A change in how I do things

Well, I guess by now everyone has figured out that I haven't been blogging very much- or not at all. We all have busy and stressful lives and I am no exception.

For some reason this school year has been challenging to me. It is taking me more time to get everyone organized, lunches made, dinner done, homework done and then it's on to the house. My house is chaotic now, and it is overflowing into how I feel.

NOT CALM. The chaos has led to me feeling very stressed. My health has once again been affected and I got strep throat again last week.

So I have decided to call it quits on this blog. I just end up feeling guilty for neglecting it which stresses me out even more.

But I can't leave the deals all together! So I started a fan page on facebook that is much easier to post on and will use that to highlight any local deals. You can "like" the page and then any updates I make will be listed on your news feed. I thought this might be easier all together since it seems everyone is on facebook. Here is the link: it is "Kendra's coupon deals around Portage".

Thanks to everyone who has followed this blog and encouraged me along the way. Feel free to leave the details of any deals you find on the "wall" of my page on facebook!

Family Dollar Deals

In case you haven't heard, the Family Dollar store in Portage is going out of business. They are still accepting coupons, so you may want to check it out to see if you can find any good deals!

They are open until the 27th, or until everything is gone.

Thanks for the heads up Vicki!

A couple Walgreens deals

Here a couple deals that I found at Walgreens this week that I thought I would share...

• Trash bags $2.99 (a great price I think)
• Maxwell House instant coffee $3.99, there was a new $1 IP released yesterday so $2.99 ea
• Gain dishsoap $0.89 with ad coupon, $1 MQ to make it a moneymaker
• Captain Crunch small boxes $1 each, used $1/2 IP to make them 50 cents
• Koolaid fizzers $1.49 on clearance, used $1 MQ = $0.49
• Thermacare $2.49, used $1 IP and got $1.50 in RR = free
• Carmex $2.99, used $1 IP and $2 RR = free

Good luck finding deals of your own!

Saving for Christmas UPDATE!!!

Way back at the beginning of the year, I posted a goal about how I wanted to pay for Christmas gifts this year by using a combination of rewards from Mypoints and Swagbucks. The original post is here.

Here is a review of how these plans are going.

Mypoints: This site lets you earn "points" by clicking to read emails, complete surveys, or shop online through many companies by going through their website. So far this year I have only read emails. I didn't complete any surveys (they are worth more points) or any online shopping (as I've been trying to save that $). I redeemed my points the other day and am getting a $25 gift card to Kmart. That will be handy for Christmas shopping!

To sign up for mypoints, shoot me an email at kendralacrosse@ymail.com and I can email you the link.  

Swagbucks: This is an internet search engine that awards "bucks" periodically when you use it to find websites. It has a toolbar that you can download that makes it super easy to use. I have had no problems with the toolbar at all! In addition, they often email free codes that you can enter to earn more bucks and you can shop a ton of online retailers to earn bucks.

I use Swagbucks almost exclusively to search for websites that I follow daily instead of listing them as 'favorites'. This way I use the search engine more. I probably earn an average of 30-50 Swagbucks daily by doing this.

Once you have a bunch of swagbucks in your account, you can redeem them for giftcards or other prizes. This week I decided to redeem my bucks in order to get ready for Christmas shopping and was able to get $75 in Amazon giftcards. I love this because Amazon runs tons of deals before Christmas!

To sign up for Swagbucks you can click here or click on the "Swagbucks" button on the top right of my blog.

Alice: Alice.com is a website where you can shop for tons of items and get them shipped to your house for FREE. They also have manufacture coupons that they deduct automatically- no clipping involved. Initially the site had mostly non-food items like tissue, toothpaste and other paper products. But now they have lots of non-perishable food items as well. I have ordered from Alice.com and was impressed with the speed of delivery! And I love getting packages! The prices may not always be the lowest around, but if you run low on time for shopping it is a great solultion!

To sign up for an account on Alice.com, click here. Once you spend $50 at Alice.com, you get a $10 credit in your account.

To Recap: I am getting.....

• $25 GC to Kmart (from Mypoints)
• $75 GC to Amazon (from Swagbucks)

Just from using it since January! And neither account was completed depleted of points so I may earn even more before Christmas even gets here!

If you want more information about any of these programs, feel free to email me at kendralacrosse@ymail.com and I'd be happy to explain!

Disclosure: clicking on my links above may let me earn points through their referral programs.

Pierce's Highlights

Here are the weekly deals at Pierce's according to me. Be sure to check out the Piggly Wiggly flyer as well as there are some coupon deals there too.

Don't forget that Walmart will price match to Piggly Wiggly or Pierce's for the same item. Be sure to bring the flyer in and tell them before they ring it up. They will not match an ad coupon though.

Page one
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Hormel Pork Loin chops $1.78/lb, use the $1 MQ for Hormel pork to get a good deal
Green or red grapes $0.98/lb
Crystal Farms  chunk or shredded cheese $1.66
Yoplait yogurt $0.50

Page two
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Azteca flour tortillas $1.18
Daisy sour cream 16 oz $1.66
Ore Ida potatos or onion rings $2.50

Page three
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10 for $10 "Topcare" items, a fair price for some of these items if you are running low
Old Orchard juice $2, use BIGI if Healthy blend is included
Quaker items on sale- use the MQ in ad to get $3 off 5 items
Fuze drink $1, use $0.75 MQ (from Kwik Trip?)

Page four
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Ortega taco seasoning $0.66, use $0.50 MQ to get super cheap
Brocolli $0.78/lb
Grape tomatoes $1.50

There they are folks. Happy grocery shopping!

Cheap Malt o Meal cereal

If you picked up the $0.50 coupons for Malt-o-meal cereal from Kwik Trip in the last few weeks, you should know this....

At Walmart (in the back by the dairy) the strawberry mini-shredders (mini wheats) are only $1. Only
50 cents after coupon!

Pierce's Highlights for the week

Yes, it's a new week and I actually have time today to post! As always, these are the deals according to me so be sure to check out the ad for yourself.

Page one
---------
Ground beef $1.68/lb
Shurfresh cream cheese $0.88
Peaches/nectarines $0.98/lb
Chicken breasts $4.88 for 3# bag
Lay's chips $1.98
**coupon for $2 when you buy 4 pepsi 12 packs

Page two
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Hormel sirloin pork chops or roast $1.88/lb, use $1 MQ to get some cheap!
Tombstone pizza $3.33
Old Orchard frozen juice conc $0.98
Crystal Farms string cheese $2.50
Kraft shredded cheese $2, use $1/2 IP

Page three
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Bush's baked beans $1.50
Sweet baby Rays BBQ $0.98
Old Dutch chips $2
Suddenly salad mixes $1

Page four
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*in ad coupon for 2 free "10 for $10" items when you buy 10. Many items to choose from, mix or match

Puff's tissues $0.98, use $0.25 MFQ

Page five
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*ad coupon for poptarts $3- when you buy two, also use $1/3 MQ
Koolaid $0.12
Knorr rice sides $1
Bear Creek soups $2.88 (these are pretty good!)
Valu time condensed soups $0.48
Caprisun or Kool aid Jammers $2, use $1/2 MQ for Caprisun

Page six
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Cantaloupe $1.50
Squash $0.48/lb
Green peppers $0.98/lb

That is all I see for now. Happy shopping!