Looks like a good week at Walgreens. Let's see if they issue a dollars off coupon for this Friday. That would make it even more sweet. To see coupon matchups and the best deals visit Centisble Sawyer's post HERE.


And as if she weren't already my hero, Denise (Centsible Sawyer) has great Target Deals at her post HERE.

And, last but not least Denise also gives you the best deals at Walmart with coupon matchups HERE.

I hope you didn't think I had forgotten my FAVORITE store! Check for deal workups HERE, HERE, and HERE! Also see how to get started with only $5 out of pocket HERE.

I will let you know when I get to do my CVS run(s) for the week. You guys will get to see my great savings via the miracle of the internet!

Here is the most comprehensive listing of Freebies that I could find. Click HERE to find a list of all the free samples and offers that you can sign up for this week. I LOVE finding little surprises in my mailbox every day as I get some new sample offer!

Well, of course YESTERDAY was Freedom Friday, but I ran across a couple of great articles that spoke to some of the topics we have been discussing and I wanted to share them here. I hope you enjoy!

Marcy, at Stretching a Buck, talks about saying goodbye to her "old college friend." I remember meeting this friend in college too, TWO different times. We too have said goodbye to this friend, and with pleasure!

And an old bloggy friend who has since left the blogosphere wrote such a great companion article to our Freedom Friday Post HERE that I wanted to share it below. I would have linked to this post, except the blog is no longer on the internet, so I have pasted the text below.

This is a great coupon book. I request it every time the offer resets. There are great coupons for Cascade, Dawn, Febreeze, Iams, Mr. Clean, and Swiffer products. These items frequently go on great sale at CVS and Walgreens, so it is nice to have these coupons on hand to pair up with those deals to make them even better!

Get your book HERE!

Check out this post at Money Saving Mom to get instructions on how to pick up Dixie Paper Plates for $0.40 a package! I'll be getting mine this afternoon on the way home from work!

Taking responsibility for your mess is hard. I know. And we have a mess. And we got into it with all of the best intentions. All of a sudden we realized we were in a pile of debt that we never wanted and never thought we would have.

When we started to have trouble with our mortgage, which praise the Lord we are still able to pay, a lot of suggestions started to come our way about the government being able to bail us out.

Now, that is all well and good, but the government didn't get me into this mess, I DID. And if I am ever going to make lasting change, I can't wait for the government to make it all better. I have to start doing something to make it right on my own.

Now for us with our house it is going to be a very long, and very difficult road, since we are in a very difficult place, but I don't expect the government to fix it for me.

For more Freedom Friday minded fare, check out Lynnae's excellent post about her Financial Independence Day.

I heard a great monologue this week on the Dave Ramsey show and wanted to share it with you. Click here and read the transcript.

Happy Freedom Friday!

I love to get things free, so for the last couple of weeks I have been amassing a few free product coupons. I finally got over to Wally World to redeem them and this is what I got:

• A box of Kashi Vive Probiotic cereal with coupons mailed to me by Vocalpoint
• A free Nivea for Men Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15 and CoQ10 from calling Nivea to report a defective can of Nivea for Men Shave Gel (which I had paid for with ECB at CVS). They sent me a coupon for any Nivea Men Product up to $8!
• A bottle of Country Bob's Sauce from this Post at Money Saving Mom.
• A tube of A&D Diaper Rash Ointment from a coupon I had picked up at a store some time ago.
  
• And a BIG bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing and Marinade from the free coupon inside of Kraft Food and Family Magazine.

Thanks to Angie at Thrifty Florida Mama for letting us know about this great deal at Target starting Sunday.

Click HERE to print three $1 off coupons to get the following soda 12 packs for $1.33 a pack plus a FREE 1.5 qt Edie's Ice Cream!

The following flavors qualify:

• Sunkist
• 7uP
• A&W Root Beer
• Canada Dry Ginger Ale
  

Here is the link to this weeks great bargains at Publix, courtesy of Fiddledeedee.

Click HERE to see the great deals with regular coupon matches.

Click HERE to see great deals with internet printable coupon matches.

I have to share my latest score in the world of shopping. Pasta is always a great meal stretcher, and a great meal in and of itself. I especially love when I can get a great deal on high quality pasta.

