over there....

If you haven't made your way over to the new website, you're missing out. That's where all of my freebies and coupons and deals are being posted - as well as other ways to help your life more manageable.

I'm leaving this blog open till the end of the Kellogg's challenge. Aside from that, everything is now being posted over on Homemaker Hero.

introducing a new website

I've been wanting to switch domain names and give Discount Hero it's own domain. However, even though discounthero.com isn't being used, it is owned. I contacted the owner to see if he would be willing to give up the domain since it is not in use and he told me it would cost me $10,000!! That's not a good deal! lol That's actually quite insane. So I've been toying around with the idea of starting a new adventure with a new name. I've done it.

I am now the proud owner of a new website that will feature the things I talk about on here as well as other things that really benefit your family (advice, wellness, recipies, DIY, in addition to all the ways I come up with to save money). I've switched my name to Homemaker Hero. Please bookmark it as it will become my new internet home. I'm still debating continuing this blog since most of what I post here will be on the new website anyhow. However, I'll definitely keep this blog open until the end of the Kellogg's contest. The winner will be announced on here at the end of September. So be sure to enter your Kellogg's transaction (even if you didn't get the rebate in the mail).

I look forward to my new adventures with you and posting more of what I'm really all about. Please let me know what you think!!!

prepaid phones

I'm trying to research some prepaid cell phone services but I really value what users have to say. Do you own a prepaid phone? Tell me about it. Which service do you think I should go with if I were to get one? My husband and I are actually thinking of getting one for each of us and so it would be really awesome if they could interact with each other for free. haha

Let me know if you have any experience with prepaid cell phones - the good and the bad. Comment below or email me: weshinelikestars@yahoo.com

Thanks bunches!

listening to my readers

Although we do not have a Kroger in my area, a reader of mine passed along some excellent Kroger deals for this week. I hope this helps someone out there! (thanks Colleen!)

Go here to check out Kroger savings put together by Sensible Saving!!

coupon horror stories

I believe I've had my fair share of heart racing moments while going through the check out where I've had to take a deep breath to remain calm due to a really bad cashier, manager, or customer waiting to check out behind me. I often wonder if it's me who just doesn't have the patience for bad service or if other people out there have the same trouble I do? Seriously, I've had it all. I've had managers who had an item listed with the wrong price and won't adjust the sale because of their mistake. I've had cashiers who thought it was SO much trouble to ring up coupons and would literally huff and puff and throw dirty looks at me because I'm making them ring up coupons. I've had customers behind me huff and puff and say a few curse words about me when they see my stack of coupons to scan. I've even let 3-5 customers check out before me when doing multiple transactions and I still seem to get some kind of bad gesture toward me. Oh and God forbid me ever wanting to return something or try to do a price adjustment when things don't ring up right! lol

After the Wal-Mart transaction I did on Monday with a cashier who tried his hardest to make me believe that I was stupid and had no idea what I was talking about or what I was doing, I thought I'd ask all of you readers out there about some of your horror stories while going through checkout with coupons. Was it a problem with a cashier? Was it a problem with the customer behind you? Was it both? Did you ever have serious trouble with a manager? Did you ever just give up on a transaction and pay more because of this trouble? I want to know! I think we would all benefit knowing we're not alone out there and that sometimes the amount of money we've saved was worth fighting for.

For every difficult transaction, I've had more than triple the amount of great transactions. Those bad ones make me really nervous every time I check out though. lol The really good ones keep me doing what I do and remind me how worth it clipping coupons really is.

a couple of questions for y'all

Anyone want to go buy an extra Corpus Christi Sunday paper for me today? I'm on day two of 48 hour mom-only duty and the girls have just been I-N-S-A-N-E for some reason! Although a part of me wants to get them out of this house so that they will stop destroying everything here, I would hate more for them to destroy anything in the van or the store. So by a desperate plea from one mother to another (I know a few local friends of mine read this), could you please pick up an extra paper for me today? Let me know. My hubby will be home tomorrow so I could come meet you and pick it up and pay for it. I am going to need my own time out by the end of these 48 hours! lol

