Happy Meal Toy Plus eBay Equals FREE Lunch & Entertainment

When trying to save money, you need to think outside of the box and keep things fun! Check out how I take my kids to McDonald's for a free lunch and indoor playground time. First, I'll cost it out and then explain my crazy self. :)

$3.99 Chicken Nugget Happy Meal (price varies per market and Happy Meal type/size)
$1.75 Shipping
$0.50 PayPal fee
$0.09 eBay Listing fee ($.03/mo for a 3 mo. average)
$0.60 eBay Final Value fee

Total "cost" = $6.93

$4.97 Amount collect for a (new in package) McDonald's Happy Meal Toy on eBay
$2.00 Shipping & Handling fees collected

Gross profit = $6.97

Net profit = $.04 (woot woot, haha!!)

So what I do is, I head to McDonald's now and then and "treat" the kids to lunch. Depending on how cool the kids think the current Happy Meal campaign is, I might let them keep one toy per campaign and I sell the rest. For example, Star Wars, Matchbox cars, Barbi and My Little Pony are keepers. Any trips after that, I keep the toys to sell. Who needs that many tiny toys anyway?

I keep them new in the plastic and sell them on eBay. Who buys these McDonald's toys? I've seen adult collectors purchase them and moms who had a little one lose their favorite one. As far as eBay is concerned, you just never know what people sre searching for! I also recently sold 19 Happy Meal toys to someone in Japan, that was about $95 in cash deposit into my PayPal. Not to mention he bought a few outfits from my store as as well. I could, think of them as profit making ($.04) advertising. :)

My point is, find little things you can do but keep it fun. I'd say it takes me about 10 minutes to sell each toy. That's from start (taking pictures & listing) to finish (pulling from storage & shipping). I don't list them until I have 5 or 6 to list, and use "list similar" to make listing faster. So 10 minutes of my time in invested for each $4 Happy Meal I buy. That's $24 an hour, but when I add in my Wylie Mom math, I'd need to earn $32 an hour outside of the home to have the same lunch experience. I personally find that reading a book while the kids play at McDonald's for a treat, and then spending a few minutes on the computer is a great use of my time.

McDonald's indoor playgrounds are a great idea for running off energy on rainy days or on days when you're running lots of errands. Please be sure to wash up or sanitize before and after play time!!

Figure what your time is worth and combine it with what you enjoy doing, to save or make money. Obviously, I can't make a living or survive with this plan, but it combined with all the other little things I do make a huge impact. You've just got to think outside of the box!

I'd love to hear some of your ideas!

An Awesome Trip To CVS, Aren't They All?

I had a super trip to CVS this morning!

Vaseline Sheer Infusion $7.99
Xtra Detergent $1.99
Gillette Fusion $9.99
4 Packs of Wigley's $4.00
2 8-packs of Reece's $1.76

minus

$1.50 off Vaseline Sheer Infusion printable coupon
$4.00 P&G coupon from Sunday's insert
(2) B1G1 Free Wigley's newspaper coupon (saved $2)
(2) $.55 Reese's newspaper coupon
$4/20 CVS coupon that was mailed to me
$10 in ECB from 2 weeks ago

Total OOP=$3.39

I got back $13 in ECB ($7 lotion, $5 razor, $1 gum) so that's a $3 Extra Care Buck "profit" (I spent $10 in ECB). Overall, that's $.39 for the trip and I saved $25.60.

I think I'll sell the razor. It was a tool to use my $20 coupon and if make anything more than $.39 on it, that's a profit for the trip. I actually think I'll just list it to my store for $7 or $8 with free shipping. The Reese's are perfect for Halloween or a donation to a fall festival (ditto for the gum), hopefully I don't eat them first, if they were Reese's Piece they wouldn't have even made it home! :)

A Few Quick Freebies To Share This Beautiful Monday!

I thought I'd share a few freebies this morning before I got busy with my crazy Monday schedule.

Free Starbuck's Frappuccino for a friend, nominate of friend who deserves a FREE Starbuck's Frappucccio. Maybe they'll return the favor!!

I shared this with the Wylie Mom Facebook Group last night. Please be sure to check it out!

Free Smucker's Uncrustables - I posted this already this morning, but just in case you might miss it, here it is again! UPDATE - This offer is already closed! They only offered 20,000 coupons and they went FAST!

