Coke products 12-pack for $2.49

You know you have a good friend when you get a text about a sale! My friend L.R. told me that 12 packs  of coke products are on sale all week for $2.49 at Target. Now that's a bargain! Stock up!

Target Toy Deals

Target has come toy coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer coupons to make a good deal.

Hasbro coupons - $4/Connect4 and $5/BopIt

Target coupons - $3/Hasbro game (coupon specific Connect4, Battleship, BopIt)

Target Clearance & Dollar Section

The Independence Target has the majority of their stationary aisle on clearance right now, ranging from $1.48 - $3.98. This includes blank note cards, paper sets, thank you cards, party invitations and more. Lots of cute deals!

Also noticed the $ deals have some great finds right now too. Adorable Curious George, Peter Rabbit and Spiderman books, puzzles, socks, stickers, etc. And of course, lots of Easter goodies there too.

Purex at Price Chopper!

This week, through 3/2, get 2 Purex laundry detergents for $1.97!

Purex (selected varieties 24-32 load) on sale for $1.97 each. Use the B1G1 coupon from RP 2/21

Homemade baby food = savings in your pocket

Before Caleb was born I decided I wanted to try my hand at making his baby food instead of buying it. Now that I think back on it, I have no idea what spurned on this idea, but whatever it was, I'm glad for it. I did a lot of research on how-to, what foods to introduce at what age, etc. and found this website most helpful. Making our own food for Caleb was a success and so here we are again, doing the same for Jack.

Recently I was in the grocery store and happened to notice the prices on baby food. I realized I am saving approximately $50-$60 a month from making our own baby food! I've been told by some that they don't have all that time to make their own, or it's too hard, or just don't know how, so here is my condensed how-to guide:

1. Get a food processor (A mini works just as well as the large if you don't want to go to that expense and don't already have one. I would imagine Craigslist would have several for sale at any given time)

2. Wash some old ice cube trays not being used, or buy some cheap new ones.

3. Select the fruit of vegetable and cut in small pieces.

4. Steam/cook in microwave or stove, whichever you prefer - you can do this in a medley to make things more interesting for baby or keep to one food at a time.

5. When food is very soft, puree in food processor until smooth. Older babies can handle more chunky texture but gauge this on your own baby's development.

6. Spoon into ice cube trays and freeze. Pop out into ziploc bags and pull out a few at a time to microwave for a meal.

That's it! It seriously could take as little as 10 minutes a week, depending on what you're making. It's cheaper and probably healthier for baby too.

Some other tips:

- When buying produce, remember fresh is best. After that, go with frozen. Canned should be last resort as it tends to have less nutrients and more added sodium, preservatives.

- Don't be afraid to puree your family's dinner for baby. Once they're 8-9 months old, most table food is perfectly acceptable

- ALWAYS avoid the big allergenic foods prior to 12 months old - nuts, peanut butter, egg whites, strawberries, honey

- Don't be afraid to sneak in the purees to other meals for your entire family. Carrots in spaghetti sauce, cauliflower in mashed potatoes, etc. Even just a few cubes can boost veggie intake.

An effort to save some pennies actually produced a veggie-loving toddler!

I love carrots. I could eat them daily and often do, as a snack. Caleb has always been somewhat interested in carrots but usually eats a couple and then it's like the task of chewing it all up is too hard and he ends up spitting it out, which is totally disgusting. I've always, always bought the bags of baby carrots - Peter Rabbit Farms is my preferred choice - but at the store last week I realized that the huge bag of Green Giant carrots are the same price as the 2-lb baby carrot bag. (I think it's ends up being almost 50% more that way) I decided to try washing, scraping and chopping my own to see if we liked them as well. To me they're just the same and only took 10 minutes or so to prep them and put in a big baggie to snack on. The miracle of it all is that ever since then Caleb has eaten carrots like a maniac! He now eats several at a time for snacks and meals and has even requested them at no one's prompting. Amazing!

S Bowl Bargains

Bargains abound this week, as long as you only want to buy junkie snack things, which I do. Hyvee is having a 48 hour sale (It ends today), that includes Nabisco Crackers (standard size, like triscuits and wheat thins) for $1.88. Walmart has Johnsonville Brats on sale for $2.50, and I have tons of Johnsonville coupons, so I'm guessing you do too. Keep your eyes peeled for the supermarket ads and stock up on those snack foods!

