Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Because my son has a sore throat, and I keep seeing more and more people with colds, I decided that I would share some health tips. This isn't all about cold and flu symptoms.

Sore Throat - Oregano oil has been shown to be as effective at killing germs as streptomycin and some other prescription remedies. I have read two different ways to use it. One advises mixing two drops of edible oregano oil into 6 to 8 oz of water and gargling with this mixture three times a day. The other advises dropping four drops of edible oregano oil onto the tongue twice a day for two days.

Acne - Cod liver oil has been recommended by many as a great treatment for acne from the inside out. I have to admit, I have not tried this yet, but from everything I read this is a great treatment. Cod liver oil contains large quantities of vitamin A, D and Omega 3 fatty acids. These help your body more easily fight an accumulation of toxins.

Daily Health Boost with Green Tea - Research has suggested that drinking two cups of green tea can double your ability to destroy viruses before they can make you sick.

Garlic is another fabulous healer. It has a natural ingredient called allicin which kills bacteria again more effectively than many antibiotics. When my son had earaches growing up, we would mix garlic and oil and warm it slightly before putting it in his ears. The aches would be gone within days. Usually no more than two. It was great because we were able to avoid having to use prescription antibiotics.

Because I was thinking about health, I started to also think about screenings and thought I would share a few resources that can assist people with free or low cost medical screenings.

Go to the Well Woman HealthCheck Program that provides free cancer screenings to woman who qualify. Follow the link below to go to their website and get contact information to see if you qualify or to share with someone you know who would need this.

LINK: Well Woman HealthCheck

Vision USA provides basic eye health and vision care services free of charge to uninsured, low-income people and their families. It is a group of AOA doctors of optometry who donate their services.

LINK: Vision USA

Skin Cancer Screenings - American Academy of Dermatology works with many of their dermatologists for free skin cancer screenings. Follow the link below to look up the screenings in Arizona.

LINK: Skin Cancer Screenings



FREEBIES

If you like to cook and like new recipes, sign up now for Sorrento's limited edition cookbook "For The Love Of Lasagna." There is a part where it asks for a promotion code, but a code is not necessary.

LINK: For The Love Of Lasagna Cookbook

Right At Home is back with a free Pledge Microfiber Cloth to the first 3,000 to sign up. Take a chance and see if you are one of the pack.

LINK: Pledge Microfiber Cloth

I am always looking for a planting opportunity. Red Robin is offering Heinz tomato seeds at their website while supplies last. When you get to the website, they have a slide of different promos. Just look for the one for Heinz tomato seeds and sign up.

LINK: Red Robin Heinz Tomato Seeds

Sign up for a free Organizing In Style booklet which comes with $35 in savings and great organizing tips. Get yours while supplies last.

LINK: Organizing In Style

Wow! I was going to share a free sample from Walmart for OXY Clinical skin care, and it went too fast! Soooo I rushed over to their website, and at least right now they are offering a free sample there. So sign up in a hurry!

LINK: OXY Clinical Sample

While supplies last, sign up for a sample of Parent's Choice Baby Formula. These samples are great to have on hand when you want to have some formula quickly at hand or of course just to get a try on. :)

LINK: Parents Choice Baby Formula

Jiffy has updated their recipe book with new recipes that will utilize even more of Jiffy's fabulous boxed mixes. Get in while supplies last.

LINK: Jiffy Recipe Book

If you haven't ordered one yet, there is another chance to pick up a sample of Shout Color catcher. This is a great little laundry helper in that it will snag the dye from something that is runny and keep it on the catcher rather than your other clothes.

LINK: Shout Color Catcher

Here is another free magazine subscription, American Baby. Definitely a great magazine for parents of wee ones, and while supplies last you can get a free subscription. American Baby has been around for quite some time. I heavily relied on it back when my son was a wee one.

LINK: American Baby Subscription

Free CCM again is one of THE best stops for your free Christian music downloads. This week's newest download is "Light Up The World" by Desperation Band. And of course, they still have some wonderful downloads still up from Gateway Worship, Cloverton, Know Hope Collective, Parachute Band, Jonny Diaz, Todd Agnew and Sara Groves! That is quite a song collection right there.

LINK: Free CCM Music

Amazon has a couple of new free Christian book downloads that you can download to your Kindle, Kindle App on your smart phone or download with a Kindle App to your computer.

Calm My Anxious Heart - A Woman's Guide To Finding Contentment by Linda Dillow

Moms' Ultimate Guide To The Tween Girl World by Nancy Rue

Michal by Jill Eileen Smith

Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang

Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins

The Secret (Seasons of Grace Book 1) by Beverly Lewis

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

There are a lot of great finance blogs out there, and I thought I would share one with you that is about a lot more than just finances. Check out Wisebread.com. Wisebread is a collection of bloggers who write on some great finance topics and more. Main subjects include Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Career & Income, and Life Tracks. Here is just a few of the articles they had on their main page today: How To Really Save Money When You Shop, 8 Reasons To Drink More Water, 5 Ways To Yank The Leash On Pet Expenses. There is a lot more, you could literally spend the day learning about ways to save money.

If I can find another way to use an item rather than toss it, I am going to go for it. Here are a couple of ways to reuse some household items once they have filled their initial purchase.


