February 22, 2015

A Peek Into My Week: No-Spend Selling, President’s Day Donations, & Health Challenges!

Hello again, savvy savers! So, starting this week I am re-working how I post my Sunday updates, and starting today I am working towards having a more comprehensive look at my week, not just to keep my readers abreast of my day-to-day activities, but as a means of self-accountability in terms of my personal, and professional advances, from each week to the next! So, this week seemed very long, but very productive for me!

Monday:

Monday found my husband and I both off of work, which is a rarity for us both! We used the day to donate $4,123,43 worth of couponed stockpile goods to donate to a local women’s shelter, soup kitchen, and homeless pantry! We also spent the afternoon watching The President’s on DVD from the History Channel cuddled up in bed, and let me tell you, the nap I had during the Reconstruction Year and Teddy Roosevelt was amazing! Also, as part of my No-Spend Monthly Challenge, I spent an hour Monday listing ten items on a local Facebook Buy, Sell, Trade Group; several items have thus far sold, too!

Tuesday:

I celebrated Tuesday by laissez les bons temps rouler! I made my husband Crockpot Crawfish Etouffee, king’s cake, and revealed by Mardi Gras Porch reveal, as part of the Spring Blog Hop. Today I also took an hour to list 10 items on Craigslist, as part of my No-Spend Month Challenge. While I didn’t find the baby in the King’s Cake, I had a ball today!

Wednesday:

I started my Wednesday by attending Mass for Ash Tuesday, then onto a casual workday in my home office. Later in the day, I changed out my porch decor, and prepped a post for my Saint Patrick’s Day Porch Reveal, for part of this Spring’s Blog Hop Series. In addition, I listed ten items for sale, from things I gleaned from last weeks deep house cleaning, as part of this No-Spend Month Challenge, on eBay; the items have five days left, but plenty of viewers, so I’m hopeful! I also spent past of the evening going through my home deep freeze and organizing my blanched veggies, putting them in order of when they would need to be used. As well, my husband and I have a closet full of board games, and we love to plan game nights—so we have constituted a new family game night. We played Connect Four, Monopoly, and Hearts, we had a blast! Beyond this, we spent some time before bed discussing what we would both individually and as a family be doing without this Lent season; post to come.

Thursday:

I started my Thursday by revamping and listing items to my Amazon business account, as part of my No-Spend Month Challenge. I also took time to work on several product reviews for this blogs sister-site, The LadyPrefers2Review. I also prepped several Easter Candy Cone Baskets for neighbors, family, and church for next month. Something of concern today was the fact that I have started to experience swollen feet and the skin on my hands has begun to crack open, and so a trip to the PCP was in order, and two prescriptions, a cream, and a lecture to continue with my PCOS, low-insulin diet later, all will be well in time. For dinner, I made Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and they were awesome!

Friday:

I spent Friday morning working on straightening up my room and bathroom, and moreover working on my #Choose30 Challenge, which is getting my morning routine down pat, and while I still have a ways to go, I’m getting better about getting up, walking the fur-babies, having breakfast, taking my vitamins, reading my morning devotional, and getting dressed to my shoes (Thanks, Flylady!), before heading to check my email and get my family up, dressed, and off to school easier and easier as each day goes on. I also spent part of the afternoon revamping and adding new listings to my Etsy Shop, Shadow Cat Crafts, and blogged about the changes I made as part of this months No-Spend Month daily challenge. The day was a bit challenging juggling my new diuretic pills and the need for coffee to maintain my day, but my reward at the end of the day, were leftover Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, and they were awesome yet again, too!

Saturday:

Yesterday found my morning shuttling my three fur-babies off to the groomers, and it’s funny, no matter how much they all need to go to the groomers, the house always seems a little forlorn when they are gone! However, I did take that time to give their crates and bedding a deep clean, too! Beyond this, I gave our basement and stockpile a quick once over, and then headed to the store for a few app-discount produce purchases, where I was able to use online earned rewards points, woohoo! In the afternoon, I also took a few hours to design a few new patterns to me listed on Craftsy for sale, as part of my No-Spend Month daily challenge. I also completed an evening saving shuffle; I earned points on Swagbucks, Crowdtap, Recyclebank, and all of my other favorite groups! Then, I had an awesome afternoon by first laying down grass seed, taking a much needed nap, worked on a finishing a few blog book reviews, and then spent the night setting up and playing with my newest gadget, my new Amazon Fire TV Stick, I scored for free when I started using the Sling TV Service (post to come)!

