Hey MOM! Hey DAD! Great gift for the kids….

Hello fellow frugal friends,

Are you a fan of tablets?  Is your kid always trying to take yours?  DO YOU WANT YOURS BACK?  Well, you all know that I am a fan of buying ahead.  Here is a great deal on a Nabi 2 8 GB kids tablet from Best Buy on today’s deal of the day through them!  With this tablet you have the ability to monitor and control what your kids are doing on the tablet… which in turn makes your life easier.

Here you go….

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Misc/Deal-of-the-Day/pcmcat248000050016.c?id=pcmcat248000050016.

 

 

This is normally $179.99 at Best Buy (or $199.99 on Amazon), but today you can get it for $129.99.  This is a $50 savings and is a great way to start your Christmas shopping or early birthday presents.  Aunts, Uncles, Moms, and Dads…. Here is where it’s at!  This item also qualifies for free shipping (ain’t nobody gunna complain to that!).

My dad is in town, so deal finding is hard.  He will be gone soon and I will be able to start my DIY’s and find you the best deals.  Don’t forget that back to school shopping will be starting soon… 🙂  One of my favorite times of the year!

PS.  If you are in need of a bread maker, queenbeecoupons.com has a great deal on an Oster 2lb Express Bake Bread Machine for $22.49, normally $69.99.  This is an AMAZING deal.  (Thanks queenbeecoupons!)

Until Next Time,

E.

 

How to Get Free Nail Polish From Julep!

Hello fellow frugal friends,

Have you tried using Julep before?  It’s a beauty place that sells boxes of goods, wedding goods, and all sorts of girly stuff!  Nail polish, hand and foot care, skincare, and makeup.  I recently learned about it and found that they are running a great deal right now.  If you spend $10, you can add any full price nail polish (some are $15) to your order for free!  You can go to a store near you (Bellevue) or just go online and save yourself from gas prices.

All you need to do is go to julep.com and use the code MYFAVE.  This deal is only good for two days (6/25 end date). 

If you manage to spend $50, you can get free shipping as well!  Check it out, let me know what you think…

Until next time,

E.

 

 

 

How to Unclog Your Drain Without Going to the Store!!

Hello fellow frugal friends,

Anyone else in the world have so much hair that you clog the drain… all the time?  I try as much as I can to keep my hair out of the shower drain, but I can’t get them all apparently.  Long hair problems.  In addition to that, the husband loves to put the end of the bar of soap to the bottom of the shower and let it go down the drain.  No matter how many times I say this will eventually clog the drain… he does it again and again.  Usually, I make him unclog drains, but this time I wanted to try a DIY drain cleaner instead of paying $5 plus on Drano.  You can use what you already (should) have in your cabinets to clear your drains and use less harsh chemicals!

Here’s all you  need to complete this task….

 

 

I know, I know.  You all think I’m nuts.  Why do I have this obsession with these two items?  But let’s be honest here.  THEY WORK!  ON EVERYTHING.  Sometimes it’s white vinegar, sometimes it’s apple cider vinegar.  Either way, these two items together are the mitochondria (power house…they do it all) of the cleaning supply world.

What I did was first run the tub until the water was as hot as it would go.  Turned it off.  Added 1 cup baking soda and 1 cup vinegar.  It foamed and made a fun looking volcano type eruption (small, won’t go anywhere near above the tub… don’t worry).  Then I ran hot water for a few minutes.  I repeated this twice.

Now, if your drain is super clogged, I am not sure if this would work.  Mine was just starting, and it was easy to clean.  Please listen to the moral of this story:  If you don’t already have these items in your house… get on it.  And please excuse the fact that I am using a product from Wal-Mart.  At least it’s safe to say, I am literally throwing it down the drain.

Until next time.

E.

