Bent & Dents

Have you ever gone to a bent & dent, or a salvage grocery store? They're a fun way to save on grocery items. All of the grocery stores of the world send their slightly damaged items, outdated items, or surplus items to these stores.

The prices of most items are drastically reduced. On average I can buy cereal there for $1-$1.25, a large can of formula for $5-10, and fun health/beauty products for really cheap. Canned items & salad dressings are also a great deal (25-75 cents!)

If you're not from my area of WI, feel free to look at this directory of salvage grocery stores across the US.


1. A & E Bent & Dent and Bulk Foods - Manchester, WI
W3884 Grand River Road - Cash/check only.
Review: Fair prices. Store is half bent & dent, half bulk foods. Worth the stop to be able to shop both avenues at the same store. Lots of spices & some produce as well.


2. Mast Bent & Dent (commonly known as Lizzie's)
W2086 Barry Rd. Dalton, WI
Directions: Follow Hwy 44 South through Dalton, turn right onto EE, take 1st right onto Barry Rd. The unlabeled store is the 1st place past the buggy repair shop (no lie, it's major Amish country out there!) or the last place (on the right) before Kiefer Rd.
Open on Tue, Wed, Fri, & Sat. I don't recommend going on Sat, though! (SO busy) Cash/check only.
Review: Good prices. Usually has good variety in the store.


3. Hilltop Grocery - Wautoma, WI- Cash/check only
Follow Hwy 21 west out of Wautoma for about 4-5 miles & turn north (right) on County B. After a mile, the store will be on your left.
Review: Good prices. Has a large baby food section (10-35 cents/jar) & health/beauty selection.


4. Country Discount Grocery - Wautoma, WI
W9483 Highway 21, 3 miles west of Wautoma
920-787-5000
Hours: M-F 9-5, Sat 9-4
Review: Prices are fair. They do have refrigerated items & even some goods from the local Amish bakeries. The store also has various sugar free & gluten free products. A new thrift store just opened next door.

5. Dent, Bent, & Beyond - Beaver Dam, WI
123 Dodge Dr. Mon-Fri 9a-5p, Sat 9a-1p - Cash/Check only.
Review: Good prices. Large store with a ton of variety. Lots of organic products.

6 Free Blizzards

It's definitely 10 degrees outside. And -6 degrees with windchill. Brr. But remember that spring will come. And when it warms up you'll be in the mood for Dairy Queen's blizzards again, right? DQ's Blizzard Fan Club is running their amazing deal of a total of 6 free blizzards (6 free B1G1 coupons). Sign up to receive your coupons by email!

Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

Piggly Wiggly, Jan. 27-Feb. 2

Here are the best deals, coupled with coupons I found, for Piggly Wiggly this week. Oh, and don't forget to bring your $10/$60 purchase coupon if you're going to Ted's Piggly Wiggly!

PW Gallon Milk (w/ad coupon)= $1.69
PW Sliced White Bread (w/ad coupon) = $0.69

11/$10 Sale = $0.91 each (Mix & Match) including....
Old Orchard Apple Juice Cocktail Blends (or Ruby Red Grapefruit)
Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce
Food Club Pasta
Baby Peeled Carrots (1 lb.)
Del Monte Tomato Ketchup
Food Club Blended Frozen Vegetables
Whole White Mushrooms
And more!

Yoplait Yogurt - on sale for $0.50 (10/$5)
plus $0.50/6 coupon = $0.42

Carl Budding Thin Sliced Lunchmeat (2 oz.) = $0.67 (3/$2)
plus $1/ 5 coupon (Smart Source Newspaper Insert) = $0.47

Quaker Items (with $3 ad coupon & purchase of 5) = $1.29
Life, Oatmeal Squares & Cap'n Crunch Cereals
Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix & Syrup
Quaker Oats, Instant Oatmeal & Granola Bars
-- plus $1/2 Quaker True Delights/Fiber Granola Bars coupon = $0.79
--plus $1 Quaker Oats or Instant Oatmeal coupon = $0.29 !!

25% off at Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday is offering a 25% off coupon valid from Jan. 27- Feb. 7.

Thanks, Slick Deals!

