Staples Free PC Tune-Up

Bring your PC to your local Staples for a free PC tune-up ($29.99 value). Check out Imommies here for the details. You can see the offer right in your local ad. We're going to bring our very slow-running desktop in for a check-up!

Bargain Meal of the Week - Price Chopper NY

Week of 3/29/09

Ingredients:
Hatfield Country Style Whole Boneless Ham $1.99/lb
Dole Pineapple Rings 10/$10 buy 1 can for $1.00
Fresh Broccoli Crowns 99cents
Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes 99cents
(if you have a coupon for the potatoes or for Dole, your total will be even less!)
Note: You will have to buy a whole ham but you only need about a pound of it for your dinner.
My suggestion: Cut the ham before you cook it. First cut it in half. Then from each half cut about a pound worth of ham steaks. Bag them up seperately and put them in the freezer. Then put your other pound or so of ham into another bag to bake another time.

Instructions:
Place ham in baking dish. Pour pineapple juice over it and pineapple rings. Let pineapple rings on the pan heat through with the ham. It will add a nice flavor and warm pineapple from the oven is a favorite of mine!
Steam broccoli crowns as you normally do (I have a handy gadget from Pampered Chef that allows me to steam veggies right in the microwave - I think it's called the micro-cooker).
Cook potatoes according to directions on box.
Total cost: About $5...maybe a little more depending on how much ham you use!

Starting My Seeds

I am so excited about my garden this year- um can you tell? These are my seeds that my husband and I started on Wednesday night. We had our last frost this week already, so I am hoping I have time to let them sprout, and then bring them outside to get used to the weather.

The largest tray is filled with tomatoes, the other two are multi-colored peppers, and watermelon. I plan to have a huge garden this year and I wanted a lot of tomatoes so that I could make and can bruschetta, tomato sauce and I even found a great recipe for homemade ketchup that I would love to try. I told my husband I wanted a 30' by 30' gardn but we will see. My main plan is to be able to grow vegetables that I can freeze for use all year but we will have many we can only during the growing season. How is your gardening/garden planning going? Leave a comment and let us know!

I am trying to figure out how to publish the links so I can see your pictures and your blogs!!!

Target Deals week of 3/29

Stretch A Buck has great Target Deals this week over here.
I really want to go get some of this:

Land O Lakes Butter (1 lb quarters) - $2.00 each. Use $0.55/1 here PLUS sign up here and get another $0.55/1 (print 2 in each place)$1.45 each after coupon

And this:

Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal, Cookies, Crackers and Granola Bars - $2.66 eachNote: I haven't been able to locate any current coupons for these yet, but this is a good price, especially if you have any $2/1 Kashi coupons in your stash.

Walgreens Deals week of 3/29 & Monthly Deals

Moms By Heart has a great list of Walgreen's Monthly Easysaver rebate deals here.

Deal Seeking Mom has a list of the weekly deals here
Here are two goodies for you:

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Life or Captain Crunch Cereal, 2/$5Get $2 RRs wyb 2
$1/2 Life Cereal printable
$1/2 Quaker Life Cereal, exp. 3-31-09 (V #2 1/4/09)
$1/2 Quaker Granola Bars printable
$0.75/2 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, exp. 4-30-09 (V 3/8/09)
$0.50/1 Captain Crunch Cereal, exp. 3-31-09 (V #2 1/4/09)
$1/1 Life printable (Maple & Brown Sugar only)
$0.50 to $1 ea. after coupons and RRs!

Softsoap Bodywash $3.99,Get RR for a FREE Softsoap Bodywash
$1/1 Softsoap Brand Body Butter Coconut Scrub, exp. 5-24-09 (ALL YOU magazine March ‘09 issue)
$1 ea. after coupons and RR!

CVS Deals Week of 3/29

Moms By Heart has a great list of CVS coupon match ups here. I am thinking it might be a great week at CVS! The April monthly ECB items will be out and-oh yeah-My Birthday is April 1st!!! Don't forget that your firs purchase in April should generate your quarterly ECB's, so plan accordingly to maximize your "money." Here are some of the deals that are making me happy:

TWO DAY SALE (Sun-Mon only)

Paas Easter Egg Coloring Kit $1.99 (Limit 2)-$1.99 ECBFinal Price: FREE

Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber Starter Kit $2.99

$2.75 printable HERE

Final Price: $.24

Glade Sense & Spray or Lasting Impressions $5.99 (limit 1)-

$4.00 from March ALL YOU MAGAZINE* or 3/29 SS-

$1.00 ECBFinal Price: $.99

Fantastik 2/$5-$1.00 ECB wyb 2-

$1.00 from 3/29 SS

Final Price: $1.00 each

Rite Aid Deals -Week of 3/29

You can find the Rite Aid Deals of the week over at Deal Seeking Mom.

Here are two great ones:

M5 Magnum Razor, $4.99Get $4.99 SCR #2 (limit 1)FREE after SCR!

Benefiber Sticks, $4.99Get $2 SCR #29 (limit 3)$2/1 Benefiber Stick Pack, exp. 5-31-09 (SS 2/22/09)$0.99 after coupon and SCR!

