Posts Tagged ‘
frugal living ’
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Some of you have wondered where I get my printable coupons. Here are the main coupon sites that I use: Coupons.com, Coupon Network, Smart Source, Red Plum and Saving Star. Manufacturer websites and Facebook pages are another great source.
I didn’t do as much shopping this week which was fine with me- sometimes it’s good to have a break! I was happy to make $4.88 on my purchases though even though I didn’t buy that much.
Favorite buys:
* Free Beechnut Fruites
* Moneymaking Calcium
* Sausage for $1.50/lb.
* Moneymaking Eucerin
Total Spent: $14.36
Total Saved with Coupons: $41.26
Total Saved with Sales: $13.83
Total Saved: $55.09
CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $19.96
I have a gift card that I earned through our credit card rewards program that I used to pay for this purchase which was $0.90.
I bought this Eucerin primarily because it was a moneymaker of $2.04. I’ve tried Eucerin lotion in the past and haven’t really liked it. Any local friends use it? I’d be happy to give it to you. Seriously! If not, it will either get donated or I might try to yardsale it for $0.25.
Bought:
Coupons Used:
- Four $3.00 Eucerin printable coupons
- $7.96 in Extra Bucks (CVS coupons that print at register for purchasing specific items)
Got Back:
- $10.00 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the Eucerin (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- $2.00 Extra Bucks coupon for scanning my Green Bag Tag (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- CVS ended their Green Bag Tag program but gave all customers who scanned their tag a $2.00 Extra Bucks coupon
Rite Aid: $5.66
Saved with Coupons: $6.55
Saved with Sales: $9.35
No, I don’t normally buy Nursery water but since I had UPRewards that needed to be used and since I could make $0.33 on it I figured why not? We’ll either drink it or use it to water our plants.
I made $2.00 on the calcium which I was happy about. I try to take calcium supplements regularly, although I’ve never tried the Sundown brand. I can’t imagine it is that much different than any other brand though.
Bought:
- 2 Sundown Calcium $8.99 total (on sale Buy One, Get One Free)
- 2 Nursery Water $1.61 each
Coupons Used:
- $0.55/2 Nursery Water printable coupon
- $1.00 Sundown printable coupon
- $5.00 in UPRewards (Rite Aid coupon that print at register for purchasing specific items)
Got Back:
- $3.00 UPReward coupon for purchasing the Nursery Water (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- Two $5.00 UPReward coupons for purchasing the Sundown (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Giant: $8.70
Saved with Coupons: $12.75
Saved with Sales: $4.48
We went to Maryland to surprise my mom and grandma for Mother’s Day. (That was really fun by the way and we successfully surprised them too!) I wasn’t planning to do any grocery shopping while we were there but my mom had to work several hours Sat. morning and so I ran to Martins to take advantage of their awesome double coupons. Martins in MD is the same thing as Giant here in PA. The great thing about them is that they double all coupons up to $1.00. So in other words, if a coupon is $0.99 it will double to $1.98! I always like to try to take advantage of that when I’m there.
I really wasn’t sure what deals I would find but I dug through my grocery coupons and found all the $0.75 and just looked for deals. I didn’t have the children with me so it was a lot of fun. I ended up with some awesome deals.
The Beech-nut products were either free or moneymakers of $0.25. The Crisco Olive Oil spray was just a good price and I was needing more so this was perfect. The sausage was a great buy at $1.49/lb. after coupons/sales. The ketchup was supposed to be a good deal…unfortunately they missed ringing up my $1 coupon and I didn’t notice until I was home. Hate when that happens!
Bought:
- Crisco Spray $2.29
- 4 Beech-nut Fruities $0.99 each
- Beech-nut Yogurt Blend $1.25
- Nature’s Promise Organic Ketchup $1.99
- 4 Johnsonville Sausage (various kinds) $2.99 each
Coupons Used:
- $0.75 Crisco printable coupon (doubled to $1.50)
- Two $0.50 Beechnut printable coupons (doubled to $1.00 each)
- Three $0.75 Beechnut printable coupons (doubled to $1.25 each)
- Four $0.75 Johnsonville coupons from various magazines (doubled to $1.50)
Walmart: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $2.00
Smiley 360 sent me a $10 Walmart gift card to cover the cost of Oxi-Clean so that I can do a product review for them. I used it to cover the cost of my purchase which was $6.46.
The Vlasic relish was free after a coupon and the Earthbound organic carrots were just $0.93/lb. after a coupon.
Bought:
- 2 Earthbound Farms Organic Carrots $1.12 each
- Vlassic Relish $0.98
- OxiClean $4.94
Coupons Used:
- $1/2 Earthbound printable coupon from manufacturer’s website
- $1.00 Vlassic printable coupon
Misc.: $0
Picture #1: My mother-in-law gave me a dozen eggs since their chickens are laying more than they can use right now. The ones from her are the open carton- notice that huge one lying on top! The other 3 dozen were from a local farm where I pay $1.15/doz.
