wendypsaves

randomly popping by

2010-05-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

Hello. My name is Wendy and I used to blog here. I found something interesting I thought you might enjoy:

Chefs plan menus to feed 4 on a food-stamp budget

and the menus they created

big takeaways:

Cook at home
from scratch
eat your leftovers
quality, whole foods over processed crap

I may have mentioned some of that before.

Hope your day is lovely and that it started way after my children woke me up at 4:45 this morning. They, of course, went back to sleep.

cute lil painted things

2009-12-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

(posting here so that the kids won't see the pics on my other blog)

I've been painting all day! No sewing done at all, but at least I'm done with the painting. The blocks are still drying, so I'll post pics of those later. Here's what's done so far:

A trio of ladies (I love these.):

A little family (I tried to keep them pretty gender neutral, so that Kira can play with them however she wants.):

Bowling pins (yes, I'm classy and am illustrating their height by comparing them to a beer bottle. It's good beer, though.):

A trio of tops for Jackson's stocking:

So, blocks are drying and I have a little painted box with a lid. I'm not sure which kid will get it. I guess it will go into the stocking that looks emptier.

Looks like I'll be up late sewing the next few nights, but I'm WAY ahead of where I thought I would be by now.

try not to faint

2009-10-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm actually posting. Sorry I've been MIA. I haven't had much to say I guess. Kam, stop laughing.

Anyway, mainly I wanted to give DFW peeps a heads up. Through tomorrow, Tom Thumb has Tillamook cheese on for $3.99/ 2lb package, limit 2. That is an AWESOME price for rbgh-free cheese - really an awesome price for any cheese. So, go. Buy cheese.

If you're not in the DFW area, Tom Thumb is a Safeway store, so if you have Safeway, Randalls, Vons, or Dominicks - you might check your store, too.

Around the 'sphere

2009-09-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Morning! I was up early today and found several interesting posts I thought y'all might like.

Small Notebook has an interesting post that makes batch or OAMC (once a month cooking) seem very approachable. - Batch Cooking: Meal Starters

Saver Queen is celebrating her blog's one year birthday with a look back at her favorite posts. This one highlights couponing in Canada - (I thought you might want to check it out, Lacia!)

Hillbilly Housewife shares some info on Depression Era cooking that I thought was kind of interesting.

I did a big shop on Friday, so I may post those receipts later. We'll see how the day goes - hope your day is lovely!

good read

2009-09-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

Great post over at Simple Mom on setting small goals for big results - check it out!

Down to Earth now has a forum!

2009-09-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Morning y'all. Sorry I've been MIA. I've had a lovely case of tonsillitis and am just now feeling human again. Anyway, I wanted to share that Down to Earth now has a forum.

...a community forum for people wanting to live more simply. We discuss slowing down, living well on a budget, cooking from scratch, baking, preserving and canning food, growing organic vegetable and fruit, homesteading and home making, knitting, sewing and much more. Join us, share your story and knowledge and help build this positive and strong community.

Click on the link below to get started. (You may get an error message. If you do, click on "sign up" to get started.)

Down to Earth

I'm wendypsaves over there, too. I just signed up and I'm looking forward to exploring it more. Hope to see you there!

saving on groceries without using coupons

2009-08-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd write a little bit about easy ways to save on groceries without using coupons. Some of this will repeat things I've said before, but I think it always helps to hear it again.

Don't waste time or energy feeling guilty
This I think applies to lots of areas in our lives and I, well I'm a Virgo, I'm kind of a pro at the guilt stuff. I'll spend tons of my valuable time and energy worrying about stuff and not actually do anything productive about it. So, if saving money on groceries is one of the things that you feel guilty about not working toward - just don't.

Here's my suggestion: Instead of worrying for 2-3 minutes use that time to open your fridge and check your pantry and plan 2 or 3 meals using what you have right now, or check your produce and see what you should go ahead and use or chop up and throw in the freezer to keep it from going into your trashcan rather than in your body, or send a quick email to a company letting them know how much you like their product (ok that's technically couponing, but it's easy couponing).

Then you'll have spent your 2-3 minutes actively saving your grocery money and you get to feel good not guilty.

Stretch out your grocery trips by a day or two
If you go to the store every week and generally spend about the same amount every week, see if you can wait a couple of extra days. Again, use what you have - check your freezer and your pantry. Then, when you do go to the store, spend what you usually spend going weekly. I doubt you'll even feel deprived, and you'll have saved a percentage of your monthly spending. If you're feeling really brave, try to skip a whole week.

If there is just one day that you can shop and you need to shop weekly, try dropping your spending by $5. When you're comfortable with that, drop it by $5 more.

You don't have to shop more than one store, as long as you know your store.
Although you will save more money if you have the time/ability/inclination to shop more than one store, you don't have to do that to save. You have tons of ways to save when shopping one store.

