This past Saturday I had my first yard sale ever. I had been going through all of our junk, I mean stuff, for the past month and pulling out the things we no longer needed or used. I was amazed at the pile as it grew and grew. John and I have never been big on keeping things and we keep it pretty simple in our house, but still I had a fair size pile of clothes, toys, and other goodies in the end. Anyways, we had told the girls that we would buy them a trampoline if we made enough from the sale. Needless to say they were very excited. Well I am happy to report that we did very well, and I ordered the trampoline today. I sold most of the big stuff, left with mostly winter clothes. (It was 95 degrees by 10am and noone was interested in looking at big heavy coats or sweaters!)
What was the big step for me? Well, as you may or may not know, I am a paper fanatic. I love paper. I have a large scrapbooking case full of papers and stickers and such for scrapbooking. In my head I always wanted to make beautiful scrapbooks for my girls. But in realty, I am the worst perfectionist and procrastinator, so I have yet to complete a book. But, I just couldn't stand the thought of getting rid of all my beautiful paper. I kept telling myself that I could use it to make unique cards for people, but yet again, I failed miserably at completing them. So...this past Saturday I sold the entire case of scrapbooking supplies in my yard sale. And as funny as this seems, I have felt a weight lifted off of me. I feel freed from the paper!! I sounds nuts, I know and I can't explain it, but it is true.
Tuesday
Memorial Day
Yesterday for Memorial Day we decided to go to Dan Nichols Park for the day. It is a great park, with many activities. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed towards the park. But as we got closer to the interstate we noticed the traffic. It was awful. I don't know if everyone was making a day of it or it were the race fans making their way home. Regardless, we decided not to join the mob. John decided he knew a back way... well you can guess where this is going... yes, we got lost. Well not so much lost as just way off track. Somehow we ended up at a State Park, Morrow Mtn. State Park, just outside of Albemarle, NC. We thought, what the heck, maybe it is just where we are meant to be. So we unloaded and found a place to eat. It was a beautiful park. Gorgeous day on the mountain. After lunch we decided to take a hike on one of the trails. It was quite steep and slippery, lots of rock. I wasn't exactly prepared for hiking, wearing my flip flops, and more than one occasion thought I might slip down the mountain. But it was fun. John, being the crazy Daddy he is, made everyone laugh by pretending we were indians hiking through (they were the original settlers on the mountain). There weren't as many things to do at this park as the other one, but we still had fun, just hanging out together.
Afterwards, one the way home we stopped off for some icecream!!! Yum.
It was a good day.
Afterwards, one the way home we stopped off for some icecream!!! Yum.
It was a good day.
Thursday
My Trips Today...
I have been holding off on my bargain trips, because I wanted to do them all in one go (gotta' save gas $$). And here's the run down...
First stop Target: Spent $19.68 before coupons and $4.13 after. I bought 4 bags of Cheetos (the big bags that hold 6 singles), 3 zone bars, 3 small bags of Archer Brand coffee, and Kraft Miracle Whip. I paid with rebate $$ that I cashed earlier so I paid nothing oop.
Second stop Walgreens: Quick stop to return a razor, received $10.66 back.
Third stop CVS: Bought (1)Tums Quick Pack 24ct, (4) Sobe Life waters, and (1)Almay mascara. Before coupons, my total was $23.83. After using my coupons and ecb's ($2.79 + $5.00) my total was $.20, which I paid with a gift card that I received from my friends. So again, nothing oop and I received $11.69 in ecb's, plus I will be sending off for a rebate on the Tum's for $4.69, so I will have come out ahead by $8.59.
Last stop Walmart: This one was a bit disappointing. I was really hoping to get a lot of great deals, but this particular store (not my favorite) had none of the items I wanted! So...
