Friday, January 29, 2010

Frugal Fitness Friday: My FitnessPal


The Frugal Fitness Friday feature this week is myfitnesspal.comMyfitnesspal.com offers a free online food journal/ calorie counter.  I know that if I had to journal everything I ate, that I might think twice before having another chocolate.  So if you are looking for a good online food journal that is free go to myfitnesspal.com

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Free Hershey's Pieces!


Right now if you send in an empty back of any type of "pieces" candy, you can receive a coupon for free candy.  Go to Colie's Kitchen for more information.

New Market Triple Coupons are Back!!!! 1/25-1/31


This has been such a busy week that I never got a chance to look at the ad for New Market online and I just now was able to look at the one in the paper tonight.  I was elated to see that triple coupons are back all week!  Woo hoo!  Here's a list of the deals I've matched with the ad in the paper including freebies!

Capri Sun Fruit Juice 10pk $1.99
$1/2 Capri Suns, exp. 12-30-99 printable coupon doubled
Final Price: $1 each when you buy 2!!!

Bar S Corn Dogs 3lbs $3.99
$1/2 Bar-S Product printable coupon doubled
Final Price: $3 each when you buy 2

Bob Evans Side Dishes 14.5-24oz $2.49
$0.50/1 Bob Evans Side Dishes printable coupon tripled
Final Price: $1.74 each!!

Oscar Mayer FunPack Lunchables 10.55-15oz $1.99
Final Price: FREE!

Tyson Fully Cooked Steak & Chicken Strips 6oz $2.99
$1/1 Tyson Grilled & Ready Frozen Product, exp. 4-3-10 (SS #2 1/3/10) doubled
Final Price: $0.99 each!

Bagel Bites 9ct $1.59
$1/1 Bagel Bites printable coupon doubled
Final Price: FREE!

Wishbone Salad Dressings 16oz $1.99
$1.25/2 Wish-Bone Dressings printable (regional)
Final Price: $1.37 when you buy two

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks 4.5-9ox $2.49
$1/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Shapes printable coupon doubled
Final Price: $1.49 each when you buy two

Hillshire Farms Ultra Thin & Hearty Sliced Lunchmeat 8-10oz $3.49
$0.35/1 Hillshire Farm Deli Select Ultra Thin Lunchmeats or Hearty Slices Lunchmeats, exp. 2-13-10 (RP 01/10/10) tripled
Final Price: $2.44 each

Bananas $.39/lb

I used DealseekingMom's amazing coupon database to help compile these!  Thanks!

80% off Restaurant.com Gift Certificates


Restaurant.com Weekly Promo Offer 300 x 250


It's the nearing the end of the month which means Restaurant.com has cut their $25 gift certificates down to only $2.  Now would be a great time to buy some to use next month for Valentine's Day dinner!  Just make sure that you read all of the fine print before you buy!  Go here to check out this great deal.

New Vistaprint Deals


FREE 2010 Photo Calendar


Vistaprint is currently running lots and lots of deals.
There are a lot of deals where you only need to pay for shipping. Here's a list of the deals I have found:

Free Business Card Magnets
Free Note Cards
Free Business Cards
Free Custom Printed Hat
Free small vinyl banner sign
Free Invitations
Free Custom Printed T-Shirt
Free Photo Calendar
Free Photo Book

Free Sample of Avery Label Pads



Go here for a free sample of Avery Label Pads.  I know many wrote new year's resolutions to get more organized, and what a better way to do that than with free labels!  I'm planning on labeling some of my storage boxes with the sample.

Thanks, FreebieBlogger!

Free Sample of Playtex Gentle Glide



Go here to get a free sample of Playtex Gentle Glide.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Gratituesday: Alarming Music



My husband and I have our own alarm clocks.  Mine wakes me up to NPR (I will sleep through most music, but for some reason people's voices wake me up) and my husband's wakes him up to a station that plays a mix of everything. 

