Need Wordpress Help!

This is totally off topic - but hoping some kind soul can help me.

I'm trying to set up a small webpage for a local non-profit. Very basic. I'm using WordPress. I have the "blog" in a separate page on the website and have a static home page. Does anyone know how to put the sidebar from the blog on the static page? I'm really not good with code or CSS - but I've been able to make the website look like how I want it - except for this sidebar thing. Any help would be so greatly appreciated.

Will promote your blog or do something nice for you in return for any advice! Thanks!!

Stop & Shop Shoppers - PLEASE READ!

Hello my friendly Stop & Shop customers! I'm writing to urge you (like really, really urge you) to PLEASE register your Stop & Shop card with their new A+ Bonus Bucks program! Even if you don't have kids - pick your grandkid's school or your local school.

Here is the low down - From October 9, 2009 - March 25, 2010, Stop & Shop will donate some percentage of your sales (I can't find the specific amount - I'll read the fine details some other time...maybe...) to the school (or schools) of your choice. All you have to do is register - it takes about 30 seconds. Here, I'll walk you through it:

1. Get your new Stop & Shop Card.
2. Go To the Stop & Shop A+ page by clicking this sentence.
3. On the right hand side, click "Register Your Card"
4. Enter the first 3 Letters of your last name and your Stop & Shop number (on the back of your card).
5. Choose your City and State.
6. Click the school you want your earnings to go to (you can pick up to 3 schools).
7. You are DONE!

Very easy! Very free for you! Very beneficial for schools! Please forward this post to anyone you know who is a Stop & Shop customer! Even if they don't have kids - urge them to register for any school listed - it's FREE money for the schools! - And all it takes is about 37 seconds of your time!

If you are a teacher or administrator of a school that is NOT listed - it's not too late to register! Follow the links to register your school - this program doesn't start until October 9th, so you have time still!

Thanks for reading!!

Boston Market...

See these two smiling faces? It's my husband and son #1. Why are they smiling you ask? Because we went to Boston Market for dinner and scored ourselves 2 free kids meals! Wicked Cool Deals promoted this when it first came out - but I had to see it to believe!

With any $6 adult purchase, you get 2 FREE kids meals! Woohoo! My kids were happy about this. This deal is good until October 31st. Click HERE to get any details I might have missed and to find a Boston Market near you!

Need Halloween Costumes?

Shindigz.com is offering 50% off all costumes today! This includes sale and clearance costumes! Use code SZZGKM at checkout.

BONUS! Go through Cashbaq.com and get 8% back on your purchase! This offer is good today only!!! I'm not sure how much shipping is.

Two Random Purchases

This past week, I did 2 random purchases. Just milk and eggs.

Tedeschi's
1 Gallon 1% Garelick Farms Milk - $2.25

BJ's
1 Gallon 1% Garelick Farms Milk - $2.18
2 Dozen Eggs - $2.79
Total: $4.87

I haven't been grocery shopping in so long! We've pretty much just been eating what's in the house. Last night we went to Boston Market - to get our free kids meals! Woohooo! It wasn't too bad, but not the greatest food either. I think it's been about 10 years since I've been in Boston Market!

Got My Free Coffee At MickyD's!

I went apple picking with the boys yesterday (I'm not adding that $20 to my grocery total. Yeah. Bad. I don't care.). On the way home, I got son #1 a happy meal. Defeats the purpose of being all healthy and stuff - but whatever.

I know I'm behind the curve on this one - but I did score myself a cup of free Newman's Own coffee. From September 21st - September 30th - All day, all sizes of coffee at McDonald's are FREE! Woohoo! I'll be honest, my coffee was kind of gross. I'd take Dunkins over it anyday. But it was free. I nice midday pick me up.

Shaw's Deals for September 25 October 1st

Some good stuff at Shaw's this week. I'll highlight what goods I can find!

**Free Potatoes, Onions and Carrots when you buy any roast! Most roasts are $2.99/lbs with a 3 lbs minimum. I'm going to score good on this one because I have a $3 off any meat purchase from the Old El Paso Cat last week. A roast, and veggies for about $6! Woohooo!** Use the coupon in the circular!

- Spinach is 99 cents for 10 oz! This bad boy is usually $2.19!

- New England Coffee is $2.77 a package!

- Shrimp Rings - BOGO Free!

- Purdue Nuggets are BOGO Free! There is a $2.00/1 MFC from the paper for the flavor bites. not sure if these are included in the sale.

- It's not too late to think about holiday baking! Nestle Chocolate Chips are $2.50 this week. There was just a $1/1 MFC in the paper last week. Stock up when it's cheap!

- Thank goodness! Francesco Rinaldi Sauce is $1 a jar this week! I have about 20 boxes of pasta through really good prices the past few weeks - but I have no sauce!!! I'll be stocking up on this one!

- Ronzoni Healthy Harvest is $1 a box. Click HERE to get a $1/2 coupon!

- If you go through a lot of olive oil, Carapelli (44 oz) is BOGO Free!

- Shaw's Fruit & Grain Bars are $2. There is a coupon for $1/1 in the Shaw's Back-To-School Savings book! Makes a box of 6 only $1!

- Lots of bread is BOGO free this week! Arnold, Shaw's light, J.J. Nissen, Wonder Clasic and Natures Pride.

There are lots more deals out there for Shaw's! Check the circular and Wicked Cool Deals for great items!

