More Summer Fun @ The Movies

Families, schools and organizations alike are invited to see great kids’ movies during AMC Summer MovieCamp. Available at select AMC theatres, this fun-filled program brings you:

$1 movies from June 25 – August 6
Shows starting at 10:00 a.m. every Wednesday

Great field trip opportunities – groups can purchase tickets one week in advance starting June 18 at the box office or online at participating theatres.

All admission proceeds* from AMC Summer MovieCamp will benefit Variety Children's Charity and The Wil Rogers Institute.

The kids get to have an outing and help donate to charity at the same time! What a great feeling!!

(Thanks Candace @ The Savings Swap!)

Online Parent Playground

I recently just discovered a new site, Shoprite My Baby which is an interactive site for parents to go to and have their own playground! You'll get to meet other parents and find some really great helpful tips as well. Check out the Events section which goes by city & state for some upcoming local events in your neighborhood that you may not have known about! There's also a free easy meals spot which has some great ideas!!

Its free to join and each month they offer a giveaway for free groceries to ShopRite! Stop by and check it out!

Free Frugal Father's Day Gift Bags!

Crystal is hosting Frugal Fridays so be sure to stop over and get some great frugal ideas!!

Since Father's Day is upon us, I thought I would let you know what out Father;'s days gifts would be this year.

We have 4 people we give Daddy's Day Gifts to so we do try to cut back on costs. This year, we are making gift bags of goodies (can you guess of what,hmmm) of razors, shaving creams (trial sized that were free,lol!) bodywashes (thank goodness for all that free Gillette 2 in 1 from Walgreen's) and pks of Hanes undergarments that we picked up @ Target on clearance for $1.89 ea-- add to that we had several Hanes $1 off so that makes a pk of 2 boxers shorts $.89!

Wrap it all up in the many EOB gift bags that we got Free @ CVS and we're all set! 4 Rather lovely gift bags that I know are needed and look expensive without the cost,lol!!

Free Disney Movies on your Computer!

Each week at Disney.com, there will be a free movie featured during the summer! Right now you can watch Finding Nemo.

You have the option to view it full-screen, and it really does take up the entire scree with no ads!

Other featured movies coming up include Monster, Inc., Haunted Mansion, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Princess Diaries 2, Freaky Friday, and Peter Pan. Its a nice way to keep the kiddies busy for awhile!

(Thanks Freebies4Mom!)

Earn Free Subscriptions to Your Favorite Magazines!

With Adperk you can earn rewards towards the purchase price of a full subscription to many of your favorite magazines!! Magazines like Good Housekeeping, Redbook and Parenting are a just a few listed of the many they offer.

You'll earn subscriptions to magazines simply by watching videos they think you'll be interested in!

How it works:

Select the offer you wish to participate in and you’ll be taken to a library of relevant branded videos.

Each video represents credit(s) that can be applied toward the corresponding reward offer.

Watch videos that interest you the most and once completed, simply enter a word-verification so the credits can be applied to your account.

You’ll be automatically directed to the checkout page after you’ve earned the required number of credits and your reward will be mailed to you.

Adperk costs you nothing!! The magazines are currently paid for by AdPerk advertisers.

Go and get your read on, LOL!

New Restaraunt.com Promo!

Don't forget, Father's Day is around the corner!! Treat him to dinner for more than 1/2 off!! I am addicted to these GC's! They make awesome gifts and are so inexpensive for a great meal !!

50% off $25.00 Gift Certificates for $10 thru June 15th. Now $5.00 when you use code FUN!

Overwhelmed?

Since I started blogging, it has become almost an obsession for me at times. And a hard one to keep up with too when you have a full time job and a family to take care of all at the same time.

You feel as though you have to "Keep up with the Jones'es". Some days I feel so completely overwhelmed and wonder how do they do it all and sometimes I feel as though I should just let the blog go.... then I see all the readers and their emails and then I feel guilty as if I would be letting my readers down.

And yes, the deals are always there no matter where you turn- there are fabulous blogs out there that do an amazing job of keeping each other up to date for the frugal minded. Which is why when I read Marianne's post about "Competition & Greed not apply", it touched upon a very real sense of being for me and I thought each one of us should read it! She's such an AMAZING writer and I always enjoy her posts which are thought provoking and this one definately was worthwhile.

I know firsthand myself about feeling overwhelmed with it all and trying to get it all done at the sake of sitting at the computer almost all day! There's too many great deals and it seems as though there is a race to get the word out and compete to get the best deals and such and if you don't succeed, you feel as though it isn't worthwhile. But we all count for something I realized, no matter what stage we are in at this time.