Our alarms go off within minutes of each other and we alternate hitting the snooze button.  It is a kind of comical mix.  A few mornings ago we had hit the snooze button a few times and "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon was playing.  I have to say that it put me in such a great mood for the day.  It fun songs like that which can bring a smile to even my face at that time in the morning.

Go here if you want to listen to it (it came on at about half-way through the song-when the chorus is) or go here to download it and picture me singing it while half asleep in the morning.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Menu Plan Monday: Pantry Week Jan 24-30



Whew, we've almost made it through the Eat from the Pantry Challenge, and honestly, my cupboards are still really full.  Here's the plan for the week, so far:

Main Meals:
Monday: Mexican Chicken Wraps (basically use taco seasoning on chicken, throw in a tortilla with lettuce, cheese and sour cream, yum!)
Tuesday:  Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Freezer Casserole (hoping it is not freezer burnt, since I didn't wrap it that great)
Wednesday:  Meal at Church
Thursday:  Marinated chicken breast, with sauteed green peppers and mushrooms (they are on a great sale at Aldi!)

Sides:  Lots of fresh produce: clementines, apples, fresh pineapple, carrots, peas

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Pamida: 90% off Clearance!



If you happen to have a Pamida near you, now is the time to stop in.  They are currently running 90% storewide clearance.  Last year I was able to pick up some really cheap wrapping paper, but they normally have all kinds of things on clearance.

SeeHere 50% off Valentine's Day Photo Cards!


50% Off Valentine’s Photo Cards


SeeHere.com is running a 50% off photo cards promotion from now until Valentine's Day.  Just use the code vday to receive the discount at checkout.  I'm pretty sure that this can be used on any photo card, so if you are planning on sending out any types of announcements in the future (birth announcements, graduation cards, pregnancy announcements, etc.) now would be a great time to go online and use this 50% discount before it expires!

Coupons.com List


Print FREE Grocery Coupons at Home


Coupons.com is a great resource for printable coupons.  I have saved a lot of money by using their printable coupons.  Here's just a few of my favorites that you can print now:

$1/2 Kraft or Cracker Barrel Natural Cheese
$3/2 Fragrence Collection products by Glade (go here for a way to get these more than free at Kmart)
$1/2 King's Hawaiian products (excluding 4-pack rolls)
$1/1 GE Energy Smart light bulbs

Smokey Bones Buy One Entree Get One Free!



Go here to print a coupon for Buy One Entree Get One Free at Smokey Bones.  My husband and I like to go here on date nights, and Smokey Bones has so many of these wonderful coupons that we have been able to go out for and still have a really cheap date night!

Thanks, MoneySavingMom!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Frugal Fitness Friday: Military Workouts



It's Frugal Fitness Friday again!  This week I would like to focus on a website that I found provided by Military.com.  If you go here you will find a huge list of links to all kinds of resources.

Many of the links are geared more towards men, but there are a lot of interesting ones on the site that could be for men or women.  They have workouts for each branch of military and for specific types of training.  They also have workouts for specific muscle groups.  They even have some interesting articles on different exercises and their effectiveness!

So if you are looking for intense free boot camp style workouts go here.

*Go here for a list of all Frugal Fitness posts, including links to free workout music, free online workout videos, free food journaling, and more.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Free Fitness Music



If you like peppy workout music, go here to download The Biggest Loser Workout Mix for free!  I downloaded it and it has all kinds of songs including Stronger, which always keeps me motivated!

Thanks, FrugalFind!

Free ConAgra Coupon Booklet



Go here to sign up for a free high value ConAgra Coupon Booklet.  ConAgra produces Hunt's, Manwich, and Rotel and many other quality food products.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Restaurant.com Discount Code


Restaurant.com Weekly Promo Offer 300 x 250


Save now on Restaurant.com Gift Cards. .  Use code FEAST to save an additional 70% off through 1/26/20!

Remember to read all of the details for each gift card.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Free Redbox Code at Meijer


There is a new free redbox code at Meijer.  Use the code SMRTRY2 to get a free rental, but use it quick.  It expires 1/21/2010!

