Money Saving Diva

Starting Over-Saving Money

2010-01-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

SO I'm making a fresh start. I am going to try again to spend no more than $3200 for the year. I'll be posting deals and posting my totals at the grocery store. I'm excited to dive back into the adventure of saving money at the grocery store. I hope you'll join me each week to see how things go.

Saying Goodbye

2009-06-18T20:40:00.001-07:00

After much consideration, I am going to have to step down from this blog. My short hiatus has become a long one and I have some more pressing matters to take care of at the moment.

Thank you for following my blog, I am sad to have to stop, but I cannot keep up with the multiple activities I have going on, clipping coupons and posting here.

Keep up the good work!

Free 8 x 10 at Walgreens

2009-05-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today and tomorrow only. Place your order online then go pick it up at the store or pay a small fee for them to ship you the picture.

Free Redbox

2009-05-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Today only, get a free Redbox rental. Code: BT73H9

Coming soon Coupon 101

2009-05-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

I've had people ask me how I have cut my grocery bill almost in half. So starting tomorrow I'll be posting beginner couponer tips. It will of course be called Couponing 101. In addition, keep checking back, I'm going to have a surprise for everyone next week. I'm waiting on a few details so I'll let you know next week.

Big Score at Food Lion

2009-02-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, I made FL my last stop of the day and almost skipped it til tomorrow but decided to go ahead and pick up my last few things. I am SOOOOOO glad I did. I got three roasting chickens marked down from $9 to .75, .83, .86!!! No that's not a misprint. I almost missed these. Glad I went today. Doing the happy dance.

Free Redbox movie

2009-02-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today's code, good through 9PM tonight only M7DM23

Check it out.

New Giveaway

2009-02-12T07:59:00.001-08:00

Gayle's got a new giveaway over at the grocery cart challenge. Discover the alternative to the tampon and enter your name for a chance to win!
Check it out here.

Free Meal at T.G.I.Fridays

2009-02-11T07:18:00.000-08:00

Great coupon (printable) for BOGO Entree at T.G.I.Fridays Restaurant. Check it out here.

More savings

2009-02-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

CVS

squid soap- clearance for $2.99
cvs electrolite drink 3.99
bottled water .99

used $6 in ECB
OOP $2.03
saved $7.00

Kroger

strawberries 1.49
Chicken nuggets 2.09
dial hand soap .88- .70 = .18

OOP $3.93
Saved 1.41

Always scan the card!!

2009-02-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

So I went to Food Lion (Carrollton,GA) today to pick up their .99 kellogg's cereal. The cashier scans my items then my coupons. The total was a lot higher than I expected. (Twice as much)I asked if she was sure that was right. "Oh yes" After looking at my receipt. (Before I left the register) I realized that she hadn't scanned my MVP card. I explain that and she apologizes and gets the manager who tells her to cancel out every item (Thank God there were less than 10) and to re-ring them after scanning my card.
She does this, then realizes that I paid with a debit card and she needs to reimburse me with cash. Calls another manager over who gives me the difference from my COUPON AMOUNT. I'm like that's not right. So I take it over to the cs and explain that there was a miscommunication. The manager thought the cashier had forgotten my coupons.
So far a 10 minute trip is taking closer to 30 or more. Everyone is being really nice and apologizing and stuff-which makes me a LOT nicer about the whole ordeal. The manager then has to cancel every item (again) one at a time and re-ring them again.

So to avoid all the hassle PLEASE remember to have your card out ready to scan!!!

Thank you to the wonderful managers at Food Lion. They were very gracious and apologetic about the whole situation. Kudos to you.

My 'score' for the trip:

2-apple jacks cereal .99 ea-1.50/2 = .50

2- FL cake mixes .89 ea-1/2flip = .78

2-pop-tarts 1.83ea - 2 $1/1 = 1.66

2-FL pasta sauce 1.53 ea- $1/2 = 2.06

5pk FL mac n' cheese = 1.80

Total spent: $6.80
Total saved: $13.57

Publix is great for couponers-in GA

2009-02-05T08:13:00.000-08:00

4-Halls cough drops (BOGO or .94 each) 4 coupons for .50 doubled = 4.00 off= mm of .24

2-Publix big paper towel rolls (penny item so .01 on one and 1.33 for the other)

