Three Hulk Items at Amazon for $30

Thanks to Frugal Finds from your Frugal Friend for the tip on Amazon's sale of Hulk items. Just be sure when choosing the items, that the seller is Amazon not one of the other sellers because the reduction will not happen on the check out page if it is the wrong seller. I just bought $80 worth of toys for $30 and had free shipping because I signed up for their trial Prime account (today is the last day you can).

40% Off One Book at Borders Through 11/2

With any purchase of at least $20 you can get 40% off of one book with the online code SAY5421X or go HERE and print out a coupon to take to the store. It's a good time to get some Christmas shopping done!

Cheap Potatoes

.75/1 Idahoan Potatoes product coupon! This would probably make it free at Harris Teeter. Click 'print coupon' on top right.

Carve a Pumpkin Online for Halloween!

Go here to carve your own pumpkin online!

Free Printable Obama, McCain, Biden and Palen Masks!

Do you still need a costume for Halloween? Go HERE and print yourself a mask!

Are you dissatisfied with your house?

Would you like your house to be bigger, in a better area, or filled with HGTV furnishings? Yeah, me too. Recently The Lazy Frugalist had this house lust as well. One of the things that cured her and made me truly appreciate my home was Michael Wolf's 100 photos of the oldest social housing in Hong Kong. At first it appears that they are dorm rooms. However, this housing is permanent and only measures 10 X 10, the size of a small bedroom. They do not have a private bathroom or kitchen. There are neither windows nor a backyard. The photos are captivating in a train wreck sort of way. If you need a reminder of how truly blessed we are, take a look at these photos.

Cheap Activities for Your Kids

HERE is a great article about activities for your kids that do not break your budget. Another great option is to check out the website of your local sports teams. They often have special events for kids that are free. My oldest son got to spend a day learning baseball from our local professional baseball team. Both of my boys spent four weeks learning how to play hockey with our local NHL team. All free of charge, loaner equipment included. This is especially good for those working moms who, due to their schedules, have a difficult time joining in the organized sports teams.

"So you're the one!" said the cashier.

I now have a reputation at Publix. A cashier, not the one checking me out, said this to me and continued with "I was telling someone about you just the other day!" She was very nice and wanted to see my coupon binder and repeatedly told me that Publix accepts competitor coupons and that I should just take out the Kroger section. She even pulled people over to check out my coupon book. I couldn't decide if I was thrilled, amused or embarrassed. I think a little of all!

Anyway, here is what I bought:

4 French Worcester, 1.49 each
- 4 MF Qs Free Item
Final Price: Free

6 Johnson Buddies Soap, 1.09 each
-2 MF Qs $3/3
Final Price: .09 each

2 Muir Glen Tomato Sauce, .85 each
-2 MF Qs $1/1
Final Price: -.15 overage

2 Lays Potato Chips, 3.79, BOGO
-1 MF Q $1/2
Final Price: 1.40 each

4 Uncle Ben's Rice, 1.59, BOGO
-2 IP Qs BOGO
-2 IP Qs $1/2
Final Price: -.20 overage

4 Hunt's Italian Herb Sauces, .60 each
-2 IP Qs $1/2
Final Price: .10 each

8 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers, 3 at 2.40 and 5 at 1.80, 50% off
-2 IP Qs $1/1
-6 MF Qs $1/1
Final Price: .0025 each (funny)

Tangerines, 2.99

Total: 52.39
Coupons: 27.65
Sales: 15.04
OOP: $6.93 + 2.77 tax

More Printables and Free Uncle Ben's at Publix

More great printables:

BOGO Uncle Ben's long grain & wild rice - Bottom right corner- Code is RICE
Currently Uncle Ben's is BOGO at Publix. This coupon should make two free or very cheap. It let me print 5.
$1/2 Uncle Ben's
.75/1 Nestle's Hot Cocoa
.55/1 Coffeemate Sugar Free
Pillsbury Coupons
$1/1 Ore-Ida Steam & Fresh
Betty Crocker Coupons
.50/3 Libby's Vegetables
$1/2 Libby's Pumpkin
$1/2 Carnation Evaporated Milk
.75/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels
$1.50/2 Nestle Toll House Cookies
$30 in printable coupons for SC Johnson products

Harris Teeter Triple Coupon Weekend Nov. 6-9!

Harris Teeter will be tripling coupons November 6-9. You may triple up to 20 coupons per household per day. Coupons with a face value of up to $.99 will be tripled. You can only use three of the same coupon per visit. Try and get there early in the weekend as all the great buys become out of stock quickly. Happy Shopping!

Some Really Great Printable Coupons

Here are some great IP Qs!

