Budget Home Improvements!

I'm surprised I never talked about budget home improvements. Besides being extremely anal about my grocery spending and raising my kids, I also spend a great deal of time with my husband doing home improvements. And not just like painting and stuff - but like knocking down walls and replacing sinks and stuff. I know, we're odd. See this picture to the left here? This was our kitchen last July. And yes, we were living in the house while this was our kitchen. Fast forward to today:

This is our kitchen (same view as up above) as of May 29, 2009. We still have a few things to do (crown moulding, cabinet moulding, get rid of the lamp once the new electrical service is updated, etc.). We did everything ourselves except for two things: We hired a guy to plaster the ceiling (although, we did hang the drywall, so all we had to pay him for was the plastering. Hanging drywall on a ceiling is not fun.) and we hired a plumber friend to hook up our dishwasher, garbage disposal and gas stove.

So since I seem to go to Lowe's more than I go to the bathroom, here are a couple few things I've learned to save a few bucks:

- When those lovely $10 off $50 coupons come out - get all you can get! It's so easy to ring up $50 worth of stuff at Lowe's. Let's say you want to paint a room. You think "oh $23 for a can of paint isn't bad!" - but take into consideration the brushes, the roller, the paint tray, paint tape - you're pretty close to $50.

- Think of alternative (read "cheap") ways to do stuff. If you are painting a room and have an old comforter or blanket - use this or newspapers instead of buying a drop cloth. Don't buy those plastic cups for paint - use one of your recyclables.

- Really think about what you need and want. For instance, we decided to splurge on the tallest cabinets we could get (without being custom made). But we scrimped on our countertops and bought in-stock laminate. We aren't planning on selling our home anytime soon, I really don't like cooking and stuff, and countertops are relatively easy to replace. Cabinets are not. Are they the fanciest thing? No. Do they do the job? Yes. Do we like them? Yes. If someone offered to buy me new Corian countertops as a gift would I accept? In a heartbeat!

- If you aren't comfortable doing something - just don't do it. We're probably more of an extreme case of home improvement freaks. I think one of the things we have learned fixing up stuff, is if you aren't in the right mind set while doing something, lack the confidence, or just don't want to do it - chances are the results will show. We needed to plaster some walls and ceilings. We didn't want to do it. We knew we couldn't do it right. We ended up biting the bullet and just hired a guy to do it. Best thing ever. It didn't break the bank as plastering isn't too expensive, but the results were fantastic. It took stress off of us as something else to check off the list.

- Be prepared for hidden costs. When we ripped apart our downstairs bathroom, we realized the shower the previous owners had leaked. So we had to add buying wood to replace the baseboard and since my husband was worried about the structural integrity, he had to buy a bunch of wood to double up the joists in the basement (he was worried about water damage to the existing ones). Did we want to spend effort, time and money on this? No. But we had to do it to make sure it was done right.

- Salvage what you can and join Freecycle! When we put our downstairs bathroom back together, we were able to reuse the toilet. It was recently replaced by the previous owners and was only 2 years old. Why buy a new one? We also scored a practically new bathroom vanity off Freecycle. These two actions saved us at least $400.

- Take into consideration the tools needed to do stuff. My husband has a ton of tools from his days as an auto mechanic. My family has been kind enough to offer him "hand me down tools." My uncle was kind enough to give us this awesome table saw - just because he bought a new one! Friends have let us have/borrow some stuff. Home Depot and Lowe's gift cards seem the only gift my husband ever gets. We'd never be able to afford all the tools and saws we have if it wasn't for the circumstances we're in.

Have you been able to do something relatively inexpensive to improve your home? I'd love to hear about it! If you're interested in the things we've done, you can check out all of our crazy home improvements at http://www.bennyandtomsnewhome.blogspot.com/ !!

Credit Card Debt!

I watched Oprah yesterday. Suze Orman was on. I like her, but I don't. It's weird. She has so many useful tricks and tips, yet there is something annoying about her. Well I usually don't watch Oprah but this one caught my eye. My kids let me sort of watch it.

The first person they featured was an accountant who had 22 credit cards, had most maxed out and had almost $80,000 in credit card debt! Wowzers! That made me feel super good about my own self! But it got me thinking...could I ever be like that?

So I did some research on my own credit cards. I have 8 of them. 4 "major" ones and 4 store ones. Here's how they break down:

1 Mastercard through my bank - I use this for our everyday purchases of gas, groceries, etc. I typically pay off the last statement balance every month but there is always some balance on it since we use it for our everyday purchases.

1 Discover card - This was my first credit card. I feel loyal to it. I have my Netflix subscription linked to it so I pay a whopping $18 to it every month.

1 Chase Mastercard - I got this last summer. They offered me 0% on all purchases until August 2009. We put most of our home improvement costs on it instead of taking out loans or using all our savings. I'm scrambling now to pay it all off before August 1st. In the beginning of May, I took the balance, divided it by how many weeks were left until July 27th (I want to be safe with the interest rate and have it paid off before August 1st) and set up a weekly electronic payment of way too much every Friday. It's hard to swing it, but I'll be so happy come August 1st knowing this is paid off and we don't have any loans. A "smart" person would just save this in an interest bearing account and pay it all off in one swoop - but I'm not that disciplined.

1 Toys R Us Mastercard - I just opened this a few months ago. I wanted an extra 10% off a swing set we bought at Toys R Us. Once it's paid off, I'll never use it again.

1 Kohl's card - I use this to get super Kohl's coupons. I use it maybe twice a year and pretty much never charge over $100 a purchase on it. There's no balance.

1 Macy's card - Again, like the Kohl's, I use it maybe 2 times a year for clothes and the coupons they send with it. There's no balance.

1 Home Depot card - I use it to get 0% interest for 6 months (sometimes 12) on purchases over $299. I think I have about $200 to pay off at 0% interest until September.

1 Lowe's card - Again, They give you 6 months of 0% interest on purchases over $299. There's no balance.

I'll be honest, 8 of them overwhelm me. Thankfully I don't have balances on all of them. I couldn't imagine having 22 cards! How do you keep track of 22 credit cards? And how do you keep track of them when there is a balance on EVERY SINGLE ONE!

So then here's the scary part - I thought "Well, I wonder, if I went psycho and went on a shopping spree, how much do I have to spend to "max out" all my credit cards?" You know what these crazy creditors will let me spend? $74,200!! I really had no idea what my credit limits were on my cards. Suze made me motivated to check it out. You should too!

I actually did a little internet research at Myfico.com. The average person has 9 credit card obligations and the average credit limit on all combined credit cards per person is $19,000. This is a little bizarre to me since my credit limit is almost 4 times this. About 40% of credit card holders have credit card balances under $1,000. 15% of credit card holders have more than $10,000 in credit card debt. And I guess the other 45% are somewhere in between $1,000 & $10,000.

In case you missed it and want some simple tips to pay down credit card debt, here are some hi-lights I took from Suze and Oprah:

- Don't start saving until your credit card debt is paid off. It would be all flashy and whatnot to boast you got $15K in savings, but if you have $22K in credit card debt, someone needs to knock you upside the head. (Suze didn't say the head slap part - I just added it to keep you interested).

- Pay the minimum balance on all your credit cards on time. This seems like common sense to me, but they really stressed this on the show.

- Line up your cards starting with the highest interest rate. Take the one with the highest rate and pay an additional $10, $25, $100, $200 (whatever you can swing) over the minimum a month until it's paid off. Once it's paid off, move on to the second card and apply what you were additionally paying to the first one to the second until that's paid off. So on and so on.

