I love Valentines Day!
It just might be my favorite holiday....I love how everything is pink and red, all the pretty flowers, all the candy, and how there is just love in the air! Okay that last reason might be a bit cheezy, but it is true!
I also love to get fun stuff in the mail so I decided this is the perfect time to do a little giveaway! I know I don't have a big following of readers but I don't care(I appreciate you mom, Meg, and Kel)! Go tell your friends!
To enter, just leave a comment at the end of this post(by 10 am tomorrow-have to have time to mail it!) telling me what your favorite part about Valentines Day is! The winner will then recieve a package from me that includes some sweets(ex...cupcake pops) and other cute pink and red items. Trust me, it will be exciting!!!
Okay, now on to more exciting news....like clipping coupons!
haha...
Seriously though...did anyone see the episode of Oprah last week about different ways to save money? Cornell and I watched it together and got some really good tips that we are going to try. One of them is unplugging items when not in use. This includes your television, lamps, toaster, etc. We don't think about it but these items are wasting your electricity by just sitting there, plugged in. After the show we went around the house to check...we had 3 phone chargers, hair dryer, microwave, 3 lamps, blender, and others all plugged in with none in use! I have to admit though, last night when I came home I went to turn on a lamp....nothing...had to plug it in. Then sat on the couch ready to watch the Grammy's....nothing...had to get back up to plug it in! It will take some getting used to, but hopefully we see a difference in our Duke Energy bill...will keep you updated!
The other money saver is grocery shopping. Oprah had a family of 4 eating big yummy looking dinners at only $4 a meal! What?? We only have 2 people in our household and I can't seem to do that!
Cornell started taking notes at this point.
Some of the ideas were to plan your meals according to what is on sale for that week, plus buy a sunday paper and clip your coupons(also print coupons from online). Coupon mom got a cart of grocerys that were around $110, after the coupons...$37! I was amazed! So we attempted this challenge last night. Got our sunday paper, and ads for the week from local grocery stores, and planned our meals,.
Now remember this is our first time....
Here's how we did...
Dinners:
1. Sloppy joes and fries
2. Chicken breasts, veggie, potatoe
3. Baked Ziti with italian sausage
4. Pork chops, veggie, flavored rice
5. Homemade pizza
6. Chicken stir fry(already have the chicken breasts)
Breakfast and lunch include oatmeal, ham & cheese omelets, turkey sandwich and soup, bananas, and a few other misc items.
Our grand total was $60 with a savings of $ 7.10 from our coupons.
So we will see how long these meals last this week, I have a pretty big and hungry husband. We are going to total our savings each month and keep track.
Just call us the coupon family.
Last but not least is my first item for our new home...I have wanted this picture for about 3 months. I first saw it at Target, but it was a much smaller size. Cornell spotted it yesterday at our favorite store, Marshalls, for a great deal. Half the price and 3 times the size...I think we are gonna put it in the guest bathroom!
The Wick household has sad news this week...my dad's partner for about 10 years, Hans, has passed away. He was 13 years old. Hans put MANY "bad" guys behind bars for the City of Duluth and even won awards as a top dog among MN police dogs. As with most german shepards, his hips got bad and he developed other medical problems that made it hard for him to even walk any longer. :( Sad but I know he is happy in doggy heaven, eating all the chocolate chip cookies that he wants!
