Save even more at the Dollar Store

*If you spot great coupons in the paper that week...pick up some extra newspapers at the dollar store to stock up!

*Some stores let you combine manufacturer's coupons with ads.  Sign up for electronic newsletters online-I get $5 off $25 purchase weekly!!!

*Check out their food isles!  I used to skip those isles and leave that for the grocery store, but I found that they have great deals on canned goods and even specialty items that cost alot at grocery stores, like oriental foods.

Made some cash doing in a Focus Group

Here in the St. Louis area, we have a place called  HATCH Research.  You can sign up as part of their database.  They will determine if you are eligible for a research study and call you to confirm and set up your appointment.  My friend, April at Party of Five  told me about this as a way to make some extra money on the side.  She was right! 
Hatch Research called me last night and asked me if I would be available to be part of a discussion group about baking...it happened to be Billy's day off and I love baking, so it was a perfect opportunity!  They would pay me $60 and it would take less than an hour to complete...even figuring in my travel time and gas money, it was a great deal for me.

I was a bit nervous about driving downtown alone, being part of a group with total strangers, and just the idea of doing something for the first time, but I am sooo glad that i did!  Everyone was so nice and the fact that we were discussing something to do with baking made it exciting!  We sat around a conference table that had been set up with a notebook, pen, and water at each place setting with our names listed.  The leader of the group was super friendly and made it fun.  We talked about a new product that Duncan Hines is about to produce.  Shake and pour cake, muffin, and brownie mixes.  All you have to do is add water, no messing with eggs and oil for box mixes.  We got to give opinions on flavors, packaging, labels, and price.  It was so interesting to find out that we all had so much in common, but yet disagreed completely about things too!  I was interested in the product for those quick desserts.  What's not to like about a "just add water" mix with no bowl and spoon to even wash?!  Some other people didn't like it because there was no bowl to lick...lol!  Anyways, I had a wonderful time and can't wait for them to call me in for another research project!

Sign up so you can be part of it too!!

Stock up on blinkies

I just learned that blinkies are the coupons in the small boxes hanging off store shelves!!  Pull out a few extras to store in your coupon binder for the next time the item goes on sale!

Making a list for my day!

I took note from a couple friends who are list-makers.  I knew I had a pile of errands that I needed to run, so I made a list.  I listed each place that I needed to go, what I needed to take with me to each place, and checked each off as I gathered the needed items.  Set everything by the front door, then headed out (with my list)! 

Jeweler- take both watches to be fixed, ring to be sized, and necklace to sell      check
Bank- list of questions for banker, cash check from jeweler                                check
Costco- grocery list, coupons I want to use                                                        check


Make a stop at home to drop the groceries

Lowe's- take back 2 gallons of incorrectly mixed paint, wrong parts, receipts     check
Walgreen's- list, coupons, note to pick up pictures                                             check
license bureau- paperwork, money needed to get new tags                                check


I took this list and all items along with me and marked them off as I got them done....ALL done (with a three year old)!!  AWESOME!  Making a list kept me from going in circles and forgetting half of it!  YAY!

TARGET in on Toys

Target has a huge toy sale twice a year.  They sell their toys at a 75% discount in early January and usually late July...ask your local Target when their sale is and GO stock up, we all need gifts for when our kids come home with party invitations!

Mango Peach Salsa from Costco

This salsa from Costco is awesome on pork and chicken.  It is aslso yummy with tortilla chips.  It is so much cheaper to buy it already prepared, because the fresh mangos and other produce adds up right now.  It is all natural with no preservatives.  If you have a Costco near you, give this salsa a try!

Use all your coupons at one place

Take all of your coupons and store ads to Walmart...they accept competetor's coupons and price-match ads.  Another great tip from my ALL YOU magazine was to print out a copy of Walmarts coupon policy to keep with you in your coupon binder...when a cashier questions you, you have your back-up!!

Yard Sale Score

For anyone who has a kid who is into LEGOS, knows how expensive they are...last Sautrday we hit a sale that had both the Lego City Helicopter with rescue set, and the Airplane for sale.  They were already put together and had their instructions, not one single missing piece.  The crazy part, the airplane was only $2.50 and the Helicopter was $3.00....ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!?!?   That is over $100 in Legos, but absolutely priceless for my son who LOVES legos!

Go green to Make green

Save those cans!!!  Right now aluminum cans are selling for 72 cents per pound!  That's awesome!  Here in Saint Peters we have a Recycling Center  on Mid Rivers Mall drive.  We have a can-crusher mounted in our garage and a designated trash can lined with a bag that we use to collect them and then just pull out the trash bag and drop them by recycling.  We actually don't drink from can anymore, but for any of you who do...now is the time to collect and cash in! 

Homemade collars for her animals

My daughter is three years old and she absolutely loves all her little animals.  She plays vet, petshop, trainer, and even loves to be a pretend animal herself!  Since she has quite a collection of stuffed animals, she is constantly trying to make collars and leashes out of anything she can find around the house...I get so upset when I find her with all my dental floss pulled out and it tied around the animals necks...ARGH!  So, her and I decided to have a "collar making" night. 

We dug out beads and string.  Sometimes we use yarn to make "friendship" collars by braiding them with pretty colors.  This is a project that I keep in a little bag so that we can take it with us to her brothers games and doctor office's! 

The benefits of Flaxseed Oil

My sister has been telling me about how wonderful the benefits of flaxseed oil are.  She researched it and then bought us a bottle to share.  She bought it from SOAP.com  It was an awesome price for an organic product. 

