One of the Best 4 Letter Words Ever!

Can you guess what one of the best 4 Letter Words of the English Language is?
If you are a Couponer, it might just be......
F-R-E-E!

I know I 'heart' free.....how about you?

One of the grocery stores in Teeny Tiny Town is 'different'. Instead of running their weekly Sales ads from Sunday to Saturday, they run theirs from Thursday to Wednesday. In fact, the entire regional Chain of these markets run sales from Thursday to Wednesday. There is no big full color ad in my Sunday paper, the paper I buy to get my lovely, lovely coupons each week. Their sales ad comes out in Thursdays newspaper, that I don't buy. If I want to know what's on sale at this store I either have to go to the store on Thursday(a tad inconvenient)or remember to look up their flyer online(which I seldom do right away).
I think this store runs their Sales midweek to midweek just to TICK me off....ya know?

Because of their sales starting midweek, I hardly ever go shopping there early on into their sales, meaning I usually miss out on the good stuff that sells out. This week I just happened to remember to check out their online flyer when it posted after midnight on Wednesday night/morning. I had just gone through my coupons, to winnow out the rest of the ones that were expiring on Thursday-April 30th-that I hadn't used yet, when I checked out the sales flyer.

Two items in the flyer got my attention straight away. I don't ususally buy my HBA supplies at the grocery store(that's what CVS & WAGS are for after all!)but the Grocery store was putting large tubes of Crest Toothpaste on sale for $1.
Now Colgate can be had for cheap or free alot but Crest is usually a bit more $ around here. Then I saw that the store had Gillette Men's & Satin Care Ladies Shaving Cream on special for .99¢ each this week as well. This item sells for $2.99 regularly around here.

I had just taken both $1/1 Crest Toothpaste and $1/1 Gillette Shave Cream coupons out of my binder to dispose of, since they were expiring Thursday, April 30th.......which was the 1st day of the sale where I could now use those coupons to get these items for F-R-E-E!

So you'll never guess where I was on Thursday?
If you guessed in that regional Grocery Store in Teeny Tiny Town, you would be correct!

Since I had so many coupons, I spread them out over 3 different stores so I didn't clean out any single store of the items. Ok....the 1st store someone else had already cleaned them out of the Shaving Cream, except for 4 cans.....which I bought. I left plenty of both toothpaste and shaving cream behind otherwise, in each store I visited.

The grocery store also had Mentos Gum packs on special(not advertised in the sales flyer)& I still had 14 coupons for those that were also expiring so I picked up some free gum while I was at it.

So here's what about an hour's worth of work got me.....
14 Mentos
17 Crest Toothpaste
19 Gillette Shaving Cream

Zero.
Out.
Of.
Pocket.

FREE has got to be my favorite kind of shopping!lol
And this was serendipitous because I used up a bunch of coupons I thought I'd have to ditch.

Sluggy

Cap'n Crunch FRENCH TOAST

If you have kids who love Cap'n Crunch Cereal, then you are going to have to try Cap'n Crunch French Toast. I saw this recipe on an episode of that Food Network Show, "Diners Drive-Ins & Dives". One of the Diners the host featured on the episode has this treatment for French Toast on their menu. Something about this just called my name! And when I scheduled a BREAKFAST FOR DINNER into the Meal Plan, I got my chance to give it a whirl.

Here is what you do.....
Grab a box of Cap'n Crunch, a Ziploc type baggy and a rolling pin.

Pour about 2-3 cups of the Cereal into the baggy and seal it. Leave some air in the bag before you close it. Lay the sealed baggy flat and use the rolling pin to crush the cereal until it looks pulverized like this....

Pour the freshly crushed up cereal into a bowl or platter.

Next make your egg wash (eggs beaten up in some milk).

Heat up your griddle. When it's hot and ready to cook, dip your bread slices in the egg/milk batter quickly and then into the crushed cereal crumbs, flipping the bread to coat both sides.

Then place your coated bread slices on the griddle and brown, flipping to brown both sides. When done, serve immediately.

First off, you will NOT have to call the kids to eat. The sweet Cap'n Crunch smell will permeate your house and the young ones will be drawn to the stove like fleas on a dog.

Sorry I don't have a nice photo of this French Toast artistically plated. It was all I could do to get it off the griddle without the kids drooling all over it.

Before letting the kids pour their usual 1/2 a bottle of syrup on their French Toast, make them taste this Cap'n C. variety first. Even the biggest sugar fiend may find that syrup is unnecessary. I'd suggest a light dusting of powdered sugar instead or some fresh fruit.

I will also tell you that you want to use a firm, or even dense bread for this French Toast. For goodness sakes, don't use Wonder Bread or any lighter than air white bread for this! Between dipping into the batter and then having to coat both sides with the cereal crumbs, you'll probably end up with torn bread by the time it makes it onto the griddle. Try to sneak in a nice wheat or other heavy grained bread. With this sugary sweet coating on the bread, the kids will hardly object or even recognize they are eating healthy grains underneath.

