Mailbox Monday

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday! We had Ted's extended family come and stay with us and had a wonderful time. :-) Here are some freebies to request as you start a new week!

• Get a free $3 MP3 credit from Amazon using code MP34FREE. EXPIRES TODAY!


• Click here for samples of Carefree and Stayfree from Walmart.


• Download a free holiday music mix, Sampler Claus, from Amazon.
• Get a free dog toy by mail when you register your dog for Mighty Dog Nation. Enter code CITIZEN222 when prompted.


• Order up to 20 coloring books about cells, genes and proteins shipped to you free from the The National Cancer Institute. Books are targeted to kids in grades 1-3. Your kids will learn that a gene, when active, makes a specific protein in the cells of the human body. Thanks Pocket Your Dollars!


• Skin Wonders is offering a free skin care sample pack.


• Shelburne Falls is offering a free coffee sample. Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!


• Print out a coupon for a free 10x13 wall portrait with no sitting fee at Sears.


• Sign up here for a free Holiday Renewal Package from Veria which includes two free samples of premium Chandra facial moisturizer and more. Thanks Money Saving Mom!
  
  

Winnable Sweeps--I'm a Winner!

I've been a winner in several sweeps in the past year, and you can be too! I think I've won about $200 worth of gift cards and free product coupons in the past year from Nabisco, Wendy's, Coke, Kohl's, Subway, Kraft, Pace, Dole, Little Debbie, and more. But that's not all. . .I just won a $1000 Home Depot gift card from the Wendy's Home Makeover sweeps!! It's the first time I've ever won anything big enough to have to overnight a notarized affidavit to confirm my eligibility. I was nervous that my letter wouldn't make it in time or I'd be disqualified for some reason or another, but it's been approved and will hopefully show up soon. :-)

A big thanks goes to Heather at Freebies 4 Mom for posting an easy links page for playing winnable sweeps, and to Sweeties Sweeps for finding the free codes in the official rules so we can play for free! Thanks so much ladies! Spending a few extra minutes a couple times a week can pay off, literally!

Swagbucks Gift Card Blowout!

If you use Swagbucks, I have good news for you! From 11/27 (today!) until 1/1/10, Swagbucks will be offering special blowout prices on one gift card a day in the swag store. They won't announce which card is on sale, so you'll have to visit the swag store to find out, but this could make your swagbucks stretch even further, so start saving them up! A $5 Amazon gift card is only 45 swagbucks right now, but maybe they'll go on sale for 20 or 25? We'll have to see! They also have gift cards to Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Paypal, Target, iTunes, and many more. You can order 2 gift cards at the blowout price each day. See the Swagbucks’ blog for more details.

Also, did you know you can frequently find a swag code for a free swagbuck? On your Swagbucks home page, look on the left side and click on "Special Offers" and then just keep skipping through the offers until you get to your free swag code. Usually you have to click through 2-5 offers to find the swag code. According to Angela, this special offer resets each Thursday. She suggests doing your searches first to earn your swagbucks, before getting your bonus swag buck, so that you can get more swagbucks that way.

If you haven't signed up or started earning Swagbucks yet, now is a great time to start! When you sign up, you will earn 3 swagbucks to get you started, and you can usually earn 1-5 swagbucks per day just by searching the web. And don't forget about Mega Swagbucks Fridays! Save up some swagbucks and get ready for the blowout deal of the day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our company has mostly arrived and we're starting to cook the turkey and the ham, among other yummies! I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and find out what you are thankful for. These are just some of the things I am thankful for this year:

• My wonderful husband, who works so hard for us and loves us all dearly.
• Our beautiful girls, who are each others best friends.
• My dad, who is mostly recovered from his cancer and heart surgery, and the rest of our extended family, who we love dearly and sincerely wish lived closer so we could see them more often.
• Coupons! :-) (You know I had to throw that in there!)
  
• The freedom we have to worship and grow at our church.
• Jesus Christ, who died and rose again so that I may have life, and have it to the full.
  

