Couponing Day 2

Last night I spent some time organizing the small little coupon stash I have and set off on my lunch hour armed with coupons and prayer to seeing what bargains I could get. I'm far from the Coupon Mom or Krazy Coupon Lady but I did REALLY well for my first time out! My FREE items consisted of:

Revlon Tweezers
Sudafed (Walgreen's Brand) - 18 Capsules
Kraft Mozzarella Cheese
Renuzit Air Freshener
Straw Easter Basket (because I was watching them ring it up so closely, I noticed it rang up incorrectly...guess what? Walmart gives it FREE if it rings up wrong.) It was kind of amusing when the cashier said, that will be 2 cents....well I just had to give him my 2 cents!!! 

Then I got another Kraft Mozzarella Cheese, Slow Cooker Liners, a book for grandson Carter, 24 plastic eggs for church, 3 American Greeting Cards for Easter and another box of Sudafed (Walgreens Brand) for $12.62!  For once, I'm actually looking forward to telling Ray how much I spent at the store!

That's right! Everything above for $12.62! A savings of $23.82.  Thank you Jesus for stretching those dollars and for helping me to shop on purpose! I was tempted to add things to my cart but I stayed on target (even at Target - my favorite store) and only got the things on my list. I still have a lot to learn....do you know there is even a lingo and a new tv show. 

Finding Freebies,
Teri

Extreme Coupons

In my quest for domestication and for financial peace (Ray and I are attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University...wwww.daveramsey.com/fpu, I've decided to try extreme couponing. I'm scouring websites on my breaks and furiously cutting coupons. Seems like it's not only a money saver but a great hobby as well.

Today's lesson was on "stacking" coupons. I decided to give it a try. I had a manufacturer's coupon for $1.50 off Colgate toothpaste. Target had a $1.00 store coupon making the savings $2.50. The actual cost was $2.24! Not only was it FREE but I had a few cents left over toward the purchase of my girls night out chips...on sale for $3.00 and with a $1.00 off coupon made my total purchase $1.74!

I know there are some of you coupon professionals and I'd like to hear your secrets. Or if you're not into couponing....feel FREE to send your coupons my way!

Finding Freebies,
Teri

The Veil is Torn

The other day I was driving to work and reached the best part of my daily 30 minute commute. I had been chatting with Jesus about some rather heavy things on my heart. My eyes looked up from the roadway to the hillside vineyard emerging before me. The fog was thick and the rolling hills just barely visible. Every day God paints a new picture for me on that hillside... but this day....the clearest break in the fog...right in the middle...separated as if a curtain had just been thrown open for spring cleaning. And in that that moment, the clearest, most breathtaking view of a sun-soaked vineyard. The fog embedded on both sides, my heart was reminded of the veil that was torn in the Holy of Holies from top to bottom inviting all those who believe in His Son as Savior and Lord to enter with assurance and confidence. (Mark 15:38). We have free access to enter the kingdom of God boldly and with confidence. My freebie didn't end there. The song All of Creation by Mercy Me began playing on the radio. The heaviness I had felt just a moment before dissipated as I began singing praises to God who clears the fog and soaks us with the free gift of His Son!

All of Creation - Mercy Me

Separated until the veil was torn
The moment that hope was born
and guilt was pardoned once and for all

Captivated but no longer bound by chains
left at an empty grave
the sinner and the sacred resolved

[chorus:]
and all of creation sing with me now
lift up your voice and lay your burden down
and all of creation sing with me now
fill up the heavens let his glory resound

Time has faded and we see him face to face
every doubt erased forever we will worhip the king



Finding Freebies,
Teri

Kindle for PC for FREE

You know me...always looking for a way to scrape a few bucks but this one saved a bundle! I downloaded the Kindle for PC which was FREE! I put it on my laptop and can take it anywhere. Some people have told me that it limits where you can buy ebooks from but I've also heard that there are synch programs available. Whew! This is getting way too technical for me... and since most of the books I get are passed down by family and friends or picked up at yard sales and thrift stores, this probably won't even apply to me..unless I'm in a pinch crunch to get that one special book.

I'd be interested to hear from you "Kindler's". What advantages do you find with your eReader? Do you find it worth the investment?

Finding Freebies,
Teri

It's the Pits

We went to Chevy's the other night. Maybe you've heard of it. They have great Mexican food and very large portions. Ray and I always share our meal and we still have some to take home. We began to chuckle when we saw on the front of the menu...."ask your server for a free pit". Apparently they go through hundreds of avocados a day for their fresh salsa and you could take a pit home with you.

So, you know how it goes, if it's free it's for the Harper's. We just had to have one. We didn't even know how long it takes to grow an avocado tree so we went home and looked it up. Appears that in 3-4 years we will have our own avocado tree...well, we each got a pit so we will have two trees. If we go back next month, we could get two more and we will be on our way to an orchard! We will let you know when we begin serving FREE guacamole!

Just in case you want an avocado orchard as well, here are the instructions to grow a tree:

Open the avocado and remove the pit from the center. Carefully push three toothpicks into the thickest width of avocado, you want to push the toothpicks into the pit about a 1/2" deep. (It's okay if you push them in deeper or even a little less) The toothpicks will help suspend the avocado pit in water and keep the top part of the pit in fresh air and the fat base of the pit under the surface of the water.

Suspend the pit over a glass filled with water....the toothpicks will rest on the rim of the glass and hold the pit in place so it doesn't sink to the bottom. Always check the water level in the glass and see that the water is covering the fat base of the pit by about an inch depth. If the water is below that level you'll need to add some more.

Place the glass in a bright windowsill. In about three to six weeks the top of the avocado pit will begin to split and a stem sprout will emerge from the top and roots will begin to grow at the base.

When the stem grows to about five or six inches pinch out the top set of leaves. In another two or three weeks new leaves will sprout and their will be more roots.

It's now time to plant the young avocado tree. Place enriched potting soil in a large flowerpot (maybe 8" to 10" across). Fill the soil to about an inch from the top of the pot. Make a small depression in the center of the soil and place the pit, root-side down into the depression. Don't put it too deep...you want to have the upper half of the pit above the soil line. Add some more soil around the pit to fill in any air holes by the roots and then firm it into the soil by gently pushing the soil around the base of the pit. The tree's stem and leaves should be straight and pointing up (like a flagpole).

Give the soil a drink to water the pit. Water it generously so that the soil is thoroughly moist. Water the soil slowly and gently so that when it's poured in it doesn't gouge out holes in the soil. Keep your tree watered but don't let the soil be so moist that it ever looks like mud.

Keep your tree in a sunny window, the more sun it gets the bigger it will grow. When the stem grows six more inches pinch out the top two sets of leaves. This will encourage the plant to grow side shoots and more leaves, making it bushy. Each time the plant grows another six inches pinch out the two newest sets of leaves on top.

An avocado tree is a medium to large tall tree. It can grow between 20 and 40 feet tall. With pruning it can be kept at a much shorter height.

Finding Freebies,
Teri

If It's Free It's for the Harpers

Long known as our family motto, "if it's free it's for the Harper's", the kids learned at a very early age if it was free it was something we could consider as a family. Not that we were cheap, we were a military family living on a very tight budget.

Our days on the beach and hikes to explore, coupons and roadside freebies gave us "adventures" (more about that later) galore! From furniture to fashion and things that make you saw wow! and whoopee...there are so many things you can enjoy for FREE!

So for years we have been saying we were going to write about our freebie motto and so it begins...During these tough economic times, I hope you too will benefit from our little treasure hunts....and adapt our saying as yours:

If it's free, it's for me! (I know many of you already have...teehee) now, I give you full permission.

Finding Freebies,
Ray & Teri