decorating.

I have been on a decorating binge lately.

Scouring home decor blogs and stores like Tar-Jay (target) and TJ Maxx.

I have found some awesome steals that I will post once Hunny (M.) gets the main computer at home up and running in the office.

But I found this print and I want it for above our fireplace:

It's a replica of a WWII or WWI poster Britain put out.
(at least, I am 92.7% sure of that)

It would look perfect with a thick white mat and white frame.

I love it. So clean and classic and inspiring.
Because honestly, hasn't everyone had a day, a moment, an event, a trial, a WEEK, where they just needed to remember to stay calm and carry on because all trials shall pass in their due time?

I may or may not have sent the link with the color I wanted to Hunny as a hint for a 'just because' present.

-M.

FREE movie rental!

Redbox has given us thrifty folks another free rental code.

It is:
DEVRY6268

This code expires June 8th (you can use once per debit/credit card)!

When you select a movie and add it to your cart at the bottom of the screen there will be a tab saying 'add promo code' hit that tab and then enter the code and you're good to go!The code gives you ONE NIGHT free rental. If you keep the movie another night you'll be charged a $1 then on out.Enjoy!

-M.

i am not dead.

promise.

M. and I just moved in to a new condo in the midst of this accelerated graduate course.

My sense of timing always works like that it seems.

I literally haven't stepped foot inside of a grocery store in a month.

But! I am gearing up for Kmart double days and a grocery store run tonight!

-M.

oh man!

ok, lovely readers [all two of you :), one being Precious]
I am in the midst of finals. and they are kicking my butt.
The month surrounding mid terms and the month surrounding finals are crrrazy.
and somehow midterms and finals always coincide with the busiest time of the month at work.

I haven't even gone REAL grocery shopping in about 3 weeks! (which is another reason I love couponing-it makes that possible with having a stockpile)

I have been accepted in to a graduate seminar this summer as an undergrad! wooo! I will be taking the Politics of Policy, I love being a poli sci major.

Anyways, my last final is Friday and I CAN NOT WAIT! I have three whole days of no school before the graduate course starts on Tuesday but believe me, I will be partaking in Ernest Hemingway's advice come Friday night :)


I hope all you lovely folks are having CALM, enjoyable days.


Remember, it is in God's hands. What ever 'it' may be for you :)

-M.

pattern to make re-usable swiffer rags!

I looooove my swiffer sweeper and my swiffer wetjet.
But I don't love the price of the replacement rags. I've taken to using microfiber cloths because they stick well to the little Velcro pieces on the swiffers and are machine washable.

But I came across this pattern to make crochet swiffer rags! If you can crochet you may want to check this out!

Thanks to tipnut for the information!

-M.

inspiration.

At church yesterday the pastor of course had some inspiring words. But what really stuck with me was that as humans we have this desire to idolize someone. All too often we idolize rock stars, professional athletes, and movies stars. But those people are just that...people; with their flaws, problems, and trials.
So instead of idolizing 'images' we need to idolize Him. and by doing that we can be the best person He intended us to be.

-M.

FREE movie rental!

Here is the code for today's free movie rental at any Redbox location: TS473G

The code works only for today Monday April 6th!

When you select a movie and add it to your cart at the bottom of the screen there will be a tab saying 'add promo code' hit that tab and then enter the code and you're good to go!The code gives you ONE NIGHT free rental. If you keep the movie another night you'll be charged a $1 then on out.
Enjoy!

-M.

FIVE coupon inserts!

Holy smokes batman!
There were FIVE coupon inserts this weekend in my paper.
Be sure to stock up on inserts if you can! and don't forget there won't be any next Sunday since it's Easter!

-M.

chili casserole

During the fall, winter, spring...and sometimes summer, this is a quick, easy go-to recipe of mine. and boy is it frugal! all the ingredients usually end up costing about 2.50 total. My mom of course copied the recipe from her mom, the only difference is that my Granny would use Frito's instead of tortilla chips.

