1)  Shop at day old bread stores and close out stores. Sometimes you can find great deals at Merita stores, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree has even had some Nature’s Own bread.

2)  Look for coupons.  Just last week I was at Food Lion and found a great coupon.  It was to get a free bag of Sara Lee bagels with the purchase of a loaf of bread.  The bread was only $1.99 and the bagels were $3.69.  I got two free bags of bagels. 

3)  Look for promotional offers.  Sometimes Sara Lee and Ball Park will offer a promotion in which you get free hotdog buns with the purchase of the hotdogs.  If the hotdogs are buy 1 get 1 free or if you have a coupon, you can really get a deal.

4)  Use your reward points.  Stores such as Lowe’s Foods offer points to their customers for each dollar they spend.  You can use your points to get free bread.

5)  Make your own.  Some specialty breads can be really expensive, but making your own can save quite a bit of money.

6)  Don’t let it go to waste.  If you have some bread that’s going to waste, try to find a use for it.  I’m thinking french toast, cinnamon toast, cheese toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter toast, croutons.  There’s a lot of different items that can be made with bread.

7)  Look for buy 1 get 1 free sales.  Sometimes it’s easy to grab the same bread each time.  If you’re not name brand loyal, you can save 50% on your bread.  I have seen several buy 1 get 1 free offers lately.  It also provides a good opportunity to try something different.

How do you save on your bread purchases?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1) Shop sales and use coupons. During this time of year, you might see holidays items on sale. If you see the cocktail weenies on sale buy 1 get 1 free, go ahead and purchase enough for your party rather than paying full price later. Of course, make sure they’ll still be in date.

2) Have a potluck or cook off. Have a soup party or chili cook off. Award a prize to the winner.

3)  Borrow decorations and glassware.  Some of your friends and family may have a punch bowl, hurricane lanterns, greenery, and other items you can use.

4)  Serve inexpensive foods.  Rather than paying high prices for expensive finger foods, have a simple inexpensive meal.  Something with pasta is usually inexpensive.  You can also make cakes, brownies, and cookies for little cost.

5)  Make your own invitations.  You can make your own invitations using card stock.  Also, check discount stores for bargains on premade invitations.  If you feel it’s ok to go paper-free, you can email the invites.

What ways do you save while entertaining?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Use the coupon code MOM and you can purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 for weekday shows.  Any additional tickets beyond the 4-pack for the shows during the week are still priced at $11.  Or if you prefer to go on the weekends, you can save $4 off weekend tickets. To receive the savings, go to TicketMaster.com and enter MOM in the “MC promotion” box when purchasing the tickets. 

This offer is not valid on Rinkside or VIP seating and it cannot be combined with other offers.  Service charges, facility, and handling fees will apply.

Show dates:

Charlotte: October 8-11, 2009
Philadelphia: October 14-18, 2009
Atlanta: October 14-18, 2009
Oakland/San Jose: October 14-25, 2009
Fairfax: October 21-25, 2009
Sacramento: October 28 – November 1, 2009
Baltimore: October 28 – November 1, 2009
Uniondale: November 10-15, 2009
Houston: November 11-15, 2009
NYC: November 17-22, 2009
East Rutherford: November 24-29, 2009
Denver/Broomfield: December 3-13, 2009 *available for purchase on 9/12/09
St. Paul: December 9-13, 2009
Los Angeles: December 17-20, 2009
Toronto: December 18-27, 2009
Anaheim: December 22-27, 2009
Philadelphia: December 23 – January 3, 2010 *available for purchase on 10/12/09
Boston: December 26-29, 2009 *available for purchase on 9/3/09
Ontario: December 30 – January 3, 2010
Cleveland: January 8 -18, 2009 *available for presale on 10/2/09

Enjoy the savings!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1) If you have young children, consider purchasing used toys and clothes for them or having a toy and clothing swap with friends.  Young children don’t know if the item is new or used.  They’re just excited to see a different toy.

