Little Pet Shops Pet Parade at Walmart

With 4 little girls I am excited about this event! The Pets on Parade for the Littlest Pet Shop toys event will take place on February 13th, 2010 at participating Walmart stores. There will be free giveaways: posters, stickers, bags, parade flags and more. The parade will start every 10-20 minutes between 11am and 2pm inside the entrance of the store. Click here to see if your store is participating! Thanks My Dallas Mommy!


I am excited to say the the locations near me are participating!! 
College Park
Woodlands Parkway 
Louetta

Electrasol coupons expiring today!

Please, please, for the love of all non-expired coupons DO NOT let your Electrasol coupons expire with out using them TODAY!!

They are only $.49 a box at Kroger and Kroger affiliates with the mega event. 

At HEB you can pick up a box for $.59 with coupon. 

WalMart they are only $.89 for the big box with coupon.

Those little $2.25 coupons paid for the 10 papers I bought that week by themselves! Last night I almost missed using them up but my brilliant husband said, "oh look, isn't that the dishwasher stuff you use, it's on sale". Before I could point out that he just incriminated himself by suggesting he had no idea what to use in the dishwasher, I realized I had completely forgotten about using them!

He saved himself from another 14 years of not having to load and start the dishwasher!

Coupon Preview for this weekend.

This week you should be getting 2 inserts in your paper if you are in a larger area. The Smart Source and the Red Plum will be in my Houston Chronicle.

I am not even going to attempt to post the coupons because lately many area are getting different coupons and different value coupons. If you are in a larger city, your coupons tend to be higher in value and you get more of them. Not fair I know. 

Kris in Myrtle Beach's Mega Event Trip

Thanks Kris for your email! 

I love to see how everyone else has done!

"These are my cell phone pics of my 1st and 3rd trip.  I got too much crap for taking picture #1, so I neglected picture #2, and said screw it and took picture #3.  LOL!"

 

$300 worth of stuff for $90 :) :) :)

Kris, I am afraid I am going to have to diagnose you with mega event sickness...

Symptoms include,

~Taking pictures of grocery store purchases to show your friends.

~ Ordering coupons from ebay for your favorite items.

~ Taking children to the store with you on purpose, so they can push a second cart.

~Hooking up the trailer because you are afraid the back of the suburban won't hold all the grocery bags.

~Begging your husband to print off coupons at work.

~Wearing your glasses for the first time since the last mega event so you don't miss any peelies.

AND

~ Feeling like a rock star when the cashier calls over all his buddies to watch you check out because of how much you are saving!!

If you have any of these symptoms, please gather your coupons together and head out the door to your nearest Kroger or Kroger affiliate!

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's off to Kroger we go!

The story of my life....

It's Friday night and we actually have a babysitter!

We run out the door like crazy people to the movie theatre to attempt a "Date Night".

We get to the theatre only to discover that every other person in town plans on having date night also....

Movie is sold out, other movie is sold out, late movie is sold out.

Husband says, "I happen to have the glove I have to return to the sporting goods store, do you care if we go?"

I say, " I happen to have my binder with me, do you care if we go to Kroger?"

This was our Date Night...

Ta Da! Pathetic huh!?

Total before coupons: $368

Total after coupons: $142

The nicest surprise was the Ozarka water was on sale for $2.99 part of the mega event. I had a coupon for a free 6 pack of water when I bought two, so I did. After checking out I got a $2 catalina back from Ozarka. So only $4 for all that water!

Now, this is not all mega event items. We had a lot of other "junk" thrown in. Meat, vegetables, fruit, breakfast items for 7th grade boy's choir try-outs, you know stuff like that. 

I really am not quite twisted enough to only buy the mega event item things by themselves to try and see how good I can do! Getting to the store is a challenge in itself!

Well, that was my date night. Was anyone else's better?!

New Swagbucks Special Offers!

I will admit I am a little addicted to Swagbucks! My trusty Dyson vacuum just died ( moment of silence....) and I just purchased a new one from Amazon with my gift cards that I had built up through Swagbucks! It took me about 6 weeks to get $300 in gift cards to Amazon, I was saving them for next Christmas but you never know when emergencies ( like not having a vacuum) will occur. I do have some referrals that helps and I always tell everyone I know about it. 

