I had another grocery mystery shop Thursday night and since I consider the fee that I'm paid to be 'free groceries to me' I sometimes splurge on yummies that I don't otherwise usually buy. Like Chicken Salad from Ukrop's. This chicken salad is AMAZING. It's also expensive - $8.99 for 15 oz. See why it's a treat, but it's all white meat, and creamy and still full of flavor.

As a rule I try to remember to check out the manager's specials in each department. I also check out the dairy products that are being marked down because of their sell by date and I check the overstock/ seasonal racks. This is where I found my bonuses this week.

I'm not sure why baby products were on here but I'm appreciative. I got a refill packages of 128 Huggies Natural Care wipes which are usually $5.25 for $2 each. I picked up two. I also saw Boudreax's Butt Paste, the $4.25 tube, marked down to $1. If I don't need it then I can pass it along to someone or donate it to the women's shelter but it's just not allowed to pass up a deal like that! Seriously.

I also scored a handful of Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix for $.75 which will make some yummy dip for later in the week. I hear there's a football game coming up.

I saved nearly $10 on baby products alone and no one has ever had too many baby wipes. So lesson to us all to make sure to make to at least make a pass by these random racks in your grocery store. You never know what you can score and getting stuff you need for a drastically reduced price is such a Cool Idea!

Odds are that if you belong to community organization, church, or other faith community you've heard the word stewardship lately and probably in the context of the organization as it comes together to create its budget for next year. People in churches laugh at the euphemism and sometimes joke that attendance drops so that people can protect their wallet when 'Stewardship Sunday' roles around.

It's unfortunate that Stewardship has taken on the connotation of revolving around money. It's true that stewardship of money is important and definitely part of the conversation, but it's not the whole conversation and it's not the only conversation.

Over the next several days we'll be looking at what it means to be a good Steward. How we can be a better Steward of that which has been entrusted to us and what this means going forward.

It's a Cool Idea. I promise. Really.

It's back to school time and many states are having their Tax Free Shopping weekend right now. We're on vacation in South Carolina and Georgia but SC has Tax Free weekend right now so we'll be able to take advantage of some of the shopping even though we're missing Tax Free Shopping at home in Virginia.

If your state is having a Tax Free Shopping Holiday it really is in your best interest to make sure you know what is covered. You might just be surprised!

But, you say, you don't have any school aged children. Okay, so you'll just be able to stock up on some new clothes and maybe a pair of shoes. Here's where I say you should check out the approved list of items because in the Commonwealth of Virginia baby clothes and diapers are also tax free this weekend. Corsets are, too, even though I can't for the life of me figure out why.

So, check out if your state is having a tax holiday for back to school shopping and make sure you can take advantage of the list. You'd be amazed what is on the 'approved' back to school list because saving money, especially when it's the government's ides, is always a Cool Idea!

I'm starting a series focusing on planning ahead for the holidays and I have my friend April to thank for making me think about it. First off, let me virtually introduce April. I met her about 5-6 years ago [wow, has it been that long?] when my team moved to a new building and our cubes were next to each other. She was away on her honeymoon when I arrived and when she got back I noticed that everyone came by to see her. She's the popular girl, I thought. I'm quiet and I keep to myself most of the time so she didn't think very highly of me. I was right about her. She is popular and also very nice. Thankfully she learned to like me:)

April, like many people, starts the count down for the holidays very early in the year because she loves Christmas. This year I'm looking at the holidays from the perspective of how we can make them meaningful with what we have around us. Whether that is time, money, services, food, etc.

We'll look at what we can do to prepare for our kids' holidays, as well as, their teachers and others they need to provide gifts for. Because this takes time, and in some cases, money we're starting now so that we don't break the bank or emotional budget. Come along for the ride and if you have ideas I'd love to hear them!

There is a great sale at Bath and Body Works right now. First, Buy 3 Signature Collection bath products and get 3 free. Second, get 20% off All Purchases of $25 or more in stores or on lines [code 9809 until July 5]. And Third, save up to 90% on clearance items in stores only.

I took advantage of the sale in January and bought a bunch of items that I've been using as gifts throughout the year. This may be a good time to begin to remind us all that it's not a bad idea to begin to pick up holiday gifts. So, if you have women in your life that would enjoy being pampered this would be a good time to stock up.

FREE Sample of Dove Calming Night Body Wash

FREE Sample of Aveeno Nourish +Shampoo and Conditioner

FREE Sample of Nescafe Taster's Choice Stick Pack

TRIAL pack of o.b. tampons

Last month I proved to myself that I could grocery shop [excluding buying milk every week] once a month and get by just fine. This month I'm going to see if I can cook just once and see how it works. There are so many things about Once a Month Cooking that appeal to me that I've investigated doing it before. I like finding a majority of like ingredients and weaving them together. I like recipes that don't include a lot of processed ingredients and I like eating seasonally which I think is good for the food chain as well as our wallets. But I must admit that I've never really taken a stab at cooking once a month. 

So why now? Truly? Because someone else has done the work for me. Yep. I'm lazy. Tricia and Cortney over at Once a Month Mom have put together recipes, instructions and even the grocery lists necessary for an entire month of menus. I was coming late to the March menu because I didn't find their site until last week, then I waited to match up my grocery list I made based on what was on sale through The Grocery Game with the recipes I was going to make. I should say that I didn't make the entire menu of recipes. I don't have that kind of freezer space and I don't eat seafood of any kind, but I did make five recipes and a total of ten dinners and one nice breakfast.

I'll give these ladies some amazing credit, the grocery list is phenomenal and the step by step instructions to get through cooking the entire menu is incredible and takes the overwhelm out of the Adventure. I'd still love to be able to work more of my stockpile into the menu but I figure it'll come to that especially as I find standby recipes that we'll come back to again and again - already Comfort and Joy have pronounce the Pizza Roll-Ups a success and the Mexican Pasta was a hit tonight as well. 

So, my suggestion is that if you're curious about Once A Month Cooking check out their site. You can take as much or as little as you want from their plan so that it suits your needs. They also have information about making your own baby food, which in my opinion was so fun and easy that I can't believe mom's of the '70s were feeding us from jars, but that's another story. Check it out and give it a try and see if you can do it once a month. It's a Cool Idea!

January 1st is traditionally the day to make resolutions. What are your resolutions this year? Have you made your list yet? Lose weight? Exercise more? At all? Read more? Write letters - on paper - with a pen? I've tried these and they usually work for me - for a while:) This year I'm going to work on activities that are Cool Ideas that I can revisit through the year. Here it goes.

1. Do a better job with coupons and pantry stockpiling. 
2. Continue to find creative ways to cut expenses
3. Meal planning/ smart planning
4. Increase my income as a stay-at-home parent
5. Find ways to live smarter in the balance between frugality and the environment
6. [not sure yet but I feel like there's something still there to be explored - so I'm leaving room for one more]

So, these are the main areas I'll be working on for myself. I can only hope that the ride will be useful and without too many hazards. There will probably be humor involved. Odds are this could get ridiculous at times. If so, you have my word you'll get all the details.

Sound interesting? I hope so. If not, stick around anyway because these topics won't be the only things you'll see here. Already the coupons are posted. Also, I'll be posting information about great freebies that I hear about, as well as, wonderful deals and information posted on other blogs. I'll do a quick recap and send you to their sites for the full info. No sense in killing bandwidth twice but there is some great stuff out there and I just want to make sure people can find what they want and need.

I hope to find some Cool Ideas we can explore and some Cool Ideas we can share because this is a journey we're on - and we're on it together.