Print your Cereal Coupons

There are some great high-value coupons that you can print from my blue coupon bar. Doubled and/or paired with a good sale, these will get you some cheap cereal. Since these are such good coupons, they won't last long, so print yours now before they're gone!

$1 off Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal
$1 off Kellogg's Rice Krispies
$1 off Kellogg's Special K
$1 off Kellogg's Raisin Bran
$1 off Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
$1 off Kellogg's Corn Pops
$1 off Kellogg's Mini-Wheats
$1 off Kellogg's Apple Jacks
$1 off Kellogg's Froot Loops

End of April Spending and May Goals

To stay under our $275 grocery budget for April, I had to be careful at the grocery store this week. I had $40.14 left.

In order to keep my grocery bill in check, I made a conscious decision that I would only double 5 coupons. It was also a personal challenge to see if I could pass up some deals that we don't need right now in order to save some money. At my grocery store, I usually to do two $25 transactions in order to double 5 coupons per order, for a total of 10 per week.

Normally spending $50 a week before coupons isn't a problem, and I can still stay under budget ($50 x 4 weeks=$200, which leaves me $75 wiggle room for Walgreens, CVS, Target, etc). However, since I had 5 shopping days this month, I had to squeeze a little more at the end of the month or I would have gone over ($250+Walgreens, Target, CVS, etc.).

Week 5:
Target: $4.04 (4 boxes of wipes and 4 Dry Idea Deodorant)
Groceries: $36.67
Total: $40.71

I went over by $0.57. However, I got a rebate check for $6.99 for the Organix Shampoo from last month. Since I counted that in my March spending, I think that $6.99 should go back into my grocery budget, don't you? That means I actually have $6.42 left! Woo Hoo, I did it!

And now I think I have my challenge for May: to try to shave a little more off our grocery bill by limiting the number of doubled coupon deals I go for. There are only 4 shopping days in May (because I shop on Wednesdays), so if I can keep my total around $35-40 a week, I'd only spend $160 on groceries, plus whatever I get at Walgreens, CVS, and Target. I'll also try to limit the number of deals I go for at those stores so that I can save even more money this month. It'd be great if I could save even $50 (making my total for the month $225)! We'll see how I do!

Do you want to make a goal for saving in May? I'd love it if you'd share your goal with me and we can work on saving together! Your goal will be different than mine, but the idea would be to challenge yourself to save this month. Please join me!

I love Freebies!

F and I spent a long weekend with my parents and sister who live out of state. We had a wonderful time hanging out and enjoying each other! While I was there, my mom kept making comments about how I "blow into town and scoop up the freebies"! I thought I'd list the spoils we enjoyed while I was there:

• Free Schick razor and Poise samples at Walmart, part of their All You Reality event
• Free Kotex pantyliners and salsa at Walmart, with coupons
• Free Dry Idea deodorant (and $1 wipes) at Target, with coupons
• Free pretzels at Pretzelmaker
• Free Lip product at Bath and Body Works (with $1 lotion purchase)
  
• Free chicken for dinner at KFC
• Free movie from Redbox
  

Not a bad weekend for freebies!

Walking!

This weekend F figured out this walking thing!
Click through to my blog if you can't see the video.

Free Dinner and a Movie!

Pick up some free chicken for dinner at KFC,

then stop by Redbox and get a free movie!

The Redbox free rental code for tonight is 4CW33N.

Baskin-Robbins 31 Cent Scoop Night

Mark your calendars! Go to Baskin-Robbins on Wednesday, April 29 for 31 Cent Scoop Night from 5 to 10 pm, where you can enjoy a small scoop of ice cream for 31 cents! Plus, go here by Monday night to enter a giveaway for a $10 gift card to Baskin-Robbins, hosted by Freebies4Mom!

Free Pretzel (Sunday) and Free KFC (Monday)

Gotta love free food!

