should i really sign up?

Yes. There are memberships on some sites that are worth the time and emails to sign up for. This week I used some coupons for free items that I had received from some of these so called sites.

Kraft First Taste: http://www.kraftfirsttaste.com/ 
A month or two ago, I received a coupon for a container of free Philadelphia Cooking Cream. This time a free box of the new JELLO Temptations. I would check this account once a week. Sometimes you won't always get the free item but rather a coupon for it. They currently have a coupon for free Kraft shredded cheese with a touch of philly, I only got $1 off. Worth it!!

Vocalpoint: https://www.vocalpoint.com/registration/screener.aspx
Vocalpoint sends out emails with a lot of really good ideas in them and also gives you an update as to what samples to can ask for. I received my first coupon from Vocalpoint a week ago it was for a free pint of Breve coffee creamer.

Right@Home: http://www.rightathome.com/   
They send out monthly emails updating you on new deals and tips around the house. Yesterday I received a coupon for a free Glade spring collection product.

All in all my shopping trip yesterday was on the free side.

tuna roll

No this is not sushi.

What you need:

-2 cans of drained tuna

- mayo (however much you like)

-1/4 cup chopped celery

-1/4 cup chopped onion

-1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

-1 clove minced garlic

- a dash of salt and pepper

- a couple shakes of dill (if you don't like it or don't have it no big deal)

- 2 pkgs of crescent rolls 

What to do:

Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl...except the crescent rolls :)

 Lay out crescent rolls on a lightly greased cookie sheet

 

 Spoon tuna mixture onto crescent ring.

  

Wrap crescent rolls over tuna mixture.

 Place in 350 degree oven for approx. 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Some variations:

+ I only use 1 pkg of crescent rolls to save on calories from bread.

+You do not have to use all the veggies, my brother only uses tuna, mayo, and cheese for the filling

the meaning of being frugal

Everyone has their own definition as to what they think it means to be frugal. I don't think a lot of people understand what Josh and I do and/or why we do what we do, that's ok. I do not have to explain to others why we do what we do but I would like to share for those that are interested.

Merriam-Webster defines frugal as- characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources
Synonyms: economical, economizing, provident, scrimping, sparing, thrifty


Some people define being frugal by seeing how many coupons they are able to clip and how many products they can buy at low costs. I am not "downing" coupons but I don't believe that you can solely be frugal by seeing how much you can save with coupons. I mean would you regularly spend $1,000 at the supermarket? It seems that the money you are saving goes towards all the storage devices that you need to buy to support your habit.


Others may make a commitment to be frugal while eating out but not really frugal with any other lifestyle choices. I take on frugality as a complete lifestyle overhaul. 


I do not think being frugal means you need to give up on having "everything" and I do not believe that the only people that are frugal are people who can't afford certain luxuries.


To be frugal is a choice, a choice that takes a lot of self discipline.


Over the past few months Josh and I have been doing a lot of adjusting and readjusting with our budget. To maintain these changes we have learned to become frugal. What is it that you really need? 


Do you really need to have an internet plan on your phone?
Sure, it's only $10 or $20 a month. That's $120-$240 a year, for what? Convenience. Was your life so difficult before you were able to have a data plan? You are already paying for the internet at home. Now I know there are jobs that require internet service on your phone. Just like Josh's job, but as soon as he goes back to school, the data plan will be gone. Just one more thing to save on.


Do you really need all those cable channels?
We used to pay $124 a month for internet and cable services. Crazy. What is so important to watch, that we need 1,000 channels to do it? We thought it would be difficult to adjust to standard cable but I really enjoy it. I don't have so many channels to look through. If nothings on, it gives me time to do other things, instead of wasting my time starring at a television. We now pay for basic cable and internet for about $70 a month. That is a savings of $648 a year!


Do you really need to shop for name brand food?
We decided to take on the Aldi's Challenge and try their food for a week. We used to spend approx $100 a week in groceries alone. We now try to purchase everything at Aldi's and whatever we can't, we purchase at Wal Mart. Our average grocery bill is approx $60, I don't need to spend hours cutting and organizing coupons and searching ads to find the cheapest deals.


Some of the things I do:
It is almost always cheaper to make and fix things yourself. We make our own household cleaners and they work just as great.
Clothes- we shop for clothes when it is absolutely needed, we don't just go out and shop for fun or to waste time. We make sure we know exactly what we are shopping for and don't get caught up in all the advertising of sales. Most of the sale items are not what we came for. So why spend extra money on something because it is on sale?
Eating out- This used to be a weakness for us. It was always so much easier if Josh would pick up dinner on the way home from work or we would go out an get something just so we wouldn't have to cook and clean. We limit eating out to one meal a week, always with a coupon.
Save, Save, Save- With all the money we have not been spending has been going directly into savings. We were able to keep all of our tax return this year and haven't spent a penny of it.


Don't get me wrong, we indulge every once in a while (like every 3 months or so). We can afford the things we need and want, but by becoming frugal our wants have changed. Choosing to be frugal is something I want to do for my family. To value what is really important.

have a movie night on redbox

   After coming across a few FREE rental codes for Redbox, Josh and I decided to see if they really worked. First, we tried at Wal-Mart, to no avail. So we headed over to Walgreens, success!!! I'm not sure if these codes will work at other locations if you try and they don't I suggest going to a Walgreens. Here are some codes I found, you can only use them once. It recognizes you by your credit card number.

FREE Rental Codes:

Free Rental Code: DVDONME (expiration unknown) we used at Walgreens

Free Rental Code: BREAKROOM (expiration unknown) we used at Walgreens

Free Rental Code: N6TRWTV (expiration unknown) – will give Blu-ray for only $.50

Free Rental Code: QM4KTX6 (expiration unknown) – will give Blu-ray for only $.50

Free Rental Code: DVDKROG (expiration unknown) – only at Kroger locations

Free Rental Code: DVDATWAG (expiration unknown) – only at Walgreen’s locations

Have a great Movie Night!!!

visit your local parks

   This past weekend Josh and I officially began our celebration of warm weather. We headed over to Winton Woods and purchased our annual park pass. We were surprised to find out that the fee had doubled this year going from $5 to $10, but we get unlimited access to the 21 parks in Hamilton County.

This is our pass this year

   We decided to pack a picnic and review our devotionals from the past week while enjoying the gorgeous weather.

Our picnic bag: water, oranges, salami sandwiches, potato salad (recipe to come) and fig cookies...and of course a blanket

Petee came along with us

Our view from our picnic spot

us

Here is a site that lists parks by city and state http://findlocalparks.com/

There are lots of free activities offered at the parks and it gives you a reason to relax and get your walking/jogging on. Get up and enjoy the free things your city has to offer!

60 pounds later

I am not going to sell a weight loss plan to you and I am not going to promote any workout regimens. I simply want to cheer myself on and in the process I will tell you what I did, just in case you're curious.

   It is hard to believe that 6 years ago I was 60 pounds heavier. When I gone to the gym, walk around the neighborhood, climb steps or get dressed I think about how I couldn't imagine strapping on 60 pounds to carry around with me. It slowly began with low self esteem, I was a big- chested girl and used to say if I can't see my belly past my chest then I can't be that bad, little did I know. I felt semi comfortable with myself and had a group of friends that I knew I could always count on. When I went to college I made a lot of new friends, a lot of them being guys, go figure. At this point I had already been thinking of a breast reduction and was ready to make it a reality. With support from my family, especially my mom, I set up an appointment with a plastic surgeon in the Raleigh area. After the inital appointment he informed me that I would need to prove I could lose weight without it showing a difference in my chest size. At this time it was winter break at school and I had created a workout schedule for myself. When I got back to campus, I decided that I would start out with going to the gym every other day. All I did was the elliptical for 30 minutes, I know BIG right. I didn't know how to use any of the machines and didn't want to ask anyone out of embarrassment. Every now and then I would go to a class and sometimes I would walk the track for 30 minutes or use a bicycle in addition to the elliptical, it is all about the cardio. My goal was to lose around 20 pounds or so by spring break.
   I kept a paper chain, the kind kids make to count down for Christmas, in my dorm room. Girls on my hall would walk by, ask me how many more days and give some encouraging words. Spring break came and so did my doctor appointment. Results: a 30 pound weight loss! The paper work was sent in to cover my upcoming procedure. It took about a month and I was told that insurance would cover the procedure due to the "health risks" that were being caused. Surgery was scheduled for July 2005.
   When I arrived home for summer, I asked my mom to help me out. I was determined to continue to lose weight or at least keep it consistent. No sweets, soda, mayonnaise and ranch. These were just a few items that my mom instructed me to steer clear of. It was extremely difficult and I also made myself walk the entire neighborhood everyday, which was about 3 miles. Nothing strenuous, just enough to keep me going but not so much to make me wanna give up.
   July came and the surgery was a success but my weight was still the main project. It took about 3 months of healing till I was given to OK to participate in physical activity. This was around the same time I met Josh, he showed me how to use the machines at the gym and we decided to go to the gym every other day. It was then at the age of 19 that I first completed running an entire mile, I could complete push ups the correct way and I felt great.
   Currently, I stay health conscious with the things that we eat. I love sweets but we created a rule that we can have one dessert a week and I throughly enjoy it. We have a gym membership but do not go very often. I have an exercise ball in the house to complete quick simple ab and core workouts. Now that the weather is better we will be enjoying more outdoor activities, we always go to the parks and partake in geocaching.

