Couponing Deals for the week of 03/17/2019

Couponing can be overwhelming and/or time consuming~ I was there.  Completely overwhelmed with the amount of coupons and deals.  It doesn't have to be.  My advice to new couponers is to take it slow.  Start by picking up a Sunday paper and focusing on 1 deal for the week and adding on as you feel more confident and comfortable.  Soon you will be creating quite the stockpile :)

If have ECB's and/or Register Rewards, go ahead and apply them to this week's deals to lower your out of pocket expense :)

To keep things super simple, here are my top couponing deals that are $10 and under:

CVS 

Deal #1

$0.99- Xtra or Eclipse 

Pay $0.99 and get $0.99 ECB

Deal #2

$7/2- Irish Spring body wash

Use (2) $1 Irish Spring cpn from 03/10 SS
Pay $5 and get $3 ECB

This deal has a limit of 4

Deal #3

$3.99- Colgate Optic White or Total toothpaste

Use $2 Colgate toothpaste cpn from 03/17 SS
Pay $1.99 and get $1 ECB

This deal has a limit of 2

Deal #4

$4.79- Scope

Use $1 Crest mouthwash CVS App MFR cpn

Pay $3.79 and get $3 ECB

Deal #5

$2.99- Colgate Optic White Stain Fighter toothpaste

Use $2 Colgate toothpaste from 03/17 SS
Pay $0.99

Walgreens 

Deal #1

$2.99- Oxi Clean

Use $2 Oxi Clean Walgreens Clip to Card MFR cpn

Pay $0.99

Deal #2

$1.29- Mentos Clean Breath

Pay $1.29 and get $1.29 ECB

Deal #3

$7/2- Garnier Whole Blends

Use $3/2 Garnier Whole Blends cpn from 03/17 SS AND
Use $1 Garnier Whole Blends Walgreens Monthly Savings book cpn

Pay $2.00

Deal #4

$11.97- Crest toothpaste X3

Use (3) $1 Crest toothpaste cpn from 03/17 RMN
Pay $8.97 and get $6 RR

Deal #5

$7.98- Colgate toothpaste X2

Use (2) $2 Colgate toothpaste cpn from 03/17 SS
Pay $3.98 and get 4000 points (4000 points= $4 )

These are only a few of the amazing deals CVS and Walgreens have to offer.  To see more deals and matchups, click here for CVS and click here for Walgreens :)

2017 Goals 6 Month Update

I can't believe it is June already.  Half the year is already over.  So much has happened and we still have so much planned.  Busy, Busy, Busy :)

I thought it would be neat to see where we are in our 6 month goal update.

Our 2017 goals are:

1) To get out of credit card debt- we are currently sitting at $9,919.34
We are still climbing this mountain.  We are doing great with this but we had a few setbacks.  Nathan and I got new glasses that added over $750 to our debt :(  But I am happy at the progress we have made so far.  Our new debt total is: $8773.39

2) To finally lose this extra "baby" weight- this has been a goal for a few years but some how the scale went in the opposite direction and instead of needing to lose 10-15 pounds that number has crept up to 35 pounds :(
Still working hard on this and trying to work out a new plan.

3) For Nathan and myself to get new glasses.  I desperately need new glasses, we have figured out that super glue is not all that super or permanent :(
YAY :)  We finally got new glasses.  I had been putting it off now for a while.  The final straw is when the other side of my glasses decided to break.  Many thanks to a mini basketball that bounced off the basketball hoop and straight into the side of my face, leading to the breakage of the other side of my glasses :( 

4) To get a new to us vehicle.  I LOVE the fact that our vehicle is paid off and do not look forward to having a vehicle payment but our poor poor van is on its last breath :(  We keep having to take it in to the mechanic and right now are paying $500 a month just to pay off the repair bills :(
We were hoping to pay off our credit card debt before making such a large purchase.  But it couldn't wait.  We sold our old broken down van and purchased a new to us 2015 Chevy Equinox with awesome low mileage.  We hope to have this vehicle for a very long time :)

I was hoping we would be further along with our debt and weight loss journey but things came up and things don't go the way we planned.  I do have faith that we will conquer these battles :) 2 out of 4 isn't bad LOL :)

How are you doing with your 2017 goals?

May 2017 Challenge Update

My May goal was to not eat after 8pm.  How has it been going?

The first week was hard.  With the longer daylight hours, we have been outside past 8pm.  We would come in, have our meds and dessert and not even realize it was after 8pm.

