This is the last installment of 30 days of Joy. You thought I might be done right? NO WAY! I am actually preparing for NEXT years 30 days of Joy! I bought all of my items at atleast 50-75% off. Here is a sampling of things I got:
1. Christmas Cookie cutters (I will make cookies with a recipe in a jar to go with it) There are 8. I will divide up 4 between two neighbors
2. Christmas coffee cups, plates and bowls. I will use the cups for homemade Hot chocolate and the bowls for soup in a jar!
3. Christmas spreaders
2. I found pre-made cookies and soups in a jar at my CVS for 75% OFF!

There is more but this is just a sampling. It has truly been a blessing. Even one of our neighbors gave to US! They gave us a GC to Walmart and some UGA lights, which was so sweet! We are actually planning a UGA tree next year, so that will go nicely on there! I didn't do it to get something in return. I did it as a blessing and we received so many blessings from it! See you next year!

CVS info and deals!

**CVS Hidden (non-advertised) Deal**
Spend $20 on ANY Pepsi Co products (including Fritolay chips) and receive $10 in ECB's. Btw Sierra Mist and Pepsi Max might have $1 peelies on them!

**CVS WARNING** I need to warn you about CVS and how they have revamped their coupons from CORPORATE DOWN!! I went in to take advantage of the battery deal at my CVS. I found out that corporate was getting upset at "those that were bringing their totals down to $0!!" and that the stores will NOT get credit for doing for a $20 transaction a $4/$20, $5/$15, $2/$10 etc. Your coupons have to be ACCUMILATIVE and they are retraining all of their people! There was one girl at my store that got yelled at and almost fired because she was "stacking" like before!!! IF your total is $35, you can use a $4/$20 and a $5/$15 but you cannot stack like before! They have TOTALLY found out about us clever ones and my dh was wondering on a few of my shopping trips when THAT was going to happen (when they figured out that they were loosing money to us!) Other than that, I had no problems using internet coupons!

I just found out that CVS is having 20 Free prints online right now. You can click HERE and enter code newmom20. It expires December 31.

FREEBIES!

IF you have a Zaxby's in your area, they are doing a Zaxby's Meal Deal Club
. This entitles you to a free meal. I have more than one email addy, so I did it for each one. They might ask for id, so you and your spouse might want to do separate orders and you might can use it multiple trips. Just click on the Zaxby's meal Deal
and they will send you an email.

Ryan's,
You can register for a free meal at Ryan's or any of their other restaurants. HERE is the link

SNAPFISH:
If you enter UPROMISE07, you will receive 20 free prints and free shipping. You MIGHT have to create a new account though. Also if you create a "group room" where you invite your friends and family here is what you might get:
Following the Link. (Do not type snapfish group room page by your self it won't work.)

Then it would take you to the group room page

Click On "SIGN UP" at right top corner

You need to sign up with a new email it won't work on old account.

After sign up it will take you to the page ask you to upload phots but you don't have to do that

Click on Not ready to upload?Visit your Snapfish home page

Then for the next page click on Your Account.

You will see all your creidts.


That's all.

Following credits will show on your account page:
1 Free Hi-Res photo(s)
1 4x6 FlipBook credit(s)
1 Credit(s) for 8" x 11" Classic Photo Book
1 Premium Subscription Type 1 trial


Following credit will show on your special offer page:
Get 30 FREE 4x6 prints after your first upload
1 Free Developing credit (35mm)
1 Free Developing credit (APS)

Also don't forget in my previous post, about free wipes from Target!! Make sure you get the travel size in the travel area.

SEARS:
Has $5 off of $5 tools and lawn and garden. We have started our boys on Hope chests. Every year we give them tools and ornaments. This will be GREAT! Here is the link to the coupon. BTW it does NOT work on clearance items!!! CLICK HERE!

ENJOY!

Southern Belle

Just a minute to wish all of my cyber friends a

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

CVS Deals 12/23-12/29

EXTRABUCK OFFERS

$5 wyb $15 of Energizer batteries (Limit 2)
Energizer Alkaline Batteries - AA, AAA 8 pk, C, D 4 pk, or 9 volt 2 pk, $5.29
- use $5 off CVS printable on Sunday 12/23

$10 wyb $20 of Gillette Fusion or Venus products (Limit 1)
Fusion Manual, Power, Phantom razor, cartridges 4-8 ct, gel 7 oz, Venus Divine, Vibrance, Breeze razor or cartridges 4-8 ct

