Winn-Dixie Clearance- Spices & Frosting & Cake Mix

Growing up in Manila, it's often faster to walk to the store than sit in traffic all day on the bus. People didn't walk to exercise, we walked to go places. People didn't workout and lift weights, we carried our groceries instead. Running was not for the endorphins, but to catch a taxi (or a purse-snatcher).

When I watch my new neighbors going for their brisk morning walk, I can't help but feel guilty while I stress eat some Doritos. Then my AHa! moment came. Since we live near a couple of stores, why don't I walk there to grab a couple of things and walk back?This was a great idea if I didn't find lots of great deals at Winn-Dixie. I think my shoulders will be sore tomorrow from carrying a couple heavy bags!

Here are some clearance items I found:

75% off Krusteaz Gingerbread Cake &
Cookie Mix, $0.69 Krusteaz Pumpkin Pie Bar Mix, $0.74
Krusteaz Sugar Cookie Mix, $0.44
(These will last through the holidays, if you have room to stock-up.)
Betty Crocker Cupcake Creations, $0.60 (raspberry, mocha, mint)
Betty Crocker Muffin Glaze, $0.85 (vanilla, cinamon)
Betty Crocker Brownie Topper, $0.85 (cream cheese, chocolate)
Cake Mate Pastel Icing, $1.12 perfect for Easter!
Mc Cormick Recipe Inspiration, $0.49 (use $0.50 from Redplum)
Mc Cormick Worcesteshire Pepper, $0.62 (use $0.50 from Redplum)

50% off Fleishman's Yeast 3-strip for pizza, $0.59
Hunts Snack Pack, $0.63 (sugar free caramel, blueberry muffin, cinnamon roll)

Great Sales through Tuesday:
Kraft Shreds w/ Touch of Philly, BOGO $3.99 ($1 blinke from Publix)
Philly Cooking Creme, $2 ($1.50 blinkie from Publix)
Chicken Drumsticks, BOGO? (I bought 2 for $3.50, used $1.50 off chicken when you buy cooking creme)
Dole Salad BOGO $3.49 or $3.99 for kits ($1 coupon printed at checkout)
Marzetti Pomegranate dressing $2.50 ($1.50 coupon printed when I checked out)

Coupon Finds: Spotted these coupons there-
$1 Bailey's Creamer
Buy 4 (Fuze or Gold Peak)Get 1L Dasani
$1 Lloyd's Woodfire BBQ

CVS Free Candy, Bubbles & Tea

I'm still waiting for the nice Easter freebies at CVS. But free candy is always nice.
Russell Stover single egg or chocolate bunny $0.74
Get $0.74 ECB (limit 1) = FREE (Sunday Monday and Tuesday only!)

There's also FREE bubbles:
Super Miracle Bubbles 16 oz $1.99
Get $1.99 ECBs (limit 1) =FREE

Honest Tea 16.9 oz 3/$4 = $1 ECB (limit 4)
Deal Scenario:
Buy 3 Honest Tea Total = $4
Use $1/1 Honest Tea Q from Recyclebank
Pay as low as $1 Get back a $1 ECB =3 FREE!

Spend $20 on Participating Lysol Get $10 ECB (limit 1)
Deal Scenario:
Buy 4 Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra starter kits $6 each = $24
Use $4/1 coupon found in the 3/20 SS or coupons.com*
Pay $8 Get back a $10 Ecb Final cost FREE + a $2 Moneymaker!
*Print coupons through Swagbucks to get 10 swagbucks per coupon used!

Some helpful tips: I shop CVS on Sundays before all other couponers snatch the freebies. Swipe the CVS card at the coupon machine first. Use the Green Tag card at checkout! If you have plenty of ECBs to rollover, you can use these to print photos, buy the Sunday paper, get passport photos and buy grocery staples like milk, bread and eggs. Treat ECBs like cash- don't let them go to waste!

Happy CVSing this week!

Credits: Visit iheartcvs.com for ad scans and see pix of what the freebies look like (as pictured above). Visit hip2save.com- best deals in red; visit moneysavingmom.com to link-up your deals!

