31 Weeks to a Better Grocery Budget Video Series: How to Get a Deal on Your Sunday Newspaper
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78 Comments
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Mandy W. says:
I have a request for all of my fellow Money Saving Mom readers – I need awesome Freezer Meal Recipes. I have some that Crystal has posted from her Once a Month Cooking adventures, but I would love to have some more. I am expecting our third child in just over a month, and am anxious to get some meals in the freezer.
Thanks a million!
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Katie says:
Slow cook 2lbs. of b/s chicken breasts (we use thighs, but breasts are good too) in 1/2 cup of salsa, and 1 Tbsp. of chili powder on high for 4-6 hours. When it’s done shred it, and put 1 C. portions into bags to freeze. It’s easy to double, and tastes great in burritoes and enchiladas.
You can also use pork shoulder for the above recipe, just add about 2 hours to the cook time. 1C. of barbeque sauce can be substituted for the salsa and chili powder for barbeque sandwiches, or a topping for baked potatoes.
Also this recipe for Mexican Rice is a-mazing, and freezes well: http://lifeasmom.com/2009/04/ultimate-recipe-swap-mexican-food.html
I buy produce on sale (especially broccoli, fresh grean beans, and cauliflour), and then cut it into bite size pieces to freeze in 1/2-1C. portions. To heat it, I put the frozen veggies in a bowl, cover it with a wet paper towel, and microwave it for 2-3 minutes…voila, steamed veggies (my 19 month old loves this)!
Mix ground turkey (or beef) with a little bit of barbeque sauce, salt, and pepper, and form hamburger patties. Freeze by separating the patties with wax paper and putting it into a bag. Then just thaw for a bit and throw them on the Foreman Grill.
Ground turkey (or beef) mixed with spaghetti sauce or taco seasoning freezes well, too. But the ground meat tastes weird if it’s not mixed with something before you freeze it (in my experience).
The hot pocket recipe on this website is great, although I like to use crescent rolls. It’s really versatile and can handle all kinds of different fillings like:
broccoli, ham & cheddar
ground turkey (or beef), and cheddar
chicken, ham, and swiss
pepperoni, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella
apple pie filling
They are all really easy to freeze!Hopefully this was helpful!
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I had no idea you could freeze my rice! LOL. How do you package it? And how do you thaw/serve?
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I put 2C portions into ziploc freezer bags, flatten and freeze. To reheat: defrost in the bag in the microwave, then heat for a minute or two in a microwave-safe bowl.
The vegetable oil really helps keep moisture in the rice, as opposed to regular white/brown rice which can get really dry. If it’s not moist enough you can always cover it with a wet paper towel while heating, and/or put a Tbsp. or two of water in the bowl.
When first started freezing it, I would put it into the really cheap ziploc tupperware. It was alot easier to reheat (I didn’t have to defrost it before heating) but it also left stains….
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Julie says:
I’m glad someone else asked this question!!! I would love more freezer recipes. NEVER thought about buying produce on sale, cutting, and freezing. How simple!!! Thank you! Going to try the mexican rice, too!
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I forgot to mention that I blanch the green beans first…otherwise they take forever in the microwave.
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Elizabeth says:
Congrats on the baby! We just had our 3rd at the end of January, and I stocked our freezer beforehand and am just now getting to where I need to restock (I would cook dinner fresh on the nights I felt up to it to save the freezer stash for the days things didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked). I also had some wonderful friends throw me a freezer cooking shower where they each brought a meal or two for me to have in the freezer as well as a pack of diapers. Such a great idea!
Anyway, back to your question. We really like this recipe for chicken pot pie
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-IX/Detail.aspx?prop31=1
The recipe makes enough filling for 2 pies. I just make the filling and freeze it in ziplock bags (they freeze flat and therefore take up less space in addition to thawing more quickly). Then I just have to thaw the filling, put it in a pie crust and bake it. If I don’t have a pie crust on hand I’ve served it over biscuits as well, which is also tasty. I tend to cook a whole chicken w/ some veggies to make my own stock and use that in the recipe, then just shred the chicken and pile in the veggies (I go heavy on the veggies, and add steamed green beans and some frozen corn in addition to what they already have listed)
I also make big batches of taco meat/chili/sloppy joes and freeze them in dinner size portions. I also have a variety of different burritos individually wrapped and frozen (one with chicken, black beans, corn and cheese in a sour cream/salsa sauce as well as bean and rice burritos). Bierocks are another freezer friendly meal as well.
