Help, Please!

My friend, I need your help!This blog was created to help you save money, while being good stewards of God riches. My other goal was to share devotions as God places them on my heart. I would love to hear form you! What do you want to see on this blog? If you have ideas, please share with me! Thank you in advance.

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Apple Sauce

I love to pretend that I am the next best cook in America and try new recipes. A while back I was looking for all kinds of different recipes and stumbled upon a recipe of making apple sauce in crock pot. End results – DELISIOUSNESS.


Ingredients:
7 apples
¼ cup water
1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

Preparation:
Pill, core and slice fresh apples. Add water to crock pot first to prevent apples from sticking to the bottom of the crock pot. Then add apples and sprinkle then with cinnamon. Cover and let apples cook on low for 5-6 hours. Once apples are ready take a fork and mesh the apples until the mixture is smooth. However, if you prefer chunky apples sauce, mesh the apples lightly. Pour in a container and keep it refrigerated.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share? We would love to hear about it!

$0.99 Strawberries Anyone?

I noticed in Aldi’s sales paper that their container of strawberries is $0.99 this week. I was so excited about it that on Wednesday after work I decided to make a quick trip to the store just to find out that all strawberries are gone. I was pretty sad, but figured I had a few more days left in a week to get my strawberries. I decided to stop by the store again on Friday, when I was out and about just to learn again that all strawberries are gone. At that point I was determined to get my $0.99 strawberries one way or another.

Strawberries were on my mind all week long and I just pictured making chocolate covered strawberries and then eating them. So I got up pretty early on Saturday with one mission in mind to not leave Aldi’s empty handed. The store was opening at 9:00 am and I got there a few minutes before the store was scheduled to open. I was shocked to see a small group of shoppers waiting on store doors to be opened. In fact I giggled when I saw a friend from church on the same mission. I felt much better to know that I am not the only desperate person in our area wanting to snatch $0.99 strawberries.


The moment the store doors opened, people crowed strawberry area. Within 5 minutes most strawberries were gone. I didn’t feel guilty buying 8 containers, because I was informed that they have several more pallets of strawberries in the back. As I was yawning at a checkout lane, I knew that mission was accomplished and I can finally go home and make my chocolate covered strawberries.

I am certain that Aldi’s will run this deal again. If you need cheap strawberries, make sure you arrive earlier to the store. According to the cashier their strawberries disappear by 10:30 am.

picture credit: homepages.wmich.edu/~a4jones2?D=A

picture credit:www.flickr.com/photos/depur_photography/422710575/

TIGHTWAD'S SAVINGS

I didn’t spend too much time grocery shopping. I picked up items that were on sale and also a few items that I needed in order to make banana pudding for Daniel. My husband is a health nut and I mean it. So I was happy to hear that he would eat banana pudding if I make it. My first stop was at Ingles where i picked up cheap meat and organic apple and tangerine juice. I also had Daniel with me, so he added a few items to the cart that I did not have a coupon for. I was happy when I received $3 Catalina off my next purchase for buying biscuits!



Later in the day I stopped by Bi-Lo to pick up free sour cream, cherry pie filling and dryer sheets. I also picked up ingredients for banana pudding. I didn't have coupons for vanilla wafers, but was happy that they were B1G1 this week. Boxes also had a coupon on them that if you buy a box of wafers you get bananas for free. By the way free is my favorite word. Before I left the store, I had to buy a box of whole wheat cookies for my husband but when I came to the register I remembered that I did not bring a coupon for the cookies with me. Oh well.

Ingles: Spent $27.38 Saved: $37.29
Bi-Lo: Spent $13.85 Saved: $39.34

LEAD ME TO THE CROSS

As a college student I had a pretty boring ride home, when I visited my family on weekends. The reason my drive was boring is because the road that I had to take was straight with very few turns and was not very picturesque. My life journey however is full of straight roads and curvy roads with yield, stop, do not enter and detour signs just to name a few. I have been going down the straight lane for a few months now but today I stumbled upon a stop sign that was hard not to notice.

My stop sign was a size of a giant and I wondered which way I would have to turn once I press the gas pedal. Since I have become an American citizen a few weeks ago, I knew that my trip to Belarus to see my family would be right around the corner. I had every step of the way mapped out up until the day that Daniel and I would board the plane. I figured my “road” to visit my home is going to be straight with no bumps. Today I called Belarussian embassy to verify all the documents that I would need in order to obtain a visa and was shocked to find out that because I was born in Belarus different rules apply to me than that of an American. To make a long story short it may take a long time to get all the documents that I need to visit my family. When I finally hung up the phone, I sat in disbelief for a few minutes until tears started to run down my face. Will I ever be able to go to Belarus to see my dad whom I haven’t seen in over 10 years? Will I ever be able to hug my grandmother and tell her that I love her again? Will I walk the streets of my hometown with my mom reminiscing my childhood? The answers to these questions were unknown to me.

