The Sweet Life On A Budget

  FREE 8 X10 Print from Walgreens Thank you, Walgreens for another great offer this week. Walgreens is offering a free 8X10 print.  I have taken advantage of this and ordered 1 print to give as a gift.    Add 1 8X10 Print. to your Walgreen’s cart.    Then at checkout add the promo code:     ZERO .   This will make your prints free when you select pickup from your local Walgreens.   Here is the link to get your cards: Walgreen Prints   This deal ends December 31, 2021, so head on over and order your prints ASAP.   Enjoy your freebie! NOTE- This coupon code is no longer valid. Check back again for more savings.

    Making small changes that have big results.  On Friday’s I share weekly deals that cost less than $1.00.   These deals help to keep us on our budget and living The Sweet Life.  Although I do not advocate shopping at a large number of stores during this health crisis, if you are going to a particular store that has a deal- just pick it up too.     Unfortunately, I haven’t been shopping at CVS for a while, so my CRTs are very limited and not exceptional at this point.   As I do more shopping at CVS the better the deals will be.  Start small and grow your experience.      Kroger Deals (December 26, 2021 - January 11, 2022) ** Check your Best Customer Coupons .      This month I received the following coupons from Kroger- Kroger Dinner Sausage (1 lb) Schick Razor Cost: $5.00 Kroger Buy 5 Get $5.00 Coupon: $4.00 (Kroger Digital Coupon) OOP/Final Cost: FREE Colgate Toothpaste Cost: $2.99 Kroger Buy...

  Having a gathering is always tricky because of the preparation that is required and the added expense to your budget.   We normally host the activities and provide the beverages, main dish, and aside.    Our guests then provide other dishes to round out the food.  Our budget for such gatherings has historically been $20.00, but through careful shopping, we normally come in under budget.   New Year’s Eve This year, our immediate family will be together on New Year’s Eve.   We will have appetizers for dinner and signature drinks.  Our son’s drink of choice is sparkling apple cider and we will have frozen mudslides.   Our dinner will include wings, a cheese board, a vegetable platter, and random chips, pretzels, or crackers.   All of these items have been put together from our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.   Therefore, the added cost is $0.00.         New Year’s Day This year our good frie...

  I have always enjoyed frozen mudslides but when I get them in a bar, they are really strong.  Given that it is New Year’s Eve, we like to stay home and enjoy our appetizers and cocktails.    This is one of my favorite cocktails to enjoy on New Year’s Eve.    This time I stirred the Mudslide instead of blending because I was only making 1 drink.  Ingredients 1 cup coffee Ice Cream 1-2 Ounces Kahlua ⅓ cup of Half and Half 1 Tablespoon Chocolate Syrup 1 Tablespoon Redi Whip optional Maraschino Cherry optional  Chocolate shavings optional Instructions In a blender add ice cream, half and half,  and Kahlua. Mix until the ice cream is smooth  Inside a 16-ounce glass drizzle the chocolate syrup around. Turn the glass in your hand to cover all sides of the glass.  Add the mudslide from the blender into the prepared glass.  Top with Redi Whip and garnish with a maraschino cherry and chocolate shavings.  Enjoy! 

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to meal prep as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.    Meal Prep Plan Cut Vegetables Make Dip Cranberry Scones Christmas Cookies NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although at the time of the blog postings all prices were correct, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Cinnamon Toast Yogurt (Recipe Linked) Cranberry Scones Monday   Cowboy Soup Salad Tuesday Enchilada Salad Chips and Salsa Wednesday  Leftovers Thursday Hoagies Chips Friday Shrimp Casserole  Broccoli Salad Saturday...

  FREE 8 X 12 Print from Walgreens Thank you, Walgreens for another great offer this week. Walgreens is offering a free 8X12  Prints.  I have taken advantage of this and ordered 1 different print to give as a gift next year.    Add 8X12 Print. to your Walgreen’s cart.    Then at checkout add the promo code:   FROSTY8X10 .   This will make your print free when you select pickup from your local Walgreens.   Here is the link to get your cards: Walgreen Prints   This deal ends December 25, 2021, so head on over and order your prints ASAP.   Enjoy your freebie!

    Making small changes that have big results.  On Friday’s I share weekly deals that cost less than $1.00.   These deals help to keep us on our budget and living The Sweet Life.  Although I do not advocate shopping at a large number of stores during this health crisis, if you are going to a particular store that has a deal- just pick it up too.     Unfortunately, I haven’t been shopping at CVS for a while, so my CRTs are very limited and not exceptional at this point.   As I do more shopping at CVS the better the deals will be.  Start small and grow your experience.      Kroger Deals (December 15-25, 2021) ** Check your Best Customer Coupons .      This month I received the following coupons from Kroger- Kroger Dinner Sausage (1 lb) Breakstone Sour Cream Cost: $1.99 Coupon: $1.00 (5 X digital)  OOP: $0.99 IBOTTA: $1.00 (Limit 5)  Final Cost: FREE Kroger Oats (18 oz) Cost: $1.69 (Buy 2 G...