Today:

Gosh! Today was very quiet. As my husband was a little under the weather today, we stayed home from mass, and watched mass online from Vatican City; you’ve got to love fellowship 2.0 style! I then made my husband Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings. I then worked on next weeks menu, and then listed several items from last weeks deep cleaning on LikeTwice and ThredUp, as part of this months No-Spend daily challenge. Slow and easy was the order of today!

Work:

I was able to get this weeks work hours completed in three days!

Blogging:

I was able to finish this weeks No-Spend Daily Challenges done.
I finished the next two months of menus.
I was able to post both Blog Hop posts, for Mardi Gras and Saint Patrick’s Day Porch Reveals.
I started working on three new Caring Through Couponing posts.

Family:

My husband and I started a new weekly Game Night.
We established Lent Fasting Items.
We spent two night this week having quality time together.

Reading:

I finished my reviews for:

What I’m most thankful for this week:

My health, and being able to change, tweak, and alter any health-related habits that can be amended!
My husband and I paid off our family vehicles this week, in cash! We will save $600.00 a month thereafter!
The funds saved from monthly car payments, will be deposited monthly into a new savings account to put towards purchasing tax real estate properties in the next two years.

Other Projects:

I’m working on my new coupon classes I’ll be teaching locally; posts to follow!
I am working on advancing my Italian language skills online.
My husband scored $230.00 worth of FuzziBuns diapers, through a sale this week for our nursery, and suprised me with them… by way of an invoice. Though we are in a No-Spend Monthly Challenge, this was a steal-of-a-deal, and I’m very thankful to have a husband that thinks of such things!

How I Saved this week:

I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $39.95.
I scored a free 1-year subscription to Midwest Magazine, a savings of $16.00.
I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $1.25, the cost of 5 trash bags.
My family drank water this week, and saved $4.12, the cost of a 6 2-liter of sodas.
I also did not watch cable tv this week, and saved $25.67 by doing so.
I earned $5.00 from Receipt Hog.
I mailed off a package of coupons for Coups For Troops.
I enjoyed three $2.99 Free Chik-fil-a- frozen lattes!
I donated stockpile goods and scored a $200.00 tax receipt.
I sold $123.00 worth of items online!

Total amount I saved my family: $424.16!

Favorite Freebies and Deals:

Four Posts You Should Read:

Marriage:

Have a movie night with Daniel.
Read the 5 Love Languages Book.
Write a love note to Daniel.

Homemaking Goals:

Complete my morning #Choose30 Goal.
Finish my Motivated Moms Daily Chore List by 10 am.
Lay out a week worth of clothes, hung up on organizers, each Sunday.
Pack a weeks worth of lunches on Sunday.
Organize my coupons weekly.

Personal Goals:

Finish reading my book reviews.
Work on 10 product reviews.
Walk 1 mile daily.
Work on remembering to take my daily vitamins.

Business Goals:

Finish five days worth of work by Wednesday.
Shut down the laptop by 5 p.m. every evening and keep it off until my computer time the following morning.

Here’s to the week ahead,

Crockpot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

[yumprint-recipe id=’36’]

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Free At-Home Back Pain Treatments!

Back pain is the worst. Whether the pain strikes in your upper back, middle or lower back, somehow it often feels like your whole body aches. For this weeks, Relaxation and Rejuvenation Sundays, I want to discuss ways to give yourself self-massage, through free, economical strategies targeted towards eliminating everyday back pains and strains!

