Paying off your mortgage?

My friend Edith just told me she sent the final payment to pay off their mortgage. I cannot tell you how excited I am for my friends that they are debt free. Oh what a feeling that must be! She has received a lot of comments on her new facebook page about this, and one lady said she didn't think people stayed in their homes long enough to do that anymore. Kind of disturbing to me that people view debt as something they have to stay in forever.

Free grocery contest

Enter to win a $1,000 Grocery Card
Show off your shopping smarts by spending no more than $25 per family member per week on groceries over a four-week period (July 13 to August 10). That's $100 a week for a family of four. You could win a $1,000 grocery card, a year's supply of Knorr side dishes, plus a chance to appear in ALL YOU Magazine!

Up for the challenge? Register at allyou.com/grocerychallenge by July 12. You'll receive weekly emails with tips, recipes and ideas to help you save. At the end of the contest, fill out the exit form at the same site above to activate your entry.

Follow these guidelines.

During the contest, groceries that you purchase count toward your weekly total. However, feel free to grow, barter or use stockpiled food to supplement your meals. Creativity and ingenuity count!

Eating out is permitted but the cost must go toward the week's total. Household supplies and toiletries do not count toward each week's total. Keep track of your spending using our handy Spending Log at allyou.com/grocerychallenge.

Save receipts—you will be required to submit them if you are a finalist. Post your strategies to our blog, allyou.com/grocerychallenge, and be sure to tell us how you stayed within the limits.

Glidden paint giveaway

The Glidden™ National Paint Giveaway
Starting June 25 – Paint The Date!
It's as easy as it sounds: This summer, pick out your favorite paint color and we will send you a free quart. Then, start coloring your world. Check back here on June 25 for an order form and complete details.

Since I have been having my house painted this week I'm excited at the prospect of free paint. I can't tell you what a difference new paint makes. Particularly color paint. My house looks completely different right now. I'm feeling inspired to do more stuff. I haven't done much to the inside of my house in years so this is long overdue. Plus I also put in some new carpet. Found a remnant for half the cost of getting it off the roll new. It's still new, but just a leftover piece. If you have a room that isn't very big it should be easy to do. Most pieces are 12x22 or less, but sometimes you can get lucky and find a larger one like I did.

Baby food

A friend of mine sent a link to me yesterday on baby food. Now when I had Eli I had read in the book baby bargains that it was better to use organic baby food instead of regular because the health benefits were so much greater that when it was all said and done you would have only spent an extra $50 total. I had already decided to use organic anyway so that was an even better excuse. By the way I totally recommend their book. It is a huge money saver as they rate all the baby products on the market like consumer reports but much better. Anyway, this article shows that it was actually a money saver to use organic baby food! How awesome was that! Here is the link to the article and in it, there is a cost comparison table. In that article there is also a link to another article on the nutritional quality of baby food. Very interesting. Of course making your own is the cheapest but I did always find it overwhelming to do that with a new baby to take care of.You know, now that they have changed the rules about not feeding till the baby is six months old that might have been more realistic to look at. It also should go without saying that breastfeeding is the cheapest way to feed your baby, not to mention the healthiest. ( I couldn't get through this post without mentioning that!) LOL

$1 soda

Getting your soda fix just got cheaper. McDonald’s is running a super drink deal for the summer — $1 drinks! The deals vary by location (some are offering any size beverage for $1, while others are restricting the promotion to 32-ounce drinks or sweet tea only). Be sure to ask your local chain what they’re offering.

Good deal

Crystal light .99 3 pack at Target found at the check out stands. Get $1 and $2 off 2 coupons at www.coupons.com making this free. Got 6 today myself!

Free Donut today

Don't forget today is national donut day. Get a free donut at dunking donuts with purchase of a drink.

A couple more

I read that the National Park Service is throwing open the gates to the other 147 National Parks that charge money, thus giving free admission to all 391 parks on June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16.

Free light smoothie at orange julius on June 19th click here for coupon.

shop by the calendar

January:
HDTV's, also in march and december.
holiday decorations
appliances
furniture
linens and towels
fitness equipment

Feb:
Electronics
fragrances and humidifiers
air conditioners
computers
mattresses
used cars
catalog companies for closeouts
fitness equipment

March:
winter gear
freezer food www.nfraweb.org
camping equip
gardening equip
laundry appliances

April:
digital cameras
warm weather clothes

May:
picnic supplies
outdoor furniture
pantry staples
athletic apparel
cookware
gardening supplies
luggage
mattresses
late spring clothes
Jewelry
televisions

June:
electronics
summer sporting goods
mattresses
Swimsuits
lingerie
tools
Dairy products

July:
furniture
gym memberships
bicycles
mattesses
refrigerators
tires
air conditioners
electronics

August:
back to school items
furniture
air conditioners
yard equipment
fall fashions
computers
camping equipment

September:
cookware, dishes
fans
pool and patio supplies
recreation items
tires
cars
perennials shrubs and trees
bikes

October:
grills
auto supplies
appliances and vacuums
fall and winter clothes
fishing gear
school supplies
womens coats
cars

November:
steros and tv's
wedding dresses
shoes
boys clothing
blankets

December:
toys
electronics
candles

How can we honor God with our money?

How can we honor God with our money? The parable of the talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30, is a great illustration of how God expects us to use what He has given us. Today the word "talent" refers to gifts and abilities, and we often hear sermons using this parable to encourage us to use those gifts. But, the word "talent" used in the Bible referred to a weight of money. Please click here for the rest of the article.

Todays Freebie:
June 3rd, starting at 8pm- participating Sonic Drive-Ins are giving away FREE Root Beer Floats!

slow week

This coming Friday June 5th, is National Donut Day. Get a free Dunkin Donut of your choice with the purchase of any drink.

The next round of double coupons at KMart will be Jun 7 - 13 at "participating stores". Once again, the central valley is going to be left out unless you want to go to coalinga or delano, but limit 10 coupons per person per day, up to $2 face value. Not worth the drive this time in my opinion.

That's all I have.......