Macey's Case Lot and Great Huggies Coupons

Macey's will have another case lot sale starting March 4th.

I went to Macey's this week and picked up a box of chicken breasts (20lbs for $29.99 = $1.49lb - which is a super great deal). The Macey's in Clearfield already had many of their caselot things out. Check out this link to PYP for more information. A lot of people have already done the leg work.

Also if you live in Northern Utah and are familiar with Winegars - they will also be starting their caselot on March 4th. I've personally found that sometimes Winegars is just a little less than Macey's. Watch your weekly ads for the Macey's and Winegars ad to compare.

If you have little ones and want a great deal on Huggies diapers - click on this link for some $3.00 and $5.00 coupons. I rarely see coupons this good surface so I'm sure they will disappear fast. Hurry to get these coupons! Remember you can print them twice.

Have a great weekend!

I just had the coolest thing done to my house

I'm all about saving money. In this economy every penny counts! My neighbor referred us to a company that comes out and installs insulation in your attic for FREE. Okay - so it's not totally free, but free to me.

Questar and Rocky Mountain Power are offering rebates when you take measures to better insulate your home and help save money.

So here's how it worked. We got referred, the company contacted us and asked a few questions and then they made an appointment to come and install the additional insulation (blow it in). All this happened in less than a week.

Here are the qualifications to get the rebates.

1 - Your house has to be built before 2008.

2 - You need to have central air (if you don't and have a swamp cooler instead, you will only qualify for 1 of the 2 rebates. The company I went through would only charge you $.15 sq/ft to insulate- which is quite a discount).

3 - The current attic insulation you have needs to be an R18 or less. (The company I went through will walk you through how to know what you have).

The insulation company had me sign a few forms stating that we owed them NOTHING and that when the rebates come we just turn them over to them. So essentially we pay nothing to have our attic insulated and they wait to get paid from the rebates. The company we went through even filled out the paperwork to submit to Questar and Rocky Mountain Power to iniatiate the rebate process. The rebates will be mailed to us in about 8-10 weeks and we just forward them on.

If you ask me - that's a sweet deal! I actually met with Jeremy the company owner and he was so thorough and nice. He walked me through exactly what they did, how much insulation they put up in my attic, they cleaned up any and all mess and it only took them about an hour an a half. Best of all it was quiet. I could hardly hear them doing the installation in my vaulted ceiling.

I was also told that it should save me about 20% on my heating bill and 15% on my cooling bill. I can't beat that. If you'd like a referral to this honest and clean insulation company I would be happy to give you that information. You can call me at 801-589-3946 or email me at callmestacy@yahoo.com. FREE is FREE and now my bill will be less. I'm a happy person today.

You can learn more about these rebates through Thermwise. They offer a variety of discounts and rebates.

How about some more freebies???

Quiznos free sub (they are only giving away 1,000,000) - hurry and sign up.

Weekender Sample Kit (makeup)

Betty Crocker - Dinner Made Easy (sign up and recieve $10 of free coupons)

Goody barrettes

Sarah Jessica Parker Fragrances

$1.00 off Kettle brand baked potato chips

B1G1 Free (entree) @ T.G.I. Fridays

Join Mimi's E-club and recieve a free breakfast

Aveda Shampoo for Men

Bath and Body Aromatherapy (get free aromatherapy body care or home fragrance item with $15 purchase) valid through 3/1/09

Look what I've been up to......

So, I've been leading up to this in a couple of my older posts. I recently watched a class on You Tube about Sis. DeWitt and how she organizes her food storage. I was really impressed with some of her methods and so here's where I am today. (I will post the links to her You Tube class below - it's 9 segments and about an hour - a well spent hour).


I decided to purchase a Food Saver. I was going to buy one on Ebay, but when I came across a discount code for it, I found a new one (online) for about $68 (about the same price I could have bought a used one for on Ebay). The one I ordered is a V2830, but any model with a port will work. I also got 2 canisters, a large mouth jar sealer and 2 rolls in the box. In Sis. DeWitt's presentation she shows you how to seal the foods you buy in jars. The basis behind it - is that if you buy in bulk, there is only a certain timeframe in which the food will last. If you can/bottle it, it removes the air and gives it a little longer shelf life. Sis. DeWitt suggests that you test the top of your jars yearly to make sure the seal is still tight. If the seal has broken, you can re-seal it or use that jar first.


