Coupon Queen of Corning

Words of the Week Wednesday 11/12

2010-02-24T13:00:00.000-05:00

It is Wednesday again and time to provide my readers with links to sites that I found interesting in the last week.

$5 Dinner Mom. Erin Chase has one of the best blogs out there. She shows you how to feed a family of 4 dinner for $5 or less! The meals are really simple and taste wonderful. She also has a new cookbook out, so check that out while you are at her site.
Makeusof.com. This site is more for the techy person. The reason I love it is because there are so many links to free programs, free graphics and more. It is a great site if you are interested in anything from computers to phones to graphics and more.
Wisebread.com has a HUGE list of the top 100 personal financial blogs listed on its site. If you are interested in finding some new blogs to read check that out.

Debt Pay Off

2010-02-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I mentioned how we used our income tax refund to pay off all our credit cards. Below is a break down of how much we paid to each of the cards.

I also wanted to share with you something that I found very interesting. When my husband received his Juniper bill last month there was a chart on the first page. It showed how long it would take to pay off the bill if you only paid the minimum and if you paid $51. It only showed how much you would pay.

Very interesting huh? The minimum payment was $32.92 a month. So, just by paying an extra $20 a month, we would cut the amount of time it took to pay it off by 18 YEARS and pay about $1257 LESS! This is just proof positive that you can get all your credit cards paid off just by sending in a little more money each month.

Paying off Bills with Income Tax Refund

2010-02-20T09:21:00.004-05:00

Well, it's tax season. For some of us that means paying in, while others get a refund. Somehow we ended up getting a nice chunk of change this year. My husband and I decided that we would pay off all our credit card debt and save the rest. We paid over $6000 on credit cards and are now debt free in regard to credit cards. The only debt we have left is the van loan and school loan. Since, we would like to get a house built on our land as soon as we can, we have decided that we will save the rest for a down payment.

It feels really awesome to not have the weight of all that debt on our shoulders anymore. We were spending about $200 on credit card debt a month (we always paid extra) and now we have that money to put in our savings each month. I was also able to add $450 to our emergency fund so now we have $1000 in there.

Even if you are only getting a small amount for a tax refund, you can use this amount to reduce your debt. You can either use it for your highest interest debt or your smallest debt. Paying off your smallest debt first gives you a sense of accomplishment when it is paid off. As an added bonus, you also now have that amount to put towards the next debt to pay off. This is called snowballing.

What are you doing with your tax refund? I'd love to hear from you.

It's Sunday

2010-02-07T11:26:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody. I hope you are all having a great day and staying warm. Hope my friends in the mid-atlantic states are enjoying the snow. I am actually envious of them since all the snow this year has actually missed us.

I will keep this short since i am posting this through ping.fm. It is a convenient website that lets you post to all your social media at the same time. We will see how it looks. I am now off to work on homework for my classes. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and the superbowl.

Organizing Your Coupons

2010-01-14T18:38:00.000-05:00

If you want to start couponing, you will need some sort of filing system. Couponing without organization just does not work. If you dont' know where your coupons are, you won't be able to use them to save your hard-earned money.

Envelopes
Envelopes are great for those couponers who don't use a lot of coupons. You can label several envelopes with different labels. For example, you could have separate ones for cleaning, HBA products, dairy and frozen, boxed goods, etc. I have also seen people use Ziploc bags and this might actually be better than using envelopes because your coupons won't fall out. The downside to using envelopes, or Ziploc bags, is that if you get really into couponing, it won't work anymore. It's just not that efficient of an organizational system for mass couponing.

Coupon holder
I originally started out with a small coupon holder that I bought at Target. I soon found out that this wasn't big enough for my needs so I invested in a bigger sized one at Target. These were both $1, by the way. There are several pockets to divide your coupons up by category. They came with stickers so that I could write whatever I wanted on the tabs. Coupon holders are nice for the person starting out, but when you get several copies of one insert or start really printing those Internet coupons, they just don't work as well.

Don't cut, put in folders
Now, there may be a different name for it, but for the life of me, I don't know it. This method of coupon organization is touted by many of the coupon websites such as couponmom.com and the grocerygame.com. How does it work? Well, each week when you get the inserts from the Sunday paper, you simply label a folder with the date and stick the inserts in there. Each week, you can check out one of those sites that will tell you which sales and coupons match up. The date of the insert will be listed and you just go to that folder and cut the coupon out. This is great if you are one of those people who make a grocery list and stick to it. The problem I have with this method is that I find unadvertised specials and clearance items all the time. If I didn't have my coupons with me, I would miss out on really great deals. Plus, where do you put those extra coupons, like the ones you get in the mail or in products?

