Santa's Secret Message

Last week, we went to a tree lighting celebration. They served yummy cookies and cocoa while the elementary kids sang carols. We waited for Santa, the honored guest, to arrive and light the tree.

Afterwards, all the children got up close and personal with Santa. I'm glad we saved those red hats for the move. Now the three of them match.

 



On December 6, we celebrated St. Nicholas Day learning about the history of Santa. The children watched the old classic Santa Claus is Coming to Town. They wrote letters to Santa before bed and put their shoes outside their bedroom door with their letters. That evening he came to pick-up the letters, drop some candies in their shoes and leave a secret message too.

 

Santa is very thoughtful!

Thanks to A Thrifty Mom for this great idea!

Holiday Travel? Book Hotels with Priceline

In the last year we have done some major traveling. Our family stayed in Florida for 6 years going no more than 50 miles away at a time, except twice to visit relatives in Virginia. Then last October we moved from Florida to Virginia. A week later, flew to California then drove cross-country from there to Virginia in the dead of winter.

First time seeing snow was in Arizona of all places.

We've had our fair share of hotel stays in just a short time period. What helped our long cross-country trip with children in tow was only driving during the day. Then staying at a nice hotel for a good night's rest. It took us 6 days to go coast-to-coast, including a visit with friends in Oklahoma.

The thing with Priceline is once the hotel is booked, it can't be cancelled. Instead of booking in advance, we booked a hotel at whatever city we decided to stop for the night. We would look for a Mc Donald's to use their free Wi-Fi and book a hotel on the spot. Most hotels with ratings 3 stars and above offer rooms that look like the room pictured and cost us only $50-$65 a night. So I always start the bid at $45 and often don't have to go much higher to win a bid. These are $150 a night or more regularly.



What a lovely room waited for us in Phoenix!

The hotel gets the information instantly and we can check in without having to show a printout of the Priceline transaction. The hotels were very clean and modern. Some even had heated indoor swimming pools. What a treat for winter!

Our first night in VA at 4 diamond hotel for $70/night 

It was well worth the extra $50 a night for us to stop and rest. Hotel stay was part of the vacation. We went swimming, watched cable and took long baths. For food, we packed fruits and snacks. Subway was our go-to cheap fast food. Sometimes we also used Restaurant.com certificates to eat at the hotel bistro. I used the business center computer to buy and print the gift certificate. 

 

Almost there! On I-95 heading for Virginia.



Wherever the road leads you this holiday season, if stopping for the night is a must, I hope you can rest easy and find great accommodations.

Apple Picking and Homemade Apple Pie

This October we went to Charlottesville to pick apples. A couple days before he was born, we went apple picking in the Blue Ridge near Middleburg. When we brought him home from the hospital, a few of those apples were waiting for us to enjoy. So it was a nice treat for him to pick apples on his birthday.

Even though there were lots of varieties ready for picking, we only picked Fuji apples. It's easy to get carried away picking that before long, the bags are filled and too heavy to carry. It's a different experience from blueberry picking that way!

Carter Mountain Orchard is such a lovely place. We will come back in the summer to pick their peaches for sure. Everywhere you turn is a breathtaking view of the mountains. The drive is gravely and a little steep but nothing to worry about. They also make the most awesome apple cider donuts served hot. Krispy Kreme better watch out!

As for prices, only $1.20 a pound for U-pick and $1.50 a pound for already picked. Plus we ate as much as we could while we picked. Those apples were free.

It was shamefully to see the base of the trees littered with apples that were picked but not bought.When possible, if we picked bruised apples, we just kept them to use for apple pie or fruit compote to serve on pancakes and French toast. Fuji apples stay a little firm even baked in pies. They don't get mushy like in store bought versions.

Picking apples our first fall back in Virginia was a memorable experience.

Once-A-Month Turkey Dinners

One of my favorite homeschooling moms buys 13 turkeys every Thanksgiving. One for the holiday and 12 for the freezer. She cooks one every month to feed her family inexpensive lean meat. At $.39 per pound that is not a bad investment. Plus, if the power goes out, stick several frozen turkeys in the fridge and it will keep the other foods safely cold for a few days. (Hurricane preparedness hasn't left me long after we've left Florida.)

Remember my almost free turkey? I finally cooked a turkey that is crispy and golden brown. Instead of using a turkey-self-basting bag, I used my roasting pot with the lid on. (This is because I was too cheap to buy the bags full price. But it worked!) Before the last 30 minutes, I took out as much of the liquid and cooked without the lid on to get it crispy. I cooked it with stuffing in the bird too. It was so good and simple to make.