Last Fall (about October), I bought 20 bags of chocolate chips ($.79/bag). Now I like chocolate chips, but I don't use them that quickly. They would probably turn white before I got around to using all of them. This is why I started with them first.

This is a picture of the foodsaver and some bottles already done (upper middle) and some other jars ready to be sealed.

I bottled all 20 bags of chocolate chips. They fit perfectly in a pint size jar.

Of course I had to save the best for last. Now that the Valentine candy is on clearance, I picked some up and bottled it too. It's great to know that if I ever had to depend on my food storage it wouldn't be just beans, wheat and rice. At least I could have a sweet treat from time to time. I also love to make those peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses in them and I never seem to have the kisses when I want to make the cookies. Now I'm ready to go.

I plan to also bottle my kernal corn, spaghetti noodles and other pasta's, and even my brown sugar. I'm still so new at this, I'm sure there will be many other things I can bottle. I plan to post more of what I end up bottling in the future.

A couple of things:

I have a variety of bottles (both wide mouth and small mouth). My Food Saver only came with a wide mouth jar sealer. I tried to order a small mouth sealer from the company, but Food Saver has discontinued making them. I found a new one on Ebay - but I'm sure they won't be around for long. I also found them through Bed Bath and Beyond as well as Cabela's. If the company has discontinued them, they may not be something these stores carry for long.

I am a part of a group called FreeCycle. This is a Yahoo group where people can post things that they no longer need or want and people post for things they want or are looking for. When I decided bottle some of my food, I went out and asked if anyone was getting rid of canning jars and I had 2 people respond. I probably got between 50-100 jars for free. I'm always looking for a way to save and this really helped. Anyone can join the group and sign up for the area in which you live in- you can check it out on the link above.

I checked to see if there was a current online code for the FoodSaver and did not find one. You can periodically check back at this link to see if there is something new posted.

Lastly, here are the links for Sis. DeWitt's presentation on food storage (this is LDS oriented). You really need to watch her presentation to get the full effect of how easy it is and she's got great ideas on so many other things as well! I've already borrowed a pressure cooker and I'm canning meat soon.

Sis. DeWitt also has a booklet that goes along with her presentation. You can print it from this link (Everything Under the Sun).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGaTlwYs-s Food Storage Seminar Part 1. "Top 10 Reasons"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUaFMEyLXOM&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 2 of 9. "The System"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4woLOnURFiw&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 3 of 9. "Worst Case Scenario"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Drrd2wt8k&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 4 of 9. "Equivalency Page"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE5WVOqLp2k&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 5 of 9. "Where to store it all"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bovjbt8nk&NR=1 Food Storage Seminar, Part 6 of 9. "Pressure Canning Meat"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vigcycRhWs&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 7 of 9. "Solar Oven Cooking"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0XWoeWRDdI&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 8 of 9. "Food Saver"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoYHLW8HR7Y&feature=related Food Storage Seminar, Part 9 of 9. "Questions and Answers"

I hope this inspires you to stock up on things at the grocery store at their lowest prices and here's one way to store those "extra's" to provide a longer shelf life. I would love to hear your comments and ideas if you get a chance to watch this.

Rhodes Warm-N-Serv

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when the UPS truck delivered a fun package from Rhodes. I got an email a few weeks ago from them, thanking me for posting some recipes from Rhodes on my blog. In the email they asked me if I would like to recieve some free samples of their Warm-n-Serv pan. Of course I replied and said sure. This is what they sent me.

1 pkg of Dinner Rolls

1 pkg Garlic Butter Rolls

2 pkgs Multi Grain Rolls

2 pkgs Sticky Buns

They come frozen in their own pan and all you have to do is heat the oven to 350 degrees and warm for about 15 minutes. We tried a package of the Multi Grain Rolls last night and they were pretty tasty. So watch the freezer section for these yummy rolls.

