Giveaways

  • CONGRATULATIONS to Our CVS Gift Card Winner!

    The name has been drawn for the giveaway!

    CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah G

    for winning a

    $10 CVS Gift Card!

    Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway!

    An email has been sent to you with more information*

    Enjoy Your Next Trip to CVS!

    Don’t forget to enter our next Giveaway (the next giveaway will be announced tomorrow morning)!

    *Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced.  Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.

  • Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (November Update)

    November is my tenth month tracking my Creative Cash.  What is Creative Cash?  Creative Cash is finding ways to come up with extra cash to share with others as well as work on our current goal.  I am working part time, a stay at home Mom, and wear many other hats from day to day, however, I feel that it is important not only to save money for our family by using coupons and buying items on sale but to earn a little money to help with the extra expenses and to share with others.  The extra amount I bring in on top of the work is what I call “Creative Cash” which means finding ways to make money creatively or with items and talents I have already.  I have tested this goal over the last couple months as I am challenging myself to make my life more simplified.   I plan to continue this goal for the remaining months of the year.  Despite the many financial obstacles that we have faced as a family we have been blessed with so much.  We believe it is important to be accountable with our finances and give to others.

    Explanation: The creative cash will be made throughout the entire month through various endeavors.  As it comes in the money is placed into our savings account and withdrawn at the end of the month so it can be split.  It is my goal to make at least $100 extra a month to help with our goals as well as share with others.  At the end of the month the money will be split 50 / 50 with half going towards our current goal we are working on (which at the moment is paying down debt) and the other half going to charity.

    November was a pretty good month even though it was extremely active in many other areas of my life.  Thankfully I was able to save some extra cash however, I did not reach my my goal of $100.  I want to share with you the ways we did it so if you are looking for ways to make a little extra creative cash for your family hopefully we can be an inspiration in getting your creative juices flowing:

    • $8.96– Items sold on Ebay (after fees):   The all the items sold were coupons.  I encourage you to look around at some of the coupons you get the mail, newspapers, magazines, in your stockpile, or other places and if you will not have the opportunity to use them then consider selling them for a little extra creative cash
    • $44.08 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned  (rebates, returns, cash back,  extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.

    November’s “Creative Cash” total was $53.04 which means $26.52 extra that goes towards our current goal (paying down debt) and $26.52 goes towards charity.  I have plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in December so stayed tuned, hopefully, it will be another month where we can get closer to our goal and share with others.  Each month I do a variety activities to accomplish this goal, the items above are just the ones I did specifically in November.  I look forward to sharing more of the things that work well for our family as I do them in the upcoming months.

    I will share with you the challenges, successes, and updates as I go through this journey so you can keep me accountable or even go through it with me by participating  and sharing your story. Taking the extra time to find ways to help our family as well as invest in the lives of others is important to us.  I hope that we have been able to encourage you to find ways to come up with some creative cash for your household as well.  Obviously, each situation and family is unique so decide what works for you and go for it!  Do you know of another way to earn creative cash?   I would love to hear your idea!

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

    Photo by StopNLook

  • Organized Chaos: Organizing Our Stockpile

    I LOVE getting a great deal but over the last couple of years when I find a good deal the more I find myself asking “Do I really need this?”  Yes, using coupons are wonderful and getting a great deal is amazing only if you are going to use those items or plan on giving them away. A friend introduced me to the show “Extreme Couponing” and after a few episodes I could no longer watch it.  The amount that some people had stuffed in various places in their home was too much for me to even watch.  After some thought I decided to come up with a plan to organize my stockpile in a way that would give me a visual indication that our family’s stockpile is full plus keep the items organized in a way that anyone in my family can find an item, including the kids.

    Here is what I did:

    1. Reorganized our Linen Closet to make room for the stockpile bins.
    2. Purchased inexpensive containers from the Dollar Store.
    3. Used the Label Maker to put the description on the front of each container.
    4. Filled the containers with items from the stockpile.
    5. Once a bin is full then I know it is time to stop buying that item
    6. Any extras items that I get for free I put into a separate box to be given away.

    The new system had to be practical for our family.  I think it is wise to be good stewards of what we have been given and find opportunities to share what you have with others.  I decided that if I had enough of a certain item to last our family for 6 months to a year our stockpile is considered full and I didn’t need to purchase any more of those items.  If I did get a couple items for free they would be put in a special box to give to others (charities, school, church, people in need, friends, family, and anyone else that may need an item from it).

    I have been using this system for several months now and I am really pleased with how it works.  It is easy to know when the stockpile is full enough for your family and it is more efficient when someone needs  to locate an item.  The majority of the items in this closet are office supplies, school supplies and miscellaneous household items.  I love having the freedom to take a few weeks off from using coupons, shopping, or getting deals in general because I know exactly what I have on hand and when I have enough for my family.

  • CONGRATULATIONS to Our Winners of the Torani Flavored Syrups!

    I decided to have the girls each draw a name for this giveaway so there are TWO Winners of the Torani Flavored Syrup Giveaway!

