The Blood Pressure Battle

Yeah, let's just say the blood pressure is staying elevated. I am still battling my blood pressure. I swear I can feel when it goes up but my doctor says there is no way because it's not high enough. If this is the case, why can I not sleep when it's high? The doctor says it is because I am already inclined to have panic attacks. And when I take my blood pressure and it's high, I am probably having anxiety. This makes my blood pressure go even higher. Whatever. Even if I can't feel the blood pressure, I am battling the anxiety. I was able to get my Xanax refilled today (thank you to the dear doctor I saw today) and I am speaking with God everyday about my health. Begging actually to make all these problems go away. I know that He has a purpose in my life and there's a reason He is allowing me to go through this. It definitely has made me rely on him more and myself less.

I know I didn't do a song on Son Day so I want to do one today that I have really grown to love. I grew up listening to Amy Grant and she has only improved with age.

Publix+CVS= $481.89 for $67.12

Can I just say that I heart CVS and Publix? I AGAIN had great trips at both of these places. It was dog food week at Publix:

 

This is 61 bags of dog food and they were $.49 each. That is 244 pounds of dog food for $29.89 (before tax). I was very excited. I have two big boys. This will last us around 14-20 weeks depending on what they eat. I also got:

I spent a total of $59.41 at Publix on $405.84 worth of stuff. (Mostly dog food). That was a savings of 85%

4 boxes of Ritz Munchables

4 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks

4 bags of cheese

4 blocks of cheese

4 bags of Starburts

2 bags of Skittles

4 Weight Watchers Ice Creams

4 Beech Nut baby meals

At CVS: 

I got:

2 Colgate Toothbrushes

1 Halls Cough Drops

2 Axe Body Washes

2 Dove Men's Deodorant

3 boxes of Band Aids

4 Glade candle oil refills

Without any sales or coupons: $ $76.05
Out of pocket cost $$8.93
Extra Bucks Left Over $10.00 (I actually MADE $1.07)
Coupon Amount Used: 
Savings of 88%
Savings counting ECB left over: 100%
# of Transactions: 2

I had a pretty good weekend. My tip this week is to monitor Southern Savers for any great deals that are coming up. She can't tell you exactly what the deal will be but can tell you what coupons you need to print. However, for the dog food deal, she did say how much this would be because it was such a great deal. Also, she wanted everyone to have time to order the coupons. Not all coupons that are published come in the local newspaper. I bought the $2/1 coupons. I bought 100 of them for $15. So, if you add the $15 in to my total of dog food, it still makes each bag $.73..which is not bad. I haven't ever bought coupons until now. If I find really good ones, I will buy again if they make the price worth it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Publix+Bilo+Ingles+CVS=A savings of 75%

This weekend was not great for my family. Michael's grandfather died on Thursday so this weekend was spent with his family. However, couponing is a form of therapy for me so I did find some time to go to the grocery store.

Ingles shopping trip

I paid out of pocket of $21.30. This is $56.46 worth of stuff. This is the best I have done at Ingles. I generally stay away from Ingles because they are simply too expensive and not coupon friendly. However, there was some pretty awesome deals there this week. I got:

2 packs of Chinet plates
2 Gain laundry detergent
3 cans of Hormel chili
2 boxes of New York Texas Toast
2 containers of Chobani greek yogurt
6 jars of Bertoli pasta sauce
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 container of Clorox washing machine cleaner

All for $21.30. This IS the best I have ever done at Ingles.

I also went to my two favorite places: Bilo and Publix.

This is $173.10 worth of stuff for $53.97. WOW. Again, I LOVE Publix and Bilo when I am couponing. I am going to try to list everything that I got but I might miss something. If I do, the picture is there. I got:

1 Bag of Purina dog food
4 packs of Lance crackers
4 Bags of Pepperidge Farm cracker chips
4 boxes of Cheez Its
6 containers of Country Crock butter
4 loaves of Pepperidge Farm Raisin bread
2 bottles of Dawn Dish Detergent
1 box of Gain dryer sheets (cashed in my last coupon and raincheck)
7 boxes of Mueller's noodles
2 packs of Borden Cheese
8 packs of Springer Mountain Farms each a pound or more a piece
1 Jar of Duke Mayo
1 box of Decaf tea
4 packs of Yoplait kids yogurt (love this stuff)
1 jar of Philidelphia Cooking Creme
4 packs of Vigo saffron Rice

And that's it. But, I think that's enough. I was crazy excited!

And finally, I had my best CVS visit EVER! I look forward to more of these.