Get a free pretzel at Pretzel Time or Pretzelmaker to celebrate National Pretzel Day on Sunday, April 26th. One free original soft pretzel per customer. Go here for details.
Thanks, CentsibleSawyer!

Stop into KFC on Monday, April 27th for a free piece of their new grilled chicken. No coupon necessary. One free piece per person at participating restaurants. Go here for details.
Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

April Spending

I did a cash experiment in March to see if it made a difference in my spending. It made me keep closer track of where our money was going to do things that way, but I decided to do things differently this month to see if there was a difference. So in April I used my credit card as usual to pay for my groceries and Walgreens purchases, but I kept my receipts so I could keep track of my spending. So beginning April 1st, here are the results:

Week 1:
Groceries: $41.31
Walgreens: $15.03 (have $2 RR left) Total: $56.34

Week 2:
Groceries: $48.99
Walgreens: $0.65 OOP -used gift card for the rest (have $5.50 RR left)
CVS: $0 OOP -used ECBs and gift card (have $13.49 ECBs left)
Walmart: $22.90 Total: $72.54

Week 3:
Groceries: $57.33 (and submit for $3.49 in rebates)
CVS: $0 OOP -used ECBs and gift card (have $10 ECBs left)
Walgreens: $9.74 (have $7 RR left) Total: $67.07

Week 4:
Groceries: $37.18 (and submit for $6.68 in rebates)
Walgreens: $1.73 (have $2 RR left) Total: $38.91

Overall Total $234.86

To be honest, I had been typing in my numbers each week, but I hadn't been keeping a running total. When I added it up just now, I was hoping I'd be under $275 so I would be able to get groceries next week and still stay under budget! With $275 as my total, that leaves me $40.14 for next week. If I'm careful I can probably do it, but squeezing 5 weeks in (because I always shop on Wednesdays--double coupon day!) makes it tight!

How do you keep within your grocery budget each month? Do you use cash or credit cards? What do you do in months where there are 5 weeks?

Printable Coupons

I LOVE printable coupons because they usually offer the best value. If you haven't lately, check out my blue coupon bar to print coupons for Kashi, Kotex, V8, Huggies, Scott, Kellogg's, Dove, and more! Remember that you can print 2 copies of each coupon. You can print coupons in black and white to save on ink costs, and use the back of scratch paper to save on paper (and trees!). Here are some more printable coupons worth printing:

Go here to print a coupon for $1/1 Kotex product. There are 3 packages of pantyliners at Walmart that are $1 every day, making these free!

$1/1 Kraft Bagel-fuls--doubled, this coupon will net free or nearly free Bagel-fuls! H loves these and M has been asking lately, too. They know to wait for a good coupon! ;-)

$1/2 Campbell’s Cooking Soups –For some cheap soup, or free if your store doubles!

$1.50/1 Kashi Go Lean Frozen Waffles – Use this at Walmart for cheap waffles!

Register and print this $2.00 Aveeno coupon and use it at Walmart on Aveeno Complexion bars, priced at $2.75.

Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom and Money Saving Mom!

Free after Rebate Reynolds Foil

Celebrate Earth Day by getting a free roll of recycled aluminum foil! Today only, get a rebate for a free roll of the new recycled aluminum foil from Reynolds Wrap. Fill in your name and email address and you will be able to print out an original rebate form. Buy a roll before May 4 and submit for a full rebate before May 30.

Check out www.reynoldsrecycled.com for more information. Quantities are limited! Thanks, Linda!

Walgreens 15% off Plus Free Bag

I couldn't do my Walgreens shopping last night as I usually do because I went to H and G's AWANA awards ceremony. It was a great year--G memorized 29 verses in Cubbies and H memorized 39 verses in Sparks plus the books of the NT! Way to go, girls! We're so proud of you for hiding God's word in your heart!

So I'll probably head to Walgreens today to use some RRs, especially since there is a coupon to celebrate Earth Day! Today only, save 15% off eligible items and 20% off Walgreens brand products, plus receive a reusable shopping bag with your purchase! Happy shopping!

