Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Do you have textbooks or other books lying around that you no longer need? Cash4Books will buy your used books from you and even pay your shipping costs. And even better you can earn a 10% bonus on your buyback total when you sell at least $15 worth of books and use bonus code ThriftyFrugalMom! (Offer valid through June 30, 2013.)
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DETAILS ABOUT CASH4BOOKS:
- Quick and easy to use. It usually takes less than 5 minutes to create an order.
- Fast payment- will issue payment within 1 business day of receiving the books. Offer a PayPal payment option and cover all the associated fees.
- Free shipping.
- Excellent service. Cash4Books has a toll free number (1-877-243-5935) and customers can talk to an actual human. Customers can also check the status of their orders at any time and will be sent emails letting them know when their books are received and when their payment will be issued.
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Looking to save money and cut down on waste? Groupon is offering a $30 voucher for Re-Pac bags for just $15! Re-Pac bags come in three sizes. A small, 7″x4″ bag ($6.95) can hold a small item or a snack, and a medium, 7″x6″ bag ($7.95) is the right size to stow sandwiches. Place a towel or other large load into a gallon-size bag ($9.95).
I learned about this deal from my friend Maria. This is what she posted on Facebook:
PRODUCT DETAILS
Eco-friendly, reusable Re-Pac Bags protect food, toiletries, and other items within confines that repel mildew and mold. Vibrant colors and patterns add touches of style to their tightly woven nylon liners, zippers, and polyester outsides, which have been rated safe for food by a third-party lab. The sacks range in volume from 7″x4″ bags (about the size of a pair of sunglasses) all the way up to a gallon-size bag ideal for carrying toiletries or the world’s largest gumdrop.
The company, which was started by a nurse and her mother, manufactures all its bags within the United States. It also backs each product with a lifetime warranty, which guarantees the bags stay safe during countless trips through the washing machine or the inter-dimensional wormhole in the dishwasher.
THE FINE PRINT
- Groupon expires Nov 13, 2013
- Limit 1 per person. Limit 1 per transaction.
- Extra fee for shipping.
- Cannot combine with other offers and coupons.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Some of you have wondered where I get my printable coupons. Here are the main coupon sites that I use: Coupons.com, Coupon Network, Smart Source, Red Plum and Saving Star. Manufacturer websites and Facebook pages are another great source.
I didn’t do as much shopping this week which was fine with me- sometimes it’s good to have a break! I was happy to make $4.88 on my purchases though even though I didn’t buy that much.
Favorite buys:
* Free Beechnut Fruites
* Moneymaking Calcium
* Sausage for $1.50/lb.
* Moneymaking Eucerin
Total Spent: $14.36
Total Saved with Coupons: $41.26
Total Saved with Sales: $13.83
Total Saved: $55.09
CVS: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $19.96
I have a gift card that I earned through our credit card rewards program that I used to pay for this purchase which was $0.90.
I bought this Eucerin primarily because it was a moneymaker of $2.04. I’ve tried Eucerin lotion in the past and haven’t really liked it. Any local friends use it? I’d be happy to give it to you. Seriously! If not, it will either get donated or I might try to yardsale it for $0.25.
Bought:
Coupons Used:
- Four $3.00 Eucerin printable coupons
- $7.96 in Extra Bucks (CVS coupons that print at register for purchasing specific items)
Got Back:
- $10.00 Extra Bucks coupon for purchasing the Eucerin (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- $2.00 Extra Bucks coupon for scanning my Green Bag Tag (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- CVS ended their Green Bag Tag program but gave all customers who scanned their tag a $2.00 Extra Bucks coupon
Rite Aid: $5.66
Saved with Coupons: $6.55
Saved with Sales: $9.35
No, I don’t normally buy Nursery water but since I had UPRewards that needed to be used and since I could make $0.33 on it I figured why not? We’ll either drink it or use it to water our plants.
I made $2.00 on the calcium which I was happy about. I try to take calcium supplements regularly, although I’ve never tried the Sundown brand. I can’t imagine it is that much different than any other brand though.
Bought:
- 2 Sundown Calcium $8.99 total (on sale Buy One, Get One Free)
- 2 Nursery Water $1.61 each
Coupons Used:
- $0.55/2 Nursery Water printable coupon
- $1.00 Sundown printable coupon
- $5.00 in UPRewards (Rite Aid coupon that print at register for purchasing specific items)
Got Back:
- $3.00 UPReward coupon for purchasing the Nursery Water (can be used on next purchase of any item)
- Two $5.00 UPReward coupons for purchasing the Sundown (can be used on next purchase of any item)
Giant: $8.70
Saved with Coupons: $12.75
Saved with Sales: $4.48
We went to Maryland to surprise my mom and grandma for Mother’s Day. (That was really fun by the way and we successfully surprised them too!) I wasn’t planning to do any grocery shopping while we were there but my mom had to work several hours Sat. morning and so I ran to Martins to take advantage of their awesome double coupons. Martins in MD is the same thing as Giant here in PA. The great thing about them is that they double all coupons up to $1.00. So in other words, if a coupon is $0.99 it will double to $1.98! I always like to try to take advantage of that when I’m there.
