9/29 Expressions

A bit of good news today, I am getting a nice bonus from my day job - will be going toward paying off the condo :) We also got a rent check in the mail today.

9/28 Expressions

Sunday's Bargains: Today, I shopped at CVS and came home with more in ecbs than I spent on my haul. I got 15 $1 packs of Nestle fun sized candy bars - because if you buy $15 worth, you get $5 in ecbs back. But my other reason was, it seems we get more and more "trick or treaters" each year, and I am thinking with the economic down turn, we'll probably get even more. So, now I have my candy. Of course, a few might get eaten between now and then. Possibly a few packs to a party, a couple for snacks. I had a $10 off $50 coupon from CVS, so, to get my additional purchases to equate to $50, I got my husband the Gillette Power shaver with a $4 coupon in today's insert, and it kicked out a $5 ecb. Then, the Glade Noticeables were on sale for $6.99 and I had 2 $5 off coupons. There's a deal on Total toothpaste - buy 2 for $5 and get $2 back in ecbs. I also had $2.50 worth of coupons to use on those 2 toothpastes so, .50 for 2 tubes of toothpaste. Then to round it out, Covergirl foundation is $5.79 and you get $5.79 back in ecbs. In today's paper there is a coupon for buy 1 get 1 free. My store also let me use a $1 off coupon on Covergirl products. Then I used my $7.99 ecbs from last week. Then on to Publix. I was only going to buy 4 Birdseye Pasta Viola's. They are normally $4.99, but are one sale for BOGO - but they ring up at $2.49 and $2.50. I had 4 $1 off coupons, 2 from previous Sundays' inserts and 2 printed off the internet. I had never tried them before, but we tried one for lunch, the beef lo mein is excellent. We also got shrimp scampi, garlic shrimp and another beef lo mein. So, lunch for 3 at $1.50 is not a bad deal. I made fruit smoothies with frozen bananas and left over yogurt and we are all satisfied. But the other deal is, if you send in 3 UPCs from the pasta with the form from the insert that was attached to the coupon (I am not sure if you need the receipt) - but I will be sending in proofs for a free Charlie Brown DVD - I think you have a choice of 4 titles. The 1 cent item was Publix brand peanut butter - either smooth or crunchy. But, I happen to look through a little booklet they had at the door, there was a coupon for $1 off 2 Aunt Jemima individual breakfasts and they were on sale for $1 each - so, at .50 each, I or someone in my family will be giving them a try. They also had a $1 off breakfast sandwiches coupon and those were on sale for $2.49 - each box contains 2 - so, someone will be trying those too.

9/27 Contest Expression

Need a $15 Starbucks Gift Card? Who doesn't :) Run on over to: http://moneyning.com/ and enter. Moneyning is graciously giving away 6 cards

9/27 Expressions

We got paid this week and made another "principal only" payment on the condo. We should be on track to get the place paid off around this time next year (hopefully earlier). We got our "Inventory" list - items that need to be replaced. Haha, you should see the prices if I let them buy it for me - the price of convenience. For me, they were "let me fall out of this chair" prices. So, I need to replace the broiler pan, dutch oven, cookie sheet, dust pan, wine glasses, kitchen shears. I had a brand new pair of kitchen shears from the great bargain days of the internet from the days gone by. So, that's in the box we need to take when we do minor maintenance/updates and squeeze in a few days for ourselves. Prices vary widely on the rest of the stuff - but I placed an order - went through mypoints, found a 10% off code for Target and ordered the broiler pan, dutch oven and cookie sheet - just over $50 including shipping. Today, I am running to the dollar tree and will pick up the wine glasses and dust pan - should be under $10. WOW - I just checked my e-mails and got one from RESTAURANT.COM. It has been a while since I have "ordered" a giftcertificate. I went thru MYPOINTS and currently, you earn 6 points per $1 spent. The e-mail had a code - FALL - to get 60% off - good through 30 Sep 08. Well, since we are going to the beach in the next couple of months for a working vacation, I just took a peek. There are two restaurants in the vicinity. RIBS & REDS in Gulf Shores and LESTERS in Orange Beach. I have never been to either, but will surely give them a try with the gift certificates. We ended up paying $8 for 2 $25 Gift Certificates.

