Meal Plan Monday!

Today I hit up Fresh and Easy and Albertsons (separate posts on each one of those to follow), so that makes this weeks' meal planning a lot easier.

Here is this weeks Menu Plan:

Monday:

• B:Cliff bars with PB and coffee with creamer


• L: Me, Stromboli (Stouffers) DH,Leftovers


• D: Salsa chicken soup with quinoa, tossed salad

Tuesday:

• B:Cliff bars with PB and coffee with creamer


• L: Me, leftovers, DH Fresh and easy meal


• D: Chili (re-purposing the leftover vegan chili we had last week, adding ground beef and more beans)

Weds:

• B:Cliff bars with PB and coffee with creamer


• L: Me, leftovers, DH Fresh and easy meal


• D: Chef Salad with hummus

Thursday:

• B:Cliff bars with PB and coffee with creamer


• L:  Me, mac n' cheese, DH Fresh and easy meal


• D:Crockpot soup

Friday:

• B:Cliff bars with PB and coffee with creamer


• L:  Me, leftovers, DH Fresh and easy meal


• D:Something with hamburger- probably a casserole (I'll brown and season the taco meat for Saturday's lunch at this time)

Saturday:

• B:Omelets and fruit


• L: Tacos or taco salad


• D: Stir fry with Rice

Sunday:

• B: Pancakes and eggs


• L: leftovers


• D:Quesadilla cheeseburgers

All lunches include a piece of fruit, cut up veggies, bottle of water, granola bar and lollipop.

A lot of you ask about why and how we eat leftovers for lunch each day.  I make extra portions of dinner each night and I put them into reusable containers before I serve dinner each night.  Sometimes I make big salads and portion them into our reusable salad containers when what we are having for dinner either won’t make good leftovers or when we have guests for dinner.

 

Our Pledge:  This month, we will not be eating out.  We’ll be eating at home each night and taking lunches from home. With menu planning, this should be a lot easier.   Update: Last week we had Subway twice. We had coupons and honestly, sometimes, even with a menu plan, I have an exhausting day chasing the baby and I don't want to cook. So, we are re-committing and pressing forward!

Rebates!

I love rebates.

A lot of people that I talk to think that rebate shopping can be a waste of time.  For me, rebates are a quick, easy way to obtain a free or cheap product that I might need or want to try.  Granted, you do have to pay for the cost of a stamp, currently .44 and wait 6-12 weeks for your money to come back, but, I have no problem waiting for money to come in the mail.

Most (99%) of all rebates tell you to submit the original receipt.  If you are doing multiples rebates, you must do multiple transactions during your shopping trip.

Check for a sale on your rebate items and use a coupon if one if available. Most rebates will give you the price before the coupon as the rebate- that is a true moneymaker!  If you shop at Walgreens or CVS, check to see if there is a RR or ECB offer for your item, it will be like getting paid twice!

Example of a rebate I did earlier this year:

• $15.00 rebate when you buy $40.00 or more in Enfamil Formula.


• 3 cans of Enfamil Newborn formula $23.55/each Regular Price


• -3 $5.00 Formula Checks


• -In store Walgreens coupon for $19.99 each (limit 3)


• Total $44.97 with formula checks and in store coupon


• After Rebate total out of pocket: $29.97 or just $9.99 each!

 

After your purchase the product(s) listed on the rebate form, complete each form per the directions, print neatly.  Include ALL of the needed items: UPC (bar code), receipt with the item and price circled, completed forms, and sometimes a self addressed stamped envelope (SASE) is required.

For a website with a comprehensive list of current rebates, check out Coupons, Deals, and More (my fav. blog for rebate links!) .

I keep track of my rebates.  I have an Excel Spreadsheet where I track my rebates, an example follows. Others track their rebates on a calendar.  They write on the calendar the date the rebate was mailed and 10-12 weeks later they mark on the calendar: “XX rebate $YY.00??” Once it is received it is marked off the calendar.

Right now I have 4 rebates I am waiting for, with a total of $25.00 coming back to me!

 

Wooty Woot- Mail round up!

Sorry, no pics, my camera battery died and is now charging.  Yesterday was a pretty great mail day.

• $25 American Express Pre-paid gift card from Am. Ex. and Fed Ex for small business Saturday (Facebook offer).


• Free sample of Olay Professional rX.


• Cottonelle Roll Cover (facebook offer).


• Coupon for a free bag of Kettle potato chips.


• Coupon for a free carton of Kefir ice cream.


• Issues of Entertainment Weekly, All You, and Maxim (all free!).


• A flier from My Publisher, offering 10 free holiday cards free (and free shipping!).

What kind of freebies have you gotten this week?

I went shopping: Wal*Mart

After cruising some internet forums, looking for some free stuff (after coupons) at Wal*mart, I scooped up some coupons and packed up the Little Man.

We went a local Wal*Mart I had not been to in years.  It has a full service grocery store in it.

[caption id="attachment_1419" align="alignleft" width="398" caption="All this for only $6.30!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1421" align="alignleft" width="273" caption="Check out all of those coupons!All this for only $6.30!"][/caption]

Quite a few items were free!

All of the Potatoes were free.

• Hash browns courtesy of a Free item coupon in All You Magazine.


• Mashed Potatoes were $.98, I paired them with a $1.00 off coupon that is available online. I received .02 overage which was applied to my balance.

The rolls were free.  I contacted Sister Schubert with a question, and they sent me a free product coupon.

The Torani syrup coupon ($1.00/1) is still available to print at Coupons.com. I use about a teaspoon in my coffee along with creamer.

I'm now hooked on La Creme coffee creamer. It's a good thing I found a $1.00/1 coupon in last months' All You Magazine.  After the coupon, it was only .88!

And finally, the Hormel Snack tray.  There is all sorts of hubbub all over frugal blogs and twitter that it's only .98 after a coupon.  NOT TRUE. Prices at Wal*mart differ by region (lame), so in my area (and a lot of others from what I've been seeing in the backlash from this widely posted deal).  I printed the coupon, because I needed cheese and butter crackers for a recipe, and buying this tray would be cheaper than buying either ingredient separately. At my Wal*mart, the Hormel Snack trays are $5.48 before coupons.

Further Adventures in Frugal Living...

In addition to all of the fun frugal things we do in our house (coupons, rebates, comparison shopping, Endorse.com, mypoints, daily deal sites), I've started looking into a few more ways to save money.

I already color my own hair and I have for almost 20 years.  I used to use professional colors from the beauty supply store, but these days I am getting such really great color from the free hair color I can get with coupons, that I am using what's free these days.  I also give myself facials each month, use depilitories/wax myself, and tweeze my own brows. (You can learn about a fun, frugal girls beauty night-in here) After getting fed up with paying almost $60 for a hair cut and blow dry, I decided to do it myself.

YUP, I CUT MY OWN HAIR.  And I lived to tell. I tend to keep my hair short (between chin and shoulder length) now because the baby likes to grab Mama's hair and it hurts.  I Googled "How to Cut your own hair" and looked at some videos on YouTube, but honestly, nothing I read or saw was terribly helpful. I figured I'd just go for it.  I washed my hair, sectioned it, and started cutting.

I cut off about 3 1/2 inches.  I made my bangs about an inch shorter than the rest of my hair.  My hair is incredibly fine, but there is a lot of it.  When it's dry, it tends to flip up a lot at the ends, so the second picture looks like there are some uneven spots, it's just the way my hair acts when it is very clean.

Sorry, no before photos.  It didn't occur to me until after I lopped a hunk off!

[caption id="attachment_1413" align="alignleft" width="306" caption="Ta Da! Cut and colored!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1414" align="alignleft" width="358" caption="And Sooo soft too!"][/caption]

So there it is. Will I do it again? Probably. Let's break down my savings:

Deep Condition, hair cut, blow dry $75 in a salon. Add $50-$100 for a single process color (that means no high or low lights). WOWZA!

My OOP was ZERO. The color was free from a Garnier Facebook promo, and the deep conditioner came in the box of color.

I save about $20/month by taking care of my own eyebrows,  about $100/month doing my own chemical/wax hair removal, and about $75/month giving myself a facial.

Just because you live frugally doesn't mean that your appearance has to suffer.  HBA is always on sale and with coupons and overage, you can pick up hair color, depilatories, and great skin care products (including masks!) for very little OOP.

The color is demi-permanent, so I'll have to re-do it a little sooner than I usually do, but by then, I'm sure I'll have a great deal on hair color!

The only service I don't do at home is a pedicure.  It's my one splurge.   I get a $20 pedicure once every 6 weeks at a local pedicure shop. It's a great, clean shop, and $20 includes callus remover (very important, since I wear sandals all the time!)

