Are you still looking for a backpack for your little one??  Or maybe just an extra for when the first one gets ripped, tattered, dirty and beaten up in about 4 months.  Well head over to Disneystore.com

You can buy this adorable backpack (or many others) for $16.50 and pick out a lunch pail to go with it for free.  Plus use the promo code SCHOOLSHIP and get it all shipped to your front door for free.

So for $16.50 you can get a backpack and lunchpail and save on the gas and frustration of going to the store in search of both.

Pixi Ultimate Lip Collection for $14 and free shipping.  Pick a color that fits the girls in your life and put it away for Christmas I’m sure this would make any teen happy or me for that matter.

While you are over there make sure you print out some of the coupons that are available like the Chef Boyardee, Bic, and Bagel Bites.  There’s lot of good deals to have.

The lucky winner of my $40 CSNstores.com giftcard is drumroll please!!!!!!!

MrsBlack!!!!!!  Congrats Nicole please get in touch with me and give me the email address you’d like your gift certificate sent to.  And of course you are expected to let me know what you got and how the service was.  LOL

I’d like to thank everyone for participating and make sure you stick around for my Homemade Christmas gift series and for a giveaway in the future (I’ve got something working)

Have you entered my giveaway yet for a $40 gift certificate to CSNstores.com??  If not what are you waiting for?  You could get up to 5 entries.  Check out the post here to get all the details and leave your comments.  You have until this evening so get going!!!!!

Yup that’s right head over to Target online and check out their Back in Black deals.  They are also offering an additional 20% off all clearance.  You can also use this code TCJAS2IP to get 20% off regular priced jewelry, shoes, accessories, and men’s wear.

So head over and check out what’s sale and remember Christmas isn’t really that far away.  My hubby would love this TomTom that is on sale for $69.59

Ok so it’s not feeling like Christmas unless you celebrate Christmas on the sun.  But Christmas 5 short months away so I say lets think about.  One of the keys to staying debt free is to not overspend on gifts in order to do that you need to plan.  Start shopping now look down the clearance aisles and make a list of people you’d like to buy a gift for this year.  Keep it tucked in your purse and cross off the people as you find gifts.  Even if you are paying full price at least you are spreading that spending out over 5 months and not charging it all come December.  But you’re not here to talk about paying full price for gifts so lets see if we can come up with some frugal ideas:

• One of my favorite gifts growing up was what my mom called the creative gift.  Every year I got some sort of art/craft gift and they were always my favorite.  Now is the perfect time to do this for any of the kids on your list.  Next week Staples is supposed to have the free bag (backpack or shoulder bag) after rewards again so you could pick up a backpack to fill or wait a few weeks and find a backpack on sale.  Start shopping all the back to school sales now by the end of the summer you’ll have accumulated a mountain of crayons, paper, glue sticks, scissors, markers, etc.  Once you’ve got lots of goodies stuff them all in the backpack or a rubbermaid container and put a bow on it.  I guarantee it’ll be a hit with the kids on your gift list.
• Consider making gifts for friends and family.  You can really save quite a bit of money on homemade gifts and they are always appreciated.  Almost everyone has a child, grandchild, or pet in their lives so you could make them a photo gift (either by hand or online) and it’ll be a hit.  Keep your eyes peeled as you will see companies like Shutterfly, CVS, Walgreens, and many more will start putting photo gifts on sale pretty cheap.
• Since you are thinking about homemade gifts think about your cooking skills.  Do you make fantastic cookies or great freezer meals depending on the people on your list making an extra casserole when you cook dinner and giving that to your friends/family for Christmas might be greatly appreciated.  Or if you are like me and don’t have much family local and no one that would appreciate dinner with no work then test out a few cookie recipes.  I’ve made cookies, chocolates, covered potato chips, chex mix and mini rum cakes for my neighbors, hubby’s coworkers and mailed some to family and they are always appreciated.

I’m going to do my best to showcase one homemade gift each week between now and sometime before Christmas LOL.  I make no promises but I’m going to try and get one posted a week to help you complete your Christmas gift list on the cheap.  If you have any suggestions or would like to share something you do I’m open to guest posts or would be happy to share your ideas in my next post.