A wise blogger once emailed me: The blog/deals will always be there, but the moments/family life won't! And don't sweat the small things in life!

As Marianne wrote:
"Can you overdo all this deal-making, couponing, and CVSing? Well, yes, I believe you can. If its consuming your time to the point that you're missing out on life, then you may well be."

So, yes... while there are days that I feel like giving up, I am like anyone else. I am no super mommy, just me and I'll learn as I go and hopefully learn more in the process as I go along!

Kyle's Online Coupons

Let's welcome Kyle back with another rousing rendition of Online Coupons!!

Frugal Summer Fun

Hide the cat and inform the neighbors, school is almost out for summer! Say goodbye to peace and quiet and say hello to loud and crazy. But it won't last long as my wife and I keep the kids busy and active all summer without going broke. Here are a few of my favorite frugal summer fun activities.

~ Keep Them Cool and Wet. Last summer I bought a small above ground pool at Wal-Mart for only $39! It holds over 500 gallons and provides hours of fun for the kiddos. Plus, it helps burn a lot of their energy as they splish and splash for hours at a time. Other favorites include sprinklers and the infamous Slip N Slide. TIP: Kids only on the Slip N Slide as I almost broke my hip trying to slide down ours last summer!

~ Family Bike Ride. Typically once a week during the summer, I load up all our bikes in my truck and we head off for a ride on one of the biking trails in our area. I love our bike rides because it is something we can all do together and I have witnessed great family bonding on these outings. The best thing is that once everyone has a bike and helmet, it doesn't cost a cent. Plus, it is great exercise.

~ Check Your Local Library. Our local library has a weekly story time program where kids are invited to come and listen to a story and then do a small related craft project. This is a lot of fun for the kids, totally free, and nicely air conditioned. Check to see if your local library has a similar program. It is a great way to encourage reading, plus they think it is pretty cool checking out their own books every week.

~ Camping Trips. I am a huge fan of taking the family camping. We are heading out next week for our first outing of the year. Precious memories are built sitting around the campfire, your 3 year old with melted marshmallow in her hair, your 6 year old with dirt so thick the only way you can see him is when he smiles, plus it doesn't cost a lot of money.

Help me add to this list and please add your family's favorite summer frugal activity. Now on to the coupons. Here are some of the most used summer coupons I have been given for June.
Shoebuy
Save 20% Off your Online Order PLUS Free Shipping
Coupon Code: FATHERSDAY08
Expiration: 6/16/08
See All: Shoebuy.com Coupon Codes

JCPenney
Free Shipping on your $69 or more Online Order
Coupon Code: FSH4DAD
Expiration: 6/09/08
See All: JCPenney Coupon Codes

American Eagle Outfitters
Save 20% Off your Online Order
Coupon Code: 58248203
Expiration: 6/18/08
See All: American Eagle Coupon Codes

Footlocker
Save 25% Off your Online Order
Coupon Code: LKS18E25
Expiration: 6/06/08
See All: Footlocker Coupon Codes

eBags
Save $10 Off your $50 or more Online Order through this Link
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/30/08
See All: eBags Coupon Codes

Orvis (Great for Fathers Day)
Free Shipping on your Entire Online Purchase
Coupon Code: None Needed
Expiration: 6/13/08
See All: Orvis Coupon Codes

Office Depot
Save 10% Off your Entire Online Order
Coupon Code: 78445094
Expiration: 7/05/08
See All: Office Depot Coupon Codes

Guest Post: Challenge your Process!

Because I am super busy this week, I asked for a little help in posting this week. Andrea from MommySnackswas kind enough to oblige and with a great article that will get you really thinking! Lets give a warm welcome to Andrea!

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I'm so excited Jennifer asked me to help out this week! Sisterly Savings is definitely one of my daily visits (usually multiple times a day!). She has so many great tips that it was hard for me to come up with something to share!

I try my best to apply everything I learn to my personal life - whether I learned it during my time in Corporate America, during courses in college, or in a sermon at church - each message or lesson can be applied to so many situations in your personal life. Well, several years ago, I attended a training session on the book, "Leadership Challenge," by authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. The book is geared towards leaders in business and the premise of the book is learning techniques to motivate people to get things done by using "five practices of exemplary leadership." Well, one particular practice which is something I constantly apply in our life everyday is the principle to challenge the process. I want to discuss how I've applied this principle to my personal life and share tips for you to challenge your budget and think out of the box.

