Disney Memories Collection Weddings extended!

To close out the weekend, I decided to blog about something wedding related. I am a huuuuge Disney fan and also got engaged last February. Sean and I are planning on having a Disney wedding, but sometimes the price just seems like it is almost unattainable.

Well good news is here; the Memories Collection has been extended from its original run.

So here is the back story for those of you that are unaware. Usually there are 3 different types of wedding "packages" here at the Walt Disney World: Escape Collection, Wishes Collection, and Couture Collection. The Memories Collection was added to celebrate 20 years of Disney Fairytale Weddings. The Memories package is also the cheapest package at $1991.00, which is to resemble the year DFW started, in 1991.

The package is for intimate weddings or vow renewals up to 6 people and here is what the package includes:
Floral
Solo Violin Musician
Limousine or an in-room celebration package
Photographer with printed pictures
Wedding website
Wedding coordinator
Venue: Conch Key, Luau Beach, or the Sunrise Terrace

The price at $1991.00 will stay this way until April, however, starting in May, this package will be extended and it did state that there will be some changes, which I am guessing, includes the price.
There are also several enhancements that you can add on, such as additional floral or ceremony decor.
As Sean and I are also starting the planning phase of our wedding, it is awesome news that this package has been extended and we can have the Disney wedding without the $20k price tag!

Happy planning!

Free Cereal at Publix!

Hi again!
Just wanted to share with you all that, currently, the General Mills Fiber One Cereal is on sale at $2.50 per box at Publix. If you cut out the coupon in this weeks ad for $2.00 off of a box of General Mills cereal, it will bring the price to $0.50 per box. I also bought this Sunday's paper, in which I found a coupon for $0.50 off of 1 box of Fiber One Cereal. This makes the cereal FREE! Even if you don't eat it yourself, donate it!

Sunday Farmer's Market Fun

Every Sunday the local Farmer's Maket downtown Orlando opens at 10am. This Sunday, I decided to drag my fellow friend and blogger Bumfuzzled Jane, aka Sarah, along.
You know, buying certain items at a farmer's market can be a real money saver, especially for fruits and vegetables. Other items that can be found are local and freshly prepared foods, flowers, paintings, jewelry, and even health and beauty supplies.
Today, the things I bought were 3 huge yellow and green bell peppers, one giant tomato (the size of my face, seriously!), 3 limes, a basket of strawberries and something known as an apple pear. I got all of this for $9.25. Compared to the grocery stores around here, this was extremely cheap! Also, if you do decide to check out your local farmers market to save a little bit of green, don't shy away from the produce that doesn't look perfect. These fruits and veggies are, most times, better in taste than the ones you get from the grocery store.
Below are some more photos from our weekend excursion:

Cake fit for any "Diet"

Aaaah, it's already Saturday evening! To celebrate another Saturday having come and gone, I decided to bake. For those of you just joining me, you should know, I love to cook and bake. Anyway. I didn't feel like making anything fancy that would require and hour long preparation, as I also needed to go ahead and start cooking dinner.
As I was sitting on my couch, I remembered that I had one package of Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake mix sitting in the cabinet. This meant, I had to add eggs, oil, and water. As I love sweets, I was trying to think of a way to adjust this recipe to make it more "calorie friendly". So, here is the recipe:

1 box of cake mix (any kind of chocolate variety; milk, dark, devil's food)
1 can of diet coke, coke zero, diet coke with Splenda, or even diet pepsi

Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the box. While that is preheating, stir together the cake mix and the can of diet soda. The batter will  be extremely fluffy and light; not as dense as it would be if you would have added the eggs, oil, and water. Butter an 8x8 baking pan and fill with the batter. Let this bake in the oven about 25 minutes. Voila!

The cake will be extremely light and moist. Also, this recipe should cut out about 100 calories per serving!

You can also use a white cake mix and use Sprite Zero. Mix it up and see what you like best!

Happy baking my friends!

Saturday Morning Stock up 1.28.12

Happy Saturday!
So, as I was browsing the couponing blogs this morning, I realized that a deal had slipped my mind. So here I went: grabbed my sweat pants, put my hair up as it was a mess and headed to my printer. I realized that Publix had a sale on Hamburger Helper varieties, as well as General Mills Fiber One Cereals. Lucky for me, there was also a coupon for General Mills Cereal in the Publix add this week.

