Kelly's Thrifty Tips

This year is flying by! I can barely believe it is October 1st! The cold bedroom gave me a sharp reminder though. It was not as cold as I have experienced when I lived in Rhode Island or Maine, but I am assuming my blood has thickened or thinned since I have moved to Arizona because I was FEELING IT!!! I am hoping to find some great money saving thrifty tips for heating next week.

For now I thought about Christmas.



Doesn't that snow look pretty? I love Christmas! I love celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus. I love hearing amazing Christmas music. I love the lights that people put up on their homes. I also love giving gifts during the holidays. Of course with the economy, gift giving can be a challenge. I thought it would be nice to cover a way to win some gifts today. Well, you may not win today, but you could.



I have been entering blog giveaways for a little under a year now. I am a voracious reader and I found that I could fuel my reading appetite more inexpensively by entering a blog giveaway or two. I began entering giveaways at book blog review sites and then discovered that other blogs also reviewed new products and held giveaways. Since entering was so simple, I gave it a shot. Since that start, I have won books, CDs, DVDs, bath products, gift cards, awesome camping gear, stationary and holiday decorations. I have friends who have won Kindles, vacuums, hotel stays and more.



I thought it would be fun to share a site with you. The first site I discovered was A Blog of Goodies. As I write this, A Blog Of Goodies has 265 giveaways posted. A Blog of Goodies is a place that bloggers go to to list their giveaways. So it is a perfect stop. Each giveaway is listed with the prize name and end date. Some will also list the host blog name. You simply click on the link and it will take you to the blog that is hosting that particular giveaway.



Once you hit the blog that is hosting the giveaway, read the details. Some have entries where all you need to do is post a comment like "Enter Me" followed by your email address (they ask for this so they can contact you). Some request that you go to the company's site and learn something about the product and come back and post what you learned. You do not have to be a blogger to enter these giveaways but it does help with increasing your chances (often blogs give you extra points for posting about your giveaways), and you just might find you would like to start a blog. Some people create a google account for entries or just post anonymously (but always leave a way to be contacted with that email).



Speaking of email. Here is the trick when posting your email address to a giveaway. You will notice as you enter giveaways that a lot of people post like this.



yourname(AT)yahoo(DOT)com



By spelling out the @ and "." you foil the little email grabbing spiders so they do not get your email. Some people also use a special email account just for giveaways which can be very convenient for checking if you win a giveaway as only those kinds of emails will go there. If you are loooking for a free email site, I would suggest gmail. You can also seach online for other email sites. I use my regular email, and I haven't had a problem.



Typical blog giveaway rules:



---READ THE GIVEAWAY DETAILS. :) Some blogs will void an entry if it isn't done how they request. These are not jump through hoops things, they really are simple. Just be sure to follow their directions.

---Most giveaways end at a certain time and give a winner a set time to respond to an email stating you won. So be sure to answer those emails when you win.

---Some blogs that are hosting giveaways only announce winners on their site. So you want to make sure you keep track of what you enter so you can check back on blogs that do this.

---Again some blogs offer ways for extra entries by following them, subscribing to their blog, tweeting their giveaway, following them on Twitter, posting about their giveaway or even emailing some friends about their giveaway. You do what you want to do. :)

---Most blogs will want your email address in order to contact you. Just disguise it: yourname(AT)yahoo(DOT)com.



Another blog I mentioned today is A Christian Writer's World ~ Characters Who Grip Your Heart. I love this blog, because author Lena Nelson Dooley interviews some fabulous Christian authors and has a nice giveaway every week. It is a great way to learn about Christian books and the authors who write them. You also get some pretty neat tips from those authors.



Now onto the freebiness - Don't forget that today, October 1st from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm you can get a free cookie at Mrs. Fields! You can also get $5 off an order online if you use their code 9TEN at check out.



And for the Coffee Lovers, if you stop in at Starbucks between October 2 and 5 and take part in their VIA Taste Challenge, you’ll get a coupon for a free Starbucks Tall brewed coffee on your next visit. Not too shabby. :)



Top Sales at our BIG THREE



Albertsons has an awesome pile of coupons for you in their flyer. Be sure to pick it up. Two of my top ten are in there.



1 -- Buy 1 get 2 FREE Petite Sirloin Steak (Boneless). This is so yummy, I freeze them up and they are perfect for a fajita, kabob, steak salad, or enchiladas. Also good for grilling! ;) (Limit 1 coupon per customer per transaction).



2 -- General Mills Cereal 9.6-12.25 oz. Select Varieties (Limit 4).



3 -- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Pork Loin Roast Boneless Sold in the bag. $1.57 lb



Safeway



4 -- 93% Lean Ground Beef $1.99 lb (Save up to 3.00 a pound)


5 -- Navel Oranges 2 lbs for $1.00


6 -- Bananas 59 cents a pound



Fry's


7 --- 20 for $10 mix and match sale!!!!

-Cambpells Chicken Noodle and Tomato Soup 10.75 oz
-Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Original 7.25 oz
-Yoplait Yogurt 4-6 oz
-Budget Gourmet Entrees (Michelina's) - Selected Varieties



8 -- Betty Crocker Cake Mix 77 cents (good time to buy since there will be lots of holiday baking ahead)



9 -- Betty Crocker Frosting 2 for $3.00



10 -- Suave Hair Care or Body Wash $1.28. I don't know about you, but I can always find a Suave coupon and they are a great deal even when not on sale.

Kelly's Thrifty Tips - Catch Up

Get it? Catsup...catch up! Sorry for the silly pic, but I simply had to. :)

So let's get started!

