Money saving Monday

I had a really great relaxing weekend. We went and fed the ducks at our local pond and enjoyed a fabulous sunset. Then on Sunday my husband smoked a brisket using my dad’s recipe. It turned out awesome. Just about as good as dad used to make. This was my husband’s best brisket yet. I think he is really getting the hang of this bar b cueing thing down. I am looking forward to it. Yum Yum. As you can see little face enjoyed helping daddy cook too!

I wanted to share something with you I have been thinking about for a while now. Do you want to find more deals? Be sure to LIKE Pounds4Pennies on Facebook and also join my BlogFrog community. I will be updating these from time to time with great finds and steals and deals I find at the stores. Or I will be giving some advice where to find really good coupons or posting deal scenarios I find. I don’t want to fill up my blog with a bunch of posts of single deals all day long. There are enough of those blogs out there already. I have been trying to find a way to share these great finds with you, so I decided I would use these tools to do so. I didn’t want to start another blog with just deals. I really like to take the weekends off and it looks like you have to stay on top of all that on the weekends too. 

As always, happy shopping! I am here to help you save more money.

Tips for Tuesday

I really love food and finding new and interesting ways to make creative dishes. Starting tomorrow I will be hosting a recipe swap on Wednesdays. I try to use things from my stockpile and things that are on sale for that week. Stop by tomorrow if you have a great recipe to share.

I have purchased a lot of cleaners, since they were on sale. I have a nice stockpile. However, I have decided I would really like to spend that money on food instead of things I am using just to wipe things off with. Food is always better. I have been researching how to make your own cleaning supplies. I posted about making your own laundry soap here and your own fabric softner here.

Today I am going to provide you with a recipe for Glass cleaner aka Windex.

Ingredients:

1 cup vinegar – I usually get this on sale and a coupon

2 cups Warm Water

1 spray bottle

Mix the first two ingredients and pour inside spray bottle. This is also great if you have run out of cleaner and there is no sale or coupon out and you need some more. You will save around 97% compared to the purchased brand name. Unless you can find it for FREE. I always like FREE. Who doesn’t.

Do you have any tips to save money? What about cleaning something that is difficult? Or any money saving tips you may have. Just Link UP below to share any informative posts you have.

Friday Finals

I made one last stop at Kroger on Tuesday before the big no more double and triple coupons. I have to say that I am really disappointed in this decision by Kroger. I wish they would have limited it to either one or two can be doubled at a time rather than removing the entire program. The other really big piece that has been taken away is you can no longer use a coupon on a free item such as a B1G1 deal. This was very helpful for vitamins. I found some really good deals on children’s and adult vitamins.

Kroger has been putting some very high value coupons on the eCoupons site. You may want to go and check them out, if you are going to still shop at Kroger.

With all that said I did pretty well in my shopping this week. Here is the breakdown by store:

Walmart 09/09/11

(1) Huggies Flushable Moist wipes $1.64 - $1/1

            -Final $0.64

(1) Speed stick Deodorant $0.97 - $0.75/1 Catalina

            -Final $0.22

(4) Cascade 3 count Paks $0.97 – 4 $1/1 Any Cascade P&G

            -Final FREE +$0.03 Money Maker

(1) Lamasil Foot Spray $5.97 - $3/1 Any Lamasil Product

            -Final $2.97

I paid $3.71 and saved $8.75 on $12.46 retail worth of products. The Lamasil is a great deal.

CVS 09/11/11

(1) Fruit Newtons $2.50

(1) Irish Spring $2.99

(2) Herbal Essence $2.99 each

(1) Huggies Pull Up $8.99

(1) CVS Allergy 5 count

USED:

$2.50 – FREE Fruit Newton print from Kiosk

$5/25 – Coupon loaded onto card

2 $1/1 Herbal Essence Conditioners

$1.50/1 Huggies Diapers

$1 ECB

$1 ECB

$3 ECB

$7 ECB

I paid $2.72 for all the products listed above and saved $23 on $25.72 items retail.

