Family Finances
Family Recipe: Great Grandma Conklin’s Pecan Crescents
This is a recipe we received from my husband’s side of the family and it is delicious!!! The recipe comes from Great Grandma Conklin! It is a sweet crescent roll with a touch of pecan.Pecan Crescents:
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 1/3 cups pecans finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons Confection Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 cups Flour
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
Blend all the ingredients well. Roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball and shape into a crescent. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Roll in confectioner sugar while warm.
Photo by Neeta Lind
New Upromise eCoupons for July 2011
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of July 2011. Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.
This month they have 28 coupons you can activate for bonus savings. Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!
You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.
Giveaway: $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
I am doing another giveaway on Blessings Multiplied!!! The winner of this giveaway will receive a $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card! As a Mom of fraternal twin daughters I am always looking for ways to save a little extra when buying books for the family. Our family loves to read and as we continue to teach our girls how to read I want to share a Barnes & Noble gift card with my readers. Barnes & Noble is a wonderful place to relax and pick out fun books for the whole family.
- 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 get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite books (you have read for yourself or read to your child) this summer!
All comments must be made by July 31st at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing. On July 31st I will randomly draw a winner from those who have entered the giveaway.
Living on a Budget: Creative Cash (June Update)
June is my fifth 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 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.
June was a 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:
- $15.59 – 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.
- $20.00 – Cash from house and dog sitting
- $10.00 – Rebate for Scotts Osmocote Plant Fertilizer
- $ 5.49 – Other miscellaneous amounts earned (rebates, returns, cash back, extra money, etc…) that was added to my stash for the month.
It was a harder month to set the extra aside because it was very busy and I was not able to participate in as many extra creative cash activities. June’s “Creative Cash” total was $51.08 which means $25.54 extra that goes towards our current goal (paying down debt) and $25.54 goes towards charity. I didn’t hit my $100 goal this month. It has been really busy with school being out and traveling with the family. I am happy that I was able to get at least halfway to the goal and every little bit helps us get a little closer to our goals as well as helps others along the way. I have plan of action on ways to earn creative cash in July 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 June. 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
Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported Agriculture (Week 5 & Week 6)
It is our sixth week receiving fresh produce from our CSA! Our family purchased a half of share and will be receiving fresh produce, local honey, eggs and more for 20 weeks. I plan to give an update on the items we receive from week to week. Jake picked up the fresh veggies this week, we got a full share this week since we were in Charleston during Week 5 and was not able to pick it up. Our update is a little late from last week, we had a couple of unexpected activities come up.Week 5 and Week 6 of Fresh Goodies from our CSA!
Fresh Vegetables from our CSA! Items in our Basket this Week:
- Fresh Dill
- 1 – Large Squash
- 1 – Small Squash
- 1 bag Red Okra
- 1 bag Green Okra
- 3 – Cucumbers
- 1 bag Green Beans
- 3 – Red Potatoes
- 3 – White Potatoes
- Dozen Fresh Eggs
I am looking forward to eating these goodies this week! Thanks everyone for the delicious Recipes!!! We have eaten okra in the past but would love to hear if you have any amazing recipes to share that use Okra?
To find out how you can be a part of a local CSA check out this post – Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported Farms
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of June 29 – July 5, 2011
The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. There are a lot of great deals this week. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Fresh Ground Beef – $1.99 per lb
Pork Spare Ribs – $1.88 per lb
Chicken Leg Quarters – $0.59 per lb
Sugardale Jumbo Hotdogs (3 lbs) – $2.99
Holten Beef Patties (32 oz) – $3.99
Sugardale Smoked Polish or Hot Sausage (40 oz to 48 oz) – $2.99
Johnsonville Bratwurst and Italian Sausage – $3.79
Use $0.75/1 coupon from magazine 4/20 Kroger’s My Way Magazine (Expires 7/31/11)
Use $0.55/1 coupon from insert 4/17 Smart Source (Expires 6/30/11)
