.jpg)
coupons, rebates and savings galore
I am not a fan of the holiday shopping season. A lot of people are, and that’s great if it’s something you enjoy ~ but getting up at 4am the day after a holiday to fight the crowds just to save a couple of dollars is not on my list of fun things to do.
I am, however, a fan of shopping online, and I’m definitely a fan of big savings. Do you know how many web sites there are that will help you save some serious money while doing almost all of your shopping online? About a gazillion. Seriously. A gazillion. Recently I became a member of several of them ~ all free memberships ~ and already they’ve paid off (literally).
I have needed a new mixer for a while now. My in-laws gave us a Sunbeam stand mixer as a wedding present over 20 years ago. Earlier this year I started noticing that electrical smell that small appliances give off when they’re about to quit working. I let Roger know we were going to need to get a new mixer soon, and outlined the benefits of a couple of different brands I was interested in possibly purchasing. I won’t go into the debate over whether a Bosch is better than a Kitchenaid ~ that’s one of those things you’ll have to decide for yourself.
A few nights ago Roger and I were talking about what we would like for Christmas. We’ve been married for a long time now, and quite honestly getting a nice appliance I know I need is no longer offensive to me. Roger spent the first 17 or 18 years of our marriage giving me nice jewelry as gifts, because he knows how much I like pretty, shiny, sparkly things I can wear. He has proven he truly does understand that giving your wife a vacuum cleaner or a mixer for her birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any other day that it’s conventional to give a gift to one you love is NOT okay. 
I’ve trained him well.
This year I asked for a new mixer. Roger was a little taken aback by that, and he questioned me over and over to make sure a new mixer really was the thing I wanted for Christmas. I was finally able to assure him that I WANT (not to mention NEED) a new mixer, and that buying me a small appliance for Christmas was not something that would go on the “Hold Against Roger Forever List” (unlike buying a $500 dog ~ that I didn’t even want ~ on our 14th anniversary. Sorry honey, but that is one I don’t intend to ever let you live down!)
I did all of the research, and decided for my purposes a Kitchenaid would be a very good investment. If I were an everyday bread baker I would probably have asked for a Bosch ~ and again, I really don’t want to get into that whole debate ~ but since I bake bread only occasionally, and I’ve never needed to make more than one loaf at a time on any given day, the Kitchenaid has the features I was looking for. The spoiled little girl in me wasn’t willing to settle for the lesser Kitchenaid though. I wanted the big mama of the Kitchenaid family ~ the professional 600 series mixer. Try as I might to get rid of her, that spoiled little girl inside me always seems to reappear. This time, however, I was able to satisfy the spoiled little girl in me AND the grown-up in me who really would like to get the most for my money.
I joined Ebates because I have heard people talking about it and have read quite a number of posts on blogs and Facebook by people who love shopping through Ebates. Then through Ebates I was able to find a store that had the mixer I wanted on sale, and they were offering free shipping with the purchase of $100 or more. I also had a coupon code for that store for an additional 20% off. The store’s page for the mixer had a link to a rebate form I could print out and receive $$ back from Kitchenaid. On that particular day, the store was offering rewards dollars (basically a gift card that can be used at that store for a future purchase), and the cash back value on Ebates on that day was higher than it usually is. Wow.
All told, I bought a mixer that normally sells for $500, and I paid a little over $200 for it. There’s a possibility that if I had continued looking around for a couple more days I may have been able to save a few dollars more, but I’m VERY happy with the deal I got. My time and effort are worth more than the additional $5 or so I might have saved if I’d waited and done a ton more research.
If you’re not a member of Ebates, you really should check it out. The membership form doesn’t take long to fill out, and you don’t have to give them any kind of credit card or bank account information.
If you decide to join Ebates, please use my link. You and I will each earn a $5 credit to our accounts from Ebates just for you signing up and becoming a qualified member! Really it’s a win-win situation. The next time you need to buy something, look it up on Ebates and buy it through their site. Ebates will give you a percentage of your purchase price back ~ so what have you got to lose?!
ooops!
