Questions Answered

I got a couple questions after my last post so I thought I would answer them publicly because others may be wondering the same thing.

Tonight I was telling my husband about this particular blog and that you got basically paid for getting stuff... He works in retail and is wondering how you are getting cash back on the items. He says most coupons will say "no cash value" or such on them...

I have never gotten cash back. You get overage when your coupons equal more than the product. I have heard of other people getting cash back but I don't feel right about this. So if I know I am going to get overage I get another product and then the overage covers that. As for the Walgreens deal, I get my FAR money put on a Walgreens card which I get at the end of the month.

So yesterday I paid:
$30.81
I will get $46.04 + 10% back on my Walgreens card
that is how I made $12.61

I didn't actually get cash back but I will get it on a Walgreens card which spends just like a gift card.

One more thing... where do I get the SDC?
You get the SDC in Safeway's ad. Most Safeways have a big stack of ads by customer service.

Money Maker at Walgreens for Friday and Saturday

Would you believe I MADE $12.61 by buying this stuff??? On days like today I feel like I am shoplifting-but it is legal! Here is how I did it:

*the olives with the .99 coupon from the ad and milk were just fillers to make my order more than $40 and the rest were FAR items:

Chemistry Shampoo or Conditioner or Treatment--prices up to $7.99
Use $3/1 coupon from August EasySaver booklet
Get full rebate from September EasySaver booklet
Free plus $3 overage after coupon and rebate


Buy 1 Nivea for Men Body Wash at $4.99
Use $1/1 coupon from the 7/20 SmartSource
Free plus $1 overage after coupon and rebate

Buy 1 L'oreal RevitaLift Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate at $16.49
Use $3/1 coupon from the 7/20 SmartSource
Free plus $3 overage after coupon and rebate

Buy 1 Crest Pro-Health toothpaste at $3.79
Use $0.75/1 coupon from the 8/3 P&G
Free plus overage after coupon and rebate

Buy 1 Revlon Nail Color at $4.79
Use $2/1 coupon from the 8/24 SmartSource
Free plus $2 overage after coupon and rebate

Walgreens Acid Controller Complete $7.99
FAR

You could also buy the other FAR items which my Walgreens didn't have in stock:

Excedrin Express Gels $3.99
FAR

LypSyl Stick $1.99
FAR

Pitcher Filter Replacemement $6.99
FAR

Good on Friday & Saturday only Spend $40 get $10 off. If FAR items bought later in the month you would still make some $ and get a bunch of FREE stuff but it wouldn't be such an incredible money maker.

FREE Salad Dressing

Okay, not that I need more salad dressing but it is FREE again this week. Wishbone salad dressing is on sale for $0.99 (limit 4) at Safeway. Use the $1/1 Wishbone Bountifuls coupon here (you'll need to scroll down the list and find it) to get them for free after coupon.

Thanks, Heather!

FREE Toilet paper

Want some FREE toilet paper? Click here and enter your info. then print your $1 off toilet paper coupon (hit back and print 2). They are on sale this week at Albertsons 10 for $10 (you don't have to buy 10). Yeah, we won't have to do the family cloth! Just kidding. I'm not that green yet.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

"Money problems are not the problem, they are the symptom of something else inside of you." ~Larry Burkett

This is totally true.  If your finances are out of wack, so is something else.  Maybe you feel that to be someone you need to buy expensive things, maybe you have marriage problems and your money is manifesting that, maybe you are unorganized and need to get your bills and budget together, or maybe you are just being childish and need to tell yourself no.

Saving For College

This week we opened an Educational Savings Account (ESA) for the kids. Hopefully throughout the years we will be able to continue to add to it. ESA are a great way to save for your kids college, as they grow tax free. However, you shouldn't put saving for your child's education above becoming debt free and saving for retirement. It is very important to work the financial baby steps (see to the right of blog) in order. There are grants and scholarships available for college but not for retirement!

