Creditcardfree's Personal Finance Blog

Today I realized I had a $10 coupon for Famous Footwear that was expiring. It was good for any purchase amount. I didn't have time to get to the store, so I looked for socks online at their website. I have needed some new workout socks, so this worked out perfect. I scored 8 pairs of socks for $2.10...shipping was free!!

The other good deal can be had by all of us who vote tomorrow. Check out this

link for information on free donuts, coffee and more. I guess early voters miss out on this one...sorry!

Happy Voting!! Really, I hope everything goes smoothly for all of you at the polls.

cookies and wrapping paper? Just kidding!!

My youngest daughter came home from school with two fundraisers on Friday. Sally Foster wrapping paper and gifts, as well as, Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough. The school has already done one...I bought an Entertainment book for $20. This time I just can't decide if I should really put any more money out there.

This year the fundraisers are even more important, because school districts in our state can no longer ask parents to pay a fee for field trips. So, if I want my child and other children to still be able to participate I need to support the fund raising.

The school does allow one to donate any amount directly to the school without participating in the fund raisers. I like the idea, but seem to fall for the gimmicks!! Last year, I even had the idea of donating a set amount and then treating my child to an item or two at the dollar store..or even give them the cash as a way to compensate them for the trinket they get if they make a sale or two. So, far I haven't used that idea.

I think I will skip the wrapping paper, since I'm looking forward to a great deal at Walgreen's in a couple of weeks with my gift card. I will probably buy at least one container of cookie dough for $15 , maybe two. These could come in handy for gifts or just a holiday gathering...not the cheapest route to go, but it does help the school!

Even as I finish writing this I still feel torn about which way to go...maybe it is because I like the cookies so well. Help?!!

For some reason unknown to me, this crazy town of ours has Trick or Treating the day before Halloween! Can you imagine?

So, tonight I will walk the Emmy Award and the Devil around the neighborhood begging for treats while DH stays home and "man's" the door. It is also popular to have the kids tell a joke before they get the candy. Some of those kids have some funny ones!!

Anyone have any good Halloween jokes for my kids tonight? I hope you all enjoy your Halloween....tomorrow!

Yep, tonight while driving the DD to dance class, we saw gasoline stations advertising gas for $1.99. It was $2.05 this afternoon.

I wonder what it will do tomorrow?

Oh, you want to know where I am?

Iowa. Fields of Opportunities.

It was very windy yesterday. I happened to be down in our unfinished basement near a window. It was just plain cold there.

So, I did a little investigating and found that there was pretty large gap between the top of the window and the wood framing. There was some insulation between, but it was actually slipping out to the outside of the house!! I could see it through the window.

I found some foam backing strips from a recent driveway project and stuffed it in the gap. There was still air coming through...so I found some window caulk we had used on windows in our last house. I caulked over the foam and around the the window. It is a whole lot better. I really need to caulk from the outside, too. I will do that in a day or two, when it warms up a little more.

That gap was like having a window open all year! I do wish I found it sooner, but at least I found it. I expect that it will help our energy bill.

FYI...when you buy a tube of caulk and don't use it all you can put a screw in the opening to keep it from drying out. When you need to use again, simply remove screw and the small dried amount at the top and the rest of the caulk is as good as new!

I'm loving these Walgreen's bargains lately. In two transactions I scored the following...

Airheads candy
2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaner
3 200ct Kleenex
2 3pks of Scotch Tape
3 Triaminic Strips (for kids)



My total out of pocket was $13.41. Tax was $1.67. I'm even eligible for a $2 rebate on the tape! I also received a coupon for $1 off my next purchase at Walgreens.

There is another coupon this week for $5 off a $20 purchase. You can get it

here. I didn't use one this week for my deals...it would have caused me to spend more than necessary. Can't have that!!

We got a little treat today in the form of a reimbursement for some of my DH's travels. A nice $83 and change to help with that car repair bill I mentioned in the last post.

On November 1st, we are attending a military ball. It will really be a treat for us to dress up and get out with out the kids. I think I'm going to wear a dress that I wore two years ago. Think anyone will remember? I so rarely see these people...I really don't care if they remember or not!! The trick of this treat is to find the bra that goes with this crazy halter dress I'm reusing.

I hope your day is filled more with treats than tricks!

Car repairs....ughh!

My DH is off work this week. We needed an oil change and thought the brakes were at the point of being replaced. Yep, they needed replacing including the rotars. Turns out we needed new ball joints, too.
Car repair bill totaled $750. That is after a free alignment and a 10% off coupon.

So this month there will be no extra payment to the home equity loan. I'm pretty disappointed in that, but extremely grateful that I have the money to pay cash for this repair.

I have about $500 in a checking account and the remainder will need to be pulled from the emergency fund OR some cash I have been saving for Christmas gifts. I think I need to dip into the gift fund rather than the emergentcy fund. We have four more paychecks before Christmas, so I think I can find money to cover holiday expenses.

