How we are getting out of debt: Part 1

The first step in reigning in our debt and overspending was to really look at where our money was going. Of course, we knew the big items that were a fixed amount every month: our mortgage, our electricity, our phone bill, etc. It was just everything else that we thought we knew how much we were spending but not really. Here is what we did and what you and your family should do first. This is a little scary but it is a necessary first step.

First, gather up your last 3 months of bank statements and if you have been using credit cards gather up the last 3 months statements for each of those. (If your income or spending habits have been unusual for the past 3 months you will need 6 months worth of statements). Now, if you can't find those statements most credit card statements are available on their website and you can get copies of bank statements at your local branch. This is such an important step, please don't wing it with just the past month's statements!

Second, get a big stack of notebook paper or a legal pad and label the tops of each page with a category of spending:

tithe/charity
Mortgage/rent
House repairs/ purchases for the home
Utilities: phone, cell phones, cable, electricity, gas, Internet, etc.
Groceries
Eating out
Car Payments:
Gas for cars
Maintenance/ car repairs:
Car insurance
clothing for kids
clothing for adults
dry cleaners
Insurances that are not payroll deducted
Property taxes not escrowed
doctor bills/co-pays/ prescriptions
Child care
Hair cuts, etc.
School tuition, etc.
School supplies, etc for kids
pest control
carpet cleanings
hobbies
travel
gifts/ parties
entertainment (video rentals, movies theatre, etc.)
credit card bills
student loans
other loans
bank fees
misc. (anything else you bought or paid for but doesn't seem to have or need its own category)
misc. (cash: these are ATM withdrawls or checks written but you don't know why)

Third, go through each of your statements line by line as put the amounts for each transaction under the appropriate category. Mark them off the statement as you go because there are a lot of items you are dealing with here.

Fourth, now that you have all of the categories with their lists, add up the total amount for each category. Yes, the misc. category certainly is probably huge! But it is okay. We are just learning where our money is going or (learning that we don't know where it is going)

Fifth, divide the total amounts for each category by the number of months of statements you have been looking at. For example, if your eating out total is $690 and you have looks at the past 3 months statements do this math: $690 divided by 3= $230. This is the average amount you have spent for each category each month.

Sixth, please remain calm. Yes, the numbers may look insane! Yes, I know that you have spent more than you ever dreamed possible. It is going to be okay! This is only part 1. Now the last thing you must do is add up the amounts for all of your spending! That is take all the total category amounts and add them together. You will get a very big number.

Finally, compare the total amount you have spent over these months with the amount of income you brought in during the same months. You should know how much you made but you can look at your total amount of deposits if necessary.

Now, is your outgo the same as your income? Or is what you spent way more than what you brought home? Or did you spend less than you made and have put money into savings and investments?

If you were like us, our outgo was far more than income and that's where the credit card debt was coming from. Or if your outgo was more than income and you don't have credit card debt, then you aren't possibly saving money for your future or a rainy day.

Now, make sure you show your husband/wife/ and perhaps grown up children (if they are still part of our household) what has been happening to your money. You are in this together as a family and together you can make it better!

Look for my next post of "how we are getting out of debt: Part 2" coming soon. I would love to receive a short comment on if you have or will be doing this Part 1. A simple yes or no would be great! I want to help you and inspire you through our story.

Great deals at CVS thru November 3rd

1. Soy Joy bars are on sale for $1 each. Buy 4 and get $4 back. Here is a printable coupon for $1 off 2. You will make money on this one! Also if you have the September and October "All You" magazines there are coupons for BOGO Soy Joy!

2. Allergy/Joint/ or Sleep MD- Buy 1 at $4.99 and get $5 back

3. Rohto Eye Drops- Buy 1 at $5.00 and get $5 back

4. Mylanta products- Spend $20, get $10 back. Here is a printable coupon for $3.00 off. Also may qualify for $3 rebate at http://www.valuesforhealth.com/

5. Softsoap Body Wash- Buy 2 @ $3.49 each and get back $2 Printable coupon for $1 off here.

Buy these:
#1-3 Mylanta
Use a $4 off $20 purchase
use 3 $3 Mylanta coupons and pay $7.97.
Get back $10

#2- Buy 2 Softsoap Body Washes for $6.98
Buy 4 SoyJoy bars for $4
Use 1 $2/$10 CVS coupon
Use 2 $1/1 Softsoap coupons
Use 2 $1/2 SoyJoy coupons
Spend $4.98 plus tax
Get $8 in ECBs back!

