...
...
...
...
SSL
All site content, including photos, © Busy-at-Home 2009-2013, All Rights Reserved, Contact Busy-at-Home for permissions
I know I’ve shared some of my favorite Walgreens shopping trip savings with you, in past posts, and have never made a secret about how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their Register Rewards program. So, I’m pretty excited to let you know about TWO new Walgreens programs/features that will simplify your shopping and provide even [...]
I know I’ve shared some of my favorite Walgreens shopping trip savings with you, in past posts, and have never made a secret about how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their Register Rewards program. So, I’m pretty excited to let you know about TWO new Walgreens programs/features that will simplify your shopping and provide even more great savings. Since saving money out of the budget, to grow your family’s savings is as important to you, as it is to me, I knew you would want to know about both of them. (And just as a reminder, and for a little motivation, since I haven’t mentioned it in awhile; all it takes to save $1000 in a year, is to set aside $19.24 each week. Without even adding income, if you simply trim that $19.24 from your existing budget, you will have $1000 in your savings account in one year’s time.) You can definitely do that! And these exciting new programs from Walgreens, may give you a great place to start, in doing it.

The Walgreens home page at www.walgreens.com. The banner at the top made it super simple to go right where I needed to get started for signing up for Balance Rewards.
First of all, you need to get signed up for the Walgreens’ Balance Rewards Card. It’s simple to do and once you have it the benefits are great! Whether you’re shopping in the store or online, once you have a Balance Rewards Card, you’ll be earning points and receiving exclusive, member-only pricing on many of the items you already purchase every day. Plus, you’ll be earning loyalty points for the money that you spend. Then those points are redeemable for products, as you shop! Gotta love saving money!

I already have a Walgreens account so I signed in, but you can get a Walgreens account from this screen, if you don't have one.

Once I signed in, my username and email address were pre-populated, so I only had to choose a password.

Woohoo! How simple is that? I'm official, now!
After I secured my Balance Rewards membership, I noticed that Download App button (see picture, above) in the bottom left corner. I was on my way to adding the Walgreens App to my smart phone. It works whether you have an iPhone or an Android. This is probably the coolest shopping app, ever! Coupons EXCLUSIVE for users – you can’t get them anywhere else AND you don’t have to print them. The cashier can just scan them right off your phone! The app allows you to see the entire weekly ad, right on your phone, as well as the in-store savings book, full of coupons. You can also use the app to refill your prescriptions or order photos. You can place an online order and have it shipped to your home. You can find the closest Walgreens or transfer prescriptions. Basically, you can handle many day-to-day activities and errands from your phone – while you’re sitting at the park, waiting at a traffic light, on your lunch break at work — wherever you happen to be with your phone in hand. Convenience AND saving money! I am SO excited about that! Honestly, there isn’t much I’d change about this app, at all. The two things that did stand out were: 1) I wish I could earn and use my Register Rewards and coupons through the app and 2) the Main menu page needs some sort of obvious navigational directions, to let users know that it’s a two page menu. I actually spent a little over an hour trying to figure out how to shop with the app, before discovering there is a second page to the menu and figuring out how to get there. I would have felt pretty silly about it, except that I also contacted their customer service department who told me it wasn’t possible, at first, and then discovered for the first time for themselves, that it was.
Getting the app on my phone was super simple. Once I clicked the icon to download the app, I chose my platform, Android, and was taken to the Google Play store, where they automatically determined that the app was compatible with my phone and provided a button to click, in order to install it.

The Walgreens App is right on my phones home screen. Easy to find and use!

Page 1 of the Walgreens App. Can you believe all the options!?!

This is page 2 of the app, where you can actually enter the online store and shop. It took awhile to find it, but now that I have, I love the convenience of being able to take advantage of a sale, no matter where I am. And remember, with an order of at least $25, shipping is FREE!

I was able to take advantage of some great sale prices on shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand soap -- right through my phone! Using a coupon code when I checked out, made the prices even cheaper!

I entered the coupon code BUY4, during checkout, to receive an additional $5 off an order of $30 or more. Because the total was still $25.99, I received FREE shipping. No drive time or gas money wasted -- instead of driving 30 miles to my nearest Walgreens, I saved time and money and had the products delivered right to my door! They arrived in only 3 days! Nine items for only $27.63!

