To My Readers

Good Morning Readers!

I have been thinking about possibly shutting down this blog and just having a Facebook Page instead. I find myself on facebook more than anything and feel that it would be better to maintain a facebook page instead of a blog. I would have all of the same things that I have on this blog. If I decide to go through with the facebook page I will let you all know and give you the link to like my page. I would love for you to follow me on there as it would be easier to comment and post your ideas and upload photos. I will keep you posted. And as always, thank you for reading my blog. I just feel that Facebook would be a better fit for my everyday ramblings!

Our Weekend at Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark

This past weekend we headed to South Padre Island to celebrate my cousin's daughter's 6th birthday. They had planned to take her over there for the weekend and invited anyone who wanted to come and celebrate with them (invite was a "Buy Your Own Ticket"). After talking it over with my husband, we decided to go and celebrate with them and being the RGVCouponmom, we were able to do it on a budget. Here is how we had a blast at the park and enjoyed some family time.

First thing we did was call some of the island hotels, which some were quite expensive. Some for one night were in the $100's. So after calling around we were able to get the Econolodge for $39.00 for friday and $59 for Saturday, we checked out on Sunday. It was a very nice hotel, free continental breakfast (cereal, mini doughnuts, juice). We paid a total of $114 plus change (not bad in my opinion). We had already eaten dinner before we headed over there.

Econolodge in South Padre Island, Texas

We got there kind of late, so it was showers and then bedtime. We woke up at 8:30 a.m., we ate the continental breakfast, dressed and headed over to the waterpark.

The company that I work for has an annual family picnic at Schlitterbahn each year. With our entrance tickets for that day of our company party, are also 2nd day rate discount tickets for the remainder of the summer season. I still had those tickets put away and called the park to see if they were still good (just to be sure) and to my surprise, they were expiring on Sept. 22nd, the last operating day (we were going on the 21st!). So, we were able to use them. Our total cost came out to $70.00 (plus some change). It was $22.00 for both adults and $16.00 for both of the girls. The regular price for tickets are around $36.00 for adults and about $20 to $30 for kids (i am estimating the cost of the tickets, we did get a great deal). The cost of the tickets also included the new Schlitterbahn Beach Resort Indoor Park. So we were able to enjoy two waterparks for the price of one!

Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark

At the parks, you are able to bring your own picnics, so we had already gone grocery shopping the week before and just loaded up our cooler with what we had. We had bread, ham, chips, condiments, sodas and snacks. Plus, my cousin had ordered pizza from Pizza Hut, so there was lunch right there.

It was an amazing day, since the outdoor park was closing that weekend, the park was virtually empty, we were able to enjoy the rides and not bump into people. We got to catch up on some family talk. It was an amazing day. After about 4 hours at the outdoor park, the weather turned and started to rain, so we headed to the indoor park, which is very nice. We stayed there for the remainder of the day due to the heavy wind and rain. The kids enjoyed this park just as much as they did the outdoor park. It was wonderful.

Kat, Hailey, & Cousin Amaria (the birthday girl in light blue suit) at the Indoor Park

The park closes at 7 p.m., so we packed up, said our goodbye's to my family and we headed back to the hotel. We decided to head to the restaurant next door and have dinner. We figured we did good on budget that we treated ourselves. The restaurant is called Padre Rita Grill, very good. They have seafood and burgers. Hailey ate the kids shrimp and fries ($7.00) and Kat got the kids burger ($5.00), the food came in a great t-shirt plate. My husband got the all you can eat soup and salad bar for $10.00 (plus change), I got the Builder Your Own Burger for $8.75 (very good). In the middle of dinner, little Hailey completely fell asleep in her food, apparently she had a very good time at the waterpark and while we were wrapping up the leftovers, another waitress came and showed Kat how to make a "Swan" out of foil paper.

 Hailey Asleep & Kat's Swan (little blurry)

Our food total came out to $31.00 more or less, husband paid (plus $5 tip, the waitress was great). Once we were done, we headed back to the hotel, checked out the next morning and went to breakfast at Denny's (sadly, I forgot my Denny's coupons!), but we ate great, the kids got Mac-n-cheese and pizza (they didn't feel like breakfast), hubby got the Lumberjack (which we share, cause I am not a big breakfast person) and I got the $2.00 pancakes, we both got water and shared the drinks with the girls (this makes a significant difference in your bill). We ended up paying about $26 plus change, because Denny's is doing a promotion where you donate $3.00 receive $9.00 in coupons back (See Denny's Promotion here).

