Bye bye sweet camera!

Oh how I'm going to miss my Nikon D90 and 50mm 1.4 lens!!! I already miss it! I decided to sell all of my photography equipment/extras because it's worth a lot of money and I don't use it for a business, just as a hobby. I figured I could use a point and shoot for a couple of years while we pay off our debt. I know in my heart I made the right decision. We already paid off a credit card with part of the profits. So one credit card down, and several more to go! A step in the right direction for sure. One day I'll have another DSLR... one day. I did get a new point and shoot with part of the profits to last me a couple of years. So hopefully it will not let me down.

I'm so happy to have a credit card gone though! It's an awesome feeling, saving that $15 to go towards the next credit card in line per month... plus whatever extra money we have which the last time I calculated it, it was around $260!

So I'm actually sticking to my new years resolution this year, which was to become frugal and work on the Dave Ramsey plan!

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the clean out the clutter challenge.

Walgreens, CVS, Kohls

Today I went to Walgreens, CVS, and Kohls. I am going to start going to Walgreens, and CVS on Sundays, because if I go during the middle of the week, everything is already sold out.

Here is a breakdown of what I got.

Walgreens

Ban deodorant $.99 (with in ad coupon) matched with a ($.75/1 manu coupon)= $.24
Schick Hydro shave gel $2.99 sale (Receive $2.99 RR back) = $2.99 out of pocket.

My total for walgreens OOP = $3.23 but I received $3RR for my next in store purchase. So really those two things for $.23

CVS
Herbal Essence Shampoo and Conditioner 2/$5 (used 2- $1/1 manu coupon)=$3

2 Crest Pro Health toothpaste sale price 2/$6.98 (used 2- $1.50/1 manu coupons)=$3.98 (received $2 ECB)

1 Dove Conditioner $4.49 (used $1.50/1 manu coupon)= $2.99 (received $4.49ECBs)

1 Dial Nutriskin body wash $5.49 (used a $1/1 internet printable coupon)= $4.49 (received $4.50 ECBs)

1 pack of Kotex U pads $4.99 (used a $1/1 coupon in the All You April Mag)= $3.99 (received $1 ECB)

Pro clinical toothpaste $3.99 (used a $1/1 manu coupon)= $2.99 (received $2 ECBs)

CVS Kleenex $1.29 (Used a $1/1 coupon from the machine where you scan your CVS card) = $.29

CVS unscented wash wipes - great for the car! $1.49 (Used a $1/1 coupon from the machine where you scan your CVS card)= $.49

Total OOP after coupons and $7 in previous ECBs $16.19
ECBs gained to put towards next purchase $13.99

So really all of that for $2.20

Kohls

Capris $25.99
Clearance T $8.00
Shirt $19.99
Ladies flip flops $7.99

Used a $5 coupon for signing my e-mail up with them through their website.
Used a 15% coupon they sent me after I gave them my e-mail

Total: $52.41
Used my gift card my mom gave me for my birthday
Total spent $2.41

I had fun shopping, and I used CASH :)

Gymnastics night

It was last night, and our class starts at 6, and ends at 6:45pm. The class is about 45 minutes away, but so worth it! Our children love their gymnastics class, and sure it's an added expense and that extra $123 can go towards debt per month, but really, there is no price on the excitement on their faces when we drive up to the gym!

The one thing that is not ok is going out to eat after wards. Which we would have to do unless we want two screaming children for an hour while I cook. We get home at 7:30 and usually they are in bed by 8. So I declared Thursday nights as Crock pot night. Last night I made pinto beans, rice and cornbread. While the kids ate their lunch I made the rice and cornbread, that way it would be ready when we got home and I could just heat it up and serve. The pinto beans are delicious, and there is enough for my husband to take for leftovers on Fridays, and enough for my children and I to have leftovers for lunch. Still enough to make about one can of refried beans. Just mash it up with a potato masher like I did and freeze it until you need it! All of those meals for about $5 surely beats a $35 meal going to to eat every Thursday!

Clear out the Clutter Challenge: Pics

Ok, so I know I said that I would complete challenge 1 yesterday (Wednesday), well I didn't. I don't want to bang around a lot of stuff while my children are sleeping at night, and I had to go grocery shopping last night. So I took pictures of Challenge 1 (cleaning out your hall/living room closets), and Challenge 2 (cleaning out your kitchen area). I plan to show you before pictures today, and by Monday I should be showing you after pictures. I SOOOO do NOT want to clean out my kitchen! But it needs to be done! So here are the before pictures...

Challenge 1
Hall closet 1


Hall closet 2




Challenge 2

Shoe rack


Drawers by the refrigerator


Under the sink


Cabinet by the refrigerator


Cabinet above the counter by the refrigerator


Cabinet above the counter by the sink


Cabinet(s) above the counter by the sink/stove





Drawers and cabinets under the stove



Drawers and cabinets by the oven





Pantry


Scary huh? I forgot to add pictures of my refrigerator, freezer, baking drawer (measuring cups/spoons), and my mixing bowl/ large pot/ strainer cabinet. Eh, I am sure you're not missing anything ;). I'll take pictures before of my refrigerator, and after.

Alright, so wish me luck for this weekend. I'll need it. I HATE cleaning out the kitchen! BLECH!

Samples!

Be sure to always sign up for free samples! They are free!!! :) In the past couple of weeks I've gotten diapers, tooth paste, and a few other odds and ends. I've signed up for a lot of them, and it's always fun to see things in the mail box for you! Well not bills of course, but you know what I mean.

Clear out the Clutter Challenge

There are two blogs that I read daily. Hip2save.com, and moneysavingmom.com they are my go to girls to learn how to live frugal and to learn this coupon thing :). I've followed moneysavingmom.com for a while now and she inspires me. Well she's hosting this Clear out the clutter challenge, and I am going to follow it.

Our house is off the market next month, so in about two months or before I'll be having a garage sale. The time frame depends if our house sells or not this month. We already have a lot of things in the garage that need to be sold, I would love to add to it during this challenge from our house clutter. We will be using the profits from the garage sale towards our debt :)

So tomorrow I'll be starting with the first step. Which is to clean out your hall or living room closets. Well I have 2 hall closets so those are the first on my list. I'll blog about that tomorrow with pictures to share!

Sticking to a Budget

That is what I need to do! So this little obsession of mine has not been a good thing on my wallet or rather my bank account. Yes, I am saving money, or am I really? I've been getting so many deals, and it is ALL stuff that I'll use. However, I have to put a limit on my bargain shopping, and I have to pay cash! We HAVE to do the cash system or we'll never get out of debt! So I haven't shopped for a couple of days. I have to put things into perspective. I am going to make a few rules.

* Shop ONLY with cash
* Shop mostly for food
* I am stocked up on tooth paste and tooth brushes, but if they are FREE I am snagging them. I mean really do they have a shelf life?

Alright, so I am kind of bummed right now, so I just wanted to tell you all why I haven't been blogging my awesome deals. I haven't gone anywhere :). Oh and one more rule. I want to try to limit my shopping trips to a few days a week, I mean really do I need to go into town almost EVERY.SINGLE.DAY? No, I do not!

With the budget, I have one made, and we must stick to it. WE must use the cash/envelope system for all of the categories we designated for the cash! Wish us luck! :)