Friday, January 29, 2010

Free Food Friday

So sorry I've been absent this week...one kid has been sick since Monday and the other is teething!! It's been quite interesting. Hope you're lucky enough to get to go out this weekend...I suspect we'll be stuck at home!!

Steak n Shake - One free kids meal with each $8 spent on Saturday & Sunday

Subway - B1G1 6" sub

Boston Market - 2 kids eat for free on weekends with adult purchase of atleast $6

Einstein Bros Bagels - Become friends with them on Facebook and print a coupon for a free bagel & Shmear (valid through 1/31)

Sunday, January 24, 2010

$1/2 Kraft Cheese Coupon

One of my favorite and most used coupons is back at coupons.com...$1/2 Kraft or Cracker Barrel Natural Cheese. You should be able to print it twice. This one is known to dissapear quickly, so print while you can!!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Eat from the Pantry Challenge - Week 2

Overall, our eat from the pantry week went well. I did stop at Meijer to stock up on some free and almost free stuff, and then made a quick trip today for essentials like eggs, bread and produce. Here is my meal plan for this week:

Sunday - Andrea's Pasta Fagioli Soup (made this for dinner tonight and it was great!!)

Monday - Italian Beef Sandwiches (I'm cheating a bit on this one...picked up a roast and crusty rolls today. Never tried this recipes, so I'm hoping for the best!)

Tuesday - Breakfast for Dinner - Pancakes & Bacon

Wednesday - Steak & Rice

Thursday - Stirfry

Friday - Burgers & Tater Tots

Saturday- Most likely eating out

Friday, January 22, 2010

Free Food Friday

Planning on eating out this weekend? You might want to check these restaurants for some free food!

Noodles & Company - Sign up for Noodlegrams to receive a free dish on your birthday and a special offer when you sign up (I got a bogo entree!)

Boston Market - 2 kids eat for free on weekends with adult purchase of atleast $6

Mimi's Cafe - get a free breakfast and additional special offers via e-mail when you sign up for their e-club. I often get coupons for free entrees or kid's meals!

Taco Bell - Free Fresco Taco

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Free Oatmeal and $0.04 Tuna!

Made a quick trip to Meijer to pick up some free (and almost free) stuff!!

Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned) 18oz $1.49
Print two $1/1 quaker oats here and one $1/2 Meijer mealbox coupon here = 2 for FREE!

Starkist Tuna 4.5oz-6.4oz $1.79
Print $1/1 starkist tuna here and one $0.75/1 Meijer mealbox coupon here = FREE!

Also grabbed some Huggies Little Movers Diapers Size 3...on sale for $8.99 (jumbo pack, 31 diapers for size 3). Used two $2/1 coupons and got a $3 off coupon for my next shopping trip. Works out to about $0.17 per diaper.

Thanks to Macomb Money Savers for these matchups! You can check out this week's Meijer ad at meijer.com

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Target

The Target closest to me (and I'm assuming most others) has kids clothes on clearance for up to 75% off! I was able to pick up a few pairs of pants and shirts for both of my kids for $1.74 each! Might be a great time to stock up on clothes for next fall/winter....or the next size up for a very fast growing baby!!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Eating from the Pantry Challenge - This Week's Menu

Eating from the pantry (and freezer and fridge) this week is making menu planning even more important! Here's what I've got so far:

Breakfast:
Cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, toast, breakfast bars

Lunche:
Spaghettios, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Egg Salad Sandwiches, Egg Burritos
Sides: Cheesesticks, crackers, yogurt, oranges, applesauce, granola bars

Dinner:
Monday - Tuna Casserole (modifying my current recipe...I'll let you know how it goes!), Salad
Tuesday - Campbell's Soup and biscuits
Wednesday - Perogies and bacon
Thursday - Bean Burritos and Mexican Rice
Friday - Burgers and Baked Beans
Saturday - Most likely eating out, as we typically go to church Saturday evening

Dessert:
Brownies, chocolate pie

I'm looking forward to this challenge! It'll be great to clean out my pantry, fridge and freezer...and then give them all a deep clean!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Eating from the Pantry Challenge

I know we're already half way through the month (crazy!), but I'm going to get onboard with a bunch of other bloggers in the "Eat from the Pantry Challenge". I was unable to participate at the beginning of the month because my pantry was bare...we used up most of our supply before we went to Canada for Christmas. But now it's fully stocked and I think we can make it two week without any major grocery purchases. I'll keep you posted!!

