Jane.com: Betty Necklace $8.99

**Update: This deal is over. Sorry, friends! *

Through Saturday, January 30th, Jane.com is offering This adorable Betty necklace for only $8.99 in 6 different colors!   

What a fun necklace to add to your collection! This necklace features a variety of beading making a unique and fabulous look. It has a great quality and will be one that you with tons of things

It is approximately 19.5" long with a 3" extender.

COLORS

• Coral

• Cream

• Gray

• Red

• Turquoise

• Yellow

I think I'm going to order the red.  I have quite a few items that would really make the color pop.  Remember these are only available through Saturday and you can check it out HERE.

My Monthly Grocery Shopping Trip

So Saturday I posted this picture on Facebook...

mentioning I spent less that $160.00 for almost a month's worth of groceries and I started getting questions on where I get things, how I do it...etc.  

So...I am here to tell you how I do it!  

 First, let's talk budget.  We feed our family on $300.00 a month.  That comes to $75.00 per person.  According to Indiana's SNAP website, if we were receiving SNAP (food stamps) we would be given $632.00 for a family of four per month, so in essence we are feeding our family for less than half the amount the government deems necessary per person.  I know that's crazy, isn't it?  Plus please note that we eat well!  Dinner every night, lots of fruits and veggies, packed lunch for Cal and Nick every day.  Plus we strive to eat whole foods and organic, natural foods as much as possible.  (Note here...this doesn't mean that we don't have snacks or junk food, etc).  It's just a general guideline we strive for.

With that said here are some of the deals I snagged this month...

 Organic milk, $0.99 per half gallon (normally running between $3.49-$3.99/half gallon) Completely not price related but fat free organic milk is so much creamier than ordinary skim milk...amazing!

 Organic Juice boxes, $1.19/case ($3.99 at target)...lunch box item for us

 GoGo Squeez pack, $0.99/box (normally $3.59)...for lunch boxes

Pad Thai noodle bowl, $0.99 (regularly $3.49)

 HUGE bag of Natural cereal, $2.29 (no idea the price of this size but the smaller size is in the $5.00 range at Whole Foods)

 A box of 8 yogurt pouches, $1.00 (one pouch is $1.50 at the store) Perfect snacks for on the way to Ballet or Tae Kwon Do!

 Monterey Jack Cheese $1.79/pound (those shredded cheese bags at the store with half a pound are around $3.00!) I use this cheese in the Pioneer Woman's

Corn Chowder Recipe

.  Yum!

 Full Circle Lasagna's, $0.99 (at whole foods these go for around $5.00 each).  I send these with Cal to school and if I am really running late they will heat one up for him to eat.

So I shop at all of these places and then I keep receipts and my cash in an envelope.  Out of my $300.00 for the month of September I have $148.47 left meaning I spent $151.53.  Here's where I went and the order I went to them in.  I'm also noting what I can consistently find there but I look through everything to find deals. Here you go:

1. Rentown, 1533 3rd Rd, Bremen (I get cheese and lunch meats from here...and sometimes they have awesome butter prices!)

2. Rite Choice, 1303 E. Market St, Nappanee (This is where I get yogurt for uber cheap.  I also get juice, gucacamole, eggs, and random things)

3. Dented Can, 25743 SR 119, Goshen (starbucks!, canned goods, cereals)

4. E & S, 1265 North State Road 5, Shipshewana (So.much.stuff!...yogurt, butter, meats, noodles, fruits, rice, cleaning products)

5.Forks County Line Store, 7900 W 310 N, Shipshewana (cereals, dairy products, meats, frozen goods)

6. Forks County Line Store, 508 E Warren St, Middlebury (cereals, dairy products, meats, frozen goods)

7. Aunt Millie's Bread Outlet, 206 W. Ireland Rd, South Bend (bread, buns, bagels)

I found lots of meat today at these stores but often I'll go to a butcher for meats.  Butcher's I like are: 

Martins Custom Butcher

Yoder's Meat & Cheese

These are discount grocery stores where, from what I can gather and what I have learned, they buy bulk foods all Auction style from places like Sam's and other locations.  Like if a product says "new!" on the packaging but it isn't new anymore then it gets sold to one of these places.  

Please know that these places do sell outdated products too.  So check labels!  Some things I am okay with being a little outdated, other things, no way.  It's all up to you.  

As I mentioned before I have $148.47 left in my budget.  I will divide that money by 4 weeks (some months it has to be 5 weeks and then it kind of gets dicey!  This month it will give me $37.11 a week.  With this I will buy milk, oj, fresh produce, and if I find some amazing deal along the way at a local supermarket then I can try to free up some of the leftover money to stock up.  

