This past week seemed to fly on by. The daily garden chores are taking a little longer to complete and summer vacation is right around the corner, but all I really want to do is take a nap.
I need to get my rear in gear and buck up. After all, this is what I’ve been waiting for all year right? To grow vegetables. 2000 pounds of vegetables. Holy Moly. It’s show time. There is no time to rest. I suppose I’ll just have to wait until winter to take a siesta. You know, after all the food has been harvested.
Albertsons $4.58
I would have to say, Monkey Boy drinks the most milk in our house. If I were to buy 10 gallons a week, he would still manage to drink it all. What’s up with that? Do all teenage boys drink 2 gallons of milk a week? Is that normal?
Albertsons – FREE
Ahhh. The Albertsons razor deal. Did you make money on it? Well I didn’t. When I placed my order for the Gillette razors last week I was hoping I would receive not only a bunch of FREE razors, but a $5 catalina coupon for every 6 razors I purchased as well. But no such luck. The razors were still free with the B1G1 coupon from the PG coupon insert, just not a money maker. I was a little bummed.
I already have enough razors from a previous transaction, but since I placed a pre-order with my store I certainly didn’t want to leave them with a bunch of extra stock by canceling my order. So I ended up picking up the razors {along with a free bottle of mustard and 2 free bagels}, and paid the tax on them. Somehow in the process I earned a $5 off my next purchase coupon from my Albertsons rewards points. So even though I didn’t make $60 off the deal like I had planned, I still went home with a $5 coupon in my pocket.
Now all I need to do is find a good home for the razors. I was thinking about donating them to the troops overseas. Does anyone know how I would go about that? Is there a particular address I mail the razors to or does someone know of a group putting together kits for the soldiers?
Barter with Mrs. Hillbilly & Albertsons FREE Mustard
The mustard was free of course because I used an Everyday Essential coupon from the Albertsons Summer Sizzlin’ Sweepstakes booklet, and the whipping cream came from my neighbor Mrs. Hillbilly.
Mrs. Hillbilly called me last week and said she had just finished up volunteering at her son’s school and had a bunch of whip cream left over. She wanted to know if I wanted to barter for it. My immediate response was “Do you want some Swiss chard? How about Swiss chard?”
Luckily she did!
Tacoma Farmer’s Market – $6.00
Real, local food, costs money. And I am happy to pay someone for it. I think one of the coolest things you can do is to support yourself {or your family} through one of your hobbies. And when you can produce a quality product, and sell it, well that is something I am willing to pay full price for. There are some things I refuse to barter/haggle for, and quality food from the Farmer’s Market is one of them.
Panera – FREE
Last Christmas I received a rather large gift card to Panera Bread Company. I am now down to a measly $9.54 on my gift card. I figure I’m about 3 French baguettes away from a zero balance. That should give me plenty of time to learn how to bake French baguettes before we are knee deep in tomatoes and wanting to eat bruschetta every night for dinner.
Barter with the Queen Bee {look for an upcoming story about this}
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! 5 packs of chicken, organic moose meat AND a turkey? I think I hit the jackpot! I can’t wait to prepare a turkey dinner with all the fixins’. Forget about a Father’s Day BBQ, I think we’ll have an early Thanksgiving feast instead.
Wahooo! I barely spent any money! Hot diggety!
Well… How about YOU? How did YOU do last week? Did you stock up on anything good?
Total Spent This Week $10.58
Total Spent This Year $641.36
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $463.12
Total “Seed Money” donations received $8.00
Go HERE to read more about how I feed my family for One Hundred Dollars a Month.
Do you shop at the your local farmer’s Markets? If so, check out the book The Farmer’s Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying Your CSA and Farmers’ Market Foods
This cookbook is designed to help you navigate through newly discovered foods. We want you to understand what produce is available, how to choose truly ripe vegetables and fruits, and how to best to store them. Finally, a larder of great recipes is essential to best appreciate what the farmers have grown for us. You are the people that will let progressive American farms thrive in the 21st century. You make possible our stewardship and environmental goals. ~Amazon
LaToya says
I was waiting for your big haul on the razors moneymaker. What went south on yours? I ordered mine for the prior week and went and picked up and paid for them the day before the $5 MM thing started. I think I could return them and get the MM on them and get that CAT, but for some reason I’m thinking they are not the right kind….? What’s your story?
Totally waiting for people to start harvesting here and do the ol’ barter. I have a zillion household items because I do the Walgreens stuff that I am hoping to barter for produce. And if I can do something good – I’ll share with ya’. But barter is the name of the game for me this summer.
The hubs and kids did get things planted in the garden…and we got some oregano or something dried this weekend. The garden is his thing, not mine – heh.
Mavis says
I guess for some people the cat wasn’t printing if the total was under $20 after coupons. I was disapointed but oh well. I still ended up with a bunch of free meat this week so I’m happy. 🙂
Sarah says
Good job on all the awesome deals, Mavis! I’m still trying to learn couponing and deal-making, and am a little confused about catalinas. I get some by chance sometimes at checkout, but how do you know ahead of time what catalinas you’re going to receive? Is there a note on the store ad or coupon?
(Side note: I picked my first cucumber yesterday! 12 ounces…but I think I could have left it on a few more days. Anyway, that means it’s officially summer for me; when I pick my first cucumber.)
