Frugal Friday

Alright ladies and (possibly) gentlemen…. The last two Fridays we were traveling, so I skipped Frugal Friday! So here we go for today!

So… This year, I told Hans that I wanted a big..er Christmas tree. for the past 2 years we have always just used our little 4 ft tree, which was always fine, since we ended up spending more of the month at my families house. But this year the majority of the month we will be spending at our own house, so I wanted it to feel a little more like Christmas.

Once I saw this ad…

I knew it was meant to be!

a 6ft prelit Christmas tree for $25?! we will take it!

So after 9 o’clock on one of the nights this week, after school and work, we took our hungry and tired selves to the store to buy the tree.

We bought it and set it up, plugged it in and….

One of the strands was out! Dang it all!!

So we took it back to the store…. LAME.

But, look at the cute flowers I found for 90% off, such a good deal!

We finished putting up our tree, and our Christmas decorations!

look at all the fun ornaments :)

My grandma gave us some cute older ornaments last year, and we finally have a tree to put them all on!

I also have some of the Christmas bulbs that my mom painted one year, We love them! they are so pretty :)

And to finish up with being Frugal….

Here are some more things I am planning on getting this weekend!

Frugal Friday… on Sunday

My good friends Heidi and Lanette brought to my attention the fact that I didn’t do Frugal Friday this week!!

Couponing has been getting to be a lot harder for me lately, aside from the fact that I have been very busy with work,…… people are getting to be crazy about couponing!

When Albertsons is doubling coupons, it doesn’t matter what time of day I go, it seems that 3 out of 4 people that I see are carrying around a binder with coupons in it, getting tons of things.  Some of the people are really not ethical about using coupons and they will clear out the shelves, leaving none for anyone else.

I was feeling quite bitter about it one day, when a lady came up to me, saw what I had in my cart, and promptly handed her coupons to me saying that she wasn’t going to use them! So now I try hard not to be so bitter…

Nonetheless shelves are still cleared out all the time! I asked one of the cashiers when the shelves get cleared, and she told me that people were lined up outside of the store before it opened on Sunday at 6 AM!! 

Yes it is that bad. You know the economy is bad when that happens…. it’s like black Friday every week, except people aren’t getting T.V.s and laptops…. they are getting cake mixes, and air fresheners….. so sad. I basically have no chance when that happens, because I don’t shop on Sunday.

It looks like I will just be settling for “cheaper than normal” instead of free.

Hans did some coupon shopping for me this week!! I am so proud of him. What a good guy :)

These things were not free. Just cheaper than normal, but we’ll take it!

Each week I hope for a better week than the last.

And now I will get back to clipping some coupons!

Friday

I’m so glad the weekend has come! I love weekends. They give me a chance to clean up a bit, do some grocery shopping, spend some time with Hans, and with other friends, and to just catch up.

News for this week… I got an iphone! It’s exciting!

That is what it looks like :) Not gonna lie,  it’s pretty cool.

Yesterday I got together with the girls and we made some pretty cute stuff!

I did do some couponing this week as well.

Can you guess how much all of this was?  “not very much”, is a good guess!

I don’t know why I keep getting toothpaste…. we really won’t need any more for a long time….

Happy weekend everyone!

Friday

I made homemade laundry detergent!

Yesterday I decided to be really cool and make some homemade laundry detergent. It cost me about $6 for the supplies.

oh, and Hans made me get regular laundry detergent for back up in case it didn’t work :)

I had to shred one bar of soap into a pot.

looks like cheese.

Then I dissolved it in a gallon of water over the stove. and I added one cup of borax and one cup of arm and hammer, and let it dissolve.

Boiling. I will admit it was a little weird stirring this over the stove, when it smelled like soap.

Then I added more water. let it sit for a few minutes, pour it into containers, and you have laundry detergent!

One batch made a lot. The consistency is a little different than regular laundry detergent, and the smell isn’t as strong, but I tested it out on a load of laundry and our clothes look and smell clean to me!

I think next batch I will add a scent to it.

This will save a ton of money! Since I only used a cup of borax and arm and hammer, I will only need to maybe buy a few more bars of soap, and seeing how much one batch makes, that is saving a lot of money!

Last night Sarah and Jaren came over and we played games and had a dance party, it was a ton of fun!

Don’t they look happy?! :)

Here are some videos. They may or may not be a little embarrassing, I’m going to wait and see what Sarah and Jaren say about them :)

Go ahead, you can laugh, we are weird. But at least we have fun!

Honestly, I’m glad we have waited to move on to the next stage in our lives. I’m glad that we have taken the time to still act like crazy college students :) Even if we may look a little dumb…. haha

Now today we are having a fun Halloween party!

Frugal Friday

So here it is.

Even though I worked a long week this week, I still could not pass up double coupon day!

I ended up spending about 10- 15 dollars on this… some good deals!  All spent on stuff that we were in need of, except the toothpaste, we didn’t really need that, but I’ll take it if it is –1 dollars :)

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad it’s the weekend!

Frugal Friday

This week

More things for free!

I was so glad to see that I could get some flashlights for free with a coupon, because I have been wanting to add some to our 72 hour kit…. score! I also now think I officially have enough blush to last me for years, or I could give some away maybe?

I love Dr. Pepper! We don’t drink caffeine around here, BUT I do like to have it around when I get headaches, and when we go on long road trips. So I guess it’s a good thing I can get 3 more of those :)

Couponing is great !

And trying to save money in all aspects of life is hard but worth it!

Frugal Friday

This week

Free blush, 4 total

Free Dove Shampoo, 4 total

And 8 bottles of Welch’s juice for 50 cents each

I like being able to stock up when thing are at a low price. Because these things seem to run out fast, and I hate having to run to the store last minute when things like shampoo run out. I hope to be able to stock up on more!