New Cars

When my husband and I were newly married we were somewhat naive about money. Probably like a lot of people. We got into debt but never worried about it because "we could always afford the payments". Making payments was what adults did. Or so we thought. A well intending but seriously mislead family member instructed us that you should always buy a new car. It is the best way to go financially. So, we bought a NEW car. Bad mistake. In fact it was the stupidest financial decision we have made.

Do you know that new cars lose 60-70% of their value in the first 5 years? What a horrible investment. We probably won't buy a brand new car again and we definitely won't buy a car that we don't pay cash for. Car payments are a great way to stay broke. Check out this video on how to drive FREE cars for the rest of your life.

Frugal Wife Scares Husband

When I read this post about a husband's reaction to his wife's new found frugal ways, I had to laugh. It reminded me so much of my dear hubby. At first he thought "this will be a great way to save some money" then he realized there was a lot more to it than that. One thing my husband has not been able to grasp is stockpiling. Just yesterday he said "Do we really need 20 bottles of italian salad dressing?" Well, when you get it FREE how can you turn it down? Seriously, if anyone needs some let me know or my extra will be going to the food bank to get my husband off my back. He does however love how little we spend on groceries but he draws the line at going with me to the grocery store. Which is fine with me because he is always sneaking snack food in the cart that we don't have a coupon to get FREE and ruining my frugal streek.

Walgreens $5 Off

Here is another great $5 off $20 purchase for friday and saturday at Walgreens. If you haven't yet done this month's FAR items this would be a great time to get FREE stuff and make $5!

We're DEBT FREE!!!

We're DEBT FREE!!!!! And it feels awesome!!! I don't think it will truly hit me until next month. Want to become debt free too? Find a Financial Peace class in your area to learn how.

As a debt free side note: In a poll of the Forbes 400 (the 400 wealthiest people in North America) 75% say the best way to become a millionaire is avoid debt.

Safeway Deals

This week there are some good deals if you combine the Safeway coupon with the MFC and the SDC:
Knott Lipton Sides: 4 /$4 with Safeway coupon- 2 $.75 off 2 MFC-SCD= 4 for $2.50
All Laundry Detergent: $2.99 with Safeway coupon -$1 MFC-SDC= $1.50-that is about 4 cents a load. You can get the Free and Clear which is what I use.
Skippy Peanut Butter: 2 /$3 -2 $1 off MFC= 2 for $1.50

All of these MCF can be found in last Sundays paper and the Safeway coupons are in the Safeway ad. Prices good until Tuesday.
Whenever a store puts out a coupon try and put a MFC with it for maximum savings and use a SDC for even more savings.

1 More Day

1 More Day until we are DEBT FREEE!!!!!!(except our house)!!!!!

2 More Days

2 more days until we are DEBT FREE!!!

FREE Bread

Sometimes a company will come out with a new product and give out FREE samples to break it into the market. Sunday's paper had a great FREEBIE. If you don't usually clip coupons you may want to clip this great one. The coupon was for a FREE loaf of Sara Lee Soft & Smooth bread. Luckily, I found 4 more of these in the recycling bin. Yeah-I won't be buying bread for awhile!

Update:This coupon was in the Red Plum coupon insert-not sure if all areas received this?

$.15 Well Spent at Safeway

This week our grocery budget has been super tight due to some unforeseen medical bills. We budgeted $10 for food for the week and would you believe we came in under budget?? I am amazed at how God continually provides for us. When we used to have a tight week we would just use our credit card to fill in the gap, always thinking of course we will pay it off next month, which we weren't always able to do and hence the debt we accumulated. Now that we don't use debt for anything except to buy a house I am amazed at how God always provides for us. Whether it be someone giving us some hand-me-down clothes or finding some great coupons. Today I went to Safeway and got all this for $.15! And yes, that is steak and shrimp for FREE! The check out kid has gotten to know me and my super saving ways and he had a good laugh when he told me I only owed $.15 and told me he had never seen anyone shop like I always do to which I replied "thanks"!

Christmas In August???

Yes, now is the perfect time to be preparing for Christmas, especially if you are on a tight budget. Actually, January is the perfect time to start thinking about Christmas so if you haven't already-you are behind! =) You don't need to spend a lot of money to show your family and friends that you care about them. In fact, I think homemade, personal gifts are often times more meaningful than something you can buy at a store.

