Evil Scale Update

Well I'm happy to report I've lost 2.4 lbs in my first week dieting and exercising. Last Monday I started documenting everything I eat and all my activities on www.fitday.com and its amazingly hard to cut back on calories. I thought I ate good, but morning snacks are my downfall after riding my bike to work. I get so hungry. Right now its almost lunch time and my stomach just aches with hunger. Its painful losing weight! I also need to give up the alcohol every night, those 2 beers a night add up to 1400 calories a week. When it takes 3500 calories deficit to lose a pound, those drinking calories don't help!

 

So I did pretty good riding my bike 10 miles daily, and walking an hour at least 4 days, but the beer and the chicken wings on Saturday night were a setback. I did see the evil scale tip up slightly. I don't like to see the yo-yo pattern at all, since that's always been my downfall. I lose 3 lbs a week, but then gain a pound on the weekends with my excess consumption. This weekend I rode my bike 10 miles each day to make up for my otherwise lazy ways on the on the weekend, so that was what saved me this week.

 

Here's a chart of my calories eaten vs calories burned and I managed to burn more than eat all days, so that's good.

 

7-25-10 Two Coupon Inserts

There will be 2 coupon inserts this Sunday, 7-25-10, a Redplum and Smartsource.

Smartsource

$1/1 2000 Flushes Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner

$1/1 Almay Cosmetic product, any x10/16

$1/1 Clearasil product, any x10/17

$1/1 Colgate 360 Sonic Power Toothbrush, any x8/14

$.40/1 Colgate Adult/Kids Manual Toothbrush (excludes: Plus or Extra Clean) x8/14

$.50/1 Colgate Toothpaste 4oz+, Any, x8/14

$.50/1 Colgate WISP 4ct. or 8ct. product, x8/14

$1/1 Colgate WISP 16ct. product x8/14

$1.50/1 Farmer John Bacon x8/29

$1.50/1 Farmer John Lunch Meat, Package of 16oz. x8/29

$.75/1 Franks RedHot Sweet Chilli or Wings Sauce x9/30

$.50/1 Franks RedHot Sauce x9/30

$1/2 Fritos Corn Chips 9.25oz.+ AND Fritos Dip 9oz., any flavor/variety x9/11

$1/1 Goof Off Brand Product, any x12/31

$2/1 ICAPS Vitamin Formula, any x10/31

$.50/1 Irish Spring Body Wash (excludes 5.5oz.) or (2) Multi-Bar pack 3pk+ x8/14

$.50/1 New York Brand Frozen Product, any x10/31

$4/1; $4/2 OPTI-FREE Solution (2) 10oz. or Twin Pack x10/15

$.25/1 Palmolive Liquid Dish Soap (20/25oz.) x8/14

$1/1 Post Cereal 10oz.+ any variety

$1.50/2 Post Cereal (10oz.+), 2 of any variety and Milk (1gal.) x9/10

$1/1 Rayovac Alkaline or Hearing Air Batteries, any x9/25

$3/1 Schick Disposable Razor Package (excludes 2ct.), any x9/5

$3/1 Schiff MegaRed x10/31

$2/1 Schiff Mega-D3 x10/31

$5/1 Schiff Move Free Advanced 80+ x10/31

$3/1 Shiff Glucosamine Product x10/31

$2/1 Schiff Vitamin or Supplement (excluding MegaRed, Mega-D3, Glucosamine & Move Free) x10/31

$1/8 Scott Extra Soft Bath Tissue, off 8 or more rolls x9/5

$1/4 Scott Paper Towels Long Lasting Tolls or Mega Rolls, off 4 or more x9/5

$.50/1 Scott Naturals Flushable Wipes Tub or Refills x9/5

$1/1 Snyder's Of Hanover Pretzel Sandwiches, 8oz+, any x10/31

$1/1 Snyder's Of Hanover Lunch Packs, 5.5oz.+, any x10/31

$.50/1 Speed Stick Deodorant or Lady Speed Stick (Excludes 0.5oz.) x8/14

$1/1 Softsoap Brand Body Wash 12.0oz+ x8/14

$.35/1 Softsoap 8.5oz.+ Liquid Hand Soap x8/14

$.50/1 Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap Refill 28oz.+, any x8/14

