Possessed Antlers | Bargain Hits and Misses

Sunday
Now, we will not have any temperature below freezing. I am so happy. However, the rain now will just be miserable. Some places will have freezing temps and freezing rain. Not us. If the rain had come in during the freezing temps, road conditions would have been so dangerous. Plus, we might have lost power due to trees and power lines downed by the ice on them.

Today, I found two eye products reduced so low that I purchased them. Hmmm, they are for a darker sister! Those will go back!

The Sunday paper has six coupon inserts today.  I had gone over the coupons online and found several I could use. So, I bought two newspapers. When I have the Sunday papers, the ads for drug stores are included. I know all the ads are online, but it is difficult to read the print and sometimes to even see the product, so I am grateful for paper ads.

Reduced to 50% and 75% were items for birthdays and Christmas gifts this next year. Of course, I purchased them.

My Christmas antlers are possessed. I had left them on the dashboard. Every time I hit a bump in the road, just a little one, they come on. So, in the dark I drive along with little red lights blinking. While I was out, I tried to find replacement lights. If I put this thing up for next year, I am quite sure it will burn out and maybe have acid all over. Maybe not. There are lots of tiny led lights, but none to use for my antlers. It looks like Hobby Lobby will be the place to find them.

My scalp is still suffering from the nails of the shampoo girl. Also, I have a scabby area around the edges of my hair. ugh Plus, my hair is not in good shape.

I forgot to buy butter. There is none in the refrigerator, so a midnight run will be necessary. Yes, that is a trip for one item. But, traffic will be very light. I can find a parking place more easily. There will be an electric cart available. And, most importantly, I want to have oats, so butter is necessary.

Monday 6 pm
Okay, I did not get butter since I did not go out last night.  I have a plan. The game kickoff is in an hour and thirty minutes...so says exbf. By the time I get dressed and get down there, WM will be a wasteland, so I can find a place to park, find a cart, and shop in peace. Well, there rarely  is a crowd in front of dairy unless someone has said the "s" word.

Plus, I need to get more Immodium and Zofran to make it through the night. Tomorrow, I go to doctor again.

I have a plan. Exbf will go along with it. He will bring butter to me if I can find it for less than I can. Of course, he won't have to search. I will do the research and he can pick it up for me.

Monday 8 pm
The parking lot was practically empty. Inside, there was a quiet that is not usually there this time of night. I spoke to a young male employee, just small talk. He said it was so quiet on the roads when he came to work that he got there in record time. I reminded him of the Alabama game. 

I think I paid $3.84 for butter, about twice what people online are paying for butter!

Monday 11: 30 pm

Alabama won. While I am not a Bama fan, I did want them to win. My son roots for whoever is playing Alabama.

Okay, I have written on this for two days. I will publish now.

Who were you rooting for? No, I am not actively a fan, just have my choices. Is there a certain brand of butter you find on sale most often?

1, 2, 3, 4 Free Things on Sunday

I posted this on Sunday and only about ten people viewed it in 24 hours. The giveaway post still showed up on other people blog rolls. I have no idea what is wrong with Blogger. Even when I reverted the giveaway post to draft, it still showed up. Okay, I am hoping more people view this. I hope it shows up when you click on my blog on a blogroll. Let me know.

1--Friday, I received a flyer with the Publix Thanksgiving tasting event. I needed apples, and the apples from Publix are superb. I also took a tiny sample of the ever-present potato cheddar bacon soup at the deli. Between the one-day samples and the soup, I had lunch.

These were all recipes for Thanksgiving. Samples were available.

*Greek Style Chicken Breast Dip
This was available ready made. I would have just eaten it with a spoon from the deli container. My sample had two large chunks of chicken breast.

*Sriracha Shrimp Fondue
Did not go near this station. No shrimp or sriracha for me.

*Spiced Tree Nuts
It was like pulling hen's teeth to get the person to tell me what tree nuts he had--pecans and walnuts. These were delicious. But, why did he insist they were "tree nuts"? My six pecans were yummy.

*Caramel Pecan Crunch Decadent Dessert
Good, but I would have skipped this. It was too sweet for me.

*Publix Premium Egg Nog Ice Cream
Delicious!!!

*Warm Pumpkin Mallow Dip
Great, lots of real pumpkin in the recipe.

With the three ounce sample of the aforementioned potato/cheddar/chicken soup at the deli area, I needed no lunch.

