I love sharing tips on how to save money almost as much as saving money! I hope this blog will empower you to be frugal, especially when buying groceries.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Hallmark Coupons= Cheap Wrapping Paper or Christmas Cards
This year, they are at it again. In case you need some as well, don't forget to use those coupons for $5 off Any Hallmark Purchases found in several magazines (Dec issue):
Family Circle
Food Network Magazine
Martha Stewart Living
O, The Oprah Magazine
Real Simple
Redbook
You could also use the $10 off $10 Hallmark posted by Hip2Save a few weeks ago. Some stores are not allowing these. I will let you know if I was able to use mine at our stores. Of course you don't have to buy wrapping paper. I am thinking of getting Christmas cards or small ornaments, myself!
There is one in the Cordova Mall and another off Hwy 98 & Blue Angel (Winn-Dixie shopping strip). The four above I bought last year are thick, glossy and very high quality. We can finally cover our front door with paper that a slight breeze won't tear apart.
FREE Bible Study at East Brent
A young children's program is available for children 6 and younger. I was blessed to help out in the infant nursery this past Weds. Not only did they sing hymns while rocking the babies, but they also taught them sign language words and a memory verse! I was so impressed about how much care they gave these little crawlers and walkers.
If you live in another city, there might be Men's and Children's classes (1st grade and up) in your area. It's great if they do because you get to study the same passages in Scripture together as a family! Plus it is all FREE. They provide all the study materials so you don't need to buy a book!
I am really enjoying this study of Isaiah we are doing. It's causing me to dive into the Word and learn so much about things that apply to our modern times. I hope you can check it out too!
BSF at East Brent Baptist Church
9am-11am Wednesdays
Childcare provided
Intro class every First Weds (no childcare until you are registered)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
$30 in CVS Store Coupon- NEW Reinventing Beauty Magazine
CVS puts out a quarterly magazine for $0.99 called Reinventing Beauty. It always has great store or manufacturer coupons. You don't have to buy the magazine to get these great coupons. Right now, there is a stack of the inserts at the registers. Pick-up a couple to use for BOGO deals. In fact, you can use many of these at Publix, too!
$1/1 Kraft Dressing 16 oz
$1/1 Crystal Light drink mix 8qt or On the Go packets 10 ct
$1/2 Colgate Wisp 4ct or more
$1/1 Pro Clinical Toothpaste (not travel or trial size)
$1/1 Softsoap BodyWash 15-18 oz (not trial size)
$1/1 Lady Speedstick or Speed Stick Stainguard (not trial size)
$3/1 Nature Made product
$1/1 South Beach Living Protein Fit Cereal Bars 5 ct
$1/1 Ritz Crackerfuls
$2/1 Boiluxe full size
$2/1 Cristophe full size
Manufacturer's coupons (various expiration dates)
$1/1 Purpose skin care
$2/1 Bio Oil 2 or 4.2 fl oz.
$1/1 Ardell Lashes Starter Kit
$5 off $10 GlaxxoSmithKline Oral Care products (Aquafresh, Biotene, Sensodyne, Polident, Poligrip)
$2/1 Maybeline NY Volum' Express Falsies Black Drama Mascara and Eye Studio Lastig Drama Gel Eyewear
$1/1 Maybeline NY Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Get $15 Overage For Gift and Gas Card at Publix
Here's how it works:
First Transaction:
Buy $50 AMEX gift card
Use $10 off $50 AMEX gift card*
*back cover of sales ad or PRINT. Go to the last tab on top of the weekly ad. It says "Coupons" or click from the left side bar.
Pay $40 + $4.95 activation fee
Here is the tricky part:
Second Transaction
Shop for 1 hour 10 minutes (that's how long it takes to activate the card) or shop the next day
Get $25 of groceries & a $50 Shell Gas Card
Use $10 off $50 Gas Card (towards end of sales ad or PRINT)
Use any coupons for your groceries
Use the $50 AMEX card to pay for gas card
Pay the remaining balance, if any, with cash or something else
=$10 overage on gas card to go to grocery item balance
I had some FREE product coupons mailed to me and a raincheck on the Ronzoni Garden Delight, putting my total after coupons to only about $4 plus $40 for the gas card- which all went on the AMEX card!
$5.99 Energizer Lithium 4x (Green Ad sale)
*use $1 MQ & $2 Target PRINT= $2.99 each
BOGO Scotch Gift Wrap or Magic Tape $2.79 (use two $1 from Winter Family Savings booklet)
BOGO Pillsbury Cake Mix $1.79 (not great, no coupon, but I want a cake!)
