Kid's & Holiday Consignment Sale Friday & Saturday

A great consignment sale coming up this weekend. While the majority is kids clothes and toys, there is also lots of home decor (especially holiday decor),and adult clothing.

Jenkins Cumberland Presbyterian Church

2501 York Road

Nolensville, TN 37135

Friday, October 2, 8am - 4pm

Saturday October 3, 8am - 4pm (after 12pm 1/2 price sale)

$5.00 Menu

Oops! I did it again! (did I just quote Britney Spears?) I forgot to post my menu.

I aim for $5.00 a meal, sometimes I'm a little over. I calculate the main ingredients prices and round up for smaller ingredients such as spices. I am able to make most dinners for $5.00 or less because of my coupon shopping and stockpiling.

Sunday -- Veggie Burgers and frenchfries $3.00

Monday -- Pasta and Bean skillet with corn muffins $5.00

Tuesday -- Veggie night! Green beans, corn, boiled potatoes, sliced tomatoes, $2.00

Wednesday -- Spaghetti Broccoli Bake w/ crescent rolls $2.00

Thursday -- Teriyaki Veggies and rice (I'm going to see if I can figure out how to make this in the crock pot -- I'll let you know if I'm successful) $2.00

Friday -- Dance Class! Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches $2.00

Saturday -- Vegetable Stew with Herb dumplings $5.00

Sunday -- leftovers

For more great menus visit orgjunkie.com

Grocery Finals

This week was a much lighter week than last. I went to 2 stores. Well, actually 3, but I only bought milk from Kroger so I'm barely counting that one. But, I ended up making multiple trips to Publix. I've got to get back to my one shopping trip a week plan. The cashiers are beginning to know me too well.

Publix highlights #1

5 Quaker Oats
$1.33 ea
- $3/5 Printable
= .73 ea

4 Dole Fruit Cup 4-packs
Sale Price: $1.14 ea
- .50/1 printable (play game)
= .14 ea

5 Smart Balance Butter Sticks
Sale Price: 1.75
- $1.50/1 from RP 9/13
= .25 ea

2 Mt. Olive Pickles
Sale Price: $1.10
- $1/1 q from RP 8/16
= .10 ea

2 NY Texas Toast
Sale Price: $ 1.64 ea
- .50/1 q from Sept All You & Kroger Mailer (doubled)
= .64 ea

2 Publix Colas
Sale Price: .50 ea

4 Campbells Select Soup
Sale Price: $1.20 ea
- .40/2 q from SS 9/20
= .80 ea

5 Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables
Sale Price $1.25 ea
- .50 q from SS 9/13 doubled
= .25 ea

4 Clorox Bleach
Sale Price: $1.66
- .50/1 q from "One Stop One Store" Publix Booklet
= .24 ea*
*note: there was an issue with my sale. The register did not ring up the sale price. I took my order to Customer service where they refunded me the full price of one jug and gave me the difference on the others. They didn't care that I had used a coupon for all of them (I think she didn't want to bother digging through the cashiers drawer for it), so with the extra coupon, it made each jug .24 each

Post Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Pecans
Sale Price: 1.95
- $2/1 printable
= FREE

Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal
Sale Price: $2.50
- FREE coupon from Vocalpoint
= FREE

5 Purina One Cat Food
Sale Price: $5.00
- $3/1 q from 9/13
- $2/1 Target printable
= FREE

TOTAL FOR ALL PUBLIX TRIPS: 36.32

Aldi (sorry forgot to take a pic)
2 Granola Cereal $1.99
Cucumbers .49 ea
Bananas .31/lb
Zucchini 1.69 for 3
Tomatoes 1.69 for 3
Cottage Cheese 1.99
TOTAL: 12.32

GRAND TOTAL FOR WEEK W/ TAX: $50.84 Whew! Back on track!

Ferdinand the Bull at Nashville Public Library

One of my favorite childhood stories will be coming alive in the Nashville Ballet's newest children's program.

