Author: ThriftyMomma

My dad just loves electronic gadgets, and has a very nice home entertainment center. He has wired the living room for surround sound and has a very nice flat screen tv. He has it mounted on the fireplace with an lcd mount which keeps it very secure. He has more remote controls than an electronic store. I really don’t know how he remembers what remote goes to what component. I must admit that it’s very nice to watch movies, but I would rather save our money for a nice vacation next year. I will admit that I do love the DVR we have and it’s very handy.

I don’t have any pets, but if I did then I would want them to be as healthy as possible. Bringing them to the vet for check-ups, giving them pet supplements, good food, and lots of exercise. I have a huge backyard that any dog would love to run around. I would also make sure my pets had toys and lots of love. Take care of your furry friends.

When you first start a remodeling project, it seems so easy, until you start the actual planning. A couple of years ago our old kitchen sink started leaking so it needed to be replaced. We started shopping for a sink, and we also were going to have to replace the fixtures. I always wanted a garbage disposal so there is another expense. The old sink was a really old porcelain one with huge dish drains. Of course the new sink is smaller so then we were going to have to redo the formica counters. We did need new ones but it starts adding up. There are so many brands of faucets today. We looked at many brands, including Kohler faucets which is what we choose. I’m very happy with how it all came out, but now we need to repaint the whole kitchen as well as the cabinets.

This is by far one of my favorite stores to shop, and I also get a lot of great deals. I went on Sunday and got the freebies for the month of June plus a couple of deals for the week. Here is what I got:

5 packs of CVS Q-Tips (500 count)
2 packs of CVS Band-Aids
2 Listerine Smart Rinse Mouth Wash
3 Dove Deodorants
3 Colgate Brand Spongebob Toothbrushes
1 Colgate Advanced Whitening Toothpaste
1 Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste
2 packs of Basic Paper Towels
2 packs of Duracell Batteries

I also did several transactions. I could have saved another $8 but I haven’t gotten any of those $4/20 or $5/25 coupons in months. I had a $3/10 CVS brand purchase plus got $10 ECB for the Q-tips and band-aids were free after ECB. I had $1 off coupons for the Dove, $1.50 for the toothpaste, 75 cents for the toothbrushes, $1 for the mouth wash, and $1 for the batteries. I paid a grand total of $18.67 in 4 transactions for everything. I also have a $3.49 Rebate for the Listerine plus $22.00 in ECB’s for the next trip. Once I get my rebate then I paid a little over $15 for almost $90 worth of items! I’m still very proud of my totals and most of them were $2 or cheaper. I also try to go in first thing in the morning so it’s pretty empty and I don’t have a huge line behind. The cashiers are so friendly and always shocked to see how well I do. One of them even asks for me tips. This is one of the many ways I help to stretch our dollars.

A good life insurance policy is something every adult should consider. A good policy doesn’t have to be expensive. My husband and I both have a term policy that costs us less than $35 per month. I know a lot of moms who don’t work think this doesn’t apply to them. If you were to die when your kids are still young, then who is going to take care of them? Your husband will now either have to put them in daycare or perhaps hire a nanny. That does cost money.

So you now ask how big of a policy should I buy? Many financial experts say a good rule of thumb is 10x your annual income. Even if you don’t work then add up how much income your spouse might need with daycare costs or a house cleaner. I have a $100,000 policy.