Good luck with your upcoming blessing!
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http://mylittlebitoflife.com/?p=1030
http://mylittlebitoflife.com/?p=1171
http://mylittlebitoflife.com/?page_id=613Grilled chicken: freeze chicken breasts in italian dressing, best when grilled!
Honey chicken: 1/4 c butter; 1/4 c honey, & chicken
Hope this helps! 🙂
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I forgot: when cooking the honey chicken, it needs to be basted with the sauce that it’s cooking in every 15 minutes!
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This is delish and so homey-a fav of anyone who tries it!
Beef & Cheddar Pie2 lbs ground beef
2-3 large carrots
large onion
2-3 stalks celery
couple large cloves of garlic, chopped
a couple medium baking potatoes
3/4 cup apple cider/juice
8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
salt and pepper
1 box of pillsbury refridgerated pie crusts or make your ownPreheat oven to 375. Chop vegetables into 1/4″ cubes. Combine meat, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and potato in a large skillet. Brown until meat is cooked and some of the liquid has evaporated. (15 min) Lower heat to medium and add the cider (more or less, depending on how fatty your beef is) and cook for about 10 more min. add the cheese, 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Let cool. Line a 10″ oven proof skillet or a deep dish pie plate with pastry, spoon in filling, top with another pie crust and seal edges. Slit the top, brush with an egg wash if you wish and bake for 45 minutes. Cool for 15 min before serving.
To freeze just cook the filling and freeze in a gallon bag. Thaw completely and dump in a pie crust, top with another and bake a little longer than directed (b/c you’ll be starting out w/ cool filling)
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THANK YOU!!!! I really appreciate all of the responses, and can’t wait to try out the fantastic recipes listed!
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Hi Mandy,
Here’s one for spaghetti sauce that I revamped from an old freezer cookbook–we love it!
http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/homemade-spaghetti-sauce-for-the-freezer
I also make homemade dry mixes to keep on hand. http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/how-to-make-homemade-dry-mixes
You could also try finding the Once a Month Cooking: Family Favorites book at the library–they have some great recipes that aren’t too time consuming.
Hope everything goes well with the birth of your little one! I’m expecting my 3rd (due today actually!) so I’ve been doing freezer cooking too 🙂
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My sister and I have been freezer cooking for several years now. It is the best time saver! We just cooked up 80 dishes the other week. You can see what we made here-http://thriftypals.blogspot.com/2011/04/april-freezer-meals-part-4.html or search freezer meals in the search bar at the bottom. Thanks!
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My husband has a paper route, so he gets paid for delivering the paper, and we get a free copy each day!
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I love this series and can’t wait for next weeks. Even us more seasoned deal shoppers can useore tips and inspiration. Thanks Crystal
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RuthS says:
Agreed! I think this was the best location she’s picked yet 🙂 And the sound seemed a little louder than normal too. I didn’t have to ask my kids to be quiet 6 times to hear it 😀
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Jeni says:
I live near a big city, but my small suburban town has its own local newspaper with coupon inserts… the best part is that the paper is FREE. The paper is delivered throughout the town at grocery stores (even Walgreens) and standalone outdoor boxes. Besides the internet, that’s how I get a lot of my free SmartSource coupons! 🙂 I noticed some other neighboring towns got Redplums for free.
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Dee says:
I have a free weekly paper with SmartSource, too. It comes out on Thursday.
Our recycling pick-up is every other week. Newspapers are supposed to go on top of the bin in a paper bag. In the nice weather, I browse a few bags of newspapers for the coupon inserts when I’m out walking my dogs.
