By combining sales and coupons, I try to get at least 75% off of any cosmetics that I buy, if not free. The other day I let my daughter pick two new colors for her nail polish stash, paid for 100% by $1 off any Wet & Wild product coupons. Happy mommy, happy little girl, happy pockets! 🙂
Want a few easy pointers for getting bargains on makeup? Here ya go…
Always shop ahead.
Don’t wait until you need a certain product to buy it. You don’t have to keep a huge stockpile, but if you find a great deal on a beauty item that you definitely use, go ahead and buy it.
Keep a couple of extras of any commonly used makeup or nail polish at all times, and you’ll never be forced to pay retail because you ran out of something you won’t walk out of the house without.
Don’t be stuck on one particular brand, unless necessary.
My skin is sensitive, so I have to be careful about skin products. I don’t just buy anything because it’s pennies on the dollar. For things like mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow and nail polish, though, I can get by with a variety of types & brands.
Clip all the cosmetics coupons, then watch the sales ads for chances to combine them.
This takes all of a few minutes a week while doing the rest of your coupon and sales checks, so it’s not a huge commitment. If you get store coupons for a percentage off your purchase or money off beauty items, that will give you great value when stacked with manufacturer coupons, too.
Feel beautiful and fiercely frugal, all at the same time! See how I save on buying clothes online!
My hair has been getting so heavy it’s like a torture instrument during my migraines, and I also just plain wanted a change. I really wanted layers. However, penny pinching peach that I be, I also didn’t want to pay bakoodles for a stylist, wind up with shorter hair than I want to have or any other scary scenario that was running through my stringy haired head.
I decided to research cutting my own hair into long layers.
I did some research online and became entirely overwhelmed, so made an inquiry on a homesteading site about whether anyone there had cut their own hair. I got alot of great advice, and viewed a few videos they shared. I picked the one I’ll share below that I particularly liked due to the simplicity of the method, but adapted it to be softer by taking the advice given not to pull my hair too far forward or to cut at too sharp of angles or take off too much at once to start off.
I took a risk and cut my own hair!
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I bought a pair of decent Hair Cutting Scissors while I was out running errands, then both of my munchkins miraculously took a nap at the same time after we got home. I went to work, washing and conditioning my hair and then following the basic techniques from the video until I was fairly satisfied with the results.
It was actually pretty easy to cut my own hair, to my surprise, even for someone who had never cut human hair before! I am rather happy with the results, too, since my hair is much lighter and has more “bounce” to it. 🙂
Here is the after photo of my new hair cut!
(Excuse the cruddy selfies, but noone over the age of 4 was around to take a before or for a few days to take a photo after.) What do you think?
After I cut my own layers
Have you ever cut your own hair or someone else’s, without formal training?
Would you like to try? It isn’t for everyone, so please don’t blame me if you try it and wind up looking like a hairless chihuahua with those craaaaaazzzzzy sprigs sprouting off the top of your noggin! 🙂
I’m pretty artistic by nature, and can draw, cut and trim paper, fabric and other materials accurately with ease, so that made me a little more comfortable attempting my own hair cut. If I couldn’t draw a stick figure or cut in a straight line or curve at will, I would swallow my penny pinching tendencies and cough up the dough for a professional hair cut every single time. It’s not worth winding up in a book like this one full of hilarious memes of the world’s worst hair cuts! to save a few bucks! 🙂
Also, please note that on my first attempt I didn’t do anything super drastic. Keep in mind that you can always cut more hair off if your hair isn’t quite the shape you want or as short as you’d like, but you can’t just tape those locks back on. 🙂
Here’s the video I used as a sort of guideline, if anyone wants to watch it themselves.
I don’t know this person. Someone on Facebook shared the video with me, among others, and this one I liked because it was so easy to follow.
In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2, we decided to read his whimsical books in a nook with a look for ideas to cook up for activities to do that go along with the stories. Today we read “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”. That is one of my munchkins ‘ favorites! I didn’t want to do a bunch of printing and searching activities yesterday, so I just free styled it. Maybe it will give someone else some inspiration.
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One fish, two fish was simple. I drew a large one and a large two on each side of the picture with the word fish, and let her draw. She decided to go rogue on that one, so I’ll skip a picture, but she did understand the concept. LOL
Red fish, Blue fish
For red fish, blue fish, it was pretty easy, too. I grabbed some red and blue markers, using the appropriate colors to title and illustrate a coloring page. My little artist colored them opposite colors, but she enjoyed herself. 🙂
So that it wasn’t just about the fish on the cover, I chose another of my daughter’s favorite parts of the book for the closing activity.