2)  Cut out some names on your list.  This may sound horrible to some, but you don’t need to buy for every aunt, uncle, and cousin.  I started practicing this tip a few years ago.  Even though I was thrifty with my shopping, things were getting out of hand and the list needed to be shortened.

3)  Host a party.  Have a party for your friends and decide on something inexpensive to exchange such baked goods, ornaments, or a gag gift.  Have everyone bring one item and then play a game to exchange.  If you’re having a baked goods exchange, then provide bags or boxes for take home food.

4)  Give homemade gifts.  You’ve heard this tip for years and perhaps you think it can’t be done.  Actually, there are so many nice handmade gift ideas out there now.  From soap, candles, purses, cookies in a jar, hot cocoa mix, and more . . . you can find something to make.

Stay tuned to Thrifty Mommy.  During the upcoming months, we hope to share some inexpensive gift ideas.

What ways do you plan to cut back on your Christmas spending?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

While many items are still good for a while past their best by date, it’s important to get fresh products so that they’ll last longer and taste better.  If you like to stockpile groceries while they’re at rock bottom prices (or buy ahead), it’s especially important that you pay attention to the dates.  It doesn’t really help to save money if the products you buy go out of date before you can use them.

One way to get the best date is to look around on the shelves.  If you find an item that’s soon to expire, move the items around and look towards the back of the shelf.  Stores put the newer items at the back so that they can sell the older items first.

Honestly, there are some products that I don’t check the dates on.  These items are usually things with a long shelf life such as cereal, cookies, and canned goods. 

Items you should definitely check the dates on are:

• mayonnaise/Miracle Whip
• salad dressing
• cheese
• coffee creamers
• coffee
• premade foods
• medicines
• meat
• dairy products

Do you check the dates on the food while in the stores?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

A few years ago, I send out an email ranting to my friends about Americans being frivilous and spending more money than they made.  If I remember correctly, at that time, Americans were spending $1.50 for each dollar they made.  That meant that we were in debt; in big time debt.  Being in debt like that really bothered me.  We are so blessed in this country, yet we’re unbelievably materialistic and we feel entitled to having everything.  That ranting email is actually what landed me this job of writing for Thrifty Mommy.  Funny, huh?

Fast forward three years later and we’re in a recession.  People are struggling more than they have in years.  Yet one thing we’ve finally figured out how to do is save our money.  Americans are finally putting money into the bank and saving it.  We’re spending less, living within our means, and saving money for a rainy day.  To me, that’s good news!

What positives have you found to this recession?

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

To save online or by phone:
Call toll-free 1-866-235-5443 to shop by phone.
Save $10 off your first $50 or more with code 30478530.
Save $20 off your first $100 or more with code 58180561.
Save $30 off your first $150 or more with code 72450213.
Also you can get free shipping on orders of $75 or more.

To save in the store, use these printable coupons.

This sale is valid August 7-9, 2009.

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Post from: Thrifty Mommy

• boys’ Maui Island flip flops $4.99
• boys’ Sketchers rubber sandals (croc type) $6.49
• boys’ leather Hush Puppies sandals $12.49
• girls’ Sugar Foot rubber sandals $3.49
• girls’ leather Timberland sandals (brown and pink) $7.49
• boys’ Sketchers flip flops $4.99
• boys’ Croc sandals (brown and orange) $9.99

The regular price of all of these shoes (the Shoe Dept price) was $168.93.  My pretax amount was only $49.93.  This is a savings of about 70%!  Woohoo!

Some of these shoes will fit my children this year and some of these we’ll save for next year. When you get buy shoes and clothing for such incredibly low prices, it saves a lot of money to shop ahead.

Happy saving!

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

This offer ends Thursday, June 25, 2009.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

• Hitch
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Charlotte’s Web (older and newer version)
• Batman Begins
• Good Fellas
• Shawshank Redemption
• In the Name of the King
• Anchorman
• Top Gun
• Underworld
• Shark Tale
• Antz

My Target was out of many of the movies, but they had easy tear off stubs that you can take to the register for a raincheck.  This sale ends Saturday.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy