This Blog is CLOSED, Follow me at TheFrugalette.com!

I have a fabulous announcement, I will continue my grocery challenge blog at my new home:

www.TheFrugalette.com!

Please join me there! I never planned to become a blogger, but I guess most people don't? You never hear anyone saying "When I grow up I want to be a blogger!" This challenge changed our family in so many amazing ways, it even found me a new passion!

Wordless Wednesday- Filling My Shoes

Happy Wordless Wednesday! Feel free to link up your pics!

Understanding Grocery Store Promotions- Pick 4 Meats

One of the first steps in reducing your grocery bill, is to understand store sales! They sometimes read like morse code. Shaw's is part of the Super Valu national chain stores. You can check if your local grocery store is part of the Super Valu family HERE.

The pic above is taken from the current Shaw's sales circular. If your store is part of the Super Valu family it may also be running this same sale give or take a week. This type of promotion comes around every 4-6 weeks. 

From reading the ad, it seems pretty straightforward. If you pick any marked meat with the "Pick 4" sticker attached you will pay $20 for 4 packages of meat after redeeming the above coupon, regardless of what the individual prices say on the meat. For example, if you buy 4 packs of steak with the "Pick 4" sticker and each pack costs $7, after the coupon is scanned your total will go from $28 to $19.99. Right? Wrong!

While the sales ad says the price will be $20, the above is a coupon and has a total value worth of $5.17. How do I know? I've done this deal a couple times and the amount that gets deducted is $5.17, regardless of what meat you pick!

Using our previous example, if I were to buy $28 of steak and then used the sales circular coupon, I will end up paying $22.83, a $2.84 price difference. So is this false advertising? No, not really. Shaw's is taking an average amount that customers will probably pay and putting an average $5 deduction for the coupon. What does this mean for you? Check your receipts! If you see that you paid more then the advertised $19.99, simply turn around, head to customer service and they will refund you the price difference.

How do I take advantage of this type of promotion? I look for the cheapest meats available, usually beef stew. Since I know that regardless of what I buy, the coupon will still take off $5.17, I will go for packs that are not more then $2-$3 each.

If you buy 4 packages of beef stew at $2 a pack, it comes out to $8, and minus the $5.17 coupon equals $2.83 for 4 packs of beef stew! If you find this deal at a local grocery store, I'd be interested to know what the value of your coupon deducts. Let me know in the comments!

All You Health and Fitness Cover Model Search

All You is looking for the next cover model for their special health and fitness issue on stands in January. What a great way to celebrate your success in losing weight, getting active or both! Fill out the form HERE and tell them your achievement, you have to also submit a photo. Hurry though you only have until August 24th to apply.

All You is the only magazine, I've seen, that goes out of their way to recognize their readers printing their picture and story. Just flipping through the magazine you will see lots of pictures and comments from real readers and subscribers to the magazine. It makes the magazine feel like a community project, rather then a bunch of made up models and "experts" no one can relate to. Let me know in the comments if you enter. Good Luck!

Wordless Wednesday- Babies Feeding Babies

I walked into the living room to find my 5 year-old feeding my 11 month-old. While I held my breath I quickly snapped this pic. I'd love to hear comments what you think is going through the baby's mind at this point. I have my own ideas. :)

Ikea Not Just For Furniture

When you think of Ikea, probably two words come to mind: cheap and furniture. I went to this mega store yesterday and was surprised by the deals on their lesser known departments, like kitchenware (my weakness).

They sell bakeware and cool kitchen gadgets for as low as .99! I found loaf pans and garlic presses for .99, and springform pans were only $2.99. These are unadvertised deals; the price is not featured on their website.

I loved this discovery as I'm a bakeware nut and love to buy new pans. On the other hand, it's also horrible because I have no room in my city apartment for all these cool gadgets. Next time you visit Ikea take a slow walk through their kitchen department and look closely at the prices. If you see a yellow tag hanging the price has probably been reduced on that product.

Happy shopping!



All You Grocery Challenge Top 10 Finalist

Yes, that means what you think it means! I'm one of the top 10 semi-finalists in the All You Grocery Challenge! I got the email yesterday and couldn't open it fast enough when I saw the subject line. I pinched myself...a couple of times... and then again this morning.

To be precise, my exact reaction went something like, '"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" The whole family is so excited, and it's awesome to have made it this far. I've gotten some sweet notes of encouragement, thank you so much, it means a lot.

They requested my receipts, which I already mailed out and now sleepless nights until August 5th when they contact the winner and two runners-up.

I'm thrilled just to be nominated. I've always wanted to say that. Good luck to the other finalists!