To help with this, I have set an alarm on my phone.  It goes off right at 8pm.  When it goes off, the boys know it is pill time and I know that I can't have anything else to eat.  When I get hungry after 8pm, I drink water.  That helps a lot :)

By 9pm, I get the boys ready for bed.  By the time they finally drift off to sleep and I can quietly escape their room, it is 10pm and I have forgotten all about being hungry :)

When I get up, I start my day with warm lemon water.  I then get the boys breakfast ready.  After that it is 8am and time for me to eat :)

So far so good :)

April 2017 Challenge Update

For the month of April, I have challenged myself to not eat any junk food.

The first week was hard and then things started coming around the 2nd week.

So how did I do for the 3rd week?

Anybody want to guess what happened the 3rd week of April?

Easter happened :(

My mind said I can be strong.  I am not going to eat any of this chocolatey goodness.  Remember keep your goal in mind.  We are trying to losing weight.  You can do this.  My hand said Nice Try~ not going to happen.  My taste buds said MMMMMM so worth it.  My tummy said Ouch :(

If you hadn't guessed I didn't do so well this week.  I was so weak.  It was like my hand had a mind of its own.  Every time I walked past the candy bucket, my hand reached in without me having to think about it.  It unwrapped the candy and stuffed it in my mouth.  By the time my brain figured out what was going on, my taste buds were already in LaLa land :(

I can't imagine why I haven't felt well this week.

I finally said enough was enough and hid the candy bucket.  Even though I know where it is.  I don't see it numerous times through out the day.  If I want candy, I have to go an extra step to get into it.  By that time, my brain has a chance of talking me out of eating any.  I think I will ask the Easter Bunny to hop right on past our house next year LOL :)

I am keeping my fingers crossed that next week will be better.  I am tired of not feeling good :(

2 week Challenge Update for April 2017

For April's 30 Day Challenge, I challenged myself to give up junk food.  I knew it was going to be a hard challenge for me.

How has my challenge been going?

The first day, I was so determined.  I ate no junk food all day.  I felt great. 

That is until, I was looking for something in the pantry for dinner the next evening and came face to face with a 1/4 bag of dark chocolate chips.  I talked myself into having only 1 small handful.  That was it.  No more.

Next day, I told myself that I could allow myself 1 handful of chocolate chips like I did the day before and then have no more for the remainder of the day.  No biggie.  I could do this.  Yea, that didn't work.  I ate the rest of the bag.  But now they are out of the house.  No more chocolate chips tempting me :)

Next day while looking for something in one of the kitchen cabinets, what do I spy?  Cookies and leftover Smores supplies from our camping trip.  Oh my.  First the chocolate disappeared, then the marshmallows followed by the cookies- Mmmmm.  I was so sick that day :(  Well, that is what I get for binging on sweets.

Now, I am getting frustrated that I keep finding junk in the house.  I look everywhere.  I think I have eaten it all.  I should be safe now.

The 2nd week into my failing 30 day challenge, I was determined to take it day by day.  The first day, I had super strong chocolate cravings.  I knew there had to be something I could make that would satisfy my sweet cravings without ruining my whole week.

I found a recipe for guilt free brownies- hmmmm.  They are made with avocados.  I had to give it a try.  Super simple ingredients~ I used avocado, coconut oil, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, a tiny amount of coconut flour, baking soda and salt.  They smelled and rose just like real brownies.  But how did they taste?

They are so not sweet at all.  They are more of a rich super dark chocolate.  I like it.  It is a great substitute for chocolate cravings.  I only ate them for dessert and I limited myself to 1 brownie per evening.

I will take this week as a win :)

Let's hope I can keep this going.  I knew this was going to be rough :)

March 2017 Challenge Update

Hello April :) 

March's 30 day challenge was to have a No Spend Month.  How did we do?  We started out strong.  We stayed at home on the weekends and had a blast.  You can read all about our No Spend Monthly Adventures here, here and here.

Staying home resulted in a smaller gas budget- YAY :)  We usually budget $150 a month for gas and only spent $65 :)

We stayed within our $200 grocery budget and used what we had in the pantry and freezer.  We still have food in the pantry and freezer to eat :)  We did a fantastic job not eating out.  There were days we were tired and didn't feel like cooking.  Eating out is so easy but thanks to left overs and easy meals, we didn't give ourselves that option.

I would love to say that our No Spend Month was a success and that we used a large chunk of money to pay down our credit card debt.  But you know me :)  All of our No Spend Month's have ended with snafus :(  Including this month.

Our septic decided that it needed such immediate attention that 1 company couldn't fix it.  We had to end up going through 2 companies to fix it :(  Ugggg.  I was imagining the final bills having many 0's.  Thankfully it wasn't that bad.