I knew that God was the only One who had the answers to these questions. As I wiped my tears He gently reminded me that His Word in Isaiah 55:8 says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways”. And His ways are so much better than mine at all times. He has never failed me and in fact allowed me on numerous occasions to watch Him opening doors in my life, when all the doors were shut very tight. I should take this time to seat back and watch God at work. I find comfort in knowing that “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27) Today I also saw yet another sign, a yield sign that required me fully to yield to God’s will in every aspect of the situation.

We are all faced with different situation in our daily lives. Some situations seem so big that we think no way can we ever overcome them, but know, my friend, that with God you can overcome anything. Some of us will see stop, turn around or take a right sign, but we will all be faced with the yield sign. No matter what you are dealing with, my friend, we must all yield to God’s will. Knowing that He has control over the situation has reminded me of a children’s song, “My God is so Big, so Strong and so Mighty, there is nothing my God can not do for you”. As I hum this children’s song, I am excited to see how God will open the door for me to see my family in Belarus in His time and according to His will.

photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/noecarrillo/1364989499/

More Coupons, Please! (Part II)

In a previous post I have shared a few ways that you can obtain coupons. Today, I would like to offer a few more tips and trick on how increase your coupon stash.

• Clip from the magazines – many magazines now offer coupons. I have previously cut a coupon for a free box of dog treat from People magazine. My favorite magazine that is full of coupons and money saving tips is All You Magazine. You can only buy it at Wal-Mart, however subscribing to it will save you money. In their recent issue they had a coupon for free Rimmel mascara, which was a thrill for me.

• E-mail companies – I have had a lot of success requesting coupons from companies through e-mail. I always compliment their product if I have used and like it or let the company know how much I would like to try their product. In 3 months I have received coupons for over $100 worth free products (I will talk more on this subject another time). But don’t be afraid if you are rejected, some companies don’t participate in coupon mailers.

• Purchase from clipping services – I have never bought coupons myself but know of people who have purchased coupons from clipping services or on e-bay. Never buy printed coupons, because you are risking of buying fraudulent coupons. Legally you can not sell coupons, however if you read seller’s disclaimer you are paying not for coupons but for that person’s time of clipping coupons.

• Visit your local library – our local library subscribes to several Sunday newspapers. We have a small red box standing on a table with coupons inserts sticking out of it. People are fee to stop by and clip coupons that they want leaving the rest of others to clip. If you don’t have a coupon box, ask your librarian if you can start one.

• Ask friends – you will be surprised how many people throw away their coupon inserts. I have a co-worker who always brings me her coupons, for which I am forever grateful.

photo credit: www.flickr.com

Do you have a tip of places where we can find more coupons? Please share in the comment section for us all to learn.

More Coupons, Please! (Part I)

There are numerous sources for coupons and today I would like to share with you where you can find more money saving tokens.

• Buy a newspaper – do your research to find out which store on Sunday sales a newspaper for less than $1. For example, in our area the cheapest newspaper is at Walgreen for $0.88, however to avoid a long drive, I started to buy newspaper from our grocery store for $0.99. If I was to stop by any gas station coming down the mountain, I would have to fork out $1.50. Although it sounds like I am saving only $0.50 it adds up quickly. If I buy 4 Sunday newspapers a week, by going to the grocery store instead of a gas station I am saving $2.00. Since there are 54 weeks in a year, that would amount to $108! Before buying a newspaper I always look through to make sure that all the coupon inserts are in place. During my early coupons days, I would grab several newspapers just to find out when I got home that my coupon inserts were missing. Another reason for why I look through coupons before I buy a newspaper is because I want to see if our family would use a lot of coupons that manufacturers released that particular week. If it is a slow week, I would pick up one or two newspapers. If it is a great week, I buy 4-6 newspapers. One more tip, if your area offers more than one paper on Sunday, always buy the bigger newspaper, since they always print more coupons.


• Dive through the dumpster – it break my heart to see people throw away coupons. No, seriously, I begin to experience tightness in my chest and before you know that pain goes through my whole body. Jokes aside, when people throw coupons because they see coupons as just another piece of paper, I see it as people latterly throwing money away. There are many recycling bins that you can look through to find extra coupon inserts. I have before looked throw the bins of our trash dump and our local store. Sometimes I hit a jackpot and score high value coupons.

• Print online – because we do not have internet at home, I rarely print online coupons. However, I have previously gone to fast food restaurant that offered wireless with our laptop and our printer. That’s right, you hear me correctly, and I have carried a printer to a fast food restaurant to print coupons. I can only imagine what has gone through the minds of customers, when they saw me pull out a printer. But oh well, there are a lot of websites that allow you to print coupons. Please note, many website will only allow you to print 2 coupons per computer IP address. So if you have more than one computer you can print usually 4 coupons. Websites such as www.smartsource.com, www.coupons.com and www.redplum.com all have a great variety of coupons to offer. You can also visit a website for a specific brand, for example like Kraft, to see if a company offers coupons on their websites.

photo credit: www.motherguide.net

Do you have a tip of places where we can find more coupons? Please share in the comment section for us all to learn.