SILICA PACKETS

I came across instructions for recharging silica packets which led me to look for ways to reuse those packages. First of all, silica packets are often included with the items we buy. Companies put these silica packets in to protect these new items from moisture, but you can keep them and reuse them for items around the home. The packets often look like little sugar packets. I know When you are not using the silica packets, put them in a baggy to keep them fresh.

You can put the silica in toolboxes and tackle boxes to help prevent rust.

Drop some silica packets in with clothes that you put away seasonally to keep the clothes fresh and wick away moisture.

Moisture can tarnish jewelry from silver to costume. Put some silica packets in your jewelry box to help keep away moisture as well.

Store some silica packets in your camera case to keep moisture from damaging your camera.

I do not know how well this works, but I read that if a cell phone or a camera gets water on it, you can put it in a baggy with some silica packets and they will help remove that moisture. This may or may not prevent damage to your phone, but it is worth a try.

Now to recharge your silica packets, put them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour.

DETERGENT SQUEEZE BOTTLES

Fill an empty detergent squeeze bottle with water and keep in the car to use to clean your hands after changing a flat or to clean off the car windows when you are out of wiper fluid.

Fill the clean detergent bottle with water to water plants in your home.

Fill the clean bottle with water to easily add water to an iron.

PIE TINS

I kept a pie tin after Christmas and it has been used and reused in our house at least ten times already to store and heat up leftovers. It kind of reminds me of the TV dinners my mom bought back in the 70s when they were still made with foil pans. They can be cleaned and used again and again.

COFFEE CANS

This is something I do not use anymore, but if you do or if you can get your hands on some, you can use the extra large ones and a regular sized coffee can to make ice cream. You simply fill the larger one with ice and salt and put the ingredients to make the ice cream in the smaller can. Roll it around until you have ice cream.

When I was a child we used to have our parents poke holes in the coffee cans, feed twine through the holes and make stilts.

You can use the plastic or the metal cans to store items around the house. They both have great lids to keep things dry. I like to use canisters to hold all the free samples I get. This way they aren't just piling up everywhere.







FREEBIES

Free samples of Bragg seasonings. I don't know if you have checked them out before, but seriously this stuff is great. Follow the link to the website. The free sample link there is on the left side.

LINK: Bragg Samples

While supplies last enter to get a free sample of CoverGirl NatureLuxe Foundation. The free sample link will be at the bottom right. The ad changes from Lip Perfection to NaturalLuxe.

LINK: CoverGirl NatureLuxe foundation sample

Maggi is a base that you can use for homemade soup and while supplies last you can get a free sample of their Chicken Flavored pasta soup. The link is on the right side of the page.

LINK: Maggi Soup sample

Walmart.com has a free sample of Purena Beneful dog food. This like all other Walmart samples is available while supplies last.

LINK: Purena Beneful

When my son was little, it was always nice to have a little formula on hand. Sign up now and while supplies last you can get a sample of Parents Choice Premium Infant formula.

LINK: Parents Choice Premium Infant Formula

If you like books with photographs from exotic locations, you might want to sign up for the free book from National Geographic called "Reflections of Seoul in Four Seasons" with photography by Jodi Cobb. This beautiful book is full of fabulous pictures that you will surely enjoy. These books are only delivered to street addresses not PO Boxes and are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. This is a free offer from the National Geographic Channel.

LINK: National Geographic free book

ENTERTAINMENT FOR FREE

iTickets has a free download of Brandon Heath's song "Leaving Eden" from his new CD of the same title. There is also a free download of "At Your Feet" by Godspeed3 from their CD "Redeemed."

LINK: iTickets Free Music

FreeCCM has free downloads from Phil Wickham, The Afters, Chris Rice, and MercyMe.

LINK: FreeCCM Free Music

How about a free movie. Here are some free Block Buster kiosk codes. These codes can change at any time and not work, but at that point you can always cancel. I hope you took advantage of last week's code.


14CHD2X (Expires Jan 20, 2011)
MRC37H (Expires Feb 25, 2011)

FREE COUPON CLASS

I have read books and taken some online classes, but I have never had the opportunity to take one in person. Here is a chance for anyone in the quad city area or for that matter, anyone who would like to drive on in to Prescott to get some knowledge from a real savvy saver.

Practical Saver, Kara Rozendaal has been helping Arizona families save money for years with her tips and fabulous website. She has some totally valuable information on couponing that she is willing to share in a free class. This is a three week class January 26th, February 2nd, February 9th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at Tri City Prep School at 5522 Side Road Prescott. This class is going to teach you how to save money for your family as well as bless others. Get more information at our online calendar where you can get Kara's email and phone number to register. Seriously, this is a series you are not going to want to miss.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips - Yeah I'm Getting Ready For Christmas

Okay Christmas is coming. We have about 107 shopping days until Christmas, and I am working overtime on figuring out ways to spend less money where I can so I can move that saved money towards Christmas. I plan on sharing several money saving ideas through the next few weeks. And truly, I am starting my Christmas planning now.

The first way I am focusing on saving money is of course in grocery shopping. When I am being more vigilant I follow these rules.

1- I am even more of a stickler for using coupons. I will print coupons, upload coupons and get coupons from the newspapers and store fliers. Check the bottom of this post for some coupon sites for printing or uploading coupons to your store loyalty card.