I spent $ 27.93 out of pocket on $139.82 worth of stuff. And I got:

1 Bottle of Head and Shoulders
3 bottles of Suave body wash
6 Suave deodorants
3-3packs of Listerine pocket packs
2 packs of Reach floss
2 bags of Easter candy
2 Cadbury Eggs
1 Zantac
1 Allegra
1 Lysol no touch handsoap system
3-12 packs of Coke products
2 boxes of Triscuits
4 boxes of Robin Eggs Whopper candy
1 Cobroxin pain relief spray

Without any sales or coupons: $ 139.82
Out of pocket cost $ 27.93
Extra Bucks Left Over $12.99
Coupon Amount Used: 
Manufacturer: $ 21.50
Extra Bucks:   $ 52.43
Savings of 80%
Savings counting ECB left over: 89%
# of Transactions: 4

This CVS visit is the best I have ever done I think.

I am very excited that I have finally gotten the hang of this process. My coupon tip for this week is to take advantage of any sales or specials the store has going on. If they are out, get a raincheck. Sometimes store specials will be better than what is actually on sale from the manufacturer.

Total before sales and coupons:  $369.38
Total saved after sales and coupons:  $279.17
Total Spent (minus leftover ECB):  $90.21
Savings Percentage: 75%

SON days

This has been a rough weekend for me and my family. My husband's grandfather passed away on Thursday evening. This weekend has been spent with his family. I never really knew my dad's father and I wasn't really close with my mom's father. My grandparents are Michael's grandparents. I have known them all my life and I feel as if I have lost my grandfather.

The Anatomy of a Panic Attack

Imagine knowing something bad is going to happen. You don't know what and you don't know when. You just know because you feel it in every fiber, nerve, and cell in your body. You start to feel chilled (or really hot) even though the heat is on and you're wearing a jacket. You start to feel dizzy, not like the room is spinning but more like you can't get your balance. Your palms become sweaty but your hands are ice cold. All of a sudden you can't breathe in and out. You feel as if you are drowning. Your heart starts to race and your chest hurts. Your head may even hurt and you swear you're having a heart attack. Maybe you start crying but maybe the fear is so great that you don't know what to do. You start trembling uncontrollably and you know that the bad thing you feared has just happened. You have just had a panic attack.

For me, this is how a panic attack feels. At the time, I swear I'm dying. And afterwards, I feel as if I have ran a marathon. Sleep, along with God and Xanax, follows because I'm no good for anything else. I can't think clearly or concentrate for a couple hours afterward.

Because I have learned to recognize how they start, if I can make it through the first 15-30 seconds (which can seem like years) I will have managed to calm myself down enough that I will not have a "full blown panic attack." I'll have, what I call, a "semi panic attack." This includes everything up until the difficulty breathing. There have been times I have skipped it all and went straight to the rapid heartbeat. At those times, if I can make it through the first 15 seconds..no longer..I won't have a full panic attack. I do a lot of self talk and self reassuring during this time. I know if I am able to control it, it won't get bad and I won't feel like I am dying.

Coming to this point where I can talk and write about this has taken lots of counseling, talks with God, and Xanax. All this has been a part of my recovery. Without them, I am not sure what my mental state would be. Honestly, my last panic attack was a few weeks ago but I have just gotten to where I can write about them. I am so proud of myself for how far I have came since October. I can do this. I'm going to do this.

Making Money Tip

I think one habit that a person falls into is signing up to take surveys, doing a few, and then not doing them for awhile. What will happen is you will do this and then you will want to go back and do surveys. You will then realize that you aren't getting a lot of offers to do surveys. That is because you stopped taking them. If you start taking surveys, and keep taking surveys (even one a day), you will continue to receive offers. If you don't stay at least somewhat active, the offers will stop. I suggest responding to at least three surveys or offers a week. This will keep your account active and keep the surveys coming.

A Savings of 85%

I had a great weekend at CVS this week. I didn't go to the grocery store but I did go to CVS. 

I bought
1 Charmin 16 count
1 Bounty 12 count
2 Gain Dish Detergent
1 Charmin Freshmates
2 Dentek Picks
1 Purex Complete 3 in 1
2 Herbal Essence products
1 Tena Adult Pads
1 Irish Spring Deodorant
1 Dial Nutri lotion
2 Crest Pro Rinse

Without any sales or coupons: $ 85.95
Out of pocket cost $ 22.42
Extra Bucks Left Over $10
Coupon Amount Used: 
Manufacturer: $ 19.73
Extra Bucks:   $ 31.46
Actual Cost $12.42
Savings of 85%
# of Transactions: 5

I believe this is the best I have ever done at CVS. I am ecstatic about this trip. No, I don't need adult pads but my grandmother does. I also don't need Crest Pro Rinse or the lotion. However, these items were free with coupons and gave me extra bucks. With those extra bucks, I bought stuff I needed: toilet paper, paper towels, and the rest of it.  Plus, I still have $10 Extra Bucks left. I am stoked.

