Good eats from Restaurant.com

I posted earlier about the huge 80% off sale at restaurants.com.
We are on vacation this week and we debated about going out of town but decided to stay here.
So, we've been doing fun stuff around the area and using some of the $25 gift certificates I bought for $2 during this sale.

Last night, we went to eat at this fantastic Italian restaurant after going to our great friend's birthday party at a jump place. This is a local chain and their food is wonderful. The garlic rolls are to die for! We both got the chef's specials and the girls ate with us since they had pizza and cake at the party. But man- they ate more than we did! I got a yummy stuffed chicken breast with spinach, roasted red pepper and artichokes served over angel hair. Mike got a swordfish and shrimp diablo served over linguine. We got salad and rolls. To use our certificate- we had to hit $35 with 2 entrees. Our total was $35.40 so after our $25 certificate- we paid $20 including the $2 for the GC, tax and gratuity. And we brought home enough leftovers plus the waiter gave us a box of rolls to eat for dinner another night this week! Italian will be a great change after all that turkey on Thursday. I just transferred the leftovers into tupperware so it will keep. We laughed and commented that we couldn't have eaten at a fast food chain for much less than $20. And the girls thought it was really fun and loved the food.

Before I talk about the next great score- I'm loving how my 5 year old is understanding saving money. I took her to the bathroom and on the way back- she notices the dessert display and immediately saw the key lime pie. Desserts are about $6-8 but huge. She wanted to get the key lime pie because it's Dad's favorite and the girls love it too. But...she came back to the table, told Mike about the dessert and then stopped mid-sentence. She knew we were going to do our CouponMom list for Kroger afterwards since they are in the same shopping center. She looks at me and says, "Do you have a coupon for key lime pie at Kroger? Because we can get it cheaper and get a whole pie to enjoy all week versus one big piece here to split." Hello? She's 5 and already so wise beyond her years. HAHA That's exactly what we did even though I didn't have a coupon. She's also been really great about her Christmas lists- she really pays attention to prices and will debate greatly if she thinks she will really like something and play with it a lot. And the irony- we don't talk about couponing and saving money. She just quietly observes, seems to appreciate how we do it and seems to be getting the bigger picture.

Anywhoo- so today we take the girls to see High School Musical 3 at a brand new, super nice AMC complex about 20 minutes from the house. It was cold and rainy here in Georgia so a movie was perfect! We had 2 free adult tickets so we only had to buy 2 child tickets. Got the girls the kid packs of popcorn, fruit snacks and drinks. Walk in the theater and we are the only people there! We had a huge, stadium style theater all to ourselves. Madi thinks we arranged it for a private viewing! We laugh and tell her no but she just thought it was amazing.

We bought another $2/$25 Gift Certificate for a Japanese/Sushi restaurant that was right down the street from the theater. This certificate- we had to buy $50 worth and 2 entrees. We got a ton of food and sushi, it was wonderful and we ended up paying $32 for dinner. That's pretty good for Japanese/Sushi. And again, we have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Not too many families can leave a Japanese restaurant having a great meal for right about $9 a person.

If you haven't checked out www.restaurant.com- I encourage you to take a look. The 80% sale is over but I will post it every time I see it come around. An 80% code usually comes out at least once a month. Enjoy!

I hit the Coupon Insert Jackpot today!

I belong to 2 local Freecycle groups. Yes, it's a lot of emails to sift through but every so often- a good one hits. Today, a woman advertised 20 SmartSource inserts and I immediately responded and got them. Turns out- she lives right around the corner from us!

We go to pick them up and she comes out to talk to Mike. She delivers for the Atlanta Journal on Thursdays when the Buyers Edge with additional inserts come out for free. So does her husband!! They have tons left over each week so they are supposed to take them to the recycle center. They decided this week to freecycle them! We've now made an arrangement that every Friday, Mike is going to stop by and get 20 of her extras.

Do I really need 20? No- but I plan to share with family and friends who want extra copies. If you are interested- let me know and I'll make an arrangement to mail them to you in exchange for stamps back to keep sending them out. I can also start participating in coupon swaps online and in the area to get more coupons for the items we use most often.

I always knew one day I'd figure out a way to meet a delivery person or find a source for extra coupons. And because I lucked out- I plan to share the wealth.

