Kelly's Thrifty Tips

This is my last post before Christmas! Can you believe that Christmas is soooo close?! I am excited! I hope you are too.

Don't forget that today is Free Shipping Day! Not all stores are participating, but quite a few are getting into the free shipping spirit today! For more details and stores, go to www.freeshippingday.com. You can enter the name of the store you are looking for or even look according to category.

LINKY: Free Shipping Day


COUPONS

I am starting to focus on saving money via groceries again, and I have been looking for any place I can get coupons. I found some awesome printables at Campbell's website Campbell's Kitchen . Head on over to Campbell's Kitchen to see what is cooking. Oh man!!!! Can you believe I just typed that?

Here are just a few of the printables:

Campbell's® Cooking soups --Save $1.00 on any four (4) Campbell's Condensed "Great for Cooking" soups.

Pepperidge Farm® Cookies--Save $1.00 on any one (1) Pepperidge Farm Cookie Collection, Holiday Cookie Bites or Pirouette® Rolled Wafers.

Campbell’s® Chunky™ soups--Save $1.50 on any three (3) can or microwavable bowl varieties of Campbell’s Chunky soup.

Campbell’s® Select Harvest® soups--Save $1.50 on any three (3) can or microwavable bowl varieties of Campbell’s Select Harvest soup.

V8 V-Fusion® Juice--Save $1.00 on any one (1) 46 oz. variety of V8 V-Fusion Juice.

Pepperidge Farm® Frozen Bread--Save $1.00 on any two (2) packages of Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread.

V8® 100% Vegetable Juice & V8 Splash®--Save $1.00 on any two (2) 64 oz. V8 100% Vegetable Juice or V8 Splash beverages.

Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Turnovers--Save $1.00 on any two (2) packages of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Turnovers.

Campbell’s® Select Harvest® soups--Save $1.50 on any three (3) can or microwavable bowl varieties of Campbell’s Select Harvest soup.

LINKY: Campbell's Kitchen Coupons

Fry's main page also has a wonderful link for printable coupons as well as links to my favorite sites (Shortcuts, Cellfire, p&g eSaver) where you can download the savings right to your card! I love the chance to get the most bang for my buck.

LINKY: Digital Coupons

With the end of 2009, I have been thinking about ways I can up my savings quotient. I read in a magazine recently that more families waste money by grabbing items for dinner on the way home after work. This makes sense to me. You are most likely tired, in a hurry, hungry and probably not feeling at your creative best when it comes to whipping up that meal. I have to say, I have experienced that. I don't rush off on the way home and purchase a prime rib, but I definitely am not as price savvy as I am when I hit the grocery store for my weekly shopping romp. I am also usually toting my son along with me at this time, and really, he is hard to shop with. The kid knows how to get me to buy things I normally wouldn't like donuts and chocolate milk!

I have seen many blogs involved with Menu Planning Monday, and I thought this would be a great idea to embark on! I really have struggled with the whole motivation to sit down and do this and the worry of where the ideas will come from, but there really is no need to worry. Organizing Junky hosts Menu Plan Monday every week for bloggers to link up with their ideas. This is a great place to get a little inspiration. I am going to do some serious research in the next couple of weeks, and then I am going to dive in! I am pretty excited. It will be nice to see how much we can save. Check out Menu Planning Monday for yourself at Organizing Junky.

LINKY: Menu Planning Monday

DEALS:






Arizona Snow Bowl opened today. If you like skiing and you have a birthday during ski season, you should definitely head on over for free skiiing on your birthday. You have to have the proper ID with you. Follow the link for more info.

LINKY: Snow Bowl Free For Birthdays!


FREE MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC:

Free track "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" from MercyMe Christmas Album "The Christmas Sessions" at Free CCM. AND!!!!! They are also giveing away an entire album for free on their website IF you sign up for their newsletter.

LINKY: FREE CCM LINK "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"

LINKY: MercyMe 10 Live




FREE MAGAZINE:

Do you have a golf lover in your family? I don't, but if I did, I would sign them up for this freebie from Rewards Gold. I get several magazines totally free from Rewards Gold because of doing littler surveys. This freebies is for Golf Digest Magazine. If you have a golfer friend, this would be an awesome hook up for them!

LINKY: Golf Digest


JAR GIFTS

This is my last posting for gifts in a jar. I love biscotti so I was pretty excited about this recipe. It looks very easy.





Biscotti Cookie Mix in a Jar


From: AllHomemadeCookies.com
This would be a great gift for Christmas or even a nice thank you gift with a bag of yummy coffee!



In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients:

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. chopped almonds

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. dried lemon peel

1/4 tsp. dried orange peel

Place the mixture in a pretty jar or airtight container and include the following gift tag:

Biscotti

1 package Biscotti Mix
3 large eggs
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. anise extract
1 large egg, separated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine Biscotti mix with the eggs, butter, anise, and extra egg yolk from separated egg. Mix on low speed until the dough is smooth.

Roll dough out into two 12-inch logs, about 3 inches wide. Place logs onto a cookie sheet and brush with remaining egg white. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Cut the logs diagonally, into 1/2-inch slices. Bake the slices on their sides for another 12-14 minutes. Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container




Blarney Stone Jar Cookie -
From Joyce's Fine Cooking





Blarney Stones Cookie Mix In A Jar

1 3/4 cups flour; * mixed together
1 teaspoon baking soda; * mixed together
1 teaspoon allspice; * mixed together
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 cups peanuts; salted

Use a one quart wide-mouth canning jar.
Stir together the flour, baking soda and allspice. Set aside.
Layer the sugar, the raisins, the nuts and then the flour mixture,
packing each layer well.
Seal, decorate the jar and attach the recipe tag to the jar.

Blarney Stones Cookies
You will need:
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
large mixing bowl
Yeild: 3 1/2 dozen cookies


Pour the contents of the jar into a large mixing bowl and mix the contents
thoroughly. Hands works best. Mix in the butter, eggs and vanilla until
thoroughly blended. Make teaspoon size balls and drop on to a greased
cookie sheet. Bake in oven at 375 degrees F. for 8 - 12 minutes until the
edges are lightly browned. Cool.


Lastly, there is an awesome book full of recipes and crafts for this holiday that you can download from Recipe Lion. I received several emails about this fabulous book. I just browsed it, and there are lots of great ideas!

LINKY: Mason Jar Recipes from Recipe Lion


I will be back to post the sales, but I have to head out now.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

There are a lot of things to cover today, and I expect it will take some time sooooo...I am going to post as I go. Be sure to come back, because as I type, I will be saving and updating.