This mini-vacation was the greatest we have had in a long time. We had a great time with family and we were able to do it on a budget. I figured that we had spent around $300. We might have spent more had we paid full price for the hotel and waterpark tickets. but, we didn't. We have been working on being debt free and we had saved some of this money for a nice little getaway. We are happy that we spent this money on something special, we were able to spend time away as a family and enjoy ourselves with our kids. That was money well spent.

Coming Soon: 31 Days of Halloween

Join me in October for my series on everything Halloween. I will be posting recepies, D.I.Y. projects that I will attempt to conquer, projects that I find on the web, decorating tips and tricks, money saving costumes and so much more!

Halloween has become a bigger "holiday" the last few years. The decorating, costumes, and food are more intricate and exciting than ever. Join me in sharing your ideas on how you create the perfect Halloween for your family.

A Post I'm Following - Menu Planning

This is a post from MoneySavingMom.com (my absolute favorite blogger!). Every week in 2013 she will feature a post on how you can save $100 per year. I wanted to feature this post because it's one that I started doing and will be sharing with you in the coming weeks. If you do anything this year that will help you with the new school year, this is the one that will not only save you time, but also save you money.

Me and my husband had started doing this last year. The results were amazing, not only did we save time, but we saved alot of money by planning our menu and using our coupons wisely. Unfortunatley, we slacked off as the year came to a close and summer began. But, we have begun anew and have started to plan our menus as of this week. I will be sharing our menu planning with you and I hope that it helps you in saving you time and money. I would love for you to share your menu planning with me to post here, your menu could become a new reciepe for others.

So, without further delay, here is the link to MSM.com. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Menu Planning

Kat's Frugal Birthday Wish

One of the biggest things that we have had to cut out of our budget was going to the movies. We used to go to the regular theaters all the time, even with the kids. The last time we went to the movies we were so shocked at how much we had spent that we made a decision to try to cut out that expense or at least, enjoy it somehow for less.

I believe the last time we were there was about a year ago, I don't remember what we went to go see, but, I do remember that it was a movie that we saw with the kids. Going to the movies is such a wonderful experience, especially when you go with your kids, because they get so excited, they get popcorn and candy, you really do have a great time together. The only flaw with this is that everything is so expensive these days that the experience leaves your wallet drained. That last time we went, it was about $25.00 just for the tickets, another $30.00 for all the popcorn and soda, then sometimes, you are still hungry when you leave that you go out to eat, another $30.00 (depending on the size of your family). When we got home, we went over everything that we had bought and realized that we had spent about $60.00, give or take. After that, we decided to cut out this expense and look for other ways to enjoy the movies. We decided on going to the $1.00 theater from now on.

Katarina is our oldest daughter and her birthday is in February, she turned 9!. She had decided for her birthday this year that she wanted to go to the movies to see Wreck-It Ralph and then go bowling afterwards. Usually, we let her have her say in her birthday because we get our income check around that time and we usually splurge on her. But, this year, she decided she wanted to be frugal (really! she's learning). So, we ended doing just that. It was the best birthday yet! Before we went, we had made her a big breakfast, then we went to the first showing, which was at 11:30 a.m. We went on a saturday and the tickets were $1.50 per person, so we paid a total of $6.00, then we hit the concession stand, we ended up getting the $17.00 combo, which consists of two large drinks and one large tub of popcorn which the first refill is free! Me and my husband shared one drink and the girls shared the other, then we asked for some cups, we filled the cups with popcorn for the girls so they could have their own. After all that, the total for this was about $23.00! That is way less then the last time we went to the movies. We had a great time, we were able to go see a great movie and enjoy the food for less. Next, we hit the bowling alley. We went ahead and paid for two games of bowling, so we spent maybe about $40.00 there including the shoe rentals. As far as going out to eat, we ended up going home and making her a special dinner (her request)!

We ended up having such a great time! When everything was said and done, instead of spending $60.00 at one place, we had spent the same amount for two seperate activities. It was definetly one of the best birthdays so far. Now, we only go to the $1.00 theaters. Whenever the kid movies hit the $1.00 theater we are there. We are even trying to go on Wednesdays, because it's only a $1.00 instead of $1.50, so there's another way to save there. Kat told us she wanted to do this for her birthday instead of having a birthday party. This really shocked us. When we asked her why, she said because it was something that she really wanted to do and didn't want us to spend money on renting a place and buying food. She wanted something intimate with us only. That made us so proud of her, although we would have happily thrown her a party, the fact that she decided on her own what to do and how to do it was a proud moment.

