How to match coupons with the sales flyer

Thank you to the hundreds of you that attended my workshop - Living on More...with Less - at the NCHE conference.
Welcome aboard this new frugal living adventure. One hour just wasn't enough time to cover all the bases, and I wanted to put you in touch with the easiest way to know the weekly grocery sales and coupon match ups.
There are two couponing forums that I use. When I don't have time to scan the sales fliers and compare the coupons personally, the forums do the work for me.

They offer this service on every store imaginable.
Here is the beauty of this site - they share what is on sale, the date the coupon was in the newspaper, and the exact coupon section to refer to - Red Plum (RP), Smart Source (SS), or the P&G section.
Couponing made easy!

Click on the picture below to sign up - for free - and you will be amazed (and initially overwhelmed ) at the ease by which they make this world of extreme coupon cutting. :)
They send a "welcome email" where you can introduce yourself once you log in. You can ask questions, and members are very quick to answer.
This is a forum, so you will have a myriad of people making comments. Often, I skip over most of the comments for time sake, and just read the weekly sales match ups for the stores I frequent.
There is a learning curve, so just take baby steps in this new journey. When you receive your first grocery item FOR FREE, make sure you let me know and we will do the happy couponing dance together. :)

*edited to add - I was just informed that if you make even one post on this forum...even if you just take one minute and click on the "introduce yourself" section, they will give me a referral benefit. I didn't realize this but I would love it if you might consider supporting me with that. Even if you choose not to... ENJOY...this is a great networking site.



Again for your couponing newbies. One of my easiest sources for coupons is right here on my blog. If you look to the left of the screen, you will see a coupon widget with pictures of specific products. You may print two of each item, and they reload with different items throughout the month. Right now there is everything from Huggies diapers, to Kraft foods. I have rarely seen a $1.50 off Starbucks, and am very excited to indulge a bit (by making the coffee myself, of course). :)
So print and enjoy the immediate savings. If you have never printed internet coupons before, you will have to allow them access to enable the scanner. This takes seconds, and is always virus free. Or, click below and may sign up for email updates and access to additional coupons at any time.



I will be giving more specific details about the couponing process throughout the week, so keep coming back for more ideas.

Frugal Fashionista - friends style

If you are new to the Frugal Fashionista series, begin reading here.

This past weekend I was in Myrtle Beach with ladies from my home school group, and thus the lack of blog time. The beauty of these friends is they know my frugal tendencies. While only a few roll their eyes at my two hour " couponing and deals conversations," most of them are right there with me.

In fact, those are my "couponing geek buddies." Remember them?
While other much cooler moms were laying out on the beach, we were inside, curled up on the couch sipping coffee, cutting coupons, and solving all the world's problems.
It was a blast!
Then, when "real" vacationers decided to go to the Tanger outlet malls, we scoured the highways and byways for thrift stores, and found them all.
We did complete damage in the total amount of $35... for all six of us (the others were at the outlets). Now, those are the kind of friends you love to hang around.
'Keeping up with the Jones' is not a problem for us. They zoomed by years ago, and when they did, true contentment settled in.

I had fun going through the thrift store racks after one of my sweet friends exclaimed she was "done" shopping for her pre-teen girls (without much luck). Guess what? After that, I found five quality core pieces for her.
We scored when I eyed a Tommy Hilfiger shirt for $0.75. We then saw the exact same T-shirt hanging on a mannequin at a retail store for $24.99.
Train your eagle eyes and you will never believe what's lurking.

Here is one of my brave friends modeling her amazing Frugal Fashionista finds, purchased at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Myrtle. See what you have to be willing to do if you're my friend?

Cost of this classic dress that will never go out of style? $3!
It is a heavier fabric, so in the winter she can easily add a black dressy jacket, blazer or cardigan for a look that last year round.


Notice the rosette type pin that are so stylish right now. This was worth the price of the entire dress, just for that. We encouraged her to take it off and pair it on something where it will stand out more. It gets lost on this dress, and it's too cute to not notice.


