Thrifty Momma's Way

Meal Planning On A Budget!

2011-02-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

I came across a great blog that gives some pointers for those looking to meal plan on a budget. Check it out!

http://groceryshrink.com/blog

Shaws 2/4-2/10

2011-02-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

Some great deals going on this week!

BUCK a BAG produce

Shaw’s white potatoes 3 lb
Shaw’s yellow onions 2 lb
Fresh radishes 16 oz
Celery bunch 16 oz
Slicing tomatoes 3 pk
Fresh garlic 2.5 oz
Spinach 10 oz
Eat smart cole slaw 10 oz
Fresh express shreds 8 oz
Green onions
Roasted peanuts 12 oz

KRAFT & Shaws brand – BUY $20 save $5 instantly

Since this is a SAVE INSTANTLY, that means it is deducted by the registers – therefore it is typically calculated based on the sale price, but if it is different, I will let you know. There does not seem to be any small print about coupons either.

Kraft Velveeta Cheese or Oscar Mayer Bacon $3.99
$1 off Velveeta 1lb+ AND one can of Ro*Tel – Game Day Playbook

Kraft Shredded Cheese 2/$4
** KRAFT NATURAL SHREDDED CHEESE 1/30-2/26
Buy 3, Get $1; Buy 4, Get $2; buy 5+ Get $3 OYNO
$0.50/1 Kraft Shredded Cheese with Philadelphia
$1/2 Kraft Shredded Cheese with Philadelphia
$1/2 Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/28/2011)
$1 after coupon doubles

DEAL IDEA:
Buy 5 Kraft Shredded Cheese $10
- $2 using (2) $1/2 coupons
- $1 using $0.50/1 doubles
final = $7, get $3 catalina = $4 = $0.80 each

Kraft Cracker Barrel Stick Cheese 2/$6
$1/1 Cracker Barrel Cheese 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/27/2011)
$1/2 Kraft or Cracker Barrel Natural Chunk Cheese – Game Day Playbook
$2 after coupon

Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese 2/$3
$0.50/2 Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese or HERE
$1/2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese – Game Day Playbook
$1 each after coupon

Kraft Cheese Singles 2/$5
$0.75/1 Kraft 2% or Fat Free Cheese Singles 1/9/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/28/2011)
$1/1 Kraft 2% Singles (IE) Printable (FF)
$1 after coupon doubles

Kraft Philadelphia Cooking Creme 2/$4 – I think this is a new product??

Kraft Salad Dressing 2/$4
$1/2 Kraft Dressing 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/20/2011)
$1.50 each after coupon

Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip $2.99
$0.75/1 Kraft Sandwich Shop Mayo 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/20/2011) – if included?

Capri Sun or Kool Aid Jammers 2/$4

Oscar Mayer Bologna or Classic Wieners 2/$4

Oscar Mayer DeliFresh Lunch Meat $3.49
$1/2 Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Meats – Game Day Playbook
$2.99 each after coupon

Starbucks Coffee or Maxwell house Ground Coffee $7.99
$1/1 Starbucks Coffee 11/21/2010 SS Insert (exp 2/28/2011)

Nabisco Chips Ahoy 2/$4
$1 off Nabisco Cookies wyb cookies and milk

Nabisco Ritz or Snack Crackers $1.99
$1/2 Nabisco Crackers 1/30/2011 SS Insert (exp 3/31/2011)
$1/2 Nabisco Crackers – Game Day Playbook
$1.49 each after coupon

Breakstone’s All Natural Sour Cream 2/$3
$0.55/1 Breakstone’s Sour Cream 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/28/2011) – regional
$1/2 Breakstone’s Sour Cream 1/23/2011 SS Insert (exp 2/28/2011)
$0.40 – $1 each after coupon

Planters Peanuts 2/$4 (16 oz)

Planters MIxed Nuts, Cashews $2.99

Shaw’s Hot Dog or Hamburger Rolls 2/$3

Stone Ridge Creamery Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt $2.99

24-Pack Shaw’s Natural Spring Water $2.99

Homelife Cups, Plates or Napkins 2/$4

Shaws Super Chill Soda or 12″ pizza $2.99

SO you may be able to work a couple decent scenarios based one whatever coupons you have. I am hoping for more to be released – maybe in Sunday’s paper…

Reuse Zone

2011-01-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for a way to kick the ole Ziplock habit Reuse Zone is a local business that make homemade baggies.

Adorable designs at affordable prices. Not to mention a friend!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/reusezone

Home made detergent and cleaners

2011-01-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

A HUGE savings in this house is to make our own laundry and dishwasher detergent. Plus any other cleaners we made need. All you need is a few simple ingredients.

