For Pet Lovers!

There are some really great coupons out there for all of you with pets!

At the top of this blog is a link to online coupons and I will include it here as well! There are 10 great dog treats coupons available. If you are interested print them out because you don't know when they will run out!

http://www.coupons.com


You can sign up for the grocery coupon network to receive great e-mail coupons for dog and cat food and supplies.

http://www.grocerycouponnetwork.com


This last link has tons of coupons for everything so search around for your favorite brands and print away! Most will let you print twice!

http://www.couponsinc.com/corp/source/cp_clientlist.asp

Happy Hunting!!

Sweepstakes!!

There are a few really great sweepstakes out there that only take a minute or two each day to enter and you can win some fun free stuff! Here is the list of sweeps that I go to each day:

Sign your school up for boxtops and check in each day to enter a chance to win 60,000 boxtops for your local school choice!

http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/bonus/Default.aspx

Enter this sweeps to win a $100 gift card from Footlocker!

http://footlocker.promo.eprize.com/3point/

This sweeps is really fun! You can enter up to 10 times a day. If you don't have a cash code they will give you one to enter! You can also get some great coupons just for signing up!

http://generalmills.eprize.net/nuts/index.tbapp

Sign in here to win a Free Jar of Pace Picante! If you don't have a code to enter just click on the "get a code" and they will give you a free lid with a code on it! You can enter once a day!

http://www.pacefoods.com/hand-pick-win.aspx

You can enter here for a $500 gift card. You can enter once a day!

http://herbalessences.promo.eprize.com/style/

Enter this sweeps for tons of different prizes. They will e-mail you if you are a winner!

http://www.extra3pmsnackdown.com/index.aspx

Try to match the Dove soap bars and you can win a free one. You have three chances each day!

http://content.dove.us/dimensions/matchmaker.aspx

Enter here to recieve a FREE uniball superink pen!

http://www.uniballsuperink.com/Home/FormClosed

Check out this website for all kinds of great Sweeps!! You can pick out a few to go to each day and who knows!! This site is great because it also lets you know which sweeps you have the best chance at winning!!

http://sweetiessweeps.com/

~Does it really work you ask?? Well YES it does! I have already won a few of these for free products and coupons! I have a separate e-mail account set up just for these sweeps so I don't have to dig through my personal e-mail account and I NEVER enter my correct phone number! Have fun!!

Good luck! I have won some great stuff so far! The trick seems to be to remember to enter each day and the odds are in your favor!

The Thrill of the Chase!

Today at 2pm (central) Oreos began to give away a free package of Oreos to the first 150,000 people to click on their DSLNews link via Facebook and I am very proud to announce that I was one of those 150,000!!

They are going to keep going until all 150, 000 packages are gone so give it a try!

http://www.facebook.com/oreo#/oreo?v=app_236274576190

Click on the pink bubble under Donald Trump at the top and see if you can beat the crowd!!

Good luck everyone!!

Friday Freebies!!

My favorite freebies today!!

Free Dunkin' Donuts Coffee (Original or Dark)
https://dunkinathome.safeprocessing.com/(S(de5ttbjmleeqbt45edc2dc45))/Offers/DunkinAtHome/131/Offer.aspx


Free Music Downloads from Mtv
http://www.mtv.com/music/downloads/


Free Sample from Barbara's Bakery
http://barbarassamples.com/


Free SpongeBob Square Pants Cream of Wheat Sample
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/101055/?lp=hg&source=CoWHomeHealthyGrain


Free Generic Brand Drug Reference Book
http://pharmacyexchange.mylan.com/gbr/


Free Beatles song "All You Need is Love" mp3 download
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/ads/lovesong.jsp

Sign up for their newsletter and receive a free bagel and cream cheese from Brugger's
http://www.brueggers.com/contact-us/email-signup/

Free Bumper Stickers! Ah World Peace...awesome...
http://www.worldpeacebefore2021.com/bumper_sticker.html


Well that's all for now! Enjoy!

My Go To Meal When I'm Tired w/Nothing Planned for Dinner

We all have those days when we are exhausted and the last thing we can think about is putting a meal together. These days are the ENEMIES of living on a budget! I have had MANY experiences with this and have looked down at my Arby's food ($20) or written out my check for the pizza guy ($20 + tip) and thought grrr....waisted money and the food wasn't that great!

