Betty Crocker Catalina Promo at Albertsons

My reader Penni sent me this good tip and I wanted to pass it along. Thanks Penni!

There is an unadvertised catalina promotion at Albertsons for the Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks. Here is the scenario:

Buy 4 boxes of fruit snacks @$1.64 or $1.88
Use (2) $0.50/2 printable Q's (Group A or Group B)
You will then receive a $2.50 catalina for next purchase
PLUS you get a free redbox code on a catalina.

Factoring in the $2.50 catalina, that is only $0.77 - $1.00/box!

Free Slurpie at 7-11... on 7/11

Need a cool treat this Saturday? Grab your free slurpee at 7-Eleven on July 11. This is an annual nationwide offer, but as usual, check in with your local store to be sure they're participating.

Favorite Website - Be Different, Act Normal

This is a rather unique choice, given the frugal nature of The Budgeteer. But I am continually refreshed and inspired by Be Different, Act Normal. She celebrates the everyday with ideas that she collects from all over the blogosphere and media. Even though many of the ideas I am unable to accomplish based on the nature of my time-management with young children, there is something for everyone. Some projects are larger and some are everyday. My favorite of recent post was using citrus fruits and Jell-O to make mini-watermelons:

How cute are they?! Now that's something even I can do - probably with rave reviews from my kids. So check it out and feel refreshed; and feel free to get lost in her blog for an hour or so. It is worth it!

Plan Ahead a Little... and Help Someone Else Out

You know I am a big supporter of donating most of the free deals I find (and post here). It is my way of giving back when my family is like many of yours - on a tight budget.

I just wanted to take a minute and talk about the idea of planning ahead a bit. Although I haven't been the best poster child for this idea, I took about 30 minutes just now (maybe an hour) and looked at the upcoming weekly ads for CVS and Walgreens (leave me a comment if you want to know how) to see what I could get for free. Then I put in an order at Coupons by Dede for a few extra coupons to use not only at the drugstores (Gilette Fusion, Huggies, Reach toothbrushes) next week, but also for Degree at Target, Tide at Vons, and a few other things that I needed or wanted to buy in order to give away.

On Sunday my church was bringing attention to the needs of the congregation and items they were looking to collect and I was convicted. I had been really good in the past about focusing on collecting the free items in order to donate them, but I have been slacking. So I decided to jump back into the thick of things.

By planning ahead a little I think I can make a big impact in others lives through donating items I have learned to get for free. I can also try and anticipate some needs, such as school supplies. You and I both know the time is coming when all the kids will need to start gathering materials for the upcoming school year. So I am planning on starting to collect those supplies now, when the back-to-school savings are in the upswing.

So please keep this idea in mind. If planning ahead is just too much for you to accomplish right now, no worries. But perhaps you can pop into one of the back-to-school sales and add a few extra things to your basket in order to donate. I have every confidence that many, many people will benefit from our forethought. Good luck!

Back to School Sales Starting!

Right now it is being reported that Walmart is kicking off the back to school savings season. This week (7/5/09-7/11/09), supposedly they're offering 70 page spiral notebooks for $.25, Elmers Washable Glue (4 oz) for $.30 and Crayola 24ct Crayons for $.30.

Starting July 19, Walgreens will be having an excellent Back to School Sale:

FREE items
Pilot G2 pens, 2 pk, FREE after RR ($1)

$.19 items:
Papermate mechanical pencils, 5 pack
Papermate pens 10 pk
Papermate prism pens 10 pk
ruler
box of paperclips

$.29 items:
pink eraser 2 pk
pencil top erasers, 12 pk
wooden pencils, 10 pk

$.39 items:
transparent Scotch tape
white glue

$.49 items:
BIC highlighters (looks like 8 ct)

$.59 items:
pencil sharpener
Scotch mailers

$.99 items:
Crayola color pencils 12 pk
120 pg, 3 subject spiral notebookbook cover

* The Walgreens sale items make great fillers so that you can use your Register Rewards and all of your coupons. *

I checked I Heart CVS for the upcoming weeks, and CVS too will have MANY free-after-ECB deal for school supplies, so check out the complete lists.

Last year the real deals started the week of July 20 and the best deals lasted three weeks. Last year I bought enough spiral bound notebooks to last me all year (I let the kids color in them) for about $.10 I think, and I also bought a bunch of $.25 Crayola crayon boxes at Target last year. So keep your eyes open and make sure to let me know what deals you find!

50 Photos for $.50 at Snapfish

Although I am little late in passing this along, I wanted to share it with you. I have been waiting for a good photo deal to come along in order for me to finish up some scrapbooking/photo projects. I did the deal last night myself, so I can say for sure it works.