RECEIVED:

$2 ECB – Irish Spring

$3.69 ECB – Allergy Medicine

$2.00 ECB – Herbal Essence

$1 ECB – Huggies

I had a great time shopping at CVS. I went in only to pick up my papers this Sunday. I decided to go to the Kiosk to print out my coupons to see what it was printing this week. To my surprise my $5/$25 was good until Tuesday and I got FREE Fruit Newtons. I thought the $5/$25 had expired. I was so glad I brought my binder with me. I really scored today at CVS.

Walmart 09/13/11

(1) GV Soy Sauce $1.64

(1) Nutella $3.18 - $1/1 Nutella Printable

            -Final $2.18

(4) Planters Peanut butter $1.98 - $.75/1 Planters Peanut Butter

            -Final $1.23 each

(1) Benadryl Stick $2.28 - $2/1 Benedryl product Peelie

            -Final $0.28

(1) Whonu Cookies $2.78 - $1/1 Whonu cookies

            -Final $1.78

(1) Peter Pan Peanut Butter $1.49 – Price Matched to Albertsons $0.50/1 All You

            -Final $0.99

(4) Velveeta Nacho Skillet $0.99 each – Price Matched to Albertsons, $1/1 Velveeta

            -Final FREE

I spent $11.75 and saved $11.50 on $23.25 at Walmart. This is the first time I have tried the price match. It went really smooth. Albertson’s has better prices than Tom Thumb and Kroger. So I may be doing more Walmart price match shopping soon. I needed Soy Sauce and the coupon I had for Kikkoman did not make this cheaper than the Walmart brand.

Last Double and Triple Coupons at Kroger 09/13/11

(2) Yoplait 2 lbs $2.69 each – 2 $0.50 doubled

            -Final $1.69 each

(1) Ronzoni Pasta Garden Delight $1.00 - $1/1 Garden Delight Morning star Booklet

            -Final FREE

(4) Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls 5 count $1.00 – 4 $0.30/1 Tripled

            -Final $0.10 each

(4) Huggies Baby Wipes $1.99 each – 4 $0.50/1 Doubled

            -Final $0.99 each

(2) Disney Vitamins $6.99 B1G1 - $2/1 Disney Vitamins Printable

            -Final $2.50 each

(6) Pilsbury Crescent Rolls 4 pack $1.00 – 3 $0.40 each doubled

            -Final $0.60 each

(2) Fliechmans Yeast $1.59 each – 2 $0.40/1 doubled Printable

            -Final $0.79 each

(2) Chef Boyardee $1.00 each  - $0.50/2 doubled ALL YOU

            -Final $0.50 each

(2) Land of Frost Lunch Meat $2.50 each - $0.55/1

            -Final $1.95 each

(1) Jennie –O Turkey Bacon $2.50

(2) Frenchs Onions $2.07 - $0.50/1 Any French’s Onions

            -Final $1.07 – Walmart is a better deal

(1) Pull up Baby Wipes dispenser $2.79 - $2/1 Huggies coupon Mailed

            -Final $0.79

(1) Welchs jelly $1.99 - $0.35 tripled Welchs Jelly

            -Final $0.94

(1) Minute Maid Juice $3.50 - $1/1 Coupon Printable

            -Final $2.50 Cheaper at Walmart

(5) Hunts Snack pack Pudding $1.00 – 1 $0.50/2 doubled All You, 1 $0.45/3 doubled

            -Final $0.62 each average

I spent $35.01 and saved $46.42 on $81.43 worth of retail groceries at my final double and triple coupon shop. It was later that I realized I used the Land of Frost coupons incorrectly. The coupon states it is for the Premium 1 lb size. I didn’t know this until I got home and I was going to tell a friend about it. I pulled my coupon and it was for the incorrect item. I try to use my coupons responsibly and do not intentionally try to use fraud. This was an error on my part. Sometime I just get excited to see I have a match for something I don’t always read exactly what the coupon says.