Here is what I bought:
(6) boxes of General Mills Fiber One Cereal (assorted varieties)
$2.50 per box and i used (6) $2/1 General Mills Cereal
Makes each box $0.50

(4) Boxes of Hamburger Helper
BOGO at 2 for $1.99
used (1) $0.80/4 bozes of Hamburger Helper
Makes each box $0.80

(2) Kikkoman Stir-Fry seasoning
$0.89 each (on sale)
used (2) $1/1 any Kikkoman product
makes it FREE with $0.11 overage on each

Total before promotions and coupons: $37.24
Total after promotions and coupons: $5.96
Savings: 84%

Happy Couponing!

Date Ideas on a dime!

Happy Friday Friends!
Tonight, Sean and I are spending a quiet night in watching the 'CHUCK' series finally. I decided to take this time to write a post about money-saving date ideas. You do not always have to spend tons of money just to have fun with the person you love. Its about being together, not about measuring the amount of fun you have by how much you are spending that night.

The following is a list of  free or inexpensive date ideas. Use these as a guideline the next time you want to spend some quality time
1. Cook for each other (sometimes Sean and I have cook-offs where we spend time in the kitchen and then grade our dishes)
2. Rent movies and grab some snacks and call it a night
3. Play boardgames, such as the game of LIFE or MONOPOLY; if you don't have one, go grab one. Boardgames have become very inexpensive
4. Catch an early morning movie at a matinee price
5. Take a stroll through the park and bring a picnic basket along - some parks offer movie date nights for a low admission price. This way you can cuddle up with your loved one and watch a movie under the stars.
6. Take a cooking class together; although these are on the pricier end of the spectrum, its a neat idea on a special occassion.
7. Paint some pottery
8. Visit the local farmer's market and sample some food
9. Hit some golf clubs at your local driving range
10. Play video games together
11. Volunteer together - not only are you spending time together, but also giving back to the community
12. Make dessert reservations (for example at The Melting Pot - nothing better than sharing chocolate covered fruit)
13. Take a staycation

Do you guys have any others?

Disney Vacation Club Membership: A review

Good Evening fellow followers!
So tonight I wanted to focus on something that is very near and dear to my heart: Disney!
Honestly, one of the best investments I have ever made is in a Disney Vacation Club Membership. What is it you ask? Think of it like a time share. Basically, you buy a certain number of points per year and for these points, you can book resort stays at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and all international Disney locations. You can also book Disney cruises, Adventures by Disney travel experiences and hundreds of non-Disney hotel stays.
For example, 100 vacation points per year will cost you, roughly $10k. Sounds like a lot right? Well, what you need to understand is that you will not pay $10k every year, but rather it is a one time investment and every 12 months, you will be entitled to 100 vacation points and any points you did not use from the year before will transfer over. With 100 vacation points, you can book things like a 3 or 4 night cruise in an ocean-view and sometimes even verandah room, you could do a weeks stay at the Animal Kingdom resort during certain times of the year, and you can even enjoy time away at the brand new Aulani resort in Hawai'i and many other fun excursions.

Also, with the DVC membership, you get exclusive discounts throughout the Disney resorts and get to be part of special member events.
To break it down, Sean and I, each, have a DVC membership and we put $1000.00 down and pay about $160.00 per month. This is for both of our memberships (we have 50 points each). We do not have any other major guilty pleasures we spend money on, except for the occasional video game, so this was perfect and fit into our monthly budget. We have stayed and used our membership so many times in the year and a half we have had it, it has already paid for itself. For example, we are staying that the Boardwalk resort, with boardwalk view, in a deluxe studio from March 22 until March 25. This stay cost us about 60 vacation points, meaning we still have 40 points left over to use on another stay until the points renew in November. I do have to say that we usually do one-nighters, but we both wanted to spend some time with each other away from work and school so we splurged a little. If we would have paid for this out of pocket, it would have cost us a whopping $1693.00!!! This way, we used our points, we still have points left over, AND we get new points towards the end of the year to do it all over again.

We have previously stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Saratoga Springs Resort, Old Key West Resort, and the Wilderness lodge in both studio accommodations and 1 bedroom villas (which are huuuuge!!) multiple times. I would estimate that if we would have paid for all of these stays out of pocket, we would have spend around $8000.00+.
Sean and I live only about 30 minutes away from Walt Disney World and we do frequent "stay-cations" over the weekend, so this has totally been a worthy investment. I would even recommend this for families or couples who like taking trips and vacationing at a Disney resort once a year or so, as this will pay for itself. Take a look, you may want to become a member yourself!

How much do you spend on groceries?