Binder method
Some people use large binders with plastic insert pages that can hold baseball or business cards. I recently found that my old way of coupon organization was not working and that I needed something new. I decided to try this method. I had a binder that I figured would work until I could get a better one when school supplies went on sale. I bought one package of plastic sheets, but soon discovered that this was not enough and sent hubby out to get another pack. This seems to be enough, at least for now. I have it organized in the same order that my coupon holder was organized in. Which is good, because I only have 2 dividers right now. I am waiting on some good back-to-school sales to stock up on some. This method lets me quickly go to the coupon I want and I can easily see if I have more than one. Yes, there is an initial investment of at least the plastic pages, but I see it as an investment in my sanity. LOL. Especially with three kids, plus hubby, often tagging along to the store, being able to find coupons quickly is priceless. You may also find it a little embarrassing to walk into the store with it. Well don't be embarrassed. Look at how much money you will be saving. If it makes you feel better, find a cart outside near your and put your binder in there. No one will even notice it's there.

I hope this helps with any organizational problems you may have with your coupons. I am sure there are many more ways to organize your coupons. These are just the most popular ones. If you know of any other ways, please share by leaving a comment.

free milk coupon and giveaway

2010-01-11T19:21:00.003-05:00

Enter to win a years' supply of milk (52 coupons). The first 125,000 people to enter will also receive a coupon for a free gallon of milk. Just remember to print your coupon a second time, you can click on the back button a few times. The limits on most of these type coupons are 2. You can enter at The Great Gallon Give.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-01-10T20:34:00.001-05:00

On Saturday I finally got my $5 Dinner Mom cookbook by Erin Chase. The first third of the book talks about how to save money and feed your family healthy, yet frugal dinners. Although I knew most of the things Erin wrote about, I did learn a few new things. Then I went on to look at the recipes. WOW!! They are easy to make recipes that sound so yummy! Many times when I am looking for frugal recipes they tend to take a while to make or are complicated. Since I now work full time, I need to get it done quick. Erin's cookbook is a great resource for someone who is trying to save time and money.

Now on to my meal plan for the week:

MONDAY - leftovers
TUESDAY - ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, vegetable
WEDNESDAY - spaghetti with homemade meatballs, vegetables
THURSDAY - leftovers
FRIDAY -pork roast in crock pot, baked potatoes, vegetable
SATURDAY - homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken and broccoli
SUNDAY - leftovers

Meal planning not only saves you money but also time and frustration. There is no more "What's for dinner?" moments. What's your meal plan for the week?

Snapfish photo deal

2010-01-10T16:53:00.000-05:00

Do you have a bunch of digital pictures that you want printed? Now is the time to do it.

Snapfish has a great offer - 50 prints for 1 penny each! The code is NEWYEAR50 and it expires January 11.

Working on first financial resolution

2010-01-10T15:33:00.000-05:00

Last week, I posted my New Year's resolutions on here. My first financial resolution was to get $1500 into our savings account. We are working hard on getting to this point so that we can begin to pay off our credit cards. My husband really wanted me to start paying off the credit cards right away, but I explained to him that I didn't think that was a great idea. Even financial gurus like Dave Ramsey tell you to save $1000 emergency fund before paying off credit. If something happens (for instance we need to buy a new tire, etc) and we don't have the emergency fund we would end up using a credit card. I finally convinced him that this was the way we should go.

It is my goal this year to post the amount I transfer to savings each week. I will also be posting my weekly meal plans (on Mondays) and how much I spend on groceries each week. Once I have my emergency fund fully funded I will post how much I send to credit cards and how much is left.

This Week's Totals (1/7 to 1/13)

Weekly Amount sent to savings: $550.00

Total Amount in Savings: $558.51

Weekly Amount spent for groceries: $19.73 / $75.00

(hubby went to Wegmans this a.m. - bought a newspaper, 3 gallons milk, pound of deli turkey, 3 loaves of white bread and 3 loaves of wheat)

Total for Groceries this Month: $59.48/$300.00

Meal Plan expected to be done by tomorrow.

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-29T17:59:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted, but I actually have a little time so I thought I would write something up. I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season, and didn't overspend too much.

During this time of the year, many people make New Year's resolutions. Some decide to get healthier and lose weight while others decide that they want to makeover their financial situation. This year I have resolutions to do both.

I need to get my butt in gear and get this weight off. I want to do this not only so I can lose the weight and wear smaller clothes, but also so that I can feel healthier and have more energy. Both my husband and I have gym memberships, it is just a matter of getting there. It is relatively cheap and it is open twenty four hours a day. So, this should make it easier to get there, but getting the inspiration to leave and go has proved difficult. I am going to start trying to go in the morning before work. If this doesn't work, then I will start doing 30 Day Shred several times during the work week and just go to the gym on the weekends.