1st transaction: (8) Zyrtec 5ct. Before coupons $43.84, after $14.80, which I paid with my insurance card. 2nd transaction: (1) bottle of Juicy Juice, (1) bag of salad mix, (1) bag of pizza rolls (easy dinner, soccer tonight), (1) Rimmel nailpolish (my bribe for Reagan's patience), and (8) packs of post-it notes (its a money maker). Before total=$18.53, after=$4.53. Hey, $4.53 for dinner for 4 isn't bad at all! Paid with the $10.00 I received back from the razor.
First stop Target: Spent $19.68 before coupons and $4.13 after. I bought 4 bags of Cheetos (the big bags that hold 6 singles), 3 zone bars, 3 small bags of Archer Brand coffee, and Kraft Miracle Whip. I paid with rebate $$ that I cashed earlier so I paid nothing oop.
Second stop Walgreens: Quick stop to return a razor, received $10.66 back.
Third stop CVS: Bought (1)Tums Quick Pack 24ct, (4) Sobe Life waters, and (1)Almay mascara. Before coupons, my total was $23.83. After using my coupons and ecb's ($2.79 + $5.00) my total was $.20, which I paid with a gift card that I received from my friends. So again, nothing oop and I received $11.69 in ecb's, plus I will be sending off for a rebate on the Tum's for $4.69, so I will have come out ahead by $8.59.
Last stop Walmart: This one was a bit disappointing. I was really hoping to get a lot of great deals, but this particular store (not my favorite) had none of the items I wanted! So...
1st transaction: (8) Zyrtec 5ct. Before coupons $43.84, after $14.80, which I paid with my insurance card. 2nd transaction: (1) bottle of Juicy Juice, (1) bag of salad mix, (1) bag of pizza rolls (easy dinner, soccer tonight), (1) Rimmel nailpolish (my bribe for Reagan's patience), and (8) packs of post-it notes (its a money maker). Before total=$18.53, after=$4.53. Hey, $4.53 for dinner for 4 isn't bad at all! Paid with the $10.00 I received back from the razor.
Friday
Triple Coupons...Again!
Okay, don't laugh, but I am tired. Couponing is so much fun, but it can truly wear you out!! I think I am going to take a week off. This week Harris Teeter was tripling their coupons, so I had to work those deals. And though I didn't do as well as I had hoped, I still did pretty good. In the end after three trips (One for Mom), I bought $261.73 worth of groceries and paid 86.63. I might try and go back once more for the free stuff. But I dunno.
Anyways, I was pleased with my over-all savings this week. Got a lot of goodies in the mail, too. I usually get something everyday now, some type of sample of coupon. And I recently got my emergency car kit, that I ordered through iMommies.com, which was completely free. Check out IMOMMIES.COM for some great moneysaving bargains. I have been able to receive an IPod Shuffle, speakers for my IPod, and the Emergency Tool kit absolutely free thanks to her.
Anyways, I was pleased with my over-all savings this week. Got a lot of goodies in the mail, too. I usually get something everyday now, some type of sample of coupon. And I recently got my emergency car kit, that I ordered through iMommies.com, which was completely free. Check out IMOMMIES.COM for some great moneysaving bargains. I have been able to receive an IPod Shuffle, speakers for my IPod, and the Emergency Tool kit absolutely free thanks to her.
Cinco de Mayo
Monday was Bailey's 9th birthday. It was also Zoo Fieldtrip Day for Peyton's class. So we decided to combine the two and let Bailey skip school and join the fieldtrip. Our entire family was able to go to the zoo for free!! Whoopeee! It was an absolute gorgeous day, perfect weather for the zoo. It was a lot fun, but we were all worn out by the end. Afterwards we went out to dinner to a Mexican Restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!! So we asked the staff to sing "Happy Birthday", so they brought a huge sombrero along with dessert. After singing they pushed the dessert into her face, she thought it was hilarious! Then, of course we came home to open presents. Lots of fun. The best part is Daddy's gifts. Every year John puts together a special basket of goodies. It is full of kinds of goodies and the girls love it. Very neat, I think. They will remember it forever. All in all it was a great day.
