It's Earth Day!

My top tip for Earth Day? Don't buy anything you don't need!

Great deals at Safeway/Vons

Thanks to Chief Family Officer, I saved a bundle today at Safeway.

For every $30 (Before Coupons!) you spend on products designated Living Well, you will receive a $10 Catalina coupon at checkout. That's effectively getting $30 of groceries for only $20. Now, if you also use some coupons, you get even better savings.

I stocked up on Electrosol dishwasher soap and pasta sauces; the detailed list of participating brands is here. Note that not all varieties of each brand will count toward the $30 total so check the signs carefully.

Simple meals

Last night for dinner, we had roasted chicken with lemon and herbs, braised kale with garlic and asparagus, with apple crisp for dessert.

The kale came from some plants the kids had put in a raised bed in our back yard. It's sweet and delicious and everyone loved it. Asparagus and apples came from our bi-weekly produce bin delivery and the chicken was from a huge buy at Safeway ($.99/lb so I stocked up and packaged in freezer bags).

Home cooking saves money and is better for your health. Keep it simple and you can have a meal on the table each night with just a bit of kitchen work.

Quick Walgreens Trip

Today is Saturday, the last day of the weekly Walgreens ad. I stopped in briefly with my older DD for a quick trip.

Transaction 1
Edge shaving gel for $2.99+tax. Paid with my Walgreens gift card (which was loaded up from rebates) Received a $3 Register Reward coupon which I used for...

Transaction 2
2 Red Baron pizzas (2/$5) I had a $1 off 2 manufacturer's coupon
2 Arm & Hammer deodorant ($.99 each with Walgreens in-ad coupon)
2 Mentos gum (on sale for 2/$2) I had 2 $1 off coupons

I used the $RR and paid $3.16 out of pocket. Total cost of the two transactions was $6.42. Not bad for all that I got!

Stocks up

Stocks are up based on news of some economic recovery and a rising housing market. Still a good time to buy, if you are looking at the long-term.

CD rates have been super low recently. I've been keeping an eye on BankRate.com's chart of CD rates.

Doing the Deals

Thanks to the tips from Money Saving Mom and the forums at A Full Cup, I got some great deals today from Target and Walgreens.

Target has Quaker products on sale and if you buy 5, you get a $5 Target Gift Card. I used coupons from the Sunday paper inserts and got 5 bars of various types of granola bars. Total out of pocket? $8.25, less than $2/box. And I have the gift card for my next trip to Target. Those will go in my kids' lunch boxes.

Time to start tax preparation

This is a good time to gather your materials for 2008 tax year returns. For those of certain income levels and return complexity, there are free filing options available online.