Some Christmas Gifts we have made in the past are:
Homemade wine & Beer
Knitted scarves and hats
Handmade Cards
Candy & Cookies
Homemade Jam

With the exception of the candy and cookies, all the other ones are gifts you want to start making months in advance. All the wild berries right now are perfect for making jam, so I have been picking berries like a crazy woman. The Man and I had fun last night bottling our wine and it is nice to know that is already done.

I have this thing about always being done shopping and having all my gifts wrapped by the first of December so that I can take the month of December to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Since we are on a very tight budget this year a lot of people on our Christmas list will be getting homemade gifts so it is imperative that I start planning for Christmas months in advance.

If your budget allows you may also want to start setting aside money each month for Christmas. We used to go all out and just put our Christmas gifts on our credit cards (and still be paying them off by Easter!) but now we are done with debit! We don't buy things on credit so that is not an option for us. Last year was the first year we did this and you know what? We had a wonderful Christmas! Not to mention we paid for it with CASH so we didn't have to worry about getting the bill. This year I encourage you to PLAN AHEAD and do not use credit to have a Merry Christmas. I promise it will be much happier.

What are you planning to have a debt free Christmas?

Love Spicy Food?

I love Tobassco Sauce so I was excited that I was able to stock up this week on it for FREE. Print the coupon here and take to Albertsons this week with your SDC and get it for FREE.

Line Dry Yours Clothes-Save $ and the Earth

Inspired by my green friend KDK I have decided to line dry my clothes. Unfortunately, I only have one clothes rack so I am only able to do about half our clothes right now but that is better than none. When I stopped to think about it, isn't it ridiculous to be running the dryer when it is 90 degrees outside? It will be neat to see how much money this saves us but even more important it is a great way to conserve energy and be green-thanks KDK for the great idea!

Wild Berry Picking

One of my favorite things about summer in the Pacific Northwest is all the wild blackberries. They are delicious and FREE! I've already picked about 10 lbs of them and plan to pick a lot more. I will freeze them for smoothies (that I make my kids everyday), make jam and blackberry cobbler. Blackberries are usually about $3lb. so I am saving a ton of money picking them myself plus we will be enjoying berries all throughout the winter months.

FREE Chocolate

Who doesn't love to get paid to "buy" chocolate??? Go to Walgreens this week and you will.

Hershey's Bliss candy--$3 each
Buy 4 and use 2 $2/2 EasySaver coupon
Stack with 4 manufacturer's coupons hereGet a $5 rebate for buying $10 worth of Hershey's products (rebate #34)
Free plus overage after coupons and rebate

Honey Bunches of Oats

Click here for a $2 off Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal coupon (hit back and print 2). I love FREE cereal-doesn't it taste much better?

Frugal Fad?

I was reading an article the other day saying how frugality is a popular fad right now, apparently frugal is the new black. The author was saying that as soon as the economy starts looking up people will be back to their old ways.
First I thought, what the heck are they talking about? I don't see people really becoming frugal. The people who were frugal before are still and the people out using credit to buy things they can't afford are still at their old ways (with a few exceptions).
Then I thought about my own life. First off, I have only been an extreme shopper (that is what the media is calling people who shop like I do) for about 6 months. We used to buy things on credit but I thought we were doing fine, after all we could always make the payments. Then we took a Dave Ramsey class and it changed our lives. We got so sick of being in debt and realized how stupid it was. My whole outlook on money has changed. I am frugal so I can save more and give more. It has nothing to do with the economy being down.
I don't think I'll ever go back to my old ways. There may be times when I don't coupon with such intensity or times we spurge on something (always with cash, of course) but on a whole I love our new financial life. We have such freedom. I don't feel deprived, I feel in control of our money. I have peace about or future (since we are saving for it now). I don't worry about how we will pay the mortgage next month. I don't wonder where the money went. We tell our money where to go, based on what we value in life.
So what about you? Do you live frugally? What has caused you to? Do you think you will stick with these habits?

Pinch A Penny Till It Screams

"the philosophy of the simple living movement is the motto that says 'live simply so others may simply live'"
"Another aspect of successful frugal living is balance. We don't want to spend all our time on just survival. We want to be able to make a difference in the world, pursue our goals, and have some fun along the way....Everyone has to find the comfortable balance for themselves."
Pinch a Penny Till It Screams by Madeline Clive is a very quick read (it took me about a hour) and is a great place to start if you are new to the frugal lifestyle. However, if you have been practicing the frugal lifestyle for any amount of time you probably already practice most of her ideas, as they are pretty basic.

I'm Not Buying It (And Neither Should You!)

We all know there are tons of products that we are tempted to buy every day. Everywhere I turn there is an advertisement telling me why I can't live without what they are selling. Some things I am tempted to waste my money on but these things I am definitely not buying. Some of these things are just plain hilarious!
$5,000 Dog Robot- bought my Micheal Jackson

Kitty Wigs-thanks Kelley!

Weight Loss Pills-Seriously, if these worked wouldn't we all be skinny? I'll just stick to diet and exercise, thank you very much.

Dennis Kozlowski, the CEO of Tyco, bought a statue of David that pissed Vodka.

Build a Catapult in Your Backyard-I can't think of one reason I would ever need this.


$27,000 hand bag



Celebrity Wax Works-John Travolta is hot but I think I'll pass on this.

Cashing Out Your 401K

Don't ever cash out your 401K early. This is one of the top 10 stupidest financial decisions you could make. You will get charged a 10% penalty plus tax so basically you will lose 40%. That is insane! Whereas, if you left it alone with compound interest you will be given tons of money for FREE! Who doesn't love people just giving them money? So invest in your 401K each month and forget about it.

Ronzoni Bistro

Ronzoni Bistro is on sale for 2 for $4 at Albertsons. Click here for a $1 off coupon and combine with SDC. Only $.50! Click back and print 2 coupons.

100 Thing Challenge

Does anyone else just feel overwhelmed with clutter? I loath clutter but yet I feel that it is the ever present monster waiting to over take me. Sometimes I will get in this mood where I go through the house and load stuff up in my Goodwill donation bag as fast as I can grab it. I get so focused that I fear if one of my kids inadvertently leaps in front of me, they may get dumped. My husband has nicknamed the bee in my butt Busy. He will warn anyone in my way "watch out for Busy!"
Junk is just wrong on so many levels. First there is the the financial aspect-you spend money on this crap. Not to mention if you can't find what you need you spend MORE money to buy a replacement. There is also the moral delimna. Why do I have so much and waste so much when others have nothing?
Now a lot of times in this blog I tell you how to get things very cheap. That may seem counter intuitive. However, if you notice I talk about food most of the time, something we all NEED. It is sometimes hard to differentiate between a need and a want. Like right now I have been struggling with my NEED for a new pair of Danskos. I have had the same ones for 3 years. I wear them every day to work. They are faded. I NEED a new pair. No, I don't. I WANT a new pair. They are in great condition so I am not getting a new pair right now.
Have you heard of the 100 Things Challenge? Basically this guy lives with only 100 things. Sounds impossible to me. I'm not ready to do that yet but I am taking a real hard look at things before I buy them. Do I really need it? Can I afford it? Am I out of debt and going to pay CASH for it? Most of the time I realize I don't need it. I'm not saying you should never buy anything. I like nice things but I am trying to really think before I buy things now. I realize I don't need much to be happy. In fact not buying some things has made me a lot happier.

Frugal but Great Meals For Your Family

One of the best ways to drastically cut your grocery bill is by planning your menu around what you have been able to get for cheap or FREE using your coupons and what is on sale. Sometimes I get in a rut and want to try new recipes. I just found this great website called recipematcher. You type in the ingredients you have and it brings up recipes you can make. I'm definitely going to try some new recipes using canned tomatoes since I have about 50 cans I need to use! Plus it has a whole section using my favorite kitchen appliance-the crockpot.

What to do with all the cheap school supplies?

A little while ago I talked about buying cheap school supplies for charity. Well, what is up with these stores just giving this stuff away?? I have come up with some other ideas for these supplies as well.
1. Stock pile it. I filled a drawer full of art supplies for my preschoolers to last all year.
2. Give as gifts or party favors to young children.
3. Buy now to put in your Christmas Shoe Boxes.
4. Get creative! I'm a leader at my local moms group and I think some of these items (pencils, highlighters, ect) will be a great gift to give the ladies in my group as a gift on the first day back in the fall.

Cereal Deal at Walgreens

Not reading the fine print carefully can end up costing you money. Since I started couponing I save about 60% off our grocery budget. Couponing is a learned talent and sometimes you are bound to make mistakes. I made a big mistake and it may end up costing me $10. It is driving me crazy but I am trying to cut myself some slack. After all, I still got the items for cheap, just not as cheap as I could have. Plus, it is stuff we will use and in the past I would have paid full price for it. In the end these are the 2 lessons I learned:
1. Read the fine print carefully
2. If you mess up, count it as a learning opportunity.

So here is the deal so you can do it RIGHT:
In the paper last week there were Kellogg's coupons and a $10 rebate by mail. You have to do the deal between 8/5-9/30. I messed up and did the deal too early.
Go to Walgreens who is having a sale this week.
Buy 10 participating Kelloggs products get $10 RR
Kelloggs products are on sale for 4/$10
Use 5 kelloggs coupons=
$22 for 10 cereals/cereal bars
-$10 RR
-$10 Rebate=
10 for $2

Cut Them Up!

If you ever want to win with money you MUST cut up your credit cards and be DONE with them. We got rid of ALL our credit cards 2 years ago and we will never have one again.
When people hear we don't have any credit cards I usually hear one of 2 responses:
How can you live without a credit card? Very well, actually. You don't need a credit card. Our debit card works for everything like booking hotels, renting cars, ect.
What about emergencies? That is why we have an emergency fund.
Many people also tell me "Oh, I pay off my credit card every month". First off, 70%of people don't pay off their balance every month. Second, studies show that if you pay with plastic you typically spend more than 40% more than you would with cash. Cash is harder to spend than cold hard cash.

Frugal Party

Okay everyone, would you believe I threw a baby shower for under $3 tonight (including the gift)? For everyone that thinks you have to spend a lot of money on parties this post is for you. I totally forgot to take any pictures though so you'll have to use your imagination. I knew I was going to throw this shower for the last couple months so I planned ahead using my coupons. That is a huge secret to saving money. You MUST plan ahead. If you have to buy something when you NEED it, then you'll probably have to pay full price. Here is the break down.

Diaper Cake: Diapers: FREE (using coupons at Walgreens) Ribbon: left over from Christmas last year. The diaper cake was the gift for my friend.

Planters Nuts: FREE using coupon

M&M's: FREE with coupon

Cupcakes: $.20 using coupon for mix, Frosting $.50 using coupon, topped with leftover blueberries

Sparkling Grape Juice: $1.50 stocked up when on sale

This was a little bit of a test for me. I wanted to see how frugally I could throw this party. I LOVE throwing parties but in the past it has been a big expense. This party has really motivated me to try to throw parties more frugally. I don't think anyone knew how little I spent on this party, I think it still had a classy feel to it. Without using coupons I think the exact same party, using the exact same products could have easily cost me $50!

Here are some frugal party ideas:
1. If your budget is really tight consider throwing the party at a non-meal time. That way you can just serve appetizers or dessert.
2. Use real serving wear. I like to use my china-I think it makes the event feel special. This is a win-win idea-it is FREE, and it is good for the earth (no paper plates sitting in landfills for hundreds of years).
3. Use what you have. I bought a huge thing of blueberries so we had a lot that I didn't want to go to waste and they worked great on dressing up the cupcakes.
4. PLAN AHEAD using your coupons and sales.

What frugal party throwing tips do you all have?

Free Potty Training Kit

I am pretty excited about this FREEBIE as we are in the thick of trying to potty train Little Man right now. Visit Pampers website for a great FREE potty training kit. Looks like their website also has some helpful hints.