$2 wyb any L'Oreal HIP cosmetics (Limit 5)
L'Oreal HIP Cosmetics - high intensity pigment foundation, eye or lip color, psa $6.89

$3 wyb Digital photo keychain $17.99 (Limit 5)

$2 wyb Vivitar Mini digital camera with accessory kit $9.99 (Limit 5)

$1 wyb Palmolive dish liquid $1.49 (Limit 2)
13 oz


B1G1

Coke or Evian Natural Spring Water - Coke 2 liter plastic bottle or Evian 1 liter, limit 4
Russell Stover Chocolates - 8.25-12 oz, assorted types, $7.99
Hershey's Pot of Gold - 7.7-12 oz, assorted types, $8.95
L'Oreal Infallible lipcolor - $11.99
All Sprint Prepaid Phone Cards - terms, fees and conditions may apply, psa $5
CVS/pharmacy Alkaline Batteries - AA, AAA 10 pk, C, D 4 pk, or 9 volt 2 pk
Puffs Tissues - regular, extra strength or with lotion, 60-108 ct
CVS/pharmacy Power Flash Camera - 27 exp, $7.99
Lay's Chips - 12.5-13 oz, selected varieties (excludes baked)
Maxwell House Coffee - 11.5-13oz, PSA 3.99-5.89
-$1.00 off on (1)11oz or larger can of Maxwell House Printable
-$1 off Maxwell 11oz or larger (exp 2/29/08) 12/16/07 SS
CVS/pharmacy Bathroom tissue - single roll
Kodak Picture Maker Print - 8x10 sheet, $6.99
Maybelline Great Lash or Define-A-Lash Mascara - $4.79-7.99


B1G1 50% off

All Men's or Women's Fragrances, including gift sets ** 3 days only Sun-Tues **
Holiday Gift Sets under $20
Photo Frame or Album (excludes digital photo frame) - $0.99-16.49
Skin Care gifts under $10
Essence of Beauty Super-plush Micro Fiber Robe
Select holiday toys - psa $1.29
Assorted Holiday Plush - psa $2.99
Essence of Beauty Glamorous Getaway Travel Bag - assorted styles and colors
Holiday Cosmetic Gift Set - assorted types


Buy X Get Y

Buy any L'Oreal Foundation, get a free L'Oreal Powder, Blush or Concealer (excludes HIP)


FOOD

M&M's or Hershey's Holiday Chocolate - Kisses, Hugs 8.5-12 oz assorted types, Kissables 14 oz, M&M's 11-14 oz assorted types (excludes Mega M&M's), $2/5 ** 3 days only Sun-Tues **
-$1.00/2 bags M&M Brand, etc. 7.9oz. or larger (exp 12/25) Valassis 12/02/07
Gold Emblem Nuts - 9-16 oz, assorted types, $3.99
Ferrero Rocher, Lindt Truffles, or Ghirardellis Squares - 4.2-5.32 oz, assorted types, 2/$5
Nabisco Cookies - Nutter Butter, Oreo, Lorna Doone or Honey Maid Grahams, 10-18 oz, assorted types, 2/$5
Planters Peanuts - 16 oz, assorted types, $1.99
-$1.00/2 Particpating Planters nuts 6oz. or larger (CVS cpn from Diabetes booklet)
Miller Lite or Coors Light - 18 pk, 12 oz cans, $11.99
Kendall-Jackson - 750 ml, selected varieties
Yellow Tail - 750 ml, selected varieties, $5.99


BEAUTY/PERSONAL CARE

All Essence of Beauty Bath (excluding lotion candle) - 3/$9.99
Essence of Beauty Mesh Sponge - $2.99
$5 off Conair Hair Dryer - assorted styles
CVS/pharmacy Vibrating Massager, Cordless Wet/Dry Shaver, or Tooth Tunes Toothbrush, $9.99
ChapStick Lip Balm - assorted types, 0.15 oz, $0.99


BABY

Huggies or Pampers Mega Pack - assorted styles and sizes, $13.99


CLEANING

All Laundry Detergent - original 26-32 loads or small&mighty 32 loads, assorted types, $3.99


