Girl Meets Coupons - Love at First Deal

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I just want to share an inspirational story from Money Saving Mom. She and her family have managed to save 100% down on their first home. Congratulations to you! I am so inspired and cannot wait to read about her story!

Money Saving Mom's Major Financial Milestone

Our Journey Towards Saving 100% Down For Our First Home: Part 1

I hope my readers find inspiration in this as well.

So, here's a challenge that interests me. Using items from my pantry, freezer, and refrigerator this month and minimizing trips to the grocery store. Can I do this? I'm sure going to try!

This challenge is from Money Saving Mom and Life as a Mom.

Here are some of my goals:

1. Only hit the grocery store once a week. Normally I go 2-3 times a week which is bad, bad, bad for the wallet.
2. Spend $100 the entire month on groceries. Milk, cheese, and produce are things we need. Eggs will be easy since the turkey is laying right now and she's producing some beautiful ones!
3. Make our own baby food. Our daughter is pretty much eating adult food, but she still enjoys a bit of pureed food with oatmeal in it. So, I'll be stocking up on apples, sweet potatoes, and other produce to cook up and blend for her.

All I have to say is if we can get by spending only $100 this month for groceries, it will be great! That could put an extra $200 in savings this month!

Today we are starting with a curry coconut chicken recipe that was shared by my sister-in-law. It's in French so I'll have to sit down to translate it. I'll also be making some Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Allrecipes.

Here's my first savings roundup. I've decided to pick my favorite deals, coupons, rebates, etc. from the blogs that I regularly read.

Deal Seeking Mom is giving away a free 1 year subscription to All You Magazine - This is a great magazine that pays for itself with the coupons it contains. I have two subscriptions to it.

Common Sense With Money has blogged about a free sample of Yoplait Yogurt - Sign up for Betty Crocker's newsletter and you'll get a coupon for some free Yoplait yogurt!

Swaggrabber has posted about a Toys R Us Leapfrog Games Deal

I Heart Publix shows us a great deal on Emerald Nuts

Crystal the Coupon Mama - $10 in Savings Bayer Healthcare Coupon Book at Publix

The Krazy Coupon Lady - $0.75 off Shake N Bake Printable Coupon

Hip2Save - FREE Home Made Simple $35 Coupon Booklet (New Link)

Have you seen any great deals today? Leave a comment and let me know!

I love sharing deals with my readers! It's wonderful to be able to search all of the other great coupon and finance blogs to let you know what is out there. Having said that, my goal is to have a daily savings roundup shoeing the great deals that I have found that day. I'll be posting it in the afternoon/evening each day. I hope it helps everyone!

Posted with altBlogger.

We eat a lot of yogurt in our family. My baby especially loves it. The problem is, it can be pretty expensive if you can't find a good deal on it. Making yogurt is very simple and inexpensive. Also, by making my own yogurt, I control the ingredients that go in. A yogurt maker is not needed.

I buy my starter yogurt in the grocery store in a 32 ounce container. Plain is what you want. To make life easier, I spoon 2 TBS of yogurt into each section of an ice cube tray and freeze. Once frozen, I remove them from the tray and place in a zippered freezer bag for storage. You can re-culture yogurt from the yogurt you make, but after time that fizzles out and you'll need to use a new starter from the freezer. 32 ounces lasts a pretty good while.

Items needed:

32 ounces of whole milk
2 TBS of live culture plain yogurt (this is your starter)
Thermometer
Boiling Water
2 Thermoses

Preparation:

1. Pour boiling water into the thermoses to sterilize them. You may also want to sterilize the thermometer and spoon that you use to stir the yogurt.
2. Heat the milk in a pan to 200 degrees. Hold the milk at that temperature for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees. While the milk is cooling, pour the water out of the thermoses. You do not want them so hot that they kill the bacteria in the yogurt starter.
3. When the milk reaches 110 degrees, pour off 1 cup into another container and add the yogurt starter. Stir well and then add it back to the original pan of milk. Stir again. Now, pour this mixture into the thermoses and close tightly.
4. Allow it to incubate in a warm area for 12 hours. As the yogurt sits, it becomes thicker and more tart. Let it incubate until it has a flavor that you like. This yogurt is not going to be as gelatinous as commercial yogurt, but you'll become used to that.
5. After the yogurt is done, place it in the refrigerator and enjoy! You can sweeten it with sugar, honey, Splenda, etc. I like to add wheat germ and frozen fruit that I thaw and puree. Fresh fruit is good too.

