Hello Readers!

It's definitely been awhile!

Between having the Super Bowl in the Tampa area, and newlywed life, I have had to put blogging on the back burner the past few months.

Sorry guys!

I am still CVS'ing every week, and enjoying having a Gordon Food Service nearby our apartment.

Gordon Food Service is a regional distributor that's open to the public. It's kind of like Sam's Club or Costco, but without the membership fee.

On Sunday we bought an ENTIRE ribeye lipon beef portion. (this is the part of the cow that we get delicious ribeye and delmonico steaks from). It was about $4.55 lb or $69 for 15 lbs of meat. Tim, being the chef that he is, broke down the meat into 16 steaks ranging from 12 - 15 oz. and 15 oz of beef tips to use for cooking.

That equals about $4.50 per steak! Pretty great deal!

The one complaint we had was that the sign in the store said the beef was USDA Choice, but the plastic packaging said USDA Select, which is one step down.

We compared a steak from this batch to a more expensive flat iron steak. The quality was similar!

I highly recommend trying to find an entire ribeye or strip pieces of beef. Sam's Club also carries these larger pieces. They're quite a great price for what you get! Don't be afraid of having to cut the meat yourself. The outside of the meat may not be pretty, but the inside will have a beautiful color and marbling.

Trippin' At CVS

Yesterday I made out like a bandit at CVS.

While browsing online in the morning, I caught the online circular, which advertised these deals:

Buy 1 Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Foundation at $8.99, Get $8.99 ECBs (Limit 1) Free after ECBs

Buy 1 Complete Multi-Purpose Solution (12 oz.) at $8.99, Get $8.99 ECBs (Limit 1) Free after ECBs

Buy 1 Right Guard Professional Strength Deodorant (solid 1.8 oz. or aerosol 6 oz.) at $7.99, Get $7 ECBs (Limit 5) $0.99 after ECBs

Buy 1 Crest Pro-Health Whitening Toothpaste (4.2 oz.) at $3.49, Get $3.49 ECBs (Limit 2)

Tim had just mentioned how he was running out of contact solution, so I decided to act. Usually when I get to CVS it's on a Tuesday or a Thursday, and all the good merchandise has been picked over. Of course, the free items are out of stock by that time.

So this time I went early on Sunday morning around 10:20 a.m. Armed with a $1 ECB and a .75 coupon for the toothpaste.

Here's what I bought:

*1 Maybelline Mineral Powder Liquid Foundation (I use one bottle foundation for under the eyes and on blemishes and my current one needed to be thrown out)

*2 bottles of the contact solution

*2 cans of the aerosol deodorant

*2 tubes of the toothpaste

*500 pack of generic CVS cotton swabs for $3.19

My total was $55 and I got $47 back in Extra Care Bucks. With the store card, customers can use ECBs like cash for everything except alcohol, tobacco, gift cards, prescriptions and a few other items. In the store, I also snagged a coupon to get a $25 gift card with a transferred prescription. I do have one, so next time I refill it I'll just bring it back to CVS from Target (where I got a $30 gift card for transferring it to that store).

Currently I have about $45 in Target cards and $47 in CVS ECBs. Hopefully in a few weeks, I'll also have that $25 CVS gift card. That's more than $100 to spend at the two stores. I'm trying to think of staples, things that I need, to spend this money on. Holiday gifts? Groceries? Household items? I am moving in a few weeks and could use a new trash can, closet organizers, cleaning supplies, and dinnerware -- as right now I'm using my room mate's dishes.

Over the next few weeks I'm definitely going to be scouring the ads for ECB deals on stuff I really need and for great sales at Target to use the gift cards on. Any suggestions?

Wheeling & Dealing

Yesterday my fiance and I ate lunch at a fancy steakhouse for a total of $24.60 (including tip) and we got steak, prime rib, calamari, and sodas.

How, you ask?

Restaurant.com

I purchased three $25 certificates to local restaurants for $2 each. Frequently, the site has promotional deals if you sign up for alerts to get discounts. Usually $25 certificates are $10. There are restrictions, but if you plan enough, it's not a big deal. (ie: must have a minimum $35 tab excluding alcohol, must have two or more in your party, not valid on holidays, etc.)

My credit card is through Citi, and there's a great rewards program called the Thank You Network. I go there all the time and if you link to other sites through the Thank You Network, you get bonus points. Whenever you purchase anything from Restaurant.com you get 15 (yes FIFTEEN) pounts for EVERY dollar you spend.

If you purchase an Entertainment book through the Thank You Network's link, you get 21 points per dollar spent on the book. Since mine was 20 dollars, that's 420 points right there.

Through the Thank You Network I've cashed my points in so far for a $330 plane ticket and three $100 retail store gift cards. I've had the card for two years.

Today I went to Target on my lunch break. I received coupons in the mail to get a $10 gift card for a new or transferred prescription and a $20 gift card if you signed up for the Pharmacy Rewards program. (I'm still not exactly sure what that is) I did have to open yet another Target credit card but I walked out with $30 worth of Target gift cards for only buying a $9 prescription that I would have to purchase regardless.

Because I was hungry, I did stop at the Target snack area and got the hot dog/soda combo for $2.68. Much cheaper than a McDonald's meal and I did not have to make an extra stop. I love store snack shops. When I was a little girl our local Kmart had a restaurant in it that I liked to eat at. I've often munched on a double cheeseburger from the McD's inside Wal-Marts as I strolled down the aisles late at night.

Sam's Club is my favorite. There's a great deal for $2.50 which includes a HUGE slice of pizza and a monster drink. I like to grab something on Saturday afternoons when Tim (my dude) and I are stocking up.