Idol Worship?

"The only reason we fail to pray is because we've made an idol out of self."

Ann Voskamp has written a very convicting post entitled Prayer: Why We Struggle (and how not to) . I encourage you to take a few minutes of your time and read it. Then take a few more minutes and pray.

Super Savings!

*click image to enlarge

I had a very successful shopping trip to Publix and Kroger this week! I got a bunch of groceries, as you can see! Before store specials and coupons this would have cost $159.10. After sales and coupons I paid $69.50!! That's a 56% savings!! (Thanks to my quick math lesson from Austin!)
Not too shabby!

How did you do it, you ask? Simple! I paired coupons up with the sales and items I needed. I try to buy the Sunday paper each week so I can clip the grocery coupons and look at the sales papers. There are also great coupon printables online.

Both Publix and Kroger double coupons up to $.50, which can really add up. Publix also runs Buy One, Get One Free sales each week on many items. Pair that sale with coupons and you can get stuff for free. For example, this week Publix had Purina Beneful dog food on sale for B1G1. The normal cost for one bag was $5.49, but with the sale you could get two bags for that price. I had two coupons for $3.50 off per bag - a total of $7.00 off. I actually had $1.51 in overage and two free bags of dog food! That's what I'm talking about!

We have a weekly grocery budget, so I plan our menu based around what is on sale at the stores. I also cook a lot from scratch...well, a lot for me....which helps to cut costs. I usually don't buy this much pre-packaged food, but I got most of it for just a few cents. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good shopping week!

Freebie Friday

Today I'm going to share two ways I make free money! It doesn't get much better than free! Granted, it's not oodles of money, but any is better than none in my book.

First, there is Swagbucks. Swagbucks is an online search engine using Google and Ask.com that rewards you for searching online! How cool is that? It takes less than a minute to sign up and they don't ask you for personal information like your address, phone number, or credit card.

After you sign up, you will be rewarded three free points. Then you download the toolbar, use it to search, and start earning Swagbucks! I just cashed in some bucks for an Amazon gift card which I'm planning on using for some great books. I am seriously considering the Starbucks gift card with my leftover points! Yummy! There are tons of other prizes you can get if those don't appeal to you.

The second way I earn extra cash is through YouData.com. You fill out a short survey and then are paid to view online advertising. They transfer your earnings to your PayPal account each Friday. They do ask for your cell phone number and email address, but no mailing address or credit card information required.

Both Swagbucks and YouData have referral programs, so you can earn more cash if you refer your friends. They earn and you earn! Sweet! This is a great way to earn a little extra money for the upcoming Christmas season without hardly any effort at all.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for Swagbucks and YouData today!