What are you thankful for this year?
I'd love to hear, so please leave a comment!

Taco Night Giveaway Winner!

Thank you so much to the many people who entered my Family Taco Night giveaway, sponsored by My Blog Spark! It was fun to read what all of you do to keep dinner a family affair. And now, the winner of the $10 gift card, free product coupons from Old El Paso, and the El Tacodor Family Taco Night game is . . .

#52 Krista! :-)

Congratulations! Enjoy your Family Taco Night prize pack. I hope your family has as much fun as ours did! Thanks to Old El Paso and My Blog Spark for the opportunity to host this giveaway.

Amazon Black Friday Weekly Deals

Amazon has some Black Friday Weekly Deals going on this week. They are offering discounts on various products at certain times on certain days during the week. To take advantage of these deals you need to buy the items during the "Lightning Deals" period. Go here to see the Lightning Deals for today.

One that caught my eye is the Wall-E DVD for only $4.99. Sign up for the free Amazon Prime membership and you will get free shipping. Use a $5 Amazon gift card from Swagbucks and get it for FREE! You need to hurry, though, because it looks like this deal ends at about 2pm, and 67% have already been claimed!!

Other deals start all through the day, and you can scroll through and see what will be available later. Don't forget to come back if something catches your eye!

Amazon Prime--Free Amazon Shipping

Are you planning to do some shopping through Amazon this season? Maybe you've been saving up some Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks like I have. :-) If so, you can get free 2-day shipping on all orders by signing up for Amazon Prime, without having to meet the $25 minimum purchase like you usually do! I've already signed up for my free trial, and selected the "do not upgrade" option so I won't forget to cancel (and therefore get charged). Here's how to do it:

• Go here and fill out the information to sign up.
• Once you're signed up, go to your account page, under settings, click on "Manage prime membership" and click on "Do Not Upgrade" and your one-month membership will automatically end after the trial period with nothing ever billed to you.
  

That should be it! Now we just have to wait for the Cyber Monday deals. . . !

Double Coupon Matchups

Happy Thanksgiving week! Some of you might be shopping less this week (due to traveling), but some of you, like me, will be hosting Thanksgiving and will need to shop extra. Good thing there are still some good deals at the grocery store this week! I had to do a double take and make sure I had the correct ad, because a lot of the sale prices are the same as last week. I'm glad because I'm never able to get in on ALL the deals every week--so now we get another chance!

Eggs $0.99 Limit 1
This isn't a coupon match, but I wanted to highlight this deal on eggs. There is a limit of one, but if you are doing 3 transactions, you can get 1 dozen in EACH transaction, getting 3 dozen for the sale price.

Dole Pineapple, Mandarins, or Fruit Salad $1
$0.50/1 here (new coupon!)
$0.50/1 here (play the game, then print the coupon twice)
FREE ADC

Driscoll's Raspberries or Blackberries $2.50
$1 or $0.50 coupon here (I can't tell if this is still available--I hope you got yours!)
$0.50 to $1.50 ADC depending on your coupon

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls $1.66
$0.50/2 here
$1.16 each ADC

Campbell's Cream of Chicken or Mushroom Soup $0.80
$1/4 Cooking soups
$0.30 each wyb 4 ADC

Freschetta Pizza 2/$9, get a $3 OYNO catalina wyb 2
$1/1 here
$1 each ADC and catalina!

Green Giant Steamers $1.25
$0.50/1 here
$0.25 ADC

Green Giant Vegetables in Sauce $0.89
$0.50/2 here
$0.39 each ADC

Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash Potatoes $3
$1/1 here and here (new coupon)
$1 ADC

Pillsbury Pie Crusts $2.50
$0.50/2 here and here (new coupon)
$2 each ADC

Yoplait Yogurt $0.50
$0.50/6
$2/6 or $0.33 each ADC

Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread $2.50
$1/2 here
$1.50 each ADC

