Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, as I count my blessings...I wanted to take a moment and just say that I am so thankful for this ministry and the things that God is doing through it. I am thankful for each and every one of you...my faithful & frugal readers! The last 2 years have been an absolute whirlwind and I'll admit, at times overwhelming...but at the end of the day when I sit down and think of all that God has done in the lives of all the Faithful & Frugal alum...I am blown away :-) I have been so blessed to meet so many of you and hear your stories about how God used this ministry to transform your family in some way...that is an amazing feeling and honestly one that I just can not put into words, it is truly awesome! I am so proud of all of you that have made life changes to better your financial future...you are blessed to be a blessing :-) I also want to thank each one of you that have shared Faithful & Frugal with your friends and family...it is because of you that we are what we are today and for that I am so thankful!

I pray that today you are experiencing a Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and faith :-)Much love and blessings to all!

Angel

Black Friday Ads ~ Preview the deals

** Wanna see all the Black Friday ads in one place...then go HERE to BlackFriday.info :-) These ads don't come out until Thanksgiving Day...BUT this site has them all posted now!

You can click on each sales ad and see all the available upcoming deals for Friday!

Thanks Shelley & Big 98 WSIX for the heads up!

** If you wanna see another great Black Friday resource...go HERE and check out Faithful Provisions post on BF deals!

Thanks Kelly!

** And don't forget to check out www.SouthernSavers.com and www.AFullCup.com for even more deals!

Most importantly BE SAFE when shopping on Friday...remember that no deal is worth getting hurt or hurting someone else in the process...a $20 DVD player just isn't worth getting trampled over :-)

Happy Shopping!!!

Target ~ NEW Coupon Printing System

THANKS SouthernSavers.com for the heads up on this...

Please be sure and read her post on the NEW system that Target has installed for printing their coupons...it's a BIG CHANGE and not one that I am really thrilled about :-(

I have not been able to verify if this is the same system that will be running on the in-store kiosks or not, because the computers have been down for 3 days at my local store...sorry! Be sure to check one you get to the store.

Go HERE to read the post

My Kroger trip ~ 11/21/09 Saving 75%

I had several FREE item coupons from recent Kroger mailings and they were getting ready to expire, so I made a quick trip and picked up a few sale items along with the FREE items...While I was there I used up my ground beef coupons and my seasoning coupons since they were expiring too...all in all a great trip! Here's what I got:

Spent $16.93 ~ SAVED $48.97 (includes $2.54 tax)

1 Kroger large eggs ~ used FREE item coupon = $FREE

1 Dole salad blend ~ used FREE item coupon = $FREE

1 Aleve caps ~ used FREE item coupon = $FREE

1 Tylenol caps ~ used FREE item coupon = $FREE

1 Duncan Hines cake mix ~ used FREE item coupon = $FREE

2 Starkist tuna pouches ~ $1.00 each ~ used two $0.50/1 MQ = $FREE

6 McCormick grinders ~ $1.00 each ~ used six $1.00/1 MQ = $FREE

4 Kroger ground beef (1lb tube) ~ $1.25 each ~ used four 0.50/1 MQ printables = $0.25 each

4 Campbell's tomato soup ~ $0.73 each ~ used $0.50/2 MQ printable = $0.23 each

1 Scotch Fur Fighter ~ 8.79 ~ used $4.00/1 CellFire ecoup & $4.00/1 MQ = $0.89

1 Kroger butter quarters ~ $1.65 ~ used $0.35/1 store coupon = $1.30

4 Kroger gal. 2% milk ~ $2.35 ~ no coups = $2.35 each

2 Kroger 1/2 gal. chocolate milk ~ $0.99 ~ used $1.00/1 wyb 2 gal. white milk MQ printable = $FREE+

**I normally only buy organic milk, because of the added hormones in regular brands. So when I went to the store I intended to get organic...however it was $2.50 more a gallon, when I read the label on the Kroger milk it stated that their farmers pledge not to treat their cows with hormones...so for this deal we will give it a try :-)

Target ~ My meat deals for 11/20/09

I was super blessed to be able to catch a great meat markdown at Target on Thursday & Friday...we needed meat, so this was perfect timing...Isn't God cool like that?
I stocked up on some chicken and beef. While I was there I meet a great gal that I had only communicated with via email...Rachel it was great meeting you and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your coupon organizer ;-) so chic! I also ran into several F&F peeps too and I met a super sweet lady who teaching canning, woohoo! It was a great outing :-)

