Various Store Coupon Policies

I have come to realize over the past couple of weeks that printing off store's coupon policies and taking them with you when shopping will benefit you greatly when deal shopping. I have had several instances where the cashiers often don't know their own store's policies on accepting coupons. I have also had readers with questions about which stores take which coupons, etc.

Here is a small list of stores and their coupon policies are linked to the name. Print these off and take them with you when shopping! Trust me, this will be a great piece of paper to have when you are disputing whether or not Walmart takes internet printables! (Yes, they do!)

Super Centers:

Target (Thanks KCL!)

Walmart

Grocery:

Safeway

I am actually quite surprised that a lot of stores, like Walgreens, Target and Albertsons, don't have a coupon policy available for printing from their websites. I recommend taking any issues you have at the register to customer service. Sometimes all it takes is a manager to help sort out an issue.

The general rule is that you can use one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon per item. Certain restrictions do apply, and occasionally you have to buy more than one item. Most stores do not pay overage if a coupon's value is more than the cost of the item, however, the cashier should be able to adjust the coupon down.

Also, it is a good idea to have a cheap "filler" item on hand to purchase that will make your total more than zero. In my experience, cashiers and managers don't like to "give away" free products, even though the manufacturer will be giving them the value of the coupon back, plus $.08!

I hope this helps with any confusion you may have had and any future coupon issues that may arise!

Target Deals: Week of 11/29 - 12/5

Marcy over at Stretching a Buck has compiled the best deals for Target this week. Thank you!

This would be a pretty good week to stock up on diapers if you need them!

Huggies Diapers (big pack) - $18.99
Use $1.50/1 here or in 11/15 Smart Source insert
Use $1/1 in 10/25 & 11/15 Smart Source inserts
Use $2/1 in 11/29 Parade magazine
Final Price = $16.99-17.99 each; It's like getting 2 of these for $14.49-15.49/ea with gift card

Pampers Diapers (big pack) - $18.99
Use $1.50/1 or $2/1 in 11/29 P&G insert
Final Price = $16.99-17.49 each; It's like getting 2 of these for $14.49-14.99/ea with gift card

Happy Cyber Monday!

Hello! I am back! Well my couple of days off ended up turning into 3. We had a lovely relaxing weekend over in Leavenworth complete with lots of turkey and a little Black Friday shopping as well!

But now that I am home I am realizing that the Christmas rush has begun and I have spent the last hour buying a few gifts online. Amazon has a few good deals today, check them out HERE.
I am not going to divulge everything I bought since I know a lot of my family members read this blog and I want their gifts to actually be a surprise!

I did order one of THESE for a couple of young girls in my family.

And just a reminder, the $5 magazine subscription deals ends today on Amazon, so make sure you get your orders in soon!

Stretching a Buck and Thrifty NW Mom have a couple of great Cyber Monday Round Up lists HERE and HERE if you are looking for more deals and coupon codes.

Check out my online shopping guide HERE for more information on buying gifts online this Christmas.

If you do shop online today I highly recommend shopping through Ebates first as you can get cash back on your purchases, some of the sites have 10% back if you shop today! Plus, you get a $5 sign up bonus and it is free to register. Definitely worth it if you are shopping online today!

Have you found any Fabule$$ Deals online today? Let us know where! Leave a Comment!!

Amazon Magazine Subscriptions Only $5!

Ok one last Fabule$$ deal! lol!

From now until 12/1 Amazon has put 10 magazine subscriptions on sale for only $5 including Real Simple which is usually $54 for a year! I have been waiting for Real Simple to go on sale again as I missed it last time it was $5. I used one of my Amazon gift cards from my Swagbucks earnings to pay for this and got the subscription totally FREE!

Go HERE for the complete list of 10 different magazines on sale for $5, which includes: Sports Illustrated, Popular Science, Travel + Leisure, House Beautiful, Cosmopolitan and Southern Living!

These would make great Christmas gifts as well because their first issue won't come until after Christmas.

Have a Wonderful Thankgsgiving!

I am extremely thankful for this amazing life that I have been blessed with. I have an amazing husband, who gave me a beautiful daughter and they have given me happiness in my life that I never could have imagined. I am also thankful for our wonderful families and great friends!

I am incredibly thankful for this blog! I started it a few months ago with the thought that it wouldn't be much more than a place to let my family and friends know where to and how to find deals and money saving strategies. There are so many other money saving blogs out there and I am so thankful to now have many readers from across the country that come and visit every day! I only hope that you will all continue to come back to read and comment often! I am thankful for all of you!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am going to take a blogging break for a couple of days to relax, spend time with my family and enjoy my abundant blessings!

If you do choose to go out shopping tomorrow, I wish you all the best deals! Stay warm, be safe and don't get trampled!

Black Friday Shopping Strategy

Are you getting geared up for shopping this Friday? If the idea of it is stressing you out (much like it is me!) then I highly suggest you go HERE and check out Couponing to Disney's extensive Black Friday shopping planner!

She has separated out the best prices at different stores so you can make a list of your own and decide which stores to hit up! I will definitely be checking this out when I make my plan on Thursday night!

POLL: What are your plans for shopping this year? Black Friday? Staying home and shopping Cyber Monday or just winging it?

I think I am going to try and do a little of all 3! I haven't seen any deals that I feel I must get out of bed at 3 am for yet so I might try and make it out by 7 or so, we'll see! Plus I am excited to do a lot of shopping through Amazon this year with all the Swagbucks I have earned!

Wordless Wednesday

IKEA: Lunch for $1 on Black Friday!

If you will be headed to IKEA on Friday for some shopping, head there for lunch too! You can get a 10 piece Swedish Meatball meal for just a buck after 11am on Friday! It comes with mashed potatoes and cream sauce as well. Not vailid at all locations, go HERE for more details!

