Money Saving Mom's Budget book- A Must Have!

I've been a reader of the Money Saving Mom blog probably since 2008. She has a wealth of knowledge she shares on everything from budgeting, cooking, couponing, saving & paying cash for items, living well on less, freezer cooking and more. All while raising and homeschooling 3 children. Now, she has a new book coming out this January compiling years of experience on all of these topics. It is called The Money Saving Mom's Budget and is now available for Pre-order on Amazon.

Hurry and get yours today! And don't forget to check our her blog, if you are not already a reader and let me know what you think!!

Yippie I found it!!

As I posted last week, I was planning a trip back to Home Goods to get my lovely Le Crueset pot, a late birthday present to myself and early Christmas from the hubby. After more than a week, I was surprised to see 2 left!!

As with most items from a store like HomeGoods/Marshalls, this one was labeled "Seconds" meaning it had a few flaws compared to the ones they would sell at full price from another retail store. I carefully looked the two pots over, the red one had a few imperfections in the enamel on the outside. But I couldn't find anything wrong with this one!!

Last night I used it for the first time to make Chicken & Dumplings, the cheaters way. I had a soup mix that contained all the spices and only had to add the water, chicken, veggies, and make the dumplings. It turned out quite well for being so easy!!! Of course home made is so much better but this momma needed something quick!

I forgot to take the picture until we had already spooned some out, hence the half full pot :) I promise to do better next time.

I have a feeling I will get a lot of good use out of this pot in the next few months. Already bought my ingredients for Taco Soup! Recipe to come!

Look what I found at Home Goods!

On a random trip to Home Goods the other day I was returning a lamp and of course had to wander the aisles looking for any fun finds. Their stock changes frequently and there are often one of a kind items that you have to snatch up when you see them. Those of you that have been to a Home Goods store know what I'm talking about!

I recently started looking for some new pots and heard about Le Creuset, a quality cast iron cookware brand that has been around for decades. They are quite expensive, so when I happened to see this beauty I was thrilled!!! However I was a little confused because the label on the pot did not tell you its size, say 4 qt etc and I am not a good judge by looking. This looked to be the medium sized French Oven in a beautiful burnt orange color. The price said $159.99, compare to $240.00. Sounds like a good deal to me!!

But, I wanted to make sure of the size and check the prices online to compare. And I felt a little guilty buying a pot for myself that I had intended to ask hubby for for Christmas. Yes, I left the store with out it. May have been a big mistake!! Once I got home I regretted not snatching it up. Afterall, it can be an early Christmas present that will get much more use starting now, with Fall coming and soups and chili on the menu! I'm going back this afternoon hoping they have at least one left. We will see!

Deal of the Day: PB Kids Games in a Bag

I came across this sale today while shopping online at Pottery Barn Kids. It's a great gift idea or perfect for keeping your kids occupied while traveling, or really anywhere.

Pottery Barn Kids Games in a Bag are currently on clearance for $5.99 with free shipping making it an even sweeter deal. They have Mouse Bowling, Dominoes, Memory and Tic Tac Toe.

I think I'm going to get a few for my girls and neices!! Check out their sales and clearance for more deals!

CVS Week 5/9-5-15:Lots of Free Toiletries! Almost Free Huggies Diapers!

This week was great at CVS!!! Several freebies & moneymakers, although I was missing a few of the coupons due to our move & not getting the paper. Ugh-I hate it when I miss coupons!! But I did pretty good anyway. Here is what I got & the run down:

Excuse my photo quality- I've been using my phone camera since it's so much easier!!

Crest ProHealth Toothpaste $3.50- Get $3.50 ECB (limit 2)
plus if you have the coupon, use $.75/1 from PG 5/2 insert, makes it a $1.50 moneymaker if you use both!!!
U by Kotex tampons $4.99- Get $4.99 ECB (limit 1)
Use $1/1 U by Kotex from SS 4/18, makes it $1 moneymaker!
Right Guard Total Defense Deoderant $2.99- Get $2 ECB (limit 2)
Use $3/2 printable, makes both FREE!
Carefree Liners $1 sale
Use $1/1 Carefree product from SS 4/25, makes it FREE

I bought the above and had the listed coupons except for the Crest ones. My total was $14.96 after coupons
Used $9.98 in ECB's from my previous trip
Total OOP with tax: $5.13

Then I got the ECB as listed above, $4 ECB (2 Right Guard), $4.99 ECB (Kotex), $7 ECB (2 Crest).
$15.99 ECB total to use for next week!

