Yes, I get paid to read emails

Go here now to do the same! http://www.hits4pay.com/members/index.cgi?jesskbuf

Coupons in Parade Magazine

If you haven't already thrown out your Sunday paper, don't forget to pull the coupons that are in the Parade Magazine...

• $2 off any CoverGirl and Simply Ageless Product
• $0.50 off Cottonelle Soothing Clean Wipes Tub
• $1 off Cottonelle Aloe & E Toilet Tissue 12 Pack
• $1 off any flavor of Bit O Luv Dog Treats
• $1 off any CoverGirl Product
• $2 off any 2 CoverGirl Products
  
  

Save $$$ on ink!!!!

I just have a few quick tips on how I save $$$ on ink that I'd like to share...

1) Buy your ink on eBay! On average, I get 4 for the price of one off eBay. Or, if you are in the market to buy a new printer, check what kind of ink it takes and how much it costs and buy accordingly!

2) Take your old ink cartridges to Staples. I had NO IDEA they sent you a $3.00 check for each one you bring in! Over the past few months, I have received almost $20!

3) MY FAVORITE INK SAVING TIP!!! Set your printer to 'draft quality'. Go to your printer settings and select options and adjust accordingly. It uses HALF the ink, prints SUPER fast, and you still get the full coupon printout! And keep in mind that all coupons are accepted in blank and white...so no need to have your printer setting at color!

*Other tip (not ink related): use your junk mail for printing! I have not yet found the need to buy paper. I use any paper that comes in the mail (as long as it has a blank back side), newsletters, etc.

REMINDER: YARD SALE EXTRAVAGANZA! Wednesday, May 14th

Just a reminder, tomorrow is the big day over at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point - 10am to 7pm. ALMOST 200 VENDORS!!! Spread the word!!!

www.yardsaleextravaganza.blogspot.com/

Coupon Preview for Sunday (5/3)

Head on over to "Common Sense with Money" to view the coupon preview for next week. There are some pretty nice high-value coupons waiting for us!

Southwest Suburban Moms of Multiples Childrens resale

When: April 18th 9-1pm
Where: Christ's Passion Community Church - 3400 Earl Dr., Joliet 60431

Available for purchase is gently used and new childrens clothing from premie to juniors size 14 as well as toys, strollers, video games, movies, shoes, jackets, swim wear and almost anything else imaginable for these age groups! (due to goverment regulations car seats and boosters will not be available for resale)

$1 admission at the door will be donated to the church.
***cash only*** All sales final
*Strollers, wagons, diaper bags, or any other types of bags will NOT be allowed in the sale!

Bonus sale: Maternity clothes will also be available for purchase!

There is still room is you would like to become a seller! Please go to www.swsmom.com for details.

Happy Easter!

Lake County Mega Sale - thanks to Debbie Campbell

Go to the link below. It's an article about the HUGE sale in Lake County that is scheduled for every second Thursday of the month in 2009 (with the exception of August due to the Lake County Fair). It's from 10am to 7pm. I just got off the phone with Debbie Campbell, the organizer of this massive event, and REALLY hope to get in next month! They had 1000+ patrons at yesterday's event!!!!

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2009/04/08/business/business/doc4b6e7a9b4a515c9386257591006147d8.txt

Customer Reward Programs

Wow! I had NO IDEA there were so many out there!! And to think I have kept my rewards limited to only CVS and Walgreens! Silly Me!

Check out the link below where Hey It's Free posted all kinds of reward programs!

http://www.heyitsfree.net/2009/04/08/budget-busters-2-customer-reward-programs/

May 2009 All You Magazine Coupons

I signed up for a 2-year subscription through some Southern Living Magazine rep and STILL haven't got my All You Magazine in the mail...grrr. Anyway, I had to pay full price at WalMart (yes, I HAD to go to Walmart) for this magazine. Anyway, here's a list of the coupons it includes:

Adams Flea And Tick Product $3 expires 12/31/09
Alexia Crunchy Snacks $1 expires 7/31/09
Banquet Homestyle Bakes 50¢ expires 8/31/09
Borden Cheese Single Sensations $1 expires 6/30/09
Centrum $2 expires 5/31/09
Colgate Maxfresh Toothpaste $1 expires 7/24/09
Colgate Wisp (4-ct) 50¢ expires 7/24/09
Cottonelle (12-pk) $1 expires 7/31/09
Cottonelle Wipes (42ct+) 50¢ expires 7/31/09
Dentek Complete Floss $1 expires 4/14/10
Dentek Night Guard $5 expires 4/14/10
Free Dixie Napkins WYB two (2) Dixie Ultra Plates ( value to $1.93) expires 6/30/09
Disposer Care 55¢ expires 7/31/09
Dishwasher Magic 55¢ expires 7/31/09
Dole Natural Fruit 75¢ expires 7/18/09
Garden Safe Product Excluding Plant Foods Fertilizers And Soils $1.50 expires 8/30/09
Glade Plug In Scented Oil Lasting Impressions Starter $3 expires 7/20/09
Jack Daniels Mustard 50¢ expires 7/31/09
Lava Product 55¢ expires 7/31/09
Marie Callender’s Dinners $1/2 expires 7/5/09
Marie Callender’s Pasta Al Dente $1 expires 7/5/09
Marzetti Slaw Dressing 75¢ expires 7/30/09
Morton’s Salt Saver (bags) $1/2 expires 8/16/09
Neutrogena Cosmetic Products $3/2 expires 6/5/09
New York Frozen Product 50¢ expires 7/31/09
The Note And The Note 2 ($3) expires 5/31/09
NYC Color Product $1 expires 5/31/09
Ortega Products $1/2 expires 6/30/09
Playtex Gentle Glide $1 expires 7/31/09
Poise Product $1 expires 5/31/09
Purina Busy Chewnola, Beggin Canadian Cuts or Busy Bone Mini $1 expires 6/19/09
Rapidbath Bathing Kit For Dog $5 expires 10/15/09
Rimmel Nail Max B1G1 expires 6/30/09
Sally Hansen Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Pen B1G1 expires 6/30/09
Schick Disposable Razor $3 expires 6/30/09
Smartfood Snacks (5-oz+) $1 expires 6/28/09
Softsoap Ensembles Soap $1 expires 8/31/09
Sun Crystals Sweetener (50ct) $1 expires 12/31/09
Tyson Frozen Chicken or Beef Strips $1 expires 6/30/09
Tyson Refrigerated Chicken or Steak Strips 55¢ expires 6/30/09
Tyson Skillet Creations $1 expires 7/31/09
Washer Magic 55¢ expires 7/31/09
Weight Watchers Yogurt Cups 55¢/3 expires 6/30/09
Weight Watchers Frozen Novelty (2-pk) 55¢ expires 6/30/09
Weight Watchers Cheese Or Cream Cheese Item 75¢ expires 6/30/09

Coupons and Rebates and Target...OH MY!

I just wanted to share the world's most fabulous compilation of coupons and rebates (and other good information) that Ginger over at AttentionTargetShoppers put together...

http://attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/2009/04/friday-updates.html

Printable Coupon Sites

My Faves...
Betty Crocker
Eat Better America
Hot Coupon World
Red Plum
Smart Source
Target Store Coupons
The Coupon Loop
We Use Coupons
Wyeth

Also, I always load up my coupons onto my grocery cards (Safeway/Dominicks, Kroger, etc.) at http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/PG_eSAVER/Page/HomePage/

Free Organic Cookbook

I have had soooo many questions lately regarding organic foods, so I figured I would share this...

Sign up at Kiwimagonline.com - not only is the site full of information, recipes, coupons and ideas for organic living, but they will send you a free Organic Cookbook!

Allergies are Starting to Kick In

Here is the first of many coupons I found for inhalers...https://www.advair.com/copd/coupons-and-special-offers/coupons-special-offers.jsp - even if you don't register, you can get a $10 coupon off your next inhaler! Use this with your deductible and be able to breathe for cheap!


If you are new to ADVAIR—get your first full prescription of ADVAIR for FREE. Register now and print out your 30-day free trial offer or have this offer mailed to your house

If you already take ADVAIR—register to get other savings offers for use with future prescriptions of ADVAIR


Thanks Heather and Sue for the heads up!



Related Posts:
Allergy Season and your dogs
Free Allergy Sufferer's Survival Guide

Eat Organic for Less

Healthy eating is always a great thing to for, but these days, with the price of food so high, it’s even tougher to afford anything organic. This is my second organic post - by request - so I hope they are helping out! :)

So, as I promised keep you up to date with deals on organic food, here is a healthy-living website with tons of tips and articles (and, of course, free printable coupons for organic foods).
Mambo Sprouts

Some of the highlights:
*$0.75 coupon for Santa Cruz products (love their juices, especially the pineapple coconut)
*$2.00 coupon for Ian’s frozen food (I know the organic chicken nuggets are supposed to be for kids, but I eat them anyway!)
*$1.00 coupon for Liberte yogurts (mmmmm, honey flavor)
*$1.00 off MaraNatha nut butters

Garage Sale Tips - Part Deux

If you didn't get a chance to read my first posting about garage sales, pleas go over HERE and read my tips for shoppers and sellers. Here is another round of tips (this time for shoppers only)...