Two weeks ago in addition to some great sales at Albertson's I talked about a few pretty cool websites and a little bit about recycling and reusing.

Linkage:

I have been a member of Freecycle.org for a long time, and it is a great site. If you have not joined yet, check it out. Basically it is another way to keep things out of the landfill and bless others with things that you no longer need. All the explanations are straight on the site. The groups are often organized by city or county so you can join more than just one. I joined freecycle.org back when I lived in Rhode Island. When I was ready to move to California but still had items to get rid of, I posted them on Freecycle.org and people came and took those things away. It was AWESOME. Here's your link: Freecycle

There is another great web group that is also doing the freecycle thing. It is called ReuseIt Network and they are on a smaller scale but picking up steam. Check it out at Reuse It Network There are plenty of Arizona areas that are all ready involved. A blogger I talked with said that he really loves it because it is smaller and more personal. Here are the Arizona networks:
Ahwatukee - Ahwatukee ReUseIt
Apache Junction - Apache Junction ReUseIt
Glendale - Glendale ReUseIt
Maricopa - Maricopa ReUseIt
Mesa - Mesa ReUseIt
North Phoenix - North Phoenix ReUseIt
Prescott- Prescott ReUseIt
Scottsdale - Scottsdale ReUseIt
Sierra Vista - Sierra Vista ReUseIt
Sun City West - Sun City West ReUseIt
Tucson - Tucson ReUseIt

Be sure to check it out.

I also found a really cool site the other day that focuses on inexpensive kids meals. I LOVE these guys! This is so easy to operate. Just put in your zip code and check out the great deals for your area. If you are planning on visiting somewhere new in the summer, why not check them out for inexpensive or free dinining for your children while you are out on vacation? All the details are on each link. So go check out Kids Meal Deals! Link: Kids Meal Deals

Now on to reusing items in your home. I have been looking for all kinds of ways to reusing and repurposing things I have on hand. Here are some I have already used and some I have discovered:

Tissue boxes can be reused to hold your plastic grocery store bags. I have recently discovered that this is a great way to carry some bags in your car for quick trash removal! Use the smaller square boxes and fill them up. They take up very little space, but you will always have a mini garbage bag on hand.

Coffee filters - Now this is something that I learned from a friend of mine. Her mom would wash and dry out her coffee filters. It was really annoying to my friend, but it is something I have never forgotten. They really can be reuses a number of times, so why not do it?

Baggies - Wash and rinse out your baggies and reuse them. Again for some this may be taking frugality too far, but it really doesn't bother me. I reuse my veggie zip freezer baggies because they are EXPENSIVE! If the baggy has held meat, I toss it though. You can wash them by hand and just let them dry. I have read that if you save them in the freezer it will prevent mildew. Honestly, I have never reused that many at one time for it to be a necessity, but I thought I would share that freezer tip anyway.

Wax paper - I don't know many people who use wax paper to wrap their sandwiches any more but if you do...clean it off, let it dry and reuse it. I have also learned that if you are a wax paper sandwich wrapping kind of person, you can also use the bag that holds your cereal to wrap your sandwiches.

Cereal boxes - Speaking of cereal boxes, did you know you can repurpose those too by making magazine holders. I started doing this with my son's magazines, and it really works well. Magazine boxes are crazy expensive considering what you get, and really why not take the time to make your own? You can always cover the box with wrapping paper or wall paper to make it look less odd. :)

Tennis ball - I love this! Split open a tennis ball and hide your valuables inside.

Egg cartons - You can use the cardboard egg cartons as seed starter trays and when you are finished with them you can also add them to compost.

Old clothes - Okay...if you are crafty this is an awesome thing to do. Save the old clothes to make pillows, quilts, and even new clothes. I am hoping to learn to sew well enough to do that one day. So far I have only made a pillow (well...in 6th grade). I also reuse holey socks as cleaning cloths.

Pantyhose - I do not know a lot of people who wear these any more, but if you do there are a number of things you can do.

1 - When the legs are runny use the tops for light tummy control. Trust me...people do this. It was a huge trend back when I was in college.
2 - If you have pretty lacy hose you can use them to make hair ties. I have also seen them used as fingerless gloves in costumes.
3 - I have found more but they are kind of icky to me...feel free to look around online for more pantyhose tips. :)

Plastic grocery bags - Check with your local Meals on Wheels and Salvation Army. They may be able to use your old grocery bags to deliver food to shut ins.

Old candles - Melt them down and make new ones. We often melted down old candles into a Pringles jar and made new ones from them that worked great!

Broken crayons - Melt them in molds and make new crayons. We did this quite often when we were kids and had way too many broken and tired looking crayons.

Old sweaters - Can you knit? If you can, why not reknit those sweaters into something new? I have aspirations to knit and plan to put this into practise!

Old CDs - If you have some junky old CDs around, why not reuse them as coasters or make a cool looking sun catcher? I have even seen some cute crafts where people have made fish and solar cookers out of CDs!

Newspaper - I hear this is true. I have tried it and so far it doesn't work well for me, but use newspaper to clean your windows and supposedly they will sparkle! Mine...not so much. BUT you can also use those newspapers to do paper machet crafts or if you have purchased a book at a used book sale or garage sale and it is a bit musty, put it in a bag with a bunch of scrunched up newspaper to get rid of the smell. Just keep changing the paper until it gets rid of that stink!

Dryer sheets - You can use your old dryer sheets to dust off your computer or tv screens. They are also really good for cleaning your shower doors.

Well...I hope you found something new if not odd here. Thanks for your patience! Have a great day!!!!