 

Does anyone else cut or color their hair at home or indulge in beauty treatments at home?

New at Fresh & Easy: The Friends Card!

I like Fresh and Easy. They don't accept manufacturer's coupons, but they do have $5/20 coupons frequently and they mark down section is tops! I generally shop there is my $5/20 coupon and only in the mark down section.

Now, they have a points card, similar to what Ralph's is doing. It's pretty simple:  All you have to do is what you normally do and you can earn cash rewards. You get a point for every dollar you spend (some exclusions apply) and 500 points earns you 5 dollars in cash rewards.

To earn points faster,  there are bonus point coupons that you can load onto your card online.

You will also receive emails from Fresh and Easy about upcoming sales and new coupons.

Lots of great freebies!

I usually save the freebie post for Friday, but after surfing the web, I found a bunch of great freebies that I had to share today!!

Free Coffee Today at Bruegger's bagels!

Free Sample of Amlactin Lotion from All You.  Other Great Samples are available from All You.  There is also an article about 26 things you can do/get for free.

Free Bayer Contour Glucose monitor (for diabetics).

Free Tresemme hair care samples on Facebook.

Free Emergen-C Vitamin Drink Beverage Powder (love this stuff during cold season!)

Free Customizable Christmas Card from Tiny prints.

And Because Friday is Veteran's Day, there are TONS of Freebies for those who currently serve as well as Vets. Here is a list of 35 businesses who thank vets for their service by offering complimentary services or products.

 

Great Night Out!

A big thanks to Mrs. Boyd at Fulton Elementary School in Skyline.  I had a great time, met a lot of people and introduced, briefly Grocery Smarts!

I hope that everyone had a great take away, and remember, if you'd like me to come out and teach a coupon class to your group, just shoot me an email at cacoupondiva@gmail.com!

 

 

I went Shopping: Ralph's (and BzzAgent Report!)

I'm a part of the Ralph's Truly Awesome Homestyle Cookie Campaign with BzzAgent.  I received 2 boxes free as part of the campaign.  I picked them up this morning along with a gallon of milk (we were out, plus what goes better with cookies than milk!).

[caption id="attachment_1394" align="alignleft" width="428" caption="Cookies and Milk, what a combo!"][/caption]

 

I dug right into the cookies as soon as Little Man and I got back to the car.  They are large and chock full of chocolate chips.  Every bite was yummy, chocolate-y, and satisfying!

If you don't have a Ralph's near you, the Truly Awesome™ Homestyle Cookies can be found in your stores - but just under a different name. Replace the "Kroger" in Kroger's The Truly Awesome™ Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies with your store's name (Fred Meyer's The Truly Awesome™ Homestyle Chocolate Chip cookies, for instance). It's the same mouth-watering cookies, just for your store.

In addition to these great cookies, the Truly Awesome name is on other Ralph's/Kroger items, including low fat yogurt cups and tubes.

 

I used a coupon for "$1.00 of your next purchase", which I received in my recent Ralph's card quarterly rewards packet.

So my total OOP for this trip was just $1.99!

[caption id="attachment_1395" align="alignleft" width="437" caption="WOO HOO!"][/caption]

 

And of course, I brought my own bag too! 5 bonus points brings me that much closer to my next Ralph's reward!

 

I received a survey invitation and code, so I entered to win 1 of 40 $100 Ralph's Gift Cards!  $100- Man, that would go pretty far!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a BzzAgent, I received these two boxes of cookies for free.  I am not monetarily compensated for my opinions or time.  If you are interested in learning more about Bzzagent, visit their website!

 

 

 

 

Small Business Saturday: November 26, 2011

There is Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now: Small Business Saturday.

Help support local businesses (and in my mind, this includes artists and artisans and crafts' people) this year.  American Express and Vocal Point have teamed up to spread the word about Small Business Saturday. Visit their site and you can enter to win 1 of 1oo $25 American Express gift cards to help you support a local business!

I'll be doing my part by participating in a local craft show.  I'll be shopping as well as sellling!

 

 

I received no compensation for posting this blog entry.  I am just sharing the love and spreading the word!

Freebie roundup- Mail call!

Man, the last 2-3 weeks have been kind of "Meh" when it comes to mail.  Just junk mail, and bills (yeck!).  But this past week- WOW. Lots of great samples.

A lot of feminine hygiene supplies- I know!