With that in mind I have a few 'go to meal kits' around my pantry that I make sure to keep stocked at all times. This is one of them!

Pizza Night is my son's favorite dinner and I am finding that is it also one of mine! Here is the cost break down:

2 packages of pizza crust = $.50

(If I have lots of time and energy sure I make it from scratch but that is a post for another day)

1 small can of tomato sauce = $.25 *Sprinkled in about 1 tsp Italian Seasoning

(These go on sale about every 3-6 weeks at walgreens and combined with a coupon they are a fantastic deal)

8oz cheese = $.20

(I always have cheese on hand and this was a particularly great deal! Hy-Vee had buy 5 for six dollars get $5 Hy-Vee bucks back! Thanks for that great tip last week Tatyana!)

Breakfast Sausage = $.50

(This is just breakfast sausage links that I found on sale for $1 at Fareway last week. I had great coupons for $1 off of two so I stocked up)

The time break down is even better! To each package of crust I add hot water and let it sit for 5 minutes while I pre-heat the oven and cook my sausages on the stove top. The meat cooking took the longest of this whole meal! Spread out the two crusts, split the sauce between the two, add the meat to one (just cheese for my son), top with cheese, brush the crust with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. Bake for 12 minutes and voila!

Super Fast 'Go To' Meal in under 30 minutes and the cost is about $1.45 for both or a whopping $.73 a pizza! These pizzas aren't huge but they fill you up! We added a side of carrots to round out the meal! (We even had a few leftovers the next day for lunch!)

So for all of you rushing around and driving through fast food joints or ordering in, there is a MUCH less expensive way to do your "I'm so tired--what day is this again?" meals!

By the way cruising through my daily blogs I found the most hilarious post on this very topic! Check it out to find out 'what NOT to do with homemade pizza' Enjoy!

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Ice Storm = Money Saved??

Since we have been hit with a huge ice storm I wasn't able to get out to my regularly scheduled 'girl night' on Monday. Since I have a budget set aside for this dinner each week, I find myself with an extra $25! Instead of using that unexpected cash for other things, I am sticking very tight to my weekly budget for everything we need therefore I was able to apply that $25 to my credit cards! woohoo!!

Each week if there is anything left over in the budget or profits via ebay I add the amount to my credit card debt. Because my budget is so tight and my ebay sales are down I haven't been able to apply anything extra to my credit card debt yet using that method BUT, today with my extra cash I feel great about bringing my total down just a bit!

Some may ask, 'why don't you just cut out your weekly girly nights down to twice a month or not at all?' Well the answer to that is quite simple. I am a stay-at-home-mom with two small children and a husband (who is NOT low maintenance hehehehe) and therefore I figure I can either budget out for a night with my bestist friend once a week or I will have an even bigger therapy bill to pay! In the end after a serious cost-benefit analysis, my once a week dinner treat won out!

My Entertainment Coupon book just arrived this afternoon and therefore my plan is to use each and every coupon available on my Monday nights! Can't wait to split the savings with my bestie!

All you in my area stay warm and although this weather really sucks it has saved me money ;)

Great Craft Discounts!

Here are three great coupons for all you crafters out there! Coupons are good until January 23rd!

Jo-Ann's

Get 50% off one Item at Jo-Ann's ~Thanks moneysaving mom!

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/.a/6a00e552792fa28833012876ef427c970c-pi

Hobby Lobby

Take 40% off one regular priced item at Hobby Lobby!

http://www.hobbylobby.com/weekly/coupon.cfm

Michael's

Michael's is having huge clearance sales this week. The link below takes you to a registration page. Once you register you receive a 50% off one item coupon.

https://www.michaels.com/art/online/registrationForm?cm_ven=2008HomePageEmail&cm_ite=Sign


Happy Crafting!!

Great eBook Downloads!

Wow! There are so many great free eBooks to download. Here are two of my favorites!!

These are some great recipes for all your favorite restaurant goodies!

http://www.recipelion.com/master_images/RecipeLion/27-Best-Restaurant-Copycat-Recipes-2(1).pdf


This eBook has some great ideas of fun stuff to do with kids! Enjoy!

http://www.grandparents.com/gp/fllpg/dnld/index.html

This week is all about the ebay store for me! I have a ton a great items to get posted and hopefully have some great sales!

