No coupon previews up yet...

But if you're interested here is the link to The Coupon Clippers tracking page where the inserts are broke down by weekends.  This coming Sunday has three inserts - Proctor and Gamble, Smart Source and Red Plum (Valassis).

I hope there's some good ones out there!

Kroger ad highlights - 4/29 through 5/5

I think the grocery deal gods must be out to get me! I've found a lot of items I'd love to get stocked up on but there is only so much money to go around! I guess I'm going to have to prioritize!

Kroger's deals for this week include:
Ground chuck - $1.67 (3lb or larger)
Perdue boneless, skinless breasts - $1.97/lb
Driscoll's blackberries - 10/$10 (holy crap this is AWESOME - these are smaller 6oz clamshells but what a deal)
Kroger milk - $1.98
Kroger cheese - 2/$3
Ritz cracker/Coke deal - buy 3 Coke products, get 2 Ritz crackers free
33% off Ortega

10/$10 items (small list of what is on sale)
Country Crock
Pillsbury items (select)
Knorr sides
Green Giant or Kroger veggies
Armour LunchMakers
Eckrich bologna or loaf meat
Kroger bacon pieces (again - woohoo!)
McCormick's Grill Mates
Del Monte tomatoes

Marsh ad highlight - 4/29 to 5/5

Woohoo Marsh!  Looks like a great week - lots of B1G1 free items and 5/$5 and 10/$10 items (so basically $1/item) AND a produce sale on Saturday only.

Saturday ONLY produce sale:
Del Monte bananas - $.39/lb
In-husk Bi-color corn - 8ears/$2 (save $3.36 on eight)
Jumbo Vidalia onions - $.99/lb (save $1.00/lb)
Cluster red tomatoes - $1.48/lb (save up to $1.51/lb)
Dole sald mix - $1.26 (save up to $.73)
Jumbo Idaho baking potatoes - $.45/lb (save $.54/lb)
Bell peppers (red, yellow, orange) - 5/$5 (save $4.95 on five)

B1G1 FREE items
Sunbeam bread
Tiger Bay tilapia
Louis Kemp imitation crabmeat
Little Bites
Thomas' bagels
Crystal Light
Chi-Chi's salsa
Pop Secret
Emerald Nuts

5/$5 or 10/$10 items
Bar S Bologna
Eckrich Honey loaf
MaMa Rosa's pizzas
Armour LunchMakers
Blue Bunny or Edy's ice cream
Green Giant veggies
Totino's pizza rolls
Lipton sides
Del Monte fruit (SWEET!!!) - recent $.40 coupons will make for $.20 cans of fruit
Hamburger Helper - single helpings
Hershey's candy
Gatorade Thirst Quencher

And everything else...
Blue Bunny or Weight Watchers ice cream treats - 50% off
Perdue fresh chicken - 40% off
Sargento shredded cheese - $1.99 (save $2.50 or more)
Grape tomatoes - $1.99 (save $2.00)
Red Globe (with seeds) or Red or Blakc seedless grapes - $.99/lb (save $1.50/.b)
Lay's potato chips - 2/$4 (save $3.98 on two)
Hormel Always Tender pork loin filet - $6.99 (save $3.00) - matched with a $2.00 or $3.00 coupon that you can find sometimes (not sure if they are out now) this makes for a good deal
Keebler cookies - $1.99
Snack cracker (select brands) - $1.99
Kraft singles - 2/$3
Chex cereals or bars or Betty Crocker fruit snacks - $1.49 (when you buy four)
25% off Ortega
Mission Burrito tortillas - 2/$4 (match with recent $1.00 coupons in the Smart Source blinkie on the shelf)
Bounty or Charmin - $6.49
Aquafresh toothpaste - $.99 (save $1.40)
Jumbo green bell peppers or cucumbers - $.88/lb (save up to $.79/lb)

Stopped in at Kroger on Monday night...

I had a few coupons that matched up really well with some items on sale. 

5 Mentos gum was $7.95 for $2.25
10 Kroger bacon pieces (pre-cooked, we use 'em in salads and cheeseballs) was $22.90 for $10.00
2.26lb red grapes was $4.50 for $2.19
1 apricot preserves for $2.58
1 Dial soap was $1.89 for $.30

I spent $17.72 and saved $22.50 or 56%!

I was so excited to find the bacon pieces on sale - what a great deal!  I make this killer apricot cheeseball and the recipe requires bacon pieces so I'll have enough now to make it through the summer (I hope!).  And I sure do love getting Mentos gum (my fave) for only $.45 per bottle.  Love it!

