Deals for the Week 03/29/09

CVS
Buy 1 Accu-Check/Aviva Diabetes Monitor at $9.99, Get $9.99 ECBs Limit 1)Free after ECBs
Buy 1 Glade Sense and Spray Lasting Impressions at $5.99, Get $1 ECBs (Limit 1)Use $4/1 coupon from the March All You magazine or the 03/29 SmartSource insert$0.99 after coupon and ECBs
Buy $10 worth of Veet products, Get $5 ECBs (Limit 1) print coupon here and here and pay only $.99
Buy 2 Fantastik Cleaners at $2.50 each, Get $1 ECBs (Limit 1)Use 2 $1/1 coupons from the 03/29 SmartSource insert$1 each after coupons and ECBs

Wal-Greens (if you dare...seems like something always happens to me when I try the deals!)
REGISTER REWARDS DEALS
Buy 1 Edge Infused Energy Shaving Gel at $3.59, Get $3.59 Register RewardsFree after Register Rewards
Buy 1 Skintimate Cream Shave at $2.99, Get $2.99 Register RewardsFree after Register Rewards
Buy 1 100% Natural or True Shimmer Chapstick at $1.99, Get $1.99 Register RewardsFree after Register Rewards
Buy 2 Quaker Life Cereals (on sale 2 for $5), Get $2 Register Rewards Use 2 coupons here
Buy 4 Diet Pepsi 12-packs (on sale 4 for $12), Get $3 Register Rewards

The shaving cream deal is suppose to last until April 25 and you should be able to use a register reward to purchase another shaving cream and it will print another register reward and so on....

NEW FOUND BLOG

I really like reading this lady's blog...check it out http://inpassionatepursuit.blogspot.com/search/label/Balancing%20the%20Budget

Free Prints and more

Click here and get 25 free prints from Wal-Greens when you buy 25.

You can use recent Dial coupons and get 3 bars of soap from BiLo for around $.80 or go to Publix and get them for $.50!

You can get free toothpaste using the Crest coupon and ECBs at CVS this week.

Centsible Sawyer's website and moneysavingmom are two blogs that I visit often to see where I can get the most for my money. You can click on their blogs on the side of my blog if you haven't visited them already.

A few days ago I posted about where I was going to shop. I have found a town that I really enjoy. EASLEY! I have never thought much about this little town. For some reason I always pictured the town as very small. I was wrong! They have several things that has drawn us.

I am a member of a couple of home school support groups and get emails of things going on. One email that I came across was the bookstore offering guitar lessons. Madison has been asking to take lessons, so we signed her up. I have been very pleased with her progress. Anyway, that is what drew us to Easley, but once there I was able to ride around yesterday to see what all they have available. I was very happy to see a children's consignment shop for girls AND BOYS with tons of clothes, several thrift stores, Publix (my new found store for deals), BiLo, Wal-Mart, Super K-Mart, gymnastic center, YMCA, tons of restaurants, and a scrapbook store!!! I will be able to get my shopping done during Madison's lessons. I won't have to take an extra trip out and I can pick up things we need in our town. The only thing I miss is Aldi :-(

BTW...gotta tell my recent deals from the past few days. I got $40.00 worth of groceries at Bloom for $5.00, at Publix I was able to get several boxes of free cereal, and at Wal-Mart picked up 20 pounds of dog food for FREE!

OH What a Nice Spring Outing

I am loving the weather! We were able to take a walk in Greenville Saturday and the falls were beautiful to look at along with the budding trees and flowers. There were so many people out enjoying the day. I know these aren't great pictures, but I just wanted to post what I have being seeing and enjoying of God's creation. I love spring. The newness of everything and things beginning to wake from their sleep. The beginning of more time outside, playing ball, riding bikes, going for walks, gardening, and day trips to farms,etc.

Oh, I even got to eat fresh eggs the other day (not from our chickens.....haha). There are so many families in our home school co-op group that have chickens and then we are fortunate enough to get to buy the eggs from them! I couldn't believe how yellow the fresh eggs were and I could tell the difference in the taste. We really enjoyed the omelets that Phillip made with them Saturday morning before our trip into Greenville. We ended the day with a trip to Goodwill and a birthday party. Yes, the simple things in life makes us a very happy family. This was a very happy frugal weekend.

Sew Sew Sew

All of our kids are in 4-H. As part of a project book, the kids took a sewing class for 3 weeks. The first week they made a pin cushion and the other 2 they worked on a pillow case. All of the kids did a fantastic job! I hope they will take what they learned and continue with their sewing abilities (unlike me). A friend and I are in a competition. We have a goal of completing an outfit for one of our girls by the end of April. The last one to get finished will buy the other a cup of coffee. We also plan on getting the coffee at one of my favorite places....PANERA BREAD! A night out with a friend with no kids where we can "put our feet up"....ahhhhhh, now that will a great reward for my sewing project. Wish me lots of luck!

