Deals That Matter is one of my favorite sites!!!!

If you live in the Salt Lake area or are going to visit there is a really cool site called Deals That Matter (www.dealsthatmatter.com). Basically you can get some really awesome deals and 15% of the proceeds go to the Utah Food Bank. If you sign up as a new user you can get a $5 credit. Today's deal is for Beyond Glaze (a gourmet donut shop in Draper and Downtown SLC and it looks yummy) Have a look at these pics and you will be drooling!!!!  http://www.beyondglaze.com/Gallery.aspx They say these donuts are less calories than most - extra bonus!!! If you sign up today you can get a $12 voucher for $6 - $5 credit = $1!

I think this is awesome!  Sounds like a fun family outing in April or May - Go downtown when the weather is nice and the flowers are out, spend some time at the park Gateway Mall or at Temple Square and then get some yummy donuts!

BTW I recently got a free voucher (using my $5 credit) for $10 at Sweet Afton's in Gardner Village!  Another fun date or family outing.  Walk around GV and go get some yummy candy and fudge!!! I like cheap dates!  

Another good shopping day!

Today I did my shopping for the week.  Another good trip.  $36.35 spent (including tax).  I used $27.18 in coupons.  Not too bad.  Around 43% savings. Plus I still have a $3 catalina to spend on next weeks shopping trip.  Here's what I bought:
Ooops, forgot to add a carton of 18 eggs and 2 more yogurts to the piles below- Sergio missed getting them out of the car.  Picture them with all the other stuff.

Great Deals Today! Check it out.

Okay, I am not trying to make this blog one of those coupon guru blogs.  There are so many good coupon websites and blogs already, and I have no shame in following several and learning all I can, but I am really pleased with myself today!
As I have said, I am always looking for a great deal!  This morning I got up at 6 am to head out to Smiths with a list, a plan and a handful of coupons.
I bought:
 1 gallon of milk
 1 8oz package of Kraft singles cheese
 1 package of Hilshire Farm deli ham
 1 can of enchillada sauce
 4 bottles of Gatorade
 2 bottles of Kraft barbeque sauce
 5 boxes of turkey brown and serve sausage
 3 cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli/spaghetti & meatballs
 4 boxes of General Mills Cereal
 4 cans of Cambell's Chunky soup
 4 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks (for bribing!!!)
 10 boxes of Kraft mac and cheese
 2 cans of Pillsbury Grands biscuits
 1 package of Mission corn tortillas
 1 64 oz bottle of apple juice

And I only paid $28.36 including tax.  Between what I bought and what I have at home this is my total food cost for the week! and I have most of this for food storage! (I am keeping my budget to $160 a month or about $40 a week - and believe it or not I make most meals from scratch and its healthy)
I saved using Catalinas, Coupons and Sales prices a total of $59.09
Yay!!!!
Now I am going to make some granola bars, pumpkin bars, and blueberry oatmeal bars to freeze for quick breakfasts!  Don't tell my kids but they are all very healthy!

The Aquarium

Yesterday Sergio and I  took the boys to visit the Aquarium here in Sandy, Utah.  We received VIP tickets from one of Sergio's photography clients.  It was really pretty neat and the boys had a great time.

Lion Fish

Sea Turtle - We called him Crush

Liam on the big frog at the Utah Exibit

"Oh my goodness, its so cool here!"

Camden the Sailor

A blue frog from the South America Exibit

First Blog

I am new to blogging, but have really wanted to start one.  Here I go.
We are the Diez Family.  Sergio, Kathryn, Liam and Camden.  We own Diez Photography in West Jordan, UT.  Sergio is a great photographer.  You can see our website at www.diezphotography.com.
Sergio is from Madrid, Spain. He works so hard and does his very best to provide and care for us.
I am from California.  I am a stay at home mom and love to be with my kids.  I love caring for my family.  I am used to living on a tight budget and so I love the challenge of saving money in any way I can.  I use coupons and research for the best deal on everything.  I love to cook, organize things (I can't say I love to clean, but I love when things are clean).  I am really becoming interested in finances and investments!

My kids are 4 years old and 18 months.  Liam is my smart and creative 4 year old.  He builds all kinds of things with legos, and is an amazing engineer when it comes to building train tracks.  He loves the Toy Story movies and Cars. Camden is my busy 18 month old.  He is a great climber and manages to get into everything!!! I sometimes think he is part octopus!  He says a lot of words both in English and Spanish and amazes me daily with how smart he is.
That's us in a nut shell.
I have a ton to do now - laundry, cleaning, getting ready for my Valentine's date tonight (yay!!!) and more studying - I am studying to get my license to do financial investments!  Wish me luck and motivation!
Kathryn