Dorito, which I haven't let myself have in years. I have no self control. So needless to say I burned through the bag of Quakes just as quickly. But I felt a little better since they have less fat and calories. It made what usually is a boring and ordinary rice cake a heck of alot better. I have yet to try the other flavors I bought, caramel, chocolate and cheese. Oh and the man liked them too. That is quite a compliment coming from a man who doesn't like the healthier version of anything.

These would make a great bowl filler for your next party or game if you have someone who is looking for a slightly healthier snack than potato chips or cheese curls.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-05-02T12:56:00.010-04:00

Decided to go out on Saturday, even though it was miserable and raining and get a few things. I needed litter so I had to stop at Acme, something I rarely do.

Acme

5 bags of Quaker rice cakes $1.00 each - $1.00 q's = Free

Total = Zero

SuperFresh was having a sale I had never seen before, they will double up to 5 $1.00 coupons per visit. So that means $2.00 off an item. I used that to get some cheap frozen veggies we needed.

SuperFresh
10 Hanover frozen vegetable bags 2 for $3.00 = $1.00 off 2 q's doubled = .50 each
3 pks of ground chicken $1.49 each (manager's special)
1 pk of 4 beef eye round steaks $3.15 (manager's special)
1 pk of beef chuck roast $2.91
1 pk of chicken legs $1.37

Total$16.90

Then I had to hit the product market. I had deprived my husband long enough of oranges. He loves them. I also got some lunchmeat, as my man started school last week and he needs something to eat for the two days he is there way past dinner.

Vercchio's
3 bags of oranges
1 bag of potatoes
1/2 lb of ham
1/2 lb of American cheese
1 bag of celery hearts

Total $12.14

Stopped at ShopRite on Sunday to use up the last of our budget.

ShopRite
4 bags of rice $1.00 each
4 cans of Spot Shot $1.99 - .55 q's = .99 each
1 Frigo string cheese $3.49
2 Taylor pork rolls $1.49 each
1 Turkey Hill ice cream $2.74 - $1.00 q = $1.74
2 boxes of pancake mix $1.49 each
1 Cascade rinse FREE with coupon in mail

Total $19.30

Total budget $48.34. Under budget is good.

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

I Can't Live Without You

2009-04-30T10:57:00.005-04:00

My dryer is getting fixed as we speak. Belt was shot and needed new ball bearings, which was exactly what went wrong with my mom's dryer, and we have the same model. We have both had our dryers for years, so they are well beyond warranty. Total cost for repairs and labor $160.00 which is still cheaper than a new dryer. And I had set that money aside in our budget with our last paycheck, so we didn't have to touch the emergency fund.

I have to admit. I cannot live without the dryer. Yes, we have dramatically cut down our use of it in the past 6 months, but to go at least two to three weeks without it at all was not fun. For towels, it is a must. My towels came out like rocks hanging on the line down the basement, even with fabric softener added to the rinse water. I cannot hang a clothesline outside for many reasons. My mom actually washed and dried our towels twice for us. Thanks mom.

This past weekend our toilet overflowed sending water all over the bathroom floor and then seeping some into the basement. We had to use every sweet smelling towel my poor mom just cleaned for us to sop up the water. I didn't want to make her wash all these wet towels again, so I did washed them myself and hung them all on the line. It took days for them to dry and when done we had fabric bricks.

As for the regular clothes, we only throw them in the dryer for 5 minutes when they first come out of the washer to get the wrinkles out, and then I throw them in another 5 minutes when they are all line dry the next day just to soften them up. And believe me I noticed a difference these last few weeks in not getting to do it. They felt much harder, had more wrinkles.

We are still living without a dishwasher. And that hasn't been too bad at all. The dishes still come out clean by hand. But my dryer, I need it. Case closed. Welcome back friend.

Being An Animal Lover

2009-04-29T11:00:00.005-04:00

Being the owner of 7 pets and a former animal rescuer and shelter volunteer, it is well known amongst most of my friends and colleagues that I like my furry creatures.However that doesn't stop some of them from doing things about animals or saying things about animals that makes me lose my mind, pull out my hair, or bite my tongue until it bleeds.Let me give you some examples. This might give you a clue on what not to say to an animal lover.

What you shouldn't do

1.) A picture of a dead deer that someone hunted hanging over their desk is not awesome to me. A picture of a dead deer that your sister sent you with a funny sign over it is still not funny.

2.) Telling me how you are getting your cat declawed even though I gave you 800 other options to do instead is not a wise move. If you are going to do it anyway, just don’t tell me you did it. And don’t tell me not to judge you if you do it anyway. You tell me, I will judge.

3.) #2 also applies to buying from a pet store or add in the paper instead of a shelter, getting your dogs ears or tail cropped, giving it up to a shelter cause it peed on your rug, or putting it to sleep because you don’t want to spend the money to get it medical attention. If you don’t want to hear a peep out of me, never tell me it happened.

4.) Start off a sentence with “I know you love animals, but…” is never a good again. Again “Silence is Golden”.

5.) Don’t come to me or send me info on an animal you found that you need to find a home for and threaten me with “if I don’t find a home for it in 5 days, I am taking it to the shelter”. Emotional blackmail does not make you my friend.

6.) Don’t tell me animal horror stories, or a bad report you saw on the news. I see plenty of them myself. In that case, misery doesn’t want any more company.

What you should do

1.) Treat my love of pets with respect. You don’t have to feel the same way or understand why I do. But respect my opinion.

2.) Feel free to come to me for suggestions on helping you with finding a pet in a shelter or rescue.

3.) Ask me advice on dealing with pets behavior. I’m not an expert, but with 7 cats I got a pretty good handle on what they do. If I don’t know the answer, I will find it out from someone for you.

4.) Know that getting a pet is a responsibility you should honor for the rest of its life. It is not a “starter child”

5.) Adopting one from a shelter or rescue does require some paperwork, some money and some checking into your background. Don’t expect the shelter or rescue to bend over backwards for you and just give you a pet if you say Boo and hand them money. They want to find the best home for the animal they have been taking care of for weeks or months. You have to prove you are a good owner and have a good home. If you are not approve, don't bad mouth shelters and rescues in general. You may have just not been the right fit for that dog, that shelter or that rescue. There are others.

My Head - An Update

2009-04-28T12:19:00.003-04:00

Since we last talked there has been some progress with my headaches. Once I got my new glasses they have started going down, but are not gone. They don't come with as much intensity anymore, and the sides of my head and eyes don't burn anymore. But I still get tightness in my scalp and the back of my head and my ears hurt alot when I get them. I also have had almost 3/4's of a day or two without any pain. So having the decrease has really helped in me dealing with them every day and has really helped with being at work. So maybe its getting better on its on, but its still awfully slow. Its been over a month.

I go today for an MRI. Its just a precautionary thing my neurologist wants to start off with. Oh yes I went to a neurologist. So we will see what he thinks.

The medications my general practice doctor gave me two weeks ago for the headaches so messed up my system. I will never take that stuff again.

My husband swears I am going to fall asleep in the MRI machine. I can sleep pretty easily. But I don't think that will be happening with all of the banging noises and technician talking to me.

Keep you updated.

CVS Deal April 26th: Not A Fan Of This

2009-04-26T14:39:00.004-04:00

I do have a bone to pick with CVS. This week Band Aid bandages were on sale. The ad says Band Aids on sale starting at $1.00.

So lots of people I know went to CVS today with their $1.00 q's in hand looking for free Band Aids. No one, not even one person I have seen on the internet has found a package of Band Aids at CVS cheaper than $3.49, not even the trial sizes.

Now I know it says starting at $1.00, but that should at least mean at least something does actually start at that price. Its misleading, annoying and in my opinion a little bit of a trick to get you in the store to get them anyway. It has happened with other products before and I'm sure it will again.

So I was skeptical of this Band Aid and Neosporin prices advertised. The Neosporin was no where near the prices it said it would start at either. So I came up with two deals this week. One with those products included and one without. And of course I didn't do the one with them. I was very glad I had a backup, even though it didn't earn me alot of ECB's.

1 Garnier hair spray $2.99
(I am so overloaded with shampoos right now, gonna stick with the stylers for a while)

1 Schick Intuition razor $8.99 (big fan of these, if you read my earlier review)

Total $11.98

Coupons
(1) $1.00 off any Garnier
(1) $4.00 off any Schick

ECB's used $5.00
Total oop $2.47
ECB's earned $6.00

So I earned a dollar, whoopee, and I spent a little more oop than my old under a dollar average. But it was good to have a backup, cause the deals don't always pan out the way you see them in the ad.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-04-25T08:36:00.007-04:00

Back in the saddle again kids and you can't get a better week than this. I paid zero for groceries, yes zero for everything you see on this page. Wednesday was Administrative Professional's day. And yes, I am an administrative professional, or whatever they are calling me this year. My company always does nice things for us for this day and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were still doing it this year, even with the economy.

They gave us flowers, actually African Violets in a basket, a $50.00 Amex gift card and they took us out to lunch.

So I decided to use my gift card for my groceries this week, for a zero out of pocked total. Awesome.

I decided to go to ShopRite Friday night to pick up some of the sales I missed last weekend when we were out celebrating out anniversary. I knew that some of my deals may not pan out, since I was going 5 days after they started and they might be out of some stuff by then. I also made a boo boo in two items that cost me a few dollars.

ShopRite Trip #1

1 bag of Combo's FREE (won this coupon on their website contest)
1 bag of Marcal napkins $1.49 - $1.00 q = .49
1 8th Continent Soymilk $2.99 - $1.00 q = $1.99
1 box of Eggo Waffles $1.33 - .75q (I only had one left) = .33
1 Edy's ice cream $2.74
4 Great Lakes cheese .88 each
8 Breyers YoCrunch yogurts .50 each -.50 off four q's = .25 each
2 Reynolds aluminum foil $2.99 - .50 q's = $1.99
1 bag of Tyson chicken strips $3.99 (not pictured, they were out of rotisserie chickens by the time I got there and the dog needed chicken in her food, so I was forced to get them)
2 Ortega box of tacos $3.00 - .75 off two q's = $1.00 each
3 Suave shampoos .66 each - $1.75 off three q's = .07 each !!!
1 bottle of olive oil $2.99

2 bags of Dole blueberries $4.99 each - .75 q's = $3.99 - this is the part I messed up. I grabbed the wrong bags. The 16 oz bags were supposed to be $2.99 each - .75 q's= would have been only $1.99 each and you got a $2.00 catalina back on your next order. I still got the catalina cause I still bought Dole fruit, but I spent more on the fruit than I should have. You live and learn.

Total put on Amex GC $30.87

$19.13 left to spend and a $2.00 catalina to use.

Back to ShopRite on Sunday for their new weekly deals and to use up what is left of my gift card.

ShopRite Trip #2
2 gallons of OJ $1.99 each
1 Breyers $1.99 (customer appreciation coupon)
2 Poppy's pierogies .99 each
2 Melitta coffees $1.99 - $1.00 q's = .99 each
2 Friendship sour creams $1.29 - $1.00 off 2 q's = .79 each
2 Bagelfuls $2.39 - $1.00 q's = $1.39
1 pack of Mission burrito shells

Total put on Amex gift card $15.62

So technically my budget was $46.49. But I spent NOTHING!

What To Do Today?

2009-04-25T08:20:00.006-04:00

I explain the picture in # 4. Well its supposed to be in the 80's today and absolutely gorgeous. My husband has to work at 11am and then he has to cover the Flyer's playoff game at 3pm. So its just me and my day. I really don't have to clean the house, as we did that Thursday night because of the TV crew coming over.

1.) I dropped the dog off at the groomer's at 7:30am. She should be done and smelling good by 9:30am.

2.) There is a craft show/car show in the town over starting at 9am. I could buzz my dad and see if he wants to go. He loves to walk around those things.

3.) I do have to exercise at some point and should probably do that before it gets hot. Yes, in the 80's is hot for me.

4.) I need to change some light bulbs outside. Seems they all decided to blow at exactly the same time and going in my yard at night has become a "Who can see in the dark" sport. The light near my back door, as you can see in the picture above, has become a home for a bird to have her babies. I have noticed this happening over the past week and she has built quite a nest. I haven't actually seen the bird or any babies yet. She seems to do her best work while I am at work. I really need this light to see down my back stairs but I don't have the heart to tear down her work just for that. So I will just change the other bulbs for now.

5.) I should probably clean off my patio and give the patio furniture and grill a good scrubbing. I do have a love for hosing things off. I could play outside all day with a power washer if I had one. I love them. I once borrowed my dad's old washer and I must have been out there for hours. Its a great way to clean things without using any elbow grease.

6.) I put aside some money to get my dryer fixed. I really need to have it back. My towels come out like rocks without it and I feel bad dragging them over my mom's house to dry for me. I will call the repair man today and see when he can come out.

I wish I had audio on here, so you could hear the snoring contest between my husband and my one persian cat. She is giving him a good run for his money.

So we shall see where the day takes us. I love days like this.

My House Is A Star

2009-04-24T07:59:00.007-04:00

A local TV news crew is coming to my house today to interview my parents and brother for a health story. My brother asked to borrow my house as I have a nice big room for the interview and my house is, shall I say, less crowded and little neater than my parents house.

I have spent the evening cleaning, and made sure everything is in its place. Please don't let my husband or pets muck it up before they come. I told my mom to give it a once over when she gets there. The picture above is how it looked about 5 years ago, we have painted over my beloved checkered wall since (long story) but its not too far off in the same design.

I told my dad before I left. "Don't embarrass the family." Oh boy.

Time To Get Back On Track

2009-04-21T15:34:00.006-04:00

With using a portion of our emergency fund, putting some money aside for our little anniversary excursion (which was fun) and all the doctors stuff with my head in this past few weeks, I feel off track with our whole financial budget world and I don't like it.

I am looking forward to getting back on track. However I do have a couple of extra things I have to add to our budget in the next few weeks. I have a pet that needs to go to the vet, a dog that needs to be groomed, a dryer that desperately needs to be repaired and my husband is going back to school so a portion of that needs to be paid.

I want to get our emergency fund back up to where it was and above. I want to keep up on the credit card snowballs as much as I can with putting more into the emergency fund. I want to get back to my normal grocery shopping and our normal budget amounts without all the extras. I want to get back to making weekly menus and building back up my ECB's with CVS.

Hopefully when I get paid this Friday it seems a little more like old times.

Patience my child. Patience.