-Pay attention to prices. Is there a snack that your family loves? If you need it today, check the various package sizes, buy the one that gives you the best per ounce price. Even better, pay attention to the sales cycles. When it goes on sale for a great price, buy an extra one, or if there's room in your budget that week, buy 5 extra. (Of course, if it's a snack they really love, you might want to hide the extra boxes and bring them out periodically.)

-The fact that you're going to need laundry detergent, toilet paper, soap, etc isn't a surprise or an emergency. Use the above pricing tip to know when to buy an extra or two of the items you know you'll need. Yes, you'd save more using coupons, but if you're saving off of the price you would normally spend, you're still saving.

-Lose brand loyalty. Try your store's brand on items. Many stores now have in-house organics lines. I've often found that I like the store brand better on some things. Again, pay attention to price per unit, to make sure that you're getting the best deal.

-Pay attention to your store's markdown areas. If you don't know where they are or if your store even does markdowns, then ask. Markdowns are usually done on soon to expire items, but often you'll find deals when your store is re-setting the aisles.

-If your store has a shopper's card, get it. You'll save on items in the store and will get on the mailing list for coupons.

-Pay attention to produce. Instead of absentmindedly chunking five apples into a bag, think about how many apples your family actually eats in a week. And I don't mean how many apples you dole out. When your kids have an apple, do they eat the whole thing? Or do they eat half of it and throw the rest away? Buy what you really think you'll eat and then portion it out effectively at home. If you run out before your next trip, it'll be ok. You'll just know to put one more apple in the bag next time.

-If your one store is a Costco, BJs, or Sam's - then look at what you can freeze as soon as you get home. Great deal on onions or bell peppers? Then take the time to chop some up, throw them in a ziploc ('cause you know you just bought 500 of them), and toss them in the freezer. Bust up big portions of things that can go stale (crackers, etc) into smaller portions, or even into snack size portions for the kids. Yes, it may take some time, but it also takes time to go back to the store 4 or 5 days before you really needed to.

Don't overfill your fridge
This is one that I've had to learn. I used to love looking at a stocked full fridge - oh, the choices! Of course, I'd throw away a good third of the the contents every week or so. Now, I like to keep our fridge only about a third to a half full. When I open the fridge, I can easily see what produce we have available, I know what leftovers we need to use up, and I actually had a spot to put said leftovers in. Also, I actually put together more varied meals. When there is an abundance of choices, I end up overwhelmed and reaching for the old standbys - and then I'm right back to throwing my grocery money into the trashcan.

Ok, I think I'll stop there. Hopefully at least some of it was new and helpful!

this n that (and recipes!)

2009-08-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

I recently found the Happy Foody blog and I have to say it's really inspiring. Sara is a vegan and eats a mainly raw food diet. I was a vegetarian for seven years, and while I don't have the desire to be totally meat free, I do tend to prepare primarily vegetarian meals when it's my turn to cook.

We eat lots of produce already, but I'm trying to get more (and more varied) into our diet. It's kind of hard on a limited budget, but definitely doable. I've written about this before, but here's how I do it:

1. Watch the ads for the loss leader organic produce
2. Shop Whole Foods - again, primarily buying what's in season and on sale
3. Stalk the Kroger markdown area - I end up with great deals on organic bananas, spinach, and salad mixes.
4. Use the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists for deciding on organic vs. non-organic

Our lunch today was so good, I wanted to share a couple of recipes. I saw this post over at Happy Foody and the sweet potatoes sounded awesome! I love sweet potatoes, but only ever eat them around the holidays and then, only when someone else has prepared them. I didn't realize how easy and fast they are - so forgive me if you've been making them forever. I kind of adapted a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Easy Sweet Potatoes
about 2 lbs of sweet potatoes (I used one huge one) - cubed
about 2 Tbs of butter
about 2 Tbs of maple syrup (Ours is a mix of maple syrup and agave nectar - both from the bulk aisle at WF)
a little bit of salt, and pepper if you like

I threw all of the above in the pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. Heat it all up on medium until the water boils - then cover it and turn it down to a simmer. Stir it every five minutes or so until the potatoes are soft (or whatever level of tenderness you like) - takes about 20 minutes all together.

It made enough for everyone to have huge servings and I have some leftover that I'll be snacking on in a bit.

Last week I made up a big batch of beans in the slow cooker. Sort of recipe:

4 Bean Mess o' mess
1/2 cup pinto beans
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup kidney beans
1/2 cup adzuki beans (these are packed with protein, but we've discovered that we don't really care for them by themselves - they were great mixed in with the others, though.)
about a cup of chopped onion
about a cup of chopped red bell pepper
four strips of bacon (you could leave this out of course)
salt and pepper to taste

I rinsed all of the beans and picked them over, but I don't soak them before slow cooking. Throw all of the above in the slow cooker and then add enough water so that the water is about 2 inches over the beans. Cook on high for 6-8 hours (until the beans are soft). Keep an eye on the water level - you may need to add more. You could also add stock if you wanted, but I figured with the bacon it would be overkill.

We had beans and rice the other night, leftovers the next day, and I froze three 2-cup servings for later.

