I'm Not Cheap, I'm Thrifty

Food Lion-UPDATED

2011-03-18T14:37:00.001-04:00

UPDATED! After the poor customer service I received at my local Food Lion this week, I will not be shopping there again.

WATCH THE AD CAREFULLY IF YOU GO. Some items on the page are not included in the "Big Deal" sale, and if you get a wrong item, they WILL NOT ADJUST YOUR PURCHASE. You will get a spiel about how they have to correct issues at corporate levels. This is complete BULL! The store manager would not even allow me to purchase an additional item to make my total items sufficient for the sale.

This week, Food Lion has some excellent sales going on! In addition to their Private Label brand Super Sale, they also have some great deals with their BIG DEAL sale. Purchase 10 items, save $5, and so on!

For the complete details, visit www.foodlion.com. For coupon matchups and tips to save money, go to www.southernsavers.com.

Happy shopping!

Budget Bread

2011-02-01T19:44:00.001-05:00

I first made popovers when we lived in Hawaii. Being 18 years old, working for minimum wage, married to an E-2 in the Navy, money was t-i-g-h-t. I found this recipe one night, a few days before payday, and since it did not call for everything I was out of (biscuit mix, shortening, baking powder, cornmeal, etc.) I decided to try it.

DELICIOUS!!!!!!

This easy recipe is my go to quick fix for breadless nights, (oh, the horror) and I decided to share the recipe with you!

Popovers
1 cup flour
1/2 teas salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients very well. Pour into generously greased muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 425 about 30-40 minutes or until golden, toasty brown.

This always thrills kids when they bite into what they think is a traditional roll, and find it hollow and full of air!
If you are not serving these the minute they come out of the oven, you will need to cut a slit in the top of each popover to keep it from collapsing in on itself. (NOT attractive)

Popovers make for a happy hubby, which makes for a happy dinnertime at our house!

Cheap Grocery Store Finds

2011-01-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

AFter the holiday season, our local stores usually mark down a ton of holiday merchandise. This includes stuff like Hershey Kisses and candy bars in Christmas colored foils, baking supplies like decorator sprinkles and cookie mixes, staples for many holiday recipes like canned pumpkin, french fried onion pieces, and Stove Top stuffing.

DO NOT FORGET TO USE YOUR COUPONS ON THESE ITEMS!

When the items are 50-75% off, and you use a good coupon (which your store may double), you are often being PAID to get the items! I personally do not care what color the foil on the candy is, it is still GOOD!

So take a little extra time and scout out the deals. Our area Publix usually has the items like this on a turn around shelf display near the checkouts.Our Kroger stores pile things into buggies and put them up front in the health and beauty section or the natural foods section (which is very out of the way and takes some looking to find) but it is worth it to dig through and find some good sales. Who knows what you may be paid to take home!?!?!?

A Way to Get.....And To Give!

2010-11-27T10:13:00.000-05:00

We have used Restaurants.com for years as a way to save money on going out to eat. Now, you can share this great way to save by giving FREE gift certificates to your friends! Check it out here:

http://www.feeditforward.restaurant.com

Just a reminder....

2010-11-14T22:07:00.000-05:00

Be sure you check out the great blog www.southernsavers.com to get the most out of your money as you shop for your Thanksgiving dinner! This is my first stop when I make my grocery list. You can find weekly ads and specials for many different grocery stores, plus link to coupons for each sale item and many other goodies that will make your trip easier, faster, and much more economical! There is even a place at the bottom of each post to make a printable grocery list, with the coupon matchups! This is a huge help for me!

In today's coupon section of our newspaper, there is a coupon for $4 off a Butterball turkey when you buy 4 of any combination of Stove Top, Pillsbury cookie dough or pie crusts, and Heinz gravy. Check your stash for coupons for the cookies, stove top and pie crust and use these in conjunction with the $4 off the turkey to maximize your savings!

Happy shopping! Remember that you can have a great holiday feast on a little budget with some planning and wise shopping.

Restaurant.com

2010-10-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

WOWIE WOW WOW!

You can buy gift certificates to your favorite restaurant for 90% off just by purchasing a gift certificate at www.restaurant.com! Check it out! We have used this site for over a year. It is the real deal, not a scam!

Magazine Savings

2010-08-20T10:41:00.001-04:00

Today I am passing on a GREAT DEAL on magazines that I found on the back of a Little Debbie snack cake box.
Up to one year of your favorite magazines for just $5!!!!!
You can choose from Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, Fitness, Family Circle and Parents magazines.
Offer expires Oct. 31,2010

Visit www.bhg.com/littledebbie for all the details!

Coupons

2010-06-16T10:59:00.000-04:00

The Savannah Morning News has a new section in it's Sunday paper. (Click here to view.) It is attached to the comics, and it is all about coupons and how to use them more effectively. There are some great tips found here, and although some of the ideas would TOTALLY not fit my way of doing things, they are helpful to many I am sure.

It annoys me though, that they are now offering multiple copies of the Sunday paper at a "reduced" rate. The idea if for people to be able to get more copies of the coupons. But with so many coupons readily available to print at home via www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com, www.cellfire.com, etc, is it really worth the extra money every month? And what about the waste of the extra newspapers/ Are people recycling them? Five extra Sunday papers is a lot of waste!

What are your thoughts here? Do you get more than one paper? Do you use printable coupons?

Coupons in unexpected places

2010-06-07T07:17:00.000-04:00

This week, our Sunday paper had three coupon inserts. I also found coupons in some unexpected places this week. Inside the USA Weekend insert, there are 3 coupons on the last page for Scott paper products. I purchased two packs of Scott Natural wipes last week, and found a coupon in the most interesting (and a bit annoying) place....tucked inside of the back of the package inside of a sealed little envelope that I had to cut along the sides of to retrieve the coupon. It was a good one though, 75 cents off of one pack of wipes. :)

Lastly, I have found that many companies are catching on to teh appeal and convenience of Facebook. You can go to www.facebook.com/nabiscocookies on the first Monday of every month to download a coupon for a FREE package of Nabisco cookies when you buy one package plus a gallon of milk. The applet will allow you to print two coupons per month. Since I shop twice a month, this gives a little treat at an affordable price! Last month, Publix had the Chips Ahoy BOGO, and I used my coupon, which gave me two packs of Nabisco cookies and a gallon of milk for under $5. This will be a great way to have a little something special to snack on when the kids are out of school this summer and ALWAYS hungry!

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

2010-05-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

Today I saw in the Savannah Morning News that beginning June 4, 2010 at 9:00am, you can purchase a $75 gift card to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for just $45. Quantities are limited, so sign on to www.savannahdeals.com to learn more! The certificate is being offered in celebration of Ruth's Chris' 45th aniversary.

A convert!

2010-05-10T15:18:00.000-04:00

I have been playing the grocery game for a while now, and I enjoy it. I truly do. I strive to save at let 50% on my grocery shopping trips and majority of the time I do. I have on rare occasions saved closer to 75% but that is rather unusual.

When I say I enjoy this, I am not exaggerating. My favorite things to do are clip and organize coupons, make my list, match up the deals (with help of www.southernsavers.com) and head out to my stores. I go twice a month, when my husband gets paid. I put a HUGE cooler across my backseat, gather up all of my reusable shopping bags, pour myself a big insulated glass and head out. I make my route at Publix, Kroger and Save-A-Lot. I am usually done in about 3 hours, but sometimes I take longer because I just enjoy it so darn much. :)

Well, a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine asked for my help. She stated that while she loathed the idea and time consuming task of cutting coupons, she had to learn to manage her money better. I told her I would show her my tricks and help her as best I could. I introduced her to Southern Savers, and she was hooked.

Now I get texts from this converted non-couponer that read like this:

"I just got free body wash at WalMart! $3.99 body wash plus $4 coupon made it free! I am excited!"
or
"I got a deal today at CVS that I can't wait to tell you about!"
or my personal favorite
"You were right! It's addictive! I'm hooked!"