Something that always comes to mind, every weekend when I make my grocery list, is how much is one to spend on food? How much is too much? Is there such a thing as spending too much on grocery items? On average, with a household of two, we spend about $80.00 per week on groceries, averaging about $320.00 per month. This does not include any restaurant visits, but does include non-edible items found at a grocery store, such as toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags, and aluminum foil. All of this also does not include any savings through coupons, as I do not always have them with me if it is a more spontaneous trip to the grocery store. We also do not really eat any processed foods, so a lot of my grocery items include fruits and vegetables. I would be interested in hearing from you all:

How much do you spend on groceries? Do you think you are spending too much?

Dinner: Cajun spiced Shrimp, Chicken & Rice

Good Evening my fellow readers!
Besides saving money, I love to cook and bake. For dinner tonight, I decided to use the least-used spice in my household: Cajun seasoning! Here is what you need:

(1) Chicken Breast - cubed
(1) cup of thawed medium to large sized shrimp - peeled and deveined
(1) green bell pepper - chopped or julienne
(1) can stewed tomatoes - undrained
half of a medium sized yellow onion - chopped or julienne
(1) bag of boil-in-a-bag rice
(1) tablespoon minced garlic
Salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, thyme
Olive oil


To make this dish, cook the rice as indicated on the package. Then, simply season the chicken and shrimp with Cajun Seasoning, I would say about 1 tablespoon of seasoning for each, and cook until done in a separate pan with olive oil. Move off to the side and to the same pan, add more olive oil, garlic, bell pepper, a teaspoon of thyme and onion and cook until tender. Add the shrimp and chicken back into the pot, add the can of stewed tomatoes and the cooked rice; stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Voila!

Chiobani Yogurt Coupons

I am always on the lookout for Greek Yogurt, as they just taste better to me. I printed two Chobani coupons directly from their website. Just click here to get $0.30 off of a 6oz yogurt cup and/or $1.00 off of Chobani Champions 4-pack. They do not expire until 2/24/12 so keep them on hand until a sale rolls around!

Time to fire up that Grill!

For those of us living in Florida, we are already wearing our shorts and Flip-Flops again. To take even more advantage of this weather, there is a new coupon on for $5.00 off of a bag of Kingsford Charcoal products. With a bag coming in at under $5.00, this is a steal!

Just click here and enter Zip Code 75034 and you will find the coupon under the "Household" tab.

Thank you, PrudentPatron, for posting this!

Early Bird Couponing 1.25.12

Good Morning all,
as I usually wake up very early, I decided to not waste that extra time on the couch in front of my TV, but rather leave a little earlier for work and cash in on some of those coupons I had before the new weekly ad goes up in stores tomorrow.

Here is what I bought: (3) Sambazon Organic Acai Juices, (2) Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurts, (2) Yoplait Greek Yogurts, (1) package of Band-Aids, (2) Glade Candles, and (1) box of Kotex Pantyliners.

Total Due: $19.44
Actual Money Paid: $9.50

Savings: $9.94!

Happy Savings my friends!

Keep on organizing...

So as I was sitting at my desk at work, I was trying to figure out what I am going to be making for dinner tonight. I pictured my pantry and what was in it... Problem was, I didn't remember anymore what we had and what we didn't. Recipe after recipe was eliminated because I was not sure if we still had diced tomatoes or if we still had enough rice; therefore, I decided, I needed to do a massive "pantry-raid"! Needless to say, there were things in there I had forgotten I bough several weeks ago. From candy to pasta to beans and even my favorite loose-leaf tea. I had come to the conclusion that doing a pantry raid every now and then can help you save money without even really trying. Now I know what we have and what we don't have and I can make my grocery list accordingly without coming home and saying to myself: "oh crap, I forgot we still had some of this"!
Not only does organizing save you money, it also keeps you sane and avoid frustration. Take a look in your pantry, did you know that way back there in the corner you still had a packet of hamburger helper?!

Happy organizing my friends!

Organizing will help you save money!

Traveling on a Budget

With the price of gas and airfare going up, traveling has become a luxury expense many of us have had to eliminate. I remember when you used to be able to just pack up the car and drive for hours until you get to a place that peaked your interest and stay there overnight. Now, with gas having almost doubled over the last 5 or so years even getting to work can be frustrating.

But there always comes that time when you just want to get away. Get away from work, get away from school, family, friends, and even children. My brain is always running at 100 miles per hour and thinking of new places to visit and see and explore so I have come up with a couple of things that will help you stay out of the hotel restuarant, washing dishes, to pay for the extravagant meal you just ate.

