Thrifty Thursday: Angel Food Ministries helps you cut your grocery budget

If you’re new to couponing and still trying to catch on or just trying to find new ways to work within your budget, Angel Food Ministries provides a great (and easy) way for you to help cut grocery expenses. It is a non-profit, non-denominational organization that has been helping to provide grocery relief to families across the country since 1994.

Each month, you can purchase a box of food for $30. There are no income guidelines! All items are fresh and most of them are name brand. There are a variety of churches and other organizations in areas across the country that are responsible for distribution of the items. You have to place your order early in the month and then you pick it up on a specific date.

There is a specific “menu” of items available each month. Here are the items that are available for the month of November:
1.5 lb. New York Strip Steak (4 x 6 oz.)
3 lb. IQF Split ChickenBreast
2 lb. Baby Back Pork Ribs
2 lb. Chicken Chunks
28 oz. Jumbo Charbroiled Beef Patties with Gravy
1 lb. Smoked Sausage
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 lb. Green Beans
1 lb. Diced Sweet Potatoes
10 oz. Peanut Butter
15 oz. Cranberry Sauce
7 oz. Beef-Flavored Rice & Vermicelli
20 oz. Shoestring Fries
32 oz. 2% Reduced Fat Shelf-Stable Milk
6 oz. Pancake Mix
One Dozen Eggs
One Dessert Item

If you purchase a regular box, you can also purchase additional value boxes which typically include meat or vegetables.

To view the full monthly menu click here: http://www.angelfoodministries.com/menu_0811en.asp

To locate a host site near you, click here:
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/hosts.asp

Yankee Candles – $10 off $25 purchase coupon

If you register here, you can get a Yankee Candles coupon good for $10 off a $25 purchase:

https://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/registerForCoupons.jsp

Start thinking savings on Christmas gifts ๐Ÿ™‚

Instant Win Wednesday: Tinkerbell DVD, Pace Picante sauce, and more

Here are the Instant Win games for the week. With most of these, you can enter once per day.

Tinkerbell DVD & Blu Ray sweepstakes:

http://disney.go.com/disneymovierewards/tink/

Pace Picante Sauce Hand Pick & Win:

http://www.pacefoods.com/UnderTheLid.aspx

Win an ultimate fashion weekend in New York City:

http://ruelala.promo.eprize.com/secretkeytostyle/

Mazda Motorsports:

http://mazda.promo.eprize.com/motorsports/?affiliate_id=MotorSportsVanity

Last week’s games: (in case you missed them)

http://melziemomsbargains.blogspot.com/2008/10/instant-win-wednesday.html

In case you missed this one….win free Dole salad:

http://www.winfreedolesalad.com/Success.aspx

Tip of the Day Tuesday: Where can I find coupons?

Many beginning couponers often ask me where I find my coupons. The easiest place to start is with the inserts in the Sunday paper. They typically come out every week (the exception is holiday weekends) and a preview for the coupons that will be in the inserts for the upcoming week is posted on Wednesdays at Taylortown.

Look into getting a subscription to your local newspaper. I was able to get one for an entire year for $40. That is much less than it would cost me to get it at the store each week. If you have a 99 cent store in your area, some of them also carry the Sunday paper!

Here are some other places where you can find coupons:

*Online: There is a link on the right side of the blog where you can print coupons. Some other places where you can print coupons from are: smartsource.com, couponmom.com, couponbug.com, and coolsavings.com.

Be sure to check manufacturer’s websites. Look for a “savings” or “special offers” link. Many of them offer printable coupons for their products.

On Hot Coupon World, they have a coupon database where you can search for various products and it will tell you what coupons are available for different products and where you can find them.

*Blinkie machines – Blinkie machines are the machines you will find in stores that have the blinking red light and spit out coupons. Most of the time, these coupons are not store specific!

*On the packaging of the actual products – Some products have a โ€œpeelieโ€ coupon on the outside that can be peeled off and used toward that purchase. Many products also have coupons on the box or inside the box.

*Tear pads – Tear pads are coupons that are typically found on displays of products in stores. They are sometimes also found on the doors in the refrigerated or frozen foods sections.

*All You Magazine – this magazine is found only at Walmart and contains a number of coupons. The cost at Walmart is $1.77 per issue, but you can usually find subscriptions for $10 for one year or $20 for two years through school fundraisers. This link will tell you how you can get a discounted subscription:

*Trading Forums โ€“ the two I use most often are the forum on Trading Mamas and the forum on Hot Coupon World.

*On eBay – Some of my favorite “sellers” are kalamazooclipper, lisajanet81, dans-katys-coupons, and forever_johnson. If you are buying coupons through a seller on eBay, be sure to check feedback. I typically only buy coupons there with a “Buy it Now” option. Also, make sure you look at the shipping costs.

*Through coupon clipping services – I have been using these more lately because the shipping & handling from many eBay sellers has become outrageous or it’s just too difficult to win the auctions for coupons on eBay. The services I have used are:
The Coupon Clippers
Coupons & Things by Dede:

The Coupon Clippers is based in Florida and Coupons & Things by Dede is based in Texas (so if you’re in Texas, shipping is super fast, but you have to pay sales tax)

Get a $25 gift certificate for $2 at Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com offers gift certificates for a variety of restaurants. They are heavily discounted to provide you with an incentive to try out new places.

They are offering 80% off the already discounted certificates. Make sure you enter the code “TREAT” at checkout and hit “apply” You can get a $25 gift certificate for only $2!!

Christmas is just around the corner so you can give them as a gift or use them for a cheap night out for yourself!

If you are an Ebates.com member and you click through the Restaurant.com link on Ebates, you will earn 15% back.

If you haven’t joined Ebates yet, click on the link below and earn a $10 bonus for yourself!

http://www.ebates.com/refer-a-friend/0809promo.htm?referrerid=%2BKE12Ia0hiKNhNAjtiRDTQ%3D%3D

*Make sure you read the terms & conditions for each restaurant promotion