As low as $3.04 after each couponSchooner Tilipia, Whiting, Pollock Fillets (32 oz) – $5.99
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Buyer’s Best Crinkle Cut French Fries (5 lbs) – $1.99
Minute Maid Orange Juice (64 oz) – $1.99
Use $1.00/1 peelie coupon found on package (Expires 3/30/12)
$0.99 each after couponWorld’s Fair Ice Cream (56 oz) – $1.99
World’s Fair Red, White & Blue Pops – $0.99
Jungle Jammers Twin Pops – $1.99
World’s Fair Sundae Cups – $2.49
World’s Fair Ice Cream (4 quart) – $3.99
Reser’s Potato or Macaroni Salad – $2.99
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon from Coupon
$1.99 each after couponJungle Jammers Freezer Pops (24 Count) – $1.99
Morning Delight Jumbo Biscuits – $1.39
Morning Delight Frozen Buttermilk Waffles – $1.49
Snack-A-Tizers Potato Skins – $1.99
Mantia’s Pepperoni French Bread Pizza – $1.99
Country Crock Spread – $2.99
Use $1.00/1 coupon from May All You Magazine (Expires 7/15/11)
$1.99 each after couponHousehold
Charmin Basic Bath Tissue (12 rolls) – $4.99
Uses $2.50/2 coupon from insert 4/10 Red Plum (Expires 6/30/11)
Use $0.25/1 coupon from insert 6/5 Proctor & Gamble (Expires 7/31/11)
As low as $3.74 after each couponWrightware Napkins (250 Count) – $1.55
Wrightware Foam Plates (40 count) – $1.19
Solo Plastic Cups (20 count) – $0.99
Use $1.00/2 coupon from insert 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 8/31/11)
$0.49 each after couponRoyal Oak Charcoal – $2.99
Wisk Liquid Laundry Detergent (50 oz)- $3.99
Use $2.00/1 coupon from insert 6/26 Red Plum (Expires 7/31/11)
Use $2.00/1 coupon from insert 6/26 Red Plum (Expires 8/7/11)
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon from Wisk Facebook Page
As low as $1.99 each after couponProduce
Fresh Peaches, Plums and Nectarine – $0.89 per lb
Seedless Watermelons – $3.49
Hot House Tomatoes – $0.99 per lb
Grocery
Bubba Cola or Crisp Orange Soda (24 pack) – $3.99
Herr’s Potato Chips – $1.67
Use $1.00/1 printable coupon from Smart Source
$0.67 each after couponCap’n Crunch Cereal – $1.59
Use $0.50/1 coupon insert from 4/17 Red Plum (Expires 8/31/11)
$1.09 each after couponDomino Granulated Sugar (4 lb) – $2.39
Use $0.50/1 coupon insert from 5/22 Red Plum (Expires 7/31/11)
Use $0.50/1 coupon insert from 6/26 Red Plum (Expires 9/30/11)
$1.89 each after couponKraft Miracle Whip Dressing (30 oz) – $2.49
Use $1.00/1 coupon insert from 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 7/17/11)
Use $0.75/1 coupon insert from 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 7/17/11)
Use $1.00/2 coupon insert from 6/19 Smart Source (Expires 7/17/11)
As low as $1.49 each after couponWorld’s Fair Chocolate Syrup (24 oz) – $1.79
Mrs. Richardson’s Hot Fudge Topping (16 oz)- $2.29
World’s Fair Ice Cream Cones (24 count) – $1.59
Maraschino Cherries – $1.29
BBQ Sauce – $1.19
Crystal Bottle Water (24 Pack) – $2.49
Summerset Ice Tea Mix – $2.29
McDaniel’s Classic Coffee (11.5 oz) – $2.69
Morning Delight Syrup (24 oz) – $1.49
Sunkist Solid White Tuna – $1.39
Bay Mist Tropical or Berry Blend Splash (64 oz) – $1.79
Spice Time Salt / Pepper Shaker Combo Pack– $1.59
Ginger Evans Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix – $0.79
Nature’s Grain Cinnamon Raisin Swirl – $2.49
Nabisco Oreo Cookies – $2.99
Cowboy Billy’s Baked Beans – $1.29
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Vacation & Travel: Family Time in Historic Savannah, Georgia
We recently went to Savannah, Georgia to celebrate my cousins graduation from SCAD (Savannah College of Arts and Design). It was great having a reason to travel to Savannah again. Our family enjoys all the history in the area and loves an opportunity to go to the beach. We arrived on Friday nights just in time to see Savannah’s first Friday Firework display downtown on River Street. Saturday was graduation day so we had a mix of sightseeing, graduation ceremony and celebrating with Laurel. The girls thought Laurel had a lot more in her class then they did in their kindergarten graduation earlier that week. My Mom was able to fly out from Kansas and spend a couple days with us and drive with us to Savannah. It was great spending some extra time with her and the girls loved having Grandma around.
Hilarious....Karlie fast asleep with her treat still in her mouth! The girls picked out a snack to munch on during the ride to Savannah. Karlie picked out a special treat, fruit by the foot. Obviously she was too tired to finish eating it because when I looked back this is what I saw…..her fast asleep with the last six inches of the fruit by the foot hanging out her mouth. All of us got a good laugh at this one such a classic road trip picture!
Brina opening her goodie bag from Aunt Mary Ann and Aunt Laurel! Aunt Mary Ann and Aunt Laurel put together a sweet goodie bag for each of the girls. They had a lot of fun playing with the toys, drinking through the silly straws and writing in their new notebooks.
Friday Night Fireworks on River Street in Savannah, GA The first Friday evening of every month (at least during the summer months) Savannah has fireworks. They start after sundown about 9 PM at night. The fireworks are set off over the river and are beautiful.
