Beware of Automotive Places like Sears!!!

I just wanted to talk about my recent experience with Sears Automotive. I needed new brakes for my truck. I knew this because you could hear some scrubbing and feel some shaking when you were stopping. It had just started, but I know all too well, the sooner you take care of something like this the better. Well, I have a credit card at Sears and they offer free break inspections at their shops. So I took it in and came out with an estimation of like $425. They said I needed new rotors and brake pads in the front and that the back drums needed resurfacing. So I was like Whoa...$425. I realize some of you people out there might not blink an eye at this or be like I used to be. I would rationalize ..well its gotta be done and they are the pros, they know what needs to be done. And sometimes we as people can just be plain lazy and say, well I have the car here now. So I might as well let them do it. Why should we have to worry about a big retailer like Sears trying to "take us for a ride" and to just squeeze money out of us? Well, now I have proof that we will just as quick as any other shop.

I decided to see if my cousin would help me change the brakes out. Its one of the easier jobs to do on a vehicle. So we pulled the front tires off and saw that the pads needed replacing--no problem those can run as low as $14.99! We took the rotors off and thought that we could just have them resurfaced rather than replaced like Sears had said.--by the way--I have the estimate printout listing everything that they said I needed.-- Well we went to O' Reilly's Auto parts and they determined that one could be turned(only $10) and one had to be replaced. So we did that and went home and replaced that the front brakes, rotors, and tires correctly. Then we went to the back tires to check things out. We took those tires off and the drum covers and determined that the pads and the drums were fine. They needed nothing done at this time. Unlike what Sears stated. Can you believe that?

Drum roll please........ I only spent $100.57 for parts and labor----I saved $325.00! And just as important I relearned a valuable lesson..be wary of places that can easily take your money. Dont be afraid to get a second estimate or find a friend or a relative that can either do the work or that you can help do the work and pay alot less and still not have to worry that things were fixed incorrectly!

Corn and Beans!

Today I decided to pick an ear of sweet corn and some of my snap beans. I have never grown and eaten anything from a garden, so I was a little apprehensive to say the least. Then I jumped online to see how you can tell if they actually ready and how the best way is to prepare them. The corn was the biggest available, but it may have still been just a wee bit small. I decided to give them both a try since everything seemed fine. I found online that you can just throw the corn, husk and all, in the microwave and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. I put the beans in a bowl of water and heated them for about 8 minutes or so. Added a little salt and some butter to the final product, and guess what? It was delicious! The corn kernels were just a bit small--but everything tasted great. I added pictures and included a picture of my largest pumpkin to date. Two of them are about this size--about the size of a softball or a little bigger! Wow, if everything dies from here on out, today's bounty made having the garden worthwhile. Plus the satisfaction of watching it grow has been fun too!

RIP--Gone Too Soon!

I just wanted to say rest in peace to Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and David Carradine. The first three really played a part in my life. As a kid, I idolized Michael and at the age of 8 I would do my best MJ moves at the drop of a hat or when his songs played. Although we grow up with out much--and definitely never had the latest style or fad---my brother and especially I had to have a Michael Jackson t shirt and we eventually got the parachute pants. I dont think we ever got the jacket or glove! Things every kid had to have!

I remember Farrah from one of my favorite shows--Charlie's Angels. I remember naming her as a celebrity crush at a young age--prompted by a school project. I dont think I really had one--but I remember her being very pretty in her younger days.

Ed McMahon was Johnny Carson's sidekick for years. I loved The Tonight Show growing up and I know Ed and Johnny had me laughing many times. I watched Star Search -which he hosted. And I know I wished many times he would show up at my door with Publishers Clearing House!!

I dont remember David Carradine as much from his older stuff--although Im sure I watched him since I used to love to watch the Kung Fu shows as a kid. I know he was good in Kill Bill!

I know that you can find fault with all of these people. I know I can too! But this is to honor the good things they did in their lives! Every person has faults and none of them are exceptions to having faults or even bad things in their lives. I tend to hold on to the memories of positive aspects of a person!