- Don't close your credit cards once they are paid off! Part of your FICO score (credit score) includes your "Debt-to-Credit Available" ratio. So say you have $20K debt on $60K worth of credit you have. If you pay off a $5K balance on one of your cards with a $10K credit limit and close it, your $20K debt to $60K credit turns into $15K debt to $50K credit - this $15K to $50K is actually a bigger PERCENTAGE of debt. So leave the card open so you'll have $15K debt to $60K credit so your FICO score doesn't go down. Isn't that the silliest practice you ever heard of???

- Your credit score is very important. It used to just be that credit cards, mortgage and loan lenders would check it. Nowadays, potential landlords and POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS can check it. The new standard is anything under a 700 FICO score is bad. The range is 350-850. 850 being the best. You can pay to check it online or if you're doing something major like taking out a loan, mortgage or renting a new place, you can ask them to see your report. Usually the person will let you see it if you are nice to them.

- Do not under any circumstances take a loan out on your 401K to pay off credit card debt. Not only is the withdrawal taxable, but when you go to repay your 401K, you already paid taxes on that money so it's like your getting taxed twice on money you weren't taxed on in the first place.

- This isn't a Suze tip, but a Becky tip. Don't be ashamed of your credit card debt. If you are in over your head with credit card debt, find a friend or family member you are comfortable with and talk to them about it. We all make mistakes in life. If charging a little too much is now causing you stress and hardship, it's good to let someone know. Maybe they are in the same boat and can relate to how you feel. Or maybe they are good with paying off their cards and can offer you tips and advice. If talking to someone in your personal life isn't something you can do, find an online support group at Debtors Anonymous.

I think one of the bizarre things I learned about myself is I have a huge credit limit. I didn't even know how much...I really don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing. For instance, the one card that I use the most has a $25,000 limit! Why is this so high?!!? I know for a fact I have never had more than a $5,000 balance on it - and it's usually a LOT lower than that. What if someone steals it? I'd be in deep doo-doo! Do I call to lower it? I have zero idea! I need a financial manager! ;) This economics degree is doing nothing for me right now!

Check out my poll. It's anonymous and stuff.

BJ's!

Total Before Savings: $34.33

Total Coupons Used: $14.99

Cash OOP: $19.34

2 10-ct Mr. Clean Magic Erasers - $9.99 ea (1 $4/1 BJ's Coupon, BOGO Free MFC) $5.99 for both!

1.01 lbs LOL American Cheese - $3.52 ($1/1lbs MFC) $2.52

1 gallon of 1% Milk - $2.15

1 2 lbs pack of Strawberries - $3.99

1 2 pk of BJ's Apple Juice - $4.69

- Oops. I forgot to put the apple juice in with the picture. So it got it's own.

- I just had to do the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Deal. Good thing I went yesterday afternoon - the $4/1 Mr. Clean Product BJ's coupon expired 5/27! Whoo! Thanks Kris for commenting on my blog about it yesterday! You re-inspired me to get up and go!

- This trip put me over my monthly goal - but not by much. I still have 4 more days of May, but I think I can survive without grocery shopping for those 4 days.

Any BJ's Freaks Out There?

I wish I could be a BJ's freak. I mean, I try to work the coupons there when I need stuff. My friend Lori seems to work a lot of good deals there. She told me about the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser scenario a few days ago. She scored a 3 pack of Coppertone Sunscreen for wicked cheap since there was a $2 BJ's coupon and she printed 3 $3/1's of the internet some where.

I still, overall think I personally can score things cheaper in bulk at Shaw's - but every now and then something good pops up at BJ's. For instance, I rarely buy dry groceries at BJ's. Like ever. But I did do the Kraft Mac & Cheese last week because I thought it was a super good deal - but guess what? The 5 packs of Kraft Mac & Cheese are BOGO Free this coming week at Shaw's! It's probably the same price per box as my BJ's run. I'll see what the per box cost is with the sale and compare to BJ's this week...

What products do I think you can't go wrong with at BJ's (even with no coupons?)?

Milk - I promote BJ's milk too much! $2.15 for a gallon of 1% vs $3.69 at Shaw's. If you don't have a BJ's or Costco membership in MA, check your local Tedeschi's - they are pretty much around $2.59 a gallon.

Half & Half - $1.79 a quart ($3.58 half gallon) vs. $4.39 a half gallon at Shaw's

Land O' Lakes American Cheese - $3.49/lbs at the deli. The deli just opened up at my store so I'm excited about this one. Their deli meat all looks cheap too. LOL is on SALE at Shaw's for $4.99/lbs.

Bread - I get the Kids' Wonder Bread. It's basic old white sandwich bread but has some vitamins and nutrients chemically pressed in it. We don't really dig the whole wheat bread thing here. It's $3.39 for 2 loaves. I believe it's $2.99 at Shaw's. Or it was the last time I checked. I should really check it again...

Pineapples - huge, delicious and only $2.89. $3.99 at Shaw's.

Scotch Brite Sponges - a 15 pack is $9.59. Wait for the yearly BJ's coupons and match them up with MFCs to save even more. I don't know grocery store pricing on sponges off hand, but if I would have to guess, a 2-pack of Scotch Brite Sponges would probably run you about $3 normal price.

Glad Baggies - These are between $7.69 and $13.99ish. They have 4 "smaller boxes" in the big box. What does this mean? Take those $1/2 MFCs that come and use 2 of them to buy one big box. Double score if there happens to be a BJ's coupon out there floating around.


If you have good BJ's finds, let me know! I rarely have a chance to just "browse" in that store due to the 2 toddlers.

Want A Chance At Winning a $1,000 Gift Card for SHAW'S?!

So, I was looking through the Shaw's website - geeky I know. But I stumbled across a cool hidden sweepstakes!

Remember how the past few months they gave all us Shaw's shoppers "new and updated" rewards cards? Well if you have already registered your email address to print off the weekly coupons, you probably didn't even think of updating your profile with this new card number! Well do it this week! Why?...

Shaw's is having a sweepstakes - if you update your profile from 5/22 - 5/28, you'll automatically be entered to win a $1,000 Gift Card from Shaw's!!! Woooohooooo!!! If you click the "Get Inspired Sweepstakes" official rules (click HERE), you'll get all the legal babble. Here's my simple rundown:

1. You have to already have an account with Shaw's. You probably do if you print off their weekly coupons and get their emails. They officially call this the "Members Only Internet Coupon Club".

2. Sign in and put your Rewards Card number in your profile. Need help? Sign in HERE. Then you'll see a dark orange "Update My Profile" box in the upper right hand corner. Fill in all your information, including your card number and you'll be entered to win!

3. A Random drawing will be held June 5th. The winner will be notified by phone. However, there is no place to put your phone number in the "Update Your Profile" section. Hummmmm....I guess they have it from when we filled out that form? The Shaw's people should add that field to the profile page!

Well anyways - this isn't really advertised much - so if you're looking to kill 36 seconds of your day, update your online profile with your card number and you could get $1,000 in free groceries! Woo hooo!!!!

A Garden Update!

My garden is still going strong. It's suppose to rain until Saturday so that's good. Takes that whole watering part out of my daily routine. Here's my pride and joy:

This little squash plant I grew from seed. I have 4 more left I think - but this one is the best. I did buy some cucumbers to replace my dead ones. It was only $2.29 for a pack of a bunch of cucumbers. If you're near Hingham, MA - Penniman Hill Farm is also a great place to stop by for your gardening needs - plus they have a petting zoo for the young ones. My 3 year-old is actually afraid of most farm animals and told the worker that they smelled.

This is what it looks like now. I'm trying to clean up the front yard so I'm putting the old mulch and whatnot down. I'm still going to do my newspaper thing. We did have a cold night the past week. Blah.

I know my plants aren't doing the best they could be. I think part of the problem is I have pretty gross soil. I hope the prep-work of my semi-lasagna garden preps the ground for better soil next year. I also hope to have lots of compost to add come fall.

Oh and because I'm a freak - I bought a pack of carrot seeds and watermelon seeds. I started them in a seed tray. I did not really want to - but my 3 year old really wanted to plant carrots (there's an episode of Curious George about planting a garden and carrots are featured) and I told him to pick out one more. Watermelon. I probably won't be able to grow them - but this gardening crap is pretty fun with the kids.

Shaw's!

Total Before Savings: $152.92

Total Preferred Savings: $58.77

Coupons Used: $27.68

Cash OOP: $66.47

6 ears of corn - Should have been $1.00, but it was free.

5.59 lbs of 80/20 Ground Beef - $10.01 ($2/$10 of Meat coupon) $8.01 ($1.44/lbs)

1 Shaw's Hamburger Buns - $1.67

2 Ken's Marinade - $1.25 (2 $1/1 MFCs) .25 cents ea!

2 Kraft EasyMac Bowl's - $1 ea (BOGO Free MFC) .50 cents ea!

1 Pop Ice 100 count - $3.99

1 Hunt's Ketchup - $1.29 (FREE MFC) FREE!

8 B&M Baked Beans - $1 ea (2 $1/4 MFCs) .75 ea!

2 Ortega Taco Shells - $1.79 ea ($1/2 MFC) $1.29 ea!

5 12-packs of Coke - $11 (plus $3 for deposit)

2 Hillshire Farms Deli Meat - $3.50 ea (2 Free WYB 5 Cokes) FREE!

2 Ittibitz Ice Cream Cups - $1.34 ea (BOGO FREE) .67 ea

2 Stoneridge Creamery Ice Cream - 2/$5 ($1/2 MFC) $2 ea!

2 Kraft Singles - $1.67 ea ($1/2 MFC) $1.17 ea!

2 Dozen Eggs - $1.59 ea

1 Daisy Sour Cream - $1.99 (.60/1 MFC Doubles!) .79!

2 Hood Sour Cream - 2/$3 ($1/2 MFC) $1 ea!

2 Plumrose Bacon - BOGO @ $4.99 ea

2 Ball Park Franks - BOGO @ $3.99 ea ($1/2 MFC) $1.50 ea!

2 Mr. Clean Magic Erasers - $2.50 ea (BOGO MFC) $1.25 ea!

2 Hefty Quart Baggies - $1.50 ($1/1 MFC from MACHINE IN FRONT OF IT!, .20/1 from Box) .30 cents ea!

Things From This Trip -

- I got free corn because the cashier rang it in wrong. She tried to void it and took off way too much. So the front end manager came and just voided the two. Since the corn was ringing up funny, he said to just give to me for free! Yey! That's why I love my Shaw's! The way I figure, I've been over charged a few times for things that should have been on sale. I didn't go complain, so this is Shaws' way of trying to repay their $3 debt to me.

- I can't let the Mr. Clean Eraser Coupons go to waste! Those things are awesome! My friend Lori said there are $4/1 BJ's coupons for them too - couple them all together and you have a great deal! I'm going to try it today.

- I made hamburgers out of my ground beef. See previous post HERE

- I have never had Stoneridge Ice Cream before. I think I bought it once before but didn't get a chance to eat any of it. It's really good! I know I've seen it the same price as Breyer's or Friendly's so I've bought the name brand. I had a $1/2 coupon so I bought it - this stuff is GOOD! Try it while it's 2/$5! You won't be disappointed!

- A Dozen Shaw's Eggs went down to $1.59! It was $1.79 for a long time! 2 dozen at BJ's is still $3.49 - but I'll double check that if I make it over there this afternoon.

- My steal of the day were the Hefty baggies! They are on sale for $1.50 each and there is a machine that spits out $1/1 MFCs RIGHT IN FRONT of them!! Can that be any easier?? There were also .20/1 coupons on it and the cashier honored both. Fine by me. .30 cents for 22 quart size zip bags? Great steal!

Comparing Costs of Frozen Hamburgers vs. Homemade Hamburgers

I love to grill. I love beef. I am not a man, but I do eat like one. I'm really bad at cooking fresh ground beef hamburgers on the grill. I need my burgers frozen - or else I seem to lose them. In the past, I have just picked up a few of those frozen burgers during the summer. I mean, what's easier than that? But last year I got to thinking "this really isn't a good deal." Well let's check it out...

Now I'm not all fancy. If I were, I'd add stuff to the meat to make it more robust or something like that. Just give me the beef!

Here. I have my 5.59 lbs of ground beef I just got for $8.01, my hamburger press, my baggies and my wax paper (I never use wax paper - as you see, I have Hannaford's brand and I haven't been to a Hannaford's since Christmas of 2007.)

I take the beef and try to make even balls. I had 5.59 lbs of beef. So for quarter pounders, I'd have 22 and some leftover. I just made 23 patties.

I press them in my hamburger press. Ooooh. Ahhh. This was a wonderful gift from my mother a while ago. She buys me weird, useful crap like this.

The discs that came with the hamburger press are freezable, but since I only have 8 disks and am making 23 burgers, I had to use wax paper.

Ta-Da! I have my patties already to put in the freezer.

If you don't take into consideration the material, time & effort cost associated with hamburger making, my hamburgers broke down as the following:

5.59 lbs (23 patties) for $8.01 = $1.43/lbs (or 35 cents a patty)

Now let's compare.....Current Prices for Frozen Beef Patties (Shaw's Brand):

3 lbs Box (12 patties) for $7.99 = $2.67/lbs (or .67 cents a patty)
5 lbs Box (20 patties) for $12.99 = $2.60/lbs (or .65 cents a patty)

***6/11/09 - Updated! 10 lbs Box (40 patties) for $22.99 at BJ's = $2.29/lbs or .57 cents a patty (75/25 Beef)***

The Shaw's burgers are sale prices, but I think they are on sale all summer long. So pretty much, if you don't take baggies and other related hamburger making costs into effect, it's safe to say that if you can score ground beef for under $2.60 a pound, you can make your own patties cheaper. And they taste better.

Now remember there are some other factors to take into consideration here.

- I'm using 80/20 Ground Beef that went on sale for $1.79 for Memorial Day weekend and I had a $2/$10 meat purchase coupon. It's regular price is $3.89/lbs.

- I'm not sure of the quality of the Shaw's basic patties - but I'm sure it's something like 80/20. If you are more concerned with health and opt for 93/7 or 90/10 - you'll definitely be paying more out-of-pocket. I am personally fine with 80/20 - it keeps my middle nice and soft.

- The material cost of making your own is not that much. The quart size baggies are less than 2 cents each and the gallon size one ran me about 4 cents, I believe. I didn't use that much wax paper - but I bought that years ago so who knows how much I paid for that. If you're psychotic, you can take into account the water and soap I used to wash the dishes and I'm still pretty sure that's all under 50 cents.

