If you’re wanting new throw pillows but don’t want to spend the money to buy new ones, then you might consider buying square pillow covers.  I found some really nice red pillow covers on sale for half price at Pottery Barn a while back.  They have a full zipper on one edge, making it easy to put them on the pillow.  It’s easy to find them online, too.  Just make sure you measure the pillow first.

Being able to pick up a delicious rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or Walmart is wonderful!  When you’ve had a hectic day and do not feel like cooking, it’s so easy to pick up one from the deli and then when you get home just open a bagged salad and cook one veggie.  That’s an easy “home-cooked” tasting meal.

My husband and I can usually have four meals off one rotisserie chicken.  This is what I did a couple of weeks ago:

• Meal #1 – had rotisserie chicken with salad and a veggie



• Meal #2 – used meat from the chicken to make chicken tacos using whole grain taco shells
• Meal # 3 – liked the tacos so much we had them again the next night
• Meal #4 – made chicken soup:  Took what was left of the chicken (the carcass), bones and all.  Placed in a large pot, covered with water, brought to a boil and simmered for 30 minutes-1 hour.  Let cool and removed chicken and bones from the pan.  Took the chicken off the bones.  Skimmed most of the fat off the remaining broth.   Then using the chicken stock as the soup base, added the chicken back in, plus chopped onion,  frozen veggies, and favorite spices.  Brought it to a boil and let it simmer for 30 more minutes.

Our daughter, Christi, loves to go to the children’s consignment event that takes place twice a year where she lives.  It’s a lot of work pricing every item of clothing and entering it in online.  But it’s necessary because when people purchase items at the sale, barcode scanners are used to make check-out quick and efficient. It’s worth all the work because she usually makes enough from what she sells to cover what she buys.  That’s a really nice incentive for doing all of this!  And their little boys end up with some cute, quality clothes that sometimes look like new.

Grilled is good!  Check out your *local Jack in the Box and see if they’re offering a free grilled sandwich with a drink purchase this coming Tuesday.  Grilled is so healthy, and you can’t beat a free sandwich.  Better yet, take someone with you and buy their drink so their meal is free.

*In Texas, offer not valid in Austin, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lake Charles, or Waco.

In Idaho, offer not valid in Boise, Twin Falls, or Idaho Falls.  In Washington, not valid in Seattle.

• Arby’s – Sign up on their site and get an email for a special offer plus future email coupons.
• Black Eyed Pea – You get email offers and a special offer on your birthday.  Last year, I think it was a FREE dessert.  This year it’s a FREE appetizer.
• Don Pablos – Get a FREE dip sampler for joining, $10 off on your birthday, $10 off on your anniversary sign-up date, and $10 off for a ninth visit reward.
• LaMadeleines – Sign up and receive an email for a FREE petite salade or cup of soupe. They’ll also send you an email for a FREE item for your birthday.
• Qdobas – Get an email coupon for a FREE item on your birthday plus I think you get an email coupon for FREE queso when you sign up  (It’s been two or three years since we signed up so I can’t remember for sure).
• Red Hot & Blue (I just joined so I don’t know what you get for joining.   I’ve never been there so I also don’t know what their food is like.  Friends say it’s good. )
• Rockfish Seafood Grill
• Rosa’s Cafe – Receive a FREE #17 Combination Burrito with a drink purchase when you join.
• Taco Bueno – When you sign up, receive a coupon for a FREE platter with the purchase of another platter.  Receive an email coupon for an item on your birthday.
  

There are all sorts of ways to save money here and there, by checking grocery ads every week and buying the specials, using coupons, checking life insurance rates and other insurance rates as well to get the lowest rate available, etc.  Also, keeping the thermostat set a couple of degrees lower in the winter and wearing a sweater in the house is another way.  I read recently where a lot of people aren’t eating out as much anymore and instead they are “dusting off their cookbooks” and eating at home.  That definitely saves money.  Saving money in several different areas does add up over time!

We eat a lot of Cheerios at our house, so I check grocery ads to find them on sale.  And if I have a coupon for them, that makes the savings even better.  Well, I found this great site where you can get 4 coupons, each worth $1.  After entering my name, address, and email on an official Cheerios website, I will be receiving four emails over the next few weeks, each email containing a $1 coupon.   That also enters me for a chance to win one of 50,000 boxes of Cheerios that they will be giving away.  Sounds good to me!

We use Hellmann’s Light Mayo, and I’m always looking for good coupons for the products we use.  If you use Hellmann’s Mayo and would like a coupon, you can get a 75 cent coupon here.

Here’s where you can get a $1 coupon off one box of South Beach Bars. It’s the beginning of a new year and time for many of us who made a New Year’s resolution to lose the weight we gained during the holidays to get serious about what we eat. South Beach Bars are great for this, and in fact, I believe Weight Watchers endorses them. The great thing is that they are high in fiber, containing 9 grams of fiber, yet they don’t taste like it.   My favorite is the Oats & Chocolate!  What’s your favorite?

(I have not been compensated for this post in any way.  This is strictly my opinion.)

Val has a great coupon on her site for $1.25 off a package of Pillsbury Simply Peanut Butter Cookies.  My mother-in-law baked a couple of packages of these cookies while we were visiting, and they are so good!  The great thing about these cookies is that they have no trans-fat, no high-fructose corn syrup, no preservatives, and no artificial colors or flavorings.  They still have calories, though, so I had to remind myself to only eat one or two.

*Remember to use the coupon by the expiration date