So, for lunch today the kids had cheese quesadillas, beans, and sweet potatoes. Derek and I had cheese, bean, and lettuce soft tacos with sweet potatoes on the side. It was so good!

I also wanted to share a link that Tara sent me. It's really the way we shop/cook/eat - I think she sums it up perfectly: Saving Money on Food (the No Compromise Way) - I've added her blog over in my blogroll, too. Check it out, if you get a chance!

good read

2009-08-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

This so sums up how I'm feeling lately: The beauty of forced frugality

This month has been such a challenge for us and next month looks to be tight as we climb out of August. Surprisingly, though, I've had lots of little moments of reflection and appreciation lately. A glass of iced tea, a wonderful meal that comes together out of bits and pieces, time spent with the kids playing in the sprinkler, and so many opportunities to see friends and family - money is just money, you know? Experience is the real deal.

So, go and check out the link, she says it way better than I can.

Kettle Corn

2009-08-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just made this recipe for the kids and I (me? myself?). You should too, but remember:

1. Let it cool - you will burn the %*&#* out of your mouth.
2. You will eat it all and not have a pretty picture for your blog.

Also of note, I went to Target and their only option for non-microwave popcorn was the ALMOST FIVE DOLLAR container of Orville Redenbacher's. Pinto beans were twice the price they are at Kroger. I about passed out in the store. So, we stopped at Kroger on the way home and bought popcorn, a cantaloupe, a bag of black beans, and a bag of pinto beans for what the popcorn and pintos alone would have cost at Target. Crazy.

Free 2010 Calendar from Annie's Homegrown

2009-08-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Head to Annie's Homegrown to find out how to get your FREE 2010 calendar. mmmmm....cheddar bunnies.... Thanks, Tara!

Super doubles wrap-up

2009-08-16T10:53:00.001-07:00

Ok, here's the breakdown:

Free after super-doubles:
6 - Buitoni pasta
6 - Wacky Mac pasta
6 - Skintimate shave gel
6 - Ken's Healthy Options salad dressings
3 - Playtex gloves
3 - Oxy pads (Did y'all see that thing on Oprah about using these to smooth your heels?)
2 - Dannon Activia yogurt
2 - Dannon yogurt smoothies
2 - Reach flossers
1 - Dannon kids yogurt
1 - Kotex liners
1 - 4pk Energizer batteries - free after superdoubles and $1 ecoupon
1 - Tabasco sauce
1 - Wishbone Bountifuls salad dressing

Other super-double deals:
5 - Jennie-O Turkey Franks (4 pkgs at .19 ea, 1 at .40)
4 - Kellogg's Rice Krispies - .25 ea after superdoubles and $4 off wyb 4 deal
1 - El Monterey Tornadoes - .49 and will get a $2.49 rebate
1 - Wholly Salsa - .50
2 - Mission Tortillas - .79 ea
1 - Hellmann's mayo - $1.04 after super-doubles and .25 ecoupon
1 - Mt. Olive jalapenos - .79
1 - Sally Hansen nail polish - .09
1 - Kiwi heel savers - the tag said these were $1.99, so I thought they would be free. They actually rang up for $3.99, but I didn't catch that until later. I'm using them to repair a pair of boots that I love, so I'm just going to keep them. - $1.99

other stuff I bought:
1 - pkg hot dog buns - .88
2 - 8oz cheese - $1.00 ea
8 - fancy feast kitten food - .65 ea -Ted's really not doing well and this is the only food I can get him to eat. :(

Bought: 69 items
Spent: $17.21
Saved: $133.75
Savings of: 91.5%
unit cost per item: .25
and I'll get back $2.49 in rebates - I don't like to count future rebates in my total $ spent, though.

I bought produce on Friday with the rest of my giftcard that I won. I spent $12.23 that trip and saved $8.

So, my $30 giftcard netted me $171.75 worth of groceries!!!

Y'all know I ♥ coupons, right?

Super doubles - quick recap

2009-08-15T19:09:00.001-07:00

I'm super tired, so I'll share details later. Until then:

6 trips/2 stores
spent: $17
saved: $133!!

My stores were very well stocked - only out of a couple of things. The staff did a great job and I'm sending an email to corporate tomorrow. I want to let them know how thankful I am for my little neighborhood store. They were awesome today!

Night y'all!

Something cool

2009-08-14T15:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jenny at Southern Savers, had a post about an upcoming sale at Kroger and offered a $30 giftcard giveaway. She had to pull the post, but went ahead with the giveaway and I WON!

AND, I just received it in the mail - just in time for Super Doubles tomorrow!!

I'm so excited! Thank you Jenny and thank you Kroger!

it's really true - Super Doubles for sure!

2009-08-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, just saw the ad and it's really really real. I'm going to be clipping like a mad woman and gone all day Saturday. I've already arranged for my sister to come over and entertain the children - thanks S!!

