Showing posts with label budget stretcher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget stretcher. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Free Honey Bunches of Oats

FREE CEREAL.

Honey Bunches of Oats cereal is on rollback at Walmart for $2 until September 30th.
Use this $2/1 Honey Bunches of Oats printable coupon to score some free cereal! Isn’t that the best kind?
Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal, $2$2/1 Honey Bunches of Oats printableFREE after coupon!
Find lots more current Walmart deals here!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Nature Valley Nut Clusters - Nearly Free


From the unassuming bag and color, one would never guess that these are the BEST THING EVER! Two words for you.... "Fiddle Faddle". Sweet little granola goodness balls.
I was sent a sample by mail recently, and there was not a person in my household between 5 and 43 who didn't love these. Seriously.

So there's a printable coupon for 'em right now at Hot coupon alert — print this $1.60/1 Nature Valley Nut Clusters printable (IE) or printable (FF) . Then go to Cellfire.com and shortcuts.com and get another $1/1 loaded to your shopping card.

$2.60 off 1! These babies will be near free with the sales they are on recently.

Just a warning, if your kids catch you hiding them... you're gonna be in trouble. :-)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Target Deals for the Cheap at Heart

A friend told me she took her daughter shopping-- they each took 1/2 the list and met at the checkout counter. Her bill was over $200 from adding stuff to the cart! (wow....)

So in honor of my dear sweet friend-- here's a list of things you can get on the DOUBLE CHEAP at Target this week.

Kashi Trail Mix Bars (6-ct.), $2.88Get a $5 Target Gift Card wyb 5

$1/2 Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars printable Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars printable (IE) or printable (FF)

As low as $0.38 ea. wyb 5 after coupons and $5 gift card!


Eggo Waffles - $1.50
$1/2 Eggo Frozen Products Target printable
$1/2 Eggo Frozen Products, exp. 9-27-09 (Kellogg’s/Keebler Insert 8/2/09)
$0.50 ea. wyb 2 after coupons!
Now that's cheap breakfast!

$1/1 Kellogg’s Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts (8-ct.)
– $0.55/1 Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, exp. 11-8-09 (RP 9/13/09)
– $1/2 Pop-Tarts, exp. 9-27-09 (Kellogg’s/Keebler Insert 8/2/09)

$1/2 Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts (12-ct.)
– $0.55/1 Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, exp. 11-8-09 (RP 9/13/09)
– $1/2 Pop-Tarts, exp. 9-27-09 (Kellogg’s/Keebler Insert 8/2/09)

$1/2 Kellogg’s Special K Bars (6-ct.)
$1/2 Special K Bars printable

$1/2 Kellogg’s Special K Crackers
$1/1 Special K Crackers printable

$1/2 Kellogg’s Special K Nutritional Products
$1/2 Special K Bars printable
$1/1 Special K Blueberry Cereal printable
$0.75/1 Special K Chocolatey Pretzel Bars printable
$1/1 Special K Crackers printable
$1/1 Special K Protein Shakes printable
– $1/2 Special K Protein Products, exp. 9-27-09 (Kellogg’s/Keebler Insert 8/2/09)

$1/2 Kellogg’s Special K Cereals (10-oz.+)
$1/1 Special K Blueberry Cereal printable

$1/1 Kashi Frozen Pizza

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Walmart Roundup

Happy Sunday! Nothing I like better than a cart full of free (or nearly free) stuff from Wallyworld!

This week there's good deals to be had at Walmart- here's a few of my favs.

Healthy Choice dinners - $2.50 There's a printable coupon here: $2/1 Healthy Choice printable
Making dinner a mere $0.50 after coupon!

You'll need some dessert, of course- so how about some
Jello Pudding or Gelatin, $0.50$0.50/2 Jello printable (IE) or printable (FF)
$0.25 ea. after coupon!

Or (one of my personal favs... a CHOCO TACO) honestly, if you haven't had one-- they are awesome!
Klondike Choco Tacos, $1$1/1 Klondike printable
FREE after coupon!

Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (5-ct.), are $0.74
Here's a $1/2 Pillsbury Grands printable making them
$0.24 ea. after coupon!

Reese’s Candy Bars, $0.50$0.55/1
Reese’s Candy Product, exp. 10-31-09 (SS 8/23/09)
FREE after coupon!

Sun Chips (sm. bags), $0.99
$1/1 Sun Chips, exp. 10-31-09 (ALL YOU September ‘09)
FREE after coupon!

YoBaby 3-in-1 Meals (6-oz.), $1
$1/1 YoBaby printable
FREE after coupon!(Thanks, Couponing 101!)

Bengay Patches, $1.50
$2/1 Bengay, exp. 11-30-09 (SS 8/2/09)
FREE after coupon!

Reach Dental Floss, $0.97
$1/1 Reach Dental Floss, exp. 5-31-10 (SS 6/14/09)
FREE after coupon!

Schick Slim Twin Disposable Razors, $1.97
$3/1 Schick Disposable Razor, exp. 9-27-09 (SS 8/16/09)
FREE after coupon!

Zantac 150 (8-ct.), $4.23
$5/1 Zantac printable
FREE after coupon!

Chinet Plates, $2.36
$2/1 Chinet Lunch, exp. 9-30-09 (SS 8/9/09)
$0.36 after coupon!.

Hungry Hippos Travel Size Game, $4.79
$4/1 Hasbro printable
$0.79 after coupon!

Rubbermaid Bottle (1-pt.), $1.46
$1/1 Rubbermaid Beverage Pitcher or Bottle, exp. 9-27-09 (V 6/28/09)
$0.46 after coupon!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Free Chik-Fil-A TODAY!

Okay, Labor Day goers --break away from crafting and head on over to Chik-fil-a for a free Chicken sandwich!
Some reports form Alanta said it must be a Jersey... but here in Flower Mound, Texas - a hat or anything would do. I'm pretty sure they were even allowing this at the drive through!


Head on over-- it's good all day!

When we got there at 11:15 there was almost no line, but by 11:40.. it was a biggun. Might want to try the late afternoon time, rather than dinner.


Sunday, September 6, 2009

FREE Chik-fil-A tomorrow!

Don't forget- tomorrow on Labor Day you can get a free original chiken sandwich at Chik-fil-a. Just wear any sports logo in.

It'll be busy!

Knock me over with a feather... $5 Frito Pie


Knock me over with a feather-- turns out someone has been reading the blog. In fact, two people! They reminded me I've been lax on updates, which reminded me about tonight's FLASHBACK DINNER.

Flashback dinner tonight is Frito Pie. It's close to a $5 for a family of four, provided two of the four are not teenage boys.

I have some picky eaters, so I made this in two batches.

Brown 1 lb ground beef and drain. (On sale- $1.98/ lb.)
Place back into skillet with 1 can chopped tomatoes (7 ounces or close - $.95)
Now, place 1/2 of this mixture aside.
To the rest add 1/2 packet of taco seasoning (.99 cents/2 = .50)
Let the water from the tomatoes cook down.

Serve with grated cheddar over fritos (in a bowl, or Middle School style from a small bag with the side cut open.) If this doesn't bring back visions of insecurty and homeroom, nothing will.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Chicken Tacos - $5 Dinner

I am always in search of a $5 dinner. If you are new to this blog, I probably need to mention that this means $5 for a family of four. Tonight fit the bill.

The other day Kroger had a meal deal (I won't get on my soapbox about how I don't always think these are a good deal...) anyway, it included free taco shells. I actually needed 2 of the other things, so I went ahead and took the deal.

1 box of 12 taco shells-- FREE.

Ground beef?? Too rich for my blood. Chicken.

I had Pilgrim's pride cheicken tenders that I got on the buy 1 get 1 free sale at Kroger (about every month, it seems) plus a $1.00 off any Pilgrims pride fresh chicken product from a May (?) circular. Total chicken cost $2.59.