Checking the ads before I shop, helps me plan exactly what to buy and how best to save.

I can even check out the in-store coupon book, before going to the store!

I can order photos or design a custom greeting card!

I can transfer a prescription or refill it. I can simply scan the UPC with the scanner built into the app!

I can even check my brand new Reward Card Balance!
These two new programs are another example of why I love Walgreens for saving me money and even time! Get a complete picture of my download and shopping experience by visiting my Google+ album. You can also check out more details about both of them on the Walgreens website, and be sure to follow Walgreens on Twitter and Facebook, so you stay up to date about specials, promotions and who wins the ONE MILLION points for pre-registering for the Walgreens Balance Rewards Card. Maybe it will be you!
…
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Walgreens #CBias #SocialFabric
I think it’s time to end the abuse of sweet potatoes. No more turned up noses or scrunchy faces, no tongues sticking out to mock and reject them. The sweet potato is an oft underused and maligned vegetable, relegated to side dishes at holiday meals and camouflaged with gooey, browned marshmallows. Sweet potatoes are healthy, [...]
I think it’s time to end the abuse of sweet potatoes. No more turned up noses or scrunchy faces, no tongues sticking out to mock and reject them. The sweet potato is an oft underused and maligned vegetable, relegated to side dishes at holiday meals and camouflaged with gooey, browned marshmallows. Sweet potatoes are healthy, high in both Vitamins A & C and loaded with dietary fiber. They’re a natural source of beta carotene and antioxidants. Plus, they’re just plain delicious! I love them baked, topped with lots of butter. It is only in recent years that the unexplored potential of this yummy veggie has inspired the masses to give it a second look. You can certainly purchase them canned or frozen, and fresh sweet potatoes are common fare in most produce departments, now. The new form that is inspiring former naysayers to take a fresh look at the fleshy orange tubers, however, is the ingenious sweet potato fry. As you know, fry it in America, and they will come. If you haven’t tried sweet potato fries, you should. They combine all the health benefits with a pleasing and familiar form kids and adults, alike, will love. Finally, sweet potatoes will get the respect they deserve and you’re going to get a brand new, tasty treat — plus recipes for two fabulous dipping sauces I created this week.

Ore-Ida makes having sweet potato fries at home super simple. You can buy them frozen in your grocer’s freezer case, which is exactly what I did this week, when I received the opportunity to try them out AND create a couple dipping sauce recipes. Sam’s Club is the perfect spot for me to stock up on Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries. They’re available there in a whopping 4 lb bag, so I can always keep some on hand for a quick snack or to round out a quick pick-up meal.

I made a run to Lincoln, on Sunday with my list in hand. I was going to Sam’s to get Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries, but I needed a few other items, too — cream cheese (for the dipping sauces), smoked gouda (It’s the only place I can find my favorite cheese, at an affordable price, so I always treat myself when I stop by Sam’s Club) hmmm… I wonder if I can dip sweet potato fries in smoked gouda? lol – oh! and I need hamburger to make homemade jerky. I can always find great deals on meat at Sam’s Club.
As I entered the parking lot, I realized I was definitely going to need to fill up my gas tank, before leaving. The Sam’s Club Member Price for gasoline was 30¢/ gallon less than I had paid at home the week before. Woohoo! I love saving money!

I noted, once again, as I pulled my Sam’s Club Card from my purse, that it is definitely time to get the picture changed on my card. (You’ll see what I mean if you visit my Sweet Potato Fries ThisMoment video/slideshow, where I am able to have many more pictures of this shopping and recipe creating experience.) It’s only been about a bazillion years, since that original picture was taken and I have changed slightly, since then. Actually, it’s a little unsettling that I looked like that AND no one even questions me when I flash the “badge” at the door, but today, I’m in a hurry. There are sauces to make and fries to eat. No time for pictures. (That’s what I always say.)
I grabbed a cart and hustled straight back to the freezers, walked directly to everything Ore-Ida and scanned the shelves for…seriously? No sweet potato fries? But, I called ahead! Don’t tell me the news leaked out and there was a mad dash to scoop up all the sweet potato fries for some previously unknown sweet potato festival or something! Hhhhmmmppphhhhhh! Ok! Just calm down. Look again — Tater-Tots, Crinkle Cut Fries, Restaurant Style Fries, Hash Brown Potatoes, aaaaaaagggggghhhh! No sweet potato fries! Seriously, calm down. Walk around the freezer case to the other side, make the loop and come back to check one more time or… “Excuse me, kind stocker person. Where would I find Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries?” “They’re a special feature in the end cap on this row.” (I’ve always found Sam’s Club employees to be helpful and courteous.) The storm clouds lift and all is right with the world. I wheel around to the end cap where specially featured items are displayed. Of course they would be specially featured. It makes perfect sense. Enter music from heaven and spotlight from above. There they are — Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries. I lifted a bag into my cart and headed off to complete my Sam’s Club shopping list.