Laundry Detergent

1 bar of grated soap (just use a cheese grater)
equal parts of Washing Soda, Borax, and Baking Soda

All you need is 2 tbs in a wash! Use vinegar in rinse cycle instead of fabric softener.

You can also make your own dryer sheets or I just use two dryer balls that cost $3 and last about 6 months.

Dishwashing Detergent

equal parts of Borax and Baking Soda

All you need is 1 tbs

Use white vinegar instead of JetDry and you're good to go!

Here are some other recipes

http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

Box Tops for Education

2011-01-27T07:53:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder what to do with those Box Tops if you don't have a child in school? Well there are (and I'm saying this jokingly) crazies out there who will buy them so their kid's class can win competitions! I just sold 100 on Ebay for $10! All it cost me was a stamp and $.15 in listing fees. Now I can use that to purchase refill ink. Which essentially didn't cost me anything. :)

Shaws 1/28-2/3

2011-01-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

Buy $20 of these participating Products and Get $10 OFF your next Shopping Trip .. Lets HOPE its based on the Shelf Prices

Participating Products:

Barilla Pasta 10 for $10 (pictures whole grain & reg. Penne)
Wish Bone Dressing or Ragu Pasta Sauce 2/$4
Post Cereal 2/$5 (shows Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, Fruity Pebbles)
Skippy Peanut Butter 2/$4 (15-16.3 oz.)
Del Monte Tomatoes or Contadina Tomato Sauce (14 or 15 oz) $.79
Soreento Mozzarella or Ricotta Cheese $3.49
Dunkin' donuts Ground Coffee $6.99
Pillsbury Classic Cake or Brownie Mix 10 for $10
Contadina Tomato Paste or Sauce (6 or 8 oz) $.69
Ben & Jerry's or Breyers Ice Cream or Dove Bars or Miniatures $3.49
I Can't Believe its not Butter, Promise or Brummel & Brown Spread or Lipton Tea Bags 2/$5
Pillsbury Frosting or Cookie or Premium Brownie Mix 2/$3
P.F. Chang's Home Menu Meal or Bertolli Dinner $6.99
Dial Body Wash or Bar Soap $3.99
Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent $.399
Renuzit Air Freshening Pearls or Soft Scrub Cleaner 2/$5

Combine these with the coupons that are coming out and shelf prices and you could walk away with CHEAPO food!

BLOG I came across

2011-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a neat lil blog I came across that explains just how to do this saving money thing...

THE GROCERY CART CHALLENGE...Feeding a family of six with $60 a week!

Just Exactly HOW Do You Do This? Part One: The Plan

Can I just say I LOVE TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS! I love it when you guys e-mail and ask me stuff that makes me examine what I’m doing.

I’m also getting lots of women who want to try decreasing their weekly budget but aren’t sure how to even begin squeezing it down. So I thought maybe if I walked you through the step by step process of planning my weekly shopping trip there might be something that jumps out at you and you can adopt into your own grocery plans.

I also want to point out that even though my ideal budget was $50 for my family of six it seems like my average is closer to $60. Some weeks I hit $40 and sometimes I’m at $63. Maybe inflation, maybe the crazy gas prices which are increasing our food prices, maybe just reality. Who knows? But that’s the facts for ya.

So, the first thing that is the most important to my shopping trip is having a plan. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a meal plan. I usually plan seven breakfasts and seven dinners on Sunday nights because Monday is my shopping day. I also take a good look at what’s happening in our week. Maybe there’s a night that we are eating at a friends house. Or maybe it’s a potluck and I need to bring a certain type of dish. Whatever the case may be, I plan for it ahead of time in my meal plan.

The FIRST thing I do is take stock of what’s in my cupboards, fridge, and freezer. I figure out what kind of main ingredients I have on hand and begin my meal planning centered on those items. Right now I’ve got four 1lb packages of hamburger in my freezer. So I would go to my favorite recipe site and do a search by ingredient using “ground beef” as my search word. Then I sort the recipes by their rating which means that all the recipes that have been tried and judged will be put in order from best to worst. I don’t even mess with anything that doesn’t have 4 stars or higher.

Now I look through the list and find one that looks appetizing. Say I pick this one for Sloppy Joes. What I’m looking for is a recipe that has been rated high but one that also uses ingredients that I already have on hand so I only have to buy a few things to complete the meal. I already have all the ingredients for this in my cupboard so all I would have to buy are the buns. Check! That one is going on my meal plan and I only have to add one thing to my grocery list.

I continue my search for more recipes using what’s in my cupboards. I’ve also got lots of rice so I might search with that word. Sometimes I just search by something that sounds yummy or by using the word “breakfast” or “low cal”. Sometimes I have bananas that are about to go bad so I’ll search for banana recipes. But I always make sure it’s nothing that requires expensive or exotic ingredients.