For the Love of Trashy Magazines…

Hello fellow frugal friends,

Are you a trashy magazine lover?  I used to be, but I am far too frugal and cheap to purchase magazines at the store because they are $5 or something crazy like that.  I don’t find all my deals by myself… I have to go searching for many of the things that I find. Sometimes I check out Target for their deals or have emails sent to me from Petco to let me in on when their next sale is and what it is. OTHER times, I use other frugal saving sites to check out where and when deals are happening.  I have a few specific sites I check out regularly and last week Queen Bee Coupons had a deal for OK! magazine.  I unfortunately was 5 minutes late for the deal.  Today it came back!

 

I purchased a 3 year subscription for $29.99 (0.29 an issue).  The original cost from their site is $179.85!  This is for 156 issues.  The cover price from the stores would be around $500!!!  This is quite the savings.  If you want this deal, use QUEENBEE as the coupon code.

You can also get 1 year @ $14.99 or 2 year @ $24.99.  Offer expires at 9 pm Pacific time today (6/17).    Thanks QUEEN BEE COUPONS!

Check her site out if you get a chance http://www.queenbeecoupons.com.  She is a great source!

 

Enjoy your day.. Buy a trashy mag!

E.

“Dads and Grads”… Where to go and What to Get Them!

Hello fellow frugal friends,

Sorry for a delay in posting… I have been busy getting my house polished off for my college graduation party last night 🙂  WAY TO GO ME!  It was full of fun, but now life is moving on.. and there are deals to find!

Tomorrow is the last day that Goodwill is having their 50% off book days.  Busy?  Make a few minutes of time to stop and check it out.  Paper back books are only $1.00.  Now, you could find cheaper books at a garage sale, however, you will have a better selection by checking out the GW.  They have a great selection and I often can find what I am looking for.

Now, for Dad’s and Grad’s weekend….

At The Ram you can purchase a $50 gift card and receive a $10 gift card.  If you have plans to take either out, this could save you a few bucks.

Now until tomorrow, Buffalo Wild Wings is also doing a gift card promotion, where if you buy $30, they will give you $5.

Rite Aid is doing a deal right now online where you can get 50% off kids toys and they have fans, chairs, and coolers for $19.99.  They also have a promo code for 25% off your order of $35 or more.  The code is 25WITHFS.

Walgreen’s has photo deals right now-  Purchase 50 or more photo’s and they will be .10 a photo.  Surprise dad or grad with a photo album =)

Snap Fish has photo book deals going on right now.  60% off if you buy 2 or more using code JBKS60 OR you can get 50% off when you purchase 1 using code JBKS50.

Sears is having a “dad’s” sale this weekend… Tools can be up to 50% off. & Kenmore appliances are up to 30% off!

 

These are just some good things out there… But, you know dad’s and grad’s just want a little acknowledgment.  So even if you can’t afford something, at least give them some time!

 

I’ll be doing some frugal life shopping on Monday & I will let you know what I find… Also, I will be starting on my top 10 DIY’s that I want to try next week. 

Until next time…

E.

Haggen Deals Today… What I got for $10.04!

Hello fellow frugal shoppers,

Yesterday, for the first time ever, my nephew spent the night with me.  We got to watch a movie, enjoy some ice cream, do a puzzle, and even managed to get some cuddle time in.  After I dropped him off this morning, it meant that I was already half way to Haggen (Top Foods).  So, my brain told me that I just HAD to go.  It is unfortunate that the one closer to my house closed down, because it is a 20-25 minute drive from my house to get there, so it’s only fun to go if I find good stuff!

I didn’t spend too much time in there, as I think I may have gotten there just a tad early for the mark down crew to come through, but that’s okay, I still managed to get some good deals.  Here’s what I got…

 

 

I managed to get (2) 20 oz packages of taco seasoned ground turkey @ $1.49 a pack.  The Raisin Bran was marked down to $1.69-sold.  A pack of Trojan condoms (12 ct) for $2.79, dog bones for $1.59 and some vitamins for .99.

 

Some people get freaked out when I show pictures of feminine hygiene products or forms of birth control, but guess what, it’s part of life.  I believe in safe sex.  If I can tell you where to find a good deal on condoms to prevent one less unwanted pregnancy- I ask you to politely get over it.

