Operation $40K

OK - I am IN and it starts tomorrow! I get $300 for the month, according to them. That is $25 per person, per week. That is a TON of money as it is for FOOD ONLY and my $100 a month budget was for food, pet items and personal care items! It lets me spend up to four times what I normally do, LOL! I just can not spend more than $75 a week, any given week. I will share as I go along -- be prepared to see a lot of fresh fruit and veggies coming from the store as we have a fully stocked house and I have a HUGE budget this month. I will also be a tad more creative with my meal plans - as you will see on Monday's list. Wish me luck - I could win a $1,000 grocery store gift card! Woo-Hoo!

Our Dinosaur party was a success -- you will learn more on Tuesday's DIY segment. :) We DO have a few things that are up for grabs -- if you have a little dinosaur fan who wants a special party too! First, the photo wall: the kids stick their heads through and you snap a picture. We plan to send the pictures out in the thank you notes. Then the four foot tall blow up T Rex. He doesn't STAY fully inflated - as I blew him up the night before and had to give a little air to him this morning. He IS fun though, LOL  We also have 36 Dinosaur temporary tattoos, and about 2 dozen mini dinosaurs - about two inches long. You DO need to be fairly local so we can arrange a time to connect as I am not mailing this out (sorry) I will keep this out to you all through Monday at noon - then it will go on Freecycle...so some one can get started party planning! Tuesday you will see what else we did - until then, I hope someone takes me up on this. :) ***To be fair, if there is more than o...

I ran in there today to grab some ice cream...after all, it was birthday party day! :) Right up front, by the ice cream section, was an Ocean Spray water bottle packet flavor pack display with a tear pad holder. Written where the coupons SHOULD be was a note to check with their office for the coupons due to store wide coupon THEFT. (yes, it was written in bold, cap letters like that.) I know you are all awesome people and do not grab 20-30-40 copies of a coupon when you see a tear pad or blinkie - but there are people out there that are ruining things for the rest of us that do things the RIGHT way!! It's just another small reason that I don't like the Extreme Couponing show.  (sigh) Have you come across any signs at your local stores like this? I'm curious...

I have an envelope FULL of coupons for two different lucky people! Here are the rules: Reply to this post on my blog (not Facebook or Twitter) for a chance Tweet it for two bonus chances Post it on Facebook for two bonus chances I guarantee that each envie will have over $100 in a variety of goodies - and will get mailed out Sunday (post office drop) as soon as the winner gives me their address! Hurry - this ends at MIDNIGHT on Saturday the 18th! 

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 Breakstone’s any new zesty blends sour cream Save $1/1 (7/31) Curad any product Save $0.50/1 (9/19) General Mills any cereals Save $1/2 (7/30) Green Mountain Coffee any variety in a 10- or 12-oz bag Save $1.50/1 (7/31) Jell-O any refrigerated snacks$0.35/1 (7/19) K-cup any boxes of select brands portion cups Save $2/2 (7/31) Kraft Dressing any 14oz or larger bottles Save $1/2 (7/17) Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip any 22oz or larger Save $0.75/1 (7/17) Mayfield dairy ice cream & Broughton dairy milk Save $1.50 wyb both (8/31) Nasbisco any cookies or crackers 3.7oz – 25.2oz Save $1/2 (7/30) DND, DNT OFF! any deep woods personal insect repellant Save $0.75/1 (8/13) OFF! any per...

It seems just like yesterday that we brought her home... It took 10 years to get our little princess - and was worth every minute that we had to wait. Here is our story: The Family That Tupperware Built  As read at the 2006 National Convention by Kanwar Bhutani, President of Tupperware North America      In my life before Tupperware, I owned a restaurant and catering company with my mother. We had over 50 employees. Both of us met our husbands there. It took my husband three months to propose and we were married soon after. I thought I had it all, a great husband and my own business, but I found myself working eighty plus hours a week, making less than $20,000 a year. That's why I became a Tupperware business owner. I needed the products but couldn't afford to pay full price, so I joined for the discount. I still remember my first party and becoming instantly hooked! Two months later, I was a Manager and three months after that, I had my first van. Wh...

That's it. I am done for the year, LOL! This time I got:  PLENTY of cute jeans at $.50 each A new winter coat for $1 dresses for church, school and play sandals and larger ballet flats Gymboree Short Sets for $1 Some dresses for reselling at Half Pint or Just Between Friends this fall Educational items: to learn telling time, fractions, ect A big box of hangers for $1 (always need them for the resale events) Roller Skates (there ARE two, but she took one to bed) Gift Stockpile Stuff Last week's haul? $33.25, coming in $6.75 under budget for everything you see pictured. Yes, I truly love garage sales! A NEW pair of kids jeans can easily run $20. For less than 2 pairs of NEW jeans, I got it all. :) What kind of bargains have you gotten at the Garage Sales this summer?

