Best Money Saving Dessert Ever!!

Lately, I have been looking for great frugal recipes to keep my grocery budget low so I can keep any extra and put it towards my credit cards. I found a great deal on apples and sugar and came across this fantastic recipe!! Enjoy!

APPLE CRISP

Ingredients:
· 4 cups apple slices
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 cup water
· 1 cup granulated sugar
· 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
· 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Place sliced apples in a buttered 10-inch deep-dish pie dish, alternating with sprinklings of the cinnamon and salt. Pour water over apple slices.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, and flour together with fingertips or pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle over the apples. Bake at 350° until apples are tender and top is browned, about 35 to 45 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Apple crisp serves 6.

Walgreens: The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Today I did my first major shopping trip since beginning this blog. I had been setting a $15 budget week to week but knew that I needed to spend a bit more to replinish our big ticket items.

After checking all ads and coupons then comparing them to items that we really NEEDED I found that the best deals were waiting for me at Walgreens. I am a fan of going to multiple stores to cash in on great deals but, with our winter weather and my fading energy I made the tough choice to go to just ONE store and get the biggest bang for my buck.

I think I did pretty darn good here are the stats:

My Purchases:
12 Rolls of Bounty Paper Towels
14lbs A/H Cat Litter
80 Glad Trash Bags
40 Duracell AA Batteries
12 Rolls Cottonelle TP
2/12.25oz Boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios
1 gallon whole milk (for the baby)
9 Rolls Angel Soft TP
2/8.7 oz Bags of Chex Mix (for Monday night football)
1 Mr. Clean Eraser
1 Mr. Clean Multi-Purpose Cleaner
2 Cascade Action Packs Dishwasher detergent (15 count)
2 Tide Stain RLSE (10 packs)
1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush
**Recieved a Free 50oz jug of Tide Liquid Laundry Detergent with my deals**

TOTAL BILL: $133.58

As you can see, these are some big ticket items here!

I used 17 coupons combined with sales and register rewards and saved $57.80 so I actually PAID OUT OF POCKET : $75.78.

Whew! It took a lot of time to gather all my coupons and make sure that my products were correctly rung up to reflect their sale prices but it has paid off! I am going to take my savings and apply it directly to credit card E. It may seem odd in that it's not that I couldn't use that $57.80 to help with groceries etc over the next couple of weeks, BUT my strategy is this, we would have normally spent that $133.58 anyway (if not more) on these big ticket items, it is just that THIS month I took the time and energy to clip and save and therefore my efforts are going directly to the credit card!!

~~I am not going to lie...I am exhausted...but $57.80 makes it well worth it!~~

Temptation

It seems that in order for me to reach my goal and reduce my credit card debt I spend a lot of time online looking for ways to make a few bucks here and there and save a LOT of bucks here and there. Invevitably, I have been coming across a ton of great sales out there post-holidays.

Each time I catch a sale flyer or website I peruse through all of the great shiny stuff that is 50-75% off and think "oh what a great deal! I won't see this kind of a great deal again until next year!" Then that leads me to scurry around to find my purse (and bank card) to that I can try to carefully pick through some great items and purchase just a few things to make me feel all happy about catching a great deal.

BUT! I simply CANNOT succumb this year to the glitzy deals and sales I MUST stay on target (and not the store)! So I have been trying a few different methods to assist me with my temptations.

MY WEAKEST LINK:

My fingers somehow seem to be typing in the Bath and Body Works website and looking through their fantastic deals on handsoap. Oh I know they smell so nice and look so pretty in my bathroom and kitchen and they are really reduced right now. Several times I have filled up my online shopping cart. After filling my cart I have now started to walk around my home and dig through some of my old supplies of soap etc that have been collecting dust. After that exercise in seeing the excess around I click out of the website and have been gathering my old soaps, dusting them off and placing them in a prominent location so that they are next in line for use.

It isn't just soaps that I have been stumbling across. During my trips into my vast storage area a.k.a. basement, I have been coming across an embarrassment of riches from wonderful smelling lotions (still in original packaging) to mountains of colors, toys, clothing and even some fun kitchen supplies that I haven't seen in years! It is almost like having a consignment store right at my finger tips...with more cobwebs...

After looking through my great finds (right here in my own home) I have been able to keep temptation at bay so far. Not only do I not particularly NEED anything new, I have NO space to put it, and I have so much already that hasn't been touched over the years. So, I continue on my qwest to organize and inventory my own home and am finding that slowly it is starting to feel not only more orderly, bit by bit, but I am beginning to feel some pride in my will power and my creative juices are flowing with how I am going to use all my long lost treasures.

All About The Online Surveys!!

After much research I have come across several different survey sites that offer "money" for completing surveys. Each site awards these site dollars for completion of surveys and then you use their site dollars to purchase gift cards and other items! It takes some time to complete these surveys but the rewards do appear VERY beneficial.

I have set up a separate e-mail account to receive my surveys so that my personal e-mail accounts do not get all cluttered up. I am excited to cash in on these opportunities!