Today I scored 6 boxes of Barilla Mini Pasta for $1.81!!! That is
$0.30 cents a box! Each box has 8 servings, which makes this a little under 4 cents per serving! To see how I did it, check out THIS post at Fiddledeedee.

I have been having some great discussions with friends lately about how to get the most for our money and still feed our family wholesome, nutritious meals. It is with this in mind that I thought I would share some of the best things out there in the blogosphere this week on the topic of stretching the grocery budget.

Jennifer over at HotHubs posted a great article about how to figure out the cost of a meal. You might be pleasantly surprised to find out that your per meal costs for your favorite foods might not be as high as you thought.

Denise, over at the Centsible Sawyer, has updated the Walmart list of freebies and cheapies with coupons matched. This is a tremendous savings help.

Lindsay over at Passionate Homemaking has a great post about eating nutritionally while on budget.

The Affluent Pauper explains how you can use coupons for more than junk food, and follows it up with a great list of resources for coupons on organic foods!

Simply Thrifty breaks out a list of 100 things you can make yourself along with links to all the how-to's.

Heather at Freebies 4 Mom explains how to deal with stores who won't take your printable coupons.

Amy at GooGooBuyBuy talks about stockpiling (one of my favorite topics)!

See anything I might have missed that you think deserves to be on this list? Leave a comment!

Here is my recipe for a quick and easy dinner.

• I really have to think through whether it is worth it to make major purchases. It is much more difficult to make impulse buys when you don't have a way to finance them.
• It has helped me with long range planning. When we really do have a need, I can save money up and then purchase or pay for the item or service.
• My debts are always going down, not just being put off for another month since I am not accumulating more.

Share your insights into how you are fighting back against debt!

Ok, I have to say that I am VERY excited about the wonderful stockpiles that I have built up over the last month. This week I was able to stockpile on some of the great meat sales that went on in my area.

With that said, I have decided that for the next several weeks I will try to keep my grocery budget to $20/week so that I can start to draw down on the stockpiles. After all, that is what it is about, right? So, I will chronicle my experience here.

The $20 will be mainly for perishables like milk and cheese that I don't have stockpiled, as well as any MUST HAVE deals that show up during the next weeks. So, I am excited to see how many weeks we can do this!

To learn more about stockpiling check out this awesome post by Andrea at Mommy Snacks.

So, if you have been inspired to begin stockpiling great deals to maximize your grocery budget, I wanted to give you a link to a great resource.

Hot Coupon World has a list of what items usually go on sale for rock-bottom low prices in which month. Click HERE to see it!

Ok, you have heard me sing the praises of CVS for a few weeks now, but I thought this would be a good chance for me to share with you the items I CURRENTLY have in my stockpile from my months of CVS Extra Care Bucks Shopping (and some Walgreens Rebates, too).

Hopefully you will see that, with some planning, you too can drastically cut your household expenses by using this great store!

The Current Stockpile includes:

• Household Cleaning Items:
• Dishwasher Detergent
• Laundry Detergent
• Dish Soap
• Antibacterial Hand Soap
  
• Swiffer Duster and Refills
• Dryer Sheets
• Antibacterial Wipes
• Magic Erasers
  
• Personal Care Items:
• Makeup
• Mascara
• Lipstick
• Eyeshadow
• Lipgloss
  
• Shampoo
• Deodorant
• Mouthwash
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste
• Hair Styling Products
• Lotion
• Band Aids
• Q Tips
• Shave Gel
• Razors, razor blades
• Bar soap
• Body wash
  
• Medicines:
• CVS brand Tylenol
• CVS brand Claritin
• Alavert
• Vicks Chest Rub
• CVS brand cough medicine
• Cough drops
• Vitamin C Supplements
• Children's Chewable Vitamins
• Fiber Supplements
• Advil
  
• Food:
• Coke brand soft drinks
• Absolutely Divine Cookies
• CVS Brand Juice
• Cereal
• Lots of Chocolate!!!
  

