Lunch Money

One of my favorite finds last year was mylunchmoney.com

Lunch money has always been so hard for me. More times than I can count I've ended up at Wal-Mart on Sunday evenings trying to get ones for a twenty. I love Wal-Mart, but they are a little stingy with their ones. Seems they think moms should be more prepared and stop by the bank to get the change they need - each week!!!

Due to the ages differences, the most we've ever had in school at one time was six. Those six were divided into three different schools and six homeroom teachers. Separate lunch money was a killer!!

Add in on that, I'm a scattered person and often just plain forgot to send it!!!

In came My Lunch Money to save the day. You can set up accounts for each child at each individual school. Set a minimum balance and when their account drops below, it automatically refills!!!

Yeah, no more calls from the lunch lady!!!

God is so GOOD!!

Our neighbor, Barney, is moving out. His mother died recently and he is moving into her home, which of course is coming complete furnished. He has been giving us things on a weekly basis as he has been slowing switching homes. Last night he hit his kitchen.

Here is a running list of just some of the things we have been given: glasses, cups, mugs, canning jars, plates, saucers, set of pots and pans, blender, Tupperware, silverware, kitchen utensils, colander, toaster, coffee pot and filters and coffee, grill, can opener, soup bowls, baking trays, Pyrex dishes, knife block, ice trays, complete unopened dish set for 8, 2 end tables, a computer chair.

That's just last night. Previously he's given me his mama's sewing machine and beautiful stand and chair along with her sewing kit, an older computer for the children to play on and computer desk, lamps, flowers, a washer and dryer (two weeks after our dryer finally died) . He's given Artie his mustang house (a fabric storage building with floor - Artie has turned it into a workshop), wood, books, a fan - more than I can't even keep up with out there!!

Tomorrow Artie is picking up a storage cabinet.

I'm so sorry for Barney's loss of his mother, but I believe she had been sick for some time and he is happy for her place with Jesus now.

We are a disposable family. Everything we have is temporary. Having 7 children in one home - nothing lasts too long. That goes from appliances to kitchen items to furniture - don't get me started on the windows!!! :-) If a average size family gets 10 years from a washer - that equals about 2 years of use in the Quinn home!! Pretty much - it runs all day every day. We use what God gives us until it is all used up and then He always comes to our need and supplies more!!! It has been like that from the day we married.

When I was pregnant with the twins (and a little scared of the future) we had four children and were temporarily living in a 2 bedroom house. We had just moved to town and were using a house from Artie's boss - Mr. Mickey - while we looked for something big enough. That was - big enough for the 6 of us - we didn't know about the twins yet. When I found out the twins were coming I have to admit - panic set in. Here we were 6 people living in a 2 bedroom house!! God was so good. We found a lovely old house (key word could be old, but lets make the key word lovely). When I went in the hospital to have the twins we were still living in the two bedroom house. When I came home we directly drove to the new big house. Artie had been working the month before trying to get things ready while taking care of his pregnant wife (a tough job in his life!!) and his four kids all at the same time. There was still so much to do. Our friends and family came in while I was in the hospital and did it all. Finished the painting, moving the furniture. When I walked in, the sheets were made on the beds, everything was unpacked and they had stocked the frig with food. God is soooo good and does always provide.

It's been like that our whole life. There is a need and God provides. Sometimes it just overwhelms me. Someone offered us a couch or something one day when we were first married and I was trying to decide if we really needed it or not - Artie told me not to turn down anything anyone gave us - there was gonna be a need for it. And it has worked out that way.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind is that God usually doesn't give us what we need until the need is already there. I think if we had waited on a house big enough for a big family to get pregnant, we would still just have one or two children. Trust God.....

Get Paid $23 (or more) To Purchase The 2008 Entertainment Book

I found the greatest deal on iMommies.

I am going to copy it straight from their site so I don't mess it up.

"If you haven’t yet purchased the 2008 Entertainment Book, and haven’t yet signed up with Ebates…NOW is the time to do both! The combination of the two will earn you a free Entertainment Book, and a free Restaurant.com gift certificate!

To make the most of all involved promotions, follow the steps below.

1.) Click HERE to sign up with Ebates. Ebates is offering another $10 bonus to all new members who sign up and make a qualifying purchase before March 31, 2008.

2.) Once you’ve signed up for an Ebates account in Step 1, search Ebates for the 2008 Entertainment Book. The current offer for the book is $10 off PLUS $6 cash back from Ebates. Be sure you go through Ebates to purchase the Entertainment Book at the now-discounted price of $15 (price may vary slightly, depending on your area), plus the standard shipping cost of $3 or less.

3.) Receive the 2008 Entertainment Book plus a free $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate.

4.) After May 15th, receive a check from Ebates for $16 ($10 sign on bonus PLUS $6 cash back from the Ebates/Entertainment Book purchase).

5.) Just to recap, you’ll spend $18 upfront (including shipping costs), and receive the following:

a.) 2008 Entertainment Book (These are PACKED with great money-saving coupons!)

b.) $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate

c.) $16 check from Ebates

If you want to earn even more cash back without making additional purchases, refer all of your friends to Ebates, and you’ll each earn $10! Refer two friends, and earn an extra $10 Target gift card! Refer two more friends, and earn another extra $10 Target gift card!"

It was easy to sign up. I ordered the Entertainment book for Spartanburg and got a $25 gift certificate for Chiefs Wings and Firewater.

I spent $17 plus change and got the entertainment book ($15), the gift certificate ($25) and will get $16 back from Ebates!!! Yeah, gotta love deals like that.

If anyone wants to sign up, please use me as a reference. artiequinn@yahoo.com I will get $5 for everyone who signs up. If you get more people to sign up, you can get $5 each time too.

Thanks,

Here's a cool site for free birthday treats. We are already signed up with sonic and zaxby's. The kids have loved it. I'll have to sign up for some more. They get a card in the mail or e-mail, so they don't all have to be used on the actual birthday.

Our new washer and dryer

Yeah!!!! I have a new to me washer and dryer!!!

Artie and I made a commitment several years ago not to go into any more debt. (Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; Romans 13:8a)

It has been a hard but very rewarding journey. It's funny to see what you can do without if you choose. God has so honored our choice. When our tax money came, we were able to pay off our last credit card - which we have not used but have been paying on for several years!!

Our dryer broke a couple of months ago. It didn't break all at once. It would just tease us often. Sometimes it would work - sometimes not!! So, we just did the best we could. I have a big five line clothesline, so when it didn't work, we just hung out all the clothes (we go though an unbelievable amount of clothes!!!!).

About a month ago, it totally quit working. We knew we were fixing to get our taxes back, so we weren't too worried about it and planning on buying one then. Just waiting and hanging (which I do enjoy very much now). Anyway, the day before we got our tax money back a friend of Artie's in Charlotte got a new washer set and asked Artie if I wanted his. Of course!! So, Artie stopped by after work yesterday and picked them up. He gave it to Artie for some work he did on his air conditioner. God is so good. By not running out and going in more debt, we ended up getting one for free.

Troy helped Artie bring the old ones out and the new ones in this morning before he left for work. After Artie left, Troy changed out the power chord on the dryer and got it all set up for me. The dryer is running now!!! I can't wait to have hot clothes coming out in just a few minutes!!! I do love my clothesline, but I love the lint filter in the dryer too. Clothes seem much cleaner to me when they go through the dryer. Don't worry, we still have plenty enough clothes to keep the dryer running and keep haning out on the clothesline as well!!!

$1008 worth of groceries for $145!!! - Triples Coupons at Lowe's Foods

I had my best ever one day shop and best triple sale shop too this past weekend!!! (the picture is from the first shop on Thursday - sorry the picture isn't the best - there was a bad glare from the window)

Thursday, Brenda and went to Lowe's Foods in Gastonia (about 40 minutes away). We each did 6 shops (you could only do 20 coupons per order - so we went through 6 times) - for a total of 12 shops.

Our total bill before coupons was $711.68 we only paid $89.57 - a savings of $622.11!!!! What a shop.

Artie and I went back on Saturday. We went through 3 times each and our total was $297.08 before coupons. We paid $58.94 - saving $238.14!!! Artie was so funny. He couldn't do anything but laugh at the register!!! :-)

So our family total for the triple sale was $1008 worth of groceries for $145!!!! WOW oh WOW!!! :-)

There is another triple sale coming up this weekend (Thurs - Sat) at Harris Teeter. I usually go to the store in Shelby. It is only about 30 minutes from our house. I pack up the coolers to keep the cold items in and head out. Brenda will probably go with me and help out. Wow, if I had learned to shop like this before I was married - we would be way ahead financially where we are now!! Better late than never I guess! :-)

Planning Our Meals

Four weeks ago
Originally uploaded by helenjane

So, my meal planning has changed a little over the years. I started with a calendar and a piece of paper. I would see what was going on that week - note it on the calendar and then plan what we wanted to eat around that (our four meals plus one new to try). :-) My grocery list was pretty similar each week.

As I grew in my cooking, I began to learn to get the store sale papers each week and see what was on sale. If it wasn't on sale - we didn't eat it!! :-) It help my learning experience to find new meat on sale(besides my favorite hamburger) and then find some way to cook it. My learning kinda hit a wall as far as planning was concerned. My meals were still growing, but I didn't change my method of preparation for years.

Months ago, I had a revelation. I had been sweeping my living room and there were a few pennies and a dime in the dirt pile. You have to understand my house - when I sweep (a multi - times a day event) - the dust pan is always overflowing!! We make a lot of dirt!! I never would get little pennies out of the dirt pile. As I was sweeping I was reminded of the story of the widow woman in the Bible who was rejoicing when she found her lost coin. Then I thought about the verses about keeping account of your herds and how God was a God of order. It wasn't honoring to Him or Artie (who works so hard for us) for me to sweep up money and throw it in the trash. Basically it was laziness. I could justify - it's just a penny - but wow, they add up. I decided I would be more faithful about the money God and Artie gave me to work with. I started collecting every penny I found. I began finding them everywhere. Some days I would have more than a dollar in my pocket at the end of the day.

It was that same time that my eyes were opened to couponing. I use to coupon - saving maybe $5-8 a trip - years ago. That's not what I'm talking about. I am COUPONING!!! In one weekend at a triple sale I saved over ....$550!!!! It has been amazing to me and everyone who has watched the process. I have found so much to buy with those little pennies I had been throwing away. Bread for $.29, spices for pennies, sugar for $.19, the list is endless. That's not even counting the many many things I've been able to get totally free.

Now, for the first time in our marriage, my freezer is full from stocking up when I can get things very cheap or better yet, free. My grocery bill has dropped from $300 a week (for everything - paper products, cat food, diapers, health and beauty supplies) to $200 a week for 8 people. I didn't get a bunch of money and go and stock up. I am adding to my stock each week as I'm watching my grocery bill go down!!! It's amazing to me to watch the growth and the money savings all at the same time. I think God smiles when he looks at my growing pantry. It feels very Proverb 31ish to me!! :-)

So, now my planning consists of getting my little piece of paper and my calendar - seeing what is going on that week - and then going to the freezer and writing down the meats I have in there. I plan meals based on what I already have and then just get the few items I need to round it out.

Tonight's Dinner

Tonight we are having Zatarain's Yellow Rice with Smoked Sausage fried up and added in (of course sweet tea will be served as always!!). Brenda is cooking dinner for us. /this is her first time cooking this dish - she likes making new things!! We used to eat the Jambalaya, but it was a little too hot for the younger children. I hope this will be a little better tonight.

The Zatarain's (we are using 3 boxes) is from my first triple sale at Lowe's Foods. It was free. The smoked sausage was on sale at Bi-Lo this week for $1 after a coupon was added to the sale price. So.,.. 8 of us are eating dinner for $1 tonight!!! Wow, Artie will love this meal!!!

Gwyn and I went to our first triple sale this week at Lowe's Foods in Gastonia!! We did very good for a first time I think. I got $231 worth of groceries and spent $42!!! That's $189 worth of free groceries!!! Just in case anyone is wondering - I think it will be a while before I run out of Ziploc bags, tomato sauce or any type of rice!!!! :-) (Next time I will take a better picture!!)

Office Depot

Okay, here's my deal for the day.

I just bought 10 reams of computer paper (500 sheets each) from Office Depot. I got two coupons and ended up getting each pack of paper for about $1.60 (they are over $3 at Wal-Mart). Plus they will be delivered free tomorrow. These are great for printing all my internet coupons I come across each day.

Here's how to do it. (I have no idea how long this deal will last)

1. Go to www.officedepot. com
2. Search and Add 345603 ( Price : $5.59 ) - Buy 10 of these
3. Search and Add 429266 ( Price : $0.29 ) - to reach the minimum $56 order amount for the least amount of money
4. Coupon Price : -$31.00 Code : 73649244
5. Coupon Price : -$10 off $25 Code : 44141777
Final Price : $16.25 Delivered

"i didn't need the paper clips, so I got a 0.49 highlighter for our homework box. My order came to 16.43 delivered."

