Christian's Blogtion

I thought I would post real quick to advertise Christian's Blogtion (on-line auction). They have a lot of really great baby gift items that are perfect for baby showers (I go to A LOT of baby showers, so I like to be stocked up on these!), jewelery, homemade truffles, and even a Kindle! Of course, there are lots of other items as well. The prices are fantastic, too- I was very surprised they were not much higher. I ended up bidding on way more items than I originally intended- I couldn't pass the great items up!

Anyway, click HERE to check it out.

Christian has severe brain damage due to a drowning accident and I have been following his story. 100% of the sales will go to his treatments. For more about his story, go HERE.

Great Deal This Week

I got all this...

for .99! I'm a stay-at-home-mom, guys- sometimes

I have to brag about the small stuff! Some peoples' thrills come from

dining with royalty or earning huge bonus' at work,

but not me- mine come from getting a bargain!

March Totals

I did pretty good this month- I had some great deals. My hottest deal of the month:
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24 Charmin (double)Rolls of toilet paper
12 Bounty double rolls of paper towels
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Total: 3.16! That was pretty sweet.
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On to my monthly numbers:
Total Spent: 270.05
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Total Saved: 528.66
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Percent saved: 66%
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I did spend more than my $200. BUT- the reason is because I decided to do my weekly grocery shopping on Wednesday last week, which was the 31st, instead of Thursday, April 1st because it worked out better with my schedule. Before that, I had only spent $180 (I know, I spent a lot that day- I bought TONS of produce and then I also was hosting a brunch at my house on Saturday that I had to get some things for). So, if I had waited until Thursday to shop, I only would have spent $180. Curse the long month of March to ruin my numbers!

Attention All Wal-Greens Shoppers

I can't decide if shopping at Wal-Greens is worth the effort or not, so I am curious to see what others who shop there think. I got all of the above for $36.73. Supposedly I saved $115.11, but I think that just means you should NEVER pay full price at Wal-Greens because they are expensive. Anyway, here is what I got for the 36.73:

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-2 packages of Huggies diapers

-6 Garnier Fructis hair products

-2 pkgs. DayQuil, 2 NyQuil, 1 Vicks Vapor Rub

-3 Men's Dove Body Wash

-14 canned olives

-3 canned salmon

-4 boxes of Kotex

-4 big rolls of toilet paper

-2 Puffs tissue

-3 cans chicken broth

-1 caramel (didn't want to buy, but I had to because my coupon wouldn't pay for tax)

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That averages out to .73 an item. Obviously, a great price when you consider the items I bought.

BUT (and there is a big BUT), it was a TON of work! This is a total of about 12 transactions and hours figuring out the deals. In short, it was a PAIN IN THE REAR END! So, I don't know if it is worth shopping at Wal-Greens. What do you other couponers think?

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And, because I like to keep track of this, my February totals:

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Money spent: 205.23 (not including Wal-Greens- I did it! I got down to basically 200/month- granted, February is the shortest month, but still, I want to celebrate this accomplishment anyway!)

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Money saved: 291.80 (not including Wal-Greens)

I still bought lots of stuff for food storage, so I consider this a great month!

January Totals

Here's the grocery totals for January:

Total Spent: 339.15

Total Saved: 492.93

Percent Saved: 68%

Goal: To only spend 200.00/month on groceries

I did not so do so well this month. I SAVED a ton by my coupon shopping, but I spent way over my goal of $2oo/month.

BUT, you have to consider my other main goal: to get my one-year supply of food. I feel blessed that I am not completely constrained by a super strict budget, so when there is a big sale I can stock up- which is what I have been doing this month!! In two months I went from my food storage shelf looking like this:

To looking like this:

And, I was still $70.00 UNDER my average of what I used to spend before I started shopping with coupons.

I purposely put all those boxes of cereal in the picture- I now have over 60 boxes of cereal in storage that we are rotating- we go through 3 boxes a week, so I figured I might as well put them in food storage. And, they all cost me right around 1.00/box! Not bad for name brand cereal.

So even though I didn't reach my initial goal of cutting my food bill in half, I am getting closer to my main goal of getting my year's supply of food (and after seeing the horrile situation in Haiti, I am definitely realizing how important that goal is!).

November Totals

OK, here's my grocery totals for November:

Total Spent: $ 231.35

Total Saved:$353.52

Not bad, but I am still not to my goal of only 200/month. But, I started out at over 400 a month so I am feeling pretty good! Plus, I did have one "binge" week where I bought a lot of stuff not on sale and without coupons because I needed things for Thanksgiving pies. Oh, well- I still came out looking good!