Harris Teeter Doubles Coupons up to $1.98

I picked up a few things from Harris Teeter and saved a ton. Several items were free and some for next to nothing. If you are lucky enough to live by one, this week is a good one to save some money. Deal Seeking Mom can let you in on a few of the deals. Good luck!

Garden Update

Well these pictures are about a week old now, but look how much the garden has taken off. Some are actually starting to show some vegetables. Beans, corn, and pumpkins are showing. Also, the cantaloupe, potatoes, peppers, and others seem to be growing fine right now. I am kinda just growing the garden for fun. I mean it would be great to actually be able to eat and give away some of the things I have grown. I have my doubts if they will actually grow to maturity since I have never really done this before. So I will believe it when I see it! If anything, I can take a sense of success with the level the garden is at now. I mean, I don't know how square foot gardening makes it. Everything seems to be growing so well right now--the pumpkin vines are everywhere and everything seems to have grown so much "together". I wonder if they will allow each other to continue to grow.

I sold it on Craigslist !!

Has anybody noticed how resourceful and how many people seem to be using Craigslist? I sold my Jeep Grand Cherokee last week on there. This week I was able to find something for a very good deal. I downsized into a vehicle two years older than my Jeep. The two transactions went very smooth.There seems to be a ton of activity on there daily. I know because I have been surfing it quite a bit lately. Its not just limited to cars and trucks. Name it and you can probably find it or sell it in there. Check it out!

NC Zoo

We are fortunate to live about 20 to 25 minutes away from our state zoo. A zoo is a great place to visit for the family and it doesnt cost that much money if you plan your meals accordingly.My son, who is 3 now, has been asking me about going since I mentioned it a few weeks ago. We have taken him a couple of times before and taken pictures from those visits. However, I guess now he is getting to the point were he can remember things first hand. This past Monday we decided to go. We also took my nephew, Blake, who is five. He had spent the night the night before. That was also a first--Ryan's first sleepover! You should have seen how happy and excited he was for the sleepover. Plus, the next day was probably better for him to have a friend to share it with.We made sure to take some snacks and bottled water and juice bags and the camera--gotta have that! The zoo has a North American side to visit and an African side to visit. There is alot of walking, but there are plenty of benches to take a break and places to stop along the way. This year the zoo features some new baby giraffes! They even built a new deck from which you can feed the giraffes. Right now it is free to feed them, so we ventured in for a look. I think due to poor planning --no one was able to actually feed them. The deck is just built into the natural habitat enclosure, which is probably 3 or 4 football fields long. Of course, all 4 or 5 giraffes were on the other end of the enclosure along with the ostriches and the zebras. Dont get me wrong, you can see the animals from several different points around the enclosure, but you can only feed them from that one spot. I just couldnt see paying to feed the animals if you can not actually do that and the kids couldnt get the thrill of them being so close.

All in all, it was a good day. It was a little hot but we managed that fine too. It was definitely a hit with the kids. I definitely recommend the NC Zoo and hitting your local zoo to save money and still have a nice day out. A Daycation!

The Garden is Growing!

Well, being the novice gardener that I am, I am glad to say that my garden is still growing. We are at about a month and a half of growing. I started everything from seeds, so to me that they even sprouted was an accomplishment. My fear is that they will not continue to grow and produce or that they will die altogether.

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

Well, I headed back to Harris Teeter several times to stock up. I could not resist the free deals. Above is a picture from my second trip. I also went back again, not pictured, and saved a ton of money. All together for these trips I spent $18.82! And I saved $37.19 in Vic store sales, and I saved $130.86 with coupons! That gives me a grand total of $168.05 in savings!

If you add these trips with my first trip I saved a total of $226.69 and only spent $19.44!

