The winner of the Money Saving Mom’s Budget is:

Number 39: Jenna Barnett

Jenna Barnett says:

2012/02/01 at 12:16 pm

I already like you on FB.

Thanks to all who participated.  Hopefully we will have a new giveaway going up in a few days, I am just waiting to get the merchandise in my hands.  My husband and I have been working on some great giveaway ideas for the rest of the year and I am quite excited about it.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Slim-Fast for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

My weight was never a problem until after I had my first child and since then it has been a roller coaster.   I have been thin then not and back and forth.  I have went to gyms, programs, done online programs and more.  One of these days I am hoping to get it under control and keep it that way.

I have enjoyed many a Slim-Fast treat over the years however I have never done the complete Slim Fact plan.  Of all the treats and drinks I have tried I have been very pleased.  The already tasted great, in my opinion, and now they have improved them.  The new flavors available in the Slim Fast bottle sound delicious: Creamy Milk Chocolate,  French Vanilla, Rich Chocolate Royale, Cappuccino Delight, Strawberries N’ Cream.  I am pretty sure I would love them all but since I am a coffee lover I think the Cuppuccino Delight would be my favorite.

Slim-Fast offers many snacks including the ooey gooey chocolate bar you see pictured above.

I personally was not very familiar with the 3 2 1 plan so I though I would fill you guys in on it also.  You can find Slim Fast products in the pharmacy sections of grocers and retailers nationwide, including Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway and Kroger and online at Amazon.com and the Slim-Fast 3-2-1 Store on Facebook.
• 3 Snacks a day.
• 2 Slim-Fast Shakes or Meal Bars per day
• 1 Balanced Meal: Enjoy one balanced 500-calorie meal per day. As a rule, try to fill half your plate with veggies, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with whole grains

Each of the Slim Fast products are numbered so that you will know if they fall under the 3 or 2 category.

For someone who is super busy and doesn’t like the idea of calculating every single thing that goes into their mouth this would be a very easy system to use.  The Slim Fast items are perfect to take on the go and you can often find coupons for them which is a bonus.

Right now if you Like Slim Fast on Facebook you can enter to win a $10,000 Wow Moment!  You can

During my really long post yesterday I mentioned I had been working on some goals for not only life in general but for this website.  Well I am not quite done with all the planning but I will give you what details I have hammered out.

1. My weekly menu plan (that I haven’t posted in a few weeks) will be staying on Monday and I will be starting back on the 2nd.
2. Also on Monday I will be bringing back $1 and under Deals at CVS, $1 and Under Deals at Walgreens and Kroger deals for Southern Illinois.
3. I am planning to post my recipes on Tuesdays.  Instead of just sporadically posting them and then doing a bunch in a row.  This is one of those things I can do ahead.
4. Wednesday is going to be the day I can post any projects, photo shoots or just fun family stuff.  Once again if I have it on the schedule I can plan ahead.
5. Thursday I will be linking out to my 3 favorite articles I read that week.
6. Friday I will be posting about my new weight loss journey.  I started 2 days after Thanksgiving but haven’t mentioned it yet.  I will start writing about it this Friday.
7. Saturday I will be bringing back my weekly shopping trip.  I know I have failed at this the past month, but I will be posting more about it on Saturday.
8. Sunday is when I will be posting Saving Simply posts, that is until I run out of them.

Of course in between will be coupons, freebies, deals and more.

In 2010 I did a monthly round-up at the end of each month going over my grocery budget and shopping trips.  I will be bringing that back this year.

I will also be doing a monthly round-up of the books I have read.  I am still really new to this reading thing and this will help me be accountable.

My hope is that by having some type of schedule I will be able to get ahead and stay ahead.  Once I am ahead it will most likely help me to stay on track.  Also by having a schedule I will have an plan rather than just wake up start going through my email and see what sticks.

When I first discovered blogs, around 3 years ago, one of the first money saving blogs I came across was Money Saving Mom.  I new very little about saving money and even less about the world of blogging but right away I was drawn to Crystal’s writing, her blatant love for God and her common sense about saving money.  To this day Money Saving Mom is the only blog I make time to read every single day.  Yes I have others that I adore and read often however I love the daily encouragement and joy that I feel after visiting Money Saving  Mom.

So when I got an email in November letting me know I was going to have the opportunity to read and review Crystal’s new book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year early, I was pretty excited.  Sadly though life has been so busy around here that I hadn’t had a chance to finish reading it yet.  I started it as soon as I received it however due to all the reading I am doing for a class at Church and just the busyness of life I had to put a hold on it.

Monday morning I woke up knowing that I didn’t have to go anywhere at all that day and because we are on a short hiatus for the holiday with our class at church I decided I would dig into the book.  I thought I would read a chapter or two everyday and be done by the end of the week, but once I got started I couldn’t stop.  By the time I went to bed Monday night I had finished the entire book.

The same sweet, loving, encouraging Crystal that comes through on Money Saving Mom is exactly what you will find in the book.

The book is a basic step by step guide to saving money in every aspect of your life.  This book is not just about saving at the grocery store and scoring hot deals at CVS, yes those things are in there, however this book explores more and explains how to do it.

If you know nothing about saving money this book is for you!  If you think you know everything about saving money, I would say you are still going to glean some wisdom from this book.

Some of the highlights of the book are:

1. Being content with what you have
2. Grocery savings
3. How to Create a working budget
4. Saving on bills
5. Setting Goals
6. De-cluttering
7. Saving without coupons
8. Saving on entertainment

And so much more!

I really wasn’t sure how much I would learn from the book since I am such an avid reader Money Saving Mom, however I was amazed at how many more ideas I can now put to good use.

I will tell you though, the part about this book that inspires me most is that fact that Crystal is donating all the proceeds of  The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year to Compassion International!

If you would like more information on this book you can visit Money Saving Mom.

Disclaimer:  I have not received any compensation for this review except a pre-release copy of the book.  All opinions are 100% mine!   I do not have an Amazon affiliate so the links to Amazon.com are simply links to the website.

Right now you can download “Let’s Cook!”  iPhone/iPad app for only 99cents.  It includes over 100 recipes and hours of instructional videos.  Download it now.