This week's Coupon Match-up Part 2

Albertson’s Match-ups are small without the doubler, but here’s my short list.

- Tully’s Ground coffee (ISC) - $4.99 + $1.50 = $3.49 (such a great price for a pound of coffee!)

- Kraft Salad Dressing $.88 each (ISC) – if you have a coupon you could stack this with the ISC and possibly get the dressing for free or close to!

- Tide Detergent 50oz Liquid/56 oz powder - $5.99 + $2 powder = $3.99

Catalina Deals: When buying qualify products you get a Catalina coupon for $$ off your next shopping trip!

- Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers BUY 2 GET $5 CATALINA $9.99 each (2) + $3/1 (2) = $13.98 + $5 off next trip!

- Dannon Yogurt (Activia, Danimals, light & fit) BUY 2 GET $1 CATALINA 2/$4 – Stack with coupons you may have, I’m all out of my Dannon coupons, so I am not sure what else is out there to use.

- Dole Fruit Cups BUY 2 GET $1 CATALINA 2/$5 + $.50/2 = $4.50 (honeslty, these are a better deal at Winco – usually $2 each and with the coupon that would be a way better deal)

- General Mills Cereals/Betty Crocker fruit Snacks/Fiber one Bars or Brownies/Nature Valley Granola Bars BUY 4 GET $2 CATALINA 4/$10 ($2.50 each) – lots and lots of coupon possibilities here.

1. Better Crocker fruit snacks: $10/4 - $.50/2 (2) = $9+ $2 CATALINA
2. Fiber one Brownies: $10/4 - $.75/1 (4) = $7 + $2 CATALINA
3. Fiber one Bars: $10/4 - $.40/1 (4) = $8.40 + $2 CATALINA
4. Nature Valley Granola Bars: $10/4 - $.75/2 = $8.50 + $2 CATALINA
5. General Mills Cereal: $10/4 - $2/5 = $10.50 + $2 CATALINA (this coupon was a Catalina printout from Albertsons, use other General Mills Coupons if you have them for a better deal)

**I don't plan to cash in on any of the Catalina deals, but thought I'd share the scenarios with you**

This week's Coupon Match-up Part 1

Here are Fred Meyer & Safeway Match-ups...Albertson's isn't amazing this week, but they have some great Catlina deals, so I will post that later. My budget this week is $60!

Fred Meyer’s had some great coupons this week; here are my match-ups

- Kettle Chips 2/$5 + $1/1 (2) = $3 – the coupon I had was expired, so when I got there to put them in my cart they had a blinkie (device that gives out coupons next to the product) for the same coupon, so I still got my Kettle Chips!

- Country Style Pork ribs, bone-in: $1.88 lb/ family pack 3lb or more – I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get these, but I decided to get them since I did need some more meat options for our meals. = $6.41

- Tillamook Shredded Cheese (in-store-coupon/ISC) – 5/$5

- Fred Meyer brand Canned Tomatoes/Beans (ISC) 2/$1 (10) = $5 – I got all 10 cans of tomatoes, different varieties too.

- Dozen eggs or English muffins 4/$5 (ISC) – 3 dozen eggs and 1 package of English muffins = $5

- 4lb tube of Red Vines (ISC) - $4.99

Total: $29.40

Safeway also has some great deals going on, and due to their doubler policy I will be making 2 trips either to the same store or two separate stores in order to make all coupons work.

Trip #1: $16.24

- Sweet Corn 6/$2

- Kraft Mac & Cheese $.75 each (5) = $3.75

- Safeway brand paper towels (ISC) 6-8 rolls - $4.88

- Green Giant canned vegetables (ISC) $.69 each (5) = $3.45

- General Mills Cocoa Puffs Brownie $1.79 (ISC) + $.75 coupon + DOUBLE ($.50) = $.54 a box (4) = $2.16 I’m getting 4 of these because 4 is the maximum amount of doublers I can use and this is the only manufacture coupon I’m using.

Trip #2: $5.70

- Hamburger Helper $.99 each (ISC) + $.75/3 + DOUBLE ($.50) = $1.72/3 (this is with 1 coupon) + 3 more coupons DOUBLE = $5.16 I used 3 coupons only because the ISC states the price is only good on the first 10, and I’m getting 9 with my coupons.

- General Mills Cocoa Puffs Brownie $1.79 (ISC) + $.75 + DOUBLE ($.50) = $.54

Couponing

Well, something I have yet to share on my blog is my new obsession with coupons. The past few months couponing has become a nation pastime, with women fighting over the last of stock-up items and newspapers being stolen from the neighbor's front porch. It's even gone so far that many of the stores are now rewriting their coupon policies, because too many people are out there getting free items and only spending pennies on the dollar for their groceries. Well, this is a pretty good description of my lifestyle these days. We no longer run to the store for something without a coupon or a deal or sale going on. We have a stockpile of essential food items in our home, and are to the point that we no longer go without any of our favorite foods (healthy and unhealthy). We do all of this without spending more then $300 a month on household items and groceries. This coming from the girl who was spending close to $600 - I have decreased our food budget by 50%!

This has become a passion and a responsibility as my role as a stay at home mom. Instead of going out into the work force my job is to save us money. My role is to care for our family in every which way, including our budget. So, if you haven't heard of extreme couponing yet, you probably don't have cable and haven't been to the grocery store lately. This way of life is about getting the biggest deal possible on every item you buy, creating a stockpile of food in your pantry and freezer, and never paying more then 50% discount on your items.

