Top Price Cutter Deals: June 30 - July 6

Top deals and matchups for this week at Price Cutter are listed below.  If you find any other great deals, please leave them in the comment section.

Blue Bell - 3.69
$1/1
Final Price: 2.69

Cool Whip - .77 (limit 2)
.20/2 (SS 6/27)
Final Price: .57 each wyb 2

Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs - .99
$1/2
Final Price - .49 each wyb 2

Jell-O Gelatin or Pudding - 2/$1
.50/2 or B1G1 (SS 6/6)
Final Price: FREE

Kraft Dressing 3/$5
$1/1 (SS 6/20)
Final Price: .67 each

Hunt's Ketchup - .99
.20 (SS 6/20)
Final Price: .59

Back to the Basics: Stick to a Few Stores

This is the second post in a series about the basics of couponing and saving money.  I've decided to title the series Back to the Basics.  

I hear from people often that they do not have time to shop for sales because they will have to go to way too many stores.  Here is a little secret I have for you...I rarely shop at more than 1-2 stores a week.

The best grocery store for sales in my area is Dillons (part of the Kroger family).  I've noticed that most of their sales run at least two weeks.  In the past few months, I've been hitting that sale on the first week.  The next week, I do a quick run to Price Cutter as it is just up the street.  I get the basics and any great sales they have.  I've cut my grocery budget by about 25% simply by switching to this method instead of shopping Dillons every single week.

As for other stores, I rarely look at the sales unless I know my stockpile is getting low.  I usually wind up going to Walgreens or Target one to two times a month for great deals on toothpaste, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc but I do not hit every sale at every store each week.  It would be exhausting to do this.

When you are just starting out, start with one store and get the hang of it before adding another.

My favorite blogs to read to get the great deal matchups are:

Money Saving Mom - features matchups for most national stores
I Heart Coupon Deals - local blogger with Dillons matchups

Food Friday: "Ice Cream" Sandwich

We love to eat ice cream year round but especially in the summer.  This is a fake ice cream sandwich recipe that is easy and much healthier than the real thing.

"Ice Cream" Sandwich

1 graham cracker sheet, broke in half
Cool Whip (lite & fat free work great)
plastic wrap

Spread Cool Whip on half of a graham cracker, top with the other half, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy! 

Top Price Cutter Deals: June 23-29

Here are the top Price Cutter deals this week.  If you find any other deals, please leave them in the comment section.

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini Wheats, or Raisin Bran $1.87
Kellogg's assorted cereals 5/$10
$1/2
Final Price: 1.37-1.50 each

Maxwell House Coffee 34.5 oz - $3.99
$1/1 (SS 5/16)
Final Price: $2.99

Planters Nutrition Big Nut Bars 2/$4
$1/1 (SS 6/20)
Final Price: $1 each

Kashi TLC bars $1.99

Coke 12 packs - $4/11 with coupon from Price Cutter sales flyer 

Remember Your Stockpile During a Heatwave

It has been abnormally hot around here this week (90's with high humidity) and I wanted to remind everyone to think about the temperature of where your stockpile is.  I keep most of mine in my garage and I know many of you do too.  Anything that might melt or cannot withstand heat needs to be moved inside.  

When moving items, it is a great time to take inventory of your stockpile and have an eat from the pantry week.

Couponing: Start Small

In the past few weeks, I've had several people ask me about couponing and how I manage to keep our grocery budget so small.  Every time, I was then told it took too much effort and there was no way they could get their bill so low.  With each person, I had to remind them to start small.  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some beginning couponing tips and tricks that I have learned over the years.  If there are any questions you have, feel free to leave a comment or email me and I will work them into the series.

Today I simply want to remind you to start small.  Do not expect to save 70% your first trip and do not try to hit 5 stores your first time out.  If you currently do not use any coupons, aim for saving 10% off your next grocery trip.  Once you start feeling more comfortable, try for 15-20%.  My current average is 40-50% at the grocery store with the occasional 70-80%.   Drugstores tend to be a bit higher in savings but that is because I usually only go there to get the deals and nothing else.

Stay tuned as my next entry will be about the number of stores I shop at.

Food Friday: Poppy Seed Bread

This is a quick and easy bread that makes two loaves.  I love it when a recipe makes more than one loaf because I can eat one now and freeze the other for later.  I would recommend waiting to ice the one you are freezing though.


Poppy Seed Bread
3 cups unsifted flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp each almond flavoring, butter flavoring, vanilla & poppy seed

Mix together.  Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans.  Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Icing
1/4 cups orange juice
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp almond flavoring
1 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp vanilla

Top Price Cutter Deals: June 16-22

There were very few good deals at Price Cutter this week so the list is small.  As always, feel free to add any that you find.

Blueberries - 2 pints for $3

Best Choice Macaroni & Cheese - 4/$1

Del Monte fruit cups or chillers - 2/$4
$1/1
Final price: $1 each

Nabisco Snak-Saks - 10/$10 (these are great for taking as a quick snack for summer outings)
 

Home Depot Moving Discount

Are you moving soon or have you just moved?  If you answered yes to either of those, head over to Home Depot and sign up for a 10% off coupon plus customized emails with checklists, moving time lines, and projects.  

It seems like every time we move there is always something we need to go to Home Depot for.  There are always many little things you need that you never anticipated and this program offers a discount on those items.

Food Friday: Tutti Fruiti Ice Cream

This is one of my favorite homemade ice cream recipes.  My kids like it too and they don't even realize they are getting a serving of fruit in while enjoying this treat.

Tutti Fruiti Ice Cream

4 ripe bananas
1 medium jar maraschino cherries
1 medium can crushed pineapple
2 cups sugar
2 can Pet mix
4 lemons
milk (can use skim)

Mash and chop bananas, cherries and pineapple.  Mix with sugar and Pet mix.  Add the juice of 4 lemons.  Add enough milk to make a gallon.  Freeze according to direction on ice cream maker.

Here are a few food related links you might be interested in:

Muffins are one of my favorite quick and easy breakfast and snack foods and here is a free download of healthy muffin recipes.

Quizno's is still running their great special of any small sub, chips and a fountain drink for $2.99. You must print the coupon for this special.

Top Price Cutter Deals: June 9-15

Here are the top deals and match ups for this week at Price Cutter.  Feel free to leave a comment of any other deals you come across.


Banquet dinners - .67

Charmin 9ct - 2.99
.25 (P&G 6/6)
$2.49

Kellogg's Raisin Bran - 2/$5
$1/2
$2 each wyb2

Nestle Pure Life Water - 3 for $10
$1/2
$2.83 each wyb2

Nestle Pure Life Splash - 5/$5
if coupon above applies then .50 each wyb 2

Hiland Sour Cream or Dip - .79

Grapes - 1.49/lb

Food Friday: Fruit Salad

It doesn't get much easier than this recipe but it is something I rarely think to make as a side dish. My mother-in-law always has it on hand and the kids gobble it up so I need to remember to make it more often.
 
Fruit Salad 
1 can mixed fruit in light syrup
1 small can mandarin oranges – drained
Additional sliced fruit as desired
Sweet n Low or Splenda – if desired

Mix all ingredients and add half a packet of Sweet n Low or Splenda if it is not sweet enough. We tend to add bananas and any other fruit that happens to be in season at the time. This time of years berries make a great addition.

Top Price Cutter Deals: June 2-8

Every Wednesday, I'm going to start posting the top Price Cutter sales and coupon match ups.  This is not a full list, rather the hot items of the week.  If you find any great coupon match ups, feel free to add them in the comment section.

Libby's Vegetables - .39 each - limit 6

Jack's Pizza - 1.49 - limit 2
.55/1 (SS 5/2)
Final price - .49

Ragu - 2/$3
.75/2 (RP 5/23) & $1/2 (RP 5/23)
Final price - $1 each

New York Texas Toast Croutons - 10/$10
.50/1
Final price - FREE

Post Cereal - 3/$5
$1/2 (SS 5/16)
Final price - $1.17 each wyb 2

This week is also the 10 lb meat sale:
Pork Steak - 1.69 lb
Pork Roast - 1.59 lb
Pork Loin - 1.79 lb

Goals Update

At the beginning of the year I wrote about my goals for the year and stated the importance of reviewing our goals every so often and tweaking as necessary. Since we are about half way through the year I thought I would give you an update on my goals.

1. Weight loss – I'm not even close to where I hoped to be by now but I have lost 6 ½ pounds since the beginning of the year. It isn't a lot but as long as I'm still losing and not gaining I am ok with it. Now that my husband is out of school I'm hoping to find a bit more time to exercise and I know that will help too.

2. Clutter Control  - While my house isn't as clean as I would like, we've made major improvements.  My husband even commented that there are a lot less piles of junk around the house.

3. Blog – most week's I've kept my goal of a minimum of 3 posts per week. My new goal is to up the content quality and begin using more pictures. I'm also looking into options for a new design or even switching to WordPress. If you have any suggestions for a designer or for moving a blog, feel free to share.
 
4. Tupperware – I had a great start to the year but as my husband's school and work schedule took over, I didn't have time to properly run my business. I'm ready to pour more time into it now and plan on getting back on track this summer in order to meet my goal's for the year.

How are your goals coming along? Feel free to share an update or a link.