End of the Month..

Time to clean out those coupon binders! Throw away or give away expired coupons and mail in any monthly rebate items. Get ready for December!!

Thank you Snapfish!

I have to share with you a great customer service experience I just had. I ordered a photo book for my husband's grandmother for christmas. I ordered it through Snapfish. I had a free book code, so it just cost me shipping.

I got it last week and I didn't open it because I was going to ship it to her. My mother in law asked me to open it and take a look at it. When we did, we found that they put the cover on backwards. So the pages looked upside down!

I was concerned because Snapfish has always given me good quality things. I emailed them right away. Due to it being Thanksgiving, I expected to hear from them in about a week. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that they emailed me the next day (yesterday), I got a credit for the book and reordered it promptly. Then TODAY, I got another email, refunding my shipping on the order.

So, now another book will be on it's way to me for the gift.

Way to go Snapfish, that was excellent customer service, especially over the holidays!!

Black Friday

I admit I go out on Black Friday, but here in my small town, it's a pretty simple easy deal. I go in (one store, Walmart, because they price match), get what I want and get out. Everyone is helpful and friendly. It's pretty simple. I don't shop all day and I don't go to a bunch of stores. Just one. For those that have to deal with people acting like materialist savages, my heart goes out to you. That man that died (in NJ) shouldn't have died. People can be so selfish. It's sad. Nothing in a store is worth killing or hurting someone for.

I spent about $300. Yeap, put it on credit card, got home and wrote the check out to pay for it. So no interest charges and I get my rewards points. Mailed the check today. I picked up some beautiful ornaments They are pewter and only $3.99, which will make great gifts. I picked up several $2.00 and $2.50 DVD's. So, those will be for a few family members. I bought gifts for the Christmas Angel's Program. I got home and wrapped it all.

I did stop at Menards. $61.00, but I am getting $25.00 back in rebates. I got something for the house, no gifts. I got the rebate lightbulbs, coloring books, pasta pots, and a few other items. So, I will get those rebate checks back and save them for after christmas shopping.

I also did some online shopping. Used my free photo credits to get some pictures made for some photo frames. I also got in on the free photo book, so that will be a gift also.

I got everyone done. I am only buying for immediate family and a few other people. My extended family is very large and I don't really know what to buy for them and to keep it fair I choose to buy for none of them.

Did you go out for Black Friday? I hope if you did, you were thoughtful of others and realize that whatever you bought is just "stuff".

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Well, it's that time of year when we take a look at our lives and realize how blest we are. Even during the hard times, we have so many blessings!!! These past 7 years of my life have been a work in progress, but knowing how blest I am to live in America, have the will to suceed and the blessing of my family makes my life pretty good!!

I don't live in a huge house (who would want to clean it!). I don't have a fancy car ( don't need something with low gas mileage!). I don't have lots diamonds and eat 8 course meals everyday (which is okay to me too...I don't like most fancy meal foods and diamonds are not my best friend).

BUT...
I am blessed. I have a roof over my head and a vehicle to get to work in. I am blessed by having a wonderfully supportive husband who believes in me. I am blessed because I have 2 great kids who I am very proud of. I am blessed because with the love, support and prayers of friends, we have gotten our debt down to almost nothing (Our goal is debt free in Summer 2009). I am blessed to be surrounded by animals that I love and spoil. I am blessed because I have a great job and work with awesome people. I am blessed because GOD himself has had a hand in my life becoming what it is. I came from a bad marriage with no future and lots of fear, I have come into a wonderful marriage ( 7 years this January) with a great future and lots of years to look forward too.

The economy is bad, but I am not afraid. I am already frugal. I already know that in order to make my life more fufilled and happy, I need to want less and be thankful more for what I have.

I hope everyone is blessed in their own way this Thanksgiving.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!

Coke Points!! ONE MORE YEAR!

Coke Points were set to expire Dec. 31st, 2008. Well, I just got an email this morning. They are going to do it again in 2009! This is the 3rd year of doing it! Yeah!!!!!