We have weekend passes to a music festival. We went last night and standing sure does take its toll. My husband's first impulse was to run out and buy folding chairs. Mine, look in the storage spaces/garage and see if we have some. If not, we have a relative that lives very near that has plenty of them, lets borrow them in exchange for a pan of freshly baked Pillsbury cinnamon rolls - bought on sale, store incentive, and a coupon. This will help get them out of the fridge and help someone else eat a few extra calories we don't need.

Mail last week was nice. I must have joined Pillsbury's panel? Anyway, they were kind of enough to send me a coupon for a free "can" of pizza dough and $1.10 off coupons for additional cans. I plan to hand a few out as instructed. I received several rebate checks which were cashed for "pocket change" for this week.

9/21 Expressions #2

ZAPiT Game Wave Family Entertainment System: As a Buzz Agent, I signed up to the ZAPiT Game Wave campaign. As a family, we are glad I did. Like I said, I am not a gamer, but we enjoy board games and watching game shows. That is what caught my interest in the description of this game system. There are 4 handheld controllers (like a remote) and the games are easy to understand. We played "Re-Wind" last night and it was fun. The game required us to use our brain, and engaged us in a bit of friendly competition. We receive 7 games and we look forward to playing the other 6.

9/21 Expressions

Promise Activ Supershots Mixed Berry to help control Blood Pressure: I am a Buzz Agent and signed up to do the Supershot campaign. I am pre-hypertensive and have been taking a diuretic to help control it. The supershot product is a good source of Potassium. I just a "shot" of it and it is pretty tasty. I have included included exercise in my daily regiment - at least 5 days a week and have been watching my diet. I am hoping with the continued regiment, I will be able to control my blood pressure naturally. In meantime, I thought I'd give this product a try. I was expecting it to be in the $4 range - but at my store, it is on sale this week for $2.50 a 4 pack.

9/19 Expressions

Mail: I have gotten some nice freebies in the mail this past week. A coupon for a free bag of IAMs dog food, a nice coupon package from BuzzAgent for Promise Power Shots for High Blood Pressure and a rebate check and a survey check.

Frugal Activities: We watched a $1 rental movie yesterday, although we ate out with a 1/2 price gift certificate. I set a limit on grocery spending yesterday and beat it by a few cents. I really need to get in gear, but those indoor salad growing contraptions have caught my eye. I am wondering if I do a frugal version, i.e., flower pot near the window, different lettuce/herb seeds growing in the house for fresh salads.

Financial Activities: Still keeping my eye on paying off the condo by this time next year and we are slightly ahead of "schedule". These next couple of months will be leaner as condo rentals go into the "low" season (price and occupancy-wise). I am hoping we have very little maintenance/upgrading to do this year. Also, I am hoping property taxes go down also.

9/14 Expressions

Frugal Deeds for Today: We ate all meals at home and I cooked "extra". I have lots of Pillsbury products because Kroger has a buy 15 items get $3 off instantly and the products were on sale for 3/$5 and there were internet printable $1 coupons - making each Pillsbury item .41 or .42 plus tax a can. So, I made Pigs in a Blanket, ham/cream cheese stuffed croissants, etc. Added a salad to use up fresh veggies in the fridge and fruit, and that will be our meal for several meals. I also shaved up a fancy small bar of facial lemon scented soap my husband brought home from his trip and slowly boiled it with water in a coffee can this afternoon. Now, I have a full bottle of laundry detergent.

9/13 Expressions

Cheap Clothing: Today, we were out and about. On our way home, we stopped at my favorite thrift store. Wow - today was $1 day for clothing items. I got 2 suits, 1 sweater, 1 shirt, 1 pr of pants, and a skirt for just over $8 - they charge tax - and the suits were $2 each. I am now pretty much done sprucing up my fall/winter office wear wardrobe, including 5 new to me suits, for around $70 total.

Entertainment: We used the half price gift certificate I got from a radio station's special. We had a very large and delicious pizza and paddled a paddleboat this afternoon. Afterward, we stopped at the science museum for the freebie day. We just happened to drive by a farmers' market - not cheap - but perhaps frugal, but we got a few tomatoes, yellow squash, and honey with a piece of honey comb in a pint jar.