I’m so excited to be bringing you this giveaway!!!  CSNStores.com and I are giving away a $40 gift certificate to any of their 200+ stores online.  You can get a head start on your holiday shopping or finally buy yourself something nice.  CSNstores.com has everything you could need from dinnerware to outdoor toys to office supplies.  Personally I’ve been looking through all their stores and found tons of things that I love.  I know that this cereal dispenser would make breakfasts so much easier in my house.

So you are thinking that’s great how do I win??  Well it’s simple and you of course can get multiple entries.

1. Leave a comment telling me what you would buy.  There are lots of great things and I want to know what you would love to have.
2. Like LivingonaBudget over on facebook and leave a comment over there letting me know
3. Share this giveaway with your facebook friends leaving a link back here.
4. Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post.
5. Become a follower here and let me know in the comments

There you go 5 ways to get entry into this drawing.  Just make sure that you leave me some way to contact you.  The winner will be emailed the gift certificate so I will need your email at some point.  If you like me over on a FB or share on FB please leave your comments over there, if you blog about it please leave your link to it here.

I will announce the winner on Sunday 7/25 so check back to see who the lucky winner is!!

I think this woman is nuts.  She wrote an article titles 8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons and a friend emailed me the link to it this morning.  After reading it I feel the need to rebut some of her findings.  So we’ll go after each of them:

1. You have to buy a newspaper:

• You don’t have to buy a newspaper there are hundreds of coupons available to you online.  Also there are plenty of ways to get coupons from the paper for free just ask.  Lots of people buy the paper to read (imagine that) and have no use for the coupons.
• I personally buy 4 newspapers a week.  I spend $6 on newspapers and save at least $30 a week on essentials.  That’s a $24 savings small investment = big rewards

2. Clipping Coupons takes time:

• So does flipping channels, walking around the block, and earning money.  Her claim is that instead of clipping coupons while watching TV as many do you could be mopping floors and preparing a week’s worth of meals.  UMMM how the heck am I supposed to watch TV in the living room while cooking dinners and mopping in the kitchen??
• I personally don’t clip coupons until I need them.  This saves me a ton of time.  I take maybe an hour (at most) a week and clip the coupons I need out of my old inserts and about 1/2 hour a month to weed out the inserts that have expired.  In turn I save upwards of $200 a month for less than 5 hours work do you have a job that pays you $40 an hour?

3. Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home.

• Ok so this woman is seriously stupid.  LOL  If you are concerned about advertising coming with your coupons or that you are going to be tempted simply by having a coupon then I have an earth shattering major money saving option for you.  Throw your damn TV away that box (that you are watching in the kitchen while cooking and mopping) brings more advertising into your house then anything else.  If anything is going to persuade you into buying something you wouldn’t normally it’s that commercial showcasing all the miracles about the product

4. Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want.

• And many of them will be for things you do use.  Do you not brush your teeth, bathe, use toilet paper, or eat veggies.
• You’ll also receive coupons for things you wouldn’t normally buy buy coupled with the right sale it might be worth it to try.  You have no idea how many products we now use that I wouldn’t have tried without coupons.

5. Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t

• So can walking through a checkout lane.  Seriously if you can’t resist temptation maybe your spouse should be doing the shopping.
• While there are lots of coupons out there for junk foods there are also lots of coupons for veggies, dressings, canned fruits, juices.  People who eat healthy can benefit from using coupons as well.  My family eats semi healthy (we eat some junk too) and we save lots of money.

6. The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again.

• Yes yogurt coupons come out on a monthly basis and my son eats it on a daily basis so seeing the coupon again isn’t really a problem.  Also no one is forcing you to clip the coupons that you aren’t using and if you are using them then you shouldn’t be bothered by the redundancy.
• Also she seems to be misinformed since coupons come out to advertise new products to get consumers to try the new flavor, brand or type so that coupon won’t be out that many times.