Additional notes:

• If you like a really thick yogurt, you can allow it to sit for 24 hours. You can also strain it like you would make a yogurt "cheese" for additional thickness.
• A heating pad on low can be used to help hold the heat in the thermos if it's especially chilly.
• If you prefer to use skim milk, add 1/2 cup of non-fat powdered milk to the mixture to help make the yogurt less watery.
  
• I've added a vanilla bean to the cooking milk for vanilla yogurt. You can add a sweetener after it's incubated if you'd like.
• Don't have a thermos? Put the yogurt in a jar with a lid and insulate by wrapping a towel around it.
• The liquid that forms on top of the yogurt is the whey and can be stirred back in or poured off. Stirring it in will give you a more tart yogurt.
• You can make creme fraiche with whipping cream by culturing it with a spoonful of your own live-culture yogurt and making it the same way.

Tombstone Pizza - $2.99 x 2 = $5.98
Bertolli Complete Skillet Dinner for 2 - $4.99 x 2 = 9.98
minus $2/1 Sav-A-Lot coupon - $2.99 x 2 = $5.98
Publix black eyed peas - $0.79 x 2 = $1.58
Bumblebee Premium Tuna BOGO - $3.69
Pace Salsa BOGO - $2.79
minus coupon for free Pace Picante Salsa - FREE
Cantaloupe - $1.50
Chiquita Bananas - $0.39/1 lb x 4 lbs = $1.56*
Boston Butt Pork Roast - $1.19/1 lb x 5 lbs = $5.95*
Whole Boneless Pork Loin - $1.99/1 lb x 6 lbs = $11.94*
Publix Milk, 1 gallon - $3.19
Cracker Barrel Cheese - $3.00 x 2 = $6.00
minus $1/2 coupon = $5.00
Viva Paper Towels - $6.99
minus $2/1 coupon = $4.99
plus 7.5% sales tax = $5.36


Boneles Chuck Roast - $1.99/1 lb x 3 lbs = $5.97

Approximate Grand Total - $57.70
Approximate Value of Groceries - $106.43


While this is not a deal like some couponers get, I do try to buy items that we actually use. This weekly trip is $92.30 less than my old $150 a week budget. Therefore, I have a nice hunk to go into my savings account this week! This is the first time I have tried to figure out my actual cost before hand so I'll update after I shop and let you know how it goes.

*weighed items are an approximate guess.

At the beginning of November, my husband and I started to work on saving money and getting ourselves out of debt. I am very amazed by how we have done so far. We live on one income and have a 15 month old baby. Our goal is to get our emergency fund established ($1000) and 6 months of income saved in case of a job loss. Here's hoping that job loss won't happen!

What we have done so far:

• Refinanced our car and paid off all credit card debt. Many financial savvy people don't advise this, but the credit cards we had were increasing interest rates and starting to charge annual fees. The car loan is at 6.75% interest which is much less than the credit card APRs. This is going to be paid off in two years or less.
• Couponing (of course!) is the next thing we started. I check out the sales ads each week and purchase 2 Sunday papers. I have a coworker who gives any unused coupons to me as well. I match up the sales ads to the coupons with a lot of help from other sites like Hot Coupon World, Deal Seeking Mom, The Krazy Coupon Lady, Common Sense with Money, and Swaggrabber. I've learned that the best deals are usually deals that are buy one item, get one item free. You can use two coupons (one for each item) and that makes many things so very inexpensive, free, or even a money maker. Stacking store coupons and manufacturers coupons can also give you a good bargain on something. Doing this has cut our grocery bill almost $300!!!
  
