Free Deoderant Sample

LINK Follow this link to Costco Samples, click on the Free Sample button, fill out the form and wait for your sample!

City Wide Rummage Today!

Okay, so we had a city wide rummage sale today....so off I went...I got to about 55 of the 80+ sales. I spent $82.00 total...but I got so much, including a beautiful new office desk!!! I am very happy to have only spent $30.00!! :) So, $52.00 was spent on this list, that includes 3 gifts and one thing I will resell in my upcoming rummage....

I picked up:
3 Leapster Video Games (these retail for $19 to $24 dollars each!!!)
PlayStation Game Console with 4 controllers and 15 games ( the games alone would have cost WAY more than the $52.00 I spent on everything!)
Leapter TV Game System (this came with the 3 Leapster Games, we will resell this at our rummage for $5.00, thus making the 3 leapster games for a great deal!)
1 skateboard scooter
Computer Games for my DH
3 matchbox cars
4 really cool toy trucks..three of them are semi trucks that have working lights, engine sounds, etc. One has 2 racecars inside that come out and you can play with, one has a motorcycle and hummer that you can take out and play with, one had a helicopter, and one had a space shuttle with satillite launch. So, my son is in "heaven"!!
Garden hoe (from a free box)
Yard Weeding Tools (from a free box)
bag of coin wrappers (from a free box)
4 empty CD cases ( free, we will use these for kids games)
package of new envelopes
6 VHS movies
3 DVD movies
3 Dora the Explorers Books
8 cloth napkins
Brand new Princess Stationary Set (Gift for my daughter's birthday)
2 Music CD's for the kids
4 pairs of Girls Jeans
Brand New Connect 4 Game ( we are saving it for the kids as a gift, they have it, but this will replace the one they have played with forever and is well used!)
22 different books, mostly for my kids, a few for me
Toy Collectible: VW Van with Remote control
2 cute pairs of Cat socks for me
Plastic drink pitcher ( you can never have too many of those!)
Star Wars Pencil box
Star Wars Movie Poster Puzzle ( my FIL collects this stuff, so those will be goodies for him!)
Hot Wheels Playing Card set with Tin ( for my kids to play "war")
Wooden 5 X 7 photo frame ( from a free box)
5 very nice leather belts (I have been looking for these for my kids)
Burgendy Sweater ( from a free box)
1 pair of Bid Overalls ( from a free box)
Black Hoodie ( from a free box)
Girls Shorts ( from a free box)
Garden Trowel (from a free box)
Garden purning shears ( from a free box)
4 L Brackets ( my husband will use these in the garage to make shelves/ From a free box)
Beautiful Bird Throw Blanket ( gift for my mom)
Brand new game: U.S.A. by the numbers ( game to teach the states and the capitals! Christmas gift!)
Tupperward Tote with 3 sandwich keeper inserts
Rescue Hero Action Figure : Wendy ( One more for my son's collection!)

So, we figured out how much we bought and it came to 112 items total, if you take the 112 items ( including the desk) and divide it by the money we spent $82.00, it comes to 73 cent each item....and all those items are tax free. Now, granted, I probably wouldn't have paid 73 cents for some of the kids books, but mostly everything else I would have!! So, this was a great fun shopping day!!!

Free Burt's Bees Lip Balm

I love this stuff and Burt’s Bees is celebrating its 25 years. They are giving away 25,000 Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balms, 1,000 of them per day. LINK
everyday for the next 25 day (starting today) after 9Am EST and be one of the first 1,000 people to claim your coupon for FREE lip balm. The limit is one per household.

Cool. I won on Shoppers Hotline!

I just got an email, I won a shoppers hotline prize! In the April RXPulse scanning contest! I won a pair of Coleman laterns for camping! YEAH!!!

Free Sample for your pet!

Come get a free sample of a dog or cat treat!
LINK
Click on the blue bar that says,"Give Your Pet a taste of Purnina"

First 5,000 Free Bag of King Arthur Flour

Order your bag of FREE flour here. This will take you to our checkout pages where you’ll be asked for your shipping information. One free bag of flour per customer, please. Offer good only while our supply of 5,000 bags of flour lasts. (Sorry, we are not able to extend this offer outside of the United States.)
Follow LINK

A Few Frugal Notes Today....

First of all, on the way home, I saw some "leftover" rummage sale items next to a garbage can. I stopped and picked up a beautiful dark blue glass candle holder with star and moon design. My bathroom is done in that design so this is a perfect free addition! Then, I picked up a kids coat rack. It's got teddy bears and a heart, very country looking. It was loose and needs to be tighten. My husband said he could do that no problem. I am thinking of adding it the rummage sale pile or freecycling it. Don't know yet. Too cute to just throw it in the land fill.