Thanks to Crystal at http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for scenario #2!

Money Maker at CVS!!!

This is a two-step process but if you are lucky and the stars are aligne right you could profit $100 in Extra Bucks!

First, go to the pharmacy section and look for a coupon book called "diabetes savings book". It is referenced on page 18 of this week's sales flyer. It is not the magazine they have that has articles and recipes. It has coupons in the back. I had to ask the pharmacist cashier about them. They had received them in a box but had not bothered to put them out yet. She gave me 2 booklets.

Second, in the booklet is a coupon for $50 off of a NovaMax glucose monitoring machine. They are on sale this week for $29.99. But when you buy one you get $20 in Extra Bucks!!!So, this is what I did:
1 Novamax
2 2lt pepsis

Used a $2 off a $10 purchase and then handed her the CVS $50 coupon.
She called the manager over and he adjusted the coupon to the price of $29.99. I paid $.53 in tax and got back my $20 Extra bucks!

There is a limit of 5 per card, so if you can find the booklets and your store doesn't hassle you over the amount of the coupon you can make $100 this week!

I read about it on hotcouponworld and it worked for me. Some people were lucky enough to get all $50 taken off! I'm going back tomorrow with my other coupon and see if I can score some more coupon booklets.

I'll be posting tomorrow about how to roll these $20 bucks into more free products and $$ at CVS with this week's best deals!

Free Juicy Juice!

Here is a link to print out a coupon for a free juicy juice product up to $3.50. These are good through the end of December. If you don't have kids, the Healthy Harvest is very good with a full serving of vegetables in it. You could also donate to a children's ministry at your church.

Enjoy. Click here to print.

$10 off a $25 purchase at Lowe's-Deal over now

Register Here to receive a printable coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase. These coupons are good through December 29th.

A discussion of the Dave Ramsey Plan to being debt free

My husband and I went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University about 18 months ago at our church. Along with the course we both read 2 of Dave's book, 2 books by Mary Hunt, and a book by Clark Howard. At the time we had over $33,000 in unsecured credit card debt!!!! We actually started the frugal journey in 2002/2003 and just cut expenses. At that time we had $110,000 total debt. When I look at that number now, I am soooooo scared. I can't believe it was that much. Where did it come from? Buying stuff that we could not afford and living for a year off of credit while my husband was unemployed and going to school at night.

What have we accomplished since then?

We now have 1 credit card left with a balance of about $2500.
We have paid off:
Bank of America-$14,300
MBNA- $12,000
Sears-$3000
Wells Fargo furniture $1000
various other small cards $1200

Now, I wish that one last credit card debt would just magically disappear but I know it only will with hard work and continued dedication to living below our means. We seem to be so close to paying it all off but for the last few months we have not been able to make a dent in it due to a combination of losing out on 2 paychecks in August (due to school board), many dental appointments for Christin, and the overall increase in it seems the price of everything!!!!!

So, I'm buckling down. I'm getting it paid. I want it gone before the new baby arrives in February. So in my next few posts, as well as any deals that I come across, I will be posting about how we are going to cut some more expenses and live on less. Come along for the ride!

Do you have any paying off debt success stories? I'd love to hear them. You can post a comment or email my at http://www.adh913@yahoo.com/ and I will publish your story here. I know that families benefit when we pay off our debt and are no longer slave to the lender.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's my menu for the week, using what I have on hand. Being six months pregnant, I am beginning to be extremely tired after work and not really wanting to cook much. To combat this, I am pulling out the crockpot for some meals this week.