There are two kinds of garage sales - the ones where people want to make money and the ones where people want to get rid of stuff. The object is to find the ones where people want to get rid of stuff.

Get a map and newspaper and map out your route. Photocopying a map from a phone book or printing one from the web works great. Using this method, you can easily visit 25 sales an hour. If you're a beginner you might hit neighborhoods you are familiar with first.

If at all possible, leave the kids at home. If you must take them use a baby backpack or an umbrella stroller to make it easier. Give older children 25 or 50 cents and let them see what good deals they can get. Kids love picking out gifts for grandparents, siblings, parents and other family and bargain hunting helps them learn about money. Bring snacks (animal crackers, cereals, crackers in plastic bag works well) and cold water for everyone and plan ahead for potty breaks. If you have children with you, it's best only to plan on hitting about five sales until you see how they do.

Wear cool, comfortable clothes. Bring lots of change and one dollar bills. Put your money in your pockets so you don't have to worry about carrying your purse. Also bring a tote bag in which to carry your finds as you walk.

When you find something you're not sure you want, pick it up and carry it around while you continue looking. Otherwise someone else may take it while you're trying to decide.

Always ask politely if they will come down on the price. Most of the time they will. Every once in a while some things are so reasonable that I do not feel right asking for less. Finding women's sweater's at $1.00 each isn't bad, but I still ask if they will take 50 or 75 cents. If I find a name brand sweater in perfect shape for 25 cents, I don't ask for less.

If there is something you really want, but the seller is asking more than you want to pay, offer them a lower price. If they say no, leave your name and number and ask them to consider selling it to you at your price if they still have it at the end of the day.

Always check items well for hard to see tears, stains, or breakage. Remember it is a garage sale so everything won't be perfect.

It is best to go early, but don't panic if you can't. Sometimes you get the best buys after lunch when sellers are tired and don't want to have to drag everything back into the house. It's great to go on the last day of a sale because most sellers will almost pay you to take things so they don't have to keep them.

If you don't have success in one part of town, try somewhere else the next time. Sometimes the best garage sale neighborhoods are the ones you don't expect.

Don't be embarrassed about buying at garage sales. Some of the wealthiest women in the world love garage sales - Martha Stewart and Oprah are among them! When you're done, go home, put up your feet and have a nice glass of ice cold lemonade. Grab the phone and call someone who will share the excitement and appreciate your good buys. Garage sales are like old fishing stories. Die-hards always brag about the one that got away!

Take control of your lists with "Smart Shopper" - FOR CHEAP!

The SmartShopper is an electronic grocery list/errand organizer that is simplifying many busy lives. When these first hit the shelves, they were running around $150. Right now you can grab one of these at Amazon.com for under $30 shipped. If you've been wanting one, I'd say now's the time to get it!

Get rid of the post it notes, scraps of paper, and your memory with the SmartShopper. The SmartShopper is a electronic grocery list/to do list organizer. It is making my grocery list fun again.

Say it. Simply press the "record" button on the Smart Shopper and add items to your grocery list by speaking into it. While it comes with over 2,500 pre-loaded grocery items, you can customize it very easily. You would want to customize brand name items or items which may not be in the pre-loaded list.



Print it.When your list is complete, simple hit the print button and your list is printed in seconds.

Go get it. Then take your list, organized by categories and shop!

Since this has a built in magnet and is compact, I placed it in a central location on our refrigerator. This way anyone can add needed items to the list. If someone needs deodorant, then just speak into the SmartShopper and it is added to the list.

BEST OF ALL - If I have a coupon for an item, I can specify I have a coupon for that particular item and when the list prints it will designate that item as one with a coupon so money saving coupons are not forgotten.

In addition to adding grocery items, you can keep track of errands with the SmartShopper. You can create two separate lists if want to keep track of your errands or grocery items separately. If you track them together, errands will print at the top of the list.

This is a MUST HAVE product and a great gift idea. Get more organized and save time while shopping. You can watch the Smart Shopper in action below:

Don't forget your guarantees!

Walgreens Tip: If they are ever out of stock on anything, ask for a raincheck! You can always pick it up later and still use your coupons.

Jewel Tip: If something rings up higher than advertised, you get it for free - it's their price guarantee policy. Trust me, I've gotten QUITE a lot for free because of this fabulous policy.

How to Save Money on Meat

I get asked a lot if my family buys meat. I guess when you're on a $30 per week budget, people assume we are vegetarians...WE ARE NOT!