$1.10/1 Progresso Soup
$1/1 Any Kellogg's Cereal
Buy 1 Get 1 Free Red Gold Tomatoes
$1/1 Arm & Hammer (currently BOGO at CVS)
$1/3 Musselman's Apple Sauce
$1/2 Hunt's Tomato Products
$1.50/2 and $1/1 Coffeemate Creamer
$1/1 Bush's Chili
$1.25/3 cans of Lucky Leaf Pie Filling
Scrubbing Bubbles Coupons

I've Been Tagged!

Jamie at Thrifty in the Cincy, who has a great blog, has tagged me with a meme to share seven facts about me. Actually, I love to play this game because I get to find out about others online whose blogs I track. So even though this is my second tag, I will play along and bore you with more details about me! Thanks Jamie, I am thrilled to be thought of!

Here's the official rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself.
3. Tag seven people, listing the links to their blogs.
4. Let the seven people know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok, so next is seven facts about me:

1. I can't stand raisins. I can bare to eat them now as an adult, but would make myself sick before I ate them as a child. Oddly enough my kids eat them just fine.

2. I went to ten different schools before I reached high school where I stayed all four years. Tennessee was big into busing and that coupled with a few moves made me an expert at being the new kid.

3. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love the smell of fire in the fireplace, the cooler days, the changing leaves, and getting to wear sweaters. We got married in October just because it was my favorite month.

4. I used to teach high school business, economics, data processing, desktop publishing and information systems.

5. I stopped teaching because I had a third child. With all three in daycare, it cost me more than my pay to keep them there. Tennessee pays their teachers really poorly.

6. I have nine half brothers and two half sisters.

7. My house frequently looks like a bomb went off in it. Three kids and three dogs can destroy a room in a blink of an eye! However, I wouldn't exchange the craziness for anything.


I am not going to tag anyone in particular as I have already done that. However, if you are reading this and want to play along, then consider yourself tagged! I would love to read more about you!

Sweet Potato & Sausage Soup

Since I recently purchased a lot of sausage due to the BOGO plus coupons deal at Kroger, I have been looking for great sausage recipes. I found this one at Supercook.com which is perfect for fall. Yumm!

Sweet Potato & Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 lb spicy sausage or ham
1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup
2 quarts chicken broth
1/3 cup cream

Directions:

Cook diced sausage in a soup pot with a little of the butter for about five minutes.

Drain making sure to pour off all accumulated fat.

In the empty pot, melt the butter and saute the onion until soft.

Add the thyme and sweet potatoes and cook for another five minutes.

Add the cooked sausage, syrup and broth.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Stir in the cream. Warm but do not boil.

If you want a soup with a thicker consistency, half way through the cooking time ladle some of the soup without the sausage into a blender or hand mixer and whirl making a creamy texture. Add this back to the soup pot and continue cooking.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

My friends and I have been doing an online recipe exchange. I received this one this morning. Since it is a great fall recipe and it sounds awesome, I wanted to share.



Pumpkin Pie Cake

by B. Clutter

Ingredients:

Crust

1 box 2 layer yellow cake mix (save 1 cup for later)

1/2 cup butter or margarine softened

1 egg

Filling

1 can (13 ounce) pumpkin
3 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine
1 cup reserved cake mix

1 cup pecans

Directions:

Crust: Mix together cake mix (except 1 cup), 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened, and 1 egg. Press into 13x9" pan.

Filling: Mix 1 can (13 ounce) pumpkin, 3 eggs, 2/3 cup evaporated milk, 2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup sugar. Pour over crust.

Topping: Mix 1 cup (reserved) cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup margarine. Mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Put on pecans. Bake 350 degrees 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Rite Aid Scenario 10/26 - 10/28

To get most of these rebates, you must shop by Tuesday. Go HERE for the internet coupon for the Citre Shine products. The scenario is a money maker unless your are in a high tax state like me. Of course you won't see your money until the beginning of the next month (Dec.). See last post for explanation. Click on picture to enlarge.

Free After Rebate Items at Rite Aid

Justine at Justine's Grocery Brags has listed all the free items after rebates that Rite Aid is offering in November. That is over $84 worth of products. If you can part with the money now, you will get it back in December (think easy Christmas saving account with benefits) and get all the great items listed. However, many of the items have a specific time in which you have to purchase them so look at the list carefully. If you have a coupon for any of the items, you will make money. After you purchase something, go to the Rite Aid website, set up your free account, and input the information from your receipt. Once you have finished submitting your receipts for everything you want to purchase for the month, finalize your rebate request and they will send you checks for all your items. They come to you looking like a post card so don't throw them away. Deposit the money in your account! Cool, huh?