MISCELLANEOUS

Craig MP3 Plus Video - 1 GB, $39.99
iCraig Retro Radio - AM/FM alarm clock radio with iPod dock, $29.99
Vivitar Binoculars - $9.99
33% off Holiday Decor - holiday light sets, lighted animation, home decor, candles or Trim A Tree candles
Virgin Mobile Oystr Prepaid Cell Phone - terms, fees and conditions may apply, $19.99
Dunk the Duck Game or Wallet Pix Digital Photo Holder - $29.99
25% off Sonicare or Waterpik - Sonicare Elite, Essence replacement brush or Waterpik appliances
Digital Photo Frame - 7" with full function remote control included, $69.99
Duracell Alkaline Batteries - AA, AAA 8 pk, C, D 4 pk, or 9 volt 2 pk, $5.29
Kodak 512MB SD Memory Card - $14.99
Kodak 256MB SD Memory Card - $9.99
Kodak 2GB SD Memory Card - $29.99
Photo Books - 6x8, $12.99

I posted a few days ago about my trip to Walgreens and CVS. Doing some research I decided that I needed to go back to Walgreens and then to Target! Here is what I did:

WALGREENS TRIP 12/20/07
3 Nice & Easy color glaze priced $8.99/clearanced $3.59 (as I mentioned in THIS post if you spend $20 in P& G products you get $10 in RR. This is included in the sale and I got credit of $26.97 (full price) instead of $10.77 (sale price))
4 Mom's best oatmeal normally priced $1, sale .69
1 Degree Deoderant (dh needed it and had no coupon!) price $3.99
1 Celestial candy cane tea (wanted it for me) price $3.99

Total $15.76
Minus manf coupons for Nice & Easy $2 off EACH box for a total of $6
Minus $1/1 Mom's best oatmeal I had 4 of these. You can get the coupon HERE. So I made $1.24 on this deal.
My total is now $10.52 with the male cashier giggling and saying "Wow they are paying you to buy this stuff!)

THEN I hand him $10 in RR from THIS shopping trip. With the Cashier saying "MORE coupons??" As he giggled, he said "Your total is .52!! As he was finishing the transaction, he said, "I am NOT going to even tell you what just printed AGAIN!! I said, "Yep I know. You are about to give me $10 MORE back in RR! He laughed and said, "That is UNBELIEVABLE!" The cosmetics lady, said I can believe it and once you become a parent you will believe it.

NOW onto Target! My only regret is that we don't have a Super Target. There I bought 9 pkgs of travel Huggies Wipes and 2 large containers of Huggies Wipes. I do not have anybabies anymore, but I do keep wipes on hand. I also put the travel wipes in my Handbags that I make for my diaper bags. The larger wipes I am putting with my deal at CVS on diapers for baby shower gifts (I have 4 friends having babies)!!

My total would have been $13.51 (w/o tax), but I used:
2 $3/2 coupon from HERE for the 9 travel sizes (*WARNING* The 2 Travel Sizes are .97 and less than the $3 (and my Target would NOT adjust!), so I actually bought 3 instead of 2 to bring the total to $3 so I could use the coupons, but still got them for free. It is just that Target will NOT allow the overage and I had issues, I thought I would save the hassle for you!)
I then used 2 .75 manf coupons on the larger containers, plus a store $3/2 to make the bigger ones .28 for both!!

Hope this helps you! I would love to hear comments or questions from you! Take care!

My Walgreens/CVS trips yesterday!

Well after finding out that Walgreens had a one day coupon for $5 off of $20, I decided to make a list and go. Another thing I realized is that Walgreens is caving to the pressure of CVS's tacktics and are mimicking their incentives to get shoppers in the store. They are now offering Register rewards, which are the same as the CVS bucks but you don't have to register for their shoppers card. Unlike CVS, your totals are NOT accumulative. You need to purchase the minimum in ONE shopping order!

I plotted and planned my trip and here is what I did:

Post cereals are 5/$10. Since I had a $1/2 coupon I bought 6. I got a register reward for $3. So I bought 6 boxes for $6.

I found out about many of my deals and sales through Slick Deals. If you go into the search box and type in CVS or Walgreens, you can pull up the deals listed in Hot Deals section.

There is a Procter and Gamble sale right now if you buy $20 worth you get $10 back in RR. Well there is a selection of LARGE shampoos that are normally $6.99. Some reports are that there are coupons on these products but I didn't see any! If you carefully check with these labels:

Herbal Essence (LARGE size) shampoo and conditioners
Nice Easy Root Touch ups
Nice Easy Color glaze
Pantene (LARGE size) shampoo and conditioners
Nice Easy gray solution
Infusium shampoo and conditioners
Head & Shoulders (LARGE size)

There are MANY of them on clearance. I saw where there were some for $1.79 but they were gone. I picked up 3 large bottles of Infusium shampoo that was marked down from $3.59 from $6.99. IF I would have paid full price it would have been over the $20 and that is what the register read. YOU GET CREDIT FOR THE REGULAR PRICE AND NOT THE SALE PRICE. So I paid about $11 for 3 bottles of shampoo and got $10 back in RR. BTW this deal lasts until 12/29.