Now through July 10th, use promo code PENNY when checking out at Snapfish and you can buy up to 50 4″x6″ prints for only $.01 each (it will take $4.00 off at the end of your order). Unfortunately this offer is only good on orders that are shipped, so you will have to pay shipping (which for me, with additional photos ordered was less than $4.00). And if you are a new Snapfish customer you will receive an additional 50 free prints just for signing up!

Kashi Deals at Target - and more!

Nichole at Frugal Tips for Vegas Chicks had the low-down on the best deals at Target this week, which happen to center around Kashi products:

Kashi Cereal ($2.66 ea.)
USE $1.50/1 HERE and $.50/1 Target Printable HERE or B1G1 Target Printable HERE
Final Price: FREE - $.66

Kashi Cereal Bars (around $2.50 ea.)
USE $1.50/1 HERE and $1/2 Target Printable HERE
Final Price: around $.50

Kashi Frozen Waffles ($1.97 ea.)
USE $1.50/1 HERE and $.25/1 Target Printable HERE
Final Price: $.23

And a few other dealios:

Edy's Slow Churned ice cream (small 6 oz containers) - $1.19
USE $1 Target coupon
Final Price: $.19

Degree deodorant Arctic Edge or Intense Sport (3 oz) - $2.49
USE $1.50 Target Coupon Plus AND use the $1 coupon from the 5/17 RP
Final Price: FREE

Check out a few more Target match-ups over at Who Says Nothing in Life Is Free???. Amy does an AMAZING job!

Although people have reported coupon issues at certain Target stores in the past, we know to try and avoid the Target at 215/95 when using coupons AND it is always a good idea to use hand over the manufacturer coupon first, then your Target coupons. Less issues with the computer. And don't forget - Target coupon policy is to price adjust down for the difference in coupon IF a problem arises with coupon overage.

Also keep an eye out for clearanced toys. July is the time of year when they start making way for new editions, so you may be able to snag some great deals for upcoming birthdays and holidays (think ahead everyone!!) Thanks to Colette for that awesome tip!

CVS & Walgreens - A Few Deals

** Watch the bottom of your CVS receipts!! Quarterly ECB are printing!! **

CVS has some fun deals going on today only (they were yesterday too, but I didn't get to posting this):

* Caliber or CVS brand Transparent or Invisible Tape $1.49 get $1.49 ECB (LIMIT 3)
* Caliber or CVS brand Pencils 20 pack or Double Blade Pencil Sharpener 99 cents get 99 cent ECB (LIMIT 3)
* CVS Brand Pantiliners 22 count 89 cents get 99 cent ECB (LIMIT 1)

And all week long you can get these deals:
Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal is 3 for $10 and you get a $5 ECB when you buy 3 (LIMIT 1). Use 3 of these $2 off Post Trail Mix Crunch printable coupons (you will need two computers), pay $4 and get a $5 ECB.

I also realized that even with all of the grocery store sales on mustard in the last little while, I don't have any so I will also be picking up some French's Mustard for $.50.

Walgreens also has some cheap stuff too:

Starbucks Ice Cream Pints is B1G1 $4.79 and there was a $2 coupon in the 6/21 Smart Source insert. Use 2 and you will pay 79 cents plus tax for 2. The math is off slightly on Grocery Smarts, and if you use two coupons (like you can with a B1G1 FREE sale) it is really cheap!

RedBox Monday

It's the first Monday of the month.... which means a new RedBox code!

The Redbox code for the day is 7HE79B. It expires on 7/7.

30 Meals Plan - Step 2

Did everybody get through the first step? Me either, but I have a pretty good start! But here we go, Step 2. (I say we can always go back later and work on them, right?!)

***

First, don't panic if you don't have all 30 of your recipes ready yet... neither do we but this step goes along with step 1 and will help you see where we are going next.

STEP 2: Put your recipes/ meals on individual cards. Like I said, even if you don't have ALL 30 of your recipes picked out yet (it may take a while to find 30 meals you LOVE) go ahead and start copying the ones you have onto individual cards.

There are several ways you can do this but we wanted to have them on the computer so that we could reprint the cards and also easily email them to friends and family. We found these free recipe card templates here and just used photoshop elements to put in the text then we printed them as 4x6 photos at our local costco. You could also just use a word processor and print them on your printer or even hand write them onto index cards.

This is what the our cards look like- and by the way if you love Cafe Rio Sweet Pork you should totally make this recipe, it is awesome!

After we printed them we laminated each card.

Then we punched a hole in the top left corner and put all of the recipes on a ring.

This way at the begining of the week we can pick the meals we want to make for that week and remove them from the ring and put them in in this little card holder we made to stick on the fridge.
btw- We looked everywhere... well almost everywhere, to find a card holder like this to hold our 4x6 cards for the week on the fridge and couldn't find anything which is why we had to make our own.

Thanks nannygoat!

New Redbox Code

Redbox has released another code! This one is good through July 7th. Don’t forget there will be another new code on Monday as well.