So that's how I do it.  I hope that that helps with your grocery shopping adventures!  And for pete's sake if you have any questions, please let me know :)  I'm just one Momma happy to help other Momma's!  

Target Savings on Crayons: Quick Tip

Just a quick tip...

These adorable packs of crayons are on sale at Target for $0.79, regularly $0.99!  Cartwheel has a 25% discount on these you can use to save even more.  I picked up four boxes for only $0.59 per box...there are lot's of themed boxes with really neat colors!  Pick some up and save them for your Easter Baskets like I am doing.  Can't wait for Easter and it will be here before you know it!  :)

My fancy meal plan

As I mentioned in my last post, we do our grocery shopping on a monthly basis.  This month I decided I would make a realistic meal plan (for once in my life) containing meals made out of ingredients that we actually eat and that I know I would be able to actually find in the stores we frequent.

To do this I first posted a question on facebook, asking my friends what their favorite, easy meals were.  I got so many ideas.  I was able to match the friend to their pinterest page and then to find the recipe they were talking about there.  From that I got about 6 recipes.

From there I continued perusing meals on pinterest.  The criteria for meals included that they had to be easy to make (super quick or a crockpot meal), contain ingredients I knew we would eat, have as limited processed food as possible, and be available at the discount stores we go to once a month.

I found tons but I was also finding a surprising amount of recipes that call for chicken.  While I love chicken as much as the next girl, my husband is not too keen on eating nothing but chicken, chicken, chicken.

So I switched it up a bit with some familiar stand bys I make and I found a couple of recipes from magazines I have.

Here's what I came up with...

Fancy system, huh?  I did a column for each meal and then rows for each day.  My original plan was to actually have those meals on those days but what I have found is that sometimes we just don't feel like having what is on deck for that day so I switch it around.

Here are some of the ideas I've had for low budget, nutritious foods:
Potato Soup
Tuscan Bean Soup
Corn Chowder
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Crockpot Beef Stew
Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu
Homemade pizzas
Meatloaf
Spaghetti Night
Quesadillas
Chili

You can find lots more things I've posted on my Pinterest Page here.

I'm not listing all of my meals this time, maybe some month I will :)  But I hope this encourages you to plan meals out, shop wisely to find bargains, and above all have fun with food with your family and feed them well!  By having a plan and knowing I have all the ingredients for dinner ready to go, I am a much calmer, happier Mommy.

Some months I do the Once-a-month cooking but I know not everyone is up for it and I can't do it every month.  So this is a good compromise for me.  Last month was so hurried that I was trying to throw meals together at the last minute and it was horrid.  HORRID I tell ya!  :)   So this month so far has been lots better!  Happy planning, friends :)

Menu Planning Meets Monthly Shopping

If you've read my blog for any length of time I am sure that you have heard me prattle on and on about how we work on a monthly grocery shopping system.  I love it.  LOVE it!  We've done this for years now but now that God has blessed us with a deep freezer I am loving it even more.  

The gist of it is that we live in a city surrounded by Amish land so once a month we drive around to smaller country shops run by cute amish families and stock up on groceries...some are salvage stores, some are local butcher shops, some are dented can type places.  There I can fill my fridge and freezer with some real beauties of bargains!  Seriously, we pray before (as) we go...that God will bless us with what we need.  That God will provide for us (and our budget!) through these trips.  And he always does.  But buying in bulk sometimes eludes me from meal planning.  I generally find myself buying general types of ingredients and then later on trying to piece together what I have to make meals.  It seems to work super, fabulously well the first part of the month but leaves me with large gaps of missing ingredients for recipes the last part of the month.  

Anyway...

The farthest away place we go takes about 45 minutes on the interstate, so it does take some time and gas, but if you are getting a lot like we do then it is definitely worth the trip.  Here are some of my all time favorite finds: 

5 pounds of Starbucks whole bean coffee for $14.97

King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat flour, 5 pounds, for $1.99

Fage case of 12 blueberry yogurts for $1.99

32 ounces of Chobani vanilla yogurt for $0.50 

And the list goes on and on!  

Well anyway, I love my bargains but my problem has been the difference that falls between shopping at these places and my meal plans.  For example, I've made a menu plan with something like clam chowder, but when I get to my said bargain stores, I can't find any of the ingredients I need.  So then I buy some of the ingredients, get home and discover though that I don't have

all

of the ingredients...so I am forced to shop our local grocery store where I pay two to three times more than I should on ingredients, thus cutting into my savings.  

So this week, rather than be daring and inventive with my meal planning, I decided to stick with meals containing ingredients I already have on hand or what I know, know, know is at our discount stores.  This way I will be able to plan good food ahead of time so I can be on top of my menus and save lots of money.  

