Savings for this week

I just went on my weekly hunt in search of great deals.  I feel like I'm getting better at weeding out the really good ones and passing on the so-so ones.  I made two stops today.

First was Walgreens.

• 2 Bottles of Irish Spring Liquid Soap.  This was on sale 2 for $6.  I got $4 register rewards.  I had two coupons worth $0.50 each.  Final cost = $1 for both
• Cetaphil bar soap was BOGO* 1/2 off so I got 2 bars for $6.75.  This really wasn't a good deal, but I have to use that soap and there is never coupons for it so half off one is better than nothing.
• 1 Sharpie for $0.39
• 2 Sharpie highlighters for $0.69
• All in all i paid $13.83, saved $9.63, and got $4 register rewards to spend next time.

Next was CVS (conveniently across the street)

• 2 bottles of Palmolive dish soap.  It was on sale for $0.99 plus I had two coupons worth $0.25 each.  Total was $1.50 for both.
• Renu Contact solution (Best deal of the week!) on sale for $7.89.  Got $6 EB (Extra Bucks). And had a $2 off coupon.  So I made $0.11 on this!
• One a Day vitamins.  On sale BOGO 1/2 off.  Plus 2 coupons worth $2 each.  Final price was $9 for two 100 count bottles.
• Loreal Eversleek Shampoo and Conditioner.  Originally $7 each.  $5 EB because I bought 2 bottles (one shampoo, one conditioner).  Plus two coupons worth $4 each.  Final price = $2.50 a piece.
• All in all, I paid $28.20, saved $18.28, and got $11 EB to spend next time!

My goal is to get to the point of not buying anything unless its $1 or less but there were some things this week that we just needed like the soap, shampoo (maybe didn't need that but it was time to buy shampoo and I really like that kind and it was a great deal), and vitamins.  Plus, I plan to save the register rewards up and start paying for these weekly trips with those.  It is all a learning process.  I am very thankful for My Frugal Adventures as that is where I spot most of these deals.

On the homefront, everything is going well here.  I got a job at a daycare which I am thoroughly excited about!  I have truly missed working with babies and I've been getting a bit bored.  It's part time so I will still have time for school, which starts August 22nd, and for Eric, and for keeping up with my house (I hope).  We, me more than Eric though), are both excited about going camping next weekend.  We're going to Lake Fort Smith.  Looking forward to seeing my brother, sister, bestie, niece, nephews, and the rest of them, and my family!

Happy Friday everyone!

Michelle Morgan

*BOGO= buy one get one

Getting harder

As the days go by and I'm spending (what seems like) more and more hours at home alone while Eric's at work, it is getting harder not to miss people. Its not like I havent been missing anyone, but days like these make it harder not to think about it and let it get to me. The great thing is that I have an awesome husband that does come home in the evenings and spends time with me and I have made a couple friends. So it's not like I'm completely lonely and out of luck....just missing Arkansas. I am looking forward to starting my last three classes to get my associates degree in late august and I have a prospect for a job. I believe as I get busier and have more things to occupy my mind, it will not be so hard to miss people.



That's about it for now

Thanks for reading

Mrs. Morgan :D

First Couponing Adventure

Hi there :)  I just got back from my first couponing adventure and weekly grocery trip and I'm exhausted and don't feel so good so I decided to take a break and write about it.  I'm very excited about my savings!

I have been reading the blog at My Frugal Adventures about couponing and deals and freebies and such and have been inspired to start trying to save more money!  So I started with getting a paper on Sunday.  There is one paper around here that has double coupons which is awesome.  I also print coupons offline.  To clarify, unless it is free, extremely cheap, or we need it, I skip or save the coupon.  We don't really have the storage space for me just to be buying stuff we don't need because it was on sale.

My first stop today was Hobby Lobby.  Since we just celebrated our 1 month anniversary, I decided it was about time to get our thank you notes sent out and I had a coupon for 40% off one item (which is a fairly regular coupon they send out) so i figured I would get the biggest box of thank you notes they had and then go back again next time i get a coupon.  I lucked out though because they were having their bridal event and they had boxes of 50 thank you notes normally priced at $10 for half ($5).  So I bought 3 boxes and saved $15.