If you decide to go earlier or on a different day, you can get a FREE small breakfast Friday through Sunday this weekend!

I also noticed when flipping through their black friday ad that they will have 6 wine glasses on special for only $1.99! They are also having some pretty good furniture deals, go HERE to check it out.

Fabule$$ Albertsons Doubler Deals!

I didn't really need to go to the grocery store this week because we are fortunaate enough to be going away for a long weekend in our hometown of Leavenworth to spend Thanksgiving with family! I did however want to hit up Albertsons with my 3 doubler coupons to further fuel our coffee addiction with this Coffee-Mate creamer deal!

Did you get doublers? Usually they are only good for 3 days but since this week is Thanksgiving, all the store deals have been extended through Thursday so there is still time to use those coupons!

Here is what I bought: (sorry for the picture quality!)

(2) 32 oz. Coffee-Mate Creamers - on sale for $2.49 each

(2) 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese @ $.88 each with in-ad coupon

(2) 8 oz Shredded Kraft Cheese - on sale for $1.88 each

Sub-Total: $9.62

Used 2 $1.00/1 Coffee-Mate Coupons

*Used 1 $.55/2 Philadelphia Coupons

*Used 1 $1.00/2 Kraft Cheese Coupons

Used 3 Twice the Value doubler coupons (-$3.00)

Final Price: $3.07! Just about $.50 per item!

*You can print Coupons.com coupons from the coupon printer to the right of my blog! Just scroll through to the ones you want and print as you go!

For a few more doubler scenarios, check out The Krazy Coupon Lady's post HERE. Lots of freebie options!

Did you score any great grocery deals this week?!

Freebies: Seventh Generation Dryer Sheet Sample

Go HERE to request your free sample pack of Seventh Generation's new dryer sheets!

You must be a member of their online community to receive the sample, sign up is quick, easy and free. Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Rite Aid Gift of Savings Program

Hoorah for Rite Aid promotions! They have brought back their gift of savings promotion from now until December 24th! This program is great because all you have to do is save all of your receipts between now and then and enter them on the website.

Spend $25-$50 and get a $5 certificate
Spend $51-$100 and get a $10 certificate
Spend over $100 and get a $20 certificate

The greatest part of this is that this is on top of any single check rebates you receive as well as before coupons! Go HERE for more details and to enter your receipts!

If you are planning a trip to Rite Aid go HERE and print a coupon for $3 off any $15 purchase and $2 off any Rite Aid brand beauty product! Also go HERE to print a $5 off $25 purchase. Split your purchase into 2 transactions and use all 3 of these coupons!

For the Mommas has some great coupon match ups and scenarios for this week HERE and HERE, thanks!

These coupons are good for a while so you could save them for this weekend's Black Friday sale to make your dollar stretch!!

FREE - 1 Month Trial for Amazon Prime!

Ok so the "Official" holiday shopping season begins in less than a week! EEK! Are you ready?! This is the first year that I am feeling pretty confident in my shopping plans and don't think I will end up going to over board or over budget, but we'll see how the next month goes!

This is an awesome offer from Amazon.com, sign up HERE for a completely FREE one month trial of Amazon Prime. With this program you will receive free 2-day shipping on every purchase shipped from Amazon.com with no minimum order. Plus you can upgrade to one day shipping for only $3.99.

This program costs $79 per year and it will automatically renew after your free month. If you do not want to keep the subscription I highly suggest you go to the "My Account" section after signing up and click on "Do Not Upgrade" to automatically end your subscription after the first month. Definitely mark the end date on your calendar to make sure you are not charged the $79.
This offer is for new customers only, so if you have taken advantage of the free month before, you can't again.

I usually buy at least one or two Christmas gifts from Amazon every year so I signed up for this right away!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Want to Win a $1,000 Safeway Gift Card?

Safeway and Star 101.5 have teamed up to promote Safeway's New Everyday Low Prices program again in the Seattle area! Between now and 11/29 go to any Safeway (you will probably be there buying stuff for Thanksgiving anyway) and snap a photo of yourself next to one of the new Everyday Low Prices yellow tags. Then go to Star 101.5's website and upload the photo. They will choose 4 lucky people to win a $1,000 Safeway gift card! Now who couldn't use an extra $1,000 this Christmas?!

Go HERE for more details and the official rules!

Free Sample: Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers

Sign up HERE for a free sample pack from Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers! You can request newborn or size 1, and they will send you a 3-pack with a coupon! I am usually a Pampers snob, but I do like this version of Huggies. The diapers are made of natural and organic components and are very soft and absorbant!

This would be a great sample to sign up for if you are expecting or if you have a friend that is expecting. You could also add this sample pack to a gift basket for a baby shower gift!

One offer per household, expect 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Thanks Frugal Living NW!

Frugal vs. Healthy?

Is it possible to buy healthy foods while on a budget? This is a very popular question throughout the blogger community. While it is harder to find coupons and deals on healthy and organic foods, it is not impossible. I wanted to touch on this subject because of the fact that I am personally trying to transition my family to healthier, cleaner foods but save money at the same time and I want to share with you some ways that I am doing that.

Last night at Fred Meyer I was able to buy $20 worth of healthy and organic foods for under $6!
Here is what I bought:
Organic Bananas - On sale $.79/lb
Spinach - Clearance Priced $1.19, Reduced from $3.99!
2 Tropicana 50 Orange Juice - On sale 2/$5, used $1/2 coupon to make it $4
Oikos Greek Yogurt - Used 3 Coupons for Free Oikos, Saved $9.67!
Total: $5.98, Savings of 70%!