But I just can't believe my little Bailey girl is now 9!! We have truly hit the 'tween' stage. It is amazing how it just kind of kicks in. It is a challenge, and I am really curious how the teen years are going to be. Three girls in the teens together?? God help us.
Tuesday
My quick trips...
I had decided that I wasn't going to make any CVS runs this week, but after reading about a few really good ones I decided to make a quick trip. So today I ran out quickly while the girls were at a friend's house this afternoon. First off, Walgreens. Now, I am fairly new to the whole Walgreens Register Rewards so I was a little wary. But it worked great!! I bought $60.17 worth of stuff (various make-up and razors), paid $3.95 oop and received $20 RR (register rewards) to use towards my next purchase. I am going to try this deal again and buy some necessary cleaning and paper products. Hoping to be able to use my RR to pay and receive more in the end. Will see.
Next I had to hit CVS. Bought $20.80 worth of stuff and paid $.34 oop (out of pocket) and received $14 ECB's. I did have to use $11 of my ECB's but still, in the end, came out ahead by $3.00.
Next I had to hit CVS. Bought $20.80 worth of stuff and paid $.34 oop (out of pocket) and received $14 ECB's. I did have to use $11 of my ECB's but still, in the end, came out ahead by $3.00.
Thursday
CVS...
This morning my neighbor and I hit CVS first thing to grab the May ECB deals before they are gone (yes, they really do go that quickly). I won't bore you with the details, but before coupons my grand total was $153.00, after it was $2.00. I received $28 ECBs (CVS cash) to use in the future, plus I have two rebates from this purchase to mail off which will give me $18.00. So, I will have made $44.00. WooHoo! Now, what am I going to do with my two boxes of Just For Men Touch of Gray?
Wednesday
Target, KMart, & Rite-Aid
Tonight was Faith Formation night at church for Bailey and Peyton and soccer practice for Reagan so while waiting for them I checked out some posted bargains from the web (http://www.afullcup.com/)
At Kmart I bought 4 General Mills cereals 4/$10. At the register I received an instant $4 rebate, plus I used two $1/2 manufacturer coupons, so in the end I paid $4 + tax for 4 boxes of cereal. These boxes ordinarily would cost approximately $3.49/box at least. I am trying to stock up cereals b/c they are great snacks for the pool during the summer. So whenever I find a bargain I try to snatch it up. Last week I was able to get 4 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats for free!!
At Target I got three Aveeno lotions (2 small bottles and 1 trial size), two bags of Purina One dog biscuits, a Zone bar, and three Durex products. Before coupons my total was $28 (thereabouts, anyways, I can't find my receipt), but after coupons it was $2.21, plus I received a $5 Target giftcard. So in actuality I made $2.79!! How 'bout them apples?
And at Rite-Aid I bought 3 boxes of Band-Aids and 6 bags of Weight Watchers chocolates for $2.71 after coupons. Not bad, either. Without my coupons I would have paid $21.00.
I took a quick photo of the goodies, but my batteries need charging so I am hoping that I can post it tomorrow.
Oh, and since I'm bragging just wanted to add that yesterday I got four cans of veggies and a fresh box of fudge at Food Lion for $1.25 and four Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer sprays and two boxes of Jell-o instant gelatin boxes for $.20 at Walgreens. Yeah, baby!
At Kmart I bought 4 General Mills cereals 4/$10. At the register I received an instant $4 rebate, plus I used two $1/2 manufacturer coupons, so in the end I paid $4 + tax for 4 boxes of cereal. These boxes ordinarily would cost approximately $3.49/box at least. I am trying to stock up cereals b/c they are great snacks for the pool during the summer. So whenever I find a bargain I try to snatch it up. Last week I was able to get 4 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats for free!!