Challenge Your Goals

I talk about SMART goals here. Having clear goals also ties in the other tips I share. You have to have clear, defined goals to even start to challenge them and your way of doing things! Just think of it like this, companies don't grow because they remain status quo. Successful companies have performance management systems in place that includes challenging the current state of the business to help achieve goals and increase profit for shareholders. Well, I believe frugal minded families are following suit too - only the increase in profit (or savings) goes in their own bank accounts and earn a return on their investment! Challenging your personal goals is key in growing and moving on to the next goal to tackle!

Challenge Your Spending

My grocery budget is $75 a week for our family of 5 (which includes one on formula and in diapers). The budget is for any household items we need whether it's cleaning supplies, food, health/beauty, diapers - everything! This budget was around $150 a week last year until I really started to focus on savings for our family.

I was able to really see where our money was going and know exactly what to challenge, by utilizing a money-tracking software. We use Money because it came FREE with our computer, but there are many other software packages that do what it does. By utilizing money management software, I was able to truly determine and analyze the spending for our family and know what areas I could challenge our spending in order to save more. I saw that I would make a trip to Sam's here, visit Kroger multiple times per week, not shop at drugstores like CVS or Walgreens at all (gasp...I know!). This really opened my eyes and showed me how I could begin to save more on our purchases, start stockpiling rather than shopping at warehouse clubs, and begin to challenge my spending and the process in which I spent. The easiest way to spend, was definitely not the smartest financially. By challenging our spending, our budget, and our process, we're shopping smarter! We have saved an estimated $900 just last year in our grocery budget alone and that doesn't include the thousands in savings from couponing (be sure to check out Jennifer's "Ways to Save at The Grocery Store")!

Challenge Your Process

Sometimes it is so easy to keep doing things the way we've always done them. This tip has really helped us to challenge our own process and showed us that doing this can help to achieve your goals!

I typically never have cash on me. But, that changed when we went on a cash-only diet. Many of you Dave Ramsey devotees know this method of payment all too well! Well, we primarily used our debit or credit cards because of convenience. I won't discuss the pros/cons of Dave's philosophy (I've actually never read his books), but here's how I used his suggestion of using cash to challenge our process and budget.

I really wanted to try to save as much money possible during January and April. Well, I decided I would follow the practice of using cash for all my purchases during each month. I used cash primarily for payments that revolved and were f2f purchases (i.e., gas, groceries, coffee, etc). I continued to take advantage of our bank's free online banking for monthly bills like mortgage, utilities, etc. Doing this cash-only diet was an excellent way we found to challenge our budget by challenging our process of how we spent for years and years. I was forced to use some creative ways to find money (extra cash or gift cards) to pay for things, which also forced me to think out of the box. This challenge showed us how much extra money we would have if we didn't use a credit or debit card. We were able to send extra payments to pay on debt - all because we wanted to challenge how we've always done things and refusing to remain status quo! I'm happy to report that we're still doing this today.

Finally, staying at home with our kids was a personal decision for my husband and I because our income allowed it, and it's only been 3 years since I've been in this "new" job. But, the tips I've listed above and challenging them on a frequent basis, allows our family the ability to breathe comfortably even with the recent food increases and, oh yeah, paying $4 for a gallon of gas. I promise you, if we did things the way we used to and not challenged our process, I would more than likely be back at work because our financial situation would not allow me to stay home. These tips are small but in the scheme of things they can help you fill up your car for the month - challenging the process does truly help overall!

~Posted by Andrea at MommySnacks

Angel Food Ministries Update

In May, we talked about The Angel Food Ministires and the quality of the food.You can read about it here if you missed it. One of our readers who participates in the program has been graciously keeping up us to date and has kindly sent us a list as well as a picture of the food she got for $50!

Here is what Shawna wrote:

Picked up my Angel Food order today. For $50 I received:
32 oz 2% Bordon Milk
Family Size Salisbury Steak Entree (6 pieces)
Lean Pockets Chicken Artichoke
2 packages frozen broccoli spears
1 package frozen french-style green beans
Bean soup mix
Jiffy corn muffin mix
Pumpkin pie
1 dozen large eggs
Lean Cuisine brick-oven style mushroom pizza
1 all natural whole chicken
1 package beef and bean burritos (10)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 oz bacon wrapped fillets
4-6 oz bone-in pork chops
4 lbs breaded frying chicken
2.5 lbs breaded chicken breast fillets
2 lbs popcorn chicken
2 lbs breaded chicken tenders
1 lb chicken wings

Attached is the photo of the food. What I really appreciated was the fact that I could place my June order when I picked up my food today.

-Shawna

Shawna has had nothing but great success with this program and its definately worth the $50 for her family. With the economy nowadays I think this is really a great,frugal idea!

I must say that I am impressed and I think that I shall order if just to try it out!! If anyone else has tried Angel Food Ministries, I would love to hear about it!

