Friday Frugal Tip - Clinique Pencil Sharpener

If you think that your cheap eye liner or lip liner pencil is no good, think again. Take a look at your sharpener; a good sharpener will make all the difference.

I found this gem:
The Clinique pencil sharpener. It sharpens the pencil perfectly, even the cheap wet & wild brand. I discovered this about 10 years ago and have had one ever since. Recently I got another sharpener that was included in one of my cheap eye pencil packages. I thought I'd use it for my back-up make-up bag. NO WAY! It ruined all of my pencils, and was hard to use.

Last week I happened to be passing the Clinique counter and picked up a spare Clinique sharpener. Did it break my budget? Nope, it's a whopping $1. Now that's a sharp bargain. Pun intended.

Friday Frugal Tip - Emissions & Safety Inspections

August is the renewal month for safety & emissions inspection with our van. I have not been putting it off, I just planned to do it the last week of the month since school would be starting.

As far as I understand, a while back all inspection places charged the same amount; then the laws changed and now they can charge whatever they want. I called around many different places and the cost varied as much as $10. Some places have coupons and other places accept competitor coupons up to $5 off. We have usually chosen a place that only does inspections for their business, who take competitor coupons. This is the best way to go especially if you have an older car.

Be careful with choosing auto shops that do inspections. They will often be picky or find something else "wrong" with your car. They give out hefty coupons like "free safety insepction with purchase of emissions" but they try to make up the difference with other services.

Some inspection places will submit the info to the state and give you the renewal sticker immediately, but they charge a fee for this. Save yourself a few bucks and easily renew online for free. You'll get the sticker in the mail within a few days. If you renew the last day of the month and won't get the sticker before the new month begins, you can print out a temporary renewal paper and stick it in your car until you get the sticker (there's no need to stand in line at the DMV.)

This time around I decided to call the dealership where I bought the van last year to find their price. I was surprised that they were $1 less than the cheapest place I called (at regular price without a coupon.) Today I got the safety & emissions done at the dealership. I enjoyed lounging in the waiting room with free granola bars, rice krispie treats, juice, herbal tea, and apples. There were toys, a tv & dvd player, and newspaper & magazines to read. They could have shuttled me somewhere if needed and to top it all off, they wash & vacuumed my car for free!

As Annie would say "I think I'm gonna like it here."

Friday Frugal Tip - Free Credit Report

Here's a quick Friday Frugal Tip...

The credit bureaus are required by law to let you see your credit report once a year for free.

Go to:
www.annualcreditreport.com

You can request a credit report from the three major credit-reporting agencies:
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

If you just request one report at a time, you can view your credit report 3 different times a year for free. Stagger your requests to once every four months and you can check for fraud or disputes on a regular basis.

(The websites will try to sell you your FICO score or other credit monitoring services but all you really need is the detailed credit report that they give you.)

It was an easy, quick process and it gave me the report online to view or print.

Enjoy! (I hope.)

Friday Frugal Tip - Be frugal for rainy days

Be frugal for rainy days...is your umbrella ready? - This frugal tip is one that really hit home for me and my family this month. Two days after Ezril was born, Darrell received a phone call from his employer (since he was on vacation leave) telling him that he was laid off due to company downsizing. This put a damper on our "new baby" vacation as we began our job search and wondered what was in store for us.

I was very glad that we were already frugal people so that we didn't have to change any extravagant lifestyles to accommodate our diminishing pocket book. At this stressful "rainy" time, I felt somewhat at ease since we had "our umbrella" with savings and food storage. (I also didn't have to figure out how to use my food storage since I already use and rotate it often.)

Well, I'm happy to report that we were blessed with a new job exactly 3 weeks later! We are very grateful that it was a short time being unemployed. It was a wake-up call for us to be even more frugal with our spending and savvy with our saving.

March was an interesting month for us.

Frugal Friday Tip - Pregnancy stuff

Today I'll feature my Friday Frugal Tip with pregnancy stuff. I'm sorry for this boring subject for most of you, especially men, but hey it's my blog and I can do what I want. :) You can't tell what's on my mind huh? (I hope this is my last Friday being pregnant this time around, we'll see.)

Belly Band - There are many companies coming out with "belly bands" or "belly socks." They were called "unit belts" in the 80's. :) I re-invented them by just taking an old shirt (tight baby-tee) and cutting the top off with pinking shears. The bottom is still good to be seen and there is no reason that I have to hem the top since it's always covered with another shirt. I've been able to extend the use of my normal jeans & pants by unzipping and just covering up with the belly band. It's also a good trick for those shirts that are too short. I use it later for nursing to cover up my after-pregnancy blubber while my shirt is raised to breastfeed.