Thanks to Linda and Rochelle!

Lost and Found

Through the eight years of our marriage, we've had a running joke about "lost things". Once, on a road trip eight years ago, we lost a CD. We had been playing it one minute, then I took it out and dropped it and it seemed to vanish into thin air! We pulled off into a gas station parking lot, moved our seats, pulled out luggage and spent at least 10 minutes searching for that CD. It simply couldn't be found. We were bewildered, to say the least. How can a CD disappear from a moving car?

As we've lost other things through the years, we would joke that it was probably with the lost CD. About six years ago I lost a black purse. I knew I hadn't left it anywhere, but I turned the house upside-down looking for it, to no avail. Thankfully, I hadn't left my wallet (license, credit cards) in it, so it wasn't a horrible loss, just annoying. Well, it must be with the CD, we said with a laugh!

Three years ago I misplaced our wedding album. Not a good thing to lose! I knew it was around here somewhere, but for the life of me I couldn't find it. I didn't even want to joke about it being with the CD, because we'd given that up for lost. I just couldn't give up on our wedding album in the same way. After searching in all the regular places, I decided I had put it in a "safe" place, so safe even I couldn't find it!

Last summer I found the black purse. I told you I had turned the house upside-down, right? Well I hadn't looked in the GARAGE! Don't ask me what it was doing with my husband's ski boots! About six months ago I found our wedding album. I don't know why, but apparently under the desk in the guest room seemed like a good place for it at one time. I'd probably seen it under there a hundred times while vacuuming, but it didn't register.

Will wonders never cease? We had given it up for lost a long time ago, but this morning I found the CD that we lost at least eight years ago! It was in a CD holder that we have used probably a hundred times since then (on every road trip), but it had fallen between the liner and the case so we had never seen it. Today the whole thing tipped over and the CD fell out! So in that moving car, apparently I dropped the CD just so and it slid ever so carefully between the layers where it hid for more than eight years. Crazy!

Free Redbox Code

Get a free Redbox rental tonight with the code M6FR97.
Enjoy your free movie!

Free After Rebate Graduates Sips

Make a note on your grocery list to stop by the Gerber products. They have a new product called Graduates Smart Sips, a pack of 3 flavored milk beverages with Omega-3. There are peelies on the packages to make them free after rebate! Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom for alerting me to keep my eyes open--I found one at my grocery store (she found hers at Target). I'll be packing these for a picnic soon!

Update: Tax Day Freebies

I went to two different Subways while we were out and about today and neither one was participating in the free tax day cookie, so call before you make the trip. We DID, however, get some free ice cream at Maggie Moo's! They gave us a choice between Cake Batter, Chocolate, or Cotton Candy. H and I opted for Cake Batter, M chose Chocolate, and G picked Cotton Candy (because it's BRIGHT blue!). Baby F got to taste little bits of each. We had fun with the reaction to her first few bites--she made quite a face because she wasn't used to how cold it was!

Free Cookie at Subway

Subway restaurants want to give taxpayers a reason to look forward to the typically dreaded April 15 by offering everyone who walks into a Subway on tax day a free cookie. The free cookie is available while supplies last and no purchase is necessary. Yeah for tax day freebies! Find more tax day treats here.
Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

Free Treats for Tax Day!

Did you get your taxes in yet? If not, file easily online for a fraction of the cost of other preparers and tax software. I recommend TaxAct Online. We paid less than $15 to have both our federal and state taxes e-filed, and had our refunds back in about a week! Now that you have your taxes done, go get yourself a treat!

Maggie Moo's is offering one free scoop per customer as part of their "e-cone-omic" ice cream stimulus package! They want to make people smile on a day that can be stressful. Click here for details. Find a Maggie Moo's near you!

You can also get free CinnaBites at Cinnabon from 5-8pm. Click here for details. Find a Cinnabon here.