7. You might become a slave to coupons.

• Yes this is true.  She says that you will find it hard to spend $4 on ice cream when you could use a coupon to get it for $2.50.  Yes I would find it extremely difficult to spend $4 on ice cream but if for some reason I really wanted that ice cream I’d buy it and I’m a coupon slave.
• Level of Coupon Slave really comes down to time involved it can get overwhelming but you just have to step back and reevaluate but this goes for everything in life.  Computers, TV, work, etc can all take over your life so use some time management.

8. Shopping take longer.

• I enjoy shopping being a Stay at home mom it’s about the only time I get out so I might take longer than you do.  But on days when I need to get home for something I have no trouble quickly going through the store.
• She claims you have to search through the store to find the item that matches your coupons well if you don’t know where the cereal aisle is then yes you’ll have to search but if you have bought cereal before chances are good that you’ll easily find the Cheerios you have a coupon for.

My Bottom Line

You do not have to be a dedicated clipper to achieve savings.  You can be a casual shopper like my grandma who’s been clipping coupons since I was a little girl and save money.  You can be very dedicated like myself and save tons of money with extra products to sell and donate.  I’m taking a stab in the dark to say the woman who wrote this article has multiple credit cards that she uses on a daily basis and probably also maxs out at Christmas.  Maybe she should sit down and reevaluate her money I can guarantee I spend much less than she does, I have more to show for it, I give great gifts (buying clearance throughout the year or making gift baskets out of my freebies) and am probably happier.  Couponing allows me to stay home with my son if we paid full price for things I would have to work we’d have little to no savings and wouldn’t be looking to buy a house.

Did you read the article??  Please chime in with your opinions.

You can see a list of all the states and what their particulars are here or see Florida’s list here on there site.

My suggestion don’t wait until that week to do your shopping.  Last year I kept an eye on sales and the sales tax and found that the sales aren’t nearly as good the week that sales tax is free.  So unless you plan on doing all your shopping at Walmart where there are never any sales start looking now.  Florida has capped school supply purchases at $10 per item so if you see a good deal on a backpack buy it now don’t wait it probably won’t be included.

I don’t have any numbers on clothes for you but last year I know that I bought a few things for Shawn at Target and JCPenney’s for 20-50% off and when the tax holiday came the sales were off, the stores were crowded, the selection stunk and you were only saving 7%.  As far as school supplies I’ve already crossed a few things of Shawn’s list at a much better savings than 7% I have copy paper that I paid .01 for, scissors that cost a quarter, folders that were .01 each and dry erase markers that cost me only tax.

So don’t wait get out there and start plucking away at that list and check your state specifics for things you are planning on waiting on.  If I’d waited to buy Shawn’s backpack I would have found that it probably wasn’t included (it was $13.99), I might not have gotten his lunchbox free with it (Toys R Us promo on now) and I most certainly wouldn’t have gotten the bag he wanted since the selection only gets slimmer.  If you feel you must wait remember what your tax rate is and take that into account when you pass up a 20% or better sale.

Lunches have been a topic of discussion for nearly everyone with Back To School sales starting.  There was an article in the paper today talking about Lunchables and all the crap that is in them but how working/busy/exhausted mothers sometimes fall into throwing one in the lunchbox instead of making lunch.  I understand that it can happen and was happy to see that Publix will be offering an alternative this year.  Publix will be selling Kid’s Lunchs priced around $3.99 and while have healthy options according to the paper you’ll get a sandwich or wrap with a side such as carrots, yogurt, organic milk and apple juice.  I was glad to see this because I have stopped at Publix before on my way out to pick up something healthier and cheaper than fast food for lunch.

The thing about this article that shocked me and truly points to what is wrong with this country was the comments from parents.  Yes I said what’s wrong with this country it’s not the government it’s the damn parents.  The comments were saying that the options in the lunches were too healthy that their children wouldn’t eat the carrots or drink the milk.  Seriously!!!!!  What do these kids eat and how much do they weigh and I’d ask the same about the parents.  I feel very strongly that my child have a wide assortment of foods to try.  We eat veggies every night with dinner and there’s no way I’m making a special veggie free dinner for my kid.  He’s not the biggest fan of beans but he sits there until they are gone.  Shawn does however love broccoli, carrots, corn and every fruit he’s tried.