Are you ready for the gasp moment?

yep, thats me on the right

the summer before surgery, with my mom

3 days after surgery

3 weeks after surgery

almost a full year since surgery

this past December

Thanks for letting me brag about myself!:)

extremely easy banana bread

     When we buy bananas we typically buy them in large bunches because they are cheaper at Aldi's and you can always freeze them for later. Due to the fact that we always have bananas in the house I am always trying to find new recipes using bananas. While searching the internet I found this recipe on a fellow bloggers site.


Banana Bread
-3 bananas, mashed
-1/3 cup melted butter
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 1/2 cup flour


What to do:
Mix butter and mashed bananas together. 
Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the baking soda over the mixture and mix in. 
Add the flour last, mix. 
Pour mixture into a buttered loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour at 350.

Yummy!

marriage is always worth fighting for

    This week Josh and I began to do a devotion together, every night. It is very interesting to hear the things each other thinks, to hear how one another interprets the Lord's word. Josh and I have an amazing relationship but one thing we have not shared with each other is a spiritual one. Like I had said before, both of us were brought up in loving, Christian homes. Where prayer was always said and where you learned to walk in righteous footsteps.
   Josh and I met in college, where we were immersed in new situations. I experienced things I had not been taught how to handle and as a result I ended up not doing my best. Which happens. Every one falls, everyone learns how to handle things on their own through experience. When I met Josh I was extremely shy, broken and soft spoken. I let people walk all over me and just dealt with it. Instead of turning to the Lord for help, I turned away. I didn't understand how certain things could have happened in my life, I didn't understand how I could feel bad about myself but show everyone else that I was great. Josh showed me to not worry about anyone else, to just do you. We built a wonderful relationship on understanding, forgiveness, undoubting love and most of all a great friendship. We learned each other but did not involve learning each other spiritually. Occasionally we would pray, before meals. Whenever I felt completely lost I would utter a prayer before bed just to clear my conscience.
   We began to experience things that we realized we could not control. We had tension in our relationship out of frustration within our own lives. As a couple, we turned to God. We decided to go all in but take the proper steps that are needed. We have been faithfully attending church and look forward to it every week. So back to what I had initially said. We decided to take another step this week, devotions. We started out looking for a Bible but didn't know where to start and felt more comfortable with a devotional book that has you focus on a certain verse, sparks some thought , gives you a daily challenge and ends with a related prayer. In this process anything goes. We have vowed that we are not judging each other on our thoughts or situations that the verse reminds us of. It has been an eye opening experience and has drawn us closer than ever.

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
Colossians 3:13

my deal of the week

I am not one to be into coupons but sometimes there are some pretty fantastic ones. I saw a new show that is going to be on TLC about women who are basically coupon fanatics, they save tons of money but some of them said that it takes the 4 to 6 hours to prepare for a shopping trip. Who has that kind of time to just sift through store ads and sort coupons? Not me. I am all about great deals but I do like to stay sane while finding them.
I decided to grab a paper today because I knew that P&G was putting out a new coupon insert today, which by the way I didn't think was that great. But, I did enjoy the Walgreens insert. We decided to just stop buy because I saw on their front page that they had Mini Cadbury Eggs for $.35, one of my favorites. I brought the ad in with me and continued to look at the deals. Kellogg cereal for $1.88, I will take that. Then I found it, the deal of the week! Purex 2x concentrated laundry detergent for $1.99, regularly $6.49. You could purchase up to 3 and that we did. The coupon is in the Walgreens Sunday paper insert or you can grab it in their in-store add, the offer is good from 4/3 to 4/9.

Savings of $13.50

homemade granola

On Saturday, while Josh was taking a nap, I decided to take on the task of making my own granola. I looked over a few recipes online and thought it would be fairly easy. I chose a recipe for which I had all the ingredients for already. I placed half of the first batch in the oven and after awhile smelled that it was burning. I dumped it in the trash and put the other half in the oven cutting the cook time down by 10 minutes. The recipe had called for a 20 minute cook time. Thinking back now I should have known better. After cooling, I tasted and thought it was too salty. When Josh woke up and tried it he couldn't stop eating it. I knew that I would need to make another batch if I wanted any for this week's breakfast. I prefer sweet over salty and tweaked the recipe accordingly and it tastes delicious.


Here is my recipe:
-3 cups quick oats
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (add more or less depending on what you like)
-1/3 cup honey
-1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
-1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix liquid ingredients in a glass measuring cup. Heat liquid ingredients for one minute and stir, then pour over top of dry ingredients and mix throughly. Prepare a large cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Spread a thin layer of granola on cookie sheet. Pop in the oven at 325 for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. After taking out of the oven it will need to sit and cool off for it to harden.
Feel free to add any dried fruit or nuts.

Enjoy!