Cheese- Bag cheese from Kroger on sale $1.50 (I bought quite a few!)

Total cost for tacos for 4? $4.09. And there are shells, chicken and cheese left over, so my actual cost was even lower.

Side note-- sometimes old favorites were favorites because our parents were thrifty. My chicken nugget girls LOVED the chicken tacos and even asked for more. They never had tacos in hard shells before :/.


Cooking:
Thaw chicken if frozen. Cut into small pieces (take out bones if there are any.)
Nuke (microwave) for 3 minutes on high. Remove, cut up more and cook again for 1 minute. Check again, if not cooked repeat 1 minute increments.
Separate chicken into small people and big people piles in bowls.

In the small people bowl-- shread chicken using two forks (ugh!) or PC whacker chopper. Same for big people bowl.
To big people bowl o' chicken, add taco seasoning mix (99 cents) and broth from cooking the chicken.

Serve with shredded lettuce or not. Tomatoes? only if garden grown for this price!

Enjoy and happy thrifting!

Mary Kay

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Kroger SUPER DOUBLES TODAY

Yes, I know, all capitals is the same as shouting.

but hey... aren't super doubles worth shouting about?

Today only, Kroger has SUPER doubles (doubling up to and including $1.) I was a little worried that getting there at 8:00 the shelves might already be cleaned out... but they weren't and they did have people stocking while I was there.

It takes a little patience to get through the aisles, but it was worth it-- over $100 in coupon savings! And I left a lot of my coupons on the shelf by products I thought were still "too rich for my blood." (one well meaning lady told me, you do realize that would only be 99 cents?-- I told her I haven't paid for toothpaste, shampoo or bodywash PERIOD in over a year.)

Get over there. Seriously. It's worth it.

Today's coupon savings: $119.40 plus an additional $10 rebate check coming from Kelloggs. % (not as good) 51%. Still I was happy because that included a lot of things we just needed, like fruit and milk as well.

Happy shopping~!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Pantry Stretching - Black Bean Pizza

Out of meat and out of cash? Been there!

Here's a simple recipe that uses very few ingredients, is filling, and suprizingly kids love it!

You'll need pizza dough- but never dispair, you can also use english muffins, tortillas, or bisquick pizza dough.

Spread out pizza dough (or English muffin) and brush lightly with olive oil.
On top, spread the following which have been blended in a food processor:
  • canned black beans
  • pepper
  • salt
  • (if available, but not necessary) adobo or italian seasonings

Top with parmesean (from can is fine) or shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 (or according to dough manufacturer's recommendations) for 20 minutes or until crust is crispy.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Update on Stretching the Food until Payday




Morning went well. We're up to the challenge! (For those of you just joinging in... to make it 2 weeks without spending money for groceries. ) We added a few additions to this, to keep us sane:
  1. Secret shopping doesn't count. I had a few assignments that I needed to finish.

  2. Milk or bread paid for with cash on hand is okay. (Nothing may be withdrawn from checking or savings.) -- I used CVS bucks and a bread store card to accomplish these two.


  3. No eating out. Exception, see #1.


  • So, for breakfast- the end of yesterdays waffles. Hmm.. where's that pancake recipie again? I'm going to need it.

  • Snacks - pears.

  • Lunch - The girls had popcorn shrimp leftovers and pizza rolls. (Hey! No one ever said this was the totally healthy challenge!) Also cottage cheese and a cookie.

  • Dinner- homemade pizza. I only have Parmesean chesse... so it might get interesting.

If you want to see what I started with, you can read this post. I think we're going to do just fine. It's Fourth of July, but wouldn't you know it-- we got an invite. I think I'll make a pot of beans to bring over, and some biscuits. Hooray!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Taking Stock of Freezer and Pantry

I'm feeling like the little boy with the fishes-- suddenly what I have on hand doesn't seem so bad. ..

This is Part 2 of the making it stretch post. The goal being to keep from going grocery shopping or spending any money until July 15th.

