This morning the new Sweetbay had their grand opening and it pays to go early for these deals. So we took Dave to work and Shawn and I headed over to the Sweetbay. There was a bit of a line to get in when we got there but it was well worth it.

The first freebie was a pineapple at the door then just inside there was a man with a huge bowl of fresh strawberries. YUM!!!! Strawberries were on sale fresh from Plant City and very yummy so we picked up a 2 lb package. Then they were giving away free carnations and free cookies so Shawn had a cookie and got mommy a flower. I went around to use the mailer coupons we got for free butter and a free loaf of bread (I live in an apartment and sifted through the mail trash and snagged several of these so I'll be going several times over the next week to stock up on butter). When we got to the checkout the butter coupon ended up taking off $2.50 even though the butter was on sale for $2 so I paid $2.49. On the way out they were giving out reusable shopping bags filled with goodies. The bag had a bottle of apple juice, a box of cereal, a box of wafers, and a box of spaghetti all Hannaford brand.

Then we headed over to CVS and picked up the milk I needed on sale for $3.29 and some glade candles, tissues, and a few other things. I paid .75 oop there. When we were leaving I decided at the price for strawberries I would go back and get some more and freeze them for when they aren't so cheap. We headed back and received another free pineapple and another bag of goodies on the way out. I told them we had already been in once and were just coming in to get some more strawberries but they didn't care. My total that trip was $2.99

We are going to go out to the farmer's market tomorrow morning to get the rest of the produce for the week hopefully cheaper than the grocery stores. The best part of that is we will be supporting the local growers who need the help the most in this economy.

Just from looking at the ad online it looks like Big Y has some great deals. I'll post a few of the matchups that look good to me but there are several Buy 1 Get 2 free deals that you should also take advantage of. I saw potatoes and english muffins on that list and would totally be stocking up on those this week.

Butterball Turkey Bacon BOGO
$1 IPQ

Cook's Smoked Ham Shank Portion $1.28/lb
$1 IPQ

Nabisco 100 calorie pack cookies or crackers BOGO
$2/2 IPQ

Make sure before you head out to Big Y you check here for any in store coupons that might be helpful.

I haven't gone to Publix yet this week but I did spot a few deals out there that seem good. If I find any other good deals I'll update. But this is a good starting place.

Knorr Sides BOGO $1.49
.75/2 MQ =.74 for 2

Uncle Bens Country Inn Rice BOGO $1.49
$1/2 IP =.49 for 2

Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake Mix BOGO $1.69
$1/2 MQ =.69 for 2

Land O Lakes Spread BOGO $2.09
.55 IP =.99 for 2

Yoplait Yo-Plus Digestive Yogurt 2/$4
$1.50 IP =.50 each

Aleve Pain Medicine $2.99
$1 IP + $4/2 PQ =Free Aleve

Revlon Products up to $4.50
-$2.50 PQ and $1 or $2 mq =FREE stuff

I know that I had full intentions of getting the grocery deals up today but truth be told when you are just feeling alittle better you can't get nearly as much done as you plan. I have started taking my notes for the week and will hopefully get in done early tomorrow.

Just a little grocery note for anyone with an Albertson's in the area check your ad. My local store has a buy 1 get 2 free coupon for seasoned boneless chicken breast which I can use at Publix. They also are advertising 3 items in a 10 pounds for $10 sale those items are fresh whole pork picnics, bone in pork country style ribs, and bone in chicken breast. I will be looking in my freezer for some extra room and seeing what I can stock up on. For $30 you could end up with 30 pounds of meat which to me is beyond a great deal.

Sorry I haven't been around alot lately again. I promised to get back on top of things when my mother in law went home and life settled down. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. My husband was so kind as to share his cold with me and I've been under the weather for the past 4-5 days. YUCK!!!!

I'm starting to feel better so my goals for today are to update the grocery deals for the week for everyone. Come back tonight or tomorrow morning since I can't guarantee that it'll be done early. My house has become a wreck with dishes to be washed everything to be disinfected again and tons of coupons to be clipped and filed I'm hoping most of this will be done today. So while you are flipping through your grocery ads waiting for me to post the best of the best deals I challenge you to find a local farmer's market. I found one in Orlando (not real local but close enough) and one in Winter Park that we will be attending this weekend. If you have to spend money on fresh fruits and veggies you might as well support your local farmers. With the economy still in the toilet we all need to support the small guys they need the help the most.

Well I have tried but failed at keeping up with my spending to a tee. But I will try again next month, the good news is I was able to put away $25 each week last month so I at least stayed on budget. We have been adding to the stockpile and using smartly from there. I'm going to post later about my run to Publix last week, it was just too good not to share.

So how did you do sticking to your budget or tracking your spending? I found with my mother in law here it was harder to devote the time to tracking all my receipts but hopefully I can remedy that this month however a family reunion is sure to throw me alittle off track. I think I'm in the right place for my savings goals right now some weeks it's really easy and others it's a lot harder but it seems to be evening out at least.

From 6am to 2pm this Tuesday the 3rd Denny's will be giving a free grandslam breakfast to every guest that comes in. You will also receive a booklet full of coupons to use the next time you come in. So go out and have a free breakfast on Denny's, but be prepared to wait a little possibly as this ad will be running this afternoon during the superbowl and will be getting lots of attention.