Short vacation!

I'll be out of town and unable to post until Sunday night - but be sure to check back, as I'll be posting deals & match-ups first thing next week! Thanks...Jen

Some good deals at Walmart

These can vary by region - but here are some deals you should be able to find just about anywhere - and since Walmart doesn't really run "weekly sales" these are often available for at least two weeks.

• Kotex LightDays Pads - Price $1 AND $2 on 2 Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar. NET PRICE = FREE
• Hormel Chili –Price $1 AND $1 on 2 (insert 3/15 SS) NET PRICE = .50 each
• Baby Cotton Swabs - Price $1.38 AND $1 (insert 3/8 RP) NET PRICE = .38 each (great basket stuffer for baby showers or even for adults to use!)
• Betty Crocker Frosting - Price .88 AND .55 Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar. NET PRICE = .33 each
• Kraft Salad Dressing - Price $1.50 AND (insert 3/29 SS) NET PRICE =.08 each
• Welch’s AquaJuice - Price $3.99 AND B1G1 FREE Printable in the coupons.com widget in right side bar. NET PRICE = $2 each

FREE stuff Thursday

Here are the latest and greatest - get them while they're HOT!

• Tons of great new freebies at Walmart
• Lots of great tips for living frugally AND eco-friendly at IdealBite Click Here
• FREE samples & coupons for Slim-Fast - Start your free weight-loss program today Click Here
• 1000's of unique, easy, frugal recipes, all made with beans (a healthy and FRUGAL addition to anyone's kitchen) click here for great recipes.
• Get a FREE Mr. Clean Magic Eraser here.
• FREE DETERGENT AT CVS! - be sure to print off the BOGO free coupon on Purex from my coupons.com widget - combine this coupon with the .35/1 Purex coupon (insert 3/8 SS) for a GREAT deal on detergent OR print 2 of these coupons and head over to CVS - CVS has Purex Detergent on sale B1G1Free this week (through 4/18). Use the B1G1Free coupon to get 2 Free! You will purchase two and one will ring up free, then the coupon will take off the amount of the non-free detergent which should bring your total to $0 for 2 detergents!
• Be sure to check out my Kroger post from earlier this week to see how you can get some FREE McCormick Grill Mates seasonings
• Tons of free recipes, kitchen tips and COUPONS from Betty Crocker - sign up on the picture here:

Cool new site for parents

Thought this was a cool, free site for rating & reviews from other "real world" parents on places and things we use all the time...check it out!

Great Home Improvement savings!

• On April 19, Home Depot retail stores will give away 1 Million Compact Flourescent Bulbs for free in honor of Earth Day 2009. The bulb is an EcoSmart 14-watt compact flourescent. There is a limit of one per customer. Click here to find a store near you.
• In Sunday's paper, there were $10 off $50 and a $25 off $250 purchase coupons inside the Lowe's ad. The coupons are good until May 10, 2009.

Meet me at Meijer - Deals for w/o 4/12

Ok, so every week, I'm falling more deeply in love with Meijer - is being in love with a grocery store so wrong?...So it IS a little odd, but look at the deals, people! I'll start this post with highlights and end with MY personal deals.






IT'S BAAAACK: 10 for $10 get the 11th Item FREE. There are lots of other items in this promotion, but I'm only listing those with a coupon match-up or those that are a really good deal. For my calculations, I calculate each item at .90 (since that's the average when they are $10 for 11 items...got it?)

• Blackberries, Broccoli, Organic Carrots, Organic mushrooms - .90 each


• Green Giant Box or Poly Bag Veggies - Sale .90 AND .50 on Steamers (insert 4/5 SS) AND .50/2 Boxed (insert 4/5 SS) AND .50/2 (insert 3/15 RP) AND .60/2 Boxed Printable here. NET PRICE = FREE - $.40 each


• Vitamin Water or Smart Water - Sale .90 AND $1/1 (insert 4/5 SS). NET PRICE = FREE


• Chef Boyardee - Sale .90 AND $1 on 2 via Meijer Mealbox. NET PRICE = .40 each


• Hunt's ketchup - Sale .90


• Aunt Millie's Bread & Buns - Sale .90 AND .35/1 (insert ***). NET PRICE = .20/loaf!

Other good deals this week:

• Kellog's cereal - Sale 5/$10 ($2/box) AND $1/1 box (insert 4/5 RP) AND $1/2 Frosted Flakes in my coupons.com widget in my right side bar. NET PRICE = $1 - $1.50/box


• Ragu spaghetti sauce - Sale $1.25 AND .30/1 (insert 4/5 RP) NET PRICE = .65/each


• Purex Laundry Detergent - Sale $2.50 AND .35/1 (insert 3/8 SS). NET PRICE = $1.80 each


• Clorox Bleach 82 to 96 oz - Sale $1.50 AND .50/2 (insert 3/29?). NET PRICE = $1.00


• Colgate, Crest or Aquafresh Toothpaste - Sale $1.67 AND .75 Colgate (insert 2/22 SS) AND .75 Crest (insert 4/5 P&G) NET PRICE = .67 each


• Softsoap handsoap- Sale - Unadvertised DEAL: $1.00 AND .35/1 (insert 3/29 SS) NET PRICE = .30

And - Don't forget - all the Easter candy is 50% off, so if you've got some candy coupons left over, now is the time to use them - the pastel-colored candy would be great for Mother's Day, birthdays or for your personal, hidden, PMS-stash!!

So, here are the fabulous deals I got this week (complete with a photo!)....

