Operation $40K

There is another little coupon book out from roundy's - yippee!! If you didn't get one in the mail, you can ask at the customer service desk for a copy - they should have them in stock. I LOVE these booklets because you get to STACK coupons with most of the offers! I will be hitting the deals on Nestle Morsels, Gold Medal Flour, Texas Toast, and probably the Town House Crackers. Here is what they have listed in the books: Creamette Pasta $0.78 (Limit 1) Use coupon from Powerful Savings booklet to get sale price Plus, use $0.55/1 Creamette Quick Cook coupon from 10/3 Smart Source insert or $0.50/1 Creamette Quick Cook printable (if this variety is included) Final price: Better than free after doubled coupon Colgate Toothpaste (6.4 oz.) $0.98 (Limit 4) Use coupon from Powerful Savings booklet to get sale price Plus, use $0.75/1 from 12/5 Smart Source insert Final price: Better than free after doubled coupon Fresh Express Salads $0.98 (Limit 1) Use coupon from Powerful Savings boo...

Here is what I am looking at this week, keeping in mind that I have hardly spent anything so far and have almost $50 in Copp's food vouchers to use up! String Cheese $1 for a 6 oz package - I will get a few of these. Louis Rich Ground Turkey (normally 1.99) on sale for $1/# Hunts canned pasta sauce $1 (normally $1.59) Roma Frozen Pizzas - $1.66 each Rio Red Grapefruit 5 lb bag $3.49 Sale price, no coupon needed Final price: $3.49 ($0.70/lb) Roundy’s Baby/cut Carrots 1 lb bag $1.00 Sale price, no coupon needed Final price: $1.00** **Aldi’s everyday price is $1 per bag Barber Chicken Entrees $3.99 Use $1/1 from November All You magazine **there are 2 servings in the box and this makes for a fun/elegant meal with wild rice. Final price: As low as $1.99 after doubled coupon Pilgrim’s Pride Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 3lb $4.99 (Limit 1) Use $0.55/1 Pilgrim’s Pride printable (coupon says do not double) Final price: $4.46 after coupon **Even without the coupon this beats my buy pri...

Two months ago, we put this into the works - a coupon 101 class where the basics would be taught to help other people save money. Where to find coupons, how to organize them, how to use them and a few tips & tricks. Tonight, was my first coupon class at the local library. I've worked with Carol, the head of adult education, and we organized everything from passouts to firguring out how to the their power point projector to like my laptop. We were pleasantly surprised at over sixty people attending...and the overall response from people. =) It was fun to read the survey sheets - they seemed to really get a lot out of the class and even said I was "entertaining", LOL! It was also fun figuring out where people found out about the class - newlsetters, signs, facebook, etc. More classes are in the future, as well as a stockpile swap... How fun! Thank you to all who came...I hope you felt is was worth the time you invested to come :)

It's a less busy week that I have had in a while - that means a few more "putzy" meals. I DO love the colder weather and all the yummy soups that I seem to crave with it...my mouth is already watering for the selection of the week - I add finely diced carrots and some smoked sausage to it. YUM! Here is the list: Breakfast will include: -yogurt with granola -cold cereal -Scrambled eggs and sausage links -oatmeal (It's getting colder...) Lunches as normal (sandwiches, soup, left overs, tappas plates) and for dinner... Monday - Creamed Chip Beef over toast points w/glazed carrots (didn't do it last week) Tuesday - Using a gift card and eating out! Wednesday - Quiche Thursday - Cheddar Beer Soup Friday - Fridge Clean Out! Saturday - crock pot Chicken Cordon Bleu Sunday - Dinner out - a family celebration What are you going to feed YOUR family this week?

Just look what I found at the grocery store -- just walking around and picking up the 2 gallons of milk and 1 package of TP this week. I found over $100 in coupons! Crackers, cereal, baking items, and more! I fully plan to stock up on crackers - we LOVE an afternoon "cracker snacker". (basically just cheese, crackers and a little fruit). Just keep your eyes out for the cardboard display units - they are full of tear pads and little booklets - lots of great potential bargains that will be on ale over the next few months and most coupons don't expire until 3/31/2011. Now another perk, the simple fact that there were a ton of neat recipes in there too! I found a few that I know I will try - they look simply yummy. =) Take a minute to look around the next time you are out - they won't last long!

We had a VERY busy Saturday! It started early with me getting Ms Sarah ready for her dance class, right before I had to leave as I had a Holiday vendor event in another town. I left her with Daddy in charge who got her to dance, fed her and then took her to my Mom's for a few hours so he could go to work. She helped Grumpie (Grammie's husband) shovel several inches of the freshly fallen snow, then they went out for lunch and got back just as I got there to pick her up. From there we got ready to pick up MY Grandma (Sarah's Great Grandma) and treat her to dinner at one of her favorite places: Olive Garden. I LOVE their pasta e fagoli soup and haven't been able to recreate it at home successfully yet (darn it)! Before you even ask...I used gift cards! Dinner was our treat as she had gotten tickets for the three of us to see the Nutcracker ballet...one of our cousins was dancing in it - she is about 2 years older than my Sarah. The kids all did a super job, the costumes we...

It's just that time of year now where a pot of soup a week makes the house smell fantastic and is a yummy meal with a salad and a little bread. This is another crock pot special, dump it in and let it rip - enjoy the rewards at the end of the day! Who doesn't love cooking like that??! You COULD make your own noodles -- it really isn't that hard. My mom and I have a noodle session coming up and I will share it with you. If you don't want to go that route look for Reames noodles in your freezer section. Seriously - they don't get mushy, look home made and are even kosher! Just check out their ingredients: flour, eggs, water. It doesn't get much simpler than that! If you go to their website, you will see a $.50 coupon - print a few off and try it yourself =) (no, I wasn't paid to endorse them...LOL!) Here is the soup - we are making it this next week. It IS a bit more detailed than the potato soup I shared with you, but it is SOOOOO worth it! Ingredients: 1/2 l...

