Save money on home phone service!

I have been using a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone service for around 7 years now!  When we moved from PA to MD 7 years ago, we were able to keep our local PA phone number, and still have that same number now that we're back in PA!!  I have used 3 different companies and have no major complaints with the service itself.  I recently went looking for a less expensive option, since our bill had climbed over $40/month!  I am loving our newest VoIP service - Phone.com


One of the neat features of phone.com is that they offer a referral program to save you even more money!  So yes, not hiding anything, if you click this link to sign up, I will receive credit!  Sign up for Phone.com!

But the best news???  My phone bill is $9.88/month.  Yup.

I also love that you can log onto phone.com's site and see your incoming calls, listen to voicemails, send a fax, even send a text message!  Many more features are on their site, there are just too many to mention.

I hate laundry... but I love saving money!

I guess I can't get around the hatred of laundry....  (it's really the folding & putting away that I despise most), but I can learn to like it a bit more when I save money doing it AND do it in a safe *green* way.  Not to mention how easy this is... making my own laundry detergent took about 15 minutes!!!  And according to other bloggers, I will have enough for about 32 loads of laundry.

What you need:
1 bar Fels Naptha Laundry soap (any bar of laundry soap can be used)
1 Cup Mule Team Borax
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

That's it!!!  Now, you just grate the entire bar of soap, then add the cups of borax and washing soda.  Mix it all together and you're done!  You only need to use ONE TBSP per load!  And no, this will not make suds; suds do not = clean!  All of the ingredients are easily found at the local Walmart!

The recipe came from Mommy's Kitchen.  She also has a recipe for a larger batch!  The cost per load is calculated to be approx 7 cents per load!  Can't beat that for safe, chemical-free laundry soap!

Looking for a liquid laundry soap?  I have links to several on my Pinterest board - Naturally.

Outlet savings (using foursquare!)

Do you use Foursquare?  I started using it just for fun (it's an app for your smartphone!), but have found it useful in saving money!  When you go to any location, you "check in" using your phone.  There are tons of locations (retail, food) that offer specials just for checking in!  Our recent trip to the Grove City Outlets allowed me to use several discounts.  My total savings for the day was $95.37 - plus by checking in at the Outlets, I was given a free coupon book that is normally $5, so bonus coupons!  :)

• The Children's Place - Subtotal $79.  30% off = $55.30 *savings of $23.70!

• aerie - Subtotal $46.41 - 15% off = $39.45 *savings of $6.96

• Old Navy - Subtotal $80.64 - 10% off = $72.49 *savings of $8.15

• Justice - Subtotal $128.83 - 40% off = $77.27 *savings of $51.56

• Skechers - Subtotal $59.92 - $5 off = $54.92 *savings of $5.00

Reusable produce bags

I'm guessing about a year ago, I made these cute reusable produce bags for my sister!  She loves them and uses them every grocery trip... and tells me that she receives compliments on them *every* time!  So why haven't I made myself a set yet?  Excellent question with no good answer!  I shall add it to my to-do list.  :)

My CVS plan...

I'm not planning to spend $19+ out of pocket though.

I want to purchase the John Frieda deal first, using $2 ecb from last week, spending $8 oop.

Then I will use the $10 ecb from the John Frieda transaction to purchase the remaining items on my list.  Balance should be around $0, and I will receive $8 in ecb.  (I HOPE!)

Vocalpoint is giving away free bags of Fresh Express salad and more!

Click HERE to get yours!

Fresh Express^® has developed a breakthrough, eco-friendly produce wash called Fresh Rinse^™ that is 7x more effective in cleaning salads than traditional chlorine wash,¹ but is still gentle on lettuce.

• Environmentally friendly
• Acceptable for use on organic produce

¹Based on average reduction of bacteria (Total Aerobic Plate Counts,

and indicator for the level of microorganisms on a product)

Great deals at Target this week!

Here is what my plan at Target was for this week...



...and I accomplished everything except for the 40 free prints (cause I don't have them chosen yet, lol).

Bed pillows for $.50 each!
FREE pens and Sharpies!!

I will try to link my spreadsheet to the IP coupons (internet printable) in case anyone is interested in using these deals themselves!

**Update - Get Target store coupons HERE!

Almost TWO years later...

Where have I been?  It's hard to believe that I haven't blogged (here) in almost 2 years!  I hope to post more regularly, and maybe even do some "catch-up".