To get ideas for meals I asked my dear friends on facebook, am perusing pinterest, and am going through the stack of magazines I have on hand.  I am going through to plan what I am going to serve for the entire month...breakfast, lunch, and dinner for every day of the month.  With only 28 days in February I figure this is a good month to start my new system :)  

Wish me luck as I tackle menu planning.  And I'd love to know if any of you have any pointers for planning meals or maybe some of you have some amazing recipes to share :)  

Look for my next post as I list what I am planning on making :)  

Why I Love Gymboree

One of the questions I get asked most often is how my kids are dressed so stinking cute.  And while often times this question has me scratching my head as to what they mean (after all I am home with them the majority of the time wearing grimy mismatched play clothes) the truth is that I do dress them pretty well when we are out in public and NOT running through sprinklers, jumping in mud puddles or bringing slimy things we've name "Frank" home.

And the selfish side of me wants to not tell you how I dress them so cutely.  I mean, you can just imagine that we pay full retail, right?  But that is not truthful and to keep all of my tricks up my sleeve just isn't nice so I thought I should share them with you.

Would you like to know?

Well I have scads of secrets but the one I am sharing with you is one of my favorites...

GYMBOREE!!!!

I love Gymboree.  And I have to tell you the thing they have me addicted with is all of the cute girl clothes that they offer.  The boy clothes throughout the year I could basically take them or leave them (except for Christmas and Easter!!!) but the Girls clothes are what make me drool when I think of our Angel in matching dress, tights, shoes, and hair accessories!

Now, Gymboree if you have ever heard of it then you know it is expensive.  And can get expensive really really quickly if you don't watch yourself.  My trick is to have a plan, Stan.  This has taken me years to perfect so it would be hard for me to tell you what to buy and when to buy them and how to do it in just one blog post.

Most importantly: Watch for sales.  Saturday I went during the sale of everything being $12.99 or under.  I went in also with a 20% coupon I scored from a Parents Magazine.  Which by the way the magazine, I didn't pay for.  I watch websites like Money Saving Mom and Baby Savers  for links and info about when you can snag free magazine subscriptions.

At Gymboree you can use a coupon with a sale so that makes for even more amazing deals!  The last trick I have up my sleeve is my trusty Gymboree Credit Card which saves me an additional 5% off purchases.  Paying it off every month I know what I spend and it's a free savings.  Woohoo!

I'd like to show you how this works.

 Check out all of this stuff I bought!!!  I only spent $50.57 plus tax!

 Tighty whiteys for our little prince!

 Preemie winter outfit which will be  a Christmas gift for Emma for her American Girl Bitty Baby (they fit perfectly!!!)

 Accessories are a girls best friend!!!

I scored 3 Birthday shirts!!!  

So here's how I do it...

Owl Curly Clips, Full price... $6.00

Marked down to .99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $.75

Striped Tights, Full price...$14.95

Marked down to $1.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $1.51

St. Pats Underwear, Full price...$5.95

Marked down to $1.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $1.51

St. Pats Underwear, Full price...$5.95

Marked down to $1.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $1.51

Camo Underwear, Full price...$5.95

Marked down to $1.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $1.51

Flower Headband, Full price $8.00

Marked down to $1.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $1.52

Blue Satin Headband, Full price $8.00

Marked down to $1.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $1.51

Owl Hair Clip, Full price $6.00

Marked down to $.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $.75

Cuffed Boys Jean, Full price $32.95

Marked down to $7.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $6.07

Birthday Boy Long Sleeved Shirt, Full price $18.95

Marked down to $3.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $2.43

Ombre boys tee, Full price $16.95

Marked down to $6.49 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $4.93

Dotted Infant Onepiece, Full price $34.95

Marked down to $6.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $5.31

Rhinestone Flare Jeans, Full price $32.95

Marked down to $6.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $5.32

Zebra Dress, Full price $34.95

Marked down to $12.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $9.87

2 Birthday Girl Shirts, Full price each $24.95

Each Marked down to $3.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them each for $3.03

Yellow Flower Pony Tail Holder, Full price $6.00

Marked down to $.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $.75

Pink Socks, Full price $4.25

Marked down to $.99 and with Coupon and Discount I got them for $.77

If I had paid full retail my total would  have been $286.70! That's a savings of over 82% y'all!

Unbelievable, right???  

And You'll notice I spent JUST over $50.00, by 57 cents to be exact (before tax).  Which is on purpose.  I get as close to $50.00 as I can.  For every $50 you spend, you earn Gymbucks.  What are Gymbucks you ask?  They are certificates you earn that you come back later to use.  It's $25.00 off of a $50.00 purchase.  Gymboree almost always has either earning time or redeeming time going on throughout the year.  I spent $50 and earned a $25.00 gymbucks to use starting the 18th.  If you spend as close to $50 as you can that makes your gymbuck basically a 50% off coupon friends!  So I am super excited that I'll get to go back in two weeks for more shopping!  