Breakdown

Several of you have asked how I was able to get $120 of groceries for $26. I will attempt to break it down here so you can see that this actually does work!! However, you should note: this does take TIME- and lots of it. I spend an hour clipping coupons on Sundays, and 2-3 hours getting my grocery lists ready, and then at least an hour at the grocery store each week. If I was working full time, this probably would not be worth it to me. But, for now it is a HUGE blessing!

OK, here is how I scored the sweet deals.

I am going to show you my Safeway deals because those were the best ones I got last week. I choose between Albertsons, Safeway, or Kings Soopers depending on which one has the best deals for that week. Sometimes I will go to 2 stores, if they are both having stellar deals and I have time (you still need to remember that I am about the cheapest woman in America so a great deal really gets me excited). Target and Wal-Mart are not good places to grocery shop with coupons because:
1. They don't double coupons- that adds up to tons of missed savings! (make sure wherever you go they will double your coupons- the chain grocers will typically double them up to 1.00)
2. They don't have the "mega events"- promotions like if you buy 10 participating items you get 5.00 off your order and things like that. Again, it leaves a lot of savings still in their pocket- not yours!

My shopping trip:
2 C&H Brown Sugar (2 lb bags)- on sale for 1.69 each. I had a coupons for .65 off of two, so I bought 2 for 3.38 and got a dollar off (the coupon doubled to 1.00) so I paid 2.28 for two things of 2 lb. brown sugar

2 C&H Powdered Sugar (2 lb. bags)- same deal as above

Gold Medal 5 lb. bag of flour- on sale for 2.00. No coupons, but a good price.

Nature Valley Nut Cluster- On sale for 2.99. I had an e-coupon for 1.00 off and a manufacturer's coupon for 1.00 off so the total cost came to .99.

Betty Crocker cookie mix- on sale for 1.69, had a coupon for .40 off, doubled to .80 off- total cost .89

Betty crocker frosting- on sale for 1.50, coupon for .50 off, doubled to 1.oo off- total cost .50

Green Giant canned veggies- on sale for .39. No coupons, but a great price- got 6 for 2.34

Sugar- 2.00 for 5 lb bag- no coupons, good price, got 4 bags for 8.00

Salt- needed it so I got it for .49

Progresso Soup- on sale for 1.00 a can. I had a ton of coupons which all doubled so I got 9 cans for 4.70

Ritz Crackers- regularly 3.99 each, on sale for buy one get one free. Plus, I had 2 1.00 off coupons, so I got two boxes of Ritz crackers for 2.00

Oregano- on sale for 2.02, had a coupon for .50, doubled to 1.00 total cost 1.02

Argo Corn starch- on sale for 1.49, had coupon for .50, total cost- .49

Pillsbury cookie dough- on sale for 2.50, had coupon for .50, total cost 1.50

Scrubbing Bubbles Bath Cleaner- regularly 3.99 each. On sale for buy one get one free PLUS if you bought 3 or more the price dropped to 1.99 each. I got 4 cans. Two were free because of the BOGO deal. The other two cans were 1.99 each, for a total of 4 dollars. I had two coupons for 2 dollars off two cans. Because I bought 4 cans, I got to use both coupons, so I got them all for FREE!!!

Then, Safeway is currently doing a deal where if you buy 25 dollars in participating baking items you get a 5 dollar coupon off your next purchase. I had a coupon from last week for doing that, so I got an extra 5 dollars off my order, plus I earned another 5 dollars off my next order (hence all the baking goods I bought).

Have I confused you yet???

You will notice this is all "fluff" foods- no meal foods or produce. I went to King Soopers for that and spent 33 dollars for an entire weeks worth of real food groceries. All of this food went right into food storage- where it will be used in the future! So, I basically went to Safeway just to take advantage of their great deals and stock up.

I hope this shows you that it is a lot of work, BUT- it really does work!!!! Find websites for your area that break the deals down for you- I found one in Utah called www.utahdealdiva.com and I already posted one for here and for Seattle. Ask around- surely someone you know is doing this if you want to get in on this! And, feel free to ask questions- you CAN do this! I was such a skeptic, and now I am amazed that even I am able to get $120 worth of groceries for $26!

Proudest Day

Maybe today isn't the proudest day of my entire life, but I am feeling pretty good. Why, you ask? Because I just got back from the grocery store where I spent 85 CENTS for all of this:

Yes, that's right 85 CENTS! I promise I won't share every good deal I get, but I was pretty proud of myself for this one! I was actually planning for it all last night as I was sleeping. While this may not be all that exciting to you, for a stay-at-home mom with nothing better to do (yeah, right), this was very exciting!