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ashley says:
a couple years ago, i was still buying my newspaper (for $1) from the salesman who stands on the street corner on sunday mornings. the paper had an ad for sundays only for $52/year, so i signed up. when my 52 weeks were up, the price went up to more than $2 each week, so i cancelld and went back to picking it up on my way to church. after three phone calls from the subscription dept., they finally offered the same deal again. i did the same thing this year. as soon as i get a new calender, i post-it note to self to call and cancel at my 52 weeks and “wait them out” until i get the deal i want.
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K says:
Does anyone know if Smart Source online coupons have more or different coupons than the Smart Source in the newspapers? I have avoided downloading the Smart Source Coupon Printer Applet after reading their privacy policy/disclosure information.
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Yes, they are totally different! I get many more deals with the print outs. I personally have never had a problem with privacy issues from SS.
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Wendy says:
I can’t get the Smart Source coupons to print from their web-site. Even after I down loaded their printer app. Does anyone else have this problem. It is only with Smart Source, not Red Plum or Coupons.com.
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Beth L. says:
Wendy,
I don’t know what computer and brower you’re using, but Smart Source coupons will not print from my Mac if I’m using Firefox. When I switch to Safari, it works just fine. Try using a different browser and see if that works.-
Thanks for your advice. I know I sound stupid, but how do you do that? I am so computer illiterate.
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No problem! Take a look at your browser to see what kind you’re using. At the top of the screen you should see the words Firefox or Internet Explorer. If you’re using a Firefox browser then that is probably why you cannot print from Smart Source. You’ll need to switch to Internet Explorer if you’re using a PC or Safari if you’re using a Mac. You should be able to find IE by going to the Start menu, then Programs, and then Internet Explorer. If you happen to be using a Mac just go to the Finder, then Applications, then Safari. Hope that helps!
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Katy says:
At Rite Aid I get a 20% discount on newspapers so I make sure I go there on Sundays.
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I should clarify that the discount is thanks to Wellness + , not just a special deal for me ; )
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I got our Sun/Thurs paper for .99/week. They had a little flyer in the newsstand paper advertising it for about 2 weeks in a row. I don’t really need the Thurs paper, but it does have some good store ads to help me plan my list without having to use the computer.
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Diane says:
Thank you! I am really enjoying your video series. We do pay 52 dollars/year for Sunday/Wednesday paper delivered. Wednesday has the grocery ads we can price match. I have not done the best getting friends who reliably give me their coupons every week although I have one who promises to get them to me.
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Jenny says:
We pay 99 cents a week for Sunday only subscription to the Washington Post. It was a promotional rate that was only supposed to last 6 months, but when I called to cancel they offered to continue the rate if I wouldn’t cancel.. and threw in a $10 American Express gift card! lol. Needless to say I’ll be calling again when this 6 months is up! 🙂 We enjoy reading the paper as well, so this is a great deal for us.
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Meredith Gore says:
I’m still in college, so I took my parent’s Sunday coupons from their major newspaper and got to work! I clipped, planned, and went to Walgreen’s for my first attempt at drug store couponing. I saved $15 and got $9 in Register Rewards! All of the tips and deals I’ve been reading about have finally started to make sense : ) Thank you for all your help!
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Michelle says:
If you are a student at a college or university, you might see if they have free newspapers in the student lounge. My husband was teaching ROTC and getting his Master’s degree back about 7 yrs ago and we were able to get the newspaper free for 3 yrs this way.
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marty says:
Crystal I love your website & you’ve fantastic tips but you took 2 mins of a video to say “get the Sunday paper” it was kind of frustrating to watch I thought you were going to give us a bit more info – like what coupons to pair together. I know you have more videos to go but please less rambling more getting to the point – (I’m so sorry if this sounds rude ) as I said I love your tips & things but I was a bit disappointed on this one
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I’m sorry you were disappointed; I can’t please everyone, that’s for sure!
I’m trying to keep the lessons short and sweet — plus give simple ideas, too. For people who have been using coupons for a long time, much of this will seem very basic and stuff you already know, but for those who are new to coupons, I wanted to give some suggestions as to how and where to get a deal on a newspaper subscription. Some people don’t even know that the Sunday paper carries coupons!
