Paul — Page 2

All You Recipe Re-Make: Grilled Vegetable-Pesto Pasta Salad

All You, the magazine put out by Walmart, has some awesome recipes in it. A lot of them are said to be easy on the wallet as well. I made the Grilled Vegetable-Pesto Pasta Salad on page 71 of the July 26th issue of All You to see if it was indeed as good and as low price as it says it is.

Let me just say, It definitely was all that and more. Not only was it super easy to make, but it cost only about $.80 cents a serving, even less than it says in the magazine. Now, some of that is because I already had a couple of the ingredients, but really, the ones I had are things most others probably have in their homes and pantries as well.

This salad would even taste good as a warm pasta dish, in my opinion. It is so full of flavor! I loved the nice, bright colors and how well it screamed, “summer” with the fresh squash and zucchini. This is absolutely sure to be a hit at any summer potluck you go to and really, just takes minutes to make after you grill the vegetables.

To save money on the recipe, I swapped out a few of the ingredients. I think that it tastes just as good as the original recipe would, but with less convenience priced ingredients and really, what you are buying that is convenience, isn’t really that hard to make anyways.

Grilled Vegetable-Pesto Pasta Salad

1 Zucchini (81 cents)

1 Yellow Squash (88 cents)

1 Red Bell Pepper ($1.74)

1 Red Onion (59 cents)

1 Tbsp Italian Season (Had on hand)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil (Had on hand)

Salt and Pepper (Had on hand)

3 Cups or about 1 Box of Farfalle (bow tie) Pasta ($1.00)

1 can of Cannellini Beans (white Kidney Beans) (68 cents)

1.7 oz jar of prepared pesto (This was something I substituted. It was around $2.68 for this, but the dry Pesto sauce packets were only $1.66 and I added 1/4 cup of olive oil to it)

1/2 cup fresh grated Romano (Again, I substituted with the Mama Francisco’s I used in the Pizza Bake for flavor and cost effectiveness-came out GREAT!)

1Tsp Lemon Juice (Had on hand)

To make Grilled Vegetable -Pesto Pasta Salad, see the recipe in All You or go to the All You recipe online. When it gets to the section about adding the prepared pesto, just whip up the sauce packet according to the directions for a rub on the back of the packet.

Do It Yourself: Fix a Running Toilet for $2

Jul 18 by Paul Leave a Comment

Walmart really does have just about anything a person may need. One thing I love is the home improvement section of the store. Not only are there great prices, but the other day, I noticed these little tear off fliers near some of the items for sale. The flyers give you a step by step instruction on how to do small tasks around the house.

Last fall, we had a toilet annoyance. It would drain and refill about every 5 minutes. Not entirely refill, but refill back to the level in the mechanism. It was a huge annoyance, but also a huge money and water waster. I think our water bill increased by nearly a 1/3 that month. When it came time to do something about it, we called a plumber. Neither of us wanted to mess with the internal parts on the toilet for fear that we would break something else. It ended up costing us a pretty penny to have someone come over. I saw how fast he did it and yet he charged us a lot.

Back in the Walmart home improvement aisle, I saw a flyer for how to fix this very problem and what really got me thinking…How much would I save if I just tried to do these sorts of things on my own?

The answer is..I would save a ton. The part I needed to fix this issue was only $1.97. Let me just say that is a whole lot saved compared to what I shelled out to the plumber.

If you are having the same problem I did with my toilet, skip the plumber and do the following:

Head to Walmart and buy what is called a “Flapper”. The flapper is the rubber piece that sits over the valve in your toilet tank. Make sure you take the old one with you so you know what kind to get. There are several types and sizes. Get a flyer while you are there. If you forget or they are all out, here are the instructions:

1. Turn off the water to your toilet. This is usually located at the base of the toilet near the floor.

2. Flush the toilet to remove water from the tank.

3. Remove the old flapper and clean the area around where it was from debris or water sludge/hard water build up.

4. Attach the new flapper and turn the water back on.

5. Flush the toilet and watch how the flapper works. If it doesn’t sit right in it’s spot, it may need to be adjusted.

See how easy that is? No more running toilet and it only took 10 minutes of your time (if that!) and less than $2.00. So worth it!

Bonus tip! If you are a person who puts a brick in your toilet tank to save water, don’t. The brick can actually break down toilet components. Instead fill a plastic water bottle with rocks.

