New Super-Couponing Tips column: Saving on Television
“Do you have any ideas for saving on television? We are back with cable right now, but it is so expensive and it seems like many of the shows I watch most often are moving…”
Featured Posts
Improving an $8.75 medicine cabinet
Meijer was also having a 50% off clearance sale, which dropped this cabinet to a cool $8.75. Its design wasn’t our first choice style-wise, but after months of living without one…
Shopping and Savingnext >< prev
Coupon Matchups: Jewel-Osco Deals of the Week 5/12/21 – 5/18/21
FREE Signature carrots, .49 Chex Mix, Bugles, Gardetto's, .88 Chobani yogurt, .99 Jewel milk, $1.38 Quaker cereal, $1.66-$1.99 Kellogg's / Keebler foods, $2.49 Snuggle, $2.99 All
Current National Catalina Offers: May 2021
Catalina offers for May include Breyers, Cerave, General Mills, Keurig, Nabisco, Yoplait, and more...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: May 2021
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: April 2021
If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them, as all of the coupons inside each insert have expired. Inserts marked with an asterisk...
Current National Catalina Offers: April 2021
Catalina offers for April include Band-Aid and Neosporin, Duracell, Gerber, Huggies, Incogmeato, Nestle, Oscar Mayer, and more...
Current National Catalina Offers: March 2021
Catalina offers for March include Buitoni pasta, Morningstar Farms, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Panera (at home) and Sun-Maid.
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: March 2021
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: February 2021
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle...
Current National Catalina Offers: February 2021
Catalina offers for February include Oscar Mayer Lunchables and P3 Protein.
Want to help shape coupon industry minds? Join my Feb. 23rd panel!
Last year, I invited my readers to apply to be part of a coupon industry panel in conjunction with The Association For Coupon Professionals' annual conference. And then...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: January 2021
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Current National Catalina Offers: January 2021
National Catalina offers for January 2021 include Annie's, Carnation, DiGiorno, Equal, Nature Valley, Huggies, Oscar Mayer and more...
2021 Coupon Insert Schedule
Which weeks can we expect coupons from NewsAmerica (SmartSource = SS) Valassis (RetailMeNot = RM) Procter & Gamble Brandsaver (PG) and Unilever (U)? This year, coupon insert...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: December 2020
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Current National Catalina Offers: December 2020
National Catalina offers for December 2020 include Bob Evans, Caulipower, Godiva, Hellmann's, Keebler, Tazo, and more...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: November 2020
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Current National Catalina Offers: November 2020
November's national Catalina offers include Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Buitoni, Carnation, Degree, Gerber, Magnum ice cream, Nature Valley, Oscar Mayer, and more...
Current National Catalina Offers: October 2020
October's national Catalina offers include Degree, Gerber, Meijer baking, Neosporin, RXbar, and more...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: October 2020
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Current National Catalina Offers: September 2020
September's national Catalina offers include Barilla, Bob Evans, Gerber, Popsicle, Stouffer's, Yoplait, and more...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: September 2020
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Long-term review: Our new Verlo mattress
Many people are initially pleased with a product when it's new, but the real questions are these: Will it last, and will I be happy with it one, two, or three years from now? (Or more?)
Current National Catalina Offers: August 2020
Here is a list of Catalina offers for the current month, including Breyers, Duracell, Fiber One, Huggies, Kellogg's, Nature Valley, Keurig, and more...
Expired coupon inserts to remove from your files: August 2020
Here's a list of all of the coupon inserts that have expired within the last two months. If you have any of the following inserts in your files, you can pull them out and recycle them...
Home and Stylenext >< prev
College apartment-hunting with our daughter
When we started looking at apartments, we were pleasantly surprised to see how reasonably priced off-campus living is at Eastern. We began apartment hunting in March by looking at several properties online...
My love for old Corning Ware dishes
If I ever wrote a second blog, it would be an ode to my favorite cookware, Corning Ware, and all the things I do with it. My mom got me hooked on Corning Ware when I was a 20-something setting up my first house...
Snow sleds in the living room
I spotted "Cafeteria Tray" snow sleds on clearance at Target. The entire idea of this cracked me up, as many years ago my friends and I used actual cafeteria trays as snow sleds. We thought we were so creative...
My laundry room cocktail bar
The top of my washer is truly a laundry cocktail bar. I rotate brands and varieties of detergent based on what I'm washing. Whenever I suggest this to people, it's like a proverbial light goes off -- "What a great idea! I never thought of that!"
The Queen has arrived, and our laundry is clean again!
My new Speed Queen arrived about a week and a half ago, and I waited to post about it until I'd had some time to play with it, and decide if this machine is everything that I hoped it would be...