Financially, I have some really big goals for the coming year. Fortunately, we found out yesterday that my husband's unemployment will be extended until at least April. So that is good news. If it hadn't been extended, it would have run out in the middle of February. That would have meant a month and a half of saving every last penny we could get our hands on. This would have given us about $1500 (or more) in our savings to help pay bills with. I figured that with this amount and our current bills we would have to use a little less than $400 of it each month.

I still want to get that $1500 in the savings account and get some of our credit cards paid off. So, here are my financial goals for 2010 and how we will achieve them:

Save $1500 in our emergency fund. This is also what Dave Ramsey suggests you do before you start paying off the bills. I have already devised our budget for the next 6 months and figured out that by the middle of February we will be at this amount. Although we will have reached our goal at that time, we will continue taking out $25 a week and having it automatically placed in our online savings account.
Build up our food stockpile. I would like to have enough food for 4-6 months (with only having to buy perishables). This would help in case of lower income or any other reason we couldn't get to the store. I will be taking a weekly inventory of what we have so I know what we need more of in order to have a 4 month supply. I will then stock up when I get a deal of those foods.
After our EF is fully funded, we will start snowballing our credit cards. Although I think it might be a little bit smarter to pay the highest interest debts off first, I think it gives you more motivation if you pay off the smallest balances first. As previously stated, I have done up a budget for the next 6 months and have already figured out how much I will be using to pay off debt each week. After getting the first debt paid off, I will take the payment I normally paid on that debt, plus the extra and put it on the next smallest debt.
After our credit cards are paid off I will be concentrating on paying off our van early. We own our explorer so we don't have to worry about paying that off. I will then concentrate on getting my school loans paid off.

So what are your New Year's resolutions? I would love to hear. Leave them in the comments.

It's Been Rough Around Here

2009-10-31T10:31:00.002-04:00

Since starting work a few months ago, I have really been slacking in the coupon clipping category. I'm lucky if I get the coupons even clipped each week, never mind getting them organized in my binder. I also haven't made getting all the best deals a priority. I just don't seem to have enough time. Why couldn't there be more hours in a day? I just haven't been interested in running to Rite Aid or Walgreens to get the good deals. I still cut out the ones I think I will need, but mostly I am using them at Tops, Target and Walmart.

We have been really bad when it comes to eating out lately. My husband is still laid off so he's the one who cooks dinner during the week. Unfortunately he has not been doing this like he should. Not only are we spending a lot by eating out but we are not eating the best foods for us. My plan for this weekend is to do up a meal plan for the week for him, because obviously he needs one and won't do one for himself. I would also like to cook up some foods to stick in the freezer. I am thinking some macaroni and cheese with broccoli and chicken, pizza crust, homemade bread, and maybe some chili.

We have also been slacking in the cleaning area. On the weekends it just seems like I am cleaning all the time. Lots of laundry and dishes, and I never seem to get caught back up. I need to somehow make the essential cleaning a priority for my husband. I don't know exactly how to do that. I am thinking that maybe if I start saying I'm not going anywhere until certain things get done, that might work. Any ideas?

I really need to get things under control, before the holidays and before my classes start in spring. I have an independent study and an online class, and the one is going to be quite a challenge and take up a lot of my free time. Of course, after that I will be graduating and will not have to do this whole working and going to school thing. I can't wait. If you have any ideas on how I can get things in order, please live it in the comments.

AND THE WINNER IS......

2009-08-29T18:42:00.004-04:00

Tanya. I will be emailing Tanya tonight to get her address so that I can send her the envelope of coupons. Congratulations Tanya.

As many of you may have noticed, I have not been posting on here much. Between work, my classes and family, I just don't have the time. I get home from class on Mondays and Wednesdays and just crash. The rest of the weekdays I spend a little time with the kiddos and then crash as soon as they are in bed. I am really exhausted.

As much as I love writing in my blog, I just can't keep up with it. So, I will post when I can, but I make no promises. I have been having trouble even getting my Tops deals and shopping trips posted (I went last weekend, even took pictures, but never found the time to post them). So, I will leave everything up and active, and just post when I have the opportunity.

It Pays to Eat Pasta Sweepstakes!

2009-08-23T00:29:00.002-04:00

This contest is pretty cool, so I just had to share it with you all. Go to It Pays to Eat Pasta, and enter their sweepstakes today. They are giving 8 lucky people free groceries for a year ($5200) and 42 people $200 in groceries. Pretty awesome huh? I know we could certainly use either of those, and with 50 chances, that ups the odd of winning. So, go over to site and enter.

Coupon Contest - Win over $150 worth of coupons

2009-08-19T13:02:00.000-04:00

I have A LOT of coupons right now. I have been given a lot of coupon inserts in the last few weeks and really there are more coupons than I could ever think about using. So, instead of letting them expire, I have decided to share.

