Frugal Follies

List and Enter Giveaways 5-29-12 (Fortune Follies Tuesday)

2012-05-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Fortune Follies Tuesday for May 22nd, where bloggers can list their giveaways, and readers can enter them!

Be sure to enter these giveaways hosted by Frugal Follies:

NutriVerus real nutrition powder 30-day supply - ends 5/30

Publix $25 gift card - ends 5/31

Bella Viva dried fruit and nut assortment - ends 6/6

5 free product coupons for Honey Bunches of Oats - ends 6/7

$500 cash - ends 6/29

Please link up your giveaways using the following format: Blog Name - Name of Contest - End Date. Please link directly to your giveaway and not to your home page. A link back to Frugal Follies is always appreciated!

Also, if you have a list of sites which have giveaway linkies, please add Frugal Follies to your list. I'd appreciate it!

And if you have a giveaway linky that's not already on my Giveaway Linkup List, please let me know about it in the comments, and I'll add it to my list and link up my giveaways there as well.

If you're reading this post via email or a reader, click here for the list of giveaways.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Dole fruit coupons and more!

2012-05-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

Here are the latest e-coupons from SavingStar. Visit now and download these coupons to your store loyalty card - when you purchase the products, you'll earn in your SavingStar account.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

More Lean Cuisine coupons

2012-05-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

I know all of you love those Lean Cuisine coupons. Here's another for you!

55¢ off when you buy THREE LEAN CUISINE® varieties

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Coffee and tea coupons

2012-05-28T21:29:00.000-04:00

Here are some great coffee and tea coupons from Coupon Network!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Win a Kindle Fire!

2012-05-28T09:19:00.002-04:00

I know all of you love to enter giveaways, right? Would you like to win a Kindle Fire?

Maple Casino, home of over 500 thrilling games and loads of exciting, interactive poker tournaments to choose from, is hosting a giveaway for a free Kindle Fire! Become a fan of Maple Casino on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Here's a description of the prize. Entries will be accepted through May 30, 2012. The winner will be drawn and announced on May 31, 2012. The giveaway is open to entrants in the US and Canada; however, as Maple Casino is based in Canada, the prize includes free shipping to Canada-based entrants only. Shipping outside of Canada may incur an additional charge.

For more information on the giveaway, head over the Maple Casino Kindle Fire giveaway page.

Or, you can enter here via Rafflecopter! Keep in mind that this is a shared Rafflecopter giveaway, so if you've entered this giveaway elsewhere, you won't be able to enter here. But if you haven't, please enter now! I'd appreciate it if you would leave a comment letting me know that you've entered; however, that is not required to enter the giveaway.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(This is a sponsored post on behalf of Maple Casino. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Menu plan 5-28-12: Short week for meal planning

2012-05-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

This week starts with us being guests at a Memorial Day barbecue, so it's a short week for menu planning! With the end of the school year coming up quickly, we also have a lot of things going on. So we'll keep meals simple!

So here are my dinner plans:

Monday - barbecue at relatives' house

Tuesday - chili burritos

Wednesday - picadillo over brown rice

Thursday - green pepper whole wheat pizza

Friday - roast chicken, pasta with garlic and oil, salad, challah

Saturday: grilled cheese and tomato soup

Sunday - dinner out!

If you're a frugal food blogger, please come and link up with Frugal Food Thursdays. And check out all of my frugal recipes!

Check out Menu Plan Monday for more menu plans!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Coupons for baby products

2012-05-27T22:40:00.000-04:00

For those of you with babies - aw, so cute! - here are some coupons to help you save when you care for your little one!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

YoCrunch coupon

2012-05-27T22:16:00.001-04:00

I try to go to the grocery store by myself. Partly because it's just faster and I can concentrate on getting the right deals, but also because when I bring my children, they always want to get stuff. Things that I wasn't planning on buying, and of course that I don't have a coupon for.

The kids love the YoCrunch yogurts with the candy or cookies to add in, and of course I usually say no when they ask. But now that there's a coupon for 65¢ off when you buy any FOUR YoCrunch® Yogurt Cups Granola, Candy/Cookie Crunch or Parfait, I just might say yes!

65¢ off when you buy any FOUR YoCrunch® Yogurt Cups Granola, Candy/Cookie Crunch or Parfait

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

New toy coupons!