The moral of this story is, even if you think couponing and saving money isn't for you, just give it a try. You might be surprised. :)

New Website

2010-05-01T17:13:00.000-04:00

Well, it isn't exactly a new website but it is new to me. It is called Southern Savers, and it is simply the greatest website EVER if you want to save money on your grocery bill. Darling Jenny lists ads and sales from several stores, and carefully matches each sale item with coupons. It is so easy to save money this way!

There are also Southern Savers Seminars (say that 3 times fast!) offered almost every weekend. You can take the seminar for just $10 and learn everything there is to know about coupons and how to use them effectively. You can register on the website. I am attending one in November and I am so excited!

Check it out and get ready to save some money!

Bennigans

2010-01-03T17:46:00.000-05:00

Last night my husband and I were driving around town looking for something to eat. It was the usual "What do you want?" followed by "I don't care, what do you want?" thing. I don't know about most of you, but when I say I don't care I truly don't. Just pick somewhere, and I will find something on the menu I like. Anyway, all of the usual places were PACKED, it was 7:00 on a Saturday for crying out loud. So when we drove past Bennigans, it did not look crowded at all so we flipped a (legal) u-ie and went in. We have eaten at Bennigans a few times before, and I knew they had yummy potato soup so I was pleased to go in.

Well they have changed their entire menu. The waiter handed us a laminated addition to the menu, which showed a special thing they have created called 3 for $20. The way this works is that you can choose one appetizer, two entrees and two desserts from the selected menu items for a total of $20.

My beloved and I split yummy Irish fries, which were french fries covered with cheese, bacon, green onions and sour cream. Then he got the Guinness glazed chicken sandwich, which was so tall the frill pick they cook inserted to hold the monster sandwich together was not visible. It came with more fries. I had the grilled chicken platter which came with two thick and juicy chicken breasts, rice pilaf and steamed broccoli. We finished up with a piece of apple spice cake for me and a chocolate brownie wedge for him. It was delicious, and there was so much food we needed to-go boxes for the leftovers!

I read sometime back that many of the Bennigans closed, and I am super glad that ours did not. We will be back, and this 3 for $20 deal was so great that I had to share it with you!

So go to Bennigans and eat for a reasonable price and enjoy!

Blogging update

2009-11-30T20:29:00.003-05:00

This blog may be changing A LOT in the very near future.....please keep up at my other blog here for updates!

Savings at Food Lion

2009-10-27T13:16:00.003-04:00

Saturday afternoon my husband and I ran into a nearby Food Lion store. It is not the store closest to us, but one a few miles away. I strolled into the meat market to look for some lunch meat, and I saw little pink stickers on a lot of the fresh meat in the cases, denoting that they had been marked down. I had talked with the meat market manager in the past and knew that their usual meat markdown days were Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, so I was not expecting to score any big deals. Closer looks revealed that there were some SUPER deals to be had, especially on pork! I got several packs or pork chops that had originally been marked at over $9 a pack, for less that $3! Packs of ground pork were marked down from $3.99 to a mere 75 cents. I grabbed several packages of the pork chops, but avoided the ground pork because it didn't look all that great. I noticed a sign sticking up out of the case that had an advertisement on it for pork, something along the lines of eating pork or grilling pork or pork is the other white meat or something, but I didn't really read the sign because my eye settled on something else.....there were coupons attached to the sign! That's right, each coupon was for $1 off of any package of fresh pork. I read carefully to make sure it would apply to the packages I had selected, and sure enough, it did! I scampered happily to the register and brought home my savings in a bag!

Of course, part of what I saved went towards the Heath candy bars that were buy one get one free by the register...I have been craving Heath bars for some reason lately!

JC Penney

2009-10-08T13:13:00.001-04:00

I went to JC Penney yesterday and I was thrilled to find that they were having a HUGE 75% off sale in all departments! They had jeans for my daughter in the girls plus section (which are very hard to find!) for less than $10 a pair and shirts in plus sizes for $5!!!!! It was a great time to go!

Food Lion Mac and Cheese

2009-09-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

For those of you in the Savannah area, I just learned that the Food Lion in Pooler has it's store brand macaroni and cheese dated Sept 2010 on sale for 10 cents a box. My hubby just called to tell me he picked up 30 boxes!

FREEBIES!

2009-09-22T16:08:00.000-04:00

My good friend Heather from Kalamazoo sent me a link to this blog, PACKED with freebies and discounts! Check it out and get your freebies coming!

Click here for free stuff!

50 free photo prints PLUS free shipping!

2009-09-08T23:57:00.003-04:00

Thanks to the Money Wise Mom blog, I heard about an offer from Snapfish to get 50 free prints with free shipping. I just signed up with Snapfish again, with a different email than I had used with them before, and it worked great! I have used Snapfish a few times and the quality is great and I get my prints in about 3-4 days.
Try it! Click the link here and upload your pics. It's free...what have you got to lose?????

comments

2009-09-07T12:26:00.003-04:00

If you are having difficulty commenting on my blog please email me at mom2rissa@yahoo.com

Thank you!

Slushies

2009-09-04T12:38:00.005-04:00

We all love slushies in the summertime! Whether it's an Icee, a slush puppy, or a frozen drink from the gas station, they are all so good on a hot summer day! However, they can get expensive.

I fiddled around a few days ago and came up with this:

This is what I did. I poured an envelope of unsweetened kid's drink mix (I have used both KoolAid and FlavorAid with the same results) and about 3/4 cup sugar in the blender. I add one cup of hot water to dissolve the sugar, and blend on high for a few seconds to mix it all up well. Then I remove that center plastic lid thingie on my blender top and with the blender running on a pretty high speed, I think mine says "liquify", I start adding ice cubes one at a time. I blend until the blender container is full and the mixture isn't spinning anymore. Then I pour the thick mixture into glasses (use a spoon to help guide it as it is very thick and will come out in a big splash if you are not careful) and call in the family.
>They love it and I estimate 3 glasses costs us waaaaaay less that even one store bought slushie!

Another freebie for you!

2009-09-01T12:29:00.002-04:00

Betty Crocker is giving away free samples of their wonderful AuGratin and mashed potatoes! To get yours, just chick here and sign up!

Shopping for the guys

2009-08-28T14:00:00.004-04:00

OH MY GOODNESS!
That is all I can say about this post.
Let me begin with some background for you.
My husband works on a tugboat with 3 other men. They work 7 days and nights, then they are home for 7 days and nights. The men live together and work together on the boat, sharing meals as well.

The company provides these men with grocery money every week. The crew sends two men out to buy groceries for their boat for the week. They do not have to buy cleaning supplies or paper products, as these are also furnished by the company, and they bring their own toiletries from home.

Last week, they were a man short on grocery day and my husband asked if I would accompany him on the shopping trip.

You must remember that when I shop, I go to at least 3 stores and buy the sale goods there and we work meals around those items. You can imagine how hard it was for me to plan shopping at ONE STORE!

We started out with a list made by the crew for what they wanted for the week. It was separated by department, which made the process much simpler.

What shocked me was what we had to get! Each person has specific things they want, like Sprite Zero and Ritz crackers with Cream Cheese and Hot Pockets. But the hardest part for me is that they BUY NAME BRAND EVERYTHING, AND THEY DO NOT USE COUPONS AND THEY BUY WHAT THEY WANT NO MATTER THE PRICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was breaking out in hives when my husband put Pop Secret popcorn in the buggy....$6.99 for 10 bags. It did not matter that other brands were on sale, it had to be Pop Secret. Store brand soda was on sale for $1.99 a 12 pack, would that work? NOPE! Had to be Sprite Zero at nearly $6 a 12 pack.

I am not saying that this is all bad, they work a very hard and demanding job, often in bad conditions. I can see the point of getting what foods you like as a reward. But seriously, do you know how much money these guys get to spend on food every week?

$350

YIKES! I don't spend that in a month, including cleaning supplies, paper products, health and beauty items and pet stuff!

I will need medication if I have to do that again!

This blog is being made private.

2009-08-26T12:28:00.001-04:00

If you would like an invitation, please email me!

Southern Living Magazine

2009-08-23T18:45:00.002-04:00

I saw over on Moneywise Moms that you can get a full year subscription to Southern Living magazine for just $5! That is an incredible 92% off the cover price!
Click on her button for details and sign up now! Offer expires August 29.

