Tag Archives: Frugal Friday Series

Jun 24 2011

Frugal Friday: U-Pick Berries

Audrey was a great berry picker. She did get some nice purple hands in the process!

Our MOPS group doesn’t formally meet over the summer, but instead has play dates for moms and kids to get together.  Our first summer field trip was to a berry farm.  It was a bit of a drive, but well worth it!  They had strawberries, olallieberries, boysenberries and blackberries in season.

We hit up the olallieberry patch.  The kids loved picking the berries and I got about seven pounds to take home!  That’s a lot of berries.  The frugal part – the berries were only $1.90 per pound!  Compare that to $2-3 for a pint at the grocery store.  Wow, what a savings and great fresh fruit.

I spread them out in single layers on baking sheet to freeze.  Then once frozen, transferred them to zip-lock freezer bags.  They will keep for months in the freezer.  Fresh berry cobbler in the winter is a wonderful thing!

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Apr 29 2011

Frugal Friday: Super Target is Coming to Town

I was so excited to see the stickers on the front doors of my local Target, “Fresh Produce Coming in July”.  This will be great for me because Target is a great discount store that takes coupons.

Right now, I’m driving about 20 minutes to coupon shop at Safeway. It’s been worth it because I’ve been able to get some good deals.  However, Target is only 10 minutes from my house and is so much easier to navigate.  They do great deals with cash-back gift cards, and have tons of clearance items.  *Frugal Tip: check the end-caps in the personal care section for great deals.  Items end up there when they are out of season, overstock or old packaging.  Match them up with coupons and get amazing savings!*

I love our Target already because I can go there early in the morning and it’s practically empty.  Plenty of parking and very few shoppers in the store.  The major downside of shopping there has been the lack of fresh produce.  There is a Wal-Mart Super Center in the same area which has fresh produce, but the checkout there is a disaster.  They have a bunch of little old ladies working the registers and it take FOREVER to check out.  Not what I want to deal with when shopping with kids in tow.

Can you tell I’m just a teeny bit excited?!

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Mar 18 2011

Frugal Friday – Rebates

I know many of you see the word “rebate” and think it’s a waste of time.  You buy something intending to send in the paperwork but never do.  I’m here to remind you that rebates are money back in your pocket.  I was flipping though my coupon inserts in the newspaper and came across an offer for a free pack of PediSure.  Not just a free sample bottle, but a whole pack (6 or 8 bottles) for free.  All you had to do was buy the stuff, fill out the form in the coupon page and mail in the form and receipt.  And here is my rebate check for $11.99!  They also included a coupon for $2 off a future purchase.

photo of coupon and rebate check

Rebate Check & Coupon

So the next time you think of passing up a rebate offer remember that a little effort and a first class stamp can mean cash

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Mar 11 2011

Frugal Friday – Do you save money at Costco?

I love looking at all the fun stuff at Costco.  There’s always something new.  But how does Costco compare to coupon shopping?  I used to think that Costco had great prices, but now I don’t – not as far as groceries are concerned.  Yes, there are things at Costco that can’t be beat – such as prices on big ticket electronics, uncooked tortillas and Kirkland toilet paper.  But for a lot of everyday items like shampoo, toothpaste, and lunch meat I can do better with coupons.

Yes, couponing is more work and more planning, but you can save a lot of money!  Check out this article from the Krazy Coupon Lady for more reasons why you should consider dumping Costco (or at least shopping there only for a limited number of items).  Happy saving everyone!

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Feb 25 2011

Frugal Friday

I’m starting a new series of posts “Frugal Friday” that are all about ways to save time, money, effort or just great values!

Do you buy rotisserie chickens at the store?  They are very convenient and reasonably priced, but you can do better!

Try buying a whole chicken and roasting it yourself!  If you don’t cook a lot that may sound like too much work, but I assure you it’s easy, cheaper and you are guaranteed to have it hot and juicy.  Here’s what you need to know:

  • Buy a whole chicken when it’s on sale.  Anything under $1 per pound is a good price, but I got one this week for $0.79 per pound.  That was a 6lb chicken for Roasted chicken$4.74!  Less expensive than the store’s rotisserie bird and a lot bigger.
  • You need a pan to cook it in.  If you don’t have a roasting pan with a rack you can use a 9×13 pan and put some celery, chopped onion or carrots underneath it in place of the rack.
  • Rub it with olive oil and seasonings.  Or you can use a marinade.  Add veggies like carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms and potatoes if you like.
  • It takes a few hours to cook – allow up to 2 1/2 hours for a 6 lb bird.  The breast meat should reach 170°; legs should be 180°.

For complete details on how to do it see this article from eHow, or check your favorite cookbook.  I use the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook as my reference for temps and times!

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