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!!

10% OFF

on select items with coupon code SAVENOW at checkout!

Hurry, coupon code expires May 31st!
10% off all Couponizer products
minimum purchase $19.95 for code to apply
expires: May 31, 2010
(excludes already discounted combo offers)

Click below to go to the site and start saving!!

Here’s the post about her coupon database: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2010/04/coupon-database.html. Give it a try!

Something we were able to accomplish this year was to save enough to be able to take our first ever family vacation. We’re anxiously awaiting our departure this summer for Walt Disney World! It’s been so much fun doing the planning and plotting to make this a fantastic vacation. I’m happy to report that I found us great savings and are able to stay on property at a deluxe resort for our 5 night/6 day Disney extravaganza.

So…the new goal…now that we have a taste of what a real vacation is like – we need to plot and plan and save so we can do another vacation next year! Woo hoo!

Through a great Disney-related message board, I found a terrific budget board and joined a “Coupon Train.” Ever done this? It’s where each week you clip all the coupons you can find – set aside the ones you will use, then send the ones you won’t use along to the next person in the train. Each week you receive a lovely envelope stuffed with coupons in your mailbox. I’ve found this to be very useful as folks in other areas of the country get different coupons sometimes than we do here, so I’ve gotten some great ones to use and have been able to pass along some great savings to others.

Grab some of your own coupons here:

I just have time for a quick update today, so I’ll make it short and sweet. Since I last posted:

Spent: 291.92
Saved: 99.51
Transferred to savings $99.51

Year to date savings: $202.78

Don’t forget about great printable grocery coupons you can get free online!

I will post more over the weekend!

No spending today, which is good since I made the Costco run the other day. Since today was a lazy day that means tomorrow needs to be a productive day. I plan to do some de-cluttering in the basement. It’s my plan to be nice and ready for a good weather weekend to come along and finally do this garage sale I’ve been meaning to do. Garage sales are a great way to get rid of stuff that’s just clogging up your home and to make some nice extra cash. Nice way to beef up the savings account! The only problem is that it’s January in Colorado. This means any given weekend there could be a blizzard or 70 degree weather. Makes it tough to plan. The best I can do is get everything organized with price labels and when the weather cooperates, throw a Craigslist ad up and a few signs and get it done.

So, we’ll see how much I actually get done tomorrow!

Some deals and coupons for today:

Betty Crocker Coupons

Nestle Toll House Coupon

Enter to Win $100 in Grocery Money – Carnation

$10 off at Old Navy – Expires 1/20/09

Some things are hands down a better deal. Garbage bags, for instance. I used to get the Hefty 33gal at the grocery store. Right now for 33 bags of the 33gal. size, it’s running anywhere from $11.99 – $12.99 at the grocery store. I just got the Kirkland brand 33gal size – 90 bags for $11.99. That’s a great deal. Almost three times as many bags for the same price. And seriously – how long will it take me to go through 90 bags that size? A long time, I’d guess.

I was still driving the little Mazda today. Man, that thing is cheap to run. I put $10 of gas in it and it’s almost full. Won’t have to fill it up again for a while.

So…today’s totals:

Spent:
$10 on gas
$141.14 at Costco
Saved today:
Costco coupons $18
Transferred to savings $18
Year to date savings $89.29
and that doesn’t even count what I save shopping for certain things at Costco over the grocery store. This is going well!