Picutre #2: The snacks were all from our neighbors. One day the Mrs. knocked on our door and said someone gave them a bunch of crackers and cookies and could we use some. Of course I said yes, and this is what she gave me. 
The lettuce? It’s from our little garden! I’m so excited because I planted 6 lettuce plants several weeks ago and they are beautiful!
Picture #3: I got 2 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, 1 dill plant and 1 basil plant all for $7.00. I’ve never planted much before because we live in the city and really don’t have much space. But this year I decided to plant some garden things in my one flowerbed and I also dug up a small plot in the back corner of our yard. I can’t wait to see how much I get from it!
Not pictured:
- some onions to plant and another 12 lettuce plants that I used grocery cash to pay for
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Some of you may be concerned that you will receive lots of junk mail/spam if you sign up for offers like this. Honestly, I don’t ever remember getting any junk mail as a result- so if I have it has been very minimal. Some of these offers are set up so that when you sign up for the freebie you also sign up for an email newsletter. As a result, I have gotten some extra emails. However there are two things you can do. Either just immediately unsubscribe from the email once it arrives or better yet, create a free email address (with Yahoo or Gmail) that you use exclusively for these kinds of offers, that way your regular inbox won’t ever get cluttered with things you don’t really care that much about.
Here are all the latest available freebies- everything from nursing covers, ebooks and magazines, to photos and tax software.
* Free Car Seat Canopy – use code ENBABY at checkout
* Free Nursing Pillow – use code MYSAVINGS at checkout
* Pampers Gifts to Grow code: FBAPR4WSRE8WT13 (worth 10 pts.)- redeem points for gift cards and more
- code exp. 4/20/13
* 60 Free Prints from York Photo – use code 60PRINTS(new customers only!)
* Free Nursing Cover- use code ENBABY at checkout
* Free Rising Cities Online Game
* Free Farmerama Online Game
* Voots Kid’s Vitamin Supplement
* Poise Sample Kit
* Ruffies Flex Stretch Trash Bags
* Purina One Smart Blend Cat Food- click the “Purina One Smart Blend” link under the banner picture, you’ll then see a link to click for a free sample
* Depends Guards and Shields for Men
* Over 150 Free Greatest Hits Kid’s Songs
Ebooks/Magazines:
Please make sure that the e-books from Amazon are still free when you go to download them- Amazon changes their prices frequently. If you don’t have a Kindle but still would like to read e-books download this application
that allows you to read them on your PC.
* Organic Food: Eating Organic on a Budget
* Lotus Buds by Amy Carmichael
* The Four Week Financial Turnaround
* Homemade Change: A guide on how to make money from home and declutter your life.
Previously Posted Offers:
* Free pair of glasses from Coastal.com (just pay shipping of approx. $13)
* Free 8×10 Photo Canvas (just pay shipping)
* Free $5 Gift Card from Plink – gift card is for places like Amazon, Walmart, Kohl’s and more
- I’ve used Plink and it’s a legitimate, easy way to make a little bit of extra money
* 5 Free VeggieTales Songs
* 19 Free Educational iTunes Apps
* Free Pillsbury Newsletter- get access to coupons, free samples and more
* Free Online Budgeting Tool from LearnVest
* Free Slurpee at 7-Eleven (through 4/30)
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Looking to take better control of your money? Check out LearnVest’s free online budgeting tool. LearnVest makes it easy to get your financial life in control and organized for free. Get a budget you can actually stick to!
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Laundry. We all have to do it, right? So why not save a little money while doing this necessary evil? Follow the tips below and you’ll do just that!
1. Wash only full loads
Doing this not only saves electricity, it also saves water and laundry detergent. After all, we use pretty much the same amount of all of those things whether we do half a load or a full load, right?
2. Look at those labels
This might sound obvious, but think about it. When was the last time you read the instructions on the clothes that you are wearing right now? If the item says “Wash in cold water” you might get by with using warm water but typically hot water is disastrous. And if you dry “line dry only” items in the dryer, chances are that you’ll be greeted with a smaller version when you retrieve it thanks to the heat shrinking it.
Occasionally you can get by with ignoring the laundry labels, but it’s always good to check and make sure you at least know what is recommended. I don’t personally follow every label to a “T” but I do recommend at least observing the two things I noted above: not washing “cold water only” items in hot water and not drying (at least not fully) “line dry only” items in the dryer.
3. Wash in cold water
While some clothes require hot water to get them sanitized (think towels or gym clothes), most clothes get clean just fine using cold water. At the very least, instead of using hot, use warm.
