Thursday, March 26, 2009

Grocery highlights for 3/25-3/31

Not a lot of excitement out there this week for deals.

Randalls
This week's ad is dedicated to the same promotion they had last week. $5 off when you buy 10 participating items. (Read last week's post) There are some good deals in this promotion, but I think it is confusing. Please keep in mind that the prices in the ad are the final price. You will not receive another discount. Also you must buy groups of 10. For example if you buy 12 items you will not get a discount off the last two.

My favorite part of this promotion is the Ozarka Aquapods. They are the small bottles great for kids. The card price is $2 each for an 8pack. In the "10" promotion they are $1.50. However, if you buy 2 you will receive a coupon for $2 off your next purchase at Randalls. Good deal!

The only other deal I liked not included in last week's post is the following:

Del monte fruit naturals .75 cents use $1 off 2 HERE = .25 cents each

HEB
White seedless grapes .88/lb
Hill Country Fare shredded cheese 8oz $1
Hill Country Fare milk $2.99
Post Pebbles Cereals $1


Target
Same deals continue at Target. Please go take advantage of these! I had a great time just walking the aisles and seeing all of the "New Store Specials" And if you got this week's mailer you can enjoy your free smoothie while shopping!

CVS
If you are ready to get into the drugstore game you can pick up some free toothpaste. Crest Prohealth Enamel care is $3.49. You will receive $3.49 back in Extra Care Bucks. Also, you can use the .75 coupon from 3/1 and actually make money!

I also picked up some campbells soup for .25 each. They are $1.49 and buy one get one free. Use the coupon here to make it .25 each. $1/2 printable coupon

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Bargain Shopping at Thrift Stores

As many of you know, I am a thrift store (Savers, Goodwill, and Salvation Army) shopper--I recently found a 20" girls Schwinn bike ($150.00 new and maybe ridden 10 times in it's short life!) for $20.00 for my six year old grand daughter. During the same visit, I found no less than ten almost new Gymboree girls outfits (various sizes), all for under five dollars, Children's Place outfits in the same price range and almost new, a pair of almost new "light -up" little girls sneakers for $3, and tons of dress up items for little girlies for practically nothing! I am constantly amazed at what people get rid of to thrift stores!! Gently used men and womens clothing, furniture, housewares, toys, and even single and double running strollers!! If you are familiar with good brand names and values, you can even put these things on ebay and make quite a bit of money if you're willing to spend the time on it. I don't ebay them, but love to recycle in this way! I would never spend the money for these name brands new, but at these prices, who can resist! Try it!!
Also try craigslist.com for amazing buys on just about everything you can imagine! Some of it is even free! I'll happily walk you thru it or tell you my favorite store locations if you're interested. This could be a part of your "second income" in your family--shopping for bargains and recycling in this way!
Happy bargain hunting!!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Grocery highlights for 3/18-3/24

Randalls

Fresh Boneless-skinless chicken breast 1.99/lb
Lucerne shredded or chunk cheese 32oz 4.99

This week there is a mix and match promotion where you buy 10 participating items in a single transaction and then receive $5 off. The ad is confusing because it lists the price AFTER the promotional discount. There are over 1000 participating items. They are at varying levels of pricing from $1.25-$3.00. Then, when you buy 10 from any pricing level you get $5 off the total. Basically it is $.50 0ff each item (when you buy 10) making the prices anywhere from .75-2.50

Depending on your families needs you will find good deals in this promotion. I will attempt to point out a few in my opinion. Remeber there are many,many more options.

Fress Express bags of salad .75 after card and with discount (usually includes spinach)
Cheerios 1.50 after card and discount, use $1 off coupon HERE =.50
Capri sun drinks 1.50 after card and discount
Jimmy Dean Sausage 2.00 after card and discount
Motts apple juice 64 oz 1.50 after card and discount use .55 cents off HERE = .95 cents
Angel Soft 4 pack- use .50 cents off from 2/ 22 Red plum = .25 cents
pasta roni or rice aroni use $1 off 4 from 3.8 RedPlum = .50 cents each
Nabisco 100 calorie packs use $1 off 2 HERE = $1 each
Better Crocker cookie mix use .50 cents off one HERE = $1 (may be doubled and =.50)

HEB

Large cantaloupe .88
Hill Country Fare all purpose flour $1

(remember you can take your ad to walmart and they will price match)

TARGET

Great deals at the new Supertarget in Pflugerville good through 4/14/09. You should have received another mailer this week with more fabulous coupons. Here are a few of the deals I liked.

