The Frugal 5

Monday...blah

2010-05-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Ok so I did great Friday, Sat and Sun and stayed with-in my 1600 cal or less range worked out friday at the gym sat mowed and did yard work and sunday was time with the family....today not so great was over my cals before dinner to much snacking and eatting things I just shouldnt have and now i feel like crap and am have let myself down.
Having a hard time focusing on the goal and keeping on track so tomorrow even though I have plans to go to my girlfriends house for group lunch/play date I must go to the gym when I was going to take it off then come home and clean up and then go to my girlfriends house.
Got my bodyfat done today and well I had it done 6 weeks ago when we started a new work out at the gym...in hopes that just working out and not really focusing on my eatting would change something even though we all know working out and eatting right has to come together to make it happen. I guess the good news it the working out made it stay the same no change 26% body fat which isnt persay bad just not where I want to see myself. My goal is to be 22-23% which means I have to stay focused at all times about my plan and eatting...so back to focusing tomorrow and kicking my ass in gear!
Here is to a better focused tomorrow.

Weight Loss Plan

2010-04-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is the plan stan...My 5 steps!
Get back on track with meal planning and stick to it! No fast food, no ordering pizza because Im just tried and don't want to cook...which happens once a week bad bad bad.
step one (diet/moving my body), drinking water 120oz a day, going to the gym 5 days a week, running and biking on the weekends, getting my 2nd burn on by working out while shyla naps instead of playing on the computer, eating 1600 cals a day or less. let me break that down for you....Breakfast 300cal, Lunch 500cal, afternoon snack 150cal, Dinner 500cal, evening snack 150cal! I know that sounds crazy to some of you but I did this before and I can do it again.
I am paying for my bodybugg which is step two (making myself accountable) and have stopped using it because I didn't want to be accountable well I am tried of being tried and just feeling blah need to get back to that peppy me...soon summer will be here and I have 3 kids I have to entertain not just a 2 yr old...hehe.
step three (clean it out) cleaning my kitchen and making sure all the crap food is gone which should be fairly easy as its the end of the month and we need to go shopping.
step four (resting the body) going to bed before 1030pm to get the 8hrs of sleep I need to rest my body and recover.
step five...NO Excuses!!!

Swagbucks

2009-11-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

Swidget 1.0great free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Sorry

2009-10-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been away for a while. Things got supper crazy this last year. My husband went to recruiters school and then we moved from SoCal (we had been there over 10 yrs) to Iowa...lol
So now things are settling back in and Im hoping to start blogging again.
I have picked up the process of menu planning and am always working on doing new things with this. With being in a new city and new state we have had to change where we shop and making it so I have to change how I shop even more then before.
I used to shop at the commissary which was the cheapest place to get our food. Now we are shopping at Hy-Vee as there is no other place to shop. Our nearest commissary is 2 hrs away from us and we are considering making a once a month trip to get the major things for our dinners there and then only doing the weekly shopping (milk eggs and such) at HyVee.
With the new move we also got a new bill well a few of them which has really cut into our budget and made things a little different these days. We bought a house which Im falling in love with more and more. Its just a lot more work then living on base that is for sure. ;)
So Im hoping to at least post one time a week if not more to give you some good deals or tell you what we are doing to save some green stuff around here.

Omaha Steak Burgers

2008-10-21T19:24:00.001-07:00

Ok so who wouldn't want 20 Omaha burgers for under $2 bucks?

Im going to give you details on how to do this below.

First go to this site and in the upper right corner is asks you to register and receive a discount at Omaha Steaks. You will receive an email from them with the discount code. This may take the better part of the day so be patient.

Next once you have your code from the first site go to this site.

Once you have the code from the first site and the link up from the second then go to order the 12 Free burgers + 8 more (5oz)Burgers and use the discount code from the first site you got in your email.

This should give you a total very close to $2 bucks. This will include shipping. So enjoy and spread the fun of being frugal.

Blog Make Over Give Away #2

2008-10-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Just Nifty Thrifty is giving away another blog makeover. Go here for details on how you can win.

Swiffer Carpet Flick

2008-10-13T13:19:00.001-07:00

Ok if you have ever wanted to try one of these here is your chance for free.

This mama is giving one away. Go to her blog here to check it out.

Recycling

2008-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so we all know recycling is good for the earth and the future of our earth.
Well I bet you didn't know that there are sites out there to recycle other items out there besides your cans and bottles and boxes and paper. For those of you who just are not on the recycling band yet...check out these sites to see if there is a place near you to take your things. RecyclingCenters Earth911 TheRecyclingCenter Bottles&Cans(<--just for Calfornia)

You can join FreeCycle where anything you want to throw out but is still usable (which most of us do because well we are just to lazy to donate it or we think who would want that?)can be posted on the site in your area and Im telling you someone will want it and come take it off your hands. Its free to sign up and your doing your part in saving our planet from unwanted items being thrown into the landfills by giving it to someone else who will use it.

Another great site is FreePeats its a site just for baby/kid items you are done using and want to get rid of that you were just going to throw out or donate and just haven't gotten around to it yet. There is a $4.95 fee paid once for life. Which I think is a great deal seeing how all the great things you can recieve from others.

Online Coupon & Deal Sites

2008-10-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Ok so you know how you go to purchase something online and it ask you for that discount code. You think to yourself how does one get a code to put in there. Here is your answer. They have codes for over 15,000 stores.

Here are a few more sites to check out for codes as well.
CurrentCodes KeyCode Ratherbeshopping

How about Rebates? Well there is a site for those too. Just click Here

Then of course its always nice to know how to save money on filling your Gas Tank up.
There are no coupons for this but these sites can help you find the cheapest place near you to fill up. GasBuddy GasPriceWatch GasPrices AutosMSN

REDBOX Movie Monday

2008-10-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Ok so its that time again. Happy Monday!