I love surprises like this. I had no idea they would send so many or that kind of variety.

Cut your grocery bill in half - news story

Cut your grocery bill in half

Reported by: Nicea Degering Last Update: 2/19 1:06 pm

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) - When economic times get tough, the tough look for ways to cut costs. And one Utah mom says the place to do it is at the grocery store. She’s been slicing her receipts in half.

"Before we started shopping this way, we were spending about four hundred dollars a month on groceries. With times getting tough, I was trying to find a way to cut back and that's the first thing I thought of was groceries, because that is under my control."

Shauntell Ottley has three children and her husband was out of work, so she says she had no choice.She had to find food for her family - for less. "When I first learned how to do it, I was skeptical. But within the first week, I spent one hundred and twenty dollars the first week, and I saved sixty-seven."

What did she learn? How did she do it?Ottley walked the grocery aisles with us so we could see the savings.

Earlier that day she accessed a free website that takes local store ads and combines them with any available manufacturers coupons.Then she printed out a list of what her family needs."So then I use the coupons for items already on sale, and I was getting them at an even greater discount," Ottley says.

From half off the cooking spray, to forty cent spaghetti sauce, we stocked up and Ottley checked out.She spent forty-seven dollars and saved eight-eight.

For Ottley’s family of five, spending seventy percent less means more financial freedom.

"Saving this amount on our groceries has allowed us to live on our own now. We're on our own and I can't do it without crying, our fifty dollar budget makes it so we can be independent again."

This happens with every shopping trip. You can scroll through my posts to see. If you're interested in making this happen for you too, call me at 801-589-3946 or callmestacy@yahoo.com and I'll show you how. FREE CLASS and FREE WEBSITE.

Grocery Smarts will be featured in a segment on Channel 4 morning news (2/20/09)

If you'd like to see a condensed version of how Grocery Smarts works - watch channel 4, tomorrow morning to see how you can save tons of $$$ at the grocery store. The morning news airs from 5 - 7 am (sorry not sure when in that timeframe the segment will air). If you can't watch, check out ABC4's website tomorrow for the details of the story http://www.abc4.com/Default.aspx.

If you like what you see and want to know more call me at 801-589-3946 or callmestacy@yahoo.com.

I'm savin' at Albertson's!

I just barely went grocery shopping this week at Smith's so I didn't really need a lot at the Albertson's sale, but when it's a good deal - it's a good deal. I did not get up early to go either. I was crossing my fingers that there would still be enough of the things I wanted to make it worth my time.

Here's what I came home with.

3 Darigold flavored milk - for the kids

1 Coke for me (I'm beginning to wonder if I go shopping just so I can buy the "big" Coke :)

10 Betty Crocker fruit snacks - I just stocked up on those at Smith's, but hey - I have 3 kids who like fruit snacks and they last for a while.

9 Warm Delights

2 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

2 pkgs Albertson's cheese singles (these were only $.88 w/ in-store coupon, limit 4)

2 bags of Albertson's cookies - okay if you haven't tried these they are very moist and chewy. I only have one bag in the picture because the Albertson's I shopped at was selling bags with the frozen dough as well and I forgot the other bag was in the freezer. I guess you can pre-order these cookies frozen. I was advised to pop them into the oven at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Plus I got 2 bags for $3.00, they each had $1.00 coupons on the pkg. A sweet treat for now and later.

9 Betty Crocker bags of cookie mix

9 Campbell's soup

2 Macaroni Grill dinners

2 bags of Albertson's chips - (these were only $.97 w/ in-store coupon, limit 2)

3 bags of Hershey's Valentine candy (50% off) - watch my next blog to see what I do with these.

Drumroll pleassssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeee............ I spent $68.44 and received 3, $10 catalina's and one $3.50 catalina to use on my next shopping trip. So really I only spent $34.94. I got all that is pictured above for just over $30. I had 51 items (3 sets of 10 GM products - earning me the $30) which made each item approximately $.67 a piece.

