New Years Resolution Update

From now on, this will be called NYRU.  It's been 1 week since I blogged about my resolution.  I have to say the beginning of the week was great!  The end of the week, not so much :(  But, I managed to lose 1 lb, which is 1 lb closer to my goal!  I was hoping to lose more due to my eliminating sweets & refined carbs, but the last 2 days weren't that great in that regard and I wasn't able to exercise 5 times this week, only 2.  But I am not giving up.  Yes, I slipped up, but I am not letting it me get down (OK, I am beating myself up a little). 

Thanks for indulging me and reading this post. 

How has your NYR going?  Let me know!

HOT CVS Coupon!

Go over here to snag a $5/$20 to CVS.  There are no restrictions on this coupon in terms of location, so it should work anywhere!

Coupon expires 1/9/2010.

(Thanks iheartcvs!)

Shoe Sale

I'm a recovering shoeaholic.  I used to wear heels everyday, but then I met my husband.  I wore them while we were dating, until he said I needed to wear functional shoes, so I could walk faster.  Now, I sadly wear flats everywhere.  Don't get me wrong.  I can't imagine wearing heels now, going on errands and such, but every once in awhile, when my husband and I can get out for dinner with friends or by ourselves (which is very few and far between), it's nice to slide a pair of high heels on, it's an instant ego boost!

Anyway, right now, Nine West is having an end of the season sale, with some prices slashed down 70%!   Boots, flats and high heels are marked down!  Spend $50 or more and shipping is free as well!

These will do....

Lands End Sale

Check out Lands End winter clearance and overstocks (which includes summer clothes!) for some great sale prices.  Add code JAN7 and pin 5024 at checkout to get free shipping!

January Giant Coupons!

Giant has released their January coupons! 

Go here for $2 off $5 produce purchase

Go here for $2 off Nature's Bounty vitamin purchase

Sign up on the Giant website to receive monthly coupons like these in your email!  (you will need your Giant Bonus Card # when signing up!)

Children's Place

Wow, there are a lot of deals out there!  Children's Place has many items marked down to $4.99 each!  Check them out here. 

Family Owned Market Deals 1/4/10

Family Owned Markets are having a pretty good sale. Don't forget to check your Family Owned Market website to extra savings with store coupons!

Campbells Tomato or Chicken Noodle: $.50
$1/4 (tomato only) here

Dannon Yogurt: $.38
$1/6 here

VO5 Shampoo or Conditioner: $.79

SpecialK: 4 for $10.00
$1/1 here

Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast: $1.49 lb (value pack only)

Kraft Mac n' Cheese: $.69

Apples: $.98 lb.

Cantolopes: $.98 each

Coldwater Creek Sale

Up to 75% off!!! Enter code: 75sale at checkout to get these prices.

Another tidbit on lowering Grocery costs

I wanted to share another tidbit with you about lowering grocery costs, which I have been doing for the past couple of months.

I write down every single item we need and then shop off the list. BUT, say we need peanut butter. I will not buy it until I have a coupon and it's on sale, so it stays on my list (sometimes for weeks) until I can buy it cheap. It's not something that we must have at that very moment, not like say milk or yogurt. It's something that can wait until there is a good sale and then I stock up on them. When I say stock up, I don't mean 1 or 2, I mean as many as I have coupons for. So, I might buy 6 peanut butter jars at once.

I know what you are thinking, 6??? How can we possibly eat that much? Well, the expiration date is usually a year or so from when I buy it, so we do eat it all. It's also a very good item to donate!

50 free prints!

CVS is offering 50 free prints when you sign up with them for your film developing needs. Go here to get this deal (you don't have to sign your pictures away to them all the time, just sign up to get the free prints!)

FREE H1N1 Flu Vaccine in PA

Do you or your children still need an H1N1 vaccine? Well, if you live in the state of PA, then check out www.h1n1inpa.com under "what's hot" or call 1-877-PA HEALTH from 9-5pm. They have clinics set up this week on January 8 & 9 from 8am-4pm across the state.

PS--you don't have to be a high risk person to get these shots, they are available to anyone and they are FREE!

Britax Car Seat Closeouts!

You will want to hurry and get yours now. What a great price. Amazon is having a closeout on Britax car seats right now. If you have heard of Britax, then you know that the following is a great deal. If you don't know Britax, check them out. They are the safest car seats on the market today!

Britax Diplomat--reg. price: $259.99 Amazon price: $169.99

Britax Regent Youth Seat--reg. price: $249.99 Amazon price: $179.99

Free Budget Download

Speaking of budgets, The Coupon Project has a great tool for you to download free on her website. It's very comprehensive and the best part is you don't have to create it yourself! Just head on over and download it to your computer!

Thanks The Coupon Project!

Bringing Down your Monthly Grocery Budget

Over the past couple of months, I have been talking to a bunch of people about their grocery budgets, or lack thereof. What I heard is that those that have a grocery budget, try to stick to it, but feel it's OK to go over about $20 a month and those that have no budget feel they don't know how to get themselves on a budget.

Well, here are some practical steps I took to getting my family on a budget and keeping that budget every month.

1. Make a budget, even if you think it's ridiculous. Before we had our son, I was spending over $100 each week at the grocery store for 2 people. I didn't really use coupons and I didn't pay attention to sales. So as my son's due date approached close and closer, I knew we had to do something so I could stay at home with him. So, I told myself that our budget would be $90 a week (again for the two of us). I did that for a month to see if I could do it and you know what I did it. So then I kept lowering it and lowering it and soon, I was at our current budget of $40 a week, but now it's for the 3 of us.

Even shaving off $10 a week really adds up. That's an extra $520 a year that could be used towards car insurance or whatever else you might need.

2. Start clipping coupons. I heard from my friend that she's picky in terms of the groceries she buys and cannot clip coupons because there aren't any for what she needs them for. OK, I say. But are you picky about what kitchen cleaner you use? The Sunday coupons are generally heavy with cleaners, personal hygene & yes, food products. If you aren't picky about the cleaners, start clipping those coupons. Use them when they are on sale to get a greater impact on your grocery budget.

I used to think I wouldn't use any of the coupons in the paper until I started looking at them each week to see and compare what I bought each week.

Also, did you know most companies post printable coupons on their websites? So, if you have a food allergy or like to buy organic, then check out their website for either printable coupons or sign up for their mailings or emails and they will either send them to you in the mail or email you about promotions, like printable coupons.

3. As I said above, pair coupons with sales. I have scored a lot of free or under $1 name-brand items this way.

4. Take it slow. If you don't have a budget, try one for a couple of weeks and go from there. If you do have a budget, try not to go over for a couple of weeks. Also, if you know there will be a time when your food bill will be more, say like around the holidays or so, factor that in to your budget.

Giant Deals 1/3/10

For the Momma's has the best Giant deals this week. Here are my top picks:

Boneless Chicken Breast $1.79/lb

Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey BOGO

Electrasol Dish Detergent $3.99
use $2.50/1 in 1/03 inserts
$1.49 after coupon

Thanks Shannon!