4-Jollytime popcorn sale for $1 with 4 coupons .50 doubled = FREE

1-Fantastik Cleaner spray (BOGO or 1.45 each) $1 coupon = .45

2-Nutrigrain bars (BOGO or 1.75 each) $3.39 - $1 off of two = $2.39 for both

1-Pillsbury Toaster Strudel (BOGO or 1.25 each) 1.25- .35 coupon doubled = .55

1-Nestle Tollhouse Refrig. cookie dough sale 2.50-$1 coupon=1.50

2-Butterball Turkey bacon sale 2 for $5 - (2) .75 coupons = 3.50

Total OOP: 10.39
Total saved:29.74

Shopping at the Bread store

2009-02-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Here's my rundown at the 'dollar day' sale at the Flowers day old bread store in Carrollton,GA.

1pk-24 rolls
2-8 ct hot dog buns (wheat)
2-Nature's own honey wheat bread
1-2pk french bread loaves
4-6ct powdered doughnuts
1-6ct sub sandwich rolls

Total $6.53

Plus I discovered their frequent shopper card. Spend $5, get your card punched 10 times, get $5 FREE.

Glade stuff-Free

2009-02-05T05:41:00.001-08:00

Visit here to get coupons for free Glade Sense and Spray and other Glade offers.

Free Sippy Cup offer

2009-02-02T05:46:00.001-08:00

Juicy juice is offering a free sippy cup and coupons for their juice. Check it out here.

The Winner Is . . .

2009-02-02T05:07:00.000-08:00

The winning number is 75 so the winner is Steph. Email me your address and I'll send you your book. Congratulations!

email: westgafamily@aol.com

Put winner in the subject. Thanks!

How Much Should You Spend?

2009-01-29T13:18:00.000-08:00

Do you know how much you spend on groceries each week? Each month? Well the government has an idea as to how much the "average American family" spends. There is an online calculator to try out here. I calculated mine and it was almost $900 a month!! I have NEVER spent $900 a month to my knowledge. Try it out. How much do they think you should spend?

Heart Attacks

2009-01-29T03:49:00.000-08:00

We are raising money for the American Heart Association. I say we. My two oldest are participating in the Jump Rope For Heart fundraiser. This is a charity dear to my own heart as I lost both of my grandfathers to heart attacks when I was younger and my mom and my her sister both have heart issues.

Here's the deal, each student from the school (who raised money) will jump rope for 45 minutes on February 26th. All proceeds raised from this event will benefit research,education, and community programs of the American Heart Association.

I'm placing links on my site in an effort to help boost their fundraising (as I don't work outside of my home). Plus we're having a good old fashioned boys vs girls contest. My daughter is 10 and my son is 7. If you can help out please do.

Gotta Love FREE

2009-01-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

6 Reece's whips-- regular .86 each sale 2/$1 3 coupons $1/2==FREE
SALE lg.cherry koolaid mix .86

total paid $1.01

My Kroger Mega Deal

2009-01-28T03:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, I don't quite remember the exact coupons I had, so I'm going to sum up the best I can. :)

4 pks kraft cheese $1.99 each-(3) .75 blinkies I picked up from Publix
2 daisy sour cream $1.99 each-(2) $1
2 french's mustard $1.69-(2).50 doubled
fast cook chicken nuggets #1.50
4 green giant steamers $1.50-(4) .50 doubled
kroger tortilla chips $1
3 cheerioes snack mix $2-(3) .50 doubled
2 Pedigree dog treats $2.99-.50 doubled (found out at reg that these were not included in Mega deal at my store)
3 johnson and johnson buddy soaps $1 each - $1 coupons=FREE
Franks hot sauce $2.29- .50 doubled
2 pace pacante $1,99 each- .40/2
Quaker instant oatmeal $$2.49- .50doubled
cheezit crackers $2.68
Kroger hot dog buns .49
kroger bread .79
Orville popcorn $1.99-.40
2 orville popcorn $1.99-$1/2
kroger pretzels $1
2 hormel chili $1.25 each- .55/2
goldfish crackers$1.59

minus kroger mega deal discounts $10

Total spent:$36.89
total saved:$54.87

Target Savings

2009-01-27T08:52:00.001-08:00

Last week I went to Target to cash in on my Target plus man. coupons. Here's what I picked up.