Friday

This week I decided to make some hair flowers!

I always see cute hair flowers at the store, and I always want to buy them, and it would be easy to do that. When I look at them closely though, I know they can be homemade for a lot cheaper.

So I bought some fabric and ribbon.

And I made some flowers!

They turned out ok, I still have more fabric, so I’m going to try some different things.

Today I also made a short trip to Wal-Mart…  I wish I didn’t have to shop there, but I do. Did you know that they match any stores sale prices? So basically, instead of jumping from store to store to get cheap prices, I could do it all at Wal-Mart… which is great, but it also means that I will be spending more time there…

Well, I got a FREE poster from Wal-Mart. A picture poster. I ordered it online and then went to pick it up ( with a coupon of course) , so easy!

The frame behind it has just been waiting for the last year for me to put something in it. I bought it at DI for a couple dollars. I’m excited to paint it black with the leftover paint from our desk, and I’m going to hang it on the wall! That is cheap, but cute decoration at it’s finest!

I also picked up some Canadian bacon for homemade pizzas for .50 cents each with a coupon, and a febreeze warmer for free with a coupon. Not bad!

And that is my little bit of “frugal”  for the week :)

Frugal Friday

Yes It’s back! For good I hope.

This week, Albertsons was doubling coupons so… I got

All of that for 1.69 total

And all of that for 1.79 total.

I wanted to get some other things, but even though I got there bright and early on Monday morning, a lot of the things were not there. Seeing as I didn’t have all of the coupon inserts I was supposed to have in my paper on Sunday, I wasn’t all that surprised. So I got a few rain checks, and I’ll see how that goes later.

I have been able to get a few other things for free this week, But this to me, is what normal couponing looks like. I don’t always get a ton of things, when I do, it’s great, but every little thing can help too!

The good news is, that even though things seem a little slow in the couponing world, since I have stocked up on some things in the past year, there are a lot of things that I won’t have to worry about buying for a while!

Like toothpaste and toothbrushes, and floss. And that is just the kind that I use. Hans still has 4 tubes of the kind that he uses :)

Not to mention body wash, and shampoo/conditioner.

There is still more than that. Oh and remember that soap I bought a while back? yep. That’s going to last me a while.

I could have more than that, but with just the 2 of us, I don’t make the effort.

I taught a couponing class yesterday! It was just some of the girls that are in the program with their husbands too, but it is always fun to get together with them!

I also finally decided to take the step and order 5 Sunday papers! I’m excited to get them on Sunday :)

Happy Friday!

I know I know, I’ve been slacking on the whole “Frugal Friday” thing… but here is what I have for you today

#1 Who came up with the Idea to tax people who earn more money, more than others? I have always known that people who make more money are taxed more, but I didn’t really get it until I started living it. 30% tax? really? not to mention those who make a goodly amount of money are taxed %60 - %75 ?? That means they get less money than the government takes from them. Who came up with that? really?? I could go on a rant about that but I will refrain for you.

#2 On a happier note, :) I have found it very beneficial to go over finances frequently with my husband. We go over them together, at least every week. This way, we both know how much money we have, and where it is going.  It works for us :)

And now, something not having to do with money….

Hans and I have been reading one of the best trilogies ever!

I would struggle to say that I am “a reader”. I don’t read all that often, but give me a good book, and I will not put it down!

Hans loves to read, and he has always wanted me to read books with him…. So I told him to find me a good book and I would read it. I will only give it 2 chapters, and If I am not into by then, I won’t finish it.

Well… this trilogy ( and Hans) did not disappoint! I was into it by the first paragraph. Dare I say it… It’s better than The Hunger Games!

The first book is called “ The Maze Runner”

And the second book is called “ The Scorch Trials”

I just finished The second book today. The third book doesn’t come out until October… I hate having to wait!

Read them! You won’t be disappointed. I promise!

And In case you were wondering…. only 4 more weeks left In DC! And today is also our 1 year 11 month anniversary. ( I know you wanted to know that)

Happy Friday :)

It’s Friday Again!

I’m so Excited for the 4th of July weekend! It’s going to be Epic! My Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Brittany got here yesterday with their little kids, and the fun has already started!

So it’s Friday, and I couldn’t think of anything frugal that was worth mentioning, so….

Here is a picture of Something cute I am going  to make this weekend

And here are some other pictures of cupcakes I thought were cute

Oh how I love summer!

Friday

Well, it’s Friday, and I almost forgot to post today!

Here is the one thing I have to post about being frugal.

We got the toothpaste! I couldn’t pass it up, and now we are going to have to find a way to pack it in our already full suitcases, and have them not weigh over 50 pounds… which they already do. Hmm. That should be interesting….

Those usually cost $4 each. But we got 4 of them, a fathers day card, a huge package of sour patch kids, kleenex, and 1 candy bar all for $7! 

Well, now that the week is over, we are glad.

I for one, am finally starting to feel comfortable in the area, and things are going great! We had a rough first few weeks, with a root canal, trying to find a job, trying to find our way around here, trying to find a car,….. just figuring things out. Just being in a new place is tough! But we had a ton of help from family, and things are starting to feel “normal” now. Which I am so happy about!

Can I just say to our family that reads this….

We love the Westergards! We have always loved them ( I?) but it has been so great to get to know them better. I know that I am going to be really sad when we have to leave at the end of the summer!  At least now we know that we have great family out here, if we do end up living here.

I just ended my first week of Nanning. It went well. The girls I watch are so sweet, and fun. And they are a little older, which means, not much watching is required.

I spent my week driving them to and from places, playing card games, learning how to play  “marbles”, going to the pool, reading harry potter to them, making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and making cupcakes.

 

It was a good week.

I hope you all have a great weekend :)