Ebates = $$$$

When I find something I love, I want to share it. Ebates is my new love! I've actually been an ebates customer for about a year now. I can't remember how I can across it but I'm so glad I did. It's becoming more popular and recently I've been seeing ebates commercials on TV. 

So to sum it up here's now it works.....

You go to www.ebates.com and sign up. It literally takes 2 seconds to sign up.

When you're ready to buy something online, say from Walmart, Target, Kohls, Macy's....anywhere pretty much....you link from ebates to the store you're buying from and once you make a purchase they will give up a percentage back. 

Then they will send out your 'Big Fat Check' quarterly.

That's it!

It sounds too easy and it is. You're not going to get rich off of this, but it helps and it's fun! I just got my last check in the mail yesterday and it was $32.96. Not too bad! With all the holiday shopping coming up, I had planned to do most of my shopping online anyways so my next one will probably be even more. Since signing up I've received a total of $131.20 back from ebates!

Check it out...you won't be disappointed!!

Oh and they give you $5 just for signing up and they'll give me $5 too if you tell them I sent you! My email is jess0108@yahoo.com - don't forget to hook a sister up!

Date Night Do Over - Japanese

A little while back I showed you how to make my favorite chicken pesto pizza that I get at a little pizza place downtown. I showed you how I make it at home to save $$ (and the hassle of going out).

Now I'm going to share another dirty little secret of mine with you.......

We have Japanese date night at home too! I looooove hibachi chicken, fried rice and sushi! At my local Japanese place we can easily spend $75 on one meal. For years now I've been 'ripping' them off so to speak. I'll be honest I cannot make fried rice like they can. I've tried and it sucks. I also can't make sushi. I've wanted to try, but I'm afraid I'll get nasty fish and poison Hubs. So I take a little help from them and add a little of my own stuff and it turns out GREAT.

First I place a call in order for 3 orders of fried rice, yea, yea I said 3...we like a lot of rice. They're only $3 ea!

I also order sushi - $5

and seafood sauce - $3 (it's ohhhh so good and we eat it on all the meat not just the seafood).

So my total with tax is $18.53 from the restaurant.

Then from the store you'll need:
1 lb chicken - $3
teriyaki sauce - $2 (I used Lawry's.)
shredded cabbage -$2
any other veggies you want to stir fry

My store total with tax is $7.63.

This time I only did cabbage along with some carrots and green onion I already had.

You cut up the veggies you want to stir fry.

Add them to a pan with a little olive oil, teriyaki sauce, salt/pepper and cook until tender.

You cook your chicken the same way. Cut it up and stir fry with a little olive oil and teriyaki sauce until done.

Then you plate with your rice.

Total for everything $26.16!
Total savings $48.84.

To make it a complete meal break out a bottle of Trader's Joes' 'Two Buck Chuck' and you're set and you'll still save over $45.00!

Seasonal Consignments? Yes, please!

If you haven't heard about kids seasonal clothing consignments yet, you are missing out! It's a great way to make tons of money honey and get all of they clothes your babydolls will need for the season. In my town we have two that both hold sales twice a year.

Here's the deal:

-You get your clothes ready for the sale - ironed, priced and hung.

-You take them to the sale and you'll probably be the one to put them on the racks.

-You normally will make around 70% of the selling price for your items.

-Once the sale is over you'll go pick up your items that didn't sale, which will probably be grouped and ready to go.

Now let me paint this picture a little clearer for you. This is not like a garage sale. These are like new clothes and toys, priced about 1/3 of the original price. So if you sale $400 worth of clothes then you'll bring home nearly $300! Believe me, even with the 30% going to the organizer - you'll still make a lot more than if you had a yard sale. I can't remember clearing much more than $200 at any yard sale I've ever had! These consignment sales are a great place to pick up boutique clothes. I always get Baby Boy's smocked outfits from there. (I just CANNOT bring myself to pay $80 for 1 outfit! - There I normally pay between $10-$20.)

Kids Consignment Sales is a great website where you can look up sales by state. I've used this website to see what's going on in my state although I've not yet made it to any sales other than the ones in my town.

Hope everyone checks it out. It's something I always, always  do and it's too good not to pass on!

Oh and don't get me wrong I'm super sentimental and I normally keep everything, but do I really need 25 swaddling blankets, of which we only used 5 sitting in my attic until we have the next one? Probably not, so I sold those suckers! I kept the ones that meant something and sold the ones that I didn't like or we never used - it's a win, win for everyone!



Fall Wreath Makeover

In keeping with this wonderful thing they call fall, I've been on a decorating rampage! Fall smelling candles, candy apples, mums on the front porch, chili on the stove - it's all been running my life lately and I love it!

I've been loving me some projects lately too so what better project to do then a wreath remake.

I broke out the old drab wreath out of the attic that was sad and in serious need of a makeover. I went to Michaels and spent $7 on new fall duds for the wreath and I think it was a win!

Before

After

Yay for hot glue and Michaels 60% off sales! New wreath = $7...woo!

Candy Apple Madness!

