Solving my clothing delima one bid at a time.

My friends, I want to thank you for advising me to check out Ebay to solve our clothing problems.

I'm happy to say I'm having a very sultry affair with this Ebay and it's paying off quite lusciously.

So far, I've purchased two dress shirts (one new, one used) and one pair of new dress pants for Clay. Normally I would have paid around $200 for those three items, but I only shelled out $30. I know!!!! It's like Heaven has opened up and rained Ebay on my head.

Right now I'm in a bidding war with some awful person that wears the same size jeans as I do. She has no idea who she's bidding against, I think if she did she would have mercy and stop bidding on those Calvin Kline jeans that need to be on my body!!!!

Don't worry, I do have a bid limit. I'm still the cheapest person in the world and I think I will be saying goodbye forever to those very cute Calvin Kline jeans that should be covering my big bodacious self. Dang it.

I also hit a thrift store a few weeks ago when I visited my sister. I spent $7 on a new Gap back pack that was full of playstation games and music cds, two shirts, one wool skirt, adult sized snow pants, rain jacket and several sweatshirts for the boys and Clay. I was surprised some of the clothes were in great condition and were name brands like Abercrombie, Gap, Carhart and American Eagle. My boys have been having a great time with the cds they found in the back pack. SCORE!

I told Clay that I might be able to cloth our family for around $1000 a year at the rate I'm going.

WOULDN'T THAT BE AMAZING?!!!

I tell ya, it's time consuming and somewhat irritating doing this debt thing, but I dig the challenge. Mostly, I appreciate all of you that have helped point me to some great resources. Thank you!

Now, I've got to go check my bids.

Clothing Issues

Reading this article from Zen Habits was my daily dose of keep on keepin' on.


We are currently in a clothing crisis of epic proportions. Before we became the cheapest people on the face of the planet and before we decided that we were going to pay off every single cent of debt before we die and before we decided that using any kind of credit card was Satan's probe in our backside we would occasionally shop for new clothes.

Once a year, usually right after Christmas we would use some of Clay's bonus to resupply his work wardrobe which came straight from Men's Wearhouse. We would walk out with dress shirts, ties, maybe a new pair of shoes and pants that are hemmed to order. We always went to that store because they have shirts in size Freakishly Tall and Thin as a String which just happens to be the size Clay wears.

We haven't bought Clay new work clothes since we moved to Kansas 18 months ago. He is hurting. Not because he desperately wants new clothes to wear, but because he destroys his clothes. Holes in the sleeves, rips in the pants, missing belt loops, stains that can't be treated, he's worse than the kids. He's also lost all of his collar stays, you know, the little plastic arrows that slip in the back of the collar points to keep the collar from winging out like the flying nun? Yeah, those things. And apparently the dry cleaners don't have any extra collar stays, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE THE PEOPLE THAT TAKE THEM OUT OF THE SHIRTS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!! Not that it makes me angry or anything that a business would remove something from your clothing, but not have the decency to put it BACK!!!

All this to say.....new clothes are NOT IN THE BUDGET!

I know, I know, Damn Ramsey would say that clothing should be in the budget every month and blah, blah, blah. But, but, butt butt-hole!

My daughter, the child that wears the same dad-gum pair of jeans everyday until I fall on the floor and scream and wretch and beg her to please wear something else, for the love of all that's clean and fresh, WEAR A DIFFERENT PAIR OF JEANS, she has come to me and begged for some new clothes. I don't remember her ever asking for new clothes, but she has no shorts that fit and she's actually desperate for some new clothing.

My little boys have torn the knees out of most of their jeans and the other jeans are waaaaay to short, because did you know that children like to grow eight inches the month their parents decide to spend any extra cash they have on farm animals? It's true. Try it sometime. Go buy four pigs, two beehives, 37 chickens, two turkeys and a freakin' turken and see if your children don't sprout right out of all their clothes.

And, really, do I need to mention my bra debacle again?


Okay. So, what am I going to do about this clothing problem?

