Vicks Vapo Rub to the Rescue

If your family is like mine, this is the season of cough, colds, flu, and in some cases, strep throat. It seems like as soon as one is over it, the next person is coming down with it. We are hoping everyone gets better soon, but it looks like we are in for the long haul, with trading it back and forth. Maybe, we should just get some preparations under way just in case this craziness lasts until Spring thaw. Between the doctor and pharmacy visits it is beginning to take a toll on the old pocketbook and everyone is still coughing until it runs its course.Looks like it is time to break out the Vicks Vapo Rub.
This is one way to use Vicks Vapo Rub to help ease a nagging night time cough.

These are Vicks Vapo Rub discs to use in the Shower.

Recipe:
Ingredients: 1 cup of Baking Soda
                   1/2 cup of cornstarch
                  1/3 - 1/2 cup of hot water
                  2 - 3 teaspoons of Vicks Vapo Rub
Directions:
                 Heat water to melt the Vicks Vapo Rub. When melted, remove from heat. Add baking soda and cornstarch. Stir until a paste forms. If it is too thick, add a small amount of water. Line a mufin tin with paper cups. Fill each cup about halfway with paste mixture. Allow paste to dry over night or until hard. Remove discs from paper cups and store in an air tight container.
To Use: Put one disc in the bottom of the shower. Enjoy your hot shower! The disc will melt during your shower releasing the soothing vapor rub steam. The steam will help open up sinuses, ease your breathing, and help with your cough.

Did you know Vicks Vapo Rub has other uses besides just helping with a chest cold? Here is a list of some of the other uses for it.

If you are a naturalist and prefer making your own version (like me). Here is a recipe for you to try.

Special thanks go out to the people like you on Pinterest who submit these wonderful pictures and recipes.

Creative & Cheap Storage Solution

One of my big goals for the coming year is to get my house as organized as humanly possible. Every room needs work in this department. The worst room is definitely my workroom/craftroom/granddaughter's bedroom. It is pure chaos, not the organized, creative kind either.

It is going to take a lot of time, energy and effort to get it back to where I can actually produce something in it. Not to mention, it now also has to be toddler proof.

How in the world will I do this? Well, one idea I have come up with is going vertical. I am going to be hanging items on the wall (and from the ceiling) instead of having them on the worktable.

Maybe if my baby Zoey can't reach them for now, it will give me time to train her not to put beads, needles, crayons and other craft supplies in her mouth.

Remember I am super frugal. There is just not a lot of money for me to go buy fancy storage bins and beautiful shelving. Since I cannot use my creative side to make things in the room (for now). I will need to use it to come up with alternative storage.
　

　
　One idea I had was to use these sink caddies I found in the Dollar Spot at Target. They were in with the seasonal items marked 70% off (no idea why they were considered seasonal -but I was not about to argue). I was able to get each package for $0.30. That is only $0.15 per bin. I am going to paint them a coordinating color to match the room. Then, mount them in a row and put my colored pencils, markers, crochet needles, etc in them. I believe they will look good and serve their purpose. Not a bad investment. Three packages (total of 6 bins) for less than a dollar with tax!

Free Samples Fan

I am a Free Samples Fan!

Do you like getting free samples in the mail? I know I do. Getting samples free is awesome!
It's like Christmas when you get something new in the mail!
Getting free samples allows me to try products before I decide to buy them.
Samples of health and beauty aids fit perfectly in a bag for a weekend trip. They are great to give to overnight guests.
Samples are just handy things to have around.
Here are a few sites that I use to get my free samples.

www.juliesfreebies.com - If you 'like' her on Facebook you will be so lucky. She posts free samples all the time!

www.allyou.com - All You will send you an email every day with their free sample of the day.

www.freebiesfrenzy.com - Sends you emails with free sample offers

www.gofreebies.com -sends free sample offers to your email.
　

This is a picture of my latest sample.
This past week, I have also received free samples of Clear shampoo and conditioner, truvia, and Eucerin lotion.

What are you waiting for? Go get your free samples! 