To everyone else... I will get the ads up tomorrow. Normally I can handle the three children by myself, but they've all hit a totally rebellious phase this weekend. Not that they'd probably stop just because their daddy is around, but at least I know he'll be here to allow me a break! lol

By the way, does anyone have a remedy for getting ink out of a couch? The material is similar to micro-fiber, but not stain resistant sadly (not that i think stain resistant is ink resistant anyway). Our couch is like a yellowish creme color and the address stamper that we have is ALL OVER IT now (as well as the couch pillows, books, and the wall). I can deal with everything else that's happened this weekend (yeah, the stamp was just the begining), but I'm a little lost on how to treat the couch without making the ink smear all over with something that won't work.

alternate uses for Kool-Aid

In the August edition of All-You magazine (found only at Wal-Mart), there is a page with a lot of Kraft foods coupons. All of them are buy 3 Kraft products and get something for FREE. The cheapest Kraft food I've discovered is Kool-Aid. That deal alone is worth buying the magazine for this month (maybe a few copies if you can budget it). If you're not a Kool-Aid fan, I know you can get Kraft mac n cheese at Wal-Mart for $.50 a box! So there's another idea and you'll be stocking your pantry with yummy mac n cheese while still getting great deals. I usually buy generic mac n cheese because it tastes fine to me and costs about $.20 cheaper. In our house and how much mac n cheese we buy (we love it) that $.20 savings really adds up.

I got to thinking though, even if you don't drink Kool-Aid, there are other uses for it and worth stocking up for. I'm always encouraging more family time - especially families with children. Here are some alternate uses for Kool-Aid; most of which you can get the kids involved with.





KOOL-AID ART BOTTLES ("sand bottles")

What you'll need:

• Inexpensive glass bottle with lid (this is an awesome way to reuse those baby food jars)
• Several different and colorful flavors of Kool-Aid
• Ice tea spoon
• Small paper funnel or frosting decorating tips (quite often these are on clearance)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

How to make it:

• Open the top of each Kool-Aid container so you can see all of the different colors.
• Place the funnel in the top of the bottle. If the funnel is too large, use a frosting decorating tip to work as a funnel.
• Spoon the different kinds of Kool-Aid into the bottle through the funnel in the order that you desire.
• Fill up the bottle with all of the different colors.
• Put hot glue around the edge of the lid and place it in the top of the bottle.

Tips: You can poke a toothpick down the sides of the bottle to form designs in the sand.

Kool-Aid Finger Paint

What you'll need:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 packs unsweented kool-aid
• 1/2 cup salt
• 3 cups boiling water
• 3T. oil
  

How to make it:

• Mix wet into dry. The kids love the color change. Then finger paint away.

Kool-Aid Tye Dye:

What you will need:

• T-shirt (cotton works best)
• Unsweetened Kool-Aid
• Vinegar
• Small plastic bowls
• Plastic gloves
• Rubber bands

How to make it:

• For every color you wish to use, combine 1 package Kool-Aid and 1 ounce of vinegar in individual plastic bowls.
• Mix until Kool-Aid is dissolved.
• Using rubber bands, pull and twist T-shirt into different shapes.
• Dip rubber-banded ends in bowls (make sure you wear gloves or your hands will stain).
• To set colors, iron on medium-high using an ironing cloth between shirt and iron.
• Let set for 24 hours before washing. Wash separately the first time.

Tips: For younger kids, you can put the Kool-Aid/Vinegar mix into a squirt bottle and let your child spray a shirt for a different/unique look!

Kool-Aid Playdough:

What you will need:

• 1 c flour, sifted
• 1/2 c salt
• 3 T cooking oil
• 1 pkg Koolaid (unsweet)
• 1 c boiling water

How to make it:

• Mix together flour, salt, oil, and Kool-aid.
• Add the cup of boiling water.
• Mix well.
• Knead the mixture until it forms a soft dough.
• Have fun!