Our Nation

It doesn't take much for people to start thinking about the state our world and and the state that our nation is in right now. I don't even listen to the news anymore. Every so often I will hear a tidbit of something and it will bring me down. I do want to stay current with what is going on in the world, but I also don't want to be depressed as I go about my day. God has promised that he would take care of us and I don't doubt this one bit. It does concern me as to what we might have to go through and what our children might face. Let's keep our country and the people leading it in our prayers.

St Patrick's Day Fun

What do you call a fake stone in Ireland?

A sham rock

Why do frogs like St. Patrick's Day


Because they're always wearing green

Newspaper Article

On Sundays, we try to make it a point to get a paper (yes, for the coupons). I was very happy when I found a great article in the Lifestyle section. The title was, Frugality is the new cool. According to the article, it's cool to show off frugality and if you spend loads of money on certain things now, it's considered "luxury shame". Retailing experts and economists also state that if you can still afford luxurious items, it's best not to make a show of it. I don't know why, I guess you will get made fun of????haha

So, of course I was on cloud 9 when I read this article. You know, sometimes I feel bad when I do spend money on something and I know I could have done better somewhere else. I know I can't do every single deal, but if I know I could have gotten eggs cheaper (or whatever) somewhere else it does bug me a little. A woman told me a long time ago that pennies make dollars. I have learned that they really do!

More Deals

Bi-Lo has lots of B1G1 free items this week. There are also many coupons that are out you can use on many items and you will be able save a lot of many if you do the deals right! Go here for the match-ups. I am going to get some printer paper today and then I will be able to print the coupons I need.


CVS
ECB deals. Get free Colgate toothpaste and Irish Spring Body Wash only today. You get back the amount you spend through ECBs. Of course I will roll the ECBs I already have and shouldn't have to spend anything.

Warm Weather Fun

Melanie had been sick for a few days and I have had a headache for at least two, but we began to feel better yesterday. I decided we needed to do SOMETHING outside. We still don't have everything at our new house, so I figured a zoo trip was indeed in our future. It was so nice to be able to have schooling done and then go to the zoo all in one day. It didn't take us but a few minutes to get to Greenville. We all had a wonderful time. No money was spent except on our new membership, but that was not unexpected.

Here are the kids enjoying Cleveland Park. There are new things to explore here. Of course Michael says everything makes him sick now. He just couldn't stay off the things that go around!

The baby male monkey was born about a month ago and he was the best attraction of the day. This fella is one busy monkey. He would not keep still. He was trying to climb on the fence, but wasn't having much success. We also finally got to see a baby Orangutan. It sure was small to be the one that was born in 2006. Has there been another one born since then?

It's sad that it's going to get cold again, but we sure have enjoyed the warm weather. One great bonus is getting to sit outside in the rocking chair on the front porch looking at the full moon.

Restaurant.com

Have you ever used any gift certificates from restaurant.com? It's a great site. You pay just a few dollars for a certificate that is worth way more that what you purchased it for. Each restaurant requires for you to spend a certain amount over what the certificate is worth, but it's still a great deal. Right now the certificates are 80% off when you use the code menu. You can purchase the certificates, but have up to 1 year to use them. For example, you can buy a $25.00 certificate that is regularly $10.00 for $2.00! When you go to the restaurant, you will then need to spend usually $50.00 if you have a $25.00 certificate, but you have bought $50.00 worth of food for $27.00. A lot of the restaurants have certificates for $10.00 and usually you have to spend $20.00 to use those. So, right now you can get a $10.00 one for only $.60 and if you are careful you could buy a $20.00 meal for $10.60. The only drawback is finding a restaurant that you will be able to visit. Phillip and I have done this several times and it's well worth it, especially if you are wanting a nice night out.

A few deals to mention

In talking about BiLo, there is a sale on cheese that stands out this week, but keep in mind the sale ends Tuesday.

Sargento cheese-B1G1 free (there's also coupons for this that will double) I am going to try and hunt my coupons up for this because I am making cheese wafers for a reception this weekend.

3 Day sale ( I think ends today)
Domino sugar 2/$3.00
grapes $.99 pound
large eggs $.89 dozen

CVS
Crest toothpaste $2.99 get $2.00 ECBs Use .75 coupon and pay only .25
Palmolive $1.49 get $1.00 ECB back

A great printable coupon Click here and you can get a $5.00 coupon off of Huggies. You should be able to print it twice. Wal-Greens has a diaper deal going on this week too!

There are many more deals at CVS, however I just posted a couple. Click here to get the full scoop on any store you need!

What's A Girl To Do?

