Weddingbee boards

Well I think for the month after I was mostly doing post-wedding activities.   Mainly thank you cards, getting the an album/scrapbook together, and picking out photos to send to relatives.   also just trying to arrange the house, with the new presents.  We even planned a small post wedding house party a few months later for our close friends who couldn't make it, so they could check out the album and video.

 Oh the completely non-wedding side, I guess you can pick up new activity like cooking, yoga.  Hang out with friends.   If you feel the need to plan something, you can always plan a birthday party for a close friend or your new hubby.

Now that I'm married, i'm definitely starting to think like a frugal housewife.  I started looking for ways to save money in this economy.  I stumbled across the CVS deals.  This is how it works. 

If you look in the weekly CVS ads that get sent to your house, you will see that certain items will say that you get "ECBs" back.  ECB is ExtraCare Buck and there are tons of way to get stuff at CVS pretty much free.  Pretty much it is CVS money that prints out at the bottom of your receipt.  You have to sign up for the CVS card which is just a membership card like Albertsons or Vons and have the cashier scan it every time you shop there. 

So for instance this week until Sat Nov 8th, you will see in the CVS ads that there is Crest Pro Health Whitening Toothpaste in 4.2 oz for $3.49 and extra buck rewards of $3.49 making it free!  So if you go to CVS and have cashier scan your CVS card and then purchase a Crest Pro Health Whitening Toothpaste in 4.2 oz, it will cost you $3.49 in cash.  But then when the machines prints your receipt you will see on the bottom of a receipt a coupon for $3.49 ECB. 

You take this coupon back to CVS next time and purchase anything you want.  The smartest thing is to take the $3.49 back to CVS this week some other day and purchase another tube of Crest Pro Health Whitening Toothpaste in 4.2 oz.  The limit in the ad says "limit 1 per household", but most people have found that the limit is actually 2 or 3 depending on your state.  So take the $3.49 coupon (ECB) back, buy another crest toothpaste (be sure to have cashier scan card first), hand the cashier your $3.49 coupon and pay NOTHING OUT OF POCKET!  Best part is that then another $3.49 will print out and you can save it for next week to pay for something else that will then print out more ECBS!  2 TUBE OF TOOTHPASTE PRETTY MUCH FOR FREE!!!

Two very helpful sites to learn about this is www.iheartcvs.com and this board http://forums.slickdeals.net/forumdisplay.php?sduid=397124&f=38   I read these religiously now. 

Another great moneysaver site is http://www.dealseekingmom.com/

You could put your event planning skills to work and become involved with a non-profit in your area!  Many non-profits have big events, and they usually need volunteers to help coordinate things.

Just as an example...I've been a "team captain" for an event called Relay for Life that the American Cancer Society has every year.  Relay for Life is an over night event where each team is challenged to keep at least one person walking on the track for 12 hours.  It's more than a relay though...each team comes up with a theme and hosts fundraisers leading up to and during the event.  (This year, my team is creating a cookbook.)  It's a ton of fun, and although it's not as intense as planning a wedding, it definitely keeps me busy for months out of the year!

I'm sure you can find another organization that speaks to your passions and needs your help!  :-)