I’ll get more in-depth as we go along, but I wanted to cover the basics first, as I get asked a lot about coupons in the Sunday paper, so I felt it was worth having a short little lesson on — even if it was super simple and basic!
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Sarah says:
Great job, Crystal! Thanks for faithfully “teaching” us at the cost of your own time, experience, and resources – and at NO cost to us. You are a blessing! I am having FUN learning to use our resources well, and my husband is encouraged by my effort! THANKS!!!!!!!
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I actually really appreciated that it was short. I am definitely a newbie to this whole thing, and I was able to get a subscription to the closest “big city” paper for about $1.25/week. I was wondering if that was a good deal (or at least a decent one) and it was great that a “professional” confirmed it!:) We were buying the paper at the newstand each week, but once there were no coupons (and there was definitely supposed to be!) and often the machines were out by the time we would finish at church. This is the first video that I have watched and I am planning on going back and viewing the rest soon!
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Leah says:
I think the intent of the video was more than “get a Sunday newspaper.” It was a list of ideas for how to get newspaper coupons inexpensively, and what to expect from those coupons.
Yes, it’s probably not new information for couponing pros, but still great info and helpful for those who are getting started.
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Dineen says:
Before you subscribe, make sure your paper carries coupon inserts. I learned after buying our local weekend (Friday-sunday edition) that the inserts don’t include coupons, but only the big box ads and color “magazine”. As Crystal said, the larger city’s papers are the ones to buy for the ads.
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Tabitha says:
I was able to get a deal from our local paper for $52/year for Fri/Sat/Sun and it also includes any holidays…After last year I found that the price went up to $54, but that’s still cheaper than paying $1.50 just for the Sunday paper. The paper doesn’t advertise this deal, but it’s on their website to subcribe for the weekend.
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Catherine R. says:
This has nothing to do with the subject really, I just think it’s interesting that you say say coupons as”Q-pons”! I pronounce it “koo-pons”. Silly thing to focus on, yes, but I think it would be interesting to find out how many people pronounce it each way : P
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Crystal says:
I say it the same way Crystal does. Maybe it’s a Crystal-thing 🙂 , but more than likely, I’m guessing it’s a midwest thing. Us midwesterners have our own ways of saying all sorts of things and I never realize it’s ‘different’ until I’m out of town and someone tells me I have an accent.
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Courtney says:
I guess it depends on which part of the midwest you’re in. I’m in Illinois and only ever hear it pronounced koo-pon here. The only time I hear someone say Q-pon is when I’m watching “Extreme Couponers” 🙂
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Merri B says:
I can’t even support the theory that it’s a regional thing! I say “koo-pon” and my sister says “Q-pon.” The farthest we’ve ever lived apart is 34 miles, after living in the same house for almost 20 years and working together for the last 8, lol! I think it’s a case of “tomato” / “tomahto.”
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Just a theory, but I was obviously wrong… 🙂 Now, I’m curious – I’ll have to pay more attention to how my friends and family say it.
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Coupons are one of those things that have two distinct pronunciations — “koo-pon” just sounds so wrong to me. 🙂
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I think it might be a regional thing, because I live on the west coast and can’t even think of ever hearing someone say “Q pon”! I think it would be fun to do a poll sometime : )
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lilysy says:
I lived in California most of my life, last 10 in Nevada. I’ve always pronounced in Q-pon. Never gave a second thought to other pronunciations.
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My husband and I argue about this CONSTANTLY. Along with the “law-yer” vs. “loi-yer” controvery. 🙂 I say “q-pon” and he says “coo-pon.” I’m from Texas but honestly I’m a rarity in saying it “q-pon”…everyone else around here seems to say it the other way!
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My mom is taking French classes and she said koo-pon is the correct way to say it. It is a french word and they don’t say Q
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Patti says:
Check at your library… I asked one Sunday if I could look through the Sunday papers for them and take them home and they said, “Sure”! Since I am only 3 blocks from our downtown library, this is an excellent resource.