Let me know if you get some too!

Back to CVS

Okay, I went back to CVS today and used my $30 transfer coupon. My prescription with my insurance card only cost me $10, so I actually made $20 for them to fill my prescription!!!

CVS Deals

CVS Pharmacy - Marietta, Ohio
Originally uploaded by Marietta Clicker.

I've had a lot of people asking about my couponging adventures lately. Last week at CVS was my best trip yet. Here's how it went.

I bought:

2 packs diapers 26 count
2 packs dipaers 21 count
2 bottles CVS cleaner with bleach
head and shoulders
3 bars irish spring
3 bars j&j baby soap
maybelline lipstick

total - $68.86
CVS sales - $18.54
- $10 off $50 coupon
- $ 3 off $15 coupon
- $ 3 off $15 coupon
man coupons - $ 4
ECB - $20
tax $ 1.62
out of pocket money spent - $11.93

$13.50 ECB printed this trip plus two coupons

$13.49 to be printed next trip!!!!!

I still have a $30 transfer coupon to use today but I forgot my insurance card this morning.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

coupon cutter
Originally uploaded by ladyphoenixx_1999.

Let me show you part of what I've been doing with my computer time.

I've joined a coupon group. I am really saving lots of money with coupons and rebates.

Today I went to Harris Teeter and bought $60.00 worth of groceries but only pail $17!!! Yes, $17!!! I'm not doing as good as some of the ladies on the group, but wow I'm learning a lot. (I got fruit, milk, refrigerator bread, frozen veggies, chicken, Pepsi, rice - not just a lot of non-usable stuff.)

Here are a couple of sites I've been using.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/smartspending

This is the best couponing group, they are very patient in their teaching and share all good deals they find.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/smartspending

I've found a lot of rebates on this group for free items.

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php

You can read a thread of whatever grocery store or drug store you use. It's great and updated with the weekly sales.

I've spent a lot of time learning but have saved so much. Consinder it better than spending money on an outside couponing class. Just sense the beginning of Feb - I've gotten these things complete free:

Purina Cat Food Naturals
No Time for Colds - 18 count - $5.99
Fruitis Shampoo - 25.4 oz - $6.99
Viactiv Multi-vitamin - 50 count - $6.99
Maybelline Cream Matte Foundation - $5.99
Maybelline Lipstick - $6.99
Huggies Wipes - $2.50
Theraflu - $5.99
Comtrex - $5.99
Success Whole Grain Brown Portabella Mushroom Rice - $1.00
Nexus Shampoo - $15.99
Nexus Conditioner - $4.99
Reach Toothbrush - $2.50
Robitussin Cough Medicine - $4.99
Dasani 6 pack Lemon Water - $3.33
Gordon's Shrimp Scampi - $6.99
Prego - 3 lbs - $2.50
Rayovac 4 AA Batteries - $2.52
3 - Grands Biscuits - $1.25
2 - Pillsbury Bread sticks - $2.19
4 mahatma yellow rice - $.69
microwave singles - hamburger helper - $3.19

That's almost $100 worth of stuff free. Now normally I wouldn't be buying Nexus shampoo, I'd be buying Suave or VO5 or something generic, but to get it free - I can suffer through using name brand!! :-)

These are from store rebates, product rebates, and couponing. That's not even counting the items I've gotten for $.25 and $.40. I also got three gifts cards from pharmacies - Eckerds, Walgreen's, and CVS for either transferring or starting a new prescription for $20, $25 and for $30!!! That helped pay for the free things I bought and then got reimbursed for.

I've found that the more expensive stores have better sale items and products you can get much cheaper than generic often.

I'm trying to hit a store each day between - Harris Teeter (my new favorite - I drive 25 minutes to get there once a week), CVS, Wal-Greens (my new favorite drug store), Ingles, and Food Lion. Then I supplement everything else not on sale at Aldi's.

We were spending so much money on food I just had to find something to help.

The new rebate forms for Walgreen's and CVS are just starting if anyone wants to check them out for the month. If you save any money, let me know. It's been fun for me - kinda like a secret treasure hunt that's nationwide - and we get lots of treasure even in the little town of South Carolina.

U-Promise

upromise.png
Originally uploaded by Brando1333.

I signed up with U-Promise today. Every time I buy items marked with the U-Promise brand I will get money saved in an account for the childrens' college. As much food as we buy, it can't do anything but help!!