Here's what I got:
(sorry no picture, as I was in a hurry and needed to get everything repacked for the freezer)

Spent $27.51 SAVED $76.25 (includes tax)
2 packs of chicken legs (10 piece) $2.50 each - $1.50 coupon on meat = $1.00 each
8 packs of all natural boneless/skinless chicken breasts (1.25lbs package) = $1.50 each
10 packs of Laura's Lean ground beef (1lb pack) $1.00 = $1.00 each
1 pack beef stew meat (2lb pack) $2.35 = $2.35
3 jars Heinz gravy $0.79 each - $1.00/3 MQ coupon = $0.46 each
1 bunch green onions markdown $0.89 = $0.89

Tune in later to see what I did with the chicken legs :-)

**P.S. A big THANKS to whomever left the gravy coupon on top of the gravy jars (it was expiring that day)! If your reading this...you rock! That was a really nice surprise :-)

Publix Penny Item ~ 11/22 & 11/23

The Mystery Penny Item at Publix for Sunday 11/22 & Monday 11/23 is:

Publix Sliced Cheese, individually wrapped

This week's penny item is available with a $10 purchase (before coupons) and is only available on Sunday 11/22 and Monday 11/23.

Happy Shopping!!!

Coupon Preview ~ Sunday 11/22/09

This Sunday 11/22/09, you can expect 1 insert in your Sunday paper:

1 SmartSource

Please remember to pick up the paper with your area's largest distribution (I buy the Tennessean) as papers with lower distribution do not contain as many coupons.

**NEXT WEEK ~ there will be no inserts due to Thanksgiving!

Happy shopping!!!

FREE activity book from Lysol

Parents, family and caregivers -Teach your kids fun ways to learn healthy habits with this exciting booklet filled with games, puzzles, pictures and more-brought to you by the makers of LYSOL® and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP).
Kids will love to learn about healthy eating, hygiene and safety when they play the road safety maze, complete crossword puzzles, connect the dots to discover healthy teeth and gums, and more!

After all, LYSOL® cleaners and disinfectant products have long helped families to avoid illness and maintain good health and hygiene. The Healthy Habits Activity Booklet for Kids is just one more way for the makers of LYSOL® to continue caring for the needs of families and households.

Click here to receive your FREE copy!

THANKS Dr. Mel ;-)

Mall Coupons! Awesome :-)

CBL Malls throughout the country have free holiday coupon books that you can use for stores in your local mall. You can pick these up throughout the mall, or you can print most of them online!

To get to the online coupons for your mall:

1.Go here to find a mall near you, click on your mall.
2.Click on the red box that will pop up at the top of the page.
3.On the left side click on “Holiday Coupon Book”

For the locals...Cool Springs Galleria is included :-)

These are great for Christmas shopping!!!

THANKS Southern Savers!!!

Some more great printables!

Print this $1/1 CoffeeMate creamer coupon...this could mean FREE creamer if a good BOGO sale comes along :-) Go HERE to print yours.

Go HERE to print a $1.50/1 WetOnes coupon! Could also mean FREE wipes with a good BOGO sale.

Here's hoping...fingers crossed ;-)

THANKS IHEARTSAVINGMONEY!

Tasty Tuesday ~ recipe sharing!

Here is an example of a really cheap meal that will feed a lot of people...there are 4 of us in my family, however this meal fed us and my parents with a little leftover :-) Utilizing coupons and sales...this entire meal costs us less than $4.00!!! Total cooking time from start to finish...25 minutes!

Because I come from a family of Cubans...I LOVE cuban food...however it can be very time consuming and costly to make...so on my budget I revamp things using what I have gotten on sale with coupons to make the meals that I love but without the cost and headache. So, here's what I did...

I start with 2 large cans of black beans (Progresso & Bushs both make a great black bean that we often get coupons for). I know, I know...you're thinking CANNED BEANS yucckkk! But the secret to not having to slave away rinsing, sorting and boiling beans is to buy canned beans and then season them up :-)
Sooo...I start with chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil, just saute until tender. Then add the beans to the pot and stir together. Next, I season them to taste with "seasoned pepper" and "garlic salt with parsley"...then I add 2 whole bay leaves and a seasoning called "Jamon" (it's made by Goya and found in the ethnic section) basically it is ham flavored concentrate...it is amazing and I use it in all my beans :-)
Now...just let that cook on med. heat for about 15 minutes.