Ummmm, well? I did buy some clothes for the kids at a thrift store and I'm challenging myself to attempt to dress at least my two littles from garage sale finds this summer, it's pretty hard to find clothes that fit my daughter, even in a store, so I doubt I'll be able to dress her solely from used clothing. And Clay, well, we've talked about him dressing more like an engineer and less like an architect. Which means wearing khakis and short sleeved dress shirts or polos. Which would help preserve his dressy clothes for when he meets with clients and we would spend a lot less money on the casual clothes.

And I think I'll make new bras out of chicken feathers and bailing twine.

Remember when I said I wouldn't buy any new clothes until my birthday in April, the month, not me? Yeah, well I think I'll have to push that back and resupply the rest of my family first.

I tell ya, bumps in the road like this are a pain in the arse, but the challenge is what keeps me going.

I not stupid, I NOT!

I was searching for a really stupid picture to post with this entry, I think I found it. When you're done freaking out, let me know. The scariest part is it kind of looks like my dog, Preacher.

I needed a stupid picture to relay how stupid Wal-Greens is. In their sale flier they were advertising buy one get one free Loreal make-up products. Since I had several $3 off coupons I decided to stop by and get me some deals, man!

But, the price for one bottle of foundation was over 14 dollars! Now, I haven't bought any make-up for a very long time so I stood there wondering if Loreal foundation really is that expensive and if I bought two bottle of foundation would I still be using it when my great-grandchildren are visiting me in the nursing home??? I decided to check the prices elsewhere before investing in a life time supply of foundation.

Last night I stopped in Target to pick up at least $50 worth of groceries because I had a coupon for $5 off when I purchased $50 or more and who can't spend 50 bucks at Target? I had all my boys with me, so I knew getting distracted by the home products was not going to be a problem and I decided I was going to STAY ON THE GROCERY SIDE of the store.

I had a list and all my lovely coupons with me. Just as we were heading to the check out I decided to swing by the make-up to check the prices on Loreal products. I was dumbfounded to see that the foundation was priced at a bit over seven bucks. Which means Wal-Green is charging you for both bottles! There is nothing FREE about their BOGO! I think their BOGO is LOCO and I won't be falling for it anytime soon.

The best moment I had at Target was while I was paying my bill. An older couple was unloading their items onto the belt while I was handing over my coupons. The gentleman started to watch as the checker was scanning them and when she told me my total at the end which was $62.70 he perked up and said, "Wow! That's impressive you started at $73!" I was thrilled to say, "No, no I started at $78!" He had missed her scanning my five dollar off coupon. Then I laughed and told him how I had just started using coupons and it's really working for me and I thanked him for noticing.

You'll also be happy to know that I bought a Sunday paper, sat my big butt down and clipped me some coupons. There were three or four that I used at Target and a couple that I decided to leave on the shelf next to the product for someone else to use.

The real test will be at the end of this month to see if I can get under our usual $750 for groceries and household sundries.

One Month Down

Well, we made it through February.

Every month that we are on this Damn Ramsey financial hell trip I give out a huge sigh at the end of the month and then I take a deep breath, count to three and jump back into the frigid waters.

We have been at this thing for one year. ONE YEAR! In that year we have:

*not used a credit card to purchase one ding dang thang.
*reduced our debt.
*used our $1000 emergency fund four times.
*replenished our emergency fund three times (we are in the process of doing it AGAIN, darn well pump!)
*managed to be happy with a little bit of nothin' and I do mean NOTHIN'!

Now let's thank God that February is over and this is why...

Goodbye basketball season. So long admission fees. See ya next year Coach Clay. After while smelly high tops, ankle braces and billions of different uniforms. Sorry to say I'm not shedding a tear, but I do tolerate you so much better than that OTHER sport.


Oh, and hello new hair cut and new glasses! I love you with that fluffy blue bathrobe! You know, the bathrobe that Clay said smelled like dust the other day? Yeah, that one. It's okay, because he doesn't have new glasses and his hair can smell like Cheetos, so dust smelling bathrobe seems okay.

Do you like my hair cut? Now do you want to punch me in the eyeball?

Load up them grocery cards, darlin'.

Okay, let me splain dis whole loadin' da card dilly hoop for you.

