Money Saved In 2010



Sunday, December 19, 2010

Savings for 2010

I didnt do as well as keeping track as I had hoped for 2010. But I"m hopeful about 2011!! lol There were 3 months I did record & while I didnt do a lot, I know I did get some deals/savings. What I can account for is a savings of $469.00!! YAY!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas & a Happy New Year!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Nov 2

Day 2 of blogging! I had a blog idea ready to go & of course I forgot it! So just thought I"d share a couple of things from my day.

Got up @ was at the voting place before 7 am..me, hubby, mom & dad! lol I'm sure we were quite a sight!

Today when Mom & I were out doing errands, a truck driver honked @ me! Hubby rolf when I told him! He said " There you go honey! You are 47 yrs old & they still honk @ you! roflrofl

Well, that's it for today! I was lazy for a big part of the day!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Trust in the Lord

I love facebook! And I love the game Frontierville on facebook! My friend, Melinda, got me started on it. Her comment was " I love the missions. you do it & you're done" Well, I love it too! It gies you like 3 things to do to complete a mission & then you get your reward. I dont know how many times in my life I have said " I'm a woman on a mission" when I"m seriously trying to get something done.

I've heard many people say " If God would just tell me what to do I would do it". Well this weekend a light bulb went off for me! All these things Ive mentioned combined with one of my favorite verses from childhood finally congealed for me this weekend! The verse is Prov 3: 5 & 6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart & lean not into thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him & he shall direct thy path." ( I hope that's accurate..I did it from memory)

Probablly since I"ve been playing Frontierville so much I see everything as if I was playing there game! lol I'm seeing weeds to pull in my yard that I hadnt noticed before & every tree I see I"m thinking I should chop it down! lol So, when this verse came to mind this weekend, it came in mission form:

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart

Lean not into thine own understanding

In all they ways acknowledge Him

(then the reward) And He shall direct they path.

That was SO cool to me! And it's really come to life for me. I hadnt realized how much I am carrying burdens around..like hundreds of things! Every time I start to fuss about something, now, I remind myself to Trust in the Lord. Everytime I think about how I'm going to "fix" something I now remember my mission of "lean not intho thine onw understanding" I"m working on " In all thy ways acknowledge him" Not sure exactly how to implement that into every minute of the day..but working on it.

Anyway, for me, this is very exciting. And so exciting to know that He is directing! WOO HOO!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Men's 10 must have clothing items-Guest blogger

Well, once again, hubby has agreed to blog. Again, I have a disclaimer...the thoughts & postings of the guest does not neccessarily reflect that of the blog owner! ROFLROFL. Without further ado...HEEERRRRRREEEEEE'SSSSSS Hubby!

10 Pieces of Clothing Ever Man Needs to Own
In response to Oprah's '10 (actually 12, guess she ain't smarter than a 5th grader) Pieces of Clothing Every Woman Should Own' I now offically fill in the lost data for the guy side of the equation. These are not 10 articles of clothing but 10 types with quantities because mine is a compelte list, unlike Oprahs (she forgot my first item for women).

1. Underware - at least 4 pairs, preferable 10, whoever can pick the type (thongs not included)
2. Socks - All the same style and color (black or dark grey is best), 5 pairs preferable 10
3. Jeans - 2 pairs
4. Tennis/Running/whatever shoes - You know what I mean, particular variety is your choice (see how easy I am to get along with?)
5. Casual shirts - 2 minimum. In my opinion the best are the 3 button, collared pullover with a pocket in the front. You would be amazed at what fits in that pocket. I am sure a woman did because a baby bottle is a perfect fit.
6. Dress Shoes - 1 pair, black (goes with all men's colors, which admittedly are very limited)
7. Work clothes - 3 sets - This will highly depend on what you do so is not specific. I would suggest 5 sets to get you through the week. Ask you launderer for advice and follow it if this is the wife.
8. Suit Coat - 1, black or dark blue - good for all ocassions, even weddings (no idea why)
9. T-shirt - white so it can be bleached. You can probably get away with just 1 here.
10. Tie - 1 (no getting around it). Go for black if only one, or maybe red. I don't care what Donald Trump wears, pink is not an acceptable color for any healthy American all-male man. Trust me on this.

