Coupon Overage and Rebate Deals

Its been a few weeks since I went to Walmart to take advantage of their new coupon policy, so I had a few coupons I wanted to use. Similac ready to feed bottles were on sale for $3.84. Paired with the $5 off coupon from the 4/3 Smart Source insert to get them for free plus $1.16 of overage to put towards the rest of your total.

I also noticed these new Gerber Graduates breakfast bowls with a 'Try Me Free' rebate offer on the package. I'm guessing that you can find these at other places than Walmart, so keep your eyes open!

Spring Cleaning

I'm not exactly sure what it is about the change of seasons that makes me want to deep clean everything! Since spring (and even summer...it was over 80 yesterday!) seems to be here for good now, I've been taking care of a bunch of things around the house. One of the biggest tasks is cleaning our carpets!

Last year I borrowed my grandmother's carpet cleaner to deep clean the entire house. I mentioned then that I wanted to put this task on my calendar twice a year. Well, that didn't happen in the fall (probably because of the arrival of our baby boy), but I borrowed her cleaner again this year. Its been getting quite the workout the past few weeks since we are in the process of potty training my daughter.

I am always amazed and grossed out by how much dirt the carpet cleaner gets up!

This year I have noticed that things are not quite as dirty...I think its because my Dyson is getting the job done way better than our old vacuum! I am really happy to see the difference. It was a big investment to buy an expensive vacuum, but I believe that it has been worth the extra money to keep things clean and maintained.

Have you been giving in to the spring cleaning itch lately?

Food Waste Friday

Every Friday, I join with The Frugal Girl and other bloggers to clean out my fridge and freezer and take a picture of anything that has gone bad over the last week. This holds me accountable to faithfully check every week, and motivates me to use up our leftovers. This has made a huge difference in the amount of food we waste every week. I encourage you to participate with me in food waste Friday, too!

This first picture was not my fault...these bean sprouts got all slimy before their sell by date. I could have taken them back to the store, but the time and gas to get my money back for $2 of sprouts just would not have made sense.

Now, on to our real food waste! We have a few dried out and beginning to grow fuzz pancakes, some carrot soup, and homemade (even the stock) chicken noodle soup. The chicken noodle soup sat out at work with my husband back when he was fighting the flu and now has nice little mold spots. I tried to eat the carrot soup this week (it is one of my new favorite recipes), but it had separated and the texture was really off.

 

Whew! We'll hope to turn things around this coming week! Happy Easter - have a wonderful weekend!

Passing on Freebies

In light of the many free opportunities over the next few days, I wanted to share a few thoughts. I don't take advantage of every freebie I find (or even all of the ones I post here!). Depending on what is being offered for free, I consider what it is going to cost me to get that freebie before I dive right in.

Have you been enjoying free iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts every Monday? I've only been once! Why? Monday is usually my home day where I try to get things in order from the weekend. Since I don't usually plan to be out on Mondays, it would be a special trip for me to go get coffee. With the price of gas skyrocketing, it would cost me about as much to drive to Dunkin Donuts for my "free" coffee as it would to buy a coffee the next time I drove past a store.

The Rite Aid I use is across town, and I often find myself tempted to make a special trip for a small free item. If I know I am going to be near the store, it may be worth it for me to stop in Rite Aid. But I have to consider the time it takes to get my two small children out of the car for a special stop. Maybe the same item costs me a dollar or two more at another store, but it saves me the time of that extra stop, as well as the gas to get there.

Sometimes a sale (or freebie) is good enough to make a special trip. I've gotten a lot better about calling ahead to make sure its in stock in those situations, which saves me time, money on gas, and a lot of frustration!

I'll be getting my free Starbucks tomorrow on my way to our Easter party, but I'll probably not be able to get a free tree from Lowes.

What freebies do you choose not to grab? How do you capitalize on freebies - combining errands? having a friend pick something up for you? walking?

Earth Day Freebies

There are tons of opportunities to get freebies this week because of businesses promoting Earth Day, but my favorite is always Starbucks! I love coffee, and you sure can't beat free! Bring in your own mug on Friday and get a free cup of coffee.

Another great freebie is from Lowes - on Saturday (April 23) get a free evergreen! They will be little, but what a cool idea! (Thanks, Moms Need To Know!)

Free Allegra

My copy of the Delaware News Journal this week had this $5 coupon for Allegra:

Use the coupon to get a 5 pack of Allegra for free at Acme this week! I am so thankful that no one in my family suffers from allergies, but I am planning to pick up a free box anyway and give it away to someone who can use it. I know that allergy medication is expensive!

Thanks to Moms Need to Know what spotted this steal!

Baked Ziti (in the crockpot!) Recipe

I pulled this recipe out of my copy of All You last summer, and we've enjoyed it many times since! You do not have to cook the pasta ahead of time, which is a great time-saver and means less dishes to wash. I also love that this doesn't have to cook all day. You can throw everything together at 3pm and still have a hot dinner on the table!

The last time I made this, I changed things up and used cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese. The taste was very similar, and I probably would not have even noticed if I had not know that it was cottage cheese. Since ricotta can be pricey, this is a great money saving alternative!

Slow-Cooker Baked Ziti (via All You)

1 15-oz container part-skim ricotta (or try cottage cheese!)

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. ziti

2 25-oz jars marinara sauce (I used my homemade sauce, naturally)

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil leaves (I used dry)

 

Combine all three cheeses and salt in a medium bowl. Rinse ziti under cold water in a colander, allowing some water to cling to the pasta.

 

Mist inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Place half of the pasta in an even layer over bottom of cooker. Spoon half of the sauce over pasta. Dot with half the cheese mixture and half of basil. Repeat with remaining pasta, sauce, cheese and basil.

Pour in 2/3 cup water. Cover and cook on high until pasta is tender, 2 to 3 hours.

We love to round out this kind of meal with a nice salad and some fresh bread!