Super Savings Saturday - Kmart Double Coupons

My money-saving sister and I took a trip to Kmart tonight to get our double-coupon worth and did we ever!!!! I bought all of this- a total of $106.55 for $31.46!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Picture 1

1 Box Fiber One Bars-$2.50 - 50 cent coupon

3 100 Calorie Packs-$2.50ea-$1 coupon

2 Green Giant Veggies-$3ea - $1 coupon

2 Uncle Ben Ready Rice-$2.50-$1 coupon

3 Pillsbury Dinner Rolls $3ea - $1 coupon

1 Pillsbury Pizza Dough -$2.99-$1 coupon

4 EAS Bars-$1.99ea-4 $1 coupons

2 Zone Bars $1.79ea-2 $0.55 coupons

3 Smart Steps Toilet Paper $2.79-3 $1 coupons

1 Success Brown Rice $2.39-$1 coupon

1 Starkist Tuna $2.25-$1 coupon

Picture 2

3 Secret Flawless $4.49ea-3 $2 off coupons

1 Secret Clinical Strength $8.49-$1 off coupon

3 Bic Soliel Razors-on clearance for $2.50ea-3 $2 off coupons

2 Satin Care Shave Gel $2.69ea-2 $1 coupons

2 Nature Source Glass Cleaner $2.50ea-2 $1 coupons

2 Ziploc TwistnLoc $2.50ea-2 $0.75 coupons

1 Ziploc Steam Fresh Bag $1.49 - $0.55 coupon

2 Wet Ones Wipes $2.29ea - 2 $0.75 coupons

I think I qualify for the $25 Kmart Gift Card rebate and I also received about $20 worth of Kmart grocery catalinas!

Check out Money Saving Mom's Super Savings Saturday for More Great deals!!!!

Kids Eat Free at Restaurants

Well, I never knew....I mean, I'd heard that this deal was offered at certain out-of-the-way restaurants that were never convenient to travel to for dinner for my family. Then I googled the topic "Kids Eat Free" and got this great list of restaurants where kids eat free or nearly free on certain nights. Different areas may host different kids eat free nights, so check with your local restaurant to see if and when they offer this....and don't forget to tip at the full menu price as servers have to claim 10% of your food bill on their taxes (including the amount for the free food).
Kids Eat Free
Applebees - Mondays - One kids meal with every adult meal purchase. Additional kids eat for $1.00.
Bennigan's - Tuesday after 4:00 pm. Free kids meal.
Champps - Every Tuesday. No limit per one adult purchase.
Cici's Pizza - Everyday - Kids 3 and under eat free.
Damon's - Wednesday. 1 free kids meal with each adult entree.
Denny's - Tuesday's between 4:00pm and 10:00pm - 2 kid meals per one adult.
IHOP - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday between 4:00pm and 8:00pm. Children 12 and under eat free. One children's meal per adult meal purchased. Drink is not included.
Lonestar Steakhouse - Tuesday after 4:00pm and Saturday 11:00am - 4:00pm. 2 kids eat free with each adult entree.
Moe's Southwestern Grill - Monday. Children eat free with an adult purchase.
Perkins - Tuesday. Kids eat free all day.
Ponderosa Steakhouse - Tuesday. 4:00pm - close. Kids eat free.
Red Robin - Monday & Tuesday between 5:00pm and 9:00pm. Children 10 and under eat free.
Rio Wraps - Monday. Free kids meal with purchase of any Rio Classic, Deli, Unwrapped, or Low-Cal sandwich. Dine in only. Children 12 and under.
Texas Roadhouse - Tuesday. Kids 12 and under eat free.

Kids Eat For Almost Free
Boston Market - Everyday, all day. Kids eat for $0.99 with an adult purchase.
Buffalo Wild Wings - Monday between 5:00pm and 8:00pm. Children 12 and under eat for only $0.99 off of the kids menu.
Fazoli's - Tuesday between 5:00pm and 8:00pm. Children 12 and under eat for only $0.99 off the kids menu.
Fuddrucker's - Monday & Tuesday between 4:00pm and 9:00pm. Children 12 and under eat for only $0.99 off the kids menu (drink included).
Golden Corral - Tuesday. Kids eat for $1.99. Children 3 and under eat free.

Do you know of any other great deals where kids can eat free? Please leave a comment and we will add them to the list! Thanks!

Frugal Friday - Do You Have a Gift Closet?

Do you have a gift closet? It doesn't have to be a whole closet - mine is really a couple of rubbermaid totes with freebies and gifts I've found and put away for holidays, birthdays and even rainy days! We used to spend a lot of money on children's birthdays. I like to give nice gifts that I think the recipient will enjoy and have fun with. I actually love the giving part of Christmas more than the receiving. I find a lot of joy in picking gifts for people and thinking about how much it will be loved. If I ever win the lottery (not that I ever play the lottery except when my sister-in-law calls me and reminds of a huge jackpot), I'll be in trouble! I always want to buy everything for everyone! But, of course, my budget tells me otherwise. So I started keeping a gift closet. It started when my son was born. Friends and family were more than generous in the gifts they gave...but as most moms know, sometimes babies don't get to use or wear everything that they receive. And new moms don't always have time to exchange and/or return gifts that are given. Instead of opening everything right away all the time, I put things aside so that there would be new things for him to use/wear another time. Sometimes we never got around to needing some items, so I started keeping a bin of baby gifts. It was mostly extra sets of bibs, binkies, onesies, things like that. It was so awesome to be invited to a baby shower and have some little extras to throw in with the gift I purchased. Eventually, I had another child of the opposite sex (pink was so fun after 3 years of blue!) and started collecting girl items, too. Then I started sale shopping and couponing...and learning of awesome deals I've never heard of. In January I hit the Target Toy Clearance at 75% off and stocked up my closet with a gift for every child whose birthday I could think of. Carrie at Money Saving Methods keeps a list in her purse all the time, with names and birthdays of family members she will need to buy for throughout the year and for Christmas. When she sees a great deal, she whips out her list and crosses them off. I am not this organized - yet- but this is a great way to stock up but not go crazy spending money on items you don't need just because it might make a nice gift. It's also nice because you are buying with a specific recipient in mind - after all, it is the thought that counts and I like to think just because a gift is inexpensive, I still put some thought into who I was purchasing for.
Here are some tips for starting a gift closet:
1. Go to CVS/Wags/Rite-Aid and get the bargains! Sometimes people don't want to buy things they don't use but those items might be great in a gift closet and much appreciated by someone as a gift...yes, it's unusual to give All or Tide as a birthday gift...but it would make a nice bridal shower gift, wrapped in a basket with a bunch of other free or nearly free items such as cleaning products, health & beauty items, etc. that may stock a newlywed's new home! Also, these items are great if there will be a wishing well at the shower! Watch these stores for their end-of-season and after the holiday markdowns - sometimes up to 90% off. Sometimes there are hidden deals that are not advertised - recently CVS marked their Essence of Beauty items down to 90% off in some stores. EOB Bathrobes and totes were selling for $1.50 to $3 each! Fill the tote with a robe, some free nail polish and body wash and you've got a really nice "pamper yourself" gift for a friend for under $10.