Some folks in the blogosphere reported that this was not a very good CVS week for them, but I had a GREAT week, actually. A ridiculously productive week. In fact, between my CVS trips and my awesome grocery stockups from the last few weeks, I should be able to reduce my weekly grocery budget to $20!!!! That will just be to buy fresh fruit/veggies and other perishables. I am so excited. And the great thing is that I did this all on a budget of $60/wk for groceries.

Ok, so in all of my CVS trips, here is the most complete list that I can compile. I might have missed a few things, but likely not many.


CVS Deals:

• 6 Nivea Shave Gels
• 8 bags Gold Emblem candy
• 26 Hershey's (assorted types) candy bars
• 1 Atkin's Diet bar
  
• 1 2pk Oral B Toothbrushes
• 2 Listerene for Kids
• 1 Citrucel Chewable Fiber
• 3 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios
• 3 boxes Fiber One Cereal
• 3 Halls Vitamin C Lozenges
• 1 Benefiber
• 1 pack gum
• 4 Brut Deodorants
• 3 Fab Detergents
• 1 3pk Softsoap Antibacterial Soap
• 1 CVS Brand Facial Moisturizer with Vitamin D

The Power of Budgeting

Ok, time to let you all in on a little secret...I used to hate budgeting. Budget was a dirty little word that I did not want to hear or think about. I used to feel put out by it, like it meant that I had to live within some horribly oppressive set of rules, and that I could never have any fun or buy anything nice. I convinced myself that budgets might work for some people, but I could do just fine without one. After all, I am smart, I know about finances!

So I just gave up and let expenses take us by surprise. Now, of course I never meant it to happen that way. I was always looking for the next greatest way to "fool the system". But all that did was leave us in the place that I described in last week's post.

As part of our journey through Financial Peace University, hubby and I learned that budgeting could be the means by which we could achieve MORE freedom, not less. That sounds crazy, I know, but it is amazingly true. Believe me, I was a tough sell.

Take this example: Following church many Sundays, a group our friends would frequently ask us to go out to lunch with them. We would always want to go, but I would have already allocated all that week's money to go to our weekly expenses and there was no money for it left. So we wouldn't go. Or, if we did, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it very much because I knew that we really didn't have the money for it.

Enter Financial Peace University. Now this stuff wasn't rocket science. It wasn't some magical cure all for our irresponsibility. It was good old fashioned common sense. Amazing how that works.

It was great because it forced hubby and I to sit down and make a game plan together. It is amazing how the simple act of getting on the same page can make a huge difference in your financial picture. The amazing thing is that now that we did that and hammered out a budget, we actually have MORE freedom to enjoy events, and amazingly MORE money to pay down our debt.

Now we have an entertainment fund, and I can enjoy dinner out with friends or a movie without feeling guilty. The key in the budgeting process is to "give every dollar a name."

Here is how it is done:
First you list all the sources of income you expect to earn during the month. Then you list your anticipated expenses underneath, keeping a running total of how much money is left all the way until you get to zero. That way all your money has a purpose, whether it is to pay bills, pay down debt, or to boost your savings.

I hope that you can see the hope that we now have. You can have that hope too. The journey may be long, and it may seem tough, but you can get there too. Journey with us.

Here are some great budget tool links:

Free Budget Software

Free Printable Budget Forms

Share your story, I would love to hear!

I received an awesome coupon in my email this week. Yankee Candle is offering $10 off any $35 purchase. What makes this even more awesome is that it says that it is good for CLEARANCE items as well. So go get yourself some candles!

If you are like me, you might have TONS of canned Muir Glen tomatoes around from the recent great coupons that we have been able to get.

Of course we want to maximize our stockpile, so I decided to scour Allrecipes.com for some great recipes to use our nearly free tomatoes!

• Salsa
• Chili
• Stuffed Peppers
• Scalloped Tomatoes
• Turkey Goulash
• Chicken Creole
• Tomato Macaroni Soup
• Tomato Vodka Sauce
• Bruschetta Chicken Bake
• Stovetop Ham and Penne
• Pizza Muffins
• Tomato Garbanzo Bean Soup
• Black Bean Pizza

Ok, I skipped last week's menu plan, but this week I am back on track. Basically I need this menu planning, otherwise it is just to easy to eat junk!

