Another Picture Post!

My mom, Maddie, and I spent Saturday running errands and going to an Ice Cream Festival!! All you could eat ice cream for $6! We sampled quite a few flavors... :D

Sunday, we worked in our HUGE garden. Mad also was thrilled to see all of my brother's chickens! He currently has 6 laying hens + 6 or 7 chicks (that are the same age as our ducks).

Mad at our favorite sandwich shop. They make their own bread... YUM!

Mad hanging out around the square (where the ice cream festival took place). Isn't she adorable?? She's wearing my latest creation!

One last one of Maddie being silly and showing off her team spirit! Gig Em!

Another GREAT Mail Day!

I'm (halfway) participating in Kristin's 5 a Day program. You contact 5 different companies/brands a day (or if you're like me, a week!) to tell them about your personal experiences. I've emailed quite a few thus far....

Last week, I received a big mailer from the Blairex company, which makes Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

Today, I received -

- A coupon for a FREE YoPlus Product!
- A coupon for a FREE Sister Schubert Product!
- A sample bag of Pretzel M&Ms (YUM!)

and.... NO BILLS!! Whoop! :-)

My Way of Contributing to Our Debt Snowball

So, as most of you know, I am an avid Dave Ramsey 'follower'. We are currently in the middle of Baby Step 2 and are constantly looking for ways to increase our debt snowball. Etsy is one of MY ways.

I started my Etsy shop with the intention of making a few extra bucks creating burp cloths and onesies. This quickly turned into a bit of a heartbreak for me. I didn't sell much of anything ... and, we still are trying to conceive baby #2. :(

Okay, well, I'll start making things for our daughter instead. I found the basis for my pillowcase dress pattern on a fellow blogger's website and went from there. The first one was not the greatest, but it taught me what I needed to change.

I've sold only 1 dress thus far (and made DD lots!), but I'm hopeful that business will take off!

Hubby and I have figured out that if we contribute just $100 more a month to the snowball, we'll pay off ALL of our consumer debt (credit cards & truck note) 6 months sooner! I'm hoping that I can add $100/month.

Without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, I present my pillowcase dresses ((and my adorable model))!



You can see the rest of my items in my Etsy store here or feel free to contact me for other purchase arrangements!

Great MAIL Day!

So, I've always been 'that' person who loves checking the mail. I even had pen pals in middle school just so I could get mail!

Imagine how excited I was when I realized that my Bargain Hunting/Freebie Finding self would be getting LOTS of mail! :-)

Today's box was FULL!

- P&G Brand Sampler, which included
- Head & Shoulder sample
- Pampers Dry Max sample (3 diapers) + $1/1 Coupon
- Tide with Febreeze sample
- $3/1 Tide Stain Release (medium or large size)
- $2/1 Olay Total Effects Body Wash
- $1/1 ANY Tide
- A big box of samples from the new U by Kotex + $1/1 coupon
- Vocalpoint sample of Puffs Plus Lotion + a HUGE booklet of coupons

And last, but certainly not least ... a $5 rebate check from SC Johnson! Yay! That's a total of $25 in the last few weeks from rebate checks! I have two more to send out for $8 more!

Great Giveaway at Melissa's Bargain Blog!

A fellow blogger is hosting a GREAT giveaway!

Melissa is giving away a $10 gift certificate to My Coupon Hunter. I'm personally addicted to couponing and have recently discovered the awesome "Coupon Buying" websites!

Check out My Coupon Hunter's website here. She has an excellent selection of all the latest coupons. Shipping is relatively quick. I ordered coupons on Friday and received them today!

You can enter to win here.

Target & Walgreens Trip 3/1/10

I'm so excited about this trip! I got so many items for FREE! I'm attaching pictures now and will update with a full account of my trip later!

Walgreens Trip (minus 1 bag of Peanut M&Ms :P)

Total OOP - $3.XX + $1 RR

Target Trip

Total OOP - $48.xx

My First REAL Bargain Hunting Trip

I've been doing small WAGS deals for a while now, but I went all out yesterday with my almost 2-year-old in tow. I am SO proud of myself! I set out with $100 and, although I did stop to have lunch with DH, I still have $42 left!