Brina, Daddy and Karlie exploring Savannah! Saturday morning we decided to explore Savannah on foot while it was still early and cool. The girls had a fun time walking and asking questions about the town. Love this picture of Jake walking hand in hand with the girls, if only you could hear the conversation going on…..so many questions and Daddy patiently answering each one. Such a great Daddy, love these three very much!
Brina showing off her new purple seashell necklace and watching the horse carriages driving by at the same time! 
Karlie showing off her new seashell necklace! When we were looking through the shops and picking out postcards we found two purple seashell necklaces on clearance for $0.99 so the girls got their first seashell necklaces to remember Savannah.
Relaxing before graduation! Karlie and Brina kept Laurel entertained as lunch was being made. The bed in Uncle Rick and Aunt Mary Ann’s room was a make shift couch throughout the weekend. Karlie and Brina had fun talking with Laurel. It was pretty funny listening to some of their “stories”!
The ladies in our group that went on the Trolley Tour - Renelle, Bridgette, Randy and Penny! Jake and I had been on the trolley tour before but wanted to go again. It was amazing the amount of different information we learned this time around. Every tour guide has a unique way of presenting the information. Renelle, Randy, and Mom had never been on the tour and enjoyed it as well. Even though it was pretty hot outside with the open trolley and breeze it was comfortable. Thanks babe for running to grab waters for everyone while we took this picture.
Beautiful Church in Savannah, GA Savannah has a lot of amazing history. This is one of several beautiful churches in the downtown area of Savannah.
Savannah has a lot of great squares with Monuments and historical information in each one. There are a lot of shaded squares in Savannah that you can walk through and read a bunch of history. Each square has some type of monument to view and benches for those wanted to rest or have a picnic. If you are wanting to get an overview of Savannah I recommend taking one of the trolley tours first then you can come back later and learn more about the sights that interest you. We chose the Oglethrope Trolley Tour because it was the best price and we didn’t have to pay for parking. Finding parking in downtown Savannah can be difficult and expensive. Plus the trolley would pick us up and drop us off at a number of locations throughout Savannah all day. You could explore a historical sight or go shopping and when you were done or wanted transportation to the next area of interest you would wait a few minutes or call them and they would come pick you up.
More Savannah Trip Pictures Coming soon!
CVS: Spent $1 and Got $7 ECB’s Back!
CVS Deals this week! CVS has a few good deals this week. I was happy to stock up on some items including tums and shampoo this week while utilizing a few of my coupons. Today I was able to get the items for $1.06 plus tax ($0.08) making my out of pocket cost $1.14 and received $7.00 ECB’s to use on my next CVS purchase. Here is what I purchased this week.
- 2 – Pantene Classic Touch Hairspray for $6.98 ($3.49 each)
- 1 – Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder for $1.19
- 1 – Lady Speed Stick Shower Fresh for $1.99
- 1 – Tums Extra Assorted Berry (96 count) for $3.99
- 1 – Colgate Total White for $2.87
- 1 – Ban Solid Deodorant Shower Fresh for $2.99 (used a rain check to get this one)
- 1 – CVS 12 Hour (10 Count) for $4.89
- 1 – Teddy Boom (4 Piece) Girl Baby Onesies and Bib Set for $2.50
- 1 – Teddy Boom (2 Piece) Girl Baby Onesie Package for $1.50
Here are the coupons I used on the items.
- Used $3.00 Pantene Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $1.00 Colgate Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $0.75 Ban Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $3.00 CVS Kiosk Coupon
- Used $1.00 CVS Kiosk Coupon
- Used $4.00 CVS Kiosk Coupon
- Used $15.49 ECB coupons from prior purchases
I received $7.00 ECB’s back today:
- $2.00 ECB’s for Ban Products
- $2.00 ECB’s for Pantene Products
- $1.00 ECB’s for Mennen Speed Stick Products
- $1.00 ECB’s for Colgate Products
- $1.00 ECB’s for Tums Products
Today I was able to save $37.34 at CVS by purchasing these items and using coupons.
When you shop the CVS sales regularly and have ECB’s that you can roll over toward future purchases the bonus ECB’s start adding up (Green Bag Tags and Beauty Club). As you can see from my shopping trip today you don’t have to purchase a lot to save money when shopping at CVS. Plus you can use the additional ECB’s you receive towards your next purchase. You can pick and chose what is best for your family.
I would love to hear your CVS shopping story for this week! For those of you who shop regularly at CVS please share how you were able to save this week! Although the weekly ad sales are similar every family and situation is different so you may have found items better suited to your household. In your comment please feel free to share a link to your blog article showing us how you were able to save shopping at CVS.
Mailbox Goodies: Free Laundry Soap, Dog Food, Wipes, GoodNites, Fiber Choice, Zone, Coupons, Magazines & More!