Super Great Chili by Accident

Chili has always been a staple in our diet. Just after we were hit by a tornado and money was tighter than usual, I threw in whatever beans we had on hand. One of the cans was a large Bush's Baked beans. It turned out to be the best Chili we ever made. I still make it the same way today, and my husband swears it is better than the Chili his dad made growing up, which is a big compliment. Hopefully he is not reading this! Anyway, if you are in the mood to try something new, try this recipe. However, only use Bush's baked beans (any variety). Other brands of baked beans do not turn out the same.

Chili

Ingredients:

1 to 2 lbs ground beef
1 onion diced
1 tsp of diced garlic (I use the kind already chopped)
1 large can of Bush's Baked Beans (any variety)
1 can Kidney beans
1 large can or 2 small cans tomato sauce (you can also use tomato soup)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 packet chili seasoning

Cook and drain the ground beef, onion and garlic in large skillet. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes.

Super Savings Saturday: Harris Teeter, Kroger & CVS

My husband is taking my son camping for Cub Scouts so my shopping includes a number of camping themed items.


Harris Teeter

6 Pedigree Good Bites, $4.49
-6 MF Qs Free
Final Price: Free

6 Dole Fruit Jars, $2.39
-5 MF Qs .55/1, doubled
-1 MF Q .75/1, doubled
Final Price: $1.22 each

24 Yoplait Yogurts, on sale .50 each
-2 IP Qs .50/6, doubled
-2 MF Qs .40/6, doubled
Final Price: .35 each

4 Blue Bunny Ice Cream, $5.69, BOGO
-4 IP Qs $1/1
Final Price: $1.85 each

2 Ortega Seasoning Packets, .99 each
-1 MF Q .75/2, doubled
Final Price: .24 each

Yellow Onions, .99 per lb
Final Price: 3.36

5 Prego Sauces, 2.29 each
Rookie Mistake - I thought this was the B2G3 offer but bought the wrong size.
-1 MF Q .80/1, doubled
-1 MF Q .50/1, doubled
Final Price: 1.57 each

1 Classico Sauce, 2.69 each
-Harris Teeter eVic Q $1.50/1
Final Price: 1.19

2 Ziploc Bags, 2 for $4
-1 IP Q .75/1, doubled
-1 MF Q .55/1, doubled
Final Price: .55 each

1 Ronzoni Rotini, 1.67
-Harris Teeter eVic Q $1/1
Final Price: .67

1 Domino Sugar 5 lb, 1.99
-1 MF Q .50/1, doubled
Final Price: .99

Total: $118.54
Coupons & Sales: $70.83
OOP: $47.72 (saving 60%)

Kroger

2 Cottonell 4 Pack, .99
-2 MF Qs $1/1
Final Price: Free

1 Iams Healthy Naturals Cat Food, 8.49
-1 MF Q $5/1
Final Price: 3.49

12 Eckrich Sausages, 3.99 each, BOGO
-6 MF Qs $1/2
Final Price: $1.50 each

1 Betty Crocker Whipped Frosting
-1 eCoupon .50/1
-1 MF Q .50/1, doubled
Final Price: Free

2 Covergirl Mascaras, regularly 7.99, on sale 5.99
-1 eCoupon BOGO
-2 MF Qs $1/1
Final Price: $2 each

1 Dixie Bowls, 3.39
-1 MF Q .35/1, doubled
-1 Up to $6.99 off Pork when Dixie is purchased (rang up -3.99)
Final Price: Overage -1.30

Kroger Marshmellows, 1.09

Kroger Honeygrahams, 2.19

4 Hershey Chocolate Bars, 4 for $5
-1 MF Q $1/1
-1 MF Q BOGO
Final Price: .69 each

Total: $97.99
Coupons & Sales: 62.81
OOP $35.18 (saving 67%)



Walgreens:

Transaction 1

2 Tide Powder 26 oz., sale 2.00 each
-2 MF Qs $1/1
Final Price: 1.00 each

1 Aero Bed Queen, regularly 79.99, on sale 59.99

-$8 RRs
-$5 WAGS Q
-$17.62 Gift Card (from Rebates)

OOP: $37.58 (saving 60% before ESR rebate)
Rebate to apply toward October's ESRs: $20 for Aero Bed


Transaction 2

2 Snickers, 2 for $7
-1 IP Q $1/2
Final Price: 3.00 each

2 Mars Milky Way, 2 for $5
--1 IP Q $1/2
Final Price: 2.00 each

1 Coffeemate, 3.99
-1 IP Q .50/1
Final Price: $3.49

1 Taster's Choice, 9.49
-1 IP Q .50/1
Final Price: $8.99

1 Bag of Chocolate, 1.00

1 Case of I/MT Water, 1.99

-$5 RRs
-$5 WAGS Q

OOP: $17.40 (Saving 45% before RRs and ESRs)
Received $2 in RR for candy
Rebate to apply toward October's ESRs: $4 for candy