Then, even though I told my hubby not to worry about it, he searched through my coupons and found 1 more Marcal free up to $4.00 coupon, and several of the free up to $1.00 coupons. He went back to Big K today because he had to go to Janesville for his plasma donation. He picked up 20 rolls of double roll Toilet Paper. Before coupons: $14.25..after coupons $8.18. That's about 41 cents a double roll, that is a decent price since the cost has gone up so much, so he bought them.

Also, my threshhold for shopping per month is $250.00. I have added up all of the month of May out of pocket expenses. $245.30, BUT that includes the Menards Trip and we are getting back $83.80 in rebates!!!! Also, that includes the gifts and weed wacker from Menards, which really don't qualify for my grocery budget!!! So, I feed my family, my cats, and supplied the house with cleaning products, paper products, and health and beauty products for under $250 again this month. :)

Ok..so we went shopping...even I can't believe it!

So Yesterday,We did that big shopping trip, I wasn't in the mood to shop again for a long time......but my husband's weed wacker died today! He really uses the weed wacker alot, we live along a creek and the weeds are bad. So, I said,"Okay, let's use the Menards Rebate Certificates and get you a weed wacker." I had $87.00 in rebate certs, and the weed wacker was $94.00. So here is what I got:

Transaction 1:
Weed Waker $94.00
10 Green Shopper Bags 98 cents each, Free after rebate
Bag of onion bulbs, 99 cents on clearance
Trowel and Cultivator, $1.00 each, 50 cent rebates on each
2 Jar Air Freshners $1.00, Free after Rebate
Bottle of Car Wash, $5.00, Free after Rebate
2 bottles of Nano Glue, $5.00 each, Free after Rebate
4 6pk of Veggies for my garden, $1.69 each

Total: $137.73
After Rebate Cards (OOP): $50.57
Then I am getting back in rebates: $27.80

Then, I went to the service desk to get a raincheck on a rebate item I wanted, They told me they had it in stock, the problem is that with Free Rebates you have to spend $10.00 to qualify, so I had to come up with another $10 in purchases. ( my husband wanted to return everything and start over, but I wanted to just pick up a few more things, so we decided to do that)

Transaction 2:
Box of Ice Pops, $2.87, $1.00 rebate
Olive Oil, $4.76
Root Beer, $3.00
Bugles, $1.24 a bag ( Okay, this stuff is for a gathering tomorrow for Memorial day!)
2 Rag Rugs, $1.00 each, FREE after Rebate
3 Jar Air Freshners, $1.00 each, Free after Rebate
5 boxes of Crayola Model Magic with Paint Sets, $10.00 each, Free after Rebates, I am going to save these as gift for kids, either Christmas or Birthdays!

Total (OOP): $71.46
Then I am getting back in rebates: $56.00

So, OOP was $122.03, and I am getting $83.80 back in rebates. Which means everything really will cost me $38.23. Not bad for $209.19 worth of stuff ( and a Weed Wacker..LOL)

BIG Shopping Trip ...

The last BIG shopping trip I did was April 13th, so it's been awhile. We have been living on short trips and stockpile for so long. We still have PLENTY in stock pile but it was time. Due to this being a holiday weekend, I noticed some stores were really empty but the prices on somethings were really high! This will be a long blog because I have so much to write about! ( and forgive me Penny if I can't remember where ALL the coupons are from! It's been a long day!) Anyways, I started at about 1:15pm, drove to Janesville and then finished at 6pm and headed home. I did log everything in on my Shopper's Hotline scanner so I should be getting enough points now to cash in for another $25.00 in gift card money. Okay I am going to list everything I bought, plus photos and then my 28 day menu plan. :) ALSO, I never found the Kashi Waffles, so if you know where to find them, please post it!

Walgreens:

2 4 pks of Angel Soft TP, on clearance for 87 cents and I used an RR
2 cans of Planters nuts, BOGO, $1.00 IP coupon and RR
2 bags of Shredded Cheese
2 packs of hot dogs BOGO, and $1.00 off IP

Total before coupons $26.88
After coupons: $6.32
I used my gift card so nothing OOP.

Kwik Trip:
6 bags of milk ( They lowered the price! YEAH .89 cents a bag!)
2 doz eggs (.79 cents for those too!)
3 pound of bananas, I learned on this trip that bananas may now be cheaper elsewhere, they raised their banana prices to 49 cents a pound and I found them at SuperWalmart for 45 cents a pound!! I will have to change my price book and where I buy them!
Total: 8.68
Used my gift card and paid nothing OOP

Target
I planned to buy so much from Target but they didn't have alot of what I was looking for!

2 Crystal Light On the Go packs, $3.99 ( I KNOW OUCH! But I love those things for work!), I had a $1.00 each Target coupons and a $2.00 off IP coupon
2 Hot Dogs, on sale for $1.52, I had BOGO IP coupon.
Total $9.02
After coupons:$5.35
Not a great savings, but I really wanted the Crystal Light for work.

Kmart:
I found the Marcel!! They didn't have the T.P. I wanted, but they did have the Paper Towel and rather than letting the coupons expire, I bought the paper towels.


15 rolls of paper towels, coupons from Sunday paper for free up to $4.00
Before coupons: $18.46
After coupons: $1.01 (tax)

Aldi's:

4 frozen pizzas
2 packs of salisbury steaks
3 packs of chicken parmesan
4 frozen juice (I have 4 more in stockpile, so that leaves us pretty thin! I will have to watch for a stockpile deal on those!)
1 head of lettuce
10 ears of sweet corn (on sale for 12 cents an ear! Great treat for summer cooking!)
4 jugs of cat litter (we have a lot in stockpile,so this was just to keep up with the stock)
2 packs of hot dogs
bag of corn chips
bag of potatoe chips
pound of strawberries (On sale for 99 cents and yummy! This will hold me over til our patch grows up!)
1 bottle pancake syrup
2 tomatoes
1 pound of apples
4 loafs of white bread
1 bag hamburger buns
2 bags of hot dog buns
2 packs of cheese slices
container of cottage cheese
2 packs of chunk cheese
2 packs of bologna
1 magarine
2 doz large eggs
2 12 packs of soda (again a memorial day treat! I splurged this trip!)

Total: $72.27

Walmart:


Bag of Cat Food, Price $3.98, had a $3.50 IP
1 box Aveeno Simple Bath Soak, $2.98, I had a $2.00 IP
ALL YOU Magazine, For the coupons OF COURSE! $2.24
2 Capri Sun Drink 10 packs, $1.70 I had the $1.00 coupon.
2 boxes of Veleeta Cheese and Shells, $1.50, I had $1.00 IP
1 bottle of wart remover for my sons little toe! :( $3.16 bought the generic, it was the cheapest
Total: $18.76
After Coupons: $9.77 after coupons

Logli's

1 box of Taco Bell Dinner Kit, On sale for $2.00, had a $1.00 Coupon
2 boxes of Ritz Crackers, On Sale for $2.50 a box, I had coupons for $1.00 IP coupons
3 Healthy Choice Penne Pasta Micro Meals, on sale for $1.67, I had $1.00 coupons
1 Bottle of BBQ sauce, I had a buy a Kingsford Charcoal get a BBQ sauce free, so I used that and then I have a mail in rebate for $2.00, so I will mail that in
9 cups of Easy Mac, 67 cents on sale, I had $1.00 off 2 cups IP Coupon, so that is 17 cents a cup. Which I will use for work or take camping with us. :) The kids love these!
20 packs of Kool Aid, on sale for 10 cents each. I had IP coupons for 50 cents off 10 packs, the coupons doubled, so all of it was Free
1 box of Triscuits, on sale for $2.00, I had a $1.00 off IP coupon
6 4 pound bags of sugar, on sale for $1.79, I had 30 cents off coupons that doubled so $1.09 a bag. Our stockpile was LOW, and we use this for kool-aid so I had to stock up!
2 boxes of Parkay, on sale for $1.25, I had $1.00 when you buy 2 ( I bought cheaper margarine too, but since this was on sale and my hubby likes it, I got 2)
3 jars of Kraft Mayo, on sale for $1.00, I had $1.00 off IP, so all 3 free
2 packs of Fiber One Yogart, on sale $2.00, I had .50 cent coupons that double to $1.00
3 pouches of instant potatoes, $1.05, I had 25 cents coupons that doubled
2 Warm Delights, On sale $1.67, I had a 55 cent IP for each one, 57 cents each
1 bag of Brat Buns, I had a $1.00 off winetag
2 bagels, I had a $1.00 off winetag
2 containers of Sour Cream, 29 cents after coupon
1 container of cottage cheese
2 boxes of speghetti, Free with the purchase of the sauce
2 Dry Idea Roll On, on sale for $3.00, I had my $2.00 off coupon, My stockpile if FULL of deo. But my mom uses this brand so I picked it up for her, she will reimburse me
1 bottle of Dial Pump soap, on clearance for 1.00, I had a 35 cents off coupon
2 bottles of Franks hot sauce, $1.50, I had a $1.29 off coupons from the sunday paper
4 bottles of Snapple, $1.49, I had BOGO coupons on these
1 box of Hello Kitty Bandaids, $1.00, had a $1.00 off coupon, free
6 Thai Lemon Grass instant soups, 67 cents each, had a 50 coupon that doubled, making them free
4 jars of Ragu Sauce, On sale for $2.00, I had 60 cents off each jar
2 bottles of Weber Seasoning, on sale for 99 cents, I had a $1.00 off when you buy 2
4 envelopes of Taco Seasoning, 89 cents, I had 75 cents off 2
2 packages of nylons, $1.49 and $1.99, I had $1.00 off coupons
1 bag of Kingsford Charcoal
1 Frenchs Mustard, On sale for $1.34, I had a 50 cent coupon that doubled, So I paid 34 cents for the BIG Bottle!
1 can of Dole Fruit, $1.34, 55 cent off coupon that doubled, 24 cents for the can
2 bottles of Sierra Mist, $1.49, Had a BOGO coupon
5 pounds of Pot Roast, Had a winetag, buy $8.00 worth of meat, get $2.00 off
2 pounds of Chicken Drum Sticks, 3.10, had a $1.00 off instant value coupon
1.5 pounds of Pork Chops, 3.54, had a $1.00 off instant value coupon