Our family has recently - as in... last week - moved from the Frederick, MD area to "home" in the Pittsburgh, PA area.  Eventhough I'm from here, I still find this to be a huge learning experience... I believe mostly because when we left this area, we had a 3yo and an infant!  So we really created roots in MD based around the kiddos.... schools, activities, friends :(  you get the picture!  Meaning this is more of an adventure than you'd think...  One that we are facing head on, and having fun along the way (as much fun as you can have unpacking, that is).

Back to blogging about my *job*... hope you like it as much as I do!

Justice gift card!

Just for joining some "trial" offers, I received this $100 gift card to Justice! This is the only way my daughter would get me to shop there, lol! That and the 40% off coupons that exist almost always!

7-11 Free Slurpie Day!

Yard sale Saturday morning

The morning started off slow, but I'm happy with the final tally!

I scored: 15" flat-screen monitor for $15, Shark hand-vac for $3, 2 Junie B. Jones books for $.50 each, clothes for $.50 each - Gap jeans, 2 Old Navy pants, Limited Too top, and pajama bottoms - all for Emma. Boots for $1 for Emma. Total spent $22.50.

Moooooooo!

Friday was Chic-fil-A "Cow Appreciation Day". If you dressed head-to-toe in a cow costume, you would be given a FREE meal! But if you had any type of cow accessory, you could get a FREE entree! So, with very little time to throw a full cow gig together, we made some silly masks with paper plates and black marker! *thanks, Jen* The kids all got FREE kids meals, and I got free chicken, only paying for fries & a drink. That would be $3.18 for three of us to eat!



Emma had to make her own mask....



The rest of the "herd"!

Vacation's over!

I took a longer break from money saving and blogging than I had planned. But I didn't get all crazy or anything with my spending!

Today was a fun trip to CVS! I had been stressing about how to spend my $30 ECB from the Aveeno deal for a few weeks now. Being that it expires on 7/15, I decided to just get it spent this week. Here's the run down.

• (3) 10-count pencils .99 x 3 = $2.97
• (2) Trail Mix Cruch 3.34 x 2 = $6.68
• (1) Fruity Pebbles $3.33
• (2) Dawn Dish Soap 1.00 x 2 = $2
• (2) Planters Mixed Nuts 3.00 x 2 = $6.00
• (2) Febreez Noticables 6.50 x 2 = $13.00
• (2) Lays Chips 3.99 BoGoF = $3.99
• (1) CVS Pantyliners $.89
• (2) Mars candy .67 x 2 = $1.34
• (2) Hair clips (dollar spot) $2.00

Subtotal: $42.19 (non-sale price $62.31)

Coupons used:

• -$4.00 Febreez Noticables
• -$2.00 Trail Mix Crunch
• -$2.00 Trail Mix Crunch
• -$1.50 Planters
• -$.89 Mars candy
• -$.89 Mars candy
• -$.25 Dawn
• -$.20 Dawn

Total after coupons = $30.46
Used my $30 ECB and paid $.85 oop (tax)

Received: $5 ECB for Febreze, $.89 ECB for pantiliners, $5 ECB for Post Cereal, $1 ECB for Dawn and $2.97 ECB for pencils! Rougly $15 in ECB received today!

Plus, I still have $9 in ECB from previous weeks, and was rewarded $5.50 ECB from my first quarter spending and prescription fills. I'm loooooaded. :D

Whoa ~ what a great day!

***I started this post over a week ago - before I left for a week in PA - and I'm just going to post it "as-is" right now until I get a chance to finish/edit it!***

Besides being a Friday...
I somehow managed to get us all packed for our week-long trip to Pittsburgh that starts tomorrow morning at a very early hour (grrr), then headed out for some SALE shopping!

First stop was CVS to try out this reported deal on the Style Science Lens Cleaning Cloths that did not work for me :( Oh well... I wonder if CVS caught on by now?


I wanted to quickly run into Giant Eagle for 2-3 things, nothing I needed, but had read about some good deals this week. And they certainly were!

• (3) Betty Crocker Warm Delights @ 3/$5 - (3) $.50 Qs that doubled.
  