At Sprouts I spent $5.04 and used one coupon for eggs $0.55. If I have some time I will post this later tonight.

This week I spent $58.23 and saved $90.22 on $147.90 retail. How did you do this week? What are your thoughts on Kroger changing their coupon policy so drastically?

Thoughts for Thursday

*

Do you ever wonder how the pioneer women did it all? I mean I have a vacuum; I don't have to beat the rug. I don't have to make the rug to be able to beat it. I even have a small electric sweeper. The pioneer women, if they had a wooden floor had a broom to sweep.

Cooking involved getting the food and preparing it from scratch. Like going to get the still clucking chicken and cleaning it for a meal. Then she would have to start a fire in the stove and get it to the right temperature. Then cooking and preparing the meal then clean up.

I have running water in my house and don't have to go to the well to pump it to wash dishes, take a bath or get some to drink.

I have a dishwasher that cleans my dishes sparkling clean with the press of a button. The pioneer women washed everything by hand and dried it and put it away. They normally had only one set of dishes for the family, so the dishes must be cleaned after every meal.

I do have a bathroom to clean, which I am very thankful for considering what the option was for the pioneer women. But I do have to clean it.

Doing laundry involved scrubbing each piece on a washboard in a tub of water. Granted you did not change your clothes as often as we do today. If so,  I think I would spend 40 hours a week just on laundry.

And she did all this while three or four small children running around with no TV, or computer, and very little toys for the children.

It just goes to show you how thankful for all the inventions we have to help us. Think about it. What would be hard for you to do without?

*Photo The Prairie Is My Garden Painting by Harvey Dunn. Image taken from Laura Ingalls Wilder Country: The People and Places in Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and Books, by William Anderson

Money saving Monday

I have been extremely busy last week getting ready for school and planning a 2 year old birthday party. Everything went really well. I can now get back into my blog and keep all of you updated with everything that is going on. My toe/foot is still broken. This has slowed me down tremendously this past week. That is why I have been away from blogging. I just didn’t have time.

I am trying to find structure and organization in my life. Slowly but surely we are getting there. We finally purchased some shelves from Ikea for the play room upstairs and everything is off the floor and put away. My husband is now kicking himself wondering why didn’t we do this sooner. I have been asking for the past three years for these shelves. Everything has a place and the kids know where everything goes and can pick it up very quickly. This has brought some much needed peace and serenity back to the home.

 My daughter has the same teacher she had in first grade for her fourth grade teacher this year. She is very excited. My son is in preschool and loves going on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The 2 year old is sleeping and the big one is at her first day of school. This is the quietest my house has been in a while. I really miss her today. Within the past two weeks she has been an angel and I have really enjoyed being with her.

I am going to be more diligent in writing and keeping up with my blog. I haven’t even been that great with my budget lately. So we are going to be giving this a shot and I will keep you informed where to find good deals, how to save money, freebies and much more.

Tips for Tuesday

Wow! It is hot here. It is supposed to be 108 today. This past winter I thought I moved to Minnesota. Now I feel like I have moved to Las Vegas. It is hot. I said I would not complain one day about summer during our week being below 30. That was cold and I am really thinking about those days now. Kinda wishing they were back. It is hot. I think I am going to try to lead a campaign where everyone will exhale at the exact same time and blow this high pressure right outta Dallas. I am not sure that would work, but anything is worth a shot at this point.

I have a few tips on keeping cool in this heat and things to do with the kids. First make all sorts of popsicles. I have been making some yogurt and berry ones. Next I am going to try an orange dreamsicle. Yummy. I just love those. Also we have a snow cone lady here. She makes the best snow cones in the world. We are going to see her again this weekend.

Next try taking the kids to a splash park. These are a lot of fun. The water is usually cool and will cool the kids down too. I tend to stay on the outside edge and might walk through a couple of times to cool down myself.

Today I went to the play area inside the mall and let Little Face play there. He wants to go outside, but it is just too hot. We went outside at 9:00am yesterday morning and he was dripping with sweat within 15 min. There is no humidity here either. It is just hot, hot, hot.