Since my baby consignment store isn't taking new items this month I have been searching through my storage for items to take to my adult consignment store. They are already taking spring/summer items so I am going through my shorts and sandles for some good finds! Rumor has it that there is ANOTHER consignment store about to open up or has just opened so I am going to do some research to see if I can get in on that goodness!!

Free Baby Stuff!!

Continuing on my quest for free stuff here are some great finds!! ~Thanks Mom By Hearts!

• 5 free lullaby downloads from Johnson & Johnson HERE

• Free sample Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers HERE (newborn or size 1)

• Top name brand freebies HERE and HERE for expectant parents and parents of infants 11 months or younger. Two separate companies.

• Sign up and select your freebies!-Register with Babies Online to get a free subscription to Baby Talk & American Baby Magazine-Free Beech Nut Starter Kit HERE

• Free bag from Nursery Purified Water HERE

• Free sippy cup from Juicy Juice HERE

• Free potty training kit HERE and another one HERE-Free sample Pampers Extra Protection HERERead more...

Even if you don't have a little one yourself any of these would make great gifts for grandchildren or friends who have children!

Great Free Stuff

Saturdays tend to be my big drive around and get the best deals I can day and today was no exception! My mother-in-law and I took to streets and zipped around through the great Customer Appreciation Day sales. There were tons of great stuff to find and find them we did! Now that I am back home and the kids are tucked in bed I have been tip toeing through the internet to find some free stuff to round out my great savings day.

Here are the best Freebies/SuperCheepies that I found Enjoy!

• Free Clorox Greenworks Products Sample ~Thanks Mummy Deals http://www.datavisualize.com/cloroxgreenworks/

• Free Lotion Sample! Great to toss in your purse! http://instoresnow.walmart.com/In-Stores-Now-Free-Samples-And-Tools.aspx

• Great Walgreens Deals!! ~Thanks Passion for Savings!

Buy 1 Theraflu, & 1 Lipton Tea, Get $4 in Register RewardsTheraflu Sugar Free,$3.99Lipton

Tea, $2.99Use $2/1 Theraflu Printable from Coupons.com or Smartsource.com

Use $2/1 Sugar Free Theraflu Walgreens Coupon from Diabetes & You= Pay $2.98, Get $4 in

Register Rewards= $1.02 Money Maker!

• Wet Ones Canisters (40 ct.), 2/$4Buy 2, Get $1 in Register RewardsUse 2 of the $1.50/1 Wet Ones Printable Coupons= Free after Coupons and RR

Neosporin or Neosporin Lip Health, 2/$8Buy 2, Get $3 in Register Rewards$3/1 Neosporin Lip Health printable (IE) or printable (FF) or

Use Both of the Following:$1/1 Neosporin Product, exp. 3-31-10 (RP #2 1/3/10)$2/1 Neospoin

Walgreens Coloring Book= Pay $2, Get $3 in Register Rewards= $1 Money Maker!

• 2 Free Issues of Family Circle no strings! http://www.valuemags.com/freeoffer/freeoffer.asp?offer=FamilyCircle-BBS.asp

• Free Audio Book Download: Sherlock Holmes: The Priory School
  Family problems complicate the case when Sherlock Holmes arrives at “The Priory School” to search for little Lord Saltire, son of the 7th Duke of Holdernesse. http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com/ The link is at the bottom of the page! This site does one free download a month. This is January's book!

• 2 Free Mouse Traps! ~Thanks Freebie Blogger http://www.thebugstore.net/store/1563406/form/196137

• Get one free Redbox movie rental with the code ABTS25 . The expiration date of this code is unknown but give it a try it has been working in most places according to my sources! Click this link to find your nearest Redbox http://www.redbox.com/Locations/LocationSearch.aspx

• Free eBook download on Fibromyalgia. http://www.fibroandfatigue.com/affiliate/?fwKeyWord=Ebook_Free_Download

• Free Digestive Diseases Dictionary. I know it may not be for you but since both my husband and I are teachers it will be great for us to use and to donate to our school library. http://catalog.niddk.nih.gov/detail.cfm?ID=130&CH=NDDIC

• Entry to win a free copy of Keeper by Kathi Appelt (Newbery Honor Author) http://www.simonandschuster.com/sweepstakes/keeper-giveaway

• Over 100 free mp3 music downloads via Amazon!! Here's what you do:

http://www.amazon.com/ click on MUSIC & MP3 downloads. When the music lists pop up check the menus on the left under TOP MP3 DEALS for free downloads and start clicking away!!

