Coupon Funded Menu Corner – June 3rd

June 3rd, 2009

Now that I’m over my flu/jet lag, it’s fun to start cooking again instead of just eating saltines for dinner. Here’s last night’s meal:

Shrimp Alfredo Linguine – yum! The total cost for this meal, which fed two people (plus seconds), was .91 cents. This includes the cost of the shrimp, the cost of the pasta kit, and the milk. The only other ingredient used was homemade olive oil, which I received as a Christmas present. I used half of the shrimp in the pasta, and half the previous day for our lunches – so we got two meals out of it.

A delicious dinner for .46 cents per serving – I’d say that’s pretty frugal!

Shopping Trip, May 31st – Chicken For .34 Cents, Shrimp For .47 Cents, And More

June 1st, 2009

Yesterday was the first big shopping trip I’ve done since getting back from England, and it was a lot of fun. I got $38.28 worth of groceries for $12.18:

First stop, Fred Meyer:

Total spent: $5.00
Total before coupons: $11.10
View receipt

I got a flier in the mail from Fred Meyer that contained some awesome coupons. There was a coupon good for $3 off any seafood purchase, and another for $3 off any meat department purchase. So I put them to good use!

Got:

4.23 pounds of chicken – on sale for $3.34, used my $3 off meat coupon. Final cost: .34 cents.
1.16 pounds of shrimp – on sale for $3.47, used my $3 off seafood coupon. Final cost: .47 cents.
One Sunday newspaper – more coupons! Final cost: $2.50.
A ten-pound bag of potatoes – on my menu this week. Final cost: $1.79.

I also received .10 cents in credit for bringing my own bags.

My next stop was Walgreens. There’s a great Register Reward deal on Ecotrin this week, and because of the way that Register Rewards work, I ended up going through the line 10 times. It was well worth my time, and the cashier just thought it was funny. She was required to ask each customer if they wanted to add M&Ms to their purchase, so each time I came through, she said “Would you like some M&Ms this time? How about now?”. It was entertaining!

Transaction #1:

Total spent: Zero. And I got back $2 in Register Rewards!
Total before coupons: $2.00
View receipt

Got:

One 45-count box of Ecotrin aspirin – on sale for $2.00, used one $2.00/1 printable. Final price: Free, and I received a $2 Register Reward for the purchase!

Transaction #2:

Total spent: $4.29
Total before coupons: $6.29
View receipt

Got:

One 30-count box of makeup removers – on sale for $6.29, used the $2 Register Reward that I had just earned. Final cost: $4.29.

No super deals here, just something I needed. I pay more for this brand because it’s the only makeup remover that doesn’t give me a giant rash!

Transaction #3:

Total spent: Zero. And I got back $2 in Register Rewards!
Total before coupons: $2.00
View receipt

Got:

One 45-count box of Ecotrin aspirin – on sale for $2.00, used one $2.00/1 printable. Final price: Free, and I received a $2 Register Reward for the purchase!

Transaction #4:

Total spent: .89 cents
Total before coupons: $2.89
View receipt

Got:

One quart of Coffee-Mate – we were almost out! On sale for $2.89, used the $2 Register Reward that I had just earned. Final cost: .89 cents.

Transaction #5:

Total spent: Zero. And I got back $2 in Register Rewards!
Total before coupons: $2.00
View receipt

Got:

One 45-count box of Ecotrin aspirin – on sale for $2.00, used one $2.00/1 printable. Final price: Free, and I received a $2 Register Reward for the purchase! I’m able to print coupons from my laptop, my desktop computer, and Jai’s computer, which is how I am able to get multiple copies.

Transaction #6:

Total spent: Zero!
Total before coupons: $2.00
View receipt

Got:

8 packets of Ramen noodles – it’s going to be an especially hectic week, so I wanted to have some quick lunches on hand. On sale for .25 cents each, used the $2 Register Reward that I had just earned. Final cost: Free!

Transaction #7:

Total spent: Zero. And I got back $2 in Register Rewards!
Total before coupons: $2.00
View receipt

Got:

One 45-count box of Ecotrin aspirin – on sale for $2.00, used one $2.00/1 printable. Final price: Free, and I received a $2 Register Reward for the purchase!

Transaction #8:

Total spent: $1.00
Total before coupons: $3.00
View receipt

Got:

2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup – I want to make tuna noodle casserole this week, and the soup is the only thing I was missing. One sale 2 for $3.00, used the $2 Register Reward that I had just earned. Final price: $1.00.

Transaction #9:

Total spent: Zero. And I got back $2 in Register Rewards!
Total before coupons: $2.00
View receipt

Got:

One 45-count box of Ecotrin aspirin – on sale for $2.00, used one $2.00/1 printable. Final price: Free, and I received a $2 Register Reward for the purchase!

Transaction #10:

Total spent: $1.00
Total before coupons: $3.00
View receipt

Got:

1 pound of bacon – bacon sandwiches also make for a quick lunch! On sale for $3.00, used the $2 Register Reward that I had just earned. Final price: $1.00.

