That's a Whole Lotta Sauce!

Chris wanted to use his food mill to make applesauce so he went to the grocery store tonight and got 5 pounds of apples. All he had to do was boil them down in water, brown sugar, salt and lemon juice. He also added cinnamon for flavor. Then when they are mushy you toss them into the food mill and get to grinding.

In total it took him a little over an hour, but it is the best applesauce ever! We ended up freezing it and it filled 5 very large glass jars. That will last the 3 of us for several months. He got a variety of apples so it cost about $17. However, you could always just get a big bag of one type and it would be much cheaper.

So, if you have been buying some at the grocery store for yourself or your kiddos just about every week, STOP! It doesn't take that long to make and it will really be worth it in the end.

DIY Dye (Update)

I went to Sally's tonight and got some hair dye. I knew it was time when Chris asked when I was going to be doing my roots. He means well.

I was fortunate enough to go on the very last day of a promotion I didn't even know was happening. The deal was that if you got a bottle of Ion color, you would get a bottle of the developer for free!!! I ended up getting a bowl and brush too. The guy who rang me up was nice enough to let me split the transaction (since you are supposed to only be allowed to do the BOGO deal once). Now I have enough developer to last me the year (literally) and I have two tubes of color, which means I should be set for about 4 months. I used to color every 6 weeks but now I'm trying to space it out to 8.

One of the best parts was how helpful the staff was. Hopefully the people at your Sally are just as nice. The girl answered all of my questions perfectly. Good luck if you ladies try to do this as well. It really is easy to do if you are only doing solid color and you aren't trying to bleach your hair.

I've said it many times....

If I could marry Target, I would. Don't know if you ever noticed, but right when you walk in there is a little area with Dollar Deals. You should really check it out if you haven't before. I got a little coupon organizer there yesterday and some really cool Strawberry Shortcake stickers for the girl that I watch. Her bday is this weekend and I also got a gift bag to put her gifts in. For my own little rugrat I got two board books, one about North America and one about the world. They are nifty!

I go to Target all the time (because it's my other lover) and I usually try to check out what they have. It's great for seasonal gifts and decor and cheap little rewards for your kiddos.

What a gal!

The lady I work for recommended that I check out this site and I lurve it. I must say I'm green with envy, but in a good way. Not in a creepy, I'm going to hunt her down and give her the Evil Eye, way.

She's about the same age as me and is a savings guru. I aspire to be like that someday. So remember, the more people you tell about my site...the more people will read it!! (cough, cough)

Eeeewww....Spam!

This may seem obvious, but you should get a free email account just for your "spam." The thing is, to get all of these great coupons and discounts, you have to sign up for a lot of stuff. You need to register your info with a lot of companies, especially with retailers.

Now, this would be annoying if all of the emails from your friends and family were getting mixed in with the latest deals from your favorite stores. You might just want to say to heck with this spam, but that's a mistake. The emails that come from retailers often contain coupons, special "members only" deals, free shipping offers and more. If you are skipping or deleting them out of frustration, it will be your loss. Just get some random email account and whenever you are signing up on a website or the cashier ringing you up asks for your email, just give them that one.

Again, it seems obvious enough, but you'd be surprised.

Oooops.

Well it's been too long. This week was a little bonkers though. Tuesday was the Inauguration (!!!) so I was glued to the TV all day (literally, it was insane, way too much CSPAN). Then Wednesday and Thursday I was feeling a little ill. Friday I had a job interview, and now I have a job again. Holler!! This weekend has been a migraine-fest for me, which is always delightful. I'm going to need to find a chiropractor tomorrow. So if anyone would like to donate to the fund, I'd really appreciate it. Sadly, my insurance does not support "alternative" therapies.

So let me tell you about some good shizz happening at a mall near you. I really recommend that you check out WOW Coupons before heading to your mall because they have super amazing free coupons and I saved a bundle today by using them.

Bath and Body Works just ended their Semi Annual Sale, but all of their original collection products have had a makeover and everything in the old packaging is massively marked down. It's the same exact product, just in the packaging that they've been using for as long as I can remember. I got lotion, body gel, creamy body wash, bubble bath and a purse lotion for $13.

Express is having their Shop the Box Sale and they have tons of stuff in bins marked to $9.99. Plus all of their red lined clearance is another 40% off. I got a dress for $5, which I think was originally about $60, maybe even more.

JC Penney is having a BOGO on their clearance. It's not Buy One Get One half off, it's Buy One Get One FREE!!! Seriously!!! It's on just about everything too, not just their clothing.

New York and Co. has tons of stuff for 50% and 70% off. I got the most awesome coat today, originally $80, and it cost me a little over $20.