Meijer trip

Ugh...I should know better by now than to try to do coupon shopping with my kids. Especially on Saturday. I think it ends up costing me twice as much when I take them with me. Oh well. Live and learn!

Best deal of my day:
Lance Sandwich Crackers 10/$10 (or $1 each) - Print $1/1 coupon = Free!


Used my free milk coupon to score some free chocolate milk. L was thrilled and reminded me after we got home that the "chocolate milk is free!"

Check out Macomb Money Savers blog for more Meijer deals!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Free Food Friday



If your plans this weekend include dining out, here are a few places where you can get food for free!!


Taco Bell - Free Fresco Taco



Red Robin - sign up for their e-club to get free food on your birthday (I got a free burger!) and other free food throughout the year...got an e-mail on Thursday with a free appetizer coupon. Too bad I ate there on Wednesday!!!

All You Magazine

One of the gifts I got for Christmas is a subscription to All You Magazine...and I love it! It's probably the only magazine I've ever seen that pays for itself with the number of high value coupons inside. I got my February issue in the mail this week and here are some examples of some great coupons:

$1/1 Ovaltine Product
$1/1 Borden Singles Sensations (saw these the other day at Walmart, and I'm excited to try them!)
$1/1 Taco Bell Home Originals Salsa or Salsa con Queso (bought the salsa the other day at Walmart for $1.54...gotta go back so I can get more for $0.54!)

There are also a lot of ideas for affordable family meals. You can pick up the latest issue at Walmart for $2.49, or subscribe for $15/year here.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Target - Clearance Shoes

Made a quick trip to Target this morning; primarily to stock up on Kleenex. Dear daughter has a cold and has polished off 3 boxes in 3 days. To her credit, they weren't full boxes...but if you could see her nose, you would know that she's been a heavy user. As I was walking by the shoes, something caught my eye....Toddler size Converse dx Oxford shoes (pink) on clearance for $5.74! Regular price is $22.99, so this is a steal! 75% off! Amazingly, they had her size and they fit.

They had a few other pairs on sale, but none were as good of a deal as these. They had women's converse oxfords in plum for around $18. I was tempted...but have a hard time wearing flat shoes and don't have a whole lot of clothes that match with plum!

Steaz

Just wanted to let you know about my new favorite drink...Steaz Iced Tea. My personal favorite is the Peach...it actually tastes like peach!! Steaz drinks are organic and made with natural ingredients. If you go here you can print a buy one get one free coupon. The cans retail for about $1.09 at SuperTarget, but I think it is also available at Whole Foods.

Ikea - Kids Eat Free

Kids eat free at Ikea January 16-18. No adult purchase is required! Visit ikea.com for all the details! We were just there last weekend for the free breakfast, but maybe I'll have to head back over on Monday for lunch. My daughter LOVES Ikea...mostly for the food.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Free Milk!



I just entered to win free milk for a year and in turn, got to print two coupons for a free half gallon of chocolate milk when I buy two gallons of white milk (any brand)! The coupons don't expire until February 10.

This is only open to the first 125,000 people so hurry!! Go here to sign up!

Thanks Money Saving Mom for the heads up!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Juicy Juice




My daughter loves Juicy Juice, and I feel good about giving it to her because it is 100% juice...no high fructose corn syrup.


Target has a great deal on Juicy Juice this week. It is on sale for $2 for a 64 oz. bottle. Go here to print a Target coupon for $1/1 (print twice). Then go here to print a coupon for $1/2. This will get you two bottles for $1!! Not bad considering that regular price is $3.49 for one!
Thanks to Stretching a Buck for a heads up on this!

Monday, January 4, 2010

2010 Goals

Okay, so I am one of those people that needs to write things down in order to get them done. As everyone knows, it is the time of year that people start thinking about their resolutions or goals for the next year. Here are a few of mine:

1. Blog more often. Heehee. :)
2. Find more creative ways to cut my family's expenses and/or bring in new income.
3. Save for Bahamas trip 2011!! (Just a working title, actual destination tbd.)
4. Have more fun as a family.
5. Do a better job of cooking/baking healthy food that my family will eat. (With a 3-year-old that would be happy to live off of cheese sandwiches and oatmeal, this one could prove to be my biggest challenge!)

I think 5 goals should be enough to keep me busy. Of course there are always the obvious ones, ie. eat better, exercise more, etc., etc,....but those are just a given.