Friday Finals 01-13-12

I still have this nasty cold, I think maybe it has turned into a sinus infection. I am very stuffy at times and other times I can breathe fine. Everyone had been really good, since I have been sick. I have had to let quite a few mommy duties go this week. The clothes are washed, but they are in a big pile in my room. So if anyone needs anything they can rummage through the pile to get it. I hope to get that done today. I went to pick something up for dinner on Wednesday night. I didn’t even feel like making a freezer meal and the hubby was out of town. We made it cheap and ate at a Taco place. The kids loved it. I got my favorite thing, but I could not taste it. With me being sick I am way under budget this week. I went shopping twice and that’s it.

Top Three Clickest last week. Stop by and say hi to these fabulous shoppers:

Savings is Free

Homemaking Mom

Shopaholic Savers

Walmart 01/07/12

1 White Frosting Mix $1.28

1 Cilantro $0.44

2 Great Value Chick Peas $0.68 each

1 Lime Juice $0.88

1 Golden Butter Cake Mix $1.25

2 Hillshire Farms Cocktail Sausage $2.50 each - $1/2 Hillshire Farms Cocktails Sag. Printable NLA

            -Final $2.00 each

I spent $9.21 and saved $1.00 for $10.21 worth of groceries here. Doesn’t sound like much, but I forgot to get a few things I wanted. I was trying to make it a quick trip.

Tom Thumb 01/10/12

3 Boxes Rice a Roni $0.89 each

1 Fiber One Granola Bars $1.99 - $0.40/1 doubled Fiber One Granola Bars Printable

            -Final $1.19

1Fiber One 90 Cal Bars $1.99 - $0.40/1 doubled Fiber One Chewy Bars Printable

            -Final $1.19

4 Nature Valley Granola Bars $1.79 each – 1 $0.75/2 GM 01/08/12

1 Frosted Toast Crunch $1.99 - $0.50/1 doubled Cinnamon Toast Crunch Printable

            -Final $0.99

3 Kikkoman Soy Sauce $1.89 each - $1/1 Kikkoman Soy Sauce Found under Product

            -Final $0.89 each

4 Cans Chef Boyardee $1 each - $0.50/4 doubled Chef Boyardee

            -Final $0.75 each (ON SALE $0.89 Fri, Sat, Sun, at TOM THUMB)

1 Pie crust $2.99

2 International Delight Creamers marked 50% off $3.28 - $0.55/1 Int’l Delight Creamer 12/11/11

            -Final $0.27 each (The receipt took off an additional $0.82, I don’t know why)

6 Yoplait Yogurts $0.60 each - $0.40/6 doubled Yoplait Yogurt Printable

            -Final $0.47 each

I spent $24.85 and saved 25.02 on $49.87 worth of groceries at Tom Thumb. The receipt printed differently than it normally does and some coupons were hard to find on the receipt. It seems every time I go to that Tom Thumb I get a different type of receipt and it is difficult to decipher.

Well I spent $34.06 and saved $26.02 on $60.08 worth of groceries this week. I am way under budget due to my cold.

Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join me at Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more great savings.  

How did you do this week? Share your savings trips below. It is great to see how others save, so you can learn how to save too. Stop by and leave a comment if you visit someone shopping trip.

Whatever Wednesday - Meatball Soup

I have been sick since Sunday. Thank goodness I picked up the Theraflu from CVS last week. I have been drinking it to relieve my stuffy head. I can’t taste or smell a thing. So last night when I was cooking dinner, I added a few spices here and there, but I didn’t know if it had the right flavor or even if it smelled good. I made meatball soup.  My husband and kids thought it tasted good, but it was fail in my book.

