Preparedness Pantry

Here’s a great website to check out:

Lots of good stuff on there that everyone should check out :)

$1.50 for 7500 sheets of paper!!!

 

I just found this deal tonight and couldn’t pass it up.  We’re running low on paper for our printer so I had to jump on this.  Through Office Max you can order (or go to the store and buy) 3 packs of 2,500 sheets of white copy paper for $16.99 each.  You’ll get the same amount back on a Max Perks card (which you can obtain for a simple business (if you sell on Ebay, use that as your business!)  You’ll still have to pay tax on it but if you order online, you can get a free shipping code for orders over 50 by doing a simple search on swagbucks.com and THEN use the website ebates.com to purchase the paper through and you’ll end up earning 3% back on your entire purchase making it $1.50 for the paper.  If you’re new to ebates, you’ll receive the $5 sign up bonus and this could actually MAKE you money.  Can’t wait to get my paper :)

10/14/09 Haul

 

 

So I started off the week telling my husband that I wasn’t going to do grocery shopping at all… lol… yeah right!  This deal came up and I just couldn’t pass it up!!!!!  I got everything here:

for $5.98!!!  It actually could have been lower had I used another computer to print off more $1 off coupons instead of the 40 cent ones I had but hey, I’m not complaining.  I am tempted to go back tonight but I doubt I’ll have time.  Tonight I’m making my last wedding cake of the year!!!  It’s going to be a beautiful 3 tier fall leaves marble cake (chocolate frosting).  Last night I also talked with the Wilton Instructor at Hobby Lobby and she wants to put my county fair cake on display at the store!!!  I’m excited to get it out of my basement and where people can see it. 

Mr. Pumpkinhead

We made pumpkins today using spare parts from Mr. Potato Head.  It’s nice because we can change them up whenever we want from now till Halloween and they look SO cute sitting on the porch.

Shopping Trip 10/6/2009

 

I was hoping to stay away from all stores this week (after splurging this past weekend at the mall – blech!) But I realized I had to go use up one of my WIC checks so I might as well take advantage of some deals, right?  I hit up Walgreens, Festival Foods & Kohl’s.  At Walgreens I got 50 pictures for $5… this included a few for my daycare parents, some for my husband to put on his toolbox at work, some for my parents and of course, some for myself.  I also got 2 packs of Trident layers gum (new) for $FREE!!!  lol… I got 2 boxes of Jello for 25 cents each and a few other great deals. 

At Festival I used up my WIC check.  Yes, we qualify for WIC, just barely.  I take advantage of it because of all the milk.  We go through a lot of milk in this house and it is a tremendous help to have WIC.  I do not look forward to the day when we don’t qualify (which will most likely be very soon).  While at the store I also brought lots of coupons… we got a bunch of cereals for $1.68 a piece (Fruity Pebbles & Honeycombs – hubby’s fave), pasta sauces for $0.89, bananas for $0.19 lb., etc. 

So for all of the “groceries” yesterday, I spent a total of $26.36 which was well under our norm of $50 a week and still under my predicted $30 for the week. 

Then came Kohl’s.  I was a bit worried about going there for a purse.  Kohl’s does run good deals but they are a bit higher priced than I normally like to spend.  I really needed a purse.  My little purse just isn’t doing it for me anymore and I need more room.  I finally found one and of course, there was no tag on it.  Nothing.  Not even a barcode or anything.  There were no others like it (and yes, I found it on the clearance rack).  So I went to checkout and they had to try to find a matching one… they found a similar one (with a different strap) and took the price off of there which was $10.40 on sale.  Regular price was $52.  Then came my mom’s handy dandy percentage off coupon for 30% off!  So it ended up being $7.64.  I saved $44.72!!!

I started keeping track of what I spend and what I save September 27, 2009 (this includes EVERYTHING – eating out, gas, groceries, etc.) and so far, I’ve spent $475.37 which seems like a lot but I have saved $364.16!!!  That’s 77% savings!!!  Alright, I am done… lol…

Piggly Wiggly Score!

 

Today I was checking out the ads for the grocery stores and I noticed a great deal at Piggly Wiggly.  They had on sale some cereal, yogurts, granola bars & fruit snacks for $1.50 each when you buy 10 total.  Not only this but when you spend $5 on this deal, you get a free gallon of milk soooo.. I pulled out my coupons and started matching them up.  I ended up with this when I left the store:

2 boxes of Cheerios

4 boxes of Lucky Charms

2 boxes of Fruit by the Foot

1 box of fruit snacks

3 boxes of granola bars

2 – 4 packs of yo-plus yogurt

2 boxes of gogurts

4 – 6 packs of trix yogurts

2 gallons of 1% milk

2 gallons of 2% milk

and my grand total was $17.30!!!  That’s $0.72 a piece (including milk!)  WHOO!  I feel like I won the lottery!  lol… just had to share… the deal is only good until tomorrow.  Wednesday they start a new ad.  It was nice to clear out some of those coupons as well!

