Operation $40K

I hit the bread outlet today... 2 loaves cottage bread 1 pack cinnamon raisin bagles 12 ct hot dog buns with the 25% discount on Saturdays, it came to $4.33 for everything. (I know - that is just a little over what a loaf of cottage bread is at the store!!) Monthly Tally $100.00 - 5.87 ------------- $ 94.13 to go - 4.22 Denny's - 12.11 Rocky's - 8.83 Copp's ------------- $68.97 TO GO - 5.97 from HyVee bacon -$14.21 from Copp's today ------------- $48.79 to go -$10.96 for today's run ------------- $37.83 to go -$16.62 Target Run ------------- $21.25 TO GO -$15 today for five Copp's Transactions ------------- $6.25 to go and I only have to hit the bread outlet! -$4.33 ------------- $1.92 under budget for the month! YIPEE!!!! How did you do with your budget for the month>?

I am sure you have seen the infomercials...they have been on for a few years now. I didn't pick up a phone and dial, but got the same system, a few years earlier when it was sold through USBourne Books consultants. What am I talking about? Your Baby Can Read. The simple program that uses videos and flash cards to teach a child to understand the concept of the written word and learn to read. It works! I didn't buy all the extras, I just got the DVDs and basic slider cards that came with with it...I figured, that I could make my own flash cards with the computer and put clip art on the back, so that is what I did. We watched the DVD series...and had our flash cards everywhere! If we were at a restaurant waiting for our meal to come, we did flash cards. If we were at the dentist office waiting to get in, we did flash cards. I added more and more cards to match the DVDs and then picked a few out of the teacher supply section of the local dollar store. She nailed them. Then we got t...

Don't these just look absolutely yummy??? This is a picture that a friend of mine shared on the awesome Scrapchicks board...so I had to whip up a recipe for making them myself...I think I will bringning these to one of the weekend scrapbooking crops that I organize. One change I would make from looking at the picture, instead of fresh lime slices on it, I would get the candy limes - you know the kind I am talking about? They are like jelly bean candies, without the hard shells. Well, here is what I did and they came out pretty darned tastey even though they use a doctored up boxed cake mix instead of totally made from scratch! White cake mix 3 egg whites 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 Tbsp lime zest 9 oz Margarita mix (such as Mrs. T's or Bacardi) 3 oz tequila 3/4 oz Grand Marnier Mix it all together and bake in your muffin cups, just like normal cupcakes. Let cool and then frost with: Lime Buttercream Icing 3 cups + 3 Tbsp confectioner's sugar 1 cup unsalted butter at room tempera...

Sunday coupon preview Regional coupon inserts & value differences are to be expected! (/X) after coupon = expiration date () before coupon = multiple of same coupon ETS = excludes trial sizes DND5 = coupon states Do Not Double, but barcode starts w/a 5 Smartsource coupon insert Neutrogena naturals Save $1/1 (4/27) Lysol Clean-Flip starter kit or floor cloths Save $1/1 (6/1) Mentos Save $1/1 45pc+ bottle (4/30) Mentos Save $1/3 15pc+ (4/30) Cuties Save $.55/1 5lb box (4/4) Cuties Save $.35/1 3lb bag (4/4) Tostitos Artisan Recipes chips Save $.55/1 (4/13) Huggies Pure & Natural diapers Save $2.5/1 (3/26) Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers diapers Save $2/1 (3/26) Huggies Snug & Dry diapers Save $2/1 (3/19) Huggies Snug & Dry diapers 60ct+ Save $3.5/1 (3/19) Huggies Buy baby wipes refill 300ct+ get free baby wipes tub 72ct or less (3/19) Accu-Chek Save $10 off Aviva system with purchase of Aviva test strips (5/29) Barber Foods product Save $1/1 (4/16) Best Life butt...