Based on The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, you will find yourself charmed by a lovable bull that would much rather sit and smell the flowers of the field than fight and fuss like all the others.

Nashville Public Library (Main Library-Downtown)

Saturday, September 26

10:30 & 11:30 am

Main auditorium on 1st floor

Cost: FREE!

Based upon my previous experiences with this productions, you should probably plan to get there 10 -15 minutes early to ensure a good seat (or a seat at all). But it's worth the trouble!

Big Neighborhood Garage Sale - Saturday

If you're in the Cane Ridge area on Saturday, check out the Hidden Creek Neighborhood Garage Sale. There will be many homes participating.

New Kroger Coupon Book

Kroger has a new coupon book out. I found mine at the pharmacy. There is a combination of store and manufacturer's coupons. They all expire 12/31/09.

Some of the coupons include:
$2/1 Claritin 10ct
.75/1 Kroger brand Aspirin
$1/1 Promise spreads
.75/ 1 Laura's Lean ground round
.50/1 Naturally Preferred Enhanced Water
.55/1 Private Selection Organic salad
$1/1 Colgate Total
.45/1 Half Gallon Active Lifestyle Milk
$1/1 Ban Deoderant

And several more.

Thrifty Recipes: Broccoli, Potato, and Cheese Soup

First a little background on this meal. My 4 year old will hardly ever eat a vegetable. I'm told this is typical of this age, but very difficult for me, the mom, who is trying to teach her child health eating. She most of all, HATES broccoli. She will run out of the room if I tell her we're having broccoli in a meal. But, a few weeks ago while out to lunch with my parents, she had Broccoli cheese soup, and LOVED it! She's been asking me to make it ever since.


I am a big fan of crockpot cooking. Two reasons, 1.) I can throw stuff together in the morning and not have to think about dinner until it's time to serve it. 2.) Crockpots take a lot less energy than an oven raging at 350 degrees to cook a casserole for an hour or more.


I found this recipe in one of my favorite books, Fix-It and Forget-It, Lightly. There is a whole series of these crockpot books. I highly recommend getting one if you don't already.

I was able to pull off this recipe for about $4.00 using ingredients that I've stockpiled from my extreme couponing. The potatoes came from a 5lb bag that I got for .98. The Velveeta came from a block I got for $2.87 (I only used a third of the block for this recipe). And the broccoli was $1.00 a bag.


Here is the recipe for Broccoli, Potato, and Cheese Soup from Fix-It and Forget-It, Lightly

2 cups cubed or diced potatoes

3 Tbsp. chopped onions

10 oz pkg of frozen broccoli cuts, thawed

2 Tbsp butter melted

1 Tbsp flour

1 cup of cubed Velveeta Light cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

5 1/2 cups fat-free milk

1. Cook potatoes and onions in boiling water in saucepan until potatoes are crisp tender. Drain. Place in Slow cooker.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Stir together.

3. Cover. Cook on low 4 hours.


Ironically, this is not a favorite of mine. But, my anti-broccoli child ate it up. And the hubs liked it. So, it's probably a keeper.


If you have good ways of getting an anti-vegetable child to eat veggies, let me know!

$5.00 Menu

Oops! I forgot to post my menu!

I aim for $5.00 a meal, sometimes I'm a little over. I calculate the main ingredients prices and round up for smaller ingredients such as spices. I am able to make most dinners for $5.00 or less because of my coupon shopping and stockpiling.

Sunday -- Vegetable Soup and Grilled Cheese sandwiches $3.00

Monday -- No Bake Ziti $3.00

Tuesday -- Broccoli Potato cheese soup (from the fix it an forget it cookbook) $4.00

Wednesday -- Chili Cheese Biscuit Pies & mixed veggies $4.00

Thursday -- Veggie Burgers and frenchfries $3.00

Friday -- Pizza $3.00

Saturday -- Black bean tacos $3.00

For more great menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com

Grocery Finals

What a week for grocery shopping! Between the triples at Harris Tetter and Kroger and the Mega Deal at Kroger, I lost count of my shopping trips this week. Thankfully, I've temporarily increased our grocery budget to allow me to stock up. In all, I visited 5 stores! And I visited Kroger 3 times.