Crazy 8 in Dedham, MA!

I'm so excited - Crazy 8 just opened a store in Dedham, MA! We're not too far from that - so we'll be hitting up their grand opening sale this weekend! This is the first Crazy 8 in New England - and I can't be more thrilled!

I found out about Crazy 8 from another bargain blog out there about a year or two ago. As most know, Gap and Old Navy are the same company - but Old Navy is a "step down" from the Gap. Gymboree and Crazy 8 are the same company - and Crazy 8 is a "step down" from Gymboree.

If you haven't done so already, sign up to receive Crazy 8 stuff online - when you do, you'll automatically get a $10 off $30 purchase coupon (I think this is for your first online order). When you do sign up, they'll constantly mail you 20% off coupons in the mail - and score - they just emailed me a $10 off $30 purchase good at Legacy Place! If I stay close to $30 - that's a savings of 33%!

They also have a program similar to Gymbucks if you are familiar with that! Many, many thanks to Crazy 8 for coming to good old New England! I'm sure all the Eastern Massachusetts people will love doing bargain shopping at Legacy Place - ha ha! For those who don't know, Legacy Place is a kind of a trendy, higher end mall of sorts that just opened. It's located right off 95 near Fox 25 in Dedham (Rt. 1).

A Quick Shaw's Trip Turns Expensive!

I ran to Shaw's to grab a few things for this squash chili I make. I got impulsive.

2 green peppers - $1.54
1 onion - .88
2.7 lbs of grapes - $2.38
1 can Carlita Black Beans - .79
1 bag of Goya Black Beans - $1.59
1 Chef Boyardee Dinosaurs - .80 (3 year-old son snuck this in the stroller - I almost stole it.)
1 6 pack Ramen Noodle (craving) - $1.25
2 Fiber One White Bread - BOGO @ $3.99 ea
1 Danimals Crush Cups - $2.49 (son wanted it...I gave in)
2 Hormel Black Label Bacon - BOGO @ $5.49 ea

Old El Paso Catalina
3 cans of Chilles - $1 ea
3 envelopes of spice - 3/$2

OOP: $5.00
Earned: $3.00 OYN Meat Purchase
Net: $2.00

Total Before Savings: $42.29
Total Preferred Savings: $16.09
Total Coupons: $0!
Cash OOP: $26.20
Earned: $3 OYNP

Things from this trip:

- I'm officially addicted to this Fiber One bread. Not only does it have 6 grams of fiber PER SLICE, it's mighty tasty.

- I had 4 things on my list (chilles, onion, green pepper and taco seasoning). I got a lot more.

2 More Trips: Shaw's & BJ's!

I went to Shaw's and BJ's this weekend for our second birthday party. I got some stuff for the home too...

Shaw's
1 lbs Carrots - .99
1.95 lbs of Grapes - $1.72
2 bags of lettuce - BOGO @ $3.49 ea ($1.75 ea)
3.03 lbs of ground meat - $5.70
2 packs of Shaw's Hamburger Buns - $1.67 ea
1 Polar 1 liter Ginger Ale - $1 (.50/1 MFC DOUBLES) FREE!
2 Wise Potato Chips - $1 ea
Shaw's Italian Dressing - $1.67
Shaw's Ranch Dressing - $1.67
6 BumbleBee Tuna Packs - $1.25 ea (6 $1/1 MFCs) .25 cents ea! Woohoo!
2 Crystal Lights - $2 ea ($2/2 MFC) $1 ea
2 Fiber One White Bread - BOGO @ $3.99 ea ($2 ea!)
6 Lean Cuisines - $1.88 ea (2 $1/3 MFCs) $1.55 ea
1 Shaw's Pudding Pack - $2.79
1 Shaw's Pepperoni Pack - $2.79
1 Ziploc container - $2.50 (.75/1 MFC DOUBLES) $1!
2 Glade things - $2.50 ea (BOGO FREE MFC) $1.25 ea
2 Reese's Candy - .50 ea (BOGO Free MFC) .25 ea
4 Snickers - .89 ea (2 $1/2 MFCs) .49 ea (the husband wanted the candy. I let him have it. I'm soooooo nice!)

Total Before Savings: $108.23
Total Preferred Savings:$41.97
Total Coupons Used: $17.50
Cash OOP: $48.76

BJ's
3 lbs Bananas - $1.44
1 5 lbs container Pillsbury Cookie Dough - $7.99
1 6 lbs bag of Hamburgers - $13.99
1 lbs LOL Cheese - $3.91
1 1/2 Sheet Cake - $17.99

Cash OOP: $45.32

Shaw's Trip From Thursday Night!

Total Before Savings: $56.36

Total Preferred Savings: $21.02

Total Coupons Used: $10.89

Total OOP: $24.45

.97 lbs of gourd - $1.74

1.84 lbs of banana - .70 cents

4 Gorton's Fish bags - BOGO @ $6.99 ea (2 .75/2 MFCs that doubled) - $3.12 a bag

2 Shaw's Apple Juice - $1.79 ea ($1/2 MFC from Back-To-School book) $1.29 ea

1 Marshmellow Fluff - $1.89

4 Barilla Picollini - .88 ea (2 $1/2 MFCs from Back-To-School Book) .38 ea

2 Oikos Yogurts - $1.50 ea ($1/2 MFC) $1 ea

2 Shaw's block cheese - $1.66 ea

3 YoBaby 3-In-1 Meals - $1 ea (3 FREE coupons from Stonyfield convention) FREE!

1 Reese's Whips - .50 (.55/1 MFC DOUBLED to .89) Money Maker of .39 cents!

Highlights from the Farmer's Market!

