5 Tips to Save You Money Right Now {Dating}

Whether you're single and ready to mingle, in a serious relationship, or married 25 years, dating is a big time important aspect for most of us. Just because wedding vows were spoken does not mean the dates stop. NO NO NO!!! Dates are more crucial than ever after the wedding. Ya gotta keep the anticipation, romance, and excitement alive! Pursue each other.

In this day and age, dates can be WAY expensive. I'm sure we're all quite in touch with the price tag of dinner and a movie. Yikes! Dating should be fun regardless of budget. I do think an added bonus to being budget conscious is it (hopefully) forces creativity.

So here we go with creative dating suggestions to be easier on the wallet and add to the fun in your relationship.....

1. Take a walk. If you have plans to go to a baseball game, allow extra time to stroll the surrounding areas hand-in-hand. Walk around your neighborhood. Walk to the coffee shop a few blocks away and then savor every drop of your drink. Being active doesn't have to mean running a marathon or taking a spin class. Just get moving together in whatever way you like. It's simple gestures like these that allow you to spend quality, much needed time together.

2. Explore your city. Unless you live in New York City or Chicago, American cities are not really set up for a lot of walking. Go somewhere in your city you've never been before. Drive to a new area. Go downtown and look at the architecture. Find the hole in the wall restaurant. Now it is important to be aware of safety and to know your surroundings. That being said, drive or walk through unchartered territory and you may be amazed what what you discover.

3. Date night in. Romance it up!!! Do what you need to do to break out of the norm. Turn off the TV, put away the iphone, walk away from the computer, send the kids to Grandma. Open a bottle of wine and play cards, Twister, or truth or dare. Get creative! Have a Bourne Identity marathon, then head over to a convenience store for slushies and junk food. Set up a slip and slide in the back yard without the kiddos. Just you and your date playing like kids in the sprinkler. FLIRT!!

4. Split meals. Now before you roll your eyes, hear me out. There's something really neat about picking out food together and sharing. You will hopefully eat slower and more of a normal portion this way as well. We all know restaurants can be kind of pricey. There's absolutely nothing wrong with fine dining on a budget. When you split, you can actually enjoy more kinds of foods, appetizer, wine, and dessert as well. Split it all and cut your bill in half! The Lady and the Tramp knew romance was sharing a single string of pasta, hehe :-)

5. Progressive dinner. This is by far one of the coolest activities I've ever done. Organize an evening for a dinner party with your friends where appetizers, dinner, and dessert will be served at different houses. The group "progresses" through the meal at each house. It's so much fun! You get to hang out with friends, eat great food, and not spend a ton! Try it!


Hopefully that gives you a few new ideas to try out and keep the flames ablaze. Stay tuned for more frugal ideas to come!

Delicious Homemade Granola

Granola has to be one of my favorite things to eat. Love the salty, sweet, and crunch all mixed into one awesome treat. Not to mention filling! After looking at a few recipes on various websites, I decided to make my own version and man, oh man, is it yummy!

Never again will I spend money on store-bought granola. Talk about a money saver!


You will need:

• 4 Cups rolled oats 
• 1 Cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 Cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 + 1/8 Cup brown sugar
• 1/4 + 1/8 Cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 + 1/8 Cup honey
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 tsp salt

First, mix together oats, pecans, and almonds in a large bowl, set aside. Next, mix brown sugar, oil, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until brown sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla. 

Pour liquid over oat mixture and stir until evenly coated. (It may look a little dry, but don't worry the heat of the oven will melt the sugar even more, giving it the classic granola crunch)

Line a baking pan (preferably one with raised edges) with foil and spray with cooking spray. Pour granola mixture onto foil. 

Bake at 325 for 30 min. Stir and the 15 minute mark

Remove pan from oven and firmly press down the cooked granola. It will be HOT so use a big spatula to do this. Let fully cool.

After completely cooled, lift granola out of pan and break into pieces and ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

**store in air tight container for best long term storage

5 Tips to Save You Money Right Now

It's time for our monthly install of money saving tips. I hope you have been able to implement some of the tips you've read on this blog. Saving money is very possible even in this economy. Let's do this!



1.) Look at your receipts. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten FREE food just by simply filling out a little survey from my restaurant receipt. Make sure you read the small print! I don't fill out the ones that say "you could will $5000!" but I do fill out the ones that say "FREE cheeseburger". Um, yes please!! All you do is fill out the survey and then write down the validation code on your receipt. Take the receipt back with you the next time you go (usually needs to be within 30 days) and get your free food! Now that's what I'm talking about! Also, Starbucks is notorious for their $2 grande drinks after 2pm. Again, look at your receipt. If it says you can get it, then get it!!

