Great Bible Study

Last night many of the women from my Life Connection class at church started a new Tuesday night Bible study. We are reading Beth Moore's new book "So Long Insecurity." My reaction from last night's first meeting....WOW. How convicting this book will be on my life, but I'm very excited about the peace that learning about my insecurities will bring me.

Here is what the book looks like:

If you are struggling with something, don't give up and don't develop a don't care attitude. That is a dangerous playground to play on. Instead, allow God to work through you to help others overcome their insecurities instead of spiritually and emotionally beating them down. Happy hump day!

Anniversary

Happy 1 year anniversary to Jonathan and I! Yay! One down and many more to go.


Here are some things marriage has taught me:

• Life is much better with a dedicated partner by your side
• It is ok to have some alone time, and actually, it makes you appreciate the other person more
• Pick the right person that will help you make the right decisions
• Many times we can be our own worst critic, so it helps for someone to see the best in you
• Even if you don't have plans, having someone else that is just as bored makes the party more fun
• Having someone to share chores with is a huge plus!
• We can find many reasons to celebrate just to take a trip or get out of the house
• The trip to work is more interesting carpooling with the hubbs
• Once you get married, the majority of your friends are also married friends as well
• Just get used to people asking when kids are coming as annoying as it can get. FYI, our time is not anytime soon hopefully
• You really start understanding the meaning of love in 2 Corinthians: patience, kindness, etc
• Marriage is hard but definitely the BEST journey you will ever take
• Always seek God's will in your marriage; life is confusing enough
• Trying to bond the two families is tricky business: different traditions, cooking styles, cleaning, who to spend what holiday with, yada yada. The best  advice in this area, start your own family tradition from the beginning because no matter what, someone's feelings will be hurt. You must consider your spouse's wishes above your parents'
• Keep life exciting by not getting into a rut too much
• Appreciate each other for what you bring to the marriage and don't sweat the small stuff. If he leaves clothes laying around, who cares! It is not worth an argument

Those are just some things from this past year, and I cannot wait to learn more for this list to continue to grow. God gave me the greatest husband ever and for that I'm very grateful.

Expired Coupons

I posted the address a while back where you can send expired coupons for the soldiers. That girl scout troop will no longer be working with this, so I found a new location. You can still give me your expired coupons up to 2 months old or you can mail them to:

Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Unit 43
Commander Janet DeSantis
225 Bluffwood Road
Wagener, SC 29164

Again, this is a great way to help our soldiers and their families since they are able to use these on their bases. The rules again are they cannot accept internet coupons or coupons with store logos on them. Coupons for products such as vitamins, joint supplements, hair colorings and cosmetics are not in high demand. Coupons for baby products, including diapers, baby wipes, formula, and skincare items are in very high demand.

Free Movie Tickets

Thanks to refundcents.com, a website I pay for.

Walmart has teamed up with Tampax and Always to bring us a great new Free Movie Ticket promotion. Buy any Specially Marked Package of Tampax Pearl, or Always Ultra Pads, then visit IloveTampaxandAlways.com to enter your code to receive a Free Movie Ticket valued up to $12! You can get Tampax for around $6.97 at Walmart. Then Use the $2 Tampax Pearl or Compak Pearl from the 5/2 PG Insert. Pay just $4.97 each after coupon. Each code is valid for 1 movie ticket good for any showing of any movie at over 28,000 participating theaters. You will have until 10/31/2010 before your code expires, but keep in mind the codes are only good for 30 days from the time it’s issued. Complete details at the Walmart website.

I may go after this deal since we want to go see Iron Man 2. I haven't been to Wal-mart yet to see if mine carries these specially marked ones.