I started coupon-ing at the end of last month when I saw how successful my friend was. I feel like I have been spending WAY too much on groceries, and I wanted to cut down on that cost. I just added up my numbers for October, and I did a complete double take! I actually recounted the numbers because I didn't believe it. Here are the numbers:

Average grocery bill per month for the past 6 months: $403.74 (WAY too much for 2-1/2 people)

October grocery bill: $288.33

Amount saved by using coupons and shopping sales: $307.24

HOLY COW!!! Can you believe those numbers? I couldn't either- I can't wait to show Ben and tell him how awesome I am!!! Not only did I spend TONS less, but the biggest differene is that my cupboards are FULL- I put a lot into food storage this month, I bought almost all name brands, and we have TONS of food to eat!!!! Thank you soooooooooo much for helping me out and giving me the encouragement to do this, Jen N!!!! I was a total skeptic, I did NOT think using coupons would work- and look at what I have been able to accomplish in just ONE month!!!! Thank you also to my in-laws who have started giving me their coupons so I can save even more!!!!

I have a ways to go before I reach my goal, however. I want to get down to $200 a month. Whew- that will cut my food budget in half. I will post my monthly totals, and if you want to know how to get into this whole new world of saving money (tax free!), let me know and I'll answer your questions. I'm so excited about this!!!!

For A Cause

One year ago today, Cici had her choking accident and the Fischer family changed forever. Now Jenny- the loving, optimistic, amazing mother of three, has also become fundraiser extrodanaire, insurance guru, and medicaid "expert." Their lives have been turned upside down and inside out, but their perseverance, love, and determination have continued strong.

In honor of their continued fight, my sister and I have teamed up in a fundraising event for the Fischers. Money raised will be donated to Cici's hyperbaric treatment fund (these are $200 a session, and in order to be effective they do large amounts of sessions in a short period of time- 60 sessions in 30 days- obviously, this is extremely expensive and insurance won't cover it at all. BUT- it is working, and Cici has greatly improved as a result of these treatments!).

From now until November 15th, you can order Mary Kay Cosmetics and Skin Care from my website* at http://www.marykay.com/cmarriott
and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the fund. Mary Kay continues to be an industry leader in the cosmetic and skin industry, with a plethera of new and exciting products just in time for the Christmas season. I can create gift baskets to fit any budget- FREE of charge! Also, shipping is FREE for any orders placed in the continental US. If you have any questions, simply contact me.

Also, any orders placed for Sandbox Creations- beautiful and fun gifts for girls- at http://www.decremer.org/sandboxcreations/ until November 15th will have profits donated to the Fischer family as well. If you have any special request, simply contact Stephanie and she will customize your order special to fit your needs!

There are a couple of ways to get involved:

1. Order gifts for yourself, family, or friends
2. Spread the word- we don't care who orders, we just want to raise as much money as possible for this wonderful and deserving family!!!

*If you already have a MK consultant, rather than ordering from me, please ask your current consultant to donate a portion of any orders you make from now until the 15th to this fund.

I Feel Dirty!

I so need to go to bed, but I can't without getting this out. Ben and I almost got scammed big time on Craigslist, but thanks to my ultra negative and untrusting husband, we weren't.

We are in the market for an LCD LARGE TV- somewhere around 46 inches. I thought we should try Craigslist, so we looked and I found a 42" LCD for $335- an excellent price. I e-mailed the seller, and she e-mailed me back saying she had relocated to England and would have to ship us the TV, but there is a shipping company called TNT who will allow us to see the TV for a few days and then accept the TV and continue with the payment. We went to their website and it explained everything- and this website is INCREDIBLY well done:http://www.tnt.com/express/en_us/site/home.html

She said she would pay for the 2 day shipping and we would be fine.

