With summer dawning, alot of folks are hitting the road for family vacation or visiting relatives. Since most of us are on a budget, I thought I’d share a few of the little things I do to save big when we travel.
“Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com”
We like our caffeine when we’re on road trips, so instead of stopping everywhere for drinks, I make a big jug of sweet tea (Lipton, of course!)ahead of time and put it in mason jars in the cooler. It’s extremely inexpensive, and easily poured from jar to travel cup. We also pack jars of milk and juice for the kiddos, as well as water if we’re going somewhere with questionable water quality.
Anyone who travels with kids knows that plenty of snacks are a must. I make things like cookies (Try my recipe for Healthy Oatmeal Cookies here. They travel well for a few days.) and snack mixes, plus take things like boxes of raisins, apples and bananas. I also pack some emergency treats like lollipops for when the little stinkers start howling about being stuck in the car. Since they are a treat to our kids, they work well at buying some peaceful time. We still sometimes stop for an icecream cone or some local delicacy as a treat, but we aren’t tempted to grab convenience treats for inflated prices at bathroom stops when we already have plenty of yummy goodies to munch on.
If you can, pack some sandwiches, canned goods, and breakfast items to eat for breakfasts and lunches while traveling. Also, gather up coupons for various restaurants you may stop at on your travels. Often, you can sign up for birthday clubs (see my post here: Happy Birthday Freebies) and get some really high value coupons for various restaurants just for signing up, even before your birthday comes around.
If you have pets, and know someone trustworthy nearby who also has pets, try to work out a pet sitting trade with them. You watch their pets while they travel, and they watch your pets while you travel. This way, neither of you has to actually spend any money on pet care. Just make sure to walk them through how to care for your furbabies, leave a list of the basic necessities of their care, and leave everything in plain sight that they will need to taking care of your critters.
Always look for the coupon books that are available in any tourist area, and search online for savings ahead of time at any attractions you intend to visit. You can rack up some serious savings on tickets and shopping this way.
I think most of us know to check the coupon books or make reservations online at discounted prices to save on hotels,and I’m really trying to focus on the more obscure little ways to save, but it must be mentioned. Also, if you are a government employee, in public safety or any career like that, inquire into what discounts are available to you. You may be surprised at how much of a savings some hotels will give you for those careers.
What are your favorite little tricks for saving big while traveling? Traveling with little ones, check out my post Traveling With Little Riders!
The mask & cape were gifts purchased with Mommy’s rewards programs
This post has been updated to add some tricks I’ve learned since I originally posted this last year. I hope that you will enjoy Swagbucks as much as I do! Please follow my referral code at the end to join and reap the benefits of this awesome program!
I want to share one of my very favorite points earning programs with y’all! Swagbucks is easy to use, and the points add up very quickly. I actually paid for most of my daughter’s 4th birthday presents using Amazon gift cards that I earned through Swagbucks and SavingStar by doing things that I would do with or without rewards programs!! I got over $35 worth of adorable gifts for my daughter from Amazon, with only $6 out of pocket expenses after using the gift cards I’d saved up from those two programs! Talk about doing the penny pinching mama dance!! 🙂 I’m already racking up points to use for some of my Christmas shopping in a few weeks. (There are other pay-outs, but the Amazon gift cards are my favorites.)
By now I’m sure you’re wondering how it works, right? Well, let me walk you through the basics…
450 points can be exchanged for a $5 Amazon gift card. There are other payouts, including Paypal payments, gas cards, gift cards to many other popular stores, travel expenses or items in their own Swagbucks store, but this is the only one I’ve used and a simple reference for the value of the points you’re earning through your activities. It is also the best value I have found.
You earn random points by using Swagbucks as your search engine instead of one of the conventional search engines like Yahoo or Google. Just today, I got 10 points for doing a search for photo coupon codes using their site. It pops up when you do the search if you got a code, then you just type it in and enter and it is added to your account balance toward your next payout. Easy peasy!
