The Thrifty Groove: June 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Gratituesday

Friends. The people we choose to have as part of our lives. I have a great family and I have been blessed with extraordinary friends.

Have you ever taken the time to look at each of your friends? Are they similar? Or are they all very different? I have noticed that I have a "smorgasbord" of friends!

I have a very different group of people in my life. Over the course of the years, I have found that the people I hold dearest and closest to me are a, for lack of better terms, an odd lot. And that is exactly what I love!

I feel so wonderfully fortunate to have these people in my life. They bring different views and ideas. They are there when things are really bad. They give me a safe place to rant and release tension. They make me laugh at the least expected times.

So, today I just want to say thanks to all my friends and to let them know that I am grateful they are in my life!

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Tuesday Tip

With the temps rising each day, staying hydrated is vital! But, who wants a warm drink? Refill your water bottles/to-go drinking cups with half of the desired beverage (water, iced tea, lemonade, kool aid,etc) and freeze it. Right before you head out of the door to do errands, grab the bottle, fill the rest of the way up with your drink. Now you have a cold drink that will last you a little longer while you are out and about.

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Free Kids Activity Flyers from Organic Valley

Organic Valley is offering Free Activity flyers (in quanties of 1, 5, 10). Just fill out the form HERE!

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Thrifty, easy and cool treat

Just a very simple "from childhood" idea.

A nice way to jazz up iced teas is to use flavored iced cubes. I often freeze lemonade into ice cubes and pop them into glasses of iced tea. Also, the left over fruit juice from cans of fruit are great as ice cubes and added to iced teas.

The same thing can be done with any flavored drinks, juices and lemonade. Add some frozen fruit juice cubes to change up the flavors of your standard drinks.

Add little pieces of fruit in the frozen cubes as well. It turns your drink into a special treat.

I know I am just a big kid a heart because I still like to make frozen flavored ice cubes and just pop them out into a glass or a bowl and just munch on them when the weather is sweltering.

Check out more ideas at Tempt my Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Also linked to Tasty Tuesday

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Walmart Kids Clothes

Walmart is having some great clearance sales of kids clothes right now. The prices are $1.00-$3.00. A good time to grab some deals! These items are not available in store. I have no idea if they will ship them to your local store for free.

Thanks to Coupon Geek

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Free Magazines

Get you free 1 year subscription to Hunter & Sport Horse magazine HERE!

Get your free 1 year subscription to Motor Trend Magazine HERE!

Thanks to Freebieblogger

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Monday, June 29, 2009

In the Coupon World.

It's the end of the month. And that means the online coupon sites will start changing out their coupon offers. So, now is the time to go to these sites and make sure you have all the coupons you want before they are gone.

So, let's see what is still available:

At Coupon .com:
$5.00 off $25.00 purchase at Rite Aid
$1.00 of any Eggo Bake Shop product
BOGO Quiznos sub offer coupon
$1.00 off Kelloggs Special K crackers
$5.00 off Hasboro Pictureka card game (if used at Target, it makes this game around $1.65)
$1.00 of Excedrin (this can be used for the 24 count and that often goes on sale for .99 cents at different drugstores)
$1.00 off Ocean Sprays Cranergy
$2.00 off Dry Idea Deodorant (This is the coupon I printed several times and stocked up of almost free deodorant)

The above is just a sample of about 130 coupons available. So, you may want to check it out and get some printed before they are gone.
Other sites to check:
RedPlum
SmartSource

The end of the month, it is time to take stock of your coupon supply. Go through the online coupon sites and see what you may need and get them printed.

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Walgreen matchup Deals June 28-July 4

Right Guard or Dry Idea Deodorant, $2.99
Get $2 RRs
$2/1 Dry Idea printable
=Free plus overage!

Wrigley's Gum, 3/$2 with in ad coupon
Use BOGO coupon (4/5 SS)
= $.02 cents each

Aquafresh Toothpaste, $1.99
Get $1 RR
$1/1 Aquafresh printable
=FREE

Listerine, 2/$9
Earn $3 RR
Use (2) $2 printables
=$1 each

Colgate Total Toothpaste, 2/$5
Get $2 RRs wyb 2
Use $1 printable coupon
Use $1 coupon (SS 6/7/09)
=$0.50 ea.