Delimex chicken taquitos .99 after coupon
3lb bag apples 1.99
Bananas .39/lb
grapes red or green .99/lb
iceberg lettuce .79
24 pack of market pantry water $2
Hungry Jack syrup or pancake mix 1.49
Simply Orange juice .99 after coupon
Mission 10ct flour tortillas .99
eggs .99
Toaster strudel (strawberry only) .99
Kraft mac and cheese .39
Hunt's diced tomatoes .49
Prego sauce (traditional only) .99
Strawberries $2
Market Pantry milk $2.89
Tostitos scoops $1.75 plus coupon $1 off when you buy 2, plus this week only get free tostitos salsa or queso when you buy 2 tostitos chips.

This week at all Targets- coupons HERE

Betty crocker brownie mix .89
Shredded 8oz cheese 1.49








Tuesday, March 17, 2009

RSS Feed

As requested, I've added an RSS feed button to the sidebar.

For those of you who know what that means, there is a button for the posts and another for the comments. I'm excited to have the comment feed so that all of us can share finds like the strawberries for 99 cents a pound at Newflower market (through Wed 3/18).

For those of you who have no idea what an RSS feed is but who read a lot of blogs, comment! If people want to know, I'll post about what RSS is, how to use an RSS reader, and how much time it will save you.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

We're not alone in our frugality!

Ladies, The following article is proof that we are not alone in our attempts at frugality! I personally have always found these ideas to be a very rewarding way to retain control of my resources rather than giving that control over to the merchants and vendors. The more of these kinds of things we can do, the more control we retain over our hard earned money! (This mentality can translate into our family's second income", so to speak). Lets Do It!

Extreme cheapskates: Tightwads revel in frugality


Before the economy tanked, she was still wearing maternity clothes from her last pregnancy, clipping coupons and using hand-me-downs to dress her daughters, ages 2 and 3. Now, she's salvaging bagel scraps left on their plates for pizza toppings and cutting lotion bottles in half so she can scrape out the last drops.

"I was already cheap," said VanDeventer, a 36-year-old mortgage loan underwriter from Broomfield, Colo. "Now I am neurotic about it."

If you thought those cheapskate friends and relatives couldn't pinch pennies any tighter,think again. The recession is making tightwads like VanDeventer cut back even more. They're going way beyond sharpening their coupon scissors, replacing already cheap store-brand fabric softener with vinegar and even making their own detergent. VanDeventer was drying her hair in front of a fan after her portable hair dryer broke -- until her friends bought her a new one.

The recession is radically changing behavior among many different types of people, from the Wall Street bankers who are now waltzing into Wal-Mart for the first time to buy their groceries to teens who are now thumbing through the piles of status jeans at secondhand shops to save money

. And experts say that such behavior could linger long after the economy recovers.

What surprises frugality bloggers is that many cheapskates such as VanDeventer haven't lost their jobs and are not in danger of losing their homes. Many have stashed a good chunk of cash away. But the economic uncertainty is catapulting them to new levels of thriftiness.

"I do it out of fear because I would rather put that money in the bank or purchase something we really need," said VanDeventer, who now saves about 50 percent of her take-home pay, up from 25 percent before the recession began more than a year ago.

"Frugal people are now looking at more ways not to spend money," said Lynnae McCoy, who runs a blog called beingfrugal.net, which attracts seasoned penny pinchers. In January, her site received 110,000 hits, up 30 percent from a year ago. What intrigued McCoy was the interest among frugal folks to save even more money by making their own detergent and other household goods.

Grocery highlights for 3/11-3/17

I am sorry I will be unable to post the highlights this week, but will be back on board for next week. If you do not have the ads you can always check them online for your favorite stores. Also, the new Target i n Pflugerville has great specials all month long. I found many items at great "new store" prices that were not even in their mailer. When I return I will post these deals with coupon match ups.

If anyone finds any great deals please post them here in the comments for others to enjoy!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Diaper Coupons

Hey ladies the high value diaper coupons I told you about last night have been reloaded! That means if you already printed them go back and try to print again. If you don't know what I am talking about go to coupons.com and you will find $5 and $3 coupons for Huggies. These are the Gentle Care (newborn to size 2 I believe) and Natural Fit (size 2 to 6) lines. They can be used for diapers or wipes. Any coupons from coupons.com can be printed twice. And when they have been reloaded (like today) you can print two more times. If you only need the small sizes maybe you can trade with someone who needs the larger size and vice versa. Hooray for coupons!

Recipe for pulled/ shredded pork

Attention Mexican Food lovers!

Pork roasts are inexpensive right now (.97 per lb to $1.49 per lb most places) and can be used in many of your favorite Tex-Mex recipes or Mexican dishes.
Choose a butt or shoulder roast that has minimum fat (it will have a bone), but don't be afraid of the fat either--you can skim grease off after cooking, if needed. The larger the roast, the more you can freeze for several meals, since this slow cooking takes a long time and oven energy use.

Here is how I cook it : Season all sides generously with salt, chili powder and ground cumin, and sprinkle liberally with garlic powder (personally, I like it very savory so I put three or four large cloves of pressed garlic on top of the roast in the pan before baking instead of the garlic powder). Put it in a heavy baking pan with maybe a an inch of water and cover tightly (a well sealed foil cover works fine if you don't have a lid for you pan). Bake in pre-heated oven at 250 degrees for six to seven hours (or the same length of time in a crock pot on 'high'). When done, skim off some of the grease and save it, then shred the pork with a fork--it is so tender it just falls apart! Shred it in the pan, mixing in the meat juices, and add back the grease, if needed, to keep it moist, or add water (the water does tend to "water down" the flavor a bit though:( If you like it more spicy or flavorful, you can add more chili powder or ground cumin now and simmer it for another 20-30 minutes for that seasoning to cook into the meat. Divide it into dinner size portions for your family to use in soft or crispy tacos, burritos, enchiladas, chili, taco salads, or many other Mexican dishes that call for meat. It freezes well in freezer zip lock bags, and is great for parties or last minute guests.

Opening Specials at Pflugerville Target!

Did you get your mailer for the new Target at the corner of Highways 45 and 130? I have been watching my mailbox and it came yesterday. Yeah! Here is a rundown of my idea of good deals. These are available at this location only. A separate Target catalog came with a coupon on the the back for $5 of a $25 purchase. Combine this coupon with the specials for a great deal.

3lb bag apples $1.99
24pk. Market Pantry bottled water $2
6.6oz Goldfish crackers $1 use the target.com coupon HERE for $1/1=free (one coupon per transaction)
Seedless grapes-red,green, black $.99/lb
96oz clorox bleach $1. 69lb use .50 coupon in back of mailer=1.19
10oz tostitos $1.75 use $1/2 coupon in mailer =$1.25 each when buy 2
25ct Delimex chicken taquitos $2.99 use $2 coupon in mailer=$.99
9oz baked lays 1.75 use $1 coupon =$.75
Cheez-it crackers $1.75 use $1.75 coupon=$1

Coupons and prices are good until 4/14/09
$5 coupon expires 3/31/09 Ad does not list limits, however, doing match ups with the coupons will limit you.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Grocery highlights for 3/4-3/10

RANDALLS

Cereal stock up sale! Buy 5 participating cereals in a single transaction and get $5 off

FYI - this is limited to one time per card per day so you can't buy 10 boxes and get $10 off and you can not do two transactions on one day. The first price listed is teh regular sale price the second price is the price you pay when you buy 5 qualifying cereals. Even if you don't have the additional manufacturer coupons some of these cereals are still a good deal.

