Free Coupon Class!

I have had several ladies interested in learning how to coupon so I will be having a coupon class on 

Friday, May 6th at 6pm at my mom's house. 

(If you need directions, let me know!)

The best part is it will be FREE! 

Sort of...

Instead of charging for the class all I am asking is that you bring a side dish or dessert.

I am hoping that this will be just a fun, laid back time as we discuss how to coupon. Even if you already know how to coupon you are welcome to come, have fun, and share some things that have helped you on your journey of couponing.

If you have any questions you can leave a comment or email me at pertylilredneck@hotmail.com!

~Joy

 

Weekend In Review

Saturday we went to my brothers house for our family get together.

The Guys

Salmon and Halibut

Thomas and Josiah chillin' in the rocking chairs watching Wyatt swim.

J and his new baseball helmet from his Easter basket from Nana.

The Big Hunt

Proud of his eggs that he found. (He's been asking us to hide things ever since so he can go find it.)

Nana, Josiah, and Grandaddy

Me & J

Daddy & J

Easter Morning- J with his new Mr. Potato Head

What Josiah looked like before we left for Church

What Mr. Potato Head looked like before we left for Church

After Church we went to our friends house for a wonderful lunch and soaked in some air conditioning.

Isn't this a cute bunny cake!

(sorry it's sideways, didn't feel like fixing it.)

Josiah has been a nut with all the pieces to Mr. Potato Head. 

Smile!

This morning when I woke up I could hear Josiah quietly calling out "Mommy, help, I stuck." 

When I went in his room this is what had happened...

I laughed made Michael come see and snapped a picture before I helped get the bucket pulled off.

I love being a Mommy!

~Joy

Publix Shopping Trips

Spent: $20.87  Saved: $50.13 or 71%

I ran into Publix Monday night to grab some things before my coupons expired. Some things were out of stock so I ended up spending more than I wanted but that happens. I have submitted my receipt to get a $10 Publix gift card.

***

Spent: $23.84 (+$1.96 tax) Saved: $53.58 or 69%

I wasn't going to do a post tonight because there are a million and one things that need to be done it seems, but I HAD to post this picture! It was just too cute!

We had a really great time over at my brothers house for our Easter Family Get-Together.

 And for good measure...

The carrot cake I made turned out really well! I used this recipe from Paula Dean, minus the nuts. :) And for the record it pairs really well with an ice cold glass of milk!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Resurrection Sunday!

Josiah Colors Easter Eggs

The little man had fun and we enjoyed watching him! Can't wait to see him hunt for them 

tomorrow with his cousins!

Tips For Finding Meat on Clearance

  For the longest time I would never even walk by the meat section at Publix. I had this mental thought that Publix meat although high quality was just too expensive. Even some of their sale prices just did not entice me.

Then one day I was thinking about how I always found clearance meat at Walmart because I always make it a part of my trip to browse the meat dept. and look for those
bright yellow tags that scream "I'm on clearance!"

This made me decide to begin browsing the meat at Publix and learn how they put their meat on clearance. 

So this is what I have learned, and I hope it helps you to spot meat on clearance and hopefully save your family some money!

 Know some price points for meat.
This way when you do find meat on clearance you know if it is a good deal or not.
I try not to pay any more than $.99 per pound for bone-in chicken whether it is drumsticks or whole chickens. So I know when I am browsing the meat and I come across a package of chicken for less than $.99 that means if I have money in my budget leftover I am buying as many as I can.
I purchased an online class last year from Grocery University that has a 'rock bottom price list' that I utilized a lot until I figured out what the lowest prices are for my area. I find that the lowest price for bone-in chicken is $.79/lb in my area.


 Once you know your price points learn how to spot the clearance tags.

I look for two stickers. The easiest one to spot is the red 'Special Today' sticker.
Publix uses a ton of red stickers that say various things so you really have to pay attention.
The other one is the 'on sale' sticker.

Next I look to see if there is a price tag of top of a previous price tag.

I know that sounds weird. But its what I do. :) Can you see in the above picture on the left hand side some residue from a previous tag? This means that they had to mark it down because the use/freeze by date is soon. They mark it down so they can move it out instead of throwing it out (or whatever they do with it) and losing more money. The next picture is easier to tell that its on its second price tag.

Here is an example of Ground Turkey that I found on clearance.

Once I find meat on clearance I then look it over carefully to make sure it looks good just like you would do if it wasn't on clearance. I have found that because Publix is held to a higher standard that I never find anything wrong with the meat. The same is not always true at Walmart, last week I saw the nastiest ground beef on clearance. So just make sure you check it over like you normally would.

Another thought is to make a mental note of the use/freeze by date on the other meat. This will give you a good idea of when to check back to see if it is on clearance.

I've not done this but another idea is to chat it up with the meat department employees and ask them for any tips on finding their meat on clearance. Then come and tell us all what they say!! :)

These ideas may not work too well if your Publix is a high traffic store, but I find that it works well at my Publix. Even if your store is high traffic remember it never hurts to walk by and check.  You never know what you might be able to score!