These are some of the sites I have been using:

http://www.inboxdollars.com

http://www.mypoints.com

http://www.erewards.com

We will see if these pan out but so far so good in collecting my site dollars!

I have also been checking out some great freebies websites and have included some of them on my blog list on the left. Here are a couple more:

http://instoresnow.walmart.com/In-Stores-Now-free-samples.aspx

http://www.justfreestuff.com

This week I am hoping that my first attempt at Craigslist is successful!

On the Hunt....

The last couple of days I have been hunting around the internet for ways to make money appear out of no where! What I have found have been freebie websites and sweepstake websites. 'sigh'

I have found a couple that I have already been using:

http://www.sweetiesswags.com

http://www.swagbucks.com

These two sites have already helped me find tons of free music for itunes and also many websites giving away free stuff like diapers etc.

It has been an interesting web hunt these last couple of days. It has become a bit overwhelming to see all the sites and blogs devoted to saving money and freebies. I know there is definately a need out there but for me I am going to try to not get to sucked into the SWAG world.

Updates: I did make it through my week without going to the grocery store! I am very pleased about that although we did have a set back when we ordered take out on Thursday. It was a set back but I have decided to dust myself off from our little splurge and keep going!

My ebay sales this last week weren't the best but I did sell a couple of items which is better than nothing. I am going to try to rearrange and post items to end the day after X-mas to cash in on those who are big shoppers after X-mas. We shall see. I am trying to not be down about my ebay sales but it is a bit difficult. With all of the fees from ebay and paypal my profit is not that much but from my research the longer you stay in the ebay biz the better the sales get.

I am setting another $15 budget for our groceries this week. After checking out the sales and doubling them up with coupons I think I can do it. I have a gift card for $10 so our out of pocket should only be around $5. This is again another lofty goal but with some time and planning I believe it is possible!

posted by Debt Free @ 7:38 AM 0 Comments

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Chipping Away

Today I was able to credit $40 to credit card E!!!! I cashed in some old British Money and cashed out my consignment account for a grand total of $40 and some change. The change will come in handy seeing as how I underestimated my daughter's milk consumption and will needing ANOTHER gallon of milk this week. I am not thwarted though because I have been gathering loose change from various drawers and coat pockets so I should have plenty.

I am still not so sure about this craiglist business but I am still investigating. Some people swear by it...I am looking for an outlet to sell my business suits through. Ebay is NOT the place to sell clothes, this I have discovered after watching auctions over the last six weeks, so I have been trying to discover the best way to sell the bins and bins of clothes I have sitting in the basement. My consignment store drop offs for adult clothes has not met with success but jewelry seems to fly off the shelves. The research continues.

After much sighing and disgruntlement, I did make it to my children's clothing consignment store and dropped off 10 items and another batch of earrings at the adult consignment store located above it. We shall see!

My Ebay store is packed but no hits on my big ticket items yet, but this is to be expected in that there are 5 days left in the auction and things don't really get hoppin' until the last couple of days. Hoping to post some more items tonight!

My meal plan for the week has been working out great! It has been taking extra time and mind power but using up what I have has been a bit cleansing for the soul as well as the cupboards! Last night I made two huge pizzas from scratch. That dough hook on the mixer is my new best friend! The chili potatoes went over well Monday night and I have just three more days of meals to put together! Tonight will be a bit dicey due to the fact that most of my meat has been hiding in the back of the freezer and will most likely not been thawed by dinner time therefore it is Vegetarian Night! AKA whatever veggies I can find + egg + cheese = quiche!

Due to all of the errands I have been running my big plan for the rest of the day is to start picking my way through all of the stuff everywhere and making an inventory list of what we have so that we don't buy anything we already have and also to figure out the best way to sell what we don't need via ebay, craigslist or consignment. Note I said 'start', we will see how far I get with my husband home on his holiday break and my son getting out of school early and my daughter's requirement to be touching some part of my body at all times.

posted by Debt Free @ 9:06 AM 0 Comments

Busy Busy!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Today is going to be a busy day!! My goals today are lofty yet again but I feel confident!

1. Take 10 items to baby consignment store to resell.
2. Take 10 items to regular consignment store to resell.
3. Mail my ebay items that sold last week (about 15 items).
4. Research the Craigslist phenomenon and compare to ebay.
5. Cash in my old British Pound Notes that I have been saving from my last trip to Wales (about 7 years ago) and apply the amount directly to credit card E.

It is a lot to do with a small window to run errands in. I am also hoping to do some Internet searching for online surveys that will pay and some new websites on how to save money.

By the end of the day I am hoping to feel great about my hard work and see another little drop in my debt. I promise to post the best websites I found.

Update from yesterday: The blueberry bread turned out o.k. I sold it to my son as "blueberry cake" and he was happy. Also, I forgot to add that my $15.00 budget had come from returning a pair of boots to Wal-Mart so I still have to return my cans and cash out my consignment account which means an additional amount to add to credit card E! I am really excited to see the total amount to subtract today!

Stay tuned....

posted by Debt Free @ 7:13 AM 0 Comments

Success!!

