A Lot Of Savings

We’re live people! Welcome to The Sensible Mom.com

2010-09-08T23:20:00.001-05:00

Finally! Sorry for the delay, but The Sensible Mom.com is finally ready for your eyes to see. I’m very excited about this new blog, and I’m looking forward to hearing what you think! It’s going to be more about helping and encouraging moms, passing along practical tips and advice, and I’m going to have some weekly features as well.

I still love the deals and I’m still going to share tips on living a frugal life, but I won’t be posting individual deals (unless it’s something really good!) like I was for A Lot of Savings.

The main reason for the switch from A Lot of Savings to The Sensible Mom is that I simply can not keep up with the other deal bloggers out there (and there are LOTS! many of whom I will still be following). The other reason is that in this season of life that I am in right now, I need to keep my thoughts focused on God, my family, and school. I need wisdom, help, and encouragement to make it through my day, and The Sensible Mom.com is going to be a place that directs my thoughts towards those very things in the posts that I share.

Up until now, I have done the bulk of the design work on The Sensible Mom with the help of my husband. After today, however, he is going to be taking the reigns as far as the design of the site goes. There is still a lot of work to do, but it’s in good enough shape to begin posting and invite you all along for the ride! Come see!

I need one more day.

2010-09-07T07:09:00.005-05:00

Well….I know I said I would not be posting here anymore after today, but it will actually be after tomorrow since we had such a busy weekend. We were out of town on Saturday, and I spent A LOT of time on homework both Saturday and the rest of the weekend.

My husband and I are both taking an Intro to Programming class that is being taught by a wonderful teacher who knows her stuff. The only problem is the material is being taught at a VERY FAST PACE and last week I turned in an assignment that I got an A on because the teacher helped me, but I was completely clueless as to why my program actually worked and there was no way I could replicate it on my own. I had no idea what I was doing.

My husband takes the same class on a different day/time and was equally as lost. So, we had two options. We could go to the teacher for additional help or we could open the book and read it. Have you ever looked inside a computer programming book? If not, be happy. Very, very, happy.

Anyway, we did look inside and read and read and discussed and learned. And….now…understand. The bits and pieces started coming together and by the end of Sunday night (around midnight), I could understand the homework that I had turned in.

I’m a LONG way from the end, though. It looks like this class is going to require a lot of outside work on our part. :( Oh well. I’d much rather understand what I am doing than struggle through a class because I don’t want to spend the extra time learning on my own. (Plus I want to get an A for the class! I'm trying to keep a 4.0 here.)

And then there’s HTML. Okaaaayyyyy. My husband and I are also taking an html class taught by two different teachers with VERY different teaching styles. Mine is into going through the book and teaching us step by step. Very refreshing.

My husband’s teacher is an awesome web design instructor and once again, she knows her stuff, therefore, she isn’t teaching her class in baby steps as my instructor is. She thinks her students should do a good portion of the learning on their OWN. Oh, how I feel sorry for them! HTML? On your own? Isn’t very pleasant. Needless to say, we also spent quite a bit of time in the html book this weekend as well--somewhere around 3 hours. The same two assignments that I was able to do in around 45 minutes took that long to get through for Ruben because of all the additional learning that had to be done.

And all this with the kids! It’s hard doing homework with the kids around, so, we try to get it done after they go to bed which means late nights for us, but since we had so much to accomplish this weekend….it was pretty crazy here Monday morning and afternoon!

Today, I’ll be spending the needed time getting the new blog ready.

Happy Monday!

Exciting Changes are on the Horizon….

2010-09-01T19:12:00.003-05:00

Well, guys, things are going to be changing soon for this blog. Starting Sept. 7th, 2010, I will no longer be posting on A Lot of Savings. I going to start posting on my NEW BLOG! And you are ALL invited! I don’t want to give you the name and link just yet because it isn’t quite finished getting all dressed up. As many of you know, I’m a beginning web designer, so, I’ll appreciate your patience as I move things around even after I announce it to you all. But, that said, it looks pretty good thus far, for a beginner. And I didn’t design it from scratch (I’m learning how, though!), I used a template and worked from there. Much easier!

I’m using WordPress for my new blog because WordPress rules when compared to Blogger. At least that is what I’m reading and what I’ve been experiencing for myself lately.

The design for the blog is almost complete, but I need to get some more of the pages ready with content for you to read.

I just wanted to give you a heads up to let you know that next week is THE week!

Works for Me Wednesday: Praying in the Car

2010-09-01T06:04:00.002-05:00

Since I’ve started going back to school, I have once again picked up a useful habit I got into when I was working outside of the home. Simply….praying in the car. And why not? I have a million excuses of why it’s difficult for me to carve out 30 minutes of time each day to pray at home. I can read my Bible at home nearly every day with no problem, but getting quiet time to pray is another thing. So, I use the quiet time I have going to and from school to pray and worship the Lord.

And it’s a beautiful thing.

I am reminded of my dependence on God and my need for Him. I am able to pray for the people and relationships that matter most to me in this life and for the salvation of those who do not know Christ. I am also reminded to pray for things that I might otherwise neglect to pray about.

When I worship God, I am reminded of His holiness, awesomeness, power, might, and love for me. I am simply taken to a place it’s hard for me to get to at home because there I have so many distractions here.

And that works for me!

Do you pray in the car?

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We Are THAT Family!

Tackle It Tuesday: Bathroom Closet

2010-08-31T06:00:00.002-05:00

One area of our home that can get disorganized in no time at all is the bathroom closet. With two adults, three kids, and a baby with grabby hands going in and out of it on a regular basis, things get knocked over, spilled, and cluttered up very quickly. So, I decided to tidy up the bathroom closet for this week’s Tackle It Tuesday.

Here is the BEFORE:

And here is the AFTER:

It’s hard to see the difference from the above pictures, so, here is a close up of the oral hygiene area:

Think I have enough dental floss? :0) (And I gave a bunch away at Christmas time!) Our toothpaste stock pile is dangerously low so I’ll be looking for deals on the toothpaste. Those deals are usually never far away.

Have a great day!

To find out what everyone else is tackling, please visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Free Money for School: Check it Out!

2010-08-26T07:09:00.001-05:00

I just want to start this post off by saying, aaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! I had almost completed writing the first draft of this post and my computer decided to RESTART before it was saved! Why????

Okay, I’m over it. Not really, but I need to move on. (Save, save, save….)

Anyway, how does $6,000 in free money to go back to school sound? Hmm….? Any takers?

That’s exactly the amount you could get to go back to school if you are currently unemployed, in school already, a homemaker looking to go back to school, or even working but in a field that isn’t going anywhere, or maybe you are in a dead-end job, or maybe you’d like to work for the company you are at but need additional training to move up. There are many different ways to qualify for the Workforce Investment Act program and I don’t know them all, but there is a good chance that you will qualify.

My husband and I found out about this program being offered through a Money Talks website that he visits every so often. We visited our local unemployment agency which is where our One-Stop Training Center is located in our area and attended a one-hour or so informational session. At that session, we were given a packet to fill out and return at a later date. Basically, you need to fill out your contact info., employment info., and answer some questions on what you are interested in and why you want to go back to school.

After that we had to attend a second session where we got more information on the program and got another packet to fill out and return. This time we had to contact contact schools, visit them if they were close, and also contact employers in the field we are looking to go into. This isn’t a program that you can just qualify for and automatically get money to go back to school if you meet the qualifications. YOU HAVE TO BE SERIOUS. You have to be able to do college level course work. They don’t want to waste their time and money on people who aren’t serious or are going to drop out. Because if you do drop out, there are no second chances with this program.

Now that we’ve completed step one and two, I have an appointment with a case worker (whom I have met and is wonderful). These case workers want to help you and be your cheerleaders! They have to see if you qualify (and I guess there are many different ways to qualify) and ensure that you have the ability to go back to school both mentally and financially. You simply need to prove that you can still support yourself while in school. And going back to school for you could mean an Associates degree, a certificate, or some other training course that’s going to help you get a job.

You CAN get a good, high-paying job with an Associates degree IF you go into the right field. My mom is going to school to be a Registered Nurse with an Associates degree in nursing. You can also get a job as a computer programmer (my brother is doing this but he wants to be an engineer so he just transferred to a 4yr. college), but you can do this with an Associates. I’m doing web design, of course! You can get a good job as a web designer if you have a great portfolio and keep up with the ever changing environment. There is also graphic design and the list goes on. You just need to look into it. You could also use the $6,000 to go toward paying for a 4-year college.

Here is where to start. Find the training center in your area and go there. Find out where to start the process in your area and hopefully end up doing something more wonderful with your career or find a whole new one.

P.S. I would’ve liked to have talked more about how grants you get from the FAFSA go along with this program, but I don’t have time. School and children await me). If you have questions about that, please leave me a comment and I’ll answer you back later this afternoon.

Blast from the past

2010-08-25T06:03:00.001-05:00

We got a Slip N’ Slide! Remember those? The kids used their money to get it for only $5.99 at Menards. It’s better than what I remember as a kid. It comes with a little blow-up raft that makes for easier sliding and some body protection. The kids had a blast playing with it a few days ago. We haven’t used it since, though. We are waiting for the aching to go away. Nathan and Breanna both ended up feeling sore the next day. At first, I could figure out what it was. Nathan kept complaining of pain in his side and we finally figured out that it was from slipping n’ sliding.

Good ole’ Slip N’ Slide. You are exactly as I remember you. Fun…yet painful.

First Day of School: Nowhere to park and late

2010-08-24T06:13:00.003-05:00

I made it through day one…a little late to my first class and out of breath, but I made it! Seriously, I got to school with about 8 minutes to find a parking space and get inside the building. That sounds like plenty of time, right? I had figured that parking would be no problem because all of my classes are in the computer center and parking there abounded during the summer compared to the other parking lots on campus.

Boy, was I wrong! I could not find a space to park and ended up parking in a gravel lot faaarrrrr awaaaayyyy from the computer center. I then tried to walk as fast as I could and do a slight jog (for which my legs are actually sore for this morning—I feel like I worked out) to get to class in time. It didn’t happen. I was close to five minutes late, but since it was the first day…it was fine.

It then took me about 5 minutes as the teacher went through the roster to realize that there were only 2 girls in this full class. And I was one of them. Good thing the teacher is a woman! That makes three. It’s an Intro to Programming class so this was expected. Programming and web design are both male dominated fields. My husband had warned me that there was probably going to be a lot more guys than girls in these classes, and he was right. I like the teacher, though. She is very upbeat and excited about programming which will make this class a lot more fun! Can programming be fun?

Anyway, my second class had a lot more gals in it which is good! The teacher has two masters degrees in Art so he knows his stuff. I’m very confident that I will walk away from this class with a solid knowledge of Photoshop and even better graphic design skills. The only problem is that he is a wee bit hard to understand. He’s a little soft spoken and has a HEAVY accent! I’ll just have to pay extra close attention and have my ears on high alert when he speaks. I thought about sitting closer to the front of the class, but I don’t like people looking at my computer screen and copying my stuff. Just kidding! I really don’t like people looking at my screen, though. I want to keep things to myself until I’m ready to unveil them for critique and get ripped apart that way!

