You are here: Home / Archives for Melissa

Instant Win Wednesday: Dell, M&Ms, Mars

February 18, 2009 by

Dell HDTV Makeover Your Living Room Photo Challenge – click here to access(ends 3/31/09)

How to Enter: Visit http://www.dell.com/HDTVlivingroom (the “Website”) and follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the registration form including a valid home address (P.O. Boxes are not permitted). After completing the registration, follow the links and instructions to upload one (1) photo illustrating your current home theater equipment setup and why you are in need of a home theatre makeover (the “Submission”). By completing the registration and submitting your photo, you agree that your Submission conforms to the Photo Guidelines and Content Restrictions as defined below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may remove your photo and disqualify you from the Promotion if it believes, in its sole discretion, that your photo fails to conform to the Guidelines and Restrictions. After completing the upload of your Submission, you will automatically receive one (1) Instant Win Game play and advance to the Instant Win Game page. Entrants who have previously registered for the Promotion may play the Instant Win Game one (1) time per day by simply logging in to the Promotion. Follow the links and instructions to play the Instant Win Game. The Instant Win Game results will be instantly displayed. Potential winners of the Instant Win Game will be provided directions for validation. All potential winners are subject to verification before any prize will be awarded. Administrator is responsible for the Instant Win Game.

M&Ms Checkered Flag instant win game – click here to access (game ends 8/1/09)

Mars Hunt for Yellow Game – click here to access (game ends 4/13)

1 Grand Prize-$25,000 check
(3)1st Prizes- $5,000 check
(200)2nd Prizes-$25 check
(1,000)3rd Prizes-coupon for a free bag of Mars candy
(40,000)4th Prizes-coupon for a single Mars candy bar

Check out the games from previous weeks here (some may have ended already)

GOOD LUCK!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Tip of the Day Tuesday: Dealing with Bargain Burn-out

February 18, 2009 by

If you’re new to bargain hunting, you may think that it will never happen to you because you’re on such a bargain high, but eventually it is a phenomenon that happens and I like to call it “bargain burn out.” If you find that your coupon inserts have been stacking up for the last week or two or you can’t find the energy to drag yourself out to CVS to do the deals, you may be suffering from bargain burn-out and that’s OK!

Here are a few tips for dealing with bargain burn-out:

Ask yourself “Do I really need this?” and “Will I really use it?”
If you’re feeling burned out, and that “to go or not to go” argument is running through your mind, ask yourself if the “deal” is something you really need. Also consider how great of a deal it really is and the likelihood that you’ll even be able to find it when you go out looking for it. Prioritizing is important. If it’s not a “critical” item, then it’s OK. Another deal will come along before you know it, and even if it doesn’t, you’ll be OK because it wasn’t something you really needed in the first place.

Give yourself permission to take a break
I’ve been a bargain hunter for several years now, and I’ve learned through the years that you don’t have to do every single deal that comes along (in fact, when you do this, you drive yourself to burn out) and it’s OK to take a break from hard core bargain hunting every now and then. Give yourself permission to take some time off because there will be plenty of other deals down the road.

Take time for yourself
Bargain hunting can sometimes seem like a full time job. Don’t forget to take time for yourself to do something else that you love.

Filed Under: Tip of the Day Tuesday

Rebate Round-Up

February 17, 2009 by

Here are a few rebates that correspond well with recent (or current) CVS deals:

*Madagascar 2/Bird’s Eye Voila Rebate: click here to download the form

Mail in proof of purchase from Madagascar 2 and 2 bags of Bird’s Eye Voila (offer valid 2/10/09-5/15/09)

Click here to print a coupon for $1 off any Bird’s Eye Voila product

*Madagascar 2/Hostess Rebate: click here to download the form

Receive a $4 rebate check by mail when you purchase Madagascar 2 and and two family size packages of Hostess products between 2/6/09 and 4/30/09

Here’s a link to a coupon for $.50 off any Hostess 100 calorie packs snack

*Today is the last day to mail in your Pepsi rebate forms

CVS DEAL
*Buy 2 Natural Dentist 16 oz mouthwash/rinse – $9.99 (earn $4 ECB per mouthwash/rinse)

Use 2 $2/1 printables here

Spend $15.98 (hopefully pay with ECBs), earn $8 ECB
$10 MIR WYB 2 – print it here

Total profit (after ECBs and MIR) = $2.02

If you are new to completing rebate offers, click here for some tips.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

My $40 weekly grocery budget shopping trip

February 16, 2009 by

If you’re just starting to read my blog, you may want to click here to read about my challenge for 2009, so you’ll get a better understanding of how this all works. My Kroger stores triple three like coupons up to .35 face value and double three like coupons up to .50 face value. My Randalls stores triple one like coupon up to .35 face value and double one like coupon up to .50 face value.

Here’s a summary of my trips for the week:

Kroger – Total OOP = $22.69 – Some of the items we purchased are not pictured here (the “cold” stuff mainly) Here’s what we got: 2 cans 98% FF cream of chicken soup, 2 cans 98%FF cream of mushroom soup, 6 boxes BC Fruit Stickerz, 20 flour tortillas, Blue Bell ice cream (1/2 gallon), 2 pounds grapes, saltines, Pace Picante sauce, Olive Oil, 2 cans enchilada sauce, 6 cans Chef Boyardee ravioli and ABCs&123s, and 1 gallon milk. The biggest budget killer in this group is the EVOO which was $4.79 for the store brand! I have a catalina for $1.50 OYNP from the Fruit Stickerz. I sent my husband on this shopping run and I think it’ll be awhile before he goes again. One of the “Daytona” items didn’t show up on the receipt. I go through this regularly when I shop because my store doesn’t mark things very well, so you have to guess which items “count” and I end up at customer service trying to work it all out.