We have a winner!! The winning post: Donna said... I added your button to my blog at http://www.madisoncouponconnection.com! Contact me Donna (at tupqueen1@aol.com) so we can connect on your goodies! Congrats! Wow! What a year this has been... A lot of money saved, a bunch of fun tips shared, neat recipes and now coupon clipping classes are being taught. Who would have guessed all of this fun would occur when I sat down to create a space to make myself accountable to my goal? Thank you for following along, making the encouraging comments and listening! For that, there should be a reward! HUGE Giveaway time!!! I have a FIVE different things: 1) $100 Tupperware Package full of fun sizes so you can buy in bulk and break it down yourself to save on portion costs! 2) A Tupperware Seasoning Collection - Five different "bulk" bags to add a little zip to your home prepared goodies. 3) One of my Tupperware Coupon Boxes, complete with divider tabs. 4) A $25 Roundy's Gift card! 5) A...

I got this question from a reader and wanted to share - I was just wondering where in your budget gets calculated the money you spend ordering coupons for your grocery, does it come from your grocery budget? I see you using a lot of R.R on copps I wonder If the money you spend on walgreens to get the R.R comes from a different budget My answer: When you play with Walgreens, you initially have an investment on your first transaction but can then use a combo of manufacturer's coupons, store coupons and RR to keep the ball rolling. Week 1 you might get $8 of stuff, spend $6 and use $2 in manu coupons, but get $6RR back Week 2 you might get $14 of stuff, use $4 in store coupons, $4 in manu coupons and that $6 RR (to have no OOP cost), but get $12 in RR back. Week 3 you might get $23 of stuff, use $6 in store coupons, $5 in manu coupons and that $12 in RR (again, no OOP cost), but get $20 in RR back. See how it snowballs? I haven't shared a Wags transaction since Black Friday becaus...

I have the current CHANGES from our market over PYD in BOLD Produce Deals Broccoli $.89/# Sale Price, no coupon needed Fuji or Braeburn Apples $.66/# in a 3# bag Green cabbage $.69/# Sale Price, no coupon needed Carrots $.98 for a 2# bag Fresh Express Salad Kits $1.98 (Limit 1) Use in-ad coupon to receive sale price Final price: $1.98 after coupon Meat Deals Oscar Mayer Regular Lunchables $0.99 (Limit 2) sale Price, no coupon needed Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Bacon $1.98 (Limit 2) Use In Ad Coupon Final price: $1.98 after coupon Whole Boneless Pork Loin $1.99/lb Sale price, no coupon needed Final price: $1.99/lb** **I bought one of these a few months back and asked the meat cutter to cut it into 2 roasts and a few packages of pork chops. He graciously did it, wrapped everything in dinner-sized portions and he has made my life a lot easier Frozen Food Deals Rhodes Warm-N-Serv Rolls $2.00 Use $1/1 from 11/14, 12/12, 1/23 or 2/6 Red Plum inserts or $1/1 Rhodes printable Final price: F...

With a few Sentry stores now doubling coupons, I will break their sales fliers down for you each week, it is not a complete list of what is in your add, but what I found matching coupons for that turned the items into a fairly decent deal, after doubling. =) Please check with your individual store coupon policy, I will add a tab that breaks down all stores that I know of - keep an eye out for it later this month! First of all, there is a 3 Day Sale! Monday, 2-28 thru Wednesday 3-2. Sentry stores rarely let you STACK coupons - so you probably won't be able to use a manufacturer coupon with the following coupons that are in the sales flier for: ***All coupons have a limit of 2! Dean's Milk $1.99 for a gallon (if you can, use the $1/1 gallon deans from the Sunday newspaper a few weeks ago to get it FREE after doubling) Hormel Authentic Deli Sliced or Shaved Ham $2.99/# (Virginia or Honey) Grebe's Better Butter Rolls $1.50 for a 6 ct pack Flavorite Butter $2.49/# Flavorite Sour...

