Welcome!

If you are brand new to couponing and just visiting this blog you can start at the Coupons 101 - Overview to get a start on the how to's of couponing.

Always, feel free to contact me at thriftymomincolorado@gmail.com

Friday, August 27, 2010

FREE Photo Book up to a $39.99 value!


If you are a new customer to Picaboo, they are offering a FREE Large Custom Photo Book when you use code FREEBK through August 31, 2010.

This code is good for one 20 page Large Classic, Classic Leather, or Classic Custom photo book up to $39.99 in value.

Shipping charges run $8.99, so a little steep for shipping but a 20 page photo book for only $8.99 is a GREAT deal!

Get all of your pictures together and put one together, these make great presents for the grandparents or anyone else.

Lowe's Build & Grow Clinic Tomorrow


Tomorrow, Saturday August 28th between 10-11 am Lowe's is having another FREE Build & Grow clinic where kiddos can make a wooden school bus. Go here to sign up and get more information. These are great FREE family acitivites.

Leapfrog Videos: 2 for $10.39!


My kids LOVE Leapfrog videos, our favorites are Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory. Right now, Deep Discount has select Leapfrog videos on sale buy one get one free with free shipping when you use code KIDSBOGO! I believe the only Leapfrog video not included in this sale is Word Caper.

I ordered Math Circus and Let's Go to School and paid $10.39 for both shipped - that is the lowest price I've seen on these videos!

There are other kids movies that are a part of this buy one get one free deal, just click on the button on their homepage to view other available titles.

I'm not sure how long this deal is good for, so get them now if you are interested.

30% off at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic


Now through Sunday, August 29th use this coupon to get 30% off your purchases at Gap, Old Navy or Banana Republic stores. This coupon is good on sale and clearanced items too but is only good in-store, not online. It just cannot be combined with any other offers, like that great Gap Groupon deal that we just had.

The best part of this deal is that Teach for America, a great foundation gets 5% of what you spend!

I stopped by Old Navy today and picked up a super cute sun hat, 2 pairs of tights and a cute tank top for my daughter all for under $7! The hat alone was regularly priced at $10!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

And the big winner is...


Donni! Who said she will be getting some new drapes for her front windows! I will be in touch to get you your gift certificate - congrats! Thanks to everyone who entered, hopefully I will have some more giveaways in the near future.

Safeway Weekly Deals 8/25 - 8/31


It looks like a slower week at Safeway this week as well. I guess I won't be needing to do much grocery shopping this week!

There are a bunch of Safeway coupons in the ad this week, you must spend at least $10 to use these coupons. Safeway is doing another weekend sale this Saturday and Sunday.

Weekend Sale (good Saturday and Sunday only):
Wish-Bone Salad Dressing 16 oz.) $.99 - limit 3
Use $.50/1 printable
Cost = FREE!

Oscar Mayer Sliced Bacon (12-16 oz.) $3.49
Use $1/1 printable
Cost = $2.49


Other Weekly Deals:
Dial Liquid Hand Soap (7.5 oz.) $.88
Use $.35/1 from the 8/15 RP
Cost = $.18

Nabisco Snack-Saks (8 oz.) $.99, with in-ad coupon - limit 10
Use in-ad coupon and $.75/2 from the 8/8 SS, you must buy 2 to use the second coupon
Cost = $.50 each, when you buy 2

Chef Boyardee Pasta (7.5-15 oz.) $.99
Use $.35/3 from the 8/15 SS, you must buy 3 to use this coupon
Cost = $.76 each, when you buy 3

Palmolive Dish Detergent (20 oz.) $1.99, with in-ad coupon - limit 2
Use in-ad coupon and $.25/1 printable
Cost = $1.49

Honey Nut Cheerios (12.25 oz.) $1.99
Use $1/2 printable, you must buy 2 to use this coupon
Cost = $1.49 each, when you buy 2

Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats (15.8-18 oz.) $1.99, with in-ad coupon - limit 6
Use in-ad coupon and $1/2 printable, you must buy 2 to use this coupon
Cost = $1.49 each, when you buy 2

Yoplait Gogurt $2
Use $.75/2 printable, you must buy 2 to use this coupon
Cost = $1.50 each, when you buy 2

There is also a promotion where you buy any 3 participating juices and get 2 snacks free. Products included are: V8 Red and V8 Fusion (48 oz.), Treetop or Motts Apple Juice (64 oz.), Izze Sparkling Fruit Drinks (4 pack, 8.4 oz.), Langers Cranberry (64 oz.), Capri-Sun (10 packs), and many more. Free snacks include: Quaker Chewy Granola Bars (8-10 count), Kellogg's Pop-Tarts (8 count) and Rice Krispie Treats (8 count). I am not sure of pricing on the juices, if you come up with a good scenario please share it with us. Make sure you are not trying to use coupons for the free snacks, as Safeway's coupon policy prohibits this.


