Holiday shopping

1. Make a budget before you start shopping. Determine what you can afford to spend and make a list. Assign a dollar amount to each person. You can download a free form to track your expenses here.

2. Make a deal on a gift card. Check here

3. Get rebates back on your purchases. Try bing.com/shopping, ebates.com, or fatwallet.com

4. Compare prices, and watch for sales.

5. Get coupons and/or free shipping. Try retailmenot.com, freeshipping.org, couponcabin.com, currentcodes.com, cheapstingybargains.com, or wow-coupons.com

P&G kitchenware offer

There should be better details on this offer in the sunday supplement this weekend.

Trade in your christmas lights

Home Depot has an offer to trade in Christmas Lights for $3 per strand for credit toward new LED lights. This will happen Nov 5 -15. The LED lights will be $5.97, so after the trade-in, they will be $2.97 per strand. You can trade in up to 5 sets per customer. LED lights use 80% less energy. They will even take broken strands for the $3 credit.

Halloween Freebies

Free Black Jack Taco – Taco Bell is giving away tacos from 6pm until midnight.

Free Chipotle Burrito – After leaving Taco Bell, drive over to Chipotle between 6pm and close to get a free burrito. You have to dress up as a burrito in order to get a freebie.

Free Event & Prizes at Michaels – From 10am-noon, stop in at your local Michaels to get a free trick-or-treat pail. Plus, they’ll have a free coloring activity with free Crayola Model Magic Fusion and build a Make-It Take-It Halloween frame. Children will also receive a balloon and candy because that’s exactly what they need on Halloween – an early start on the sugar intake followed by a helium chaser!


Free Toys R Us Treats and Giveaways – I have no idea what “treats and giveaways” mean, but that’s what will be given away from noon-3pm on Halloween.
Toys”R”Us stores nationwide will host Trick “R” Treat events on Halloween, complete with costume parades, complimentary treats and giveaways.

Free Mattel Toy at Sears – Bring your child in to any Toy Shop at Sears and get a free Mattel toy. In addition, they have a $5 off $20 toy purchase coupon available. It’s valid between now and 11/1, so you could use it for a Christmas present or something.

Discount Sonic Food – they are participating in an offer to sell $0.50 corndogs from 5pm-midnight on Halloween.

Some McDonalds will give away a free hamburger on Halloween if you come in costume. Call ahead - not all McDonalds are participating.

As always, you might want to call ahead and make sure your local store is participating.

Pantry staples

There was a recent discussion from some facebook friends on cooking for your family. I get tired of the monotony of cooking for everyone. I actually love to cook when I have time and I'm feeling inspired which unfortunately is only about 20% of the
time. It got me to thinking though that I usually do something that I think is important. For me it's done without thinking but not everyone does it. I think it's important to keep your pantry stocked with stuff that you use all the time. Most people cook similar stuff regularly. I found a list that I think is pretty good and I'm happy to say I have almost the complete list at my house. Consider keeping most of this stuff stocked at your house along with ingredients you use all the time. Whenever it goes on sale stock up on it. Figure out how much you use a year and stock accordingly. That way when you are having a bad day you can pull out a couple of ingredients and throw something together rather than ordering expensive pizza's. Took my own advice yesterday. Went to Walmart with my internet coupons and stocked up. They of course had to call the manager after my $72 in coupons locked up the register, buy hey, now I have an over full pantry, and I didn't have to pay too much for it. I always warn people who get in line behind me that I'm going to take a long time. I had almost 100 coupons so I know what it must be like to stand in line behind me. One guy wisely went somewhere else, but another lady told me if I had the patience to coupon shop then she had the patience to wait behind me. How cool was that! When she saw my total she told me how much she enjoyed watching me. I gave her a coupon for one of the items she was buying as a thank you. I also leave soon to expire coupons in the store for others. My pantry is so full now I need another one. Can anyone help me out?