And how about some FREE magazines??? Yes, folks these are legit!! I get a TON of free magazines that we read, recycle and sell.

Free 1 yr. subscription to Forbes magazine, I also posted this on Facebook. :)

Free 1 yr. subscription to Metropolitan Home magazine. Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom!!

Have a great morning, and be sure to think positive!!

FREE Coupon For Smucker's Uncrustables

*****Update, This offer is CLOSED. Looks like they hit 20,000 in just a few hours. :)

The first 20,000 people to respond will receive a coupon for a FREE 4-pack of Smucker's Uncrustables. They now even come on wheat bread! You'll need to submit in 50 words or less an after-school organizational tip.

Not something I serve everyday, but perfect for a quick snack or those lazy mornings when I don't feel like packing a lunch. Man, I wish I had some today! :)

FREE Uncrustables Coupon!!

Things To Do With The Family Around Wylie Texas This Weekend

If you're a local reader and looking for something to do this weekend, here are a few ideas!

1. Murphy Maize Days starts tonight (September 25th), it's "good old-fashioned fun for the whole family". It's located at the Murphy Municipal Complex. Admission is FREE!

Friday 6-9pm
Saturday 10am-8:30pm (fireworks start at 8:15)

2. L!VE on the Green at Watters Creek in Allen - September 25th

Tonight, Don't Tell Mama is performing from 6:30-9pm. They play music from the "past 4 decades, including Funk and Soul, R&B, Motown, some One-Hit Wonders from the 60’s, Disco and Dance music from the 70’s, Party and Dance music from the 80’s, and a few surprises from the 90’s and newer, throw in a little Latin and a little Jazz and you’ve got the Horn Band that keeps you rockin".

Admission is FREE, and be sure to take a blanket! Follow Watters Creek on Twitter.

3. Museum Day - September 26th. FREE admission to many local (and national) museums. You'll need to print off a free ticket, so be sure to read the linked post.

4. The State Fair of Texas starts today, September 25th, and runs through October 18th.

Be sure to CLICK HERE for a huge list of 2009 fair discounts, thanks Pegasas News. For instance today, you'll get $4 admission with a full 20 oz. Coke.

Another state fair tip, eat lunch or dinner at home and splurge on the desserts, like the fried butter!! Fried butter.....are they serious? This, I have to see!

Have a great (and frugal) weekend!!

P.S. You also might like to read this post about an awesome preschool program in Murphy. Classes are held at the Murphy Municipal Complex, and it's Wylie Mom "frugal approved". :)

Halloween Is Around The Corner, Are You Getting Ready?

I've gone back and forth with the whole Halloween costume issue, I mean as far as store bought vs. homemade costumes. And, well frankly, I'm all about the store bought! As a kid, my mom made beautiful custom made costumes for us every year. We were so cute!! But, years ago store bought costumes consisted of a plastic trash bag (opps I mean costume) and a cheesy mask. Times have sure changed!! Costumes today are not only great for Halloween, but can be kept and reused over and over for dress-up.

This year, I lucked out with my son. He wants to be Spiderman and he has a really nice Spidey costume he got for his birthday this summer. He sometimes mentions being Batman, and we're about 80% covered already there. My kids love to dress up!! My daughter wants to be Ariel, and frankly after all the time (hours & hours) and money ($50) I spent last year doing a handmade Tinker Bell costume, I blew some cold hard cash on hers this year. I hit up the Disney Store a few days ago and it was the last day of the Princess 25% off sale, I was so excited. I scored her costume and accessories for under $50 and I'm done. Plus, she now has an Ariel costume for the dress up box.

A few years ago, I choose a cute pirate costume from Old Navy for my son, and it was sold out a month before Halloween. I had to go to eBay to get it, thank goodness for eBay. But selling out that far ahead of time is crazy, I think!

So, the moral of my story is: As far as Halloween is concerned, plan ahead and shop early!

Here are two cute Walmart costumes that you can have shipped for only $.97. That beats driving to Walmart for sure!

Save with 97 cent shipping on Kids Halloween Costumes at Walmart.com!

Deluxe Batman Muscle Child Costume

Dorothy Child Costume

What are your kids thinking of dressing up as this year? Are you dressing up? Have you started getting ready?