Pssst...Progresso Broth Review

I joined General Mill's product review program a couple of months ago. This program is where they send you new products to try out and then they survey you and give you coupons to pass out to your friends. You do not get paid and you can be completely honest about whether you like or dislike the product. Not too long ago they sent me some Progresso Broth. I must admit I am not a connoisseur of broth but this stuff was pretty good. I used it in my White Chili recipe. The thing I really liked about it was the packaging. You can open it, use some of it, close it and put it in the refrigerator. I don't have to throw out half a can of broth when I am cooking because there is too much. I know, I could have put it in something else, but I am too lazy into cooking to think about it. Anyway, if you see a deal, try it out. If you leave me your email address I will have General Mills email you a coupon.

Here is one of the recipes they gave me that looked pretty good so I thought I would share:

Mashed Potato Gratin

Prep Time: 40 Min
Start to Finish: 1 Hr 10 Min

Unsalted butter for greasing casserole
2 1/2 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
4 large russet potatoes, peeled, finely chopped (5 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste, if desired
1/2 cup Progresso® Italian style panko crispy bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Lightly butter 2-quart casserole. Pour broth into 2-quart saucepan. Add potatoes; stir in 1 teaspoon salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender. Place colander over medium bowl; drain potatoes, reserving broth.
2. Rinse and dry saucepan. In saucepan, cook 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic over low heat 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return potatoes to saucepan with butter and garlic; mash with potato masher.
3. Add 1 cup of the reserved broth to potatoes; mix until smooth. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup of the cheese. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon potato mixture into casserole. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and the bread crumbs.
4. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown. 9 servings

Fun Neighborhood Halloween Tradition

Have you been Boo-ed? This is the second year that our neighborhood has partaken of this tradition. Someone Boo-ed me last night with a beautiful Mummy plate filled with candy. It is Halloween's take on Secret Santa. Check out this site and start your own Halloween Tradition! What you do is leave your treat on the front porch with instructions and a sign for the recipient to hang in their window. Then wait and see how many people in your hood have been boo-ed.

Just in Time for Pie Season...

Here is a great coupon $1.25/3 cans of Lucky Leaf Pie Filling. You can print it twice.

Red Door: What's Your Sexy?

So my BFF from college who lives in Florida went with some friends and had her photo taken at Red Door. The pictures are fantastic. You can host a party with up to 10 of your married girlfriends and take turns making beautiful, sexy photos. It is in Ft. Myers. Check out the website. I won't tell you which one is my friend to protect the not so innocent! The photos are gorgeous and they obviously had a grand time. What a fun girls night out!

WAGS Scenario 10/22/08

Final OOP should be $1.30 before tax (OOP-RRs-Rebate). The rebate form was next to the coupon in one of the 10/19 Sunday inserts. These are the deals that people online appear to not have a problem with getting back RRs. The WAGS coupons are from the booklet they give away at the front of the store. You only need to cut out one because it will apply to all three same products.

Our Dog Purdue

This is the dog that I talked about in the last post! She's a sweetie.

WFMC:Tractor Supply Company and Cheap Pet Medication

On the way into work this morning I was trying to think of something that I either do or know about that might help someone else out. It brought back a memory of a teacher in college who's husband was out of work, and she had a sick animal and could not afford to take it to the vet. I gave her some advice on getting pet medication that saved her pet's life. My husband and I have always had a soft spot for stray animals. When we lived in East Nashville (a neighborhood currently being revitalized), while we were trying to restore a hundred year old house and in college (meaning poor, poor, poor), we were bombarded with stray animals. We could not afford big vet bills on the constant stream of animals. So I would go to the Tractor Supply Company to get cheap antibiotics (no need for a prescription), dewormer and even pet shots that I would have to give myself. The antibiotic that I use is Terramycin and comes in a bagged powder form. It is meant for farm animals but works on dogs and cats. It is $5.29 and will last forever. I keep it in the refrigerator. You can walk right in and buy it. We adopted one fearful 40 lb skin and bones dog that looked absolutely horrible (sickly, severe skin problems) and my mom thought we should just put the poor thing to sleep. I had a little more hope and put her in our fenced back yard and fed her food and the antibiotics. Her health and skin cleared up. She is now 14 years old and the vet is amazed she has lived so long as she is a 109 lb lab/airdale mix (a dog that size generally does not live much past 12). I use about a baby spoon full (once a day), mixed in water, put in a syringe, and squirt into their mouth. The amount may be less for a smaller dog. However, I am not a vet so you are on your own. I am just telling you what works for me. If you can't afford to take your pet to the vet, this is another option.