Retailers are hurting and it's up to you to take advantage of it. I don't mean go in a be a raging jerk with a pocketful of coupons, but make the most of the good values that are at your local mall right now.

It's a "Two-fer"

I heart bagels. I really, really do. I also love things made from bagels. Tonight I whipped up two bagel-licious recipes and I shall share them with you.

First, my gourmet croutons. I've been making these for quite some time and they are AMAZING! You will never buy croutons again. This is so easy and forgiving that you will never run out of ways to mess with these babies to suit your flavor desires. You can buy fresh bagels but you really should buy day-old bagels. If you use fresh bagels you may just have to cook them for longer. If you go to a place that specializes in bagels you can usually get whole bags for cheap. I got mine from a coffee shop in my town, and they are 6 for $3. If you like your croutons to be minimally seasoned, buy plain bagels. If you are like me, the "Seasoning Queen," get something like the Everything Bagels. I also recommend getting these if your spice collection consists of no more than salt and pepper. And away we go...

You are going to want to turn your oven on to 400º. Get out your bagels and a breads knife. Also get a big bowl and two big spoons. You can also use a large Ziploc style bag for this too. Make sure you have some EVOO and any spices you may want. Get out cookie sheets and tin foil. Lay the tinfoil down on the cookie sheet. This step is not totally necessary but I really hate scrubbing my cookie sheets down.

Cut the bagels (you can use as many as you want, but I suggest 3) in any size chunk that you wish. Toss them into the bowl or baggie. Then drizzle in some EVOO. Don't overdo it! Add a tablespoon and try to coat the pieces with it. It is easier to use a baggie for this, but that's also kind of wasteful (unless you wash and reuse your baggies). If you are using a bowl, here's where you are going to use the big spoons to toss everything around. You only need enough oil to coat the pieces, so continue to add a little more at a time until they are lightly coated. If they are soaking it will be disgusting when you try to eat them. Once they are coated you can add seasonings. If you are unsure about this, stick with salt and pepper. Dried parsley goes well in croutons too. Tonight I made them with sage, cumin and parsley. I've even made them with curry before. Again, get everything mixed well. Now just dump them onto the cookie sheet and make sure each piece is lying flat on the sheet. You don't want pieces piled on each other, or they will cook unevenly. Put them in for about 10 minutes. You are going to want to keep checking them. After they start to get light brown on the edges you should carefully remove one, blow on it, and try it. If it's not crisp enough, wait a few more minutes, and try again. As soon as they are as hard as you like them, remove, let cool, and put them into something air tight (baggie, container, etc.).

These are not only great on salad but awesome for soup too, as they don't get soggy right away like store-bought ones. They are also cool because you can change the flavor to suit what you are using them for. Let's say you are making some fancy Mexican salad, add chili powder and use jalapeno bagels. If you are going to have a big Italian feast, just toss in some Italian seasoning and get Sun Dried Tomato bagels. I think you get the point.

Recipe #2-Bagel chips!

I haven't bought bagel chips from the store in awhile, but they aren't super cheap. I mean, if you live at home and your parents buy your groceries, and you are just buying these as a snack, it's probably not a big deal. Or, if you are Bill Gates, you probably don't worry about your grocery bill. At any rate, I think it's always more rad to make something at home and tailor it for yourself.

Basically you are going to keep your oven at the same temp. While the croutons are cooking, take the other 3 bagels and slice them. I would recommend that you cut them in the middle. Not the way you cut them when you are going to toast and schmear them, I mean cut them the other direction. This gives the bagel a flat surface for the rest of your cutting. This prevents you from cutting yourself and bleeding all over your yummy bagels.

Now keep slicing as thick or as thin as you want them to be. You will probably get about 10 slices out of each bagel. Now take the bowl that you were just using for your croutons and toss in 5 slices at a time. Drizzle lightly with your EVOO and try to get them coated again. It's fine if every little part isn't covered, just make sure to get some on each piece. When you are done, place them on the cookie sheet. You can sprinkle salt on them if you like, or leave them plain. Complete this step until you have put all the pieces onto the cookie sheets and then pop them into the oven. When they start to get light brown on the edges, flip them over and put them back in until the back side is done.

Again, you can add seasoning to this if you want. Or, if you want a good snack for your kids, you can use Cinnamon Raisin or Blueberry bagels. You could always sprinkle sugar instead of salt over these, or leave them with just the EVOO.

Any way that you make these, people with think you are brilliant when they try them. You could probably even bring them as Hostess gifts or whip up a yummy dip for the chips and bring them to your next potluck. Enjoy!

I'm a Dirrrrty Grrl.

Ancient Chinese secret??? Nope...but it sure gets your clothes clean.