Dining at Denny's

So, yesterday we decided to go to Denny's because "Kids Eat Free" Monday through Thursday. I also had a 20% off Entire Check coupon that they emailed me. So we went and boy did we have a great time eating. I had the Club Sandwhich, My husband had the Double Chesseburger, Kat had the Junior Grand Slam, and Hailey had the Mac & Cheese (she always get that, everywhere!). Plus, we went ahead and got the Fudge Brownie w/Ice Cream, $2.99, for dessert, which was so good.

Once we were done, we went to go pay. Now, remember, I am still learning how to deal with coupons. Every place has their own policies about coupons. So I went to go pay and they deducted the "Kids" food, which was $6.00, but when I gave them the 20% Coupon, they said that it had to be one or the other. Bummer, had I been able to use that coupon, we would have literally saved $12.00. But, I can see how it would have to be one or the other. That is probably a loss for them if they let you do that.

So how much was our food bill? Total Due was $34.11, then they took off the kids food, then it came out to $28.11, which I thought was great. We usually don't go out to eat that much, because, of course, restaurants are expensive, but when we get paid, and there are specials like these, we can splurge a little bit here and there and still save.

Here is a little tip that I want to share with you. I learned this the hard way. When you go to Denny's, do your kids always want those cute little kids cups they sell? I know mine do. Last year, I gave into them and got them the cups. When I got the receipt, I realized that I was double charged for the drinks. When I asked them about it, they said that they charged me the cups, plus charged me to actually fill it with the drink. Now, I don't know if that is right or not, but they do it. So I say unto you, try as hard as you can not to get those cups. I know they are cute and you want to make the kids happy, but you will be paying double and the point is to save money, not double your bill. Other than that, Denny's is a great place to eat and save money.

So, if you want the kids to eat free, head over to Denny's M-T, 4p.m. to 10 p.m. and enjoy their great menu. Enjoy

Where I Get My Coupons

My co-workers usually see me during my lunch hour clipping coupons and are amazed at the amount that i have. They ususally ask me, "where do you get all those?" Well, here is where i get my coupons from.

I buy three newspapers, The Monitor (Sunday $1.50), San Antonio Express (Sunday $2.50) & El Nuevo Heraldo (Friday $.25).  I usually buy about 4 of the El Nuevo Heraldo because of the price and my husband will also buy it for me as well. We started buying the San Antonio Express because they have the same inserts as the Monitor, but for some reason, their inserts have other products in there that the Monitor does not have. What i mean by that is this, S.A. Express has Redplum and the Monitor has Redplum, but the S.A. Express Redplum has more products than the Monitor Redplum, make sense?

Also, I get coupons for free from the Valley Town Crier, since this paper is free to get, i get about 2 to 3 of them, they have the same inserts as the Sunday paper. You can also find coupons at the Library, Speer Memorial Library has a coupon box next to the copier that you can take and share coupons. And last, but not least, the INTERNET! Yes, you can get virturally any coupon, anywhere you want from countless websites and stores, and don't forget to sign up for email subscriptions from your favorite products and restaurants.

So, this is where i get my coupons from. That is why I named my blog, RGVCouponMom, because, i don't do anything, buy anything, or eat anything without a coupon. Yes, i have alot of coupons, and you are probably saying "do you use all of those?", YES, yes i do, the ones that i don't use, go to coworkers or i take them to the library. I hope this helps you in your quest to find great quality coupons and to save your money when shopping.

Our Local Library = Family Bonding

One of the many Ways 2 Save and to be Frugal, is of course, to head to your local library. Our family has benefited greatly from our local library. Not only has it brought us closer together, my girls are starting to appreciate reading alot more.

At first, we didn't spend alot of time over there, we didn't really think there was much to do there. It wasn't until last year when i decided to become more serious about couponing and saving money that we started going there. One of the main reasons we would head over there was to use the computers. Mainly, we would use the internet because i had decided that the internet was one of the things that we should cut from our budget. After about a month of going, i took one of the free calenders in the kids section. After reviewing it, i noticed that they had alot of activities going on there that i never knew about.

I have no Natural Gas - Now What?