2.) Use reusable bags. Not only is this better for the environment (I heard that it takes something like 1000 years for a store plastic bag to decompose!!! Yikes!!) but it can also save you money! You might be surprised to find out that some grocery stores actually PAY YOU to use reusable bags. For example, Reasor's (a local grocery store) pays 0.06/bag and they apply it towards your total grocery bill. Heck yes!! Not only are you helping the environment, but you get money off your bill. Ask your local grocery stores if they offer this. You might be delightfully surprised.

3.) Join store loyalty/rewards programs. This is a no-brainer. CVS is a prime example of how you can save a ton just by having a store card. This is NOT a credit card. I'm not telling you to have a store credit card just so you can save money. Studies have shown when you use plastic, you tend to buy more. CVS has something called extrabucks. You can get these when you buy certain items in the store and you also get them quarterly. CVS will often have awesome sales but you can only get them if they scan your store card. It's easy, FREE, and will save you a bunch!

4.) Use restaurant punch/loyalty cards. How many times do you eat at McAlisters, Panera, Qdoba? If you go there with any frequency, you can rack up some major points and even get FREE food just by them swiping or punching your card every time you go there. Simple. Do it. There's no reason you can't save when eating out.

5.) Scan your mail for coupons. Each week you get what looks a lot like junk mail. Before just throwing the stack away, look through it. I have found some AWESOME coupons and have even gotten FREE food/store items this way. This requires absolutely no extra effort on your part. It's delivered right to your door and all you have to do is look through it. This also includes the blue Valpak envelope. Dude, there are some awesome coupons in there that range from electricians, to window replacements, to plumbers, etc. Check it out!


Happy Saving!!!

Price Matching

"Okay, so Lili, you told me to keep those store circulars that I get in my mailbox every week. I've seen some good sales, but seriously...you really want me to go to 3 different stores?!?!"

Perhaps you've thought just that. Great savings, but 3 stores? "I'm a mom, I have a job, I'm tired. I don't want to go 12 different places and use up my precious gas." I hear you. Believe me, I do. So what's the solution? Price matching.

Did you know Walmart and Target will match any price for any item? This means that if Delmonte ketchup is on sale at the grocery store for $1.00, Walmart AND Target will match that same price! It has to be the same size and quantities and it must be on an advertisement. Yes, this means that these stores will come down on their own prices to entice you to shop there more often. They hope you will not only buy ketchup, but also bananas, diapers, lotion, soft drinks, kitty litter, etc.

Just yesterday I was saving money at my local Target and needed to pick up some bananas. Produce is my absolute favorite item to price match! My local Aldi had bananas on sale for $0.29/lb. Yes, you read that right....WAY cheap! Walmart is currently selling bananas for $0.54/lb and Target for $0.55/lb. Keep in mind prices vary greatly by region. I brought my local ad with me to Target and they price matched Aldi's price and I got a huge bundle of bananas for $1.04! Now that's what I'm talking about!!

Walmart is a bit easier to pricematch. The cashiers will do it right at the register. But at Target, you will have to take it to the customer service desk and they will do it there. Both stores say you don't need to bring the ad with you, but I ALWAYS do. It makes it SOOOO much easier in determining exact quantities, size, and pricing.

The ad must have a price listed. Walmart and Target will not honor a "buy one, get one free" offer if a price is not listed. The savings really do add up when you have a price-matched item, then add a coupon on top of that. Cha-ching!


Walmart Ad/Price Match policy is here
Target Ad/Price Match policy is here


Happy shopping!!

Saving Money with Baby {Diapers}

Let's face it, kids cost money. But the truth is, they DON'T have to cost a fortune. Yes, you will have to feed, clothe, and shelter your kiddo. Those three things are necessities. Beyond that just about everything else is optional.

Have you looked at the price of diapers recently?? Holy cow! Most moms are painfully aware that a box of Pampers can easily cost upwards of $30. And if you have multiple kids in diapers....well....you do the math. Yuck!

A friend of mine turned me on to cloth diapers about a year ago. Now before you start rolling your eyes (that's right, i saw that) hear me out. Cloth diapers these days are nothing like the ones our grandmas used. No safety pins. They are absorbent and can fit quite snuggly to your little one. No, I'm not a paid spokesperson (hey that's not a bad idea!) I'm just passionate about saving money and sharing it with you!

There are many different kinds of cloth diapers out there. We use these. Yes, they are more expensive but if you register for them at your baby shower, you get them for free. We have a total of 12 and I believe I only bought 2. And those 2 purchases have more than paid for themselves. If you've already had your baby, consider getting them at Buy Buy Baby. You can use Buy Buy Baby coupons AND Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons (NOT expired) for 20% off! Now that's a deal! There are so many different cloth diapers now a days. Don't feel limited to just this brand. We will be using the same diapers with each kid so the long term savings are huge.

