In my family we make Christmas lists. My Grandparents have lots of kids and even more grandkids. Add in the spouses, significant others and now great-grandchildren and that’s a ton of gifts. If Grandad doesn’t get your list after Thanksgiving, you don’t get a gift. Period.

The nice part about lists is you always get what you want. However, there are always family members that deviate from the list and get you something random. I’m sure you can relate. A gift card to a store you’ve never heard of? A gift card to a baby store now that your kids have outgrown the baby sizes? Or maybe you live in a small town and the store is just too far away. What do you do with those gift cards?

Enter Plastic Jungle. Plastic Jungle is a fabulous way to sell, buy, exchange or even donate gift cards. Get all those gift cards you have collected over the year and haven’t spent and sell them on Plastic Jungle for up to 92% of their value. Then you can either keep the cash or use your earnings to buy some other gift cards at up to 35% off. Get something for you or since the Holidays are coming up, grab some to use as gifts.

Their online marketplace is not only convenient, it’s also safe. All transactions are guaranteed. Plus they offer industry-leading features such as helping you replace your gift card in case they are lost or damaged.

Check out Plastic Jungle today and see if they have gift cards for your favorite stores. My husband is a huge fan on Home Depot. I spotted a $50 gift card for just $46.50. I was also excited to see some Fandango gift cards offered. Taking the family to the movies is SO expensive these days. Saving 13% on a Fandango gift card might be a great option to check out some of this holiday’s favorites for less.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Plastic Jungle. I was compensated for this post.This post was not reviewed or edited by Plastic Jungle. The thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Others may have a different experience.

Walmart.com just introduced Home Free shipping, a new service that offers free shipping to home on apparel and consumables orders of $45 or more. There are tens of thousands of eligible items, including beauty products, diapers, formula, clothing, household cleaning products, snacks, personal care, vitamins and more.

I recently had the opportunity to try the Home Free shipping service. We’re in the midst of moving (again!) and doing so pregnant with a toddler makes it an even more challenging task. However, with Walmart’s Home Free shipping, I was able to get those forgotten (but absolutely necessary) baby items delivered straight to my door without having to leave the house. Plus, I know I got a good price on my items because of Walmart’s everyday low prices.

With the holidays around the corner, I encourage you to give Walmart Home Free shipping a try. You can get the items you want shipped straight to your door without having to battle the crowds or deal with the stress of holiday shopping. Try grabbing some snacks for your next party or beauty products you’ve been needing. Or you could go the more boring route like I did and just get diapers.

Home Free shipping is just the newest method of free shipping offered by Walmart. They offer customers multiple ways to enjoy free shipping on your online orders every day, including Site to Store, Pick Up Today, FedEx Site to Store and now, Home Free. In fact, nearly 95% of Walmart.com’s products are eligible for free shipping through one of these programs.

You can learn more about free shipping at Walmart.com.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart. I received a Walmart eGift card to try out Home Free Shipping in exchange for this post.This post was not reviewed or edited by Walmart. The thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Others may have a different experience.

Let’s face it. Meat is expensive. Coupons are few and far between and even shopping the sales can be tricky. Buying meat in bulk is one way to save money and I have a new alternative to shopping at Costco or buying the Extreme Value Packs at your grocery store.

Zaycon Foods is a privately owned company that delivers fresh meats and other products direct to consumers at wholesale prices. They are widely known for their 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients. But they also carry other meats like lean beef and bacon and even fruit!

::My Experience with 40lbs of Chicken

Zaycon Foods contacted me about their products and were so confident I would like them that they hand delivered 40lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast to me last month. I know, your jaw probably dropped as much as mine did at the thought of 40lbs of chicken. The chicken breasts came in a huge box and were only 2 days old. I don’t think I’ve ever had chicken that fresh!

I gave some to my mom and mother-in-law but we kept about 20lbs for ourselves. We made stuffed chicken breasts, chicken fingers, barbecue chicken and made chicken enchiladas. I sill have a few in the freezer too. Everytime we eat them Stan always remarks on how good they are. This is quite a statement coming from my dark-meat loving husband. He hardly ever eats chicken breast but gobbles these up every time.

:: How Can it Be So Cheap?

