Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Lavender Lullaby Soap


Our first batch of lavender soap is ready to go! I am very excited as we attach labels to our hand-cut, four-ounce labors of love. I hope to start selling it online and by word of mouth. This first bar is a luxurious bar with a light lavender scent. All natural ingredients with a rich lather that makes you feel like you are pampering yourself. And you are! Ingredients include virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil, cold-pressed castor oil, organic lavender essential oil, and organic lavender flowers. This moisturizing soap is gentle and has crushed lavender buds in it for a light, exfoliating action. Great for the bath or as a hand soap; I am sure you will love our new creation. For details on ordering, go to our soaps page. Bars are $4.50 each or three for $12.00
$4.50 each or 3 for $12.00

Friday, June 25, 2010

Check out My Savings

There are plenty of sites available on the web to find coupons. Recently I stumbled across a site called Mysavings.com for printable coupons. One of the unique things about this site is that it not only has printables but also freebie offers. I saw several I had not seen before, which was refreshing as most seem to duplicate each other's efforts. Another difference is they have everyday people suggesting all the links. This site apparently pays people for the links and information they provide. This drives folks to find something new to submit, hence the variety of different offers. They pay in gift cards and from what I have read, have some great deals. I also read several testimonies of the tons of free items people have recieved and timely gift card payments as well. One thing I took note of was that the offers don't lead to piles of spam in your email box. Something I cannot stand. So if you are looking for a little side income, check this site out. If you just want the deals and coupons, hit the links above and start printing! :)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Coupon Adventures: 6/23

Harris Teeter is doing Super Doubles starting tomorrow. This means all coupons up to $1.98 will double. Here are some highlights...



Borden Cheese Sensations – 2.29 --$1.00/1 5/23 SS = .29

Bounty Paper Towels 2.19 (Currently on Sale for 1.67) --$1.00/1 Home Mailer = .19

Carefree liners - $1.49, --$1/1 4-25 SS = FREE 


Chore Boy Scrubbers 2 Pk-$1.69 --$1/1 05/16 SS Regional =Free

Coke Products 20oz $1.39 --$1.00/2 Tearpad $.39 ea.

Danactive 4pk yogurt $2.50 --$1.00/1   6/6/ SS =.50

Digioro deep dish. 2.50 (If sale continues) --1.50.1 Kraft First Taste = Free 


eat smart natural crisps 3.99 --$1.00/1 4/11 SS =1.99

French's honey mustard dipping sauce $2 ends 8/3 -$1.00/1 or $1.50/1 (4/11 SS) = Free 


Ideal Sweetener 50 ct $2.79 --$1.00/1 (3/14 RP) = .79

Jimmy dean fully cooked sausage 3.99 --1.00 4/11 RP =1.99 


KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce $2.19-- $1/1 05-09-10 SS = $0.19 


Kotex Pantiliners $1.49 --Use $1.50/2 05-16-10SS = Free 


Kraft cheese 100 Calorie Cheese Bites $2.99 --  $1.00/1 IP = .99 ea. www.coupons.com


 Krunchers chips $2.50 --$1/1 4/18 SS = .50

Lea & Perrins Thick Classic Worcestershire Sauce, 3.29 --$1.50/1 04-18-10 SS = .29

Libbys fruit current sale price 1.50 --1.00/2 IP from www.coupons.com =1.00/2 or .50 each

Mission Corn Tortillas $1.49 each --$1.50/2 tearpad =free 


Oikos Yogurt 1.89 --$1.00/1 Penguin Tearpad = Free 


Ortega Taco Seasoning - .99 --$1.00/2 (4/18 SS) = Free 

Ortega Products IP --Save $1.00 on any two (2) Ortega Products www.ortega.com/ 


 pedigree good bites 3.99 --$1.00/1 6/20 RP =1.99

Pepsi Max - 1.49 --$1.00/1 Tearpad = Free 

Philly Cream Cheese Minis $1.99 --$1/1 Kraft First Taste  q =free 


Planters Nut Bars 2.50 --$1.00/1 4/25 SS =.50

Purina Friskies cat treats 2.0-2.1oz $2.00--$1/1 (5/2 SS) = Free 


Reach floss 55 yd $1.79--$1/1 (4/11 RP) = free


reynolds aluminum foil heavy duty non stick 35 ft 4.15 (Currently on sale for 3.49) $1.00/1 5/16 SS =.99 if still on sale

ritz crackerfulls vic special $2.99 (If still on sale.) --$1.50  Kraft First Taste = free

Sure Deodorant – 2.89 --$1.50/1 (5/2 SS) = Free
Yakisoba $1.00ea --$1.00/2 5/15 SS =Free 
Yoplait delights 2.50 --$1.00/1 IP = .50 Each www.coupons.com 



Yoplait Fiber One $2.00 --  $1.00/1 IP = Free www.coupons.com 
Yoplus 2.00 $1.00/1 IP = Free www.coupons.com 

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Doing More with Less-What's Essential?

I am finding that despite my couponing efforts and all the other things I do to save money and be frugal, in today's economy it still isn't enough. As I begin to refocus on this are of my life, I thought I would share some points along the way and help all of you to do more with less as well...

Week 1: What's Essential?
In order to live on less income, you have to identify what is essential in your life. What do you want to keep and what can you eliminate? So much of our American lifestyle is made up of non-essentials. The longer we survive on limited income, the more I realize that much of what was normalcy in our budget really wasn't necessary in the first place. As I begin to re-evaluate our budget, I thought I would start by identifying what is essential in our life right now. Things like our home mortgage & food. electricity is essential to us. Is your house too big for you family? Is your food bill outrageous because of spending on convenience? Is you electric bill as small as it could be?

Once you really consider your essentials, many of the other "essentials" are really not essential at all. Cable T.V. or satellite? Land line an cell phone? Internet service? How many of those things are required? Multiple pairs of athletic shoes... car washes... are there ways to cut back on these? Are they necessary??

Time spent
I also plan to look at my activities. How many activities that I schedule for myself or the kids are essential? Is the gas to get there justified? Are the activities essential to the health and or welfare of those involved? What about the things I do that fill my day? Gardening may be essential as if falls under food, even looking for deals in sales flyers is important, but is the time I spend visiting my friends' facebook pages justified? Probably not. I am pretty sure I could find a much more productive thing to do with that 15-20 minutes I allow myself and touch base with a phone call once a month to my friend. I wouldn't think that our discussion would cover the fact that she was tired on Tuesday or that she just got home from work on Friday evening and we could really touch on the important things that are going on in her life. As I take a hard look at what I do, I realize the prioritizing eliminates the fluff and simplifies my life. With simplicity comes true happiness on many levels for me.


Happiness
Evaluating what makes you happy is important to your health and well-being. My family is VERY important to me. My faith is monumental. If I don't put time in each day for that, what is the point in life? When you over-schedule and over-spend, you have little left for the things that bring true happiness.

As I look at all of these things I hope to focus on the essentials. By de-cluttering my life, I hope to find that I have more energy and resources to spend on what matters.  When is the last time you looked at these things? Is it time to do so again? What did you find?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Coupon Adventures: Printables

THIS DEAL IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE :(
Quiznos Deal: Print a coupon for any small sub, chips and regular
fountain drink for $2.99. Just register for the email list.