Pampers Gifts to Grow – 10 Free Points
Receive 10 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!This code is different from the previous codes I have given.
Use Code: GTGREWARDS4MOMS
The code doesn’t have an expiration date listed but typically they expire within a few days!
You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!
For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!
Life Simplified: Set the Timer!
It has been a really busy few weeks and I don’t anticipate that it will slow down any time soon (maybe in May). The girls and I will be traveling over their Spring Break so I have a lot to get done before our fun time begins. If you are like me I want everything to be caught up before I leave on a trip – bills paid, house cleaned, emails returned, inbox empty, garden planted and weeded, etc…. however, the “to do” list is generally much longer than the hours available in the day. When I am working on a project I want to stick to it until it is completely finished. There are major benefits having this personality, however, the downside is that I may get that one project completed but there are 27 other projects that haven’t even been started.One of the ways that has helped me stay on task and be more productive (I have been using this a lot lately) is to set the timer. I have a small timer that I can take with me from room to room. My timer has been well used the past few weeks, I even lost it for a couple days while getting ready for the yard sale! I anticipate it will continue to be used in the upcoming weeks as well as I prepare to travel with the kids. I set the timer for an increment of time to help motivate me and keep me focused on getting the task done. When the timer goes off that means I am done with that project for the moment and need to move onto the next task (which can be very hard for me at times especially if I am really close to finishing the task I am currently working on). Here is an example of some of the activities I do during a day with my timer (every day is different so this just an example of activities I set the timer for throughout the day):
- 30 minutes – Exercise
- 45 minutes – Quiet Time
- 10 minutes – Prep for Dinner
- 10 minutes – Eat Breakfast
- 30 minutes – Check & Respond to Emails (sometimes I do this 2 to 3 times a day)
- 60 minutes – Blog Posts
- 60 minutes – Work Projects
- 30 minutes – Pick Up the House
- 60 minutes – Fold & Put Away All Laundry for the week on Laundry Day
- 30 minutes – Lunch
- 45 minutes – Homework with the Girls
- 45 minutes – Make Dinner
- 30 minutes – Dinner Clean Up and Wash Dishes
- 15 minutes – Packs Lunches for the Next Day
- 30 minutes – Clipping Coupons
- 30 minutes – Matching Coupons with Weekly Ads
- 30 minutes – Pay Bills & Balance Accounts
- 10 minutes – Power Clean My Desk (or on some days find my desk)
If I get to all the tasks that had on my list that day I will reward myself with 30 minutes of “free” time which usually means spending extra time with the family, reading, writing, or something else rewarding yet beneficial. A lot of times during breakfast or lunch I will spend time reading or answering emails as well. I have found that days when I work on the computer I don’t get anything done in the house and days that I spend concentrating on home projects I don’t get any work done so as in my attempt to try and balance life a little bit more the timer has become a fun trick that works well for me. Although the computer work is important I do have some moments when I get sidetracked by a great article or Facebook or something else and before I know it the time has flown by and an hour has passed (same things happens on home projects). The timer helps me track the time better and alerts me especially when I have gotten distracted from the task at hand. I do not set the timer for family time or family oriented meals and tasks because those are important for the entire family.
Now if I could only find a way to set a timer for travel time, shopping and waiting to check out, ha! Although I must say I am becoming a little more efficient in shopping too by only going directly to the items I need and not “browsing” through the entire store. Not everything works well with setting a timer but there are some tasks I noticed will consume larger amounts of time if I don’t put a time limit on them.
How do you balance it all as a Wife, Mom, Business Person, etc…? Do you have other ways that help you stay on task?
Photo by ellie
CVS: Spent $5 and Got $31 ECB’s Back!
CVS has a few great deals this week. I was happy to get some items this week for free with ECB’s plus a little overage on a couple products once I used a few coupons. This week I was able to get a handful of items for $5.55 and received $31.97 ECB’s to use on my next CVS purchase. Here is what I purchased this week.- 1 – Benefiber Citrus Packs (16 count) – $7.49
- 1 – Benefiber Chewable Tablets (36 count)– $6.89
- 1 – Gas X Prevent (20 count) – $6.29
- 1 – Complete Multipurpose Eye Solution plus Free Case – $8.99
- 2 – Oral B Advantage Toothbrush (plus free scope) – $2.99
- 1 – Gold Bond Body Wash – $5.88
- 1 – Crest Pro-Health Complete Rinse – $3.49
- 1 – Crest Clinical Gum Toothpaste – $3.49
The total was over $51 with tax before using coupons. Here are the coupons I used on the items.
- Used $3.00 Benefiber Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $3.00 Benefiber Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $4.00 Gax-X Prevention Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $1.00 Complete Multipurpose Eye Solution Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $2.00 Oral-B Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $2.99 B1G1F Oral-B Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $2.00 Gold Bond Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $1.0o Crest Rinse Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $1.00 Crest Toothpaste Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $25.49 ECB coupons from prior purchases
I received $31.97 ECB’s back today:
- $10.00 ECB’s for Benefiber & Gas-X Products
- $8.99 ECB’s for Complete Multipurpose Solution
- $5.00 ECB’s for Crest or Oral-B Pro-Health
- $3.00 ECB’s for Gold Bond Body Wash
- $2.00 ECB’s for Winter Spending
- $1.98 ECB’s for Oral-B Manual Toothbrush
- $1.00 ECB’s for Green Bag Tags
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.
Song: “Beautiful” by Francesca Battistelli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUyR4-2g68M&feature=related
We were able to hear Francesca Battistelli in concert a couple months ago. It was great hearing her sing and learn a little more about her. She sang several songs that evening so it was hard to pick one of my favorites. This song stands out to me and I love beautiful things. The most beautiful gift I have been given is grace and mercy even though I am totally undeserving.
