Friday Finals - Kroger Mega Event, Tom Thumb, CVS

Wow we had a great Link party last week with 34 entries. The most ever here at Pounds4Pennies. Tell everyone one where you linkup your savings, so they can learn how to save too! Here are the top three visited sites from last week, visit them for inspiration on savings:

Coupon Story

Saving Myself Silly

Saving A Bundle

To learn more individual deal scenarios join Pounds4Pennies on Facebook.

I have a giveaway going on right now for Purex Laundry Detergent. You have a chance to win one of three free coupons for Purex Triple Action 33 load. Enter now for your chance to win. Easy entry.

CVS 02/06/12

3 Sauve Body Wash 2.00 each

2 Sauve Lotion $3.00 each

USED:

B2G1 Suave Body Wash coupon – Took off $3.00 at registar

1.50 /2 Suave Lotion

$5.00 ECB

Received

$4.00 for spending $12 in Suave products

OOP: $2.50

I spent $2.50 and saved $9.50 in healthcare this week.

Tom Thumb 02/07/12

1 Hunts Ketchup $1.99 – We are almost out.

6 Wolf Brand Chili $0.99 - $0.75/3 Wolf Brand Chili  SS 1/22/12

            -Final $0.74

2 Quaker Oatmeal B1G1 $3.39 – My printer wouldn’t Print the coupon

            -Final $1.70 each

4 Ocean Spray Cranberry Juices B2G1 $2.50 – B1G1 Cherry Juice printable

            -Final $1.25 each

1 Café Du Monde Beignet Mix Clearance ½ off - $1.99

3 Cans Rosarita Refried Beans $1.00 - $0.50/3 Rosarita Refried Beans SS 01/22/12

            -Final $0.66 each

2 Mezzetta Peppers B1G1 $2.79 – I had a $1/2 coupon, but I missed handing it to the cashier.

            -Final 1.40

2 Mission Tortillas $0.99 – Store coupons (she forgot to ring one, so I got my $1 back)

2 Bear Creek Soups B1G1 $4.49 - $1/1 Bear Creek soup SS 10/23/11

            -Final $1.75 each

2 Aluminum Foil B1G1 $1.49

            -Final $0.75

3 Yogurts Clearance $0.32 each

2 Gogurts $1.75 each - $0.75/2 Gogurt GM 02/05/12 

            -Final $1.37 each

9 POM juice $0.99 each – 9 $1/1 Pom Juice coupons – I did not clear the shelves. There were plenty left for others. SS 12/04/11, SS 01/08/12

            -Final FREE – I LOVE FREE

I spent $32.59 and saved $53.38 on $85.97 worth of food and necessary items this trip. If you like Chili dogs in the summer, you need to stock up on chili now.  Chili will be $2.00 and I just got it for $0.74. My husband is from New Orleans and it is Mardi Gras season, so we are going to celebrate by making some Beignets this weekend. His Mom sent us the King cake yesterday. YUM.

Kroger Mega Event 02/07/12

MEI – Mega Event Item – Take and additional $0.50 off each time

1 Kroger Shredded Cheese $1.67

3 Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers $1.49 – MEI

            -Final $0.99 each

1 Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon $2.49 – MEI

            -Final $1.99 – Stock up Price

2 Velveeta $5.99 – MEI $1/1 Velveeta 2lb cheese peelie

            -Final $4.49 each

2 Milks $2.38 each

1 6 pack Strawberry Yogurt Clearance $0.99 each

1 Kraft Easy Mac $0.98 – MEI

            -Final $0.48

2 Helava Good Dip $1.49 – MEI, 2 $0.75/1 Helava Good Dip SS 01/22/12

            -Final $0.25 each

1 Whole Wheat Tortilla $1.89

3 Hunts Tomatoes $0.98 – MEI, $0.45/3 Hunts Tomatoes SS 01/22/11

            -Final $0.33 each

2 Edge Shaving Gel $1.99 each – MEI, 2 $0.55/1 Printable

            -Final $0.94 each

4 Moms Cereal $1.49 each – MEI

            -Final $0.99 – Organic Cereal

2 Garden of Eatin’ Chips $2.19 – MEI, $1/2 Garden of Eatin’ Chips SS 01/22/12

            -Final $1.19 each

I spent $36.04 and saved $33.56 on $69.60 worth of groceries this trip. Velveeta is not on the healthy diet plan, but it is so good. This is my all time favorite food. I think it will pair nicely with the organic corn chips I bought. That makes it healthy, right?