2. Watch for toy/clothing sales all year round. At the Target Toy clearance sale, I picked up items I could give my own children for Valentine's Day and in their Easter baskets. One less thing to add to my to-do list around those special days. Also, I picked a few items that I knew boys of 6 or 7 would like for any school-friend birthday parties my son might be invited to for the rest of the school year. This is such a nice alternative to running out at the last minute and spending $20 on a gift - it really adds up if you have a lot of birthday parties to attend. Also, it really helps to spend a little money each month instead of a lot of money all at once! And, I hear the Target Toy Clearance happens 2x a year - in January and in July (great time to start Christmas shopping!).
*Check out the Disney Store Online here if you need to shop for any Disney fanatics today...they are having a B1G1 on Adult graphic tees ($12.99 for 2) and they also have a tab on their site called $5.99 or less. They have some kid clothes and toys here!
*Stay tuned in to DeepDiscounts.com here or sign up for their email list - they often have B1G1 Children's dvd's with free shipping. We stocked up in October with 4 Thomas DVD's with Thomas trains for $$15.


*Amazon has some great Deals of the Day, Toy Deals of the Day, etc. Check out the Amazon "widget" in our sidebar that will feature daily toy deals. Click to go to Amazon and search for other items. We'll be featuring hot Amazon deals when they pop up as well.



3. Free Samples/Free Trial Offers - they make nice additions to gift bags! My family is always so generous at the holidays with gifts for our kiddos...but I have a serious Christmas budget - a certain dollar amount for each person we buy for that keeps me from overspending (as much as I'd like to pamper everyone for everything they do for us throughout the year). This year, thanks to free samples, I was able to pad everyone's "big" gift with fun little extras to go with it - like chocolates, coffee, little calendars, etc. Also, if you don't have a baby, sign up for baby freebies - they will be appreciated by any new moms. Extra bottles, formula coupons, sample bottles of baby shampoo and baby wash are nice "padding" for Welcome Baby gifts! Here are few free samples and free trials to get you started (for trial offers, don't forget to read the terms and call to cancel your trial membership within the specified time frame so you don't get charged):















4. Free Magazine Subscriptions - These can't go in your closet but great free subsciptions pop up all the time - I currently receive Woman's Day, Shape, Self, More, Wonder Time and Family Fun for free. If you see one that a friend would like just before Christmas or when his/her birthday is coming up, think about signing them up instead of you! Keep in mind that it takes around 6-8 weeks for the subscription to start arriving (Oh Martha Stewart Living, where are you?) so for Christmas ordering, order about 6 weeks before. Next time you're grocery shopping, pick up one issue of the magazine to roll and tie with a ribbon with a little homemade gift card to anounce that the subscription will be coming!


Be Creative with your Gift Closet Ideas! Post suggestions here! I'd love some new ideas to add to the list!

KMart/Glamour Promotion - Spend $50 Get $25 Gift Card

This is a crazy awesome deal. Combine it with double coupons if your KMart is doubling this week and you can save way more than 50%. Moms by Heart has some great double coupons items here that you can get for FREE or really cheap! Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner here I come!!

Spend $50 at Kmart between 3/10 and 4/30 get a $25 GC for KMart from Glamour magazine -
Page 145 of April's Glamour magazine (Katie Holmes-Cruise 70th anniversary cover) right hand side:
"Glamour is calling all smart shoppers. Shop March 10th-April 30th at Kmart.Spend $50 at Kmart and mail your original receipt to Glamour.For every $50 you spend, we'll send you a $25 Kmart gift card to use toward your next purchase"*
*While supplies last. Kmart purchases must be make during the promotion period. For every eligible receipt, you will receive a gift card for exclusive use at Kmart stores. Send your qualifying receipts along with your name, address and telephone number to:
GLAMOUR PLATINUM REWARDS
ATTN: PROMOTIONS DEPARTMENT
4 TIMES SQUARE16TH FLOORNY NY 10036
Must be received by 5/13/2009. Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of GC.

