Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Where I get coupons

I originally wrote this for a friend of mine who wanted to know where I kept finding high value coupons and how I managed to get great deals, but I thought some of my readers might benefit from it too.

Word of Mouth coupon sites (that mail out full size products and coupons for free products)

Bzzagent Sends big packs of free stuff, but you have to take surveys to qualify for campaigns, and then report back on how you spread the word to earn points and get into a higher qualifying bracket.

Psst Randomly will send you coupons for General Mills products.

Kraft First Taste Same, but for Kraft. Also sometimes has high value printable coupons on the website.

Vocal Point Kind of like Bzzagent, except you don't need to report back. I have a hard time finding offers on their website, but sometimes they send stuff out randomly.

SC Johnson Regularly gives out SC Johnson gift packs that come with lots of coupons


Coupon clipping sites

These are coupon clipping services that charge a handling fee for multiples of newspaper coupons.

The Coupon Master
Coupons Unlimited



Blogs I read to find out about new deals, etc.

Money Saving Mom posts deals for lots of grocery, drug and big box stores
Freebies 4 Mom mostly posts freebies, but also posts rebates and printable coupon deals

Monday, October 26, 2009

Apples!

My husband and I went to a local apple farm yesterday and picked a peck of apples (haha, yeah, it makes me laugh too). For only $9, we got about 15 pounds of fresh, local, unwaxed apples.

I'm not sure what to do with them all! I have been peeling and cutting all morning and have a pot of applesauce on the stove and a dehydrator full of apple slices. My fruit bowl is already overflowing with apples. Time to look up more recipes.

If I get a chance, and can find my camera, I'll post some pictures later. Right now though, I'm just glad to feel normal and productive again.


Applesauce

Peel and slice approximately 3-5 pounds of apples. Dip in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Put in a pot on the stove with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then transfer to a mixing bowl and beat until desired consistency. Add cinnamon as desired.

(Not much of a recipe, I know, but that's how I do it)

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Getting Settled

I'm finally in my apartment, and I even have all my boxes unpacked. I went to the grocery store, I did laundry. My life is starting to feel normal again.

Not everything is easy, though. Our apartment is smaller, and I'm still looking for places to put everything. I have to check google maps before I go anywhere. I spent 40 minutes on the phone with the cable guy trying to get my service turned on. And I still feel like I don't know what to do with my days while hubby is at work. I know I've always been home all day in the summers, but when he was in grad school, he really only spent 4 or 5 hours at the lab in the summer. Now he's gone for 10 hours at a time. I can do all the laundry, clean, and go to the store, and I still have hours left to fill.

I know I need to get some kind of job, if not for the money at least so that I have something to do, but I don't know where to begin looking. My teaching certification hasn't come through yet and until it does I can't even get on substitute lists. I have a part time job that I transferred, but so far not much work has really come up. I'm considering looking for some kind of temporary or freelance work to fill the gap.

From a budgetary standpoint, we're just fine. Even if I don't make any money at all, we will still have enough money to cover our bills and put some money in savings. But I don't know how to do anything but worry about money and pinch pennies, so that's what I'm going to keep doing.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Do Good: Join My Village

I've written about a number of ways you can make a difference with your computer, and I just found this new one. At Join my village, you can unlock donations for a village of your choice in Malawi just by taking simple daily actions. Every time you take a short quiz, General Mills will donate $1 to your village. Plus, they will match your personal donations, up to $50 per person. So, let's get out there and do some good!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Transitions

So, apparently, when you get up and move halfway across the country, things don't go the way you planned. I'm living in a hotel, eating out every meal, drinking about 4 cups of coffee a day, no job, no teaching certification, and no real plan for what I'm going to do next. My husband is at work all day and I am lost. I am in a whole new city with a whole new life. Everything is new and different.

I've never been good at change. I'm not very good at adjusting to new things. I want to write about it, I want to get back into blogging, but I don't even know where to begin. I'm just struggling to avoid getting fat, broke, and depressed. If anyone has any advice on where to begin finding a direction for my life, please contribute.