If you haven't checked it out yet, the lovely members of HCW have assembled a google doc of freebies and deals for Sat - complete with insert dates and printable links.

Texas - Kroger - 8/15 only - Super Doubles!!

2009-08-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

Alright y'all, I never thought I'd see this happen. At Kroger in Texas on Saturday, 8/15 all coupons .40-$1 will double!!

Details: Kroger will double Manufacturer's "Cents Off" coupons valued between $0.40 and $1.00. Kroger will continue to triple Manufacturer's "Cents Off" coupons valued up to $0.39. Coupons greater than $1.00 will be redeemed at face value. Valid with Plus Card. Limit 1 like coupon per transaction. No cash back. Manufacturer's coupons issued in store do not apply. See store for details.

Check out Jane4girls for more info and here for a list of possible freebies.

Free Freshberry Frozen Yogurt - Dallas - Today

2009-08-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Freshberry Frozen Yogurt is celebrating the grand opening of their Dallas store.

All day Thursday, Aug 6 you can get a Free small yogurt cup with one topping (Dallas location only)!
8084 Park Lane Suite B141
Dallas, TX 75231
Located on Central Expressway and Park in the Park Lane Development, across from North Park Mall. Near the Dick's Sporting Goods, beneath the Apartment tower.

Also, 10% of their first week's sales will be donated to the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

Thanks, Tara!

The importance of the EF

2009-08-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

Emergency Fund 101

We severely depleted our EF over the first few months of 2009 (plumbing fun, etc). Instead of buckling down and re-filling it like we should have, we just continued following our regular budget. And then July happened. Ugh. Lesson learned.

Ted to the vet. Electric bill $140 higher than the previous month. AC went out (which may explain the higher electric bill) to the tune of $340.

So, this month is super, super tight. We're hanging in there, selling stuff on ebay and I may do a garage sale.

It's a big red arrow pointing to the need for the $1000 Emergency Fund. All of this month's extra, unexpected expenses could have been covered with that amount.

We're going to get through this month, pay everything, and then it's Operation Emergency Fund. I'll track our progress here. Care to join me?

So, I um did a little school supply shopping today

2009-07-19T17:19:00.001-07:00

and I totally scored! I don't have a picture, because I was a good girl and put everything away right when I got home. I'm always so excited when I get home from a big couponing/money-saving run that I've unfortunately trained my children to descend like vultures on my bags of loot. They wanted to immediately use all of the new crafty stuff, so I had to get the majority of it out of sight out of mind.

disclaimer: I started out with 2 $5 RR (Register Rewards) from last week's Walgreens' Huggies deal and I had a $2.99 ECB (Extra Care Buck).

I ended up with:

Walgreens (2 trips):
6 - scotch tape (on sale for .39 ea - used $1/3 Scotch tape manu q from 7/12 RP)
3 - 12 packs Crayola colored pencils
5 - folders (planning a really cool color project for the kids with these)
8 - white poster board
1 - 2 pk erasers
1 - 5 pk highlighters
2 - 10 pk pens
2 - 2 pk G2 gel pens
1 - paper clips
2 - hefty storage bags (BOGO $3.29 - used 2 $1/1 manu q's from 5/17 RP)
1 - toilet brush (it's a glamorous life, I tell ya)

spent: a whopping 12 cents
saved: $50.27 (of course that savings refers to the me of 3 years ago. I would never spend money like that on office supplies now. I <3 coupons.)
ended up with: 2 - $1 RRs from the gel pens.

CVS (2 orders):

2 - pkgs filler paper
2 - 10 pks pens

spent: nada
saved: $9.36
ended up with: my original $2.99 in ECB

Total spent: 12 cents
Total saved: $59.63

The past couple of weeks I've had the loveliest checker at CVS and no one waiting in line. So I've been doing two orders in a row. I just tear the ECB off of my receipt and hand it right back. I don't do back-to-back orders if there is anyone waiting, though. I just get back in line.

Even if you don't have any RRs or ECBs to start with, this is a great week to jump in. At CVS, you could just buy the 2 packs of pens - spend $1.98 (plus tax) and get the $1.98 ECB and then roll that onto one package of notebook paper - spend .02 (and possibly tax) and get the $2 ECB. Then roll that onto the 2nd pack of paper and get another $2 ECB. Then roll that onto other stuff or keep it for next week's deals.

At Walgreens the gel pens are $1 and you get a $1 RR. Buy your pens then spend the $1 RR on a bunch of the .09, .19, or .29 goodies.

Lots of yummy shopping endorphins for pocket change.

And one funny story: On Friday I did the Huggies deal and my RR didn't print. The checker said that they were having problems with the machine before I checked out, so it wasn't a surprise. She called the manager and said, "I need you to come print this RR. It didn't print and I know it should have, because this lady knows her stuff." LOVED that.

I did it.

2009-07-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

I went and signed up for the All You Grocery Challenge. You knew I would. Wish me luck.

I'm so excited!