2- I will only shop the sales and big deals and leaving the other items behind. This means that even if I want mashed potatoes, I will hold off until potatoes are on sale. I am more flexible with side dishes and main dish options.

3- I will totally scope out the manager's discounts. You can find incredible savings there, but I will not buy what we don't need just because it is on sale.

4- I will make more desserts from scratch. We all have sweet tooths, but that doesn't mean I need to give in to buying candy bars. I always stockpile cake mixes when they are on ridiculously good sales and if I can't do that, I will do it on my own with a good recipe.

5- I will really think about what meals I am cooking. This means more than ever that I am going to try to make one meal stretch into at least three meals.

6- I will make lunch changes. I will be making my husband more sandwiches rather than sending him to work with frozen meals. The frozen meals are definitely easier, but unless they are on sale they are pretty pricey. *Note you can pick up Healthy Choice and Marie Calendars meals at Safeway this week for a low price of $1.69. All in all though, it is much cheaper having him bring a frozen meal than to have him spend the money on even a value meal from a fast food restaurant.

*7 -(I am adding this one) If a store does not have the item I want, I always ask for a rain check. Definitely take advantage of store's rain check policies in order to save on items that the store ran out of. Some items are on a while supplies last deal and you aren't going to be able to get a rain check, but the cashier will tell you if that is the case.

Right now lets go over meal stretching.


After looking at the sales fliers, I thought I would go with covering stretching a pork loin. Safeway has a boneless whole pork loin sold in the bag at $1.99 a pound.

This is a break down of the four meals I made with my 5 pound pork roast last week. Mind you I bought mind for $1.77 a pound, but $1.99 is my cut off, and I would definitely purchase at that price.

1 - Slow cooker pork roast.

The first thing is utilize my crock pot. If you do not have a crock pot, invest! Especially if you have an electric oven. A crock pot uses much less electricity (about 10 cents for 8 hours of use), and it makes meats incredibly tender.

You can simply add an inch of water, broth or stock. I highly recommend taking advantage of leftovers like whole chicken carcasses to make an inexpensive stock that you can save up in your fridge. I have saved quite a bit just on not purchasing stock, and it really adds a nice flavor to your slow cooked meats.

Cook the pork on low all day. I usually add some vegetables to the crock pot when I get home unless I am prepping potatoes in the pot. I will add cut up potatoes from the get go, because I definitely prefer them pliable. You can also take advantage of the flier coupon at Safeway for DelMonte canned vegetables which are 59 cents each with a limit of 6. If you decide to go for some mashed potatoes on the side (which is great when they are on sale), save some of the water from the potatoes. You can add this water to the drippings in the crock pot once you remove the pork to make a nice gravy.

2 - Meal number 2 is pork quesadillas. I love this meal because it is quick and uses left overs that I have on hand from other meals.

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Chop up several slices of pork from your roast (usually no more than three), add one chopped green onion and heat up on stove. Lightly oil four flower tortillas. Put two of the lightly oiled tortillas oil down on a cookie sheet, spread some refried beans or black beans on two of the tortillas, add the pork mixture and whatever else you have on hand (cheese a little cilantro). Place two slightly oiled flour tortillas (oil side up) on top of the prepared tortillas and bake for 7 to 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Remember you can totally turn your oven off at about 5 or 6 minutes and the food will continue to cook. I love making these because they are really easy and quick.

3 - Simple, simple pork and gravy on bread.

Use any kind of bread that you have in the house. You do not need to go fancy though it is really good on a heartier bread like rye. Just heat up some of your left over gravy with some shredded up pork roast. Serve whatever sides you may have on hand from left over veggies to salad.

4 - Barbecue pork sandwiches

The pork is definitely not the main star of this meal. Simply shred up the last of your pork, put in a pot with some barbecue sauce and heat it up. Add it to hamburger buns. Make some good sides with salad and veggies. Alertson's has green, red leaf, and romaine lettuce on sale for $1.00 each this week or use their flier coupon for a head of iceberg lettuce for just 49 cents (limit 2). Safeway has some awesome vine tomatoes for 99 cents a pound. Fry's has gala apples or bartlet pears for 2 pounds for $1.oo you can make a great green salad with apples.

5 - This isn't a meal, but a side note. I usually have plenty of gravy left when I make a roast in my crock pot (especially if I stretch it with the potato water before adding a thickener). If you have left over gravy, hold onto to make a good base for shepherd's in the next few days or even freeze it to add to another crock pot meal (or shepherd's pie for that matter). A little hamburger, some veggies, and a mashed potato topping goes a long way towards a few more meals.

There are certainly other meals you can make with pork leftovers. These are just the ones I used last week.

Take advantage of your crock pot. You will be thrilled with all the meals you can make. Search around online or go to one of my favorite sites A Year of Slow Cooking. You can find all kinds of great tested recipes. You might want to check out the recipe for slow cooker yogurt. I am definitely going to test that one out (a gallon of milk is on sale at Albertons for just $1.67). I love the idea of making homemade yogurt.