Without further ado! Here is the cast of characters:

ingredients:
-can of chili
-cheddar cheese
-tortilla chips
-cornbread mix


step one:

Layer some of the chili on the bottom of an oven safe dish.


step two:
On top of that, layer chips and cheese. I tend to use a lot of chips, but go with your gut on how

much YOU would like in it.



step three:

Put the rest of the chili on top of the other layers.


step four:

Cover with tin foil. bake about 40 minutes in a 375 degree oven. (if you're making this for a larger amount of people just double the chili quantities but increase baking time/temp)

After the casserole is in the oven I usually make the cornbread and bake it too. It takes less time over all so I start the casserole first.


step five:

EAT this cheesy, yummy, FRUGAL dinner!

FREE movie rental!

Here is the code for today's free movie rental at any Redbox location: 89ZQJ3
The code works only for today Monday March 30th!


When you select a movie and add it to your cart at the bottom of the screen there will be a tab saying 'add promo code' hit that tab and then enter the code and you're good to go!The code gives you ONE NIGHT free rental. If you keep the movie another night you'll be charged a $1 then on out.
Enjoy!

-M.

fire-safe candles...

A couple weeks ago my mom turned another year older. We work for the same company and are in the same office so I wanted to bring in treats for our section of the office to share to celebrate (she is my best friend, she is the woman and mom I hope to be). I made her carrot cake cupcakes and since we work in an office...candles tend to be frowned upon. So, I decided to make my own office friendly version.

I started with a sheet of candle design scrap booking paper I bought at Michael's. It was .39 on sale, and two different colors of card stock on sale for .49.

I then cut out all the candle shapes.


I then glued the candle shapes on to card stock. Then I attached them with tape to toothpicks.


Voila! Office friendly birthday candles! The whole project (minus the baking/frosting took me about 25-30 minutes)

-M.

friday!

I have about 6 different term papers to write, a fifty page journal to complete, research to start on policies for a volunteer position I am in, internship resumes to fill out, basic homework, GRE[graduate record exams...it's a placement test for grad programs] studying to do, a writing portfolio to complete, and a pile of laundry waiting for me...but dang it! I am going out; it's FRIDAY after all! My HW will have to wait till tomorrow afternoon :)

ENJOY THE NIGHT EVERYONE!!

ps: my DBF is playing in his band tonight and I am collecting the cover with my GF (guys tend to give extra when girls are collecting the cover) sooo the bar gives us free drinks. Can't beat FREE drinks and food :)
-M.

shopping trip

Tonight after work I ran to Safeway to cherry pick a few deal scenarios I had come up with...
I got all of this:

for $5.31 (oop) !

I have HW I need to start on (even though it is my SPRING BREAK) so I won't list all the details. But I just combined their promotion of buy ten selected items get $5 off your total with coupons. I am happy with this for multiple reasons. M. and I LOOOOVE peach cups, we are really trying to eat healthier and control portion sizes (mainly M. on this one, he was raised to always clear his plate. I was raised to finish when I was full). Fruit cups are ridiculously expensive when there isn't a good sale. I ended up getting 11 of them for 1.75! and the pasta-roni and rice-a-roni are usually $1 a piece here and re fried beans run about .90 a can. so it was a good trip. Before coupons/sales/promotions the total was $43.72.


-M.

juice galore

On Tuesday, I read about a deal from Safeway where an old sale was overlapping with a new one (by chance or by purpose, who knows!) which allowed me to get EIGHT bottles of OceanSpray juice and TWO packages of Capri Suns for...$6.00!!


(please forgive my curtains...they need to be steamed. which probably won't happen until finals are over. lol)

-M.

Kmart DOUBLE DAYS!

Kmart double days are back!

For the week of 3/22-3/28 they will double manuf. coupons up to $2! This means if you have a coupon for a $2 off a product it will be doubled making it $4 off the product! Go HERE to enter your zip code and see if your local Kmart will be doubling.

FREE movie rental!

Here is the code for today's free movie rental at any Redbox location: 2GR4N8
The code works only for today Monday March 16th!

When you select a movie and add it to your cart at the bottom of the screen there will be a tab saying 'add promo code' hit that tab and then enter the code and you're good to go!The code gives you ONE NIGHT free rental. If you keep the movie another night you'll be charged a $1 then on out.
Enjoy!