I am catching up on my emails and just saw this from Walgreen's! You have until Saturday at midnight for this one -- I am a scrapbooker - and occasionally, I like to simplify and use a photo collage on a page, if it's a small event and I took a bajillion pictures of it, LOL!  Walgreen's often does great photo offers - like this one - a FREE photo collage, 8x10!  Use the promo code 1FREEBIE to get it for FREE...and if you pick it up at the store - you have no shipping fee! You can do this a few times -- just head over to  Walgreen's and get started.

If you have an electric die cutting machine (Think Cricuts...) you will want to check out this site and get on their email list! Every Friday they send out a FREE cutting file - and they often have great sales for the other patterns they have. Seriously, they have some cute stuff ! The Valentines Day Conversation Heart cards we did this year for all the grandparents came from this site - a FREE pattern! Here is the link Enjoy!

Here is the list from Pocket Your Dollars, I have it updated with OUR pricing and flier - my changes are in RED. Happy planning! It's all about the Monopoly game now - I will list bonus piece items in BLUE  Produce Deals Sweet Corn $0.25 Sale price, no coupon needed Final price: $0.25/ear Bushel Boy Beefsteak Tomatoes or Vidalia Sweet Onions $0.99/lb Sale price, no coupon needed Final price: $0.99/lb** **Cub has Vidalias for $0.79/lb this week. Aldi has Vidalia onions for $0.29 each this week. Green Seedless Grapes $1.29/lb Sale price, no coupon needed Final price: $1.29/lb** **We’ve been seeing grapes for $1/lb this summer or even free last week at Cub but this is on the list if you need some this week. Strawberries (2 lb) $2.88 Use $0.50/1 Driscoll’s printable available after registering, if your store carries this brand (coupon says “do not double”) Final price: As low as $2.38 after coupon ($1.19/lb) Meat Deals Johnsonville Smoked or Cooked Sausage links...

I know this sounds strange -- and yummy at the same time, LOL You need to know the family history to "get it". We are part German, part English, part Irish and part Tennessee Hillbilly. Seriously. Did you ever see that black and white movie of Gary Cooper's called Sergeant York? Yes, my family comes from the Dyer/Yorks -- same family. Some of the "family recipes" are too far out there for even me to try... But this is a pot luck favorite. SUPER Easy and SUPER Easy to make healthier. We choose the middle of the road option, LOL You need:  1 package hot dog buns (8 ct) 1 package hot dogs 2 cups chili (or 1 can) 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese "fixins" That's it! You could do gluten free or whole grain wheat buns, turkey or tofu dogs, vegetarian chili, vegan or light cheese, you get the drift. We do white buns, cut them up and place in the 9x13 pan, like you see here: Then you dice up the hot dogs ...

"Like" them to enter their current contest! :)

From Totally Target Well if you have had a copy of Target’s Coupon Policy in your binders, it is time to print another one. Target has updated its Coupon Policy and the most notable difference is now addressing the use of B1G1 Coupons. Since Target has never addressed the use of B1G1 coupons, it has pretty much been up to each store’s own discretion. That now changes with the new updated policy. You can view and print off a copy of Target’s Coupon Policy HERE . The following are the stated terms when using B1G1 coupons… 1. BOGO coupons cannot be combined (i.e. you cannot use two BOGO coupons on two items and get both for free). Unless stated otherwise on the coupon, the use of one Buy One Get One Free coupon requires that two of the valid items are presented at checkout of which one item will be charged to the guest and the 2nd item will be discounted by its full retail price. 2. A second cents-off coupon of the same type cannot be redeemed towards the purchase price of the first i...

- Wednesday, July 13th, 6-8PM at the Portage Public Library: 253 W. Edgewater St., Portage WI 53901 ***Just bring a non-perishable food item (for the food pantry) and the class is FREE!!

Meet and Greet Clifford the Big Red Dog! Clifford will be in the Play Area from 1pm - 2pm and inside Barnes & Noble at 2pm. Don't forget your camera! We did this when Miss Sarah was 2 -- she had a BLAST! 

