September 1st: FREE Baja Fresh Burrito with Drink Purchase

Here is another great Facebook Freebie!  I love the burritos at Baja Fresh...especially the Baja Burrito!  Print off this page and take it to Baja Fresh tomorrow (September 1st) between 2 and 5:30pm to get a free burrito with the purchase of a drink.  Make sure you read the fine print!

Thanks Kiki!

Crocs: Buy One Get One Free Sale PLUS FREE Shipping!

Crocs is having a huge Buy One Get One Free Sale on select styles.  Although many of these are "summer" styles, quite a few of them would work for the other seasons!  I love Crocs and pretty much live in the Sassari wedges and the Baja flip flops!  I also love the Capri flip flops and both of my pairs were destroyed in the flood earlier in the year.  

These are going quickly so you don't want to wait too long!  Also, you can use code slx8797 to get 25% off and free shipping.  

Don't forget to go through a cash back site like Mr. Rebates (6%), Cashbaq (5%) or Ebates (4%).

  

or

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!!!

Reminder: September 10th

Hey everyone! I just wanted to remind you that on September 10th at 6:30pm, I'll be at the Eckhart Public Library talking about Saving Money! You can register at the reference desk or by calling 260-925-2414 extension 120. I hope to see you all there!

FREE $10 Mall Gift Card (Hurry, these are going fast!)

ShopSmartLookFab.com is offering a free $10 Mall Gift Card (for various malls across the U.S.)  They are only offering 500 per mall so sign up quickly!  For those of you who live near me, Glenbrook Square is included in this deal.  To see if there is a participating mall near you, click here and enter your zip!

If you're able to find a mall near you--select it. You will then be taken to your local mall's promotional site. 

You will need to click on the banner image #2 (it may take a minute to show up, but it is pictured above), which states "Get a gift card NOW! Limited offer!" Type in your email address and then click "sign up fast". Finally fill out your information, including your email address, so they can send you a voucher. To get your FREE $10 gift card, just bring the printed voucher to the dedicated program table located at the Shop Smart Zone at Your Mall between 9/17-9/18, 2009, during the hours of 10:00 a.m. local time until the mall’s regularly scheduled closing time, and September 19 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. local time. 

**Limit one Shop Smart Gift Card per person

Thanks Hip2Save!

Mega Swagbucks Day

TGIF...for more reasons than one! Today is Mega Swagbucks Day and that means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by Google and Ask.com) and earn rewards for doing it. You can learn more about Swagbucks in this post.

Free Hallmark Card

Right now you can sign up to get a FREE Hallmark card from Walmart! Check out these other great FREEBIES (including FREE music) from Walmart.

Dear iPhone

Dear iPhone,

Lately, it seems like things have been different between us. Ever since the day I kicked you out of my car, you've been acting differently. I didn't mean to break your heart screen. Really, I didn't! I don't know if you know that it was an accident (although I've apologized profusely), but you haven't been acting the same. Honestly, I just can't read you like I used to.

I'm writing to you because I don't know what to do about our relationship. You have been such a huge part of my life for over a year and I feel like it would be wrong to take advantage of that. On the other hand, I need to do what's best for me and I'm thinking a little upgrade might be good for me.

Whether we part ways or not, I want you to know how much I appreciate this last year. You have changed my life for the better and you will always have a special place in my heart!

Love always,

Lisa

Free Sewing Machine From Brylane Home

Wow! Can I just say I majorly scored at Brylane Home tonight! They are offering a free sewing machine with any purchase...even a clearance purchase. I picked up this great salad set for only $5.99 (the shipping was $4.99) and I got a free sewing machine which is regularly $29.99.

Isn't it cute? :-) After I purchased my salad set and my free sewing machine for only $11.75 with shipping and tax, one of those annoying little reward offers popped up. Thanks to Carrie at Money Saving Mom, I have discoved that these annoying little offers really do work if you read the fine print. So I signed up for the free 30 day trial offer (and I marked my calendar for a few days before the end of the trial period so I can decide if I want to keep it) and I received a coupon code for $10 off my next purchase. So I purchased a pink throw on clearance for $4.99 (it was $10.68 with shipping), I applied my gift certificate and ended up paying $.68. Not too shabby, eh?