A few great sales this week - Cereal deals, pasta, milk! All in all, I ended up with five Transactions. I was thrown off a bit by them being out of the Oscar Mayer Carving Board Meats...but I got a rain check. You will see on my first transaction that I bumped up the base total by buying a $15 gift card - which I used on later transactions to prevent more OOP (out of pocket) expense. =) Transaction #1 $15 Roundy's Gift Card 10 boxes Ronzoni Pasta @$! (normally $1.79) Coupons used: Five $1/2 Ronzoni (doubled) Total: $15 for the gift card, $17.90 for $15. Transaction #2: 2.47# bananas @$.49/# = $1.27 8oz package Mushrooms $1.49 (normally $1.59) 1 Gallon Skim Milk $2.29 6 boxes Cinnamon Burst Cheerios @$3.29 ($20.34) Coupons used : Six $1/1 Cinn Burst Cheerios (five doubled), $.51 Mushrooms (from savings booklet) $3.25 for Milk and they took the $10 off instantly Total, $25.43 for $.57 (used the gift card from Transaction #1)so no OOP AND I got $5 back in milk and egg vouchers for a M...

2-27 P&G coupon insert Sunday coupon preview Regional coupon inserts & value differences are to be expected! (x) before coupon = multiple of same coupon ETS = excludes trial sizes P&G Insert Coupons Expire (3/31/11) Save $0.25/1 Cascade Save $1.00/1 Cascade Rinse Aid Save $0.25/1 Dawn Save $0.50/1 Bounce Product Save $1.00/1 Bounce Product Save $1.00/1 Downy Liquid Fabric Softner or Dryer Sheets Save $2.00/1 Downy Liquid Fabric Softner or Dryer Sheets Save $0.35/1 Tide Detergent Save $3.00/1 Tide Stain Release 26-50 oz powder, 15-34 ct duo pac or 36-68 oz liquid Save $1.00/1 Febreze Fabric Refresher Save $1.00/1 Febreze Air Effects Save $1.00/1 Febreze Flameless Luminary Refill Save $1.00/1 Febreze Set & Refresh Save $0.50/1 Swiffer Refill or Swiffer Dust & Shine Save $5.00/1 Swiffer Wet Jet Starter Kit Save $0.25/1 Charmin Save $0.50/2 Puffs Save $0.75/1 Duracell CopperTop, Ultra Advanced or Ultra Photo Lithium Save $0.50/1 Duracell CopperTop, Ultra Advanced or Ult...

Alright, with all the Madison Hoopla going on this weekend, I didn't have a lot of time to much painting this past week, but I have more room THIS week to work on it. Today, I am sharing with you something that is in my "idea book": a Cross Wall. I have seen several cool pictures of peoples bathrooms, hallways, or family rooms that have a cross wall in it. What is a cross wall? Just like it sounds - a wall with a bunch of crosses on it! Just check out some of these examples: I have had one in my "to do" folder for a while and happened to snatch these babies up on 90% holiday clearance. I am officially started!!! I will check right around St Patrick's day and Easter too - and then, there is Garage Sale season! I think I can pull this together faster than I had thought. Here are the 3 that I have so far: Do you have any cool decor ideas that have been at the back of your head nagging at you?

I thought my chest freezer was too full to take advantage of the AWESOME deal at Target this week, but was wrong! I dug into it, pulled stuff for meals this week and reorganized -- and the next thing I knew, I had a fairly good sized hole to fill! =) First of all, I scored with some items that were already marked for clearance! TGI Friday items that were marked down to just a little over $2 and I had a few $4/2 coupons. Woo-hoo! Once I saw a few of these, I scoured the freezer items for any more items! I found Eggo Waffles, Red Barron Pizzas, and the Fish! You can see the sale tags on the upper right hand side of the TGI box in my picture. Here is what I got: 6 Bags of Bird’s Eye Frozen Veggies @ $1.02 2 Totinos Pizza $1.39 8 bags Market Pantry Veggies @$1.14 5 TGI Friday's Appetizers marked down to $2.18 (were 3.14) 4 boxes Eggo Waffles @$1.49 (was 2.09) 4 Red Barron Pizzas marked down to $1.50 (normally 3.14) 4 Banquet Apple Pies @$.89 2 packs Van De Kamps fish sticks @2.50 (was ...

