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Make Your Own Scented Wax Cubes {DIY Tutorial}

May 15, 2016 By Tiffany 68 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

:: You can see my segment HERE ::

About a year and a half ago I had the chance to do a DIY tutorial for Disney’s LiveWell station, with host Kat Cosley on how to make your own scented wax cubes. We filmed at my house for a few hours and I taught them how I reuse and make my own scented wax for my Scentsy wax warmers.

They were awesome and Kat is SUPER cool and really nice.

I have a TON and really I have a TON of Scentsy warmers, I am not telling you how many because my husband would flip! 🙂 A Scentsy warmer is a name brand wax warmer that basically melts a piece of scented wax using a light bulb, that makes your whole house smell awesome. You can buy cheaper versions of these from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart from $5 – $15. They are really cute, and make nice gifts. I like them because I don’t like having an open flame with a lot of kids running around, and I like the way candles make my house smell good.

After the scented wax has melted and the smell is gone after about 12 hours, you are left with disks of hard wax. You can toss them or you can remelt them and add some more fragrance. This is one way to reuse the wax, I have 2 different methods I taught them.

Scentsy sells the scented wax of course, and you can buy off brands at Walmart, Target and even the Dollar Stores. Personally, I think Scentsy smells the best, but it is pretty expensive.

Scentsy also says that by using any other wax in their warmers you void your warranty on your warmer somewhere in the fine print. Just FYI.

When new, the scented wax comes in little plastic trays and you break them apart and pop them out like you would a ice cube tray. When my trays are done I save them to use as mold to pour more melted wax into.

The first tip is to save your wax when it has lost it’s smell and add more scent to it. I melt the wax either in the microwave or on a warming tray (below) in a bowl and pour it into the saved wax trays. You can get a warming tray by the candles at Walmart for $5. Many places sell scented oil and you only need a few drops. After adding the melted wax to the trays place it in the freezer for a while to harden, then use like you would new wax!

Melt the wax
Add scent
Pour in trays
Harden in freezer
Use again

The second way I make these is with leftover candles I have OR with new candles I am given that I don’t want to have burning in my house. I get a lot of the Yankee candles and don’t want to light them so I make them into scented wax so I can safely use them.

Again I melt down the wax, either in the microwave (be careful of the metal tab on the bottom of the wick) or on a warming tray until the wax is completely melted. Then I pour them into the trays or into ice cube trays.

Put the trays into the freezer and when they are solid you can pull them out and you have scented wax from your candles that you can use in your warmers! This is the method that I use the most. I have found the Yankee candles when melted down and made into scented wax cubes smell better and the smell lasts longer then the Scentsy scents. But overall it is just safer in my home to not have an open flame.

As much as I love the Scentsy scents and buy them often, I love other candle brands as well that don’t make the scented wax. This is a great way to stretch your budget on the extra things in life by making your own. I would rather spend my money on the darling designs of name brand warmers, then on the scented wax.

Our Frugal (NOT) Family Night Out

April 20, 2016 By Tiffany 272 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

This post could also be titled: We were almost washing dishes: What to do when you forget your money!

Last night we took the kids to see a movie. All of them. We don’t often do this as it is expensive and hard to find a movie that everyone wants to see together. But it was $5 movie night at a theater, a town away, PLUS $.40 cent wings night so my husband was the one motivated to go. It is one of these movie theaters where you eat at the theater. We were calculating about $7 a person for dinner and a movie, not counting the 2 little kids who don’t eat anything, and they baby, who they usually don’t charge a ticket for.

We walk up to the counter and the cashier says, “How old is the baby?”

Paul thinking she is admiring how cute she is, cheerfully says, “12 months!”

Cashier says, “we don’t allow anyone under the age of 5”

Huh? We did not know this, we have been here before but with the older kids. We were seeing a kids PG show, so we ask, “not at the kids show?” thinking maybe she though we were watching something R?

The cashier says she will talk to her manager and came back 5 min later and says we can bring the 1 year old in, but we have to pay an adult ticket for her. Um o.k. all the tickets were $5 anyway! Paul goes to pay and can’t find the debit card. He looks at me, “where is the card?” I say, “I don’t know you had it last”. Now there is a line waiting to get in. I tell them to go ahead and we dump out my purse and Paul’s pockets on the ground looking for the card. “Do you have any cash?” he asks, I pull out a crumpled up few bills. Paul finds a gift card we had from last year, “I think there is some money on it!” he says! The girl tries the card and IT WORKS! Yea! We had $51 on it and the total was $45.

We get to our seats, Paul and I are laughing, “she must think, wow, they have no money and are digging for cash to see a movie!”

Now, we have to order our food. I had about $30 in cash so we can still get dinner…. we hit the button and the server gets to us as the movie starts and it gets dark. Paul orders the wings and we tell the 7 year old she can get a basket of 4 mini burgers to share with the kids that won’t eat wings. Paul orders 2 drinks thinking that they are $1.25 each. We figure we should be at $20 and be able to tip pretty well.

Movie is horrible. It was (The Zoo Keeper, I don’t recommend it)

As the movie ends we get our bill. $65. WHAT?! OMGosh! In disbelief Paul and I are reading it over and over again. We ask the server if it is right. Only the bone in wings were on sale, we got boneless. I DIDN”T KNOW! Paul’s 2 drink were $2.75 each. We were looking at the kids drinks apparently. The 7 year old ordered 2 mini burger baskets not 1. It was dark and they were at the end of another row so I didn’t see them, they walked over to us to get wings. Plus, the tip was now 20% added on and $5 in tax I had not counted on! What a disaster!

I am freaking out, we only have $30 in cash on us. We can’t even go get cash as we can’t find the debit card and it is 10pm so I can’t run to a bank. We start asking kids if they have any money on them! Paul runs out to the car to see if he can find any there under the seat and the 7 year old says her wallet is in the car. OHH, please let her have her birthday money in there! I am laughing thinking about begging her birthday money off of her!

Seriously, what do you do? Are they going to make us wash dishes? Do I leave a kid and promise to come back with cash? I am just kidding. I started thinking of what friends I could call that would run me up some money, this was ridiculous. Paul comes back with the 7 year olds wallet. It has $6 in it. “Where is your birthday money?!!!” I almost yell. “You told me to leave it at home and not carry it with me.” she cries. Since when do they listen? The 13 year old has no cash on him, he is now hiding from embarrassment.

We just stand there for a minute looking at each other trying to figure out how to come up with $30 from thin air, when I see the 11 year old “money bags” wandering around. “Hey, do you have any money on you?” I ask as if she didn’t know what was going on. “I might have a little.” she says. “Can. I. Borrow. Some?” I ask her trying to be nice as she can clearly hear what is going on. She pulls her wallet out and has no less then $120 in it!!!!

“Are you kidding me?! When were you going to tell us you had money!!!” I ask. She has watched us scrounging for money for 10 minutes. Did she want to see us do dishes? “I don’t know” comes the standard kid answer. “Well, can I borrow $30?” I ask. “I guess” she replies painfully. We pay and leave. I am still sweating.

As we get in the car, we are still shaking our heads, our frugal family night out has cost us $110 to see a horrible movie. Everyone is also hungry still. What a waste, Paul and I are sick about it, but the kids had fun.

This morning I get up and walk into the kitchen, on the fridge door is a note: “You owe me $30” it was from “Money Bags.” Sheesh, now I just need to find my debit card!

Someone help me, I have 5 girls!

April 20, 2016 By Tiffany 13 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I posted this on my personal FB page. But in order to preserve this for her children, I am posting it here so I can find it again someday.

Actual conversation I JUST had with my 13 year old:

“Mom, when are we leaving?” She says.
“Where are we going again?” I ask.
“You said you would take me to the mall to get so and so’s birthday present!”
“Oh, right. Go get in the car.” I tell her.
“Aren’t you going to change?”
“Change what? Change my clothes?” I ask confused.
“Yeah, are you wearing that?”
“Yes, I am not even getting out of the car!” I say bewildered.
“Whatever.” As she walks away

How long will the madness go on?! Does she see what she is wearing? THE SAME THING AS I AM!!

Someone help me, I have how many more of these kids to go through?!

Adventures in ear piercing – Kids now days have it sooooo good!

