* Coupon Lingo
- I know I have several readers that are just getting into the couponing thing and maybe there are some of you that just plain get confused by all the abbreviations you see. This post is a great reference point.
* Want to save the most? Do without!
- An excellent read. I was really challenged with this because this is one of the ways that we have saved a lot, just by simply doing without things. However, as I read this I realized that I've allowed the consumerist mentality to take hold of me more than I realized in the last couple of months. I really want to try to just do without more....it's actually kind of fun if you can see it as a challenge or game. Here's what I mean: The more you do without the more you save, the faster you can pay off your house etc. Hmm. Maybe I should just do a post on this sometime too!
* How to leave a good comment.
- I thought this was a great how-to on leaving good comments on blog posts. For those of you that have blogs, this is a great way to build your own blog. For those of you that don't have blogs, you still can benefit from reading it! And while we are on the subject of comments...I have a rather quiet readership. :) Maybe it's just that you are unsure of how to leave a good comment and so you opt to leave none?
* Robyn O'Brien's testimony of why she switched to whole foods.
- This is one of the best arguments I've heard for eating whole foods. I know this is a touchy subject and the video is a bit long, but if you take the time to watch it, I really think you'll be amazed. I was!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
For My Local Readers
I recently discovered a blog, Frugal Lancaster, that my local readers might enjoy. This blog covers local deals including Family Owned Markets coupon match-ups. I had looked for a long time for a local money saving blog so I was pretty excited when I stumbled upon Frugal Lancaster.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Weekly Spending Summary
Total Spent: $47.26
Total Saved with Coupons: $46.24
Total Saved with Sales: $40.29
Total Saved: $86.53
CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $8.00
Saved with Sales: $6.89
Had I not used a gift card to buy this stuff I would have paid $0.97 out of pocket. I got the gift card with one of our credit card's rewards programs.
Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $7.00
Saved with Sales: $1.40
I had a raincheck to get the Bumble Bee tuna for $0.40, the Irish Springs was bought simply because I had UPRewards that needed to get used up and I had a FREE product coupon for the Excedrin that I used.
Giant: $10.00
Saved with Coupons: $3.00
Saved with Sales: $2.00
Weis: $0 (spare change)
Saved with Coupons: $3.24
I had a coupon for a free gallon of milk from an earlier deal where I got a catalina coupon when I purchased cereal. Anyway, the goofy thing was that the coupon was supposed to be for a free gallon of milk but it only was good for $3.50 which was less than all but one gallon of milk ( and that was store brand skim) actually cost. So i just paid the difference with some spare change I had in my wallet.
Walgreens: $18.92
Saved with Coupons: 15.00
Saved with Sales: $30.00
I had a raincheck for the Pediasure. I had stopped in two other times and both times they STILL didn't have any in stock. So I was happy to finally get it. And I did this deal on the diapers. After the rebate I should only pay $1.78 for each pack of diapers. It would be $2 but I had coupons for the Pediasure that gave me some overage.
Walmart: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $10.00
Had I not paid with a gift card that I got for returning some merchandise I would have paid $0.26 for this purchase. I LOVE Walmart's new coupon policy! I hadn't shopped there for such a long time but after getting $1.44 in coupon overage I decided I just might have to go more often.
Oh and that coffee? That was what I got my overage on. I had three $2.00 coupons and the coffee costs $1.64. So I was thinking I was doing pretty good and then when I walked up to the coffee display, what did I see but another coupon stuck in front of some of the coffee. Be still my heart! :) Seriously though, I wanted to hug whoever put it there. Instead I made sure no one else was in the aisle, danced a little jig and happily sighed, "Thank you God!", all while smiling broadly at my little boy who was looking at me oddly!
Aldi: $8.64
Anyone else notice the huge jump in brown sugar prices lately? They've jumped about $0.20/lb. around here. I was excited that Aldi still had 4lb. bags of oranges for $1.79- that's almost as cheap as bananas!