• Of course, I took full advantage of the $10/11 deal and bought lots of frozen veggies @ .40/box, organic carrots, Aunt Millie's bread (2 loafs @ .20/each!), organic mushrooms, Hunt's ketchup, & blackberries.


• 4 Cans of black beans & kidney beans - sale .60/can = $2.40
• 1 Clearance kidney beans = .38/can
• 1.5 lb clearance stew meat (angus, grain-fed beef!) = only $2.25
• 2 jars Ragu = $1.30
• 4 Clorox (96 oz) - Sale $1.50/bottle AND $1.50/2 coupons from my son's preschool lobby (lesson for all of us - ALWAYS be looking for coupons...they are really everywhere!) = $3.00 for 4 bottles (.75/each)
• 2 boxes of Kellog's cereal = $2

TOTAL SPENT OOP = $20.18
ITEMS PURCHASED = 26
TOTAL SAVED = $29.20

(The photo of my loot is at the top of this post) WOW! That's an average of only .77 per item!

Let's Go Krogering w/o 4/12

Here are this week's deals - enjoy!

• .97/pound Grapes


• .48/pound Bananas
• $1/each - Bell peppers (red, yellow, green, orange)


• $1.57/pound Ground Beef (73% Lean)


• Quaker Rice Cakes - Sale $1 AND $1 (Insert 3/29 RP). NET PRICE = FREE


• Green Giant Veggies 7-10 oz - Sale $1 AND .50 on Steamers (insert 4/5 SS) AND .50 on 2 Boxed (insert 4/5 SS) AND .50 on 2 (insert 3/15 RP)AND .60 on 2 Boxed Printable here. NET PRICE = FREE - .50 each


• Birds Eye Veggies - Sale $1 AND .35 (insert 3/29 SS) NET PRICE = .30 each


• Powerade - Sale $1 AND .40 (insert 3/22 SS) NET PRICE = .20 each


• Rice or Pasta Roni - Sale $1 AND $1 on 4 (insert 3/8 RP) AND $1 on 3 Printable here NET PRICE = $.67 - $.75 each


• Kroger Half Gallon Milk or OJ - Sale $1 - here's a tip from my friend Laura P. - milk DOES freeze well! Just take off the lid and pour a bit out to make up for the expnasion of the liquid when it freezes (DON'T waste it - pour into a cup for later use), put the lid back on and freeze!


• Yo-Plus Yogurt - $2.49 AND $1 Printable here AND here AND $1.50 Yo-Plus Printable here AND $.50 via Cellfire. NET PRICE $.49 - $1.49 each


• Suave Deodorant - Sale $1.00 AND .50 (insert 3/29 RP) NET PRICE = FREE


• SoftSoap 7 oz - Sale $1 AND .30 (insert 3/29 RP) NET PRICE = .30 each

Thanks to Cindy at her blog for these two tips:

• Lawry's Marinade - Sale $1 - AND $1/2 coupon (insert 4/5 RP). NET PRICE = .50 each
• McCormick Grill Mates Seasoning - Sale $1 AND .55 coupon (insert 3/15 RP) NET PRICE = FREE

I got TONS of stuff this week - here's the break down:

• Total items purchased - 24
• Total spent OOP (out of pocket) - $20.65
• Total savings - $26.89 (that's 56% savings and only .86/item!!)

Bascially, I took advantage of the FREE items above (3 each of rice cakes & deodorant) Several gallons of milk, pounds of grapes, lunch meat, bananas, 3 softsoaps and more!

Save some GREEN by going GREEN!

As luck would have it, you can save lots of money by doing things that are also better for the environment! Check out my previous posts on Extreme Frugality and Saving Money.

The key is really stopping to think before you buy anything or toss anything out - try to think outside the box and you'll be surprised at the money you can save (and how you can help the environment, too!).

Here are some tips:

• Reuse paper that has only been used on one side - I have a second paper "stash" near my printer to print things like printable coupons, directions from map quest, and grocery lists or I give it to my kids to color on instead of "fresh" paper


• Use wine corks to create a fun cork board (this can be a great gift - fun, unique and CHEAP) - check out this site for instructions on this and many other cork projects!


• Cut down a king or queen sized sheet that's worn down the middle into a twin or full sized flat sheet (or cut into rags for use around the house - with that many rags, you'll never need to buy paper towels again!)


• Grow your own veggies - Whether you have an acre or only a small apartment porch, if you get some sunlight in your corner of the earth, you can grow some of your own food - Even if you only plant one or two cherry tomato plants, you'll be shocked at how much money you can save, home-grown tastes better and is better for Mother Earth, too. Any local garden center can get you started.


• Vent fans - Each time you use a bathroom or kitchen vent fan, you are using a LOT more energy than you think - it sucks out huge amounts of air that you've paid to heat or cool and often those fans have larger-than-necessary motors, which take a lot of energy to run (basically, they are typically inefficient). Only use them sparingly and for a few moments.


• Water Heater - Many people already know to insulate their water heater, but many people DON'T know you should also wrap the first 6 feet of pipe leading out of your water heater with insulating foam.


• Freezer - Keep your freezer as full as possible. If you have to, put milk jugs filled with water in the freezer. It’s less expensive to keep a full freezer cold than an empty one.


• Dishwasher - Use your dishwasher's no-heat air-drying option (if it has one). If it doesn't, turn the dishwasher off as soon as it has finished washing, before it starts the drying cycle. Also, clean out the drain filter monthly both to keep the dishwasher clean and to maintain its efficiency (um, confession time, I didn't know dishwashers have these filters!).

Feel free to share some of your own ideas!