Coke products are $4/11. Not a great deal but they are offering $3 off in RR, which is $4/9.

I got $17 back in RR. I also had a coupon with me for $10 off on the Entertainment book. I was questioning whether or not to get it. My dh said it was a good deal and I made it a better deal. It was $25. I used the $10 off to knock it down to $15. I used $14 in RR and paid OOP $1.66!!!! THAT is a good deal and worth it's weight in gold just in the Kroger coupons!!!!!

**WARNING** I had seen on slickdeals that people were taking their RR and putting them on American Express gift cards to use elsewhere. Tried it!! Register BOOTED me out and didn't work! Thought I would save the hassle factor for ya!

BTW, dh was with me during this time. He was laughing as we were leaving Walgreens. I asked him why. He said, I wonder first of all how many shampoo bottles you have, lol. Then he said, I wonder how long it will take these stores to realize that people like you are playing this game and learning how to buy things for nothing! I told him there were MANY others like me, RIGHT Friends, lol!?

Now onto CVS:

They had a Buy $20 worth of Gilette products and get $10 in EB's. WARNING: I tried to use a $1 coupon on a $1.79 container of Gillete shaving foam. It was considered a TRIAL size and didn't give me credit!

Here is how that transaction went down:
Bought 2 Gillette Fusion Razors at 9.99 each
bought 1 can Gillete foam $3.79 (due to the refund she gave me credit for an extra $1 coupon so I got $2 off of the foam)

used $5 off of $15 coupon
used $2 off of $10 coupon
used $9 (actually got credit for $10) manf coupons

Total oop $3 and got $10 eb's back

Bought Shick Quattro mens razor at 7.99 minus $4 manf coupon got $4 back in EB's FREE
Bought Shick disposable razors at 5.99 used $1 off of 1 coupon and got $3 back in EB's paid 1.99

They also had a soda deal (kids and dh loves it and we will go on detox after Christmas, lol) that if you bought 4 cases of Pepsi you got a free 12 pk of Pepsi max (dh's favorite!). We bought 5 cases of pepsi (got one free) and 2 bags of candy (for a reason) and total was $13.24. Used $13 in EB's and paid OOP .24!!!!!!

I still have $10 left in RR from Walgreens and $10 in Eb's with a $5 off of $20 purchase at CVS. Debating on what to use them on......hmmmm!!!!!

My next adventure! BTW if you search on Slick deals under CVS you can get the scans for next weeks sale. Looks pretty good too, although some of it is a 3 day sale! Good luck and be inspired!

Physics lesson:

Here is a physics lesson for ya!

Click here!

Smiling!

HILARIOUS Homeschool video!

I found this on my friend Cynthia's blog! It will make you laugh so hard! Enjoy!!
A Homeschool Family video

Let me know what you think!

On todays installment of 30 Days of Joy We bought some small, inexpensive wicker baskets at Walmart. I made two loaves of bread and will deliver those today. We are also delivering our famous snack mix that our family loves. Here is the recipe for it! WARNING: It is GLEEFULLY addictive!

Snack Mix

3 cups of Rice Chex
3 cups of Corn Chex
3 cups of Cherrios
2 cups small pretzels
2 cups mixed nuts
2 cups plain m&m’s
1 lb white almond bark

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt almond bark in a bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes. IF it doesn’t melt all the way, melt it for 30 seconds more, stirring after each time. IT WILL BURN so don’t do any more than that. Pour melted almond bark over mix and mix well with large spatula. Pour out over wax paper and let dry. Break off into chunks and put in plastic bags (if it makes it that long!)

We are also going to send a box to someone from the list off of Anysolider.com. We are putting some snack mix in it too!