$2/1 Systane Product, any x10/31

$1/1 Triaminic Fever Reducer Pain Reliever Product, any x8/28

$3/2 Triaminic Products, any x8/28

$1/1 Tyson Grilled & Ready Fillets, any x9/30

$1/1 Tyson Frozen Breaded Chicken, any x9/30

$1/1 Tyson Any'tizers Wings, any x9/30

$1/1 Tyson Any'tizers Snacks, any x9/30

$.50/1 Yoplait Delights Yogurt Multipack, any flavor x9/18

$.50/1 Yoplus Yogurt, 4pk, Any flavor x9/18

$.75/2 Yoplait GoGurt or Yoplait Trix Multipack x9/18

$.40/6 Yoplait Yogurt Cups (original, Light, Thick & Creamy or Whips) or Any Flavor Yoplait Original or Light Smoothie x9/18

$.40/1 Ziploc Brand Bags, any x9/18

$1/2 Ziploc Brand Bags, any x9/18

 

RedPlum

$1/1 AcneFree Kit

$1/1 Betty Crocker Brownie Toppings

$2/1 Cheer BrightClean

$0.40/1 Dannon Light & Fit (6 6oz cups or any 1 Light & Fit 4-Pack)

$1/2 Dentabites or Hairball Temptations Treats for Cats

$3/2 Flintstones and One A Day Multivitamin

$2/1 Flintstones Multivitamin 

$1.50/1 Goodlife Recipe Food for Cats

$1/2 Kellogg's Eggo and/or Cinnabon Frozen Products

$1/2 Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch, Raisin Bran Crunch, Raisin Bran Extra or Raisin Bran Cereals

$1/2 Kellogg's Special K Cereals, 11.4 oz or larger

$1/2 Kellogg's Special K Protein Products

$3/1 L'Oreal Collagen Micro-Pulse Eye 

$2/1 L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base

$1/1 L'Oreal Paris Cosmetic

$2/1 L'Oreal Shade of Preference or Root Rescue

$1/1 L'Oreal Skincare

$1/1 L'Oreal Studio Line or VivePro Glossy Styling Product

$2/1 L'Oreal Visible Lift or any L'Oreal foundation, powder, blush or concealer

$1/1 L'Oreal Vive Pro Shampoo or Conditioner

$0.50/1 Luigi's Real Italian Ice

$1/1 M&M's Pretzel, 9.9oz or larger

$1/1 Marble Mix'ins Ice Cream Toppings

$0.75/1 Minute Maid Frozen Novelty

$1/1 Nature's Bounty Vitamins or Supplements

B2G1 Nivea Body Wash for Women-B2G1 Nivea BW Men's FREE

$1/1 Nivea For Men Body Wash

$3/1 Nivea Happy Sensation Body Lotion, 13.5 fl oz

$1/1 Non-Kit Acne Free Treatment

$1/1 One A Day Multivitamin

$1/1 Pedigree Good Bites

$1/2 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars

$0.55/1 Renuzit Adjustable

$2/1 Renuzit Crystal Elements

BOGO Right Guard or Dry Idea, Up to $4.49

$1/2 Snickers Brand or Twix Brand Ice Cream Miniature

$2/1 Sun Crystals All-Natural Sweetener

$1/2 Temptations Treats for Cats

$3/2 Therma Care, 2ct or larger 

$3/2 Venus Disposables, 2ct or 3 ct 

$4/2 Venus Disposables, 6ct 

$0.50/1 Whole Fruit Fruit Bars

$0.50/1 Whole Fruit Sorbet

$10 off $20 Busch Gardens Tampa

What a great deal! If you're a passport member you probably received an offer in the mail this week that you might have overlooked. Its an offer for $10 off $20 to use towards purchase in your favorite restaurant, on merchandise in the park or any of the up-close or behind the scenes tours. It does NOT exclude alcohol, so you could get four beers ($5.49 ea) and only pay for two! This offer can't be combined with any other discount, and can't be used toward admission or games.