I have heard that cooking the smallest turkey you can find is the safest bet to ensure a moist bird. Let me add another trick to that: soaking overnight in brine guarantees moistness. I just dump as much salt as I think would make the water salty and add about a tablespoon of white vinegar. Next time, I'll measure the salt.

Don't have time to soak it? If it's not for Thanksgiving, cook the bird breast side down without a roasting rack. It might not look pretty but it will taste great.

We ended up getting 3 turkeys about 12 pounds and $5 each. Plus, with the fuel perks deal the store had, we saved us $.60 off gas!

Frugal Fridays: Ci-Ci's Style BBQ Pizza

For 2 years now, Friday is Family Movie Night at our house. We've watched over a hundred movies together, some new releases from Redbox, some old favorites on VHS tapes, lots of free library DVD's.

Pizza is the mainstay plus cake for dessert. We usually have homemade pizza or Little Caesar's pepperoni. But it's been a couple months since we've had any. A while ago, Kroger had Tony's Pizza for $.25 with their $5 off 5 mega sale.

I spent around $25 for all of this, donated lots too!

Since my daughter likes cheese pizza, I bought a bunch of these for pizza night. Then I was able to get Digorno pizza for $.50 after coupons at CVS.  These deals have come and gone, but it's now December and we just ate our last frozen pizza tonight.

Have you tasted Tony's Pizza? Let's just say it's no Digorno. Since we were out of those, I added bbq sauce to shredded turkey and threw in some mozzarella cubes then added these to the kiddie cheese pizza. Voila! now it's edible. BBQ pizza was my favorite at Ci-Ci's back in my college days. But I always forget to make it for pizza night. It's so easy and a nice kid friendly pizza for those who say, "Pepperoni just too spicy for me, Mommy. "

How about you? Share your frugal family bonding traditions. Link-up to Frugal Fridays for more.

Target Shopping Trip: $46 for $114, including $50 phone card!

I feel pretty good after watching some Charlie Brown cartoons so I tallied my receipts from Target. I had two coupons for $10GC wyb $50 so did two transactions. I bought Glade and Dr. Scholl's items in my first transaction since they produced two $5 gift cards. Then I used these and the $10 gift card for the 2nd transaction.

Here are the details of my shopping trip, with Qs I used.

6 Keebler cookies (-$1.50x6)
4 Poptarts (-$1.50x4)
2 Cheez-its (-$1.50x2)
2 Vrooms cereal (-$1.50x2)
5 Glade items (-$5)
2 Dr. Scholl's inserts (-$2 peelies)
2 Right Guard items (-$6)
4 Market Pantry frozen veggies (-$1)
2 Intl Delight creamers (-$2.60)
1 dozen eggs
2 $25 prepaid phone cards

Subtotal: $114
Got 2 $10 GCs and 2 $5 GCs
Paid $56 after discounts and $10 GC for later

BUT the way I look at it, since we always buy the phone cards full price, the groceries are FREE plus $4 overage! Target really paid me to take all this food home.

Incidentally, Kroger is having 4x Fuel Points for gift card purchases. I bought a $50 Target GC, giving me $.20 off gas. That's a $3.60 discount for our car. And I used this gift card tonight at Target. Even more savings!

Thanks to Totally Target for deal scenarios and clearance updates!


Some of the "free" groceries Target paid me to take home

Target: Buy $50 Get $10 Gift Card

UPDATE: I saved more money than I thought! I just love that. Read above.

I went to Target tonight to use the recent coupon for $10 Target Gift Card when you purchase $50. We have a prepaid cellphone so I bought two $25 phone cards. I also used $1.50 off Kelloggs coupons from Kellogg's Family Rewards. All in all, I spent $60 for 2 phone cards and a bunch of groceries. The phone cards are $50 by themselves, so only $10 for $70 of groceries. I hope you got the coupon and use it by tomorrow! It expires December 8. Totally Target had a nice scenario and lots of gift card deal scenarios that I used for this shopping trip.

 

Pictured above: Poptarts & some Keebler cookies are $1.99, so only $.50 with the $1.50 Q. The Vrooms cereal rang up $1, so overage of $.50

 

 

Maybe later I'll post my shopping list!

Frugal Chemistry?

Dr. Chirik said, “so something that once was garbage is now valuable.”

This quote makes me think of garage sales. 

The quote is in reference to the iPad. Apparently it uses another metal, cobalt. Because of the popularity of the iPad, cobalt is also now popular and expensive.

You and I are trying to save money on everyday purchases. But scientists like Dr. Chirik are trying to save thousands by making iron act like platinum. Not platinum, the bling-bling word, but the metal that costs apparently $22,000 per pound. As opposed to iron that is only $0.50 per pound.