Yes, a lot of the time, the coupons that get you the best deals are for foods that are un-healthy and/or processed. But you have to remember one very important couponing rule: if I wouldn't buy this in a normal situation, should I really buy it just because I have a coupon? The answer is no. Just because you can get 5 packages of chocolate cookies for $.50/box, should you? Your wallet and your waistline will thank you in the long run for not bringing those cookies home!

Mambo Sprouts is one of my favorite online resources for finding natural and organic product coupons, and even coupons.com and smartsource.com often have printable coupons available for healthy foods.

What about dairy, produce and meat you ask?

Dairy: Organic Valley and Horizon Organic both have printable coupons available on their websites that you can print and use on organic dairy purchases. You can really start to see big savings by saving these coupons and using them on items you find that are close to their pull dates. These products are still good but the store manager marks them down to move them off the shelves a couple of days before they expire. Did you know you can freeze cheese and butter for up to 3 months? Plus, you are allowed to use a coupon on these clearance priced items! I once got a gallon of Organic Valley milk that was 5 days from pull date for $.59 because I had a $1 off coupon and the milk was marked down to $1.59. My daughter drinks a lot of milk so we were easily able to use the milk before it went bad.

Produce and Meat: Every time I go to the grocery store I browse through the manager's specials or clearance priced items in the produce and meat sections. It is the same case as above, these items that are marked down are a few days from their pull dates. You are able to freeze meats and many produce items. Just because it is marked to clearance doesn't mean that the item has gone bad. The spinach I bought last night had 3 days left before the pull date, because I go through a lot of spinach making "green smoothies" for Naomi and I, I know that I will use up all the spinach with no problem!

I also frequent the local Farmer's Market during the spring, summer and fall months as I often find my produce for substantially cheaper than I can at the supermarket. Plus I know I am supporting local and organic farmers. You can also grow your own herb garden in any window seal at any time of year for practically free and natural flavors.

Just can't find coupons for the things you need? Stock up when items you buy the most of are on sale and use coupons where you can even if its just for your toiletry and household items. Everybody needs toilet paper and there have been very few times in the past year that I have had to resort to Costco for toilet paper because I can almost always find it cheaper by pairing coupons and sales. I won't have to buy a razor, toothpaste or air fresheners for a LONG time and what I have stocked up on I have paid zero to rock bottom prices for.

What are some ways that you have saved money on healthy and/or organic items lately? Leave a comment!

Starbucks: Free CD with $15 RED Purchase

For a limited time at Starbucks, spend $15 and receive a free "All You Need is Love" CD. Songs on the cd are featuring U2, Dave Matthews Band, John Legend, and Playing for Change.

You could buy a $15 gift card for yourself and then get the CD for Free! This would be a great stocking stuffer or complete gift for the Starbucks lover in your family!

Thanks Much Coupon Cravings!!

Toys R Us: Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head $1.99!

Toys R Us is having a Doorbusters sale this Friday and Saturday (11/19-11/20). Time to put those toy coupons to good use!

Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head - On Sale $3.99
Use $2 off 1 Printable
Final Price: $1.99 each!

Thanks Frugal Living NW!

There should be a ton of great Black Friday promos coming up throughout the next week so keep checking back here for updates on some Fabule$$ deals!

Coupon Round Up

Go HERE to request your $1 off coupon by mail from Puffs. This will be great for the nasty cold and flu season that is ahead of us this season!

Go HERE for $.50 off any Ro*Tel. Wait for the welcome screen to change to the coupon. (Thanks for both of those Money Saving Mom!)

Go HERE for $2/1 Butterball Whole Turkey! While you are there print the $.75 off any Duncan Hines Muffin Mix, they on sale at Fred Meyer this week and this coupon makes them pretty cheap! Great breakfast idea for your Thanksgiving guests! (Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady!)

I got an email yesterday for $1/1 Starbucks Ice Cream HERE! The Caramel Macchiato is my FAVORITE!!

Target released a new coupon program this week. Now you have to print all Target coupons from their site HERE and there is a maximum of 2 prints per coupon. Kind of a bummer because there were no print limits before but I guess all good things must come to an end. Stretching a Buck has the details plus some great matchups available for these coupons HERE, thank you!!

New Coffee-Mate Coupon Available!

Go HERE to print a new $1/1 Coffee-Mate Creamer coupon! You should be able to print 2 per computer.

This comes at a great time actually! There is a rumor out there that we will be getting Albertsons doublers in the Sunday paper. If we do get them, here is a Fabule$$ scenario:

(Buy 2) 32 oz. Coffee-Mate Creamers - On Sale 2.49 each,

Use 2 $1.00 off 1 printable coupons from above

Use 2 Albertsons Doublers (-2.00)

Final Price: $.98 for 2 bottles of creamer!

I usually buy their fat free french vanilla flavor but we got some peppermint mocha flavor last week and it was SO good! What is your favorite flavor?

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

100 Free Prints from Snapfish! Today Only!

Today only at Snapfish.com you can get 100 free prints with ANY purchase of $5 or more! Just enter the code FREE5 at checkout. Plus, if you are a new member you can get an additional 50 free prints for signing up!

You can make this deal even better by signing up with Ebates HERE and receive 10% cashback on your Snapfish purchases, plus you will get a $5 sign up bonus when you join Ebates!

Thanks Frugal Living NW and Money Saving Methods!

Lack of Posting

Hello Blogosphere!

I just wanted to give a quick hello and say I am sorry for my lack of posting the past few days. I got hit with either the flu or a bad bad cold last week and have had very little energy to do anything but sleep for about 5 days now!

Rest assured, I am feeling much better today and as soon as I get my daughter down for her nap I will be on here with a few new deals for all of you including this week's Albertsons match-ups later this evening!