Aren't you just completely excited about Christmas coming up? I am just thrilled. I can't wait to see my family who will all be gathering in Lake Havasu. Well...not everyone, but quite a few. THAT is probably my favorite thing about Christmas. It is nice getting the chance to see everyone. Don't forget to take lots of pictures on Christmas! It is a great time to start photographs for next year's photo calendar!

On to savings:

As I mentioned this morning, I was out shopping to pick up a few items at Walmart, and I decided to check out the clearance items. I was stoked when I found some very cool Rolling Stone cover art tote bags. They were regularly priced $12.00, and now they are clearance priced at $3.00! The coolest part was that they also had a tag on them for 12 free issues. You don't have to spend a dime for the subscription AND the card was already postage paid too. The fine print on the card for the 12 issues does say that it is an automatically renewable subscription at a low price, but that it does give you a 30 day notice before that. I could not pass this deal up!

This got me thinking of the things you can do with this tote bag. Tote bags make great gift wrap, and at $3.00 the price is pretty awesome! This tote bag in particular would make a great "Wait and See" gift. Because as Dave said, you can pop a Rolling Stone magazine in it, fill out the card with the recipient's address and mail it in, and leave a note with the gift saying that this is gift number 1 and there will be 12 more to come. :) You could also make it artist related according to cover, and put in CDs by the artist, DVDs, or books if they have them.

My main idea is to try to get creative with your wrapping and save money. Wrapping with a tote bag saves money because it is a double gift that can be reused.


Other wrapping ideas:




Reusable shopping totes - Yes...some of these are blazing with the store name, but for me that is a big "So What?" I like to use reusable shopping bags when I hit the grocery store, because of the environmental savings and some stores will take money off of your order for using them.

Paper bag Christmas wrap - If you have it around, definitely think of trying the brown paper bag wrapping. It is especially cool for grandparents if you have the grandkids color some fun designs on the wrapping paper. I know my son's grandma's always appreciated any of his artistic endeavors.

Fabric -

1---Wrapping presents in fabric can really go a long way for a crafty person or for the family. I have talked with several people who buy inexpensive fabric during sales at the fabric store and then use that fabric to wrap gifts.

2---The fabric can also be used to decorate boxes that you can reuse year after year for gifts (this works great with old shoe boxes and even Pringles cans). My aunt has a variety of beautiful boxes that she purchased that she uses for Christmas gifts every year. With some pretty fabric, you can make your own pretty boxes.

Tins - Get to the thrift store and check out the tins. Year after year, people make cookies and candy for the holidays for friends and family, and many times those emptied tins are brought to your local thrift store. Head on down and shop around. I usually pick up quite a few for anywhere from 10 cents to 25 cents. It is well worth the look. Make sure you clean them before you use them (I put ours in the dishwasher and dry them up as soon as they are done).

Baskets - Again, be on the lookout for baskets when you are shopping at local thrift stores or craft stores. If you have themed gifts, a basket is a great way to show them off.

Maps - If you have maps lying around the house, they also can be used as an inexpensive gift wrap. And if the gift is auto related, it will be even better.

Sheet Music - Now, I am not sure where you would get your hands on a bunch of sheet music, but doesn't it sound lovely?

Boxes from Christmas Past - This is something that I have to add in, because it is something my husband's family does. They reuse boxes from past Christmas presents. He told me that they have a wood burning kit box that has made the rounds for years. Isn't that cute?




GIFTS IN A JAR -

I have two gifts in a jar recipes to share today. I was thinking about how much I love getting fancy pumpkin spice coffee during the Christmas season, and I thought it would be pretty awesome if I could locate a jar recipe for something tasty like that. And yay!!!!! I found two!

Pumpkin Pie Creamer

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon allspice (optional)
1 cup non-dairy creamer

OR

3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups dry non-dairy creamer

Combine all of the above ingredients in a small bowl. Pour into pint or 1/2 pint jars.

Directions to attach to jar:

Pumpkin Pie Creamer ~ Use 1-2 teaspoons per mug of hot coffee, hot cocoa or tea.


Chicken Tortilla Soup in a Jar

Now this is something that I think you you might want to combine with a basket, because you add a can of chicken to the package and although the jar recipe doesn't call for it, the directions call for a 10 oz can of diced tomatoes and green chilies. I think it is better to have it all on hand, and think about it, if you get a cute little basket, you can add maybe a cute dish towel, pot holders, and maybe a ladle or some cute soup bowls in addition to the jar. Wow...I digress! Here is the recipe!


1 cup converted long grain rice
2 to 2-1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1 (5 oz.) can chicken

Seasonings: Mix the following and place in a thin zipper sandwich bag.

2 T. chicken bouillon granules
2 t. lemonade powder with sugar
1 t. lemon pepper
1 t. dried cilantro leaves
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 cup dried minced onions

Size of jar: Quart

Place ingredients in jar in this order:

1. Place rice in jar first.
2. Place seasoning packet into jar next. Gently flatten bag so it is visible from all sides of jar.
3. Fill jar with tortilla chips.
4. Put lid on jar.
5. Attach can of chicken to top of jar.
6. Decorate jar.
7. Attach the following recipe to jar.



Directions to attach to the gift:

Tortilla Soup

1. Carefully empty tortilla chips from jar into a dish. Set aside.
2. Remove seasoning packet. Set aside.
3. Place rice in large pan. Add 10 cups water and 1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chilies and seasonings from packet.
4. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
5. Add tortilla chips. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 cups soup.






Inexpensive Eats Coupon!!!!

I love El Pollo Loco, sadly, I don't live near an El Pollo Loco anymore, but I know there are several around in Arizona. Sooooo check out the special coupon deal El Pollo Loco has from now until December 17th. They have a coupon for their citrus-marinated, flame-grilled skinless chicken breast meal with fresh steamed vegetables, a garden salad and fresh salsa. Using that combo is only 275 calories and the coupon is for $2.75!

Coupon Link: El Pollo Loco





MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC

Don't forget to check out the 25 days of free at Amazon.com and get yourself some Christmas music. Today's song is Silent Night by House of Heroes.

Link: 25 Days of Free

iTickets.com has Noel (Glory to Your Name) by Sonic Flood

Link: iTickets free music

New Release Tuesday has a free download this week from December 8th to December 14th for Chris Tomlin's Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) from the CD Glory In the Highest and they also have a free download of Nate Flowler's On My Way from the CD Wherever You Go.

Link: New Release Tuesday





GREAT BUYS!

Amazon.com again has some pretty awesome deals this week on magazine subscriptions. There are several available for just $5 and just to name a few: Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Kitchen, and Smart Money. There are more, so check out the link below! This sale ends on December 12th!

