Easier Said Vinyl

Don't forget to check out her site! The discount ends this Tuesday! The "W" coupon is still available (check out the article I posted about the Amazon diaper deal.) If you place an order worth at least $15 through Easier Said Vinyl by tomorrow, I will give you a 20% off coupon for Amazon.com. The beauty of this coupon is that it can be stacked on an order of diapers and is worth approximately $7 so add that onto the 10% discount she has going and you're getting a great deal! Now get shopping.

Easier Said Vinyl (Blogger)

Blogging and the Early Edition of my Monday Money Update

So, I am enjoying putting this site together. I hope I've been able to drum up some business for those involved in the giveaways, I like finding deals, and the accountability of publicizing my credit card adventures has kept me on track, however, I feel like I am alone here. I found a wonderful website that connects other mom bloggers, and although at first I was very excited about this, now I realize that my number of followers is up but my audience is still absent. I guess it takes time to develop loyal readers those who will comment on articles, keep you honest, and spark ideas. I feel like I've reached that point where I am looking to take this to the next level. I'll have to think about this one and get back to you all.

Quick money update here. Things are going well. Having extra income is helping out and we've almost reached our goals because of it. Not too much longer. I have gotten several cake orders so that seems to be promising. I'm looking forward to putting those together. I hope they are what my customers were anticipating and more.

Honestly, not much else to report. We're on track, have a couple of bimonthly payments due, and we hope to work towards our car payment next. We looked at bidding out the contract work on our basement, but I think it might take us a few YEARS to save up for that... expensive.

$4 movie tickets through Groupon!

If you head over to Groupon,
you can get $4 movie tickets for use at participating Fandango theaters (retail value is $12 per ticket.) Great deal!! Take advantage.

Extra discounts for you

Use the code "UTAKE20" today (Fri) and tomorrow to get an extra 20% off of everything at Kohls.com!

Use the code "LDAY-195" at Bravado Designs and you will get 20% off your order. (Labor Day weekend sale; expires Monday)

Use code "EED241" at the JoAnn Fabric site and you will get 40% off of one item. This coupon expires on Sunday, August 29th.

Now through September 1st use promo code "LUCKY49" and you will free shipping on your orders over $49 at JcPenney's.

I have always loved these wall clocks.  They are a great way to fill a wall space in a room without spending a fortune yet making a practical use out of the space.  Easier Said Vinyl has them available and I am so tempted to get one for my living room.  What do you all think?  I've seen them in the stores for the same price or more, but what I like about hers is that I can customize it to suit my space.  I can change the font, color, expression, etc. which I can't do with a store bought clock.  Have you guys made it over to her store?  Check out her product line at Easier Said Vinyl.

Awesome Amazon Diaper Deal

A good friend told me about this one and it is definitely worth it. Go to Amazon.com and go to the diapers of your choice. Once there, choose the size you would like then click on the "Subscribe now" button on the right-hand side.  You can subscribe for the service and then cancel it at anytime by going through your account on Amazon.com.

After you've subscribed and you are at the checkout page, you will see a box on the right-hand side where you can type in promo codes and click "Apply" when done.  This is where the fun begins.  So far you will see a 30% off promo applied to your order for subscribing to the Amazon service.  Next, you will see two 15% off discounts listed in the itemized pricing on the top right.  Finally, take out your August and September issues of Parents and Parenting magazines.  In them you will find a bright orange postcard that reads "20% off of Amazon.com diaper orders."  As long as these coupons begin with different letters you can STACK them for a one-time use on Amazon diapers.  I had two of these (August and September's Parenting magazines) and ended up getting a 156 count box of diapers for $10.50 with taxes and shipping included!  Not bad.

Let me know how you all do!  I have a "W" code from August's Parents magazine that I am willing to give to the first person who places an order of $15 or more with Easier Said Vinyl.  Please use the code "MITM" in the comment box on your order so we know to pass this along to you.  Each 20% off coupon saved me $7.

RUN- don't walk!  This diaper sale ends August 31st!!!

Baby Legs

For those of you who have newborns you know how much you want them to be warm and comfy, without overheating, while they sleep. Should you put on a blanket? Risky, although a lot of people do it. What about a sleep pouch? They are great, but will they be too warm and will it bunch up? Also, changing him at night might wake him too much if I have to undo the pouch, etc. I was thinking a lot about this then it hit me that I could use Baby Legs to cover up his lower half, leaving him in his onesie, and I wouldn't have to undo a pouch or take off his warm blankie. So, if any of you want an easy way to keep your kiddo warm without the trouble, try checking out:

Baby Legs

More on nursing covers...