It is valid thru September 6, 2010.

 

To get your coupon, just go to one of the self serve kiosks outside the entrance and scan the bar code of the letter, click on Redeem Pre-purchased Internet Passport Vouchers and your coupon will print out.

 

Enjoy the Park!

The Evil Scale Is Back

This month we've been trying to clean out the little freezer so we can defrost it, and also empty out the primary freezer to make room for ice. We're planning on driving over 700 miles in August to go to one of the NASCAR races, so we can bring everything we want, including beer. Which is why we need to start making ice. So, in between the free Papa John's 10" cheese pizzas from the Rays Strikeout deal, we've been eating DiGornio pizzas, TGIF snacks like chicken wings, potato skins and cheesey artichoke dip with Tostitos. Along with that we ran out of berries so we're eating Fisher Fusion Nut snacks, Emerald Snacks and Cascade Farm granola bars for our morning snacks. Don't all these products sound familiar? That's right, they were all free or just about from using coupons.

 

Well, despite eating healthier cereal for breakfast and a salad for lunch, we've gained weight this year - especially in the last month. I have reached my threshold where I must do the turn around. Even though I ride my bike 10 miles a day, and walk 4 miles about 5 days a week, the fattening food has won again. I vow to quit buying that prepared packaged food, even if its free. Since we finished our kitchen remodel in March, we have a regular kitchen to prepare again instead of just the microwave to make our meals. Thankfully, all the Contessa meals are gone, along with the breaded fish fillets, and most of the steamers veggies. What a perfectly good way to make vegetables bad for you. Ugh!

 

So I'm starting a diet today, using my food and exercise log at www.fitday.com to track my consumption. My goal is to lose 15 lbs in 60 days. The method will be to track calories consumed, and calories burned with the simple goal of burning up more than I consume. No foods will be prohibited, but by logging in my food log it will be evident I need to drink less beer on Friday nights, and probably cut some Buffalo Chicken Wings from my meals.

Publix Sneak Peek 7/22-7/28

BOGO'sPeter Pan Peanut Butter 40oz jar BOGO $4.49
Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli In Tomato And Meat Sauce 15oz can BOGO $1.49
Ocean Spray Juice Cocktail 101oz bottle BOGO $5.39
Kellogg's Special K Cereal 11.4 to 19.5oz box BOGO $3.99
Ken's Steal House Marinade & Sauce 16oz bottle BOGO 2.79
Kraft Real Mayo 30oz jar BOGO $3.99
Del Monte Diced Tomatoes 14.5oz BOGO $1.49
General Mills Cereal 10.7 to 14oz box BOGO $3.49
Ruffles Potato Chips 10oz bag BOGO $3.99
Nabisco Honey Maid Grahams 14.1 oz box BOGO $3.99
Arnold Select Sandwich Thins 8ct pkg BOGO $2.99
Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks 6.06-7.04oz bag BOGO $2.97
Lysol Disinfectant All purpose Cleaner 22-32oz bottle BOGO $2.69
Glade Essential Oils Candle 4oz jar BOGO $3.49
Meow Mix Dry Cat Food 3-3.5lb bag BOGO $4.89
Smucker's Preserves BOGO $3.19
Campbell's Chucky Soup BOGO $2.39
Kellogg's Nurti Grain Cereal Bars 7.8-10.8oz box BOGO $3.49
Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper 4.4-7.5oz box BOGO $1.59
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake Mix 18.25oz box BOGO $1.69
Duncan Hines Creamy Homestyle frosting 16.2oz tub $1.49
Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water 12pack BOGO $3.79
Publix Peanuts 16oz jar BOGO $2.37
Blue Bird Donuts 10-11.5oz bag BOGO $2.59
Keebler 100 Calorie Right Bite Cookies BOGO $3.19
Wrigley's Eclipse Gum 60ct bottle BOGO $3.29
Spray 'N Wash Laundry Stain Remover 12-22oz bottle BOGO $2.99
Right Guard Sport 3D Odor Defense BOGO $2.79
Publix HydroCortisone 1% Cream BOGO $3.99
Popsicle Ice Pops 21.6-39.6oz box BOGO $2.99
Tombstone Pizza 18.1-29.5oz pkg BOGO $5.49
Pillsbury Pancakes 12ct 14.5-16.4oz box BOGO $2.19
Crayola Colored Pencils BOGO $2.39
Crayola Markers BOGO $3.69
Krazy Glue BOGO $2.79