What do you do to save water and on plumbing costs?

Betcha’ Didn’t Know Walmart Sold this!

Jul 16 by Paul Leave a Comment

One of the reasons Walmart stores are so popular is the fact that they seem to sell everything all in one place and make it super convenient for you. If you have ever visited Walmart.com, you know that there are even more things on there that are not usually available in stores. It can be amazingly helpful to be able to order online.

How far does Walmart go with it’s ability to carry just about any merchandize? I put together this fun and often strange list of items you may not know are available from Walmart. This proves Walmart really is a one stop shop.

Did you know you can buy a casket at Walmart? It’s true! They even ship to the funeral home.
Looking for something cool for a man cave? I saw a Neon Electric Guitar Wall Clock!
Love candy but getting tired of the same old stuff? You can buy japan’s #1 selling candy, Hi Chew.
Want to start a backyard farm? Buy a Chicken coop!
Be prepared for the apocalypse with a “Just in Case” bucket of freeze dried food.
Outdoorsmen? You will love the machetes for $8.00.
If your least favorite chose is cleaning the floors, you will love the robotic vacuum.
Tired of your hair going flat in the middle of the day? You need 24 hour hold hairspray to plaster those locks.
It may seem that Walmart has everything but the kitchen sink, but they actually do have that and toilets!
With summer in full swing, why not buy a lemonade stand kit for the kids?

You could almost spend all day looking through the matrix of Walmart’s website and find some of the most random things you have never heard of. Just don’t get too lost!

What is the strangest thing you have ever bought online? What is the most random thing you have seen on Walmart’s shelves?

Why You Should Switch to CFL lightbulbs

Jul 10 by Paul 4 Comments

Guest post from Christina – Walmart Specialist)

CFL light bulbs, or Compact Fluorescents, have been around for a few years now, but some of you may not have made the switch yet because they are slightly more expensive than traditional light bulbs. However, the prices of these bulbs have really come down a lot in recent months and if you have been waiting to switch, now’s the time to do it.

Why should you switch to CFLs?

First of all, they are good for the environment. It is said that if each household just switched to 1 CFL in their home, it could prevent 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases from power-plant going into the ozone, or the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off the road! Not only is it good on a large scale, but CFLs also save energy in your own home, causing you to see a drop in your bill.

What is the difference between traditional light bulbs and CFLs? How do they save energy?

CFLs use at around 1/3 of the energy of traditional bulbs. A 13 Watt CFL replaces a 60 Watt light bulb of the traditional kind. That is a huge difference in the amount you will spend on these bulbs over their lifetime. The average bulb can save you $30!

CFLs are different from traditional (called incandescent) light bulbs because they put out more light with less work. One drawback to them is they contain a small amount of mercury, though. For this reason, you should always recycle them.

How to choose the right CFL for you:

CFLs come in almost way imaginable. There are different color temperature (pink, blue, white, etc.) so you can determine the mood of a room the same way you would with traditional bulbs. They also come in every size yu can think of. You can use them indoors and out and they fit standard fixtures.

To get the same effect as what you have been using, just choose based on wattage again. You will just need to get used to a different wattage formula. As discussed, a typical lamp or light in a room is 60 watts. This is average medium brightness. For this, you would choose a CFL that is 13-15 watts.

Keep in mind as well, CFLs even come in 3 way bulbs, so you really can switch over with no problems or changes other than the one in your wallet!

How much do these CFLs cost?

At Walmart, CFLs are now being made by the Walmart brand, Great Value. You can buy single bulbs for as low as $1.38 or bulk packs for $2.88 on up. While this is slightly more than traditional light bulbs, think of how much they will save you over their lifetime. An average CFL lasts 10 times as long as an incandescent bulb. We have had one here for around 4 years that is still going strong. If yu can’t afford to replace them all at once, I suggest just replacing the traditional bulbs as they burn out. Also, I have occasionally seen coupons for them as well as got 4 free ones from my energy company.

Iced Coffee Recipe! Make at Home and Save Money.

Jul 8 by Paul Leave a Comment

With summer in full swing, it’s time to reach for the cold drinks. One favorite is the iced coffee drinks that come from coffee shops and the pre-made packaged kind. Skip the drive thru and their $4.00 drinks and pass on the convenience store’s $2.00 or more drinks as well and make it yourself! Even the packets are not low cost and you get far less.