There is a new Swag code out worth $1. It expires 2/4.

You need to go to the main page of Swagbucks.com.

Click on Ways to Earn.

Select special offers.

Click on the No Obligation Offers box.

Notice it says this at the top of that page:

Welcome to Swag Bucks Special Offers. Sign up for the free money-saving offers you like,
feel free to skip the rest, and find a special swag code reward at the end.

Skip all the offers by clicking the skip button beneath the advertisement.

After about 7 pages, there will be a Swag code worth $1.

Enter it on swagbucks.com in the Enter a Swag Code box.

Good luck!

There is also a Swagcode in the Newsletter. It expires at 3 PM PST on January 30th.

If you don’t get a newsletter, you can go to the main page of Swagbucks.com and look on the left hand menu and click on newsletter and request one. Thanks Kristin!

What is Swagbucks? Swagbucks is a search engine that awards you in the form of Swagbucks (points that can be traded in for prizes.) Go HERE to sign up! You can chose from a variety of prizes including gift cards. My favorite is a $5 Amazon.com gift card. It costs 45 Swagbucks. You get 3 Swagbucks for joining and can win anywhere from 2 – 5 a day if you search until you win in the morning and in the evening. I usually win within my first 5 searches. They also have Swagcodes out at least 5 times a week that can be worth 1 – 3 Swagbucks. Thanks Again Kristin!

Facebook Freebie Heluva Good Onion Dip!

I usually don't sign up for the Facebook Freebies, but this one I did!  Just become a fan of Heluva Good! on Facebook and receive a coupon in the mail valid for a FREE Heluva Good! product! After becoming a fan, click on the “Promotions” tab and sign up.

Free Razor from Old Spice

Old Spice has now come out with razors.  Click here to Join the Old Spice Saving crew and they will send you a free razor! Thanks My Dallas Mommy!

Food Storage Friday - What dairy can you freeze?

I was planning a little different intro but due to the sales this week I am going to change it up a bit. 


** When we start talking about how much to store for your family, I do NOT count the food in my freezer. It is too perishable. 


One of the best ways to save money and have some food storage is with a freezer. Now, in an emergency you have the possibility of loosing your freezer, so it does have its negatives. 
A freezer and the food in a freezer are my back up food storage. The most important food I have is that which will survive the heat and cold without help. 


During hurricane Ike we lost our large chest freezer. We had only a few days to eat the food from it before we had to toss EVERYTHING. I still have not replaced my large chest freezer. We have a full size fridge in my house and one in the garage. Both freezers are always FULL. I am good about rotating and using the food from both freezers, not as good though at rotating the things in my fridges! However, I really do wish I had my large freezer again for those really good meat deals. I also would keep many gallons of milk, ice cream, frozen dough, juice and bread to keep those last minute runs to the grocery store down. 


A full size chest freezer is well worth the money. A quick look at craigslist and I found many under $100. This will pay for itself in no time. The older units pull a lot of electricity, so keep that in mind and look for a newer model. Chest freezers are less expensive than upright freezers, obviously uprights are a little more convenient when looking for what you are storing!


I label EVERYTHING that I put in the freezer with a permanent marker. I bribe a bigger kid to help me pull the bottom items up when I am loading a new shopping trip in ( when I had my chest freezer) now I do take the time to pull forward the older items to attempt to rotate it all. We pick blueberries in the summer and freeze 40 lbs at a time. It is important to remember when freezing fruit to NOT WASH it before you freeze if possible, and if you can flash freeze it first. 


Freezing Dairy?


