TWO FREE TACOS FROM JACK IN THE BOX

Tues. August 4 you can get two free tacos from Jack in the box. No purchase necessary. Go here to print your coupon.

Peach picking

Peach season is at it's prime now. My daughter, grandmother and I went to Carter's Mountain Sunday and picked 45lbs of peaches. This is a tradition for my daughter and I. When picking peaches you have to be careful not to get them to ripe, they will get smashed and not be any good. Picking the right peach is pretty easy. They need to be firm, but not hard. They should have a fragrant peach smell. A reddish flesh, for yellow peaches. I usually get the yellow ones, they are cheaper than the white peaches. White peaches are my favorite though. I make homemade peach preserves and "frozen peach delite". This is something my great aunts use to make for me when I was little and I loved them. I also use strawberries in the spring for "frozen strawberry delite". Here is the easy step by step directions on how to make "frozen peach delite"

Wash and peel 7lbs of peach

Slice them up into bite sizes
Add 1 cup of sugar
Add 1 cup of water
Cook for approx. 20 mins until they boil
Let cool for 30 mins then add to cups and freeze

I use butter cups, icing containers, etc. Anything plastic with a lid.
You can use these in smoothies or just eat as a frozen peach delite treat. They are very tasting and good for you, since there is very little sugar. I suggest you taste the mixture before freezing to make sure it is sweet enough for your taste. If not, add more sugar. Enjoy all summer and winter long.

Buy school clothes on a budget

BeCentsAble has a great blog about buying school clothes on a budget. Check it out and see if you can save. Also check out her great giveaway. She is giving away two gift cards for $25 to Marshall's and TJ Maxx. It is easy to enter. I won one of her giveaways recently, the All You magazine 2 year subscription. This is a great blog to follow with many money saving tips.

Farmer's Foods Weekly Specials

Farmer's Foods grocery store is a smaller chain. They only have 7 stores in Va. and 2 in NC. There is no savers card needed to get their special deals. Farmer's Foods double manufacturer's coupons every day, up to $1.00. This weeks specials:
5lb. bag Russet potatoes - .98 cents
32oz. Gatorade- 10/$10
Banquet frozen dinners-10/$10
Pet ice cream,56oz, - buy one get one free
Felt's brand whole country ham(15lb. avg.) $1.38lb. sliced at no extra
charge- limit 2-
Colgate toothpaste $1.00-limit 3-these will go fast, they retail for $3.79-$4.09-no rainchecks
Oscar Mayer 120z. package Bologna - 5/$5
Jamestown mild or hot sausage-1lb.-2/$3
Classic garden salad 1lb. bag- .98 cents
Sweet cantaloupes- $1.78 each
Watermelon- $3.98 each
Yellow peaches- .98 cents lb.
Vine ripe tomatoes- .98 cents lb.
Hunt's ketchup-24oz. bottle- 10/$10
8 pack Hershey mini bars- 4/$5
Kraft 8oz. bars or shredded cheese- 2/$4
Angle soft bath tissue,24 single or 12 double rolls, 2/$10
(angel soft coupon)
General mills chex cereal 2/$5
Fresh mixed Fried chicken-in deli- $5.98- 8 piece

This sale runs from July 27 thru August 2. Please come back every Monday to check out my Farmer's Foods deals for the week.

FREE Mocha mondays at McDonalds

Image by sameold2008 via Flickr

Every Monday through Aug. 3 from 7am-7pm McDonald's is giving away free samples of their new iced or hot mocha. These are 8oz. mocha or 7oz. iced mocha. Limit one per person. I would suggest you call your local McDonald's to see if they are participating.

Free Samples from Walmart

Walmart has great samples for FREE. They arrive in the mail within 4-6 weeks and usually come with coupons. I love receiving freebies in the mail. It is like a little present everyday. Go here to get your free bodycology sample or here to get free viva paper towels.

FREE SUMMER CORN

Signing up for grocery store emails are rewarding. This week Giant emailed me a special for three free ears of corn. All I had to do was type in the first three letters of my last name and my Giant card account number. The three free ears of corn were loaded onto my card. When I purchased them, they were deducted from my bill. Harris Teeter is another grocery store that is great to sign up for their emails. They email you once a week with their specials. You also receive extra savings for being a "e-vic" customer.

Free pastry from Starbucks July 21

Image via Wikipedia

Starbucks is giving away a FREE pastry when you buy a beverage. From opening until 10:30am. Go here to print out your certificate to redeem your free pastry. One free pastry per customer.

Farmers Foods sales for 7/20 - 7/26

There are some more great buys this week at Farmer's Foods grocery store. This store is fairly new to me, but every week I am more impressed.