Freebies





This Sunday September 12th is Grandparents day, and Old Spaghetti Factory has an awesome freebie for your grandparents! Bring your grandparents in for lunch or dinner on September 12th, 13th or 14th and the grandparent will get their entree free! One free grandparent meal is available per one entree purchased. I found an Old Spaghetti Factory in Phoenix. More details on this awesome grandparent freebie below. I also have another link for a location map.

LINK: Old Spaghetti Factory Grandparents Day Freebie LINK: Old Spaghetti Factory Locations




This one is pretty cool too. You can sign up for a free 2011 Women's Health Calendar. There is a one limit per household, and the calendar comes in English or Spanish. Follow the link below.

LINK: Women's Health Calendar 2011

One of my favorite magazines, All You has an awesome freebie right now. This could be gone by morning, but I am hoping for the best. You can sign up for a free NEW Slim-Fast 100 Calorie Snack Bar in Peanut Butter Crunchtime. Follow the link below.

LINK: Slim-Fast Peanut Butter Crunchtime Bar


If you like trying out new fragrances, I have a great one for you. LaCoste is offering your choice of three different perfume samples. You can choose from LaCoste Challenge, LaCoste Essential Sport and LaCoste Love of Pink. You can also sign up for their VIP Club. You must be over 18 years of age.

LINK: LaCoste Perfume Samples

One of my favorite websites is Vocalpoint. Through Vocalpoiint, you get to try products and give your opinion. This is a great way to help shape new products as well as get a few free items. Check them out at the link below. If you haven't yet, sign up. Right now they are looking for people to try a new fabric softener from Downey and Kashi GoLean Crisp. My advice is once you join and do try something out, keep out there so you get more opportunities. And just a heads up, the page for the samples seemed to load really slowly so be patient.

LINK: VocalPoint

The Afters new CD "Light Up The Sky" will be released in a week! Right now you can head on over to Freeccm.com and get a free download of "Life is Sweeter" from that upcoming CD. Just register. It couldn't be easier. You can also still get a download from Phil Wickham, Sara Groves, Catalyst Music Project, The Choir, VOTA and Phillips, Craig & Dean!

LINK: Free CCM Music Downloads

For the fun of it, I looked up Kari Jobe and found an old link through iTickets.com for her version of "Revelation Song." I just LOVE her voice. Anyway, if you are an iTickets.com member sign in, click on the link below, and download your song. If you aren't a member, sign up first and then come back for this link. I am not sure if you can get to it from their regular download page.

LINK: Kari Jobe "Revelation Song"

I also found an old link to Connersvine free download of "Glory Be."

LINK: Connersvine "Glory Be"

Money Back Guarantees

Quaker has a try me offer. If you purchase Quaker Hearty Medly between 9/7/2010 and 12/31/2010 and do not like it, you can send in the form at the link. You must have the receipt, UPC code, and form with the reason you did not like the Quaker Hearty Medly in order to get a refund up to $4.29. This is a great opportunity to give a product a try. If you like it, GREAT! If you do not like it, you aren't out anything other than tax.

LINK: Quaker Hearty Medly Money Back Guarantee Printable Form


PS There is a dollar printable coupon for Quaker Hearty Medly or another box of Quaker Instant Oatmeal on their Facebook page! Now there is even a better reason to give it a shot. :)

LINK: Quaker Hearty Medly Coupon

Here is a great coupon, buy 5 Kraft products and save $5.00. Just print the coupon at the link below.

LINK: Kraft coupon

Keebler Wheatables has a similar money back offer. Purchase Keebler Wheatables Original Golden Wheat or Keebler Wheatables Toasted Honey Wheat between 7/19/2010 and 3/30/2011, and if you do not like them send in the receipt, UPC code and your request form and get the purchase price up to $3.89 back. Be sure to follow all the directions on the form and mail it in time. The request needs to be postmarked by 3/30/2011 and received by 4/13/2011. Link below.

LINK: Keebler Wheatables Money Back Form


Don't forget to take advantage of coupons that you can download onto your store loyalty cards or print them up. Follow the links below.

Cellfire.com (download coupons to your loyalty card)

Shortcuts.com (download and printable coupons)

Redplum.com (printable coupons)

Coupons.com (printable coupons)

P&Gesaver (download coupons and get other deals too)

This Saturday at Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics, the kids can make a cute pupple leash hanger. This clinic begins at 10:00 am on Saturday, September 11th.

LINK: Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic

My next deal is a great thing to do this weekend that will help others out.

Check it out:

Sunday, September 12th in the Prescott Courthouse Square will be the 13th Annual Empty Bowls event. From 11am to 2pm. For a donation of $15, you will be able to select a bowl that has been handmade by a local artisan and then enjoy two servings of delicious soup that has been prepared by chefs from Prescott area restaurants (bread and water are included). You get to keep the beautiful bowl and the money is given to the Yavapai County food banks.

