Get $5 Rebate for CrockTober!

In celebration of "CROCKTOBER", Rival is giving you a $5 rebate when you purchase a Rival crock pot ($24.50 or greater)! All you will need is your original receipt, UPC code from the box and then the rebate form printed out below and mail it in to receive your $5! I just bought a crock pot today and was going to post about that and while checking out Rival's website, I saw the rebate offer, so I'm glad to get $5 back! ; )

Go to the link below and then towards the bottom middle you will see the Rebate offer, download the pdf page and print!

http://www.crock-pot.com/

Happy Savings!

Free Samples Website

I've actually used this website for several years now, getting lots of free samples by mail! I recommend it and also make sure to sign up for their free newsletter:

http://www.all-free-samples.com/

Free 'Tall' Cappuccino (or coffee, tea, espresso, latte)

Make sure to click below and print out your free complimentary drink from Barnes & Noble Cafe'! It says complimentary cappuccino but you will see in the fine print, you can get either a tall-size: caffe' latte, cappuccino, espresso, freshly brewed coffee or hot tea.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nav.asp?r=1&PID=24816&r=1

Enjoy!

Also, you will get the 15% off one item coupon for Barnes & Noble.

Coupons and Freebies

Why do all the work yourself when others have done it for you and they offer it for FREE!? I just started doing some "couponing" when I found I did not have to waste my time trying to find the deals because others have already done it for us! ;)

Go sign up for your free account at Coupon Mom and you will have access to free printable coupons, and weekly deals at your local stores. Coupon Mom has been in the media many times, you can see some of the videos here:







Another favorite of mine is 'Money Saving Mom'. Be sure to check out her blog and learn about weekly deals and freebies!

This week, I got free Kotex pantiliners, Wet ones trial size for about 25 cents, and Arm and Hammer detergent for 99 cents!

I've always despised coupon clipping and all the work involved but since these ladies have done the work for us, it is just up to us to print and/or clip those coupons and get the deals!! I'm all for that!

Glenn Beck Must Reads

I feel that everyone should read these 3 articles from Glenn Beck about our economic crisis:

What Happened?
What's Coming?
What Can I Do to Prepare?

Some quotes from the articles that resound truth:

"Our political system was not designed around the people in power or really even us. It began with the core belief that we were created and given rights by God. For America to truly fulfill its promise we must restore our faith in the only thing that is solid, unchanging and real: God.
As we find ourselves not trusting our leaders, institutions or even our currency, remember the secret is simple and found as close as your pocket or purse. How appropriate that on the symbol of our present troubles we find the answer: IN GOD WE TRUST."

Some Americans have been trying to push God out of everything to do with our country, from schools to courthouses. When that is the ONE thing we should NOT push out but draw closer too! A good thing about the Great Depression, is that it drove more people to church and God.


More quotes from Glenn Beck's articles:

"We just need to focus on a few out of fashion American values such as thrift, value and moderation"

On the mortgage crisis:

"Our current economic crisis was caused by politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, who perverted the American Dream by treating home ownership as an undeniable right rather than what it really is, a privilege."

"Call me crazy but if you need to count child support money that's intended for your child, or are in such bad economic shape that you're relying on welfare payments to make ends meet or are unemployed, maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be buying a house. Too bad our politicians and the 'best and brightest' on Wall Street couldn't figure that out!"

"So when federal regulators began to warn the executives at Fannie and Freddie about the increasing risks of non-payment by subprime borrowers the companies did nothing and when the regulators took their concerns to congress their warnings were met with scorn and contempt. (see video below) The politicians who received the most political contributions from Fannie and Freddie, by pure coincidence, just happened to be their biggest defenders: Chris Dodd (D-$133,900), John Kerry (D-$111,000) and Barack Obama (D-$105,189)."

