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Monday, February 9, 2009

Coupon clipper, plus a little giveaway! :)


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!

Different but so very cool!

10 comments:

Kelly said...

our Valentine's day is not really about us this year!

My favorite thing (starting this year I suppose) about Valentine's Day is-

This year we don't have a ton of money right now- getting ready for the baby, and events in our lives. We decided to buy a gift for each other together. We have wanted a digital photo frame for a long time now. The other day Josh said we should buy one together and split the cost. That way when Noah comes we can put our favorite pictures on it and have it on our table so we can see them all the time. I thought that was so cute!! :) Made me teary...he's becoming a daddy right before my eyes! :)

That was really long-but I wanted to share that with you! Love you!

Anonymous said...

ooh i will enter! my favorite part of valentine's day is getting to go out on a date with my husband - that never seems to happen enough after you have kids! my sister is so sweet and offered to come up and watch max for us so we can go out to eat and hopefully see a movie.

oh and my grocery store puts on our receipt the % saved... so i always try to beat my record... so far it is 29% (i saved $33 that time!) :)

megan said...

i see my 2 competitors have beat me to being first, it's on kell and kim. my favorite part about valentines day is getting roses from mike. they aren't exactly my favorite flower but he thinks it's what he's supposed to do so he buys them every year :) i also love all the pink stuff that comes out at all the stores!

Mom said...

My favorite part of Valentines Day is the way it feels to get the extra attention and love! For me, not so much the flowers, candy, etc, - although you all know my husband is a very "gifty" guy, and I always get way too much. Don't enter me in your contest though, hon, cuz we'll be 100 miles north playing outside at the cabin! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Mom said...

If you tell Grandma you are saving coupons, she'll faithfully cut them out for you! You can save alot if you're willing to do the work before going to the store. What I usually do is cut the coupons out, and then never bring them with me!

Stacy said...

since i have to work on valentine's day this year, i am looking forward to helping the men that come into the store (BBW) in need of a present. they are so fun to help. i also love to prepare my hubby a really great meal, like salmon.

Sheena said...

my favorite part of valentine's day is hanging with the girlies :) haha

ps i am so bummed i missed this oprah episode- keep us posted on your tips and successes (LOVE IT!)

Sarah said...

Sad, I am such a diehard follower of your blog too!!

My favorite part of Valentine's Day is just the little things. I rather receive a nice note saying something something simple in sweet like "loving you today and everyday" . . . The little things are the best!

Sarah said...

I've been following too... but like I told you...no good stories from this girl! But instead I love showing the extra love to my family and friends, cause they always show me plenty of love and caring!

megan said...

so who won??