Break out the tennis balls: While you may not think “tennis ball!” when you’re seeking relief from back pain, believe it or not, simply rolling a tennis ball up and down along your back can bring the same relief as a deep-tissue massage; try standing against a wall and bending your legs to roll the tennis ball up and down, or you can do the same by lying on the floor and using your feet to help you roll up and down.
Apply a magnet: Magnet therapy is a still-emerging field of scientific study, but there’s some tangible evidence that magnetic fields, such as a standard “heavy duty” refrigerator magnet, applied with band-aids, can deliver results; please note, patients with pacemakers and insulin pumps should not try this tip..
Talk it out: If your back pain has occurred during a challenging time in your life, talking to someone—a spouse, a close friend, a mentor, or someone else you trust who cares about you, can help bring back pain relief.
Boost endorphin production: You can try light aerobic exercise, such as swimming, even laughter, and certain foods such as dark chocolate, walnuts, candied dark cherries, bananas and salmon, can help produce endorphins and ease back pain.
Skip the brace: Finally, physicians and naturopaths generally agree—when it comes to easing back pain, back braces can do more harm than good. The reason is simple. The more blood flow there is to the injured area, the faster healing will occur. Blood flow is facilitated by activity. Back braces immobilize the injured area and keep you from engaging in the types of movement that can actually speed healing.

Enjoy the heal!

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Giveaways!

Hello again, savvy savers! Be sure to mosey on over to The LadyPrefers2Save Giveaway tab, and take a looksie-loo at all of my current giveaways on the blog!

Typically, there are two-three of the following per week:

Giveaways
Contests
And promotional offers

I encourage you all to enter for your chance to win a myriad of fun prizes, products, and gift-cards! To check out these giveaways, click here! Enjoy!

Planting Grass Seed In Winter

Hello again, savvy savers! Though many of us are still in the midst of a winter freeze, we are now officially one month out of Spring! Woohoo! I’m not sure about you, but I’m ready for warmer, milder weather to start ushering in the change of seasons in my neck of the woods! Though we are in winter, there are still gardening chores which need our attention at present, including planting various types of grass seed in winter.

So, why plant grass see in winter? A lush green yard is the envy of every neighborhood, but it can be a challenge to obtain. There is much more to green grass than simply sun and water! A beautiful green yard is often the result of using the correct fertilizer, aeration techniques, type of grass seed used, and most importantly, when the seed is planted.

Here’s why: The time in which the grass seed was planted is the most important factor in determining proper seed germination. A lush green yard is the envy of every neighborhood, but it can be a challenge to obtain. There is much more to green grass than simply sun and water! A beautiful green yard is often the result of using the correct fertilizer, aeration technique and type of grass seed. The time in which the grass seed was planted is also an important factor. To complicate matters further, the type of grass seed planted and when to plant it varies from state to state, but a general rule of thumbs is that Fine Fescue Grass, Rye Grass, and Kentucky Blue Grass should always be planted in winter.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when planting Winter grasses:

First, look for any storms that may be coming up. You’ll be more successful if you sow the seeds just prior to a rain shower, but not a down pour, to avoid washing your seeds down the drain.
Secondly, do not plant during an extreme cold snap; temperatures of 40 degrees or over during the day are ideal.
After you plant your grass seeds, you should see new sprouts no later than two weeks afterwards.
If it has been two weeks and there are no grass sprouts or very few then reseed and make sure you water thoroughly.
The soil you plant your seeds in should remain moist during germination; moist, not saturated.
Do not walk on grass seeds once planted. Grass seed germinates and grows best in dirt that is loose and not compacted.
Compost. Be sure to add compost over seeds when planting.

Beyond these tips, my greatest piece of advice I can give to those planting grass seed in winter? A natural, organic ground cover! For me, I like to create a re-usable seed blanket for my lawn using Autumnal Display Hay Bales, as so many people use bales as part of their Fall Garden Displays, which were torn apart, and thrown over top of scattered grass seed.

Here how I did it:

Clear your area. I used a blower and mulched under all debris left from the Winter.
Rake your area. Rake, till, or shovel your area until the top soil is loose and easily moved.
Purchase seeds for your yard; find the appropriate type of seeds based on the amount of sun, wind, rain, and what forms of recreation will occur on your seed.
Spread your seed! Lightly and evenly is key here!
Cover your seeds with hay!
Water your seeds daily. In my case, I layered seed today as it was going to rain. Be diligent and water daily, by hand, and do not use a sprinkler.
Lay the Hay! That’s right, shake it up, shake it loose, shake it down to the ground! I danced my way to a covered first tier.
Do not walk on the seeds. Like tile work, work your way from corner to corner, and work your way backwards, and away from your projects!
Allow your seed to grow. Your lawn will begin sprouting in 2-3 weeks.
Maintenance. If you grass has patches where seeds have not grown, use emergency my tried-and-tested seed repair kit, bird seed mix! Take two cups bird seeds, add water until its porridge-like, and apply to the ground! The water will detract birds, and help jump-start the seed germination.
Grooming. Yes, grass should be groomed, too! Be sure to wait a full two months to mow your new lawn for the first time, and when you do so, make sure your mower is not adjusted down too low, and be sure to be even in your cutting!
Aerate your lawn. Use cleats, spikes, or the like to aerate your soil twice a year, in April and October.
Water your lawn. Water your grass three times a week in Spring and Fall, and daily in Summer, unless prohibited by drought; if drought is an issue consider other means like rain barrels or collected bath water.
Feed your lawn. Be sure to feed your law appropriate lawn-feed in Autumn, and a grass-supported food, bi-monthly in warmer weather.
Weeding. If you need to remove weeds, use white vinegar in a spray bottle!

So, that’s it! That’s how you can achieve your best lawn, for those with Fine Fescue Grass, Rye Grass, and Kentucky Blue Grass, is to plant your lawns in winter!

Here’s to gardening,

February No Spend Month Challenge: Day 22 (Selling on ThredUp & LikeTwice)

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, and ready for a new daily challenge! So today I want to focus not on selling things gleaned from your home, but items that can be made from items you have on hand. I am speaking of online consignment selling on ThredUp.com and LikeTwice.com.

So, why ThredUp.com and LikeTwice.com?

The sites allow you to sell clothing online, consignment-style, to a larger audience of potential buyers.
You are selling clothing to the vendors, and they offer you credit which can be used to either buy new clothes, or to have a Paypal buyout option.
Clothes that are not accepted are donated, on your behalf, to charities in their area.
You do not have to leave your home to sell items!

What Can I sell:

Clothing
Shoes
Purses
Children’s Clothing
Men;s Clothing

How to Sell:

You should first start by figuring out what you want to sell.
Next inventory what you want to send.
Go to ThredUp.com and LikeTwice.com to request item shipment bags; bags are mailed to you free of charge.
Once your bags arrive, mail back packages in the pre-sorted bags.
When your bags have arrived, you will receive notice, by way of email, as to what items have been accepted or rejected for sale.
Currently, ThreadUp is offering 100% return rate on all handbags, totes, and luggage!
Currently sellers on LikeTwice can earn a $10 BONUS FOR YOUR HANDBAGS AND $5 FOR YOUR SHOES THROUGH 2/28!
You’re now a seller!

Seller Tips:

Try to sell items that are current, classic, or sought after in design.
Items should be in good, wearable condition.
Shoes and leather goods should be clean; please read over ThreadUp’s policy, here!
Be realistic in your options. Just because you paid $100.00 for a pair of jeans you will realistically not receive most of your investment back; aim for a quarter of the items worth.
Rejected items will not be returned, but donated; only sell items you are ready to part with.
Items you wish to have returned, you can opt to pay the $12.99 fee to purchase return assurance, so all returned items arrive back quickly to you. The fee will be taken out of your payout amount.
LikeTwice will allow all returned items to ship back to you for $4.95; the fee can be taken out of your sellers account, store credit, or paypal account, too!
Both companies also accept plus sizes, maternity, and men’s clothing as well.

So, today I challenge you to order a bag from both ThredUp.com and LikeTwice.com, and in a weeks time, mail off your consignment goods!

My Selling Goals Were:

I am going to list 10 household items, per bag.
I hope to make $100.00 in profit.
All items that do not sell will be donated to charity.
To request both bags today; I will blog about the rest of the process during my April No-Month Spending Challenge.

As well today I was also able to accomplish:

As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
Read my daily devotional.
I waked two miles.

Today I saved:

I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95.
I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag.
I cooked three meals from my home pantry, saving $6.81 in the process.
My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.

Total amount I saved my family: $21.38

This months savings goal remaining: $38.95

Please be sure to check back tomorrow for another way to save for this months No-Spend Challenge!

Here’s to saving,

Challenge Links:

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