CVS Deal April 19th: No Coupons

2009-04-19T17:16:00.004-04:00

Now I didn't do any grocery shopping today, but I did hit CVS. I had no coupons to take with me for this deal, as there wasn't one for the shaving cream and the only one out there for the Pantene was a printable and I don't have a printer at home. But I did hear later that even people that did print it out had trouble with it.

So I did use up a bit of ECB's but I really wanted the Tresemme shampoo. They are huge bottles. Soon I will have to build back up my ECB's. There was also a great deal on Bayer crystals, but they were no where to be found at my local store.

3 bottles of Tresemme $10.00
1 edge shaving cream $2.89

No coupons used.

ECB's used $12.48
Total oop .41
ECB's earned $7.89

No Grocery Shopping This Week

2009-04-18T20:19:00.009-04:00

We spent a lovely day and a half in Philly for our anniversary. So I decided to skip our grocery shopping this week and use that money for our little trip. We had plenty in our stockpile that we will be just fine until next week.

A few quick pictures of our great time in a city we both love and are lucky to live 5 minutes from.

10 Years

2009-04-16T08:51:00.006-04:00

Years ago, I fell in love with one of my closest friends. He was cute, loyal, intelligent, and the most insanely funny person I had ever met. We hung out all the time and got along famously. We tried to go on one date and it was just so unbelievably awkward, mostly due to my shyness. So I had resigned that we were better off being friends. I watched him date other women and kept supporting him through anything he wanted to do or pursue. All the more falling more in love with him every day.

I knew one day being his friend would result in the hardest day of my life. Having to watch him marry the woman of his dreams. I had no clue how I would ever be able to handle it but I knew I would have to because I was his friend.

10 years ago today on April 17th, he did go to a church and marry who I hope is the woman of his dreams. But it wasn’t a hard day at all for me. Little would I have known when we were first friends, that the woman he would marry one day would be me.

You see I got over my shyness, and eventually went after that cute, and insanely funny guy. And I don’t regret that decision for one moment.

Today we have been married for 10 years and together for 14. He is still my absolute best friend, partner, husband and the greatest guy in my life since my father. I still get excited when he walks in the door after a game. I still brush my hair and check my makeup before I come in the house after work to see him.

Through him I have a beautiful and amazing mother in law, and memories of the sweetest father in law, that I adored more than life. He has given me confidence, a much wittier sense of humor, and knocked an extremely huge amount of shyness out of me. He makes me feel beautiful, loved, listened to, and understood.

So enough sappiness, we have a day to celebrate here, and that is what we plan to do.

Happy 10th Anniversary to the love of my life and best friend.

What's Going On With My Head

2009-04-15T09:20:00.008-04:00

As you may have read on here previously, I have been having headaches. I have been getting kinda bummed about them lately and writing about them is therapeutic. Maybe some of you might even have some suggestions for me.

They started on March 29th, a Sunday evening. Just thought I had a regular headache. Went to bed. About an hour after waking up on Monday it came back. Took some generic medicine but it was still on an off all day. The next day woke up feeling awful, stuffy, sore throat, and eventually the headache. Stayed home from work. Also stayed home on Wednesday but the stuffy and throat part were getting better. Went to my primary doctor on Thursday where he said I had a slight fever and figured I had allergies. Gave me Clarinex and told me to take Excedrin for the headache. I took both for 3 days and the headache stayed. The cold part eventually went away on its own.

I am now on day 18 of this.

Here is what it is like:

I feel great when I sleep and when I first get up. They start about an hour and a half to two hours after I get up.

It is a tightening on my scalp and around my head. And sometimes it moves around to my forehead, or down the back of my neck. Sometimes my eyes burn and it wears me out and my head feels hot.

Its not an agonizing pain, like a migraine, more like an annoying grating thing on and off all day.

It feels better when I chew gum, eat food, take a nap or use cold compresses.

I have tried every kind of Excedrin (extra strength, Migraine, Tension). I have taken two Fiorcet a day for 3 days, nothing.

I went to my eye doctors last week as I had problems with headaches while wearing contact lenses about a year ago. Those headaches also didn't go away with medicine, only when I took the contacts out. Since then I have worn glasses and for months had no problems with them. My eye doctor isn't sure its my eyes but he is giving me a lesser strength prescription and added glare protection to the glasses. I am currently waiting for the new glasses to come in and am stuck until then wearing the old ones. I can barely see a thing without glasses so I can't go a whole day without wearing them to see if that is the cause.

I am waiting to hear back from my thyroid doctor to see how my levels are. I do have hypothyroidism (I sound like an old lady, don't I). But have not taken any meds for it, as I have never had symptoms. But both my primary and eye doctor suggested I get checked with him again.

I also have an appt with a neurologist on the 22nd, just in case we don't find out what it is before then. Which is good cause I called 7 other neurologists and the soonest they could get me in was May.

So on we go. I'm trying to be a tough girl about it, but it just gets annoying. My husband is a doll in dealing with me with these headaches. But I would just like to be normal again for both me and him.

Thanks For The Memories

2009-04-13T16:26:00.005-04:00

I'm so glad you got to see it. We will miss you Harry.

High Hopes

So That Is What An Emergency Fund Is For

2009-04-13T09:52:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned in my grocery shopping post, I have been having headaches. I've had a tension headache now for 14 days. We are pretty much convinced it is eye strain, as me and my eyes have never been too friendly. And the headache gets better when I sleep and when my glasses are off my head. So after seeing my regular doctor and medicine not working, I made an appointment with my eye doctor.

He is an awesome doctor and checks every inch of my eyes and runs every test. And he recommended lowering my prescription and putting some glare protection on my lens. And that meant new glasses. I already used my eye insurance allowance for the year, so all I had left was our vision discount plan under our medical. And under that plan it was cheaper for me to get a whole new set of frames and lenses than replace the lens I have. Plus I would be without glasses if I had to get the ones I had replaced.

So we ordered new ones and of course it cost a little bit of money. So we had to use a little of our emergency fund. Right before I paid I must have stared at my wallet for 10 minutes trying to figure out some way not to use the emergency fund. That is when my husband said "Hey, this is what we have the fund for. Your eyes and head are killing you. It is okay for you to use the fund for this.".

So the fund dipped down a little bit. It is just a hair under $1000 and we still are putting money in it every check. So we will get it back up there soon.

The next day my dryer started making a horrible noise. They say when it rains it pours. My mom has the same dryer model and when her's made the same noise a year ago, she needed new ball bearings in it. We have an awesome little repair guy that will come and do it. But with the dryer I can last a little while without it. I do have to get it fixed sooner than the dishwasher, cause our towels are coming out like rocks when we line dry them. So we are going to wait until our next paycheck and budget in the money for that repair and not touch the EF for this. Once is enough for me for now.

So I can't say enough about having an emergency fund. If you don't have one, please start it now. You won't regret it.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-04-12T16:01:00.005-04:00

Been a long rough two weeks. I've had a tension headache for days. Been to the doctor, taking medicine. Husband has forbid me from watching tv or going on the computer today since we think it is eye strain. So I snuck on here after he left for the Flyers game to post my deals. I wasn't even going to go shopping this morning, but I asked my husband to take me since I am not wearing my glasses to give my eyes a break. We hit two different stores.

SuperFresh
4 Eggo's .99 each - .75 q's = Free plus overage
1 box Barilla piccollini pasta .89 - .50 q's = Free with overage
2 pks of seasoned chicken breasts $2.93 and $3.98
1 pk of hot Italian sausage $3.62
1 pork tenderloin $5.83
1 big package of chicken breasts $7.32

Total $21.53

Over to ShopRite. I usually get there around 8am. But today didn't get there until 11:30. And I couldn't believe how empty it was. Guess everyone was out celebrating Easter. Since the man was with me I let him pick out the fruit and the bagels. I didn't want to drag him over to the produce market. He was nice enough to drag my blind butt around.

ShopRite
2 Turkey Hill ice creams $1.79 - $1.00 q's = .79 each!!
12 Breyers yogurts 3 for .99 - .50 off 4 q = .96 for 12!!!
2 Tropicana OJ's $2.47 - $1.00 q's = $1.47 each
4 Ziploc bags 2 for $3.00 - .55 q's = .50 each
2 Kotex tampons 2 for $5.00 - .75 q's = $1.50 each
1 Perdue flavor bites $2.99 - $1.00 q = $1.99
1 bag of oranges $2.99
1 bag of grapes $4.38
1 loaf of white bread .99
1 loaf of wheat bread $1.49
1 bag of bagels $2.50

Total $26.20

Total spent $47.53. Under budget and still got lots of great stuff. Now time to get off the computer, grab my cold compress, take my meds and take a nap. Pray for better head feelings this week. Its an important week.

Product Review - Schick Intuition

2009-04-07T11:44:00.006-04:00

I know, another stinkin razor review. Its one of the few things in my stockpile of things I get cheaply that seem to stand out in my mind when I use a new kind. So I feel the urge to review it. Maybe I'm obsessed with getting a good shave on my legs. Who knows.

In all my stockpile of razors, I always avoided using the Intuition, as they looked so awesome, I wanted to save them for last. I finally decided a few weeks ago to break one open and give it a try.

The Intuition has 3 blades and has a skin conditioning solid that surrounds the blade. When you get the solid wet it lathers up a little so you don't need shaving cream or a moisturizer. What an awesome concept.

So what did I think about it? I absolutely loved it for its innovation, and handiness. It did leave my legs silky smooth, didn't knick or cut them. Yet I had two problems with it. With the conditioning solid around the razor I found it a little bulky to get it into the small corners of your body for a close shave. But the funniest problem I had with it is because of my eyes.

I have horrendous eyesight and wear glasses every day. Of course I can't wear them in the shower, although I have left them on a few times and realized shortly after the water hits my face. Brilliant huh? So when I put shaving cream on my legs and shaved, I could see what part of my legs I completed shaving by where the cream had been removed. Well with the Intuition, you don't use shaving cream so it doesn't really leave a marker for me to tell me where I have completed. So I had to improvise and just run my hand on my leg to see where I still need to complete and where I may haven't done it well enough. I know weird problem, its fun being almost blind. That isn't Schick's fault.

But overall I really love the Intuition and will definitely use it and buy it again. Its just a fantastic idea for traveling too, because you don't need to pack a bulky can of shaving cream.

Many Emotions

2009-04-06T20:29:00.003-04:00

I didn't even know what to call this post, as I have so much going on in my head right now.

I had been so torn since hearing Suzie Orman's recent advice that if you don't have a sufficient emergency fund that you should work on that first before paying down credit card debt. I knew she was right considering the current conditions. But it just saddened me to put my debt marathon on hold for a while after doing so well on it in these last few months. It has taken me a few days to swallow my pride and go along with the advice.

So I came home from work with a new yet slightly sad attitude of lets work more on the emergency fund first and then back to the debit snowball. My husband agreed.

Then I opened the mail...............

I'm gonna try to keep this post PG rated. But if this South Jersey girl could curse freely right now, your ears would be ablaze. What I feared would happen did. Bank of America, card #7 and the biggest balance and last of my debt snowball is raising my APR by 8%.

JHGH!!!FJ*%$GY%#TGVU!!!!

I had worried this would happen. That is my biggest balance and is going to make my monthly payment bigger. I had heard the horror stories, kept my fingers crossed. But our luck finally ran out. I so would love to cancel the card, but I only have two cards and don't want to completely kill my credit score. I've even thought about getting a side job to pay this down. But then most people can't find one job let alone, me thinking I can have two.

So, how do I feel.....

I am angry at myself for ever have accumulated credit card debt. What an idiot.

I am starting to regret that I didn't pay BOA of first and instead went for the smaller balanced cards.

I am angry at BOA for knocking people down further when they are just trying to get up.

I am annoyed that I have stop my debt snowball to build my emergency fund faster, although I know its the right move.

I am tired, feeling very defeated and my head still hurts.

I need a few days to regroup, pick my self up, dust myself off and get back on the horse again.

CVS Deal April 4th: Back In The Game

2009-04-05T11:47:00.005-04:00

Its been a while since I did well at CVS. And some weeks I have skipped in entirely. But this week I decided to come back with a vengeance. The shaving cream actually inspired me to go as I never find too many great deals on it. And I love any spray that makes my house smell good.

2 Glade Infusions $1.50 each
2 Excedrin Migraines $1.99 each
2 Skintimate shaving cream $3.49
1 Colgate Max White $2.99

Coupons
(2) $1.00 off any Glade odor eliminator
(2) $2.00 off any Excedrin Migraine
(1) .50 off any Colgate

Total ECB's used $6.98
Total oop .17
Total ECB's earned $5.49 +.50 from my winter total spending = $5.99 ECB's

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-04-04T20:49:00.007-04:00

I hit SuperFresh on Saturday as I read up there was cheap to free pasta, almost free salad dressing and a sale on ground meat, which we were completely out of.

SuperFresh
4 boxes Barilla Piccolini .89 - .50 q's = .11 overage on each one!!
4 boxes Barilla whole grain pasta .89 - $1.00 off 2 = .39 each
3 Kraft salad dressings 3 for $5.00 - (3) $1.50 q's = .16 each
A little over 6 lbs of ground meat = $11.60

Total = $13.22

ShopRite
1 Kashi entree = FREE with coupon I got in mail
4 Ban deodorants .99 each - .75 q's = FREE
5 Vitamin waters $1.00 each - $1.00 q's = FREE
2 Breyers ice creams $1.99 each
2 Land O'Lakes butters $1.88 each - .55 q's = .88 each
2 pks of strawberries $1.49 each
2 Pretzelfils $1.84 - .75 q's = .84 each
2 Pepperidge Farm granola cookies $1.79 - $1.00 q's = .79 each
1 Spot Shot carpet cleaner $2.49 - $2.00 q = .49
1 18 inch pizza $5.99 and you get a free Canada dry 2 liter with it
4 Hefty one zips $1.88 each - $1.00 off 2 q's = $1.38 each
1 soy sauce $2.69

Total $27.09

Vercchio's Produce Market
1 bag of oranges
1 bag of spinach
1 bag of green peppers
2 heads of lettuce
1 bag of tomatoes

Total $8.75

Total spent for week $49.06. Finally, back under budget. Now I'm off to wash my car.