Get out your Kroger, Dillons, etc... card and click on one of these sights.
AOL foods
P&Gesaver


Sign in, sign up, click the coupons you want they will load onto your card. They send you an email with the coupons you have loaded in case you want to print them out and put them in your wallet or coupon holder so you can remember what you loaded on your card. That last step is only for those of you that are super organized...which is not me. I don't have a plan for how I will remember what coupons are on my card, yet. Now, there is not a big selection on these two sights so you may find nothing, but I still thinks it's an easy thing to learn and worth checking in once a week.

I find it very strange that I'm telling you all how to do this.

Next thing you know you'll find me sewing my own clothes.....out of coupons.

Let's figure out this coupon thing.

If you have been following the whole 'April Learns How to Use a Coupon' adventure, then you will appreciate that I'm actually putting forth some effort.

First I started buying coupons at The Coupon Clippers because for a nimrod like me it was so easy and the sight isn't cluttered with a bunch of crap or cwap as my daughter would say. I've spent under $20 on coupons and to date I've saved over $80 on items that I would normally buy without a coupon. I've also noticed that I'm stocked with stuff that I usually have to buy every month. I have 5 bottles of Softscrub, 6 boxes of tampons, 4 bottles of lotion and on and on just because I was able to save a ton by using my coupons.

I've finally got in the swing of looking at the sale's fliers for my local grocery store and yes, I look at them online and I figured out they come out every Tuesday...... I know, I'm a genius! I also learned that I can load coupons onto my grocery card. Yes, it's true, so I loaded some coupons onto my card last night and when I buy that item the coupon will automatically ring up when the cashier swipes my card, plus I can use a manufacturer's coupon along with it and save even more! I sound like a pro don't I?!!!

I'm also in the process of figuring out CVS and Walgreens. I found a great sight that has tutorials for both stores and has links to great coupon places. Go here to learn all about it.

Okay, so let's go back to the question; Are coupons worth it? I'm going to vote YES! The first time I used a bunch of coupons on items that I buy on a regular basis and watched my bill decrease by $40, well, that was all the proof I needed.

I have to admit I still have a lot to learn, but by golly it's a bit of a rush to see just how much I can save.

Now if you need some inspiration to start saving I recommend these sights;

Retail Anarchy - Written by our own Jean Martha's/ Renovation Therapy/ I love Upstate's fiance. Sam has a book and a documentary and a bunch of radio podcasts that focus on how to save money on groceries and basically figuring out how to declare retail anarchy. I also love that he put together a list that he calls Deal Sites.

Be A Blessing- Great tutorials for learning how to use CVS and Walgreens sales.

Savvy Savings Tucson- Written by cookbook author Stephanie Ashcraft. The girl has great deals listed on her sight and she's a coupon queen.

I know there are tons of sights out there and many of you initially pointed me in the direction that has led me to where I am now, so thank you my dear cheap/frugal readers for helping me learn what a frickin' coupon is and how I can use it.

You can't save the world, but you can save some money so get out there and try!

The millionaire in the patched overalls.

You people warm the cockles of my, my, my....what is that saying? You warm the cockles of my heart?

Anyway, thank you for all the kind words and prayers sent our way and especially for Virginia. She has been surrounded by her children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews and her house is full of love and warmth right now.

Clay and I went over a couple nights ago to deliver some food and we had the immense pleasure of sitting down at the kitchen table to share a couple of beers and watch the end of a basketball game with two of Ramone's sons and one of the grandsons.

I was amazed at how accomplished are Ramone and Virginia's children. A lawyer, a high ranking Navy officer, an engineer, an accountant were just some of the professions in the house that night.

Ramone valued education for his children. His kids were one of the first families to attend the private school in town and then he made certain that all of his children went to college.

It made me take a good hard look at their lifestyle. Ramone didn't believe in credit. He borrowed money to buy his first house, but not from the bank. He borrowed the money from a strange wealthy man that rode his bicycle everywhere he needed to go and his house was filthy. Ramone was worried that the man would lose the title to his house in the mess so he worked overtime and weekends at the railroad and paid off the debt in a matter of months.

Can you imagine paying off your home in less than a year?!

Ramone still owns that home and a few others......all paid for. I remember Ramone scoffing at me when I told him I couldn't afford to do something because I had a mortgage. He was right to scoff. What are we doing?! We take on so much debt for things we can't buy! Ramone viewed debt as disgraceful, humiliating a failure.

I view debt as a bridge from point A to point Fairyland.

