What did you do to save money this week (2/4/07)?

[mrsbornkuntry]

What am I whining about anyway- how blessed am I to be able to save the money to go next year and for SUCH a great celebration

Just venting-Lori

OT--what a coincidence, your dd was going through chemo the same year my ds went through chemo and had a stem cell transplant for leukemia. You also have the same celebration planned as we're planning, but ours probably won't be until fall 2008 or spring 2009. I can't wait to reach that 5 year milestone next year! Enjoy your trip, and for now enjoy planning it, I think that's half the fun

 

[wendygirl]

I use the couponmom.com site and it saves me a ton. You pick what state you're in and she gives you a list of what your store has on sale this week and matches up the coupons that were in the paper that week as well.

It's free. Check it out!

I have also learned to print the coupons in black and white to save $$$! It makes no difference to the scanner but it does to my budget!

I also took the leap and learned how to fill my own ink cartridges! What was I afraid of?! Makes me sick to my stomach to think of the $$$ I have been wasting all these years! Since we do online christian homeschool it takes lots of ink and paper! Saving almost $60 a month refilling!

I love this board ...

 

[dznyacct]

At lunch today I made two "bargain" stops. My first stop was at CVS where I bought $31 worth of the ECB items (that will net me $14 back in ECB). I had some manufacturers coupons for some of the items, a "get $5 off a $30 purchase" CVS coupon and my $10 ECB from the Theraflu purchase on Sunday that was in this week's ad. My total after coupons was $14.75. WIth the $14 EBC, my net cost will be 75 cents!!

Then I went to Target and got 10 of the free Choxie candy bars. I also found an Olay Regenerist microdermabrasion kit that was marked 50% off ($11.98 vs. $23.98). I really wanted to try this and the price was right! I had $20 in Target gift cards from 2 Rxs I transferred there, so my total cost was $0!!

It was a very rewarding lunch hour!

 

[ducklite]

Day 25 of the IPCEO!

I'm down a total of 8.5 pounds!

The new Publix sale flyer will be out today, so I'll take a look at that and plan next weeks meals. I'm working on getting my pantry to the point that I buy almost nothing that isn't on sale. DH will be home next week, so that will run my grocery bill up a bit. But it will be nice having him home, he hasn't been here for a month now.

Anne

 

[carissanboys]

I forgot to mention yesterday that I signed up online for the CVS card. I realized afterwards that I could have gotten it faster if I signed up in person, but oh well. It gives me 2 weeks to try and figure the system out! And we have a CVS right up the road so that's great.

Thanks for the tips on the shopping sites. If I sign up at grocerygame ohiominnie, I'll be sure to use you as my referral

 

[TyNicJen]

I returned a winter coat I got 1/2 price. I wore it on and off for 3 weeks but still had the tags I cut off and the receipt. The zippers on the pockets didn't work then the regular zipper split 2 times and I had to fix it. Then it started to molt....The down was pooring out!!
I looked like a sick duck!!!!!
Anyway I got my money back and maybe I can find a better coat. From now on I will save all receipts for a while.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm going to make a taco salad tonight. Either that or BLTs. No eating out! Yea. (Probably BLTs)

I've been having headaches off and on for two days. It interrupted my sleep last night and I don't feel like 2 cents. That will probably keep me out of the stores today.

 

[carissanboys]

Does anyone have any ideas on what do to with a bunch of bacon? We were lucky enough to get quite a bit of free meat from my in-laws (they purchase a half a cow and a pig and have it butchered each year) and one of those items was some good bacon. It's currently sitting in my freezer as I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm looking for something I can make for dinner with it, besides BLT's. My kids aren't big bacon fans, at least not cooked up in a pan and eaten like that. Any ideas?

 

[calie_j]

Does anyone have any ideas on what do to with a bunch of bacon? We were lucky enough to get quite a bit of free meat from my in-laws (they purchase a half a cow and a pig and have it butchered each year) and one of those items was some good bacon. It's currently sitting in my freezer as I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm looking for something I can make for dinner with it, besides BLT's. My kids aren't big bacon fans, at least not cooked up in a pan and eaten like that. Any ideas?

Brown some up and crumble it to put on salads & potatoes. Any breakfast type casserole like stratas you can put bacon in, use it along with or instead of the ham/sausage in the original recipe. Add it to green beans along with onions & parmesan cheese.

 

[39CINDERELLA]

Does anyone have any ideas on what do to with a bunch of bacon? We were lucky enough to get quite a bit of free meat from my in-laws (they purchase a half a cow and a pig and have it butchered each year) and one of those items was some good bacon. It's currently sitting in my freezer as I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm looking for something I can make for dinner with it, besides BLT's. My kids aren't big bacon fans, at least not cooked up in a pan and eaten like that. Any ideas?

You can also put it on meatloaf to give it flavor while cooking

 

[Fall1]

DH and I have separate car insurance policies with the same insurance company...not sure why we did that in the first place, but I called today to find out if there's a discount if we switch to one policy and there is! We received a 5% multicar discount and a fee waiver of $4 per month. Not bad for a quick phone call!

 

[ducklite]

Well I went through next weeks CVS ad, there's absolutely NOTHING I use, and I'm not going to buy "stuff" for the sake of buying it because it's on sale. So I'll hold onto my $44 in ECB's and hope for sales that are more useful to me next week.