- So remember - if you're grilling out this summer and just want some basic hamburgers, don't rule out making your own. Find out how much your basic frozen patties are per POUND and compare it to the fresh ground beef!

- Since I'm the queen of convenience, if handling raw beef isn't your thing, I will still like you for buying the pre-packaged stuff. Making hamburgers is one of the few parts of cooking I don't mind. I actually find it relaxing.

CVS!

Total Before Savings: $31.46

Total Coupons Used: $7.07

ECBs Used: $5.00

Cash OOP: $8.40

ECBs Earned: $6.00

1 Gain - $5.99 ($1/1 MFC from P&G Year of Savings Book) ($2 ECB WYB 1) $4.99

2 Band Aids - $2.99 ea (2 $1/1 MFCs) ($2 ECBs on each) $1.99 ea

1 12 pk Cottonelle - $5.49 ($2/1 CVS Coupon, .75/1 MFC) $2.74!

2 Snickers & 2 M&Ms - .67 ea (2 BOGO FREE MFCs) .34 ea!

Things From This Trip -

- Well the 2 day sale is over, so the Band-Aids and Cottonelle are no longer part of the sale.

- I thought about buying some of the ECBs generating stuff - but I just didn't need any of it. I'm just trying to stick to basics these days - you know, like Snickers and M&Ms.

- My CVS card doesn't generate ANY $/$$ coupons anymore. Maybe I should "lose" it and get myself a new one. I think that's part of the reason why I've been a CVS slacker.

Target!

Total Before Savings: $22.02

Total Discount: .68 cents

Total Gift Card Redeemed: $5.00

Cash OOP: $16.34

1 82 pack of size 4 Up & Up Diapers - $13.99

1 Double Pack of Mr. Clean Concentrate - $4.49 (clearance $3.81)

1 gallon of Target Apple Juice - $3.54

- I stopped at Target to get juice.

- I thought I'd try these new generic diapers. I'm a sucker for trying diapers. These are not very good. They are pretty and fit pretty well but they don't seem to absorb as well as Pampers and Huggies.

- I know I wrote a post a couple months ago stating that I only had 7 spray bottles of cleaner. I'm down to my last one. So I was going to start stocking up on bottles but I saw this Mr. Clean concentrate and figured I'd fill up the spray bottles and dilute it some. Good on the wallet, good for the earth!

Give Thanks For Memorial Day Bargains!

Memorial Day weekend is such a glorious weekend for many. Great weather, great sales, lots of hot dogs and a 3-day weekend. Unfortunately, many of us forget to remember that the reason Memorial Day exists is to commemorate the men and women who have died in military service. I spent some time both as an enlisted Marine and an officer in the Navy. I'll admit, I really didn't like being in the military and wasn't really good at it either. But I do have a deep appreciation for those who have and currently do serve our country. It's definitely a different lifestyle than most of us are accustomed to and I don't think many people realize the sacrifices many make to serve in the military. Some even sacrificed their life and that's what Memorial Day is all about.

Casualties in American Wars:

Americans who have died fighting in Iraq so far: 4,301 (reported by CNN)

Americans who died in the Persian Gulf War: 148 in battle, 145 in out-of-combat accidents

Americans who died in Vietnam: about 58,000

Americans who died in Korea: about 36,576

Americans who died in World War II: 418,500 (includes 1700 civilians)

Americans who died in World War I: 116,708

Americans who died in the Civil War: At least 618,000 but could be closer to 700,000

Plus there are many other casualties from other smaller incidents such as Afghanistan (682 - I think this figure is included in the Iraq numbers, but I am not sure), Grenada (241 Marines in 1983), random Embassy attacks, as well as many more.

So I'm just reminding you to give thanks to those who serve and those who currently are. If you see anyone out at the store this weekend sporting some Marine, Army, Navy or Air Force garb on, simply say "Thanks for your service!" I can almost guarantee you'd brighten that person's life more than you can ever imagine - and all you did was say one 4-word sentence to a complete stranger.

Old Navy and Retail Shopping With Coupons!

I went to Old Navy yesterday. It was packed, sold out of women's and kid's flip flops and just too much for me! I did swing through the men's department to find some $1 flip flops left. Since I have beastly feet, the 6/7 men's fit me fine. So I grabbed 2 and 1 pair for my husband. I also scored a $10/$50 purchase from OldNavyWeekly.com (hint - put the dude's head on his body).

I guess in the store I realized what a moron I was. I mean - the whole $1 flip flop thing lured me there in the first place. But was it worth it with the crowds? Not really. I mean, the flip flops are normally 2 for $5 and I would never really want to buy 5 of them anyways. Great marketing had it's way with me.

I ended up getting 5 shirts, a pair of shorts and 3 pairs of flip flops for $43 (which I put on my gift card that I got from cashing in coins a while ago). Since I was in line for a little while, I was looking at people checking out. I like studying people's buying habits - weird, I know. I realized that in the 7 people I saw checking out, not one of them had a coupon that is easily printed off OldNavyWeekly.com. I guess it's just odd to me - going shopping without coupons is not something I ever really do anymore. Like I don't really get the urge to just "stop by Old Navy" or other retail outlet. Part of my whole "let's go get new clothes routine" always include rounding up and looking through the coupons I get through the mail, my email and internet. The days of just going to the mall with my credit card are way long gone. It makes me wonder if this is how I'll always be. I mean, will I ever get to a point in my life again where I can just spend a few hours at the mall, drop a couple hundred and be happy with no coupons used? Probably not. I wonder if I'm the only freak like this out there...it sure seemed that way at Old Navy yesterday!

Staples!

I'm a big fan of Staples. I'm part of their rewards program and just got a check mailed to me for $15 off any purchase at Staples. It's just because I recently dropped off all my old printer cartridges and they give you $3 in Rewards for them. So I bought more ink since it was about to expire soon. The good thing too is that all ink gives back 10% in rewards. Here's how it broke down:

1 Double Pack of HP 92 Black - $26.99 ($15 off)

Grand Total: $12.59 for 2 black cartridges.

But...I get 10% back ($2.70) for the purchase and I'll get $3 for each cartridge I return. Not too shabby. By the way, I don't count printer ink in my grocery total.

CVS!

Total Before Savings: $26.51

Total Coupons Used: $5.00

ECBs Used: $7.00

Cash OOP: $3.99

ECBs Earned: $5.00

8 Hunt's Snack Packs - $1.25 ea ($1/3 MFC) ($5 ECB WYB $10 of Stuff)

1 Airwick Freshmatic - $5.99 ($4/1 MFC) $1.99

Red Cross & Edible Arrangements!

I've been into donating blood lately. I don't know why. Something good I guess? I donated often when I was in the military - which was good because the blood stayed in the military and they need it and all that happy hooplah. But then I got pregnant. And pregnant again. So I went about 4 years without donating. But I have started back up - not only because it's a good thing, but because I get free cookies and juice afterwards! ;) Joking...sort of.

Well June is the BEST month to get back into donating blood! Why? If you donate blood, you'll get a coupon for 6 FREE Chocolate Dipped Strawberries from Edible Arrangements! Sweet! I already have June 15th marked as my next time to go (you can donate every 56 days - or 8 weeks) - Do you want to give a pint and get free strawberries? Find a New England Blood Drive HERE!

Many thanks to Edible Arrangements and the Red Cross! It's great when you get something free for something you were going to be doing anyways!

Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse!

Get a 3 course Prime Rib dinner at Bugaboo for only $11.99! Don't believe me? Click HERE to get the coupon! Thanks Lori!