Coupon Codes For NY & Company

Here's a few promo codes I found for NY & Company. The weather is changing here, and I don't know about you, but I could use a few new wardrobe pieces for fall! Happy Shopping!

$30 off of a $75 purchase - use code 2734

$50 off of a $125 purchase - use link below or code 3735

FREE Leggings ($9.95 Value) With Purchase Of A Tunic AND $30 Off $75+ With Code 3729 OR $50 Off $125

Save Lots Of Money With The $10/10 JCPenny Coupon Code

You can save $10 on any order $10 or more with the promo code "ENJOY10". Expires September 28th, and some exclusions apply.

I found these cute crop pants in the Juniors section of the JC Penny outlet online. I picked out black and figured I can wear them to sleep or workout in. They are sale for $12.99. Minus the $10 coupon code and I paid only $2.99!

Here's the only small catch, you'll need to pay shipping ($5.95) and a little sales tax. So, I paid a total of $9.68 out of pocket and saved $27.00.

But, I'll also get back 1% from my PayPal card and 3% from Ebates. Not free, but a great deal overall. Also, always consider the time and misc. savings from shopping online (like no mileage/gas was spent). This could be an especially great deal if you use it for holiday shopping...just an idea!

Here are a few rebate programs to consider if you use the "ENJOY10" promo coupon code:

Ebates- 3% back, $5 sign-up bonus.

Mr. Rebates- 2% back, $7.50 sign-up bonus.

UPromise- 3% back for college.

Free Calender, Toothpaste? Yup, It's A Freebie Post!

Since I've been a non-blogging blogger for a few days, I figured there's nothing like a freebie post to get back into the swing of things.

Free AquaFresh Extreme Clean sample from Aquafresh.

Free The New Yorker Calender Poster, offer expires October 31st & supplies are limited.

Free 2009 Christmas Seals® from The American Lung Association.

Free Carnation Holiday Receipe Guide from Nestle.

Free Palmolive® Pure + Clear Detergent sample from EnjoyTheSamples.com.

Free Emergen-C Multi Vitamin sample from Walmart's sample page.

$1.50 off Kashi® Honey Sunshine® printable coupon from Kashi. Hurry, because it will be pulled soon!

Free Samples, coupons, and access to hundreds of savings, discounts and offers when you become a member of SavingsAndCoupons.com. It's free, just Click Here.

And, click here for more of my recent freebie posts. Have a great afternoon!

Free Diagnostics Check At AutoZone

You know that awful feeling you get when your check engine light comes on? I do, and it sucks! Even worse is the check engone light that never goes off (haha), I've had a few of those in my time. Anyway, before you start to worry or run to the dealership, run by AutoZone for a free diagnostics check. It might be something as simple as a loose gas cap, like my friend at Practical Manifestations (awesome networking and positive thinking website!!). Think of the time and money he saved by running there first instead of the dealership!

If you go to AutoZone on the web, you can locate a store near you. Autozone also has a benefits program called My Zone. Here's the scoop: "Registered users have unlimited access to thousands of pages of repair instructions through our free Vehicle Repair Guides. These Guides have vehicle-specific printable repair instructions covering a large number of models from 1950-2007. Registered users can also keep track of their vehicle's service history as well as sign up to receive e-mailed information about their vehicle, including, Technical Service Bulletin titles, recall notices and service reminders." All for FREE!

Thanks Bill (Practical Manifestations) for the comment (AutoZone tip) this morning. I really appreciate it! :)

One Month FREE Trial To Netflix

I was mailed 4 unique promo codes to share with friends, for a "1 Free Month" trial to Netflix. This is a great deal since usually Netflix only offers a 2 week free trial. If anyone is interested, it will be on a first come first serve basis, for the first 4 people (only) who leave a comment.

Just be sure I have a way to get back to you, and I'll e-mail you the promo code. Yay! :)

Free Museum Admisssions On September 26th

Smithsonian magazine is sponsoring Museum Day next Saturday, September 26th, 2009. Over 1200 museums nationwide are participating, and just click here for the complete list.

"Enjoy free general admission for you and a guest to hundreds of museums and cultural venues nationwide." You'll need to download and print the FREE admission card that is HERE.