FREE Toiletries at CVS

All except for the Doritos ($6 for 3 after ECBs) were FREE this week at CVS. I went Sunday afternoon and most of the Gum flossers were already gone! So if you still plan to go tomorrow (last day) and they've run out on any deals, grab a raincheck. Everything here plus the contact lens solution and two newspapers would have cost $38 BUT with coupons from last Sunday's paper (I clipped them right at the store), $3 Quarterly Bucks, and ECBs from last week that I rolled over this week, of course I didn't pay that much. Instead my total was $5 after all the ECBs I got back. My wallet and teeth are very happy! For a listing of deals, visit MoneySavingMom.com and Hip2Save.com (freebies and best deals are written in red).

Publis Deals Through April 12

Here are my favorite deals this week:

Banquet frozen chicken, BOGO $5.49
Use two $1 off Publix Q from Slam Dunk booklet Buy 6 + $15 more groceries and submit for $10 Rebate =>
6 bags = $16.50, use six $1 off => $10.50 =>submit for $10 rebate =$0.50 for 6 bags!

Cascadian Farms frozen veg, $2
Use $0.75 Q + $1 Publix Q = $0.25 each

Silk Almondmilk, $2.50 (unsweetened is only 35 calories!)
Take the 10-day Challenge to print $2 off Q = $0.50

Mueller's Pasta, BOGO $1.39
Register w/ new email, get $1 off 1 (when prompted, print more than 1 copy- I did 6)
Buy 2 use two $1 Q =$0.60 overage

Publix Brown Rice, $0.99 (not on sale but new item!)

Jell-O Temptations, $2
Got my FREE coupon from Kraft First Taste

Snicker's Creme Eggs Single Pack, $0.50 Get 2 FREE with $1 off 2 from coupons.com There was a $2/2 Q = $1 overage

Voskos Yogurt, $1 (blinkie machine is gone!) Buy 3, use two $0.75 Qs & Buy2G1 Free = $0.50 for 3

Sunkist Almond Accents, BOGO $2.99
Use two $1 off Qs = $0.49 each

Oscar Mayer Turkey Franks, $2.29
Use $1 peelie on Turkey Selects = $1.29

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats, BOGO $4.51
Use two $1 for Touch of Fruit only = $1.25 each

Tofouyan Pita Bread, BOGO $1.29
Will be great with Sabras Hummus that was BOGO last week!

6 Pack Publix Spring Water, $2.11
They gave out FREE coupons at the Perdido Spring Fest Fair

Zyrtec 5 count, $6.49
Use $4 Target Q plus $2 blinkie = $0.49


Everything pictured plus Almondmilk & Jello Temptations would have cost $77.15, with the help of a few coupons, we paid $10.19, for a savings of 87%. Yep. What's really impressive is that other people save that much too- check out I Heart Publix's weekly totals.

The cool thing is that the 2 value size Purex alone cost that much. So it's like I bought 2 bottles of detergent and got $66 of food for FREE.

Apple Market Q Gone- But Get FREE Coffee!

Sometimes I wish I had more foresight than coupon etiquette. There was a $5 off $25 Apple Market coupon that Publix willingly took as a competitor coupon. I printed 12 thinking I'll go back and print more later (since 12 was already a lot). We'll, I'm sad to say that RelyLocal pulled the coupon (why- it wasn't expiring until 12/31/2011?) and I have only 1 coupon left. Don't they know I rely on that local coupon? Instead of this coupon (sob, I actually thought of going to Apple Market to use the coupon at some point), now we have this:

FREE 12 oz. Cup of KONA Coffee! And we mean it! No purchase necessary! Come in and try a cup today. ( One per customer per day. ) Expires 12/31/11

Thanks, anyway.

But in case you'd like to try it- print it now before it disappears! They have a location next to the used bookstore and across the Pensacola State career center past Cordova Mall.

$0.50 Philadelphia Cooking Creme at Winn-Dixie

Although we have enough cooking creme to last forever, I might just buy some more. For only $0.50 each, I'm willing to surf the web for new recipes. If you are interested in buying these along with chicken, lookout for the $1.50 peelies on different chicken items. Might as well get another $1.50 off, right. Last time these were on sale, they had a $1 Winn-Dixie retailer coupon. Our store took this as a store coupon. Stacked with the $1.50 manufacturer's, this became a lil' money maker.

Besides this, Kraft cheese is on sale for $2. There is a new blinkie found at Publix (& Winn-Dixie too, maybe) for $1 off the Touch of Philly variety. This makes the cheese only $1 each. We can never have too much cheese! Freeze extras.

Here's a Spinach Dip recipe I've concocted to use up the cooking creme:
1 box frozen spinach ($0.15 from last Publix sale)
1 bag Kraft shredded cheddar cheese ($1 after $1 blinkie)
1 tub Philly cooking creme- savory garlic ($0.50 after $1.50 blinkie) Salt and pepper to taste
=$1.65 for all ingredients

Cook spinach per directions. Drain as much liquid as possible. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add cooking creme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine well. Serve hot or cold with some pita chips or crackers.

I love that this dip requires no stove or oven cooking. For an extra spicy kick, use Santa Fe cooking creme and/or Pepperjack shredded cheese.

FREE OTCs and Toiletries at Publix!

These are some items I got for free at Publix recently. Only one coupon was from the newspaper, the rest in-store and printables. If you still have some of the printables, you can also score these deals. Right Guard BOGO coupon from 3-13 RP One
pair with Right Guard Buy One Bodywash Get FREE Deodorant Q (Green Ad flyer found in-store)
$2 Visine, any product (I think this has a size restriction)
FREE Soothing Wipes with other Visine purchase (no longer available)
$4 Zyrtec Q- Target coupon
$2 Zyrtec manufacturer's Q- blinkie found in-store
$5 off $25 Apple Market Q (no longer available- makes me cry!)

The Visine Soothing Wipes were clearance $4.99 but rang up $6.99. I pointed that out to customer service. Did you know that their Publix Promise is to give you the product FREE if it rings up differently at the register? So I got $6.99 back and made a little money on this shopping trip.

What did I do with the leftover dough? We enjoyed some Publix fried chicken- it was even on sale for $5.99! Food is not the only freebies to be had at Publix- OTCs and toiletries, too. Now you know.

Of course, most of my coupon links come from I Heart Publix. See what great deals you can snatch!

Lowe's Build & Grow 2nd & 4th Saturdays

You know how Boy Scouts build things and get patches on their vest? I really wanted that for our son. But I wasn't keen on the fees and weekly meetings. So, the Kids' Build and Grow at Lowe's (and Home Depot's version) was a nice and FREE alternative. Check it out this Saturday. They're building this soccer goal. Mobile Hwy's store starts the program by 9am- they get about 100 kids so come early. Otherwise, it's 10-11am for most stores. On April 23, they will build this birdhouse. Just show up with your children (as young as 3 is ok but you will end up doing most of the work). They provide a FREE apron, FREE project, and Certificate of Completion. There are kiddie hammers and goggles for use. It's been great seeing our little ones improve their hammering skills over the years. Plus they have so much fun! One downside is that all these crafts do add up quickly. So this year, we are planning on making a few and giving them away as presents. The actual building time takes less than half an hour. When we get home, we sand and paint and beautify them.

I consider these building projects as part of our homeschooling experience. The fact that it's free is a nice bonus! What are your favorite local events for children? Share a few and visit Frugal Fridays for more frugal tips. Visit Lowe's to sign-up online or just show up Saturday.

Rapunzel Birthday Cake

Spring is here and with weather to match. Usually it is tremendously hot in Pensacola by now. So we are thankful for the mostly cool few days, despite high pollen counts. Since we moved in the winter, I had no idea what kind of trees and bushes we have around the house. Now that flowers bloom overnight it seems, I've been pleasantly surprised to find out we have azaleas and wisteria. Our sweet girl had her birthday this week. Since it was on Monday, we had a couple families join us at Perdido Kids' Park. We had the park almost to ourselves. It gave us moms a chance to visit without worrying too much about where the children are running off too. The park is fenced throughout and only has one entrance/exit. We love this park! A themed-birthday is nice, too. But who knew that kids still love to just play in the playground and just eat cake and ice cream. Simple and almost free birthday parties are still in!

Parties over the weekend get overcrowded at the park, however. It doesn't matter what time you have yours. There will be 8 other parties going on at the same time. As you can tell, this was taken during the Easter Egg Hunt- it should be the Saturday before Easter again this year. Plan to come if you can. Last year, the Optimist Club hosted it and some of the eggs had $1 bills inside! This birthday cake was inspired by LifeAsMom's Tangled Cake . Last year, I feared our little girl was getting over the Princess craze- she kept asking to wear blue jeans! But alas, she is a girly-girl through and through. More pink the better for her 8th birthday and this pink-frosted strawberry cake fit the ticket. I am afraid of making birthday cakes... because I need frosting lessons! That's why my cakes don't leave the baking pan and have marshmallows for a border. If you are wondering, there is no birthday salutation because I forgot to get gel icing. Sprinkles made the best last-minute substitution.

Do you buy birthday cakes or make your own? I do like that homemade cakes are much more inexpensive and my children adore them, even if they are simple with uneven frosting. I'm mentally preparing for October's cake- my son wants a dinosaur cake for his 7th birthday! I have no clue how to make that. Looking for cake ideas- there's tons here. Frugal ideas to swap? Check out Frugal Fridays. Want to share stories? Tell yours at Company Girl's Coffee at Home Sanctuary. Ok, I had to link-up with Amy's Finer Fridays too, because babies and birthdays turn me all sappy.

Disney Crafts Clearance at Wal-Mart

Isn't Easter Sunday a bit late this year? If you are hunting for gifts to fill Easter baskets, you might check out this Tinker Bell bracelet kit for $3 at Wal-Mart. I found it near the greeting card aisle along with Disney Princess, Cars, and other craft kits for $3 a piece. Our newly-turned 8 yr old daughter still thought this was a cool present. Since I don't have a stockpile of paper products, I was suckered into getting this Birthday Party kit for $5. It was also in the clearance aisle. Good enough for a last minute rush, but I know I could have done better with planning!

Kimberly Clark Rebate & Money Maker

Okay, okay. I've been MIA for months. Thankfully, the schoolyear is almost over so I will have more free time soon. Meanwhile, with the new online $5 off $25 Apple Market coupon, I have been getting really great deals at Publix.

Here's one I have to share with you: Buy $35 or more Kimberly-Clark or Clorox products, get a $10 Publix gift card by mail!

Visit I Heart Publix's booklet list to view participating products. Huggies diapers & wipes, Clorox wipes & bleach, Scott & Viva paper towels are some of them. Pictured below is the deal I did & paid only $1.52 after coupons, but before the $10 Rebate! This will be a money maker- $9.48 extra money & FREE products.


Look for the booklet: Get a Bundle of Savings, Do a Bundle of Good. The Rebate form is in the back, one per household. I used these Publix coupons, pictured here: $2 off 2 Kleenex, $2 off U by Kotex & $2 off Kotex. Plus a few manufaturer coupons:
$1.50 off 2 Kotex
$1 off U by Kotex
$0.50 off 2 Kleenex from April All You (other coupons are even better!)




This is the breakdown of my shopping trip above:
8 Kleenex, 4 for $5 on sale
4 U by Kotex, 3 for $10 on sale
4 Kotex, $3.41 each =$36.97

These are coupons I used:
-$5 off $25 Apple Market Q (register to print)
-$8 U by Kotex Publix Q -$4 U by Kotex Manuf Q
-$8 Kotex Publix Q
-$3 Kotex Manuf Q -$8 Kleenex Publix Q
-$0.50 Kleenex Manuf Q
=-$36.50 in coupons So, only $0.50 for 8 Kleenex & 8 feminine products.

Then there's the $10 rebate too! Also, we needed wasp spray, so I bought it with these items (for the overage): 4 Snickers egg, $0.50 each(with Easter candy display)
-$4 (used two $2/2 coupons)
2 Friskies Party Mix, BOGO $1.75 (for teacher's cat!)
-$1 off Manuf Q (1/23 SS) & two $1 off Publix Q =-3.25 in overage

Wasp Spray, $4.29-$3.25= $1

FREE Hershey's Kiss at CVS

With Valentine's comes chocolate. And did I get a nice surprise at CVS today. Lately, the magic coupon machine has printed $4 off 40 oz. Hersheys. But alas, that item is nonexistent. Even Publix did not carry this size. So, my CVS manager offered to substitute Hershey's Kisses (on sale through Saturday for $3) as a replacement. This meant a $1 MoneyMaker and FREE Kisses.

It doesn't hurt to ask your store if they would also substitute another Hershey's product. Your Valentine's might get sweeter.

On a side note, Bertolli Alfredo Sauce on sale for 3/$5, is included in the Unilever sale. To me, $1.66 for a jar of anything Bertolli without a coupon is a great price. The $5 ECBs brings it down to $1.11 each- still cheaper than Wal-Mart!

UNILEVER DEAL: Buy $15 of select products, Get $5 ECBs back
Deal Scenario- with no coupons
Buy 9 Skippy PB, Ragu or Bertolli sauces in any combo
Pay $15, Get $5 ECBs back
=9 items for $10 or $1.11 each