-M.

sample

click HERE to receive a free sample of All You magazine.

Select 'bill me later' and just write CANCEL on the bill and mail back. You are allowed to keep your first 'trial' issue at no cost! This magazine is always chocked full of coupons, recipes, and ideas.

-M.

target steals

this afternoon I made a quick run into Target.

2 Mott's all natural apple sauce
1.69 each (used target and manuf coupon) =.14 each = .28
2 Barilla spaghetti noodles
reg. 1.24 each clearanced=.86 each = 1.72
2 boxes South Beach Living bars
2.69 each (used 2 $2 off coupons)=.69each = 1.33
2 Market Pantry cream of mushroom soup
.54 each (used a .50 off 2 Target coupon) =.29 each =.58
2 Market Pantry cream of chicken soup
.54 each (used a .50 off 2 Target coupon) =.29 each =.58

TOTAL before coupons/sales =$13.30

TOTAL OOP= $4.44

tip.

For any of you out there that are new to the couponing thing a tip I have to offer is:

Ask for rainchecks!!

If I had not asked for a rain check on the cereal in the previous post I would have missed out on a free box of it! Try buying the item as soon as possible when the ad comes out/sale starts. Then go back at the end of the sale when you know the chances of the store being sold out of the item is good. This allows you to buy now and then stock up later with the sale price because some items go bad before you can use up multiple ones. I've done this with cream cheese...I bought some at the beginning of the sale and then went back later to get a rain check for the item (rain checks usually have NO expiration date or a pretty far-off expiration date.)

-M.

safeway.

safeway had a good ad this week so after work I stopped by for some free peanut butter and good deals!
here is a photo of the damage:

1 large box of mini wheat's reg. 3.99 rain check for .99 used $1off coupon= .01 PROFIT
1 peanut butter reg price 2.49 in store coupon =.99 then used .50 IP doubled= .01 PROFIT
2 boxes of spaghetti noddles regular price 1.85 on sale for 1.00 each = 2.00
1 carton of 18 eggs reg. price 4.19 in store coupon= .97
1 package of 12 string cheese reg price 3.99 in store coupon = 1.99
1 Safeway brand 8 wheat bread (M. loves chunky bread) reg 2.29 on sale =1.79
1 Foster Farms chicken price 6.52 on sale for .79lb =3.24
6 lbs of hamburger meat reg price 19.44 clearanced= 8.33
1 pound of tilapia fish reg 6.50lb on sale =3.71
2 litehouse dressings BOGO 4.69 each used 2 $1off coupons = 2.69

Total OOP= 24.69
Total savings= 38.20 so a savings of 61% -at least that is what the receipt says :)

I am really satisfied with this purchase. I got a lot of meat. The chicken is waiting to be cooked in the crock pot in the morning for dinner tomorrow The leftovers will be used as Sunday night's dinner as well. We ate half of the tilapia tonight and will eat the other half on Saturday. I already divided up the hamburger meat in to portions M. and I will use and they are in freezer. The eggs are the best price I have ever seen for 18. I intend on going back a couple more times to get the eggs and string cheese as they are limit one per transaction. Ya can't beat that cheap of protein!

-M.

mid-terms

well! i survived being really sick and having mid-terms coincide with the illness...it was also our month end process at work (when we balance our books) so i could not call in to work. i am sooo happy mid-terms are OVER.
(this crazy week and a half are evident in my lack of posting)

YYAAAAAAYY!

free sample

click here hotties
for a sample of Viva papertowels!

samples make getting the mail FUN! :)

free!

