I’m incredibly late in getting this posted today. I was gone most of the day and didn’t have a chance to sit down and type up what we purchased at the grocery store this week.
My biggest score was the five bottles of Era Laundry Detergent I got for $0.99 each. A local store was running their Double Dollar coupon promotion and had these priced at $2.99. Plus, there was a $1/1 coupon available — which made them only $0.99 after the doubled coupon.
I really wanted to hit this sale as we only had about a week’s worth of laundry detergent left, but I didn’t need anything else in the Double Dollar promotion and didn’t want to make a special trip just for laundry detergent (especially since you can only use three of the same coupons per transaction — so it’s really not worth a ten minute drive there and back to get three bottles of laundry detergent). Well, a friend of mine didn’t know that I was really wishing I could get in on this deal, but she happened to pick up five bottles and then asked me if I wanted them since they are very well-stocked-up on laundry detergent.
Isn’t that cool? It just felt like a special blessing from God to me. And now we’re stocked up on laundry detergent for quite some time!
Amy from Amy’s Finer Things also stopped by because she was in town and brought me my order from the Bulk Food Store. Long story short, Laura from Heavenly Homemakers had picked it up for me and I was supposed to pick it up when I met up with she and Amy when she was in Kansas two months ago. But I didn’t get to meet up with them at the last minute so Amy kept it and promised to get it to me whenever she made the trek from Tiny Town to the city.
So now I’m stocked up on unbleached flour and turbinado — and just in time for Freezer Cooking Day this next week!
Amy also brought me a bottle of Laura’s Homemade Vanilla. I tell you what, I learn so much from the blogosphere! I never would have considered the possibility of making my own vanilla. But Laura’s inspired me and I just might try it once I run out of hers.
I also bought three dozen farm-fresh eggs from my brother and Jesse made a quick trip to the store to get 2 gallons of milk, 2 gallons of chocolate milk, 2 tubs of cottage cheese and a big bag of chicken (um, can you tell we’ve changed our diets a little? Stay tuned for Monday’s update on how P90X on a Budget is going!). We ended up not needing to get any produce because I used what we already had on hand.
After everything was said and done, we came in a little under $40 in grocery expenditures this week.
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Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? If so, be sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. will be deleted. Also, to make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.
What struck me as I was reading this post, is how God provides for all the little things.I also realised that your friend shared her bounty with you just as you must have shared your bounty millions of times before. Just goes to show that what God wants for us to ‘Love our neighbors as ourselves’ and everything will follow suit!
Sure would be nice if there were stores in my area that doubled coupons but none do. But I did score a bargain at Target Saturday evening. This was a first for me. I have never made money on a product using coupons but Target had Colgate on sale for 79 cents. Combined with a Target coupon for Colgate and a regular coupon I actually made 71 cents. Not very much money but I sure felt good afterwards.
If you go to a store that limits the number of coupons or deals you can do in one transaction, is it bad form to take one purchase to the car and then return to the store to use the rest of your coupons in a second transaction? Assuming there is no shopping card that controls the limits.
I wish there was a great deal on fabric softener and shaving cream then I’ll be pretty well stocked!!!
I have made homemade vanilla with a bean I had left over from making homemade vanilla ice cream. I’ve been waiting for something special to use it in though, because it cost so much to make! Maybe around the holidays. Does anyone else find it to be a “luxury”?
The vanilla is so easy to make as the other people have stated. However, I have never been able to find a place to buy reasonably priced vanilla beans here yet!
@Precious, You can get vanilla beans at World Market/Cost Plus for $2.99/2. Trader Joe’s has them at Christmas time for around $1/1. You can also find really cheap sources online, but watch the shipping costs because they can add up. Vanilla beans can last 7 years immersed in vodka. Just make a “mother” batch & keep adding vodka as you use it up. You can get cheap vodka at BevMo for $8.99 for 1.75 liters.