2009-07-06T07:28:00.001-07:00

We visited the in-laws this weekend and happened upon a tiny farmer's market in Waxahachie. They set up along one side of the courthouse during the summer. Even though it was small, there were THREE different organic produce farmers.

And even more exciting, there were two different stands run by Mennonite families. One had produce, preserves, salsas/relishes, and baked goods. The other was selling meat AND they had 5 different options under my buy price!!! We don't need meat right now, but they are definitely where I'll be stocking up in a couple of weeks. Their farm isn't very far from where we live, so I may just go out there.

I was stoked! Grass fed, all natural, no hormones, no antibiotics chicken, beef, and pork - close to my home and reasonably priced. I picked up their flier and it says to ask about how to save 10% - I'm hoping that means they'll let us buy a whole animal in the future.

I know my in-laws thought I was even weirder than usual. I could not stop talking about how excited I was.

random - but thrifty!

2009-07-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

1. stovetop popcorn - good. really good. We use grapeseed oil, but totally ruin the healthy by pouring real butter all over it. Really, really good.

2. Easy, cheap fun for kids - food coloring in their bath water. It only takes 4-6 drops to color it and it won't stay on their skin or stain their hair or anything. Jackson wanted "to see aquamarine - you know blue and green." 4 drops of each in the bathtub and we had aquamarine. He also wanted to add salt to make it more like the ocean, but I said no.

3. Somehow I've ended up on some mailing list that thinks I'm pregnant. I'm not. I'm getting really great diaper coupons though, so I can start stockpiling for my BIL and SIL's upcoming blessing. I also just rec'd two cans of formula in the mail. I guess I'll donate it to the women's shelter.

What random thrifty do you have going on?

school supply season is about to start!

2009-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's get this ol' blog rolling again! I'm so excited, because it's about to be my favorite bargaining time of the year - back to school!!!

I never cared about this before I started couponing. I now know that it is a goldmine. Why? Every week the big retailers will offer different items for .01, .05, .25 - etc. It's a fabulous time to stock up on office supplies, craft supplies for your kids, craft supplies to put away for birthday gifts and party favors, etc.

Watch for crazy deals on:

crayons
paper
pens
index cards
rulers
scissors
folders
pencil boxes
markers
glue - glue sticks, elmer's, etc
tape

And start watching your inserts for coupons on some of those things. I haven't paid for pens in two years.

I always stock up on crayons, glue, and scissors for kids' craft gifts. It's also a great time to keep an eye out for deals on office supplies like staplers, organizers, etc.

AND in September, they start clearancing it all out - more deals!!!

Have y'all heard about this? All You Grocery Challenge

2009-06-25T06:23:00.001-07:00

All the couponing blogs I read are talking about the All You Grocery Challenge. Here are the details from All You:

We're thrilled that you're joining the ALL YOU Grocery Challenge! Show off your shopping smarts by spending no more than $25 per family member per week on groceries over a four-week period beginning July 13. That's $100 a week for a family of four. You could win a $1,000 grocery card plus a year's supply of Knorr side dishes and the chance to appear in ALL YOU magazine.
Follow these guidelines:
During the contest, groceries that you purchase count toward your weekly total. However, feel free to grow, barter or use stockpiled food to supplement your meals. Creativity and ingenuity count!
If you eat at a restaurant or buy takeout, the cost must go toward the week's total.
Household supplies and toiletries do not count toward each weeks total.
Keep track of your money using the optional Spending Log.
Save receipts--you will be required to submit them if you are a finalist.
Post your strategies on our Grocery Challenge blog, and be sure to tell us your money-saving tips
Click here to sign up
Official Rules
The contest starts July 13 (we'll send you a reminder email), so start planning your strategies now. Good luck!

$100 a week for my family of four and it doesn't include household supplies and toiletries??? Seriously???

I'm wondering if I should do this. July 12 is the sign-up deadline.

If anyone wants to try it (and I totally think y'all should!) - be sure to check your favorite couponing blog to see if they have a sign-up link. I think they are getting some kind of kick-back from All You and it's nice to support those that help us all out so much. If I sign up, I'll do it through Common Sense with Money. I believe I saw a link over at Southern Savers as well (and thank you Lourdes for recommending that site).

hmmm....decisions, decisions.

I haven't abandoned y'all!

2009-06-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

We have just had a crazy few days. A quick wrap-up on my $500 challenge:

$3 - Jackson and I went to the movies
$2 - We were driving past a garage sale and I spotted a carboy - Derek was thrilled! It's for beer making and usually costs around $35.
.67 - CVS - I used a $4 ECB to get the lens cleaners I mentioned before, a 3-pack of Ivory soap for my homemade laundry detergent, and a travel pack of baby wipes. I earned another $10 ECB

Grand Totals!
$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $201.39 ($184.23savings)
- (eating out $53.36)
gas: $110.74
clothing: 24.69
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $22.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $9.08
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $497.52
Remaining: $2.48!