Altogether I spent $71.13 and saved $96.44 on $167.57 worth of food and healthcare items. 

Want to reduce your grocery budget checkout my

How to Start Couponing Beginners Guide

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

One of the best ways to learn how to coupon is to read others posts and you will also find more deals. If you stop by leave them a comment. Link up your savings trips here, or leave a comment so we can see how you did this week. How did your saving trips go this week?

Purex Laundry Detergent GIVEAWAY

I am very excited to announce my first giveaway.  Very easy entry plus even more ways to enter to win. I am using Rafflecopter for the entry method. I will select the winner on 03/01/12 by using Randomizer to generate three different numbers. I will post and contact the winners on 03/01/12. Now get to entering so you can win some FREE laundry detergent!

A chance to win

1 of 3 FREE Coupons

Purex Triple Action Laundry Detergent 33 Load 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read my article about Purex Triple Action Laundry Detergent for more information on this great product.


Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join me at Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more great savings.  

Whatever Wednesday - Wii Party Ideas

My stepson wanted a birthday party this year, so we agreed to host it at our house. (long story) He told me he wanted a Wii party this year. I have to say I am inexperienced at hosting boy parties unless they are two or younger. So I thought I have this is going to be easy, until I realized this is not a real popular party idea. I searched on , Googled and used Swagbucks to search for Wii party ideas.

Since my theme was Wii. I also wanted to pick a color theme to tie some of my random ideas together. I chose blue and green, since this was a boys party.


Here are some of the decorations and things I designed for the party

Wii Party Ideas

These are the tags I designed to have another gift favor from his party. They all thought they were cool. I don’t have a color printer, so these were black and white. I covered his name to protect his identity.

I made mustache straws. The boys got a kick out of that. The mustache was for Mario and they are all the rage now, so I thought it would be funny. They took the mustaches off the straws and started wearing them. 

I wanted to make something fun for them to do. I had some long paper and cut it in half to look like a Wiimote and used this print out. They were to make a Wiimote without looking. I thought this might be fun; however, this did not go over well with this age group. Maybe a younger crowd would enjoy it.

It is my new tradition every kid gets their own birthday banner. His name is wrapped around the other side. I chose not to show it in order to protect his identity. Not to toot my own horn, but I am getting pretty good at making these. I used scrapbook paper and cut out a million triangles in different colors and plan out the pattern. I used the Paper Bunting Template and to get five triangles per standard 12X12 sheet of scrapbook paper. Then I sewed them together using bias tape. Yes you can sew paper and it is super easy.

I found this fabulous free 3D Wiimote favor box download. I cut out and put together and glued, with help from the birthday boy.

I only needed to make five, so this was doable. Once put together. I stuffed it with 1 bag of M&M’s and one fun size Twix. What do you think? The boys loved them.

We also had those fabulous Homemade Pizza Rolls I blogged about last week. These were so good. I forgot to take a picture of them baked before they were devoured.

I thought it would be fun to place the cookies on skewers and have them in a vase sticking up. This is not the best idea to have boys running around the house with sharp objects acting like they are mini swords. So I had to police as the cookies were eaten, to make sure I got the mini swords, I mean skewers back. I used an old oatmeal container and wrapped it with scrapbooking paper, that matched the banner, to cover it completely. I put a package of black beans to weight it down and stuck the cookie pops in at random places.

The Wiimote cake turned out fabulous. I have an unwritten agreement with my neighbor. I bake and ice the cake, and she decorates it for me. She has all the awesome frosting tips and gadgets to decorate a cake. In return I give her coupons and share good deals with her. Fair trade I think.

I will post instructions on how make this fabulous cake next week.

Oh yeah and the boys played Wii most of the night.


Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join me at Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more great savings.  

Tips for Tuesday - Make Ahead Muffins

When I first started my extreme couponing journey a year ago, I loved the thrill of getting things for free or really cheap. However, when I really looked at what I was buying, it was a lot of junk food or unhealthy food. I really didn't want to be feeding this to my growing children. I wanted to feed them nourishing food for their growing bodies.

We were spending way too much on food, since we were now on a single income.  I needed to also stay on a strict budget. When I was looking at what I could do, I knew I needed to cut back on the grocery budget. When I was a single mom a few years back, my daughter and I survived on $20 a week for all our meals. I thought I would try to do the something similar with a family of five. I would spend $10 per person per week for my grocery budget.