All in all, it was a good day and I’m looking forward to today’s classes. I have an 8am class called Graphic Design for the World Wide Web and after that I’m excited about going to a class on HTML, XHTML, and CSS. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few weeks reading about HTML and CSS (stands for cascading style sheets), and I can’t wait to get more instruction in these areas.

Ruben did well with the kids while I was at school. They were waiting for me outside when I got home. How sweet. :0)

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Not Me! Monday!

2010-08-23T06:48:00.003-05:00

Not Me! Monday is a blog carnival hosted by MckMama at My Charming Kids.net. It's all about sharing things that we "didn't" do--but REALLY DID. Here goes:

I DO NOT want to start this Not Me! Monday! post off by saying, “Hi, Everybody!” I know I wasn’t around much last week (as far as posting goes), but it’s because I was praying and thinking about what I want to do with this blog. As you’ve probably noticed, I can not keep up with all the other frugal bloggers out there posting 10 or more posts per day! And I’m not going to try to anymore. I’m moving in a different direction and going toward posting one quality post per day. I’m starting this today here on A Lot of Savings, and will be keeping it up here until I can show you my NEW blog! It’s only in my head right now, but it will soon be moving to WordPress and you’ll all be invited! I’m hoping to get it rolled out and lookin’ pretty for your eyes to see in the next two weeks. Pray for me!

On a different note, I DO NOT start school today! I mean for me, not the kids. They’ve been homeschooling most of the summer and are continuing through December when we’ll all have a break. Today, I have an Intro to Programming class (sounds fun, huh?) and (this one is fun) my Digital Imaging class (think, PhotoShop).

This weekend was NOT the free Bug Fest at a local nature preserve in our area. And we have NOT been waiting for this day for months! It was marked on our calendar so that we wouldn’t forget to go and have fun learning about different bugs and participating in all the activities. Well….it did not turn out to be a one of those events where you wish you’d never gone to! Mosquitos everywhere! West Nile, anyone? I’m so glad I had some Cutter Mosquito wipes in the car to wipe my family down with and, to their credit, the Bug Fest people did have bug spray for people to use--which ended up in your mouth and choked the kids due to so much of it being sprayed in one small area with lots of people around!

I DID NOT hear one of the Bug Fest people say to another adult to be careful of the children around and try not to spray it in their EYES! Um…we were out of there…and thankfully, without getting hurt since we DIDN’T have to share the trail we had to walk on with BIKERS!! Hello??? Could you have closed the bike trail for just ONE Day (or for the 3 hours that Bug Fest was going on)? For the safety of families with small children? Or for anyone who wasn’t expecting to have to jump out of the way of a person on a bike? You could seriously NOT hear bikers making sharp braking noises right before almost running into someone.

The single activity we had the kids do before deciding to leave was NOT one where the Bug Fest crew gives your child a net and they are supposed to use it to catch bugs. What do you think most people were saying either under their breath? Uh, huh. "The only bugs you're going to catch out here are mosquitos...."

I DO NOT think we will skip to ole’ Bug Fest next year!

Happy Monday!

WFMW: Cooking with the Kids

2010-08-18T07:15:00.002-05:00

I have long wanted to spend more time cooking with my daughter but just couldn’t get regular kitchen time with her for one reason or another. Then…I decided to pick a day of the week as her cooking day and write it down on the calendar. That worked. We have a dry erase board calendar in the kitchen that we use as our family calendar and when it’s there, it isn’t missed or forgotten.

My day with Breanna is Saturday. Anytime that works on THAT day. I don’t set a specific time to actually start cooking with Breanna on Saturday because it would probably be different every week, and I don’t want her to feel like we “missed” her time because we happened not to be home or busy during that certain timeframe. Therefore, for that reason, I keep it open.

I have Breanna choose a recipe she’d like to make and then I double check it to see if we are missing any ingredients. We are usually missing one or more ingredients so I’ll write a list and make sure to shop for those during the week (keeping a list in my purse also allows me to price-check at different stores—always looking for a deal!). And that way we don’t find ourselves in a pinch at the last minute!

By being prepared ahead of time, we are able to have a wonderful cooking experience without disappointment and hassle. Well, without SO much hassle because my boys often want to help Breanna on her cooking day. She isn’t too keen on that idea, so, I’ve decided to have a cooking day with my two older boys as well. Nathan has been cooking with me on Fridays and I’m going to start cooking with Isaac on Thursdays. Since Isaac is only 3 1/2 yrs. old, though, I’m thinking easy recipes. Kool-aid ice cubes, maybe something from a box, etc…

And that works for us!

How about you? Do you cook with your kids?

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We Are THAT Family!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Super Savings Saturday: a little different

2010-08-14T08:01:00.002-05:00

This week’s Super Savings Saturday is a little different. Instead of reporting on the usual places like Walgreens or Target, I’m going to share the savings we got at the MALL yesterday!

First up is The Limited. I rarely shop at the Mall and I NEVER shop at The Limited, but they sent me a $15/$15 or more coupon, so, how could I resist? Well, I quickly found out that this store is quite pricey and I was going to have to look away from the clothes in order to stretch our $15 coupon. I had my daughter with me so we decided to pick out a few things for her birthday next month. Shhhh……hopefully, she’ll forget by then.

We saw that the jewelry was on sale so we ended up getting a necklace, a pair of earrings, and some hair pins for only $2.77 after sale and coupon! Yes!

Take a look at the REGULAR price of these items. Yikes!

Kohl’s was generous to mail a couple coupons to our home recently, too. We had a $10/$10 purchase and a 30% off coupon that we could use if we put this on our Kohl’s charge card. And Kohl’s allows these coupons to be combined. :0) More happiness.

Isaac, our three year old, really needed a new pair of shoes so I headed inside with him to see what we could find. While I was looking for sales and clearance shoes, he found the shoes he wanted and was unable to be convinced otherwise (even though we have never seen the movie these shoes are based off). So…..we grabbed those shoes and headed for the check out where we still got a great deal.

Here’s the REGULAR price. They were on sale for $18.99.

We paid $6.49 after both coupons and the sale. That amounts to $81% savings!

And finally, my favorite trip. We went to Carson Pirie Scott because, once again, I had a coupon. This coupon wasn’t as good as the others since it was only save $10 off a $25 purchase (I got it at Jewel-Osco for spending $50 there on groceries and I think that promotion is running through today—in case you were wondering), but Carsons tends to have nice cookware and our last 13x9 metal baking pan bit the dust a while ago so I’ve been looking for sales on a new one as of late (actually, since I found out that I need one to make the cinnamon rolls and sticky buns with the kids out of ‘The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook’)

We found a Cuisinart one on clearance for only $9.99! It’s very nice and heavy duty and much better than the cheaper ones I had been seeing that were higher priced!

The other item we bought was the ‘Curious Chef Measure and Prep Kit’ for my daughter’s birthday. Once again, shhhhh. There was some confusion as to the actual price of this item. It was marked 75% off, but rang up at $14.99. I asked the cashier helping me twice if it was coming up at the right price and she said it was so I accepted that and used my coupon with no problems. As I was walking away with my receipt, though, I noticed that I was only getting it for 50% off (that’s the way it looked to me anyway). I took my receipt back to a different register in the house wares department and the person at the register there told me that it did ring up at the wrong price and fixed it by a few dollars, but that price still seemed wrong to me. Whatever! At least I was able to use my coupon, and I only ended up paying about $13.50 out of pocket for both items.

I’m looking forward to making sticky buns in my new pan, and I can’t wait to add the new Curious Chef measuring spoons into the kitchen as well. We really needed some new ones!

After shopping, I gathered the energy and brain power needed to make monkey bread with the kids FROM SCRATCH. :0) We had to start shortly after getting home because this bread takes over three hours to make from start to finish. I cook on Fridays with Nathan and on Saturdays with Breanna, Isaac helps along the way, but his day is coming soon (Thursdays). I let them pick the recipe each week with a little guidance (like it can’t always be a dessert).

Anyway, it turned out wonderfully, and all the hard work paid off! We used an America’s Test Kitchen recipe, of course. We pretty much followed the recipe exactly, although, next time I won’t add the pecans (which were optional) because I don’t think this bread needs them. You know how nuts can really make a recipe go from good to great? This isn’t one of them. The pecans weren’t necessary, but this was still a delicious bread and ALL the kids loved it—which it something that doesn’t normally happen in our family.

Free Sample of True Lemon

2010-08-09T08:59:00.001-05:00

You can get a free sample of True Lemon, True Lime, or True Orange when you “Like” them on facebook. We’ve had True Lemon before and it’s good stuff!

Not Me! Monday

2010-08-09T06:05:00.001-05:00

Not Me! Monday is a blog carnival hosted by MckMama at My Charming Kids.net. It's all about sharing things that we "didn't" do--but REALLY DID. Here goes:

I did not spend a good portion of my weekend setting up a new website for our future business in web design. We’ve got the domain, hosting, and name chosen. I also did not spend a lot of time researching Wordpress themes. Apparently, Wordpress rules for blogs and just about any other type of website. It’s very versatile and goes beyond just blogs. There are also lots of talented people out there selling amazing themes that designers can use as a starting point for a project—for a price, of course.

And since I was spending so much time on Wordpress stuff, I do not have a stack of library books that barely got read and also didn’t get to updating my current blog much, ahem. Sorry!

But, we are not SUPER excited to get started soon on trying our hand at building websites. We are going to start with our own for the business and them move to my blog. After that I would like to do some giveaways here on A Lot of Savings for some website makeovers! We’ll hopefully be deciding soon (after praying) about which themes we want to purchase as a starting point to get the ball rolling.

Oops, my 1yr. old did not just walk out of the bedroom looking for his mother. Got to go!

Happy Monday!

IKEA: Kids Eat FREE

2010-08-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

Kids eat FREE at IKEA from now until Sunday, August 15th. We've taken advantage of this promotion in the past and it was pretty good. All four kids got to eat free and we didn't have to purchase any adult meals in order to take advantage of this offer. Nice!

Free Sample of Post-It Notes

2010-08-05T07:22:00.001-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Post-It Super Sticky Notes.

Thanks, Free Snatcher!

Free Stix at Quick Chek

2010-08-05T07:15:00.000-05:00

Become a fan of Quick Chek on facebook and print a coupon for a free 2-pack of Pizza or Taco Stix. This coupon is good until August 9th.

Get 10 FREE Pampers Gifts to Grow Points

2010-08-05T06:49:00.000-05:00

You can use the code: AUG2010FACEBOOK to add 10 points to your Pampers Gifts to Grow account.

Thanks, Free Stuff 4 Free!