CVS: Total OOP = $0, earned $21.97 ECB – My store starts the Sunday sale early, so I was able to get some items from both weeks all at once! You can check out my scenarios for this week here.

Target: Total OOP = $18.65 ($14.97 without the dog treats) – Here’s what I got: 2 boxes Quaker granola bars, 2 boxes Kashi breakfast bars, 2 packages Market Pantry juice (8 packs), 2 cans Progresso soup, 1 gallon whole milk, 1 package Kraft cheese sticks, 10 packages Juicy Juice (8 ct) (we will be well stocked on juice for awhile now! I paid $3.80 for all 10 boxes…the regular price without coupons would have been $22.50!), 8 containers Yoplait yogurt, 4 boxes Kelloggs Pop Tarts. The coupon match-ups are here.

Here are my updated savings totals: (if you’re new to my blog and not familiar with my savings goals, click here

Baby Emergency fund – $793.10(Goal = $1000) – added $4.49 payment from Theraflu rebate, $9 rebate from Caregivers Marketplace, $3 payment from Pinecone Research, and $11.69 payment from Associated Content
Gift savings – $132.42 (Goal = $1500)
Rolling entertainment fund – $0 (Goal = $500)

*$10 in Target gift cards thanks to Lila Guide
*$10 in Amazon gift cards thanks to Swagbucks

I haven’t had a chance yet this week to update my savings totals.

Filed Under: Savings Saturday Tagged With: , , ,

Menu Planning Monday: My Menu for the week of 2/15

February 15, 2009 by

I posted a lot of information about my family and how we plan meals in this initial post.

Sunday – Chicken enchiladas – our entire family loves this recie!

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use the 98% FF kind)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the 98% FF kind)
2 cans green enchilada sauce
1 8 oz-16 oz. tub of sour cream (depends how spicy you want the enchiladas….I usually ad the 16 oz to tone it down some for my kids)
2-3 chicken breasts, shredded (if I’m in a hurry, I use canned chicken)
1 lb. cheese, shredded
1 dozen flour tortillas (you could use corn also)

Add cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, and enchilada sauce to a pan. Cook on medium low heat, stirring occasionally. When sauce is will mixed and starts to thin, add sour cream. Continue stirring occasionally until the sauce is well mixed and thinned out. Place a layer of the sauce along the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with the shredded chicken, sauce, and cheese. Roll and place in the baking dish. When you have filled all of the tortillas (this should make 1 dozen), pour the remain sauce over the top of the enchiladas and then cover with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is well melted.

Banana chocolate chunk bars – this recipe comes from baby_hokie on NBBC – I have listened to the ladies over there rave about it for weeks now and I think I’m the only one who hasn’t tried it now, so I finally gave in and made them – YUM!

Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
¾ cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup (2-3) mashed ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
6 oz semisweet chocolate pieces

Grease 15x10x1 inch baking pan. In a bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in the egg, bananas, and vanilla. Stir in flour. Add chocolate pieces.

Spread into baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or till golden. Cool. Cut into bars.

Monday – Meatloaf on a bed of potatoes (crockpot) – I got this recipe from 2*lil*harts on NBBC and I’m excited to try it out!

Tuesday – Lemony chicken breasts (crockpot) – this recipe came from All You Magazine (they now have a searchable recipe database with over 800 recipes, which is awesome!) I haven’t tried it out yet, so it’s another one that I’m excited to test.

Wednesday – eat out (we have an appointment that night, so no time to cook!)

Thursday – Beef with Broccoli and onions (Once a month cooking freezer meal) – in my post last week, I shared that I had joined a freezer cooking group. This was actually the recipe that I made, but I haven’t tried it yet. Marci shared the recipe for it on her blog last week.

Friday – Crock Pot Barbequed Spare Ribs – I got this recipe from my mother in law and my whole family loves it!

Slow cooker baked beans – this is another recipe from my mother in law!

Saturday – Chicken Tettrazini – this recipe comes courtesy of baby_hokie on NBBC – this is another recipe that I’m trying for the first time this week!

Ingredients:
10 oz. dry spaghetti — (10 to 12)
3 cups grated cheese – Jack or Cheddar
3 Tbsp. margarine
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup — (10 3/4 oz)
1 can cream of chicken soup — (10 3/4 oz)
1 (10 3/4 oz) soup can milk
3 cups cooked diced chicken
salt & pepper

Cook spaghetti as directed until al dente; drain. Sauté onions in margarine. Mix onions and remaining ingredients with spaghetti in a large bowl. Put mixture in containers and freeze. To prepare for serving, thaw tetrazzini and put in a baking dish. Bake uncovered in a preheated 350* oven until bubbly, about 30-40 minutes. For 2 people makes 5 casseroles.

* Note from the original poster of the recipe: I usually make 2 8×8 pans with this recipe and then freeze one prior to baking. Then I just thaw the second one for a day in the fridge and bake as directed above (sometimes it needs a few extra minutes).

Filed Under: Menu Planning Monday