A few months ago Because I'm Me branched out and created a second shop named Jude Harbor.

Jude Harbor is your small town gift shop brought to the internet. Currently, the shop is carries camera straps, camera strap covers, crayon and pencil holders, small quilts, coasters, handbags, and fabric pieces.


The reversible cotton camera straps are the newest addition to the shop and are decadent and well worth checking out, whether for yourself or to give as a gift. They're reinforced with nylon strapping on the inside to prevent any stretching and the ends are all stitched multiple times so there won't be any risk of breakage.


Opening this second shop allows Because I'm Me to focus solely on ties and accessories and to add in our new pet line. Over the next few months look at Because I'm Me to expand both the traditional ties lines and the pet tie lines.

To introduce our new shop and welcome you to it we're offering a 20% discount on all purchases made through the month of July. Simply use coupon code JUDEHARBOR20 when you make your purchase.

Jude Harbor can be found on Etsy, and be sure to follow us on Instagram (JudeHarbor) and Facebook to be the first to know about new items, sales, and contests.

It's getting hard to keep up with all the deal days going on lately.

Just a reminder that using coupon code bec20 at Because I'm Me through today will give you 20% off your entire purchase.

Happy Shopping and thanks for being here.

Use coupon code bec20 to save 20% on everything at Because I'm Me. Good through Monday.

Hurry for best selection ... lots of great gift and personal items to choose from!

I'm constantly asked how I get by with a very tiny grocery budget. It's not easy, that's for sure, but there are some little tips and trips that ease the challenge and, when it comes down to it, it's exciting to watch the grand total go down, down, down.

There are great blogs out there that will guide one through grocery and drug store deals. I use them and couldn't do without them.

I am going to attempt to share bits of my weekly shopping plans with you, on Sunday (not Tuesday, though it certainly appears to be Tuesday now). Please link to yours in the comments.


CVS $0 out of pocket
Reach Toothbrush 2 pack $3.99, $2 ECB (limit 1), $2 coupon
Gallon Milk $3.79

** Will use $2 pledge ECB (no longer available but expired Monday), also have $11 ECB from shopping last week. I am buying the milk to use the expiring $2 ECB, we always need milk and that's a good way to get a deal on it. Today ECB's from quarterly shopping should print, giving me another $2.50 to use over the next few weeks. Some customers have also received a $5 ECB at the in-store printer ... that would be really nice! Total out of pocket will be close to $0 for this trip, and with the quarterly ECB's printing I should break even on ECB's.

This is a small CVS trip ... some weeks are, some aren't. My goal is to pay nothing for most things. We're actually down to 2 extra toothbrushes so this is a good week to buy these, but even if we weren't in need this is what I'd buy, the goal is to stock when items are free (not crazy extreme couponing stocking - just what we'd normally use in a reasonable amount of time).

Unfortunately, there isn't anything on sale at Publix this week that flips my skirt, so I may just skip that trip. Their ad comes out here on Thursday, but I shop at the beginning of the week so I will still post the deals I find appealing then.

In addition to CVS I'll shop at the bread outlet ($.88 per loaf), Sam's Club for fruit and a few things, and my local produce market for veggies.

Tonight at Publix I found Kraft Shredded Cheese with a Touch of Philly priced at 2 for $4, with blinkies for $1 off per bag. I combined that with a $1.50 off 2 Kraft Cheeses Target coupon ... ended up paying $.25 per 8 oz. bag of cheese.

I'm not sure how long the 2 for $4 deal lasts, but I know it's at least through tomorrow at my store.

Hope that helps someone.

I received an e-mail about this site, Money Minded Moms, the other day and then was reminded of it when I read this blog post by Northern Cheapskate. I wanted to pass the information along as I know many of us are concerned about our current, and future, financial situations.

The site was founded by Suze Orman.  I don't follow her closely but do have a book she wrote (got it for $.99 on a clearance rack at Walgreens) and I think she makes sense.

I've glanced at the site and it appears to have a lot of valuable information - ideas for investing, saving money, teaching good money skills to kids, and so on. There's also a debt eliminator tool available.  I can't really say it's information you can't find elsewhere, but it's always good to have the resources you need all in one place. There are also message boards, I like that.

If you enter your e-mail address you will receive "11 Things Money Minded Moms Should do in 2011".

Joining is free, so it seems to me it's certainly worth taking a look.

Here's an intro from Suze Orman, founder of the site:

It’s Time to Stop Worrying About Money, Moms!

That’s why I created the MoneyMindedMoms community – a safe place where you can interact with other like-minded moms that want to tackle their money issues through knowledge and support.

I’ve also assembled a sharp team of contributors that will be sharing valuable information on all sorts of money-related topics -- from smart saving and investing to tips that will help you stretch every dollar.  

Together, we can achieve the peace of mind that comes when you stop worrying about money and free yourself up to focus on the things that really matter. 
Let me know what you think.

I have committed to donating $3 of grocery purchases to a local food bank each week.

Here's what I'll be giving this week:

8 cans Dole pineapple
1 tube Colgate toothpaste
10 boxes Mueller's pasta

All purchases at Publix, prices good through Christmas Eve.
The pasta was on sale BOGO with $.55 coupon per box, total for 10 boxes was $.35
Toothpaste was on sale for $1, with $.75 coupon paid $.25 per tube
Dole pineapples were BOGO with $1/2 cans coupon, total for 8 cans was $2.40

I haven't been able to do this weekly as I'd hoped.  Part of the excuse for that is that I don't do serious grocery shopping every week -- though that's something I'm working to change (it's not always easy to find the time to clip coupons, find deals, print coupons, organize coupons with lists, and then go to the store).

I have committed to donating $3 of grocery purchases to a local food bank each week.

Here's what I'll be giving this week:


16 boxes of Mueller's pasta
2 boxes of Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes
3 cans Campbell's cream soup
2 cans RoTel diced tomatoes

I really thought the 16 boxes of pasta were going to add up to $3, but they were a Publix "buy one, get one" at $1.17 each, then topped with $.55 coupons (used two, one for each box of pasta), bringing the total for two boxes to $.07 ... bringing the total for 16 boxes to $.56 ... as the kids said: Epic Fail

The scalloped potatoes were also a Publix "buy one, get one" at $1.75 each, topped with $.50/2 coupon ... brought the cost of 2 to $1.25.

The campell's soup was on sale last week at Target for $.50, with coupons I paid $.30 per can, or $.60 for 2 cans.

The RoTel tomatoes were also a Publix "buy one, get one" at $1.39, used a $1.00 coupon (I think it was $1/3, so I bought six for $4.20 and used 2 $1 coupons, bringing cost for each can to $.37 each.

Total spent:  $3.15

If that alone doesn't speak to the value of coupons and sale shopping, the total I spent at Publix yesterday was $53.94 ... and I saved $118.57.  My cart was overflowing.