The down side of this post is that all my other pictures from these thrift store adventures are on my camera (which will not be in my possession until tomorrow). I saw a few comments last week from ladies who said they wanted to link up to the Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show today since they missed last week. I didn't want any one to be left out, so I've added Mr. Linky just in case. I didn't know if there would be enough interest every week, but if I have enough people who would like to link up, I will. Just let me know in the comments, otherwise, I will just do it 2x/month, and give notice, unlike today. :)

Please link directly to your Frugal Fashionista post, and as a courtesy to me, please link to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam so that others can join in the fun.
The link widget has been a bit feisty lately, so I apologize if it comes and goes with out notice.

Remember - thrift is back...it's the new black!

Money Matters - free book for you (and Quizno's sub, too)

I am working on a talk called Living on More...with less, for our North Carolina Home School Conference this weekend. I am only referring to two mens' resources in my workshop, and I was thrilled to discover that one of those resources is being offered for free.

Long before financial guru Dave Ramsey revolutionized people's spending habits by encouraging hard core debt free living, the late Larry Burkett had been laying the ground work with financial principles so that leaders like Dave could take action steps to get out of debt.

As a CFP, my father was privileged to sit under the tutelage of Mr. Burkett while I was growing up, and therefore many of these principles were ingrained in me before a debt snowball ever occurred. Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett are two men that I confidently recommend in the world of financial mentoring. I was thrilled to see that Larry's Money Matters book was being offered with a "no strings attached" agreement. If you are looking for a place to begin with being better financial stewards of your money, check this out.
I've included the description below taken from their website.


In addition, if you need a good sub sandwich to go with that reading time, I came across the Quizno's Q club. Sign up here to receive updates and a free flatbread Sammie coupon will be delivered to your inbox on sign up! No phone # necessary. It confirms on name and email.
As much as I believe eating at home is the best choice on the budget, yes, we love subs now and then, especially when they're free. I love the deals they send through.

One of America's foremost authorities on financial stewardship, Larry Burkett presents a comprehensive resource in Money Matters. Indexed for easy use, Burkett offers concise answers to the most frequently asked questions from his national radio show. Drawing from over thirty years of Bible and finance study, Burkett provides principles for managing your money in a number of categories, including: housing and automobiles, retirement, budgeting, taxes, business issues and insurance, debt and credit, giving, investments, family and money issues.

Money Matters isn't just for those in need of financial Rx. It's an ideal resource for anyone desiring to align finances with Biblical principles.

How to Set a Beautiful Table

One of the homemaking skills I am working on with our daughters is the ability to set a nice table - both functionally and beautifully. In the day and age where dinner is done in a dash, and paper plates are the name of the game, there is just something about real plates, silverware and cloth napkins that not only makes mealtime memorable, but sets the tone for a welcoming home.

A tip I encourage in my frugal living workshop is to try and go with less paper products. I teeter back and forth on my own advise during football season, but right now, we are putting our well water to good use.

I have always loved Emily Post's acrostic reminder for how to set a basic table.

Remember FORKS

F-fork, O-plate (the shape), K-Knife, and S- Spoon (yes, for you type A friends, you must just forget the R). ;)

Basic Place Setting - Description and diagram

Informal Place Setting - Description and diagram

I'll leave the formal settings for a day when I actually partake in a formal dinner. :)

I had great hopes of doing some special napkin folds, but ran out of time (that's going to be another Tasty Tuesday post). Instead, I sent my son out to cut some daffodils, and the effect was just as grand.
Centerpieces can be elegant and fancy, fun and festive, simple, yet beautiful or a combination of all three.
Based on what I found when I "shopped my house," I went with simple, yet beautiful. I used some of the yard sale fabric that I was given free as my "runner." My newly spray painted tea tray served as the perfect base for my candle holder, which sat on top of one of my yard sale dishes. Blooming daffodils from my yard adorned the white vases I bought for a quarter.
My girls love getting creative and thinking of unique things to do (which typically involves many, many candles.) I was thrilled to pull all these things together quickly and simply. I layered my daily white plates with the turquoise Mikasa set that I bought for a steal at a yard sale. When I purchased the complete set (with all the additional serving pieces) which serves eight, it was a want, not a need. But this $20 "entertainment" purchase has given me such delight by mixing and matching with my dinner table and decorating.
Instead of using the glass water goblets that I typically use for entertaining, I stuck with the new milk glasses that I bought for $5/set. It kept the clean, yet casual, brunch atmosphere that I was desiring.