Pop tarts 1.67

Quaker granola bars (2 boxes) $2.29 each
- .50 Target c. -$1/2 coupon
= $3.08

Kotex (2 packs) $2.79 each
-$2 Target, -$2 Target, -$1 Man., - $1 man.
= -.60

Irish Spring 12 pk sale price $4.25

Total spent: $10.16
total saved: $6.80 (they didn't allow the overage)

Woo Hoo, lucky

2009-01-26T14:05:00.000-08:00

So I went to Walgreens today hoping that they still ahd their Reeses whips still on sale (my whips coupons came in). Unfortunately they were back at full price. So I strolled on over to their clearance table and spotted a bunch of glade flameless candles for $4 and candles for $1.75. I didn't have my coupons for those so I'll go back tomorrow for them. But I did find Boost Smoothies marked down from $7.99 to $3.99 AND there were $2 off coupons on the boxes. I'm a little low on cash til Friday, so I only picked up one box. But hey, $7.99 down to $1.99. That's a pretty good deal to me.

Total Spent: $2.13
Saved: $5.87

Contest Ends Jan. 31!

2009-01-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Don't forget our contest ends on January 31 to win your free autographed copy of Gateways: The Initiation. Details here.

Look what I got for free!

2009-01-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

For free and almost free at Kroger's yesterday.

Horizon milk singles marked down to .50, used four .25 coupons which were doubled. Spent $2.00 for 8 regular price $1.26 each

Cottonelle toilet paper, .99 each, used two .50 off coupons(doubled to $1) and one .50 off of two coupon (doubled to $1) Original price 4 packs for $4 Paid $1

Reeses whips candy bars, regular price .89, on sale 2/$1, coupon $1 off 2=2 for free

Total savings: $10 ( the milk was on sale for $1)

My savings and more

2009-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

Publix
Somehow I lost the receipt for last weeks purchase. But I do remember the totals because I was floored.
Spent $55
Saved $93

No kidding. As an added bonus, I did errands for and cleaned my grandmother's house. Of which she paid me $60. So it was almost like free food. :)

Budget: $2992.50
Unexpected money added: $60
Amount spent: $55

Total left: $2997.50

Menu Plan Monday-1

2009-01-19T23:30:00.000-08:00

I actually started this post this morning, hee heee. Time just got away from me.

This week:

Chicken teriyaki with noodles
sloppy joes/homemade hamburgers and homemade fries
spinach lasagna, salad, garlic bread
steak, potatoes au gratin, green beans, rolls
soup, sandwich
chili, cornbread
meatloaf, salad, steamed veggies, potatoes,rolls

FREE Redbox Rental-Today only

2009-01-19T09:10:00.001-08:00

Here's the code for a free redbox movie. k6w3g4 The code is good for today only.

Giveaway Time

2009-01-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

I am offering an autographed copy of my supernatural thriller, Gateways:The Initiation. Follow Melanie and her friends as they try to destroy the evil that they have unleashed before the unthinkable happens. To read a preview click here.

The rules are simple. Become a follower of my blog then leave a comment with your number pick between 0-500. I will use a random number generator to pick a winner. Blog about this giveaway and you get a second entry. Just leave a comment with a link to your blog post and your new number pick. Contest deadline is January 31, 2009 11:59 EST

Find more blog giveaways at Deal Seeking Mom

Free Cream of Wheat

2009-01-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

Go to www.creamofwheat.com and they will send you a free sample.

Recipe Swap

2009-01-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

I've never done a recipe swap, but after seeing them over at The Grocery Cart Challenge and at Cooking Like a Frugalite I have decided to share.

I never know what deals on meat I will find at the store. A few weeks ago I found kielbasa marked down to $1.99. I can normally feed my family with one pound of this. So I picked it up. Well at the beginning of this week I was scraping for things to put together. After searching through some old recipes I came up with putting a few different recipes together from ingredients that I had on hand. (Which wasn't much, LOL)

Kielbasa Quickie (feeds 4-6/ Estimated time of prep and cooking 30 minutes total!)