I hope my ebay items sell big this week. I need to go found some more now! Wish me luck.

The prices of gas fall everyday. Sometimes, more than once per day!!

Today, it was $2.37/gal this morning on our way to the gym. In the afternoon, we noticed it had dropped to $2.35/gal. Then this evening, it was $2.33/gal!!

Wow, a 4 cent drop in less than 12 hours! Now, I wait to fill up because I expect the price to go lower in a day or so. In the past, I would wait to fill up until the tank was near empty and I really needed the fuel...regardless of price. I would just try to make it last as long as possible.

Think the low fuel prices will help us get the economy out of this slump?

Today and tomorrow, Walgreen's has coupons for $5 off a $25 purchase. You do have to spend $25 after all discounts and coupons. You can get your coupon

here.

Today I purchased the following:
2 Glade Scents 2*3.29 = 6.58
2 Glade Gel Warmers 2*1.99 = 2.98
2 Glade Oil Refills 2*1.99 = 2.98
Crest Toothpast 3.00
Glide Flossers 3.00
2 Hershey bars 2*.39 = 0.78
4 Bars Dove Soap 4*1.19 = 4.76
2 Hefty Storage Bags B1G1 = 3.29
Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent 2.99
2 Conditioners 2*3.99 = 7.98
(Herbal Essences)

Total Before Coupons $40.34
B1G1 MQ Glade Scents -3.29
Glide Floss MQ -1.00
Crest MQ -1.00
Conditioner MQ -3.00
B1G1 MQ Glade Warmer -1.99
B1G1 MQ Glade Oil refill -1.99
50% off Conditioner -2.00
Laundry Detergent MQ -1.00
Walgreens coupon -5.00
Subtotal $20.07
Tax 2.00
Out of Pocket Total $22.07

I used $20.27 in coupons or discounts. I will get a $1 rebate for each glade item and $1 on the laundry detergent for a total of $7 back.

At the time of my transaction two Register Rewards printed, one for $3.00 because of the Dove purchase and one for $2.00 because of the Crest purchase. I can use these on my next purchase at Walgreen's.

So today I got all of this for $10.07:
Out of pocket $22.07
Less Rebates -7.00
Less Rewards -5.00
Total $10.07
Here's the picture:

If you are interested in these kinds of deals at Walgreen's or CVS you may want to check out this website. If you register on the site, you can also search the coupon database for coupons you can print right from your home computer.

In case anyone is wondering, will I use all of this stuff? YES!! Everyday, I use soap, conditioner, laundry detergent, toothpaste and floss. I also use storage bags and was out here at home. The Hershey bars will be a treat for the girls. The glade items were technically all free after the rebates and coupons...and they will be used here at home (we do have cats!) or donated to my daughter's teacher who uses them at school.

I'd love to hear about your deals. I actually did better last week on lots of cleaning supplies.

I'm out of the heat challenge. I turned the heat on this morning. It was 65 degrees in here and my oldest daughter was complaining for the third day in a row.

I'm pretty sure I could have held out until it got to 60 degrees at least this time of year.

Today it is cold and rainy; turning on the heat did take the chill out of the air. I don't expect it to come on too often though. I may even turn it off for the rest of the day.

Spent Saturday cleaning for company, buying free cleaning supplies and candy at Walgreen's, baking bread (banana and pumpkin), and going to a pumpkin patch. Such beautiful warm weather...the a/c is actually on because it is also a tad too humid!

Today we took company to the local orchard...two blocks away. We bought a gallon of cider and a peck of apples which we split. It just smelled wonderful inside the building!!

Clipped more coupons, did laundry and cooked a homemade meal for dinner. Girls are ready for school and sending DH off on a travel trip. Always seem to save money when he's out of town. Weather will be getting cooler this week...he would want the heat on, but I can hold out and the girls will as well.

Here's to a good week...a rebound in the markets or at least a little saving on your own homefront.

I made this tote bag for my older daughter. I'm just excited to have made something with my own two hands.



I spent exactly $9.00 for 1/2 yard each of two cotton fabrics, 1 yard of cotton flannel for facing and a spool of thread. All the fabric was on sale and I had a 40% coupon off the thread. Of course, there is still some smaller pieces of fabric leftover and more flannel for another tote bag. Not to bad in the cost department.

Gasoline that is! Haven't seen it with my own eyes yet...but just heard on tv and saw the pictures. Gas is $2.99/gallon here.

It would be nice if it keeps going lower for everyone. I'll be topping off the tank tomorrow!

If you missed it last week, the $5 off a $20 purchase at Walgreen's is back again. The link to the coupon is

here.

The coupon is good for this Friday and Saturday only. So hurry!!

I will be purchasing the generic Zyrtec for my daughter. They have 150 pills (5 month supply) for $29.99. I will use my coupon to purchase this for $24.99. That's $5 per month!!

We have our gas and electricity billed together. I just checked our bill for this next month and received great news!

First, we have a $200 credit going into winter. Second, they are lowering our monthly budget payment by $39/mo! I'm thrilled.

I hope to put this money towards that pesky home equity loan starting in November.

I'm obsessed enough to go looking for tomorrow's ad (Sunday) on a Saturday night. I found a preview at hotcouponworld dot com.

Here is the link.

Have fun!!

It is a little rare that I shop at Walgreens. I really usually only buy bubble mailers when they are three for $1. I use these a fair amount when selling on ebay. Yesterday, I went twice!! I took advantage of the $5 coupon off a $20 purchase. See my post yesterday for the link...it is still good today!

First trip, I purchased primarily things I needed anyway.

1 gal milk $3.19
coment $0.59 with store coupon
shave cream $2.29
2 glade spray$1.98 with store coupon
foundation $5.99
candy $2.99
crest $3.79 free after rebate
6 mailers $2.00 with store coupon
SUBTOTAL $21.83
glade coupon-$1.75
crest coupon-$0.75
store coupon-$5.00
sales tax $0.70
TOTAL $16.02

After the $3.79 rebate I will have spent $11.53 for these 14 items for an average of $0.82 a piece! I'm thrilled.

I decided to come home and see if there were any other items in the ad or the Easy Saver Catalog that I might need. I printed off another $5 coupon and set out to buy the following:

Shampoo $4.99
Conditioner $4.99 $5 rebate for 2
nail polish $4.79 Free after rebate
4 soups $5.00 with store coupon
gum $1.19
tax $0.66
SUBTOTAL $21.62
coupon -$5.00
coupon -$0.50
TOTAL $16.12

I will receive rebates of $9.79 bringing my actual cost to $6.33. For 7 items, the average cost per item on trip was $0.90. FYI, the soups were the large chunky type. We eat these quite often around here.

I have already input my receipts on Walgreens.com and requested a gift card. As a result they will add 10%. Total expected gift card $14.94. Considering I spent $32.14 yesterday for 21 items and I will receive almost 15 back...I'm beyond thrilled. Average cost per item: $0.82. That is a great price for things like shampoo, makeup, milk, and chunky soups.

I maybe could have bought more items for free, but they aren't things I would normally buy. Even the nail polish is rare, but I bought it in blue to give to my 11 year old for Christmas.

Did anyone else go yesterday? Any one planning to go today? How did you do?

Here's the link to a $5 off coupon at Walgreen's when you spend $20 or more. It is good only today and tomorrow.

Click here for coupon.

Enjoy!

I'm trying to keep track of money flowing in. As of now, I have received money from the garage sales, ebay sales, DH travel, and a gift card.

In the next few days, I expect to see some interest payments and some cash from craigslist sales. Several of those are pending today and I just put them up yesterday. Today I plan to get more things ready for ebay.

I am also saving all the mysurvey points towards $30 cash. Our debit card gives us cash back and we should be getting $50 in a few weeks.

All totalled up that is over $400 in cash flowing in, besides our regular paycheck. I'm saving all this money to purchase gifts for Christmas. It is definitely not too early to start thinking about that, right?

I recently noticed that I could redeem our Coke Rewards towards a donation to the USO. Because we are a military family, this just seemed fitting for us. So far, I have redeemed our points towards an $11 donation.

I also put in a suggestion to Coke that they also offer redemption of rewards towards the American Red Cross. Because of all the recent flooding and hurricanes, they are in desperate need of funds. I hope that this comes to fruition. The Red Cross helps anyone in need regardless of race, income, religion and so forth. The Red Cross is also important to our service members and their families. They provide a point of contact in emergency situations.

For now, I will continue to use my points for the USO and send a nice check to the Red Cross this next payday.

Yes, that's what I paid today for gasoline. I remember last summer the highest I ever paid was $3.29...now it seems cheap.

I was on empty...so I filled it full. There don't appear to be any shortages here in midwest. For that I am thankful.

I've sent $400 towards the principal on our home equity loan!! It feels great to have the balance fall below $15,000.

The next goal is to get it below $14K. I hope to do this by the end of the year.

I'm going to just keep stomping on it.
------

Updates:

Getting ready for the garage sale that starts on Thursday. I don't have a lot, but helping my neighbors get rid of their stuff is fun!!

The reason I don't have much for the garage sale is...I'm selling most of it on ebay. The return is a little better. My paypal account has over $120, with more sales ending this Sunday.

In the process of moving our emergency fund savings to another online bank. I'm going to try FNBOdirect. It is affiliated with our old bank, so I feel confident it will work out well. The rate is 3.5%!! That is almost double what I've been getting with our primary bank. Why did I wait so long? I'm looking forward to seeing larger interest payments.