So here goes:

Monday: BBQ Chicken, Tossed Salad, Baked Potatoes

Tuesday: Homemade Pizza and Salad

Wednesday: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Tossed Salad

Thursday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Soup

Friday: Crab Pasta, Mixed Vegetables

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Leftovers

Breakfasts: Cold cereal with milk and fresh fruit

Lunches: Leftovers, Sandwiches

Snacks: YoPlus Yogurt, Baby Carrots with Hummus, Absolutely Divine Cookies (2 per bag)


Thank you to OrgJunkie for hosting!

For our second Freedom Friday post I want to let you know about a success we had last week. When we bought our house several years back, we wracked up a good amount of debt. We had several sizable personal loans plus credit card debt.

Well, we were able to pay off our first and largest personal loan after about two years. This was before we started on our current financial plan.

Our most recent victory came this past week when we had an extra pay period because of the five Fridays in May, plus we also received our economic stimulus check at the same time.

So, with both windfalls in one week we were able to finish paying back our second personal loan entirely, pay some towards our credit card debt, set $100 aside for incidental car needs like oil changes, and set some money aside for medical bills we are expecting. Wow! What a sense of relief to have one more debt behind us and have money set aside for our expenses.

Let me explain how we have gotten to this point. We are following the Baby Steps that are taught by financial teacher Dave Ramsey. (Disclaimer: This is not a paid advertisement for Dave Ramsey, just a testimony of how our family has greatly benefited from his teachings.)

So, what was our plan of attack? Our first step was establishing an emergency fund with $1,000 in it. This did not happen all at once, but the purpose is to guard against those "rainy days" that just seem to creep up out of nowhere. If our water heater breaks, we can pay with money waiting in savings instead of grabbing plastic and getting deeper into debt prison. Amassing a thousand dollars took some serious sacrifice on our part, but it is worth it simply for the peace of mind that it brings.

Once our mini-emergency fund was in place we began what is called the Debt Snowball. What this means is you take all of your debts and make a list of them smallest to largest. Once you do that you continue to make at least the minimum payments on them all. The key is that you take every spare cent you can round up in your budget and throw it at your smallest debt. Once you pay off the smallest debt, you get a boost, knowing that you have it out of the way.

The next key is to take the money you have been applying to the smallest debt and then putting it towards the next biggest debt, and so on until you work through all of your debts. It is like a snowball rolling down hills, picking up momentum as it goes.

So, what is your story? How are you working to get out of debt? Post your story and use Mr. Linky to share! Don't forget to back-link us!

It is that time of year where the kids are out of school and everyone is looking for ways to enjoy themselves and keep cool. Luckily for us there are lots of folks in the blogosphere who have great ideas. I'll share some of them with you here today.

Everyone who has spent a summer as a child or caring for a child knows the dreaded phrase: "I'm bored!" Here are some great activity ideas for free or little out of pocket:

• Michael's Craft store offers a program for kids called the Knack. At the Knack, kids make craft projects that they can take home. Usually there is a small fee for the class, but sometimes they are free. Get more information HERE.
• If your child is a reader they can enjoy a good book and then be rewarded with free pizza at CiCi's Pizza. For details check out the Centsible Sawyer.
• If your kids are allowed supervised internet time, Rocks in My Dryer has put together a MEGA LIST of kid friendly websites.
• Does your family have a sweet tooth? Enjoy making some 5 Minute Ice Cream together and make a great summer memory.
• Of you can check out this database of FREE things to do all across the country. There may even be something in your back yard!
  

• Traveling with small children can be a challenge. Check out Kendra's POST to get some great tips on flying.
• Lynnae shares some great tips on packing and car travel with children HERE.
• Lynnae also shares some great ways to cut down on vacation expense without cutting down on vacation fun.
• Get more great frugal travel tips at Northern Cheapskate.
• Abbi gives some great tips for feeding and entertaining kids on a long care ride.
  

OK, confession time. I HATE to excercise!!!!

However, I am realistic enough to know that it is a vital part of a healthy life, and so I am compelled to do it. So, a friend at work inspired me to ride my bicycle to work.

At first I was hesitant, after all, it IS excercise! BUT it is a challenge, and I enjoy new challenges.