Monday- grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti-o's or veggie soup from a can (cheese from Kraft deal last week, spaghetti-o's and soup bought on sale with coupons)
Tuesday- pan-seared rosemary porkchops, green bean casserole, corn cakes (pork chops from BOGO sale, green beans $.25 per can, corn cakes recipe below)
Wednesday- crockpot black bean chili, rice, leftover corn cakes (black beans free from Target, rice very cheap)
Thursday- stir fry with smoked sausage, veggies, rice (sausage from winn-dixie sale last week, veggies bought on sale with coupon, rice leftover from Wednesday)
Friday- crockpot pizza soup, brownies for dessert (pepperoni from winn-dixie sale last week, brownies made from scratch)


Recipe for crockpot pizza soup:
1 package wide-egg noodles
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 pound ground beef
1 package (3 oz) pepperoni
3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
1 clove garlic minced.

Cook onion, garlic and ground beef until done in a frying pan. Cook noodles until done. Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Combine beef mixture with spaghetti sauce and Italian seasonings. Layer the crockpot with 1/3 meat, then noodles, then cheese. Repeat until you use up everything. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
**You can add other pizza ingredients you like such as mushrooms, peppers, olives, etc.

Corn cakes recipe:
Mix up a box of Jiffy cornbread like it says on package and add the following:
1/2 cup cheddar or jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped scallions or green onion
and optional bacon bits
Fry them on a griddle like a pancake! Yummy!

Update to my Christmas List

So far for Christmas gifts I have spent $29. This includes gifts for 7 people, mostly small children in my extended family. I have yet to start shopping for my kids. They haven't made their lists yet although they are all asking for a Nintendo DS. Those run about $129 each and that doesn't include games. So for 3 of those it will cost me about $400!!!! Does anyone have any suggestions for this? It seems crazy to buy 3 of the exact thing for so much money.

Best Bets for CVS and Walgreens this week:

Crystal at moneysavingmom has written up detailed instructions for good buys this week and I am just linking to her site since I can't write it up any better than she has already! Thanks Crystal!

CVS

Walgreens

T.J. Bearytales Animated Story-telling bear

This toy for children ages 3-6 is on sale at Wal-mart.com for $19.98. You can choose to have it shipped to your nearest store for free and pick it up there. These things are normally $40-$60 so this would be a great deal!

Toys R Us has some of the books on clearance right now for $3. It has great reviews by parents and children alike.

See it here.

Free bag of candy at K-Mart

click here for the printable coupon

It says good for one bag that is regularly priced $2.79. Choose from Hershey's brands, Mars Brands, etc.

If you are going to get the free Polly Pockets or Barbie Island Princess deal this makes it worth the trip even more!

Good deal next week at K-Mart, girl toys! :)

Next week K-Mart is running a special where you buy "Barbie Island Princess" DVD for $14.99 and either the Island Princess doll or role-play dress at $19.99 and you get an instant $15 off. Barbie is a Mattel product so you can combine that deal with this printable coupon for $5 off a $20 Mattel or Fisher Price item.

So it would look like this:
1 DVD $14.99
1 Doll $19.99
Total: $35
Minus instant $15 off
Minus $5 coupon
Final cost: $15 for the $35 set

Add in a Polly Pocket or two and use the $5 off Polly coupon I posted earlier.

This would make a great gift for a young girl or for "adopt" a family/angel tree at Christmas.

This week's good deals at Winn-Dixie thru 10/23

I had a great shopping trip today at Winn-Dixie and just had to share these deals with you.

First, buy Kraft cheese and get a Catalina coupon for up to $4 off your next order. If you buy 4 you get $2 off, buy 5 and get $3 off, buy 6 and get $4 off your next order. The participating products are:
Kraft Singles
Grate-it-fresh parmesan
Natural cheese (chunks, shredded, cubes, cracker cuts, sticks, crumbles, and string)
Kraft Deli Deluxe
Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Polly0o String Cheese
Velvetta
Kraft to go
Cheez Whiz
Philly ready to eat cheesecake filling
cracker barrel cheeses

They also have a special where if you buy 2 items of Cracker Barrel cheese you automatically get a free box of Ritz crackers.

In some stores there are "blinkie" coupons near the cheese for $1 off 2 Naturals. There were also coupons for Kraft cheese in the 9/23 Sunday paper.