In the meantime, if you are in the market for a turkey, as I know many of you are! Frugal Chic Living did a great round up of Turkey prices HERE and The Good Deal Gal has a list of printable coupons you can use for your Thanksgiving feast HERE! Thanks for putting these together ladies!

See you back here later today!

UPDATED: FREE Holiday Photo Ornament!

**UPDATE** I received an email this morning regarding this order. Apparently it was a promotion that was running for people who bought Santa packages in the malls. They were able to come home, use the code and then get the free ornament. All orders have been placed on hold until further notice. If you do end up buying a Santa picture package you will probably be able to redeem this code for your free ornament though. I hate to admit but it sounded too good to be true!

Hurry! I am not sure how long this promo will last! Sometimes freebies like this don't last very long because of high demand. I just ordered mine (the red one below but with a photo of my cutie!) tonight with no problems, totally FREE!


-Go to SeeHere.com and sign up, remember to use your newsletters email address if you decide to receive future promotions from them.

-Then go to photo gifts and choose between either the white or red photo ornament, they are priced at $12.99. Upload your photo and then add to cart.

-Once you get to check out enter mallornament in the promo code section and you will see your total go to $0.00! You don't even have to pay for shipping!

This would make a wonderful Christmas gift for a grandparent or to keep for yourself!

Thanks as always Money Saving Mom!

Freebies!

Walmart is offering five great free samples right now! I always receive my requested samples within a short amount of time and they usually come with coupons!
Go sign up for your's today!

Huggies Little Movers

Tampax Pearl

Pampers Overnights

Garnier Nutritioniste

Prilosec OTC

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Taco Del Mar - BOGO Today ONLY! 11/13

Sorry, I forgot to post this earlier! If you don't feel like cooking dinner tonight, head into Taco Del Mar today only and buy any Mondo Burrito and you get a free Bonfire BBQ Burrito! Go HERE for the details.

PEETS Coffee and Tea: BOGO FREE!

Go HERE to print a coupon for a free drink when you buy one for a friend!

They should have their eggnog in by now and according to my husband, they make the best eggnog latte around. They don't cut their eggnog with milk like some of those other large coffee companies... I used to work for them and loved steaming the eggnog because it smelled so good, but unfortunately I hate the taste! I will have a white mocha instead, thanks!

Friday is MEGA SwagBucks Day!

I have posted about Swagbucks on here before but just wanted to send out a little reminder to those of you who have not jumped on the bandwagon yet! Fridays are Mega Swagbucks Days!

You can earn swagbucks in many different ways but the best way is by searching on the internet. Everytime I want to go to a website I search for it through Swagbucks and occaisionally I get lucky and get a swagbuck or 2 or 3 or even 10 for doing the search! You then in turn convert your swagbucks into prizes like gift cards, for example, 45 swagbucks gets you a $5 Amazon.com gift card! I recently traded in a bunch of mine for $45 worth of Amazon e-cards that I plan on buying Christmas gifts with!

Go sign up and start earning today! SWAGBUCKS

You can also earn swagbucks from shopping online, special codes and refering friends!

Weekly Dinner Challenge - Week 7

So I actually didn't end up doing a dinner challenge again this week, lame, I know! I am not feeling well right now and I am not sure if I am coming down with a bug or just over tired. At any rate, I have been trying to keep things simple and easy.

I decided to make one of my all time favorite dishes and comfort foods since I already had all of the supplies for this in my pantry/freezer, and would not have to go shopping for anything before hand. I also wanted to share with you how cheap yet healthy this dish can actually be!

So here we go with my Frugal Spaghetti!
I have played with this recipe a lot over the years, and it just in the recent months has transformed into a pretty "healthy" dish since I now use ground turkey and organic ingredients. I actually don't really have a recipe at all, I just tend to go for it and throw whatever I have in the pot along with a few base ingredients.

What you Need:
- 1 lb. Meat (ground beef or turkey or none if you want to make it even cheaper!)
- 2 Cans Organic Tomato Sauce - I buy in bulk at Costco, $.62/can
- 1 Can Organic Tomato Paste - Costco $.49/can
- 1 quarter fresh onion finely chopped - I got a large onion for $.25 at a fruit stand on their last day of the season!
- Italian Seasoning - Big container at Costco, reasonable price, has lasted over a year!
- 2 large cloves garlic finely chopped - or 2 tsp if you buy pre-chopped, garlic powder will work but the fresh garlic gives the sauce a great flavor that is totally worth it.
- Secret Ingredient: Worchestershire Sauce! 3-4 Tbsp.
- Pinch of Salt and Pepper
- Whole Wheat Spaghetti - see below for a deal scenario to get this free at Fred Meyer this week!

I used to make my meat sauce with ground beef up until a couple of months ago. I got a coupon for a free package of Jenny-O ground turkey so I ended up trying it out and James said it was the best batch I had ever made. I ran with it and now I make every batch with ground turkey! I find the flavor to really soak into the turkey meat better than ground beef, especially when I have it in a crock pot all day! Turkey also has 68% less fat than beef!

Here is the problem, ground turkey is EXPENSIVE! Like $4.99 for 1.25 lbs at Albertsons, yikes! I don't buy it unless I find it very cheap and then I stock up on it big time! Back in September I found a few packages of this Italian seasoned ground turkey at Albertsons with manager's special tabs for $1.00 off. I was able to use a coupon and a doubler on top of the special price to get 3 packages for $3! I threw them all in the freezer and just pulled out my last package yesterday.