Ben was instantly weary (remember, he doesn't trust anybody). Here were some of his signs:

1. My sister lives in England and had never heard of this company, even though the seller said it was well known in England
2. By the time the seller paid for 2-day international shipping, she was basically going to be paying us to take the TV
3. The search engine on TNT's webpage doesn't work
4. There are no pricings on TNT's webpage (Ben was obsessed with trying to figure out how much it would cost her to send us the TV)
5. The Better Business Bureau does not have this company on their website
6. The price was just too good to be true

So, he asked me to do some more research before we proceeded further. I did NOT want to do this, totally naively believing this was a really nice person who just was stuck with a TV with an American adapter and she wanted to get rid of it. Boy, was I wrong! After doing 30 seconds of research I found this:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/Internet-Fraud/Dennis-Owens-Roger-D/dennis-owens-roger-dorian-tn-387b9.htm

The verbage in his e-mails and mine are almost identical. I can't believe I was so easily duped!!!!! I feel like I can't trust people anymore!!!!!! I feel so yucky and violated that this person now has my e-mail address, and I almost sent this money to TNT!!! Thank goodness for my amazingly pessimistic husband and his untrusting demeanor!!!!!! I posted that this was a scam on Craigslist, and I am posting it here as well so I can try and not feel so bad, but also to hopefully stop this from happening to anybody else!!! UGHHH!!!!

Networking Night

I thought I would just do a quick post about something that could be beneficial to some of you out there. Our church is doing a job networking night- open to EVERYONE regardless of faith- tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 7 PM. It is specifically geared to those who are unemployed or underemployed.

They are flying in a special keynote speaker to discuss ways to market yourself to potential employers. Then they will have networking opportunities. I am not sure how it will all work out, but if you or somebody you know is looking for a better career opportunity, it sounds like this could be a great event.

It will be held at the Foothills Canyon Church located at:
9800 B Foothills Canyon Blvd
HIGHLANDS RANCH , CO 80129

Apparently you should bring a pen/pencil and a 3 x 5 inch index card as well as have prepared a 30-second introduction of why you are a great employee and why somebody should hire you. Refreshments will be served. If you decide to go, good luck!!!

Caught In the Act!

I was at the grocery store yesterday, and I caught 3 teenagers stealing candy! We were all on the candy aisle, and I looked right at them while they were stealing and said, "Interesting" and went to the cashier and told on them. The security guards talked to them, but I assume by then they had put the candy away and the guard let them go. That was fine, I hope that at least they will know that people are watching them and that they got a good scare.

This is actually the second time I saw teenagers stealing candy- the first time I said nothing, and I still feel incredibly guilty, and so I had vowed that I would never keep my mouth shut again. Teenagers stealing candy bothers me for a number of reasons:

1. We happen to live in a suburb where there are no apartments and no low income housing, so these kids come from families where they can afford the 10 cents needed to buy candy. (Not that stealing is ever OK, but I think we can all at least emphatize with a father who steals a loaf of bread to feed his hungry children as opposed to spoiled brats stealing candy).

2. I have to pay more at the grocery store to make up for those brats stealing the candy! It's rediculous!

3. There are a lot of people in this horrible economy who are going to bed hungry- whose children are going to bed hungry- who still obey the law and don't steal. It belittles their efforts to be good to have those with plenty stealing things they absolutely do not need.

Can you tell I am upset about this? It really bothers me- where are values being taught???? I almost want to go every day to the grocery store and just stand in the candy aisle for an hour until the high school students leave to make sure they don't steal anything. (Our grocery store is right next to the high school, so they come in during lunch and after school and steal- in fact, it has become such a problem, that they can no longer bring their backpacks inside the store, they have to leave them outside at the entrance). It just makes me sad that while so many people are suffering so horribly this holiday season (yesterday on the radio they were talking about how kids visiting Santa were wishing for things like, "Please help my Daddy find a job), there are bratty teenagers who think it is "cool" to steal candy!

So, I am sounding a call to all of us: If we see somebody stealing something, SAY SOMETHING!!! You don't even have to say it to them, you can tell a cashier who will alert the security guards. Maybe if people know others are watching them, they will stop! At least, I can hope so!

Now What?

I might be wrong, and I certainly don't claim to understand Wall Street, but I thought the $700 billion bailout was supposed to stop Wall Street from crashing...that hasn't happened- stocks fell another (almost) 700 points today! I am very glad Ben isn't retiring anytime soon, but I feel really really bad for all of those people who were hoping to retire and now will have to work until the day they die.

I did watch Oprah yesterday, though, and it gave me a lot of hope- she talked about how the power is in us to make the decisions to get us through this difficult time. The process: Spend less than you make- period. They had a financial expert on who said the biggest reason we are in this mess is because so many people were living on borrowed money and now those bills are coming due, but there is hope. And, when all is said and done, whatever happens with the world, all we can do is our best inside our homes everyday. I don't understand all of this, but all we can do is live frugally and not incur debt- Goodwill shopping here we come!!!

I wonder if McCain is wishing he had chosen Romney- heck, then maybe I would have voted for him- I may not agree with any of his policies, but Romney certainly knows the economy!!!