Enjoy!
Southern Belle

CVS Deals for 12/16-12/22

$10 EB'S WYB $20. of Excedrin ,Bufferin ,Doans ,No Doz ,Ascripton PSA $3.99 (1)
-$3 Excedrin 100ct 10/21 SS, 11/11 SS
-$2 any Excedrin 10/21 SS, 11/11 SS


$3 EB'S WYB Clean Care Twin Pack, Zaditor 5ml, GenTeal Drops $14.99 (5)
-$1.50 GenTeal Gel 7/15 SS
-$1 GenTeal any 7/15 SS

$2.49 WYB Tylenol Vial 10ct $2.49=FREE (1)
-$1 8/5 SS ,9/16 VAL, 11/4 SS
-$1. 12/16 Val
$3 EB'S WYB Schick Quattro Disposable Razor Men or Women's 3ct $5.99 (1)
Schick Quattro Razor, any $4 12/16 SS (exp1-27-08)

$10 EB'S WYB $20. of ANY Gillette Fusion or Venus Shaving Products PSA $3.99 (1)

$5. WYB Norelco Face or Bodygroom Shaver $34.99 (1)

$30. WYB Oral-B Triumph 9000 $134.99 or Professional Care 7400 $89.99 (1)
-$10 Rebate for Oral-B Professional Care 12/2/07 P&G Form for rebate
$4 WYB Men's Schick Quattro Razor Power, Midnight or Titanium $7.99 (1)

$1 WYB Crest Toothpaste or Oral-B Toothbrush PSA $2.19 (1)

$3 WYB $9 of Smooth 'N' Shine Hair Care (1)

$2 WYB Playtex Gentle Glide or Sport Tampons Bonus size 20-22 ct.$4.99 (1)

$1 WYB Irish Sping 18oz or Softsoap Pure Cashmere/Nutra Oil Body Wash $3.99 (2)

$5 WYB any 24.7 Skincare Product PSA $15.99 (1)

$2 WYB CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara $8.49 (1)

$1 WYB 2 Hershey's Chocolate 8.5-14 oz. Bags Asst. Varieties 2/$5 (1)


BUY ONE GET ONE FREE
Progresso Soup 18.5-19 oz cans, or 15.25 oz microwaveable
-.50/2 11/11 SS
[color="Red"]-.55 on 2 http://print.coupons.com/couponwe...0&zid=iq37
Maybelline Lip Color (all)
Maybelline Mascara (excludes Great Lash)
L'Oreal Vive Pro shampoo or conditioner 13 oz
- Buy 1 Get 1 Free 9/23 Val Expires 12/16/07
-$1 off any shampoo or conditionerhttp://print.coupons.com/couponwe...0&zid=iq37
-$1 any 9/23 Val Expires 12/16/07
-$1 any 11/4 Val.
CVS Alkaline Batteries ,AA, AAA 4pack, C,D 2pack or 1-9 volt
Kodak Power Flash Camera 27 exp $9.99
-$1.50 12/16 SS
Nature Made and Olay Vitamines
Lay's Potato Chips 12.5-13 oz.

BUY ONE GET ONE 50% OFF
Boxed Holiday Cards (Excludes Hallmark & American Greetings PSA $3.99
Holiday Fragrance Gift Sets
Assorted Holiday Toys
American Outdoor, Marshall Collins or Sharp Watches PSA $9.99
Wet'N'Wild Cosmetics (all) PSA.99
Maybelline Foundation, Blush ,or Concealer PSA $3.99
Revlon Lip ,Eye or Nail color
-$2 any 9/9 SS
-$2 face cosmetic 10/21 SS
-$1 Lip product 10/21 SS
Almay Cosmetics or Skincare (all) PSA $1.99
Milani Cosmetics (all) PSA $1.99
L'eggs Sheer Hosiery (excludes mini eggs)
Got 2B Styling Products
-$2 any Full Size 11/11 A Season Full of Savings
Conair Hair Appliances
Photo Frames or Albums (excludes digital frames)

BUY 2 GET 1
Scotch Tape, magic, Double sided or Giftwrap

BUY X GET Y
Buy 4-12 Packs of PEPSI products for $11. GET a 12 Pack of Diet Pepsi Max for FREE
Buy any 3 American Greetings Cards and get a FREE Singing, Dancing ,Lighted Merry Reindeer
Buy any REVLON Foundation get a FREE Age Defying Face Primer or Precise Wrinkle Eraser $13.99 value


50% OFF PRE-WRAPPED GIFTS
33% OFF HOLIDAY LIGHT SETS, OUTDOOR DECOR OR LIGHTED ANIMATION
25% OFF HOLIDAY HOME DECOR, TRIM OR CANDLES
25% OFF SELECT PLUSH

My Frugal Friday tip is simple: Homeschooling for free and using the internet. You know when the internet first came out there wasn't alot to offer. Now there is EVERYTHING for homeschooling. I have quite a few friends that are homeschooling for Free using the resources solely that they found online!!!! Well to help aid in this department, a while ago I established Homeschooling For Free. I continue to update it DAILY and have many more additions to make. It is a VERY exhaustive, comprehensive list. If you do go there and use it, I ask you to do me a favor:
1. Leave a comment. I like to see who has been and what their comments are. Out of respect for my time and effort, I ask that you leave a comment.
2. Link my blog on your blog! What a wonderful way to show this resource to your friends and family!
3. Spread the Word! There is literally something for everyone! My mom, who works in a corporate office uses it...Why? Because she teaches children's church and uses some of that!