I have gotten some great prizes from Coke Points! I love the program! We drink very little soda but my parent, my in laws and my brother all drink it and they give me their points. This is great becuase it provides movie rentals and other great prizes for my kids!!

YEAH!!!!!!

To be debt free.....

My goal has always been to be debt free....I am so close (as you can see by my counter at the bottom of this blog). I started my marriage with $52,000 in debt and a huge car payment. I believe we will be debt free by July 2009. I am going to do another balance transfer of my last credit card to keep the interest rate to zero and to keep my debt snowball going. Our big vehicle payment is done Oct. 2009.

How do you get out of debt...
1. Stop using your credit cards...You DON'T NEED EVERYTHING YOU SEE!!! ( I know it's hard and it stinks but it's WORTH IT!)
2. Get things free! Use freecycle, free coupons, trades, clothing exchanges, rebates, what ever you have to do to get debt free.
3. Use the snowball method and pay off those debts!
4. Transfer balances to Zero promotion credit card deals, BUT watch the fine print and keep track of when they expire, so you can transfer them again.
5. Don't get behind on the cards you do have. Even if you pay them just the minimum, you are saving yourself tons of hassle.
6. It's okay to say no. IF you don't have the money, don't say yes to going to lunch with friends. Tell them so, don't just "charge it".
7. If you can't spend less, you need to make more. Either you cut back and use that money to pay down debt, or you find more work and bring in more income. One or the other, OR BOTH!!

I admit our family is not typical. We don't have Cable, or Satillite TV. We don't fancy things. All our furniture is hand me downs. BUT, all of that has helped us get to our Goal. We do free events, enjoy cheaper activities, and we do what we can to reach our goal. That is the most important thing, getting down our debt!!!

Someday, I will scream I AM DEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Freebie Day Yesterday!!

Well, What a freebie day it was yesterday!

My husband and kids went to the Grand Opening of Walgreens in our town. They got Coloring Books, Water Bottles, Klennex, Hand Santizer, pill organizers, and crayons. Then my husband got not only a $25.00 gift card for transferring the prescription, but another $25.00 extra off the prescript!!

Then in the mail I got a free gym bag, 4 free movie tickets and a coupon trade.

Then I got to go to the Badger Football Game yesterday ( of course I got the ticket free, we parked for free, so the only money spent was dinner afterward!). It was not only fun, but they gave away tons of freebies!!! The game itself was wonderful. They gave out beef Jerky, plastic red ball, 2 hot drinking travel cups, 2 bucky tattoos ( temporary), lots of Football cards and free music download cards! BTW, the Badgers won, and I had a wonderful time!!

Keep your eyes open for freebies...they are everywhere, even in bad economic times!!!

Great Free Thing for Kids!!

If you live in Wisconsin, you will want to know about this!! Every Saturday, Overture Center (Madison) has a children program FREE! I can tell you that many of these performances are wonderful!! I have meet and know Ken Lonnquist ( Dec. 6th) and Magic Matt ( March 28th).

http://overturecenter.com/kir.htm

Join in the Free Fun!!!

Big Trip Again....

My last BIG Trip was Oct. 19th. SO, it's been a month.. I try to make it 5 weeks, but with the kids getting older and now we are making their school lunches, it does seem to be every 4 weeks.

Anyways..

Logli's
14 pound Turkey
2 Glade Candle Refils
4 Pluge in Warmers
1 bag of Cherry Tomatoes
8 boxes of Pop Tarts
2 containers of Sour Cream
2 bags of Chex Mix
1 Free Magazine
2 boxes of Chex Bars
2 bottles of Buddies Conditioner
1 box of Teas
3 boxes of Cereal
2 boxes of Cereal Breaks
3 containers of Butter
2 6pks of Yougart
1 jar of Coffeemate
4 boxes of Hot chocolate
13 bars of Buddies Soap
1 bottle of Buddies Shampoo
1 bottle of Buddies Spray
3 packages of Pantyhose
1 4 pound sugar
2 containers of Cooking Spray
1 jar of Olives
1 cup of cat food
5 pouches of Mashed Potatoes
.75 pounds corned beef
.75 pounds of Chicken Breast
.75 pounds of corned beef
1 package of sliced turkey ( lunch meat)
1 package of crab meat
1 package of Assorted Lunch Meats
1 package of Brown and Serve rolls
4 cans of Manderin Oranges
2 starkist tuna Pouches
2 cans of Speghettios
4 cans of Gravy
2 boxes of Speghetti Noodles
1 package of Ziploc Bags
Total: $162. 74
Total After Coupons: $51.46