Seed Shopping

I posted back in February about Gardening. Sunday I went shopping and bought my seeds. I am so excited to get them started!!! We are planning to double the size this year and not only are we planting more of what we had last year, I bought some new seeds. I am trying my hand at asparagus, watermelon, and grapes. I will be starting them soon. We have a utility table in front of our living room window that gets a lot of sun. I am going to put some garbage bags under it, since I bought a white carpet last year (?) I have been saving egg cartons from my Sunday cooking and my husband was given some free ones that hold 30 eggs from a local diner.

I am signed up for the Better Homes & Gardens e-newsletter and they sent me a great email with garden planners. Check it out here. Now get moving!!! Planting a garden is more frugal and money saving than any coupon shopping you could ever do!

My favorite things today.....

Sorry about not posting earlier today. Work is so busy that I am tired at night and

I have my Shopping Without Money Sister helping me out. Here are some great posts around the blogosphere and some other goodies I found in my email & online.

Mommy Snacks & Friends have some great deals on Easter Candy here

Free Samples of Cottonelle, Kotex, Gain, Formula and more from Walmart

Money Saving Mom tells you how to get free Knox products and possible overage here

Better Homes and Gardens has some great plans and tips for planning your garden here

I saved a few plans because I cannot decide. More on this later...

Free Attune Probiotic Bar

Check out Sunday Baker's cool Easter Craft, Thread Eggs -word to the wise- do not visit her blog hungry!!!!

Box Tops for Education

If you have never heard of Box Tops for Education, you should really check it out. You can click on the link below to see if your school participates and how much money they have made this year. I love Box Tops for Education because it's a simple way for me to raise money for my son's school just by buying products that we use. General Mills prints Box Tops on their products and you can clip them out and send them to school and the school can redeem them for money for computers, playground eqipment, etc. The funny thing is, my box tops never used to amount to much because I bought a lot of generic product because it was much cheaper. Once I started seriously couponing, it turns out a lot of the great combined sales with coupons are on General Mills products. I score Box Top on Cheerios, pillsbury, ziploc bags, pull-ups, Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting, and all those great Betty Crocker potatoes I have picked up at Wal-mart for 30 cents! My son's school has a contest each February and this February I sent him in with over 100 Box Tops. My sister started collecting them for him as well and she sent in another 40.
If you sign up at the Box Tops Community, you will periodically get Bonus Box Tops emails where you can sign in and claim free Box Tops for your school. And to help you get started collecting more box tops, I'm including links for some great opportunities to receive coupons for General Mills products which will make your quest for Box Tops even sweeter!

Snap Dollars Part 2

If you're joining me on my Snap Dollars adventure to make money, you should have already earned your $5 bonus for completing your profile and you should have started receiving paid emails from Snapdollars. I started receiving mine after about 48 hours. They will send you several a day in the beginning and after the first month, you will start receiving less. Be sure not to ignore them or they will inactivate your account!

Now, to get ready to do some of the cash offers...get a calendar ready. Either print one from the computer or grab one of those freebie calendars you have hanging around and use it as your deals calendar. Read the terms of the offers carefully. The 2 easiest ones I have read are on the 1st page of free trial offers. The photo cubbies and the free credit reports look easy to complete. These are the 2 I'm going to start with. After reading the terms and signing up, mark on your calendar when your free trial is up along with the cancellation phone number. Sometimes the cancellations are automated and sometimes you have to talk to a real person. That's okay, even if they try to convince you to keep your membership, just politely decline and thank them for the free trial.

If you'd like to join the adventure, you can read more in my original post here.

Green Living & Frugality

In the April 14th issue of Woman's Day there is a small article on the Eco-Friendly page about re-using household items instead of trashing them. One of my favorite things about frugality is that it more often than not overlaps with green living. I make it a point to recycle all of the newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes, jars, bottles, & plastic containers that I buy. I also keep a reusable bag in my "purse" so as not to use plastic bags. My favorite tip from the article is tip 3. Re purpose cereal box liners as wax paper for wrapping sandwiches. Read the entire article here.

With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, let's take it one step further. Check out the Happy Housewife's post here on making a DIY Compost Bin. I bought my seeds today for my garden and cut my vegetables for the week tonight. As I threw out the scraps of the vegetables I was wishing I made that compost bin.

Walmart Deals

$1.42 Starkist Tuna Creations
$1 March All You
Net Price $.42 each

$1 True North Peanut Nut Clusters 5.5 oz bag
$1 in the 2/8 SS Insert (exp 9/30)
Net Price FREE- I am thinking Easter Baskets!


$5 Iams Smart Puppy Food
$5 in the 3/1 P&G insert (exp 3/31)
Net Price FREE
I often buy animal food at prices like this to donate to animal shelters


Check out Deal Seeking Mom or Centsible Sawyer for detailed lists of Walmart Deals

Target Deals

Maybe it's because I just posted about not shopping much lately, but I have a sudden urge to bring you the best deals of every store. So many other blogs like the ones in our right sidebar bring you great deals from stores we do not have in Upstate NY. So here area few deals from Target this week:

Schick Intuition and Quattro Razors - $6.99 each Get a $5 Target Gift Card when you buy 2Use 2 - $4/1 in 3/22 Smart Source insert Pay $5.98 out of pocket; It's like getting 2 of these for $0.49 each with gift card!

Herbal Essences Shampoo (select varieties) - $2.99 each Use $3/2 in 3/15 P&G insert$1.49 each when you buy 2, after coupon

Motts Applesauce (cups) - $1.77 each Use $1/1 Target coupon here along with a $0.55/1 coupon here $0.22 each after coupon

Market Pantry Soups - $0.67 each Use $0.50/2 Target coupon here$0.42 each when you buy 2, after coupon

To see all of this weeks deals, and a few others, visit Stretching a Buck where Marcy always puts together great deals!!!!

