WinCo Ground Beef Recall

If you were not aware of the WinCo Ground Beef Recall; here is the article from WinCo.
**************

WinCo Foods Expands Recall of Fresh Ground Beef Purchased Between March 26, 2010 and April 9, 2010 to all WinCo Foods Stores

BOISE, Idaho, April 17 /PRNewswire/ -- WinCo Foods announced today that it is issuing an expansion of the Class 1 recall on all fresh ground beef products sold at all WinCo Foods stores: The original recall issued on April 10, 2010 was for ground beef sold from its Modesto store only.


Originally an independent lab had tested two samples of ground beef purchased at the Modesto, California store to be positive for E. coli 0157:H7 (a bacterium that causes food borne illness) and out of concern for the health of our customers and our ongoing commitment to provide only safe, quality products, WinCo Foods decided it was appropriate to issue a recall for the Modesto store.


As WinCo has cooperated with public health authorities, new information has come to light that potentially implicates WinCo's ground beef suppliers. Acting on the advice of the California Department of Public Health and consistent with the ongoing investigation by USDA, WinCo is expanding its voluntary recall to include all fresh ground beef sold at any WinCo Foods store. A list of all WinCo Foods store locations can be found on this website.


The product under recall is all fresh ground beef packed in styrofoam trays with a sale date of March 28, 2010 through April 9, 2010. Product should either be returned to the store for refund or be destroyed. No illnesses have been confirmed to date in connection with this recall.


E. coli 0157:H7 causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover within a week. Young children and the elderly are at highest risk for developing HUS, which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.


Individuals who have eaten fresh ground beef purchased from any WinCo Foods store between March 28, 2010 and April 9, 2010 and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately. Any such illness should be reported to the state or local health authorities. WinCo recommends checking the FDA website for further information and answers concerning food borne illness and food safety.

Northwest Grocery Party!!

This is your Northwest Grocery Store Summary
4/28/10 - 5/4/10 

Thank you to The Grocery Gathering, A Thrifty Mom,  Fistful of Coupons, and NW Deal Seeker for putting together all the great deals.


Albertson's

Fred Meyer

Safeway

WinCo Foods

Yoke's Fresh Market

If you do not see your store, go to the Grocery Gathering, they have them listed by state.

WinCo Foods Sale 4/29 - 5/5

WinCo sales for Thursday, April 29th (prices gathered from the Richland, WA store). Each store varies in prices but they should be pretty close. Prices can change from day to day.

Richland, WA WinCo does take printable coupons, I use them each week.

I am matching up current coupons in our area with WinCo's low prices as well as listing sale items.

Pepsi is on sale for $2.48 for a 12 pack, limit 4

Oakdell dozen eggs $1.00

2 liter Coke $1.00

Printable Coupons:
Coupons.com
Red Plum Printables
Smart Source Printables

Insert information: SS= Smart Source, RP = Red Plum, GM = General Mills

Coupon information: $2.00/1 = $2 off 1 item

Here is the link for you to print out: NW Coupon Lady WinCo Foods 

Also see BeCentsable's Grocery Gathering and Grocery Deals for more savings on your other favorite stores

Yoke's Fresh Market 4/28 - 5/4

Yoke's Fresh board is good through Thursday 4/6

Printable Coupons:

Coupons.com

Red Plum Printables

Smart Source Printables

*($1/2 in 1/31 RP) means $1 off when you buy two products the coupon is in 1/31/10 coupon insert Red Plum.

These prices are good 4/28 -5/4

I have listed the items that I think are a pretty good deal.

Boston Cut Pork Roast $1.59lb
Ground Beef 81% $1.79lb (great ground beef)
Beef Back Ribs $1.99lb


Texas Rio Star Red Grapefruit 4 for $1
Earthbound Farm Romaine Hearts 2 for $4
Green Bell Peppers 2 for $1
Cucumbers 2 for $1
Cantaloupe $.78lb
Seedless Red Grapes $1.98lb
Fresh Express Shredded lettuce or coleslaw 3 for $5

Deli:
Hormel Virginia baked or honey ham $5.99 lb
Cady Creek medium cheddar cheese $4.99lb

Hunt's Ketchup 24oz $.99
Mission Soft Taco Tortillas 10 ct $1.38
La Burrita Corn Tortillas $.98 16oz


Coupons in Yoke's flier (good from 5/1 to 5/3)
Coke 12 packs $2.99 (1st 3)
Fritos or Cheetos 3 for $5 (1st 3)
Dreyer's Ice Cream 2 for $5 (1st 4)
Russet Potatoes 10lb $.98 (1st 4)
Tillamook Yogurt $.38 each (1st 10)
Gusto Black Forest Ham $9.99 (1st 4)
Hormel Foods Premium Roast Beef $5.99lb (1st 4lbs)
Artisan French Bread 2 for $2 (1st 4) - these are great.  Buy 4 and freeze them.