Whew! What a great bunch of goodies! I think I will be spending some more time on Amazon picking through their great free music! Enjoy the freebies everyone I know I will!

Once...Twice...Three Times the Leftovers....

My family does NOT do leftovers. I have tried and tried to get them to re-heat a previous meal and it simply doesn't happen. It drives me absolutely bonkers when I have to toss out food so I have found a few simple ways to make three meals out of one and still keep the excitement going for my family.

Here are my secrets!

Taco Meat

First Meal: Tacos are a big hit here! I make a big batch of taco meat and mix in potatoes (traditional Mexican ingredient) and beans to add some heft to the meat and it makes a much bigger batch! Add your tortillas and toppings and your Tacos are complete!

Second Meal: With my leftover taco meat I will make either (a) empanadas or (b) taco pizza depending on the amount leftover. Both these recipes will only require about 1-1.5 cups of meat so I will portion out what I need and leave the rest for my third meal.

(a) Empanadas are Sooo easy to make! I use pre-made pie crusts (they come in packages of two) and cut about a 2-3 inch circle (depending on what glass I have available for cutting) this will make about 15-17 empanadas. On each circle I put about 1 Tablespoon of meat and sprinkle on some cheddar cheese. I fold each circle over and seal, using a little water on the inside for a better seal. Then I crimp the outside with a fork, dab a little more water on the outside for extra crispiness and bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the bottoms are golden.

(b) Taco Pizza! No problems here! I use a store bought powder mix or some of my homemade pizza dough in the freezer. Squish out onto a pizza pan, use taco sauce (great way to use up all those packets you have collected from Taco Bell) or enchilada sauce, cover with colby-jack cheese and bake.

Third Meal: Well by now there really isn't much taco meat left but as long as I have about a cup or so it's time to make Taco Pie (more masculine that calling it a quiche). Add one-two cups of meat mixture to bottom of 9inch greased pie plate. Mix together in a separate bowl: 1/2 cup Bisquick Mix, 1 cup of Milk and 2 Eggs. If you have some cheese sprinkle it over the meat mixture before adding the Bisquick Mix. Usually I am out of cheese at this point so I will use a condensed cheese soup if I have it on hand or skip the cheese altogether. Add the Bisquick Mix to the other layers and bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

There you have it! Actually 4 meals from great Taco leftovers!!

Chili

First Meal: Great big pot-o-chili! I like to make a big pot of chili and a pan of cornbread! Chili is really easy to make and everyone has their own favorite recipe! I make sure to add two kinds of beans and lots of tomatoes to economize the amount of meat I use.

Second Meal: Cincinnati Chili! This recipe is fantastic! Boil your spaghetti noodles and top with Chili Sauce! When you use noodles it really changes the flavor and texture of your chili!!

(A) you can also make this Chili Con Carne but using 2 cups of rice instead of noodles!

Third Meal: Chili Casserole. That's right! How can any Mid-Westerner survive without a nice hot casserole! I use either the Cincinnati Chili or the Chili Con Carne (it will work with both) and cut it up into small bits. Add about 8 oz of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese or 1 can condensed soup (can use cheese soup, cream of mushroom, cream of celery etc. just don't mix in a chicken yuck) bake at 350 degrees until heated through and a bit crusty on top. Depending on what ingredients you use this can take 20-40 minutes. Top with crunchy French Onions, crackers or the classic crushed potatoes chips and there you have it!

Chicken

First Meal: There are TONS of chicken recipes out there! So make some chicken breasts however you like (our favorites include Dijon and Lemon Pepper). Add your sides and bread there you go.

Second Meal: Chicken and stuffing! Cut up your chicken breasts, add a bag of veggies, a can of cream of chicken soup, and 1/2-1 cup of sour cream mix together. Make stuffing according to package instructions. Put your chicken mixture into a 9 x 13 pan and top with stuffing. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Yum!!

Third Meal: What to do with a leftover chicken/stuffing casserole?? You think it can't be done...well it can! Get your 9' inch pie plate out again! Mix your casserole up so that the stuffing is mixed in really well. Add 1 cup of chicken gravy to the mixture and a little more sour cream if you are feeling saucy then (here we go) top with mashed potatoes! Instant or homemade whatever. Top the mix with potatoes and cook at 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes or until bubbly or that potatoes start to get golden around the edges and there you have it Chicken Sheppard's Pie!

