Addicted

I am addicted to online shopping. It is a blessing and a curse.
It is really hard to shop withtwo little children and stores half an hour drive away. So online shopping is wonderful. I can shop in my pjs I can shop on the toilet. Its great.
However, it is always available....and is way to easy to type in the 'ol credit card number and hit "order". And I hate paying for shipping so I'll usually buy a minimum to get free shipping.
But I will take a moment to advocate ShopAtHome. It's a site that gives you cash back just for clicking on the links and shopping through it. It also provides coupon codes for % off discounts and shipping discounts.
I think I started using it in 2008 after little nicholas arrived and it was hard to get out. Since then I've saved over $400 in cash back. I use it for everything from clothes, gifts, computers, airline travel, you name it.
That's all I'm done.
Oh, look to the sidebar for a ShopAtHome link.

Today's shopping trip

Now that I am extreme couponing, sort of, I feel the need to save money every time I enter a store.
Today I went to CVS to take advantage of two bargains.
I bought 3 Soaftsoap body wash = $9
Pampers Cruisers=$9
2- Huggies newborn diaper packs (for a gift)=$6.24, they were clearances at 75% off

I used
(3) $1 soft-soap coupons
(1) $2 pampers coupon
$14 in ECBs

Total before $25 and change
Total after $5 and change

Score for me!

Also went to stop&Shop for groceries
My big steal:
2 bottles prenatal vitamins=$24
I bought them for $2 total.
They were B1G1 free
I had a $1 coupon plus a doubler coupon
And a $2 coupon printed at checkout so I used that too.
Score!

I also saved $1.50 on Land o Lakes eggs, making them $1.70 a dozen. Not a complete steal but I get so annoyed about how expensive eggs Are. The store brand ( which I expect to be cheap) are $2.29/doz. What? So score on the eggs.

Overall I saved $14 just in coupons. They add up friends.

Got any good savings tips or shopping trips to share? I want to hear.
Leave me a comment.

Cha-Ching

So if you know me, you know that I love a bargain. My new hobby, obsession, possession. Couponing. Bargain hunting.
I've found two great sights and there are probably more but I am not overwhelming myself at the moment.
A wonderful blog: Living Rich with Coupons. Miss Cindy finds the deals and coupon match ups and posts them. Saves a lot of work for busy moms like me.
And Couponmom.com. Sort of the same thing but not in blog form.

So I went to Rite-Aid this week and these were my deals.
Crest mouth rinse-FREE
Crest toothpaste-FREE
Oral-B toothbrush-FREE
Gilette proFusion power razor-97 cents
2 Brilliant Brunette Conditioners-$1.75 each

It's like putting money in my pocket.

If you have any coupons or great deals, send them my way.

And I wANt to hear about your great deals too.

I also want to remind you about ShopAtHome. There is a link off to the side. If you do any online shopping you need to use this. It's a website that offers you cash back at your favorite stores. I use it all the time. Just this week I received a check for $32. My to date cash back is $289.00. How would you like that? So use the link at the right and we both earn extra cash.

And don't forget, keep couponing.

I long to be...

I have recently found this show on TLC, Extreme Couponing.
I love a good deal. I love to save money. These people are Ca-razy! They do these extreme shopping trips of hundreds or even thousands of dollars and get the totals down to nothing! Un-be-lieve-able!

I want to get free groceries!

Some of their shopping is for 77 bottles of mustard or100 bottles of Vitamin water. What?! Who needs that much?
But it is a great way to give to charity.

A some of the key tips I've learned:
1. Using a coupon with a sale price can sometimes give you money back. This is a great way to buy produce or meats that don't have coupons. Genius!
2. Online sites give you coupons and scout the deals for you. One I've checked out is couponmom.com. And I know there are more.

People spend hours couponing. It's a part to full time job. Oh boy! I don't know if I could do that.

But I will keep scouting the deals. And clipping my coupons. And saving money. Probably not hundreds in one shopping trip but I'll save.

Love this store

I first became a fan of Aldi while living in Germany. We had one right across the street where we lived.
While my husband went to post to work and I had no transportation to go anywhere and knew no one, I walked across the road to Aldi. I picked up a lot of German words.
And now that I am back in the States, I still love Aldi. They have super cheap prices and carry some German products which I miss dearly.
The only problem is the closest is 40 minutes away, gasp! So I don't get there often.
If you haven't been...GO! Take a quarter for the cart, you get it back. They only take cash or debit. And bring your own bags otherwise you will have to buy them.
They carry the brand Fit & Active. In which I have found an all natural fruit snack for Nicholas. He loves fruit snacks. And if you look at the label of Welches and other brands, they are full of sugar. But not these. No sugar added, all natural sugar.
Their other Fit & Active brands are good to.
The last time I was in I found little Nuremburg bratwurst. So super yummy. I really miss the German bratwurst.
So go check out the Aldi near you. You won't be disappointed.