At Walgreens.com tomorrow get 20 free 4x6 photos by entering the code: ONEDAY at checkout!

i have a weakness

...for clearance. especially Target clearance. well, any clearance section anywhere grabs my eye. you never know what kind of bargains/crafts/household items/pet stuff/stocking stuffers/birthday presents/decorations/etc you'll find.

here is the pic of what I nabbed today at Target:

the breakdown:
* 1 hanging closet 10-shelf shoe organizer reg price: 14.99 clearanced: 3.74
* 2 Johnson and Johnson First Aid To Go! kits: 1.00 each ($3/2 IP coupon) =$1.00 PROFIT
* 1 ultra downy travel size reg price: $1.00 clearanced: .84 ($1/1 coupon) =.16 PROFIT
* 1 ACE Cold compress reg. price: 1.00 ($1/1 coupon) = FREE

* 1 Tide travel size reg price: .99 ($1/1 coupon) = .01 PROFIT
* 2 sets of four metal napkin rings reg price: 9.99 ea clearanced: 2.98 ea x2 = 5.96

* 1 four sided nail buffer board reg price: $1.00

* 1 liquid car freshner reg price: 2.79 clearanced: $1.38

* 1 bag of Valentine's Hershey's kisses with caramel (mmm!) reg price: 2.39 clearanced: $1.28

* 3 packs of two fabric napkins reg price: 5.99 clearanced: $1.48 ea x3= $4.44

* 1 oversized, super absorbent kitchen towel reg price: 3.99 clearanced: .98

* 1 wood stand-up sign that says 'Home' reg price: 14.99 clearanced: $3.74





Total before coupons and sales: $83.09
Total after: $20.52

I am extremely satisfied with this trip. I am switching M. and I over to fabric napkins and so it was nice to find these neutral, really nice napkins for such a great price. I got 6 in case we have dinner company and want a matching set. And, my shoes are everywhere in my closet! I already have one of those stand alone cubicle like shoe organizers and one of these hanging ones (they hang from the closet rod) so hopefully this second one helps clear the clutter!

a love for little plastic boxes.

I've had a love for all things plastic and organizational almost my entire life. Just ask my parents. I had an 'A-ha!' moment when my cupboards were running amuck with kool-aid packets. (anyone that was couponing last summer with the AllYou magazine and the buy any 3 Kraft products get another free coupon know what I am talking about).

So I took all these:

And made it look like this:

This plastic tub has a snap on lid. I purchased it at Walmart for $1.27. It works perfectly! Keeping all the packets in one spot. I even have another one for my taco/fajita seasoning packets.

-M.

in spirit of Valentine's Day weekend.

a coupon to give to your Honey:

-M. xoxo

clearance.

I stopped by OfficeMax after work today to browse their filing cabinet selection/prices and came across LOTS and LOTS of clearance. Ranging from pens to highlighters to computers bags to portfolios to planners! So if you're needing office supplies you might want to check out the clearance at OfficeMax :)

make it a date.

If you're wanting a break from cooking and have a little extra room in the budget think about printing off THIS coupon!

It's a Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF) on entrees at TGI Fridays!

Coupons like this prove that you can be frugal but still enjoy yourself!

(offer not valid on Valentine's day)

FREE movie rental!

Here is the code for today's free movie rental at any Redbox location:
25CH63
The code works only for today Monday February 9th

When you select a movie and add it to your cart at the bottom of the screen there will be a tab saying 'add promo code' hit that tab and then enter the code and you're good to go!
The code gives you ONE NIGHT free rental. If you keep the movie another night you'll be charged a $1 then on out.

Enjoy!

a great find!

this evening I took a quick pit stop to browse the shelves at Ross. I was actually looking for two little sitting chairs for our spare room and thought I would check there before looking at Ikea but no such luck on the chairs. but i came across these fabulous metal bowls:

each bowl has FRUIT labeled on them. they are metal enamel bowls and look rustic; like something my memaw(translation for you yankees:grandmother) would have in her fridge. they were marked regular price for $1.49 each! I snatched up three. One for bananas, one for apples, and one for oranges or whatever other fruit I happen to pick up.

they work great in the fridge to help draw your eye right to the healthy treat!

retro

hmmm...no expiration date! :)

inspiration

a little multi-tasking.

Tonight as I had dinner baking in the oven I decided to do a little pantry inventory... I've been couponing and stock-piling since about August/September so I am slowly but surely amassing bigger quantities of items than I used to keep in the house. M. and I live in a townhouse and I've had to become creative with storage. But I am lucky that we have this little 'pantry' in the dining room. It doesn't have all our food (there are other cupboards with more stockpile) but this is one of the areas I keep the majority of our food. Its gotten a bit disorganized. Take a peak:

After school and/or work and then a trip to the grocery store I don't always have the resolve to put everything away in the most organized of manners...