Aldi's's
6 Ramen Noodle Cups
Can of Pears
2 bottles of Mulit Vitamins
6 boxed Frozen Family Meals ( Chicken Parmasean and Salisbury Steaks)
6 Frozen Juice Concentrates
Jar of Gravy
6 bean Burritos
2 cans of Cranberry Sauce
1 bag of skillet Dinner
2 jars of Apple Sauce
3 cans of Chunky Soup
1 box Popcorn Shrimp
1 package of Sugar Cookies
1 chunk cheese
1 pk. Hamburger Buns
3 Loafs of Bread
6 Pounds of Ground Turkey
3 Microwave Meals
6 boxes Mac and Cheese
6 packages of Hot Dogs
2 cans of speghetti and meatballs
2 cans of Speghettio
Pancake Syrup
3 dozen Eggs
6 containers of Cat LItter
2 pks of Bologna
1 box of raisins
2 jars of Sloppy Joe Mix
4 cans of Tuna
1 box of cream cheese
Head of Lettuce
Bag of Cheese Puffs
Corn Curls
Bag of Tortilla Shells
Total; $108.54


Walmart
7 bags of Veggies
2 Goody Hair Bands Packs ( 17 count)
Total: $11.24
Total After Coupons: .47 cents

Kwik Trip:
3 pounds bananas
4 bags of Milk
Total: $6.04

CVS:
4 packs of Durcell Batteries
2 Glade Candles
2 Glade Glass Scents
1 Glade Oil Refill
Total $35.15
Total after coupons: 3.78
And I got another $20 in ECB's for my next trip!!!!

NO Photos Tonight, I am too Tired!!! But I will write more about my shopping next time! I spent $170.29 between 5 stores. If you divide that by 4 weeks.. you get $42.57. I am feeding my family for $42.57 a week. That includes my animals and health and beauty products.

Walgreen's Run

Now that I have a Walgreens so close to my house, I will probably be running there weekly.

Here is what I got today ( no photos sorry!)

4 2 liters of soda
2 3pks of Scotch Tape
2 boxes of Lipton Tea
Glade Plug In Warmers
Glade Plug In Warmer with Night Light
2 boxes of Puffs Klennex
2 cans of Mushrooms
3 cans of Cranberry Sauce

Total Before Coupons:$43.15
Out of pocket after coupons: $18.14

I hope to get to CVS and Logli's yet this week!

Christmas Gifts Deal...

KB Toys has a good clearance going on. I got 7 toys for under $51.00 shipped. I used coupon code KBNLTR for an extra $5.00 off (helped cut down on shipping costs)

I got
4 Doodle ponys (for girl gifts)
1 Doodle Bops Board Game ( for a birthday gift)
1 LIttle Tikes Remote Control Car ( for my son)
1 Leap Pad Batman Learning book ( for my son)

So that makes the toys $7.29 each!! I also went through Ebates and got 2% back on my purchase!

I have just a few children to buy for on my christmas list....hum..now the adults..that is a bit harder!!

Cashed in my Points...

Typically I cash in all my point programs in July and December but, due to the fact I need to do some holiday shopping, I decided to cash in this week.

So, I cashed in and here is what I am getting:
$25 Applebee's Gift Card
$10.00 Check
$14.75 Check
Big Red Toy Semi-Truck ( it came this past week! Christmas Gift)
Disney sticker sheets ( stocking Stuffers)
3 music downloads ( I put them on my ILO)


Not as big as the first half of the year, but I haven't done my point programs as much as I should. But, it's still free stuff for just my time. :)

New Ebates Bonus!!