Home Depot Do-It-Herself Workshops

These look fun! Empower yourself while learning to save money doing home-improvement/repair projects by yourself...When we moved into our first home, my husband worked full-time and I worked part-time. We decided that we hated the carpets in the house and tore all of them up at once (one at a time would have been smarter) and started laying laminate tile flooring. The trick with this kind of floor is that the large squares must be centered all around the room and stuck down while the tiles going around the perimeter of the rooms, must all be cut to size before being locked in to the other pieces. Cutting these pieces required using a jigsaw (something I'd never even heard of before). At first my husband's 80-year-old grandfather was cutting our pieces but it really did start to prove to be too much work for him. My husband was working a lot and one evening, frustrated with the fact that there was nothing but sub-floors around the perimeter of each room, I started measuring tiles, making a list, and I finally braved the jigsaw on my own. I was scared at first - afraid I was definitely going to tear into my thigh with it (I was using a makeshift workbench made out of a small stepstool - that's what the men had been using) or chop off a finger. Anyway...I drew my border lines on, made sure I was cutting off the right side of the tile and went to town. It was a lot of work but I'm proud to say I finished most of the 4 rooms on my own. I got a little help from my husband after I taught him how to do it. I was self-taught but I think I could have had a lot less trial and error had a class of some sort been available to me. Take the class - you will feel amazing teaching your husband or Significant Other how to cut tiles or joining right in with him while he works!

Kmart Super Doubles 3/22 through 3/28

Kmart has been having double coupon promotions once in a while, and next week they are at it again. They have also been accepting printable couponsfrom off of their site, but you will want to make sure your store will do so. Go here to check if your store is doubling coupons. Kmart will only double up to $2.00. I have gotten some really great deals during these promotions. My sister and I even drove up to the Super Kmart in Queensbury, about 40 minutes from us, during the last promotion. I bought $90.00 worth of groceries for $37.00! This is great for us upstate New Yorkers because we do not get double coupons around here. Check out Southern Savers post for the full scoop. I think I might be stocking up on this:

General Mills Cereals 10.6-14oz $2 ea-$1/2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Dinner Made Easy Booklet (Home Mailer) (makes it $1 ea)-$1 off Various Chex Cereals SS 3/08 (makes it FREE)-$1 off Multigrain Cheerios Eat Better America Booklet (makes it FREE)-$1/2 or .50/1 Various types of Cheerios SS 2/08 (makes it $1 ea)

Walgreen's Deals Week of March 22nd

For a complete list of Walgreen's deals read Andrea from Mommy Snacks here. Some of the highlights include:

$5.99 Theraflu or Triaminic

$1.50 Triaminic Printable here

$1 on Triaminic in the 12/7 (exp 3/31) and 1/4 (exp 3/31) SS Inserts

$2 Theraflu Printable here

$1.50 on Theraflu in the 1/4 SS Insert (exp 3/31)

$1 on Theraflu Printable here

$3 March Easy Saver Rebate on Theraflu (#7) on Triaminic (#18)Net Price $3.99 - $.99 after Rebate!

$2.50 Kellogg's Cereal or Bars: $2 RR (upon purchase of 4)

$1 in the 2/22 RP Insert (exp 4/5)

$1 on 2 Frosted Flakes in the coupons.com widget in right side bar

$1 Frosted Flakes Printable here

Net Price $1.50 - $2 each - 4 Frosted Flakes: $4 total after RR!

$9.99 Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers or Pull Ups

$3 Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar

$5 Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar

Net Price $4.99 - $6.99 each

CVS Deals Week of 3/22 + Simple Scenario

For the CVS Deals of the week check out Deal Seeking Mom's post here.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Crest Pro-Health Enamel Care, $3.49Get $3.49 ECBs (limit 1)

$1.00/1 Crest Weekly Clean or other 4.2 oz paste or liguid gel (P&G 2/8/09)

$0.50/1 Crest Toothpaste, exp. 4-30-09 (P&G 3/15/09)

$0.75/1 Crest Paste or Gel, exp. 3-31-09 (P&G 3/1/09)

$0.50/1 Crest Toothpaste or Liquid Gel, exp. 3-31-09 (V 2/22/09)

Better than FREE after coupon and ECBs!

Dry Idea Clinical or Right Guard Professional Strength, $7.99Get $5 ECBs (limit 2)

$1/2 Right Guard, Dry Idea, or Soft & Dri, exp. 5-31-09 (SS 3/8/09)

$2 Dry Idea Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar

Also $2/1 Right Guard found inside some Right Guard packaging

$2.49 ea. after coupon and ECBs!

$7.99 Excedrin Extra Strength, Migraine PM 80-100 ct: $2 ECB. Limit 5

$2 in the 1/4 SS Insert (exp 3/31)

$2 in the 3/1 SS Insert (exp 5/3)$1 in the April All You (exp 12/31)

$2 Printable here

Net Price $5.99 - $6.99 each - $3.99 - $4.99 after ECB!

Here's a simple scenario, especially if you're starting out with no ecb's:

Buy 1 Crest Pro-Health at $3.49

$1.00/1 Crest Weekly Clean or other 4.2 oz paste or liguid gel (P&G 2/8/09)

Buy 1 Dry Idea Clinical Strength (summer is coming!)