Crud! I forgot to write a post for my American Frugal Housewife category today. I have one all written in my head ~ I just need to take some pictures, then actually sit down and write the post. Hopefully tomorrow…
the economy of tears
I dislike crying. It gives me a horrible headache, makes the muscles in the back of my neck tense up, turns my face bright red, and gives me a stuffy nose. In general crying makes me very comfortable physically. I have enough daily pain from the fibromyalgia ~ I don’t like to add to it by crying.
This week I haven’t really had much of a choice when it comes to crying. I have shed more tears this week than I have in the past year total. Just yesterday I was telling 2 of my friends about what happened earlier this week, and I found myself in tears once again. My friends were surprised to see me that way ~ I’ve known them for about 3 years now, and I think they may have seen me shed a tear once before.
Revelation 21:3-4 reads:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”(ESV)
After Christ returns, and the new heaven and new earth are established, God Himself will wipe the tears from my eyes. I will never cry again. I’m kind of looking forward to that, you know?
In Psalm 56, verse 8, David wrote:
You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book? (NKJ)
God knows exactly how many tears I have cried; He has recorded them in His book and put them into a bottle.
Every single tear I have shed, and every single tear I will shed in the future, has been numbered and is held by God Himself.
Tears from me are hard won. I tend to be a bit hardheaded; it usually takes something very serious to draw tears from my eyes.
God has been using those tears to teach me this week. Through the pain inflicted on me by someone else, God has shown me parts of my heart that needed to be exposed to the light. My tears have brought me once again to the throne of the Almighty.
I’ve learned something. Each one of those tears has significance in God’s economy. They are a precious commodity! Not a single one is wasted! They have all been counted and saved.
Despite the fact that I don’t like to cry, the tears I’ve cried are a good thing. They’re a symbol of God’s working in my life. Every one of them has value ~ nothing is wasted in God’s economy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
My friend Joanne began this topic a frugality and nothing being wasted on her blog The Simple Wife. Here’s a link to her post from today.
And a link to Jen’s blog, A Pair of Bartletts. She has shared a couple of yummy-sounding muffin recipes!
the american frugal housewife
My sweet friend Joanne (http://thesimplewife.typepad.com) has been writing about economy in the home and using the resources available to you. Frugality, simple living, economizing, downsizing and want vs need are things that have been on my mind and heart for well over a year now. We’ve had a couple of additions to our family within that time, and a lot of other things going on, so I haven’t had time to explore this topic (or is it more likely that I’ve been ignoring the call God has put on my heart??).
Joanne’s writing always inspires me. I enjoyed her book Living Simply and I’m looking forward to the release of her new book Misplacing God in February. She plans to continue writing about economy in the home and in our lives on her blog every Friday.
I asked Joanne’s permission to copy the I’m An American Frugal Housewife. Are You? button from her sidebar. I’ve linked the button to her original post about economy. It’s a wonderful post; if you haven’t read it yet, you’ll find it here.
Joanne asked me if I would like to join her in posting on Fridays about economy in our homes and in our lives. I think that’s a great idea. I was raised in a home where I was the only child, so just about anything I wanted I was given. When Roger asked my dad’s permission to marry me, my dad said very plainly, “She’s very spoiled, you know. Are you ready to handle that?”
Economy in our home will be a new and strange topic. I was not taught to be frugal, to save money, to use coupons or even to shop the sales racks at department or grocery stores. Simply making sure we use what we have, including eating leftovers (gasp!), will be a challenge for us (at least in the beginning).
The “economy” Joanne is writing about is so much more than clipping coupons or saving a few cents by making your own laundry detergent. I do believe that being a good shepherd of what the Lord blesses us with is a responsibility He gives us. But living a life where nothing is wasted, and understanding that where God is concerned everything, e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. is used to the fullest (and for our good) goes infinitely deeper than eating leftovers.
Joanne has given her permission for you to “steal” her button, too. She would like for you to link it back to her original post, but she won’t send the cyber button police after you if you don’t.
I think there are things about God’s economy that we can all learn, whether you’re new to the idea of economy or an old hand at it. I’m going to start a new category here on A Joyful Heart titled joyful economy. I plan to join Joanne in writing about joyful economy every Friday.
Would you like to join us?
