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Since we traveled so much this month, I have been thinking about cheap ways to entertain my kids while on the road. My boys are 13 and 10. They each have a Nintendo DS (Christmas gifts), and they both have iPods (which they purchased with their own money). I swore they would never have these things because I always felt that if reading in the car was good enough for me, it was good enough for them! Well, obviously I've caved over the years. Plus, they spent some of their own money.
Another item I've sworn I'll never have in my vehicle is a tv or dvd player. Well, my husband and I almost caved again before our trip to the Outer Banks. Fortunately, the particular portable dvd player that we were interested in was out of stock every where we checked! So our kids had to deal with a long car ride with only their Nintendos, iPods and some reading material. The poor dears!
Anyway, my youngest did get bored despite his technological luxuries. Thankfully, I had a word search book with me which entertained him for a while. We also played the alphabet game. My husband introduced us to a game that he used to play in his social studies class in middle school. One person names a city/town, and the next person has to name a city/town that begins with the last letter of the city/town that the previous person came up with. This game really makes you think!
An idea that popped into my head tonight was to take along any unfinished workbooks from the school year and have the kids do a few pages. (I'm currently doing this with my younger son in order for him to earn time playing his video games.)
One of my family's favorite electronic games is 20 Questions. I think the original one cost around $20. You can probably find one of these at a yard sale by now. Of course, you can always play this game the old fashioned way! Don't forget tic-tac-toe and hangman!
If your kids are plugged in while traveling, visit your library before leaving on your trip. They can pick up some video games and movies for free....in addition to checking out a good summer read!
There's nothing wrong with finding a baseball game being broadcast over the radio. You may not get to listen to the entire game if you're traveling away from the radio station, but it will provide entertainment for a little while.
Well, speaking of entertainment, the X-Games are on, and I don't want to miss them! (They're exciting and a good way to bond with my sons!) Please scroll down to my Wednesday's Wealth for some coupon leads. Also, I was really late with last week's Frugal Friday, so please check that out too for a coupon giveaway!
If you have teens who are battling acne, there is a $1 off coupon for any Oxy product in the September 1 issue of Woman's Day. You can also go here and get a coupon for $1.50 off Oxy products.
For a printable All Laundry Detergent $1 off coupon click here.
For all of you allergy sufferers, click here for a few different coupons from Claritin.
There is a printable coupon for Uncle Ben's Rice here. It is for $1 off two packages.
Join Red Robin's eClub and receive a free burger on your birthday! Go here if you're over 13. Kids 13 and under can get a free kid's meal on their birthday. Click here for that option.
That's it for today! Scroll down to my most recent Frugal Friday post for another coupon offer!
I know, I'm a little late on last week's Frugal Friday! I didn't have internet access while in the Outer Banks.
Rather than offering a frugal tip this time, I have a coupon offer. I have a bunch of coupons to save $2 on one bottle of Fibersure. All of the coupons expire on 12/31/08. I'll never use them all and thought I'd share the wealth!
The first 10 people to leave a comment on my Blog will each receive 3 of these coupons! Please be sure to let me know how to contact you so that I may ask for your address. I'll pay the postage myself!
Fibersure is a great product. You can either add it to a drink or add it to your food. I just made a batch of meatballs and put some in there when I was mixing them up! My kids will never know!
Be sure to scroll down to my Wednesday's Wealth post for more savings!
This is going to be a short entry because I am enjoying some beach time in the Outer Banks this week!
I recently received an email to sign up and get a free sample of Greenies Pill Pockets treats. For you pet lovers, go here claim your free sample.
If you enjoy Gorton's Fisherman products, click here for a $.75 off 2 coupon. Also, see their Sudoko game offer.
For some Pillsbury coupons good this month, click here.
Well, the surf's up......check back again next week to keep a little extra change in your pocket!
Since just taking a drive together is no longer a "cheap date", my hubby and I have to come up with other alternatives. I joined T.G.I. Friday's E-Club and received a coupon via email for a free appetizer. So we plan to head over there this month for a little "couple" time. We'll just have to pay for our beverages and a tip. At least we'll get out of the house alone for a short time. Get your free appetizer here. You can also sign up for their Give Me More Stripes program and receive a second coupon via email for either a free appetizer or dessert. Click here for details and to sign up.