Tips: Expect colored hands (you might want to use some gloves). Non-toxic - could be eaten, but won't taste very good. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I'm also told that Grape flavor will stain badly. Use at your own risk.

Dying your hair with Kool-Aid:

What you will need:

• 2 Kool-Aid packets
• Conditioner
• Water (from the tap)
• Vaseline
• Plastic Wrap
• Towel
• Highlighting wand and tinfoil (if you are only highlighting)

How to do it:

• Mix two packs of unsweetened Kool-Aid with about twice as much conditioner as you use normally in order to make a pasty mix.
• Dampen your hair.
• Smear Vaseline on your skin near your hairline so you won't get a colored forehead or ears too!
• Also, to avoid getting the dye on your pillow, wrap your head in plastic wrap, or an old shower cap, then cover your head with an old ragged towel.
• Then apply mixture to your head. If you're doing tips or highlights, use a highlighting wand and wrap the dyed sections in tinfoil.
• Leave the dye in for 9-10 hours if you have dark hair, or 4-5 hours if you have blonde hair.
• Rinse out when you are done.

Tips: Some people get better/brighter results by bleaching their hair first, but I don't recommend it. The hair dye is temporary and the more often you bleach your hair to redye, the more likely it is to fall out (even in patches). I also don't recommend this for your children unless it's halloween or a long school holiday break when it might be ok to go to school with colored hair for a few weeks.

I also found this article on how to make Kool-Aid pickles!!

There was also this article on dying your yarn with Kool-Aid!

If you know of any other uses, please leave a comment!!!

a lesson learned about debt

I have often been called a "queen" for knowing "secrets" of spending less on groceries or finding freebies or making transactions at CVS that cost me nothing. I want to set the record straight and let you know we're as real as you are. Someone taught me what I am teaching you. Truth is that we've been in bad financial shape for a long time and we still are. Getting out of debt takes a lot of discipline. First, you have to want to change your life. I don't mean just talking about wanting to or doing this one thing or that one thing temporarily. You have to really really want to enough to make a plan and stick with it. For us, it was trial and error. We did good about getting rid of some unnecessary things in our life. We counted up how much we made and listed everything we spend that money on. Separately we added up the non-necessity bills. I remember rental furniture was one of them. At the time, we had a lot of non-necessity bills that we still counted as necessity because of our worldly addictions. For what we spent on rental furniture every month, we could have something new. We ended up turning it all back in. We went one month without living room furniture and the next month bought a futon for $90. That was the most uncomfortable thing ever! It was definitely not something I wanted to keep around for too long, but was decent enough to not go back out and get the old rental furniture back. lol I often thought of it as our "lesson learned" couch. Since we never had much to put back every month for new furniture, we waited till our tax return came back and went to pay cash for some floor model furniture at the furniture store. We got a really good deal on that for paying cash and for taking something used by the store. Although now stained by the kids, it's really comfy and makes the living room look like a relaxing place to be. (the stains just match the crayola drawings on our white walls lol)

Despite doing that, we were still making financial mistakes along the way. When we'd get rid of a certain bill, we'd end up spending that extra money every month on new bills. We thought we were really ready to end the cycle of debt but our hearts weren't. We were still too greedy. It's totally ok to admit that if you're just not ready. One day you will be. But I'm learning now just how awesome it is on the other side when you do really make good changes in your life.

Like I said earlier, we're still in bad shape. We're still not quite at a place where we're making it. We have really bad luck. As soon as we get to the place of bills being paid on time and we're just about to cross the line of keeping money in the bank and being able to start saving for our emergency fund, we have an emergency. Flat tires, hospital bills, hurricanes, last minute plane flights or gasoline, the list goes on and on. Something always sets us back.