I went to the Quincy Center Farmer's Market today. It was good. Figured I'd highlight some of the benefits of it:
- Ginger Betty's had a booth! The sold wicked cute cookies and other things.

- Flower lady was there. Had some great 8" or 10" (I think 8" but not sure) mums for 2/$10. A great price - comparable to that of the mums at Stop & Shop and Shaw's. She had these HUGE mum plants for $25. If I were rich, I would have bought them and put them on my porch.

- They sell lobsters there! A local fisherman's wife from Hull sets up and sells lobster every week. Prices were $4.99/lbs for chicken (1 lbs - but they were all out). $5.99/lbs for 1 1/4 pounders and $6.99/lbs for 1 1/2 pounders. Very similar pricing of the grocery store. They are also at the Weymouth and Hingham markets on Saturdays.

- There was a "chicken" in a cage. My son kept calling it "chicken." The man at the fresh egg booth sternly corrected him and said it was a "rooster." I'm not good at identifying poultry and I apologize for our lack of poultry knowledge. They sold fresh eggs there. I didn't catch the price.

- Great selection. I was really impressed with the vegetable selection. I ended up leaving with 6 ears of corn and a pound of green beans. I don't really like green beans. I like them raw but cooked green beans make me want to gag. I ate a bunch on the way home (yeah, I didn't wash them but I was hungry. I'm gross.) and I think they were really good. $2/lbs seemed really good. There are a lot of beans in a pound!

- Fresh honey table. There was a table with fresh honey. I'm not really a honey person, but some people are!

- Prices. Now this is probably what most people care most about who are reading this. Overall, I didn't think the prices were too crazy. I guess it really depends on the product though. Corn was $3 for 6 ears. Sort of expensive but I think corn is on it's way out. I haven't tried the corn yet so I'm not sure yet if it's good. Tomatoes were roughly $2.50/lbs. That's a pretty good price - they are around $1.79 or $1.99/lbs at the grocery store. Pints of cherry tomatoes were $3. Things like blueberries and raspberries were $4.50/pint - which I think is probably around what they are going for in the grocery store too. That's too expensive for my blood. They had a bunch of great fall produce too - lots of squashes (butternut, acorn, etc.).

- There were a bunch of other booths too. One was actually certified organic. I didn't stop by that one. Not sure how the prices compare. Oh! I got a sample of some fresh cranberry apple crisp. It was extremely delicious. I wanted to make it - it was so good.

Overall, I thought it was really nice. I've never been to the Quincy Center one before. I've checked out the Waltham one, Government Center, the Boston South End one, Hingham one, and a Newton one in the past. It was actually kind of nice to go out there and walk around for a little bit. We were on our way home from a playground and figured we'd stop. Spent $5 for corn and green beans.

Stonyfield Yogurt - A Small Company with Big Dreams

Today, I was granted an opportunity to go to an informational session on Stonyfield Farm products and organics in general. It was a very informative and educational experience (even though my kids acted nutty the entire time - I'll blame that on feeding them too much processed food! ;) ) For starters, they were promoting a new 3-in-1 YoBaby Meal. It was a 6 oz. yogurt that had pureed vegetables and fruit in the yogurt. I tried the apple and sweet potato one. Although the texture was a little off than "traditional" yogurts, I thought it tasted pretty good. It seemed a little big for babies and even my toddlers. I would like to see it in a smaller size - like the ones that the 6-pack yogurts come in.

Gary Hirshberg, President and CE-Yo (ha ha...get it...CEO (YO like yogurt?...hee hee! ha ha!) talked about how the company started up as an organic farming school. I thought Gary and the Stonyfield team was very, very down-to-earth. I was very surprised honestly (where were their Birkenstocks and hemp necklaces?!?). They left me feeling with a more positive feeling of the word "organic." They made me feel a lot more sympathetic for local farmers - and yes, I do promote Massachusetts Farmers Markets on my blog because I do want people to support local and small farmers, but honestly, I haven't been to one yet all summer! I'm just a lazy hypocrite with two toddlers. That's my excuse. But I'm going to go to one either tomorrow or Saturday. Mr. Hirshberg inspired me.

As most of my faithful readers know, I'm not all super gung-ho organic or anything. At least as far as the "organic" label goes. But in my defense, I have bought a bunch of organic products in the past year at the grocery store. For instance, I have noticed a few times, organic carrots and grapes have been on sale for the same price as their "non-organic" equivalents. So of course I bought the organic brands. Why wouldn't I? PLUS!! I have my garden in my backyard! I've successfully grown tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and lots of zucchini. When I had slugs, I made pesticide with Tabasco sauce and garlic! I could be Queen Organic if I wanted to be...but I'm not. One time someone said I was turning all organic with my gardening. Ugh. It made we want to puke (and eat a Pop Tart). I prefer the term "Earthy" or "Home Grown". "Organic" just sounds too Whole Foodsy for me.

