Bargain Hunting

I've gotten away from doing too many deals at Walgreens and CVS lately. Honestly, I'm still just not that good at figuring out exactly what I'm going to spend and how I'm going to come out ahead. That, coupled with forgetting to use the ExtraBucks or Register Rewards before they expire, and I got a little burned out.

My appetite was whetted yet again, however, a couple weeks ago when Jewel paid me $3 to take 6 boxes of Breyer's ice-cream off of their hands. I bought 6 boxes on sale for about $12, and got $15 in catalina coupons toward my next purchase. I turned around and got $15 worth of groceries that I needed anyway, so I didn't have to worry about the coupons expiring on me.

I also spent the past few days organizing a new system for my coupons. I had been using a system recommended by CouponMom, but I never really knew what coupons I had, and it was time-consuming to find what I needed when I needed it. So now, I've switched to the method used by MoneySavingMom, and have a coupon box which looks like this:


All my coupons are organized in envelopes by category and sub-category, so I know right where to look for whatever I need. I'm loving it already!

So today I ventured out on a bargain hunting adventure. I didn't get any huge steals, but I did get some pretty good deals on things that I know I will use.

Here's what I got at Target:

2 Glade Scented Oil Tins - $3.09 each
3 Glade Scented Oil Refills - $2.50 each
Total: $13.68

With coupons, I paid just $5.46 total, plus I can send in for this SCJohnson Rebate and get $5 back. It'll end up costing me just $0.46 for all these candles! Yay! =)

At Walgreens, I did 3 transactions:

Transaction 1:

2 Nyquil @ $5.99 each.
Used $1.50/1 and $1/1 coupons.
Paid $9.75 and got $5 Register Reward = $2.38 each

Transaction 2:

3 Tylenol Cold @ $4.99 each
1 Sudafed PE @ $5.99 each
Used $3/2, $2/1, and $1/1 coupons.
Paid $15.43 and got back $10 Register Rewards = $1.36 each

Transaction 3 (S'more was happy to get in on the photo-taking action):


2 Gold Medal Flour @ $3.39 each
1 Betty Crocker Warm Delights @ $2.29 each
2 Morton Salt @ $0.99 each
2 Clearasil Face Wash @ $4.99 each
3 Kleenex Tissues @ $2.29 each
Total: $34.62

Used:
1 Wag Q: 2/$3 Flour, Man Q: 1 $0.50/1 Flour
1 Wag Q: $0.99 BC Warm Delight, Man Q: 1 $ 0.50/1 BC Warm Delight
1 Wag Q: 2/$1 Salt
Clearasil was Buy One, Get One Free (saved $4.99)
Man Q: 1 $2/1 Clearasil, 1 $1/1 Clearasil
3 Wag Q: Kleenex $1.09 per box
3 Man Q: $0.50/3 Kleenex
$5 Register Reward

I paid $4.81 for all of that! I still have $10 Register Rewards to use, which makes me nervous - I don't want it to expire before I use it! But I'm really going to be vigilant and make sure I use it up. Ahh, a good day's work.

Meditations on Thankfulness

Since November is the month of Thanksgiving, I am focusing on thankfulness in my time with the Lord. This morning I read in Genesis of the creation account, how God so generously provided every need for Adam, including a companion in Eve. It's easy to get distracted in life, and focus on what I don't have, rather than the abundance God has so generously provided. But I so much to be thankful for! I don't deserve anything, so the fact that He has given so much is really humbling. Giving thanks for the thousands of blessings I receive from His gracious hand each day doesn't come naturally. It takes focus, intentionality. But the change that will occur in my soul as I choose to acknowledge the many blessings in my life will be so worth the effort!

Free Music!

I love getting free music downloads! Crystal at MoneySavingMom has a great post with some nice classical music downloads that are available - for free! Definitely worth checking out.

Gazelle Intense

Last night was week 4 of leading Financial Peace University. That's the Dumping Debt lesson. I've been a Dave Ramsey fan for a couple of years now. I've really enjoyed listening to his radio show, and I've listened to the older version of FPU on CD multiple times. And the first three weeks of the class have been great, we've gotten lots of motivational information with regard to managing our money.