If you have any other tips that you've learned about how to save money on meat please feel free to comment and share with everyone else. I hope these ideas help your family like they have helped mine!

My name is Joy, and I am a clearance tag shopper!

CVS/Publix trip + Answer to Prayer!

CVS

Spent: $6.99 (+1.39 tax)   Saved: $29.32 or 81%

Received $11.30 ECB's back

***

Publix

Spent: $27.38 (+$.77 tax)  Saved: $93.53 or 77%

I was excited to find some more meat on clearance! 

My completely free items (not including the free item from the bogo's)

***

I had some really awesome samples come in the mail in the last few days!

***

We also had a HUGE answer to prayer today! The offer that we put on a house was accepted!!! We are THRILLED with this news! Thank you so much to those who prayed with us about this house! Now comes the not so fun part of paperwork and inspections and more paperwork. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we take the next steps towards buying our home!

Thankful

 Psalm 68:19

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah."

 

This verse came to my mind last night, and then this morning as

I looked at this cute little face covered in yogurt.

He asked for yogurt so I got it out and opened it and got him a spoon. Then he decides that he didn't want it anymore. I explained to him that it wasn't nice to ask for something then turn it down when it was in front of him. I then told him that he WAS going to eat the yogurt and NOT put it on the floor. I made sure he understood that it was not to be found on the floor, then I went and did the dishes.

When he told me it was all gone, I came over and tried my best to keep a serious face. 

He looks at me and says "Mommy, yogurt not on floor! YAY!"

Then he turns on his serious face and says, "On face, made mess, sticky."

 

So do I really believe that God DAILY loadeth us with benefits? 

The answer is YES!!!!!

If I can't find a blessing from God each day than perhaps I am focusing too much on the sticky mess and not on the fact that for the first time yogurt was not on the floor, or that those same little hands that make a mess from time to time also brings me flowers and rocks.

Maybe this isn't a really good explanation or illustration but to me it blessed my heart and reminded me of how much God loves us and how much he gives to us!

Has the Lord given you something to be thankful for today?

 

Walmart (Hasbro Game Deal + Free Pizza)

I don't normally pass on the details of deals just because of the time it takes to do it but this one I think is worth it! I bought Candy Land & Operation this morning real cheap plus there is a 'rebate offer for free pizza'. You can submit it for up to five games but you certainly don't have to buy five! I bought two games but may go back for 3 more. Who knows!?! Please be sure to read the rebate carefully to ensure you submit it properly!

Buy 5 Toy Story Operation Games @ $5 each
Use 5 $3/1 from Hasbro Play Saver 4/10
Pay $10 oop + tax
Submit receipt for free Tombstone Pizza Coupons! Use this request form!

Too Random of a Post for a Title

• Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at my sister's church's ladies banquet. (I was a nervous wreck) Becky did a great job of decorating and getting the food prepared. She did a "Tea Party" theme.

And because I believe in 'keeping it real' my loving sister took the MOST UN-FLATTERING picture of me as I was speaking. 

Thank you, Becky. 

• Monday night, we got together with our neighbors and let the kids play in their pools. We ended up eating dinner together as well. It was a nice surprise to get to spend time with friends!

• Today, Josiah and I headed to Wally World to pick up a few things. He was such a talker today. This is what I got for $17.

Crazy, huh? Publix is SO MUCH CHEAPER... when you have coupons! lol I did get the Airwick warmers for free, though! :)

In a separate transaction I got these two games for $5 + tax! Both of these games are priced for $5 each right now. I had a $2 q for CL and a $3 q for TSO! I got these to add to our Jr. Church Memory Madness Store! So now is a good time to grab your coupons and stock up for birthdays or end of the year school gifts if these games are age appropriate. 

• When we got home I was excited to get to use those pitas I bought yesterday for lunch. I split one open for Josiah and made a pizza. He must have really loved it because he ate the entire thing. Best of all one pita made 2 pizzas costing a grand total of less than 50 cents to make. :)

For me I created some sort of Chicken Pita quesadilla-looking sandwich-type thing. It cost me about $1 to make using leftover rotisserie chicken from last night, onion, lettuce, ranch seasoning, cheese and a homemade spread. 

I didn't even use that dressing. The pita didn't need it! :) 

• We are re-submitting an offer on a house today. Will you pray with us that the Lord's will be done concerning this house? 

• Someone dumped a boat on the side of the road filled with miscellaneous junk right down the road from us. I can't help but shake my head and wonder if anyone in this world has a sense of responsibility anymore.

• Josiah is learning Ephesians 6:1! He is doing SO well! If I tell him to say his verse by himself he says "Verse 6:1 Children... obey.... YAY! SIAH DID IT!!!!!!" It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside! :)

Thanks for taking your time to read this post! I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Joy