Once I’ve got my meals planned out using the items I already have and only adding things to my list that I would need to complete the recipes, I add things that we’ve run out of and I need to replace. This doesn’t mean every little thing that I’ve run out of during the week. It just means the basics that I need every week. I wouldn’t put down the rosemary that I just used up unless I needed it for a recipe the following week. Otherwise I’d spend all my money replacing things that I had run out of but didn’t really need yet. That can get costly. If I was out of flour, sugar, toilet paper, vanilla, salt…things that I would use everyday than I would need to add those to my list.

.

No Paper No Plastic!

2011-01-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of years back Jim and I were one of those couples who would go to Sam's Club and get the big box of Ziploc bags and Paper Towels. Those alone would cost us $40-$45 everytime. A HUGE saver for us has been to go paperless and plastic-less (is that even a word?) I can say it has been about two years since we've last bought either one and we still have a stockpile of paper towels downstairs, possibly some ziplocks too!

Our trick? Well for Jim, if its not there he won't use it..lol I just asked him tonight what he thought about being paperless and he goes..."We're paperless?" UGH *slams head against wall*

We have a drawer full of towels, rags, wash clothes that we use for everything. As a mother and daycare provider I am constantly doing laundry so I don't notice a difference but I'm guessing it is probably a small load every week/week and a half. The only time we use paper towel is for bacon grease (which you can use newspaper for) and animal messes.

For ziplocs we just use reusable containers. That's it! No need to use a baggie for your sandwich or chips for bagged lunches. Use just a rubbermaid container. If you like the flexibility of the ziploc baggies you can buy reusable baggies from various sites. I like reusezone and Made with Love by Misty. Both are on facebook and are lovely friends of mine. If you don't have an account message me and I can send you a link. :)

Another big item for me is to use cloth diapers. I know this is not for everyone but for $150-$200 you can cloth diaper your child from birth to potty training. I buy the majority of my cloth diapers from. www.cottonbabies.com I love Bumgenius all in ones. They go on exactly like disposables and have the option of stuffing extra if needed.

Target - Boots and Slippers Clearance!

2011-01-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

7 pairs for $26.18!!!

Abbreviations

2011-01-22T12:41:00.001-08:00

RP = Red Plum insert
SS = Smart Source insert
P&G = Proctor & Gamble insert
GM = General Mills insert
BOGO = Buy 1, Get 1 FREE
OYNO = Off Your Next Order

Shaws 1/21- 1/27

2011-01-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

Shaw's has Chex Mix on sale Buy 1, Get 1 FREE ($2.47).

Coupons to use:

$ .50/2 in the 12/5 GM
$1.00/2 in the 1/2 GM

There is also a Catalina running until Sunday, 1/23:

General Mills Salty Snacks (a.k.a. Chex Mix)

12/27/10 - 1/23/11

Purchase 3, Get $1.50 OYNO (off your next order)

Purchase 4, Get $2.50 OYNO

Purchase 5 or more, Get $3.50 OYNO

Here's how you can pick yours up for $ .11 a bag!

Buy 4 Chex Mix @ 2.47 = $9.88
- BOGO sale ($4.94) = $4.94
- two $1.00/2 coupons = $2.94
Get $2.50 OYNO Catalina = $ .44/4 or $ .11 each!

GM Cereal Bars, Fiber One Chewy Bars, Nature Valley Granola Bars, GM cereal (not sure which kinds yet but cheerios seem to always be included) all 4/$7 must buy 4. thanks to frugalonthecheapblog for the early heads up to this deal.
Deal also includes betty crocker fruit snacks
Coupon Network HERE has:
.75/1 multigrain cheerios
.55/1 cinnamon toast crunch
.50/1 GM chex mix bars or golden graham bars or milk & cereal bars
.50/1 fiber one chewy bars
.50/1 nature valley granola bars
.55/1 original cheerios

Smarsource HERE has:
.55/1 cinnamon toast crunch
.50/1 GM chex mix bars or golden graham bars or milk & cereal bars
.50/1 fiber one chewy bars

coupons.com HERE has:
.55/1 cinnamon toast crunch
.50/1 GM chex mix bars or golden graham bars or milk & cereal bars
.50/1 fiber one chewy bars
.50/1 nature valley granola bars
.75/1 wheaties

pilsbury.com HERE has:
$1.00 wheaties
$1/2 GM chex mix bars or golden graham bars or milk & cereal bars
$1/2 cinnamon toast crunch

Here are this week’s deals at Shaw’s Supermarkets with coupon matchups, with thanks to Lynn at Maven of Savin’ for compling them!