I'm a little obsessed with Tipnut. On there is a page with a bunch of recipes to make your own laundry detergent. So I tried it today.

I did Recipe #8 and it was insanely easy. It took maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. I used a cheese grater to shave my bar of Dove soap. I picked Dove because they have a version for sensitive skin. Got my big washing bucket out, filled it with hot water and then dumped the melted soap into it. Tossed in a box of baking soda, stirred it up, and then used a funnel to get it into an empty milk jug and and empty white vinegar jug.

I figured it out and in total this project only cost me $2. According to the required amount of half cup per load, I should have enough for 2 months worth of laundry. I tried it out tonight and it seemed to work just fine. I tested it on a nasty, dirty stuffed animal of Jack's and it got the stains off the outside.

The fact that with a very small amount of effort I have enough detergent to do laundry for a month, for only a buck, I will never buy detergent again.

Save Bux at SBux

Just before I left Washington a coworker informed me that when you purchase drinks at Starbucks with a gift card, they won't charge you for extras like soy milk or syrup. This would've been nice to know 3 years prior. I say this because about 100 feet from my old store was a Starbucks. Every single night that I closed (well, just about every night) I would send someone from my staff to go get me coffee. I would be horrified to actually know what I spent on coffee while working there.

Every latte stand I went to in Washington used to have punch cards. I probably still have a ton in my wallet, that are clearly no good to me now. I used to get frustrated that Starbucks had no reward system for returning customers. Well, the gift card does just that. If you know you are the type who is going be frequenting your local SBux, you really should just buy one for yourself and refill it from time to time. Plus, if you get their Product(RED) card they donate 5 cents to the Global Fund every time you make a purchase with it for the rest of 2009.

So when you go there, use your RED card to get your Double Tall Hazelnut Soy Latte, and also buy some ground coffee while you're at it, because it's just cheaper to make it yourself at home. Yeah, it pains me to tell you that. I love espresso drinks more than anyone should, but it really is a bad $4/day habit.

I am in love with Swagbucks! This site is pretty cool. Basically you use it as a search engine (It's powered by Google and Ask.) and you earn Swag Bucks. You earn them by searching frequently, periodically winning some, shopping your favorite retailers online through their site, and if you know people who end up signing up for it too. It costs nothing to join, they don't spam you and it it took me less than a minute to get my account.

I've been using my account for less than a week and I already have earned 17 Swag Bucks. You can go into the Swag Shop and redeem them for different items. For example, you can redeem 50 SBs for a $5 Starbucks card. If you earn more SBs you can get better gifts.

They also have a cool feature where you can mail in your old cell phone and they pay you for it in Swag Bucks. It's a good way to help the environment by not just tossing that old phone in the trash, especially if it's too old or worn out to resell on ebay or Craigslist.

You got your dinner, now how about your movie?

Ok so if you used your GC from Restaurant.com you've already had a good dinner without spending too much. What should you do with the rest of your night? Well, see a movie, stupid!

Movie tix can be quite pricey these days. If you are part of a military fam you can go to your MWR and either get free or discounted tickets. This requires having to deal with the hell of military family life, I'm not sure if the trade off is worth it. If you don't feel like going to the MWR, most theaters offer a reduced rate if you show your military ID.

For the rest of you, check out this site. It has a lot of great ideas on how to get cheaper movie tickets. Plus, if you sign up for your local theater's Reward program you can earn cheap tix or discounted food and drinks.

Or, if you're a rebel you can be a tad bit dishonest. Here are a few things I used to do:
1) Go up to the automated kiosk to purchase tix with a credit card. It asks if you are getting regular, child or senior tickets. If you pick "child" or "senior" they are cheaper and the ticket ripper person (I would call them "ushers" but nowadays they really aren't) rarely checks, or cares.
2) Pay for one showing, watch that film, and when it's over sneak into another theater to watch a second movie. It's a double-feature for the price of one movie. You could get caught and kicked out though, so beware.
NOTE: I no longer do either of these. I never got in trouble doing it, but you could, so attempt at your own risk.

Lastly, see if there's a Drive In theater in your town. They are super awesome in the summer. In Arizona we used to go to one that was $5 for 2 movies. Plus you can bring your own food and drinks, folding chairs, tables, etc. and have a blast with a group of friends.

To the Moms: If you don't have a purse that is big enough to stash your own food and drinks when you go to the theater, get one or make one. Load that baby up with juice boxes and granola bars and DON'T waste your money at the theater. My mother is a saint and she used to do this so I don't feel bad about it.

Dinner Plans??