Product Review: Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Max

I realized I haven't done a product review in awhile. I got the Fresh Brush Max Starter Kit awhile ago but just tried it for the first time. I think I paid under .50 for it.

I just tried it and I'm throwing away that nasty toilet brush sitting next to the toilets! It worked great. I thought my toilet was pretty clean but the brush got way up under the rim. Come to find out- my standard toilet brush didn't reach this area well. My toilet is now sparkling clean and it only took about a minute.

In case you aren't sure you know which one I'm talking it about, Fresh Brush Max is a wand that you attach a pad to, scrub the toilet and then release in the trash can.

There were coupons for all the Scrubbing Bubbles products in the box. I will definitely keep this product on my radar when I'm generating my CouponMom lists each week. And I will stock up on the refills plus try to score more starter kits so I have one for each bathroom.

I give this one a thumbs up!

Q&A- Using a drug store Free GC with Prescription at Kroger

Q: OK, this morning I clipped a Walgreens free $25.00 gift card for a prescription transfer. How can I use this at Kroger? I read one of your October post but I'm still a little uncertain. :) Thanks!!!

A: It's super easy! Take the coupon you clipped and your prescription to the Kroger pharmacy. Ask the pharmacist if they will match. They should say yes. I've never had a problem at our Kroger doing this and Kroger wants your pharmacy business! If for some reason they say no- go talk to Customer Service. I will go try to find documentation from Kroger that this is their policy tomorrow.

What they will do is download the $25.00 to your Kroger card. Once you scan it in at the register- the $25 will automatically come off your total.

And again- if you ran into any trouble and can't get the results you want- Publix will do the same. Either way- free money for groceries!

Tip: The last times we did this at Kroger and Publix- they didn't have the cream/medicine we needed. My husband prepaid and Kroger downloaded the amount on the savings card and Publix went ahead and gave him the gift card. We needed the prescription- it wasn't urgent but wanted the savings because we had a list from CouponMom ready to go.

Thanks for the question and super excited for you that you are doing so well on your shops! Let me know how else I can help!

Another Score at Kroger tonight! 63% Savings plus a wonderful dinner

My husband hit Kroger and did great once again! I love the fact that he's gotten into this as much as I have. We work as a team- I put the deals together, get the coupons ready and he shops on his way home from work. Keeps me out of the stores with a 2 and 5 year old! So we stick to our lists.

Our total was $29.25 and we saved $49.59 or 63%. Mike spent $13.39 on items not on the list for dinner tonight- yellowfin tuna, salmon and crawfish. He also bought the vanilla syrup I use to make the lattes I mentioned in an earlier post. So our list total should have been $15.86 or 80% savings. We bought 33 items.

Here's what we got from the list-
1 lb sweet onions
1 package mushrooms
5 Danactiv yogurt 4 packs
1 Land of Lakes butter
2 Hefty Freezer bags
2 Duracell AA 2pks
6 Quaker Quick Oats
2 Domino Sugar 2lb
8 cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk
J&J Kids Shampoo

Can you tell I'm stocking up for the Holidays? My daughter wants to bake oatmeal cookies for the neighbors and friends for Christmas. I'm looking for battery deals for Christmas morning and these 2 packs were .25 cents each!

Look at this bill in a different way. $29 sounds like a lot for us when we shop but my husband laughs at me that I think $29 is a lot! But, can you imagine how much it would have cost for the 4 of us to eat out and have seared tuna, salmon and crawfish in a restaurant? Lucky for us- we both know how to cook seafood. We got great deals and had a great dinner!

So for the week- just under $50 for groceries. We ate in every night this week and really well plus healthy. Stocking up for the holidays and getting ready for the dishes I want to bring to Thanksgiving and Christmas events.

Great Publix Shop Tonight

Tonight, we bought 23 items for $19.56. We saved $22.76!
Here's what we got for under $20.00:
5 Betty Crocker Frosting tubs (FREE and we're gearing up for the holidays)
5 McCormick Gravy Mixes (came to .24 each)
2 cans of Lindsay Olives
2 cans Eagle Condensed Milk
2 Graham Cracker pie crusts
1 Publix Whipped Topping
3lb bag of tangerines
2 Kraft Mac and Cheese
Hefty Ovenware (to take our contributions to Thanksgiving)
2 pack of Hefty 2 QT Casserole Pans

Great shop and great items for the fast approaching Holiday Season. And these are all items we use and will use soon!

If you do well at the grocery store- please leave a comment and share!

Don't forget the older posts + Q&A

There are a lot of new readers so make sure you go through October's posts. They contain more of the processes and how to do coupons since lately I've been posting deals and examples of saving.

Also, if you have a question or have a topic you want me to address, leave a comment on this post and I will cover it !

Thanks and I appreciate everyone reading!
Have a good weekend!

www.darlingshoes.com

I have no idea if their sale will happen again, but last year- right after Christmas- they had this unbelievable $2.00 sale on shoes for infants and toddlers. I got 3 pair of shoes and with shipping paid just about $11.00. Almost every style of shoe they offered was on sale last year.

The sale was crazy- I had to guess sizes but the ones I got are going to work. I ordered about 7 pairs initially but only got 3 pairs. The site was super slow with the volume and I was adding to my cart like a mad woman.

I was still happy with the shoes I received. The shoes were great quality- shoes you would find in the department stores. Shipping was slow due to the overwhelming response but the shoes I ordered were for this winter so I didn't mind. Their communication about shipping dates was wonderful.

Like I said- I don't know if the sale will take place again but I'm going to be on the lookout. You may want to get on their emailing list. I get very few emails from them but I definitely want to know if the sale is on again this year. Just a heads up!

"Copykat" your favorite restaurant dishes

We get in these modes where we don't like to eat out. It's expensive and a lot of times- you leave wondering why you ate there and spent the $X amount you just spent. We like to cook and feel we can make food as good as if not better than the restaurants do.

However, there are some favorites that I do enjoy. But, it doesn't mean you can't make them yourself. Here's a great website to search for your favorites. You can pull up recipes for things like Olive Garden House Dressing, Hooters Wing Sauce or Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits.
http://www.copykat.com

There are 2 favorites of mine that I just observed when ordering and have figured out to do myself.
One is my non-sugar Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. I got my mom to give me a very nice expresso maker a couple of years ago for Christmas, bought the syrup and played around with the technique until I thought it tasted exactly the same.

My new favorite that I've learned to copy is the Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade at Starbucks.
I tried it on vacation and tried the Passion Tea flavor. Starbucks uses Om tea which you can find in the grocery stores here. Again, I'm pleased with my version.

Both recipes work for me, keep me away from Starbucks because it's hard to pay $4-5 when I know I can make several for price of one!

I've also found the copycat for our favorite wing sauce in Atlanta. We have a chain here called Taco Mac. Mike did a google search for "Taco Mac Wing Sauce" and found this recipe. It is great so now we make all of our wings at home as well.

2/3 cup Franks Hot Sauce
1/3 cup Valentina Salsa Picante (you find this in the authentic Mexican section at the store)
Butter
Salt to taste

Check the site out or google your favorites and see what you can find. Enjoy food for less at home!!

Score at Publix tonight

We were in a coupon zone tonight! HAHA Everywhere we went- we saved huge and it was fun.

Tonight- I got:
Sargento Salad Finishers- Chicken Caesar
Pillsbury's New Savoring Bites in Cheese and Spinach
Publix Large Eggs
2 cans of Hunts Diced Tomatoes

Total after savings and coupons: $4.27
Saved: $8.36

Such a fun shop- I've wanted to try the first new items, eggs for Holiday baking and who doesn't need canned tomatoes in the pantry just in case?

This is an example of stockpiling and taking the most advantage of the coupons and sales.

88% saved at Kroger tonight

We did incredible tonight at Kroger! Saved 88% or $87.12. Our total went from $100.06 to $12.94!!! And we purchased 46 items.

What did we buy? Sounds crazy but the deals were just too good! We took advantage of the Mega Event where if you bought a total of 10 certain items (you could mix and match), you received $5 off. You could do this deal 3 times on your transaction for a total of 30 items and $15 off.

We also had some free item coupons sent to us from Kroger. A 12 pack of Coke, Nature Valley Granola Bars, Cherry Tomatoes and a can of Pillsbury Sweet Rolls.

So here's what we walked out of Kroger with for $12.94:
12 3L Deer Park Bottled Water (free after Mega Event plus coupons)
4 Powerades (free after Mega Event plus coupons)
4 Edward Pie Singles (.50 each after Mega Event and coupons)
2 Breyers Ice Cream (1.50 each after Mega Event and coupons)
4 Orville Mini Bag Popcorn (.70 each after Mega Event and coupons)
Pillsbury Sweet Rolls- Free thanks to Kroger
Kroger Biscuits ( .29 cents after a Kroger $1.00 coupon)
3 Colgate toothpaste (.25 cents after Mega Event and coupons)
4 Cottonelle 4 pack TP (Free after coupons)
Bananas 2.58lbs for $1.50
Kroger Romaine Hearts on clearance for $1.69
3 J&J Sudzy Bars (.09 each after coupons plus a new catalina to buy 3 more for .09 cents)
1 Nature Valley Almond Granola Bars- Free thanks for Kroger
1 Box of Cheerios ($1.00 after coupon)
2 Bic 4 packs of razors (.50 cents each after Mega Event and coupons)
1 Cherry Tomatoes- Free thanks to Kroger
12 pack of Coke- Free thanks to Kroger

So- the total was just over $100. We got the $15.oo off for the Mega Event and I had another great coupon from Kroger for $5 off $45 or more. After all my coupons- $12.94.

We saved $38.60 from Manufacturer's coupons, $3.60 in Bonus Coupon Savings, $44.92 in Store Coupon and Kroger Plus Savings for a grand total of $87.12 saved or 88%!!

And as a bonus- we accumulated 58 points towards our fuel savings at Kroger.

And the cutest was the cashier. She loved every minute of it! I handed her my coupons and she grinned, looked at the monitor and said "You're at $100- Let's go." I entered my Kroger Plus card- drops dramatically, she enters the coupons and she is just going crazy. So are the people behind us. Mike pays and she looks at him and says, "Your wife takes good care of your money! That is amazing!!"

My only gripe- Mike forgot a catalina for $3.00 off those J&J Buddies Soap! So, our total should have been under $10!! HAHA

I'm sharing because it can be done, anyone can do this and this is a great example of why you collect as many coupon inserts as you can! We're putting some of these items in the sale tomorrow so we'll see how fast we can make that $12.94 back in the morning!

My new "normal" pantry

Today and tomorrow is our community garage sale. We did really good considering we didn't have any high ticket items like baby stuff or furniture.

One thing I decided to do was sell a lot of my stockpile. It was amazing how fast it moved! People thought the prices were great which was hilarious to us knowing what we actually paid or didn't pay at all in some instances. I sold cleaning products, health and beauty and even food. We even went back through our CouponMom lists for the week and went out tonight and bought more to sell! I'll post the incredible deals we got tonight on the next post.

We at the very least doubled our investment on everything we sold. I estimate we paid about $30 dollars for what we sold just today and made almost $100. Now, where can I put my money that we'll say I've spent over the last 3 months and make over 3 times my investment?

Some of the best deal makers were Lysol Neutra Air Starter Kits. They are normally $10.99-$12.00 and with a sale plus coupons- we bought for $1.99. We sold 8 for $5 a piece! We turned $16 plus tax into $40. We realized today that we had 8 more coupons for the Airwick version and this week- they are $5.99 (normally $11.99) and the coupon was for $4 off. So we paid again about $16 plus tax and plan to sell these tomorrow morning for about $6. We'll turn $16 into $48 in just over 12 hours. The starter kits we sold today sold in the first 2 hours.

Now, I know I mentioned earlier that I don't clear shelves or sell items at flea markets. I sold things today that I've accumulated over time with intent to use. I just realized that I had way too much cleaning items plus toothpaste and shampoo I really didn't like. I've changed my hair and I need to use better product to take care of it. And with the economy like it is- my great discounts on these products helped others.

Another great item was Montgomery Inn BBQ Sauce. For awhile, they were $10 for 10 at Kroger and right beside the sauce was an instant coupon machine for .50 off. It would double making the BBQ sauce free. Every time my husband stopped- he bought 2-3 bottles. It actually became a joke between us and he just kept bringing more and more home. We have 40 bottles after giving the neighbors plenty. They are almost gone after selling for .50 cents each. We will make $20 off these items! Now that's a great return on nothing!

My new "normal" pantry looks good but bare. I now like everyone else only have 5 things of BBQ sauce stocked. I have space to start stockpiling all over again!

Being Frugal at Disney

Everyone who knows me wonders how I stay so frugal at Disney. We absolutely love Disney and try to go at least once a year. Last year, we went for 8 days in December and to experience Disney at Christmas is an unbelievable visit. The light show at Disney Studios is worth it alone. Last year's visit cost under $1000 and the crowds were so light- we walked on almost every ride. Got down right snobby during one of our last days there- we were waiting 10 minutes. We literally rode everything until we were sick of it! HAHA

There are several things I do that keeps the cost down.

• Once I know we are going, I hit the local Disney Stores and buy souvenirs off clearance. The girls think that Mickey leaves treats for them in the car or hotel room so we never go to the shops and let the girls look around. I will tell them that they can decide on the last day if there was something they didn't get and want then we would let them get one thing.
• I ask grandparents, aunts, uncles etc to give the girls Disney Dollars beforehand so they can spend their money in Disney.
• I take my own mini-fridge and a percolator with us. Sound weird? Yes, but I stock up on grits, oatmeal and Pop Tarts through CouponMom. I take foam bowls, plastic utensils and we eat breakfast in the room while we get ready to hit the park of the day. We take a case of bottled water with us and freeze several each night. Yes- super cheap but no wasted time or money on breakfast. I have several of those complimentary, insulated diaper bags that the hospital gives you when you have a baby- I load it up with waters and snacks that I got on a great deal again from CouponMom. Disney wants to rent a mini fridge for $10 a day so you are looking at $70 bucks for the week. We have one that we got a garage sale for less than $10 and this is it's only purpose.
• Because I am loaded up with snacks- we eat one meal a day in the parks. We for whatever reason, don't eat a lot on vacation. We'll share a meal, the girls will too at lunch or a little later and supplement the meal with juice boxes and snacks. The only splurge is popcorn which the girls could eat all day long and that helps keep the cost down eating in the parks. But popcorn is the cheapest snack food in the park. We buy the souvenir bucket and just keep getting refills.
• We save every popcorn bucket and I wash them out at the hotel. I'll bring a sample of dishwashing detergent. My girls are young enough to think these are souvenirs and they love watching a movie in the playroom with their popcorn buckets. Every park has a different bucket and they love them. I even went so cheap this past visit that I got 2 Mickey ears plates from the kids' meal and saved those as well. We bought one kids meal and asked for a 2nd plate. I used wipes to clean them out and we still have them almost a year later! They love using the Mickey ears plates to this day.
• We only buy 1 park a day tickets. With our girls so young- trying to Park Hop is just crazy. We buy enough tickets to do a park a day and since we go off season- the parks are closing early or we coordinate our parks when they are staying open late.
• We don't get into the whole Character Dinners etc. I know we will later on but right now- no big deal. What the girls don't know won't kill them!
• We leave the park and get dinner. Our last visit- we actually did take out and took it back to our hotel room. My oldest actually asked for veggies and a balanced meal about our 3rd day. For example, we went to Outback- ordered a large prime rib with an extra side. While we were waiting- Mike went to Winn Dixie, got a salad mix and dressing in the same shopping center. No drinks- had them in the room, no tip... we were 2 minutes away from our hotel and just had picnics in the room. The girls loved it and thought we were just doing the neatest thing! So our dinner budget was under $20 most nights.
• We hit a close-by Walmart for Tshirts. Why pay $20 plus within Disney when you can buy shirts that your children could care less where you bought them but can bring home from their magical vacation.
• I use www.touringplans.com to plan our parks each day. One year is $8.95 and this site helps you utilize your time and get the most bang for your buck!
  

You can do Disney on a budget, have a great time and not come home worrying about credit card bills and paying for what you spent during a week at Disney. We don't consider a vacation a true "vacation" if we have to come home and deal with the costs later. Going with a budget, creative ways to save money and not coming home to a pile of debt makes a week of Disney a lot of fun! And once you realize you are frugal and a cheapie- there's no other way to go to Disney World!

Biggest Disney World Promotion in a long time!

Book your trip beginning at 5 pm EST on Thursday, November 6, 2008. How big is this discount? It's the biggest discount offered by Disney Parks since 2001!

For every 4 nights - you get 3 nights free!
For every 4 days of tickets - you get 3 days free!
If you book your trip between January 4th and March 29th, you also receive a $200 Disney Gift Card to spend at check-in!

*****Book between November 6th and December 20th!*****
Travel between January 4th and June 27th!
Travel between January 4th and March 29th to include the Disney Gift Card.
Travel between March 29th and June 27th to include the discount, but not the Disney Gift Card.

Okay- I tentatively booked tonight for my daughter's Winter Break which would be 2/14-2/21.
We are very fortunate to have a "full year school calendar" and we get extra weeks off that most counties in our area do not. We only start school a week earlier than the surrounding counties but we get a Fall Break, the whole week of Thanksgiving, the same Christmas break as everyone else plus a Winter Break as well as the usual Spring Break. We finish our school year less than one week later than surrounding counties and still by the end of May.

For the 4 of us, staying in a Disney "Value" Resort with 7 days of 1 park a day tickets- it was $1230.00. Plus we would get the $200 Gift Card which would easily pay for our meals in the park. My only concern is that week is President's Day week and it's a high attendance week. I'm going to do some more research before we make our decision. From Atlanta, the drive is very easy and I'm blessed with 2 daughters that travel very well. We'll decide this week but I'd like this to be the "big" Santa present to the girls on Christmas morning.

I saw another hint and I'm going to research tomorrow is you can get this deal through AAA. Someone posted they saved over $500 from the original quote given through the Disney site.

Since I'm on the subject- I'll post next how we save so much when we go to Disney.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can talk the Head Santa to go along with the idea.

Easy, Cheap Fudge for the Holidays

I've never tried this recipe but I've heard rave reviews about it! You can make this recipe when items are on sale for under $4.00. This would make great gifts and a great dessert to take to Holiday parties!

Easy Fudge

(1) 8x8 pan
Wax paper for the pan
1/2 stick of butter
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
3 cups of chocolate chips (1 and 1/2 bags)

Melt the last three in the microwave for 1:30 minutes, stir, then another minute. Make sure you stir in the middle, don't burn it.
Pour into a wax paper lined pan. Use the wax paper-if you don't use the wax paper, you are really going to regret it! Even leave a bit up the sides.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours and then cut!

Variations:

• Best "seller" is Butterscotch: simply by using 2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 cup of butterscotch chips.
• Mini M&Ms are another good substitute.
• You can use flavor extracts like mint or orange.
• Cover the top with coconut.
• Rocky Road: Substitute 1 cup of walnuts for one cup of chips+ 1/2 c chopped walnuts and 1 cup mini marshmallows, turned in after the mix is well blended and ready for the pan.
• Extreme Peanut Butter Fudge: normal recipe - butter + 1/4 c. peanut butter.

Sounds super easy, frugal and sure to be a big hit! Enjoy!!

Getting discounts through your local and national PTA

Speaking of PTA, many people don't realize that most PTA groups offer discounts for being a member. You can be a member without having children at the school. Ours is $6 and we have discounts to over 30 local businesses. Free appetizer at one and % off from the rest.

For example, I found a great new hairdresser through the Neighborhood Partners and she offers 25%!! off her services all the time. That is huge when you think about it! I got my hair done, bought products and saved over $30. I spent $6 for a membership and saved $24!

There are also discounts through the National PTA. You have to be a member to view them but there is a discount for a major insurance company and a cellular company. Their discount is up to 14% off each month, free activation fees, upgrades etc. Someone posted on a site I frequent that they will save over $150 a year on their mobile package. Again- a great return for a $6 investment in a school in your community.

Just contact your local school and ask for the contact information for the PTA. See if they offer Neighborhood Partners and discounts. Your membership will pay for itself the first time you use it! And you are supporting area businesses that are usually small business owners who obviously care that your local school and its students receive a top notch education. Plus your membership is tax deductible!!