Utah Saves- fun activities!

This coming week is UTAH SAVES week, and there are two special offers for members of Utah Saves in Utah Valley. What is Utah Saves? In a nutshell they are a statewide coalition of nonprofit, corporate, and government groups helping individuals and families save and build wealth. Pretty neat! The first activity there a $3 admission to any movie at the Spanish 8 Theaters on Wednesday Feb 24th.

The other is FREE arcade tokens at Pirate Island in Orem on Feb 23rd, with the purchase of a meal. You can sign up to be Utah Savers at the event so there is no need to worry if you arent already a Utah Saver. For more information about Utah Saves click here.

A Lot for Less

This weeks A Lot for Less comes from Charlyn. Charlyn and I meet a few months back at a class.

"This is not a usual "a lot for less" but I was able to get this great deal from posts I saw on She Shops Smart.

I needed to get a new infant carseat. I am pregnant with my third but my infant carseat was expiring just a few months after this baby will be born. I did a lot of research and picked a carseat that I wanted. It had great crash ratings and reviews but it was expensive!

I learned about becoming a friend of Babies R US on Facebook from your blog to receive a $5 gift certificate and I also learned about the Trade-in Event at Babies R Us from your blog. Here is the deal I got.

• I traded in my used Graco Snugride and got a 25% off coupon.
• I purchased a brand new Chicco Keyfit Carseat.
• The original price would have been 192.32 with tax.
• I received my 25% off discount which made the carseat $147.32 with tax
• I used two $5 gift certificates (my hubby signed up too) from the Facebook promo which made it $137.32.
• I also used two $25 gift certificates I bought off of Ebay for only $40 which brought it down to $87.32.
• I had $10.90 from my ebates rebate which brought it down to $76.42.
• I also earned a $5 rewards certificate to Babies R Us or Toys R Us with this purchase.
• My total out of pocket (including buying those gift certificates and the rewards certificate I will get) was $111.42.
• That means I saved $80.90 off or 42% off a carseat I had to buy.

I would have bought this carseat at full price if I had not known of these great deals!

Thanks for the great advice and awesome deals! My $80 saved will buy a lot of other necessities for a new baby.

Charlyn"

Thank you for sharing this with us Charlyn. You are a She Shops Smart pro! That is exactly what we want you to do so that you can save money all around town. Keep it up Charlyn. By the way- Congratulatons on the new baby!

Smith's Bonus Points

Today in my e-mail I received some Smith's Bonus points. I hadn't heard of them before this. They came in through my e-mail and then they load on to my shoppers rewards card. Some of the bonus points included 50 points when you buy any laundry detergent or 75 points if I buy 2 packages of crackers or cookies from the bakery department. Be on the lookout for your bonus points!

File your Fedral Taxes for Free

My husband and I used Tax Act last year and it worked out great. It took us half the time it would have taken us to go somewhere else and it was super easy to navigate through. To file our state taxes for FREE we just went to our states website and filed through there.

Last year taxes were a breeze compared to years past. This year I am actually looking forward to file for taxes.

Children's Place Coupon

The 15% off Children's Place coupon is still available to print. Hurry and print this one, because it won't be around much longer. The coupon expires March 16th.

Right now they have their windbreakers on sale for $10 and amoung many other things, but use this 15% off coupon to get a killer deal on a spring jacket!

Swag Bucks Excitement

We have some EXCITING Swag Buck news to share with next week during Swag Bucks 2nd Birthday Celebration. If you haven't already created a Swag Bucks account WAIT until we give you the okay! We can't wait for the big day!

In the meantime we wanted to give you an update on how our SwagBucks have been adding up and how much closer we are to $1,000 in Southwest Airline gift cards.

• Goal $1000.00 in Southwest Airline Gift Cards
• We will need 20 $50 Gift Cards to Accomplish this goal
• Each $50 to Southwest cost us 570 Swag Bucks
• We added 337 Swag Bucks to our account this week. We need 570 Swag Bucks to purchase another gift card so we still need 13 more gift cards.

Next week we will reveal our EXCITING news, so be on the lookout.

Chili Pulled Beef Sandwiches

With the Campbells Chunky soups being on sale for CHEAP this week at Smiths, here is a recipe to use some soup for an easy dinner. Tori and I both LOVE our crockpots. They are like the best kitchen appliance ever invented in my opinion! I love how easy they make it to have a great dinner ready!

Chili Pulled Beef Sandwiches:

"2 pound boneless beef chuck roast )
1 tablespoon barbecue seasoning
1 can (19 ounces) Campbell's® Chunky™ Grilled Steak - Steak Chili with Beans
1 large onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 package Hot Dog Buns
1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Sprinkle the beef with the barbecue seasoning.
Stir the chili and onion in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the beef and turn to coat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours* or until the beef is fork-tender.
Remove the beef from the cooker to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes. Using 2 forks shred the beef. Return the beef to the cooker. Serve the beef mixture on the rolls with the cheese.
* Or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours."

I have a roast, and cheese in the freezer that I picked up on SALE in past weeks, now I have a new easy recipe I can try using them!