If you are an Ebates member, you can get in on a great deal. Spent $10 and get a $10 bonus.

Or if you aren't a member, click http://www.ebates.com/refer-a-friend/amb1114.htm?referrerid=zXjX2Qa7osfmePth%2BHUxLg%3D%3D and sign up. For signing up, you will get the $10.00 bonus with your purchase!

If you do the Victoria Secret Sale, you spend $13.00 and make $10.00 on EBATES!!!!

Free Coupon For Del Monte Tomatoes

http://www.delmonte.com/solutions/default.aspx

Join their DelMonte Dish and get a coupon for free Salt Free Tomatoes. Must be one of the first 50,000.

My walgreens trip....

I went to the brand new Walgreen's here in my town. Walgreen's had $5.00 off when you spend $20 coupons.


Here are my transactions:
Transaction one:
4 Start Smart/Special K Cereals (used $1.00 off each from the sunday paper)
2 4 pk Toilet Papers
2 Reeses Candy(needed these to make my $20.00)
2 Rimmel Eye Liners ( used Coupons from Kmart Beauty Book)
1 Goody Brush ( used IP coupon)
2 Glade Oil Refills ( used my BOGO coupon)
1 Bottle Soda ( had $1.00 off)
Total before coupons:
$44.93
After coupons: $15.23 and I got $2.00 cash back for the not working register rewards



Transaction 2:
8 Glade Oil refills
2 Rimmel Mascaras
2 Littles Pet Shop Toys ( not pictured because they are christmas gifts!)
1 Diego Explorer Toy (christmas gifts they were buy 2 get one free)
1 Goody Hair Brush
$90.46 before coupons
$27.96 after coupons and gift card from last months refund

My Cheap week...

Well, it's not a complete week yet, but Hey! I have to tell you what deals I have gotten!

First, On Monday after work, I picked up my Redbox code and got a free movie for the kids. So they watched the movie and I got an extra 2 1/2 hours of work done at my office! Also, as we headed out to pick up our Redbox free movie, I also used the free Apple dippers coupons from McDonalds....So nothing out of pocket! The kids had a fun Monday night! Also, at work today, one of my co workers gave me her Coke rewards tops! Yeah! More free video rentals!

Tuesday, after work, I dropped off the redbox movie, and crossed the street to Blockbuster. There I picked up 3 movies, using the Free Rental coupon I had from my Erewards Survey and their tuesday buy 1 get 1 free rental night. I should have paid for 1 of those movies ( from the BOGO coupon) but I used my gift card ( still have from coke rewards!) So, all three movies were free. Then we stopped at McDonalds again (I KNOW! 2 DAYS IN A ROW AND WE NEVER TYPICALLY EAT THERE!!). We used my kids Happy Meal Coupons (They earn for a school reading program). So I had to pay for my meal. Which, I had a BOGO coupon for, so I got 2 sandwiches and a large soda for under $4.00 plus the kids free meals. Kids got meals, I got another extra 2 hours of extra work done at the office.

Then today, after work, I picked up the mail and got another coke rewards item. The red Semi Truck. I will save it as a christmas gift for my son! I know he will love it!

Besides getting gas in my car, I haven't had any out of pocket expenses. I was able to send another $200 to the BIG Credit card and put my husband's bonus work check in the bank for our emergency fund!

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE!!!! :)

and a few coupons....

Here are so great IP coupons! Enjoy!