Now...

If you're really paying attention to this post and not just skimming you'll probably be wondering by now why I bought all of this...does she really need 2 birthday girl shirts???  

And the answer is absolutely not.  I don't even need one because I already have one for Em.  But here's the answer...come close.  

Closer.  

Closer.  

I'll whisper it...

I sell the stuff on Ebay. 

Amazing, right?  I've actually been doing it for years!  When I stayed home I had to figure out a way to still dress our kids in super duper cute clothes without stretching our budget past the brink of no return.  Selling items on ebay has been our solution.  The secret is I will buy maybe one thing for each  child (in this trip I got Emma the dress, Cal a tee and the jeans, and I got the infant outfit as a Christmas gift) and I will sell the rest on ebay.  By doing this I usually make enough to pay for everything I've bought.  And if it's a little under it's okay because when the kids are done with the clothes I can turn around and sell their USED Gymboree clothes for often more than I paid for them new.  Weird, wild stuff going on, right?  

A tip if you go into Gymboree and really can't spend the money is to look at the accessories.  A lot of times I can pair an accessory of theirs with a non-Gymboree outfit or just a solid shirt and make a super cute outfit...it is all about accessorizing after all, right???  And there are always adorable hair bows or headbands on super clearance!!!  

I am definitely not about to write a tutorial for you on how to sell on ebay or anything because it would stink and would fall and crash and die a horrible death but if you do have  any specific questions feel free to ask away...I'll try my best to sound like i know what I am talking about :)

So there  you have it...my secret's out on why I love Gymboree so much (because you can save a ton and sell it too!!! ) and how I get my kids to look so adorable on the cheap.  Hope this inspires you to save money on your little one's duds :)  

Happy Shopping!!!

Scholastic Delivers :)

Alright maybe that's a bit of a play on words.  But today Scholastic did deliver...

book orders that is!

And please don't laugh at me but I have to tell SOMEONE this story!

Due to the visitors of the day I was getting tired of answering the door...

No thanks, we don't need our sidewalk shoveled...

We live I guess in a more affluent area and people apparently walk here from all over the city to try to get hired to shovel for us.  Our answer is always no. Well, no thank you :)

Anyway, I was tired of these people so when the door bell rang I came downstairs and crawled to a window in our solarium to see who it was...had to be sneaky to make sure they didn't see me through the foyer and the entry way door.  I still couldn't see anyone so I had to get underneath the baby grand to peep through the window.

And no one was there.  Boy was that a waste of wicked ninja skills :)

It was just the UPS man delivering a box of Scholastic book orders!  I am so, so stinkin' excited.  If you missed my first post about how us homeschooling Mama's can get in on the Scholastic Book Order action you can click here to read all about it!

 This is one of the order forms I am most excited about!  Games, Kits, books on tape...awesome.  You are a speakin' my language!

 I am discovering that almost every order form has at least one $1.00 book!  With 12 order forms to order from, I could fill an order with practically nothing but buck books!

This is another order form that I am super excited about.  And yes I know I am a big huge nerd.  Or dork.  Dweeb maybe.  But whatever the name, I am it.  I love history and I love immersing our children in it as well.

The kids and I got to pour over them, just like if they were in a real school.  I love things like this that can help them to get a teeny, tiny part of what goes on at school.

So the kiddos will have to turn in their order forms soon so we can get our order in...I am so excited!  The one reason why I may have been the most excited though is that I am HORRID at looking at catalogues online...does anyone else have this problem or is it just me????

Wow, God is Good on a Horrid Monday

Monday was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

I think I've written on here before how much I dislike Mondays...it involves a lot of back and forth action of taking the kiddos to and from places all day long.

Add to this that Nick has started his new job and had to go to Illinois for the day.

Not too bad except he took my car and left me his older car to drive.

Oh fun.

Also, add to that that Monday evening I had a meeting I had to attend for the children's resale organization I volunteer with.  I was so super excited to go!!!!

Until I got the phone call that Nick was stuck on the Dan Ryan and would get home too late for me to go to my meeting.  Bummer.

He got home around 7 (my meeting started at 6:30).  I had a JCP coupon for $10.00 off a $10.00 purchase and we had a gift card so we decided to get the kiddos out of the house and do some shopping.  The coupon expired the next day and I really wanted to see it used.  (By the way, did you know that they keep track of if you are using your coupons or not?  If you don't use them then they might not send you anymore...just a heads up :)) Which by the way, Nick found track pants for the gym and we bought two huge Christmas presents, and paid $3.00 out of pocket...woohoo!

