August 21st

Utah Co-op

Have you heard about the Utah Co-op? It’s an amazing organization run by volunteers where you can get great deals on organic produce, specialty cheese, yogurt, gluten free and nutritional foods at a discount.  It is located at 4892 South Commerce Drive #B, Murray UT 84107. They are open Thursday 11-2pm Friday-Saturday 11-6pm. They only add .05 – .25 cents above the cost of the item to help pay for rent, utilities. After paying rent and utilities, profits are donated to a different Utah charity each month. Click on the highlighted link to see their website and order produce baskets. http://www.utahcoop.org/

Mercedes Zel-Pappas started the non profit co-op 6 years ago with the intent of helping low and middle income families struggling to buy quality food.  Anyone can shop at the co-op, there is no fee and no sales tax. If you like ordering Bountiful Baskets you can order similar produce baskets from the co-op. What I love about ordering produce baskets from the co-op is that you can pick up your basket Thurs, Fri or Sat at a time convenient for you. Not too early like Bountiful Baskets pick up times seem to be. (I personally like sleeping in on the weekend!)

I love the personal service you get from Mercedes. Many times I have messaged her through facebook, inquiring about the availability of different produce items.  One time I asked her to check the price on a case of tomatillos, since I was planning to can salsa verde.  She was more than willing to check on the price for me and pick it up as well.

We have been fortunate to be able to purchase full wheels of Jarlsberg cheese for around $30 if I remember correctly.  Surprisingly enough, it didn’t last that long at our house! We are a family of cheese lovers.

Below is a link to the Co-op’s facebook page. Like it and you’ll be able to see their weekly specials in your news feed. This week’s special is ten dozen local organic eggs for $25.

https://www.facebook.com/UtahCoop

August 12th

Eggs, Sherbet and Avocados

Eggs, sherbet and avocados, a perfect combination won’t you agree? Actually, I don’t know of any recipes that use them together. But I came across all of these items at great prices today at The Nps Store. Huge avocados were .69 each in produce. 1 dozen large eggs 2/1.00 and 18 large eggs .69. In the frozen section, they have sherbet for .79 a carton. Definitely puts me in the mood for a sherbet float!

The NPS Store is located at:
1600 South Empire Road. 801-972-4133.
Monday – Friday  10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Mountain
Saturday               9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mountain

August 1st

In the market for paint?

I love new paint! And if you watch any of the home improvement shows, you probably already know paint is one of the cheapest, simplest ways to change the look of a room. Plus a new coat of paint makes everything seem new and fresh. 

I know they say it’s the cheapest, but maybe I’m just cheap. Paint still can be costly especially when funds are very limited and or you have lots of surfaces to paint.  

When we moved into our home years ago it needed a complete renovation. Every room, wall and trim had to be repainted. Having just taken on a new mortgage, funds were tight. During the reno period, we were making many trips to the landfill to drop off old carpet, cabinets etc etc. I happened upon the recycle shed during one of the trips and found a plethora of free paint and chemicals. SInce it is illegal to dispose of chemicals and paint in the trash they have created a shed that you can drop off and also take unneeded/unwanted paint. 

We had already purchased paint for the main level of our home so we didn’t need it right then, but I filed the information away in the back of my mind. When the time came to redecorate our basement, again we were making many trips to the landfill. I would check into the recycle shed and started stockpiling paint.  I always chose light neutral tones. When the time came to paint, my husband poured all the various colors and sheens together and mixed them in a 5 gallon bucket. It ended up a nice taupe color. On the basement walls it went! It has remained one of the few surfaces that has not been repainted repeatedly, and it still looks great.

Since then, I have just gone to paint and home improvement stores and buy their mis-tinted paint at a discount. If you aren’t too picky about the color it’s a great way to save! Kwal Howells in South Jordan have single gallons priced at $3.99 and if they have them available, 5 gallons are only $20!! What a deal!!  Thankfully we aren’t making regular trips out to the landfill any more.  Plus buying it from a local store is more convenient. 

One of my best deals was when Nordstrom in Murray was closing the old store.  I somehow came across a notice for a fixture sale and thought I  would check it out. I didn’t buy any fixtures nor did I need any- but they did have quite a bit of Benjamin Moore paint in one of the back rooms.  All the same color and sheen- yippee! The color wasn’t listed on the can lid it was just a code, nor was there the usual smudge of color for a sample. Luckily I was able to call up my husband with the code number, and had him look on the internet ( I didn’t have a smart phone) and low and behold it was a nice taupe color.  Bingo- I took it. And only a $1.00 a gallon. 

Anyone else have money saving paint tips?

~Heidi

July 31st

Coupon Savings at Smiths

As I have said before, my follow through with couponing ebbs and flows. Today it flowed- I happened to get on the grocerysmarts.com website to check out ads.  Right now, Smith’s has a $5 off 5 participating item promo going on.  I decided to utilize my Proctor & Gamble coupons that expire today along with the $5 off 5 promo and see what I could get stocked up on.