Back To School Time!
Fiskars Kids Scissors BOGO $2.49
Crayola markers 8ct box BOGO $3.69
Master Lock 1ct BOGO $4.99
Sharpie Permanent Markers BOGO $6.99
Pilot G2 Retractable Gel pen 2pk BOGO $2.99
Pilot Frixion Bal Gel Pen 2pk BOGO $3.99
Poly 2 pocket 3 Tang folder 1ea BOGO $.79
BIC Mechanical Pencils 10pk 3/$3
$1/2 Bic Stationery Products, Any – 08-09-09 SS
Arizona BackPacks 25%off (Priced from $7.99-14.99)
ZAK lunch kits 25% off Priced around $9.99
Crayola Crayons 24ct box 3/$1
PaperMate Pens Flexgrip elite 2ct pkg or PaperMate Ball point pens 10ct pkg 2/$1
Dixon no. 2 Pencils 10ct pkg 3/$1
Top Flight notebooks 1ct 3/$1

Un-Advertised Specials
Lawry's Seasoned Salt 11-16oz bottle BOGO $3.45
Entenmann's Loaf Cakes 11.5-14oz box BOGO $4.29
Borden Grade A Milk 32oz carton 2/$5
Oral-B Toothbrush 1ct 2/$3

GROCERY
Bush's Baked Beans 16oz can $0.89
Chicken of the Sea Tuna in water 4pack 2/$4
Crisco Oil Pure Canola 48oz bottle 2/$5
Pepsi 12pack cans 3/$12
Pepsi 2 liters Buy 2 Get 1 Free ($1.69)
Gatorade Thirst Quencher 8pack 2/$10
Smart Balance Milk ½ Gal Carton 2/$5
Dannon Yogurt 6oz cup 20/$10
Pillsbury Cookies Ready to Bake! 2/$5
International Delight Coffee Creamer 2/$5
7UP 12pack cans Buy 3 for $10 get 1 Free
Maxwell House (31.5 oz can) or Seattle's Best (12oz bag) Coffee $5.99
Maxwell House Decaf or 100% Colombian $6.99

HOUSEHOLD
Publix Greenwise Market Charcoal 8.8lb bag $4.99
Publix Ultra Fabric Softener $2.99
Soft Scrub Cleansers (includes Total Bath & Bowl cleaner) with bleach 24-28oz bottle 2/$5
Glad Zipper Bags 30-50ct pkg 2/$5
Bounty Quilted napkins 200ct pkg $2.99
Duracell Batteries 24ct pkg $10/99
Kleenex Viva Paper Towels 4-8roll pkg $6.99
Purex Ultra Laundry Detergent $4.99
Kleenex Cottonelle bath tissue 12roll pkg $5.99
Dixie Cups Plastic Party pack 40-100ct pkg 2/$7
9' Wood or Aluminum Umbrella $39.99

HEALTH & BEAUTY
Crest Toothpaste 6.4oz tube 10/$10
Centrum Multivitamin's 25% off
Dove Hair Products 7oz bottle 2/$6
Publix Disposable Razors 4ct pkg 2/$7
Olay Various Body Washes and Bars $5.49
L'Oreal Revitalift Wet Cleansing Towelettes $5.99
Muscle Milk Nutritional Shake 4pack $6.49