On the way home oddly enough we stopped to look at a car lot, thinking maybe it was time to start looking for a new ride...and that is where all of our lights got dim and things started going wrong as the "Check Charging System" warning came on...

Ugh. Oh.

We managed to drive to a restaurant parking lot and that's where it died died, dead friends.

Eck.

We called my parents who lived super close to where we were but they were out of town.  So we called Nick's parents and waited the half an hour it took the poor thing to come up.  I felt so bad we had to drag her out.  The weather had been about 50 degrees that day but it was now raining and the temperature was dropping.

As we waited we let the kids climb into the back of the Explorer and, well, explore. They loved it!  I think they thought that was such an adventure and helped to take their mind off of us being stranded.

When Nick's mom arrived he charged our battery from hers and it started, but only made it about half a mile.

We did this 5 more times.  By the time we got close to home...our end stop was right across the river from where we live, it was only lasting about a quarter of a mile before it would die.

So stressful, but in the end thinking about it, I was so thankful God was looking out for us.  Everytime we died, it was somewhere where we could pull off and be okay...a side street, a gas station, a curb out of the way.  In the dark and the rain we could have very easily gotten hit since each time our car died we had NO lights, meaning NO hazards even to flash!  I was so thankful Nick's mom was happy to help.  We had a very nice police man help us right before the last time it died and he stopped traffic so we could get across an intersection.

All in all, as much as it sucked, we knew God was with us and helping us.  And that is what we hope this taught our children.  Every time Nick had to get out in the pouring rain to charge our battery we started praying.  And he answered our prayers.

The next morning Nick went and bought an Alternator and went to where we left it and replaced it.  I am so impressed with my husband that, while certified mechanic he is not, he can fix anything.  He just amazes me and it amazes me the talents that God has blessed him with.

It is running great now and an Alternator was the only problem!  The only other things were either 1) battery (no biggie) or 2) the computer system (way huge-o biggie!)

So there was our horrid Monday and through that we were given the reminder that the Creator of the Universe is always there watching out for us and loves us through the great times and through the storms (literally!) of life!

God is crazy in love with you my Friends!

Our House of Love

In an epic moment of failure last year, I completely spaced having us make a Gingerbread house.  It was one of those things that kept sporadically running through my mind and then the realization hit me on Christmas Eve that we had never gotten to it.  

Oops.  

So I did the next best thing.  

At Target I found a Hello Kitty Gingerbread kit on clearance for 75% off...I think it was $2.50 or something.  I looked at it...it was pink.  It had heart candys...we could use this for Valentine's Day!  

Frugal Tip: Try looking at things on clearance in a different light to see if you have other uses for it.  Sometimes you can come up with creative uses for things and save a ton of moola.  

So we assembled.  I always try to have the kids have their own items to work on so they won't fight and so they have their own spaces for their creativity.  So each kid got a side, a front (or back) and a side of the roof.  

When it was all assembled I added Hello Kitty to her new home, affectionately named 

"The House of Love"  

oh yeah.  

It was the centerpiece of our Dining Room table because I don't have anything Valentiney for our table.  

Anyone have any ideas for me???

So everyday it was there tempting them.  Tantalizing them.  Drawing them in.

 

 Until Valentine's Day when these two adorable children finally, FINALLY got to dig in.

 Eating the House of Love!

It was very crunchy (putting it lightly!) but they really seemed to enjoy it and had fun!  And they finally got to make a Gingerbread house!

Scholastic Book Clubs for Homeschoolers!

With Cal in preshcool, we get the opportunity to order from their book order sheets from Scholastic.  We just got our new round of order forms and I was thinking of how much I was going to miss Book Orders when we are out of preschool and homeschooling both of them (if we homeschool Cal...that's still being sorted out!).  

Anyway, then I got the crazy idea...

Can homeschools get book orders?  

And the great news?   They can!!!  

No co-op, no minimum numbers, nothing! 

Just go to the Scholastic Book Clubs.  You can just make an account as a teacher, indicate your school as a homeschool and then select what grades your school is interested in.  

Then you can view all of the book orders for all grades and order away!  

Why am I am so excited about this you may ask? 

First of all, I love book orders! Isn't it exciting to get new books?  I always loved this in school and was kind of bummed the kiddos were going to miss out on this with being homeschooled.  I think  you can even request the newspapery order form booklets.  I may do that down the road so the kiddos can have it in their hands and tell me what they want to order.  

Secondly, they have crazy good prices on books.  Phonics sets, math games, coin and time telling books, history books...the works, they have so many items you can use in homeschool.  Not to mention all of the great fiction books you can order for free time reading.  

Here are some deals I've found I am planning on ordering:  

Abraham Lincoln , regularly $3.99...in the book order it's $1.00!  A buck!!!