So, one lucky winner will win over $150 in coupons. Some of the products include:

Tide
Scott toilet paper
Cascade
Kid Cuisine
Banquet Meals
Manwich
Act II popcorn
Huggies Pullups and Pure and Natural Diapers
Cookie Crisp cereal
Listerine
Windex
and much, much more

All coupons expire after September 10. Since I will not have much time to advertise this contest, I will be giving more entries for people who get the word out about this contest. Here are the ways you can get entries:

1 Entry - This one must be done in order to enter the contest. My husband is having trouble making dinner (he is currently the stay-at-home parent). To get your first entry into the contest, let me know ideas and tips he can use to make getting dinner on the table easier. Also please leave your email or blog address, so that I can get a hold of you if you win.

To get more entries:

2 entries - Subscribe to my blog via email. Please leave me a comment with your email address.
3 entries - Add my badge to your blog or site. The code can be found on my sidebar. Please leave me a comment letting me know you did this, along with the address.
3 entries - Twitter about my contest. Please leave a separate comment stating you did this, with the link or your Twitter name.
3 entries - Emailing at least 3 friends telling them about this contest. (Please put me on cc - couponqueenofcorning at hotmail dot com), and leave me a comment letting me know you have done so.
5 entries - Blog about this contest. Please leave a comment with the address link.

Contest Ends August 26 at midnight EST. I will be drawing a winner and post the name on the 27th. I will also email that person. Winner has 48 hours after receiving email to get back to me or I will have to choose a new winner.

Good luck! Bonne Chance!!

Contests

2009-08-13T06:58:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple awesome giveways that I just wanted you all to know about:

Table4Five, on conjuction with GoodNites, is running a giveaway that ends tomorrow. Click here to go the post and you have a chance to win a 100 gift certificate to PajamaGram.com, a $50 gift certificate to Borders, a blanket, a bedtime journal, and a tote to hold it all, worth approx. $250.00!
FrugalUpstate has partenered with Nestle to give away a $500 gift card to Walmart. How cool is that! Head on over to frugalupstate.com to enter before tomorrow also.

Coupon Tips - Where to Get Coupons

2009-08-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

Wondering where to get extra coupons? Do you ever feel let down by the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper? Well, the Sunday paper is not the only place to get great coupons that will save you tons of money. So, where do people get coupons? Listed below are some places that you should try looking.

The Sunday Newspaper

This is the first place I look for coupons. You can get anywhere from 1-3 inserts in most Sunday papers. Coupons in the paper can vary depending on where you live. I have noticed that when I look at other blogs of couponers that are in the South that they have better coupons than ours. Or they will get certain ones for $1 off 1, whereas we get a coupon for $1 off 2. Also keep in mind that on holiday weekends they do not have coupons in the Sunday paper.

Ask family and friends if you can have their coupon inserts. This way you can have extra of all the coupons. You can even go out and buy extra papers if the coupons are really great. Ask local stores what they do with their extra newspapers and ask if you can have the inserts.

Off the Internet

There are so many coupons on the Internet that you can print and use at your local stores. You will need to check with your store to see if they accept Internet printables. Tops, Target and Walgreens takes Internet printables. I have not checked with other stores, but if you know of other stores that take them, please let me know in the comment section.

Target will take an Internet coupon plus they will also take coupons printed from their site. So, you can save even more by stacking your coupons. Here's a list of coupon sites for you to print from:

Catalinas

Sometimes when you buy certain products, a store coupon will print for you to use on your next visit. Sometimes these are for a certain amount off a product or even a certain amount off your total order. I've gotten these at the grocery store for products such as cereal, yogurt and coffee. Walgreens has these also, but they are called register rewards there. When you buy a certain number of a certain product, you get a coupon for a certain dollar amount to be used on your next visit. By using your register rewards for your next purchase and buying products that have more register rewards, you can save a lot of money.

In the Stores

Sometimes, when you are going through your grocery store, you can find coupons. The coupons that are in those red little boxes are called blinkies. Even if I don't need that product today I will grab a couple coupons to use at a different time, maybe even a different store. These are manufacture coupons, so they can be used anywhere. The only downfall to the blinkies is that usually you can not double them, so if they are for a small dollar amount, you may just want to pass.

Other coupons found in the stores are peelies. These are coupons that are attached to the product to entice you to buy it. If the price is good and you want to buy the product, it may be worth it. But many times I have noticed that these peelies are not on the products that are on sale. Recent peelies I have seen have been for products such as iced tea, rice, pasta, and cereal.

In the Mail

Getting coupons in the mail seems to be decreasing with the advent of Internet printables, but you can still get coupons this way. If you write or email a company, many times they will send you coupons in the mail. Do not hesitate to send an email or letter to a company to compliment a product you like or to complain about one you disliked. If you are going to have a baby or have one already, sign up for formula and diapers in the mail from the manufacture. I also signed up for a baby gift registry when I was pregnant, and I get baby coupons from Target, that can be stacked with regular manufacture coupons to increase savings.