September has only seen 2 days with air conditioning...also no heat. Wonderful. That means the bill next month will be even lower than last. Yipee!!

I'm still reading the blogs...even though I don't take time to post myself. I hope to be back more after this garage sale.

My husband is a diet coke addict. I had been selling mycokerewards on ebay a while back, but that is no longer allowed. So, I decided to start accumulating them with no expectation of redeeming them.

After browsing the rewards, I noticed that magazine subscriptions are available. I picked Better Homes and Gardens. Nice side benefit to his bad habit!!

I may order DH Popular Mechanics, too. The dilemma is that DD brought home her school fundraiser...magazine sales!!! So, do I purchase Popular Mechanics to help the school? I could still redeem it free through mycokerewards, and pick something else for the girls...maybe American Girl magazine. I will be weighing my options.

Wow, it has been a little while since I've posted!! Here's a few updates.

Our A/C has been off since Sept 2nd, since the temperatures have fallen drastically. This morning it was 67 degrees in our home...I almost wanted heat!! I really want to wait on that one, though.

I am selling some items on ebay. I have netted over $100 so far.

Along with two other neighbors, I am coordinating a community garage sale for our neighborhood. It is just over a week away. It looks like we will have at least 10 families participating out of 40 households. I'm looking forward to making a little cash, but I don't have quite as many items as I did in the spring.

That is it for now!! Keep up the great work everyone...I am reading even when I'm not posting!

I received our auto registration renewal notice today in the mail. The fee for our Ford Taurus has dropped by $52!

I'm actually paying more than last year because we bought a newer vehicle in May. I'm still thrilled that one vehicle went down, since it does affect our total bill.

This state bills you an extra month early. My fees are not due until October. The way I save for these is reflected on the escrow page to the left. I really need the extra month until I have the money in full.

I also found out our auto insurance will be about $7 less per six months than I was expecting. The two savings together equal $66 for the year.

I will need to update our escrow account soon to reflect the savings!

If you read my blog during the month of August you may have noticed I was a bit obsessed with keeping my air conditioning off on cooler days. Of course, this was an effort to save some cash!

The efforts paid off. My electric usuage was 654 kWh for the month of August. Last year my usage was exactly 1000 kWh. The billing period for both was 29 days.

So, for having the air conditioning off for 10 days, we saved about $31.18. This August bill total was $62.54 and compared to last August's total of $93.72.

Overall, I'm pleased. At least it was a noticeable change. We are on an automatic payment with our utility company so the reduction in usage this month should help offset any usage we have this winter. It may even help reduce my auto payment amount.

I received a $3.00 Pinecone check in the mail. I'd forgotten all about it!

I also realized that I didn't record the principal payment on our home equity loan. So, our new balance is now $15,261.17...about $26 lower! I do hope to send more cash in towards principal at the end of the month...should be about $200 or so.

Just can't wait to see what kind of luck awaits me today! Have a good one.

Really! Thanks to HelpMeFriend for the great tie in to add to this post. Okay, where to start.

Well, yesterday after spending the day at a local amusement park I came home to find that I sold three items on ebay for a gross total of $62.75!! I am thrilled with the results since one item sold for $49, when I was expecting about $30. Must have been my lucky day!

Today, I hopped on my bike to deliver those ebay packages to the post office. That is my first time ever doing an errand like that on my bike. Cool...gas savings and exercise. I also went to the gym after dropping packages off. Must be my lucky day!

I'm home now, recording some debit transactions and checking my bank account online. I noticed that I have been charged less for Netflix and the local paper. Netflix is lower because they had some shipping problems over a week ago and reduced our bill by 15% to make up for it. The local paper is less, because of credits for papers not delivered. Four days of no newspaper. Total savings $4.20. It must be my lucky day!!

Weather is perfect again, so no air conditioning here! It must be my lucky day.

The rest of my day will involve stripping a dresser. Again...a first for me. I've had this dresser for 6 years...just waiting to be redone. It was my father in law's and it is such a nice size to put in a corner or near a door. It must be my lucky day.

I wish you a lucky day, too!!

The A/C is off again today. This will make 10.5 days during the month of August!! I expect it to stay off for a couple more, too, unless DD2's allergies start to act up.

We rode our bikes to buy sweet corn from a vendor and french bread from the nearby grocery store last night. Exercise, fresh air, fresh food and $0 in gas!! Perfect.

I am saving money for Christmas gifts. I will save our debit rewards money and survey money towards gifts for extended family members. Some of the nieces and nephews would like cash. I have $25 in bank rewards and $20 in mysurvey rewards. I expect to get at least another $50 in bank rewards and maybe $10-20 from mysurvey. That should be enough for those kids!

Christmas Cash Total $45