• The third thing that we have done is cut way back on eating at restaurants. Actually, that's what I have done. My husband doesn't eat at restaurants often at all. I usually eat breakfast at a fast food place and go to lunch with my best friend 2-4 times a month. While I haven't completely given it up, I'm working on it. I'm also trying to do better by taking my own lunch and drinks to work. If I can manage to take my lunch and drinks to work each day (instead of eating in the cafeteria) then I would save and additional $75 per month. I do drink soda which some frugal folks avoid, but I try to pay no more than $0.25 per can which is half of what I would pay at work.

By doing the three things above for almost two months, we managed to save around $417 which is almost half of the emergency fund. I never realized how much one could save with coupons and good sales.

Our savings would have been even more, but my husband and I bought ourselves a Flip UltraHD Camcorder. We did take a bit from the savings to purchase it. It was regularly priced at $149, but we paid around $117 after using Amazon gift cards that I received by searching with Swagbucks.

Do you have any frugal tips to offer? I'd love to hear them!

Here are two great Colgate coupons that I just received in my inbox!

Save $1.00/1 Colgate Total Enamel Strength or Colgate Advanced Toothpaste
Save $1.00/1 Colgate 360 ActiFlex Manual Toothbrush

Oh man, more yummy ice cream coupons! Get your $1/1 Skinny Cow Truffle Bars coupon here.

Jergens is offering a $1/1 printable internet coupon on their Jergens Naturals Daily Moisturizer. This coupon has a far away expiration date of 1-14-2010! It may be rolling depending on when you print it.

You can print a new $5 off $20 purchase coupon from Sav-A-Lot here. It's expiration date is not until 1-10-2010! If you have a grocery store that price matches competitor's coupons then this is also for you. They also have a great list of printable coupons. One of my favorites is the $1/1 Mrs. Smith's Assorted Pies! Yum! I like to get two and use them for the BOGO deals at the grocery store when they have them.

While this is not the moneymaker it was last week, it's still a pretty darn good deal. When you register here at BeneVia you'll be allowed to print a $5/1 four pack of nutrition drinks. When you purchase BeneVia at Publix and use the $3/1 Publix coupon from the Green Advantage Flyer you can get it for as low as $0.49! Regional prices may vary.

The main reason for us to start using coupons is to lower our spending and save more. We want to have a nicely built emergency fund as well as money for big budget items. Our goal is to pay cash for everything. While working toward this goal, I am doing a lot of reading about finances and here are some articles that I enjoy.

How To Cook More, Eat Out Less

One great tip from this article is the tip to not buy cookbooks. A few months ago, I tossed ALL of my cookbooks except for one favorite from a locally owned restaurant. I'm able to go to many websites on the internet and find pretty much any recipe I need. If that recipe becomes a favorite, it goes into our "family cookbook" that we made from a photo album.

6 Powerful Strategies for Paying Down Debt

The First Step Towards Getting Out of Debt

I love The Simple Dollar blog. I have read and re-read many of his posts. One day, I'll be brave enough to comment! Trent's blog is what really got me started thinking about my personal finance. In fact, I'm going to throw another article out there by Trent at The Simple Dollar.

Breaking Down the Numbers on Why Frugality Works

How to Minimize Bank Account Fees

Household Budgeting Made Easy

Hope you enjoy these blog articles! Do you have any favorites that you'd like to share?

Register here to get a $1/1 coupon for Horizon's Little Blends 4-pack of yogurt. My little girl loves these! You can print the coupon twice.

Some folks may have these coupons, but many of them are new to me. Looks like I have a bit of printing to do!

