Seatbelt wearing???

I hope everyone had a fabulous and SAFE Memorial weekend! We didn't travel too far but during our travels I noticed several ads for seat belts with my favorite being "Click it or ticket." Ummmm. Really??? Why does it make sense for people to be fined for not being safe? When are the cops going to start issuing fines for not applying sunblock (over 1 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer annually)?!? I mean, I am all about keeping our vehicular fatalities to a minimum: I wear a seat belt, my 4 year old son is in a harnessed car seat that goes up to 100 lbs, my toddler is still rear facing and can stay that way until 35 lbs BUT COME ON! Apparently Kelly Ripa is involved in an awareness campaign for seat belts. We need an awareness campaign? My cars beeps at me something ridiculous if my seat belt isn't on before I pull out of my garage. Whatever. I think it's dumb. Be safe for yourself and be an example for your children. My money saving tip of the day is um, wear your seat belt, I guess.

Target

I love Target and they love all the money I give them. I hear some of you aren't as fortunate to have Super Target close by, but some of the Targets should at least have a small grocery section. They are our primary grocery store. I love them because of their prices and of course the convenience of one-stop-shop. Gianna (15 months) will spaz at least 50% of the time when we put her in the car seat. My favorite way to save money at Target is combining Target coupons with manufacture coupons (plus if the product is on sale I'm golden). I am not sure how I got on Target's mailing list but I get so excited when I get coupons in the mail. They send grocery, non-grocery and $5 off $25 etc. Money in my hands basically. Today I used a $1 Band-aid coupon and bought a trial size Hello Kitty (I think it had like 10 in the box) ....AKA FREE! Love it! Also, if you want to take a sneak peak at the circular coming up Hot Coupon World always has a preview. Even if you buy something today and it goes on sale on Sunday, Target will price adjust for up to 14 days (you do not need to have the product with you just the receipt).

*After thinking about it....I think the way I got on Target's mailing list is by checking the box saying I wanted to be informed of future deals when completing one of their surveys for a $5000 gift card (why haven't I won one yet by the way???). I wasn't on the mailing list after having a baby registry and I don't have a credit card with them. Well worth completing the survey...I will not give up hope on winning the gift card. I have that $5000 spent in my head.

Free Samples

I really don't want to become one of those blogs that just lists sites that are already up and running with giveaways and coupon trading with CVS and Walgreens bargains because they are already out there. What I will do is give you a daily tip on where to find them and other money saving ideas because I am truly packed full of them.
Love them or hate them Wal-Mart has a free ice cream day on Saturday, May 30 11am-4pm. Pick up your free product and head to the park to enjoy this beautiful weather. Wal-Mart always has a 'free sample' section with baby goods and beauty products that are a perfect size for your trips and travels.

Cleaning

A wise woman once told me "time spent cleaning is time spent away from your kids." First let it be known that this woman can completely look past a huge mess and disorder where with me I hear "alert! alert!" and must straighten everything. The last time I was at her house it took everything I had not to organize her home office. I do agree with her but I work 15 hrs a week (thanks James) and get to spend a lot of time with my kids. Yesterday it was essential to literally spend time away from my kids to get some cleaning done. James (my husband) has owned a taekwondo (TKD) school since 1997. I do everything I can (other than nag) to help him with this business. I know his areas of need and thankfully those are my strengths. He has an after-school program and I am pretty sure they are all clones of the same kid from Charlie Brown (Pig Pen). My goodness. Where does trash go? On the floor, naturally. Sigh. I will always disagree with the idea that I have OCD but I do love order and cleanliness. Cleaning and organizing are the same task for me and his school needs it! We had to plan to have a babysitter (sister-in-law) watch the kids so we could actually be productive. This brings me to Craigslist. I LOVE CRAIGSLIST! I will update you on recent purchases and sales as our relationship continues. Although I sell way more than I buy, an ideal bookshelf/storage unit is a perfect purchase from Craigslist (CL). I good wipe down with the strongest chemicals I can put my hands on and *poof* new bookshelf for a fraction of the price. I am constantly amazed by what people buy off of CL- things I never would but to each their own. I've been selling stuff since 2004 and it's so easy! If you have junk laying around put it on CL even if you think nobody would want it. Take a picture. All my searches are done with the image box checked. Have a default message that you copy and past and use a code word so people can search for your other listings.

Okay.....

So. Many people have told me I should write a book. You will see later that I would actually advise you NOT to buy the book but just borrow it from your local library. In that case I would never make money off of all my hard work. My dream is to be able to charm you and make you laugh all while giving you money saving tips. In this dream I would have numerous followers and fabulous sponsors that pay for my grocery bill (we'll touch on that subject at a later time).

I currently live in MN (I'll explain that later too) with my husband, 2 kids, a dog and a cat. I look forward to giving you tid bits of information on how to stretch that dollar - or at least not just throw it away. For starters I will tell you what I have already told you earlier:
VISIT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. If you don't already, go to yours! They are fantastic! I do not buy magazines, books or DVD's. I don't even listen to the radio anymore. I went through my "top 40" stage for a long time on the radio....then I went through my "talk radio" stage (even Howard Stern when I was in college) and now I am just bored so I have been listening to audio books and it's great! Being a mother of a (almost) 4 year old and a one year old I don't have a ton of free time so 'reading' books in the car is perfect since driving is so boring. I even rent semi-new DVD's from the library. Online requesting is key. I go on waiting lists if I have to. Also, the library has great activities for kids! Especially in the summer. When Andre (my almost 4 year old) is at story time I can sit and read a magazine (this week's People if I want to) while Gianna sits "quietly" in her stroller. Well, at least she used to. Get to it folks! I will suggest readings as we go along as well. For now I suggest Phillipa Gregory series for historical fiction. Start with the Constant Princess.
Now I am off to put clothes away. Why is it that my 12 year old cat, Missy, always find clean clothes to shed on during her marathon sleeping? They aren't even warm out of the dryer they just happen to be clothes or a blanket that someone didn't use for whatever reason (maybe we packed too much for an outing) and she seems to find it and get it all nasty as if I didn't already have enough laundry to do. I don't think I can ever have another cat. But we love her.