I should have included this during BF Awareness Week. Here's a site where you can learn how to make your own cover, if you are a DIYer. Let me know how they turn out. I would love to see the finished products:

Nursing Cover Picture Tutorial

Anyone else snatch up the Gap deal?

I was able to get one for my husband and one for myself. I'm looking forward to doing a little shopping for myself for once. It will be nice. That was a great deal. I may even go for the cheesecake offer. It sounds delicious!

Half off at GAP!!

Awesome Groupon today, everyone! Check this out:

The site is down right now because there's an overload due to demand, but once you can get on, this is a great deal. $25 for $50 worth of Gap items. Use this link to get your deal:
Half off the Gap at Groupon


Here's their description:
Attack the shelves with today's Groupon: for $25, you get $50 worth of apparel and accessories, including sale items, purchased in-store at Gap, which has hundreds of locations nationwide. Today's Groupon is not valid for online or previous purchases, or at Gap Outlet, Gap Factory, or Gap Generation stores.

Monday Money Update (on Thursday!)

Everything is at zero except for our pergola/patio fund. I'll be paying that off in the next 2 months (I hope) and then we'll be working on paying off the car. I've increased our car payment 20% per month now that we don't have a credit card payment to make. That should help us pay it off a little quicker. Then, once we have our construction fund at zero, we'll triple our car payment, allowing us to have it paid off by next summer. By then, I'll be back at work, we'll be credit card free, and we'll, in turn, be able to focus on our mortgage. Our mortgage is next year's goal. I would also like to increase our retirement contributions as well as our childrens' college funds.
What are you all saving for? How are you saving money? What works best for your families?

Another week...

I can't believe another week has gone by. I have, yet again, not had the chance to update my blog... taking care of 2 little ones and a toddler is no easy feat and even though they sleep a good amount, I am non-stop all day long. I'm actually really enjoying it and have no real complaints. He's a good baby and all of the kids get along very well.

My baby is teething and the poor kid is miserable at night. I've already done Orajel and some nights it helps other nights it makes no difference. He spent 2 nights waking every 30-60 minutes (I kid you not.) Then he graced me with the gift of sleep last night only to revert to not sleeping tonight. I feel terrible for him, but I'm at my wit's end.

Other than not sleeping, we're hanging in. I am still trying out the Grocery Game and reaping the benefits. As I collect more coupons the "game" becomes more interesting. Has anyone else decided to try it?

Off to "bed." I say that in quotations because really it means that I'm going to brush my teeth, put my head on my pillow, and head into junior's room every 30 minutes. God help us.

Take a look at Easier Said Vinyl's product line and how to make old furniture new

How pretty are these boards? What a great way to accent a room without spending a fortune. It also makes an item very unique. I like to buy used pieces of furniture and strip them down then apply a stain or paint color. If you are interested in doing something like that you can very easily get the job done by following these steps:

1. Go to a local thrift shop, scan the newspaper, or go to rummage sales. Find a piece of wood furniture that you like. Make sure it is wood otherwise the particle board will just shred.

2. Pick out a spray paint color that you like. Use a quality spray paint. I like Valspar and have had good luck with it.

3. Get an electric sander and some sand paper. You want something that will simply roughen up the wood not make grooves in it. Some fine sandpaper should do the trick. Pick up a couple of hand sand blocks as well.

4. Go somewhere well-ventilated and start sanding! You want to roughen up the exterior on the wood to give the spray paint enough grooves to stick. Sand the furniture, wipe it down, let it dry then get ready to paint.

5. Work somewhere, again, well-ventilated. Spray the piece evenly and have some fun with your design. Try textured paints, taping off designs on the furniture, cool knobs, contrasting colors, etc. Heck, buy something from Easier Said Vinyl and go to town!

When your done drop by my site and leave a picture. I would love to see the finished product!

Calling all foodies!

I need some GOOD recipes. Some SIMPLE recipes. My well has run dry. I want to make delicious meals in no time. HELP! Submit your best recipes below and I will be forever grateful!!

Monday Money Update

We made it another week. We took some money out of our savings' account to pay for our house project, but other than that, we have survived on one paycheck! I started watching my friend's son today so I actually made something. I am pretty excited about that. It was not all that different having a third in the house. There was some juggling that took place between nursing mine, making lunch for mine, and bottle feeding the third, but it worked out. I even managed to eat my own lunch and clean the kitchen after lunch without any tears! Perfect.
I am putting the money earned into savings. 30% goes to my husband (pimp fees - kidding! He travels so he needs cash.), and the other 70% gets stashed. This will help pay for Christmas, miscellaneous items, and groceries or the like down the road.
We had a few unexpected bills this month, but I plan on paying them off stat. Once those are paid we are truly at ZERO so next month we should have about 25% of our cash flow open up for us. That will make things more comfortable.
I start the second part of my cake decorating class tomorrow. I hope to drum up some business soon. I think that would make some decent money. Anyone else do anything from the home that brings in income? What is it? Do you enjoy it? Please feel free to share your thoughts below.