Are you prepared for a disaster? Look what hit my town!
We never know when an event may happen, and our community was certainly reminded of that this week when a sudden 70-mile-per-hour windstorm struck the town I live in. About 15 minutes before the storm...
My deck stain report: Two years later
It's 2017, and I've had numerous requests from readers asking for another update, as it's deck-staining time again! Several people have requested "many photos" this time around, so here we go...
Repairing my favorite leather boots
I love boots, and I wear them throughout the fall and winter seasons, but I was fed up with how quickly my synthetic boots were wearing out. 2014 was the year that I decided I was done buying plastic boots...
This weed torch is my favorite garden tool
Every year, our family plants a vegetable garden, and every year, despite my best intentions, there comes a point in time when the garden becomes more than a little overrun with weeds...
Summer camp wardrobe by… Menards?
The camp our kids attend has a good way to group and keep track of the kids. Each cabin is assigned its own color, and the colors are also the campers' team colors for the week for all of their sports and "color war" play....
Is your weather center discontinuing itself?
Each day, we look at our Bushnell weather center to see the time, temperature, and weather forecast. Today, on New Year's Day, our Bushnell weather center presented us with this ominous message...
A super-cheap outdoor television setup
I've been spending a lot of my work days this summer outside on our deck, which led me to think about setting up a television outside. If you've ever researched outdoor TVs, you'll find articles claiming...
Foodnext >< prev
Soothing a cold with Creamy Garlic Chicken Soup
I recently came down with a cold that seems to be taking longer than normal to shake. My days and nights have been filled with decongestants, cough drops and syrups. As we head into cold season...
Sweet Island Ham & Pineapple Snackers
I partnered with Buddig as a Deli Mom and create snacks with deli meats that aren't sandwiches! This time, I took a reader's suggestion to incorporate the sweet flavor of Hawaiian rolls with another Buddig lunchmeat treat...
Bargain-priced low-carb/keto flours at Farm & Fleet
If you're following a low-carb or keto diet (as half our household is,) here's a discovery I made recently that you'll be interested in. Farm and Fleet sells both coconut flour and almond flour, and the prices are much lower...
Seasons’ Eatings! Table ideas and a Maple Walnut Apple Salad
The holiday season is almost here! I love the changing colors and the way the warm days turn to crisp evenings with vibrant sunsets. I love that Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations bring us closer...
Try Primo Taglio for a perfect deli platter
It's officially summertime, and Chicagoland has the humidity and temperatures to prove it! I love this time of year, as summer means spending lots of time in the sun, eating outdoors...
My favorite low-carb recipes for things you’d think are “off limits”
While my first few weeks of low-carbing consisted of a lot of meat, meat, and more meat, I quickly started exploring Keto and Atkins versions of things we regularly enjoyed eating...
Recipe: Sweet & Savory Signature Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
These shrimp are the perfect blend of sweet and savory flavors, and they get a little extra kick from Signature Kitchens' Stone Ground Horseradish Mustard...
Recipe: Honey Citrus O Organics Chicken Shish Kebabs
Summer grilling season is in full swing at our house! These long summer nights are perfect for cooking and eating outdoors together as a family. I love grilling out whenever possible...
Bacon-Wrapped Ranch Chicken Strips
Litehouse invited me to try their salad dressings at home and share with you what I made: Bacon-wrapped ranch chicken strips. They were definitely family-pleasers here in the Cataldo house...
Have you tried air chilled chicken? It’s delicious!
What exactly is air chilled chicken? Air chilling is a process that's been popular in Europe for over forty years. It is individually processed by suspending it in air and chilling it for several hours...
Making a jar of cake-mix “upsizer”
It's getting difficult to find a cake mix that hasn't been reduced from 18.25 ounces to 15.25 ounces. This week, two things came up that made me want to work on a solution of sorts to this issue...
Create the ultimate gift basket with Signature RESERVE
If you've browsed the aisles of your local Jewel-Osco store recently, you may have noticed a new brand on the shelves: Signature RESERVE™. Signature RESERVE is Jewel-Osco's exclusive, ultra-premium brand...
Travelnext >< prev
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando has added a second land to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley. Guests enter Diagon Alley is via a very nondescript-looking alley in the London area of Universal Studios Orlando theme park...
Ultimate day pack for theme park trips
Whether our family's headed to Disney, Universal, Six Flags or another destination, I always bring what my family affectionately calls my "black backpack" on all of our theme park trips. I don't like carrying a purse when we're in theme-park commando mode. A few years ago I discovered the perfect small, yet durable sling-style backpack...