Here's a list of who is participating in the DFW area:

Amon Carter Museum-Fort Worth

Frontiers of Flight Museum -Dallas

Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary -McKinney

International Museum of Cultures -Dallas

Irving Arts Center -Irving

Log Cabin Village -Fort Worth

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth -Fort Worth

Nasher Sculpture Center -Dallas

National Cowgirl Museum And Hall of Fame -Fort Worth

National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum -Fort Worth

North Texas History Center -McKinney

Sid Richardson Museum -Fort Worth

Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park -Dallas

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza -Dallas

The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future -Dallas

Find more information here and have fun!! Did you like this post? Be sure to subscribe! :)

Wylie Texas Farmers Market Is Saturday September 19th

The last Wylie Farmer's Market for September is tomorrow, Saturday the 19th. There will be only two more for the season, next month in October.

It's from 8am until 1pm on the 100 block of S. Ballard, or click here for all the info.

Also, tomorrow in Wylie, it's the St. Anthony's Fall Fest. There will be food, games, and entertainment (like Calico Kids, Inc. Dance Studio). St. Anthony's is located on the corner of Ballard St. and Brown St. The 5K run starts at 8am, and the entertainment will begin about 9:45.

And just an FYI, the Wylie Chamber of Commerce Rodeo has been rescheduled (due to all the rain!!) for the October 23rd and 24th.

What are your weekend plans? I hope it's a great one!

Friday's Freebie Round-Up

I have lots of freebies to share. So, grab a cup of coffee and start requesting! I only post "legit" free samples and coupons that I have requested myself (or would request, when it's something like diapers that I no longer need).

Magazines-

FREE Subscription (6 issues) to AMERICAN BABY A lively mix of practical advice, medical information and child-rearing tips, written especially for new and expectant parents! I enjoyed this when both of my kiddos were infants. Plus, some super fab coupons were inside in the past!



Food & Wine Magazine -1 year subscription

Skiing Magazine -2 Free issues

Sport Fishing -2 Free issues

Gardening How-To - Get free Gardening How To magazine, featuring in-depth articles and step-by-step instructions to help you create the garden you’ve always wanted. You can also qualify to be a product tester.

Health & Beauty-

Free Ensure® Shake -coupon can be printed or mailed!

Don't Disturb Me! - free sleep aid sample

Food & Beverages

October 1st - Free cookie at Mrs. Field's -11am -1 pm, participating location only.

$10 Off any order from Schwan's -No purchase necessary. Offer ends 9/30/09 and limited to the first 500,000 new residential/household customers.

Free Medium Coca-Cola Zero -when you sign up with Chick-fil-A's Chicken Wave.

Science Diet® Simple Essentials™ Treats (dog treats)

Enfamil LIPIL® Formulas. Free sample Click Here!!!

Have you missed some freebies? Click here to check! Like my blog? Click here to subscribe!

FREE 6 Month Subscription To American Baby

Get a FREE SUBSCRIPTION (6 issues) to AMERICAN BABY ... the only magazine that delivers a lively mix of practical advice, medical information and child-rearing tips, written especially for new and expectant parents! Click Here!!!!

Woot woot! Remember to donate or sell your old magazines. :)

Watch The First 17 Minutes Of FlashForward!!

Looks awesome to me!! I'd love to hear what you think!!

Cool Freebies From TGI Friday's & Coke

This is really a two part deal, but it seemed appropriate to put them all together for posting.

First up, is an offer for 24 points at My Coke Rewards. 24 points will get you a FREE 20oz. soda, a Powerade, or 20 oz. Minute Maid product (it's a mailed coupon if you're looking to cash out right away).

Log into your My Coke Rewards account. On the left hand side of the top toolbar, click on "Pick Up Points" and complete the TGI Friday's Give Me More Strips rewards program enrollment.

You'll be e-mailed the Coke code right away! Also, for joining Give Me More Stripes, you receive another e-mail with a coupon for a "One Time Jump The Line Pass" and a coupon for a FREE appetizer or dessert (up to $8).

Next up, is a Facebook/TGI Friday's deal. If Woody (TGI Friday's) gets 500,000 Facebook fans by September 30th, fans will receive a coupon for a FREE burger. Certainly worth a shot if you are on Facebook. ***UPDATE the first 1,000,000 people will get a burger!! Via e-mailed coupon.