You can shop through their shopping link with many online retailers, and earn a designated amount of points for every dollar spent. The average points per dollar seems to be from 2 to 7 points, from my observation. This is great if you are doing online shopping already! I earned almost enough for a $5 giftcard just by clicking through their links to order ink for my printer a couple of months ago. I was going to order it, anyway, so that was free money to use for my daughter’s gifts later. 🙂
You will earn 10 points for every coupon that you print and redeem through their coupons link. These are pretty much the same coupons that you get from coupons.com, but you’re getting rewarded for using them. If you’re like me, and use alot of coupons to stretch your budget, this is an awesome way to rack up those rewards quickly! Sometimes you are also entered into sweepstakes for every coupon you print. The other day when I was printing coupons for diapers and groceries, I was also being entered into a sweepstakes for $250!
Swagbucks frequently releases “Swag Codes” that you can enter in a special box in the top of your screen for bonus points. These are usually only good for a short period of time. For example, today there was one that was only good until 5pm EST, and I earned 3 points just for entering “Wagbucks” into the little magic box up there. My favorite site for keeping up with the codes is .
You can also install a tool bar, which I have chosen not to do, since I’m not too fond of tool bars in general. Every day they havea “Daily Poll”, which pays 1 point just for choosing your answer. You are able to participate in surveys, which will pay you a varying amount of points per survey. They have different “tasks” you can do for extra points, such as completing certain searches and informing them of the top 3 sites that show up. If you choose to join various programs using their links, you’ll earn points for doing that. There are video advertisements available at times to watch in exchange for more points. I’ve not taken advantage of all of these opportunities, but there are alot of different ways to keep adding onto that points balance if you have the time and inclination, most of them without spending one red cent! 🙂
Birthday girl. She had a ninja turtle/princess party. 🙂
Another way that you can earn points is through referrals, of course. If you like the program, you share it with others. If they join through your link, you will earn some points from that. If you’re interested in joining Swagbucks after my honestly enthusiastic review here, I’d be tickled pink if you’d use my referral link below. 🙂
If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to try to answer. This really is a great program that I enjoy immensely, and I’m happy to be able to share about it with anyone who will listen! 🙂
*Penny Pinching Peach is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Do your little ones enjoy getting mail? I know Princess Peach does! I was pretty tickled to find out that she could get a Lego magazine in the mail each month for absolutely free! I signed her up and waited. Sure enough, she started getting these bright, colorful, cute magazines in the mail addressed to her, and has continued to for the past year and a half or so since I put her on the mailing list. They include instructions on some Lego project, things to color and little stories featuring Lego people, among other things. As you can see in this picture, my little Lego lover loves getting her own magazines! Think your kiddo would, too? Sign ’em up here!
This is a treasured family recipe, dating back at least to my great-grandma. My mom told stories of going every Sunday to her grandma’s house for this Ritz cracker chicken and a good time with her huge, close-knit clan of kinfolks. This was one of her stand-by meals for our family growing up, and one we looked forward to every time. When I was dating my now-husband, I fixed this chicken for him. He had a fit over it, and insisted on taking me to his parents’ house and having me fix it for him. Maybe it brought on a proposal? 😉 He requests it from time to time, and my little Princess Peach and her baby brother are already in love with what she also calls Grandma’s Special Ritz Cracker Chicken. She thinks it is a “recipe from Heaven”, though, because it is so yummy and she knows it is a recipe I learned from her Grandma, whom she never met ’cause she went to live in Heaven before Princess Peach was born. This recipe has so many good memories attached to it for me, in addition to being delicious! I’m happy to share it with you, and hope you can make memories with your own family while feeding them this scrumptious chicken treat.
