Hope everyone had a great Christmas! We've celebrated five times with family and great friends, plus some really sweet gifts. Lots of new memories made...
One of my favorites was celebrating with my immediate family: mom and dad, my brothers and their families, and Aunt Ann. We pulled some cards from a new game we received called "Imagine If..." which is perfect for family gatherings. Then we made up our own version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Thought I'd share this Tenpenny family rendition with you.
On the ___ day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
16 Christmas treats (my nephew Judah, age 3)
15 more days here (my nephew Nathan, age 14, he lives in Illinois)
14 minutes of labor (my sister-in-law Michelle, due to have her first baby next summer)
13 months of health (my brother Kevin)
12 pain free labors (my sister-in-law Debbie, who is also due next summer with her fifth child, she doesn't really want 12 labors, just the "pain free" part
11 Christmas trees (my dad)
10 electric guitars (my nephew Mason, age 8)
9 landscape sets (my nephew Keegan, age 8, not sure what this is)
8 army tanks (my nephew Evan, age 9, violence is part of having so many boys in the family)
7 games of football (Chris)
6 American Girl dolls (Jane)
5 Borders gift cards (me)
4 laptops (Stephen)
3 pots of gold (Ann, my "big sister")
2 days of rest (my mom)
and a warm cup of coffee (my brother Keith)
Next year my niece Lily may be able to add her own verse, and there will be two new babies in the room. More memories to be made...
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!
Here's an opportunity for us to help each other out. Chris and I are looking for some new ways to live on a budget and be more frugal. I'm hoping that you will look through the topics below and add your comments. Thanks!!
Saving $ ...FOOD
I am presently trying out The Grocery Game (website by the same name). So far, I'm not convinced it will help US, but that is because of where we live. There is no full scale grocery store within 15 miles, so I will have to go out of my way to take advantage of the deals it finds. So far, I haven't managed to get to a Kroger (my supermarket choice) in the 3 weeks I've been a member. They have a 99 cent first month deal I think. If I can't make it worthwhile within the next week, I'll cancel. Probably would work great if I lived closer to a real grocery store. But living out in the country has other perks that make it worthwhile.
Something I learned before we moved here was that most stores have a predictable day they mark down meats (for us, it was Tuesday mornings). If I made that my shopping morning, I could typically pick up lots of discounted meats to put in the freezer until I could use them.
I try to use coupons but often find that the store brand still beats the price, especially at Walmart since they don't double coupons. The other problem I find with them is that they are usually for unhealthy items or things we wouldn't normally buy, so not a bargain after all.
When I get a chance, I'll try to think of some useful items to add to other categories.
Good for you for doing this!
from Suzanne:
i use the Coupon Mom...same idea as the grocery game...but her website is free! www.couponmom.com
also enjoy Money Saving Mom www.moneysavingmom.com she posts lots of freebies and good coupons. for example a month or so ago she posted a link for a $2 Goody's hair products coupon (for hair brush, ponytail holders, etc.). i used it tonight at Target. I got 75 of my FAVORITE ponytail holders for $0.19. :)
from Lori:
Ditto what Suzanne said. Plus there are several other blogs I have started frequenting. Maybe one of them will give you guys some ideas.
beingfrugal.net
frugaldad.com
leavingexcess.com
A lot of times these bloggers will reference other blogs. I'm discovering that there are tons of other frugal blogs out there. I just wish I had time to read them all.
Another suggestion would be Aldi's. Even if there isn't one near you it might be worth it to take a trip to Aldi's once a month to stock up. I cook as much as I can from scratch (at least I did until I had this lttle peanut). I normally don't buy too many convenience foods.
If I think of other ideas I'll do another post.
Katie says:
Convenience food IS a big issue for us, not just fast food, but the stuff from the "middle" of the grocery store.
Katie Krebs said...
Something I learned before we moved here was that most stores have a predictable day they mark down meats (for us, it was Tuesday mornings). If I made that my shopping morning, I could typically pick up lots of discounted meats to put in the freezer until I could use them.
I try to use coupons but often find that the store brand still beats the price, especially at Walmart since they don't double coupons. The other problem I find with them is that they are usually for unhealthy items or things we wouldn't normally buy, so not a bargain after all.
When I get a chance, I'll try to think of some useful items to add to other categories.