Now is when I start the yellow rice...another real time saver is to used to canned white meat chicken (I stock up when it is on the lowest sale). So I start the water boiling according to the directions on the package...as soon as it boils I add the rice and 1 can of drained sweet peas and 1 can of drained chunk white meat chicken. At this point I cover and simmer according to the package directions...about 20 minutes. Just fluff when ready to serve.
**Side Note ~ depending on what's in my pantry sometimes the chicken is Perdue Shortcuts...sometimes it is leftover rotisserie chicken...just use what you have ;-)

Something that I look for and stock up on when it is on sale is Goya fried plantains (found in the freezer section). These are pretty close to homemade and really super easy to prepare...really, all you do is remove the outer wrap and place in the oven...how simple is that?
While the plantains are baking, so is the bread...this particular night I did not have any cuban bread :-( BUT I did have garlic bread in the freezer...free garlic bread in fact...gotta love coupons! So I improvised again and used that instead.

The only other thing I do for this meal is finely chop some onion and soak that in a little olive oil for topping the black beans. Um, Um Good!

**P.S. If you are the adventurous type and like trying new things...then try adding a little bit of italian dressing to top of your bowl of yellow rice...my family adores it that way :-)

Cracker Barrel ~ Rewards Program!!!

Anyone who knows me...know I LOVE Cracker Barrel...so I am thrilled that there is a NEW rewards program. Go HERE to sign up! You get a $5 off $20 purchase coupon just for joining :-) Then you can earn rewards for eating and shopping as well!

THANKS Coupon Savings Game!

Tons of Printables!!! Go Print yours NOW!

There are a whole new group of Campbell’s, Pepperidge Farm, Swanson, and V8 printable coupons out. Go here to print any.

$1.50/3 Campbell’s Chunky soup bowl or can
$1/4 Campbell’s Condensed “Great for Cooking” soups
.50/2 Campbell’s Condensed Tomato soup
.50/2 Campbell’s Condensed soups (excluding Tomato, Chicken Noodle & Creams)
$1/2 Campbell’s Gravy
$1.50/3 Campbell’s Healthy Request soups
$1.50/3 Campbell’s Select Harvest soup bowl or can
.50/1 French’s French Fried Onions
$1 off Pepperidge Farm Cookie Collection, Holiday Cookie Bites or Pirouette Rolled Wafers
$1/2 Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread
$1/2 Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Turnovers
$1/2 Pepperidge Farm Stuffing
$1/2 Swanson Stock Cartons
$1/2 V8 100% Vegetable Juice or V8 Splash beverages 64 oz.
$1 off V8 V-Fusion Juice 48 oz.

THANKS Southern Savers!!!

While you printing, go check out ConAgra Food's Simple and Delicious website for even more printables. Go HERE to print!

$1/1 Egg Beaters Flavored Variety
$.50/2 Hunt’s Canned Tomatoes
$1/1 La Choy Creations
$.75/1 Marie Callender’s Pasta Al Dente Al Dente
$.50/1 Wesson Oil

RedPlum also has some NEW printables up...Go HERE to print!

$1/1 Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer or Lip Gloss
$1/1 Burt’s Bees Non-Lip Product
$2/1 Coty Fragrance
$.75/1 I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (Target Only)
$.50/2 Domino’s Sugar
$1/2 Pillsbury Cookie Mixes
$2/1 Prevacid 24-Hour Product
$1/1 Starbucks Ice Cream
$2/1 Visine Product

THANKS Coupon Cravings!

Publix Penny Item ~ 11/15 & 11/16

The Mystery Penny Item at Publix for Sunday 11/15 & Monday 11/16 is:

Publix Franks

This week's penny item is available with a $10 purchase (before coupons) and is only available on Sunday 11/15 and Monday 11/16.

Happy Shopping!!!

Coupon Preview ~ Sunday 11/15/09

This Sunday 11/15/09, you can expect 3 inserts in your Sunday paper:

1 SmartSource, 1 RedPlum and 1 General Mills

Please remember to pick up the paper with your area's largest distribution (I buy the Tennessean) as papers with lower distribution do not contain as many coupons.

Happy shopping!!!

Publix trip ~ 11/8/09 SAVED 95%!!! Spent $2.58 ~ SAVED $46.02

Ran into Publix today for milk and the penny item...before tax my total was $0.28! Great trip!!! I LOVE Publix!!!