By the light of a star, by the light of the moon…
I drew a moon and star, sketched a rudimentary sheep, grabbed a bunch of cotton balls, rolled pieces of tape and stuck them to each, and turned my little princess loose. Glue would be easier, but we have issues with glue, curls and an independent streak. 😉 My kiddo was pretty tickled with the results of her project!
Is anyone else doing any fun activities in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday? Am I the only lifelong fan of his books? I was actually excited to read them to my babies, since I enjoyed them so much growing up! 🙂 If you want to get your own copy to do these fun activities with, just head on over here: One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Arrrr, mateys!! We’re working on the alphabet, and you’re welcome to sail along!
My little girl was in a piratey kind of mood when her photo was taken with this particular preschool project, so I just floated with it. 🙂
I decided to let my little pirate do a letter C word search.
I took a blank sheet of paper, made several bubble letter Cs, drew a few pieces of candy and a few cookies, then added a bunch of random swirls & stars to make it a bit tricky. I also made a box in the lower corner as her “code” to help her know how many letter Cs were hidden and how many of each of the sweet things that started with the letter C she needed to find.
The sailing orders were simple. Find all of the letter Cs and color them.
When you find one in the picture, color one in your code so that you know when you find them all. Do the same thing with the pieces of candy and cookies, which are the words I was using to demonstrate the C sound for her that day.
This would work with any letter and any simple pictures you wanted to use with that letter, obviously.
My wee matey had fun with this project, as you can see from her piratical expression, and I’m sure your little ones would too. 🙂
My family loves to eat yogurt, but I’ve ran into a couple of problems with the pre-flavored yogurts available at the store.
First off, they are getting too stinkin’ expensive for my taste! Second, there is a ton of sugar, artificial dyes and extra junk I can’t even pronounce added into most of them, and I’m not too crazy about that when I’m trying to make a healthy choice by eating yogurt in the first place.
So, being the penny pinching peach that I be 🙂 , I decided to start experimenting with making my own flavored yogurt, starting with the big (and much cheaper!) tubs of plain yogurt.
The first thing I tried was a recipe I found for chocolate chip cookie dough yogurt. It was just a couple of scoops of plain yogurt (Greek or regular works, although the recipe asked for Greek), a couple of scoops of creamy peanut butter, a sprinkling of vanilla extract and a small handful of chocolate chips. It was surprisingly good!
Next, I used some of my son’s baby food to flavor some of that same plain yogurt. Both of my children were crazy about it! It actually tasted very similar to the store bought fruit flavored yogurts, just slightly less sweet because there was no sugar added. This one is 100% healthy and sugar free, which is fantastic since too much sugar makes my munchkins act like they’ve been transformed into the Energizer bunny until all hours of the night. 🙂
Banana baby food and a generous dollop of peanut butter mixed into yogurt was a definite hit, with both my daughter and myself! Some other baby food flavors I’d suggest: strawberry banana, apple blueberry (sounds weird, but my kids loved that one), peaches, banana, apricot & mixed fruit…pretty much anything fruity that sounds yummy to you will work.
My husband brought me a yogurt mix treat the other day, bringing with it more yogurt mix-in inspiration. Try almond slivers, dark chocolate shavings or chips and shredded coconut. Can we say delicious? Ooooo, yeahhh! 😉
A winning flavor is mashed banana and peanut butter mixed together and then mixed into your yogurt.
Cinnamon, honey and raisins makes for a different twist, with flavors reminiscent of rice pudding.
Does anyone else flavor their own yogurt? What’s your favorite?
With the holiday season over, and the Christmas themed crafts no longer an anchor for our preschool activities, it’s back to ordinary projects for us. I decided to have my 4 year old review her alphabet a little differently, using random things from around the house, to make sure she really recognizes and can write each upper and lower case letter well.We’re a few letters in now, but I’m sharing what we did for the letter A, as well as what Baby Boy did for “baby school” while she was hard at work. 🙂
My hubby had brought home a newspaper with all those lovely coupon inserts, and there were some advertisements in there with large, classic block letters. I got out Princess Peach’s current preschool book and had her look at the letter A pages she had done previously. She then filled her dry erase board with as many upper and lower case (also known as mommy and baby) letter As as she could. After that, it was on to her fun project, with her book and dry erase board as her guide…
I gave her the advertisement page, and told her to find and cut out as many of the letter A as she could find. For every five letters, she would get a sticker. She had a blast hunting for and cutting out her letters and cashing them in for her stickers! 🙂
Of course, little brother wanted in on the fun as well, so Mommy pulled out some extra large animal flash cards for
Animal Identification and Sounds
him once sister was to the cutting stage. I set him up in the high chair next to her, gave him the flash cards and had him hold each one up and I’d tell him the animal and animal sound. He’d repeat them to me with interest, and sometimes tell me what sounds they made before he even held them up to show me. This kept him stimulated and happily learning with sister instead of trying to steal all of her letters. 🙂
All of this took place in our kitchen while I was doing dishes, by the way. I can’t get anything done if I can’t multi task at least part of the time! 🙂
Does anyone else use random household items for educational activities? It definitely appeals to the penny pinching, hate-to-waste-anything side of me, I have to admit! 🙂
My 4 year old loves crafts and Christmas, so I’ve had to come up with alot of random crafty things for her to do that are Christmas related. One thing she has especially enjoyed is beading. She’s done ornaments, as well as making bracelets and necklaces galore. We even made a camo bracelet for her baby brother. I also had to come up with a way to include her 19 month old brother in her new favorite activity, which I’ll share in a second. 🙂
Concentrating on beading
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She made a few candy canes and a wreath to hang on our little Christmas tree. I just twirl one end of a Creativity Street Stetems/Pipe Cleaners 12″ X 4mm 100-Piece Assorted Colors
to hold the Pony Beads Multi Color 9mm 1000 Pcs in Bag
on and shape the finished beads into whatever we are making. She enjoys making a pattern by laying out beads in the color scheme we are going to use, and then using that to remind her of the order her colors should go on her pipe cleaner.