Be sure to print your coupons at Coupons.com, RedPlum, and SmartSource before heading to the store! You can also find great coupons at BettyCrocker, Pillsbury, EatBetterAmerica, and Shortcuts.

Here are this week’s Shaw’s “Get Inspired” Printable Store Coupons:

Save $1.00/1 lb. or more Cooked Shrimp (16-20 per lb.)
Save $2.00/1 Cooked Shrimp Ring 32 oz.
Save $2.00 on any Deli Platter
Save $2.00 on any Del Monte Fruit Tray with Dip 70 oz.
Save $1.00 on any Bakery Platter
Save $1.00 on Shaw’s Frozen Meatballs
Save $1.00/1 5 lb. Box Imported Clementines
Save $1.00/1 Culinary Circle 10 oz. Spinach Dip
Save $1.00 on any Our Best 32 oz Soup
Save $1.00 on homelife 6 ct. 5 lb. box Firelogs

Ground Beef 80% Lean $1.99

Wild Boneless Alaskan Cod Fillet – $5.99

Russet Potatoes (5lb Bag) – $1.99

Sliced or whole Mushrooms (8oz.) – $1.99

Coffee Mate (16 oz.) – $1.99
Use $1/1 Printable
Or use $0.55/1 Printable or from the 11/14 RedPlum insert
Or $0.75/1 Printable
As low as $0.49 each after coupon

Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt (5.3 oz.) – $1.50
Buy two and use $1/2 Printable
$1 each after coupon

Hood Simply Smart Milk (64 oz.) – $3.49
Use $1/1 Printable
$2.49 after coupon

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers – $1.50
$0.50/1 Printable
or buy two and use $0.50/2 coupon from the 1/2 General Mills insert
As low as $0.50 after coupon doubles

Wise Potato Chips – Buy One Get One Free
$0.50/1 Wise Snacks (IE) Printable (FF)

Cold Stone Creamery Hot Cocoa – $2.39
Use $1/1 Printable HERE or HERE
$1.39 after coupon

Goya Beans – $0.89
Buy three and use $0.75/3 Printable
$0.39 each after coupon

Finish Gel Pacs or Jet-Dry Rinse Agent – $3.99
Use $2.25/1 or $1/1 coupon from the 1/2 SmartSource insert
Or $0.75/1 Printable
As low as $1.74 after coupon

I'm Back!!!!

2011-01-22T12:29:00.001-08:00

Well have a fairly large vacation (2 years) I'm back!!! With a resolution to pay off some debt and lower my monthly grocery bill I'm at it again.

Target Deals week of 4/19

2009-04-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Marcy at Stretching a Buck for compiling a list of the best deals to be found this week.

Find my faves below, and then check out her site for the complete list!

Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts (12-ct.), $2.50
Get 1 FREE 8-ct. Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts when you buy (2) 12-pks.!
$1/2 Kelloggs Pop-Tarts, exp. 5-31-09 (V 4/5/09)
$2 ea. wyb 2, PLUS get (1) 8-pk. FREE!

Tropicana Orange Juice (59 and 64-oz.), $2.75
$1/1 Tropicana Orange Juice (RP 3/15/09)
$1/1 Tropicana printable
$1.75 after coupon!

Huggies Baby Wipes (64 to 72-ct.), $1.99
$1/1 Huggies Bath & Body Product printable
$0.50/1 Huggies Wipes printable
$1/1 Huggies Bath & Body Product, exp. 7-18-09 (SS 4/19/09)
$0.75/1 Huggies Baby Wipes, 64 ct+, exp. 7-18-09 (SS 4/19/09)
$0.99-1.49 after coupon!

Suave Kids 2 in 1 Shampoo or Conditioner (12-oz.) or Mousse (9-oz.), $1.69
$1/2 Suave Products, exp. 5-24-09 (V 3/1/09)
$1.19 ea. wyb 2 after coupon!

L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara, $4.99
$2/1 L’Oreal Mascara (3/22/09)
$2.99 after coupon!

Three Free Aveeno Samples

2009-04-22T05:29:00.001-07:00

(found on deal seeking mom)

1.

https://secure.startsampling.com/sm/100630/quickQuestion.iphtml?item=100630&source=&source=

2.

http://startsampling.com/sm/100640/captureAddress.iphtml?item=100640&source=

3.

http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid69402.aspx

ENJOY!

Free Redbox Code

2009-04-01T10:09:00.001-07:00

code for April 1 expires at midnight MMM401. Good at all redbox locations
taken from Jane4girls $800 Annual Budget.

Upcoming Shaw's Week

2009-03-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Taken from Hot Coupon World.