Works for Me Wednesday: Door Wedge

2010-08-04T09:29:00.002-05:00

Child-proof door wedges help us to keep little fingers from being smashed in doors.

Here’s a closer look. It fits nicely in the door jamb and prevents the door from being shut all the way.

Basically, it helps us to keeps these guys safe:

Don’t be fooled by the picture. This child is wild. The other day when he was jumping on me and I said I needed a break, he replied that he also needed a break, “A KARATE Break!”

Anyway, those child-proof door wedges work for us!

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We Are THAT Family!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Meijer: Possible Free Coffee?

2010-08-03T14:05:00.002-05:00

I bought a pack of this Nescafe Coffee at Meijer a couple weeks ago for about $1. It’s the Nescafe Sticks (6 pack). Anyway, inside was a $1.00 off coupon for ANY size, so, I was able to use that to get more for close to FREE!

I found these at my local Meijer in the coffee/tea aisle. Last time I went though, they were gone! That may just be my Meijer or maybe they just moved them somewhere else in the store. Hopefully, they’ve still got these at a Meijer near you.

And I’m not sure if it’s just the decaf that the coupon comes in because I bought a pack of the regular at Walgreens a couple weeks ago and there was no coupon to be found. Each time I’ve gotten the decaf at Meijer though, they’re winners!

Free Sample of Tiger Balm

2010-08-03T13:28:00.002-05:00

You can enter your email address for a free sample of Tiger Balm Neck & Shoulder Rub when you “Like” Tiger Balm on facebook. Tiger Balm is for relief from neck and shoulder pain.

Tackle It Tuesday: Kitchen Pantry

2010-08-03T11:13:00.002-05:00

Even though we haven’t been in our new home a very long time, the kitchen pantry already needs some straightening up. With six people going in and out of it on a daily basis, it can become pretty unorganized in a hurry, as you can imagine.

Here’s the Before:

And now the After:

It only took about 15 minutes in between being interrupted by my three year old requesting chocolate milk.

To find out what everyone else is tackling, please visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Free Home Made Simple Coupon Booklet

2010-08-03T10:31:00.002-05:00

You can sign up to request the Home Made Simple Organize in Style booklet with over $35 in coupons!

Birthday Freebies

2010-08-03T09:58:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to all of you with birthdays in August! Here is a list of places offering free food and more for your B-day:

For Adults:

Subway: Free 6-inch Fresh Value Meal when you buy one
IHOP: Free meal
Orange Julius: Free 16oz. fruit drink
Boston Market: Free dessert with any meal purchase
Waffle House: One free waffle
Dunkin Donuts: free medium drink
The Tea Set-New York: free tea samples
Denny's: free dessert with entree purchase
Disney Movie Rewards: 25 free points and free blue ray dvd (just pay $2.95 s&h)
Taco John's: free order of Cini-Sopapilla Bites
Bruegger's: free cookie w/salad or sandwich purchase
Texas Roadhouse: free appetizer w/entree purchase
Spicy Pickle: free entree
Lone Star Steakhouse: free appetizer
Ruby Tuesday: free handcraftedburger
Culvers: free one scoop sundae
Red Hot & Blue: free BBQ sandwich
Farm Rich: $2.00 coupon off one of their products
Mimi's Cafe: $10 off a $20 purchase
Buffalo Wild Wings (click on Be Here, then Buffalo Circle: free dessert)
Disney Movie Rewards: 25 free points
Red Lobster: coupon for $5 off any two adult dinner entrées
Aveda: free product
Atlanta Braves: free admission to a baseball game (kids and adults)
Famous Daves: free dessert to a free meal (you find out when you print the email sent to you and you visit their restaurant)
Chili's: free dessert w/purchase of an entree
Arby's Thank You Club: free shake
Arby's: free shake w/purchase
Noodles & Company: free meal
Mongolian BBQ: free stir fry meal
Tropical Smoothie Cafe: free smoothie
Firehouse Subs: Free Sub
Aveda Birthday Club: free product worth up to $25, postcard sent to you before your birthday for you to redeem
Cold Stone Creamery: Free ice cream creation
Red Robin--Free burger
Qdoba--free chips and salsa
Baskin Robbins--Free ice cream (adults & kids)
Sonic--free shake
Smoothie King--free smoothie when you buy one
Disney World or Disneyland: free admission on your birthday

For Kids:
Steak 'n Shake: free Junior Steakburger and fries (coupon is mailed to your child)
California Pizza Kitchen: free kid's meal
Olan Mills: Free Portrait package until age three
Marble Slab: free kids cone
Toys R Us (Geoffrey's Birthday Club): card and $3 off $3 or more coupon by mail
Sonic--free wacky pack kids meal
Chuck e Cheese--child gets 20 free tokens
Red Robin--free kid's meal
Burger King--free kid's meal
Famous Dave's--free kid's meal
Culvers: free one scoop sundae

Wendy’s Coupon: $1 off any New Salad

2010-08-03T08:33:00.002-05:00

Go here to print a coupon to save $1.00 off any of Wendy’s four new salads.

IHOP: Kid's Eat Free

2010-08-03T06:46:00.002-05:00

For the month of August kid's eat free with each adult entree purchase at IHOP. This offer is valid daily from 4:00pm-10:00pm for kids 12 and under. Dine-in only.

Don't forget to sign up for their email club, too. You'll get a free meal just for signing up, on your b-day, and on your 1-yr. anniversary with them. Only you can't combine these coupons with the "kids eat free" offer. :(

You might also want to check if they are still doing the promotion where if buy a $25 gift card, you get an extra $5 bonus. You should be able to use that with the "kids eat free" offer if they are still doing that--only they are pretty strict in that you can't purchase the $25 giftcard on THAT visit to use right then and there. They want you to buy it ahead of time like and use it on your NEXT visit.

Super Savings Saturday: CVS & Walgreens!

2010-07-30T21:00:00.000-05:00

First up is my CVS trip. I have really gotten OUT of the habit of going to CVS this past year. Seriously, I still have Extra Bucks from January! This past week, though, I couldn’t pass up the Pampers diapers deal, especially since it seems like we’re burning though diapers a lot lately and I haven’t been able to rebuild my stockpile so I have been buying them on an almost weekly basis trying to put my coupons together to get them for a decent deal (or just buy generic).

All totaled, I paid $0.68 for everything pictured (in two transactions) and I was able to use some of my expired Extra Bucks! I’m thankful that many of the CVS stores around us accept those! Plus, even though I’ve been out of CVS shopping for quite a while, I still ended this trip with $38 in ECBs (that includes both the expired that I have and the ones I gained from this trip).

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Suave shampoo was free with a coupon I had gotten in the mail a while back from Suave. The CVS liners were also free after ECBs (buy 2 for $1, get $1.00 back in ECBs).

You can check out more CVS deals here.

We also walked to Walgreens this week and picked up some deals. The most exciting part of this trip was probably actually WALKING to Walgreens and thinking about how great it is to have a Walgreens store within walking distance. It’s two minutes driving and about 17-18 minutes walking—with kids and little feet. (We walked to Aldi this week too! I didn’t take a pic of that though, but it is right next to Walgreens and a tad closer to us! How great is that? Can you tell I’m excited?!)

Anyway, at Walgreens I got all of this for only $2.25 and that’s WITHOUT any Register Rewards. I didn’t get any back either, but I’m happy with the deals on things we kind of needed anyway. Here’s a look at what I did:

$1.50 for 3M Command Strips or Hooks
-$1.00 Printable Coupon
=$0.50

$1.49 Puffs (got these because we’ve been sick here for about 3 weeks)
-$1.00 coupon from Vocalpoint (I think?)
=$0.49

$5.49 got2b Smooth Lustre Lotion for hair (keeps the ‘fly-aways’ down—love that!)
Used free product coupon from BzzAgent
=FREE

You can see the other Walgreens deals that I posted here.

How did you do this week?

The Latest from Shespeaks

2010-07-30T11:40:00.002-05:00

I recently got to take part in a fun campaign offered by Shespeaks.

I was given a 12 piece Rubbermaid set for FREE in return for writing a short review on their website. Pretty neat, huh?

If you’re not a member yet and you’d like to join in, just visit their website and JOIN!

By the way, I do really love these Rubbermaid containers. Very nice.

Frugal Friday: Small Harvest this year….

2010-07-30T06:48:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, this year didn’t turn out as well as last year for our vegetable garden. It’s bad. Weeds galore. It started out right. Ruben and the kids were going often to tend to the garden and pull weeds and water it, but then when we started school, it all fell apart.

There will be no cucumbers and tomatoes coming out of our ears this year.

It’s not all a loss, though! Ruben did pick four tomatoes, and I did use them to make a salad. That counts for something, right?

Anyway, hopefully, we’ll get a few more tomatoes before it’s all over, we'll see.

NEXT YEAR, though, we are really going to work at it and pull off a much better garden (Lord willing). I think we are going to try to maybe build our own planting box and put it in the backyard. That way it’s close to us and we can easily care for it. For our ~~scary looking~~ garden this year, we had paid $15 to rent a small plot of land to garden on. That money went to waste since I don’t think we’ll get anywhere near $15 worth of produce from it!

How about you? How did your garden grow this year?

For more Frugal Friday tips and ideas, please visit Life as MOM

Jewel-Osco: $1.00 Shower Curtain Liner

2010-07-29T08:07:00.001-05:00

If you’re in need of a new shower curtain liner, they are on sale this week at Jewel for only $1.00 (I think the original price was either $3.99 or $5.99).

WFMW: Turning those brown bananas into something wonderful

2010-07-27T21:00:00.001-05:00

I often go overboard in buying bananas when there’s a good sale and most of the time, they get eaten in a timely manner, but sometimes they don’t and we end up with over ripe bananas that are deliciously sweet but too squishy to eat. When that happens and I know I don’t have ~~energy~~ time to use them in something right away, I’ll freeze them for later use.

First, I get a cookie sheet and line it with wax paper to keep them from sticking.

Then I peel and roughly slice the bananas and put them on the wax paper. The kids love to help with this part.

Next comes the freezer. Put your bananas in there to get nice and frozen.

After I freeze them, I’ll take them off of the wax paper and store them in plastic storage bags in the freezer for later use….I obviously missed getting a picture of that part. Oops. :0)

And finally, when you are ready, you can use them in your favorite recipes! We like to use our bananas in smoothies and banana bread best.

So if you’re in the habit of tossing your bananas when they look a little too spotted to eat, don’t! Take a few minutes and freeze them to use later. You won’t be sorry!

And that works for us!

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We Are THAT Family!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Tackle It Tuesday: The kids’ room right after we moved in

2010-07-27T06:36:00.002-05:00

I think the picture pretty much says it all. The kids’ room was a disaster. It didn’t start out that way. As we put boxes in there little by little, I was able to keep things semi under control. But then, the boxes continued to come and get opened….and children wanted to see their “old” toys which had been in storage so that created even more mess. It wasn’t a pretty sight as you can tell, but I was up for the challenge!

