It's Time To Get Motivated!

Hello bloggy friends! I hope you all had a great holiday season! Wow, I've really been a slacker on this blog posting business! It's time to crack the whip and start saving money in 2010! I am so excited to see how much we can decrease our total debt this year. If you are just checking in, we began doing Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover in January of 2009. Our totals for the year were just over a $36,000 decrease in total debt. Get on board people! If you want to know more, I encourage you to scroll back and check out my first couple of posts.

I went to Kroger tonight. The weekly special (ends tonight...sorry!) was buy 3 Kellogg's participating items and in turn, get a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, & a pkg of sausage gravy ALL for FREE!!! I wanted to post this as an example. Here's what I bought...2 boxes of Nutrigrain bars and 1 box of Kellogg's Special K cereal. These items were 3/$7. I had a coupon for $1off/2 boxes of Nutrigrain bars (couldn't find one for the cereal, ugh!) which brought my total down to $6.00. I also received a free regular sized bag of Stacy's Pita Chips with a coupon from becoming a "fan" of their's on Facebook. Here's a picture of what I bought for $6.01 out of pocket. Not FREE...but not bad!

Kroger has been having these weekly meal deals like some of the other stores lately. Don't forget to combine these offers with your coupons! Also, if you live in the South Dallas area, Sprouts has the biggest navel oranges I have ever seen for $0.29/lb this week. They are awesome! Sprouts allows you to use the previous and current week's circular on Wednesdays. Pretty cool.