2012-05-27T21:36:00.001-04:00

Here are some new toy coupons from Coupons.com. Pair them with a sale from a national chain store to save even more!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

CVS: Cheap white tuna and free candy bars

2012-05-27T13:20:00.000-04:00

I decided to go to the drug stores earlier in the day this week - and it paid off! I was able to get the free Ecotrin at Walgreens, which probably would have been sold out had I waited another hour or two. And I was able to find four boxes of Kellogg's Raisin Bran at CVS so I could get that deal as well.

Here's what I got at CVS:

2 Milky Way bars, 1.76 oz, @ 75¢ = $1.50 (receive 75¢ ECB for purchase of one bar)
- $0.75/2 Milky Way Brand Singles Bars printable
(here's how to get a second printing of that coupon)
= 75¢ for two, or 38¢ each (FREE after ECBs)

2 Bumble Bee solid white tuna @ $1.00 = $2.00
- $1/2 Bumble Bee Product (Recyclebank)
= $1.00 for two, or 50¢ each

4 Kellogg's Raisin Bran @ $1.77 = $7.08
- $2/4 Kellogg's cereals Target manufacturer's coupon
(there's also a $1/2 coupon here)
= $5.08 for four, or $1.27 each

1 Xtra laundry detergent @ $1.49
[the coupon database lists this coupon, but I didn't have it in my inserts: $1/2 Xtra Laundry Detergent, exp. 6/30/12 (SS 05/06/12)]

Total product: $8.32
Pay with $6 ECB ($4, $2) from previous weeks

Total after ECBs: $2.32
Tax: 12¢

Total out of pocket: $2.44
Total saved compared to CVS full prices: $22.19

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Walgreens: Free Ecotrin and cheap Jell-O

2012-05-27T13:04:00.003-04:00

I headed out to Walgreens today to get three deals. I was really excited about the Ecotrin and Jell-O deals there. I also wanted to get this Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Register Rewards deal:

2 Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cereal @ $2.50 = $5.00 (receive $2 RRs)
- 2 $0.70/1 Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal printable
(here's how to get a second printing of that coupon)
= $3.60 for two, or $1.80 each (80¢ each after RRs)

...but my Walgreens store didn't carry Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cereal. Bummer.

I also picked up some bottled water. You're probably asking, why would a frugal person spend money for bottled water? Because my area is currently under a boil water order - signs of E. coli were found in the city water system. Of course I boiled some water for drinking, cooking, and washing dishes, but it's good to have some bottled water on hand as well for this as well as for future emergencies.

My total came to $2.83, but I only had a $3 RR from last week. Instead of buying something else to use the $3 RR, I decided to save it for next week and just pay out of pocket.

Here's the details on what I got:

2 Ecotrin low-strength aspirin, 45 ct, @ $1.50 = $3.00 (receive $2 RR)
- 2 $1.50/1 Ecotrin Aspirin Therapy Product, exp. 7/30/12 (RP 05/06/12)
= FREE ($2 moneymaker after RRs)

2 Jell-O pudding @ 67¢ (with in-ad coupon) = $1.34
- $0.50/2 JELL-O Gelatin or Pudding, exp. 6/6/12 (SS 05/06/12 R)
= 84¢ for two, or 42¢ each

1 Nice! drinking water 24 pack @ $1.99 (Sunday and Monday only)

Total out of pocket: $2.83
Total saved compared to Walgreens full prices: $11.52

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Delve Into Your Finances in 2012 May update

2012-05-25T13:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome To Delve into Your Finances in 2012!

This year, my goal is to pay off my home equity line of credit once and for all!

This month, we continued to make a nice large payment toward the debt. More than in April, not as much as in March, and a lot more than in January and February.

So we have now paid off 23% of the amount we owed on December 31, 2011, and 73% of the total debt that we had incurred on our home equity line of credit in the years that we used it. We haven't used it in several years, and though I won't close the account once it's paid off, I hope to never need to use it again.

Next month I'm hoping for another big payment - my husband is paid every other week, so twice a year he gets three paychecks in one month. June has three paychecks, so I'm hoping to devote one full check to debt reduction, plus a portion of the other two as well.

How are you doing on your 2012 financial goals? Leave a comment below!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Free Eat Smart bar and more

2012-05-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the latest free samples from Freeflys!

Free Eat Smart bar

Free sample of Thornton® Peridontal Floss

Free Natural Balance® Dog Food Roll

Free sample of Pet n Shape

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Print these coupons before they expire!

2012-05-25T12:30:00.000-04:00

These coupons are about to expire at the end of the month - why not print them now while you're thinking about it, before the big holiday weekend?