I do my CVS trips in separate transactions. If there are other customers behind me, I will let them go before me out of common courtesy. Just because I am crazy, doesn't mean others have to watch!

Anyway, hope you guys all have a good week.

SON days

I am still in the process of trying to figure out where I am going with my life and my relationship with God. I am praying about several things that I feel he is calling me to do. I was asked today to help with the GAs at the church. If you don't know what they are, let me explains. Girls in Action (GAs) are girls 9-12 (or somewhere around there) doing mission projects and learning more about God. I love teaching kids but I am not sure I'm the best role model for them. I guess the things I have been through would allow me to relate to them, lead them, but I am in no way a role model for them. I don't know. Pray about it is something I have always been told but I feel this is so contrite. But, I will. While I wait, I will pray about it. And hope God leads me in the way he wants to go.

Finding the BEST price

I am going to refer a lot to Southern Savers. In my opinion, it's one of the best couponing sites out there. It's well organized, easy to follow, and the tutorials Jenny has posted are awesome. One of the best ones I can show you is this one:

This explains what this whole post will be about in video form. Some people do better when they watch a video and some people learn better in print.

One of the first things to realize is that you need to save your coupons for the BEST price of an item. For example, one week Cheerios might be on sale for 2/$6.00. While this is a sale price, a better sale price is is B1G1Free at 3.99 a box. This makes each box of cereal roughly $1.99. If you have a coupon for $1.00 off of one box of Cheerios, that will make that box that normally costs $3.99, cost $.99. WOW. That's a cheap box of cereal.

Jenny does a great job at showing what is a good price and how it can be better. On her website you will see a list of stores at the top. If you click on one store, you will see all the posts having to do with that store. What you primarily want is the weekly ad. On the weekly ad, she adds an acorn next to the BEST deals. Plus, if something is under a dollar or at a low price, she will tell you how much it is after the coupons. She illustrates this concept here.

There are tons of videos there to listen to and learn from. If you have a question,email me...godandxanax@gmail.com

My Heart

I met the love of my life when I was 14. I knew at that time he was the love of my life, but he didn't. Michael and I first met when we were 14. Something attracted me to him. "My name is Crystal and I am going to be your new best friend" were my first words to him. I don't remember how it happened but I helped his mom with her Sunday School class and he always came with her.

He is IT for me. He has always been IT for me. Even when there was someone else after Michael and I went our separate ways, it was always very clear that Michael held my heart, my everything. No one could live up to what Michael was to me though one tried. And how I knew this at 14, I don't know. I guess you could say when I was younger, Michael was a bit of an obsession. But I loved him.

He and I went our separate ways when we were 17. My heart broke and it was like a piece of me went with him. A piece of me broke off and I searched for someone to take his place until I was 21. At 21, I had resolved myself that he wasn't replaceable and to try to find happiness where I could. I prayed to God to let me be happy just by myself. So, I chose to be alone. I knew, without a doubt, I wasn't going to find happiness with anyone else but myself.

When I was 22, on March 11, 2006, Michael and I found our way back together. I believe that God knew that he was it for me. He allowed me to grow as a person and not depend on someone for my happiness. When I was finally able to accept me for who I was and what happiness He and I could give me and myself, he allowed Michael and I to find each other.

It hasn't always been perfect or easy with Michael. Because of some of our history, I had some doubts to let go of. I had to realize that we weren't teenagers anymore and he wasn't going to disappear again. I would be riding down the road and just giggle and shake my head. I couldn't believe we were together again. And there are times, when I let myself, think how lucky I am to have him in my life again and how I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE IT. I had to let God do this in His time. I just never thought he and I would be together again. He's my best friend. 

And he's my heart. He's my love. He's my husband (he and I married October 17, 2009). He's who I will be with until each of us die. I know this as surely as I am sitting here breathing and as surely as I did almost 14 years ago (he and I started "dating" as teenagers October 14, 1997). I am so happy with them and he accepts me so fully as me. He is patient with me during my panic attacks. He's patient with me on the nights I can't sleep. He's patient with me when I am thinking I might die. He's it. God could not have made someone so perfect for me.