Here are the highlights:

Mega Deal Items (buy 10 participating items get $5.00 off order). In all, I did the mega deal 5 times. These were not all done in one transaction. The Mega Deal continues this week, if you missed it.

4 Bagelfuls
Sale Price: $1.49
- 1.00 coupon
= .49 ea

6 Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Sale Price: .99
- $1/2 coupon from RP 8/09 (now expired) & Kroger Home mailer
= .49 ea


2 Velveeta Cheese blocks
Sale Price: $3.89
- $1.00 coupon from RP 8/09 (now expired)
= $2.89 ea


6 Kraft Cheese Shreds
Sale Price: $1.49
- $1/2 coupon from RP 8/09(now expired) & Kroger Home mailer
= .99 ea

9 Jello Pudding Mix
= Sale Price: .79
- $1.25/3 Dessert Products from coupon book on Maxwell House Coffee Cans
= .37 ea


4 Juicy Juice
= Sale Price: 1.99
- $1/2 coupon printable & Kroger Home Mailer
= $1.49 ea


3 DiGiorno Pizzas
= Sale Price: $3.97
- $1/1 from SS 6/14
= $2.97 ea


6 Hot Pockets
= Sale Price: $1.49 ea
- (2) .50/1 printable (no longer available) & (2) .50/2 RP 9/13 tripled
= FREE - .75 ea


2 Laffy Taffy
= Sale Price: $1.50 ea
- $1/2 Kroger Mailer
= $1.00 ea

5 Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Morsels
= Sale Price: $1.99
- .50 RP 9/13 tripled
= .49 ea

4 Energizer Batteries 4-pack (not part of Mega deal)
= Sale Price: 2.25
- .75 coupon from tear pad at Kroger, tripled & 1.00 Shortcut E-coupon
= FREE (should have had overage but cashier had a problem with it, and took off one of my paper coupons - can't complain, still got it for free, just had to pay tax)

for the rest of my triple deals, go here.

Total w/ Tax: $62.30



HARRIS TEETER

TOTAL OOP w/ TAX: $1.87

For a breakdown of what I did, go here

PUBLIX (sorry no picture):

10 Del Monte Canned Vegetables
Sale Price: .64 ea
- $1.00/5 q from RP 9/20
= .44 ea

4 Cascadian Organic French fries
Sale Price: $2.00
- $1/1 Printable & Printable
= $1.00 ea

1 Publix Soda
Reg Price: .79

1 Pedigree Dog Food
Sale Price: $16.99
Ugh! No coupons! Please Pedigree! Put out some more Dog Food coupons!

Publix Coffee
.01 Penny Item

Total OOP w/ Tax: 30.02

ALDI
Sorry no pic

3 bags Baby Carrots .99
2 Cantaloupe .99
2 Cucumbers .49 ea
3 Romaine lettuce 1.99
3 Tomatoes .56 ea
1 lbBananas .33 lb
Onions $1.49 for 3lbs
Pamasian Cheese $2.39
Tortillas $.99

TOTAL OOP W/ TAX: 16.84

Apple Market

2 loaves of Pepperidge Farm Bread .50 ea
1 1/2 gallon milk $1.89
TOTAL OOP W/ TAX: $3.11

GRAND TOTAL: $114.14 WOW! I've not spent that much in a LONG time. But, got to get the deals when you can.

Used Book Sale at Edmondson Pike Library

The Edmondson Pike Libary will be holding a used book sale this weekend.

Saturday, Sept 19 10am - 3pm

Sunday, Sept 20 2 pm - 4:30pm

5501 Edmondson Pike

Nashville, TN 37211

615.880.3957

map it

My New Blog look!

Hello!

I'm very happy to reveal my NEW blog design. I decided that it was time for a little change.


