Patience pays off! So do connections!

 Our never ending kitchen remodel has been waiting on a few elements, one of which is a new ceiling fan/light fixture. We wanted to get a good one but just haven't had the funds to invest in anything worthwhile. Oh how I have loathed the sort of working, hideous fan we have. What a wonderful surprise when my brother in law, an electrician, got a hold of a fan from a home that was being demolished. As he was heading over here, I just kept praying that it wouldn't be ugly. Beggers can't be choosers, I know, but I really wanted it to match and look nice. Oh how blessed we are!

Here it is laying on the living room floor. It even has a remote! Talk about fancy. :)

Here they are taking down the yucky one.

And here they are putting it up! It matches the kitchen perfectly. It isn't super bright though, so we might switch it with the one in the front room which is really nice and very bright. Or we will look for a brighter bulb for this one. Eventually, when I save up the money, we are going to put 4 can lights in the kitchen. Oh how bright it will be!
I love FREE!!!

Tuesday's Deals!

 So we hit Rancho Market today. I just love that store!! Such good deals and friendly service. Here's what we got:

Thru Thursday only:
Peaches .99/lb
Thru Sunday:
Roma tomatoes 4lb/.99
24 oz Ketchup .79 ea  Great stock up price! Don't miss it!!
Cucumber 4/.99
Cilantro 4/.99
Bananas 3lb/.99

Then it was off to Walmart!

 Milk $2.49
-.75/1 milk (doubled to $1= $1.49)
Yoplait 32 oz yogurt $2.48
-.50/1 (doubled to $1= $1.48)
Activia 4 pk yogurt $1.98
-$1/1 Activia yogurt= $.98

 Lender's Bagels $1.50 ea
20 pk hangers $1.97
Frame $5
Gerbe 4 pk Onesies $7.94
-$2.50/2 Gerber Onesies online coupon= $6.69 ea
 

  Zone Perfect Bar .97
-.55/1 Zone bar or multipack (doubled to $1= FREE)
Similisan childrens cold and mucus $5.97
-$2/1 any Similisan product
36 ct Allergy Relief .88 ea (I ran out before and had to use something else because they were out of stock. This time, no running out!)
Graham Cracker Pie Crust .99 ea (ad matched with Macey's)
Jiffy Pizza Crust 2/.88 (ad matched with Fresh Market)
Hidden Valley Ranch $3.74 (i HATE paying full price!!! It is so time for a new Hidden Valley coupon!)
 

Speak Up!!

Seriously! Feeling so blessed! Friends, you just need to get the word out about things that you are in the market for and holy cow! People, friends, family, strangers, just step right up to the plate! I have been inundated with fabulous hand me downs lately!
I mentioned on Facebook that I was looking for a deal on oatmeal. My neighbor had an extra 5 gallon bucket of oats that she needed to move. How great is that?!

What a great neighbor and friend she is! Just think how much money this saves us!

Holy baby stuff!!

So this is just some of the great stuff I have been given! A high chair, formula, bottles, clothes, blankets, and so much more are just waiting to get put away!
Lesson learned: Put the word out! Throw your pride out the window! People love you and are happy to share what they don't need anymore but they can't read your mind!
It isn't begging folks. It's just letting people know how they can earn blessings in Heaven. We will all have our turn to pass on the good karma. :)

Walmart

So my budget was $9. I spent $10.44. I am okay with that. :)

Milk $2.39 ad matched with Smith's
(10) Balance Bars @ .49 each ad matched with Smith's
-$1/3 Balance bars online coupon= .19 ea
2 lb Cheese $4.99 ad matched with Macey's
-$1/2 lb cheese online coupon= $3.99
Green Bell Pepper 4/$1 ad matched with Buy Low
(2) bags salad .78 ea
(3) Zone Perfect Bars .97 ea
-.55/1 Zone Perfect Bars (doubled to $1= FREE)
I need to replace my printer ink to get my milk coupons for the month. Will do that with next week's household budget. Sticking to the plan! It feels pretty good. :) Kind of gives me a sense of power, being able to overcome a difficult situation and stick to a budget. :)
 

Budgeting...

I really hate having to stick to a budget sometimes! There are so many great deals I want to take advantage of today but I just can't do it. Must stick to the budget!! My fabulous mother in law lent me a book last night that I am really excited about: Debt-Free on Any Income.
I am really excited to get into it and get us out of debt. We don't have lots of debt luckily. We have been pretty good about it since we got married, but to have our debt off of our shoulders would be almost as good as winning the elusive Publisher's Clearing house prize that I keep dreaming about.
I will let you know how the program works for me. It's worth a try! At least until I win that prize money. :)
My husband's hours were cut again so again I am working as creatively as possible to stretch the dollars. I'm allowing $20 each week for household or clothing, etc needs. And $30 for groceries. It is time to pull out all of the stops folks!
We decided I am going to work on finishing my degree, starting this summer, after the baby is born and I have recovered. It is always good to have a back up plan, just in case. I really don't want to work, but sometimes  you gotta do what you gotta do. Let's see if we can get creative enough with coupons and deals to stay out of the work place! Good luck to us all! This recession has to end eventually!!  :)
Off to Walmart to spend my $9!

Great deals! Saver's, Buy Low, Rancho Mkt

 My sis in law and I hit Saver's this morning at 9. You have to get there when it opens to get the best .99 deals!
I was in the market for shirts and skirts for my daughter and pants for my son.

 Did you notice the paisly thermal shirt? It still has the Old Navy tags on it! Every single one of these items, including two pair of sweats for me, were just .99 each! I got out of there spending just $19.04! Happily under my $20 budget!

 Here's my Rancho Market stuff, plus a heads up on other great deals they are having this week.

Saltines .99 ea
Oranges 8 lb/.99!!!
Roma tomatoes 2 lb/.99
10 lb Russet Potatoes $1.99
Carrots .79
Red Delicious or Fuji apples 2 lb/.99
Also this week:
Tues, Wed, Thurs:
Brown Onions 7 lb/.99
Pineapple 2lb /.99

Sat & Sun:
Cilantro 6/.99

On to Buy Low!

Cucumbers 3/$1
Mangoes .69 ea
Broccoli .69/lb
Cauliflower .69/lb
5 oz mushrooms $1

Fuji Apples .50/lb (I didn't know about Ranco Market's deal yet)
Don Julio Chips .87 ea
Everything else is from the as-is cart. You can find it near the registers, at the far side of the store. I took almost everything they had this time.
2 cans corn .25 ea
1 Peanut Butter $1
Wheaties .50
Brown Rice $1
White Rice $1
2 Betty Crocker yellow cake mixes .50 ea
Betty Crocker brownie mix .50

I will be hitting Walmart tomorrow to do my doubles and a couple of ad matches. I have $9 left in this week's $30 grocery budget. I WILL stick to it!

56 West Salon Review

  My good friend and I hit the Grand Re-Opening of the 56 West Salon in Spanish Fork today. It continues through the weekend and I HIGHLY recommend that you check it out!!!

  We enjoyed the Luxury Manicure.

 

With a $3.50 tip and of course a 20% discount because of the grand opening, it cost just $26.!!!

We were there for nearly two hours! They had a lovely chocolate fountain with all kinds of goodies to dip in it and some yummy hot chocolate. Plus we got FREE gift baggies just for being there!

The manicure included a Cuticle Treatment, Paraffin Wax Dip, Luxurious Massage, and of course the manicure. I left there so very relaxed and feeling incredibly spoiled. 

Super amazing treatment for a ridiculously awesome price!

Plus they have a lovely boutique with really cute clothes, jewelry and hair pretties. 

The staff was all super friendly and attentive and good at what they do.

CHECK IT OUT!!!

56 w 200 n

Spanish Fork, Ut

Yesterday at Walmart

 I hit Walmart yesterday as is my usual Tuesday routine. I did well and got most everything I wanted. I am still frustrated that there aren't enough cashiers on Tuesdays. Hopefully they will fix that one of these days. Most of my purchases were household rather than grocery. Household stuff is sure expensive. I don't know how anyone pays full price.

 Here's what we have:
Milk $2.29 ad match with Walgreen's
Salad $.78 per bag
Activia 4 pack yogurt $1.87
-$1/1 Activia yogurt
Yoplait 32 oz yogurt $2.48
-.50/1 Yoplait 32 oz (doubled to $1= $1.48)
Starkist Tuna pouches $1.08 each
-.50/1 Starkist tuna pouch (doubled to $1= $.08 each)
Zone Perfect bars .97 ea
-.55/1 Zone perfect bar (doubled to $1= FREE)
Frigo string cheese $3.48
-.50/1 Frigo cheese (doubled to $1= $2.48)

 Finish gel pacs $3.97 ea
-.75/1 any Finish product (doubled to $1= $2.97 ea)
Carefree pantiliners .94 ea
-.50/1 Carefree (doubled to $1= FREE)
Hefty odor blocker 45 ct trash bags $7.47
-$1/1 Hefty trash bags= $6.47  Crazy that this was actually cheaper than the Walmart brand. I feel really silly "buying garbage."   :(
Glidden paint $13.96
Half price mess up discount= $6.98 This one is red. I will use it for my daughter's dinner. Now I just need yellow for the other dresser and a light green for the bottom half of the walls in the kids' room.

 Dried Cranberries $1.48
Almond Accents $2.98 ea
-$1/1 Almond Accents online coupon= $1.98 ea
Reynold's Slow Cooker liners $1.97
-$1/1 Reynold's Slow cooker liners= $.97 
Sunbelt Granola Bars $1.67 ea ad matched with Macey's
Roma Tomatoes .50/lb ad matched with Buy Low
Fuji apples .50/lb ad matched with Buy Low

  C&H Brown Sugar $2.08
-.50/1 C&H brown or powdered sugar (doubled to $1= $1.08)
Fruity Pebbles cereal treats $2.00
-.50/1 Fruity Pebbles snack treats (doubled to $1= $1 ea)
The following are ad matches with the Smith's Mix & Match 10 deal. You had to buy 10 of the items listed and got a nice discount.
Honey Bunches of Oats w/almonds $1.99
-$1/1 Honey Bunches cereal online coupon= $.99 ea)
Balance Bars .49 each
-$1/3 Balance bars online coupon= $.15 each)
Capri Sun drinks $1.49 each
Johnson's baby products 15oz $2.49
-$1/1 Johnson's baby products= $1.49 ea)
I am really pleased with how this trip went. There are lots of great new deals that started today. I am excited to take advantage of them!