Panning for Red Gold

I checked out the Red Gold site this morning.  There are coupons, recipes and meal planning help. I signed up for the newsletter and receive special offers. Check out their site!

Thanks to Real life living check out her site! I have added her to my blog roll because she has some great frugal ideas  and tips to help us on our journey!  Annie is having a give away and it is running until 10 pm  March 21, 2010

Christian PF turns 2 giving away Wii and iPod

I would like to congratulate  Christian PF who turned  2 and they are giving away a wii and an iPod. I thought there may be some who would like a chance. Good Luck!

And the winners are……..

This morning there was a little excitement in our home and it isn’t even a April Fools Joke! My boys and I collected the names of those who sent  tips for our Tightwad Gazette books, Jacob wrote them down and put them in a bowl  and Benny pulled out  Mich Gasser and Jacob pulled out smitsda1.  I will contact you to get your home address and get your books sent out this week or you can Email me at Candyh@dealwithitsimply.com

These are the great tips I received and Thank you to all of you for sharing!

Ernie: Costco…..I am a member and be willing to take someone!!!

Jane: Happy 1st anniversary! My tip? If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, set aside some “attitude money”. Even a small amount of money in cash or a bank account that you’re not going to touch for living expenses can have a big impact on your outlook. A more positive attitude and more financial self-confidence help us fight off mistakes induced by feeling of fear and panic.

Monroe on a Budget: When milk is cheap, that’s also a good time to make muffins and freeze them. Or make pudding with whippy topping instead of cupcakes for dessert!

Smitsda1: Paper liners from cereal boxes are the best! Did you know that is a Depression era habit? Just slide a sandwich or chips into a smaller one; fold up the paper & close with one of those many free address stickers (cut off the name/address part if privacy is an issue) or left-over rubber band/ or twist tie. Husband & I aren’t huge bread eaters but occasionally buy clearance whole grain from Kroger, etc’s bakery or I’ll bake some myself. To freeze the loaf I cut open a clean paper cereal box liner & begin layering 1 slice of bread & then fold the paper accordion style & place another slice on top of that. I keep going until the entire loaf is done. Slip back the loaf back into the original plastic bag & you can even put that into a larger cereal liner bag to prevent frost. Close the bags with a left over twist tie or piece of masking tape… much cheaper than freezer tape! Then you can take bread out as you need it & haven’t used 1 Ziploc, etc. bag in the process. Works well for other things like bacon, hand pressed burger patties etc.

Monroe on a Budget: Back to school sales often are pretty good two or three weeks before parents or students are mentally “ready” to shop for school. But if you wait too long, the inventories are picked over and higher cost.

So here’s what I do: I buy the basic supplies that I knew daughter needed: paper, pens, folders, etc. on steep discounts when I see the sales begin. College daughter was actually out of town to her summer jobs past two summers when I was doing that.

If there is something I knew she personally wanted to pick out, we’d do that whenever it was convenient for her. It does cut the last-minute hassle down when we have a short list.

Monroe on a Budget:  I couldn’t handle the Once a Month Cooking concept either and quickly gave my book away.

But once a week kitchen prep? That’s quite possible. Boil the eggs, make a pot of iced tea, cut the carrots or veggies. …

Monroe on a Budget: Yeah, $30 off at checkout would be an inspiration!

A lot of people are using binders for their coupon storage these days. You can get binders fairly cheaply at Staples or Wal-Mart, although Candy is lucky to have sheet protectors on hand. Those get pricey after awhile. I use the binder books for most of my scrapbooking (the “good” scrapbook albums are for special projects).

I have a question, though. Do you carry the binders to the store or just the coupons you expect to use? Seems to me you’d need something else to carry the coupons to the store.

Where I do use a binder is to store my rebate forms and shopping fliers since I don’t need to carry all those on each shopping trip. … just the ones for that particular store.

Smitsda1: Husband & I eat an odd diet due to health reasons. Usually can do better with store brands BUT I do keep in mind that Kroger gives double coupon value up to $1. Plus, they take off an additional 5% every Wednesday for seniors who have a Golden Buckeye card. Guess when I buy my very few indulgences?

Mich Gasser: My tip would be not to go to 12 different stores…just stick to 1 or 2 stores. We shop at Giant Eagle every couple of weeks to stockpile items using coupons combined with sale prices, and we accumulate the gas credits so we get a free fill up fairly often.

Jane: Keep a Price Book to know a good price when you see one.

Janet: We are water conscience also. We keep the bucket in the bathtub under the faucet and all day long after someone does their wadu ( washing before prayer) the extra water is gathered and used to flush the toilet. You have to make sure that you don’t just use a water bucket every time though because the toilet will not flush as well if you don’t use the handle sometimes. I am not sure why but I think it is because the mechanisms in the top water well do not get used.