• (4) Wet Ones wipes @ $2.29 ea - (4) $.75 Qs that doubled.
• In Touch Magazine (guilty purchase at checkout thanks to J&K+8 on the cover) $2.99

I got an instant $5 off and $2 off my order (from where??? IDK)
My OOP was $2.84 *gasp* Which is when I realized if I hadn't purchased the mag, I wouldn't have owed anything! PLUS.... I rec'd a $2 OYNO coupon!


Then we bopped into SuperPetz with our FREE dog treat coupon, where we left with a bag of $3.99 Greenies for Nada!


Last stop (finally, I'm hot and tired) was GIANT for their "meat deal".

Join the CVS Advisor Panel

Go here to become a CVS Advisor Panel member! You will be rewarded for filling out surveys with ECBs ranging from $2 to $15!

Home Depot Giftcard giveaway!

Just head on over to Stretching a Buck, where you can enter to win a $100 GiftCard to Home Depot!

I impressed the cashier!

Once again, I planned my attack well at Safeway, taking advantage of their "Mix & Match" sale. I only purchased items that were included in the sale, AND that I had coupons for. If you purchased 10 of the included items, you received an instant $5 off of your order. I purchased 30, and received $15 off! Add to that $21.77 in coupons (some doubled), and you have a total savings of 70%!
Grocery total: $85.18
Total OOP: $25.59

In looking over my receipt, I noticed an extra $.75 eCoupon that I totally forgot about. If you go to the Safeway website, you can add coupon savings directly to your card!

Free sunscreen!

CVS ~ did the Aveeno deal. Purchase $20 worth of Aveeno products and receive $10 in ECBs.

4 Aveeno sunblock spray @ $10.99 ea. (included a free sample of Lip Conditioner w/ SPF 15 on all)
2 Aveeno face sunscreens @ $11.99 ea. (included a free sample of Daily Moisturizing w/ SPF 15 on all)
Subtotal = $67.94

less: $10 off of $30 CVS coupon
$10 off of 3 Aveeno Positively Ageless products
$10 off of 3 Aveeno Positively Ageless products
$8 in ECBs

Total OOP = $32.95
Received $30 in ECBs

My only concern now is having to spend $30 in ECBs all at once.... it all printed on one coupon. :(

Last minute trip to CVS, week ending 6/13

I had such a busy week, that I barely made it to CVS this week! It was 8pm Saturday night when I finally got there. Whew! I didn't have a lot to purchase, but it was (as usual) worth it.

• 2 Dawn dish soaps, on sale for $1 ea, less (2) $.50 q, and $1ecb = FREE!
• 4 12-packs of Coke products, on sale for $3.25 (4/$13), less (4) $1.00q, and $3ecb = $1.50ea!
• 2 Colgate toothpaste BOGOf (2 for $1.99), less (2) $1.00q = FREE!

I'm mad that I forgot to use my $4 off of $20 q. :(
But I paid with $10 in ECBs and spent $.41 OOP.

Rec'd $4 in ECBs.

And!!!! this is the most exciting coupon on my receipt.... Save $10 on a purchase of $30 - 3 Days only! I was just reading this deal on Aveeno sunscreen, so now this will make it a definite STEAL!

Review of Select Coupon Program

I mentioned in this post that I was considering trying the Select Coupon Program. I signed up and was directed to select 40 coupons that I would like to receive. A few days later, I received an envelope with $25 worth of coupons in it, selected from the 40 I chose (not necessarily all 40). This is an ok arrangement, but nothing that I'm willing to pay for. (The monthly fee is $4.95, this was a free 1 month trial). All of the coupons available can be found in the Sunday newspapers, and when I purchase the Sunday papers, I will get ALL of the coupons. Not what is selected for me from a list. I would also rather have duplicates of certain coupons than one of each. So, in my opinion, there are more efficient ways to collect coupons than this service.

• #1 is eBay. I recently purchased 20 "$1.00 off of Over the Moon 1/2 gallon milk" for $1.04
• #2 is Freecycle. People will offer their coupon inserts from the Sunday papers, you just have to pick them up!
• #3 is getting creative............ I'm still working on this, but I'm determined to somehow score a bunch of inserts from a local store.
• #4 is Mom. ;) The only draw back with this option is that I usually see my mom maybe once a month, so time could be limited for some coupons that she saves for me out of her papers. But you can substitute "Mom" for neighbors/friends/vacant houses (hubby was somewhat embarrassed when I picked up a newspaper from a neighboring house that was vacated a few weeks ago!) Happy coupon collecting!