• Save up to $2.50 on French Meadow Bakery breads
• Save up to $10.00 on Bausch & Lomb products
• Save up to $1.75 on Farm Rich products
• Save $5.00 on Science Diet® dry dog food 4 lb bag or larger.
• Save $5.00 on any e.p.t.® product
• Save $3.00 on Visine® Totality™ Multi-Symptom
• Save $3.00 on Sustenex™
• Save $3.00 on Neutrogena® Total Skin Renewal Starter Kit
• Save $3.00 on Neutrogena Wave™ Pads 30 Count Refill
• Save $3.00 on duraflame® AnyFire™ Indoor/Outdoor Firelogs
• Save $3.00 on Digestive Advantage® Children's Lactose Intolerance
• Save $3.00 on Digestive Advantage®
• Save $3.00 on any RoC product
• Save $3.00 on any L’Oréal Paris Collagen Product
• Save $3.00 on any e.p.t.® product
• Save $3.00 on any 2 Sundown Products
• Save $3.00 on AMBI® Product
• Save $2.00 on Zaditor® Eye Drops
• Save $2.00 on Sudafed OM Nasal Spray
• Save $2.00 on PULL-UPS® Training Pants
• Save $2.00 on POISE® Pads
• Save $2.00 on one box of 100 or 200 BD Ultra-Fine™ II Lancets
• Save $2.00 on Neutrogena Wave™
• Save $2.00 on Huggies® Diaper Product
• Save $2.00 on Depend® Guards for Men Product
• Save $2.00 on Couleur Experte, or L'Oreal Paris
• Save $2.00 on Brez
• Save $2.00 on any VISINE® product 1/2 FL. OZ or larger
• Save $2.00 on any Two POISE® Pads
• Save $2.00 on any Two POISE® Liners
• Save $2.00 on any Two DEPEND® absorbent product
• Save $2.00 on any TUCKS® product
• Save $2.00 on any TUCKS® product
• Save $2.00 on any RID® product
• Save $2.00 on any one package of POISE® Pads
• Save $2.00 on any one package of POISE® Liners
• Save $2.00 on any one DEPEND® absorbent product
• Save $2.00 on any MONISTAT® Combination Pack
• Save $2.00 on any L’Oreal Paris Cleanser
• Save $2.00 on any Carvel product
• Save $2.00 on any 12oz bag of Godiva Coffee
• Save $10.00 on Any Women’s Rogaine® Solution
• Save $10.00 on Any ROGAINE® product
• Save $1.50 on HUGGIES® LITTLE SWIMMERS®
• Save $1.50 on COFFEE-MATE® Liquid or Powder any variety
• Save $1.00 when you buy ONE (1) box of BAGEL-FULS
• Save $1.00 onSCOTT Naturals™ bath tissue, paper towels, or napkins
• Save $1.00 on true match by L'Oreal
• Save $1.00 on THREE 8 oz. Del Monte® Fruit Naturals® Cups
• Save $1.00 on SYSTANE® products
• Save $1.00 on Sustenex™
• Save $1.00 on Sudafed PE Day & Night Cold
• Save $1.00 on South Beach Living snack bars
• Save $1.00 on South Beach Living products
• Save $1.00 on Root Awakening™ hair care product
• Save $1.00 on Purina Friskies Cat Food
• Save $1.00 on Purex Complete Laundry Sheets Starter Kit or Refill
• Save $1.00 on OSCAR MAYER Lunchables
• Save $1.00 on OPTI-FREE® solution 10 oz. or larger
• Save $1.00 on one (1) bottle of Sue Bee Honey
• Save $1.00 on Old Orchard 64 oz juice products
• Save $1.00 on NESTLÉ® JUICY JUICE®
• Save $1.00 on Guerrero® Products
• Save $1.00 on GoodNites® Sleep Pants
• Save $1.00 on Fisher© product greater than 4 oz.
• Save $1.00 on Del Monte® Orchard Select® or SunFresh® products
• Save $1.00 on Degree Women Fragrance
• Save $1.00 on Bare Naturale or L'Oreal products
• Save $1.00 on any Two (2) Litehouse Product
• Save $1.00 on Any ONE (1) Cottonelle® Toilet Paper
• Save $1.00 on any Nature Made® herbal supplement
• Save $1.00 on any L’Oreal Paris Cleanser
• Save $1.00 on any L'Oréal Paris product
• Save $1.00 on any L'Oreal Paris Mascara, Eye Shadow or Eyeliner
• Save $1.00 on any Joint Juice® product
• Save $1.00 on any Half Gallon or Gallon of Organic Valley Milk
• Save $1.00 on any 3 (three) Del Monte SuperFruit® Cups
• Save $1.00 on any 2 packages of Temptations® cat treats
• Save $1.00 on any 1 Cold-EEZE® Product
• Save $1.00 on any 1 (one) Del Monte® Fruit Bowl
• Save $1.00 on Aleve, 20ct. Or Larger
• Save $1.00 on Aleve Cold
• Save $1.00 on 12 oz. or larger bottle of Burleson’s Pure Honey
• Save $1.00 on Village Naturals Therapy™ Product
• Save $0.75 on Wish-Bone® Dressings
• Save $0.75 on LITTLE DEBBIE® Family Pack Chocolate Cupcakes
• Save $0.75 on Kleenex® Bundle Pack® Tissue
• Save $0.50 on VIVA® Towels Big Rolls
• Save $0.50 on Sesame Street® Bath or Shower Product
• Save $0.50 on SCOTT Naturals™ Flushable Wipes tub or refill
• Save $0.50 on Mousse Temptations by JELL-O
• Save $0.50 on Heinz® Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
• Save $0.50 on Cottonelle® Toilet Paper
• Save $0.50 on COTTONELLE FRESH® FLUSHABLE TUBS OR REFILLS
• Save $0.50 on any Heluva Good!® Product
• Buy One Get One Free NESCAFÉ Taster's Choice Stick Pack Carton

