*Fru*gal* Friday

I hope today finds you well and you have been able to take advantage of the great grocery deals this week.

1st up: On Saturday May 23 (tomorrow) at Old Navy all off their flip flops are $1/pair!!!!! I would recommend getting there early because I am sure that they are going to go fast!

2nd: There have been several request on how to do couponing. So, just for you, here is the information that was given at the Stake Enrichment Boot Camp in January. (Courtesy of the Bargain Babes ; ) If you need to come back to this, just select the coupon 101 tab on the right. And, if you have any questions, call or email me.

Intro to using coupons
1.Accumulate coupons. You can do this by subscribing to the Sunday newspaper. There are three types of inserts that come in the Sunday paper; SmartSource, Red Plum, and Procter & Gamble (P&G). Red Plum also comes in the mail with the grocery ads. There are also many printable coupons; most allow you to print two coupons per computer. It is recommended you get one newspaper subscription per person in your home. You can also trade coupons with friends and through online coupon trading forums.

2.Organize your coupons. Find the best way for you. Keep them in order by date of the Sunday paper they come in. Do not clip them. Keep them filed until there is a great sale to match the coupon. Then clip it and take it with you to the store. This saves a lot of extra, unnecessary clipping and saving cut coupons.

3.Wait until a sale comes along to match the coupons you want to use. Use your favorite website that will do the work of matching coupons to sales.

4.The reason you want multiple coupons is so you can stock up. You can use one coupon per item purchased. So, for example, if razors are free and you have four coupons, you can get four razors absolutely free! This will carry you until the next sale when they are free again.

5.The coupons do not generally expire for up to five months. Every month you can check your oldest coupons to see if they have expired and throw them away.
When getting started, be patient, it will take a little time to build up your supply of coupons. You will have a large supply of not only food, but also toiletries, cleaning supplies and more in a just a matter of months. All on the same budget you currently shop with.

6.The websites usually rate the deals. When you see a five star deal, it is a great time to stock up. You will learn what the lowest prices are to pay for certain items in no time. Stock up as much as you can to last until the next sale. Soon you will be stocked up on all sorts of items you use and won’t have to pay full price for them and will soon have food storage of items you use.

8.There are many other ways to save at the store including rebates, and Catalinas (coupons that print at the register after you pay). Pay attention to the websites and you will learn about deals you never imagined.

9.To get the maximum savings, you can not be loyal to one brand or store. You need to be willing to try new products and brands.

Free money saving websites

The following are a few websites that are absolutely free that do a lot of the work for you. They will match coupons to store sales. All you have to do is keep your coupons organized, clip them and make your shopping list according to your needs. Many of them have blogs and forums where users can add their own finds and tips.

Grocerysmarts.com
1. enter passport (Utah passport is: g84csg)
2. click submit
3. select your store from the dropdown menu
4. Click start button in upper right hand corner of page
5. select the items you want to add to your grocery list (they will turn white)
6. type in any notes or other items you want to purchase to create a complete list
7. click the shrink button in the upper right corner of the page. This will compress your list to include only those items you have selected as well we any notes you have typed. If you need to start over, click the unshrink button.
8. click the print now button to print your list.
9. print your coupons from the links provided
10. clip your coupons from Sunday paper inserts

Pinchingyourpennies.com
Grocery Deals
Click on screaming deals by state
select Utah
select grocery store you are interested in

Deals at stores around town other than grocery
from the home page select forums
select screaming deals around town
go through thread to see what stores/deals apply to you

Deals found online
select forums from the home page
go to screaming deals online

Other deal finding websites/blogs
Moneysavingmom.com
Bargainbrianna.blogspot.com
Couponmom.com
Coupondivas.com/kids-eat-free

Tasty Tuesday

I love when the weather starts to get warmer and I can take my Dutch Oven out of hibernation. So, in honor of my Dutch Oven, here is a very tasty (and fairly easy) recipe.

Beef Barbecue Sandwich

2lbs. beef roast
1 bottle liquid smoke
1 can cola soda or 1 1/2 c beef broth
1 to 2 bottles barbecue sauce
swiss or cheddar cheese slices
sauteed onions
toasted onion rolls or hoagie buns

Marinate roast in liquid smoke overnight. Place roast in a oiled Dutch oven and pur the soda over the top. Cover and cook with 16-20 coals (400 deg), with a 1 (bottom)-to-3 (top) ratio, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat separates easily. Add more moisture if needed, and rotate the oven and lid while cooking. Using a fork, shred the meat, then stir in the barbecue sauce and heat through. Serve on buns with cheese and onions. Yummy!!!

Tasty Tuesday

First we need to update you on the ever-so-popular free KFC coupons. This was sent to me from Dana (Thank you).

Subject: KFC Coupon

Because of the overwhelming response to the KFC Coupons, some restaurants are unable to redeem the coupons, because of this they will be giving a rain check for your coupon. Please see below.

http://www.kfc.com/coupons/raincheck.asp

Now, onto a yummy recipe! I make this for my family on a pretty consistant basis and all of them love it!!

Easy Chicken Stir-fry

1 lb boneles chicken breast
1 pkg frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 tbsp miracle whip
garlic powder
soy sauce
2 cups cooked rice

Cook chicken in miracle whip. add vegetables and seasoning (to taste) and simmer until vegetables are cooked through. Serve over rice (or noodles). Enjoy

Frugal Friday

Beginning today and on every Friday, there will be some kind of money saving tip, idea, coupon, sale, etc. Today there happens to be two.

First: $8 off the white tulle slip
The Vintage Hem Gals Jennifer & Janine each have 4 kiddos, so you get $1 off for each kid totalling a savings of eight dollars when you purchase a Have A Ball Slip in white. Offer expires 5/14/09 go to: www.vintagehem.com

Our Mother's Day gift to you!
PROMO CODE: VHmomma

I love Vintage Hem. I believe I have every style that they offer. I will be getting my white tulle slip this weekend!


Next: Beginning Monday May 11 at Kraft.com you can get up to $50 in Kraft coupons. There is a limited supply and a household limit as well.

Have a Frugal Day!!

Tasty Tuesday

I saw this (tasty tuesday) on a good friends blog and I thought that it would be perfect for this site. Each week on Tuesday, we will feature a new tasty recipe (or a few). This week, however, it has been decided that we let you know of a free meal at KFC.

FREE 2 pc. KFC grilled chicken meal
(includes 2 sides and a biscuit)
Printable coupon at this link:
http://www.unthinkfc.com/

The site is currently allowing you to print 4 coupons!
Valid 5/5/09-5/19/09 excluding Mother's Day (5/10/09)

Coupon available for printing from 9am CDT 5/5/09 to 9:59pm CDT 5/6/09 only! This site could experience heavy volume at times so please be patient.