Here is my first order:
2 Packs Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar (on sale for $2.99)
2 Packs Kraft Naturals (colby jack and mild cheddar) (on sale for $2)
2 Packs of Kraft Cracker Cuts (on sale for $2)
1 Box of Ritz crackers

Total before coupons: $18.19
Minus 2 $1 off 2 coupons (2)
Minus 1 Free Ritz (2.50)
Total price: $13.69

Then I got a catalina (print out coupon) for $6 off my next order. It should have been a $4 off but it printed as $6!

I turned around and bought:
2 packs of Eckrich smoked sausage (On BOGO sale, $1.50 each)
10 packs of Armour pepperoni 3 oz (on sale for 10/$10)
2 loafs of Peppridge Farms garlic bread (on BOGO sale, $1 each)
1 loaf of Sara Lee Sandwich bread (sale $1.79)
1 half-gallon of Silk chocolate milk ($3.29)

total before coupons: $20.08
I used these coupons:
2 $.75 off any Eckrich product. Print here
10 $.75 off any Armour product. Print here
2 $.55 off any Pepridge farm frozen bread from Sunday 10/07
1 buy sara lee get $1 off milk (these were located on the sara lee bread stand)
1 Silk Soy milk $2.25 off any coupon. Print here

Total after coupons: $6.73
I used my $6 catalina coupon from above and paid only $.73 for this!

Total today $14.42 Without the sale prices, specials, and coupons these groceries would have cost $60.

You can do this too! Even if you don't have the Sunday coupons these are still great deals with just the printable coupons!

Free Play-doh or Crayola Crayons today only Toys R Us

http://toysrus.rsys1.net/servlet/website/ResponseForm?mhRlE0y1_VTTAUTUB_.40kLL0hR_zNiisLtLgmHsEdybz0.26u.2e.263.26.26z.26F.3df7beD9vf

$5 off any Polly Pocket

Use this at Wal-mart, Target, Toys R Us, etc. The small ones should be free or close to free with this coupon. Great for stuffing stockings or angel trees.

http://www.mattel.com/pollypromise/coupon_english.pdf

Get a free $50 NFL gift certificate

Those of you in certain areas have the opportunity to make $50 in 15 minutes. GMC is offering a test drive gift certificate in the following cities:

Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Miami, Orlando

All you need to do is go to this website, print a voucher, take it to a participating dealer, get your code, shop online.

This could make a great Christmas gift for your hubby, significant other, uncle, brother, grandpa, etc.

It looks like you get an instant online code!

My family will be doing this test drive on Saturday. I will report back my results.

A few questions for my readers :)

In trying to make my grocery blogging even more wonderful and helpful for myself and my readers I would love to get the answers to the following questions:

1. Which stores do you mainly shop at for groceries?
2. Do you collect the Sunday Newspaper coupon inserts?
3. Are you actively seeking to lower your grocery/food spending or would you like to?
4. And just to make it fun, what is your favorite sinful snack?

Please, leave a comment. It will make my life complete!

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first week of joining Menu Plan Monday, hosted by www.Orgjunkie.blogspot.com

The reason menu planning is so important to a frugal mom and family is because you have plan of what you will prepare, cook, and eat each day. I know that when I don't have a plan, it is just too easy to grab something from a drive-thru window. That is expensive and unhealthy. So here's my plan for the week, made up of things I already have on hand. No last minute running to the store.

Monday- Chicken and Rice, buttered croissants, baby carrots

Tuesday- Easy porkchop skillet dinner with cornbread stuffing, baby peas

Wednesday- Dippers night, quick and easy before heading to church. Chicken nuggets, mozzarella cheese sticks, cut up veggies

Thursday- Leftovers from earlier in the week before heading out to Boy Scout meeting

Friday- Celentano beef ravioli, garlic bread, cheesecake for dessert

Saturday- skillet brunch with eggs, peppers, bacon, cheese, blueberry muffins, Dinner will be out for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary

Sunday- Crockpot bbq chicken, buttered corn, cornbread muffins, green beans

Good deals on Board Games & Toys at Amazon.com

Click here to go to Amazon.