Pringles, $0.99
Use $1/2 coupon (P&G 5/17/09)
=$0.49 each

Select Kellogg’s Cereal, $1.99
Use $1 coupon (RP 6/7/09)
=$0.99

Got 2B Hair Styling Products, 2/$5.99 (BOGO)
$2/1 Got 2B printable
=$0.99 each

Oust Air Sanitizer, $2.99
$2/1 coupon (SS 5/10/09)
=$0.99

Abbreviation Key:
RR = Register Rewards (you will receive this back in the form of a receipt at the end of your purchase. You can use it on your next purchase)
SS = Smart Source (a coupon insert in the Sunday newspaper)
wyb = When You Buy
P&G = Proctor & Gamble (coupon insert in the Sunday newspaper)
RP = Red Plum (Coupon insert in Sunday Newspapers)

A Big Thanks to Jolly Mom for putting these together! Stop by her blog to get other great deals!

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CVS Deals June 28-July 4

Brawny Paper Towels (6 pack), $6.99
Earn $2 ECBs (limit 3)
Use $1/1 coupon (RP 6/21)
=$3.99

Campbell’s Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup, 2/$1 (limit 8)
Use $1/2 Campbell’s printable
=FREE

St. Ives, $1.49 (trial size)
Use $1.50/1 coupon (SS 5/10)
=FREE

Edge Shave Gel, $1.99
$1/1 Edge Shave Gel printable
=$0.99

Coke or Dasani H2O (12 packs), 4/$13
Earn $3 ECBs wyb 4 (limit 1)
=$2.50 each

Abbreviation Key:
RR = Register Rewards (you will receive this back in the form of a receipt at the end of your purchase. You can use it on your next purchase)
SS = Smart Source (a coupon insert in the Sunday newspaper)
wyb = When You Buy
P&G = Proctor & Gamble (coupon insert in the Sunday newspaper)
RP = Red Plum (Coupon insert in Sunday Newspapers)
ECB = Extra Care Bucks (use your CVS card and at the end of your transaction, you will get a separate receipt with this amount on it to be used on your next purchase)

A Big Thanks to Jolly Mom for putting these together! Stop by her blog to get other great deals!

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A Target Deal - Ice Cream

This week at Target, Edy's or Dreyer's Ice Cream is on sale for 3/$7.00 at Target. Print off 3 Target coupons for a $1.00 off one carton HERE! You can print off as many as you want. But, now with the coupons, that brings down this yummy ice cream to $1.33 each! That is a really good price!

Thank you to Moneywise Mom

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Redbox Free Rental Codes Via Text

Get a free rental using the code FIT to 414141. Code is good through August 31.

Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom!

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Bargain Book Deals at Barnes & Noble

Check out Barnes & Nobles Clearanced books HERE! They have books starting as low as 50 cents. Start thinking Holiday gifts!

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Free sample of Bare Escentuals

This is a nice freebie from Sephora (inside JCPenney). You will get a free 10 day supply of Bare Escentuals new matte foundation plus a baby buki brush. Just print this COUPON off and take it to the Sephora counter at your local JCPenney. This is a "while supplies last" coupon! So, get it quick!

Thanks to My Frugal Adventures!

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Menu Plan Monday

This week will be spent half here at home and the other half camping.

MONDAY
Grilled fish
Herbed roasted potatoes
cucumber salad

TUESDAY
Coney Dogs
homemade french fries
cole slaw

WEDNESDAY
Cold Chicken Salad
Garden Salad
Grilled french bread topped with herbs, cheese and tomato slices

THURSDAY
Tacos
Sliced fresh veggies/fruit with dip

FRIDAY
BBQ Ribs
baked potatoes
corn on the cob

SATURDAY
Low Country Boil

SUNDAY
Eat out (or leftovers)

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Make Something Monday

Today is "Make Something Monday" and I am going to make time. As you well know, if you follow this blog, that I post a lot of "free magazine" offers. And I love magazines. However, those suckers are seriously piling up!

Some of the free subscriptions I don't read. I subscribe to them to give to family or friends that I know would enjoy them. I am pretty good at keeping those together and dropping them off.

But, all the ones that I want to read? Starting to take over my house! Seriously, I could throw a slipcover over the stacks and turn them into a new piece of furniture!

Since we are at the end of the month, I have been trying to re-organize my time schedule (Yeah, I know...good luck right?!). I have decided to actually schedule some "me and my magazines" time. A couple of times a week I am going to grab a few magazines and something cool to drink and head out to the patio and just have some quiet time and go through some magazines. This will probably take place during "nap" time. And since I usually try to get a 101 things done during that time, these couple of days I am going to tell myself that it is okay to forgo the housework or whatever other mundane chore I was going to do and just take time to relax and enjoy a couple of hours going through magazines.