Beverages

SAVE $1.50 ON ONE (1) BOTTLE OF SK ENERGY (Available at Rite Aid and Duane Reade)

Foods

Health Care

Household

Personal Care

Pet Care

SAVE $10.00 on ONE (1) BREEZE® brand from Purina® Tidy Cats® brand Litter System

Toys & Games

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Ore-Ida sweet potato fries coupon

2012-05-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

My kids, like pretty much all kids, love French fries. I don't like to get them too often; I'd rather have healthier side dishes. But sometimes we get sweet potato fries. The kids like them because, well, they're fries! But I like them because they're just a little healthier.

Here's a coupon for Ore-Ida sweet potato fries that will make these indulgences just a little more affordable.

$1.00 off when you buy any TWO ORE-IDA® SWEET POTATO FRIES

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Printing a second coupon with Coupons.com

2012-05-24T23:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to this week's Frugal Follies Frugal Tip!

When you print coupons, you generally can get a second printing of the coupon by hitting your browser's "back" button. That's the standard procedure.

But I've noticed that recently Coupons.com has made a change to this. Hitting the back button brings you to a screen where it says you are printing the coupon, but no coupon is printing. At least that is what I am experiencing.

And if you go to print it a second time, the coupon doesn't seem to be there. If you click on the coupon's category and look through the coupons, it's not there. Can you now only get one printing?

In most cases, no! Here's how to get your second printing:

What the site has done is after you've printed the coupon once, it moves the coupon to the end of the coupon list and removed it from the category list. But if you scroll through all the coupons (and I mean, all of them), you'll find the coupon you want at the very end of the list. Click "Print" on the coupon and you'll be able to get a second printing.

However, occasionally there is only one printing available, but this seems to be rare. Nothing I can do to help you here.

Hope this helps you save more with Coupons.com online printable coupons!

For more frugal tips, please go to my Linkup Parties page and check out the bloggers listed under Frugal Tips Linkups. There are lots of great ideas on each blog and I'm sure you'll find lots of wonderful tips!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Best national deals

2012-05-24T22:30:00.000-04:00

Would you like to know what's on sale this coming week at the national chain stores?

Stop by A Full Cup to find out what's on sale starting Sunday at:

Looking for a different store? Click here for the full list.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Free Breathe Right Strips and more!

2012-05-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

Here's are some of the great product samples listed right now at MySavings - go check them out!

Get 2 Free Samples of Breathe Right Advanced Strips
Victorinox Swiss Unlimited - Free Fragrance Sample for Men
Visit Macy's for a Free Deluxe Dior Mascara Sample
Text to Get a Free Redbox Video Game Rental with Code
Reserve a Free Tricalm Anti-Itch Cream Sample

Click here to see all the deals at MySavings.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Carnival Swag Bucks!

2012-05-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

Friday is Mega Swagbucks Day, where you can get lots of Swagbucks just for doing searches! (Do searches the easy way with the Swagbucks toolbar, or use your Android phone.) You can also earn Swagbucks for finding Swagcodes, answering polls and surveys, filling out profiles, watching videos and Swagbucks TV (on the site or on your Android phone), trading in media items, doing tasks, and considering special offers and no-obligation special offers.

Even though Thursday wasn't Mega Swagbucks Day officially, it was for me! Check out the 39 Swag Bucks I earned through searching!

And here's another reason to do lots of searches this weekend: the Swagbucks Carnival Collector Bills!

Five new collector bills were released today: Dunk Tank, Duck Shoot, Carousel, Ferris Wheel, and Roller Coaster. Find all five in searches from now until May 31, and you'll get an extra 10 Swag Bucks!

And here's another way to win: share the special bills you win by going to the My Swag Bucks area of your account - if you share on Pinterest and include your SB Username in your pin, you could be randomly chosen to win 100 Swag Bucks!

I found the Roller Coaster (7 Swag Bucks) bill earlier and pinned it - check out my pin!

Join Swagbucks today to start earning points toward prizes like $5 Amazon.com gift card codes!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

No coupon inserts this weekend

2012-05-24T20:53:00.001-04:00

When you get your newspaper this Sunday and don't see any coupon insert in it, don't be alarmed!

This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, and this weekend, like most holiday weekends, there are no coupon inserts. At least that is what Sunday Coupon Preview is saying!