$1.99 Keebler Peanut Butter or Cheese crackers (price cut from $2.70)
Also Laughing Cow wedges are $2.19 (use $1/1 MQ tearpad)
Buy 2 Lucky Charms Get FREE Movie Ticket!
Buy 2 Kid Cereal $2.98 each
Friday, November 26, 2010
Grocery Deals 11/26-11/30
Publix Super Deals by I Heart Publix:
Nonni’s Biscotti or Soft Baked Tusconi BOGO $3.37
Gardein Garden Protein Meat-Free Entree BOGO $3.99
$1 MQ PRINT or PRINT
Chung’s Egg Rolls or Spring Rolls 10-12 oz box BOGO $2.99
$0.35/1 (PDF) Rolling or $1/2 MQ 10/17 SS Insert
Kellogg’s Eggo Pancakes, Cinnabon, Nutri Grain Fruit Pizza, 5.3-16.4 oz BOGO $2.79
-$1/2 Eggo Products Rolling
Lactaid Milk, half gallon, 2/$6
-$2/1 Lactaid blinkie (check your binders)
-$1/1 Lactaid Milk Product (exp 12/2/2010)
Gerber Graduates 6 oz, 10/$9
-$1/2 MQ from Target catalina
Cheese-It 9.75-14 oz BOGO $2.39
-$1.50 off pretzels wyb Cheez-It Target Q
-$1/2 MQ tearpad at Winn-Dixie (have you found this?)
-$1/2 Walgreens Q in December booklet
Scotch Gift Wrap Tape, BOGO $2.79
$1/1 Publix Q Winter Family Savings
(Some people found $1/1 tearpads)
Red Delicious Apples, 5 lb bag, $3.99
Iceburg Lettuce, $.99
Florida Tomatoes, $1.29/lb
Florida’s Tangerines 3 lb bag, 2/$3
In-Ad Coupon $10 off a $50 BP, Shell, Chevron/Texaco or Hess Gas Card wyb $25+ Groceries
In-Ad Coupon $10 off a $50 American Express Gift Card ($4.95 activation fee)
Food World Deals:
$1.77 boneless, skinless chicken breast (great price!)
$1.99/lb ground chuck
$0.99 Food World white bread
$0.39/lb bananas
Winn-Dixie Deals:
Get $10 Gift Card wyb Flu Shot ($23 or $43)
Get $5 off every $50 gift card purchase
Saturday Only Sales:
$0.99 Kraft Cheese 5-9.6 oz shreds or block (limit 2) use $1/2 PRINT
$3.99 DiGorno pizza (limit 2) use $1/1 11/14 RP
$4.99 Cottonelle (limit 2) use $0.50/2 PRINT
$2.99/lb pork loin baby back ribs (limit 2)
$4.99 Tyson snack wings (limit 2)
3/$1 Winn-Dixie canned vegetables 14.5 oz corn, peas, green beans (limit 12)
$1.99 4-lb navel oranges
Canned veggies make great Food Pantry donations- only $4 or 12 cans!
Best of Friday-Tuesday:$1.99 Dole Salad 10-12 oz
$2 for 3-lb bag onions
$1.50 sliced or whole white mushrooms
$2 Wholly Guacamole dips (use $4 Facebook, $2 overage)
BOGO Green Giant canned vegetables not asparagus $1.39/2
BOGO London broil $4.99/2lbs
BOGO Genl Mills Cereal (double up for WIC)
BOGO Manischewitz potato pancake mix 6 oz, $2.99/2
$0.25 Elite chocolate coins
Thursday, November 25, 2010
CVS Black Friday Deals
Yes, I couldn't resist. I went to CVS after Tanks giving dinner. I felt bad for the cashier but she said her Mom had to work too and they had Thanksgiving yesterday. I was not alone there for too long. A few wives dragged their hubbies to get Black Friday deals early too.
I started with no ECBs to rollover. I also used the $4 off $20 found in the Christmas book. It's good through 11/28, limit 1 per household. Thanks to Southern Savers for the photo.
Here is the summary for the transactions:
Total without any ECBs or coupons: $92.24
Total out-of-pocket: $23.65 + tax
Total ECBs left over: $17.96
Total after these ECBs: $6
That's a savings of 93% after all is said and done.
The first 3 transactions are all FREE items without any coupons. With coupons, it would be a $11.75 moneymaker! Submit the Renpure Try-Me-Free Rebate and that's another $4.99 overage!