    CONGRATULATIONS to Lynette

    and

    CONGRATULATIONS to Renelle

    for winning a

    FREE Bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup!

    Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway

    Enjoy Your Next Cup of Coffee!

    An email will been sent to the winners with more information on how to claim your prize.*  A special thanks to SheSpeaks and Torani for teaming up with Blessings Multiplied to do this giveaway!  Don’t forget to enter our CVS Gift Card Giveaway this month as well!

    *Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced.  Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.

  • Free ebook: “Money Saving Mom’s Guide to Freezer Cooking” by Crystal Paine

    You can get a FREE ebook of Money Saving Mom’s Guide to Freezer Cooking by Crystal Paine through tomorrow (11/17/11).  If you have been wanting to try your hand at freezer cooking, curious how it works, or you just want to learn more tips from another person who has implanted Freezer Cooking for her family this is a great eBook for you!  The Money Saving Mom’s Guide to Freezer Cooking eBook contains 45 pages of step-by-step freezer cooking information from planning your freezer cooking session, what freezes well, the benefits of freezer cooking, favorite family recipes, and much more!

    There are 2 ways you can get the FREE eBook Money Saving Mom’s Guide to Freezer Cooking:

    1.  Pre-Order Crystal Paine’s new book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year online.

    OR

    2.  Promote her new book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year on your Blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest..

    After you have pre-ordered, blogged, tweeted, Facebooked or pinned about The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget  send an email to support@moneysavingmom.com with your pre-order receipt # or a link to where you posted about my book. Within 24 hours, you will receive a free copy of  Money Saving Mom®’s Guide to Freezer Cooking.

    I have started reading a pre-release copy of Crystal’s new book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget and I have to say so far I have been impressed.  It is practical, genuine, and in some ways convicting (in a good way because we all have areas we really could do better in). 🙂  Keep an eye out as I will be sharing more of my thoughts on her new book in a few days!

    You can head on over to Money Saving Mom for more information about this promotion, her blog, or to learn more about her new book.

  • Review & Giveaway: Torani Flavored Syrups

    As the weather gets cooler you may enjoy a hot cup of coffee to help jump start you on a crisp morning even more or a cup of hot chocolate by the fire with the family as you relax together on a cold evening.  Of course you may be in an area that is warm and would rather grab a smoothie or an iced coffee.  The secret ingredient behind those amazing coffee shop drinks that you and I enjoy so much in the syrups they use to flavor them.  Torani flavored syrups are made in the USA and are used at restaurants and coffeehouses in more than 40 countries around the world.   The best part is you can get these amazing flavored syrups and make your favorite drinks at home!

    I was thrilled to hear that SheSpeaks teamed up with Torani and they were sending me some Torani Flavored Syrups to try!  I received the Salted Caramel and Peppermint flavored syrups.   They are AMAZING!  I have been having fun trying out a variety of fun recipes both Torani’s Recipes and ones that I have come up with myself.   Torani offers over 120 Regular and Sugar Free Flavored Syrups which are the perfect compliment to your favorite Coffee, Espresso, Hot Chocolate, Lattes, Smoothies, Teas, and many other drinks you enjoy.  I have even used Torani Flavored Syrups in a few recipes while I was baking and they turned out delicious!  Our favorite baked goods were Torani Salted Caramel Syrup in our Banana Bread and Torani Peppermint Syrup in our Brownies!   Torani Flavored Syrups will add an extra special touch to your next party celebration!

    The Salted Caramel and Peppermint Syrups were awesome!

    • Flavored Coffees / Espresso Drinks
    • Italian Sodas
    • Flavored Tea, both hot and cold
    • Flavored Lemonade
    • Flavored Sodas (or Pop as we say in the Midwest!)
    • Cocktails
    • Mocktails
    • Flavored Energy Drinks

    Our family tried a variety of delicious recipes with our Torani Flavored Syrups!  The ones from Torani’s recipes are awesome so if your interested in getting started that’s a great resource.  Here are two recipes that I came up with that were raving hits with our family:

    Delicious Holiday Hot Chocolate!

    Rich Peppermint Hot Chocolate Recipe

    • 1/2 cup Mom’s Hot Chocolate Mix
    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1/2 tablespoon Torani Peppermint Flavored Syrup
    • Cool Whip
    • Crushed Mint Candies
    1. Heat the milk to near boiling, add the Hot Chocolate Mix, Torani’s Peppermint Syrup and stir until blended.  You can add more Torani Peppermint syrup if you want a stronger peppermint flavor.
    2. Pour the Rich Peppermint Hot Chocolate into mugs.
    3. Top with cool whip and crushed candies.

    It is a perfect blend of chocolate and peppermint for those cool evenings.  The girls loved having this as a special treat and it was great for a relaxing evening with family and friends!  I look forward to serving it even more as the Holidays approach.

    Delicious “pick-me-up” Smoothie!