That’s everything. I make it through the checkout (No one even questions the picture of the stranger on my club card) and wheel my groceries to the van. A quick fill of the gas tank and I’m back on I-80, headed home and dreaming up dipping sauce for sweet potato fries. I know I want two — one savory and one sweet, but I still haven’t hammered out all the details, yet. Sometimes, the best parts of a recipe develop while your hands are “in the mix”, so to speak. That’s exactly what happened with these two yummy sauces. We absolutely loved them and will make them both, again. I’m going to share both recipes below, but to keep this post from being forty-two thousand, six hundred and thirty two feet long, I will only post a few pictures. Please, please visit my Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries ThisMoment Video/Slideshow and view the step-by-step pictures to walk you through the recipes.,,,
Super, simple! Creamy, cinnamony deliciousness! It was fantastic with sweet potato fries and as a fresh fruit dip. I think it would be amazing on waffles or toasted English muffins, too.
Ingredients
Instructions
(This recipe is linked to Grocery Cart Challenge.)
…
I hope you’re convinced to give sweet potato fries a chance. If your family is like mine, they’ll be a hit and you can add one more simple, tasty dish to your menu plan. Be sure to like #OraIdaFries on Facebook, so you won’t miss any news or deals as they come up and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the recipes and/or ThisMoment slideshow. What do you dip your sweet potato fries in?…
This project has been compensated as part of an #OreIdaFries shopping mission for Heinz with #CollectiveBias. As always, at Busy-at-Home, views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
You know me. I love a challenge and I REALLY love recipes. This week, I had the chance to create a few of my own. Well, actually the challenge was to create one, but as a chronic overachiever and indecisive recipe selector, I made all three. You’re going to be so happy that I did! [...]
You know me. I love a challenge and I REALLY love recipes. This week, I had the chance to create a few of my own. Well, actually the challenge was to create one, but as a chronic overachiever and indecisive recipe selector, I made all three. You’re going to be so happy that I did!
Clear American Water was something new for our family. You’ll find it in the bottled water section of your local Wal-Mart. I was truly shocked at the vast variety of flavors that were available. You can buy individual-sized bottles, in 4-packs or the larger 33.8 oz bottles. Since my challenge was to create a recipe using Clear American Water, we opted for the larger bottles and selected every flavor available on our local Wal-Mart shelves. Even more amazing? Those large bottles were only 64¢ each. Compare that to a 20 oz soda at the check out stand. Clear American Water is a great bargain!
These yummy flavored waters packed a few more surprises for our family. They’re carbonated. We seriously loved them, just straight from the bottle. The flavors were delicious and served ice cold, they were incredibly refreshing. Plus, Clear American Waters have 0 sugar, 0 sodium, 0 caffeine and 0 calories. Surprises are good!
So, what are we making? Strawberry Slushies, Mandarin Orange Popsicles and Fruit and Cream Parfait Sodas! Are you hungry, yet?

Strawberry Slushies

Mandarin Orange Popsicle
I’ve made it super simple for you to go through my shopping experience and see the step-by-step photos of the creation of my three summertime treats. You’re going to love how quick and simple they are, which is critical in the midst of summer heat waves. When your family wants something cool and refreshing, now you’ll be able to offer them something fun, affordable and delicious. Watch my ThisMoment slideshow below, to learn how. (P.S. If you’d like to watch it full-screen with large print captions, feel free to view it on my ThisMoment page. It will open in a new window for you.) And there is a printable version of the Fruit and Cream Parfait Sodas recipe, at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!!!
,,,
,,,
Ingredients
Instructions