Great deal on the laundry detergent! I love it when stores run specials on coupons! They are the best! 🙂
After years of seeing you buy a half gallon of milk for your whole family for a week, I’m giggling to see you buying two gallons of regular, two gallons of chocolate, and by-the-way 3 dozen eggs.
Now, if I see you buy vodka to make some vanilla … I’m really going to wonder if I’m at the right URL! 🙂
Thank you for giving my husband and I a very good laugh with your comment, Carrie. You’re hilarious. 🙂
Homemade Vanilla Extract is sooooo much better than any that you can buy at the store! Add vanilla beans (the entire pod) to Vodka, let steep for several weeks, shake every now and again and there you have it … homemade Vanilla Extract! It’s all I use now .. saves a lot of $$ and is the best stuff ever! I also like that some of the vanilla beans seep into my recipes. Even better!
I have heard of making homemade vanilla, but in my experience vanilla beans are quite expensive. Where does she get a good deal on them?
Where do you buy vanilla beans?
Thanks for the link. Great idea to make vanilla, sounds fun!
I have to try making vanilla now. Thanks for the idea.
Wow – that’s what we always call a “God thing” – having someone offer you free laundry detergent (or almost free)! Have you ever tried King Arthur’s Unbleached Flour? It is fantastic and I feel really good about feeding it to my family. Plus, it’s readily available so you won’t have to wait so long to get it next time.
Thanks Crystal for the link….I hope you enjoy your vanilla! It was fun waiting for Amy to surprise you with it!! 🙂
So, wow….that is alot of milk for you!!! What did you change in your diet?
Thanks, Crystal, for the link to Laura’s Homemade Vanilla…. I needed a good laugh! (And I’m actually thinking of going to the liquor store sometime soon… LOL!)
Love your deal on laundry detergent…it’s amazing how God works. Just this week, I had a friend ask me if I could use 15 dozen ears of corn. Mine isn’t doing as well this year..I planted so late. Thankfully, I got the corn and now have 28 bags in the freezer!!
I had to giggle about how you didn’t want to drive 10 minutes just for the detergent deal – where I live, the closest store of any kind is at least 10 minutes away, so for me, driving only 10 minutes is worth a deal like 3 bottles of laundry detergent for $3! So wish we had stores that doubled coupons around here, too!
I just have to say, I love the look of the tile in the background of those pictures. Must be that new kitchen of yours. Congrats again on your home and being debt free. Way to go! What an inspiration!
Does anyone know how the cost of homemade vanilla compares to buying it at the store? I’ve considered making it but wondered if it was worth it by the time you buy the beans, vodka and bottles.
@Courtney, I found that making it cost me HALF of what I can buy good quality vanilla for at the store or through my health food coop.
@Laura@HeavenlyHomemakers, Thanks, Laura! That’s great to know and I’m going to give it a try. By the way, I’ve been reading your blog for several months and it’s one of my absolute favorites!
i was going to write about a fantastic Kahlua recipe I have but guess I won’t-snice I mainly read about all of y’alls fantastic ways of saving money and how to do different thing -and I’m not a regular contributer (sp0-I won’t-don’t want to be banned from here
Thanks for all I learn from y’all
Thanks for posting about the detergent. I’ve gotten a brand lately, after moving away from making it myself, that is similar in price to making it myself. However, I’m finding it doesn’t do a great job. =) So I was wondering if there were other brands that I could get just a cheap. Seems so. =) Now to keep my eyes open for them.
Great job!! I love Era and it isn’t sold around here anymore.
Here’s our recipe from our Dining On A Dime Cookbook. I LOVE it and make it all the time.
Vanilla
2 vanilla beans cut lengthwise (but not in half)
¾ cup vodka
Combine the ingredients in a ½ pint jar and set aside to steep for 3 or 4 weeks. Use vanilla as usual. When the level of the vanilla drops below the vanilla beans add more vodka. You can get 4-5 large bottles worth of vanilla out of 2 beans.
Homemade vanilla is so easy and so yummy!! I make my own.