** The HIGER the fat content the better it freezes, above 40% is best.


~Butter can be frozen for 6 to 9 months in its original coated paper packages. Margarine will last for 12 months.
~Cream cheese, dry cottage cheese and farmer's cheese can be kept in the freezer for three months. Avoid freezing creamed cottage cheese because it breaks down and gets mushy.
~Hard cheeses such as cheddar, Colby, Gouda, Swiss and Edam should be cut and wrapped in small pieces of less than one pound. If you use grated cheeses frequently, grate them first and then freeze in freezer-weight plastic bags or plastic freezer containers. Before using, thaw grated cheese in the refrigerator.
~Processed cheese like Velveeta can be frozen in a loaf or in slices for up to four months. Blue cheese freezes well for three months, but it will become crumbly after thawing.
~You can freeze light and heavy cream, evaporated milk and half-and-half for up to two months. Heavy cream may not whip up after thawing, however. Don't freeze these products in their original containers. Store in plastic freezer containers or glass jars. Leave one inch of headspace because the liquids will expand as they freeze and you don't want a dairy explosion in the freezer.
~Milk will store in the freezer for one month, but make sure you leave expansion room in the container.
~Eggs can't be frozen in their original state, but you can break the eggs and add one tablespoon of milk or water per egg and a dash of salt. Scramble them before you put them in a freezer container. Thaw in the refrigerator and use for scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles or French toast.


Do you use a freezer? Has it helped you save money?

Huge Blowout sale at LittleMissMatched!

Oh My Gosh! Now I wish I knew what I was having! Little LissMatch has the cutest clothing! Save over 80% off Outlet with SALE20 at checkout. This sale ends 2/1/2010. You can get baby items for $5 that are SO adorable at their $5 Baby Blowout Sale!!!! Hurry! These will all go quickly! Thanks Mommies With Cents!

Mega Event Pictures!

We have our first pictures in from the Mega Event! My friend Shasta had a great trip!

"Hey there! When I went to your coupon class at your house you mentioned a good couponer can save over 50% and I though no not me..I will never get there. I did today! Yahoo 70% savings I started out at $198 then after coupons and the mega deal I got down to $61.00  We did have one "sacrifice" for the trip. Its the picture of the tortillas my two year olds wanted to knaw one something. Suprisingly he didn't break through the packaging. Oh also I don't know if all other Krogers do this but the one I went to did the following: Boxes of mac n cheese for $.50 cents each. I had a buy 3 get one 1 free coupon. They entered the free box mac n cheese at the regular price of $1.19 a box so I got 4 boxes of mac and cheese for $.31 cents (50 cents x3-freebie at 1.19). Wahoo!"


This is the best part! Can you see the teeth marks?? Hilarious! 

Justice 40% off entire store including sale items!

Here is a great deal from Savings.com! 40% off the entire store at Limited Too/ Justice for girls! They have some great deals! You can even use this code on clearance items!

Look for blinkies!

Thanks to a reader Audrey for these good tips!

On Blue Bell's website you can register and print out $1.00 off coupons. Making the sales at $3.99 even sweeter.


Also, at my Kroger they have a Good Start Blinkie for $3.00 off. The Goodstart is less at WalMart so instead of paying $22.50 I get it for $19.50!!

Food Storage Friday ( Just a heads up!)

On Friday's I want to start writing a new post specifically for food storage. If you have the opportunity to purchase this much extra food you need to know how to store it. Recently, I had a major run-in with those little food destroying moths. They have wrecked havoc on my dry goods! I don't want the same thing to happen to you! These are some topics I want to cover:

~ What is food storage?
~ Food Storage vs. Stockpiling vs. Hoarding
~ What to store?
~ How to store it?
~ How much do I need for my/your size family?
~ How long does it last.
~ Where to store it.
~ I need a buying plan...
~ How do I rotate my food?

If there is anything that you would like some information on or if you have any thing to add or offer please leave a comment. Do you have a system that works for you that you can share with us? I would love to have some guest posts.

Target, Special K and Granola $.72 a box!

If you are headed out to Target, put this on your list! I have tried the granola and I really like it! You can get Special K cereal and Granola for $0.72 per box after coupons at Target right now. Here’s how:

Buy 1 box of Special K cereal at $2.94
Buy 1 box of Special K Granola at $3.29
Use Buy One, Get One Free manufacturer’s coupon here
Stack with $0.50/1 Kellogg’s Special K Target coupon here and $1/1 Kellogg’s Special K Granola Target coupon here
$0.72 each after coupons

Thanks Money Saving Mom