Enjoy your couponing-free weekend!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Publix: Refrigerated case deals

2012-05-24T12:39:00.000-04:00

(Love Publix? Enter to win a $25 Publix gift card!)

I had a great trip to Publix today. Except for one deal, all of the items came from the refrigerated cases. That means that my fridge is nice and full with yummy food bought cheaply!

I was able to get yogurt, cheese, granola bars, and hummus for pennies on the dollar. The odd product out was olive oil. But there, I was able to get extra virgin olive oil for $2.49 for a 16-oz bottle. That's a great price! I've seen better deals for "light" olive oil, but rarely for extra virgin olive oil.

I had a bit of a mix-up when I was printing my coupons, and ended up not having the right coupons for the MilkBite granola bars deals. I only had one BOGO Publix coupon and I was short one 75¢ manufacturer's coupon. My husband's computer's printer setting was set to duplex so the coupons printed out very small, which ended up getting me all confused. I should have double-checked the coupons before I left!

Here's what I got:

6 Alouette individual portions spreadable cheese @ BOGO $3.49 = $10.47
- 6 $1.00/1 Alouette Soft Spreadable Cheese, exp. 7/31/12 (SS 03/18/12 R)
= $4.47 for six, or 75¢ each

2 Sabra hummus @ BOGO $3.99
- 2 $1/1 Sabra Hummus, exp. 5/26/12 (Publix Spring Gatherings)
- 2 $1/1 Sabra Hummus manufacturer's printable
= 1¢ moneymaker

4 Filippo Berio extra virgin olive oil @ $3.99 = $15.96
- 4 $1.50/1 Filippo Berio Olive Oil printable (zip 90210)
= $9.96 for four, or $2.49 each

4 MilkBite granola bars @ $2.99 = $11.96
- 1 BOGO MilkBite printable Publix coupon
- 2 $1/1 Kraft Milkbite Milk and Granola Bars printable
- 1 $0.75/1 Kraft MilkBite Milk & Granola Bars printable
= $6.22 for four, or $1.56 each

(should have been 2 BOGO, 2 $1/1, and 2 $0.75/1 coupons, for a total of $2.48 for four or 62¢ each)

10 Publix yogurt @ 25¢ = $2.50

3 Kraft shredded or block cheese @ $2.50 = $7.50
- 3 $1.00/1 Kraft cheese Publix printable coupon
= $4.50 for three, or $1.50 each

- $5 off $50 Doris Italian Market coupon from Recyclebank

Total out of pocket: $22.64
Total saved compared to Publix full prices: $61.97

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

ALDI: A quick trip

2012-05-24T12:17:00.002-04:00

I love ALDI because of the store's compactness. You can get in and grab the things you need in just a few minutes. And assuming there's no line at the cashier, you can be out in just a few more minutes, depending on how quick you can pack your own bags. It's a much better shopping experience than your typical grocery store or national chain store, where the major categories of food (produce, milk, meat, bakery) are kept as far apart as possible.

Here's what I got on my last quick trip:

2 gallons milk @ $2.99 = $5.98
1 cream cheese @ $1.19
1 sour cream @ $1.29
1 head lettuce @ $1.19
2 apple juice concentrate @ 92¢ = $1.84
1 3-pack tomatoes @ 99¢
1 box juice pouches @ $1.79
1 pack tortillas @ $1.99
1 5-lb all-purpose flour @ $1.79
1 whole wheat bread @ $1.29

Total product: $19.33
Tax: 11¢
Total out of pocket: $19.44

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bettyanne Brownies (Frugal Food Thursday)

2012-05-23T23:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Frugal Food Thursday! If you have a great frugal recipe, please link up below!

I hope you enjoyed last week's It's a Keeper Thursday, but now we're back to Frugal Food Thursday again. Welcome to all of our new readers who found Frugal Follies last week!

This week, I'm featuring my Bettyanne Brownies!

Last week, I posted a review and giveaway for a Bella Viva dried fruit and nut assortment. In order to do this review, I received the same assortment - a total of 9 pounds of fruits and nuts. Some of them have been eaten out of hand, but I still have quite a lot. And the kids just aren't all that excited about eating dried fruit.

So I decided to try sneaking some of the fruit into brownies. I picked the Bettyanne plums, as I felt the taste and texture would complement the chocolate the best. But aren't prunes dried plums? These aren't pruny-tasting at all. I guess prunes are made from a different variety of plums than these plums are. But if you can't find dried plums, prunes would be fine.