Pantry Stockpiles:

Baking & Spices

baking soda
baking powder
cornstarch
yeast
flour
salt
pepper
peppercorns
sugar
confectioner’s sugar
brown sugar
light corn syrup
vanilla extract
ground cinnamon
nutmeg
ground cloves
powdered ginger
basil
oregano
chili powder
dry mustard
paprika
thyme
tarragon
dill
bay leaves
poultry seasoning
beef, chicken & vegetable bouillon cubes
cream of tartar
unseasoned bread crumbs
Bisquick or pancake mix
powdered milk
unsweetened cocoa powder
unsweetened baking chocolate
chocolate chips



General & Condiments

rice
pasta
dried onion soup mix
tomato paste
tomato sauce
canned tomatoes
peanut butter
jelly
canned tuna
raisins
chocolate syrup
cereals
chicken or beef stock
canned soups
canned beans
olives
canned pears
canned peaches
applesauce
vegetable oil
olive oil
red wine vinegar
white wine vinegar
vegetable shortening
nonstick cooking spray
mayonnaise
ketchup
mustard
salad dressings
soy sauce
hot pepper sauce
Worcestershire sauce
barbecue sauce
salsa
honey
maple syrup
white wine
red wine



Refrigerator

milk
eggs
butter
cheese
yogurt
cottage cheese
cream cheese
sour cream
meats/fish
deli meats
bacon
juices
carrots
celery
lemon
mushroom
lettuce
peppers



Freezer

orange juice concentrate
corn
green beans
spinach
peas
mixed vegetables
ground beef
chicken breasts
shrimp
dinner rolls or bread
ice cream
pie crust
nuts



Fresh

oranges
apples
bananas
tomatoes
potatoes
garlic
onions
bread

Free kid meals at Sweet tomatoes on Halloween

All kids in costume get a free meal at Sweet Tomatoes with a paid parent meal.

Free taco on Halloween

From 6pm to midnight on halloween, get your free black jack taco. See it here.

Tips for your freezer

Keeping your food from freezer burn. Found this article on www.thescramble.com


1. Before you go grocery shopping, pull everything out of your refrigerator and see what can be incorporated into this week’s meals or just needs to be tossed. (I recommend making a weekly menu plan, so little if any food goes to waste. (My website, www.theScramble.com can help you with that).

2. Evaluate the items in your freezer that you haven’t used, or don’t consider tempting. Taking a realistic view of what you and your family will actually eat as leftovers will keep your freezer from filling up with items you will likely never enjoy (kind of like your closets!) In other words, you can throw away that piece of cake that’s years past its prime or that half casserole that nobody liked the first time around.

3. If you have frozen meats or casseroles that you aren’t saving for a specific reason, incorporate them into this month’s meals before they become too old. Use them as a nightly meal for the week paired with a fresh salad, or enhance one of the week’s lighter meals with your frozen finds.
4. If you have bags of frozen berries (unless they’re already long opened and need to be tossed), make a smoothie by blending the frozen fruit with orange juice and fresh fruit or yogurt.

5. Use packages of prepared appetizers as side dishes for your dinners.

I always feel better when can avoid buying something I already have or wasting something I purchased or made months ago. I love to save money and space by using up all the food I buy, but almost as important, I relish having a sense of control over at least one aspect of my busy life.

Barnes and Nobles giveaway oct 24th.

Free cookie and hot chocolate at Barnes and Nobles on Oct 24th. Call first to make sure your store is participating.
get your coupon here.

Beans

I was at my friend Diana's the other day and she was cooking beans. I asked her what she was making, and she told me she was just cooking them and freezing for later. Wow, what a concept! I know beans are cheaper when purchased dried rather than in the can, but it just never occured to me to cook my own and freeze them. Beans are generally almost a dollar a can or more if you buy the brand name vs $1 or less to buy a bag. I just got 4 containers of beans out of 1 bag for under a dollar. Savings of $3, and it really required very little work. Soak em overnite, simmer 1-2 hours the next day and freeze. Easy! Thanks Diana.