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge

I Tried Walgreens

2009-04-04T11:46:00.002-04:00

I finally tried Walgreens last Sunday. Unfortunately I was sick for a few days this week so I haven't gotten a chance to post about it until now. I really don't know if I am ready to get into the rebates and register rewards. And then I heard a rumor that they might not continue soon anyway. So I just went to get a few things that were a good deal with coupons.

2 Reynold's wrap Free after Walgreen and manufacturer coupons
1 Glade candle FREE after Wag and MC coupons
3 cans of chicken brother (we were out of them)

The total I paid was $3.00. So it wasn't bad for that. I will keep my eye out if they have anything good each week. But I think I will stick with CVS. I just don't have alot of free time to learn the ins and out of both places at once.

I Don't Know Suzie

2009-04-03T11:46:00.004-04:00

I have been a big follower of Suzie Orman for quite a while. I have read some of her books, watch the show on Saturday night. But I have to say I don't do everything she says.

Yesterday, Suzie was on Oprah with her new advice with the recession. She completely reversed her decision on paying off your debt to building your savings first instead and just giving the minimum to all cards until that is done. I don't think I can completely go along with this. I understand her urgency to get people to build their savings. I just increased again our amount going to savings as we definitely are a long way from our fully funded emergency fund, but I am just not ready to give up on our credit card debt reduction.

I have come so far, and we have both worked hard to get it down. I am loving the results and still feel this is a good part of the process. I still feel we can do both. So as of today, I increase our savings but continue building the snowball.

How did her advice sit with you?

Financial Update: April 2009

2009-04-01T11:04:00.004-04:00

I have been home from work for two days sick. I have an awful headache and other things on my head hurt. I hope I don't have a sinus infection. If its not gone by tomorrow off to the doctors I go. Fun, fun, fun. It does bother me just to stare at a computer, so I will make our financial update for April short.

1.) Pay off credit cards # 4 and 5. #4 has been gone for a little bit. Already sent our first snowball payment to #5. We have paid over a 1/3 of our total credit card debt off in 6 months, which is not too bad.

2.) Have emergency fund at $1500 by end of year. We are now up to $1212.75. Right on track to meet the $1500 goal by the end of the year, probably sooner.

3.) Buy chest freezer and stock with deals for dinners at home. Been done and keeping it full.

4.) Stop buying certain pre-made products and make them from scratch at home.

Laundry Detergent - Just a few bottles left and then we will start making it from scratch.

Fabric Softener - Still got quite a few of them left. I cut them in half, so they last me pretty long.

Household cleaners - Still have alot of those. I wouldn't be surprised if they last me until the end of the year.

Syrup - Still making it from scratch. Would like to get some flavorings to try different syrups flavors.

5.) Clean out the garage and sell unnecessary things. Still trying to sell a tv we have. We put it on CraigsList but have gotten no bites yet. Lots of people selling things on there right now, so its hard to stand out. We may need to have a yard sale when spring kicks in.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-03-29T10:27:00.006-04:00

You know you have those days where you feel you are just off in everything you are doing. Today was one of them. I post in another day or two my trip to CVS and Walgreens. One went well, one didn't and I think you will be surprised by which one is which.

I hit ShopRite for what I call again their Breakfast Sale. Lots of cheap bacon, eggs, OJ, etc. And though there are no coupons for these items, we still needed to stock up. Not alot of coupon deals that I needed, so we got some things we just needed for our pantry.

ShopRite
1 Gallon of skim milk FREE with coupon I earned 2 trips ago on the Kellogg's cereal
2 Turkey Hill ice creams $2.49 - $1.00 q = $1.49 each
3 BirdsEye steamfresh veggies .99 each - $1.00 off 3 = .66 each
2 Maggio mozzarella cheese $1.98 (I was told there were q's but none in my database)
10 Axelrod yogurts $4.00
3 Tree Ripe OJ's $1.88 each
2 pks of chicken breasts (sale) $5.79 and $5.67 each
2 Oscar Meyer bacon $1.88 each
1 bottom roast (sale) $5.74
4 Hefty boxes of kitchen trash bags $2.49 - $1.00 q's = $1.49 each
1 18 ct of eggs $1.48
1 Glade scented oil candle $2.49 - $3.00 q = FREE

Total $47.32

Vercchio's Produce
2 bags of oranges
1 bag of apples
1 bag of bananas
1 bag of potatoes

Total $7.00

Total spent $54.32. Went a little bit over because I originally was only going to get one pack of chicken breasts, but they a great size, so I couldn't resist.

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

Walgreens Anyone?

2009-03-27T14:56:00.003-04:00

As you heard I have been doing the CVS deals for a year now. It took me a week or two to get the basic hang of it. It was pretty easy, and each week I got better and better at it.

I have been reading for weeks how Walgreens works and I am still quite confused. CVS is ECB's and not much else. But Walgreens has Register Rewards, Easy Saver q's, Easy Saver rebates, and on and on. I still have no clue, so I haven't tried it at all. But I see people getting great deals on things, especially aluminum foil, which I really do need. I have read all the Walgreen's 101 websites and links and still a little perplexed.

Anyone care to be my Walgreen's mentor and guide my stupid self through this??

Happy Couponing Anniversary

2009-03-26T12:41:00.008-04:00

This month it will have been a year since I started couponing. Unfortunately I didn't start our budget, debt paying and savings until September of 2008. But the couponing started the whole process off and I have a friend of mine to thank.

I went to the grocery store right up the street from me to pick something up when I ran into a friend of mine. She had a huge black binder in her cart and was riffling through it. When I asked she started telling me all about her couponing and all the money that she saved. She also said "Do you shop at Target?". I said of course I did. She said well if you want to pay like nothing for everything you get at Target you have to start doing the CVS deals, and you will barely ever need to go to Target again. Not go to Target again? It sounded awful. CVS was only a place where I picked up my prescriptions.

We walked around the store together doing our shopping and she explained me to briefly how she does all this couponing. She is one of my dear friends, and a very smart woman. So despite my doubts and concerns, I figured it couldn't hurt to try it out.

So the next day I went to Walmart and bought a binder, baseball card holders, a calculator, new pair of scissors. I went online for hours and looked up any information I could find on couponing and CVS. That is when I found Hot Coupon World, which is still my savior to this date. That weekend I went to buy my newspapers. I bought four of them came home and found no coupons in the paper. This was before I knew that coupons don't come out in the newspapers on holiday weekends and it was Easter. So first lesson learned. My first deal at CVS was a Garnier hair products deal and I was nervous as can be to hand them my coupons. I felt like I was doing something illegal. I paid much more out of pocket the first time, as I needed to accumulate ECB's first. But it wasn't long before I was addicted.

Shortly after that I took my couponing to the next level, the grocery store. Then I was hooked. I can't imagine now ever going back to the old way I used to shop. Even when all the debt is gone and savings is built up, I will always keep doing this. Its worth a little extra time a week to save a bundle. And I actually consider it fun, since I am an organizing and list making junkie, those are skills that really come in handy when looking for deals and planning meals.

So happy couponing anniversary to me.

Our Budget Process

2009-03-24T11:53:00.005-04:00

This is where the magic happens, my desk at home. I thought I would take you through my budget process. Not complicated at all. But a much better one for our family than the one we had before September 2008.

My husband and I get paid every two weeks, but he gets paid the opposite Friday of my payday.

So I choose to pay our bills and figure out our budget on a 2 week schedule.

1.) Money, money, money - The Thursday night before I get paid, I check to see how much money is left over in our checking accounts. We have two checking accounts. One for all of our bills and one for our budget money. I make sure that any outstanding checks or bills came out of the bill account and that what is left in both is free money. I then add those totals to my check total, which will direct deposited into my account the next morning. My husband's check is already in one of those accounts by then. All those amounts together is what we have to work with.

2.) Savings - The funds for our emergency fund are directly taken out of my paycheck every two weeks and deposited into an ING savings account. That way there is no arguing whether we have the money to save. As they say always pay yourself first.

3.) Bills, Bills, Bills - I gather all my bills. If you look on the picture above there is a small 4 drawer plastic filing thingy sitting to the left of my desk. That holds in the top drawer all pending bills. The others drawers I will explain at another time. In a notebook I list all the bills due, the amount due and the due date. I then total all the bills.

4.) No one said there would be math - I have had the same calculator since high school and it still works. I love it. I then subtract the bills from the total money we have to use. If that number is painfully low, then I know some bills will have to be pushed off. But since we have been better with our money this hasn't happened anymore. We are actually quite ahead in paying our bills, thank you very much.

5.) The Bi-weekly Budget - Our budget for ourselves is usually comprised of four categories: Groceries, Husband, Myself, Miscellaneous. Groceries is always $100, $50 for each week. My husband's portion is for anything he needs (gas, haircuts, etc). My portion is very small, as I only need gas, and I have a small car, and I barely buy anything else. Miscellaneous covers anything else we need for the house or for the pets (dog or cat food, CVS, litter, newspapers, etc.). If we have anything outside the ordinary we make up a new category and figure that into the budget (ex. doctor's appointments, prescriptions, presents, family events). But most of the time it is just the four categories.

I use Google Docs to keep track of our budget. The reason I chose this program, is that my husband and I can both view it over the internet with passwords, so we can both see how much is left in our categories and can update the budget anywhere we are.

Once I have the budget amount, I subtract that from what is left after the bills.

6.) Credit Cards - Whatever money is left over from all of that is our snowball amount that goes to the current credit card we are working on. In the bill totals for #3 are the minimum balances for the cards I current have that are due. So this snowball money is extra that goes to the current card on my hit list.

The budget is now done.

7.) Payday - When I wake up Friday morning, my check is already deposited into my bills account. In the morning I check all the final totals in the bank, and make sure they are still matching up from what I figured out the day before. I transfer the money we calculated as needed into our budget fund. And then I proceed to pay our bills from the remaining money in the bill account. I try to pay most of our bills online, but I do have a few old time companies that still make me mail in a few checks. I also make sure the snowball money goes to the credit card I am currently working on paying off.

8.) Wrap up - I put everything down again in my checkbook to keep on hand and check our balance in our emergency fund and update the blog with the new total.

Really easy and working very well for us.

The Appliance Issues Continue

2009-03-23T09:31:00.005-04:00

The dishwasher is still not cleaning. I have tried all the tricks. Cleaned it from head to toe, scrubbed out any gunk out of every hole, tube, corner. Moved the silver wear tray to make sure it was not blocking the soap, threw the soap in the middle instead of the tray, ran the hot water before using, checked the temperature of the hot water. Nope, nope, nope. Still not getting a thing clean.

So for now she is retired. We are hand washing dishes. We went out this weekend to look at new ones just to get an idea on prices. But didn't buy anything. I really don't think it is an emergency to have one, and I would rather our money keep going to our debt and emergency fund. My hands sore from being in so much water, but I will live. And eventually when we get a little more financially sound, maybe we will get one. Maybe I could use her for storage. :)

The carpet cleaner is its own story. I got the parts I needed in the mail last week so that the soap side of the tank didn't leak, and they fit great, no leaks. So Sunday I got everything ready to clean the carpets. Moved all the furniture, vacuumed every crack and crevice in the house. As I filled the water tank, water started to pour out of the bottom of the tank. It wasn't the identical part to the soap side, but instead the actual clear plastic of the tank had a crack in it. How the crap was I going to fix this?

To say I was happy was an understatement. Words were flying, things were thrown, fortunately only my dog saw me doing this and just went back to sleep. Fortunately my mom has a cleaner, and my dad dropped it off, so I was able to clean the carpets. I went online again and found replacements tanks for $40.00 with shipping. It should be here in a week. The picture is my new tank, supposed to be a sturdier model. Better be.

So in total I have paid $55.00 to keep my carpet cleaner working. Still better than spending $280 on a new one. But just enough to give me a headache

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-03-22T11:43:00.006-04:00

First I hit SuperFresh as we needed to start stocking back up on meats. I hadn't been there in a few weeks, so it was nice to get back there to see what they had.

SuperFresh
1 chicken thighs $1.87
1 chicken split breasts $2.65
2 pks of thin sandwich steaks $1.89 and $2.19
2 whole chickens $3.51 and $3.62

Total $15.72

Dollar Tree (I go there to get my newspapers)
2 pks of hamburger rolls $1.00 each

Total $2.00

My local ShopRite was having their customer appreciation sale. You get great coupons in the circular for some awesome product. They used to do this more often. So now when it comes out it is more of a big deal.

ShopRite
1 Daisy sour cream $1.29
2 Pace salsas $2.99 - 2 coupons for free Pace Product (won this on their site) = FREE
1 Gold's horseradish .99
8 San Giorgio pastas .88 each = $7.04
4 Chex Mix 4 for $5.00 - .50 q's = .25 each
1 Melitta coffee $2.99 - $1.00 q = $1.99
3 ShopRite elbow macaroni = $2.00
1 ShopRite 5 lb bag of flour = $1.88
1 ShopRite 5 lb bag of sugar $2.49 - SR appreciation q = $1.49
6 Meow Mix cat treats $1.00 each - $1.00 q's = FREE
1 Friendly's ice cream $2.50 - SR appreciation q = $1.49
1 3lb pack of center cut porkchops $7.06 - SR appreciation q = $5.28
1 pk of strawberries $1.99 - SR appreciation q = .99
1 ShopRite dozen of eggs $1.99 - SR appreciation q = .99
1 rotisserie chicken $4.99

Total $31.02

Total spent for week $48.02

Under budget again. Not bad. Still on the hunt for Dollar Tree's chicken and beef broth. I have been to two different ones and still no broth. I have one more to check next week, if not, I guess then they aren't having it anymore. And I will have to get it at the regular store like everyone else.

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

I Hope This Works Well

2009-03-20T09:20:00.008-04:00

I am very excited to try a new product I saw on TV the other day. Rarely does a product make me run right out and buy it. I'm tempted to with this one.

I'm afraid of ladders. I live in a Cape Cod style house, so the first floor doesn't actually sit ground level. So to get to our windows from the outside you would need a ladder. I'm not going up on one. You know that commercial about gutter cleaning where the people fall off the ladder and freeze midway. That commercial scares the crap out of me. I have nightmares about falling off ladders. Step stools I can handle, ladders no.

So because of that my windows haven't been really cleaned well in the 12 years I have lived in the house. Yes 12 years. And none of the ones in the front of the house are the new windows where you can clean the outside by flipping the window down.

My father once offered to go up on the ladder and clean my windows., But I got so nervous with him on the ladder that I made him get down.

