Friday Follow Is Fun 4/2010

Welcome to the April 2 Friday Follow celebration hosted by One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families and Midday Escapades! We invite you to join us every Friday to get more blog followers and to follow other interesting blogs. It is all about sharing and having fun.

Also included this week is the Frugal Friday celebration hosted by Extreme Personal Measures!


Here's how YOU play:

•* Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. Only need to add on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.
•* Grab the Friday Follow button to include on your Friday Follow blog post.
•* Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.
•* Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like
•* Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow
•* Follow back if you like, when you get a new follower through Friday Follow

The list is new each week. The links do not carry over. Please link up each week for new participants to find your blogs. The list is only open to add your blog links on Fridays. It will be visible all week to visit the blogs listed.

MckLinky Blog Hop

Frugal Car Insurance

I think I mentioned earlier this month how our Progressive car insurance renews next month and they sent the billing notice. I was surprised to see the premium for 6 months to insure our Camry and Explorer was over a hundred dollars more at $742. We've been with Progressive for all our mobile insurance since they have the best rates for motorcycles and boats, we decided to give them our car business too.
 
But not this time. When we called for an explanation, they didn't have one. We hadn't had any claims, and didn't move or anything so there was no justification for it. So we shopped around and found out that State Farm actually had the same level of insurance for the same rate we currently pay $637 for 6 months. In the past we have boycotted State Farm even though they have had our homeowners insurance for 15 years, because they raised rates so much and threatened to leave Florida. We never got dumped by them, even though our neighbors did.
 
So we sign up the cars with State Farm and paid for 1/2 the premium and have the start date of the policy for the middle of next month. Imagine our surprise when we got the billing notice for the 2nd 1/2 to be due 11 days after the policy starts. WTH! So when we had the vehicles inspected, we asked them what the deal is with the billing. Well it turns out they want the 2nd half just 30 days after the first payment. It doesn't matter if the first payment is way earlier than the policy starts. We asked to talk to corporate and it was very easy to change the billing so that its due 30 days after the policy starts, rather than 11 days after. It wasn't a big deal to us, but we questioned why offer to let the customer make 1/2 due now, 1/2 due later when there really wasn't a "later". It was the principle of the thing. Of course they have already charged the credit card for the first half of premium, even though the policy doesn't start for over 20 days. We suggested them give us our money back and we would pay them next month when it was due, but they didn't like that, they would rather change the second 1/2 payment due date.
 
Anyway, lesson learned. Don't pay your car insurance early, they take your money right away even though they don't give you services right away. Needless to say, it was not a very good first impression.

April Fool's

Apparently the mayor of Topeka, KA changed the cities name to Google, so today Google honors them with changing their name to Topeka. Cute.
 

Easter Flower Deal

One of my readers asked for some frugal landscaping and yard tips, so I'm working on that - but for now here's a great deal from Bulbs Direct. They have an Easter Bulbs special of 100 bulbs for $12.99, and you get another 100 bulbs FREE! Plus free shipping to boot. Also use coupon code GN1020059 for an additional 10% off. That means you get 200 flowers for $11.04, a great deal
Add color and interest to your garden this summer with this stunning Easter Special. It consists of our most popular long lasting summer bulbs, returning year after year with brilliant colour displays great for cutting or just enjoying in the garden.
THIS COLLECTION CAN BE PLANTED ANYTIME BETWEEN FEBRUARY UNTIL THE END OF MAY FOR HARDY ZONES 4-11.
  • Poppy Anemone's are gorgeously colored and well known as a favorite amongst florists.
  • Brodiaea mountain lilies have beautiful clusters of funnel shaped flowers in deep blue.
  • Gladioli bloom in warm summery hues with pleasant markings on the petals, they produce dozens of flowers on each tall graceful stem.
  • Liatris have large bottlebrush like spikes of tiny clustered purple florets and unlike other flowers they open from the top downwards.
  • Native to southern Africa Ixia blooms with a multitude of long lasting flowers in various soft colors with bright blotches in the center of each bloom.
Shipped from 02-15 thru 05-31-10

$0.79 @ Publix

Here's my latest shop, 97% savings. Cost $0.79. Sure was a pleasure.
 