Another KFC freebie. Maybe?

The Associated Press is reporting that on Monday, October 26, anybody can stop in and get a free piece of grilled chicken at KFC. Keep in mind they had a similar offer back in May. They were so overwhelmed with requests that they had to issue rainchecks. I guess that’s what happens when Oprah talks about it. I never used mine, I just went to El Pollo Loco instead when they made good on the coupon. At any rate, they promise to be ready this time around, so here’s to a free lunch this coming Monday. It is only the grilled chicken itself though, not the meal.

Free toy from Sears

Sears is giving away a free toy on Halloween. Looks like fun.
Click here for more info

Keeping it legal

I went to Winco today and they are no longer accepting internet coupons. I can't help feeling they are handling this badly. All it takes is a little education to learn what to look for to make sure a internet coupon is legitimate. Not to mention they should have posted it on the front door at the check out, etc. I didn't find out until I had already checked out and handed over my coupons. Winco, are you kidding me? Oh wait, someone just told me it was posted by the grocery carts. Either I didn't see it or they didn't leave it up very long.
With that said I want to talk a little about keeping it legal. Internet coupons are generally set to print one or two coupons with that being the limit. You should not photo copy the coupons which constitutes as fraud. In my opinion there are enough coupons going around that makes this kind of fraud ridiculous, and it's ruining it for the rest of us. Here in Fresno Ca, we don't even have the benefit of double coupons like other parts of the world, and I still have never felt the need to commit fraud as I feel I get good enough deals already. The same for rebate offers. 15 years ago when I was doing lots of rebates there were over 500 rebates a month you could do. Now there are only 100 with a large percentage of them for alcohol. Since I don't drink very much rebates are very slim. They cut way back on rebates because again due to fraud. People were using multiple addresses renting P.O. Boxes and essentially defrauding the companies. Has a lot to do with why they cut way back on the offers. Coupons and rebates is a fun hobby to help cut expenses. It's not meant to take the place of a job. So please, don't be tempted to defraud the companies. Not only are they likely to quit these offers, but it also drives the prices up for the rest of us, not unlike theft at the stores themselves that cause the stores to increase the prices to recoup the losses. It's not worth going to jail over either and there have been cases of people going to jail over printing multiple coupons or using multiple addresses for rebates. I try very hard to stay within the guidelines given to me and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Frugality is forever

"There's a lot of reset going on in terms of returning to the basics," said Lisa Caputo, chief executive of Citi's Women & Co., a financial-resource program aimed at women. "Women are looking at this recession in very personal ways."

Seventy-five percent of mothers, both single and married, said savings and spending habits will never go back to pre-recession levels, while 61% of women without children said that, as did 60% of men.

When it comes to being forced to dip into savings and investments to cover bills, mothers widely outnumbered women without children -- 62% compared with 52% -- as well as men, at 39%.

About 63% of women with children are holding off buying big-ticket items like a car compared with 50% of women without children and 52% of men.

"Women across all sectors believe that their financial situations have deteriorated," Caputo said. "They are not going to be high-flying consumers with open pocketbooks."

Caputo said women, who have long been considered the CEOs of their households are now also taking on the role of CFO. "We are seeing a huge transition of women from just family organizer to chief family financial officer. This has become a transformational recession for women."


For complete article, click here.