I like the fact of buying muffins in the package and opening them up and pouring a few ingredients in then baking them. Ta Da you then have muffins. I also realized in order to provide better food I needed to get back to the basics and start cooking more things from scratch. I was staying at home now, so I had the time right? So I thought. I was just as busy if not busier. How could I provide good food and save time?

I remembered my "Joy of Cooking " cook book had a recipe for making muffins by listing the dry ingredients then telling you what to add to make variations of these muffins. Here is the simple recipe and a few variations you can use:

1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (I use whole wheat, I haven't noticed to much of a difference)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Teaspoons double-acting baking powder (I use a little more, since I use whole wheat)

I simply make a few ziplock bags with these dry ingredients in there. Then I have a little print out of the wet ingredients:

Dry Ingredients for Muffins:

Beat in 2 eggs

2-4 Tablespoons butter melted

3/4 cup milk

Combine all the ingredients and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Blueberry or berry muffins add:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup berries

Pumpkin:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup Pumpkin

Then I have my own prepackaged muffins I can whip up whenever I want. 


I must say the best gift for a new bride would be "Joy of Cooking " cook book. It is very educational and has a recipe for just about anything you would want to make.  

Learn couponing strategies by reading my

How to Start Couponing Beginners Guide

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

Do you have any great time saving tips? How do you save time during the week?

Money Saving Monday - BOGO deals & Coupons

BOGO DEALS & COUPONS

Buy One Get One Free

One of the best coupon deals is a BOGO deal. Most people don't realize you can still use a coupon on the item that is full price. Check with your stores coupon policy to see if you are allowed to do this. 

Here is how it works, if there is a BOGO store sale and you have a coupon for B1G1. That would make both items for free. One item is a store deal and one is a manufacture deal. Since the store deal is for a free item, the the one you are purchasing is with a coupon. You are getting that one free from the manufacture of the coupon.

You can also use a coupon and a B1G1 coupon. If you have a $0.50/1 coupon and a B1G1 coupon you can use both. The $0.50/1 will be off the full price item and then you are getting one for free. *

With a store BOGO deal sometimes you can use two coupons, one for the original priced item and one for the free item. If you have 2 coupons for $2/1 you may be allowed to use them both on both items. This may make both free. This is may not be the case at most stores. After the extreme couponing show aired many stores changed their coupon policy to not allow this type of transaction. Please check with your store before trying to do this scenario. Most stores around me have canceled this type of transaction.*

If your store does not allow you to use two coupons, you are still allowed to use a coupon off two items. These coupons are usually higher in value and you can get some even better deals. If the store offered a BOGO deal and you also had a coupon for $2 off 2 items then you can still use this coupon with your purchase. *

I am not an expert, and don't know everything, but I love to share what I have learned with you. I hope this helps clear up some confusion on using coupons with BOGO deals.

*Be sure to check and read your stores coupon policy carefully before you try to do any of these scenarios. All stores are different and have different coupon policies. These are possible scenarios at different stores. Most stores will not allow you to do all of these scenarios.

Learn how to cut your grocery bill in half. Checkout my

How to Start Couponing Beginners Guide

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

Super Coupon Deals Saturday

FREE Printable Coupons for the Month


Food
$1.00 off any TWO (2) UNCLE BEN'S Whole Grain 
$0.50 off three Zatarain's Rice or Pasta Mixes  - It's Mardi Gras, Zatarains will be on sale soon
$0.75 off FRENCH'S Dijon Mustard 
$0.30 off FRENCH'S Spicy Brown Mustard - Can make it FREE if tripled
$3.00 off 10 Weight Watchers Smart Ones 
$0.75 off Yoplait Kid Zone yogurt 
$0.40 off 2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls 
$0.80 off 4 Hamburger, Tuna or Chicken Helper 
$0.50 off 2 Betty Crocker Fruit snacks 
$0.50 off 5 Campbell's Spaghetti0's pasta  - Great if Doubled
$0.80 off one package of Truvia natural sweetener 


SNACKS
$1.50 off on any 2 Atkins Day Break products 
$1.00 off any JOSÉ OLÉ brand item 
$1.00 off one bag of M&M'S Pretzel 
$0.75 off any TWO (2) Bagel-fuls (4ct) 
$0.50 off ONE MARIE CALLENDER'S FRUIT PIE