Whew! There are tons of ways to extend your leftover with a little creativity and a few extra ingredients! Enjoy!

Wow! Great Clearance Sales!

There are tons of great clearance sales going on right now! Here are just a few for those of you looking for some great deals and want to stock up!

http://www.victoriassecret.com

60% off Clearance Sale
Free shipping on purchases over $100 online with CODE: FREE100

http://www.gap.com

Gap ~Old Navy & ~Banana Republic are all have great clearance sales!
When checking out you can save 15% off any purchase of $75 or 20% off any purchase of $100 or 25% off any purchase of $150 use this CODE: SAVE123 ends January 18th

http://www.potterybarn.com
WOW! Great clearance sales here!!

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com
Huge 75% off clearance items and 50% off online clearance items!
You can get $10 off a $40 purchase when you use CODE: 1813

Whew! Good luck searching for some great deals! I love shopping online clearance sales because it is so much easier than digging through the sales items in the stores. Also, make sure to go through your 'MyPoints' account when you are shopping at the Gap and Bath and Body Works because you can earn extra points!!

Today I am cashing in my very first Swagbucks! I am going to choose a $5 Amazon.com gift card and can't wait! I have only been doing Swagbucks for a couple of weeks and have already earned enough for my first prize!!

Another great site I have stumbled across is : http://content.dove.us/dimensions/matchmaker.aspx

It is just for fun but you click and spin to win free Dove soap! Hey why not? It's free and takes exactly 32.4 seconds to play!

Also, if you are in need of a pick me up today check out Yoko Ono's "Smiling Faces Film"
http://www.smilingfacefilm.com/

To Meal Plan or Not to Meal Plan That is the Question

Anyone who cooks for themselves or their family has heard from more sources than one can remember the great 'cost saving/time saving' value of meal planning. I completely agree that meal planning can be very economical and can save a lot of time. With that said I do not meal plan!

How is that possible you ask with a grocery budget as tight as mine?? Well, I find that meal planning and preparation is completely dependant on how comfortable you are in your kitchen. I started preparing meals at a very young age because of my mother's chicken dinners...long story...the ending involves the phrases "yikes," "Good Lord!" and "I believe I will become a vegetarian." Therefore I began the process of trying to figure out how to cook!

Since I have two small children and a husband I find that most of my day must be well planned and organized in order to meet all the necessary requirements for a happy maintained household. Because of all the timing necessary I have found my creativity and experimentation is free to roam in the kitchen. I give myself an allotted time to make my meals and find it exciting to come up with a meal and put it together within the confines of my deadline!

It is fun and interesting to put recipes together but I find them to be rather restrictive and not necessarily conducive to creative thinking. Therefore I will read through my cookbooks and find ingredients that I have on hand or know are on sale and use my recipes as a guide for my meals adding and subtracting ingredients based upon what is available to me.

I do use a rough guide of what I want my meals to be through out the week:

• breakfast for dinner one night
• poultry or fish one night
• main pasta dish
• 2 red meat dinners
• main rice dish

This is my basic outline for success! Of course we will have a pizza night thrown in there somewhere but overall with this outline I am able to put a tasty meal together in my allotted time frame.

I also will bake bread 3-5 times a week as needed and prepare NO MORE than 3 desserts a week. I find that if I make any more than this my goodies do not get eaten and my husband in on the receiving end of my 'angry eyes.'

So there you have it my 'meal plan' as it were. Through out each day I look for recipes in magazines, online or (if my baby is asleep) on my favorite channel the Food Network. These are my resources for inspiration. At the end of the day I find that I really enjoy the time and creativity that I use in putting my meals together.

Since I cook almost all of our meals at home including lunches for my husband, breakfasts twice a week and my baby's lunches each day I am spending a lot of time in the kitchen and can really understand how people view the kitchen as the heart of the house.

If you are a meal planner kudos to you and I will not judge your choice!! I just wanted to finally admit to the world that although I am extremely frugal with my grocery budget and my time...I don't meal plan and I am o.k. with that.

Points to Ponder

It is getting more and more difficult to sort through all of the deals out there; prep my coupons; and then actually make it to the stores. It is amazing how much time it takes to match everything up but I do find my blog list to be very helpful in picking out what are the really great deals and what are the deals that I am able to pass by.

