Last week, we took a 3 day road trip to Illinois from Dallas for a job interview for the hubby. Just to let you know this is a 10 hour trip with a toddler in the back seat! Anyway, our monthly budget wasn't quite able to handle this trip but, it was something that was really important for hubby if it works out. We were actually able to pull off the trip for a lot less than I thought. Here are some ways that we cut back on expenses.
1. We drove instead of flying...yes 10 hours in the car with a toddler isn't as much fun as you would like it to be but, we were able to bring everything we needed and didn't have to worry about renting a car when we got there
2. We packed three days worth of lunches and snacks and ate at rest areas... usually, hubby and I look at road trips as a great excuse to eat gross fast food and gas station snacks but, this time I took my happy coupon self to the grocery store and made sandwiches, cookies, and packed up some fruit and cheese as well as a massive pack of bottled water that I got on sale for 2.99
3. We stayed at a cheaper hotel... I was pretty spoiled growing up and staying in nice hotels but, this time we stayed at a Quality Inn, which was pretty okay. It was less than $80 a night which was great with me.
4. We made sure that our hotel had a free continental breakfast... This is great, you don't have to worry about getting breakfast some where because it's right in your hotel, and it's free!
5. Our room had a refrigerator and a microwave... so, we could save our sandwiches for the road and any leftovers we had could be reheated if need be.
6. I didn't go out and buy new toys for C, instead I dug through his toys to find ones he hadn't used in a while... He was really excited to see some of his old toys, I did bring a few favorites though.
7. No souvenirs... since this was technically a business trip, we didn't buy and souvenirs.
8. Cruise Control, learn, love it, use it... the last car I had didn't have cruise control. It still got pretty good gas mileage and when I started driving this car I had a hard time getting used to using it. Well, I realized on this trip, cruise control really does help with your gas mileage.
We did end up eating out for both of our dinners but, we had planned that. You have to get out a little bit! What sorts of things do you do to save money when traveling??
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Menu Plan Monday, it's back!
After a busy few weeks, graduations, brothers becoming doctors, out of town job interviews...I'm getting back on track with the menu planning.
Monday: Even though it's a holiday, we did our cookout on Saturday. I'll be doing Crockpot Chicken.
Tuesday: Shredded Chicken Tacos, Freezer Refried Beans, and Spanish Rice
Wednesday: Trying a new recipe Pork Chops Deluxe
Thursday: Leftover Buffet
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Breadsticks
Saturday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches and veggies
Sunday: Breakfast for dinner!
Usually, hubby has a gig on Saturday and Sunday evenings so, I make C and I sandwiches or we have leftovers from the week.
Have a great week everyone!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Children's Place
I did a post a few weeks ago about needing new kids clothes and some different ways to save money on them. Today, I was out and about trying to find some summer maternity clothes and I wandered into The Children's Place. I used to be a die hard Carter's fan when I was buying new clothes but, I found The Children's Place last summer.
Carter's has some great sales but, The Children's Place...wow! They have sales starting at $1.99. Today, I found some great things for C for the fall and winter and also for Baby Girl. Every item I bought was 3.99 or under with the exception of one super cute denim dress and bloomers for $7 that I just couldn't pass up! I also received some 15% off coupons for my next purchase. You can also Like The Children's Place on Facebook and spin their wheel for extra coupons.
As far as finding maternity clothes for me...not so much. Ugh, only 10 more weeks!
Another cool thing happening right now for moms in DFW, a friend of mine started DFW Mom Swap/Buy on Facebook. It's a great place to list any of your gently used baby and kids items that you would like to sell or swap for other items. You can also find gently used items. If you are in the DFW area, you should definitely check it out.
Carter's has some great sales but, The Children's Place...wow! They have sales starting at $1.99. Today, I found some great things for C for the fall and winter and also for Baby Girl. Every item I bought was 3.99 or under with the exception of one super cute denim dress and bloomers for $7 that I just couldn't pass up! I also received some 15% off coupons for my next purchase. You can also Like The Children's Place on Facebook and spin their wheel for extra coupons.
As far as finding maternity clothes for me...not so much. Ugh, only 10 more weeks!