Freebies 101

Thanks to http://athriftymom.com/freebies-101/ for this post:

I think we all put up a red flag when we hear the word free. I will be the first to tell you there are a lot of gimmicks out there. So read and be care full before you go giving personal info out. But there are a lot of great companies out there willing to give you things TOTALLY FREE. Just so you all know anything I post I have checked out, signed up myself and try to make sure it is worth your time. I just pass along the deals I see, please use your own judgment.
Here are a few tips when signing up for freebies, Samples, Entering contests or Downloads.

1. Make a 2nd email account- You will find that as you sign up for free products or contests, that you will start to receive A LOT more spam. But you will also get more offers for coupons, and other use full info. I would HIGHLY recommend that you take a few minutes and set up a 2nd email account. Use a free email service, and use this as you enter in give aways, surveys and contest. This way you can have your personal email account free of all the extra mail.
2. Don’t give out to much personal info- You will need to give them your name, address, phone and email. Many companies want a lot more info too, they want to know, birth dates, how many kids you have, and much more. They want this info to find out more about the people that are using their product. So if they ask how many kids I have I tell them, BUT if they ask their names, will use a different name. I don’t think anyone needs to know what my kids names are, just for a free bar of soap. When they ask for my birthday I always give them the the correct month and year but I change the “real” day. This helps protect my personal info. NEVER give out your credit card or SS# for a giveaway, unless you have done a lot of homework and know its legitimate. If they ask for your phone number, unless you actually want telemarketers calling, don’t give the correct number.
3. Free Trials - Many offers will get you hooked by giving you a free month supply, or free product. Then what they may or may not say is that you are also signing up for a subscription to their product on a continuing basis. If you are not watching carefully, in a short while you get a whole new box of that product and you may not even notice the charge on your credit card bill. Now we don’t want to talk you out of the free products, but you need to make sure you ask questions, or be prepared to cancel the subscriptions. Watch your credit cards that you use. It’s sujested to use one card that you monitor closely, that way you know what you are, and are not getting into.

Kraft First Taste

This is a website Melissa Sherman mentioned Tuesday night. If you sign up, you can receive some coupons. I just logged into my account, and I had a coupon for free Oscar Mayer turkey bacon. This is not something I eat, but I'll print for someone else. This is a good place for some extra coupons.

Freebies for your Birthday

Here are some websites you should sign up for, and they will send you free coupons for sandwiches, etc on your birthday. I just signed up and some give you coupons off food, so hurry!

• http://www.firehousesubs.com/birthday/
• http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/mycs/myCS_pub_home.aspx
• http://pages.rubytuesdayrestaurants.com/page.aspx?QS=773ed3059447707deabda7bb9014e2bc76683fcf2ec10edcbf62b7dc638cf860
• http://assets.fbmta.com/clt/lgnsrh/lp/join/join_loc.htm for Logan's Roadhouse
• https://secure.murgent.com/emopt/index.php?id=6337 for Backyard Burger. I think there is one in Helena
• https://arbysextras.fishbowl.com/forms/arbys/join.asp for Arby's
• http://www.brusters.com/promotions_sweetrewards.asp
• https://www.tgifridays.com/gmms/givememorestripes.aspx
• http://www.blizzardfanclub.com/join/ for Dairy Queen
• http://www.redlobster.com/club/

If you know of some others, please share

Couponing for Community

This is from http://www.savingaddiction.com/ about a community event they did asking for donations for some motivation of what we can do:

What a beautiful night to donate! The weather was great! We had a local McDonalds donate FREE fries and cones, and we also had a give away there! We were amazed when we were gathering all the crates at the end of the night what SavingAddiction has taught us! People came out and gave lots of items that cost them selves very litte, but will turn into HUGE blessings for many! Thanks for all of you who made this night special!



Grand Totals...


Retail Cost of Items Donated


$1092.44




Cost after coupons and savings


$44.21!




If that is not enough to get you excited about giving I dont know what would! God has blessed us, so we can bless others!

Here are some deals for you

Attention nurses!
Per dealfindingchik.blogspot.com reported that May 6th thru May 12th, Cinnabon is offering nurses a free Classic Roll when you show your healthcare id. You may want to call your local location to make sure they are participating.