By living a simple, uncomplicated life Ramone was able to provide more than just the basics for his family. He drove old beat up trucks (most of them are still on his property being used for storage), mended his fences with bailing twine, patched the holes in his jeans, heated his house with a wood stove and grew his own beef and vegetables.

What an admirable way to live.

He left his wife with a suitable income and his children occupy the homes he bought. Even as an elderly man he was ensuring his family had all they needed and more. In return they are all at his house now comforting Virginia, taking care of the cows and honoring the memory of their patriarch.

I think we might all learn a thing or two from Ramone. I think it's true that most of the wealthiest people in America don't look wealthy.

Shopping Agony and a Cheap Haircut

Last week after admitting to myself that my hair was nothing more than a ratty ponytail I decided to get it cut. I took my chances and went back to the hair school, because spending lots of money on my mop is just not what I want to do. This time I made sure the stylist was aware that I didn't want my bangs to start back by my ears. She agreed that my bangs were really deep. Yea, I know.

I also asked for a partial foil, which is when they highlight just the top and sides of your hair. This is much cheaper than getting the whole head done and I discovered the school assigns you a student with more experience when you come in with something more complicated than a haircut.

$32.00 is what I paid for a cut, foil and style. HELLOOOOOO, that is so CHEAP!!!

I took my two little boys with me and they sat for two hours watching me get beautified. I told them I would get them a treat if they were good. My seven year old said, "Mom I don't want a treat, they don't last. I want a new toy."

I've never heard any of my children have that sort of reasoning skills. He is obviously brilliant and who am I to deny his logistic abilities? Or, he knows how to work his mom.

So, off to Target we went.

I have not been in Target for MONTHS!!!

I couldn't help roaming up and down all the isles. They had quilts on sale. At one point I was staring at a twin sized quilt in my hand and had completely redecorated my oldest son's room in my head. It was going to be WONDERFUL! Charcoal with a bit of turquoise and and white to set off all his red St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia. He would love it and love me more for bringing it all home.

I stood there pondering the lovliness of it all for a few moments. Then reality jarred me to my senses and threw a big bucket of guilt on my head.

I put the quilt back on the shelf. With a heavy sigh I remembered his comforter is just fine. He doesn't want or need new bedding. He hasn't asked to change his room. Most importantly remodeling his room IS NOT IN THE FRICKIN' BUDGET!!!!

DAMN RAMSEY! DAMN RAMSEY! DAMN RAAAAAAAAAAMSEY!!!!!!!!

My heart was racing and I felt my hands get sweaty. I was going through some serious Target withdraw. I left the store with two small Lego toys that were well earned and a serious case of Shopper's Agony.

This staying focused business SUCKS!

My new moto: STAY BACK TARGET IS CRACK
I'm having it tattooed on my my knuckles tomorrow.

Aldi must be Heaven.

There are so many reasons to shop at Aldi. I mean really. Once you get past the cardboard smell and the early 80's color scheme, Aldi is really quite heavenly, especially on your pocket.


The employees at Aldi are always very friendly and get me checked out quickly. In fact I would say they are perfect.


Yes, perfect.




Afterall, Jesus works at Aldi.

Frugal Froohaha

Sometimes when I need to recharge my frugal battery I'll try to find someone out in Internet Land who has great advice.

Well, looky what I found. Now I can peruse through 50 different links and surely find someone that will motivate me to keep those dollars in my pocket.

What if I want to make some money online or from my blog? This nice lady posted how much she made from each source.

Remember when I asked you if you thought it was dumb to purchase coupons? Well, I decided to give it try. So I purchased $9.10 worth of coupons, meaning each coupon has a handling fee and I think the minimum purchase is $9. It took five days to get my coupons and I had several that were going to expire on Jan 31st. Quickly, I made my plan and went to our local grocery store that doubles up to $1 on manufactures' coupons. Note that I only purchased coupons on products that I use like Cascade and Jet Dry and Suave (which I didn't think could possibly get any cheaper, but I ended up paying $.49 a bottle, cha-ching).

I did notice that some of the products were more expensive at the grocery store than Wallyworld, but after I used the coupons I did save a bit.

I was forced to purchased more of the products than I would normally due to the 'save $1 when you purchase two' blah blah blee blee bloo bloo and now, hello, I have 6 boxes of tampons in my bathroom. Stocking up is not something I like to do, but I'll do it for the sake of saving.

I used ten coupons and saved $22.80. I have a bunch more to use, so I'm sure I'll end up saving over $50.

I think buying coupons is worth it for me right now since I'm a beginner at this whole coupon thing. I promise I'll keep trying to do better.

Now, go be frugal and free yourself of debt and destruction and dementors and deli meat and doilies and doo-dads and dorks.

Thinking about coupons and colons.

I am a terrible farmer. And Clay is a terrible chicken coop builder. And we might just be having a conversation right now as I'm typing this about who's fault it is that we only have 7... no wait.. make that 6 chickens left on Coal Creek Farm. I'm thinking that if an Architect can't build a coop to keep his hens safe then we've got a problem. Clay is saying the problem is with the farmer that refuses to lock up her chickens at night because it's too blinkin' cold. But, but, but, but.....

Also,

Clay told me one of our chickens has a prolapsed colon. What is with my chickens?! They like to crap out their insides and get eaten by coyotes!

So, instead of rushing to get my chicken doctor bag, I'm sitting on the couch thinking about what I did last night.

And I'll tell you all about it right after I spoink my chicken.......be right back.

False alarm. I'm the one that went to the eye doctor yesterday, but obviously it is the Architect that is having trouble seeing things. All chicken colons are in their proper places.

Now, back to coupons.

As I was clicking away on all the comments last night I came across one of your links that led me to The Coupon Clippers.

This was the first sight that didn't overwhelm me. I actually found a coupon for the peanut butter we use!

Now, you need to tell me, is it dumb to buy coupons?

It was so easy to find the coupons for the name brand products I use which I'm compiling a list of those items that I can't find a better or cheaper substitute.

Now, for those of you that want to know how I manage to keep to our seven fiddy for our groceries/household supplies, these are some of my basics;

1. We try to eat everything in our house before I go get more (with the exception of all the canned fruits and veggies and the frozen meats).

2. I don't make complicated meals. We have a large variety of meals, but they don't contain a lot of ingredients. I don't serve a lot of side dishes with our meals. We eat a lot of homemade soups.

3. I pretty much shop in those outer isles. I don't buy mixes or any sort of packaged meals except mac and cheese. Eliminating high fructose corn syrup simplifies my choices.

4. We don't eat cereal very often, this keeps our milk consumption very low. Instead my kids eat oatmeal which fills them up and uses less milk.

5. I use vinegar as my main cleaning product, but I can't live without Softscrub. I've tried, but I neeeeeeed it.

6. I bake a lot.

7. We don't buy juice or soda. We drink water with our meals and occasionally tea. We do buy soda on special occasions.

8. Apparently, I am now Amish.

I will also be getting a phone call any minute now from my sister begging me to please write more about coupons and shopping at Aldi. Because next to homeschooling, being cheap is her favorite thing in the world.

Okay, let's review for those of you that forgot what the heck this post was about.

Should I buy coupons? Do you buy coupons? To spoink or not to spoink? That is the biggest question.

It's only $750

This crazy cracker cooked in her crockpot everyday for a year!

This preternatural poster writes a a daily poverty post and it's all in third person!

Okay, now let's talk about me.

What would you say if I told you I spend $750 on groceries every month. But, you haven't heard it all yet, so don't be a clickin' on the comment button ready to spout your wisdom.

That seven fiddy....I like to say fiddy, just like my son says hunerd instead of one hundred. Anyway, that seven fiddy is for every ding dang thang in my house. The animal food, the cleaning stuff....EVERYTHING.

So.

Now, I need to know, is that impressive for a family of six humans with six cats, one dog and 8 chickens? Or not?

Do I still need to learn how to use coupons?

Could I get it down to $600? $500?

Remember, our family has done away with high fructose corn syrup with minor infractions here and there, forgive me I ate the most delicious Snickers bar yesterday and I just talked to Clay on the phone and asked if he was bringing me a surprise home, like Hot Tamales or Reisins?????? Because, I would be soooooo surprised if he brought those home and we could eat them on a plate for dinner.

Then he asked if I was just a wee bit hormonal. What gives?