So I got everything on my shopping list, and I’ve also got enough aspirin to last me forever! And there was still lots of Ecotrin on the shelf after I was done, so there will be plenty left for other customers as well.

Bargain Shopping In England

May 30th, 2009

Anyone who knows me is aware of how much tea I drink. And tea in the US just isn’t the same as the tea back home, so every time I go back to England I stuff my suitcase full of it. This time was no exception:

Total spent: £9.39 (equivalant to $15.19 in USD)

Got:

30 boxes of tea – each box contains 80 teabags! Price: 28p per box (equivalant to .45 cents in USD – not bad at all for 80 teabags)
A six-pack of crisps (aka potato chips) – not pictured, because I ate them! Price: 99p (equivalant to $1.60 in USD) It’s always fun to eat my favorite British foods that I can’t buy stateside!

Free Cheese After Rebate

May 26th, 2009

Click here to find out how you can try a wedge of Alouette Baby brie cheese for free after rebate! Brie is definitely not the cheapest cheese, so for the cost of a stamp this is a fine deal. Thanks go out to Mummy Deals for this find!

Shopping Trip – May 20th

May 25th, 2009


Total: .80 cents
Total before coupons: $17.37

Well, I did pull myself out of my Sudafed haze once last week, to use up a few coupons that were on  the verge of expiration. These were coupons that I was sent by the company for a review I wrote on Contest Corner. 

Got:

3 Macaroni Grill Dinner kits – on sale for $5.79, used three “free product” coupons. Total: .80 cents?! OK, this was weird. These coupons were free – up to $4.99. So when the cashier was ringing me up, the first coupon prompted him for a price. I said that although the product was $5.79, the coupons were only good up to $4.99. So he input the amount as $4.99. But when he scanned the next two, they automatically took off $5.79! I pointed this out, and the cashier agreed that it was strange, but said that he was going to go with what the register was telling him.

Free Ice Cream After Rebate – This Weekend Only

May 24th, 2009

Yum! Blue Bunny Ice Cream is offering a free rebate on select products this weekend. If you purchase Blue Bunny Sedona or Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Novelty between 5/23 and 5/25, you can claim a full rebate – click here for the form and further details. Ice cream for the cost of a stamp? Not too shabby!

Thanks to Common Sense With Money for the link. She has a list of other Memorial Day sales, coupons and discounts here, so you might want to check that out too.
I hope my US readers are enjoying the holiday weekend! Do you have any special plans? I’ve still got the flu, so I’m trying to take it easy. I haven’t had much to report in terms of coupons and sales – I haven’t had much of an appetite or felt like cooking, so I’m looking forward to doing a proper shopping trip once I feel a little more lively!

Free Chocolate Friday!

May 22nd, 2009
Now this is a day I can get behind! Now through September 25th (my birthday!), Mars will be giving away coupons for free candy bars every Friday to the first 250,000 people to register. And you can register for up to four coupons per household during the promotion! If you haven’t already registered, then click here to sign up. And if you’re not among the first 250,000, check back next Friday!
Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the heads-up.

Free Hot Dogs – Today Only (5/20)

May 20th, 2009

Click here to sign up for a coupon good for one free package of Oscar Mayer hot dogs – but hurry, this coupon is only available today, May 20th, while supplies last!

Thank you Common Sense With Money for the tip!

Baby Oil Giveaway Winner

May 19th, 2009

We have a winner in Baby Oil giveaway that ran while I was on vacation!

The winner was comment number 23, Brea’s Mommy, who said: “I would love to win this for my dad and his new baby”.
Congratulations! I have sent an email notifying you. Thanks again to Sun for her great post and giveaway!

Free Coupon Round-Up

May 18th, 2009

One of our travel snapshots

Happy Monday everyone! I’ve been adjusting to the time difference and recovering from the flu as I slowly sift through my thousands of unread emails, stacks of snail mail, and unpack. We had such a nice trip, and it was so good to see my family! I’ve been told I ought to share some photos from my trip, so if you’d like to see some of my favorite snaps, then click here to check out my travel album!

I had a look through some of my favorite coupon websites this morning so that I could start catching up on this month’s deals. I found oodles of free coupon offers, so check out all these fun offers – thanks to The Freebie Blogger and Money Saving Mom as always for the tips.

  • If you live in Portland, OR or Columbus, OH, then click here to sign up for a coupon good for a free 5 to 6.6 lb. bag of Natura Pet Products dog or cat food.
  • On June 19th, Orange Julius will be offering free light smoothies when you bring in this coupon.
  • Share a free cup of coffee with a friend! Click here to send your friends a coupon for a complimentary cup of Peet’s coffee.
  • On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is offering a coupon for a free bowl of Queso or free Empanadas when you register for their email list here.
  • If you shop at a military commissary, you can click here to sign up for a coupon good for one free Hormel Compleats microwave meal.
  • On May 20th, Kérastase are offering free hair treatments at salons across the US. Click here to print out a coupon and get more info.