Here's what I got:

Spent $2.58 ~ SAVED $46.02 (inlcudes $2.30 tax)
1 ~ gallon Publix Milk ~ $2.59 ~ no coups
2 ~ Aunt Jemima pancakes ~ $2.69 BOGO ~ used $1.00 MQ/1 printable = $0.35 each
2 ~ Scotch packing tape ~ $3.19 BOGO ~ used $1.00 MQ/1 printable = $0.60 each
6 ~ Nestle toll house filled cookies ~ $2.89 BOGO ~ used $1.00 MQ/1 peelie = $0.45 each
1 ~ Special K blueberry cereal ~ $3.89 BOGO ($1.95 for 1)~ used $1.00 MQ/1 printable & $1.00/1 Target = $FREE+
2 ~ Zantac 8ct. ~ $4.59 ~ used $5.00/1 printable MQ & $3.00/1 Publix Q = $FREE+
1 ~ Publix Oats ~ penny item

Publix Penny item ~ 11/8 & 11/9

IHeartPublix is reporting that the Mystery Penny Item at Publix for Sunday 11/8 & Monday 11/9 is:

Publix Oats

This week's penny item is available with a $10 purchase (before coupons) and is only available on Sunday 11/8 and Monday 11/9.

Happy Shopping!!!

New Kroger E-Coupon site

Looks like there is a new e-coupon site for Kroger...It's called “Fall Savings”, go HERE to see the site!

Southern Savers is reporting that some of these coups match up with tomorrow’s ad :-)

Here's what is on the Fall Savings site:

$1.50 off Activa 8-pack
$1 off AXE Shower Gel or Tool
$2 off Benefiber
$2 off (8) Caesar Canine Cuisine Entrees
$1 off Caress Body Wash or Bar Soap

.50/1 off Cottonelle toilet paper 4-pack double roll
-$1 off Cottonelle printable(IE) or printable (FF)

$2 off Depend
$2 off Excedrin 80 ct or larger
$2 off any Ex-lax
$2 off any Gas-x
$1 off any Hefty product
$2 off Huggies Diapers box pack
$1 off Kleenex 3-pack bundle
.75/2 Knorr Rice or Pasta sides
.50/1 off Kotex Overnight Pads
.50/1 off La Victoria Taco Sauce 12 oz or larger
.50/1 off La Victoria Enchilada Sauce 19 oz or larger
.25/1 off La Victoria Green Chiles 4 oz or larger
.50/1 off La Victoria Salsa 12 oz or larger
$2 off Maalox
$1 off any Pedigree Treat for dogs
$2 off Poise
.55/2 Ragu Pasta Sauce
$1.50 off Scott Tissue 12 pack or larger
$1 off Scott Towels, long lasting roll, 4 pack
.55/1 off Shedd’s Spread Country Crock spreads
$1.25 off Slim-Fast ready-to-drink or Bars multipack
$2 off Theraflu
$2 off Triaminic
$1 off Viva Towels 6 pack

THANKS SouthernSavers for the heads up!

Kroger TRIPLES trip ~ 11/7/09 Spent $8.39 ~ SAVED $48.84

I headed out to Kroger this morning with the kids and the parents in tow...I wanted to pick up a few things that I still wanted and help grab a few things for my parents. When I got there I saw that Cousin Willie's White Cheddar popcorn was on sale 10/$10...yikes, not good people! Anyone that knows me, knows that I am addicted to that stuff...it's the one thing that I crave, want, need...and I can normally keep from buying it because it is around $2 a box (which is way above my buy price for popcorn)...well, anytime it goes 10/$10 I am pretty much in trouble :-) So I picked up 4 boxes today...you would have thought I won the lottery...heehee!

I didn't notice until after I was in the car checking the receipt that the popcorn had rang up at $1.25/box...so I went back in to customer service and they refund the difference PLUS gave me one box free...Kroger's policy is that if it is priced wrong you get one free..woohoo! I felt better about splurging after I got that $2.16 back ;-)

So here's what I got today:

Spent $8.39 ~ SAVED $48.84 (includes $1.59 tax)

4 ~ Cousin Willie's popcorn

2 ~ Betty Crocker boxed potatoes (mega event)

2 ~ Pillsbury Simple cookies (mega event)

4 ~ Pep.Farms garlic bread (mega event)

2 ~ Playtex gloves (mega event)

1 ~ Coffee Mate creamer

2 ~ Dixie plates

2 ~ Dixie bowls

1 ~ Bob Evans sausage

Coupon Preview ~ Sunday 11/8/09

This Sunday 11/8/09, you can expect 2 inserts in your Sunday paper:

1 SmartSource, 1 RedPlum

Happy shopping!!!