Second stop was target, best deals of the day.  I bought some crest toothpaste that was originally $2.49.  I had a $0.75 off coupon.  This wasn't a great deal but I bought it because we needed toothpaste and it came with a travel size toothpaste, a floss thing, and $10 worth of coupons (the real catcher for me).  Next I bought some Purina cat treats (because we will be getting a cat in the near future).  They were on sale for 2 @ $0.99 each and I had a coupon for $1.00 off so I paid $1.00 total for both of them.  The best deal I got all day was some free bengay.  Yep, FREE!  My Frugal Adventures posted a coupon off of www.coupons.com for $5 off any bengay product.  I actually made money on this one.  I bought a tube of bengay normally priced at $4.24 so with the coupon, I made $0.76!  So I paid a total of $2.04 and saved $6.91 :)  I was very happy with this stop!

Third stop was dollar general.  All I got here was 3 lysol cleaning products for $5.  I don't normally buy lysol products so I'm not actually sure if this was a good deal or not but it was cheaper than what I normally pay for other brand cleaners.

Last stop was Kroger.  This was just my normal grocery shopping.  I spent $45.53 and saved $16.51.  The only big savings here was they were having a "mega 10 sale" where if you buy 10 of these marked items, you get $5 back essentially.  They had Pepsi 2 liters as part of these, so I ended up buying 10 at $1.39 each.  the mega event which gave me $0.50 off each one, I paid $8.90 for 10.  This wasn't as good a deal as I thought it was but oh well, I got the for $0.89 each and we won't need more for a while :)

It was fun and tiring.  I need to go clean now.  Hopefully my hubby will be home soon.

Thx 4 readin~ check back soon!

Mrs. Morgan :D

One month :)

We celebrated our one month anniversary yesterday. I made sausage gravy and biscuits all made from scratch. I was a little nervous but my gravy turned out awesome! All credit goes to my mom. I've watched her make it many a times plus she called and gave me pointers yesterday :)

In other news, I love being married! This first month has been amazing! I love every second that I get to spend with my husband. And to answer your question, no we haven't had a fight. Everyone and I mean everyone we come across asks us that and when we tell them we haven't they tell us to wait for it and that once the "honeymoon phase" is over, basically it won't be so great anymore but I plan to defy the odds. There is absolutely no reason for us not to enjoy being married and being with each other so I don't forsee that changing.

On the baby front, we're getting a kitten :)

Thats all for now

Join us next time for......guess you'll just have to come back and see because I don't know what I'll be writing about :)

~mrs Morgan

Cooking :)

If you knew me say a month and a half ago, you might not believe what I'm about to tell you, but hear me out because it's all true!

I have really grown to enjoy cooking!!!!! Wait, what? Maybe I need to rephrase this. I think it's probably not the cooking I actually enjoy, I think it's more the part where I get to take care of my husband. I really love and enjoy that part :) he takes such great care of me, the least I can do is attempt to cook a nice meal for him during the week. This has already had many benefits. We have both lost weight since cutting back tremendously on eating out and we've also been spending a lot less money on food by eating at home. I love it! I get up every morning and make him breakfast before he goes to work (okay I'll admit sometimes it's only poptarts) and I fix him something for lunch to take unless it's a day we meet for lunch or he has a business lunch. Then, except for Wednesday's, I try to have something ready for him for dinner when he gets home. I'm going to post a picture of the first dinner I cooked. It was super yummy. Okay well it's not going to let me upload a picture right now but there's one a Facebook :)

I was asked to share the recipe that I cooked tonight, so here it is. Crockpot pizza (trish sitton's recipe)
1 pOund hamburger
I/3 box rigatoni (or other pasta).
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of mushrooms
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 jar pizza sauce
1/2 package pepperoni
Cook the meat and pasta then layer the ingredients in the order listed and cook in the crockpot for 4 hours on low. You can also cook it in the oven in a 9x13 dish On 350 for about 45 minutes. Enjoy :)

This has been the first of many cooking with the Morgans :). Tune in next time for "my first adventure with "gravy-making"

Time!

ahhhhhh! Has it seriously been over a month since I touched this blog? I'm so sorry! In case anyone missed it, I am now very happily married to mr Eric Morgan :D we will be celebrating one month together this weekend! I have absolutely loved every minute of being married!

In case you didn't notice, I changed my title for the blog. Why you might ask? Well because my plan is for this blog to take on a new theme. I plan to be writing about married life, being a wife, being a housewife, and my cooking adventures! I hope you enjoy reading about this journey as much as I enjoy writing to you about it!

Thx for reading~
mrs Morgan :)