Just Savin' Cents

Check it out here at Gear Live.. Your head will spin..

I can't believe the # of giveaways I have been seeing! I am going to try and post them all here so all you have to do is CLICK!

Check out one of my favorite blogs.. Moms Need to Know for a yummie giveaway. She is giving away a $50.00 gift basket from Caftea ..



Click here to check out the giveaway and click here to check out the caftea site!

We all know how excited I get about food!

Yehhhh haaaaa, Deal Seeking Mom is giving away $500 gift card to Walmart. No this is not a TYPO!!!

Check it out for yourself here......Deal Seeking Mom Giveaway

With the death of my grandfather, life had gotten out of control and quite honestly, saving money wasn't high on my list. I am ready to get it rolling again!!!

Who doesn't like cash?!!!! I know I do. Sandier Pastures is giving away $30 cash.. no strings attached! Ok one string, you must have a paypal account set up!

Check it out here!

This is enough to make a girl's head spin!! The motherload of bloggy Giveaways.. At this moment their are 417 giveaways! I am sure this with continue to grow. Have fun!!

Click here to check it out...

With Christmas a coming, I am going to post the generous give-a-ways that all the bloggy mommies have out there! I always love to win, so make sure you read all the requirements of the giveaway!

This is a total freebie and doesn't require ECB's to make it work.

Excedrin 20-24 count is on sale for $1.99

Print off coupon here for $2.00 off.

Max Factor makeup is on sale buy one get one free this week at Kmart.

Use this with the buy one get one free lip product from the 9/7 Red Plum .
Also, the buy one get one get one free face coupon from the 10/19 Red Plum.

This may be YMMV thing, but its so worth a shot!

Check out

My Good Cents

Well ever since I got into this saving money thing, everyone is asking me how I am doing it. So, instead of blogging about my borinSg life, I am going to blog about freebies, giveaways, coupons, sweepstakes, FUN stuff.

So I am doing a COMPLETE makeover.

Coming soon!

Free Movie Monday - Use code PK66H8.

This can be used once per card, so you can get can more than one movie!!

You may already know I am a sweepstakes junkie.

I found a new addiction - Lucky Search. You can win points each time you search. I also put the linky box on the bottom of my blog!

Check it out here

If you travel during the winter...


Airborne is giving away a free sample of Zesty Orange.. click here.

Also they are offering a $2.00 coupon.











Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, My Good Cents for posting this!

I love a great coupon, especially high dollar ones, but I especially love them when its for a product I like.

I thought I would start sharing them here.. don't forget to use the back button to print them twice...



$2.00 off Honey Bunches - Just Bunches Cereal

They have this at Walmart for 2 for $4.00, making them free!

I love getting free samples, so I thought I would share them with you!
Walmart has great samples - they always seem to come really quickly.
So as I see them, I will post them here!

Evan and I made some delish semi homemade pizza today.

The price was right too!

Ingredients:

(2) 10 x 15 pizzas

(2) JIF pizza crust $.88
2 cup mozzrella cheese $2.00
20 pieces of pepperoni (from the deli counter) $.60
1 16oz tomato sauce $.69
Leftover veggies from the fridge!
Spice Mixture - Italian Spice Mix, Garlic etc.

The crust is very easy to make - just mix with 1/2 cup of water and then roll out the dough - prebake the crust for 3 minutes. Mix your spices into the tomato sauce, Then put your toppings on and bake 9 minutes.

Total $4.17

Add a toss salad on the side.

We had leftovers for dinner!

I went to CVS and Giant today and cleaned up totally.

(2) Nivea Men's Body Wash
(3) Adidas Men's Deodrant
(3) Crest Pro Health Toothpaste
(1) Loaf of Italian Bread
(3) Mac and Cheese
(1) Toliet Bowl Cleaner
(1) 4 Pack of Paper Towels
(4) Toothbrushes
(1) Large Trashbags
(3) Dog Bones
(3) Popcorn
(1) Margarine
(1) Dryer Fabric Softener Sheets
(1) Mop head refill
(1) Corn Chips
(2) Crest Toothpaste
(22) Glade Plug ins

Total Paid $9.41
Total Saved $135.00
Total ECB's $34.00 back
Total Off Your next Order Coupons $36 Giant

So hows that for a deal!

I am so sad for my grandfather. He has been back and forth between the hospital and the nursing home. He just isn't doing well. Any prayers you can spare would be appreciated.

Did awesome today...
12 Bottles of Sierra Mist 2L
15 Kraft Mac & Cheese Singles
1 lb Kraft Cheese
1 Colby Jack Cheese
2 Skippy Peanut Butter
2 Welch's Jam
1 Kraft Blue Cheese Dressing
1 Oscar Meyer Premium Hot Dog
1 Dozen Eggs
1 Gallon Milk
8 Glade Plugins
1 Wheat Thins
2 Paper Towels
5 lbs of Grapes
5 lbs of bonless chicken breast
1 Cough Drops
2 Trash Bags
1 Bag of Salad
1 Paper Plates
2 Windex
1 Organic Mac & Cheese
1 Dog Bone
1 Cotton Swabs
1 Vinegar
1 Loaf of Bread
2 Bags of Salad

Total $115.92


Total Paid $23.03 + I got $12.00 off my next order!!!!

I got a job offer... Ugh. I don't want to be tempted.. But it is tempting.

I am so happy for my friend Vicki and her husband Brian. She is a total sweetheart and been a good friend for many years. She had her little baby boy yesterday and his name is Brian Christopher, after Daddy.

Congrats girl!

Now I am waiting on Sally and Tabi.

Sigh..all these babies and none for me!

Acme $10.97
CVS $7.75
CVS $1.08

I did really well at Acme!

Umm yeah I do not want to see any TO touchdowns on Monday.

Darn that GAP.. another code.

This weekend wasn't the greatest for spending money

Walmart $4.02
Giant $85.95
Carpenter $300.00
Lowes $255.00


Score of the week

CVS

6 Bottles of detergent
3 Tubes of Toothpaste

umm 46 cents!!

So I gave my resignation at work. I feel somewhat liberated. It was a long time coming to be honest and while I enjoy working, I am ready for a break. I can't believe I will be unemployed again soon, its a relief actually.

So what do you suggested I do from here??!!

Apparently GAP knows I am trying to save money.

I have gotten 2 20% off codes in the last week. WHY? Because I am behaving and not spending money. GAP has no respect for my mission to stay home.

I am so glad I don't have a toddler anymore. Lets see what has happened to my friends with toddlers in the last day:

1. One friend got to clean poop out of a sink courtesy of her toddler.

2. One friend got a nice bloody nose courtesy of her toddler.

3. One friend got a nice pair of earring flushed courtesy of her toddler.

Makes me realize how much I appreciate the fact that Evan can go to the bathroom himself and that he knows if he touches my jewerly, he's done.

Now the bloody nose it could happen to anyone.

CVS

Ripped it up spent a whopping 20 cents.

Saved $125.35

I kicked butt at Acme today.

Total Paid $33.68

Total SAVED: 97.77

yeahhh haaa!

Walmart $16.88 for Groceries..

saved $22.14

I am officially voting for Obama.

I wasn't really 100% sold on him at first and through the early months I thought I *might* vote for McCain.

So many things have happened along the way to make me vote for Obama.

I dig his tax plan. Yes, I will be taxed more under it, but you know what, I am sick of tax breaks for the rich. Honestly if you make 200k a year, you need to be paying the same taxes as the little man who makes 25,000. SS tax phases out at 102,000. Yes I am totally willing to pay that 6.2 more on the money we make over 102,000. Yes I know that its 102k per person.. I get it. I am down with it, I am ready to pay the piper.

We need to do something about healthcare. Neither plan is perfect, but I think its higher on Obamas list.

Iraq - Get the hell out already.


I just am not down with Sarah Palin. McCain is an old dude. If he get sick or something, I can't see some chick from Alaska(yeah I said some chick, I am NOT politically correct), running the show.

Good luck McCain and Palin.

Go kick some ass Obama and Biden.

I am still suprised. Shocked. I can't get over it. I really can't. I thought he was going to choose Romney for sure. Maybe Romney didn't want it. I don't know. I am so confused.

I must say I LUV Rite Aid.

I just submitted my $105.00 in rebates, which I will just dump into my bank.

Sweet deal .. I love FREE stuff.

Rite Aid
3 Bic Markers
1 Loreal Advanced Vitalift
1 Crest
1 Pantene Pro V Expression Conditioner
2 Contact Solutions for DH

Ok this is more than I would like but DH needs the solution for his contacts and they were buy one get one free.


$34.54
Coupons -5.00
Rebates - -14.99
Rebates - 1.74
Rebates -2.99

Total Paid $9.82

Again another spending spree...

Giant Food

Total $52.51
After Coupons and even including a donation to fight hunger $16.85

McDonalds

No Coupons - 3.18

CVS .78

(2) Stayfree
(1) Playtex
(1) Toothbrush


Dinner out with Franks Boss $155.00 (Company expense)

Total Spent $20.81

We went on a spree today .. ha ha ha

Olive Garden $43.00
GC Card to Olive Garden -43.00

Total $0.00

Gap
1 Junkfood T- Shirt $22.50
GAP Rewards
Total $ 2.50

CVS
Lots o' stuff .01

Total Spending $2.51

Lillie Butchering $75.00
Rite Aid $5.59 (getting $3.00 back on SCR)

Tuesday

$4.95 on breakfast with the girls


Weds

$45.00 Eye Doctor for Frank

My poor Lillie. She got groomed today. Ok, more like she got weed wacked kujo style.

Poor girl.

Man, daytime tv is wrong. That's all I can say.

Evan is officially a FIRST GRADER...  

Ok I get it, you don't get text messaging, but come on people it is 2008. Get over it already. I am suprised you're on the internet.

The hospital that is. They gave my grandfather the WRONG medications. The neighbors medication. I mean the man is 82 years old and very fragile. He has very bad heart and lungs. He has congestive heart failure and has been having many problems in the last few years. What kind of idiot nurse doesn't check to make sure she is giving the right meds to a man who came in because he couldn't breath. They gave him a long list of drugs he didn't need including psychiatric medications which about made him CRAZY. He was going insane , saying he was seeing water dripping from the ceiling, to he had to get out of the kitchen when he was laying in a hospital bed. Here is the kicker.. it took FOUR long days, of thinking he had lost his mind, which is possible because his oxygen had dipped below 60% on more than one occassion, for them to tell my mom about their error. They also gave him cardiovascular drugs which could have killed him.

I am in the process of writing a letter to administrator. I am going to give him a piece of my mind. I understand mistakes happen and we are all human, but why FOUR days, especially when my mother was so insistent that something was wrong and called every doctor he was seeing. My mom just doesn't need that crap.

I want to stay home and I have to prove to husband I can do it. So its all right here for him to see... I am sharing with the world hoping it will make us accountable.
Ok the world,that might be a little extreme, I meant to say my small pathetic little group of people who are laughing at me right now.

Oopss I forgot to add in some expenditures

$3.50 for newspapers
$1.35 for a diet coke that I badly needed
$1.25 for a coffee that my husband needed, not badly though. He could of survived.

$25.00 Haircuts for husband and son

Total OOP $31.10

Today was a hectic day, and we had very little in the way of food in the house.

I did 2 CVS trips, 1 Rite Aid and 1 Acme Markets.

CVS spent $1.09 OOP, got $18.49 back in ECB
CVS spent -2.39, got a money card for $2.39 and 6.49 in ECB
Acme spent $56.56
California Tortilla spent $19.12
Rite Aid -.31

Total OOP $76.77

I do have to mention that my Acme trips was AWESOME. I got $176.00 worth of groceries. I am proud of my budding coupon ability.

CVS as normal was fun, I got
(4) Stayfree Maxi Pads (we all know I need them of late)
(2) Kotex
(4) Schick Disposable Razors
(2) Skintimates Trial Sized Shaving Gel
(2) Energy Drink Mixes
(1) Hershey Chocolate Bar

Rite Aid
(1) Pert Plus
(1) Itch X
(1) Hair Relaxer
(1) Tropical Fruit Pops (ok this was for Evan . hee hee)

Went to CVS, spent $3.07, saved $47.95..not to bad :)


Also spent,

$47.95 on Birthday Present for my newphew


$12.56 on two back to school outfits from Gymboree for my nieces - 30% off plus two $10 gift cards, equalled really cheap outfits.

$10.00 at the produce stand.



Total OOP Today: $73.58
Total OOP For Household Items: 13.07

Ok so its Friday, the start of a new spending period...TodayRiteAid(2) St. Ives Elements $6.99 ea(1) Crest Toothpaste $3.19 eaTotal Paid  $2.44Rebate Due  $3.19Total OOP   $-.75BB Grocery (10) Juices 2.00(3) Diet Cokes .75Total 2.75Total OOP For Today $2.00Total OOP for Week  $2.00

My husband doesn't think there is anyway possible that we could do without my income. He thinks its a total necessity.

So he has told me to prove to him we could live without it.

Ok, so now we play by my rules.

We are in the grocery store, to get my FREE bread and several other coupon items. At the end, I got $34.85 worth of stuff for $3.61.

However, along the way he tried to sabotage me! He put yogurts and pretzels in my cart. The pretzels were $6.49 and the yogurt $2.00. That's $8.49 I wasn't spending.

He just doesn't want me to stay home. I know this and I don't know how to prove to him if he isn't going to cooperate.

Ughh...

I often wonder, I have these online friends, who I just adore. I wonder why I hate my neighbors. I wonder why can't these women online live near me. Like my one online friend, Andrea. She is a smart ass like me, and we probably would have a great time sitting around, throwing a few back and laughing our arses off. But, instead she lives in this little podunk town somewhere out where theres open prairies where the buffalo roam and probably a general store where you buy an entire pig. Seriously, would I like her so much if she lived across the street? Or is it that I like these people cause I NEVER have to see them. I am not sure ..so for now, I will continue to think that my online friends are the greatest and my real life friends .. welll.. suck.

Theres this chubby teenage boy who is a cashier at our Walmart. He's so funny. Everytime I go in there, he is just the friendliest thing ever. I went into his line and he was freaked out as he watched my total go from $43.00 to 91 cents. Walmart trippin is fun when you can erase 99% off the bill.

I mean you don't have to buy GAP or Boden, but for the love of god, can your children's clothing atleast match and fit. I am so sick of seeing well dressed mommies with little kids whose pants are three inches too short. Three inches is alot -- its not like they grew out of those overnight.

What about matching? Don't just throw a pair of pants and shirt on your kid - are you getting the dressed with your eyes closed? When you are dressing your kids in character shirts every day of the week, its important that you atleast pick a pair of pants that match. Navy blue and orange shirt with yellow shorts does not fill the bill my friend!

Don't even get me started on socks! Your child needs socks.. there smelly little feet in those rotten sneakers just grosses me out. Put socks on your child. Its not a suggestions, its a requirement. I bet they are getting blisters with those ill fitting Walmart sneakers and no socks.

I have a family member who is the queen of violating the matching and well fit clothes rules. I guess she can't help it because she dresses the same as her kids. Poor kids.

Oh by the way, if your reading this and wonder why the typos and incorrect grammar, I want to make a disclaimer.

These are ramblings.. ramblings are not meant to be thought out well or for that matter, make much sense at all...

I have been stuck in a rut lately. Ever feel like you just don't know where your going or why? That's me lately. I always thought I wanted to have a good job, the big house on the hill and nice cushiony bank account. Well, now that I have all those things, you know what, its not that great. I am so over being successful. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what I have but, its been 15 years of trying to get ahead, college, then working full time doing graduate classes at night, then graduate classes with a baby. Then it was a full time job, then the full time job went from 40 hours to 60 hours.

I find myself envious of those moms who are home and they don't have to spend their weekends cleaning because they can do it while their kids are in school. I just want to be well rested and not always tired. I want to have time to chit chat on the phone with my friends and not take 5 days to get back to them. I want to have just those quiet moments in life.

What's a girl to do? For now, I am going to appease myself and go check out next weeks CVS ad.

So why am I starting this blog?

Well I ask myself why alot. So this is going to just be an avenue to put my whys in some form of organized well, mess.

Nice to meet you! Enjoy my mess.