My Frugal Year

For some folks it’s a winter thing, but for me it’s year-round. I’m a soup fan. That’s all there is to it. I love a good bowl of soup. Whether it’s to warm up on a cold winter’s day or a quick, easy lunch in the spring, Progresso is one of my very favorite soup brands.

I’m excited about all the new flavors they are coming out with like the reduced sodium Tomato Parmesan and the Chicken Tortilla. Now I’m not restricted to a gluten-free diet, but I know many folks who are, so I was very pleased to see the lineup of gluten-free soups that people can enjoy! To find out which of their products are gluten-free, on the Progesso home page, www.progessosoup.com, click the “Gluten-Free” link in the upper right corner and do a search. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find a LOT of gluten-free options!

When we received our product package and information from Progresso through MyBlogSpark, I was excited to find one can of Chicken Tortilla Progresso Soup and one can of Light New England Clam Chowder Progresso soup, a spoon rest, soup can rack, and soup mug with matching spoon!

Progresso MyBlogSpark Prize Package

I have to admit, I was suspicious of the “Light” clam chowder. I mean come ON – New England Clam Chowder is supposed to be creamy and delicious – not “light.” Boy was I surprised when I tried it and it was terrific! That one is going on the grocery list for sure, right along with the Chicken Tortilla, which the whole family loves.

You’ve got to try this soup! And guess what? Not only did Progresso and MyBlogSpark provide me with a great prize package, they’re letting me give one away here on the blog, so YOU get a chance to try it too!
Here’s what to do if you want to be the winner (each one of these gets you one entry into the random drawing):

1.) Post about and link to this giveaway on your blog and put the link in a comment on this post.
2.) Tweet this giveaway and put the link in a comment on this post.
3.) Watch these funny ads at Progresso.com and tell me which is your favorite in comment on this post.
4.) Make a comment on this post telling me your favorite Progresso soup.

A random drawing from all comments will be held on April 7 and the winner announced on the blog on April 8.

Now go have some soup!!

**The prize package and information was provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark.

UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is Lesley for comment #2:

Congratulations Lesley!

Just spend $10 and get a $20 gift card for Barnes & Noble. Can’t beat that! Use online or in store:

One of my goals this year is to stop just dumping all of our digital photos into random folders on my computer! It’s time to get prints of the good ones and do some scrap-booking! Snapfish has a great deal right now – you can get 50 free prints! Gotta love free stuff!

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I also love their photo books. Maybe you don’t have time to crop photos and make scrap books, but it’s sure easy to use their online system to make gorgeous, affordable photo books. They’re so versatile! Make books for special occasions, vacations, school years, individual family members – the possibilities are endless!

I’m a fan of Mexican food, and so is my family. Tacos are one of our favorite frugal meals. We were thrilled when MyBlogSpark and Old El Paso teamed up for this great promotion! What is better on a chilly fall night than tacos?? Old El Paso has a great line of products that help you put together a fabulous Mexican feast! A fabulous prize pack was provided to us by Old El Paso through MyBlogSpark, and our family enjoyed a great taco night!

We enjoy lots of the Old El Paso products from taco shells, seasoning mixes, enchilada sauces, salsa and more. For a fun twist, we sometimes do Fish Tacos and they are delicious!

Visit Old El Paso for news and great tips, recipes and more. Take a minute to share family fiesta photos and videos from your taco feast on the El Tacodor Family Spotlight!

Want to have your own taco night? Enter to win this Old El Paso prize pack which includes a packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase your taco fixings. from Old El Paso and MyBlogSpark.

You can receive multiple entries into the drawing by doing one or more of the following:

- Leave a comment on this post with your favorite Mexican dish (an extra bonus entry if you leave the recipe!)
- Post about this giveaway on your blog, then leave the link in a comment on this post.
- Tweet a link to this post, and leave a comment on this post saying you’ve done so.

Winner will be selected in a random drawing on November 23, so get your entries in quickly!

TODAY ONLY – print a coupon for a FREE* package of Nabisco cookies when you buy one package of Nabisco cookies and one gallon of milk. Visit the “Cookies & Milk” tab to print the coupon and redeem by September 24th! Coupon offer ends 9/6/10 at 11:59 PM ET. (*Restrictions apply.) http://www.facebook.com/nabiscocookies?v=app_344901331467

Oh folks, deliciousness awaits!! MyBlogSpark and Betty Crocker teamed up for this fabulous promotion highlighting a fun new dessert. Fun and full of yummyness! Betty Crocker provided me a terrific prize pack through MyBlogSpark so that I could try the new Mississippi Mud Supreme Bars and tell y’all about them. The pack included a box of the mix and a great 8 x 8 metal pan to bake them in.

You have GOT to try these!