Thanks Shawna for all your help, it was very much appreciated and I'm glad that you were able to share with us all!

Ways to Save @ The Grocery Store

While I have received many requests as to why I don't have a "Coupon 101" list, I feel there are many posts out there that have been written that already do a great job at the basics. I will however choose my favorites and post at the sidebar this weekend so that newcomers can get the information that is so imperative to learning to save!! Look for my link list shortly!!

Meanwhile here is a short list of ways that you can implement to help you save @ the supermarket:

1. Be sure to plan ahead before going to the grocery market:

Check your local sales ads and favorite sales blogs before making your grocery lists out to see what's on sale.

2. Gather/Clip your coupons:

Match up your coupons with the sales. There are plenty of sites that do the matching up for you:

Coupon Mom
Becentsable
The Grocery Game

Or print coupons online:

Coupons.com
Smartsource.com
Coolsavings.com
Boodle.com

(Try and go to markets that double the manufacturer coupons to double the savings! )

3.Try the store brand instead of the name brand items.
Believe it or not, sometimes there really isn't a difference other than the price. For instance, I actually prefer the Pathmark brand of loaf bread to stroehmann bread as it is so soft and fresh!

4. Check unit prices per size vs cost.
This can sometimes make a really big difference in derterming whether the price is good for the value! More doesn't alway mean better savings. Stay informed and you'll save more.Do you know the difference between an item price and a unit price? If not, you can get more details here.

5. Buy your meats in bulk family packs and separate into smaller packs for freezer storage.

6.If an item is on on sale for example 3/$5, you don't always have buy the full 3 items unless stated "You Must Buy 3".
Example: That pasta that is advertised at 3/$5 is really only $1.66 wyb buy just 1.

7.If an advertised item is out of stock, get a raincheck! Most stores will issue you a raincheck for the sale price so that you can the item for that price.

A few more tools to help guide you as well!

Newbies can start here with HCW's Couponing 101 article.

Track all of your rebates with an Online Rebate Tracker .

Start a Grocery Price Book .You can download and print your own. ( I actually have this spreadsheet!)

Download a Grocery Savings Tracker and a Stockpile Calculator here to help keep you aware of your savings and needs.

Do you have any ideas or tools that you use?

Commerce Bank Summer Reading Program

Join Commerce Bank in their Summer Reading Program! Have your kids read 10 books over the summer and they'll get $10 deposited into a new or existing Young savers Account!

Just download & print the Summer Reading Brochure and bring in to Commerce Bank completed to get your free $10!!

Kids Bowl Free

Kids can sign up for two free games of bowling every day of the summer at participating Bowling in Centers for the “Kids Bowl Free” program during the summer! More details here!

~Thanks Erin!

Free Family Summer Fun!

Trying to find something fun & productive (don't forget inexpensive!) for the kids during the summer months are always a challenge for us. Each summer the kids want to do/go somewhere but we usually cannot afford the expensive camps and art classes, so we usually try to find parks & playgrounds to go to. Reader Jill sent us this idea which is perfect (and affordble,lol!):

When school's out, kids around the country can visit selected Regal theatres for the Free Family Film Festival. It's a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to the community, and best of all it's FREE!
Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.

You can see the Summer Schedule here.

The movies are pretty costly these days and are a RARE treat at my house. I really can't see spending $40 just for us to go out so this is a great deal that you can't beat!

Anyone else have any other Frugal fun Summer Ideas? We really do need some ideas!!

Frugal Summer Fun

Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse

Get 10 Weeks Of Fun Films For the Kids for only $5 with a different movie every week! All 10 movies can be purchased in advance for $5, or can be purchased separately at the box office for $1.00 per show. For more details or to see participating Theatres near you click here.

Inexpensive All Purpose Cleaner

There are just so many great uses for the little orange box of Baking Soda that I couldn't live without it and you sure can't beat the cost of a box! I use it practically for everything other than baking:

I clean our fruits and veggies w/it by sprinkling it on them and them rinsing off.
I use it in our Kitty's Litter Box daily (a Must)

I make a paste out of it mixed with a tiny bit of Dawn dish detergent to clean the grease off our range hood daily.

In the laundry,it helps to freshen and rinse clean better. I always add 1/2 cup.

Sprinkle on carpets for maximum deodorizing without using expensive powders like Carpet Fresh

Use on BBQ Grills and let sit, then scrub clean. this makes it much easier to clean the blackened grates.

Pour 1/2 cup into bath water to soften and smooth skin,also helps to relieve dry itcht "winter" skin

Soak sponges in bowl of water w/baking soda and microwave on high for 2 min to kill bacteria and get the disinfected and smelling fresh

Thats only a few of the uses that I make good use of, you can always visit their website to get more ideas!!

