Your Grocery Toolbox e-book review

I want to introduce you to one of my favorite food bloggers, Anne over at Quick and Easy, Cheap and Healthy. And her website does just that - provides recipes that are simple to prepare while using healthy ingredients. She shares tips and hints to save money while keeping your family well-fed.

Anne has just published a wonderful e-book called Your Grocery Toolbox. It's a 150-page guidebook to saving money on your food bill and developing good spending habits that will serve you well in the future. I can tell you that after two and a half years of blogging, I've not seen a better e-book on the subject of saving grocery dollars. It's a great value at $4.99.

Here are some of the topics covered in this book: 

1. Budget (how to make one, what you can afford on your budget, a sample $250/month budget, and more)
2. Price List (what it is, how it helps, how to make one, how to maintain)
3. Sourcing (a comprehensive review of sources – online and brick-and-mortar – for inexpensive healthy food)
4. Once-a-Month Shopping (maximizing your budget by shopping once a month)
5. Price Caps (learn how to set limits for how much you will spend on different items)
6. Coupons (can coupons be effective when shopping for healthy foods?)
7. Do it Yourself Foods (foods you can make yourself and save money)
8. Take it to the Next Level (develop frugal habits that will save you LOTS)
9. Saving Money in the Internet Era (frugal hacks from the modern age of internet and social media)

Anne also includes tons of resources, websites and printables to make your efforts to save money even easier!

Each chapter contains several challenges, like determining your nutritional priorities or creating a price book. These challenges will help you take the book's useful tips and put them into practice. And in the process, you'll start to see how following Anne's advice can save you money while still allowing you to serve your family healthy meals!

So, what did I like most about Your Grocery Toolbox? Well, I really liked all of it! The chapters were well-written and conversational, like Anne was talking to her best friends. She makes the whole process of planning to save and shopping for deals easy and doable.

But I think I learned the most from the chapter on resources for healthy food at good prices. I had never really considered online shopping as a viable option. After reading Anne's recommendations, I went to Amazon.com and found some amazing prices on foods I've been wanting to try but was too expensive locally. I was even able to get some bulk items without leaving home. That's important to me because we have no large warehouse stores like Costco or Sam's near us.

I also got a much-needed reminder to update my price book. I started one in 2010 but haven't kept up with current food prices. I know prices have gone up in the past two years, so in an effort to find the cheapest prices on what I need, I'm going to follow Anne's advice to keep up with it.

So, would you like a copy of Your Grocery Toolbox? You can purchase one for $4.99 or here's how you can get one for FREE!

Simply leave a comment telling me how much you spend in groceries every month for your family and how large your family is. I'll randomly draw a winner on Sunday night, July 8.

Even if you don't win a free copy, Anne is offering my readers a 20% discount good through July 10. Click here to visit Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy.

Enter the discount code "tasteandsee" without the quotation marks to receive 20% off your copy of Your Grocery Toolbox. But if you purchase the book and then win the giveaway, Anne will refund you the purchase price!

If you're looking for ways to keep your grocery costs down, you will definitely want a copy of this book!

Disclosure: Anne gave me a free copy of her e-book to read and review. My opinions are strictly my own and I was not compensated for them.

Also,  I'm a Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy affiliate, so if you click on the link above and purchase Anne's book, I receive a commission.

An Irish Blessing ~ and a winner!

Image Credit

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

And we have a winner for the 200th follower giveaway. It's Stephanie! Congratulations!

200 Followers? It's Giveaway Time!

I mentioned earlier that when this blog reached 200 followers, I'd host a giveaway. I mean, we need to celebrate, right?

Only thing was, I had no idea WHAT I wanted to give away! Until I stumbled upon this Etsy shop, Just a Tiny Owl. I fell in love with Angie's collage prints right away. And especially this one.



So for my 200-follower giveaway, I'm going to give you the opportunity win this lovely cooking print!

All you have to do is visit Just a Tiny Owl and leave me a comment telling me what other piece of art captures your fancy.

Here are a few more details:

This giveaway is open to my US readers only.

Please note, this giveaway is for an 8x10 print only. It does not include a mat or frame.

This giveaway will end at midnight on Tuesday, March 15. I'll draw a winner on Wednesday!

Best wishes to everyone who enters!

Winner of the CSN Stores giveaway

Congratulations to Corrie, our winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered. Y'all are the best!

CSN Stores Giveaway!

Hope everyone's had a great week!

I've been contacted by CSN Stores to host another giveaway here on my blog. CSN Stores has over 200 online shops from which you can buy anything from a swing set and bikes to cookware and furniture. Whatever you're in the market for, CSN Stores has it!

CSN Stores has graciously offered to award a $25 gift certificate to one of my lucky readers to be used in the shop of his/her choice!

So here's how you can win:
Visit CSN Stores and look around. Then come back here and leave a comment, telling me what you'd like to use a gift certificate for.

That's it! You don't have to be a follower. But you do have to live in the US or Canada, since CSN Stores only ships its products to these countries.

You can enter until midnight February 1. I'll pick a random winner from the entries on Wednesday, February 2. I'll let the winner know via email, so be sure to leave me a way to contact you if your profile doesn't have your email address listed.

Good luck!

We have a winner!

The winner of the CSN Stores $50 giveaway is CarolSue! Here's what she plans to do with the $50 - "I just love the Whitehall Products Garden 30" Cat Weathervane."

Congratulations to CarolSue and thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!

CSN Stores Giveaway!