Please keep me posted on what great deals you are finding and how much you are paying off! It can be really hard to stay motivated at times, but hearing your stories are an encouragement to us! Let's rock this debt in 2010!!!

~~~~~STOCKPILE, BABY!~~~~~

TIME TO STOCK UP ON SKIPPY PB AND RAGU AT WALGREEN'S!!! BUY ANY COMBINATION OF EIGHT FEATURED ITEMS, GET $8.00 REGISTER REWARD GOOD TOWARD YOUR NEXT PURCHASE.

(5) JARS OF RAGU SPAGHETTI SAUCE 3/$5.00
(3) JARS OF SKIPPY PEANUT BUTTER 3/$5.00
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TOTAL: $13.04

REGISTER REWARDS $8.00

LIKE GETTING ALL 8 ITEMS FOR $5.04....OR EACH ITEM FOR $0.63....LOVE IT:)

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE KIDS IN DIAPERS, THE REGISTER REWARDS WILL WORK TOWARD THE HUGGIES JUMBO PACKS LISTED AT 2/$18.

HUGGIES 2/$18...TOTAL WAS $19.83 AFTER TAX.

LESS THE $8.00 REGISTER REWARDS (FROM THE ABOVE PURCHASE)
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OUT OF POCKET=$10.83...NOT SHABBY FOR TWO PACKAGES OF HUGGIES!
PLUS...REGISTER REWARDS GOOD ON NEXT PURCHASE...$4.00=SWEETNESS:)

WHAT DEALS DID YOU FIND THIS WEEK? WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THEM!

Helpful Links

Here is a super helpful site when it comes to CVSing! I tend to forget it's there and do my own thing and then sometimes kick myself for missing out on some great deals! Check out "i heart cvs"...it's the best!http://www.iheartcvs.com/

If you need some help matching up all of those coupons to the sales in the circulars this week...check out http://www.couponmom.com/ and click on "grocery deals by state". You will then be able to find your state followed by the store that you like shopping at. Then the "Coupon Mom" does the work for you.

This one is for all you mom's who love going out to eat as much as I do! http://www.kidseatfree.org/ It's a database that lists the restaraunts in your area that offer free dining for kids. Can't beat that!

Gotta give credit to my friend, Jara, on this one. http://mommyswishlist.blogspot.com/ Mommy's Wish List tells you where to get it, and how NOT to pay for it! Awesome, huh?! Thanks, Jara!!!

http://coupons.com/ is a great place to print online coupons. They are usually different from the ones that come in the papers! I am going crazy here trying to get hubby to replace the ink cartridge in the printer!!! Missing out on some great deals!

What are your favorite links???

September Totals Are In!!!

If you have not purchased this.....

let it be the LAST thing that you charge on that pathetic little piece of plastic. Let me guess...you're all, "I don't have time to read, Julie Brown!" Well guess what, sister? I don't even LIKE reading! So, go download the audio version onto your IPOD that you probably CHARGED and listen to it in that vehicle that you love making payments on every month while you are driving your kids to private school. Okay, well maybe that's my dirt... Anyhow, let's cut to the chase. Like I told you in my first blog post, we started this little adventure in January 2009. It has now been 9 months and we have decreased our total debt by $14,207 so far. And honey, it ain't no cakewalk! I LOVE to shop. I LOVE to go out to eat. I LOVE getting my hair and nails done. It is an extremely humbling experience. But, I value things more now. I see things from a different perspective and I find myself 100 percent more faithful in a God who provides. I no longer "buy things with money you don't have to impress people you don't even like" as I've heard ole' Dave say over and over. It's so hard, but you have to stop caring what people think and do what is best for your family. I can't wait to see what's in store for us...and for YOU! Please keep me updated on your success...it's all about the little victories. They keep me going when I want to throw my hands in the air and say, "forget it!" GO. BUY. THE BOOK.

Walgreens??? Yep, Walgreens!

A couple great finds at WAGS this week.... Herbal Essences Shampoo, Conditioner, OR Styling Products on Sale $2.99/get $2 Register Rewards back=$0.99 - minus $1 off coupon makes it FREE. *Limit 1 per transaction. (The beauty of Walgreeens is that they do not require any type of member card which allows you to purchase more than one throughout the week.) Mak B. was out of mousse...so this was perfect!

Halls Refresh drops SALE $1/get $1 Register Reward back...I combined this with a $0.75 off coupon...I think that makes it less than free?!

Dawn dish liquid SALE $0.99 *limit 3* - minus (3) $0.50 off coupons...$0.49 ea. Gotta love it!

Sure Antiperspirant/Deoderant 2 for $2 - minus (2) $0.75 off coupons...$0.25 ea. (I don't use this deoderant, but I buy it when it's that cheap...it's great for charity!)

I also found Airwick Scented Oil Warmers on CLEARANCE FOR $0.49 EACH!!! I bought 2 and may go back tomorrow for more. I think I have coupons for those somewhere?!

SUBTOTAL $5.19

TAX $0.37

TOTAL $5.56

REGISTER REWARDS FOR NEXT PURCHASE $3.00

So, that's $2.56 for everything pictured. Not bad, huh?!

For all my fellow Tide with Downy lovers...this one's for YOU!

Okay, ladies...if I failed to mention it already, one of the HARDEST things for me to give up during this little "journey" of ours is my Tide with Downy. Definitely my fav guilty pleasure!!! So, forgive me if I get a little overly excited in this post...it's the little things, isn't it?! This is a GREAT week to stock up on Procter & Gamble items at CVS. There are several ways you could swing this deal, but in the end I decided to go with the Tide (which also happens to be on sale for $6). So, here's the skinny...buy $25 worth of participating P&G products, get $10 ECB's back. Below is a list of my transaction from this evening:

(4) Tide 50 oz. SALE $6.00 ea. - (4) $1.00 off coupons

(1)Bounce 2 month dryer bar SALE $4 ea. - (1) $1.00 off coupon

(1) Dawn dish liquid SALE $1 - (1) $0.50 off coupon

(3)Listerine Total Care 500ml bottle $3.99 each/get $1 ECB *limit 3 per card* - (3) $2.00 off coupons (after all is said and done this makes them $0.99ea.)

(2)Crest w/ Scope $3.99/get $1.50 ECB *limit 2 per card* - (2) $1.00 off coupons

(2)Colgate Total Whitening SALE 2/$4 - (2)$1.00 off coupons

Ready to pay? Do you have your coupons? What about your CVS card? Okay...

Subtotal: $39.95
Tax: $1.77
TOTAL: $41.72
EXTRA CARE BUCKS PRINTED AT BOTTOM OF RECEIPT: $17.50

So, I figure it like this...that's $24.22, right? Which is about what you would pay for 4 bottles of Tide if it were ON SALE for $6.00. Or, even better....$24.22 divided by 13 items = $1.86 per item listed. However you want to look at it, I say it's a great deal! Oh, and if you don't need detergent, you could stock up on Charmin TP, Bounty paper towels, Dawn dish liquid...etc. Get your ad and match up your coupons! It's a great week to stock up, not only on household item, but ECB's as well! Then, take those ECB's and use them next time for items that give you ECB's in return...making them ZERO out of pocket!

Proverbs 31

Italian Sausage Soup

Okay...I got this GREAT recipe while reading some stranger's blog! I am going to post her recipe, but then I'll tell you what I'll do differently next time...


Sautee in a large soup pot:

1 or 2 cloves of chopped garlic
A little olive oil

Add:

2 cups cooked, diced Italian sausage
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 large bag of frozen spinach*
A sprinkling of hot red pepper flakes
Sautee until heated through.

Add:

2 quarts chicken stock (I use homemade)*
Bring to a rolling boil.
Add:
1 lb of pasta (I use rotini)*
Boil ten minutes, or until pasta is tender.

Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

***Okay, so I followed her recipe, except I used mini bowties instead of rotini (because they were almost free at kroger today:) and I did NOT use homemade chicken stock because I didn't have time. Next time I will probably use 1/3 of the spinach and double the sausage that I used tonight. I ended up removing alot of the spinach because it was just too much. I only bought one package of italian sausage, but I think I'll try 2 pkgs next time. I also added some garlic salt. Oh, and I am going to use alot more chicken stock. I bought 2 of the large pour boxes and even added additional water and it really cooked down, especially after I added the bowties. We will definitely be having this again VERY soon!!! It had a GREAT flavor! Here's a pic, but it really doesn't do it justice. I'm terrible at presentation!