Gratituesday: Thankful for Budget Cuts


In Indiana education, we have had drastic and I mean drastic budget cuts.  This could in the end, mean my job, but for now its main effect is a paper shortage.  Our school is practically out of paper.  This is unheard of.  At previous meetings we'd talk about how to better reach our students, what engaging lessons actually mean, but now the meetings have been reduced to, how to teach using less paper.......and yet I love it.

To me a budget cut means a time for me to be forced to be creative.  If I had paper I would probably be still printing partially filled out notes for my students to use and doing most of the same old things.  Now, my students are getting a glimpse at life after highschool and are starting to practice writing their own notes.  I realize that this does not work for all of my students, so I have come up with many more ideas.  We play a lot more games.  My students love it.  I have to write the questions on powerpoint slides ahead of time, which is a decent amount of work, but it means that I'll have a permanent copy already made up.

Next trimester I will be teaching this same subject and teaching another one that I have never taught before.  Without this budget cut, I doubt that I would have so many resources made up that I can reuse.

Another weird plus is that I don't have the stress of the copy machine anymore.  I used to make up a lot of my materials on my computer at home and then bring them in to make copies.  One day when my principal came to observe me I came in late because the copy machine was broken and I didn't have a back up plan, so I had to wait for my copies and be slightly late.  This would never happen now.

So as the budget cuts remove more and more of our resources, I am thankful it eliminates the clutter to bring to light some of the real treasures that we still have, our creative minds!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Pinecone Research Accepting New Applicants!



Pinecone Research is now accepting applications again.  Go here to sign up (and sign up quickly because they only allow new applicants for a very short time). 

I cannot say enough good things about Pinecone Research.  First, it is a survey company that pays you $3 for each survey you take.  They email you when they have a new survey available.  Most of the surveys take about 20 minutes or so to take (I normally bring my laptop to the couch and watch tv with my husband while taking one).  Second, many times they send you full size samples to try of a product before reviewing it. 

I have had the best experience working for this company.  I get a check in the mail for $3 within a week after taking the survey (or you can choose paypal).  You will not get rich by working for this company, but each of those $3 checks adds up! 

New Market Matchups 1/18-1/24



Despite my unhappiness that New Market's grocery stores no longer triple coupons, I have decided that I will still post their weekly coupon matchups.  To see their coupon policy (at least for the Syracuse store) go here.  To find a New Market near you, go here.
Here's the list for Monday, January 18 through Sunday, January 24.

Edy's Ice Cream, Yogurt & Sherbert (48 oz) BOGO Free

Flavorite Cereal 12.25-20oz $1.50

Dannon Fruit on the Bottom or Light Yogurt 10 for $4
Use $1/6 printable
Final price: 10 for $3

Pepsi-Cola Products 2L $.99

Johnsonville Breakfast Sausage Links & Patties 12 oz $2.49
$0.55/1 (SS 12/13/09)
Final price: $1.94

Ball Park Meat Franks or Singles 12.8-16oz $2
$0.75/2 (RP 01/10/10)
Final Price: $1.63 each (when you buy 2)

Tyson Steak & Chicken Strips 6oz $2.99
$0.55/1 (SS 2 1/3/10)
Final Price: $2.44

Johnsonville Summer Sausage 2 lb $5.99
$0.55/1 printable
$0.55/1 (SS 01/17/10)

Tostito's $3
$0.55 (SS 1/17/10)
Final Price: $2.45

Tostitos Salsa $2.49
$0.55 (SS 1/17.10)
Final Price: $1.94

Carlita Soft Tacos 6"-10ct $1

Pillsbury Scrambles or Toaster Strudel $2
$1/2 printable
$0.55/2 printable
Final Price: $1.50-$1.73 each (when you buy 2)

Blue Bonnet Margine Sticks 1 lb. $0.79

Coffee-Mate Flavored Creamer $2
$1.50/2 printable
Final Price: $1.25 each (when you buy 2)

Bar S Hot Dogs 16oz $1
$1/2 printable
Final Price: $0.50 each (when you buy 2)

X-tra Liquid Laundry Detergent 68.75oz $2.50

Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies 8.5-12.5oz BOGO Free
$1/2 printable

Progresso Soup 15.25-19 oz $2
$1/3 printable
Final Price: $1.67 each (when you buy 3)

Green Giant Vegetables 11-15oz $1.25
$0.50/1 printable (doubled)
Final Price: $0.25 each

Note: I used DealSeeking Mom's online coupon database to help compile these match ups.