I recently participated in a sample swap on Hot Coupon World, and I received the feminine hygiene supplies and a few sunblock samples from my swap buddy, as well as a huge stack of coupons (not pictured).

 

 

 

 

There are a couple samples that didn't make it into the photo:

5-Hour energy shot sample (packed it in DH's briefcase).

Mary Kay Mascara, Target Beauty Bag, Aquafresh toothpaste (All were incorporated into a birthday gift basket for a friend).

Opera News, Entertainment Weekly, All You, Maxim, and Red Book Magazines.  Yup- those were all free too. Check out Free Biz Mag to see what kind of free magazines you qualify for!

And I went to the dentist last week and scored some sweet stuff: two new tooth brushes, a bunch of sensitive tooth paste, coupons for sensitive tooth paste, and floss.  And, probably the most important- a clean bill of toofer health!

Savings: Beyond the coupon

I've discussed this before, on this blog and during presentations. There is more to saving than just couponing.  Couponing is a HUGE part of how to save.  Not just for groceries, but also coupons on dining out, movies, activities, museum visits and so many other things! Here are some other ways to save money that you can use in addition to coupons!

Loyalty cards, sometimes called "Store Cards" are also a great way to save money.  Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons, Fresh and Easy, CVS, Rite Aid all offer a card.  CVS gives you cash back in the form of an ECB at the end of each quarter.  Ralphs and Albertsons mail you coupons at the end of each quarter based on the amount that you have spent the past quarter.  Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons allow you to load coupons to your reward card from their website!

If you have a kid and shop at Babies r' us or Toys r' us, check out their loyalty program.  You earn points on each purchase, and reward gift certificates are mailed quarterly!

If you eat out frequently, check to see if your favorite restaurants have frequent buyer or loyalty cards.  Panera does!  With each purchase, you can earn free food and more! Other restaurants have punch cards, or e-clubs that offer birthday rewards.  Here is a small list.

Other stores, such as Sears have loyalty card. Sears' and their Shop your Way rewards earns you points for each purchase and you can redeem them on line or in the store on future purchases!

If you have babies who wear disposable diapers, don't just throw out the packaging! Pampers and Huggies both have points programs.  There are codes in each diaper and wipe package.  Enter the points on their websites, and bank points for toys, gift cards, and coupons for free diapers and products.

Daily Deal Sites are also a great way to save money on purchases.  A lot of daily deal sites offer a "sign up bonus" to new members.  Sign up and they will put a credit in your account. Here is a recent post with more info, including links to my favorite daily deal sites!

And my New Favorite: Endorse.com.  It's a Facebook Application interface, so you have to have a Facebook account to save. I posted about it recently- here are all the deets.

 

What other ways do you save money?

WOO HOO! Coupons in the mail!

Ralphs mails out rewards coupons the first week of November- WOO HOO!  We received ours on Friday. In addition to a coupon for $6.00 off our next purchase, I received lots of other great store coupons for dollars off meat, fruit, veggies, cereal.

I can stack these coupons with manufacturers coupons for even more savings.

I am plotting my next big grocery shopping trip for the 15th!

 

Winner Winner!!

The Winner of the 3rd Anniversary giveaway is: iluvcouponz.

 

Shoot me an email at cacoupondiva@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll head over to the Post office this week!

Congrats!

Celebrate Our 3rd Anniversary!

Technically, yesterday was the 3rd Anniversary of my blog, but I was busy plotting and scheming a great giveaway.

Here is our first entry, three long years ago!

So to celebrate three years of sharing savings and frugal living, it's time for a giveaway!

The giveaway is comprised of two parts, but there will be only one winner!

1. 75+ non-insert coupon insert.  Coupons from mailers, All You, blinkies, peelies, and inside packages. Lots of BOGO and High Value Coupons!


2.  20+ samples.  All kinds of samples.  Coffee,  HBA, food, all kinds of stuff that I have received as a free sample.

It's going to be a pretty great package.  And there are just two ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment with a link to your favorite post from our past three years of money saving good times.


2. Friend CACouponDiva on Facebook. and post a comment with your Facebook name.

Each way gets you 1 entry.  I'll pick a winner on Friday, 11/4/11.

 

 

Great Organic Coupons!

It's time for some organic and healthy food coupons!

Mambo Sprouts coupons (these are Man. q's and can be used anywhere).

Save $1.25 on 1 Silk beverage when you like them on FB.