Make sure you go through Mr. Rebates for an additional 5% back. If you're new to Mr. Rebates, sign up here and get an additional $5! I love Mr. Rebates!!!

Thanks to Carrie at Money Saving Methods for the heads up! She rocks!

Two great ways to get a FREE Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich

Be one of the first 250,000 to register here and get a coupon for a free Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich.  The next 750,000 to register will receive a coupon for free Coke Zero.

Labor Day only, wear your favorite sports team logo to Chick-Fil-A from 10:30 to close and get a free Chick-Fil-A Chicken sandwich.  

Review: Bounce Dryer Bar

If your house is anything like our house, laundry is a never-ending task!  I don't normally get excited about anything laundry related, but I have to tell you honestly, I am pretty darn excited about the new Bounce Dryer Bar.  I got a coupon from Vocalpoint for the Bounce Dryer Bar and since we were out of dryer sheets, I thought I'd give it a try....and to my surprise, I love it!

According to the Bounce website, Dryer Bar technology has been used for years in hotels and other places where large quantities of laundry are done daily.  The Bounce Dryer Bar attaches to the inside of your dryer and freshens each load automatically. You can choose from a 2 month bar or a 4 month bar.  When the bar needs to be replaced, a replacement indicator will appear.  Once the indicator appears, you just need to replace the empty cartridge with a new Bounce Dryer Bar. This is definitely something you want to try!  

Mega Swagbucks Day

Every Friday is Mega Swagbucks Day! That means you can earn Swagbucks in larger denominations (10,20, 50, 100). They guarantee over 10K Swagbucks will be awarded in Mega Bills! Make sure to head on over and do a few searches. Remember 45 Swagbucks will get you a $5 Amazon gift card. You can easily earn 1 or 2 Amazon gift cards a month with just a few searches a day!

For those of you who haven't heard of Swagbucks, it is a free way to search online (it's powered by google and ask) and earn rewards for doing it. See my post about Swagbucks here. Happy searching!

OLD NAVY: $3 Adult Basic Tees (Saturday 8/22 only)

Last week, I popped into Old Navy after teaching Zumba and was thrilled because they had their Women's Ribbed Tanks for only $2. I was excited to see that they will be having another One Day Wonder item on Saturday, 8/22. You can purchase up to 5 Adult Basic Tees for only $3 each and up to 5 pairs of kids socks for $1 each (there is no limit on toddler socks). Go early as these items tend to sell out quickly!

If you are in the market for tee shirts and won't be able to make it to Old Navy on Saturday, don't be too sad! Old Navy has some of their Women's Perfect Fit tees on sale for 2/$10 online. If you shop through Ebates, you can get 8% cash back or if you'd prefer, you can shop Old Navy online through Mr. Rebates or Cashbaq for 3% cash back. Just remember, if you're shopping online, make sure you're getting money back!

Ebates
or

or

FREE CD Download: A Place of Quiet Rest

For all those in need of a little R & R, A Place of Quiet Rest is the CD for you. The piano arrangements are beautiful! You can go here to download the entire CD for free.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Three Cheers for Target!

I love Target! If there was a Target closer to my house, I'd probably go there daily! Since it's 25 minutes away, I only make it there every other week or so! I visited Target today to pick up a few things and I learned something new. You can print coupons at Target...in the store...at the kiosk. I knew that you could stack a Target coupon and a manufacturers coupon, but I didn't know you could print the Target coupons while you're at the store. The Trainer I talked to at Target said "Why waste your paper and ink? You can use ours!" That's the kinds of stuff I want to hear! Here is my favorite Target deal this week...there are other great deals out there, but we really like Pop Tarts!

Pop Tarts ($1.92 for 8 count)
Combine $.75/1 Target coupon and $1.00/2 manufacturer coupon from the 8/2 Kelloggs insert

Each box is only $.67 after coupons!

To make this deal even sweeter (and if your Target allows more than one Target coupon in a transaction), you can use this rebate form here to turn this into a money maker! You would need to purchase 10 of these items in one transaction. Here is one way to use this rebate form.

Purchase 10 boxes of Pop Tarts at $1.92 each ($19.20)
*Use 5 $1/2 manufacturers coupons from 8/2 Kelloggs insert (These coupons can be purchased online if you don't have 5 of them.) (-$5.00)
*Use $.75/1 Target coupons (-7.50)

Total Spent $6.70 Get back $10 rebate by mail! This is a great money maker!!!