To see what works for hundreds of other bloggers, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

18 Hamburgers from Omaha Steaks for $3.98

There is a fantastic deal going on right now. This morning I purchased 18 Hamburgers and a set of cutlery from Omaha Steaks for $3.98. Go to My Good Cents for one of the best explanations on how to do this. You don't have to be a member of Geico to register for their Privileges program. And if you don't have an ebates account, it is super easy and free to sign up. It took a day for Geico to send me my email with the code.

eToys Sale

eToys.com is having a sale on many of their toys. If you have a child that likes dolls, they are selling Bratz (my friend humorously calls them "Prostitots") for $5 and Hannah Montana dolls for $6.99. They also have Fisher Price toys 20-66% off. Here are numerous other deals they have going.

Cheap or Nearly Free Cleaning Supplies at CVS

Check out Shynea at Penny Pinching Diva for her information on how to get cheap cleaning supplies. It's a good time to stock up!

Tasty Tuesday: Minister's Delight

Minister's Delight

This is an easy and yummy crockpot recipe! Start it before church and by the time you get home it is ready!

Ingredients:
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
1 small can crushed pineapple drained
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions:
Place mixed pie filling and pineapple in a slow cooker. Combine dry cake mix and butter (mixture will be crumbly); sprinkle over filling. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours. Serve in bowls.

Newspapers...

I usually buy a stack of five newspapers on Sunday. The only reason I choose 5 is that at Walgreens they are tied up in a stack of five and it makes it easier to carry. Also, if you come across a BOGO deal, you will want an even number of coupons to take advantage of it. Thus, with one delivered and five purchased, I generally have 6 coupons for an item. I have found that Walgreens has the best price of newspapers in my area. Currently, they sell for .99 cents. I hate just handing over the $4.95, so during the week I will buy something that gives me Register Rewards of about $5 which I use on Sunday for newspapers. This week you can purchase Alka Seltzer Plus Cold for $4.99 and you will get $4.99 in register rewards. Generally every week there is something at Walgreens that will do this. If you find a coupon for the register reward product then the deal is even sweeter.

Walgreens Paid Me to Buy Shampoo!

This week Pert Plus is on sale for $3.49. In the Walgreens' booklet, that you can pick up as you enter the store, there is a coupon for $2.50 off of Pert Plus. In today's newspaper (10/19) there is another coupon for $2 off of Pert Plus. There is also an internet coupon for $1 off. You can stack the Walgreens' coupon ($2.50) with either the manufacturer coupon ($2) or the internet coupon ($1) to get Pert Plus either for free or $1 overage. I tried it both ways and it worked. You only need to cut out one Walgreens' coupon as it will apply to at least two shampoos (see my last post).

Drugstore Trips 10/19/08

I wanted to take advantage of the two day sale at CVS (good tomorrow as well) for Halloween items so I made a quick trip to CVS and to Walgreens for newspapers. Earlier last week I purchased three Sudafed items (there are $1.50/1 manufacturer coupons for these out there) which produced the $5 register rewards which I used toward the newspapers. You can still do this all this week as well.

CVS:

2 Brach Candy, 1.29 each
1 Powerade, 1.69
1 Listerine Cool Blue Agent, 4.49
- MF Q $1/1
2 Funlight Glow, .99 each

-9.49 ECBs

Subtotal: .25
OOP: .38
Earned 9.25 ECBs (3 for Listerine, 1.69 for Powerade, 1.98 for Funlight, 2.58 for Brachs)


Walgreens:

5 Newspapers, .99 each
6 Mint Lip Balm, regularly .99, on sale .10 each
2 Pert Shampoos, $3.49
- Wags Q $2.50/1 (automatically applies to both)
-1 IP Q $1/1
-1 MF Q $2/1
Big Red Gum, $1.19

-$5 Register Reward

Subtotal: .72
OOP: $1.53

Need a free organizing tool?

Betty Crocker has partnered with Cozi to produce a free web service organizing tool. It helps you manage your family calendar, track your shopping and to-do lists, organize your chores, and stay in touch with your family. It will even text your kids. Check it out HERE.

Let me know how you like it!

Vacation Pictures!

As you know, if you follow my posts, we went to Myrtle Beach last week. We had a great time! The weather was beautiful! The highlight of our trip was going to see the NC Battleship in Wilmington which is about an hour north of Myrtle Beach. There are coupons online for $1 off the tickets if anyone is interested. It is a self guided tour and takes about two hours. You are allowed to touch which is great for children. The kids had a ball climbing all over it!

We started our vacation with a visit to the circus the night before we left. My mom is a teacher and she had free tickets through work. The kids got to ride an elephant which they loved.