Walmart Sale on Pepsi Products

We like both Pepsi and Coke in our household. So whenever we can get a deal on any one of the two, we try to take advantage. Pepsi is on sale this week at Walmart for $2.48 a piece! There is a $1 off a Pepsi product 12 pack at Target on their website. Well, Walmart accepts competitor's coupons. So today I bought 10 packs of Pepsi, as you can see above for $1.48 a piece. Regular price usually runs $4.99 to $5.99 and sales rarely come down to $2.50 anymore---mostly hovering at $3.00. So anyway if you go by the $5.99 price__depending on what store you go to-- 10 would come to $59.90. I bought 10 at $1.48 a piece for a total 0f $14.80 plus tax! I saved $45.10 if you by this scenario!

Walmart Deal on Razors

Bic Soleil--used coupon for $3 off-- price was$4.64-- total $1.64 plus tax

Shick Quattro-coupon for $4 off-- price was $5.94($1 off sale)--total $1.94 plus tax

Wow, This Stuff Really Works!! Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

Last night I found that Tara at Deal Seeking Mom had posted about the grocery store, Harris Teeter's, upcoming triple coupon week. She referenced another new site to me who had an extensive list of match ups by Jenny at Southern Savers. So I gathered a list from her site and I grabbed my coupons to start finding and matching up the deals. As you can see in the picture above, I was able to buy alot of stuff for only 62 cents--that was sales tax! I saved $45.55 in coupons and $13.09 in Vic store savings for a grand total of $58.64 saved!!! Some of the products I would not normally buy because of the higher prices. Or some products,I would normally buy the store brand, but they are all things that we will use. I must say that I would have even bought more, but the store limits you to twenty coupons and I used all twenty! I plan on making another trip, maybe tomorrow. Also, I just tried to buy items that I could get for free. There are tons of items that you can get at significant discounts.

The Biggest Loser

I just wanted to say congratulations to the winner of this year's show "The Biggest Loser". Helen from Sterling Heights, Michigan at 48 years of age became the winner by losing 140 pounds. Yes there were others to lose more weight, but she lost the biggest weight percentage of her body weight.The show is really inspirational! It makes me happy to see these people "want it" so bad, and its great to see them actually achieve their goals.
I have never weighed a huge amount of weight myself. But I did get up to 230 pounds a couple of years ago. That was alot for me, and it was really starting to show on me and my belly. I am currently hovering at 200 pounds! When I was in high school so many years ago, I was always super skinny.I think I was around 155 to 165 pounds and I was the same height I am today at 6 feet. I eventually had the mindset that I needed to get bigger, stronger, and more muscular. I hit the gym on a regular basis and lifted weights and played basketball and would do tons of cardio. Then a few years ago when our son came along, I found that I had almost completely cut the going to the gym out and had become huge on eating fast food. The job I had, delivering furniture out of state, entailed a fast pace. I basically didnt have time to eat healthy. We ate as cheap as possible too in order to save money. So lots of times we ate off the dollar menu at McDonalds and I would bring a cooler full of drinks to help save money again. You would think that carrying that furniture would help keep the weight off and it probably did some. But I never grew up wanting to be a truck driver and alot of it got old. Although I like to travel and see new places, I like to be at home too. I wanted to see my son grow up and help him along the way. Well, eventually I stopped doing the trucking thing.

I saw that all the years of trying to get "bigger" and then the time driving a truck and not eating healthy or exercising led to a chubby Jamey. I decided to cut out alot of the junk food and start to get back to the gym. I had almost sworn off eating out--to save money and to help watch my waistline. I think I look better thinner , and my years of trying to gain weight have reversed. Now I needed to lose some pounds! I did too, almost 30 pounds over a period of maybe a year and a half. I lost 20 pounds pretty quick, and that was really gratifying when people noticed. The other weight has been a little slower coming off. I think I want to lose another 10 pounds or so. That would put me at 190 pounds. I think I need to tighten back up on my diet. Diet is crucial to weight loss!

Congratulations again to Helen and all of the other participants in the show! Bob and Jillian, the personal trainers, do a great job motivating the participants to accomplish their goals. You can see it really is life changing!