So far I have ridden to work two days this week, and surprisingly it isn't that bad. The benefits I've found so far are that it fits in exercise without having to schedule a special time, and it is saving me gas money.

I have also decided to ride my bike to a ladies Bible study that meets in my neighborhood. As my physical fitness increases I may look for more reasons to pull out my bicycle.

What could you do to get some non-car transportation? What if you rode your bike a couple of days a week?

If you decide to use your bike, here are a few things that you may want to consider having to make your experience more enjoyable:

• A Backpack-or a bike basket, mainly so you have a way of carrying anything you need with you without a huge hassle
• Water Bottle with holder-to keep you well hydrated!
• Bike Lock-so that your cheap new transportation doesn't get boosted
• Lightweight Poncho-so that you don't get rained on
• Extra clothing-in case you need to be presentable wherever you are going
• A Bike Helmet-because you can never be too safe
  

This year we decided to do a simple garden. At this point we are only growing tomatoes and cantaloupe. It is amazing, I have been tending my little plot of land for six weeks now and all of a sudden.....BAM! Lots of ripe tomatoes!

It looks like there will be lots of salsa, salad, and spaghetti sauce at our house! The best thing about it is that this garden has been so low maintenance. I built the bed above ground using cinder blocks and water it a couple times a week, and scout for the occasional weed. No fertilizer, no pesticides.

I have found that I have much better results when I keep things as simple as possible in the garden. I tried to grow too many things last year and couldn't keep up with it all. That plus my yields were very dismal as a result.

But, this year, things look different, and it seems my attempt to master the art of tomato growing has been a success!

Thank you to Erica at IHeartCVS for posting how you can get RedPlum Coupons mailed to your home. You don't even have to buy a paper to get them!

Click here to get your coupons mailed to you!

I love reading. I also love great deals. Lucky for me BookMooch combines my love of reading with my love of great deals.

This site is a free book trading site, where you can list books that you want to give away, and folks can select the ones that they like. For each book you send to a person who requests it (sent by media mail through USPS this is very inexpensive) you get a point that you in turn can use to request a book to be sent to you at no cost.

I have personally sent and received MANY books through this service and have LOVED the quality and variety that this site offers. This is also a great place to find difficult to find and out of print books.

So, what books are languishing in your bookcases that could be earning you points for that new book you have been dying to read? Dig out a few and start your journey to new books!

Attention Kmart Shoppers!

Thanks to Niki at Free 2 Be Frugal for posting about how to get two $5 off coupons to Kmart.

Read about it HERE

Thank you to Erica over at IHeartCVS for posting about the new $3/15 CVS coupon that was issued today.

Click HERE for more details

In this week's Smartsource coupon insert, there is a coupon for $30 off any Ascensia Breeze 2 Glucose meter.

Incidentally, CVS is advertising this same meter with a mail in rebate on the package. Purchase the glucose meter with the coupon, and send in the rebate for a possible $30 gain.

Yes, folks, there is a new Reinventing Beauty Magazine now available at CVS stores. For those who are not familiar, Reinventing Beauty is a 99 cent magazine available in the beauty section of most CVS stores that has TONS of great manufacturer coupons.

Because the coupons are manufacturer's coupons they can be paired with any CVS store coupon for the same item if one becomes available. REMINDER: please buy the magazine, don't just take the coupons and leave the magazine. After all, it is just 99 cents :-)

Here is the list of the coupons in this magazine: (all expire 8/31/08)

• $2 off any CVS brand defining skincare purchase
• $2 off any 24.7 Minerals or Skincare purchase
• $2 off any Skin Effects purchase
• $1 off any CVS Pharmacy Brand SUncare purchase of 3oz or larger
• $2 off any CVS Pharmacy Brand skincare purchase
• $1.50 off any BreathRX item of $8 or more
• $1 off 2 1 liter smartwater bottles
• $1 off any two Dasani or Evian 1 liter bottles
• $2 off any Christophe Beverly Hills purchase
• $3 off purchase of any 2 Sally Hansen Nail Color or Nail Treatment
• $1 off any two Poland Spring, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Ice Mountain, Ozarka Brand Aquapod Natural SPring Water 8 Pack