Here is the room when I was about 85% done.

And finally, done and much better! I can see the floor!

Of course, it doesn’t look this clean anymore, but it’s nowhere near what it was, thankfully!

To find out what everyone else is tackling, please visit 5 Minutes for Mom!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

CVS: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock MM

2010-07-26T07:24:00.000-05:00

If you can find the 1 oz. tubes of Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock at your local CVS, then you can get quite a deal on them! Check it out:

$3.98 for (2) Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock, (1oz. size priced at $1.99)
-$10.00 ECB wyb two (limit 1 offer)
=FREE plus $6.02 overage!

Now it does seem like these can be hard to come by at some stores, so, you might now want to make a special trip just for these. But if you are going to CVS anyway, be sure to look for them. They are reportedly located in plastic bins in the cosmetics aisle. You might also check near the endcaps.

CVS: Pampers is limit 2

2010-07-26T06:37:00.002-05:00

Just a heads-up that the Pampers deal at CVS this week is actually limit 2 not 1. That’s good news for those of us that need them! It seems like we’ve been going through them rather quickly lately. I had a stockpile that I thought might last me until August. I was wrong.

$21.99 box of Pampers diapers (baby dry, swaddlers, or cruisers—48-96ct.)
-$10.00 ECB wyb one (limit 2)
-$2.00 mfgr. cpn. from 7/31 PG or 6/20 RP (or use the $3 coupon from Vocalpoint mailer)
=$8.99 to $9.99 after ECBs (Also check to see if you have any CVS coupons for Pampers for an even better deal. Look for a $4.50 CRT or Scanner coupon, or a $3.00 CVS coupon from Parents magazine. Even if they are expired, many CVS stores will still take em’)

Not Me! Monday….it’s been awhile

2010-07-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

Not Me! Monday is a blog carnival hosted by MckMama at My Charming Kids.net. It's all about sharing things that we "didn't" do--but REALLY DID. Here goes:

It has not been a very long time since I posted a Not Me! Monday. Not because I haven’t wanted to and not because I’ve lacked interesting things to share with you all (I DO have 4 children, afterall) but because life has been rather busy lately!

We did NOT begin really praying about moving in June, find a place about 3 weeks into our search, and move about 3 weeks after that!

And we did NOT move right in the middle of school and while I had a big project to do. That in turn did not require many late nights working on school stuff, little sleep, and forfeiting blog time in the morning for getting to school early to finish this or that.

I have not started drinking coffee more often as a result and sometimes paid a price. My body is weird when it comes to coffee. Most of the time, I’m fine….other times, I pay for it later. For the most part, though, it has agreed with me! Happy about that.

This is not my last week of school! Yes! I’m ready for a break—albeit short. I get 3 weeks off before the Fall semester starts, but I’m sure I’ll be ready to jump back in on August 23rd. I’m hoping to use the time off to finish unpacking the non-essentials that we’ve left in boxes, post more here, read a lot on web design to get a bit of a head start into what I’ll be learning in the Fall (to help I put a ridiculous amount of holds on books through the library this past week!), and re-do our family schedule for the Fall—we’re going to need it!

It’s 8:50am as I write this post and my 1yr. old is NOT still sleeping! I do NOT wish he would sleep this late everyday…or at least until 8:00am. Doubtful.

Walgreens Deals 7/25-7/31

2010-07-25T07:42:00.002-05:00

Here are the best Walgreens deals I see for the week!

School supplies:

$0.09 Penway Two Pocket folder with prongs (limit 5)

$0.99 Paper Mate Mechanical Pencils, 30 pack

High Trail or Anchorage backpacks, Urban Sport Duffel Bags, Messenger bags or book totes are BOGO FREE (priced at $9.99 so pay $5 each)

Other Weekly Deals:

$5.98 for (2) Reach Total Care Toothbrush or Floss
Use Walgreens Cpn. on the last page for $1 off (will take off $2 total)
-2.99 BOGO FREE coupon from 5/16 RP for toothbrush or 1/3 RP for floss
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 1/3, 3/7, or 5/16 RP
=FREE

$0.99 Pilot Easytouch Pens
-$1.00 Printable Coupon
=FREE

$1.98 for (2) Lindsay Olives, 5-6oz. jars with in-ad coupon
-$1/2 mfgr. cpn. from 5/2 RP
=$0.49 each

$9.89 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razor
-$5.00 Register Reward wyb one
-$4.00 mfgr. cpn. from 6/6 PG
=$0.89

$4.50 for (3) packs of Twizzlers
-$2.00 Register Reward wyb two (you are buying three to use the cpn.)
-$1/3 mfgr. cpn. from 6/27 SS
=$0.50 each after RR

$5.00 for (3) Dole Fruit Bowls
-$1/3 mfgr. cpn. from August Issue of All You Magazine
=$1.33 each

$1.50 for 3M Command Strips or Hooks
-$1.00 Printable Coupon
=$0.50

$2.50 Glade Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 7/11 SS
=$1.50

Mead Notebooks are BOGO FREE—buy the 1-subject—? price
Use the $1.00 Walgreens coupon from the July Coupon Booklet to get these cheap (you can enter the UPC’s here to earn Mead Money Madness points for gift cards and products)

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

CVS Deals: 7/25—7/31

2010-07-24T07:40:00.001-05:00

Here are the best CVS deals for the week! I’m excited about the free CVS photobook. The ad says there is a limit of 1, but last year it ended up being 5. We’ll see if that happens again. Also, don’t forget, if they run out of supplies and you can’t make a photobook, you can always get a raincheck!

$0.50 Papermate Pens

$7.99 CVS Photobook (ten 6x8 pages)
-$7.99 ECB wyb one (limit 1—last yr. the limit ended up being 5—we’ll see)
=FREE after ECBs

$4.99 UP by Kotex feminine products
-$4.99 ECB wyb one (limit 1)
-$1.00 Printable Coupon
-$1.50 CVS coupon from Reinventing Beauty Magazine
=FREE plus overage after ECBs

$21.99 box of Pampers diapers (baby dry, swaddlers, or cruisers—48-96ct.)
-$10.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1—maybe more—check your receipt!)
-$2.00 mfgr. cpn. from 7/31 PG or 6/20 RP (or use the $3 coupon from Vocalpoint mailer)
=$8.99 to $9.99 after ECBs (Also check to see if you have any CVS coupons for Pampers for an even better deal. Look for a $4.50 CRT or Scanner coupon, or a $3.00 CVS coupon from Parents magazine. Even if they are expired, many CVS stores will still take em’)

$7.00 for (2) Arm & Hammer Detergents
-$2.00 ECB wyb two (limit 2 offers)
-$1/2 mfgr. cpn. from 7/18 SS or $1/2 Printable Coupon
=$2 each after ECBs

Spend $15 on Speed Stick, Softsoap, or Irish Spring products, get $5 in Extra Bucks. See scenario:

$15 for (5) Softsoap body washes (price $3 each)
-$5.00 ECB when you spend $15 (limit 1 offer)
-(5) $1.00 mfgr. cpns. from 7/25 SS
=$1.00 each after ECBs

$3.00 Dove bar soap, 2 pack
-$2.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1)
=$1.00 after ECBs

$1.76 for (2) Sobe Waters
Visit the Sobe website and play the game to win a BOGO Free coupon to use (click on Heads or Trails, Enter Your Code—you don’t need a code)
=$0.44 each

$7.49 for (2) packs of Schick Disposable Razors (estimated price, these are on sale BOGO free)
-(2) $3.00 mfgr. cpns. from 7/25 SS
=$0.75 each

$15.98 for (2) packs of Huggies Little Swimmers
-$3.00 ECB wyb two (limit 1 offer)
-(2) $1.00 Printable Coupons
=$5.49 each after ECBs (you can get these cheaper if you’ve got a $2 CVS scanner or crt coupon)

$4.99 Smooth Away Hair Remover
-$1.50 mfgr. cpn. from 5/23 RP
=$3.49

$5.49 for (2) Ester C Vitamins (prices start at $5.49--these are BOGO FREE)
-(2) $2.00 mfgr. cpns. from 6/27 RP
=$0.75 each

$11.98 for (2) L’Oreal Everpure or Everystrong shampoo, conditioner, or treatment
-$5.00 ECB wyb two (limit 2 offers)
-(2) $2.00 mfgr. cpns. from 6/6 RP
=$1.49 each

Spend $20 on Aveeno products, get $10 in Extra Bucks. See scenario:

$23.98 for (2) Aveeno Positively Ageless Sunblock (psa. $11.99)
-$10.00 ECBs when you spend $20 (limit 1 offer)
-(2) $5.00 Printable Coupons (must register first)
=$1.99 each after ECBs

Monthly Deals:

$2.99 Bausch & Lomb Biotrue Multi-Purpose Solution 2 oz. size
-$2.99 Extra Bucks wyb one (limit 2)
-$2.00 Printable Coupon (thanks, Common Sense with Money!)
=FREE plus $2 overage after ECBs

$1.00 for (2) CVS Pantilners
-$1.00 ECB wyb two (limit 3 offers—must do in separate transactions)
=FREE after ECBs

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Staples Coupons

2010-07-23T06:28:00.002-05:00

Staples has three coupons out that are valid until July 24th, 2010. You can save:

$5/$25

$10/$50

$50/$200 (this coupon is valid on computers, too!)

Here’s what we did a few months ago to get a good deal on a laptop. We found a laptop that we liked, but it was at Office Max and, at the time, Staples had a $75 coupon out for computers. So I took the $75 coupon from Staples and used it at Office Max because they accept competitors coupons there. That way, we were able to get the sale price for the laptop plus save an extra $75.

A word of caution, if you are going to buy a laptop, you may want to get the extended warranty on it. The laptop we bought was going to be for the kids to use for their home school lessons, and Office Max has a warranty program that covers ACCIDENTAL damage. Yay! The manufacturer’s warranty doesn’t cover this so we definitely went with the Office Max program since we knew the kids would be using the laptop. And boy are we glad we did because somehow….my elbow ended up cracking the computer screen in an UGLY way when someone put the laptop on the bed and I didn’t know it was there…

Long story short, we should be getting our laptop back ‘fixed’ any day now.

Kmart: Double Coupons up to $0.99

2010-07-23T06:08:00.002-05:00

Kmart is back to doubling coupons again, but this time instead of doubling up to $2, they are only doubling up to $0.99. AND there is a limit of 5 per day. AND you have to use a “Shop Your Way Rewards” card in order to get your coupons doubled. The “Shop Your Way Rewards” card is free to sign up for in store, but really, isn’t Kmart getting a little strict here? They’re implementing some tight restrictions that in the end are probably going to deter a lot of people from even bothering with Kmart’s double coupon event this time around.

Anyway, you can find out if your local store is participating here.

See my latest work….

2010-07-23T05:51:00.004-05:00

I had to make a poster, invitation, and ticket to an event (made up event, in my case) for my last big project of the semester. You can get a better look by clicking on each one.

