Tips 4 Tuesday - Why I Never Shopped at Walgreens. Until TODAY!

One thing you have to realize when you are first starting to coupon is you can’t always get all the deals all the time. There are just too many stores and the amount of gas you would use would offset the saving you were getting anyway. That is mainly why I never shopped at Walgreens. It was too far away for me to justify making a trip out that way to get just a few items each week. Even if it was FREE. Since most of the time the FREE item was gone off the shelf by the time I got there. So all I did was waste gas and drive around for nothing. I spent time planning my scenarios, gathering my coupons. Instead of being excited about the awesome deals I was about to get, all I got was disappointment. This was not worth my time, gas or energy. I did this on several occasions. I vowed I would not go to Walgreens anymore.

Until now! I just realized that there is a Walgreens close to my son’s preschool, since this is on my way and I won't waste any gas money. I thought to myself “How can I now add Walgreens into my shopping rotation?” I stopped by there today, and the cashiers were so much nicer than the Walgreens closest one to my house. Someone in the aisle even asked if I needed help. They even had a ton of the sale items still in stock, and it was Tuesday. I was very impressed and I will go back to this store.

My new plan of savings is to hit Walgreens and CVS on Tuesdays. Then do my grocery shopping at Tom Thumb, Kroger and Sprouts on Thursdays. This way I will not waste any gas, since all of these are on the way home from my son’s daycare. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the closest to when the new sales cycles start for those stores. Woo Hoo more savings!


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Money Saving Monday - Maximize Savings on Clearance Items at Tom Thumb

Just a few things first. My DI team made 6th place at our tournament. We are thrilled with the results. The team worked so hard and they are excited they placed this year. Now I can focus a little more time on my blog.

Second; don’t miss out on my giveaways. They are both ending March 1st. If you haven’t registered do it now before it is too late. There will be 3 winners for Purex Laundry Detergent FREE product coupon and 3 winners for Purex Ultrapacks FREE product coupon. For a total of 6 possible WINNERS! Super easy entry.

Lastly, I just love yogurt and I hate paying full price for it. I have to say Yoplait is my favorite yogurt. It is just thick and creamy and I love most of the flavors they make. I am always looking for ways to get this stuff cheaper. I like to shop the clearance bins for maximum savings.We eat yogurt pretty quickly around here so it won’t ever go to waste. I can usually buy what we will eat before it expires. Here is a scenario you can try to get any clearance items even cheaper at Tom Thumb.

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Using Coupons on Clearance Items at Tom Thumb

In each store, there are several clearance bins for items reduced for quick sale. One in dairy, meat, dry goods and produce. If you are a newbie, you should start trying to familiarize yourself where these little gold mines of savings are located at each of the stores you shop. You can really score some great deals in these areas. Check the product thoroughly and make sure it is in good condition before you buy it. Also check the expiration date on perishable items to see if you will use this or freeze it before the expiration date. It is also a good idea to find out what day they move certain items to the clearance bins to get them when they first hit the sales rack.

Tom Thumb has several clearance bins throughout the store to shop. Notify the cashier you have a clearance item(s) before they begin to check you out. It is best to set these aside or have them ring them up last, so you can pay attention to how they do it. The clearance item is supposed to be rung up first at full price, then scan the red clearance bar code. Always check this when they are checking you out, and . If not done this way your item may still ring at full price. You may experience some problems if the product is not scanned correctly.

Since they scan the product at full price then take the discount off after, you can still use a coupon to maximize your savings. This is great when it can also be a coupon that can be doubled or tripled.

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

I haven't had any problems trying this scenario at Tom Thumb. Now I am testing this at Kroger. I have used it on a couple of items with success. Have you had any successes using coupons on clearance items at Kroger?

Friday Finals

I am super busy trying to get my DI team ready for their competition this weekend. I can't wait to share with you how we do this Saturday. Wish us luck. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I guide them but I really don't have much to do on performance day except all the darn forms I have to complete. Right now this is my focus and where I love to spend my time. Helping nurture and grow seven 9-10 year olds to become not only leaders, but learn to be on a team. Both very important qualities and a difficult balance.

Since all this is going on, I don't have much time to post all my items and coupon match ups, so I am just going to give quick totals. If I have time tonight I might update my post.


I still have two giveaways going on right now. One is for Purex Laundry Detergent and one is for Purex UltraPacks. The UltraPacks have a lower entry right now! You have a chance to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex Triple Action or you could enter to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex UltraPacks. Enter now for your chance to win you can enter both contests. Spread the word and tell all your friends.