I realized that we're still overspending by not making room to save for these emergencies. And it isn't just about clipping coupons and reducing your grocery spending that is going to make it work. I remember going at least 18 years without owning a cell phone, needing cable/satellite (I spent several years not even watching tv at all), etc. I didn't even use the internet till I was in my teens. What kind of life am I giving my children by becoming addicted to these things now? Obviously I found better things to do with my time and made more friends to hang out with. Think of how much time you spend inside your home because of these things. Could you really live without these things again? Would your family benefit if you spent more time together and being more creative at finding ways to occupy your time?

The answer for us is yes. We can live without these things. It's the only way we'll reach the other side of our mountain of debt. If we stop having bills (aside from rent and utility) to pay, our debt has no where else to go but to decrease. Sometimes you really have to reexamine your spending and come to terms with what you may have to life without to live better and debt free. Sure it's not what the majority of the world is doing, but one day you'll have more money than those who are currently spending everything they have. As Dave Ramsey says, "Live today like no one else so that tomorrow you can live like no one else."

dumpster diving

Ever since I've been getting into using coupons, I find myself often checking the trash near our mailboxes room (usually I'll just peek in instead of sticking my hands all the way through the trash - not safe!). I know that sounds yucky and germy, but that's where my really cheap bottles of hand sanitizer comes into play. ;) I keep hoping someone will throw some valuable coupons away. Mostly I look on Mondays in hopes someone threw away their Sunday paper, but I suppose most people would throw it away in their own trash can. Most of the coupons that are thrown out are for the same things I've thrown away (like Dell computers, etc). Although I really could use a new computer and will probably be forced to buy one in the next year or so, we just don't have the funds saved up right now for one so I'll pass. Today however, I found someone had thrown away valuable Huggies coupons. I have a TON of Huggies diaper coupons that I probably won't use because Huggies don't work for my girls. However, there were other coupons for wipes and soaps, etc. We DO use those. Horray!

I also got my Oatmeal Crisp cereal sample from Walmart (that was quick!) and my confirmation for All You magazine subscription (not a freebie, even though they offered two free issues on their website). If you haven't checked it out before, Walmart sells "All You" magazine. It is LOADED with coupons and even coupons for free stuff! Once again, another source that more than pays for itself. It's only $1.97 and found exclusively at Walmart (or you can order your subscription online). Yesterday I received my free Omaha Steaks cookbook, coupon for free Uncle Ben's Cajun Style rice, and a freebie offer from Billy Graham Ministries (for getting my free Greg Laurie book a few weeks ago). The freebie is for "Hope For Each Day" devotional book by Billy Graham. Donation is acceptable (and tax deductable) but not necessary. I used to have a copy of this book and I LOVED IT. I ended up giving it to a friend in need and I'm excited for the chance to get another copy for free!

to those who live near a Jewel-Osco store

One of my bestest friends just emailed me about a chance to make a difference when shopping at Jewel-Osco, nationwide!! We unfortunately don't have a Jewel-Osco anywhere down here, but I wanted to pass the word to all of you who may live near a Jewel-Osco store. Please help!

This is a forwarded email from one of my bestest friends' friend (did ya get that?):

As most of you know, my cousin Maddie was diagnosed with CML leukemia in December. As part of our fundraising effort to offset some of Maddie's care, we organized three Shop and Share events at any Jewel-Osco nationwide. This first Shop and Share effort is being held at the end of August. I have attached the Shop and Share forms to this email, all you need to do is print it off, present it to the cashier upon check out and 5% of your total bill goes right to Maddie!!! Please pass along this form to your friends and family, every little bit helps. Thank you for your continued support as we continue on our Mission for Maddie (http://www.missionformaddie.com/).

If this slip doesn't print (click the picture and it should come up in a new window so you can print it) and you would like the attachment, please send me an email and I'll send the attachment to you.

Thanks!!!