Her brother was jealous after she’d made bracelets for herself and me, so I came up with a camo themed bracelet idea. He wears it proudly, and Daddy isn’t the least bit bothered by his son wearing a camo bracelet like he might be of Princess Peach’s suggestion of purple and pink for her brother’s bracelet. 😉
Camo bracelet
Of course, I couldn’t leave the little guy out of all of this Christmas fun! I was looking at his little face, which he would’ve stuffed with all of the pretty candy colored beads, and had an AHA!! moment. I strapped him in his highchair, handed him a pipe cleaner and dumped a handful of multigrain Cheerios on his tray. Tada! Edible beads for baby! He was thrilled to be doing what big sister was doing, and I was happy that both of my children were safely entertained. 🙂
Baby beading Cheerios
This is a super cheap and easy activity that will keep Princess Peach busy for hours, and my little squirt happily engaged for as long as 20 or 30 minutes. Anyone who has ever cared for small children 24/7 knows that a fun activity like that is priceless!
What are you keeping the little ones in your life busy with during the holiday season? Need another idea? Check out my popular Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments!
Black Friday week savings are AMAZING at CVS!!! There are over 30 freebies, and I was able to score quite a few of them. It’s really easy compared to usual, since they’re mostly free even without any extra coupons. There are even more terrific deals than I’m sharing, if you want to do some research and scan ads, but this was what was simple for me to take advantage of with two less than patient planning and shopping companions. I riproaring tickled with my bounty as is! 🙂
I walked into CVS with $13 ECB leftover from a previous shopping trip. I paid $21.93 out of pocket, have $12 in Extra Care Bucks leftover, and still have a $12.99 rebate to send in. That being said, I am eventually going to be paid $3.06 for buying $135.40 worth of great stuff!! Can anybody give me a “WOOHOO!!!”?? LOL My four year old is not very cooperative with searching for sale items, so I had her hunting for things and toting a basket, all with the goal of earning a (free) pack of gum if she was helpful instead of acting up. Yes, she earned her gum. Yes, that is the part of the trip she bragged about the most. That and the fact that she believes we saved enough money in this shopping trip to buy her most desired gift for Christmas. 🙂
So, to break it down:
$13 Extra Care Bucks walking in
$21.93 paid out of pocket
4 Transactions (I put some of the higher priced items on the first two purchases to carry the ECB to the next)
$135.40 Value
$12 Extra Care Bucks and a $12.99 rebate leftover
PAID $3.06 for taking these goodies off of their hands!!!
Here is your list of things you can buy for free, nearly free or even be paid to take home! I printed my list off and gave myself a rough list on the back of the main items to put on my transactions (I planned on 3) so I wouldn’t pay a ton out of pocket…
99¢ ECB wyb Ricola Extra Strength, 4 ct 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE
99¢ ECB wyb CVS Training Pants 2 ct or CVS Ultra Soft Cleansing Cloths, 12 ct., 99¢ Limit 1 Final Price: FREE
$3 ECB wyb (2) Starbucks Refreshers or Doubleshots 2/$3 Limit 1 Final Price: FREE
$2.37 ECB wyb Children’s Advil 1 oz., $2.37 Limit 1 If you can find an Children’s Advil coupon, this is a moneymaker. Final Price: FREE/MONEYMAKER!
$2 ECB wyb Right Guard Total Defense Deodorant, $2.99 Limit 1 Use coupons you can print at Swagbucks earning points or at coupons.com without signing up or earning points, plus you can ear Saving Star money on this. Final Price: Around 50 cents after Saving Star payment.