I was recently contacted by CSN Stores to host a giveaway on my blog. If you haven't heard of CSN Stores, now is your chance to check them out! They have amazing online stores where you can find everything from cookware to lights to furniture!

The lucky winner of this giveaway will receive a $50 gift certificate to use at the CSN Store of his/her choice! Wow! I had the opportunity earlier this year to review a product from their Cookware.com store and was very pleased with the quality and shipping.

With Christmas just around the corner (only 130 days, folks!), $50 could come in handy for a gift for that special person or even for treating yourself!

To enter the giveaway, head over to CSN Stores and take a look around. Come back here and leave a comment, telling me which store or product you like the most. It will be hard, I know!

That's it! You don't have to follow my blog to enter or blog or tweet about the giveaway. Just leave a comment.

The giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on Tuesday, August 24. I will randomly pick a winner on Wednesday. Please make sure I have a way to get in touch with you so if you win, I can contact you. The winner has 48 hours after notification to get back to me. If I don't hear from the winner by that time, I'll pick a new winner.

Good luck, y'all!

SpellQuizzer Review and Giveaway!

If you were to ask my children what their least favorite subjects in school were, spelling would be one of them. Neither of them like to learn how to spell words. In fact, when they're writing, they'll often ask me how to spell a word they just learned LAST WEEK! Talk about frustrating!

Well, SpellQuizzer is here to help me and other parents out! This is an easy to use spelling software program designed to help children learn their spelling and vocabulary words while reducing tears and frustration. And it works with any spelling curriculum so you simply add it as a helpful tool to whatever you already have.

Here's how simple it is. You input your child's spelling words into the program. Using an inexpensive microphone, record a pronunciation of the word, along with a sample sentence. The child is then asked to type the word. If he does so correctly, he moves on to the next word. If he spells the word incorrectly, a box pops up with the correct spelling and then he moves on. He will have the opportunity to spell the word correctly at the end of the quiz. If he gets all of the words right the first time, a box will pop up and the crowds will cheer! Seriously, there's a cheering sound effect that my kids LOVED!

If you don't have a microphone, you can also type in a clue phrase so the child knows which word he is to spell. But as cheap as the microphones are, it's worth the investment. Plus, I like recording funny little sentences to make my kids laugh!

SpellQuizzer offers a video demo that can better show you how the program works. I'm a visual person, so this was extremely helpful to me. I think you'll find the video demo does a great job of walking you through the program instead of me typing out step-by-step instructions.

If you like what you see in the demo, SpellQuizzer offers a free 30-day trial. This will give you an opportunity to try it out with your kids and see how it works. Honestly, I think you'll be amazed at how much your child will benefit from this program. Mr. Lego declared it to be "Excellent, Mom!"

SpellQuizzer has several other helpful features, too. For instance, there are premade spelling lists you can download such as holiday words, commonly misspelled words and spelling bee practice words. You can import and export spelling lists to share with other users. And while your children are practicing their spelling, they're also learning computer and typing skills! Not only that, but they're able to do this independently and can practice whenever they want. If your kids are anything like mine, they want computer time OFTEN!

Thanks to the generosity of SpellQuizzer, I'm going to give away a copy of this program to one of my lucky readers! Remember, you don't have to be a homeschool parent to use this. Any child at any age can benefit from SpellQuizzer!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. The giveaway ends on Monday, May 10 at 11:59pm. I'll randomly draw a winner on Tuesday, May 11.

Good luck!

We have a winner!

Thanks so much to every one who entered my first ever giveaway. I loved reading your comments and learning more about your crafting habits. Y'all are truly a blessing to me.

Without further ado, the winner is Michelle! Her comment:
"Oh I Love this giveaway!!
I crochet `Prayer Blankets. I started out only giving these to the elderly, as time went on I began making them for who the Lord lays on my heart. It takes about 10 skeins of the super-saver yarn. I pray for that person while crocheting, and no one ever knows who it's for til I walk up to them, hand them the blanket & say `I've been praying for you."

Michelle, I think this ministry you have is unique and heartfelt, and I'm thrilled to be able to help in some small way. May God continue to bless you as you bless others!

And special thanks to the Princess, who drew the winning name out of a hat:

Don't forget to join the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom if you haven't already. There are tons of great prizes to be given away, so get partying!

First Ever Giveaway!!

Whoo hoo! Last week, I reached 100 followers! When I started blogging, I never expected anyone but family and friends to read my blog. But I'm thrilled to have made so many new friends and I want to show my appreciation!

So, I'm giving away a $10 Hobby Lobby Gift card!! If you don't have a store near you, you can shop online. You can find supplies for just about any craft project you can imagine, as well as ideas and tips to spark your creativity.

Just as a side note, Hobby Lobby is a Christian company. The music played on the store's sound system is Christian music, usually orchestrated hymns and worship songs. I often find myself humming along as I shop! The stores are closed on Sundays so employees can spend time with their families and at church. Take a look at their Statement of Purpose. How often do companies give God the glory for their success?

Now on to the details:

1. To enter, leave a comment on this post, telling me what craft you like to create. If you're not crafty, don't worry. Just tell me that!

2. For an extra entry, blog about this giveaway and provide a link so I can verify. Leave this in another comment.

3. This contest starts right now and will close at midnight (Central Time) on Friday, April 9, 2010.

4. The winner will be chosen at random by me. Please leave a way for me to contact you. The winner will have 48 hours to respond, then another winner will be chosen.

5. This giveaway is open to residents of the US only.

Thanks again for following my blog. It's been fun!