Snapfish

2009-08-22T21:15:00.006-04:00

Have you guys tried Snapfish photo services? I saw an ad that offered 50 free prints when you registered. I signed up and although I had to pay a couple of dollars for shipping, I saw that when I checked out they also offered me a FREE 8x10 print. I [placed my order, and in just a couple of days my prints arrived. Now I was thinking, with service so cheap and so quick, these must be of inferior quality right?

WRONG!

The prints were crisp and bright, the finish was a brilliant gloss and all in all I was THRILLED with my prints!

My Publix coupon book had a coupon inside for new and existing Publix photo center user, which I discovered is through Snapfish so I used the Publix coupon and got 35 free prints again, delivered to my home in 3 days. How awesome is this? Just visit here to get your free prints.
The following coupon code will get you discounts and freebies. Just enter it at checkout.

PUBLIXFALL09= 35 free prints

But beware! The Publix website shows that they are offering a "deal" of 75 prints for $9.99, or 100 prints for $12.99. This breaks down to 12-13 cents per print, when Snapfish's usual price is only 9 cents per print.

I also found another website that details the policies and rates Snapfish against other photo sites. Click here for details and more coupon codes!!!!

Meat for my Freezer

2009-08-17T13:36:00.005-04:00

I lucked up again yesterday and found bone-in chicken breasts on sale at Kroger for 99 cents a pound. We got 12 pounds of chicken.
Kroger also sells a value pack of frozen ground turkey. It contains 4 one pound chubs and costs $6.99.

When we got home, I left two of the chubs of ground turkey as they were and put them in the freezer for a recipe I am doing next week. The remaining two chubs I thawed and then browned with some onion in it. I found that by following a suggestion I found over at Moneywise Mom's, preparing the meat this way saves so much time! Plus, it is ready for a quick meal when you need it. Just open a ziploc bag and dump the cooked meat into a pan with a jar of spaghetti sauce or season it up and use for tacos, or dump it in for Hamburger Helper. Half of the work is done ahead of time, so it is great for busy nights!

Then my husband and I tackled the chicken. First, we removed the skin from three chicken breasts and laid them in my crockpot. I dumped on a can of Rotel tomatoes with cilantro and lime juice and set it to cook on low for 6 hours. (Money wise Mom used regular Rotel, but that is too spicy for us so we use this milder version which is FABULOUS!) Next, we pulled off the big part of each remaining breast and put the bones and tiny scrap pieces of chicken, along with the tender strip that remains attached to the bone, in a large pot with some onion and garlic. I cut up enough of the chicken breasts for chicken soft tacos last night, then put the remaining (now boneless and skinless) chicken breasts into 2 ziploc bags.

After the chicken was done boiling, I drained off the broth and put it into 3 plastic freezer containers. When the meat was cool enough to handle, I picked it from the bones. There was enough to make one recipe's worth of diced cooked chicken, while I use in my chicken casserole, and then what was left I divided among my three freezer cups for chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings or chicken soup.

Once the crockpot chicken was done, I removed and shredded the meat with two forks and placed it into two ziploc bags for chicken tacos or enchiladas.

All together, I spent about $15.50 on the meat that I used. What I got out of that was:
1 meal of chicken tacos last night
2 meals of chicken tacos or enchiladas in freezer
3 meals of chicken with broth for soup, dumplings, etc.
2 bags of thick chicken breasts for grilling
1 bag of diced cooked chicken for chicken and rice
3 bags of cooked ground turkey for spaghetti or whatever
That is 12 meals worth, at roughly $1.29 per meal, not including any leftovers we may have :)
I found the ideas to prepare the chicken and ground meat over at Money wise Moms, along with many links to great recipes. Click here to check it out! Just look under her blog archives under "cooking ahead".

2009-08-10T15:02:00.002-04:00

As a special promotion, the Schwan's frozen food company is offering $10 in free food to the first 500,000 people who shop on their website. There are a couple of restrictions, such as they have to deliver to your area already and you can't have ordered in something like 14 week, and you pay the taxes. I just placed my order for a gallon of their rich chocolate ice cream, delivered to my door in a few days, and it is costing me 5 cents!!!!!

So what are you waiting for? It's free food people! GO SHOP NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Click this link and enjoy!

I'm back!

2009-08-09T15:48:00.002-04:00

I have been sooooo out of it lately. Seems that with summertime here I have not been doing much big shopping, just enough here and there to get us through. I have not even been clipping coupons, can you believe it? I have been LAZY and it is showing!

I went to Food Lion yesterday because they had split chicken breasts on sale for 87 cents a pound, and I picked up a few things while I was there. I spent almost $70 and got barely anything!!!!!!!!!! They did have some good deals though, like the chicken and they also had picnic hams for 69 cents a pound. I got one that will fit in my oval crockpot and it ran about $5.00. I like cooking the hams in the crockpot because you can avoid heating up the house with the oven for for 2 hours! Plus, the ham turns out tender and juicy and it makes plenty of good broth which I save for seasoning. I chill the broth, then skim off all the fat that rises to the top and discard it. Then I warm the broth up so I can pour it into ice cube trays and I freeze it. When they are solid I pop them out and store them in a Ziploc bag. One cube seasons a can of green beans wonderfully, and 2-3 make frozen butter beans or peas taste soooo good! This way I always have seasoning broth on hand and the cube size works well.

I got my newspaper today so I will be clipping away this afternoon. My daughter is having a sleepover so I will have something to do to keep me occupied while I am locked away in my bedroom preserving my sanity!

Savings at the Kroger!

2009-06-20T21:43:00.002-04:00

From the Sunday coupon booklets back in May, I had clipped a whole lot of coupons for Suave products. The Kroger ad this week showed Suave deodorant for $1 each, and Suave shampoo at $1 each.

I had 17 coupons for 50 cents off one Suave deodorant, which Kroger doubled so I got 17 sticks of Suave deodorant for F*R*E*E*!

I had several coupons for $1 off 2 bottles of Suave shampoo or conditioner, so I got a bottle of each and used one coupon. It cost me $1 for both.

The last thing that I got today that was a good deal was the 12 pack Kroger "Big K" sodas. Now we are a very budget conscious family,and sodas are a luxury but we were grilling hotdogs tonight so soda seemed like a worthy splurge! In our area name brand sodas right now are running $5 per 12 pack and sometimes even $5 for an 8 pack. My husband is quite picky about soda, and would MUCH prefer the name brand, but settles for the Kroger store brand. We have tried the store brand from Publix, Food Lion, and WalMart, but none make him as happy as the ones from Big K! The 12 pack is on sale for $1.99.

Beat the Heat!

2009-06-18T18:05:00.002-04:00

Here is one way to beat the summer heat. My husband bought me a toaster oven a few years ago. It is a Black and Decker one, and it will hold a 12" pizza pan or a 9x13" casserole.

When it gets too hot to cook inside, I move the toaster oven onto my screened in back porch. I bake everything in it! I have made casseroles, baked cookies, baked poundcakes, and broiled fish.

This saves money three ways:
1. The AC doesn't work harder to cool down a hot kitchen
2. The smaller oven is just the right size to bake one pan in. No need to heat up a huge oven, which would waste electricity and money!
3. Since I can cook without heating up the house, it prevents us from going out to eat when it is too hot to cook!

Try it and see what you think! Your sweaty brow will thank me for it!

FREE BREAKFAST!

2009-05-07T11:03:00.001-04:00

Tell your friends about the FREE CroisSONIC™ Breakfast Sandwich by copying the link below and sending it via e-mail.

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/croissonic

Earth Day Good Deals

2009-04-22T15:42:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,
I have a couple of good deals for you but you have to act fast because they are only good today, Wed. April 22, in honor of Earth Day.

Walgreens.com has a printable coupon for use in store. It entitles you to one free reusable shopping bag, plus 15% off storewide or 20% off on Walgreens brand products. Mix these deals with some sales and coupons and you can save big time! I bought some clearance eater candy, a six pack of Hershey bunnies that were 75% off, plus the extra 15% off, so the pack came to 74 cents. They are about one ounce per piece, so about 12 cents per sweet snack. :)

www.reynoldsrecycled.com has a promo for a free roll of recycled aluminum foil. Go to the website to fill out the online rebate form and get your free roll!

