Frugal Family: Running on Empty? Check Our Great Savings Ideas

We're all watching our family budgets these days. Whether that's shopping with coupons or looking for two-for-one deals, we're taking advantage of all sorts of offers and savings that help us stretch our dollars.

This column is dedicated to giving you five great local deals each week that will help your family’s bottom line, and since we do the scouting for you, you can save time as well as money.

You are a big part of this column. Let us hear about the deals you've seen. Just add them to our comment box. Then, come back each week and see what we've uncovered together.

• Any single item is 20 percent off for the rest of this month at Sweet Pea Children’s Boutique in Cotati. Simply use the Promo Code: LUCKY to save. Sweet Pea carries a wide range of baby, children, mommy consignment clothes, toys and more! Stop Sweet Pea, at 15 Charles St. in Cotati, or check them out on facebook at facebook.com/sweetpeacotati.

• This week at Oliver’s Market get your Corned Beef Brisket for a mere $3.49 per pound. Natural beef at a great price makes for a tasty dinner. Oliver’s only uses USDA choice natural beef.

• There is some serious deals at CVS this week. Save a dollar on two boxes of Big G cereal (Cheerios, Chex, etc), Save forty cents on six packs of Yoplait Yogurt, Save $5 on Claritin non-drowsy and much more. Visit www.cvs.com and then head to the in-store coupons section to clip and save at the CVS. Rohnert Park's location is at 6378 Commerce Blvd.

• Do you want 20 Free Photo Cards? Go to Snapfish.com and check out the 4x8 photo cards and select a $14.99 set. Then use the coupon code ‘NEWMOMMY’ to take $14.99 off your order. Yes you still have to pay shipping and you can order specific designs for a little more, but every bit helps!

• Got the rainy day blues? Now is a great time to try the Netflix's one month free trial You can use an internet connection and a Wii, Playstation, or X-Box to stream movies to your TV. You can also stream to your computer, iPad, or iPhone. Simply go to www.netflix.com to sign-up.

Money Tip of the Week – Family Board Game Night! This is fun for all ages as well as savings. Board games don’t cost that much for those who don’t have a few at home. Make a fun dinner and gather the family around for bonding and entertainment. It can be a lot cheaper than going out or giving the older kids money to go out with.