Frugal Forum July 13- Column and Extras

How much does it cost The Fru-Gal to feed a family of four for one week? I get asked a lot how much I save on groceries so I thought I would tell you how much a typical week worth of breakfast, lunch and dinners would be for my family. Telling you what I prepare for the week will have to start with my stockpile of groceries that I always have on hand. My stockpile consists of cereals, pasta, pasta sauce, frozen vegetables, barbeque sauce, peanut butter, jelly, water and drink mixes. These items go on sale often when using coupons I can purchase them close to free. On Saturday I stopped at my Walmart Neighborhood store (small version of Superstore Walmart) and got some great deals on meat that was marked down. I bought a rack of ribs, rib roast, four steaks, full chicken, and two small packages of hamburger for $25. Now I was on my way to preparing my dinners for the week. I go through two gallons of milk a week and I bought a 32 pk of water at Kmart for $2.50 but had a $2 mail-in-rebate when you purchase a case of water (found the rebate at RiteAid). Last week at Krogers they had Jimmy Dean breakfast sausages on sale combined with the mega deal for 69 cents and eggs for $1 a dozen this took care of breakfast for the week along with my stockpile of cereals. I make my coffee at home saving me lots of money. For lunch I always check out the marked down bread where I bought two loaves of wheat bread for 25 cents each plus I purchased four cans of tuna for 88 cents each at CVS along with Fischers bologna with 50 cents coupon at Krogers (doubles) making the bologna just 79 cents. I purchased two bags of Lay chips at Kmart for just $1.88 each. We all bring our lunch to work, school or eat at home so I purchased 4 – 12pks of Pepsi soda at CVS for $2 because I had $8 in extracare bucks from previous purchases. These purchases took care of our lunches for the week. What I also want to mention is this is the first year I actually have a garden that is producing wonderful vegetables. It has been a great experience along with a money saver. Sunday I cooked a whole chicken with mashed potatoes and a salad using items from my garden. I had a loaf of garlic bread that was marked down to 99 cents at Krogers making a nice addition to the meal. I bought a 10lb bag of potatoes for $5 at Krogers to use throughout the week with all my meals. We did have Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for dessert that I bought at Walgreens for just $1.50 each. They were on sale for buy one get one free and I had six $1 coupons. We had different ice cream all week for dessert. We love to grill outside so one night we had steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob that was on sale for 5 for $1 at Krogers then one night we had BBQ ribs with cucumbers and pasta. I did go to Fazoli’s for the meal deal using the coupon they sent me when I joined their email club. I got spaghetti, meatballs, salad, chicken parmesan, and breadsticks for just $20. I used two buy one $5 KFC meal deal get one free coupons for dinner. Instead of grilling the hamburg I used it to make two meatloaves with potatoes and frozen peas. I usually make at least three trips to Krogers a week just to see what goes on sale on one of my trips they had on special flat iron steaks for $4. I bought one and grilled it with peppers, onions, jalapenos from my garden. Here is a breakdown of my purchases for the week. Remember having your pantry full is a necessary part of saving money. When certain items go on sale and I have coupons, I add to my stockpile.

· $5.50- two gallons of milk

· $4.50- coffee

· $25.00- meat

· $3.76 – Lays potato chips

· $2.00- soda

· $1.00- case of water

· .99 cents- loaf of garlic bread

· $9.00 – six pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

· $10- KFC dinner

· $20- Fazoli’s Family Deal

· .50 cents- two loaves of wheat bread

· $1- eggs

· $1.38- two packages of sausages

· $3- three boxes of cereal

· $1- peanut butter

· $1.50- jelly

· FREE pasta

· $1- tomato sauce

· $1- five ears of corn

· $4- flat iron steak

· $1.50- rice

· 50 cents- Green Giant frozen peas

· $5- 10lb bag of potatoes

· Country Time Lemonade mix for FREE using Kroger Digital coupons and mega deal

One week of groceries to feed a family of four The Fru-Gal Way = little over $100

I am seeing a bad trend coming with higher priced groceries. Here is a way to get some extra goodies from your purchases. There is a new program call SavingStar where you can load ecoupons on your CVS, RiteAid and Kroger loyalty cards. You won’t get money taken off your checkout but money will automatically be loaded to your SavingStar account. Once you use $5 worth of coupons you can get a check, PayPal deposit or gift cards. https://savingstar.com/how_it_works

This week at Krogers get two 3 Musketeers Candy Bar for FREE when you use the 50 cents coupon in 6/26 Sunday paper.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES SAVINGS:

Purchase qualifying office and school supplies online at OfficeMax.com and you will earn 100% back in MaxPerks rewards to use on other purchases at OfficeMax. If you are not a MaxPerk member you can create a free account online.

· Purchase Sharpie Highlights (yellow, 12ct) $7.29 and get $7.29 back in MaxPerks rewards

· Purchase Avery Stamps.com starter kit for $12.49 and get $12.49 back in MaxPerks rewards

· Purchase Paper Mate point guard felt tip pens (assorted colors, 12ct) for $15.49 get $15.49 back in MaxPerks rewards

· Purchase Smead FasTab Hanging Folders (legal or letter) for $12.99 - $19.99 get up to $19.99 back in MaxPerks rewards

Office Max also has in store savings purchase Basic Pencil Sharpener or Schoolio 2 pocket folders for just 1 cent plus check out other savings with coupons in this week’s flyer.

Office Depot has a Worklife Rewards program. Sign up now and get 100% back in rewards on select products purchased in store with reward card.