How is it that we live in a world where it is expected that children won’t eat yogurt and carrots??  Is it because too many parents want to be friends with the kids so they don’t make them do anything??  I suspect that this is the case since I see kids daily that don’t listen and have a blatant disrespect for their parents and their parents don’t do anything.  I also see the looks I get when I yell at my son for disobeying or for popping his behind when he’s especially naughty of course those looks are from the same people who can’t believe how well behaved he is.  So my bit of advice for the day is If you love your kid make them eat their veggies and drink their milk, yell at them when they misbehave and don’t be afraid to spank  their little butts when needed.  Kids need discipline and they need someone to make sure they eat properly.  Please don’t be one of those people I want to smack sometimes I think the parents need a spanking too.

Are you looking for a great way to save on some things in your town??  Let me tell you about Groupon oh how I love groupon.  Just last month there was a deal for the Nationwide (Nascar) race in Daytona.  My hubby and son love the races and the hubby was planning on buying tickets to this race.  I was able to get 2 tickets for about $10 more than 1 would have cost me plus we got admission to the infield.  We had a fantastic day.  So click on Groupon to sign up for daily emails with the hot deals in your area.

This is truly a fantastic way to save some money so sign up today.  You’ll receive email notification every day as to what the deal of the day is and who knows you might find a great deal and make memories like these:

The first pic is my son sitting on the start/finish at Daytona and the second is my boys lying down on the track.  These memories could not be any better and were possible thanks to an email from groupon.

Shawn Skating Postage Stamp from Zazzle.com

If you order today and use the code JULYPOSTDEAL you can order these stamps for just under $10 and have adorable stamps of my son or there is one of Space Mountain

The past few days have been kind of boring around here and to be honest it seems I’m too tired to remember half of what we’ve done.

Yesterday I realized I needed eggs to make Meatloaf for Dave so I ran to Walgreen’s where I can get a dozen for .99 and while I was there I found several boxes of Photo Stamps.  These stamps are so cute because you can make them with one of your own photos they print them and ship them to you.  Well these were on clearance for $5!!!  Since you can hardly ever find deals on stamps and this is $3.80 off the regular price of stamps I picked up a box and called my Mother In Law who goes through lots and lots of stamps I ended up getting the rest of them for her.  So we both saved some money and will have adorable personalized stamps.

As far as entertainment there hasn’t been much the past few  days.  We have been watching the morning dove who has nested again in my window box (this time she killed the flowers) her babies hatched yesterday.  And since we still live in this apartment we are using what they have to offer

Today’s agenda is cleaning and sorting stuff out to go to storage and to the yardsale pile.  I’m sick of the clutter around the house so I’m going to start putting stuff away for a yardsale once it cools down a bit.

So how have you been saving??

Yesterday we went shopping.  We went to Micheals, BJ’s, Target, Staples and Kohls

The best deals were at Staples with the great back to school specials.  I had a $20 off $50 coupon to use so I bought all of this for $32.82

And the best part is I submitted for $37.94 in rebates so I’ll have made $5 for buying all this stuff and it’s all stuff that we will use or that Shawn will need for back to school.  The folders, pencils and multi use paper are on sale until Wednesday for a penny each.  So go on out and pick up some stuff today.

We also stopped at Target and Kohls

I used 3 $5 C9 Target coupons and got a pair of shorts for me for .54, 4 pairs of socks for .99, and a shirt for Dave for $4.  I’m going to check out a different Target today and see if they have any C9 stuff on clearance I saw a lot of workout tops that I liked that were just a little higher than my cheapness was allowing.  The Buzz Lightyear undies were a steal at Kohl’s for .99 after a $5 email signup coupon.