Thanks Maggie Moo, Cinnabon, and Money Saving Mom!

Free Movie at Redbox

I hope everyone had a great Easter yesterday! We were able to spend some time with out-of-state relatives, which was very nice. If you're interested in getting a free movie tonight, go to Redbox and use the code J89LA2.

Looking for a Redbox kiosk? They are frequently found outside Walgreens, Walmart, McDonalds, and some grocery stores. Do a search here.

Free Princess DVD

Any princess lovers out there? Get a free Precious Places DVD from Fisher-Price. Click on the green "Order your free DVD!" button. Then you need to "Select Country" in the top right pull-down menu and click the "Continue" button. Thanks Freebies4Mom!

Easter Cookies

The girls and I made some Easter Cross Cookies. I used the Betty Crocker $0.50/1 coupon (check my blue coupon bar) doubled at my grocery store to get cookie mixes for about $1. Add some butter and an egg, a cookie cutter and some frosting, and voila! An afternoon of frugal Easter fun!

Visit Kingdom First Mom for more frugal Easter ideas!

Wags and CVS

Walgreens:

• Comb/brush set
• Bobbi pins
• Q-tips
• 4 packs Mentos Gum (all free after coupons)
• Toothpaste (free after RRs)
• 2 Candles (free after coupons)

Total: $10.98 -used gift card- total OOP: $0.65 and have $3.50 RRs left

CVS:

• 3 packs diapers (will submit for $2.25 rebate from Caregivers Marketplace)
• Shave Gel (free after ECBs)
• 3 packs Jellybeans (for Jellybean poem)

Used $23.97 ECBs
Total: $3.77 -used gift card- total OOP: $0 and have $13.49 ECBs left

Free Movie Monday

It's Free Movie Monday at Redbox!
Tonight's code is TS473G.
Enjoy your free movie!

Jellybean Poem

Here is another easy Easter idea. The girls and I had fun dividing up jellybeans by color (a good sorting activity), putting one of each into baggies (one-to-one correspondence), and then tying them up with a bow (okay, I did that part). Then we delivered them to our neighbors to share the real meaning of Easter. We made these at my MOPS group last year (the picture of the girls is from last year, too).
Here is the poem, by Charlene Dickensen:

Red is for the blood He gave.
Green is for the grass He made.
Yellow is for the sun so bright.
Orange is for the edge of night.
Black is for the sins we made.
White is for the grace He gave.
Purple is for the hour of sorrow.
Pink is for our new tomorrow.
A bag full of Jellybeans
So colorful and sweet,
is a prayer, is a promise,
is a loved one's treat.

For more Easter activities, go here and here and here.

Resurrection Eggs

One tradition my family enjoys each year to incorporate the real meaning of Easter are Resurrection Eggs. They are a set of plastic eggs filled with items to help tell the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. You can buy a set for $6.99 here, or you can make a set of your own! All you need is an egg carton, 12 plastic eggs, and a set of symbols to put inside, as well as some verses to go along with them.

There are different versions of Resurrection Eggs, so I'll make a list of the versions I've found and you can pick and choose to assemble your set, keeping in mind the order of the story.

1. Bread/Cracker OR Palm Branch/Leaf OR Donkey (a picture would work)
2. Cup OR Coins
3. Coins OR Praying hands OR Purple cloth
4. Praying hands OR Coins OR Thorns
5. Leather Strip
   
6. Cross OR Thorns
   
7. Nails OR Cross
8. Sponge OR Dice OR "King of the Jews" Sign
9. Spear/Toothpick OR Sponge
10. Gauze/Linen OR Spices/Cinnamon Stick OR Spear
11. Stone
12. Empty!
    