Coupons- ice cream, clothing, and more!

This coupon will get you 2 Like It Size Creations for $5. Get your two by using this coupon. Hurry it expires August 15th!

Express stores is offering $15 off of $30 or $30 off of $75!  This coupon expires TODAY, but it is valid on your online purchases.  This is a good one...   Click here to save on your Express purchase!

Children's Place is offering 20% off your purchase by using this coupon. It is valid until September 1, 2010.

6PM.com is having a great sale on everything! Check out their clearance items, including swimsuits (this is the time to buy next year's swimsuit...) I think they have some really cute products on their site, generally 60% off or more.

Free nursing cover to celebrate World Wide Breastfeeding Week!

Udder Covers is running a promotion where you can get any of their regularly priced covers ($32) for free just by using the code "Breastfeeding". Once you get to Udder Covers click on "Shop Now" and select the cover or gift set you would like. Type in "Breastfeeding" as the code and it will bring your total to $0. All you pay is the shipping. You can also use this promo to get a 3 piece gift set for only $5 plus shipping!

Just one example. This one is called The Carson.

I have an Udder Cover myself and they are of good quality. I find the material a little thin (not see-through), but it is very practical and you can't beat FREE! If you want a top-notch quality cover, either purchase one from Easier Said Vinyl (she makes beautiful ones with thick material in the $20s)- just send her an e-mail request through her blog.- OR visit Bebe Au Lait I LOVE my cover from Bebe Au Lait. The material is what makes it awesome. The patterns are adorable as well. Again, don't get me wrong, Udder Covers and Bebe Au Lait have the same bones, but you can tell the difference in the two products. There is also a difference in price: Udder Covers= FREE. Bebe Au Lait=$30s and up. Easier Said Vinyl= $20s and up. (Bebe Au Lait and Easier Said Vinyl being very comparable.)

Bebe Au Lait is running a 20% off special right now so act fast!

Check one or all of them out, just be sure to support your breastfeeding mamas this week! :)

Featured Seller- Easier Said Vinyl (August 2010)

This giveaway is going to be a lot of fun! Easier Said Vinyl has agreed to not only giveaway the vinyl piece below (measuring 23" w x 5 1/2" h), but they are also offering 10% off from now until August 30th!

("Girls" can be swapped out to read "boys")

This would be a great time to start decorating anything- just use your imagination. What room is lacking that one designer detail? Do you like the family decals you see on peoples' cars? Are you interested in putting reminders around the home in a stylish way??

I can guarantee that you will like the quality of her work. This is a good friend of mine so I've had a chance to scope out her product line and see multiple examples of her work in her shop as well as in her home.

Take advantage and purchase while the sale is on. You won't regret it! I promise.

Use the code MITM when placing your order so that you may get 10% off.

Please remember that to enter the giveaways you must be a registered follower of my blog. Also, your information is NEVER shared with anyone. I am the only one who has access to your name and e-mail address. No worries!


 

Awesome Groupon today for Shutterfly 8x8 photo book!

Today Groupon has a Shutterfly 8X8 20 page photobook for $10- That's a 67% savings (off of $30). This is a great deal. I LOVE Shutterfly and have used them for years to compile all of our treasured pictures into one book. If you haven't tried them before, I can attest that their picture quality and customer service are fantastic. I have never had a problem with them, shipments have always on time, and I could go on and on about the picture quality. Just awesome.

If you are looking to make a picture book, this is a great opportunity to try them out and see for yourself. I am so happy and pleased that Groupon has this deal today! Very cool.

Enjoy!

Click here to be redirected to today's Groupon deal - Shutterly 8X8 20 page photobook.

Here's the fine print:

• Expires Feb 15, 2011
• Limit 1 per person. Valid for one 20-page 8"x8" hardcover photo book only. Additional pages $1/page. Tax, shipping & handling not included. Must have or begin a Shutterfly account. Not valid with other offers. No cash value.

The Grocery Game really does work!