The bottom line on the cause of this crisis:

"...it's greed that has been shown to be at the root of our present economic uncertainty"

Frugal Birthday Party

It is time again for my daughter's birthday and I'm doing another "frugal" party. Last year, I spent just $7 decorating. This year, I'm re-using those decorations. Then for the cake, we are making cupcakes with icing and then serving Kool-Aid. It will cost us about $4.

I also do not give out party favors. I have never understood WHY other kids are supposed to get gifts on my daughter's birthday!? So save your money, unless you really want to throw it away on stuff that sooner or later gets thrown away anyway lol. :)

I also had a major victory this week! I had bought several presents for my daughter, in addition to the ones my parents had bought. Then I looked at my daughter's room and all the presents my parents got her, and then knowing others will be bringing gifts to her party and I said to my self:

"SELF.....she doesn't need these toys!"

I have since returned them to Wal-Mart and saved my money!

Homemade Pizza

Why pay $20 for something that you can easily make yourself, all the while saving money!? Pizza is one of those things that is so easy to make, yet so few do it. It takes me about 10 minutes to make the pizza and then less than 15 to bake it. It is one of my "quick" meals and we are having some tonight!

Not only is the crust homemade and whole wheat, but the sauce is homemade and I shred my own cheese. That is how you save money! Why pay double the amount to have someone else shred your cheese for you, when you can buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself in a food processor in less than a minute??

You will also find that your homemade pizza, is larger than Dominoe's or Pizza Hut's. This one pizza feeds my family with leftovers for the next day!

You can put the pepperoni on the sauce and then top it with cheese:

Or you can load the cheese first and then top with pepperoni (or other topping of your choice):

You can find the recipe here.

Frozen Produce

A great way to save money on your grocery budget is buying frozen produce. We buy mostly frozen fruits and vegetables. However, I do buy certain items "fresh" for salads and snacking, such as spinach, cucumbers, celery and carrots. Then for fruit, I buy my bananas, kiwi, oranges and apples "fresh". The rest are mostly frozen and here is why:

Some of you know I was a personal trainer a few years ago and I also studied Nutrition for a full year. What I learned then and still practice today is eating a large portion of my vegetables (and fruit) in the frozen form. The reason for this is because as soon as the produce is ready to be picked, it is flash frozen and thus locks in the (more) nutrients. Fresh produce is still nutritious but the LONGER it sits out, the lower the nutrient content. As for canned produce, I only buy canned tomato products and canned pumpkin. (Growing your own vegetables would be the "optimal" healthy thing to do. I did that last year growing my own tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers but didn't do it this year.)

Let's think about the process here for "fresh" produce: The produce is ready to be gathered/picked. It is then hauled to a truck and then transferred to the warehouse or processing plant. Then from there it goes to each individual company and then from there put on another truck to whatever state and then eventually makes it to the store! That is a lot of time, whereas the other process of freezing is immediate.

There are numerous articles on this online, at the library in books and magazines and even some news stories but here are a few I came across if you would like more reading on the subject:

This one has a great list (at the bottom of the article) of which vegetables you can buy frozen:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/frozen-vegetables-are-hot

http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100171934

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/great-nutrition-on-ice/eccedc606a046110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/nutrition.recipes/grocery.guru

http://www.blurtit.com/q267268.html

Then here is a great video by Prevention's Nutrition Director on how frozen vegetables are just as healthy, and in most cases, healthier than fresh:

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/nutrition-tips-video/19822caa123c8110VgnVCM20000012281eac____/nutrition.recipes/grocery.guru

Cash Crate New Policies

Cash Crate has changed a few things, for starters you can now get your payments through Paypal! I've already switched from getting checks to getting paid through Paypal.

The other change I was not so happy about. They have changed the minimum payout to $20, it used to be just $10. So to get a check, you first have to earn $20. I'm earning a lot from my referrals, so thank you whoever you 35 people are!

If you want to sign up to take surveys and do offers to earn money for free, click on my Cash Crate link below to sign up.