I've also added a "contact me" button so that you can easily contact me with questions or comments, and a subscription feature so that my posts can be emailed to you in a daily email summary.


This custom design was developed by Blog Makeovers by Tara (different Tara). Check out her site if you're interested in getting your own blog makeover or Twitter background.


Have a Great Weekend!

Harris Teeter and Kroger Triples

Harris Teeter is doing triple coupons this week and some area Kroger stores (the ones nearest HT) are also tripling.

I did an early trip to try to snag some items before they were wiped out. I'm not done with my shopping for the week, I'll post my totals later.

Here's what I got at Harris Teeter:

Betty Crocker Frosting
Price $1.50
- .50 q from GM insert?
= FREE

Mahatma Rice 3lb
Sale Price: $2.00
- .75 q printable tripled
= FREE

Glass Plus
Sale Price $1.39
- .50q from SS 8/23 tripled
= FREE

Clabber Girl Baking Powder
Price: 1.79
- .45 q printable
= .14

Pop Secret Popcorn
Price: $1.00
- .50/2 q from SS 8/16
= .25 ea

Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
Price 1.77
- .55 q from 6/28 SS
= .12

Ortega Taco Seasoning
Price: .99
- .75/2 q from 9/13 SS
= FREE

Clorox Wipes
Sale Price $1.64
- .50 manu. q from Publix "One Store One Stop" booklet
= .14

Wacky Mac
Sale Price: $1.39
- .75 printable
= FREE

Comet Cleanser
Sale Price: .75
- .35 q from 8/2 SS
= FREE

Kotex Pantiliners
Price: $1.29
- .75 q from 8/23 SS
= FREE



KROGER: I got many things including enough things to get the mega deal $5.00 off 4 times, but I've listed just the items I used triple coupons on:

Bunny Bread
Price: $1.00
- .25 q from 8/2 SS
= .25

Hunts Canned Tomatoes
Price: $1.00
- .75/3 Printable
= .25 ea

Dole Jarred Fruit
Price: $2.52
- .55 8/23 SS
= .87

Dole Fruit Cups
Price: $2.20
- .75/2 8/23 SS
= 1.07 ea

Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chips
Price: $1.99 MEGA SAVINGS PRICE
- .50 q from 9/13 RP
= .49 ea

Hot Pockets
Price: $1.49 MEGA SAVINGS PRICE
- .50/2 q from 9/13 RP
= .74 ea
note: there was also a .50/1 printable that came out in August that is no longer available. It would be free if you still have any of those.

Colgate Kid's Toothpaste
Sale Price: $2.50
-.75 q from 8/30 SS
= .25

Dial Liquid handsoap
Sale Price: $1.00
- .55 printable or .35 from 8/16 SS
= FREE

Coupons in Nashville Parent

Go here for a page of coupons offered by local businesses in Nashville Parent Magazine.

There are coupons for:

B1G1 at Tast D Lite

$2 off $10 or $5 off 25 at Fulins

$5 off $25 purchase at Once Upon a Child in M'boro (my personal fave)

and many more!

These coupons are also available in the magazine that can be picked up for FREE all around town. Most grocery stores carry it in their front lobby. This month there is a great article about Coupon Moms and lists several coupon mom blogs.

Happy reading and couponing!

Have you tried FreeCycle?

Check out my FREE cookbooks! How did I land 10 Free cookbooks? I am a member of FreeCycle.

FreeCycle is a group of people who will offer their "no longer needed or wanted" items for free to others who may have a use for them. I've seen everything on there, from notebook paper to furniture and appliances. It's a way to keep usuable goods out of the landfills or your attic.

The way it works is: a person has an item(s) that they no longer want, but know someone else may like. They simply post it and any details (including the area of town they are in). Then they wait for an emailed request for it. In the case of my cookbooks, I emailed the owner, we set a time for me to go by her house, and she had the books setting on her front porch. Wallah! I had 10 new cookbooks and hundreds of new recipes to try.