We have a 13-year-old son which means he and his hungry pals are always in search of something to eat. A cheap snack/meal that I try to have on hand are frozen burritos (such as the Patio burritos). My grocery store had them 2/$.89 this week. They may not be the healthiest things, but they fill up growing boys for very little money!
Scroll on down to this week's Wednesday's Wealth for other coupons. Hurry...some of them expire by Saturday!
This summer I have been focusing on finding ways to save money such as couponing, CVSing, rebating and cutting back. In my efforts to do this, I haven't been focusing on God and the ways he wants to enrich my life. Spending time in His Word gives us a wealth of wisdom, comfort, confidence and love to draw from in times of spiritual, physical or mental poverty. Memorizing scripture deposits securities into a (life) savings account.
How many times have we all sent up a desperate prayer knowing full well we're not worthy of being bailed out of whatever the situation is, especially because we haven't deposited enough of God's Word into our hearts and minds? You may feel like you've just written a check that you know will bounce due to insufficient funds!
God loves each one of us deeply but desires a long-term, steady relationship with us. Not a fly by night get rich scheme.....or in other words, a "If you do this for me Lord, I promise ________" type of relationship. Just as we carefully and painstakingly plan our financial health, we must put time and energy into our spiritual health....or into our relationship with the Almighty. If our finances are looked after and tended to, we benefit. So goes the same with our relationship with God. He wants to bless us! Spending time with him is way easier than making or saving a buck! I challenge myself and all of you to reach for these godly dividends!
"Serving God does make us very rich,....The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow." 1Timothy6:6,10
Summer is a good time to catch up on some reading. Find a Barnes & Noble coupon here and a Border's coupon here. Hurry....they expire soon!
If you're like me, you end up at Target weekly and K-Mart too. Find Target coupons here and K-Mart coupons here and here. My younger son has a summer birthday, so I'll be using that second K-Mart coupon!
If your kids play sports, equipment can be expensive! Here is a coupon for Dick's Sporting Goods. This one is nice because it's good through 1/31/09.
Participate in this Blockbuster survey and receive a $1.99 movie rental coupon via email.
Hope these savings help you! Happy Wealthy Wednesday!
I feel very spoiled right now. On Saturday, we returned from a week long visit with my husband's family out in Chicago, and this Saturday we will be heading down to the Outer Banks of NC for another week long vacation. Taking two vacations in one year let alone in one month is not something we normally do! We were very fortunate to be able to use my father-in-law's frequent flier miles to fly our family of four out to Chicago. Since we were visiting family, we didn't have to pay for lodging either. When we go to the Outer Banks, we'll be staying with old college friends who own a beach house there. Once again, no lodging expenses. Yes, our family is blessed this summer!
So this week feels kind of odd to me. I've unpacked from one vacation and am getting ready to pack for another. I've spent today running some errands and making some phone calls. You know.....trying to catch up after being away for a week while at the same time trying to get ready to go away for a week. It seems a little strange.
My hubby and I sat down yesterday to discuss our menu for this week before I headed off to the grocery store. We pretty well depleted what was in our refrigerator before we went to Chicago, and we don't want to have too much in there this week. So some planning needed to be done.
Eric came up with this dinner menu for our week:
- Sunday: Youth Group Cookout
- Monday: Bacon, Eggs, English muffins
- Tuesday: *Chili Con Carnie (see my mom's easy recipe below)*
- Wednesday: Frozen pizza, Salad
- Thursday : Hamburgers, Corn
- Friday: Leftovers
Now if we don't have any leftovers for Friday night's meal, we'll probably use a gift card for Subway that I was given. (On another note.....if you want to give your child's teacher an end of year gift, gift cards are the best in my book! I teach at a Christian preschool and do not get a pay check for about 3 months, and gift cards help me out a lot during the summer!)
MOM NICHOLS' CHILI CON CARNIE
- 1 lb. ground beef
- Onion
- 2 small cans tomato
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- Macaroni
Brown meat. Cook macaroni. Simmer tomatoes, sauce, beef and onion. Salt & pepper to taste. Mix with macaroni. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. About 5-6 servings.