This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, which is a vendor for Cott Beverages Inc., the manufacturer of Clear American ® brand beverages. The recipes are original and as always, at Busy-at-Home, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
I think it’s time to end the abuse of sweet potatoes. No more turned up noses or scrunchy faces, no tongues sticking out to mock and reject them. The sweet potato is an oft underused and maligned vegetable, relegated to side dishes at holiday meals and camouflaged with gooey, browned marshmallows. Sweet potatoes are healthy, [...]
I think it’s time to end the abuse of sweet potatoes. No more turned up noses or scrunchy faces, no tongues sticking out to mock and reject them. The sweet potato is an oft underused and maligned vegetable, relegated to side dishes at holiday meals and camouflaged with gooey, browned marshmallows. Sweet potatoes are healthy, high in both Vitamins A & C and loaded with dietary fiber. They’re a natural source of beta carotene and antioxidants. Plus, they’re just plain delicious! I love them baked, topped with lots of butter. It is only in recent years that the unexplored potential of this yummy veggie has inspired the masses to give it a second look. You can certainly purchase them canned or frozen, and fresh sweet potatoes are common fare in most produce departments, now. The new form that is inspiring former naysayers to take a fresh look at the fleshy orange tubers, however, is the ingenious sweet potato fry. As you know, fry it in America, and they will come. If you haven’t tried sweet potato fries, you should. They combine all the health benefits with a pleasing and familiar form kids and adults, alike, will love. Finally, sweet potatoes will get the respect they deserve and you’re going to get a brand new, tasty treat — plus recipes for two fabulous dipping sauces I created this week.

Ore-Ida makes having sweet potato fries at home super simple. You can buy them frozen in your grocer’s freezer case, which is exactly what I did this week, when I received the opportunity to try them out AND create a couple dipping sauce recipes. Sam’s Club is the perfect spot for me to stock up on Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries. They’re available there in a whopping 4 lb bag, so I can always keep some on hand for a quick snack or to round out a quick pick-up meal.

I made a run to Lincoln, on Sunday with my list in hand. I was going to Sam’s to get Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries, but I needed a few other items, too — cream cheese (for the dipping sauces), smoked gouda (It’s the only place I can find my favorite cheese, at an affordable price, so I always treat myself when I stop by Sam’s Club) hmmm… I wonder if I can dip sweet potato fries in smoked gouda? lol – oh! and I need hamburger to make homemade jerky. I can always find great deals on meat at Sam’s Club.
As I entered the parking lot, I realized I was definitely going to need to fill up my gas tank, before leaving. The Sam’s Club Member Price for gasoline was 30¢/ gallon less than I had paid at home the week before. Woohoo! I love saving money!

I noted, once again, as I pulled my Sam’s Club Card from my purse, that it is definitely time to get the picture changed on my card. (You’ll see what I mean if you visit my Sweet Potato Fries ThisMoment video/slideshow, where I am able to have many more pictures of this shopping and recipe creating experience.) It’s only been about a bazillion years, since that original picture was taken and I have changed slightly, since then. Actually, it’s a little unsettling that I looked like that AND no one even questions me when I flash the “badge” at the door, but today, I’m in a hurry. There are sauces to make and fries to eat. No time for pictures. (That’s what I always say.)
I grabbed a cart and hustled straight back to the freezers, walked directly to everything Ore-Ida and scanned the shelves for…seriously? No sweet potato fries? But, I called ahead! Don’t tell me the news leaked out and there was a mad dash to scoop up all the sweet potato fries for some previously unknown sweet potato festival or something! Hhhhmmmppphhhhhh! Ok! Just calm down. Look again — Tater-Tots, Crinkle Cut Fries, Restaurant Style Fries, Hash Brown Potatoes, aaaaaaagggggghhhh! No sweet potato fries! Seriously, calm down. Walk around the freezer case to the other side, make the loop and come back to check one more time or… “Excuse me, kind stocker person. Where would I find Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries?” “They’re a special feature in the end cap on this row.” (I’ve always found Sam’s Club employees to be helpful and courteous.) The storm clouds lift and all is right with the world. I wheel around to the end cap where specially featured items are displayed. Of course they would be specially featured. It makes perfect sense. Enter music from heaven and spotlight from above. There they are — Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries. I lifted a bag into my cart and headed off to complete my Sam’s Club shopping list.