Another cool thing happening right now for moms in DFW, a friend of mine started DFW Mom Swap/Buy on Facebook. It's a great place to list any of your gently used baby and kids items that you would like to sell or swap for other items. You can also find gently used items. If you are in the DFW area, you should definitely check it out.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friendly Friday!
Here's a great way to find new blogs and bloggy friends! Thanks to Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Christi at Frugal Novice and Charla at Healthy Home Blog for hosting Friendly Friday! Each week they will host Friendly Friday where you can link up and meet other fun blogs. They also feature 3 bloggers each week. Head on over to their blogs and play along!
And I'd Like to Thank...
Kristen over at Just Thinking for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award! This is my first award so, it's pretty exciting for me. In order to accept the award you must...
Monica over at Organized Chaos!! and
Stephanie at Sand and Starfish
Have a great day everyone!
- Thank the person who gave you this award.
- Share 7 things about yourself.
- Pass the award along to 15 or so bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
- I love to sleep. If I could sleep in until noon every day I would be the happiest person on the planet. This doesn't work very well with having an 18 month old!
- Cooking is one of my passions. I love finding new recipes and trying them out. My latest adventure was homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies, like the Little Debbie ones. They were amazing. I'll share them later!
- I have 3 tattoos. Two on my back, a moon with a little star and a sun. The other one is a Horned Frog on my left ankle. The Horned Frog was my school mascot at TCU. Go FROGS!!
- I was in marching band from 9th grade until I graduated college, and I am only now starting to understand football.
- I was born in Pennsylvania but, I have lived in Texas since I was 4. I grew up north of Houston and have lived in DFW for 11 years. I'm a Texas girl at heart.
- I hate being pregnant! After Baby Girl is born in August we are done. I never wanted more than two kids but, the whole being pregnant thing made it official for me. I'm not a fan of sleeplessness (see #1), living in my bathroom, and stretching my body in odd ways!
- I have an irrational fear of fish. I'm afraid they will jump out of their bowls or aquariums and flop on me. Ugh, it makes me shudder just thinking about it.
Monica over at Organized Chaos!! and
Stephanie at Sand and Starfish
Have a great day everyone!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Survey Companies?
Lately, hubby and I have been thrown a few unexpected expenses. We have an emergency account set up just for times like these but, it still feels like a kick in the pants when I'm trying to pay off debt and pay back my emergency account at the same time. Let's just say my plan to have a major debt of ours paid off by February has been moved back a little. But, I'd rather be safe with the new tires on my car than have to drive 250 miles hydroplaning and having to take side streets through Dallas like I did last week!
Anyway, back when I first started staying home with C I was looking for ways to make a little extra money from home. I would see all of these "Take my survey online and earn cash" ads and I was always really skeptical. I need some extra money but, I don't need a computer virus or some crazy guy calling my cell phone. So, I did some research and read a lot of blogs and I decided to sign up with a few of them.
A year and half later the one I like the most is Opinion Outpost. The surveys aren't unbelievably long and you usually qualify for most of them. They operate on a points scale, every 10 points is $1 and they pay out an actual check after $5. I usually wait until I hit about $25-$30 before I request a check. I've gotten 3 checks from them and then I stopped doing the surveys for a while. They still emailed me opportunities and today I went back over there. I discovered that I still had $15 unclaimed and still had survey opportunities so, I did some! It's a pretty cool deal, if you have time during nap times or in the evenings to just sit down and take a few surveys.
They also have a refer a friend program. For each friend you refer that starts doing surveys you get an additional 20 pts or $2. If you're interested in signing up for Opinion Outpost please follow my refer a friend link http://OpinionOutpost.com/join/7213674 I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Another program I just came across is Cashcrate. I just signed up with them yesterday so, I'll let you know how it goes. So far, I don't like them as much as Opinion Outpost.
Some tips with survey companies:
1. Make sure they're legit. A lot of times you can google the name of the company and scam and you can find out.
2. Check peoples' blog posts and discussion boards for companies they recommend.
3. Some companies will pay you to sign up for credit reports, credit cards, and other things... a lot of times credit reporting agencies will charge you money after a trial period, you also probably don't need another credit card! It's my policy to not sign up with any product or company that wants my credit information.