Here are the sales items that really made me take notice:

Safeway-

Progresso Vegetable Classics Soup at 5 for $5 (I have also found coupons through the paper and cellfire.com for Progresso)
Barilla Pasta at 5 for $5
Post Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles 3 for $5
On the vine tomatoes for 99 cents a pound
Ragu Pasta Sauce for 99 cents each but you must buy 6 or more (well worth stocking up on)
Healthy Choice or Marie Calendar Meals $1.69 for 8.5 to 21 oz
Rancher's Reserve Top Round London Broil for $1.99 a pound
There are also some great flier coupons in our local Safeway flier including
Safeway Apple Juice $1.29 (limit 4)
Del Monte Canned Vegetables 14.5 to 15.25 oz 59 cents (limit 6)
Mission Tortilla Chips 14 oz for $1.29 (limit 4) *Great for taco salads
Lucerne Large Eggs 18 ct Grade AA $1.99 (limit 2)

There is a lot more in the flier, but those are amazing, AND you only have to spend initially a minimum of a $10 purchase to use those coupons.

Fry's
Don't forget that Fry's is still accepting competitor coupons and manufacturer coupons are all now worth $1.00

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast is just $1.67 lb
Gala Apples or Bartlet Pears are a steal at 2 pounds for $1.00
Quaker Cap'n Crunch, Life, Oat Squares or Instant Oatmeal is just $1.77 each
Fry's Quick Oats 18 oz are just 10 for $10 (great price and next week I am going to include a recipe for homemade granola)
Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix or Syrup $2.49 each
Kroger Dinner Sausage 18 oz for $2.99 (I use the Italian to make an amazing sausage lasagna using three of the five links)

Albertson's

Albertson's gallon milk is just $1.67 (Fry's has it for $1.77)
Seedless Grapes in red, green or black are just 79 cents a pound
Extra large shrimp are $3.99 a pound (use some for scampi and some for shrimp tostadas!)
Malt 0 Meal cereals 12 to 14.5 ounces $1.00
Albertons Instant Oatmeal 10 count varieties $1.00
Chuck or Shoulder Roast or Steak $1.99 a pound
Pork picnic Roast Bone in for $1.29 a pound
Alberstons also has some great flier coupons too

Iceberg Lettuce for 47 cents each (limit of 2)
Albertons Sandwich Bread 24 oz for 77 cents each (limit 2)
Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey 93% lean in a one pound chub for $1.99 (limit 2)
M&M Mars, Nestle or Wonka Single Candy Bars 3 for $1 (if you got to buy some candy get it cheap)

There are a lot more deals in each store, but again those were my faves. Also don't forget that if you can't get to the grocery store of choice bring your flier to Walmart where they will match your store's sales.

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Good times to buy items:

Woman's Day has some awesome money saving tips in May's issue. Mary Hunt one of my favorite thrifty tipsters wrote an article on ways to save money by buying things at certain times. Here are just a few tips that I thought I would share:

The cheapest time to do some shopping for air travel is on Tuesdays at 3:00 pm EST. This is because many of the major airlines announce their sales on Monday nights. The other airlines follow suit on Tuesdays which can make for a great time for a traveler to cash in. Also many people know this but the best times to travel are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays as there is less business travel on those days and so there are more seats available. It is also wise to book your air travel at the first flight out, because most people do not want to get up too early. Other good times are noon and dinner time. :)

Here is something I didn't know, Spring is a good time to purchase sneakers, and this is apparently because many athletic shoe companies sponsor walks and races. Apparently a lot of newbies buy shoes for these walks and it is a great time to pick up a deal.

Gardening Help:

I found something else really cool that I wanted to share today. This is great for anyone interested in setting up a community garden. The America the Beautiful project saves seeds from going to waste when seed companies discard them. The offer flower and vegetable seeds. People interested can go to their site and fill out an application request.


Freebies:

John Freida is giving away free samples of Luxurious Volume Full Splendor shampoo and conditioner. Link below:

LINK: John Freida Samples

Free CCM has more free music from the Catalyst Project. This week you can get A Thousand Amens by Doxology

LINK: FREE MUSIC

Get a free ream of Staples Copy paper after their Easy Rebate. Follow the link below for the coupon. This is too easy to pass up and ends on April 10th!

LINK: Free Staples Copy Paper


STRETCH YOUR FOOD BUDGET


When you want to save money, one of the important things to do is figure out what to do with leftovers. You have to check out thekitchn.com (yes that is kitchen without the "e"), because they have 75 tips for things to do with different leftovers from chicken scraps to spaghetti squash. Check out the link below. This is a perfect place to stop at when you are wondering what to do with certain items.

LINK: 75 Tips For Leftovers



Make sure to check out the new coupons available on cellfire.com for a new batch of coupons to load on your grocery loyalty cards.

LINK: Cellfire


Don't forget to check out Angel Food Ministries and Treasure Box for enough food to feed a family of four for a week on $30 plus service fees. Also check out Bountiful Baskets for some great veggies and fruits. Get to know the schedule for when it is in your area. For example, the pick up date in my area is this Saturday and the order time starts Tuesday morning until Wednesday. The next order will be in two weeks. If you check and your area is not available this week, check back next week.

LINK: Angel Food Ministries This month's menu order by April 15 (Menu Link)
Treasure Box Order deadline is April 11 (Menu Link)
Bountiful Baskets



And let's not forget free donating. It couldn't be any easier to donate to a favorite non profit. Next time you are going to make a search, take a moment and go to www.goodsearch.com. It takes a moment to type in your charity. After it is entered, you can do your search and 1 cent goes to your charity for each search. This really adds up, and it is completely free for you. Check it out, if 100 people did just two searches a day for a year, the non profit will get a donation of $730! And yes...Radio Shine is listed.