Link: Amazon Magazine Subscriptions $5.00

Amazon also has some great album downloads for $5.00. One of the albums up is Switchfoot's Hello Hurricane. There are quite a few in many different genres so be sure to check it out.

Link: Amazon Music $5.00 album downloads.




MORE FOODIE DEALS

Check out Restaurant.com's special Feed It Forward event!

Details from the site: Through Feed It Forward™, you have the opportunity to give from the heart and enrich the lives of people around you through the gift of meals and memories. Give a free $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate to 30 different people, everyday until Christmas. Simply choose whom to give to and we take care of the rest.

Sounds pretty nice!

LINK: Feed It Forward with Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com is also a great place to get great deals on gift certificates for dining out. There are a lot of restaurants who participate. Some provide $10 gift certificates for as low as $4.00 and $50 gift certificates for $20.00. It is very easy to navigate and see what you might like to purchase. You can also search by state, city, regions, and zip code.

LINK: Restaurant.com

Shopping AFTER Christmas - Don't forget that there will be many great sales after Christmas is through. But don't just hit the department stores. Check out all the awesome deals that are going to be at your local thrift stores. Lots of people will be cleaning out their closets and homes to make room for the Christmas presents they received. This is always a great time to see what might be arriving at the thrift stores.




GROCERY SALES

Fry's

-- California navel oranges 39 cents a pound
-- Hunts pasta sauce 26 to 26.5 oz 88 cents each
-- Fry's pretzels 12-15 pz $1.58 (don't forget that if you chop these up, they make a great breading for chicken and fish).


Albertsons

-- Hormel Premium sliced Ham $1.19 pound
-- Red seedless grapes 99 cents
-- Libby's canned veggies 2 for $1.00


Safeway

-- Rancher's Reserve London Broil $1.77 a pound
-- Whole Boneless Pork Loin $1.77 a pound
-- Lucern shredded or chunk cheese 6 to 8 oz 99 cents (limit 3)
-- Braeburn or Granny Smith apples 47 cents a pound


Thanks for dropping by!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Christmas is almost here! I have been majorly busy with planning out the holidays, I am sure you have been as well. I covered a few bases for saving money this morning, but let's go a little more in depth.

DECORATING -
December is a great time of year to save on decorations. You can stock up on the Fall decorations that are now marked down and after Christmas, you can rock the stores for all the fabulous markdowns on Christmas decorations. But...you can also do a little creative decorating on the cheap with things you have at home.

Reader's Digest Christmas Trees - This is a little something a teacher taught me years ago. If you subscribe to Readers Digest, great! If you do not, it is all good, because you can often pick some up at your local thrift store or get some of someone who already has a subscription. Basically you simply remove the front and back cover and the proceed to fold the pages together so that the top edge of the page rest against the glued binding of the magazine making a triangle. The overhanging part of the triangle should then be folded up into the paper to make it neat. But...rather than me fumble through it, check out the link I found AT Reader's Digest. I guess a lot of us did this in school!

Link: Reader's Digest Christmas Tree

I also found a cool yarn wreath made out of odds and ends (specifically yarn, buttons, scrubby pads, and what looks like the button part of a flannel shirt) on the cover of one of my other favorite magazines Ready Made. I have the magazine at home and plan to try it out.




While on the hunt for yarn wreaths, I also found the most amazing tutorial from Katie Runnels at The Constant Gatherer. This is so easy and beautiful. It is absolutely a wonderful way to make a pretty wreath you can use for Christmas decorating or any other holiday!

Link: The Constant Gatherer Yarn Wreath Tutorial


You can also decorate your tree with some old fashioned touches like strings of popcorn with or without cranberries. This is also a fun activity for the kids. I recall doing this at a friend's home, and I wanted to do it ever since! I have also caught some cool activities for homemade Christmas ornaments. Look around...you will be surprised at all the cool things you'll find.

DECORATE WITH CHRISTMAS MUSIC

As I mentioned this morning, you can also create a Christmas mood inexpensively by decorating with music. Amazon has made it ridiculously easy to spread the holiday cheer each and every day with free Christmas music. Check out these links:

25 Days of Free Christmas Music at Amazon - I loved that the first song was Casting Crowns "Joy to the World." It is still there as well as two other songs. I don't know how long the songs will stay up, but each and every day, Amazon will supply you with another new Christmas music freebie.

LINK: 25 Days of Free

Amazon has 28 FREE Christmas songs. You can totally pick and choose here. It is one download at a time. I was really excited to see such artists as Jars Of Clay, Big Daddy Weave, Point of Grace and Barlowgirl. Be sure to check this out.

LINK: 28 Christmas Songs

Also check out Sampler Claus at Amazon for more free music. You can find tunes by Frank Sinatra and Robert Goulet here.

LINK: Sampler Claus



JAR RECIPES
I have given you a jar recipe for gift giving every week, and since I had last Thursday off, I thought I'd share two with you this week.

Blizzard Bites
Bakespace.com has an awesome recipe for this yummy gift in a jar snack. This looks really pretty. Just click on the link for the directions.

Link: Blizzard Bites

Milk Bath
There is not much easier that this recipe. All you need is some powdered milk and essential oils. You can pick up essential oils at a health food store or natural food store like New Frontiers, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or even online. Use a jar that will hold a cup of the milk bath.

Mix 1 cup of dry milk (yep the stuff you buy in any grocery store) with 8 drops of essential oil (you can add more if you like a stronger scent). The essential oils are roughly $4.99 to $7.99 for a small bottle, and trust me, they go a long way! You can dress up your jar with ribbon, the directions, and even a cute little measuring scoop, spoon, or even a pretty spoon from a thrift store tied on with ribbon.

Tag Directions:

Directions: To use, add to running bath water.

FREEBIES

I found an awesome freebie for an Oriental Trading 2010 calendar this week thanks to one of my favorite sites Hey It's Free! You are definitely going to want to act on this quick, because the free calendars roll in and out FAST.

LINK: Oriental Trading Calendar 2010

Free Coffee:
Nestle's Taster's Choice has free samples of their coffee available right now. I have had these before, and they are great for a quick instant cup of coffee.

LINK: Nestle's Taster's Choice Samples


MORE FREE MUSIC

Free CCM has Todd Agnew's "Did You Know" as well as songs by Sarah Groves, Skillet and Phil Wickham.

LINK: Free CCM

Don't for get to check out the free tunes at iTickets. Right now you can get a free download of Jonny Diaz song "You Are a Storm" or "Beautiful Miracle" by the Sonflowers.

