Publix Trip 6/30/11

(Not Pictured: 2 Milk Bone Soft and Chewy)



I spent $26.17 for $134.54 worth of groceries, saving $108.37 or 81%! And of course I got my $50 gas card for $40!

Here's the match-ups:
(2)Thomas English Muffins BOGO $3.89

(10)Beechnut Stage 4 Foods BOGO $2 (Great for 72 hr kit!)
   -(4) $2/2 HERE
   -(2)$1/1 HERE

(4)Bertolli Pasta Sauce BOGO $2.89
   -(2) $1/2 Target HERE

(2) Mueller's Whole Grain BOGO $1.53
   -(2)$1/1 HERE

(2)Oscar Meyer Lunchables 10/$10
   -(2)$1/1 from 5/15/11 SS

(1)Playtex Sippy Cups $2.99 (after 50% off)
   -(1)$2/1 HERE
   -(1)$1/1 from Sweet Summer Savings Booklet

(2) Ritz Crackerfuls 2/$5
   -(2)$1.50/1 Tearpad
   -(2) $1/1 Target HERE

(5)Goldfish Grahams 10/$10
   -(5) 75¢/1 peelie found on package

(4)Ortega Chilies $1.35
   -(2)$1/2 Printables (not sure where from...)

(2)Travel First Aid Kits $1.49
   -(1)$3/2 Blinkie

(1)Coppertone $6.49
   -(1)$1/1 from 5/22/11 RP
   -(1)$2/1 Sweet Summer Savings Booklet

(2)Smucker's Hot Fudge $1.89
   -(1) $1/2 From July All You
   -(2) $1/1 Yellow Advantage Buy

(6)Corn 10/$3

(4)Publix Soda 2/$1

(1)Buttermilk 2/$5

Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free Promotion
(1)Tidy Cat Litter $2.25
   -(1)$1/1 HERE
 (1)Publix Cat Litter ($1.59)
(2)Milk Bone Dog Biscuits $3.49*
   -(1)$1.25/2 from 5/22/11 RP
(2)Publix Dog Biscuits ($2.79)

(2)Milk Bone Essentials $3.49*
   -(2) Free wyb 1 Milk Bone Product

(2)Milk Bone Soft and Chewy $3.19*
   -(2) Free wyb 2 Milk Bone Products


$50 Gas Card
   -$10/1 In-Ad Coupon

-(1)$5/$25 Save-a-lot

Good trip! I had to go to a second Publix for the Buy Theirs, Get Ours because my normal one had no idea what I was talking about. Somehow the others in the area got the banners and shelf tags, but not that one? Weird.

*This may be a your mileage may vary situation. Many stores will not allow two of the buy theirs, get our deals, so check to see if they will. Second, not every store will allow the stacking of coupons I used. WYB coupons are always tricky, and some stores think they attach to all the products mentioned, others think it just goes to the product before the stipulation part. Mine does the latter. Here's how it looks for those who need a visual.
1st Milk Bone Classic attaches to $1.25/2
2nd Milk Bone Classic attaches to $1.25/2
1st Milk Bone Essential attaches to Free Wyb 1 Milk Bone (which was the 1st Milk Bone Classic)
2nd Milk Bone Essential attaches to Free wyb 1 Milk Bone (which was the 2nd Milk Bone Classic)
1st Milk Bone Soft and Chewy attaches to Free wyb 2 milk bone products (The qualifiers here would be the 2 classic Milk Bones)
2nd Milk Bone Soft and Chewy attaches to Free wyb 2 Milk Bone products (The qualifier here would be the 2 Milk Bone Essentials)

The logic is this the coupon says "when you buy (insert qualifier)." It does not say "when you buy at full price." But again, this is a your mileage may vary situation so ask before you check-out, especially if you don't like surprises.

How did you do? Link-up below or leave a comment!

Frugal Dates and Family Fun

I recently was asked to present on this subject at church, and thought you guys might like some info too! Some of it I've discussed before and some is new!

Dates on a Budget

·         Look for free activities. Going for a walk at the beach or a picnic by a lake are wonderful ideas.

·         Check daily deal sites, like Groupon or Living Social, for cheap date activities. Also, restaurant.com is a great place to get restaurant gift certificates cheap.

·         Start a babysitting exchange group where a group of families trade off watching each other’s kids.

·         Instead of eating at a restaurant, consider their “to-go.” You get the same food minus the tip, and then you can take it for a picnic.

·         Sign-up for emails from your favorite restaurants and places, and if you use Facebook consider “liking” them.* Companies love to offer coupons.  Some offer BOGO meals or free food on your birthday or anniversary.

·         Look for membership perks. AAA and many professional organizations often have great discounts for museums, parks, and other cultural events.

·         Consider a high school performance. Many high school music and theater programs are quite good in quality, but a lot less money. The added bonus is supporting your community.

Family Fun

·         Just like for dates, look for free activities like going to beaches and parks, or just play in the backyard with a sprinkler.  Crafts and gardening can be fun for kids. Go on a camping trip in the backyard.

·         In the summer, there are tons of great programs for kids. The library offers summer reading programs, many bowling places offer free bowling, and some movie theaters offer cheap movies especially for families. Don’t forget craft stores and home improvement stores who often offer free programs to make stuff. Bass Pro Shop is another great place for free activities!

·         Again check daily deal sites and your memberships for great deals on activities, and sign-up for emails from places you really love.

·         Do some service. It’s free and rewarding.

·         Look for kids eat free at restaurants. For every day of the week, there is some restaurant that offers a kids eat free promotion.  Chick-fil-a even offers activities at their kids eat free night. (FYI Cow appreciation Day is July 8th, which means if you dress like a cow you get a free meal! It's really simple too.)

·         Redbox and the library. The libraries around here are awesome when it comes to movies you can borrow. For newer movies, Redbox is usually easier to get them. There are tons of free codes for Redbox. Two that I know of are DVDONME and BREAKROOM. They also often send codes via email or their monthly text.

General Advice

Plan fun around promotions, coupons, and other savings. I don’t think there is anything yet that I haven’t found a coupon, discount, or promotion for. And remember keep it simple! Often the best activities are the ones that cost the least amount of money. With a little planning and creativity, you can have tons of fun for little to no money.

*I highly recommend a second accout for signing-up for things, otherwise your inbox will be full! Also, you can create a Facebook profile specifically for "liking" pages of companies.

Great Resource- Cooking Fuels

While looking at some of the blogs I followed, I came across this little gem and decided to share. It goes over the different types of fuel you can use when you are without power. Definitely something you want to look at now before you end up without power.

Also, check-out this post of theirs on different kinds of emergency stoves you can make and how to use some of the fuels.

I encourage you to look this stuff over because most natural disasters come with power outages, so you'll need to be able to know how to make do until you can either leave the area or power is restored.

Their site in general is great for food storage tips in general, so it's worth looking around!

Kids Stuff New Uses

A few friends of mine posted this wonderful link on Facebook, and I loved so many of the ideas on there that I'd thought I'd share. We've discussed some of these ideas before like the baby food jars as touch-up paint jars, egg cartons as paint palette, and plastic eggs as snack containers, but there are tons of other creative ideas on there.

My favorites:

• Bean bag animals as ice packs
• Lemonade Kool-aid as dishwasher cleaner
• Paper tubes as Lincoln logs
• Dishrack as art supply organizer
• Changing table as potting bench (The opposite is true as well...)

What did you see that you liked? Do you have ideas on turning kids stuff into everyday stuff or everyday stuff into kids stuff? Share it below!

Meal Plan Monday

Monday- Tortellini, Veggie
Tuesday- Kielbasa, Pasta, Veggie
Wednesday- Pork Chops, Couscous, Veggie
Thursday- Grilled Chicken, Rice, Veggie
Friday- Tacos
Saturday- Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage
Sunday- Leftovers/DIY
What's your menu for the week?
Don't forget to link up below!

Friday Favorites- Recipe

Lately I have been trying to cut out white processed flour from my diet and replace it with whole grains. I checked out this wonderful book from the library called King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. It quickly has been added to my Amazon wishlist. I recently made some blueberry muffins from one of the recipes in the book, and they were delicious and you could never tell it wasn't white flour. I hope you'll try it out and enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins (as adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Ingredients
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Flour for berries

Directions
1. Lightly grease muffin tin, or line with paper and coat paper with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down bowl and turn mixer back on and add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg.
4. Add vanilla and sour cream, and mix until incorporated.
5. Add dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until batter is smooth. Scrape down sides and bottom to make sure everything is combined.
6. In a small bowl, mix blueberries with enough flour to coat their surface. (I've found this keeps the blueberries from sinking in the batter and from turning the whole thing purple).
7. Gently fold blueberries into batter, and refridgerate for at least an hour.
8. Preheat oven to 400F.
9. Scoop batter by the 1/4 cup into the prepared pan and sprinkle with sugar.
10. Bake muffins until a toothpick comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

Publix Trip 6/23/11

I spent $23.47 for $80.79 worth of groceries, saving $57.32 or 71%! I'll also submit for a try-me-free rebate on the Gerber meal, bringing it up to 72%!

