Mitchael Journey: May 2014

I have some fantastic news!

Josh is a college GRADUATE in Worship Arts from John Brown University! We flew back to Arkansas for finals week and got to meet up with our wonderful family and also a few of our amazing friends! It was a quick trip, but very encouraging.

For those of you that may not know, Josh and I met while pursuing Worship Ministries degrees at JBU! I had completed my degree prior to getting hitched, but Josh had one more year. We decided when we were engaged that it would be the best choice to postpone his senior year until his full course load was offered again, which was this year. We made the choice to take a break from school for a variety of reasons. At the time, we were considering worship missions in France and needed time to make our decision. France did not quite come together, but God's plans are good -- the missionaries that we were to work alongside had to return to the states, that same year, because of health and family reasons.

So we took two years off and in that time lived in a

4 bedroom, 3 bath double-wide out in the country in Hiwasse for 7 months
700 sq ft apartment in Rogers [where Marshall was born...literally!] for 1 year
great home in Springdale (a few weeks with our friends)
and then back to Siloam Springs - house-sitting for a month or so and then 8 months at our lovely brick townhouse
...which takes us to where we are now - our fun condo in South Florida!--we moved mid-semester - Josh took on a full-time position at Coastal Community Church and finished his degree through correspondence with his professors for his final papers and projects at JBU.

We've made a lot of memories and have grown together as a family. This final year of school has been something we've been anticipating our entire marriage. It was a conquest, and we made it! Our family has been stretched and stretch-marked :) and we are better because of it! We are so blessed by our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends - they have supported and empowered us in so many ways. THANK YOU!

We look forward to having many of you visit us here in Florida in the upcoming months, and for those that we may not see for awhile -- thank you technology :) Skype, Google hangout -- pick your choice
whatever way-- we'll see you soon!

Enjoy some pictures from MAY!

Saving Money on Groceries!

Grocery spending varies greatly between families. Brand preference, special diets and store choices cause quite a range in grocery budgets. For our family, we choose to shop primarily at Aldi for our daily staples, and supplement with other stores running sales or with bulk availability.

We all have our routines, but there is a way to create even more simple savings on things you already buy. Download these 3 rebate apps: Checkout 51, Ibotta, and Shopminum! These rebates can be combined with sales and coupons!

APP #1

Did you know you could be saving more money at any store, even at Aldi?

My new main way - Checkout 51! Offers I've claimed so far include discounts of $.50 on milk, yogurt and eggs, $2 just for uploading your first receipt, $.25 off an avocado and broccoli...and many more!

1. Download the free app or sign up online at www.Checkout51.com Josh and I both have accounts on our Republic Wireless phones - the offers do vary.

2. Browse the deals - I use the app on my phone to look through the list of special offers for the given week. New offers renew each Thursday!

3. Go Shopping at your favorite store - save money by buying what you would normally buy with the deals in mind.

4. Upload your receipt(s) and check the boxes of the offers you are claiming. You will be notified when your receipt is finalized.

5. Cash Out once you've received at least $20 in refunds!

Unique benefits to Checkout 51 -

Simple Savings on everyday products I was already buying
Easy upload
Bonuses offered for extra $1
Enter to win $500 each time you spend $60 or more on one uploaded receipt. Shopping at Walmart? coupon match-ups: HERE

APP #2

If you are shopping at Walmart, Publix, Costco, Dollar General (and about 80 other retail chains) look into also downloading Ibotta!

Ibotta works similarly to Checkout 51, but in select stores. I have enjoyed earning rebates on gluten free items like Rudi's bread and Enjoy Life cookies.

The app is self-explanatory and walks you through EVERYTHING!

Unique benefits to Ibotta -

Cash out sooner - after earning $5 and use Venmo or Paypal
Use Venmo (similar to Paypal) you earn an extra $5 just for signing up through Ibotta and cashing out your offer!
Refer-a-Friend - When your friend uses your link it gives them $2 (use my link: http://ibotta.com/r/Nn6MQ) if they upload a receipt within 10 days, and gives you a few more dollars on your account!
Complete Bonuses for extra savings on your rebates
Double Check - There is a great feature to actually scan the bar-code of the item, to double check to make sure it matches the rebate!

Here is my referral link! http://ibotta.com/r/Nn6MQ
Shopping at Walmart? coupon match-ups: HERE

APP #3

The final app I would suggest is Shopmium : please copy and paste my referral code MUKYKERJ

Unique benefits to Shopmium -

Immediate Cash Out - using Paypal
Refer-a-Friend - Earn $2 when you refer a friend and they submit their first rebate! They receive a FREE Lindt Chocolate bar (use my referral code at sign up: MUKYKERJ)
Double Check - There is a great feature to actually scan the bar-code of the item, to double check to make sure it matches the rebate!
Free items! I got a FREE container of tic tac's this week when I was at Publix :) That was nice!

HERE is the link to download! http://shopmium.com/en/app

Enter my referral code MUKYKERJ when you sign up for a FREE treat!

I hope you enjoy these apps! Check out the other posts in this series:

#1 Saving Money on Your Cell-Phone

#2 Saving Money on Gasoline

Special tips and ideas:
1. Before you shop - Purchase discount gift cards from your favorite store from Cardpool or another company mentioned in THIS post to save even more!
2. Follow each app on Facebook to have a heads up on special offers
3. The rebates are limited in quantity, so if you see something you like, act on it!
4. The rebates apps can be combined: example - If I purchase milk at Walmart, I can scan the receipt for a rebate with Checkout 51 and Ibotta (if both offer that particular rebate that week) - usually 50 cents off from both!
5. This week, both Josh and I had a rebate offer on Checkout 51 for 25 cents off an avocado. We purchased one avocado on a separate receipt and the remainder of our grocery purchase on the other. I uploaded the single avocado receipt and Josh uploaded the other.
6. Search online to see if there are coupons to go along with your rebates. They can be combined!