If you can't shop with the big dogs, stay in your car.

Recently, several of you have asked my advice on couponing, grocery shopping, saving money, etc.

I am flattered, but I gotta tell ya......your admiration and affection for me is clearly clouding your judgement.

While I am slowly but surely learning the way, I have so much more to learn! I hope to someday have a great enough deal to post on here (and not feel sheepish compared to the deals on most other blogs.) But so far, I have maybe had enough AWESOME shopping experiences to count on one hand.....

......as far as the blogging world is concerned, at least. :-) I was still pretty proud of myself.

Anyway, all of that to say: if you want to learn some mad skills in couponing and finding the deals, you may want to acquaint yourself with my sidebar entitled

"How We Improve Our World A Little".

There is a plethora of money-saving blogs on it. (Yes, I said "plethora"......impressive, huh? I can't shop like the frugal big dogs, but I have a wide vocabulary, I tell ya.)

So check it out. I just added these:

~Money Saving Methods
~Deal Seeking Mom
~I Am Frugal
~Mommy Snacks
~$5 Dinners

I have found some great tips on all of these blogs, and intend to hone my couponing/saving skills by reading them daily. (Yes, I also used the word "hone".......I mean, journalism was my 2nd choice in college. It was that or early childhood education....my love for kids just won out in the end. God bless those little buggers. Anyone can write.....right????)

So go have some fun saving money!!! I am so proud of you all---in advance. :-)

No more empty promises

(I'm sorry--this post was supposed to be up yesterday for "Mommy Monday" but, let's see....ummm...... I am a mommy. There is my excuse. :-)

Because our family is all about saving money and trying to do it in the easiest way possible, I found this program--Upromise--intriguing. As far as I can tell, it is legitimate and seems to be giving people money. Madison, at My Dollar Plan, talks about her experience with it in this post. Single Guy signed up for it too and says it is very simple.

So, I decided to give it a shot.....
---The easiest way to utilize the program (in my opinion) is to register your credit cards and grocery reward cards. That way you can buy your normal, everyday purchases and you will earn money.
---You can also earn by eating at participating restaurants. There is a handy restaurant guide on your UPromise account page, which tells you the restaurants in your area (even provides maps!).
---And if you sign up before June 30 (Hurry!) and buy something through their site, you can earn an extra $10!How many of you do this? Have you earned any money? Feedback, people--I need reassurance that this is a great financial decision on my part...... :-)

~MOMMY MONDAYS~

A nursery rhyme for my mommy friends

(and those other readers who enjoy a good deal)

There was a young woman

Who needed some shoes.

She had so many children

She didn't know what to do. (OK, not really--but it felt like it!)

She had a tight budget

With not much to spare.

But the children's feet kept growing--

They didn't seem to care!

She searched and searched for deals

Without any luck.

She knew they were out there--

she just had to look.

But "patience is a virtue", you know;

So she waited a bit.

And what do you suppose.....

On her recent trip to Target

She found just what she needed!

And she couldn't contain her surprise....

She got not 3, not 4, but 5 pairs of shoes

For $17.85!!!!

(See, mommas--it pays to search the clearance racks! Target shoe clearance has never failed me!! I got one toddler's snowboots for next year, a pair of cowboy boots for an upcoming birthday, and 3 pairs of shoes for now! PTL!)

An easy $10......

Hey everyone--I posted about my favorite online shopping site awhile ago. I just received my $15 check today for shopping through them (I think I made 4 purchases), and saw that until Sept. 15th, you can receive $10 for signing up and making a purchase! Plus anyone you refer will receive $10 and so will you! I am all about "free money" so I just wanted to encourage you all to try it. :-)
I need a book and some pictures from Snapfish, so I am off to shop and save!!!!

A little advertising never hurt.....

My hubby has become addicted to saving us money (not a bad thing to be addicted to, right?!) and as a result has interested me in several avenues of cheap shopping. One that I absolutely LOVE is Ebates. We buy quite a few things on-line (it is easier than driving 45 miles to shop for gifts, etc.) and this is the perfect place to buy stuff and get some cash back. I have already earned $15.20 in just a few months!!! It is really easy to sign up and you don't have to give any personal info. When you sign up, I get $5 after your first purchase, you get $5 just for signing up, and you can also refer people and earn even more money!! The biggest thing is remembering to go through Ebates' site in order to earn the money. I forget all of the time--in fact, I just ordered prints at Snapfish and could have earned 10% back for going
through Ebates :-( So all of you computer-savvy women out there (well, men too, if you are reading this)....you should sign up and start saving!
If you decide to try it out, please use my referral link:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?id=32898824
so I can earn $5 for signing you up, and you will earn $5 just for signing up!!! My e-mail address is oregongirl77 at charter dot net.
Have fun shopping (and let me know how much you earn!)