Okay, so now start tah clickin' and give me the what for on the seven fiddy.

Dinga Long Dave Ringa Long Ramsey

Here's my envelope system, which I am still getting used to. My problem is if I run out of money in one category I borrow from another and that's a big NO NO. It also means we have to continue to tweak our budget. We've been working on a monthly budget for about ten months and it is constantly changing. I don't know if we will ever get it perfect.


How's the debt snowballing going for April? Uhhhhhhhhhh, it sucks the big donkey wads man.

Dave's wisdom is to first get current with any of your debtors, then start piling up cash in an emergency fund. He recommends for a family to set aside $1000 because that amount should cover just about any unexpected expense.

We've decided after having three car repairs and a furnace blow out in a span of two months that $1000 is not enough for our family. However, we were still able to get through all that muck before and during Christmas without using a credit card. DING!

As we recover from the loss of the emergency fund we are also dealing with this awful economy. Many of our hopes of getting things paid off quickly with funds that we had hoped would be coming in right now are being pushed back until......well, that's a good question.

I have to say as much as it sucks not to have any fun right now, I'm so very grateful that we got ourselves on this plan over ten months ago. Getting the news that bonuses wouldn't be what we thought and salary increases will be pushed back several months was not pleasant, but it also wasn't crushing.

Onward and upward we go, pushing through this economic turmoil. We're taking advantage of the lower interest rates and I'm hoping that someone will come hold my hand and teach me how to use coupons, I just don't get it for several reasons.

1. I'm not a name brand person, so collecting coupons for products I never use seems weird.
2. I don't subscribe to the paper, so buying a paper just to cut coupons seems wasteful.
3. I hate to print stuff out from my computer, it means docking it and pressing buttons and that's really hard. Did you say that in a high pitched whine?
4. I don't like to go to multiple stores to get all my stuff, which is why Wally World and I are still having our little weekly fling.
5. I don't get sales fliers, I just don't get them. I never have.

See? I would need some serious hand holding to make the coupon thing happen. Can I just stick to Aldi and Wally to get those beautiful low low prices?

or

I could get me a cow and then I would never have to go to the store again, because can't you make just about anything from milk?

No, you say? Oh ye of little cow faith.

Changing the subject because I used suck in my post. My daughter and her friends will not say the words crap or suck, because they are BAD words. I think it's very sweet. Instead they say cwap but they do not say swuck or wuck or whatever it is they would say, thank goodness.

When I'm having a conversation with Ellen I try to say suck and crap as often as possible just for shock value. The whole time she's yelling MOM! YOU MEAN CWAP, CWAP! Then I say something about how I think she is going to need some serious speech thawapy and how bad that is going to SUCK!

Cheap Cheap Bok Bok

Is it time for another installment of how April and Clay are now the cheapest people in the world because they are bent on getting out of debt forever and ever amen? Why, yes!

Remember when I told you that I wasn't going to buy any new clothes for myself until April, which is the month, not me, I am April, but I'm talking about the month, which I was named after because that's when I was born. Confused? Run-on sentence much?

My mom gave me some money for Christmas to go buy some clothes. In particular she wanted me to go buy some new bras because the day I decided I wasn't going to buy any new clothes until my birthday one of my bras self destructed right off my body, it was strange, but I was determined not to buy anything no matter what. So I've been dealing with a dark brown bra that I can't wear under light colored clothing, a bra that squeaks every time I move my arms or flex my pectoral muscles and a weird tank top bra that stretches in all different directions making me pull and tug at myself the entire time I'm wearing it.

I was so excited I was going to get some new clothes! The day after Christmas I grabbed my very reluctant shopper of a daughter and hit the stores. I ended up spending most of the money on my daughter because the poor dear needed some new clothes too, and she can't bring herself to pick out clothes by herself, it's a very painful and unpleasant experience to shop with her. After I took care of her, I managed to buy a new pair of jeans and a couple of sweaters for myself. No bras. When my mom found out what I got she said, "Where are the bras?" and I said, "Mom, nobody sees my bras, but I do have one that people can hear."

I was so happy that I had two decent pairs of jeans to wear and do you know what happened the day after I bought my new jeans? DO YOU! I ripped a big hole in the knee of my older pair. So, really I didn't gain any new jeans I just replaced the pair that died.

