Grocery Shopping the Past 2 Weeks = $71.44

County Market this week has some great deals with their Penny Pincher coupons. I've combine a majority of their store coupons with Manufacturer coupons. For example, the photo below I only spent $1.83! I used the Duncan Brownie coupon ($o.77 each) and stacked it with a $0.50 coupon online, so I only spent $0.27/box!

Same sort of deal with the Eckrich hot dogs...I used their penny pincher coupon ($0.99) and stacked that with a $0.55 coupon. That made each package cost $0.44!

County Market = $1.83 (saved $8.12, which is 82%!!)

County Market = $19.49 (Saved $15.23, which is 40%)

Holy Strawberries!!! We got 4 lbs. for $4!!! Hello, smoothies!!!

Big Lots = $23.21

I was so excited to find the Apple Jacks on clearance for $0.25/box!!!

The Wheat Thins were only $2/box!!!

The Wesson Vegetable Oil was only $5, so broken down that was a far better deal than buying 3 bottles of oil.
County Market = $26.91

(No, I did not buy that girl in the photo!! :)

I used a lot of the Penny Pincher coupons to make my total bill way less than normal.

Total spent on 2 weeks of groceries came to a total of $71.44! We have $50/week budgeted for the summer (now that my sister is living with us), so this week we stayed under budget!

Champaign Bike Sale

I thought I would pass on this information if you're looking to sell a bike or buy a bike here in Champaign.

Thanks, Nancy H., for passing on this information.

Last Call - Consign Now COMMUNITY USED BIKE SALE Hosted by Champaign Cycle Sat. May 7, 10 - 5 Sun. May 8, Noon - 4 At 506 S Country Fair Dr., Champaign, IL 61821 Click on the link for hours and location business hours. Don't miss this opportunity to clear your garage of an unused bike. Sell your bike or donate it to Habitat for Humanity Do you have an old bike in your garage that you no longer want? Bring it to Champaign Cycle to be included in the 2nd Annual Community Used Bike Sale. If the bike sells you receive the sale price minus a 10% consignment fee which goes to Habitat. If the bike doesn't sell you can either pick it up or you can donate the bike to Habitat for Humanity or you can simply donate your bike initially. You will receive a receipt for a tax deductible contribution, you will have more room in your garage, and you'll have the satisfaction of helping a local charity. The profit from the consignment fee goes to Habitat for Humanity. Champaign Cycle will receive no money from the sale. See below for all the details Do you want to buy a good used bike, trailer, or trail-a-bike? Come to Champaign Cycle during the sale for a good used bike. We will inspect all the bikes and they will be in good operating condition. We will have a checklist detailing the condition of the bike hanging from the handlebars. Since the owner, not Champaign Cycle, will be selling the bike there is no warranty from Champaign Cycle. However, we will do our best to honestly represent the condition of the bike and answer questions about the bike. So please stop by during the 2 day sale to inspect the bikes. _______________________________________________________ Attention used bike owners who want to sell their bike: 1. Your bike must be in safe operating condition to be included in the sale. We will inspect all bikes when you bring them in. The tires must hold air, and brakes and gears must work. If you wash the bike and inflate the tires before bringing it you will have a better chance of selling it. We will fill out a checklist which will be on the bike during the sale listing the condition of major elements of the bike. If the bike needs repair to be in safe operating condition you can repair the bike or we will repair the bike for you at our normal repair rates. If the bike sells we will deduct the repair cost from your sale price. If your bike does not sell and you donate it to Habitat we will remove the labor portion of your repair bill, which will be a further donation to Habitat from Champaign Cycle. For the sale to be a success for both the seller and the buyer we must present the bikes in good condition. We must respectfully decline any bikes for the sale which are not in safe operating condition. 2. You will set the price you want to receive for your bicycle. We will give you our opinion on what is a reasonable price for your bike but it's your bike and you set the price. We will suggest prices which are fair for both you and the buyer and which will make it likely that the bike will sell. 3. We will accept used bikes for the sale through Friday May 6 during normal business hours. Click on the link for hours and location. 4. Please email us if you want to sell your bike at the Community Used Bike Sale. It would be a great help if you would email us before you bring in your bike so that we can plan better for this event. We will reply to you to confirm and will inform you of any changes or additional information. Email us at usedbikesale@champaigncycle.com with any questions. You can check what's on sale at Champaign Cycle anytime. Last year we sold 84 bikes , this year we expect more so don't delay.

Starbucks

Starting May 6th-15th, Starbucks is having half off frappucinos from 3-5 pm. If you're a coffee drinker, or just love the way they taste, this is the time to stop in! For more details, click here.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Craigslist Purchase

I am very excited to show off my latest purchase on Craigslist recently. A Sit and Stand Stroller! I was checking them out at Target the other day, because I needed a stroller that would fit my 4 year old and 3 year old on long walks. They retail for $175! Ouch! There's no way that I would pay that much for a stroller, even if it's what I wanted.