Rubber-band trick - Before you start using even the belly band, the rubber band trick is good for those first few times you start realizing that you middle is expanding. Simply tie/loop a rubber band onto the top button hole of your jeans and then fasten onto the button. It gives you that extra inch that you need. I googled a picture here.

Midwife - I chose to use a midwife for these last two pregnancies. Our insurance covers her just the same as an OB/GYN. She could techinically cost the same as just the doctor's bill, but often times she asks me before she performs any tests. If something is not necessary for me, then we don't do the test, and it ends up not costing me. A doctor would probably just do the routine tests anyway. Because I'm not planning on using medical interventions, using a midwife should be cheaper. We won't have to pay an anethesiologist fee, or even a facility fee for this planned home birth. I also feel that in this case, cheaper is better. A midwife gives you quality time for non-complicated births.

Cravings - I am fortunate to not have crazy pregnancy cravings. There have been a few times that I've wanted something that could classify as a pregnancy craving though. Instead of quickly jetting to the store or restaurant, I try to make something else at home that's hopefully cheaper and healthier. I wanted a Wendy's Frostie and instead I got a frozen banana and blended it with homemade yogurt. It was tasty and satisfying! Also, drink water! If you have a craving, drink a tall glass of water first and then see if you're still hungry. (P.S. - For those pregnant ladies who crave dirt, eat a potato!)

Clothes - I've gotten most of my maternity clothes for free or very cheap.

• I'm grateful that my mom purchased some of them and my sister and I have shared the clothes between our 5 pregnancies. Some are getting quite worn out though.
• I've gotten a couple bags of maternity clothes from freecycle. Many people give away their old maternity clothes, and if you can find the right size for you, it's a great deal to get the whole bag of free clothes.
• Kid-to-Kid has a section for maternity clothes. I've gotten a few clothes there. I actually ended up taking some of the free clothes I got from freecycle that I couldn't wear (like the short shorts and tank tops) and trading them for maternity clothes more modest. They paid me for the clothes I donated and gave me a little extra if I used it as in-store credit.
• I've gotten a few maternity clothes at thrift stores, particularly Thrift Town. They do 50% off for certain colored tags each day and there are often $3 off $10 coupons out there from ValPak. I got some cute maternity jeans and a basic white shirt for $3!
  

Friday Frugal Tip - Saving at Costco

You may be wondering if I have a membership to Costco or the like. For a few years I enjoyed a Costco membership as a yearly Christmas gift from my step-father. I didn't pay for it and was grateful for the generous gift. I had never gone before and was impressed with the quality of products. Later our Christmas gift idea changed so I had to decide if I wanted to pay for a membership or not. At that time, there were only two or three of us in our family so I felt that paying for a membership was not as cost effective for me. Plus I was ramping up on coupon shopping and wanted to see where that would take me.

After my membership ended, we learned that you can still shop at Costco without being a member. How? Costco cash cards! I used to pay my mom to buy a cash card for me and then I would be able to shop there for the few things that I felt that the price and quality could only be attained at Costco. Using the cash card kept me on a budget since I only had a set amount of money on the card, I had to think of everything I was buying and how much it would add up to at the register. (Later I learned that you can use your debit card if your purchase goes over the cash card amount. I knew that you could probably do that for members but I didn't know you could do that for non-members.)

This cash card system worked for me for about 2 years. The only downfall with this system is that you can't use the many Costco services like the tire center, photo center, or shopping online. (Although you could still use the pharmacy since legally you don't have to be a member to use the pharmacy.)

Now that my family has almost 5 members, I have now decided to bite the bullet and buy a membership. I was able to get a "discount" membership through my step-father's business so it's not as expensive as it could have been. Since I'm attached to the business membership, he renews each year at his own will.