 

They had some other deals to check out too!  Any bacon lovers?  Oscar Meyer had their bacon on sale for $5.99.  If you can get a pack with the $2 off sticker, it makes them $3.99 a piece.  Next to the price tag is a coupon for buy 2, get $1 off.  So you could get this bacon as low as $3.50.

 

 

Also, for any rib lovin’ folks with little time on their hands, but a hankering need for ribs….  Lloyds Ribs are on sale for $6.99 for 1.5 lbs.  Many of them have a $1 markdown sticker on them, so you could get these for as low as $5.99!  I’ve never tried this brand of ribs, so if someone has a YAY or NAY on them, let me know!

 

Next, and above all else.  I know it is allergy season.  As a non-seasonal allergy holder, I feel great and need no medication to make it through these lovely pollen infested spring days… My husband on the other hand- YIKES.  Mowing the lawn causes him to feel like death and he is only out there for an hour.  Poor guy.  Allergy meds are plentiful at Tops… with many marked down to .99 a box.

 

One was a generic of Tylenol, one was for Allegra, and one was for Tavist.  Quantities varied, but there was plenty!

 

Enjoy your afternoon, this drizzle and cool weather is making not want to clean my house… But,

Until next time,

E.

 

School’s Out& Food is in!!! Plus some great finds today!

Hello fellow frugal friends,

Today, I have spent many hours slaving over the kitchen stove/oven.  Now that school is out, the cooking and baking must begin.  I have not had the opportunity for many months to just put myself in the kitchen and stay there until my need to make something is complete.  I have almost managed that today… but while I write this post, the cookies I made are staring at me…forcing me to eat them (I’m resisting… I swear!!).

So, today’s first task was peanut butter cookies made with only three ingredients.  NO FLOUR in these bad boys- for all you gluten intolerant friends.

Making them is simple, and I am sure most of you already have these in the appropriate areas of your house.

 

What you’ll need:

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

–Mix these all together, then make a criss-cross with your fork on top and add some additional sugar.

–Oven should be preheated to 350 degrees.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Let them slightly cool before putting them on a wire rack.

 

 

While my husband and I are trying to eat a little less sugar, the upside is at least they are homemade and not store bought!!  These were extremely better than I expected considering there was only three ingredients, and no flour.  I will be making these again because it was effortless, quick, and tasty!

Next, I had to indulge in a craving I have been having for months but have had little time to make *note: craving does not equal pregnant*… Egg salad sandwich.  Umm, yummmy!

While everyone has their own recipe to make egg salad and deviled eggs, I recommend trying mine, as it is superior ; )  I don’t use a specific amount of any one ingredient, I just keep adding a little of each until my taste buds tell me I am there.   Here’s what you use:

Now, for any of you who don’t know me well, I am the world’s pickiest eater.  In fact, I can say that besides the bread, ranch is the only other condiment in this picture that I actually eat.  I have never had Dijon mustard or horseradish unless it was in my deviled eggs or egg salad (I use the same recipe for both).   I also add salt and pepper to taste, and in my deviled eggs I substitute Johnny’s seasoning salt for regular salt.

(Let me just say, there is no way to make egg salad photogenic… unless you use Photoshop, but then, what’s the point?)

And voila!, egg salad sammy!  Seriously, I like to add a little extra Dijon mustard and horseradish for a little kick.  Don’t forget you can dress this up however you like.

 

What is currently cooling you ask?  An eleven pound turkey, which I unfortunately deleted it’s beautiful photo from my phone (insert the saddest face ever).  It looks delicious… golden brown skin, juicy, and peppered up.  Why am I making a turkey you ask?  Did you happen to read my last post?, the one about starting a stock up pile?  I don’t just stock up on household essentials, I also do that with food.  When I find something at a great price, I buy it now, and it goes in our chest freezer.  This was a free turkey we got from my husband’s work for Thanksgiving, and it seems an appropriate time to make it between big turkey dinners.