Want free Dove deoderant? How about make some money? Publix has Dove deoderant bogo around $2.29 this week. Go to Dove's website to get 2 $1.50 off coupons. If you use several different computers, you can score a lot of free Dove this week. Hurry before it is gone!

Want some fun ideas for your house? Go to homemadesimple.com for home, kitchen, jewelry, etc ideas. My favorite is the creative jewelry storage found here: http://homemadesimple.com/en_US/nbrcontent.do?contentType=ol&articleId=ar104. If you become good at that, thing of the great gifts you can make for friends?

Coupon Database

If you are wondering if coupons for certain products exist, here is a great resource: http://coupondatabase.dealseekingmom/main-database. You can search for a project and see if it came in a newspaper or a link online.

Anyone shop at Publix tonight?

April Spending and Savings

I may have a few more receipts floating around, but for the month of April for all groceries, personal care items and some gifts, I spent around $227 and saved $401. And about $120 of that was paid for with  mail in rebates, survey money and a work rewards program for walking. May will be a low spending month since we are very stocked on food. How have you done?

Publix Scenario

Thanks to Melissa Sherman for this suggestion.

This week at Publix, you will receive a $10 Publix gift card wyb (when you buy) $50 American Express gift card. If you purchase $25 of groceries, you get $10 off a $50 BP gas card (you may need a coupon out of the ad for Publix this week).

Melissa's idea that she will test out is purchase the American Express card first and automatically earn $10. She will then take that $60 and pay for her groceries and towards the BP card. The cashier may not let you pay for the BP card with the American Express, so just be prepared for that. Even if you break it up more, you still make $20 on this deal.

First Opportunity to Give

I just spoke with Jessie's Place, and here are things they need right now:

• ziploc bags of any size
• alarm clocks
• any cleaning supplies
• women's underwear
• office paper
• they always need women's clothes and toiletries

If you would like to give, I am happy to take these to the building. I would like to go by the end of this month.

Here is a list of suggested items I compiled from http://www.iheartcvs.com/ and http://www.wildforwags.com/:

CVS

• Listerine Smart Rinse Agent Cool Blue 16.9 oz, Fresh burst cool mint original 1 Liter, reach toothbrush 2-4 pk, or total care floss 30 yds $3.99 get $2 eb Limit 2
  -Reach Total Care Dental Floss 30 Yd Buy One Get One Free (up to $3.99) 010310 RP (Red Plum)
• nivea body wash 16.9 oz or shower gel 8.4 oz $4.88 get $5 eb wyb $15 limit 1 limit 5 4/4-5/29:         -$4 Nivea Body Wash for Women (8.4 FL OZ - 16.9 FL OZ) 050210 RP                                       -bogo Nivea body wash for women All you May 2010
• Colgate total advanced toothpaste 4 oz $2.99 get $2 eb Limit 2                                                          -$.75 Colgate Total, Max White, Max Fresh or Sensitive Toothpaste, 4oz+ 042510 SS

Walgreens

• Get $2 RR WYB Irish Spring or Softsoap Body Wash 15 or 18oz $2.99
• No Nonsense Knee Highs or Pantyhose B1G1 FREE                                                                        -$1/2 No Nonsense Products, Any – 03-21-10 SS
• Dove or Caress Bar Soap, 3.15oz $.99 (w/in ad Q)
• Sure Antiperspirant/Deodorant 2.6 or 2.7oz 2/$3 (w/in ad Q)                                                            -$1.50/1 Sure Deodorant for Women or Men – 05-02-10 SS                                                          -$.75/1 Sure (print on the product homepage)
• Bic Disposable Razors 3-8pk or Hybrid Advance Disposable System $3.99                                      -$2/1 or $3/1 BIC Disposable Razor, Any – 03-28-10 SS (SmartSource)
• Puffs Facial Tissue 60, 72 or 108pk $.99 (w/in ad Q)                                                                        -$.50/1 or $1/1 Puffs Plus Lotion, Any Single (from Vocal Point)