Then two days ago I saw this. The Windex Outdoor All-In-One. Basically a Swiffer pole for your windows. I feel kind of ripped off as I kinda tried to invent this a few years ago. Frustrated at not being able to clean my windows, I took a Swiffer and attached a paper towel to it and sprayed it with window spray and tried to clean the outside of our windows with it. It really didn't do well as the paper towel kept ripping and it was hard to reach.

But I am going to try this. I will see if I have a coupon for it and look out for it on sale. And if this works, this is the answer to a 12 year old problem and will help keep this chick off ladders, which she hates.

Thinking Ahead: Buying A Car

2009-03-19T14:57:00.003-04:00

I have something to confess. The cars that my husband and I drive are leased. I KNOW, I KNOW, leasing overall is not good. Its like renting your car. You never have an end and you are never without car payments. This is one of our many financial mistakes we made over the years. But just as we are fixing our credit cards, our lack of savings and our budgeting, we want to fix this to. We want to do this the best financial way possible.

Our lease is up in a year, and we will both need cars. Many days a week we work opposite hours and in opposite directions too. So going with only one car is impossible. We know we want to buy, and buy fuel efficient and practical. Drive them into the ground, as we will never lease again, but what will be right option for us then:

1.) Buy out our current lease, actually I should say I could buy out my lease. My husband hates his truck, so he would never buy it. Mine is fine, but I don’t know if this would even be right thing to do.

2.) Buy brand new ones. With all the dealers dying to sell cars, I can’t imagine they still won’t be dying to a year. There will be good deals and incentives if they can get you a new car.

3.) Buy certified used ones. Another thing neither of us have a problem with.

4.) Buy flat out used car from a place like CarSense.

The other issue is a down payment. With putting all of our extra money into savings and our credit card debt, there is no extra money for a down payment.

Do we try to get a car with no money down? Do we take a little money from the credit card snowball and put it away each check for a year for a down payment? Or do we just take some of our tax returns next year and use that for the down payment?

Of course the minute we would have a car payment and the credit cards are gone, I would then be working to pay off the cars as soon as possible.

A million questions I know. I’ve been doing as much research as I can. Any input you have would be appreciated.

Pray For Our Dishwasher

2009-03-18T08:33:00.003-04:00

I have the world's oldest dishwasher. Its mustard yellow in color on the outside, that should tell you plenty about its age. Its an Insinkerator, heard of it? Probably not. I don't think the company even makes dishwashers anymore, just garbage disposals. Its porcelain too, which my repair person once told me, is an amazing dishwasher and you should try to keep this forever.

But she is a royal pain. She cleans when she feels like it. Lately she is not dissolving the soap at all. So here are the steps I have taken so far. Tried the gel, tried the powder, tried the tabs. None are dissolving. I have increased the temperature of our water to over 120 degrees, still not dissolving. I have ran the hot water in the sink before using the dishwasher, still not dissolving. Last night I cleaned the dishwasher head to toe, using baking powder, vinegar, and a toothbrush. I got every little piece of gunk out of it and ran it, still not dissolving.

I found a few more things to try today on the internet. Lets hope it works. I really don't feel like calling our repair guy again and paying $80 to get it checked out and I definitely don't want to buy another one right now. Yes, I can hand wash dishes. But that uses more water than a dishwasher, so I'm hoping she will pull through one last time.

Why Walmart And Target Don't Work For Me

2009-03-15T16:03:00.006-04:00

When my friend first showed me her coupon book over a year ago, she said "Once you do this, you will never go to Target again". I was interested in trying it from the minute she said it, but doubted that I would ever give up on Target.

So I started my couponing and after a few months, I noticed I was never going to Target again.

When I started seeing on frugal sites deals for Walmart and Target I got excited and ran to the store with my coupons. And every time I tried one of them my deals have come up bust. The items would always been more than they said on the deal sites, and both stores were completely unfriendly with coupons, especially internet ones. I can only assume that the stores in my area charge more than the stores in the areas these sites are from. And don't even bother with the corporate policy that Walmart has to accept internet coupons. I already tried it and brought in the policy to show the manager, and they still refused.

So even though I think Target is a beautiful looking store and has awesome looking home furnishings, I rarely go there anymore. I just don't need home furnishings now and their food items never end up being a good deal. Most of the Target's near us, also don't have full food sections, just the boxed stuff and a tiny freezer case.

Walmart. Well there is one up the street I won't even step it, its not a nice store. The one 10 minutes away is a huge, nice, SuperWalmart. I still don't do well with the deals. As I said the prices are never even close to the ones people mention on the deal sites. Most of the food I find there I find cheaper at my local stores with coupons.

But Walmart does now get a few points more than Target (shocker for me). I find their dry cat food tends to be a bit cheaper than the grocery stores, and along with a coupon that works out well. I will also only go to Walmart if I need a household item (ex. clothespins, rubbermaid containers, small appliances). But most of their food items have really been disappointing as far as deals go.

So that is why you will rarely see deals from those places on my sites. If you get great deals at both of these places, I envy you.

CVS Deal March 15th: I Had To

2009-03-15T12:33:00.004-04:00

Now I just said last week that I am trying not to buy any more deodorant and toothpaste. So what do I buy when I went to CVS this week, yep both of them. And I had to because some of my extra care bucks were about to expire, and since I don't have that many left, I had to get some things that had extra care buck deals. Unfortunately those were deodorant and toothpaste. I hope CVS rotates in some good deals on things other than those two type of items soon.

I was glad to get the body wash as part of a deal. While I am not in danger or running out of any right now, my supply of it is lower than other things. So any one I can add to it, is good.

Face moisturizer. The only time I did get face moisturizer as a deal, was back when they had the L'Oreal RevitaLift. I got two boxes of that. They were so cool that I put them in Christmas gift baskets for my mom and sister-in-law. Bad move. In the last week I saw that my face moisturizer was down to its last drops. All I had was a sample of the RevitaLift that I got in the mail. And guess what, I loved it. But it hasn't been in a good deal lately and I am so sorry I gave away those boxes I had of it. So I had to get new moisturizer. I needed one that was oil free and Biore was the only one of a reasonable price. So I had to pay full price, but I did have my ECB's to use for it.

2 Dry Idea deodorants $2.99 each = $5.98
1 Irish Spring $4.99
1 Colgate Max White $2.99
1 Biore face lotion $7.99

Coupons
(2) $2.00 off any Dry Idea roll on deodorant
(1) .50 off any Colgate toothpaste
(1) .50 off any Irish Spring

Total ECB's used $14.97
Total oop $2.47
Total ECB's earned $11.98

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-03-15T12:21:00.006-04:00

I did all my shopping today, so I actually got to put it all in one picture for a change.

First I hit Vercchio's, our local produce market. The man needed more fruit and I like the carrots for my lunches.

Vercchio's
2 bags of oranges
2 bags of apples
1 bag of grapes
2 bags of carrots

Total $10.00

Over to ShopRite, they were having a good sale on London Broil, so I stocked up there. If you buy 3 Kellogg's cereals you get a coupon for a free gallon of milk too, so I did that deal. Free milk on my next trip.

ShopRite
3 Superpretzels $1.84 - .75q's = .84 each
3 Totino's pizza rolls $1.49 - .35 q's = .79 each
2 Light N Fluffy noodles $1.29 - .50 off 2 q's = .79 each
1 Rotisserie chicken breast $2.99
1 Edy's ice cream $2.74
3 Kellogg's Rice Krispies $1.99 - .70 q's = .99 each (got free milk coupon)
1 pk of chicken breasts $4.37
2 twin packs of London broil $13.30 total

Total $31.93 + my free milk coupon

Total shopping $41.93

I was then supposed to get get chicken and beef broth at the dollar store to finish up my $50 budget. But they were all out. So for now we are under budget!

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

Baking Day

2009-03-14T15:51:00.009-04:00

In reading frugal blogs, I see alot of people taking a day to do a whole bunch of baking and then freezing everything. And then you have lots of good things to eat for weeks. I was always envious when I saw this because trying to find the time to do this was the hard part.

You see I used to have my own baking blog a few years ago and I absolutely loved it. But the reason I stopped doing it is because it just took too much time and too much money. I work 5 days a week and spending an entire weekend baking something was getting less and less practical.

Since I already know how to bake, if I just take a few hours one Saturday out of whole month, I could knock out a few things to keep on hand. I used only ingredients I had on hand.

The Menu

Chocolate chip muffins
Lemon yogurt muffins
Almond bran muffins
Corn bread
Homemade biscuits

There was a plan to also make lots and lots of pancakes. But I didn't take out enough milk to defrost in time and ran out of it before getting to the pancake mix. So we skipped them today. I am hoping to get to all the pancakes tomorrow sometime when the milk is defrosted. I kept the menu simple the first time, as I didn't have a ton of ingredients on hand. I can't wait until blueberries and strawberries really come into season at the produce market. I want to make tons and tons of things with them.

Just Gotta Say.....

2009-03-13T08:46:00.009-04:00

Paid off credit card # 4 today.

Doing my happy dance now. Its a nice high paying these babies off.

Now onto # 5.

A Big Money Saver

2009-03-12T10:06:00.006-04:00

I clean my carpets every three months. With six pets I think its actually not that strict a schedule. I love my carpet cleaner and don't regret one bit the money I paid for her a few years ago. But about 6 months ago the valve on the tank that holds the cleaner broke and the cleaner would just pour right out. I was so heartbroken, I figured it was too old to replace it and I would eventually have to get a new one, which I just couldn't spend the money on right now. My poor carpets are looking a bit dingy and really need a cleaning, since they are way past their normal scheduled cleaning. I was all set to borrow my mom's horrible cleaner or rent one from the store this weekend.

But I got motivated today and decided to see if I could find the part. And guess what, I did. I found it on Amazon, through a great company. I ordered two of the part, just in the case the same part on the water tank eventually broke. It cost me a total of $13.98 for two of the valves. So much better than $200 for a new one. Me and my carpet cleaner can continue with our long term relationship. And I will have nice clean carpets for a long time.

A frugal saving indeed.

**Forgot to note, the cleaner pictured above is not the exact one I have. Mine is about a few models older than the one pictured. But its the same brand, similar features, but blue in color. Just in case you wanted to know.

Wouldn't Be Fun If You Didn't Make It Harder

2009-03-11T14:41:00.005-04:00

On top of our salaries there were a few times a year when extra money would come in. In the past we didn't always spend or use it wisely, hence our debt. But now that I am on the debt paying train, some of those extra little checks have decided they are going to disappear.

Thankfully we had a nice tax return that went directly to card #4. I usually get a nice fiscal bonus from work in April/May every year. That would have made a real nice dent in one of the cards. I now say "would have". With the economy, the fiscal bonus' are good as dead. All pay increases and annual bonus's are on hold too. My review is not until October, so maybe if I cross my fingers real hard, the economy will get better by then (yeah right).

The lovely, and I say that with utmost sarcasm, Governor of NJ has made his suggestions for the state budget and one thing that will affect us is the elimination of a rebate we get every fall for our homes. Since we make above a certain amount (and believe me it ain't high), we will lose out on that check this year.

So there are a few extra's that are now gone for now. I should have known this would happen when I decide to pay off my debt. But we still have jobs, so thankful for that. I persevere, whatever I got I am putting towards out debt and one day, oh one day, we will be credit card debt free.

Childless By Choice

2009-03-10T21:00:00.004-04:00

This is a topic that hits close to home and today one where I wanted to pull my hair out. My husband and I are childless by choice, or as I call it "I just don't want kids". We are 36 and 37 and yes we know for sure we will never want kids. I have wanted pets since I was 5 years old and that is what I have and it makes me very happy.

Today I read an article in our local paper about a group of local couples that get together to do interesting activities and they all are childless by choice. They started this group because they saw all their other friends slowly disappear as they had children. My husband and I are thinking about looking into it as we have found more and more of our friends disappearing from our lives as they have children, no matter how hard we try with them. I still do have one or two friends left with kids, but I see them only every few months.

The comments in my local paper started with a woman calling us childless people selfish. Saying that people were put on this earth to create other people. I really wasn't aware that my only purpose on this earth was to be a baby making machine. What if I physically couldn't have children, does that make me useless on earth according to her? Needless to say after I calmed down, I realized she feels this way because this is all she chooses to have in her life. There are plenty of people on this earth with kids who have lives outside of them. Isn't it selfish to think that your way is the only way that is right?

I'm deliriously happy with the decisions I have made in my life. And I respect others for the decisions they have made. How's that for selfish?

There, my short vent for the day.

No CVS This Week

2009-03-08T15:41:00.004-04:00

I have two things in my stockpile that I have more of than anything else, toothpaste and deodorant. I probably have enough for two years.

This week the only good deals at CVS were on.....guess what......toothpaste and deodorant. I promised I wouldn't buy any more of them. There were a few other okay deals on some other things but they still weren't free, and would eaten down a few more of my ECB's. And since I don't have a ton of them left, I just decided to pass up on the whole thing this week.

Its good to take a break now and then. My husband I took an awesome bike ride through a park for over an hour.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-03-07T14:08:00.010-05:00

Well, I guess its obvious. I didn't skip grocery shopping this weekend. I promise we will do it soon. But I did do all my shopping on Saturday instead. Both days this weekend it is supposed to be in the 60's to 70's and my husband is home all day on Sunday. So I wanted to get everything done on Saturday, so we had a whole day to go biking and spend time together.

Since I wasn't really seeing any tremendous deals in next week's ShopRite ad, I took a trip to Aldi's to stock up some things they have there that are so cheap.

Aldi's

1 12 pk of Ramen noodles $1.76
4 dozen eggs $4.60
1 container of vegetable oil $2.39
1 can mandarin oranges .45
1 can crushed pineapple .89
1 can fruit cocktail .85
5 boxes of corn muffin mix .35 each
2 boxes of baking mix $1.79 each
2 cans diced tomatoes with chilis .49 each
1 can bread crumbs .89
2 pks of english muffins .99 each
1 pk hot dog buns .85 each
1 pk hamburger buns .85 each
1 loaf of white bread .79 each
2 tubs of ricotta cheese $1.59 each
1 tub of romano cheese $1.99
2 bags of yellow rice .89 each
1 bag of tater tots $1.59
1 bag of french fries $1.59
1 bag of hashbrowns $1.49
1 pk of chorizo $1.99
1 bag of onion rings $1.19
2 boxes of baking soda .49 each

Total $39.88

The sale on Over The Moon milk ends later today and my local ShopRite didn't have any more. So I stopped at the one near Aldi's today and they had tons of it. The milk freezes and defrosts beautifully, so I will have milk for a few weeks.