Here are some things to know about FreeCycle:

* When you sign up, you have the option to get the posts individually or in a daily digest. I recommend getting them individually or else you will miss out on some good stuff. Things go fast! Of course they do, its FREE!

* You can request items on Freecycle. I've never personally done it, so I'm not sure how successful people are at getting items they request. But, this is really meant as a opportunity to give away stuff.

* You will have to be approved by the moderators before you start receiving posts, but it's no big deal, they really do that to keep spammers and other advertisers out of the group.

To get started, go here. Search for your city. You will have to sign up for an account and pick a user name. As I stated earlier you will have to wait to be approved by a moderator, but that usually only takes a day.

$10 Off coupon for Junior Fashions at Sears

Got a teenager always asking for new clothes? Go here for a $10 off any Junior's Fashion purchase. The coupon is good 9/15 through 11/14 and there's no minimum purchase! Pair this with a sale or clearance item, and you could get a free clothing item!

$5.00 Menu

I always aim for $5.00 a meal, sometimes I'm a little over. I calculate the main ingredients prices and round up for smaller ingredients such as spices. I am able to make most dinners for $5.00 or less because of my coupon shopping and stockpiling.

This week, my frugal challenge is to NOT use the oven at all. conserve electricity. You will see several crock pot recipes in my menu, probably many more in up-coming weeks. One of the best cookbooks for crockpot cooking is the Fix It and Forget It Series. Check it out here if you don't have it.

Sunday: Pasta Salad, cut up veggies $2.00

Monday: End of Summer Harvest Soup in Crock Pot $4.00

Tuesday: Veggie Helper $2.00

Wednesday: Mexican Rice & Beans (from Fix It & Forget It Lightly Cookbook) $4.00

Thursday: Breakfast for Dinner! Eggs & Pancakes $2.00

Friday: Veggie Burgers & Fries $3.50

Saturday: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter & Green Salad (I will use frozen ravioli) $3.00

For more great menu ideas go to orgjunkie.com

Recycling 101

Since mentioning that we usually only have 1 kitchen bag of trash a week, I've been asked how we recycle most of our trash. I thought I'd share my process.

I start out by keeping a small trash can that can fit in a cabinet. I rinse or wash out any food particles first, and then I place all glass, aluminum, plastic and paper that can be recycled in this can. It's small so we have to empty it every other day or two days. Keeping this small can in the kitchen makes it easier to collect recyclable without running out to the big recycle bin all the time. I also have a basket under my coffee table that keeps newspapers, magazines and other paper.

Our main recycle bin is kept in the garage by the door (easy access). We bought this 3 bin organizer at Target a few years ago for about $30.00. You may be able to find one cheaper now, I recently saw them on clearance at Big Lots for $10. It's very durable and has been well worth the money. We use it to organize and divide our recyclables; one drawer for plastic, glass and aluminum, one for plastic bags, and one for paper. I've started using re-usable bags for grocery shopping, so we will probably soon re-assign that drawer to something else (probably divide the plastic or glass out of the top drawer). When the drawers/bins are full, we simply pull them out, load them in the car to drop at a recycling center.

There are many Recycle Drop-Off Locations and 3 Recycle Convenience Centers in Metro Nashville. The Recycling Convenience Centers also will accept items such as regular household trash, mattresses, old furniture. The center in East Nashville will accept hazardous household waste like old batteries, paint, and computer monitors.

These are other middle Tennnessee counties that have recycling programs that I found:

Williamson

Rutherford

Robertson

Robertson - White House

Sumner

Wilson

By recycling most of our trash and composting alot of our food scraps, we have been able to cut the amount of actual trash to about 1 kitchen bag a week. This is not only enviromentally friendly but also frugal. We don't use many trashbags. We also recently stopped our trash pickup service, it seemed silly to pay someone to come pick up one bag of trash a week. Now we will just dump that trash when we take our recycling to one of the convenience centers.

Of course, our system is not for everyone. But, I hope you will be inspired to find some ways to reduce your trash output.