Thanks to Liz (AKA Finesse), I now know about Restaurant.com. This site is really rad and basically allows you to go eat at local restaurants for less. Not every local restaurant is on there but you just put in your zip code and it gives you a list. Then you have an option of paying for different gift certificates at various price levels, for less than the actual value of the certificate. For example, you can buy a $10 GC for $3. There are certain restrictions, but it would be a great way to try a new place without worrying about spending too much and not being happy, or going out to a place that you love to go to anyway.

Now call up your honey, get a sitter and go out to eat!

A little DIY hair never hurt!

In trying to cut back I've decided that I need to start coloring my hair at home again. EEEKKKKK! Don't fret, I won't be getting my color at the grocery/drug store. I know better than that.

With the help of my old stylist Jefflin I am going to do this the smart way. I am going to hit up the local Sally Beauty Supply and get everything I need to do it myself. It's really not that difficult. In high school I always colored my own hair and my friends' hair too. You just need the color, developer, a plastic bowl, applicator brush or bottle. All of these can be acquired on the cheap at any local beauty supply store (just note, some places have certain items only licensed stylists can purchase). Check to see if the store has a Rewards card that can save you even more. I know that Sally's does. Their website even has directions for picking color, developer and how to apply everything. Don't waste money on a shower cap to cover it while you are waiting. I know that shower caps are cheap, but chances are you already have a plastic grocery store bag at your house. Throw that puppy on and secure it. WAIT...don't use that metal bobby pin! The metal can have a bad reaction with the chemicals. Grab your plastic hair clip instead.

If you are still feeling a little hesitant....find a local beauty school. They usually have very reasonable prices and the students are observed by teachers. Look for well-known schools too, like Aveda, Bumble and Bumble or Toni&Guy. They may not have one in your area, but if so, go there first. Be understanding that it's not going to be as good as in a salon but it will be good. You can also call local salons that are known for their quality of work and see if they ever need hair models to practice on.

Now the really important stuff:
-Do NOT try to go platinum by yourself!!!! Your hair could end up orange (at best) and it has the potential to get very damaged and even fall out. Everyone will know that you are a cheap ass when you show up to work with crazy bald spots. Not hot at all! Same thing goes if you are looking to add in lots of really blond highlights.
-Don't go to a mall salon or Supercuts to get your hair cut. It pays to splurge on a good haircut. This is not to say that everyone who works at those places is horrible, but most of them are. If you are a dude or are a girl with a dude-like haircut then it doesn't really matter. But ladies, don't risk it. You can usually find a good place for a cut for $30-$40. Many salons have different price ranges based upon how long the stylist has been working there. Just ask for the least expensive stylist, if they are at a good salon, they will do great work. Ask them to cut it in such a way that you can wait longer between cuts and have it still look good and hold it's shape. Also, if you have bangs, most salons will offer free trims in between cuts, especially if you are petrified to do that yourself.

Well, hope this was helpful. Coloring yourself will probably only cost about $50 a year. At most salons you can't get decent color once for that price. You will be saving bucketloads and still look just as fabulous. Now go and get your hurr did!

Save the Drama for your Mama!

Why is it that moms always get stuck with the chore of saving money for their families??? Sure, there are dads out there who are cheapskates, tightwads, etc., but it seems like everything on the internet that has anything to do with coupons, rewards programs, rebates, and such is directed at moms. This kinda sucks. No, it really sucks.

However, my feminist ideology does not prevent me from loving Money Saving Mom. I stumbled across this site and it rocks. Just today I went to Rite Aid and did a little bargain shopping with tips from the site. I won't bother to explain it all here (since you just need to click on the link and read the article by Crystal), but basically I ended up getting $106 worth of stuff for $42! No joke. It wasn't even hard. It just took a tiny bit of planning.

I'm pretty much set with shampoo and conditioner for the year now. That's pretty rad.

Now I just need to get Glade to stop airing those idiotic commercials that make SAHMs seem like total morons. Because if you didn't know already, your friends won't like you if you don't spend a crap load of money on expensive french candles and spa-quality aromatherapy products.

Why-o, Why-o, Why-o

Why start this blog???? Hmmmmm..... so many reasons.

1) I need something constructive to do with my time. I don't really know anyone here so there's not much for me to do in my free time. I have a lot of free time currently, since I'm waiting on a job. Grrrr.
2) I have suddenly become obsessed with finding ways to save $$. I used to think that coupon clipping was for pensioners and soccer moms but now I realize that all it takes is a little gumption and some scissors.
3) Oftentimes, cutting costs and helping the environment and Mom & Pop places go hand in hand. I like this....makes me feel a little tingly.

So there you have it. I can't make any promises that I will have all your answers, or even most of them, but if I can do "the leg work" (thx Liz) for you and help you save money, Mother Earth, and your sanity, then I've done my part.