ShopRite

4 1/2 gallons of Over The Moon Milk $1.89 - $1 q's = .89 for milk (can't beat it)
2 Frank's Red Hot Sauce $1.19 - FREE coupon in paper = FREE
1 Breyers strawberry ice cream $1.99
2 boxes of Carolina rice .91 - .50 q's = FREE
2 batteries (smoke detector time you now ) .88 each

Total $7.43

Total budget for week $47.31. Now off to get some sleep and enjoy a day outside.

Gayle, who has a great website call The Grocery Cart Challenge, was the original inspiration to me to try a budget with my grocery shopping. Please check out her site, to see how she does it and how some others who also have decided to try her challenge.

Look What I Got At The Store

2009-03-07T13:56:00.003-05:00

And I didn't even use any coupons to get her. She doesn't look like cranberry flavor though.

Actually this is what I found after putting all my groceries away today and going to the back door to take all of the boxes out to the recyclables. Jenna is very crafty, managed to get in there without bending or breaking the box at all. She was so cute, I couldn't resist a picture.

Here Comes Capital One - Too Late Baby

2009-03-06T14:41:00.002-05:00

Well I told you how Chase raised its rate on me a little bit ago. That is card #5, so they are next to be paid off. Amex before that lowered their rate on my husband's card, have no clue why, still waiting for them to do something bad next.

Yesterday in the mail we got a nice pamphlet from Capital One saying they are raising our rate due to the struggling economy. But guess what Capital One? You were card #3 and you were PAID OFF in December So I beat you to the punch. Ha ha. That felt good.

Still not thrilled about the raised rate, but at least I don't have a running balance with them anymore, nor plan ever to.

Another reason to get these evil things gone gone gone as soon as possible.

Financial Update: March 2009

2009-03-05T05:57:00.003-05:00

Four days into the new month and I almost forgot to do the financial update.

1.) Pay off credit cards # 4 and 5. #4 is almost gone. Just one more payment next week and I think it will be history. Then onto #5. Just in case you didn't remember before there are seven to get through before the end.

2.) Have emergency fund at $1500 by end of year. We are now up to $1051.24. I just increased my savings deposit starting with next week's check from $50 to $80. So we should have no problem with the $1500, in fact I am aiming for over $2000 by the end of the year.

3.) Buy chest freezer and stock with deals for dinners at home. Mr. Freeze is full and happy. My freezer upstairs actually could use a few things. We continue to make dinners from home. We really have even stopped the Starbucks dates since we are now biking on the weekends. This weekend it is supposed to be in the 60's and 70's after getting 8 inches of snow. So we are so excited to get out on our bikes.

4.) Stop buying certain pre-made products and make them from scratch at home.

Laundry Detergent - I would say I still have about 5 bottles of pre-made detergent left. Once they are gone I will buy no more. So maybe by the summer we will be into making the detergent from scratch.

Fabric Softener - Still have a few boxes of those left and since I tear them in half and only use half in each load, I will probably not be through those until the summer too.

Household cleaners - Still have alot of those. I wouldn't be surprised if they last me until the end of the year.

Syrup - Still making it from scratch. Would like to get some flavorings to try different syrups flavors.

Pasta Sauce - This one might be a problem. I could make sauce pretty cheap from scratch, but my husband is very particular on sauce and the only homemade sauce recipe he likes involves a ton of ingredients and gets expensive. Plus I have found some amazing deals on canned sauce that is cheaper than anything I could have made. So that one we will play by ear.

Meatloaf - I actually haven't tried to make a bunch of this in advance yet. I think I need to stock up on some more ground meat first.

5.) Clean out the garage and sell unnecessary things. With snow still on the ground, and my brothers things taking up residence there, I don't see a yard sale happening anytime soon. However I do have a TV and a cabinet I want to sell. Supposedly a friend of mine has a friend who wants the TV. If I don't hear from them soon, I am going to have to sign up for Craigslist or something and sell it there.

Skip The Groceries This Weekend

2009-03-03T20:29:00.004-05:00

I haven't mentioned for a while that my $50 a week budget is for two adults. We do not have any children. We used to spend $150.00 on groceries every week or two and would get barely 3 bags of groceries and let most of it go to waste. So $50.00 is a definitely a slash on what our food budget was before. I know people feed 5 to 6 kids sometimes on $50.00 a week, so I know that if we ever needed to slash more we could.

Over the past few months we have assembled quite a nice stockpile of food, both frozen and non. I have been thinking about taking two weeks or so off of grocery shopping and living off our stockpile. I would then take the budget for that week and add it to the snowball payment for our current credit card we are paying down. The only thing I may run out of is ice cream, and since I have an addiction to it, it might be good if I take a couple of days off from eating it anyway. My pants would thank me.

I actually do enjoy the couponing and finding deals so that may be the only part I may miss and I will have control myself if I see some really good things on sale for that week.

I could actually sleep in a little later on Sundays, and be ready to go biking nice and early since it is going to be in the 60's this weekend after getting 8 inches of snow on Monday.

Have you ever taken a mini-vacation from grocery shopping and lived off your stockpile? If so, how long have you done it? Did you allow for any exceptions, or just go hard core?

CVS Deal March 1st: You Gotta Know When To Hold Them

2009-03-01T11:45:00.005-05:00

After about 2 months of doing CVS deals, I learned that I am not going to be the person that is going to buy something at CVS that I won't even use just because it has a good ECB deal. In the beginning I ended up with a diabetes monitor that I couldn't give away to save my life. After that and a few more products I decided, that I am not going to get something unless I can use it. I don't care what kind of deal it is. So I have passed up on a few things now and then. But in the end I have a stockpile of exactly what I need and that is what is most important.

I was very excited to see Carnation Instant Breakfast, or as I call it CIB, in the deal this week. I used to make a shake every morning with CIB, skim milk and a banana. But I had stopped buying CIB a while ago because it was a bit expensive. I only wish the deal was more than a limit one on it. The vanilla extract was a filled because my store didn't have in any of the ACT mouthwash that has a deal this week. But its still good, I put vanilla in everything I bake. The candy bars I actually use for baking.

1 Gillette Fusion razor $7.99
6 Reese's whips $3.00
1 Carnation Instant Breakfast $4.99
2 vanilla extracts $1.98

Coupons
(1) $4.00 off Gillette razor
(3) $1.00 off two Reese's Whips
(1) .75 off Carnation Instant Breakfast

Total ECB's used $10.00
Total oop .28
Total ECB's earned $8.99

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-02-28T19:55:00.009-05:00

SuperFresh had triples again this weekend and I really wasn't going to go until I saw a deal on Green Giant veggies and I can't pass up a chance to stock up on vegetables. So I checked out a few other deals there. Did pretty well.

SuperFresh

2 Frigo string cheese = $1.49 each after q's
2 pks of chicken thighs and wingettes = $1.82 and $1.70
3 Pillsbury Savorings = .75 each after q's
1 Wrigley's gum = Free with coupon in last week's paper
4 Kellogg's Raisin Bran/Crunch = .40 each after q's
10 Green Giant boxed veggies = .25 each after q's

Total before q's = $38.27
Total after q's = $7.37

My husband requested fruit and anytime he wants something healthy, I'm gonna encourage it. So I hit the produce market with my mom and brother today.

Vercchio's

2 bags of carrots
1 bag of red potatoes
1 bag of mushrooms
2 bags of bananas
2 bags of oranges
1 bag of apples
1 bag of lemons (his request, for lemon water)
1 bunch of grapes
and a loaf of bread on sale for .90

Total $17.00

Last but not least of course, ShopRite. I got there a little later due to being sick and knocked out cold from a dose of NyQuil. SR was a little crowded because we are supposed to get snow later today and anytime NJ gets snow people act like they are never going to be allowed out of the house for days. They love to overreact here.

ShopRite

4 pks of gum = Free with coupon from 2/22 paper
2 Tree Ripe OJ = $1.69 each
3 SR cheese singles = .99 each
2 pks shredded SR cheese = $1.25 each
2 Breyers ice cream = $1.99 each
1 Over The Moon FF chocolate milk = $1.89
1 shaving cream = $1.99 - .50 q's = .99
2 Glucerna cereals = $4.99 - $5.00 coupon = FREE
1 Perdue turkey meatballs = $2.21
2 Perdue Flavor Bites = $2.54 = $1.00 q's = $1.54
3 jalapeno peppers (husbands request) = .78
1 rotisserie chicken = $4.72

Total $26.85

Total spent for week $51.22, just a pinch over. That is because I grabbed one more bag of shredded cheese than originally planned. I know my husband and he will go through it this morning making his breakfast burritos.

Some Frugal Changes

2009-02-25T05:58:00.003-05:00

First of all, and for the first time in my life I am tired of the cold weather. I have always loved cold weather. But now I'm done with it. My skin is itchy, the skin on my fingers are split and they hurt and I can't get outside very much to exercise and I prefer to be outside to do it. I don't want summer however. Anything between a nice 50 and 70 degrees is perfect.

And to go along with that good weather, is a new endeavor that me and my husband are taking. We have started biking. Just regular pedal type bikes, not motorcycles. We need more exercise and we need something fun for us to do on the weekends together. Our weekend hobby used to consist of going out to lunch or dinner and then go shopping....hence our lack of savings and credit card debt that we had. Right now we are getting used to the bikes and getting our endurance up. Once that happens and the weather gets better we plan to start taking day trips to free trails and packing nice picnic lunches. So we get lots of exercise, spend lots of time together and it doesn't cost us very much at all. I'm excited.

The payments to the credit cards are moving along. Soon credit card #4 should be gone, baby, gone, and the mission continues to #5. One of the wonderful things about the first three cards that we paid off, is that I got my monthly statement on #3 the other day and for the first time I didn't dread opening up a statement. Because I knew it had no balance. It was so freeing and I felt so in control. Its an addictive feeling and something I want to feel with all the others.

Along with the biking I am making some more changes to my health. I am making myself drink more water everyday and am slowly lowering the amount of sugar I eat too. I do have a sugar addiction I admit it, but I am cutting it down little by little.

Hurry up Spring!

CVS Deal February 22nd: NYQUIL, NYQUIL, NYQUIL

2009-02-22T10:12:00.004-05:00

I didn't see too much that peaked my interest this week at CVS. But I did see a deal on NyQuil and DayQuil. We definitely use it and had none of it on hand. So we are stocked up now.

2 NyQuil $9.98
2 DayQuil $9.98

Coupons
(4) $1.50 off any NyQuil or DayQuil

Total ECB's used $10.00
Total oop $2.83 on gift card, $1.13 in cash
Total ECB's earned $10.00

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-02-20T21:27:00.011-05:00

I wish I could put all the groceries I buy with my $50 budget in one big impressive picture. However my stores don't start their sales on the same day.

Triples at SuperFresh this weekend. As I have said before this is always a little work, pulling all q's under $1.00, making a list of all of them. Having four columns of stuff to check out and only getting maybe a column at most. But when you get to the counter and you see your total after all the q's its always worth it.

My SuperFresh is always great and I got lots of overage this time. So I will take it.

SuperFresh

2 bags of Stacy's pita chips $2.99 - $1.50 q's = $1.49 each
4 Minute Rice brown rice 4 pks $1.79 - .50q's tripled = .29 each
2 boxes of Domino sugar $2.09 each - .65 off 2 tripled = $1.12 each
4 Fiber one yogurt 4pks $1.64 (clearance) - .50 q's tripled = .14 each!!
8 Lipton teas $2.00 - .60 q's tripled = .20 each
4 Celestial Seasoning teas $1.67 - .55 q's tripled = .02 each!!!
4 Blistex lip balms $1.39 - .35 q's tripled = .30 each
4 French's spicy mustards $1.69 - .75 q's tripled = FREE with overage
1 Suave shampoo $2.79 - Free Suave product Q in mail = FREE
1 Cascade rinse $3.59 - free Cascade rinse Q in mail = FREE
3 Heathly one lunchmeats $1.67 each - .75 q's tripled = FREE with overage
4 Mentos gum $1.49 each - .55 q's tripled = FREE
3 Betty Crocker Frostings $1.67 - .50q's tripled = .17 each
2 Suave deodorants $1.69 - .75 q's tripled = FREE
1 bag of NY croutons $1.59 - .55 q's tripled = FREE with overage
2 Ortega tortilla packs $1.99 - .75 q's off two tripled = .87 each
1 NY garlic breadsticks $3.49 - .50 q's tripled = $1.99
1 NY cheese ciabatta bread $3.19 - .50 q's tripled = $1.69
1 can of Del Monte no salt tomatoes $1.69 - free Del Monte can coupon = FREE

Total before q's $98.35

Total after q's $19.80

Couldn't resist, went back one more time Saturday morning.

SuperFresh

2 Fiber One yogurts
3 Celestial Seasoning teas
4 Mentos
2 Minute Rice
1 pk of reduced broccoli $1.50
4 bags of chex mix $1.25 each - .50 q's tripled = FREE
4 pouches of Ortega seasoning $1.49 - .75 q's off 2 tripled = .37 each
4 Viva paper towels $2.69 - .75 q's tripled = .44 each

Total before q's $56.91

Total after q's $10.17

On Sunday, to ShopRite for just a few things we needed. Would have been nice if I could have just gotten this stuff while I was SuperFresh, but outside of their triple coupons and some meats, ShopRite is just cheaper on everything else. And they had a sweet sale on Over The Moon milk. I said before that we don't need alot of milk in our house because my husband doesn't like it and we don't have kids, so I will freeze these 1/2 gallons. And they will last me quite a while.

ShopRite

2 Friendly's ice cream $1.99 each

2 Over The Moon 1/2 gallon milks $1.89 each - $1.50 off two q's = $1.14!!!

6 Campbell's tomato soups .69 each - .40 off three q's = .43 each

1 St. Ives body wash $1.99 - .75 q = .99

1 soy sauce $2.29

1 recyclable bag .88 - coupon for free bag = FREE

1 turkey breast = $3.14

Plus the last time I went to SR I earned $4.00 in coupons off my next order.

Total after q's $12.92

And earned another $1.50 off my next order

Total spent on budget $42.89. Under budget baby and got lots of stuff!!