Here is a list:                       Retail price
Always infinity                                 7.79                        7.79
2 Tampax Pearl                                 8.37                      16.74
3  Glide Floss                                      3.69                      11.07
Venus Razor                                       6.99                        6.99
2 Crest 3D white toothpaste         3.89                        7.78
5 Crest Complete                               3.19                      15.95
3 Secret Outlast                                  4.29                      12.87
3 Old Spice Swagger Body Spray 4.28                      12.84
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Secret Clinical                                     7.49                        7.49
4 Pantene Nature Fusion                3.89                      15.56
2 Pantene Beautiful Lengths           3.89                        7.78
4 1 lb tube of lean ground beef       4.99                       19.96

Retail Value    TOTAL                            $172.04 + tax
My cost after sales/promo deal/ coupons                   $55.16

**Sorry about the messed up columns 🙁

Would I normally buy these particular items in this quantity without coupons and sales? No. Never. But I am happy to get stocked up on items my family can use throughout the year. This will save me in making last minute runs to the store for several things. FYI the 2 pack of Old Spice Antiperspirant/deodorant is on sale for $3.49 minus $1.00 if you buy 5 promo items. Plus there is a coupon for $2 off 2 from 7/7 Sunday paper Proctor & Gamble coupons. (They expire today-so hurry over!!)

Happy Saving ~ Heidi

July 30th

Great Deal on Strawberries!

We just got back from The NPS Store- today they have a case of strawberries for $1.49!! That’s 8 lbs!! If your family loves these as much as mine- now’s the time to stock up. I imagine we’ll be freezing some to add to smoothies for a later date. They would be great for freezer jam too! It’s times like these I really wish I had a freightliner van so I could buy a bunch and you all could come get them at my house!! I’ll definitely add that to my wish list.  Happy Saving ~ Heidi

July 29th

Who likes bread?

I am in awe of all the great bakers in my neighborhood.  Unfortunately, I can only bake the no knead bread with any amount of success. I love artisan breads, but not the prices for them at local stores. 

I came across Stone Ground Bakery bread at The NPS Store a few years ago. My family fell in love with the marble rye bread.  It always brings to mind the episode of Seinfeld where he steals the loaf of marble rye from the old lady that bought the last loaf. 

Chances are you’ve already had Stone Ground Bakery bread if you ever eat out.  They supply fresh breads to many local restaurants. Do you love the sourdough bread served at Market Street Grill? Stone Ground Bakery makes it.  Although The NPS Store generally has a pretty good selection, you never know what they’ll have in stock.  I was thrilled when Stone Ground Bakery started selling to the public. They are located at 1025 South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84104.  They are open 9-2 MON- SAT.  (Take the 1300 South Exit off of I-15)

They sell day old, overruns etc out of what appears to be the lobby of the bakery. Day old bread is usually $1 a loaf and overruns around $2-$3 a loaf. It may be a little out of the way if you’re located in the south end of the valley like me. But it is definitely worth the trip!  Our family favorites are: marble rye, ciabatta rolls, baguettes and sourdough bread.  I usually get a bunch of our favorites and freeze them- it’s far enough away from me that it’s not worth buying 1 loaf at a time. Bread freezes pretty well.  

Try them out if you’re in the area, I think you’ll like it!

Happy Saving ~ Heidi

July 24th

Many of us are starting to think about back to school shopping. My favorite store The NPS Store 1600 Empire Rd Salt Lake City, UT (near the LDS church distribution center) has just received what appears to be a truckload of Levi’s jeans. They must have a bunch, because they have had them on sale for quite a while. NPS is a salvage and freight recovery store. Have you ever had a package get lost by UPS or Fedex? Chances are it may end up there.  Whatever they are selling is usually deeply discounted. Right now they have tons of styles of Levi’s jeans an additional 40% off. Buy 2 or more pairs and they’re 50% off. Those discounts are off of their already reduced price. They usually mark the clothing 40-50% off msrp plus right now you’ll get the additional 40-50% off! For example, we were looking at Skinny Demi Curve jeans for Kyra. They were marked $30 minus the discount which would make them $18 or $15 if I bought 2 pair. While you’re there- check out the produce! Yesterday they had 12 oz clamshells of raspberries for $2.49 and 16 oz packages of strawberries for .50 each. Happy Saving ~ Heidi

I would like to thank Sheri for giving me the opportunity and forum to share the “deals” I come across. The only thing better to me than scoring a good deal is sharing the info and helping someone else to save $$ too.  Many times I’ll come across something while out shopping and rack my brain on who I think would enjoy the bargain as well.  I hope this column will help you to find unadvertised sales and free those on my speed dial from being constantly pestered by me.  Really- how often do you really need 30 lbs of cream cheese!?!

 

Many people are excited about using coupons especially after watching the extreme couponing shows. Unfortunately not many local stores double  coupons like they do in the couponing shows.  But you can still save quite a bit. You can get Sunday only newspapers generally at highly discounted rates or talk to friends and family to see if they are willing to give you their unused coupons. I’ve heard the rule of thumb is to get order one paper per person in your household to stock up and save and to build your food storage.

 

When I am in couponing mode- I use grocerysmarts.com. (Here is a link to that site: http://grocerysmarts.com/utah/lists/indexg84cac.php?a84ll2 )The awesome people on that site list all the local ads, then list which coupon can be used and where to get the applicable coupon (print at home, catalina, smartsource, redplum, etc.) My favorite feature on the site allows you to list the best sale prices. Click on the start button on the top right side, then click the red star in the left column, then click on the shrink button. I love that option, because at times I do have trouble keeping track of best prices. Especially when you buy some items once a year at the case lot sales.

 

I must confess, I am not very organized, and couponing does take some organizational skills. I do order the papers, but my follow through is not the best when couponing.  You can also order discounted Sunday edition of the paper through grocerysmarts.com.

 

I just checked the grocerysmarts.com website and they have a special still available on the Sunday only edition of the paper! STILL AVAILABLE!~HOT~ Sunday Newspaper Home Delivery Subscriptions with the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News. $20 for 52 weeks! This is only $.38 per week. Contact your Grocery Smarts/PYP representative to get them ordered. You may call the phone number at the top of any list.

Heidi