Here's what I got today:

9 two-packs of Bounty paper towels
8 Oral B Indicator toothbrushes
9 Gillette Shaving Gels
18 Aussie Shampoo/Conditioner/Hair-Care products
4 jars of peanut butter
2 loaves of Aunt Millie's bread
6 twelve-packs of Coke
4 boxes of Cheez-Its
3 one liter bottles of Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash
7 6.4 ounce tubes of Crest toothpaste
4 24-packs of Crayola Crayons
1 10-pack of Crayola markers
1 pair of scissors
2 Gillette body washes
1 lb. of bananas
4 1/2 gallons of milk
5 lbs. of chicken legs/thighs
2 individual serving bottles of Nesquick
1 1/2 gallon of Land O' Lakes creamer
2 8 packs of Juicy Juice

My total was $307 before using my store card. It was then $149 with the store card and their current promotion. After using my coupons, my grand total was $81.66!!! How wild is that??! I'm pretty happy and PROUD. I tell ya', my palms were sweating. I was so nervous going up there. I was prepared for the worst, but then the cashier took all of my coupons and started scanning them. You could see the number dropping... the woman behind me was just staring in disbelief. It was pretty cool.

It was a good day. :)

Tax free shopping

Don't forget tax free shopping is here. Check to see if your state is listed:

Tax Free Shopping Information Sponsored by About.com

Tax Free Week:
Alabama
Virginia
Washington D.C. - repealed for 2010?!?!?!
West Virginia

Tax Free Weekend:
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont

I did it!!

I printed out my Grocery Game sheet, printed out my coupon, bought extra papers, and went to the store. I was able to get the following:

11 tubes of toothpaste (2 free/9 at $0.25 each) = $2.25
1 box of Tampax Pearl Tampons (40 ct.) at $2.99
1 100 oz. bottle of Tide Free at $6.99
1 64 oz of Tide Stain Release at $3.99
1 54 oz bottle of Downy at $0.99
5 containers of macaroni salad, potato salad, and sweet slaw $1 each = $5 total
After tax = $25.08

I saved a total of $57.38

WOOOHOO! Okay, so it wasn't free, but that was really cheap! I usually spend $25 on just the Tide and Downy products alone so having one year's worth of toothpaste plus some food and fem products is phenomenal!

I go back tomorrow for some freebies so I'll report back then. There were a lot of great coupons in this week's paper so I hope you all stocked up.

For those of you that are interested, try the Grocery Game out. At least do the free trial. Go to The Grocery Game and if you could, please let them know I sent you. Use Mayheminthemotherhood@gmail.com and I would so very much appreciate it!!

Monday's Money Update:

This is my stock-up-week. I am going to get as much free stuff as possible. There are a ton of great deals right now so I am pretty excited. My goal tomorrow is to get some of my husband's items for free. Wish me luck.

I start a job out of the home next week so that will bring in some money. I am pretty excited about that. That should really get us back on our feet then we'll just ride the wave until I go back in March. We are still credit card free even though I think it has been hard on my husband. He's dealing but I think he just wants to give in sometimes. I just keep reminding him what a difference this will make for us down the line.
My cake decorating class ends this week and I'll be taking class 2 in August. I ordered my business cards through Vistaprint and have gotten a good number of supplies. I still need a lot more. There is a 14 year old girl in my class (there are only two of us) and she comes into class every week with more and more. I can't believe I am envious of a kid, but her mom has really given her a wonderful set of gifts so she can start her business. Yes, she is 14 and wants to decorate cakes on the side.
Anyway, not much to report this week. Have any of you tried Mint.com? I like it, but I only have one complaint: I can't get all of my accounts to show up so my books aren't 100% balanced. They are looking into it though to see if they can add the missing account on.
Thanks for the support, you all! Knowing you are checking in and keeping track has really helped me continue down this path the right way.

Look what I found at Avy's Sew Right Creations...

If only I had a little girl...

How cute is that tutu??? She has some adorable things right now that you all have to check out. Look at this:

How perfect is that for Christmas?  It would make such an adorable outfit for some Christmas pictures!  You guys should pop on over and see what else she has.  Let her know I sent you and maybe you'll get some special treatment. ;)

Avy's Sew Right Creations

My apologies

I kid you not: My life is not usually that exciting yet for the past week I have found myself without any time to write on this blog. Part of it has been my second son's growth spurt. That kept me up for nights with extreme fatigue the following mornings leading to afternoon naps instead of blogging. Also, we've been enjoying the remainder of the summer. School is starting soon so we've been out playing with the neighborhood children, squeezing in visits to family, and not following a real schedule. *Gasp* In any case, sorry that I've been so bad about updating everything. I promise to do better at it starting this week!

Well, our July giveaway ended yesterday and the winner was drawn today! An e-mail has been sent out notifying the person of their recent luck. Thank you to all of you who entered. Keep checking back for more giveaways... Especially this month. We have a fantastic giveaway hosted by Easier Said Vinyl. You'll LOVE what she has in store for all of you. The prize will be listed this week.

Thanks again for understanding and check back in tomorrow for Monday's Money Update.