My blog hopping was inspired by Empowering Mommy, so why not take a look at Favorite Friday:  Whoops Bunny?    Her babies are adorable.  It’s probably good we don’t live near each other because I’d probably be at her house every day playing with her kids.

Vanderbilt Wife (I love her tag line!): Give it To Goodwill!  She’s quite a talented writer; I love visiting blogs that focus on families and have a lot of personality like this one.

Northern Cheapskate “Cheap Things I Shouldn’t Have Bought- My stockpile has served me well over the years, but it’s dwindling down now and time for me to replenish.  I’m noticing things are expiring and I’m left with things that I’m not sure of the reason they were purcahsed.  (I wish Mrs. Knight, my English teacher in high school, was reading so she could correct my grammar sometimes!)  Some I can donate, others I can probably sell in a lot on eBay or Craigslist to make a little money back, but I’m really left with a greater sense of priority now even when it comes to “Freebies” since IT IS ALL taxed in Alabama.  All of it.  Anyyway, one of the reasons I enjoy Christina’s blog so much is because she’s sensible, and she’s not going to recommend that you buy 100 razors or stockpile 15 years worth of toilet paper.  Scan through her blog some time when you have extra minutes.  You’ll like her as much as I do, I bet!

Money Saving Mom: Is It Necessary to Save Every Receipt?  Do you?  I keep them for about a month, unless of course it’s a big purchase but those are so few and far between.  This way, if we need to take something back we’re covered and then if a rebate comes up that I didn’t know about but I bought some of the products for it I’m covered in that area as well.  Now if I was only as good at keeping proofs of purchasees for rebates I’d be set!

My Frugal Adventures: 5 Lessons I Learned Using Coupons  I suffered from extreme burn out about 4 months ago, nearing Christmas time and when I wasn’t feeling well.  I learned that you have to pace yourself and have fun with it, and not let it stress you out so badly that you don’t want to do it anymore.  I redeemed a few coupons in the last couple of weeks, and enjoyed it so I think I’m ready to get back “into the game” and so is my wallet.  I haven’t felt like shopping but this week is going to have to be a shopping week for us as far as groceries and toiletries are concerned.  Well, other than toothpaste.  Ugh.  I may never have to buy it again!  This post helped me remember some of the things I love about couponing, and brought back some of  the memories of when I would get something for such a great deal it excited me!  Yes. I Am. That. Pathetic.  But I bet I pay less for stuff than you do, if you consider me pathetic )

I’m going to be doing a LOT more blog hopping throughout the week because that’s another hobby I’m rediscovering that I enjoy!  If you want me to stop by a particular post you wrote, leave me a comment with a link.  If you just want me (and other people who read our blog) to come by and say hello, leave a link to your home page!  I’m chatty and love to meet new people.  I guess some things never change, huh Mama?

Gotta go buy some bread and milk now.  There’s a promise of more snow! Yay!

I hear excuses all the time for not using coupons, like “It’s just not worth the time to save $.50″ or “I just don’t understand how it works’, or my personal favorite “There aren’t coupons for items we use”.  Well, if you knew how much you could really save, or earn depending on how you look at it, you might just change your mind and start using some of those products.   By the way, I debunked a few of those coupon myths for you a few weeks ago.

Bargain Briana found an article I highly recommend you read, “Do the Math on Coupons”.   It basically suggests looking at your coupon savings as an hourly wage, making the desire to save more even greater because everyone wants to earn more money.  For those who are coupon pros, “earnings” can average over $100 per hour!  For even middle-of-the-road couponers, who maybe don’t jump into it with both feet, you can “earn” $25-50 per hour!  Just be organized and consistent, and dedicated to saving, and you can feel like a big time C.E.O. earning hundreds of bucks an hour!

So how much is your “hourly wage” when you shop?  It’s fun to look at shopping as “earning money” instead of spending money, isn’t it?  I’d much rather think that I’m saving money and earning for our family than wasting it or spending it unnecessarily!

You can find CVS and Walgreens store deals for the week at Moms by Heart.  You can find Rite Aid deals at Southern Savers.  Let me know if you have any trouble with those links. 

I will still have our local ads posted this week as well as a new one or two I hope! My sleep schedule is extremely messed up so most of my posting and other things get done late at night.  If you e-mail me and I don’t get back to you until late at night that’s why.  I’m still trying to share everything I can with you, and when I find good deals I’m going to do my best to pass it on to you. 