I will post the recipe how it is supposed to be done and not the way I did it last night. This is a great meal to pull from your stockpile.  I didn’t take a picture because, it looked awful. I put the noodles in the slow cooker and cooked them in there instead of cooking them separately and throwing them in at the last minute. They fell apart and were very mushy. It looked like a meat ball mess, instead of meatball soup. It still tasted ok, from what I am told, but it didn’t look so good. We all ate it and little face even had some today for lunch and he ate it all. So he must have liked it. I ate for lunch too, but I couldn’t taste it today either

Soup:

1 Cup pasta 

1 Small Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

1 28oz Can Whole Tomatoes & Juice

2 Small Carrots

3 Cups Chicken Broth or (1 chicken cube with 3 cups water) 

2 Table spoons Italian herb seasoning

Meatballs:

Or you could use frozen meatballs, print $1/2 Armour Meatballs coupon now!
1 lb Ground Meat

2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

1 Egg

½ Cup Bread Crumbs (I used Italian for more flavor)

½ teaspoon Paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

Meatballs:

Add bread crumbs, egg, and parmesan cheese, paprika and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and let set for a couple of minutes. Then add the ground meat. Roll into small ½ inch meatballs. Cook the meatballs in the oven at 350 for 30 min and then throw them in your pot. I like to bake mine before. They come out much firmer.

Pasta:

Cook your pasta in water in a separate pot. VERY Important step!

Soup:

Cook onions and garlic in oil over medium heat until translucent. You can puree the tomatoes and carrots in a blender or pour them in the pot with onions and garlic and use an emulsion blender to puree the mixture. I like doing it all in one pot. Less clean up. Now pour in the chicken broth. Let simmer covered for 10-15 Minutes.  Then add the pasta and the meat and let simmer for a few more minutes.

I hope you will try this soup. It really is delicious, just don’t try to cut the steps like did. I also tried to make this in the slow cooker, instead of on the stove. I wanted something to be ready when we got home. On the stove it turns out great. Tuesdays are our long days and we don’t get home until 5:00. Dinner pretty much needs to be ready when I walk in the door. I got a slow cooker cook book for Christmas, I should have gotten a recipe from there instead.

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Money Saving Monday - Realistic Budget

How did you do working getting all your money divided out into buckets? Were you able to capture every dollar you spend? Probably not, but you should be able to see where the majority of your money is going. I not a financial expert, but I would like to share some ways I have found to save money and still be able to get have a great lifestyle. Now let’s take a look at some areas where you can shave some money off your budget.

1. Impulse buying

One important thing is to stop spending money on the little impulse buys you make, such as a drink at the convenience store or fast food restaurant for a soda. How about that extra coffee you get on your way to work? If you can cut $10 out of your budget on these items a week, you will save $40 a month or $520 a year. If you really enjoy a good cup of hot coffee from that great coffee chain based in Seattle, ask for gift cards for items like this. This makes your coffee FREE and you still get to enjoy a great cup of coffee.

2.  Entertainment Expenses

This depends on your family size and how often you go to some type of entertainment. Look to see if there is an alternative that is less expensive. Like going to the movies, see if there is a $1 movie or matinee in your area. You can still enjoy a movie for a much reduced cost. Evaluate all your options to see if there are also some FREE things you can do as a family. Parks are great and very inexpensive.

3. Going Out to Eat

This one is one that many people don’t realize how much they spend on eating out. This should be considered a treat. Spend your money on something worth eating, not always fast food. One way to stop getting fast food all the time is to have ready made food in your freezer or use a slow cooker. Try to make and have a few freezer meals cooked and ready in your freezer one weekend. These are great for when you are sick or just don’t feel like cooking that night, you will have something ready to go and not stop by to get some fast food before you get home. Also start something in the morning before you leave for work and let it cook all day in the slow cooker, you will have a nice warm meal when you get home. These are usually healthier options as well. You may just find being frugal will help you lose weight too!

Review

Now start trying to implement a few of these changes this week. See if you can start cutting back on a few areas. Examine your priorities and find out where you really want your money to go. If you are in a place where a flat tire would put you into debt, stop by next week where I will discuss how to start savings and what is a good amount to have in your savings account next week. You may be surprised.

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Friday Finals 01-06-12

Friday Finals are here again! I am looking forward to all of your savings this week. Be sure to visit other site so you can learn of other great deals out there. If you are new to Extreme Couponing, one of the best ways to learn how to save money on your grocery bill every week is to look at how others do it.


I went to Tom Thumb right when we got back home New Years Eve to get some milk and a couple of other items. I spent around $11. But I can’t find the receipt. I know I got Martha White Muffin Mix FREE using $0.35/1 tripled RP 11/13/11.