To Prepare:
Cook meat in a pot and add the onion at the end of cooking to keep the best flavor. Add tomato sauce and paste to the meat/onion mixture. Add worchestershire sauce and spices to your liking. Hold off on the fresh garlic for about an hour, let the sauce simmer, stirring occaisionally. I also sliced up a bit of fresh basil to add at the very end for even more Italian flavor. If you have the time, I highly recommend cooking the sauce in the crock pot for up to 6 hours, if you don't a pan on low heat for a minimum of 2-3 hours will work fine. The longer you cook the sauce, the better it will taste.

Serve over whole wheat spaghetti and sprinkle with a little parm and it is DELISH! The amount of sauce this cooks will easily serve 4 with leftovers. You can also freeze the left over sauce for a later date if you want.

Final Cost for this large dinner after coupons and free pasta? Around $4.50!!

Fred Meyer This Week: Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta $10/10

Use $1.00/2 Printable from Coupons.com

Log in to your Upromise account and load the $1.00/2 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest e-coupon to your Fred Meyer Rewards Card.

Final Price for 2: Virtually FREE! You will pay $1.00 out of pocket and the $1.00 e-coupon will go into your Upromise account.

Also, if you are interested in buying the new Disney movie UP go check out Frugal Chic Living's post on how you can get a rebate from Ronzoni when you buy the movie and the pasta! We bought a copy yesterday and watched it after our yummy Italian dinner!

What did you cook this week? Leave a Comment!!

Check it Out! Thanks Cha Ching on a Shoestring!!

Wes and Kaley from Cha Ching on a Shoestring chose me for their weekly Cha Ching Challenge Highlight! How cool is that?! Thank You!

Check it out HERE!

AVEDA: FREE Travel Size Rosemary Mint Hand and Body Wash

Print THIS coupon and take it into any AVEDA Salon to receive a free travel size Rosemary Mint Hand and Body Wash! I LOVE Aveda products! My favorite is their Be Curly line.

Thanks for the heads up Deal Seeking Mom!

Target: CHEAP Mr. Potato Head Santa Spud

These adorable little Mr. Potato Head Santa Spuds are priced $5.99 at Target. Print the $5.00/1 Spud Buds coupon from HERE (or scroll through the coupons tool on the right of my blog and do a quick print!). You can snatch a couple of these up at only $.99 each!

I bought one yesterday while on my 2nd Up & Up wipes run and will probably get another one on my next trip for a spare Christmas gift this year.
I forgot to put it away and look who found it during lunch today. Good thing she is still young and it won't phase her when she opens it on Christmas morning!!

Thanks Stretching a Buck!

$10 Worth of Coupons from Organic Valley

Go HERE to request your free copy of Rootstock magazine that contains $10 worth of coupons! You will also be entered to win a year's worth of Organic Valley products!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Albertsons Deals: Week of 11/11 to 11/17

Here are the best deals and coupon match-ups I can see at Albertsons this week.

Please note: Sales vary by region, these specials were taken from the Seattle Area circular, please check your store's ad before making a special trip.

Skippy Peanut Butter (15-16.3 oz.) $.99 with in-ad coupon (Limit 4)

Combine with $.40/1 coupon from the 10/4 Red Plum Insert

Final Price: $.59!

*Naomi just had peanuts for the 1st time! No reaction = Hello PB&J Sandwiches!!

Land O Lakes Butter or Spreadable Butter with Canola - $1.79 with in-ad coupon (Limit 2)

Combine with $.35/1 coupon from 10/18 Smart Source Insert

Final Price: $1.44!

Coffee-Mate Creamer (32 oz.) 2 for $5

Use $1.50/2 Printable from Coupons.com - Print coupons.com coupons in the right column of this blog!

Final Price: 1.75 Each wyb 2

Albertsons Brand Shredded or Chunck or Cream Cheese (6-8 oz.) 10 for $10

2 for $10 Promo:

Angel Soft Toilet Paper - 12 Double Roll (24 single roll)

Sparkle Paper Towels - 6-8 Roll Pack

Buy 2 - Save $3 instantly at check out.

Use $1.00/1 Angel Soft from 9/13 Red Plum

Use $1.00/1 Sparkle from 9/13 Red Plum

Final Price: 2 for $5 or $2.50 each

*I am going to wait and see if we get doublers in the mail on Sunday. If we do, this deal would be even sweeter at $3.00 for both!

HOT Sara Lee Pie Promo: Buy 1 Sara Lee Oven Fresh Pie for $6.39, get another pie + two 1.5 qt Breyers Ice Creams for FREE! (No Limit!)

Scenario:

Buy 2 Pies - use 2 - $1 off 1 Printable

Buy 2 Breyers Ice Creams - use 2 - $1 off 2 Printable

Final Price: $3.39 for everything!!

For a larger list of deals check out Frugal Living NW for more match-ups including a Spend $20, get a $5 catalina promo.

$10 Free from Coinstar! Holiday Promotion

From now until December 6th, cash in $40 or more in change at any Coinstar kiosk and receive a $10 gift card by mail! Coinstar does charge a fee if you are converting to cash but it is a free service if you cash it in for a gift card such as Amazon, Starbucks or Regal Cinemas!

When you cash in your change a reciept will appear at the bottom with a form to claim your gift card. Send it in before January 6th, 2010. Gift card takes 6-8 weeks to arrive. See official rules for this promo HERE.

Thanks Money Saving Methods!

UPDATE- Target - CHEAP Up & Up Baby Wipes!

**UPDATED! My Target had these wipes for $1.57/Tub. Even with the tax rate and extra 2 cents these wipes are still under a penny per wipe, I am going back for 5 more tubs tonight! Oh and don't forget your canvas bags, you get a $.05 bag credit per bag that you use. Don't bring 5 bags for 5 tubs and expect $.25 off, they count how many they use!