This weekend was glorious, the weather was cool and crisp - fall finally arrived! I wanted to celebrate in a festive way but still stay true to being the Frugal Franny that I am. So what better way to celebrate fall in an inexpensive way then to make candy apples! I got the idea while breezing through Walmart Friday afternoon - while trying to beat the afternoon Walmart craziness rush! Since making candy apples consists of 2 ingredients, I was golden! I snapped up caramel candies and honeycrisp apples (the absolute best apples) and Baby Boy and I were on our way.

Ingredients:

Apples

Caramel



You simply melt the caramel with 2 teaspoons of water and dip your apples.

I had skewers and the ribbon so that was free! I love free.

There you have it, candy (or candied whatever you prefer) apples. I only spent $5.00 on everything. It was such a simple activity but it was great time spent together as a family - Daddy even got in on the fun!

Oh and Daddy had a fab idea for the leftover caramel -

I think I might be turning the whole family into Frugal Frannies!

Chicken Pesto Pizza

We love going out and having a good time. One of our favorite places to go serves an amazing chicken pesto pizza, but going out costs $ and I'm all about saving some moolah these days!

The other night I was thinking, I can totally make that chicken pesto pizza at home. So I decided to go for it. I didn't look up a recipe I just winged it - and it turned out pretty great. The hubby and I loved it. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
-Pre-made pizza crust (because the store was out of the dough - and I don't want it bad enough to make my own!)
-Pre-made pesto (to me it's cheaper & easy just to buy a jar then make it)
-1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast
-Feta cheese
-Sun-dried tomatoes
-Italian Cheese
-Olive Oil
-Artichokes (which I wound up not using)

Drizzle your crust with olive oil.

Cover crust with pesto.

Dice and cook your chicken.



Add chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, feta and italian cheese to your pizza.

Bake for about 15-20 mins at 350 degrees.

Yum! It was so good. It tasted really close to the one we get out. Their crust is better, but I think I can work on that and maybe find a better option out there.

The great thing about it was - I spend about what I'd spend on the one pizza out, but I got everything to make two pizzas and I had enough ingredients left over to throw them in with some pasta and have chicken pesto pasta, which was great too! Ahh, I love saving $$$!

Baby's Ballin' On A Budget

As I prepare for this switch, I've been excited to search for new things for Baby Boy and I to do together. I've been looking for exciting things for us to do, where we can bond, all while remembering that we're (as we refer to it in my house) 'ballin' on a budget'.

He's 19 months now, so he's really getting to the age where he likes to engage in activities and be around others.

Here's some fun things that I've come up with so far that I'm super pumped about that won't break the bank:

*Go to the library/local bookstore for storytime. - This will get us out and about and we'll meet new mommies and little ones. I checked my library and they offer a Tuesday and a Saturday storytime. It will also introduce Baby Boy to the library - Lord knows I haven't been there in 10 years, since I was in high school and I went to check out the Cliff's Notes for a book I was supposed to read! As for the bookstores, I know Barnes & Noble offers storytime in their stores (although mine currently doesn't). - FREE

*Go to the art museum. - I know, I know, I too am  picturing my child running wild up and down the halls while dragging his hands on the clean white walls knocking off all of the priceless art. BUT our local art museum has a little program specifically for toddlers that's all about shapes, colors and textures. - $13

*Have art class at home! - I looked up some super cool art projects for toddlers and I can't wait to try them out. I found a great non-toxic recipe for fingerpaint from Craft Blog. I also want to try the 'toddler stained-glass'. You just take clear contact paper and let your little one stick pieces of construction paper, confetti or whatever to it, then you simply back it with another piece of clear contact paper! - Less than $5!

*Set aside a day to go to the local playground. We do this all the time and Baby Boy (and his cousin Baby Girl) looove it! It's great exercise for us all - the kiddies playing and the mommies chasing after them!

*Join a dance/gymnastics/music class together! I checked my local gymnastics place and they offer a Mommy & Me class on Friday mornings. It's very interactive and again gets us both up and moving. - $30 for 4 sessions

*Check out local parks or gardens. In our town we have a 130 acre park that has playgrounds, an old timey general store, old schoolhouse buildings and churches, a planatarium and nature trails. They're always and forever having events there and I need to put in the time to check it out more often. We also have a botanical gardens, which could be a fun place for a picnic! - Admission to the park Adult/$4, Kids 3 and under/FREE; Admission to the gardens/FREE!

*Get involved in your city/town. - Here we have little festivals and street markets throughout the year. Once it cools down (I live in the dirty south!) it'll be great to take Baby Boy out and stroll him around. - FREE if you bring your own snacks/drinks or $5-$10 for snacks from vendors.

See, now who says you can't have fun while 'ballin' on a budget'!

Cable {To Have or Not To Have}

I'm still trying to think of ways to save. Still analyzing everything, to see what's important and what's not. So as you know we've cut out ALL eating out and we haven't veered a bit. Well........okay that's a lie, we totally veered for like 2 weeks straight, but we refocused and we're getting back on track. The truth is we've been super busy and since I'm currently still working full time sometimes it's hard to stay completely committed, but we're definitely trying!