A Faithful & Frugal alum goes shopping!!!

Stephanie, one of our Faithful & Frugal alum, called me today to let me know that she hit Kroger for a quick TRIPLES shop and not only did she save $48.00 today...BUT Kroger actually paid her to shop... that's right, when it was all said and done she got back $1.36!!!

Awesome shop Steph...Thanks for sharing :-)

Veteran's Day FREE Food for Veteran's!!!

Applebee's is saluting our Veteran's on Veteran's Day with a FREE meal!!!
Check out www.Applebees.com for more info.


Also be sure and check out Outback's special Veteran's Day deal too!
Go to www.Outback.com for more info.

Harris Teeter & Kroger TRIPLES shop ~ 11/5/09 Spent $12.97 & SAVED $140.17

Did 3 transactions today @ Kroger...that's my little frugalista in training :-)

Kroger ~ TRIPLES EVENT 11/5/09
Spent $8.69 ~ SAVED $103.49 (includes $3.38 tax)

2 ~ Dole Pineapple 4 ~ Betty Crocker potatoes
8 ~ Pillsbury pie crusts
4 ~ Listerine pocket paks
4 ~ Tabasco sauce
1 ~ Healthy Life bread
2 ~ Country Crock butter sticks
1 ~ Nestle chocolate chips
2 ~ No Yolk noodles
4 ~ Simply cookies
1 ~ Ragu pasta sauce
3 ~ Chex mix
2 ~ Domino powered sugar
4 ~ Hunts tomatoes
2 ~ Yakisoba noodles
1 ~ Rotel tomatoes
1 ~Balsalmic vinegar
1 ~ Red wine vinegar
2 ~ Candy bars
1 ~ Orbitz gum

Then it was onto Harris Teeter to grab a few more things at their TRIPLES event :-)
Harris Teeter ~ TRIPLES EVENT 11/5/09
Spent $4.28 ~ SAVED $36.68 (includes $0.78 tax)

4 ~ Tony's pizzas
4 ~ Birdseye steam fresh veggies
2 ~ Tabasco sauce
2 ~ Duke's mayo
2 ~ Progresso chicken broth

More links for HT TRIPLES

Frugal Dr. Mom just posted some more great links for matchups as well as some information on a few catalinas that will make TRIPLES even sweeter ;-)

Go HERE to see the post

Thanks Frugal Dr. Mom!!!

Harris Teeter ~ TRIPLES

Harris Teeter Triples!!!! November 4th-11th ~ Woohoo!!!

I have confirmed that the Peartree Village location in Brentwood is participating!

***** Most of the time when Harris Teeter TRIPLES so do the local Kroger stores...meaning if the Kroger store has a HT nearby they triple too...I called the Franklin Pike Kroger and they are saying that will not know if they are TRIPLING until in the morning...so if you plan on shopping in the morning...call Kroger first ;-)*****

Go HERE for Hot Coupon World's matchups

Go HERE for Southern Savers matchups

Go HERE for Coupon Kim's matchups

Remember Harris Teeter TRIPLES have rules...they are:

1. You do not have to buy 2 of the B1G1 items, each item will ring up half price.
2. Coupons are tripled that are .99¢ or less.
3. They will triple 20 coupons per day/transaction.
4. You must have a VIC card to get sale prices and for your coupons to double.
5. Most stores only allow one coupon per B1G1 deal, so only buy one per transaction if possible.

REMEMBER: You get the best deal with any coupon that is $0.75 - $0.99 cent when matched with an item that is under $3.

Coupon Preview ~ Sunday 11/1/09

This Sunday 11/1/09 you can expect 3 inserts in your Sunday paper:

1 SmartSource, 1 RedPlum and 1 P&G

Happy shopping!!!

Publix Penny Item ~ 11/1 & 11/2

The Mystery Penny Item at Publix for Sunday & Monday, 11/1 & 11/2, is:

Publix Peanut Butter

This week's penny item is available with a $10 purchase (before coupons) and is only available on Sunday 11/1 and Monday 11/2.

Happy Shopping!!!