From my family to yours I wish you a very Happy New Year! May you be blessed with health and happiness this year…and of course, GOOD DEALS!

I just want to thank you for reading Saving with Shellie and including me in your frugal journey. I hope you’ll continue to tune in this year as I have lots of fun new things planned.

Happy New Year!

We didn’t do Christmas cards this year because of the new baby. My goal is a New Years/Birth Announcement card instead. So instead of our card photo this year, you get a pic of our boys finding their Santa gift this year. One snoozed right through it and the other was pretty excited. So from my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

I am so thankful this season for all the many blessings in my life. I have great friends, a loving family and wonderful readers like you! Thank you for making this year so special. I hope you have a wonderful day today surrounded by friends, family and loved ones.

I’ll be back on Monday with all the post-Christmas deals and steals. In the meantime enjoy all the fun and festivities!

Merry Christmas!

If you’re a frequent Facebook user, you’ve likely noticed the new look to Facebook. They’ve drastically changed the way things are displayed and you may have trouble finding all your favorite Saving with Shellie deals.

Here are a few tips to make sure you don’t miss a deal:

:: Mark Saving with Shellie as a Favorite

On the left side of your screen, you’ll see a bunch of options: Favorites, Lists, Groups, Pages, etc. If you don’t see Pages, you may have to click the “More” button to have it display.

Next to Saving with Shellie you’ll see a little pencil like in the image above. Click on that and you’ll have the option to Add to Favorites. This will move SWS up into your list of Favorites and you’ll see more of the postings.

:: Interact with Saving with Shellie

Facebook shows you more things from someone when you interact with that person or page. See a post you like or think is interesting? Click the “like” button. This lets Facebook know you are interested in this page and these type posts. This will show you more Saving with Shellie in your news feed.

:: Mark as a Top Story

If you hover over any of the Saving with Shellie posts in your news feed, you’l see a little blue triangle. Click on that and you’ll have the option to mark something as a Top Story. If you haven’t seen an SWS post in a while, try marking one as a top story to ensure that SWS posts are at the top of your newsfeed.

Remember, you can find all the regular Saving with Shellie posts on the Facebook page. It’s a great resource if you don’t have time to constantly check the blog. Also, I frequently post limited-time offers like free magazine subscriptions, limited-quantity samples and reminders on the Facebook page. Plus, there are even occasional contests just for Facebook fans.

Don’t miss out on a great deal simply because Facebook changed things!

Before Shot

You may remember a few months back I blogged about how badly I needed a mom makeover. You know, transform my lack of style into something better. Well lucky me! I won one of the makeovers from Moms Fashion File.

While I was in San Diego at the BlogHer conference I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon in the Moms Fashion File Suite at The Hard Rock Hotel. I was their Barbie Doll for the day. The dressed me from head to toe (even undies!). The Fashion partners were Namaste Handbags, Scotch Naturals, LOFT, BALI Intimates, Lands End, Payless Shoes and Stella Dot.

Hair After Shot

My hair was styled by San Diego’s hottest salon, Detour Salon courtesy of Plum District. And they did an incredible job. I had a cute side undo. People were stopping me in the Expo Hall afterwards telling me how amazing my hair was. My makeup was done by Tia Dantzler courtesy of Johnson’s Baby.

About to walk the Catwalk

After the session I had to walk the catwalk at the Moms Fashion File party. Totally out of my element but it was really fun. The party has some great sponsors including Plum District, Ciao Bella Gelato, Johnson’s, Stokke, Trop 50 and Windows Phone.

After Shot

I received some fabulous gifts as a result of my participation. I owe a huge thanks to the Moms Fashion File team for all the goodies. Loft gave me two complete outfits including accessories. I received shoes from Payless, undergarments from Bali Intimates, a handbag from Namaste Handbags and even some beach wear from Lands End. It was just a fabulous event and I was so lucky to be chosen.

Thanks Moms Fashion File for such a wonderful time!

I updated the Navigation Bar yesterday so it would be easier to find your favorite things. Here’s a quick run down of what you’ll find.

:: Extreme Couponing

This section has all the posts helping you learn the basics of Extreme Couponing. Some of the most popular posts include:

• How to Find Coupons
• How to Organize Coupons
• Coupon Abbreviations & Lingo
• How to Use the Coupon Database.

You’ll also find more How To Tuesday posts in this section. How To Tuesday has been on a hiatus this summer but I plan on bringing it back again in mid-August.

:: Store Deals

This section provides an easy-to-find listing of all the current coupon deals for your favorite stores. While I post individual things I find, the big coupon matchups are posted on a schedule

• CVS – Saturday morning
• Walgreens – Saturday morning
• Target – Monday morning
• Randalls (Safeway) – Wednesday afternoon
• Sunflower – Wednesday afternoon
• HEB – Thursday afternoon
• Kroger – Thursday afternoon

Be sure you check the big lists each week before you shop so you’ll get the best deals.

:: Coupons

You can get printable coupons and access the coupon database here.

:: Freebies & Deals

I added a bunch of links to this section so you can find some of your favorite deals like:

• Diaper Deals
• Organic/Natural Deals
• Magazine Deals
• Photo Deals
• Retail Coupons

Hopefully this will help you find your favorite types of coupons more easily.

:: Today Only

This is a brand new section to help you take advantage of Today Only deals. Many magazine and daily deal site deals are only valid for a single day. By clicking this section each day you’ll be sure not to miss any of these hot, limited-time offers.

Is something you need missing? Feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to get it added in.

Happy Fourth of July!

I love when the Fourth of July falls on a Monday (or Friday). Long weekends are always nice. We’re headed to a barbecue for most of the day. Should be a fun time.

What are you up to today?

