Chief Family Officer

Morning Coffee: Rent Captain America for $0.99, get free Nivea lip care & more

Chief Family Officer — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:05:40 +0000

Amazon’s $0.99 Instant Video rental of the day is Captain America: The First Avenger, which my husband and boys saw in theater and loved (3.9 out of 5 stars in 402 reviews). When you rent a video from Amazon, you generally have 30 days to watch it, and 24 to 48 hours from the time you started watching it to finish it.

Daily deal site Plum District is offering your choice of 2 personalized Disney Princess or Cars books for just $22 + free shipping ($44 value). New Plum District members get a $5 sign up credit, so your cost would be just $17.

One A Full Cup reader reports that you can get free Nivea Lip Care using the $3/2 coupon from the 2/12 Red Plum.

Get a free Kindle download of 101 Offline Activities You Can Do With Your Child (4.8 out of 5 stars in 6 reviews). Be sure to verify that the price is $0 before you click “buy.”

This woman fed her family for the USDA-calculated “thrifty” budget of $491.10 for 30 days with food obtained exclusively at Whole Foods. My family’s “thrifty” budget would be $576.50, which seems very doable . . .

Totally Target reports that you might be able to find free Revlon makeup after clearance price and coupons at Target.

MomAdvice explains how to restore your faded jeans with dye. I’d be terrified, but I could see myself going through the process if it meant saving my otherwise-perfectly-wearable favorite pair of jeans.

Banner via MySavings.com.

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for clicking through them! You can read CFO’s full disclosure here.

Evening Roundup: Busy Coupon Day (Kellogg’s, Right Guard, F-P)

Chief Family Officer — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:55:59 +0000

It’s been a really busy day for new coupons. First off, there are some hot new coupons at Coupons.com, including $4/4 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, FiberPlus, Crispix, Rice Krispies, or Crunchy Nut (zip code 30096), $1/3 Special K cereal (zip 77477), $3/2 Right Guard deodorant or body wash, and more than $60 worth of Fisher-Price coupons. You can use the Right Guard coupon at CVS to get deodorant for $0.50 each after ECBs, or at Walgreens to get it for $0.75 each.

SavingStar has a new offer for $5 back WYB $20 of any Kellogg’s Special K products by March 21. This offer pairs nicely with the new $1/3 coupon mentioned above.

There are also some new coupons at Cellfire.com, although it looks like it’s only for certain stores this time. I can only load coupons to my Ralphs (Kroger) card; the coupons aren’t available for my Vons/Pavilions (Safeway) card. It’s the usual group of General Mills coupons, including $0.75/1 Chex cereal, $0.75/1 Multigrain Cheerios, $0.50/1 Reese’s Puffs cereal, and $0.80/4 Hamburger Helper.

Get a printable coupon for $1/2 Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers via Free Coupon Alerts.

Get a printable coupon for $1/2 Halls Cough Drops, also via Free Coupon Alerts.

Get a printable coupon for $0.75/1 Golden Blossom Honey, also via Free Coupon Alerts.

Wild for Wags reports that you may be able to make money on Nescafe Tasters Choice at Walgreens.

Banner via MySavings.com.

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for clicking through them! You can read CFO’s full disclosure here.

Winner: General Mills Big G Cereal Star Wars giveaway

Chief Family Officer — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:55:55 +0000

Thank you to everyone who entered the General Mills Big G Cereal Star Wars giveaway, and congratulations to the lucky random winner:

Mary S. (sup***@hotmail.com)

Mary, I’ve emailed you and you have 24 hours to respond.

Declutter Tip: File papers as they come in

Chief Family Officer — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:30:08 +0000

About a month ago, one of my weekly projects was to file the stack of papers that had built up on my desk over the course of several months. It took less than an hour, but it was tedious.

Ever since then, I’ve been filing papers as they’ve come in. Which means that I don’t have a month’s worth of papers to file right now, and that feels like a gift to myself. It helps that we’ve cleared away some clutter so it’s easier than ever to access the filing cabinet.

It only takes a few seconds to file each sheet of paper as it crosses my desk. It takes nearly the same amount of effort to add the paper to my filing box, but this keeps the paper clutter from accumulating.