DAIRY
$1.00 off 1 Cream Cheese w/1 Keebler Toasteds 
$0.40 off one Frigo Cheese Heads String Cheese 
$0.40 off SIX CUPS Yoplait Yogurt  - Great if your store doubles

MEAT
$1.00 off two (2) packages of ARMOUR Pepperoni 
$1.00 off TWO OSCAR MAYER CARVING BOARD 
$3.00 off HORMEL Party Tray product 
$0.55 off two HORMEL Bacon Bits products 
$1.00 OFF 2 ARMOUR Meatball Products 
$0.55 off 2 HORMEL Premium Chicken Breasts 


BEVERAGES
$1.00 off ONE 6-pack Snapple Tea 
$0.55 off Florida's Natural Ruby Red Juice 
$1.00 off ANY OREGON CHAI PRODUCT 
$1.50 off on one BOOST Kid Essentials Drink 
$2.00 off two cans of illy issimo 
$2.00 off two cans of illy issimo 
$1.00 off any one PediaCare product 

PET
$1.00 off eighteen cans of Elegant Medleys 
$1.50 off ten cans of Purina ALPO Dog Food 
$1.00 off twenty-four cans of Fancy Feast 
$2.00 off twelve Mighty Dog cans or pack 
$1.00 off four Fancy Feast Appetizers for Cats 
$1.00 off one bag Fancy Feast Dry Cat Food 
$1.00 off Cat's Pride cat litter 

HEALTHCARE
$3.00 off when you buy Citracal and Bayer 
$2.00 off any one (1) Clearasil PerfectaWash™ 
$1.00 off any 12 oz size or larger of COMPLETE
$3.00 off on Florastor probiotic 
$2.00 off Florastor probiotic 
$1.00 off Blink Tears or Blink Gel Tears 
$1.00 off any 20ct Nicorette Gum 
Up To 75% Off On Prescription Medication 
Up To 75% Off On Prescription Medication 
$1.00 off On any Schiff Vitamin or Supplement 
$1.50 off DESITIN™ Soothing Rash Bath Treatment 
$1.00 off on any ONE (1) Alka-Seltzer Plus Allerg 
$1.00 off any Citracal 
$7.00 off on any Nicorette Mini Lozenge 
$1.00 off on any 1 (ONE) Advil Congestion Relief 
$5.00 off any Centrum Specialist™ Vision 
$3.00 off any Slo-Niacin 
$2.00 off one Colace or Peri-Colace Product 
$2.00 off one Senokot or Senokot-S Product 
$1.00 off any URINOZINC Prostate Formula 
$5.00 off Sarna Anti-Itch Lotion 
$1.00 off one Coricidin HBP product 
$1.00 off off any Robitussin product 
$1.00 off on any Afrin Nasal Spray 
$2.00 off EAS Myoplex Original Choc 

BEAUTY
$1.00 off ON ANY ONE (1) GARNIER FRUCTIS STYLE 
$1.00 off ON ANY ONE (1) GARNIER FRUCTIS SHAMPOO 
$1.50 off any one (1) box of Revlon Root Erase™ 
$1.00 off Sally Hansen Hand Cremes 

TOYS
$8.00 off when you buy one PLAYSKOOL SESAME STREET 
$5.00 off BOP IT! XT game  - Kids love this game
$5.00 off when you buy one NERF VORTEX PRAXIS blas 
$8.00 off when you buy one BABY ALIVE MY BABY ALIV 
$3.00 off TRANSFORMERS Deluxe action figure 
$5.00 off when you buy one PLAY-DOH MEGA PACK 
$8.00 off SCRABBLE, SIMON, or YAHTZEE FLASH 
$5.00 off CATCH PHRASE OR TABOO 
$3.00 off one JENGA or CRANIUM BRAIN BREAKS 
$5.00 off one PICTIONARY game Hasbro 

MISC.
$2.00 off the February issue of InStyle 
$1.00 off HP ColorLok Paper 
$1.00 off February issue of People StyleWatch 


GLADE coupons
$1.00 off on any Glade Press & Spray™ starter kit 
$2.00 off Glade Expressions™ Oil Diffuser 
$1.00 off Glade Expressions™ Fragrance Mist 
$1.00 off any Glade Scented Oil Candle holder 
$3.00 off Glade PlugIns Lasting Impressions 
$1.50 off TWO Glade Scented Oil Candle refills 
$3.50 off Glade Sense & Spray starter kit 
$1.00 off on any Glade Automatic Spray refill 
$0.55 off Glade Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator 
$1.50 off on any TWO Glade 4-oz. Jar Candles 
$2.00 off Glade PlugIns Scented Oil refills 
$1.00 off any Glade Fabric & Air Odor Eliminator 

Stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook or join me at Pounds4Pennies on BlogFrog community for more great savings.  