$2 Dry Idea Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar

Total oop = $8.48, get back $8.49 ecb's (make a penny profit, keep for next week!)

To see more scenarios visit Deal Seeking Mom here or Centsible Sawyer here.

Make Money with Snap Dollars

This one looks interesting. It offers surveys, games for cash and my personal favorite, online offers! Steph and I both ventured into the world of online offers this past Fall. We learned about them from the master, Carrie at Moneysaving Methods. Online offers are those emails you receive that say things like, "Someone just sent you a $500 Wal-Mart gift card." Then you scroll through and answer a bunch of survey questions only to discover at the end that you have to sign up for some trial offers or a join a book or cd club. Well, we always thought these were a hoax and you had to spend more money than you would receive. We started reading Carrie's blog posts (listed in our sidebar as one of our favorites) about these offers and decided to give it a try. We followed all the rules and instructions and were able to both obtain $500 in Mobile gas cards for spending about $75 each. Plus, the $75 we spent got us some great dvd's, books and other items that we used to stock our goodie closets and complete some of our holiday shopping. Now...yes, there's that catch - you've got to spend money to make money, and you have to do a little work in researching each offer's terms, etc., and you do have to call and cancel any TRIAL offers within the allotted time period....but if I walked up to you on the street tomorrow and said, "Would you like $500 in exchange for $75?" I bet you'd quickly pull out $75 and hand it over! That's a great investment. The online offer we did was quite a big one for a first-timer (but with Carrie's excellent experience and instruction we got through it, survived it and made money). Now we'd like to start sharing this info with you. And please feel free to check out Carrie's info on her blog as well, as we'll probably be referencing her often.
So what I can see from Snap Dollars, it looks a lot like paidinboxdollars but with more opportunities to earning $$ for yourself. If you are interested in following this series, my first advice is sign up with Snap Dollars today. Set up your account, preferably one with an email to your deals account (if you don't yet have one, just set up an alternative email address so you won't get a lot of Spam to your personal email address - you could use yourname'sdealsemails@xxx.com.
Then beginning in the next couple of days, you can begin completing deals along with us, to add money to your snapdollars account. We'll go into detail about how to do this and earn money. For now, sign up, activate your account (you'll earn $5 for doing that) and start reading around the offers a little bit. We'll be breaking it down and simplifying the "Methods" for you in the next few days, as I'm eager to earn a little extra WDW cash and I know some friends who are, too! So hit the banner above, sign up and then leave a comment letting us know you're getting in on the action!

#1 Trick to Saving Money on Diapers

.....Potty-train your child!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is not an early April's Fool's Joke but just an attempt to share my joy with all of you about how excited I am that Ella is out of diapers (even at night). She got it down about 6 months earlier than Joey did and I couldn't be happier. And I will say, you do feel your monthly spending lighten up a bit, your tote bag lightens up a great bit...as well as your worries about, "How will I change a stinky diaper HERE?" We've all been to those places - like the surprise Friendly's or McDonalds that hasn't been redone in about 30 years and never had a changing table put in - still that old pedestal sink staring back at you as you wonder how you can balance your kid, diaper, wipes, etc on that little thing....and what if someone needs to wash their hands?
Hey, after the couple of weeks I've had, I deserve to yank your chain in just one post, don't I? Get it..."yank your chain"....flush the toilet???? HAHAHAHA, well I feel better now, too. And to all those still trying to figure out diaper deals each week, don't worry, we'll still be posting these too. My sister can't understand that she should be stockpiling diapers now, so I guess I'm going to have to start doing it for her!!
Update as of 3am: Okay, the joke's on me! I was changing a bed (MY BED) at 3 0'clock this morning with a huge wet spot on it! I guess we'll go back to pull-ups at night for a little while. But, I swear, she's been doing SO WELL!
Heather

Being Organized = Saving Money

From time to time we will be linking up with other "blog parties" on getting organized because...Being Organized Saves $$$$$!! Yes, there is couponing and finding the best deals but there are many ways that being more organized can lead to saving $$.

Can you relate to any of these?

*Have you ever paid a late fee on a bill, not because you didn't have the $$, but because you stuck the bill in a drawer, pile on the kitchen counter, etc and forgot about it?

*Have you ever gone out to dinner because you have no idea what to make for dinner and everything is frozen?

*Have you ever spent money on a grocery item when you knew you had a $1 off coupon "somewhere?"

*Have you ever bought something you already had in the fridge/pantry/freezer because you couldn't remember if you had it or not?

*Have you ever busted your budget buying a birthday gift for a child or adult's party at the last minute?

If so, you'll enjoy the series Being Organized = Saving $$! Look for my most recent post here on how I cleaned out my hall closet and how it will save me money!

Also, what in your life do you struggle to get organized with (in any way, shape or form) and especially which ones cause you to lose money? We'd like to know how being disorganized busts your budget so we know what type of posts you'd like to read on this topic. The more research we have to do, the more on the ball we'll get with our own organizing so our challenge is really to help ourselves through helping our readers! And if you know someone who lives a super fabulous organized life, feel free to drop us a line. Maybe they'd like to guest post on this topic!

Yankee Candle Deal!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yankee Candle is having a sale!! $1 for Tarts & Votives. Go

here for details. You can either print coupons to use in the store or use XF903A1 online. Discount is applied automatically!!!

