Texas Tax Free Weekend is Aug. 15-17.  I know people who come from Oklahoma to shop.  Yee-haw!  There will definitely be some good deals that weekend.  More on that later.  Just thought you’d want to mark your calendar.

For bloggers, Amy at Mom Advice has a good article called What in the World is Twitter?. Twitter is one of the many traffic building devices you can benefit from.

Mrs. Micah has a good read on What Happens if Your Bank Fails? Is your money safe? How many banks have failed? How much money does the FDIC have?

Trent, over at The Simple Dollar has a wonderful article called Undermining Your Frugality. It’s all about our tendency to blow a windfall of cash whenever we get it. Whether it be a stimulus check, an inheritance, a bonus, etc. if we don’t have a specific plan and self-control, we’re just tossing that money out of our pockets on consumables.

Life as Mom wrote an article I couldn’t agree with more. It’s called Don’t Be So Loyal. It’s all about how much brand loyalty can harm your frugality. I must admit though, as much as I’ve forced myself to not be brand loyal, there are a few brands I refuse to give up. They’re worth the extra money to me.

My Cottonelle coupons (25c  off a 4 roll pack) were about to expire, so I just ran to Kroger and bought 11 packages.  Their normal price for the package is $1.19, but with the 25c coupons tripling (yes, I did 11 transactions so they would all triple – gotta love self-check lanes), it knocked the price down to 48c/pack (with tax).  Basically 12c/roll.  Good deal.

Here is a Buy One Get One Free coupon for Jamba Juice good until 7/30/08.  I have a friend who loves these.  (Thanks, Hip 2 Save)

I don’t have a baby and I don’t have a Meijer, but if you have either of those check out the post over at Baby Cheapskate. In fact, if you have a baby you should frequent this blog because she posts daily on great baby deals.

For all you coaches and parents who drop big bucks at sporting goods stores in the Fall and Spring, print this $15 off $75 purchase coupon! It doesn’t expire until 1/31/09… so don’t forget that you can print and use it over and over again! (Thanks, Hip 2 Save)

Big Lots has a printable Friends and Family Coupon on their website for 20% off your total purchase on Sunday 7/20 from 6-9 pm. (Thanks, Cents to Save)

These weeks of CVS deal duds and low limits are reflective of our economy. This coming week is no better. There are no “wash deals” (pay X amount and get the same amount back in ECB’s). Even the laundry detergent deal is a standard detergent deal they do all the time with All, Whisk, Purex, etc. However all the bloggers will be posting their “fabulous deals” as usual – trying to make it look as good as they can. In reality, this is all I see…

L’Oreal Studio or Vive Pro
BOGO (Buy One, Get One) deal
A BOGO Coupon is coming out this week, so both items should be free

Trident Xtra Care Gum
BOGO deal
A BOGO coupon is coming out this week, so both items should be free

There’s also a mail in rebate (MIR) deal which is never worth my trouble.

The week after next looks bad too. However there is one wash deal on Revlon make-up (could be a money maker), a decent Band-aid deal, and a candy fest.

Even though it’s not worth my time to post about so-so deals you can, quite obviously, find on your own, I’m thankful for the rare freebies I still get from CVS. It’s hard to be happy when I have to slough around $30 in ECB’s this week and even more next week before they expire. I guess I’ll keep a low amount of ECB’s on hand from now on – at least until things change and start looking better. How’s that for a chipper, upbeat post? I’m just bummin’ and venting.

Here is the CVS google ad scan. Click on the page to enlarge, and click on the picture to read the fine print. Remember you can always check TaylorTownPreview.com to see the coupons that will be coming out in Sunday’s insert if you want to research your deals early. (From Hot Coupon World)

It’s time to stock up on Basic paper towels again. They’re 10 for $10. Use your $1 off coupon and get them for free! My Kroger was almost cleaned out yesterday!

Here are some other goodies:

Charmin toilet paper (12 big rolls)
Buy 3, pay $5.50 for each package
Use 3 50c coupons (only the first one triples)
Pay only $5.00 per package

Loads of 10 for $10 deals.