So I've been diligently checking out Craigslist to see if anyone in town was selling one, and I found one the other day! They were selling the stroller for $70!! Woo-hoo!!

Now that summer is arriving, I am more likely to take the boys for long walks, even to get some groceries! Thank you, Craigslist!! So, if you're looking into making a big purchase, check out online to see if someone is selling a used one, first.

My Favorite Things

Here is one of my favorite things:

Lilacs!

Our New Addition

Just wanted to share with you all our new addition to our backyard! I've always wanted a rain barrel and now my next hope is to have one under all four corners of the house. And if you're curious where we got it, we got it for free!! Yup, my neighbor was getting rid of his, because he never used it anymore!

Of course, with all the rain that we've been getting here in central, Illinois, it didn't take long to fill that barrel up.

I'm sure our neighbors also enjoy seeing a rain barrel instead of all the 5 gallon buckets I used to have on that corner of our garage.

We've also had this rain barrel up since Earth Day, so we've made it one of our Earth Day projects. Do you have any rain barrels at your home? If so, how many?

Busy Baking Day

I was a busy girl today, let me tell ya! I can't remember the last time I baked/cooked pretty much all day long. It was very rewarding in the end, though, having my husband come home and say "This house smells fantastic!"

This morning, Pudge helped me get started by making some homemade granola, yum! We went out last week to pick up all the ingredients, we just needed more honey. I found a bunch of different kinds at the County Market on Duncan Rd. here in Champaign. My husband suggested we use local honey, because of the benefits it could have on allergies.

We made enough granola to fit into 2 (9x13) pans!

Then we found this huge Kellogg's container to fit it all into. I would have to say that that's equal to about 4 boxes of store-bought granola!

I've also been on a kick of making our own sandwich bread. Since we went to Sam's Club and got flour and yeast, why shouldn't I? The recipe I have makes about 2 1/2 loaves. I got the recipe from The Frugal Girl, and you can check it out here. She also wrote a great article on comparing the price of store-bought bread to homemade bread, I highly recommend reading it.

I also made some homemade pumpkin rolls, and those were equally as delicious. Those were made for a family who just had a baby and is a part of the Mothers and More group I'm involved in.

I also made that family a Beef and Barley Soup in the crock-pot. So our house was smelling great by the time the rolls were done!

So with all that being said, I feel like such a home-maker! It's a great feeling knowing where your food comes from. Have you made anything from scratch this week? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Wednesday: $0.31 Ice Cream!

If you're in the mood for some cheap ice cream, on Wednesday night from 5-10pm, Baskin Robbins is having $0.31 scoop night! It's been tradition for our family to go (this will be our 3rd year), because they also have a fire truck parked in the parking lot so that the kids can check it out! You can get up to 3 scoops, one time only. So I recommend getting those 3 scoops!

For more information and details, click here.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Here are some fun photos from the past 2 years of my family attending this event:

(2010)

(2009)

(2009)

(2009)

Grocery Shopping this week = $60.38

We went over our budget of $50 this past week by $10.38. Here's what we got:

County Market: $19.95

(Not Pictured: Apple Jacks, Pops cereal)

Aldi: $22.00

Can you tell that we like apples here in the Fisher household? Specifically two little boys! If you total up how many bags of apples I bought over the past week, it would total up to 4!!

Meijer: $18.45

Eggs were only $0.99 this week, so I got a couple dozen. $0.99 and under is the only price I try to pay for eggs. The rest of the items were to use to make granola and granola bars.

So, total for the past week was $60.38. This coming week we're going to try better at making a meal list and finding ingredients to keep up with them. Thanks for stopping by!

Free Coffee!

For those of you coffee lovers out there, head out to Caribou Coffee on Earth day (Friday!) with your reusable cup and get a free cup of coffee! For more details, click here.

Free Tree on Earth Day!

If you're in need of a tree, head over to Lowe's on Earth Day (Saturday, April 23rd) and they are giving away 1 million trees! What a great idea!

Thanks, Moneysavingmom!

Garden Update

It has been a busy week, let me tell you what. My awesome husband entered a radio contest and won! He won not 1, but 2 truckloads of screened garden compost! (only we could be excited about this, I know...) He won it from WIXY country radio, and the screened compost is from Urbana Landscape and Recycling Center (which is a great place to go!). So we've been busy trying to disperse this huge pile that accumulated in our driveway.

Before I show you what our yard looks like now, I wanted to show you a before picture. This is from last summer, and see how we only have a little garden on the left...this summer it's going to be twice as big as that!

My sister and husband did most of the hard work while I took down some laundry that was drying outside (and watched the kids). They were such troopers shoveling the compost out of the truck and hauling it to where it needed to go.

Here is Z-man with all our veggie plants as they "harden" outside in the sun. The boys love to help water the plants.

