Outback Steakhouse: FREE $10 Bonus Gift Card w/ $30 Food and Beverage Purchase (Today Only)

Outback Steakhouse: FREE $10 Bonus Gift Card w/ $30 Food and Beverage Purchase (Today Only)

If you are out and about today and wanting a steak or what ever stop in at Outback Steakhouse and give this coupon upon ordering. 

Spend $30 on food and non alcoholic beverages and receive a $10 gift card for future use.

Be sure to come back for more great deals eating out.

Listing On eBay Setting Goals For Store Update May 31 2016

The month of May is almost over, in a few hours June and summer will be here in chilly Minnesota.

My eBay store has been quieter this month than it was a year ago this month.

We now have 1834 items up for sale.  My goal is to hit 1900 items before the end of next week.

Today I am working on vintage postcards.

Great for collectors or maybe to add to family history books.

Example my grandparents lived here in this time period.

Today I am visiting Texas in postcards. Here are two postcards that will be added later today.

Titche Goettinger Department Store Dallas Texas unused linen postcard from the 1940s

Light ends unit and storage tanks at Baytown Refinery Humble Oil a Refining Company.
States they gave free tours at 2 pm daily.  Another nice linen postcard.

Grab Your Printable Coupons Before They Are Gone

If you have not printed this month's coupons yet go and grab them before they are gone.

Print your coupons to save money off paper towels, toilet paper, cheese or what ever you  use.

Saving money using coupons helps the bottom line of our budget. 

Go here to coupons.com to get your savings. 

Filling Our Tummy With Mama's Delicious Hot Dish

Today I am heading to the grocery store and cooking mama's hot dish.

Take a look at a past post to get the story and the recipe. 

I am sharing this at Melt In Your Mouth Monday Recipe Bop

Menu Plan Monday Whats On The Menu Chili A Big Pot Of Chili

This week I am going to make a big pot of Chili.  We should be able to get several meals out of my chili.

There is only 2 of us so what I am cooking this afternoon is our homemade Spicy (to me) Chili and I am dividing it in to 3 containers for 3 different nights.
We can add some crackers or bread for a fast tasty dinner.
My recipe is for 6 servings so would be a nice amount for 4 to 6 people.
1 1/2 pounds of ground beef 85 percent fat free

small amount of onion chopped up
2 tsp of garlic
4 tsp of Chili
2 tsp of basil
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
2 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of oregano
2 16 oz cans of Chili or Kidney beans
1 32 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 32 oz can of Tomato Sauce
1 can of water

Brown ground beef

then add your spices and stir

Add your tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and chili beans

Simmer for about 45 minutes . It is now ready to eat or cool and freeze for future meals.

This pot has been divided into 3 containers for dinner and there was enough for us to each have a small bowl for lunch.

Leaving Las Vegas Heading Back To The Chilly Shores Of Lake Superior

Winter is over or at least in most of the US.  We have spent the winter in Las Vegas and now will leave to return to the shores of Lake Superior.  It is still cool in my home town but time to head back to children and grand children.
I  will return to my kitchen and my appliances.  Time to start menu planning full force and start my project of cutting our eating budget.  We have cooked less here since dining in the casinos is so easy.

At this time we have a weekly budget of $150 for groceries, dining out and gas.  I hope to that we eat out less and cook more. The difference will partly go to paying off our van early.

Watch for future postings on my menu plans and shopping budget.

Good bye Las Vegas... Hello beautiful Lake Superior

Selling on eBay No Secrets Just Hard Work DAILY

I belong to several face book groups of eBay sellers. Common complaint is I am not selling or why is it so slow. All eBay's fault of course.

My sales are not as great as I would like but I do recognize some of the reasons.  It is my doing not eBay doing.  For the winter we are living in Las Vegas and only brought stock that would fit in our van. So when we return home we can put back on eBay the stock that was removed.
Our inventory will increase.  Another reason sales are small is that I specialize in vintage paper and sales dollar amounts are small.

What I can do and am doing the majority of the time is to list 10 listings a day.
Share these listings on Facebook, Pinterest and twitter.  When I do this I do see my listings get more views.
Another thing that I am doing is putting my store on sale a couple of times a month for 1 or 2 days. No longer we want the buyer to have a sense of urgency.
I can also learn new categories to sell in that may have a higher dollar amount.

Are you selling on eBay?  Do you have any ideas to share with us?

Some postcards I have sold recently.

Selling On eBay Adding Income To Pay Down Debt Or Build Up Savings

eBay....  A great way to add to your income  

The extra income can help pay off debt or to build up your savings account. 

We have been selling on eBay for over 15 years. 

I have found that people will buy just about anything. 

It is easy to sell on eBay and setting up your account is free. 

When deciding what to sell just check out their website and do your research.

Some things I sell on a regular basis are vintage photos, postcards, jewelry 

and barbie doll items. 

Buyers are willing to buy just about anything.  I save box tops for education 

and Campbell soup education labels Make sure they have not expired.

I also save and sell my used ink cartridges to sell.  

They also will buy clean toilet paper and paper 

towel rolls and used medicine bottles that are great for crafters

These I not sold as of yet but I am saving my medicine bottles.

Take some time over the next few days and search eBay for odd things that sell.

You never know what you may be able to make some money off.

Thanks for stopping by and happy selling.

Reading FREE On My Kindle 3/19/16

I have searched Amazon for FREE Kindle reading.
Go and take a look but make sure they are still FREE when you go to buy

book 1 is a Historical fiction mystery set in post civil war Boston called a Still Life With Murder by
P B Ryan

book 2 Once Gone a Riley Paige Mystery 

book 3 is A Journal of Sin A Sarah Gladstone Thriller book 1

So that is for today .. Free reading on your kindle. Once again please remember to check out that it is still free when you go to amazon

Reading For FREE On My Kindle

I love books , hold them in my hands books.

For 15 years we owned 1 to 2 used bookstores before retiring. .

I have put off buying a kindle until two weeks ago.  I went down fighting the old bookstore logic of

wanting to fight the kindle since it is hurting brick and mortar bookstores.

This winter we are spending our time in the sun and warmth of Nevada.

Times spent in the afternoon by the pool reading books.

I had loaded the amazon kindle on my phone so I could find reasonable books as we traveled.

Problem is sitting in the sun I could not see my screen to read.

Long story short my hubby accidentally spilled water on his lap top.  Off to the geeks at best buy

to see if they could help us.  Answer was buy a new lap top or be frugal and buy a key board to

connect to hubby computer.  After looking at the prices of new lap tops we decided to put off buying

him or both of us new computers since our goal is to pay off our van and build up our savings

account to 3 to 6 months of our monthly income.

On the way to check out I just happened to spot the kindle white page and my sweet hubby twisted

my arm to buy it.

I am in my glory enjoying my white page kindle.  Sitting by the pool or laying in bed late at night

while hubby sleeps to read just a little more before I doze off.

So I am on the look out for thrifty books to read and FREE is even better.

I am paying for some of my favorite authors but filling my kindle with free reads also.

Today I have found and down loaded a FREE romantic suspense called the Lake House by

Debra Burroughs.  The following is from Amazon.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Debra Burroughs can be found most days sitting in front of her computer in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, dreaming up and writing exciting murder mysteries with a delicious twist of romance. Her characters are rich and the stories are full of compelling suspense and real romance. If you're looking for graphic violence and explicit sex scenes, these are not the books for you, but if you're looking for stories with real romance that will entertain you, grab your attention, touch your heart, and leave you wanting more, dive into one of her captivating books.

My other FREE book today is a historical novel based on a true story of a young woman.
Push Not The River by James Conroyd Martin.

PUSH NOT THE RIVER is based on the true eighteenth century diary of Anna Maria Berezowska, a Polish countess who lived through the rise and fall of the historic Third of May Constitution. Vivid, romantic, and thrillingly paced, it paints the emotional and unforgettable story of the metamorphosis of a nation--and of a proud and resilient young woman.

The reason I want to read this historical book is because my ancestor came from this area around this 

to the United States.  It should give me a peek into the past of what was happening in the area 

my ancestor lived in.  

If either book interests you go and grab it while it is FREE.  Be sure to look at the price to make sure it 

is still FREE.  If you have not by the kindle you can go to Amazon and find the app to down load the 

kindle on your phone or computer.

Making Money Monday On eBay Selling Vintage Barbie Dolls

This last couple weeks we have been busy selling on eBay. Postcards, Photos and Barbie Items.
I am not a real expert on Barbies but I can identify a vintage barbie doll.
This last week or so I have sold three vintage barbie dolls.

Another Barbie we sold this month was a 1960s brunette Barbie with bendable knees. She sold for $24.95 and the new owner is very happy with her.

The last barbie was a real treasure that I had been holding on to for a couple years. This month I thought was a perfect time to sell her on eBay.  She is a 1958 Blond Pony Tail Barbie that we sold after several bids to $150.50.

The last to sell was a a 1960s Twist and Turn Barbie Doll. I listed at $14.95 and it was bid up to $23.50. Shipped out today for the new owner.

As of today the 14th of March we have sold $330.21 on eBay and have passed February sales.

Will be keeping busy and hope to have a good month of sales.

Thanks for stopping by Grace

Selling On Ebay Challenge February Week 1 2016

Week 1 of February 2016 is almost at an end. We are in Nevada rather than home state of Minnesota over the winter.  I brought a van load of my paper items to sell on eBay and have been attempting to list every day. My goal is 10 a day but there are some days I do not seem to get any listed.
I am at 1500 items in my store with a large majority of my items being vintage photos and postcards.

This month I am going to work at listing items other than paper most days.  I do well with vintage Barbie items and do have a few to still get up for sale.

Yesterday I went to my first Goodwill Clearance store. Was not as big as I hoped and when a new row of bins came out the women became grabby. They would grab  a pile and throw in their cart or tub.  Lowell found a interest book for 50 cents. Will take a while to sell but started out at $29.99.

I picked out a few items to try out at a cost of $5.40.  I do not sell clothes usually but want to branch out more into that category.

This morning I have rinsed out 3 intimate items and I am putting up for auction tonight.  Nothing valuable but some would be some addition to sales. Will continue to list through the day.

I hope to add a total of 400 items to my store this month. So far I have added 37 items to my store as of last night.  Eight were barbie items rest were postcards. Tonight we will add some clothing items.

Sales for February 2015 was only $265 my goal is to double that.

Hopefully by the end of the month my store will have grown and my sales will have increased. While we are away from home are sales to decrease.

So far for February I have sold 8 items for a total of $38.49. With increased listing will come increased sales, or so I hope.

The last two sales are a old barrel key and pieces from a Star Wars Monopoly game. Both traveled from Minnesota and have been in my store since June 2015.

Thanks for taking time to read. See you soon.

365 Day Challenge End of January Report

Are you doing the 365 day penny challenge with me.  If not read my previous post.  It is not to late to get started.

January is over you should have in your piggy bank $4.96. I am doing my challenge times two.

One for me and one for hubby so in my penny jar I have $9.92 as of January 31st.

Watch future post for the details of my end of the month posts.

Selling On eBay 3rd week of January 2016

Sales are slow but are happening.

We are sitting in Nevada selling on eBay. I brought a lot of my stock with us in our stow and go van.

I specialize in vintage paper, books, collectibles , barbies and some jewelry. We have been out to the

thrift stores and the auctions a couple of times but since I have so much stock that is not listed it is

hard to buying any thing unless we know we can sell something fast and for a good profit.

My goal is to increase my sales to work at paying off the van as soon as possible.

We have 1415 items for sale and have surpassed January 2015. sales of  $293

I attempt to list 5 to 10 items daily. Once listed  send to face book public , tweet and pin.

I feel this does help draw some customers to our store on eBay.

Check back later to see how we finished January 2016 and maybe take a minute and look at my

eBay store.  You may find a treasure. Grace

Lets Make This The Best Year Financially Save More Money and To Pay Off The Van

This is the year that I want to pay off our van.  We drive a 2012 Chrysler Stow and Go.  I love my stow and go. Put the seats up and I can drive the grand kids anywhere , put them down and can help a friend or family member move something.

We had 2009 stow and go. All paid off and then BAM we got hit by a 89 year old driver who dozed off. No one was hurt but my paid off van.that was totaled.

Insurance paid us for our van , what it was worth but not enough to get us into another decent stow and go.

Car dealer found us the above car and now we have car payments. We could of bought a cheaper car with the money we had but we want to travel away from the snow and the cold for the winter. Crossing the mountains we wanted something that we could trust.

So we now owe over $13,000 on our van at $261 a month.

I am busy saving my pennies as posted in earlier post of 365 days of saving money. By doubling my pennies every day I will have saved $1135.90. This money go into savings to for any emergencies.

I am also saving dollars every week. First week of saving I put in 1 dollar.  2nd week I added 2 dollars..Every Sunday I put in my weeks dollars.  This week was 7 dollars and have saved $28.00.
As the weeks get bigger it will be harder with having to put away $40, $41 and so on. eBay will help here and I do not have to go in order. If I have a super sale I can add week 52  or week 48 and cross that number off my envelope. May be hard to get some of those dollars in the envelope but anything saved is a positive.

Now to be aggressive and pay off car I will work at building our eBay store to increase the sales.
The profit will be sent to the bank.  The first 1/3 will be added to our pocket book as pay for all the work, 1/3 will be saved future purchases to build the business and 1/3 of the profit will go onto the car loan.

This is my plan, I will post my journey as the year goes by. Thanks for stopping by.

365 Penny Challenge **** By End Of Year Have $667.95 Saved

Saving can be fairly easy if you do it daily. Save money clipping coupons or shopping for deals.

Another way is to do the 365 Penny Challenge .... By the end of the year you will have $667.95.

Great for helping with the holiday bills or put toward your vacation or just add to

your savings account.

Day 1 put in 0.01

Day 2 put in 0.02

Day 3 put in 0.03

By day 365 you will have saved  a total of $667.95.

Double that each day one for you and one for your spouse and you will have $1335.90 by

the end of the year.

Today is the 21st of January and so far I am on target with $2.31

Come back to see how I am doing during the year.