Walmart 01/02/12

1 10 lbs bag of Potatoes $3.77

1 1lb Great Value Mozzarella Cheese - $3.22 – WOW! Great deal with no coupons

1 Baking Soda $0.58

2 Minute Maid Berry Juice Box $2.98 – 2 $1/1 Minute Maid Juice Boxes Printable, NLA

            -Final $1.98 each

2 Carmex Lip Balm $0.98 – 2 $1/2 Carmex, RP 10/30/11

            -Final $0.48 Each

2 Eight O’Clock Coffee $4.88 – 2 $1/1 Eight O’Clock Coffee Campbells Booklet

            -Final $3.88

1 Ovaltine Malt $3.48 - $1/1 Ovaltine printable- Little face loves this

            -Final $2.48

12 Cans Allen’s Trappey’s Beans $0.78 each – 4 $0.50/3 Allen’s products SS 12/11/11

            -Final $0.61 each – Cheaper than GV brand

4 Cans Libby’s Corn $0.75 each - $1/4 Libby’s vegetables RP 11/13/11

            -Final $0.50 each

I spent $35.54 and saved $9.00 on $44.54 worth of groceries this trip. Little face loves warm Ovaltine in the morning. He drinks the Ovaltine Malt with no chocolate. Poor guy is allergic to chocolate just like I was when I was little. I grew out of it, thank goodness. Walmart is the only one who carries it around here.

Tom Thumb 01/03/12

2 Clorox Wipes 35 count $3.79 – B1G1, and $1/2 Clorox Wipes

            -Final $1.40 each

1 Oscar Mayer lunch meat $4.99 – Store Coupon $2.49

            -Final $2.49

I spent $5.51 and saved $7.30 using coupons and store discount on $12.81 worth of products. Just found out you can print the Scotch Bright B1G1 coupons for Walmart. They are $1.60 at Walmart. That makes them $0.80 each. Great deal Print to stock up now!

CVS 01/03/12

1^st Transaction

2 Oral B Powered Toothbrushes $5.99 each

2 Oral B Satin Floss $2.99 each

1 Theraflu Warming $6.49

1 Ribbon ½ price $1.49

Used:

2 $3/1 Oral B Toothbrush

1 $3/1 Theraflu Warming Liquid

1 $5/$20 purchase

2 $3 ECBs

1 $2 ECB

1 $2.50 ECB

1 $1 ECB

Received:

$4.00 – For Oral B Toothbrushes

$2.00 – For Oral B Floss

$1.00 – Bag Tag

OOP:

$0.63

2^nd Transaction:

4 Nivea Lip balm $2.50 each

Used:

2 $3/2 Nivea Lip care

$4 ECB from previous transaction

Received:

$5 ECB for $10 Nivea Purchase

OOP:

$0.00 + $1.00 Money Maker

I went to my regular CVS and they did not have any Nivea lip balm anywhere. They had several displays completely picked clean. I had to take my son to the dr. later in the week and stopped by a different CVS on our way home to pick up his medicine (not listed since it was a prescription.) I noticed they had the Nivea luckily I brought my coupons with me and my CVS bucks from the previous transaction.  So altogether I spent $0.63 for all the items pictured above. This could have been all free if the first CVS had the Nivea to begin with. The two older kids were excited I gave them the Nivea to put in their backpacks to take to school.

Altogether this week I spent $52.68 for food and necessary items and saved $48.80 on $101.48 worth of groceries and necessary items for my family. Please note I chronicle all food purchases, toiletries and cleaning products I purchase for my family. This goes to show you how to still buy great food and household items on a small budget and save a ton of money.

Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join me at Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more great savings. 

How did you do this week? Did you have any fabulous shopping trips you would like to share? LINK UP your savings here. The best way to learn how to save is to see how others do it. I get a lot of tips by visiting my followers who link up here.

Purex Ultrapacks Laundry Detergent

While I was away on vacation, I received Purex UltraPacks laundry detergent in the mail. I was so excited. Mainly because I tried to sign up for this offer and they told me I was too late. So I was completely surprised when I opened the package to find out this was inside. I know it was just Christmas, but to get a surprise package, even if it is laundry detergent, still excites me.  

Can you even believe I was excited to do the laundry when we got back from vacation? This is normally one of the things I hate, but I couldn’t wait to try the new Purex UltraPacks. I opened the package and they looked like little blue gems of laundry detergent inside. Aren’t they cute?