April Monthly Sales

Tillamook Yogurt 10 for $5
Dreyer's YoCrunch Yogurt $2.69 ($.75/1 in 3/28 SS)
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars 2 for $5 ($3/5 coupon is Yoke's Monthly sales flier)
El Monterey Taquitos $6.79 ($1/1 in 3/7 RP)
Land O'Frost Premium Lunchmeat 2 for $6 ($.55/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tyson Chicken Strips, Wings, Bites $4.69 ($1/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tillamook Cheese Loaves 2lb $6.99

$5 Dinner Bargain Meals - Slow-Cooker Lasagna

WinCo $5 Bargain Meals - all ingredients purchased at WinCo Foods

I am happy to participate in the 5 dollar dinners Bargain Meal of the Week.

For more low budget meals to go Bargain Meals and 1 trip, 1 bag, 5 dinners

Slow-Cooker Lasagna (serves 8)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef ($1.98)

1 jar  (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce(Ragu $.98)

1 cup water

1 container  (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese (Frigo $2.44)

1 pkg. (7 oz.) 2%  Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided (Hy-Top $1.64)

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided (Hy-Top $.70)

1 egg (you should have on hand)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley ($.10)

6 lasagna noodles, uncooked ($1.62)

BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.
SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.
COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Total $9.46 for 8 servings, so that will be two dinners -  $4.73 for dinner for a family of 4.  Add a salad to it for about $1.00.

Thank you to Kraft for the recipe.

National Consumer Panel

I received my National Consumer Panel home scanner.  I heard about this from other blogs, so I signed up.  I was put on a waiting list and I never expected to be selected, but I was.  If you would like to sign up to be put on the waiting list go to NCP online. If you are selected you will be sent a home scanner. Each time you come home from shopping you will scan the items and upload the information once a week to NCP. By scanning items and participating in survey's you collect points that can be redeemed for gifts. I would like to teach my kids how to scan our grocery items so they can scan as I'm putting them away.

I'll keep up updating on how it's working out.

Merchant Cash Advanced - Affordable Funding Options

Easy and Affordable Funding Options

Businesses thrive on cash flow. Many companies need financing during periods when sales are down and it seems as though the economy has slowed down to a crawl. As they search for funding to stay afloat, they weigh their options to find the easiest and least expensive option for financing. Although not well know, Merchant Cash Advances can provide financing for business quickly. Although they may not be the least expensive, they are very convenient and you can often receive the money you need in just a few days while other, more traditional sources can take weeks, even months to come through with that check.

Merchant cash advances are affordable because the payments made are adjustable based on sales.

Basically, you are just selling future credit card receivables for cash. The merchant cash advance company can simply deduct their cut every month as a percentage of gross credit card sales. So, if you have a bad month, you will pay less than if you have an outstanding one. You never have to write a check or worry about monthly fixed loan payments as the advance is just that, an advance on future income.

Drug Store Deals 4/25 - 5/1

The following blogs have gathered up your drug store deals.  Thank you to all the bloggers that put in the time to help us save money.

Walgreens - Frugal Coupon Living

Target -Stretching a Buck

Rite Aid - Deal Seeking Mom

Fred Meyer - Coupon Connections NW

Tips to help make your grocery shopping successful

We all have our own way of shopping and know what works for us, but getting new ideas is always helpful.

