Christmas Cards....already??? OF COURSE!!

Yep, I am getting a head start on Christmas cards....but really it is only 2 months away from Christmas (I know that cause my birthday is Oct. 25th , so it is easy to start counting down from that point!)

So anyway, I wanted to share a couple of great deals I have found on photo cards...you know me I have to do the photo card thing...drag the kids out make a few pictures...yada yada yada.  So this past week while we were camping at Fall Creek Falls I took the opportunity to get a few pics (a few...hahaha) of the kids.  I will share some of the with you, but I have to save my faves for the Christmas cards of course.

So on Vistaprint, they are offering 20 Holiday Cards (4x8 or 5x7 or 5x7 folded!) for $1.99!!!  There is an upload fee for the pictures (mine was $3.74)  With shipping my total was under $12.00 and that was for a 3 picture 5x7 folded card...not just the postcard type.  Here is the link:  www.vistaprint.com/santa7.  I am not sure how long this deal is good for.

Then Snapfish is offering 20 4x8 photo cards for FREE, you pay shipping only, which is $5.99, using the discount code BABYMAIL.  This is offer is good through Oct. 31st...so hurry!!  You can also get another set 20 for FREE, plus shipping of $5.99 with the discount code BABIES.  You can use both of these codes, but they must be done in different transactions.  Thanks FREEBIES4MOM, for alerting me of these great deals!!

Coupons...Part 2

Well, on this post I just wanted to share some of my favorite sites to check out for coupons and deals.  I know that TONS of people have blog posts on couponing, so I am not going to share the bit of knowledge I have on HOW it's done, rather just bits of knowledge on WHERE to go.

One of the best places to start when looking for coupons is your local Sunday newspaper.  Here is a link to the schedules for Red Plum, Smart Source, and P&G inserts thanks to Southern Savers.  You can purchase your paper at Dollar Tree for only $1.00!!  That is generally savings enough for most people to get 2 papers for what 1 normally cost.  And speaking of buying 2 papers..."experts" say you should purchase 1 paper for every member of your family to get the most out of couponing.  I must admit that most of the time I only purchase 2 though.

Now, there are many places on the internet to look for coupons, and I am assuming if you are reading this then you have access to the internet...LOL!  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Coupons.com
AllYou.com  (You can also purchase All You Magazine at Walmart and gets LOTS of coupons inside!)
RedPlum.com  (This is also one of the inserts that comes in the Sunday Paper, but you can get additional coupons online)
SmartSource.com  (This is also one of the inserts that comes in the Sunday Paper, but again you can get additional coupons online)
Grocery Stores (You can go to your local grocery chains website, such as Bi-Lo, Publix, Food Lion, and they have "printables" on their sites.)

Some of my other favorite websites to check offer FREEBIES and coupon match-ups (to help you maximize your savings with the coupons matching them up to the sales of the week).  A few of these sites are:

Southern Savers
Time 2 Save
Sunday Coupon Preview
Money Saving Mom

These are just a few of the MANY coupon sites out there on the internet.  Just do a search for "coupons" and you find page after page!!  And speaking of searches...be sure to sign up for SWAGBUCKS, where you can earn "bucks" just for searching online!!  These bucks can be used to purchase items in the Swag Store...items that include Amazon.com gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, Restaurant.com gift cards, Video Gaming equipment, Books, and MANY, MANY other items!!  Signing up is FREE and all you have to is SEARCH...anything and everything and it will randomly give you "bucks" throughout the day.  Use my link to sign up and get started earning!  I recently used mine to purchase a pair of $50 Red Box Shoes and got shipping and all FREE!!  How bout them apples???  Go try it!!



HAPPY COUPONING (AND MOST OF ALL HAPPY SAVING MONEY!!)

The Simple Life of a 2 Year Old

Enjoy the Colors of Fall

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Most of us have been affected by breast cancer in some way...ourselves, a family member, a friend, or just a scare from finding "a lump."  Praise God, as far as I know I have no family members who have been affected by it, however I do have a couple of friends who have dealt with it.  I, myself, recently had a scare after I found "a lump."  Thankfully I have a doctor who is very thorough.  He wanted to cover all the bases and give me comfort in whatever answer we came out with.  I had my first mammogram (I know...I should have had one several years ago, but now I have done it!), I had three breast ultrasounds, and a biopsy of the lump.  All were negative...PRAISE GOD!! 

My friend Brynna at Joy Filled Frugality is hosting "A Month of Pink Ribbons" and is sharing stories, contests, and great information regarding breast cancer.  Right now she has a great giveaway for the The Love, Life Hope Scentsy Warmer.  Check out her giveaway here! This is a subject that is near and dear to her heart and she wants to make sure others have the information they need to deal with the disease itself or to help a family member dealing with it.  Check out her sight!!  (And by the way, she offers TONS of other great information not pertaining to breast cancer also!!) 

Keep yourself healthy, get your checkups and yearly mammograms...

These are my reason to do it...what's yours?

Couponing...again...Part 1

So, I am not BAD at couponing, I am just not GOOD at couponing, like I want to be.  My friend Denise, is like the Coupon Queen.  She even taught a Coupon Class for us at my church, and I still am not where I want to be.  I want to be racking up the free stuff...not so I can be hoarder because the Bible speaks against that (Don't hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.  Ecclesiates 11:2--The Message) but rather so that I can be a blessing and share my "findings" with others who need them even more than I do!  I feel like my mother and I have a knack for finding good deals/freebies, but I really would like to kick it up a notch and be able to share those findings. 

So I am starting my couponing again, more seriously, this time hopefully.  I have tried many "systems" for coupons and have yet to find "my system", but still I press on. LOL!  I have tried the little coupon envelope size holders, and they just stressed me out, I tried a recipe box with dividers and that didn't fit in my purse or diaper bag well, so it just gave me something else to carry which I didn't need, so that just stressed me out, I tried a big binder (and boy did I work hard on organzing it and it was a beauty!!), but again, it didn't fit in my purse or diaper bag and needed to rest on the baby seat part of the grocery cart...kind of hard to do when you have a baby in that seat!!  So, here is my latest "try". 

I labeled sandwich size zipper baggies with all the "categories", then put my coupons into the appropriate bags.

Then I put the baggies inside this little zipper pouch that I got from www.artscow.com.  Artscow offers TONS of freebies or shipping only items.  If you are on Facebook, be sure to "friend" them and you get all the latest offers.  If you are not on Facebook, then go to their website and sign up on their mailing list and you will get the offers emailed to you.  This was a Large Personalized Makeup bag, but I thought it would work great for holding all my coupon bags.  I got 3 of these on Artscow for $8.99/free shipping...that was all 3 for $8.99 by the way!  That was a steal and they make such great Christmas presents too. 

Then this cute little bag fits right down into my purse/diaper bag, not taking up lots of bulky space and is easy to pull out at the grocery store and just pull out the "category" I am looking for!  I can also put the coupons I am using right down inside of the bag in front of the baggies so they don't get lost all over the grocery cart (come on...you know what I am talking about!)

Ok, I will leave you with that for now...and part 2 will be giving you some pointers regarding couponing and some sources to get your coupons.  I know a lot of you have heard this over and over and over...but if you are anything like me, it still hasn't sunk in good enough to come out of the store with $100 worth of groceries for only 25 cents!!

~~Yours Truly~~