Do you have a different way of recycling or frugal way to cut household costs? Let me know! I'm always looking for new and inventive ideas.

Weekly Grocery Finals

Not a bad week for deals at the grocery. I shopped 2 stores, but made 2 trips to 2 different Krogers trying to find the last of the 16 oz frozen veggies that were 1 for $1.00.

And, I did something I have never done before! I purchased coupons from EBay! There was a great deal on our favorite pasta sauce at Publix this week, but the coupon needed was not in our paper. I found the coupons on Ebay. Purchased 15 for $1.75 + free shipping. The coupons doubled, making a total savings of $15.00. It was worth the $1.75 to me. Here's what I got:

Publix highlights:

4 Green Giant Frozen Vegetables
Sale: $1.00 ea
- .50 coupon printable
= FREE

2 Planters Granola
Sale $1.99 BOGO
- $2.00/1 FLIP Printable
= FREE

4 Lender's Bagels
Sale $1.79 BOGO
- .75 coupon from "Toss for Cash" Publix booklet
= .15 ea

15 Newman's Own Pasta Sauce
Sale $2.69 BOGO
- .50 (doubled) q from 8/23 RP (or purchased from EBay)
= .34 ea

2 Country Crock Spread
Sale $1.00
- .55 printable
= .45 ea

4 Healthy Choice Frozen Meals
Sale $2.50
- 2.00 Printable
= .50 ea

1 8th Continent Soy Milk
Regular Price $2.50
- 2.00 Printable (no longer available)
= .50

Total OOP w/ Tax: $11.24

Kroger Highlights:

(sorry for such a bad picture!)

1 Single Roll Bounty Paper Towels
Sale: $1.00
- .25 coupon (doubled) from PG 8/30 AND .25 e-coupon
= .25

17 Bags assorted Kroger Frozen Vegetables
Sale: $1.00
= 1.00 ea

1 1/2 gallon of Kroger Milk
Markdown: $1.09
= $1.09

2 Kroger Granola Cereal
Sale: $1.67
= $1.67 ea

2 lb Red Grapes
Sale: .99/lb
= $1.98

1 Seedless Watermelon
Sale: $2.99 ea
= $2.99

Total OOP w/ Tax: 28.76

GRAND TOTAL FOR WEEK: $40.00 Exactly! I can't believe that! I've never hit it on the nose before!

Ideal Bite & Marie Digby's New Album

Have you been to Ideal Bite? It's a great site that offers lots of tips to be earth friendly and where to get earth friendly products. Right now, if you sign up for their newsletter, you can win Marie' Digby's new album, "Breathing Underwater".

Big Week for Newspaper Inserts!

This week will be a great week to buy extra papers because Sunday's paper is expected to have FIVE inserts. Go here for a list of the coupons expected. Remember, these preview lists are often regional, so you may not have all them locally.

I always check my delivered paper first to make sure that it's worth going out to buy extras.

Panera Bread Freebies on September 10

Whoo! Hoo! My FAVORITE bakery/restaurant.....

Thursday, September 10, Panera Bread is giving free samples of their fall goodies. Items listed are: Breakfast Power Sandwich, Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich, BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, Macadamia Nut Blondie or Fudge Brownie.

You will probably want to call your local Panera just to confirm they are participating.

Happy Snacking!

Simple Shoes Free Shipping Offer

Simple Shoes, an Eco-friendly shoe company is having free shipping on any purchase for a limited time. Currently they have kids shoes on sale for as low as $4.99 and adults for $7.99.

Simple shoes are made out of sustainable materials like hemp, jute, organic cotton and more. While you probably won't find many shoes that would be acceptable in a traditional office -- I found no high heels or pumps! You may find a good deal on a pair of sneakers or other casual shoe.

Publix Penny Item List

I ran across this spreadsheet that someone from Hot Coupon World is keeping. It's a list by week of the Publix Penny Item for the past 3 years. You'll see that sometimes they mix it up, but it's often the same product for the same week each year.