LINK: iTickets

GROCERY SAVINGS

My Top Ten

Safeway:
--Tropical Mangos 2 for $1.00
--Hass Avocados 2 for $1.00
--Buy 5 Kraft Singles, Shredded or chunk cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese, or Velveeta and save $5.00!

Fry's:
--California Cuties Clementines 3 pounds for $2.37
--Boneless 1/2 pork loin $1.77 a pound
--Many $1.00 sales are up at Fry's from Chef Boyardee to Hunts Tomatoes.

Albertsons:
--93% Lean Ground Beef $1.77
--Boneless, skinless chicken breasts $1.57
--Albertsons is also hosting a mix and match 10 for $10 sale so be sure to check it out and maybe pick up a 3 pound bag of navel oranges, Progresso Soup or Albertons buttter plus a whole lot more!

Have a great day!!!!

Why We Should Give Thanks In All Things

WHY WE SHOULD GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS

We know that God is the highest form of good and righteousness ever known. His very existence is pure Righteousness . Nothing surpasses the goodness of God! Because of that fact and the powerful work of Christ on the Cross, there is nothing that can be more wonderful than a relationship with the Almighty through faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ. On the other hand nothing can be so horrible and tragic that the goodness of God can’t overcome it. Therefore there is no situation or circumstances that we can’t give thanks for, because all things work together for good because of His powerful goodness. Nothing can separate us from God’s Love! Thank You Lord!


ROMANS 8:37-39

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Happy Thursday! First of all, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been taking the time to sponsor a child through this Thursday and Friday's Shine4Kids to Shine to Shine God's Love in Guatemala through Food For The Hungry. One of the reasons we try to save money in our home is in order to give more to those in need.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and there are some families and individuals out there may not be able to afford to have the traditional Thanksgiving at home or may not have anyone to share it with. Communities and churches have been stepping forward with Thanksgiving celebrations for those who might not otherwise have the opportunity. These dinners offer food, fellowship, and the opportunity to share time in celebration with one another. There are two I'd like to mention here. If you know anyone who would be blessed by dinners such as this, check out my list below:

Chino Valley:

TUESDAY 11/24---- Word of Life Assembly of God is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner on 11/24 at 4:00pm to 7:30 pm. This is their seventh annual Thanksgiving At Our House Free Community Thanksgiving dinner. Anyone is invited to come on down, spread the word and bring friends!
Address: Word of Life Assembly
590 W. Road 1 North
Chino Valley, Arizona

WEDNESDAY 11/25---- Sprngs Church will be providing Thanksgiving Dinner to the residents of Spring Valley, Cordes, Mayer and the surrounding communities. The dinner will be served at the Mayer High School from 4:43 pm to 7:30 pm,

Address: Mayer High School
17300 E. Mule Deer Drive
Mayer, Arizona

More Money Saving Tips---

Sandwiches-- Making your sandwiches out of meats from your butcher department is really a smart way to save. Think about it. Cook's Spiral Sliced Half Ham is on sale this week at Fry's for 1.47 a pound. It is already sliced up. This is definitely a deal over lunch meat prices. If you buy your chicken, roasts and ham on sale, and make sandwiches out of your left overs...we are talking huge savings.

FREEBIE UPDATES---
I have an update for the 50 free photo cards from See Here is now limited to 4 x 8 cards. The shipping is still free and the end date is November 30th. Again, a HUGE thank you to Freebies4Mom for spreading the word on this great deal! Once again, the coupon code is freebies4mom-1109. Linky: See Here

FREE SAMPLES---

Kashi TLC Chewy granola bar! These are absolutely delicious! Get clicking while supplies last!
Linky: Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bar

Another big thanks to Freebies4Mom for that little deal!

Amazing pile of free samples at Vive Mejor! Right now you can get samples of Hellman's and Best Food's Lite Mayonnaise, Caress Skin Care, Ponds Rejuveness, and New Degree Women Fine Fragrance Collection. Get them while they last! Link: Vive Mejor

BARGAIN PRICING!

A few weeks ago there was a plethora (at least I think plethora is an adequate word) of great magazine deals at Amazon.com! There is a really awesome one right now. You can get or give TWO years of Redbook for just $5.00. That is because right now, Amazon has it for $10.00 with a special deal today for an additional $5.00 off. This would definitely make a great and inexpensive gift! I think this is just for today so you definitely want to act now. PS on this one...the one year is $8.00!!!!
Link: Redbook Magazine 2 year sub

GIFT IN A JAR RECIPE OF THE WEEK!


This week's gift in a jar recipe is for Snow Ball Cookies.


Snow Balls Mix

A favorite recipe to share with friends.

1/2 C powdered sugar
2 C all-purpose flour
1 C chopped pecans

Combine the confectioners sugar and flour and place into a 1 quart canning jar. Put the chopped pecans on top.

Include the following instructions with your gift:


Snow Balls Mix

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease cookie sheets. In a medium bowl, cream together 3/4 cup of shortening and 1/4 cup of margarine. Stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extracts. Add the contents of the jar, and mix well. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool, and roll in confectioner sugar. Makes 4 dozen.

Another great freebie I love is printable gift tags. My son and I are especially fond of the Suessville gift tags. We have been using them since he was quite young. One of the things we like to do as a craft together is print them up and then color them with colored pencils. I have looked around for some others you might want to try out.

GIFT TAGS:


Suessville - Great gift tags you can color that are lively and fun. You can use a hole punch to add a ribbon or just tape them directly to the gift. Again, these are black and white which really make for coloring fun.

Mint Printables - These are in color. There are Santas, snowmen, angels, and more. Again, just pick and print.

Free Printable Gift Tags - There are too many to even described. These again are already colored. They have a number of tags you can print out for any occasion.

MAKE YOUR OWN GIFTS


Well, really you aren't making your own. You are making them for others. I found an absolutely fabulous craft in Family Fun magazine for what they call Snowball Soap Surprise. This is sooooo easy and a great craft for the kids. I also found it at several other blogs. Here are the directions:

Snowball Soap Surprise

What You Need:
Food processor or cheese grater
4 (4.5-ounce) bars of Ivory soap
8 tiny plastic toys (you can get some little action figures, toys at a thrift store, little rubber balls, or toy rings. Really there is no limit to what you can pick up for this suprise).

1. Use a food processor fitted with the grater attachement to shred four bars of Ivory soap (you can also grate the soap with a hand grater). Pour all the pieces into a large bowl.

2. With your hands, mix in about a half cup of lukewarm water, a little bit at a time, until the mixture is squishy and claylike.