(Guest post from Christina – Walmart Specialist)

Even if you buy iced coffee in packs at Walmart, they are still near the $6.00 range for these little coffee delights and you get far less than if you made it yourself. Making this recipe also allows you to choose the flavors and come up with your own.

For this Iced Coffee recipe, you will need:

Coffee of your choice (I use Cafe Bustelo $3.88)
Half and Half ($1.58)
Sweetener ($2.58)
Ice Cubes
Water

Optional: Flavor of your choice such as caramel sauce or chocolate syrup.

1. Make your coffee a little stronger than you normally would. I made 2 pots of extra strong, or about 12 cups.

2. Put the coffee in the fridge to cool. It should be ready to use in about 1 1/2.

3. Fill a glass full with ice. (I got both this glass mug [$2.00] and carafe [$3.88] at Walmart by the way.)

4. Pour on the coffee, add chocolate syrup or other flavoring if you desire.

5. Add Half and Half. A splash will do. (Don’t you just love the way it swirls in the cup?)

6. Sweeten to taste.

You can also make this on a larger scale in the carafe or another container and keep it in the fridge. Keep in mind, though, that the mixture spoils faster than the coffee alone, so if you aren’t going to drink it up in a very short amount of time, I suggest you keep the coffee by itself in the fridge minus the ingredients.

While the initial ingredients cost more than in the store, because you are only using a portion, these servings cost less than 50 cents each. The only real expensive part (and it’s not really, you could also use milk for a lower fat version!) is the Half and Half. In one small can of Cafe Bustelo, you could get a lot of servings.

There is another way to brew the coffee, called “Cold Brewing” which is where you use cold water, leave it sit at room temperature and strain it out after. This allows you to make a stronger brew, but it can be time consuming and messy. Either way you do it will work for this recipe.

Buying Generic Medications Can Save You A Lot!

Jul 2 by Paul Leave a Comment

One of the biggest ways to save money is to not be what is referred to as “Brand Loyal”. This is only buying the brands you know and being unwilling to buy off brands, new brands and generic brands even if they could result in massive savings. This can be a HUGE money waster as well as leave you stuck in a brand rut. One thing that the savings margin is so large is with generic medications.

Did you know that when you buy branded medications, you are often just paying for the fancy label and the brand name attached to it? You think you are somehow getting a better quality product because the label is from a household name that has been trusted for generations. This is not true at all!

Are generic medications just as safe as their branded counterparts?

According to Consumer Reports, yes, they are!

The Food and Drug Administration requires that over-the-counter.. generic drugs have exactly the same active ingredients in the same strength as the brands they copy. It also requires that they have the same purity and stability, come in the same form—for example, tablet, patch, or liquid—and be administered the same way (for example, swallowed as a pill…).

So if you are paying for the name brand, you really are just paying for the packaging, the logo and the name. They are REQUIRED by the FDA to have the same ingredients and be just as safe, sterile and stable as the branded counterpart.

So what kind of savings can you get from buying these generics? The cost may greatly surprise you!

I noticed the other day at Walmart that they are offering many of the common and newer medications in generic form in an end-cap display in most stores now. The Rollback price lists all the generic medications on the shelf as 88 cents each. Now, I normally buy my generics at the local dollar store, but this makes them even cheaper! (just over getting 1 free for every 10 you buy!)

What can you get on the shelf? Allergy, cold, cough, children’s and pain medications as well as creams, ointments and rubbing alcohol. In my opinion, the rubbing alcohol is not as great of a deal because often, you can find that at an even lower price, but the Allergy generic medications are a blowout deal! I saw they have generic Allegra and Zyrtec. Normally, these are in the range of costing quite a bit, especially Allegra because it was just recently released for over the counter use. One thing to look for on the label of the boxes, though, is the tablet count. I get the 88 cent generic Zyrtec and it comes with 14 pills. That makes it around 7 cents a pill! Branded Zyrtec in the 14 count pack is $12.84 on the Walmart website and that works out to almost 92 cents each pill! This is nearly a 90% savings buying it in these 88 cent packs that Walmart is offering!

Buying generic medications is a phenomenal money saver. One can pack their whole medicine cabinet full for a very low price.