checking your bills

Do you inspect every bill for errors? How about the ones you just get emailed to you? I usually look at the bills when they come in and check for errors, but I often don't check the ones that are sent to me by email. I did this today and discovered I have been over charged for 2 years on my satellite bill. I won't have to pay that bill for the next 2 months! I'm not intentially lazy but I tend to assume I'm being charged correctly. Some bills are hard to read and understand. It amazes me too when you sign up for stuff like the phone or satellite and you think you will pay $30 a month but it turns into $45 after taxes and whatever else you need to make the service work. Not to mention phone and satellite/cable pricing changes almost month to month so it's exhausting to always make sure you are getting a good deal. I called PG&E a while back to find out what the times were to use your electricity when it's cheaper. Did you know they don't even do that anymore? Quit years ago! I now have a brand new water meter measuring every drop I use. Another bill to worry about. Now I'm freaking out when Eli stays in the shower too long. I can't help wishing it were more simple. I just want to know what I'm paying. If it's $50 for the satellite just say so instead of making it out to be like it's a lot less without all the other fees you have to pay anyway. I have no doubt this happens often. I can't tell you how many times after I made a random phone call to the phone company for example and come to find out I could have gotten better service for less money a long time ago. I spend hours keeping track of my bills and my finances which I can't help feeling is totally ridiculous. I don't think it's too much to ask to be up front about what you are charging for a service. Just like what happens with the credit card companies. If I have this much trouble with the satellite it doesn't surprise me to see people get into trouble with their credit card. I think while Obama is at it, he might want to require all bills be in black and white. At least then it won't be so difficult to make good decisions when signing up for a service.

Self discipline

Self-discipline
by Crown Financial Ministries


In the natural order of things, God designed us to be disciplined people. The lack of discipline usually leads to all kinds of problems, such as debt, obesity, and bad health, to name a few. If the purpose of discipline is not well understood, the attitude will be one of punishment. Discipline isn't punishment; it's used for character development.

Symptoms of a lack of discipline
It's common to live with a problem so long that it's accepted as normal. Therefore, it's important to take a little self-evaluation from time to time. Some common symptoms associated with a lack of discipline are listed below.

Confusion. When important things are left half finished or are totally ignored, a nagging state of confusion will exist. Confusion is an indefinable feeling that something is wrong, but you can't put your finger on it. For instance, do you wonder how much money is really in the bank?

Indulgence. Without (God-based) self-discipline most people end up buying luxuries they don't need or can't afford.

Sloppiness. A person lacking self-discipline is usually irresponsible with material assets. He or she often will treat clothes, cars, and even houses as if they were disposable. "The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, and will not even bring it back to his mouth" (Proverbs 19:24).

Lack of prayer and study. Christians who lack discipline will also lack spiritual maturity, because they let others do their thinking. "Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from words of knowledge" (Proverbs 19:27).
Eventually, symptoms such as confusion, indulgence, or sloppiness must give way to real problems. The best way to correct a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit.

Disciplinary goals


Establish a balanced bank account. This means that you must keep a neat, itemized account of all checks and deposits. No account is accurate unless it balances to the penny each month. This may require that all check transactions cease for one month in order to establish the correct balance. "Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds" (Proverbs 27:23).

Establish a budget. Every Christian is required to be a steward of God's resources. There is no way to be a good steward without planned spending. Some people get into debt by poor self-discipline; others simply have enough surplus to be sloppy and get away with it. Neither condition is scriptural. "In your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness" (2 Peter 1:6).

Establish a partnership. In God's wisdom the extremes of one spouse are often offset by the conservatism of the other. Therefore, any scripturally based plan requires both spouses in order to establish financial goals.
Conclusion
The lack of self-discipline in a visible area, like finances, is merely an outer reflection of an inner condition. Proverbs 13:18 says, "Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored." The purpose of self-discipline is to provide peace. "It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it" (Proverbs 10:22).

Keeping your heating bill down

Here is some advice from The Happy Housewife:

Turn the heat down at night. Check thrift stores or your mom’s attic for blankets to use on your beds. We pull out the down comforter every year in December. It allows us to keep the house a few degrees cooler at night.
If you are the only one home during the day consider using a space heater for the room where you spend your time. You can warm your room, without paying to warm the rest of the home.

Dress like it is winter. Wearing jeans and a sweater will allow you to turn down your thermostat a few degrees.

Use the sun. Keep curtains open and let the sun naturally heat your home during the day. Shut them before the sun goes down to retain some of the heat.