Friday Finals - Kroger Mega Event & Tom Thumb

It has been announced that we are officially out of the drought here in North Texas. This is really good news for us, since our lake is now only 5 feet under normal levels. At the end of summer we were 16 feet and falling. If we did not get rain this winter, we were going to be restricted to only drinking and bathing water. I was trying to explain this to my daughter, she said we could just drink milk. I love the way a child’s mind works. She is 10 and I want her to have an understanding of the world and how each thing is connected. So I had to tell her without water the cows won’t have anything to drink or eat either. Then I saw her little light bulb go off right above her head.

*   *   *

Now on to shopping. We had an awesome Link party last week with 26 entries. Stop by these sites to be inspired to save. Here are the top Links from last week:

Homemaking Mom

Frugality is Free

Coupoing Away Debt

To find out when the new Friday Finals are posted Like Pounds4Pennies on Facebook.

Here are my shopping trips for this week:

Tom Thumb 02/02/12

3 Wolf Brand Chili $0.99 each - $0.75/3 Wolf Brand

            -Final $0.75 each

2 Mission flour tortillas $0.99 each Store coupon

1 Starkist Tuna Pouch $1.19 - $0.50/1 doubled Tuna Pouch RP 01/01/12

            -Final $0.19

I spent $4.39 and saved $10.27 on $14.39 worth of groceries this trip.

Tom Thumb 01/31/12

1 Pillsbury Frosting $1.99 - $0.35/1 tripled Pillsbury frosting or Brownie mix expired

            -Final $0.94

1 Starkist Tuna Pouch $1.19 - $0.50/1 doubled Tuna Pouch RP 01/01/12

            -Final $0.19

2 Bear Creek Soup mix B1G1 $4.49 - $1/1 Bear Creek Soup mix SS 10/23/11

            -Final $1.75 each

2 18 count eggs store coupon $1.99 each

2 Clorox wipes $1.99 each - $1/2 Clorox wipes expired

            -Final $1.50 each

2 Mrs. Bairds Bread B1G1 $3.19 - $0.55/1 Mrs. Bairds bread SS 01/22/12

            -Final $1.32 each

I spent $14.47 and saved $17.89 on $32.36 worth of Groceries this trip.

Kroger Mega Event 1/31/12

            MEI = Mega Event Item $0.50 off

2 Garden of Eatin Chips $2.19 each – MEI

            -Final $1.69 each – I forgot my coupon for $1/2

4 Goldfish crackers $1.49 – MEI

            -Final $0.99 each

2 Welch’s Essentials Juice $2.49 each – MEI, 2 $1/1 Welch’s Essential Juice SS 11/06/11

            -Final $0.99 each

1 Pullups $9.49 - $3.00/1 Kroger ecoupon

            -Final $6.49

2 Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers $2.49 each – MEI, $1 Ritz Crackers Printable NLA

            -Final $1.49 each

10 Cans Hunts Tomatoes $0.98 – MEI, 2 $0.40/2, 2 $0.60/3 Hunts Printable coupons

            -Final $0.28 each * Stockpile item

1 Hummus Clearance Section $0.99

1 Millstone K-Cup Coffee $7.99 - $2/1 Millstone K-Cup RP 12/11/11

            -Final $5.99

I spent $29.27 and saved $28.08 on $57.35 worth of Groceries this trip. I bought organic chips, whole wheat crackers, all natural juice and all natural hummus using coupons and sales.

I spent $48.13 and saved $56.24 worth of groceries and necessities this week. I love to save more than I spend.

Want to reduce your grocery budget checkout my

How to Start Couponing Beginners Guide

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

One of the best ways to learn how to coupon is to read others posts and you will also find more deals. If you stop by leave them a comment. Link up your savings trips here, or leave a comment so we can see how you did this week. How did your saving trips go this week?