Quaker Life Maple and Brown Sugar $1.99= .99 cents use $1 off 1 HERE = FREE
Kellogs Corn Flakes $1.99 = .99 cents use .70 cents off 1 from 2/22 Red Plum = .29 cents
Captain Crunch $1.99 = .99 cents use $1 off 2 Captain Crunch from 1/4 $Red plum = .49 cents
Quaker Life cereals $1.99 = .99 cents use $1 off 2 from 1/4 Red Plum = .49 cents each
Post Honey comb, Raisin Bran, Fruity and Cocoa pebbles $2.49 = $1.49 use $1 off 2 from 3/1 or 1/25 SS (exp.3/8)= .99
Kellog's Frosted Flakes $2.49 = $1.49 use $1 off 2 HERE = .99 cents each
Cookie Crisps $2.99-$1.99 use .75 cents off 1 HERE = $1.24
Lucky Charms $2.99 = $1.99 use .55 cents off 1 HERE = $1.44

Super Coupons
valid March 4-10 minimum $10 purchase All state limit 1
Digiorno pizza $3.97 - part of the Chill out at Home promotion (see below)
Oreo cookies $1.29 -
Classico Pasta sauce $1.27 get coupons HERE (must sign up and buy 2)
Tostitos $1.77
Knorr sides .88 cents
Dole Fruit bowls $1.67
Simply Juice $1.99 use $1 off 1 from 1/25 Smart Source = .99 cents
Sea Pak seafood collections $4.99
Cheer or Tide 25-32 loads $5.99 use .35 cents off Tide from 3/1 P & G (coupon will be tripled making it 1.05 off)
Dixie value pack plates $2.99
$2 off per lb 1 lb or more Primo Taglio meat or cheese Turkey is $4.99 per lb

48 Hour Sale
Safeway Boneless skinless chicken breast $1.49 per lb - 4 lb bags $5.96each use $1 off Ecoupon from randalls.com or safeway.com HERE
10lb bag Russet Potatoes
24 pack Refreshe water $2.77
Safeway Bath tissue 12 roll or Paper towels 8 roll $3.99

Chill out at Home promotion through March
Purchase $25 worth of qualifying frozen food products in a single transaction and receive a $10 reward coupon to use on your next purchase of frozen food. The $25 is before manufacturer coupons so this can turn out to be a great deal! Just make sure you have room to store it. Below are good prices this week for qualifying items. But there are tons of products that qualify. Check store for chill at home labels on products.

Hawaiins Own juices $1.00
Banquet meals $1 each / pot pies .84 cents / Banquet selects $1.50 each
Marie Calandars individual meals $2.50 each
Red Baron pizza $2.50 - $4.9 use 41 off 2 from 3/1 Red Plum or 1/11 Smart source
Jones natural sausages $2 - look for .50 cent peelies on package
Breyer's ice cream- buy one get one free (makes it $5.49 for 2)
Betolli oven bake meals $7.99 use $2 off HERE = $5.99

HEB
strawberries $1.77 lb (take ad to walmart for price match if not going to HEB)

CVS
Nestle Carnation Instant Breakfast free after Extra Care Bucks back
-they were out but said the truck comes on Thursday, you can always get a raincheck






Tuesday, March 3, 2009

March Emergency Essentials Sale

For the month of March, Emergency Essentials is have a 10% off sale on Provident Pantry #10 cans if you buy six or more of the same item. They have a huge variety of the typical food storage items, freeze-dried fruits, veggies, and meats, and harder to find items like powdered butter and eggs. If we order as a group, than you don't have to order 6 cans to get the good deal! (When looking at the site, remember to subtract 10% off of the price!)

Additionally, if we form an official EE group and order at least one of the group specials, the entire order gets free shipping. This month the group specials are Fettuccini Noodles for $7 (min 12 cans), freeze-dried shredded Mozzarella for $25 (min 6 cans), and their "Tips for Preparedness" book for $10 (min 6).

If this is something that people are interested in doing, let me know by commenting below. Please include what you would want to order so that other people can see what they can get at sale prices. Next Friday, the 13th, I'll see if we have enough to make a group order worthwhile.

(A reminder that because of church regulations, announcing or discussing group orders at church is not allowed. But please tell anyone you think might be interested!)