Coffee-mate $3
$1/1 here
$1 ADC

Bob Evans Sausage $2.50
$0.35/1 here
$1.80 ADC

Smart Balance Butter Blends or Spread $2.50
Various coupons here
As low as $0.50 each ADC

Chex Mix 4/$12, get catalina for $4 off Coke products
$0.50/1 coupons here and here and here
Spend $8 ADC, get $4 catalina for Coca-Cola

King's Hawaiian Rolls $2
$1/2 here
$1 each ADC

Chinet Products $2.50
$1 coupons here and here
$0.50 ADC

Near East Couscous or Pilaf $2
$1/2 here
$1 each ADC

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $2
$1/2 here
$1 each ADC

Tree Top Apple Juice 64 oz or 6 pk $2.50
$1/2 here
$1.50 each ADC
*I prefer to use these coupons on the 3 pk juice boxes to get them FREE

Juicy Juice $2.50
$1/2 here
$1.50 each ADC

Filippo Berio Olive Oil $3.99
$1/1 here
$1.99 ADC

Idahoan Potatoes $1
$0.75/3 here
$0.50 each ADC

Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice $1.66
$1/2 here and here
$0.66 ADC

Air Wick Freshmatic Kits $4.99
$4/1 here (YMMV)
$0.99

Air Wick I-Motion Kit $5.99
$4/1 here (YMMV)
$1.99

*I'm going to take a break from posting my weekly shopping trip this week since we have company arriving on Wednesday (shopping day!). I'll keep my receipts and let you know highlights of how I did next week (without a picture since I'll be rushing to put food away before they arrive). What deals am I planning to go for this week? Eggs, Dole, Driscoll's, Campbell's, Freschetta, Steamers, Garlic bread, Air Wick, and maybe King's Hawaiian rolls. I also plan to get broccoli, green beans, grapes, tomatoes, potatoes, milk, cheese, and probably a pie or two for an easy dessert (since we'll be cooking everything else!). What's on your list?

Mailbox Monday

New Week, New Freebies!

Get a free sample of Stacy's Pita Chips from All You magazine.

Sign up for a catalog from The Republic of Tea here and you'll get a free sample of their teas, too.

Get a FREE sample of UnderJams Absorbent Night Wear.

Print a coupon for a free Steaz Organic Iced Tea, redeemable at Target.

Get a FREE 12-month weekly meal planner from Mueller’s Pasta.

Get a FREE sample of Dove Intense Damage Therapy shampoo.

Request your free sample of Always Infinity from Walmart.

4 free samples from Vive Mejor: Hellman's Mayo, Caress Bodywash, Pond's Rejuveness, and Degree Women Fine Fragrance. You can only request one at a time, so you'll have to click each link.

Sign up here for a free sample of Millstone Gourmet Coffee.

Request a free 2010 calendar from Oriental Trading. The calendar contains money-saving offers for Oriental Trading, plus ideas for fun family activities.

Get a free Thanksgiving Recipe Ebook.

Free Thanksgiving Crafts from Favecrafts.

Sign up here for a free sample package of True Lemon, True Orange, and True Lime.

Coupon for Driscoll's Berries--Get it Quick!

This is a coupon that is sure to go fast, so print yours now! Go here and print a coupon for $0.50 or $1 off any Driscoll’s Berries! (It looks like different zip codes get different values.) Pair this with a sale and double coupon day and get a good deal on some berries--and the coupon is good until April, 2010! I was able to print two.

Click to Give--Easy and Free

Times are tight for many people, so giving can seem to be a challenge. But a simple click of your mouse can make a difference! Click the following links once a day (and click the button on each page) and help:

• Feed the Poor
  
• Help the Homeless
• Fight against Cancer
• Fight Animal Cruelty
• Help stop Child Abuse
• The Animal Rescue Site
• The Breast Cancer Site
• The Hunger Site
• Welch’s Harvest of Help

You can come back and click daily for each of these causes. The sponsor money generated from advertisers by your clicks goes to support these various charities. It's easy and only takes a minute of your time. Will you give something today?

Thanks Kingdom First Mom!