If I had gotten a membership on my own I have an idea on how to extend the membership one more month (someone please tell me if this works). Memberships renew the moment you pay for the next year. So if you're membership renews in January and you pay for another year on January 1st, then anyone that did not renew with you on January 1st is kicked off the membership. (I learned that the hard way when my step-father renewed and I thought I had until the end of the month to use my membership. After a few phone calls and finagling, I was able to stay on the membership for my last shopping trip that was at the end of the month.) Okay so here's my idea: Buy the initial membership in January (or whatever month) then go shopping on the last day of the month so you're stocked up for a while. The next time you need to go to Costco, renew your membership at that time. Now your membership expires in February (or whatever month you end up going back in.) I'm not sure if this idea works but it's worth a try. You might have to get a new membership number since you let your membership lapse, or Costco might just retroactively renew your membership from the renewal month. Someone try it and let me know! UPDATE: From the comment that Emily gave, looks like my idea to extend your membership a month or more won't work. Darn!

One more idea...
Costco stores only let you use your debit card or Amex. I seriously considered going to Sam's Club instead since they let you use a Discover card. I always use Discover card to build up the cashback bonus award and track my spending. What was I going to do? Well...Costco.com lets you use a Discover card. :) Now I use my membership to buy Costco cash cards online (with free shipping) using my Discover. I build up my cash back bonus award and still get to shop at Costco. Also, since I use the cash card, I still have the budget mentality that I only have a certain amount on the cash card. It works for me and it can work for you. How many times have you been able to get out of Costco under $100? Try the cash card system and you'll see.

P.S. - An obvious way to save money while shopping at Costco is to shop during their food sampling hours. Fill yourself up with appetizers so you won't eat so much at home!

Harmons Case Lot Sale - Think of Food Storage

I just got the Harmons ad today and was impressed with their case lot sale. It's for 3 weeks (Jan 5 - Jan 25.)

If you've always wanted to get a good start on your basic long-term food storage, now is the time. The wheat is only $19.99 for 45 lbs and it already comes in a bucket! I've usually been getting my wheat at the Bosch Kitchen Center during their semi-annual conference sales (April & October) for about $19.99 for a 50 lb bag. Then I'd have to transfer the wheat into durable containers. It's a deal at Harmons to get the wheat already in the pails!

(If you wanted to know, I prefer the hard white wheat. It's better tasting for making bread and as far as I've researched the nutritional value is the same as the hard red wheat. I have a lot of hard red wheat and now buy the hard white wheat to mix together to make the flour tastier.)

Since I make bread all the time now, I have started using a few extra ingredients like dough enhancer and vital wheat gluten that help the bread last longer, rise higher, and make me spend less time actually making the bread. These items are also on sale at Harmons too.

Other items are of course on sale. I think Harmons will let you buy only a few items at the same case-lot price if you don't want to buy the whole case. If you do end up buying the whole case, make sure you look at the "best if used by" date. If you & your family eat that much in that given time then go ahead and buy the case. I once bought a mac & cheese case when Salem was just a baby and we (actually I) only ended up eating a few boxes before the expiration date. I gave the rest away.

Here is the shopping list from PYP/Grocery Smarts though interestingly it doesn't include some of the food storage items that I just talked about.

Friday Frugal Tip - The Library

I absolutely love the library! We go to both the city library and the county library. I have learned some cool things about what the library offers, I even learned one today!

Here are some highlights about the library:

* Audio Books - Not only can you get books but you can get so much more! I love to get audio books and Salem also gets audio books that he can read along with the book & CD.

* DVDs - The city library lets you check them out for 2 weeks, even new releases!

* VHS - The county library now treats these like books and lets you check them out for 3 weeks.

* Holds - You can put up to 25 items on hold. I reserve the new releases (DVDs, audiobooks, books) and get them within a reasonable amount of time. Last time the latest Harry Potter book came out I reserved both the book and audio book and I got them within a week of the release.

* Magazines - You can check out past issues of your favorite magazines.

* Downloads - You can download eBooks or audiobooks from their website.

* Community Info & Events - The particular county library that I usually go to always has flyers about community events and info. We've gone to some fun activities because of this.

* Free events - The library is always having events. For example, I took my sons to a "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" animated book reading. They had a fun time. Look for event info here for the city or or here for the county or you can sign up to receive event info via email.

* Story time - Not only is it story time but often times they do other activities too. We got free big pumpkins in October and decorated them. They sometimes have a bubble machine for the kids, and other arts & crafts.

* Free Visits to Cultural Places - Today I learned about the Salt Lake City Library's Community Exploration Card. I "checked out" the CEC using my library card and received a one-month voucher to go (for FREE up to 4 people) to Discovery Gateway, Utah Museum of Natural History, Red Butte Garden, and Utah Museum of Fine Arts. (To provide equitable access to everyone, cards are limited to one per household in a six-month period.) I'll go this month and then try again in June. Apparently this program has been around for 3+ years and I just found out about it! It's not advertised very heavily since each city library branch only gets about 4 vouchers per month. I found out about it on a pamphlet where a bunch of other pamphlets are. I inquired with the librarian and was lucky enough to get the last one today.