E.B. White Treasury, regularly $20.48, on sale for $3.99

I am loving these prices in case you can't tell :)

You can check out the February order form for 1st graders here.  

The third thing that makes me so super excited about being able to use this book club is that there are Teacher benefits that you can use!  These appear to change monthly!!!  

This Month's benefit is that with a $20.00 or more order you get 10x bonus points and $20.00 to spend right away!  Did y'all get that?  Free books!!!  Plus they have a story app and you get 5 free non-fiction downloads to use!  I am envisioning this being really helpful with our science studies as I so often have a hard time finding a computer component for the areas we are studying.  Eek :)  

There are tons of other components to this too and I urge you to sign up and see for yourself!  I am so excited to get started in this as you earn points for free materials, there are coupons you can receive, they sell school supplies you can apply your saving too and so much more!  

Well I hope this was a help to you!  I'd love to know if you sign up and snag some deals I may not have found...you know me, always looking for deals!!!  

Happy Shopping dear friends!!! :)

My Buys: Carter's Clearance

Yesterday we went to the Outlet Mall near our house.

We all went and it was so much fun.  It was pretty cold but it was sunny and beautiful outside.  On the way Emma was telling us that while there we should look for pajamas "Because seriously guys, everytime I put p.j.s on I wake up and am an inch taller.  So we need new pajamas."  She's so silly!  And while she may be exagerating a teensy-eensy bit, she was right, she's growing right out of all of her clothes!

Starting last weekend, I had been getting emails regarding sales going on at different stores there.

One of them was Carters. 

We scored some amazing deals!  If you have a Carters near you I encourage you to go.  Run!  Hurry. 

Here's what I got, in order of the pictures:

Blue half zip sweatshirt/track jacket for Cal: $3.19 on sale from $30.00

Shirt for Emma (I thought this would be super cute for her gym class!): $3.19 on sale from 18.00!

2 piece purple pajamas for Emma: $3.19 on sale from $32.00

3 piece pink pajamas for Emma: $3.19 on sale from $34.00 (that's a 91% savings, y'all!)

3 piece space pajamas for Calvin:$3.19 on sale from $34.00!

I should tell you that I do not usually find anything at Carters.  For the quality a lot of time their clothes are just too expensive for me.   I usually prefer to shop at Gymboree, Hartstrings, Hanna Andersson.  But I always look. 

Yesterday I saw this super cute red tulle skirt for Valentine's Day!  It was some crazy price like 38.00 or something.  Wha???  I just can't fork over that much money for something she'll wear once, maybe twice.  Yoinkers.  But like I said, I always look.

So I guess if you are on here looking for a little snippet of advice, it would be to not disregard stores for deals.  I mean, honestly, it has been probably 2 years since I've found a deal at Carter's, but I look every time I go there.  Nick thinks this is a huge waste of time, usually...but not yesterday!  And really he doesn't hem and haw too much, he knows what I am doing and trusts me to hurry it up if I'm not finding anything. 

And if you will need Christmas pajamas for this Christmas, they had oodles on sale!!!  I had my eye on some super cute ones but they didn't have any matching ones in the sizes we will need.  Oh well! 

So super happy with what I found.  The Lord always provides!

Happy Shopping!!! :)

Couponing Online

So my middle sister this week texted me with a question of "do you get coupons online?  If so where?" 

Boy did she open up a can of worms :) 

I could talk about couponing until I turn blue. 

But I won't. 

Not this time. 

It did occur to me however that not everyone is like me and has been doing this for years.  Many people are just now starting out on their couponing adventures...like my sister!  Hi Lacey!!! 

The way that I coupon has to do with two puzzle pieces and then putting them together.  Here we go:

*Piece #1

The first puzzle piece is Manufacturing Coupons. 

Smart Source This is a coupon distributor.  If you get coupons in your newspaper, a good chance is they are from Smart Source. 

Red Plum This is another coupon distributor.  They have coupons in the newspaper. 

Coupons.com  This is one of the biggest couponing sites and is a great place to start out. 

TIP:

Most couponing websites will ask for your zipcode.  A tip for you is to change up the zipcode.  Usually California residents are offered more coupons than other areas in the country.  One of the zipcodes I use is "90210".  :)  Now go and watch reruns of the show and feel like your in high school.

TIP:

Other good places to get coupons are directly from Manufacturer's websites.  Think of the brands you like and who makes them.  Land-o-lakes, Proctor and Gamble, Kraft, Nestle, etc, etc.  And whatever you like google search for it with the words "printable coupon"  This is a great way to expand your horizons regarding helpful sites. 

*#2

The second puzzle piece is Store Coupons. 