After printing some coupons today at Coupons.com I noticed a bunch of links with offers from Coupons.com partner's websites. Bausch & Lomb have a great deal of coupons and rebate offers here. Know of any great ways to use these? Tell us about it!

Register Rewards Deals

Complete Multipurpose solution $7.99, Earn $7.99 RR when you buy one
$1/1 coupon from 10/25 RP insert
FREE plus $1 in overage after coupon and register rewards

Hershey’s Pot of Gold 2/$9, Earn $3 RR when you buy two
$1/1 coupon from 12/6 SS insert
$2 each after coupons and register rewards

Mucinex 14-20 ct $9.99, Earn $5 RR when you buy two
$1/1 coupon from 10/11 SS insert
$12.98 for two after coupons ans register rewards

Scope Outlast 2/$7, Earn $2 RR when you buy two
$1/1 coupon from 11/29 P&G insert
$3 for two after coupons and register rewards

Colgate Total Toothpaste or Wave Toothbrush 2/$5, get $1 RR when you buy 2.
$1/1 coupon from 12/6 SS insert
$1 each after coupons and register rewards

Gillette Fusion Razor $8.99, Earn $4 RR when you buy one
$4/1 coupon from 11/29 P&G insert
$0.99 each after coupon and register reward

Pantene 25.4 ounces $5.99, Earn $2 RR when you buy one
$2/1 mailable from Vocalpoint (if you received it)
$1.99 each after coupon and register rewards

Dimetapp 4oz 2/$10, Earn $3 RR when you buy two
$2/1 printable coupon
$3 for two after coupons and register rewards

Huggies Diapers or Pull Ups jumbo packs $8.99, Earn $2 RR when you buy one
$1.50/1 Huggies diapers coupon from 11/15 SS insert
$2/1 Huggies diaper printable coupons (IE) (FF)
$2/1 Huggies Pull Ups printable coupon
$1/1 Huggies Walgreens coupon from the Walgreen's Children's Activity Book.
As little as $3.99 after coupons and register rewards

Buy $30 in selected products and get $10 register rewards
Includes select Dulcolax, Gas-X, Ex-Lax, Benefiber, Imodium, Maalox, Pepto Bismol, Tums, and Zantac.

$2/1 Benefiber (IE) (FF)

$2/1 Benefiber Sticks (IE) (FF)

$1/1 Gas-X (IE) (FF)

$2/1 Immodium and $1/1 Immodium (Multiple coupons)

$2/1 Zantac

$5 rebate, $3/1 coupon, $2/1 coupon from Ducolax.