At the very least, you can get a good idea of all the products that are offered in the penny promotion.

I've also added this link to my sidebar for future reference.

Home Depot Do It Herself Workshop

Is your Honey do list getting long because your "honey" finds other stuff to do? Mine sometimes does and I often think, "I could do this myself." Great News! Home Depot is offering a Do It Herself Workshop.

Thursday, September 24

7:00- 8:30 pm

This class will offer tips in Kitchen remolding, like cabinet refinishing, replacing a sink and faucets and more. You will get a 10% off coupon for Home Depot after the class! Can't go wrong with that! Sign up Here for the FREE Do it Herself Class.

Labor Day Thrift Store Finds

Yesterday, E and I hit up some of the local thrift stores that were having 50% off sales for Labor Day. I scored some really good deals.

2 Summer dresses for E $1.50 - $2.00 ea

1 Hello Kitty Cap $.99

1 Pumpkin Halloween Candy bucket .49

4 Nice button down shirts for Hubs $1.50 - $2.50 ea

3 pairs of shorts for Hubs $1.50- $4.00 ea (the $4.00 shorts were brand new Wrangler brand - still had the original tags on them)

1 Sweater from Express for me $2.50

2 Lazy Susan carousels for the kitchen cupboard .99 ea

Grand Total for shopping spree = $32.50

Couldn't do that anywhere else except a thrift store!

$5.00 Menu

I always aim for $5.00 a meal, sometimes I'm a little over. I calculate the main ingredients prices and round up for smaller ingredients such as spices. I am able to make most dinners for $5.00 or less because of my coupon shopping and stockpiling.

Sunday --Spaghetti and garlic bread $1.50

Monday -- Black bean tacos $3.00

Tuesday -- Broccoli & Rice Casserole from the Crockpot $4.00

Wednesday -- Baked Ziti in Crockpot $4.50 (I will delete the meat and probably add some red/green bell peppers to the mix)

Thursday -- Green beans, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies $2.50

Friday -- Dance Class! Grilled Cheese and soup $3.00

Saturday -- Homemade pizza (I'll add some veggies and brush the crust with garlic butter to give more flavor)

For more great menu plans and recipes please visit OrgJunkie.com

1/2 Price Day at Area Thrift Stores

Monday is half price day at some area thrift stores.

Thriftsmart

Nolensville Rd

Music City Thrift

Gallatin Rd

Happy Labor Day!

Thanks to Keeping our Cash for the heads up about Music City Thrift.

Weekly Grocery Wrap-up and a little Rant!

Since we're doing okay on most everyday items, I didn't do alot of shopping and mainly just bought stuff for our stockpile. The fall holidays are coming, so I took the opportunity to stock up on cookie and cake mixes that will come in handy for school parties, etc. Here are the highlights:

Publix:

3 cans of Rotel Tomatoes
Sale: BOGO .99
- Buy 2 get 1 free coupon from September All You. Coupon value was automatically doubled.
= .16 each

7 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes
Sale: BOGO 2.67
- .40 coupon (doubled) SS 8/09 and printable
= .54 each

8 Duncan Hines Cake Mixes
Sale: BOGO 1.59
- $1/2 coupon from "Toss for Cash" booklet found at Publix
= .29 ea

1 5lb bag of Russet Potatoes
Sale: 1.99
- $1.00 Competitor's coupon from Kroger Home Mailer
= .99

4 Kraft Singles
Sale: BOGO 2.59
- $1/2 coupon from RP 8/09
= .80 each

1 8th Continent Soy Milk
Regular Price: $2.50
- $2.00 printable (no longer available)
= .50

Publix Tortilla Chips
Penny item
= .01

Total OOP w/ Tax: $24.08

Kroger highlights:

4 Naval Oranges
Sale: .99/lb
= $2.84

6 Kroger Frozen Vegetables
$1.00 ea
- (1) .35 coupon from Kroger Mailer
= 5 at $1.00 and 1 at .65

TOTAL OOP: 14.41

GRAND TOTAL FOR WEEK: $38.49 UNDER BUDGET! YEA!!!