Let em know if any of these work out for you and how much you save at Walgreens!

Chicken on the cheap!

2009-03-31T13:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I popped into Food Lion to grab some stuff for my sicky father in law. You know, the usual...Gatorade, chicken noodle soup, saltines....and while I was there I noticed boneless skinless chicken breasts were on sale for an unheard of $1.79/lb. I grabbed 6 packages and came home with them. It was then, as I put my bounty into the fridge, that I began to wonder why I didn't get more. I mean, I got 5 packages of chicken for like $14......DUH! The sale ends on Tuesday nights at 10:00....so I made plans to scamper down there again today to stock up.

Today I went and got 7 more packages. I brought them in and began preparing them in the way that I mentioned in my cook-ahead post for chicken (Found on Moneywise Moms). I have found by trying this prep method a few times which way we use the most of the meat, so I devised my own plan.

I put 4 breasts in the crockpot with a can of tomatoes for shredded chicken tacos. This makes 2 meals for us as I usually end up cooking some ground turkey along with it to give my crew* a choice of tacos and enchiladas.

I put 4 breasts in the pot with a big spoon of garlic to boil and then dice up. My crew* loves my chicken casserole recipe, (I will post this for you) which is super easy and calls for a large can of precooked chicken, sort of like tuna. This is easy and quick, but costly too since a can of that stuff usually runs close to $3 and I always wonder what is really in it........

I took the other breasts and butterflied about half of them, making thin, neat and tidy chicken cutlets. Bread these babies in Italian bread crumbs and cook them in a tiny bit of olive oil for a super yummy and very fast dinner! The other half I trimmed up nice and neat and left them thick for grilling. (That way they don't dry out)

All of the little leftover bits got tossed into a zipper bag for soup or chicken "hamburger" helper.

It is all done, except the crockpot chicken which is making the house smell soooo good! Total time...with mom in law bagging and labeling? About 30 minutes. And guess what? Since we figured it up and we got 10 meals for our family* for about $25, Kathy went BACK to Food Lion to get more chicken!

*note: our family consists of two men with hearty appetites, two women and an 11 year old girl in a growth spurt who is eating everything in sight!

Easy Chicken and Rice
1 bag, about 1 lb. cooked chicken pieces
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 large spoonful mayonnaise
a handful of those french fried onions, the kind that go on green bean casserole

Mix all of this together and bake it about 30 minutes at 350. Top with another handful of the french fried onions and bake another five minutes or so to brown the little crispy onions. :)

This is VERY good...but I never promised it was healthy!!! I got this recipe from my good friend Ginger about 5 years ago and have been making it ever since!

Hmmm.........frugal living? Maybe not so much tonight!

2009-03-27T16:31:00.003-04:00

Today is Friday. This is where my weeks worth of frugality and pinching pennies pays off. We are going out to eat tonight, probably at our traditional favorite little place, El Potro.

The restaurant is about 2 blocks from our house. We have gone there at least once a week for over 11 years. It is a very down to earth place, very basic, no frills. Just good food, good service, and lots of memories.

We usually get the buffet. It is offered Mon-Fri for lunch, Friday night, and Sunday lunch. Lunch is $6.35, dinner is $7.35. I love Mexican food, but usually it is very spicy. Not here. Of course they have spicy things on the menu, and will spice up anything you want, but the average choices are not spicy.

So why do I really, really love this place????
Let me list the reasons why.....

1. They have happy orange walls. Ok, maybe that is a stretch but the walls used to be a yucky aquamarine. The happy orange is much better.

2. The KNOW us there. As soon as our butts hit the cushion, our drinks are on the table. They remember, Diet Coke for me and my daughter, tea for the rest of the crew.

3.Also, since they know us, they know we do not like jalapenos in our cheese dip. Therefore, they make it for us. Fresh. No jalapenos. They are the only place in town that doesn't serve the canned queso. They make it fresh.

4. Since I don't eat red meat, they will make me 2 cheese enchiladas to go with the buffet at no charge.

5. The waiter (Gus) is tops. He is prompt, friendly, smiles a lot, always asks where someone is if one is missing from our party. He has also helped our daughter with Spanish homework.

6. They are fast. Food is muy rapido and mucho delicioso!!!!!

7. They like us. They really, really like us. They greet us as family, bring us samples of new stuff, and say they missed us if we don't go every week.

All this is to say, I love this place. It may not be the newest, shiniest, flashiest place but to us, it is home. There are at least 4 other Mexican places in our small town, but this is the only place for us.

A great frugal idea for your yard

2009-03-22T13:33:00.003-04:00

My bloggy buddy Jamie over at From Dhuland...with love.....has some great ideas for frugal and eco friendly yard decor. Go check it out and tell her you read about it here on my blog! :)
http://savannahscrapbooking.typepad.com/savannah_scrapbooking/2009/03/trash-to-treasure.html

I am thinking....

2009-03-17T22:02:00.001-04:00

I am thinking seriously about stopping this blog. Seems I am running out of ideas, and I don't seem to have much readership here. Any thoughts?

Update on the cook ahead idea

2009-02-25T11:59:00.004-05:00

I tried the idea from my previous post about cooking the meat ahead this past weekend. I did about 10 lbs of chicken and 8 lbs of ground pork/turkey mix because we don't eat ground beef.

I have to admit that it was easier than I thought it would be and the results have been fantastic! If you have not tried this idea yet I urge you to do so! It is a great time saver and made for some tasty meals!

Saturday I made chili with the precooked meat. It was so easy to just dump the bag in and add all of my other ingredients, turn on the pot and GO!

Tuesday night I made tacos and enchiladas with the prepared shredded chicken and they was delicious! I just thawed the meat, wrapped the enchilada shells around it and threw it in the oven. Tasty and good! QUICK TOO!

Tonight is baked ziti with the prepared ground meat mix. It will be so easy! The meat is thawing, now all I have to do is boil noodles, open a jar of sauce and throw it all together. Put in the pan and throw cheese on top and pop it into the oven. Now that's the way I like it....quick, easy and GOOD!

I decided to compose a list of reasons why I like doing the meat ahead so much:
1. I only had to handle raw meat one time. This is a major ICK factor for me in cooking, and also the reason I keep rubber gloves on my microwave.
2. I only had to chop raw onion and cry once.
3. I could easily see how many meals I had enough meat for when I stacked it in my freezer.
4. The Ziploc bags of cooked meat take up much less room and store flatter that the bulky packages of meat.
5. The precooked meat makes it super quick and easy to throw together easy homecooked meals. It was quicker to put the tacos and enchiladas together than to order pizza.
6. The flexibility of the cooked meat makes trying new recipes easy and enticing again, even when I don't feel creative. :)

If you have not checked out the idea of cooking ahead, please give it a whirl. It took me about 2 hours to do both the chicken and the ground meat, and I have enough meat prepared now for about 12 meals.

Let me know what you think!!!!

A big time saver in the kitchen!

2009-02-19T12:37:00.015-05:00

I wanted to share something I found online with you. While I was blog stalking I came across a blog that has some really great ideas on it about cooking once and eating 10 times. Well, that idea appealed to me as a big time saver so I looked into it. The blog author has listed a way to cook once and eat 10 times by preparing chicken or ground beef in advance and freezing for quick meals later. I am very inspired to try this and I printed out her instructions as well as a few of her recipes that she includes at the bottom of the posts.

Although you may have to half or double the amount of meat for your family, I think this is a fabulous idea and will really help on nights when time is short and everyone is hungry. I love the idea of having the "hot" part done ahead when the summertime heat makes the kitchen just unbearable.

Check this out and let me know what you think. I am including a link to her page with the chicken instructions. I tried to insert a link to follow on this blog but it won't send you to the right page for some reason so just go to her blog (listed below) and in the right hand column under blog posts click on "cooking ahead". You will see the ground beef one come up with an imbeded link to follow for the chicken version. Or, you can click on her button on the top of this post and follow it from there. It is an awesome blog and I have added her to my blog list of sites to stalk! :)

Let me know what you think!