Here's the contents of useable food:

Freezer:
pizza rolls (6 or so)
1 pound frozen shrimp
green beans
chicken (lots)
2 pie shells
chicken nuggets
meatballs
sausage (Polish Keilbasa)
ground beef (2 pounds)
broccoli
peas
mini tacos (about 5)

Fridge:
Spaghetti (precooked)
jelly
cottage cheese
broccoli serving
mac n cheese leftovers
2 eggs
strawberries
apple juice
grapes
hot dogs
watermelon
bacon bits (real bacon)
corn (looks a little past its prime)
celery (might be partially frozen)
ham lunchmeat
pepperroni
popcorn shrimp (1 serving)
pears
apples
baby carrots
parmesean cheese
cinnamon rolls
crescent rolls
pizza dough
butter

pantry:
bread crumbs
pasta salad
Alfredo sauce
Gingerbread mix
rotini
penne
spaghetti
mac n cheese
beans
hominey
rice
cornbread
squeezy cheese
oatmeal
evaporated milk
condensed milk
dry milk
sugar
tea bags
single serving chip bags
Gatorade
Peanut butter

Sorry about the long list.... so that's it. No cheating. I have big plans. I didn't list things like chocolate chips or pudding and soup mix, or spices... although I have some of these things as well.

Tomorrow- oatmeal and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We have some apple juice for the girls.. I plan on having coffee, even though I am (gasp!) out of creamer and milk. Yikes...

Living from your pantry- Cheap Meals



Whether you are needing to stretch until your next payday, or just needing to clean out your freezer- every once in a while it's a great idea to "eat from your stash".



The challenge comes in stepping away from old faithfuls (in my house, the girls would eat a PB sandwich everyday if you let 'em) and trying something new. This is also the great part. By refusing to go to the grocery store for a period of time (a week or two weeks) you force yourself to "think outside of the box". Sometimes this isn't really by choice....

I hope some of you will join me in this challenge-- and let us know your creative meals. This week we had some unexpected issues which are going to make it a tough month. So, I'm trying to stretch not going to the grocery store until after July 15th. (Two paydays from now.) Join me! (Misery loves company?? Nah... .I love a good challenge!)

Issue Number one- We are OUT of milk. Am I allowed to buy any? I have some CVS ECB bucks-- does it count if I don't pay money??? Maybe we need some rules...

Day 1: Dinner - Spaghetti and Meatballs (from freezer). I usually add meat in the sauce, but not tonight. That meat can be a whole other meal. We served tea and green beans.

Day 2:
  • Breakfast - the end of the milk with cereal (hmmmm... this might be an issue)
  • Snack - Fresh fruit (leftover grapes from our trip and some strawberries)
  • Dinner - Frozen popcorn shrimp, cottage cheese (no milk, so this is the kiddos dairy), edamame from the freezer. Water to drink.

Since it's going to be meals that might not excite the kids- I tried to make this one a good one. All things they like. Now I'll try to ration the likes with the dislikes... see if we can make mealtime more pleasant while we stretch.

Tomorrow I have no waffles, and I have cereal- but no milk. I have some evaporated milk and some condensed milk, so maybe I can make one of those work for waffles. I'm off to make a freezer / pantry inventory and see what I can dig up to keep us happy the next few weeks. This will likely be most difficult for my dear hubby, who loves his morning Cheerios.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Rubber Dollar Starts Today

Why Rubber Dollar ?

We have to stretch them as far as possible, as if they were rubber. It's all about creative financing.

A little about me. I have two small children (still hoping for a 3rd) and.. I've got debt. This is the part I'm hoping to change. So today we started making SERIOUS changes. And, started the blog.

I will post ideas, recipies, and help I've gotten along the way- along with nifty ideas to make money without going back to work full-time.

(in interest of full disclosure I have a part-time job I call "the mall job")

We're also trying to redo and outdated house on the SUPER CHEAP. So I'll include things we've discovered along that journey, too.

Mary Kates