Visit Biblicalwomanhood for more great Frugal Friday Tips!!

Need a New Look for Your Blog?

Have you been been wanting to update the look of your blog with a Fresh New Design or add a really pretty Header to your page complete with all the frills? But don't know where to start? Look no further cause I have found the Jewel of Blog Designers that cannot be beat for Price or Customer Service!

When I first started my blog, it was just a simple plain blog but I always wanted more from it. I wanted it to be pretty yet functional and I didn't want to pay a lot! I started researching the many Blog Designers out there, and I couldn't believe how much it actually cost to get a simple design let alone a few extra perks like a signature and such!

My search ended 4 1/2 weeks later when I came upon RS Designs and met up with Revka. What a wonderful and PATIENT woman!! She answered all my questions and was very helpful and knew exactly what I was looking for in my blog. She gave me plenty of designs to choose from and anytime I asked for adjustments she made them without giving me limits ( some Blog Designers I found out actually only give you 2-3 designs with only 2 adjustments to it ).

After all was said done and I was finally happy w/my design, Revka installed my New Design and it didn't just stop there! Whenever I had a question about something, she immediately came to my rescue and helped solved whatever issue there was and this was AFTER our transaction had been done and over with!

Was it too expensive? Not at all! They are very reasonable in price and offer many Design Packages to choose from, Not to mention the many Freebies that they offer to their current customers. If you sign up for their newsletter, they usually have a few freebies that they offer as an incentive to their past customers. So if you would like to jazz up your blog later on, somewhere down the road you can bet they will offer it! They also have many free designs on their site that you can grab and utilize as well to freshen up your blog.

And now, RS Designs has made a Special offer to our Readers! Just place an order of $20 or more and mention our blog's name in your 1st intial email, you will receive a $10 surprise addition to your order! Not to mention the many added benefits of the Excellent Customer Service and Attention they offer once you become a customer!

Happy Bloggy Decorating!!! I can't wait to see your new Design!

SwapTree

With our financially economy at the present moment, needless to say that buying high priced DVDs, video games and CDs are a careful expenditure to say the least. My one daughter loves CD's and the other one loves video games but we really don't have "budgeting money" put aside for their hobbies which can range from $20 for a single CD or $30 for a new game which in about a month they are already tired of and a new artist has come out by or the newest game craze!

Which is why I'm glad we've discovered Swaptree which actually helps you save money! At Swaptree you can trade the books, DVDs, video games and CDs you have for the ones you want, for free. You simply list the items that you have to trade and the items that you want and Swaptree’s two and three-way trade algorithms instantly shows you all of the items you can receive in trade.

With Swaptree, parents/kids can just list what they are no longer interested in and trade them for the items they want now.

Swaptree even makes the mailing process simple, by providing you with a postage label that can be printed right from your computer, so you never have to go to the post office.

Swapptree, not only saves you money and allows you to discover new authors and artists, it is also environmentally friendly by reducing consumption and promoting sharing and recycling (good for going green!).

Update

Rememeber our post about Angel Food Ministries? If you missed it, you can read more about it here. I received so many emails regarding the quality of the food, that a reader who actually participates in the program wrote that she wouldn't mind updating us and sending pictures when she gets her package! How generous and thoughtful of her to share this with us!

Here is her update:

I did place my Angel Food ministries order on Tuesday for the month. I purchased $100 worth of quality products for $50 and pick this up on May 31st. I know many people have not used this program before and I will do a write-up on it and take pictures. Very high quality products. Our budget allowed for this purchase this month...so I was able to do it and am excited to get it on the 31st, since I leave town on a business trip (very rare!) and know my family will be taken care of.


Shawna L

Thanks so much Shawna! I know I am looking forward to the pictures:)

ShortCuts.com

I just recently came across a great free website with a unique idea on coupons. Shortcuts.com (a service of AOL) is a totally paperless and free online coupon service that links coupons electronically to your grocery store loyalty cards.

At this time there are only selected participating stores such as Kroger ( which owns Ralph’s, Fry’s, King Soopers, etc).

The concept is to go and choose the coupons you want and they get linked onto your store savings card so you don't have to clip them or forget about a coupon! I wish they had ShopRite on their list!!

You can also view the online store circulars to match the coupons with the sales as well as a on line shopping list for you to create all in one place! Talk about convenient! I can't wait till they get to my area!

Since none of the stores listed are in my area, I'd love to know if anyonehas tried this service before? If so, let us know how you like it or if it has helped you!