Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Free Bowling!!

     What are you doing this weekend??  It is going to be a hot 4th of July!  Lucky for us, brunswick is offering a free game of bowling to every American to celebrate Independence Day!  Here in Phoenix, that sounds like a great activity for July 4th weekend, but you can get this great offer anywhere in the US.  
For more information, check out the website at:  http://coupons.bowlbrunswick.com/usa/.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Saving Money on Gas

     Hello friends!!  I have not been in the mood to save money the last couple of weeks...I know, sounds crazy.  But, it is true and it is hard to write blog about saving money when you do not want to save.  This morning, however, I woke up ready to get back to work for my family and you.  First thing I want to tell you about this week is for all my Arizona readers.
     Have you gotten as excited as me driving down the road and seeing those signs at the gas stations with lower numbers??  It is such an amazing thing to know that my $35 a week will now get me a little over 10 gallons of gas for the week instead of a little under!  I read something great by a woman who posted on the Coupon Sense message boards.  There was a discussion about the discount Fry's is offering right now, where you can use your fuel points to get up to $1.00 off per gallon at Fry's and Circle K gas stations.  This woman said that her and her husband drive to the gas station together, start their gas, fill up one car using the Fry's discount.  When that car is full, they do not hang the handle up, they move the first car and pull up the second car and continue the transaction by filling the second car up as well.  After both cars are full, they hang up the handle and finish the transaction.  Brilliant!!  Why couldn't I think of that?!
     For those of you who did not follow all of that, let me break it down.  You can only use your fuel points on one transaction, so if you hang the handle up and finish the transaction after just the first car, you only get the discount on that gas.  So let's say you have a $.50 discount per gallon and your car takes 20 gallons, you save $10.  However, if you fill up two cars in one transaction and they both take 20 gallons, you have just saved $20!  Woo Hoo!  Mike and I did this very thing this weekend.  Our savings were not so impressive, we just had a $.10 discount and only purchased 10 gallons each, but hey...that is still $2 savings.  I firmly believe surviving this economy is all about the little things and have have you seen what I can do at the grocery store with $2?
     If some of you have no idea what I am talking about in regards to the Fry's fuel discount, go to http://www.frysfood.com/in_store/fuel/Pages/default.aspx to read all about the fuel discount!  Happy Saving!!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Defiants Giveaway!

     Well, I had four entries for my Defiants giveaway, two on my blog and two on Facebook who had trouble commenting on my blog...not sure why, but working on it!  Anyway, I am happy to announce that Cheryl B. won the drawing!  Congratulations Cheryl, you will receive a Flex Terrain Track and Trucks!  Thank you to all of you for following my blog!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Keeping My Color Beautiful

     One of the things I do to save money is color my own hair.  I know many of you will think this is crazy, but I have had a patch of grey hair right behind my bangs since I was 16.  Every year, there are more and more grey hairs and with my dark hair, they are not easily hidden.  I have gone to the salon and had my hair colored, but with job loss and all that goes with it, I had to quit doing that...unfortunately, the grey hair did not get the financial memo and keeps popping up, just about every four weeks.  Every month I go to Sally's Beauty Supply and pick up my bottle of Wella in Dark Golden Brown.  Luckily, I do like my hair one color, no highlights, so that makes this sacrifice a bit easier.  However, coloring my own hair only costs about $8.00 each time...that is a great deal cheaper than the salon.
     When I can afford it, I use an expensive color care shampoo from the Salon.  This usually costs about $13 per small bottle.  Recently, I was sent Tresemme Color Revitalize Shampoo and Conditioner to try and have been extremely pleased and quite surprised.  As a Bzz Agent, I received this great product as part of a Bzz Campaign to share my thoughts and coupons with you!

     It has been almost five weeks since I colored my hair and I can honestly say this is the first time I have not had any fading.  I only realized this because I have started to see a little grey at my roots where my regrowth is coming up, but the rest of my head still has a rich, full color.  Normally at this time, I am seeing roots and the rest of my head is fading drastically.  I can only credit the difference with Tresemme Color Revitalize.  I found the large bottles of this shampoo for $3.33 at Fry's and I had $1 off coupons, making each bottle $2.33.  Compare this with $20 for a big bottle of my salon shampoo and I would say that makes a great savings!  Tresemme Color Revitalize will now become a staple in my shower!!  If you would like to try it, I would be happy to send you a couple of coupons!   I highly recommend it to maintain your color.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is coming to Phoenix! Get 4 tickets for only $44!



Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents FULLY CHARGEDSM, the all-new, 141st electrifying edition of The Greatest Show On Earth®!

Ringling Bros.® powers up audiences with acts from all over the globe featuring breathtaking dare-devilry, superhuman stunts and never-seen-before performances that spark the imaginations of Children of All Ages! Clowns from the world-famous clown alley charge the audiences’ funny bones, while megawatts of thrills explode out of the ring including The Human Fuse who rockets across the circus skies igniting the power of the people. And of course, amazing animals that spark the audience’s awe and wonder. Experience the current of excitement at Ringling Bros. FULLY CHARGED!

Playing June 22 – 27 at the US Airways Center!  Get your tickets today!

Buy 4 tickets for only $44 when you use code ELEPHANT online, over the phone or show a flyer at the US Airways Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or call 1-800-745-3000

Good for any performance except Opening Night. Discount is not valid on VIP, Front Row, or Circus Celebrity seats.  A minimum of 4 tickets is required; additional ticket can be purchased at $11 each.  No double discounts, service charges and handling fees may apply.

    We were fortunate enough to see this Circus last year and the kids absolutely loved it!!  Much better than a movie for the same cost!!  Get your tickets today!


Sunday, June 12, 2011

FyrFlyz Winner!!