Closet PowWow with the Masked Mommy

If you haven't visited the Masked Mommy's website, you are missing out! I am so inspired by her as she pulls her house together room by room, closet by closet, cabinet by cabinet! And she's not afraid to show you her mess (of course, she's masked and I'm not). I've been wanting to join up with her Closet Pow Wow for a couple of weeks now but household illness prevailed -

Anyway, I did work on my hallway closet...please bear with me and know I worked on it while everyone was ill. Some really organized people will probably not realizde the After is really an After, but for me it's a huge improvement!

So, my goal was to organize the Hall closet. When we first moved into this house 6 years ago, my husband took the hanging rod out and put in shelves for me to store my Creative Memories business supplies and other miscellaneous household items - hats & gloves, cameras, etc.

BEFORE

Various Views: Miscellaneous Stuff just shoved into the closet over the past few months --- toys for my "gift" closet that I bought on clearance, Joey's new scrapbooking items and Ella's new sneakers (oops, if I had not cleaned out that closet last week I probably would have bought her another pair at the consignment sale last night - and then repeatedly kicked myself in the tush for being so disorganized!) - this all pretty much means most of my business supplies sit in their totes in the kitchen or hallway (Great when company comes over!). Or the other alternative - inventory shoved in with everything else and me over-ordering 'cuz I don't have the energy to dig through and see what I already have. It's a rather deep closet and you can see how much wasted space there is.

Okay, here are my AFTERS. I know, I know, they aren't completely organized but I have now made a home for all of my Creative Memories Inventory bins and fit them with easy access. I have grouped like items such as backpacks, electrical and of course, you have to have one "junk" bin full of stuff that you don't know what to do with but know you have to keep. I moved my "gift closet" toys and puzzles to the basement. And here is my BIGGEST SECRET REVEALED.....I MADE A HOME FOR MY VACCUUM CLEANER! Yes, for 6 years, my vaccuum has roamed from room to room, upstairs and downstairs and sometimes being hidden in the garage when company comes. I could never quite fit it anywhere permanent in my home as all the closets are relegated to other things.
How cleaning my closet will save me money:
1. I can more easily pull out my business inventory to see what I already have and what I need to order for my customers. There's nothing like ordering a $35 item that was buried in the closet already.
2. I removed my completely disorganized "gift closet" items and moved them down to the basement. I was able to inventory whose birthdays I already have gifts for (did lots of shopping at the Target Toy Clearance in January) and now I won't be spending extra money on a gift I don't need or spending too much money finding only over-priced gifts by shopping at the last minute.
3. Things are stacked and orderly, they fit better into the closet and will therefore have a longer "shelf" life (haha) as they are not being jammed in and crushed by other items.

I'm sure there are several more but that's all I can come up with at 11pm after taking some benadryl to try to deflate my incredibly stuffy head!

-Heather (the still sick chic but getting my mojo back!)

I Love Consignment Sales!

Twice a year, we have a local consignment sale that is huge (480 consignors and over 48,000 items for babies and children)! It is called the Pass It On sale (http://www.passitonsale.com/ for the locals) and you can consign or shop. (Those skecher crocs above were just $2). I like to do both. Being a consignor forces me to get rid of things I'd like to hold onto forever (those really adorable baby clothes or toys that hold fond memories!). I am very sentimental and like to hold onto things! Plus, I'm thrifty so I always feel like I should save things in case I need them again...however, the Pass It On sale has inspired me to sell our stuff, because there is so much STUFF there that I now know where I can buy things CHEAP, should the need arise for say...baby toys again at some point. Anyway, last night the sale opened for consignors to start shopping. My husband and I arrived with a list and had a great time shopping. We spent about 2 hours there and got some awesome bargains.

Here are a few of our great bargains!

5 pairs of Spring/Summer pj's for Joey (6) = $12 (mostly Disney cars, one Mickey Mouse from the Disney store and Nascar)

4 pairs of Spring/Summer pj's for Ella (3) = $13 (a Princess nightgown, a Barbie nightgown, Carters pajamas

1 pair of Skecher sneakers for Joey - $4

Look like new and have lots of tread left!

2 pair of children's place maryjane croc-type shoes for Ella = $4 (a pink pair and a white pair - she likes the pink so much she wore them to bed last night!).

Cherokee shorts for Joey - never been worn - $3

Disney Belle dress w/ shoes, bracelets and wig for Ella = $10. Will be perfect for Disney World and Halloween!

Plus a few games, books and other clothing items, including Mousetrap for $3 and Scrabble Junior for $2!

All in all we spent $124 on 32 items (not bad!). Now, if we can only make as much money as we spent, we'll be even and have most of our kids spring/summer wardrobes already purchased!

Haven't tried consignment sale shopping yet? Do a search for consignment sale + your city and state to see what's coming up in your area!

Tips for shopping Consignment Sales -

1. It's much easier to shop these sales without your kids. First, they like to touch everything in the toy section, and 2. They get bored easily if you're trying to look for clothes.

2. To shop for clothes for your child without bringing your child, bring an item that fits them well in length and width. For example, if you're looking for a pair of size 6 pants, bring a pair of pants that fits your child well so you can check to make sure they are similar...as we all know, all size 3T's do not hold the same measurements across the board with children's clothing manufacturers.

3. Inspect clothes carefully. Clothes are usually inspected at drop-off at these events but sometimes due to poor lighting or maybe tired eyes from volunteers and/or consignors, clothes may have light stains, missing buttons, etc., that you won't notice until you get home.

