Giveaway

I have a few goodies to giveaway here!

First off, I won 2 1 hour Free WiFi hours at McDonalds by playing the Monopoly game. If you would like 1 please leave a comment with your email address, or send me a message at myspotwebmaster@yahoo.com

Second, I have some coupons to give away: I am a member of Pssst, and can send 8 people a link for $1 off 4 cups of Yoplait yogurt, and 8 people a coupon for Progresso Soup (I believe it's for $1.10 off) If you would like these coupons, please leave a comment with which coupon you would like (or both) and an email address. You can also send me a message at myspotwebmaster@yahoo.com

This giveaway will be first come - first served

***Update: It appears that I can send an unlimited amount of coupons for the Yoplait and Progresso Soup, so if you haven't asked for 1 yet, continue to do so! The 2 hours of WiFi are still available!

Free Idahoan Potatoes

You can get a coupon for a free product if you go to this website and click print coupon. Tell them you have never tried their products before otherwise you will get a coupon for .75¢/3

Kraft Food and Family Magazine

You can preview the upcoming issue of the Kraft Food and Family Magazine here. It is full of delicious looking recipies, and introduces new products that can now be found on store shelves!



The Kraft Food and Family Magazine is a free publication that is sent out quarterly. It often times has coupons in it for free items. If you have not done so already, click here to sign up to start receiving this great magazine.

HEB Deals 10/29 - 11/4

These deals are only valid for the stores listed below:

14498 Bellaire Blvd. & 3111 Woodbridge

These prices are valid 10/29 - 11/4

•Meal Deal - Buy Oscar Meyer Lunch Meat and Oscar Meyer Beef, Cheese or Fat Free Franks and get: Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese, Kraft Stove Top Stuffing Mix Quick Cups, Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip, Jell-O Singles, Kraft Easy Mac Cups

Combo Locos

• Buy Nestle Coffee Mate powdered Creamer, get 10.3 -11.3 oz Folgers Coffee free

Use this $1 off coupon for a better deal

• Buy Kraft Velveeta Cheese, get HEB Tortilla Chips free

•Buy Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip, get Hill Country Fare Foam Plates free

•Buy Nabisco Ritz Crackers for Kraft Salad dressing free

•Buy Planters Mixed Nuts, get Nabisco Wheat Thins free

•Buy Fast Fixin' Chicken or Beef, get Big Red or Diet Big Red free

Use this $1 off coupon (sign up for the Fanatic Club and get 5 $1 off coupons)

•Buy Opa's Country Blend smoked Sausage, get Mission Tortillas 10ct. free

•Buy Bolthouse Farms Mini Carrots, get Fresh Express Cole Slaw free

•Buy Gain Laundry Detergent (150oz or 120 loads), get Gain Liquid Fabric Softener free

•Buy Tide (48-65 loads), get Downy Liquid Fabric Softener free

Other Good Deals

•Pork Spareribs .99¢/lb

•Red Seedless Grapes .77¢/lb

•Hill Country Fare Milk $2.99 (Limit 2, with additional $10 purchase)

•Pepsi (& assorted varieties) 12pk 4 for $11 with in store coupon

•Wholly Guacamole 7oz .99¢

Use the $1 off coupon from the 10/5 SS

Final Price = free

•Kraft BBQ Sauce .79¢

Kroger Deals 10/29 - 11/4

Prices valid 10/29 - 11/4

Please note: My store will triple coupons up to .39¢ and double .40¢ - .50¢

•Fritos or Cheetos (8.5 - 11oz) $1.27

•M&M, Mars, Hershey or Nestle fun size candy $1.47 (There is a catalina deal for the Hershey's Candy, when you buy $15 you will get $5 off of your next purchase)

•Oscar Meyer Franks are 2 for $4 (8 hour sale Oct 30 4pm - midnight)

•Kroger Buns .50¢ (8 hour sale Oct 30 4pm - midnight)

•Big K 2ltr Soda (8 hour sale Oct 30 4pm - midnight)

•Tombstone Pizzas $1.99 (8 hour sale Oct 30 4pm - midnight)

•Hormel Meat and Cheese Party Trays $8.99 (8 hour sale Oct 30 4pm - midnight)

•Dr. Pepper 2ltr .79¢ when you buy 5

•Buy 2 56oz Private Selection Ice Cream Tubs and get a free 12 pk of A&W, Sunkisk, or Big Red

•12 pk Coke, Diet Coke or Coke Zero 3 for $10 (price good only if you buy 3)