One thing I noticed about the chicken breasts is how large they are. They are huge! At my conference earlier this month I had a chance to talk at length with one of the owners of Zaycon Foods. He says many people think the breasts are so large because of added hormones. However this isn’t the case. Zaycon chicken has no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients. The reason they are so large is also the reason they are so inexpensive. They buy the larger grade breasts rejected by restaurants due to their size. This helps them offer it to you for less.

Another reason Zaycon Foods is able to offer their chicken at such a reasonable price is because they cut out the middle man. They offer boneless, skinless chicken breasts directly to consumers for a cost between $1.48 – $1.75lb st their sales events. This is cheaper than comparable chicken breasts at the grocery store plus these are much fresher and 100% natural.

:: I Want 40lbs of Chicken!

Zaycon Foods originally started in Washington and is well known in the Northwest. They expanded to Texas in 2010 and have had several events in the Dallas area. They will be holding events further south later this fall. They are also expanding to most other states this year.

Make sure you are ready for the next Zaycon Foods event.  Register with Zaycon Foods to be notified of sales events in your area. This also helps them determine interest and schedule future events.

I know 40lbs may seem like a lot of chicken but remember, you can go halvesies with a neighbor or family member. Stay tuned for more from Zaycon. As they ramp up for their big fall deliveries, I will be offering a fabulous chicken giveaway. So stay tuned for that and in the meantime, check out Zaycon Foods!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Zaycon Foods. I received a case of chicken to facilitate this review  but received no other monetary compensation. This post was not reviewed or edited by Zaycon Foods. The thoughts and opinions are completely mine. Others may have a different experience.

Over the summer it was time for Baby J to graduate from his infant car seat to a convertible. I searched the internet, asked friends on Facebook, asked Saving with Shellie readers on Facebook, read consumer reports and pretty much every review on Amazon. Most people seemed to recommend Britax car seats. They met my requirements: safe, durable and comfortable.

I need a seat that above all is safe for Baby J to ride in. Hopefully I won’t ever be in an accident with him but if I ever am, I want to do everything in my power to make sure he’s safe. If that means paying a little more, so be it. That’s why I use coupons at the grocery store, so when it counts, I can buy quality products I feel comfortable using.

I also needed a car seat that was durable. We plan on having more than one kid and if I’m spending a lot of money, I want it to stand the test of time and hold up for multiple children. And finally, I need a comfortable seat. We spend a lot of time in the car since we live in the boonies. I don’t want Baby J to be hot or uncomfortable on our long rides.

As I mentioned above, most of the advice I received was overwhelmingly pro-Britax. It seemed like a great brand so when Britax offered to send me their Britax Advocate 70 CS car seat I jumped at the chance. However when I first received it I was a little skeptical. It looked like a spaceship contraction. But what makes it look space age is one of it’s biggest safety features. the Advocate has Side Impact Cushions on the sides of the seat. Britax claims they reduce side impact crash energy by 50% and also provide protection for passengers sitting next to the seat.

Another great safety feature is the “Click Safe” technology. When you strap in your child and pull the tightening straps across the shoulders and lap there is an audible “click” to let you know they are truly safe and snug. Kids grow, wear different bulk clothes and so this is a nice feature to make sure your kid in in safe every time.

The Advocate 70 CS is convertible car seat which means it can be rear or forward facing for children 5-70lbs. Since Baby J just turned one, I got to test it out both directions. Honestly, I don’t know if it was my car or the combination of my car and the seat but I found it was difficult to get him in and out of the seat when it was rear facing. Front facing is much easier so I’m glad I only had a few weeks of rear facing.

Now for the disadvantage. The thing is big. We only have one car seat for now and have to move it between cars fairly often. Installing it in between cars isn’t really an issue. It’s the weight (21lbs) and bulk of the seat that make it hard to switch. That’s really the only disadvantage I’ve encountered. I think if we purchase a second car seat for my husband I won’t have to move the seat as often. That’s an easy fix.

Britax offers an entire line of car seats well-known for their safety features. They offer seats in various price points to help meet your budget demands. For those of you with lower price points, check out their economical Roundabout model. Amazon and Babies R Us often have Britax seats on sale so you can always find a great deal. Additionally some readers mentioned on Facebook that Britax offers deep discounts when they discontinue seat cover patterns. That may be a great opportunity to grab a car seat that may normally be out of your budget.

Do you have a Britax car seat? Share what you love about it!

I just wanted to y’all a little update on my Cool Cuts 4 Kids experience. We took Baby J to Cool Cuts today for his first ever haircut. It was so cute.