LINK: Good Search

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Today, I thought it would be nice to talk about saving money by using items for multiple purposes and using every bit of an item. There will also be some freebies thrown in too. :)

MAKE YOUR OWN BREAD CRUMBS

1 - Do you eat the ends of the bread? We do not. Seriously, I just don't think bread heels are good for much more than keeping your bread from getting dry and gross. Most of the time, after we go through a loaf of bread, we just toss the heels to the birds in the back yard. Now I am using them to make bread crumbs. To do this I keep the heels in the bag and toss in the freezer. When I have accumulated several bags, I take them out of the freezer and bake them in the oven to dry them out. Then simply grate them and put in an airtight container. You can use plain or add seasonings when you use them. I have used these crumbs now in meatloaf and they really work great and are ridiculously cheap since we are already buying the bread. I also still have plenty of heels left over to give to the birds too. :)

Another cool thing is I have started to do this as well with Italian and French loaves that I purchase. We never eat the whole loaf before it dries right up. These get hard enough not to need baking. I grate them as well but put them in a different container. They make perfect panko breading.

AND NOW A FREEBIE BREAK!

Head on over to Walmart.com for a free sample of Dove's Men's Body Wash. The free sample link is on the top right.

LINK: Dove for Men


BAKING SODA FOR JEWELRY CLEANING, HAIR CLARIFYING AND DEODORIZING


2 - Baking soda has a bunch of uses. I am going to go over a few of my favorites here.

--- Hair clarifying. When you use the same brands of shampoos and conditioners residue your hair gets kind of blah and limp. This also happens when you use lots of product from mousses to gels and hairspray. Baking soda helps get rid of that build up really simply. I usually just keep some in a container in the bathroom and had a bit to my palm and then add my shampoo. Mix it all together and shampoo like you normally would. It is amazing how clean your hair feels afterward and it is by far cheaper than buying a clarifying shampoo.


--- Baking soda can also be used to keep your refrigerator fresh, but you do not need to pop a whole box into the refrigerator. Instead take a coffee filter and pour a half a cup of baking soda into the filter. Gather the filter and tie at the top and place this package in the refrigerator instead. This will last a month. When you take the baking soda out of the fridge, empty the contents into the sink and add a cup of white vinegar...this will give your sink a nice fizzy clean.


--- Baking soda also makes a great silver cleaner. Combine two tablespoons with enough water to make a light paste. Rub the paste gently into the silver. This works wonders with taking the tarnish off of silver without using any harsh chemicals.


FREEBIE BREAK

RitzPix.com is offering a free My Show DVD. You can upload up to 50 pictures and a 1 minute video to DVD. This could make a great grandparent gift and all you pay is $1.99 for shipping. This offer is only for today April 1st so check out the details at the link below.

LINK: MY SHOW DVD


VINEGAR IN THE DISHWASHER


3. If dishwasher spotting gives you a problem, don't spend extra money on spot reducers. Add two tablespoons of vinegar to your dishwasher liquid and run the wash as usual.



FREEBIE BREAK

I do not know how long this will last but you can sign up now for a free issue of Living the Country Life magazine. Check out the link below for more details.

LINK: Living the Country Life Magazine free subscription


CORNSTARCH, CLOVES & A CHEESE SHAKER

4. Combine 1/4 cup of ground cloves and 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch and put in an old shaker container (the plastic cheese shakers work great). Shake them up in those smelly athletic sneakers to kill the foot odor.


FREE FAMILY FUN

I don't know if you tried this last year, but we did and it was wonderful. April 17th through the 25th will be another Free National Park Entry Week! That is free entry to all the 392 National Parks! Last summer, we took advantage of a free National Park weekend entry and had a blast at the Grand Canyon. We packed a cooler full of sandwiches and treats from home and had a great day of picture taking and enjoying the time out. You will definitely want to take advantage of this.

LINK: Free National Park Entry

PS While looking at the U.S. National Park Service website, I also noticed that they are offering students jobs for the summer. If you have a high school or college student in the family, you may want to direct them to checking out this awesome job. I remember taking a trip with my family cross country when I graduated and we met lots of students at Yellowstone. Here is a link for details: U.S. National Park Service Jobs for Students. There is also a link for volunteers too.


Don't forget to check out Freeccm.com for their free music this week as well as iTickets.com. There are lots of great free songs out there.

FreeCCM has Hold the Light from Caedmon's Call. :)

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Man oh man! I have to say that this week is not really a great week at the grocery stores. There were a few good deals. Hopefully, you are stocking up on the best deals when they are out there. This is a week that reminds me of why I shop the bargains when I see them and stock them up for leaner shopping weeks. Still, there are a few pretty good deals to share. Today I am starting with my grocery top picks.

Safeway - Remember all coupons are still worth a dollar. I do not know how long that is going to last so be sure to cash in on it while you can.

-- Honey Suckle White Whole Turkey Breast - 99 cents a pound (I am learning to work with all dark meat in my poultry, but back in the day, I would have jumped for this)
-- Broccoli Crowns - 99 cents a pound
-- Yellow Onions 3 pounds for 99 cents

Fry's

-- Quaker Instant or Simple Harvest Oatmeal $1.88 (A dollar printable coupon found here - Thanks to For the Mommas)
-- Boneless Half Pork Loin $1.77 pound
-- Cook's Spiral Half Ham 99 cents a pound

Albertsons

-- Pork Sirloin Chops $1.99 a pound
-- Zucchini 69 cents a pound
-- If you need to stock up on cereal, syrup, granola bars and pancake mix, you will want to check out the deal at Albertsons for several Quaker and Aunt Jemima products.

Buy 7 and each will be $1.88
Aunt Jemima Syrup
Aunt Jemima Complete
Aunt Jemima Buttermilk
Quaker Oatmeal Squares
Quaker Quick Oats
Quaker Instant Oatmeal
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Quaker Life Cereal

(Look about online, because you might find more printables)

Don't forget to load up your Cell Fire and Shortcuts.com!

FREEBIES!!!!

Cream of Wheat - If you like a quick instant hot breakfast, Cream of Wheat is your answer. Well...at least the freebie is. Pick the flavor you would like to try.

LINK: Cream of Wheat

FREE MUSIC

Free CCM has downloads currently for Building 429 "Not Gonna Let You Down" and Disciple's "Southern Hospitality."

iTickets.com has a free download of Above the Golden State's song "The Golden Rule."


FREE COUPONS!!!!

I love Betty Crocker's newsletters, I love Betty Crocker's products, and I love their coupon books. There is a new $10 coupon book making the rounds. All you have to do is click on the link and sign up for one of their newsletter deals. Too easy!

Link: Betty Crocker $10 Coupon Book

Thanks to fabulous blogger STL Mommy for this heads up!

FREE EDUCATION

And on to FREE EDUCATION or what I like to refer to as 2010 Self Improvement. It has been one of my goals. You aren't going to get a degree with these education freebies, but you definitely will learn something.

Check out some of the free online education you can get from University of Washington. The website does state that these are courses provided for personal enrichment. Here are a few free courses they offer:

The American Civil War
Energy, Diet & Weight
Hamlet
HTML Basics

This one site had me busy for a while. You can learn some American Sign Language with help from Michigan State University and their American Sign Language browser. They have some awesome free resources! Simply click on Take Me To the ASL Browser. When there, click on the words and watch the recording to learn the signs for those words. It gave me a download option, but rather than dowloading anything, I simply clicked on the link that said "view larger sign language videos on Signing Savvy."

Lastly, you can check out the free Christian based education at Christiancourses.com from RBC Ministries. They have free courses like Old and New Testament Survey, Know Why You Believe, and Christian Apologetics.


Even if you aren't getting college credit, it is so good to always keep learning. Have a wonderful week!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

I was thinking that since this is the first Thrifty Tips post of the New Year, I would tackle learning something new for this month. For myself, one of the things I am trying to do is learn to be a little more organized in my life. I have jumped full force into Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie. I cannot begin to tell you what an amazing feeling it is to come home from work and not be stressed about what is for dinner or leaving work and knowing that I can't go straight home because I have to pick up something for dinner. It is total bliss!

LEARN SOME COMPUTER ONLINE

How about a little free computer education? HP has free online classes at the HP Learning Center. These classes are free and available 24/7!

Here is just a sample of some of the classes:


Linux 101: a beginner's guide (Ideal for me. I just learned to not call it Linus).

Adobe Photoshop CS4 for photography

Organize, archive and retrieve your digital photos (quick lesson)

Facebook and Twitter: getting started (quick lesson)

There are many others. Give it a browse. Some lessons very nicely explain things to those of us who are simply not that savvy. Some help you get started with simple things that you might not know how to do or who to ask.

LINK: HP Learning Center


MAKE THAT BATH BEAUTIFUL

Home Depot's Free Do-It-Herself Workshop on Bathroom updates will be held on Thursday, January 14th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Some of the following subjects include installing a faucet and installing a toilet. They will go over some brands that can help you save money too!


KIDS GET PENNY WISE

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics for kids are featuring a cool bank your kids can make. This is a great way to get them extra enthused about saving. Get in touch with your local Lowe's to register. This activity takes place on Saturday January 9th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. Remember the clinics are recommended for children in 1st through 5th grade.



On January 14th, your kids can learn to make their own Tic Tac Toe board. This is so cute, and something that they can keep for a long time. The clinic runs from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. The link below will take you to a where you can sign up for one or both clinics.


LINK: LOWE'S BUILD AND GROW CLINICS


RECIPES!!!!


Because Safeway has a very nice sale on Fresh Whole Chicken, I thought it would be nice to go over some ways to stretch that chicken out for a few days to really take advantage of their 47 cents a pound savings. The main thing to do when you are planning on stretching out that chicken is to plan what you are going to make in advance. This way you can focus on what parts of the chicken you are going to use for each meal. My family is a white meat chicken kind of family, but I have noticed that you can totally use the dark meat in other recipes when you are adding other ingredients and the flavor is pretty sweet! That is sweet as in awesome not as in sugary. :)

Roast Chicken with Lemons by Marcella Hazan Knopf
This seemed like a great and fairly inexpensive way to start things off. You need a 3 to 4 pound chicken, though I would go higher for the stretchability, two lemons, and pepper. It says fresh from a peppermill, but I don't think it HAS to be peppermilled. then again, you can purchase that fairly cheaply at Ross.