I got 12 cans of Pringles because we have family coming in from out of country for a month and we like to load up on fun junk food the kids don’t usually eat. I used my 30c off 3 cans coupons which tripled (because I made 4 transactions) and paid $2.10 for each set of 3 cans.

Go here for Walmart deals this week.  The list is similar every week, but Money Saving Mom does add the weekly deals.  Extensive, helpful list.

Works For Me Wednesday is what works for me! I absolutely love checking out all the sites. I don’t click on your link to read only your one article for the week and give you one hit. If I like you, I check you out daily or weekly depending on how often you post and I enjoy linking to your good articles. Just look at my blogroll. I’ve found most of you through your WFMW post or through someone’s blog roll who posted on WFMW. Now I visit you often.

I started my blog in March and now, on any given day, I get somewhere between 500-1400 hits, and my stats keep going up every week (last week was my biggest jaw dropper). WFMW is one of the reasons. There is nothing comparable to participating in this every week.

What is important to me when scouting a new blog? 2 things are of utmost importance. Content and frequency. Content that appeals to me personally is anything about frugality, simplicity, finances, green living, easy recipes, home and family ideas, etc. You know, the content y’all are so good at posting. Belly-button musings aren’t my thing. I also want to be fed daily, so I frequent blogs with daily posts. Staying up and in tune is important to me as I check out my daily reads.

Still important, but not as much as the above mentioned, are a personal touch and linkage. I love to see your personality in your blog writings – especially your humor. It’s sweet and prods me when you’re constantly pointing me to Christ. I appreciate an obvious love for the Lord, family and wholesomeness. I also like seeing that you’re not afraid to give credit where credit is due. I’ve learned acknowledging a good find, whether it’s a shopping deal or a good read, is noble in the blogging world and, in a round about way, is self-promoting. I also like to see a long blogroll.

Of no importance to me is how much advertising you have, or how much “importance” you have in the blogging world. There are some incredible “small time” blogs out there that I just LOVE! I love the heart behind the writing.

Overall, what I prefer is daily writing salted with personality. I may not know you in real life, but I do consider you my friends. Isn’t that funny? So, if I haven’t met you yet, introduce yourself to me in an email or comment and I’ll come visit!

If I had the time, I’d spend all day Wednesday checking out all 300+ of you who post on WFMW. Sadly I can’t but I look forward to tryin’ my darndest.

Yes, along with suffering from migraines, I also deal with lower back pain. Not that I’m falling apart, it’s just that I’m in my 40’s and…well…you know how it goes. I think those are my only problems right now (knock on wood).

A couple years ago our youngest son was in a body cast for a broken femur (another story in itself) – you can visualize the kind of body cast with one leg straight, the other leg bent, and a bar between them. He was 5 years old at the time, but lifting him was difficult because of the spread out position his body was in. In the cast for 6 weeks, my back finally blew.

I spent months visiting a chiropractor who came highly recommended. After no relief from the pain, we were at a Christmas party and a gentleman (who is a physical therapist) came up to me and my husband. He asked if I was suffering from low back pain. Later he revealed he could tell by the way I moved. And I thought I hid it so well. He asked us to step into a bedroom with him and he showed me how to properly sit. Not kidding! With that alone, my back pain subsided within a week. Completely subsided. He told me to sit in a chair with a rolled up towel (secured with duct tape) behind my lower back so I had pressure. He told me to keep my legs in front of me and try to make sure my knees were lower than my hips. That’s it folks. Since then, whenever I sneak back into old habits all I have to do is put his advice into practice.

I know it sounds simple, but it’s worth a try. I was on the verge of considering seeing an M.D. and going the traditional medical route – yikes. Talk about a frugal save! I don’t even need to take ibuprofen. Just thought I’d pass that along.

Here is a Colgate printable coupon for $1.50 off.  You can use it at Walgreens this week where a tube is only $1.99.  Pay 44c (Thanks,  Coupon Cravings).

If you love getting movies from your local Redbox , the one-day code for today, the 14th (disregard the date my blog says it is – I need to fix that) is 83CB4K. A great deal to check out if you’ve never done it before. Easy and so convenient.