1lb kielbasa
2 boxes of Stove Top stuffing
2 cups of broth (I used beef broth but chicken works too)
2 cups cheddar cheese (or whatever you have)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees/Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray
-Dump Stove Top into pan
-Pour in broth
-Cut up kielbasa into bite size pieces and place on top of stuffing (do NOT mix)
-Sprinkle cheese on top
-Cover with loosely with foil
-Bake for 10 minutes
-Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes

Great with side salad or whatever veggies you have on hand or even just by itself. This is very filling. My hubby can eat quite a bit, but he was full after just one bowl of this.

You're welcome to share this, just give me credit please.

Free Potty Training DVD

2009-01-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Discover the secrets of potty training on this interactive dvd. FREE!! Find it here.

It just so happens that my youngest is about ready for potty training so this was at just the right time.

Feel free to pass this offer along to your readers just tell them where you got it please.

Free Suave January 14th only!!!

2009-01-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

Visit the site here to get a free suave coupon

My First Award!

2009-01-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

I am so excited. I have never won an award. Jennifer at Frugal Cooker gave me this cool Lemonade Award.

If you are not familiar with what the Lemonade Award is, the Lemonade Award is given by a previous winner to 10 people who have shown a great attitude or gratitude this week. It’s a great way to show these people that you appreciate them.

I am giving this award to:

Evelyn at PrayersandCrafts for being a great spiritual inspiration and proving that you can start over at any age.

Tiffany at Blossom Place for staying positive through it all

Tina and Michele at Dabbling Divas for being a great support group

K over at NativeAmericanMomma for pushing through the daily back pain and loving life

CookingMama for sharing all of your wonderful recipes with the rest of us

You won, now what?

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs, which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

3. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

My spending up to my decision to save

2009-01-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

January 1-8 (Before I decide to go fully into this extreme couponing thing)

Ingles: Spent $131.55 Saved $12.35

Rite Aid: Spent $5.29 Saved $0

Piggly Wiggly: Spent $15.18 Saved $1.24

Walmart: $8.27 Saved $44.32 (GC)

Dollar Genreal: Spent $9.43 Saved $1.15 (free diet dr.pepper coupon)

January 9

Ingles

3 gallons organic milk $2.40
3 gallons 2% milk $3.00
1 bag mozz. chz $2.98
1 box ice cream sandwiches $3.00
2-10lb bags russet potatoes $4.00

Total $15.78
Store sale savings: $31.68

Walgreens

m&m's .50
Malox $5 -1.00 coupon
Benefiber $9.99
Grnier conditioner $2.99 -2.00 wal coupon, -1.00 manufat.coupon=FREE
Garnier Shampoo $2.99-2.00 wal coupon, -1.00 manufat.coupon=FREE
Garnier hairpspray $2.99-2.00 wal coupon, -1.00 manufat.coupon=FREE
Garnier Hair cream $2.99-2.00 wal coupon, -1.00 manufat.coupon=FREE
Gas X $5 -1.00 coupon

Total OOP=$11.15 Saved $14.00

Walgreens

3 Motts Apple Juice @ 3.79 each -2.00 walgreens coupon - (3) 1.00 manu. coupons=$3.37
2 walgreens 50pk sandwich bags $3.00
Slimquick energy drink $4
OB Super Plus $7.79
2 Stayfree maxi $14.00
Milky Way 100 cal pk $2.50
M&M 100 cal pk $2.50

-coupons of 3.00 off of OB, stayfree,plus BOGO coupon for Stay free (giving me all of it for FREE plus $1 towards the rest of the bill)
-$10 register rebate coupon

Spent OOP(out of pocket): $10.85 Saved: $38.96

Annual Budget: $3200

Spent: $207.50

Remaining total:$2992.50

The Beginning of It All

2009-01-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

I always thought I did pretty well in the grocery department. I spent no more than $600 a month for my six, including diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. Then I discovered this lady who only spent $800 for the entire year of 2008 on her family of four. Check it out here.

After reading some of her blog, I have been inspired, no, challenged, to do better myself. After all, who couldn't use a few thousand dollars a year more? So here is my blog to track my spending. The basic goal is around $60 a week. It may vary according to the sales every week, however the ultimate goal (which is how I came up with $60 a week) is to spend no more than $3200 for the year for my family of six. It should be interesting considering with my budget last year I spent $7200.