dystopia

It seems like everyone has kept talking about the economy turning around and things getting better, but yet, I just don’t see it happening any time soon. I’m getting more afraid of the future with every passing day. I’m trying to be hopeful, yet I’m terrified things may get worse, for me and for everyone around me, for everyone in America. Will things get even worse before they finally turn around and get better? When will companies start hiring again? When will unemployment go down and people will have jobs again? When will the economy begin to recover? When will the worry stop? When will people and our government learn? Hopefully this recession/depression of our time will teach everyone(including our government) to learn from their mistakes and to be more frugal and realistic when it comes to money and finances.

I’m worried because my dh hasn’t been able to find a job yet. Not to mention the fact that my job is only a contracted position and my contract may possibly not be renewed when it’s up. What then? Well…like a friend of mine said: What’s the worst that could happen? Imagine that and prepare for it, just in case. If worse comes to worse, I know we’ll make it through and be okay, even though we’ll be heartbroken, sad, upset and depressed at what this economy has done to us and everyone we know or come into contact with. I don’t think there’s a single person in America right now that hasn’t been affected by this recession in one way or another. I pray today that God will help us and help make us better people and more faithful people to Him, remembering that He will always be there for us, in good and bad times. Please God help us and continue to bless everyone in this terrible time of need.

Resources for Stay at Home Mom’s
Printables and Resources
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com
http://www.PBS.org
http://www.Nickjr.com
http://www.starfall.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html - some stuff requires $20 membership
http://www.pbskids.com
http://www.familyfun.com
http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html
http://coloringbookfun.com/
http://todayisfun.com/blog
http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/
http://www.kidzone.ws/
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
http://www.123child.com/
http://www.printactivities.com/index.html
http://childfun.com/index.php
http://www.abcteach.com/index.html
http://www.tlsbooks.com/
http://www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/free-printable-preschool-worksheets.html
http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/worksheets/
http://thefreebieblogger.com - search printables
http://familyfun.go.com/
http://www.kidscraftweekly.com/
http://www.kaboose.com/
http://www.makeandtakes.com/
http://families.owc.edu
http://www.preschoolexpress.com
http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/
Craft Ideas…
GOOP or FLARP - 2 cups corn flour & 1 cup cold water
Tin foil sculptures
Finger paint with pudding
Edible Play-doh
Froot Loop necklaces
Rattles from old plastic bottles
Noodle pictures
Knifty Knitter - $11-$14 at Walmart
Card Games
Letter scout in the newspaper
Shaving cream on the table
Sugar or flour on cookie sheet
Collages
Alphabet Book - 3 pages for each letter!

Outing Ideas…
Library - check for events
Local Play Groups
Free Events - check newspaper
Free Movies (Free Family Film Festival) @ Regal Cinemas in the Summer for kids: http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx
Cooking Ideas…
Flour-less peanut butter cookies - 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup sugar - 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 egg. Cream the PB and Sugar add baking powder and egg. Here is the great part the kids can roll the dough into balls - roll them in some sugar to coat then place on a cookie sheet (i lined mine with parchment paper) and mark with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes - let rest on cookie sheet for 5 then cool.
Recipes kids can make: http://www.geocities.com/mycntrykitchen/CookinwithKids4.htm
http://www.familycorner.com/dir/Family/Kids/Kids_Recipes/
No bake treats: http://southerncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/chocolate_oatmeal_no_bake_cookies
http://southerncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/nobake_orange_ball_recipe
http://southerncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/no_cook_butterfinger_pudding
Be a positive parent:
http://www.familycorner.com/parenting/moms/be_a_positive_parent.shtml

Saving Money on Groceries

Coupon schedule & listing of deals at different stores each week (helpful info & forums):
www.southernsavers.com
www.couponmom.com
www.afullcup.com
www.hotcouponworld.com

Commissary Deals:
http://thehappyhousewife.com/category/military-commissary-deals/
http://themoneyherder.com/search/label/Commissary
http://www.militarycoupondeals.com/
http://www.commissaries.com/subscribe.cfm
http://www.commissaries.com/links.cfm#IYSC
http://www.maxisavergroup.com/main.php?do=index

Online printable coupon sites:
www.coupons.com
www.redplum.com
www.smartsource.com
www.coolsavings.com
http://www.vivemejor.com/JustForYou.aspx?NavID=22&CultureCode=en-US

Coupons you can upload to a Kroger Card:
www.shortcuts.com
www.cellfire.com
www.bringinghopetothetable.com
www.pgesaver.com
www.upromise.com

Target grocery coupons:
http://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/page.jsp?title=coupons_specials

List of Companies to contact for free coupons:
http://www.swaggrabber.com/blog1.php/swagstuff/companies-to-contact-list

Subscribe to All You Magazine $18 for 2 year subscription (filled with many coupons each month):
http://www.southernsavers.com/southern-savers-store/

Free Samples:
http://walmart.triaddigital.com/In-Stores-Now-Free-Samples-And-Trials.aspx
http://www.startsampling.com/retail/kroger/
http://www.swaggrabber.com/blog1.php/Freebies/
www.freakyfreddies.com
http://shop4freebies.com/