So, I am the one pair of decent jeans- squeaky-bra-lady with the big bad bangs. I tell ya, this whole debt reduction thing is like eating a big honkin' slice of humble pie every ding dang day!

Christmas Ideas

Time to get started on some of those gifts for all the 'extra' people in your life. I'm talking about the people that make your life easier. Like teachers.

Do you know what happens when your kids go from grade school to middle school? I mean besides oozing hormonal juices all over your nerves. Well, something about the oozing hormones means they need a billion more teachers to help teach them learn how to keep the oozing in their heads.

So what are we going to do for the billions of teacher this year?

Jars.

Yes, I said jars.

Jars of food to be more specific.

I'm certain most of you have seen the cookie mix in a jar. Right? Let's do some of those and then a few others. Okay?

Hey! There's my letter D key! Oh, D, I miss you under my finger. How's life on the window sill?

Back to jar food.

The two jars up there are filled with Andes Creme de Menthe Chunk Cookie mix. Goodness they are sooooo good, I made them last year and my family couldn't stop eating them. I use the recipe on the back of the package. These jars are waiting to be adorned.

Here's what you do. Take the flour, baking powder and baking soda, mix together and pour on a piece of paper. Fold the paper in half and use it to funnel the mixture in the jar. Next is the brown sugar, then the sugar. Top it off with the chips. Using a spoon smoosh down the sides of the chips allowing room to pour in more chips.

Ta-dah!! That's it.

Okay, not really.

Now you need to write out the recipe with the remaining ingredients which in most mixes will be vanilla, eggs and butter. Follow the baking instruction on the back of the bag. Put it on a little tag, tie with a ribbon or stick some cute fabric on the top and then you are done.
Or.....

You can bake a batch of the cookies and give the jar with a few cookies on top and wrap with a bow.

One thing you should know.......never put the brown sugar on the bottom because it's too hard to get out of the jar.

There are a ton of jar ideas on the Internet. TONS! I know, because I'm a food jar expert and also I've been googling jar recipes, jar gifts, cookie mix in a jar and jar jar can you do the jar jar.

If I had the extra moolah I would collect the antique blue mason jars throughout the year and put the cookie mix in those because I WOULD LOVE TO GET ONE OF THOSE!!!! Just sayin'.

Here's a couple more mixes I'll be using this year.

Ginger Spice Muffin Mix
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour out mixture onto wax paper, use to funnel into a pint size jar.

Include this recipe with the mix;
1 package Ginger Spice Muffin Mix
1/4 cup butter melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup milk

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins. In a large bowl combine all ingredients in order given. Stir until blended, do not over mix. The batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes.

How about a drink with those muffins?

Cappuccino Mix
1 Cup powdered instant nondairy creamer
1 Cup chocolate drink mix
3/4 Cup instant coffee
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and package in a canister or jar. Include these instructions;

Use 2 tablespoons of cappuccino mix with 6 ounces of boiling water.


I'm also hoping to make a huge batch of my chicken and rice soup to put in the jars and include a loaf of homemade bread with it. I think some of the teachers would love to have a dinner to take home after a long day of teaching.

That's it for now. Remember, be creative. Surf that wonderful web and look at some of the mix ideas. Most of the people I know love getting food gifts. Some of you probably have better ideas than these, so please share them in the comments. I would love to hear what you give your teachers without spending a ton of money.

Winner Winner Salad Spinner!

And the winner of the Financial Peace Deluxe Envelope System is......

MamaDB!!!

Happy Birthday!! I let my two little boys draw a number between 1 and 92 and they picked YOU! And it's your birthday!

Please contact me at adshowers@gmail.com with your mailing address.


And for the rest of you I really do wish I had 91 more to give away. If you have $10 they are on sale here.

Stick around this won't be the last time I give away this little darling of an envelope system.

Dave Ramsey Envelope System Giveaway!!!

***Times UP Kiddos***
I'll announce the winner sometime tomorrow.

Last night was our last Damn Ramsey class. Every Sunday night for the last 13 weeks we've gone to a class where we watched a DVD of Dave Ramsey talking on a stage in front of an audience. He's very entertaining and I have to say, he's also a very large corn ball. Clay and I made fun of him quite a bit, but he's got a very good way of getting a point across and he's entertaining in a corn ball sort of way.