Curious how much you’ll save? Check out how much energy is used depending on the temperature selected:
Chart Source
4. Only launder when needed
Some of you might cringe at this one, but I honestly don’t think it is necessary to wash every item of clothing every time you wear it- especially things like sweaters that are worn over other pieces of clothing. Often we wear a piece of clothing for just a couple of hours and immediately call it dirty. But is it really?
Wondering why it’s such a big deal to not over-launder? Every time you wash a piece of clothing it wears it out, especially so if you use a dryer to dry it. By not washing it as often, you can extend the life of your clothing a bit longer.
5. Treat stains as soon as possible
The longer a stain sits on fabric, the more it soaks deeper into the fibers and then it becomes harder to get the stain out. And if the stain dries it becomes even more difficult. One trick that I use with baby clothes that are soiled by dirty diapers that leak is to at least keep them wet until I am able to treat the stain. It helps me out in the long run!
While I’m talking about stains I thought I’d mention that two of my favorite stain fighters are Oxi-clean and FelsNaptha soap. I love Oxi-Clean for stains that have set or just won’t come out with anything else. It’s worked great at whitening old baby clothes too. FelsNaptha soap is my go-to choice for a great an inexpensive stain remover. I simply rub a bit of the soap on the stained area. wet it a bit and scrub a bit. And most of the time the stain is gone! I’ve used this on many things including grass stains.
6. Cut back on the amount of laundry detergent
Did you know that you don’t have to use the full amount of most laundry detergents to get your clothes clean? I’ve found that I can cut back sometimes as much as half the amount and not notice any difference. Experiment a bit. Hardness of water and the kind of laundry detergent makes it vary, but I can almost guarantee that you don’t need the full amount. Oh and this tip goes for liquid fabric softener too!
7. Use a Mesh Laundry Bag for Small or “Fragile” Items
This is one of my favorite laundry tips ever. Everyone knows that mesh lingerie bags work great for laundering intimate articles of clothing. But did you ever think of using them beyond those lacy pieces of clothing?
When my son was a baby I got so tired of trying to find his itty-bitty socks in the laundry. They’d get stuck inside pant legs or just somehow mysteriously disappear. So I started putting them in one of my mesh lingerie bags when I did the laundry. It works like a charm. No more lost socks around here!
I also use mesh lingerie bags for things like sweaters or my daughter’s delicate dresses that have lace or tulle on them. Anything that seems like it might easily get caught on another piece of clothing gets tossed into one of my bags. It has definitely helped keep my clothes looking newer much longer!
8. Turn clothes inside out
While I love using my mesh lingerie bags I can’t use them for everything. Some things are just too big. Dresses, sweaters and other items that might snag or pull get turned inside out reducing the chances of any damage happening to the outside. Again, a simple thing, but one that has helped me keep my clothing look nicer for longer.
9. Avoid using your dryer
Did you know that most households can save $25 a month by not using a dryer? Not only do dryers hog electricity, they also are hard on your clothes. (Where do you think all that lint comes from?) Use a clothes line or a drying rack
as much as possible. And if you must use a dryer, don’t use it any longer than necessary. Over-drying clothes quickly weakens the fibers reducing the life of your clothing.
We live in the city and don’t have much space but we found a retractable clothesline that we use outside that works really well. I love being able to hang laundry out! Between that and our drying rack we use our dryer very little. When I do use it, it’s often just to “fluff” our clothes. I’ve learned that by drying our clothes for about 15 minutes in the dryer before we hang them, I rarely have to iron anything- it fluffs them just enough to get the wrinkles out.
Just a quick personal story. My husband and one of his friends were talking about their electric costs and discovered that his friend’s electric bill was consistently at least $30 more a month than ours. After discussing it a bit they figured out that the only big thing we do differently is use our dryer very little. That was an interesting discovery to me. I knew not using our dryer much saved us money but I didn’t realize it was that much!
10. Keep dryer lint cleaned out
Again, a no-brainer, but something that is so easy to forget to do! But by keeping your dryer vents cleaned out you can save up to 30% of your dryer’s typical electricity usage because your dryer doesn’t have to work as hard.
Have you done any of these things and noticed a difference? What do you do to save money on laundry?
Image Credit: Shutterstock- Clothes hanging to dry on a clothesline
Monday, April 1st, 2013
Are you an ebook lover? Then you might be interested in some of the free ebooks that Amazon is currently offering. Please make sure that they are still free when you go to download them- Amazon changes their prices frequently.
If you don’t have a Kindle but still would like to read e-books use one of these applications to read them on your PC, Smartphone or Tablet.
* Impact Player: Leaving a Lasting Legacy On and Off the Field
* The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister
* Backyard Chickens for Beginners
* Raised Bed Gardening
* 35 Amazing Smoothie Recipes 
* Clean Eating Diet
* Hello, Cupcake! Series Sampler
* The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (with Cross-References)