I don't use a diaper service, I clean them myself. It's really not that bad at all. I soak mine in a bucket of water until I'm ready to wash. I use natural laundry detergent which saves the material on each diaper and is very budget friendly. Only 1 tbsp/load. I've never had any issues with smell either. Just fresh and clean!

You will need to put a little effort into treating your cloth diapers well. For instance, you have to be careful with booty ointments because they can break down the fibers and repel rather than absorb urine. If my son ever gets a diaper rash (super rare) we just use disposable with our ointments until cleared up and then go back to cloth.

I still use disposable diapers sometimes....like for church or babysitter. Hey, I want to be a blessing to those who graciously watch my kid! I'll buy 1 box and it will last around 2 months or longer. We use disposables probably 30% of the time, otherwise, my kiddo is in cloth.

Cloth diapering may not be for you but it has saved our family hundreds already!

Crockpot Pinto Beans

Beans are such a cheap, filling meal. When cooked correctly, they make your taste buds soar! The last 6 months I've been experimenting and trying my hand at slow cooking dry beans in my crockpot and I'm officially a convert. Often times people will say you need ham, a ham hock, or some form of pork for your beans. Although it does add tremendous flavor, often times it's not necessarily easy on the budget.

I came up with this recipe the other day because I had no pork in the house and Walmart had it for $3.48/lb!!! Aaaaaaaaaand I wasn't about to pay that! The result of adding bullion to the beans was a full flavor experience and left my husband and I both going back for more. Delish!



Crockpot Pinto Beans

1  lb dry pinto beans
1  onion chopped (yellow or white)
4-5  cloves garlic minced/crushed/chopped
1  tsp chili powder
15  cranks (or 1/2 tsp) black pepper
3  chicken bullion cubes
5  cups water

* Place the dry beans in a large bowl and cover with 3in of cold water. Put beans in the fridge   overnight.
* In the morning your beans will be thick and almost to the top of the water. Pour beans into a colander and rinse.
* Put rinsed beans, garlic, onion, chili powder, black pepper in crockpot. Cover with 5 cups of hot water.
* Add bullion cubes.
* Cook on HIGH for 6-8hrs. The time will vary with each crockpot but you will know the beans are done when they are soft without being complete mush.
* Add salt to taste after beans are cooked. Adding before cooking can dry out your beans


Add spices you like. Flavor those babies up! Enjoy!

5 Tips to Save You Money Right Now

Let's face it, money just isn't growing on trees anymore. Ah, the days when I could just go outside and pick a dollar or two off my money tree. Those were some good times. But alas, that tree has died roots and all. Still blaming El Nino for that one...


So whether your money tree has passed on to the next life or is still plentiful, here are 5 tips to save you money right now!


1.) Find loose change. It's everywhere. Search the couch, bottom of your purse, pants pockets, car, dresser, kitchen counter, etc. You will be surprised how quickly it adds up. Once you gather it all up, you can either spend it or put it in the bank. You decide!

2.) Don't throw away coupon/store mailers. Once a week most people get a wad of coupons (Redplum or Smart Source) in the mail. This is money. Now you don't have to use a coupon on a product you will never use just to use it, but do look through it to see if there are any coupons for PRODUCTS YOU ACTUALLY USE. The savings really do add up. The grocery stores also send out mailers for sale items. Read these. You may find a fantastic deal.

3.) Date/family night in. I love a good night in with the family but sometimes you need to get creative to keep it exciting and fun. Plan a game night with popcorn and other yummy snacks. If you invite friends, have everyone bring a dish/snack. Build a fort in the living room and watch a movie (with everyone inside the fort). Light a fire or a bunch of candles and have a date night in with your love. Hey maybe other fires will start to burn ;-) Pour a glass of wine, turn on some jazz, and work on a puzzle.

4.) Look for the long lost gift card. You may have a gift card somewhere in your house right now. Think of your last birthday or holiday. Chances are someone got you a gift card. Have you used it? If not, that's money right there. Find it and plan an outing specifically around the dollar amount on your card. Squeeze every last drop out of it.

5.) Meal plan from what you already have if your pantry. This can be a little harder until you get used to doing it. Take a look at your pantry and see what you can make from ingredients you already have on hand. You may have enough for several meals. These don't have to be super fancy. Basic is a-okay. Use what you have and then make a grocery list if necessary. You will be surprised how much you don't need to buy at the store when you do this.


What are some things you do to save money? Bring on the savings!!