View from our hotel in Myrtle Beach:


The Beach:



Battleship:

Walgreens Trip 10/16/08

I finally got my rebates on a gift card from last month ($86)! Yeah! Walgreens has also sent me a $25 check to transfer a prescription to them since I transferred one away from them. Prescription wars, go figure. So I went today at lunch to pick up some rebate items in order to get the money to use again next month. What a great program! After the initial purchase, you can reuse the same money over and over. Granted you don't get a lot of choices in what you buy, but it is free and it gives you a shopping fix.

Here is what I bought:

Refilled prescription: $10

L'Oreal Cleanser, $7.99
-MF Q $1/1
Final Price: $6.99
Rebate: $7.99 (making it free plus $1 overage)

Extreme Energy 2 pk 6-Hr Shot, $3.99
Final Price: $3.99
Rebate: $3.99 (making it free)

Gillette Shampoo, regularly $5.99, on sale 2/$10
- 2 MF Qs $2/1
Rebate: $5.00 (making them .50 each)

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation, $7.99
- MF Q $1/1
Final Price: $6.99
Rebate: $7.99 (making it free plus $1 overage)

Subtotal: $33.47
- $25 Gift Check for transferring prescription
Tax: $2.73
Total: $11.20 which I put on my Rebate Gift Card from last month
OOP: $0

Rebates earned for spending next month: $24.47
FSA to reimburse: $10.00

Thus, I spent nothing out of pocket and I am getting back $34.47.

While I was waiting on the prescription to be filled, I picked up a copy of Walgreen's Diabetes & You to browse through. If you have diabetes, there are some great coupons in this free magazine. What interested me is that there is a recipe in it that uses Fiber One cereal (and a $1/1 MF Q for Fiber One as well). If you are like me, you get a ton of coupons for this cereal. So many in fact, that I don't even like to print them anymore. This recipe looks really good so I wanted to pass it along in case you have a closet full of Fiber One cereal.

Smoke Chipotle Cornbread

1 Cup Fiber One original bran cereal
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (from 7 oz. can)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

1. Heat oven to 400F. Spray 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, stir together cereal, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chili powder; set aside. In medium bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Stir into cereal mixture. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

What's in your closet?

I just love stories like this one. Georgia Pike had a vase that had been sitting around her house for ever and was being used to occasionally collect trash. She inherited it from her grandfather who had kept it on his hearth next to his boots. She saw a similar vase by a different maker up for auction and emailed the seller to find out if her vase was worth anything. It was just auctioned off for $63,000. Now that's a good day!

Kroger Trip 10/14/08

Kroger has some great sales going on right now so I made a quick trip after work and before the kid pickups began. I have about 20-30 minutes so I have to be well organized. Sorry no pictures, I had a meeting to go to after delivering kids and groceries to my husband who arrived home just after me. Phew, life can be hectic! I wanted to share what I bought as you can make the same purchases through Saturday if you choose. My Kroger doubles coupons up to fifty cents.

5 Cottonelle 4 Pack TP, regularly .99
-5 MF Qs .50/1, doubled
Final Price: FREE (Frequently Cottonelle has these coupons in the paper, and the price is always .99 at Kroger so this is how we get free TP on a regular basis!)

10 Campbell Condensed Soups, regularly $1.31, on sale 10/$10
-5 MF Qs .40/2, doubled
Final Price: .60 each

1 Gallon of Milk, regularly $3.19, on sale for $2.99
Final Price: $2.99

8 Hunts Petite Diced Tomatoes, regularly $1.19, on sale 4/$3
-4 MF Qs .40/2, doubled
Final Price: .35 each

4 Eckrich Sausages, regularly 3.99, BOGO
-2 MF Qs $1/2
Final Price: $1.50 each

4 Kroger Pizzas, regularly 3.69, on sale 4/$10
Final Price: $2.50 each

6 Ronzoni Smart Taste Spaghetti/Penne/Rotini (box, dried), regularly $1.99, on sale 2/$3
-6 MF Qs $1/1
Final Price: .50 each (I really like this pasta because it is made with more fiber)

Total: $76.93
Sales: $22.52
Coupons: $21.15
OOP: $33.26 (saving 59%)

Guess what we'll be having for dinner?? Spaghetti!!

CVS Scenario 10/14/08

Here is my scenario/shopping list for CVS this week. As usual, it's success depends on whether everything is in stock and the amiability of the cashier. If all goes according to plan, I end up with a profit of $1.22 (ECBs gained minus the OOP) and acquired some of the Halloween candy that we will need in a couple of weeks! Click to enlarge:

*Use $1.50 Colgate printable here or use one from All You Magazine to get for FREE! Go to Nature's Bounty website and sign up for the $2/1 coupons which you can print twice. Whitestrip coupons are from the 9/28 insert. It is possible they may be adjusted down to $5.99. You may be able to find the CVS single bar soap for .79.