Craigslist

Have you ever sold anything on Craigslist? How about gotten anything for free? I have found myself using the site quite a bit this year. Really before this year, I hadn't even been on the site. I had used Ebay tons in the past, and searched for items on it even more. I find that Craigslist has become very useful for a variety of reasons. You can buy and sell items, get or give away free items, and even find a job. The things you can do here goes on and on!

I decided to sell an item last week. It was a kitchen table that I had found! That's right, found! I didn't pay a dime for it. I know some people may turn their nose up at this. I live more in the country than in the city. Since we do not have city services, you would have to pay extra for someone to pick up your trash through an independent service. It's new to me! I lived in the city all my life. So rather than pay for the service, I just get rid of our trash when I go out somewhere. Any dumpster will do, and we really do not create that much trash. So one day I stopped at a dumpster to throw a bag away and I happened to see a kitchen table laying to the side. It was in two pieces-the base and the top. I took a look at it and decided to put it in my jeep. I just cleaned it up and I used my sander on the wooden top. The base was a black, faux iron and the top had a natural wood finish. I just lightly sanded over the top and it looked great! I didnt even put a clear coat of polyurethane or anything. I listed it on Craigslist for $35 just to get it to "move". It was definitely worth even more- even without chairs. A lady asked me if I would take $25 through an email response. I was like sure, why not, I didnt have any money in it. I must admit I was a little wary of how the actual transaction would go.I mean a stranger is coming to your house and you dont know them or if they will just hand the money over and go--lol. She said she would come on Saturday morning and pick it up. Her husband actually came at about 10 am and picked it up and paid with no problem. Well one glitch, I guess his wife didnt tell him there were no chairs. Once he confirmed with her on the phone, he paid and I helped him load it up. That was it! It was simple and great! $25 isn't a huge sum, but its nothing to complain about! One more side note, my brother actually bought a used car through the site. He is very happy with his Honda now! So you can see, Craigslist can be very useful and you just might make some extra cash by using the site. Can you sell some of your personal belongings around the house?

Kmart and Target Savings!

Today I ran across a deal on Deal Seeking Moms site and a new site to me, We Don't Pay Retail(a name I like--clever!). They had a coupon for a dollar off any 12 pack of any coke product. Soft drinks are definitely a vice around here at my house! I am sorry to say that the coupon has been taken down or has reached it's limit. There was some controversy whether the coupon was actually legit. I had to say that I was a little worried about if I could use them. But I decided that I am with one of the commenter's on the post--I believe Suzanne--Isn't it up to the manufacturer to limit how many coupons it is letting out on its products? She says it best, so check out her comment.

Well before we went to the gym today, Ryan and I went to Walmart to mainly check the current price of Coke's(not on sale--Pepsi is right now--we are not picky on those two brands) and to pick up trash bags. I still had the $10 off Aveeno Products coupon that I found out about through The Thrifty Mama from a couple of weeks ago. I previously posted that I tried to use them at Target and that I had no luck. Today at Walmart I decided to try to use them again. I found three small lotions for $2.97 each. I must say that ,of course,I could have bought what I really wanted in the Aveeno Brand and just saved $10. However, I am really more about getting things for free and saving as much money as I can. So along with some bottled water, trash bags, and some oatmeal for Ryan(that he at 3 so persistently reminded me that we needed once we pulled into the parking lot. And I never once told him that I was going to buy it or put the idea in his head. He just came up with it on his own--hilarious right?)So anyway along with these items we were able to get the 3 lotions for free. Alright!

After the gym we went to Kmart and then to Target. Kmart had a better deal on Pepsi again. However, I had one more $10 off coupon for Aveeno products that I decided to use. That's all we were going to buy, and the cashier rang them up and they took the coupon off for me. The same type of lotion that I bought at Walmart was priced at $3.19 each here. They took a whole $10 off and left me with part of the tax. 22 Cents! That is all I paid! Great right? Plus I tried to ask 2 different women when they thought they might have the double coupons again in Greensboro and they said they didn't know.