This week I had added $15 to my grocery budget for non-food items and had a great plan of attack BUT it was not meant to be. Kmart did NOT have the proper soap available for me and I simply have not been able to make it to Target with two small children and winter weather making it prohibitive to drive.

SO, instead, I toiled over my Fareway grocery store add and found some great deals. I won't bore anyone with the graphic details but I will share my best savings:

1. Ground Beef 97% lean at $1.99/lb as long as you buy 10lbs. This put me at $19.58. Since this quantity of meat will last us 3 weeks I have divided it into 3 bits and will subtract 6.60 from my grocery budget for two more weeks to spread it out!

**That leaves me $13.40 for my budget this week**

2. Instead of using my extra $15 as planned, I decided to grab to packages of Pampers on sale for $9.99 - my $2 off coupons for a total of $15.98 for two weeks worth of diapers! Yes it put me $.98 over my non-food item total but I am o.k. with that!

3. With my coupons and the great sales I was able to round out my groceries of:
margarine
cottage cheese
mac and cheese
hot cocoa
yogurt

for around $19!

My $1 left sadly will not cover the milk we will need for the remainder of the week so I am going to have to dip into my secret stash of grocery store gift cards that I gratefully received over the holidays. I had hoped to not have to use them much BUT I am so pleased with how my budget turned out I am feeling pretty good about just buying milk with my gift card!

It has been quite exhausting trying to get this budget to work but, I am confident that my savings will translate into some great extra cash moving over to my credit cards!

I have not made an extra payment this week and am a bit down about it. But, today is a new day and I have settled on a new plan of attack with my ebay partner so I am optimistic about next week.

My happiest achievement this week was to get into my consignment stores to cash out my accounts and cash in my great point coupons. I was able to buy 3 pairs of pants and a shirt for my son with my reward points and was able to have the exact right amount of cash from my accounts to pay my sitter this week! I also made it to my local library and checked out a ton of great books (I would have previously purchased from Borders), and brought home two great movies all free.

Although my achievements may appear small, they keep me going when I try to explain to my husband that it isn't about the amount of time I spend researching how to squeeze $.10 out of every penny it is about how many less pennies I am using. He is still not getting it. It would make things easier to have a partner in this exhausting search to pull money out of thin air but perhaps as time goes on he will start to see the payoff!

The priority on the top of my list today is to get my ebay items ready for posting tonight and to continue my quest to organize and inventory what I have.

2 Great Rebates

I happened across a couple of really great rebate deals to pass along:

1. http://www.allyou.com/static/pdf/all-you-post-holiday.pdf'

This is a Mail-in Offer: Buy $10 of participating brands, mail in the receipt and get $25 in additional savings! Brands include: Orville Redenbacher's, RoTel, Banquet, Kid Cuisine, Crunch 'n Munch, Hunts Mansich, Chef Boyardee, Peter Pan, Hunts Ketchu and Snack Pack.


2. http://www.coupons.com

Look through the coupons and you will find a $10 rebate check offer you can print out. You must purchases $30 worth of products from 2 or more of the following brands b/t January 10, 2009 and February 5, 2010: Ambi, Aveeno, Clean and Clear, Purpose, Lubriderm, and RoC. Sorry no cleansing bars! Best be quick to claim this one!

**REBATE TIP**

I have found that rebates come along at any time and I never know what I will come across. So, I keep all of my receipts in manilla envelopes. I can then go through my receipts and check for qualifying items. All those receipts that tend to clutter up my purse get put away just in case I happen to find a fantastice Rebate offer!!

Love Dollar Days!!

With a grocery budget of $20 a week I have been keeping my eyes open for great non-grocery item sales and have found a couple for this coming week! I am giving myself a generous $15 for non-grocery items for the week and I think I will be able to get some great deals!! Here are a couple I have found:

Target:

• *Great deal on ink buy one get one 50% off - BUT I don't need ink right now so I personally won't be doing this deal but I thought I would share*

• All Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids are on sale! This is a great deal for me! I love these storage containers because they really do stack great in my cupboard and I don't get attacked by lids when I open the door! I have 3 Coupons for $1 off so I am going to be able to get three new containers for about $5. Since I have been cooking so much now from scratch it will be great to have some more containers to keep my leftovers in!