Centerville Bulk Food: $9.70
Total Saved with Coupons: $46.24
Total Saved with Sales: $40.29
Total Saved: $86.53
CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $8.00
Saved with Sales: $6.89
Had I not used a gift card to buy this stuff I would have paid $0.97 out of pocket. I got the gift card with one of our credit card's rewards programs.Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $7.00
Saved with Sales: $1.40
I had a raincheck to get the Bumble Bee tuna for $0.40, the Irish Springs was bought simply because I had UPRewards that needed to get used up and I had a FREE product coupon for the Excedrin that I used.Giant: $10.00
Saved with Coupons: $3.00
Saved with Sales: $2.00
Weis: $0 (spare change)
Saved with Coupons: $3.24
I had a coupon for a free gallon of milk from an earlier deal where I got a catalina coupon when I purchased cereal. Anyway, the goofy thing was that the coupon was supposed to be for a free gallon of milk but it only was good for $3.50 which was less than all but one gallon of milk ( and that was store brand skim) actually cost. So i just paid the difference with some spare change I had in my wallet.
Walgreens: $18.92
Saved with Coupons: 15.00
Saved with Sales: $30.00
I had a raincheck for the Pediasure. I had stopped in two other times and both times they STILL didn't have any in stock. So I was happy to finally get it. And I did this deal on the diapers. After the rebate I should only pay $1.78 for each pack of diapers. It would be $2 but I had coupons for the Pediasure that gave me some overage.Walmart: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $10.00
Had I not paid with a gift card that I got for returning some merchandise I would have paid $0.26 for this purchase. I LOVE Walmart's new coupon policy! I hadn't shopped there for such a long time but after getting $1.44 in coupon overage I decided I just might have to go more often.
Oh and that coffee? That was what I got my overage on. I had three $2.00 coupons and the coffee costs $1.64. So I was thinking I was doing pretty good and then when I walked up to the coffee display, what did I see but another coupon stuck in front of some of the coffee. Be still my heart! :) Seriously though, I wanted to hug whoever put it there. Instead I made sure no one else was in the aisle, danced a little jig and happily sighed, "Thank you God!", all while smiling broadly at my little boy who was looking at me oddly!
Aldi: $8.64
Anyone else notice the huge jump in brown sugar prices lately? They've jumped about $0.20/lb. around here. I was excited that Aldi still had 4lb. bags of oranges for $1.79- that's almost as cheap as bananas!Centerville Bulk Food: $9.70
Upcoming csnstores.com Product Review
I'm just giving you a heads up that I will be doing another review soon for csnstores.com. If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you've heard me talk about the great selection of products csnstores.com has. Just now I was having fun looking through their lighting selection. If you are looking some new light fixtures, you'll find a great selection of wall sconces, chandeliers, and even outdoor lighting options. We have a very small living room with no ceiling light. It is such a challenge to find a way to get it really bright in there without sacrificing lots of space. I was having visions of some of the swing arm lamps that I saw at csnstores, helping us out. At any rate, just browsing gave me some much needed inspiration!
Michael's: 40% Off Coupon
Use this coupon to save 40% off any regular priced item at Michael's. Coupon expires 4/9/11.Thanks Saving with Shellie!
Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate Crumb Cake
Ready to go in the ovenChocolate Crumb Cake
1 chocolate cake mix, any kind
1 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix first five ingredients and spread in a greased 11 x 16 jelly roll pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and brown sugar. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Variations: use 1 yellow cake mix, with butterscotch pudding and 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup oil and 4 eggs. Top with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup brown sugar.
Baked- and yes, I started cutting it before I remembered to take a picture!
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday, Blessed with Grace's Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Fudge Ripple's Tuesday Night Supper Club, 33 Shades of Green's Tasty Tuesday, and All the Small Stuff's Tuesday's at the Table.
1 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix first five ingredients and spread in a greased 11 x 16 jelly roll pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and brown sugar. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Variations: use 1 yellow cake mix, with butterscotch pudding and 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup oil and 4 eggs. Top with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup brown sugar.
Baked- and yes, I started cutting it before I remembered to take a picture!For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday, Blessed with Grace's Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Fudge Ripple's Tuesday Night Supper Club, 33 Shades of Green's Tasty Tuesday, and All the Small Stuff's Tuesday's at the Table.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Recyclebank: 70 New Points
Click on the link above to take the quiz and earn 25 points. Then take Recyclebank's Green Your Home Challenge and you'll be able to add 45 points to your Recyclebank account. To do that simply log into your Recyclebank account, click "Earn Points" and you'll see the link for the Green Your Home Challenge.
Recyclebank is an easy way to get a few more coupons. As you earn points you can trade them for lots of different coupons. Recyclebank frequently has specials where you can get coupon for only 5 points. I love Recyclebank and find that it's an easy way to save just a little bit more.
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