There are a bunch of us in the coupon world that  believe in the code of ethics, and Coupon Etiquette. The following is a GREAT post from Carrie of Pocket Your Dollars to help explain things a little clearer as to why I remove coupon links that say to use "this zip code" and print. Thanks :) We’ve talked before about the ethics of couponing, but let’s discuss it again. This time, we’ll focus on what I call intentional misstatements. An intentional misstatement is providing information that is not 100% accurate about yourself, your household, or your demographic to get in on a great deal or offer. Why are we tempted in this area? Many deals, offers and coupons are limited to target markets and sometimes we aren’t in that target market. Target markets could be a specific zip code or geographic area, first time customers, members of an organization or people with specific likes/dislikes. Inevitably, someone cracks the code, figures out a magic set of answers, numbers or pref...

I hit the store early today and did a quick 4 transactions. I kinda cheated on the first two - we have a wedding next weekend and I got two $25 gift cards to tuck in the envelope (to places they registered at). This way they can pick up what they want to off of their registry and I could instantly double my five coupons, LOL! Transaction #1 $25 gift card 5 Hormel Kids Complete @$2.19 (they went up $.10 since I bought them last) Coupons used: five $1/1 coupons that doubled. Final price: $.95 (after you take out the gift card) Transaction #2 $25 gift card 5 Hormel Kids Complete @$2.19 (they went up $.10 since I bought them last) -----Coupons used: five $1/1 coupons that doubled. Final price: $.95 (after you take out the gift card) Transaction #3 2 dozen eggs @$1.09 1 gallon skim milk @$2.65 4 Nutella @$3.54 (normally $3.79) Pop Ice @$2.99 (normally $6.09) A1 Steak sauce @$2.65 -----Coupons used: four $1/1 Nutella (doubled), $1/1 A1 (doubled), $3.75 milk, two $1.50 ...

Here is a list of this weekend's city wide garage sales for Wisconsin-- Keep in mind the gas prices: It may or may not be worth it to you to drive too far to hit a sale where you drive around that town. Make your list of desired items, pack your snacks, get their map and GO FOR IT! Horicon City Wide Rummage Sales Forrestville City Wide Rummage Sale McFarland City Wide Rummage Sale Don't forget to use Yard Sale Treasure Map - A Yard Sale Planning Tool  to help you make your plan of attack!

You can now get State Fair tickets at your Sentry store for just $5 each. Get them now and save a few $$ per person, if you are planning to go! An updated local list of which stores double and which don't is coming soon! Sentry Coupon Policy is here *** **The products that are on sale with the in-ad MANUFACTURER coupon as listed about can NOT be stacked with any other coupon.    Other than that, here are the deals: They have NO real bargains on meat - it's Father's Day and they think we will not blink at the prices and grab stuff for Dad to pop on the grill...most of their prices are higher than they ave been over the last month. Remember, Not everything in the ad is a good bargain, it's not all ON sale but is all FOR sale :) Produce Deals Whole Watermelon $2.99 Bi-Color Sweet Corn 6 ears for $1.98 Mini Carrots $.99 for a 1# bag Russet Baking Potatoes $.69/# -- but you can save money by buying them in the bag instead of separately. Sweet Vidalia Onions $....

It's finally summer in Wisconsin, and time to think about cooling your home to stay comfortable. Whether you have Central air or window A/C units like we do, you need to get them ready for the season.Cleaning your air conditioner can cut down on energy costs and repair bills, not to mention, maintain safe air quality inside your home! Mold can grow inside your unit - eeew! Dust gets deposited on the cooling fins...then becomes damp because air conditioners condense water out of the air. Damp dust is an excellent breeding ground for mold! Between cycles, and when the unit is not needed, that mold can have a real party. These steps are for WINDOW units...sadly, Central air usually requires a professional. All you can do is check/clean the air filters and remove debris around your outside unit. Easy steps: Cut the power off to your unit (unplug it or hit the breaker) Remove and clean the air filter. Some you can wash and some you can NOT wash - check your users manu...