As you can see, this is very simple. My kids love it! I like it because there is usually enough left over for my lunch the next day.
Anyway, you can tell that this is not a normal week for me, so I don't know how much of a Haven Monday this has really been. I did take a cup of coffee to my husband this morning which made him happy! I guess we sometimes just have to give ourselves permission to accomplish small simple things when life gets a little chaotic.
One of my co-workers gave me two great ideas recently. She told me that she will buy a bottle of vanilla at Michael's Arts & Crafts store with the 40% or 50% off coupon that appears in their weekly ad. (The coupon is only good for one item, not your entire purchase.) This way she can buy the real stuff instead of the imitation vanilla.
This next one may seem a little premature, but she said she will buy those liquid freeze pops at the end of the summer on sale and then give them out on Halloween (unfrozen). It's cheaper than buying candy, it's something different, and her neighborhood kids loved it!
I've recently sold some books on Cash4Books.net and was wondering if there was anything similar for music cds. I did a web search and came up with CashForCDs.com. In addition to cds, they buy dvds and video games. They have to accept at least six of your items in order to give you a quote. Apparently postage wise it makes more sense if you send at least six items to them in one shipment. I had 3 cds and 4 dvds that they'll take, so I've shipped them off. (They pay the postage.) I should receive $9 in my PayPal account once they receive the items and deem them to be in good condition. It's certainly not a lot of money, but it's something and I'm getting rid of clutter! I just combined my stop at the post office with other errands to save on gas.
Scroll down a little to read my Wednesday's Wealth post!
I thought I'd pass on some coupons/samples/freebies that might interest others. Since it is Wednesday and this post can save you some money, I came up with Wednesday's Wealth as my title. I'm going to try to do this every Wednesday. (However, I will be on vacation for two weeks this month, so I may miss those Wednesdays!)
For a $5 coupon for Iams Healthy Naturals dog or cat food click here.
Find out how to get free movie tickets from Hershey's here. Perhaps you can use some of your CVS Extra Care Bucks to make this deal even more economical. That's what I did!
Get a free sample of UnderJams Night Wear here. Make sure you click on either "for boys" or "for girls".
Purchase 2 specially marked Herbal Essences shampoos or conditioners or 1 Herbal Essences hair color and get a FREE manicure or pedicure! Click here for all the details. It looks like you can qualify for 2 vouchers which means you and a friend can have some girl time! Also, in this Sunday's paper, there should be a bunch of Proctor & Gamble coupons!
Last night my younger son, my husband and I played the board game Life. I bet I hadn't played that game in 25 years! We have an old version of it that my mom bought at a garage sale. (I wonder where the one I had as a child is?) The kids have been asking for probably a year to play this game, but I never felt we had enough time to sit down and play it. (Does that seem ironic? No time for life?) So last night when Cooper asked if we could play, I said sure!
I have to laugh at some of the spaces on the board. The inheritance I received a few years ago wasn't even close to $180,000! No, the amount I inherited paid for about 3/4 of my older son's braces. I also haven't found a famous painting worth $240,000. College tuition: $2,000....HA, HA, HA!!!! I'm no tennis pro, so I haven't won $50,000 in a tennis tournament. Nor have I spent $50,000 on a polar expedition! I'm glad I don't have an uncle like the one in the game.....pay $1,000 because he needs help; another $1,000 to get him out of jail; and $10,000 to get rid of the skunk farm that he left as an inheritance! Sounds to me like dear Uncle doesn't like his nieces and nephews! Oh, and my husband retired as a millionaire tycoon! (If only!)
Yes, most of these things seem far fetched in every day normal life. Unfortunately, the one space that seems pretty common these days is "Revenge". It only appears 5 times on the board, but I think all of us tend to see some form of this on a daily basis. (That's a whole other blog topic!)
The three of us had a blast last night and plan on playing again tonight! Hopefully, my older son will join us. In our high-tech world, it was nice to sit down and play an "old-fashioned" board game. Especially one that isn't based on some movie or tv character.......although there are some Life (click here) versions that are. I highly encourage all of you this summer to do something with your kids that you used to do as a child. It will bring back fond memories for you and will slow your family down for at least a little while. Happy bonding!
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