The upside to it being in between big turkey dinners, is that I can as I wish with said turkey.  This eleven pounder will become turkey enchilada’s, turkey noodle soup, and sandwiches for the weekend.  My boss is a big fan, so I will save some to take to work.  Anyone who worked with me prior to this school year got to indulge in treat Tuesday.  I would make a new (or old) treat, and they would get to eat it!

 

Now for the deals I found today….. Just a couple, nothing too special.

Do you ever get junk mail from Kohl’s that you toss away before even looking?  Normally I would get rid of any junk coming from the mail man without thinking about it, but for some reason, one time, I looked at some Kohl’s post card.  It had a $10 gift card with a minimum purchase of $10.  So, if I could find something for $10, it was free.  Since this time, it has happened on several more occasions, one being this week.  I wasn’t sure I was going to buy myself an outfit for graduation but I found this dress on CLEARANCE (dress on clearance, during spring/summer… weird?) for $19.  So with my Kohl’s free money after tax, this $50 dress came out to $10 even.  It’s floor length and super cute!  Thanks Kohl’s.  And people… Don’t toss all your junk mail without looking at it, because sometimes they just want to give you free stuff.

Normally, I go as close to free as possible, but I splurged with this gift card, figuring to myself that I spent enough time and energy into my college graduation and that I deserved it!

 

And now for my favorite place of all time… TOP FOODS! 🙂

–They only had one SUPER deal today, and that 20 ounce Jenny-O brand ground turkey for $1.49.  These normally run around $7.  I snagged four, and put them in the spare freezer (stock up pile).

— They also had their organic brand stuff at 25% off… Not sure if there was specific stuff only, but can’t hurt to check that out.

 

I will post some enchilada pictures this weekend for your drooling pleasure … ❤

Until next time,

E.

How to Start Your Stock up Pile

Hello fellow frugal shoppers,

 

Everyone wonders how I find good deals… or why in the world would I buy a million of product A when I only need 5 right now.  I am here to explain this all.  We have a cabinet in our house.  It is known as the stock pile cabinet.  It contains all our bathroom essentials and personal care items.  You can open that bad boy on any given day and find a years worth of something in there.  Why, might you ask?

Well, using Target as my example let me explain this to you.  Yesterday I went to Target..Mostly waiting for my mom to get off work, but also checking out bar soap prices.   I am particular about the kind that I use, but Kevin will use anything I buy…therefore, we use two different soaps in the shower.  I am not sure if Target always has these deals or just sometimes, but yesterday they had buy 3 Olay 6-pack soaps and get a $5 gift card for future purchase.  They were $5 a 6-pack.  This comes to .83 a bar!  So it was $15 to get 18 bars of soap, but I got $5 back, so now I can go buy one more pack of spa and make it $15 for 24 bars of soap, which makes them .65 a bar of soap!  –Oh, and the bonus is that when I went to cash out the girl had a coupon for $1.5o off… so it was really $13.50:)  I didn’t even ask…she just gave it to me!

So for me, why not stock up?  I need it now, I will need it in six months, and so on.  This is a great deal!

Here is what to look for on the tag.  They do this with many other products as well!  Some say buy me and get X free, it just depends on what you are getting.

In addition to Olay soap, they had this deal on Old Spice soap.  Buy 3 six packs at $3.99 and get a $5 gift card in return.  With the gift card I will buy another pack of soap and get 24 bars of soap for $11.97.  This makes each bar of soap less than .50 a piece.

All in all, before I use the two $5 gift cards to buy more soap, I spent around $25 on soap, and after I buy more with those gift cards, I will have about 8 packs of soap for that price.  This makes each bar come out to around .52 a piece.  Stocking up may seem silly, but when you can save money buy purchasing more in advance, do it.  Set aside one space, one cabinet somewhere.  Aim to fill it with essentials.  Things like soap, shampoo, razors, they don’t expire, so buy them at the right price and purchase more than you need.  It will save you time at the store, and it also helps keep your monthly bills down.  If you can spend “a lot” once and not worry about it for the rest of the year, you will be thankful.

 

Anyways, nothing to fun today, but this is a great way to save.  Go check it out friends!

Until next time,

E.