$12.99 ECB wyb CVS True Result Blood glucose monitoring system $12.99 Limit 1 Mine had a rebate in it to get the complete price back. Final Price: FREE or a $12.99 moneymaker
Colgate Total 4-4.2 oz., $3 Use $2.50/1 Colgate Total CVS COUPON Printer and there are Colgate coupons in prior papers, if you have them. Final Price: FREE or 50 cents
I was also able to get some bags of Christmas Reeses candy for pretty much free after their deals and stacking grocery & in store coupons. Supreme protein bars for the hubby were only about $1 each, which is less than 1/3 of the price, after in store coupons, Extra care bucks and a printed coupon. Sodas are 69 cents apiece, so I just threw a couple of those in. I wanted toothbrushes as stocking stuffers for the kiddos, and the Clifford ones you see were extremely cheap after in store coupon and Extra Care Bucks. The coupons on the protein bars and Reeses candy coupons are available on coupons.com and Swagbucks, as well.
What are you most excited about getting for free?
If you want to join Swagbucks or Saving Star, check out my posts on those programs:
In honor and appreciation of all former and current military and their families on Veteran’s Day, I thought I’d share a few of the well deserved freebies & discounts available just for the vets in celebration of their sacrifice and service. Please note that most will require a military ID or proof of former military service in order to be given, so have it ready when you go to claim your goodies. Some will give it to anyone wearing their uniform. I’d suggest that you call your local restaurant or store to see what proof of service they need before going. Share with your friends & family in the military, even if you can’t benefit from these deals. They deserve it! 🙂
Food:
Chilis- November 11- Free meal from select menu on November 11.
Golden Corral- November 11 only from 4-9pm, free drink and buffet for anyone who has ever served in the military.
Longhorn- Free Texas Tonions and non-alcoholic beverages from November 11-14.
O’Charley’s- Free meal from the $9.99 menu on Veteran’s Day.
Olive Garden- Free meal on November 11.
Outback Steakhouse- Free bloomin’ onion on Veteran’s Day. Also, they are giving a 10% discount on total check from November 12 through December 31!
Red Lobster- Free appetizer with military ID (taxes not included). Good November 11-14.
Starbucks- Free tall brewed coffee to veterans, active military and spouses on Veterans Day. Please call ahead to make sure your local Starbucks is participating.
Non-Food:
David’s Bridal- 20% off of any dress for military brides or one marrying someone in the military through November 15. Make sure to see what proof you need if you are marrying a military man, since I doubt they just take your word for it.
Great Clips- Free haircut for veterans on veterans Day, or you can just stop in for your free haircut card to be used by December 31. A non-military person can pick up the card to be redeemed by a veteran later. They may be available on their Facebook page, as well.
Home Depot- 10% off up to a $500 purchase for veterans on Veterans Day.
JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store- 20% off November 10-15.
Lowes- 10% off for military and immediate family members on Veterans Day.
Meineke- Free oil changes for military and spouses on Veterans Day.
Red Roof Inn- During the month of November, a military ID will get you 15% off of your stay.
I would advise calling ahead to make sure your local restaurant or shop is participating in these specials, but most should honor them. If you are military, which freebie or discount is your favorite? If not, I’m again encouraging you to share this list with your friends and family who have served. It’s the least you can do!! 🙂
I just ordered a couple of the free photo bargains available right now, and thought I’d share the joy. I’m always looking for free or extremely cheap deals on getting my kiddos’ adorable pictures printed, and I’m sure it is the same for most of us who like snapshots of memories.
Walgreens has a free 8X10 photo collage you can order with the code BOOCOLLAGE. You can pick it up in your local Walgreens for free. I order these every time this deal is available, and they always turn out beautifully. This time I got one made of my two little ones in their costumes for a trunk or treat last night. The code expires 11-02-2013.
Shuttefly has 101 free prints, but you do have to pay shipping. I was able to use the code on 99 prints, which saved significantly on the shipping costs (they go up at 100 prints). It cost me $6.49, tax included, and they will be shipped right to my house. The code is SPOOKY. It expires 11-01-13, so hurry to get this great bargain!
If you miss the deadline on the 101 free prints, you can take advantage of the 50 free prints code 50FREEPRINTS. It doesn’t expire until 11-17-13. 🙂
I printed the photos I’ve illustrated this little share-a-thon with, among others. What will you use your codes to print? 🙂
while I was out running errands, then both of my munchkins miraculously took a nap at the same time after we got home. I went to work, washing and conditioning my hair and then following the basic techniques from the video until I was fairly satisfied with the results.
to save a few bucks! 🙂
Penny Pinching Peach 