Make family game night a reality for your family while remaining frugal! Here are a list of good buys:

Monopoly Here and Now $9.99 was $29.99
Candyland $2.00
Scrabble Junior $5.00
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? $10
Sorry! $5.99
Life $5.99
Guess Who? $7.00
Guess Where? $6.50

Diego Talking Rescue Tower $9.99 was $39.99

Good Deals at Publix thru 10/17

1. Pepridge Farm's Goldfish $1.00. Print coupons at http://www.coolsavings.com/ for $.55/2 or a printable here for $1/2 http://www.fishfulthinking.com/stayconnected/registration1.aspx?src=CC1
2. Ronzoni Pasta BOGO
3. Doritos BOGO
4. Hillshire Farms Sausage $1.99
5. Apples, 3 lb bag for $2.99
6. Classico pasta sauce BOGO, printable here www.classico.com or blinkie coupons reported near the shelf

with coupons:
coupons from 9/23:
6. Ritz crackers
7. Ziploc Easy Zip bags

coupons from 10/07:
8. Betty Crocker potatoes BOGO, print coupon at http://www.coupons.com/
9. Progresso Soup $1.25 print coupons at www.bettycrocker.com
10. Lawry's Marinade or printable $1 off at www.coupons.com
11. I can't believe its not butter $.75 printable at www.tasteyoulove.com

Good deals at Winn-Dixie thru 10/16

I made a quick trip to Winn-Dixie this morning. Here are the highlights of my trip:
Total before card and coupons: $160
Total after card and coupons: $71
Total % saved: 56%

Best deals:
1. Armour beef hotdogs are Buy One Get One Free $3.99, I used 2 $.75 coupons found here and that made them $1.25 each. This is excellent for all beef hotdogs! Link to coupons.
2. Grapes are $.99/lb.
3. 3lbs of tangerines are BOGO
4. Boneless center-cut pork chops: BOGO, EZ peel shrimp are BOGO
5. Ground beef $1.49/lb
6. Silk Soy Milk- Coupon here for $2.25 off a quart. You can print twice. Quarts are $1.99 at my Winn-Dixie, half-gallon of chocolate for $3.29. I bought 2 half-gallons of chocolate and my kids are in heaven over it. Soy milk is high in iron which is great for kids!
7. Bags of Pepridge Farms Goldfish are on sale for $1.00 each. Print a coupon for $.55 off 2 at http://www.coolsavings.com/. This makes them only $.75 a bag.

If you have coupons from the past weeks' Sunday papers here are some more great deals:
Today's coupons 10/14/2007:
8. Carl Budding Thin sliced meats are BOGO, use 2 coupons from today's paper and pay only $.80 for each.
9. Tyson chicken patties are on sale for 4.99 use today's coupon for $1 off. Save 46%.
Coupons from 10/07/2007:
10. Progresso soups are BOGO, use the $.50 off 2.
11. Betty Crocker Warm Delights minis
Coupons from 09/16/2007
12. Farm Rich Cheese Sticks are BOGO, use the $1 off coupon
13. Ragu pasta sauce

Here's my receipt:
2 Silk chocolate soymilks half gallons
2 Farm Rich Cheese stick bags
2 Betty crocker mini delights
6 cans Progresso soup
2 packs Boneless pork chops
1 whole cut-up fryer (not on sale)
2 bags of tangerines
4 bags Goldfish
2 bags of Jumbo EZ peel shrimp
2 boxes Cheez-its (also BOGO)
4 packs Armour hotdogs
grapes
4 packs Carl budding meat
1 rotisserie chicken
1 Italian bread loaf
2 boxes cereal (not on sale)
2 Coke 2 liters
head of lettuce
hot dog buns

Printable coupon for $5 off any Tylenol

http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subpcccoldmed.inc

You can print this twice. Should make for some free or close to free Tylenol.

Free Dale and Thomas Popcorn

This is fantastic popcorn! A true treat for anyone. Now you can get some for free. Just enter your email address at this site and they will email you a code for a $20 gift card. http://www.daleandthomasgifts.com/vzgiftcard.asp You don't want to miss this one!

You can also order two bags and pay shipping of $5.90 at this link. Now, you might be thinking, this is expensive popcorn but OH Lord! it is good stuff. It would make a fantastic gift for someone in your life. https://www.daleandthomaspopcorn.com/freepopcorn/default.aspx?Channel=LSHARE&siteID=pp0U11nmf3Y-zuwF.0O9xwPHWCuoqz1S.g

The cinnamon creme tastes like Christmas!