So, that's a FREE 20 oz. Coke, a FREE cut in line at TGI Friday's, a FREE appitizer or dessert and a possible FREE burger. Not bad for a few minutes of your time...have a great afternoon!!

$1.73 Spent OOP On My Rainy Day CVS Trip

This was another one of those weeks where I fell in love with CVS all over again. I got lots of goodies on the cheap. On a side note, it's been raining here in Dallas since last Thursday. I've already dumped 16" of rain from the rain gauge since then. So, on the way out of CVS my son jumped in a huge puddle soaking himself head to toe....good times! :)

2 Jack Link's Nuggets (B1G1 Free) $5.99
Purex $3.49
Milk 2.49
3 Listerines $11.97
Colgate $2.99

minus

B1G1 Free Jack Link's coupon from All You magazine ($5.99 off)
$.35 Purex newspaper coupon
(2) $2.00 off Listerine Total Care newspaper coupons
$1.00 off Listerine printable coupon
$1.00 Colgate Total newspaper coupon
$12.99 in ECB from 2 weeks ago

Total cash out of pocket (OOP) = $1.73

I got back $10.00 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB), $1.00 for the milk, $1.00 for the Purex, $6.00 for the 3 Listerines, and $2.00 for the Colgate Total. I "lost" $2.99 in ECB but this was my 5th consecutive trip with less than $3.00 in cash spent. And, I saved a total of $38.92, woot woot!

On a side note, I also ran to Super Target last night. I just wasn't feeling the Target picture. Anyone really want to see them??? Anyway, I scoped out the weekly deals at Attention Target Shoppers before I left and saved $48.17 and only spent $30.73 cash out of pocket. Some super cool highlights: I got 4 more boxes of FREE Pop-tarts and 3 FREE Soy Glade candles and $1.89 cat food and $.79 Tide Stain Release (which is AWESOME!!!!!).

Find a great deal this week? Leave me a comment and share it!

FREE Coupon Inserts For North Texas

The Dallas Morning News has a new FREE edition called "briefing" that is delivered Wednesday through Saturday.

Well, Saturday's FREE edition includes the coupon inserts for the following Sunday. Woot woot!

More info on "briefing" here.

Hungry For Breakfast? Here's 3 Free Cereal Samples!

Here's 3 cereal samples to request. The first one I shared last night with my Facebook group and my Twitter peeps. Facebook is my new favorite place to add links!

Kashi® sample - pick from Honey Sunshine, Heart to Heart or Go Lean Crunch.

Total® Blueberry Pomegranate sample

Honey Nut Cheerios® sample

Have a great morning!

Huge List Of New Freebies For Friday!!

I have quite the list of cool freebies to share this morning. I hope fun and fabulous freebies lead to a fun and fabulous weekend for you!

It's Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act Friday, hurry and request your FREE chocolate bar coupon by 12pm EST.

Free Beech-Nut Next Steps Kit

Free Curél® Itch Defense™ Moisture Lotion sample

Free Paul Mitchell .85oz. Round Trip sample

Free Kotex Sample Kit from Walmart. This sample pack is huge!!

Walmart's Sample page

Free Stayfree Sample

Free Carmex Sample-Note, only 50 winners a week! But you won't win if you don't try. :)

Free Palmolive® Pure + Clear Detergent sample from Enjoy The Samples.

Free 3 year subscription to Town & Country Magazine

Free Orient Watch Keychain

Free Slim-Fast® 100 Calorie Snack Bar (Peanut Butter Crunchtime) sample from All You magazine.

MySavings.com: Free Samples and Coupons Click Here!

Has it been a few days since you visited me? Check out my other recent freebie posts HERE. Find a "hot" freebie? Please send me an e-mail!!

I Just Won 5 Swagbucks!!

A super huge THANK YOU to Ginger at Attention Target Shoppers. I was the hourly winner of 5 Swagbucks but had to log in by 4pm to claim them. She noticed and alerted me via e-mail.

Yay, Ginger!! I owe her one, since I would have probably not logged in and noticed. :)

A Couple Of Things For North Texas Readers

I have two "local" things to share this morning!

First off, The Thrift Store in Plano is having it's 50% off sale. This is the same thrift store from this eBay success story.