ATTN: those with SiteMeter on IE7

I think I've figured out the problem and am happy to report it is not on MY end. lol I was right that it was something these sites had in common. Money Saving Mom figured it out and has announced the problem to other bloggers. See her post here!

our internet was down

I've been having some trouble with AT&T ever since we dropped our phone line and went strictly internet-only. The transition of going phone-less was a success. However, I was supposed to re-register our service, but the register tools on their end have been down. Thus, our internet has stopped working. It appears to finally have worked this morning calling back to register, but now I'm having trouble viewing certain sites - so far it's just blogs. I'm not sure if it is something on my end or something wrong with the blogs I'm trying to view. Anyone else having trouble today? Let me know (especially if you have trouble with mine). I'd be completely happy to know it's not just AT&T giving me trouble again. I'm wondering if it's something specific these people have collectively added to their blog that is causing the glitch? Then again, it could just be me having the trouble. Weird coincidence.

Since our internet has been out, there is a lot to catch up on today. My inbox was SO full this morning. Hopefully I can get all of these updates done by this evening. Thankfully even though my husband is doing some overtime today, he will still be home later giving me a small break from mom-only duty and hopefully I can get back online and blog blog blog!

it's almost christmas time!

I figured out today that if we buy one Christmas gift every payday (not including this one), that would be 10 people that will have presents this year that otherwise wouldn't if we waited till the holiday season. Or if we ended up buying one present for all three girls every payday, they'd each have 10 gifts each! With all the savings and good deals I've been finding, it would be super easy to up the number of people every payday. One just seems like an easy and doable plan. That's 10 more people than we bought for last year. lol It's easy to find quality presents for low cost. For us, it's more the thought that counts rather than the cost. One year I couldn't get my brother anything even though we promised to gift each other. I ended up getting old baby pictures of us together and put them into a multi-photo frame and gave it to him for Christmas that year. He was really proud of it - and still is. It's really not the cost, but the thought behind it. I think if we start now it will be easier to gift everyone this year - including our own children. Be on the lookout for gifts at your local garage sales, thrift stores, antique stores, clearance racks, and even weekly sale ads.

I guess it's never too early to take care of Christmas shopping. I know we're always low on money around that time of year and usually can't get anything for anyone. There's been a time or two when we even waited till after Christmas sales to get things for the girls. It'll feel good to go ahead and get this stuff early and be able to bless our family this year.

parents' day is july 27th, 2008

Parental figures in the United States will receive the recognition for the role they play in their children’s lives on Parents’ Day on July 27, 2008. The day aims to promote responsible parenting and to recognize positive parental role models. It celebrates the special bonds of love between parental figures and their children. Every 4th Sunday in July is National Parents' Day. Here are some fun ways to celebrate in your household:

What Kids Can Do:

• A note left on their pillow at night
• Breakfast in bed
• Tea or coffee brought to them anytime
• The laundry folded
• A younger brother or sister's room cleaned
• Flowers or branches put in vases around the house
• Call a family meeting and ask the children to say what they appreciate about their parents
• Volunteer to do something without being asked
• Clean out the car
• Give a big hug and say I love you
• Draw a picture of your parents.
• Write a special poem for your parents: Or give children questions about their parents for them to finish, such as "I love it when my mom and dad..........." Draw pictures to go with the poems or stories and make a book.

Ideas to do together as a family:

• 21 ideas here
• Family Craft Ideas
• More ideas all over this website
• Also, check out these printable Parents' Day cards here!

are we for real?

Today was the day - the day we downgrade our services. I just got off the phone with our satellite company and our phone company. We went from having the biggest satellite package to the smallest. That saved us over $60 a month. It might take some getting used to, but I know there are families out there who don't ever watch television. God forbid it forces us to talk to each other and hang out more often! haha We also had a home phone and internet plan. Considering we have cell phones, we opted out of having a home phone line. There's several reasons we decided to keep the internet line. However, by ditching the home phone line (that never even had a phone hooked up to it), we are saving another $100 a month.