FIRST TRANSACTION:
5 Reese's candy, $0.79 x 5
5 Mars candy King size, $1.59 x 5
Total out-of-pocket (OOP): $11.90
ECBs Received $11.90
FREE 10 candy bars after ECBs!
SECOND TRANSACTION:
2 Listerine Pocket Pacs $2.99 x 2
1 Carmex lip balm $0.99 (next to Airborne)
2 Herbal Essence Hydralicious shampoos $3.99 x 2
2 Colgate Sensitive $3.99 x 2 (no triclosan!)
1 Excedrin 8 ct $0.99 (travel section)
1 Gillette deodorant $4
Subtotal: $27.92
-$2 x 2 Clairol Family Q for shampoo 10/31 PG
-$2 Gillette from 10/31 PG
-$0.75 Colgate sensitive from All You Dec 2010?
-$11.90 ECBs from 2nd transaction
-$1 Green Tag ECB
Coupon Total: -19.65
Total OOP: $8.27
ECBs Received $31.92
THIRD TRANSACTION:
1 LA Looks Hair Gel $2.99
1 Renpure Shampoo & Conditioner $4.99 x 2
1 Philips Earphones $6.99
1 Eucerin Daily Moisturizer $6.99
Subtotal: $26.95
-$23.94 ECBs from 3rd transaction*
This could have been lower OOP if I gave my other ECBs instead.
Total OOP:$3.01
ECBs Received: $26.95 (plus $7.98 I have left over)
You know... I don't think I paid for that detergent! I looked in my receipts & it's not on there. It's $1.99 get $1 ECBs. I'll have to go back tomorrow & pay for it!
FOURTH & 5th TRANSACTION*
Chocolate Fountain $18.88
Cold Eeze $6.59
Subtotal: $25.47
-$25 ECBs from 3rd transaction
Total OOP: $0.47
ECBs Received: $10 ($plus 7.96 ECBs left over)
I had to go back into the store to get the Cold Eeze for DH. The chocolate fountain is for Ladies Gift Exchange. It's a smaller version and perfect for family use! It's red and pretty cute. They also had lots of other gift-type appliances that were $18.88 with $10 ECBs after purchase.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Last Minute Target Shopping
I thought of a couple more last-minute gifts to get so I hurried over to Target. The lines were pretty short. Maybe people fled Pensacola for better cities for Thanksgiving. Anywhoo, there were still lots and lots of toys and items for Thanksgiving. These finds are courtesy of Totally Target. Many of these items should still be on sale through Saturday, at least.
Skippy Natural, $1.93 (-$0.75/2 Target Q)
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix, $1.50 (-0.40 man Q)
Maxwell House Int'l Coffee, $3.04 (-$2/2 Target Q, -$1 man Q)
Jello Pudding, $0.77 or $0.99 (-$0.50/2 Target Q, -$1.25/3 from Kraft booklet)
Keebler Chocolate Chip cookies, $1.99 (-$1/1 man q)
Mrs. Smith $3.41 (free Cool-Whip w/ purchase)
Cool Whip, $0.89 (-$1/2 man Q, -$0.50/2 Target Q)
Stove Top, $0.79 (-0.50/2 Target Q)
My total was around $26 but I got a $5 Gift Card from the Smart Ones.
Smart Ones dinners, $1.99 each*
*(-$4/10 Target, $4/10 Man Q, $5 GC wyb 10- these expire in a couple of days and I don't remember the links for the other 2 Qs. They come out to $0.69 each after Qs & GC)
My kids will have gift exchange soon so I decided to grab another Rapunzel. They were only $6 for the bigger one and $3.44 for the mini-version. The two Sorry games gave me $2 in overage using the $5 Qs inside the package. The Ladybug Game is for friends and was only $6 after 50% off Q. The total came out to $8.44 for some great Christmas presents. I also bought 3 pairs of pajama shorts, 2 undies, and a henley long-sleeved shirt for $2 using two $10/3 Target qs.
Mini-dolls make great cake toppers. After seeing this Tangled Theme Cake, I had to get that mini-Rapunzel doll. Jessica at Life As Mom makes cakes with the best decor! Check out her tutorial- it's so simple!
On a side note, at Target I saw this lady who came up to me and asked me if I was a blogger. It surprised me that someone would even recognize me. She told me how she had gotten out of the habit of couponing for some reason in the summertime. I tried to encourage her, but it didn't seem to be any use. It's makes me so sad to hear of a die-hard couponer who can't seem to get back into the swing of things.