Thank you!

2009-02-05T06:47:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for your prayers and support during this emotional time for our family!

On a lighter note, I have to say that I missed this week's Sunday paper....so no coupons and no sale flyers for me this week! I am looking at them online though, and although it works ok it isn't the same as circling them with my pen and clipping the little Walgreens coupons out! However, my trusty pink notebook is by my side and I am making my list for Publix, Walgreens, Kroger and Save A Lot this morning.

I went through my coupon box last night and trashed all of my unused January coupons, and I have to say it made me kinda sad. I am such a coupon nerd....

With all of the unexpected funeral expenses this past week my grocery budget is very tight, so check back in a few days to see how I did. It will all depend on the sales and coupons.....so keep checking!

Clarifying....

2009-01-29T12:42:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note.....
The mother in law that passed away is my husbands biological mother.
The mother in law that lives with us is his step mom, Kathy, who has her disability blog posted on blogspot.
Sorry for any confusion!

Prayer request

2009-01-29T06:24:00.001-05:00

I would like to ask all of my readers to remember my family in your prayers. My mother in law has passed away suddenly and my husband is traveling to make the arrangements for her. I will post the details when I know them.

Shopping and Saving

2009-01-23T21:04:00.004-05:00

I went on my weekly shopping trip at Kroger and Publix this Tuesday. I found some really great deals! I started at Publix, and using my coupons and store specials, this is what I got:

Total retail price: $137.53
Total savings, using sale prices and coupons: $86.64
My out of pocket cost: $50.89

Moving on to Kroger, where I lucked up on some extra savings in addition to what I had planned on getting.

My biggest steals were the Softsoaps, which were on sale for $1 each. I had 7 50 cent coupons, which they of course double to $1 off, so these puppies were free. Same deal on the batteries, they were also on sale for $1 a pack, and I had 75 cents off Duracell and $1 off the Rayovacs so they were all free, except the one Duracell was 25 cents. I felt silly buying all of those when I don't need them, but they don't expire until Dec. 2012, so I think I am ok. Most of our flashlights take C batteries, and living on the coast we have to stock up on these at hurricane season anyway....so I planned ahead. )At least it worked out that way :)
Total retail price: $95.67
Total savings, with coupons and sales: $68.62
My out of pocket cost: $27.05

My hubby says I did pretty good. That makes me proud!

An interesting idea....

2009-01-14T11:23:00.007-05:00

Here is an idea that needs some consideration. My bloggy buddy Miranda has started a new blog about life with endometriosis and living after a hysterectomy at age 25. She has done a lot of research about the chemicals and side effects of using tampons and pads. While this is often an uncomfortable topic (to say the least~~no pun intended)the use of feminine hygiene products affects us all at some point. Her findings are sobering and very concerning to me. The alternatives are also very money wise, and that is something else to consider. While they may not be for everyone, I do think the studies and research need to be considered by all women.

When you have time, please check out Miranda's new blog, My Life Without A Uterus.

I am having technical difficulties this morning and I can't get the links to work. Please use my blog roll and go to The Keeper Of The Cheerios blog, scroll down 2 posts to read about her new blog, and click her link there. On the left hand side of her new blog are the links I have tried unsuccessfully to insert here.

Sorry for all the trouble, let me know if it was worth your time!

How I spent $146.85

2009-01-07T20:53:00.003-05:00

Today I went grocery shopping.
My first stop was my favorite store, Publix. Here is what I got:
10 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes
2 boxes Betty Crocker brownie mix
2 boxes Barilla pasta
4 boxes of Pop Tarts
3 large bags of Pizza Rolls
3 boxes Savorings
1 box Uncrustables
1 crate of clementines
1 cantaloupe
12 pack Lipton green tea 16 oz bottles
1 box brown sugar
1 box powdered sugar
1 quart strawberries

Total: $83.71
My cost after coupons and sales: $35.04
Savings: $48.67

Moving on to Kroger:
1 package stickers
2 loaves bread
2 packages No Yolks egg noodles
1 lb. fresh cherries
1 liter soda
2 12 pks Kroger brand soda
4 naval oranges
3 grapefruits
6 boxes Kelloggs cereal
3 lbs. apples
2 lbs bacon
1 dozen eggs
2 gallons milk
4 bottles Softsoap
1 Suave shampoo
1 Suave conditioner

Total: $70.54
My total after coupons and sales: $33.66
Savings: $36.88

Scampered over to Save A Lot
3 lbs bananas
3 bags frozen veggies
one can cooking spray
chili powder
2 cans cream of celery
12 packs Flavor Aide
8 cans greens beans
2 cans potatoes
2 cans corn
olive oil
1 can sliced pineapple
5 packs gravy mix
10 lbs white rice
5 Del Monte fresh fruit cups
1.65 lbs zucchini
1 lb tater tots

Total: $39.66
Savings $2.00 in coupons
My total: $38.45

Headed to Piggly Wiggly for meat:
2 lbs ground turkey
4 lbs chicken breasts
5 lbs pork chops
2 lbs pork cubed steak

Total: $51.95
Sale price: $29.99
Savings: $21.96

Last stop....Food Lion
7 lbs country style ribs
Total: 17.65
Sale Price: $9.71
Savings: $7.94

Ok, so it took me about 6 hours and I was exhausted but if I had not been a careful shopper and paid full retail price, my total for groceries today would have been $263.51. With shopping the sales and using coupons strategically, I only spent $146.85, saving $116.66. How was that for smart shopping?

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T13:09:00.001-05:00

Here is a toast to a happy, safe, prosperous and BLESSED 2009! We are packing up the family and heading to the beach for a couple of days. At midnight we will bring in the New Year watching fireworks on the sand and freezing our butts off! I hope wherever you are and whatever you do, you have a wonderful night and a great beginning to the New Year!

You gotta hear this!

2008-12-25T19:51:00.001-05:00

My bloggy buddy Miranda at Keeper of The Cheerios has this on her blog and it inspired me. See what you think about this!

You must be joking......

2008-12-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted about an extraordinary and very common sense article pertaining to current economic times and how people are coping. A little later I flipped the pages of the next section of the SAME paper only to find this RIDICULOUS article.

Seems this lady in LA has built a rather extraordinary doghouse. Or rather, she has HAD it built. To the tune of $20,000. This dog house has heat and air, hardwood floor, ceiling fans, lighting, a vintage dresser to hold dog clothes......it goes on and on.

Check it out here:
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-hm-doghouse6-2008dec06,0,6314671.story

Here is what I don't get. People in our own neighborhoods are starving. Kids go to bed every night hungry and cold. People can't get a job. Senior citizens have to choose between food and their medicine. I could go on and on.

Now don't get me wrong.....I am a pet lover. I have 3 cats. They eat store brand catfood. They live in our modest home, not a cat palace. This is what pets DO.

I sure could have thought of ways to help a lot of people with $20,000....plus the money she spent to move it to their new home on a flat bed truck, with the aid of a crane. (I did not see a cost estimate on that.) I am glad these folks have their wealth and love their pets. I wish them no ill will. I just wonder where their priorities truly are.

Morning news

2008-12-12T16:39:00.001-05:00

I don't usually read the newspaper commentary section. I don't know what made me turn there today, but I am sure glad I did. I ran across a commentary by Boston Globe writer Ellen Goodman that really struck a chord in me.

The title of the article in our local paper is "Thrift is New Normal". The title alone caught my eye, and I wrote about it on my Scrappy Gypsy blog before I even posted it here. (What? You don't read it? Shame on you! Now follow the blog list link.....)

I read the article, which is basically about the current recession and economic times and the way retailers are reacting and was amazed by some of the one liners that stood out to me. Some of my favorites are:
~~These days the media are full of people saying bye-bye to bling-bling~~
~~These days Change You Can Believe In is what's jingling in your pocket~~
~~Thrift is the new normal~~
~~Sixty percent off is the new black~~
~~Cutting back is in. Retail therapy is out.~~

You will have to read the whole article to see what I mean. It was a really good commentary on excessive spending and "keeping up with the Jonses". Check it out at
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/12/12/an_upside_to_the_economic_downside/

CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!

