Free Marie's Dressing at Safeway

Yesterday I mentioned the Buy 5/Save $5 deal Safeway is having this week. Today I saw two links for $1 off Marie's salad dressing which is one of the products in the deal.

Here's how the deal works...

Buy 5 of the following items at $1.99 each:
Eating Right salad mix
Eating Right cut vegetables
Fresh Express salad mix
POM
Marie's salad dressing
packaged sliced mushrooms

Then $5 will come off your total, making each item $.99. I am planning to do this deal for the salad, but a $1 off coupon here or here could also net free Marie's dressing. I may end up with 4 bags of salad and a bottle of dressing for $4.

One link is for yogurt dressing which may or may not be part of the deal. The other link is to the Marie's site which will send a coupon directly to your email inbox. Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the links!

Katie

New Menu Plan

I haven't figured out how to blog and keep my house clean. With the sun shining and the dirt showing, the blog isn't getting much attention.

I did manage my menu plan yesterday though while I flipped through the grocery ads.

Dinners:
Wed - Pasta with meatballs - Freezer Meal
Thurs - Fettucini Carbonara w/asparagus - OLD organic fettucini from back of freezer.
Fri - Macaroni & Cheese Pie w/salad
Sat - Applebee's - A free treat
Sun - Macaronada w/salad - big thanks to Jen T. who picked up feta at Costco for me
Mon - Beef & Broccoli - need to use a can of vegetable broth and old frozen broccoli
Tue - Lentil Stew - Freezer Meal

Lunches:
lunch out with cousin
chicken nuggets
pb & j
leftover Mac & Cheese Pie
tuna melts
Ravioli
nachos

This week I'm going to Top & Safeway for groceries.

Top is having a great Tillamook sale & I'm out of cheddar, butter, and yogurt. Several varieties of Tillamook are on sale and the deal is if you spend $10, $3 will be taken off your bill. So I can buy two 2 pound bricks of Tillamook for $5 each, and then $3 is taken off making them only $3.50 each! I can also buy two pounds of butter at $2.50 each and 10 yogurt cups at $.50 each for a total of $10, then $3 will be taken off the bill making the butter only $1.77/lb and the yogurt only $.33 per cup.

Safeway has a buy 5/save $5 deal this week for salad-ish stuff. Eating Right bagged salad & veggies, Fresh Express salad, Marie's dressing, POM tea, and packaged sliced mushrooms are priced at $1.99. If you buy 5, $5 will be taken off the bill. I'm happy to pay $.99 for a bag of salad so I'll go pick up 5 bags and maybe an avocado since they're only $.50 this week.

Have a great week! I'll try to better at posting this week than I was last week!

Katie

Birthday Celebration (free Red Robin burger)

DH's birthday was last weekend and we did our best to celebrate without spending much. It is our tradition to "take Daddy his birthday" at work, so on the appointment day the girls and I woke up and baked a cake. We used a mix, frosting, and decorations from what we had on hand. Then the girls got busy at their craft table and made Daddy birthday pictures. Next we packed a lunch. Finally, we all got dressed up in party dresses. For the girls, this means poofy goodness. For me, this means any dress that fits.

We headed to the party store first for a balloon bouquet. I was pleased that we got a nice bunch including one mylar and six basic, colored ballons for $7.99. The Dollar Store sells mylar balloons, but time was short and the Dollar Store was out of the way so we ended up at the party store on the way to DH's office. We arrived on time (amazing!) and enjoyed lunch and cake at Daddy's office. Daddy also got to show off his girls to his co-workers while they were cute in their party dresses. His girls, not the co-workers. The balloons stay in Daddy's office for the day. DH is pretty reserved and wouldn't really talk about his birthday. I like to bring balloons so at least a few people will notice and wish him a Happy Brithday.

Over the weekend DH invited some friends over for a guys night in. We had the balloon decorations and the girls and I baked cupcakes for the event. I had three tubs of old frosting languishing in the fridge so we used those up and used a variety of sprinkles from the cupboard to make lots of differently decorated cupcakes. The girls were happy for a) cupcakes and b) messy sprinkles, & I was just happy to get all those frosting remnants out of the fridge.

As for gifts, Eve & I hit up the thrift store to see what bargains we could find. We were happy to stumble across a used DVD of Lilo & Stitch for $4. DH loves animated and children's movies and we have many, many of them. However, this title has been missing from our collection so we snapped it up. DH was pleased with the find and that I didn't spend much. =^)

I should note that we regularly purchase gifts for eachother that have been used - primarily books and movies purchased off half.com. Neither of us minds and both appreciate that the other didn't spend retail prices.



Finally, DH is signed up for the birthday club at Red Robin. That means he gets a coupon via email for a free birthday burger each year. Usually we would go together and buy another burger. Money being tight this year, DH is heading over with Joanna, our 9 month old, for some quality time and his free burger. The only money out of pocket is for a tip.