1. Children. Of course we all know that when we bring our children to the store it will cost a little more.   Keeping them busy helps. Have each child help get things off the shelf and put in the basket.  I also like each of them to look at the prices and compare. Have them make their own grocery list; fruit for lunches, meat for sandwiches, items for their favorite dinner, etc.  Go over their lists before going to the store so you stay within budget. For older children give them their own budget for their list and teach them how to bargain shop - great life lesson. I budget in for a few extras for them to pick out; I tell each one they can pick out something that is about $1 or they can pick out a snack from the bulk food. That seems to work well because they only need a small amount to make them feel that they received something special and normally it's less than $1 each.
2. Coupons. Clip the coupons you plan on using and add it to your grocery list so that you have them ready. Also take the store's flier in with you so you can reference it when you need to.  The flier also comes in handy if you have to pick up a rain check.
3. Staples. Shop your staple/pantry items first. These are the items you need and they are probably the majority of your list.
4. Dairy. Next the dairy section. Here's where you will pick up your milk, butter, yogurt, and eggs.  These are still a staple items and it's still pretty easy at this point to keep to your grocery list.
5. Meat/Cheese. Now that you have most of your staple items you can shop for your meat and cheese. Stock up on one or two meat items that may be on sale. Maybe pick up a deli meat that may be on sale.  Watch your budget here; it's easy to go over in this section.  When meal planning I normally plan with the meat that is in the freezer. When I'm grocery shopping I'm picking up the meat that is on sale, not necessarily the meat that I have planned in my menu for the week. Otherwise you may be selecting items that are not on sale.
6. Produce. Your basket if filling up so shopping in the produce aisle now is perfect so they don't sit at the bottom of the basket. Every once in awhile I let the kids pick out something new to try.
7. Frozen and Packaged items. You have all your dairy, meat, cheese, and produce it's time for the cereal, cracker, and frozen food items. If you have the children with you I would tell them your expectations before going down these aisles. I tell each one "you can pick out one box of crackers". For the cereals you should be picking these up when they hit their lowest sale price; if you need to purchase them at full price I would stick to one or two boxes until you can get them on sale. Frozen/convenience items can be pricey so by filling up your cart with all the other items and saving this towards the end might help from grabbing too much.
8. Bakery. Who needs the cakes, pies, donuts now that your cart is filled and ready for check out? Grab the bread and head for the checkout stand.

Changing the way you shop will take time to get used to and creating a new shopping layout is hard sometimes, but give it a try and see how it works.

WinCo Foods Sales 4/22 - 4/28

WinCo sales for Thursday, April 22nd (prices gathered from the Richland, WA store). Each store varies in prices but they should be pretty close.

Richland, WA WinCo does take printable coupons, I use them each week.
I am matching up current coupons in our area with WinCo's low prices as well as listing sale items.


Pepsi is on sale for $2.48 for a 12 pack, limit 4

Printable Coupons:
Coupons.com
Red Plum Printables
Smart Source Printables

Insert information: SS= Smart Source, RP = Red Plum, GM = General Mills

Coupon information: $2.00/1 = $2 off 1 item

Here is the link for you to print out: NW Coupon Lady WinCo Foods 

Also see BeCentsable's Grocery Gathering and Grocery Deals for more savings on your other favorite stores

WinCo Foods

Last night was really crazy with soccer practice and housework so I will update the WinCo Sales this evening.  Sorry for the late post.  I have to put family first then blogging; I'm sure you all understand that.

Thank you for reading.

Daily Diamond Deals

Daily Diamond Deals


Buying diamonds online can be a stressful process, but with the advent of technology, it has never been easier to find the diamond you need for that engagement ring or other piece of jewelry. The stress comes from the many retailers who all seem to be selling the same stones, so you never know who to buy from. There are retailers who offer specials on diamonds including daily promotions and sales.

When considering the purchase of a diamond, it is best to look for the best deal you possibly can, which may mean that you have to hold out for a bit to find the exact diamond needed. Abazias Diamonds offers a Diamond of the Day deal that just cannot be beat. Every day, they sell one single diamond at cost to one lucky customer. This is a first-come-first-served situation as they truly only have one diamond to sell at this low price. If you check every day, you can end up with the perfect diamond for your needs at a substantial discount over normal diamond prices.

Northwest Grocery Party!

This is your Northwest Grocery Store Summary
4/21/10 - 4/27/10 

Thank you to The Grocery Gathering, A Thrifty Mom,  Fistful of Coupons, and NW Deal Seeker for putting together all the great deals.

I will be updating WinCo on Thursday evening.

Albertson's

Fred Meyer

Safeway

WinCo Foods

Yoke's Fresh Market

If you do not see your store, go to the Grocery Gathering, they have them listed by state.