That’s everything. I make it through the checkout (No one even questions the picture of the stranger on my club card) and wheel my groceries to the van. A quick fill of the gas tank and I’m back on I-80, headed home and dreaming up dipping sauce for sweet potato fries. I know I want two — one savory and one sweet, but I still haven’t hammered out all the details, yet. Sometimes, the best parts of a recipe develop while your hands are “in the mix”, so to speak. That’s exactly what happened with these two yummy sauces. We absolutely loved them and will make them both, again. I’m going to share both recipes below, but to keep this post from being forty-two thousand, six hundred and thirty two feet long, I will only post a few pictures. Please, please visit my Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries ThisMoment Video/Slideshow and view the step-by-step pictures to walk you through the recipes.,,,
Super, simple! Creamy, cinnamony deliciousness! It was fantastic with sweet potato fries and as a fresh fruit dip. I think it would be amazing on waffles or toasted English muffins, too.
Ingredients
Instructions
…
I hope you’re convinced to give sweet potato fries a chance. If your family is like mine, they’ll be a hit and you can add one more simple, tasty dish to your menu plan. Be sure to like #OraIdaFries on Facebook, so you won’t miss any news or deals as they come up and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the recipes and/or ThisMoment slideshow. What do you dip your sweet potato fries in?…
This project has been compensated as part of an #OreIdaFries shopping mission for Heinz with #CollectiveBias. As always, at Busy-at-Home, views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
We’re all working hard to save as much as possible at the grocery store, so we can more easily save, and pay cash for everything that makes our homemade holiday fabulous. I found a few more coupons that may help you on your frugal journey. $3.00 off Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream Cakes $2.00 off [...]
We’re all working hard to save as much as possible at the grocery store, so we can more easily save, and pay cash for everything that makes our homemade holiday fabulous. I found a few more coupons that may help you on your frugal journey.
$0.55 off Hillshire Farm Hearty Slices Lunchmeat
If your house is like ours, Christmas is going to be filled with tons of rejoicing over Jesus, wonderful smells from the kitchen and the warmth and love of family regardless of what is happening to the economy right now. But if you are like me, you also love to give gifts and get really [...]
If your house is like ours, Christmas is going to be filled with tons of rejoicing over Jesus, wonderful smells from the kitchen and the warmth and love of family regardless of what is happening to the economy right now. But if you are like me, you also love to give gifts and get really tickled watching the kids’ anticipation and excitement. Everyone is going to have to really watch their budget through the holidays and most of us are cutting back, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to share some excellent gifts with your favorite people.
I went back and checked my receipt, so I could give you completely accurate information. Last week, CBD (Christian Book Distributors) had a one-day only $0.99 sale. I picked up beautiful little board books, DVD movies, and tons of great reading for lots of gifts. I received 34 items and the total was only $51.27 (Can you tell I bought a couple things that were more than $0.99?).
I wish I had started this blog sooner, so I could have let you know, but here’s the good news. I checked their site for you this morning and in the Advanced Search section, I selected “under $5″. Sort the list by price in ascending order. The lowest price item this morning is $0.35 and there are nearly 89,000 items priced UNDER $5.

As, I was scanning through the search pages, I realized that once I hit $0.99 (It took more than 20 pages before I got to $0.99), that most items at that specific price were music downloads and there are pages and pages of them. So after going through the first 20 pages or so of the less than $1 items I reversed the search by going up and changing it from Ascending to Descending. I was still in the less than $5 section and out of the music downloads. There were mugs, keychains, novels, childrens books, puzzles, wooden models to build, card games, stuffed animals, Bible studies, pocket New Testaments, CD’s, movies, novels, Focus on the Family Radio Theater CD’s and more. I even saw ministry items, one originally priced at $41.99, now on sale for just $4.99. So dust off your Christmas list and take the opportunity to save for the holidays. I’ll be posting as many bargains as I can find for you between now and then and we’ll all work together to be good stewards of the blessings God has provided.
P.S. If you have a shelf in a closet, or an empty drawer somewhere, or even a nook in the attic, it’s still a good idea to purchase and save items you know you will need later for birthdays, anniversaries, hostess gifts, pastor appreciation, something for a teacher or a graduate, etc. Make a list of all the times you will be gifting throughout the year and remember to include those last minute things like birthday parties or gift exchanges at work. When you find something at a great price, store it and save yourself both time and full-price shopping later.