If you want to sign up for the Red Robin eClub, click here. Your email coupon will arrive one week before your birthday and is good for 14 days.

Click here to sign up for your annual free Red Robin birthday burger:

http://www.redrobin.com/eclub/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Enjoy your burger!

Menu Plan

As the pantry challenge continues I am making a menu plan every week. I find that I can put together several meals with what I still have and only have to buy a few supplemental items at the grocery store.

I try to make the menu plan on Wednesday because that's the day the grocery ad dates begin each week.

Last week I cleaned out the pantry and noted dates on many items. I also pulled several expired or almost expired things to the front to use right away. Those included: 2 cans of tuna, a package of instant rice & broccoli, a package of instant alfredo noodles, velveeta shells & cheese, a can of vegetable broth and a box of raisins. I tried to incorporate these items into the meals this week and a few are left for next week.

Wednesday: Freezer Meal - beef stroganoff & salad
Thursday: Tuna Casserole & salad
Friday: Freezer Meal - Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Saturday: Dinner Out (a Free treat)
Sunday: Chicken Taco Soup & salad
Monday: Pork Chops, Rice, & Broccoli
Tuesday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread & Asparagus

I'm running really low on lunch stuff for the girls so we've been having pb&j or grilled cheese a lot with a piece of fruit. We ate the past date Velveeta shells and the cheese wasn't easy to melt. =^) Oh well.

DH - The history of the menu plan is that if you plan your menu out for that week, then you're more likely to use what you have and be careful with the money you spend on food. Plus it helps set expectations with the fam.

Shout Out for New Camera!

Did I say camera? Why yes I did.

A big thanks to generous parents who sent DH a new digital camera for his birthday last weekend. I guess they want those pictures of grandbabies to keep coming. =^) We are praising the Lord for His provision.

Also a shout out to some friends: Dana, Corrin, and Jesca who have helped out with a variety of useful items in the last month or so. Also a big hug to DH's mom and my mom for feeding us during then 10 day trip in February. That definitely helped the grocery budget. Thank you ladies!

Katie

Deductible Car Tabs?

A friend asked this weekend about the deductibility of her car tabs so I thought I'd relay that conversation here in case anyone else has the same question.

Q: Can we deduct the RTA and other costs on the cars?

A: Taxes paid to your state & local government are deductible on Schedule A as an itemized deduction. This usually includes sales tax or state income taxes paid. The cost of your car registration each year is not deductible because it's not a tax based on the value of your vehicle, it's a flat fee to keep your car licensed. However a small piece of it, the RTA tax, is deductible - being a tax based on the estimated value of your vehicle. This amount is clearly marked on your green registration form from the State of Washington each year.

Good luck!

Katie

Albertson's Double Coupons

There were 3 double coupons included with the Albertson's insert in yesterday's paper. This time they are good for a week, so you have until Saturday 3/6/10 to use them.

I will admit that I am slightly obsessed with double coupons. In other parts of the country double (and even triple!) coupons are a pretty regular occurence and it steams me that we can't get the same deals here in the Northwest. Anyway, my 9 month old got her hands on the Albertson's insert this morning, and of course, the insert found it's quick way into her mouth. I was frantic to see if the coupons had been mangled by slobber and/or teeth, but was relieved to find only one damaged. Luckily the torn bit is not on the UPC so it should still work. Phew!

Katie

February Update

Hi friends,

Sorry to be away so long. We ended up being out of town for 10 days and then when I got home it was a busy week kicking off my new cleaning schedule. I'll write more about that later if I can figure out how to post excel files. Anyway, with all the cleaning I didn't make time for this blog. I'll try to be better!

My goal for February was to continue using food I had on hand and keep my grocery budget under $75. I didn't quite make it - I ended up around $85, but that included some gift card usage. In cash I only spent $62.90. Overall still good.



I am down to 20 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of crackers and 9 cake/brownie mixes. That still sounds like a lot, but I am also out of lots of things I use frequently like chicken, macaroni & cheese, & croutons.

Speaking of croutons - I am still planning to try out making my own, but I have to find some time, a great recipe, and some old bread. =^)

Goals for March: Keep the grocery bill under $100. Sell 5 things on ebay to help the budget. Be more encouraging to DH about our finances instead of feeling so sorry for myself! Sheesh!

Also, I tried the pumpkin puree and it Did Not turn out. I would have posted pictures, but as you may remember our camera died. It probably didn't help that I was using old pumpkins from our fall garden. They were green in November when I pulled them all out, and over the next 8 weeks or so they slowly ripened. I thought I'd give them a try after a few more orange weeks, but they were pretty soft inside when I cut into them. I baked them in the microwave (like the directions I found on the internet said to) but they just kinda collapsed & it would have been difficult to remove the skins in that condition. It was also late and we were leaving for the 22 hour drive the next morning so I just bagged it. I'll try again in the fall with a new crop of pumpkins.