Here is a photo of our backyard with the idea that we are going to plant a couple rows of corn along the fence. This is before we put compost on it:

And here is my sister spreading that rich compost over it:

This a view from our deck of the two raised "beds" that we saved from the landfill. Someone was going to throw theses two Captain-type beds away, so we figured that we'd try to reuse them, and here's what it looks like now.

I am so excited to start planting seeds and transplanting the plants that we have indoors. If only the weather would start warming up. Are you growing any vegetables or have started your gardens yet? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

Free Sam's Club Entrance

If you need to stock up on supplies from Sam's Club, this weekend is your weekend! From April 15-17th, you can get a free entrance into Sam's Club and there are no extra charges. Click here to find out more information.

I heard through the blogging world that if you bake from scratch often, then stocking up on baking yeast at Sam's is the best deal around. So I might be heading out there for that same reason.

Do you have any good deals that you stock up on at Sam's?

Thanks, MoneySavingMom!

Salvation Army Thrift Store

I haven't been to any thrift store in a long time, mostly because we don't need anything right now. But the other day, I couldn't help myself and I had to stop in the Salvation Thrift Store on John St. It was after my doctors appointment, so I had no kids with me and I was all by myself. I love those moments.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you what I found. A pair of shoes for Pudge! I've been looking for awhile now for some simple shoes that he can just slip on, and I told myself that I wouldn't buy any for full price. So, I was thrilled to see them at the thrift store!

They have super heros on them and were a little dirty when I found them. But once I brought them home, they cleaned up pretty nicely! Plus, they have velcro, so Pudget can put on the shoes himself. Here's a photo of them:

And the best part about them was that they were only $1.63!!! Now, that's a steal! Have you found anything at a thrift store lately?

Meet My Sister Amber!

Meet my sister, Amber! She has come to live with me and my family this summer. She got a job in Savoy and will be living with us till August. I like to say that I never knew how I lived without her here. It really has been a blessing in disguise, because it's just nice to have another adult around to help.

Here she is with our mom and dad:

I told her that I would pick out all the photos that I had of her eating, because that is mainly what this blog is about...

We are going to increase our weekly grocery budget by $10, because there is another mouth to feed in the house now.

She is so good with our two little boys, too! It's nice to have a live-in babysitter as well!

So, welcome to our home, Amber!

Grocery Spending for 2 weeks = $98.48

If you haven't read in my earlier post, we are increasing our grocery budget to $50 a week, because we have an extra mouth to feed in this house for the summer. My sister has come to live with us and work for the summer. So, instead of $40/week for groceries, we've increased it by $10/week.

County Market = $31.32

CVS = Free with using my Extra Care Bucks.

County Market = $2.01

I used some "penny pinchers' and combined them with a manufacturer coupon and got each box for $1!

Aldi's = $65.17

I love Aldi's, what more can I say...

Total spent for 2 weeks of groceries = $98.48

Free Summer Bowling for Kids!

This program is back again this summer, where your kids can bowl free all summer long!

Kids Bowl Free allows your family to bowl 2 Games FREE everyday all summer. Plus, there is a family pass option where parents, grandparents, older children that don't qualify for the Kids Bowl Free passes and babysitters can join in the fun and get the same great 2 FREE Game offer every day.

Visit http://www.KidsBowlFree.com for all the details.

To find a local bowling alley near you that's participating click here. If you're in Champaign or Urbana, Old Orchard Lanes in Savoy, IL is participating!

Plus, when you register please enter my email address (samanthadorothyfisher@yahoo.com) so our family is entered to win some great prizes including Gas Cards, Amazon.com Gift Cards, Weekend Hotel Trips, Restaurant Gift Cards and many more!

Please recommend copy and paste my email address in the "Referred By" field on the registration page and we'll both be entered to win.

As soon as you register you'll receive an email to confirm your email address. You can then let other families know about Kids Bowl Free too...and have a chance to win these great prizes and enjoy all of the FREE Bowling!

Enjoy!

Grocery Shopping this week = $20.13

The picture above was from County Market. I spent $20.13 on the above purchases. I was really excited to see that the Smart Taste Pasta was only $1/box, and I had a bunch of ($1 off 2 boxes) coupons. Also, the McCormick spices were free.

My receipt said that I saved a total of $25.82 which is a grand savings of 57%!

We usually set aside $40 as our grocery budget, so as you can tell, we're a little under this week. I can use that money this coming week for better sales. Thanks for looking!

Homemade Donuts

I wanted to share a recipe that has been passed down from my husband's side of the family. Homemade donuts!! It's super simple to make them, and fairly cheap.

All you need to make these tasty treats is a package of biscuits from the store, vegetable oil, and sugar.

All you need to do it use a bottle cap to make a hole in the middle of the biscuit, and you've got donut holes!

While you are preparing the biscuits for donuts, heat up the oil in a saucepan on the stove.

Then add the biscuits to the oil. When one side of the biscuit is cooked, then flip it over and let the other side cook.

When they are cooked, place them on a plate with sugar on it and roll them to coat them.

Then, eat up!