The one exception I make to this rule is papers that don’t have a home. There are a few files I need to create, but I’m not quite sure how I want to organize them yet, and some papers I just need to keep for a short time and then can toss. So those pages have been added to my filing box but the pile is so much smaller than what it used to be!

Morning Coffee: New high-value coupons for ICBINB, Emerald, Country Crock

Chief Family Officer — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:15:46 +0000

Coupons.com has added high-value coupons for $1.25/1 I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter product, $1/1 box of South Beach Diet Bars, $1/1 Emerald Breakfast on the Go, and $1/1 Country Crock Spread (makes it $1.99 at Ralphs with the Daytona Mega Sale).

Daily deal site Mamapedia is offering a one-year subscription to National Geographic Kids for $10 with code NATGEOK2 ($49 value). Valid for new and gift subscriptions.

Daily deal site Eversave is offering a one-year subscription to Oprah magazine for $10 ($50 value). New Eversave members get a $1 sign up credit, making your cost just $9. Valid for new and renewal subscriptions.

Amazon’s free Android app of the day is Tracing ABC ($0.99 value), a penmanship app for children that gets 3.3 out of 5 stars in 50 reviews.

Banner via MySavings.com.

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for clicking through them! You can read CFO’s full disclosure here.

Evening Roundup: Two new recipes

Chief Family Officer — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:30:57 +0000

I tried two new recipes today: First, I made these Cloverleaf Honey-Wheat Rolls from Cooking Light – the recipe has been in my “to-try” file since it was published in 2002, and I guess it just took 10 years for me to get comfortable enough with yeast breads to make them. I overbaked them a little, which was unfortunate, because they have a lovely, light texture and are fun to pull apart. I think they’ve become my go-to roll for the time being.

The other recipe I tried was Heavenly Homemaker’s Warm Vanilla Soother, because we’ve had a plethora of sore throats around here. I made this is a double boiler to avoid scrambling the yolks, and although it took a lot longer, I think it’s the way to go. I used nonfat milk, and was able to create some foam just by whisking vigorously. My husband loved the taste, but I think it needs some chocolate, LOL!

Get a free Kindle download of Gooseberry Patch’s Hot Cocoa Cookbook ($2.99 value; 5 out of 5 stars in 2 reviews). Be sure to check that the price is still $0 before you click “buy.”

Totally Target reports that you might be able to find Kashi cereal for $2.99/box at Target, making it just $0.99 after the Recyclebank coupon for $2/1 Kashi product.

Savings Lifestyle has a “recipe” for a homemade stain remover that I am going to have to try – baseball season is starting, and the coach has asked everyone to wear white pants. (Obviously, my son’s coaches are not the ones who do laundry in their house!)

Banner via Escalate Media Network

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for clicking through them! You can read CFO’s full disclosure here.

The Military’s “Rule of Three”

Chief Family Officer — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:45:50 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading this article in Good Housekeeping, and was struck by the concept of the “Rule of Three,” which is used by the U.S. military:

They’ve found that people can only track three things at once. The entire military system is designed to reflect this. A squad leader is in charge of three fire team leaders….” (When the military experimented with a “Rule of Four,” notes Seelig, effectiveness dropped precipitously.)

I know this section got my attention because I’ve been struggling to accomplish all of my goals in multiple areas – housekeeping, cooking, blogging, health and fitness, home organization (which is distinct from housekeeping), financial goals, plus smaller projects like things I’ve taken on for the PTA. That doesn’t even touch on the goals I’d like to add to my list, like educating myself more about investments.

The concept of the Rule of Three made me feel better about my struggles. It makes sense that I’m having a tough time because I’m trying to do too much, which makes it difficult to be effective at anything.

I feel like I need to combine the lessons of Eat That Frog! with the Rule of Three to maximize my productivity and minimize stress. (Because nothing creates stress like feeling overwhelmed!)

So . . . I’m working on these things right now:

Clarifying my goals per Eat that Frog. The clearer my goals, the clearer the things that need to be done in order to achieve them.

Working out a system to implement the Rule of Three. I don’t want to reduce the number of things I want to accomplish, but I can focus on a few at a time, which will hopefully have the same effect as following the Rule of Three.