The second place to look for coupons is at the websites of the stores you shop.  Where do you plan to spend money and to look for bargains?  One of my favorites is Target.  Others include Meijer, Kroger (Jewel), and other grocers across the nation including Publix, IGA, etc.  Wherever you shop, make sure you get on their websites and check out what type of coupons they offer.  Not all coupons are store coupons, many are manufacturer's but regardless, there are coupons!

TIP:

While at the store's website, be sure to look at their coupon policy.  Some stores have a very specific policy and others are more lenient.  I know a lot of couponers go so far as to print off the stores coupon policy in case there is a discrepency in using their coupons.  While I think this is a good idea, I personally have never printed any off and I've never had a need to. 

*#3

Now the next step is to put the puzzle pieces together.  Most stores that offer store coupons will allow you to use both a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon together, making for a lot of money to be saved on your end! For maximum savings, pairing the coupons with sale events, makes for some pretty cheap items.  Sometimes even free people! 

 For example:

You love the Pantene. 

Sunday in your slippies you get the ad and notice that the 'ol Pantene is on sale for $4.00, down from $6.99! 
You go to Proctor and Gamble's website and find $1.00 manufacturer coupon. 
You then go to Target.com and find $1.00 store coupon. 

You can use them both for a total of $2.00 off of the $4.00 sale price making the price $2.00 for a total savings of $4.99!  You can use that nice 5 bucks in your pocket for a Starbucks latte or something :) 

Anyway, piecing store and manufacturer coupons together is a lot of work! 

And there are some amazing ladies with some pretty, darn amazing websites that match coupons and let you know the deals...it's amazing! 

Here are some of my absolute fave's:

Hip2Save

Money Saving Mom

Krazy Coupon Lady

Totally Target


There are thousands and thousands of these websites.  This isn't a comprehensive list by any means, these are just a few of my absolutel favorites.  And if you have any more questions, most of these websites has a beginner's handbook of sorts, which explains couponing for beginners. 


So there ya go.  A few pointers on how to get started with couponing.  Just a warning though...it can become highly addictive!  No matter how much money you have, it's nice to keep that money in your pocket.  And to me, that's what couponing does.  A $1.00 coupon means I get to keep a $1.00 of mine and not give it to the store. 

Easy-peasy. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can help at all!  And if you are a couponer already feel free to leave comments regarding where you like to get your online coupons!!!  :)  So newbies make sure you read the comments too to see where else to look! 

Good luck and happy couponing!  :)

Our Monthly Grocery Shopping Trip

Well I think I've mentioned it in passing.  We've talked about it.  But I thought that I would finally write and tell you all about our monthly shopping trip. 

 

We started this at the beginning of the year.  When food prices were jumping and that horrid business of that gross pink stuff being in your ground beef came up. 

 

There had to be a better way. 

 

Just had to Jerry.  Just had to. 

 

We are HUGE proponents of shopping local.  We love it.  We live it.  We try our best.  But we live in a big city.  One where fresh food doesn't just jump out at us.  Sure we have Farmer's Markets but not a lot of people hacking up cows for us to buy. 

 

So we decided to visit the Amish.  Or the Amo's as I like to call them :) 

 

Please understand that this is not a "run out and grab something" kind of trip.  For us, this is an all day trip.  One that means we are driving a lot.  We try to make the most of it...meaning we do our best to arrange our shopping on a day when Nick's mom can take the kids.  It's just a lot of shopping for them.  What kid wants to go grocery shopping?  Let alone a trip where you are shopping for nothing but groceries at several stores that require a lot of driving. 

 

I've had people ask me this so I think it's only right...we do go shopping other times.  But we do this shopping at the beginning of the month (or preferably at the end of the previous month) so we're ready to rock and roll.  In this shopping trip we are getting the main portion of our groceries.  Think frozen foods, meats and cheeses that can be put in the freezer, canned goods, and cleaning supplies.  We also buy some produce but just for the week we are in.  Every week we still run out and spend about $20.00 on fresh fruits and veggies, milk, and oj.  But this monthly shopping makes things so much cheaper and easier.  I can somewhat plan for a month of cooking based on what is in my freezer.  And it is so easy to break out the stand mixer and make something with the kiddos on a rainy day if I know I have a huge stash of baking supplies ready and waiting. 

 

So onto our trip...