I gather my laundry from the five of us and start a load. I toss one of those little, shiny, blue packs in the wash and throw the clothes in. I read one of warnings said not to touch them with wet hands. I didn't use the regular laundry detergent, so my hands were not wet. I thought to myself, “Wow! That was easy.” I didn't have to measure and worry I put too much detergent in my cup. I didn’t have a cup to rinse out the soap. This saved me time while doing the laundry. I have a new reason to get excited about doing laundry again.  These pretty, blue packs cleaned all my clothes wonderfully and had a great mountain fresh scent.

I was also thinking Purex UltraPacks would be great for when we are on vacation. They come in a convenient resealable pouch and this would pack well too. I wouldn't have to worry about bringing an entire bottle of laundry detergent with me. We normally have a place where there is a washer and dryer to wash clothes, so I don’t have to do them all when I get back.

Check back by in a few weeks, I will be giving some free samples away as soon as I get them.

This article was written as a review for Purex Ultrapacks laundry detergent. Purex provided me with a free sample to test and review. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own.

Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join my Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more savings. 

Money Saving Monday - Realistic Budget

I took a little time off for the holidays to spend some time with my family. I am glad I got to spend some time with them, since my brother is in the hospital having gall bladder surgery. I just heard from my mom he is out and doing well.

I also got a wonderful gift from little face this Christmas. He is now potty trained. Right before Christmas he was dry for two days, so after that I said no more diapers and put him in underwear. He now only wears diapers for sleeping, but most of the time he wakes up dry. Since this has occurred, I will be reducing my budget down to $50 a week for the new year. New year = New challenges.

 

Since it is a new year I want to talk about budgeting and how this can help your marriage or any relationship you are in.  This will help everyone keep realistic expectations when it comes to money. I am not an expert in this field, but this is what works for me. I think it is better if you can see your actual budget on paper and see the picture of how this works. I will also be happy to help answer any questions about your budget to see where you may be able to cut some expenses. I love helping people.

How do you create a realistic budget?

One of the first things you need to do is see where is your money is going right now. Do you purchase most of your items with your debit or credit card or do you use cash? If using debit or credit pull out one or two of your statements. If you use cash this is a little more difficult, since you will need to collect all of your receipts and add them up at the end of the month. Go into excel and create a spreadsheet with row for each category. I will explain this in greater detail below. This way you can see all the buckets your money falls into.

Next look at your house or rent payment. This should not be more than 30% of your take home income. If it is more, you should consider moving or refinancing your home. This is the standard housing allowance for budgets. I worked in the mortgage industry for five years and when analyzing budgets this was our cutoff. If your interest rate is 6% or higher, you should consider refinancing now. Mortgage rates are very low right now. If you don't own, you may consider purchasing a home. By refinancing when the market is low, you may be able to save quite a bit on your mortgage payment. We have refinanced twice and saved $500 off our current payment.

Now take a look at your bills such as electric, water, gas, car payment, insurance and any other bills you may have to pay on a regular basis. Make sure you do an average for things like electric, water and gas, since you are more likely to use more electricity in the summer to cool your home than you use in the winter.

Now review your spreadsheet with all your other statements to see if you have captured every dollar you spend. Do you have any annual expenses you pay? Be sure to include that in your monthly budget and set that money aside every month.

Ok let’s review your spreadsheet. In the first box, put your total household income you actually bring home. Then subtract all of your expenses for the month. How much do you have at the end of the month? If this is nothing or a negative number, you have a problem and need to cut unnecessary items from your budget or reduce one of your boxes. Did you make a payment to your savings account? If you are not saving any money, where are some of the areas you can cut? You should always try to make payment to savings no matter how small. This way if something comes up that you didn't expect, you can pay cash instead of using credit and paying interest which is like throwing your money in the trash.

Next Monday I will talk about areas you can cut or ways you can save. Have you ever actually sat down and created a budget like this before? Now is the best time to start, since it is at the beginning of the year. Wouldn’t be a great habit to save money? Let me know if you have any questions. I would love to help you save some money this year.

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our house to yours and a happy New Year!

Friday Finals 12-23-11

It has been a crazy shopping week this week. I probably have done twice as much shopping as I normally do trying to finish up all my Christmas shopping for everyone and shopping for food deals. I will post them as soon as I can find my receipts. Funny how I managed to keep up with my Christmas purchases and kept the receipts for those, but I can't find my receipts for groceries. I have a few more place I can look, but I wanted to get the linky up soon.