From Other People

Besides asking people you know for inserts you can also trade or buy coupons. Several websites, like Frugal Village have coupon trains where you sign up to exchange a certain number of coupons a week. You get rid of the coupons you won't use and get ones that you hopefully can use. You can also have a coupon party with your friends where you get together over a meal (at someone's home, preferably) and exchange coupons with them.

I am sure there are a lot of other ways to get coupons. Please leave me a comment if you would like to add anything else to my list.

Tops Trip and Rite Aid Trip 8/8

2009-08-09T12:44:00.005-04:00

We ran to Rite Aid (the new one in Horseheads -it is really nice and the associates are very friendly) and then to Tops to get some much needed food. Last week, money was pretty tight so we needed to get quite a bit this week. I also want to run to Aldi's later this week and get rolls and fresh fruit. Here's what we bought.

Rite Aid Trip 8/8

Venus Spa Breeze Razor. Regular price $9.99, on sale for $7. Used $2 coupon and there is a $5 rebate so this will end up being FREE AFTER REBATE
Garnier Fructis shampoo. Regular price $4.19, on sale for $2.99. Used $1 coupon and there is a $2 rebate so this ends up being FREE AFTER REBATE
4 1-liters of Crest Pro-Health Rinse. Regular price $6.49 each, on sale for $5 each. Used 4 $1 coupons and there is a rebate for $10 when you buy 4. This brings the price down to 4/$6 after rebate

Original Total: $42.53
Amount Saved: $34.14
Total Paid: $8.39 (saved 80.3%)

Tops Trip 8/8

6 2-liters of Diet Pepsi. On sale for $1 each + deposit .05 each (.48)
6 4-packs of Hunts snack packs. On sale for $1 each. Used two internet coupons for $1 off 1 4-pack and another coupon for a free 4-pack when you buy 3. So, these ended up being 6/$3
Quaker rice cakes on sale for $1.50. Used $.50 off 1, which doubled to $1, making these $.50
Kellogg's Strawberry Mini Wheats -on sale for $2.50. Used $.75 coupon (from back of regular Mini Wheats box) which doubled to $1.50, making these $1
Kellogg's Fruit Loops on sale for $1.99.
2 bags of single size M&Ms. On sale for $.50 each. Used 2 Free chocolate Friday coupons to make these FREE
Wishbone salad dressing $2. Used $1 off 1 internet coupon to make it $1.
4 packets of Knorr Rice sides on sale for $1 each. Used two $.60 off 2 coupons, which doubled to $1.20 off 2, making these $.40 each
2 jars of Skippy peanut butter $2 each. Used coupon for $1 off 2, making these 2/$3
2 boxes of Tops instant oatmeal (need to check at Aldi's and see if they have them again) on sale for $2 each.
Jiffy popcorn $1.47
flip flops for my daughter's birthday on sale for $3.
2 boxes of Playtex gloves on sale for $1.50 each. Used two $1 off coupons to make these $.50 each
8 ears of cob $2
3 pounds of potatoes $3.99
2 pouches of Margerita pepperoni slices on sale for $2 each. Used two $.75 off 1 coupons, which doubled to $1.50 each, making these $.50 each
4 1/2 gallons of Turkey Hill iced tea on sale for $1.50 each. Used two $1.00 of two coupons, making these $1 each
Tops gallon of skim milk $1.69
Boneless Skinless Chicken breast $1.88 a pound = $8.27
80% ground beef $1.99 a pound = $9.89

Original Amount: $113.33
Amount saved: $57.13
Total paid: $56.96
Grocery Challenge Amount: $52.68

I am working on this week's Tops deals tonight. As you may be able to tell, some of the items I got on sale are on this week's sales and some are last week's. I guess this is one of the perks to going shopping on a Saturday evening. I will post the deals as soon as I can.

Happy Saturday Morning

2009-08-08T09:06:00.005-04:00

It's Saturday morning and the kids aren't up yet, so I thought I would use the opportunity to get some posts done. It has been a very hectic week. I really need to get on a better schedule and devote a few hours a week to blogging. I will be starting a job that involves more hours and a little but more a drive starting on the 17th, and then my one class will be starting the next week after that (an accounting class). So, I am hoping to be able to keep up on here. I have two posts about couponing ready to be posted and I want to write up some more this weekend.

My husband has been doing a lot better this week in regards to keeping the house clean. He has been keeping the dishes washed each day and the house picked up. So, that is a plus. We still need to work on him making dinner though. I am going to go downstairs and take inventory of everything in our inventory and freezer and then we are going to figure out meals that he can make, hopefully utilizing a good majority of what we already have. Need to get him in the cooking everyday habit this week because the next week I will not be getting home until 5:30.