So since we totally went crazy and ate out for a solid 2 weeks, yesterday I freaked and began micro-managing the bills again. Okay, I'll admit I kind of enjoy micro-managing the bills.......the hubby, the dog....pretty much anything. However it's not confession time - let me get back my story.

The biggie.....the cable?! My husband, has for a while now, wanted to cut it off. I've been the one that was like, 'Are you kidding me that's not American!' {in a total bratty voice}. I've been throwing the idea around in my head, but I've yet to actually do it. I mean can I actually do without Teen Mom on a weekly basis? Well I came to the realization that since I'm nearly 30 I should probably just suck it up and move on from Teen Mom.

So I did it. I cut back to just basic {pretty much just local channels} cable and internet.

Savings: $75.00/month!

We have Netflix which we can watch through the xBox 360. It's only $8.99/month and it's unlimited streaming for {Wonder Pets and Backyardigans and even Hoarders and Chopped!} and of course DVDs through the mail.

I tweeted about my new accomplishment and was surprised at all the positive feedback I got.

Check it:

It's nice to know we're not alone in this crazy, trying to save, cable free world. I feel good about it. One step closer to my goal.

Free Personalized Memo Pad with Free Shipping!

ArtsCow is an online printing site that is offering a FREE customized/personalized memo pad with FREE shipping! Such a great deal! They offer 20,000 per day through September 05, 2010.

Here's the one I made and ordered:

Steps to get your memo pad:

-'Like' them on Facebook by clicking here.
-Once you like them you be give a code on ArtsCow.com, you simply use this code at checkout after you customized your super cute memo pad!

I had to share...hope everyone enjoys!

(Thanks to Heather at Spectacular Savings!)

Amazon Diaper Savings!

I'm sure all of you have heard about the Amazon diaper savings by now, but if not let me fill you in.

Amazon is running a special on diapers through their 'Subscribe and Save' program. When you sign up for Subscribe and Save, through the end of August you'll receive 30% off + free shipping!

You can also use 20% off coupons that are in Parenting and Parents magazines for the August and September issues.  Now the part that makes you want to dance......you can combine more than one of these coupons!

I happened to have August's and September's issues of Parenting and August's issue of Parents - so I had three 20% off coupons and it let me use them ALL + the 30% off and free shipping!

Here's how it went down:

Original Cost of Pampers (156 Count):   $ 40.00
30% Off (Sub/Save):                             - 12.00
20% Off (Parenting Aug)                       -   8.00
20% Off (Parenting Sept)                      -   8.00
20% Off (Parents Aug)                          -   8.00
+ FREE Shipping!                                    0.00
TOTAL                                                $  4.00!!

156 Pampers Max Dry diapers were at my door step in 2 days! I was ecstatic!

The 'Subscribe and Save' program is just an automatic shipment thing that you can unsubscribe to at anytime. After I got my shipment I went in and unsubscribed and got a confirmation within minutes.

$4 bucks and I'm set.........well until my child blows through these and I'm back to square one! But hey I'm good for now!

No more eating out!

Ahh, it feels good to be working towards a goal!

So since this was my first official week of this process, the hubs and I have made some changes.

The first thing we cut out was eating out. We didn't spend 1 cent on eating out this week and it feels good! I cooked all of our meals. For about the past month, we had already been trying to cut back on eating out, but I pulled the check register and added it up and in the past 30 days we had spent $469 eating out! Who knew!! I was shocked. So it's cut -- completely cut out!

I was actually home some this week because my sweet baby was sick, so I had a little extra time that I normally don't. I took the opportunity to make some meals to freeze for the trying moments when I want to say.....

'I really don't want to cook...want to order pizza?'

So I made a homemade Brunswick Stew..YUM! (I'll list the recipe at the bottom.)  The ingredients only cost me $14.70 and it made 3 gallon freezer bags!

That's less than $5.00/night! I'm super excited. Things like this are little changes that I want to make.

We've also set a strict budget for groceries. No more buying junk like drinks or magazines at the check out. I'm going to make a list, shop the sales, use coupons and stick with it - no veering! So far, so good. When I want to be lazy or cave I just think about the goal that I'm working towards and it motivates me. To be able to stay home with my baby is more important then spending $200 at Walmart. It's calming in a way....
 
Brunswick Stew Recipe:
 
1 lb roast beef
1 small whole fryer chicken (or bone in breast = to about 1 - 1/2 lbs.)
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 lb potatoes
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can english peas
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash of worcestershire (I used a BIG dash)
Hot sauce, Salt, Pepper to your liking
 
Bake roast and chicken until fully cooked. Cut up meat and add to about 6 cups of water, boil to pieces. Cut up potatoes, add to pot and cook until nearly soft. Cut up onion and bell pepper, add to pot. Add all 6 cans of vegetables, along with brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30-45 mins.
 
If you're going to freeze, let it cool before adding to freezer bags, otherwise you might have a hot mess!

When you're ready to enjoy, just heat it up in a big ol' pot!