Why don't you let me prove to you how you can do it to!!! Call me at 801-589-3946

A preview of Albertson's sale (starting tomorrow 2/18/09)

Here's the link where you can check out the sale. It looks like there are a lot of 4 and 5 star items. This would be a great time to stock up if you need any of these items! It certainly sounds like this will be a good one. Maybe one you need to get up early for..... I'll let you decide though.

Savings at Smith's

You know......now that I've been a steady couponer for about 18 months you start to see cycles in the way you buy things. Mostly, I just try to fill the holes in my pantry and keep the pantry stocked. As sales also cycle, I find myself either spending a large amount to fill those holes or around $50 a week (if that). Today's shopping trip added up to more than I normally spend. I guess I have a lot of holes to fill or the prices were good enough with coupons, I just had to have more than one. Even though this is not one of my best shopping trips (price wise), I still saved and I bought things that my family will use.

Well here you have it.

4 gallons of distilled water

1 bunch of bananas

4 AquaFresh toothbrushes (going into storage)

5 boxes Total Cinnamon Crunch (storage and $.94 each)

8 boxes Betty Crocker fruit snacks/stickerz (getting low - going to storage)

2 boxes Hefty kitchen garbage bags (storage)

4 jars Ragu spaghetti sauce (storage)

1 pkg Energizer D batteries

2 loaves Grandma Sycamore bread (storage - out in the freezer)

12 Yoplait yogurts

2 boxes Oreo Cakesters (both were free with coupons I had)

2 bags Dole salad

1 pkg Scott TP

4 bags Fritos (they were small bags and I shouldn't have to buy corn chips for a while)

1 pkg Swiffer sweeper refills (I've needed these for quite some time)

1 pkg of Kroger ChipMates

Not Pictured: 2, 4lb bags of chicken breasts (storage - out in the freezer), 4 Totino's party pizza's, 2 Freshetta Pizza Amore' pizza's (all pizza's are also in the freezer and I consider them storage for right now). It's nice to have a quick meal from time to time. One 20, oz Coke and 1 Rico chicken Fajita for lunch - already gone.

In total I spent $118.34 and saved $63.79. Like I mentioned above there will be certain times that you just spend more than others. I justify it by knowing that I won't be spending this kind of $$ every shopping trip.

Tip - I have found that sometimes when I wait until the end of the sale - I seem to find most of the items I want. If you find that the store is out of the item(s) you came to purchase try changing the day you shop. Stores usually get shipments in every few days. If this doesn't work - you can always ask for a raincheck!

1, 2, 3 and they're gone....

Tracie, Ku'uipo and Shaylyn are getting the Beer Rebates. Watch your mail - they're coming your way. I'm always trying to pick these up. Hopefully, I'll be able to offer more in the future. In the meantime - keep your eyes peeled for these freebies it's a great way to pad your wallet.

Givin' away 3 Beer Rebates

I've talked about Beer Rebates before, but they are kind of hard to find so I'll do a little refresher.

What's so special about a Beer Rebate?

Beer rebates are ways to get money back or free items from the beer company.

Where do I find Beer Rebates?

You can find them at the store in the beer sections. The rebates are usually on a tearpad or look like a folded brochure.

What do I have to do to get the free items?

Each rebate is a little different. The rebate itself will tell you what you need to do to get the free items. You need to save your receipts and circle the items it's asking for and then mail it in to the address supplied on the rebate. In the state of UTAH you do not have to buy beer to get the free item. Make sure to watch the dates and read the instructions carefully to get the free items returned to you. You can only turn one of each kind in per household.

With this being said, I came across some the other day. Since these are kind of hard to come across, I picked up a few extra and wanted to give them away.

Here are the specifics for this particular rebate:

1 - Offer goes from 12/8/08 to 2/28/09

2 - You receive $7.50 back if you purchase $30 worth of salty snacks, ice, water, and/or soda (any brand, any size)

3 - The original dated cash-register receipt(s) (with purchase price(s) circled).

Offer is only good for residents of AL, AR, CT, HI, IN, KY, ME, MO, NC, NJ, NY, SD, UT, VA, VT and WV who are of legal drinking age.