     Congratulations to Jessica, you are my FyrFlyz winner...you were the only one who commented by the date!  Your FyrFlyz will be in the mail this week, I will send you a message to get your mailing address!  Thank you for being such a great blog Follower!

Defiants

     We were so excited to be chosen for another toy launch and I am even more excited to share it with you!  Last week we received a big box from FedEx and everyone was excited to find miniature four wheel drive trucks and a big track for them to roam on!  Defiants are small, relentless 4 x 4's with unstoppable, motorized power and the kids love them.  We pulled everything out of the box and started playing.  You can see all the action here:


     Defiants debuted right here in Phoenix, Arizona and are selling fast.  They are definately a hot new toy for summer!  You can pick yours up at Toys R Us and Walmart here in the Valley. 


I have the opportunity to give a Defiants prize pack away to one of my lucky followers.   Anyone who comments on this post by Friday, June 17th will be placed in a drawing for the prize pack.  You must be one of my followers to enter!  Good luck!  I will announce the winner on Monday, June 20th!  Don't miss out on this one, it would make a great present!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mozzarella Mayhem!

    Time vs. money, that is the age old question when saving money.  I sit here on Wednesday nights and watch Extreme Couponing and get the strong urge to have a shopping trip that totals over one thousand dollars and only costs me $0.35, however, when I sit down with my coupons, I realize that I have no desire to spend the amount of time it will take to do that.  I have three kids at home, 9, 5 and 3 and babysit another 3 year old, so I am always looking to save money, while making the most of my time.  There are, however, some things that take a small amount of time, but really save money!
     One staple in my household is cheese, any kind of cheese, sandwich cheese, taco cheese, string cheese, you get the picture.  However, cheese is pretty expensive, on a good deal we can get it for around $2 a pound, on a great deal, we can get it for $1.50 a pound, but not very often.  When it comes to string cheese, something my kids love and I like them to snack on, the price is outrageous.  Most of the time it is around $4 for a 12oz bag, not even a whole pound!!!  Thankfully, I have found a solution that requires me to spend a small amount of time, but I can have string cheese for $1.50 per pound anytime I want.
     I shop at Costco, but only for a very few things.  This is because almost everything else I can get cheaper with coupons.  One thing I have found is a 6 pound block of mozzarella.  Sounds disgusting, I know.  However, it is only $9, making it $1.50 per pound, and with all these kids and hubby who loves string cheese, I decided it would be worth a try to slice my own cheese sticks and shred some of the cheese to use for salads, pasta dishes, wraps and pizzas.  Well, my first attempt was a little comical.  A block of softer cheese that large is hard to cut up.  I also did not know really what shape we would use it all before it got moldy.
     So, for my cheese loving family of five (and 1 sweet one I babysit), this is what I do.  I cut a third into one inch sticks (not exact but getting better), I slice a small amount for sandwiches and I grate the rest.  Grated cheese does really well when you freeze it, so I put one bag in the fridge and 3 in the freezer.  This time I am trying to freeze a small bag of the cheese sticks and will see how well they do once thawed.  I know all of you may not have a big enough family to buy 6 lbs of cheese at one time, but can you split it with someone?  Could you freeze more? 
     All the cutting takes me about 30 minutes and it saves me $6-$9 on average, that is $216 per year!  I firmly believe that the key to surviving this economy is not about saving hundreds on one thing (some of us have cut all there is to cut), but finding all the little things...they add up fast.  Just take a look at your checking account for the last month and add up all those coffees on the way to work!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

FyrFlyz


      I do not often get excited about new toys...they usually mean more mess!  However, we received a really great new toy called FyrFlyz to try out and blog about!  The kids have been going crazy to try them and due to all our craziness the last couple of weeks, we did not get them out until tonight.  
     FyrFlyz are a simple, new toy with LED lights and rubber bands, but they were a huge hit with my kids.  They are currently at Toys R Us and cost $9.99.  Not bad for a great toy that will keep the kids busy for hours.  I cannot wait to have these out on the Fourth of July...so much easier than sparklers!  You can check out a video of the kids and Mike playing with the new toys here!  I am giving FyrFlyz  away to one of my faithful followers!  To be entered in the drawing, just become a follower (unless you already are) and comment on this post!  I will draw the winner on Monday, June 6th!

Oh What A Week!

    Hello, hello!  I am sure you thought I disappeared, but man oh man we have had a tough couple of weeks.  It started with a leak in our house and ended with having my appendix removed!  Last Wednesday night I started having pain in my abdomen and thought it was probably the stomach flu that my two youngest had in between the leak and surgery.  However, I woke up from, my mattress on the living room floor (due to the leak), at 4:45 a.m. Thursday morning, in a great deal of pain that was mostly on my right side and seemed to come from one specific area.  I woke Mike from his restful sleep on the couch and told him I was headed to the ER.

     Things moved pretty quickly once I arrived at Banner Thunderbird.  The lobby was empty (always a good sign) and within about 40 minutes I was in a room.  I looked up at the whiteboard in my room and see my doctor used to be the boy I had a serious crush on at church, all through elementary school and junior high.  Lovely, I think..."what if he has to do a pelvic exam?"
     I must say, everyone at Banner Thunderbird was so good to me.  They were attentive, informative and caring, gave lots of that wonderful morphine and even my interaction with the doctor was painless and pelvic exam free!  By 11:15 a.m., the doctor came in and told me they were taking me to surgery because my appendix was infected and inflamed.  I admit, I felt a little panicky...I drove myself to the hospital, Mike was home with our three kids and everyone else was at work.  I really thought, "Oh goodness, if something goes wrong in surgery, I haven't even seen anyone."  Needless to say, everything in surgery went well.  Recovery is a little harder than I anticipated, but every day I am closer to being healed and I wanted you to know that I have not left the blog and I am still thinking about saving money!