4. Don't sign up for anything you don't feel comfortable with.
Anyway, back when I first started staying home with C I was looking for ways to make a little extra money from home. I would see all of these "Take my survey online and earn cash" ads and I was always really skeptical. I need some extra money but, I don't need a computer virus or some crazy guy calling my cell phone. So, I did some research and read a lot of blogs and I decided to sign up with a few of them.
A year and half later the one I like the most is Opinion Outpost. The surveys aren't unbelievably long and you usually qualify for most of them. They operate on a points scale, every 10 points is $1 and they pay out an actual check after $5. I usually wait until I hit about $25-$30 before I request a check. I've gotten 3 checks from them and then I stopped doing the surveys for a while. They still emailed me opportunities and today I went back over there. I discovered that I still had $15 unclaimed and still had survey opportunities so, I did some! It's a pretty cool deal, if you have time during nap times or in the evenings to just sit down and take a few surveys.
They also have a refer a friend program. For each friend you refer that starts doing surveys you get an additional 20 pts or $2. If you're interested in signing up for Opinion Outpost please follow my refer a friend link http://OpinionOutpost.com/join/7213674 I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Another program I just came across is Cashcrate. I just signed up with them yesterday so, I'll let you know how it goes. So far, I don't like them as much as Opinion Outpost.
Some tips with survey companies:
1. Make sure they're legit. A lot of times you can google the name of the company and scam and you can find out.
2. Check peoples' blog posts and discussion boards for companies they recommend.
3. Some companies will pay you to sign up for credit reports, credit cards, and other things... a lot of times credit reporting agencies will charge you money after a trial period, you also probably don't need another credit card! It's my policy to not sign up with any product or company that wants my credit information.
4. Don't sign up for anything you don't feel comfortable with.
Friday, May 21, 2010
DIY Step Stool
Recently, C and I have been battling it out over brushing his teeth. He refuses to let me help him but, he won't do it himself. Every night before bed I cringe as we get ready for our routine. He screams when I go anywhere near his mouth with the toothbrush. He loves to brush Mom and Dad's teeth though. So, my mom suggested getting him a little stool to stand on in the bathroom so that he can see himself in the mirror. I wanted a really cute step stool but, the ones I found were anywhere from $40-$100, it was crazy!
So, I thought I can do this myself. I'm sort of crafty! Here is what I came up with...
I found this stool at Hobby Lobby for $7.99, it is a natural wood stool. I forgot to take a picture of it before I painted it.
The paint I had was paint left over from when we painted the nursery, a light blue and navy blue. I painted the whole stool with the light blue paint.
Hobby Lobby also has these cute wooden cut-outs that are already painted for $.67. You can use them for all kinds of stuff. I bought four of them, two whales and two octupi and using crazy glue, once the paint was dry, glued them to each side.
On the top of the stool I free-handed the letters for C's name. His full name is Christopher but, that's a little long so, I just did Chris. This is the one thing that the next time I make one of these I'll probably use a stencil for. I used a pencil to draw the letters then painted them in with the navy blue paint. I bought a white paint pen to outline the letters once they were dry.
For about $14 I made a cute little stool all by myself and saved at least $40.
C loves his stool but, still won't brush his teeth!
So, I thought I can do this myself. I'm sort of crafty! Here is what I came up with...
I found this stool at Hobby Lobby for $7.99, it is a natural wood stool. I forgot to take a picture of it before I painted it.
The paint I had was paint left over from when we painted the nursery, a light blue and navy blue. I painted the whole stool with the light blue paint.
Hobby Lobby also has these cute wooden cut-outs that are already painted for $.67. You can use them for all kinds of stuff. I bought four of them, two whales and two octupi and using crazy glue, once the paint was dry, glued them to each side.
On the top of the stool I free-handed the letters for C's name. His full name is Christopher but, that's a little long so, I just did Chris. This is the one thing that the next time I make one of these I'll probably use a stencil for. I used a pencil to draw the letters then painted them in with the navy blue paint. I bought a white paint pen to outline the letters once they were dry.
For about $14 I made a cute little stool all by myself and saved at least $40.
C loves his stool but, still won't brush his teeth!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)