Target Brand (Up & Up) Baby Wipes: $1.55

Print $1/1 Target Coupons HERE

Final Price: $.55!

This works out to be less than a penny per wipe! That is cheaper than Costco!

I have seen a few comments about them being cheaper in some areas of the country. I fully plan on stopping by my Target tomorrow to get some and will update if the price is different.

Has anyone tried these wipes before? Did you like them?

Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady!

Introducing - The Couponizer!

Are you new to the couponing world much like myself? Are you OVERFLOWING with coupons in your purse?! Well, then it is high time to get yourself organized! I remember a day not to long ago where I had a huge pile of coupons crammed into a little pocket in my purse. Then I would pull them all out at once and flip through them in each aisle, it was a mess. The avid "frugalista" needs an organization method in order to save precious time and money.

These little organizers are great for keeping your stash neat and orderly while you fly around from store to store grabbing up those amazing deals. You can keep all of your store's loyalty cards in the book and it even comes with a little pair of scissors for on the spot clipping!

Go HERE now and check out the Couponizer! Also a great Holiday gift idea...

And the Winner Is...

Thanks to everyone who put entries into my 1st Fabule$$ giveaway! Did you all get a chance to go to Safeway and check out the new Everyday Low Prices progam yet? I am going back for another shopping trip tonight to use up the last of my gift card.

I am so happy that I started this blog and am so impressed with how fast my readership has increased recently! I am having so much fun and I hope you will continue to come back as often as possible! Hopefully I will have some more giveaways to do very soon!

I used Random.org to generate 3 random numbers which correspond to the winners of the $50 Safeway gift cards; and they are...

#6 - Michelle - Favorite grocery splurge: Homemade Pico de Gallo!

#17 - Jessica - Blog Follower!

#27 - Christy - Favorite grocery splurge: Gormet Cheese, Crackers and a nice bottle of Port!

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU THREE!!

Each of the winners has received an email from me at the email address they provided and has 24 hours from now to respond with their mailing addresses. If I do not hear from one or more within that time frame, a new winner(s) will be randomly selected.

Last Chance to Enter the $50 Safeway Gift Card Giveaway!

If you haven't gotten your entries in to win one of three $50 Safeway gift cards, do it soon! The giveaway ends tomorrow at 12:00 PM PST, no entries will be counted after that time!

Go HERE to enter now, and don't forget you can get up to 3 entries!

Toys R Us - Fabule$$ Hasboro Game Deal!

Toys R Us has a HOT promotion going on this week. Spend $25 on participating Hasboro games and receive a $10 gift card. Plus you can submit for a $2 Hasboro rebate per game.

Here is what I bought and for how much:
7 Games - $3.99 each (Regularly $9.99 each)
Ant's in the Pants
Don't Break the Ice
Cootie
Chutes/Ladders
Candy Land
Memory
Hi Ho Cherry-O
Total: $27.93 (add $2.65 Sales Tax = $30.58)
Received $10.00 Toys R Us Gift Card
Submitting 7 $2.00 Rebates HERE for an additional $14.00 off. Only 1 rebate allowed per game type.
Total after taxes, gift card and rebates = $6.58 or $.94 per game!!
Your total will be lower depending on your sales tax rate, our's here in the Seattle area is a whopping 9.5%!

That is 7 great Christmas gifts for $7!

Please note: the games have to be the original themes, not the character games. For example, Memory has to be the original Memory, not the Dora the Explorer Memory game.

I was also planning to turn around right away and use my $10 gift card on the Playskool Musical Sit and Spin as they are on sale for $19.99 and I have a $10 off coupon from Coupons.com. However, the gift card they give you is not valid until 6 hours after your original purchase, so we will go back later to pick that up.

Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom for alerting me to this hot deal!

Online Shopping Tips ~ Holiday Planning

Shopping online has become a very common thing in recent years, especially during the holidays. I was very intimidated of buying things online a few years ago, but now it is almost the only way I seem to purchase things anymore. If there is an item I want to buy, I can almost always find it cheaper online.

Here are a few tips on getting the best deals while shopping online.

1. Never pay for shipping! Most websites will offer free ship codes or promotions so definitely do some research prior to clicking that order button. Sites like RetailMeNot.com have a ton of promotion codes for hundreds of retailers including money off and free shipping codes. **

2. Get the lowest price! Check out sites like PriceGrabber.com and find out which company is offering the item you want at the lowest price. Just enter what you are looking for and it will pull the prices along with shipping costs and show you a list of all the retailers that are selling what you want and how much it costs.

3. Shop through rebate sites! There are several sites out there that you can shop online through. Basically you register at their website and then click to go to your favorite stores from their website. When you make a purchase, you receive a percentage of your purchase back in your rebate account. These places are free to register at and often times give you a sign on bonus! For example, Ebates.com will put $5.00 in your account for registering, then once you receive an additional $5 in rebates they will send you a check! Go HERE to sign up with them now. You can also shop through sites like Upromise.com (rebates are credited to your college fund!) and SwagBucks.com (Receive 1 Swag Buck for every $5 spent!)

4. Don't forget about eBay! Check out eBay.com for the item you are looking for. A lot of times you can find the item you are looking for brand new or just slightly used with the packaging still for a great price. I have found a lot of "fabule$$" deals on eBay on brand new items, just make sure to check the seller's feedback rating to make sure they have mostly positive feedback and be wary of counterfeit items. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. For example, a brand new pair of $200 designer jeans listed for $25. They are probably fakes. Same goes with electronics.
P.S. Shop through your rebate sites when buying on eBay too! Ebates offers 2% cash back for your eBay purchases as well as Swag Bucks and Upromise!