We also collect rainwater for watering the garden.

One thing we also did this year was to install a water filter system. It may not be frugal in some respects but is the long term investment when it comes to the health of your body and the health of your items that use water like your faucets, dishwasher, and washing machine. The lime deposits do not build up. It also saves money you would spend on bottled water and keeps those empty bottles out of the landfills.

Thank you to all who sent tips and I am looking for another giveaway for our 100th post coming up soon!

Have a Great Day and God’s Blessings on you, Candy

How to budget

Last post, I was talking a little about job loss and I wanted to continue on about that. When my husband was bring in a steady income and I was just cleaning for grocery money I didn’t plan for the cleaning money. Now that cleaning is our one source of income we have become more conscience of our money and budget.

How to budget? My mom was a great one for this and I have to say I start out great at the beginning of the month and sometimes get a little lazy, but no more! This is what I do and you can comment things you do to help us all.

Total your income then subtract your expenses.

I start with a piece of notebook paper and write all our expenses;

• Tithe : I start with my tithe to the Lord.
• Home payment– Our home is my most important bill. My children have had to make many sacrifices and them leaving their home is not and option at this time for me.
• Vehicle– We have a car payment and our oldest Kelsey drove this car, when our business closed we had 2 vans that we owed more then they were worth do to the mileage. Kelsey took over the car payment and we pay the 2 vans.  When our business closed many, even our lawyer said just give them back to the car dealer until he realized his firm represented the car dealer. I wouldn’t feel right giving the vehicles back anyway. Charlie’s Dodge is just trying to make a living also. We are paying until we can sell and get a clear title.
• Utilities– We are on the budget for electric and gas. We have them automatically withdrawn. Our water bill is due every 3 months, so I would like to start saving an amount each month so I don’t go into shock with the bill.
• Cell phone- I got a cell phone for summers when my children were home then they could reach me. I wonder if it was  good idea because now we are hooked.
  
• Our vehicle and life  insurance is automatic withdraw this way I get a discount and I never lapse.
• Groceries and gas
• The beginning of the school year is rough with all the added school expenses. So I have to try to start now with the extra in savings.
• Savings– I have been added $10 when I ever I can.

I write the date next to the bill when it needs to be paid and when it is paid I highlight it with a yellow marker. I get a satisfaction when I see that yellow line. In our financial state I can say I get everything paid on time but I do get them paid we do the best we can and I think our lenders have been very cordial with us because I have have been honest about our situation.

1. With a budget I think when you see it all on paper you can see where your money is going and it helps you to get serious about your finances.
2. You can see where the leaks are in you finances and plug them up, to stop the drain.
3. Live within your means!

Which leads me to my last part. Many America’s are losing their jobs and have NO INCOME right now. Lets all try to remember the families that don’t have that extra income to fall back on. We can get through this we all help each other out. God’s Blessings on you all, Candy

Tightwad Gazette Giveaway will end on March 31st when Deal With It, Simply! turns One year old. Comment me your tips for a chance to win.

Tightwad Gazette Giveaway

I have been posting this on and off this month. I have found a Tightwad Gazette I and II at our local resale book store. They are hard cover and in great shape and I would like two winners. The Tightwad Gazette By Amy Dacyczyn was one of the frugal books that I received early in my frugal journey and I would like to give to someone else, a  pay it forward so to speak. I am asking for one of your frugal tips and all you have to do is comment me. I have 4 so far and would like to have a winner by the end of next week. Amy Dacyczyn retired here Gazette in the 90’s and has only been heard on a few occasions. You may find a few outdated items but others are why didn’t I think of that?

Here are a few things I have taken from her book, In the TWG II:

Homemade Taco-Seasoning Mix

6 teaspoons chili powder

4 1/2 teaspoons cumin

5 teaspoons paprika

3 teaspoons onion powder

2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/8 to 1/ cayenne pepper

Mix all the ingredients, and store in an airtight container. The homemade is twice as strong as the store bought one, so add half as much. Once you start making it you will hate to by it at the store one of those things you know how to do it and you can always have it on hand.

– You will find quick fixes in both books.

I hope to hear your tips and have a blessed day, candy

Giveaway Wanted your tips

I found these two perfect condition books at are local resale shop, Encore books. I have a Tightwad Gazette and a Tightwad Gazette II. We will have 2 winners so there are more chances. The Tightwad Gazette has been a great help over the years and I have read and re-read it, always finding something new for me to try. A few of the things are a little outdated but were written between 1993- 1996. Amy Dacyczyn is still the talk in frugal circles and retired here Gazette in 1996. With the current state of our economy I thought who couldn’t use a little help! Comment me your best frugal or money saving tip and you may have an extra chance if you mention it on your site. Good Luck!

Have a Blessed day, Candy