A question I get asked a lot is how to save money on meat products.  I decided to write a post and tell about how our family does it.  You can decide if this method is good for your family.

The best deals we find on meat are usually in the middle of the night.  Occasionally during the day, but most of the time at night.  Yes, it’s a pain, but you do what you have to do in order to save money and stick to the budget.  I suggest heading out around 2-3 am.  Just load all the kids up in the car and drive.  The more people you have with you, the better deals you can find, since you have all of those extra sets of eyes.  Make sure to head out in a large vehicle –  I personally recommend a pickup truck or a large van.  Have the kids all look out the window and  make a game out of it to see who can find the meat first.  If you drive long enough, you will find it!

For my Athens area friends, I recommend heading to Madison County for the best selection.  Keep your eyes peeled on the road and you’re bound to find something appetizing.  The reason you want to head out in the middle of the night is that you will want to snag the meat before the vultures get to it.

Now from personal experience, I suggest staying away from anything you can’t identify, and especially ones that are black with a white stripe.  I absolutely love a good possum stew.  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!  Here’s the recipe for that:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large possum – skinned, gutted, and cut into pieces
• 4 large potatoes, quartered
• 1 pound carrots, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 onions, sliced
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 medium head cabbage
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Throw it all in the crock pot and cook all day.  Mmm… so great to smell that possum cooking all day.   

With all that being said, just one last thing to add…..

I’ve received so many emails from you all checking on how Eliza and I are doing, so thought I’d make a quick post. 

Eliza is doing great now – she’s gotten back up to her birth weight and then some, so she’s growing right on track.  We went back to the doctor yesterday and got a clean bill of health, so she’s doing great!  You’d never know 2 weeks ago, she was so sick and in the NICU.  Can’t believe she’s already 2 weeks old!  I’m also doing well – I feel pretty good and am enjoying my sweet baby girl.  The other kids are doing great and love their baby sister.  My 19 month old I have to watch pretty carefully since she just wants to be a little mommy and try to pick Eliza up.  Thank you all for all the emails.  So wonderful to have such caring readers!  I hope the rest of you are doing great!

Hi Everyone – boy has this been an interesting week.  I really appreciate all the prayers and emails from you all regarding Eliza. 

For those of you that don’t know, I gave birth to my 8 lb, 12 oz daughter on 2/4 at 2:40 in the morning.  We are down in Atlanta.  Right after birth, she had trouble breathing and was having fluid build up in her tummy so she has been in the NICU.  I have been discharged as of today but Eliza is still in the NICU.  We are hopeful that she will come home tomorrow as she has proven to be strong and quite the fighter.  She has healed much faster than they anticipated.  The hospital here is great and they have special rooms for parents to stay in when their baby is in the NICU so we are taking advantage of that and staying right here with her.

I want to give a HUGE thank you to Amy of The Budget Mommy.  I know some of you thought I was crazy and still posting deals 😉 but she’s the one that has been posting for you all the past few days so I could spend time with my baby girl and time to heal.  Be sure to check out her blog over HERE.  Thank you so much Amy!

I think it’s going to take me forever and a day to get caught up now, but we’ll be rolling again soon.  My husband has the next few weeks off to help me out with everything.  Thanks again for being such awesome readers!

Erin

Something that my family has always battled with has been trying to afford Christmas presents. It always seems that the holiday season arrives in the midst of chaos, leaving us scrounging around the sofa cushions trying to find money to buy presents for the kids. This year, I have determined that we will not spend one cent buying Christmas presents, but that we will still have an awesome Christmas.

Already, I have over $100 in our Christmas fund from just Opinion Outpost. Opinion Outpost pays CASH for surveys that you complete. You can also refer your friends and get $2 for every friend that you refer! The money adds up quickly and painlessly!

I also am able to earn giftcards and cash from these other survey sites. My recommendation is to join all of them because when you are a member of all, you’re Christmas fund will grow a whole lot faster! Some of them, you’ll even be invited to do product studies. We’ve given our feedback and made money reviewing toothpaste, dog treats, baby wipes, fruit snacks, and more!

SayNation

My Surveys

Mindfield

Survey Savvy

Surveyhead

I am also huge on Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a fantastic program. You earn swagbucks from searches that you do using Swagbucks as a search engine. I’ve earned countless Amazon giftcards, Disney Store giftcards, Starbucks Giftcards, and more, with little effort! Then, I wait until Disney Store or Amazon have something fantastic on sale. You can earn more swagbucks, too, by referring your friends. When you refer someone, each swagbuck that they earn, you also earn, so your points will accumulate very fast!

When you save all year on your survey sites, buy giftcards with your swagbucks, and wait for great sales, you’ll find yourself being able to afford a lot more than you thought was possible. There’s still several months, so start today and see if you can afford a great Christmas without paying anything! I can’t wait for this Christmas! I think it will be the best one yet!

$50 per week feeds my family of 5.