Does anyone have any tips for keeping cool this summer? I need some. Please link up any tips about home, life, work, kids, family or crafting you would like to share.

Tips for Tuesday

Dishwashing soap has many uses. If you spill any oil or greasy items on your clothes put some liquid dishwashing soap on the area and rub gently. You can do this as soon as it happens or is you spot before you put it into the wash. If it doesn't come out with the first wash you can do it again. If it can get black funky oil off birds it can get out just about any oil. I got this tip from a friend of mine who was a message therapist who used it to get the message oil out of her clothes.

I use this for my pillow cases and sheets. I put a small amount in the machine before I wash. My husband sweats a lot in his sleep and releases a lot of oil. I swirl this around the washing machine tub once and wash on hot to get all the oils out. I keep a small bottle of this on my laundry shelf.

If you have run out of bleach or need to spot treat a white area, you can use automatic dishwashing machine gel. It is made of bleach and is great in a pinch if you have a small spot you need to bleach.

You can also use dishwashing gel for bad mildew stains in bathrooms. Since this is bleach based, anywhere you can use bleach you can use this product. I have had to use it on a stubborn mildew stain or two. Just coat the area and let it soak for a while. Come back and scrub this will get the mildew out.

You can make your own laundry soap. I am exciting about this one. I am going to be doing this soon. These ingredients are simple and do not cost a lot to make. I am going to be changing the recipe from this one instead of using Fels Naptha, I am going to grate some ivory soap I got for free. Some one else posted you can use this instead.

Make your own softener and dryer sheets. I am exciting about this one too. These ingredients are simple and do not cost a lot to make. I am thinking you can use lotion if you do not have conditioner for this recipe. My husband travels frequently so we have a ton of the little bottles of conditioner, so I am just going to use some of those. Wow FREE fabric softener.

Hope these help. Do you have any tips you would like to share?

Money Saving Monday

I don’t have much to write. Last week I went to my mothers in South Texas. Even though they have had a longer drought than us, it felt much cooler there. It only got to 100 not 105 like here. After our winter where we had a week under freezing, I said I would not complain no matter how hot it got this summer. I don’t like the cold more than I don’t like the heat.


We had a great time at my Mother’s. We went to visit the Blue Bell factory to see how ice cream is made. At the end of the tour you get your choice of ice cream. They had three new flavors they are testing this season. They are Krazy Kookie dough, Orange Swirl and I can’t remember the other. I tried the Krazy Kookie Dough. This is delicious. It does not have any chocolate in it just yellow vanilla ice cream with cookie dough bits frozen inside. The Orange swirl is supposed to taste like a dreamsicle. If you like these flavors buy them in the small containers. The more you buy determines if these will be made in the big tubs next year.


It was fun. I am glad to be back. I think I gained 10 pounds with mama’s cooking. So diet will start this week to get back to my weight.


I hope you have a happy Monday. Come back tomorrow to read about laundry tips.

Thoughts for Thursday

I have worked in the mortgage industry before I took on my full time roll as the CEO of the household. While I was there I worked in various departments. I worked in the ARM department and we had our own language of acronyms. I always said I could speak ARM. Then I moved to modifications where I learned to speak mod. Now I am couponing so… here is a lesson on how to speak coupon.

Many of you wonder what all the abbreviations stand for in my posts. I will give you a quick run down of what each one means.

SS – Smart Source coupon magazine in the paper

RP – Red Plum coupon magazine in the paper

Peelie -  this is a coupon you can peel off a product in the store

Blinkie –This is the little coupon dispenser you see at the store with the little red light

Q – Stands for coupon

MM/DD/YY – this is the date the circular came out

B1G1 – Buy one Get one Free

B2G1 – Buy two Get one Free

OYNO – On your next order. These are usually catalinas that print to give you money off your next shopping trip

$X/X – This tells you the dollar amount first and how many you need to purchase for the coupon

There may be more than I have listed here. I will repost this once I have accumalated more or if I get a lot of questions where people don't understand.