Wet Ones Coupons--Print now!

Stock up on some Wet Ones Antibacterial wipes to help fend off colds and flu this season. Here are some great coupons that will probably hit their print limits fast, so hurry and print off two of each!

• $1.50/1 Wet Ones Wipes printable coupon (excludes trial size). Use this on the canisters at Walmart reportedly priced at $1.88, and you can get them for just $0.38!

• $1/1 Wet Wipes printable (IE) or printable (FF). Use these on the travel size 15-ct. Wet Wipes at Target to get them free after coupon!

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom!

Weekly Shopping--$66

I went to Aldi JUST to pick up milk, and I succeeded in leaving the store with only that. I was tempted to make some impulse purchases, but I held myself back! :-) I spent $5.67 on 3 gallons of milk at Aldi. I didn't bother taking a picture of 3 gallons of milk. :-)

On double coupon day, I did 4 transactions and doubled 20 coupons. I had missed the Conagra deal when I went through the ad (sorry!), but saw signs for it at the store. I had some coupons and some of the items were already on my list anyway, so I went for it. I bought $16.57 worth of Conagra products, used $8 in coupons, and got a $5 catalina that I used to help pay for my next order. So after sales, coupons, and catalina, I got Peter Pan peanut butter and Egg Beaters for free, and paid $0.40 each for 4 Ro*Tel tomatoes, 3 Hunt's tomatoes, and 2 Reddi-Wips. I did the Clabber Girl deal even though I was only able to print off 1 coupon before they ran out (making it $0.39 instead of better than free--oh well.)These are the items I got for FREE: 2 packs of Tree Top juice boxes, 2 cans of Dole fruit, 2 boxes of Ritz crackers, Clabber Girl cornstarch, Peter Pan peanut butter, Egg Beaters, and a reusable bag (not pictured--got it free when I applied for my new rewards card).

These items were $0.50 or less: Bananas, 3 Steamers vegetables, Clabber Girl baking powder, 2 packs of Chinet plates, Smart Balance butter, 3 cans of Hunt's tomatoes, 2 cans of Reddi-Wip, and 4 cans of Ro*Tel tomatoes.

These items were $1 or less: Chocolate milk, 3 packs of Sargento cheese, whipping cream, and cream cheese.

I also bought a bag of oranges, a bag of grapefruit, lettuce, croutons, a jar of yeast (yummy-homemade bread!), 3 blocks of cheese (for company next week to go with crackers and hummus as an appetizer), 4 packs of Mtn Dew, ice cream, 5 cans of sweet potatoes (on clearance for 1/2 off), fruit cocktail, nutmeg, and two gallons of milk.

My total before coupons and sales was $137.54. I paid $60.37 for 55 items, for a savings of $77.17. That puts my total shopping for the week to be $66.04. Considering we are hosting Thanksgiving company from out of town (there will be 14 of us) for several days next week and we have pretty much everything we need (including a turkey AND a ham!), I think we're doing pretty good.

Here are the monthly running totals:
November totals: $72.93, $59.76, $66.04
My average for November has been $66 a week, higher than normal because of stocking up for Thanksgiving and company that will be staying with us for several days.
October totals: $32.87, $72.29, $63.02, $31.36, $36.79
My total for October, which had 5 weeks, was $236.33, an average of $47 a week.
September totals: $47.69, $52.23, $46.86, $65.62.
My total for September was $212.40, an average of $53 a week.

How about you? What deals did you snag this week? Were you excited about your totals? Share your successes in the comments below! I love to hear about other people saving money--it keeps me going!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

Do You Have 12 Swagbucks?

UPDATE: It looks like they changed it to 20 Swagbucks, but this is still a good deal! Do you have 12 Swagbucks in your account right now? It could be worth $5 at Alice.com if you are a new customer! Login to your Swagbucks account and click on prizes, then gift & rewards cards. You should see the Alice.com $5 gift card available for only 12 swagbucks! This is a good deal because Alice.com offers free shipping on all orders and they have "deals of the week" which can get you more stuff for cheap (think shampoo, deodorant, razors, and pantiliners). They carry lots more than that, but it seems those are often the best deals. I have never ordered from them, so I snagged my $5 gift card and plan to place an order when I see a great deal.