2008-12-10T10:05:00.002-05:00

Trot yourselves over to "The Centsible Sawyer" and enter Denise's giveaway for a $500 Wal-Mart gift card!!!! How awesome is that? She lists 5 different ways to enter, so what are you waiting for? GO ENTER!!! NOW!!! Good luck!

It's Saturday....

2008-12-06T09:42:00.003-05:00

You know, I figure I have the best of both worlds when it comes to Publix. You see, I can get the coupons on Sunday, clip them all and sort them, and hit Kroger and Walgreens on Monday for some super savings. Then when the Publix ad hits midweek, I can make my list of BOGOs and other great deals, match up coupons from the previous Sunday, and then wait for the coming Sunday to find even more. Then I shop Monday or Tuesday before the ad changes again.

That's what I did last night. I sat down with my Publix flyer, made my list of things I wanted, then went back and matched up coupons I have. I used my coupon file of coupons from previous weeks papers, the coupon pamphlets from Publix and the huge stack my beloved sister mailed me from Baton Rouge. (THANKS SIS!) Next I went online to the Fiddledeedee blog and checked for any printable coupons I might have missed, printed out one for Idahoan potatoes, and organized everything into my file. Each store has a little file in the front of my coupon box to hold the coupons I am using that week.

Now it is Saturday and I am chomping at the bit for tomorrow's paper! YAY! More coupons clipping!!!! I am hoping there are good coupon sections tomorrow as the last two weeks have seemed kinda slim to me.....

I was also thinking that some people might wonder how I make my list. I have seen various formats for computerized, printable lists and master lists and such, but that doesn't work for me. My style is rather primitive and plain, but it works for me....so here goes.

I use the hard backed spiral notebooks that you can get at Dollar Tree or Michaels in the dollar section. They are about 3-4 inches wide and about 6-7 inches tall. Spiral bound, so they fold back on themselves, and hardbacked so I can write on the paper while holding the book in my hand, with nothing underneath. The book will stand up in my coupon file.

I make a separate page for each store....Walgreens, Publix and Kroger. I scour sale papers and make the list of the best deals on stuff my family uses. Then I go back through my coupon file and make notes by my list of what coupons I have. It is handwritten, but looks something like this:

4 Idahoan potatoes M
2 Juicy Juice M
candles P
etc.

I circle the letters and quantity I want so it stands out. I use P or K or W to denote store coupons, M for manufacturer coupons, and RC to remind me I have a rain check for an item.

Like I said, primitive and plain but it works for me. I am thinking of scanning a picture of my real list and my coupon file so you can see just how plain and simple I am. :) Also, you will see how bad my handwriting is. :)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-03T16:39:00.002-05:00

Oh girls.....trot on over to the Publix site and check out the big ole honkin' list of BOGO deals this week! There is about a zillion of them, and most items offered have coupons for them in the Publix winter savings flyer available at the store. I grabbed about 6 of each flyer and I am so glad I did! Look out Publix shoppers....here I come! Watch me burn some tracks squealin' through my favorite grocery store and save some moolah!!!!!

By the way, the Kmart double coupon thing really stinks. I went yesterday, and even with the double coupon deals, the prices are so doggone high I still didn't buy much. I think they jacked the prices earlier this week to allow for the coupons. Most shampoo was about $5 a bottle, and the cheapest Tide was over $9!!!! However, the Gillette men's body wash was on sale for $3.99, and there were $2 off coupons in this past Sunday's paper so you can gets those for free if you can find them. They only had 3 left when I got there yesterday so I snatched them up.

Happy shopping!!!!

Quick notes.....

2008-12-02T10:57:00.003-05:00

Coupons.com posted new coupons yesterday, there are some good ones there including a $5 off $25 purchase at Walgreens good today only. I will be there this afternoon!

Also, our KMart circular in Sunday's paper had the double manufacturers coupon banner again. They will double all coupons up to $2 face value. However, they do not accept internet coupons. You can also only use 4 of the same coupon in one transaction. (Take a friend and split them up or go through the line twice if you have a lot) Just read the fine print on the Kmart coupon in the flyer before you go. You can only have 75 coupons per transaction, blah blah blah.....

Happy shopping and saving!!!

Publix!

2008-11-27T09:15:00.003-05:00

I am so excited! I got up early to put one of the turkeys in the oven and found the Publix ad in our paper. I thought it wouldn't be out til Friday, since the Publix stores are closed today. Let me just say I think this TOTALLY ROCKS and all stores should follow suit. My Mom in law and I were discussing yesterday how everything used to be closed on Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas except maybe a rare 7-11. But now, in favor of the almighty dollar, stores stay open just about 24/365. I am glad Publix takes a stand and says "NO!" to corporate greed on at least one day!

Anyway, I see that Oreos are on sale at 2 for $5.....time to stock up since my father in law can eat a whole package at one sitting...Funny side note here, he won't eat the colored ones. Says they taste different. (????)
Pomegranates are BOGO, which my daughter loves! These Knorr side items are BOGO, and I happen to have several coupons for 60 cents off each pack, so that looks like a deal...Arnold bread is BOGO, and I have coupons for 50 cents off each loaf, which will doubled be $1, plus a thingie to use when you buy two loaves of bread you save a buck on milk. Electrasol dishwasher powder is BOGO...got coupons for those too, and I see that Frosted Flakes is still $1.99 a box. Add those $1 off one box Kelloggs coupons, and you get a real deal!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving...see you at Publix on Friday!

I think I got a problem....

2008-11-22T17:35:00.002-05:00

I may have a problem here.

It is Saturday night....

I know that coupons come out tomorrow in the paper.

I am contemplating getting up super early, before church, to see what coupons are in the paper.

I am actually almost giddy about this!

Is there a twelve step program for people like me?????

The long and short of it

2008-11-21T20:40:00.003-05:00

I went grocery shopping today and I have to tell you the deal I stumbled on. While I was scanning the Walgreens ad, I found a coupon for a $25 gift card if you transfer a prescription to them. I always get mine filled at KMart, and I figured that was about the cheapest place in town but $25 is $25 right?

The prescription I transferred is my cholesterol medicine. It runs me $22 a month at KMart. I figured even if it was a bit higher, I could use the giftcard and still get it free right?

Imagine my surprise when the Walgreens price was $12!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee!!! That gave me an extra $13 to use with my coupons! I was doing the happy dance!

Coupons and Sales

2008-11-21T20:22:00.003-05:00

Our buddy Kari popped in again and asked how I match coupons with sales. I have to tell you that honestly, I do it by the seat of my pants. Here is how I do it....

First off I get two Sunday papers. There is always a guy in front of WalMart selling them for a buck a piece so I get two. After lunch and changing from church clothes into something comfy, such as flannel PJ pants and one of my fave huge tshirts or sweatshirts, I settle down with the coupon sections and scissors. If hubby is nearby he helps. I got through each section of coupons and cut out every single coupon. Yep, that's right.....every single one.

Next, I get up to stretch my legs which are usually rebelling by this time because I sit cross legged on my bed like a DOOFUS the whole time I cut. I do this awful little hobble/stagger thing to get the circulation back and take all of the scraps from the paper to the recycling bin while Hubby laughs. Hey, I do what I can for his amusement... :)

I grab some Coke Zero (ah...) and return to my room where I sit cross legged AGAIN and sort the coupons into two piles. One for what I want to keep, one stack to take to Church and give away to friends. (I have no use for dogfood coupons or Serenity pads but others do!)

Next I file my coupons into my little file box by category. I got a media box from Goodwill that works well because it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a plastic lunchbox to store coupons in which is what I used to have until it went missing....I made my dividers and grouped stuff together by hoe I will remember it. (Baking, Cereal, Dairy, Canned foods, Frozen, etc.)

Then I rifle through the store ads. My personal favorite to have a ton of fun with is Walgreens. I cut out their sale coupons and make a note of sale items with and without their coupons in my little notebook. Then I go back down the list and mark a "W" by the item if I am using a store coupon. Next, I go through my coupons and try to match them up. They will let you use both coupons on one item there. For example, this week they had Betty Crocker cake mix on sale for 99 cents, and I had manufacturer coupons for 45 cents off. :) YAY ME!