Now for my rant, Kroger frozen vegetables are a staple in my house. We eat alot of them. So, when they go on sale 10 for 10 (like this week), I try to stock up. I was so happy to see them on sale this week, because we were getting very low. I had actually planned to buy about 20 bags. When I got to the frozen food section and starting looking at the selection, I was so disappointed to see that Kroger has repackaged their frozen vegetables and made them smaller, they used to be 16 oz and now they are 12 oz. But, they are the SAME price! Ugh! I'm disgusted! I bought up the few 16 oz sizes left that I could find and a couple of the 12 oz (because we are running out). I also emailed Kroger Customer Service to complain. Feel free to do the same if you'd like, the more complaints they hear, the more likely they are to do something about it. I'll let you know what I hear from them.

BOGO Dairy Queen Blizzards!

Oh Boy! Oh Boy! My FAVORITE treat is a Dairy Queen Blizzard. If you join the Blizzard Fan Club, you will receive via email a coupon for a Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon and a $1.00 off a Blizzard.

Enjoy!

Thanks Southern Savers!

1/2 Price day at Goodwill on Saturday

Saturday is 1/2 price day for all Goodwill stores in Middle Tennessee. That means the whole store is 1/2 price! If you go, be prepared to face a crowd and stand in line at the checkouts. This is usually a very busy day. But often worth it, if you find a real treasure or just a great deal.

You can also pick up a Smart Card while you're there. Smart Cards are good for discounts at over 80 shops and restaurants around Middle Tennessee. They are $12 at Goodwill and the proceeds go to support Goodwill's mission.

Go here to find a Goodwill location.

Micheals Labor Day Coupons

Feelin' crafty this holiday weekend? Go here for a 50 % off 1 regular priced item (good for Sunday & Monday, September 6 & 7) and 40% off 1 regular priced item (good Tuesday thru Saturday) coupon for Micheals.

Have you signed up for Home Depot Garden Club?

Well, you should ! When you sign up, you will receive emails periodically with coupons. I signed up about 3 weeks ago, and got my first emailed coupons yesterday

The best coupon: Buy one shrub, get one free. This should be a great deal in the coming weeks when they put their fall plants on sale.

These are customized coupons so they cannot be posted, you have to sign up.

Clearance Deals at Walgreens

If you haven't been to Walgreens yet this week to check out some of the best Register Reward deals they've had in a while, make sure you go and check out the clearance section while you're there. And bring your coupons to make it an even better deal! Here's what I got:

2 boxes of Tylenol Cold Multi Symptom

Clearanced $1.87

- (2) Walgreen's q $1/1 Any Tylenol Cold, Allergy Medicine ( found in Healthy Savings Book)

= .87 each

1 bottle of Children's Zyrtec

Clearanced $3.24

- 2.60 coupon from Kroger Mailer

= .64

1 eight-pack of Duracell Batteries

Clearanced $2.24

- $1.50 coupon from P&G 8/30 insert

= .74

$5.00 Menu

Better late than never....

I always aim for $5.00 a meal, sometimes I'm a little over. I calculate the main ingredients prices and round up for smaller ingredients such as spices. I am able to make most dinners for $5.00 or less because of my coupon shopping and stockpiling.

This is a very uncreative week as far as dinner menus. Hubs and I are sick with colds, and things a very hectic at work. So, I'm not putting alot of thought into dinner right now.

Sunday -- Take out -- Waaay more than $5.00!

Monday -- Veggie Helper $1.50

Tuesday -- Breakfast for Dinner! Breakfast burritos, french toast. $3.50

Wednesday -- Pizza (frozen kind) $2.00

Thursday -- Veggie Burgers & Fries $4.00

Friday -- Vegetable Soup (from a can) and Grilled Cheese $2.00

Saturday -- Baked potatoes and salad or leftover soup $4.00


Check out Org Junkie for other great menus.