For more frugal ideas, visit Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood Online.

Doing 30 days of Joy box has been well, JOYFUL! It also doesn't have to cost very much. I found these BEAUTIFUL glass painted ornaments and embroidered Christmas towels for my neighbors at the Dollar Tree! It was small, but oh so much joy! I got a note from one of my neighbors that read, among many things:

"You have brought so much Joy to these "two wrinkled kids". Thank you so much."

What have you done to bring Joy to someone lately?

My friend Amy over at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31, is hosting a Plate it blog carnival where you share some of your favorite holiday treats. So, without further adu, here is the recipe:

Chocolate Eclair

1 box of graham crackers
2 small pkgs of French Vanilla Instant Pudding
3 cups milk
8 oz thawed cool whip

Icing:
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1/3 c cocoa
1 stick margarine
1/8 tsp salt

Make icing FIRST and let cool while making the filling. Mix ingredients for icing together. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat. Stir to cool to the touch (with your finger). Mix pudding and milk with electric mixer. Add cool whip, mixing thoroughly. Spray 9x13 pan with oil. Layer crackers, then 1/2 of filling, crakers then remaining filling, then crackers. Spread icing on top. Cover and refrigerate!

Enjoy!!!! I know you will!

Make sure you take a look over at Amy's site for more terrific ideas!


Southern Belle

VISION FORUM GIVEAWAY!!



For those of you who know me (and those that don't and I hope to get to know), know that we LOVE the ministry and the company of VISION FORUM! Their family quality products that are Godly and can be trusted are just a WONDERFUL addition to our home! You saw the sale they were having and guess what???? I get to bless my blog readers with a VISION FORUM GIVEAWAY!!!!! Here are the rules:

1. You must leave a comment!!! That is the ONLY way that you are registered into the drawing!!! Make sure you leave your email addy so I can contact you!
2. You can talk about it and and link back to my site from yours!
3. This is absolutely FREE!
4. This giveaway begins today (the 12th) and ends the 20th! I will then discuss with you arrangements!
5. SPREAD THE WORD!

The product I have chosen is this one: The League of Greatful Sons. We have this DVD and it is OUTSTANDING! It talks about our Godly heritage and our men that defended our country. You can click on the Vision Forum link above to learn and read more about it. It takes WWII veterans back to IWO JIMA and they discuss what happened.



I look forward to seeing who wins this terrific prize. BTW if you have this already, this would be a terrific present for someone for Christmas!

Southern Belle

I went back to CVS Saturday night. I couldn't resist, lol.

My total was $104.15
My total OOP was $4.82!!!!

Now questions that I have been fielding from readers and friends:

1. Do you do this on one day or more than one? Obviously I went back a second time, but I do multiple transactions in one trip. Make sure to use Pharmacy too! Just let the cashier know you are doing more than one transaction.

2. Do you use multiple coupons? ABSOLUTELY! That is what I LOVE about CVS. You need to learn how to STACK! For instance here is one transaction:

There is a promotion that you spend $20 on P& G products, you get $5 in ecb's. I only spent a little of $20, which is the minimum!!!

2 pkgs of Pampers (baby gifts) sale 8.99 each
1 pkg charmin bath tissue
1 box cvs tissue

Use 1 $4 off of $20
Use 1 $2 off of $10
use 2/$2 coupons off of pampers
use 1 .25 coupon on charmin
use 1 coupon for free tissue

My normal total: $21.46
MINUS $11.46 in manf and store coupons
Equals $8.76
Then you get $5 in ecb's

Then you use the $5 on the next transaction! That is why you do it in separate transactions!!!!!

I already have my sights on this week, so look out!