4 - The offer must be recieved by 3/28/09.

Now that you know the specifics - don't forget to use coupons on the $30 you have already spent or are planning to spend.

The giveway - the first 3 people that email me (callmestacy@yahoo.com)with their name and address will get one in the mail. I will send them out shortly.

Don't forget..... this is a great time of year to schedule a couponing class. I can teach you the basics and within weeks you will also see the savings in your pocket!

My latest purchase - at Albertson's

I know - I'm a day late (seriously) and a dollar short on this sale. We've been the sick house this week - so getting to the store for groceries was less than convenient - but I finally made it yesterday.

I found some great buys. I'll post the pictures and then mention the prices and some of the best deals I got.

2 bags of Purina cat food (I had 2, $4.00 coupons for these), each bag was $1.69

Suave conditioner - free

Huggies $17.99 (I had a $2.00 coupon for this one)

Coke (just to survive!!!!)

Good Nites (I had a coupon from Target for $1.50), I paid $9.19

6 bottles of Suave shampoo/conditioner $.97 each



1 whole chicken ($.99/lb) - $4.34

2, 1lb pkgs of deli sliced turkey - $6.29

1 pkg Kraft cheese - free

2 bags of Goldfish crackers $1.50 each

3 Darigold chocolate/strawberry milk (not a great buy - but the kids love them) $1.00 each

1 bag Cheetos

8 Yoplait yogurts (I had a coupon from Target, $1.00 off of 8)

Valentine treats (some fun things for my kids to give each other)


1 box Cheese Nips - free

1 bottle of Planters peanuts - free

3 bags of Hershey's minatures and kisses (I used my double coupons on the $1.00 coupon I already had) each bag was $.99

2 Kerr small mouth and 2 Kerr large mouth canning lids (wait until you see what I am going to do with these....future blog)

1 gallon Albertson's oj

1 pks Reser's tortillas

1 bag of salad - $.99

1 pkg Albertsons string cheese

4 bags David's sunflower seeds (hubby's favorite snack)

Not pictured: 1 doz eggs (forgot to pull out of fridge and 1 container of Albertson's cookies that went with son to pre-school this morning)

I paid $115.22 and saved $63.19 (I wish it were the other way around, but that's how it goes sometimes). I still got some great deals.

Albertson's is also starting a new savings program based on how much you spend on groceries, you earn so much towards a discount on filling up at their gas stations. This shopping trip earned me $.15 off per gallon (20 gallon max). Not bad.....

Albertson's is doubling up to 4 coupons again

The sale starts goes from 2/4/08 to 2/10/08. You have to have an Albertson's ad and you can double up to 4 of your own manufacturer's coupons. The fine print says:

Maximum value $1.00. Coupons valued at $1.01 or higher are not eligible for doubling. Offer does not apply to in-store, competitor, alcohol, tobacco or FREE coupons. Total coupon redemption cannot exceed price of item. No cash refund. One double coupon per manufacturer's coupon. Four double coupons per family per shopping trip. Photocopies of this coupon are not accepted. Misredemption constitutes fraud.

Here is a link to the Pinching Your Pennies blog thread. There is a list of some double coupon offers.

Oh - Happy Day!

Coupon Class Reminder

I don't know about you, but I just recently got my December bill from my credit card and yes - it made me cringe a little.

If you're interested in saving money at the grocery store, I can certainly help you.

I teach a free class that will show you how to:

1- get coupons
2 - organize those coupons
3 - use the free website (Grocery Smarts)
4 - decipher some grocery lingo
5 - play some games
6 - and ULTIMATELY - put more $$ back in your pocket.

All you have to do is:
1 - contact me (callmestacy@yahoo.com or 801-589-3946)
2 - get a few friends, neighbors, family members etc.... together
3 - we'll set a date and time and place
4 - I'll come and you'll learn

The class is about 30-60 minutes. I also do mom groups, church groups (enrichments) or any other type of gathering. You could turn this into a fun GNO or a Saturday brunch.

If this sounds like something you're interested in - I hope to hear from you soon. I'm currently booking the rest of February and into March and April.