Go here to sign up for an account with Alice.com (you'll even get $10 into your account after you've spent $50!). Then go here to see the top 50 deals of the week (link will only work after you are logged in).

According to Money Saving Mom, who has ordered from Alice.com:

• Alice.com offers free shipping all the time. There is a 6-item minimum order requirement. However, you only have to order one item if it's your first time to order.

• There are clip-free coupons available. These are often the same as are found in the newspaper inserts and come off automatically when you order. You can only use one like coupon per item.

• Remember that these deals aren't necessarily the best deals you'll ever be able to find, but they are quite good considering you don't have to clip a coupon or go to any store to get them. And if you live where there aren't many shopping options, these might be better than most prices you'd see.

If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks yet, or if you have signed up but haven't been regular in your searching, what are you waiting for? Just do a few searches a day like you normally do, and you will be well on your way to earning free gift cards! If you aren't interested in Alice.com, you can get a $5 Amazon gift card for 45 swagbucks, a $25 e-gift card to Restaurants.com for 40 swagbucks, a $5 Paypal deposit for 70 swagbucks, or a free movie ticket for 99 swagbucks. If you would like to sign up and start earning, click here and you will get 3 bonus swagbucks to start you off! It's that easy!

Double Coupon Matches

Here are the printable coupon matches for double coupon day tomorrow. Remember, if you can't get a coupon to print, check the address for "wg&o" or "vi&o". Have fun shopping!

Ragu Pasta Sauce $1.59
$1/2 here
$0.59 each ADC

Dole Pineapple, Mandarins, or Fruit Salad $1
$0.50/1 here (play the game, then print the coupon twice)
FREE ADC

Butterball Frozen Hen or Tom Turkeys $0.99/lb.
$2/1 here (YMMV-some stores don't accept IPs over $1)

Heinz Gravy $1.09
$1/3 here
$1.27 for 3, or $0.42 each ADC

Stove Top Stuffing $1.25
$2 off wyb 5 Stuffing and/or Heinz Gravy AND Butterball Turkey

General Mills Cereal or Granola Bars 4/$11, get a Free Gallon of Milk catalina
Various coupons here ($0.75/1, $0.55/1, $1/2)
$1/1 Banana Nut Cheerios, $1/1 Total, more here and here
Aim for spending $1/box or less

Progresso Soup $1.50
$1/3 here
$2.50/3 or $0.83 each ADC

Green Giant Steamers $1.25
$0.50/1 here
$0.25 ADC

Green Giant Vegetables in Sauce $0.89
$0.50/2 here
$0.39 each ADC

Ore-Ida Steam 'n Mash Potatoes $3
$1/1 here
$1 ADC

Pillsbury Pie Crusts $2.50
$0.50/2 here
$2 each ADC

Yoplait Yogurt $0.50
$0.50/6
$2/6 or $0.33 each ADC

Bob Evans Sausage $2.50
$0.35/1 here
$1.80 ADC

Smart Balance Butter Blends or Spread $2.50
Various coupons here
As low as $0.50 each ADC

Chex Mix 4/$12, get catalina for $4 off Coke products
$0.50/1 coupons here and here and here
Spend $8 ADC, get $4 catalina for Coca-Cola

Nestle Morsels $2.50
$0.50/1 here
$1.50 ADC

Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk $0.99
$0.50/2 here
$0.49 each ADC

Red Star Yeast 20% off
Coupons here for strip or jar

Clabber Girl, buy baking powder, get cornstarch FREE
$0.65/1 here
Could be better than free for both if you use 2 coupons