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Vale says:
One way I get extra coupon inserts is to ask my neighbors if I could have theirs if they are not going to use them. I just did this, and they get a different paper than I do and one of the SmartSource inserts had different coupons in them than mine. Kinda weird but there were coupons that I will use. This ever happen to anyone else?
BTW – I am from Minnesota and we say it BOTH ways! 🙂
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I hear coo-pon a lot when we lived in Chattanooga. I’m from IN., and otherwise, I’ve always heard/said q-pon!
Crystal, this is your blog, and you are so incredibly successful at what you do, I would not jump to take orders from random commenters as to length or style of your videos. If anyone should be giving advice on successful blogging, it’s you! Thanks for all your FREE advice! 🙂
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Angela O says:
Thank you for this video…I’ve been wondering for a while if it’s worth investing in the Sunday paper for the coupons and at what price point it’s worth it. Also, thanks for the suggestions of where to get it. I’ll be on the look out for sure!
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Rob says:
Crystal-
In last weeks video, you sawed Annie’s Mac & Cheese and said you got it free! That is wonderful. My questions is were do you get coupons for that product ?? I called today and they informed me that they don’t send out coupons, because of saving trees??? Are they in the newpaper inserts? I would love to get some of these coupons. My store has them on sale for .99 cents this week !!
Also what are you thought on buying coupon inserts ??? We only get one insert in our Sunday paper. The libary doesn’t get a paper and we do not have recyle bins around here that everone keeps talking about. Thanks so much for your help. We are enjoying the videos. Just wish I had more time in my day to match up more coupons. I use about 150 a week and save 60%. Not bad but would love to do better 😉 -
When we moved in a local teenager was selling Wed-Sun subscriptions for something like $5 a month. Recently it went up to $6 a month but since we like reading the paper and getting the store ads on Weds and coupons on Sundays I think it’s worth it. Everyone I talk to around here says never to cancel or we’ll never be able to get a good deal like that again…apparently it was a rarity. 🙂
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Becky in KY says:
I live a few hours from the nearest big city with a coupon-carrying newspaper, and I’ve yet to find a reasonable deal on a subscription of any kind, so the $2 for a Sunday paper from the one machine in town that carries the big-city paper is the best deal I’ve found thus far. (One store carries a few different big-city papers inside the store, but they charge tax.) This post reminded me to check again with the newspapers, though — it’s been a while since I called about prices.
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I’m curious about these low prices y’all are quoting for newspaper subscriptions. No more than $1.50/week?! I wish! I pay over $30/month for my subscription to The Dallas Morning News. However, I actually READ my paper, which I get the impression from many of these posts and comments that most people don’t. While the coupons are a bonus, I love my paper for all the reading material it offers. It’s my preferred way to get news. With the cost of gas for delivery and the fact that the newspaper business is struggling to survive in the internet age, I’m really perplexed that people are able to get their newspapers delivered for so little money!
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Carolyn says:
I live in Durham, NC, and I get a Sunday only subscription to the News & Observer for $1/wk, plus I pay a dollar more to get a 2nd paper delivered. I mainly get the paper for the coupons.
And I always said “Q-pons” growing up, but my DH insists that it’s “coo-pon”, so I say it that way for him (even though I know I’m right). 😉
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Georgia says:
Hey, I can tell you’ve done something different with the lighting this time….you look much better! (I always thought the lighting in your earlier videos made you look…not as good as you usually do. Does that make sense? It was something about the shadows on your face.) Good job!
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Amanda says:
I used to buy my extra Sunday paper at Dollar Tree but found they didn’t have coupons in them a couple of weeks. I e-mailed the paper to ask if they could drop the coupon inserts off at my house since the papers were missing them. They did this, but also told me that the home delivery issues get more coupon inserts than those sold on the newstands. (Something about wanting people to subscribe? Hehe) Anywho, they also told me I could get a second paper for .50 cents a week, so I now get two Sunday papers for $1.50 total, delivered to my door. Works for me. 🙂
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