PhotobucketWhy Be Frugal?

I consider frugality an art form and a religious conviction. I learned about paying cash for purchases, recycling and reusing just about everything and being generous to friends and those in need from my parents.

My faith instructs me all things are gifted by God and so I am compelled to be a good steward of my gifts. [The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man. Psalm 115:16]

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

More non-traditional holiday savings

Unique ways I saved an extra $8 at Kroger: As a Kroger loyalty card holder, I receive great coupons in the mail periodically. One of the most recent ones that came in handy (and saved me money) was: spend $25 on Hallmark Expressions cards, save $5. I stocked up on greeting cards (and received fuel points).

I also saved $3 for buying 4 participating General Mills participating items - yesterday I stocked up on Pillsbury cookie dough plus used a coupon to save $1/3. I bought 3 rolls of cookie dough and 1 pack of Pillsbury Sweet Moments bit size cheesecake brownies.

I stocked up on other baking supplies (I make most of my holiday baked goods from scratch). Even purchasing expensive items like several varieties of baking chips, brown sugar and other supplies, I saved 22%!

If you know someone (including yourself!) who loves steaks and other great quality food, I just snagged a great deal from Plum District: It's only available for 5 days, so if you are interested, you need to act soon. $75 for The Holiday Festival Package from Omaha Steaks - a $132 Value. Today only, save $30 more by using this code: saturday40. That makes the final price just $45--a 65% savings!!

Did you have lots of Thanksgiving leftovers? I'd love to hear your ideas and recipes? I'll be posting some of mine later this weekend.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Non-traditional Black Friday savings and deals

I, for one, will NOT be out shopping on Black Friday (and I'm going to try to avoid it on Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving as well)!

That being said, if you are one of those brave souls who will not doubt find amazing bargains, I'd like to offer you some additional great deals! After all, you should be rewarded for helping the economy by "shopping til you drop"!

You have to stop to eat at some point, right? Why not buy one (or more) of these restaurant and other gift cards:
Applebee’s — In-store only: Buy $50 in gift cards, get $10 bonus card.
Arby’s – Buy $20 giftcard, get a FREE Combo meal.
Barnes & Noble — Buy $100 in gift cards, get free $10 eGift card.

To see even more restaurants offering free gift cards, food, or other treats in exchange for gift card purchases, stop by Mommy's Wish List.


Want to get all your gift cards in one place AND save a ton of money on gas for driving from store to store on Black Friday? Through 12/11/11, Kroger is offering quadruple fuel rewards points on many of the gift cards sold at its in store kiosk (excludes Kroger grocery gift cards). That means, if you purchase a $25 gift card, you'll earn 100 fuel rewards points. The rewards points can be redeemed for discounts of up to $0.10 per gallon on fuel at Shell stations and up to $1 per gallon at Kroger fuel centers.

What other "non-traditional" deals do you know about?

Friday, November 18, 2011

Frugal Family Dinner

Tonight my husband, son and I went out to eat at Silver Diner. They have a great new menu, but the prices have increased a bit so we really got creative to save 35% on our dinner bill.

We used a $5 off coupon we received via email for being a Silver Diner Rewards Club member (a great perk to belonging to the club is the 'random' coupons we receive periodically in addition to a free meal (including dessert) on your birthday.

Then we had two "free milk shake or dessert" coupons my son and I received the last time we ate there and each filled out a survey.

Our initial bill was $49.40
free milkshake - $5.69 (son)
free dessert - $5.89 (husband)
coupon - $5.00

Total bill: $33.85

Not bad! A little over $10 each and we were all full and happy!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Record savings @ Kroger and more stockpiling


Today I achieved my personal best savings at Kroger: 58%!

Here's how I did it today:
Coupons:
$1 on 3 Gen Mills Cereals (Also part of buy 4 save $3) (limit rewards per transaction)
$1 on 3 Nature Valley or Fiber One bars (Also part of buy 4 save $3)
$.50 on Pillsbury Refrigerator Pie Crusts (doubled)
2 - $.35 on Bob Evans Refrigerated Side Dishes (both doubled) - on sale for 2/$6
$1 on 2 Idahoan Potatoes (on sale 10/$10)
$.60 on 3 Green Giant FrozenBox Vegetables (on sale for 10/$10)
2 - $1.00 on 2 Reddi Whip (on sale for $2/$4)
$1 on 1 Digorno Rising Crust Pizza (on sale for $5.50)
$1 on Kroger Truly Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies(on sale for 2/$5) (got this coupon and part of my Bzz campaign)
Buy 3 Stove Top Stuffing, receive $.75 on next shopping order
I also earned a second frozen turkey at $.39/lb for spending $25 (one per transaction)

Tuesday is senior day (I'm barely eligible!) so I got an additional 5% off my total order.