April 20, 2016 By Tiffany 47 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Around our home, my girls know that you have to be 12 to get your ears pierced. For really no other reason then my Mom made me wait until I was 12 to get mine done, and I like to torture my kids that way! Plus, I figure at that age they can take care of them by themselves and it is one less thing I will have to do.

Last night was the night, she is not quite 12, but all the girls were together at the mall and it was really close to her birthday. I called her Dad to see if he objected in any way, fully expecting him to want me to wait so he could be there.

“Yeah, I don’t care, do whatever.” he says.

Not quite the response I was expecting, but then again I am not sure he gets the 12 year old girl ear piercing anticipation!

I gave her the option and she chicken out a few times, we walked around the mall for a while, got some food and were ready to leave exiting the opposite end of the mall when she finally changed her mind. I thanked her for the walking workout and we trekked back to the other end of the mall, 100 kids in tow to get it done!

As we sat there and they got her ready, I started crying. I am not sure why, it was a 100 different emotions from, “OMG I have a kid this old!” to “I remember how excited I was when I got mine done…..”

Oh yes! When I got mine done…..

As we waited, my girls recounted to the nice lady at Merle Norman the entire story of when I got my ears pierced. They told the story like I was not even there, telling her about how “a long time ago, when my Mom got hers done, they didn’t even have a place like this…”

OK, that is NOT entirely true. My Mom figured why waste the money, she would do it herself at the kitchen table. Just like she had gotten hers done!

My kids have no idea how good they have it, when I got mine done, my Mom didn’t take me to some fancy schmacy place, (I didn’t take my daughter to one, there were too many people in Clair’s so we went next door to Merle Norman who was the same price!) we sat at the kitchen table!

My Mom took a cold Sprite (which was a miracle, as were not allowed to have soda) a needle and thread and a potato. We numbed my ear with the Sprite, put the potato behind my ear and she stuck the needle through! The potato stopped the needle from going in to my neck, thank goodness, and she pulled the needle through with some pliers! Then, she pulled the string through the hole and tied the string in a loop. I had to keep the string clean and pull it back and forth for weeks to keep the hole from closing.

My sissy kids get a quick “pop” and it is done!

I guarantee I wasn’t smiling like that when mine were done 🙂 Isn’t she cute?! She also gets darling cubic zirconia ‘s and I got a string!

What a fun night we had, and what a good group of girls I have!

How old were you when you got your ears pierced and where did you get it done?

::Update::

This is from my Mom… I knew you would comment! 🙂
I was 17. And we used ice cubes to numb them before the needle was used to pierce the ear lobes with the potato. The potato was cut in half and the cut/flat side supported the ear lobe so the needle could go through the lobe better. And I think it was a can of frozen lemonade we used on your ears rather than Sprite…or maybe the Sprite was your reward when we were done. You’ve always been a brave girl. Love you, mom

The TRUTH About Extreme Couponing

February 15, 2016 By Tiffany 17 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Sigh, I am going to set the record straight on the truth about Extreme Couponing. Today there was a marathon TLC Extreme Couponing day on one of the local stations, which means I get all the standard comments and claims on my Facebook and social media pages about how it was rigged, or fake, or EVERYONE committed some kind of COUPON FRAUD. Etc. etc. etc.

After 5 years you would think people would get their facts straight. But no, they read something 4-5 years ago by some blogger(s) who wasn’t (weren’t) on the show, but are just trying to get traffic by posting bait articles to get you to click. Congrats, you clicked and made them some money… but you are just dumber for reading their made up “facts” and speculation.

My husband and I were on the very first season, the first episode of TLC’s Extreme Couponing. You can see our episode HERE.

I am going to answer a few of the rumors or claims that ALWAYS go around that are completely false or mostly untrue:

Stores changed their coupon policies because of the show:

FALSE. OMGosh, this one gets so old. Stores did not change their policies because of EC. It was not that big of a show. Stores do not change their polices based on a cable TV reality show. It also takes months or years to get a policy change into effect. The week our episode aired in Houston, the Kroger Southwest region changed their policy to exclude doubling and tripling. Kroger is the LARGEST grocer in the country. They don’t make a major change to a policy in a few days. It takes FOREVER to make a change like that. Our episode just happened to air the week they did it. Which then, for people who have no idea how a grocer or corporation works might assume that a tiny show had something to do with it, when in fact, corporate wasn’t even aware of the show at that time.

Kroger is the LARGEST grocer in the world. The WORLD people… They are even considered larger then Walmart as a traditional grocer. They don’t give a crap about a cable TV show that only lasted 3 seasons.

Also, if you know anything about our story, you know that our local region actually TIGHTENED the policy for our shopping trip. At the time we were able to double and triple three of any coupon. The day we went shopping they only allowed us to double or triple ONE of any coupon.

Grocery stores, Kroger in particular, changed their coupon policy in 2011, & 2013 because the massive polling they do through Neilson showed that the average consumer used under 10 coupons in a trip and wanted a gas program and prescription drug program over a coupon program. You see, stores PAY the doubling and tripling amount. Not the brands. That marketing money was switched to gas and prescriptions.

Customers voted. The majority won.

The trip is staged or fake:

FALSE: What does that even mean? I am not even sure what people are implying here when they say this…. TLC sets it up? LOL, not a chance! I was given about 4 days to get ready for my trip. People usually have the opportunity to pick the store they want to shop at. Because mine was such short notice we didn’t get to choose, but sent out requests to all my local stores. The one who said yes first was the one we were using. Thank GOODNESS it was Kroger!

I was given (0) ZERO help. They don’t do anything but send a local film crew and one 20 year old “producer” to ask you questions.

I had to sign a contract that I would not pitch companies for coupons, and that I would follow my stores coupon policy.

Some people had time to plan a trip longer then I did. They are able to order product ahead of time. Good for them! I was not. We only had a few days to get ready for the trip. So I did the best I could with a new baby, sitting on the floor of my grocery store nursing her, planning a shopping trip for TV.

Yeah… but, but, but, some people committed coupon fraud!:

TRUE: Yeah, a few did. Just like they do all day long at your Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and every grocery store. Some did it on purpose and some did it on accident. There are about 180 episodes of EC and out of all those there are a few where the people actually did commit coupon fraud. But it was not that many. AND, if they did, they had to go against the contract they signed and against the stores coupon policy. That isn’t TLC’s fault. That is a moral/ethical issue of that person. Just like it is with the people who commit coupon fraud everyday at your local stores.

Lumping everyone who was on the show into that “fraud” category is irresponsible and ignorant on your part. It is like saying, “Oh, so you are a couponer? Then you commit coupon fraud!” People who think that are idiots, just like the people who think everyone or even most people on the show committed fraud. That is just stupid.

In conclusion:

Complaining about the show, or ignorantly making claims that you have no idea about are offensive to those who were on the show, who busted their asses to have a good trip and show people what can be done. It is offensive because we worked hard to give you a cool trip, with lots of good food and useable items, cleaning, hygiene, and even milk and produce. For crying out loud, Paul had 14lbs. of steak! instead of asking “How did he do that!!?” People assume that you did something fraudulent because they are ignorant of how to coupon.

I find that the people who speak out against the show usually have tried to Extreme Coupon and failed at it or were not very good at it. So, they have to disparage anyone who is good at it.

Extreme Couponing is an awesome show for a few reasons. It got people excited again about couponing. It has helped THOUSANDS of people provide for their families. It reminded people how fun couponing was and got them thinking about doing it again. There are so many positives!

If you want to go to a FREE class, you can check out the dates and times HERE. Class is totally free and taught by me.

What a Sweet Dad – Valentines Dinner 2009

February 14, 2016 By Tiffany 2 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

This post was originally from 2009. I wish I could make the pictures bigger but they are actually hosted on my old blogspot blog. I just wanted to repost for you anyway!

This is one of those “I’ve been meaning to” posts that I haven’t blogged yet. I love family traditions and think they’re important to have, and my husband started one for our family that I think it very unique (and precious). A few years ago for Valentines day we stayed home instead of going out (funny how that happens when you have six kids).

Paul got creative, gave me the night off and made a beautiful candle lit gourmet dinner for the entire family. The kids LOVED it! The next year he was planning on getting a sitter and taking me out until the kids started talking excitedly about “Are we going to do that again, Dad!?” And that’s how the tradition started.

This year was beautiful, the girls (and Rush) all went to Mardi Gras in the morning while Tucker was at practice, and then we all came home for dinner (My sister and her husband opted for dinner with us-apparently waiting 3 hours for any restaurant was not going to settle with Jeff).

Paul made an amazing romantic meal, with name plates, rose petals, and candles everywhere. The kids all got a giant Hershey Kiss (Storie freaked out when she figured out it was entirely chocolate) and we got them Madagascar2 to watch together as soon as dinner was done. This year all the kids each told Dad and I something they loved about us as well! And they didn’t just say, “Because you gave us giant Hershey Kisses!”
So dinner was beautiful, and this is one of the favorite holidays for our kids because of how special Dad makes it! Do you have any ideas for unique family traditions?

Valentines Dinner 2010

February 14, 2016 By tiffany 9 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

** For our Valentines dinner, my husband has always made the kids a fancy dinner. He decorates the kitchen, lights candles and lets them drink sparkling cider out of fancy glasses. They LOVE it!

We had our traditional Valentines Day dinner last night as Paul and I have plans tonight, by ourselves, no children. What will we have to talk about?? I should take some of those dating cards with me… you know that ones you look at when there is silence to start a conversation 🙂 Just kidding, honey!

This is Paul’s night, he does it all. He was thrilled about me taking pictures, I can tell you that 🙂
He decorated with streamers, candles and fake rose petals.

We had sautéed asparagus, and mushrooms. Corn on the cob and garlic bread.

The HUGE surprise this year??

Steak and Lobster?!

Oh my goodness! It was amazing!

He can grill anything and make it wonderful, but tonight the steak was out of this world, and for those who ate the Lobster said it was awesome! I tried a little. I have a few kids who LOVE seafood and they had some. He only got a few so we could all sample.

My Mom and Dad came by for dinner, they heard Paul was grilling 🙂

The treat for dessert?

Chocolate covered strawberries!

They were as big as this little boy’s hands!

It was so much fun and so good!

Thanks honey, for another fun Valentines Day!

NEW Hustle Coupon T-Shirt (Emma’s Book Memorial Shirt)

February 10, 2016 By Tiffany Leave a Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

We have NEW Hustle coupon shirts and colors that you can order! They are a beautiful Tiffany Blue and a dark heather Gray with silver lettering and a teal arrow.

When you make a $35+ donation to Emma’s memorial library, you will get a shirt shipped to you. Shipping is included, you don’t pay for that.

Shirts come in XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, and 3XL. You have the choice of BLACK, PINK, BLUE, or the new DARK GRAY. Shirts are Rawlings 3/4 sleeve.

You can take a look HERE.

Above are the original gold and burgundy lettering. They are available in Black, Dark Gray and Pink sleeve. From size Small to 3XL in the pink sleeve.

This is Paul packing orders in his man cave 🙂

You can order yours HERE.

This is the original shirt I made my sister that everyone saw and then wanted!

Coupon Hustle T-Shirts and More!

February 7, 2016 By Tiffany Leave a Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

I posted last night about the t-shirt I made for my sister because she donated money to Emma’s book library. I was really surprised the number of people who wanted one for themselves! They are really cute!

We are going to be making coupon t-shirts that you can have when you make a donation to Emma’s book library. For $35 you can get the t-shirt shipped to you.

Shirts come in S, M, L, XL and you have the choice of black or pink sleeves. Shirts are Rawlings 3/4 sleeve. If you would like to order one, just go HERE to get yours!

Also, we still have a few of the “I have coupons… Sorry NOT Sorry” shirts available and some of the Harry Potter “Always” and the “I’m Sorry for what I said when I was Couponing at Walmart” shirts. There are limited sizes on these so GRAB one if you want one!

Go HERE to get yours!

Hustle Coupon T-Shirt ($25 donation to Emma’s Book Library)

January 11, 2016 By Tiffany 8 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

We are going to be making coupon t-shirts that you can have when you make a donation to Emma’s book library. For $25 you can get the t-shirt shipped to you.

Shirts come in S, M, L, XL and you have the choice of black or pink sleeves. Shirts are Rawlings 3/4 sleeve. If you would like to order one, just fill out the info below and check out!

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