Roberts Dairy coupons

Since milk is something we always need and there's typically not consistent sales on it, I jumped at this offer. Sign up at Roberts Dairy to get coupons for milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. Unless there is an awesome sale going on, I will try to have one of these when I need dairy products. Also, Roberts has coupons in Smartsource inserts periodically, but you'll have to watch for them because they aren't listed on sites like CouponTom or CouponMom.

CVS ends 1-15-10

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner on sale 2/$6.97 ($3.49 each) with coupon for $3 off 2. Final price $3.97 for 2.

Target Toys 1-14-10

Check out Lee's Summit Target toy department. There are two aisles of toys that are 50-75% off. I went today and stocked up on future presents. There were more girl presents than boy presents. They may restock because there are big signs all over the place and it was swarming with people filling their carts. I got My Little Pony set, Polly Pocket set, and Snow White set that are all adorable. I can't wait to take one to a birthday party tomorrow! Happy shopping.

Red Hot HyVee sale - 1/16-1/7

Go to Hy-Vee's website to view the Red Hot sale this weekend. Pretty great deals, especially on Kraft cheese!

Has anyone tried Jack's frozen pizzas? Any good?

Price Chopper & Hy-Vee Highlights 1/13-1/19

This is the best of what I see from our local stores this week.

Price Chopper

Ken's Salad Dressings/Marinades - .99

1.00/2 marinades (SS 1/10)

1.00/1 any salad dressing (SS 1/10

= .49 or FREE

Cuties Clementines - 4.99 for 5-lb box

1.00 (SS 12/6)

= 3.99/box

Peter Pan PB - 1.99

1.00 (Dec AY)

= .99

Thurs-Mon Only

Grands! Biscuits - .99

.55/2 (GM 11/15, SS 11/22, SS 12/6, GM 12/13)

.30/2 (SS 11/22, GM 12/13, SS 11/8, GM 11/13)

= as low as .73 each

Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee Russet Potatoes 5-lb bag - .79

Hy-Vee Grade A large eggs, dozen - .99 (in ad coupon)

Barilla Pasta - .99

1.00/2 (SS 1/3)

= .49

Hillshire Deli meat - 2 for $5 PLUS free loaf of Sara Lee Bread wyb 2

.35 (RP 1/10)

= 2.15 each

End of Season JC Penny Clearance

I stopped at JC Penny's on 39th St. to see if anything caught my eye, as I had a gift card from Christmas, thanks to Grandma. There are huge store-wide 70% off savings so I was able to score a cute shirt for less than $10. But the real deal was in the baby department where I found Carter's onesies with cute sayings on them for $3.99 with an additional 40% off = $2.39 each! I snagged several for upcoming baby gifts. Also other great deals on sleepers and pants/shirts outfits anywhere from $4-$10 after total savings.

Bargaining batteries reenergized!

So, over the holidays, due to stress and family and stress from family, I was not as zealous as usual on my bargain-hunting. I did use coupons at dinner, and for the holiday ham, and for my groceries, but I wasn't watching ads or running to walgreens or anything like that. When I did, I took Elizabeth's coupon to the store as my list, so I woudn't forget it, and then forgot to use it until it was too late. Fortunately, the manager knows me (I had no idea I was so popular!) and said I could use it another time. Whew.

It's January, and I'm struggling to get back at it. I'm running around like a chicken without a head trying to find items for the JBF tagging kits, shopping for nanny's groceries, and trying to get inside before the snow. Today I followed pre-bargainbabe protocol of shopping at the closest place for the 3-4 things I need before the storm hits. Destination: Target.

Since my brain has been taken over by a bargain-hunting crazy, I can't go through the aisles without casually glancing at this price or that. You know what I found? Unless it's one of their top 10 sellers, or a "targeted" item, the price is about 30% what I am typically paying watching sales and cutting coupons. 30% more is not too bad every now and then, but when you have a $300 grocery budget, that's nearly $100 dollars of markup for the SAME items.

Okay, you may think I'm sounding like a crazy too, but the shopping trip really helped to convince me to continue the good fight of paying as little as I can for the things I need. So, I'm back with renewed vigor and venom for hunting for the best bargains in 2010. Join me?