Sign up to receive a free full-size pouch of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. Quick, easy form to fill out!
Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.
3.31.2011
Uncle Ben's Ready Rice Pouch Freebie
Sign up to receive a free full-size pouch of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. Quick, easy form to fill out!
Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.
Weekly Recap 3/20 - 3/26
How much extra money did you earn this week? How much did you save? Here's my weekly recap of money/gift cards earned, cash saved by using coupons, and freebies received in the mail.
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for last week, 3/20/11 - 3/26/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$5.00....... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.03....... YouData (Paid to view ads)
$20.00..... Credit Card Cashback Rewards
$10.00..... Chili's gift card from MyPoints
$40.00..... Kohl's Cash
Total: $75.03
Coupon Savings
$87.16...... Kohl's (30% off coupon)
$12.00...... MLB.com (15% off with code: MLBINSIDE10)
$5.49........ Friendly's (Free Birthday Kids Meal)
$40.00...... Fashion Bug
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for last week, 3/20/11 - 3/26/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$5.00....... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.03....... YouData (Paid to view ads)
$20.00..... Credit Card Cashback Rewards
$10.00..... Chili's gift card from MyPoints
$40.00..... Kohl's Cash
Total: $75.03
Coupon Savings
$87.16...... Kohl's (30% off coupon)
$12.00...... MLB.com (15% off with code: MLBINSIDE10)
$5.49........ Friendly's (Free Birthday Kids Meal)
$40.00...... Fashion Bug
Total: $144.65
Freebies
No freebies received this week.
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $510.56
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $534.81
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
Freebies
No freebies received this week.
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $510.56
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $534.81
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
3.26.2011
Weekly Recap 3/13 - 3/19
How much extra money did you earn this week? How much did you save? Here's my weekly recap of money/gift cards earned, cash saved by using coupons, and freebies received in the mail.
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for last week, 3/13/11 - 3/19/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$10.00....... Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.13......... YouData (Paid to view ads)
Total: $10.13
Coupon Savings
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for last week, 3/13/11 - 3/19/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$10.00....... Amazon.com gift cards from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.13......... YouData (Paid to view ads)
Total: $10.13
Coupon Savings
$3.00.... Friendly's
$6.55.... Walmart
Total: $9.55
Freebies
Note tablet and address labels
Target beauty bag filled with beauty product samples & a big coupon booklet
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $435.53
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $390.16
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
$6.55.... Walmart
Total: $9.55
Freebies
Note tablet and address labels
Target beauty bag filled with beauty product samples & a big coupon booklet
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $435.53
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $390.16
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
3.23.2011
Free Kindle Book: The Simple Dollar
The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams by Trent Hamm.
It's absolutely free! Download it to your Kindle, PC, or the Kindle app on your phone. But ya gotta hurry, because these free offers usually don't last for long.
Does the name ring a bell? This book is written by the author of The Simple Dollar blog!
Thanks so much to Freebies 4 Mom for sharing this freebie with us.
3.17.2011
$1/1 Frosted Mini Wheats Touch of Fruit Cereal
Combine this with a good sale and you'll snag this pretty cheap!
3.16.2011
Dollar by Dollar: Saving for a 5th Birthday Bash
For the past three birthdays, we've had low-key parties at our house with a few close family members. And each year I've told Kaylee when she turns 5, she could have a bigger party with her friends invited. You know, the kind at a fun play place with wild kids, games, noise and a little bit of craziness mixed in.
Fast forward a few years and Kaylee is turning 5 and now it's time for that party. At the same time that we're trying very hard to stick to a budget and pay down our credit card debt. So coming up with the $250 or so for the party was looking scary.
We started a few months back, setting aside a little bit of money every once in awhile. If we made it through the week with an extra $10 or $20, then that went into the party budget. Little by little we've saved up almost $200 so far. And we should have the rest by next week.
In order to lessen the impact of a big party on our budget, we've cut costs in a few areas. We opted for the standard party package without alot of the (quite useless, but pricey) upgrades. This party package is also based on the number of kids we have coming. Many places base a party on a set 16 or so kids and that's what you pay, even if you only have 10 kids come. Since I know we'll have less than 16 kids there, this works out to a much better deal for us.
Another way we've cut costs is by putting together our own favor bags for the kids. The ones from the party place were overpriced and filled with crap. Although I ended spending a little more than I anticipated on these favor bags we made, they're still cheaper than the ones from the party place. Also, the stuff we put inside is better, well atleast I think it is :) And the actual party bags themselves - I picked up a brand new pack at a yard sale a few years ago - for a quarter. Score!
Also, we skipped the pricey, store-bought invitations and went with our own. The party place has printable invitations on their site, so we used those. I printed them out on fun colored paper that we had left over from another project. I also made cute stickers with clip art and each kid's name on it with blank address labels we already had. I used the stickers to hold the folded invitations closed. They turned out real cute! No cost for mailing because the invites were sent home with the kids at school. And the few other invitations we had to send, I used evites. So no costs involved!
Of course, Kaylee wanted to also bring in a treat to her classroom for her birthday. Since we are already hosting a birthday party for her and inviting all her classmates, I wanted to keep it inexpensive and easy. We decided to make rice krispie treats - something pretty much everyone loves and it's super cheap to make.
I'm just glad that we were able to keep our promise to Kaylee that she'll get her big 5th birthday party with all of her friends. We were able to do it without impacting our budget and without breaking out the plastic. And seeing how easy it was to save up dollar by dollar, makes me realize that we can accomplish anything with the right mindset and determination. And we have to be determined - we'll be doing it all over again in two years when our son turns 5!
How do you budget for a big event like a birthday party?
3.15.2011
Woman's Day magazine - 1 year subscription - FREE
This offer is completely free. No credit card required and you'll never receive a bill. This is for a full 1-year subscription, not a trial offer!
These offers tend to run out quickly, so hurry over to claim yours. Be patient while signing up, the site was running very slow for me.
Enjoy!
3.14.2011
Weekly Recap 3/6 - 3/12
How much extra money did you earn this week? How much did you save? Here's my weekly recap of money/gift cards earned, cash saved by using coupons, and freebies received in the mail.
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for the past week, 3/6/11 - 3/12/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$26.40..... Shop At Home (Cash back for shopping)
$5.00....... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.18....... YouData (Paid to view ads)
$2.21....... PayPal Debit Card Rewards
Total: $33.79
Coupon Savings
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for the past week, 3/6/11 - 3/12/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$26.40..... Shop At Home (Cash back for shopping)
$5.00....... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.18....... YouData (Paid to view ads)
$2.21....... PayPal Debit Card Rewards
Total: $33.79
Coupon Savings
$9.88..... The Children's Place (15% off with code: HOME3C)
$10.47... Walmart (Grocery & household coupons)
$5.94..... Kohl's (20% off coupon)
Total: $26.29
Freebies
3 sample packs of Cheez-It crackers
Pantene shampoo & conditioner
Coupon for 1 Free package of any Philadelphia Cooking Creme from Kraft First Taste
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $425.40
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $380.61
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
$10.47... Walmart (Grocery & household coupons)
$5.94..... Kohl's (20% off coupon)
Total: $26.29
Freebies
3 sample packs of Cheez-It crackers
Pantene shampoo & conditioner
Coupon for 1 Free package of any Philadelphia Cooking Creme from Kraft First Taste
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $425.40
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $380.61
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
3.09.2011
Weekly Recap 2/27 - 3/5
How much extra money did you earn this week? How much did you save? Here's my weekly recap of money/gift cards earned, cash saved by using coupons, and freebies received in the mail.
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for the past week, 2/27/11 - 3/5/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$10.77..... Mr.Rebates (Cash back for shopping)
$15.00..... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.05....... YouData (Paid to view ads)
Total: $25.82
Coupon Savings
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for the past week, 2/27/11 - 3/5/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$10.77..... Mr.Rebates (Cash back for shopping)
$15.00..... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.05....... YouData (Paid to view ads)
Total: $25.82
Coupon Savings
$3.30...... Walmart (grocery coupons)
$8.71...... Kohl's (15% off coupon)
Total: $12.01
Freebies
Shout Color Catcher sample
Coupon for free Coffee-Mate Creamer
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $391.61
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $354.32
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
$8.71...... Kohl's (15% off coupon)
Total: $12.01
Freebies
Shout Color Catcher sample
Coupon for free Coffee-Mate Creamer
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $391.61
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $354.32
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
3.08.2011
Easter candy alternatives
Trying to cut back on how much candy the Easter Bunny leaves for your kids?One of my favorite places to shop for fun stuff for my kiddos is the Crayola store. We love their bath color tabs, the bath crayons and the Color Wonder books & markers. So much fun!
Oh and I'm loving these Washable Colored Bubbles... we haven't tried them yet, but they look really cool... and not too bad at $3.99.
Anyway, in case you're interested in doing any shopping at the Crayola store, I'll pass along this handy coupon code: MARCHCRA20. That'll score you 20% off your entire purchase, through 3/22/11. Yay!
3.03.2011
My super great Netflix deal
So we got Netflix. And I LOVE it. My kiddos love it. We all love it.
And we scored a super great deal when we signed up. But the best part? It's saving us money!!!
Ok, so a little background info. We have Comcast cable and in an average month we were watching up to three or so pay movies On Demand. Some months would go by and we'd watch just one movie or even sometimes no movies. But most months it was around two movies.
Their movies cost anywhere from $2.99 - $9.99 per movie. So on average we were spending about $10 a month in movies - and that's just for approximately two movies. Sometimes it was less, but sometimes it was more. Ugh.
We justified the cost because we don't go out often. And we hardly ever go to the movie theater - maybe twice a year, if we're lucky. And atleast one of those times it's to take the kids to a kid movie. So yea, we considered this $10 a month our entertainment expense.
Anyway, I've heard people rave about Netflix for awhile, but I would think that's nice, but I can't justify spending even more on tube time. Then I noticed the terrific deals if you signed up for Netflix through Swagbucks (the search engine that pays you to use it).
Besides being a search engine, Swagbucks has other features you can use and you earn bucks through those as well. One of those features is their Special Offers wall. They have special and trial offers that you can complete and earn swagbucks for. Normally I stay away from these kinds of things... unless it's something I'm really interested in trying out or purchasing.
Anyway, I saw that through PaymentWall on Swagbucks, we could sign up for Netflix and not only receive the first month free, but we'd also get 885 Swagbucks!!! Incase you're not familiar with Swagbucks, this is enough to get almost $10 in Amazon gift cards. (It costs 450 Swagbucks for $5... so 885 is just a few away from $10!!!)
Netflix costs $7.99 month to stream movies and tv shows through your wii. You can watch as many as you want and it's only $7.99 a month. Or you can pay $9.99 a month and get one DVD at a time mailed to you. You watch it and pop it back into the prepaid mailer and send it back. And you can do that as many times each month as you want.
Anyway, so the point of this cost explanation is to show you how we're saving money. Right now we've opted for the $7.99 plan. And we've watched approximately 90 million movies so far. Ok, so maybe not that many, but the kids basically don't watch regular tv anymore. They use their tv time to watch Netflix movies & tv shows... so many they haven't seen before! And Hubby and I have watched a few movies.
Also, our one month trial offer gives you the DVD option, even though we won't have that after our trial month is over. So we've already had a DVD mailed to us and we've sent it back and we're now waiting for our next one. (Note that not all movies are available to stream through the wii, some are just on DVD.)
So instead of spending an average of $10 a month to watch one or two movies On Demand, we're spending $8 a month to watch an unlimited number of movies through Netflix. Good deal, right? But then you factor in that we got a month free PLUS the $10 in Amazon gift cards, and it makes it a super great deal.
I was not paid to write about Netflix. This is simply my experience and I loved it so much, I wanted to share. The link to Swagbucks is my referral link, so if you sign up for Swagbucks through that link, I'll receive credit. Thanks!
And we scored a super great deal when we signed up. But the best part? It's saving us money!!!
Ok, so a little background info. We have Comcast cable and in an average month we were watching up to three or so pay movies On Demand. Some months would go by and we'd watch just one movie or even sometimes no movies. But most months it was around two movies.
Their movies cost anywhere from $2.99 - $9.99 per movie. So on average we were spending about $10 a month in movies - and that's just for approximately two movies. Sometimes it was less, but sometimes it was more. Ugh.
We justified the cost because we don't go out often. And we hardly ever go to the movie theater - maybe twice a year, if we're lucky. And atleast one of those times it's to take the kids to a kid movie. So yea, we considered this $10 a month our entertainment expense.
Anyway, I've heard people rave about Netflix for awhile, but I would think that's nice, but I can't justify spending even more on tube time. Then I noticed the terrific deals if you signed up for Netflix through Swagbucks (the search engine that pays you to use it).
Besides being a search engine, Swagbucks has other features you can use and you earn bucks through those as well. One of those features is their Special Offers wall. They have special and trial offers that you can complete and earn swagbucks for. Normally I stay away from these kinds of things... unless it's something I'm really interested in trying out or purchasing.
Anyway, I saw that through PaymentWall on Swagbucks, we could sign up for Netflix and not only receive the first month free, but we'd also get 885 Swagbucks!!! Incase you're not familiar with Swagbucks, this is enough to get almost $10 in Amazon gift cards. (It costs 450 Swagbucks for $5... so 885 is just a few away from $10!!!)
Netflix costs $7.99 month to stream movies and tv shows through your wii. You can watch as many as you want and it's only $7.99 a month. Or you can pay $9.99 a month and get one DVD at a time mailed to you. You watch it and pop it back into the prepaid mailer and send it back. And you can do that as many times each month as you want.
Anyway, so the point of this cost explanation is to show you how we're saving money. Right now we've opted for the $7.99 plan. And we've watched approximately 90 million movies so far. Ok, so maybe not that many, but the kids basically don't watch regular tv anymore. They use their tv time to watch Netflix movies & tv shows... so many they haven't seen before! And Hubby and I have watched a few movies.
Also, our one month trial offer gives you the DVD option, even though we won't have that after our trial month is over. So we've already had a DVD mailed to us and we've sent it back and we're now waiting for our next one. (Note that not all movies are available to stream through the wii, some are just on DVD.)
So instead of spending an average of $10 a month to watch one or two movies On Demand, we're spending $8 a month to watch an unlimited number of movies through Netflix. Good deal, right? But then you factor in that we got a month free PLUS the $10 in Amazon gift cards, and it makes it a super great deal.
I was not paid to write about Netflix. This is simply my experience and I loved it so much, I wanted to share. The link to Swagbucks is my referral link, so if you sign up for Swagbucks through that link, I'll receive credit. Thanks!
3.02.2011
Miracle Whip Free Samples
You'll receive two free sample-sized packets. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.
Don't miss out on any freebie offers! Consider subscribing or following through Google, Facebook or Twitter. You'll find all the appropriate buttons on my sidebar.
February Credit Card Debt Recap
And just like that, another month of debt slashing has gone by. At the start of 2011, we had $13,402.24 in credit card debt.
At the beginning of February our credit card totals looked like this:
Chase 1 - $8,464.49
Chase 2 - $0
CitiCard - $3,573.25
Total - $12,037.74
And then at the end of February, our totals looked like this:
Chase 1 - $8,352.45
Chase 2 - $0
CitiCard - $3,518.25
Total - $11,870.70
So we're down $167.04 this month. Certainly not as good as last month, for sure. But we knew last month we had extra money to put towards our debt pay off and this month we were just scraping by and didn't pay much more than the minimums.
With Hubby's new job, we went a week without a paycheck at the beginning of the month because of the way the pay weeks worked differently between his old and new jobs. So that was hard to make up for. Even though his salary is higher with his new job, a week without pay is still a week without pay. And that hurts.
Oh and also my brother got married this month so there were expenses involved with that.... my dress and jewelry and a gift. And my daughter was the flower girl so that involved added expenses for her dress, shoes, jewelry, and getting her hair done.
All that and it left us without the money for extra payments to our credit card debt. I'm hoping March will be a better month... but then again we have my daughter's 5th birthday... which includes a family party as well as her first big party with friends invited. We've been saving some money for this, so hopefully we'll have plenty for that AND for extra debt payments.
I know it sounds like I have a million excuses. But you know what? I guess that's life with one income, a mortgage, two kids, student loans, etc. We're trying our best, without depriving ourselves too much, to get by with our bills and knock down this debt. I can't wait to be free from it one day. And to take a vacation to celebrate!
To see my previous posts about our debt payoff journey, go here.
At the beginning of February our credit card totals looked like this:
Chase 1 - $8,464.49
Chase 2 - $0
CitiCard - $3,573.25
Total - $12,037.74
And then at the end of February, our totals looked like this:
Chase 1 - $8,352.45
Chase 2 - $0
CitiCard - $3,518.25
Total - $11,870.70
So we're down $167.04 this month. Certainly not as good as last month, for sure. But we knew last month we had extra money to put towards our debt pay off and this month we were just scraping by and didn't pay much more than the minimums.
With Hubby's new job, we went a week without a paycheck at the beginning of the month because of the way the pay weeks worked differently between his old and new jobs. So that was hard to make up for. Even though his salary is higher with his new job, a week without pay is still a week without pay. And that hurts.
Oh and also my brother got married this month so there were expenses involved with that.... my dress and jewelry and a gift. And my daughter was the flower girl so that involved added expenses for her dress, shoes, jewelry, and getting her hair done.
All that and it left us without the money for extra payments to our credit card debt. I'm hoping March will be a better month... but then again we have my daughter's 5th birthday... which includes a family party as well as her first big party with friends invited. We've been saving some money for this, so hopefully we'll have plenty for that AND for extra debt payments.
I know it sounds like I have a million excuses. But you know what? I guess that's life with one income, a mortgage, two kids, student loans, etc. We're trying our best, without depriving ourselves too much, to get by with our bills and knock down this debt. I can't wait to be free from it one day. And to take a vacation to celebrate!
To see my previous posts about our debt payoff journey, go here.
3.01.2011
Sign up for $5 in Kellogg's Coupons
Sign up with Kellogg's and you'll have access to $5 in coupons!
Once you sign up, you'll also be eligible for any of their special offers and promotions.
Once you sign up, you'll also be eligible for any of their special offers and promotions.
Another cookbook freebie!
This free download is available for your Kindle from Amazon.com. Or you can read it on your phone or computer with the free Kindle app.
If you missed the three other Circle of Friends cookbooks, you can still get them for free as well. Check those out over here.
IHOP National Pancake Day - Free Short Stack Pancakes!
There is a limit of one free short stack per customer, dine-in only, while supplies last. This is for today only, 3/1/11, from 7am-10pm.
In return for your free short stack of pancakes, IHOP asks that you consider leaving a donation for Children's Miracle Network and other designated local charities. Last year they raised more than $2.1 million! This year they have a goal of $2.3 million.
Weekly Recap 2/20 - 2/26
How much extra money did you earn this week? How much did you save? Here's my weekly recap of money/gift cards earned, cash saved by using coupons, and freebies received in the mail.
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for the past week, 2/20/11 - 2/26/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$5.00..... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.01..... YouData (Paid to view ads)
Total: $5.01
Coupon Savings
$4.00..... Piercing Pagoda (10% off Welcome Email)
$13.00... Chili's (2 Free Kid's Meals with email coupon!)
Total: $17.00
Freebies
Netflix - 1 month free and 885 Swagbucks (Signed up through PaymentWall on Swagbucks)
Kindle eBook download: Protector by Laurel Dewey
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $365.79
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $342.31
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
It's fun to see your savings/earnings amounts all added up. It clearly shows that it's time well spent when you cut coupons, hunt for sales, and make little bits of money here and there. Here's my recap for the past week, 2/20/11 - 2/26/11.
Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received
$5.00..... Amazon.com gift card from Swagbucks (Search engine that pays!)
$0.01..... YouData (Paid to view ads)
Total: $5.01
Coupon Savings
$4.00..... Piercing Pagoda (10% off Welcome Email)
$13.00... Chili's (2 Free Kid's Meals with email coupon!)
Total: $17.00
Freebies
Netflix - 1 month free and 885 Swagbucks (Signed up through PaymentWall on Swagbucks)
Kindle eBook download: Protector by Laurel Dewey
Total 2011 Cash/Checks/Gift Cards Received: $365.79
Total 2011 Coupon Savings: $342.31
Find my previous weekly recaps here.
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