Though you will rarely find coupons for meat, there are ways to cut your costs. Since most of these tips are about stocking up, most meats can be stored frozen for 3-4 months (longer than that starts to distorts taste and texture).

1. The best tip to save on meat is to wait for sales and stock up. Once you are stocked, continue to watch sales and break up your meat purchases so that you are buying chicken one week, beef another week etc. You don’t want to ruin your budget with a week of just meat purchases.

2. Find when your store does meat markdowns. The meat is still fine to eat or freeze, it just needs to be stored that day. The Kroger in my area does this every Monday morning. This is when I buy steaks. I can usually get 50-75% off high dollar cuts of steak. If it is a good markdown, then stock up on as many as they have or as many as you need.

3. Buy a Cow. Not kidding, really. Go in with 4 or more other friends (we went in with 2 other friends) and contact a local farm to see if they sell cows to individual groups (we actually got ours from the county fair). You will pay a per pound rate for the cow and will pay a butchering cost. Tell the butcher exactly what you are wanting, mostly ground beef, ground beef and steaks, roasts etc. Then split it all up. You will end up with probably around 80-90 pounds of beef per family. The savings ads up when you realize that for expensive cuts you paid the same per pound rate as your ground beef. We paid about $2.66 per pound and that included roasts, ground beef, and steaks.

4. Be your own butcher (not for #3). If you are willing to spend a little time with your meat you can save $2 per pound or more.
*Buy a pork tenderloin and make your own boneless pork chops. A tenderloin sale price is $1.99, boneless pork chops sale price is $3.99. (Most grocers will do this for you for free if you ask.)
*Remove the breast bone yourself from split chicken breasts. Boneless chicken breasts on sale are $1.99 lb, split breasts are .99¢ lb.
*If you are cooking steak for a few people, buy a London Broil and then cut it into thinly sliced strips. You will feed twice as many people than serving individual steaks.

5. If you are making casseroles or other meals with cut up meat use the cheapest form of that meat. No one will know you used chicken leg meat in your chicken casserole, or that you cut up a cube steak to make fajitas or stir fry.

6. Use leftover meat to make another meal. My husband managed to turn one ham into 4 different meals. Don’t want to eat ham 4 nights in row? You don’t have to. Make a casserole and freeze it to eat in a week or two...soups can also be frozen. The point is don’t cook the ham and just throw away the rest.

7. Use other purchases as “coupons” off your meat. If you see an item on the grocery deals list for that week that is a “FREE plus overage” item, you need to buy it. Buy as many as you have coupons for. If you can make $1 to buy Revlon tweezers, that is really $1 off your meat, milk, and other non coupon purchases. If you buy 10 Revlon tweezers that is $10 off your meat. Keep the tweezers you want and donate the others to shelters, or women’s ministries. I love my tweezer savings!

Remember Your Coupon Order!

ALWAYS hand over manufacturer coupons first. This will not only avoid the registers from beeping, the cashier to get flustered, you don't get your sale, and the people behind you get mad.

So, avoid havoc and HAND OVER YOUR MANUFACTURER COUPONS FIRST...then store coupons.

Making a Menu is like putting an outfit together

Have you ever went shopping at a clothing store and choose and picked sale items you might not have something to wear them with. Maybe it’s a colored shirt you weren’t sure if you had shoes to match. Or a discounted sweater that may or may not work with that skirt.

Yes, you may have scored a great deal on the sale item, but if it just hangs in your closet and never wear it – it really wasn’t the best deal then. Was it?

Buying food for meals is something like this. When you pick and choose sale items, you need to ask yourself, can I use this. Will I use this? When am I going to use it?

The other week when I was shopping at Target for a few of their sales, I was able to score meat for $0.17. I used the $2 Sutton and Dodge coupon on a pound of the chuck roast on sale. I also was able to get frozen veggies for $0.67. Now, I can put these all together to make stir fry.

I had a plan. The biggest trap I see people falling into when they begin savings is that they buy buy buy because it’s on sale. But if they never use it, its money wasted.

You start to get a stockpile that you will never use and food may be wasted. Here is a great rule of thumb – SHOP YOURSELF FIRST!

Use what you have. The whole principle of savings is buy low and use later. USE IT!

I just want to encourage you to save those dollars and use up what you have!

If you shop the sales – that’s great, that’s how you should shop! Just have a plan for how you can use it. Don’t let that can of bean just sit on your shelf like the shirt on sale hanging in your closet that you never wore. Make tacos, burritos – wear it use it. Make each dollar that you spent, count!