Cheerios!

Cheerios... They are no longer just a breakfast cereal folks! :) In the days before I used grocery smarts I would rarely try recipes that I was not certain my family would like. Since I am now able to pick items up for cents I am much more willing to try new things. Here are some recipe ideas you can use if you stocked up on the Cheerios for .99 at Smiths this week.
One of the easiest ways to use Cheerios if you maybe "stocked up" a little to heavily, is that they can be crushed up and used as a substitute for bread crumbs in many recipes-such as in meatballs or other things that use breadcrumbs as a binder.

If you are looking for something fun to do with the kids while we have stormy weather today you could try one of the following two ideas. The nutritional information as well as more great ideas for the first two recipes listed here can be found on Cheerios.com

Cheerios Frozen Bananas

4 Firm Ripe Bananas

8 Flat Wooden Sticks with Round Ends

1 to 2 containers (6 oz each) Yoplait Thick and Creamy Yogurt (any flavor)

3 cups Cheerios

Directions

Cover Cookie Sheet with waxed paper.

Peel bananas; cut bananas crosswise in half. Insert stick into cut end

Roll banana in yogurt, then in cereal to coat. Place on cookie sheet and freeze for about 1 hour.

Wrap each banana in plastic wrap or foil. Store in Freezer.

Cheerios Teddy Bear

click here for recipe.

"Peanutty Caralmel Bars"

These sound good and its only 7:30 am! I LOVE chocolate and peanut butter!
Click here for the recipe

Meal Planning

This week I am going to run into Smiths and Macey's for my groceries. Here is my meal plan for the upcoming week. To read how I plan my meals check out this post.

Breakfast

Cold Cereal, Oranges and Toast
Sausages, hard boiled eggs and apple slices
Oatmeal, fresh blueberries and milk
Granola Bars, yogurt and toast
Pancakes and sausage
Sunrise smoothies with oranges and vanilla yogurt


Lunch
Everyone pick out their favorite banquet entree
Hot Pockets and goldfish crackers
Totinos Pizza Rolls, cheese slices and crackers
Chef Boyardee and bread and butter
Turkey Sandwiches, cheese and raisins
Tuna Sandwiches, pickles and chips


Dinner
Meat Loaf, asparagus and homemade rolls
Sirloin Steaks, baked potato's and rice
BBQ Chicken, steamed carrots and salad
Parmesan Chicken with homemade tomato sauce and garlic bread sticks
Homemade Rotisserie Chicken with broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce
Campbell's soups and sandwiches


Snacks
Mothers Animal Cookies
Homemade Apple Sauce


Desserts
Ice Cream Sundaes
Coke Floats

Give A Day Get A Disney Day

Wow, check out this awesome freebie!

I think I just found the next family trip to take!

"We want to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service to a participating organization in their communities. So we're celebrating these volunteers' good works by giving each of them a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to the Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort, free. There's no better time to make a dream come true for others and let us make a few come true for you.
You must pre-register and sign up through this site to volunteer and complete your service at an eligible volunteer opportunity in the fifty United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or Canada to receive a ticket after verification of such service. Ticket quantities for this program are limited. You must be at least 18 to sign up. You may only sign up a maximum of 8 members of your household. Children must be at least 6 to participate in the program. One ticket per person, regardless of the number of times you volunteer. Program begins January 1, 2010 and continues until tickets are distributed or until December 15, 2010, whichever occurs first. Your voucher for a free ticket must be redeemed by December 15, 2010, and used on the same day of redemption.

Go here to read the complete terms and FAQ'S."

Thanks She Shops Smart reader Tonya for this deal!

BOGO Drink at McDonalds

McDonald’s is starting a new promotion called “Refreshment Recess” where you can get BOGO drinks every Monday – Friday from 2-5 p.m. There is no coupon needed! That is just about the time of day I could use a little caffeine pick me up! As always be sure to call ahead to see if your location is participating in this promotion!

Thanks The Thirfty Couple!

Recent Deals to Be Sure to Take Advantage Of

There are some awesome deals some fellow bloggers have shared with us that we were excited about!

• Print off this $2/1 Land O Frost Lunch Meat coupon. This week the lunch meat is on sale for $2, so essentially it makes FREE lunch meat! Thanks Utah Deal Diva!

• If you live in an area where the RP coupons come in your mail be sure to use the BOGO Purex laundry detergent coupon to score some FREE detergent. Utah Deal Diva pointed out an awesome scenario using the coupon this week at Smith's.

• Go here to request a FREE sample of Tropical Chewy Lemon Heads candy! Thanks Money Saving Mom!

• Go here to print off a 20% off your entire purchase coupon at Famous Footwear, some exclusions apply, so be sure to read the coupon to see if it is something you still want to print off. My 3 year old is starting school next week and he needs some new shoes so this will come in handy. Thanks Hip2Save!

• Crest Cavity Protection 6.4 oz is on sale at Walgreens for $2.29. Use the $1.50 from Walgreens February coupon booklet (found in the front my store, right when I walk in) Also use the $.75 from PG 2/7, Final Price: $.04! Remember you do need to have as many items as you do coupons at Walgreens, so you might need to throw on a cheap peice of candy or something else to make sure you have 2 coupons and 2 items. Thanks The Krazy Coupon Lady!