In fact, I am considering doing a quart of homemade yogurt, a tiny bottle of homemade vanilla and either homemade granola and/or canned peaches as Christmas gifts for friends this year.
If you’re wanting to make it as gifts you just need to calculate in the time it takes to “brew”.
Great deal on the laundry detergent! And yum, farm-fresh eggs! I would love to find a source of farm-fresh in my area, I guess I need to hit a farmer’s market & ask around! 😉 Thanks for the linky!
I was going to ask what’s turbinado but I was able to look it up and it says natural brown sugar. I’m learning all kinds of new things from you. Thanks
I would really love to do this but one thing that bothers me is having to use VODKA I have strong biblical based convictions about not drinking nor cooking with alcohol let alone trying to buy it at a liquor store or go down the isle of a grocery store that has all the liquor because I stay as far as i can away from the stuff…..Is there any other option to making this? besides with alcohol.
Thank you
@charity,
I have never tried this (I use alcohol when making mine) but have seen this recipe:
2 vanilla beans
12 oz glycerin
4 oz warm water
Slit bean down middle and scrape downs seeds. Place both in glycerin and warm water. (softens pod) Place in dark place. Let sit for a month or so. Shake often.
If you try it let me know if it’s good! 🙂
@charity, Real vanilla extract is made with some form of alcohol (usually vodka or rum). Vanilla flavoring uses mostly water, and only trace amounts of alcohol. Imitation vanilla is made by soaking wood (instead of vanilla beans) in alcohol. Obviously these cheaper options are going to taste different. Since the Bible mainly commands us to ‘be not drunk with wine,’ and it is next to impossible to get drunk on vanilla extract, it’s hard to contend that you’d be violating Scripture by using vanilla (imitation, real, or flavoring) in your cooking.
Non-alcoholic recipes for vanilla extract knock-offs do abound, using ingredient combinations such as water and glycerin that sound more suspect even than alcohol. If you’re really committed to this conviction, you’re probably best off swearing off vanilla altogether.
@Rose,
And most other real extracts as well – many use vodka as the liquid to extract the essence of the bean, peel, etc.
Personally, I see nothing going against Scripture by using vanilla extract. The amount of alcohol that IS in them is such a trace amount to begin with that once you bake the item, it just burns off. There are so many foods out there that use extracts, liqueurs, etc, that it could be pretty difficult to actually “avoid the stuff” entirely. Avoid the appearance of evil; yes….but just avoid legalism as well.
Good luck!
@Rose, I agree with Rose, both on the Biblical commands, and also that you’re unlikely to find real vanilla without any alcohol content. However, there would be such a small amount of alcohol in the food that it would dissipate when it was cooked. You certainly can’t feel any effects from alcohol when you eat chocolate chip cookies, can you? However, if you wish to be a teetotaller, many recipes can be made without vanilla. MSM herself has left it out of a lot of things! (On second thought, I just googled “non-alcoholic vanilla”…you might have some luck there!)
@charity,
Have you ever considered making vanilla sugar instead? You get the benefits of the vanilla flavor without adding any alcohol or liquids at all (and you can reuse the beans several times, so it is frugal too).
I make my vanilla sugar in 8c batches because that is the size of my canister, but you can always make less to try it out.
8 cups regular white sugar
4-6 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and the “vanilla caviar” scraped out
Put the sugar, vanilla caviar, & beans in a canister or other air tight container. Give it a good shake to combine all the flavors. Allow to sit on a shelf for at least a week before using it. When you are ready to use the vanilla sugar, just put it through a wire sieve to get out the big pieces of vanilla bean (and put the pieces back in the container to add more flavor).
Substitute for white sugar in recipes (and depending how strong of a vanilla flavor you want, use it for the full volume of sugar or part of it).
As for purchasing vanilla beans – they can get very expensive. My MIL & I have purchased them from http://www.beanilla.com/ before and they had the best prices we could find online and their customer service was wonderful.