Your Monday code is: 7CB23W Enjoy.

Yummy!

2008-10-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is my find for the day...I was shopping at CVS (yes I know I was already there this week...but hey Im an addict). Anyway, I was going up and down the isles and remembered I had seen Stacys Pita Chips there before. So I wanted to check out the price. Guess what I found out.

For a 6oz bag its $3.29 and you get $2.00 ecb back when you purchase up to 3 bags. So of course I had to do that. It made the bags only 1.29 ea and well I already had some ecb hanging around so I used those to pay for them and they were FREE for me and I got new ecb's back to use next time Im there!

Check out Stacys Pita Chips here if you have never heard about them and if you have sign up for their snack pack and get coupons and promo info via email.

Coupon Binder Give Away

2008-10-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

Mommy Managing is giving away a coupon binder with coupons. Now who wouldn't want one of those. Check out her site for details.

Blog Make Over Give Away

2008-10-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

That's Just Nifty Thrifty is giving away a Blog makeover. Go to her site for details on how you can enter to win.

Free Stuff Loving

2008-10-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

Free chips from Jamba Juice: Here
Ikea free breakfast Click here and print coupon: Here
Hungry Howies Free Bread Sign-up: Here
Get a Free Sammie at Quiznos Sign-up: Here
Aveda Men's Shampoo Free: Here
Golden Harvest Free Sample: Here
Holiday Recipe Cards: Here
Scented Bookmark: Here
Berenstain Bears Activities: Here
O.B. Carry Case: Here
Most all these links I got from The Thrifty Mama

REDBOX Movie Monday

2008-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so for those of you who don't know about Redbox. Go to redbox.com and check out and see if there is one near you. This is how they work. Its a DVD Rental vending machine so to speak. You go in pick a movie out that you want to see. When your ready to check out be sure to put your discount code in first then go to check out. It will show you that your movie was 1.00 plus tax and then the discount and your total to be $0.00 FREE! The only rule is you must return your movie by Tuesday night by 9pm. Other wise they will charge you $1 + tax every night you keep it. So go get a movie and post back to let me know what you rent.

Ok so here is this weeks code DGM314
So go to your nearest REDBOX and rent a movie for free just make sure you return it by Tuesday at 9pm. Happy Movie Watching!

CVS Week 10/5

2008-10-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so I got a ton of stuff this week. I started out with 10.79 in ECB (extra care bucks) from last week. I came home after my trip with $16.00 in ECB's. So I have a great start for next week.

I also got a Free $25 Giftcard with any New or Transferred RX. This is great because the one RX we get filled off base is not transferrable so I have been waiting for one that said the RX could be free. So now I get to go shopping for free at CVS for over a month! On average I spend $4 oop (out of pocket). Ok so here is the list of what I got yesterday.

Gillette Shampoo x4

Head n Shoulders Shampoo x1

Always Infinity Pads x1

Viamin Water 32oz x1

Soleil Razors x4

Colgate Maxfresh x2

Imodium x1

Tylenol Extra Strength x1

CVS Handsanitizer spray for kids x3

Lady Speedstick x3

Ex-Large Hersery bars x4(2 dark 2 with almonds)

100 grand candy bar because the cashier was giving me a hard time so I needed a filler

Total Merchandise: 100.89 Total Saved: 96.93! Woohoo!!!!!

Total OOP was.........................................$3.96

(would have been closer to 2 but the cashier was giving me a hard time saying my ECB's couldnt pay for my tax on items.) It's been known through out CVS' that each store and each cashier does things differant so it was bound to happen. I went at a differant time to the same store I always go to and got a not so happy cashier...like I was personaly stealing from her or something. Which CVS gets all the money back plus some for the coupons I use. So I now know I need to shop at my normal time with my normal cashier who thinks its great that I can walk out of the store with paying under $4 for bags of stuff!

My Frugal Plan for October

2008-10-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

This week I went to CVS with my CVS rewards card and spent $4oop (out of pocket) and got about $65 worth of items. (I go to CVS every week so I will start sharing what I got and how much I spent and saved each week with pictures.)
I purchased:
1 Gillette Fusion Power Razor for my DH
1 Cover Girl foundation
1 Cover Girl Pressed Powder
2 Cover Girl Lipsticks
1 Frebreeze Noticeables Starter Kit
1 small can of Gillette Shave Gel for my DH
1 Bottle of Dawn Renewal Dish Soap
1 Ambi Face Scrub
2 Kids Colgate Toothpaste
1 Sunsilk Shampoo
1 Sunsilk Conditioner

I then went on the same day (Monday) to get my FREE movie rental from Redbox (go to redbox.com to see if there is one near you). As you all know with 10yr girls and a new baby going to the movies is not easy so watching a FREE movie at home and eating popcorn and hanging with my family is the best it gets! (This saves us over $50 just by doing it at home instead of at the movies...we fix popcorn in our popcorn popper, get soda, and a sweet snack and sit in our comfy living room together as a family)

So those are the more obvious things that saves us money. We have started a monthly meal plan for dinners and allow for 1 night to order Pizza and 1 night to go Out to Eat. This has already saved us lots of money because we are all about going out to eat and ordering pizza because its easy. When we started doing this last month and I have lost over 5lbs in the last month just by sticking to our meal plan and making at home healthy home cooked meals for my family! So we are saving money by not going out (except our 2 nights for the month) and well 5lbs off my body means Im healthier and means Im less likey to get sick which leads to more money out of our pocket.

There will be more to come as the month goes along and I will be back to share. Share with me ways your family is being Frugal this month!