Some Hot Printables

Here are several hot printables you will want to print quickly, before they reach their print limits:


.55 3lb cuties and 1.00 5lb cuties (clementine oranges) here (register at the top to get to the coupons)

.50/ driscoll berries here (bottom right corner)

Thanks, Saving with Shellie

5 various Kraft dairy coupons here

A Black Friday Warning

It is very easy to get caught up in all the hype of Black Friday, but don't forget to make a budget of how much you can afford to spend this season and stick to it. If you are using a credit card, do so with caution and realize you will need to pay that bill in a month or less. If you don't plan to pay the card in full when the payment is due your Black Friday savings are really not all that great (after you factor in the interest you will be paying on the purchase).

It is nice to be able to give nice gifts to those you love, but it is even better to spend time with them and create memories. You do not need to prove your love to anyone with presents. Sit down before you head out the door to snag those great deals and cross off your list items that you really don't need to get. Just because it is a door buster doesn't mean you need to buy it. It still cost money, takes up space in your home, and takes time to acquire, maintain, and keep picked up off the floor. I always like to calculate the cost of an item by seeing how many minutes or hours of my husbands time at work it takes to pay for it. When you look at an items cost in this way, you will find many things cost too much.


I am speaking from my own experience. My oldest daughter's first few Christmas's could have been much better had I not gone crazy "saving" money on all kinds of gifts for her. 4 years later I am still tripping over half of the gifts I got her then. During her 2nd Christmas I realized I wasn't doing anyone any favors by spoiling her with so much stuff. She was tired of opening gifts and ungrateful to others who didn't get her 20-30 gifts each. She finished opening 5-6 gifts at her great grandmother's house, realized she had no more gifts to open and pouted "I didn't get nothing". It broke my heart I had inadvertently made her greedy and unappreciative.

Now we have three children and our tree has less gifts under it than the first few years when we only had one child, but we have so much more time to spend with them actually playing with the toys and reading the books they receive. My kid's aren't overwhelmed. I don't have to worry about the huge credit card bill looming over my head or asking my husband to spend more time at work to pay for the gifts. And my daughter who once was insatiable now only has a list of two items she wants for Christmas(which she had to think long and hard about before she came up with).

So be careful when you are out getting all the great deals. There are plenty because retailers have been hurting all year. Don't jeopardize your finances buying what you don't need and do not go with out a detailed list which included a grand total. Do not go over your budget. You still have 6-8 weeks of bargains being crammed in your face.

Paid to Read/Survey/Shopping Rebate Site : My Points

I have been a member of My Points for quite some time. It was hard to narrow down the description part of the post title on this site. My Points has so much to offer: paid surveys, rebates for shopping online, points for "reading" emails, reviewing sites, using their search bar and so much more!

When I first signed up with My Points in early 2004 I only earned points by clicking through the emails they send. You receive 5 points for each one you click through. One year later I had enough points to redeem for a $25 gift card! Since then I have earned over 45,000 point(around $325 depending on what you redeem for).

Now I utilize more than just the paid email aspect of the site(though it is still the largest point earner for me), and as a result it doesn't take me a year to earn rewards.

Tip for making the email reading part of the site easier:

1. Once every week or two (or however often you like, just be aware the emails have expiration dates of 2-3 weeks. If you click on them after the expiration date you wont get credit for reading them)do a search in your email account for mypoints.

2. Open the first email in you search results

3. Right click the link in the email and click open in new tab

4. Delete the email(unless it's an offer you want to take advantage of later, in that case just click next)

5. Repeat with the next 4- 5 emails in the search results

6. Close the tabs that you just opened and repeat the whole process until you have no more emails left from mypoints

You can set up what offers you would like emailed to you in your account settings. For the sake of earning more points I signed up for all available newsletters.

Another way to earn points is through referrals. Here's how it works:

Send an invite to join your network to your friends using their form, when those friends sign up you receive 10% of the points they earn(unlimited), plus you will earn a flat 25 points for the first 20 people in your network.

This is a new referral system, it used to be you could invite up to 10 friends a month for a flat 250 points.

I usually try to get a "treat" gift card using My Points(I just redeemed some points for a $25 Steak N Shake Gift Card!), but they also have more practical choices like CVS and Kmart.

I could go on and on about My Points, but I'd rather have you go check it out for yourselves by signing up here-it's free or, if you are already a member share your own experiences with us in the comments(the good and the bad).

You will not get rich using this site, but you will earn a little extra spending money.

Quick, Print This .50 off Dole Fruit Coupon!

Did you max out you prints for the .50/1 dole canned fruit coupon here(you have to play the game to get to it)? Well you can print two more at coupons.com! Just click the banner above to get yours before it's gone.

Menu Plan Monday 11/23

Last week I was pretty ill on Sunday, so I did not make a menu plan for the week. How many times do you have to repeat an action before it becomes habit? I really need to make menu planning a habit! Practice, practice, practice...

Well, turkey is on the menu for a good portion of the week. I will be making a turkey at home as soon as the one in the fridge is finished thawing (probably Tuesday) and we will be having turkey with family on Thursday.

Breakfast for dinner - eggs, bacon, fruit and toast
Turkey dinner at home
leftover turkey over mashed potatoes covered with gravy, peas
Turkey dinner w/ family
baked potatoes w/ broccoli and cheese, salad
turkey salad sandwiches, fruit
turkey Alfredo noodles and broccoli

I know we are going to have a ton of turkey left from our bird- it's 16lbs and only 4 of us will be eating on it! I see more turkey recipes in next weeks menu plan. MMM! I love Thanksgiving:)

You can see hundreds of other menu plans here!