Cheap School Supplies Rock! Week of 8/28/11

We made another trip to Office Max this week to take advantage of the sale. We paid a little more this week because most of the things we were after were a whopping quarter. Only the colored pencils were a penny. All in all, I still think we rocked it. In total we had 25 items and paid $5.20 after tax! I'm planning another trip to pick up some more Sharpies. They will make an awesome addition to the Christmas gift baskets for my crazy concert crew! Happy shopping!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Cheap Groceries Rock

We went to Save Mart this week to pick up a few things on sale with coupons. Here's what we got:

25 packages of pasta (10/$10)

20 pounds of chicken (on sale for .59 per pound)

4 pounds blueberries (2 pound pkgs. were marked down to 1.99!)

2 big packages jalapenos (.99 each and our peppers haven't blown up yet in the garden. Mama needs to make some jalapeno jelly!)

1 pound baby bella mushrooms (regular 4.99 per pound marked down to 1.99)

4 (2 liters) Pepsi Max (I've never tried this stuff, but they were on sale 4/$4 and there was a .55 blinkie on the shelf, so .45 ea. Sold!)

I used 25 $1/1 coupons for the pasta and 4 of the .55 coupons for the Pepsi. The grand total out of pocket for all this was $21.21!!!

How did your shopping go this week?

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Cheap School Supplies

Staying with the Back to school theme this week, I wanted to show you just how cheap some supplies really are this week. My total (after tax) for everything pictured (11 items) was a whole 12 cents. Yeah, 12 cents. These folders are great for report covers and for a penny, even if you cut them up for colored paper, it's a great deal! Check out your local Office Max ad, grab a handful of pennies and get going! Happy shopping! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Back To School=Gifts!

If you did it right, summer went by way too fast this year. I know it did around here! We've been back to school for a couple weeks, but we're still ironing out all the kinks. Back to school also means it's time for me to dust off my Christmas binder and start planning. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but with 124 days left, and an extremely tight budget this year, I don't have any time (or money) to waste! Here's a list of back to school items that I try to stock up on now, so I don't have to pay full price later. Keep in mind, over the next couple/few weeks, the stores will also be putting alot of these on clearance. Backpacks. Why? It never hurts to keep a spare in the closet so mid-year, when someone has a blowout, I don't have to rush out and pay full price. They also come in handy for overnight trips and 72 hour kits. The character themed backpacks also make a cute gift for little ones. Lunch boxes, water bottles and Thermos's. Why? Keeping a spare or three in the house keeps my sanity in check when my son forgets his at school on Friday, or my daughter leaves a banana in her lunchbox over the entire winter vacation and it dies a slow and stinky death. Yeah, spares are good. I also keep one for shopping days and yard sales. Pack a lunch and save yourself a trip through the drive thru! These also make cute little birthday and holiday gifts. Binders. Why? I personally have a binder addiction, in case you couldn't tell here or here. They are awesome for organizing coupons, concert venues and ticket stubs, holidays and household papers. You can organize your recipes or print off your favorites and make a "cookbook" for gifts. Add printer paper to list as well. It's super cheap this time of year. Why on earth would you want to pay double later? Composition books. Why? These are no more than .50 now. If you decorate the front with some cute scrapbook paper, you'll have made a journal gift for someone on your list. Pencil pouches. Why? Last year, I made a few survival kits at Christmas and used the pouches instead of jars. I loved the way they turned out, so I'll be picking up plenty of extras. They are great for storing puzzles and board game pieces long after the kids tear up the boxes. Sharpies. Why? Most schools don't allow these anymore, but they write well on homemade CD's and DVD's. I also won't go to any concert without a sharpie in my pocket. In case you missed that story check it out here. Pens, pencils, crayons, markers, erasers, sharpeners, glue, etc. Why? Oh, where to begin? These items are all on sale now for a penny to a quarter. Think stocking stuffers, gift baskets, Easter baskets, goody bags, rainy day or heat day kits. If you participate in any of the shoebox donation drives during the holidays, or want to donate to a shelter or school, a very little bit of money can go so far this time of year. To be continued... Until next time, rock on my friends!

Deals of the Day!

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled baking day for some crazy cool Halloween deals!

For starters, our local Salvation Army is having a Dollar Day today. All clothes for a buck!? Yeah, I'm so there! Usually we get a dollar day on one Friday per month, but they were nice enough to give us a second one this month. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finish up the kids' Halloween costumes. The possibilities were endless!

Giant green shirts= Christmas tree costume

Crazy blue dresses with a ton of sequins= mermaid or princess

Big blanket sleepers or robes=baby

Camouflage anything= soldier

Giant orange shirts=pumpkin

Anyhoo, the boys are going for the soldier and psycho look so we only needed a crappy flannel to shred and a camo shirt to finish up for them. The girl didn't find much but says she's all set. We ended up finding a few extra treasures like a new Tony Hawk shirt for the boy and a new Harley shirt from Hawaii for Hubby.

When we finished up at the thrift store, we headed over to Raley's because their large pumpkins are a dollar with printable coupon today and tomorrow. That's the best deal I've seen so far for pumpkins so we were all over it. We had to do three transactions since we needed so many, but our Raley's is really coupon friendly so we didn't have any problems. I'm tempted to go get a couple more for baking. I'll let you know how that goes.