Kroger

1 Nestle Cookies Clearance $0.69

1 Loaf Raisin Bread $1.00 – Clearance

2 Loaves Whole Wheat Artisan Bread $1.00 each

1 Kroger Shredded Cheese $1.67

2 Hunts Manwich Sauce $0.79 each

1 Corn Tortillas 24 count $1.00

4 Bags Kettle Chips 2 reduced fat, 2 reg $2.50 each - 2 $1/1 Reduced Fat, 2 $1/1 Regular Kettle Chips

          -Final $1.50 each

6 Boxes Zatarains Rice Mixes $1.01 each avg – 3 $0.50/2 Zatarains Rice Mixes

          -Final $0.76 each avg.

1 Millstone K-Cup Coffee $6.99 - $2/1 Millstone coffee

          -Final $4.99

2 Heluva Dips $0.99 each - $0.75/1 Heluva Dips

          -Final $0.24 each 


I spent $24.95 and saved $21.03 on $45.98. There is more savings, since I got all the bread at $1.00 a loaf and they are around $4.00 each. I didn't realized until I got home the Manwich sauce has high fructose corn syrup in it. I am trying to stay away from this for the kids. So I guess I will make my own using no high fructose corn syrup ketchup. I also got the Zatarians with brown rice. Now I can just add more brown rice to make it work for all five of us.

Tom Thumb
I spent $28.21 and saved $35.83 on $64.04.

CVS
1 Boiron ColdCalm $6.99
1 Minced Onion $1.77
1 Pepper FREE


B1G1 FREE on most spices. Since this was cheaper than the $1.00 store I got two items. I LOVE FREE!


Used: 
$2.00 ECBs
$4.00 ECBs


OOP:
$2.76 


Received $6.99 in ECBs. Woo Hoo money making trip!

I have two giveaways going on right now. One is for Purex Laundry Detergent and one is for Purex UltraPacks. You have a chance to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex Triple Action or you could enter to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex UltraPacks. Enter now for your chance to win you can enter both contests. Spread the word and tell all your friends.

Altogether I spent $52.00 and saved $56.86 on $108.86 worth of food and other items. Barely over budget!

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.

How did you do shopping this week? One of the best ways to learn is from seeing how others coupon. I can't wait to see how you did this week. LINK UP below.

Tasty Taco Soup Recipe

Taco Soup is a very versatile and great stockpile recipe that can easily be made into a vegetarian version. There are two ways to prepare Taco Soup. One is on the stove top or use a slow cooker. Taco soup is very simple and great on those days when you are super busy and no time to make dinner. This almost makes itself. I call it a dump soup, since you simply open a few cans and dump it in a pot and then voila you have a quick and easy meal.

I don’t like to dirty more dishes than I have to. So I will show you how to make this using only the slow cooker or using only one pot on the stove. 

 Taco Soup

Ingredients:



1/2 to Whole Onions
1 Pound Ground Meat

1 Can Stewed Tomatoes

1 Can Beans (I used Black Beans) (Vegetarian add another can of beans)

1 Can Whole Kernel Corn (Or you can use 1 cup of frozen)

1 Package of Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup of taco seasoning, if you make your own)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sauté ½ to a whole onion in two table spoons of butter or oil

     Slow Cooker: place on high for 30 – 1hour stirring every 15 min.

     Pot: Saute onions in butter or oil on the stove top in a large pot.

2. Add 1 pound of ground meat to the onions and brown the meat then drain (skip this if Vegetarian)

     Slow Cooker: place on high for 1hour stirring every 15 min.

     Pot: Brown the meat stirring frequently. Then drain.

3. Now open all those cans and dump:

1 Can Stewed Tomatoes

1 Can Beans (I used Black) (Vegetarian add another can of beans)

1 Can Whole Kernel Corn

1 Package of Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup of taco seasoning)

Salt and pepper to taste

4. Heat all the way through
     Slow Cooker: Cook for an additional hour on high or turn on low until ready to serve.

     Pot: Let cook for about 20 min. for the flavors to meld.

Serving suggestions:

Serve over rice or tortilla chips

Top with Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

Top with shredded cheese

Or you can do all of the above

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Now wasn't that easy? Anyone can make this Taco Soup. This soup is one of my favorites, because it is so delicious and simple to make. The kids like it too, since it tastes like tacos. Let me know if you try it or have any other easy soup recipes you would like to share.


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

Guest Blogger Spot

I am very excited to be able to offer this opportunity to some awesome bloggers out there. I am looking for Four or Five guest bloggers for the week of March 12-15.

This is a great opportunity to showcase your stuff to a new audience. Some of the topics I think my readers might enjoy would be:

Frugal living ideas

Ways to save money - not grocery related

Couponing ideas

Any tips concerning cooking, cleaning, organizing

Fun kid activities 

These can be previous posts you have written or something you want to share with others. Please email me at coupongreene at gmail.com with your submissions. Please limit submissions to three. Include in the subject line Guest Blogger Spot so I can read all of your submissions quickly. I will contact you to let you know if you are chosen.   