So, I need a new topic for Tuesdays...

I've run out of other blogs to share!  Boo. 

I know there are probably hundreds of thousands millions of blogs that I could share here with you but the ones I check regularly, I've already shared with you.  Heck - there are only two I check daily Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom.  Other than those two...there's nothing else I check daily anymore.  I've kinda found my own groove and rhythm and don't depend so much on others for ideas and suggestions.  Those two though REALLY have it together and I love both of their blogs.

So...I'm going to spend the next few days thinking of something new to bring to you on Tuesdays!  Don't fear though, if I find another amazing blog - I'll be sure to share it!

I also shopped at Walmart yesterday... Shocked?

Yeah, me too. 

Actually, as much as I hate Walmart there are some times when I go there to get things that I just really need on a regular basis (you'll see what we got) that I have a really good coupon for and don't want to wait for a deal to roll around to use them.

So...we bought:
5 frozen banquet meals was $5.00 for $4.40
2 Corner Bistro subs was $5.48 for $3.48
4 Old Spice deodorants was $15.08 for $6.54
2 Always pads was $9.22 for $3.35
2 Tampax tampons was $10.84 for $1.87 (mis-rang by cashier, didn't notice until I got home...should be $4.88)
2 Vaseline Sheer Fusion was $13.94 for $6.44
1 24pk Coke Zero was $5.96 (?) for $5.00

I spent $34.30 and saved $38.88 in coupons...so just over 50%. I know that my spending should be a bit higher still, it was a pretty good trip!

Our weekly Marsh trip...

1 9ct Charmin was $9.18 for $6.49
1 Aunt Millie's bread was $2.99 for $1.29
2 NY Texas Toast croutons was $3.98 for $1.98
2 Karo syrup was $5.98 for $2.98
6 Hamburger Helper was $9.78 for $4.50
2 Shamrock Farms Refuel chocolate milk was $2.78 for FREE
4 Frank's Hot Sauce (small bottles) was $5.00 for $2.00
1 2lb clamshell strawberries was $5.99 for $2.97
3 1 1/2lb Perdue boneless skinless breasts was $13.25 for $3.90
4 Dentyne Ice gum was $3.87 for $1.92 (close-out - 50% off)

I spent $51.25 and saved $37.43 or 42% at Marsh. I went in with no plan (which I've been doing a LOT here lately and it's bad, bad, bad!) but still came out with $20.00 in the envelope (had some left from last week actually). My savings for this year at Marsh is up to $775.49 - which is running me about 40% or so.

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Parmesan Black Bean dip

It's Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom today.  Normally I don't participate in URS but today's topic is beans and I had to share my favorite bean dip!

I found this recipe on Kraft's website several years ago when I was looking for some dip recipes for cook-outs and get togethers.  Our house is the gathering house and so when we get together, it all happens at our house and I love to have plenty of stuff to serve. 

The Parmesan Black Bean dip is a five ingredient dip...gotta love that!

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup KRAFT Italian Pesto Dressing
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 jar (7 oz.) roasted red peppers (in brine), well drained, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced

And of course, this is a recipe from Kraft so they are going to recommend Kraft products.  I've made it with off brand items and had just as much luck (and normally use just plain Italian dressing...since we'll use it for other items).

You'll want to mash the beans up really good...  I mash the beans before adding the cheese or dressing (the recipe calls for mixing it all together).  I just put the beans into a shallow square bowl and use a fork to mash the crud out of them.  Then I mix in the cheese and dressing and then add the peppers and onions at the end.

We serve ours with Tostito LIME chips.  Oh my.  This is to die for in my book!  It isn't pretty (it's actually pretty darn scary looking) but it is so heavenly!  Even Kraft doesn't have a picture of it on it's website!  It really is a good, flavorful dip.  You can pair it with just about any cracker or chip even...  The lime flavoring on the lime chips really gives it a kick though.

Enjoy!

Sunday coupon preview - 4/25 has two inserts

Be on the lookout for a Smart Source and a Valassis (Red Plum) insert in this Sunday's papers.  I've linked up to The Coupon Clipper's list of coupons below.

Smart Source
Smart Source (page 2)
     If you're looking for cleaning products, there are several Lysol coupons on here and you can bet that within the next few weeks Meijer will have Lysol products for 50% off getting you some cheap cleaning stuff.  Be sure to clip these if you need to stock up!