Good for you for doing this!
from Suzanne:
i use the Coupon Mom...same idea as the grocery game...but her website is free! www.couponmom.com
also enjoy Money Saving Mom www.moneysavingmom.com she posts lots of freebies and good coupons. for example a month or so ago she posted a link for a $2 Goody's hair products coupon (for hair brush, ponytail holders, etc.). i used it tonight at Target. I got 75 of my FAVORITE ponytail holders for $0.19. :)
from Lori:
Ditto what Suzanne said. Plus there are several other blogs I have started frequenting. Maybe one of them will give you guys some ideas.
beingfrugal.net
frugaldad.com
leavingexcess.com
A lot of times these bloggers will reference other blogs. I'm discovering that there are tons of other frugal blogs out there. I just wish I had time to read them all.
Another suggestion would be Aldi's. Even if there isn't one near you it might be worth it to take a trip to Aldi's once a month to stock up. I cook as much as I can from scratch (at least I did until I had this lttle peanut). I normally don't buy too many convenience foods.
If I think of other ideas I'll do another post.
Katie says:
Convenience food IS a big issue for us, not just fast food, but the stuff from the "middle" of the grocery store.
Katie Krebs said...
Honestly, I'd rather spend more than take the time to clip coupons. To me, even something like the Grocery Game, which simplifies the whole coupon thing alot, is too time consuming.
When Josh goes shopping with me, he adds up the prices as we go so he always knows exactly how much it's costing us. We always spend less when he does that. If I'm shopping by myself I won't take the time though--it's too much for me to keep track of.
Saving $ ...KIDS AND SCHOOL
Katie Krebs said...
hmm...well, I don't have any ideas for you here, but remember: homeschooling is cheaper than private school!
Saving $ ...ENTERTAINMENT
from Steve:
Redbox
from Suzanne:
Nashville Citipass! :)
currently "buy one, get one" free on their website. i split it w/a friend, and we each paid $15. i've already used 2 coupons...and saved $10. :) GREAT deal!
LOTS of restaurant and "entertainment" coupons
Katie Krebs said...
Redbox
from Suzanne:
Nashville Citipass! :)
currently "buy one, get one" free on their website. i split it w/a friend, and we each paid $15. i've already used 2 coupons...and saved $10. :) GREAT deal!
LOTS of restaurant and "entertainment" coupons
Katie Krebs said...
If you rent alot of movies, you can save money buy getting a netflix account. It pays for itself pretty quickly. It only saves you money if you're a frequent customer at Blockbuster. If you rent two new releases from Blockbuster every month then you've already spent almost twice as much as you would have spent on your monthly netflix bill.
Saving $ ...HOUSEHOLD
Kristi said...
Can you really put aluminum foil in the dryer?!?!
from Steve:
Invest in some *good* insulated socks for all four of you. When you crank the thermostat down to 65 or so it makes the winters more bearable.
from Lorie:
Many homemade household cleaners use vinegar. Check out http://www.versatilevinegar.org/. If you do an internet search I'm sure you can find other "recipes" for household cleaners. I think Money Saving Mom did a post on this but I haven't found it, yet.
Make your own fabric care products:
just so you know!
dryer bags:
http://tipnut.com/homemade-herbal-lavender-dryer-bags/
lavendar softener:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080130094130AAMp7MU
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf105050.tip.html
homemade soap:
http://www.welcometomybrain.net/2008/07/christines-homemade-laundry-detergent.html
http://chetroy.com/healthyvegan/?p=135
and you can throw in a wad of aluminum foil to reduce static in the dryer.
someday I will try the bags and soap! and someday I will learn how to post a link in a comment.
Can you really put aluminum foil in the dryer?!?!
from Steve:
Invest in some *good* insulated socks for all four of you. When you crank the thermostat down to 65 or so it makes the winters more bearable.
from Lorie:
Many homemade household cleaners use vinegar. Check out http://www.versatilevinegar.org/. If you do an internet search I'm sure you can find other "recipes" for household cleaners. I think Money Saving Mom did a post on this but I haven't found it, yet.
Saving $ ...OTHER
S said...
i like to sign up for the email newsletters for my favorite stores...because they usually email coupons! however, my inbox was getting too many emails...and my personal emails were getting lost in the shuffle. those were most important to me! so, i created a separate email address. i use it to sign up for email newsletters from all of our favorite stores/restaurants, etc. it's helped me have all of those in one place, and it keeps my "personal" email address neat and tidy. :)
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