Near East Couscous or Pilaf $2
$1/2 here
$1 each ADC

Egg Beaters $2
$1/1 Seasoned variety
Free ADC if this variety is included

Pedialyte $4.99
$1.50/1 here (YMMV)
$3.49

French's French Fried Onions $3
$0.50/1
$2 ADC

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $2
$1/2 here
$1 each ADC

Tree Top Apple Juice 64 oz or 6 pk $2.50
$1/2 here
$1.50 each ADC
*I prefer to use these coupons on the 3 pk juice boxes to get them almost free

Idahoan Potatoes $1
$0.75/3 here
$0.50 each ADC

Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice $1.66
$1/2 here and here
$0.66 ADC

King's Hawaiian Rolls $2
$1/2 here
$1 each ADC

Chinet Products $2.50
$1 coupons here and here
$0.50 ADC

Pup-peroni Dog Treats $3
$1/1 here
$1 ADC

Air Wick I-Motion Kit $5.99
$4/1 here (YMMV)
$1.99

What deals are you excited about?
Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

Mailbox Monday

What's in your mailbox?

• Go here to request a free sample of Huggies Little Movers diapers from Walmart.
  
• Go here to request a free sample of Kirkland's diapers from Costco.
• Share your best tip for getting rid of stains here and you'll get a free sample of Surf with Essential Oils.
• Click Here to get a free sample of Kotex Ultra Thin Overnight Pads with Wings.
• Click here to get a free sample of Tampax Pearl.
• Get a free sample of Jennifer Lopez My Glow Fragrance.
• Get a free $10 Gift Card From Coinstar when you convert $40 in coins.
• PlayDrums.com is offering free Drumsticks, Book and DVD.
• Sign up to receive a free Empress Hair Care Sample.

If you haven't already ordered your 50 free photo cards, don't forget to do so! There is no charge for shipping and no catch. Go here to find out more. There are more photo freebies available with free shipping here.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

More FREE photo freebies!

Are you loving all these free photo freebies? I have two more for you! UPDATE: It seems these were not supposed to be used, as they are freebies with a certain mall purchase. Thanks for letting me know, Amy!

To get a free photo ornament from SeeHere:

• Go here and login in or sign up. Then click on "Photo Gifts" and then on "Ornaments".
• Choose between the two ornaments which are $12.99 and create your custom photo ornament. Only the $12.99 ornaments work for this promo code so be sure that is the price of what you add to your cart otherwise it won't work.
• Go to checkout and use promo code mallornament and it should take your total down to $0.00. This code expires 3/31/10.
• Pay nothing for your free ornament!

To get 50 free photo cards from SeeHere (in addition to the 50 I told you about here):

• Go here and order 50 4x8 photo cards. Once you put them in the cart, use the code newbaby at checkout and you should get the cards for free--including free shipping! I don't know when this code expires.
  

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

If you are having problems with the Freebies 4 Mom 50 photo cards promo, go here for a list of FAQs she put together.

I don't need any more photo cards, and it's too early to order baby announcement cards. . . anyone have other ideas for using 50 free photo cards? Maybe some thank you notes?

Free Redbox Rental

UPDATE: It looks like this code might not work after all. Sorry!
You can get a free rental at Redbox if you have a Discover Card. Just use the code KJXMT3 and your Discover Card at checkout. Find a Redbox here. To rent with a code, select “Rent with Promo Code,” enter the code, select your movie and use your Discover card to complete the check out process. You won't be charged as long as you return your movie by 9 p.m. the next night. Enjoy your free movie!
Thanks Mercedes!

Search Today and Win!

Don't forget to hop onto Swagbucks today and do a few searches, because today is Mega Swagbucks Day! If you haven't signed up for Swagbucks yet, just click here or on the banner below to get started. You will get 3 free Swagbucks to start you out, and you only need 45 to redeem for a $5 Amazon gift card. If you do a search or two every day, your swagbucks will add up quickly and you'll be redeeming for prizes in no time! This is a great way to earn some "cash" for something you are likely doing anyway--searching the web. Enjoy your Friday--it's almost the weekend! :-)

P.S. Did you order your 50 FREE photo cards from SeeHere yet? They are absolutely free with free shipping and no catch. Mine arrived yesterday already and they look great! Now I just need to start addressing them. . .