So there's $160 savings every month by making a few phone calls and living more frugally. It feels awesome. :) This is just the beginning.

just some thoughts

Although it would seem like I completely know what I'm doing and that I've probably been doing this for a long time - I haven't. I just got to a point where I needed to do SOMETHING about our finances. I hate the talks of my husband getting a second job (especially since I'm the stay at home mom and he already works 24 hour shifts every other day) just for a couple hundred dollars every month to pay off bills and splurge a bit. We seemed to have fallen into the habit of saving some money and spending it somewhere else. As soon as we pay off a bill/debt, we do something crazy like upgrading out satellite plan or go buy new cell phones or something crazy like that. Although we are doing a lot better, we still have a long way to go before we're in a really "comfortable" stage of life.

I just had to reorganize and reprioritize where we are in life right now. We've really spoiled ourselves and we're left struggling to pay for it all. I've been reading a story on a blog I stumbled upon (here and here and more on the series here). It's completely inspiring. Granted, it will be a while before we can get out of this apartment life and have a yard to be able to have animals and/or a garden. There's a lot of cool frugal ways to live that just aren't possible for us right now due to being in an apartment and unsure of where we will be living in the next few years. The series did get me thinking about what I can do. We use cell phones. Although we're a bit spoiled with our phones (he has an mp3 player phone and mine is the original iphone) I can't see us forking out more money right now for "cheap" or "free" phones because we'd still be stuck with these expensive phones we can't use. However, after looking at our thousands of rollover minutes, I'm pretty sure we'd be safe downgrading our plan to fewer minutes. Our satellite plan - well, we carry the biggest satellite plan possible and have every single movie channel. Considering the tv is 90% on cartoons when it is on, we could definitely change our satellite plan. Since we have the cell phones, we could cut out our landline that we don't even have a phone hooked up to right now. The only reason we have it was for emergency if we couldn't pay our cell phones one month or something crazy like that. Though I know we could afford our cell phones if we didn't have that extra expense. duh! We could turn the a/c off once in a while and use our fans when we're all in the same room, and especially when we're not even home. Bottom line is that we haven't exactly been living like we're in a single income budget. Just changing those things alone will help us cut out the talk of getting a second job. Seems so obvious doesn't it? The more I learned about how to get good deals on things and cutting the cost of our groceries, it all seemed pretty obvious to me too. I just don't know why we never payed attention to this earlier. Sometimes I think this is just the way it is. But it doesn't have to be!

Getting into "deal finding" has become quite a hobby and a lifesaver. It's a bit time consuming but worth every minute. The money I've been saving is almost like having a second job! Seeing the savings had me thinking that there are probably a lot of other people out there like us who struggle with the rising gas prices and whatnot and just assume it is what it is. It's totally not! There's so much information out there that I've been studying and learning about saving money that actually helps and isn't a struggle to do. It just made sense to me to start this blog so that others can really understand that things aren't always what they seem. This isn't the kind of information that should be kept to oneself. Granted, there are people out there who will learn the secrets of getting out of debt and even saving money and will still refuse to do it. For those who are willing to make the change though, this blog is for you! The first thing I'd suggest is just to reevaluate your lifestyle. Read about others who don't live like the Jones' and realize it can be done. Be inspired and go with it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't spoil yourself once in a while, but make sure if it's a long term thing that you can afford it long term (like your phone or satellite bill).

Even if you're not living a lifestyle of struggle, you still shouldn't ever have to spend more than you need to. If you have the ability to get your groceries for less than what you usually pay, why not do it? That's like filling up your empty gas tank at the gas station with the most expensive gas. I'll blog once in a while about secrets of saving money and everything I'm learning about it. Blogging this also allows me the opportunity of meeting other frugal families who can share their secrets with me as they read about my own. Our ways of living are not those of everyone else and that's the most important thing to keep in mind. But I'm putting the information out there and it's up to you to take it or leave it.