**December 18th is the "Black Friday" of the online shopping world. Most companies offer free shipping and specials that day as well as a guaranteed arrival by Christmas Eve! As this date gets closer I will try to post a list of companies involved and their best deals. They are usually pretty good!

I hope this article was helpful to you and online shopping is a little less intimidating! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or leave a comment!

Weekly Dinner Challenge - Week 6!

I have to say I am having so much fun experimenting with new recipes every week and challenging myself to break out of my comfort zone in the kitchen! This week wasn't too challenging; actually it was surprisingly easy!

For dinner tonight: Marinated Pork Chops, Steamed Broccoli and Parmesan Risotto

I bought a large 4 pack of pork chops on clearance at Fred Meyer last week for $2.45! Since the pull date was close, I popped them in the freezer over the weekend so that I could cook them up this week. The broccoli was on sale as well but I can't remember how much I paid for it, whoops! I think it was around $1.00. The risotto was not from scratch but it was one of those splurge purchases from my Safeway trip last week for $2.66 and I haven't ever cooked risotto before. It turned out really yummy! I added some fresh parm flakes as well.

The "challenging" part of this meal was how to cook the pork chops. My comfort zone is to have James throw them on the grill with some spices or BBQ sauce and call it good. They are always pretty tasty but tonight I was looking for something more so I decided to look up a sauce/marinade recipe from my favorite, allrecipes.com.

I did vary from the recipe a little, here is how I made the marinade:

2 Tbsp thick Teryaki sauce

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp Veg. Oil

2 Tbsp Ketchup

2 Tsp Lime Juice

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Mix it all up and spread 1/2 of it it over the chops in a baking dish and cover with foil. Depending on the thickness, bake at 350 for 20-30 min. Uncover, flip the chops and cover with the remainder of the sauce and re-cover with foil for another 20-25 min. Uncover and turn on the broiler on high for about 5 min just to seal in the flavor of the sauce.

Everyone thought these turned out totally delicious! I wish I would have gotten a good photo but they all turned out blurry, besides, meat never photographs very well!

Since I didn't need to purchase any of the ingredients for the sauce, I ended up spending around $7.00 total on dinner tonight for 3 adults (sis was over) and Naomi!

I was feeling being in the kitchen tonight and decided to use up the last of my pumpkin puree from last week on one last batch of cookies for dessert. All in all from that one small pumpkin I rendered 2 large batches of pumpkin cookies and 2 large loaves of pumpkin bread. I do love my pumpkin goodies during the fall!!

What did you make this week? Leave a Comment!

HUGE Deals this Weekend at Safeway!!

Safeway has a TON of promotions going on this weekend! If you haven't done your weekly shopping yet this would be the time to go!

Among the promotions:
- $10 off $50 purchase coupon in the ad
- $10 Kohl's Cash Catalina for every $50 spent (After club card and Safeway coupons, but before manufacturer coupons!)
- Home for the Holidays Promo (Spend $25, get $5 Catalina - Specific Items - lots of baking supplies!)
- Coupons for 4 FREE breakfast items with $50 purchase
- Mix and Match Cereal Sale

I am so bummed that I didn't wait to use my $50 gift card Safeway sent me last week! This would be THE week to stock up on your holiday baking supplies!

A sale like this requires some good planning so you can make your dollar stretch as far as possible. Frugal Living NW has done just that and I definitely recommend reading their posts about this FABULE$$ sale HERE, HERE and HERE!

Also, don't forget to get your entries in to win one of 3 $50 Safeway gift cards! The giveaway ends on Monday, November 9th at 12pm! Go HERE to enter now!

Buca di Beppo - $10 Off Coupon

Go HERE to print off your coupon for $10 off a purchase of $20 or more between now and December 31st, 2009. Our family LOVES Buca di Beppo! My favorite dish is the gnocci, so yummy!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Halloween Clearance at Target!

Just updated this post in the comments!!

Hello to all of you in BloggerWorld on this soggy Seattle Thursday!

Naomi and I got off work early today so we decided to hit up Target to check out a couple of deals they have going on right now. My original plan was to stock up on THIS awesome Glade deal. Unfortunately, my store in Woodinville was all out of the holiday scents. I still have my Glade coupons though so I will go try a different store this weekend and hopefully get a bunch of the holiday tins and refills.

We had some time to kill so we went to check out the toy section and on the way I came across the clearance area for Halloween. ALL things Halloween are now 75% off at Target, including the candy! I saw a ton of M&M's, Snickers, etc. bags left at my store. This would be a great time to pick up a costume, decorations or other goodies for next year!

I bought 300 Hershey's Kisses for $1.43!!!!! The best thing is: these are not Halloween colored, just wrapped in packs of 3 for trick or treaters. If I can keep these around until Christmas I can use them in gift baskets and cookies!

Here's how I did it:
50 pack (150 ct.) bag of Hershey's Kisses x 2 = 3.48
(2) $1.00 off any Hershey's Kisses product (found in a SS coupon insert in October)

Plus I got a $.05 discount for bringing my own canvas bag.
TOTAL: $1.43 for 2 huge bags of candy! Total Savings: $12.55!!

This is still a good deal even if you don't have the coupons. Target.com still has some good Halloween candy coupons HERE. There are no print limits on those coupons either. Plus, remember you can pair a Target coupon with a manufacturer coupon as well.

Have you found any Fabule$$ deals on Halloween items anywhere? Share them with us!

A Few Tips for Surviving the Holidays!

So it's officially November now, and as you all know, the Christmas madness is upon us once again! The second Halloween is over, out come the Christmas supplies at the stores and the ads take over the television!