Check out Centsible Sawyer for more great CVS deals.

Restaurant.com Sale

Thanks to Attention Target Shoppers for her tip on the most recent sale at Restaurant.com. They are having a 36 hour sale (ending tomorrow) for 80% off of their gift certificates with the code EIGHTY. I used two gift certificates while in Myrtle Beach which I purchased for 60% off. They worked great and saved us money. We tried out a few restaurants that we would never have known about otherwise, and the food was excellent in both places. Go check out your area's restaurants. You can purchase a $25 gift certificate for $2 with this discount. There are conditions that you must follow to use the gift certificate so read the fine print, but it is worth it.

Tasty Tuesday: Cherry Chocolate Cake

This recipe came from my mother-in-law who passed away six years ago. She made this every time she visited. All her sons love this recipe. It can be used either with a brownie mix or cake mix. I made it for my husband's office and it was scraped clean by the end of the day! The icing makes this cake so don't be tempted to use store bought icing.

Cherry Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 pkg. of Dark Chocolate Cake or Brownie Mix
3 eggs beaten
1 tsp almond flavoring
3 tbls. oil
1 can cherry pie filling (like Comstock - ruby red cherries)

For Icing:
1 c sugar
1/3 c milk (no more)
5 tlbs. margarine or butter
6 oz chocolate bits

Directions:
For cake, mix all ingredients, except cherries, with mixer. It will be quite stiff. If still powdery, add a teaspoon of milk. Add cherries and mix by hand. Poor in 9X13 pan (oiled and floured). Bake 35 to 40 minutes in 325 oven. Cool 10 minutes.

For icing:
Mix first three ingredients in saucepan and boil 1 full minute, remove from heat. Add chocolate bits and mix until smooth. Lightly punch holes in cake with a fork. Pour over cake.

Note: I had to increase the temp of the oven (350) for the cake to fully cook in my oven.

Rite Aid Scenario 10/12 - 10/18

I don't often shop at Rite Aid, but so far it has been a great experience. A couple of months ago, I purchased a few items at Rite Aid using a prescription transfer gift card. It was a great deal then but it got even better. Last month they sent me two checks. I did not apply for my Single Check Rebates (actually did not know I purchased qualifying products) but they sent me a nice letter saying that I had bought them and they issued those checks based on my purchases. I am not exactly sure how they knew what I had purchased. There is a place on their website where you can submit your receipts, but I had not for those. So this week they have a bunch of items that are free after the Single Check Rebate (SCR). It gets even better if you have a coupon (overage). Here is my shopping list. You can go to I Heart Rite Aid for links to the internet coupons (IPs) that I am using. If you have a prescription to be filled that you don't mind transferring to Rite Aid, you can get a $30 gift card. You can use it to make similar purchases as I describe below and still get a check next month for purchasing these products. See bottom of this page for definitions of abbreviations. Click picture to enlarge.


Thus, for all my purchases, the final cost (after SCRs) to me will be $1.22 (before tax, of course).

Publix Has Free Antibiotics

You may already know this, but since it is the beginning of cold/flu season, I wanted to remind you of the great deal that Publix has. With one child in daycare and two in elementary (cesspools of germs), our pediatrician has gotten to know us really well over the years. Publix gives away eight varieties of antibiotics. I take the list into my pediatrician's office and tell him to pick from the list if at all possible when the situation warrants an antibiotic. This works at the veterinarian's office as well. Just take your prescription to your local Publix and they will give it to you for free. You can also print the $4 prescription list that Walmart provides and take that to your pediatrician if the Publix free list is too limiting.

The list of Publix antibiotics is as follows:
-Amoxicillin
-Cephalexin
-Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (SMZ-TMP)
-Ciprofloxacin (excluding ciprofloxacin XR)
-Penicillin VK
-Ampicillin
-Erythromycin (excluding Ery-Tab)
-Doxycycline Hyclate (capsules only)

I'm Back!!

The beach was great. I tried most of my recipes that I collected which saved us a ton of money. However, it would have been better to get a place with a kitchen. If you plan to go to the beach, I highly recommend going in October. It was still warm but not hot and there were no crowds. The kids had a grand time, though our daughter (3) had a stomach virus the whole first day...yuck. I did learn that if you go in ebay and type in "timeshare" there are some awesome deals to be had if you are flexible about where you want to go on vacation. Owners who can't use their weeks will advertise online so they at least get some money for their condos (which have kitchens). Also, if you are looking for some cheap entertainment for the kids, look online for local public libraries to see if they have any kid programs. I did that before we left and found a great one that had an Owl themed (in honor of Halloween) storytime and art project. The kids loved it and it was free. I will post some pictures just as soon as I download them from the camera. Hope everyone had a great week!