Valassis (Red Plum)

And looking ahead, there will be three inserts on May 2nd - a Smart Source, Valassis (Red Plum) and a Proctor and Gamble (P&G)...so if you're just looking to get started, that might be a good weekend to grab a paper!

Booking It 2010

San Diego Serenade
Another romantic historic novel by Kathleen Fuller.  Another quick, predictable read.  It was done in a day - these are sometimes my favorite books though.  Sometimes I need something quick and easy that doesn't take a lot of thought!

Cat and Mouse
Okay, so I've often said if James Patterson shows up on my doorstep and asks me to leave with him - I'd be gone.  He writes excellent books and I love, love, love reading them.  It doesn't matter if I've read it once (or even two or three times prior) - I'm always on the edge of my seat while reading his stuff!  I think having a conversation with him would be amazing - although sometimes I think I'm not sure I'd want to know how his mind works!  The next one in his Alex Cross group is Pop Goes the Weasel which I just so happen to have in my own bookcase!

House Rules
Ohmygosh.  I LOVE Jodi Picoult.  Seriously.  She is amazing.  Yes, many of her books have the same premise (a crazy medical/personal battle/issue and a court case and being told by several different people) but she truly makes me devour a book.  532 pages?  Yep - done in just a matter of days.  I started it on a Thursday evening (like 9:30, read for 30 minutes) and didn't get to read at all hardly on Friday or Saturday.  I picked it up hardcore Sunday though and did nothing Monday evening but read.  It's times like those when I'm extra thankful my momma feeds my kiddo before I pick her up and that she can entertain herself!  I read from 7:00 to 9:00 and did little else...  Then after bedtime I read for another hour and a half and ta-da!  All done.  If you're a Jodi Picoult fan, then be sure you check this one out too.  I had to be on the waiting list at our library...I think it was between two and four weeks before I got it.

Wild at Heart
Another book off the Dave Ramsey suggested reading list... I've found that a lot of the books on the list REALLY make me think and this one is no exception.  This one is by John Eldredge and while I've actually been working on it for over two weeks now...it is a really good book!  I love a good non-fiction book but when books like Cat and Mouse and House Rules get into my hands, the non-fiction always gets set aside.  Anyways, the subtitle to this book is Discovering the Secret's of a Man's Soul and it dives in deep.  I've actually taken quite a few notes on this book as I've read through it.  Things it asks me to consider (about my husband and even myself) and for the male reader to ask oneself.  I've only got 60 pages or so to go and hope to finish it up by the end of this week.

So what's next on my list?  Kurt and Brenda Warner's First Things First:  The Rules of Being a Warner.  I'm not quite sure how I stumbled upon this one, but I did so it's on the list.  Also there is another book from the Dave Ramsey list by Meg Meeker and The Sharper the Knife, the Less you Cry by Kathleen Flinn (on the recommendation of another Booking It blogger!).  And I'm thinking I need to add an "old school" book in there too - something like The Color Purple or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.  It just might depend on what is on my shelf in the back room.

Marsh ad highlights - 4/22 through 4/28

Marsh is gearing up for graduation already! It seems so early in the year but really...it's not so far away for the Class of 2010. Look for deals on cakes, veggie trays, fruit trays, deli meat trays, seafood trays and even a boneless wing tray. I have no idea if these prices are a good deal or not but take this ad with you when you shop other places so you have the numbers right in front of you!

What else can you pick up?
Hamburger Helper - 10/$10 (save $6.30 or more on ten)
Food Club bottled water - $2.99 (save $.98 - not their lowest price but a good price still)
Perdue split breasts - $.88/lb (save $2.11/lb, limit three)
2lb clamshell strawberries - $2.97 (save $4.02)
Wonder Bread - B1G1 free (save $2.49 on two)
Kraft cheese - 2/$4
Eckrich deli ham - $4.49/lb (save $1.50/lb)
New York garlic toast - 2/$4
Kellogg's cereals - $1.69
Keebler crackers or cookies - $1.99
Kool-Aid - B1G1 free
Taco Bell - 25% off
Betty Crocker potatoes or Suddenly Salad - 10/$10
Texax Toast croutons - 5/$5
Charmin or Bounty - $6.49 (and there's coupons out for both, only $.25 each but that'll save another $.50!)

And that's it for me. Slim pickings again this week, although I'm glad to see the paper products on sale, we'll be needing some of that stuff!

Another website to share...