Actually I'm planning to go back this afternoon if I have time for the Huggies Deal!! A new $3/1 coupon was released since my last trip. Here is the deal if you have time today:

Huggies- sale $8.49, Get $2 ECB (limit 1)
Pair this with the HOT $3/1 Huggies coupon available, get your diapers for only $3.49 plux tax!! That is cheaper than most any store brand diapers!! Use up some of your ECB from a previous week and pay almost NOTHING out of pocket! For those of you new at this, here is what the transaction will look like:

(1) Huggies Jumbo pk Diapers $8.49
less $3 coupon
=$5.49 plus tax
Use $4.99 ECB (from buying Kotex earlier)
Total spent: $.50 plus tax
Get back $2 ECB to roll again!

See isn't this fun???

Walgreens Week 5/9-5/15: Free plus Moneymaker!

After a couple weeks break from shopping the deals at Walgreen's & CVS, I was so happy to have the time now to go this past week. Not a huge week for me at Walgreen's, but there were a couple freebies and a moneymaker!! Here are the 2 things I got:

EOS Shave gel- $2.99, Get $3 RR = FREE
Schick Hydro 3 Razor- sale $7.99, Used $5/1 coupon from SS 4/18 insert making it $2.99, then got $5 RR back! This makes it a $2.01 moneymaker! :)

I didn't have any Register Rewards to use from previous weeks so I spent $5.98 plus tax out of pocket, but got $8 RR to use for next week! We will need a few other toiletries, like toilet paper, that I plan to use these on. Going to work on tomorrow's shopping trip this afternoon.

Ebates 11% Cash Back Birthday Celebration

In celebration of their 11th birthday (wow didn't know they have been around so long!) Ebates is offering 11% cash back at some of your favorite stores!! Go to Ebates online, sign up & receive $5 in your account after your first purchase. Find the store you want to shop at and click on the link provided. After your purchase is made, within a few weeks Ebates will credit your account with the % cash back. Once your account reaches a certain balance think it's $25?), you will receive a check in the mail.

I use Ebates a lot when shopping online. So far I have heard $62.50 back :) A few I saw were Macy's, Ann Taylor, Old Navy, GAP,White House Black Market & tons more!

Happy Shopping!

12 hour sale: Entertainment Books $12 plus Free Shipping!

For the next 12 hours only Entertainment Books are being offered at just $12 and Free shipping! If you've never used one before, these are great little books full of coupons for meals out, entertainment etc that can save you a lot of money over the year!! Normally $35 full price (I've seen them on sale for $20 here & there) $12 is a great deal, plus no shipping charges!! Go here to find a book for a city near you.

AND if you first sign up and shop through Ebates you will get an additional 25% cash back in your Ebates account. Also if you are new to Ebates you get a $5 bonus for signing up. This would make your out of pocket cost only $4 for the book!

Happy Mother's Day! Bath & Body Works Candles & Coupon Plus Avon Lipgloss for $1.99!

Happy Mother's Day!! A few deals for MOM or yourself, I plan on taking advantage of these today!

Bath & Body works has a $10 off $30 coupon right now to use in store or online. If you shop online you can also get free shipping off a $25 order using the same code. Print the coupon here or use the online code MAY25. Some of my FAVORITE candles of theirs are on sale, 2 for $20, regularly $19.99 for one. These are made by Slatkin and smell delicious!! A few of the scents are Summer Orchard, Pomegranate Lemonade, Summer Melon, Pineapple Mango & Island Nectar. Love the smells of summer :)  Hurry, ends today!

 


Another fun deal!  AVON always has really good sales on their makeup and other products. Right now as part of ther Mother's Day Weekend Spree lipgloss is on sale for $1.99!!  Sixteen colors to choose from.  And to make the deal sweeter, spend just $5 on any order and get FREE shipping with the code MOM2010.  Ends Midnight 5/10/10.  Love me some cheap lipgloss!