The Sweet Life On A Budget

This week at CVS was a little slow. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the paper on 5/12, so I missed out on some great deals.  But never fear, you can take advantage if you have the coupons. I will list what I was able to score and what is available.     Here’s my deals: Buy 1 of each L’Oreal Elvive Shampoo and Conditioner.   Cost: $4.99 X 2= $9.98 Coupon: $3.00 off 2 (CVS Digital Coupon) Out of Pocket Expense= $6.98 ECB: $4.00 IBOTTA: $1.50 for Shampoo $1.50 for Conditioner Final Cost: MONEY MAKER $0.02 Buy 2 Cover Girl Eye Brow Pencils Cost: $4.99 x2 = $9.98 CVS Coupon:  $3.00 (Printed from CVS Red Box) - This Week CVS Coupon: $2.00     (Printed from CVS Red Box)- Last Week Out of Pocket Expense= $$4.98 ECB: $5.00 Final Cost: MONEY MAKER $0.02 NOTE- There is a  Coupon ($2.00) in the 5/12 SS.  If I had 2 of these coupons, it wou...

10 Summer Snacks- for $.50 or less Summer Break right around the corner, the kids will be home and they will be hungry all the time.  In my house that means swimming practice, Scouts and playing with friends.  We alternate house of where the kids hang out. The result is snacks are needed for the group, so what snacks are good to have around that won’t break the budget.   Let’s look at a few snacks that come in under $.50 a snack.   Hard-boiled egg- $.09 ( dozen/ $0.99) Small Banana- $0.28 Small Apple-  $0.50 5.3 oz Homemade yogurt w/ 1 Tablespoon chocolate chips- $ 0.33 Sugar Toast- homemade bread,  butter, sprinkle of sugar/cinnamon ($0.15) Granola Bar- $0.25- 0.50 Carrots (1 cup)- $.25 Ants on a log- $0.48 Cheese stick- $0.28 Pretzels (1 oz)- $.07 I alternate which snacks I have in the house so the kids don’t get tired of them.    I am looking for more cheap s...

Celebrating the little things in life elevates it to new heights.  By looking at what you think i s luxurious, being creative, adjusting your mindset to seek out beauty and focusing on learning contentment, you will discover how to live luxuriously. And the best part is, y ou can do all this on a budget.   Luxurious things don’t have to cost much or any money at all.  In fact some of the best things in life are free. This series looks at what things make me happy and may give you ideas as to how to incorporate a little piece of luxury in your life too. Nature’s beauty is something that is available to everyone.  It just takes slowing down and being present in the moment. Regardless of the time of day or year, with the right mindset you can see beauty in any environment.   One of my favorite things to do is watch the sunrise or sunset.  We are fortunate to have a pond and reserve close to our home, so it is easy for m...

Drugstore Savings (1 Item Free and Tissues at rock bottom price) PLUS- 7 Free Items from Kroger and some other stock up prices I use a 3 different YouTube channels to help discover the best savings for CVS and sometimes Walgreen's.  Then I hand pick what items we would use in our family and what I am willing to pay for the product. Sometimes, I am not willing to pay even a small amount because I have a large quantity in my stock pile.   For example, currently we have an excessive amount of toothpaste, even after I donated a good amount to our local food bank.  So, right now, the only deal I will do for toothpaste is Free. I will then pick it up, rotate my stock and donate the amount I got for free to the food bank.   In addition, I need to watch my ECB expiration dates.   CVS Deals May 12-18, 2019 ** For those of you who are new to CVS shopping, it is important to pick up a CVS loyalty store (Free) and scan the red-box m...

A large pizza can cost from $10.00 (on specific nights usually Tuesday) up to $20.00 per pie.  Wow! That may be cheap for a dinner out, but in general that is very expensive for just 1 meal.   Let’s look at ways to bring that price down.  First, if you don’t cook, then purchase a frozen pizza (regular price: $2.79 - $6.00).  This alone will save you between $4.00 and $17.21. However, pizza is easy to make, will be much larger and tastes so much better than frozen pizza, but takes a little bit of time and knowledge to do.    I got my base recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook and just adjusted it to our tastes.   Ingredients: 3 cups flour (2 - 2½ cup White flour & ½ cup Wheat flour) 2 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon yeast 1 cup warm  water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon of salt ¼  cup Pizza sauce 2 cups mozzarella cheese Toppings of choice Pepperoni Mushrooms Onions Peppers O...