• Dunkin' Donuts coffee is on sale this week for $6 and I have a great $1 off coupon! This is my FAVORITE spurge coffee and 12oz for $5 seems o.k. for a luxury item!

• There are also great deals on Honey-Nut Cheerios and Pampers Cruisers BUT I was able to fit 6 boxes of Cheerios into my budget last week so I am good for cereal. The diapers sale looks really great but, thanks to a great X-mas present and my coupons at Walgreen's, we are set for diapers this week!

• Also, I noted that Target will give you $.05 off your purchases for every Target reusable bag you bring in. Luckily, I have one and will be using it during my purchasing this week!

Target total: Coffee for $5 will come out of my grocery budget therefore my budget of $15 for non groceries is reduced only by $5 for my rubbermaids!

With $10 left I am heading off to Kmart dollar days! My goal is Softsoap for $1 and I have 3 coupons for $.35 so I can get 3 softsoaps for $1.95! Wow! I am glad I didn't succumb to my Bath and Body Works craving two weeks ago!

With these great purchases, I still have $8.05 left in my non grocery item budget! The Walgreen's add comes out tomorrow and with any luck, there may be another great diaper sale that I can combine with my coupons and actually be able to stock up!

**My goal for this weekend is to:

1. Cash out my consignment store money (around $20);

2. Take back my mother-in-law's cans and bottles (that she has generously donated to the cause) AND

3. Cash in a jar of change (also donated to the cause)

~Once I have done my errands I will be hoping to have a nice tidy sum to subtract from credit card E on Monday~

Well, that is the plan! We shall see how it comes out! I will happily post my success next time!

My Top 2 Favorite Clubs Right Now!

My top 3 favorite membership clubs have been paying off big time lately!

First let's talk Borders. When you sign up with Borders you get a Borders Card that you can use online as well is in store. I have been receiving TONS of coupons lately and Borders Bucks. Just today I found a 33% off one item between 1-5-10 ~1-11-10 in my e-mail. Wow! This coupon can be used online or in-store. What is really great about Borders Rewards is that there is no membership fee you just present your card whenever you make a purchase it is really easy to do online as well. With my rewards bucks I was able to buy 3 books last week (2 for me and 1 for my son) for about $4. That's a pretty great deal!

Second favorite membership, Staples Rewards. This is another free membership through Staples where you present your card when you make purchases to see if anything counts (particularly ink cartridges and paper) and/or return empty cartridges for $3 credit per cartridge and a few short weeks later you receive a nice check to use for anything in the Staples store! Also, when you sign up you receive e-mails with great coupons to use and great insider info on sales. Yesterday I just received my Rewards check for $15 so I am going to look through my list of necessities to see what we are low on and make a trip out to my store.

With my printed out coupons and membership cards I am looking forward to a very inexpensive relaxing afternoon of errands.

Food for Thought

Because our grocery budget is pretty darn low ($20/week), I have been looking for ways to 'stretch my buck' making 2 -3 meals a day for my family of four. I have been finding the best luck with the following tips:

• Use 1/2 - 3/4 the regular amount of meat per dish and in its place using rice, pasta, potatoes or oatmeal as fillers.

• Homemade bread! I have been baking fresh bread every other day! So far, it has been 2 weeks since I have purchased store bread. This is working out great because I am really forcing myself to get creative with my day old bread...reminds me of the 'olden days.'

• Smaller portions! Instead of using an entire box of pasta I am halving my recipes and adding fresh fruits and veggies to everyone's plates. This is working out nicely because it is also much healthier and no one seems to miss the huge portions...so far...

• Everything I can make from scratch I do! With flour, sugar, baking powder/soda and most baking items on sale right now due to the holidays I am trying to make as many things from scratch as I can! Today I am going to try to conquer homemade tortillas...we shall see.

Whew! With this new plan of attack I am finding that I am using what I already have and spending MUCH less on groceries. The down side is that it is taking me about 1 hour prior to the meal in order to prepare it. I am hoping that in time I will become faster in my food preparation and I think I am going to try to prepare at least 3 meals on Sundays to help out during the week. It is much quicker to re-heat than to try to wrestle my kids in and out of the kitchen while I roll out my biscuits!

**The search online continues for great discounts and freebies. My survey work has shown me that my three favorites with the highest rewards for the 'least' amount of time are:

http://www.erewards.com/

http://www.mypoints.com/

http://www.swagbucks.com/

More to come!