I have to say, I think 92% of the reason why I don't buy all organic stuff is price. For the most part, organic stuff is more expensive than non-organic stuff. Or at least I assume it to be. Some google search spouted off that on average, organics cost 10-40% more than their non-organic counterparts. Although, organic prices have been coming down in recent years (at least on the produce level - I don't even look at the packaged organic stuff). I think I will look more closely at the price differences at the grocery store.

I think 7% of my reason is that I have this bad taste in my mouth for "organic" labeled products. Despite my frugal ways, I can admit, I've been in Whole Foods more than a dozen times in my lifetime. I've never had a "great" experience at one (just the parking lot at the Walnut St. Newton, MA location will send the most sane person to the loony bin). This one time, I was pregnant with my first son, I walked up to one (Brighton, MA!) and bought some dried mangos. I was behind the rudest lady in the world. She treated both the cashier and bagger worse than I would treat a dog (oh, and I'm not really a "dog person"). I guess, I associate "organic" with Whole Foods. I associate Whole Foods with this lady. Bad, I know.

And my last 1%. I'm sorry. But some organic stuff (mostly packaged stuff) is just down right nasty! I'll blame this on my upbringing on Hamburger Helper!

As I wrap this post up, I just wanted to tell anyone who might read this to check out Stonyfield Yogurt's website and products if you haven't done so already. I have bought some Stonyfield Yogurt in the past (thanks to coupons and sales). I'm personally not really a yogurt person, but I ate it. It was good. My husband is the "big" yogurt eater in the household. At least one container a day. Since this is a "bargain" blog, I need to provide coupons! - CLICK HERE to print coupons for Stonyfield Yogurt products. Also, since this is a New England blog, I'll have to promote their visitor center! Located in Londonderry, NH, you can enjoy some yogurt samples and learn about organic farming and nutrition. CLICK HERE for more information on tours and whatnot. Here are more Stonyfield Links:

Stonyfield Farm Homepage

Stonyfield Farm Facebook Fan Page

Many thanks again to Mr. Hirshberg, the Stonyfield Team, Christine Koh of Boston Mamas, 360 Public Relations, The Boston Children's Museum, and the many others who helped put on a fantastic event.

Birthday Ideas For the Frugally Minded!

I recently talked about how my second son just turned 2. We like parties. We like having people over and all that junk. We don't do it often, but when we do, we try to have fun. I know a big "frugal" way of throwing birthday parties is to keep it simple and just serve cake. We like food though. We like to eat it. We like our friends to eat it. So we serve it. Just a thing we like to do.

Originally we weren't going to go all "gung-ho" party. We were just going to hang out. I decided on a dinosaur theme, but just figured I'd throw a plastic dinosaur on a cake or something. Well I must have gotten bored or something because I started creating these dinosaur creations for the kids to do. When we sent out the invite - we "only" invited 9 groups of people. So 9 friends, their spouses and children (all but 2 have 2 children). We were kind of shocked when every single person replied with a "yes." We figured at least 2 or 3 wouldn't be able to make it. So then I thought "Oh man - what am I going to do with 18 kids in my backyard?" So here is a sampling of what we did:

We had some plaster work done on our house in the past year. The plasterer left this big roll of paper after one of the jobs. I glued a "Happy Birthday" banner to it (came as a 2 pack at the dollar store). Then I printed off simple dinosaurs off the internet and had the kids color them. Then they glued them on the banner.

This was my first dinosaur creation. I drew a simple dinosaur for "Pin-The-Tail On The Dinosaur". Then I painted it with the basic paint that my kids have. Then I cut out simple tails from construction paper (we have a TON because of the Staples "Buy 1, Get 2 Free" sale).

I decided to make party hats. This is my 3 year-old, Ben modeling his while coloring his dinosaur. These were fun to make but a little time consuming. I Googled "homemade dinosaur party hats" - and I got THIS LINK. I modified the directions some to make them not as big. If you have older kids, they can actually make them there at the party - but dealing with mostly 3 year olds, I knew that would pretty much be a disaster.

I did contemplate just buying a cake. But with a stash of cake mixes and frostings in the house (and with them on sale at Shaw's this past week too!) - I just couldn't buy a cake when I had the means to make my own. I Googled "Dinosaur Cake" and came across the Coolest Homemade Cakes website. They have pictures and ideas for every cake imaginable. So I got inspired. My cake mixes were .50 cents ea (Betty Crocker) and frosting was $1 ea. I used 2 cake mixes and 2 tubs of frosting. $3.00 for a cake to feed 16 cake eating kids and 17 adults. There were leftovers too.

I filled a 2 cup Pyrex Measuring cup about 2/3 full of batter. This made the "volcano". I also made two cupcakes that were "little hills". I put the remainder of the batter in an 11X18 (I think - a step up from a 9 X 13) pan. My husband decided that he really wanted to decorate the cake. So I let him. He added some blue food coloring to some of the white frosting to make a river. I added cocoa to some of the frosting to make the "volcano". We put green food coloring in the rest of the frosting to make the grass. Then I took some confectioner's sugar, a tiny bit of milk, and some red food coloring to make some lava. We have more toy dinosaurs than we know what to do with so we just threw five of them on the cake.

Here is the birthday boy with his homemade party hat and homemade birthday cake. The kids seem to all like the cake. They were all obsessed with the volcano, so after cutting it, I took the volcano and cut little pieces off and gave each kid who wanted some volcano a piece. It's amazing how happy this made most of them!