Well, let me tell you…you have GOT to try them. Now I am a fan of your basic brownie so I was a little hesitant on this one. I am so glad I tried them and we will absolutely be making them again! They were quick and easy to make and our whole family just loved them – especially my soon-to-be teenage son. He helped me make them. It starts out with a crumbled cookie crust on the bottom, then the chocolate center with mini-marshmallows and sprinkled cookie crumbs on top. When they came out of the oven they smelled SO good, it was hard to wait for them to cool. FINALLY it was time to try them. I cut into it and the crust stayed together nicely and didn’t crumble. The taste was fabulous and the the bars didn’t last 24 hours in our house. Not even close!

So – the great news is that Betty Crocker through MyBlog Spark is allowing me to give away a special prize pack to one of you lucky folks! If you want to try these bits of chocolate heaven, here’s what you have to do:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite quick and easy dessert is. How easy is THAT??

The winner will be selected by random drawing from all entries on July 28

You can also get up to four additional entries by doing any or all of the the following:

Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this blog post, then leave a comment on this post that you’ve done so.

Follow me on Twitter @EclecticWAHM, then leave a comment on this post that you’ve done so.

Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and leave a link to your blog on a comment on this post that you’ve done so.

“Like” my new Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/EclecticWAHM/101535743232800 and leave a comment on this post that you’ve done so.

Thanks for reading and enjoy those Mississippi Mud Bars!!

There just hasn’t been much shopping to be saving these days, which is good. This means my stocking up has been working. We haven’t had to do a lot of those annoying little trips that add up.

Since my last update, I’ve spent $132.36 at the grocery store and saved $35.62. Not the greatest savings ratio, but not the worst either.

We’ve been to the museum once more time since getting our membership. That was such a good idea. A year’s worth of entertainment for the family for $80. Love that. We’ll be going back again soon – they have some new exhibits coming in.

Another fabulous frugal thing is free theater tickets. Through my job I occasionally get great tickets to shows. My husband and I had a date this week and we got to see the touring company of Phantom of the Opera for FREE. That saved over $140 right there. Not that we would have spend that had we not gotten the complimentary tickets, but still – great deal.

So…, where are we? Let’s see, since last update:

Spent $132.46
Saved $35.62
Transferred to savings $35.62

Year to date savings $238.40.

And for your deal of the day – don’t forget about GoDaddy’s great deals on domain names and hosting. They have some specials going right now. Check it out:

Have a frugal day!!

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We enjoy lots of cultural activities that are available here in town, but the expense can add up. Something to consider is memberships to certain organizations which allow you free or discounted admission throughout the year. We were going on an outing to the Museum of Nature and Science this weekend. In planning the trip, I noticed online that by purchasing a family membership, if we only visit the museum twice in a year, it more than pays for itself. I see that as $80 well spent. Now, for the next year, we can visit the museum any time for nothing. They always have something new to check out, so it’s a great deal.

Lots of museums, zoos etc. have those kind of membership deals. Check out what’s available in your town. You may discover some great savings there!

Freebie of the day:
Free subscription to Woman’s Day

I love free stuff. Free is my favorite four letter word So today is the day you can go to your local department store and take advantage of the latest cosmetics settlement. If you have one of these stores near you, you can go get one free product.
Bergdorf Goodman, Bergner’s, Bloomingdale’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Dillard’s, Gottschalks, Herberger’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Parisian, Saks Fifth Avenue or Younkers. Go to the official settlement website to see what the deal is and find the list of available products. I just got back from Macy’s with my “My Insolence Eau de Toilette.” It’s quite delightful…and did I mention free? Go NOW…today, before they run out!

Didn’t spend anything today, so didn’t save anything technically. But not spending is saving in a way. Today’s focus is on the making of the money. I went to work and am working on updating some of my websites. I do have a lot of surveys in my inbox to do, so I’m sure I’ll earn a few dollars there. Currently I’m waiting on checks from a few survey companies. It’s sure great extra cash. Just spend the time you normally would messing around on the internet and do a few surveys. Next thing you know you have checks coming in and money being put in your PayPal account.

It’s a frugal dinner tonight, and one of my favorites – BREAKFAST! Fried egg sandwiches with bacon and cheese and hashbrowns. Yummmmmy!

And how can I let today pass without acknowledging the really important thing that happened today. We have a brand new President. It’s time to for the country to come together to support our new President in the fixing on what’s wrong with this country. We may not all agree on the best ways to do this, but I do believe we can all come together in prayer with good thoughts for President Obama and our great country. It’s an exciting day and I am looking forward to seeing how the growth of this country unfolds. God bless America!

My view at the Democratic National Convention

Today, January 14, you can get a coupon for a free bottle of Suave! Now Suave at the regular price is what I’d consider a frugal brand, but free is even better. It’s a “while supplies last” kind of thing so go grab yours now!