Disney Parks VIP Tour and our 24-hour Disney honeymoon
Recently, I confessed that my husband and I had never taken a vacation without our children -- ever. We travel pretty frequently, but we never planned a just-us trip...
These photographs saved me $8.45
We rented a car to get from the airport to our destination. Having done this drive on previous trips, we knew we would go through one toll plaza before we got to the hotel...
Disneyland in one day… with preschoolers.
For a fresh perspective on Disneyland, I sent my sister and her family on assignment for my blog. Lynn is a public school teacher and mother of two preschoolers. This was her first trip to a Disney park with her children...
Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea – A Disney adventure like no other!
Earlier this year, our family spent ten days in Japan. That, alone, was a dream come true, but also spent a couple of days at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea. As a Disney lover, this was the perfect...
What’s in your trunk? Three things to carry at all times…
I believe everyone should be prepared, even minimally, for a situation in which you may not reach your destination due to weather or other complications. What's in your vehicle's trunk right now? At a bare minimum, I recommend you carry...
My search for the perfect family camping tent
I love to camp. My parents were (and still are!) avid campers. My earliest childhood memory is camping in my mom and dad's big blue canvas cabin tent. Incredibly, that big canvas tent is still around...
Devil’s Tower and a drive to Utah
Our campground host let us know we'd likely see both wild turkeys and deer outside our cabin windows in the morning. My husband woke up and stepped outside onto the deck, where he took this photo...
The Field Museum and Chicago Auto Show
Our kids were off school yesterday for an extended Presidents' Day weekend holiday, so our family headed into the city for some almost-free fun at the Field Museum and the Chicago Auto Show...
Taking the RV from Indiana to Minnesota
We woke up to a sunny day in Middlebury, Indiana. The KOA campground we stayed at has a lot of amenities to enjoy, including mini golf, bicycle and paddleboat rentals. They had a large swimming pool...
A Preview of Disney’s Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
A day before Mickey and Minnie Mouse led the annual Festival Of Lights parade in Chicago, Disney brought lots of love all the way from Orlando to the Windy City! So much is in store for the new Toy Story Land...
Make Thisnext >< prev
Fixing a suitcase wheel with… duct tape?
It irked me that everything else about the suitcase was fine and functional aside from the bad wheel. I looked at replacing the wheel, but I could not find a suitable wheel that was the right size...
Improving a great beach bag (with a not-so-great logo)
I attended a blog conference and brought home an oversized canvas beach bag featuring the logo of one of the conference sponsors. However, last year, that company became embroiled in a bit of a scandal...
Building a kitchen countertop extension
Our daughter's new apartment really only has one issue -- limited counter space and no place to put a microwave or other small appliances. I got the idea to build a countertop extension for her kitchen...
Our ultimate one-minute theme park tailgating setup
Our family has had a fun summer of enjoying days at the zoo, water parks, and theme parks. My kids actually look forward to our lunchtime tailgating, as we can completely set it up in under one minute...
Pooh to Pikachu
This year, when I asked my son what kind of cake he wanted, he said "Pikachu." The popular Pokemon character is certainly cute, but how to best capture him in cake form? Many of my cakes take shape...
Easy kids’ craft: Make a can candle
I believe I was around 7 or 8 years old when we made tin can candles, and so I did a quick web search to see if my juvenile memories of it were correct. Incredibly, I couldn't find anything online about how to make these...
Mending my family’s clothes: How to fix worn jeans “invisibly”
While I could put patches over these ripped knees, I also don't want my kids to be self-conscious of an obvious repair job. I want to share how I've been able to extend the life of my sons' jeans by patching them invisibly...
How to make a large utility tote for less than $20
If you've been wanting a large utility tote without spending too much, and you have minimal sewing skills (like me!) read on and learn how you can make your own large utility tote from one yard of fabric for less than $20...
The eighteen-year-old quilt
I came up with the idea to make a quilt for her eighteenth birthday. And for the past thirteen years, I've been saving our daughter's favorite shirts as she outgrew them. Everything from T-shirts and sports jerseys to pajamas...
Here’s an idea for leftover wax from your wax melter
The wax melt packaging recommends that you pour the melted wax back into the clamshell packaging to dispose of it. Being frugal, I couldn't simply throw the wax away. So, we're reusing it in a creative way...
Making a jar of cake-mix “upsizer”
It's getting difficult to find a cake mix that hasn't been reduced from 18.25 ounces to 15.25 ounces. This week, two things came up that made me want to work on a solution of sorts to this issue...
Make your own “Slushy Magic” at home!
To recreate the Slushy Magic effect, it's important to understand how it works. Each cup comes with three plastic ice cubes filled with salt water. Salt water freezes at a lower temperature than plain water does...