Have you found the same thing? Are you taking advantage of all the awesome free magazine subscriptions and then see them pile up as they arrive? It almost adds another level of stress to your life and that is crazy to allow.

I generally keep a pen and paper with me when I go through the magazines because I like to find little tidbits of info to either share here on this blog or just to use in my everyday life. And that to, is turning into little bits and pieces of papers everywhere, yet another stress. I found an old half used spiral notebook that is now my "Magazine tips and recipe" notebook. I am keeping it with the stack of magazines so I know where it is.

Once I am done with the magazine, it goes into the bag to giveaway. And like I said, I am actually pretty good at that part.

So, if you are like me, subscribed to all these awesome magazines and feel the stress of not getting around to reading them, join me in a little "Me and Magazine" time.

For more "MSM" ideas, head over to Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go!

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Motivate Me Monday

Today is gonna be a spicy day for me! Well, okay, when I say "spicy' I meant literally spices. I noticed this weekend that not only are my spice jars getting a little sticky and grubby, but I have a few duplicates. Actually I really checked my spices after a couple of back and forth comments left on one of my posts last week. LOL

So, today, all the spices are coming out of the cabinet and being condensed, or checked to see if I have some that need to be thrown out. Spices last a long time, but of course they lose their flavor over time. If you open your spice jar and you have to really try to smell the spice, it is of no use to you anymore.

Each jar is getting a good wiping down before putting them back into the plastic cheapo trays before going back into the cabinet. This was another thing we talked about in comments the other day, using cheap plastic basket/trays to keep your spices in. It makes it a lot easier to pull out of the cabinet and see what you need!

And this will be the perfect time to see what I am out of. I generally go to grab a spice only to not find it. I think to myself, "It's probably shoved all the way to the back". Well, now I will know. So, pen and paper will be handy for this little cleaning and organizing event.

Any of the jars that are emptied I will keep, clean and re-label to be used for our herbs that will get dried this year.

How is your spice cabinet looking these days? A little grubby? Do you know what you have? How about joining me in this task, clean up and clean out your spices today.

If you want to read more MMM posts click the button above!

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Eucerin- Free

Get a free sample of Aquaphor Healing Ointment by Eucerin HERE!

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Free Polishing Cloth

Get a free sample of furniture polishing cloths from Elegance Dream by filling out this form HERE!

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Free "School Year's Eve Party Starter Kit"

Yup, I know, the kids just got out of school. However, as with everything in life, you have to plan ahead. This is a free fun package to have your own "School year's Eve Party". You will also be entered into a giveaway of a $1,000 to go toward your school or PTA group. So, check it out HERE!

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BOGO Quiznos subs!

Over at Coupons.com they have a coupon for a free sub when you purchase a sub and a drink at Quiznos. While you are there, check out all the other great coupons you may want to print off! And remember the tips I talked about regarding printing online coupons in this POST!

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Free Report from the Dolans

Right now you can get a free copy of "12 Simple Ways to Save Money Today". This is a download offered by The Dolans as part of their Money Revolution. Check it out HERE!

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Saturday, June 27, 2009

New Fun Blog Toy

I have been playing with toys for this blog. I was bored and needed a blogging break. I found Playlist.com. Yup, this is NEW to ME. LOL I have mine one the very bottom of this page. I opted to not have it come on automatically. I haven't fully loaded it up with all my favorites yet. So, when you stop by and are reading the blog and want to list to some music, check out my playlist. I can already forwarn you, I don't really do a lot of music from the best 20 years. LOL I am "old school" kinda gal.

I did however fall in love with Big Band music thanks to my dad. 50's music thanks to my mom. Country music (selectively) from my hubby. And I am classic rock all the way.

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Tasty Thriftiness - Dill

This week over at I Refuse to Recede the herb of the week is dill.

This is probably one of my top 3 favorite herbs. I LOVE dill. I love it in a million recipes. One of my most favorite way to use dill is in dips.