Then we went to Target. I was mainly browsing. I tried to find at the front kiosks one of the coupons mentioned one of the sites I look at--they said you could get like $5 off a $20 purchase. I couldnt find that. Anyways, I found that they had Coke products on sale for $3 each. Usually around here, the best deal you can find is $2.50 for a 12 pack. I must add that you dont see that very often anymore either--although Pepsi is $2.75 a 12 pack at Walmart right now or the other day when I bought some. So $3 isn't bad, just not the killer sale I was hoping to find! I decided to go ahead and buy 4 and I used 4 of the $1 off coupons that I had. So that brought them down to 4 for $8 or $2 each or about 17 cent a piece. Again great, especially compared to if you bought them at 5 to 6 dollars a piece(which I almost never do--will do without first)! I didnt have any problem with the coupons either!

Manny Ramirez-Los Angeles Dodger

One of baseballs so called stars, who recently signed a huge contract, has been found guilty of substance abuse through the league's drug testing. He was suspended for a total of 50 games! He will lose 7 million of his 25 million dollar contract. Of course, he said that he was prescribed something by his doctor called HCG that he didn't know was a banned substance in the MLB. I am not really trying to judge him. However, I didn't make the rules! If they ban steroids, then why can't these top players stay away from the juice? I really dont care if they legalize steroids. I am not saying it sets a good example for today's youth, because it doesn't. I mean all the top players and the highest paid players are taking them--also Alex Rodriguez. Don't make it a "hush, hush" issue behind closed doors that players are still secretly doping. Or do extensive testing ..say tomorrow.. to weed all the roid heads out. How is it fair to award the cheaters with millions and millions of dollars? Level the playing field once and for all!

Saturday Update

We wrapped up Furniture Market last week! Made a little money, but now I am technically unemployed again. I have been trying to make connections--and I have made a few- to start a small business. I will share more about that at a later time. I have been working with my container garden. I am really lost in knowing what to do! Am I under watering or over watering? Some of the plants are really starting to take off--which is really exciting. I designated one container as my son's and Ryan really likes that. Plus we water the plants and check on their progress together. I have been disappointed that some of the plants dont seem to be taking off at all-maybe its too early?? I dont know! Outside the pumpkins, corn, beans, and melons are sprouting like crazy in its raised bed. In containers outside the lettuce has taken off. The flowers and peppers inside and outside seem not to be doing much. But the beans inside seem to take off really well. Again exciting, but when and how do I transplant? I mean I have looked on the Net but I dont know what I am doing(lol). Also, I am happy to report that one of my crepe myrtles that I bought last year at a huge discount and planted has really blossomed this spring. I was worried that they might be dead. I planted one other one, but the jury is still out on whether that one will grow or not. Last year I also made a flower bed from landscaping stones I brought from our old house. The other day I started a new flower bed on the other side of the porch. I think landscaping is fun--I am not sure why-lol! Also I think every home looks better with some yard work and landscaping. Ryan had a soccer game this morning. He looks sharp in his all black, but being one of the youngest--just turned 3--maybe I should have waited a year or two. He talks a good game, but on the field he and alot of the other kids are easily distracted. I hate to say it but our coach doesnt seem very motivated to actually coach--except for his own girl of course. At least make it fun! I am just hoping that in a few years he will be ahead of the game.

Furniture Capital of the World

High Point, NC has long billed itself as the furniture capital of the world. In the past, the city and many surrounding cities built alot of furniture. Among the cities are Thomasville and Lexington--very popular names in the furniture business. Well, something that grew and maintains somewhat today is what we call Furniture Market. They have two markets a year, one in April and one in October. The market has been known to pull around 80,000 people to a city that only boasts about 95,000 to 100,000 residents. People come from all over the world and definitely from all over the U.S. There are buyers and sellers from many companies big and small. Also, twice a year they have premarkets that bring in people before the actual markets start. This of course brings a ton of money to our area. They are other furniture markets held around the country, but we are told that we are consistently the largest and best.

