Thanksgiving recap

Hopefully everyone had a good holiday and weekend.

Matt and I had an uneventful holiday. I had to work the day after thanksgiving but Matt did pick me up a slow cooker. I have some big plans to make apple butter the next time applesauce goes on sale.

I've also spent some time this weekend thinking about the Wal-Mart incident on Black Friday. You can read the full article Here. I just find it so sad that a person lost their life so someone could save a few dollars. How will Christmas morning be for these shoppers? Knowing they killed someone for that digital camera. It really speaks volumes about human nature and the mass commercialism of our society.

We did earn a little money this week as well. In an effort to get a jump start on one of our 2009 goals (reducing our stuff) I listed a few of our gaming systems on craigslist. They were quickly snatched up and the success has made me excited to get even more items out of the house. The best part, craigslist is 100% free.

CVS - 11/27 - 3 Day Sale

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the new CVS I've been going to? I have, well let me just say it one more time. I LOVE this CVS. I got a late start to shopping today and figured they'd be out of a few products I needed. Much to my surprise not only were the sales labeled but they had everything I needed except the Cover Girl make up. Shopping was a breeze.

I didn't want to spend a ton out of pocket so I didn't get everything we could have, but I'm still very happy with it.

I got all of these things for nothing out of pocket and made $30.95 in Ecbs for a profit of $14.91 - I love getting paid to shop.



2 Bic Soleil Single Razors: @ 5.99 ($11.98)
~ (2) $3 off Bic Coupon
1 Playtex Gentle Glide $3.99
~ $1. off Playtex coupon (from recent sample)
1 Colgate Toothpaste $2.99
~ $1.50 off Colgate coupon
1 L’Oreal Colour Juice Sheer Lip Gloss $6.99
~ $1 off L'Oreal coupon
1 Garnier Nutritioniste Cleansing Toilettes $5.99
~ $1 off Garnier Moisturizer
2 Schick disposable razors @ .99 ($1.98)

~ $1 off any Cover Girl product

Used a $5/30 coupon

Total Before Coupons: $33.92
Coupons Used: $18.50
Total After coupons: $15.42
Paid with $18.98 in ecbs (total paid is higher than total because of return - below)

ECB's Received: $30.95 (5.99 Garnier, 2.99 Colgate, 11.98 Bic, 6.99 L'Oreal, 3 Playtex)

Total Profit $14.91

I also purchased a Cover Girl powder which was the wrong brand and returned it for a $10.59 gift card. This also allowed me to still use the Cover Girl coupon, kind of confusing I know.

Jewelry Frame

Another great project from Joys Of Home. I decided to make some paper bead earrings and needed a way to display them when we attend craft fairs. I found this great tutorial and decided to make my own frame. Its kind of hard to see the earrings in the picture, sorry we were outside quickly taking pics.


Here's what I started with. The frame from Goodwill (already missing the glass and back) was 99 cents, sand paper $1.98 (5 pieces), 2 cans of black spray paint $.99 each at Wal-mart, and mesh from my Grandpa (Not pictured). I spray painted the frame, distressed it, and Matt stapled down the mesh.

Quite possibly one of the easiest crafts ever and it looks great for a display. I might make some smaller ones to sell if I ever see a few cheap frames for sale.
.

Sweeps for the week 11/24

Sweeps for the Week

Here are some of the sweeps for the week. Most of them can be entered daily so make sure to keep checking back for the chance to win more great prices.

Instant Wins
~ Pledge Photo Hunt Instant Win Play once per day until 11/30
~ General Mills Fuel up Free Instant Win Play once per day until 11/30 Obtain a free code from their website
~ Oreo Double Stuff until 12/1
~ Madagascar Movie Sweeps Once per day until 12/11
~ Win a Wii a day Once per day until 12/14
~ Soft Scrub Instant Win
Play until 12/15 (use SOFTSCRUB as free code)and receive a $.50 off coupon
~ Fancast Instant Win Once per day until 12/19
~ Chiquita Instant Win Play until 12/26 (Free code: 4322-2342-1342-4323)
~ Chrysler Drive to go Green
Play once a day until 12/31. You do not need a code
~ Tinker Bell Sweepstakes once per day until 1/31
~ Blue Man Group Instant Win Once per day until 1/31

Just Plain Sweeps
~ Circuit City - Ongoing
~ Woman’s Day Magazine. - Many Ongoing
~ Home Magazine - Many Ongoing
~Enter the Redbook get everything you want Until 1/15. More here


One Time Entry
Wrangler Little Big Town Sweepstakes Ends 11/24/08 ~ More HERE

Free DR.Pepper

Don't forget today is the day to get your free Dr.Pepper.

You can register on the site and sign up HERE or if you have problems online (lots of lag) you can call 1-800-696-5891 and request your coupon that way as well.

Friday Find - Keyka Lou Patterns

I love this week's Friday Find. It is an amazing tutorial from Keyka Lou Patterns for a wrist pin cushion.


I know so many crafters who would love something like this, if only I'd have time to make some before Christmas, sadly these will have to wait till next year.

You need to check out her site Keyka Lou Patterns and the Pincushion Cuff Tutorial.

Other great things you can find on her site include:

Money bag Tutorial
Recycled Dog Collar
Journal Cover

and make sure to stop by her Etsy shop where she's having a great holiday sale 2 patterns for $10.

Water Heater Savings

Last week Matt and I took another step to decreasing our heating bills this winter; we installed a water heater blanket. I purchased the blanket on sale for less than $10 and Matt installed it in less than ten minutes. You can even make your own blanket if you’re up for it, all you need is a roll of duct tape and some faced fiberglass insulation. By adding insulation you can reduce your heat loss by 25% - 45% which saves about 4%-9% in water heating cost.

The steps to installing a water heater blanket are pretty basic:
~ Wrap the insulation horizontally around the unit using duct tape to seal the seams
~ Make sure to leave cutouts for the thermostat, controls and drain faucets
~ Tape any remaining joints and seams where air can escape
~ If your water heater is electric make sure to cut a cap of insulation to fit the top as well and provide slits for the water inlet and outlet piping.
~ If your heater is gas, do not cover the burner access of the flue collar.

Make sure and read any extra instructions included with your blanket.
Not sure if your water heater needs additional insulation, finding out is easy. Just touch it, if the tank is warm it needs insulation.

To find out more about insulating your water heater visit the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website (EERE)

And if you want to save even more money; try turning down the thermostat on your water heater. For every 10º F you reduce your temperature you could save anywhere from 3% to 5% in energy cost. You can safely reduce your water temperature to 120º F while still killing germs and bacteria.

There are also other benefits to reducing your water temperature to 120º F. The EERE states a reduced temperature of 120º F will slow mineral buildup and corrosion within your water heater and the pipes. This obviously will make your heater last longer and operate with a better efficiency. If you’re planning on being gone for more than three days turn the thermostat down to the lowest setting or turn it off completely for some short term savings.

Matt and I reduced our water temperature this summer and felt no difference what so ever. Now that it’s gotten a little colder we have had to turn it up a few notches, but it’s still lower than it was originally.

Check out the EERE website to learn more about lowering your thermostat.

Total cost for energy updates: > $10
Possible energy savings: 31% to 55%