But I have to say, last night's lesson was hands down the best I've seen of Dave Ramsey. Wow. I got goosebumps listening to him. The passion he communicated, the urgency of escaping the clutches of debt, the intensity that is needed in order to live a life of true freedom. It was electrifying. My Handyman and I don't even have any debt, and this lesson offered so much inspiration!!

I love the image that Dave uses from Proverbs 6 of the gazelle, running for it's life to escape the ferocious cheetah.

"My son, if you have become surety for your friend... if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself...Allow no sleep to your eyes no slumber to your eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler." Proverbs 6:1-5

I love that the Bible speaks in such vivid terms about the dangers of debt. Isn't it amazing that our God cares so much about the everyday things we face in our lives? I mean, of course God cares if I'm facing a major health issue, or if my husband's lost his job. But he cares if I'm in debt and can't see any way out, too? And he cares enough to put in his Word an escape plan? I am humbled by the depth of love demonstrated through his Word.

I can't say enough about how well-presented and truly inspiring last night's lesson was. The discussion we had with the group afterward was really encouraging. We are journeying beside a group of people who truly crave financial peace, and last night's lesson offered the hope and inspiration to do the hard work to get there. There are good things in store!

Fruitful Abundance

So my Handyman came home the other night with a 28 pound box of plums.


Crazy, I know. Who buys that many plums?! I couldn't believe it, and at first I wasn't very excited. Once he told me that he had paid $4 for the entire box, I had a change of heart. (That's only $0.14 a pound!)


My next question was: What do you DO with that many plums? Why, make Plum Jelly, of course!


I made 5 pints of Cinnamon Plum Jelly (I found the recipe here). It tastes really yummy, but I was disappointed that it came out pretty thin. I'm not really sure what caused it, although I did take the suggestion of a reviewer, and left the skins on rather than peeling the plums. I thought it might add more color and flavor, plus it was a lot less work. But maybe that's why it came out runny... It's really pretty though!


I still have lots of plums to work with, so I'm planning to make some more jelly, but I'm going to have to get creative and make some other things too. It could be fun.

Fall Cleaning

I love the feeling of de-cluttering. We've been in our apartment for 6 years, so we've had a lot of time to accumulate all kinds of things without the benefit of a move to help us weed out the unnecessary. Add to that our new addition who arrived in February, and the amazing amount of *things* that came with her, and I was feeling like we were getting squeezed out of our apartment. So a couple of weekends ago, my Handyman and I spent our Saturday morning organizing our little storage room in the basement. It was stuffed with camping gear, Christmas decorations, and LOTS of empty boxes that we'd been saving for who knows what. We got rid of almost all the boxes, which left lots of extra space - it's wonderful! So last weekend I spent my Saturday organizing our living room, bedroom, a small closet, and Sweet Pea's room. I went through Sweet Pea's clothes and packed away the things that are too small and got out the fall things for her to wear. Then we moved 8 boxes of baby clothes, along with several larger baby items that have already been outgrown, and put them in our storage room. The result is so gratifying! I LOVE not seeing clutter everywhere. I still have our large closet and the kitchen to organize, but the progress is inspiring. I'm off to do some more de-cluttering!

The frustration is boiling. For two days now it has been simmering, just below the surface, erupting at the slightest bump or jostle. A careless word, a sideways glance, an angry sigh, and it quickly boils over into a flaming mess of wrong behavior. What is the flame that causes the tension to steam? I can't put my finger on it. Are we over-tired? Not any more than normal. Are there outside stresses weighing down on us? Not that I am aware of. So why we are so quick to respond with a sharp word, to take offense at the slightest misdeed? For my part, I can only conclude that I have allowed my carnal flesh to consume me. I have sunk low into the depths of self, and allowed myself to wallow there. Where is the redemption that my Savior has sacrificed all to provide? How have I allowed myself to forget the grace that the Perfect One has extended to me? I shudder to think how I have behaved, how it must pain Him to see me respond, react. The gentle Savior is quietly calling me back. Calling me to calm, to love. "Love is not easily angered..." the Scriptures say. After years of intimate living, day by day, side by side, how is it that I do not love better? Perhaps the greater question, is how after many more years of knowing the Giver of All Good Things, am I so much the same as before I knew Him. He longs to change me, to transform my selfish flesh to reflect His own perfection. Jesus, help me to lay aside myself today, to love as you love me.