Ok, there it is, the complete wardrobe set of clothes needed by a man. Remember, this is NEED. Extras make laundary times farther apart but larger to do. And any "special" clothing is strickly your own business, not mine.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A book reveiw

Robyn Okrant wrote a book called Living Oprah. She dedicated 1 year of her life to do all things Oprah said to do. So watched every episode aired even if it was a re run. I found the book fascinating.For the year she spent $4,781.84 & in time she spent 1202 hours & 1 min! And that's not the time to write the book.

I learned a lot from the book & it had me rolling with laughter! I'm not a huge Oprah fan but I totally enjoyed the book. My family who is not Oprah fans loved when I would read excerpts to them from the book. Matter-of-fact, the next post on this blog will be from hubby ( remember, he thinks hes a comedian) who has his take on one section of the book.

In one episode Oprah talked about the 10 must haves for your (women) wardrobe. Hubby will be telling his 10 must haves for men & their wardrobes. The author's journey of obtaining her 10 must haves had me rofl!

Besides the enjoyment factor, the book had a big impact on me. It gave me an "aha" moment! If this woman could follow Oprah's advice ( a woman she had never personally met) then why, oh why, can I not ( or would not) follow the advice of the Dr I trust & whom I pay money to for his advice.

And to take it farther, God gave us His instructions in the Bible. Did I think I try to live God's way before I read this book? Yes! Has my thinking on this changed since reading Robyn's book? YES! Do I truly pray without ceasing? Nope! Do I put others 1st? I think I do..but in a post someone sent me the other day I realized I am not as humble as I thought I was! So, thanks to this secular book, my eyes have opened better to my spiritual walk with God.

So, the changes in my life since reading this book has been to follow my dr's advice much more closely..it's still a struggle though...and to TRULY implement God's Word in my life in a way that I may have never done before. The verse that has been going thru my mind this week when I struggle with ( for example) taking my vitamins, is the verse in James that says To him that knoweth to do good & does it not, to him it is sin.

Thank you, Lord for the things you use to draw me closer to you.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Mernard's trip

Went to Menard's this morning. Bought 3 "snuggie" type things for Christmas presents. Also bought a t shirt for one of the kiddos. Bought 4 packs of batteries. My total was $21.26...saving $18.41!! YIPPEE! And there is a rebate for the batteries so that will be a savings of $8 more!! Loving it!!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

End of the month

My month is ending early! lol I leave in the morning for 3 days of scrapbooking! YIPPEE!

This week was full of people being sick...not me-not yet anyway!

When I get back it will be hubby's birthday. Sunday will be busy just catching up & getting ready for the new week & the new month!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sunday update

I saved $6.08 in coupons @ Walmart yesterday. We filled a grocery cart there for $139. Dale was pleased, so yay! I'm thinking there could have been ways to do better, but I guess it's all baby steps!

I read a book ( from the library) called Jenna's Cowboy Hero by Brenda Minton. I didnt know til after I read it that this was a series & I missed book 1. So, if you are going to try this start with A Cowboy's Heart by Brenda Minton. This book probably wasnt the best written book I"ve ever read, but I loved the characters & the story! I will prob read the 1st book.

Today is the Colt's AFC Championship game! YIPPEE! GO COlLTS!

Our oldest & his wife will be hainvg dinner with us after the game tonight.

I spent 15 minutes clipping coupons yesterday. What 15 min did you do to bless your household financially?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Touching Base

I really havent done much this week. Wiht the 3 day weekend & hubby sick I just havent done much.

I did continue decluttinering the computer room. That's my room of focus for Jan.

I have printed some coupons, did a survey online, received a survey in the mail that I need to do & received some coupons.

I havent been sleeping much so I got 2 library books read this week! Both by Karen Kingsbury. Sarah's song & A Time to Embrace. I loved them both! Sarah's song probably spoke to me more. It had a verse from Proverbs that says " Above all else, guard your heart" That has been my verse for the week.

I havent put any savings down for using the library. Wasnt sure how to do that. But it seems it should go under some kind of savings! lol What do you think?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Jan 11 week in review

Well, I wasnt as good @ posting every day like I had hoped!

Besides the party & the Meijer trip the other thing that happened was we save $50 on auto repairs. I really dont know why, they just knocked $50 off. They told me why, but it didnt make sense. I just said "ok, thanks!" lol They did awesome work & they treated us like royalty!

The other "savings" came in the mail this week in forms of freebies.--got a freebie of Stacy's pita chips-1 0z bag. We havent tried it yet though.

My family ( including adult children who dont live here anymore! lol) are already enjoying things from yesterday's Meijer's trip.

Got a coupon in the mail from vocalpoint.com

The things I did this week that could bring benefits in the future are:

posted my 1st post to kijiji.com--boys clothes for $10. I have no idea what i"m doing so I"m starting out small there.

took a cvs survey to get a coupon for $5 off a $30 purchase.

ordered more samples/freebies

Did Publishers Clearing House

Did cheerios.com

signed up for Psst at GeneralMills.com

signed up for Bzzgent.com

did Inbox Dollars

signed up for whymilk.com

Mypoints

swagbucks.com

Friday, January 15, 2010

My Meijer trip

WOO HOO! Thank you to everyone who shared Meijer's sales & where to get coupons!
I did take a picture, but my camera is acting up so I dont know yet if I got the picture. Will have to have hubby's help with that later this weekend.

Here is what I bought:

10 bages of Dale's bagged salads
2 boxes of Jolly Green Giant vegetables-frozen
3 8 oz Del Monte fruit naturals
1 box of Pillsbury toaster streudals
4 Betty Crocker Warm Delights
1 8 ct box of Lance cracker-variety pack

I spent $3.98!! YIPPEE! Total savings $40.88!!! YAY!!!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Birthdays

My 4 grand-nephews all have bdays within 6 weeks of each other. So, thru the years we have decided to do 1 BIG party for them. So, today was the day! YIPPEE! We went to the Incredible Pizza Company! They did an awesome job for us! We had our own party room & hostess. She helped us @ the buffet tables getting everyone's food too! They played 2 games with the kiddos with the prize being tickest to redeem for prizes! The 2 youngest ones got a lot of tickets! Plus they got to spend this wheel & 3 of them got 50 tickets while 1 got to do an extra activity..I think he picked go carts! He just turned 10 & the place lets 10 yr olds drive them! lol Also, for being their birthday they each got an additional 100 tickets!

They were so kind to us. I had ordered gift bags for them not realizing they came for each birthday boy. So, they deducted it from our bill without me asking..they just let me know they did that. Also, they had given us $15 off for booking online. ( which is why I booked online!) The were totally & aboslutely wonderful! I would happily go back there for a party, but in recent years, I've tried not to go back to the same place twice. We try to make it new & exciting every year!

As far as saving money today, all I have done is my Inbox Dollars & ordering pictures from Snapfish. Since this was my 1st time to order with them, they gave me 20 4x6 prints free. Thru tomorrow they have 50 4x6 pics pics for 50 cents. So, I got 70 prints for 50cents plus shipping..my total was $5.26 & I saved $5.80! WOO HOO! I love where I save more than I spend! lol

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Mail Call

With the weather the way its been the last few days, noone has gotten the mail! Our mailbox was positively stuffed when I went out this morning! YIPPEE!

Here's what arrived:

Those 4 towels that I got for a total of $4.04 saving over $26! YIPPEE! And they are fabulous looking!

A stayfree sample I ordered

A Hellman's sample that I dont remember ordering & it came with coupons & info on a contest!

Some picture magnets that I ordered for my beloved sister-in-love..a got 3 mini ones for me!

A Burger King Coupon booklet

8 coupons from Farmland foods that they said I requested.

I only did a few things towards finances. I entered the All you contest, did my Inbox dollar e mail & did 1 survey for zoom points, getting 50 points for it! YIPPEE!

Did a little cleaning & spent time with different family members today.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Thankful for a good night's sleep

WOW! I slept 11 hours last night! I didnt know I was so tired! It did help me feel better today & I was more productive! Got some laundry, dishes & cleaning done! YIPPEE! I also did get the photos ordered & saved $5.80 in the process. If anyone wants to see if the offer is still open go to winkflash. If you are signing up for the 1st time, the code is 50free. You will get 50 4x6 pictures for the hsipping price of 99 cents!

I checked out jitterbug.com today re cell phones & decided it wasnt for us. It sounds nice, but we need lots of minutes! lol I renewed my library books online so no fines there! YAY! I entered the Publishers Clearing house sweepstakes, the Allyou contest & the cheerios sweepstakes.

I signed up for some free samples, printed some coupons, did my inboxdollars & started checking out the CVS deals for next week. I didnt get very far there.

In case you didnt know, most companies like you booking your party/event online, to the point they are giving discounts if you do that. We are having a party coming up. I went in to check things out, get the info & came home to book online. I didnt find a place to get the discount. When they called last night to verify I asked about it & she laughed & said she had just deducted that for me. It was a savings of $15! She said that eventually they will give their customers a code, but for now they do it manually. So, we all should check to see if there are discounts by doing things online.

One of the blogs I follow ( and I forgot to write down whose! I"ll try to get better on that) shared some codes for Redbox. If you arent familiar with Redbox, message me & I"ll try to fill you in.
Anyway, here are some codes for getting one night free. If you want to use more than one code @ a time, you have to do a different transaction using a different credit card. I dont know how long these codes will be good for.

ABTS25

SNSV25

ACME25

DVDONME

BREAKROOM

Oh, and I called around & I think found my medicine! YAY! The manufacturer is having trouble getting the ingredients to make it. This has been a problem since @ least August.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Life

Well, I already knew that when life gets stressful I spend money! ugh! Or rather, I"m not frugal when spending during times of stress. I was doing "ok" til Tuesday afternoon when Mom was in a car accident. I dont believ I have "saved" a dime since then. But, that's ok. Just proves that it's important to keep plugging away so when crisis happen there is a cushion.

Today I did a little towards finances for the future. I entered the Publisher Clearing house sweepstakes, the Subway sweepstakes & the All You sweepstakes. I printed a few coupons for free products & I took 2 surveys. I found a place to get 50 pictures printed for free...just spend 99 cents in shipping. So hope to do that tonight or tomorrow.

So, the 1st full week of the New Year has been quite a week so far! I am still trying to get over bronchitis, Mother's accident, a "winter storm", and a few other things has made this anything but a boring week! lol I should be getting used to it. The 1st week in "07 Dale had a car accident totaling his truck...Mother's car is repairable.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Monday

I'm still fighting bronchitis so I took it easy today & didnt venture out of the house. I did work on things that should help us in the future.

I requested samples, printed coupons, did my points, entered contests & checked out blogs for more ideas.

I found this site www.dltk-cards.com that has printable calendars for kids.

My mom did go out twice today to get us refills on our drinks, so we saved there. Mom is asleep now so I cant get the exact savings..will have to do that tomorrow.

Also, I realized on our movies last night we would have spent $9 to rent them, but 1 was from the library ( our oldest got it for us) and the other was owned by our youngest. So, yippee!!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Americans Pay More for Less

I didnt really have anything to say today, so we're having a guest blogger! My beloved hubby! He was sharing these thoughts with me today & I thought they were interesting...so take it away, honey! lol

Somehow Americans have been convinced to pay the same or more for items that have less in them. For example, we pay $1.50 for a can of soda that has no more calories than water. This is epidemic in most all foods from "lite" cheeses, sour cream, to non-fat yogurt, to soups advertised as only having 85 calories. We must be trying to starve ourselves to death. Its the only thing I can think of.

This affects more than our food. We play sports, such as golf & bowling, whose goal is to have the least amount particiaption possible. The greatest golf game in the world would only have 18 strokes, instead of the normal 80 or 90. we pay more money for little, sports cars that weigh almost nothing. And people buy clothes with so little fabric that they dont even cover up the skin.

Ok, maybe I"m just old-fashioned. I like my food full of calories, my golf games long & clothes that actually hide me. I'll be easy to spot. I'll be the fat, golfer who everyone is waiting on.

Jan 2 post

I'm starting the New Year out being sick! ugh! I didnt do much. One of my daughter-in-laws spent the day with me and we were just very low-key since we were both under the weather.

I did read, from start to finish, Karen Kingsbury's book A Time to Dance! I loved it! I was very discouraged about some things & it was full of hope.

The only savings was on some hamburger we needed. It was on sale. We saved $1.39 on the 2 lbs we bought.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Jan 1 post

lol..I"m already late in posting what I wanted to! lol

I got up 1st thing this morning & started looking threw the e's & blogs I subscribe to to work on my couponing/bargains, etc. I got a great deal! Kohls.com was having a sale on Christmas towels. I think they were hand towels. They were reularly $5.00 marked down to $1.19. Then there was a code for 20% off & a code for free shipping. I ordered 4 towels in anticipation of next years teachers presents. My grand total spent was $4.04!! I saved $26.20!! YIPPEE! My 1st savings in the new year!