I would highly recommend taking the class, but if you don't have $100 to spend on a class then go check out his books at the library and get started on you're debt corn ball...oh, wait, that's supposed to be debt snowball.

"But April, it's Christmas! I can't start paying off my debt right now!"

Why?

"Because I neeeeeeeed to use my credit card to pay for all those gifts!"

Says who? Jesus?

This is the best time to start. Right now. Stop spending money that you don't have. Be creative with your giving this year. Be honest with those that you love and tell them you are broke and you don't want to be broke anymore. Just say Merry Christmas, I love you, here's some cookies. It's really not that painful. Okay, I know pride is painful. Poke that pride in the pooper!

To help you get started I'm going to give away one of the Financial Peace Deluxe Envelope Systems.





Look, it has slots for DEBIT cards not CREDIT cards.
And here's those lucious, creamy colored envelopes. I know you want them.
Ooooooh, I wish I had this. I love the pen and notepad. I'm forever making lists on scraps of napkins or the back of my hand. How nice would it be to have a little pad built right into my envelope holder? Very nice, very very nice.
Yummy brown leather-ish will carry around all your cash. You know, cash, that paper stuff we used to use before plastic money was created?

"Oh, April! I neeeeeeed it! I want it! I will start using it the second I get it! How do I enter your give away?"

Glad you asked oh desperate one.

Here's what to do:

1. Leave a comment.


That's it. Now let's go over the rules:

1. One entry per household.
2. Giveaway ends December 9th at midnight CST.

and

If you win this little thing and you become debt free using this, I want you to buy another one and give it to somebody who could use some financial guidance. M-kay?

Hey Guess What?!

Remember when I showed you the envelope system? And I was all I wish I could give you one but I ain't got one to give and heaven forbid I give away the envelope system on my back, because that would be a little too charitable of me. Well, maybe I got one to give away.

Stay tuned. I think you will be oh so happy with the April.


In other news. We're doing Christmas a bit on the low down this year. And by low down I mean we're not going to be buying much. And by not buying I mean Christmas is a CRAFT!!! Check out the video below, just a little something to think about.

I know I should have started all of this months ago, but I'm April and I perform well under pressure, unless it's Monday or Tuesday or Friday or Wednesday or Sunday or Saturday. Never mind. I'm trying to get my buttomous in gear.

For those of you that are panicking with what to do for teachers, co-workers and all those extended family members I hope I can help you with some quick cute ideas. Especially if you are the type of person that likes to make something that is going to be DONE the same day you start the project. I like projects like that, yes, I like them a lot.

So, stick with me I'm bound to impress and disappoint all in one post.

Right now I'm going to put away all the fall decorations that I've been saying I'd put away for the last five days. Maybe. First I need another cup of coffee and then start some laundry then look out the window then eat something because it's been at least twenty minutes since I've had some nourishment then.....

Ten Dollar Tuesday!!

Hey guess what? Remember that envelope system I told you about? Well, it's on sale for $10.00!!!

I've noticed every holiday that rolls around Dave puts all his books and merchandise on sale. If you want to give a gift to help someone with their finances this would be the ticket.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.....

I used a very scientific method for choosing the winner of Financial Peace Revisited. First I asked my son to pick a number between 1 and 64 and he chose 600, so then I cried for twenty minutes because, obviously I'm not teaching him anything. Then I decided to do what most army generals do, DIVIDE AND CONQUER. So I took the total number and divided by 4, because that's how many children I'm currently trying to screw up and send out into the world.


And the winner is Mrs. Chisholm from The Chisholm Family who is a new mommy and has a very cute little chunka lunka of a tater tot boy.

Please email me your contact info to adshowers@gmail.com


And now I share with you my sadness to see Maurice Greene leave the dancing arena. This dance made me very happy. Now I must go learn all the dance steps and perform it for you all, but first I need a very twirly skirt with lots of sparkles. For the top I will wear one of my two bras that have not disintegrated and I will paint it with puffy paints and attach some fringe, yes that's what I will do.

Okay, gotta go, lots of sequins to sew!!!