Another cheap way to make our backyard more festive was balloons. I grabbed a pack of 25 at the dollar store. We blew them up and just attached them to our clothes line with clothes pins. It was pretty festive! Well I liked it! ;)




This was the mother of all birthday creations. I made a dinosaur pinata. I made it too strong, but it did the job. I really had this obsession with having a pinata for some unknown reason. I used brown grocery bags, paper mached it (very easy glue recipe - 1 part flour to 5 parts water. Add a tablespoon of salt. Heat, bring to boil for a little bit and then let cool for just a couple minutes. Work your strips of newspaper with it).

I couldn't justify spending $16 on one of these things (and $16 is Unfilled). I used 4 toilet paper rolls for the legs. I painted it red when it was done and then I used a 2 pack of red streamers from the dollar store. I didn't need to do the pom poms, butI had them in my house. I used some hot glue to attach the legs. Total spent was $1. I bought 5 bags of basic candy at the dollar store (it wasn't expired! - just basics - Tootsie Rolls, Dum Dum Pops, Smarties and my favorite, Chick-O-Stick).

Now overall, it did take a few hours to make this. I personally enjoyed it though. If paper mache isn't your thing (or painting or glueing cut up streamers to paper mache), then you're probably better off just dropping the $16 than "wasting" your time.



Here it is hanging and the kids like it.

When it finally gets dumped, the kids went crazy!

Overall, I think it was a good time. I think I might have planned a little too much for the kids - but that's okay. I had fun putting it all together - and the good thing was that most of the stuff I used was just stuff I had laying around my house. Another thing I did for the kids, since it was dinosaur themed, was just round up all of my sons' dinosaurs and put them outside in a bin. I think a lot of the kids played with them.

Stonyfield Yogurt Here I Come!

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a Stonyfield Yogurt event today! They will be promoting their YoBaby Meals. I never heard of these before - so I'm glad to be given the opportunity to see what they are about. My "baby" just turned 2 the other day - but he won't eat fruit or vegetables to save his life. Never liked them. Even all mushed up in the jar. I always offer him up vegetables and fruits we eat - but it's like he's always had this anti-produce radar. Even if I sneak green peppers on pizza or whatnot - he'll find them and pick them off. I'm always looking for healthier things to give him since he doesn't eat really well.



There are two "healthy" things I know my 2 year-old will eat - Wonder Kids Bread & yogurt. Although I'm not a loyal Stonyfield Farm Yogurt purchaser, I'm interested in this new product to try on my children. Can't wait to let you all know how it turns out.

This a Great Week to Shop Kohl's!

I have to say, starting today and running until next Tuesday, it's a great time to shop Kohl's! Why?

Well if you are a Kohl's card holder, you should have gotten a 20%, 25%, or 30% coupon mailed to you (I got 30%!). This % off is good on just about every single thing in the store! So everything that is on sale, you get an additional 30% off or whatever you get.

Secondly, they are doing their Kohl's cash - for every $50 you spend you get $10 off a future purchase - there is no minimum purchase to use Kohl's cash!

So grab your Kohl's card and head on over! I already did - I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done already.

Son's Big Birthday Bash - Catching Up on Spending!

My second son turned 2 today. We had a party for him yesterday. I went to three different stores over the weekend to grab stuff....I'm nervous about entering it - it's not going to be pretty!

BJ's (Had to Renew Membership - $45 right there!)
BJ's Hamburger Buns - $1.99
Heinz Picnic Pack (2 Ketchup, Relish & Mustard) - $7.99
1 Dino Nuggets - $9.99 ($2/1 BJ's Coupon) $7.99
1 Gallon Milk - $2.18
2 LOL Half & Halfs - $1.79 ea
2 Electrasol 80 ct. Dishwasher Tablets - $12.59 ea (BOGO Free BJ's Coupon!) $6.29 ea!
3 pk Celery Hearts - $2.99
1 Pineapple - $2.99
6 pk Green Peppers - $4.99
3 lbs Plum Tomatoes - $6.99
1 lbs LOL American Cheese at Deli - $3.80 ($1/1 lbs MFC) $2.80
Chock Full O'Nuts Coffee - $8.29 ($2/1 BJ's coupon) $6.29!
2 Nestle Water 30 packs - $3.99 (2 $1/1 MFCs) $2.99 ea

Total Before Coupons: $149.50
Total After Coupons: $130.13

Shaw's
1 Yellow Onion - .35
2 lbs Carrots - $1.98
10 oz Spinach - $2.19
1 pack of Animal Crackers (for son #1 being good) - $1
1 100 Calorie Bites - $2.50
1 Ritz - $2.50
1 Wheat Thins - $2.50
1 Wheat Thins Flatbread - $2.50
1 Triscuits - $2.50 (Used $3/4 Coupon from Flyer)
1 Arm & Hammer Essentials Refill - .50 ($1/1 MFC) MONEY MAKER OF .50!

Total Before Savings: $27.05
Total Preferred Savings: $8.53
Total Coupons: $4.00
Cash OOP: $14.52

Stop & Shop (really last minute!)
2 10 lbs bags of ice - $2.50 ea
1 50 ct Plastic Cups - $2.50
1 pack of Plastic Forks - $1.29
1 pack of paper bowls - $2.50
1 pack of paper plates - $2.50

Cash OOP: $14.34

Total Spent: $158.99

Honestly, I don't think it's too bad. Especially since $45 of it is a BJ's renewal. Some of the BJ's stuff was just stuff for the house (coffee, milk & dishwasher soap come to mind). We have a lot of leftovers as far as non-perishable stuff goes which will be good to use for our family party this coming week. Water, soda, plates, cups, etc.