Old Navy!

Yeah. Every blog will be promoting this tonight and tomorrow so I will too. $1 flip flops at Old Navy tomorrow the 23rd. Will I be there? Heck yeah! Limit 5 and I'll buy 5. My shoes get so disgusting so fast.

Stop and Shop!

Total Before Savings: $20.27

Stop & Shop Savings: $1.50

Total Coupons Used: $0

Cash OOP: $18.99

1 2 Pizza Kit - $9.99

1 thing of Hi-C - $2.29

1 12 pack of Hot Dog rolls - $2

1 Off Skintastic - $4.49

- We had friends over last minute. I got pizza for lunch. I actually only made one so now we have one for dinner. It's actually really good - and comes with the sauce, cheese & pepperoni. Not bad.

- There were absolutely no juice boxes on sale at all at S&S. No generics either. It's Memorial Day weekend coming up! How is there no juice boxes on sale!?

- I was mad about the Off. I needed it because I get bit by bugs all the time. It was on my mind and I saw it was on sale for $3.99. So I snagged it. It rang up at $4.49. I questioned it but didn't press the issue. I could see the cashier really didn't want to deal with a mismark of .50 and my kids were sort of acting a fool. And yeah, .50 cents isn't much, but I just don't like it when things are mismarked.

Cashbaq.com Does Work!

I'm here to report that Cashbaq does work! I had $38.66 deposited into my account last night! It takes awhile, but it's worth it!


If you haven't already check it out here:

BJ's!

Total Before Savings: $56.59

Total Instant Rebates: $3.11

Total Coupons Used: $12.00

Cash OOP: $41.48

2 gallons of Milk - $2.15 ea

2 quarts of Half & Half - $1.79

2 loaves of Wonder Kids Bread - $3.19

1 Pineapple - $2.89

$10 off 5 Kraft Products Coupon

2 15 packs Mac & Cheese - $9.79 ea ($1/1 Instant Rebate, -$2 ea from Coupon) $6.79 ea (or .45 cents a box)

1 42 oz Maxwell House - $7.69 ($1.11/1 Instant Rebate, -$2 from Coupon) $4.58

1 Polly-O-String Cheese - $7.99 (-$2 from Coupon) $5.99 for 48 (or 12.4 cents per cheese stick)

1 30-pack Oscar Mayer Beef Franks - $7.29 ($2/1 MFC, -$2 from Coupon) $3.29 or 11 cents per hot dog

Things I have learned:

- I love the BJ's Journal that has the $5/3, $7/4, or $10/5 coupons in them. The Kraft one has a lot of instant rebates with them this week! I also used the $2/1 Oscar Mayer hot dog coupon that was at the front of the door. The cashier had no problems with this. Remember that you can pair BJ's coupons up with MFC coupons. You can steal things here with that policy!

- Half & Half went down in price again! It was up to $1.99 a quart - but now it's back down to $1.79. Milk is sitting pretty at $2.15.

A Shawstastic Time!

Shaw's was nice enough to invite a bunch of local bloggers to their Dedham, MA store for a Media Summit of sorts. It was Shawstastic! We learned a whole bunch of valuable information about Shaw's and the Shaw's brand.

It was great to meet and see other bloggers too - like Wicked Cool Deals, Happily Average, Itty Bitty Bistro, Boston Family Life, A Yummy Mommy, Simple Thrift as well as a few others that I cannot remember off the top of my head.

I think part of the summit tried to sell us on Shaw's - they didn't need to sell me though - I worship that place. I already tell people who ask that I love Shaw's the best out of all area grocery stores. Why do I love Shaw's? Let's see...

Here in Eastern Massachusetts, I have a plethora of choices for grocery shopping - Roche Bros, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Shaw's, Trader Joe's, BJ's, Costco, Whole Foods, Wal-mart, Target, Market Basket. So what's the deal with each?

Roche Bros. - I actually like Roche Bros. My brother-in-law works there and they seem to treat him well. They have great quality food and their stores are clean and neat. The workers all seem to be very friendly. They have great meat sales. Why I don't like them? I find their ad is hard to read. It's hard to spot the good bargains. At least for me. They don't have pictures for about 2/3s of the stuff that's advertised and too many words confuse me.

Stop & Shop - I feel like S&S is too snooty. I don't know why. I just get this feeling of snoot when I go in there. I also feel gypped because I find that they advertise stuff in their flyers that aren't even on sale - they put their normal prices of stuff on things in their circular! I think that's odd. I find there aren't that many things on sale there. They seriously lack store coupons. I also think their produce is blah. But it's 1 mile from my house - so it's convenient to run there for things we might need unexpectedly.

Hannaford's - Closest one is about 5 miles from me. It just doesn't jive with me. I did shop here (and work here briefly...) in college, so it does hold a special spot in my heart. Word up for the Keene, NH Hannaford's!!!!

Market Basket - Closest one is about 20 miles away. I'm not driving 20 miles to go grocery shopping. I've never actually been in one either. I just hear they are cheap.

Trader Joe's & Whole Foods - Okay. This is easy. I'm not all gung ho, love the earth, leave the pesticides out of my fruit type of person. I mean come on, I find S&S too classy for my blood - TJ's and WF blows me out of the water. Just too fancy, too natural and too over-priced for me. Plus, I have zero idea what half the stuff in that store is used for. But I do know it's 100% natural...

Costco - I don't shop here because the closest one is 13 miles from my house. Too far.

BJ's - I do shop BJ's. I find I only buy milk, half & half, eggs, and a few other specials here. The milk savings alone more than pays for my annual membership. It's less than 3 miles from my house so making a quick trip is easy. Milk cost comparison as of May 20, 2009? $3.69 for a gallon of Shaw's 1% milk vs. $2.15 for a gallon of Garelick Farm's 1% at BJ's. That's $1.54 savings per gallon. If you drink 100 gallons a year - that's a savings of $154 (a BJ's membership is $45 and they give you a $10 gift card when you join).

Target & Walmart - I just can't grocery shop at discount chain stores. It feels weird.

Shaw's - I really like how they have a lot of store coupons. I like their flyers. I like the layout of their stores (at least mine). I like how most of the cashiers at my store are pretty with it and don't give me problems with my coupons. I like how most of the workers are nice to my kids. I personally like the other people who shop at my Shaw's. They typically aren't really gross and smelly, but they aren't all rich and snooty either. I personally like how my Shaw's is on the small side. I usually only shop sale stuff - so having a big variety isn't important to me - just keep the sale stuff in stock and I'm a happy camper.


Well back to my Shawstastic time....it was really great what they did - it was like we were super stars or something. They gave us a great lunch, provided babysitters for our little guys (my little one is still talking about how fun Shaw's is...), and gave us great goodie bags! I love goodie bags. Life is better with goodie bags. See the picture above. But honestly - I'm really impressed that they recognize that blogs are, in a way, taking grocery shopping to a whole new level. I've been shopping and using coupons for a couple years now - but it wasn't until I talked to Katy at Happily Average last summer that I realized there were blogs out there that promote grocery savings. I had zero idea that people actually promote grocery store sales out there - just for fun!

So here I am in the summer of 2009 - I still take my weekly flyer and make my list and pull out my coupons each week like I've done for years - but now, before I leave for the store - I usually always check Deal Finding Mom and Wicked Cool Deals to see if there's something I missed. And honestly - I do usually add something "free" or "wicked cheap" that I missed on my own combing through the flyer most weeks. Maybe these Shaw's people are actually on to something...