Then I move on to CVS, Publix and Kroger. I match sale ads with coupons, make a list for each store and then put the coupons into their own little section in my file box labeled with store name. I keep my box in the car so I am never without it in case I get the opportunity to shop.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, and I suppose it could be to some but I truly love it. I find it relaxing, almost therapeutic in some ways. I make my little lists, mark each item with a "W" or a "C" or a "P" or a "K" to designate a store coupon, then mark with a "M" to denote a manufacturer coupon. This saves me a lot of time and stress when I go into the store. I know exactly what I need, and exactly what coupons to be sure I USE to get the best savings.

Also don't forget to check the blog at Fiddledeedee. Sarah takes the guess work out of it all for Publix shoppers and makes a list of weekly sale items and links to get a coupon for each one. Then she goes a step further and figures up the savings for us! See? Told you she rocks!

I know everyone has a different system, but this is what works for me. I went shopping today and destroyed my list with scratching off items but when I make my new list Sunday I will publish it for you so you can see how my system works. Hope this helps!

Hi Kari!

2008-11-19T19:47:00.002-05:00

I had a comment from my reader Kari today that I would like to address. She asked if stores really take the printable coupons and if some store double coupons.

In our area, Kroger and Publix will double a coupon that has a face value of up to 50 cents. (meaning you save $1 with that coupon). If the coupon is over 50 cents, you get the face value of the coupon. About 2 months ago, our local KMart doubled coupons for one week only, however my sister lives in Baton Rouge and her store did not have that promotion going on.

As for printable coupons, I am really new to them, but I have printed out about one billion of them so far (lol) and have not had any trouble using them. They scan just like a regular coupon from the Sunday paper. Every once in a while the cashier does a double take on them, but takes them anyway. However, I have read on other blogs that some people have had store decline to accept them, but I have not experienced any problems so far at Publix, Kroger, WalGreens, Piggly Wiggly, or CVS.

When I print the coupons, I have found that some sites print 3 coupons per page, while other sites print one per page with a big advertisement or recipe. (This annoys me, as it wastes a lot of ink). To compensate, I run the paper back through upside down, so that another coupon prints on the back of the page on the reverse end of the first coupon. I also set my printer to print on "draft" mode and in black and white only so that color ink is not wasted. I don't see any sense in wasting money on ink to save money on groceries. Seems silly to me....

Also Kari, don't forget that if your store is running a buy one get one free promotion like Publix does, you are entitled to use 2 coupons. Even thought you are paying for only one item, you are still technically PURCHASING two items so you are entitled to use one coupon on each item. For example, this week Juicy Juice was BOGO at $3.49. I had two coupons for $1 off a 64 oz. bottle of Juicy Juice. So I paid $1.49 for two bottles, a little less than 75 cents per bottle.

Thanks for your comment and don't forget to check out the other blogs on my blog roll, especially Fiddledeedee and The Centsible Sawyer. They always have links to great coupons!

I tackled Publix!

2008-11-14T20:03:00.002-05:00

Urged on by my savings at Kroger and Walgreens last week, I gathered up enough Bravado to try it at Publix. I didn't have time to snap a pic, but here is what I got:
4 pkgs Green Giant frozen vegetables
2 cans Betty Crocker frosting
Cover Girl eyeshadow single
2 pkgs frozen dumplings
3 cans Muir Glen diced tomatoes
64 oz. Juicy Juice
3.5 bag Friskies catfood
one gallon of milk
2 cans Progresso soup
2 boxes Betty Crocker supreme brownies
one loaf white bread
2 lbs. bananas
2 boxes Kelloggs frosted flakes
Always panty liners-60 ct
Colgate Total Fresh toothpaste
a deck of playing cards in the clearance bin
one pkg Always feminine pads
a book about Spiritual warfare

(*note: the playing cards were on clearance for $1.50 and hubby had to have them, they were waterproof after all!!!! And the book was for him too. It was $13.99. I could have saved $15 if I had been alone! LOL!)

Retail price of all items: $87.00 (exactly!)
After coupons and store promos I paid....
Drumroll....
$43.34 for a savings of over 50%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO ME!!!!!!
And that includes the $15 bucks hubby spent LOL!

Walgreens coupon!

2008-11-13T17:01:00.004-05:00

Trot over to the Fiddledeedee blog (use my link) and check out the deal Sarah posted today! Walgreens is giving $5 off of a $20 purchase this weekend. Check it out and go stock up! They also have some great deals on wrapping paper, bows, tape, ribbon, tissue paper....wonder if they are getting ready for something? LOL! I know they are a lot closer to ready than I am!

Kickin' It At The Kroger.....

2008-11-09T21:17:00.002-05:00

Fueled by the butt whoopin' I handed out at Walgreens, I proceeded on to Kroger. My beloved and I had already done the super deal at Kroger earlier in the week, (see previous post) and had wanted to hit the sale before it ended last night at midnight.

We left the Princess with Grandma and trucked onto Kroger to do some serious dealing. I was disappointed that the entire General Mills cereal selection was wiped out, and that all of the hefty zip top bags were gone due to the overwhelming demand, but I asked for a refund and was almost cheerfully issued one. We shopped on, matching coupons with sale prices, using cellfire coupons and taking advantage of the buy-ten-save-$5 deal again. We had a total of 20 of the deal items so we knew we would save an extra $10, and we stealthily marched on, coupons clutched in our hot little hands.

After about 1 1/2 hours, we walked out with $126.16 worth of food for only $67.39. That is a savings of over 46%. I think I am gettin' the hang of this!!!

After the two butt kickin' shopping trips this week, we accumulated enough points to get gas at the Kroger gas station for 10 cents off per gallon, which made our price an unheard of %1.85 a gallon. My poor car didn't know what to do with a full tank!

I plan to head to Walgreens tomorrow to shop with the new ad, and the Kroger ad this week shows that the buy 10 save $5 deal is continuing, so I may hit that agian if some money rolls in. I will keep you posted!

Happy shopping!

Whoopin' It Up At The Walgreens!

2008-11-09T21:08:00.004-05:00

I went over to Walgreens the other day to pick up my *FREE* 8x10 and I have to tell you it looks just beautiful! I am very impressed with the quality of their work. I saw a sign while I was waiting to pick up that described their "ultimate package". It has 3 8x10s, 3 5x7s, 20 4x6s, 24 wallets and a whole bunch of minis if I am remembering that part right. I know everything up until the minis was right....
Anyway, I thought the advertised price of $9.99 for the package was an EXCELEENT deal and told my beloved that he better get ready to pose for some backyard-staged- faux-professional photos to tuck in our Christmas cards this year. He agreed....knowing that it was senseless to argue....smart man!

Anyway, when I got my photo in it's protective envelope, I saw it had a coupon attached to it for $2 off the ultimate package. I was doin' the happy dance, I tell ya! Now if I can just get the Preteen Princess of Pout to cooperate, we will be in good shape!!!!

While at Walgreens, I also picked up 2 bottles of minced onion from the spice section, 8 Christmas votive candles, an extra 4x6 of the photo I had printed and some Dawn dish detergent. Combining the free photo, Walgreens coupons and sale prices and one manufacturer coupon gave me a grand total for my shopping experience of $$2.92. The regular price of my purchase would have been $10.35, so I saved over 71%!!!!! Even the cashier was impressed! (tee hee)

2008-11-07T06:59:00.002-05:00

Here is a great money saving tip from one of the blogs I stalk. Go to Walgreens.com and upload your favorite digital picture. Select it in 8x10 size, enter coupon code "freepic" and pick up your free print at your nearest Walgreens store! Nifty huh?????
Big thanks to Denise over at The Centsible Sawyer!

I am so proud of myself!

2008-11-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

I took the plunge!!!!
I carefully scoured the Kroger sale ad.....
I cut coupons from the Sunday inserts....
I printed online coupons from coupons.com......