Cher says
Easyish recipe for baugettes from ‘Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day’ cookbook.
And yes, teenage boys drink a LOT of milk….I limit mine to a 16 oz glass with each meal….otherwise I think he would drink a gallon a day!
Mavis says
Thanks for the the recipe tip! I’ll take a look.
Jenn says
From what I understand, what went “south” with the razor deal, is that you needed to have at least a small balance on your reciept for the catalina to print. I did this deal twice and both times the cat printed. The first time I bought the razors, EE catsup (free) and one reusable bag ($1.25). The second time I bought the razors, EE catsup (free) and a pack of chicken thighs, used the previous $5.00 cat and paid $0.21. My final transaction I bought a pound of hamburger, EE catsup (free), used the $5.00 cat and paid $0.80. Walked out of Albertsons with 12 packs of razors, 3 catsup, 12 pack of chicken thighs, 1 lb. of hamburger and a brand new reusable bag to put it all in for $2.26. It was pretty awesome 🙂
KK says
Mavis, I love that I found you! I always looked at the other site on Monday’s for your posts. I am on the Eastside of Seattle so you are a local inspiration to me! I am on a TIGHT budget so keep up the great work showing us how to feed the fam for less! Albertsons is also my store of choice because of the doublers so I just love seeing how you work the deals. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your time and your inspiration. You are very appreciated!!!
Mavis says
Doublers rule don’t they? 😉
KK says
Yes, they do! I won’t lie, sometimes I breathe a sigh of relief when we DON’T get them because of all of the work it takes…But, when we get them and it’s a great week of deals, it is such a rush! I hope we get that awesome cat general mills with milk promo we had last summer again. Remember that one? It was like REALLY cheap granola bars etc with the coupons and doublers and then two OYNO cats AND A free milk CAT. I am CROSSING my fingers!!
Mavis says
You are totally right. It is a lot of work.
Kate Gwinn says
Mavis, you can totally make bread. I’ll second the Artisan Bread cookbook recommendation as well as the recipe for “No Knead Bread” from the NY Times. This is a staple around our house and is super easy to make!
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
Chelsea says
Ok, i really hope this doesnt come across the wrong way, but i’m always surprised when you talk about that its important to buy real local food, but you seem to usually buy the store brand (factory farmed) milk. There are tons of good local milk choices around the Northwest like Smith Brothers or Organic Valley, Stonyfield, or even the 365 Whole Foods store brand milk got a pretty good score on http://www.cornucopia.org/
Helen in Meridian says
Sur La Table has 2 knives sharpened for free until the 17th. I know you have one in your area and might need a couple of knives sharpened.
Mavis says
Hey thanks Helen I do have a knife I need sharpened. Thanks
Angie says
If you are still looking for a home for the razors I would recommend either a local shelter or this article from frugallivingnw.com http://www.frugallivingnw.com/give-back/give-back-send-a-care-package-to-female-soldiers-from-fort-lewis-in-honor-of-memorial-day/ .
I convinced my boss to pay for shipping and sent a few boxes. If you are looking for local usually a local Lions club would know who is in need. I love paying it forward and I love hearing about others who do as well:)
Mavis says
Thank you Angie!
Lucky L. says
Glad to see I wasn’t the only one stocking up on mustard recently – tee hee.
I also was using the EE $1 coupon to buy down 1lb. bags of beans to stock up for winter. Kids like being ‘shoppers’ and using coupons.
audrey says
The USO is always looking for donations of razors, toothpaste and such to hand out to deploying soldiers 🙂
eWellness says
Love your gardening posts! Regarding your question about drinking a lot of milk, Dr. Greger/NutritionFacts.org might be able to answer why that craving happens (he answers readers’ questions all the time). I searched for “milk” on his site, and these previous articles and videos came up…maybe they’ll provide an answer? http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=milk
HomefrontSix says
Rather than ship them overseas (most servicemembers have access to either a PX or deliveries from families/friends) I’d recommend looking to see if you have either a Fisher House or a VA hospital in the area that could use them.
http://www.fisherhouse.org/houses/house-locations/#Washington
Or you can send them to Soldiers’ Angels (that’s what a friend of mine did when the commissary had a MM on razors a while back). They will put them in backpacks to be given to servicemembers who are medevaced from combat – often times the only thing they have is the clothes on their backs.
http://soldiersangels.org/donating-items.html
Either organization will be thrilled to get them!
I really enjoy your blog!
Mavis says
Thank you for the information. 🙂 They will go to a good home.
Tali says
Mavis, I got 32 packs of razors and made money on all of them…s-a-w-e-e-t!
I paired each set of 4 with secret deodorant, my balance was around $2-3 and I got back $5….
I got 8 packs for hubby
8 packs for a friend with 2 teen boys and her own HH
4 packs for a dear friend who has 2 little ones and shares her q with me all the time
…and best of all 12 packs (of 10 each) donated to the Marine via Blue Star Moms….they pair the razors with other hygiene items and send them to the marines stationed over seas….
I have $40 in Albertsons Catalinas 9which i will use at Fred Meyer since they have the cheapest cat food (I have 6 cats) and a $5 from my points…
Tracie says
Good job Tali!
Tracie says
hummmm teenage boys…we go through a gallon of milk everyday….sometimes a bit more!