OshKosh!

Okay. You need clothes for your wee little one? Consider going to the OshKosh outlet for amazing deals this weekend! Remember - it's not too early to think about school in the fall! Here are the three simple steps to maximize your savings this weekend:


1. First and foremost, the entire store is 50% off. That's awesome. OshKosh is a great brand so this is a steal.

2. Print off this coupon! Not only do you get 50% off the entire stock, but if you spend more than $40, you get an extra 20% off!! Wowzers!

3. Not done yet! It's Play Card season! So for every $25 you spend from now to June 14th (including this spectacular Memorial Day sale weekend!), you earn $10 to be used on any purchase over $35 from June 15th - July 4th. It's like Gymbucks.

Visit Oshkosh for store locations and hours! You can also sign up at their website to find out about amazing deals like this in your own inbox!! Oshkosh is also linked to Carter's and they both are by far my most favorite baby/little kid stores. Too bad the closest ones are about 23 miles away!

Free Ice Cream at Friendly's - June 6th!

Mark your calendars - get some free Friendly's Ice Cream on June 6th from noon - 5 pm! Now I want some of those bodacious cheesy waffle fries they have. I'll do a post to remind you. Well now, I have to go and waste the next 45 minutes of my life watching the American Idol finale. Thanks to my friend Lori and the Boston Globe for bringing this offer to my attention!

The Ease of Compost!

First, composting isn't for everyone. If you don't really want to do it, you probably won't be good at it. If you have an inkling of interest in it, then I am here to say it is relatively easy! I've been composting for about a month now. Kind of like recycling - if you make it easy, it is easy! Here's what I do:

I was using old grocery bags to put produce clippings, coffee grinds and egg shells. But then I was throwing those away. We drank our way through another container of Folgers - so I kept that and put all our compost in there (with lid). Every other or 3rd day, I put it outside. I can just hide this container under my sink if we have company or whatnot - but even if I leave it out, it just looks like a container of coffee is on my counter! Surprisingly, it doesn't ever smell bad. I just rinse it out after every dump in the big bin.

Here you see I have cut up a watermelon that my father brought with him over the weekend. Normally, I would have just thrown the scraps away.

Now you don't have to, but it's recommended that you cut up produce scraps to speed up the process of decomposition. I think cutting all this watermelon rind into chunks took me 51 seconds.

As you see, I put my scraps in my bin. I also have some coffee grinds from the morning's coffee, some egg shells, some lettuce and some potato. The watermelon rinds made my bin overflowing, so off to my compost bin to dump it!

This is my "new and improved" compost bin. If you want to see how easy it was to make it, click HERE. I don't think many critters would really want to eat anything from it (we have mostly raccoons that want the meat) - but I bungee cord it to be safe. I keep it off the ground but you don't have to.

What does it look like?

Like this! I just started this on Sunday, and I tried to dig out a bunch of the compost from the pile (minus sticks). I also threw in some newspaper and water. So now, I just keep adding food scraps, yard waste and water to keep it going.

Free Salon Treatments On Wednesday!

Thanks Money Saving Mom for this great offer - FREE Salon Services at GOOD salons this Wednesday! I checked and there are a TON of salons in and around Boston that are taking part! Click here to see salons participating near you and get all the scoop!

Unfortunately, my husband is working all day Wednesday and has a union meeting that night to boot. Free salon services for me? No, but I had to pass this on!

Make sure you click on the purple box link that says "Print Invite To Redeem" - to print off the coupon! Stop reading this and call your salon NOW! This will probably fill up fast!

RIP Cucumbers!

I should have listened to the farmer's advice of waiting until the last week of May to plant. I didn't. We had a few cold spurts here and there and most of my cucumber plants are gone. Some of my squash plants are gone too - but some are growing big and strong! Boo. I suck. Oh well. I take it as a lesson learned. My tomato plants are doing fine and all have sprouted those nice little yellow flower thingies on them. I think in a week or two I'll grab some cucumber plants and whatnot from a nursery to plant into my mounds. Oh well.

My father came up for a visit. I told him originally there were some sticks and stuff in my compost pile. Since he's Mr. Connecticut farmer, he had to check out my stuff. He told me I wasn't too stupid for planting so early. It's just hit or miss this time of year. I told him next year I'll hold off until Memorial Day time. He looked at my compost pile and told me I had way too many sticks and TREE BRANCHES in there to be effective. Oops. So I took an old garbage can, drilled holes in it with my husband's drill and will just dump my food scraps in there. I started it with some of my compost already, some newspaper, some more food scraps and water. As long as I turn it once a week and keep it moist, it should do much better.

Here's my garbage can turned compost bin. Exciting, huh?

See the holes I drilled in it? Fascinating!

It's really surprising how much food waste we have. Now if you know me or follow my blog, you know that we really don't eat a lot of fresh vegetables or fruit - but between our coffee grounds, egg shells, and produce waste, I still have a lot to put in there. I could only imagine how awesome a compost bin/pile would be for people who actually eat a lot of fresh produce.

Shaw's!

Total Before Savings: $76.61

Total Preferred Savings: $24.12

Total Coupons Used: $27.02

Total Recycling: $4.20

Cash OOP: $21.27

1 lbs Carrots - .99 cents

1 Celery Heart - $1.50

3 pk Romaine Lettuce - $3 ($1/1 Shaw's Coupon)

2 Nature Sweet Cherry Tomatoes - BOGO @ $3.69 ea

2 sticks of Pepperoni - $5.80

2 Quorn Chicken Products - $5.79 ea (2 FREE MFCs - thanks BzzAgent!) FREE!

4 Crystal Lights - $2.22 ea (2 BOG Skin Essentials Free, $2 off 2) .61 cents ea!

6 Jello Puddings - 3/$2 (2 $1/3 MFCs) .33 cents ea!

3 Kraft BBQ Sauces - $1 ea ($1/1 MFC) FREE!

2 Lay's Potato Chips - BOGO @ $3.99 ($1/2 MFC, $2 off Produce WYP 2 Lay's) .50 ea!

1 Laughing Cow Cheese - $2.50 (The son wanted it. I gave in.)

1 Cracker Barrel Cheese block - $2.50

1 Cabot Cheese block - $2.50

- My father is coming to visit today - so I had to make a quick trip for a few things.

- I'm a BzzAgent and recently became part of the Quorn campaign. I read up about it and honestly, I'm a little afraid to try it. I'll give it to my kids. It's some meat free Mycoprotein or something like that.

- I got my bubbly redheaded cashier. This made me happy. Zero issues with coupons.

- If you printed of all those coupons from Kraftfoods or Coupons.com - here's how to maximize the Crystal Light ones. They are on sale this week for $2.22 ea (they go lower, to $2 but whatever). Grab 2 normal ones and 2 Skin Essentials. Use 2 "Buy any Crystal Light, Get a Skin Essential Free." Use a "$2 off 2". 4 boxes for $2.44. Pretty good. Why this works? I am pretty sure the "free" coupon is for the free product. The $ off coupon is for the non-free product.

- On the surface, the Utz Potato Chips look cheaper this week - $1 for a 5.6 oz bag. But I'm here to tell you to work the Lay's! The bags are 10-12 oz (twice as big as the $1 Utz). They are BOGO @ $3.99 and there is $2 off Produce coupon in the Flyer. I'm sure you're buying something producey. Lettuce, strawberries, bananas, anything? So essentially, if you use th e$2 coupon - It's $1.99 for both bags of Lay's! That's a great deal!