3. For each snowball, scoop up a heaping handful of soap and mold it into a ball. Poke a deep hole n the center with your finger, insert a toy, and refill the hole. Lay the finished snowballs on a cookie sheet and let them dry thoroughly.

Once they dry they even look kind of flakey.

I have seen some variations on this idea. Aunt Pitty Pat soaks her soap bars over night and has the kids form them into balls with no suprises but a really cute poem. Link: Aunt Pitty Pat Snowball Soap. The New Unschooler uses pretty much the same recipe. She adds 1/4 cup of water per cup of grated soap, puts a toy in and has the soap dry out in the sun.

Felt Finger Puppets
These are adorable and I have found crafts that you can sew or glue. These are simple to make and easily will make the kids smile. I found two sites that really had some awesome ideas, but trust me, there are plenty out there.

Make and Takes has an awesome craft to make felt Star Wars finger puppets, and they are darling! All the directions are at their site. Link: Make and Takes

eHow also has a great set of instuctions for finger puppets that require a little bit of sewing. Check it out at their site: Link: eHow


GROCERIES

Don't forget to load up your loyalty cards with the new Cellfire coupons. They are up now! Link: Cellfire

What is for sale?
This week I was pressed for air time so I only have a top six. That is two for each store.

Fry's--
(Manufacturer coupons all value at $1.00. Accept competitor's coupons)
-- Jennie-O Frozen Turkey 37 cents a pound
-- Cook's Spiral Sliced ham $1.49 a pound

Safeway
-- Broccoli and Cauliflower Crowns 68 cents a pound
-- 10 pound bag of Russet Potatoes for 97 cents each

Albertsons
-- Asparagus and greenbeans 99 cents a pound
-- Betty Crocker Cake Mix or Ready to Serve Frosting 69 cents each when you buy 5

Lastly, if you are having Thanksgiving in your home and are going to have children at the dinner, you may want to check out this awesome website I found. It is the Thanksgiving Page from Holiday Zone. There are loads of printables from cross word puzzles, word searches, coloring pages, and a Thankful list.
Link: Holiday Zone - Thanksgiving Page



Have a great weekend! Since I wont be back for two weeks, I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving too!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

AN OOOPS NOTE: For some reason the link to Freebies4Mom went to a free song down load and not Freebies4Mom sooo I fixed it and here is the linky here too: Freebies4Mom Sorry about that.

Can you believe that it is already November 12th? I am amazed at how quickly this month is going by! That means there are a lot of reasons to really focus on your budget and saving for the holidays.

In the past, I use to shop according to how much money I had. I just took the cash and spent until I had no more to spend. I didn't overspend this way, but I also spent every dime I had. For the past few years I have operated on a budget for Christmas. This typically involved simply writing names down on a paper and how much money I was going to spend on each person. Thanks to All You, I have a new site to go to that will keep me organized for Christmas AND help me keep to a budget. Check out Organizedchristmas.com! They have this section full of printables and downloadable forms to keep you on track for the holidays. One of the things I jumped on was the Holiday Budget Planner. The Holiday Budget Planner goes great with the Master Gift List. In fact, they have a whole Christmas Countdown Planner that you can look at and pick and choose the printable pages that suit your needs. We are talking right down to the cleaning chores!

We also talked about buying discounted gift cards for gift card presents. I had mentioned selling your unused gift cards at plasticjungle.com before to get money for cards you do not use, but I didn't mention using this fabulous site as a place to purchase some awesome gift cards at a discount. These are all verified gift cards. The value of the card is listed, the price for the card is listed and even the discount you will be getting by purchasing the card is listed. I have seen the percent discount to be about 10 to 20%! There are gift cards for dining, clothing, activities, and more. If you like to buy gift cards, this could be right up your alley!

Another way to save money is saving on shipping. If you are ordering gifts online, you definitely should check out freeshipping.org. This site will supply you with coupon codes for free shipping from many online retailers. Search around and see what you can get.

Now this is an amazing deal that I found out about thanks to one of my favorite websites freebies4mom! Heather has swung an ideal deal for 50 free 4×8 or 5×7 photo cards with FREE shipping from SeeHere by Fujifilm! Use the code freebies4mom-1109 before Nov. 30. Your total should be free. Heather can give you all the skinny by following this link: Freebies4mom

Other freebies today.

STICK IT -- Protection One Security has a deal for Pet Decals. These are those little stickers you put on your windows to alert others that you have pets in the home in case of emergencies. I use to have these in my old apartment, and I definitely want to be sure to prepare are home here in Arizona. Linkage: Protection One Security

MUSIC -- iTickets has two free downloads this week. Get your Christmas music collection started with "Adore Him" by Kari Jobe from the Christmas CD Worship And Adore. You can also hook yourself up with Josh Wilson's "How To Fall" from CD "Life Is Not A Snapshot." Don't forget that you do need to register. Linkage: iTickets music

BEVERAGE IT UP -- I am a huge fan of Dunkin' Donuts. If I ever stumble into a big pile of money...I am so getting my hands on a franchise. For now, I have to be content with making there coffee at home. If you have not tried their coffee yet, you simply MUST go to the link ahead, because you can get a free sample sent directly to your door. It is soooo worth it!
Linkage: Dunkin' Donuts Coffee


JAR RECIPES-

Today I have two tea jar recipes for you.

Spiced Tea Mix in a Jar - This is directly from Allfreecrafts.com




Ingredients:


--1½ cups of orange breakfast drink (like Tang)
--¾ cup iced tea mix
--1½ cups white sugar
--2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
--2 teaspoons ground cloves
--1 teaspoon ground ginger

~ Makes about 4 cups ~

Instructions:
1. Stir all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Pour into the quart jar (a funnel is useful for this but not absolutely necessary) and cap with a screw top lid, firmly screwed down.

2. Print the Spiced Tea Mix label shown above and cut it out (with fancy edged craft scissors, if you have them). Use a paper punch to put a hole in the top right hand corner.

3. Cut the lace trim to fit around the jar lid, adding an extra inch. Glue lace in place around the rim of the lid, overlapping the extra inch of lace at the back. Alternatively, you could cover the lid with a circle of lace or pretty fabric tied in place with the ribbon.

4. Tie ribbon around the lace on the jar lid, then tie the ribbon around the cinnamon sticks so that they appear at the front of the jar. Thread ribbon through the punched hole on the label and tie in place with a bow.

Allfreecrafts.com also has instructions on how to decorate the jars and a little tag that you can copy to print up and put on your gift.