Mailbox Goodies One of the best parts about getting the mail is when the mailbox full of goodies, especially when they are free! We got some great coupons, free samples, magazines and more stuff in the mail. Some of these deals are still available so if you haven’t had a chance to sign up go ahead and do it now. I will try to keep you posted of some of the new ones coming up as well.
Here are some items we received in the mail:
- Free Tena Feminine Hygiene Samples and Coupon (4 pads) – TENA(still available)
- Free Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food and Coupon – Switch to Nutrish(still available)
- 2 – Free Purina Alpo Homestyle with Beef Prime Cuts Dog Food and Coupons –Walmart Samples
- Free Tire Kingdom Coupons – sign up at your local Tire Kingdom(still available)
- 2 – Free Hamrick’s 15% Off Entire Purchase Coupon – Hamricks, sign up at your local Hamricks store (still available) No picture because I used it this weekend to purchase Bingo Car Game for the kids.
- Free $100 Google Advertising Coupon
- Free Huggies Pull-Ups Flushable Moist Wipes Samples and Coupon – Walmart Samples
- Free Tide Stain Release Sample (10 Count) and Coupons – Tide Facebook Page
- Free Tide Laundry Sample – Tide Facebook Page
- Free Valpak Coupon Savings
- Free Garnier Fructis Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Coupon – Garnier (still available) click on take the “48 Hour Challenge”
- Free Newsweek Magazine – Rewards Gold
- Free AV Technology Magazine – been getting this one for several years now
- Free Field & Stream Magazine – Value Magazines
- Free Four Wheeler Magazine – Freebiz Magazines
- Free SD Times “Software Development” – this one has been coming for a couple years now
- Free CIO Magazine – this one has been coming for several years
- Free Parents Magazine – Rewards Country
- Free Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine – Buy Sub
- Free GoodNites Underwear – GoodNites (still available)
- Free Laura’s Lean Beef Coupon
- Free Fiber Choice (10 Count) – Fiber Choice (still available)
- Free Sweet & Salty Zone Perfect Cashew Pretzel and Coupon
- Free Miracle Worker Sample – Philosophy
- Free $5 Toys R Us Coupon – sign up at your local Toys R Us Store
- And more free magazines and local coupons!
If you are like me it is nice when you get a mailbox with free coupons and samples in it. The bills will come as well but when you get a mailbox full of free items it helps make the day a little more enjoyable. Plus the coupons and samples are a great way to stretch your budget and share with others!
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Another week of doing Groceries $40 for 4. I was able to stock up on some items but overall it was a quiet grocery shopping week because a lot of unexpected activities came up. We are trying to eat up our perishables this week since we have a lot of produce already in the fridge and from the garden. A lot of the items we picked up will be great for the upcoming road trips we have this summer! I am hoping to get back on schedule soon with grocery shopping although I have a feeling the summer months may have a new type of shopping schedule with the kiddos along helping. Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week!
Groceries from CVS and Walgreens! CVS Groceries:
- $1.46 at CVS for 1 Powerade Fruit Punch, 1 Powerade Mountain Blue, 1 Vitamin Water Energy Blast, 1 Fuze Refreshing Peach, 1 Fuze Strawberry Melon, 1 Chex Mix Cheddar, 1 Chex Mix Honey, 2 Chex Mix Turtle, and 1 Powerbar Energy Snack. I used coupons on the Chex Mix and a couple ECB’s to help with the savings. I received an $2.49 ECB for the Powerbar and $2.00 ECB for the drinks. These items will be great for our upcoming vacation road trip.
Walgreens Groceries:
- $2.01 at Walgreens for 4 cans of Mandarin Oranges, 2 boxes Strawberry Royal Gelatin, and 2 boxes of Raspberry Royal Gelatin.
Groceries from BiLo BiLo Groceries:
- $14.49 at BiLo for 1 gallon of Whole Milk, 1 gallon of Skim Milk, 1 container of Country Crock, 1 box of Oatmeal Cremes, 1 box Blue Bonnet, 1 box of Peanut Butter Bar, and 1 container fresh Mushroom. (I had three munchkins with me on this trip so I didn’t have a chance to match the sales and coupons). I probably spent a little more than expected but it was worth to have the extra time with the kids.
I am excited to be back doing our Groceries $40 for 4 budget again. This week I spent $17.96 on groceries. Even though I wasn’t even close to the budgeted amount for the week I was still able to stock up on several items. Thankfully I was able to keep the amount within reason although I would like to see a little extra left over for those weeks when I find a really good deal or go a little over. Plus I hope to have more time soon to do more regular grocery shopping. We were out of town for the weekend part of this grocery week so it a little different from our usual events, however, we brought the majority of our food with us to make meals or just did two meals a day with snacks in between.
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
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.