I have gone to the binder system. I think this takes a little longer to do, but I feel better when I go to the store and I know I have a coupon for something I can quickly find it. I did not feel as frustrated when I was shopping at Kroger the other day and I saw the Ronzoni Garden delight pasta for $1.00 a box and I knew I had 4 $1/1 coupons to get it free. I would have been frustrated had I seen that and not had my coupon to match. My saving percentage went up because I saw several items I could get FREE or really cheap.

My two cents on the extreme couponing people on TLC. I have seen many articles where most of them are using coupon fraud to get the EXTREME dollars off. Also the stores are in on the deal and wave their coupon policy for the film crew to shoot the show. So the person on TV is getting special privileges since they have a TV crew with them.

I try not to use my coupon for any other than the intended purpose stated on the coupon. I have been corrected by a cashier on a couple of occasions trying to us a coupon that is only one per transaction. That is mainly because I forgot to read the coupon. I did not get angry with the cashier. I simply stated I was sorry I did not see that. Please read your coupons to make sure you understand the wording.

Don’t get frustrated you cannot walk out of a store with $1,100 worth of food for only $100.00. You need to feed your family. Purchase foods you can eat, but try to buy items that are on sale and you have a coupon to match. You will save more. If you don’t have time to visit many different stores go to Walmart and bring your sales flyers. Walmart will price match any items and will also match a B1G1 deal if the price is listed in the flyer. Then you only need to visit one store to get a lot of savings, but it may take you longer to check out. Remember time is money.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to LINK UP any shopping and savings you may have to share with others.

Tips for Tuesday

Packing tips for vacations. Things I always pack so we have enough.

I like to pack all the snacks we are going to eat in one suitcase. These can be the most expensive thing to buy when at the grocery store. We don’t eat out very much, since we normally book a room with a kitchen to prepare most of our meals there. The price of crackers per pound is pretty high when you compare it to the price of meat per pound. We try to just buy meat, cheese essentials when on vacation. Still this can get pretty expensive, since I normally have a stockpile of items to get me through having to buy those items when they are not that expensive.

My husband was amazed at how much we spent at the store when we were on vacation last month. It was at least twice my normal grocery budget. I think that really helped him understand how this system works and how amazing I am to be able to run the family grocery shopping on only $60.00 a week. I think he is a little more on board now. Granted we bought things I normally don’t buy like ice cream and some fun things for the kids. Since we were on vacation I thought we should splurge a little. We still spent far less than eating out for a family of five for three meals a day.

I also pack sun screen, lotions and toiletries in Ziploc bags to prevent any spills. I pack a box of ziplock bags and always carry a couple with me. You would be surprised how often you will use one on vacation. If we are going to be around water at all I put my phone and important stuff in a Ziploc bag and keep it in my pocket. Most of the places we stay don’t have any storage containers for leftovers we put the leftovers in bags and the last supper and breakfast the kids can eat whatever they want from the leftovers. My daughter got to eat macaroni and cheese for breakfast. She was in heaven. I don’t think I have ever heard her say she was full of mac and cheese, but it happened.

Our large suitcase normally is always over 50 lbs when we get to the airport. This time I did not pack any liquids in this suitcase this time. I packed them in the kids suitcases. We did not have to make any adjustments when we checked bags. Also if you have little ones bring the car seat. Renting a seat from the rental car company well you might as well just buy one.

I also pack coupons. When we go to the grocery store I want to be prepared for anything we may purchase and still save.

Happy savings. Do you have any great tips to share? LINK UP any tips you may have from previous posts or you have posted today. Can’t wait to see what new tips I will run across.

Money Saving Monday

Happy 4^th of July to everyone in America. My husband is smoking a turkey and a chicken today for the 4^th. I just bought the chicken this weekend and I purchased the turkey around Christmas time when turkey was on sale and we froze it until now. With bones and everything it is close to twenty pounds. This will go a long way in preparing meals in the future.

I think I have gone through a full sales cycle in the stores, since I have started extreme couponing for normal people in March. I can honestly say I really don’t need to go to the store for anything. I might be able to reduce my budget now that I have a great variety of food and healthcare products for my family. Of course I will still be shopping the sales, now I can focus on bigger savings items and healthier options for us to eat.

So if you are just starting out know that it takes around 3 to four months to get a nice stockpile of items to have a rounded out supply of items to make meals for your family. I have a nice stockpile I just need some more room to store everything. I need to get my husband to build some shelves in the wash room.

 I hope everyone is having a fun and safe fourth of July. We are having a great time. What is your favorite fourth tradition you do with your family? What dessert do you enjoy making or eating? What is your favorite summer time drink to cool down?

Money Saving Monday

I have been on vacation for the past week. I do not like to let people know I am on vacation. I was going to try to post, but we had such a great time in Arizona. We stayed in Flagstaff and did day trips to the Grand Cayon, Sunset volcano crater, Meteor Crater, SnowBowl, Painted Dessert and many Indian ruins in the area. We had a great time and are readjusting to the time change and catching up on some rest.

Do you have a smart phone? Do you love to coupon? Did you know there is an app for that? Here are several aps I use on my iPhone for coupons.

Kroger has an app where you can load coupons on to your Kroger card for ecoupons you can redeem when you use your card at the store. You can load them or remove them before you go shopping. I usually check this before my trip.

Cellfire is another great app where you can load coupons to your grocery savings card through your cellfire account. Sometimes Cellfire will have a coupon off your next shopping order. Be sure to check back often.

There is also an app called shopsavvy where you can scan the barcode of an item using your phone. It will find the item and list all the places and prices where you can purchase the item. This is not as effective for small items, this is great for large purchases like TVs and other appliances. You will still need to do some research on things such as shipping and handling costs, and how quickly the item will ship.

Now Saving Star has added an app for your phone. I have recently downloaded this and have started using it.  This will let you store coupons on your savings cards and then as  you use them you are able to redeem gift cards from them. I have not used enough for a gift card yet. If you have please leave a comment on how easy or difficult it was to redeem.

Those are the ones I use the most. I love the fact you can review them while you are shopping and add or remove as needed. Do you have any other apps you like to use?

Thoughts for Thursday

It is with sadness I write today. I have lost my dog of 11 years to tumors throughout his body. We decided to end his suffering today. I am not one who gets really attached to animals, but this little guy really touched my heart. I still remember the day we picked him out at the shelter. At first he seemed a little boring, until you got him out of the kennel. Then he was a ball of energy. Super hyper and great. He was an Australian Sheppard mix. We love and miss you Scotty.

Before I found out about Scotty’s condition yesterday I was cleaning house. My little one is absolutely terrified of the vacuum cleaner. I usually try to get him out of the house when I vacuum. I got a wonderful idea from a fellow bloggers post. Have them paint the fence with water. This was great. They had a cup and got two paintbrushes and painted the fence with water. You don’t have to worry about any clean up and they can get it all over themselves and it dries. As it dried they painted over it again. Who do you think enjoyed it more? The 9 year old. She was discovering all new painting techniques. I nearly couldn’t get her back in the house. The two year old had a great time too.

 I also wanted to share with you a few sites I visit to make some extra money. You will not become a millionaire, but a few dollars here and there helps with the budget. I use Swagbucks to earn points that can be used to purchase online gift cards. I like to earn the Amazon gift card and use it to purchase coffee at Amazon. If you sign up you will get 80 bucks for signing up. You can take daily polls for 1 buck and visit the survey page. You can also win bucks by using their site to search for things. There are many other ways to earn bucks for things. Stop by and check them out.

I also use is Inbox Dollars. You will receive emails in your inbox. Then you can click on the surveys or emails and receive money in your account. You can then request a check and have it sent to your house. This is very easy to do. You will receive $5.00 for signing up with them.