The Good Benefits To Credit Cards

2009-02-19T09:07:00.005-05:00

While paying off all these credit cards, I made sure to check how many points we earned on each of them through their reward programs. With credit card companies making changes now everyday to rates and rules, I'm sure they are also going to or already have started adjusting rewards programs to give less benefits to card holders.

So to head that off I have been redeeming all of our points on these cards. I have gotten gift certificates, a free subscription to All You magazine and for the last one a wonderful anniversary present.

Our Amex card gives points for for travel, hotel, etc. We had enough points on my husband's Amex to get a $200 credit on a hotel room. Our 10 year wedding anniversary is in April. So last night we booked a super deluxe room in an awesome hotel in the city for that night. Total cost to us after the credit and taxes was $29.00 and we get free breakfast. Awesome.

Other Things About Us/Tax Returns

2009-02-15T14:54:00.007-05:00

People probably wonder in my grocery budget where is the food for the 7 pets I have. Well in our total budget for our two weeks I have a separate pet budget of about $10 or $20 to get their wet food, dry food, etc. Once in while I increase the budget for vet visits or flea or heart worm medicine. I have several categories in our total spending budget:

Groceries
Pets
Me
My Husband
Misc

Those are the main categories. But every paycheck I always think ahead to see if we need to add a category for that period. Oil changes, doctors co-pays, prescriptions, etc, are all figured into the budget that day so that we stay in the range we have to. I'm surprised at how much smaller this budget is than what we used to spend with our leftover paycheck money and we seem to have more food and be more content.

Milk. I see so many people having to buy 3 or 4 gallons of milk with their budget. I so feel for them, as they usually have several kids that I'm sure just tear through what they buy. In my household, there is only two us, and I am the only one that drinks milk and it is usually for my coffee or sometimes cereal. So we only need a 1/2 gallon of skim milk a week at the most. My husband hates milk. I won't even go into details of what he thinks it looks or tastes like. But having not to buy much of it, helps on the budget.

Thanks to our tax returns we made some huge strides this week. We sent a huge chunk of money to credit card #4. And as soon as our state returns come in we have it almost gone say minus a hundred or two.

We also sent a balance to our emergency fund to bring us up to $1000.00. Even though in these economic times $1000 in your emergency fund is not all you need, its $1000 more than we had before. So better late than never.

And remember when I told you that our rate on our Amex card went down and that I wasn't going to get too excited, cause I was sure the other foot would drop. Well it did, today I received notice from card #5 (good old &^$##% Chase), that the rate was raising by 4%. Which is more the reason to get working on getting that one down and gone as soon as I have #4 gone.

Nonetheless, I won't let that rain on our parade. We are still making strides and keeping on track to our goals. It has been 5 months since we started this marathon.

CVS Deal February 15th: More Toothpaste

2009-02-15T13:20:00.005-05:00

I have more toothpaste than the Colgate factory combined. I'm at the point where I am going to start donating it to some worthy causes. It goes on sale so much and my q's always make it free. I wanted to get another Gillette razor but they were all out. I always try to get my milk at CVS too so I can use the ECB's to make it free.

2 Colgates $2.99 each = $5.98
1 1/2 gallon of milk $2.59
1 CVS mouthwash $2.59
1 pk of gum (not in picture, needed a filler) $.99

Total$12.15

Coupons
(1) $1.50 off any Colgate
(1) $1.00 off any Colgate
(1) CVS CRT for a free CVS Mouthwash

Total ECB's used $6.49
Total oop .60 (put on my CVS gift card)
Total ECB's earned $5.98

Again not a huge moneymaker but I get my milk free and for me its worth it.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-02-14T14:21:00.011-05:00

We needed bread and meat. The ShopRite deals are not looking that great this week. So I headed over to my favorite place for meats, SuperFresh and they did not disappoint. So I also checked out the bread there and took a few q's. I did pretty good with the brand names. I probably could have gotten the buns cheaper but again you live and learn.

2 pks seasoned chicken thighs $1.48 and $1.65
1 pk of steaks $3.44
1 pk of 8 boneless chicken breasts $8.66
2 pks of Shadybrook turkey burgers $1.49 each
2 Cornish hens $3.44
1 Gorton's popcorn shrimp $2.24 - $1.00 q = $1.24
1 pk hamburger buns $1.59
1 pk hot dog buns $1.59
1 12pk of King's Hawaiian sweet rolls $2.49 - $1.00 q = $1.49
1 Arnold 12 grain bread $1.99 - $1.00 q = .99
1 pk Thomas' english muffins $1.99 - $1.00 q = .99
1 large loaf of white bread $1.59

Total after q's $27.32

Over to ShopRite for a few remaining things to wrap up my budget for the week. We were out of vegetable oil again. My man is a fryer, let me tell you. They had a good deal on the Hunt's pasta sauce and if you bought 10 you got a $3.00 coupon for your next order. The box of dog biscuits was free from a coupon I found in Entertainment Weekly. Its the one with the cast of Twilight on it, if you happen to have one. And I got a coupon in the mail for a free 2 liter of Dr. Pepper. I did buy 3 boxes of Lean Pockets for the man, but he ate one as soon as I got home before I could take a picture.

I also had planned to get Hefty Gripper bags at $1.49 after coupons, but they were wiped out of them at 10am, yikes.

10 Hunts pasta sauce 10 for $8.00 - $1.00 off 4 q's = $6.00 or .60 each
1 Dr. Pepper .99 - Free coupon = FREE
1 container of vegetable oil $2.79
3 Lean pockets $2.00 each
4 Mrs. P's frozen pizza's .49 each
1 aluminum foil $1.99
1 box Milkbone biscuits $2.79 - Free coupon = FREE
2 packs of American cheese $1.99 each
2 packs of ravioli = $1.39 each
2 packs of gnocchi = $1.39 each

Total $26.70

Total spent $54.02. Which happened because I was unable to get the Hefty bags and improvised on the spot to get other things to take its place. But still not bad for all of that stuff.

Payday Friday

2009-02-13T14:56:00.007-05:00

Our emergency fund is over $700. Not too bad. Would like it to grow faster. We are going to use a small portion of our tax returns as soon as it comes in, to get it up at least to the $1000 mark. The rest will go to finally pay off the rest of credit card #4.

This is also our first payday where we didn't have that extra money coming in and I was still able to send half a decent snowball amount to card #4. And I am actually a little ahead in paying all our monthly bills, so much that I haven't gotten most of them in the mail yet. I just pay them online and save the confirmation e-mails for when they show up in the mail.

And weird thing too, all you hear about lately is credit card companies raising rates on people for no reason, even ones with no monthly carry over balances and those with good payment history. Well I was checking all my cards for their balances and rates, as I do so every few days and I noticed that one of my cards actually lowered their rate for us. I never asked them or did anything, but it lowered. So I will just keep my mouth shut and take it as finally some good karma. But I won't get too excited the others may try to even that out.

Our Menu This Week

2009-02-11T13:57:00.004-05:00

Sorry, I'm a little late with this. Lets just say the rest of my life is keeping me way busier than I would like right now.

Sunday - dinner at mother in law's for husband birthday

Monday - took husband out to dinner, saved up for it

Tuesday - Ginger and garlic chicken, rice and mixed veggies

Wednesday - baked pork chops, noodles and vegetables

Thursday - Baked pasta casserole with turkey meatballs

Friday - Marinated steaks with potatoes and vegetables

CVS Deal February 8th: No ECB's, but no OOP

2009-02-08T10:26:00.005-05:00

Was a strange trip to CVS this week. I had one deal in mind on something getting $10.00 in ECB's back, but they didn't have the item in stock and I didn't have my heart completely set on it. I had my $10.00 CVS gift card I earned on MyPoints, so I got some free Ritz and Wheat Thins, two cards for my husband and sister in law's b-days, milk, and dryer balls that I have wanted for a long time.

5 boxes Ritz crackers $1.00 each
5 boxes Wheat Thins $1.00 each
Dryer balls $3.00
2 cards .99 and $2.99
1 1/2 gallon of milk (I forgot to put it in the picture) $2.59

Total $19.57

Coupons
(5) $2.00 off any 2 Ritz or Wheat Thins crackers
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more at CVS (last day to use it)

Total $6.57 all put on my CVS gift card
Total oop ZERO
Total ECB's ZERO

So nothing new earned, but nothing spent either and I got some stuff we needed. Still a good week.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-02-07T19:01:00.016-05:00

Every few weeks I hit our local produce market and stock up on all kinds of veggies and some fruits. I chop most up into bite size pieces and freeze them for future recipes. I feel very fortunate to have places like this nearby and at such good prices. My brother moved away for a year and both places he lived in that time he said said fruits and veggies were so expensive and they had no good produce markets. He is really happy to be back to get those bargains.

So my husband and I stopped by our market this morning.

Vercchio's

1 bag of green beans
2 bags of bananas
1 bag of jalapeno peppers
1 small bag of garlic
2 bunches of scallions
1 bunch of asparagus
1 bag of oranges
3 bags of carrots
2 bags of celery
1 bag of onions
1 bag of green peppers
1 bag of potatoes
1 thing of ginger

Total $23.25

Then later I stopped by Acme when I found they were having a sale on Edy's. If you go on Acme's website and register your savings card you can get additional savings added to the card. Its called Avenue. Sometimes the extra savings are on top of items already on sale.

Acme

5 Edy's ice creams 3 for $10.00 - $2.00 each on Avenue savings. = $1.33 each!!!!

My limit on the Avenue deal was 5. But if it is still on there in the morning I can go for another trip.

And their sugar was on sale too and we were completely out. I know still not a cheap as it was on Thanksgiving. But that is something I learned the hard way.

3 bags of sugar $1.99 each

Total $12.62.

ShopRite was having what I would call a breakfast sale. Sale on eggs, OJ, bacon and coffee. I have enough coffee on stock, so I decided to stock up on the rest with the money left in the budget.

ShopRite

4 dozen Egglands' Best $1.49 - .35q's = .79 each

4 cartons of orange juice $1.49 each

2 packages of bacon $1.49 each

1 Ocean Spray juice $1.69 - .55q = .69

1 Crab Classic $1.74 - $1.00q = .74

2 Butterball turkey bacon $1.49 - $1.00q = .49 each

1 Colonna parmesan $1.49

6 Colgate toothpastes .99 - $1.00q = FREE

1 Rotisserie chicken $4.99

4 Geno's pizza's .99 each

Total $25.67

Total $61.54, whoops, went over budget quite a little bit. I seem to do much better when I stick to one store only. But I did get plenty of veggies to last us a while.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-02-07T18:39:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. We make sure, that we make a big deal out of each other's birthdays. So the celebration can last all weekend long.

We go to his mother's house tomorrow for dinner and then on Monday a night out that I put some money aside just for.

So happy birthday to the love of my life. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else in the world.

Update Cause I Feel Like It

2009-02-04T11:08:00.005-05:00

I got my first reward the other day for using MyPoints. I earned over 1500 points just reading surveys and looking at sites. And that earned me a $10 CVS gift card. I can use that for a few weeks for my out of pocket expenses at CVS! So I will actually not be spending a thing there.

We go get our taxes done tonight. We should get a nice sum back and that will all go to card #4. Which should make it gone for good. Fingers crossed.

I switched banks about a month ago and the last thing going into my old account has finally transferred over to the new one. So we will go this weekend and cancel those two old accounts for good. Goodbye annoying bank with stupid fee's. Don't let the door hit you. So far I am loving my new bank.

It was about 14 degrees this morning and is expected to be almost in the 60's on Sunday. Its nice to know the weather has multiple personalities as well. For the first time in my life I am looking forward to warmer weather. Not hot though, just a nice 50 or 60 is perfect for me.

Our Menu This Week

2009-02-02T21:03:00.004-05:00

We have a couple of nights where one of us isn't home, so the menu is a little more lenient this week.

Monday - General Tso's chicken with white rice

Tuesday - seasoned chicken thighs with noodles and vegetables

Wednesday - Hubby works, so I am having leftover turkey and dumpling soup

Thursday - Getting our taxes done at 6pm, will stop after for pizza slices (in budget)

Friday - Hubby works again, so I will have tuna fish sandwiches on toast

Financial Update: January 2009

2009-02-01T13:05:00.009-05:00

One month down in 2009 and how did I do on my new goals for the year?

1.) Pay off credit cards # 4 and 5. I have paid over $1800 to card #4 and with our tax returns in the next few weeks #4 should be completely gone. And I'm glad cause it has an awful interest rate. #5 will take longer as all this extra money that was coming in is stopping.

2.) Have emergency fund at $1500 by end of year. We are up to $676.56 so far. We are still on track with $50 from each of my checks. When hubby gets back to work full time we will make it $100 each payday.

3.) Buy chest freezer and stock with deals for dinners at home. Mr. Freeze is more than happy and settled in our house. We try to keep him stocked with meats and prepared sauces.

4.) Stop buying certain pre-made products and make them from scratch at home.

Laundry Detergent
Fabric Softener
Household cleaners

I still have alot of these left from my former deals. Probably won't use them up until mid-summer.

Syrup
Pasta Sauce
Meatloaf

I have actually made the syrup several times. We love it and no longer buy pre-made syrup.
We do make homemade pasta sauce on occasion when we have all the ingredients but I still can't resist buying jars when they are real cheap. Meatloaf I plan to try soon. Need to find an awesome recipe.

5.) Clean out the garage and sell unnecessary things. I have actually cleaned a few things in there. But unfortunately my brother is moving back home with my parents due to the lovely economic crisis and I am the only one with a garage. So his stuff will be storing in my garage for while. So I don't see if being empty and clean any time soon.

I also decided to get my spare room organized. For the longest time it was a catch all for leftover furniture, my cats toys and my vacuum cleaner. I needed a place to call my own, do my bills, write my blog, organize my coupons and listen to my music. So you see below my little desk area we created. I was able to get my file cabinet out of my poor husband's office. And once we had this up, I reorganized my file cabinet with folders, labels. Our paperwork is real easy to find now and hubby knows where everything is anything ever happens to me.

Yes you can see my Yoda and Animals dolls. Two of my favorite toys I couldn't part with.

CVS Deal February 1: Feeling Like Old Times

2009-02-01T12:53:00.006-05:00

Last week and this week are really starting to rejuvinate me in the CVS deals again. It really does feel like old times when I first started getting good deals. I even met a person in the store doing the deals too and I have never met anymore before who did them.

For those of you who didn't know this before, I am a lucky girl in that my CVS takes expired coupons for a month. So I am able to get more stretch out of some of my coupons, especially the $3.00 off of $15.00 and this time the $4.00 off the razor.

I brought all of my Electrasol coupons I had left, not thinking they would have alot in stock. But ShopRite also had them on sale, so I was just going to get them there if CVS was out. But I was in luck. They had plenty and I left plenty for others.

2 L'Oreal Revitalift cleaner pads $5.99 each
5 Electrasol PowerTabs $2.99 each
1 Gillette Fusion Gamer razor $7.99
1 Excedrin 10 ct $2.49
1 1/2 gallon milk $2.69

Total $40.10

Coupons
(2) $2.00 off any Revitalift face product
(5) $2.50 off any Electrasol product
(1) $4.00 off any Gillette Fusion razor
(1) $1.00 off any Excedrin (CVS CRT)
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more at CVS

ECB's used $15.00
Total oop $1.71
ECB's earned $16.49

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-02-01T12:28:00.006-05:00

Once again I skipped the other stores on Saturday, this time not to sleep in late but to take two of my cats to the vet for their yearly checkup. What an event that was, but that could be a whole post in itself.

I would say at least one week every month and half my mail carrier doesn't bring me any circulars on Thursday, I have no clue why. So thanks to an angel on HotCouponWorld.com who starting scanning the ShopRite ads each week and posts them by Wednesday, I am able to figure out my deals ahead of time.

Hit ShopRite bright and early Sunday, even though I was up late and got little sleep. I figured it would be crowded with people getting food for the SuperBowl, even though Eagles fans here are bitter they aren't in it.

I try to only pay .99 or under for any cereal after q's. But Life cereal is my favorite cereal in whole world and $1.49 is the best I have found it at yet. So I couldn't resist and got 2 boxes. I had a bowl for breakfast when I got home, YUM.

ShopRite
2 Turkey Hill ice creams $2.74 each
5 Bic Twin Select/Silky Touch razors $1.64 each - $2.00 q's = FREE and I got $1.80 overage
7 Sucrets lozenges $1.49 each - $1.50q's = FREE and got .07 overage
1 Clorox bleach $1.38
4 ShopRite butters packs $1.69 each
20 Dannon Light & Fit yogurts 10 for $3.90 - $1.00 off 10 q's = $2.90 for 10
2 Martinson's coffee $2.49 - $1.00 q's = $1.49
2 Life cereals $1.99 - $1.00 off 2 q's = $1.49 each
1 Smart Balance butter spread $2.49 - .50 q = $1.49
1 dozen eggs $2.69
4 Swanson frozen dinners (for the husband) .99 each
1 pk frozen burritos (again for the man) $2.99
2 - 8pks of pork chops $5.73 and $5.93
1 Perdue oven stuffer roaster $5.35

I also had $7.00 in catalina's from my last trip. So that came off my total.

Total after everything $43.41

Wow, I went under my budget and didn't even think I would. I actually would have gotten more. But I think I will save my $6.00 and change for Wednesday when ShopRite has their price break sale. They have OJ cheap and I am on my last container of it.

Product Review: Spot Shot - If You Have Pets And Carpet, Buy This

2009-01-29T10:58:00.009-05:00

I feel that this is one product I am really qualified to review. If you don't remember, I have seven, yes, seven pets and one slightly messy husband (I'm being kind, cause he reads my blog and will torture me later about it).
Hi honey. :)

My bedroom carpet, oh my poor bedroom carpet. It actually took me 10 years after moving into the house to getting around to replacing the carpet that was originally in there. And when I finally got the carpet, she sure was pretty. A beige carpet with a very cool pattern to it. I even spent a little more on it to make sure it was sturdy and somewhat stain resistant. Yeah, the stain resistant people haven't met my cats.

My one cat is skitzy, and eats too fast and has a bad stomach. No matter what I give her on occasion she will vomit it up 2 minutes later if she eats it too fast or gets all jittery. And her favorite place to do it is my bedroom. So over the years I have tried different carpet cleaning methods to for quick spot removal. I've done Woolite, Carbona, Resolve and several other smaller brands. They did get up about 70% of the stain but left a half decent yet slightly faded stain that would never come out. And this was all for messes that just happened. Nevermind on old stains on the carpet.

Once I got Spot Shot the hunt was over. Spot Shot is not expensive, comes out with coupons all the time and goes on sale now and then at my ShopRite. Now with any pile of stuff (yuck) you have to pick up the initial amount with a paper towel. But for the rest that it staining the carpet just spray the Spot Shot on, you can actually see it look like it is getting into the carpet. I use an old rag and a brush to scrub the stain. I would say with most stains that have occurred, I have repeated this process maybe 2 or 3 times with the stain and it is all gone.

So for a woman who tries not to have brand loyalty to get the deals, I have to remain brand loyal to this stain remover. I do it for the sake of my beautiful bedroom carpet.

When Is It Justified To Go Over Your Budget

2009-01-27T20:29:00.004-05:00

I already spent our $50 grocery allowance this week. But I am very tempted to go back to ShopRite tomorrow to get more of the Perdue chicken on sale. It was such good prices for all of that product that I thought maybe I could spend a little more and stock up for weeks.

But doesn't that defeat the purpose of the budget? And when do you say when? What if another deal next week makes me want to go back and go over?

I think I may just stay home, but then I could change my mind in 30 minutes. What's your opinion? When is it time to just so no to some deals?

Our Menu This Week

2009-01-25T17:07:00.007-05:00

Monday - Chicken Parmesan

Tuesday - Quesadillas with salsa, sour cream and re fried beans

Wednesday - French Onion Soup with cheese and bread

Thursday - Meatball sandwiches with cheese

Friday - Roasted turkey, rice and vegetables

CVS Deal January 25: When Will I Learn To Read

2009-01-25T13:01:00.005-05:00

I was originally going to get the new Gillette Gamer razor in this deal. But dummy me didn't read the ad correctly. I get the store and can't find it anywhere. So I go and grab an ad in the front of the store and see in the writing below it, that it doesn't come out until January 30th. But the deal I did do was still good and I made ECB's which is something that hasn't happened for a few weeks.

5 Gillette shampoo's $4.99 each = $24.95
2 Dove beauty bars .99 each = $1.98

Total $26.93

Coupons
(5) $2.00 off any Gillette shampoo or conditioner
(2) $1.00 off any Dove facial product
(1) $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more

ECB's used $11.93
Total oop .84
ECB's earned $15.00

Hey, I finally made some extra ECB's. Which is good cause I was getting painfully low.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-01-25T12:20:00.006-05:00

So my plan not to go to a million different places over my weekend worked out pretty well. I slept in Saturday and got up early on Sunday to hit the stores. I first hit CVS, more on that in another more, then ShopRite and the DollarTree to get my newspapers. Its been a few weeks since I got to spend my whole weekly budget at just ShopRite and I felt I did pretty well. They were having a big Perdue sale and got some good deals with coupons.

2 Old Orchard juices 2 for $3.00 - $1.00 off 2 q's = $1.00 each
6 boxes of Apple Jacks $1.88 - $1.00 q's = .88 each
1 box of Rice Krispies $1.88 - $1.00 q = .88 each
2 Breyers ice cream $2.74 each
2 Old El Paso refried beans .99 each - $1.1q off 2 q's = .44 each
5 French's mustard $1.29 each - .50q's = .29 each
5 boxes Totino's pizza rolls 5 for $5.00 = .35q's = .30 each
2 ShopRite shredded cheeses $1.49 each
1 rotisserie chicken $4.81
2 Wise cheese puffs $1.49 - .50q's = .49 each
3 packages of breaded chicken cutlets $1.99 each - $1.00 q's = .99 each
1 pack of Perdue chicken breasts $4.99 - $1.00 q's = $3.99
1 Perdue Sauce N Toss $3.99 - $1.00 q's = $2.99
2 packages of Perdue turkey meatballs $1.84 each
1 Perdue thin sliced chicken breasts $3.12
4 boxes chicken/beef broth .99 each
1 pack of coffee filters .99 each

Total $49.25

All this and under budget this week. Hopefully ShopRite has some more good meat deals over the next few weeks, so I won't have to run back to SuperFresh again. But then again, I can't believe I will be that lucky for long.

***I forgot to include that I got coupons for $7.00 off my next shopping trip at SR too. Earned $5.00 off for buying the 7 Kellogg's cereal and $2.00 for buying the French's mustard. SCORE.

Time To Slow It Down

2009-01-24T14:18:00.003-05:00

I get up for work every morning at 4:30am, yes, that early. I take the dog out, feed the pets, exercise for 45 minutes, eat my breakfast, get shower, get ready, drop the dog off at my mom's house and drive 25 minutes to work. Every day. Five days a week. Yes, I'm very grateful to have a good job, but it still gets tiring, I don't go to bed early enough and I don't get alot of sleep.

On the weekends I haven't been getting too much extra sleep due to wanting to be up early to go to SuperFresh on Saturday's and get some deals and the newspapers at the dollar store. Then getting up early on Sunday's to go to ShopRite before the crowds get there.

This weekend I have had it. I needed some sleep. So I've decided to skip SuperFresh and sleep in late. I got up at 9:30am. Which is late for me and I loved it. Then I got to exercise, make breakfast and hang out with the family. I am just going to get my whole $50 of my budget at ShopRite tomorrow morning like I used to. Sometimes you just have to cut a few of the bargain things down. Time is just as valuable as money, and rest is even more important.

I would love to do this every week, but SuperFresh just has too many good meat deals. So I've decided that when we need meat to just add them to my Sunday trip. Go to CVS first, then ShopRite, and then SF to keep my Saturdays open.

I also sent two big payments to card #4, so its slowly coming down. I hope to have it gone by the end of February or mid-March with our tax returns, plus some of that will go to card #5 too.

What A Beautiful Day

2009-01-21T15:03:00.005-05:00

(this was actually my work Halloween costume)

Was a beautiful day yesterday anyway with the inauguration. I think I watched any coverage I could from the minute I woke up until I was falling asleep on the couch at 10:30pm.

Our Menu This Week

2009-01-19T19:55:00.006-05:00

(ahhhh, those were the days before Mr. Freeze came into our lives)

Monday - italian wedding soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Tuesday - pasta casserole w/turkey sausage and crescent rolls

Wednesday - maple dijon chicken with veggies

Thursday - tamale pie

Friday - crockpot round steak w/gravy, rice and veggies

CVS Deal January 18th: Still No MM'ers

2009-01-18T12:35:00.004-05:00

I hope CVS gets some good moneymakers soon. Every week I am losing like a dollar or two. I have to build back up my ECB's soon. But I still found a few things to get this week.

3 Herbal Essences shampoos $2.99 each = $8.97
1 Cottonelle wipes $5.98
1 Excedrin Back and Body $1.99

Total $16.94

Coupons
1 $2.00 off Excedrin Back & Body
3 $1.00 off Herbal Essences
1 .50 off Cottonelle wipes
1 $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more at CVS

ECB used $8.00
Total out of pocket .44
ECB's earned $6.00

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-01-17T16:39:00.012-05:00

In March it will be a year since I started couponing and I have learned so many lessons. I have learned what goes on sale at what times of the year and that you need to stock up on it then. Sugar for instance goes on sale between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I bought it on sale, but not alot of it. Now I am completely out, needed more right away, and had to pay full price as the coupons I had didn't even make it cheaper than the store brand. Now I know to buy a bunch of it at the holidays. You live and learn.

I decided this week to load up Mr. Freeze as much meat as I could, and then take a break from meat shopping in the next few weeks, and focus on other categories, fruits and vegs, non-perishable goods (rice, beans, pasta).

So that is what I did at SuperFresh today with that thought in mind.

3 lbs ground beef $5.06
1 pack of thin steaks $2.63
1 pk seasoned chicken thighs $1.34
1 pk seasoned chicken thighs $1.01
1 top round steak $5.31
3 Healthyones lunch meat $1.67 each - .75 q's = .17 each
1 pk granulated sugar $2.99

Total $18.84

Over to ShopRite. It was crowded due to the 3pm Eagles game today (I will keep my opinions on that game to myself).

2 Turkey Hill ice creams $2.49 each
2 Kraft cheeses $1.99 (I had .50 q's but they were for wrong store, oops)
3 Ragu pasta sauces $1.14 - $1.00 off 3 q's = .81 each
4 cans Goya beans $2.00
3 Sucrets Ice pops $1.49 - $1.50 q's = FREE
4 Hefty boxes of trash bags $1.49 - $1.00 q's = .49 each
1 Goya olive oil $2.99
1 vegetable oil $1.99
1 rotisserie chicken $4.99

Total $26.40

Then I hit our local produce market because they have the cheapest lunch meat around. And my poor husband needs something besides leftovers for lunch. I found out while in there that it was a $10.00 minimum to use your debit card there and since I had no cash, I had to get a few things to bring me up to the $10.00. The bananas are for my mom, who asked me to grab them for her.

1 bag broccoli rabe
1 bag bananas
1 bag spinach
1 lb domestic ham
1 lb American cheese

Total $11.26

Final total $56.50

Okay, a little over. But the $10.00 minimum at the product place threw me off. Next time I will learn to take cash there.

Do You Want My Money Or Not?

2009-01-16T11:23:00.007-05:00

I'm not asking you, of course. Don't send me your addresses.

I tried to sign on online about a week ago to one of my credit card accounts. I wasn't completely paying attention when I first typed in the user name and password and I messed it up. Try again it said. I tried again and my fingers must have malfunctioned cause I typed it wrong again. It then locked me out. When I hit the button to unlock the account, it asked me a bunch of questions. One of the final ones being the 3 digit security code on the back of the card.

I don't have the card. I shredded it up months ago and never wrote the number down. I didn't think I would need it again unless I was making a purchase. It won't let me sign back on or unlock the account without the code. So I called them and they told me I must have the code to get back on. So they will issue me another card. Once I get it then I can sign on.

Well you know that as soon as I get the new card, I will just write down the code and then cut up the card. I wanted to send them a nice payment this morning, but I can't do it online, and dummy me forgot to bring in a copy of my bill so that I could call them and pay it over the phone.

So here I have the money and no way to pay them. Guess it will have to wait until I get home, and maybe I can at least do it by phone, or just wait until the card or the next bill comes in.

Can you tell I am getting real inpatient to get rid of this debt?

Note: When I got home later in the day my card had arrived in the mail. I was able to re-register online and sent them a nice payment!!!

Whats Going On...