So rockers, if you need to get your Halloween pumpkins, or need a few to fill the freezer, I'd head over here to get your coupon this weekend and get while the gettin's good!

Now I'll get back to our regularly scheduled baking because late is better than never.

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Good Deal Alert!

There's nothing worse than finding out that your favorite band is coming to town, but the service fees cost more than the actual tickets! Well, it turns out that for the entire month of June, Live Nation is waiving the service charges for all tickets purchased for events at Live Nation owned amphitheaters. Awesome, right? Hello Mayhem Fest 2010! There's an amazing selection of participating venues. Go over to Live Nation.com for all the details. Have fun! Until next time, rock on my friends!

$1 Flip Flop Day at Old Navy This Saturday!

Good morning rockers! Old Navy's annual Dollar Flip Flop Day is going to be going on this Saturday May, 22 2010. I wait for this sale every year so I can stock up for the whole family. There will be a limit of five pair per person, so bring a friend! The sale starts at 7am so get there early for the best selection, and be ready for a crowd. If you're a veteran mosher you'll do just fine. For more details, check it out over here.

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the heads up!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Thinking About Christmas!

I know it's only mid April, but I can't help thinking about Christmas. Even though I'm up to my rear end these days in our garden and planning end of the school year events, our annual camping trip and who knows how many concerts and road trips, Christmas is always in the back of my mind. It'll be here before you know it...happens every year.

Spring time is the perfect time to try any of those new Christmas cookie and candy recipes you came across last December. You know, all the ones you clipped and put in the "I'm so going to try that next year" pile. Why on earth would make these now? Well, because it's better to find out in April that a recipe is a total flop, than during your last minute baking (you know we all do it!) throughout Christmas week. I usually try at least one new holiday recipe on my baking days, during spring...before it's 110 degrees outside and I don't want to bake at all in the summer. This saves so much time, money, energy and stress during the already hectic holiday season.

I also plan for any homemade gifts that I'll want to give. I already know that I'll need jars for gift mixes. I'll be looking for these over the next several months at the thrift shop and yard sales. Plus, they are on sale during the summer months, so I'll be stocking up as I find the deals. I definitely want to try making this salt scrub and this sugar scrub in the near future. If they are keepers, I'll be set for the girls this Christmas. I think the guys will be getting this drink and these goodies. I'm still on the look out for simple additions to these gifts, but at least I have a head start.

Getting a head start on Christmas during the spring Works For Me! For tons more rockin' tips and tricks check out Works For Me Wednesday!

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Clearance Shopping!!

Remember when I posted about Easter Clearance last weekend? Well, I went to check out my local Target today. I got to the Easter aisle just as the super awesome store employee was changing the signs to 75% off! Check out all the goodies I got...

3 baskets to put away for next year

2 packs of silly putty to put away for summer

4 pkgs of marshmallows for baking or for banana boats

5 various egg dye kits

a package of fancy Wilton cookie cutters and a container of candy decorations for Mothers Day

2 talking eggs because they look fun for camping

4 packages of Playdoe

2 decks of cards for camping

2 packs of two gift bags for birthdays

1 pack of paper plates

1 pack of Easter tissue for next year

3 pkgs of Easter grass. Red for Valentines and Orange for Halloween

1 pkg Pixie Sticks

You'll never guess what I paid! I got all this for $20.83! The baskets alone would have cost me $24.00 if I'd have paid full price. I love my job on days like this! What kind of deals have you come across?

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Easter Clearance

With Easter coming up tomorrow, I wanted to remind everyone to be on the look out for Easter Clearance over the next week or so. The longer you wait, the deeper the discount so get while the gettin's good. Here's a little list of things I look for every year: Candy, candy, candy! Pastel M&M's are a great substitute for chocolate chips in cookies, and look really cute on top of brownies and layered in jar mixes for Mother's Day or birthday gifts over the next couple of months. Hershey kisses are also handy for baking Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies and can be melted down for dipping. All other individually wrapped candy will come in handy as pinata fillers, or for goody bags at birthday parties. The kids don't care what color the wrapper is, seriously. Paper goods. I don't know about you, but I can't stand spending money on things that wind up in the trash anyway, so clearance is the only way I roll. I always look for paper cups, napkins, table cloths and plastic silverware. Again, for birthday parties, baby showers or Mother's Day, the pastels are perfect. Also, we don't care what color we use while camping or when we are on a road trip. Pre filled baskets. I usually wait for these until they are close to free. Then, I break them down and use the contents for birthday gifts and fillers for goody bags. I also like to stash a few things, like sidewalk chalk and jump ropes, for when the kids have cabin fever during the summer. Plastic eggs. Why spend full price next year when you can get them for a few cents now? Just stash them until next year. The glow in the dark plastic eggs are a favorite around here. They make a great night time "treasure hunt" during sleepovers and camp outs. Stationary. Things like pencils, erasers, stickers and little notepads come in handy all year. The school is always in need of supplies and again, these are handy little items for birthday parties. The object of the game is to get as many things you need (or will need in the coming months) for as little as possible. You don't have to go overboard, but if you happen upon a bin of goodness for .25, make sure you look twice for useful items that you would otherwise pay much more for later. Happy shopping! What things do you purposely look for on clearance after the holidays? Until next time, rock on my friends!