The other day, i put up a post titled "Stop Procrastinating". In that post, i stated that i thought my gas had been diconnected because i don't pay my bill on time like i am suppossed to. And i was only turned off because there was a gas leak coming from the main gas lines. Well, as it turns out, that when they came to turn it back on, there seems to be a gas leak coming from my line now. Well, we have been without gas for the past three days.

Now, you are probably wondering, how are you cooking & washing? Well, this is probably where your frugal tips should come in handy. Since we have to wait for them to come inspect everything and try to reroute my lines (supposedly for free, i wonder about that though), we have been making do.

Stop Procrastinating

So i came home yesterday and i started washing clothes and cleaning up, then me and the girls went to Stripes to wait for my husband to get there and to get our Free 32.oz drinks along with a chicken. When we got home, i turned on the oven to bake some bread for the chicken, then i noticed that the oven wasn't heating up. Well, i then started to panic! Did i forget to pay the bill? Did i get disconnected? My heart was pumping.

So we went outside to check the meter, our meter sits on our neighbors property because the gas lines run right thru there. When we went outside, our neighbor told us that the gas people came to install his new meter and decided to shut the gas off because they noticed a very prominent leak coming from the lines. Whew! was i relieved.

Saving your Coins

I think one of the best ways to save money these days, of course, is to put all your coins into jars. I have used money from my money jars to pay for lunch, dollar store products, and even going to the $1 movies.

How many times have you sat on your sofa, put your hand in between the cushions and pulled out money? More times than you can count, probably. I have made it a rule in my house, to put all change into our change jars. I have two jars, well acutally, the one for nickels, dimes, & pennies is a 5 gallon water bottle and the one primarily for quarters is a VOS water jar. As for the girls, they each have a Hello Kitty bank.

When tough times call, i have been able to pull the money out of my jars and pay for small unexpected expenses. Never underestimate the power of small change. Lots of people always say to put your money into the bank, but i happen to believe that if you have a money jar, you have quick access to it, rather than having to go to the bank and pull your money out.

Whatever your money habits are, make it a rule to have at least one jar in your house to keep all your spare change, you will be surprised how much you can save in a short amount of time.

LINE DRYING

So my dryer broke during Christmas. So sad, yet so much better. While it turns out that the dryer only needs the heating element replaced, i have refused to buy one & i have refused to buy another dryer.

When i was younger, my mom used to have me help her line dry our clothes (this was before we got a dryer). I loved doing it when i was younger, because, i was having fun helping my mom. After a while, i could not wait for our family to get a dryer, because of was a bit of a chore, being outside in the heat hanging clothes.
So it stands to reason that years later when i married i would never give up on having a dryer. I proved myself wrong. Our house eats up alot of electricity, we live in a frame house that i inherited from my grandparents, and it's getting older so i have had to find ways to reduce our electricity bill.

Well, now that i am older and wiser, i have found that not having a dryer is about the best thing in the world right now. Maybe it's because of this economy that has everyone doing what they can to cut back, even going back to line drying. Or maybe, its because the dryer eats and makes up half your electricity bill. So when it broke, we went to the dollar store, bought some line and clothes pin and have been line drying our clothes since Christmas. Not only do i enjoy line drying now, it gives me some time to myself to think and hang out outside. Plus, the girls love helping me line dry, my 5 year old follows me outside whenever she sees me with the basket and my 9 year old starts a new load in the washer.

Get Free Magazines

There are a number of Ways 2 Save on your favorite magazines. My ultimate favorite, of course, is www.MyCokeRewards.com

All you need to do is, collect coke caps & fridge packs and head on over to the website, if you don't already have an account, create one!. Enter codes, rack them up and then head over to the rewards catalog tab and see what they have. (Note: You can only enter 120 points per week). I currently have about 5 free subscriptions, which include:

All You - (333 points) I highly recommend you get this one, not only is the reading content great, but they also have higher value coupons within the magazine

People - (475 points) for a 13 week subscription & (949 points) for a 26 week subscription (i have this one).

Woman's Day - (133 points) Another great read

Good Housekeeping  - (141 points) Plus you get the free tote bag!

Family Circle - (133 points)


This is what i currently subscribe to, of course they have way more magazines than this, this is just what i like to read. So if you want to stop paying for your magazines, then start collecting those caps & fridge packs. You don't drink that much Coke? No problem, ask your friends and family if they are willing to keep the codes for you, chances are, they would be willing to if they don't have the time or patience to enter all those codes. Enjoy!