4. Bring a list of what you need. This year I knew I was looking for shorts for my son, dresses for my daughter, summer sandals for both and sneakers for my son. Without a list you can easily get distracted by all the good bargains and up spending a lot more money than you planned - thereby making your trip less than a bargain! Of course, leave a little wiggle room in your budget for finding a few unexpected bargains - like finding the game Mousetrap that your son's been longing for at the grand total price of $3! These treasures make it a lot more fun!

5. Bring your own bag (recyclable shopping bags work great), box, laundry basket or tub to carry your items. Some people bring empty strollers or small wagons.

6. If you see something you like, grab it! It likely won't be there when you go back for it. Just keep piling everything you like in your bag and before you check out, go through the file and weed out things you may have been having 2nd thoughts about. Be courteous and put them back in the size you originally found them in.

7. Check sizes carefully! Sometimes items are misplaced into the wrong size areas so you may take home a 5T that you really thought was a 4T.

8. Have fun!!

Update: My husband went back to the consignment sale on 1/2 price day and spent another $19. Our total spent was $139 and our total made from consigning was $135 so we basically got all of our stuff (including most of our kids' summer wardrobes for $4! Good Deal!)

-Heather

Check out Frugal Friday at www.lifeasmom.com and Super Savings Saturday at www.moneysavingmom.com for more great thrifty ideas!

Thrifty Chic - Family Sick

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! Our house has been battling strep throat (6-year-old), pneumonia and bronchitis (3-year-old), sinus infection & bronchitis (Mommy - that's me ;). I think I've had this thing for over 3 weeks and finally went to the doctor last week. Also, March seems to be my worst month allergies. I feel like I need to stick a pin in my head and deflate it! I've also been busy getting items ready for a consignment sale and planning a surprise trip to WDW for my family - in 6 weeks!!! Okay, so on with the show...some thrifty posts/news to follow RIGHT NOW!!! Thanks for sticking around!
-Heather

What works for you???

I have had something on my mind the last few days. I recently had a conversation with a friend about this blog, and methods I use to save money. She conveyed to me that she would not be able to cook for several hours on a Sunday, that would drive her crazy. Something must not have felt right to me about that, because it stuck with me for a few days. I think what stuck with me is that the message of this blog is to offer many ways to save money, and that you readers should not feel like you need to use every method, tip, or deal posted here. The object is to provide many methods, so you all can get fresh ideas, and learn new skills. You decide which ones you will use.

I think I speak for my Sister as well when I say we do not take advantage of every deal that we post for you. I don't request every free sample, and I do not always cook ahead every week. I shopped CVS once last week and that was the first time in about a month, and I had NO extra bucks!!!

If you are new to this Blog or any Money Saving Blog, I want to point to you a few different options to help you decide what is best for you. Here is a post my sister wrote on coupon organizing. She shows the two ways she does it, but you can choose one or the other or both. If you choose the second one, you might want to consider keeping the files in your trunk, go here for some more great organizing tips.

Also, here is a post I wrote about not having time. I wrote about how I layered couponing, rebates, online surveys, over time until it was manageable for me. Even now, it can be overwhelming. Nothing is more important than taking care of your family or yourself. When it is possible the posts written here, and by the Bloggers on our sidebar provide you with deals, samples, and opportunities to take advantage of.

Only you can decide what your family needs. Thanks to my friend for reminding me of that!!!

Bargain Meal of the Week - Price Chopper

Week of 3/15

Stir-Fry Steak with Asian Rice

Ingredients:
London Broil $2.99/lb
Price Chopper Stir-fry Vegetables (Oriental Blend) 16 oz. bag $1.79
Knorr rice sides (get Asian Variety) 99 cents
Soy Sauce (If you need to buy a whole bottle, will probably be about $1.50 for PC brand) we'll use about 50 cents worth
fresh ginger root (optional) 25 cents
Total Cost = $6.52 or $1.63 per serving for a family of four.

Instructions:
Whip up a little stir-fry sauce -
Mix together:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1TBS of corn starch
2 TBS of vegetable oil (or wok oil if you have it)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root (optional) Tip: I just buy a chunk and keep it in the freezer. When I need some for a recipe, I take it out, peel part of it with the vegetable peeler and grate the amount needed. I put it in a ziploc bag and keep it in the freezer until next time.
Whip up with whisk

Slice London Broil into strips and marinate with 1/2 of the sauce for about 30 minutes.
Next, heat skillet and add meat. Cook until meat is just about done. Add frozen vegetables and cover. Let cook through, stirring occasionally. Pour the rest of the sauce mixture over and stir just as the vegetables are finished cooking through.
Knorr Rice - Follow package directions.

Not living in the Northeast? Click on the button above to see a whole list of stores where you can check out bargain meals of the week!

Friday Freebies and Deals from Blog World

Free Healthy Samples:














Okay, this one's not for a healthier you, but it's definitely for a happier you ;)!



Good Deals:
I love these little trial offers because you can store some great freebies for your gift/goodie closet for cheap - you give a friend a birthday gift that's valued over $20 but you only spent $1 - $3 on it. You can't beat that. They get a nice gift and you save money. I also love using these to beef up family's Christmas gifts. This year, everyone received gevalia coffee as part of their gift bag. If you decide to do an offer that offers you a free trial membership as part of the deal, join up, mark it on your calendar and call the 1-800 # to cancel within the trial membership. These companies are used to it and most won't hassle you and some are even automated cancellation lines!







These should keep your mailbox filled for a little while. I just received my Eat Better America coupon book last week and it has some great coupons including $1.00 of Multigrain Cheerios. I'm going to pair it up with the Cheerios ecb rewards at CVS this week!