Meat/Seafood:

Sanderson Farms Whole Chicken $.79/lb.
Pork Loin Rib Half Sliced $1.29/lb.
Boneless Top Sirloin Steak $3.99/lb.
Jennie-O Turkey Store Lean Ground Turkey Breast, regular or Italian (20 oz.) BOGO



Produce:
Palisade Peaches $.99/lb.
Red, Green or Romaine Lettuce $.99
Seedless Navel Oranges $.99/lb.
Fresh Express Salads (8-12 oz.) $1
Personal Mini Watermelon $1.99

King Soopers Weekly Deals 8/25 - 8/31


A little bit of a slower week at King Soopers this week, but some good prices on organics. Don't forget your reusable bags, as King Soopers gives a $.05 per bag credit!

Grocery deals:
Country Crock (15 oz.) $1
Use $.40/1 printable
Cost = $.20

Yoplait Greek Yogurt $1
Use $.30/1 from the 7/11 SS or 8/8 GM or printable here
Cost = $.40

Horizon Organic Single Serve Milk (8 oz.) $.88
Use $.55/3 printable, you must buy 3 to use this coupon
Cost = $.55 each, when you buy 3

Chef Boyardee Pasta (7.5-15 oz.) $1
Use $.35/3 from the 8/15 SS, you must buy 3 to use this coupon
Cost = $.77 each, when you buy 3

Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent (31-44 load Liquid) $2.99
Use $1/2 printable, you must buy 2 to use this coupon
Cost = $2.49 each, when you buy 2


King Soopers Large Eggs (dozen) $.88
Doritos, Rold Gold Pretzels, or Nabisco Snak Crackers $1.99
Kroger Cheese (8 oz. bars or shreds, 6 oz. deli slices) $1.50
Colorado Proud Milk (gallon) $1.98


Meat/Seafood:
80% Lean Ground Beef $1.79/lb.
Half Boneless Pork Loin $1.99/lb.
USDA Choice London Broil $2.99/lb.


Produce:
Olathe Sweet Corn $.25
Donut Peaches $.33
Organic Barlett Pears $.69/lb. - Great price for organic pears!
Organic Bananas $.69/lb.
Green Beans $.88/lb.
Palisade Peaches $.99/lb.
Iceberg Lettuce $.99
Organic Zucchini $1.50/lb.
Organic Beets (bunch) $1.50

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A couple of great Weekly Plus deals


Weekly Plus has a couple of deals I thought were worth mentioning.

Through today, you can get 2 rounds of 18 hole mini golf at Extreme Mini Golf in Westminster for only $5! What a fun family activity.

They also have a deal for a $15 haircut and style from one of 5 stylists in Denver, Littleton, Boulder, Greenwood Village and Arvada. Sounds like a great deal for a haircut.

Go here to log into or sign up for Weekly Plus account to get in on these great deals. Make sure you click on the button on the right hand side of the page that says view all Denver deals.

I am LOVING all of these daily deal websites - how about you?

It's Back...80% off Restaurant.com certificates!


Restaurant.com Weekly Promo Offer 468 x 60


Restaurant.com is offering 80% off of their gift certificates now through August 31st, when you use code CLEARANCE when checking out! This means you can score a $25 gift certificate for as low as $2 or $3! Just make sure to read the fine print for each restaurant as each one sets their own terms. By using these gift certificates, my family is able to eat a great meal out and save a ton of money. Stock up now while they are on this great sale.

A little hint, I actually purchase generic restaurant.com gift certificates when this promotion is running if the restaurants I want are not available. They usually "restock" their inventory at the beginning of the month so when the new month starts, I go and exchange my restaurant.com gift certificate for the actual restaurant I want to use it at. You can purchase these generic gift certificates in the middle box on the first page.

Sprouts Weekly Deals 8/25 - 9/1


As always, Sprouts does double ad Wednesdays so if you are shopping today, make sure to check out these deals that are available through today. Looks like another great week for produce deals!

Grocery:
All Vitamins 25% off
Raw Almonds $3.99/lb.


Meat/Seafood:
Whole Fryer or Cut up Chicken $1.39/lb.
Pork Butt Roast or Country Style Ribs $1.47/lb.
Rock Cornish Game Hens $1.47/lb.
Chicken Wingettes $1.47/lb.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs $1.47/lb.
USDA Choice Rump Roast $2.99/lb.
Mahi Mahi Fillets $3.99/lb.