I rehydrated a few of the plums, then chopped them in my food processor and added them to the brownie batter. I use the Toll House recipe for brownies, as it uses cocoa, which is much less expensive than using baking chocolate or other chocolate sources.

And how did it come out? Two of my kids really like them. The other noticed the taste was a little different and now doesn't want to eat them. Oh, well, two out of three ain't bad, right?

BETTYANNE BROWNIES

6 Bettyanne or other dried plums (or prunes)
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp water
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place dried plums in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes; drain. Place rehydrated plums in a food processor with the chopping blade and process for 30 seconds.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, butter, water, eggs, and vanilla. In a seperate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just moistened. Mix in the dried plums.

Spoon mixture into a greased 9x13 rectangular pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 24 brownies.

There are lots more cheap recipes posted here at Frugal Follies. Click here for the list!

Got a great frugal recipe? Link below to your actual post, not your main page. Please only link up recipes and other food-related posts; contest entries and other posts are not allowed and will be deleted. I'd appreciate it if you would link back to Frugal Food Thursday as well!

Also, I will be submitting all of the recipes below to StumbleUpon. Follow me on StumbleUpon!

For more great recipes, please go to my Linkup Parties list and scroll down to Food Linkups. There are lots of great recipes on each blog and I'm sure you'll find some new favorites!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Honey Bunches of Oats Review / Giveaway

2012-05-23T14:10:00.001-04:00

Here at the Frugal Follies household, we eat a lot of breakfast cereal. I mean, a lot of cereal. It is all my husband and eldest daughter will eat for breakfast, unless I manage to have the time to make eggs in the morning. And with our busy schedules, that isn't often. My younger two daughters also love to eat cereal in the morning. And all three girls often like it as a snack, with the eldest often having it as a late-night snack. So needless to say, we go through a lot of cereal.

I challenge myself to pay no more than $1.50 per box of cereal. So far, I don't think I've had to go over that price point all year. I sometimes buy cereal at ALDI in the discount aisle, where I've found house-brands of cereal for 99¢ per box or even 50¢ per box. But most of the time, I buy cereal at Publix which is on a buy one, get one free sale. And I only buy it when I have two high-value coupons.

Honey Bunches of Oats is one of the cereals I've been able to buy often at that price point. Before I started couponing, I don't think I had ever bought that brand. But now, when it's on sale for buy one, get one free at $4.49, that means each box is $2.25. When I have two $1/1 Honey Bunches of Oats Fruit Blends Cereal printable coupon, that means each box is $1.25 Or if I have two $1.10/1 Post Honey Bunches of Oats New Fruit Blends printable coupon, it's only $1.15 per box. (Publix allows two coupons for BOGO items; check with your store to see if this is allowed.)

So they're affordable, but how do they taste? I had the opportunity to try Honey Bunches of Oats - Honey Roasted now with More Granola Bunches. In order to make sure I had the chance to try it before my crew ate it up, I had to hide the box on the top shelf of my pantry. I had a bowl and of course, it was delicious! Lots of granola bunches (more than I remembered!) mixed in with the cornflakes, with just a hint of sweetness. But of course, my family quickly found the opened box and devoured it.

I'm hoping that maybe you'll have better luck at keeping your family from scarfing down the box. So Frugal Follies is hosting a giveaway for 5 free boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal!

The winner will receive 5 coupons, each for a free box of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, up to $4.49 in value and good for any box 13 oz or larger. The expiration date on these coupons is 6/30/13.

(And if you wait for a buy one, get one free sale, you can get 10 free boxes with the 5 coupons!)

To enter, use the Rafflecopter below! The giveaway is open to US residents aged 18 and older. This giveaway will end on Friday, June 8th, at 12:01 am Eastern time. If you are the winner, I will contact you shortly thereafter, and you will have 72 hours to respond. If you do not respond within that time, your entry will be declared invalid and a new winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Post provided a free sample of their Honey Bunches of Oats - Honey Roasted so I could review them. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Shoe deals

2012-05-23T14:00:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned before, I'm not all that big on shoes. I have one pair of sneakers, one pair of black flats, one pair of black heels, and a pair of flip-flops. And that's it. I know plenty of men who have more pairs of shoes than I do.

But for those of you who love shoes, here are two good deals that showed up in my inbox this week:

At Shoe Carnival, you can get $10 off every $50 you spend from May 25 through May 28.

And at Famous Footwear, you can get 20% off all orders! Click on the graphic to learn more.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)