Here are a couple of dips/spreads that use dill in them:

Not your average guacamole, this dip includes shallots, bell peppers, green onions, and fresh herbs. Serve with tortilla chips.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 to 3 shallots, coarsely chopped
1 small sweet red or white onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green onion tops
2 large ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 cup plain yoghurt or sour cream (see Note)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon crumbled dried dill or tarragon, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Coriander sprigs
Tortilla Chips
Preparation:
Creme Fraiche Place shallots, onion, bell pepper, and green onion tops in a food processor or heavy-duty blender and process until finely minced. Add avocados and lemon juice and process until no lumps remain. Add yoghurt, mayonnaise, dill, salt, and white pepperprocessing until completely combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if need be.

Pour into serving dish. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the dip, making sure it touches the dip all the way around, and chill for several hours. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) just before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or vegetable crudites. Use within 24 hours. With longer storage, the dip may begin to turn dark and separate.

Note: You may substitute for the yoghurt or sour cream, if you wish.

Yield: About 3 cups
Recipe from About.com

And one of the best and easiest dip recipes is this dill dip recipe I use all the time.

1 pint of sour cream'
1 packet of dried ranch dressing mix
handful of fresh dill chopped.

Just mix all together and let flavors blend in the fridge for at least an hour. DELISH!!

Get the low down on dill HERE!

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Marshalls Shopping Trip

As I mentioned earlier this week (Check out my post HERE) I had the opportunity to check out TJMaxx and Marshalls and have a little shopping spree (courtsey of the folks at Marshalls!).

My goal was to take the $25.00 gift card they sent me and have a thrifty spending spree! I know what your thinking, "That poor Diann! The things she has to go through!". Well, that is just the kind of gal I am! LOL

Now I have to confess, I have never shopped at Marshalls before. Can you believe that? So, I was eager to check it out!

When I got to Marshalls, I stepped out of our car, the temperture was 101! The minute I stepped inside the store I realized that a lot of people decided that 101 degree weather = shopping at Marshalls! The store was hopping. What I really noticed was to my right there had to have been 1 gazillion women shopping! What was the attraction? S-H-O-E-S!!! Marshalls has a huge selection of shoes of all kinds!

Now, if you remember from my TJMaxx post, my goal was to look at housewares and find a glass pitcher and matching glasses to go along with my other cool things I got for my table setting. So, I started my shopping cart heading straight down the center aisle to get to housewares. "I will not look at shoes! I will not look at shoes!!" I muttered as I tried to keep eyes front and center. Uh Oh, a mother with 3 not so happy kids in tow was heading straight at me. I felt she had the right away (screaming kids always take the right away! LOL) so, I pushed my cart off the right to let her pass. I was now in the "Shoe Zone"!

Black pumps with white polka dots! Red striped canvas wedges! Yellow sandals with white daisey's! Oh my! Breath slow...ease the cart back into the center aisle. There ya go! Phew, close call!

I made it! Housewares I have arrived! Okay, down to business. Once again filling my shopping cart to overflowing, I found deal after deal. And YAY, Marshall's did not let me down! I found the perfect glass pitcher and 4 drinking glass set! Of course I found several other things as well.

Here is what I got:

A glass pitcher & 4 glass drinking glasses - reg. retail = $14.00, Marshalls = $7.99
Large serving tray - reg. retail = $24.00, Marshalls = $7.00
Vintage Cheese Dome and platter - reg. retail = $20.00, Marshalls = $5.00
Set of 4 place mats - reg. retail = $8.00, Marshalls = $3.00
Triangle serving plate - reg retail = $7.99, Marshalls = .70 cents

My Grand Total Spent (including tax) was $25.11! Woohoo!

The triangle plate has a tiny chip in the side so it was marked down to .70 cents! I couldn't believe that. I had to search to figure out why it was marked down so much.

The Vintage cheese dome and platter is just the coolest! The dome is metal (a decent weight metal no less) and it has a ceramic platter.

And of course, I had to use everything that evening. Fortunately it cooled down nicely. I made BLT's, which I also added onions and sliced avocados to them and Troy re-named them as B.L.O.A.T. sandwiches (OYE!). Here is a picture:

Once again, I came away from my shopping trip very happy with my treasures! I had a lot of fun and want to give a big thanks to the folks at T.J.Maxx/Marshalls!

Next time you just need to have a little shopping adventure and want to cool off, check out T.J.Maxx or Marshalls and see what awesome deals you can find!

Disclaimer:

I was offered 2 gift certificates from the TJMaxx/Marshalls staff and was told to spend them on anything I wanted. The only thing they asked was that no matter what I got or how I enjoyed my experience, I would blog about it. This post is my honest opinion of my experience shopping. I am not being paid to offer this opinion.