 

The first store we always go to is Rentown.  Sorry I forgot to take pictures.  It's between Bremen and Nappanee if you need to get there.  There are signs...drive around and I'm sure you'll find it :)

 

They have cheese and other products but the thing we go there for the most is cheese.  Is it worth it you ask?  Well, here's my thinking.  They usually have at least 2 or 3 cheeses on sale for 1.99 per pound.  That's cheaper than the kraft bags you buy and those are 8 ounces if you are lucky!  So trust me on this, it is worth it.  Things I also like to buy there are brown eggs (usually on sale for .99 a dozen), butter (1.99 a pound), peanut butter (10.00 for 6 pounds).  Nick really likes their ham salad and german bologna if you are lost in everything that they have to offer.  They also sell Lehman's mints that are our FAVORITE!!!   and they are a pretty good price.  In these stores you have to look at EVERYTHING!!!  They are always changing prices.  Sometimes you'll get a good deal here on one thing...other times it's best to just let it go.  Also, they have mixes of all kinds of stuff.  While I've never tried too many of them, I do get their cake donut and raised donut mixes.  My one key tip is to get the pamphlet on the shelf with it about how to use it.  Otherwise it's a little hard to figure out! 

 

We usually grab a soda and a snack and then settle in for our drive to...

 

 

 Martin's Butcher in Wakarusa.  This is off of 19 and again, there's a big sign.  This is the front of the butcher...

 And here's the back of the butcher.  See?  I told you...fresh.  :)  Just don't think about it!

 Here are some pictures of the price boards.  I am in no means saying that they have the cheapest prices in the world, but I am saying that they are VERY comparable to the super market.  But here you are getting grain fed beef, that is local and without chemicals.  And trust me, the taste is amazing!  There is definitely a difference.  If you decide to come here all of the time because you love it, you can pick up their business card.  It has an email address and you can email them your order so it will be ready for you...easy-peasy!

 I love stores that without appology's serve our King.  Love!

 While on this jaunt we see a lot of buggy's.  I love the Amish people and their simple ways of life. 

 They have the biggest gardens!  I love these flowers!

 I took this picture as Nick was driving about 70 miles down the highway, so I missed the house that the other side of the clothesline is hooked up to.  A pretty impressive system if you ask me :)

After driving we arrive in a whole new county!  In Shipshewana!  Here's the flea market

I love how you drive a while from home and you find different kinds of houses...cabins...whatever

Shipshewana has charming little shops all clustered together...love that!

I love tree canopied little places to walk between buildings...so secretive and fun.

In Shipshewana we go to this place, E & S Bulk foods.  We LOVE this place!

Throughout the entire store there are these little toys up on shelves above that they collect...so cute and nostalgic.

Check out the truck with the boat pull along behind Nick.  Here you can see Nick checking out the bulk foods.  I didn't take any other pictures inside because there were Amish everywhere!  And Amish people do not like having their pictures taken.  So out of respect I didn't pull the camera out anymore.  If you go to E & S, you need to know that you never know what you are going to find.  This time I didn't find everything that I was looking for.  Last month I found a case of greek yogurt for $3.00. I think it made it .17 a container!  For a long time they had Starbuck's coffee for $3.78 a bag!  Can you believe it???  This was the first month they didn't have any, and I gotta tell you, my heart sunk a little.  But oh, well.  That's the name of this game.  Maybe sometime they'll have it again...

On the way to go get the kiddos from Nick's mom we stop at this place that sells eggs.  It's the back of an Amish Family's house.  See the cute sign?

Here are those hard working chickens!  The first time we went here it kind of scared me to go here...I didn't want to just walk into someone's house!  But it's okay.  They have a little room with eggs, money, and cartons.  You just fill up however many cartons you want.  Then you pay on an honor system and write how many you are buying...they have scratch paper for math which I think is super cute!

Here's my husband filling up our cartons.  They have honey and other things too.  I love this because it so exemplifies a Proverb's 31 woman.  This sweet amish woman is selling eggs and honey on the side to help her family.  How awesome!

And this has nothing to do with anything except that I'm still trying to figure out the new camera...eek!  Boy do I love this man!  So glad I get to be his girlfriend.  He's so cute!  He'd look super tough if he could ever manage to not have a little smirk on those big lips :)

 

So there it is.  If you have any questions I didn't answer, feel free to ask!  I'd love to help with whatever you need :)

5x7 Folded Card

Birthday Colors Blue Birthday Card

Shutterfly offers custom St. Patrick's Day cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I love this card, don't you?  One of the ways  that I try to help my husband is to be a good steward of the money he works so hard to make.  And one of the ways that I do that is to look for free promo codes.  So far this week I've made two free cards and a free magnet.  I should note though that many times there is tax and shipping still charged.  No biggie as long as the amount is less than you would pay for a card at the store in my opinion.  If shipping ends up being $5.00 and you would only have spend $3.00 at target on a card, keep walking.  Personalized cards are neat and all, but they aren't worth it if you are spending oodles. 

So anyway, that is one way that I am doing my part to save money.  With an average of 3 birthdays per month to send cards out for, we spend $9-$12 each month on cards.  That's $108-144 a year, just on cards!  Anyway I can minimize those types of costs helps us in the long run.  It may not seem like much at the time, but everything adds up.