Since we've bought our new computer, I STILL haven't had a chance to get onto the old one and find all of my old favorite links to the websites I followed.  I've been sticking really close to Money Saving Mom, Life as Mom and Bargain Briana.  So, I don't have a deal website to share.

What I do have though is Living Like No One Else.  If any of you have followed any of my previous posts about Dave Ramsey or follow him yourself, this is going to be a phrase you've heard before.

LLNOE is a FREE website/chatroom for those who follow Dave Ramsey's plan and need a plan to ask questions and see how other people are working the plan.  I love it because it is great, I can participate (or not) when I want to and there are so many other people out there doing the exact same thing I am...it gives me encouragement to see what others have been able to accomplish.

If you're working to become debt free and haven't picked up Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover or gone to his Financial Peace University classes, I would highly, highly, highly recommend them.  Heck...I'd even be willing to cover part of your costs (to purchase a book or attend the class) if you need help.  So, let me know if I can do anything to help.  In the meantime, check out LLNOE to get some great FREE advice!

Had to stop by Kroger yesterday...had a rain check to follow up on!

I've mentioned before that I stop at Kroger sometimes after work or whatever to pick up a few things that might get me excited.  Well, a few weeks ago I was SUPER excited to see 40oz Crisco vegetable or canola oil at 2/$3...that's an amazing price (and by the time I got there to buy some they were out and I had to get a raincheck).  To get the knock-off brand at Marsh is normally $2.48 each, so a name brand for $1.50 each is great.  These were marked on the shelf at $4.54 each.  I got them for $1.50 each.  I saved $3.04 PER bottle.  Needless to say I bought EIGHT bottles (yes eight).  What should have cost me $36.32 only cost me $12.00, a savings of just over 66%.  Dang.  I like it.

I also picked up:
5 Banquet sausage links was $9.90 for $.90 (yep, only $.18/box) - these are GREAT for breakfasts while camping!
4 Uncle Ben's Ready Rice was $10.16 for $6.76 (not a fabulous price but better than what we normally pay)

I also picked up some Kraft slices for $2.00 each...again not a great price but okay for me.

So, I spent $27.54 and according to the receipt saved $15.40 or 35% BUT because of the way rain checks are rang, that doesn't factor into the savings.  So my savings was more like $39.72 or closer to 60% total savings.  Love it!

Weekly grocery shopping...

Well, it wasn't beautiful and it wasn't ugly.  It just was.  Neither of us were very impressed with the Marsh (or Kroger!) ad so we just went for what we needed really.

6 Food Club shredded cheese was $16.14 for $9.00

Psh.  Is it sad that that's my one "deal" of the trip?  Probably so.  We bought more items...another 30 to be exact but that includes our normal purchases of items like milk, yogurt, fresh fruit and veggies, a few canned items, two packs of taco seasoning (yeah, yeah - I should consider making my own), lunch meat and...yep, you guessed it - cheddar pasta salad from the deli.

In total we spent $50.82 and saved $19.62 (or 28%).  Nothing exciting or awesome or out of this world.  Just a normal grocery trip for us.  I think I've fallen off the deal getting wagon or something.  I must need to find my way back up!

Week of 3/12 through Week of 4/2 grocery budget

3/12 Marsh - 13.49, saved 3.56 (21%)
3/13 Marsh - 21.39, saved 0.00
3/14 Toys R Us - 26.74, saved 0.00
3/14 Marsh - 37.78, saved 23.08 (38%)
3/14 Walmart - 10.67, saved 0.00
3/14 Menards - 60.49, saved 0.00
3/15 Kroger - 9.90, saved 5.80 (36%)
3/21 Marsh - 96.22, saved 96.55 (50%)
3/28 Marsh - 42.10, saved 56.65 (57%)
3/29 Walmart - 26.17, saved 11.00 + price matching on Cokes
4/3 Aldi - 30.82, saved 0.00 - reimbursed $12.00 from Grandma for buying her ham
4/4 Marsh - 49.05, saved 34.39 (41%)
4/5 Kroger - 28.47, saved 16.40 (36%)
4/8 CVS - 3.34, saved 5.00 (?%) - used gift card

Total spent: 456.63
Paid paid/gift card/from savings: 102.57
Actual spent: 354.06
Total saved: 252.43
saved appx 42%

So I'm back to having gone over the grocery budget.  I know that Dave's plan says that if you go over, that means you have to pull from another envelope but that's not how we work it.  Because both of our pays can fluctuate weekly (as hourly employees) we put the "extra" from our checks into savings and then at the end of the month, if we haven't had to use it to make up our checks, we use it to make a larger payment on whatever we are working on paying off...so there is always a little extra money in our savings account to cover when I go "over".  We've talked about rasing the grocery budget from $75/week to $100/week but I want to keep trying to make the $75 work.  Here's hoping!