Re-evaluating TV Choices

I have to admit that sharing information about my Television bill is hard. I mean, I'm Thrifty Florida Mama, but not lately when it comes to satellite tv. We have been with Directv forever, since we were married in May 1995. As we've added children and televisions in our house, this bill has gone up steadily. Last year we bought a large-screen HD TV and upgraded to HD Directv and DVR! I must say that I love DVR. Love it! And football games are awesome in HD and so are NASCAR races. These are our family's favorite sports. But I digress.

My Directv bill is about $110 per month. Eeeek! That's a lot of tv. It started out at $30 month back in 1995. So, today I receive a flyer in the mail from Dish Network. Free 4-room satellite TV with 4 DVRs, free HD for 6 months, free HBO and Cinemax for 3 months. Free installation and a total price of $52.99 per month. That's half the amount we are paying now plus 4 DVR's!!!! A dream. So I called Directv. I mean I've been a loyal customer for 12 years. I speak to a Customer no-service, "How can I make your day miserable" lady. I ask about any deals for current customers. The lady actually sounded like she shrieked! "There are no deals for loyal customers" she said, or you know, something like that. But she did offer to help me make upgrade choices should I need more Directv services. I then asked to speak with her manager. I explained the flyer I had received from Dish and how it sounded like I needed to speak to someone about canceling Directv. She then reluctantly transferred me. I then spoke to a gentleman who was "in-charge" of customer retention. He told me about how great Directv was and all of their upcoming HD channel additions being planned. I told him I was switching unless he could lower my current price. After hemming and hawing for about 15 minutes he agreed to lower my price to match the Dish network offer for the next 12 months. He even threw in free HBO for 6 months.

Ha! A frugal victory. I should save about $50 per month over the next year with this new price. That's $600 for the year. Now, why didn't I do this sooner? I think is because we always assume that prices will go up for the services and goods we keep buying. We like the service so we keep paying for it, no matter what the price goes up to, to a certain point.

With this little victory I am going to seek out other areas in my budget that I have allowed to creep higher over the past year or two. Phone company watch out- YOU ARE NEXT!

Get to CVS this week!

Here's a chance to get a lot of products at CVS while they basically pay you to shop there. You will invest about $11 out of pocket but be able to take home more than $45 in goods.

First, sign up for CVS email. If you haven't done this simply go to http://www.cvs.com/ and click on the banner on the left that says, "get $4 off". Fill in your information and then check your email for your coupon. Print several copies because your coupon won't expire for a few weeks.

Best deals for the week:
1. Colgate Total or MaxFresh- Buy 1 at $2.99 and get $2 back. Limit of 3. But these will be free after you print your coupons. First, print here and then print here. You can print each coupon twice. Just hit the link again.

2. Palmolive Dish Detergent-
Buy 1 at $1.49 and get $1 back. Limit of 5. These will cost $.09 each after you use this printable coupon. Click here to print. You can print this twice. If you have access to more than one computer you can print 5 and buy all 5 with coupons.

3. Tampax Sport Tampons- Make $.51! Buy 1 at $4.99 and get $3 back. Limit of 1. Click here for a coupon for $2.50 off.

4. All mennen deodorant (Speed Stick, Lady Speed Stick) is Buy 1 at $1.99 and get $1 back. Limit 1. This is the only brand my husband will use so it is a good deal for me.

5. Bean-o to go. Buy 1 at $2.99 and get $2.99 back. Limit 5. You can print $1 off coupons here. (Print up to 4 per email address) You make $1 on each. Now why would you want that much bean-0? Well, I'm using them as gag gifts for the men on my Christmas list!!! Besides, CVS is paying you to buy this product!

6. Crest Pro-health Night toothpaste or Rinse. Buy 1 at $3.29 and get $3.29 back. Free toothpaste! (Coupons were in the Sunday paper on 9/30, so it would be more than free if you have those.)

My first transaction:
3 bean-o @2.99=$8.97
1 Tampax @4.99
2 Colgate @2.99=5.98
1 Hershey's candy bar@.50
Total=20.44
Minus $4.00 coupon from email
minus 3 Beano $1.00 coupons
minus 1 Tampax $2.50 coupon
minus 2 Colgate $1 coupons
Total out of pocket=$8.94 plus tax
I received extra bucks of $8.97, $3, $4 so I made $7

2nd transaction:
2 Beano @2.99=$5.98
1 Colgate @2.99=2.99
1 speed stick @1.99
5 Palmolives @1.49=$7.45
1 Crest rinse @3.29
Total=21.70 plus tax
minus 4.00 coupon from email
2 Beano $1 coupons
1 Colgate $1 coupon
2 Palmolive $.40 coupons
1 Crest coupon of $1
New total=$12.90
Paid with extra bucks $12.97
Out of pocket=$0
Earned extra bucks of $5.97, $5, $1, $3.29 and I still had a $3 extra buck from above.

So next week I have $18.26 in Extra bucks to shop with for more extra buck deals or I can use these this week to buy essentials like milk and bread!

Now get to CVS and get a great deal!

20% off at Toys R Us

Now thru Saturday, October 13th when you shop at www.toysrus.com use the promotional code TRUFRIENDFAMILY and get 20% off your order of $75 or more. This works on Wii and Nintendo DS games!

They have free holiday shipping on many items and they have some specials on Thomas and Hannah Montana stuff this week.

Good Site for Discount Books

Jennifer asked, "Where can I get Children's books at a great price?" As all moms know, books are a gift that we don't regret giving to our children or having too many of.

First, check your local library for their "Friends of the Library" sale. I am going to Gainesville's sale in about a week. I always go on the last day of the sale when the books are 10 cents each.

Second, buy books at a used book store. My kids and I go to the bookstore every other month in Gainesville. We simply take back books we've already read and exchange them for different titles. Most used bookstores allow you to do this with children's titles.

Third, use the website www.bookcloseouts.com. I have bought from them on several occasions. You can sort by age and then sort by price. Here is a link for books for children 2-6 years old varying in price from $1-$3. http://www.bookcloseouts.com/default.asp?N=3294+4294966614+3227&Ne=10&merch=kids

You can easily search for books on their site. I suggest a variety of both fiction and non-fiction books. Young kids love to read about science!

Another round of free samples

Wal-mart has some new free samples available. These are great for putting in your purse, diaper bag, travel bag, or for making a nice small gift for a friend or an elderly person. I'm putting them in my hospital bag.

Free Sample Dunkin Donuts Coffee

Free Sunsilk hair therapy sample

Free CurelUltra Hydrating sample

Free Jergens Lotion sample

AWESOME FREEBIE FROM HUGGIES!! Your choice of free book. I ordered 20-minute meals with Sandra Lee
Free Nivea Hand Lotion sample

If you like to get free samples, sign up fo rthe site http://www.startsampling.com/
Today on startsampling I ordered a free sample of Get Juiced Lip shimmer, Tampax pearls tampons, and Pepcid AC.

MORE FREEBIES:

Free 2008 Billy Graham Prayer Calendar (Make sure you check "Not a third Party request")
Free sample of MaryKay fragrance

The baby has a name!

After much debate, searching through name guides, and listening to our other kids we have settled on a name and are 99% sure it will stick. (I reserve the right to change my pregnant mind many, many times though!)

Camryn Elisabeth Hopkins is due on February 9th!

Do you like it?

Take a look at this site

I went to CVS yesterday. I spent $20 out of pocket and got $14.50 back in extra bucks. Today I will use those to buy the Dimetapp products that are on sale. I should spend $2 out of pocket and get $10 back.

A good deal that I did not post was Mars brand Halloween candy. These are M&ms, Twix, Skittles, etc. in the package that has the individually packaged candy. They are on sale 2/$4 but you get $2 extra bucks back, so it is like paying $1 per bag. These same bags are 2/$5 at wal-mart and even higher at Winn-Dixie. You can buy up to 10 bags for this price!

If you are new to CVS deal shopping, check out this post by Crystal at www.moneysavingmom.com. She explains how to begin shopping frugally at CVS. Here's the article.