The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge - Week #45

Welcome to Week #45 of The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge.  This week we save forty-five dollars. Our total saved to date is one thousand and thirty-five dollars.  New milestone: over one thousand dollars saved!!

Only seven weeks left in our Challenge year and the countdown continues!    

If you are new to the challenge, welcome aboard!  Jump in and save the weekly amounts with us. You'll have about four hundred dollars saved by the end of this year.  Alternatively, you can begin this week as your Week #1.  Save one dollar this week, two dollars next week, etc.  Whichever works best for you is great.

Whether you're starting now or you've been saving with us from the beginning, please let me hear from you. I'd like some feedback about your own experience with The 52 Week Money Saving Challenge.  What worked best for you?  What advice would you give others?  Any ideas for improvements?  How has it helped you? What have you learned? The Suggestion Box is open.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Happy saving! 

Diamond Candles Review and Giveaway!

Yahoo and a very EARLY Merry Christmas to all y'all!! I am SO excited to host the first official Fresh Juniper Review and Giveaway for Diamond Candles!!!

Image courtesy of cescassawin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do you love candles like I do? Have any Christmas presents left on your list that aren't purchased yet?  Do you enjoy FREE giveaways that are TRULY free?  (If your odds of winning are pretty good because you know there won't be a kazillion entries in the giveaway, are you more likely to enter?)  Would you like to win a NICE gift that you'd be proud to keep for yourself of give to a friend?  If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then READ ON!

Recently I was contacted by Diamond Candles.  Ever heard of Diamond Candles before?  Me neither, which is why I did a little digging on my own to find out more about them. I learned that Diamond Candles is a veritable "MADE IN THE USA" family business dream come true.  If you'd like to know the whole wonderful story, watch their video.  I watched it and was quite impressed. 

Well, they asked me to review one of their candles and give y'all my honest opinion.  On top of that, they offered to let one of Y'ALL WIN a free candle of your choice.  In Texas, we call it a 'Two-fer'.  I get one free to review, and one lucky reader gets a Diamond Candle of their choice free.  I mean FREE y'all.  You don't pay ANYTHING for the candle.  Even the SHIPPING is FREE. 

Well, I couldn't resist THAT offer, so I picked out a candle.  Blue is my favorite color, so I chose a pretty blue candle called OCEAN MIST.  Who can resist the smell of the cucumber, melon, and sea grass?  It was absolutely intoxicating.  Love at first whiff!!  I asked HUBBY and two of our grown children, PUMPKIN and PRINCE, for their honest opinions, too.  Everyone loved it!  These candles are produced with 100% soy wax and every single one is MADE IN THE U.S.A.  They smell great and last a very long time.  

Speaking of Two-fers, here's the best part.  You get a FREE RING inside each candle.  I repeat, there is a FREE RING inside each candle.  It's like the prize you get every time you open a box of Crackerjacks, but much more elegant.  These aren't kiddie toy rings.  No way.  They are beautiful and unique designs.  Each ring is worth at LEAST $10.  Now, fasten your safety belts and get ready for this:  Some rings are worth MUCH more than $10.  Some have a retail value of $100, $1,000 and even $5,000!!!  You won't find anything like THAT inside a little ol' box of Crackerjacks, but you WILL find a ring inside EVERY single Diamond Candle.  How much will yours be worth?

Macy's Herald Square Christmas Shoppers - photo by Robert Mecea for New York Daily News

Listen up. I do love to spend a little time doing some good ol' fashion Christmas shopping at the malls every year.  The music is playing and (some) folks are full of the traditional festive holiday spirit.  There's nothing quite like rubbin' shoulders with folks in the crowd, grippin' my purse to keep it safe from the pick-pockets workin' the aforementioned crowd...you know the routine.  But before the season gets into full swing, let's get on with the FREE DIAMOND CANDLE GIVEAWAY!!

In summary, this candle is WELL worth at LEAST $25.  Additionally, the FREE ring inside is worth anywhere from $10 to $5,000.  I love mine.  You will too.  Looky here at all 6 ways you can enter to win.  Do 'em ALL.  Here's a very early Merry Christmas to y'all, and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway Update 
11/21/2013:  The giveaway is completed and the winner is Dana. Congratulations Dana!! Details on how to get your free candle have been sent to your email.  Woohoo, enjoy!

Mini Peanut Butter Cups - Reese's vs. Walmart Great Value vs. Aldi Choceur - A 3-Way Battle For Best Flavor AND Best Value

For chocolate and peanut butter lovers everywhere, I shall attempt to solve a great mystery.  Does higher price mean better flavor?  If the answer is YES, then the value is clear.  The big price tag is worth it because great taste is the ultimate payoff. However, is there any certainty that higher price IS better flavor?  Read on!


Peanut Butter Cup Price Comparison: Reese's vs. Walmart Great Value Brand vs. Aldi Choceur Brand 

How much will you pay for your chocolate and peanut butter fix?


REESE'S

If you want to buy the NAME BRAND, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Minis, the price is $2.50 for an 8 ounce bag at Walmart.  It is a little over 31 cents per ounce.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Mini's

Walmart Great Value

Have you tried Walmart's Great Value Peanut Butter Cups?  The price per ounce definitely less expensive. You'll pay $2.82 for a 12 ounce bag.  The price per ounce is 23.5 cents.

Walmart Great Value Peanut Butter Cups

Aldi Choceur

Ever been to an Aldi store?  Their Choceur Peanut Butter Cups cost $2.49 for a 12 ounce tub.  That's a little less than 21 cents per ounce.

The price of a good peanut butter cup can vary from store to store.  The prices for this post were calculated in November 2013 and will undoubtedly change over time.

PRICE SUMMARY

31 cents per ounce - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

23.5 cents per ounce - Walmart Great Value Peanut Butter Cups

21 cents per ounce - Aldi Choceur Peanut Butter Cups


Peanut Butter Cup Taste Comparison: Reese's vs. Walmart Great Value Brand vs. Aldi Choceur Brand 

Which Peanut Butter Cup really tastes the best?

REESE'S

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are delicious.  They are the candy everyone else tries to copy.  The flavor is wonderful.  The chocolate covering is sweet and rich. The peanut butter center is less moist than Aldi Choceur or Walmart Great Value.  They taste as good as any (non-gourmet) peanut butter cup on the market.


Walmart 

Walmart Great Value Peanut Butter Cups are wonderful.  They provide a tasty alternative to the pricier Reese's brand.  The chocolate shell is almost just as good as Reese's and the peanut butter center is the most moist, gooey, and sweet of the three brands compared in this post.  If you don't mind the extra gooey center, they REALLY are a "Great Value". I love them and buy them often.


Aldi

I am a new fan of Aldi Choceur Peanut Butter Cups.  The chocolate shell is rich and delicious.  The flavor is equal to any (non-gourmet) competitor on the market. The peanut butter center is moist but not gooey. The consistency and flavor of the peanut butter is amazing.


FLAVOR SUMMARY

4 Stars - Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups
3 Stars - Walmart Great Value Peanut Butter Cups
4 Stars - Aldi Choceur Peanut Butter Cups

AND THE WINNER IS....

The easy winner for overall flavor and value is Aldi Choceur Peanut Butter Cups.  Surprisingly, they are the least expensive of the brands compared.  The price even beat the Walmart brand.  The Aldi Choceur Peanut Butter Cups are JUST as delicious as Reese's.  In fact, I might actually prefer the flavor of the chocolate and the peanut butter OVER Reese's.  The combination of rich, sweet milk chocolate with creamy (not too gooey), delicious peanut butter satisfies my 'sweet and salty' cravings 100%.  

Congratulations to Aldi Choceur Peanut Butter Cups. You win! 


DISCLAIMERS:

1. This is NOT a sponsored post. 
2. I AM a chocolaholic.
3. My given name is REECEA (pronounced REE sa).  This name has been the subject of "Reese's" or "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups" references and jokes since the mid 1960s.
4. I LOVE the taste of quality peanut butter cups.
5. Many peanut butter cups have been absolutely annihilated during years of preparation for this post.  Most of them were delicious.  
6. In my 50+ years, I have probably tasted every brand of (non-gourmet) peanut butter cup on the market.  I like the the three brands compared in this post best of all.