Here's the match-ups:

(10)Powerade BOGO $1.25

   -(2)$1/5 HERE

(2) Kraft BBQ Sauce BOGO $1.65

(2)Post Great Grains Cereal BOGO $4.39

   -(2)$1/1 Blinkie

   -(2) 75¢/1 from Smart Savings Booklet

(4) Rosetto Frozen Pasta BOGO $3.99

   -(2) $1.50/2 HERE

(2) Alexia Snacks BOGO $3.59

   -(2) $1/1 HERE

Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free Promotion:

(1)Ragu Pizza Sauce $1.89

(1)Publix Pizza Sauce ($1.19)

(1)Swanson Canned Chicken $3.99

(1)Publix Canned Chicken ($3.19 ) Great for your 72 hour kit!

(1)Blueberries 3/$6

(2) Johnson and Johnson To-Go First Aid Kit $1.49

   -(1)$3/2 Blinkie

(2) Cottonelle Wipes $1.99

   -(1)$1/2 HERE

(1)Planter's Almonds $3.19

  -(1)Free Product Coupon

(4) Friskies Tasty Treasures 10/$5.50

   -(2)BOGO from 3/27/11 SS

(1)Country Time $2.99

   -(1) $2 off Country Time wyb 2 Kraft BBQ

(1)Gerber Graduates 4/$5

   -Try Me Free MIR

-$5/$25 Purchase Save-a-lot

How'd you do? Link-up below or share in the comments!

Frugality: Meal Planning, Part II

I previously posted on meal planning a few weeks ago and gave a brief overview and the benefits of meal planning. This week I thought I'd go over some different ways to meal plan successfully.

• Circular/Pantry Method: This is mostly how I do it. You plan your meals based on what you already have and what is on sale that week at your store. You save money and have food to eat.
• Reinventing Meals: The idea behind this one is you cook something major on one day and then reuse parts of it to make other meals. For example, you could make a whole chicken for dinner Sunday, Tuesday have shredded BBQ chicken, Wednesday BBQ Chicken Pizza, Thursday Soup made from making stock out of the carcass of the chicken, etc. You can combine this with option one to make it stretch even further.
• Days of the Week: For this method, you assign categories to each day of the week, and plan your menu to match it. For example, Monday could be Meatless Monday, Tuesday Comfort Food, Wednesday Italian, Thursday New Recipe, etc. This is helpful if you find it hard to even think of ideas.
• Freezer Cooking: The idea behind this is you spend one day a week/month making meals for you to eat. This can be great for those who don't have a lot of time to cook every night, as you spend a lot of time on one day, but for the rest of the time you just have to pull one of them out and let it thaw, then just warm it up.

These are just a few ways to plan meals, but you can also mix and match them to make something that works for you.

Where to Buy Emergency Preparedness Items



Sometimes what stops us from having our emergency supplies is we just do not know where to buy it. Here's a helpful list of places you can buy some emergency supplies (and certainly isn't a comprehensive list).

• The grocery store- great place for food items, first aid supplies, etc.
• One-stop-stores- Like Walmart and Target are good for food, first aid, and some other supplies that can usually be found in the outdoor section.
• Warehouse clubs- This can be a great place to buy large amounts of food storage items such as flour, rice, nonfat dry milk, etc.
• Camping Supply Stores- Camping stores like Bass Pro Shop, can be a great source of many emergency prep items, including more speciality items like various emergency cooking supplies, sanitary supplies, sleeping bags, etc.
• Amazon- You can buy pretty much anything on Amazon. Water storage, food storage, grain mills, etc. etc. is all found on Amazon.
• Online Speciality Stores- Some of these include Emergency Essentials and Shelf Reliance. These companies specialize specifically in emergency prep, and carry anything you can think of.

This is just a small list of places you can go for your emergency preparedness supplies. If you have any recommendations, please share them below and I will add them.

New Uses for Dryer Lint

While searching for new items for this segment, I came across this great list of ways to reuse dryer lint. I've personally done the fire starters before, but there are a bunch of ideas there.

Check it out here.

Just goes to show pretty much everything can have a second use.