Free Christian Courses

Radio Bible Class is offering free online Christian courses. The courses are not for credit, but can be a great way for you to further your knowledge in an area that interests you. The free courses are:

Old Testament Survey
New Testament Survey
Know Why You Believe-- Introduction to Christian Apologetics
History of the Christian Church
First Steps in Christian Counseling
Bible Basics
First Steps in Effective Ministry
First Steps in the Christian Faith

This is a great & affordable way for anyone who'd like to study from home. I haven't taken one yet, but if anyone does, please let me know what you think! And when I do one in the future, I'll give you an update.

Free Love Letter Kit

Racking your brain for Valentine ideas? Think Marriage is offering a free love letter kit in time for Valentine's Day. The kit comes with some stationary & envelopes, tips, and a folder to keep track of everything. They are giving away a limited number of these kits, so sign up soon!

Thanks Staci & Southern Savers!

Free Music Again!

Meredith Andrews has a great song, Who is Like You that you can download for free. A quick plug about this girl....her heart for worship is amazing. For the past few years she's been helping with worship at the church I attended in college, Harvest Bible Chapel, and her stuff is great. I'm so excited to see that she now bursting onto the Christian music scene nationwide (she was just interviewed on KLOVE.) If you like this song, you currently can get her entire album on Amazon for $5! Check out Meredith's site for the link. Her music moves me me to worship God in a fresh way, I hope you find the same to be true for you!

Adore by Jaci Velasquez is also free right now.


One last song, Follow Me by Brooke White. Enjoy!

Thanks, Frugal Girls!

Free Disney Pass

I saw this in a parenting magazine the other day, and it must be shared with you. If you are interested in going to Disney this year, this is the deal for you. Disney will give you a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort if you volunteer a day of service to a participating organization in your community. What a wonderful deal! Click the link above to check this deal out!

Swag like you mean it

I knove I've mentioned this before, but it needs to be said again. If you like free stuff, please click above and start earning with swagbucks. Why am I so passionate to tell you about this? Because I just spent $20 again today with a gift card I earned from Swagbucks. (Bringing my total gift cards earned from Swagbucks to $75! This last $20 took me 1-1.5 months to earn.) If you like to search using Google, switch to Swagbucks. It's painless, easy, & a fun way to earn moola. Enjoy!

don't you love free stuff?

1. Free sample of Cream of Wheat - you even get to pick the flavor!

2. Free Uni Ball pen-- the uni super ink pen
-- hurry, only the first 10,000 ppl will get one!

3. Snapfish-- 100 free prints
-- use the coupon code PRINTSNEW (you pay tax & s/h)

4. Free sample of Mariani Dried Plums
-- use the code ADSUPER

5. Free Halo Sleep Sack donated to kids in Haiti
-- just become a facebook fan by clicking here -- Halo is donating one for every fan they receive up to 1000!!

6. Free Sample of Kashi Cereal-- you choose!

Thanks to Thrifty & Chic Mom, Freebies4Mom, & Stretching a Buck, & Deal Seeking Mom!

disappeared?

i'm still here. but since the last time i was on here we have bought a house and i've been struggling to keep my head above water in the land of purchases for the house. a giant learning curve for this girl. in case any of you would be in the same boat as me someday (aka. you know nothing about where to buy anything for a house!), here are a few tips i've learned over the past month....

1. the furniture & appliance outlet in oshkosh (1205 S. Washburn St.) -- is out of this world. we bought all of our appliances there. they were new (one had a small scratch)...and we paid anywhere from 30%-60% of the full value for them. ca-ching.

2. craig needs to be your friend for life. craigslist is amazing. we discovered craig years back and used him a lot when we remodeled our bathroom last year. and he's still serving us well. today we bought a complete leather living room set (over $5K new) for 20% of the value. almost perfect condition, 4 years old. yes, we are VERY thankful for craig. (if you haven't heard of craigslist, it's just a free online classifieds site.)

ooh, and a quick hint. in order to beat out the other crazies of the world who live their lives on craigslist...create an igoogle home page for yourself and put craigslist on it. you can even format it to keep your specific searches on there. every time you load your home page, you'll get an update of the latest items available on craiglist. it will give you a chance to compete with the others. remember, respond quickly to any listing you're interested in. and if you really want it, try offering MORE than what they ask for...b/c any really good listing usually has multiple responders.

3. habitat for humanity has a habitat re-store in appleton that i'm told i need to visit. i guess people donate various items from their homes (correct me if i'm wrong) and you can buy them at amazing prices. it's located on 3000 E. College Ave. Appleton & the phone number is 920-830-8400.

4. if you like darling things for your kids' rooms, but hate to pay the price (like me!)-- swing by the land of nod outlet in naperville, illinois, if you're ever in the chicago area. or check out their online "nods & ends" outlet. i've bought unique items there for great deals...my best was a cute lampshade for $6!

i've learned more, but i don't want to bore you. if you have any suggestions for this girl, feel free to pass them on. i'll keep you up to date on what i learn along the way. and there will be a lot to learn. because we have a lot to fix & replace. our enormous gem of a home was treated poorly by its previous owners. our demolition day is jan. 30. there is much to be ripped out & much to be scrubbed. more house updates to come...

Girls Shopping Trip

I've got a girls shopping weekend at the Aurora Outlets coming up with my sister-in-laws this weekend....and I thought I'd share the coupons/deals I'll be bringing along.

1. Caribou Coffee - $1 off a medium or large mocha (Thanks, Coupon Cravings!)

2. Children's Place- 15% off coupon (good through 1/31)

3. Gap Outlet's reusable bag....offers 10% off every purchase through 2010 (pick one up at your nearest store for $4.99!)

4. a $10/50 coupon from Carters - they have a celebration club that you can sign up for & you'll receive free coupons by mail (Oshkosh B' Gosh has the same club, too)

5. Aldo Shoes - 10% off coupon (Sign up at their site for the free coupon)

Okay, that's all the deals that I'm able to post. (I've also been saving coupons and Old Navy bucks for this trip...but those aren't things I can share online. :) If you know of any other great store coupons/deals going on right now-- please share!

2010 Shopping Schedule

As this new year starts, I think it's time I share with you the awesome shopping schedule I found awhile back. Basically, here are the times of the year to look for certain deals. So far I've found it to be true. I've edited it along the way as I've found other tricks of the trade. Some are easy ones that everyone knows...but some are ones I've been surprised to learn.

January:

*sweaters & all winter wear are on clearance...stock up for next year!
* calendars & planners
* TVs....lowest prices are the 2 wks prior to the Super Bowl
* workout gear & fitness equipment
* "white sale" items....sheets, towels, blankets
* computers & small appliances

February:

* furniture retailers often offer blow-out bargains, especially on upholstered furniture on President's Day
* jewelry...lots of Valentine's Day sales
* floor coverings

March:

* national frozen food month...stock up!
* air conditioners
* winter sporting equipment
* washers & dryers

April:

* home improvement items....flooring, house paint, & gardening supplies
* kitchen stoves
* electronics
* eggs....on sale for Easter!

May:

* Memorial Day weekend= great time for big ticket items like major appliances
* mattresses & box springs (late May to early fall)

June:

* wedding dresses (if you're not too picky)
* home toosl & hardware
* national dairy month...dairy foods are on sale
* refrigerators, floor coverings, furniture

July:

* electronics...air conditioners (what's left of them) & ceiling fans
* craft supplies
* summer clothes, shoes, swimwear
* grills
* washers & dryers

August:

* outdoor furniture
* fresh produce
* school supplies
* "white sale" items (again)

September:

* golf clubs
* canned goods
* scooters, bikes, swingsets
* houses (they want to get them off the market before the winter comes!)
* gardening supply clearances

October:

* candy...think Halloween
* a new car (if you must buy a new one)
* rugs
* if any summer clothes are left on the racks, they are super cheap!!

November:

*turkeys (now through Christmas)
*cranberries
*baking supplies (sugar, flour, etc.)
*blankets, comforters & winterwear
* heating devices & appliances

December:

*before Christmas...everything in the world is on sale!
*after- Christmas sales....electronic Christmas items, gift wrap, decor

(List is adapted from Ellie Kay's book A Tip a Day with Ellie Kay & Mary Hunt's book Debt-Proof Living. And I added a few, too. :)

Jammies for $4.99

Hurry before this deal is up.... Children's Place currently is clearancing certain fleece pjs for babies, kids, AND adults! If it was ever your dream for the entire fam to wear matching pj's (wait, tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that would be cute!)-- this is your chance. My size/color isn't available...so I hope someone can snatch this great deal!

Coupon Craze

Okay....time to share the sites I like for coupons. If you have others that you think are really great, feel free to share them! Don't forget, pairing coupons up with amazing store sales is a great way to get things for pennies...or sometimes even free.

Smart Source