The biggest deals I've had as of lately include using a double store coupon to make the manufacture coupon twice as nice! I generally spend no more then $30 on a shopping trip to a store and always have over a 50% discount! This means I spend $30 for a trip that generally would cost over $60 without coupons. Sometimes it's even better then this - like only spending $5 for a bag of food that would cost $25 - that's a 75% savings!

It does take a lot of time and energy to get these deals, to understand the process, and to make it all work for your family. We, me especially, need to eat healthy foods that are lower in sodium, so processed foods aren't always great to have in the house. But, I don't buy these items as much as I save on bulk ground meat and roasts, chicken, fresh fruit during the summer, and great items to use for sack lunches and meals on the go. I even managed to get my husband off his habit of drinking 2 or 3 cans/cups of soda a day - because it was too expensive!

So, I will attempt to show off some of my latest deals on here, but I am in no way a professional couponer, and in turn do not guarantee that I am accurate in any way. I typically follow other blogs that tell me exactly how to use my coupons, and do not go off on my own yet.

Turkey Leftovers

So, since Friendsgiving is over and done with I have a fridge packed full of leftovers. A large portion of turkey, most of my green bean casserole, half of my stuffing, and a few other things. My plan for my budget this next 2 weeks was to make leftovers from all the wonderful foods left over. I made a list of my favorite meals and substituted turkey into them and also found some amazing leftover recipes on the food network site.

Here's your Menu:
Here's a list of the dinner menu I created for the next 2 weeks. I bought many items in bulk at Costco, and we will also be receiving a free turkey from Jon's work that we will cook to add to our leftovers. Yes, we will be turkeyed out by December!

1. Pork Chops & Stove top
2. turkey enchiladas
3. Turkey soup w/ dumplings
4. turkey pot pie
5. turkey sandwiches w/ cranberry sauce
6. green bean casserole w/ Baked Chicken
7. Roasted chicken w/ cranberry sauce & cauliflower
8. Round 2 roasted chicken Slow cooked chili
9. Turkey& Stuffing casserole
10. Mushroom & Ground turkey spaghetti
11. Thanksgiving Dinner
12. Turkey Burritos with Spanish rice

A review of a few:
So far I have made turkey pot pie & turkey stuffing casserole (and of course sandwiches). The potpie was just like chicken, so I was not surprised at how good it was. I did add extra vegetables I had left over into it giving it some extra textures. Last night I went about making the casserole. Now, this was an experiment for me. The recipe called for uncooked stuffing, but I had a Rubbermaid container filled with cooked stove top, so I went with it.

Ingredients:
-1 can of cream of mushroom soup
-1 cup of milk
-salt & pepper to taste
-small bag of frozen broccoli
-2 cups of cubed turkey
-left over stuffing (enough to cover the top of your casserole)
-2 cups of shredded cheese

Preparation:
Mix soup, milk, spices in sprayed medium casserole dish. Stir in broccoli and turkey. Cover with leftover stuffing. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (or until filling is bubbling). Top with shredded cheese and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with a side salad and some rolls.
Sorry, there's no pictures - we ate it all to fast!

Birthday Top 10 Wish List

Well, it's coming up to the 1 month countdown to my BIRTHDAY! For those of you who don't know this, I L-O-V-E my birthday. I love that I get to smile, celebrate, have my friends and family over, and that I get gifts that I've been holding back on buying for myself. So, because we're on this debt free mission and sticking to our budget I am posting my WISH LIST. This meaning I wish I could have all of this for my birthday, but I know it's not possible. I wish that I could have each person in my life go out and buy this for me, but I know it's not possible. I wish I could pay cash for each and every item I post here, but I know it's not possible. So, if you WANT (and can afford it) to buy me a gift for my 29th birthday I would fall at your feet in admiration for you and give you the biggest hug and smile I can manage! And of course you'll be invited back for next year.


1. ITunes gift cards - mamma needs some new music for her workouts
2. Project Life Scrapbook Kit - this is similar to the week in the life of project I just finished, but it's for a whole year! You take 1 photo a day and then you have the whole year documented! (disclaimer, the kit is out of stock until the end of May)
So I also really like this kit - Life Documented Collection by SimpleStories. This kit is only $16.99. You do have to jump through a ton of web junk to get to placing an order, but this kit is AMAZING!
3. Pedicure - has anyone seen my toes lately, kinda nasty!
4. Hair cut & Style - I haven't had my hair cut or styled since Julia was 3 months old. Yicks! Can we say spit ends?
5. Nora Roberts - Bride Quartet, Book 3 - we all know I love her books!
6. The Biggest Loser: 6 Weeks to a Healthier You - I love the Biggest Loser, and not always do they have the best weight loss books, but I've gone through this one and it's pretty good.
7. Ink cartridges for my printers! - Okay this one sounds odd, but almost all of my 3 printers are out of ink soon. I just can't have that, but I just can't afford to buy ink either. Dilemma.
8. Starbucks Cards - I can't find it in myself to pay for something I can make at home, but when I have a gift card I feel like I can treat myself to a mocha or frapp once and awhile.
9. Clinque Skin Care - I am all about making sure my face doesn't get any older looking!
10. Capri Pants - Realized during this sunny weather how much I really hate wearing jeans all the time!