Now, I need to be getting off this computer. I have TONS of computers that still need to be put in my binder (I had 5 papers' worth of coupons last week and there were a lot of coupons in each one!) so I will be working on that before we go shopping today. I need to inventory stockpile, make a meal plan and make a list for shopping. Then, of course, there is a lot of clothes to be folded, plus I need to do another load of mine and the kids' clothes. So it is going to be a very busy weekend. I am leaving you with some deals and coupons that I found this morning.

Coffee-Mate coupon
In my email today I received a link to a coupon for Coffee-Mate, so if you use this in your coffee, you can click here to go to the site. You must either log in or register. Supposedly it is a $1 off 1, but I have not had the opportunity to print this yet. I know that there is a $1.50 off 2 that you can print more than one time on that site also.

Rite Aid coupons
I don't know how many other people got an email from Rite Aid today, but supposedly, if you watch some videos, you can get coupons to print and use at Rite Aid. Click here if you'd like to go to the site and see what it's all about.

Kraft FirstTaste $100 in Groceries
Kraft is having a promotion where you can win a $100 grocery card. Go to Kraft FirstTaste and either sign in or register. They are giving away one of these cards every day until September 1, so sign up NOW for your best chance to win.

Coupons
I found a pdf with several coupons. Click here to take you to it. It includes coupons for Dixie plates and bowls, BagelBites, Sharpie Highlighters, and Tide Stain Release. Print a few of these and then check out Target and Walmart in the next few weeks for prices on the highlighters at less than $1.

Restaurants.com
Would you like to be able to go out and eat for 80% less! Restaurants.com has coupons for local restaurants and right now if you use the code PORTION you can get a $25 gift certificate for only $2!! Offer ends August 13.

Tops Deals 8/2-8/8

2009-08-04T23:31:00.003-04:00

I'm sorry I didn't get this done sooner. Sunday we were gone most of the day, yesterday I worked and last night I went to bed early with a migraine. There really aren't too many good deals this week at Tops. If you have a P&C near you, you may want to check out their ad for this week. I always look at their ads and usually their sales are just awful, but this week is actually pretty good. So here's the deals I see this week.

sweet corn 4/$1
fresh boneless chicken breast or center cut pork chops $1.88 a pound
fresh lean ground beef $1.99 a pound
Pepsi 2 liters $1
All laundry detergent $3.99. Use $1 off coupon from Sunday's insert, making this $2.99
Margerita sliced pepperoni $2. Use $.75 off coupon, which doubles to $1.50, making it $.50
Turkey Hill iced tea 2/$3. Buy 2 and use $1 off 2 coupon, making these 2/$2
Hunt's snack pack pudding $1. Use $1 off 1 from Con Agra site, to make this free

If you would like to see more coupon and store matchups, head over to BeCentsAble.

Making Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-08-01T16:39:00.003-04:00

For those of you who may be newer readers, I wanted to explain my absence for the last few days. As many of you may know, my husband was laid off in March. Since then money in our savings has been dwindling and I had to start looking for a job. Luckily, I was able to get one, and it's even something I enjoy doing. I started on Monday, and it's really an awesome job and the people there are really awesome.

So, as I am transitioning from being a full-time stay-at-home mom with loads of time to do everything I want, to a full-time working mom, my blog may sometimes get overlooked. I have a new banner ready and will need to change the colors and background of my badge, so I need to set some time aside for that. I am hoping to get on a little better schedule this next week and maybe get some posts written for when I am really busy. I will be posting on the Tops deals, no matter what. I have to look through the ad each week anyway for my own shopping, so it really isn't too much more time-consuming to type the deals in a post. I also want to keep doing the meal plans on Mondays. Those are my priorities right now and if I find more time, I will work on Words of the Week Wednesday and Frugal Meal Friday. I also have a couple couponing posts I will start posting and I would like to write a few more to go with the series. So, bear with me through this transition and we will all be happier soon!!

Now, on to those wonderful oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I mentioned in the title. I am a baker! All week, I have wanted to bake something, but really have not had the energy nor really the time to bake after I got home from work. I found I really miss it. So, this morning I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. Some of it will be baked later tonight (when it cools down) and the rest will be put in the freezer. Here is the recipe if you are interested:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
4 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups oatmeal
about 6 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 bag chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to about 350 degrees.
2. Soften 4 sticks of butter in microwave (use a low power) in a large bowl. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix well.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix again
4. Add oatmeal, 4 cups of flour, salt and baking soda. Swirl around with spoon to mix those 3 things. Then mix well. Add in about 1-2 cups more flour. This is an approximation. You may need to add a little more flour if you use larger eggs or like your dough pretty dry.
5. Add chocolate chips
6. Scoop dough onto cookie sheets, making sure there is enough room for them to expand. I usually try to put 9 or 12 on a sheet depending on the sheet's size.
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until brown. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes and then, using a spatula, place them on a paper towel.