Oh, no, I'm one undecided person. I would always get groceries and of course do my deals when I would take Madison to gymnastics 2 days a week. Now I am going to have to make a conscious effort as to when I am going to go shopping. As of this week, we are only scheduled to go out on Thursdays. Of course once we get back in to sports, etc. things will once again pick up, but with us moving to a new town we have to get used to everything first and check out the best things to do and where to do it. Also, it changes what deals I can do. The closest store, which is Bilo, is about 5 miles away along with a Dollar General. Then, there is an Ingles and a Family Dollar a little further down the road. We do have a bent cans type of store and we shopped there the other day. Let me tell you, I did get eggs and milk for a good price, but I am really not sure if the trip was worth it. The store was packed with people and I didn't get enough deals to justify the aggravation. I will still shop this store, but only on occasion. I could drive about 20 minutes to Anderson and I would have a huge choice of stores. I also don't think I want to shop once a week if I can help it. I would love to shop twice a month and then get staples in between.

So, my delima is where and when to shop. Ideally, if I wasn't into getting the best bang for the buck I would just shop at Bilo. I can't do it, I can not pay the prices there. I love the sales matched with coupons at Bilo, but that's it. I have shopped at too many stores with too many coupons to just pay full price for things. I walk in Bilo and look at some of the prices and I'm surprised my eyes haven't popped out of my head. HOW in the WORLD do people do it? I guess I could, but I also want to be able to put gas in the van and give offerings at church,etc.

Maybe I can talk Phillip into shopping with me and we can go on Saturdays and try the flight of the bumblebee thing. :-) Wish me luck!

OH, What A Ride!

We have finally moved in to our new house. It really has been an awesome ride these past few months. We have experienced many disappointments and frustrations, but we have also had many happy moments too. I feel that our journey began maybe even a couple of years ago, with God getting us ready for the path we are walking down now. At the time, while we were going through some trials, we could not see the light at the end of the tunnel and had no clue as to where to go, but with much prayer we feel that God has lead us to a new town with many new hats to wear. When Phil started his new job, we talked about moving in a couple of years. As the weeks went on, we began to think about putting our house up for sale for the simple fact that he didn't want to drive an hour to and from work. We figured it would take months to sell our house, so why not go ahead and put it on the market? We started looking around a little at houses and found a realtor to show us around the Greenville area. We didn't even have our house on the market, but with a few tips from the realtor we got the house prepared and the for sale signs went up at the beginning of December. By the beginning of January, our house was under contract. We had NO idea that the house would sell that quickly. I even figured no one would even look at it until the spring. Also, take into account the economy and housing market I just didn't have my hopes up that it would sell quickly or at all.

During our search for the golden egg, we eventually turned our eyes to the Piedmont/Pelzer area. Then things started making more sense to us. We could move in that area to be closer to Phil's work, but also be close to church and our home school co-op. If we had moved to Greenville area, we would have been at least 45 minutes from church and our home school group. One day as I was looking at homes on the Internet I found the perfect house. It had a little land AND the wrap around porch I wanted. We scheduled an appointment and as soon as I set foot on the ground I KNEW that it was the house for us. I felt it in my gut. As we toured the inside, we liked it even more. It didn't take much for us to be sold on the house. There was a catch as this point, our house wasn't sold yet nor even under contract at this point. We put an offer on the house contingent on ours selling. Of course the answer was a big NO. We understood completely, but was disappointed. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking the house would still be there when we were ready to buy. I saved the house under my favorites and would check from time to time just to look at it. Then one day I noticed it was under contract. I was very heart broken. I couldn't understand why this would happen when I felt so sure that it was the house for us. We began looking again for another house and we did find a foreclosed home that we eventually put a contract on about the time someone put a contract on ours. We were excited and it still had a porch. It needed some TLC and we were going to save some money in the long run. It came down to the day before the closing and the bank wanted us to make the renovations BEFORE buying the house. To make a very long story short, we bailed. We were very disappointed and devastated by the outcome. However, we had the appraisal of the house we were going to buy and the house that we REALLY wanted was on the appraisal. I noticed that it didn't sell, but the listing had timed out. I called the realtor. The contract fell through and the house was AVAILABLE!!!!

We eventually bought the first house. We still don't understand why any of this happened. I do believe that it has to do with faith. I should have waited on the Lord instead of being pushy. I should have waited to see if the first house sold before we tried to get something else. The Lord all but told me in person that the first house was ours. I was impatient.

I can look back now and know some reasons as to why Phillip lost his job back in August. I believe the Lord wanted us to be closer to our church and the only way for us to want to move would be for Phil to be closer to his new job. The Lord has a work for us. I know it's only the beginning of us using our talents for the Lord. God wants us here and we have obeyed the call. We have no idea what's in store, but we know that God is up to something. :-) It's a good something. Yes, I am a little scared, but I also know that with God all things are possible. I know that he will direct our paths. All my life I have enjoyed helping people. When people would ask what kind of job I wanted, I would reply that all I want to do is help people. I believe that the Lord is going to "help people" through me. If you have ever heard the song, It's My Desire, that is the song for my life. It was when I was young and it still rings true today. My prayer is that you will follow the leading of the Lord. If the Lord is telling you to do something, do you have the nerve to take the ride with Him? He said he will never forsake us. He will be there to guide you, comfort you, and give you the peace that you need.