Call in the Style Police. I’m living in a rut. I wear the same outdated pieces over and over. Jeans and a t-shirt. Pony tail and lip gloss. It’s my go to look for almost any occasion.

I’ve always been a bit of a Plain Jane. A tomboy in my girlhood, I never really paid much attention to clothes and makeup. I never really even learned how to put on makeup. Mascara and some lip gloss was the extent of my makeup arsenal. Then I turned 30 and my Plain Jane look went Drab. Why?

I got pregnant and once the baby came it didn’t get any easier. My body is a different shape than before. None of my clothes fit so the jeans and a t-shirt look continues most days. But now it’s evolved to baggy tees and *gasp* mom jeans.

And just when you think it can’t get worse, the bottom dropped out. We sold our house and had to move to a rental while we build a new one. I think my hair dryer is still in a box somewhere. Hair = ponytail. Makeup? What makeup? I am chasing a crawling baby in a non baby proof rent house. Who has time for makeup?

Oh and did I mention I accidentally got pregnant again? I’m pretty sure having two kids sixteen months apart will take me from drab to dismal. I dread the day.

Please help me. My main style challenge is life in general. It gets in the way. I need an easy hairdo other than a ponytail. I need someone to tell me how to wear eyeshadow and give me some quick makeup tips. I need some wardrobe ideas to keep my outfits comfortable and mom friendly but not so hideous that I’m embarrassed to be seen at the park.

I need someone to take me from frumpy to fabulous. My husband will be eternally grateful. I will be eternally grateful.

Thank You Secret Agents!

Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful Mother’s Day. Take some time to relax and take a break from coupons. They’ll still be there tomorrow.

Yesterday Stan, Baby J and I went hiking at McKinney Falls State Park. We had a nice picnic by the upper falls and had a great time. Today we’ll be spending the day with our moms. Lunch with his and dinner with mine. That’s my sweet mom pictured above. It’s a special Mother’s Day for her because it’s her first one with Baby J.

What special things do you have planned today?

There are no coupons in the paper and not much happening at the drugstores. So, stop hunting deals and go hunt some eggs!

I hope you and your family have a blessed Easter today.

THIS POST WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE TODAY. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DEALS.

In the past 72 hours you’ve likely been deluged by the devastating images and video footage coming out of Japan. It is just heart breaking: the utter devastation, entire families and villages lost and people in other countries just waiting and praying that their loved ones are safe. But what the news isn’t telling you about Japan is that they are the world’s most heavily indebted nation. What does that mean? Well, people talk in America about our National Debt quite often and how high it is. Japan’s is much greater than ours. For their tiny nation it’s around $12.2 trillion.

The way debt works is that to raise money for your own country, you sell treasury bills or bonds. Someone has to buy these bonds and that’s how you raise money. Here in America, they are called T-Bills and the Chinese government and large multi-national companies buy ours. In Japan this is not the case, most bonds issued are purchased by domestic Japanese companies.

So what does this mean in terms of the earthquake and tsunami? Well, it means that the Japanese government will have a very hard time raising the money needed to help their own people and nation. The domestic companies who typically purchase bonds may be unable to purchase them because they too were affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Additionally, Japanese markets aren’t faring well in the wake of the disaster.

So, like much poorer nations, Japan will have to rely heavily on foreign aid and help from NGOs and other aid organizations. This is where you can really help.

:: Pray - Lift up the nation of Japan in prayer. Pray for peace, comfort, hope and above all for miracles.

:: Give – I know our economy isn’t the best and money is especially tight. However, think about how devastating it would be if everything you owned just washed away in a flood of water and you were left with nothing. If the person were your friend, neighbor, sister, cousin, what would you do? I urge you to give whatever you can – even if it’s just $5.

• Red Cross: This is an organization known around the world as one of the first responders in crisis situations. Any amount will help bring food, water and medical supplies to those in need. Text REDCROSS to 90999. This will send a $10 donation to the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan.

• Salvation Army: You may only associate Salvation Army with the bell ringers at Christmastime but the Salvation Army has a large international presence. They are an organization with very large reach like the Red Cross but with a Christian emphasis. Right now they have three emergency service relief teams working in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. One of the teams is assisting people who have been evacuated from areas threatened by the damage of nuclear power plants. You can also text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 and make an instant donation.

• Heart to Heart International: Heart to Heart International was one of the first humanitarian organizations to respond to the devastating earthquake in Haiti and is one of the few organizations still there providing healing and hope. Not only do they mobilize quickly but they stay and help people in need even after others have moved on. Plus, Only 2% of all donations are used to cover overhead.  That means 98% of what you send will actually make it to the quake ravaged areas.

I know there are those of you that are so devastated by our own economy you can’t imagine giving what little you have. There are quite a few ideas on ways even the most cash strapped person can give. One of my favorite ideas is to go meatless. Eating meat can be expensive. Cut out 2 or 3 meats meals this week. When your kids or spouse ask why, tell them you’re sending your meat to Japan. Take the $5 you save and donate it to one of the worthwhile organizations above.

Leave a comment on this post today (3/14) and Saving with Shellie will donate $1 for every comment up to $250 to Heart to Heart International. Tell me how you are helping or just type your prayer for the Japanese people.

You can also blog hop and donate money by leaving comments on other blogs. Here are a few of those participating:

• A Thrifty Mom
• “Cents”able Momma
• Frugal Coupon Living
• Groupon Girl
• IgoBOGO
• MoJo Savings
• Moms Need to Know
• Nicole’s Nickels
• Penny Pinchin’ Mom

Thank you for participating. I know together we can make a huge impact.

Note: If you are subscribing through a Feed Reader or Facebook, you will need to click HERE to comment.