Other good sites:
$5 Dinners: http://www.5dollardinners.com/
Retail Me Not (online coupon codes to save money): http://www.retailmenot.com/
Free magazine & coupons for baby: http://www.kiwimagonline.com/MomsMeet/join.html
Current Codes (online coupon codes): www.currentcodes.com
Shopzilla (price comparison shopping): www.shopzilla.com
Beat My Price (price comparison shopping): www.beatmyprice.com

Most of the information I’ve read online says that the best way to save money when using coupons on groceries is to try to wait until a product goes on sale and then use a coupon on it, that way you buy it at a sale price, plus you reduce the amount even further when using a coupon. Also, when it is on sale and you have coupons for the product, stock up on it then. I understand that the commissary may not always run sales like most other stores do, but you will be amazed how much you can save with coupons on stuff you regularly buy and eat. Sometimes coupon books are offered to sign up and receive a book full of coupons occasionally. There are some coupons available that will even let you get a product for free. I’ve seen coupons for free bottle of ketchup, free pack of beef hotdogs, free candy bars and a few others. Also, if you have a coupon that is equal to the sale price or worth more than the sale or regular price you can get certain items free too. I got a bottle of salad dressing for free a few weeks ago because it was on sale for $1.50 and I had a coupon for $1.50 off. You can even sign up to receive coupons from people in the U.S. who are willing to mail you their unused expired or non-expired coupons (since the commissary will accept expired). Check these out to sign up to receive coupons and I can mail you our unused ones too if you’d like: http://thehappyhousewife.com/thank-you/
OR http://www.ocpnet.org/ (Overseas Coupon Program) There are also forums where you can post, like if you want only certain coupons or certain types of coupons, you can post on the forum and list exactly what coupons you would like and if others have the coupons they may swap with you and mail you the coupon. (Afullcup.com has coupon swapping forums)

Target has some awesome deals this week! I just recently got married and we were given gift cards to Target and Wal-Mart, which we plan to use to buy food and other things we need or want. I looked at the Target ad this week and they have some really great offers going on. I had no idea that Target could have such good deals on their food until now. They currently have deals where if you buy something you can get something else for free or if you buy a certain number of products you can get a free gift card. I’m loving the deals at Target this week, that’s for sure! Here’s the list of best deals they have going on:

Nabisco Chips Ahoy Cookies - $2/ea
Use $0.55/1 in 5/17 Smart Source insert
Final Price = $1.45/ea

Pepsi Products (12 pk cans, 6 pk bottles) - $2.75 each
Use $1/1 Target coupon in the Afullcup.com Target Coupon Generator
Final Price = $1.75/ea

Baked Lays - $3/ea
Use $1/1 here
Final Price = $2/ea

Sun Chips - $3/ea
Use $1/2 here
Final Price = $2.50/ea when you buy 2

Archer Farms Yellow or Blue Tortilla Chips - $2.33/ea
Get a FREE Archer Farms Salsa (16 oz) with purchase of 2 Archer Farms Tortilla Chips
Use $1/1 Target coupon in the Afullcup.com Target Coupon Generator (use 2)
Final Price = $1.33/ea when you buy 2 + FREE Salsa

Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch, Cocoa Krispies & Apple Jacks - $2.75/ea
Get a FREE Simply Orange Juice (59 oz) with purchase of any 3 of these cereals
Use $1/1 Raisin Bran Crunch here
Use $1/1 Cocoa Krispies & Apple Jacks in 6/7 Red Plum insert
Final Price = $1.75/ea when you buy 3 + FREE Orange Juice

Lean Cuisine One Dish Frozen Entrees - $2/ea
Get a FREE box of Lean Pockets with purchase of any 3 Lean Cuisines
Use $1/4 in 5/3 Smart Source insert
Final Price = $1.75/ea when you buy 4 + FREE Lean Pockets

DiGiorno Frozen Pizza (12 in) - $5.50/ea
Get a FREE 2 liter of selected Coke with purchase of any 1 DiGiorno Pizza
Use $1/1 in 6/14 Smart Source insert
Final Price = $4.50 for 1 Digiorno Pizza + a 2 liter of Coke!