Free Redbox Rental!

Today only you can get a free movie rental at your local Redbox. Use code: DGM314. This can be used once per debit/credit card, so you can get more than one for free by using different cards. Enjoy!

Big Lot's 20% Off Coupon for 6th - 11th

Big Lots usually only has a 20% off coupon for a couple of days but this one lasts for six days! Our Big Lots generally has good deals on canned goods (including pet food) and furniture (we bought couches originally sold by Ashley furniture) which are great once you apply the coupon. Go HERE to print your coupon!

Meatza!

This is pizza without the crust and one of my family's favorite low-carb recipes. It is very versatile depending on what pizza ingredients you have on hand.

Meatza

2 pound of extra lean ground beef
2 eggs
Pizza Sauce
4 cups of mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice (such as Canadian bacon, pepperoni slices, onions, peppers or mushrooms)
Oregano
Garlic Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.

In a bowl, mix ground beef, 2 eggs and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Add Oregano and Garlic salt. Spread mixture out like a pizza crust on a cookie sheet or large baking dish pressing slightly up the side. Cook until beef is no longer pink. Beef crust will shrink somewhat.

Drain and press dry beef crust with a paper towel. Add pizza sauce, toppings, remainder of cheese and seasonings. Bake until cheese has melted and vegetables have softened about 30-40 minutes.

Restaurant.com New Discount Code!

I have been looking for this for three days! The last one expired on 9/30. This will be great for our trip to the beach. It expires 10/05/08 and is for 50% off of the discount price. Thus, you can get a $25 certificate for $5 and a $10 certificate for $1.50. There are usually some requirements to use the certificates but often well worth it. The coupon code is THREE. Just enter your ZIP code at Restaurant.com to see the participating restaurants in your area.

$5 Off Of $20 Coupon at Walgreens

Walgreens has a $5 off of $20 purchase coupon for October 3rd and 4th. Keep in mind that the $20 purchase has to be after coupons so the minimum that you will spend is $15. It's a good time to buy their rebate items.

Vacation Food

As I mentioned earlier, we are going to Myrtle Beach next week for a family vacation. We rarely take vacations unless going to a relative's for the holidays. We did not know where we were going until last week when I scored some great prices (around $87 per night) on a four star hotel there. This would fit into our frugal budget. Our other option was to go camping which would have also been nice. Since we would have had to buy a bit more equipment for that and also pay a park fee, the final amount is close. However, the cost of food for five people is going to be a challenge. Thrifty Florida Mama also had to address this topic for her recent trip to the beach. Unfortunately, this hotel does not provide a continental breakfast (surprising to me). I suppose that you have to be on a club floor to get this extra. So to follow Angie's example, I will be bringing a little cooking equipment to use in our room for simple meals. My goal is to take my crockpot, breadmaker and possibly an electric pan. I generally pack light so this will be an extra suitcase worth which will not be too bad. I googled many of the restaurants in the area to see what their prices were and I can tell you that it is unlikely we can leave a restaurant without spending atleast $25 for lunch and $50 for dinner. While we will most likely eat out at least once or twice a day, I don't want to do three meals a day for five people. So my goal is to have breakfast in the hotel and to make two or three other easy meals for dinner. This is good since taking small children out to eat can be real torture to parents and other diners!

I could bring poptarts (got lots of those!) for breakfast, but since I am in no hurry while on vacation, why not be creative? Plus, my breadmaker has a wonderful timer that I can set the night before and the bread is done when we wake up, and oh, the yummy smell...mmmmmh. Thus, I have to find recipes that the ingredients can sit in the breadmaker most of the night and not go bad (no eggs or milk). I can mix up the dry ingredients before we leave (except for the yeast), which would make it a cinch to throw together the night before. Here are the recipes I have found that meet my requirements:

Raspberry-Cranberry Bread
Honey Lemon Bread
Pumpkin Yeast Bread

For Breakfast Crockpot Recipes:

Crockpot Cobbler
Crockpot Cherry Crisp

For Easy Dinner Recipes:

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
Secret Crab Alfredo
White Chili (recipe below)

We may throw in a few other things but this will at least keep us in budget. If anyone has any other great travel recipes please let me know.

White Chili

This was my boss' recipe and really, really good. I can mix up the dry ingredients before we go and the rest will travel well - no need for refrigeration.

Ingredients:
3 cans chicken breast
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
2 (15.5-ounce) cans cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5-ounce) can cannelloni beans, rinsed, drained and mashed
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilis, undrained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Toppings (optional):
shredded Montery Jack cheese
salsa
chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream