we've been hacked!

so today i was checking my bank account as i often do. i noticed two weird pending charges on our account. the first thing that stuck out was "tampa, fl." that's strange, i haven't been to florida. ever. however, i wasn't sure if the location was a routing thing that restaurants or store do. i immediately called the officer to ask him what his last couple of transactions were. everything he mentioned was already accounted for. i looked closer at the charges. two charges for $4 each at a place called seven one seven pa (that's all it said) in tampa, fl.

i called the bank's handy dandy 24 assistance line. i told the customer service rep that i had two charges on my account that i was not sure about. she took a look at the charges and said, "oh yes, that's strange. you didn't get just get back from florida did you?" i wish, but no. she found out the charges were on the officers card. she also figured out that the charges were for a parking garage/lot. since the officer is often downtown, the parking charges could have been possible. so the customer service rep requests that i call the officer on another line and ask him about it. of course i can't get a hold him the first time, but the second time was a charm. the officer confirmed he had not paid for parking yesterday. not that the customer service rep wanted to know, but i told her the officer had been home earlier than usual yesterday because he wasn't feeling well. i was almost tempted to tell her about my impressive raw meat cutting experience, but i didn't. maybe if i talk to her tomorrow we can chat about it.

anywho, in the end we closed the account, ordered a new card, and tomorrow i will have to call back to see if the "pending" charges post to my account. if they do, i will have to call back the lovely customer service reps to "dispute" the charges. my bank was very helpful and patient with me. they had told me that "these people" often will start out by charging something small to see if they can get away with it and if they can they will use the card to charge something much bigger. so.... keep your eyes on your bank account and if you see anything fishy, get right on it. get it taken care of quickly.

thank you "michelle" (customer service rep) for all your help.

walgreens trip

i went to walgreens today armed with my coupons. this is my second trip this week. they are having a great sale on their cleaning supplies. earlier this week i stocked up on scrubbing bubbles, lysol toilet bowl cleaner, and windex. i also got some theraflu (free), lubriderm lotion (6 oz. for .59), hair color (free), loreal foundation (free), and oust (free).

today i went back to finish off what the last of my cheap/free stuff i wanted to get this week. here's what i got:

2 - scrubbing bubbles
6 - oust deodorizers (there should be reason for a stinky restroom now kids!)
2 - 1 ct. thermacare heat wraps
3 - 6 oz. bottles of lubriderm lotion (my daughter's eczema often breaks out so we use the lubriderm for that).

after using 3 - buy one, get one free oust coupons, 2 -$1 off coupons for the thermacares, 3 - $2 off manufacturing coupons and a $3 off walgreen's coupon for the lubriderm, and 2 - .75 off scrubbing bubble coupons, i paid just under $4 out pocket for it. i got back $5 in register rewards.

the scrubbing bubbles were buy one get one free and i was able to use two manufacturing coupons on top of that sale, getting them both for $2.84 ($1.24/can). the lubriderm lotion was $3.99. i used two $2 off manufacturing coupon and a $1 off walgreen's coupon (it takes $1 off for each lubriderm you purchase) on top of walgreen's buy one lubriderm and get the second 50% off. so i got both lubriderms for free. the first can of oust was $4.29, but you get the second free. i had three buy one can, get the second free (up to $3.99) so i used them. i paid .90 for 6 cans of oust (.15/can of oust). the thermacare was $2.49, but you got $2.50 back in register rewards (coupons walgreens gives that you can use on anything in the store).

i know it may sound a little confusing. it probably seems like a lot of mumbo-jumbo to many of you, but you can really save a lot of money by couponing. i am slowly but surely restocking all of my different pantries (food, medicine, household cleaners, personal care items). you may say, "really are you going to use all that stuff?" i am not sure if i will use it all. i know with the officer's job there is a certain job security. i know everyone cannot say that. however, even though there is job security for him, there are rumors of possible pay cuts or furloughs. i have no idea if these are rumors or something that could become a reality, but i do know that if i can stock up now on items we could need later, it will help us tremendously if we have to cut back our budget.

again the sites i mainly use to get coupons from on the internet are smartsource, redplum, and coupons.com. the sites i follow that tells me about a lot of the sales and tell me which coupon to use are simplesavingsavvy, the frugal girls, my frugal adventure, and deal seeking mom. comment if you have a great site you like to follow or other good coupon resources.

my shopping trip

as i told you before, i have started couponing. remember i had mentioned before thanksgiving that i went to a couponing seminar. it's not too difficult for someone to do, but i will say it is time consuming. organizing all the coupons every week, finding/printing coupons, going through the ads, and planning your shopping/couponing strategy. luckily there are a few bloggers out there that help out with some of this stuff. some of the bloggers i use are simplesavingsavvy, deal seeking mom, the frugal girls, and my frugal adventures. they have some great money saving tips on their blog. they usually post new advertised saving very quickly.

people have asked me where i get my coupons. i get them from several different places. i get the sunday paper (sometimes i purchase more than one). i print them off the internet at safe sites like smartsource, redplum, and coupons.com. if there are specific things i would like coupons for i often go to their website to see if they offer any coupons. more often than not they do. i also do a lot of mail-in rebates. i have just under $70 coming back to me in mail-in rebates. i found a lot of my rebates at coupons deals and more.

i have always clipped coupons, but i just got serious about it about a month ago. i have my three-ring binder loaded with the baseball card holders filled with coupons. yes, sometimes i buy something that i personally don't need to roll over the register rewards (walgreens) and extra care bucks (cvs). however, i have only thrown away one thing away i truly didn't think i would need or anyone else. turns out a week after i threw it away someone said they would have used it. one of the things people say about couponing/saving money is you can't be brand loyal. this is true. however, this does not mean you have to buy generic. i don't think i have bought anything generic to date. most of the savings i have had have been in the form of personal care items (shampoo, body wash, medicine, laundry soap, household cleaners, diapers, etc.). i have started the grocery shopping too but i'm not quite as good at that yet.

i still make mistakes. sometime, i don't have enough items in my cart (you have to have the same amount of items as the number of coupons at walgreens). sometimes i don't catch the cashiers mistakes of not ringing up the sale price (i.e. gum and visine last night at walgreens). other times, i read the coupon or ad wrong and either have to put something back (after i've spent all that time in the store) or don't save as much money as i thought i would. i'm still learning it all.

people also say i don't shop at walgreens and cvs because it is so much more expensive. that's true. if you don't use their rewards systems or coupons it is more expensive and i wouldn't shop there either. however, if you can utilize all the things i've talked about you will save a ton of money. walgreens, cvs and target allow you to use their store specific coupons and a manufacturing coupons at the same time. so you get extra savings.

i have also figured out you do have to have a little bit of disposable income. you do have to have a little to start out. if you don't keep the coupons, register rewards, or extra care bucks rolling, you will lose a little money. you can just set how much you want to spend on these things, but the saving can be great.

here's a picture of the things i got last night from walgreens and cvs.

there are:

3 gillette shampoos
2 johnson & johnson baby wash (with free lotions attached)
3 colgate max white toothpaste
1 ponds wet towel cleanse cloths
7 pencils
2 bags of skittles
2 20 ct. electrosol dishwashing powerballs
1 nexxus hair product
1 big pack (35 ct) of orbit gum
1 package (2 bars) of irish spring soap
1 ge fluorescent bulb
1 aquafina package (12 bottles)
1 children's tylenol
1 children's benedryl
_____________________________
TOTAL: $48.55

after using over $29 in coupons, register rewards, and extra care bucks.

i paid just over $18 and got $12 back in register rewards and extra care bucks.

so it was like getting all that stuff for $6.

once i started this couponing, the fun began when i was able to give this stuff away to someone who can use it. the officer loves all the saving i'm doing and i'm getting better at not going to the store every day. :) at the couponing seminar i mentioned earlier, the lady said we need to be a good steward of what God has given us. not to coupon to be greedy but to be a good steward of what God has blessed us with. that hit home with me and gave me a new perspective. she has a verse on her blog that says:

Malachi 3:10
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

i love it. if you have any great savings while shopping, share and leave a comment.

real simple magazine deal

i found a great deal on frugal girls. i really like their blog. they post a lot of great deals they find online. because i am very excited about this one, i thought i would pass it along to you. i found the deal here on the frugal girls blog.

have you seen the real simple magazine? i really enjoy it. it has great recipes, tips on how to organize, ideas on how to use one item in another way, and advice on entertaining.

you can get a one year subscription for $5 here at amazon.com! if haven't heard of real simple and wonder if you would be interested, you can click here and it will take you to the real simple website and you can check it out for yourself.

the treasure chest

i know - just from the title of the blog you want to know what a person named "treasure" could be posting about when she has the title "the treasure chest" right???

well my friend, k, over at disneysworld5.blogspot.com saw the idea and started it. it's the "treasure chest". she found a website that described exactly what the "treasure chest" is.

"do you have odds and ends that you no longer need? are you a "green" thinker, hating to throw items away that are still useful? do you enjoy trading and swapping and just treasure hunting in general? is your mantra "one man's junk is another man's treasure?" do you enjoy being thrifty and love to recycle; taking cast-offs and finding a new use for them? do you know other like-minded souls that live in your neighborhood or that you see on a regular basis? if you can answer yes to any of these questions then why not start a community treasure chest?"

"you will need to find 5-10 like-minded friends, neighbors, c0-workers, community, club or church members. it helps if you are in contact with each other on a daily or at least weekly basis. purchase a medium sized rubber tote with handles and a lid. an 18-gallon tote is large enough for a nice selection of items but small enough that it is easy to carry and to load in the trunk of a car. i suggest you attach a wire bound notebook that includes a list of all members and their phone numbers as well as the treasure chest rules. with these minor details out of the way, you are ready to begin."

"the object of the chest is for members to pass on or trade clothing and/or other items in good condition that they no longer have a use for with hopes that those items may find a home elsewhere. at the same time this gives each member the opportunity to acquire new treasures at no cost to them; thus extending the life of these items by continuing to recycle them within the community and keeping them out of the trash. it also gives members the opportunity to advertise items that are too large or too perishable to be placed in the chest."

"the treasure chest works something like this. the first member on the list deposits their cast off treasures into the tub and passes it on to the next person. the next member may then take any or all the items from the tub that they find useful. then they add their own cast offs to the menagerie of treasures and pass it onto the next member on the list. the chest continues down the list moving from household to household until it has gone full circle and comes back the first member. the first member then gets to pick from the treasures and removes any of their original items that have been left in the chest after making a complete cycle. the first member again adds items looking for new homes. it continues to be passed on with each member removing their items that have made the full circle, helping themselves to new items and then again adding more unwanted items. each member is required to let the monitor know when they have passed it on and to whom. the monitor helps keep the chest moving smoothly and promptly."

here are the rules:

1. you are welcome to take as many items from the chest as you find useful. please share the contents with family and friends. they are free.

2. try to contribute at least one items per cycle. this can be a household item, clothing, or shoes. these must be clean and in good condition. you are welcome to contribute as much as the chest will easily hold.

3. please keep the chest moving. pass it on to the next person promptly, preferable within 3 days. make sure to call the monitor when you have passed it on.

4. when the chest has made a full cycle and returned to you, please remove any of your previously donated items and pass them on to charity. this will allow us to always have room for new items.

5. no soiled, tattered, or bulky clothing or rags, no heavy items such as large quantities of books, appliances, cleansers, or paint. please advertise these in the ad section of the notebook.

6. food must be sealed and within the package's expiration dates. other food items can be advertisemen the notebook.

7. please keep the chest neat and tidy, refold items after looking at them.

8. the attached notebook contains member's names, phone numbers, and chest rules with the remainder of the notebook devoted to classified ads. use as much as you want. please mark out any old ads that are no longer applicable. remember to include your name and contact number or email with your add. please make sure the notebook remains with the chest.

my friend, k, gave me the treasure chest today. inside were some household items, books, dvds, and such. i have several things i am going to take out and several items to put in. the notebook has the list of rules, members, a section for the classified ads, and she also added a prayer request section. there is a certain order of people we will go by, but the online site said you could change up the order every 6 months or so. they had their community chest going for about 3 years.

we all have items we have purchased or gifts given us that we have never used. this is a great way to recycle them if you don't have time to have a garage sale. i like to be able to give things away to someone that i know can use them. anyway, i thought this was a great idea when asked about it so i thought i would share it with you.


**all the information came from http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/coates114.html. **

nothing really

it's been almost a week since i've posted something - seems like a like a long time to me for some reason. i haven't really had much to blog about. we have been really busy here lately.

the officer and i decided to pay off our credit card debt this year. it is only for a season, but he has been working a lot! we are so fortunate that in his job he can bring home extra income just about any time he wants to. he can run funeral escorts. when there is a funeral procession he is one of the officers who is whizzing by cars at 80 miles per hour on city streets to get ahead of the procession to stop traffic at the next light. this is one of the most dangerous parts of his job, but it is one of the things he enjoys doing the most.

i will admit last year, we did not tithe the amount we were supposed to. this year we decided we would pay off our debt and make sure the tithing was on track. it's been amazing. we have been tithing, making more than minimum payments on the credit card, and then paying an extra payment per month on the credit card. it has been amazing how God has provided. any extra money that comes in, pretty much immediately goes to the card -that way it isn't spent on frivolous things. i'm sure you have noticed this before, when we are obedient and tithe, God blesses us and provides everything else we need and then some on top of that. i find we are more stressed out about finances when we are not tithing. anywho...

so the officer has been working a lot and we have just been plugging away doing our day to day things. the officer and i have to make sure we make a deliberate attempt to connect and talk when we are so busy doing these things. we often get into our own little worlds. we get busy with school stuff, homeschool groups, church, appointments, errands - all perfectly good things, but in the grand scheme of things not as important as they seem when we are doing them.

we do get to take a camping trip in july. we are heading to colorado. we will camp for a few days and then meet up with the officer's family in colorado for a couple of days. as long as it is not 85 degrees while we are sleeping, i will enjoy it. i know the kids and the officer will.

so that's about it. i know i need to post another shepherding a child's heart, but i was gone one week, then the teacher was gone one week, and it's been hard to get back on track. i finally bought the book from mardels. i did get the book from the library but i like to write/highlight in my books so i had to buy one. i have the notes from the teacher and one of these days soon i will post the next couple of week's worth of notes. it's moving from the mental/thinking/heart issues to the practical parenting issues. so it should get good! of course if you do not agree with spanking, you may not agree with the book. it will be interesting to get your feedback and some of the things that have worked for you.

i have an appointment to get my taxes done tomorrow. fun stuff. we usually get money back, not that it matters because it will be going to you know where. ... the credit card. we have already been working on not spending on the credit card so that when we get it paid off we will be in the habit of not using it. that way we don't get back into the same circumstances. however, then it will be onto paying off our last car. :)

i know most everyone has been on spring break. i hope you've enjoyed it. the weather has been pretty awesome. my allergies haven't been bad at all this week. lovely. well until next week.