At Target I got three Aveeno lotions (2 small bottles and 1 trial size), two bags of Purina One dog biscuits, a Zone bar, and three Durex products. Before coupons my total was $28 (thereabouts, anyways, I can't find my receipt), but after coupons it was $2.21, plus I received a $5 Target giftcard. So in actuality I made $2.79!! How 'bout them apples?
And at Rite-Aid I bought 3 boxes of Band-Aids and 6 bags of Weight Watchers chocolates for $2.71 after coupons. Not bad, either. Without my coupons I would have paid $21.00.
I took a quick photo of the goodies, but my batteries need charging so I am hoping that I can post it tomorrow.
Oh, and since I'm bragging just wanted to add that yesterday I got four cans of veggies and a fresh box of fudge at Food Lion for $1.25 and four Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer sprays and two boxes of Jell-o instant gelatin boxes for $.20 at Walgreens. Yeah, baby!
Tuesday
Another Day, Another CVS Trip...
Actually I hit three stores this morning. First off, Target. Some of the deals I was planning on were not there, but all in all still not bad. My total before coupons was 40.90, after it was $15.49. I got some good stuff too, like sandwich bags, zone bars, chips and cookies (John likes a particular brand of cookies and these were on sale), and Eggo waffles. I also had to throw in a coloring book for Reagan since she was being such a good sport to be dragged from store to store.
Next we hit Food Lion, not usually my store of choice, but the sales this week have been awful and I had some store coupons for Food Lion. I am just trying to get by with a few staples until tomorrow. Then I am hoping for better sales at HT. Didn't do as well there, but still got hamburger meat, and chicken as well as eggs, cheese, and milk. Before Q's total was $58.09, after $34.20.
Last stop, CVS. I had written down several scenarios for buying because you never know if the product you want will actually be there (yes, there are other people who are as crazy as I am about CVSing). Of course that was the case, but I still did okay. I bought 6 gift bags (yes, eventually I will use them), and two bottles of benefiber chewables (hey, we all could use more fiber in our diet). Again before Q total was $24.25. After coupons I paid 3.17, but I also got $20.00 ECB's (basically CVS $$) to use towards my next purchase. So, do you get what I'm doing now? I still have some learning to do, but I want to keep earning the ECB's so that I keep my OOP as low as possible. You should try it. I promise you will get addicted. I got my sis doing last week and she has already saved $$ on her baby supplies. Again check out these sites for some great starter scenarios: www.moneysavingmom.com and http://iheartcvs.com/
Next we hit Food Lion, not usually my store of choice, but the sales this week have been awful and I had some store coupons for Food Lion. I am just trying to get by with a few staples until tomorrow. Then I am hoping for better sales at HT. Didn't do as well there, but still got hamburger meat, and chicken as well as eggs, cheese, and milk. Before Q's total was $58.09, after $34.20.
Last stop, CVS. I had written down several scenarios for buying because you never know if the product you want will actually be there (yes, there are other people who are as crazy as I am about CVSing). Of course that was the case, but I still did okay. I bought 6 gift bags (yes, eventually I will use them), and two bottles of benefiber chewables (hey, we all could use more fiber in our diet). Again before Q total was $24.25. After coupons I paid 3.17, but I also got $20.00 ECB's (basically CVS $$) to use towards my next purchase. So, do you get what I'm doing now? I still have some learning to do, but I want to keep earning the ECB's so that I keep my OOP as low as possible. You should try it. I promise you will get addicted. I got my sis doing last week and she has already saved $$ on her baby supplies. Again check out these sites for some great starter scenarios: www.moneysavingmom.com and http://iheartcvs.com/
Sunday
Menu Planning
This is my worst subject. I hate cooking. I am not good at it and just don't like doing it. We eat out a lot!! Which, as we all know, can be expensive and fattening. So I am trying to do better at planning our meals ahead of time so that we won't be so tempted to just go out. And I am hoping that by posting it here it will help me to stick to the plan even more. So I will let you know how it goes. I found a site on the web that helps with menu planning, www.carriescooking.com . Anyways, here is my menu for this week.