So, we did it! It's back to the envelopes for me, though. I did not handle the big lump sum well. I still stuck with my envelope limits, for the most part. I just have to be firmer with myself on letting the amount in a designated envelope be IT. No more switching amounts around.

I'm going to take a little break and decide where I want this blog to head. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

StyleScience moneymaker at CVS

2009-06-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

I saw this on common sense with money last night and ran right out to do it.

This week's buy 2 sunglasses get $10 ECB deal is also working when you buy two .99 packets of lens cleaning cloths. I had to search the whole store before I finally found them hanging on an endcap. They're small - like 2 in x 2 in.

Here are the barcode #'s that are working:

Lens Cleaning Tissue: UPC 8 8301900550 7
or UPC: 0 30048 47128 9
Lens Cleaning Tissue pre-moistened 20 tissues UPC 0 30048 47129 6

The link above also has pics if you need them. Good luck!

(I'll update my $500 challenge totals later today - I spent a whopping .67 at CVS.)

$500 challenge - update

2009-06-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

Tom Thumb run on Sunday

Lucerne Butter - 1.99 used $1/1 catalina coupon
1 package of hamburger buns - .79 on sale w/ad coupon
3 organic peach yogurts - marked down to .25 ea
1 cantaloupe - .97 on sale

spent $3.50
saved: $8.04

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $200.72 ($180.23savings)
- (eating out $53.36)
gas: $110.74
clothing: 24.69
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $20.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $6.08
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88
Total spent: $491.85
Remaining: $8.15

So, still under the $500 - but now at $252.77 for groceries, eating out, and coffee. A little bit over my usual $250, however I usually don't include eating out in that total. We won't need any groceries before Friday, so that should be it. Movies on Thursday should wrap up the month.

I think I may try upping my budget to $300 a month and have that total include all groceries, eating out, bulk coffee purchases, and Derek's beer-making supplies. If I do that for a couple of months, I think I'll be able to work it down to $275 and hopefully, eventually, back down to $250. What do you think?

getting started - organizing coupons

2009-06-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you make a bigger deal of something than it really is? Maybe that's just me. Anyway, I've had writer's block lately. I'm just going to stream-of-consciousness this - please let me know if you have any questions or if it doesn't make sense!

Let's start with organizing. The hardest part about couponing, for me, is organizing my coupons. I've used several different methods and I've basically settled on this system:

1. Browse through insert. Clip coupons for products I know we use and for items that I suspect will be moneymakers.

2. File those coupons in my binder (actually a photo album). Here it is. The smaller one is where I keep my ECBs and coupons I'm planning on using at CVS.

3. Write the date of the insert on the front cover and file it in a magazine file. My magazine files have lived several different places. Currently, they reside in a laundry basket, so I can haul it out whenever I need it and hide it, when I don't need it. Don't let this scare you:

Now, that's in a perfect world. The reality is that I usually make my lists by scanning the ad previews on hotcouponworld and the "best of" weekly posts on the blogs over in my sidebar. In that case, I just clip as I need them. As I've mentioned before, I file them in envelopes with my list on the outside. My envelopes are usually tucked inside the front cover of my binder:

That covers inserts, but there are lots of other kinds of coupons - tearpads, booklets, blinkies, home mailers, internet printables, and so on. This is where I still struggle. I'm great at locating them - not so great at organizing them. As a result, I usually have a box like this:

This works for me for now as long as I put anything coupon related into it. At least I know right where to look for missing coupons or I-thought-I-had-a-blah-blah-blah coupons.

It is very easy to drown in a sea of papers when you start couponing. The secret to big savings is to have multiples of the same coupons - that means a. lot. of. paper. Try to find a system that works for you. If it's not working, change it.

I do not clip every single coupon and I honestly don't think you should either. It takes so much time and unless you're planning on regularly going up and down every single aisle of every store you shop - it will be time wasted.

Here's what I try to clip for sure:

organics
high dollar coupons for toothpaste, shampoo, make-up, etc. These are the moneymakers.
products that I'm ok to get conventional - rice, pasta, frozen veggies, cheese, eggs
diapers and wipes

Here's what I usually have waiting in designated envelopes:

Kroger - home mailers that I know I'll use, catalinas that I think I'll use, Eggland's best eggs - these are usually cheapest at Kroger for me and I know where to find the coupon if I need it at another store
Tom Thumb - catalinas that I think I'll use, ad coupons that I've clipped
Target, Walgreens, CVS - I try to clip and add coupons for upcoming sales when I can - it helps me to remember to watch for the sales.

oops - K's up from her nap - that'll have to do for now. questions? comments? is anybody out there?

homemade mustard

2009-06-14T17:01:00.001-07:00

Recipe for the homemade mustard over on my other blog. Woo-hoo - two blog posts in one!

$500 challenge - quick update

2009-06-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

I am so ready to do a big grocery shop.

recent spending:

Tom Thumb - gallon of organic milk marked down - spent $2.30 (saved $3.70)

Jackson requested "trousers and suspenders" (I kid you not) for his wedding attire. I hit the clearance rack at Macy's for his trousers - reg $32 and I spent $7.55 after tax. Seersucker pants, so cute.