My register total: $113.18 - I paid $66.46 - for a total saving of 58%! Woo Hoo!

Stockpile Items this trip: Stove Top Stuffing, cereal

Of course I used my Kroger 123Rewards Visa Card and earned points toward a Kroger gift card.

Have you made a comment on my previous post to receive a $1 off Kroger The Truly Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Have you started stockpiling to save money and time?

Monday, November 14, 2011

Kroger's The Truly Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies Really Are! (totally awesome, that is)

I registerd to be a Bzzagent with Buzzagent.com some time ago and never really became active until recently. My latest BuzzCampaign assignment arrived on Saturday. I received 2 boxes of The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies to taste and review.

We absolutely love these cookies! The first ingredient on the ingredient list: chocolate chips! Made with real butter,each of these cookies has 120 calories, 6 gm fat. There are only 8 cookies per box, but the cookies are about 2X the size of Chips Ahoy and other chocolate cookies on the market. The Truly Awesome cookies ar a bit pricey, but i will definitely stock up when they go on sale or I have coupons.

Your family is going to love these, and you for bringing them home. I'm trying them for free because I'm a BzzAgent! I received 4 $1.00 off coupons and I'm giving away one to each of the first three readers who leave me a comment! (Sorry . . . I have to keep one for myself or my family will kill me!)




Exclusively available at Kroger, Fred Meyer and Ralphs stores (the Kroger Family of Stores)

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Kroger Mega Event and coupons = 40% savings!

2 frugal transactions on Sunday:
1st stop was CVS:
1st transaction: $1 off 2 jars Smucker jam plus receive $3.00 ECB - total $3.13
2nd transation: 1 Jar peanut butter and 1 bag 75% off Halloween candy - free:-)

Next stop:

Kroger has been running Mega Event savings specials for several weeks now. This week I really prepared my shopping trip. I bought 40 Mega Even items (buy 10 participating items, save $5) so I automatically saved $20 right off the top.

I also used coupons on these Mega Event items for additional savings:
1 - $.50 off 1 Steamfresh vegetables
1 - $2.00 off 5 Healthy Choice entrees
2 - $.55 Pepperidge Farms Texas Toast
2 - $.25 on 4 Campbell's condensed soups (one of my stockpile items this week)
1 - $.50 on 5 cans Swanson broth (2nd stockpile item)
2 - $.40 Pillsbury crescent rolls - also used this purchase toward: Save $3 on Butterball premium w/ purchase of 4 selected items
Used a $2 "thanks for purchasing GE lighting" from my last shopping trip
Also purchased 1 Axe Shower Gel & got one free

Total manufacturer coupons: $17.13
Total bonus coupons (from doubling up to $.50): $2.60

Spent: $84.83 - saved $55.48 or 40%

I also earned 102 fuel points (since our son is an employee, we benefit from his 10% employee discount on Kroger brand products0 this order ($.10 off/gallon for every $100 spent) and paid my bill with Kroger's 123 Rewards Card (up to 3 points per dollar) - $1000 spent = $5 reward.

Pretty happy with myself. We donated some of the soup and broth plus the peanut butter from CVS to the food bank our church supports.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

A New Adventure: Stockpiling

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted since May!! Life has been very busy at our house, as demonstrated by my lack of posting! I've been busy learning more about couponing and stockpiling though!

I recently discovered Stockpilingmoms.com and have become a huge fan! Melissa and Shelley and two awesome ladies who share their knowledge of stockpiling, couponing, and just generally saving money on groceries and other items.

I've learned a lot, already saved a lot, and recently began their Stockpiling 101 series. This past week I began a new adventure: stockpiling. I'm not talking about stockpiling so much stuff we have to add a wing on our house! These ladies suggest a 3-month stockpile. That works for me. I've started with laundry detergent and toothpaste - because I caught a good sale and had high-value coupons.

I invite you to join me! I'm combining stepped up coupooning with stockpiling to save even more than in the past. I'm using my extra savings over the next year to make some home improvements and maybe even take a nice vacation. What would you do with a few extra dollars in the bank?

I've also posted on facebook that I've purchased several gift cards for half price (one $10 CVS card for $5; two $10 Subway cards for $5 each) through savemore.com. If you visit, please use my referral link.

What are some great sites you visit often?