This Wednesday, my little Sarah earned her orange belt in Karate...this was HUGE! The munchkins are presented their belts in front of the bigger kids and the bigger kids clap for them to cheer them on. You should have seen her little face! =) So, we were going to celebrate with her favorite Chinese food - chicken fried rice. (I know, not exactly exotic but she loves it). We walk over to the place that is close to the karate studio and get our order. When we get home, I grab a muscle relaxer - I was really starting to hurt from the snow storm was was coming...then we rip into the dinner. They put white rice in the bag instead of the fried rice. (sigh) I now have a crying little girl on what was supposed to be a happy little celebration... So I called and they won't deliver, they offer a credit. Try explaining a credit to a 4 year old... So, I get creative and make a butterfly shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwich and fairy chips. =) That did the trick and everything was bliss agai...

I never finished my November accountability for the food! Tuesday, we dug through our gift card pile and picked a winner! Cracker Barrel seemed like a great place to go on a chilly night - we could visit that warm fire that they always keep going. We dined well, even shared a piece of pie ala mode for dessert and had to pay $6 out of pocket, and that included tip! On the way home, we stopped at Sentry quick for a few things: milk and toilet paper. HOW I ran out of TP is beyond me -- It turned out that I had two large packs of paper towels in the basement instead a one with one pack of TP. (gggrrrrrrrr.....) Sentry came to $10.83 SOOOOO, let's do November's math: $100 -9.92 - first Target run ------- $90.08 -17.83 - second Target run ------ $72.15 -4.72 (Shopko deals) -3.26 (this week) -12.03 (Noodles n Company meal) ------ $52.14 -20.11 for Girls Gone Wild Weekend... ------ $32.03 -$3.83 for Copps week 2 ------ $28.20 -$4.58 for Copp's week 3 ------ $23.62 to go! -$6 for di...

There are a ton of ways to get free items...review websites are a great way! They review an item, and then offer a giveaway. The Klauer Review is a blog from one of my friends - and she reviews a LOT of different items. Recently, she did a new product called Batter Blaster. Doesn't that just SOUND cool? =) It's a cool concept! Batter inside a can that you just sqeeze out...and, the next thing you know, you have pancakes! I will tell you what I think later as I won the drawing on her blog for this and got my coupon for a FREE bottle of this...I can't wait to try it and you know, I love things FREE! =)

OK -- I don't remember entering this contest but this is what I learned: Dear HERSHEY®'S Cookie Exchange Party Host,Congratulations - you were chosen to host one of 1,000 HERSHEY®'S Cookie Exchange Parties this holiday season! We hope you are looking forward to your party this December. We're excited to help you start planning with a HERSHEY®'S party pack, complete with all the necessities to throw the ultimate cookie exchange. You can expect your party pack to arrive in the mail within the next few weeks. If you have not received your party pack by Friday, December 3rd, please e-mail Samantha Flynn at hersheyscookies@jsha.com. It includes: • Three bags of HERSHEY®'S KISSES® Brand Milk Chocolates • One canister of HERSHEY®'S Cocoa • One package of BETTY CROCKER® Sugar Cookie Mix • A HERSHEY®'S Cookies apron as a "thank you" gift for hosting • New and classic recipe cards for guests to create their very own HERSHEY®'S Cookies recipe book (fo...

I was driving home from a Multi Vendor holiday open house that we did at an assisted living facility this afternoon...and thinking of all the neat octogenarians that I got to visit with in that four hour window. The radio station that proudly plays holiday music 24/7 from about a week before thanksgiving right up until New Years was on...with good old Bing belting out White Christmas. I fresh air coming through the vents of the TupperMobile and I can tell a skunk had fairly recently given his best as he lost his attack on a moving four wheel target. Strangely, I have always loved that musky smell. It goes back to being a young kid and having my pet Westie get nailed squarely but a striped critter when we were up north at a cabin. I loved that dog... I'll Be Home For Christmas started up - and I realized that I would be. A three day festival between my Mom & Pops, then my In-laws, then my Dad & Stepmother's all becomes a fantastic opportunity to watch the joy and magic o...

That has been my rule for fresh produce and it seems to generate the most questions for me. =) It is easy to eat fresh fruits and veggies for that price point - here is a simple list from just Sentry Foods, right out of their sale flier: Iceberg head Lettuce $.89 each (weigh them on the scale to get a heavier one - is has more lettuce!) Roma Tomatoes $.89/# Gala, Red or Golden Delicious Apples $.99/# Bananas are ALWAYS under my price point. Now let's look at Copp's: Bananas.. Gala or Fuji apples $.99/# Rio Red Grapefruit $.69/# Extra fancy navel Oranges $.70/# Cub Foods: Bananas... That's it. They are pretty high priced on produce this week Aldi's: (did you know this is owned by the same company that owns Trader Joe's?) Bananas... Grapefruit. $0.29 each...2 should = 1 # Tangerines. $0.43/# Pineapple. $1.69 each. We have seen these cheaper but it should be 2# +. Navel Oranges. $0.50/# It looks like citrus is the hot buy right now - and good timing too if you are like...

and that means Printable coupons are all in the process of re-setting! =) Use your Swagbucks account to print off your Coupons.com set, there is Redplum.com, Smartsource.com and don't forget Target.com! I didn't see any for produce or bread like we have the last few months - but they have 27 pages of fun!