The poster:

The front of the invitation: The inside of the invitation:

The ticket:

This project was fun to make, but it took hours! Lots of time at home and in the computer lab, printing, proofing, changing things.... (The kids are enjoying the extra prints! We've already got a poster on their wall!) I spent many late nights and early morning working on it. I’m glad it’s finally done—sort of—because I’ve learning that with graphic design a project is never really “done.” There’s always something that can be changed and improved upon. After I turned this project in, we had a class critique of our work and many suggestions were made! I just haven’t implemented them yet. I'm taking a break....

Borders Coupon and Gift Card Perk

2010-07-23T05:33:00.001-05:00

If you are a Borders Rewards member (it’s free), you can use this coupon to save 40% off the list price of any one item through Monday, July 26th.

And when you buy $50 in Borders gift cards, you’ll get a FREE $10 bonus card. The $10 bonus card can be used August 8-19th.

Moe's Southwest Grill: Free Queso

2010-07-19T08:46:00.002-05:00

You can get a free 6oz. cup of Queso all day on Wednesday, July 21st at Moe's Southwest Grill. I guess you'll need to provide your own chips! :0)

Don't forget to sign up for their e-club, too. You'll get free b-day food!

CVS Deals: 7/18-7/24

2010-07-16T09:41:00.002-05:00

Here are the best CVS deals that I see for the week!

$14.99 Bayer Contour Blood glucose meter
-$5 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$10 mfgr. cpn. from 4/25 RP
=FREE after ECBs

$8.99 Huggies Jumbo Pack diapers
-$3.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$1.50 mfgr. cpn. from 6/20 or 7/11 SS
=$4.49 after ECBs (you can get these cheaper is you’ve got the $3 IP previously available or the $2.50 coupon from the Huggies Mailer)

$8.99 Huggies Pull Ups
-$3.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$2.00 Printable Coupon
=$3.99 after ECBs

$7.99 Celsius Green Tea, 4 pack
-$7.99 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$2.00 Printable Coupon
=FREE plus $2 overage

$9.99 Zegerid OTC
-$3.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$4.00 mfgr. cpn. 6/20 SS (or 3.00 mfgr. cpn. from 7/18 SS)
-$6.99 Mail-In-Rebate found in 6/20 SS (rebate is after $3 coupon)
=FREE plus $4.00 overage after rebate!

$1 for (2) packs of M&Ms Pretzel Chocolate Candies
-$1 ECB wyb two (limit 1 offer)
Use B1G1 Free coupon from 6/27 RP
=FREE plus $0.50 overage after ECBs

$5 for (2) Right Guard Total Defense deodorants
-$3/2 Printable Coupon
=$1 each

$8.00 Schick Quattro for Women or Intuition Plus razor
-$4.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$4.00 mfgr. cpn. from July Issue of All You Magazine
=$0.99 after ECBs

$6.97 for (2) Pantene products (shampoo, conditioner, or styler)
-$2 ECB wyb one (limit 2 offers)
-(2) $1.50 coupons from Vocalpoint mailer
=$0.99 each after ECBs (there was also a $2 mfgr. coupon in Parade’s June issue (6/27) to get these even cheaper)

$9.97 Gillette ProGlide power or manual razor
-$5 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$4 mfgr. cpn. from 6/6 PG
=$0.97 after ECBs

$1.99 X-tra laundry detergent
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 6/6 SS
=$0.99

$9.99 Brita Pitcher Filter, 3 pack
-$5.00 ECB wyb one (limit 1 offer)
-$2.00 Printable Coupon(need to register first)
=$7.99 after ECBs

$0.99 Ivory soap
-$0.50 mfgr. cpn. from 6/6 PG
=$0.49

Free meal for Dave, David, and Davy's at Famous Daves

2010-07-15T19:20:00.000-05:00

If your name is Dave, David, or Davy, on Sunday, August 1st, 2010, anyone with one of those first names can get a free entrée (maximum value of $15) at Famous Daves!

And anyone with the middle name of Dave, David or Davy can get a half price entrée (maximum value of $7.50). Plus, Dave’s, David’s and Davy’s can take advantage of this offer whether dining in or ordering TO GO! So you don't even have to eat there!

You will likely have to show an ID to verify your name, and I'm not sure if kids are included. I would call your local Famous Daves restaurant to find out.

Don’t forget to sign up for their email club, too. You’ll get a free offer for your birthday. The kids get a free meal which you can order to go, but adults actually have to show up and find out what they get. I think it’s normally a free dessert.

Borders: Free Coffee w/app download

2010-07-15T18:38:00.001-05:00

You can get a free small brewed coffee at Borders bookstore when you download their free eReader App onto any of the devices in the picture!

$12.95 Build-A-Bear Shipped

2010-07-15T09:55:00.001-05:00

You can get any of the seven Build-A-Bear animals pictured for only $7.00 plus $5.95 shipping through Friday, July 16th. These animals are regularly priced between $12-$20. And don’t forget to shop through ebates and get 4.5% back on your purchase!

See my new blogging/homework space!

2010-07-15T07:27:00.001-05:00

I am really happy about this. I have my own little area to use my computer and sit in a comfy chair to get work done. I like it because my laptop will STAY here and not be moved from room to room and accidentally get damaged or dropped. It really is like a magnet for David, our 1yr. old. He likes to try to grab it and open it and pick the keys off. Now, it’s out of his little reach! We also DO NOT have a warranty on this laptop so if it gets damaged ‘accidentally,’ HP will not fix it.

We got a GREAT deal on a very comfy bar stool chair, too. It ended up being about 80% off at Meijer! It was already 75% off and then we used another $3 Meijer Bucks coupon from a few weeks ago to get it cheaper. I would never have paid full price for this chair, so, I’m glad we found it on clearance and don’t have to sit on a wooden bar stool for hours! Ouch.

Update on our move!

2010-07-15T07:11:00.002-05:00

It’s over! Well, almost. Ruben still has maybe two more trips to make to get the last our of things, but that’s it. The last few days have been very busy with unpacking and getting things put away, celebrating a birthday in the midst of this, spending three hours in the ER with my three year old, and trying to get homework done and not get too far behind.

I’ll start with the unpacking. I’m happy to say that we’ve completely finished unpacking the most important room in the house. The kitchen. It’s done! Yay! But we’ve still got a lot of work to do in the bedrooms, the kids’ room, specifically. It’s going to require hours to get that room straightened out. Maybe I’ll make that my “Tackle It Tuesday” post for next week so that you can see the before and after pictures. The living room is almost finished considering there isn’t a whole lot in it.

We had many of our things in a storage unit for the last ten months which was located inside of the storage facility. Unfortunately, when my husband went to start taking things out, he noticed a lot of the items that were not in boxes had mold on them---too much to salvage them. It was crazy. The couch, the table, chairs, one tv, jackets that were not in boxes, a lamp, weights, a weight bench, and more. Ruben thinks the mold only recently started to grow because he had never noticed it before on his trips out there and because we’ve recently had a lot of hot weather, storms, and power outages around here.

Oh well. We are thankful for our new place, and we will slowly get the essential items back. I’ve been thinking more about minimizing lately and the mold has kind of helped in that way. I just wish the couch would have made it. At least all the beds were fine, and the mattresses were in plastic mattress protectors so they survived.

We celebrated Ruben’s b-day yesterday! We got him a Chicago Blackhawks cake that the kids COULD NOT WAIT to eat!

I also spent about three hours in the ER yesterday morning and ended up being really late for school.

The reason? Isaac has been sick for over a week, and that’s fine. We are getting through that, but on Tuesday night, he decided to jump off the side of his little red chair and hit his forehead hard on the ground. I could tell it was a hard hit because of the way he was crying afterwards. He went to bed later that night and when I woke up at about 5:30am the next morning, I found him lying next to me with a fever. I wasn’t sure if the fever was somehow connected to the head injury that he had gotten the night before, so, in order to be safe, I quickly got us ready and went to the emergency room.

It turns out the fever is not related to the head injury. His head is fine. Whew! He is sick, though, and he still has a fever. They took a chest x-ray to see if has pneumonia, and he doesn’t, for now. If the fever doesn’t go away in the next couple days, the doctor is concerned that it might turn into pneumonia since he’s been sick for about 2 weeks now and has a nasty cough. Praying that the fever goes away soon….

And finally, homework. It’s been a challenge to get done this past week, but I’m doing it for the most part! I am, however, seriously lacking in sleep because of it! :0)

And that’s it. That’s what we’ve been up to the last week or so.

Reminder…Free Food at Panda Express

2010-07-14T05:56:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to remind you that you can take this coupon to Panda Express today (July 14th) for a free single serving entree of Thai Cashew Chicken!

We’re Moving Today!

2010-07-10T07:39:00.001-05:00

It’s that time again for us…..moving time. I mean we’re excited about our new place, but the whole process of moving is about as fun as going to the zoo on a Saturday in humid, 95 degree weather. It’s just something we’d rather not do, if you know what I mean.

But it’s got to be done and my husband’s got to do most of the work! (while I watch the kids, of course----Someone’s got to keep them from running into walls and smashing their fingers. Seriously, it’s like we step into our new place and my two youngest lack any sense of discipline!)

Anyway, we’ll be busy today, but I’m still going to try to fit in some posts here since I’ll have plenty of downtime watching the kids while Ruben gets the boxes and heavier items moved.

I’m going to try to be around here a lot more after our move and we get the internet hooked up, hopefully, on Tuesday. I already have a space in mind for my laptop that should make it easy for me to shoot short deal posts up throughout the day. I just need to stay focused and not get sucked into Photoshop! That’s been happening quite a bit lately. You might have noticed from the extra graphics that I’ve been adding to my posts…..

Well, it’s going to be an eventful day!

Free Sample of Nexxus Hair Care

2010-07-10T06:55:00.001-05:00

When you sign up for the Nexxus Newsletter this week, they’ve posted on their facebook page that they are going to be offering free samples and a $3 coupon to their subscribers next week.

It’s a little hard to find their facebook post stating this so you can read it here:

“Hi Nexxus fans! Be sure to sign-up for the Nexxus Newsletter at www.nexxus.com/sign-up to receive exclusive information next week about a special sample offer, plus a $3-off coupon for Nexxus products. You will be able sample Nexxus Therappe, Humectress, and our new Humectress Deep Conditioner!”

It's that time again....Free Slurpee at 7-Eleven

2010-07-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

7-Eleven is running their free slurpee promotion again this year. On Sunday (July 11th), you can visit 7-Eleven gas stations to get a free slurpee from 8am-11pm. We're starting to move on Sunday so I'm sure we'll be taking advantage of this offer.

Panda Express: free food on July 14th

2010-07-08T05:54:00.001-05:00

Take this coupon to Panda Express on July 14th for a free single serving entree of Thai Cashew Chicken!