Canned Green Giant veggies 4/$3.00
13.5lb bag Kingford Matchlight Charcoal $7.99
Suave Shampoo or conditioner 2/$1.00(limit 4 per customer)
Red or white seedless grapes .98 cents lb.
Jamestown mild or hot sausage 2/$3.00
California celery .98 cents each
VA sweet yellow peaches .98 cents lb.
Premium lettuce .98 cents each
46-48oz. Mott's apple sauce 2/$4.00
Clorox bleach 3/$5.00
Pillsbury rolls or biscuits 4/$5.00
Donald duck orange juice 2/$4.00
Richfood frozen lemonade .88 cents each
Gerber baby food 10/$10.00
Kellogg's cereals 2/$4.00
Tampico drinks, 64oz. 10/$10.00
Assirted Pork chops-10 per package- $1.48lb.
Tyson Chicken breast tenders $1.98lb.
Farmer's Foods doubles maufacturer's coupons everyday, up to $1.00. There is no customer card needed.

Free cereal and bar sample from Fiber One

Image by shannonpatrick17 via Flickr

Fiber One is giving away a free sample of their cereal and bar, Plus $5.00 in coupons. Go here to sign up for your free sample. Hurry quantities are limited.

My daughter's 15th Birthday!!!!

My gorgeous daughter, Alexis, turned 15 today. How time flies! She has been wanting a Nikon camera. She finally got enough money from her birthday party to buy it. Here is a picture of her cupcakes I made for her party. I found the recipe in a magazine and thought they would be cute to make. I think they turned out great. I mixed approx. 1/4 cup cream cheese icing with blue food coloring, don't mix thoroughly, you want the multi color look. Icing your cup cake with the plain cream cheese icing all over. Spoon brown sugar over half the cupcake, take you blue icing with a butter knife and whip up some waves. I used peppermint candies for the beach balls and little craft umbrellas. It was a little time consuming but they were fun. I would love the hear your cupcake ideas. Leave a comment below.

Free Chocolate

It's Friday again and time for free chocolate. Every Friday until September Mars is giving away FREE chocolate. One per week, four per house hold through entire promotion. Enjoy!!

Do you have an ant problem?

BeCentsAble is giving away a free bottle of EcoSmart ant killer. It is an organic ant killer. Check out her giveaway here. Good luck!

Chex Mix anyone?

FrugalinVa is giving away two boxes of chex mix bars to two people. Be sure to check out her site. You will find some great information on money savings tips and coupon match ups.

I WON A GIVEAWAY

BeCentsAble was holding a giveaway for a two year subscription to All You magazine. I WON!!! I love to enter these giveaways, but never win. I was so shocked when I received her email telling me I won. I went out and bought a lottery ticket for $5.00 and won $15.00 off of that. I guess yesterday was my lucky day. Keep entering those giveaways, one day will be your lucky day.

FREE BAJA FISH TACO AT LONG JOHN SILVER'S

July 14th Long John Silver's is giving away a FREE baja fish taco, one per customer before 2:30pm. It looks yummy!!

Farmer's Food Deals for the week

I see some great buys this week at Farmer's Food
10lb. Idaho russet potatoes $2.98
32 oz. Gatorade 10/$10
64 oz. Minute Maid drinks 10/$10
fresh carrots 2lb. bag $1.48
Va grown green beans .98 cents lb.
Sparkle paper towels 8 roll single or 6 pack big rolls 2/$10
Simply Lemonade 2/$4.00
Country crock tubs or sleeves 15 oz. 3/$5.00
9 Lives cat food 4 pack 2/$3.00
Wisk liquid laundry detergent 2x 50 oz. jug $4.99
Angel Soft toilet tissue 24 single rolls or 12 double rolls 2/$10

Match up your coupons with the specials for extra savings. Don't forget Farmer's food doubles coupons up to $1.00 everyday. This sale is good from July 13- July 19

Free Slurpee at 7'11 today

Image by heath_bar via Flickr

7'11 is celebrating their birthday today. They are giving away free Slurpee's. Check here to see if your store is participating.

Free shampoo sample from Dove

Get your free sample of Dove shampoo here. I love these samples. They are great for kids camp, vacations or just trying new product.

FREE CHOCOLATE ON FRIDAY

Image by ukslim via Flickr

Who doesn't love chocolate?
FREE chocolate is even better. Every Friday through September Mars is giving away 250,00 coupons starting at 9:00am est. You can get 4 per household, but only once a week. I have already received two coupons. Yummy!!

Play Food lion's guiding star game and get $1.00 off

Image by greyhills2 via Flickr

Play Food lions guiding star game and win $1.00 off coupon. You can use it towards any item that earns the guiding star, like milk, produce, where ever you see the stars. It will test your skills on the nutritional value of food. Have fun! Thanks to MoneySavingMom for the tip.