If only we could get those savings at the store!

photo source

FREE Turkey at Martin's (Almost)

While Martin's is no Publix when it comes to deals, once in a while I do a double-take and am impressed by their deals. Sure, gone are the 19cent-a-pound turkeys on sale for Thanksgiving. But this week, Martin's has their Giant brand turkeys $.39/lb when you make a $25 purchase. PLUS, this week's ad in the Sunday paper had a coupon for 20cents off gas when you buy a turkey.

I found a turkey for $5.30 plus I got 20 cents off gas. For a full tank, that means saving $3.20. That makes the turkey $2.10! Nearly free in my book! Now if I can only make the turkey look like the picture then that would be a real impressive saving.

photo source

Yes, we've moved again.

Last time, oh, it was a long time ago.  I posted a couple of things from California. We stayed with my parents for a while just blown away by the awesomeness of California. Now more than six months later, we are here in Virginia! Enjoying the beautiful four seasons. And all completely new grocery stores: Kroger, Martins, Food Lion. I thought for a long time that the days of 90% savings was long gone. But until recently, I think there are some great deals left to talk about after all. With Thanksgiving next week, they should really start rolling in.

So, this new journey, with it's learning curve, might take us on an adventure in savings yet!

Fun With Coupons!

I'm so glad to make new friends while vacationing here in Southern California. Here is a recap of our couponing fellowship. And for all other newbies, this is for you too!

I. Getting Started with the Right Mindset

1. PRAYER – Phil 4:6-7
2. MOTIVATION - set goals bigger than fears
3. PLANNING - Meals Around Deals
4. SAVE, SHOP & SHARE – Acts 4:32-35

 II. Time Management

1. WRITE IT DOWN – notebook, highlighters, calculator
2. FILE & CLIP – date coupon inserts, clip coupons & store in labeled envelopes
3. SHOPPING – laser focus, chew gum, bring snacks, no kids (leftover night for family)
4. FOOD PREP & COOKING – 5dollardinnermom.com; Once-A-Month Freezer Cooking

 III. Box Stores

1. WAL-MART – price match even store brands
2. TARGET – price match, Target Qs, clearance (toys Jan & July), Gift Cards (GC) totallytarget.com Saturday lists best deals

 IV. Drugstores (not just drugs)

1. Walgreens – get Register Rewards (RRs- manuf. qs) & overage: wildforwags.com
2. CVS – get Extra Care Bucks (ECBs), get 2% back every quarter: iheartcvs.com
3. Rite Aid- Single Check Rebates and +UP Rewards: iheartriteaid.com
4. Easy: visit moneysavingmom.com  Saturday afternoon
5. Videos: hip2save.com, go to STORE tab, click STORE GUIDES 

V. Grocery Stores (So-Cal)

1. The Regulars: Vons, Ralphs, Fresh & Easy (click to view)
2. Produce: Sprouts double ads Tues & Weds; 99cent Ranch
3. Discounts: Smart & Final, Seafood City, Foodland Mercado 
4. Moneysavingmom.com- Grocery Deals Tab
5. Saveathomemommy.com- Store Deals Tab (So-Cal Deals) 

VI. Coupon Hideouts:

Know which coupon inserts are coming at sundaycouponpreview.com

1. Coupon Database: hip2save.com, moneysavingmom.com
2. Newspapers & Magazines: Wal-Mart, DollarTree, mailers, All You Magazine
3. Coupon Printers: coupons.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, target.com
4. At the Store: blinkie machines, tearpads, register catalinas 
5. Coupon Alerts & Links: print high value internet coupons ASAP
6. Coupon Clippers: couponsandthingsbydede.com, ebay beware

 VII. Other Fun Deals

1. Birthday Freebies – thefrugalgirls.com/birthday-freebies
2. Swagbucks.com – get $ for searches (450 pts = $5 Amazon GC)
3. Restaurant.com – local & out-of-town (great for travel); 80% off $25 GC- pay $2 only!
4. Redbox & Blockbuster Express

VIII. Books

Tightwad Gazette; Shop, Save & Share; The Lazy Couponer; The Sneaky Chef- find on ebay, the library or bookstores!

SoCal So Nice!

Hello all! Happy New Year to everyone. We are enjoying Southern California with family. And I've been taking a nice break from couponing. But I'm still following up on my favorite money-saving blogs. One of my favorite series has been on Crystal Paine's 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. She is offering a free e-book of all her posts on the series in connection with the promotion of her new book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget. Check out the post on her website for more information.