I love how it truly is the little things that are the big things.

So after you have conquered the "candlelight challenge - creating ambiance, try setting your table and see what fun you can have. It's another simple way to make meal times memorable without having to spend a lot of money or stress over a lot of time.

And just so you know what my true beauty and bedlam table really looked like...this is reality. I wasn't about to unhook the whole computer just for brunch, so on the buffet it went. :)
I just love seeing all of your inspirations every week. So what have you been up to in the kitchen?
Posted at: The Shabby Nest, and Frugal Friday.

As always, please follow the simple guidelines.
1. Include your post showing us your Tasty Tuesday recipe or ideas.

2. Link up below to the permalink of your post. To find out what yours is, simply click on the title of your post and grab the permalink from the address bar.

3. Link back to Balancing Beauty and Bedlam in your post so everyone will know where to come to find all the other great recipe ideas.

Trash to Treasure

I haven't had as much time during the last few weekends for my favorite activity - yard sale-ing, but the beauty is that in one hour on a Saturday morning, there are still many treasures to be found. Here are just a few I found last Saturday.
I adore dishes. There is just something about enjoying memorable meals with beautiful dishes that draws me to them at yard sales. You can imagine my delight when I saw these two stackable "oven to table" casserole dishes for just $5 (not a piece, for the PAIR!)
Since they have subtle holly embellishments, serving my traditional Christmas brunch dishes in these will make my morning even more joyous. I will be able to prepare them the evening before, bake and serve...all in the same dish...all season long.
I have been on the look out for a crystal or shabby chic white cake plate with dome. Since I haven't found one yet (but I will), this three tiered serving tray ($3) will do quite nicely in the interim. While I am on the hunt, I'll just serve my treats cut up. I am debating if I want to paint it or not.

This was an unusual purchase for $1. Since I collect tea cups, pots etc, I thought this was just a fun silver treasure "find" for outdoor entertaining. When I got it home and opened it up to wash, I realized it was a silver wine cooler that sells for big bucks. I was shocked. How fun is that. We don't drink wine, but I am sure a chilled bottle of sparkling grape juice will work just as well. :)


I couldn't pass up these cute dish clothes for $0.25. Anything with my favorite beverage adorning it definitely needs to be purchased.
In the background are a few of my spray painted finds, but the feature item is this iron serving basket with two tea light holders on either side. I will keep it outside all the time, but it will be perfect for entertaining. After I posted this, I found out from my commenters (thx, Nicole) that this is a Southern Living piece that sold for $75. I purchased it for $2. Yipee!
Anonomous also gave me advice on what do with this versatile piece. She has it on her counter with a couple mugh, sugar, creamer and a bottle of flavoring. She's also seen it in the bathroom with washcloths, soaps and a few sundries.
My find of the day. I was thrilled to see this tall apothecary jar for only TWO DOLLARS! And of course, I googled it as soon as I arrived home to see how much it sells for retail. I only "know" yard sale prices, so getting in touch with the retail side of pricing is a good thing. :)

Here is the pricing for a medium size - my jar is a bit larger.

Lidded Medium Tall
(25" h x 6" w)
APO-0505 $79.95

I then saw these in the Pottery Barn Catalog priced between $49 - 69.
I know stores sell them cheaper, but it makes me feel great to see those retail prices. :)
I do believe I got a great deal. :)
Now, my biggest decision will be what to put in it.
I am leaning towards lemons. With my kitchen cabinets being white, and the walls being yellow, I think that the lemons would be really fresh and clean looking.
Anything help in the clean look department is greatly appreciated...hee hee

1. 

See Rhoda's for more fun thrifting finds.

Edited to add: Please keep our family in your prayers this week. I am out of town, and just found out that my husband's best friend from college passed away unexpectedly. He will be leaving for the funeral in WI this morning before I arrive home. We are supposed to be driving to our family reunion with my entire family (including one of my brother's family who we haven't seen in over a year) and I will now have to travel by myself. There are numerous strenuous issues that have come about in the midst of this, but I am continually reminded of God's faithfulness during our continued "God watch". He always provides and I choose to find the beauty in the midst of the bedlam.