I am also hoping this book, Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life, will be a Kindle deal soon because it apparently discusses the Rule of Three in relation to productivity.

Morning Coffee: New coupons for Spam and Hinode

Chief Family Officer — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:05:50 +0000

Coupons.com has a few new coupons today, including $1/2 SPAM products and $0.55/1 bag of Hinode rice. There’s also a coupon for a free Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Flavor Mix WYB 1 Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Frosting Starter at zip code 77477.

Get a printable coupon for $1.85/1 Birds Eye Voila product.

Amazon has a 48-pack of GoGo SqueeZ AppleBanana for $24.36 with Subscribe & Save – that works out to $0.51 per pouch, which is a good price. The lowest I’ve been able to find regularly in-store on any kind of applesauce pouch is a 4-pack at Trader Joe’s for $2.99, or $0.75 each. My kids really like AppleBanana flavor, as well as the AppleStrawberry. (But they don’t like the ApplePeach. Their favorites are the Revolution Foods Mash-Ups, but they’re more expensive. We go through a lot of these pouches around here, as I’m always packing them for school lunches.

Amazon’s $0.99 Instant Video rental of the day is Monte Carlo with Selena Gomez (4 out of 5 stars in 56 reviews). When you rent a video from Amazon, you generally have 30 days to watch it, and 24 to 48 hours from the time you started watching it to finish it.

Get 10 points at Pampers Gifts to Grow with code FBPRE9BD99DAY12.

Today only (I think), Walgreens Photo is offering a 4×6 curved glass print for $10. I’m in need of a grandparent birthday gift so I’m going to order two of these (because you also get free shipping on orders of $20+ with code FREEAT20).

There is a printable Target Web coupon for $1/1 Up&Up pain reliever that works without beeps on the 24-count package of ibuprofen, making it free. I found it for $0.99, but it may be slightly more expensive at other stores.

Amazon’s MP3 deal of the day is Chains Of Love by Ryan Adams for $0.99 (no reviews).

Common Sense with Money reports that you can get free Welch’s grape spread at Target.

Banner via Escalate Media Network

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for clicking through them! You can read CFO’s full disclosure here.

Menu Plan Monday: Week of 2/20/2012

Chief Family Officer — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:45:21 +0000

I’m hoping for an easy week of cooking this week, as I try some new organizational methods out around here (I’ll share more about those later in the week). Here’s what I’m planning for dinner while all this is going on:

Monday – Meatloaf, Salad, Biscuits

Tuesday – Tuna Pasta Salad

Wednesday – Roast Chicken, Garlic Sauce, Flatbread, Sauteed Green Beans

Thursday – Taco Cornbread Pizza

Friday – Breakfast (pancakes, bacon, eggs), Fruit

Saturday – Leftovers

Sunday – Dinner out

See more weekly menus at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Banner ad via Logical Media.

Walgreens Starter Scenarios: 2/19 – 2/25/2012

Chief Family Officer — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:30:15 +0000

You’ll find a list of this week’s Walgreens deals here.

If you’re new to The Drugstore Game, these new starter transactions will help you get your feet wet and show you how The Drugstore Game can save you money on things you already buy. If you don’t understand the transactions, read my Drugstore Game Primer, Common Sense with Money’s FAQ (which has a handy explanation of acronyms), and my explanation of How to Play The Drugstore Game at Walgreens. In these transactions, I assume that you do not have any Register Rewards to start with.

Transaction #1:
BUY:
1 Goody Ouchless Elastics @ $2.99
1 Tylenol Precise Relief Cream @ $5

USE:
$5/1 Tylenol Precise Relief from 2/19 Red Plum

Pay: $2.99 + tax
Receive: $2 RR for Goody

Transaction #2:
BUY:
3 Kleenex @ $0.99 each
1 Hunt’s Tomato Sauce @ $0.39 with in-ad coupon

USE:
$0.50/3 Kleenex from 2/12 Smart Source
in-ad coupon for Hunt’s
$2 RR from previous transaction

Pay: $0.86 + tax

In sum, you’ll pay $3.85 + tax for hair bands, pain relief cream, 3 boxes of tissue, and a can of tomato sauce. You’d pay that just for the tissue at most other stores!

Banner ad via Logical Media.