* Performing Arts - They also have a similar program called the Performing Arts Experience voucher. This will admit two people (for FREE) to events listed on the voucher for the month. It could include Ballet West, The Grand Theatre, Plan-B Theatre Company, Pygmalion Productions Theatre Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and the Utah Symphony & Opera. I hope to try to get this in February for our anniversary, or in April for my birthday.

I know that I didn't cover everything that the library has to offer. These are things that I have been utilizing. Now it's your turn, what do you do at the library?

Friday Frugal Tip - Vinegar

I'm sure many of you know of the great benefits of vinegar. I use this in my house everyday. You can get a big bottle of white vinegar for $2-3 and there are so many possibilities. I also like it since it's environmentally friendly, non-toxic and edible so I don't have to worry about my kids getting into it, in fact they use it all the time too! Here is a small list of ways I use it:

1. Dishwasher - I use my regular dish detergent in the soap compartment that closes, but I use vinegar for the other soap compartment used for pre-wash. It extends my expensive dish detergent and my dishes and glasses come out clear and shiny!

2. Vegetable & Fruit wash - I have a spray bottle of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in my kitchen and use that to wash my fruits & vegetables.

3. All purpose cleaner - Again, I have a spray bottle of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar in my kitchen, and bathrooms and use it to wash everything. Sinks, toilets, tubs, floors, mirrors, walls, etc.

4. Remove odor - I spray my vinegar solution on things to freshen the smell. (It smells like vinegar for a minute but then neutralizes the odor.)

5. Relieve sunburn - I remember many times putting vinegar on my brother's neck to help his sunburn.

6. Disinfectant - Once in a while I spray vinegar on my toothbrush to disinfect it. Since vinegar is edible I don't have to worry about being poisoned. :)

7. Meat tenderizer - I don't cook a lot with meat, but I've noticed the few times that I've sprayed chicken breasts with vinegar, they're more tender. Then I always spray the cutting board and tools I used to cut the raw meat with vinegar to disinfect before putting in the dishwasher.

8. Buttermilk substitute - When we need 1 cup buttermilk for a recipe, we always use about a tablespoon of vinegar and then fill the rest up with milk. (You can do many substitutes with vinegar for things sour like lemon juice, sour cream, etc.)

9. Hard water deposit remover - I soak my shower heads in vinegar to remove hard water deposits.

There a ton of ways to use vinegar, above is just a sample. I've only brushed the surface. To dive in further just google uses for vinegar, you'll find a lot of info.

Friday Frugal Tip - Saving Money On Gasoline

Here are a few ways that I try to save money on gasoline.

1. Grocery Stores - Most of the time I buy my gas at Albertson's since it's close to my house. If I enter my preferred savings number then I get $.03 off per gallon. I never carry my preferred card around so I registered my phone number. (In fact, I think the card is hidden in a wall in my house. Salem played with my wallet once when he was a toddler and I haven't seen the card since.) I learned a trick once from one of the Albertson's employees. Since the pump machine won't let you type in just your phone number, all you have to do is type "4253" then your phone number. It works everytime! Smith's also give you a discount if you spend a certain amount at the store. I try to go there when I visit my mom since there's a Smith's with a pump nearby.

2. Gas cards - You can get a gas credit card that will give you a rebate or discount. I have one that gives me 5% cashback. I can use the card at most gas pumps as well as on any kind of purchase, but I usually only use it at the pump. I always pay the balance off every month and it's nice to see how much I'm spending on gasoline.

3. Warehouse Clubs - Most warehouse clubs usually have cheaper gas than other places. If you're already there shopping, you might as well fill up your tank.

4. Ferox - My friend introduced me to Ferox. These are little tablets that you stick in your tank as you fill up and it helps you get better gas mileage as well as help keep your engine & oil clean. She gave me some free samples a while back and I used them. Unfortunately I haven't done the analysis to see if it's worth the cost of buying the tablets for the savings I'd receive on gasoline. She gave me her analysis, and I believe her when she says that she is saving money. I've just been too lazy to do the analysis myself. So, you might want to check it out then let me know how it goes! :)

5. Gas price websites - There are websites out there that track gas prices. I honestly don't use them because I usually just fill up where it's convenient for me. It might be worth checking out if you're going on vacation and need to fill up the car, truck, or boat. I have noticed that certain parts of the valley have cheaper gas than other parts of the Salt Lake Valley. If you're out visiting dear Aunt Ida, you might want to check the gas prices out there compared to your region.