Yes, that is written right.  $50 a week takes care of my family.  This includes all groceries, diapers for the baby, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, personal care items, etc.  Couponing and deal finding takes a while to get the hang of, but do not give up.  It is worth it!  I have gotten a lot of questions on where to get started.  This post will explain how I do it the SMART way.

Stockpiling: Stockpiling is the best way to make your money stretch.  When you find a great deal, you buy enough for your family that will last until the next good sale.  Yes, this means buying more than 1 can of sauce during a sale.  Whatever is on sale that you will use, you buy.  Even if you do not need it that week, you may need it the next.  For example, if spighetti sauce is on sale for buy one get one free, and I have a coupon to go with it making it $.50 down from $4, I buy at least $4 worth, or 8 jars.  It would be equal to buying 1 jar and getting the other 7 free!  If you waited until you NEEDED sauce and paid the $4, you would have paid out $32 compared to the $4.  That’s a savings of $28!!!!  Stock up enough that you do not have to pay full price for anything.  Watch the sales every week to see how to plan.  Ask neighbors, friends, and relatives for their unwanted coupons so you can get your stockpile growing. 

Make Good Decisions: When you coupon, you need to make good decisions.  Remember that you do still have to pay tax on things, even items that are free after coupons, so make sure you’re not wasting all of your money on tax for things you don’t need.  It’s not a good idea to buy 20 boxes of poptarts on sale and not have any money leftover for fruits and veggies.  You also have to take a fair amount of time planning.  I typically take 1-2 hours before I head out to do my shopping.  Yes, that’s a lot of time, BUT, if I save $100 on my shopping bill, it’s like getting paid at least $50 an hour to coupon and plan! 

Always Give Back:  After you have been couponing for a while, you will find that you have so much stuff that you cannot possibly eat it all or use it all before it will go bad.  This is the time to box up the extras and visit your local food pantry or homeless shelter.  Don’t be a hoarder or a shelf clearer just to have it all sit and clutter up your house. 

Responsibility: As a couponer, you can help or hurt the coupon world.  Do not abuse the couponing system.  When in doubt about a coupon, ask management before using.  Make sure that your coupon is for the product that you have.  You cannot use 2 manufacturer coupons on one item.  At Target, Publix, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS, they allow you one STORE coupon and one MANUFACTURE coupon.  The coupon will say on it what it is.  Please, please PLEASE do not abuse couponing.  No making copies of coupons, that is illegal and many stores have stopped taking printables due to coupon abuse.  Do not abuse “free item” coupons.  Just use common sense and not greed to guide you.

Teach Others: Friends don’t let friends pay too much!  Be sure to share the shopping skills with others so they can learn to save too.  Everyone works hard for their money so they should be able to keep it!  Don’t pay more than you need.

This is a guest post written by one of my fantasic readers, Edith.

Growing up in Georgia, it is almost a rite of passage to make the trip south into the deeps of the Florida peninsula to Orlando and visit the famous Mouse.  In fact, my earliest memory takes place outside Cinderella’s castle.  Perhaps that is why our family migrates to the mouse at least once a year.

One of the most popular things to do now at Disney World is Character autographs.  From Cinderella to Winnie the Pooh and the Mouse himself, everyone is ready and waiting to pose for a picture with you and your family and sign autographs that your children will treasure for years to come. 

My son loves his autograph books, he treasures them all.  We have used many different styles and types.  There are plenty of options out there. 

•    Disney official autograph book.  These are readily available at the park and throughout the Orlando area.  You can also pre-buy them at places like Amazon.com or eBay.
•    Unofficial books.  Our personal favorites come from Guide to the Magic. We have used their autograph book and their Kid’s “Guide to the Magic” book and LOVED them both.
•    Disney (or generic) notebooks, they often have these at the Dollar store or Micheal’s.
•    Scrapbook paper. I know many people who buy scrapbook paper, have the character sign it and later include it as a scrapbook page with their photos, etc.
•    Create your own (for little or no cost).

First, if you haven’t yet, visit The Dis boards (if you have never been there, you will be amazed, you will find a ton of resources for all things Disney).  Once there check our the Creative DISigns forum.  There are graphic artists who are willing to create and share artworks for free, including many of the pieces you can use to create an autograph book. One of my favorite DISigners has a photobucket album with pages for every character imaginable.  You can find the ones you are hoping to see (especially if you have a character meal), or just download some generic ones.

Once you have selected your cards you can print them at home on card stock and bind then together, use them in a scrap book, or you can upload them to your artscow (or other photo center) account and create a one of a kind autograph book.

I use a site called artscow. They have a free promotion running with the code EIGHTBKS for six 20-paged 8″ x 8″ hardcover photo book credits and an extra two 39-paged editions.  You will only have to pay for shipping!

Here are some examples of finished products               

http://www.artscow.com/share/disney-autograph-book-h84slqjp9opm?Ref=842234
http://www.artscow.com/share/Autograph-album2-k18zd50lm0dc

I hope this helps you all make a wonderful, on-of-a-kind keepsake for your future trips to visit the Disney resort.

Thank you so much Edith for your posting!