10 Simple Rules to Saving at Target

10 Simple Rules to Saving at Target
1) Price match other stores sales and discounted items at Target.
TIP- check Amazon.com for deals that Target will price match
2) Check out their Weekly Ad to find out what is on sale this week. The ad can be found online at www.target.com or you may find the paper version in your local paper or in the store.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
= $5.00 for 2 bags (savings of $2.00)
3) Use manufacturer coupons. These can be found in your local Sunday paper, magazines, on packaging of products you buy, direct mailers, in the grocery store as blinkies (the red box with the blinking light that you can pull coupons out individually for certain products) and free printable websites (like www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com and www.couponnetwork.com & others). You can even order coupons online (for a small fee of course) through insert purchase (my favorite one is www.insertinsanity.com) or you can buy them individually through a site (my favorite choice is www.wizclipz.com). There are hundreds of ways to get coupons and thousands of places to order them online.
TIP - match your manufacturer coupons to sale items for more savings

Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
= $2.50 for 2 bags (savings of $4.50)

4) Use Target coupons. These are different than your manufacturer coupons instead of 'manufacturer coupon' in the block at the top it will say 'Target coupon'. These coupons are only redeemable at Target.There are a few different ways to get your hands on these.
a) Printables - these can be found on the Target website underneath the 'more' tab on the far right of the screen. Click Coupons and just choose the ones you want and print to your heart's desire.
b) Paper coupons - these can be found in your normal Sunday coupon inserts, in magazines, and other places you find manufacturer coupons.
c) Mobile coupons - these are coupons that are sent directly to your telephone via a text message (there is no charge for this from Target but standard text rates will apply). Text OFFERS to 827438 for all of their general store offers for the month. Text UPUP for their offers on Up & Up products. Their will be many other offers that you can text and request. These other offers change regularly. To use mobile coupons in the store simply pull up the incoming text from target and allow the cashier to scan the code. The computer at the register will automatically deduct the coupons that apply to what you have purchased.
TIP - Use Target coupons and manufacturer coupons together on sale items. This will increase your savings. This is called 'stacking' and it is allowed by Target.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
And
Use $1.00 off of the purchase of 2 Beggin Strips Target Coupon
= $1.50 (Savings of $5.50)
5) Use the Target Cartwheel. This is a customizable savings tool unique to Target. It allows you to choose percentages (most are from 5% - 50%) off of the products you are purchasing. The Cartwheel can be found on www.target.com on the far right under the 'more' tab. The Cartwheel allows you to customize your savings on the items you are purchasing. Just use the search box to look for items you will be buying and add them to your Cartwheel. You can either print your Cartwheel before heading to Target or download the app to your smartphone and choose your products while you are shopping in the store. During the checkout process simply allow your cashier to scan the barcode on your Cartwheel to get your savings. it is important to remember the Cartwheel will only take off the percentage after you have used all coupons.
TIP - Use your Cartwheel with store coupons and manufacturer coupons to increase your savings.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
And
Use $1.00 off of the purchase of 2 Beggin Strips Target Coupon
And
Use 20% off Beggin Strips Cartwheel
= $1.20 for 2 bags (Savings of $5.80)
6) Clearance items. We all know the best deals around are found in the clearance section. These are really good to check after major holidays and seasonal changes. Check these deals out and remember to 'stack' your manufacturer coupons, Target coupons, and Cartwheel to get the most savings!
7) Check couponing websites before you head to Target (or any store for that matter). These sites do the hard work for you by finding the best deals for the week and showing you which coupons to use and how to stack those coupons and use your Cartwheel. Personally, I have to check http://thekrazycouponlady.com/coupons-for/target/ before I ever leave home. Love those Krazy Coupon Ladies! As much as I love them though, I always take a few minutes to check out other sites (such as www.southernsavers.com, www.couponingwithboys.com, www.couponmom.com, www.passionforsavings.com, www.savingwithshellie.com, www.savingmyfamilymoney.com & www.couponingtobedebtfree.com and any others that I can think of!) It is impossible for any one website to have every possible deal out there. The more sites you check the more deals you can find! Be sure to share your deals between sites. It benefits all of us in the long run!
8. Gift Card Deals - Almost every week Target offers a few deals that will give you a bonus gift card when you buy certain items or combinations of items. Check your weekly ad for these deals. The gift cards can be redeemed on your next visit to the store.
9. BYOB -Bring your own re-usable bags. Target will deduct $0.05 for each bag you bring that they use to bag your groceries. (I found the ones I use on Clearance at Cracker Barrel. They are nice big, sturdy bags regularly priced at $1.99 each and I got them 75% off.)
10. Target Red Card - This card is linked to your bank account and is used like a debit card only at Target stores. It will save you 5% off your bill each time you use it at Target.
I sincerely hope you picked up on a few Target shopping secrets. Just writing this helped me remember to make sure I have my ducks in a row to get the most for my money!
The breakdown is simple and easy to remember.
1) Price Match
2) Check Weekly Ad
3) Use Manufacturer Coupons
4) Use Target Coupons
5) Use the Cartwheel
6) Check Clearance Items
7) Check Couponing websites
8) Gift Card Deals
9) BYOB - Bring your own bags
10) Target Red Card
I wish you Happy Savings at Target!
Please leave me a comment if this post was helpful and let me know how much you were able to save!