The code is: 7HE79B

You can use one code for each debit/credit card that you have, so to rent multiple movies, just do the above process with each card.

Thanks Being Frugal is Fabulous!

Children's Orchard - Spend $10, Get $10

Tomorrow, July 4 ONLY, Children's Orchard in Las Vegas is having a special sale - spend $10, get $10 back in store credit, with up to $20 in store credit (limit one offer per family). This is a great opportunity to save some money on both children's clothes and gear. The Ann Road location will be open from 9am-5pm, but you should call to confirm the Henderson location hours.

Make sure while you are in the store to sign up for email notices. This is how I found out about this sale! Happy shopping!

Reader Tip

Reader Stephanie sent me this tip:

The Children's Place is having a Denim Sale - $7.99 and under for jeans with $5.00 flat shipping. Iif you purchase over $50.00 then you can use this code: C4969 for an additional 15% off. I bought my 7 yr. old 2 pairs of jeans and after the 15% discount they were $6.79 each!

Coupons 101 - Manufacturer Coupons

My Nevada Grocery Smarts guru Colette always tons of helpful tips for her readers and her Grocery Smarts instructors. Recently she wrote a complete post about manufacturer coupons that I wanted to make sure and share with you:

***
One question I get several times a week is, "Where's my RedPlum?"... so I thought it was time for a quick insert review in case there were others out there wondering which inserts come from where and why you may be having trouble getting your hands on the weekly RedPlum.

SmartSource: Comes in the Sunday paper almost every Sunday (excluding major holiday weekends). Overall, it contains the largest selection of coupons and is the single best, most consistent source to collect your inserts.

RedPlum: RedPlum is handled through a direct, targeted mail program that is delivered through our "Tuesday Junkmail". Every household in the greater LV area gets this junkmail packet (it also contains your weekly grocery store ads), BUT it's contents vary depending on your zip code and even subdivision. Unfortunately, not every household gets the RedPlum coupon insert. I've personally spoken to the Regional Representative for our area and he confirmed that although you can register on their website to "receive offers" this will not add you to the coupon insert mailing list. Good news is... the boundaries of this program are adjusted from time to time, so keep checking your mail every week because one day you may just get added. And, if it seems to disappear into thin air altogether - your area got bumped off the list. Bummer, but that's how it works. Sorry. And even though the wrapper may say "RedPlum". if there is not a packet of coupons inside, you are NOT receiving RedPlum coupons. The Home Depot and Famous Footwear ads do not count as coupons. :)

Proctor & Gamble (PG Saver): This insert is a little bit fickle and can show up in either the paper OR in your junkmail if you are lucky. If you get the RedPlum, you are more likely (but not guaranteed) to get this one as well. This packet has been released in the newspaper a few times in the last year, but it typically comes in the junkmail - so watch both.

Other Inserts: Other inserts indexed by Grocery Smarts include General Mills (released occasionally in the paper), Unilever (comes in your junkmail if you are lucky), Campbells (released once or twice a year in the paper) and Kelloggs - also in the newspaper.

If you've been to one of my classes, you know as a Grocery Smarts Instructor I can offer exclusive discounts on Sunday Only papers and I can take your order over the phone anytime if you want to get started. If you are going to jump into couponing at all, having the paper is key to increasing your overall savings AND is the single most consistent place to collect coupons. The coupons from the junkmail are great if you get them and printable coupons are nice, but neither are 100% available to everyone all the time.

BUT... If you are still DYING to get your hands on the RedPlum inserts or the P&G ones... you can get them from my coupon friend, Dede like I do... she sells whole, uncut inserts for cheap! This is where I get my RedPlums and where I stock up on P&G's too!

***
Next week we will talk about the in's and out's of printable coupons, so check back!

A Few Extra Savings at Vons

Here are a few extra savings I discovered at Vons this week, that you can use in combination with the existing Grocery Smarts list and stack with your manufacturer coupons:


Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mixes -Add a .75 coupon to your Vons shoppers card at ShortCuts and also at Cellfire.

DiGiorno Flatbread Pizza - There is a Catalina promo running right now where you will get a coupon for $1.00 off your next order wyb one Flatbread Pizza.

Hefty One-Zip Storage Bags - This sale price/deal is rumored to be running through October, so you may want to wait until new coupons come out if you don't have any.

Kingsford Charcoal - Make sure you pay attention the printable coupon that is featured on the Grocery Smarts list. You can save $6.00 on pork when you also buy one of the products listed on the coupon (KC Masterpiece, Hidden Valley Ranch, Match Light, Glad, Vlasic, Ball Park, or Wet Ones). Ball Park Franks are only .99 - so you could pick up the charcoal, some pork, and the franks for just .99 + price of the pork. Great deal!

Duracell CopperTop Batteries - Add $1.00 coupon to your Vons shoppers card at P&G eSaver.