26-Mar 20   34.23 1.99 31.45 0.79 20 -97.69%
Product qty price subtotal -BOGO -Q TOTAL Q# Q details
banana 1 0.32 0.32     0.32    
garlic clove 1 0.09 0.09     0.09    
Intl delght creamer 16 oz 4 1.50 6.00   4.20 1.80 6 0.55/1 3-07SS+$1/2 YellAdvFlyr
Kraft shredded cheese 4 1.67 6.68   4.00 2.68 2 $2/2 blinkie
strawberries 1 2.00 2.00   1.75 0.25 1 $1.75 off wyb sara lee cake PQ yellAB
sara lee pound cake 1 1.89 1.89   1.00 0.89 1 $1/1 pound cake print
cool whip bogo 2 1.99 3.98 1.99 2.00 -0.01 2 $1 off SB wyb cool whip PEELIE get 2
Tropicana OJ 64oz 2 2.00 4.00   3.00 1.00 2 BOGO print + $1/2 2-21RP
Advil, 20 ct 1 4.99 4.99   6.00 -1.01 2 free MQ+ $2/1 PQ YellAB
puffs, 60ct tissue 1 1.50 1.50   1.50 0.00 1 B2vicksG1freepuffs 2-7pg
vicks nyquil dayquil, trial  2 1.39 2.78   3.00 -0.22 2 $1.5/1 vicks 2-21pg 1-17pg
coupon   0.00 0.00   5.00 -5.00 1 $5/$20 competitor
    0.00 0.00     0.00    

Publix Reminder

Just a reminder that there is no new ad this week, the current ad runs through April 3rd. Publix is closed on Easter. The new ad will start Monday, April 5th and only run a couple days til the usual cycle Wed/Thur starts again 4/7 or 4/8, depending on your area.

Mega Swag

TGIF! Friday is mega swagbucks day and you can win to by signing up HERE. Its a great way to earn points while you search on the Internet, and the points quickly accumulate for great trade-ins like Amazon Gift cards, among other things.

A Buckle is a Great Addition to An Old Shoe

Continuing on the Irish Proverbs theme, I especially like this one because I always like to make old things last longer and stitch them up to have them make do for a bit longer. Actually right now I have my favorite Lee jeans from high school (over 30 years old) where the patch on the knee needs to be patched because its fraying apart again, and a new area has worn through on the butt (is it because my butts too big?) that probably should be patched because you can see my underwear. Oh my, TMI.
 
Anyway, DH also has an old pair of NB shoes that he wears to the grocery store and around the yard. They actually aren't that old, but after what happened in the store yesterday, they are going in the old shoe pile. Even a nice shiny buckle can't save them. I'm sure you're wondering, what the heck can happen at the grocery store that could ruin your shoes?? Well let me tell you.
 
So we're making about our sixth or seventh trip to Publix for the week, one final time to get yet more BP gas cards for 20% off. Did I ever tell you what a great deal that is? Hope you managed to score yours. We also wanted to get a few more BOGO items like the pasta and sauce. Well, just as we're rounding the corner down the pasta sauce aisle, we come upon a large red saucy lake of Prego sauce spilled and splashed on the floor. Broken glass and sauce was splayed all the way across the aisle and the wonderful publix bagger was pouring a bag of flour on the mess and sweeping it up. Sauce also got on the products on the shelves and it was creating quite the jam. Gee, I'm glad I didn't do it. Anyway, we grabbed 4 jars and our pasta and moved on.
 
After a couple more items, we head to the check out lane and discover that our jars of sauce have sauce on them. Euew! DH asks for a paper towel to wipe them off and continues to empty the cart, then DH kicks out the bagger (just kidding), he politely asks if he can bag his own groceries and the dude slips away. He then gets asked by every other bagger in the area if they can help, and he replies "No thanks, I prefer to bag my own". 
 
Anyway, we had two transactions to run through and I was busy organizing my coupons and watching the register, when I heard a great big crash, klunk and splash. DH had been rushing to keep up and bumped the bag with the jars of sauce off the bagging area and they ALL CRASHED AND BROKE, spraying pasta sauce all over the check out area, my legs, his legs and his shoes. OMG, I felt like crawling under the counter. I was so embarrassed. DH just looked at the mess, then looked around for help. Of course all the baggers came running with their brooms, bags of flour and dust pans. My brand new reusable bag was toast and thrown away (good thing it was free) and all but one of the jars were broken. It was a huge pile of goo. White and red goo. DH's shoes were now red and white, not just white.
 
I just wanted to get out of there. I felt bad for the man behind us, first he was amused with the double orders and dozens of coupons for each, then we create this pasta sauce fiasco. I told DH he's not ever bagging again. He's fired.

Get Ready For Spring

Get ready for Spring with some great samples, coupons and recipes HERE. I know officially spring began this past weekend, but it sure doesn't feel like it here in Tampa. The cold, foggy mornings remind me of Christmas time. I don't think its been 80F for about 6 months. Maybe, just maybe its around the corner.
 
 
Quality Health Spring - Full Reg
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