Shopping at Target - Learn from my mistakes

Target is one of my favorite stores to shop at. There is not one in the town I live in and it is always worth the 30 - 45 minute drive one way to get there. Yes, I typically save that much!

 I went there yesterday to do my normal shopping. I was excited because I had planned my trip, had my list and knew exactly the deals I was going after. I had all my manufacture and Target coupons together, had my Cartwheel loaded and ready to go. I had my e-coupons pulled up on my phone,  I even had my recycled bags with me. I was all set to save about 70% on my total bill and get around $100.00 worth of groceries for about $30.00. That's awesome right? That was the plan. It didn't work out quite the way I wanted it to.

I broke some of my cardinal rules when it comes to shopping. These are things you should NEVER do when you are on a tight budget. I have been using coupons for well over a year and I know better than to make these simple mistakes.

1)  I picked up items that were not on my list. (I did not have these items in my budget plan even though they were on sale and I got great deals. None of us wants to miss out on a great sale item, not even me!)

2) I chose the wrong check out line and my cashier was brand new. She was very sweet, but I overwhelmed her with all of my coupons and other discounts she wasn't familiar with.

3) I got distracted by a phone call in the middle of the check-out process. I did not pay close attention to make sure all of my coupons were scanned and all of the prices & discounts rang up correctly.

4) I forgot to give the cashier several of my coupons for one set of products I picked up. This mistake cost me about $15.00.

5) The cashier forgot to scan my Cartwheel. Because I wasn't paying attention I did not catch it until I got home. This one mistake cost me over $20.00. Bummer!

6) I did not read the fine print on one set of my coupons. There was a limit on the usage on that particular manufacturer coupon. I could only use 4 of them per visit and I had purchased 6 items with the plan to use 6 of those coupons. I lost a couple of dollars because I forgot to read the fine print. Shame on me.

These six little mistakes more than doubled the amount I had to pay for my items. Remember, I originally only planned to spend out of pocket around $30.00. I almost had a heart attack when my bill was over $60.00. I fully take the blame on myself. I made mistakes and I had to pay for it. I learned an expensive lesson the hard way. I still saved over 50% off of regular price. I was just hoping to do even better. I spent $60.10 and saved $68.69.

Most coupon sites online only tell you how wonderful they did shopping and how much money they saved. They never tell you that they made mistakes that cost them money. I want to be honest on here and when I do well I hope you will celebrate with me and when I make mistakes I will share them as well and hope you can learn from them. I am not perfect so I am sure there will be a lot of mistakes.

A smart man learns from his own mistakes. A smarter man learns from the mistakes of others. I hope you will be the smarter one and learn from the mistakes I made.

Project Rainy Day - First Post

My name is Angie Golden and I would like to start 2014 off as a new beginning. I have so many goals for the upcoming year. I am inviting you to join me as I try to achieve these.  All of my goals tie in together and work off of each other. I cannot do one without it impacting another.

 First thing is I would like to learn something new and that is why I have chosen to begin blogging. The thought of me sharing what I learn along the way makes me feel like I am going to be accountable for my actions and how I grow along the way. Hopefully, we will all learn something and maybe even make a few friends.

Another thing I want to do this upcoming year is to save money and have a little something set aside for that inevitable rainy day. So, this is going to be my rainy day project. There are so many ways I am planning to do this. I can't wait to share all of my ideas with you!

The next big thing on the agenda for 2014 is to do some remodeling, redecoration, and maybe even a little renovation to my house. The majority of this I am going to be taking on myself with the help of my family. I cannot afford big contractors and professionals to do the job so I will be learning along the way to do certain projects. I will be going into more details on those as they pop up.

I look forward to sharing my story, my trials and tribulations, and hopefully even a few successes and I start my project rainy day and embark on all of my new beginnings