Family Taco Night and a Giveaway!

My Blog Spark invited us to participate in "El Tacodor", a family fun taco night. Since tacos are something everyone in our family actually eats, and I'm all about family meal times, I jumped at the chance! They provided us with coupons for Old El Paso taco fixings, a $10 gift card, and a game called "El Tacodor" to be played while we enjoyed our meal together. I wasn't sure how it would go since our girls are still young, but we had a blast! H was the scorekeeper.

Here are some fun pictures of a couple of the challenges. H and G are doing "You Crack Me Up", where they had to hold a taco chip in their mouth and sing the alphabet song without breaking them. M did this challenge as well, and they all succeeded. Ted and I were pleasantly surprised that there were many challenges that the three big girls could participate in.

G and I did another challenge called "Hot and Cold", where we were trying to tell H where something was in the room by shivering when she was far away, or fanning ourselves when she got closer to the object. F didn't do any challenges, but she did enjoy her taco and had fun watching the rest of us!

We had fun playing the game with the girls, and decided that we would keep it on hand to do again sometime. A lot of the games would also be fun icebreakers for group events. Thank you SO much to My Blog Spark for this fun family opportunity!Would you like to win an "El Tacodor" prize pack? My Blog Spark has generously offered to give a prize pack to a Mom For Him reader! The prize package will include two Old El Paso free product coupons, a $10 gift card, and an El Tacodor game, just like we received. There are multiple ways to enter, but I have to have a way to contact you by email if you win, so make sure it is either in your comment or in your profile. How to enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me something you do with your family to make sure mealtimes are special.
2. Leave another comment if you are a subscriber by email or by RSS feed.
3. Leave another comment if you are a Google follower.
4. Leave another comment if my button is on your blog's sidebar, or if my blog is listed on your blogroll. Leave your blog's address so I can visit you! :-)

This giveaway will end on November 23, when I will pick a winner using Random.org. I will contact the winner by email to get their address, which I will pass along to My Blog Spark so they can mail out your prize.

Weekly Shopping--Saved 80%

This week I did go to Aldi, and I went WAY over what I normally spend (usually $15/week). We are hosting Thanksgiving for my in-laws, and they would like both turkey and ham. We had already cooked up the ham from last week's shopping to use for our family, so I went to Aldi to buy the spiral sliced ham (we'd rather serve the spiral sliced, anyway). While I was there, I also bought 4 gallons of milk, some whip cream (a family weakness!), 2 lbs. of deli ham, some grapefruits, 4 packages of tortillas, some lettuce, sour cream, and corn muffin mix. I also had a few impulse buys (I know--naughty!). I bought 2 packages of cream cheese wontons, some pumpkin quick bread mix, and some roasted red pepper hummus (yummy!). My total at Aldi was $41.28.

Because I spent so much at Aldi, I really wanted to keep my grocery shopping total low on double coupon day. I focused on my coupons and a few sales items.

I got these items for free or better than free after coupons: 2 Old El Paso dinner kits (thanks My Blog Spark!), taco seasoning (free with a peelie), 2 Activia yogurts, Danimals yogurt smoothies, 6 Yoplait Delights (raincheck), Pace salsa (won from playing sweeps--better than free because it took off $4), 2 Kashi GoLean Crunch (on sale BOGO and I had 2 $3 off coupons making them better than free).

These items were $1 or less: Cake Mate frosting, eggs, 4 packages of Kraft cheese, sour cream, 2 Nestle Cookie dough, Betty Crocker potatoes, butter, cream cheese, and orange juice.

I also bought asparagus, bananas, 2 loaves of garlic bread, and a bag of Doritos. I did 3 transactions over $25 each so I could double 15 coupons. My total after coupons was $18.48. My savings was $72.67, or 80% (savings divided by savings plus OOP).

My overall total this week for groceries was $59.76.

How about you? Did you save some money this week? What deals were you excited about?