When we got there it was packed. Thank goodness we made an appointment in advance. We got called back almost immediately. They put Baby J in a cute little yellow car chair and put the blue cape around him.

Before the Cut

The stylist was great. She showed him all her tools before using them and while she was using them. He was being really squirmy and she handled that really well too. She cut his hair just as I asked and even went back and made it shorter when I changed my mind.

Getting the Haircut

Baby J was unimpressed with all the entertainment items they had. He’s still too little I think. I’m sure in a few months he’ll love watching a movie while he gets his haircut. But for now the mirror, scissors and electric clippers were just too intriguing!

After the Cut

At the end we got a little certificate with his hair in it. I’ll have to stick that in his baby book. All in all it was a fun trip and we’ll definitely have to go to Cool Cuts 4 Kids again next time.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Cool Cuts 4 Cuts. I was given a $25 gift card in exchange for sharing about my Cool Cuts experience. This post was not reviewed or edited by Cool Cuts 4 Cuts. The thoughts and opinions are completely mine. Others may have a different experience.

This is a compensated post written by me on behalf of Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

My husband takes Prilosec every day and it can be quite expensive – even using coupons. So, when Walgreens offered to send me a sample of Omeprazole I jumped at the chance for him to try it.

The Walgreens Brand Omeprazole comes in a variety of sizes but I found the 42 count packages to be the best value. Walgreens Brand Omeprazole can be $10 less than the National Brand Prilosec and it has the same active ingredients. My husband has been using the Walgreens Brand Omeprazole for some time now and he says it is equally effective.

Since I know all of you purchase health and wellness products on a regular basis. I encourage you to checkout the Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products. Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products are a great value, allowing families and individuals to save money without sacrificing quality or trust. With the rising cost of health care, saving money on over-the-counter medications can really benefit a family’s budget. In addition to being an exceptional value, Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products:

a. Are Walgreens pharmacist recommended.

b. Most contain the same active ingredients as other national brands.

c. Have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

d. Visit Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products to learn more.

Additionally you can often find coupons in the monthly Walgreens coupon books and the Walgreens Brand items often participate in Register Reward promos to help you get them for even less.

Walgreens cares about the overall well-being of their shoppers and strives to help them live a well life. Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products are recommended by Walgreens pharmacists, who have been a trusted community resource for over 100 years. They also have a committment to Education, Health and Prevention through their Walgreens Way to Well Fund™.

Do you use Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness products? What do you think?

For those of you who follow Saving with Shellie on Facebook, you know my New Year’s Resolution is to run the Capital 10K race this year. Thanks to a very difficult pregnancy I haven’t been able to exercise in about a year so I was pretty nervous about this little feat. The wonderful folks at Joovy sent me the Joovy Zoom 360 Jogging Stroller to help me get ready. It was such a relief to have a good jogging stroller so I can train with Baby J and not have to rely on someone to watch him while I’m running.

If you are working on a New Year’s resolution of your own or looking to spend time outdoors, I encourage you to checkout the Joovy Zoom 360. While designed for jogging, the front wheel can swivel 360 degrees which makes for a very versatile stroller and I think, a smart buy. Here’s why.

First, maneuverability. One great thing about the Zoom 360 is the wheel can swivel 360 degrees. Lock it into the straight position when you are jogging or allow it to swivel when you are out and about. Steering and handling are really easy and that’s in large part because of the big 16″ wheels. As a woman, ease of use is important to me. I need a stroller I can easily fold and unfold and lift into the car. You do need two hands to fold and unfold the Joovy Zoom 360 but it is simple and fast. I was also surprised how compactly the stroller folds. It fits easily in the back of my car and I still have room for more things. I typically leave the wheels on but they are very easy to pop off if you needed more space.

Another plus is the comfort factor. The suspension system is fabulous. I can run on the gravel road and Baby J keeps napping because the ride is so smooth. The Zoom 360 seat is fully adjustable. There are no set positions and the seat can recline nearly flat. I like to have it at a 45 degree angle so Baby J can nap while we run. The seat is also huge. There are two mesh pocket for toys and snacks, a sizable under basket, tons of head and foot space and the canopy is huge! It completely covers the seat and would protect even a large child from the elements. With it being so sunny and hot here in Texas, this will be a major bonus in the summer.

Safety is always an issue with strollers and the Zoom 360 doesn’t disappoint. It comes with a five point safety harness that, while easy to operate, is very secure. The sunshade and harness strap have reflective stitching on them so if you get caught out after dark, you’ll be more visible. The foot brake is easy to operate. You push down with your foot to brake and lift up from behind with your toes to unlock. I really liked this because our regular stroller is down to brake and down again to release. I often step twice by mistake and have to grab it before it starts rolling away. So, I loved the down and up feature on the Zoom 360. Finally the stroller frame is made with aircraft grade aluminum making it very sturdy and durable.

The only downside I really see with the Joovy Zoom 360 is that the handle is not adjustable. It’s the perfect height for me but I think if you had a very tall husband, it might not be as comfortable. Stan is 6’2″ and he says it’s fine so this concern could be unwarranted. But then again, he doesn’t jog.

Overall, I’d say the Zoom 360 is a great buy. It comes with great additional options like a rain cover and neoprene cupholder. The huge canopy and swivel wheel are two great features. Also the adjustable recline is great for smaller babies while the large seat and 75 pound weight limit make it great for toddlers and small children. The Zoom 360 is a very versatile stroller and with quality craftsmanship so you easily use it for years and years.

Purchase your Joovy stroller straight from the Joovy website store. Or, grab a Joovy Kooper 40% off right now on Zulily or new customers can get a variety of Joovy Family products 15% off plus free shipping at Diapers.com when you use coupon code 15SHARE at checkout.

Interested in learning more about Joovy and their complete line of strollers and family gear? Be sure you follow along on the Joovy Facebook page or on Twitter (@JoovyOO) to learn about exclusive Joovy events and where to find the best sales on Joovy products. For those of you readers in the Dallas, Texas area you’ll definitely want to check out the Joovy Facebook page. Joovy will be at the DFW Family Expo on February 26!

Stay tuned for more updates on my New Year’s Resolution. I post my weekly training updates on the Saving with Shellie Facebook page. I’ll also be posting a post race vlog here on Saving with Shellie. For you local readers running the Cap10K, let me know. Maybe we can meet up post race!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Joovy. I received a Joovy Zoom 360 for review purposes. This post was not reviewed or edited by Joovy. The thoughts and opinions are completely my own and not influenced by receipt of product. Others may have a different experience.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you use TABASCO® Original Red Sauce? It’s a staple in our house. We put it on all kinds of things from eggs to meatloaf, casseroles to Cajun food. Even popcorn, collard greens and grilled vegetables. According to my husband, “Any dish you can think of, Tabasco makes it better.”

The reason TABASCO® Original Red is so great for food is because it enhances the existing flavors of your food. It doesn’t just add heat so all you taste is heat. It brings out the specific flavors of your dishes while adding an extra kick.

With the playoffs and Superbowl almost upon us, here’s Stan’s favorite Buffalo Wing recipe using TABASCO® Original Red. I think you’ll find it a big hit at your next football party!

24 Chicken Wings

1/2 Cup Melted Butter

6 Tablespoons Tabasco Sauce

1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 Cup Brown Sugar

6 Cloves Garlic (Minced)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place wings in a baking pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, Tabasco Sauce, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic. Brush wings with the sauce. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through basting frequently.

What’s your favorite dish to spice up with Tabasco?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico. All opinions are 100% mine.

There’s a new sweepstakes offer from Avocados from Mexico. Head over to the Avocados from Mexico Facebook page and enter to win the Guac Rocks Sweepstakes. They are giving away more than 80 prizes. You could win “Fly Away” tickets, $100 in free groceries or 80 people will win $20 worth of Avocados from Mexico! You can also take a Guac Quiz. I was rated a Guac Snob!

I can’t even imagine what I’d do with $20 worth of avocados! Avocados are a big favorite in our house. I love to mash then up and spread on bread and wraps instead of mayo. Baby J has been eating them as baby food mixed with pears, apples or bananas. I chop them and use as topping on lots of different Mexican recipes from fish tacos to tortilla soup.

One of Stan’s favorite things to make with Avocados is guacamole. Most people add lots of things to their guac but Stan loves avocados so much he prefers as little added as possible. Here’s the recipe for his favorite way to make guac.

4-5 Ripe Avocados from Mexico

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

Minced Garlic

Salt & Pepper

Mash avocados in a bowl. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

So enter the Avocados from Mexico Guac Rocks Sweepstakes to possibly win $20 worth of avocados or an even better prize.

What’s your best Avocado recipe?