Yoke's Fresh Market 4/21 - 4/27

Yoke's Fresh board is good through Thursday 4/29

Printable Coupons:

Coupons.com

Red Plum Printables

Smart Source Printables

*($1/2 in 1/31 RP) means $1 off when you buy two products the coupon is in 1/31/10 coupon insert Red Plum.

These prices are good 4/21 - 4/27

Spend $25 and receive free green grocery reusable bag:

I have listed the items that I think are a pretty good deal.

Boneless Beef London Broil $2.49 lb
Country Style Pork Ribs $1.59 lb
John Morrell bacon $2.28 12oz
Pork Steaks $1.99 lb
Basa Fillets $2.99 lb

Large Fancy Navel Oranges $.38lb
Fresh Express Premium Salads 2 for $4

Juanita's Tortilla Chips 15oz $1.49 (these are the best tortilla chips!)
Rosarita refried beans $.98 each
Sobe Life Water 10 for $10 20oz bottles
Western Family Yogurt 10 for $4
Tuscan Traditions Pasta Sauce $1.98 each
Oroweat Bread $1.98
Honey Bunches of Oats 2 for $5 ($1/2 in 3/14 SS)
Litehouse family size dressing $3.98 ($.50/1 in 3/28 SS)
Sourdough Bread $2.49 (so good)
Jennie-O Premium oven roasted turkey breast $5.99 lb (use Yoke's coupon in flyer $2.00 per lb of deli meat)

Coupons in Yoke's flier (good from 4/24 to 4/26)
Western Family Bath Tissue $.88 each (1st 4)
Western Family Margarine $.59 (1st 40
Langer's Apple Juice $1.48 (1st 3)
Fresh Express Garden Salad $.88 (1st 4)
Chef's Choice Cornish Game Hens $1.88 each (1st 4)
Western Family Pasta $.69 (1st 3)
Western Family Ibuprofen $.78 each 24 ct (1st 4) - good buy
Deli Meat $2 off per pound
Assorted Raised Donuts $3.9 (1st 3 baker's dozen)

April Monthly Sales

Tillamook Yogurt 10 for $5
Dreyer's YoCrunch Yogurt $2.69 ($.75/1 in 3/28 SS)
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars 2 for $5 ($3/5 coupon is Yoke's Monthly sales flier)
El Monterey Taquitos $6.79 ($1/1 in 3/7 RP)
Land O'Frost Premium Lunchmeat 2 for $6 ($.55/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tyson Chicken Strips, Wings, Bites $4.69 ($1/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tillamook Cheese Loaves 2lb $6.99

Drug Store Deals 4/18 - 4/24

The following blogs have gathered up your drug store deals.  Thank you to all the bloggers that put in the time to help us save money.

Walgreens - Frugal Coupon Living

Target -Stretching a Buck

Rite Aid - Deal Seeking Mom

Fred Meyer - Coupon Connections NW

$5 Bargain Meals - Crisp and Creamy Baked Chicken

WinCo $5 Bargain Meals - all ingredients purchased at WinCo Foods

I am happy to participate in the 5 dollar dinners Bargain Meal of the Week.

For more low budget meals to go Bargain Meals and 1 trip, 1 bag, 5 dinners

Crisp and Creamy Baked Chicken
(serves 4)

Thank you to Kraft for this recipe

Ingredients:

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.) ($2.68)

6 Tbsp.  (1/2 of 1 pouch) Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix (Hy-Top $.27)

2 cups instant white rice, uncooked ($.30)

2/3 cup  (1/2 of 10-3/4-oz. can) condensed cream of celery soup (Campbell's $.63)

1/4 cup milk (you should have on hand)

1 cup  Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese ( Hy-Top $.70) or use cheese that you may have already.

HEAT oven to 400°F.
COAT chicken with coating mix as directed on package; place in greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Discard any remaining coating mix.
BAKE 20 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on package.
MIX soup and milk until well blended; pour over chicken. Top with cheese. Bake 5 min. or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Serve with rice.

Total $4.58 Serve with hot steamed carrots for a few cents more.

Free Shipping with JCPenney

Free Shipping with orders of $49.00 or more when you order from JCPenney online. Use Promo Code FREE49 good until April 30, 2010.

WinCo Foods 4/15 - 4/21

WinCo sales for Thursday, April 15th (prices gathered from the Richland, WA store). Each store varies in prices but they should be pretty close.

Richland, WA WinCo does take printable coupons, I use them each week.
I am matching up current coupons in our area with WinCo's low prices as well as listing sale items.


Pepsi is on sale for $2.48 for a 12 pack, limit 4

Printable Coupons:
Coupons.com
Red Plum Printables
Smart Source Printables

Insert information: SS= Smart Source, RP = Red Plum, GM = General Mills

Coupon information: $2.00/1 = $2 off 1 item

Here is the link for you to print out: NW Coupon Lady WinCo Foods 

Also see BeCentsable's Grocery Gathering and Grocery Deals for more savings on your other favorite stores

Northwest Grocery Party 4/14 - 4/20

This is your Northwest Grocery Store Summary
4/14/10 - 4/20/10 

Thank you to The Grocery Gathering, A Thrifty Mom,  Fistful of Coupons, and NW Deal Seeker for putting together all the great deals.

I will be updating WinCo on Thursday evening.

Albertson's

Fred Meyer

Safeway

WinCo Foods

Yoke's Fresh Market

If you do not see your store, go to the Grocery Gathering, they have them listed by state.

Yoke's Fresh Market 4/14 - 4/20

Friday looks like a good day to go shopping at Yoke's. There will also be a new fresh Friday Board updated so check for that. Look for the Quaker $3/5 coupon in the monthly sale flyer; you can use it at Albertston's during their Quaker sale.

Yoke's Fresh board is good through Thursday 4/22

Printable Coupons:

Coupons.com

Red Plum Printables

Smart Source Printables

*($1/2 in 1/31 RP) means $1 off when you buy two products the coupon is in 1/31/10 coupon insert Red Plum.

These prices are good 4/14 - 4/20:
I have listed the items that I think are a pretty good deal.

Ground Beef 81% $1.89 lb (Love ground beef from Yokes, my family can really loves it)
Assorted Pork Chops $1.77lb
Pork Loin Chops $1.09 lb
Cook's Spiral Cut Honey Ham $2.29 lb
Tilapia Fillets $3.49 lb
Fresh Pacific Dove Sole Fillets $3.99 lb

Broccoli and Cauliflower $.78lb
Cucmbers 2 for $1
Cantaloupe $.68 lb
Large Avocados 2 for $3

Bandon Medium Cheedar 2lb $4.99
Jimmy Dean Breakfast sandwiches $4.69 ($1/1 in 3/7 RP)
Western Family Canned Veg. $.59 each
Western Family Frozen Veg 16oz 10 for $10
Western Family popsicles $1.59 18ct
Darigold Lactose Free Milk $2.49 64oz (B1G1 3/28 SS)
Kellogg's Pop Tarts 2 for $5
Doritos 11.34 to 12oz 2 for $5
Oroweat sandwich thins $1.98
Powerade $.88 (tearpad $.75/2)
Nestle Candy Bars $.38 each

Fresh Friday - Good for 4/16 only!

Yoke's milk $1.78 each limit 2
Bananas $.38lb
Yoke's Eggs dozen $.98
Tillamook butter $1.88
Yoke's bread $1.29
10lb Russet potatoes $.98
Seasoned Pork Loin $3.99lb
Top Sirloin Steaks $3.99 lb
Boneless Rump Roast $2.39 lb
Whole Fryers $.99lb
Hormel Food Roast Beef $5.99 lb (Deli)
Donut Holes B1G1

April Monthly Sales

Tillamook Yogurt 10 for $5
Dreyer's YoCrunch Yogurt $2.69 ($.75/1 in 3/28 SS)
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars 2 for $5 ($3/5 coupon is Yoke's Monthly sales flier)
El Monterey Taquitos $6.79 ($1/1 in 3/7 RP)
Land O'Frost Premium Lunchmeat 2 for $6 ($.55/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tyson Chicken Strips, Wings, Bites $4.69 ($1/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tillamook Cheese Loaves 2lb $6.99

Use up those Albertson's Doublers Today!

Don't forget today is the last day for your Albertson's Doublers.  I used mine yesterday.  Here's my shopping trip:

Tillamook Colby Jack cheese (used my rain check) $3.99
Herbal Essence Shampoo $1/1 (with doubler)
Sour Dough Round on reduced rack $.99
2 Tyson Anytizers 2 - $.55 coupons with doublers

Total $8.61 and saved $11.20

My shopping for 4/4 - 4/10

(Here is my WinCo shopping - I am stocked up on most fresh items so this was a frozen food run; , I also purchased 5lbs of chicken breast from Albertson's not shown)

I have a family budget of $500 a month, I try to split it up $125 per week.  This budget includes food, cleaning supplies, and bathroom supplies for my family of 4. I do include pet items I pick up at the store.
 
This week was great.  I was too busy to shop so I was $49.01 under budget! Here's a summary

Monthly Budget Summary
$500 Budget
$201.15 Spent
$298.85 Remaining for the month

Weekly Budget Summary
$125 Budget
$75.99 Spent ($49.01 under budget)
$30.90 In Savings

Drug Store Deals 4/11 - 4/17

The following blogs have gathered up your drug store deals.  Thank you to all the bloggers that put in the time to help us save money.

Walgreens - Frugal Coupon Living

Target -Stretching a Buck

Rite Aid - Deal Seeking Mom

Fred Meyer - Coupon Connections NW

Costco Vs WinCo - Tillamook Cheese

I did a little comparison shopping on Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese.  My family is huge Tillamook fans. I wrote down prices at Costco and WinCo to find out who had the better deal.  Yes, you have to pay a yearly fee at Costco so if you don't use Costco it might not be cost effective for you to run out and buy a membership; but for those people that do have a Costco Card and use them I thought this information might be helpful.

Costco 5lb Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese loaf is $11.69 ($.15 an ounce)

WinCo Foods 2lb Tillamook Medium Cheddar Cheese loaf is $5.98 ($.19 an ounce)

Costco has the better deal by 4 cents, but it might not be worth saving 20 cents to get such a big loaf of cheese unless your family would really use that size.  I normally wait for it to go on sale at Albertsons or Fred Meyer for $3.99 for 2lbs.

WinCo Food Sales 4/8 - 4/14

WinCo sales for Thursday, April 8th (prices gathered from the Richland, WA store). Each store varies in prices but they should be pretty close.

Richland, WA WinCo does take printable coupons, I use them each week.
I am matching up current coupons in our area with WinCo's low prices as well as listing sale items.

Milk was price at $1.88 a gallon

Printable Coupons:
Coupons.com
Red Plum Printables
Smart Source Printables

Insert information: SS= Smart Source, RP = Red Plum, GM = General Mills

Coupon information: $2.00/1 = $2 off 1 item

Here is the link for you to print out: NW Coupon Lady WinCo Foods 

Also see BeCentsable's Grocery Gathering and Grocery Deals for more savings on your other favorite stores

Frugal Summer Fun - from National Payday

Thank you to National Payday for this article.  National Payday has some great blogging articles about saving money.

Posted on April 7th, 2010 by admin in Budgets & Money Management, Just For Fun, Kids and Family, Saving Money

You might be wondering how you can afford a vacation this year, what with the fall out from the credit crisis. Things may be getting better, but you may still feel a bit uneasy about spending too much, particularly when it’s a non-essential like having fun. Don’t worry! You don’t have to give up taking some time to enjoy yourself, particularly when you focus on these family vacation ideas on a budget.


Get a Visitors Membership Pass

Many local attractions like museums and zoos offer an all-inclusive membership. By buying the membership, you can get access to other points of interest on your journey. The types of organizations that do these are usually museums, science centers, aquariums, and zoos. Anything historical or educational may have a membership pass, and it can also be discounted if you belong to a special demographic, like being a student or senior citizen.

Visit a New Fun Spot

Much of the joy of vacationing is just being somewhere different. Instead of going to the same old haunts, why not pick some out-of-the-way place that can offer you new memories? Maybe your want to visit Washington, D.C. instead of Acapulco, Mexico. Maybe you want to go to the mountains instead of the beach. By picking a new location, you may enjoy the scenery more and that’s free.

Go Camping

You can be adventuresome and sleep in a tent, or rent a RV and do it up in style. Depending on your budget and the size of your family, you can cave on lodging and eating out. In addition, you are right in the middle of the best attraction on Earth – Mother Nature. Just run the numbers before you commit to renting a recreational vehicle. You will want to know how much they charge for renting the vehicle, for miles, and for running the generator, and any other fees like sales tax. Don’t forget to include monies for fishing and gaming licenses, if that’s part of your wilderness adventure.

Plan Your Fun for Relaxing Times

You won’t be fishing, inner tubing, or cooking all the time. You can plan fun family activities like board games and craft projects in the times when you’re not outside. Having fun with the whole family doesn’t mean you have to spend any money at all. Save the budget for really special occasions.

Blog, Tweet, or Facebook Your Friends

There are plenty of wireless areas everywhere you go, and if you’re traveling with your laptop and a digital camera or camera phone it can be a great way to post pictures and keep your social network updated on your trip. You will find this not only helps you to look at everything with an appreciative eye, but also keeps the travel disasters on a humorous note to tell your friends later. It can also help to create a photo album of great memories as you go along, to look at later when the trip is finally over.

Northwest Grocery Party!!

This is your Northwest Grocery Store Summary
4/7/10 - 4/13/10 

Thank you to The Grocery Gathering, The Coupon Project,  Fistful of Coupons, and NW Deal Seeker for putting together all the great deals.

I will be updating WinCo on Thursday evening.

Albertson's

Fred Meyer

Safeway

WinCo Foods

Yoke's Fresh Market

If you do not see your store, go to the Grocery Gathering, they have them listed by state.

Yoke's Fresh Market 4/7 - 4/13

Yoke's Fresh board is good through Thursday 4/15

Printable Coupons:

Coupons.com

Red Plum Printables

Smart Source Printables

*($1/2 in 1/31 RP) means $1 off when you buy two products the coupon is in 1/31/10 coupon insert Red Plum.

These prices are good 4/7 - 4/13:
I have listed the items that I think are a pretty good deal.

Anjou Pears $.68 lb
Red Delicious Apples $.68 lb
English Cucumbers 5 for $5
Cross Rib Steaks $2.29 lb
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $2.29 lb
Pork Sirloin Chops $2.39 lb

General Mills Trix or Cocoa Puffs $1.98 ($1/3 in 3/28 SS)
Tillamook Ice Cream 3 for $10
Western Family Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup 2 for $.88
Yoplait Yogurt 10 for $6 ($.50/6 from coupons.com)
Totino's Party Pizza 2 for $3 ($1/5 in 3/28 SS)
Pillsbury Cookie Dough 2 for $5 ($1/2 from Coupons.com)
Crystal Light 2 for $7 ($1/1 in 3/21 SS)
Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad 4 for $5
All 2X Laundry Detergent 50oz $3.49

Fresh Friday - Good for 4/9 only!

Navel Oranges 3 for $1
T-Bone Steaks $5.99 lb
Extra Lean Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs $1.99lb
Super Lean Ground Beef $2.69 lb
Bailey's Big Buy Bacon 2 for $3
Broccoli or Cauliflower $.68 lb
Fresh Express Premium Salads or Spinach 3 for $5
Family Size Litehouse dressing $2.98 each ($.50/1 in 3/28 SS)
Reser's potato or macaroni salad $.99 lb
Jalapeno Sourdough Bread $1.99 each

April Monthly Sales

Tillamook Yogurt 10 for $5
Dreyer's YoCrunch Yogurt $2.69 ($.75/1 in 3/28 SS)
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars 2 for $5 ($3/5 coupon is Yoke's Monthly sales flier)
El Monterey Taquitos $6.79 ($1/1 in 3/7 RP)
Land O'Frost Premium Lunchmeat 2 for $6 ($.55/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tyson Chicken Strips, Wings, Bites $4.69 ($1/1 in 1/31 RP)
Tillamook Cheese Loaves 2lb $6.99

$5 Bargain Meals - Taco Cups

WinCo $5 Bargain Meals - all ingredients purchased at WinCo Foods

I am happy to participate in the 5 dollar dinners Bargain Meal of the Week.

For more low budget meals to go Bargain Meals and 1 trip, 1 bag, 5 dinners

Taco Cups (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef ($1.98)

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning Mix (McCormicks $.35)

1 can (10 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits ($1.38)

1/2 cup  KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese ($.70)

HEAT oven to 400°F. Cook meat with seasoning mix as directed on package.
PRESS biscuits onto bottoms and up sides of 10 muffin cups; fill with meat mixture.
BAKE 15 min. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 2 to 3 min. or until melted.

Total $4.41 and add Dole Salad mix for $.98, Totaling $5.39 

Thanks to Kraft for this recipe

My Grocery Shopping for 3/28 - 4/3

This week I stayed within my budget.
My Monthly Budget for our family of 4 is $500 ($125.00 a week)

Month:
$500 budget
$125.16 spent
$374.84 remaining

Weekly Shopping:
$125.16 spent ($125 weekly budget), just $.16 over budget
$94.13 in savings

Safeway Trip
I also purchased a ham that is not pictured

WinCo Foods






Yoke's Shopping Trip not pictured: I purchased 1lb Turkey Breast from the deli and a gallon of milk

80% of Restaurant.com gift certificates

Receive a $25 coupon for $2! Go to Restaurant.com and use promotion code CHOW to receive your 80% off. This promotion ends 4/6.  If you sign up with Restaurant.com you will receive e-mails with discount codes. Your gift certificate will come to you as an e-mail gift certificate. Print it out, bring it to the restaurant, and present it prior to ordering. Make sure you read all the fine print.  There is a minimum purchase of $35 to use your $25 certificate, which is easy to do.

I have used them twice now and have had no problems using them.  We plan on using another one this weekend.

Saturday we (my family of 4) went to RF McDougall's for dinner.  The original cost was 56.57 and we paid 31.57 (plus the $2 for the gift certificate). The bill should have been $24.82 but my husband wanted to splurge and buy a couple of beers. Going through the drive through at McDonalds it would have been an easy $20 for us; I would rather spend about $25 to eat out and have a nice meal.

Drug Store Deals - 4/4/10 - 4/10/10

The following blogs have gathered up your drug store deals.  Thank you to all the bloggers that put in the time to help us save money.

Walgreens - Frugal Coupon Living

Target -Stretching a Buck

Rite Aid - Deal Seeking Mom

Fred Meyer - Coupon Connections NW

Walgreen's Register Rewards

 I was in Walgreen's the other day and a customer was trying to use her Register Rewards (RR) with some manufacturer coupons and the customer and cashier couldn't figure out why the RR wouldn't work.  I couldn't help but to let them know that RR's are like manufacturer coupons and you can't have more manufacturer coupons than items.  I explained how you can use a filler item.  A filler item is an item that costs a small amount like $.25 but you can use your RR because you will have the same amount of items as you do coupons (does that make sense? 4 items 4 manufacturer coupons).  The only time you can use two coupons per item is when it's a Walgreen's coupon and a manufacturer coupon. Have the cashier run the Manufacturer coupons first so the machine doesn't beep at them. Normally you can't purchase the same item you received the RR for (if you received a RR for Tylenol you can't buy another Tylenol and receive another RR).

Today I purchased baby wipes 2 for $4  and used 2 $2 RR, so I actually paid $.33 for two tubs of baby wipes. Very cool.
 
Go to NW Coupon Lady Coupon 101 for more couponing information and Common Sense With Money has a great article on Walgreen's.

WinCo Food Sales 4/1 - 4/7

WinCo sales for Thursday, April 1st (prices gathered from the Richland, WA store). Each store varies in prices but they should be pretty close.

Richland, WA WinCo does take printable coupons, I use them each week.
I am matching up current coupons in our area with WinCo's low prices as well as listing sale items.

Good buy this week is Tillamook Ice Cream for $3.38

Powerade $.88 and they came with a coupon buy 10 and receive 5 free, if there are no more coupons left on the display ask the manager.

Buy your milk at WinCo it's $1.98
Pepsi is on sale for $2.75 12 pack
Oakdell Eggs $.98 a dozen


Printable Coupons:
Coupons.com
Red Plum Printables
Smart Source Printables

Insert information: SS= Smart Source, RP = Red Plum, GM = General Mills

Coupon information: $2.00/1 = $2 off 1 item

Here is the link for you to print out: NW Coupon Lady WinCo Foods 

Also see BeCentsable's Grocery Gathering and Grocery Deals for more savings on your other favorite stores

Northwest Grocery Party!!

This is your Northwest Grocery Store Summary
3/31/10 - 4/6/10 

Thank you to The Grocery Gathering, The Coupon Project,  Fistful of Coupons, and NW Deal Seeker for putting together all the great deals.

I will be updating WinCo on Thursday evening.

Albertson's

Fred Meyer

Safeway

WinCo Foods

Yoke's Fresh Market

If you do not see your store, go to the Grocery Gathering, they have them listed by state.