Menu Plan Monday: Pantry Week 3


We have been trying to Eat from the Pantry for the entire month of January.  So far, we've managed to keep our goals.  I cut back our grocery budget to $20 per week to cover the costs of fresh produce, milk, breakfast items, and my husband's Gatorade.  We have spent $59.91 of the $60 for groceries (if you include newspapers as groceries).  I have changed my mind and decided that the extra $40 we will save this month will help cover the costs of our upcoming Superbowl and Olympics parties (we like to have lots of people over).

This weekend there was a tragedy... I lost my monthly menu plan.  Yep, this month I decided that I would need to make up a plan for the whole month, so that I could know that we would be able to make it through the month just by eating from the pantry.  Somehow during the last week I lost it which was very very sad, so I had to recreate these last two weeks worth of meals.

This week's Main Dishes:
Monday:
Crockpot Chicken and Vegetables
Tuesday:
Spaghetti with Sausage Meatsauce
Wednesday:
Frozen Stove Top Chicken Casserole
Thursday:
Leftovers

Sides:  Salad, Cuties-Seedless EZpeel clementines, apples, peas, rolls

For more menu plan ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Super Savings: Cheap Make-up and Cereal



As you may know, we have been participating in the Eat from the Pantry Challenge.  Each week I have been trying to keep our grocery costs below $20.  This week I was able to snag this deal at Kmart.  They are currently running their General Mills cereals on sale for 4 for $6.  I then used 4 $1/1 coupons and was able to get the cereal for only $.50 a box! 

My husband was even impressed with the deal.  He laughed at my excitement, but I told him that I only read about the couponing pros online getting deals like this, but for once I was able to snag the deal too!


My other "super savings" news is that you should go to your CVS and look and see if they have any of these green or red stickers in their cosmetic section.  My CVS had a bunch of the green 75% off stickers on a few of each type of cosmetic, and some of the red 50% off stickers on other cosmetics.  I would hurry because it seemed as if they had just put one on each type of item, so once the sale items are gone, they're gone.

I rarely buy cosmetics, but I had been noticing how clumpy my mascara was getting and that my blush was almost out.  I went to CVS because I had been so busy that my Extra Care Bucks were about to expire, and I was delighted to see mascara on sale!  I was even able to get the Revlon mascara for free because it was on sale 75% off for $1.99 and I had a $2/1 coupon.  So bring your cosmetic coupons, and check out your local cvs for red and green!

Frugal Flop: $5 off Bennigan's Cards




This afternoon my husband and I had to go to Warsaw for some things, so I decided that we could use these $5 off cards at Bennigan's for lunch (they expire 3/31/2010 and I'm afraid I'll forget about them).  We had received these cards when we bought a gift certificate to the theatre as a gift for some family members. 

We never go to Bennigan's much, but decided that it would be alright if we could use these cards.  We headed in and before we even get our drinks I asked our waitress whether we could use both of the cards, if we split the check (because the gift cards said "One $5 certificate per party, per visit.").  She said we could, so I got really excited.

We ordered off of the $5.99 lunch menu, and I was so excited that we were getting such a deal.  After enjoying the meal, my husband and I were discussing which credit cards to use when the waitress came over and said that her manager just now told her that those cards can not be used on the lunch special.  I asked whether we could use just one, and she insisted that we couldn't use either of them.

I couldn't believe it.  For once I actually remembered to read through all of the small print, unlike last time, and we still couldn't use them.  She offered to let us talk to the manager, but I just didn't want to be "those" people.  However, I still believe that if she told us that we could use them, that we should have been able to use them no matter what. 

Had we known that we couldn't use them on the lunch special, we would have bought regular entrees and still paid less than what we did with a lunch special.  Oh well.  If I feel up to it, I might send Bennigan's an email about it, because for once it wasn't me just being an airhead.  I'll let you know if I hear anything back from them.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Frugal Fitness Friday: Exercise TV (on the internet!)


Whew!  We've already almost made it through another week!  How are you doing?  I managed to squeeze my two workouts per week in on Monday and Tuesday.  I know I should up the goal, but for now I am trying to be realistic~after all I was working out maybe once every two weeks before this.

My Frugal Fitness Feature of the Week is ExerciseTV (Note: no tv is needed!).  ExerciseTV is a website that provides free short and full length clips of lots and lots of exercise videos.  Parts of their website you have to pay to use, however I have never paid a cent and have enjoyed their large variety of exercise videos.

For those of you who are fans of a certain trainer (Jillian Michaels, Denise Austin, etc.) you can choose to only have the videos of that certain trainer displayed.  You can also choose a certain genre of video (Bootcamp, Dance, Yoga, etc.).  Furthermore, they have a few videos offered in Spanish (I like to listen to these to see how much Spanish I can understand).

So if you are already getting bored and unmotivated, go to ExerciseTV and try something completely new.  The best part is ... it's free!

*********************************
Go here to read last week's Frugal Fitness post.

Free Cereal Sample


Go here to sign up for a free sample of Babara's Organic Cereals.

Thanks, FreebieBlogger!

Free Hot Prints Photo Book



Go here to make up to one free Hot Photo Book per month!.

Thanks, FreebieBlogger!

Frozen Vegetable Printable Coupon


Go here to print a coupon for $.50/1 Green Giant Vegetable Coupons.  If your store doubles, this could mean free or almost free frozen veggies!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Menu Plan Monday: Pantry Challenge Week 2



We successfully followed last week's menu for the Eat from the Pantry Challenge.  I was amazed at how perfectly it worked out (although I was not a huge fan of the the Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Biscuits).  This week I went shopping and was $.71 under my Eat from the Pantry Budget (for more info on my rules for the challenge, go here).  Here's the plan for this week:

Monday: Chicken Tetrazzini (from the freezer), cut up apples
Tuesday: Sausage Casserole, salad
Wednesday: Leftovers (I have parent-teacher conferences)
Thursday: Chicken Wraps, Clementines


For more menu plan ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

2 New Free Redbox Codes



There are two new free Redbox rental codes.  All that you have to do is go to a Redbox location, choose your movie, and then at checkout use this code for one night's free rental.  You can use each code once per card, so you can end up getting a lot of free movies!  The codes are RBX2NITE and FREE45W.

Thanks, DealSeekingMom!

Purex 3-in-1 Free Sample



Go here to sign up for a Free sample of Purex Complete 3-in-1.  These sheets have detergent, softener, and anti-static ingredients all in one.  I can't wait to try mine!

Thanks, DealSeekingMom!

$1/1 Duck Brand Tape



Go here to print a $1/1 Duck Brand Tape coupon.  Many of their tapes are between $1-$2 at Walmart!

Thanks, MoneySavingMom!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Frugal Fitness Friday: Sparkpeople and more



We are already a week into the new year and I'm already realizing how difficult it will be to stick to exercising several days a week.  Many people say that the best way to stick to an exercise regimen is to get an expensive gym membership and pay for a trainer.  I beg to disagree. 

Each Friday I will be highlighting several different free/cheap resources for exercising.  These may include online videos, articles, blog-radio shows, exercises, etc.  Something very important to note is that I am not a health expert by any means, so consult your doctor before you try anything too crazy.

This week I am highlighting a site called Sparkpeople.com.  The site was started by Chris Downie and his wife (former Ebay employees) who used and continue to use some of the profit of their Ebay stock to help pay for the maintenance of the website.  They see it as their way of giving back to the community.  For more info on why it is free, go here.

Sparkpeople is a dieting, exercise, and social networking site all-in-one.  When you sign up you will have access to a diet section of the website.  It has a plethora of different recipes (I have a couple that I want to try), and many tips on how to make healthier versions of food that you love. 

For those of you who are really dedicated, you can keep an online journal of what you eat every day. It will tally the nutritional information from all of the food that you ate to give you a total sum for the day.  By looking through your journal, patterns in eating become apparent and it is easier to see when you are weak against the pull of junk food (emotional eating, eating after work, etc.).  They also suggest that you log how many glasses of water you drink.

The exercise portion of the website contains lots of helpful articles and videos.  It includes short video tutorials of exercises.  There is a section where you can log your exercise for each day and it will tally the amount of calories burned (it even includes regular activities such as raking).  I really liked that it included many different types of exercise from sports, to cleaning, to yoga, to boxing, -you name it, they have information on it.

Finally, the social networking part of the site for many people is the biggest motivator in keeping their fitness and nutritional goals.  It is similar to facebook in that you have a profile page that people can see.  You can choose to share your exercise, weight, or nutrition goals with the world.  You can earn points for doing certain things (exercising, eating healthy, just logging in) and as you accumulate more points you will reach different levels.  You can choose to share the level that you are on, on your profile page.  It is fun to look through other people's pages to see what obstacles they have overcome.

There are teams of all sorts of people that you can join.  For instance I have joined a team for people in their 20's in Indiana.  Through that team I can "talk" with other people in similar circumstances to me (can't exercise outside because it is snowing, and don't want to spend the money on a gym membership).  The teams set goals for themselves and try to work together to meet them. 

In conclusion, I chose to write about Sparkpeople for my first Frugal Fitness article for a reason.  It is by far one of the best diet/exercise websites out there, and it is free!  This site has links to almost everything you could need to stay healthy and fit.  There are many other websites that offer diet journals or exercise journals, but not that many that offer both.  Furthermore, this site more valuable information and videos than you could ever read or watch and more than most other health websites that you would have to pay for.  So, if you are having difficulty finding the motivation to reach your new year's resolution goals, sign up.  It's free!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

New Market Update



If you have been wondering why I haven't been posting about New Market deals, here is the story.  A few weeks ago I went in the store as usual to scope out the deals for you, as well as take advantage of some of them for myself, and I started to check out.  I noticed fairly quickly that some of my coupons were only doubling and not tripling.  Then, the cashier nicely told me that only the first one doubles.  I was slightly confused, but after my last coupon fiasco decided to just not buy the extra things and figure it out later when I looked at my receipt. 

My receipt showed that none of the coupons had been tripled (just as I had thought).  I decided to email the manager to ask for their coupon policy and this was his reply:

For the Syracuse store:
  • Valid vendor coupons will double up to $.50, with a maximum value of $1.00.
  • During the specified triple coupon period, valid vendor coupons will triple up to $.50, with a maximum value of $1.50.
  • During the specified triple coupon period, valid vendor coupons with face value between $.51 and $1.00 will double, with a maximum value of $2.00.
  • One additional vendor coupon may be used per item that meets the purchase requirements and has a valid date. These additional coupons will be redeemed at face value.
  • In-store coupons and any vendor coupon that states “Not To Be Doubled” will be redeemed at face value.
  • Vendor coupons for beer, wine, or tobacco products will be redeemed at face value.
  • Catalina coupons may not be used until the next transaction.
  • Catalina coupons will be redeemed for face value only.
  • Catalina coupons may not be used with a vendor coupon or any other checkout coupon for the same item.
  • We will gladly accept internet or computer generated coupons.
For as long as I have been couponing for groceries (several months), they had evidently been running a special triple coupon promotion.  I just thought it was their permanent policy.  Therefore, I plan on blogging about their deals when they run their next promotion.  Until then, I will only blog about any really amazing deals that I find there (which will be difficult without triple coupons).

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