GOOD FILLERS at Walgreens

• Scotch Tape 1/2in x 12.5yds or Mailers 4×7 – 8.5 x11 $.39 (w/in ad Q)
• Mars Candy 1.63 to 2.17oz $.49
• W Aspirin 100ct $.49 (w/in ad Q)
• Mead 40 to 100 pk Envelopes (No Press-it Seal-it) $.69 (w/in ad Q)

I'm thinking next month for the Foundry, so if you see men's products cheap, you can get some of those as well

Pick the Right Cashier

Ok, for all of you that attended my class last night, I had to share this. I talked about how I look for the young people and smiling cashiers to check out with because they are more likely to use all my coupons.

Apparently Jenny at Southern Savers does that as well. Here is her post:

Extreme Couponer 101: Cashiers


In order to maximize my coupons I have begun to analyze my checkout options before hopping in a checkout line. The last and final hurdle standing in your way to getting your grocery items for the very best price is the cashier. If they are having a bad day or don’t want to be bothered with my stack of coupons they are very likely to not patiently hand enter a coupon that “beeps” (doesn’t scan automatically). There are a few quick things I look for before picking my line and yes some of them are stereotypes.

• Young teenage cashiers — are the best they rarely care or are focused on anything
• Look for a smile if you can make eye contact from afar. Not even a hint of a smile? Move on.
• Male cashiers (they seem to have a sense of respect that you are trying to help your family)
• Middle aged females are the least likely to have patience with my coupons (or my kids for that matter) they seem to be the ones that are really not happy working where they are.
• The ultimate best choice is always the self checkout if you can do it!!

If you shop the same stores and get a great cashier try to always get back in their line. After a few trips they will definitely remember you and tend to trust you more each time. We have one cashier at Kroger that I love. She remembers us and gets as excited as I am when I save more than I spend.

Remember it is worth waiting in a larger line to get the person that will let you use ALL of your coupons. You took the time to try to save so whats a few more minutes. Lastly do not take out your frustrations on the cashier if they do not allow you to use a coupon. They have nothing against you or your coupons, they are only concerned about getting in trouble later. Give them a break and take issues to the manager.

Are there things that you look for in a cashier? Things you avoid?

What's a Good Price

Thanks to Amanda Tuck's recommendation for this post. We were discussing last night for what is a good price on meat. Southern Saver's Blog has a list of good prices for many different products. Go to this link to check this out http://southernsavers.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/buy-price-list2.pdf.

You may want to print this out and keep in your coupon binder or notebook.

Coupon Class

I hosted my second coupon class tonight at my house. I meant to take pictures, but I got so wrapped up in the fun that I forgot! What a great time with 9 amazing women. It was probably information overload, but I'm excited about the savings that will happen in this group.

If any of you are interested in hosting a coupon class, it will be free for you and just $5 for your friends. Not bad with all the fun and games I bring with the info. If you would like this, please email me at uarayray@gmail.com or comment on my blog.

I hope you have a great hump day tomorrow.

Cool Product to Try

Just a quick update from my CVS trip tonight. Pond's face products are bogo (buy one, get one free), and there is a $1.50 coupon off one floating around on the internet. The 30 count makeup remover towelettes are around $7, so about $4 after the 2 coupons. I bought the ones with microderm abrasion, and they are awesome. I just tried my first one, and it definitely made my face feel smooth and clean. Great thing about this product, it only takes 30 seconds to clean your face.

On another note, if you are researching for the next governor in Alabama, check out Tim James. I'm still researching him and his values, but here is the summary of him: work hard, pro-life, ethics for the government, government budget will be inforced, increase employment, common sense. These seem foreign for most people now.

I wish everyone a great work week. More to come probably tomorrow.