Not just a coffee break

We have this coffee maker. And on Sunday, it died.
So I gave it to Nicholas to play with. It has a dispenser as you can see in the picture. It was fun. We had a little water party on the deck.

Now we have this coffee maker, see below. We hope this lasts longer than the other one which lasted less than 18 months. But we like the dispenser, carafe-less design. I ordered it from Walmart on Monday (with 97 cent shipping) and received it on Wednesday. Can't beat that.

Food budgets

If you have a family to feed, you spend a lot on groceries. I was emailing a friend some tips for cutting your food costs. I thought I would share them with the world.

1. Make a menu every week. Try to include all meals so you don't miss anything. Also this keeps from over buying things. If you can plan them around what is on sale that way you aren't buying pricey items. Start simply with recipes you know and are easy. Then it won't be so overwhelming. It takes some time in the beginning but it will save time throughout the week because you aren't thinking about what to fix every day and not be prepared. I'll do it once I sit down at night and watch some tv (if you get this time).

2. Take advantage of sales and stock up on things. Especially canned goods.

3. Buy in bulk and buy meat only when it is on sale. Freeze the extra. I break up the packages In freezer bags so I am not thawing too much and then wasting it because it doesn't get cooked. Don't buy pricey cuts, go for the cheaper ones. They can be just as good. Meats can really drive-up the bill so stretch the amount you use in the dishes you make, soups and casseroles are good for this.

4. Be creative and substitute with what you have on hand, don't Always buy what the recipe calls for. You can typically substitute and it is just as good. This is also a good way to use up little amounts of things you have leftover in the fridge. If you can't use it right away, freeze it.

5. Check unit prices. Sale items are not always cheaper because they are name brands. The larger package is not always cheaper than something that is on sale. So always compare.

6. Join a wholesale club. The savings pays for the membership.

7. Clip coupons. You can print online, but I have found this tedious. I don't buy a paper because it would be a waste. I found my local paper will deliver a small section of ads and coupons on Sundays.

8. Make a list and don't impulse buy.

9. We don't like to eat the end slices of bread. So I throw them in the freezer. When they pile up, I grind them for bread crumbs and store them back in the freezer. I don't have to buy bread crumbs. I also throw overripe bananas in the freezer and make banana bread from them.
10. You can always go without something until it goes on sale so just improvise.

11. Try some budget recipes from websites such as, kraftfoods.com, all recipes.com, etc.

12. Plan. Plan. Plan.

I am always open to new ideas. So please share. I want to hear them.

New Clothes

I feel a little foolish posting this but I was so excited today to get the box of clothes I ordered in the mail. And it was too much fun trying everything on. I am happy to report only 1 out of 15 items doesn't' work. I think that's a pretty good score. So here's the fashion show.

Black leggings with a purple shirt (not maternity shirt). I am holding my leg weird to try to show that there is a little metal eyelet detail at the bottom. But you can't see it.

LOVE LOVE LOVE these maternity gaucho pants in brown. I will live in these for the next 6 months (as long as I don't freeze). And a non-maternity hoodie shirt with a front pocket. I won't wear this very long for now.


Maternity khaki capris, very nice and non-maternity sweater, it's cut so long.

A maternity purple striped hoodie shirt with the khakis.

A green maternity shirt with the khakis.

Oh and one of my favorites. Gray leggings with a non-maternity knit dress with a cowl neck (which you can't see). Super fun. I never wear dresses b/c I never have reason to, but so fun.

I also bought some cardigan sweaters that are not pictured but should be versatile.

My next mission: shoes and boots! Wahoo!! Which I predict will be harder than the clothes. I can never find ones that fit and are comfortable. And I am all about comfort.

Baby Stuff

I feel the need to buy things for this baby. Things that we will just need another of such as a monitor. And things I didn't have for Little Man that I think might make life a little easier when juggling two.
So one of the things I want is a bassinet. We started Nicholas out in his crib from day 1 (well when he wasn't sleeping on us which was the case for about the first 2 weeks).
So today, I am at this kids tag sale and I find a bassinet. I am so excited about this. It's nothing special and it is used but I really don't care.
So I am just hoping this baby likes it and we will like it too. I'll try to get a picture up sometime.
Some of my other finds: a baby food mill, a front carrier, a toddler harness, rain boots for N. and "mud shoes" for N. (these are shoes he can totally trash b/c they are used and I won't care so much) and 2 Melissa & Doug sound puzzles in trucks and construction.
Pretty good haul I think.