FROZEN
Green Giant Frozen Vegetables 7oz box or bag 10/$10
Edy's Grand Ice Cream 1.5qt carton 2/$7
Amy's Pizza 6-14.5oz box 2/$10
Stouffer's Homestyle Entrees 6-20oz box 4/$10
Hot Pockets stuffed sandwiches 6.5-9oz box 6/$10

PET
Iams dog food 15.5-20lb bag $16.99

BABY
Publix In-Ad Q $3 off Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers 48-156 ct box $19.99
Huggies Baby Wipes Mega Pack (184-213ct pkg) $5.99

PRODUCE
Fresh Express Salad Blends BOGO
California White Seedless Grapes $1.29/lb
CA Peaches and Nectarines $1.99/lb (FL stores only)
GA and SC Peaches $0.89/lb (Outside FL Stores)
Western Grown Cantaloupes 2/$5
CA Grown Strawberries 2/$5
Russet Potatoes 5 lb bag $2.99
Tropical Mangoes BOGO
Northwest Grown Cherries $2.49/lb
Apio Eat Smart Veggies 2/$4
Grape Tomatoes 2/$4
CA Red Black or Purple Plums $1.29/lb
Sliced Seedless Watermelon $0.45/lb
Publix Reco Juice 1 Gal $2.99
Tropicana Orange Juices 2/$6
Egg Plant $1.29/lb
Red Delicious Apples $1.29/lb
Publix Carrot Sticks $1.69ea
Cucumbers 2/$1.19
Okra $1.99lb
Yellow Squash $1.29/lb
Zucchini Squash $1.49/lb
Red Bell peppers $3.49/lb
Green Skin Avocados $1.69
Rainer Cherries 16oz pkg $4.99
Eat Smart Asian or Broccoli Salad kit 2/$5
Publix or Fresh Express Spinach 2/$4

Thanks to www.truecouponing.com and Slickdeals for the Sneak Peek.

$1.82

We went for a motorcycle ride to run to Publix and Albertsons to get a few items. Luckily we had the T-Bag to hold all our boxes of cereal and toilet paper because as it happened, the Albertsons in Valrico is still stocked with the Marcal Small Steps TP and paper towels.  We spent $1.82 for all this stuff, saving 98%, or $76.86.

Publix Yellow Advantage Buy 7/17-8/6

The new Publix Yellow Advantage Buy Flyer is valid starting Saturday July 17 through August 6. You should be able to find it in your store tomorrow, if not already.

Here are the coupons in the flyer, all Publix except the magazine coupon is MQ.

 

$.55/1 JIF Peanut Butter

$2/1 Wanchai Ferry Frozen Meal or Macaroni Grill Frozen Meal 24 ozFREE Skinny Cow Frozen Treats Multipack wyb 4 Lean Cuisine Frozen Entrees
$1/1 TGI Friday's Complete Skillet Meals 24 oz

FREE Pint Fresh Blueberries wyb 2 Ocean Spray Blueberry Juice 64 0z$1/1 Sorrento Ricotta 32 ozB1G1 Cole's Garlic Mini-Loaf
FREE (5) 20 oz bottles vitaminwater or vitaminwater zero wyb (10) 20 oz bottles vitaminwater or vitaminwater zero$2/1 smartwater 1L 6-pack

$1/1 Southern Living Magazine (exp 10/31)

 

Here's a good deal on canned dog food - Get 6 Cesar Cusines, stacking use two B2G1 TQs and three B1G1 MQs.

You end up paying $0.70 for one, the other 5 are free.

 

Cesar Canine Cuisine dog food, 10/$7
-B2G1 Cesar Canine Cuisine Entree printable
-B1G1 Free Cesar Canine Cuisine Entree printable
-B2G1 Cesar Canine Cuisine Entrees (Target coupon) 05-23 RP

My Coupon Holder

I've evolved over the year from a paper envelope to my latest coupon holder that I carry with me to the store.  The envelopes worked okay but I didn't like the crinkly window plastic making noise. Plus the paper envelope only lasted about a month before the sides were ripping and the window was pooping out. So, I got this clear sturdy plastic poly envelope from the Florida State Lottery. They gave them out free for some promotion when you bought tickets at the State Fair or some other promotion.