Shaw's Weekly Ad 3/27 - 4/2/09

Meat/Produce
*1.19 lb. split chx breasts (Shaw’s IP, too)
*1.79 lb. Swift half boneless pork loin
.88 XL canteloupe
*5.99 Haddock or Cod (FREE 2-liter Coke with 2-lb.)
*FREE half-pound D&W cheese with purchase of 1 lb. D&W select deli meat
*.69 potatoes (3 lb) with $25 purchase. In-Ad Q
*$1 Shaw’s 10 oz. spinach
*$1 carrots 16 oz.
*$2 lb. green seedless grapes
*$2 lb. butternut squash
*$2 strawberries 16 oz.
*$2 Fresh Express salad blends
*BOGO Hatfield ham steaks
Cereal
*3/$6 select Kellogg’s and Shaw’s IP
*Free milk offer still going
*2/$3 select Post (must buy 2)
*5/$10 Multigrain Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Strawberry Chex, Honey Kix, Cinnamon/Honey Nut/or Chocolate Chex
Beverages
*4/$12 Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite 12-packs and FREE 6-pack (half liter) with In-Ad Q
*2.49 Florida Natural OJ
*5.99 Maxwell House or Seattle’s Best and Shaw’s IP
*10/$10 A&W, 7Up, Diet Pepsi, Mt. Dew

Frozen
*BOGO Edy's
*6.99 Tyson any'tizers, Family Favorites chx, Boneless Pork Ribs (Shaw's frozen booklet and Man Q)
*2.99 Breyer's

Snacks/Sides/Condiments
*BOGO 100-cal. packs
*10/$10 Delmonte veggies
*2/$4 Smucker's

"16 Ways to get FREE Shaw's Eggs"
***Each bullet below is a coupon. Buy items indicated for each coupon, get FREE eggs.***
*3/$7 PopTarts 12-ct
*4/$7 BC cookie mix
*2/$6 Pillsbury cookie dough
*3.79 Sargento shredded chz (buy 2)
*2/$6 Langers juice
*2/$5 BC warm delights
*2/$4 Pillsbury Grands!
*5.49 Kraft Parmesan grated cheese (buy 2)
*2/$6 Lipton Tea 128 oz. jug
*2/$6 Pillsbury pie crusts
*3/$7 Pillsbury crescent or cinnamon rolls
*2/$5 Palmolive ultra 20-25 oz.
*11.99 Culinary Circle white & dark chocolate mousse cake
*11.99 Culinary Circle carrot cake
*5.99 Edwards cream pie or Mrs. Smith's deep dish pie
*2/$5 Lysol wipes

Taken from the blog "Making due with the not so new"

2009-01-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

For those of you who make your own laundry detergent...now you can do dryer sheets!

Homemade Reusable Fabric Softener Sheet

I hang my laundry out to dry usually. (The best way to avoid static cling.) But on occasion I dry them in the dryer, like when hubby does it, vacation packing time, or too much to do to hang inside on drying racks when yucky outside, etc.

To keep from getting static cling you have to avoid over drying, for dry clothing rubbing against each other (friction) is what causes it. Setting it on the dampness sensor can help and adding a fabric softener sheet to the dryer can help too. Also, not throwing wool socks, polar fleece jammies, and anything else that usually attracts static (i.e. dries faster than the rest of the clothing) in the dryer and drying them separately on a rack helps tremendously.

Make your own reusable fabric softener sheet. Take a washcloth that is identifiably different than the rest of your towels and cheap conditioner. I either use the free conditioner I get from Walgreen freebies or large dollar store bottles.

Put in a baby wipes container one part conditioner, one part water. Make sure you are ok with your clothes smelling like the conditioner.

Put the washcloth in the container of liquid, wring it out and throw it in with the clothing. You can use this a few times before re-wetting it.

I have heard of people using vinegar and baking soda in the wash as a softener and I have tried it, but my hubby thinks he can smell the vinegar and to me they line dry worse with it, so I don't use it. Perhaps, in the dryer it helps, but since I rarely use the dryer, I choose to do the fabric softening in the dryer when it is used.

Free Make-up at Macy's

2009-01-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

Macy has a settlement on a lawsuit that happened a little while ago. Their loss our GAIN. They have to give away so many things of make up as part of this settlement. I went tonight and got a FULL size tube of mascara. You could choose from Clinique, Chanel, Calvin Kline, etc... They had mascara, moisturizer, perfume, eye shadow.

Free three year subscription to Today's Diet and Nutrition

2009-01-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.todaysdietandnutrition.com/subscribe.shtml
Enter the code INAUG09

2009-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

You think you have problems shopping with your kids!!!
Playing all innocent~~

Emailing Companies

2009-01-21T17:32:00.000-08:00

A great way to get free items is to email the company and compliment their product. Often they will send you samples and coupons for free products.

So far I've email Drano, Hostess, Glade, Ken's Dressing, Eggland's best, and Tom's of Maine. From this list I've gotten one free bottle of Drano, a free Glade candle, 2 Free Ken's Dressings or Marinades, 1 free dozen of eggs, and a full size tube of Tom's of Maine toothpaste.

Companies are very willing to send you coupons if you just ask. Often you will get on a mailing list and they will get sent out periodically. A couple of months ago I emailed Turkey Hill and was sent 10 coupons. Just recently they sent out a calendar with coupons all over the place.

For those with babies get on the lists of Pamper, Huggies, Nestle Good Start, Similac, Enfamil, and Luvs. Even if you don't use the said product you can trade with another momma that does!

Free ringtones for your cell

2009-01-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my trusty babycenter board I was able to coming across some websites that allow you to download ringtones for free. www.funformobile.com sends the download to you via text and you download it from there. Pretty neat.

Camera & Ebay

2009-01-21T04:50:00.001-08:00

So I was fed up with my camera and in search of a new one. Man I love me some ebay! I had bought mine for $100 a couple of months ago and was able to sell it for $87 Wahoo. Kind of funny really because I had a Buy It Now for $75 and the bidders had a bidding war going on.

Thanks to my Aunt Staci I found http://www.walmart.com/catalog/detail.gsp?image=http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/04/17/71/32/0004177132474_500X500.jpg&product_id=10251137&iIndex=1&isVariant=false&corpCard=false&type=0

which she has so I trust that it is a decent camera. I searched for a couple of hours and looked at everyone's reviews and didn't find anything wrong. Then I scored it for $189 off from ebay!!! YAY Now I'll be able to take pics of my brat...er lovely son when he is squirming!

Giveaway.

2009-01-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Found on Jane4Girls $800 Annual Budget Forum

Hot Giveaway from hotSACKS

If you shop like I do after a little while you will notice tons of plastic bags filling your house waiting to be reused or even worse they just get tossed after the first use.

Many stores sell their own reusable grocery totes, but lets face it, they are not cute. If "XYZ" store wants me to advertise their store by carrying around their reusable totes they should give them away for free and not make us buy them.

I recently found hotSACKS and got a chance to try out and use their hotSACKS while shopping. First off, they are CUTE! hotSACKS were created for those of you who want to do your part for the environment, but don't want to be a walking billboard for your local grocery store.

hotSACKS also makes Meshy hotSACKS.

These reusable bulk bags, Meshy hotSACKS, are strong enough for a dozen apples yet versatile enough for your favorite wrapped candies. They can be used countless times, making them a great alternative to disposable plastic produce bags.

Old Navy and Target Jackpot!!!!

2009-01-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

First of all I have no idea how to get rid of the underline :(. Old Navy and Target was a definite hit!! I got 44 articles of clothing, 4 pairs of slippers, 2 pairs of boots and 2 blankets for just under $100. Sorry the pic isn't that great

I was also able to get Lucas the Rough and Tough Kid's DVD player for $70.00 originally $150. I had planned on buying it for his birthday so this was an added plus. It was only 50% off but the CS girl said to come back when toys go to 90% and get a price adjustment!!!! I'll also be checking out Old Navy online as well to see if they have anything different.

Asthma and allergies

2009-01-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

So my kid is allergic to milk (all dairy), wheat, eggs, cats, dogs and intolerant to soy. YUCK! The doctor wants us to try giving him small amounts of soy to make his body use to it. Well one cup later red, rashy face.....no asthma problems yet though. I'm so over this allergy stuff. My poor bubble boy. Aunti Christ wants to take him to McDonalds tonight but the poor kids can't eat anything there. Luckily he doesn't know the difference yet and will have fun just going out.

Old Navy and Target Clearance

2009-01-16T06:09:00.001-08:00

So since my stockpile is quite large and I have pretty much everything I need for groceries, I'm going to focus on Old Navy and Target this weekend. Target has children's clothes 50-75% off. Old Navy is rumored to be having 50% off already clearanced items. I bought most of Lucas' clothes for this year off from this sale last year. I'm going with 75 bucks and going to see what I can accomplish.

Earn more gift cards

2009-01-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

So there are a couple of places online where I am able to earn points for gift cards.

www.mypoints.com or www.swagbucks.com All you have to do it do any searches or online purchases you may have through these websites instead of google or yahoo. I have installed the toolbars so it is easier. They have gift cards ranging from Target to Barnes and Noble. LOVE IT

Lilaguide.com

2009-01-15T17:52:00.001-08:00

Well my fellow BBC Bargain Hunters found this great website with an AWESOME promotion right now. Earn $15 dollars in Target gift cards.

go to www.lilaguide.com and become a member. $5 Then create your own group and get 5 people to join. Another $5 If you need people email me...I can get you five. Then you email Shannon at sguyton@lilaguide.com just telling her that you created a group to get a giftcard. She'll respond back to let you know you got the card. Lastly write 10 reviews on anything on the site and BAM your last $5. These cards will all come seperately because they are all different promotions and you don't have to do the last two if you don't want. You still get $5 just for signing up. Not to bad for 20 minutes of work.

Prescription Coupons

2009-01-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

In this weeks flyer Rite-Aid has two coupons for $25 for when you fill a new prescription or get one transferred. WORTH IT! I called Rite-Aid and told them that I need the two scripts filled, from what pharmacy, and the number to the pharmacy. When I went to pick up my precriptions I handed them the two coupons from the flyer and boom $50 in gift cards to Rite-Aid!!!! Next month when I want the prescriptions to go back to my regular Pharmacy I just call the regular one and have them transferred back. I always know what Pharmacy my last refill has come from because of the label on the bottle. This could help keep the costs down for someone with a lot of prescriptions in their family such as myself. Rite-Aid, CVS, Target all provide coupons for these transfers from time to time.

How to obtain coupons

2009-01-15T10:21:00.000-08:00

*I have a newspaper delivery service. You could just go out every week and buy the paper but it is too risky for me. I like to be lazy on weekends. You can get the service for everyday of the week or for just Sundays. I made nice with my newspaper guy and he gives me extra insert all of the time. To keep them coming I often make up a bag of goodies with some of the stuff I get for free.

*If there is a super good coupon for a product your family uses all of the time then by all means purchase multiple copies of that one coupon. You can buy coupons off from ebay in an auction or from coupon cutting services such as www.couponclippers.com I usually find it cheaper going on ebay. I have done this multiple times and it has worked out great.

*There are also sites where you can trade your unwanted coupons for ones that your are looking for. Babycenter has a trading board and so does HotCouponWorld. I have also done this and it saves me money by not having to purchase more coupons that I may need.

Cutting grocery costs

2009-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

*Look at what's in the house already. Make a meal plan off from stuff already on hand to reduce your bill. For the rest of your meals base on what you find on sale in the flyer.

*Get to know the prices of what your family usually buys. That way when a sale does come up you'll know if it's a price worth stocking up on.

*Make a list and stick to it!!!

*In my case...DO NOT LET YOUR HUSBAND COME WITH YOU!!!

*Pick a day to go shopping and only go on that day. If you run out of something before the next trip be creative and go without. EX. I have about 2 cups worth of rice milk left for my son. I'm going to give him water with a splash of juice for flavor throughout the day. He can have the milk after dinner. For breakfast I'll make him toast or waffles and he can have some OJ. This is crucial for me because I like so far from stores. Even if you don't it the small trips add up to a lot of gass and unnessary buying.

*Look at the sale's flyer and match sales up with coupons you have. I ALWAYS check out HotCouponWorld. They have every store you can think of and their weekly flyer. They create threads and list what is on sale and where you can find the coupon for it. A MUST have.

Shaws

2009-01-15T06:11:00.000-08:00

Taken from HotCouponWorld

4 Day Sale:
Hotel Style Turkey Breast $1.39/lb
Semi Bonesless Rib Steak or Roast $5.99/lb
24 pack Poland Spring 3/$11 ** cat Buy 3, get $3 OYNO**
New England Coffee 4/$10
Chicken Wings Frozen 4lb bag $4.99
Huggies Jumbo Diapers $8.88

Unilever Deal:
Buy $20 .... save $5 OYNO
Buy $30......save $10 OYNO
Buy $40.....save $15 OYNO

items listed:
Hellmann's Mayo 2/$6
Skippy 3/$5
Lipton Tea 2/$6
Wishbone Dressing 3/$5
Ragu 6/$10
Lipton pasta sides 1-/$10
I can't believe its not butter 2/$4
Shedd's Spread Country Crock $2.19
All Laundry Detergent 100oz $7.49
Dove bar or body wash 2/$12
Caress Bar Soap or body wash 2/$8
Klondike Ice Cream bars $2.99
Breyers Ice cream $2.99

Stock up and save:
Shaws coupon Save $5 WYB $20 or more of General Mills products

Participating products:
4/$10 Cereals: cookie crips, trix, multigrain cheerios, chocolate chex, strawberry chex, honey nut chex, reese's puffs, lucky charms. Betty crocker fruit snacks, gold medal flour, pillsbury ready to bake cookies.