Monday, December 14, 2009


My goal to spend $15.00 only on milk and diapers has been a success! Here's how:

1. Walgreens: Sale on diapers for $8.99 -$3.00 (coupon) + $2.00 in Register rewards = $3.99 for 1 week of diapers!

2. I was able to get my husband's special Lactose Free milk at Wal Mart for $2.99 instead of the usual $$3.99!

3. With a little help from my mother-in-law I was able to use 2 coupons at Hy-Vee for 1/2 gallon of 2% milk for free and 1 dozen eggs for $.49.

Now I have not made bread yet but I am going to work on it. So far I have two loaves of blueberry bread in the oven and hopefully they will turn out. Then I believe it will be time to get the bread machine out (anniversary present from my husband 2 years ago) and I am confident to get at least one loaf made today.

My other primary goal today is to get my ebay posts ready. The best time, after months of research, to post 7 day auctions is on Monday and Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. Tonight my goal is to have 25 posts ready and hope for a profit of $200-$300 dollars for next Sunday. It is a VERY lofty goal but I am determined!! We shall see.

After my successful shopping I believe I have saved approximately $10 in just one day. I was able to also pick up some jello, tomato sauce for pizza, mushrooms and coffee creamer still under my $15 budget so tonight we will feast like royalty! Today will be my first day to subtract money from our highest interest rate credit card. That $10 savings is immediately going to the credit card.

I am going to re-calculate my credit card debt amount each week with my total payments included. $10 might not seem like much, but that is $10 less to add interest rates too.

Will let you know how the bread turns out! I am still looking for ways to cut cut cut and hope to have a great list to post later.

posted by Debt Free @ 7:58 AM 1 Comments

Elimination = More Money?

Sunday, December 13, 2009


Most people tend to start reducing debt by striking things off their list that they splurge on or simply don't need.

We are pretty frugal so it is difficult to look at our list of bills and find something to eliminate.

The first things that come to mind include our groceries. There isn't much wiggle room here but I am determined to find something!

I am looking through our cupboards and trying to figure out how to make 3 meals a day for a family of four without having to go to the grocery store this week. I think I can do it. Here's how:

1. We are getting low on bread but I have flour and yeast so today I plan to make two loaves of bread to freeze for this week.

2. Our grocery list includes dishwasher detergent, a huge expense, but I have extra regular dish soap so my goal this week is to hand wash our dishes in a water efficient way so that we don't need to use 7 packets of dishwasher detergent. I feel pretty confident that I can do that! I wonder where I put our old drain tray.

3. There is no getting around that we will have to get milk for the kids so that is one expense well worth the money. Fortunately we still have two weeks worth of cans and bottles to return! That should cover milk.

4. This week I am going to do all that I can to keep from buying a single grocery item by simply using what we have and a LOT of imagination!!

This should save us approximately $50-$100 which is what I usually spend on groceries. The only exception will be that I must get diapers. I checked on the price difference between cloth and disposable and honestly for the amount that cloth diapers cost + the amount of money spent on water/electricity for laundering them, disposable diapers are a better way to go. So I am off to find the very best deal on diapers to match my awesome $3.00 off coupon to set us up for the week.

In the end, between milk and diapers I am giving myself a budget of $15.00 to make it through the week! I have $9.00 waiting for me at a consignment store for some earrings that have sold and with my can return money I think I can meet my $15.00 budget without touching a dime out of our monthly salary!

We shall see!

Today I plan to look around at everything and see if there are any more places where we can elimate costs....hmmmm...

posted by Debt Free @ 7:05 AM 0 Comments

What am I Doing?

Saturday, December 12, 2009


I have become so overwhelmed by my credit card debt I can't hardly sleep at night. From years of education and years of unemployment my husband and I along with our two small children sit on a pile of credit card debt so high that you can't see the ground.

Financial advisors have told us to declare bankruptcy. Our family and friends keep telling us it won't be so bad just seven years bad credit what is that compared to this oppressive amount of debt?

Well, we can't do it. We just can't. We have spent the money on our credit cards in order to support ourselves the last fifteen years and it doesn't seem right to not pay it back.

Our interest rates are crap but not as bad as some we just can't seem to scrape enough money together each month to pay more than the minimums.

But, hey this is America right? Despite our terrible economy right now and that my husband is a full time teacher and I am a full time stay at home mother we must find a way to get out credit card debt under control!

I was trained as a lawyer and can't stomach the idea of going back into the field and my husband's doctorate in genetics, although quite impressive, cost more than his community college position can pay.

There has to be some benefit to all of this education we went through! I have decided that with my expensive brain that there must be a way!

My idea is that by eliminating, re-organizing and selling the stuff we have on top of watching for the best deals and coupons to match, that I should be able to save enough and make enough to pay down our debt!

I won't give up! We have lived the American Dream and we beleive in it! Now it is time to utilize our enginuity and force that debt into submission!

Whew. Wish me luck. All of this will be done under the nose of my husband but without his assistance or knowledge. Not that he isn't supportive but sometimes a woman has to do what she has to do, especially when it comes to money!

Wish me luck and watch my progression!

posted by Debt Free @ 8:21 AM 0 Comments