• The 2010 Entertainment Book which we told you about last week, just went on sale for 40% off! That is HOT price. The coupons in the book don't expire until November 2010, so you still have plenty of time to use it, and truly it will pay for itself in the first couple uses. We used it 3 times this last weekend when we had family in town! In fact I paid NOTHING for 8 people to eat ice cream at SubZero between my City Deals coupons and Entertainment Book coupons! Everyone was so grateful and impressed I might add. Be sure to take advantage of this 40% offer.

It's a good day for couponing today isn't it!

Coupon Binder Questions Answered

After watching our coupon videos part 1 and part 2 we had some great questions come up that we thought we could answer for you.

Where do you find baseball card holders for your binder?
I have found them a couple places. At Walmart they were up by the registers near the baseball card section. I also found them at Roberts Crafts near the page protector section. In my area they were cheaper to buy at Roberts Crafts. I bought enough for I believe 150 sleevs, or about 10 packages of 15 sleeves.

How do you use the Grocery Smarts Lists if you are using a binder?
I print off the list from grocery smarts for the store I am going to and then if I am buying Digornio Pizza and the coupon was located in SS 1/3, instead of looking by date I just go to my frozen pizza section and find the coupon. The coupon location column isn't important when you have a binder. Rather you just use the lists to see what items are on sale and what coupons the lists says you have in your binder that go with that sale item.

Do you just clip out the coupons you know you will use?
No, I clip out EVERY coupon and file it away, except for my P&G and other random inserts that I told you I just keep in the back of my binder. You never know what coupon might come in handy down the road.

What sections do you have in your binder?
Baby-and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Diapers/Wipes
• Food
• Binkys, Bottles etc (These are for those coupons that Gerber always sends me)

Breads/Cereals and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Bread, rolls, tortillas and biscuits
• Frozen Pizza
• Fruit Snacks
• Crackers/Chips
• Popcorn and Nuts
• Cereal
• Breakfast Foods

Cleaning Supplies and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Laundry Supplies
• Stain Removers
• Dusting Cleaners
• Bathroom Cleaners
• Air Fresheners

Dairy and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Cheese/Yogurt
• Milk, Eggs and Butter

Desserts and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Baking Supplies
• Boxed Desserts (Pillsbury, brownie mixes etc)
• Candy
• Gum
• Refrigerated Cookies, etc
• Ice cream and other frozen desserts

Meats and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Lunch Meats
• Tyson Meats (we get lots of coupons for Tsyon products)
• All other Meats

Medicines and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Cold Medicine
• Pain Relievers
• Cough Drops/Throat Lozenges
• Chap Sticks and Lip Balms

Paper Goods and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Zip Lock Bags
• Garbage Bags
• Aluminum Foil, Wax Paper etc
• Paper Plates cups and napkins
• Paper Towels and Toilet Paper

Personal Hygiene and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Hair Care
• Lotions
• Qtips, Make Up applicators and cotton balls
• Men's Deodorant
• Women's Deodorants
• Men's Shavers and Creams
• Women's Shaver and Creams
• Body Washes
• Liquid Soap
• Bar Soaps
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes
• Floss/Mouthwash
• Make Up
• Hair Dye
• Nail polish
• Men/Women's intimates (pregnancy tests, KY products etc)

Misc. and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Asian Food
• Mexican Food
• Frozen Foods
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Condiments
• Soups
• Rice
• Pasta and Sauce

Around the House and then I have a sleeve for the following

• Office Supplies
• Movies
• Toys

Any other quesitons? In the meantime be on the lookout for our upcoming post about binder vs. file folder method conclusion.

(We are finally going to weigh in and share with you the difference we found between the 2 methods! )

Birthday Freebies

I hardly ever mention anything about my kids on my blog because I know you don't come here to read about me, but rather the good deals I find, but I wanted to wish my baby Jaxson a Happy THIRD Birthday! I can't believe how fast this year went by! We love you Jaxson Boy and wish you the happiest birthday! If you notice a lack in my posts today it's because we out celebrating his special day!

Also I signed my kids up for all the birthday clubs I could and we have so many FREE kids meals for this week I won't have to cook for my 2 boys the whole week. If you haven't already checked out my birthday post with all the birthday freebies check it out HERE today, so when your birthday rolls around you get your freebies!

(Of course I couldn't make a post without at least mentioning a She Shops Smart deal right?)

Coupons in Sunday's Paper

In the Daily Herald you should have received:
1RP insert
In the SLT/DMN you should have received
no inserts =(

To read about how the Red Plum coupons are distributed click here!

To start your newspaper coupons right away, learn about the awesome newspaper deal we can get you here.

*If you ordered the paper and you didn't receive your paper or didn't get the correct number of papers please call the newspaper company first and let them know. Their numbers are on the left side of the blog. Occasionally if you are new to a route your carrier may miss your home. The newspaper companies are super easy to work with and will make sure your papers are delivered.