So this Thanksgiving, I'd like to encourage you to keep on going, even if it's just one or two deals a week. Pair up with someone who has time and experience and go shopping with them. Remember women do things better together- clothes shopping, Bible study, cooking. Why not grocery shopping? It's a lot more fun with a buddy system!
$1 Kraft Cheese at Winn-Dixie Saturday Only
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
$1 off Pilgrims Pride Chicken (Wal-Mart)
Go here to receive $1 off Pilgrim's Chicken and you can print 2 per computer! The coupon link is on the top right corner. You could go straight to the bricks link as well. You could also get $0.55 off when you register at Pilgrim's Pride website.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Target Toy Super Shopping! Restocked for Tomorrow
It's funny how priorities tell a lot about you. Our one vehicle is "resting" for a few days. With all this talk about Target's BOGO toy sales, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I called someone to go there with me. After dinner, after her and my children were surely asleep, and the dads getting there too, we trekked to Target. What a fun time we had! I even printed extra coupons in case she wanted to buy a couple things, which she did. We shared a $5 Q to a grandmother buying a Thomas the Train set, too.
We had a great time of fellowship and we also got great deals!
These are the item I got:
2 FREE Leapfrog Tag books (BOGO & two $5 Qs)
2 other Leapfrog Tag books, $2 each after Qs
Barbie Rapunzel $6 (w/ 50% off Q)
2 Hasbro Card Games ($1 overage)*
Total: $6
Food I couldn't ignore:
Shrimp, $3 (used $1 Target Q)
Market Pantry Egg Nog (for my hubby) $1.99
2 dozen eggs $0.99 each (forgot this $0.55/2 Q)
Total:$7
*Target registers now detect overage on coupons and scan them down accordingly. Lately, on certain non-printable coupons, I've received overage. I'm not sure which these were. But the Hasbro Card Games (many are $3.99) have $5 Q found inside of the package. They are ringing up with $1.01 overage! There are still plenty left & with at least 4 types on sale.
The only downer was those Cuponk games, they were too scary for me! I wouldn't get those even they were moneymakers. So I have 2 coupons for them and as I was leaving it on the shelf for someone else to use, the Target employee told me he would have to throw them away. The store considers them paper trash. So sad. So next time you feel the urge to coupon fairy a few items, tuck them into the actual product. Or hand them to people in the aisle or in line at the register.
Black Friday Deals- even at Family Christian!
Totally Target has deals for Target too. But Target is closed Thanksgiving- so these sales are for Friday and Saturday.
Family Christian Bookstores also has Pre-Thanksgiving sales:
All for only $5!
Thank You God For Adventures In Imagination - Boz DVD
The Prince of Egypt - DVD
Dreaming of a Pink Christmas- Princess Gigi DVD
Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore
Same Kind Of Different As Me by Ron Hall
Wonder - CD by Michael W. Smith
My Paper Heart - CD by Francesca Battistelli
No Changin' Us - CD by Point of Grace
Lots of half off items too! Plus they have Black Friday sales. If I find my mailer from them I will add it here. It doesn't seem to be online. Family Christian and Lifeway always has a great selection of Black Friday sales that always includes inexpensive ornaments and Christmas cards. And plus again, no lines! At least no crazy lines.
Menu Plan Monday 11.22.10
Here is what I'm thinking for dinners:
Monday- Adobo (Filipino chicken stew)
Tuesday- Amatriciana (bacon & sausage spaghetti)
Weds- Seafood Pasta
Thursday- Thanksgiving
Friday- Turkey Tetrazzini
Saturday- Shrimp & Lentil Soup
Sunday- Turkey Broccoli Casserole
When Publix had their mussels BOGO, I was able to use two $1 Target seafood coupons and got these for only about $1.50 each. They come in garlic sauce that is really delicious. All I needed to do was add pasta and juice of 1 lemon.
Adobo is the only Filipino dish I can make really well. And I'm happy with that because it's inexpensive but very good. It's my favorite comfort food.
We love turkey around here. So I'm looking forward to all the leftovers. Here, I've made it with cucumber sauce- sour cream and chopped cucumber.
My simple plan of sandwiches and soup for lunch, pasta or rice dish for dinner is working out very well! Breakfasts are generally only 3 options: cereal, oatmeal, or scrambled eggs. We also like granola in yogurt. And french bread has been only $0.19, using Target's $1 bakery coupon at Publix.