Every year I always say, "I am going to do things on a budget this year and not go overboard!" Every year, I fail. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas. It is literally my favorite time of year and I just cannot help myself! I love every aspect; the decorating, baking, gift giving, family traditions, everything!

So now that I am a self appointed "frugalista", I really want to see how inexpensively I can do things. I want to save money wherever I can without letting my traditions suffer. I know it can be done!

Here are a few things that I plan on doing this Holiday Season:

1. START EARLY! I have always done this but this year I started even earlier, like last January! I went to Michael's last year and got an awesome deal ($1 each!) on some Christmas containers, so I bought all they had and I can put my homemade caramel corn in them.

2. Shop Early on Black Friday - I started doing this a few years back and had fun. The only problem is that I never really understood how to make those amazing deals work for me. Or I would always just wake up to late and everything would be gone already! This year I plan on having a list, coupons,a good alarm clock, and a big mug of coffee! Hopefully I will also have a buddy, everything is better with a buddy!

3. Make a Gift List and Stick to the List - I usually make a list but always end up adding things to the list as the shopping season progresses. So for example, I bought my sister a rice cooker but OH, look this sushi set is on sale! Surely I must get that for her as well to go with the cooker! Sorry Sis, I promise, you will get a nice gift but it will be done on a budget!

4. Coupons, Coupons, Coupons! As you can see from my coupons.com widget on the right of my blog there are a bunch of high value toy coupons on there right now. I have printed those coupons and am taking them with on Black Friday to make great deals un-beatable!

Target also has a toy coupon book available at their customer service desks. Go get one of these! Since they are Target coupons, you can also use them with those printable coupons to get a better deal.

5. Read About Other's Holiday Plans - I have noticed a lot of other blogs that are doing postings on how they plan to do things on a budget this year as well. I am reading all of these and getting a lot of good tips and ideas! Cha Ching on a Shoestring is only spending $50 on Christmas this year! Read about her goals HERE. Coupon Cravings is doing a holiday survival series HERE.

I plan on posting any hot holiday deals that I come across on here as well as more tips to get us through the season!

Let's get through this year without going into debt! What are your plans to save money this Christmas? Share your tips!

P.S. The pic above is of my little munchkin last Christmas! I cannot believe how much she has grown and changed over the course of just a year, WOW!

Safeway Has Lower Prices and I have a Giveaway!

Remember my post from last week about Safeway's new Everyday Low Prices Program? Last week, Safeway very generously sent me a $50 gift card to head to Safeway with and test out their new program!
So Safeway has lowered the price on thousands of items throughout the 198 stores in Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana! You can spot these new prices by the yellow tags. They show you the price before the drop, the new low price and then if the item is on sale, the club card price. Here is a photo I took in the store of Safeway's brand of flour; this 5 lb bag was originally $3.99, the new low price is $2.69 and it was on sale last week for $1.99! That is a great price for not using any coupons!

When I went shopping last week, I went with the goal to stock up on baking supplies for the holiday season: flour, brown sugar, ev. milk, choc. chips, etc. Then I figured that the rest could be spent on every day items that our family uses a lot like cheese, butter, produce, meat, etc. What I came away with is in the photo below:

I bought 5 lbs of flour, 2 lbs of brown sugar, 2 lbs of butter, 2 cans of ev. milk, yogurt, sour cream, spaghetti seasoning, spinach, bananas, apple juice ($.88!), 2 bags of chocolate chips, 2 lbs of cheddar cheese (new low price of $2/lb!), 2 large chicken breasts on markdown 50% and a couple of splurge items! My really big splurge was a jar of fancy teryaki sauce for $5.45. Yikes I know, but it is SO tasty!

I only used 4 coupons in this trip which is a smaller amount than usual but my grand total ended up only being: $41.19! Normally this would have cost me well over $60-$70. I noticed on a lot of items that the new lower prices are actually now falling into my stock up price. For instance, I love Safeway's brand of spaghetti seasoning. Normally it would have been $1.19 per packet so I never bought it unless it was on sale for $1.00 or less. Now the new price is only $.69 all the time! I am excited to see what it goes on sale for!

All in all, I really like the new Everyday Low Prices Program!! While a lot of the items with the new low prices are the store brands, I find that most of the time the base items I buy like flour and cheese are just the same as any other brand and now they are substantially cheaper than the name brands.

Now on to the fun part!! My first FABULE$$ Giveaway!! Safeway also sent me 3 additional $50 gift cards to giveaway to my readers!

Here is how you enter:

- Leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite grocery store splurge is! Make sure you also include your email address so that if you win I can contact you!

Want up to 2 extra entries?

- Become a follower or subscribe to this blog/feed and leave a separate comment letting me know that you are a subscriber or follower. Please also include your email in this comment.

- Post about this giveaway on your own blog! Once you have blogged, leave a 3rd comment and include a link to your post where I can find it!

You have until 12:00 PM on November 9th to enter. Any comments received after that time will not be counted. I will use a random integer generator to choose 3 winners that afternoon and the winner will be announced on the evening of November 9th. Winners will have 24 hours to respond with their address or another winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!!

Happy 27 ~ Big Things In The Making!

Happy 1st of the Month Everyone! That means that new printable coupons are available!

This 1st of the Month just happens to land on my 27th birthday! Today was nice, not too busy, just relaxing with family and having a fun spaghetti dinner complete with my favorite cake, cherry chip! Thank you to everyone who made it simple and special, it was a very nice day!

Halloween was fun this year too, Naomi got dressed up and went trick or treating for the first time. She was dressed up as a baby chick and oh my, I have to say, the cutest chick out there! Here are a couple of pics from the evening:

Check back here tomorrow afternoon when I announce my first FABULE$$ GIVEAWAY! Have a good night!