Today is National Doughnut Day: Get Yours Free!

Today is National Doughnut Day. Celebrate by getting a free doughnut of your choice at any participating Krispy Kreme Doughnuts location today!

Or if you're counting calories or are trying to eat healthier and/or lose weight, pretend you didn't see this. Unless you need a little splurge– then by all means, partake. :-)

Hat tip to Money Saving Mom.

How to get 'Back in the Saddle'

Okay, couponing friends: Maybe you're like me, and you've fallen off the couponing bandwagon for a few weeks. Or a few months. Or a year. Perhaps your expanding grocery/household budget is starting to be the tell-tale sign that you need to get back in the couponing saddle. I'm right there with you!

After some pretty major things in our family's life this spring ( the death of my husband's grandmother, a life-changing trip to India withInternational Princess Project, a 4,500-mile family road trip with a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, and few roller-coaster months with my mom's battle with cancer, just to name a few!) I feel like I am finally beginning to dig out of the hole I've been in. For me, this means things like, oh, I'm actually mopping my floors again.

For you, dear Frugal Muse readers, this exit from my spring hibernation means that I am back to the world of couponing and blogging. My goal is to post at least one deal or coupon match-up per day, so check back often so you don't miss out on the best stuff!

Need some help getting motivated to get back into couponing? Here are three ideas:

1. Start Small

This is a method I often have to employ in my life. I may not be able to do it all, but I can do something. If you're staring at a pile of dozens of coupon inserts waiting to be clipped and sorted, it may not be best to try to clip and sort them all before you go shopping with your coupons again.

Instead, visit your favorite frugal blogs and find one store that has some good current coupon deals. Clip only those coupons and go getcha some deals. (Here's a tip: most blogs list the date of the coupon insert in which to find a particular coupon. Did you know that the date for each insert is found in tiny type on the spine of the insert? This can save you so much time! No more going through a bunch of inserts looking for one particular coupon!)

This immediate success will give you some more motivation to tackle your big pile little by little until you are back on track.

2. Make it Social

If you are ready to tackle that big pile of coupons, find a friend or two who is ready to do the same and get together for a little clipping party. Everything is better with friends! You can chat, clip and sort, and encourage each other to get back on track with your couponing!

3. Ten Minutes a Day

Carve out ten minutes each day to check a handful of frugal blogs to scan for deals that might be helpful to your family. Just a few minutes a day, and it can make a big difference in your family's budget. Often the best deals come and go quickly, so it's important to check each day to make sure to cash in on the best freebies!

Anybody have other tips for getting back in the couponing saddle? Let's get started again together, friends!

My Target deals this week

Here's what I scored at Target this week:

2 Eggo blueberry waffles @ $2.19 each

10 SoBe lifewaters @ $1 each

5 boxes of Fiber One cereal @ $2.50 each

1 Shout laundry stain remover @ $2.24

1 Up and Up Bleach @ $1.52

1 Armor All automobile glass cleaner @ $2.69

1 Armor All automobile upholstery cleaner @ $4.59

1 Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner @$2.99

1 Scrubbing Bubbles toilet cleaning gel @ $3.94

1 Scrubbing Bubbles 2-in-1 Fresh Brush toilet cleaner @ $6.29

Total retail sale cost before coupons: $51.14

Coupons used:

2 $1/1 Eggo product (Target store Q)

2 $.50/1 SoBe (Target Q)

2 B1G1 SoBe (Internet Printable)

2 $2/1 Armor All (Internet Printable)

1 $3/2 Armor All (Target Q)

5 $.75/1 Fiber One cereal (Internet Printable)

1 Buy 1 SB toilet cleaning gel, get 2-in-1 Fresh Brush free (Internet Printable)

1 $2/2 Scrubbing bubbles products (found on product)

1 $1/1 Shout (Target Q)

1 $.55/1 Shout (recent insert)

The SoBe and the Fiber One each gave a $5 gift card back, so I split into two transactions to keep my out of pocket lower. I first paid $8.75 out of pocket for the Fiber One cereals, then got back a $5 gift card, which I used toward my 2nd transaction. At the end of the 2nd transaction, I got back another $5 gift card for the SoBe.

I didn't realize until I got home that the cashier must have made a mistake on my transaction- the way I figure it she undercharged me $10. I called the store back and asked the manager what to do to make this right, but he said basically said to consider it a gift because it would be too complicated to try to make this right from their end. So, I ended up with a SUPER sweet deal today!

The total I spent on both transactions out of pocket (including tax) was $10.55. Plus, I got a $5 gift card back, AND I will submit for the $5 rebate when you buy three products from SC Johnson!

Final cost after rebates and gift cards: $.55

I was truly thanking God for these great finds, as we were really needing the cleaning supplies, and this family goes through cereal like nobody's business and my stockpile has been gone for a month now. Yay for a successful couponing trip after my hiatus!

5 lbs. of Organic Lollipops only $13.78 shipped

Right now on Amazon, you can get a 5 lb. bag of YummyEarth Organic Lollipops for only $13.78 shipped, (normally $35) when you use the Subscribe and Save option. All you have to do is select the Subscribe and Save option and proceed to checkout as normal, and it will give you an automatic 15% off your order. You can then cancel this subscription with a click of a button as soon as your order ships.

This bag contains about 325 pops, and they are Organic; allergen-free; gluten-free; GMO-free; egg-free; soy-free; nut-free; casein-free; dairy-free. Seems like a great treat to have around your house for lil' visitors without having to worry about food allergy issues!

I'm Ba-ack!

After just about the busiest spring of my life, I'm finally back to couponing and blogging! I'm hoping to get The Frugal Muse updated soon so that I can start posting the best coupon match-ups, frugal deals and freebies for you all to take advantage of.

Do me a favor if you want to: Chime in with a comment if there's a particular type of deals or content you want to see posted... or just say "Hey, I'm here and following along!"

I'm hoping to put at least one good deal up per day, so check back often for some great frugal finds from The Frugal Muse!

Heard of Groupon? Great Deal today!

Kennedy Mansion Bed & Breakfast in Tulsa

Have you heard of Groupon ? A couple of friends have told me about it, and I finally checked it out. It's awesome! Basically, Groupon offers one really great coupon offer per day specific to certain geographic areas.

If you live in Northwest Arkansas or Northeast Oklahoma, don't miss out on today's AWESOME deal. Get a one night stay at the Kennedy Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Tulsa for only $85, including tax (down from regular price $259)!! This great deal includes a one night stay at the bed and breakfast, strawberries and champaign, and a gourmet breakfast. What a great value!

The best part, if you purchase this Groupon deal, you have a whole year to use your one-night stay at the B&B. So if you anticipate a little getaway anytime in the next year, this a great way to plan ahead and save some serious dough!

Check out Groupon today! The great B&B deal will be up for a little more than 24 more hours, and I'm sure there are other great deals to come!

Free Kraft Sample Pack: HURRY!

It's been a while, Frugal Friends... but here's a sweet freebie I just had to post about for you:

Sign up on the Kraft Facebook Fan Page, and click the "like" button. Then click through to sign up for a free sample pack (Choices shown in photo above), which includes your choice of free product coupons and product samples! It may take the page a few minutes to load, but if you're patient it should come up eventually.

This is a hot freebie and will probably go fast, so sign up now if you're interested! Enjoy!

Hat tip to Money Saving Mom.