IKEA

We went last night to the IKEA store. WOW! If you are shopping for your home this is the place to go. The prices were crazy inexpensive. We checked the tags many time not believing that they were accurate. The quality of the items appear to be really nice too. I purchased a few small items but will find the IKEA store nearest to our home in Michigan next time I want to make a purchase of any homegoods and make the drive. It will be well worth it.

Kinder Surprise Giveaway

Oh, I am so excited! We met up with our exchange student daughter yesterday and she brought the Kinder's. You have a little more than 24 hours to enter my giveaway. Leave a comment here or on my previous post.

Walgreen's $4 Money Maker

I just made my first run of the week to Walgreen's. We're heading out of town and I wanted to get a few things for our house.

1 Dove Shampoo
1 Dove Conditioner
5 Airwick I Motion

I did 2 transactions and paid $4 OOP and I have $8 RR to spend in Florida. Wooohooo!

$4MM

Walgreen's 3/28 to 4/3

Here are the highlights that I have found for Walgreen's this week:

Dove Shampoo & Conditioner 12 oz, Styling Products 7-9.25 oz.- $4
3/28 RP $1.50/1 Daily Treatment Conditioner
$4 RR
$1.50MM

Dulcolax Balance 14day- $10
1/24 SS $1 or $2
$4 HERE
3/7 SS Get free bottle of H2O with purchase of Dulcolax Product
$4 MM

Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatic Kit/Airwick I Motion 50% off- should ring up $4
3/7SS $4
FREE

Cottonelle 12 rolls- $5
$1 April Coupon Book
$4

Post Cereal- $1.99
$2 HERE
FREE

Crest 3D White Toothpaste & Toothbrushes- 3/$9
Buy 3 get $3RR
P&G 2/21 $1 off Crest Premium Toothpaste
P&G 3/7 B1G1 Oral B Advantage Manual Toothbrushes
$.66 each after RR

Dentek Floss- $2
$2RR
SS 1/17 $1
$1 MM

Walgreen's Multi Vitamins- $3
$3 RR
FREE

Garnier- $5.99 Buy $20 get $10RR
RP 3/7 $2 Herba Shine
RP 3/7 Shampoo & Conditioner
$1.49-$2.49 each

Betty Crocker Cake Mix, Frosting or Warm Delights- $1
SS 3/28 $.75 Cake Mix & Frosting
GM 2/7/2010 $.50 Frosting
$.50 HERE Warm Delights

Filler Items: Easter Candy $.39 w/in ad coupon, Easter Tumblers or Gift Bag $.13 w/in ad coupon

Scenarios:

Transaction #1

1 Dentek Floss $2
$2
-$1 coupon
= $1 + tax
get $2 RR

Transaction #2

1 Dove Daily Treatment Conditioner $4
1 Easter Candy $.39
$4
$.39
-$1.50 coupon
-$2 RR from transaction #1
=$.89
get $4 RR

Transaction #3

1 Dulcolax $10
1 Easter Candy $.39
$10
$.39
-$4 coupon
-$4 RR from transaction #2
= $2.39
get $10 RR

Transaction #4

1 Walgreen's Multivitamin $3
1 Crest 3D Toothpaste $9 for 3
2 Oral B Advantage Manual Toothbrushes
1 Dentek Floss $2
1 Betty Crocker Cake Mix $1
1 Betty Crocker Frosting $1
$3
$9 for 3 Crest products
$2
$2
-$1 toothpaste
-$3 B1G1 toothbrush
-$1 floss
-$.75
-$10RR
=$.25
get $3RR, $3RR, $1RR= $7RR

Total OOP= $4.53 for $32.78 worth of product and go away with $7 RR

$2.47MM for above 4 transactions

Free Financial Peace Lesson

I received confirmation today of the free Financial Peace FREE lessons available in our area on April 7th. I can't wait to go to refresh and reenergize us on this journey to become debt free! Go HERE to see if there's a class in your area.

Shopping in Orlando

OK, so let me tell you that I am super excited to go to Orlando today. We will be there visiting our son and grandson but there are tons of stores within a 5 mile radius of their home that I never get to shop at. My son was telling me about going to IKEA. I am an IKEA virgin. Yes, that's right. I hadn't even heard of the store until reading some of your blogs. I can't wait to go there and see what they have.

Other stores that I'm going to go check out that I never get to shop at are CVS, Publix and Super Target. I have been checking out blogs of people who regularly shop there and I'm excited to see if I can go score some good deals. I definitely need to set a budget so I don't let my enthusiasm carry me away. Also, paying cash and not using the debit card will be a must. I will let you know how it goes.

Finding Ways to Cut Expenses

Are you trying to find areas in your budget where you can cut expenses? When we did Financial Peace University last year we went over all of our expenses with a fine tooth comb. One of the areas that we were able to cut significantly was our auto and home insurance.

Our auto insurance has been outrageous since our kids started driving. All 3 of them started driving in less than 3 years. When we had them so close we anticipated different expenses and planned and prepared but auto insurance wasn't one of them. Last year we were advised to check out an independent agency. I was shocked at how much they were able to save us. We had been insured with a well known agency for many years and had shopped around several times during these years and hadn't been able to find anyone that could touch the rates that they gave us. Boy, was it a surprise when the quotes came back from the independent agency. Every 6 months we are paying what we had been paying for 2 months for the exact same coverage. Check it out and see what you come up with. It's worth the time!!

Our home policy premium remained the same but we increased our coverage for the same price.