Produce:
Whole Seedless Watermelon $.25/lb.
Cantaloupe $.33
Mangos $.33
Red or Russet Potatoes $.50/lb.
Yellow Onions $.50/lb.
Roma Tomatoes $.88/lb.
Hass Avocados $.88
Yellow or White Peaches $.88/lb.
Nectarines $.88/lb.
Red or Black Plums or Pluots $.99/lb.
Red, Green or Black Seedless Grapes $.99/lb.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

High Value Qdoba Coupons


Go here to play "The Cure" game to beat burrito boredom. Rumor has it you can get 50% off entree coupons or even coupons for a FREE entree with a drink purchase.

Let us know what you win!

Don't forget...


to enter the first giveaway that is open through this Thursday (August 26th) at 10 am MST! There are no strings attached, you could be the winner of a $40 gift card. Go here to check out the details and enter. Make sure to post your entries on the original post and not this post.

Also, make sure you are leaving separate posts for following and what you would buy, that way you get 2 entries. Good luck!!

Buying Local Produce...

I walk a fine line between being thrifty and not so thrifty in many areas of my life. I love to save money but still be able to have great things.

I buy lots of organic products which cost a small fortune but I feel the need to splurge on some items because I feel like certain things are not needed in my families bodies. I don't feed my family anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup and try to eat as few processed foods as possible.

My kids LOVE fresh produce and this can be a budget killer! This summer I decided to try something new and joined a CSA program - CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In essence it is like buying a share of a local farm. Each week for 18 weeks at the farm I joined, I get my share of produce. If it is a good growing season, you reap the rewards, like huge bags of corn but if it is a bad growing season, you may not get as much.

I did a lot of research before joining our program and talked to a bunch of people who already were a part of these kinds of programs. After much research, I went with Miller Farms in Plateville, just east of Longmont. Unlike most CSA programs who have your weekly produce preselected for you, Miller Farms allows you to go to one of the many Farmer's Markets they attend each week and load up your box. This was super important for me as I don't eat bell peppers and have heard that you usually get plenty with a regular CSA program.

Miller Farms CSA program runs for 18 weeks from June to October and you can get a half share or full share of veggies. I opted for a full share, which says it feeds 4-6 people but I think it could easily feed at least that many adults each week. This year the cost for this program was $600. This sounds like a lot, but when you break it down, it really is just over $33 per week, for locally grown great produce! If you buy organic produce, then you know how expensive it is and what a great deal this is.

They are not certified organic because that costs at least six figures, but they don't use pesticides or herbicides on their produce.

I cannot tell you how much I have loved this program and am sad that we are already more than halfway through the season. My kids love going to the market each week and helping pick the veggies and learning about where their food is coming from. It has also been a great way to increase our veggie consumption by forcing us to eat more veggies as we always know we have more coming next week. It has also saved me a ton of trips to the grocery store, thus saving me money on items I end up buying when I walk in the door!

They also have a fall festival that runs from Labor day through November 15th where you can go be a farmer for a day. Your entrance fees include tons of fun farm activities and even includes produce harvesting that you get to take home with you including potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, Indian corn, squash, peppers, and the list goes on! You even get your very own pumpkin to take with you.

I know I sound like an infomercial for them, but really cannot express how much I have loved this program and will definitely be signing up for it again next summer! Just so you know, I received nothing for posting this - just wanted to spread the word about this amazing program!

Check out the pictures below of some of my weekly pick ups... (I have to say that these pictures don't really do all of the produce justice - it is a ton of food!)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Walgreens Weekly Deals 8/22 - 8/28


Instead of posting on the blog today, I spent a huge chunk of my day blanching and freezing the biggest bag of corn you have ever seen! Sorry for the lack of posts today.

In my craziness of a day, I wasn't able to get the Walgreens matchups done, but you can go here to Hip2Save to check out her super great list of deals. Just keep in mind that we may not have received the same coupons or amounts listed on the coupons she posts.

What thrifty things do you do?


If you have read this blog for any period of time you know that the most "thrifty" thing I do is use coupons regularly, meal plan, shop sales and stockpile items when prices are at their lowest. This helps keep our grocery bill pretty low each month.

I regularly make my own laundry detergent and many cleaners.

I also made it my goal to not purchase bottled water as much as possible. You can almost always find me carrying a metal water bottle for each of my kids and myself. It is an easy step to save some money (bottled water costs a fortune and often comes straight from the tap) and help keep plastic bottles out of the landfill. You gotta love it when something is thrifty and earth friendly.

We also made the decision almost 5 years ago to cut cable out at our house. We now get a whopping 8 channels of TV but save a ton of money and spend our time doing other fun things as a family.

This summer we have only ran our air conditioner 4 times. We have central air conditioning and it costs a fortune to run. So this year we decided to try to use it as little as possible. We have fans that we use and also open up windows to try to get some airflow. We've spent much more time hanging out in our basement since it is so much cooler down there.

I've also decided to learn how to can produce this year and have already done my first batch of pickles.

Well, enough about us - what about you? What thrifty things do you do?