MelissaStuff

Okay, I don't enter contests very often, and I win even less often . . . but today the doorbell rang, and there was a FedEx package for me. It had two books on being frugal and a $50 Visa giftcard because I entered a Tip of the Day contest online and WON! The funniest part is I don't remember what my tip was, but if you want to read more about these frugal tips of the day . . . you can read or enter at the contest website .

My SIL Jenni has a 1o-month-old nephew Carter who is undergoing an organ transplant today - he is receiving a new liver, intestines, spleen, stomach and pancreas. Please pray for him and his family today as well as the family of the child who donated these organs. If you want to be inspired by a family brave in the face of so many challenges, go here .

Now this post will be disturbing to some people that know me well . . . but one of the things that works for me is not being a freak about germs when it comes to my kids. Now, let me re-emphasize WHEN IT COMES TO MY KIDS because as many of you know personally I am a germaphobe. I don't care to eat on dishes at other people's houses often, usually opt for paper and plastic which I understand may possibly not be any cleaner but provide the illusion to me that I am better off. (At least, I am guaranteed to not find old crusty, dried on food stuck to a new paper good!) Back to what I was saying about my children . . . I decided early on that I was not going to obsess about what they are exposed to, at least within reason. So while I do not encourage my child to go out in the backyard and eat dog poop, if they did, I would rinse out their mouth and go on with life. My children have tried dog food, their own waste, food that has been stuck who knows where for long enough to not be re...

In keeping with a couple of other blogs - RocksinmyDryer and MoneySavingMom - I am going to share some things that work for me and some things that don't. Work: 1. Using pharmacy coupons to "make" money when I have a to fill a prescription. Sometimes they aren't readily available, but this stretches our budget so much further than it would be able to go without it. 2. Using an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) through Joey's employer to force us to budget and save ahead of time for medical expenses. 3. Shopping at CVS and getting many of our staple items FREE or even making money on them. 4. USING COUPONS! One of my sister-in-laws very sweetly the other day called me the "Coupon Goddess." I am sure that some of the cashiers at the stores I shop at would call me some other, less endearing, names. But all that aside coupons and sales are how I keep our grocery budget for a family of 4 under $50 a week. I stock up on items when they are on sale and then hav...

I emailed some of you about this previously, but apparently the link wasn't correct so I didn't receive credit for referring you. For those of you that haven't heard, this is an easy way to "make" $25. RME is trying to give Paypal a run for its money. To do that, they have to have enough people signed up. The incentive they have been dangling for the last couple of months is a $25 credit to your account when you register. I have registered and already received this credit (and cashed it out) so I know it works. Follow this link and enter all of your information. You only have a few more days to qualify for the $25 bonus.

Okay after being challenged multiple times to share in a slightly more public forum exactly how I save money. Here I go . . . First we tithe 10% Then we save 10% (this has actually dropped to 5% since I quit my job) We pay our bills . . . novel concept, I know We budget $50 for groceries which includes all prescriptions, toiletries, dog food and random other items I want to buy We budget $30 for gas and when it runs out, I stop driving We have a small amount of $$$ left over for extras Starting this week, in agreement with our BIL and SIL we will begin a budget where I operate our groceries, gas and spending for extras in cash. I do well overall with our budget but still need to rein in the pennies so that things aren't so tight. I've got to run for now. The boys want to go to Papa's house, but I will blog again later about how I actually make a $50 budget work for a family of four with two in diapers!