Ever Seen a Coupon for 7 Cents Off?

A few weeks ago I mentioned using a really old Apple Cinnamon Cheerios coupon in my weekly grocery shopping.  My friend, Kracinda, asked where in the world I'd gotten a coupon with no expiration date and I explained that my Mother-in-Love had given me a huge stack of no expiration date coupons over 5 years ago.  Some of them are unusable today because they lack a barcode, but I've used many over the years.  

These are two of my favorites.  They are not usable, but they amuse me greatly so I keep them around. 

Save 7 cents on Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or Save 5 cents on Hungry Jack Biscuits

Manufacturer's Coupons with no expiration date aren't a thing of the past.  I occasionally come across one like I did this week.  We received some Newman's Own Popcorn as part of a door prize and the box had this 'No Expiration Date' coupon printed on it.  There is a barcode on the other side.

 

 Happy Couponing!

Katie

Thanksgiving Tree

It wasn't much, but it was something.  The girls and I did a Thankful Tree leading up to Thanksgiving.  I found a leaf printable from Google images and printed onto fall-colored cardstock.  I made a "tree" from some big blueprint paper we have and cut it out.  So again, not much, but the girls enjoyed it and it reminded us every day to express our thankfulness.

Katie

Tomato Puree

Last weekend I was offered a large amount of tomatoes via our church's gleaning ministry.  This is organic produce that is at it's must-be-used-immediately stage and I gladly accepted the very soft tomatoes others were declining.  I took them home and they sat in my fridge a couple of days before I cored them and tossed them into my food processor.

A few seconds later I had 12 cups of pureed tomatoes.  

They're happily residing in my freezer now waiting for use in spaghetti sauce, soup, or another recipe that calls for tomato sauce.  Whoo!

Katie

Albertson's Gift Card Deal

Albertson's is running a special on gift cards this week.  When you spend $100 on select gift cards you'll get a coupon for $20 off a $20 purchase good for the next 7 days.  That's $20 bucks for free folks!  The deal runs through Thursday, November 29.

The selection of gift cards for this deal is pretty good:
AMC Theaters
Applebees
Bass Pro Shops
iTunes
Groupon
Kohl's
Lowe's
Macaroni Grill
Macy's
Regal Cinemas
Sears

I picked up Macy's for a wedding gift and Regal Cinemas because we love movies around here.  And you'll definitely be seeing an Albertson's shopping trip this week when I use the $20!

Katie

Monday Menu Plan

We had more leftovers than expected last week so I have some overlap this week.  I'm still wanting to spend very little on groceries so I can put more toward Christmas. 

Lunches:
Monday -Nachos
Tuesday - Macaroni & Cheese (sitter)
Wednesday - Grilled Cheese
Thursday - Chicken Nuggets
Friday - Quesadilla
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - pbj

Dinners:
Monday - Beef Stew
Tuesday - turkey gravy/rice
Wednesday - Frozen Meal (mom gone)
Thursday - Frozen Meal (mom gone)
Friday - Frozen Meal (mom gone)
Saturday - quick & easy like hot dogs, finger food, or pizza
Sunday -  Pork Chops

Katie

Weekly Grocery Shopping - $46.40

This week's shopping wasn't very intentional, but I did need a few things for my Thanksgiving contributions.

I made a trip to Fred Meyer this week specifically to use a 25% off toy coupon for a pre-Black Friday sale.  Too bad bikes aren't toys after all, but sporting equipment. Doh!  Oh well, I picked up a few groceries anyway totaling $19.85.  I used my quarterly rewards voucher to save $6.31 so I only paid $13.54 out of pocket.

Frozen Veggies - $.79 each
Neufchatel Cheese - $1.00 each
Butter - $2.00 each
Cucumber - $.89
Creamer - $2.89
Celery - $.58/lb
Parsley - $.79
Sour Cream - $.99
Bananas - $.64/lb

Next up Top Foods for $33.48.  I had a wallet balance I didn't know about totaling $11.12 so I paid $22.36 out of pocket.

Sparkling Cider - $2.00 each (total splurge)
Pomegranate - $2.50 ($.50 MC) = $2.00  I LOVE coupons for fresh food!
Olives - $1.00 each
2# cheddar - $4.99
Butter - $1.88 each
Red Bell Peppers - $1.00 each
Parmesan Cheese - $2.50 each
Oranges - $1.29/lb
Apples - $1.29/lb

Finally, a quick stop at Albertsons to use double coupons.  I only bought a couple of grocery items totaling $10.50.

Ice cream - $3.00 each
Coffeemate - $3.00 ($.75/2 MC doubled) = $2.25 each

All three stores' groceries cost $63.83 but with the rebate & wallet balance I only paid $46.40.

Katie

Pizza Add-ons

We ordered pizza delivery the other night.  I was happy to accept the offer of crushed red peppers and parmesan cheese though we don't often use it on our pizza.  Instead I immediately add the crushed red peppers to my spice jar of the same and tuck the parmesan cheese into the fridge for future use on pasta or homemade pizza.  

I try not to accept things that will go to waste, but these routinely get used quickly so I receive them with gratitude.

Katie

Christmas Gift Wrap

Last year I vowed I wouldn't buy any gift wrap ever again.  The retail cost (even on sale) drove me crazy after so many years of living on a shoestring and having found so many alternatives over the years.  I don't know if "ever again" is really reasonable, but certainly I can wrap 95% of our gifts with 90% recycled materials. 

I wrapped my first batch of gifts this week for out-of-town family.  I'm trying to space out the shipping costs and this week I shipped one family's gifts.

I thought they looked OK for recycled packaging paper. 

The green raffia was $.17 and the two adornments were $.25 each at a Target clearance sale a couple of years ago.  I also am always on the lookout for small baubles to attach to gifts as well as any appropriate paper/ribbons I can recycle for giftwrapping purposes.

I may use some pinecones and plaid ribbon as well sometime this year.  We'll see.

Katie