Linkage: Allfreecrafts.com Spiced Tea Mix



Spicy Raspberry Tea Mix - I picked this one up at 7thspace.com

Ingredients

3/4 cup instant tea, unsweetened
4 (.23 ounce) packets raspberry-flavored unsweetened drink mix
2 tablespoons lemonade drink mix
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Stir all ingredients in mixing bowl with wire whisk. Transfer mixture to 1-pint wide-mouth jar. If jar is full, gently tap bottom of jar on palm of hand to settle mix. Seal jar.

Decorate jar and attach the following instructions on a gift tag:

Spiced Raspberry Tea

Makes 1 (6 ounce) serving.

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons Spiced Raspberry Tea Mix
6 ounces boiling water
Fresh raspberries (optional)
Fresh orange slice (optional)
Sprig of fresh mint (optional)

Linkage: 7thspace.com Spicy Raspberry Tea Mix

Lastly my top ten sales. There are truly a lot of great deals out right now. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming, I have kept my eyes open and looking for baking deals. I saw some excellent deals on sugar and baking needs at Fry's. Okay...on with the savings.

Safeway -
All manufacturers coupons are worth a dollar. I don't know how long that will last so take advantage while you can! :)

-- Green asparagus 99 cents a pound
-- Hass avocados 88 cents each
-- Green Giant canned veggies 39 cents

Albertsons -
(10% discount to all military personnel active or retired until 11/17 i.d. required)
-- Honeysuckle white premium turkey Grade A frozen 43 cents a pound
-- USDA Bottom Round Roast $1.88 a pound
-- 93% Lean ground beef $1.67 a pound (5 pounds or more)
-- Chex cereal $1.50 each when you buy 3 (totally ready to make that Chex Mix now!)

Fry's -
(All manufacturers coupons $1.00 and competitor coupons accepted)
-- All natural boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.57 pound
-- Bananas 39 cents a pound
-- Farmer John bacon 2 for $4.o0

Seriously there are a lot more great deals out there so be sure to check them out. And again, don't forget about all those coupons you can download to your loyalty cards with cellfire, P&GeSaver, and Shortcuts.


Have a great day! See ya next week!

Strollers Recalled

Stroller maker Maclaren has voluntarily recalled one million strollers due to safety issues. Read the entire article here.

Unclaimed Money

The Internal Revenue Service has over 3,000 tax refund checks worth over $3.8 million for Arizonans that have been returned by the United States Post Office due to mailing address errors. To see if you are one of the taxpayers due a return you can can go to IRS.gov or call 1-800-829-1954.

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Good morning!
I am posting this one before the show, because it is going to go fast!

Head on over to ValueMags.com for two free issues of Family Circle! This is totally free and brought to you by BedBathStore! Family Circle is a great magazine for saving money. This offer is only good while supplies last. I have done this before. This is not a start up to a paid subscription, it is totally free. I checked it this morning, and it is still up so gooooooo!!!!!

LINKY: ValueMags - Family Circle


More later!

Okay, I am back to update you with all the deals I talked about this morning and some that I didn't!

Load up those loyalty cards!

Cellfire makes it easier than ever to load up your cart with additional savings. Cellfire makes couponing a breeze because you simply go to their website, pick the coupons you want loaded onto your loyalty cards (in Prescott you have the option of Safeway or Fry's), and when you go to those grocery store you just scan your loyalty card as usual, and the savings will automatically be added to your grocery bill just like a paper coupon. The coupons are attached to the card. These savings must be uploaded by November 16th and used by November 30th. You can only load the deals to one loyalty card. More details are here: Cellfire FAQ

Linky for coupons: Cellfire Coupons

As I promised here is a listing of the coupons you can load up to your Safeway or Fry's loyalty card:

Pillsbury® Crescents Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls.

Green Giant® Vege's Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any variety Green Giant® Frozen Boxed Vegetables.

LEAN POCKETS Save $.55
Save $.55 when purchasing 1 box of LEAN POCKETS® brand BREAKFAST sandwiches.

Romano's Mac Grill kit Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Romano's Macaroni Grill® Restaurant Favorites® Dinner Kit.

Betty Crocker Potatoes Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any flavor Box or Pouch Betty Crocker® Potatoes (Except Potato Buds®).

Hamburger Helper® Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy THREE any flavor Hamburger Helper®, Tuna Helper® OR Chicken Helper® Home Cooked Skillet Meals.

Pillsbury Refrigerated Grands! Save $.30
Save $0.30 when you buy TWO any size/variety Refrigerated Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits.

Progresso® Broth Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any variety Progresso® Broth.

Progresso® Soups Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any flavor Progresso® Soups.

Pillsbury Frozen Grands! Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy any TWO Frozen Pillsbury® Grands!® Biscuits, Cinnamon Rolls, OR Mini Cinnamon Rolls.

Pillsbury Sweet Rolls Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls OR Grands!® Sweet Rolls.

Pillsbury Holiday Cookies Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury® Refrigerated Holiday Cookies.

Pillsbury Rolled Pie Crusts Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO packages of Pillsbury® Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts.

Pillsbury Cookie Dough Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy TWO PACKAGES any variety Pillsbury® Refrigerated Cookie Dough.

Betty Crocker Cookie Mix Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ. OR LARGER Betty Crocker® Cookie Mix.

Betty Crocker Warm Delights Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Bowls OR Betty Crocker® Warm Delights® Minis Bowls.

Betty Crocker® Frosting Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE TUB any flavor/variety Betty Crocker® Frosting.

Bisquick® Save $.60
Save $0.60 when you buy 40 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick® OR Bisquick Heart Smart® Baking Mix.

Fiber One Muffin Mix Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor/variety Fiber One(tm) Box Muffin Mix.

NV Granola Nut Clusters Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Granola Nut Clusters.

Yoplait® cups Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy SIX any variety Yoplait® Yogurt cups OR any flavor Yoplait® Original OR Light Smoothies.

Yoplait® Delights(tm) Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait® Delights Yogurt Multipack.

Chex Mix® Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix® OR Chex® 100 Calorie Snack.

Chex® cereals Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any TWO Chex® cereals.

Kix® cereal Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you buy any Kix® cereal - Kix®, Berry Berry Kix® OR Honey Kix®.

Cottonelle® Save $.25
Save $.25 on any ONE (1) 4-pack or Larger COTTONELLE® Toilet Paper.

Huggies® Diapers Save $1
Save $1.00 on any package of Huggies® Diapers

Don't forget that you can also add coupons to your Fry's and Safeway coupons through Shortcuts.com and P&GeSAVER.com! Many of these expire in December.