•Purex Laundry Detergent $2.50

Use the $1 off coupon from 10/5 SS

Final price $1.50

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls $1.52

Use one of the many .35¢ off coupons

Final Price .47¢

Kellogs Pop Tarts $1.69

Use $1/2 coupon from 10/12 RP

Final Price $1.19

Yoplait Yogurt .55¢ ea

Use the $1/4 coupon here

Final price .30¢ ea

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner $5.49

Load the B1G1 Free Coupon to your card here

Use 2 of the $1 off coupons from the 9/28 PG insert

Final price $3.49 or $1.75 ea

Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner $2.49

Load the $2 off 2 coupon to your card here

Use the $3 off 2 coupon from the 10/12 PG insert

Final price = Free + .02¢ overage

•Don't forget if you have an Entertainment Book with Kroger coupons in it they expire October 31st

•Also, don't forget to check the "Oops we baked too much" rack to start stocking up on breads for Thanksgiving - just put these in your freezer and take them out the day before you need them

Free Turtke Chex Mix bar

You can get a free Turtle Chex Mix Bar by signing up for the Betty Crocker newsletter here

Fiber One Cereal Sample

Click here to get your free sample of Fiber One Cereal

Quick Kroger Trip

I went to Kroger this afternoon since I didn't make it on Friday, here's how I did:

•2 Texas Toast Bread ($1 off 2 coupon + $1 loaded to card)

•2 Green Giant Boxed veggies (2 - .25¢ coupons)

• Active Lifestyle oatmeal (was free with Cellfire coupon)
•Old fashioned oats

•Kroger Plain yogurt

•4 Suave Body Wash (used 2 B1G1 free coupons)

•2 Covergirl Mascara (they were priced at $4.21 - used B1G1 free from P&G ecoupon and 2 $1 off any product coupons)

•Febreeze Noticeables Starter Kit (On sale for $6.99 and used $5 P&G ecoupon and $5 coupon from insert)

•2 Bounty Basic Paper Towels (Used 2 - .25¢ coupons)

•Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls (Used .30¢ coupon from insert and .50¢ coupon loaded to card)

• 2 Sunday Papers because I didn't make it to the dollar store in time :(

Total cost: $11.67

Total Savings: $36.77

(My digital camera is currently broken, so please excuse the picture above, it was taken on my phone)

Are you prepared?

Hurricane Ike has left some lasting effects on many people in Galveston/Houston and surrounding areas. I was in an area that did not have extreme damage or extended periods without electricity, but since that day my mind keeps thinking about how bad it could have been and how unprepared we really are.

I found a blog called Totally Ready, and it teaches you how to be prepared for ANY situation, whether it be a hurricane, a snow storm, a flash flood or fire. The great thing about this site is that it takes you by the hand and gives you 7 steps to do every week to become more prepared in case of a disaster. It appears that the blogger has a mindset for frugality as well!

Most other websites that have preparedness materials either want you to purchase a prepacked kit (that usually doesn't have everything you need), or pay a subscription fee. This material is free, and encouraged to be shared with family and friends! Totally Ready also shares how to save money on necessary items you should have in your preparedness kit.

I recommend that everyone go over to Totally Ready and take a look around. It does not matter what part of the country you live in, a natural or manmade disaster can happen without warning. You may not want to go as far and complete every step that is suggested, but even just doing some of them will have you more prepared if something happens without warning. Taking a few steps now can make a world of difference later.

Free Popeyes Chicken

When you sign up for the Popeyes Customer Club you will get a free 2 piece dinner and a meal on your birthday! This offer is only for a few states but Texas is included. I am not sure whether the coupon that arrives via email will work at all locations, but it worth a try.

Free Taco Bell

Taco Bell will be giving away a free crunchy seasoned beef taco on Tuesday October 28th between 2 and 6 pm. This is part of their Steal a Base, Steal a Taco promotion, to read further details, click here

Free Samples

Free sample of Kotex...as if we don't have enough already :)

Get your free sample of Pantene Highlighting Expressions here

Free sample of Vaseline Intensive Rescue lotion

Sample Orville Redenbachers Popcorn Cakes here (link is at bottom right)

Dunkin Donuts Dark Coffee Sample

I have been MIA

I want to apologize for not updating the blog consistantly. I have a full time job, I am a college student, and I have daily obligations to keep my life running smoothly. I want to help everyone by posting great deals and ways to save money, and just letting you guys know how things are going in my life, but I want to say that blogging is not my top priority. It is not a job for me, I do not blog for money, although there are a couple of affiliate programs I have on the sidebars, it does not pay my bills.

Things have been hectic lately for me, especially during this past week, but they are settling down and I am working out a better schedule to incorporate more time to consistantly have new material posted here.

