Thrifty Tip Tuesday; Get FREE Coupon Inserts at Wal-Mart

I was reading over Money Saving Mom about "dumpster diving" for newspapers. Well, I wouldn't call it that, since she was finding coupons in a recycling bin meant only for newspapers. But the comments posted lots of other ideas I never thought about, like asking gas stations for the coupons in their unsold papers.



Here's my Thrifty Tip: Ask Wal-Mart for Coupon Inserts!

If you've been extreme couponing for a while, you might not even step inside a Wal-Mart except to get a gift card to get 3 cents off gas. But, this might change your Sunday driving routine.

Since Wal-Mart sells newspapers for $0.99, I sometimes buy papers there. One Sunday morning, I checked out at Customer Service and noticed a huge stack of coupons. After my heart stopped beating fast, I asked if I could have some. They gave me two of each SS & RP! I still bought a paper. After that, I just stop in on the way to Church, ask for coupons and leave! Sometimes, I get ornery CS reps who only give me one, because "It's for the employees" they say. Most of the time, I get at least two of each insert FREE! I feel like Wal-Mart is paying me back for all those years they've been taking my money before I learned to coupon.

Get there early Sunday because it runs out by noon. How does it work? Well, each register needs to have a copy Sunday ads. So, they separate those for the registers and collect all the coupon inserts in another pile. Since they can't sell the incomplete newspapers, they give away the coupons. Check your Wal-Mart this Sunday and get your free coupons!

Thrifty Tip Tuesday- Measuring Water for Rice

This may not be the thriftiest tip, (check Thrifty Tip Tuesday for those) but it might at least save your dinner! My mom taught me this dandy way of making sure you have just enough water for making rice. Although two parts water to 1 part rice works, she always measured it with her knuckle. If the water level is just at the first knuckle of your pointer finger, that's enough. A little bit over if it's brown rice. This tip is from my hubby: if you find it undercooked, add more water to cover the top and cook it on medium high uncovered until all the water boils off. Worked everytime. How did he know? He must be part Asian.
Of course, rice cookers are a great investment. You don't need to buy a big one. Ours is only 3 cup and lasts two meals. Plus I use it to cook lentils too! Some even have steamers. Somehow it always knows to cook the brown rice longer than white. I don't really get that.

I digress... Also, if you have extra rice, save it in the fridge for fried rice in the morning:

Filipino Fried Rice*
Onion, half and choppes
Garlic, one clove minced
Rice, 2 cups cold and day old
2 eggs
soy sauce, salt and pepper

Heat 2tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Saute onion & garlic until trasparent.
Break up the rice by adding about 1/3 c water to 2 cups cold rice.
Add to skillet. Mix often to keep from sticking to skillet.
Break two eggs over the rice and work them in the rice.
Keep mixing the eggs in so they'll coat the rice.
Add 1tbsp soysauce plus salt and pepper to taste.
Tada! Fried rice, simple and cheap!

A culture lesson:

Sauteeing onions and crushed garlic over oil before adding other ingredients is the trademark of a Filipino dish. We do this for adobo, fried rice, sauteed veggies, you name it. Plus onions and garlic are cheap veggies that infuse lots of flavor and are healthy for you. They always makes it smell like you're cooking something great, too!

How To: Print 3xs in One Sheet of Paper

Tomorrow, Publix wil have Meuller's Pasta on sale (BOGO $1.29) and you can use two $0.55 PRINT Qs. Pay only $0.10 each afterwards. The problem is that only one coupon prints at a time. So that uses up a lot of paper if you are planning on printing more. (Psst...there's no print limit!)

To ease your worries about losing trees, print 3 in a page:

First, print one coupon.

Second, cut it out.
Third, print another with the smaller paper. Don't cut it off yet!
Then rotate the paper so it prints on the other side of the coupons. This depends on your printer. Voila! 2 coupons fit in this smaller paper, giving you 3 total!

Whew! Saving the environment takes a lot of work!

Have a Thrifty Tip to share? Pass it on!

Strawberry Containers for Produce Storage

Since Publix has strawberries on sale for $1.25, we have lots of them on hand. As I cleaned them today, I thought it would be great to use them for storing other produce. And it worked beautifully. Now, the fridge doesn't have to be littered with those thin produce bags!

Asparagus are $1.99/lb at Publix.

Lay it on it's side on a cutting board, keep the rubber bands on, and cut off the ends and portion sizes. Same with parsley and cilantro, I keep the ends for making broth.
The top and middle portions I'll store in the fridge and cook this week. The bottom pieces will be flash frozen for later. A friend assured me these freeze fine.

This post is linked to Thrifty Tip Tuesday and Frugal Friday, whenever these posts go up this week!