OTOH I went through the Publix sale flyer, and they've got some really good deals this week.

BOGO's:
Arnold Breads (We love the Cinnamon Swirl and it freezes well)
Dole Fruit or Fruit Gel Bowls
General Mills Cereals
Ghiradelli Brownie Mix
Kellogs Cereal
Honey Graham Crackers
Old El Paso DInenr Kits
PAM Cooking Spray
Pop Secret Popcorn

They also have plum tomatos for $.99/pound, grapes $1.49 pound, Anjou Pears $1.29 pounds, Smart Ones entrees 50% off, and lean ground beef $3.29 a pound.

Anne

 

[rkwells]

Well I went through next weeks CVS ad, there's absolutely NOTHING I use, and I'm not going to buy "stuff" for the sake of buying it because it's on sale. So I'll hold onto my $44 in ECB's and hope for sales that are more useful to me next week.Anne

How'd ya come by next weeks ad...mine doesn't come til' Sunday???

 

[Weluvdisny]

Saved $16 this week with the snow days we've been having (no school for 4 days now) so no lunch $ needed. They just have whatever they can find at home. It's a good thing we've got a full cupboard cuz I haven't made it to the store. I just go to work and come right home.

Our lake effect here has made national news. Can I sell anyone some snow?

 

[Carrie772]

I like this idea! Even though mine are 9 & 10, they still get their cups mixed up, then don't want to risk drinking out of the other's cup--might get cooties! I'm sick of all the milk poured down the sink, not to mention the extra dishwasher loads we run. So now I'll buy color-coded cups--its pointless to try to use cups we already have, they'll just fight over who's cup is who's, regardless. I'll look for something unique in the kitchen they can't argue over!

How'bout using those cute tumblers with the straws they had at the DS? They are such a pain to hand wash you will be inspired!

 

[cinamin27]

Pour a large pot of boiling water down it every week to try and dissolve any of that gunk. My mom has done this her entire life and has never had a serious clog not caused by a plastic green army man. But that's another story...

Anne

is this ok to do on the side of the kitchen sink that has the garbage disposal too? even tho I ask him not to, my guy pours grease & greasy meat drippings down the drain & we are renting, I dont want to clog up a drain that is not ours nor break the gargage disposal.

 

[PeterPansPixie]

We have eaten dinner at home three nights in a row. That is a record for us! I think we are going to eat at home again tonight, possibly chicken and dumplings. YUM!

I also brought my lunch to work yesterday.

I figure this saved us $65 and more than makes up for our early Valentine dinner (DH works graveyard on Valentine's day) that we had at Black Angus last weekend.

 

[carissanboys]

So I spent a bit of money today. Some good, some not so good.

I spent $1 to try out grocerygame for 4 weeks. I checked out Food Lion for the week and printed out a list of the items recommended and checked to see what I had for coupons.

The boys and I headed to the mall. It has a Disney Store and I wanted to go and use my free $15 gift card that I'd received from Disney Visa out of the blue a while back. We have a birthday coming up so I bought a couple of items for him and they had ball caps on sale for $2.99 each. I bought my boys each one for our upcoming trip to Disney. They'll need something to keep the sun out of their eyes! Total OOP = $2.29

Then I let them ride the carousel that's in the mall. Cost = $4.50, but I used quarters from my change jar to pay for it.

Last stop was Food Lion. I was really disappointed because most of the items she had listed as being on sale, I didn't see any signs up for. She had a lot of BOGO listed and I couldn't find any of them. I got a few deals, but overall I think I spent much more than I should have. I don't normally shop at Food Lion, but I figured it's close by so I don't mind going to stock up when there's good sales. My 2 1/2 year old was being a major terror and that made it difficult to concentrate. Don't go shopping with your young children if you want to save money!!!! Dh is in CA for work for a week and a half. Normally I don't take them along.

Total saved = $15.71 Total spent = $54.62

I know I'll do better as time goes on. I just have more to learn. I plan to start buying things only when they're on sale and/or I have a coupon. Then I will plan my meals according to what I have.

I remembered something else I do to save money. I cut my husband's and boys' hair. My husband is military so he needs his cut every 3 weeks. And 3 boys would really add up. So I bought a pair of hair clippers for about $25 at Walmart. I paid for their cost after one round of haircuts! I've learned a lot since I started doing it (a couple of years now) and I think they all turn out pretty well. If dh can pass inspection with my haircuts, they must be ok!

We didn't eat lunch out while we shopped. I brought along some peanut butter crackers that I'd made and we had a snack. When we got home, I made grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. A good meal on such a cold day!

 

[carissanboys]

is this ok to do on the side of the kitchen sink that has the garbage disposal too? even tho I ask him not to, my guy pours grease & greasy meat drippings down the drain & we are renting, I dont want to clog up a drain that is not ours nor break the gargage disposal.

What I do is sprinkle some baking soda into the drain and then pour in some white vinegar. I let it sit for a while and then run the hot water down the drain. I don't think it's a problem to pour boiling water down the drain with the disposal unless the disposal is running. At that time you're suppose to use cold water to keep it from overheating (you probably already knew that).

 

[maggiew]

I haven't started the grocery game, but did you look closely at the dates? Maybe the BOGO sales start on Sunday??

Maggie