- Returning 82 cans/bottles with 2 toddlers in tow is not easy. But they both enjoyed it. We successfully jammed both the can and plastic machines. We rock.

My First Issue with Cashbaq.com!

So I've been pleasantly happy with Cashbaq.com. Now I have an issue.

A few weeks ago, there was a Huggies/Pampers deal thingy going on. So I go to buy the stuff. I went to Cashbaq.com and clicked Drugstore.com. So I put the items in my cart. There was a coupon to be used but instead of navigating the site, I went to one of my bargain blogs and clicked on the Drugstore.com coupon link she posted in a normal blog post (not a sidebar ad). So I have two Drugstore.com windows open on my computer. I take the coupon link from the new window, copy and paste in my Cashbaq.com window and close the window I opened from the bargain site. So I check out and everything is fine.

So It was 3 weeks and I still didn't have a credit in my account. So I emailed Cashbaq.com. So here was my response:

Karen has responded to your Cashbaq ticket:

Hi Rebecca,

We heard back from Drugstore.com regarding your order. They said credit for your purchase was given to another publisher.

What this means is that at some point while making your purchase, you clicked a link to Drugstore.com that was on another website or in an email. In doing this, the credit for your purchase was awarded to that other website. I am really sorry I wasn\'t able to get you a credit for this order.

In the future, please be extra careful not to click anywhere else while shopping through us, as you risk invalidating your Cashbaq rebate.

Please reopen this ticket if you have further questions.
Karen

So then I got kind of snooty because I was mad and asked her why they have such a long grace period to credit our accounts? Isn't it so they can reverse stuff like this? I told her that she can see in my history log from Cashbaq.com that I did in fact click on drugstore.com to make a purchase. I also asked what site got my credit...But alas, no luck, here was her email:

Karen has responded to your Cashbaq ticket:

Hi Rebecca,
It was a website that lists baby deals. There are many sites that list coupon codes and deals. Most are in the same programs we are, except they don\'t share their commissions with the people placing the order. Check your browser history to see what sites you visited that day. Due to privacy issues, stores won\'t tell us which site specifically got credit.
Karen

So, even though I'm out like $3.50 (7% of $50.17), I'm pretty much over it - it was my own fault for clicking links during my purchase. What does make me mad is that there are people out there making money off my purchases just because I click a link!!!! I honestly didn't know that stuff happens. I mean, I understand blogs that put sidebar links, ads and whatnot like that on their blogs. I didn't know that "normal" posts with links also generate income for people. That's genius! I wish I was smart enough to figure that out! ha ha! That is what "Karen" at Cashbaq.com said - someone else got my credit! So if you're part of a rebate website - just be extra careful to not click any links from any other source until you check out (which I'm pretty darn sure they tell you anyways in the beginning!)!

Trying to Be Cheap in My Garden...

I have never had a "real" garden before. Like one that I actually cared about. Until this year. Now I have to say - just walking into Lowe's or Home Depot can be very overwhelming. All these bags of different dirts and mulches and plant food. I'm usually lost in the sauce and don't even know how to ask the teenage worker what I'm looking for....well anyways...

I'm thinking ahead for my garden and weed control. Mulch and grass clippings are great things to scatter on your garden once your plants are bigger to control weeds and trap heat (at least that's what people on the internet seem to say). Here's the problem - my lawn mower doesn't have a bag and I'm too lazy to rake up the grass clippings. Then comes in mulch, on the surface it's not too expensive - $3 for a bag of mulch, but if you need 6 or 7 bags, you're talking $20. It just seems like a lot for just some mulch. I mean, one of the benefits of gardening should be that the vegetables cost less than what you could buy them for, right? So far, including my little fence I bought, I'm up to about $36 spent on my gardening. $11 for seeds and those pod things, $10 for 6 tomato plants, $7 for my little fence & $8 for potting soil (I still have leftovers and used some in flowerpots). I'm not counting the flower cost because those were a gift from my husband. I think those were probably about $8 though.

So I've been researching using newspaper as mulch. The University of West Virginia put out a good article about it. You can read it HERE.

The Chicago Tribute reported in 2007 that newspaper is safe to use in the garden: HERE! The comment section is pretty funny - I guess someone doesn't agree!

And lastly, a very good article written by George Weigel at PennLive.com.

I guess there is still debate about whether or not the ink chemicals pose health risks (from what I gathered, most newspapers use soy ink or something organic like that. Not so us cheap gardeners can have free mulch, but so that the newspaper workers could work in a safe environment...) -BUT! The USDA recommends newspaper as mulch as well. I'll trust the USDA and make this my little experiment. Have you ever used newspaper as mulch? I'm not going to use things like the Parade magazine or more "glossy" inserts. But the regular sections I'm going to shred and try. This will be my cheap, Eco-friendly experiment...

Shaw's!

Total Before Savings: $275.88

Coupons Used: $70.53

Cash OOP: $107.42

***I had a $20 off $120 purchase that I just wanted to use. I got a lot for it***

.67 lbs of Plum Tomatoes - $1.20

1 Mango - $1

5 lbs bag of Idaho Potatoes - $1.99

1 bag Fresh Express Lettuce - $2

2 1lbs containers of Strawberries -$1.69 ea

9.21 lbs of Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast - $18.33 ($1/3 lbs Shaw's Coupon, $3 off any Chicken) $14.33 or $1.55 lbs.

1.81 lbs Shoulder Steak - $5.41 ($1.50 Off Peelie) $3.91

1.04 lbs Shoulder Steak - $3.11 ($1 Off Peelie) $2.11

1 Shaw's Strawberry Syrup -$2

1 Pack of Ramen Noodles - $1.25 (My great splurge!)

1 Shaw's Syrup - $1.77

4 boxes Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks - $2.50 ea (2 .75/2 MFCs DOUBLE) $1.75 ea

4 Apple & Eve Juices - $1.67 ea (2 $1/2 MFCs) $1.17 ea!

1 Kraft Salad Dressing - $1.67 ($1.50/1 MFC) .17 cents!

2 5 lbs bag Domino Sugar - $2.99 ea (.65/2 MFC) $2.34 ea!

1 Bertolli Tomato Sauce - $2.50 (.60/1 MFC DOUBLES) $1.30!

2 Ortega Refried Beans - $1.33 ea ($1/2 MFC) .83 cents ea!

2 12 count PopTarts - $2.50 ea ($1/2 MFC) $2 ea
6 Dole Pineapple Cups - $2 ea (3 $1/2 MFCs) $1.50 ea!

2 Macaroni & Cheese Crackers - $1 ea

2 Suddenly Salads - $1.50 ea (2 .40/1 MFCs DOUBLE) .70 ea!

2 Nature's Pride Bread - $2.50 ea ($1.10/2 Peelie) $1.95 ea!

4 Boxes of Kellogg's Cereal - 4/$10 ($4/4 Shaw's Coupon, 4 $1/1 MFCs) .50 cents ea!

2 Hood Mini Ice Cream Cups - $1 ea (BOGO MFC) .50 ea!

2 Hood Ice Creams - $2.50 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Coupon) $2 ea!

2 Eskimo Pie Popsicles - $2.50 ea ($1/2 MFC) $2 ea!

2 Dozen Eggs - $1.79 ea

3 Smart Balance Butter Sticks - $2.99 ea (3 $1/1 MFCs) $1.99 ea

1 Yo Crunch Yogurt - $2.50 (.75/1 MFC DOUBLES) $1!

1 Shaw's Block Cheese - $1.88 (.40/1 Shaw's Coupon)

20 Yoplait Yogurts (2 $1/10 Shaw's Coupon, .40/6 MFC DOUBLES, 2 1 Cup Free WYB 6) - $8 or .40 cents ea!

2 Daisy Sour Cream - $1.99 ea ($1/2 MFC) $1.50 ea

2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Blocks - $1 ea (.12/1 Shaw's Coupon, $1/2 MFC) .44 ea!

3 Packs of Ball Park Franks - $2.50 ea ($2.50/3 Shaw's Coupon, $1/2 MFC) $1.33 ea!

1 12 pack Cottonelle TP - $6.99 ($2.11/1 Shaw's Coupon, $1/1 MFC from machine right there) $3.88!

2 Wisk Laundry Detergent - BOGO Free @ $7.69 (2 $1/1 MFCs) $2.85 ea!

Things I have learned -

- Do not, under any circumstances go to a lane with a middle aged woman who wishes she was a store manager. I was all happy in my lane with my bubbly red-headed teenager who is actually a lot smarter than she looks - then the evil one comes up and says "I can take you at Lane 9." Great. I had a stack of coupons higher than the Prudential and she literally read everyone out loud with expiration date. Not fun.

- It was HARD to get to $120 post coupons. I actually went over. I was at about $83 once I completed my list (there were some things they were out of). I ended up filling it with some meat, fruit snacks, etc.

- The last time I went grocery shopping was May 1st. So not too bad for not grabbing food in 10 days.

- I'm trying to shift into a healthier lifestyle. You can't tell from my Ramen Noodle and Ice Cream purchases, but really, I am.

- I absolutely LOVE going grocery shopping without my kids. It's the most relaxing, fun thing ever.

- If you haven't already, check out Coupons.com. There are some great coupons on there ($1/1 Kellogg's cereal, $1/1 Kraft BBQ Sauce (this goes on sale for $1 at Shaw's in the summer - so it will be free), Crystal Light coupons, Fruit Snacks, etc!

- The Cottonelle - which is $4.88 with the Shaw's Coupon from the circular had a little machine RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT filled with $1/1 MFCs! Remember you can use Store Coupons with MFCs! Be on the look out for great finds like this!

Quick Trips I Didn't Record

I ran into Stop & Shop over the weekend. Here's what I got:

1 pack of Hot Dog Rolls - $1.67
1 box of Entenmann's (spelling?) Donuts - $2.99

Total: $4.66


My husband ran into Stop & Shop on his way home from work yesterday. Here's what he got:

2 Tropicana OJ's - 2/$5
1 pack of Hot Dog Rolls - $1.67

Total: $6.67

Now I can sleep - it's been added to my monthly and yearly total.

FREE Fast Lane Transponders!

Just in case you missed it or don't have one, the Massachusetts Transit Authority (MTA) is giving each household up to 4 FREE transponders so you can glide through the Fast Lane lanes at toll booths! I'm pretty sure these used to go for about $20 or $25. My mother was kind enough to buy me an EZ PASS as a gift a long time ago (mine is out of NYC, but it works here at the great Massachusetts Fast Lane Lanes! And YOUR Fast Lane Pass will work in other states too! Wow!). Now? They are free!

Pretty much how it works is you put in your checking account info (or credit card I think) and the Fast Lane takes out $20 everytime you pop under $10. You can read the fine print on the website HERE. I'll admit, when I first got it I was mad. How dare they CHARGE me for a device that makes them save money! Because that's essentially what they did - the more of these Passes that are out there, the less toll booth collectors they have to pay. But I have to admit, traveling to and fro on I-90 and the bridges in MA has been a lot less stressful thanks to that plastic contraption that hangs out on my windshield. Plus, I look wicked cool with it.

So if you don't have one and have been meaning to get one, click HERE to sign up! I'm not sure if they are always going to be free now or if it's just a promo peiod.

**Editted to say "Fast Lane" instead of "EZ Pass". I'm dumb sometimes and my friend Kara set me straight. Thanks Kara! You say potato, I say EZ Pass...** Oh, and there is a $2 a month service fee, but it's worth it to not sit in traffic!

The Garden Is Planted!

I received the best Mother's Day gift ever yesterday - the husband packed up the boys in the car and took them out for 5 whole hours! 5 hours alone felt like a 2 week vacation. I saw some neighbors as I was doing yardwork. I told them how I was free for a while and they all said "Then why are you doing yardwork? Go inside and do nothing!" But I didn't! I had a mission! Taking advice from Bev from The Homeschool Gardener and my Polish neighbor, I planted my garden!

These little plants wouldn't fit in my garden. I'm hoping to find them a good home somewhere else. Possibly a friend, possibly Freecycle.

Here is my finished product! Instead of a bouquet of flowers, my incredibly kind and loving husband got me a couple flats of marigolds and other pretty flowers. That was wonderful! Just what my garden needed!

One of my tomato plants. I love them.

I was trying to be all sneaky and take a picture of my competition's garden. He planted on Saturday. He said he only has 1 tomato plant and I noticed carrots and a couple other random things in there.

To put a bargain twist on this, I'll let give into some "cheap" secrets...

1. That flower box you see in the picture. The old owners left it. The previous owners were in their 80s and moving to an old-folks home. At first they asked us if we wanted a few random things in the house - a kitchen table, a mirror, microwave cart, etc. I told them "yes" to everything. Then I called up the agent and told her that they don't have to ask us for every single item - they could leave whatever they wanted and we'd be cool with it. She cautioned us on this and I think we had to sign a form saying we didn't mind. It was seriously the best thing we did. They left the shed full of garden tools, a wheelbarrel and seed spreader - things we didn't have and have used - a lot. If you're thinking of buying from "older folk" - see if they wouldn't mind leaving stuff behind. Chances are, it's stressful for them to throw everything away or donate it. They might be happy to know you want it. Sure, we threw away or Freecycled some stuff, but we've used a lot of it. On the flipside, if you are selling and can't take everything with you, offer it up!

2. The back portion of the garden has a cheapo 4 ft high wire fence (left by previous owners - again!). I found 3 handles in the shed that went to rakes or other tools. I used them as stakes and they worked beautifully.

3. I am leaving my wheelbarrel out (it's an upright kind - not a traditional kind). When it rains, it collects a lot of water and I'm hoping to use this to supplement watering the garden. Last year, my town sold rain water barrels. I should see if they are doing that again. We're in the process of getting new gutters and I wish I was clever enough to figure out how to rig up a rain barrel to one of the downspouts - but I'm not that good.

4. My grape tomatoes I planted from seeds pretty much are all dead. Tomatoes are hard to grow from seed (at least for me) and I'll stick to buying plants in the future. Cucumbers, Zucchini and Yellow Squash were all very easy! I'm scared of trying carrots and lettuce. Maybe next year.

Staples!

I've seen a free PC Tune Up Advertised at Staples a lot. My desktop needs it. It's actually just sitting on my stairs waiting for love. I need to give it a tune up and I'm thinking I'll take it on in to Staples this week. I did get my laptop fixed up there a while ago. They were nice. Cheaper than Best Buy. I was happy. I know they are going to try to sell me something or whatnot for my computer, but I won't give in. We hardly ever use our desktop. It's really just there for show or something. Has anyone ever done this?