50% off Papa Gino's Online Orders Today Only!

Today (9/14), you can get 50% off your ONLINE order at Papa Gino's by entering code 125!

I guess the Patriots are kicking off their season today or something like that. Who cares really - 50% off Papa Gino's is GRRRRRRReat!

5% Savings on your Grocery Purchase at ALL Grocery Stores!

Starting October 1st and running through December 31st, every time you use your Discover Credit Card at Grocery Stores, you'll get 5% cashback! That savings is huge!

It's only good for up to $400 of purchases (thanks Jess!) - but that's still $20 in Cash Back Rewards!

Remember though - credit card rewards don't mean squat unless you can pay off your balance each month and not pay interest. You have to sign up through discovercard.com and enter your account information to be eligible for this program - it doesn't just happen automatically. They do 5% cash back bonuses quarterly.

By the way, the 5% cash back is also valid at restaurants and movie theaters for the months of October, November and December.

Shaw's Bargain Alert!! Arm & Hammer Essentials Refills are 50 Cents!!

I just got back from Shaw's - there were HUGE lines so I walked around with my boys for a few minutes. Thank goodness!! I found the Arm & Hammer Essentials Refills are on sale for .50 for a 2 pack!! Normally they are $4.19!!!!! I don't know if it's a glitch in the system or if they are going on clearance. I grabbed 4 of them so I'm up to my eye balls with cleaning solution!

If you don't remember - the Arm & Hammer Essentials are those spray cleaners that come with concentrated cleaner and you just reuse the bottle. The bottles are also .50 cents if you don't have them!! So if you are making a Shaw's run, be sure to check these out! BARGAINTASTIC!

Cheesecake Factory Deal!

Woohooo for the Cheesecake Factory! I'm all about complimentary Cheesecake...so get to the Cheesecake Factory in September and get 2 cards for a complimentary slice of cheesecake this fall and holiday season! I'm not sure what the requirements are to get your complimentary cheesecake (like dining in??). Who cares. Free cheesecake is wonderful!

Thanks for all the cheese Shaw's!

Total Before Savings: $118.44

Total Preferred Savings: $43.56

Total Coupons Used: $31.66

Cash OOP: $43.22

4.62 lbs of Grapes - $4.07

Lipton Cold Brew - $3.79 (FREE MFC from mail) FREE!

Shaw's Tomato Juice - $1.89

2 Shaw's Apple Juice - $1.79 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Back-To-School Coupon) $1.19 ea!

1 Shaw's Sliced Olives - $1.34

1 Shaw's Croutons - $1.39

1 Shaw's Red Wine Vinegar - $2.59

2 Shaw's Ice Cream Cups - $1.79 ea (2 $1/1 Shaw's Back-To-School Coupon) .79 ea!

2 A-1 Sauces - $3 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon) $2.50 ea

2 CapriSuns - $2 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon) $1.50 ea

3 Shaw's Hot Dog Buns - Buy 2, Get 1 Free (Free Hot Dog Rolls with $5 in Kraft Purchase Coupon on endcap) .56 cents per pack!

2 Oreos - $2.50 ea ($2/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon) $1.50 ea

2 Santa Fe Salsas - $1 ea

2 Wonder Whole Wheat White - $2 ea (2 .55/1 MFCs DOUBLE) .90 ea!

1 Gallon 1% Milk - $3.69

2 Cracker Barrel Cheeses - $2.50 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon) $2 ea

2 Kraft Shredded Cheese - $2 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon) $1.50 ea!

2 Kraft Singles Cheese - $2 ea ($1/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon, $1/2 MFC) $1 ea!

23 Yoplait Yogurts - .40 ea (3 FREE MFCs, .40/6 MFC DOUBLES) .31 cents ea!

2 Oscar Mayer Weiners - $2 ea ($2/2 Shaw's Flyer Coupon) $1 ea

Things I've Learned:

- It was crazy person night out at my Shaw's. Some weird guy was standing at the grapes telling everyone they were all rotten. I just ignored him but as I grabbed two bags, he told me I was wasting my money. I tried one down the next isle and they are delicious! He was nuts.

- Second crazy I encountered was the guy in front of me in line. He collected cans to buy yogurt. But he bought the Shaw's yogurt which are .60 ea. The Yoplaits are .40 ea. He would have saved himself 4 cans per yogurt if he just bought Yoplait.

- I was nervous about the A-1. My husband has been on my case because we haven't had A-1 in forever. They were out of the normal flavor. But we like Bold & Spicy things anyways...but I wasn't sure if that SKU would count in the sale - it did!

- I committed coupon fraud by giving the cashier a $1/2 Kraft Singles with the Flyer coupon. Oops.

- We're having the first of 2 birthday parties for my second son this weekend. I started prepping for that (hence the vinegar, tomato juice and olive purchases). Even with 2 parties with food, I'm hoping to stay on track for the most part. But if I go over, oh well.

Quick Stop & Shop Trip!