10/$20 Betty Crocker boxed muffin mix, cookie mix, 2 pk warm delights, bugles, chex mix, progresso soup, bisquick shake n pour

10/$15 Totino's pizza rolls, Betty Crocker seasoned skilets, 20oz Bisquick pancake mix, Green Giant steamers

2/$6 Chex Mix, Nature Valley, Caribou Coffee, Milk n Cereal, Curves or Fiber One bars

10 for 10
Near East rice **shaws Q**
Banquet Brown n serve sausage
Shaws spinach
vitaminwater and smartwater
Chef Boyardee
Shaws pasta
Birds Eye veggies
Celeste Pizza for one
Swiss miss
Hunts spaghetti sauce
Healthy choice soup
Shaws bread
Avocados

B1G1 Free
Doritos
Hatfield Ham Steak
Hostess donettes
Utz Potato chips
Emerald Nuts
Blueberries **shaws Q**

Coupon - In Ad
$5 off WYB $20 of any coca cola, digiorno or californai pizza

** coke, diet or sprite 3/$10
Digiorno or california pizza 2/$10

Hood IceCream $1.99
Kelloggs Cereal 4/$7 (froot loops, apple jacks, corn pops, rice crispies, Forsted mini wheats, corn flakes, frosted flakes, cookie crunch)

The thing to remember with Shaws is that all of their promotions usually work with original prices not sale prices. They want you to think its with the sales price so you spend more than you need to. Example for this week

Shelf Price- Item - Sale Price
$3.99 Hellmann's Mayo 30 oz 2/$6
$2.89 Skippy PB 15-16.3 oz 3/$5
$3.59 Lipton Tea Bags 100 ct 2/$6
$2.79 Wish Bone Dressing 16 oz 3/$5
$2.50 Ragu 13.5-26oz 6/$10
$1.79 Lipton Sides 4-5.7oz pasta 10/$10
$1.69 Lipton Sides 4-5.7oz rice 10/$10
$3.19 I can't believe it's not butter, promise, or brummell and brown
spread 2/$4
$2.29 Shedd's spread country crock spread 15oz $2.19
$10.99 All Laundry detergent 100oz $7.49
$6.99 Dove beauty bar or body wash 6pack bars, 19-24oz wash 2/$12
No Caress at my store - Caress Bar Soap or body wash 6 pack bars 15 oz
body wash 2/$8
$3.99 Klondike bars $2.99
$5.29 Breyers Ice Cream $2.99

So if you wanted to stock up on peanut butter....you would go by shelf price to add up your total.

Buy $20 get $5 back
2.89 x 7 = 20.23 shelf price brings you over $30

now to get what you actually have to pay out of pocked add up total with sales price
On sale for $3/5=1.6
1.6 x 7 = 11.2

Pay $11.2 get $5 back = $6.2 for 7 or $.88 a piece for Skippy peanut butter.

Now if you had the Skippy coupon for $1/2 then you's really be set

You would be able to use 3 so $6.2-$3 = $3.2 so $.45 a piece!

I'll come back later to list my shopping list for this week

Shutterfly promo

2009-01-15T06:05:00.001-08:00



		Make this Valentine’s Day special. Place an order and you’ll receive a reward for a free 8x8 photo book (a $29.99 value) in a future order.* Once your order has shipped, you’ll have until January 28, 2009 to redeem your photo book reward. Place your order by January 19, 2009. Enter code FREEPHOTOBOOK in your shopping cart.

Stockpiling

2009-01-14T14:53:00.001-08:00

Last year was my first year of learning to hunt for bargains. I got into coupons and watching sales to match up with my coupons thus getting loads of stuff for free or pretty close to free. The store that I frequented most were CVS and Shaws to do this! I am at a point now where I have a year's supply of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, bodywash, laundry soap, baby wipes, toothpaste, etc.. I found that when I began to bargain shop everything was a bargain to me because I was use to paying full price. Now I'm picky about my bargains and 1) buy only what my family needs not because it is on sale 2) hold out for sales and coupons to pay the least amount out of pocket.

I also have a freezer full of 40 boxes of frozen veggies!

LL Bean hourly mark downs

2009-01-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

For a limited time LL Bean is doing a major markdown once per hour. The said item will only be on sale for one hour then another item will be up for grabs.

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=32&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&nav=hp-gndp

Currently they have clogs for $8 regularly $18.95

A fresh start

2009-01-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

Well with the new year I've decided there are somethings that I would like to accomplish. I figured with this blog I would keep on track, help out others, and have some fun. Plus it's a nice little way to have a record of my family life.

Goals of 2009
*Pay $4000 off in debt
*Pay $50/week in groceries for both family and daycare combined
*Learn to cook more healthy foods from scratch
*Get a better grip on my son's allergies and asthma
*Get back into scrapbooking