I hope you try the recipe and like it. My family does! I am off now to make up some zucchini bread. Then I have to make some dinner (I'm thinking homemade sloppy joes with frozen tatertots and a veggie) and then I will be making homemade bread for the week. I am also thinking about making some pasta salad for a cookout we are going to tomorrow. I already have most, if not all, of the ingredients and it sounds good. Have a wonderful weekend.

School Clothes on a Budget

2009-07-30T08:40:00.004-04:00

With the start of a new school approaching, you may be concerned with how you will pay for clothing for your kid(s). Keep a list of what you have and what you still need. Keeping this list in your purse or wallet will ensure that you don't end up with 20 t-shirts and only 3 pairs of pants. Here are some tips to help you save money during this expensive time of the year.

Shop Throughout the Year.

This is really the most economical way to shop for your kids' clothes and what I try to do. If you can buy clothing for the next year when it is on clearance you will save a lot of money. The best times to buy clothing on clearance is in August/September for summer clothing and January to March for winter clothing. I buy the next size up and the clothes usually fit the kids fine the next year. For the little ones, my maximum price for clearance clothing is $3 a piece, although once in a great while I will find an awesome outfit I just love, especially for my daughter, and will splurge a little, but I still get it for a significant savings. For my older son I look for jeans for less than $15 (though I often find them from $5-$10) tshirts for $5 or less and long-sleeved shirts for $10 or less. As of right now, I have enough pairs of pants and tshirts for him to start the new school year. I may have to buy him a few long-sleeved shirts but will watch for sales and coupons to do that.

By signing up with the stores, you will get coupons and ads in your inbox and sometimes your mailbox. I am signed up with several companies and I get coupons several times a week in my email and at least once a week in my mailbox. Many times I do not use them, but it's nice to have them in case I need to buy school clothes for the kids or new work clothes. Several times a year I receive a $10 off $10 coupon from JCPenney and other department stores. I, of course, make sure I use these coupons and keep the price as close to $10 as possible. I usually use this as an opportunity to buy something nice for myself, which I so seldom do.

Watch for Sales and Coupons in Weekly Ads.

Each week, the Sunday paper has weekly ads for store sales. If you need certain things, take advantage of the sales and get them then. Why pay full price for anything? With school starting soon, there will be lots of deals on school supplies and clothes. Just have patience and wait for the good sales.

Rummage Sales and Thrift Stores.

Sometimes you can find high-end clothing for yourself and your kids second-hand, sometimes even with tags still attached. Look for rummage sales in nice areas or when communities have area yard sales. Most kids will not even know the difference between the new and used.

Don't Forget about Craig's List, Ebay.

Check out Ebay to find both used and new clothing for your kids. You can even find high end clothing on there. Craig's List is awesome because you can buy a bunch of clothes cheap and you don't have to dig though the clothes like you would at a rummage sale. I have gotten bags of clothes for the kids for around $20 each bag. You're also keeping money in your local community by buying from your neighbors.

Use Rebates and MyPoints.

Sometimes you will find rebates or rewards for products you buy. Make sure you send in all pertinent information and do it as soon as you can, that way you do not forget to do it. Keep copies of everything you send in, along with the date sent and company information. This will help in case you do not get your refund and need to get a hold of the company. MyPoints is awesome if you do shopping online. You get a certain amount of points for every dollar you spend at participating sites. When you reach a certain amount of points, you can cash them in for gift certificates to restaurants or stores. You can get points by shopping at Barnes and Nobles, Target, and Amazon, among many others.

I hope this helps you save money this school year. If you have any other ideas on how to save money on buying clothes at this time of year, please leave them in my comments.

Words of the Week Wednesday 7/29

2009-07-29T11:33:00.002-04:00

It is Wednesday again and time to provide my readers with links to sites that I found interesting in the last week. Since I have been concentrating on eating healthier and making more meals from scratch I thought I would share some recipe blogs and sites this week. Also, cooking delicious foods at home instead of eating out saves you money.

Project: Domestic Bliss

This is an awesome blog for those who like to cook. Nikki makes wonderful food and not only shares photos of them, but also the recipe. So, you can also make these yummy foods. Recently she has made such foods as homemade tortillas for burritos, steakhouse steak, Barbecue chicken pizza, and more! Nikki is a fellow participant in the All You Grocery Challenge, so go check out her blog and start cooking!

Gourmet Finds

This site is awesome for any self-proclaimed foodie. It has awesome recipes listed and some really great pictures of food.

Tammy's Recipes

Just looking at this site makes my mouth water. The food looks so delicious. Lately her recipes have been centering around what is coming out of the garden. Since this is the first year we have had a garden, I am finding this site very useful. I was thinking about what we would do with SO many beans, but her garlic green beans sound tasty.