The sale runs September 8th - September 13th. And the store is located at 1806 Ave. K. This store typically runs a bit pricey, but the 50% sale is the time to visit!! Be sure to check what color tags are included in the sale, and sign up for their mailing list while you're there. They only mail out twice a year, for the 50% off sale.

They are having the same sale at Plaza Thrift on McDonald in McKinney and Denton Thrift on University in Denton.

Second, have you checked out the new "briefing" edition of The Dallas Morning News? It's delivered 4 days a week, Wednesday - Saturday and it totally FREE thanks to Kroger and Kroger.com. It's basically a "readers digest" of the regular newspaper. It's usually 10-12 pages long and hits all the news highlights. Which is totally perfect, who has time to read the whole paper everyday? It totally fills in the gap from canceling our daily paper (long ago).

Check out the FREE "briefing" from the Dallas Morning News here.

Have a great day!! :)

Full Size Secret Clinical Strength For Vocalpoint Members

I was cruising around on Facebook just now and saw a Vocalpoint "status update" about a FREE Secret Clinical Strength Light & Fresh Scent sample. It's for Vocalpoint members only, but Vocalpoint is free to join.

Check out the free Secret offer here.

See more posts about the FREE goodies I've received from Vocalpoint here.

Three cheers for freebies!!! :)

Well, I've Really Done It Now!

I started a second blog! :)

It's called "What I Really Think" and it will contain posts about what I really think. Clever name, huh? Haha. The address is http://www.whatangiethinks.blogspot.com/ or just click click here.

I wanted to start a blog where I could throw out my opinions about everything and anything, but knew that Wylie Mom was not the platform for my personal opinions. Today's first post (on the new blog) was about President Obama speaking to school kids today, but future posts might include: products I love or hate, store and restaurant reviews, general rants and raves, stories about things I think are just plain awesome, etc. Basically it will be "what I really think".

I don't expect for us to always agree, but I'd love for you to visit What I Really Think and leave a comment!

P.S. I turn 34 today!! :)

What To Take From An eBay Success Story

Everyone loves a great eBay success story. And, to make this a great post, I'll give you one right now!

I bought this Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy wool blazer for $3 at a thrift store. I really like thrift stores because they have carts (good for containing my children) and A/C and heat. Anyway, I found the jacket during a 50% off sale back in the the spring. I put it in my store right away since it was not in season at the time. This jacket was only $.05 a month to list. I calculated that it was in there for 6 months so that's $.30 in listing fees.

Some benefits of the store listing was, in this case it ended up being cheaper to sit in the store rather than list it at auction once. I got to list it right away, name a price $39.97 in this case, and forget about it until the right buyer came along. Every great item has a potential buyer! You just never know when that will be. Sometimes a few days, and other times it takes a lot more patience and you wait over a year.

So...yay me!! I made about $36 in gross profit on this jacket. But that's not my point.

Instead of jotting down this all down in your eBay "hot sellers" notebook, here's something else to know. I used to work at Dillard's. In fact I was a manager in the women's department. So, when I saw this jacket, I knew right away that it was probably worth about $400 full retail price. I quickly figured 90% off that would be $40, and I could most likely sell it for that on eBay. If you know that brand and the quality, you'd agree. But here's what I'm getting at.....sell what YOU know!!!

When on the hunt for new eBay stock (in your attic, at a garage/estate sale, a thrift store, etc.) look around for things that you have some knowledge in and/or are passionate about. Kids clothes because you have kids, Lego blocks since your boys were obsessed, golf clubs because you're an avid golfer, Mont Blanc pens because you're a pen snob, DVD's because you work at Blockbuster at night, whatever it is...there's a market for it on eBay and a niche for you.

Finding, cleaning and listing items you have a knowledge in will be a faster and more successful process overall.

Happy Selling!

P.S. You can see the wool blazer listing here and read more about what I have to say about selling on eBay here.

Free 2010 Wildlife Calender!!

FREE Wildlife Calender from Wildlife Forever!!! Just click here. The calender will be available for free until September 15th, and then will be available again after October 1st for $10.

A huge thanks to Brandy's Big Bargains

for the post. :)

Some Scoop On The Great Gevalia Coffee Offer

We've all seen the Gevalia Coffee 3 boxes for $3 (plus FREE travel mug) deal right? Well, just in case you were interested....but afraid to order, here are some more details for you!

They have really good coffee and now they also offer tea as well!! I was a member years ago, and really enjoyed their coffee. Membership was a bit different back then and I couldn't drink it fast enough and had to cancel. But these days, you have more control over your shipments. You actually get to set them up! Since fall is approaching, I think it's the perfect time for us to try Gevalia again. The free travel mug will be great in the a.m. when I'm running the kids to school. :)

After the initial offer (3 boxes for $3 & FREE travel mug), there is no minimum purchase and no obligation to continue as a member. Enjoy!!

• FREE Gevalia Travel Mug
  
  
• Coffee delivered direct to your door on a schedule you set
  
  
• NO obligation. Keep the gift even if you don't continue to enjoy our direct delivery program
  
  
• Our "love your coffee or it's free" guarantee

Check Out the New Pillsbury Printable Coupons

There are $33.65 in Pillsbury printable coupons this month, check them out below!!

Labor Day Blue Bell Ice Cream Rebate Offer

Purchase any Blue Bunny® Aspen or Sedona Frozen Yogurt Granola Novelty over Labor Day
weekend (September 5-7, 2009 ONLY), submit the rebate and it's FREE.

Blue Bell Labor Day Rebate

Enjoy! :)

The Home Depot's FREE Kids Workshop is Tomorrow (Saturday)

I love the Home Depot for many reasons. First of all it's super close to our house. But, that's not the only reason we shop there. They almost always have what we want in stock at a reasonable price, and we (almost) always receive terrific service. This is especially true when we take the kids to the Kids Workshop. They love going!! Here's the scoop:

"The Home Depot's Kids Workshops offer useful projects including the creation of toolboxes, fire trucks and mail organizers, as well as more educational projects, such as a window birdhouse, bug house or Declaration of Independence frame kit.The workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while at the same time helping to instill a sense of accomplishment.

Additionally, this fun time allows for quality one-on-one time between adults and children.In addition to the newly constructed project kit, each child receives a kid-sized orange apron, similar to The Home Depot associates' aprons, and an achievement pin."

Plus it's FREE, FREE, FREE! Tomorrow's project is a Bean Bag Toss. :)

They also have many more free workshops for adults such as Interior Painting, Tiling Floors & Walls, Insulation, and Fall Planting. If you sign up for the Home Improver Club you'll receive workshop schedules & registration via e-mail.

Plus they also have the Do-It-Herself workshops. This month's workshop is "Kitchen Updates". If you're interested, check out the link below.

Anyone planning on going to the Kids Workshop tomorrow in Wylie???? We are, see you there! :)

Thrift Stores...It's All About The Hunt

I made another thrift store run!! I'll have to admit, as sad as I am that my kids are growing up, I'm loving this whole back-to-school thing. We had a fabulous and lazy summer, and now we're all adjusting to a new routine. Anyway, I should be hitting the stores on a regular basis again. Last night I was lucky enough to have an hour alone to hunt in Goodwill. I love finding a great deal!! Pictured is what I am planning to sell on eBay.

- 9 mugs @ $.59 each (I love selling mugs!!!)
- Precious Moments baby booty bank $.79

Good price points for things to resell on eBay at around $10.

- Mikasa Anniversary plate $1.99
- Girls inflatable Speedo suit $1.99
- Girls Ralph Lauren swimsuit $1.99 (I sold this same style, in gently used condition, last year on eBay for $25 eBay at auction)
- Infant Hanna Andersson dress $1.99
- Pitcher $2.99
- Pampered Chef Round Stone in box $2.99

These items were a bit "pricey", but I feel confident that I can get $12-20 for these treasures.

On this trip I also picked up some things for us. I already had everything put away before the picture, sorry! For us I got:

12" Globe (new in box!!) $8
Gap swim trunks for next year (son) $1.99
Old Navy, lined khaki pants for this year (son) $1.99
Dress for me, still had Nordstom tag, $3.99
Tennis ball $.39

So, in one hour of treasure hunting, I saved goodness knows how much ($100???) and I should eventally make about $150-180 off the rest.

Read more about eBay selling on my eBay selling advice & resource page. And, no promises on when I'll get this all listed, hubby is on a 2 week vacation. But, it's fun having him around! :)