Monday: Hamburgers, steamed broccoli, and mixed fruit salad
Tuesday: Roast, steamed veggies, and potatoes
Wednesday: Pizza and strawberries(Soccer practice)
Thursday: Fiesta Chicken (a new recipe I wanted to try)
Friday: Free night (soccer practice, we will go out to dinner afterwards)
Saturday: Tacos with rice (we have both chicken and beef)
Sunday: Dinner at Mom's (we are starting a new family tradition of eating Sunday dinner
with my mom)
Monday: Hamburgers, steamed broccoli, and mixed fruit salad
Tuesday: Roast, steamed veggies, and potatoes
Wednesday: Pizza and strawberries(Soccer practice)
Thursday: Fiesta Chicken (a new recipe I wanted to try)
Friday: Free night (soccer practice, we will go out to dinner afterwards)
Saturday: Tacos with rice (we have both chicken and beef)
Sunday: Dinner at Mom's (we are starting a new family tradition of eating Sunday dinner
with my mom)
Monday
Blowing bubbles
Reagan can finally blow a bubble. She is very proud of herself and wants to blow bubbles all of the time now. (Good thing I stocked up on some chewing gum). I just wanted to document it.
Sometimes it is hard with her being the youngest of the girls. They are all fairly close in age(only 3.5 years between Bailey and Reagan), but Bailey and Peyton can still do some things that Reagan is not allowed to do or is just not physically capable of doing yet. In her mind they are all equal, and often doesn't understand when she doesn't get to have sleepovers or go to their parties. It frustrates her to no end that she can't jump rope as fast as her sisters or she never wins a running race with them.
Anyways, she has been practicing for quite a while with blowing the bubbles. I kept telling her she will get it eventually, and well, she did.
Shopping again...
Hit CVS and Walgreens yesterday afternoon after sorting through the Sunday newspaper's coupons. What you see in the photo I got for $4.80. Plus I earned more ECB's to use for my next CVS run. Before coupons I spent over $100 ($103.58 to be exact). I accidently bought the Sunsilk conditioner instead of the shampoo, so I will go back to get the shampoos. And then I think I might try to sell some of the shampoo and conditioner to John's college girls. Where else would they get this shampoo for a $1??
Anyway, if you think I am bit crazy, you're probably right, but we are on a tight budget as of late and this satisfies my shopping crave with little damage to our banking account. If you haven't tried CVSing yet, you need to. However, be warned, it is very addicting. Thank goodness we have three CVS stores within 4 miles from our house.
Check my earlier posts for some great money saving sites.
Friday
My Friday Bargains
Lastnight while browsing through my growing number of money saving internet sites, I came across some good deals at my local shops. So I pulled out my coupon book, sorted the necessary coupons and headed out to do some shopping. First I hit Walmart. There I got two Speed Stick deoderants, two colgate toothbrushes, two packs of Zantac and two Zone bars. With my coupons the store ended up owing me $2.20. They wouldn't actually give me the overage, so I used it toward a new binder (for my coupons, of course). Next I stopped off at CVS, where I purchased a Precision Xtra Monitor and three gift bags. Again after using my coupons and ECB's I made a $5 profit. What will I do with a Precision Xtra Monitor, you ask? (Which, by the way, was originally $78) I am going to give it, along with two packs of Glucerna bars, to a friend of my Mom's who has diabetes. So I get to do a good deed. Lastly, I ran into Target to get my three Pantene shampoos, two more Zone bars (I am just trying them to see if I like them), and six packs of Goldfish all for a grand total of $3.29, plus I received a $5 gift card. Not bad for a day of shopping. Check out these great sites for more great deals: Moneysavingmom.com; bethriftylikeus.blogspot.com
Monday
Spring Break is Over
and finally some peace and quiet in the house. HAHA
I was so looking forward to having the girls home for their spring break. And we had a lot fun together. It was great not having to wake up at 6:30am, pack lunches, or do homework. Usually we try to get away for a few days, but this year it didn't work out for various reasons. So, instead, I tried to do little things with them each day. One day, we went to a local theater, The Gem, and saw Horton Hears A Who. This theater is great, it only charges $2/person and the snacks are very reasonable, $.75 for a pack of candy. It is a little outdated and the girls, being spoiled by the newer cinemas, weren't so impressed at first. "Where are out cup holders?" "These seats don't recline." But I think they enjoyed the film all the same. Another day, John stayed home and we all went to the park for the day. It is always fun when Daddy comes because he makes up some great games and keeps us busy the entire time. I'm more of a leisurely park goer, but not Daddy. I got my exercise that day. We spent one afternoon at a local plantation and farm, called the Latta Plantation. It was great because there was noone else there so we received extra attention from the volunteers. They let the girls pet the two baby lambs and were able to hold one of the roosters. The farmer told them several stories about the farm and the animals that lived there. I'll post some photos of that day. We had friends come over for play days and sleepovers. So all in all I think it was a good week.