Links: Shortcuts
P&GeSAVER

I do not want to bomard this posting with all the coupons so be sure to head out. Again, these are really simple to use. One of the things I like to is that I can log into the account and see how much I have saved so far by using these electronically transfered coupons. :)


Free Food:

You just have to appreciate a company that is going to go all out and show some appreciation to our Veterans and Active Military men and women. November 11th, Veteran's day, Applebee's will give a free entree to all Veterans and Active Military men and women. All they need to do is show proof of military service.

Valid Veteran and Active Duty Identification includes:
U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card
U.S. Uniform Services Retired Identification Card
Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
Veterans Organization Card (i.e., Amercian Legion and VFW)
Photograph in uniform
Wearing uniform
DD214
Citation or Commendation

Details here: Applebee's

More free food at Whataburger! This is pretty cool. On November 10th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm you can head on over to Whataburger dressed in some orange attire to show your love for all things Whataburger, and they will give you a free burger!

Detail Link: Whataburger Free Burger November 10

Plus if you register now with Whataburger, you can join in on their 12 Days of Whataburger celebration. Sign up and get an email coupon for a free food item every other day from December 1st to the 23rd.

Sign Up Link for 12 Days of Whataburger: Whataburger News

Free Music!

I cannot pass up free music. I just love FreeCCM and NewReleaseTuesday, because they keep me up to date on the artists I love and gift me with some great free music too.


If you registered for FreeCCM last week, head on over there today because they have a free download of Todd Agnew's "Written On The Wall." Remember you HAVE to register.

Link: FreeCCM

New Release Tuesday is a lot of fun because you can listen to a lot of new CDs before they are released directly from their site. They also often have great contests. Right now they have two very great downloads. Again, you need to register for New Release Tuesday, but I think it is worth it. They update me on Christian entertainment news, have interviews, video, artist reviews, book reviews and more, but let's get into the free music. Right now you can download Plumb's song "Hang On" from the CD Beautiful History and Paul Baloche's song "Glorious" from the CD of the same title.

Link: New Release Tuesday

By the way, this week you can listen to Steven Curtis Chapman's new CD "Beauty Will Rise" for free all week at New Release Tuesday.

JAR RECIPES!

Last week, I said that I was going to post a new jar gift recipe every week. These really make great gifts as you can spruce up the jar with a bow, cinamon stick or whatever you think will make it festive. Today's recipe link is for Cranberry Hootycreeks with huge thanks to Christmas-Cookies.com!

Cranberry Hootycreeks


TOP SALES
Here is my top ten sales for this week.

Fry's:

--- Fry's now accepts all grocery competitor coupons from Albertons, Safeway, Bashas's, Fresh & Easy, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Walmart Marketside, Sunflower, Sprouts, Whole Foods, AJ's, Trader Joes, Food City and Ranch Market.

--- All Manufacturers' coupons are worth $1.00

--- Senior Discount of 10% on Wednesdays (ages 55 and up)

-- Check out the awesome Buy 10 Save $5 deals. There are lots of awesome items to stock up on. Click on this link to get your flyer on line to check those out: Online flyer

-- Chunky Soup (select varieties) 10 for $10
-- Fry's Milk 1 gallon for $1.47
-- Jennie-O Turkey 47 cents a pound


Safeway

--- All manufacturer coupons are worth $1.00


-- Safeway Turkey, frozen grade A at 43 cents a pound
-- Red Seedless Grapes 88 cents a pound
-- Pomegranates 99 cents each



Alberstons

--- Senior discount of 10% on Wednesday and this Saturday all Active, Reserve or Retried Military personel get 10% off!



-- 93% Lean Ground Beef 5 pounds or more $1.67 a pound
-- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Boneless Pork Loin in the bag $1.57 a pound
-- Blue Bell ice cream 64 ounces for $3.99

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week!

Six Ways Pride Keeps Us From God

Six Ways Pride Keeps Us From God


Pride is a dangerous emotion and can eventually lead us to sinful behavior. There are several areas in our life where we allow pride to take precedent over our life, and most of the time we don’t even know it – this is how pride works in a person. Pride is an excessive high opinion of one self and can lead to much destruction in our dealings with others and in our relationship with God.

1. Pride Keeps Us From Admitting Sin

Have you ever been confronted and rebuked about a sin that you committed? Sometimes because of our pride it’s hard to admit we sinned, but by admission we sometimes realize that we are sorry for that sin. It takes our heart to break down in humbleness before we can admit we sinned or were wrong in our actions. It’s good when a Christian brother or sister confronts us about our sin(s), and we should accept correction as a resource to our growth in the Lord.

Godly sorrow bring repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.
II Corinthians 7:10-11

2. Pride Blinds Us To Our Faults

Pride keeps us from noticing our own faults. Perhaps we get into an argument with our spouse and we think it is their entire fault because we don’t have any faults. But everyone has faults and weaknesses. How can we have good relationships if we think were better than others or if we think we do everything right? We like to show others their faults, or we like to talk behind people’s backs and judge them, but that’s not our job.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:1

3. Pride Is An Obstacle To Our Faith In Jesus

Pride keeps us believing in our house, money, status, career, etc. If we allow pride to rule our heart, we will feel the need to match a certain status quo in society – its called the “keep up with the Joneses” attitude. Pride has a way of hardening our hearts and then we reject Christ for our life. Pride is definitely an obstacle to our faith in Christ.

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wondered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
I Timothy 6:7-10


4. Pride Makes Us Self-Righteous

Self-righteousness is dangerous. It leads to sin. It causes us to be hateful and bitter towards others and keeps us from wanting to learn anything from God for our life. Don’t let pride in your achievements cut you off from God. Your achievements are because of God.

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself” ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like the tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breasts and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Luke 18: 11-14

5. Pride Is An Ingredient In Every Argument

Why do we fuss, fight, quarrel, and always have to be right? Pride does this to us. Pride keeps us protected where no one can come in and tell us what to do or how to live or how to behave – we already know all this stuff, right? The next time you are in an argument with a loved one, smile and walk away and see how good that feels. How about saying, I was wrong”, or “I need advice”.

Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
Proverbs 13:10

6. Pride Keeps Us From Asking Others For Help Or Advice

Have you ever known someone who is so proud they won’t ask for help or advice, even if they really need the help! Next time you’re in need of help, advice, or just want to get a second opinion on something, don’t let pride stand in the way of your asking one of your fellow Christians for help. They will be glad to offer any service they can if it will aid in your trust and confidence in the Lord.

Then Phillip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading”? Phillip asked. ‘How can I, he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me'? So he invited Phillip to come up and sit with him.