I shopped.
OH BOY DID I SHOP!
Here is what I got:

Regular retail price of my loot......$76.90
After the whole double coupon, Kroger Plus Card, Cellfire deal, and the bonus buy 10 save $5 deal that Kroger has this week, my total was.....
Brace yaself Effie....
$31.60
WOOHOO! That's a savings of 60%
I did the happy dance all the way through the parking lot!
I am busy clipping, printing, uploading and planning for another trip later this week!
I am so proud of MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Cereal Killers....

2008-11-03T21:42:00.000-05:00

Ok you would have to know and appreciate my BFF Brenda for that title pun. Long story, made for another day!

Anyway, I saw in my Sunday paper that the Rite Aid drug store had selected Kelloggs cereal on sale, buy one get one free. I trotted over to see what crazy drug store sky high price they had on the cereal, and found it to be $4.79 a box. I decided to go for it and I paired this deal up with 4 of the one dollar off one box coupons from coupons.com printable coupons.

My beginning total was $19.16 for the cereal at regular price. The BOGO made it $9.58 for 4 boxes. Whipping out my four coupons made the total for the 4 boxes $5.58, or $1.39 per box. Not bad for the newbie! :)

Yard Sale

2008-10-30T16:11:00.000-04:00

We are having a yard sale at my house this Saturday from 7am-1pm. We have tons of clothes, kitchen items, toys, and interesting odds and ends. Come see what we have and BUY SOME THINGS!!!!!

Email me for directions if you need them!

Stretching your dollar on meats

2008-10-28T20:05:00.000-04:00

Probably the most expensive thing I buy at the grocery store is meat. I have not eaten red meat since 1989 for personal reasons, but my husband enjoys it quite often. Usually, the only time I buy beef is if we are grilling, and my hubby gets a nice bone-in rib eye for himself and boneless skinless chicken breasts for me and our daughter.

We still love tacos, meatloaf, hamburger helper, spaghetti and chili. I used to make it with ground turkey, but it seemed to lack some flavor. I started buying ground pork. Now I use half and half ground pork and ground turkey in a meatloaf, but most everything else is ground pork.

Buying ground pork in the package with the name brand on it is quite cost prohibitive. I learned a little trick when my husband worked as a meat cutter, and I will share it with you. :)

Wait until the boston butts go on sale. Our local Piggly Wiggly store has them for 99 cents a pound about every 8-12 weeks. Ask your friendly butcher to do you a favor***....most of the time they will cut anything for you. Ask the butcher to cut the boston butt in half. He can grind the boneless half for you and make nice juicy country style ribs from the other half. I bring this meat home and package the ground meat in quart size ziploc bags and the ribs in gallon size ones. Some stores will have a policy that you can only buy one of the boston butts at this price, so make a couple of trips or ask your hubby or sister to go through the line for you so you max out the savings.

The ground pork has a very nice taste and texture, and when it browns you will find that very little fat is left to drain off. NICE!

Enjoy!

***Some stores, such as WalMart and our SavALot do not have a meat-cutter on staff. They have meat stackers, which are employees who wear white coats like a butcher but all the meat comes into the store already cut and wrapped. They just stock the case. These employees cannot cut or grind meat, and most stores do not even have the equipment for them to do it if they would.
However, in a regular grocery store, a meat-cutter can cut and grind just about anything you want. Sometimes they get an attitude about it because they have to clean the grinder after grinding one kind of meat before switching to another (this should be a no brainer right? Who wants E coli mixing with your Trichinosis???)
If your local grocery store meat market employees refuse to grind the meat, contact your district office. This is their JOB!!!! They can and should grind it and most will, but some days I run into Mr. Attitude which can quickly be adjusted with a quick phone call. :)

Bread Pudding

2008-10-25T19:01:00.000-04:00

Being a "GRITS"....(a girl raised in the south)I developed a love of bread pudding at an early age. I just hated the raisins in it though, they always looked like dead bugs to me.

I found a recipe not long ago that uses chopped apples instead of raisins and has a yummy caramel sauce on top. YUM! I have made it for Wednesday night supper at Church several times and my Pastor loves it!

One of the ways I have found to make it on the cheap is to save the end pieces of my bread and left over dinner rolls, croissants, etc. I go ahead and tear the bread up into bite size pieces and throw them in a gallon size Ziploc bag in my freezer. When the bag is full, it is the perfect size for a 9x13 pan of bread pudding. I just mix up the eggs, milk, butter and seasonings, and throw it into the oven. Quick, easy and CHEAP! :) The addition of apples, cinnamon and other spices make it smell so heavenly while it bakes. The caramel sauce helps too, with it's warm buttery flavor mixing in.

Good thing I just ate dinner, other wise I would be starving! :)

Saving Money on Yeast

2008-10-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

I love to make my own bread in the bread machine. My father in law says I am his favorite daughter in law because most everyday he comes home to find a fresh loaf of warm bread waiting for him. (Never mind that I am his only daughter in law!)

A friend of mine recently moved across the country so she gave me a TON of stuff from her pantry. I am so thankful for this blessing because my husband is still out of work on workman's compensation after his arm injury. We inherited tons of spices, canned goods, frozen foods, and pantry staples. I was most excited about the large package of yeast she gave me and the various types of flour. I get to experiment!!!!!!

Usually I buy yeast in the jar and keep in in the refrigerator. However, money has been tight so $6 on yeast seemed to be excessive so I have been buying the 3 package strips for about 98 cents. More costly in the long run for sure, but easier on the wallet at one time. However, aforementioned father in law made it a challenge to keep up with yeast purchases.

I buy my bread flour in 25 lb. bags at a warehouse club, and keep it in Tupperware containers in my pantry. It last a long time and comes out much cheaper than buying it by the 5 pound bags. I knew I was saving money that way, but the yeast still posed a problem.

My friend that moved gave me a box of yeast. It had 18 strips of 3 packets each, for a total of 54 little packets. At last, costly yeast was not an issue! I could bake, bake, bake and have a happy family!

However, since it was the fast rise kind of yeast, I only needed to use 1 1/2 teaspoons per loaf of bread. I found that each package held more than I needed, so I was measuring out the 1 1/2 teaspoons and then just tossing the rest. Suddenly it dawned on me what a money squandering idiot I was! I started pouring the leftover yeast into a tiny recycled jar (it originally held the blueberry syrup from Cracker barrel and has a tightly fitting screw on lid). Each package actually holds about 2 1/4 teas of yeast, so I measure out my 1 1/2 teaspoons and then pouring the remaining 3/4 teaspoon into my jar. I figure this gives me 3 loaves from 2 envelopes. This may not seem like much, but the math goes something like this:

Original Way:
98 cents divided into 3 loaves meant I was paying almost 33 cents per loaf for yeast.
33 cents for yeast times 54 loaves =$17.82 for the yeast alone.
This adds up to 6 3/4 boxes of yeast for a year which would be $120.45 if you make one loaf a day.

New way:
(Factoring in IF I had purchased 54 envelopes)
4 1/2 loaves per 3 pack strip
22 cents per loaf x 81 loaves =$17.82
This adds up to 4 1/2 boxes of yeast per year which would be $80.19 for one loaf a day.
This means I am getting an additional 27 loaves from the same box of yeast, which adds up to a savings of $8.91!!!!!!

For those of us who make bread daily this could add up to big savings over the course of a year! In fact, super smart math hubby totals this up to be over $40 a year saved on yeast alone! WOW!

Now....can anyone do the comparison based on jar rapid rise yeast????? Let me know your findings! As I said, I believe that jar yeast is much cheaper, however, since this box of yeast was gifted to me I figure I just saved a bunch of money!

How's that for rolling in the DOUGH? ha ha ha ha ha! I crack me up! :0

Welcome!

2008-10-23T07:37:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,
I have lately been inspired by several things to start this blog. I am not claiming to be an expert of any kind, just trying to pass on what I know and what I have learned about stretching money. I will be posting ideas on a daily basis, hopefully, and looking forward to learning from everyone else along the way! Don't forget to check out my blog roll...these ladies really have it together and can teach WAAAAAAY more than I could ever think of!

Looking forward to s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the bucks with you!