1. Make a realistic budget - it is better to over-budget than under-budget and now you are stranded on some island and can't leave. Make the budget from beginning to end. In your budget, you should include items like food & drink, lodging, transportation, any special items needed for the trip (i.e. skis for a ski trip), and any activites you wish to do. The easiest way to do this is to do some research and find out, on average, how much things cost.

2. From that budget, eliminate things you really don't need -  do you really need to buy that third swimsuit you want to wear on a 4 day cruise? Do you really need to have a private guided tour of the museum when you can get the same experience with more people for no cost at all? Is it really worth it to spend an extra $200 per night just to be on the concierge floor of your hotel? You ge the picture.

3. Think "All-Inclusive" - if you know you are on a budget, planning a vacation that includes a stay at an all-inclusive resort may be your best option. Usually, the all-inclusive amenities include all food and drink, sometimes even including alcohol for the grown-ups, taxes and gratuities and any hotel activities, such as sports, fitness studios, and even snorkeling and kayaking. Although the initial cost may be high, in the end, you will end up paying less because you do not have to whip out the credit card for every little thing.

4. Off-season or weekdays - it is always cheaper to travel during the destinations off-season time. This does not only apply for hotels but sometimes also for activities around town and even restaurants. During the week, there are also a lot of savings to be found. Often times resorts will even offer an incentive for staying during a weekday.

These are just a few major things to consider when traveling and wanting to save a little bit of money. Something Sean and I often do is a staycation. We have a vacation club membership at the Walt Disney World Resort so when we need some time away without burning through our wallets, we book a 2 or even 3 night stay there. It gives us the same benefits of being on vacation without the worry of not having enough money to cover everything.

On my journey of finding great deals, primarily on food, I have come across several websites that are written by people just like you and I to help you save money as well. Here are some of my favorites (again, I live in Florida, so there may be some other sites that are great as well but these are the ones I primarily use).

1. iHeartPublix
2. SouthernSavers
3. CouponingToDisney

All three of these actually list out the deals in weekly ads and what coupon to use to get the best deals. Basically, they are doing the work for you. The only thing you need to do is make sure you have a working printer and you buy the Sunday newspaper. It really does not get any easier than that.
I am, in no way, an extreme couponer. I buy what I need for the week and stock up on items such as beans, pasta, or rice. I do not have an extra stock pile, nor do I need to take apart the bedroom to make room for my grocery purchases and these websites make it easy for me to budget and plan!
I particularly love Couponing to Disney because I love anything Disney. Basically, the author has a budget and the difference between her budget and what she actually spent, meaning her savings, go into a Disney World fund. It is such a neat idea and it makes it so much more fun to save money as you are working towards an actual goal. Go check it out, its worth a look!

Friends can be bought!

Yes, you read correctly, you can buy yourself a new friend and I know just the right one: the local Sunday Newspaper. Not only does it contain local, national, and international headlines, but it also contains store adds as well as coupons and entire coupon booklets. As I live in Orlando, i grab the Orlando Sentinel every Sunday and immediately tear out the center of the paper to see what is on sale this week. Specifically, i look for SmartSource and RedPlum; both of these are entire coupon booklets for anything and everything you can imagine. Pick up a paper and check it out!

Saving Money 101

The first thing one needs to know about saving money is that it is probably not as easy as one may think and it actually requires a little bit of effort.
Honestly, I am starting this blog because I feel like, with today's economy, we can all save a little money and add that to our savings account or, if you don't have one yet, start one.
Here is a little background information about me:
I am 24 years old, graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Psychology,  live in an apartment in a nice part of town, have an average paying job, and am engaged to a wonderful man by the name of Sean. He, too, has an average paying job and, together, we tend to live a pretty average life.
Sean and I are always on the lookout for new things to do and try and we like to spend money doing it. Problem is, next to rent, two car payments, cell phones, and so forth, doing extravagant things and going out to high-end restaurants sometimes feels out of reach. To quench our thirst for $60.00 video games and $150+ hair appointments I had to come up with a plan. This plan included couponing. It has gone from a coupon here and there to actually seeking out coupons for products I am buying for the week. It has saved us money, if even only a couple of dollars on each shopping trip, that we were then able to use on something else. It has gone from a chore to something that is actually extremely fun and relaxing and challenging all at the same time for me. This blog is to be about savings money any way you can without cutting back on the things you love. This blog is about living life any which way you want to and not letting an average salary get in the way. It is to be fun and entertaining, educational, and will hopefully inspire you to save a dollar here and there!