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 Saving Saturday

Wow this is a lot of coupons to Print for FREE. Take some to see all the ones you want and print away. Lots of coupon savings to go with awesome store sales right now. 

Sign up for my Giveaways for Purex UltraPacks and Purex Laundry Detergent. 

There will be 3 winners each who will receive 
a coupon for a FREE product for a total of 6 Winners. 

Grocery Coupons
50¢ off Ocean Spray® Fruit Flavored Snacks
65¢ off Knorr® Homestyle Stock when you buy ONE Knorr® Homestyle Stock 
$1.50 off NESCAFÉ® TASTER'S CHOICE® or CLASICO™
80¢ off Hamburger Helper® Home Cooked Skillet Meals Printable Coupon 
40¢ off Fiber One® 90 Calorie Chewy Bars or Brownies
50¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Fun da-middles™ Cupcake Mix
80¢ off Multi Grain Cheerios® Peanut Butter cereal
$1.00 off any 4-Pack of Welch's Fruit Fizz
$1.00 off on any ONE bottle POM Wonderful juice
$1.00 off StarKist Selects® cans 


Cereal Coupons
$1.00 off 1 Honey Bunches of Oats cereal 
$1.00 off POST Honey Bunches of Oats NEW Fruit Blends 
$1.00 off one Pebbles Giant Size cereal 
$0.75 off Dulce de Leche Cheerios cereal 
50¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal
$1.00 off when you buy TWO select General Mills cereals


Dairy
30¢ off when you buy any Yoplait® Lactose-Free Yogurt cups
$1.10 off COFFEE-MATE® NATURAL BLISS™ coffee creamers
$1.85 off NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® creamers
75¢ off when you buy any ONE Dean's® Heat 'n Eat Dip
65¢ off YoCrunch® Yogurt Cups Granola, Candy/Cookie Crunch Printable Coupon 
50¢ off when you buy EIGHT CUPS any variety Yoplait® Yogurt 


Refrigerated
40¢ off when you buy THREE Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls
$1.00 off Totino's® Crisp Crust Party Pizza® Products
40¢ off Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls OR Grands!® Sweet Rolls
$1.00 off 1 HORMEL Refrigerated Entree 
$0.55 off 2 HORMEL Chili products 
$1.00 off HORMEL™ COUNTRY CROCK side 
$1.00 off HORMEL ALWAYS TENDER meat 
$1.00 off 2 HORMEL COMPLEATS kids meals 
$1.00 off HORMEL COMPLEATS microwave meals 
$0.55 off two HORMEL Pepperoni packages 


Baby
75¢ off GERBER® SmartNourish™ 2nd Foods Baby Food
75¢ off when you buy any TWO GERBER® JUICE
$1.50 off AVENT BPA-Free Toddler Cup
$1.50 off when you buy any ONE AVENT Pacifier Pack
$3.00 off AVENT Multi-pack BPA-Free Baby Bottles

Healthcare
75¢ off any ONE Nature's Bounty® Vitamin or Supplement
$1.25 off when you buy any ONE Disney or Marvel Vitamins
$1.75 off when you buy any TWO NatureSmart Ester-C® items
$1.25 off Glucerna® Multi-Pack Bars or Multi-Pack Shakes

$1.75 off when you buy any TWO Pedialyte® Products

$2.00 off 2 x 2 oz Size of RevitaLens OcuTec
$1.00 off one Schick Xtreme3 Eco 4ct
$2.00 off one e.p.t pregnancy test
$1.00 off Any Nature Made Vitamin B 
$1.00 off Any Nature Made Vitamin D 
$2.00 off Any Nature Made Fish Oil 
$1.00 off Any ONE Nature Made Product 

Misc
$5.00 off Philips Norelco Shaving Replacement Head Printable Coupon
$2.00 off when you purchase any PEOPLE® Magazine
$2.00 off Wisk Laundry Detergent
$1.00 off any Glade Scented Oil Candle holder 
$1.50 off TWO Glade Scented Oil Candle refills 

$1.50 off on any TWO Glade 4-oz. Jar Candles 

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

Friday Finals - Kroger, Tom Thumb, Sprouts

We had another awesome week here at Pounds4Pennies for Friday Finals. There were 37 entries, a new record. Thanks to everyone who linked up last week. I hope to see you again this week. I saw some awesome deals! There are some great sites out there saving money. The top three visited from last week are:

Frugal Follies

Living La Vida Coupons

Saving Myself Silly

I have two giveaways going on right now. One is for Purex Laundry Detergent and one is for Purex UltraPacks. You have a chance to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex Triple Action or you could enter to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex UltraPacks. Enter now for your chance to win you can enter both contests. Spread the word and tell all your friends.