But, like I said, it sure is nice to have some "Me" time again.
I was so looking forward to having the girls home for their spring break. And we had a lot fun together. It was great not having to wake up at 6:30am, pack lunches, or do homework. Usually we try to get away for a few days, but this year it didn't work out for various reasons. So, instead, I tried to do little things with them each day. One day, we went to a local theater, The Gem, and saw Horton Hears A Who. This theater is great, it only charges $2/person and the snacks are very reasonable, $.75 for a pack of candy. It is a little outdated and the girls, being spoiled by the newer cinemas, weren't so impressed at first. "Where are out cup holders?" "These seats don't recline." But I think they enjoyed the film all the same. Another day, John stayed home and we all went to the park for the day. It is always fun when Daddy comes because he makes up some great games and keeps us busy the entire time. I'm more of a leisurely park goer, but not Daddy. I got my exercise that day. We spent one afternoon at a local plantation and farm, called the Latta Plantation. It was great because there was noone else there so we received extra attention from the volunteers. They let the girls pet the two baby lambs and were able to hold one of the roosters. The farmer told them several stories about the farm and the animals that lived there. I'll post some photos of that day. We had friends come over for play days and sleepovers. So all in all I think it was a good week.
But, like I said, it sure is nice to have some "Me" time again.
Sunday
My bargain from Yesterday...
Well I've mentionned before that I am a coupon shopper. As of late I haven't been doing so great, gotten kind of lazy in buying my newspapers and such. It really does take some time and organization to keep up with it. I am still saving with my groceries, but not like I could. Well, this past week it was triple coupons at Harris Teeter. So while searching the internet, I found some great websites that are amazingly helpful in sharing what deals are available. So, anyway, I decided to get myself organized and start taking advantage of all these great deals. Friday evening I made a list of all the places I wanted to go and separated my coupons accordingly. Come Saturday morning I grabbed my list and hit the stores. I hit Target, Walmart, Bath and Body, and finally Harris Teeter. I had planned on going to CVS, but I was pretty tired from running around (I had to attend a birthday party in between all these trips) and my girls, who had to tag along for the "fun", were done, to say the least! I had so much fun, though. I had to take a picture of my bargains. I got all that is pictured for about $18. My total before the coupons was around $92.00. I can't find all my receipts to give specifics. I spent $13 at HT (before savings $61), $.26 at Walmart before savings $2.26), $1 at B&B (before savings $12), and $3 at Target (before savings $18). Anyways, it was fun. I plan on going back out today to pick up my papers (of course) and hit CVS. If you are interested, check out these sites for more savings http://bethriftylikeus.blogspot.com/ ;http://iheartcvs.com/ ; http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ ; http://www.bargainshopperlady.com/ 
Saturday
And then there's little me... Bailey
I am still only allowed to take "x" amount of photos of her, and she is not very comfortable in front of the camera, where the other two are. But I love this smiling one of her.
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