YARD SALE QUEEN

Gas Coupon

2010-03-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

I received a coupon in my today for $2 off $10 worth of gas at Murphy USA (Wal-Mart). Did anyone else get one? Wondering if any one has received one or used one.

http://offers.murphyusa.2dollaroffmarch.html

Rich on Meat and some Shopping

2009-12-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have posted. It has been a very busy fall and winter. We have been remodeling our older home our selves which takes alot of time when you are learning as you go. My younger brother is also getting married on Saturday. I did finally find time to put the Christmas . With all that said, My husband and step son both killed their first deer. We ended up with about 75lbs of deer meat which is pictured below. Then my mom and dad gave us a quarter of a cow. I had also purchased a Turkey at 40 cents a lb. We ended up buying a new to us freezer for $200. It was a steel. Looks brand new and saved us several hundred dollars.

I stopped at Country Mart today to do some couponing.

4- Worcestershire sauce $1.27 less $.50 coupon doubled

2- Lipton soup $1.27 less $.50 coupon doubled

6 riceland brown rice $1.05 less $.50 coupon doubled

Total $2.48

Walgreen's

4- All $3.50 less 4-$2 Manfg coupons

Renu $9.99 - $10 RR back

Stayfree $1.99 - $2 RR back

Brush set $2.00 -$2 RR back

Neutrogena wash $4.99- $5 RR back

Total $27.61 and got back $24 in register rewards. I got the register rewards back listed above and also $5 for spending $25. The Register Reward deals end on Saturday.

Rolling those Register Rewards

2009-10-19T19:05:00.001-07:00

I rolled several register rewards last week. This is what I have done so far this week. #1
Halls Refresh $1.00 less S.75 coupon
Zantac $8.99 less $1.00 coupon
Chap Stick $2.99
Less $7.00 Reward from last week
Total $5.27
Got back $9 reward from Zantac, $3.00 for Chap Stick, & $1.00 for Halls

Halls Refresh $1.00 less $.75 coupon

Zyrtec $18.99 Less $4.00 coupon

Chap Stick $2.99

Less $9 reward

Total $11.07

Got back $1.00 for Halls, $7.00 for Zyrtec, & $3.00 for Chap Stick

Halls $1.00 less $.75 coupon

Zantac $8.99 less $1.00

Filler $.99

Less $7.00 reward

Less $3.00 reward

Total $1.10

Got back $9.00 for Zantac and $1.00 for Halls

Yes, I spent alot out of pocket but this is for brands and things we use all the time. My step son and I both take Zantac a few times a month and I take Zyrtec alot. I feel that I should try to stock this week as much as I can.

How are you rolling those register rewards?

Price Matching at Wal-Mart

2009-10-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

It pays to watch the sale ads with all the different stores. Country Mart in our area had Boneless Center Cut Pork Chops on sale for $1.59lb. I went to the store and they were out so I price matched at Walmart. There they are normally $3.67lb which would make the 2 packages $11.52 and $9.76. I was able to score these for $4.99 and $4.23. So I got aprox 6.80lbs of pork chops for less than the price for 3lbs. I will be working the next couple of weeks to restock our freezer which is running really low on meat.

Freds

2009-10-03T22:05:00.001-07:00

Don't forget Fred's doubles coupons up to $.70 on Saturdays.

Here's what I got
Reese's $1.00 less $.55 coupon doubled
Life savers $1.69 less $1.00 coupon
6 Sweet Sue Chicken $1.09 Less $.75 coupon (this is the only place in town I can find this brand of chicken up $.09 from the last time we had coupons.)
Mentos $1.39 less $.55 coupon doubled
Ziploc Freezer bags $2.00 less $.40 coupon doubled

Total with tax $4.54

How did I decide what to buy? Reese's were free. I took the life savers to work. Nice to have something since I talk all day long. The chicken is so good to have around for dips or when I forget to take something out for supper. We needed the freezer bags and I wasn't going to any other stores.

Does anyone else shop at Fred's on Saturdays?

Red Plum

2009-09-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

For some reason the newspapers in my area no longer have the Red Plum insert in them. Is anyone else having this problem? It really messed up my plans for Walgreen's. My step daughter and I really like the Fructis hair products. I needed the inserts form Red Plum a few weeks back to make a really good deal but didn't have the coupons. Knowing that I would soon be paying full price for these item because we only had 1 bottle left. I decided to go ahead and buy $20 worth of products which was 6 bottles. Used my $5 register reward that was expiring and got back a $10 register reward for next time. Not the best deal but better than paying full price.

So why no posts

2009-09-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I just haven't found any really good deals to tell about lately. My stock pile is running low in many areas from lack of shopping but am hoping for some good deals over the next few weeks. It's funny I use to think that if there was 1 spare of anything that was not included in that weeks meal plan, I was doing good. Now I feel like if there is not at least 5 of something we are running low. . . . There are some things we have actually ran out of and I had to pay full price for (YUCK!) :(

Well, last week my step son asked for some different stuff for dinners. I have tried not to use the oven a lot during the hot months. Now that it is a little cooler this week, we are going to have some stuff like shepherds pie and Mexican chicken. I'm looking for some new recipes nothing sounds good right now as it is not quite cold enough for all the winter meals I usually fix.

I have a $5 register reward at Walgreen's that I need to roll. Unfortunately, I don't see anything I can't live with out to roll it. Maybe I'm just on a shopping burn out. . . . .

Hopefully, now that my month of working overtime is over, things will get back to normal. The overtime pay came at just the right time as I needed new tires and was able to do the extra work to help pay for them.

We also have a big remodel project that should start in a couple of week so my house will be torn up for a few weeks when that gets started.

Life sure can get crazy sometimes.

Free at Fred's

2009-08-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

Fred's has Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for $.54. Use the$.55 coupon from last Sunday's paper and they will be free!

Back 2 School is Here

2009-08-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, school started for the kids today. We have spent the last several weeks getting ready. I had purchased a lot of school supplies early even though the school said not to purchase anything until after today. (I think they should have had a list for the older grades so parents could get things ahead of time.) I ended up with a few extra 3 ring notebooks but figure they will need them at the semester change. If not I will just stash them in my school supply drawer for next year. It would have been a disaster if we waited until tonight as we needed a few extra things and I went and fought the crowds at Walmart and Walgreen's and they didn't have what we needed. I will be checking Fred's and Dollar General on my lunch tomorrow for those things. While I was at Walgreen's I went ahead and got the free body wash and some 7-up. They didn't have any of the other things I wanted to get.
Things will be getting back to normal soon so watch for more posts.

A poll I received in my email

2009-08-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

A one question poll.

DO NOT MISS YOUR CHANCE TO CAST YOUR VOTE:

This is your chance to vote on Obama's performance on this Economy-AT&T/Yahoo Poll... NOTE: this is a totally unbiased poll. The question is stated very simply... and, to the point. No tricks. No hidden messages. No nothing. JUST A SINGLE, SIMPLE QUESTION. There is no way that anyone can say that it was not a fair poll... or, that it was "phrased" in a way that it can be interpreted later... to fit someone else's desired answer. In other words... it is a spin-doctor's "nightmare."

http://js.polls.yahoo.com/quiz/quiziframe.php?poll_id=46067

NOTE: After you vote, you will see a second page that shows the running total and what the opinions are.

Then pass it on... so others can cast their vote.

Country Mart $.40

2009-08-08T19:25:00.001-07:00

I made a small run to Country Mart today. I got 10 Tony's Pizza for One for $10. Then I used 10 $.50 coupons from a recent insert that was doubled. This made me only pay taxes. I ended up with 4 pepperoni and 6 cheese pizzas. These are great to have on hand as we have teenagers that stay home during the summer days while we are at work. I convince myself that these are better than chips or snacks full of sugar they could be eating. The Tony's Pouches were also 10/$10 but they were out. I have more coupons so I got a rain check. (Back to school soon. Don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing with school lunches being so high!)

Free Candy Bars at Walmart

2009-07-30T17:10:00.001-07:00

Walmart has Twix, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, and MilkyWay candy bars on sale for $.50. Use the $1 off 2 coupon from 7/26 Red Plum and they will be FREE!

Walgreen's this week

2009-07-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

I made 2 trips to Walgreen's this week. Here is what I got.

#1
4- 12 packs Sierra Mist $10.92 (buy 3 get one Free)
4- Scotch bubble mailers $.39 each less 4- $.50 coupon
4- 3 packs of gum 2$2.69 less 4-$1.00 coupons
Gummy Worms $.99
Less 2- $1.00 register rewards
Total after tax $11.51

#2
Gallon of Milk $2.59
6- 3 packs of gum 2/$2.69 less 6-$1 coupons
2- Rimmel Foundations B1G1 Free $6.99 less $3.00 coupon
m&m $.49
Total after tax $10.15

This is how I chose what to buy:

I should now have enough foundation and powder for my 16 year old step-daughter to make it the full school year. I will be on the look out for eye shadow and eye liner to complete to box I have stashed. The gum was a good price since I think we supply the whole school bus with gum. The bubble mailers I will stash back as I usually need these around Christmas. I forgot to buy Milk yesterday so it was a must and we do not have any can pop left. I was so glad they didn't make me get a free Mountain Dew (what the coupon said) since we try not to drink much caffeine.

Are you wondering why no posts

2009-07-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

It has been quite busy since we got back from Vacation. I haven't done much shopping except for some school supplies at Walgreen's. I actually have a week to myself . I can't believe a whole week to myself. The kids are at their mom's and my husband is out of town. Tomorrow I will look at the ads and see if there if anything I can't live without for the upcoming week. We have plenty of stuff for me to eat from our stock pile this week. I ordered a book to read and relax this week but it hasn't made it here yet. Hope everyone is having a good week and summer.

Back from Vacation

2009-07-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

We made it back from Vacation on Saturday and have been adjusting back to work schedules and everything. We had a great vacation even though it was hot. While in AZ, I shopped at a Fry's for the first time. I couldn't believe the great prices especially on alcohol and soda. I got a bottle of Crown Royal for $26.XX and the second bottle for $.01. We don't usually buy this as it cost over $30 a bottle here. We took some can soda with us not knowing how much it would be and couldn't believe the price there at $2.00 a twelve pack. So of course I bought more and brought it home with us. I think my father-in-laws VIP card saved us about $60.00. I wish we had a Fry's here. Since we have been back I had to hurry and gather up my A-1 coupons to use with my rain check (making them free) before the coupons expired and paired them with a $2.00 off meat coupon when you buy 2 A-1. I have never had so much steak in my freezer before. We should have enough for the summer. I am disappointed that there is not any good sales on produce this week as I need to restock my fridge from being gone.

$2.01

2009-07-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

I know I said no more grocery shopping until I came back from vacation but I found one deal that I couldn't pass up. There were many other good deals but I resisted. I got all the things pictured for only $2.01 at Country Mart. I got 4 bottles of A1 on sale for $1.99 less (4) $2 coupon. 2 packages Italian Sausage on sale $3.29 less (2)$2 coupon on meat for buying 2 A1 sauces. I needed best choice sausage for my other coupon work but since they didn't get any in the gave me their other brand and allowed my $3 off best choice items for buying 2 best choice brats or sausage. This coupon came in their ad this week so I'm sure they will have lots of questions about it. I also got 2 boxes of best choice crackers for $.89. Sorry about the poor photo - i used my phone everything else is packed. I will be back to blogging after the 10th. Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th.

Going on Vacation

2009-06-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

I will be away from the blog world for a while. We are leaving for Phoenix AZ next Thursday July 2nd and will not be back until Saturday the 10th. Does anyone know anything fun and frugal for us to do while we are there.

Here are a few things we are doing to save money before we leave and while we are there.

For starters, I am not buying any more groceries until we get back. We have been eating from our stock pile other than what I bought last week. We will be working over the next week to eat all the fruit and produce we have so nothing will be left to go bad.

We will be taking all snacks and drinks with us for the long drive. Gas station stuff is very expensive.

We are taking with us spaghetti sauce, hot dogs from the freezer, lunch meat that we already have and some mustard, relish, salad dressing etc. We will be staying at my father-in-laws house and will be cooking several easy meals while we are there instead of eating out all the time. We have the room to take extra items. I don't know much things costs there and these were all bought for a few cents or free.

I hope everyone is having a great summer. I will be back to blogging sometime the week after we get back.

Be on the lookout for these coupons!

2009-06-17T19:06:00.001-07:00

I went to Country Mart right after work today to stock up on some of the good deals they are having this week. I got ground chuck $1.59 lb, patio steaks $1.89lb, and boneless pork chops $1.89lb. My goal is to buy meat when it is under $2 a pound except for some cuts of steak which I can't find that cheap. I got 4 bottles of A1 on sale for 2/$5 and used 4 of the $2 off coupons from last Sunday's paper. I also got strawberries on sale for $.99 a lb carton and 2 red peppers for $.79 each. My total was $19.XX. When I got home my neighbor who is also a couponer gave me some of the coupons you see below. (same coupon pic of front and back) Since we have good coupons for Kraft BBQ sauce and A1 matched with the good meat sale, I will be making a trip to the store again. These coupons were found at a different grocery store by the sauces. Be sure to be on the look out for these. Meat is one of those areas I have a hard time saving money.

The best part is, these coupons do not expire until October.

Rolling those Walgreen's Register Rewards

2009-06-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

I started out the week Sunday buying 3 bottles of St Ives Body Wash. I did 3 transactions with a total of $3.27 and got back a $3 Register Reward. I went back yesterday on my lunch and did 2 transactions of 3 John Freida's hair care less $3 coupon and a filler item to use the $3 Register Reward, Each of these totals came to around $5.50 and I got a $5 Register reward. Then I went after work and I did 2 more transactions and got the pop at 4 twelve packs for 4/$11 and used the $5 Register reward from previous transactions spent $6.55 and got back a $2 Register Reward for each transaction. Did I spend too much money at Walgreen's this week? Yes and No. I try to buy hair care and body care products when they average $.50 or less and after register rewards they equaled less than that. We were out of soda and have lots of summer things planned where we will need canned or bottled drinks and we try not to buy caffeine so this wasn't a bad deal. I still have more Register rewards to spend so I guess it was a ok week at Walgreen's.

Painting

2009-06-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

This past week I painted my step-daughters bedroom. (The reason for not posting or Grocery shopping.) She picked out some bright color swatches at Home Depot. I price shopped the paint there and at Wal-Mart. The primer was about $3 less a gallon at Wal-Mart than at Home Depot. The rollers and the brushes were also less at at Wal-Mart so I got those there. The paint was $1 more at Home Depot than Wal-Mart but decided to get the paint there since that is was where the swatches were from. When I got to Home Depot. I told the guy at the paint counter what I wanted. His first comment was, "Those are really bright colors" and gave me a really strange disgusted look. The colors I choose to paint my house is none of his business! I told him she was turning 16 and I thought she should be able to have the room of her choice (with in reason). He then told me because the swatch was Ralph Lauran I could only have it mixed in Ralph Lauren paint. This paint is over $30 a gallon. I didn't want to paint a kids room in that expensive paint. She may change her mind in a year. I told him I wanted the paint that is around $17 a gallon. He then told me their cheapest paint was $22 and wasn't she worth the add'l $17 for the good paint. By this time I was Mad. I have had paint mixed there several times and have never had a problem. I told him I would just have it mixed at Wal-Mart where I can get it for $15-$18 a gallon. I went back to Wal-Mart and the lady there was so nice and helpful. They were able to look up the Ralph Lauren Color on the computer and mixed it to match the swatch perfect. I got the 2 gallons for $32. The nice associate at Wal-Mart told me that they can mix any color. That it sometime takes a little while to look up the color. She said the only thing she recommends mixing where you get the swatch from is Red.

2009-06-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes couponing can be so frustrating! I have already scanned the net for the deals at Walgreen's next week. I have some register rewards that are expiring Monday. I have checked and the inserts we got in our area do not have the St. Ives Body wash or the Right Guard coupons. It is so weird how some areas get one thing while the other doesn't.

You never know what you are going to find. . .

2009-06-07T16:21:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was our city wide yard sale. After dropping the kids off for their last day of school on Friday, I stopped by a sale and bought this portable DVD player for only $10. I am so excited about this as we are planning a really long trip with the kids. My mom and I got up early to hit all the sales last Saturday and I must say we didn't find much at all to buy. It was a little disappointing. With about 50 sales in the paper we should have found alot. This weekend I got my hair done at 8 am on Saturday so I stopped at 2 sales. One I didn't find anything at and the other one I bought this basket for the yard at only $5. It's alot heavier than I thought it would be. I also got some DVDs for only $1 each.

Just goes to show you never know what you will find. I'm so excited about the basket. I have admired these in people's yards forever.

Trying not to waste meat

2009-06-07T10:20:00.001-07:00

I try not to waste any kind of left over food. I have a veggie bag in the freezer that I put the little bits of vegetables in that we have left after supper. It makes great soup later. I know lots of people do this, then you have your bag of mixed vegetables ready when you want soup. What do you do with your left over meat? Some times we will have a half a pork chop, chicken, steak, etc left over. We do take leftovers for lunch and then usually let the dogs or stray cats have the rest. I would rather us eat the expensive meat. I came across this recipe that uses meat scraps so I think I may make a meat bag in the freezer and try this when it gets full. I will scale the recipe down as it looks like it would make alot.

Barbecue Gumbo Recipe

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
2 large yellow onions -- peeled and chopped
2 large green peppers -- cored, seeded, and chopped
1/2 bunch celery -- trimmed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds barbecued meat scraps
2 cans (28-ounce size) crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock8 ounces frozen cut okra2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Louisiana-style hot sauce

Directions:
Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add onions, peppers, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic powder and season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high, then add 1 cup water, meat, tomatoes, and chicken stock to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until meat is fork-tender and falling apart, about 30 minutes. Add okra, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon hot sauce (or more if you like) and continue cooking until okra is tender and gelatinous and gumbo has thickened, about 15 minutes.

I think this will be great with BBQ season here. What do you do with your left over meat?

Edwards

2009-06-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

My freezer is running low so I have been watching for meat on sale. Before the sale ended on Tuesday, I went to Edwards and got 2 roasts, a 3lb bag of boneless skinless chicken, a roll of ground turkey and 2 hot pockets for $13.08. I try to buy meat when it is under $2 a pound. The roast was on sale for $1.99lb and I can't wait for shredded beef taco's and BBQ beef sandwiches. I will cook these meals in the crock pot which will not heat the house up too much. The chicken was a 3lb bag on sale for $3.99 which is a good buy. You might want to check and see if your store has the single single Hot Pockets. At this store they are $1.00 and with the $.50 coupon from a couple from a couple of weeks ago that doubled made these free. The coupon reads any one Hot Pocket so they accepted it. Now I need to look and see if I have any more of those coupons. They are great for the kids to fix for themselves while we are at work.

Weekend Shopping

2009-05-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

I finally did some grocery shopping for this week. I did pretty well and used some coupons that were expiring. At Country Mart I got 6 Knorr sides, 6 grill mates, 8 Frenches Worcestershire sauce, 5 apples and a package of steaks for $10.99. I don't know if any of the other grocery stores have these small bottles of Worcestershire sauce but it is worth checking. There were $.89 and the $.50 coupon doubled to make them better than free. I would have got eggs here but they were out so I price matched at Walmart.

I now know why I never take photos of my big grocery orders. Its hard to lay everything out and get it in the photo. This was one of my better Walmart trips. I got 59 items for $53.06. ($93.46 before coupons) That price seams really good to me since I had to get laundry soap, dog snacks, Clearasil face scrub and cream, and some junk food for the kids since they are now out of school. I just noticed that my hotdogs rang up $.88 instead of $.56 so I will be taking my receipt to get money back. It seams like every time I go to Walmart something scans wrong.

Feedburner?

2009-05-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

I will be honest. . . .I don't know how to add a feedburner or a button to my blog. I have been asked several times and I do not have any idea how to start that process. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Sorry it has been so long

2009-05-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything. My grandpa and my husband's grandpa are both in the hospital. This was also nine weeks tests week for the kids at school. We have been pretty scattered and run a little thin lately. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Walgreen's mistake = money!!

2009-05-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

I went to Walgreen's late Saturday night and had a very frustrating trip. I got 2 shoe inserts, toothpaste and a case of water. I should have spent around $5. Instead, after the cashier refused my coupons, scanned, deleted and rescanned items I was so confused. It cost me $15 and the toothpaste did not print the $2 register reward. It did print the $10 register reward for the inserts. The more I thought about it the more upset I got so I decided to take everything back but the water. When I went back today. The manager was super nice. He told me if I had the coupons with me he would use them. I explained that they had used one of the insert coupons but wouldn't let me use two. He took 2 coupons and handed me a $20 bill. He then explained that it shouldn't print a register reward if I used a coupon (wrong of course but I wasn't going to complain) Since it printed one, he gave it to me. Then he did the toothpaste and handed me a $2 register reward. He then told me if I have any problems again to ask for a manager, that I am a very good customer. I guess he has saw me in there several times a week. So when I look at it I spent $15 and got back $20cash and $22 in register rewards. That's good customer service!!

Book Signing

2009-05-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have read thousands of books over the years and have never been to a book signing until today. Yesterday, my husband was checking out the net and happened across a small ad that said Kate Gosselin would be signing books at the Bentonville Sam's Club (about a hour and a half away). He knows how much I love the show and I already had the other book she wrote, so we got up bright and early and headed out. After reading on the net that she was hateful to anyone who was not her immediate family, I didn't know what to expect. She was fashionably late to the signing by about 12 minutes. I must say she was very nice, pleasant, and great with the kids who had colored her pictures. She is very pretty and really thin.

Back from Miami

2009-05-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

My husband's company sent us to Miami instead of the all inclusive trip to Cancun which we had planned for. The resort we were sent to was not for the frugal. Lets just say it cost us $42 to sit on the beach with an umbrella. (With my fair skin, I have to have an umbrella.) Thank goodness the company gave us some room credit. They also charged to sit in a chair at the pool which made me wonder what you got with the room cost. It would have cost us $45 each to go to the indoor/outdoor mall so we didn't go. Which means we didn't bring back any souvenirs. Trying not to spend much money we walked several blocks to Walgreen's to get snacks and drinks. We walked the boardwalk which didn't have anything on it and "car" watched from our balcony. Let's just say you don't see those kinds of cars in Arkansas. We did not eat in a restaurant while we were down there. (The average plate at the resort was $35 per person. A steak was $52-$95.) There were no restaurants within walking distance. We found it cost less to dine in so we did that several times. Then we order pizza and ate on it for two days. This was the first time in my life I didn't eat sea food while I was in Florida. We did get to see Regis and Kelly. Watching the paparazzi was amusing.
We are very glad to be home!

I will be away for a while

2009-04-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

My husband won a all inclusive trip to Cancun through work and we were scheduled to leave on Saturday. However, with the flu breakout that trip was cancelled. They are planning somewhere else for us to go but won't know where until tomorrow. I don't know if I will have to change what I have packed and we may have to fly out on Friday instead of Saturday so this week is going to be really crazy. There probably won't be any posts until late next week.

Walgreen's Earth Day Shopping

2009-04-22T18:41:00.001-07:00

I went to Walgreen's today to use the 15% off coupon and get the free Walgreen's Green Bag. As usual they didn't have everything I wanted but I was still able to get a few good deals. Physicians Formula powder on sale 40% off with an add'l 15% off $6.62
Physicians Formula Lip Gloss on clearance and an add'l 15% off $4.07
Skintimate with 15% off $2.54
Shopping bag with 20% off $.79
Less $.79 coupon for bag
Less $1.00 Physicians Formula
Less $1.00 Physicians Formula
Less $3.50 Register Reward
Total with Tax $8.79 Got back $3.00 Register Reward for Skintimate and will get $10.00 back for the Physicians Formula.
I consider this a FREE trip since I made money getting that register reward back after the coupon I had for the toothpaste a couple of weeks ago. WOOHOO!!!!!

Menu for the Week and a few recipes

2009-04-19T14:04:00.001-07:00

For starters, I would like to tell you about a recipe I got from another blog that was yummy. Sorry I can't remember which blog so if this is your recipe please send me a comment and I will give you the credit.It's called One Pot Sausage, potatoes and Green Beans. It was really simple and I will be adding it to our summer dishes. I like to keep things light that don't heat up the house too much for summer. One Pot Sausage, Potatoes and Green Beans

1 pkg Kabossa or Smoked Sausage (I used 2 smaller packages one of each kind)
1 tsp oil
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic (I didn't have this so used garlic powder.)
1 1/2 lbs potatoes cut 3/4 inch thick (Next time I will slice everything smaller.)
1 16oz frozen green Beans (thaw before cooking.)
Salt and pepper ( I added Cavenders and Tony's.)

Brown sausage. Cook potatoes and onion in oil until tender. (almost done) Add green beans. cover and cook 5 more min. Add sausage cook til warmed.

Tonight we will be having my version of Chicken Cacciatore

1lb boneless skinless chicken (diced)
1 med onion
1 green pepper
1 packet taco seasoning
1 jar/can spaghetti sauce
1 8oz can tomato sauce
oregano
pepper, cumin, chili powder to taste

Place diced chicken, onion and pepper with taco seasoning and water in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 min. Put chicken mixture and juice in a pan and cook on low until done. Add all remaining items and simmer. Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with cheddar cheese.

Now, on to what we are having this week. I haven't found any good meat sales in about a month so we are running really low. The only meat I have purchased has been hamburger which I went to the store for something else and it happened to be an unadvertised sale. Hopefully there will be some good sales this week. If not I will have to purchase it at full price. YUCK!

Meat Loaf (step daughters favorite - will have one more time before it gets too hot)
Mexican Chicken
Beef Pasta
Crunchy Tacos
Pork Chops
Grilled Chicken

Garage Sales

2009-04-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

My favorite time of year is finally here! Well that is if the weather ever cooperates. Anyway, my step kids had to go to school this Saturday since they missed so many days due to the ice storm and their school thought it was a good idea to keep spring break since the teachers already had plans for their break. (Not happy with the school!) My husband and I decided to go to some garage sales. Yes, he does go with me. He is great to hold hangers and stuff for me. It's also great that he has his wallet with him. Then I don't have to carry my purse and can have both hands free to dig. We didn't have any luck except for some Gatorade. Yes, that's right we bought Gatorade at a garage sale. Fed Ex Freight was having a sale and they were selling cases of Gatorade for $5. Knowing that it would cost around $15 to buy it at Walmart we decided to get one. We went up to pay and they had just hung up a 1/2 price sign so we got if for $2.50. We decided to go back and get 3 more. We ended up with $60 of Gatorade for $10 and it is still in date. WOOHOO!

Rolling Register Rewards

2009-04-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

Have you been rolling those register rewards from Walgreen's. I will be honest when I get alot of them I start confusing myself. I have been rolling the RR from the chap stick to by the scunci and then using the one from the scunci to buy chap stick and we can't forget the toothpaste RR to buy the Skintimate and the Skintimate to buy toothpaste and brushes. Am I the only one or does it all get confusing making sure you use the right RR because using the RR you got for a item to purchase the same item will not print another one. Anyway, I am starting the week with $14 in RR. I'm not going to worry about rolling them so much this week. We need basic things like toilet paper, soda, etc. I am planning on using my RR for these items so hopefully I will not be out much money. I have worked out several transactions and I hope everything works out.

Crazy Saturday Shopping

2009-04-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

I went to Walmart this morning. Big mistake!! I needed to get my oil changed and some groceries. For once it took me longer to get through the store than it did to get my vehicle serviced. I have said this many times but I shouldn't get my oil changed there. I really feel like they don't know what they are doing. It is just convenient (since I had to go there anyway) when I slip up and am over the mileage and need to get it changed. Anyway, the store was completely crazy. People were everywhere. I couldn't get down any of the isles. I had a list and coupons and didn't get everything on the list which means I will have to make another shopping trip. All the managers where checking and there were still long lines everywhere. I try to go to the store without kids but going the day before a holiday was worse. I should have known it would be bad but thought I had gone early enough that I would miss alot of the traffic. My trip to Walmart took so long that I didn't get in all of the other stops I was going to make before our Easter dinner today.

Later in the day I went to Walgreen's and did pretty good. I had planned on going several times through the week but didn't make it. Transaction # 1 Paid $5.42 on gift card. Received $3.50 register reward for toothpaste and $3.00 register reward for Skintimate. Will get $2.00 +10% rebate back for Oust

Transaction #2 Paid $1.66 on gift card. Got $2 register reward back for Chap Stick

Transaction #3 Paid $17.01 got back $10 register reward.

I also stopped at Fred's for some soda which was on sale and to use the last of my chicken coupons. $.25 is a great price for can chicken. Wish I had more coupons.

Walgreen's

2009-04-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry no picture today. I was able to get some good deals this week at Walgreen's yesterday. I plan on trying to go back later this week. Here is what I got.

1 Gallon of Milk $2.89
2 Oust $2.99 Less 2 $2.00 coupons
1 Colgate toothpaste with Free trial size $2.99 less $1.50 coupon
6 Mentos gum $1.00 less 6 $1.00 coupons
Less $3.00 register reward from last week
Total after tax $4.52. Got $3.50 Register reward back for the toothpaste and will get $2.00 rebate back for the Oust.

Walmart $2.86

2009-03-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

I went to Walmart today to use my coupons that were expiring today for free Suave Shampoo and Cascade. They didn't have the size of Cascade that I needed so I had to stop at another store for that. I came out pretty good. My subtotal before coupons was $32.31. My total with tax was $2.86. Here is what I got:
12 Kraft Salad Dressings on Roll Back for $1.58 Less 12 $1.50 coupons
4 Buddies Soaps $.97 less 4 $1.00 coupons
Suave Soap (the larges bottle they had) $3.00 less $3.00 coupon
Rimmel Mascara $6.47 less $6.47 coupon
Total after tax $2.86

Meal Plan

2009-03-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

This week I didn't plan what we are going to have each day. I planned a list of suppers we have all the stuff for and will let the kids pick what we have each night. Our week usually starts on Sunday night.

Tater Tot Casserole

Crunchy Taco Bake

Grilled Chicken

Ham and Rice Casserole

Grilled Pork Chops

Chicken Burritos

Manwich and Curly Fries

We had Tater Tot Casserole Sunday Night. I got the recipe from http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com. My teenagers and husband loved it and want to have it again soon.

Walgreen's Rebates

2009-03-27T19:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally got all my Walgreen's receipts entered for rebates. I made several trips into the store this week. One was to pick up more of the Fructis products for $.49. One of my trips the cashier was checking the prices to see if he needed to adjust my coupons so they didn't give overage. I was told more than once that they couldn't do that so of course I asked. (The manager had told me that it was FRAUD!) The cashier said that it just came down a couple of weeks ago that they could adjust coupons but they are not advertising it. (I could have gotten all my Fructis products for free a couple of weeks ago but they had told me I could not use any coupons that equaled more than the product even if it was a penny. So I didn't even go to Walgreen's that week.) The Cashier even let me use more than one of the same coupon in one transaction. Another thing they told me was fraud. I think they must have had alot of complaints. There was even a letter to the editor in the local paper about how unfriendly they were to couponers. Anyway, now I know I can get things for free until they change their mind again.

Did anyone do the Hunts tomato sauce rebate? Its so weird. A couple of the cans rang up weird prices like .80 instead of $.99. I guess because I bought a odd number so I had to go back. I ended up with 13 cans for $5.07 and will get back a $5.00 rebate. I shouldn't need tomato sauce for a while. I also got the pledge anywhere cleaner for $3.50 less printable coupon for $2.00 and will get $1 register reward making this $.50 (The Walgreen's manager had also told me that none of the stores were suppose to take internet coupons.) Other rebates I got this time was the $1.00 for ALL, $3.99 for the Free Wal-Zyr, $6.99 for the Free Axe Shampoo, and $2.99 for the free Walgreen's quick gels. I will also get 10% back for getting my rebates loaded on my gift card.

I can't believe it took me so long to figure out the Easy Saver program and now they are doing away with it. The store was here for a year and half or longer before I even knew the program existed. It wasn't until an elderly customer came into work needing a copy of her rebate form and receipts so she could mail in the originals that I thought I might need to look into the program the next time I went in the store. At that time, I didn't shop Walgreen's the way I do now. And to think I might not have found out about the program if the her bank didn't start charging $.25 for copies. Anyway, after making her copies for a couple of months she started bringing me coupons from the local newspaper that she wasn't going to use. We make copies for people all the time but since she was giving me her extra coupons I thought I might need to check with my boss and see if she cared which she didn't.

Only one more month of the Easy Saver program. I hope the whatever new program they come up with will be easy. Rumor has it that they are going to beef up their register reward program. I hope this is not the case. Register rewards are great but are so hard for me to keep up with. Maybe I need to get more organized.

Well, it isn't Sunday or Monday which are the days everyone else posts their weekly Menu. Better late than never. I can't wait to try some new recipes that I have gotten from other blogs but this week will be busy and so I stuck to some basics.

Monday - Grilled Pork Chops, Broccoli, Mac & Cheese
Tuesday - Mexican Chicken, Corn
Wednesday - Spaghetti with Meat Balls, garlic toast
Thursday - ? parent teacher conferences, Scott and Christian has an appt in Springfield
Left overs or out to eat
Friday - Kids will be at their moms Left Overs or Frozen Pizza

My dog had a accident

2009-03-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

My dog had a accident on the cushion of my couch that we have had for about a year. The couch is microfiber and I don't know the exact number of products I have used on it trying to get the smell out. I think I have tried most if not all the products that Walmart has to offer. I think I am going to order Natures Miracle Stain and Odor remover.

Has anyone tried this? Or do you have a method that might remove pet odor? I can't just get rid of the couch. It is still new.

Random Stuff

2009-03-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would blog about some random stuff. . . .

The only shopping I have done is some small trips to Walgreen's to use all of those register rewards I got a couple of weeks back. The rewards worked out great as for all of our grocery needs like milk, bread, etc. I also got the free after rebate items and only spent $2.90.

I forgot while the kids were with their moms how much food teenagers eat. I am so glad I continued to stock items that we eat all the time when they were cheap or free. It has been nine-weeks since I cooked every night so I plan on making a menu plan probably on Sunday. When it is just my husband and I, we cook a few nights and eat left overs or frozen pizza the rest. How do you make your menu plan? Do you list out what you are having every day or do you have a list of items available and let everyone pick from the list? I have always just made a list of about eight items and let the kids take turn picking what we have. I don't know if this is the best option so I may try the other for a few weeks and see how it goes. I hope to use my crock pot more for busy nights. I also hope to set aside a day for my step daughter to cook every week. She loves to cook and it is so hard for me to walk away from the kitchen and just let her do what she wants.

Laundry!! How do teenagers have more than one load of laundry a day? There are only two of them. The bad part is they have actually wore all of them. Son has to have All soap or he breaks out. I need to find some good coupons and a really good sale on this soap. My husband and I have been using another brand I got for really cheap while the kids were away but I have to have this kind for him.

I have to sit in a 8 hour class tomorrow for work. Yuck! I won't be doing double coupon day at Fred's this week but I don't need anything. My stock pile has grown alot, but there are still alot of items I have a hard time finding a extra good deal on to stock up like toilet paper and cream soups. Does anyone else have this problem?

Shopping without coupons

2009-03-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

I did alot of shopping today. My trip to Edwards Grocery I did not use any coupons but got some good deals. They were having some great Buy One get One Free sales including Hiland Orange juice, Doritos, Lunch Meat and Stomboli which will be enough for supper tonight and tomorrow. I also got some Mccormick brown gravy mix 2/$1., 5 cans of store brand tomato sauce for $1, (4) Chicken Cordon Bleu for $1 each, (2) Roma tomatoes, eggs, frozen spinach, and Cavenders seasonings. My total came to $34.35. My total before sales was $45.10. I don't shop at this store too often. I think it is because they do weird things like have cans of pepper in the cold section with the eggs. It just seams weird to me. I should have gotten a better deal on the eggs but I guess I didn't have enough points on my Key to Savings Card which I am still trying to figure out how it works.

* I just realized they only charge you for one of the Stomboli which was buy one get one free and it was $8.99 so I saved more than I thought I did.

Very Busy

2009-03-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

This has been a very busy week. My birthday was Tuesday and my husband took me to eat Mexican. We usually get a combination meal and have enough left overs for the following night. Which works out nice. Two days of no cooking. We have been short handed at work for two weeks so it has been really crazy and I had to work late tonight. This weekend I need to do some major house cleaning. Being sick for a while is really starting to show. I still need to go through all my ads and coupons so I can pick up some kid food as my step children will be here Wednesday for nine weeks. I will have to get back in the routine of menu planning. When it is just the two of us, I usually only cook a couple of nights a week and we eat left overs or something easy on the other nights.

Didn't get to roll those Register Rewards

2009-03-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a painful one. I started have severe "double you over" pains in my right side. I was told it was gas pains and they would eventually go away. However, it hurt worse than I hurt before the surgery. Anyway, I didn't get to do all the shopping I had planned on doing. I did roll a few of the Register Rewards and buy some 12 pack of sodas and got some more Register Rewards and got some more tooth paste. I still have a lot of Register Rewards to spend. From what I am reading, there are going to be some Free with .01 overage next week. However, my Walgreen's won't let me use two coupons if it makes any overage. Even a penny. I finally went to Wal-Mart today. The first time in several weeks and I spent way too much money. I guess I should have expected it. The list was pretty long since I haven't done much shopping in the last month.

Lots of Register Rewards

2009-03-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Now that I am feeling much better, I decided to make a run to Walgreen's. There are a lot of great register rewards printing. Here is a break down of the 3 transactions I completed today. #1
Colgate Max toothpaste $2.99 less $.75 manfg coupon
Vasaline Lotion $2.46 less $1.50 Manfg coupon
Total after tax = $3.64
Received $3.50 Register Reward for toothpaste and $2 reward for lotion.
Makes this a $1.86 Money Maker

#2
Colgate Max Fresh $2.99 less $.75 manfg coupon
Carmex $2.99
Vaseline lotion $2.46 less $1.50 manfg coupon
Total after tax $6.87
Received $3.50 Register Reward for toothpaste, $2.00 for lotion, and $2 for Carmex
Makes this a $.63 Money Maker

#3
Milk $2.89
Vasaline Lotion $2.46 less $1.50 Manfg coupon
Less $3.50 Register Reward from transaction #1
Total after tax $.69

I could have broken my transactions up a little differently and been out less up front. However, the cashier I got was not the most friendly so I hated to push it. I got the only 3 lotions they had that were this size. The best part is I still have $9.50 in register rewards to use on my next purchase. I plan on going back later in the week for some additional items. But first I have to search for some more coupons in my mounds of coupons.

Have you been to Walgreen's this week? If so what were your great finds?

Getting back to normal.

2009-02-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day back at work. Well, I only made it half a day. Surgery is not fun at all. I'm beginning to wonder if the gas pains from the surgery will ever go away. I'm having alot of problems with food. For starters nothing tastes right. Even pop tastes a little weird. Then after I have had 2 or 3 bites of something I feel full. But I'm hungry. I'm wondering if this is normal to be living off of water and popsicles after surgery. You would think by my diet I had throat surgery. On the upside I have already lost close to 10lbs.

I didn't have much time to prepare for surgery with one day notice so my husband made the Walmart run for me. He even price matched a couple of items and used a few coupons. He has been a great babysitter and is probably wondering if he will ever get a home cooked meal again.

Since food is not tasting that great and we have plenty of stuff in my stockpile, there won't be much shopping this week. I went through my coupons yesterday and there are several that are expiring at the end of the month that I might try to use. I have searched the ads this week and haven't found any great deals so this is a good week not to shop.

I will be away for a while

2009-02-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update. . . . . I found out yesterday that I have gall stones and will be having surgery tomorrow to remove my gall bladder. I will start posting on a regular basis again when I am feeling better.

There is a time when you shouldn't shop

2009-02-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't been feeling well for a couple of weeks now. I have been having pains on my right side. Everything has been so busy at home and work that I finally left my class early in Fayetteville today, drove home like a mad woman and made it to my doctors appointment at 1:30. Anyway, it is a toss up of what could be wrong and they are going to do more tests on Monday. While I was at Walgreen's picking up my medicine, I decided to pick up a few things and do the Windex deal. First I forgot to use my $.40 coupon then when I got home I realized that the Windex for the Free mail in rebate is for the Antibacterial kind. Guess if I make it back to town tomorrow, I will take it back and get the right kind. Note to self, do not shop for deals if you are not feeling well and don't have a plan. Today is the only shopping I have done this week so that makes up for my big Walmart trip last Saturday.

Hope everyone has a good Valentine's Day. I think our plan is to stay home and watch some free movies from the On Demand channel. I cooked a noodle casserole last night so we have left overs for tonight which will make it where I can rest this evening.

Fred's

2009-02-07T14:11:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of the good deals I got at Fred's today. Remember Fred's doubles coupons up to $.70 on Saturdays. You can only have one like coupon to be doubled per transaction.

Dinty Moore stews $1.50 Less $.55 coupon doubled = $.40
Armour Meat Balls $2.99 Less $.55 coupon doubled= $1.89
Suave body wash $1.79 Less $.50 coupon doubled= $.79
Sweet Sue Chicken $1.00 less $.75 coupon=$.25
Mean Green $1.99 less $1.50 coupon=$.49

I have always hated grocery shopping on Saturdays because there are so many people out and about. However, the deals I have been picking up at Fred's with the double coupons has turned out to be worth it. I will just avoid Wal~Mart!!!!!!

Expensive Trip to Walgreen's

2009-02-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

I only purchased a couple of things today at Walgreen's and it cost a lot. Prilosec OTC is expensive but really seams to work. I decided it was time to buy this since it was $24.99 for 42 tablets less $7 coupon that expires at the end of the month and I will get a $5 rebate. I don't know if you can tell but the box reads $15 Value P&G Coupons inside. The coupons do not expire until 2011. Now, I just need to find a good deal on Zyrtec which is also expensive. I try to buy it with a coupon matched with a Walgreen's deal also. Total Spent: $26.67
Will get back in rebates $6.99 + 10% for having my rebate loaded on my gift card.

Clipping to toss

2009-02-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I decided I would do a coupon binder to keep all my coupons neat and organized and hopefully easy to find. I got a nice zippered binder on clearance of course and purchased all those expensive pages. Well, I have a hard time finding or making the time to clip all the coupons. I get several copies and not always on the same day so I can't just plan a day to do it. If someone is nice enough to give them to me, I can't just say. . . .I need them every Tuesday by 5. Anyway, I have about 3 weeks worth to cut out. I did find the time to go through my binder and pull out all the expired ones and the stack is huge. I feel like I am wasting my time clipping all of these that I more than likely will not use. So in a way I feel like I am just clipping to toss them out along with wasting all my time I spent clipping them. Does anyone else feel this way? I'm thinking of coming up with more of a filing system of filing the inserts in date order or something. What have you found to be the best way of organizing your coupons?

Sunday Shopping

2009-02-01T21:07:00.001-08:00

I have tons of housework to do since we were out of power for so long, but it's really hard to be quiet while my husband is trying to sleep during the day. I decided to do a little coupon shopping and add to my stock pile. Here is what I got today

FRED'S
5- Electrasol $2.99 less (5) $2.50 Manfg coupons
6- Sweet Sue Chicken $1.00 Less (6) $.75 Manfg coupons
4- Reeses Whipps $.54 less (2) $1.00/2 Manfg coupons
2-Blistex $1.00 less (1) $1.00/2 Manfg coupon
Total including tax $5.52

WALGREEN'S
Revlon Cream Lip Gloss $9.99 less $2 Manfg coupon
2- Theraflu $2/10.00 less (2) $1.50 Manfg coupons
* I had two different coupons for $1.50 so I was able to use them*
Fructis Waves Shampoo $3.49 less $1.00 Manfg coupon
Thermacare $2.49
2-Quacker Chewy Bars less $1.00/2 Manfg coupon
Less $2 register reward
Total $23.25 and will get back $21.97 back in rebates + 10% for having my rebate put on a Walgreen's gift card.

Last Stop Country Mart
24- Betty Crocker potatoes $.79 less (24) $.35 coupons doubled
*I had a rain check from when this was on sale a couple of weeks ago*
Salad $.99
Ribeye Steak $7.54 Less $3.00 off
T-Bone Steak $6.95 Less $3.00 off
Total $14.42

All in All it was a pretty good shopping day. I hate being out so much money up front at Walgreen's but my December rebates are not loaded yet and they only had a few of the free after rebate items in the store. I was afraid if I waited they would not have any. I'm glad I found some reduced meat. My husband's birthday is at the end of the month and Ribeye is his favorite. I always make sure we have one to grill for his special day.

Now, I'm going to gather up some of my stock pile to give to my sister. They are still out of power and lost or cooked the food that they had in their fridge and freezer. I figure anything she doesn't have to buy while she is trying to restock her cold goods will be helpful.

THE POWER IS ON!!!!

2009-01-31T20:48:00.001-08:00

It's been a really long week. The freezing rain and sleet started falling Monday night and continued until late Tuesday evening causing us to loose power on Tuesday afternoon. We were so excited to have it come back on last night around 5:45. I consider us blessed. There are still many people with out electricity and cable. We were very fortunate in the fact the the only damage we have is to our fence. There is about half a tree laying on it. We didn't have to buy any groceries this week as we just ate from my stock pile. However, we did have to buy a generator in order to save all the meat, vegetables and stuff we had in our fridge and freezer. My husband called all over to get the best deal and drove over a hour away to buy it. The drive was well worth it as it saved us over $350. They even gave us a discount as we picked up one for us and one for my elderly neighbor who is also a couponer and had a freezer full of food. If you ever need a generator be sure to check with O'Reilly Auto Parts. They were very friendly, helpful, and had the best price. Too bad our local store didn't have any in stock. Have you every cooked supper by a oil lamp? It is possible. We have a gas stove so I was able to use the burners.
It's hard to believe how dark it gets so fast. I think I might actually miss the quit and the dark.

I don't think I have ever mentioned what we do for a living. I am a licensed staff agent for a local insurance agency so you can only imagine how busy we will for the next few weeks. (There may not be many post due to long hours.) My husband works for the cable company and is on mandatory 7 days a week until further notice. He was also one of the chosen ones to take the overnight shift. Makes him extremely tired and grouchy.

Be Careful and Stay Safe!

2009-01-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I tried to let my little four legged friend out for his 8:00 potty break and he just won't go. I'm sure it is because of the freezing rain and sleet falling. The ground is completely white and it isn't snow. Please everyone be safe and stay in.

Busy Weekend

2009-01-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

I had alot of things I wanted to get done this weekend. I always have a running list in my head of what I need to do around the house when I'm off work but somehow I never get done with the list. I would rather just be lazy after a hard/long week at work. I'm the world worst to start one thing and drift to something else and never completely get one thing finished. For instance, I was cleaning something up, I don't even remember what and I ended up putting something in the medicine box and cleaning and organizing the medicine box. Yes, that was on my never ending list of things to do but not for this weekend. Does anyone else have this problem? I am the world worst at putting things off but at least I did get some things finished like, sweeping the living room, cleaning the toilet (Yuck! I hate this!), organizing the medicine box, slicing and freezing peppers and onions, clipping coupons, shopping, making a pot of soup, and a couple of loads of laundry. We also went out to eat Friday night with the kids. I went to a wedding shower yesterday and to my grandpa's 81st birthday party today.

Here is a run down of what few things I bought at the store this weekend. We really didn't need anything but I had a few special requests and there were a few good deals I wanted to get.

Fred's

2 Electrasol $2.99 Less $2.50 Manfg coupon
Palmolive Soap $1.00 Less $.50 Manfg coupon doubled

Soft Soap $1.49 Less $.50 Manfg coupon doubled

Suave 24 hour $1.00 Less $.50 Mang coupon doubled

4 Sweet Sue Chicken Chicken Less $.75 coupon

Total before coupons $14.43

Total after coupons $2.57

Edwards:

Knowing that the pizza rolls and the Doritos would be yanked out the grocery bags before I even got through the door, I decided to try and take a photo of my cart. Not the best photo but. . .

4 Pizza Rolls $1.99 (sign said $1.69 so I will have to go back.) Less $.35 Manfg coupon doubled
2 Doritos on sale BOGO $3.99

4 Pimientos $.85 Less $.35 Manfg coupon doubled

Rotel $1.09 Less $.30 Manfg coupon doubled

2 Granny Smith Apples $1.55

5 Green Peppers on sale 5/$1.00

Total before coupons $22.90

Total spent $13.66

I have a list of things I would like to get done this week like organizing shoes in my closet, cleaning off dresser which somehow becomes a catch all, cleaning kids bathroom and step son's room. His idea of clean and mine are two different things. Maybe since I have listed them out I will actually get them done. But, they are calling for ice. If we loose power, nothing will get done.

Walgreen's is my friend again!

2009-01-21T16:35:00.001-08:00

I had to go out of town yesterday for work and guess what I looked for on the way there. You guessed it. A Walgreen's. The Walgreen's is my town is not coupon friendly at all. I read about Walgreen's deals all over the net where couponers have no trouble. I passed one that wasn't open yet on my way there. Then to my amazement there was a brand new Walgreen's right across the street from where I was having class. I went to that one while I was on my lunch break. They only had 6 Ragu Sauces and the Free after rebate makeup were colors that no one in my household will use. So I ended up not buying anything. On my way home I stopped at the Walgreen's I saw that morning. I'm so glad I did. They were more than helpful. I found the Revlon free after rebate item right by the front door. I started looking for the other free after rebate items, and an associate came up and asked if I needed any help. I explained what I was looking for and she looked all over the store for items with no luck. Here is a run down of what I got. Sorry no picture. I was too tired form a 8 hour day of classes and a hour and a half drive there and back.

Spring Water $.99 (I forgot to make a cooler before I left.)
8- Ragu sauces $1.99 less 8- $.25 coupons (I used 8 of the same coupons in one transaction!)
Revlon eyeshadow $4.99 less $1 coupon - will send in for $4.99 rebate
Garnier Fructis $3.99 less $2 es coupon and $1 manfg coupon (These are $3.49 at my Walgreen's so I shouldn't have got it but I didn't catch the price difference until I was already out of the store.)
6- Butterball Chicken Broth - sale 2/$1.00 (We needed this and it was a good price.)
used $10 register reward from the Pepsi deal last week
TOTAL
$14.96 and got back $10 register reward and will get $4.99 rebate back.

The checker was so nice and friendly. She said she had just started buying the Sunday paper because alot of the Walgreen's sales were based on them and she tried to always buy when things were on sale. Now that I know how friendly Walgreen's can be, I am even more upset with our unfriendly Walgreen's. I just wish I knew how to make them see that they are loosing business. I had already decided that I wasn't going to shop there this week because I should be able to use as many coupons as I can in a single transaction.

It's funny how shopping for me has changed. I use to look for places near where I was going to be to find a new purse, shoes, clothes or something else that I probably do not really need. This time I restocked my pasta sauce which was running really low.

Open all your Junk Mail!

2009-01-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to organize, sort, and cut coupons. In the middle of my mounds of coupons was some junk mail that got mixed in with mess. One of the envelopes from the Nielsen Company. I was just going to toss it but decided to open it since we recycle as much paper as we can. To my amazement 5 crisp one dollar bills fell out of that envelope as a thank you for completing a survey also in the envelope. The survey took less than a minute. WOOHOO!!! I will never toss an unopened envelope again!

Walgreens ?

2009-01-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

So I'm wondering if anyone else has problems with their Walgreen's taking more than one coupon for a like item? I have been reading all the great deals that people are planning to buy with several coupons to get items for dirt cheap. I have enough coupons to complete the same transactions. However, my Walgreen's will not take 2 like coupons in one transaction. Even if I am buying 4 or 8 of the same thing. Does anyone else have this problem?

Kraft Sweepstakes

2009-01-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check out the post at It's Hip to Save!. I won Coupons on my second try! I love getting things for FREE!

Shopping in Branson

2009-01-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

We spent the day shopping in Branson today with my parents. I was looking for some new Sketchers. The pair I have, I have had for 6 or 7 years and I really need some new ones. I can only wear them to work on Fridays so the last a long time. We are trying to walk several times a week and my old broken down shoes just aren't going to make it. I had no luck finding a good deal on shoes. I only paid $26 or $28 for the pair I have had for so long. I will just have to keep looking. My husband needed work jeans and he found a great deal at Belk's. He got jeans for $8.35 each. He started with 5 pairs one for each day of the week but I made him go back for more. Jeans cost more than that at Walmart. He ended up with 8 or 9 pairs. With his job he is really ruff on jeans so hopefully these will last a while. If you have a Belk's near by you should check them out. They had an additional 30% off of the clearance prices and they had clearance racks all over the store.

We then went to Target. They had all their Christmas storage containers on sale. I was so excited to get a wrapping container. I have needed one for years. Too bad I didn't buy any wrapping paper at the after Chrismas sales. Target had a lot of things on clearance. I wish I had my coupon binder with me. Note to self. I need to carry it with me every time I go shopping. I also got packs of gloves that had 2 pairs of gloves in them for $.74. Gloves seam to get lost every year so this was a great find for me. If you haven't been to Target you should go check out all the sales. It is probably a good thing that we don't have a Target in our town. I know I would spend too much money there.

It was a great day. The weather wasn't as cold as it has been and I didn't buy anything that wasn't on sale.

Ever have one of those days?

2009-01-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ever had one of those days when you shouldn't have supper? Well this is how my dinner went today. It all started with slicing my thumb when cutting the onion. Note to self. New knifes I got for free are really sharp. Don't let kids use them. After cleaning that mess up. I then splashed hot water on my arm while boiling noodles. How I did that I'm not sure. Somehow, I managed to get supper into the oven and out without burning myself. This is shocking since I seam to burn myself on the oven alot. The food tasted really yummy but in the process of hurting myself I dirtied up twice as many dishes as I usually would have. The worse part is, I'm so accident prone stuff like this happens to me more than I like to admit. I now have a thumb bandaged where I can't bend it which makes it hard to type. I had planned on blogging about the deals I got today but this is a much better story. Besides, I am afraid to use my digital camera for fear of breaking it. That is just the kind of day I am having. I only uninstalled my printer 4 times today at work. I'm still clueless as to how that happened.

Hope your having a great Friday evening. Think I will go read my book. Surely, nothing can go wrong while doing that.

I GOT MY FIRST AWARD!

2009-01-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! I got nominated by my first award by
The 50$ Grocery Budget. If you are not familiar with what the Lemonade Award is, the Lemonade Award is given by a previous winner to 10 people who have shown a great attitude or gratitude this week. It’s a great way to show these people that you appreciate them.

My problem is. . . .This award has been passed around several times and I can't remember who has already received it. I am grateful for so many blogs. They have helped me in my journey to save money. So I am going to nominate all of my followers. If you haven't received the award, please consider yourself nominated!

It Worked!

2009-01-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

I was a little hesitant to buy 7 twelve packs of Pepsi Products at Walgreen's today. The ad only read get $5 RR when you buy 5. I had read on another blog that if you buy 7 you will get $10 back in register rewards. I decided to give it a shot. It's hard to believe that if it didn't work $3 a twelve pack is not a bad price. Anyway, my total came to $22.xx. The register reward printed just fine. I was expecting 2 $5 RR to print but it printed a single $10.

I also asked the manager about the AutoExpressions air freshener that is in the Easy Saver book. He told me that they sold out of them months ago and they are a discontinued item. That the only thing he could think of was they put them in the book to help them sell out. CRAZY! My Walgreen's does not have any of the Free after rebate items.

Fred's

2009-01-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

I usually try not to shop on Saturdays. It's just so busy and crowded. However, today I did so well, I may just have to start. My total for all the items in the picture below was $.84. That's right only 84 cents. . . I did 2 transactions. Here is a run down of what I got.

Electrasol $2.99 less $2.50 coupon =.49
Suave Deodorant $1.00 less $.55 coupon doubled =.10 profit
Suave Lotion $1.00 less $1.00 coupon = Free
Soft Soap $1.00 less $.50 coupon doubled =Free
Dawn Dish Soap $1.00 less $.50 coupon doubled =Free

I did one transaction with the dish soap since I found one more I had not used and another one without it. Both receipts came to $.42
I decided to come home and see if I could find Fred's exact coupon policy. I'm glad I did. I thought I could only use one like coupon per transaction which is not the case. They will only double one like coupon so I could have purchased more Electrasol. If you haven't tried Fred's you might give it a shot.

Below is the information I was able to find about their coupon policy.

FREDS DOUBLE COUPON POLICY

(These rules apply to all company-owned, participating Freds stores.)

Manufacturer Coupon: A manufacturer coupon is a coupon for cents-off or dollars off a product, that the customer obtains from newspapers, magazines, direct mailings, etc. It is valid at any Fred’s store that the specific item featured on the coupon is sold.

A valid coupon will have the product description, cents off amount, expiration date, and an address to send the coupon for redemption.

Fred’s Procedures

1. Fred’s will only accept manufacturer’s coupons that feature items that we carry. (No competitor’s coupons are to be accepted) The item featured on the coupon must be the exact item that we sell, or we do not accept the coupon. The item must be the same brand, style, flavor, scent, size specified by the coupon.

2. Fred’s will not accept Internet coupons, whether they are printed in color or black and white.

3. All valid manufacturer’s coupons are accepted at face value at Fred’s every day.

4. On Saturdays only, Fred’s will double the face value of manufacturer coupons up to $.70; $.70 coupons are doubled. (ONLY 1 coupon per identical item is doubled, per customer, per Saturday)

5. No money will be returned for coupons that exceed the price of the product. If doubling the face value of the coupon would exceed the price of the item, the coupon will be accepted a face value.

6. Tobacco coupons are not doubled regardless of the face value of the coupon.

7. Coupons, which are expired, are not accepted. If the coupon is presented the day it expires, the coupon must be accepted.

8. Coupons, which offer “free” product, and do not require the purchase of additional items, will not be accepted. “Buy one get one free” coupons are accepted.

9. If the price of an item is matched with a competitor, then no coupons will be doubled for that particular item.

For example:
A customer may purchase 4 tubes of Crest toothpaste, however if they have more than one coupon for the toothpaste, the first coupon will be doubled and the additional coupons will be taken at face value. If the customer wishes to purchase more than one flavor of an item and the coupon lists a variety of flavors, only one identical coupon will be doubled and the additional coupons will be taken at face value.

Organizing

2009-01-08T19:29:00.001-08:00

I spent most of the evening cleaning out from under my kitchen sink and straightening the shelf in my laundry room. Since I have started stocking up on items that we use every day, I seam to be running out of storage room. Anyone else have this problem? It's amazing how much room you gain by lining up all the products neatly maximizing that space you have available. I have now gained a lot of room under my sink for more chemicals and the laundry shelf now has plenty of room for more. I think I have enough Dawn dish soap for a good 2 years. The best part is I only paid taxes on it! I wish I had that much laundry soap. Due to some sensitive skin the family, we can only use one kind and we only have a bottle we just opened. Hopefully it will go on sale soon. Now if I could just get the rest of my shelves organized. My stack of coupons is by far my worst stockpile. No matter how much I try to organize them I just can't seam to keep up. It's sad how unorganized I can get.

Walgreens

2009-01-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

I went into Walgreen's and did this order on my lunch order. Not bad for $3.07 and I will get $1.50 rebate back for the Electrasol. My Walgreen's is not coupon friendly at all. The transaction above I had no problems with the free Fructis. I went after work and they wouldn't let me get it because it would end up with a penny difference. I was told by the manager that it was illegal to put it through and they couldn't over ride the coupon down to .99 or charge me $3 for the product. I had several other things I was buying but no really great deals. I tried to explain that other stores were honoring both coupons and the manager wanted to know which stores so he could contact them and explain that they were wrong. I explained that I didn't want to pay .99 this week when next week I can get the item at full price and use both coupons and it would only cost me .50. He didn't understand what I was saying. They make me so mad and yet I keep going back because I don't have a lot of choices to shop at.

Answering a few questions

2009-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

I have been asked several questions and thought I would try and answer a few.

1.) What stores do you have available to shop at?

In my small town there are not any of the major chain grocery stores other than Walmart. The stores I have available are Hudson's Grocery, Country Mart, Edwards, Walmart, Walgreen's, Fred's and Dollar General. Hudson's doubles coupons up to .50. They are expensive and I only go in there if they are having a really good sale. Country Mart doubles coupons up to .50 and their prices are reasonable. Edwards says they will double coupons up to .50 but it always seams to not work out and they do not double coupons on sale items. Fred's doubles coupons up to .70 on Saturdays but I try hard not to shop on Saturdays so this doesn't help me much.

2.) What coupons do you use?

I use coupons from the newspaper, magazines, or from the mail. I do not print off coupons. The stores I have available say they will take them but in the end they do not so I don't waste my time finding them and printing them. The only one that I do print is the $5/25 Walgreen's coupon as they do take their own printed coupons.

3.) The coupons I find are for things I would not use. What kinds of coupons do you use?

If you had the choice to buy Green Giant brand for .27 with a coupon or Great Value brand for .69 with out a coupon which would you buy? If you watch sales alot of items that you buy every day will be less with a coupon. Don't get me wrong, I still buy alot of off brand items but it is nice that I have a choice. I compare prices name brand with a coupon vs off brand and see what would be the best price. Try to stock up when you find a rock bottom price. One coupon that I do not cut out is for hair color. I will not use it.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Shopping today

2008-12-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

Scott and I are on Vacation until after the first. :) I decided to go pick up a few things from the store this morning. I was so nice to go to shop during the day. There were not very many people out. First Stop Walgreen's.
I went to get the Free after rebate Revlon Matte Makeup and a few other things. My Walgreen's didn't even have a display for these items. I asked and they said they would get a truck in tomorrow maybe they would be on that. I can't believe it. They didn't even have a spot on the shelf and it is in the rebate book and was in the flyer this week. I got several Christmas items 75% off to save for next year. I also got the Glade oil candle $3.99 less $2.50 coupon and will send in for the $1 rebate. I also got Garnier Fructis Mousse for $3.49 less $2 easy saver coupon and $1 manfg coupon. This is my favorite hair product and I got it for only 49 cents. I can't believe I haven't read about this on any of the other blogs. I will be stocking up this month. There were tons of makeup on sale. Some of every brand. I wish I would have taken more coupons with me but I had the Revlon one with me so I got some powder on sale for $3.49 and I had a $2 coupon with me. This made the powder that was normally $11.XX only $1.49.

Next stop Fred's
This is in the same shopping center as Country Mart. I got some Mean Green. It was $1.79 less $1.50 manfg coupon. My total after tax was $.31. It's not too often I walk out of a store spending only pocket change. If you have never used this stuff before it is great for all kinds of cleaning including stains on clothing, bathrooms, kitchen, etc.

Last stop Country Mart

I had went to buy chicken just to find out it was only on sale for 3 days. I splurged for some chips and dip since we are on vacation and got a good deal on some ribeye steaks. My total came to $13.32. Not one of my best deals but we are on vacation. It was so nice out today we grilled the steaks and they were yummy!

MP3 Player

2008-12-28T20:43:00.001-08:00

At work this year we got points we were able to spend on items in an online catalog. Instead of getting Christmas presents for others or something practical like pots and pans, I splurged on myself. I got a Sony Walkman MP3 Player. After many days of trying to figure out how to get the Itunes we had already purchased onto the player, I am now able to use this crazy thing. Well, I still don't know how to use all the functions. It took an extremely long time burning CDs putting them back on the computer and converting them to MP3. Does anyone else have a MP3 player? If so where do you get your music from? I don't know much about what is out on the net. I think some may not be legal and I don't want to get a virus on my computer so I am looking for a dependable place to get my music from. Any suggestions? This player is so cool! The best part is. . . . . . It was FREE!

Walgreens Easy Saver

2008-12-27T22:23:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it. I just submitted my Easy Saver rebate and it was only $2 for the Scotch Tape. Since I started this several months ago this is the lowest rebate I have had. I didn't even spend my gift card from last month. Looks like there are going to be better rebates for next month. :)

Do you make homemade gifts?

2008-12-27T13:26:00.001-08:00

I try to do something special from the heart for my family each year. It really seams to be a dying art. Anyway, 2 years ago I made homemade Christmas cards. It was a larger chore than what I thought it was going to be. I started in November and was still working on them mid December so they were mailed a little late. It was so worth it. My mom didn't even know they were homemade. I don't know if I did anything last year other than make some homemade peanut clusters to take to the places we would be. This year I made box of homemade candy for each family. It took several late evenings to get all the goodies done. I think everyone enjoyed the boxes. My hope this year is to be a little more organized and plan ahead. I think I have a idea of what I am going to do next year but not sure yet. If I plan now I can shop for the needed items all year long. What are some of your favorite homemade gifts that you have received or gave? How early do you start on your special gifts?

I hope to make something special every year. My little brother must know this is important to me. He gave me a book on how to have a green/homemade Christmas.

It's nice when

2008-12-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's nice when you find out someone will be at Christmas you weren't expecting and you are able to pull a gift out of your laundry room. This year my sister's x-step daughter (long story) and son came to Christmas. It was nice to be able to put her together a small care package. She is in the army and traveling around so I think the package of deodorant, makeup, toothbrush, paste, etc. will be useful for her. For her son, I had got a few hot wheels when Walgreen's ran a really good deal on them. There always seams to be a kid that shows up that I am not expecting. So the hot wheels and the Johnson soap that I got for free worked out great. It was so nice to have on hand something that I could put together so they wouldn't be left out. I love seeing family for the holidays. What a special treat that they were able to come to town.

2008-12-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas ! !

Hope you are having a wonderful time with family and Friends. Will be back to normal blogging soon.

Happy Holidays!

Angie

Meat

2008-12-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

I live is a house of meat eaters which is by far the most expensive thing we buy on our Grocery list. Here are a few things that I do to keep this cost down.

1.) I usually buy family packs of meat which saves money per pound. I then split it into family size meals and freeze it.

2.) I always shop the sales and try to only buy meat that is on sale that week. If there are not any good sales that week I try not to buy meat that week unless we don't have any in the freezer.

3.) If there is something that I know we eat alot of on sale I always stock up so I don't have to buy it at full price. (For example, I always stock up on Boneless Skinless chicken when it is under $2 a pound. We eat a ton of chicken. I bought 5 or 6 pounds the other day for $1.79 a pound which should last several weeks but we didn't have any in the freezer. I was starting to sweat that I was going to have to pay full price.)

4.) I comp ad other stores at Wal-Mart if I am unable to make it to the other stores.

5.) I substitute ground turkey for ground chuck. I don't think the kids knew I was doing this forever. It's lean and costs $1.59 for a pound roll at Wal-Mart. (For example, if I am making meat loaf I use one pound of ground chuck and one pound of turkey. This helps keep it lean and saves me money. I also use ground turkey for spaghetti and hamburger helper.) I try to always buy ground chuck so the ground meat is lean which means I pay a little more for this but feel it is worth it.

6.) Try not to be wasteful. This is hard. We take left overs for lunch but still things get wasted. If it happens to stay in the fridge a little too long we either give it to the dogs or to the the stay cats. Things get wasted around here more that I would like to admit.

With all that said, Scott did awesome comp adding at Wal-Mart this week. He comped Harter House in Branson which our Wal-Mart honors. He got several pounds of Granny Smith apples for $.49lb and got about 10lbs of Ground Chuck for $1.69lb. This saved us a dollar a pound on apples and $1.15 a pound on Ground Chuck. I'm so glad I have convinced him that price shopping is worth it and it saved me a trip to Wal-Mart. WOOHOO!! The cashier gave him a hard time so I might not be able to talk him into doing it again.

Does anyone have any other pointers on how to save on our meat purchases?

$25.40 Gas

2008-12-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

This may not be a big deal to everyone but I am so excited about my gas purchase. I drive a Mitsubishi Montero Sport Suv and my gas light came on during the drive home yesterday. I stopped and fill my tank up and it was only $25.40. I can't believe gas is at $1.56 here. We are usually the highest town around. Anyway I had to do a double take and make sure that was correct. Going from between $50 and $60 to fill up to $25 is the best deal I have had in a while. That's more money to spend on something else.

Walgreen's is Crazy!

2008-12-11T17:43:00.001-08:00

Well, I went to Walgreen's on my lunch hour today and it was packed. There were crowds of people everywhere. I finally gathered together the things I was buying. I had several of the Walgreen's coupons for some Christmas stuff that I needed and 2 manfg coupons. I knew that I would be getting a $2 register reward back for pop and a $5 register reward back for spending $25. First, they wouldn't take one of my manfg coupons because he said you can not use 2 like coupons in one purchase. There was a line a mile long so I said OK but now that I think about it I may take them back because it made it 2 for $3.49 instead of 2 for $.49. Anyway, then he handed me my receipt and the $2 register reward. I could tell the machine was still printing things out so I waited and said I should have a $5 register reward. There was some coupons that printed before and after the register reward and you will never believe what the cashier did. He took the register reward out of the middle of the coupons and ripped the coupons in half and threw them in the trash and handed me the register reward. I couldn't believe it. I have gotten some really good coupons that decided to print off that machine. I was in shock and didn't know what to do. I just walked away with my items and my register rewards.
I guess Christmas shopping is already getting to some people. . . .

K-Mart Double Coupon Days!!!!

2008-12-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

We went to Branson over the weekend and did some Christmas shopping. I decided to take my coupons along as K-Mart was having double coupons up to $2. I took what coupons I had cut out not really knowing what items they would have. Shopping for the deals that I thought we would use or we could use as Christmas gifts was fun but I could see where other couponers had got all the items that would be free or really cheap. All the items you see in the first picture I got for $20 and some change. There are 4 bags of cookies, Clorox wipes, 2 dove shampoos, Garnier shampoo, 4 tag products, 4 lifesavers, 4 dog treats, 3 Revlon makeup, Tylenol rapid release, 2 socks. There were several items that were a good deal or we needed and I could only use 2 of the same coupons so I had Scott buy some more goodies with the Christmas gifts that we bought.

The Lifesavers were free and the cookies were $.20. I can't remember exactly what the tag was but it was around $2 which will be going in a stocking.

Great Savings at Walgreen's!

2008-12-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much shopping in the last couple of weeks so I decided to stop and see if I could get in on a few good deals at Walgreen's. Transaction #1
2- Bic Soleil Razors 2/$6.99 - 2 $3.00 coupons = $.99 for 2
2- Reach Tooth brushes 2/$6.00 - BOGO coupon-$3.00 =$3.00 for 2
3 - WG Lip Care B2G1 free $.99 each -$1.98
Total after tax $7.17 got back $6 register reward off my next order
Total Savings $15.99

Transaction #2

2-Bic Soleil Razors 2/$6.99 - 2 $3.00 coupons = $.99 for both

2-Reach tooth brushes 4/$6 - BOGO -3.00 = $3.00 for both

Total after tax $5.03 received $6 register reward for buying 2 Reach products.

Total Savings $14.97

I tried to take a photo of my receipts this time. I think if you click on them they will be large enough to read. It's fun spending $3 and getting $6 back. I will probably use that money to finish my stocking stuffers.

I was wondering, do you think people would think I was weird if I put a toothbrush on the outside of presents instead of a candy cane or with a candy cane? I have ended up with several and I know if other children are like ours they leave one everywhere they stay the night. . .

$3.47 and $2.07

2008-11-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

I'm way behind on my blogging. I am very pleased with all the frozen vegetables that I was able to get on sale matched with coupons for $.10 and $.19 each. Needless to say our freezer is full. It's hard not to stock up when you get them at that price. With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I tried to plan dishes around what I had on hand. I only had to buy a couple of items at full price. I am planning on making a Creamy Spinach Casserole and a Cheesy Veggie Pasta and the costs that you see above is what each one will cost me. I can't believe that I am getting away with spending so little. Coupons really do help!! I usually try to plan 2 dishes because we have such a large family that gets together at my moms and I have in the past spent as much as $30 on my pot luck dishes and that is not even cooking the Turkey and main fixings. I am so excited to say that I will have 2 good sized casseroles for under $10.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Hope everyone has a great day!!!!

Walmart Again!

2008-11-12T17:01:00.001-08:00

I forgot puppy pads and Italian dressing at Walmart when I went this weekend so I had to make another trip. With the rain and cold weather, my dogs don't want to go outside. I went yesterday the 11th of the month which must be national go to Walmart day and of course I made the run on my lunch hour. There were people blocking the isles chatting and I had to wait in line forever. I should have known when I had to park 4 miles away it was going to be crazy. I didn't do too bad. My subtotal before coupons was $47.15 and my total with taxes after coupons came to $23.14. I took this picture with my cell phone. I thought it would make it easier to show all my cool finds but the quality of the picture is awful so I will try not to do it often. Here is a run down of what I got.
1 Puppy Pads - $6.97
1 Italian Cheese - $2.84
4 Green Giant Steamer Veggies - $1.50 each less $1.00 coupon =$.50 each
1 Wishbone Italian Dressing - $1.78
4 Campbell's Cream of Mushroom -$.60 each less $.40 coupon off 4 = .50 each
4 Campbell's Cream of Chicken -$.60 each less 4/$.40 coupon = .50 each
Garnier Shampoo - $2.96 less $1.00 coupon =$1.96
4 Good Bites dog snacks - $3.62 each less $3.62 coupon = free
6 Johnson Soaps - $.97 each less 2 $3.00 coupons when you buy 3=free plus .03 overage on each.
Angel Hair pasta -$1.50 less $1.00 coupon =$.50

The Green Giant Steamers and the Campbell Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom are on sale at my Walmart this week. I bought a few this past weekend but decided that the deal was good enough to buy a few more.

Hudson's run

2008-11-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

I've decided that most of our food money goes to produce and junk food. I spent $25 on what you see below. Apples, Kiwi, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, 2 bags of salad, 6 chicken burritos, chicken, and 3 crab meat. I have decided that I really like Hudson's produce and meat departments. It says right on the item if it is from the USA or not. If it is not from here it says where it is from. (BUYING FROM THE USA IS A BIG DEAL AT OUR HOUSE!!) They run good sales so I am going to start watching and try to buy these items there. My next stop was Walmart and we were out of junk food. It's been several months since I have bought any. It almost feels like there is no way to get grocery costs down as low as I would like. There are people out there with a family of 4 that has a $40 a grocery budget a week and some as low as $20 a month for a family of 2. It is a lot of fun hunting bargains but I don't think I will ever be that good.

Shopping Day Sunday

2008-11-03T18:25:00.001-08:00

Breanna and I made a rather large shopping trip on Sunday. We hit 3 stores. I spent way too much. Country Mart was having a pretty good meat sale so I bought 2 roasts, chicken, steaks. I also picked up some frozen veggies that were on sale and some Rice A Roni. We then went to Walmart and spent a ton more on fruit, salsa, laundry soap, socks, etc. I also comp ad stuff at Walmart so I don't have to drive all over town. On comp I got boneless Pork Chops which would have cost me $8.70 but I got them for $5.83 and shredded cheese for $1.50 each. I purchased 4 which should last a couple of weeks. The off brand has been running $2.26 so it was worth it to stock up. I didn't use but a few coupons. Mainly because it was less to buy a larger product that 2 smaller ones. So sad. :(

My best coupon run of the weekend was at Walgreen's. If you have thought about starting the Walgreen's game this is the week to start. Pick up a Easy Saver book at the front of the store and buy 2 Almay Mascaras on sale buy 1 get 1 free this week at $6.49. Then send off for the rebate of $6.49 and you will get 2 for free. If you have your rebate put on a gift card you also get 10% more. Anyway, here is a run down of what I got. 8 - Holiday gift bags - this weeks sale 8/$1.00 =$1.00
1-Glade flameless candle - $5.99 -$3.00 manfg coupon from Sunday paper =$2.99
(will send off for $2 rebate)
2-Almay One Coat Mascara -$6.49 buy 1 get 1 free -$1.00 manfg coupon =2/$5.49
(will send off for $6.49 rebate)
4 - Extra Gum -$1.19 buy 1 get 1 free =4/$2.39
-$1.00 register reward
-$1.00 register reward
-$1.00 register reward
Total after tax $10.06 and will get $8.49 +10% back on rebates at the end of the month.

Dog Food

2008-10-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

I only buy Science Diet dog food for my fur babies. They get all kinds of snacks depending on what kind of coupons I have. Their favorite snack is Ol Roy Meaty Bone. Of course there are no coupons for the Wal-Mart brand of dog snacks. Do you know if Science Diet ever puts out any coupons? The only place to buy this in town is the Pet Shop or Tractor Supply which are both high. We also buy a large bag of cheap dog food to feed the stay cats about once a month. They love the dog food and it costs less than cat food. It's so nice that Scott is a animal lover like me. Well, maybe not as bad as I am but he hates to see anything go hungry. I think there also is a skunk and an opossum eating from where we feed the cats.

Budget

2008-10-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Does your family have a grocery/household budget? We have never had a budget for our groceries but I am hoping with a stock pile full of goodies and only buying on sale and with coupons we can get our groceries and household goods down to between $200 and $250 a month for our family of 4 and 2 dogs. This month has been the first time I have kept up with every penny that I have spent. After I have removed the amount that was for Christmas presents I spent around $315. Not quite as good as I would have liked. $30 of that amount was for dog food which I only buy about every 3 or 4 months. When I got Scott he spent between $50 and $70 a week on groceries and goodies. After I came along that went up to $100 or more. I don't know why. It's not like I eat a ton. Anyway, how much do you usually spend.

I think I fixed my blog!

2008-10-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

It has taken me over a hour to do a post and work on my blog layout. I think I have fixed my blog so it should be easier to read.

Walgreens is not my friend today!

2008-10-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry no picture today. My day/evening has been too crazy. Anyway, the cashier I had today has never given me problems but today was different. I did one transaction for a razor and used my gift card after my coupon. My gift card is now empty :( He gave me my receipt but not my register reward. Asked if I needed my second order in a separate bag and I said no. He rang up my second order and refused to scan my coupons in the order I wanted to give them to him. I had tried to buy 2 Vick's hand sanitizers which were on sale for .87 and I had $1 coupons. (had he scanned the coupons in the order I wanted to this probably wouldn't happen because the Vick's coupons were not what beeped.) Anyway, the last coupon he scanned beeped and he didn't say anything to me and called over the load speaker for manager to do complete void. Of course he just looked at me and said coupon conflict and handed the 2 Vick's coupons back to me. The manager came over and said nothing and voided my whole order. The guy in a very hateful tone said sorry I can't accept those they are more than the price of the items. I really didn't know how much they were because they were on the clearance rack. I calmly told him I didn't want the Vick's. I explained before he voided my order and before paying for the second order that I had checked by phone and with the night manager and because the register reward is a manfg coupon they can be scanned in any order. When I was trying to explain that I had called he got so nervous and was shaking which was making me my calm mood not so calm. Then as I am paying for my second order he takes the register reward off the scanner and doesn't want to give it to me and I had to explain that he didn't give it to me from my first transactions. He acted like I was trying to steel the register reward. The poor older gentleman behind me who had to wait a long time and was going to use a rain check and some coupons said to the cashier "I had better not have any problems" which I thought was funny. Here is what I ended up buying in my second transaction.

1 organizer for a walker -$8.49 (on clearance -Christmas present for my grandpa)
2 Gillette shampoos 2/$10 - 2 $2 manfg coupons send off for $5 register rewards
Northern TP $4.00 -$2 manfg coupon and -$1.00 es coupon
-$4 register reward from earlier in the week.

Total $12.49 and will send off for $5 rebate.

I get home and find out there is a -$5/$25 coupon. Bet I could have really could have confused the cashier with that. Probably a good thing I didn't know about it. I was pretty hot when I left there which I usually am not.

This is what I have been working on forever!

2008-10-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

I have been clipping coupons almost daily to get them all cut out so I can get organized. I have finally got them all cut out except for this weeks. When I divided them all out I ended up the over 20 envelopes. I can't remember the exact number. There is no way I can carry a box of coupons that big to the store. I purchased a neat little photo album that had 2 sleeves on each page that I thought would work great because it would fit in my purse. However, I have too many coupons. So I am thinking about getting a binder with the baseball card sleeves so I can see what I have. I found coupons I didn't know I had that I could actually have made some money on the products. I guess that is what you get for not being organized. Does anyone else have a hard time getting these things organized or is it just me? Word of advise don't get behind. Cut them out every week.

Please help me

2008-10-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm not the smartest computer operator. I make my post all neat easy to read. I preview it and it look just like I typed it. Then when I go look at the post it has lost all my hard enters. I don't have this problem on my other blog but can't tell what is different. Any ideas?

Walgreen's this week

2008-10-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well we have had a little drama at our house this week so I am a little behind on getting my posts done and reading about all the great sales that I might be missing. Here is my shopping trip to Walgreen's this week. Bread - $2.49 Not the best deal but we needed it.
Lysol toilet cleaner 2/$2.79 - .50 manfg coupon
Fusion Razor $8.49 -$4.00 manfg coupon
Revlon crlr $3.49 - $1.00 manfg coupon
Revlon tweezers $1.09 - $1.00 coupon
Always $4.99 -$2.00 manfg coupon
-3.00 register rewards
-2.00 register rewards
-2.00 register rewards
Total $9.57 put on gift card from last month so nothing out of pocket. Got back $4 register reward on razor and $1 on Always. The Revlon was buy one get one 50% off the curler will be a stocking stuffer and we never have good tweezers so I splurged at .09.

I went back for transaction #2
Fusion Razor with shaving cream $8.99 -$4 manfg coupon
Always $4.99 -$2.00 Manfg coupon
-$5.00 Register rewards
-$2.00 Register rewards
Total $4.10 which I put on my gift card from last month. Got back $4 register reward for razor and $1 register reward on always.

I plan on making one more trip for another Razor which I will be a Christmas present.

I did a little shopping. . .

2008-10-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Scott did the bulk of our grocery shopping at Walmart this week while I plastered our bathroom walls. (Hopefully we will be done remodeling soon!) He did good and followed my list pretty good and used the coupons I sent. Only a few things not on the list were added in. I made a couple of stops this week. The first one was to Hudson's Grocery. I usually don't shop there often because their every day prices are high. They do run good sales every now and then. They also have a great produce section and meat section. I purchased 4 red peppers for 69 cents each. The main reason I stopped! I just found out this year that I love these peppers. But, I refuse to pay over a dollar each for them. 4 Granny Smith apples at $1.99 lb. Expensive I know but the kids love them and I would rather pay more and have healthy snacks. I also got 3 bags Birdseye frozen green beans on sale for 69 cents each used $1/3 off coupon and 4 cans hunts caned tomatoes on sale 89 cents less .40/2 coupon doubled. Not a huge shopping trip but got some stuff we needed. I made one trip to Walgreen's this week. They were probably wondering what happened to me. I'm usually in there a couple of times a week. This is what I got this time. I had printed out a $5/$25 coupon but decided that I would only use it if I spent over $25 which I didn't plan on. I was only going in for Doritos, toilet paper and 7-up. 2 Doritos - BOGO $3.79
4 7-UP - 4/$5.00
Northern TP $4.00 less $1 es coupon and $1 manfg coupon = $2
2 Clean and Clear blemish on clearance $1.49 each
2 2pk neutrogena makeup remover $2.49 each
-$3.00 register reward
-$3.00 register reward
Total $14.15 used gift card and received $2.00 register reward for 7-up

The chips we needed for Mexican Chicken and taco salad this week. The Doritos do taste better than the off brand so when I can get them for a good deal I buy the good stuff. We are running low on TP so I am working on building my stock back up. Not the best deal but not too bad. I haven't found a great deal on it in a long time. I was paying over $4 for the equate brand of makeup remover for Breanna last school year. So to me the Neutrogena was a good deal. I might have had a coupon at home for it but I hated not to buy them when they only had 2 on sale. Same with the Clean and Clear. They only had 2 and with teenagers you can never have enough of that kind of stuff. It feels like I have been couponing heavily for a long time but when I stop and really think about it, it's only been like 6 months or less. I get some really good deals on household goods but I don't do as well on the groceries. I don't know why that is.

CRAZY WEEK!

2008-10-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those weeks when you don't even have time to breath? That is my week this week. We are working very hard to get our bathroom remodel completed before the kids come to stay with us for 9 weeks. Needless to say my back is killing me and my right arm might fall off. I do know I will not be plastering walls like this again. It looks really cool but is very time consuming. I haven't had any time to shop any good deals and I know I must be missing a ton. Scott shopped around for some some special boards to go around our tub and at Home Depot it was going to cost around $120. He found it at Packs (a small lumber store) for $5 a sheet so it is only going to cost us $20. WooHoo.

Help My Blog looks CRAZY

2008-10-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

I don't' know why but. . . what I type and what shows up on my blog are two different things. I type everything up all nice and easy to read and then hit post and it bunches everything all together. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Walgreen's 10/07

2008-10-07T18:23:00.001-07:00

I did two transactions at Walgreen's today. I was glad to see the cashier there who will scan my coupons in the order that I give them. I did really good today. #1
Glade Fameless Candle $5.99
Walgreen's lip tubes B1G1 $1.19 x2 (for widow baskets at Christmas and mom had got her limit)
Glo in the Dark policy $.99 (Bre will love this for Halloween and they only had 1)
Gloves $.50 x 2 (Walgreen's coupon
-$4.50 register rewards
-$5.00 manfg coupon for Glade
Total $1.69 Got $3 Register Reward for next purchase (mom gave me $2 for lip tubes)

#2
Glade Candles $1.99 x 4
Oral B Toothbrush $1.99
Afrin Nasel Spray $5.49
Crest Toothpaste $1.99
Glade fameless candle $5.99
-$4.00 Register Reward
-$1.00 manfg coupon for Glade candles x4 =-$4.00
-$1.00 Manfg coupon Crest
-$.75 Manfg coupon Oral B
-$6.00 Afrin coupon - printed the last time I bought Zyrtec
-$1.00 ES coupon Crest
-$1.00 ES coupon Oral B
Total $7.54 Got back $3 register reward for next purchase. Will send in for $4 mail in rebate

I got out to my car wondering how on earth I spent so much on my second transaction. I thought each should be around $2. He was having a hard time with his register. I Looked at the receipt and noticed he missed my $5 coupon for the Glade Fameless Candle. I went back in and he found the second coupon in the drawer and sent me for the manager to give my money back. The manager was having trouble and took a couple of transactions to get the machine to give my money back. She gave me my $5 back and then handed me another $3 register reward. WOOHOO!!!!!

I usually stay away from the oil candles and plug ins because they are so bad for allergies. I haven't tried them in a while even though they have been free after coupons many places. I decided to give these a try. If they do upset my nose than I will just give them away.

FRED'S

2008-10-04T19:43:00.001-07:00

Did you know Fred's doubles coupons up to $.70 on Saturdays? My neighbor has been talking about going to Fred's for double coupon day on Saturdays. I decided since I was out and about that I would stop in and take a look around since I haven't shopped there in forever. I decided to make a small transaction and see how they did the double coupons. It was a breeze the computer did all the work so there were no questions asked. If I understand their policy correct, you can not have more than 1 of the same coupon per transaction. Does anyone know what their exact coupon policy is? My total was $.32.
I may have to shop here more often!

4 Walgreen's Transactions

2008-10-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

I went a little crazy this weekend with the $5 off $20 coupons. I did 2 transactions yesterday and had no plans on going to town again today but I got some of the razor coupons so I had to go again. When I went yesterday I had no deals or scenarios of what I was going to purchase other than to pick up more pictures. Today was a little more planned. Here is what I ended up with. Transaction #1
Photos - $12.76 (I used the 10 cent coupon online where you buy 50 prints in 2 separate orders. So I got over $9 in pics for $5 twice.)
Orlb Toothbrush - $4.49
Conair trimmer - $3.49 (*Gift)
2 Tootsi activity pads - $.49 each (*Gift)
- Less $2 register rewards
- Less $5 off $20
Total after Tax $16.06 received $4.50 register reward back.
Total Saved $26
Transaction #2
All gifts from clearance racks
6 Dry Erase Boards $3.24 each
2 mini punches $.49 each
4 calculator rulers $.75 each
Conair trimmer $3.49
- $5 off $20
-4.50 register rewards
Total 19.97
Total savings $89.25

Transaction #3

Zyrtec - $27.99

Fusion Razor - $8.99

-$4 Zyrtec coupon

-$4 Fusion coupon

-$5 off $20

Total $26.54 received $4 register reward

Total saved $9.50

I tried to use a register reward but was told I couldn't because my coupon total was more than the register reward I was trying to use. Anyone else ever heard of this? After reading another blog about register rewards I think it was because I only had 2 products and that would have made it 3 manf coupons which you can't do.

Transaction #4

Soft Soap $.99 with Walgreen's coupon

Puff $.89 with Walgreen's coupon

Fusion Razor 8.99

-.25 puff coupon

-.35 soap coupon

-4.00 razor coupon

Total $7.14 received $4.00 register reward back

Total saved $8.10

(Couldn't use a register reward on this one either. I keep trying maybe eventually I will get to use all of them.)

You know it's crazy when. . .

2008-10-04T18:49:00.001-07:00

You know it's bad when you have more of these than you do money. I seam to have the worst time getting the Walgreen's cashier to accept these. I found a lot of answers that I didn't know today in a post here. http://iheartwags.com/. Check it out.

A New blog

2008-10-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am going to try and keep up with 2 blogs. People who look at my personal one probably don't care what I buy for little or nothing. People who look at my blog to check out the bargains I find probably don't care about all the personal things that I take photos of. So for now I'm going to try and keep two and see how it goes. I love blogging. Wish I had more time for it.

YARD SALE QUEEN

Gas Coupon

Rich on Meat and some Shopping

Rolling those Register Rewards

Price Matching at Wal-Mart

Freds

Red Plum

So why no posts

Free at Fred's

Back 2 School is Here

A poll I received in my email

Country Mart $.40

Free Candy Bars at Walmart

Walgreen's this week

Are you wondering why no posts

Back from Vacation

$2.01

Going on Vacation

Be on the lookout for these coupons!

Rolling those Walgreen's Register Rewards

Painting

You never know what you are going to find. . .

Trying not to waste meat

Edwards

Weekend Shopping

Feedburner?

Sorry it has been so long

Walgreen's mistake = money!!

Book Signing

Back from Miami

I will be away for a while

Walgreen's Earth Day Shopping

Menu for the Week and a few recipes

Garage Sales

Rolling Register Rewards

Crazy Saturday Shopping

Walgreen's

Walmart $2.86

Meal Plan

Walgreen's Rebates

MENU

My dog had a accident

Random Stuff

Shopping without coupons

Very Busy

Didn't get to roll those Register Rewards

Lots of Register Rewards

Getting back to normal.

I will be away for a while

There is a time when you shouldn't shop

Fred's

Expensive Trip to Walgreen's

Clipping to toss

Sunday Shopping

THE POWER IS ON!!!!

Be Careful and Stay Safe!

Busy Weekend

Walgreen's is my friend again!

Open all your Junk Mail!

Walgreens ?

Kraft Sweepstakes

Shopping in Branson

Ever have one of those days?

I GOT MY FIRST AWARD!

It Worked!

Fred's

Organizing

Walgreens

Answering a few questions

Shopping today

MP3 Player

Walgreens Easy Saver

Do you make homemade gifts?

It's nice when

Meat

$25.40 Gas

Walgreen's is Crazy!

K-Mart Double Coupon Days!!!!

Great Savings at Walgreen's!

$3.47 and $2.07