2--Each week, I check online to see if the coupon inserts are worth paying $2 for the paper. I had not checked yet. However, when I went to the car after going to Publix, there was a yellow bag underneath my windshield. It held nine coupon inserts. The same friend that met me and gave me inserts for so long and then left them on top of the car at Walmart, had left more inserts while I was parked at Publix. Today, there was no paper in my yard from a neighbor down the street. So, this worked out fine for me.

This friend was a young 18-yr-old when I was mid-30s, and I showed her how to use coupons and the basics. She was impressed with the savings. She is a nurse now, 30 +years later and has a daughter that she says is better than she is at finding bargains using coupons. I did not help her to benefit 30 years later, but it has worked out that way. She still uses coupons.

After going through the nine inserts, I found several coupons I will use. All these things will go on sale for Thanksgiving, so all I have to do is match these coupons to the best sale.

3--On the way to WM I passed something in the middle lane, the turn lane, also known as
"the suicide lane." It appeared to be s small, round, metal aluminum tub, so I turned around and went back, parking right in front of it in a bank entrance. It looked sort of gross, so I wondered if it were nasty, well, too nasty for my trunk. No, it was not, it only had wet leaves in it. I slung them out, stuck it in the trunk and congratulated myself on my find.

It looked old. The pan was about 6" deep, 16" across at the top and about 14" across at the bottom and had a hole to hang it, aluminum. I have a larger one I bought for $1 at a yard sale. It was so new the label was still on it.  If this one does not leak, I can wash it to use to put produce in to bring in. If it has a leak, I will make the hole larger and plant something in it. The whole pan looks like it was beaten. The bottom is very rounded from some sort of pounding, so it does not sit flat. I really like it. And, it was free.

4--Oh, and I got more free sweet potatoes, about three pounds.

How have you done on the "free" front lately? Do you or have you ever picked up something from the side of the road or the middle of the road?

Online Store Circulars and Coupon Information

 

Saving money? Let me introduce you to three online resources to increase your coupon savings and your efficiency. Maybe you have tried some of these resources.

1)
I found a feature in my online local newspaper  that interests me. I usually buy the Sunday paper from my hometown and from Birmingham. Our Walmart will "price match" all ads in about a 60-mile radius, even if I am not able to get my hands on a newspaper or choose not to purchase a newspaper. If there are no coupons in the paper, all the newspapers are sold, or I cannot get out, I can use this feature and still have access to ads and deals I might want to check out. Maybe you can find this feature in your local paper.

Refer to ad picture.I clicked on the small icon for CVS and got an ad. A viewer can turn the pages. Plus, the ad for each product can be enlarged to easily read. Blogger insists the picture be at the head of this post, not where I wanted it!

2) There are sites that inform readers which insert (P&G, Smart Source, Red Plum and others) are in the Sunday papers. Google "coupon inserts 2014" to get other sites that list coupon inserts. I chose this site at random. There are other features also--"How to save money without coupons."

Here is a sample of the format for coupon inserts:
January 5 — (2) Redplum, (2) Smart Source
12 — Redplum & Smart Source
19 — Smart Source
26 — (2) Redplum & Smart Source & Procter and Gamble

Yes, I did get four coupon inserts in the Birmingham News last Sunday. I use this feature before I go purchase a paper to know which inserts should be in the paper! Okay, some days I forget. That makes for a real hassle, going through multiple papers to determine the most common number of newspaper inserts for each insert..

3) Plus, there is one site with "Sunday coupon previews" that even lists the coupons  in the inserts and tells when the coupon expires. That was a "wow" moment for me. You cannot order coupons or print from this site. Here is a sample from the site with a partial list from Red Plum.


Sunday Coupon Preview
Regional coupon inserts & value differences are to be expected!
(x) before coupon = multiple of same coupon
ETS = excludes trial sizes

Emergen-C $1.50/1 vitamin supplement drink mix 10ct+ (2/28)
Gain $.50/1 detergent or fabric enhancer (2/28) ETS
Gain $1/2 detergents or fabric enhancer (2/28) ETS
Garnier $2/1 moisturizer (3/8)

If you can use any of these three sources, you can spend less time on the coupon search!  There are many sites that have the coupon information like the last two examples. Just google for other similar site. The first resource will possibly be in your copy of your local online newspaper. Or, look for ads on a site of a nearby city.

Have fun!

Your turn
Do you ever use any of these sites--local, insert sites, or coupon lists--to help you make decisions and save money? What sites do you use?