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Lunchmeat & Kraft Cheese Singles (14-16 oz) - $2.79/ea
Get a FREE Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Lunchmeat with purchase of 1 Oscar Mayer Lunchmeat & 1 Kraft Cheese Singles
Use $1/2 that was available here (no longer available)
Final Price = $2.29/ea when you buy 2 + FREE Lunchmeat

Welch’s Squeezable Grape Jelly & Skippy Peanut Butter (15-16 oz) - $1.79/ea
Get a FREE loaf of Brownberry Bread (24 oz) with purchase of 1 Welch’s Jelly & 1 Skippy PB
Use $0.55/1 Welch’s Jelly in 3/29 Smart Source insert
Use $0.40/1 Skippy in 4/5 Unilever insert
Final Price = Jelly - $1.24/ea, Peanut Butter - $1.39/ea + FREE Bread

Secret Deodorant (2.6-2.7 oz) - $1.99/ea
Use $1/1 in 5/17 P&G insert
Final Price = $0.99/ea

Old Spice Deodorant (3 oz) - $1.99/ea
Use $0.75/1 in 6/7 P&G insert
Final Price = $1.24/ea

Banana Boat Sunblock (8 oz Sport, 6 oz Kids UltraMist) - $6.69/ea
Use $2/1 coupon
Final Price = $4.69/ea

Suave Body Wash (12 oz) - $1.49/ea
Use $1/2 in 5/17 Red Plum insert
Final Price = $0.99/ea when you buy 2

Filtrete Micro Allergen Furnace Filters - $9.99/ea
Get $3 back via mail in rebate
Final Price = $6.99/ea after rebate

Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair - $4.99/ea
Use $2/1 here
Final Price = $2.99/ea

Quilted Northern Bath Tissue (12 pk double rolls) - $6.29/ea
Use $1/1 in 4/26 Red Plum insert
Final Price = $5.29/ea

~ GIFT CARD DEALS ~

Get a $5 Target Gift Card When you Buy 1 of the Following:

Prilosec OTC (42 ct) - $24.99/ea
Use $3/1 in 6/7 P&G insert
Final Price = $21.99/ea; It’s like getting this for $16.99/ea with gift card
* Request a FREE Sample of Prilosec OTC here

Get a $5 Target Gift Card When you Buy 3 of the Following:

Huggies Diapers (Jumbo packs Snug & Dry, Little Movers, or Little Snugglers diapers) & Pull Ups Training Pants - $8.99/ea
Use $2/1 Pull Ups in 5/17 & 6/14 Smart Source inserts
Use $3/1 Pull Ups here
Use $2/1 Pull Ups here
Use $1.50/1 Diapers in 5/17 Smart Source insert
Use $2/1 Diapers here
Get $0.75/ea back via Caregivers Marketplace Rebate
Final Price = varies

Deal Idea:
Buy 3 packs of Pull Ups
Use 2 - $3/1 coupons
Use 1 - $2/1 coupons
Pay $18.97 out of pocket ($6.32/ea)
Submit Caregivers Marketplace Rebate and get $0.75 back per pack
It’s like getting 3 packs of these for $11.72 (or $3.91/ea)!

Viva Paper Towels (8 pk or 4 pk double roll) - $6.99/ea
Use $0.50/1 here
Final Price = $6.49/ea

Scott Bath Tissue (12 pk or 8 pk mega roll) - $6.99/ea
Use $1/1 in 5/17 & 6/14 Smart Source inserts
Final Price = $5.99/ea

Get a $5 Target Gift Card When you Buy 5 of the Following:

Ben & Jerry’s (1 pt), Klondike Bars (6 pk), Popsicles (24 ct) - $2.50/ea

Breyers Ice Cream (1.5 qt) - $2.50/ea
Use $0.75/1 in 5/17 Red Plum insert
Final Price = $1.75/ea; It’s like getting 5 of these for $0.75/ea if you have 5 coupons, with gift card!

**Even with no coupons, it would be like getting 5 of these products for $1.50/ea with gift card**

More Deals I found on my shopping trip:

Spaghettios – On sale for .73 cents each
Dole fruit cups – On sale for $2 each (plus you’ll get a coupon inside the dole packaging you can use for next time)
Cat litter (20 lbs) - $3.59
Entenmann’s Little Bites (5 packages) – On sale for $2.50

Here’s what I bought on my trip:
* Digiorno pizza (used $1.25 off coupon), got free 2 liter of Coke
* Nabisco chips ahoy cookies (used .55 off coupon)
* Oscar Meyer Deli Fresh Lunchmeat & Kraft cheese singles (used coupons for both) & got a free pack of Oscar Meyer Deli fresh lunch meat
* Welch’s grape jelly & Skippy peanut butter (used .40 cents off coupon on Skippy) – got a free loaf of bread
* 1 Can Spaghettios - .73 cents
* 1 4-pack of dole mixed fruit cups - $2
* 20 lbs cat litter generic brand - $3.59
* Entenmann’s Little Bites Brownies (5 pack) - $2.50
* Hunts Ketchup (had a coupon for a free bottle)
* Oscar Meyer beef hot dogs (had a coupon for a free pack)

I made out like a bandit and what I did pay was put on my gift card!  I’m so happy to get so much free stuff! I thought about doing the ice cream deal too to get a free $5 gift card to add to my other gift cards, but decided not to since I wasn’t sure we really needed all that ice cream. We’ll eat all of the stuff I bought for lunches, snacks and dinner!! Plus I needed some cat litter to refill our cats litter box. I just wish we had a Super Target nearby so I could purchase things like salad, fruits and veggies and ground beef or chicken from Target. Unfortunately our Target doesn’t carry those things because only the Super Targets have them. Oh well, I still made out pretty good!