Tom Thumb 02/14/12

1 18 count Large eggs $1.99 Store coupon

6 Yoplait Yogurt $0.70 - Clearance 50%, $0.40/6 Yoplait Yogurt doubled GM 01/08/12

            -Final $0.22 each

2 Alexia Fries $4.98 each – Store Q $2.49 each, $1.25/1 Alexia Item printable NLA

            -Final $1.24 each

1 Chobani Greek Yogurt $1.00 - $0.30/1 Chobani Greek Yogurt tripled Printable

            -Final $0.10

1 Gortons Tilapia $3.49 - $0.50/1 Gorton’s Grilled Item Doubled SS 01/01/12

            -Final $2.49

I spent $7.90 and saved $14.09 on $21.99 worth of food this trip. I recently found out that at Tom Thumb they scan the product then the 50% off clearance tag. Since they do this you can still use a coupon on that item. Dallas area people scan those clearance bins! We are loving all this yogurt lately. Most expired on 02/19/12. No worries for us, it is already gone. We love yogurt.

Kroger Shopping 02/14/12

1 Millstone K-cup Coffee $6.99 - $2/1 Millstone Coffee RP 12/11/11

            -Final $4.99

3 Uncle Bens Country Inn Rice $1.00 - $1/3 Uncle Ben’s Products RP 01/22/12

            -Final $0.67 each

1+ lb Asparagus $1.08  – THIS IS WHY I WENT TO KROGER

3 Zatarains Rice Mixes $1 - $0.50/3 Zatarains Rice Mixes RP 02/05/12

            -Final $0.83 each

1 Alouette Cheese $1.99 Clearance

1Kraft Sliced Cheese $4.60 – FREE Store Coupon Mailed to me     

            -Final FREE – I LOVE FREE

2 Rice A Roni Mixes $0.54 clearance

2 Mrs. Baird Bread $1.99 each – 2 $0.75/1 Peelies on Product

            -Final $1.24 each

2 Milks $2.38 each

I spent $20.88 and saved $21.90 on $42.78 worth of food this week. I have been trying to stay away from white rice, but these were some  pretty good deals this week. If you like Zatarains in your area, now is the time to stock up. It normally goes on sale around Mardi Gras at most of the stores and you can get it for around $0.75 or so a box right now. My husband is from New Orleans so these are a staple in our house. I have to figure out how much I need to last us the whole year!

Sprouts 02/14/12

2 Broccoli @ $0.88

2 Pint Grape Tomatoes $1.50 each

3 Pears @ $0.88/lb

3 Pears @ $0.88/lb

I can't find my receipt but I spent around $6.50 for produce this week.

Altogether I spent $35.28 and saved $35.99 on $71.27 worth of food and other items. Way under budget!

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? OOPs the Linky is fixed now!!!!!

Purex UltraPacks Giveaway

I am very excited to announce my second giveaway to my awesome readers.  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. 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 FREE Coupon
*3 Winners*

Purex Triple Action UltraPacks 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read my article about Purex UltraPacks laundry detergent  for more information on this great product.


Snippet from my product review:


I thought to myself, “Wow! That was easy.” I didn't have to measure and worry I put too much detergent in my cup. I didn’t have a cup to rinse out the soap. This saved me time while doing the laundry. I have a new reason to get excited about doing laundry again.  These pretty, blue packs cleaned all my clothes wonderfully and had a great mountain fresh scent.


This article was written for Purex Ultrapacks laundry detergent. Purex provided me with a free sample to test and review and provided me with 3 FREE coupons to distribute to my awesome readers. All the opinions expressed are my own.


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

Tips for Tuesday - Valentines Yummies

Happy Valentines Day everyone. I wanted to share with you some things I made all my sweeties today to let them know how much I love them. On this special Love Day.

I made sure everyone had a heart filled breakfast. With Strawberry heart shaped pancakes and heart shaped bacon. Nothing says "I love you" like bacon!

I have been loving these cute ideas for bento boxes lately. This is a hard heart boiled egg. It is more work than I think I would want to do on an everyday basis, but it is a cute idea for special days. You can read how to make heart shaped eggs on Anna's site. I did mine a little different, since I didn't have a milk carton, I used the brownie box below and cut the corners off to make the V and wrapped the corners with plastic wrap. It still worked great!

Here is a sandwich I made for Little Miss and Little face this morning. Heart shaped scalloped bread with the heart shaped eggs inside. She loves egg sandwiches. I forgot he had a party today at school and didn't eat his sandwich. I just brought it back and put it in the fridge. He can have it on Thursday.

I even made the cheese heart shaped. I put it on the sandwich and forgot to take a picture, so I took it off and it has some Ceaser dressing on it. Oops!

And finally I made Chocolate Strawberry brownie kisses for my sweeties. This tastes like Chocolate covered strawberries, since I used strawberry puree instead of water in the recipe. I will post this recipe at a later date. 

Now what am I going to do for dinner?

Did you do anything special for your sweeties? Leave a comment or link, I would love to see what others did today.