Weekly Spending Summary

A week with a bit more spending again. And another week with a picture-less post. :(

Total Spent: $55.96
Total Saved with Coupons: $33.22
Total Saved with Sales: $14.25
Total Saved: $47.47

CVS: $0
Saved with Coupons: $7.48
Saved with Sales: $4.49

I bought two Listerine's, Puffs tissues, and a coffee drink (which I had a free coupon for).

Rite Aid: $0
Saved with Coupons: $25.74
Saved with Sales: $9.76

Actually my total was $0.02 but the cashier said she'd just use some spare change she had at the register to pay that. :) I bought some gum, cough drops, Kashi cereal, kid's cold medication and two kinds of aspirin. (Later I realized that the cashier hadn't done my rain checks properly and I actually was overcharged around $0.40, but I figure it's not worth running back to the store for that!)

Aldi: $31.51

I bought a bunch of things including sour cream, coconut, beans, corn chips and more.

Misc.: $24.45
- Bought 5 lbs. of cheese and also got out cash for produce and things at the bulk food store.

Coupons.com New Coupons: Hormel, Smuckers and More

There are some new printable coupons available:

• $1.00 off (2) SMUCKER'S ICE CREAM TOPPINGS
• $0.55 off two HOMRMEL Pepperoni packages
• $0.55 off 2 HORMEL Chunk Chicken
• $0.55 off two HORMEL Bacon Bits products
• $3.00 off HORMEL Party Tray product
• $2.00 off LLOYD'S Barbeque Ribs
• $0.55 off 2 HORMEL Chili products
• $1.00 off any JOHNSON'S Baby Oil product
• $1.50 off JOHNSON'S Baby Creamy Oil product

You Might Enjoy...

* How to turn an old door into a headboard
I've heard of people doing this but never actually saw one. Isn't that one beautiful headboard?

* Quiet Time Tubs
I'm loving this idea!

* 10 Wood Pallet Decor Ideas
I love the concept of re-purposing things but I sure lack the creative gene to come up with my own ideas. Blog posts like this one sure help get the few creative juices I have flowing though!

* Homemade Coffee Creamer
I do not use coffee creamer but if you do you might be interested in the recipes posted here. I'm not going to guarantee that they are cheaper to make than buying coffee creamer (because I don't even know what it costs!), but they will definitely be MUCH healthier!

DoubleTake Deal - $5 Credit

This weekend only, enter code ROLLBACK5 to get $5 off any DoubleTake deal. This means that if you find a deal that is $5 your deal is absolutely free! Unfortunately, you cannot combine the code with any deal bucks you might have.

Here are some local deals that are available:

* Caruso's Italian Restaurant
- $10 For $20 Worth of Family Italian Dining ($20 Value) (Purchaser Will Receive 2-$10 Certificates)

* Plum Salon and Spa
- $39 For A One-Hour “Plum Perfect” Therapeutic Massage ($80 Value)

* A Loaf of Bread Bakery
- $8 For $16 Worth Of Fresh Baked Breads, Cookies & Lunch (Purchaser Will Receive 1-$16 Certificate Or 2-$8 Certificates)

Thanks Frugal Lancaster!

Sunday Coupon Preview

Want to know what coupons to expect in this Sunday's paper? Go here.

10 Tips for Wasting Less Food (Part Two)

Yesterday I posted the first five tips that I've used to waste less food. Now here are the other five:

6. Save those egg whites/yolks. I always hate when recipes call for just the yolk or white of an egg because then I have to figure out what to do with the rest of it! Did you know that you can substitute egg yolks and whites for a whole egg? One whole egg = 2 egg whites (may make baked goods less tender). One whole egg = two egg yolks (in sauces, custards, and cream fillings). Or if you don't like those ideas, simply throw the extra egg yolks or whites into your scrambled eggs. Trust me, you'll barely notice the difference!

7. Freeze extra grapes, bananas, strawberries. Frozen grapes are actually rather good and you can always throw the bananas and strawberries into smoothies.

8. Use that leftover coffee. Have you ever thought of freezing leftover coffee as ice cubes and using them in your iced coffee drinks or to cool down regular coffee? I also often use leftover coffee to make my own iced coffee. In fact, I often make a concentrate with the linked recipe. I simply mix the coffees and sugar together and put it in a jar in the fridge. Then whenever I want some iced coffee I fill a glass maybe 1 in. full of the concentrate and then fill the remainder with milk. Let me tell you, it's WAY to handy to have around!

9. Save that sour milk! Did you know that sour milk isn't actually harmful for you? If we have milk that goes sour I simply use it in recipes for pancakes or cake that call for buttermilk and it works like a charm. And if you can't use it right away, just freeze it and pull it out when you need some buttermilk.

10. Know what's in your cupboards, fridge and freezer. In other words, be organized. If you aren't, chances are you have food getting stale or unusable on you and you're throwing it out. And when you throw out food, in a sense it's like throwing out money.

I've found it helpful to make up a list of things to use up and then I look at that when you plan our meal or menu. For me it's much easier than trying to keep a mental list of things that need to get used.

What things do you do to cut back on food waste?

Plum District: $10 Credit for New Sign-Ups

Through Monday, 11/7, all new sign-ups at Plum District, a daily deal site, will get a $10 account credit. That should help you easily be able to get something for free or very inexpensively!