I am going to keep answering the questions you left in the comments of the survey.
1.Post Giant deals earlier, you are the one site I use for Giant deals and they seem to be posted later than other stores that aren’t in the local area.
I would love to post Giant earlier, but they are so darn unreliable with when I get my ad. So if I can’t get an ad until Sunday, I can’t get matchups til Sunday night or Monday night. If I get the ad earlier, you will see it up on Saturday. Somedays I get it on Weds before the sale, Monday after the sale starts. I wish I had a better source.
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I love that you are taking the time to fill out the survey today. It really does help me! Remember, I do this blog thinking like my mind works, so sometimes I might not be clear to you. So I am glad you asked.
Reader #1 – Wish their was a search engine so I don’t have to scroll back pages and pages to find a deal you posted.
There is! Just look in the right sidebar and see the area under FOLLOW ME – if you type the word you want to search for — it will bring up all recent posts that I posted with that word in it. If you want to see a Grocery Store, just flip to the Grocery Page and click on the store you want to see. If you want to see drugstore deals, click on the DRUGSTORE tab and you click on the store you want to see. You can also click on the categories by store or freebie or coupon to bring up posts that I have tagged with those selections. This is also in the right sidebar.
Hope that helps!
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I have heard what is a catalina? Is that a type of dressing? You use a cat at the grocery store? Huh.
The questions surrounding catalinas are funny. It is quite an odd word. So here is my “oh I get it” description of a Catalina.
What exactly is catalina?
The catalina is just this – a coupon that you get at checkout. So when you get your receipt you receive a “checkout coupon” a.k.a. catalina. A purchase of particular items will trigger the catalina to print.
Where does a catalina come from?
The catalina coupon prints out from the catalina machine at the register. (Be sure to check the machine to see if the coupons have printed.) See Photo so you can recognize them in the store. They are little boxes that are next to the register. Make sure your catalina box has a green light on if you are using self checkout. They will print out after you pay for bill.
What are the catalina’s good for?
It depends. Some Catalina’s are good for any purchase. So basically, if it is $2.00 off your next order, you can use it towards any purchase.
There are some exceptions for this. Some companies do not allow you to use the catalina to “roll” or to use on the same product purchase. For example, P&G often has a $10.00 off your next order, but it is NOT good on P&G products.
Most catalinas have a store on them and can only be used at that particular store.
There are some coupons that come out of the catalina machine that are manufacturer coupons and sometimes that are specific to that store.
What if my catalina didn’t print?
Try going to the customer service desk first. Sometimes they will just give you cash back on the order. Another alternative is calling 1-888-8COUPON . You may have to leave a message.
Go ahead and leave comment with your catalina questions and I will update the post with the answers.
This is an awesome price on this mixer $209.00.
The white Kitchen Aid Artisan 5qt Mixer is one sale for $239.99 with a $30.00 rebate HERE
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I know this is pricey but these normally go for $349.99. So if you can’t get it, drool a little and move on.
I did for many years and I cook alot.
It is about time for us to defrost those frozen turkeys you got for super cheap or even better FREE.. I loved the $.49 a pound turkeys!
Use these guidelines for thawing your turkey.
Thawing in the Fridge? (In the Refrigerator (40 °F or below)
Allow approximately 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds
4 to 12 pounds 1 to 3 days
12 to 16 pounds 3 to 4 days
16 to 20 pounds 4 to 5 days
20 to 24 pounds 5 to 6 days
Tips – DO NOT UNWRAP TURKEY. Put a tray or something under it so that the juices stay contained. Once thawed it is safe to leave the turkey in the fridge for up to 2 days.
You can also thaw in Cold Water (this isn’t a great method unless you are cooking in the evening)
Allow approximately 30 minutes per pound
4 to 12 pounds 2 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds 10 to 12 hours
Make sure you wrap the turkey, do not let any water leak through the wrapping. Put your turkey into the cold water. CHANGE THE WATER EVERY 30 MINUTES. (very important to keep it from becoming contaminated.) Cook Turkey immediately. DO NOT REFREEZE.
What are your tips for thawing or cooking a Turkey? Share them in the comments!
A reader emailed me asking me where to start with a budget. She said her money situation is an absolute mess. I wanted to give this reader a straight forward answer. This is not meant to offend, rather inform.
By trade, I am an accountant. What exactly does that mean? I went to community college, followed by undergraduate and finally graduate school. During those 8 long years, I studied Finance and Accounting. I can whip a spreadsheet into shape like nobody’s business.
As an accountant, whether it be public or private, you learn alot about people’s finances. I am not quite sure why, but as soon as you tell people you are in Accounting and Finance, they tell you their business. I mean, ALL OF THEIR BUSINESS! The most frequently asked question is “How can I be better at managing my money? I am just not that good at it.”
Let me decipher what I am just not that good at it means. It means you haven’t taken the time to get real with yourself about your finances. I am not suggesting that we all should be able to balance our checkbooks in our heads. However, we all should know where our money is coming from and where it is going. This is the foundation to any successful financial situation. We should have an honest accounting with where our money is going.
I find that most people tell you they spend about X dollars on something. What that really means is they spent X dollars plus 20%. People have the tendency to underestimate their spending. I have never met with a client who spends less than what they think. 9 times out of 10, they are spending more than what they tell me.
If you don’t know where your money is going, how can you fix it? Like any relationship, your relationship with money has to be based on truth and transparency. Some of you might find it odd that I say relationship with money. I really believe we have to treat our money and our finance like a relationship. Relationships take time and energy to work. For your finances to work, you must take the time and spend the energy.
So what is the first step to getting real about your finances? Put it down on paper. If you don’t do a weekly/monthly budget with updates, I am sure you will be surprised at your spending. When I say a budget, I don’t mean a list of what you should spend a month. I mean a list of what you should spend each month with a comparison of your actual spending. To accomplish your budget you can use a simple notebook or spreadsheet.
Sample Budget Spreadsheet
If you are computer savvy there are many programs out there that you can buy. You can try a free program like Mint.com. Mint.com will send you email alerts when you over your spending limit. A program like this gets very sophisticated and you don’t have to do much work. This is what I use to keep a budget. You set it up once and it will automatically download your transactions. It spits out a report at the end of the month. This is my recommended method, regardless of how little or how large amount of money you have.
Mint.com Screenshot
No matter what you decide to use, take the first step of getting control of your finances. I’d love to hear how you keep your budget. Do you have any suggestions for this reader?
Update: Alicia added this wonderful tip:
If you do not have excel, you can try google docs or open office for free. They both offer scaled down versions of Excel, totally free. Also, it reminded me that Microsoft Works, which comes on many computers, also has a spreadsheet package. Thanks, Alicia.
