Freebies for Friday

It's been a lovely day!

Even got into the garden and put some late summer vegetables in ~ late corn, bush beans, more lettuce and was greeted by the first red tomato of the season! Seriously!! Finally the big plump green fruit is turning red! I was wondering if any were going to be good for anything other than chutney and so glad we stuck at it. I also got all the strawberry runners up from the garden path so the carpet ruined in the recent flooding can go down and stop the weeds. Cheaper than getting netting and less impacting that chemicals. Plus it means we have over 20 new strawberry plants, some already have started to fruit ~ to keep or to sell - this is the question - because these are mighty fine hardy plants!

Bargains and Bonuses

No unnecessary spending (other than my train fare for a free theatre show and the chance to be 'shouted' a free cafe latte - a real one!!) We've done no grocery shopping for a while now ~ no spare cash to use but the pantry bulk stocks have been a life-saver, as has the meat bargains I got at the end of January. Each week I have gone to the Salvation Army and grabbed a loaf or two of bread and the eggs have kept us fed with frozen veg in various slices. The zucchini and squash from MudGuts' friend were a bonus and SmallBoy has enjoyed having lunches which are not the same ol' sandwiches but cold slices, pikelets and celery with peanut butter. Husband and I have had leftovers for lunch most days. I am grateful the chickens are giving us lots of free eggs - another 2 dozen sold so $8 in the spare change tin for the bank. Oh ~ and eBay sales were $30, not $18 ~ I misread and only saw one sale, not two!

I received a complimentary Coles 'We Love Pets' pack courtesy of Coles Supermarkets via Aussie Mummy Bloggers. All opinions expressed are purely my own. Actually, its the cats which made this so easy to talk about! Teddy could barely contain himself and tried to open the packets himself ~ Rossi showed more restraint and stood and yowled for her bowl to be filled. 

The dry Cat Food is from Optimum and both cats loved the chicken flavour, it smells really nice too  - hmmm, things must be getting rough if the cat food is smelling this good ~ the bonus is its really good for their teeth and gums, plus its designed to strengthen immunity and give them healthy guts. Because we've been feeding them no-name varieties along with rice, veggies and gravy I was a little worried the cats might be missing out on vitamins - at $5.19rrp its a reasonable price for a bag of dry food you'd be paying double at a speciality pet store. 

Tyro (my mother in law's little old dog) is trying out the tin of Banquet Chicken and Salmon ($1.75rrp) dog food so I'll tell you how he enjoyed this next week. All week there will be mentions and  reminders about the Coles Pet Food range. Why??

Here's a real bonus ~ ONE LUCKY READER can win a pack for themselves, or their pets to be precise. It's easy to enter and the prize is being sent directly from the Coles Supermarket group's marketing people. So ~ to enter:

• Follow Mands on a Mission blog via Facebook or Network Blogs
• Write a comment under this post or on FaceBook with a message from your pet. 
• Any pet saving tips put in your comment will give you an EXTRA entry.

The winner will be chosen on Sunday 6 March at 830pm

Simple FREE Pleasures

In the years BC (before children), Husband and I used to enjoy many a trip to the movie theatre ~ seeing new releases, art-house movies, even classics like the Rocky Horror Picture show at the Valhulla dressed up in fishnets. With kids and the cost of four movie tickets (or two and a baby sitter) becoming a little on the expensive side, these outings reduced. As television viewing disintegrated into mindless slush inappropriate for children to watch, videos became the method of choice because it allowed the kids to have friends over to watch movies, eat air-cooked popcorn and not break the bank. 

As income dropped, movies and videos factored less and less - mostly because this was the way we used to spending on entertainment - but we've saved several hundred dollars this year with movies borrowed free from the local library. The state library also has tens of thousands of movie and TV series  and is regularly updated with the newest releases. If you are a member of a library, you can search for a movie online from the state library as well as your local - and order it online, on the phone or in person. It's fast, fantastic and FREE!

Still, if you are a movie goer ~ Village Cinemas has a special offer where you can buy tickets for $7 for use through March. Tickets need to be purchased by 6 March ~ you can find more information using the link here : https://secure.villagecinemas.com.au/gift-shop.asp?product=3095

Well, speaking of movies ~ we've just enjoyed Avatar and now SmallBoy and his mate have bunkered down so Husband and I are going to watch a few episodes of Dead Like Me ~ all thanks to the Library. No need to dress up, we're in our dressing gown and slippers for extra comfort.

Here's to a great weekend and if you happen to find any money in your pocket or coins on the ground ~ please consider putting it in our Spare Change Jar (marked with the 'donations' button) or see if you can help us out via eBay or a Simple Savings membership or any of the options shown on the Q+A page. Here's to Our Mission and reducing the debt :D