 

I love this carrier because it is see through and I can just slip my list in the front with the coupons I'll need for sure right near the front to. Then I use a hair binder to keep it closed. I keep all my store cards and my Publix gift cards in there too, so it needs to be secure. This way I can lay it in the basket of the shopping cart and read my list, and not have to juggle the coupons too. I just pull them out at the end of the shop and verify quantities.

 

I do carry extra coupons for moneymakers items or free stuff in case I want to get them, or need a filler. I also have my rain checks and competitor coupons that I carry, so it sometimes gets a little fat. But then I know its time to clean out, usually when the Advantage Buys end and I need to restock with the new deals coupons.

 

I also put a return address sticker on the inside in case I ever lose it and someone decides they want to be nice and return it. I would recommend labeling your coupon holder with at least a phone number so if you misplace it in the store, someone who finds it could just call and you might actually still be in the area. Good luck with that, but at least you've made an effort to help the finder find you.

 

So here's my latest shop from Publix. Not the greatest (81% saved), but I'm getting a little burned out and I'm totally on budget with spending less than $100 a month this year. We used to spend $5000 a year on groceries, which now amazes me now. I'm glad we have all the tools to make couponing so profitable with our store ad match ups and sneak peeks, coupon databases, forums and blogs and of course our wonderful grocery store coupons booklets and flyers that allow stacking.

 

15-Jul	19		46.93	12.27	26.49	tax	8.84	19	-81.17%
Product	qty	price	subtl	-B1G1	-Q		total	Q#	Q details
lettuce	1	1.49	1.49				1.49
carrots	1	1.69	1.69				1.69
banana	1	0.32	0.32				0.32
mushrooms	1	2.69	2.69				2.69
cucumber	1	0.65	0.65				0.65
cantalope	1	2.50	2.50				2.50
tomato	1	0.50	0.50				0.50
english muffins	1	1.49	1.49				1.49
Bulls Eye BBQ sauce	1	1.50	1.50		1.50		0.00	1	free coupon
Kellogs Fiber Plus cereal BOGO	4	3.99	15.96	7.98	7.00		0.98	8	$1/1 MQ+ 0.75/1 TQ
Cereal GM Total BOGO	2	4.29	8.58	4.29	3.00		1.29	2	$1.50/1 peelie
reusable bag	1	0.99	0.99		0.99	0.07	0.07	1	free wyb 2 GM products
Cover Girl nail polish	2	1.29	2.58		6.00	0.18	-3.24	4	$2/1 MQ+ $1/1 TQ 6-27pg
Cover Girl lip outlast	1	5.99	5.99		3.00	0.42	3.41	2	$2/1 MQ+ $1/1 TQ 6-27pg
$/$$ coupon		0.00	0.00		5.00		-5.00	1	$5/$25 competitor exp 7/15

$2 off Smart Balance Milk Coupon

Coupons.com has a coupon available for $2 off Smart Balance Milk. I just stocked up on this last week with my raincheck at Publix. It goes BOGO every so often. Its $3.59 for a 1/2 gallon so if you have it BOGO and use two of the $2 coupons, its a moneymaker!  You can print 2 times per PC. I used zip code 14075.

 

Twitter Hop Thursday

Would you like more Twitter followers and be introduced to more neat blogs and businesses out there? Come and join us!!

1. Add your Twitter to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all).

2. Click on the Twitter for the four hostesses and follow each of them on Twitter. We will follow you back.

3. Follow as many people on Twitter as you like, but make sure to leave comments with links so they'll know where to follow you!

Spread the word and add this MckLinky to your blog! Write your own post or copy and paste this one. Below the MckLinky box, you'll see "Want to be a part of this Blog Hop? Click here for instructions and code…." Have fun Twitter-Hopping along!