$1/1 Pacific products when you register with Pacific Foods.

Gluten Free Bisquick Coupon available at Smartsource.

.75/1 Muir Glen Product (might yield a free can of tomatoes if your store doubles!) at Coupons.com.  They also have a Cascadian Farms Coupon too!

Organic Girl offers a $1/1 coupon (exp. 11/30/11) when you friend them on FB.

Earn points and redeem them at Recyclebank for Kashi and other organic and healthy products.

Recipe: Chicken Chili in the crockpot

This recipe is for Steff, who loved the chicken chili I sent home with her last week.

Chicken Chili (serves 8-10)

Ingredients

• 1 1lb bite sized chicken pieces (white or dark meat, your choice!)


• 2 Tablespoons dehydrated onions


• 1 small tin tomato sauce


• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes (If you like your chili spicier, sub one can Ro*tel tomatoes)


• 1 can chili beans in sauce


• 1 can kidney beans


• 1 bag frozen corn or 2 cans of corn drained


• 1 packet taco seasoning (It tastes exactly the same as chili seasoning and it’s cheaper!)

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in the crock pot.


2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.


3. Serve top with cheese.

 

If you have a smaller crock pot, halve the recipe.  This chili freezes well, and is great as a "re-purposed meal" with the addition of cooked macaroni for chili mac, or served over tortilla chips with cheese for zesty nachos.

Crock Pot Spaghetti recipe!

This is a recipe that almost qualifies for $5.00 meal.  If you left out the meat balls, it would be under $5.00

 

Crock Pot Spaghetti (serves 8-10)

 

• 1 large can tomato Puree (.89)


• 2  cans tomatoes with sweet onion (.59 each)


• 1 bag frozen "fajita blend" (three colored peppers and onions) (.99)


• 2 bags frozen meatballs (.99 each)


• dehydrated onions, granulated garlic, Italian seasoning, Salt and Pepper to taste


• 1/2 c. water


• 1 package whole wheat spaghetti ($1.00)

Directions

1. Dump the first 4 ingredients into a large crock pot, season to taste.


2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.


3. Add water.


4. Break spaghetti in half and add to crock pot.


5. Turn crock pot up to high and cook for 45 minutes or until spaghetti is cooked.

 

Serve with shredded cheese (if desired), mixed green salad, and rolls or bread.

 

If you have a smaller crock pot, cut the recipe in half. This freezes really well, if you want to make a large batch and divide it up for lunches or to make on a cook ahead day.

 

 

 

Menu Plan for the week and a pledge...

Here is this weeks Menu Plan:

Monday:

• B:Home Made cinnamon rolls and coffee with creamer


• L: Leftovers


• D: Halloween Pot Luck.  We brought Crock Pot Spaghetti.  I'll post the recipe a little letter.

Tuesday:

• B:Pigs in a blanket and coffee with creamer


• L: leftovers


• D: Salsa Chicken and quinoa soup

Weds:

• B:Fiber One Bars and coffee with creamer


• L:  Leftovers


• D: Breakfast (omelets and melon)

Thursday:

• B:Fiber One Bars and coffee with creamer


• L:  Leftovers


• D: Lentil soup with veggies and hummus

Friday:

• B:Fiber One Bars and coffee with creamer


• L:  Leftovers


• D:Something with hamburger- probably a casserole

Saturday:

• B:Eggs and bacon


• L: Leftovers


• D: Stir fry with Rice

Sunday:

• B: Pancakes and eggs


• L: leftovers


• D:Fritatta

All lunches include a piece of fruit,  cut up veggies, bottle of water, granola bar and lollipop.

A lot of you ask about why and how we eat leftovers for lunch each day.  I make extra portions of dinner each night and I put them into reusable containers before I serve dinner each night.  Sometimes I make big salads and portion them into our reusable salad containers when what we are having for dinner either won't make good leftovers or when we have guests for dinner.

 

Our Pledge:  This month, we will not be eating out.  We'll be eating at home each night and taking lunches from home. With menu planning, this should be a lot easier.   I will try to do a cook ahead afternoon this week too.

 

New month=Refreshed Printable Coupons!

It's a new month... That means new coupons at RedPlum, Coupons.com, Shortcuts.com, Cellfire.com, Smartsource, and AllYou Coupons.

 

With Halloween yesterday we were pretty busy, but I've got a bunch of posts coming up!!