Couponing for beginners

It might seem overwhelming to beginners about couponing. Once you get a system down that works for you it can be fun. Here are some steps to take for beginners.
Finding coupons: Sunday papers have some great coupons. Clip all the coupons you see that you could use. Don't clip coupons that you'll never use, such as dog food if you have no dog. Smart source, Red plum and coupons.com have great coupons. Click what you like, print and cut. All You magazine has great coupons also. You can find it at Walmart. Freebies come with coupons too. Freebies4mom, moneysavingmom, frugalinva and becentsable are some great sites for freebies.
Organizing: There are different ways to organize your coupons. I use a coupon organizer with labeled sections. Example(frozen, snacks, cleaning supplies, candy, bread, pet food, canned food, etc.) You can label them to your shopping needs. Here and here are some other ways to organize your coupons.
Deal Seeking: I recommend signing up for weekly emails from your local grocery stores. They will email you the specials for the week. Harris Teeters e-vic customers get extra savings for the week just for registering you vic card.
My Strategy is: I look through the weekly specials at my local grocery store and match up my coupons with their specials. If their is a buy one get one free item, check the stores policy to see if they give half off one item. This works great for me because it is only my daughter and I. We can't eat two boxes of cereal before they go bad. You can use two coupons for BOGO items if you purchase two. Last month my savings were 48% spending only $24 a week per person in my house.
Stock Pile: Stock piling is a great way to save. Toilet tissue, diapers, shampoos, soaps, femine iems, toothpaste all have a long expiration date. There are alot of coupons for these items also. When they go on sale, match your coupons up and stock pile. I also stock pile on food. Example-carrots were on sale the other week for .79 a bag. I bought a couple of bags, cut them up, cooked them and frozen them. I will use them in soups and stews. I do the same with meats. Alot of grocery stores will have meat on sale in the large quantity packages. I will divide up the meat into quart size freezer bags-enough for a meal for two. You can plan your meals around weekly grocery stores specials. If chicken is on sale one week, make meals with chicken.
Make couponing a family event. Have your children clip coupons and organize them for you. Give them rewards like a box of gummies if they clip X amount of coupons or a nickel for every coupon they clip that gets use during that shopping trip. This will take off some of the pressure that mom and dad might have. You will be amazed at all the savings that are out there. Just a little clipping, cutting and clicking and your on your way to savings. I would love to hear about your savings. Leave comments below:)

Farmer's Food Grocery Store Deals

There are some good deals this week at Farmer's Food. Sales run from Monday July 6 - Sunday July 12 They double coupons up to $1.00 everyday



Duke's Mayonnaise $2.79-use .55 coupon here-pay only $1.69

Turkey Hill ice cream-buy one get one free-$5.39-catch the cow here for a chance to win $50 worth of turkey hill ice cream.

Kellogg's cereals 2 for $6, click on the coupon bar on the right side of the page to print Kellogg's coupons

Hunt's Ketchup-$1.00-use .20 coupon from recent insert- pay $0.60

Cottonelle bath tissue,24 single roll,12 double roll-reg.,ultra or aloe-$5.99-use .50 off coupon here -pay $4.99

Minute maid frozen ades & punch- $1.00 each

Juicy Peaches- .98cents lb.

Scott paper towels-8roll pack $5.49- us .50 coupon from recent insert-pay $4.49

Tropicana fruit drinks-all 64oz. varieties-4 for $5

Turkey Hill iced teas-all varieties 640z.- 2 for $3.00

Green Giant white potatoes-10lbs for $2.98

I haven't been to the store this week, there might be more deals out there. They double coupons up to $1.00, bring your coupon book to see if they have anything on sale that matches your coupons. I got great deals on Tyson chicken last week. Let me know if you find anymore great deals. Have fun shopping!

Total Savings In June

Have you ever added up the total money spent on grocery for a month? Last month I saved all of my grocery receipts and added them up to see what my savings were. My total before coupons and savings cards was $368.97, after coupons and cards $192.46. A savings of $176.51 (48%). Not to bad, but I thought I could have done better. So this month I am giving myself a challenge. I am trying to have at least 50% savings on my grocery bill. Here is a break down of each grocery store I went to and the amount of savings.

Stores: Spent: Saved:

Food lion $39.01 $21.83 (35%)
Kroger $28.11 $15.91 (35%)
Giant $54.65 $42.35 (44%)
Farmer's Food $36.22 $48.96 (57%)
Harris Teeter $34.47 $47.46 (58%)

Total: $192.46 $176.51 (48%)
Do you have any great grocery store savings? I would love to hear about them. Leave me a comment.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Image by K2D2vaca via Flickr

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! HOPE EVERYONE
HAS A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY.

Harvesting green beans

Yesterday my nieces and I picked some green beans out of the garden for dinner. My 3 1/2 year old niece, Krista, helped me plant the seeds. She had alot of fun picking the beans. "I found one" she would yell and rip it off the vine. I thought for sure she was going to pull the whole bean stalk up. Krista loves to garden with me. Every time she comes over she asks "can we go to the garden?". She likes watching the tomatoes grow. "Amy look at your maters" she says. Next week I think I'll have her help me dig up some potatoes. I cooked the beans for about an hour with some white onions, salt and pepper. I usually through in a slice of bacon, but didn't have any. They were yummy!

COUPONS

New coupons. $1.00 off Starbucks icecream, $1.00 off Kellogg's Special K Blueberry cereal, $1.10 off Romano's Macaroni Grill dinner kit, and many more. You can get these from the side bar on the right side of the page or here.