Target

$1.66 (sale price 3/$5)- Glade Carpet Powder X 3
- .50 coupon X 3
_____
$1.16 each

$2.65 (on clearance) - Pantene Pro-V Extra Straight Shampoo
$2.65 (on clearance) - Pantene Pro-V Extra Sraight Conditioner
- 2.00/2 Pantene Manufacturer Coupon
_____
$1.65 each

$1.99 - Crest Toothpaste 8.2 oz w/ Bonus Glide Floss & Pro-Health Toothpaste(trial size)
- 1.00 Target Coupon (insert in a Sunday paper)
- .75 Crest Manufacturer Coupon
_____
$0.24!!

$2.54 - (on clearance) - Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Shampoo
- 1.00 Garnier Manufacturer Coupon
_____
$1.54

$0.97 - Reach Mint Waxed Floss X 2
- 1.00 Manufacturer Coupon X 2
_____
FREE + .03 MM!

TOTAL OOP - $9.XX! + I can submit the 3 Glades for the SC Johnson Rebate & get $5 back!

Now, of course, DD insisted we buy an Elmo book & other items from the dollar spot, but all in all, I did good!

WAGS

1st Transaction
$8.99 - Gilette Fusion Razor
$3.99 - Air Wick i-Motion Air Freshener (50% off this week!)
$0.12 - Valentine Clearance Lunch Sack

- 4.00 Fusion Coupon
- 4.00 Air Wick Coupon
- 3.00 RR (from last week's Huggies deal)
__________

TOTAL OOP - $2.XX + $4.00 RR (Gilette)

2nd Transaction
$8.99 - Gilette Venus Embrace Razor
$6.99 - Olay Body Wash
$0.69 - Peanut M&Ms

- 2.00 Venus Coupon
- 3.00 RR (from last week's Huggies deal)
- 6.99 Free Olay Body Wash WYB Venus Embrace Razor
__________

TOTAL OOP - $5.XX + $4.00 RR (Venus) + Can submit Olay Body Wash for the Olay $15 Rebate WYB 3 here for a MM!

We also did a small grocery trip to H-E-B. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts are on sale for $1.66/lb for a 3lbs bag and 5lbs bags of Russet Potatoes for $1/bag! Not too shabby!

Baby Steps of Debt Free

We have recently read and learned Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. As I read this in my tub (yes, I read in the tub!), I yelled for DH. I was absolutely in awe of what this guy was saying! THE TRUTH. I have grown up believing that everyone has a credit card, everyone is in debt and that's the was life is unless you are extremely rich. How naive I was.

I realized that I don't want to be in debt. I want to be debt free and only owe money to me. Well, let's face it - my mortgage will haunt me for a long while because we have serious credit card debt. But, we're working on that! We've paid off one credit card thus far and have definite plans to pay off 2 more with our tax return. I've also started 'bargain shopping'.

When I met DH, he had no clue that people used coupons for anything. Ha! I was still in high school and ALWAYS used coupons! With the unexpected conception and birth of our first child, I went coupon crazy! I've started the (GIANT) project of converting my overstuffed coupon folder to a sophisticated coupon binder. :-) Let's just say that with the help of an almost two-year-old, it's taking me quite a bit longer than I had hoped to finish my binder.

I regularly scour bargain blogs such as Melissa's, Collin's, and Kristin's. I am in awe of these ladies!

I've also been trying my hand at making baby items. I made a few for friends/family and was told "You Should Sell These!". So, I am! Here's my Etsy store.

I hope you'll enjoy my trials (and there will be MANY) and adventures as I become debt free!

Target Glade Deals - CHEAP!

AWESOME deal on Glade Plugins and Scented Oil Tins!

Glade Plugins Scented Gel warmer
Retail: $1.66
Coupon: $1.50 from 1/24 SS (exp 3/6)
OOP: as low as 16 cents!

Glade Scented Oil Tins
Retail: $1.66
Coupon: $1.50 found inside the tins themselves or the $2/2 from the 2/7 SS (exp 3/6)
OOP: as low as 16 cents!

AND, don't forget about the $5 SC Johnson rebate here! Buy 3, and submit your rebate! This purchase becomes a moneymaker!

You can submit the rebate up to 3 times by June 2010!

Thanks Couponing to Disney for this great deal!

My JOURNEY to Debt Free

So, I suppose I fibbed a bit in naming my blog. We're not debt free, but we are definitely on our way! The credit cards are officially "frozen" (and, yes, I mean literally frozen!) and a serious budget is in place. It has been a hard transistion for us, especially DH.

I actually look at it as my job. I prod DH to run to the store early Sunday morning so I can scour the Walgreens, CVS and Target ads for potential deals. Coupons are ALWAYS in my bag and I can't even remember the last time I bought something without a coupon or discount!