More building

So I am still learning to use this silly tablet! Bear with me! We also went to Mackey's today and got some of our other inventory building needs.

Tillamook ice cream 2/$7

-$1/1 tillamook printable

Wf whipped topping .88 each

Pre-frozen chicken breasts $3.99 each= $1.60/lb!!!

Nabisco crackers $1.50 each

-$1/1 wheat thins printable

-$1/2 nabisco printable

I know it can be difficult when you are building mode, as your grocery bill will be higher than usual for a little while. Try to plan for this ahead of time and have extra funds available. Also keep in mind that you will be saving a lot of money in the long run by stocking up on your family's necessities when they are a great price!

Ps. Smith's (Kroger) will be starting their case lot sale on January 1!!!

Pps. I got a catalina print up after my little shopping trip at Smith's today. It is a coupon for $2 pff my next purchase of $10. I just love when that happens!!! Saving it for the case lot!!

Happy New Year!!!

Building Phase

After all the business of the Christmas season, I have realized that my stockpile is far too low on certain items. Thus, we are in a building phase! Luckily, there are tons of great deals right now on just the things I need! We were able to stock up on cereal and milk last Saturday.  Things we have been low on were snack foods, things like granola bars  and crackers. We also were in dire need of meats.
At the Pays on Smith's today, we grabbed a few little things. My main reason for going back there was to redeem my chex coupons that I didn't have for the cereal we got Saturday. They gave me back $4.20.
Sorry this picture is terrible! I don't have time to retake it. We got the following:

Egg nog $2.99

Cinnamon toast crunch bars .90 each on close out

Pantene shampoo $2.09 each Close out

-$4/2 Pantene products = .09 each.!!

Dove deodorant $1.15 each on close out

-$1/1 Dove printable= .15 each

DDegree adrenaline men's deodorant $2.47 close out

-$1.50 Kroger eco upon

-$1.50 degree adrenaline printable= + .53!

**You won't always be able to combine ecoupons and paper coupons. It depends on the cashier.

No use crying over expired coupons!

The family and I went to Smiths in Payson this evening. We found lots of great closeout prices! We were in there for a long time and it became quite a circus!  My husband did a great job of taking care of the kids while I hunted. We went up and down every aisle looking for close out tags. That's just the way you have to do it there. Have your coupon binder all set and set aside plenty of time!

 Kroger Wheat Bread .88 ea

Santitas Tortilla Chips 3/$5

Apples (assorted varieties) .99/lb

Milk 2/$3.88 must buy in increments of 2

 Krusteaz Shortbread Cookie Mix .69 ea in a clearance cart
Spoiler Alert!!! Next year's neighbor gifts!! They don't expire till 2016!!!!
There are also Krusteaz Sugar cookie mixes for .99 each in clearance carts near the pet department. 

Kroger Corn Flakes .80 ea close out. They don't expire till the end of next year!! I got some of these last week and it was refilled, so if you go tomorrow or Monday, they may have refilled it!

Chex Apple Cinnamon Cereal .95 ea close out. I took all they had, but like the corn flakes, they will likely be refilled so be sure to check!
As you are probably aware, the recent Chex coupon expired. I was sad to not have it as it would have made this not just a really cool deal, but an absolutely awesome deal! No use crying over expired coupons!!!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Bars .90 ea close out. They might have been .80 each. I don't won't to go to the van to check the receipt. ;) These are another that I saw last week and have since been refilled, as they were empty last time.

Oranges .50/lb

Pantene Shampoo (only this one kind) $2.09 ea close out
-$4/2 Pantene hair products= .09 each!!!
This is another bit of proof of what I always say! If the coupon doesn't list the exact item you want, try it anyway!!! You never know!! The computer just might take it!! I did have a back up coupon just in case that was $3 off. So glad the better one worked!!

Dove deodorant (only this kind) .72 ea close out
-$1.50/2 Dove deodorants mail coupon from Smith's= + .03 each!!!
Gotta love money makers!!!

Gatorade Power Chews 1.00
FREE Gatorade Chews Friday FREEBIE ecoupon

This was a fun, invigorating shopping trip!!! Get to the Payson Smith's and see what awesome deals you might find!!!

Friday FREEBIE!!

Here's today's FREEBIE from Kroger! (Smith's)

Gatorade Chews or Pouch

Friday FREEBIE!!

Kroger (Smith's) just keeps giving us these wonderful Friday FREEBIES!! I love it! Especially considering there are no coupon inserts this weekend. This gives me my little fix! ;)

FREE King Size Twix Candy Bar

Hurray for Payson!

 I had a lovely time shopping in Payson today. The babies and I first went to Walmart. It was the less pleasurable part of the trip, unfortunately. I noticed that several prices had sky-rocketed! For instance, the Crayola 8 ct markers went from .97 each up to $2.47!! And the Bic Pens went from .97 up to $1.47! Quite frustrating. Another buggy unpleasantness; certain items did not ring up as they were marked. The Bic RED pens were marked .97. They rang up $1.47 like the others. I had to have the cashier correct it, along with the spaghetti sauce. These two flavors, Meat and 4 Cheese, were marked on rollback for .88 each. They rang up .98 each like the other flavors were marked. So glad I was watching the prices so closely!! Keep an eye on the register, friends!!

A few other goodies that went without a hitch:
Assorted Hershey's, Heath, and Reeses chips $1.98 ea
-$1/2= $1.48 ea

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers $1.97 ea
-.55/1 Mr Clean Erasers online print (doubled)= .97 ea

Gift tape .68

Fleishman's yeast $1.38 ea
-.40/1 Fleishmen's yeast (doubled)= .58 ea

And then we were off to Smith's!! Right now it is my most favorite store!!

 Kroger Wheat Bread .88 ea
-.25/any $2 of Smith's bread, rolls, or buns- mail coupon

Kroger Ice Cream $1.99
-.40/1 Kroger Ice Cream- mail coupon= $1.59

Kroger Canned Green Beans 3/$1

Apples .99/lb

Assorted General Mills Cereals 4/$8
-$1/2 Chex Cereals online print
-FREE Gallon of Milk wyb 4 select General Mills cereals!!!

Izze sparkling beverage 10/$10
-FREE Izze sparkling beverage ecoupon
I wasn't able to find this item at the Provo Smith's last week. I found it in the Payson store on a free-standing display near the bakery.

Friskies Party Mix
FREE Friskies snack ecoupon

Kroger Value Corn Flakes .80 each!!!! clearance

Multi Grain Cheerios  $1.39 ea  clearance
-.75/1 Multi Grain Cheerios online print= .64!!!!
-.50/1 Cheerios online print= .89!!!
I only had one of the .75/1 coupons. I don't usually print those because the cereal is usually still too expensive. I did have several of the other online prints for the various other Cheerios flavors. Multi Grain was not listed on the coupons but the register still accepted it! Never hurts to try!! Also, also carry at least one of every coupon!!! Even if you wouldn't normally use it. Especially at the Payson Smith's!! You just never know what close out and clearance deals you might find!!!

A bit of shopping

 This is a busy week! I have a gym membership again, a blessing that somehow happened, still not sure who extended it for me. Must've been a repayment of karma.... :) Anyway, super grateful and glad to be back at it!!
 I'm also doing tons of baking this week for friends and family and lots of Christmas activities! In the midst of all this, I am also shopping!! Today was the easy trip, hitting only Sam's Club and the Provo Smith's. Tomorrow I will hit the Payson Walmart and Smith's, the dollar store, Kmart, and Rancho Market! Gotta get to bed early tonight!!
 So here's what we grabbed at Smith's:

Milk 2/3.88

Peanuts 3/$5

Bread .59 (clearance rack)

Apples .99/lb

Rice Thins 1.99
-FREE Rice Thins mail coupon= FREE!!!

Toblerone Chocolate Bars 10/$10
-$1/2 Toblerone bars= .50 each

Tomorrow is going to be crazy but I'm excited for it! Stay tuned!!

FREE FUN!

  I just love FREE! It is such a great time of year to find FREE entertainment! What activities have you found for your family to enjoy?? Here are a few you ought to check out!

Thanksgiving Point, Lehi
Visit Santa's Reindeer!! head to Water tower plaza to see a couple of Santa's reindeer! They will be out from noon till 10 pm daily until December 23rd.

Ice Sculpting Demonstration! Monday and Wednesday evenings, 6-8pm at the Water Tower plaza. So excited for this one!!

Salem Pond, Salem
Salem puts together a wonderful, magical Christmas light display right on the water at Salem pond. Drive around and enjoy the view or pull off to the side and take a FREE romantic stroll along the bridge. Fun! Great date night activity!

Sledding!
Duh!! There is so much sledding to be had! I personally love Peteetneet in Payson and the golf course hills in Elk Ridge.

Temple Square, Salt Lake City
Bundle up, bring some cocoa, and enjoy walking and checking out the many twinkling lights at Temple Square! Beautiful!!!

Service!
Call up the food bank, ask religious leaders what is needed in your neighborhood, go online and see all the many organizations that NEED volunteers! Take the family and give of your time helping others in need!

Residential Light Shows!
I just love how people put up these crazy, awesome musical light shows in their yards! I don't know how much their neighbors love it, or the resulting traffic, so please be respectful if you choose this free activity! Here's one to check out:
#1:To get to these lights, take Orem Blvd to 1000 South in Orem. Turn west and drive a half block to 200 East (Yes, 200 East is west of State Street here-- just accept it). Turn north (right) and go less than a block. The physical address is 200 East 936 South in Orem. You'll notice these lights as you get closer, so it's easy to find.

Ogden Christmas Village
I found a delightful blog detailing this FREE adventure that I had never heard of. Check it out!
Ogden Christmas Village details

I would LOVE to hear of any FREE Christmas activities you all know about! 

Friday FREEBIE!

Here's another fabulous FREEBIE from Smiths! (Kroger) Be sure to load it to your Fresh Values card TODAY!!
You don't have to use it today, you just need to load it today.

Friday FREEBIE

Getting Creative!

  Hey kids!
Some of you may recall that I recently scored an amazing deal on peanut butter cookie and corn muffin mixes. Well, I have been baking like a mad woman, getting neighbor and friend cookie plates put together. And you know how I love to save money!
I used the tootsie rolls left over from Halloween to make fudge and it was delicious!!
I made several other things using stuff we already had, most of the ingredients were stock up deals and will be probably go on sale at least one more time before Christmas. Things like chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows, and cream cheese.
I made some lovely Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies with the cookie mix and they turned out great. Now I'm thinking of all the other possible variations I could do with them! I still need to do another baking day to finish up the last half of cookies plates. Going to do that hopefully tomorrow.
I also had a crazy idea jump into my brain that I should try to use the corn muffin mix too somehow... But not for regular corn muffins. That would be far too pedestrian! I've found a couple of recipes online and I'm really excited to see how they turn out!
So, stay tuned for a report! I'll post the most successful recipes!

HAPPY BAKING!!!

Yesterday

  I braved the cold yesterday and took the kids grocery shopping. I only hit two places, Rancho Market and the Provo Smith's.
Smith's was quick and simple: Milk 2/3.88
Kroger Bread  .88

Rancho Market

There are so many great produce prices right now! As usual. :) And you really should see how much they have expanded and improved their store!!!

Oranges 4 lb/.99

Cantaloupe  4 lb/.99

Mangoes 2/.99

Pineapple  2 lb/.99

Tomatoes  2 lb/.99

Spinach 2/.99

Granny Smith Apples .59/lb

Bananas 3 lb/.99

Kale .89 ea

My only disappointment was the lack of other apples on sale. I ended up grabbing some for .99/lb at Smith's to supplement the not so sweet Granny Smith's. 

Tomorrow I will be hitting the Payson Smith's and Walmart. Hoping for some good finds and freebies!

Got milk?

A couple of great milk prices this week:

Smiths (Kroger)  1 gal milk  2/$3.88 with fresh values card!

Rancho Market 1 gal milk $1.99 on Saturday only!

Drink up!  ;)

First Big Winter Business Experiment!

So last winter, I was only selling on ebay and it wasn't much. I had done yard sales and such that summer but had yet to discover the indoor yard sale sites on Facebook. Well, this winter is different! I have a large and growing inventory of dumpster finds and lots of clients constantly bringing me consignments, so I am going to attempt to really keep selling through the winter this year!
Last year my main income was from couponing and babysitting. No babysitting this year, so my goal is to continue covering what babysitting brought in to the family budget. So far I have been able to do that and then some, but after today's major storm, the first real snow of the season, I am a little bit concerned.
I am still posting a lot on the yard sale sites but the problem I have run into today is the weather and people's willingness to travel through it... or lack there of. I totally understand!! I'd much prefer to sit with my cocoa and enjoy the comfort of my home, rather than brave the unplowed streets, even if it is a good deal!
I'm still selling, but I do see how there will be difficulties that I didn't have to overcome in the summer and fall. My first thought is that I need to focus on selling things that will draw the people out. So I am going to focus on really awesome merchandise at fabulous prices and see how it goes!
And probably, I will focus a lot more on my ebay business. It tends to not be affected by the weather, at least not in the buying aspect. You can run into delivery problems occasionally, but that is rare.
I am excited for the challenge of keeping my income up where it has been these past few months. If I can bring it in through a harsh Utah winter, I know I can make it through almost anything!
Ps. I still love what I do! Just gotta bundle up when I hit the bins!

Awesome Cracker Deal!

Thank you savvyshopperdeals.com for this awesome heads up!!

Macey's: 2-Day Sale, December 6th & 7th

Buy: (2) Wheat Thin Crackers at $1.49

Use: (2) $1.00/1 Wheat Thin Crackers Coupon

Final Price: $0.49 each

I jump on these cracker deals so we're stocked up for New Year's Eve!!! Bring on the cheese balls! :)

In the bins!

 I spent a lot of time in the bins today! I did my whole Spanish Fork route while the kids watched Christmas classic movies in the van. It was a good time. And I found a bunch of stuff! Plenty of coupons and then...

Lots of great packing supplies!! I was all out of bubble wrap and so I was absolutely thrilled to find all of this!! Now I just need to fold it all up and put it away. That's the not as fun part. :)

 BOOKS!!! I NEVER buy books!

Look at all these random toys! I found lots of fun princess stuff and several Little People toys that I will combine with another bunch of Little People stuff that I found another time and put them together on ebay.
There are some really nice horse toys in here too that I will probably sell, as long as my kids don't see them first! :)

I found that the Provo dollar store has now put a lid and lock on their dumpster. Sadness!! So I went by the dumpster behind the SF dollar store to see what was what. It was empty but I found something... um... interesting in the Big 5 bin! You seriously just never know what you will find! This is yet another reason to wear gloves!

The robe is fluffly and really nice. The bra is quite pretty. There were also several pair of pretty red panties and um... some other things I didn't dare take pictures of! It was funny and I had a good laugh. I will wash the bra and robe and sell them. Everything else goes back in the trash. :)
I'm still waiting for the day when I find something really crazy! Like a murder weapon, or heck, a dead body!
Gloves! Always wear gloves!!!  :)