And I love him so completely. And I know he loves me.

Weight Management

At this moment in time, I am not trying to lose weight...I am just trying to maintain. Weight Loss has not always been easy for me but again, now is the time to start slow and learn. I generally start by trying to lose weight and then I worry about maintaining. At the moment, I am working on just maintaining. I know the weight I am at right now is not healthy...no one should weigh this much. However, with everything going on with my life right now, I don't want to put more stress on myself. PLUS, I figure that if I can find out how to maintain, I have no problem losing. Once I know how maintaining works, when I am ready to lose, I will be able to maintain. So, I am kind of going backwards.

Everything else in my life is going well right now. I am still having blood pressure issues from time to time but my panic attacks have gotten few and far between. I hope this is a sign that I am a "recovered panic attacker."

How I Learned to Coupon

A friend of mine (who I adore) asked me earlier this week to do a post about how I started couponing. I know that a site like Southern Savers (found here) can be overwhelming if you don't have the time to sit and read. However, she really does lay it all out there. She tells the easiest way to organize, she explains how it all works, and she explains how best to use her site. She has several tutorials. I am in no way going to claim that I came up with any of these methods. Jenny, from Southern Savers, taught me these couponing tricks. However, what I am going to do is explain what works best for me personally and how I use her site. These posts will probably be a series because there is SO MUCH that one post just will not do it.

Getting Started

This first and most important thing is to stay patient. I got started doing this thinking I was immediately going to get $100 for $25. It doesn't work that way. It took about four weeks to really start collecting coupons for me to see the "fruits of my labor." It will seem difficult at first. It will seem like you are unable to buy ANYTHING that is on sale. There's a reason for that and we will go into at later date.

The second and second most important thing I can tell you is to get organized and stay organized. There are many different "schools" of thought about organizing your coupons. For me personally, I DO NOT clip coupons. I use a 13 pocket accordion file folder to organize the inserts themselves.

And I also write the dates of the insert on the front of the insert. The date is the date of the paper you got the coupons out of. You can also find the date on the spine of the inserts. Sometimes I will get loose coupons and I organize these in a index card box.

 

You can put them in categories or you can just stuff them in a box as I have done here. I also use a plain folder (like the ones that have three brackets in them). I use this folder for all print outs and coupon "booklets" I get in the stores.

You can see Jenny explaining her system here. I have taken her system and tweaked it to meet what I want it to do.

The last thing I can tell you about couponing is USE SOUTHERN SAVERS. Jenny spells out each store, each sale, what's good, what's not, what to buy, what to wait on etc. If you still have questions, email me godandxanax@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer any questions you have. I hope to post a tip or something every Saturday. This post will take the place of the one on Saturday this week.

Happy Couponing!

Cash Crate Review

Cash Crate

This week I am going to review Cash Crate. I am still having some issues this past week with my blood pressure so I didn't do too much this week. However, I did manage to make $5.55. I know that is not a lot but I only spent about 30 minutes this whole week doing this.

I absolutely love Cash Crate. Cash Crate is a 100% legit company. I have never had problems getting my checks from them. Most companies will have high payout limits you have to reach to be able to cash out but Cash Crate only has a $20.00 limit. So, just think, I only spent 30 minutes this whole week and made almost $6. So, if I had actually spent 30 minutes each day, I would have made around $30. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but if you do this each week that's an extra $120 a month. That's a few tanks of gas, new shoes, or even groceries.

The whole point with Cash Crate is they are paid by other companies to offer you various products, offers, or surveys. Cash Crate will then give you anywhere between $.50-10.00 depending on if you sign up for pay offers or free offers. Of course the offers that take less time will pay less. Or, if you have to pay for the service, you will be paid more. There are loads of surveys you can take to make money. Again, depending on the level of commitment of time on your part, is how you will be paid.

My tip is very simple this week: Only sign up for offers you are interested in. AND, if you sign up for the offers you have to pay for yourself, then make sure you are actually interested. Most companies require you to stay with that offer through the entire "free trial" period. This is the time that the company allows you to try their product or service. Now, these "free trial" periods last two weeks to a month. If you don't remember to cancel your membership, you will actually end up paying for it. So, be sure you like it. Also, be sure to take surveys and write reviews on things you actually know about. Most companies will review your review or survey and determine if YOU are being legit and only reward points or money after they determine this. So only do stuff you are interested in!

Have a good week everybody!

SON days

LOVE- That is all.