· Purchase Mr.. Sketch Scented Markers for $7.99 get $7.99 back in Worklife Rewards

· Purchase PaperPro compact stapler for $9.99 get $9.99 back in Worklife Rewards

· Purchase Office Depot brand file folders for $6.99 get $6.99 back in Worklife Rewards

· Purchase Uni-ball Vision Rollerball Pens 12pk for $17.99 get $17.99 back in Worklife Rewards.

Target has a coupon on their website for $1 off Sharpie Markers making them FREE. www.target.com

Check out Staples this week for one cent deals on erasers, pens and glue. They also have a bunch of twenty five cents deals for mechanical pencils, pen cases, post-its and more. www.staples.com

Save 20% off your purchase at Big Lots on July 17 only http://www.fatwallet.com/static/attachments/100553_blfriends_familyjuly2011.pdf

Lysol wants to help you make your child’s classroom cleaner. Buy any two Lysol products, get one Lysol wipes for free with mail-in-rebate. http://www.lysol.com/healthy-families/healthy-kids/back-to-school

Check out the Dipped Fruit deal from Edible Arrangements this week only. Get a box of gourmet dipped fruit for just $10. You just need to pick up your order in store. http://www.ediblearrangements.com/dippedfruitweek/

Whole Foods at Lexington Green is having another VIP tour on Wednesday, July 20th from 6pm to 6:45pm to teach you how to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to preparing healthy meals for your family. Pre-registered attendees will receive a goodie bag full of great products and money saving coupons. Just email kellyanne.beile@wholefoods.com .



Free Pilot B2P Retractable Gel-Ink Pens from Staples coupon
http://reg.e.staples.com/c/s/tagfrm/hBOG-JtB7SHGCB8cSy$NE-lDGA9/coupon.html?n=764

Sign up for Home Depot's Garden Club - they send some amazing coupons in the mail
http://www.homedepotgardenclub.com/SignUp/Registration.aspx?SourceID=736&cm_mmc=OLACaratGardenClubQ2_2011GCGarden%20Club_DedicatedMedia

Free Kindle download from Amazon "Live Like you Mean It: The 10 Crucial Questions that Will Help you Clarify Your Purpose" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EQ3BAI/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=inyotosa-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B003EQ3BAI

Amazon will help you load this on your iPhone, PC, Mac, Blackberry, iPad for free http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&ref_=amb_link_355500722_11&docId=1000493771#

Get your trial pack o.b. tampons https://ob.promo.eprize.com/hub/request_sample_intro

Get a FREE movie rental from Blockbuster Express when you enter one of the 6 codes listed below at checkout! Codes expire on 7/15.
83MDEB5
68ZGDB5
42EHJR5
24KBDJ5
45NCRP9
62SVEM7

Free one year subscription to Shutterbug magazine
http://www.freebizmag.com/wnn_shutterbug_01welcome.htm

Get a coupon for buy one get one free Athenos Feta Cheese coupon when you follow them on Twitter http://s100509.gridserver.com/twitter/index.php

Coupon for $10 off $25 at Yankee Candle
http://www.yankeecandle.com/assets/email/fall10off25/couponFall10off25.html

High value coupon - get 75 cents coupon for Nestle Powder drink mix
http://www.nestlefamily.com/register/?sc=10089095&variant=Nesquik

High value coupon- $1 off Lipton Recipe Secrets Product
http://www.makinglifebetter.com/offers/Coupon.aspx

High value coupon- $2 on Scotch Pop-Up Tape Dispenser (combine with a back to school sale)
http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=TVWPLUSZ7ZGI4

High value coupon- $1 Kasha Pita Chips
http://kashi.com/pitacrisps

Participating Starbucks is offering a free Tall Drink when you purchase any pack of Starucks VIA Iced Coffee http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/via

Free sample of Alpo canned dog food from Walmart
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid82797.aspx#/home

Get a free personalized journal from Papercoterie just enter promotional code WRITEITDOWN at checkout. You do have to pay shipping and handling.
https://www.papercoterie.com/promo/journals/

Moe’s Southwest Grill is offering free six ounce cup of Queso to each guest from 11am to 9pm at participating locations. No purchase necessary.
http://www.moes.com/The_411.php?ii=1
Buy one get one free McDonald’s smoothies, frappes, and frozen lemonade
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/promotions/Smoothies.html

Free seven issues of Parents magazine
https://w1.buysub.com/pubs/MR/PMM/PMM_Huggies.jsp?cds_page_id=84323&cds_mag_code=PMM&id=1310647140363&lsid=11950739003037615&vid=1

Free sample of Tubs O Towels
http://tubotowels.com/free-sample-request.html

Give a friend two free samples of Yogi
http://www.yogiproducts.com/ecard

Get a free sample of Fructis Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid99356.aspx?cm_mmc=dt-_-Anti%20dandruff-_-Walmart-_-sample

Kentucky is not on the tax free weekends. If you are visiting any of these states do some back to school shopping
Alabama – August 5-7
Arkansas – August 6-7
Connecticut – August 21-27
Florida – August 12-14
Illinois – August 6 – 15
Iowa – August 5-6
Maryland – August 14-20
Mississippi – July 29-30
Missouri State -August 5-7
New Mexico – August 5-7
North Carolina – August 5-7
Oklahoma – August 5-7
South Carolina – August 5-7
Tennessee – August 5-7
Texas – August 19-21
Virginia – August 5-7