I Dream of Cakes

 

I really do.  I’ve baked and decorated just over 100 cakes since beginning my “journey” 3 1/2 years ago.  I’m still not completely confident in what I do but I’m getting better.  I still plan waaay ahead of time in doing these cakes, especially when they’re for a paying client.  I stress so much over these cakes that I tend to dream about them the night before I decorate.  I say “stress” but I really do love it.  They give me a challenge.  Everyone tells me that I should open a bakery but bakeries also mean making breads, donuts, etc. and I’m just not into that.  I wish I could just do cakes and a few at that… not that I would be tied up constantly.  I hate being away from my kids.  Maybe once they get bigger and I train them to do cakes, we can open up our own cake shop like Charm City Cakes and charge $1,000 minimum per order… lol… we can dream, right?

I have another cake coming up in mid-October and then I’m taking a break until after Christmas.  I’m looking forward to the break… the holidays will be crazy around here and I plan to go full force into Christmas.  We’re breaking out all the candy molds and recipes to make gift baskets this year.  All of my wrapping is done and I would say 90% of the shopping is as well.  I’m waiting on the previews of Black Friday to come out to see what kind of deals we can score on.  Time to watch Nemo with my kids and do some more cake dreams… sweet dreams everyone :)

Steals & Deals!!! 9/22/09

There are just so many great deals out there, I would love to share them with some of you!  Sooo… I’m going to make frequent posts about what I find online and hopefully you can take advantage of these as well!

$3 OFF Sara Lee Pre Sliced Deli Meats – Just sign up to become a fan on facebook of these delicious meats and you’ll get a coupon in your email!  Super easy and I can’t see them costing much more than the $3 so look how cheap it’ll be!!!

FREE Museum Admission 9/26

You read right, FREE!  Check this website to find a museum near you that will be accepting these.  Simply fill out the admission card form and print one off.  It’s good for you and a guest!  I plan on taking my son to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum to check out the cool submarine!

FREE Meal in Vegas 9/30

Oh how I wish I could use this deal!  Unfortunately, I’m stuck here in Wisconsin :( so those of you lucky enough to be in Vegas (or live there!) check this out!  The first 400 in the door on September 30, 2009 from 11am-3pm will get a free buffet with this coupon!  Enjoy!

So there you go!

Good Mail Day!

I love the days when you don’t get bills!  After returning from a 2 mile walk (3 kids on a double stroller) to a rummage sale (I scored a stainless steel garbage can for 75 cents!!!  Those retail for $30+!!!) I checked my mail and there was something from US Bank which made me think “YUCK, my credit card bill…” lol… much to my surprise, it was a gift card to Hobby Lobby!!!  I finally reached my rewards bonus and got my prize!  So… thanks to booking Disney World, buying 2 new sets of tires for our vehicles, Halloween costumes, a laptop and various other items, I will now be going to Hobby Lobby to shop :)  There was also a package at my door with my new towels from Kohl’s… I’m SO excited to get new towels!  And for 6 of them, it only costed me $8 total (that’s WITH shipping!)  Whoo!  Good day so far!

Wipee’s

 

I’ve been using cloth diapers since April.  Dominic wore them for about 2 months until he was potty trained and Lucy has been wearing them since then.  They’re a bit of a PITA but the money saved is unbelievable.  I figured I spent about $200 on my “stash” which is what I would’ve spent on disposables up until about now so any money I save now is clear and free.  I’ve been having to buy a lot of wipes though.  It seems I use these more than ever.  They’re great for spills, dirty faces/hands/knees, etc.  Even though I buy the “value pack” to save money, it’s still money wasted IMO.  Sooo… I made my own.  My lovely husband does not know this yet and I’m not really sure how thrilled he will be about it.  I figured for the wet changes, these will be great.  Any of the “dirtier” diapers may take the disposable wipes.  I got the cutest pattern at Hobby Lobby for these and only spent $3 for 16 wipes which will probably get us through 4 days (the same amount of time our fuzzibunz last us so they can all go in the wash together.  Here’s pictures:

I made a little spray to make the wipes moist using baby shampoo, oil & water.