Thank you for baring with me through the last couple of weeks.  I know I keep saying it but I appreciate all of you, and better things are coming.  I really love having my blog to look forward to, and knowing one or two people benefit from it really makes it worthwhile to me   So thank you!

If there’s anything I can post for you, any blog ideas or tips you have, feel free to e-mail me at makingcentsoutoflife (at) gmail (d0t) com.   I have a stack of things to write about but I’d love to add your ideas to the stack.  If you’ve asked for something but haven’t seen it, I promise I haven’t forgotten.  I’m just slow and addicted to smileys apparently

I have been reading Bargain Babe for quite awhile because Julia focuses on not only bargains but on ways to reduce spending all together, which has helped me to prepare for an upcoming challenge with a friend, which we’ll both blog abuot soon. 

Today I went to visit BargainBabe.com, and she has put together a great list of foodie deals for several areas of California!  California readers will also benefit from the Bargain Babe site-and-community BargainBabeLA.com!

I never knew you could find a deal in Cali, but Julia a.k.a. The Bargain Babe, will find any bargain in LA existence.

For those of you familiar with Christian music, I’m sure you have heard of a group called Selah.  I’ll admit I’m somewhat familiar with, and enjoy, a lot of Contemporary Christian and Gospel music but I listen to a mix of secular as well as Christian music.  Almost a year ago I ran across a blog called Bring The Rain written by Angie Smith, wife of Selah member Todd Smith.   For those of you who are unfamiliar with Selah, please visit their site when you have a free moment to listen to a song or two from their latest album.  You might just have a new favorite.  Their music is powerful and beautiful, and speaks the Word in ways very relevant to life today.

Angie and Todd have gone through things in life no parents should ever go through, but that story isn’t for me to tell.  For those of you who are interested in reading their story, please visit Angie’s blog Bring The Rain.  Angie has a new book available for pre-order at Amazon called  I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy.  The cost is only $10.11, and I can promise you that if Angie has written the book nearly as beautifully and as eloquently as she writes on her blog, it will be well worth the read and the money.  I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy will also be a book that people who have been through those times in their lives will find comforting.   Grief and joy alike are very personal, private things in many ways, yet Angie allows us to experience those emotions right alongside her.  I can only imagine that this book will be something I will not be able to put down until I’m finished.

I have a Dr. appointment in a few minutes and I’ll probably be feelin’ pretty yucky for awhile (which translates into a nap) so I wanted to leave you with a little light reading material.

Budgets are Sexy almost always cracks me up.  This blogger is just all that and more, funny and entertaining but extremely knowledgeable.  Well, he did an experiment called “The $100 Lottery Scratch Off Project”.    I’d cry as I was handing over $100 that I would for sure lose!  Read the article to see how the project turned out.  I’m a little bit surprised and it was a fun read.

Coupon Cravings has some great posts, like this one for some great, printable diaper coupons. Erin will also tell you what is free or super cheap at CVS this week.

Deal Seeking Mom has got you covered if you are an Aldi shopper!

Couponing to Disney has a great post on using eCoupons to help with college savings using U Promise.

Bargain Briana must love Italian food (I do too!). She always has the best local deals on Italian food, and this offer from Buca di Peppo is a great one.

Visit The Thrifty Mama for her freebie deals at Office Max this week.

These are all my absolute favorite blogs…well, a small handful of them.

Hopefully this is the last week of my crazy-busy days filled with doctor’s appointments and such, because I really miss blogging and just living my life. I have had the opportunity to catch up on reading some of my fellow bloggers’ posts, and I found a few that you might be interested in.

Chief Family Officer has a recipe for broiled cod with miso sauce that I’d love to try. Cathy seems to be a great cook who is always putting her personal spin on great recipes! I also want to make her potato and broccoli Spanish tortilla because it’s combining my 2 favorite foods.

Money Saving Mom has a great post on how to live on beans and rice for a week. Could you do that? I’m not so sure I could!

Are you a Meijer shopper? We don’t have one locally but Stretching a Buck has a lot of their deals for the week matched up for you!

Be sure to visit Bargain Briana for details on e-coupons for your favorite stores! I wish I could use those for added savings.

Do you have any interesting articles on your blog? Feel free to leave them in the comments so we can all pay you a visit. I love to learn new things and meet new people.