I just posted about this on my QUEST 4 HEALTH blog.  Thought I'd share it on here too, because I'm really excited to try this!

Just a few of the benefits are:

Flax Seed Oil contains omega-6 and omega-9 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fiber, protein, and zinc and also provides approximately 50% more omega-3 oils than what you could get from taking fish oil, minus that horrible "fishy" after taste.

Research shows low incidence of breast cancer and colon cancer in populations that have high amounts of lignan in their diet. Flax is 100 times richer in lignan than most whole grains, which helps protect the body against high blood pressure, inflammation, water retention, sticky platelets and lowered immune function.

Also shown to, shorten recovery time for fatigued muscles after exertion.
Increases the body's production of energy and also increases stamina.
Accelerates the healing of sprains and bruises.
Eases weight loss in people afflicted with obesity.
Stimulates brown fat cells and increases the metabolic rate making it easier to burn off fat.

Improves the absorption of Calcium.
Strengthens finger and toenails.
Can improve eyesight and perception of colors. 
Can often improve the function of the liver.
Can relieve the side effects and stop development of many forms of cancer.
Can relieve some cases of Asthma.
Helpful in the treatment of Eczema, Psoriasis, and Dandruff.
Can relieve the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis. It can relieve the symptoms of Diabetes Mellitus.
Can alleviate some allergies.

Has been scientifically proven to treat some cases of depression.
Can improve the mental function of many old age pensioners.
Can help in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.
Has been proven to improve the behavior of Schizophrenics.
Can relieve some cases of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) in females.

There is so many more benefits, I could go on and on...my sister and I will taking 1-2 Tbs daily for the next 30 days and reporting benefits...we'll keep ya posted!

This weeks's YARD SALE find

A HUGE tub of LEGO pieces.  These are all Legos from Star Wars, Halo, Knights, and City!!  Thousands of pieces for $20.  My son spent his own money and is sooo happy!!  It is the largest amount of money ever spent on a toy at a yard sale, BUT it is literally hundred's of dollars worth of Legos.  I thought he wouldn't want them without the entire set together with instructions, but he begged that he would use his own imagination to create things!  How can a Mom turn that down???

FREE collage from Walgreens Photo

Thanks to Frugal Girls facebook page for letting us know this awesome deal...
Just go to Walgreens Photo Center  and enter the code  FREECOLLAGE to get your FREE 8x10 photo collage!!!  FREE pick-up in store....final cost...$0.00!!!

What a perfect Mother's Day Gift!!!  I just did mine and it only took 2 minutes, I can pick it up in one hour at my nearest Walgreen's...Happy Mothers Day :)

We can send a Thank You card to a Soldier for FREE !!!

This is an awesome FREEBEE! You can send a thank you card to a soldier! They have many of different cards to choose from! The postcards are drawn by children. Just pick one out, enter your name and hometown, add a message and it’s on it’s way to a soldier.  Click HERE to get started.

I hope you will ALL do this and spread the word!
Thanks for this post from Living on Love & Cents

$1.99 flip flops

HURRY over to Michaels Craft Store to get your little one some adorable flip flops for only $1.99 !!!  They are in the shape of a foot and come in tons of different colors!

They come with or without the back strap...too cute!

Wordless Wednesday

wordless wednesday

DIY project- yard sale bird feeder

A couple of years ago, I found this neat metal bird feeder at a yard sale for 50cents! It was all rusty, but I could see potential.  I hadn't gotten around to hanging it, because we don't even feed birds, but this winter, my son had a school project to hand a hand-made bird feeder.  The two kids and I have absolutely loved feeding and getting to watch the birds, so I took on the yard-sale bird feeder project!

I was super easy.  I took it apart and painted it with Rustoleum Hammered Enamel spraypaint. (I spray tons of item with this wonderful product!)  It was so quick and literally looks like new!  In the picture, it had just gotten rained on and may look bumpy from water drops, but it is smooth and like new!  I love it and so do the kids!

Costco finds

Loving HORIZONS half and half Organic creamer at Costco for my morning coffee!!!  It was only $2.99 for a half gallon!!! 
Can't beat that!

First grade Football practice tip

My son is 7 years old and in his first season of flag football.  The coach gave me a great tip to help practice passing the football.

 He says to get down on your knees when passing back and forth

 to your child so as to be on "their" level. 

 The ball will come at them from a similar level as their team mates

 rather than from way above. 

My son was a bit shy of the ball when it came toward his face, but since we have been practicing on his level, it has helped tremendously!  This is the most simple tip EVER, but thought I'd share just in case there are other parents out there who find this helpful- like I did!



"Always" trying to find a good one...

I feel weird posting about this, BUT all of us ladies need to know this...I found an awesome feminine product!  Have you tried Always Infinity pads ?  They are amazing!  They do not save you money, but they are worth the extra for the comfort.  I am not getting paid for this advertisement, but I should, because I've told lots of people about these.  They are so thin and they are meant for "heavy" flow.  They feel like they are made out of tempurpedic foam...anyways, give them a try, you won't want any other!

washing water bottles

Lately, with my son having so many sports events to go to, I've been forgetting his reusable water bottle and having to stop and buy bottled water.  I hate to add to plastic usage.  I do recycle, but it still seems like a waste of money for both the water and the bottle to throw in the trash. So...I've been washing them in warm soapy water and reusing them.  I know that it may be harmful to run them through a dishwasher with high heat, due to the plastic seeping toxins, but I figure, warm soap can't hurt!  I love reusing stuff, even tiny steps to save money and our earth make me feel good!

Plus, my three year old doesn't spill with this kind of lid!!