Happiness Part IX

Happiness is...
* Being able to change my email inbox to a pink background.
* Finding matches to all the socks in the load of laundry.
* A hot shower
* Finding a tv converter box for free.
* Saving a bunch of money on my car insurance by calling around (no not Geico.)
* Getting new windows for free.
* Receiving the phone call from Salem's teacher saying they will most likely do all-day kindergarten starting in January.
* Looking at pictures of my babies and falling in love with them all over again.
* Listening to Christmas music, any time of the year.
* Darrell thanking me for the little every-day things I do.
* Seeing my houseplant thrive.
* Salem reading books to Oaklen.
* Being more than half-way done with this pregnancy.
* Communicating through email.
* Getting together with family for good times.
* Darrell never complaining about all the work he does, at home, at work, at church.
* Crunching the leaves as I take an Autumn stroll outside.
* Watching my boys get so excited to play together as a family.
* My boys saying "sheep" as I sing them their goodnight song. (It's the last word of the song.)
* Oaklen repeating everything I say then saying "Mommy?" at the end of the sentence.

My boys...I love 'em.

Mending tape - clothing label

Salem's school asked the parents to have all of the children's outdoor clothing labeled. Here's what I used...iron-on mending tape! I got a package at NPS for $.39 and it will last me a long time.

I debated on what to use for a while, my mom had labels professionally made for me and my siblings that said our names on them. She would have to sew them on, but I thought it was cool that I had my own name tag. :) I found websites to order similar name tags for my kids but I was too cheap to spend the few dollars. I even found some that were iron-on so I didn't have to sew. My mom suggested using a heavyweight interfacing and then labeling and ironing it on. I intended to do that but then I found the mending tape.

During general conference a few weeks ago, I collected all of Salem's hats, gloves, jackets, etc and started applying the labels. It was a quick and painless process. I just wrote his name on the mending tape with a fine-point sharpie marker, then cut the tape around the name to save as much tape as possible (I could fit three names in the width of the tape.) Then I ironed on the label and it was done! :)

If you need to label clothing, I suggest that you use mending tape!

P.S. - I realize that I'm probably not the first one to think of this. I'm sure there are many moms out there that have done this for years, but I thought I'd just pass along this info to those who still haven't been enlightened. :)

Quaker Sale

The Quaker sale is happening tomorrow through next Tuesday at Albertson's. This is the time that I stock up on my Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (Oatmeal) for the year. It ends up being $1.50 on sale or $.90 with two coupons if you buy 10 Quaker items.

The coupon I have is $3 off when you buy 5 Quaker items. I found this in last week's Harmon's ad, or this week's Dan's ad. It's a manufacture coupon.

I've done the figuring and this is cheaper than buying a 25 or 50 lb bag of Oat groats and rolling it yourself. (Plus you'd need to have an oat roller, that costs about $70.) (Rolling it yourself would probably keep more nutrients though.)

I'm going to buy 10 42oz canisters of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: (Hopefully if they don't sell out.)
1 canister = $2.00
Buy 10 canisters and get it for $1.50 because of the Albertson's Sale
10 * $1.50 = $15
Use two coupons and save $6
$15 - $6 = $9
Price per 42 oz canister
$9 / 10 = $.90

Here is the link to the Albertson's weekly shopping forum:
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100502
Or here is the direct list:
http://pinchingyourpennies.com/coupons/store_sales.php?id=UT_Albertsons_Sep10_Sep16

I try not to get suckered into buying the rest of the Quaker stuff because most of it is just junk and you get the best deal by just buying the Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. Last time they did the quaker sale I was so excited that I wrote a poem:

The Quaker Sale by Heather Hendriksen

Twas the night before the quaker sale when all through the house
not a scissor was cutting or clicking of the mouse

the coupons were clipped, stacked neatly with care,
in hopes that the quaker sale soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of granola bars dances in their heads

and DH and I settled down to talk over the news
I told him of the savings we'd accrue with the chews

More rapid than eagles his happiness came,
And he whistled, and shouted, like it was a game;

"Now, coupon! now, savings! now, preferred savings card!
Pinching your pennies has not made it hard!"