Total: $125.99 (with tax)
After coupons: 65.48
Then I used my Test Drive Gift Card that I got for that Test Drive last fall. So, I paid $15.48 out of pocket!! YEAH!! And I have a $2.00 refund to send in for. I forgot the sloppy joe mix and black olives, so I am not sure whether I will still pick that up or not. Black olives go on sale at Walgreens every now and then, so I may stock pile then later.


So my total out of pocket is $103.88. Before coupons it would have been $280.06. So I had a 63% savings. For those of you who don't know, my goal is $250 a month. SO, even if I didn't have the gift cards for nothing OOP, I still would have done well. Now, I have been asked to list a menu. Please remember that this menu isn't based on what is the healthiest, but this menu is based on what I had money for and how can I afford to keep my out of pocket low, so I use that money to pay down debt! So, your family may eat differently, please keep that in mind.

I am planning this menu from May 25th to June 21st (28 days). Which means I will not be doing any major shopping until after school lets out. Also, I don't plan specific days on a menu, I just make a list of what we have in stock, then we can decide that day what we are in the mood for, so that we are not restricted to a rigid schedule. The paratheses are the number of days in this cycle that we will eat those meals.

Breakfast Options:
Cereal/Milk (8)
Pancakes (4) (use sryup or homemade blackberry spread)
Waffles (4)
Eggs, sausage (2)
Crepes (4)
French Toast (1)
Oatmeal (6)
Fruit and Yougart (1)
Total 30 days, and I have Pop Tarts and Bagels for me for my hurried days to work

Lunch Options:
Soups (4)
Mac and Cheese (3),
Hot Dogs (3),
Cold Sandwiches (3)
Pasta Salad (1)
Speghettio's (2), Mom and Dad will have soup!
Grilled Cheese (3)
19 meals, This is for options on weekends and after school lets out, during the school year, the kids get hot lunch at school ( reduced price due to hubby's lay off, so it's super cheap!) Also, I picked up frozen meals and the mac and cheese cups for me for work.

Dinner Options:
Pork Roast (2), Done in the slow cooker! Yummy!
Speghetti (5)
Hambuger Helper (3)
Walking Tacos (2)
Regular Tacos (1)
Chicken Drumsticks (2)
Frozen Pizza (4)
Round Steaks (1)
Turkey (2)
Salisbury Steaks (2)
Chicken Parmesan (3)
Pork Chops (1)
Brats and Hot Dogs (1)
Total of 29 meals

Sides for the Lunches and Dinners:
Apple Sauce
Rice a Roni
Pasta a Roni
Mashed Potatoes
Frozen Veggies
Canned Veggies
Pasta Salad
Scalloped or Au Grain Potatoes
Biscuits
Fruit Salad
Cheese and Crackers
Garlic Bread
Apple Slices
Bananas

Drinks:
Milk
Water
Tea
Chai Tea
Kool Aid
Powerade
Coffee
Soda (very limited)
Hawiaan Punch (one bottle left)
Grape Juice, Orange Juice and Apple Juice (for Breakfast)

Snacks:
Jello
Pudding
Peanuts
Quakes Rice Cakes
Bananas
Strawberries
Granola Bars
Cheese and Crackers (Ritz or Triscuits)
Cereal
Candy (limited, still from Easter)
Popsicles
Yogart
Apples
Canned Fruit
Rice Krispie Squares
Home made Cookies
Ice Pops


Now, I have enough health and beauty products, cleaning products, paper goods, cat supplies and food to last for the 28 days.

:) Stay Frugal Everyone!!

Free Chocolate Friday...

You can pick up another free chocolate tonight! Follow my link from last week's post!!