Saving On NASCAR

I went to my first NASCAR race today at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With the big race tomorrow, I thought I'd pass on a few thoughts to keep it cheap.

We found free parking in the N parking section. It was in a grassy area right outside of Gate 9. Most other parking was about $10. It may be a different situation Sunday.

You can take pretty much anything you'd want with you (except glass bottles).

Here are some things you may want to have. They will be cheaper to buy ahead of time.

Water

Beer

Earplugs

Sunscreen

A Towel (or something to wipe your sweat with)

Also keep your eye out for these guys. They hand out all kinds of coupons and freebies!

If you're going, enjoy the race.

Coupons Worth Clipping

We'll only post coupons worth $1 or more here. Here are a few links for things that may come in handy for the Holiday weekend.
$1 Off A Wholly Guacamole Product

Buy One Get One Free Potatoes (who loves potato salad?)

There's A Few Here That May Come In Handy

One is for Trop50 (it is only 50 cents)
But if you clipped coupons from the Observer this weekend you'll have another one for Trop 50.

Several Juice Coupons Here


Enjoy the weekend!

I Left Target $34.51 Richer Than When I Walked In

My closet is full of stuff I've forgotten. Clothes I refuse to get rid of, CD cases I haven't looked at in years and every old cell phone I've ever owned (who still has the Nokia?).

I read an article a few months ago about Target paying people for their old electronics. At the time I called around and could not find any stores in Charlotte that took part in the program. I circled back this week and found out the Target on Metropolitan Ave. had recently started.

I dug out the old phones, iPod, a camera and more.
This is some of what I took.

Here's how it works: walk to the electronics department. Ask for someone who can help with the electronics recycling/trade-in program. They'll take your stuff to a computer and enter each item into the system to see if it has any value to them.

I went in with the impression that this was a recycling program and I may get a few dollars for each item. The guy at the store wasn't positive, but it seems like they are looking more for things that can be rehabbed.

At first, it was pretty disappointing. Target had no interest in my old router, Blackberry Curve or Samsung Instinct phone (that I, stupidly, bought the first day it came out).

Then we got the the iPod. It turned out to be neglected gold. The guy entered it in and I got a $34.51 Target gift card back.

It seemed the specific things they're looking for are phones, iPods, and iPads. If you have any relics lying around, I'd say it's worth a try.

Map It:

http://bit.ly/iMgHrB

Huge Dinner For 2: $17

I'm the pickiest of picky eaters. And the initial thought of eating Vietnamese food scared the crap out of me. Then I walked into Pho Hoa on Central Avenue. I was greeted with this gallon-sized bowl of pho. The dish you see here is $8.50. Color me impressed if you can finish it.

Menu:
http://www.phohoa.com/menu.html

Map It:
http://bit.ly/kvFNiD

Cheap Summer Meal

I had an idea for a fresh summer meal as temperatures in Charlotte started inching toward 90 degrees this weekend: strawberry shortcake.

If you find the right recipe, it's inexpensive to make.  Many recipes call for cream or shortening. I tracked one down to share that uses mostly kitchen basics (flour, sugar, etc). All you need to add are the strawberries!

Feel free to use the whipped cream it recommends. But if you don't want to buy it, just pour a little milk on top. Sounds strange, but take a bite before you judge.

Here's the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sensational-Strawberry-Shortcake/Detail.aspx