I don't think I'll be purchasing an Indy Star for coupons this weekend...

Don't get me wrong - there's coupons in there but not anything that I'm really excited about.

Check out The Coupon Clippers' Valassis/Red Plum insert here and their Smart Source insert here.  There are several high value coupons out there this weekend, just not anything I'd normally purchase.

Happy Shopping!

Marsh ad highlights - 4/15 to 4/21

The front page of the Marsh ad is all about lower prices on Food Club, Valu Time and Top Care items! The one thing that has me stoked? Food Club cheese at 2/$3! That's dang cheap shredded cheese and it freezes beautifully. We'll be stocking up on it for sure...

Also lookin' good at Marsh is:
Boneless Top Round London Broil - $1.98/lb (save $3.01/lb)
Western Style pork ribs - $.98/lb (save $1.21/lb)
Bone-In Ribeye steaks - $5.98/lb (save $4.01/lb) - a little pricey for my tastes still but this is a decent price!
Red cluster tomatoes - $1.48/lb (save $1.51/lb) - once again, I see home made salsa in my future!
Thompson Seedless or Red Globe grapes - $1.28/lb (save $1.21/lb)
6-pack Pepsi 24oz bottles - 4/$10 (save $9.16 on four) - limit one
Tyson boneless/skinless breasts - $4.98/lb (save $4.01/lb) - I usually buy fresh breasts but these are nice to have in the freezer for a quick meal
Perdue thighs or drumsticks - $.98/lb (save $1.01/lb)
Breyers ice cream - 50% off

And that's it for me. There's several 10/$10 items and B1G1 free items in the middle of the ad - be sure to check 'em out!

Oh and sorry for the delay, Brian ended up not working last night and I always get thrown out of whack when he's here during the week. 

This isn't exactly a blog but I found a really cool tool!

In the midst of my Total Money Makeover with Dave Ramsey, I've wanted to try and figure what my debt snowball would be (without paying the monthly fee at TMMO to do so) and found this AWESOME calculator.  Basically you list your debts, the balances, the interest rates and the monthly payments and then plug in the amount you pay on them each month (just the amount or add extra to see how it changes) and it will calculate for you when you will be debt free. 

This calculator tells Brian and I that we'll be debt free (except our mortgage) in July of 2011 - that's only 15 months until we can call Dave Ramsey and scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!"  Which is a moment I can hardly wait for...

Vertex42.com's "goal is to help people manage their time, their finances, and their careers, by providing simple tools in the form of high quality spreadsheet templates, calculators, calendars, resumes, and articles that are designed to educate and increase productivity."  Wow...what more could a person ask for!?  This website is full of amazing spreadsheets (and if you're any sort of nerd like I am, you'll totally love them). 

Enjoy the calculator and anything else you find - I'm sure there is something out there for everyone!

And I hit up Kroger last week too... I don't think I shared this trip though.

2 gallons Kroger milk was $4.98 for $4.00
6 1lb/4stick Kroger butter was $13.74 for $10.00 ($1.67 is pretty darn cheap for butter)
3 Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips was $10.11 for $5.97
2 Gold Medal 5lb flour was $5.68 for $3.00
4 Post Cocoa Pebbles was $10.36 for $6.00

All totaled, I spent $28.47, saved $16.40 or 36%. The cereal wasn't that good of a deal (I've gotten it cheaper) but I REALLY wanted it and today my "want" won over.

I also picked up a rain check for Crisco 48oz oil. I'm not sure of the normal shelf price but it was on sale 2/$3 which is CHEAP oil. Go get some if you haven't! Find a great deal and don't have Kroger? Don't forget you can always price match at Walmart!

Here's a recent CVS trip I took...

1 Almay eye shadow $7.99 (no sale even, ouch!)
used $2.00 manu coupon
used $3.00 ECBs

Final price: $3.34
And I used gift card from getting a new prescription - so no cash out of pocket for me really!

And I saved 62%.  Who doesn't love cheap make-up!  Now if I could just use it and like it...  I'm not sure I'm digging the colors so much.  Bummer.