It's a pretty normal week, 3 days of Karate, two Tupperware parties and lots of phone calls to make. We STILL have an abundance of food in the chest freezer right now and NEED to use is up - ** means something I am pulling out to use this week! Here is the list: Breakfast will include: -breakfast cookies -oatmeal (It's frigging cold out again!) -yogurt -fruit crepes Lunches as normal (sandwiches, soup, left overs, tappas plates) and for dinner... Monday - crockpot ribs***, boiled carrots and potatoes Tuesday - bacon wrapped turkey medallions***, rice, peas*** Wednesday (Soup day) - french onion soup Thursday - ham and broccoli quiche*** Friday - (Meatless Night) - four cheese ravioli*** with spaghetti sauce Saturday - Fridge Clean Out! Sunday - BBQ Chicken Pizza! What are you going to feed YOUR family this week?

Sunday's paper said FREE $5 giftcard when you buy any seven frozen food items in the store. It is truely ANY 7 items! Here are a few examples: Buy 21 Bags of Bird’s Eye Frozen Veggies ($1.02) = $21.42 -$7.00 (use seven -$1/3 Birds Eye Steamfresh varieties, any – 01-23-11 SS = $14.42 - $15 (get back three $5 Gift Cards for buying 21) = .58 cents money maker after coupons and Gift Cards Tony’s Crisp Crust Pizza 9.73 oz 5/$5 (PC thru 3/12) -.50/1; .50/2 Tony’s Crispy Crust Pizzas 2-13-11 SS x4/30 -$1/2 Tony’s Pizza Products = a $1.50 money maker after seven .50/1 coupons & Gift Card! Weight Watchers Smart Ones Entrees, Assorted Varieties $1.80 -$5/10 Smart Ones Target Web Couponx3/26 *Watch for Purple $3/10 Manufacturer’s Coupon Peelies -$3/10 Weight Watchers Smart Ones Coupon -$1/5 Weight Watchers Smart Ones (Manuf Site) DEAL IDEA: Buy 10 Weight Watchers Smart Ones ($1.80) & 4 Tony’s ($1) = $22.00 -$5/10 Smart Ones Target Web Couponx3/26 -$3/10 Weight Watchers Smart Ones Co...

Just perusing the sales fliers today and this is what jumped out at me: Remember my price guidelines (Produce under $1 a pound and meat under $2 a pound) Another 1-Day sale coming: Thursday Feb 24th. Frozen Honeysuckle White Turkey Breast, frozen - bone in for $.99/# HyVee OJ half gallon for $.99 Hunts Ketchup $66 Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato soup $.49 (limit of 4) Produce: Mangoes $.99 each (weigh them and get the heavier ones) Kiwi 4/$1 - again, weigh them Red Grapefruit $.99/# Midwest County Fair Frozen Veggies $.88/# Grimmway Farms Baby Carrots $1/# HyVee Garden Salad $1/# HyVee Coleslaw Miz $1/# Meat: Fresh Value Pack Chicken (legs,thighs and split breasts) $.99/# Oscar Mayer Weiners $1 (when you buy 3) with in add coupon Produce: Navel Oranges $.99/# Red Grapefruit $.99/# Meat: 80% Lean Fresh Ground Beef (3# roll for $5.97) $1.99/# (it was $.20/# cheaper last week) Jenni-O Turkey Store Turkey Breast $1.79/# (Turkey Breast is $.99/# on the HyVee 1 day sale this week) Wh...

I now have an easy way for you to find and print coupons: Right on here! Just click the "Printable Coupons!" tab toward the top of the page of the Operation 40K blog. This will take you to the "Printable Coupons!" page! I have a link to the Redplum printables and the Coupons.com ones on there AND over 200 links to specific websites that offer printable coupons too! Happy Printing! =)