Lastly, I wanted to point out this Gold'n Plump whole chicken found at Target's meat section. We are blessed to have a Target that constantly puts their meat on clearance. Last week these were $2.50 each, before I've bought these for only $1.75 using a $1 peelie found on some of the other chicken. So be on the lookout. They will put them on sale a few days before the Sell-by-date.
Now I'm getting so hungry thinking about food. Wishing everyone happy cooking! Share your menu plans at OrgJunkie!
Toys at Target and DVDs at Wal-Mart
Also, one little girl at our house would be so pleased this Christmas. Wal-Mart.com has Barbie movies for as little as $3.50 each. I got the Barbie Princess collection- 3 DVDs including Diamond Castle, Island Princess and 12 Dancing Princess for only $9.50. Santa is happy. Thanks to Hip2Save for this deal... there are lots of other DVDs in the website too. Just select price low-to-high and choose site-to-store pick-up to avoid shipping cost.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Publix Super Shopping 11.19.10
There are lots of good deals at Publix this week. I finally got to go yesterday and was happy to find everything... except for the $0.59/lb turkey! No worries, the truck was there and they should have plenty today.
Super deals from I Heart Publix helped me get all these and below for $35 instead of $147, a savings of 76%. My favorite deals were these:
Celery BOGO $1.69
Cranberries BOGO $2.99
Dole Pineapple $o.46 ea (BOGO $1.75, use $1.25/3 Q from Kraft booklet)
Uncle Ben's White Grain Rice FREE (BOGO sale w/ BOGO Q)*
BIC lighter $0.25 (BOGO $3.49, use two $1.50 MQ from 11/7 SS)
Ziploc containers, $0.25
(2.50 each, use BOGO Q from 11/14 SS & two $1 Publix Q from the old Yellow Ad- our stores sometimes accept expired Qs if you still want to get it this week.)
*Some stores make you do B3G1 when you combine a BOGO Q w/ a BOGO sale. But it worked for me at the Perdido store, and I had a supremely picky cashier who previewed all my coupons before ringing up anything.
If you find All the Trimmings booklet at Publix (they're out at Perdido), you can get Bird's Eye veg for as little as $0.15 each! There's a $1/2 MQ in there, and they're 50% off right now. These are my favorite deals, prices after Qs:
Kraft cheese $1 ($1 off shreds & Philly cheese peelie from Target)
Philly cheese $ 0.69 ($1.25/3 Q from Kraft booklet+$0.50 Target Print)
Land O Lakes butter $2.50
Friday, November 19, 2010
Not-So Frugal Wal-Mart Gas
BUT, an older gentleman informed me of results from unexpected experiment they had with gasoline from Wal-Mart and from another gas station. Since they were traveling to GA, they filled the tank here in Pensacola first. On the way back they filled up at a different station, since they didn't have any gas stations at the Wal-Mart there. Were they surprised at how much better gas mileage they got from the other station. From Wal-Mart's gas, they got 18 miles per gallon, as opposed to 22 mpg from the other.
We switched from Wal-Mart to another station to see if we had the same results. And we did, plus, the very next day, the car stopped trying to shut off. It ran smoothly at a higher mpg. I'm glad the told us. It's so important to share Frugal Tips! Share yours on Frugal Fridays.
Sushi from Publix
Target- Almost FREE Pajamas!
These are 50% off, shorts are $3.98 while pajamas are $6.48, with many different kinds to choose from. At our store, there were racks of 50% off and also marked and unmarked rack 30% off. Many sock monkey prints are available. Some bras and underwear are included too. What I did was go around the corner, at the sportswear section, where 75% off undies made them only $0.75, perfect filler items. It doesn't even matter if you can't find any your size. Grab one ($0.75), shorts ($3.98) and pjs ($6.48); use $10/3 and pay only $1.23 for everything. I'm going back for more while the selections is still good! Also, at the sports section, there are $1.25 tights (mostly neon colors SM/MED sizes).
I also got this chuck tender roast with a $3 off sticker. They are $3.59/lb on sale, so it was like getting one pound free. I have these marinating in the fridge and ready for grilling. If you can't find one with a manager's special discount, you can also use the $1 Target Q.
Finally, it's a nice blessing to see peelies at our store for cheese. I've heard of many other cities boasting these and now we have some. The are $1 off when you buy both cheese and Philly cream cheese. Since cream cheese is $1.19 (stack with $0.50/2 Target Q) and Kraft shreds are $1.80 (stack with $1/2 Target Q), these should give you cheap cheese. There is also a $1.25/3 from a booklet found at Winn-Dixie in the baking section. I've only seen this booklet over at 9th Ave next to Michaels and Target.