To the top of the aisle! to the top of the wall!
Now shop away! shop away! shop away all!"

Gift Stash

If you know me very well, you'll know that I'm the type that does Christmas & birthday shopping all year long. If I find a good gift for someone, I buy it and then store it in my gift stash.

Tonight I just got done going through my stash to see what I had gotten for Salem's 5th birthday. I knew of a few things so I wasn't worried but I had forgotten about other things and was excited that he'll be excited. :) I have to do this late at night so everyone is asleep and won't find out what I'm doing. I get so giddy just going through the presents and thinking about giving them to the person, it's like Christmas multiple times a year!

Weekend Highlights

Our weekend highlights...

Emptying of the Piggy Banks - My boy's piggy banks were getting full so we went to the credit union and put their change in the machine, they thought it was so much fun! We then opened up a dedicated savings account for each of them so it earns higher interest. I was proud of Salem for the amount of money he saved, it was a lot!

The Home Depot - Discover card is doing a cashback bonus promotion for home improvement stores that started in April. We've already been there four times! :)

Darrell's 10 mile run - Darrell has been running every morning for a long time and now did his first "race" on Saturday morning. He has actually ran longer distances than this race before, but it was fun for him to be with people (including his brother Ryan) and have a finish line. We figured out the approximate time that he'd arrive so I planned on being there with the kids at the finish line, well...I was putting on my coat to leave the house and he called and said that he was already finished! I was glad that his parents and brother's family were there, but I was sad that I wasn't there. I met him afterward and snapped a few pictures. I'm thankful for such an easy-going husband.
UPDATE 4/9/08: Here is a picture that my sis-in-law, Christa, took that shows Darrell at the finish line.


Rotating 72 Hr Kits - I've been getting in the habit of rotating our food and other items in the 72 hour kits every 6 months, around conference time. Salem gets quite excited to eat the food that I don't buy too often.

Mending - I've also made a habit of mending while I watch the Saturday sessions of conference. I mended tears on clothes and sewed on buttons. I felt like such a mom! :)

General Conference - My favorite was Elder Ballard's talk. He talked about Mothers and he even talked to the children! Listen to it here.

Banana Boys

I have banana boys. We love bananas at our house and luckily our local Smith's sell red-band bananas. These are the bananas that are ripening so the store tapes them up to mark & sell them at a discount ($.29 a pound .)

We eat them a lot so when I see those bananas available I buy a bunch of bunches. :) Sometimes I freeze a few but most of the time they're consumed before they turn very bad.

I take the bananas home and I can't even get the kids to wait long enough for me to take a picture, thus the cute little hand in the bottom corner.
Then being the frugal self that I am, I save that great red tape! I carefully take it off the bananas and wrap it around a plastic spoon. We use that tape for art projects and whatever Salem wants it for. He loves to wrap up "presents" (various objects around the house) for Oaklen or Dad to open later that day.

Oaklen knows the sign language for banana and he is always saying banana and doing the sign to try to finagle another banana. I usually limit to two a day just so he can have variety in his diet!

Couponing - Pinching Your Pennies

Some of you know that I use coupons. I have even taught some couponing classes. My main source of knowledge comes from pinchingyourpennies.com. You can print shopping lists from specific grocery stores. The list tells you how good the deal is, if there is a coupon, and where the coupon is located.

I think this link will always show the current shopping list. Just select which store in the drop-down menu.
http://pinchingyourpennies.com/coupons/store_sales.php?

Or, here is Albertsons's list for Wed Jan 23 - Jan 29.
http://pinchingyourpennies.com/coupons/store_sales.php?id=UT_Albertsons_Jan23_Jan29


Here is a little blurb that I have from one of my coupon class handouts:

Pinching Your Pennies (PYP) – This is a forum site that is amazing! Find deals on many things and post questions to others about deals, shopping & more. It has a list of deals for the week for each grocery store and a list of all available coupons.

http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/

Here are a few highlighted links & forums:

PYP Price Points Printable (Price Book)
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/PYPPricePoints2.pdf

What’s a good price for…
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16991

Sale Trends
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47124

Coupon List
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/CouponList.php

Grocery Deals Newsletter sign up
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/newslettersignup.htm

Free Stuff - Website info

If you've been to my house, you'll know about all the free stuff that I've gotten from the following websites:

Salt Lake Freecycle (freecycle.org)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaltLakefreecycle/messages

Craigslist - free section
http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/zip/

KSL Classifieds - free section
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=231&cat=272