Stop by to check out the awesome savings for top three most viewed links from last week here at Pounds4Pennies:

Frugality is Free

Coupon Counselor

Homemaking Mom

Tom Thumb I spent around $24.00

Tom Thumb round 2 I spent $20.00

CVS

2 Honey Maid Graham Crackers $2.50 each - $1/2

            -$2.00 each

Walgreens 


1 12pack Toilet Paper $5.00

Sprouts $10.00

Total I spent around $63.00. A little over, but I am not blowing the budget. 

Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join my Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more savings.

Link up your savings/shopping results for the week here. Be sure to visit others site so you can learn how to save more. I know I always find other deals I missed. It is the best way to learn.

Purex Triple Action Laundry Detergent

I had never heard of Purex laundry detergent until I started extreme couponing. I had always just used the store brand. As I have said before I hate to spend money on something that is just going to go down the drain, but I am not going to let us wear stinky clothes either. I had acquired a coupon for Purex and thought I would give it a try. I was extremely please after I purchased and used my first bottle of Purex.

I recently received a bottle of Purex Triple Action liquid detergent in the mail to try. It couldn’t have come at a better time, since I was on my last bottle of Purex. The scent was Mountain Breeze. I love a clean fresh smelling laundry detergent and Mountain Breeze smelled great. Not only do I want my clothes clean, but I want them to smell clean too.

Purex laundry detergent is very thick liquid detergent. I like a detergent that doesn’t have a lot of  extra water. I used the new triple action formula on my sons white sheet he uses for nap time at his daycare. There were a couple of stains on his sheet, since he drools a lot while sleeping. After the wash was complete, I pulled this piece out first. I was amazed there were no longer any drool marks on the sheet. I was able to smell Purex Triple Action as soon as I opened the washer. Not overpowering, but a clean fresh scent from my washer. I love the smell of clean, fresh clothes.


Overall I liked the way Purex Triple Action laundry detergent cleaned my clothes and my clothes  smelled so fresh. 

Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join my Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more savings.

This article was written as a review for Purex Triple Actionlaundry detergent. Purex provided me with a free sample to test and review. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own.

25 Days of Christmas Blog Share - Day 22

Join Parga's Junkyard as we Share Christmas with some of the web's best bloggers!

December 18, 2011

Featured Blog - Parga's Junkyard

After being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in addition to Fibromyalgia I finally understood why as much as I love the Christmas Holiday Season it always seems to wear me down and almost always would bring on a month long flare! Just how does one enjoy the season and not feel guilty about using the word "No" or "I just can't do that" when family and friends invite you to all those Holiday outings and parties?

Demands and expectations around the holidays can really affect and show in people whose invisible illnesses were hardly noticeable the rest of the year. Those of us that deal daily with what are known as "invisible illnesses" spend so much of our energy working and handling the daily chores of living throughout the rest of the year that we have little time left for socializing. Because of this we are often seen by others as "lazy" or as "homebodies" or worse yet those that don't know better accuse us of being "reclusive". Come the holidays however we are all expected to show up and contribute somehow to holiday doings....and usually not just one family party but the office parties, as well as other church and social obligations. The demands of all this makes enjoying the "happiest time of the year" so often miserable and painful for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Crones Disease or other Auto Immune Disease, or any one of the huge variety of "invisible illnesses" that are out there. Join Parga's Junkyard here for a few tips and tricks to making your holidays a little more bearable, a little less painful and a whole lot more enjoyable when dealing with any chronic illness.

Do you have a Christmas blog post you would like to share with our readers? Sign up on our linky below to share your posts! Or if you are one of our readers just click on the Linky to see more Christmas posts to check out!

Whatever Wednesday - Amy's Awesome Sausage Casserole

I wanted to share with you my family’s favorite casserole. This breakfast sausage casserole also happens to be a great meal you can cook from your stockpile. There are not really any special ingredients for this dish. I am one of those cooks who can look in the cupboard or refrigerator and whip something up that tastes pretty good on a whim. I get this from my dad and watching a lot of Rachel Ray. It is about finding flavor profiles of dishes and sticking to that. 


One day I was watching a food network show about casserole winners. I watch a lot of Food Network. I saw a lady prepare a casserole and she said the basics are just a few ingredients Cream of Chicken or Mushroom Soup, pasta, a meat and cheese. I said I can do that. So I ran to my pantry and refrigerator to see what I had along those lines. This is the recipe I came up with. I typically measure with my hands for this recipe, so I had to throw the ingredients into a container to see how much it came out to be. Feel free to make adjustments as you think your family will like it.

Amy’s Awesome Breakfast Sausage Casserole

Ingredients:

1lb Breakfast sausage

1 lg onion (optional) this is my secret veggie I add to the dish

1 package bow tie pasta (you can use any pasta, I used bow tie because it looks fancy)

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can cream of chicken

½ can of milk

8oz cheese

2.8 oz Fried onions or small can of fried onions

Preheat your oven to 350.

First put your pot on to boil for the pasta. Once it is boiling pour in the pasta to cook.

Be sure to get a large frying pan or start this in a big pot. You need to fit all the ingredients listed above in one pot. You can use several, but I don’t like cleaning more than I have to.

If using onion, fry onion in a little butter or oil until translucent. 

Then add breakfast sausage and brown the meat and drain.

Open the Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Chicken soup and put them in the pot. Pour milk into one of the cans about half way and add that to the pot. You can get a measuring cup and add about half a cup. But again I don’t like to dirty something I am going to have to clean. Stir this until it looks smooth and starts to simmer. Add ½ the package of cheese and ½ the container of French fried Onions.

Test the pasta for aldente, it is ok if it is a little under cooked it will cook more in the oven. Drain the pasta and add that to your big pot. Stir all the ingredients together.

Spray a 9X13 in pan with cooking spray. Pour all of the ingredients in your casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and fried onions on top. This makes the top crunchy. I think this is why everyone in my family loves this recipe. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. It should be bubbling around the edges when you take it out. As my two year old would say yuuuummmmy!

~   ~   ~

It is a little difficult for me to write this recipe for Breakfast Sausage Casserole, since I just use a couple of handfuls of this and a couple of handful of that. So if you use the exact recipe and want more or less please do so. That is how to become a better cook, by making small adjustments to your tastes.

I would love to know if you try this recipe. I haven’t really shared it with anyone and would love to know if your family enjoys this Breakfast Sausage Casserole recipe. I know my family loves it!

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25 Days of Christmas Blog Share - Day 21

Join Parga's Junkyard as we share Christmas with some of the web's best bloggers!

25 Days of Christmas

December 21, 2011 Features It's Not Over til You Quit

Do you have a favorite Christmas book? Has it changed since you were little? The books I read at Christmas have changed but I still love the idea of have specific books for Christmas. Right now my favorite Christmas book to read with my nephews is the Hawaiian version of the night before Christmas. It's nice to bring that piece of my childhood alive when I live so far away and remember reading books about snowy Christmas' on Christmas eve wishing I could experience that!

Come on over to It's Not Over Til You Quit to see how reading this Christmas book goes in my house and hear how you can enjoy Christmas no matter where you are!

Do you have a Christmas blog post you would like to share with our readers? Sign up on our linky below to share your posts! Or if you are one of our readers just click on the Linky to see more Christmas posts to check out!

25 Days of Christmas Blog Share - Day 20

Join Parga's Junkyard as we Share Christmas with some of the web's best bloggers!

25 Days of Christmas

December 20th, 2011

Featured Blog - Allergy Free Vintage Cookery

One of the best parts of the holiday season is the chance to share special meals with friends and family... but what can you do if some of your loved ones are allergic to your favorite traditional foods? It can be tricky to avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, fish and nuts... the most common food allergens. But take hope! I've searched the internet to find delicious recipes that are free of the top 8 allergens, and I've collected them here with photos and links to inspire your own holiday feast! (click for more).

 

Do you have a Christmas blog post you would like to share with our readers? Sign up on our linky below to share your posts! Or if you are one of our readers just click on the Linky to see more Christmas posts to check out!

Money Saving Monday - Grocery Budget

Some of you are wondering how I can have such a small budget of $60 for a family of five and still eat healthy and good food. Here are a few things I do to keep my budget down.

I have a ridiculously low budget for all my toiletries per week. Since I have started learning the basics of extreme couponing, I have found I can budget around $5.00 each week on items such as toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, makeup, hairspray, soap ect... This is my budget for all of my toiletries for a family of five. That is $1.00 per person per week.

How is this even possible? I usually buy these items at the drugstores near me CVS or Walgreens. I am always amazed how many items I can get for free or close to free by using the drugstores reward program. Read my Extreme Couponing at the Drugstore post to learn more. Since I get most of my toiletries for free, this really helps stretch my $5.00 budget pretty far. Most toiletry items are used and then thrown away in the trash such as toilet paper and razors. I hate spending my money on things that get thrown away. I might as well just take my money and throw it in the trash too. Boo on that.

Here is how I can get most of these items for FREE or close to free. I LOVE FREE. I scan the ad for the drugstores to see if there are any FREE items for the week. Usually there are one or two items for free each week when combined with their reward program. I will always pick these items up. Especially if it is a food item. If we will not eat, I can always donate it. Then I look to see if there are any items we use. It doesn’t matter if we need it or not right now. If it is something I know I can use and it is at a rock bottom price and I have a coupon for it, I will pick it up. I will then have this item when I need it and I got it at the lowest price possible.

This is different way of thinking and shopping from how I normally used to shop. If I can stock up while the item is at its lowest price, then I will not have to spend more money when I actually need it. I can shop from my stockpile instead of going to the store and paying full price. I always dreaded having to add deodorant and toothpaste to my shopping list for the week. There was my $5 right there. And I only got two items for that $5. I hated knowing this would take money away from my extremely limited grocery budget. Basically this was taking food out of our mouths for things we needed, but could not eat.

We don't need razors every week, so if I get a razor for free I still have five dollars in my budget to spend on other things we may need. This is how I maximize my saving on my very limited budget to buy necessity items for us. I can't stand having to spend money on items I have to throw away. If I can get them for free, it makes me happy! I love free! Then I can spend money on nutritious food for my wonderful family.


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25 Days of Christmas Blog Share - Day 19

Coupons For Wisconsin has joined up with Parga's Junkyard and many other holiday-lovin' blogs to bring you tips to get you through the craziness of this season!

25 Days of Christmas

December 19, 2011

Featured Blog - Coupons For Wisconsin

Even with everyone looking for a little more help in tight economic times, individuals seem to be feeling extra charitable over the last year. I am not going to go into all the details, but to make a it short, dollars donated have increased 1.3% from 2010 to 2011. Surprising, right? But as more is being donated, more is also needed. Holidays tend to bring more awareness to charities, and donation opportunities are presented at almost every retailer you visit. How do you react to these opportunities?

Do you donate every chance you get?

Do you throw a handful of coins into the Salvation Army's red bucket once or twice?

Do you do whatever you can to avoid contact with the donation seekers because you literally don't even have a penny to give?

Just last year, I was in the last category. In a way, I still am in that last category! But I have discovered alternative, more creative ways to give to others besides pulling cash out of my pocket. Join me in the joy of helping strangers celebrate this magical season, and explore how you too can donate on a dime.

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25 Days of Christmas Blog Share - Day 18

Join Parga's Junkyard as we Share Christmas with some of the web's best bloggers!

25 Days of Christmas

December 18, 2011

Featured Blog - Larissa Hill Designs

Christmas is about traditions, old and new. Whether it is the sweet smell of holiday delights originating from the kitchen, the treasured Christmas ornaments, everlasting Christmas movies or the simple stockings hung over the fire with care, each and every holiday tradition, reminds us of the Christmas spirit in our hearts. Here are a few of my favorite traditions that I look forward to every holiday season....

To Read Entire Post Go to Larissa Hill Designs...

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25 Day of Christmas - Day 17

Join Parga's Junkyard as we Share Christmas with some of the web's best bloggers!

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25 Days of Christmas

December 15, 2011

Featured Blog - Childhood Myths

Finding Joy and Happiness in Family Traditions

Christmas is a time of joy and happiness, right? Now don't get all "Bah! Humbug!" on me! Concentrating on what makes the holiday special for your family does take some work - mostly mental!! Do you know what traditions are important in your family? Can you find and share your own joy and happiness with those closest to you?

Here are some of the things that our family has come to value and love over time.....

Read Complete Blogpost HERE!

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