want free GROCERIES

ok the time is here again. US Bank is offering $75 in free groceries for opening up a FREE checking account. I took advantage of this offer last time and I am going to send my husband to take advantage this time.
What I did..... I opened up the account with $100, then they sent me a debit/credit card. I planned my shopping trip so well that I spent $77.80, paid with the card (with no pin). Once I got done paying I got my cart and moved over to the US Bank line in my Smiths store. I gave them the receipt, and they reimbursed me $75 the next day. Now that is not my primary account. That money is just sitting there. I only use that account if I am at Smiths and need to cash a check etc.

Take advantage of this and get some FREE groceries!!!!

Taco Soup Recipe

1 lb of Ground beef
1 onion chopped.
Brown beef and onion, drain

Put into a pot with the following
DO NOT DRAIN THE CANS JUST POUR THEM IN
1 15oz can corn
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 15oz can refried beans
1 15oz can chili beans
1 15oz can kidney beans
1 4 oz diced chilies
1 pk taco seasoning
1 pk Hidden Valley Ranch mix (NOT BUTTER MILK)

bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes

Most of these cans have been part of the case lot sale at Smiths in the fall and spring. Start saving so that you can stock up if you like the soup. Very filling, inexpensive, and feeds many.
Enjoy.

weekly ads July 22 - July 28th

Hi everyone,
I have been so busy last week that I didn't post the ads or what I was planning on purchasing, but I can tell you now what I purchased and 99% of it is on sale this week again at Smiths. So here goes......
Smiths is having a mix and match 10. If you purchase 10 items within the program they will take $5 off your order at checkout. Up to 30 items per transaction.
milk 1.89

What caught my eye in the mix and match with the $5 off were....
Tombstone pizzas (normally $4.40 ea) 2.49
Cream cheese 1.29
Kraft cheese 1.49
2 liters Coke/7up .79
Jif Peanut butter 1.49
Welchs jelly 1.49
sunny D .79
Betty Crocker brownie mix .88 coupons.com and smartsource print out the .75/2 coupons

Albertsons
when you buy 4 GM cereals select varieties they will come out to be 1.50 ea. Go to coupons.com and smartsource they have coupons for cheerios .55 off etc.


Nothing else really caught my eye. Last week I took advantage of the mix and match and feel that I am stocked up for a while.
For example this is what I purchased / coupons I used last week. (I have my Smiths receipt right here.

BC brownie mix (6) $.75 off had 2 of them (making 4 of them 1.01 for 2)
Croutons
cream cheese
crescent rolls (2)
kraft cheese (2) $1 off (making them $1 each)
Krogar yogart (6)
Mushrooms
Milk (3)
Sunny D coupons for .25 off (making it .54)
Tombstone pizzas (10) these are emergency dinners for my DH and I thought it was going to be a good deal to get the cereals on sale but I read the ad wrong and I needed to get extra of other things to get the mix and match 10.
I was sent a coupon from Smiths that if I purchased $50 of product that I would get $5 off my purchase. I was at $49 something so I grabbed some candy bars to get me over the $50 mark.
After all my items and coupons I spent $44.54 and saved 39.50 I am totally stocked up on these items and if there is a potluck that I need to bring a dessert I am ready with the brownies. LOL

when you see my items you think.... what in the world is she going to cook this week. Well, I just needed these items to go with the items I already have in the pantry/freezer/frig.


Have a great week and I hope this helps someone.

How I personally shop and the weekly ads

I am going to start all over and try and explain things better. I have decided, because my DH is on commission and his paycheck is different each and every week, that I want to have 3 months of food in my freezer, pantry and/or frig at all times. That way if his check is very low etc I will be able to feed my family and not worry about it. I started with a spreadsheet that I found on a website called www.foodstoragemadeeasy.net the link for the spreadsheet I am using is http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/fsme/docs/3monthfoodsupply-new.xls. On the food storage made easy site it will have a video tutorial to explain how to use the spreadsheet. I personally don't have 30 dinners on my list at this time but I have 19 and I'm working on having all the ingredients for those 19 for 3 months. So I would look at that list and see if any of the ingredients that I need are on sale this week. This week at Food 4 Less (http://food4less1.inserts2online.com/customer_Frame.jsp?divID=704&drpStoreID=00516) they have Tilapia (3lb) and Catfish (2.5 lb) bags on sale for $8.98. Which is a great deal! They are individually wrapped and frozen for convenience. I know that we eat fish about once or twice a week and my spreadsheet says that I need 15 fillets of catfish so I am going to pick up 3 bags since it is a great deal. Tilapia says I need 15 as well but I have 9 so I will just pick up 1 bag, to make those two items complete. I am only getting these items right now because they are usually $11-13 a bag so $8.98 is a great savings. While I am at Food4Less I see in the ad that if I purchase $25 (I will with the fish) I can use a coupon for $.39 tuna can limit 4. I don't NEED tuna right now but $.39 is a great deal so I will pick those up too. Same with the Gatorade $.49 and the dozen eggs $.69. I can't really tell you when I am going to eat each item I am purchasing this week but I can tell you that when we are craving fish or eggs etc we will have them in the house. Krogar canned veggies are $.58 that is a great price. That is the price I think we paid during the case lot sale in April. (back then I got 2 cases of Corn and one case of Green Beans. I don't have to worry about whether or not I have those on hand. :D )

Same goes for the other stores..... Albertsons (which I am surprised) made my shopping list this week,(http://albertsons.shoplocal.com/albertsons/default.aspx?action=nuep&CityStateZip=89108) has a 3 day special going on Friday - Sunday.... 6oz blueberries of $.99, Mission chips $.99 and Pepsi 24pk $4.99. My DH likes to have a Pepsi every once in a while so I am just picking them up to be nice. :D The chips can be a nice treat with tacos & nachos. etc. (OK with the Nachos they are a must but you know what I mean) Blueberries are just a nice and refreshing treat so I am picking them up. OHHHH I almost forgot. My family probably goes through about 2-3 boxes of cereal a week. Albertsons also has General Mills cereals: Multi grain and honey nut Cheerios, cinnamon toast crunch, cookie crisp, golden grahams, cocoa puffs, fruit gushers, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, and fruit by the roll on sale for $1.88 each. If you go on www.coupons.com or www.smartsource.com you can print up coupons for the cereals and fruit snacks etc. Their is no limit to the sale price and you don't have to by a bunch to qualify, but if you buy 4 in one transaction then you will get a coupons/voucher for a free one night RED BOX movie rental. With the coupons I found, $.75 a box for the Cheerios and the $1.00 for 2 fruit snacks I feel that this is a Fantastic deal. I will probably get as many as I have coupons for. The Chicken breasts for $1.89 are a good price too. I already have 20 breasts in my freezer so I am not going to pick anymore up but that is a great price.

Smiths (http://smithsfdsmail.com/15d67c072layfousia6ix52qaaaaabbz5zgcbpzbhmmyaaaaa) seems to always have my staples. Milk $1.89, yogurt $.40, eggs $.99 (but I am getting mine at Food4Less) 16oz cheese they are advertising it in 2 places in this weeks ad, one says 2-$5 and the other says $2.99 I am confused but I WILL be getting mine for the cheaper price. Sour cream and cottage cheese $1, corn dogs (which is an emergency meal for the kids) $3.99. Seems like Smiths is lower in prices everyday then the others, unless they are having a great sale.

Vons (the link is not coming up for me so I can't post it for you) has been doing great lately but maybe the fact that I have alot of "stock" or they just don't have that much on sale this week. The only thing that even caught my attention was the 3 day sale of Cocoa Krispes for $.99 limit 1. I don't know if I am going to go all the way to Vons for that but it is a really good deal.

Again, I plan my meals based on what is on sale this week and getting a little extra for the next time. I didn't start off getting 20 chicken breasts. I just get a little more each time they are on sale and now I have 20. I do have a monthly grocery budget and I am staying within that. I am not going into debt to accomplish this. I am only checking out that ads and working my meals and planning ahead. Last week because I didn't really see anything that I really needed on sale I only spent $5 on our groceries. we still had great meals. and we still had great meals this week.

I have also started to use this same plan with non-food items. If toothpaste is on sale for $1 and I have a coupon to make that half or FREE then I get as many as I can. I personally have 14 tubes of toothpaste in my house right now, because they were free. Same with Shampoo and Conditioner, I found a killer deal and stocked up. I think I have about 14 shampoos and 11 Conditioners and each bottle was only $.46. I could not pass that up.

Hopefully that will help you understand why I shop the way I do. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.

Smiths

I am not sure if this will work but here is the link to this weeks Smiths ad. http://smithsfdsmail.com/1be73f426layfousia6ix52yaaaaabbz5zgcbpzbhmmyaaaaa

I personally didn't find that much on sale but I will talk more about that tomorrow.


Have a great night!

Store Brand vs Name Brand

I am not sure if everyone knows this or not but pretty much everything that is a store brand is a name brand coming off the same line. They just change the stickers to the store name for their labeling.


Thanks ~:>W

Ads July 1 - 8th

Happy 4th of July!



Vons -
Ballpark franks $.99
Corn on the cob 4- $.99
Hamburger and Hotdog buns are $.79

Smiths
Ground beef $1.89lb
Corn on the cob 4- $1.00
Eggs dozen $.99
Cottage Cheese, sour cream, dips Krogar brand $1.00
Krogar Cheese 8oz 3-$5
hot dogs beef select varieties 50% off
Watermelon 3lbs for $.99
Alot of the same mix and match 10 are the same from last week with an exception to the Gatorade. The price will be $.70 each after the instant rebate at the checkstand instead of $.58
8 Weeks of Savings
Sobe $.89
Charmin Big roll $4.79
Pork loin $2.29lb
Land O Frost Lunchmeat $3.49 each
Cottage bread $1.25
Skittles and Starbursts $1.47
Salemville Gorgonzola or Blue cheese $1.99ea
Kraft singles 12oz 2-$3.00 (I believe from now until the 12th they are having a promotion
that if you purchase 5 Kraft cheese products you will get a coupon for $$ off your next
purchase)

Albertsons
Is having a promotion this week if you purchase $50 in one transaction between July 1st - July 4th you will get a coupon for 10% off your next shopping trip. I really tried to find things to purchase there but once again the prices there are so much more then Smiths and Vons it just is not worth it to me.

Hope this helps your shopping trip this week. Have a great holiday weekend.