I went to Stop & Shop last FRIDAY! Just getting to it now. I ran in for some half & half. Got 2 other things too:

1/2 gallon Half & Half -$4.39
17 oz Stop & Shop Olive Oil - $4.99
1 big pack Sausage - $5.55

Total: $14.93

I don't have my receipt but I remember the numbers. Apologies for being absent the past week. We went out of town over the weekend and it's just been hectic with son #1 starting pre-school this past week. I haven't gotten my fliers yet either!! Maybe today. I really need to do a Shaw's run to get some cheap cheese...

Shaw's Deals 9/4-9/10

Here are the pretty good deals at Shaw's for the week of 9/4 - 9/10. Not all deals are mentioned. Just the ones that I think are pretty good. See the entire circular and print Shaw's coupons at Shaws.com.

Get Shaw's Coupons HERE.

3 Day Sale (Friday - Monday)
Boneless Chicken Breast - $1.79/lbs
Pork Tenderloin - $2.99/lbs
Whole Watermelon - $3.99
12 Pack Pepsi - 5/$11 (Must buy 5)
Lay's Potato Chips - $1.77

Use Coupons on the Back Page to get the Following Deals:
(These are MFCs!! You cannot combine them with coupons from the paper or internet!)

Kraft Shredded Cheese - 2/$3
Oreo Cookies - 2/$3
Cracker Barrel - 2/$4
Kraft Singles - 2/$3
CapriSun - 2/$3
Kraft Mayo - 2/$4
Kraft Dressing - 2/$4
2 Ritz Crackers - 2/$4
Oscar Mayer Weiners - 2/$2
A1 Sauce - 2/$5 (I know there is a $2/1 MFC from the paper for this)
Planters Nuts - 2/$4
DiGiorno or California Pizza - 2/$10
Lunchables - 2/$3 ($1/1 MFC from last week's paper)
Oscar Mayer Bologna - 2/$4


Produce
Green Grapes - .88/lbs

Meat
Steak Tips - $3.88/lbs
Lobsters - $4.99/lbs
Johnsonville Sausages - BOGO Free

Dairy
Yoplait Yogurt - .40 ea (MFCs from paper, .50/6 at Coupons.com)
Activia and Danimals Yogurt - $2.50 ($1/1 MFCs for both from paper)

Grocery
Kellogg's Cereal (selected varieties) - 2/$3
Quaker Chewy Bars or Bites - $1.67 ($1/2 MFC from paper)
Freihofer's Italian or Country Bread - BOGO Free
Fiber One English Muffins - BOGO Free
Mac & Cheese Crackers - $1
Santa Fe Salsa - $1

Frozen
Friendly's Ice Cream - BOGO Free
M&M Cookie Treats - $3 ($1/1 MFC from paper)
Mama Rosie's Pasta - 40% off (this stuff is good! I've tried it and recommend it!)

Other
African Violet Plants - BOGO Free
Cutter Insect Repellent - BOGO Free (MFCs from paper)

Check out The Grocery Gathering to find other great blogs to supermarkets all over the country!

CVS Summer Clearance is 75% Off!

Ran to CVS to get some last minute birthday invitiations for my son's upcoming family birthday party...was happy to see Summer Clearance is now at 75% off! I'm not sure if this is a known fact as I haven't been in my CVS groove. I got the kids two pair of Transformer Sunglasses (they were marked down to $1.49 - I actually only bought them to see if they generated the $10 ECBs that the flyer advertised - of course they didn't, but my sons will love them just the same). My favorite ghetto fake crocs are also on 75% off. I got 2 packs of boats - the kids need new bath toys and for .75 a pack, I splurged. Sometimes my kids don't understand how great they have it!

Last Free Friday! - Springfield Museums!

The Highland Street Foundation is hosting it's LAST Free Fun Friday tomorrow! So sad! Many thanks to all who made this program a success! We took advantage of the Boston Children's Museum and Plimoth Plantation.

Tomorrow's Free fun are the Springfield Museums! Check out all the fun to be had HERE!

Thanks again to all the people who worked hard to help the citizens in the Boston area have some free fun! It is much appreciated!

August Monthly Recap

I spent $469 in August. Spending since 1/1/09 is $3,215. I have saved $3,808 since 1/1/09 by shopping sales and using coupons.

Previous Monthly Spending:
July: $564
June: $417
May: $439
April: $448
March: $305
February: $305My
January $304


- I spent $75 on diapers alone this month. I need to work on potty training ;).

- My refridgerator broke - when we got a new one, I felt the need to buy a bunch of meat.

- Just less than $1,800 to go until the new year! Hopefully I can keep up the savings...

The Mother Of All Shaw's Trips!

That's me all dressed up sporting my 6 ft long receipt. I haven't had one that long in a VERY long time!

Total Before Savings: $317.05

Total Preferred Savings: $123.78

Total Coupons Used: $54.00

Cash OOP: $139.27

OYNP Earned: $9.00

Kellogg's Back-To-School Rebate: $10.00

Amount Added to Tally: $129.27

**Used a $4/$90 Purchase coupon**

1.8 lbs Peaches - $1.78

1.82 lbs ORGANIC Grapes - $3.62

8.63 lbs of Chicken Breast - $15.45

2.10 lbs Shoulder Steak - $5.23

3.14 lbs 80/20 Ground Beef - $6.25

2 packs Gorton's Fish Sticks - BOGO @ $5.99 ea

2 Hillshire Farms Kielbasa - BOGO @ $5.29

1 Mt. Olive Relish - $2 ($1/1 MFC) $1

1 Mt. Olive Pickles - $2.50 ($1/1 MFC) $1.50

2 Carolina Rice Packs - .99 ea (.75/2 MFC DOUBLES) .24 cents ea

2 Hellman's Mayos - $1.99 ea (.60/2 MFC DOUBLES) $1.39 ea

1 12 pack Super Chill Soda - $2.50 (.60 for deposit)

2 Cinnabon Bars - $2 (2 $1/1 MFCs) $1 ea

2 J.J. Nissen White Bread - BOGO @ $3.59 ea

1 Knoor Dip Mix - $2 (.40/1 MFC DOUBLES) $1.20

6 Barilla Pastas - $1 ea ($1/2 Piccolini, $1/2 Whole Wheat, $1/2 Whole Wheat (even though I didn't get 4 Whole Wheat, the cashier gave me another coupon), $1/6 Shaw's Coupon) - .33 cents ea!!

3 Dole Fruit Cups - $2 ea ($1/3 MFC) $1.67 ea

1 pack Shaw's Hot Dog Rolls - $1.67

4 Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta - $1 ea (2 $1/2 MFC from website, Used Stop & Shop Doublers on both) FREE!

4 Ronzoni Smart Taste - $1 ea (2 $1/2 MFC from website, Used Stop & Shop Doublers on both) FREE!

1 Langer's Apple Juice - $3.49

2 packs Ellio's Pizza - $2.67 ea

1 Edward's Pie Slices - $2.50 ($1/1 MFC) $1.50 (treat for the husband)

1 gallon Shaw's Milk - $3.69

7 LaYogurts - .50 ea

2 Hood Sour Creams - $2 ea ($1/2 MFC) $1.50 ea

2 Ball Park Lite Franks - $2.50 ea ($1/2 MFC) $2 ea

4 Ball Park Meat Franks - $2.99 ea (2 $1/2 MFCs) $2.49 ea

2 packs Margharita Pepperoni - $3.29 ea (2 .75/1 MFCs DOUBLE) $1.79 ea

1 Marcel Smart Steps Paper Towels - $5 ($2/1 PEELIE ON IT!) $3!!!

1 Marcel Smart Steps Toilet Paper - $5 ($2/1 PEELIE ON IT!) $3!!!

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General Mills Catalina (Spend $20, Get $5 OYNP)

1 Fiber One Yogurt - Reg. $2.99, Sale $2.50 ($1/1 MFC) $1.50

6 Green Giant Boxed Veggies - Reg. $2, Sale $1 ($1/6 Shaw's Coupon) .88 ea

1 Warm Delight - Reg. $2.50, Sale $1.67 (.50/1 MFC DOUBLES) .67

2 Betty Crocker Cake Mixes - Reg. $2.19, Sale $1 ea
2 Betty Crocker Frostings - Reg. $2.19, Sale $1.50 ea ($1/2 (cake & frosting) from Coupons.com & .50/1 MFC DOUBLES)

PSP: $26.25

Total After Coupons: $10.17

Earned: $5 OYNP

Net: $5.17

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Edy's Catalina (Buy 4 items, Get $4 OYNP)

3 cartons Edy's Ice Cream - $2.50 ea (had $2/1 Stop & Shop coupon)

1 carton Dibs: - $2.50

OOP: $8

Received: $4 OYNP

Net: $4 or $1 ea!

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Kellogg's Back-To-School Rebate (Buy 10, get $10 back in the mail)

4 Fiber Pop-Tarts - $1.88 ea (2 $2/2 MFCs) .88 ea

2 Cheez-It's Crackers - $3 (2 .75/1 MFCs from Coupons.com DOUBLE) $1.50 ea

2 Rice Krispie Treats - $2.50 ea ($1/2 MFC) $2 ea

2 Fruit Snacks - $2.50 ea ($1/2 MFC) $2 ea

Total OOP: $14.52

Rebate: $10.00

Net: $4.52

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Things I have Learned:

- I was blessed with my #1 cashier again. Oh how I love Heather. I would adopt her if I could. Now, this was the 4th time I tried using competitors coupons at my Shaw's. I wasn't expecting it to work - BUT!! Heather, punched them through with no questions asked! They even popped up as "Competitor's Coupon" - so obviously my store takes them. If anyone ever denies me again, I will fight them!

- THE MARCEL PAPER PRODUCTS! They were not on my list, but they are normal $8.99 for a 12 pack of toilet paper or 8 pack of paper towels. This week they are on sale for $5. ALL THE PACKAGES HAD $2/1 MFCs on THEM! How could I not buy them?

- Remember! The Kellogg's Rebate is still going on! Buy 10 participating Kellogg's Products, get $10 back by mail! Offer expires 9/30.

- Thanks to Wicked Cool Deals, I scored 4 coupons for the Ronzoni Pasta! 8 packs of pasta for Free! (Coupled them with the S&S Doublers). What a Wicked Cool Deal!

- I know I bought a ton of stuff. I really didn't need to. I really needed the meat. We ran out about 2 days before our refridgerator broke. We've been living off non-meat food for about a week. Our systems have been in shock. I don't know how vegetarians do it.

- We've been eating a lot of zucchini and tomatoes out of our garden...because of that, I really didn't want to buy any vegetables. Plus, honestly, I'm not really a big fan of vegetables. I prefer meat and cheese.

- I have discovered that the rice based Green Giant boxes make perfect lunches!