Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Couponing Lessons #1 and #2
I thought I'd start a little "series" here at IRSBC with some couponing lessons that I have learned in the short time I've been doing it. So, today the first lesson is: 
1. Save all of your coupons.
- I know this goes against everything others have told you...they say, don't buy something you don't need, just because you have a coupon for it. However, I say save ALL of your coupons...see lesson 2
2. Be willing to buy something you don't need in order to get money toward things you do need.
- This one is a little tricky to wrap your mind around, so I'll give you some examples
.
Okay, first example...six tubes of KY Jelly and 2 pkg of Monistat cooling wipes. Now, I know what you are thinking, but NO, these are truly items that I will not use (stop, I mean it). So, I know you are thinking "then WHY did you buy so much of this stuff if you don't use it". Well, here is why! I had 6 coupons for the KY and 2 coupons for the monistat. The coupon value was greater than the price of the item, meaning I got $1 overage for each item. I bought these along with my groceries for the week, so by buying these items I saved $8 on my grocery bill!!! (Boy did I also feel bad for the 15 year old boy who scanned all of my KY Jelly!)
Here's another example. This one I did at CVS. I definitely don't need 8 bottles of 6-hour energy (well, most days I don't!), nor do I need "Dry Mouth" mouthwash. I spend somewhere around $12 on these items and got back $24 dollars to use on my next shopping trip! So, in other words, I made $12 to spend at CVS on something I do use, like diapers. Get it???
Hope these lessons help some! Look for more "lessons learned" posts periodically!
Oh, and if anyone wants any KY jelly or energy drinks...let me know! :)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Give Thanks
Just sitting in our office with sunshine coming through the window and feeling happy and blessed.
I'm thankful for:
The beautiful sun
My wonderful family
A day off
Playgroup with friends
Coffee with yummy creamer
What are you thankful for today??
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
How Often Do you Pray?
I am involved with an international Bible study called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF for short). Some of you may have heard of it. Each week we study part of the Bible. Everyday we are given verses to read with questions to go along with them. When we have our weekly meeting we first meet in small groups and go over our answers to our questions. Then we get together in a large group (Ours has maybe 100 or so women) and hear a speaker do an in depth look at the verses we read throughout the week.
This year we are studying the book of Matthew, which is one of the books that documents Jesus' life from birth to death to resurrection. During Jesus' life, he was incredibly busy! He was constantly healing people and preaching, feeding the poor, etc. Yet throughout the entire book, before he is about to do anything he PRAYS. In fact, sometimes he prays all night long.
This week our speaker asked us how often in a 24 hour period (how many minutes...) do we spend in prayer. Yikes, I am sad to say that while I pray throughout my day and before bed, it really does not amount to much!!! This is one thing I really need to work on. I mean...if Jesus, who was SO busy each day he was alive, still found time to pray, and prayed often...it CLEARLY must be important and we should do it too!!!
So how about you? How much of your day is spent in prayer?? Will you work on increasing that? I know I'm going to!
Monday, February 18, 2008
No longer a virgin
To CVS that is.....
Here is the CVS loot that my friend Melissa got today! It was her first CVS bargain hunting trip and she did awesome! She got all of that stuff (worth over 50 bucks) for just over 25 bucks! Way to go Melissa!!! I think she's hooked. I like to say that all it takes is one hit of a great bargain and you're addicted!
Here's how Melissa did it:
I had $1.50 coupons for each of the diapers making them $7.49 each and the $4 off $20 (CVS issued coupon). i also had 1 dollar off the sunsilk, which was buy one get one free. the batteries were also buy one get one free. i got the diapers and toilet paper which gave me my ecb (Extra Care Bucks...these print out on the bottom of your receipt and you can use them on any future purchase), then with that i got everything else (soap, face scrub, sunsilk hair stuff, batteries) and paid out of pocket $0.74 for the starbursts because i had a negative total and i guess she couldn't give me a nickle back. :)
Friday, February 15, 2008
Can I Persuade you?
To join in on the Persuasion book club discussion happening over at Simply Serina?? I confess I haven't read it in a few years. I meant to catch up this week, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe during nap time today (when I really should be cleaning..hee hee).
I am looking forward to reading some in my awesome antique copy that I found at Goodwill a year ago. There is no copyright date, but the inscription that someone wrote after their name says "1910". Here are a couple of photos of it. Isn't it cool?
I love how the pages don't line up on the edges and the tissue paper over the drawings. Makes me feel very Jane Austeny just holding the book!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I love oatmeal...when it's free
A quick little post to show you my "bargain high" of the day. 7 boxes of Quaker Simple Harvest oatmeal, 1 container of old fashioned oats, 2 boxes of granola bars...grand total...40 cents. Yes, that's right! 40 CENTS for ALL of that!!! Woohoo! I love couponing!
Have I talked anyone else into doing it too???
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Loot
Made a run to CVS and Walgreens today to get some great bargains. I spent $2.69 out of pocket on all of this!!! The Playtex tampons were on clearance at Walgreens for $1.69 and I had $1 off coupons for them. The Kotex pads were on clearance for about the same price and I had $2 off coupons for them, meaning overage! The chapstick was $2 at Walgreens, then I used a $1 Walgreens coupon and got a $2 printout to use the next time I shop at Walgreens. The CVS run was good too! The only thing I really needed was the milk, but I can always use the toothpaste too. For .69 out of pocket I cant argue with getting all of the rest of the stuff for free!!! If you haven't started clipping those coupons and doing some deals, you'd better get going!!!
I thought throughout my posts I'd try to highlight some "no-brainer" deals...deals that you don't have to do major brainwork to do. The "no-brainer" deal for this week is to buy the Chapstick naturals chapstick from Walgreens. In their weekly ad they have a chapstick coupon which makes it .99...then you get a $2 "register reward" that prints out after you check out. Basically it is $2 to use the next time you shop. So the end results are that you make $1 on chapstick!
Happy bargaining!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Good fish recipes
In an effort to eat healthier, I've been trying to incorporate one serving of fish into our meals each week. Plus, fish tend to be easy and fast to cook. I have found a couple of really tasty recipes that I thought you guys would enjoy!
The one you see pictured above is for an Orange Salmon. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law. It is very easy and yummy!
Orange Salmon Grill
1/3 cup honey
2T olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1T orange zest
1.5 T lemon juice
2T red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 garlic cloves (crushed...I use minced)
1T mustard
1/4 tsp salt
Heat broiler on low. Sprinkle salmon with salt, pepper, and 11 crushed fennel seeds (optional fennel seeds). Bring glaze ingredients to a boil in small sauce pan and simmer 7 minutes. Baste salmon with glaze. Cook for 5-10 minutes until done, basting salmon throughout cooking time.
Another recipe we have really enjoyed is the following tilapia recipe. Tilapia is a white fish with a very light flavor. We often find it frozen in individual packets in our freezer section of the grocery store. The following recipe is courtesy of my sister-in-law.
Zesty Tilapia Fillets
4 tilapia fillets
olive oil cooking spray
1.5 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash of tabasco (optional)
Spray broiling pan with olive oil. Combine remaining ingredients and spoon over fish. Should be a paste-like texture. Broil about 4 inches from heat for 5-10 minutes depending on thickness of fish, until it flakes easily with a fork
Anyone else have any good fish recipes? Let me know if you try these and how you like them too!
Enjoy!
Persuasion Online Book Club
Anyone ever read Jane Austen??? I admit to being a fan of hers. In fact, when I was pregnant and bored out of my mind I divided my time knitting and reading Jane Austen books. Persuasion was one of my favorites. My friend Serina is hosting an online book club on the book persuasion. It begins next week...so get your books and start reading!
Anyone going to join?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Mystery Kitchen Tool
My sister-in-law emailed me with a question about this little object. She says that she inherited it from her husband's grandmother and that it is a kitchen tool. She has no idea what it is. She said it is porcelain and has a bunch of tiny raised bumps on it. Zesting a lemon with it did not prove to be successful, so it isn't that. Any guesses??? My guess is a soap dish, but that doesn't explain the circular hole at the top. What do you think?
Friday, February 1, 2008
To Do List
This weekend I hope to...
- finish my February scrapbook page for my scrapbook calendar (!)
- start reading some of the books I checked out from the library
- choose pictures to enlarge for some frames I have already bought
(and enlarge them at CVS where you can get two 8x10s for 99 cents this week using their Buy one get one free deal and two manufacturer coupons)
- clean our master bathroom (yeah right!)
- plan some trips throughout the year
What is on your list of things to do this weekend??
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