Misc: We stopped at Staples to get my daughter's purse pattern copied/enlarged. It was 8 cents per page. So, 2 patterns on 3 pages cost us .24. We also recycled 2 ink cartridges - we thought we would get 2 $3 coupons - nope, now you get a check quarterly - part of the rewards program.

Mail: My husband got a free razor and I got 2 Cascade dishwasher tablets and the Eraser sponge from Walmart. Included in the ssmple pack were a coupon for $1.50 on dishwasher tablets and .50 off the eraser sponge. Oh yes, Victoria's Secret sent me a coupon for a free pair of cotton underwear.

9/12 Expressions

Frugal Entertainment: For this weekend, I read in the paper that the local science museum is have a freebie weekend. So, if we feel the need to get out of the house, that is an option. Also, we have freebie movie tickets thanks to American Eagle. We have DVDs from the library. My daughter and I may visit Staples to have my daughter's purse pattern enlarged and she may try to make a purse. That would be fun. I am going to try to buy minimum groceries - that will be very entertaining!

Frugal clothings: Last week I found a nice suit in the thrift shop for $7 - and I also got a blouse thrown in. This week, I ordered 2 suits off of ebay. Definitely not as cheap as the thriftstore, but, a whole lot better than department store prices.

9/7 Expressions

Cheapie/freebie entertainment: Our cheapie entertainment for this evening was dinner at Red Lobster. I signed up for the "club" a couple of days ago and got a coupon for a free appetizer. Then, we had 3 giftcards from gifts and points redemption (mypoint?). Anyway, I forgot to mention, yesterday we also stopped at American Eagle in the mall. A free movie ticket if you try on jeans. Two movie tickets if you buy a pair of jeans. My daughter found a pair on clearance for 2 movie tickets and my husband tried on a pair. So, we will be attending a movie some time before those tickets expire. I also stopped at CVS and bought 3 Revlon Nail polishes, 1 Revitalift face cleanser, and Herbal Essence Shampoo for just over $10 and got $15.99 in ECBs. I gave myself a manicure - saving myself at least $6 :) I also had a great time at Kroger using internet coupons on the Buy 15 special items and get $3 off instantly. If you have coupons for Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato soup - and like the stuff - you can get a really good deal on the stuff this week.

9/6 Expressions

Frugal Shopping/Entertainment: Not much going on around here this weekend and the weather isn't too great. So, my daughter asked to go shopping w/her own $. So, I gathered coupons for stores she wanted to visit - and, I had a $15/$15 for a store the coupon was delivered to me via mail months ago - that I stapled to the calendar for this month - $15 free :). Also, we decided to eat lunch out - so, I gathered some Chick Fil A coupons. My daughter added to her wardrobe - fairly frugally. I got 5 pairs of trouser socks for $1.63 with my coupon. Then we had lunch - $6 for the 3 of us. Then to the library. We have 3 DVDs to watch and some interesting books to read. Then to the thriftstore. I found a suit for work for $7 - of course I will be taking it in to the cheapie dry cleaners to get cleaned - coupons print on the back of Kroger receipts. We stopped at Kroger to get groceries for the week - mainly we looked for "Manager Special" items - in the produce and meat departments.

9/2 Expressions

The good news for the day is that our condo/building did not sustain any kind of damages. No spending there.

I have been watching a HUD home on line for months now. It was for sale for $113,000. Then it dropped to $103,000. I looked on line at the tax appraisal - just over $85,000. It is in a great school district. My concerns, it is in the historic section, but, it looks like the previous owners added a shoddy looking extension. After about 4 months - it had dropped to $92,000. I called today. I was wondering if HUD did short sales. I was also concerned if there were any damages resulting from sitting on the market w/no occupants for so long. Turns out, someone bid $95,235 and the bid was accepted an hour before I called. Win some, lose some. But, I had never purchased a HUD home before - as I rarely saw anything appealing to me. So, it never hurts to keep your eyes open.

I received 3 small checks in the mail and 2 samples.