2009-01-13T11:27:00.007-05:00

Well my ulcer is back. They originally found it when I was 19. And something I must have done recently has irritated it. So a call to the doctor tomorrow will be in order. I keep eating to keep my stomach full, which does make it feel better, but my pants are getting tight. That's not me above, of course. Just imagine longer hair and much more annoyed face.

I'm in my impatient stage again with the debt. Have to wait until I get paid on Friday before I can send more money to my debt. Not a race, remember, not a race. I am just so determined to get rid of it, that it can't happen fast enough. Emergency fund still chugging away. I couldn't decide to do the EF or the debt, so I keep doing both at the same time.

I switched to a new bank this week. None of those annoying fees for strange things anymore. So yahoo!!

Finally set up a little office for me in our extra bedroom. I was living out of a tiny corner in my husband's home office, with just an old metal file cabinet and Rubbermaid file box. I never felt like organizing it and doing the stuff I wanted to with our papers as I felt like I bothering my other half being in there. Now that I have my own space with a desk and cabinet, I am really getting things together. Making up new files, gathering info in correct spots. Have a calendar on the wall of all my bills due dates. I've shredded things I have kept for way too long. I'm a big girl now. I should have taken a picture of it.

Mr. Freeze is getting surprisingly full thanks to all the Eggo's I got at SuperFresh and the turkey I earned a few weeks ago that was taking residence at my parent's neighbor's house until I had a place to put it.

Our Menu This Week

2009-01-12T20:31:00.006-05:00

I know alot of people list on their menu their breakfasts and lunches. I am out of the house for work from 7am to 6pm at night. So every weekday for breakfast, I have a shake of bananas and orange juice and my lunches usually consist of brown rice, yogurt and dried cereal and maybe veggies. My husband works mostly nights, so he is home in the day and I don't know what he eats but it the stuff I have in the house.

But dinners we make whether we are home together or not. If he leaves before I get home, he makes the dinner and leaves me a nice plate.

Weekends I try to make us both a breakfast, usually french toast, Amish Baked Oatmeal, egg casserole or pancakes. Weekend lunches and dinners are always from what we have on hand too. Sometimes leftovers from the week.

Monday - Pasta with meat sauce

Tuesday - Turkey sausage with onions, creamy noodles and veggies

Wednesday - Pasta E Fagioli

Thursday - Autumn Pork Chops with sweet potatoes and carrots

Friday - Taco Soup

CVS Deal January 11th: Finally A Good One

2009-01-11T11:56:00.004-05:00

Been a while since I actually got a CVS deal right. Might restore my faith in going back to it every week. What is funny is that I bought these refills cause they were a good deal, thinking though I don't even have a Glade oil warmer at home. When I got home I found out I had several. Yahoo!

4 Glade Scented oil plugins refills $5.49 each

Total $21.96

Coupons
2 BOGO Glade plugins refills
1 $3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more

Used $7.59 in ECBS
$1.19 out of pocket
Got $8.00 back

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-01-11T11:29:00.007-05:00

My trip to SuperFresh on Saturday morning was mostly to get the ground beef that was on a great sale for $1.68 a pound. I got there a little before 9am and they had none. Yes, NONE! They didn't even have a sign out for it. So I just assumed I had gotten there too early for the people in the meat department. I went and did the rest of my shopping. But managed to botch some of that up too.

The Special K and the Eggo's waffles were supposed to be .99 each. The Eggo's worked but the Special K rang up at $2.50. The Stroehmann's bread was 3 for $4.00 but unfortunately the kind I picked up and had coupons for wasn't part of the deal either. And again did I mention that I didn't get the ground meat?

3 Eggos .99 - .75q's = Free, no overage
4 Special K waffles $2.50 each = $10.00 - .75 q's = $1.00 each
3 Skippy peanut butters 3 for $4.00 - .35 q's = .63 each
3 Stroehmann's bread $2.59 each - .55q's (not doubled) = $2.54 each (yuck)
1 Egglands 18 ct $2.99 - .35 q = $2.29

Total $14.31 (could have done better)

So in my frustration, and my husband's frequent complaining that we need ground meat instead of using ground chicken or ground turkey, I hauled my behind back to SF later in the evening to see if they stocked up on the meal. And thank Jebus they did. I got close to 9 lbs of ground meat, and froze it into 1lb little packages and stuck them in Mr. Freeze.

a little under 9 lbs of ground meat $14.62

Lastly, of course, to ShopRite. They were having their Can Can sale, but I really am well stocked up on canned goods, so I just got some things to round out our week. The Slim A Bear Klondike ice cream sandwiches are for me. I am trying to teach myself portion control with my ice cream consumption. My name is Cheryl and I have an addiction to ice cream.

4 Quaker oatmeal quick oats $1.50 - .60 q's = .50 each
2 Chi Chi's Salsa = $1.49 each - $1.00 off 2 = $.99 each
2 Helluva Good Cheese blocks $1.99 - $1.00 off 2 = $1.49 each
2 Wacky Mac spirals $1.19 - .50q's = .19 each
1 Breyers ice cream $2.74 (for the husband)
1 Klondike Slim A Bear $2.79 (one a day Cheryl, one a day)
1 Rottiserie chicken $5.80
4 cans ShopRite sauerkraut $2.00

Total $23.34

Total spent $52.27 Just a pinch bit over budget. Would have done better overall if I paid attention the first time at SuperFresh. But Mr. Freeze is happy and so is my husband that I won't be making meatloaf with ground chicken in it any time soon.

I Was Shocked

2009-01-09T12:21:00.006-05:00

If anyone watched Oprah yesterday she had Suzie Orman on, with her 2009 action plan.

On top of the normal ways in which you need to pay off your credit card debt, she made some suggestions at the end of her show to the audience members who had a combined total of 2.9 million dollars of credit card debt.

1.) Don't spend money for a whole day (they nodded)

2.) Don't use your credit cards for a week (they nodded)

3.) Don't eat at restaurants for a whole month............OMG!

You would have thought with that last one that she asked them to sacrifice their first born child. They were outraged and upset and some just plain refused to do so. And I was horrified that this small sacrifice to give yourself financial freedom did upset them so much.

Now that I have thought about it today, I think some people misinterpreted who she was directing this to and people in the restaurant business weren't happy too. But she wasn't telling people who are financially sound, have no debt and good savings to not go out to restaurants. She was telling this to the people that had mounds of credit card debt and are one paycheck away from a financial disaster.

But I still think there were several there who did understand who the message is for and still refuse to take the steps necessary to get yourself out of trouble. The show did make me feel good that I was 4 months head of these people, and were already doing everything she suggested. I only hope the light goes off in their head to finally make the changes they need to.

The Credit Crunch Hits Home

2009-01-08T08:07:00.010-05:00

Well we all heard that credit card companies are now lowering the limits on customers card. I got a letter the other day letting me know that credit card #4, the current one I am paying off, lowered my limit by $100. Now I know that having you limit lowered can affect your FICO score. But to be honest with you, I laughed at the letter. Its a bad card, with a horrible interest rate, and I just want to pay it off and be done with.

But my mother in law got a letter from the same bank as I have my last and biggest credit card with. They told her they were raising the rate on my father in laws card to 28%. My father in law is no longer with us, and his balance on the card is very small. She went to the bank and they agreed to make it 1%, which is fantastic. But it got me worrying that that bank may eventually do the same with me. And considering it is my largest one and the last one to go that would hurt. So far no letter, keeping my fingers crossed.

Once I knock off the next two I hope to transfer that last big one to one of my lower cards so I can start knocking that down.

Product Review: Kozy Shack Ready Grains

2009-01-06T11:58:00.007-05:00

A little bit ago there was a link where you can request a free Kozy Shack Ready Grains. So of course I signed up. The site describes it as "the first all natural ready to eat multigrain cereal". My first curiosity was if it was fattening, as I for the most part watch what I eat. In my opinion wasn't bad on the calories or fat for my diet, and my husband doesn't really like cereal/oatmeal so I knew this was going to be my treat to try.

I found it at SuperFresh, it came in a double bowl pack. I bought the strawberry flavor, So I paid zero dollars and brought it home. It retails anywhere from $3.00 to $4.99. I decided to take one of bowls with me to work. I like to have rice or something filling for lunch, and thought this would be great and required me to do no prep work. Just throw it in my lunchbag and go.

At lunchtime today I got it out and read that you can eat it cold or warm. Since I love my warm oatmeal I took it down to the microwave in the lunchroom and just put it on for about a minute. I stirred it around, let me suggest you should really stir it around to get it to more of an oatmeal consistency and to get the fruit mixed in.

It wasn't too bad. Kind of like a creamier, gooey, oatmeal with a pinch of sweetness in it. At first I thought it tasted like uncooked pancake batter with strawberries in it. But once I got over the texture I think the taste actually got better. More oatmeal like but still a bit creamier and gooey. I do have another bowl left and will take it with me to work. But I might bring something to eat with it as it wasn't filling enough to last me the afternoon. And I might add some almonds or something to it to give it a bit of a crunch.

Its not a bad product at all, but not sure if it was good enough for me to give up my brown rice or plain oatmeal with fruit, and not sure it will fit into my budget at that price. Maybe if they come up with some good coupons and it goes on sale.

Our Menu This Week

2009-01-04T19:45:00.003-05:00

Can you tell I am using up leftover ham this week?

Sunday - Chicken Fried Steak, green beans, rice

Monday - Seasoned chicken thighs, dirty rice, buttered corn

Tuesday - Homemade ham and cheese pockets

Wednesday - Baked mac n cheese with ham and broccoli

Thursday - Chicken meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies

Friday - pasta bake

CVS Deal January 4th: I'm Back

2009-01-04T12:08:00.005-05:00

You may have been wondering why I haven't posted a CVS deal, since I believe Black Friday. I did take two more trips to CVS since that day, but the deals were so uninspiring that I didn't even want to post them. I think every once in a while you need to take a break from the CVS'ing and regroup before resuming your trips. Also my stockpile of non-food items is doing pretty well, so I am trying to only get things I really need. I'm not going to buy diet-gum and nose spray if I know I am never going to use it.

So when I went today I had a whole deal in mind, but they were out of one of the things I wanted so I had to improvise and that meant I lost a few ECB's but I did get some things we needed. And with the new 3/15 coupon out there, I had to give it a go. And my stores coupon scanner is finally up and working, so that was good news, and I got some good new coupons.

2 Cottonelle 84ct tub of wipes $11.96
1 Garnier shampoo $2.99
1 Doublemint Gum $1.19 (filler so I could use my $10 ECB)

Total $16.14

Coupons
$1.00 off Garnier
$1.00 off Cottonelle
$3.00 off any purchase of $15.00 or more

ECB's used $10.00
Total $1.14
ECB's earned $8.00

So I lost 2 ECB's, due to the fact that I had to change my deal on the spot. But we were so out of wipes it wasn't funny. So getting to stock up on stuff we are out of, it was worth it. However I do need to earn some more ECB's soon. I'm getting low.

Grocery Shopping In Budget

2009-01-02T23:42:00.011-05:00

Well, I might have to retitle my post this week. Grocery Shopping slightly off your budget cause of stinkin SuperFresh.

SuperFresh is having triples this week. Which is a curse and blessing at the same time. Its a pain to have to pull ever q you have under a dollar, and you make like a two page list of what you have to find half of them aren't good deals. But you still do get alot of stuff for cheap. So I will stop complaining now. Plus how many times have I said, that my SuperFresh has the nicest cashiers in the world. I had a 10 minute conversation with my cashier tonight about saving money, coupons, credit card debt. We bonded, it was lovely. And I got to buy Mr. Freeze a few new friends.

I went at night on Friday so the picture isn't as bright as it usually is.

2 containers Edy's = $2.99 each
1 Kozy Shack Ready Grains = FREE (got coupon in mail for Free one)
4 packages of turkey sausage (manager's special) = $1.59 each
1 package of ground chicken (manager's special) = $1.49
4 Green Giant Valley Steamers 4 for $5.00 - .50 q's = FREE with .25 overage each
1 Lean Pocket $1.74 - .40 q = .54
4 Sobe Water $1.49 - .50 q's on the bottle = FREE
5 Betty Crocker mashed potatoes 5 for $5.00 - .40q's = FREE maybe overage
2 Blue Diamond almonds $1.99 - .75 off 2 = .86 each
4 Muir Glen canned tomatoes $2.19 - .75 q's = FREE
6 Whiskas Temptations cat treats $1.89 - .50q's = .39 each
3 Pounce cat treats $1.59 - .75 q's = FREE maybe overage
3 Lipton tea bags $1.29 - .60 q's = FREE
1 aluminum foil = $2.99
1 bag of hot dog rolls $1.99 (not pictured, we were hungry)

Total price before q's $74.14, after q's $22.70

And then I went again the next morning. I wasn't going to, but the deals were fantastic and I had a few more q's to use up.

4 Green Giant Steamers
3 Temptations cat treats
2 Muir Glenn Tomatoes
2 Blue Diamond Almonds
4 Sobe Lifewater
2 boxes mashed sweet potatoes
2 Helluva good cheese blocks
1 Bridgford Ready Dough

Total after q's $10.34.

So my last trip this morning was ShopRite, I had contemplated knocking off quite a bit on my list to keep it in budget. But SR was having so many good deals, so I took it as a chance to really stock up and have a lighter week next week. I know I got the Green Giant steamers at SuperFresh, but SR had a larger variety of just the plain veggies without sauce on them. And I like those better. So I got a few there too.

3 containers of OJ $5.00
2 Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream $3.99 each - $3.00q's = .99 each
10 Dannon yogurts 10 for $2.99 - $1.00 q = 10 for $1.99 (awesome deal)
5 Green Giant Valley Steamers $1.33 - .50 q = .33 each
2 Farmland hot dogs .99 - .55 q's = FREE
2 packages of cube steaks = $1.52 and $1.50
12 pk of Nissan ramen noodles (hubby's lunch ) = $1.99
1 Robitussin Cough med $1.99 - $1 q' = .99
6 boxes Ronzoni pasta .59 each
1 Rotisserie chicken $5.92

Total $25.05.

Total overall $58.09

So I would have stayed in my budget had I not gone to SuperFresh that second time. But I was only $8.00 over my budget and I got a ton of stuff. Lets just say that Mr. Freeze is quite happy with his new collection of veggies that should last us quite a while. I am even going to try and subtract that $8.00 from my next week's budget and see if I can do it for only $42.00.