Menu Plan Monday - Back To School Week

I can't believe it's already time for the kids to head back to school. Since it's always an adjustment to get back into the swing of things and since I'm starting back to work this week, I'm going to keep this week's menu simple.

Monday - Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs

Tuesday- Daddy/Daughter and Mommy/Daughter Date night. We'll each take one of the girls to dinner. The girls love these nights.

Wednesday- Tacos

Thursday- Italian Chicken, Brown Rice, and Salad

Friday- Spaghetti, Salad, and Homemade Bread

Saturday - Eggs and Pancakes (Breakfast for Dinner)

Sunday- Leftovers

For more menu plan ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday over at orgjunkie.com.

Change is coming...

When the summer began, I anticipated long restful days at our cottage in New Hampshire. I envisioned myself catching up on books I've longed to read, blogging (alot), and exercising consistently. My summer turned out quite differently. The long restful days were replaced by lots of work around the cottage. I refinished countless pieces of furniture, painted walls and windows, and had my sister help me put the look together. I'll dedicate a post to the cottage transformation on another day. Throughout the summer, I continually thought about my blog and where I want it to go. I know that I have become quite passionate about saving money and blessing my family, but I'm also learning that life is about so much more. I'd like a website that is dedicated to help people save not only money, but also time, their health, and their sanity! Stay tuned! The new site is hopefully coming soon!

Save The Date: Thursday, September 10th at 6:30 pm

I'm excited to let you all know that I will be doing a class on saving money at Eckhart Public Library on Thursday, September 10th at 6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to learn some simple ways to save money on groceries, travel, and everyday purchases. I'll be posting more about this as it gets closer!

I'm so thankful for our library. Not only do they have a wide selection of wonderful books, audio books, and movies, but they also offer great programs for the community! Also, if you have teenagers, make sure to check out The Third Place: A Teen Library! If you haven't been there, you need to go!

TMTT- Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

I love eating out...especially when it involves loaves of warm yummy bread. Our current budget doesn't allow for much eating out, so my husband suggested I figure out how to make the bread myself. My favorite bread is Honey Wheat bread (like they serve at Outback or Cheesecake Factory). This recipe can also be made in a breadmaker.

1 1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter - softened or melted
2 cups bread flour (if you don't have bread flour, you can use all purpose flour instead, but the results won't be quite as good)
2 cups wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
2 teaspoons instant coffee
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)

Place all ingredients in large mixing bowl starting with liquid ingredients and ending with the yeast. Knead until ingredients are thoroughly combined and you have a wet sticky dough. If dough is too wet, add more flour. Leave dough in bowl, cover, and let rise for 90 minutes.

After 90 minutes, remove from bowl, punch down and divide into 8 sections. Form each section into a small loaf, 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. Place loaves on 2 cookie sheets. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. This bread is best if served warm.

If you are making this bread in your bread machine, just place your ingredients in the bread machine and let it do it's work. I just use the basic setting on the machine when I make this loaf and I get one big yummy loaf.

For more yummy recipes or for great kitchen tips, visit Lisa at Blessed With Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Menu Plan Monday - Using What You Have

I can't believe my time in New Hampshire is coming to an end. My hubby and kids will be leaving on Sunday morning to fly home and I'll be leaving shortly after that. With that in mind, I need to use up what we have left so that we're not wasting food. Also, I'm trying not to spend any money on food this week since we're in a new budget month and I know I'm going to have to do some serious grocery shopping when we get home after being gone for 2 months. So, without further ado...here is this week's menu.

Breakfasts: Cereal, PopTarts, Toast and/or Fruit

Lunch: Fluffernutters or Grilled Cheese and Fruit

Monday- Eggs and Pancakes

Tuesday- BBQ Chicken Legs, Pasta with Sauce, Veggies, and Homemade Honey Wheat Bread

Wednesday- Taco Pie

Thursday- Hot Dogs and Mac and Cheese

Friday- Baked pasta and Homemade Honey Wheat Bread *We'll also probably have a birthday cake since my daughter turns 14 on Saturday!!!

Saturday- Cookout

Although this week is an unusual week, you can get lots of great menu planning ideas at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. This week, Menu Plan Monday is being hosted by Toni over at The Happy Housewife! Make sure to check it out!