I found suspenders on ebay, he selected a spring green shade - $6.15

I did a little garage sale run yesterday. I found a long sleeve calvin klein button-up for $1.

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $197.22 ($172.19 savings)
- (eating out $53.36)
gas: $110.74
clothing: 24.69
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $20.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $6.08
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88
Total spent: $488.35
Remaining: $11.65

And that's where we are now. Derek and I both have half a tank of gas, so we should be fine there. I'm taking the kids to the movies and the gym this week, so that's $6.

I think we'll be under the $500, but I am going to go a smidge over $250 for our groceries (again, including all eating out and our coffee buy from the beginning of the month). Teri gave us a big container of mustard seeds and Derek immediately started a batch of homemade mustard (recipe in this month's Gourmet). He wants to have hamburgers today with his fancy mustard and apparently homemade bread won't cut it (the mustard, get it???).

So, I'm going to get hamburger buns and probably a little bit of fresh produce - I'll post the totals later, but I'll probably spend about $3.

Walgreens, CVS, and Target all have deals I want to take advantage of this week - come on Friday!!!

$500 challenge - update

2009-06-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo just one more week to go! It's a stormy day here, so we had to cancel our plans for today. I took advantage of a break in the rain and ran to get movies and Jackson requested hot dogs for dinner.

Spending:

2 prs of Crocs for Kira - the crocs site had a sale on their Mary Janes - they were $9.99 and if you bought two pair you got them for half off. I had a code for free shipping, so 2 pair shipped for $9.99. She constantly puts Jackson's Crocs on, so I've been watching for a sale for her. (I didn't post the deal itself on here, because by the time I found out about it, they had exactly 2 prs left in her size and not much else.)

The kids and I went to see Kung Fu Panda at the movies yesterday - Free (Regal theaters - UA in these parts - free summer movie series)

Derek stopped for milk at Tom Thumb: 1 gallon of organic marked down - spent $2.25 saved $3.75 (based on the $6 regular price)

Redbox - $1.08 - I ran out for a couple of movies and had a code for one of them. DVDONME is the code, if you haven't used it yet.

Kroger:
1 personal sized watermelon: $1.97 on sale
1 package of Oscar Mayer beef franks: $4.69 used Free coupon (it was only up to $4.50, so these were .19)
1 package of hot dog buns: .88 on sale
1 7 oz Kraft 2% shredded cheese: $1.67 on sale - used .50/1 doubled tearpad q - so .67
1 dz Eggland's Best Eggs - $2.59 used .35/1 insert q tripled

spent: $5.08
saved: $9.06

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $194.92 ($168.49 savings)
- (eating out $53.36)
gas: $110.74
clothing: 9.99
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $20.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $6.08
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88
Total spent: $471.35
Remaining: $28.65

I was thisclose to letting us eat out after storytime on Tuesday. I really, really want to stay under $250 for all of our groceries, eating out, and the coffee purchase, though. That leaves $3.03 and I think we can do it.

For breakfast today: scrambled eggs and peach/banana smoothies

For lunch today, I sauteed some onion and added the last of the leftover bison. We had it with brown rice and shredded cheese - broccoli on the side. We had watermelon for dessert.

I have this bread using leftover brown rice baking right now. I hope it's good! It calls for a 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice and that's usually about how much I have leftover.

We're having hot dogs for dinner - haven't decided yet what to make for sides. Might just be watermelon.

I'm making kettle corn to enjoy while we watch a movie tonight.

I'm working on the getting started - coupons post. I'm having a hard time deciding on where to start, though. If you have specific questions on organizing, obtaining, or anything else related to starting couponing - or if you have any suggestions - please let me know!

menus for a couple of days

2009-06-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just a promised what-we've-been-eating update. I'm also loosely planning the next couple of days. I just started a loaf of bread in the bread machine and may try to get another one going later. I need to pull a whole chicken out of the freezer, too.

Sunday - my wonderful, amazing, magnificent husband took the kids to see the in-laws all day. I stayed home and did chores. I ate leftovers from Saturday all day. I did enjoy some fancy bevs, though. I made iced tea and mashed up a couple of strawberries in the bottom of my glass. Yummy. I also made iced coffee - I keep forgetting to do the cold brew method, so it was just my regular old coffee on ice. Still good, in fact I think I'm going to go make more in a sec.

Derek and the kids came home with a huge bag of peaches from my in-laws peach tree. He also brought a small dish of their home grown squash and tomatoes.

So, today:

Breakfast: Cheerios, strawberries, peaches for the kids. I had yogurt with strawberries and peaches and little honey.

Lunch: totally random. I sauteed the squash and tomatoes in a little olive oil and added in some frozen broccoli - put the lid on the pan and let the broccoli steam for a bit. Had it all over rice. The kids had monterey jack cheese cubes with theirs. I had a little ceaser dressing on mine. Jackson actually had seconds, so I guess random worked. More peaches for dessert.