Jumping on the Zenni Optical bandwagon…

2010-07-08T05:48:00.001-05:00

I’ve read the reviews about how you can get a pair of great looking prescription glasses for less than $13 and be completely satisfied with them. I’m now a believer! I FINALLY placed an order with Zenni Optical to get a pair of new eyeglasses to replace my old, crooked, and in desperate-need-of-replacement ones and boy am I satisfied.

They were less than thirteen dollars! That’s almost unheard of for a pair of prescription glasses. They look like very high quality with the frame being exceptionally sturdy. They don’t look cheap at all. And I’d almost consider wearing them out in public instead of my contacts! That says a lot. I’m not a fan of wearing glasses except for at night after I take my contacts out, but I like the way the Zenni Optical glasses don’t rest on my face like the old pair did.

I honestly haven’t read a negative review of this company, and I’m very impressed. I’m considering getting a second pair that may be a wee bit out-of-the-box for me….since they’re so cheap!

Seriously, though, if you want to order, it’s easy. All you need is your eyeglass prescription, a ruler, and maybe your husband or a friend to hold the ruler. You input your prescription which is pretty easy, and you need the ruler to measure the distance from one pupil to another-again, easy. And that’s it!

More Birthday Freebies

2010-07-07T17:11:00.001-05:00

I’ve just updated the birthday freebies list with four more places to sign up with to get some free food on your b-day:

Subway: Free 6-inch Fresh Value Meal when you buy one
IHOP: Free meal
Orange Julius: Free 16oz. fruit drink
Boston Market: Free dessert with any meal purchase

My favorites are the free drink from Orange Julius (no purchase necessary) and the free meal from IHOP (also no purchase necessary). The Subway Club is a little tricky. Apparently, a whole lot of Subway restaurants are not participating in their Subway Fan Club. You’ll need to enter your zip code to find out if your local Subway participates or not. C’mon, Subway……

Check out my latest assignment

2010-07-06T14:11:00.001-05:00

I had to make another newsletter. This one is better than the previous one I had created because I used more of the features that Quark has to offer, and it has real content. The articles (content) were super easy to find because they were all my own that I had written for this blog. You can see a pdf of the full newsletter here. Please excuse the picture on page 2. It’s a little blurry because the resolution didn’t get fixed before making the pdf. Oh well!

I do like the overall look of this newsletter, but I completely loathe the program I used to create it. And I’m SO glad, I won’t be using QuarkXpress in the “real world.” It’s horrible!! The equivalent to Quark is Adobe InDesign which I will be using in the real world. Unfortunately, the software for this class is Quark, but let’s hope that gets changed in the future for other poor souls who may take this desktop publishing class. Yikes!

Reminder: Free sandwich at Arby’s today (July 5th)

2010-07-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today (July 5th), you can get a free Jr. Deluxe roast beef sandwich from Arby’s with the purchase of a drink (excludes coffee and value sized drinks).

Long John Silver’s Coupon

2010-07-02T06:12:00.001-05:00

Go here to print a coupon for a free 16oz. IceFlow Frozen Lemonade at Long’s John Silver’s when you buy a meal at regular price. Or, if you only want to get the IceFlow Lemonade, you could visit them during the hours of 2pm-5pm (Happy Hour) and get this drink for half price at only $0.75.

Blue Bunny Printable Coupon

2010-07-02T05:13:00.003-05:00

Go here to choose a Blue Bunny coupon to print and save on ice cream. There are three coupons available, but you only get to print one. You can choose:

$1.00 off a 10 pack of Sandwiches

$1.00 off a Frozen Yogurt Novelty carton OR

$1.00 off a 1.75 quart of ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Qdoba: Kids Eat Free this Weekend

2010-07-02T05:10:00.002-05:00

From July 3rd to July 5th, one child eats free per adult entree purchased at Qdoba restaurants. No Coupon Necessary.

You can join the Qdoba email club and get a coupon emailed to you for free chips and salsa just for signing up. You’ll get another coupon for free chips and salsa emailed to you for your birthday as well!

Arby’s: Free sandwich w/drink purchase

2010-07-01T11:35:00.002-05:00

On July 5th, you can get a free Jr. Deluxe roast beef sandwich from Arby’s with the purchase of a drink (excludes coffee and value sized drinks).

Where I’ve Been…

2010-07-01T11:05:00.001-05:00

I know I haven’t been posting much lately, but I’ve been here. At home. At school. On the computer…..doing homework. Taking care of children, fixing meals, trying to keep up with coupons, missing tons of deals, packing……cause we’re moving, and much more. Life is busy, and I’m trying to fit everything in, but I can’t. I really, really, really, want to, but I can’t. So, I’m keeping things in prayer right now and seeking to get my priorities in order. I know I don’t need more time in my day, I just need to use the time I have in the best possible way for God’s glory and do those things which are most important.

I’m going to keep up with blogging as I’m able, and I should have things more streamlined after our move next weekend. I’m also looking forward to a break from school at the end of this month. I get 3 weeks off before the Fall semester starts! Yay!

Thanks to all of you who are sticking with me through this transition! :0)

CVS Advisor Panel

2010-06-28T15:44:00.001-05:00

I’ve been a member of the CVS Advisor Panel for well over a year now, and I highly recommend it! It’s basically free Extra Bucks every time they send you a survey. Why is that? Because if you don’t qualify for a survey, they usually give you $2 in Extra Bucks just for trying, and if you do qualify, you can get $5, $10, or even $15 in Extra Bucks for maybe 10 minutes of your time! The most I have received for a survey is $15 Extra Bucks, so, I’m not sure if they give out anything more than that.

Anyway, go here to sign up! If you are already a member, you might want to check your email because I got an email today for a chance to get $10 in ECBs for filling out a survey to be sent on July 4th.

Domain Issues

2010-06-26T22:31:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm having "issues" with a domain transfer if you are having trouble viewing my blog. It should be fixed very soon. Thank you for your patience! :0)

The Blog Header I told You About

2010-06-26T05:12:00.003-05:00

Here’s the header my husband created for his class. It had to be called, “Judy’s Squirrel Blog,” with the tag line, “For people who love squirrels more than cats.” Isn’t that fun? :0) It also had to include a picture of “Judy,” her signature, and two squirrels of his choice. It took a lot of work to get things right, to cut out the squirrels, and to make “Judy” pop (background, frame, and teeth whitening are a few things she needed), but it paid off in the end. What do you think?

See My Fake Ad for School!

2010-06-26T05:00:00.002-05:00

For one of my assignments, I had to create a fake ad for something to sell. It needed to be about something I knew a thing or two about, so, I chose a “coupon organizer,” of course! You can click on the picture of the ad to see the image in a larger size.

Learning how to create newsletters and ads has been a lot of fun so far, but I’m did have to fight a little jealousy when I found out my husband’s next project for his class would be creating a blog header! Oh well. He just finished it up last night, and it looks great. The nice thing is that while watching and working with him (and giving my creative input :0), I can now create a blog header all on my own, too! Yay!

I'll try to get a picture of it posted, too.

Staples Rewards is Changing

2010-06-26T04:46:00.001-05:00

If you currently recycle your ink cartridges at Staples for the $3 reward, things are changing. Beginning July 1st, you will only earn $2 for every ink or toner recycled at Staples (up to 10 cartridges per month) instead of the usual $3. Sad, but life goes on. At least we still get something.

Rite Aid Wellness Rewards Program

2010-06-23T06:30:00.002-05:00

For those of you with a Rite Aid, you’ll want to sign up for their Rewards Program for even more savings!

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Free Sample of Nivea Lotion

2010-06-23T06:23:00.002-05:00

Visit Nivea’s website to request a free sample of Nivea Happy Sensation Daily Lotion.

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Free Sample of Cascade for Sam’s Club Members

2010-06-23T06:16:00.002-05:00

If you are a member of Sam’s Club, you can visit their website to request a free sample of Cascade ExtraAction for your dishwasher.

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Works For Me Wednesday: Wireless Mouse

2010-06-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

I love my wireless mouse. I have never liked using my finger as a mouse on a laptop, so, when we got our very first laptop last year, my husband used some of our Office Max Rewards to get this mouse for close to free. I would be so annoyed without it!

To use a wireless mouse on a laptop, all you do is plug the little chip into the USB port and in about 5 seconds or less, you can control your mouse. Another nice feature about using a mouse like this is that you don’t have to remove the chip in the USB port. I just turn my mouse On and Off with a little button on the bottom of the mouse, so, it only takes a second to start using it when I need it.

My husband recently got a second wireless mouse (brand new) off of ebay. It was less expensive than what these normally go for in store. I think they run about $35-$40. We are currently using that mouse with our desktop PC since our old mouse for that computer decided to stop working.

Anyway, using a wireless mouse definitely works for me!

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We Are THAT Family!

Why must my children do this……

2010-06-22T07:13:00.002-05:00

Some of you may remember that my three year old decided to pick quite a few keys off of my laptop a few months ago. I was able to get them all back on with the exception of the ‘Number Lock’ key. It is now being held in place with scotch tape.

Well, my one year old didn’t want to be left out! He has recently started picking the keys off of my laptop, too. It’s takes him less than a second to get his chubby little fingers on the key and flick it off! Ugh! Even when we have the laptop up on the desk or out of his reach, he is determined to grab it! It is far better than any toy to him at this moment.

He has picked the VERY VITAL ctrl key off my computer two other times and I was able to get it back on, but not this time…..it’s BROKEN! And I know there is another ctrl key on the computer that I can use, but this one was the most practical to use when typing.

Why, boys??? Why???

Here are the guilty parties. :0) They look innocent….

Another Free Sample of Starbucks VIA

2010-06-22T06:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I posted a link to get a free sample of Starbucks VIA instant coffee from Costco. Well, you can also get a free sample off of Walmart’s website as well!

Holiday Gas Stations: Free Coffee

2010-06-22T06:52:00.000-05:00

You can get a free 20 oz. coffee or cappuccino at Holiday Station Stores when you print a coupon off of their website. The coupon expires 7/4/10, and you can search locations here.

Free Sample of Carefree Liners

2010-06-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Carefree Ultra Protection Liners. You can also print a $1.00 coupon after you request your free sample.

Thanks, Free Snatcher!

Redbox: FREE Movie Rental Code

2010-06-21T10:01:00.001-05:00

You can get a free rental code from Redbox today when you become a fan on facebook. The code is only valid for today, June 21st.

Thanks, Free Snatcher!

Free Samples of Bodycology from Walmart

2010-06-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Bodycology products from Walmart.

Free Sample of Starbucks coffee

2010-06-21T08:50:00.002-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Starbucks VIA instant coffee. You don't have to have a Costco membership. I love free coffee!

Free Old Wisconsin Snack Stick

2010-06-21T07:59:00.002-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Old Wisconsin snack sticks. You get to choose between beef and turkey.

Menards Deals 6/20-6/27

2010-06-21T06:01:00.002-05:00

Menards has a rebate program where you can get items for either "free after rebate" or for a very low price after rebate. The difference between a Menards rebate and a normal mail-in-rebate is that you get your rebate back in the form of a Menards rebate check, so, you have to spend it at Menards.

With Menards rebates, you purchase the items and then pick up the rebate form located near the registers, and you send that in with your rebate receipt. It's pretty easy.

Here are this week's deals:

FREE AFTER REBATE:

$3.00 Chrome Tape Measure (limit 2)
-$3.00 Menards Rebate
=FREE

$3.00 Strip & Clean Sanding Pad (limit 3)
-$3.00 Menards Rebate
=FREE

$6.00 LED Guidesman Flashlight (limit 2)
-$6.00 Menards Rebate
=FREE

$4.00 All-Purpose Paint Brushes (limit 2)
-$4.00 Menards Rebate
=FREE

$2.50 Adhesive Power Grab, 10oz. (limit 6 tubes)
-$2.50 Menards Rebate
=FREE

$4.00 Forever Bags (16ct.) or Food Storage Containers, 10 piece (limit 2)
-$4.00 Menards Rebate
=FREE

CHEAP AFTER REBATE:

$2.99 2X Paint Spray, 12oz. (limit 6)
-$1.00 Menards Rebate
=$1.99

$6.97 Mold Armor Deck Wash (limit 2)
-$2.00 Menards Rebate
=$4.97

$4.49 56oz. Softsoap hand wash (limit 4)
-$1.50 Menards Rebate
=$2.99 (The regular size bottles of this hand soap are 7.5 oz., so, if you buy this, it's like getting 7 smaller ones for only $0.40 each after rebate.)

$6.99 Air Filter or Water Filter Replacement cartridges (limit 2)
-$3.00 Menards Rebate
=$3.99

$34.99 5 foot Center-Fold Resin Table (limit 2)
-$5.00 Menards Rebate
=$29.99

$4.97 25 foot outdoor Extension Cord (limit 3)
-$1.00 Menards Rebate
=$2.97

$7.98 for (2) Black Magic Pro-Shine Protectant, Tire Wet, or Wheel Cleaner (limit 1 rebate offer)
-$5.00 Menards Rebate when you buy two products
=$1.49 each

$4.99 Lime A-Way Cleaner, 28oz. (limit 2)
-$2.00 Menards Rebate
=$2.99

$1.78 Alex Plus Caulk (limit 6)
-$1.00 Menards Rebate
=$0.78

$10.99 Gilmour or Yarkworks nozzle set for your water hose, 2 piece (limit 4)
-$6.00 Menards Rebate
=$4.99

$2.99 Ultra Caulk (limit 12)
-$2.00 Menards Rebate
=$0.99

$3.49 Blue Coral Cleaner & Degreaser (limit 2)
-$2.50 Menards Rebate
=$0.99

$4.99 X-tra Arm Pick-Up Tool (limit 2)
-$3.00 Menards Rebate
=$1.99

$8.99 Cooper Lighting Motion Detector Light (limit 3)
-$2.00 Menards Rebate
=$6.99

$9.99 Toilet Tank Repair Kit (limit 2)
-$3.00 Menards Rebate
=$6.99

$9.99 First Aid Kit, 125 pieces (limit 2)
-$5.00 Menards Rebate
=$4.99

$5.99 Reading Glasses, 3 pack
-$5.00 Menards Rebate
=$0.99

OTHER:

$1.76 Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, 2 pack *(If you have the Home Made Simple coupon book, you can check there for a coupon)

See the full ad here.

Helpful Tips:

When you purchase an item that is not free are the Menards rebate, then you do not need to make any additional purchases. For example if you buy the Painter's Premium Caulk for $1.99, then you don't need to purchase an additional items in order to get your $1.00 rebate.

However, for items that are completely free after the Menards rebate, you do need to make an additional purchase of $10.00 in order to qualify for the rebate. If there is nothing else that you want to buy that week but still want to get the free after rebate items, you could purchase a $10 Menards gift card to use in the future, and still qualify for the rebate.

If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook!

Free Sample of GoodNites for Kids

2010-06-17T07:04:00.001-05:00

Visit the GoodNites website to request a free sample of their new and improved underwear for free. You can select a free sample for either a boy or girl.

What I’ve been doing today…….

2010-06-15T20:39:00.001-05:00

I’ve been busy today with homework. I had to create a newsletter for class, and it took hours but after the last fiasco of waiting until the last minute to do my homework and ending up spending hours of my precious morning time on it, I’ve learned my lesson.

Our assignment was to create a newsletter in QuarkXpress. It could be on almost any topic. We got to choose, so, of course, I made my theme about saving money! It’s nothing spectacular, really. But, I’m still proud of it and that I got it finished with plenty of time. You can take a look at it here (I hope. It’s a pdf. form). The actual text is all “dummy text” but the rest of the content and the formatting of it all is mine!

Not Me! Monday

2010-06-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

Not Me! Monday is a blog carnival hosted by MckMama at My Charming Kids.net. It's all about sharing things that we "didn't" do--but REALLY DID. Here goes:

My three year old did not say that his piece of candy was "not perfect enough" and then gladly eat it. That child does not say the funniest things! I don't know where he gets some of the things that flow from his little mouth.

I most certainly was not cleaning the kitchen table and think, "Something is different." I did not wonder why the paper towel felt so slippery as I wiped the table this time. I did not look down to see that I had a bottle of Shout Laundry spray in my hand which I had been spraying very liberally. Oops. I guess I should turn on the light next time I go to grab a bottle of cleaner.

Isaac did not go into the bathroom, feel water under his and say, "There's slime on me!"

We have not been visiting the playground a lot more frequently and our 15mo. old, David, is not getting used to the baby swing. It was scary at first, but he’s getting the hang of it now. Just don’t push too fast!

As I write this Not Me! Monday post I am not thinking about the heaps of homework I have to do later today. I did not have four days to do it but wait for the last day to get it done. I told myself I would not do this again since this is what I did last week when homework was due and it took me three hours to do it. I really have NOT learned my lesson!

Happy Monday!

Walgreens Deals 6/13-6/19

2010-06-13T08:40:00.001-05:00

There are some pretty good Walgreens deals this week! You can get free body wash, razors, and toothbrushes:

$5.99 Nivea for Men Active 3 Body Wash
-$5.99 RR wyb 1
-$3.00 mfgr. cpn. from 5/2 RP or $1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 4/25 RP
=FREE plus $1-$3 overage after RR

$8.98 for (2) Reach Total Care Toothbrushes
-$6.00 Walgreens in-ad coupon (cpn. is for $3, takes off 6 total)
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 10/4, 10/18, or 3/7 RP
Use B1G1 free coupon from 12/6, 1/3, or 5/16 RP
=FREE plus possible overage after coupons

$9.89 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Manual or Power Razor system
-$5.00 Register Reward wyb 1
-$4.00 mfgr. cpn. from 6/6 PG
=$0.89

$7.99 for Schick Hydro Razor
-$4.00 Register Reward wyb 1
-$5.00 mfgr. cpn. from 6/13 SS
=FREE plus $1.01 overage after RR

$10.00 for (4) bags of Hershey's Candy
-$5.00 Register reward wyb 4
=$1.25 each after RR

$2.00 for Jimmy Dean Biscuit sandwiches, 2pack or bowls
-$0.75 mfgr. cpn. from 5/2 RP
=$1.25

$3.98 for (2) Post Cereals (fruity pepples, cocoa pebbles, other varieties)
-$1/2 mfgr. cpn. from 5/16 SS
=$1.49 each

$5.79 Listerine Total Care Mouthwash
-$3.00 with Walgreens in-ad coupon
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 10/18, 1/10, 3/7, 4/11, or 5/16 RP
=$1.79

$6.00 for (1) Windex Wipes, 28ct. AND (1) Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gels, 6pk
-$1.00 Register Reward wyb 2
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 5/9 SS for Windex Wipes
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 5/16 SS for Scrubbing bubbles
=$1.50 each after RR

$3.99 Stayfree Maxi Pads
-$2.00 mfgr. cpn. from 3/28 RP
=$1.99

$5.98 for (2) All Laundry Detergents, 26-40 loads
-$1/2 mfgr. cpn. from 5/16 RP
=$2.49 each

$6.59 for (2) Air Wick Scented Oil Refills, 1ct. AND (1) Air Wick Scented Oil Warmer, 1ct.
-$1/2 refills mfgr. cpn. from 5/16 SS
Use Buy a Refill, get a Warmer FREE coupon from 5/16 SS (takes off $1.59)
=$1.33 each

$2.50 Maxwell House Coffee, 11.5oz
-$1.00 mfgr. cpn. from 5/16 SS
=$1.50

$12.79 Dr. Scholl's for Her Open Shoe Insoles with Massaging Gel
-$5.00 Register Reward wyb 1
-$2.00 mfgr. cpn. from 5/2 SS
=$5.79 after RR

$5.99 Walgreens brand diapers or training pants (limit 3)

Monthly Deals:

Pay between $8-$9 for (3) Neutrogena soap bars
-$10.00 Register Reward wyb 3
=FREE plus overage after RR (Thanks, Common Sense With Money!)

Super Savings Saturday: Jewel & Target

2010-06-12T11:49:00.001-05:00

I made it to Target and Jewel-Osco this week. First up is my Target trip. I got quite a bit of ice cream! I ended up with (3) of the Edy’s, (2) pints of Ben & Jerry’s, (1) pack of Blue Bunny ice cream sandwiches, and (2) boxes of Nestle drumsticks. My total before I handed over any coupons was $37.55 and after I handed over the coupons, it went down to $19.05 PLUS I got back a $5.00 Target gift card! So, after sales, coupons, and Target gift card, I saved 70% overall! I also went to Jewel-Osco this week to take advantage of two catalina deals they’ve got going right now. I spent a total of $44.73, and I got back $20 in catalinas!!! And I did my shopping with four kids in tow. This shopping trip was one of our better ones, so, I can’t really complain. It wasn’t that bad. The only really crazy part was when I let my 3 year old drink one of the DanActive yogurt drinks while in the store and (no surprise) every one else wanted one too. It got a little messy trying to feed my 15mo. one of these drinks, but, thankfully, I had wet wipes in my purse to help.

How did you do this week?

Baker's Square: free pie for dad

2010-06-12T05:49:00.001-05:00

Dad can get a free slice of pie with the purchase of any adult entree on Father's Day, Sunday June 20th. at Baker's Square. Find a location here.

Denny’s: Free Float w/any value menu purchase for you and dad

2010-06-11T15:31:00.001-05:00

You can visit the Denny’s facebook page to create a Father’s day card for your dad, and when you do, you’ll both get a coupon for a free ice cream float with any value menu purchase. The value menu items start at only $2. So, you could get one of the value menu items for $2 and get a free ice cream float! Here a snip of the card I created.

Free Sample of EOS Shave Cream

2010-06-11T15:11:00.001-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Eos Shave Cream.