I really wasn’t sure what deals I would find but I dug through my grocery coupons and found all the $0.75 and just looked for deals. I didn’t have the children with me so it was a lot of fun. I ended up with some awesome deals.
The Beech-nut products were either free or moneymakers of $0.25. The Crisco Olive Oil spray was just a good price and I was needing more so this was perfect. The sausage was a great buy at $1.49/lb. after coupons/sales. The ketchup was supposed to be a good deal…unfortunately they missed ringing up my $1 coupon and I didn’t notice until I was home. Hate when that happens!
Bought:
- Crisco Spray $2.29
- 4 Beech-nut Fruities $0.99 each
- Beech-nut Yogurt Blend $1.25
- Nature’s Promise Organic Ketchup $1.99
- 4 Johnsonville Sausage (various kinds) $2.99 each
Coupons Used:
- $0.75 Crisco printable coupon (doubled to $1.50)
- Two $0.50 Beechnut printable coupons (doubled to $1.00 each)
- Three $0.75 Beechnut printable coupons (doubled to $1.25 each)
- Four $0.75 Johnsonville coupons from various magazines (doubled to $1.50)
Walmart: $0 (gift card)
Saved with Coupons: $2.00
Smiley 360 sent me a $10 Walmart gift card to cover the cost of Oxi-Clean so that I can do a product review for them. I used it to cover the cost of my purchase which was $6.46.
The Vlasic relish was free after a coupon and the Earthbound organic carrots were just $0.93/lb. after a coupon.
Bought:
- 2 Earthbound Farms Organic Carrots $1.12 each
- Vlassic Relish $0.98
- OxiClean $4.94
Coupons Used:
- $1/2 Earthbound printable coupon from manufacturer’s website
- $1.00 Vlassic printable coupon
Misc.: $0
Picture #1: My mother-in-law gave me a dozen eggs since their chickens are laying more than they can use right now. The ones from her are the open carton- notice that huge one lying on top! The other 3 dozen were from a local farm where I pay $1.15/doz.
Picutre #2: The snacks were all from our neighbors. One day the Mrs. knocked on our door and said someone gave them a bunch of crackers and cookies and could we use some. Of course I said yes, and this is what she gave me. 
The lettuce? It’s from our little garden! I’m so excited because I planted 6 lettuce plants several weeks ago and they are beautiful!
Picture #3: I got 2 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, 1 dill plant and 1 basil plant all for $7.00. I’ve never planted much before because we live in the city and really don’t have much space. But this year I decided to plant some garden things in my one flowerbed and I also dug up a small plot in the back corner of our yard. I can’t wait to see how much I get from it!
Not pictured:
- some onions to plant and another 12 lettuce plants that I used grocery cash to pay for
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
This casserole, with all the tastes of a cheeseburger rolled into one dish, is an old favorite of ours. I started making it soon after we were married 6 1/2 years ago but had sort of forgotten about it until last week when I happened across the recipe and decided to make it for dinner. The whole family confirmed again that yes, this is a dish that I need to keep making, and making often.
Reminiscent of a breakfast casserole because of the egg/milk mixture, the cheeseburger part smacks of a hearty meal. And if you keep cooked ground beef in the freezer, this dish is a cinch to throw together.
Cheeseburger Casserole
8 slices of bread, toasted and buttered (I use my homemade whole wheat)
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. onion
1/4 c. celery (optional)
1/2 c. ketchup
4 tsp. mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. cheese
1 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper
Fry ground beef, onion and celery. Add ketchup, mustard and salt. Layer 4 slices of toast, half of beef mixture and half cup of cheese in greased baking dish (an 8×8 works well). Repeat toast and beef layers. Mix milk, egg, mustard and pepper and pour over everything. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and let sit for 5 minutes to melt cheese.
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, 33 Shades of Green’s Tasty Tuesday, Mostly Homemade Mom’s Show and Share Wednesday and Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Want to help motivate your children to read this summer? Check out Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading Program.
Your child can earn a free book from Barnes & Noble’s by simply reading 8 books, recording them on the Barnes & Noble reading journal and then taking the completed journal to a Barnes and Noble store between May 21 and September 3.
The free book can be chosen from a pre-selected Barnes & Noble list.