$3/1 Tums Dual Action

$1/1 Tums

Other Deals

Blistex 2/$2
$1/2 coupon from 11/15 SS insert
$1 for two after coupon

Schiff Mega Red on sale buy one get one free
Use 2 of the $2/1 printable coupon.
$20.99 for two after coupons

Lindsay Olives 99 cents after in-ad coupon
$1/2 Lidsay Olives printable coupon
$0.98 for two after coupon

Campbells Soups $0.69 each after in-ad coupon
$1/4 printable coupon
0.44 each after coupon (when you buy 4)

Campbell’s Gravy 2/$1 after in-ad coupon
$1/4 printable coupon
0.25 each after coupon (when you buy 4)

Progresso Soup $0.99 each
$1.10/3 printable coupon
$1/4 coupon from 12/6 SS insert
As little as $0.62 each after coupon

Hunt’s Tomato Sauce 3/$1 after in-ad coupon
$1/3 printable coupon after playing game
FREE after coupons

Select General Mills Cereal $1.99
$1/1 any size box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms or Trix (IE) (FF)
$0.99 each after coupon

Blue Diamond Almonds on sale buy one get one free or 2/$3.49
$1/2 coupon from 11/15 SS insert
$2.49 for two after coupon

Splenda with Fiber 80ct $2.99
$1/1 coupon from 11/8 RP insert
$1.99 each after coupon

Coffee-mate 16oz on sale buy one get one free or 2/$3
Use 2 of the $1/1 printable coupon
$0.50 for one after coupon

Sun Maid Raisins 18 oz 2/$4
$1/2 coupon from 11/8 SS insert
$3 for two after coupon

Ghirardelli 2/$5
$1/1 Ghirardelli chocolate printable coupons (IE Link) (FF Link)
$1.50 each after coupon

Lindt’s Lindor Truffles 2/$5
$1/1 printable coupon (You'll need to keep refreshing the page until the Lindt’s Lindor ad appears below the picture of the turkey in roaster)
$1.50 each after coupon

Here is a sneak peek at the ad for the week of 12/13.

WEEKLY WOWS
Guitar Hero World Tour bundle $88
DJ Hero Bundle $88
Tony Hawk Ride Bundle $88
RockBand2 Bundle $88
Garmin Nuvi 205W GPS $99
Magnavox 42″ 108 0p LCD TV $599
HP Digital Photo Frame $69
-$5/1 Kodak Camera or Digital Photo Frame TQ PRINT
Play Wonder Wooden Kitchen $89.99
Sterling Silver Rings with Genuine Stones $15
Room Essentials Twin Size Comforter $9.99
Home Microplush Blanket $16
Emerson 12-Bottle Wine Fridge $75
Crock-Pot Trio $75
Hamilton Beach 6qt Stay or Go Portable Slow Cooker $29
Euro-Pro Large Capacity Toaster Oven $29
George Forman Indoor Grill $29
Selected Smith & Hawken Bulb Kits $7
Single Roll Wrapping Paper 175ft $4
Planters Peanuts 20 oz $2.75
-$1/2 Planters Cocktail Peanuts (12 oz or larger) – Sunset, October 2009
-$1/2 Planters Peanuts, Any – Tearpad
Reduced Fat Wheat Thins & Selected other snacks $2.75
-$1/2 Nabisco Calendar Booklet $55 In Savings
-$1/1 from 11-08-09 SS
-$1/2 (Nabisco Site- click on “Get Started”) PRINT
-$1/1 Kraft Food & Family, December 2009
-$1/2 Keep the Jingle in your Holidays Booklet
-MIR for $10 Back by Mail wyb 10 Participating Nabisco Crackers HERE
FREE Any Hasbro Card Game with purchase of any $10 or more Hasbro Game
-$5/1 Hasbro boggle game – Parade, December 2009
-$5/1 Hasbro Pictureka! Flipper Game – Disney Family Fun, November 2009

DS Games $25 each
Zelda Spirit Tracks
Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Jonas
Imagine Sweet 16
Style Savy
Kingdom Hearts 385/2 Days
& Selected Others

OTHER DEALS LISTED
Kodak MD41 Digital Camera $95
-$5 off a Kodak Digital Camera TQ PRINT
Sony Bravia 46″ LCD 1080p TV $999.99
-$50 off a 46″ or Larger TV TQ PRINT
G-Force DVD $15.99
G-Force Blu Ray
(it is advertised in ad as “low price”- I am pretty sure it is $29.99)
-$5 off A Blu-Ray Disc Purchase TQ PRINT
-$10 off G-Force DVD PRINT

Thanks, Totally Target!