I also wanted to fill out my pantry list to help me realize what I have at home. This will help me in a couple of ways. I'll stop buying cans of french style green beans (somehow I have ended up with SEVEN! and only two cans of corn!) and it will also refresh my memory when making a meal plan to use the items we have at home because what's the point of getting the good deals if we don't ever use them?!

After taking the items out and filling out the list it looked like this:

(it's still somewhat an organized chaos lol)

Here is the pantry list I use:


and here is a close up for you fabulous folks:

I found this printable at http://organizedhome.com/



They also have a freezer list and meal plan calendars! All are FREE printables!
I keep the list in my meal plan/recipe/kitchen binder that I'll show at a later time.

-M.

free sample!

here is a link for a free sample of crest white strips!
click here my loves

something frugal i do:

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN A ROOM!

it's so basic but something that's easily over looked. we live in a townhouse and i am constantly turning off the downstairs lights when both M. and i are upstairs. he leaves them on because he'll 'be going back down stairs in a bit' and i kiss him on the cheek and say ever so sweetly 'honey turn them on when you are down there then.'

last night we ordered in Chinese (yay for budget busters!) and we were both going back upstairs to eat and watch TV and he actually turned off the lights downstairs when we headed upstairs! it was sexy! :)

i enjoy bracelets.

it's true I do. I think they are sometimes the perfect final piece to finish off an outfit.

what i don't enjoy is figuring out how to keep my bracelets (namely my bangles) organized and together. I've tried the big jewelry box route and it doesn't work for me because after long it's too full so i improvised...

i found this dowel/board contraption at Goodwill for 99cent i think it was a makeshift paper towel rack in its former life. speaking of, a paper towel rack would be perfect; it's what i originally had in mind but the 99cent price tag for this item won me over. i keep my nicer, valuable jewelry still in my jewelry box. this is mainly for my big inexpensive pieces.

anyways, just load the rod up with your bracelets and you're good to go!
here's what it looks like with a few of my bracelets on it:

a tip...

i love to keep all different pastas on hand at home.

i am a sucker for different shaped pasta.

sooo... that leads me to my tip:


buy pasta in the bulk bins at your grocery store!
(when there aren't any awesome coupons out for pasta of course)

teaching frugalness...

my boyfriend, M (yes we're both M's lol), well his good childhood friend has been unemployed for a few months now. he has worked out an agreement with the landlord to work off his portion of rent (his GF pays her portion) so they don't have to worry about that. but anyways his GF and I were visiting and she was asking me again about couponing.

i made her swear that she'd buy two papers today and she did! so later I am going to go over the basics with her again. Yesterday I showed her my meal plan, my go-to recipes, my coupon organizers and such so hopefully she'll get bit by the coupon bug!

i have compiled a list of rock bottom prices for some items in our area like milk, potatoes, etc. i also printed off deals this week for Walgreen's and rite aid, highlighted the funny words (ESR? lol) and put an explanation for each.

i really hope they can both get in to this notion of being frugal and change their situation, she really needs to get the BF on-board. it's just hard AND frustrating to see people living beyond their means and almost being lazy and apathetic towards everything (this isn't her...he is creating a bad situation by his actions)

but it also got me thinking about what many ladies have talked about and that would be organizing a coupon class for a small fee possibly to cover some expenses and to make a small profit...I think it'd be fun and could help so many people!

but if i taught a bunch of people how to coupon would they get all my deals at Wags before I could?! :)


-M.

inspiration

i've always loved these cards. in fact some are hanging on my fridge as i type this.

this is one of my favorites.

a new blog.

so i've been posting on M and her frugal freedom all of about a month and already have made a new blog!

i was thinking about it and i don't want to limit myself to just frugalness... well being frugal is at the very core of me and so it can't help being infused in to all aspects of my life but! i just wanted to have the arena to share things like...making new curtains... lol... ALONG with super awesome deals and tips.

so as of now, i will use this blog as my main arena.

-M.