Do you have one of these Tiered Trays?? 
I used to be so intimidated by them, but now it is the easiest thing!

You just pick some basic items that are neutral- I used my Rae Dunn bowls, sugar, and cream set that are black and white. 

Then I bought some of the Fall Decor at the 99 Cent only store, a few items from Michael’s 50% off sale, and the Fall Leaf Garlands and flowers from the Dollar Tree- about $10 or so totally decorates it!

For Christmas I use poinsettias, ornaments, colored straws, cocoa mugs with the same sales. 
For Spring- bright colored flowers, candles and little signs.  Once you decorate it once for a season it gets easier to switch it out by season. This tiered stand was $20 at Home Goods awhile back! You can also find REALLY cute ones at Walmart and Hobby Lobby!

I am not sure how items that are $1 and $3 can add up to $40…. but the Target Dollar Spot had some SUPER CUTE Fall Craft items that just about convinced me that I could actually make something myself!!

Look at this burlap garland-$3 and then Orange Burlap Letters-$3
This should be easy right??? Well then how come 5 hours later as I am typing this I STILL haven’t decided what I am going to SPELL on this banner!!!

Well-these little pumpkins and this big white pumpkin should turn out OK since it is just a matter of sticking the embellishments and stickers on them…I am hoping. 

If you don’t see them on my Fall Decor segment of Studio 40 Friday- then you know they didn’t turn out. But at least it was only a few bucks right??

 Any Rae Dunn fans/collectors? 

The one thing that I love about all of my Rae Dunn items is that they are so simple that I can just add a little something for each season. 

At the Dollar Tree I bought some colored twine $1
Bag of 50 Fake Fall Leaves $1
Punched a hole in the leaves and tied them around the coasters and I think it looks cute! Adds that pop of fall color without being too much!

Tip: You don’t always have to buy more decorations, just add a little something to what you have! At Christmas time I do the red twine and a poinsettia flower-KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Ok anyone besides me have their kids use a 50% off Michael’s coupon in line behind you so you can get more than one deal? Well NOT THIS WEEK! 

ALL Fall Decor is 50% off so I can buy more than one item and NOT USE COUPONS! 

That worked really well because I bought WAY MORE than one or two items….. but they were 50% off!

Tune into my Fox Studio 40 Segment on Friday 9/21 at 11 am to see what I ended up with–at least some of it…  

Ok-my biggest goal at Sam’s Club or Costco is to STAY OUT OF THE MIDDLE! But these were in the aisle right when I walked in so IT WASN’T MY FAULT..right? 

Anyways these were so soft, long sleeved-and FALL-so why not? I needed something for my TV segment anyways (sounds good right?)

These were $11.xx (forgot the exact amount) They had some Halloween ones too, but I went for what I could wear the most often!

Who has MADE their own wreath before? NOT ME. But, I figured for $5 or so with these items from the Dollar Tree and some items I had from last year-I might just give it a try! Plus they had so many pretty choices of ribbon, mesh, and decor at the Dollar Tree that helped me go for it! I will post the picture if it doesn’t look like a kindergarten student made it!

Ok- The 99 Cent Only Store has SO MUCH Harvest Decor out!! I am so excited for Fall so that I can decorate!!!
Stay posted… I will be showing you my ideas in the next week or two on How to Decorate on a Budget and I will be on Fox Studio 40 Friday 9/21 at 11 am!

Ok so Date Night was starting to be a little…non existent in our house. We were just busy-then we would go out and spend too much, then we were trying to save money, then we were busy-and it pretty much goes up and down and schedule changes, kids, grandkids, etc

My husband and I prepare a budget each week, and I decided to put $100 for a Date Budget. It could be bigger, or smaller-but if I didn’t do something we would be skipping it because it really takes effort to be consistent in dates.

Here is an example of how we did our first $25 Date

Chile Colorado (SOOO GOOD) My husband got Steak, Chicken, and Shrimp Fajitas

I used Groupon and bought a Vallejo’s Groupon ( I used 20% off code) and it was $13 for a $30 Groupon.  We ordered about $33 of food and it was $5 more plus tip! So we did that for $25!

We also have Movie Pass Membership where we pay $9.95 a month for 3 movies. I take that out of our Entertainment category out of our budget. So we went to the movies and saw Crazy Rich Asians -which was great!

Date #2-My husband planned it, and I told him to stay in the $25 range.
He totally copied me! At first a was a little mad about that, but I had a REALLY great time!

He got the Logan’s Roadhouse Groupon for $12 (Use SUPER20)
We paid

My husband and I are doing the Keto diet, so he got a steak dinner and I got a chicken meal. I love Caeser salad and chicken and grilled veggies keeps me where I should be.  If you aren’t on a diet-they have the BEST rolls!!! Plus their burgers, entrees, salads are all around the $14.99 range.

After Logan’s we went and saw the movie SEARCHING-It was a GREAT movie-I held my breath the entire time too!!!

So this week-it is my turn to plan, and it won’t be a movie or a Groupon deal-so we shall see what happens!