Sunday coupon preview Regional coupon inserts & value differences are to be expected! (x) before coupon = multiple of same coupon ETS = excludes trial sizes RedPlum Coupon Insert Benadryl topical product Save $2.00/1 (12/31/12) Bengay product no trial Save $3.00/1 (9/30) Brusher by Garnier Save $1.00/1 (9/19) Caladryl product Save $1.00/1 (12/31) cesar treats Save $1.00/1 (7/31) Centrum Silver Women’s Centrum Silver Men’s Centrum Men’s Centrum Women’s 200 ct or more Save $4.00/1 (8/28) Centrum Silver Women’s,. Centrum Silver Men’s, Centrum Men’s, Centrum Women’s Save $2.00/1 (8/28) ETS Cooking Light magazine Save $.50/1 (9/23) Cortaid poison Ivy removal scrub Save $1.00/1 (12/31/12) Emerald Nuts Product 5oz or larger Save $1.50/2 (7/31) DND5 Garnier Cleanser or Moisturizer Save $1.00/1 (9/19) Health magazine Save $.50/1 (9/23) InStyle Magazine July issue Save $1.00/1 (7/15) InStyle magazine August issue Save $.75/1 (8/19) I-Cook for menopause or I-cool +D for me...

Here are the best of the Dollar General Matchups from this weeks ad.   General Mills Fiber One Chewy Bars 2 pk $1.00 Use the $0.50/2 Fiber One Chewy Bars, exp. 7/16/11 (SS 05/22/11) Final Price= $0.75   Nature Valley Granola Bars 2 pk $1.00 Use the $0.50/2 Nature Valley Granola Bars, exp. 7/16/11 (SS 05/22/11) Final Price= $0.75   V8 Splash Juice 64 oz $2.00 Use the $1/2 V8 Splash, exp. 7/17/11 (SS 06/05/11) Final Price= $1.50   Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups 4 ct $1.00 Use the $0.50/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, exp. 7/16/11 (SS 05/22/11) Final Price= $0.75   Nabisco Ritz Crackers 7.5-12 oz $2.25 Use the $1/2 Ritz Crackers or Ritz Bitz, exp. 9/5/11 (SS 5/15/11) Final Price= $1.75   Kraft Barbecue Sauce 18 oz $1.00   Kelloggs Cereals, assorted varieties 12-28 oz $2.50 Use the $1/2 Kellogg's Raisin Bran, Raisin Bran Crunch or Raisin Bran Extra Cereal, exp. 7/24/11 (RP 06/12/11) Final Price= $2.00 Belle Hairbrushes and Combs $1.00 **Great Donati...

It's the beginning of a new week! In my coupon class, I teach people how to save money at the stores. That is half of the equation for saving money on food, meal planning is the other half to it. You have to USE the food you have brought home and not let yourself make the "fast food run" - those add up fast and kill your budget! Meal planning also saves you time - no more getting home and playing "open up the cupboard doors, what falls out is for dinner" game. You KNOW what you are going to make/eat and have the recipes and ingredients handy. THIS saves you both time and money, two great things! Last week was kind of a disaster: I had bronchitis and a migraine - along with a lot of events we had to attend. This week is a little easier - with the week ending up with a huge birthday party for my favorite Soon-To-Be five year old. (wanna guess who?). One night of work, they a bunch of fun -- here's the plan. You will see a few repeats - you do NOT want ...

Today at church, we baptized 24 people; men, women and children. That in itself is fantastic, but the story behind these people makes it even more so. These people are new to our country, the first of them came over in October of last year. They are Bhutanese refugees. Bhutan is bordered by China, Nepal and India. In the mid 1980's the government declared a program of "Bhutanization", calling for one country, one people. This eliminated the traditional dress, worship and language of these southern Bhutanese people in favor of the Northern, ruling Druk majority and king. The families have been living in refugee camps for almost twenty years. They have suffered human rights violations, including detention and loss of citizenship. (FYI - that paragraph came right out of my church bulletin, I am not that savvy on the situation over there, LOL) Our church's refugee ministry helped with relocating these six families, helped them with English classes and other classes to...

Get 43 in Tide coupons - in the mail. Click here (thanks Micki)

Things to look at this week: June is National Dairy Month ! You should get some good deals on items like Ice Cream, yogurt, Sour Cream, Cheese, Butter, Cottage Cheese, etc. Also those things that go WITH the ice cream: Cones, toppings, etc. Brands to look for are Kraft, Dean, Hershey, Borden, Crystal Farms. Keep in mind that you CAN freeze yogurt and cheese. Stock up NOW on those and your toppings for the rest of your year! It's also time to start watching the drink mixes: think Kool Aid, Country Time, Crystal Light, etc Also check you Clearance Sections for School supply items -  back packs, lunch boxes, etc,  as they make room for the new things that are going to be coming out in a few months. ***Keep in mind my guidelines: $1/# for fresh produce and $2/# or less for meat They have a 3 day Megga Produce Sale this week. If you go and something is out... , GET A RAIN CHECK - HyVee in Madison: rain checks have NO expiration date! Produce D...