Consider investing in a pellet stove. While the initial investment is large, the savings over time is great. Depending on the size of your home you can heat the entire house using only the stove.

Buy a blanket for the hot water heater. Many water heaters are located in the basement or garage, two areas that are colder in the winter. Investing in a blanket, which costs under $30 allows the heater to use less energy keeping the water warm.

Start baking. Using your oven is a great way to heat up the kitchen and eating areas of your home. Plan meals that are cooked in the oven or the crock pot to create extra warmth in the kitchen.

Buy a programmable thermostat. These are relatively inexpensive and give you better control of the temperature of your home.

Weatherproof your home. Check windows and doors for drafty spots. Using a window snake is an inexpensive way to prevent heat loss through windows and doors.

Help for hungry neighbors

Many hungry neighbors are at risk of having no Thanksgiving unless we help. $1 can provide food for 8 meals. Donations can be made at communityfoodbank.net

In 2008 Community Food Bank distributed 7,200 Holiday Meal Boxes throughout the Central Valley. This year Community Food Bank hopes to distribute 10,000 meal boxes full of the holiday trimmings during November and December to our neighbors in Fresno, Madera and Kings Counties.

We cannot provide these meals without your help. We need volunteers to help assembly the meal boxes. On November 14th and 21st we will need your help. This is a great project for everyone including children. To sign up to help, please contact Leslie Gacad, Volunteer Coordinator at 559-237-3663 x106.

If you would like to donate money for the Holiday Meal Box Program, please know that for $10.00 per box you will be providing a familiy of 5 with a meal box that includes all the holiday trimmings. By donating you are not only providing a family with food but you are giving a family hope and bringing joy back to the table. To dontate please contact Dayatra A. Latin, Director of Programs and Development at 559-237-3663 x108.

In light of Governor Schwarzenegger’s statewide declaration of Fresno County as a disaster area due to drought, we will be distributing 3 million pounds of food a month in emergency aid to hunger-stricken rural communities in west Fresno County. We are looking for volunteers who are interesting in helping distribute food for this Disaster Response in the following communities:

• Huron — 53 miles from Fresno

• San Joaquin — 33 miles

• Firebaugh — 42 miles

• Mendota — 35 miles

• Selma — 17 miles

These distributions will generally be scheduled on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Volunteers can choose between serving in the Morning Shift 8 a.m. to 1p.m., or the Afternoon Shift 1p.m. to 6 p.m.

Volunteers May Also Serve in Fresno at the Community Food Bank to help pre-package food for the distributions. Volunteers are needed at the Food Bank Mon-Fri 8am-1pm.

Volunteers are also needed to help package food on Saturday Oct. 3rd in 2 shifts 8am-12pm and 1pm-4pm

Volunteers may serve over 4 hours at their own discretion.

We need volunteers to assist with the following jobs:

• Distributing food to clients: restocking and food handling on an assembly line

• Ongoing cleanup: moving boxes, plastic, and trash as needed

• Hand out water to volunteers, clients, and staff

• Client Registration: (TBD) Bilingual volunteers needed
• Crowd Control
• Helping clients transport food to their cars disaster@handsoncentralcal.org

*Training for these positions will be provided on-site

Important Volunteer Information:

Due to the high heat we highly encourage all volunteers to bring their own snacks, lunches,

water and/or electrolyte drinks, and take breaks at least once every two hours. We will provide

a break area with shade, water (as available), and snacks (as available).

HandsOn Central California

(559) 237-3101

vols4disaster@handsoncentralcal.org

weekend freebies

Glidden has another free paint offer. Click here.

The Herbal Essence Giveaway is back on at Facebook.

Angel Craft has lots of free crafts to do. 45 pages! click here

IKEA is having their free breakfast promotion Oct 10 -12. Check for a location near you.

Not free, but close. The Fresno fair will give you entrance to the fair for $2 with a receipt from save mart on Tuesday.