Chex Bars Coupons
http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=ri3peuo59687503&bt=wi&o=53740&ci=1&c=GM&p=TyQrvJAY

Blue Bunny Holiday Sandwich Coupon
www.bluebunny.com register as a IScream Member and get $1.00 off coupon

Goody Hair Ouchless Coupon
www.goodycomfort.com
* Enter comfortlicious site
* Click coupon at top right


Johnson Buddies Coupon
http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=rhgiclh82944432&bt=wi&o=9993&c=JB&p=VRJhjsmv

Johnson and Johnson Printables
http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/special-offers-expanded.jsp;jsessionid=-Wo2gIHVqAWc1Ct0S5-eihNY2Xk#

A Few Freebies

Ziploc Bag Sample
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid56046.aspx

Always Maxi Pad
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid48802.aspx

Greenies Cat Treats
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/default.aspx

Also, Try www.startsampling.com register and see what freebies they will have for you! You can tell them AMILLER53 referred you! :)

CVS Pharmacy Trip

Went to CVS today:
4 boxes of Kellogg's cereal
4 boxes of Halloween Fruit Roll Ups
4 bottles of Dish Soap
1 bottle of Frutis Shampoo
1 bottle of Listerine Cool Blue
3 boxes of Well Patches
2 tubes of Crest Toothpaste
1 20 oz Sprite

After coupons, my total was $24.00, and I got $18.98 in EBC's for my next trip. :)

Good Walmart Trip!

Stopped at walmart on the way home from work!



Bag of kitten chow
2 cans of progresso soup
2 cards of hair band elastic pony tail holders
Can of grilling beans
2 boxes bagelfuls
1 box of breakfast brakes
4 bags of veggies


Total: $22.77
After coupons: $4.01

Another Walgreens Trip!!

Great Walgreens Trip.
$93.99 before coupons
$74.98 after sales were taken off
then after coupons, I paid $10.30. I used my refund gift card from last months refunds to pay for it. So nothing out of pocket. Then I I got $1.00 in register rewards and $6.00 is coming back in rebates. :)

I got 8 3pks of razors, 2 package of pantyhose, 4 boxes of teas, box of ice pops, one box of maxi pads, and a tube of mascara.

Great Victoria Secret Deal!!

I got 2 sweaters, flip flops and a lip gloss gift set for $13.00 shipped!!
Here how it works:

There is currently a promotion, buy one sweater, get $15 off the second (the one of higher value!) Code: SWEATER15 I got a cardigan and a cami

And this one..
Add code: RUSH08 for free lip gloss set.

Then choose one of these to add..
Add code: FA810189 for another $10 off (VS Cardmembers only) - This seems to work for some and not others
OR
Add code: FA813549 for $10 of your NEXT purchase

The discount is available on sale items but not clearance items.

Since the FA810189 needed to be over $10 and my discounts put me at exactly $10 I added the $7.00 flip flops, which put me at $17.00, but then I got the $10.00 FA810189 discount. So, with shipping it was $13.00!!! YEAH!!! More work clothes for me!

Christmas is just around the corner..

I used to be so good about christmas gifts. I would shop all year long, finding clearance items and hiding them until christmas. This year has been different. I am working 3 jobs and we have had one thing after another happen in our lives. So, I have been watching internet deals for gifts. I found one that is pretty good. For men, a Laser Level Tool. It's $9.99 and free shipping. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Strait-Line+6041300CD+&x=20&y=19

So, many family members will be getting one of those!

After Halloween Shopping

I have nothing on the calendar today, so we have been home. The kids were playing so I ran to Walmart. I wanted to check the halloween deals. I didn't get much in decorations or anything, but I did find a few things.

*30 pack of Doritios (they are small bags you can give out for trick or treat, I will use them for my kids lunch box snack)
*3 pack of girls socks, White, Purple and Black ( nothing halloween about them but the 3 basic colors)
*2 pairs of boxer shorts ( plaid blue, will use a extra christmas gift for hubby..I know...boring but it's an extra thing to unwrap)
bag of Halloween Erasers ( I work in a school, so save for next years halloween)
*2 packs of cupcake liners
*9 6 inch glowsticks ( pink and blue)
*1 bag of 15 assorted color glow sticks ( all glow sticks will be saved for camping! The kids love that!)
*2 kids plastic treat bags ( nothing halloween about them, I use the for birthday gift bags)
*Package of Paper Plates ( halloween themeed but we use them camping)

Total Spent: $19.76