Menu Plan Monday 7/27

2009-07-27T08:12:00.000-04:00

If you want to save money on groceries, meal planning is key. Every weekend I plan out my meals for the next week. When I have my menu planned for the week, I save money and I save time. I share it with you, to give you ideas of how we eat on a limited budget. Hopefully, this inspires you to plan your own menu for the week.

This is going to be a tough week. I went back to work today and hubby is home with the kids. That means that he will be doing the cooking. So, I am 100% sure that the meal plan will not be strictly adhered too. I can dream though, can't I? Here is my meal plan for this week:

Monday
- Breakfast - pancakes (leftover from dinner Saturday), fruit
- Lunch - canned pasta, fruit
- Dinner - panninis, green beans and pudding
Tuesday
- Breakfast - cereal / oatmeal, fruit
- Lunch - peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread, fruit
- Dinner - we are going to my mom's as soon as I get out of work, so we will either eat with her or go out to eat down where she lives
Wednesday
- Breakfast - strawnana muffins (made a few days ago and froze), fruit
- Lunch - grilled cheese, fruit
- Dinner - ham steak, veggie, maybe a potato or pasta salad?
Thursday
- Breakfast -cinnamon toast on homemade bread, fruit
- Lunch - dinner leftovers, fruit
- Dinner - cheeseburgers on grill, corn on cob, maybe a side?
Friday
- Breakfast - cereal / oatmeal, fruit
- Lunch - canned pasta, fruit
- Dinner - homemade sloppy joes, tater tots, pudding or jello
Saturday
- Breakfast - fake quiches, fruit
- Lunch - peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread, fruit
- Dinner - leftovers
Sunday
- Breakfast - homemade waffles, eggs and toast
- Lunch - grilled cheese, fruit
- Dinner - tuna casserole with peas (I will make a double batch and freeze one), fruit dessert

All You Grocery Challenge Week in Review

2009-07-26T22:44:00.004-04:00

Sunday - Day 14

Today was one of those lazy Sundays where no one really wanted to do much, including me. LOL. At least we only spent $1.25 today. When hubby went to get a paper, he took the little princess with him, and they ended up getting 5 of those 25 cent granola bars (my daughter calls them 'bars'. lol).

For breakfast we had cereal and the little man had oatmeal. We also had yummy strawberries. For lunch we had grilled cheese sandwiches and canned pineapple chunks. Dinner was breaded pork chops, corn and scalloped potatoes. I also made a chocolate cake which was supposed to be for my mom's birthday Tuesday, but somehow I got persuaded to get out frozen strawberries and whipped topping, and we ate some of it. Oh well. I guess I will just have to make another one tomorrow night when I get home.

A Week in Review

This is our second week of participating in the All You Grocery Challenge and we are still doing pretty well. I had been hoping to only spend $50 this week on groceries, but my local store had some really good deals this week and I ended up spending a little over $50 in one day (but that was 3 different stores). I also needed to get some more meat and a few other things later in the week and ended up spending a little over $10 on that trip.

So, I didn't make my goal budget, but I was still well under the All You budget. Here's a chart and graph showing my week 2 spending:

As you can see we spent $74.13 out of the budgeted $125.00, and had $50.87 that we could have spent if we wanted to. My goal for this next week is again $50. I need to buy some chicken this week, so I am hoping to still be able to stay under this amount. It may be difficult because I will be going back to work this week and hubby will be preparing the meals during the weekdays. We shall see.

Weis deals 7-23 to 7-29

2009-07-26T15:09:00.001-04:00

Since the deals at Tops have been really lacking lately, I am considering driving a little farther and going to Weis. The weekly deals run until Wednesday of this week:

Green beans, eggplant, squash or zucchini $.99 a pound
Ball Park hot dogs Buy One at $4.99 Get One Free - comes out to $2.50 each
2 liters of Pepsi $1 each
Chef Boyardee pasta $1 (I have a coupons I printed off the ConAgra site)
Hamburger or Tuna Helper $1
Manwich $1
Barbeque split chicken breast - 3 pounds or more $1.29 a pound
Kunzler bacon Buy One at $4.99 get one free - $2.50 each
From the Smokehouse ham slices Buy One at $3.99 get One Free - less than $2 each
Yoplait yogurt $.50 each. Use $.50 off 6 internet printable, to make them 6/$2.50.
Yoplait Fiber One yogurt $2. Use $1 off internet printable, to make it $1.
Weis Best Thing Since Butter $1 (worth a try)
From the Oven english muffins $1
Knorr sides $1 Use $.50 off 2 coupon from 5-17 insert, to make these $.75 each
select General Mills cereal 3/$6. Use $1 off 3 coupon from 6-28 insert to make these 3/$5
Arnold Country Classics bread Buy One at $3.99 Get One Free - less than $2 each