Well, it is that time of the year for the spring market. People have been gradually arriving in the area. The economy has been slowing the last few markets down and alot of the manufacturers and stores around here have either gone out of business or shipped themselves overseas. That's not to say that alot of companies are not left. Although the manufacturers are leaving, many businesses still house the furniture here and ship it out through the country. Of course, with that many people arriving in town the local restaurants and hotels see a huge increase in business.

I have been lucky enough to have a connection to a restaurant that I worked at for many years. I started there when I was 18! I have done every job imaginable there from waiting tables, cooking, bartending and even a stint as the manager.The place is called Austin's Steakhouse. Well, many times they ask me to come back and work the markets which ends being about 10 to 12 days of night shifts. The place is only a couple of miles away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown market activity. Lots of times I have made great money. I remember one market making about $200 to $250 a night-awesome!! Most years you can count on $100 a night. The last couple of markets have been much lower- $37, $27, $68, and last night I made $105 waiting tables. We still have about a week to go, so maybe things will be more consistent. Either way, I am just happy to be seeing some money come my way.

Container Garden

I bought a bunch of seeds, some fertilizer, and the container in the last picture all on sale at Kmart.I then recycled some older containers(some not shown here) to start the seeds off in, and I made a wooden frame to start some of the vegetables off. I hope to start a good mix of flowers and vegetables here. It looks like I am off to a decent start! As you can see, some of the seeds are already beginning to sprout. I have always enjoyed doing yard work and some landscaping. I have planted flowers many times and a couple of trees and bushes with pretty good success. I posted about trying cucumbers last year. They didn't do well at all. I have often thought about trying a garden, and I thought this would be an easy way to start one. By the way, the plant in the middle is one I have had for many years.I actually have three in my house right now. My mom used to have these in her house. I like them and they always remind me of her. She even planted a garden a couple of times and did pretty well. But about the plant, it is so easy to start a new plant from a clipping off of the original plant. You can just clip a piece off and pretty much stick it in some dirt and it will start growing. I decided to try and start two more! Maybe I will hang these on the front porch! If you guys have any tips on what I should be doing for my container garden, I will gladly listen. I will need all the advice I can get!

No Great Deals--but Still Got Some Free Items!!

I guess I got pumped up from the great Purex deal--by the way I heard that they stopped the promo(I got lucky on that one!!). So I was reading The Thrifty Mama , and saw all these great deals at Target and something to look into at Walgreens and CVS. So Ryan and I made a day of it, along with our trip to the gym. We then hit Hardees for a burger--only because I had a BOGO free Little Thickburger. That cost about $2.50! Then we drove across the street to see the Paul Blart-Mall Cop movie at the $1 movie theatre.By the way, it was a little corny, but great for only a dollar! It cost a $1!! Ryan was free! I am going to just post my comment on Thrifty Mama's site--some of it kinda shorthand, because it seemed to be a long post...Here that is:


Ok --my experience today in Target--I saw all these great deals, and thought, hey, I have to try. I most wanted to get the Aveeno products. Ok, so I signed up and I got the 3 coupons fine--I figured out that if you hit the back button on your browser, you could actually print them a second time. At Target--only found small tubes of lotion for $2.99 each---grabbed 3.Cashier tried to scan--computer wouldnt let her do something--she called supervisor over, and he said since they werent the "ageless" they couldnt do it. Ok, so I went to another Target--didnt even have anything for that cheap!
Axe trial size--grabbed 2. Got those for free.
Printed salad ones.No Super Targets here-some food--but no salad--
Printed one coupon for the mac bowls on the target coupons--coupon.com must have taken the coupon off for the mac.Didnt get that.
Dry Idea was on sale for $2--bought 2 for my girlfriend(free)--hope she will use it
Hersheys Bliss--nothing marked down--both stores were $3.56, so I didnt buy that
Wanted fruit snacks--looked by register--couldnt find them

Sorry for the long comment--just wanted to say alot of that must be regional-I only came away with 2 deoderants and two trial body washes. But I saved $9.68 there.

Then at CVS I bought the SOBE Lifewater --4 of them for only 6 cents. I combined the stores BOGO together with the manufacturer coupon of BOGO. I saved $5.96 there!