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

There are so many things I want to share with you today that I touched on during this morning's show. I found some more cool ways to stretch your food dollar, a cool offer from Special K, some awesome music downloads, free food, and more tips for saving energy. In addition, I have my top 10 deals for groceries. I am going to get right on it, because we have the Newsboys "The Way We Roll Tour" this evening, and I want to get this in before then. I really hope we get to see a bunch of you there. :)



Stretch Your Food Dollar: I think most of us know that storage is important for keeping your food fresh so you can eliminate waste and save money. I use freezer bags for my meats, containers for leftovers so I can reheat and eat or even freeze up things like soups for later, but I never thought much about fruit and vegetable storage other than throwing them in the crisper and taking them out. Well, I learned a few things this week, and of course I want to share them with you.


First, I found some awesome tips in All You magazine. I have shared with you in the past how much I love this magazine. In addition to fabulous money saving tips, it is just loaded full of coupons! But...I digress. I found this amazing article by Mary Ostyn who is VERY adept at saving money. Here are some tips from her for keeping produce fresh:

Fruit: Fruit keeps best when it is removed from the plastic bag (from the store) and put in the crisper drawer (I have NEVER done this! I think I have been using the bags kind of as a organizational device...THAT stops now). In addition to fruit being better off removed from the bag and in the crisper, you can also do this will green and red peppers.

Tomatoes also should be removed from the bag and stored on the counter (I bet they look kind of pretty that way). Apparently the cold has a negative effect on their taste and texture (it also is really bad for the plant - mine is all crumbly looking after this week's cold).

Avocados should also be stored out of the bag and loose in the vegetable bin in the fridge.

I found a little something called the paper-towel method thanks to Mary. This is backed up by many other sources I found online. Basically you can keep zucchini, cucumbers, green beans and grapes fresher longer by placing a paper towel in the bag they came in and leave the bag open. Mary also suggests this method with lettuce except in that case you close the bag. She also recommended using a salad spinner after washing greens because too mach water will also shorten the stability of the lettuce. I also found during my reading that if you buy packaged salad mixes that a paper towel can help them stay more stable as well.


Vegetable separation: Keep garlic, onions and potatoes away from the other veggies and store them in baskets in your pantry. I should know this. Well, I did know about potatoes, but I did not realize this about my onions or garlic. I keep both in the fridge! Also keep the onions away from the other veggies as they can cause spoilage because of their fumes.


Other tips I found:

Cheese - Once opened put in a zipper baggy with a paper towel. Put in zipper baggy with paper towel that has been soaked in white vinegar (smelly in the bag but not supposed to effect the taste of the cheese).

Ice Cream - Keep the frost out of ice cream by placing a paper towel ball in the ice cream container. Deli Meats and Bacon - Keep deli meats and bacon fresher by removing them from their packaging and putting them in cleaned out cereal bags (from the box cereals). I am not sure how well this works, but I am going to give it a shot. :)

Bread - Freeze bread that you are not going to use in a week. If it is a bread like raisin bread, freeze it in baggies by the slice or in whatever serving size you are likely to use.

Okay...that is a good start I think. I found a lot more great ways to save by keeping track of freshness and eating on time, but I have a lot more of today's tips to go over.




Free Food: Don't forget that this Saturday, October 31st, Taco Bell will be giving giving one Black Jack Taco per customer while supplies last from 6:00 pm to midnight. Remember, one per customer. :) These look pretty yummy! Follow this link to find the store near you click this linky!!!! Taco Bell

Betty Crocker Potatoes are available for free right now (again while supplies last) for people who sign up for their Dinner Made Easy newsletter. Click on the link and see if you can get in on this: Betty Crocker

Money off Jeans!: A lot of people know about the Special K challenge where you incorporate their cereals and products into your life and lose weight. Well they are upping the ante by also offering a $10 voucher to use towards the purchase of a new slimmer set of jeans. All you do is mail a form and five Special K tokens that are located on their packaging. Here is your link: Special K

Free Music!: I have said it many times, Free CCM is one of my favorite places for free Christian music downloads. Well they have an awesome new site and you really ought to check it out. The free music right now is Fee's "Arms That Hold the Universe" and The Afters "One Moment Away." You do have to re-register even if you have registered before, but you also have another opportunity to sign up for their newsletter and get a special code for 10 more free downloads that you can use on iTunes!

More free music is up for grabs at Amazon.com. If you click on the following link you will see 12 more downloads from artists like Rachel Lampa, Big Daddy Weave, and Jaci Velasquez! Link: Amazon Free Chrisitian Music. One of the things I like is that you can listen first before you download so you know what you are getting. :)

Shopping: How about a Sam's one day pass? Click on the link and print up the coupon and you will have the opportunity to shop at Sam's and see what it is all about. Sam's Club offers a free 1-day Sam's Club guest pass via this printable coupon. A 10% service fee does apply, excluding CA, SC, and Elmsford, NY locations. The pass expires on November7th. Link: Sam's Club

Crafts for Gifts: When I was a single mom, I would make fudge as my Christmas gift. I picked up tins at second hand stores and passed them out to family, friends and my professors in college. Making a gift can be a great alternative to buying. With that in mind, I thought I would add a jar recipe today. These are those recipes you make with a mason jar that you can give to friends or family. It contains all the dry ingredients and the recipe for how to do it. You get the ingredients, jar, print out the recipe, make a label and your are good to go. Don't forget, I also included links to instructions on how to make a cool draft blocker and crafts to make with magazines. This week's jar recipe is for Butterscotch Chip Cookies in a Jar. This looks very cute and makes a nice gift. I picked this one up from allrecipes.com. A fabulous site for recipes! Link: Butterscotch Chip Cookies



Now onto the top ten:

Safeway: Coupons are all worth at least $1.00 this week!!!
-- Boneless pork sirloing chops $1.49 lb
-- 80% Lean ground beef $1.49 lb
-- Gala, Granny Smith or Red Delicious apples 47 cents a pound
-- Hass Avocados 2 for $1.00




Albertons:
Up to 50 cent coupons are doubled, up to 33 cent coupons are tripled, and up to 25 cent coupons are quadrupled!
-- Sanderson Farms whole fryers 48 cents a pound (limit 4)
-- Dole Bananas 39 cents a pound
-- Coupon in the flyer for a 3 pound of Red or Granny Smith apples for just 99 cents!




Fry's:
All coupons will be valued at $1.00!
-- Fresh boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders for $1.77 lb
-- Northwest Bartlett Pears 49 cents a pound
-- Many items are buy 20 save $5 go to their online flier for these deals - Fry's


Happy shopping and happy saving!!!