I want to thank all of you who are reading this for sticking with me over the past couple weeks when things have been slow here. Also as another side note, my camera is not working at the moment, so until I get it fixed or get a new one I will try to take better ones' on my phone.

My Menu plan

Most people plan their menus for a Sunday through Saturday week. Well, I plan my menus for a Thursday - Wednesday week (it follows along with my Kroger sales better)

I actually did my grocery shopping for this menu last Thursday and Friday, Here's what we are having this week:

Chicken, corn and black bean Quesadillas

BLT with Avacado and broccoli on the side (I make mine with Turkey bacon to try and keep it healthy

Tacos & Spanish rice

Chicken Pockets (I'll post the recipe when I make them this week) and veggies

Chicken Tenders and Suddenly Salad

Grilled Cheese w/ bacon (again I used Turkey bacon) & chips

Baked Potatoes

I don't assign meals to a specific night of the week, I ask my love the night before what he wants for dinner and take out the necessary frozen ingredients before we go to sleep.

Want to see what the grocery shopping looked like for the meals above? After taking into consideration what I already have on hand in the pantry and freezer, I made my shopping list and spent just over $24 on everything I needed and added a lot of pasta and veggies to my stockpile (Please excuse the blurry pictures, I took them with my phone because I cannot find my battery charger for the camera since I moved)

In the picture above there is 9 bags of Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers (paid $.22 ea)

6 boxes of Ronzoni Smart Tast Paste (paid $.50 ea)

1 Bag rice, 1 Bag red beans

1 jar of Miracle Whip, Tortillas, Cream Cheese

In the picture above there is a head of lettuce, a tomato, an avocado, crescent rolls, and bacon

In the picture above there are 7lbs of grapes and a colgate toothpaste I bought at Target for $1.45

New Coupons

Some very good new coupons have been released :

$1 off Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour

$1.75 off Reynolds Parchment Paper, there is also a $1.25 off coupon at coupons.com

$2 off Honey Bunches of Oats, Just Bunches

Right @ Home released some new coupons and when you combine them with the Walgreens Easy Saver Rebates this month, you can get many items for free:

You can get a Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner for free when you combine this $10 off coupon and complete the ESR form.

You can get the Scrubbing bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel, Bathroom cleaner, Fantastic, or Windex and make $.50 in the process, just combine this $2 off coupon with the $1 ESR

You can also get free Shout wipes when you combine this $1.50 off coupon with the $1 ESR

Make sure you take note of the maximum quantities that are allowed for the rebate, and keep your receipts until filling out that rebate form!!! The Walgreens deals are good through 10/11, so if you can, head out tomorrow and snag up some free cleaners!

Movie Night Monday

There is a new code valid for today only. You can use this code once per credit/check card.
DGM314
Be sure to return the movie before 9pm tomorrow night to avoid being charged.

Free Deodorant

Click here to get a free sample of Degree Ultra Clear, courtsey of Sam's Club

Black Bean Brownies...

I found a recipe for Black Bean Brownies here a few months ago, and was hesitant to try them out. I checked back to the site I found that recipe, and there were a lot of comments saying that they were dee-lish!

I made them last night, and let me tell you, they were great! My love told me that from now on he wants beans in his brownies lol. They come out really moist and fudgy, and you cannot taste beans at all!

Here's how I made them:

•Drain and wash 1 15oz can of Black beans

•Puree them in the food processor (or you can use a blender)

•Pour brownie mix in bowl, add beans to the mix

•Add 1/4 cup water, stir and bake in a 9x9 pan according to the box directions or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean

Total cost for these brownies = .20¢

A couple of Target Deals

Grapes are $1 per pound right now
Use this $1 off Target coupon
Final price = Free

Horizon Organic Milk (8oz) $1
Use this $1 off Target coupon
Final Price = Free

Colgate Total Toothpaste 2 for $5
Use $1.50 off coupon from recent All You Magazine
Use $1 off Target coupon from recent insert
Final price = Free

I made a cold decision...

.....To buy a deep freeze, that is. I have been wanting a small deep freeze for some time now, and didn't really have a place to put it. Well now that we are all settled into our new apartment, I found a spot to reserve for this freezer.

The most exciting part about it, was that it only cost me $10 for a brand new - in the box - Frigidaire freezer. My love's father told us that he would pay $xx amount toward a freezer for our housewarming gift, which left a difference of $10. This is only a 5 cubic foot freezer, but it is perfect for the amount of space we have and our needs.

It may look small, but there is a ton of room inside.

Aside from acquiring this at a frugal price, the Energy guide sticker says that it only uses about $22 per year to run.

Your turn:

Do you have a deep freeze? Has it been cost effective to have it?

Save A Lot Deals

For the first time ever last week, I went to check out a Save A Lot store. I noticed they had some good prices on a few things, but mostly it was brands I have never heard of or things I wouldn't even use. I noticed the store has pretty good prices and a good selection on the international foods. The store also has a small meat department, but I noticed that the meat didn't look quite right, almost like it had been thawed out and refrozen.

I received a circular for the store closest to me in the mail for the first time yesterday (it's like they knew I went there, and now they want me back). I will continue to post the deals I see, if I get an ad that week.

For this ad, I am only considering items that are sold at all stores (ie: well known brands, produce and meat). With that said, there are only a few items worth mentioning, so if this store is not a regular stop in your grocery shopping, I personally would not drive out of the way to go there.

•Pork Boston Butt Roast .99¢/lb
•Split Chicken Breast .88¢/lb
•Cilantro 3/.99¢
•Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix 3/$1

•Last week I noticed they have the big bag (98ct.) of Fisherboy Fish Sticks for $4.99, I am not sure if that was a sale or the regular price.

Your turn: I have a few questions...

Have you shopped at a Save A Lot? How was your experience there? Was the meat fresh looking? Do you know their coupon policy? Please leave your feedback in the comments below :)

Kroger Deals 10/1 - 10/7

Here are the best deals I see for Kroger this week. This sale ad comes from the Houston/Sugar Land area. Just a reminder that my stores triple coupons up to .39¢ and double up to .50¢.

•Grands biscuits $1
You can load a .30¢ off coupon to your Kroger card here

•Split chicken breast .99¢/lb

•Banquet Dinners .91¢

•Broccoli Crowns .97¢/lb

•Kroger Buns $1

•Coke 12 pks 3 for $11
You can get a $1 off 1 12pk by redeeming 35 points from your MyCokeRewards account (get a 2nd coupon by pressing the back button)
Final Price if you have the coupon is $2.66 ea

•Dannon Activia or DanActive 2 for $4
Use the $1 off 1 coupon from the 9/21 SS
Final Price = $1

•Pillsbury Crescent or Cinnamon Rolls 3 for $5
Use the .30¢ off coupon from the 9/7 SS
Final price = .76¢

•Betty Crocker Cake Mix $1

•Progresso Light Soups 4 for $5
Use this $1.25 coupon
Final price = Free
(This coupon says broth, but works on the soup, I used it at Wal-mart with no problems)

•Pillsbury frozen breakfast items (ie: Eggo's, Toaster Strudel) 2 for $4
Use the .35¢ coupon from the 9/7 SS
Final Price = .95¢ ea

•Michelina's Frozen Entrees .88¢
Use this $1/5 off coupon
Final price if you buy 5 = .68¢ea

•Owen's Breakfast Sausage 2 for $5
This is the cheapest it gets at this store
Use the .35¢ off coupon from the 9/7 SS
Final price = $1.45

•Avacados .59¢ea

HEB Deals

Here are the best deals I see for this week at HEB
(Sale dates and locations will be up after noon)

•10% off Hill Country Fare Baking Supplies (ie: flour, sugar, pie crusts, etc...)
•White seedless grapes .77¢/lb
•Chicken drumsticks or thighs .77¢/lb (with additional $10 purchase)
•Suave body wash .80¢
•Buy Nestea tea and get HEB Nacho or Ranch pack
•Buy Kool-Aid Jammers and get HEB flavored tortilla chips (HEB brand of doritos)
•Buy Fisherboy Fishsticks and get 64oz milk & Choco milk additive
•Buy La Vaquita Queso Fresco Mexicano get Guerro White Corn Tortillas
•Buy Mission Spicy bean dip and get HEB Potato Chips
•Buy Wright thick sliced bacon and get Simply Potatoes
•Cucumbers 3/$1
•Bunch Cilantro .39¢ea
•Buy 2lb carrots and get Russet Potatoes
•Pepsi 12pk products are 3/$11, (if you buy 3 in 1 transaction you get a Free Diet Pepsi Max

Food A Rama Deals

Here are the best deals I see from the store circular:

•Pork Spare Ribs .99¢/lb (limit 1 with additional $10 purchase)
•Persian Limes 12/$1
•Avocados 2/$1
•Lay's Potato Chips $1.99
•Angel Soft Toilet Paper .79¢ with additional $10 purchase
•Borden 1/2 gallon Orange Juice $1.00 with additional $10 purchase
•Joy dish liquid .69¢ with in store coupon
•Betty Crocker Cake Mix $1
•8ct. Maggi Bouillon .39¢ with in store coupon