    Salted Caramel & Chocolate Coffee Smoothie Recipe

    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1/2 cup Coffee (cooled)
    • 1/2 tablespoon Torani’s Salted Caramel Syrup
    • 1 tablespoon Chocolate Syrup
    • 1/2 cup Ice
    • Coop Whip (optional)
    1. Put the Milk, Coffee, Salted Caramel Syrup, Chocolate Syrup, and ice in the blender and mix until smooth.  You can add more Torani Salted Caramel syrup if you want a stronger caramel flavor.  Pour into a cup, add cool whip, and enjoy!

    This was an awesome recipe for an early morning or mid afternoon pick me up, plus it allows you to use up that extra coffee still left in the coffee pot that no one finished that morning!  Since we live in South Carolina we still have some warmer days so we were able to try a mix of hot and cold recipes with our Torani Peppermint and Salted Caramel syrups.  Salted Caramel syrup was my favorite because it blended well with any hot beverage or cool smoothie.

    A great Christmas or Hostess Gift!

    Not only are Torani Flavored Syrups a wonderful addition to your pantry they are the perfect gift to give family and friends for birthdays, Holidays or any other special occasion.  Torani Flavored Syrups make the perfect hostess gift for all those fun Holiday parties coming up.  I love that that Torani Flavored Syrups are both tasty and practical for my family and to share with others.  Torani gives your drinks that extra authentic coffee house flavor that you can make in your own kitchen so you don’t have to pay full price at your local coffee house.

    SheSpeaksbutton

    As a special treat from SheSpeaks and Torani if you order from the link on the left you can get 10% off your order!

    • Click on the picture above (it takes you to Torani’s website)
    • Order the Torani Flavored Syrups of your choice
    • At checkout enter the code shespeaks for a 10% discount

     

    Torani Flavored Syrups can be found at many retail locations or online.  Torani Favored Syrups are available at select:

    Torani has many flavor syrups available to choose from.  I am looking forward to trying more soon, trying to decide which one is next (White Chocolate, Eggnog, Pumpkin Pie, Raspberry).  You can check out more reviews on the Torani Syrup Flavors to get an idea of what everyone else is enjoying!

    Giveaway

    As a way to say thank you to my readers and to share a taste of the Torani Flavored Syrups with you I am doing a 48 hour giveaway!

    The winner of this giveaway will receive a FREE Bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup!  I will be sending the winner a coupon for a free bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup so he/she can pick out their favorite flavor to try or use it to buy a gift for a family member for the Holidays!  Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

    1. Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  You can sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email.
    2. You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite flavored drinks!

    All comments must be made by November 16th at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.

    Make sure to follow Torani on Facebook and Twitter using #SSTorani hashtag to learn more about Torani and become eligible for more prizes.  To learn more information about how SheSpeaks works and get involved sign up for free today.

    As a member of the SheSpeaks Blogger Society, I was given samples of this product to write an informed review.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.  I was not paid to write this post.  A special thanks to SheSpeaks and Torani for providing the samples to review and the coupons for the giveaway!

  • Giveaway: $10 CVS Gift Card

    I am doing another giveaway on Blessings Multiplied!   The winner of this giveaway will receive a $10 CVS Gift Card!  As a Mom, wife and homeowner I am always looking for ways to save a little extra when buying items for around the house and for my family.  It is a great time of year to pick up a few extra items at your local CVS to keep you family healthy especially during the Holiday Season.  If you shop at CVS regularly and use coupons you may be able to stretch this gift card over several trips.  Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

    1. Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  You can sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email.
    2. You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite items you like to get at CVS’s!

    All comments must be made by November 30th at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.  On November 30, 2011,  I will randomly draw a winner from those who have entered the giveaway.

  • CONGRATULATIONS to Our Lowe’s Gift Card Winner!!!

    The name has been drawn for the giveaway!

    CONGRATULATIONS to Kathryn

    for winning a

    $10 Lowe’s Gift Card!

    Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway!

    An email has been sent to you with more information*

    Enjoy Your Next Trip to Lowe’s!

    Don’t forget to enter our next Giveaway (the next giveaway will be announced tomorrow morning)!!!

    *Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced.  Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.

  • Giveaway: $10 Lowe’s Gift Card

    I am doing another giveaway on Blessings Multiplied!   The winner of this giveaway will receive a $10 Lowe’s Gift Card!  As a Mom, wife and homeowner I am always looking for ways to save a little extra when buying items for around the house and the yard.  It is a great time of year to pick up some fall flowers, pumpkins, mulch, or many other home or garden items from Lowe’s.  Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

    1. Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  You can sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email.
    2. You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite supplies you like to get at Lowe’s!

    All comments must be made by October 31st at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.  On October 31, 2011,  I will randomly draw a winner from those who have entered the giveaway.

  • CONGRATULATIONS to Our Walmart Gift Card Winner!!!

    The name has been drawn for the giveaway!

    CONGRATULATIONS to Carmen Q.

    for winning a

    $10 Walmart Gift Card!

    Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway!

    An email has been sent to you with more information*

    Enjoy Your Next Trip to Walmart!

    Don’t forget to enter our next Giveaway (the next giveaway will be announced tomorrow morning)!!!

    *Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced.  Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.