Verses:
Donkey: Mark 15:7
Palm Branch: Mark 15:8-10
Bread: Matthew 26:26
Cup: Matthew 26:27
Praying Hands: Matthew 26:36
Coins: Matthew 26:14-15
Purple Cloth: Mark 15:17
Thorns: Matthew 27:29
Leather Strip: Mark 15:15
Cross: John 19:17
Nails: John 20:25
Dice: Matthew 27:35
Sponge: Matthew 27:48
Sign: Luke 23:38
Spear: John 19:34
Gauze: Mark 15:46
Spices: John 19:40
Stone: Matthew 27:59-60
Empty Tomb: Matthew 28:6

I recommend numbering the eggs on the outside, so you know which egg to open first. You can also print out the verses and cut them up to put inside each egg or leave them all together and keep the verse list with the set. Our family likes to take turns hiding the eggs. Then the girls find them and put them in the egg carton and once we have them all, we go through them in order, retelling the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. Have fun making your set!

Want a yummy recipe that ties in the story of Jesus' resurrection?
Try Resurrection Crescents!
Do you have any fun traditions to tie in the real meaning of Easter?

For more Easter ideas, visit the Easter Egg-Stravaganza!

Redbox Ongoing Codes

Haven't tried Redbox before? Maybe the free Mondays and Wednesdays haven't worked for your schedule. That's okay! You can use code REDBOX* to try your first rental for free on any day that works for you!

*This code only works for first-time Redbox customers. If you have rented from Redbox before and want to try this code, you could try a different credit/debit card and email address.

Other ongoing codes: BREAKROOM or DVDONME or SHPNSVE2

Unlike the free codes every Monday, these are ongoing codes. They can be used once per credit/debit card, so you can rent more than one for free by using different cards.

Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

Resurrection Crescents

Pick up the fixin's for this yummy Easter treat! (There are coupons for crescent rolls on my blue coupon bar!) These are SO good, you'll want to double the recipe. It's a fun project for the kids to help you with, and to illustrate the story of Easter and Jesus' resurrection.

Resurrection Crescents
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
8 large marshmallows
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Separate rolls into eight triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow (Jesus' body) into butter, roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on a triangle (explain that Jesus' friends put spices on His body and wrapped it in cloths). Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. Dip tops of dough into remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place with sugar side up on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in oven (tomb) at 375 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes. Serve warm. During the baking, the marshmallows melt and when you open the roll, it is empty inside! He is not here! He is risen!

*Some recipes say to put these in muffin tins. They get very sticky and messy, and I've found that cleaning off a flat cookie sheet or baking pan is a lot easier than cleaning muffin tins.

For more Easter ideas, visit Kingdom First Mom!

Firsts

We had a couple firsts this week. F went on her first plane ride to visit Grammie and Grampie. She and I went for a long weekend and had a wonderful time hanging out with my parents. Here is a picture of her looking out the window of the plane.



For the second first. . .
Do you notice anything missing in this picture of H?
She lost her first tooth this morning at church! Anyone know the going rate for lost teeth these days?

New Coupons to Print

It's the beginning of the month and that means new coupons to print! Head to my blue coupon bar to print off the ones you are interested in before they are gone! Some that stand out to me:

• Various coupons for Big G Cereals
• $1 off Yo-Plus Yogurt (doubled makes cheap yogurt!)
• $0.55 off Betty Crocker frosting (doubled makes this cheaper than generic)
• $0.50 off Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
  
• $1.50/2 Kotex liners (use at Walmart on the $1 packages!)
  
• $2/2 Kotex pads
• Various Pillsbury coupons (doubled makes these cheaper than generic)
• $0.50 Cottonelle Toilet Paper
• $1/4 Scott Paper Towels
• $0.75 off Bisquick

You should be able to set your printer to print your coupons in black and white to save some money on ink. Also, go to Walgreens this week to get a free after rebate printer cartridge refill!

Free Movie Tonight

I thought the free movie Wednesdays were only through March, but there's one for today, too! The Redbox code for tonight only is MMM401. You can use it once per credit/debit card. Anyone seen any good movies lately?