So have you gotten any great deals lately??

as far as not eating out.  I went to Publix today and bought 4 bottles of All OxyClean for .99 each.  Someday I’m going to make my own detergent but that’s not an option right now and $1 is my buy price for detergent so I used all my coupons.

I started researching a few of the things I want to sell on ebay to see how to group the items and prices that they were selling at.  I also got out some flat rate boxes and saw how much would fit.  A few of my items are pretty heavy so I thought it would be much easier to ship them this way.

Since Dave forgot about a DVD he borrowed from the work library that had to go back today I had to take it in to him at work.  Since we were both out there we ran over to property control so I could go into the broken trailer and he could stay with the kid (no kids allowed).  I picked up a scrapbook for $2 and a recipe book that I really wanted for $10.  That book was soooo overpriced that I can’t get it any cheaper so I’ll be happy about the deal and will enjoy that book immensely.

In money savings today I turned up the A/C a bit when we left and after we got home no one noticed so I haven’t touched it.  Dave took Shawn out to play after dinner since it’s finally stopped raining so he had free entertainment.  As for him and I entertainment tonight is playing on the computer and watching TV (he’s watching Palladia and I’m wishing the singer would stop talking so much and just sing LOL)

How’s your July going as far as saving??? I’d love to hear about it.

Happy July Everyone!!

We have great hostess and customer specials again this month.  For all of my customers if you place a $31 order you can purchase a Little Carry-All (sneak preview from the new catalog) for only $5 and get in embroidered for free!!!  Remember this is the last month you can order from this catalog so if there is something in there you absolutely love order it now just in case.

For all my hostess you will get all the normal great benefits and free products plus with qualifying parties you will also receive a gift certificate to place an order out of the new catalog coming out August 1st.

Here’s my exciting news if you hostess and submit a qualifying party on or before July 14th I will give you the tote featured below for free.  Your party must be $450 in sales to receive the tote and if your party it’s the $500 mark I will include free embroidery for your tote as well.  Take a minute to watch the video below to see this fabulous thermal party tote.

Please contact me to setup your Thirty-One party today.  I would love for you to receive this tote from me.  If you have any questions or would just like to submit an order feel free to email me or leave a message here and I will get back to you.  Click on Thirty-One to check out all the great products we have available to get you up to your party goals.  It’s easier to browse the products if you click on place an order then clicking on the catalog.

That’s my boys after Shawn’s skating lesson on Saturday.

Yesterday we had a good time having smores and lighting off sprinklers and what not.  I hope everyone else also had some sort of family fun.

Today was completely unexciting.  Dave worked and Shawn and I were both exhausted of course there are no naps around here so the kid is going to bed early tonight.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all homemade so we didn’t spend any extra money.  I’m thinking about going out to Publix this evening to get some cheap laundry detergent but that means I have to get motivated.  I have the worst time getting motivated when it’s rainy out all day.

So how have you been saving??  Feel free to leave a comment and let us know.

For the month of July my family is on a quest to eat all of our meals at home.  Well not at home but they should all be made there. 

I was very concerned about Friday since we were at the racetrack in Daytona all day but I am pleased to tell you that we spent almost no money on Friday.  The only food bought was a pack of Dunkin Donuts Munckins at the gas station.  The prices at the track were just like I thought they would be high bottled water or soda was $4 beer $5-$10 depending on size and a simple hotdog was $7.  We made sandwiches in the car and ate before we entered the track then snacked on Chex Mix, nuts, fruit and gummies throughout the day and enjoyed water, soda, beer, and juice boxes that I had either frozen or laid on top of the frozen stuff.  I’m willing to bet I spent less on all that stuff than I would have feeding one of us.

However we didn’t get home until almost 2am Saturday morning and had to leave for Shawn’s skating lessons at 9:45.  I was so tired that we got up found Shawn’s stuff and left.  Since there is a 2 hour gap between lessons and public skating and we had to eat we unfortunately had to stop at McDonald’s YUCK!!!  But Shawn requested it so that’s were we went.  Next week I’ll be much better prepared and rested before we go so we’ll take lunch with us.

How have you been doing on your challenges for the month??