Pampers Gifts to Grow – 10 Free Points
Receive 10 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!This code is different from the previous codes I have given.
Use Code: CesarChavez2011
This code expires on Sunday, April 3, 2011.
You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!
For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!
Audio Book: “The Story of the World” by Susan Wise Bauer (Volume 1)
After a friends recommendation we got the first CD set of The Story of the World: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor by Susan Wise Bauer and read by Jim Weiss. The girls LOVE listening to audio books and have thoroughly enjoyed these ones as well. As a Mom I am thrilled about it because it isn’t just an audio book they are listening to but history. It is amazing how quickly kids will pick up on bits of history just listening to the audio books. I have been very impressed with it and glad the girls are captivated by their stories as well! They do a wonderful job keeping the kids attention. If you have a young child that loves to read this may be a wonderful addition to your home library. I have even learned new stuff listening to the CDs with the girls. We look forward to listening to the first set several times and hopefully getting the next Volume in the future.
Free Audio Book: “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom
FREE Audio Book Download:
For the month of April Christian Audio is offering a free download of their audio book The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John & Elizabeth Sherrill. This audio book is about the real life story of Corrie ten Boom. She is considered a hero who helped the Jews escape from the Nazis. Corrie has a remarkable testimony, if you haven’t read it then this is a great opportunity to listen to the book for free when you download it from Christian Audio in April. Make sure to submit your order by April 30, 2011 to get your free audio book. Thanks Christian Audio!
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
It was my fourth full week of doing my new cash budget system – Groceries $40 for 4. This week I was able to get quite a few items with my $40 budget thanks to clearance items and coupons! Although it has been a learning process the last few weeks this one went pretty well. It is always a learning and growing progress for our family. We are continuing to utilize the food we already have in our pantry and freezer. Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week!
RiteAid Groceries Grcoeries from RiteAid:
- $2.16 at RiteAid for Cake Mix (25 cents), Hamburger Dinner (25 cents), Onion Spices, Ground Cinnamon, 2 Tomato Juices (25 cents each), Individual peanut packs, Combos, and two free Easter Candies. Plus I used an UP Reward towards the purchase.
FREE Mushrooms at Walgreens! Groceries from Walgreens:
- $0.00 (FREE) at Walgreens for 4 cans of Geisha Mushrooms (used the Walgreens Coupon Insert and Register Reward to pay for the mushrooms! Can’t beat free!
Groceries from Bi-Lo Groceries from Bi-Lo:
- $36.52 at Bi-Lo for 4 gallons of milk (froze 2 gallons), 1 pack of Cheese Crackers, 2 Slow Cooker Packs, 2 Applesauce Packs, 1 Loaf of Bread, 1 box of Uncle Bens Rice (on closeout), 4 bags of Individually Wrapped Chocolate Covered Raisins (on clearance for 75 cents each), 1 bag of Chickpeas, 2 packs of Pasta, 2 packs of Cheese Sauce Mix, 1 jar Raspberry BBQ Sauce (on closeout), 4 bags shredded cheese, 2 bags sliced cheese, 1 package of fresh Chicken (99 cents / pound). I used several store and manufacturer’s coupons plus I had a coupon from Bi-Lo for $5 off the entire purchase which helped bring the amount down below $40.
It was our fourth week of the challenge – Groceries $40 for 4 and we spent $38.68 thankfully we did better this week . I was able to stock up on some great dairy items this week – Milk (even froze 2 gallons), Cheese (which freezes well too), Chicken (enough for 2 to 3 meals for our family) and snacks for after school! I am still trying to work out all the details of how to make the budget most effective for our family and I think some weeks have been easier than others. I used some coupons, bought clearance items, and utilized weekly ad discounts to help save us a little extra on our grocery budget. I hope to do better next week! We’ll see how I do!
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.
New Upromise eCoupons for April 2011
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of April 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 45 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.
Family Recipe: Cheesy Spaghetti Bake
My cousin Jordan gave me this recipe several years ago and I love it. I still use it when I want to do something a little different with spaghetti. I like that it is easy yet delicious! There are several variations to this recipe that I use to mix it up a little bit too.Cheesy Spaghetti Bake:
- 2 lb ground Hamburger
- 32 oz Spaghetti Sauce
- 12 to 14 oz Spaghetti Noodles
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Onions
- 1 1/2 cup Velveeta Cheese
Brown the beef and onion in a skillet and drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and simmer 10 minutes. Break spaghetti noodles into quarters and cook according to directions; drain. Add spaghetti noodles to the sauce mixture. Dice up and melt Velveeta cheese and milk together in a saucepan on low heat. Stir frequently until melted. Spread 1/2 of the spaghetti mixture in to a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with 3/4 cheese sauce, then the remainder of the spaghetti mixture. Drip remaining 1/4 cup of melted cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.
Variation 1: Sometime I will layer the spaghetti noodles on the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides then add the sauce and meat on top followed by the cheese mixture.
Variation 2: Layer the spaghetti noodles on the bottom, then a thin layer of cheese, followed by the meat & sauce mixture and sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top
Variation 3: Cook in 2 pie dishes so I can share with others, for example, if someone just had a baby or surgery and I am bringing them a meal I will cook one for our family and one to give away.
Variation 4: Add Mushrooms and other veggies to the Spaghetti bake (you can put them in as a separate layer or mix them in with the meat and sauce mixture).
Photo by Norwichnuts