Garlic Chicken Lettuce Wraps (recipe from Thrifty Fun)
Really I think there are many ways you can work this out. It all depends on the items you have on hand. The recipe calls for butter lettuce, but you can totally get away with inexpensive iceberg lettuce for a decent cup and maybe line it with green leaf or romaine for more nutrition.

Crock Pot White Chicken Chili (recipe from the Recipezaar)
The cool thing about the chicken chili is you can just add whatever chicken is left at this point, and it is kind of nice to do something different from the usual chicken soup. This is a great treat for this time of year.

I have also used left over chicken to make chicken enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and stir fry (great when you have any random frozen veggies on hand). Certainly, the options are quite limitless. The above recipe links are good because you can pretty much make any of them with limited additional shopping.

FREEBIES!!!!

I love getting a little freebie here and there. Here are just a few.

If you are a Sam's Club member you can get in on a freebie for a sample of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. This is definitely a good time to have those on hand. A nice thing about a free sample like this is you can pop it in the car or in your office desk to have on hand rather than a bulky container.

LINK: Clorox Disinfecting Wipes - Sam's Club

If you adopted a dog in 2009, you can sign up with Pedigree to get free dog food for a month. This is a limited time deal so get on it right away. You need to fill out a form that you can link to on their web page. They also need copies of all the important adoption documents including receipt for fee or donation receipt. They need to get this form by February 2010. What an awesome thing to do for people who adopted shelter dogs!

LINK: Pedegree Adoption Drive

Until March 31st or while supplies last 3M has free samples of their Post-it durable tabs. I have never had a tab stay nice and it would be nice to try these out and see how well they work. I have a new planner for 2010 and I would love to try these to separate the sections.

LINK: Post-it Durable Tabs

I love Emergen-C products. They are a great way to get a little vitamin C boost, and right now you can sign up to get a free sample of Emergen-C fizzy drink mix. I don't know how long this will last so check it out at the link.

LINK: Emergen-C Fizzy Drink Sample

I am sucker for recipe books and right now you can sign up for a free breakfast and brunch recipe book from Gooseberry Patch, Post Raisin Bran and Sun Maid Raisin and dried fruit. With my new goal of keeping a menu planned, I think this would be ideal for weekend meals.

LINK: Free Gooseberry Patch Breakfast and Brunch Cookbook

FREE MUSIC -

Amazon has tons of free music downloads. Here is a link to 13 free Christian song downloads including songs by BarlowGirl, Rachel Lampa and Big Daddy Weave.

LINK: Amazon Free Christian Music Download



Free CCM's download of the week is from the Catalyst Music Project and includes song and cord chart for “What A Savior” performed by Laura Story and written by Jeremiah Jones.

Learn a little bit more about the Catalyst Music Project here: Catalyst Music Project

LINK: Free CCM Download Of The Week- Catalyst Music Project


Parachute Festival 2010 has more music downloads for you! These are songs from this year's line up. The Parachute Festival is this amazing music festival in New Zealand centered on bringing Jesus Christ to people through music. You can learn more and sign up for your downloads at the link at the bottom. First, check out the music:

One - Rapture Ruckus
Count Me In - Leeland
Shout it out - Parachute Band
Streams Of Woe At Acheron - Falling Up
No Reason To Hide - Hillsong United
Dance Or Die (The Secret Handshake) - Family Force 5
Mess Of Me - Switchfoot
Writing On the Walls - Underoath

LINK: Parachute Festival Free Music

I picked up this link from the awesome Homeschool Freebie of the Day. It was for January 5th, but it still works now so go check it out. They have a sister site called Homeschool Radio Shows, just head over there and you can download The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It is a little radio drama from 1950 and very well done. They also have The Blizzard of 1888 and Sgt. Yukon. The titles make me chilly, but I love listening to audios of stories and radio shows. I don't know how long this will last so check it out at the link below:

LINK: Homeschool Radio Shows


ON TO GROCERIES-

Fry's -


-- Sweet California Clementines 3 pounds $1.99
-- Truckload Case Sale (many items are on special sale in this event here are a few)
Libby's canned veggies 50 cents each
Valley Fresh canned chicken 99 cents
Spam $1.88
-- Roast Sale - Many of Fry's roasts are on sale at a buy 1 get 1 free. This averages to around $2.49 a pound. It is a little over my limit but it may not be over yours.

Recipe you can use for Valley Fresh canned chicken -

Easy and Tasty Chicken Tortilla Soup (from AllRecipes.com)
Buffalo Chicken Dipping Balls (an appetiser from AllRecipes.com)

Albertsons

-- Russett Potatoes $1.88 for 15 pounds
-- Tilapia, Catfish, Swai or Pollock Fillets $2.88 a pound
-- Lots of items are also 10 for $10, but really you can by one or more.
Bar S Jumbo Franks
Half Gallon of Milk

Safeway


-- Rancher's Reserve Boneless Beef Top Round Roast $1.77 a pound
-- Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit 2 for $1.00
-- Safeway Fresh Whole Chicken 46 cents a pound (limit 6) --Dont forget to check out the recipes above for stetching that bird!



See you next week!