We don’t always make this with chicken breast, for the record. You can use any pieces you want. We just like breast meat better in our house, so I buy huge packs when we find it on sale. I also frequently add chicken liver, made the same way, in with our chicken breast. It stretches the budget, and the hubby and I love liver. I usually serve this chicken with mashed taters and either green beans, corn, baked beans or mac & cheese, but it would go well with just about anything. It is truly that good! 🙂
With no further ado…
Grandma’s Sunday Special Ritz Cracker Chicken
♥Grandma’s Sunday Special Ritz Cracker Chicken♥
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large strips
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Mix crushed Ritz crackers, melted butter and black pepper until all is moistened.
Coat each piece of chicken well with the Ritz cracker mixture, and place in medium sized baking pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned.
Enjoy!
She was enjoying her chicken and wouldn’t stop to pose. 🙂
This recipe doubles well, and I usually do at least double the recipe so we can eat it
Chewing his chicken with a cheesy grin
multiple times. You just have to cook it a few minutes longer for the extra chicken. The pan shown is about double the recipe, for reference. We love it so much that we’re always happy to eat the leftovers the next day!
No coupons this week, but this is a super frugal main dish.
So, now that I’ve shared one of my favorite family recipes with you, what’s a dish your family has long term ties with? If you don’t have a recipe like that, what dish do you fix that appears to have the potential to become “Grandma’s special recipe” for your own future generations?
I’m not sure if anyone noticed that I missed my normal “Cooking With Coupons” blog of the week or posting anything else for a few days. I apologize for the silence. What should have been my mom’s 51st birthday was a few days ago. My brain just hasn’t been able to churn out any creative thinking in the little time I’ve had to attempt to use it, and nothing I have written was inspiring me to post it.
My mom was one of the most kind and caring folks I have ever known.
She was radiant, and I only wish she were here now to continue to share that radiant sweetness she had with the next generation. She isn’t, but I am, so I’m doing my best to pass it along. Today, I’m going to just share a few thoughts and issue a challenge in her honor.
First, I’ll share my daughter’s reaction to my mom’s birthday:
Princess Peach was upset that I didn’t make a cake for my mommy’s birthday, and was quick to let me know about it. She said I needed to make a cake right now so she could put a candle in it and make a wish for her grandma. When I asked her what she would wish for Grandma, she replied “I’d wish for her to be able to come down from Heaven to visit so she could meet her beeeeauuuuutiful grandbaby!” as she patted her own little chest. Her mommy wishes her wish could come true.
Moving on…
All of us know someone who needs encouragement in one way or another.
Take a few minutes out of your day and just do it. Some ideas?
Send a card to a widow whose husband passed a couple of months ago, sharing a fond memory you have of him (if you knew him). By that point, most folks have forgotten she is still alone and needing something to help fill the void, but she hasn’t and the loneliness is probably kicking in at a new depth.
For the teenager who struggles with school, but got a great report card, send an email or a note on social media letting him know how proud you are of his efforts. It helps teens to know others notice when they are doing well, and not just when they screw up. (We all know they get in enough trouble! 🙂
If you know a child who is painfully shy, take a minute to speak to her and let her feel heard and noticed, whether commenting on her drawngs or complimenting her outfit. Don’t push her too much and scare her, just pay attention. Your acknowledgement could help her come out of her shell, and will at least help her to know she isn’t invisible. (Spoken as a former social phobic young girl. 🙂 )
If you see a mommy struggling to get into the grocery store juggling little ones, cuppies, purse and diaper bag, open the door and compliment her on her cutiepies. You’ll help her feel better about the tough job of being a parent.
Encourage your children to be kind. Have them color pictures for grandparents, do thank you notes for those who do nice things for them, hug the elderly woman who always sits on the pew in front of you at church, or other little things that can brighten lives.
If you know someone is going through something you’ve been through already, share with them how you got through. Not in a judgmental way, just in a manner to let them know they aren’t alone and someone else has been there and survived.
Smile. Just smile at people. It takes less effort than scowling, and the trickle effect of your sunny mood can brighten someone’s sour face. 🙂
I could go on all day, but I won’t. The point I’m trying to make here is that you don’t have to do anything huge. Just do something small every day you’re blessed with the precious gift of life to spread kindness in the world. It makes a much bigger difference than you may ever know.
Now for the challenge:
I want to ask anyone who reads this to share at least one “small” kindness someone did for you that made a difference for you. Maybe it will inspire others to do the same for someone else, continuing the kindness bestowed on you. Please, please share!
Remember…
“You can change the world one act of random kindness at a time.”
To see the beginning of this series, head on over to Acts of Kindness.
My 3 1/2 year old, Princess Peach, loves to do anything cute, creative and crafty. I love anything that will keep her content, busy and not destroying anything for an entire hour at a time. I went on a quick internet browse for some things to fit the bill the other day when I felt a migraine coming on and needed her quietly occupied. I saw something kinda similar to this, and did my own thing from there with the materials I had on hand and the age of my munchkin. This little egg carton upcycled caterpillar project made us both happy! 🙂
First, I took an egg carton and cut the bottom off of it, then cut the two egg holder rows apart.
Curliques
Next, I poked a hole in each side of the end I designated the head of each caterpillar. I had a green pipe cleaner that I cut in half, threaded one half through the head of each little critter’s head and twirled the ends into cutsie curliques.
At this point, I would’ve put some googly eyes on the caterpillars for best results, but I didn’t have any. I thought about gluing small black buttons on for the eyes, but did I mention I started this whole project ’cause I had a migraine coming on? Yeah. So, I wound up just doodling eyes and a little cartoon mouth on each with markers and calling it good.
Princess Peach’s Project
From here, Princess Peach took the reins. I laid out her markers and a few different types of stickers for her to choose from to decorate and left her at the kitchen table while I laid on the living room couch trying to keep the migraine from coming on while being able to keep an eye on her and my little Bam-Bam baby boy. (Didn’t work, by the way. Worst migraine in forever!) For older kiddos or when you’re in a more hands-on mood, you could definitely add some glitter glue, buttons to be glued on as spots, macaroni art designs or anything else your little hearts desire.
My little artist had a great time creating her little critters, and when she was done she had just as much fun playing with them. She dubbed them brother and sister, and had them going on adventures together all over the house. It was pretty stinkin’ cute, even though part of her adventures took place making them fly around the bathroom telling me to feel better while I was throwing up from the migraine pain & pressure.
Want a rating on a scale of “zero” to “you’ve gotta do this”? Honey, if you’ve got preschoolers who need a rainy day or busy time activity that costs you nothing you don’t already have on hand and could even be considered “green”, I’d call egg carton caterpillars a “gotta do this” kinda activity. 😉
I was given the Liebster Award by two of my fellow bloggers- My 3 Monsters http://my3monsters.wordpress.com/ and WAHMs Live Green http://www.wahfamilieslivegreen.com/. Both ladies have blogs that run pretty true to what their titles hint at, and I’d encourage everyone to check them out. I’m truly flattered to be thought of for this award, and am nominating some wonderful and different bloggers myself this time around. I tried to make this fresh, but some of the facts about me are just the same. 🙂
These are the Liebster Award rules; “When nominated, the blogger must list eleven facts about his/herself, answers questions given by the nominator, and come up with eleven questions for the bloggers he/she nominates.” The bloggers are also supposed to have under 300 followers.
Here goes something!
♥ Eleven Facts About Penny Pinching Peach♥
Hubby Training
•I probably have one of the hardest working husbands in the world. He’s a firefighter/paramedic, and I’m very proud of the fact my husband is willing to save lives and help others for a living.
•My dream growing up was to be a mommy and…..whatever else. The only unchanging part was that I wanted to be a mommy. My two munchkins? Crazy little dreams come true! 🙂
•I come from a long & proud line of penny pinching peaches.
•I was peeling taters in the kitchen with my mom when I was 7. I’m passing on the helping-in-the-kitchen-early-on tradition to my little girl, who already puts up freshly washed silverware and crushes cans for recycling at the ripe ol’ age of 3 1/2.
•I was homeschooled, graduating at age 15 in the top 1% of graduating seniors nationwide.
•I lost my mom in 2006, and I miss her every day, but she lives on in the hearts of all who loved her.
•I love doing crafts, but haven’t been able to do as many crafts since having babies.
•I am a lifelong bookworm, but that is yet another neglected hobby of mine since having little ones.
Chicks and Chica
•I love cooking and baking. Feeding folks the vittles I stir up is just the icing on the cake!
•I taught myself calligraphy when I was in middle school. That seems like an obscure and useless skill, but it has come in handy to add a bit of pizzazz to the lettering when making cards.
♥Questions From My 3 Monsters♥
1.Why did you start blogging? Several reasons, one being that friends & family encouraged me to officially share what I’d been sharing unofficially forever. 2.What inspires your blog? My family, frugality and random things. 3.What is your favourite holiday and why? Christmas, because it brings my little ones so much joy. 4.What is an important tradition in your family? Right now? My daughter “trick or treats” for prizes when she goes potty. We’re still forming our lifelong traditions, though. 🙂 5.How many children do you think is the ideal number to have? I think it varies according to the family, honestly. For some, that number is none or one. For others, it is 5 or 10. I’m not sure what it is for us yet, but I hope it’s at least one more than we have. 🙂 6.What is your family’s favourite meal? Hmm… that’s a toughie! My family loves my chicken and dumplings. Ritz cracker chicken and chicken livers with mashed taters & green beans. A creamy chicken concoction I tried recently that the hubby called the “best chicken ever”. Chicken, apparently?? lol
I Cook Good, Mommy!
7.Any suggestions for picky eaters? (This question is purely for selfish reasons!) My little ones generally eat well, but when my daughter goes through a picky patch, I get her input on meals. I’ll say “Shell noodles or curly?” or let her help mix things, dump ingredients in a bowl….pretty much anything to be involved with the meal. When kids help make something, they usually eat it. 🙂 8.What is your dream vacation? Happy, peaceful, warm, and without some weird agenda? lol 9.What kinds of music do you listen to? Country, rock, Christian worship/contemporary. 10.Coffee or tea? Sweet iced tea. 11.If you could offer kids one piece of advice for the future what would it be? ONE?!? Don’t let what the rest of society is doing or thinking dictate your morals and ideas.♥Penny Pinching Peach’s Liebster Award Nominees♥
•You obviously enjoy blogging, but what’s a hobby you’re known for?
•What is your favorite way to save?
•If you could spend your weekend any way you wanted, what would you do?
•Do you have any pets?
•Which beauty item can you not live without?
•What is your favorite place to shop, online or offline?
•What two words best describes your personality?
•What is your favorite snack?
•Do you have any hidden talents?
•What would you like to be remembered for?
Congratulations to all of these fantastic bloggers!
I look forward to reading your replies and to continue keeping up with all of your fantastic blogs! Please visit and follow all of these interesting bloggers. I know you’ll enjoy them as much as I do!
My daughter two years ago with a different cold sweet treat.
I just spent a good part of the afternoon putting plants out in our little yard garden. It’s warm outside, and the pollen count is at an ungodly high level. I would love to eat icecream right now, since I got quite warm & dusty and my throat is pretty itchy from that pesky yellow haze covering everything outside. I’m being a good girl and resisting temptation for the moment, but I’m sharing a tempting recipe that might make it difficult for y’all to keep from indulging. 🙂 What I’m sharing today is a frugal tip for fancifying that delectably cool warm weather treat: Homemade cookie cups filled with icecream. Mmm, mmmmmmm!!! 🙂 I’ve got savings to go along with it, which certainly sweetens the deal for me! 🙂
What you need: Cookie dough and a muffin tin, plus whatever you want to fill them with. I have always seen chocolate chip cookie dough used, but I’m sure other types would work and would like to try some other varieties this warm season.
What to do: Flip the muffin tin over, form the cookie dough around the cups instead of inside, then bake the pan upside down like that. Let the cookies cool, then pop them off of there and fill them with icecream or frozen yogurt of your choice, or even fresh chopped fruit with whipped cream on top, if you prefer.
Some flavor combinations that I think would be good to try: The classic chocolate chip cookies with vanilla, chocolate or peanut butter icecream. Chocolate chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter or strawberry icecream. Peanut butter cookies with chocolate icecream. Sugar cookies with strawberry icecream or fresh fruit & whipped cream. Your imagination is your limit! 🙂
Which coupons to print: Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough and Yoplait frozen yogurt.
Bonus savings: Saving Star has an additional $1 on Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough that will go to your account there if you purchase at one of your registered stores using your store card! If you aren’t signed up for saving star, you can read up on it and then sign up by going to my post on Saving Star here:
What flavor combination can you come up with? Which do you think would taste the best? 🙂
“You can change the world one act of random kindness at a time.”
When my mom was diagnosed with cancer in October of 2006, we had no idea how quickly it would take her away from us. She had always been so strong, healthy and active that it was hard to imagine something so seemingly intangible & mysterious as cancer could beat her. To our shock and horror, it stole her life, and rapidly. In a short two months, my vibrant mom was gone.
I won’t go too deeply into the details of her sickness and our loss right now, since that isn’t the point of sharing this. The point of sharing is the legacy of kindness that my mom left behind and the ripples of kindness others showed when she was taken from us so quickly.
When I lost my mom, I also lost my best friend.
The hole left in my life and heart is something indescribable, and nothing anyone could understand without having been there. There were those who probably didn’t know what to do to help me, so they did nothing. There were many more who probably knew they couldn’t make my pain go away, but they still reached out to let me know that I was not alone. Most of the latter were probably unaware of the difference they made for me and my family, but every little thing someone did for us made a huge impact. Without the kindness of those around us, I don’t know that we could have made it through our loss as well as I have.
Do you want to know some of the many acts of kindness I was blessed with during the loss of my mom?
When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I had just started getting really involved with a new church community. I didn’t expect much support or love from them, since I’d had alot of negative & unkind experiences with church people in my life previously, but they were there for me every step of the way. They didn’t just pray for me, which is always appreciated, but they actively let me know they cared. They’d come to me and ask how my mom was and how I was handling things and if I needed anything. They also reached out to my brother, and were a strong support for him during his grieving process. I would never have asked for help, even with the offer, but the offers still mattered and the concern made it’s impact.
Mom & Brother At a Family Reunion, 2005
Family and friends alike called and emailed regularly to check on us and let us know they were thinking of us. Some offered help. Most just let us know they cared. All were an important part of our family’s survival of my mom not surviving.
My dad owns his own business, Cue Man Billiards and Hightower Cues http://www.hightowercues.com, and my parents had no health insurance. Other business owners and individuals in the billiard industry organized a fundraiser to assist with the mounting medical bills. The money helped. The fact that all of those people cared enough about our family and had that much respect & concern for my dad to reach into their pockets and open their hearts to help us in our time of need meant even more than the cash, though. I saw my dad- who is not a very emotional person- with tears in his eyes because of what the gestures of so many people in his business world meant to him. The billiard industry doesn’t have the best reputation in some circles, but I can say from experience that there are some amazing and good hearted folks who love pool. 🙂
Speaking of my dad’s business… even his customers showed kindness to us. I was working with my dad at the time, and we would have customers who were aware of our circumstances ask on a regular basis about how my mom and our family was doing when they called or emailed to order . They probably didn’t know, but the moment it took to show care and kindness made a lasting impact.
I was involved in an online community who consistently kept up a thread just for prayers and encouragement for me through this time, and each post reminded me that our family was not alone on an island of sickness. Friends who were distant would send e-cards and messages of well wishes, prayer and just reminders that they cared. I didn’t realize how many true friends that I had until I was going through something I could never have handled alone.
The women at the gym my mom & I once frequented together now saw me coming in alone, and kept up with her sickness and sent well wishes to her on a regular basis.
When my mom passed away, I was shocked at how many people from near and far came to pay respects to her and show support to those of us grieving this loss of this amazing woman. Each and every member of my Bible study group showed up either at the funeral home for visitation or the funeral. Women from the gym my mom had once loved to go to came to show their final respects. Most of our relatives, both close and remote, seemed to have shown up. Old friends even came from states away to be there for us. I was amazed at all of the names in the sign-in book.
(On the topic of that sign-in book… please, please, please always sign that book when you go to a visitation, viewing or funeral! It is so important to the grieving family, because they may be in such a daze that they can’t recall or even notice everyone who is there. That book will tell them you were there for them.)
Brother at his daughter’s 1st birthday in 2008, passing on the love mom left with us.
There were tons of flowers and cards and even a beautiful painting from people whose lives had been touched by the radiant & loving life my mom had led.
People from my church, my dad’s church and my uncle’s church provided us with food for meals we would never have bothered to cook for the first couple of weeks. Our next door neighbor even brought us a hot breakfast the morning of my mom’s funeral. In our grief, we would most likely have forgotten about eating anything significant, but these people literally gave us comfort food.
A couple of people donated to the cancer society in my mom name. Some told me stories of ways that she had touched their lives. Others simply said they were sorry for our loss or said nothing and gave me a hug. All of them touched my heart deeply, because the feeling behind the act is the most important thing of all.
Noone made anyone do anything for us. They just cared, and showed it through their acts of kindness.
There were many more that I’m not mentioning, but it would fill pages upon pages. The point of sharing all of this is to encourage everyone who reads this that no kindness is too small, no word too insignificant, no action too simple to make a difference.
For my fellow penny pinchers out there, kindness costs you nothing and gives so much. Just telling someone who is grieving or having a difficult time in life “I care” or “I am here for you” goes a long ways, if you truly mean that from your heart. All of those tiny acts of kindness, along with the legacy of my mama’s love that I have kept in my heart, helped carry me through the murky mire of overwhelming and debilitating grief that eventually threatened to drown me.
In my everyday life, I’ve also experienced many acts of random kindness, but… well, that’s another story of kindness for another day. 🙂
Mom in Joyful Times. She taught me so much about what it means to be kind! Help me pass that on!
Is there some small kindness someone did for you during a low point in your life that helped you to struggle on another day? Please share!
Remember…
“You can change the world one act of random kindness at a time.”
Yesterday was one of my occasional “coupon sprees” at CVS.
My tallies came up pretty dandy! As I’ve stated before, I don’t have the time or patience to “extreme coupon” with two small children, but my savings percentages were in that league. All I did was spend a few minutes scanning the deals online, printing out my matching coupons online, grabbing the coupons I already had clipped that went with the deal, loading my deals from my CVS club emails and folding it all into the CVS flier from the Sunday paper. If you aren’t signed up for the emails, do it! I get special deals almost weekly for 20% or 30% percent off or $5 off of a $30 or other similar discounts on top of coupons, sales and Extra Care Bucks. Annnnyway… on to the details of my awesome score! 🙂
My total (between two transactions) would have been $123.33.
My out of pocket expense was $13.81.
That’s a savings of $109.52, or 88.8%!!! 🙂
I’m not even counting into this equation the fact that I have $5 in Extra Care Bucks to use on my next transaction, so I’m more than pleased. I’m especially pleased because most of the items are things we use alot of, and not just “extras”. See the diapers? Yeah, buddy!!! 😉
Penny Pinching Peach 