As for being a healthy meal, well......'parts' of it are-the eggs, milk & bread. lol The Cap'n Crunch coating means you don't need to use syrup so it's probably no worse for you than regular French Toast w/syrup.

It was a fun thing to try but not something we'll make a habit of eating on a regular basis.

Sluggy

A Surprise in the Mail from DOVE

Did anyone else here get this in the mail lately?

Thursday I went to the mailbox and found a small package from Dove. Inside was this plastic box with a full sized Dove Deodorant & an advertising pamphlet about this new product. It's suppose to "minimize the visual appearance of hair over time". Something different for your underarms in a pretty smelling Wild Rose Scent. I'm not sure about the minimizing the stubble thing but I like the scent alot.

Anyway, there are 25 smaller pamphlets in the box with 2 $2 off Coupons in each pamphlet for you to share with your friends.

I'm thrilled to have gotten this product and will try it. The Coupons are a nice bonus, especially if I like the new deodorant.

I am not so thrilled about the plastic packaging case it came in, which is NOT recyclable, as far as I can tell. Ugh!

Dove has set up a special Facebook page for this new product launch Here.

Check it out!

I'll let ya'll know what I think about the new Deodorant once I've used it a few days.

And if you're looking, people at Unilever/Dove.....change the plastic packaging thing! Not cool....

Sluggy

60K SAVING$ CHALLENGE-APRIL Update

I have posted my April End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.

I am once again able to say that we finished up April in THE BLACK!
Yesssss!

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over the $1K mark(Feb. it was over $2.3K) in April, under $100 more than the previous month.

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but you will notice there is NO eBay income again for April. I have just been so busy with the kids and other things in April PLUS the selling prices on eBay have been abyssmal so I just didn't bother trying to sell there. I did close my eBay store for now, so at least I wasn't spending money on that. I do have to continue to pay the auction management fee however, or lose all my photo & listing storage. It is worth the $10/mo. NOT to have to reload all that data back into my file storage and then reload it onto the management site when I do go back to selling. Trust me....it's alot of work and would waste too much of my time. I'd rather pay the $10 for it to sit there.

Out of the ordinary expenses for April were low....A small State Income Tax bill due & a deposit for #1 son's upcoming College enrollment. I pay the private Garbage collection bill quarterly so it was paid this month as well.

We saw a reduction in the cost of the electric bill, while the water bill held steady. In May, we'll be able to turn off the heat totally, so that will help bring the electric bill down some more. The gasoline/fuel bills are lower thanks to a small reduction in cost at the pump and I've been consolidating trips out to save gas.

On the other hand, I anticipate a large VET BILL in May as the doggies are due for their yearly check-up/tests. Not only are kids expensive, but pets are also!

I'm still spending too much on the food/household budget. Well, we do have the money for it, but I had hoped to lower how much I spend in this category. I'll be updating the Food Budget costs for April in another post-which is located Here.

Four Months into this Challenge, & so far we have a Savings Total of $9150.44 for the year.

Hubby's car is starting to show it's age, so this money will come in handy next year, as we'll probably need to replace his vehicle then.
It's so nice to be able to sleep at night, not worrying about not having Money in the Bank to cover the costs of things we want or need to do/buy.

Now is the PERFECT time to start saving money if you aren't already. Get started today!
If you don't know where or how to start, email me. I'd be happy to give some advice or pointers on how to start putting money away.

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog April Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here.

Sluggy

It's all about the Walgreens, Baby!

Last Sunday, Hubby & I took a little road trip out of Teeny Tiny Town to a nearby larger metropolitan area.

This area just happens to be lousy with Walgreen's Stores.

Imagine that?!

I had an envelope of coupons just crying out to be used, Walgreens had some good deals this week and the weather was great.

We had all the makings for a Walgreen's Hounding Day!

Hubby had to return #1 son's tux from the Prom to the store at noon, so I went off and hit my local Walgreen's first thing.

I knew what I wanted.....I went right to the Pharmacy counter and saw that someone had already come and bought ALL the glucose meters that were giving the $5RR.
Dang!

So I went and bought a box of Ecotrin, $2.00. Used a $1/1Q, paid $1.00 and got a $2RR & a MQ for $2.00 off a larger box of Ecotrin.

Then I bought a box of Bayer crystals, $2.49. Used the Ecotrin $2RR and paid $.49 and got a $2.50RR.

I went off in search of the Nivea Body Wash, grumbling about the son-of-a-gun who cleaned out the store of Meters....grrrr.

As I rounded a corner up by the auxillary checkout register I happened to look up. Sitting on top of a bin of merchandise, sat a large cardboard display for the Bayer Glucose Meters. And inside the display was.........a Glucose Meter!

Someone had propped that display up there and put a couple of meters in it. Whoever cleaned the Pharmacy out of meters didn't find or look for meters in the rest of the store. Yay!lol

I bought the Nivea Wash & a Meter, using a $1/1Q & the Meter Q which made the meter free. Total for that receipt was $4.29OOP(for the Body Wash). I received 2 $5RRs.

Went looking for the Rembrandt-boy that stuff is expen$ive!lol

Got the Rembrandt Mouthwash & another Meter. Used the Bayer Q and the $5RR from the Nivea. Total OOP was $1.35. Got a $5 & $6RRs.

Went back for another Meter. Zero OOP and got another $5RR.

Next was a box of Ecotrin, Bayer Crystals & 3 Bottles of Suave(on sale 3/$5).

Used $1/1Bayer Q, $1.75/3 Suave Q and paid with the $6RR from the Rembrandt. Total OOP $1.04.

One last round of more Nivea Body Wash, large bottle of Ecotrin on clearance($2.19)& some Cough Drops($1.79). Used $5meter RR, Ecotrin $2Q I got earlier & a Nivea $1/1Q I finally found in my envelope. Total OOP was $1.27. Got a $5RR.

Then I went home to get Hubby and we headed out to the Big City to search for more Meters. I had put together 20+ Bayer Meter Qs over the last 2 weeks that needed using. Over the course of the day, and in many MANY stores, we found tons of Meters. I made a point though to only buy only 1 or up to 3 in any store, depending on how many were on the shelves. I know how bummed I was earlier that morning to find my usual store cleaned out of Meters. I didn't want to cause others after me to have the same bad experience. Besides, the Meter $5RR is a month long deal. No need to get greedy and scoop them all up the 1st day/the 1st store.

So the 1st store, we both got a meter....I also got a box of Ecotrin & used a Mitchum $2RR from last week, so no OOP. Got 2 $5RRs & a $2RR.

Then I bought a Bayer Crystals, used the $2RR Ecotrin to pay, $.49 OOP. Got a $2.50RR.

Next store, got a Meter, Nivea Body Wash & more Cough Drops. Used Meter Q, Nivea $1/1Q, paid with a $5RR(an older one, not a Nivea or Meter one) & $1.08 OOP. Got 2 $5RRs.

Hubby bought a Meter & Ecotrin. Used Meter Q & Ecotrin $1/1Q. Paid $1.00 OOP. Got $5RR & $2RR.

Next store, got a Meter, Nivea Body Wash & a newspaper($1.75). Used Meter Q & another older $5RR that needed rolling+$2.04 OOP. Got 2 $5RRs.

Another Meter & Ecotrin, used Qs, got a $5RR & $2RR + $2 Man.Q for larger Ecotrin box, paid $1.00 OOP.

New store....Meter & larger Ecotrin on clearance($2.19), used Meter Q & $2MQ, paid $.19 OOP. Got $5RR.

Another Meter, Bayer Aspirin on clearance for $1.69 & Rembrandt Toothpaste. Used Meter Q, Bayer $2Q, paid with $5NiveaRR and $.68 OOP. Got a $6RR & $5RR.

Another Meter, Zero OOP, got a $5RR.

New store, another Meter, Zero OOP, got a $5RR.

Purchased a Nivea Body Wash & 2 Viactiv Glides on clearance($4.59). Used 2 $2/1Q & a $5Meter RR, paid $5.47 cash. I screwed this one up paying so much OOP. I should have gotten some filler items so I could have used a couple $2EcotrinRRs. I'll blame Hubby rushing me out of the store to go eat.lol

New store, a Meter, Bayer Aspirin(Heart Advantage on clearance-$3.19), more Viactiv Glides on clearance-$4.59) & a newspaper. Used Meter Q, $2Bayer Q, $5NiveaRR, $2EcotrinRR. OOP was $.53 Got $5RR.

Another Meter, Zero OOP, got $5RR.

Rinse & Repeat. This store had tons of Meters. I could have stayed at this one and just used all my coupons....but I restrained myself.lol

New store, rinse & repeat on the Meter deal.

Then I bought a Bayer Crystals, 2 Bic Soleil cartridges on clearance($1.79) & a pack of 4 boxes of Envelopes(for mailing rebates)-$2.50. Used a $5RR(can't remember if it was a Meter or a Nivea RR) & a $2/1Bic Soleil Q. Paid $1.93 OOP. Got a $2.50RR.

Grand total spend OOP-$23.85

Value of Items-$1334.15

Value of Items minus the Meters-$408.15

Coupons/RRs & advertised Savings-$1310.30

Coupons/RRs & advertised Savings minus Meters-$384.30

Savings of 94%

RRs Earned-$144

RRs Spent-$56($6RR carried forward from last week)

RRs Left-$94

Pictured above are the items we bought, besides the Meters. There's a bag of cough drops missing(it never made it home for the photo lol)and both Sunday newspapers.

Speaking of newspapers, I did find out that this larger city gets better coupon inserts than in Teeny Tiny Town! I should have picked up more than 2 papers.

Oh well....

So how did your Wags Week go?

Sluggy