Frugal Friday: Best Waffles Ever (and you can freeze them, too!)

2010-06-10T19:42:00.004-05:00

Wow. The picture really can not do justice to these waffles. They are fantastic. They are soft, moist, buttery, and delicious. Seriously. I usually don't get really excited about recipes, even good recipes, but these waffles are THE best waffles I have ever tasted. And since discovering the recipe for these waffles.....well, I have made them QUITE a few times. We've been known to eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack---just not all in the same day! The nice (and frugal) thing about these waffles is that they freeze well, too. And believe me, once you’ve tried them, you will want to have these on hand for a quick breakfast or just to indulge a bit (if you've got whipped cream in the fridge!).

Now for the recipe. The original recipe came from the The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition which I absolutely recommend with my whole heart. It is a fabulous cookbook. I've tried a lot of their recipes and tips and have not been disappointed. The waffle recipe comes from that cookbook with just two modifications on my part. I add three tablespoons of sugar to the recipe to add a little sweetness to the waffles, and the recipe calls for buttermilk which I never have, so, I substitute 1 3/4 cups of buttermilk with 1 3/4 cups of regular milk mixed with 1 3/4 tablespoons of vinegar. I let the milk and vinegar sit for about 5 minutes on the counter before adding it in with the other ingredients. This is just a short cut in case you don't have buttermilk on hand.

And now here’s how you can make these delicious waffles,too, with this recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

3 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of fine ground cornmeal (optional)

2 eggs (separated)

4 tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick, melted and cooled)

1 3/4 cups of buttermilk (or 1 3/4 cups of regular milk mixed with 1 3/4 tablespoons of vinegar--left standing for 5 minutes)

One pinch cream of tarter

Directions:

1. Preheat your waffle maker.

2. Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, and cornmeal together in a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, butter, and add the buttermilk last.

4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until soft peaks form.

5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the large bowl with dry ingredients, and gently whisk until just incorporated (some lumps should remain). Then fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.

6. Make waffles! Pour the batter onto your waffle maker and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes.

You can keep waffles warm in a 200 degree oven or serve one at a time to your hungry family. I like to make double batches of these waffles. We’ll eat one batch and freeze the second batch. I let the waffles cool before freezing and them put them in a plastic container, separating the waffles with wax paper. See picture.

Enjoy!

For more Frugal Friday tips and ideas, please visit Life as MOM.

Web Design: Going back to school

2010-06-10T17:23:00.002-05:00

As promised, this week I'm going to elaborate on how I actually went about going back to school for web design. If you've missed my two previous posts, you can read them here and here. This post may give you some ideas on how you might look into going back to school as well! Or at least get you thinking about the possibility.

I believe it was sometime at the end of 2009 that my husband and I started to consider having him go back to school to seek a different profession. We decided that we'd fill out the FAFSA for him after we did our tax return this year to see what kind of financial aid we might qualify for. If you don't know what the FAFSA is, it stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. And this is the first place to start when thinking about going back to college. When you fill out the FAFSA, you find out if you are eligible to receive grants (FREE money! The MAP grant and the Pell grant are the most popular grants that I know of.), student loans, and work-study loans. You don't have to take any loans if you don't want to and you can opt out of being considered for them altogether--that's what we did. No need to be tempted! After you've filled out the FAFSA, it takes a few weeks to find out what aid you are eligible for IF you've never attended college before.

Ruben had never taken college classes before so he found out well before I did. I, on the other hand, had attended college right after high school and did have some college credit so it took more time to go through the process of requesting my college transcripts, sending them in, getting them evaluated by the community college that I'd be attending, and finally finding out what financial aid I would be offered. IT TOOK MONTHS, but we started the process early so it all ended fine. I was able to find out what my financial aid would be before the summer semester of school started which is when we wanted to begin taking classes and the classes I wanted to register for were still available.

Unfortunately, when you are going back to school with four kids at home it is without question more challenging. For one thing, we don't use babysitters for our children. They occasionally stay with a grandparent if we need to do something where we can't take the older kids with us (the baby would never stay with anyone else for more than 5 minutes so he's always with us.....we've tried), but other than the grandparents we don't have a sitter. And even if there was someone we could trust, do we really want to spend money paying someone to watch our children and home school them four days a week? Some days, I barely stay sane doing this job, do I expect a someone besides my husband or myself to have the needed patience and time for our children? No. So after spending a lot of time going back and forth through the Summer Course catalog, I was finally able to put together a schedule for both of us that allowed one of us to be with the children at all times. I did the same for our Fall schedules.

However, this isn't without a cost, because one of the classes that is required for web design is only offered one-time, at night, in the Fall. Guess who gets that class.......not me. Ruben will be taking it because I am trying to stay away from night classes as much as possible for safety reasons (I've seen a few too many episodes of 48 hours, Dateline, and Forensic Files.) and because I want to be home at night with the kids. I will have to wait a year to take the web design class, but I'm taking another class in it's place that I'm hoping will give me much of the same knowledge that the web design class would've. It's Graphic Design for the World Wide Web. Anything I'm missing from that class, Ruben can help me out with.

And that's it. We are in school part-time right now. We start going full-time in the Fall. We've worked out our schedules to try to get the MOST out of the Summer and Fall semesters. *I* am hoping to start designing web sites in December. I'll start with my own! And then I'll hoping to maybe do some blog design giveaways for my readers to get a portfolio together to start a business and work from home.

If anyone wants more information about going back to school or has any questions, please leave a comment, and I'll answer it.

Next week, I'm going to share some cool websites on design that I've found!

Long John Silver's Happy Hour

2010-06-10T12:30:00.002-05:00

Long John Silver's now has Happy Hour from 2:00pm-5:00pm every day, so, you can get a Medium Ice Frozen Lemonade for only $0.75 during that time!

You can sign up for Long John Silver's coupons here.

Thrifty Thursday: Scheduling Time for Coupons

2010-06-09T20:22:00.006-05:00

Have you ever needed to go get to the grocery store and realized at the last minute that you didn't have time to get your list and coupons together? Or if you do have time, you realize that it would just be too stressful trying to put a list together with fussy kids and a 15 month old that likes to stomp on your coupons as you sit on the floor next to the box you've filed your millions of inserts in to get all the best deals?

Well, if this is true for you like it's all-too-often true for me, I have decided that just like scheduling other important things in my life, I ought to schedule time to get my lists together and clip coupons. And in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed by getting deals and coupons ready for three or four stores, I do ONE store at a time. I do this by checking out several blogs that I know are covering the store I'll be going to. (I read my own blog too if I've done the deals for that week :0) I often forget what deals are going on at the stores I've posted deals for so I have to check back.) Then I print my list(s) for that store and gather/print my coupons.

By scheduling a set timeframe to do this, I'm reminded to get it done a day or two before I'll actually be visiting that particular store. This makes my life MUCH easier, and I don't find myself in the middle of the store aisle searching for coupons while trying to keep my one year old from taking a leap out of the cart. (He hasn't done it yet, but I'm really trying to avoid this! He can stand up in the cart even when he is strapped in.)

If you're interested, here's a snippet of what I have posted on the front of my computer and how I make time to get these things ready ahead of time:

8-10:00am: Nathan & Breanna start school (homeschool) (Daddy helps Nathan & Breanna, Sandra gets coupons & lists ready on Tuesday (Target) & Thursday (Jewel)) I don't have school (college classes) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also help the kids with questions and watch my two youngest boys during this timeframe, but it's a lot easier to get my lists/coupons together when they are around because I don't feel pressured.

Do you schedule time for this? What works best for you?

For more Thrifty Thursday tips and ideas, please visit The Coupon Teacher!

Free Sample of Emergen-C

2010-06-09T09:41:00.002-05:00

Go here to request a free sample of Emergen-C Blue when you become a fan of Surfrider Foundation on facebook.

CVS: Free Skinny Cow Ice Cream Cups

2010-06-09T07:13:00.002-05:00

You can get free Skinny Cow ice cream cups at CVS with a $1.00 printable coupon off of Skinny Cow’s website:

$1.00 Skinny Cow ice cream cup
-$1.00 Printable Coupon
=FREE

Thanks, Free Snatcher!

2 Free Samples of Cottonelle

2010-06-09T07:04:00.002-05:00

Visit Walmart’s website to get a free sample of Cottonelle toilet paper and Cottonelle Fresh Moist Wipes. You get both! I like to keep moist wipes in my purse and coupon bag just in case. They’re great for sticky little hands and germs.

Free Sample for Costco Members

2010-06-09T06:53:00.001-05:00

If you’re a member of Costco, you get to request a free sample of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew instant coffee. If you don’t have a Costco membership and if you haven’t requested it already, you can still get a free sample from Walmart’s website.

WFMW: Rise and Shine at 4:30am

2010-06-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing in my life that makes my day go smoother, it’s getting up before my children. So, I try to wake up at 4:30am at least five days a week. I give myself a break a couple of days of week to sleep later when I’ve stayed up too late the night before. That usually happens on weekends.

Waking up before the kids helps me to be less stressed in the morning and allows me to get certain things done that are more difficult to do when the kids are up. Here’s a snippet of my morning schedule which I have on the front screen of my computer:

SCHEDULE

4:30am: WAKE UP
4:30-5am: GET READY
5:00-5:30am: PRAY & READ BIBLE
5:30-7:00am: BLOG (this always gets interrupted by my 15mo. old waking up and needing me several times)
7:00-7:30am: GET KIDS READY & BREAKFAST then leave for school

I’m not perfect at keeping this schedule, but it works for me most days!

How about you? Do you wake up before the kids? If so, what time works best for you?

For more WFMW tips and ideas, please visit We Are THAT Family!

Walmart: Free Rolaids

2010-06-08T18:02:00.002-05:00

You can get two free packs of Rolaids at Walmart with the $4/2 manufacturer coupon from the 6/6 Red Plum insert:

$2.64 for (2) packs of Rolaids (3 pack original rolls)
-$4/2 mfgr. cpn. from 6/6 RP
=FREE plus $1.36 overage

Thanks, Saving Addiction!

If you enjoyed this post, don't forget to subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates.

Free Windex Summer Gift Pack

2010-06-08T17:58:00.002-05:00

Right at Home is giving the first 4,000 people who request it (and who haven’t received a gift pack in the last 180 days) a free Windex Outdoor All-in-One Glass Cleaning Tool Starter Kit and a bonus cleaning pad! Nice!

My advice is to go ahead and request it if you can't remember whether or not its been six months since you received your last free gift from Right At Home. They'll know how long its been.

Thanks, Saving Addiction!

If you enjoyed this post, don't forget to subscribe to A Lot of Savings for free via email or feed to get regular updates.

Join Pampers Village for coupons

2010-06-08T13:46:00.000-05:00

You can join Pampers Village for money-saving coupons on diapers.

Free Sample of Prilosec OTC

2010-06-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

Go here to see if you qualify for a free sample of Prilosec OTC for heartburn.