Let me know if you have any more questions,
Beth

I will be in Birmingham, AL today (visiting my best girlfriend for my birthday and to celebrate Christmas), but make SURE you go and visit Money Saving Mom for the updated sales and lists of items for the CVS sale this week. Also make sure you go to Coupon Mom for the grocery store ads in your area (ours is Kroger, CVS, Walgreens and Publix)

Have a good one!
Beth

Today's Frugal Friday is my tip for Spraying your pans. The aeresols in the store have harmful chemicals and alcohol in them,are diluted and expensive at best. My solution to this is the MISTO:
With this, you just pour in your Olive oil, pump and spray! No additives or chemicals! It not only is all natural but it saves you money. I bought mine at Bed Bath and beyond for 9.99 and with a 20% off coupon that comes all the time, it will cost about 7.99. The savings are TERRIFIC! (I buy my olive oil at Sam's, because I only use it to cook with)

For more Frugal Friday tips, check out Crystal at Biblical Womanhood.

Well, the Apple Cinnamon Swirl bread was delivered and a HUGE hit! Since it was still warm, our 8 yo helped me hand deliver it with a Santa Hat on and smiling with a Merry Christmas!! I thought I would take a picture, but didn't happen!

Today, we are making some inexpensive, yet cute little gifts for the neighbors. First of all, I found $1 metal Christmas baskets at Dollar General Store. I then found two coffee cups (one for each basket). One says "Thinking of you" and the other one says "Praying for you" and they came from Lifeway for $5. Now obviously, I could have bought mugs that were cheaper ($1 or so) but with the sayings and bible verses and all, I couldn't resist these. It is up to you and your family! I then took inexpensive goody bags (I had these from Michaels from when we did the Thanksgiving blessing bags) and I put small marshmallows in that one and one them in top of the mug. The kids and I then made Hot Chocolate and put them in small jars that we had here. I bought 1 yard of fabric at Walmart with Christmas print on it and put it on top of the jar. I bought a set of 3 basket bags (Christmas) from the Dollar Store for $1 and WALLA! I am also taking clear plastic spoons and melting Nestle chocolate and adding a little peppermint oil in it. I will put the chocolate dipped spoons with the basket. I will deliver them today.

Here is the recipe for the Hot Chocolate:

8 c dry milk
1 3/4 c cocoa
1 1/2 c non-dairy creamer
1 sm pkg instant chocolate Pudding Mix
4 3/4 c powdered sugar

Mix and distribute into jars. Put into airtight containers.

Enjoy the blessings!

Southern Belle

Okay, Our family LOVE Narnia!! We have been ANXIOUSLY awaiting for the release of the new one Prince Caspian......


Well.........Here is the FIRST trailer!

Click HERE!

ENJOY!

Oh no! Hubby is home late and everyone is SO hungry. You have 15 minutes, what do you fix? Better yet, this one has happened to me a TON, someone in church had surgery, had a baby or a family emergency, and you need a MEAL! This is the theme for the latest installment of Works for me Wednesday! My friend over at Kudzu Grows got our favorite one, but the other one is:

Turkey/Chicken Pot Pie
2 large cans of Veg-all (In our family recipe, I have been known *wink* to sneak in a can of strained white (northern, navy) beans)
2 cans of cream of chicken (I make my own, but in this case I use canned)
2 cups of chopped cooked chicken/turkey (I have lots of cut up and cooked Turkey I bought for .38/lb after Thanksgiving!)
Opt 1 can cream of mushroom
1 can of hungry jack/flaky layers biscuits

Open cans and strain. Mix soups, veggies and meat and sprinkle a little pepper (and I add garlic too). Pour into casserole dish. Split biscuits in 1/2 and layer on top of mix, covering the mix. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. If taking to a family, I write on the top of the foil the directions for baking. I just did this last week for a family in our church.

I just thought up of another one, lol.

Quick Pizza
1 pkg English Muffins
spag sauce (I sometimes have leftovers in the fridge)
toppings
cheese

split muffins and spread sauce over them. Put toppings on and sprinkle cheese. Bake until warm and cheese is melted.

Of course there is always breakfast, lol!

Also make sure you check out the 30 days of Joy to help your family minister to others. I would love your input and ideas on the 30 days of Joy.

Make sure you go over to Rocks in My Dryer to get other great ideas and quick recipes!

My CVS (and Grocery Shopping) Trip yesterday

I pretty much consistently save ATLEAST (minimum) of 50% or more on my groceries. I use sites likes Coupon Mom and The Grocery Game to be able to "stack" coupons, be on sale and even double my savings on top of that. Well, while watching Money Saving Mom I was intrigued about the savings that can be had at CVS. I knew there wasn't one on our exit, so my FIRST chore was to even see where the nearest one was, to see if it was even feasible. I found out that amongst our 4 exits for our town, the CVS was located 2 exits down from us. It is a fairly new store. SO, my plan was to really start the savings. Before I get to the "nitty gritty" it didn't take me that long. The thing that took me a little time, was figuring out a "strategy" of what to buy when and buy things in 1-3 products at a time to be able to use my Extra Bucks. You can see my picture at the top.