I usually visit these sites daily to get the incentives. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Money Saving Monday

Some of you may be wondering where I get all my information and matchups for my shopping. I am going to highlight a few of my favorite blogs I love to visit each week to see the deals and the coupon matchup they provide. Please stop by these ladies blogs and visit. I hope you will enjoy their articles as much as I do.

One of my favorite sites is Living Well Spending Less. Ruth Soukup takes you on her journey through life with her two little girls and how she uses coupons and saves over 70% each time she visits the store. She also posts recipes, DIY crafts and other entertaining articles. Visit her blog to get more ideas and ways to coupon. I saw Ruth's video and she really got me hooked on saving.

Ruth also has a sister blog she manages with store sales and matchups listed each week called Saving Well Spending Less. She also has a coupon database where you can search for a particular item to see if you can find a coupon for it. SWSL is the fastest database I use.

Simply CVS is the best site for CVS deals and matchups. You can visit Cheryl’s wonderful site to find anything and everything about CVS. She has scenarios for only $5.00 and $10.00 out of pocket every week. She provides a sneak peak to the ad before it comes out. Unadvertised deals and scenarios can be found here. I use this site before I go to CVS. I have gotten a lot of FREE items by visiting her site.

Bluegrass Savers is where I visit for one of my Kroger matchups. Debi usually has a great deals and unadvertised deals. She also has other stores such as Walmart, Target and more with coupon matchups. She also posts where to get free items daily. So check back often.

I also visit Southern Savers for deal matchups at Kroger, Walmart and other stores. Jenny has a wealth of knowledge and love to share it with her readers. This site also has a coupon database to research items to match with sales. I use several because different coupons print in different areas and may be in one database and not the other.

One of my favorite sites to visit is The Grocery Cart Challenge site. Gayle Bryant has a family of 6 and feeds her family on a buget of $60.00 a week without coupons. She had recipes for laundry detergent, fabric softner, , and she also posts a bunch of yummy recipes to feed a hungry family of 6. Please stop by her blog for inspiration on saving money.




I hope you will visit these sites and enjoy reading them as much as I do. I usually visit these daily or at least a couple of times during the week.

I just need 3 more followers to reach 25. I will then create a Facebook page for you to follow and get the latest updates on my savings and adventures. Can't wait for you to join.

Do you have any favorite matchup sites to share? Leave a comment below so I can see how you are doing.

Money Saving Tips

Other money saving ideas. We are all trying to save a few cents here and a few cents there.  Here are a couple of gas saving ideas I have come up with. Does your grocery store give gas rewards for fuel? Kroger gives rewards for spending $100.00 before coupons you can earn a $0.10 reward off fuel. I will fill up my car when I am at Kroger doing my weekly shopping. I try to plan my trips to every store each week to have the least amount of gas used.

I was very excited when a Walmart opened right across the street from Kroger. Now I have CVS, Kroger and Walmart within a couple of blocks from one another. I can make them all in one day now. The Walmart I used to go to was a lot closer to me, but this will save me on gas going all in one day since I am going to be out that way anyway.

Instead of speeding up to the next light and having to stop, do not put your foot on the gas pedal all the way. Coast a while before you get to the stop light. You will be amazed this saves almost a gallon of gas or more each week.

When you see the 40 mph sign, that does not mean you need to max your car out from 0-40 in 4 seconds. Try gradually getting to that speed. You may see you barely get up to that speed then you are coasting to the next light and have to stop again.

Clean out your car. Why pay for extra gas toting trash around. The more your car weighs the more gas you are going to need to use to keep it going. This is a small savings, but it does help.

Lastly make sure your tires are properly inflated. Especially since the summer temperatures are hitting us now make sure you tires have the correct amount of air. This can be a big savings over time.

Here are some sites that can help you with gas savings:

Simply CVS – Deals for $10.00 free gas card

True car

Do you plan your trips to save gas? Do you have any other tips or ideas to save on gas? Share your ideas here. Remember tomorrow will be Link up Friday. Don't forget to come by and Link UP!