We are happy that our septic system is running beautifully and that since we were having a no spend month that we were able to pay those plumbing bills without having to touch our emergency fund.  We were also told that our septic should be good for the next 4-6 years :)

What I have taken away from this No Spend Month is that we don't always have to have something going on.  We can stay at home and still have so much fun:)

I can't wait to see how April's 30 Day Challenge will go :)

February 2017 Challenge Update

The February goal I set for myself has come to an end.  How did I do?

I challenged myself to complete Jessica Smith's 4 week HIIT for Beginners program.  There were definitely days I wanted to give up.  There were days I had to do the modified versions of the exercise.  There were days I didn't even want to do any type of exercise at all.  I didn't give up and I didn't give in.  I pushed myself to do my very best and I completed the 4 week program.  On the flip side, there were workouts I actually loved doing, which made working out for that day much more enjoyable.  I am so very proud of myself for seeing it to the end.

Now what does that mean for my weight loss goals?  Absolutely nothing.  I lost 0 pounds this month.  That alone would discourage a lot of people into giving up and quitting.  But I choose to see the positive.  While I didn't lose any weight, I didn't gain any either :)

I know very good and well why I didn't lose any weight.  I allowed myself to enjoy all sorts of tasty and yummy desserts and snacks~ Mmmmm.  It's all about baby steps.  I am still eating a healthy breakfast and lunch.  I will continue to exercise.  If I do too much all at once, I get over whelmed, will quit and will lose all my progress.  So I am choosing the slow and steady rate~ baby steps.  I know I will get there.

If you chose to complete Jessica Smith's 4 week HIIT for beginners right along with me, how did you do?  I would love to hear all about it :)

February 2017 Challenge Update

Well I survived my first full week of HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training.  I have been following Jessica Smith's 4 Week HIIT for Beginner Plan.

Even though it was hard and there were days I felt I wasn't going to make it all the way through the work out, I kept going.  I am so proud of myself.

I have also been more mindful of my snacking.  I have discovered by adding oats to my warm cereal bowl, it keeps me full and helps me avoid unnecessary snacking.

 I told my husband that 2017 was going to the year of Theresa :)  Time for me to start taking better care of myself.

How did you do with your February Challenge?

January 2017~ 30 Day Challenge Update

My 30 day challenge for January has come to an end.  My challenge was to eat a healthy lunch?  How did I do? 

I did great and even lost 1 pound :)

I'm happy about my 1 pound lost and super happy that I kept it off all month :)  My tendency is to restrict snacks and desserts.  I end up losing a few more pounds but then those super sneaky sugar cravings come around.  I give in :( 

Now it would be one thing if I could eat a few pieces of chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth.  But not me~ I will eat the whole bag and undo all my progress I had made.  I get so frustrated with myself and usually give up.  I not only gain back the weight I lost but those pesky pounds bring friends :(

For January, I gave myself grace to not get upset at the number on the scale or that the scale was not moving past that 1 pound.  I let myself enjoy desserts, especially the huge cheesecake sampler hubby got me for my birthday. Mmmmm:)  I gave myself permission to enjoy every single bite.

I call January a huge win.  My body has enjoyed all the fresh fruit I have been feeding it.

I can't wait to get started on my February 30 Day Challenge :)

January 2017 Challenge Update

It has only been a week on my January Challenge but I am super excited.  I have been doing so well with my mini challenge of eating a healthy breakfast and lunch.

For breakfast, I have been having a delicious warm cereal bowl.  It really is so good and filling. Mmmmm.  For lunch, I have been making myself a smoothie containing 2 bananas, a date, 1 cup of unsweet almond milk, 1 scoop of vegan chocolate protein powder, 1/4 of an avocado and a large handful of spinach, swiss chards and kale mix.  Sometimes, I throw in 4-6 strawberries and oh my it is so tasty.  For dinner, I eat what I fix for my family.

I am so excited that I have lost a pound- YAY :)  Now I know that if kick up my exercise a notch and cut out the snacking and desserts, I am sure that I might lose a little bit more.  But I know me.  And I know that I will go hardcore for about a week or 2, then something will come up that throws off my whole schedule and bam the whole work out, no snacking goes right out the window.  I am a very emotional eater. 

For my exercise, I have been taking it light.  I am following a 30 day crunch, leg raise and plank routine that my son sent me from Pinterest.  I have also been doing 10 minutes on my Gazelle and 10 minutes on my bike :)  I feel great.

So far so good on my baby steps.

I will check in with you next week and let you know how things are going :)