**Drum Roll Please**

My total at CVS was $219.90 (before ANY savings)
My total OOP (Out of Pocket) was $36.37

What did I get for all of that. Now, I will go into detail. The one thing I did before I left the house, was to write out which products I would divide up into separate transactions (1-3) to be able to turn around and use my Extra bucks. Basically they give you money in a paper receipt format and you can use it on a separate transaction, so that is why you divide it. First of all, I signed up my card and logged in online, and they sent me a certificate for $4 off of $20 purchase. BTW, my store said, as long as I use it in separate transactions and trips, I can use as many as I want, so I saved it in my email. Secondly, I used $2 off of $10 purchase on each of my transactions. Thirdly, there is also a sale on some of their cold and flu remedies with bucks, so I stacked another coupon like $2 off of $10 Flu/Cold Coupon HERE which gives you $2 off of $10 for colds and flu meds. Now my CVS told me as long as the certificates have different numbers on them, you can use more than one in a transaction. I also noticed that your total needs to be more than your ECB bucks. IF you need more clarification or details on things, you can head over to Money Saving Mom's post on CVS 101.

Also, on another site that I love, I found out that you can get a free glucose monitor (my dad is diabetic). On that site it said that you get $20 in ECB bucks, BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE. But what I DID find out, is that the Breeze 2 is regularly $59.99 and was on sale for 14.99. In the pharmacy is a diabetes magazine for $50 OFF of a the Breeze 2 or Contour. (They adjusted the coupon for the price of the monitor). Now to sweeten the deal, there was a sticker on there, that YOU GET A REBATE. It says up to $40, but I have been doing rebates for a while, and I know they are going to give me the price that I paid ($14.99 before coupon). So basically I will make $14.99 on this deal

If you click on THIS BLOG, you will figure out how to get your Christmas pictures (or any) for FREE. I was only able to figure out how to do 60 on each card(I have two cards), so I got 120 pictures, FOR FREE. I just uploaded my pictures online to their photo center, and sent it to them. I picked them up when I arrived. I was very pleased with the quality and I saved $22.80!!! .

Here is my list of what I got:
120 4x6 Christmas pictures (free)
Glucose monitor (reg 59.99 and I will MAKE $14.99)
2 pkgs of Jumbo size 1 Pampers (I have two friends having babies soon! These are for gifts)
1 pkg jumbo (dbl pkt) Huggies Wipes
2 bottles of Oasis Mouthwash (free after ECB bucks)
2 Gillette Fusion razors (FREE after ECB bucks)
6 cases Pepsi (I don't drink it but dh does. After coupons and ECB's I paid $1.08/case of 12)
2 boxes of Garnier hair color
2 tubes of Cover Girl Lipstick (It was already b1g1 and I had a b1g1 manf cpn so they were BOTH FREE)
2 double pkgs of Charmin bath tissue
2 boxes of Theraflu strips
5 pkgs of cough drops
1 box of children's cough expectorant

That is not all my friends, after looking at the weekly sales for this week, I decided to go to Publix. Now other than eggs, the rest I did with using The Grocery Game. My total at Publix (we have double coupons BTW) was $51.83. My total OOP (out of pocket) was $15.63. Now here is a list of my items:
2 1/2 doz. eggs (non coupon item)
2 LARGE Publix pizzas (got them for .02)
3 boxes of Totino's pizza rolls (on sale for 50% off, had a .40 cpn that doubled. Paid .20 each box)
1 bottle of high end shampoo and conditioner (paid $1 for shampoo and $0 for the conditioner, it was FREE)
2 revlon nail clippers (they were on sale b1g1. Reg price $1.49, which is about .75 each. Had 2 Manf cpns for $1 off each one, which I MADE .50. Make sure you know that you can use 2 $ off on b1g1)

6 boxes of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (it was on b1g1 and I had a manf b2g1f)
4 bags of Marie C. Croutons (look out in those Publix coupon fliers! These were.60/bag)

I am not done. I hope to go to Kroger later this week. It depends. I know CVS is great for HBA, but I also like to save at the grocery store too!

Hope this helps some of you and encourages you. I would love to her comments or questions! Don't forget our 30 Days of Joy Box going on right now. I will post on that one again in a minute.

Southern Belle