Mama Money Bags

Do you watch how much you spend at the food store? I know I do! Meat is especially pricey, but Mama Money Bags can help you learn how to cut back. Probably the easiest way to save on meat is to buy in bulk and then divide the meat into separate meals at home. Why buy in bulk? It's cheaper per pound! I buy a large pack of boneless skinless chicken breast at Wegmans, which I then prep immediately into different dinners (for example, marinated meat, sliced chicken for fajitas, and smaller chunks of chicken for pasta). Then, I stick what I can't use right away into the freezer so it's ready for when I cook. Doing this helps cut back on take-out, too! Sometimes, though, I am super lucky at one of my local stores (usually Wegmans, Target, or Acme) and I stumble upon what my husband calls "scratch and dent" meat--aka, meat that's close to its sell-by date. It usually has a sticker or coupon attached to the packaging. Here's one from Target (similar ones...

I went into Lilly Pulitzer yesterday, primarily because I saw they were giving away Duck Donuts. Anyway, while walking around with my free donut, I spotted this visor. So pretty! And I love visors! But at $38, it's a little steep for this Cheap Mom. Then I saw that items in the Tennis Collection got a free towel (not that I need another towel...). My internal debate grew strong, but so did my resolve to not buy anything. See how they did that? Lure me in with the promise of free donuts, tempt me more with a free promo... Only when I looked up the special on my phone as I walked away, I saw they excluded the "less expensive" visor from the promo. Touche Lilly P! Touche! If you want to find out more money saving tips, check out  Mama Money Bags , my e-book on Amazon Kindle. It's just $2.99 and you'll learn so much about being frugal.

I did some Cheap Mom shopping yesterday. You see, I had the $10 CVS coupon that I got from taking a survey (previously mentioned in this post about "making up" money ). Since it expires in about a week, and because I noticed our shampoo stockpile was getting very low, I stopped at CVS on my way home from work. I bought three bottles of Pantene and a bag of Tide Pods--I'll be sure not to eat them. All that right there retails for almost $20 at CVS and I spent $1.06! How? Here's a quick rundown so you too can learn how to fill your Mama Money Bags: - Pantene was on sale for $4 each with $3 ExtraBucks when I bought three. I looked in the ad and on the signs in front of the product. - There was also a $1 Pantene coupon that I loaded onto my CVS card via their app. - Making it $11 minus my $10 ExtraBucks, for a total of $1.06. - The three bottles resulted in $3 ExtraBucks being printed out. - There was a $2 Tide coupon that I also loaded onto my CVS card via t...

I went shopping the other day by myself. My favorite kind of shopping--when I head to the stores with multiple freebies and coupons. See all that stuff? Two Victoria's Secret undies ($10.50 each) and $5 facial mask, $2.99 card from Hallmark, $5.50 lotion $12.50 shower gel from Bath and Body Works. About $42 worth of items for--wanna take a guess? $1.06! How? You know when those cashiers ask you for your phone number or email at checkout? Well, you should be giving it to them! Then, months later after you haven't been a very good customer (because you are a Cheap Mom and didn't have any coupons) they send you really really good deals to get you to come back into the store. Gap just sent me $20 for FREE this way! I bought my youngest daughter two shirts, a pair of leggings, and a dress for less than $5. Anyway, for this latest shopping trip: --Victoria's Secret sent me a coupon for two free undies with any purchase, so I bought the facial mask (on sale fo...

Mama Money Bags is now live! Starting tomorrow, it will be on sale for just .99 cents--two days only--before going back up in price to $3.49. If you like  Mama Money Bags , please leave a review and follow my blog, Facebook page, or Twitter. I'm also dabbling in LinkedIn, Pinterest, and GoodReads. It's a whole new world of social media out there! To celebrate the new e-book, Marla Being Born  will also available for FREE on Sunday and Monday. Download it and enjoy! Entertainment without spending a cent--that's a great way to start filling your Mama Money Bags.

Mama Money Bags is just about ready; just putting the finishing touches on it! My sister Korren ( www.korrendesign.com ) designed the cover and I absolutely love it! So what goes into writing an e-book? Honestly, patience, stubbornness, and time. Now that I'm here, sitting with my second finished e-book, I keep wondering why I never tried to publish on my own before. I've come up with a few answers. First , and probably the biggest reason, is because this is the first time in 13 years that all of my kids are in school full-day; it's also the first time I am a part-time employee (70%) instead of a full-time one without kids around all day. I do miss them, but summer is coming soon. Second , my coworker (also an author of e-books) said to not start another project before you finish the first one. That single piece of advice helped me so much! I am always starting and stopping some project or another. Even though I have the beginning of my next book laid out in my hea...

My kids' school district was on lock down this morning because someone robbed a local gun shop. Sadly, news like this doesn't surprise me much anymore. We live in a scary world, and not all of the money saving ideas in the world can change it. Love can though. Sometimes. And, of course, events like this always bring up a memory from when I was a little girl. We were home one sunny morning. Gunshots. My dad and brother rushing outside to help our shot and bleeding neighbor, cops swarming around our house, telling me to stand in between the windows against the wall, wrapping me in a blanket. Somehow I got to school that day, and it was on lock down, too. Sometimes it feels like a dream or a nightmare since I was only seven or eight at the time, but then I go looking for the news story and am reminded about it all over again. Shooting in Somers, NY 1983 My parents still live in the same house; their neighbor is still one of the men listed in the article. And time has marched...