Tonight: We're having a sort-of stroganoff with ground bison and a sauce made with plain yogurt, sauteed onions, and a little Worcestershire. We'll have it over egg noodles and I'll probably just go ahead and throw peas in, too.

Tuesday:

Breakfast - scrambled eggs, toast w/jelly
Lunch - grilled cheese sandwiches, whatever frozen veg the kids decide on or maybe celery sticks and some dip kind of thing.
Dinner - I'm thinking of trying this Adzuki bean soup recipe, although I may change it up depending on what spices we have available. One of the commenters on the site topped their's with yogurt and it sounds really good. I have dried adzuki beans - this recipe doesn't call for soaking them, but I think I'll soak them tonight anyway. We'll have this with bread - or maybe rice would be better?

Wednesday:
(I'm going to get Derek to start the chicken in the crockpot in the morning - not sure what he'll throw together, so we'll see.)
Breakfast - cantaloupe, the last of the strawberries (if there are any left), peaches and either cereal or toast
Lunch - leftovers from Tuesday
Dinner - chicken and whatever needs to go with it depending on what Derek does.

Thank you for visiting random menu planning with Wendy.

organic printables - save up to $29

2009-06-08T08:16:00.001-07:00

Check out this post on Common Sense with Money about printables available when you register with Stonyfield Farm.

Thanks Mercedes!

yesterday's eating

2009-06-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

Oh y'all, we ate good yesterday!

Breakfast: the last of the leftover pizza (oh so healthy) and honeydew melon (that's better)

Lunch: I made a variation of Taco Style Lentils and Rice - I sauteed about 1/3 cup of chopped onion in olive oil and used that instead of the onion powder, used Better than Bouillon instead of bouillon cubes, and added a couple of tablespoons of salsa. We ate it with chips, guacamole (made from frozen avocado puree - thanks Teri!), grated cheddar cheese, and salsa. It was my first time to make it and it was really, really good. The kids really enjoyed it, too.

Dinner: Derek made Chapatis - basically an Indian tortilla made with flour, yogurt, a little oil, and a little salt. We used those for soft tacos (Derek and I) and quesadillas (the kids) with ground turkey italian sausage. Derek cooked the sausage with fresh spinach and salsa. We sprinkled grated cheddar on top. So, so, so good!

Snacks: honeydew, chips - although there wasn't much snacking today. All of our meals were really filling and the kids ate all of them surprisingly well.

Where did the food come from?
The turkey sausage I bought a couple of months ago for $2.99/lb at Whole Foods
The cheese, onion, salsa, chips, honeydew and yogurt were from this week's shopping (last Sunday and Friday).
The spinach was from last week.
The flour, rice, lentils, and oil were from the stockpile.
The huge bag of avocado puree was from my friend Teri, who happens to be a chef. She gave it to us awhile back and we froze it.

This is why I actually love shopping and cooking like this. Tonight's dinner came together from what we had and it was so delicious. I can try to give more detailed recipes, if anyone is interested.

getting started - the very beginning

2009-06-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

Kim said: I have come to a crisis in my life with spending. We are just not making ends meet around here. I would love to know just exactly what you did when you first started couponing. I am a bit overwhelmed with everything and I have been reading your blog trying to figure things out but if you could give me some pointers on where to get started and what to do I would greatly appreciate it.

Kim is a mom in much the same situation I was when I started couponing. She's a SAHM who didn't necessarily plan on being one ahead of time. For me, the only place in the budget that had any wiggle room was on groceries, so slashing that amount was a necessity.

Since I stay home, I feel like my job is to make our money go as far as it can go. Our kids know that Daddy makes the money and Mommy makes it stretch 'til it screams.

If you're just getting started couponing, here are some things to remember:

Nobody is watching you. Don't stress out about "getting it right." Saving any money at all over what you spend now is success.
Don't feel like you have to turn into a couponing queen overnight. Just take things one step at a time.
Don't feel like you have to run out and start a stockpile immediately. Gradually build to that point. (More on stockpiling later)

Couponing is really just a part of saving money on groceries. It's another way to stretch your dollars. So, let's start with your grocery budget and ways that anyone can save at anytime. We'll tackle the actual couponing part in a bit.

1. Pick your number. Sit down with your spouse and make a budget. If you're in a place where you're running out of money before you run out of month, this won't be much fun. However, once you have it all down on paper, you have a plan. That plan is power - really.

When we started budgeting, I literally had to budget paycheck to paycheck. I may have had $250 to spend on groceries, but I certainly didn't have all of it at the beginning of the month.

Once you know how much you have to spend on groceries, decide if you want to break that down into weekly or bi-weekly amounts.

If you already budget and already know about how much you spend on groceries, decide how much lower you want that amount to be.

If you have the wiggle room - pick an amount that requires you to stretch a little, but not too much. Then gradually whittle it down.

We didn't have the wiggle room when I started. $250 a month was what I had - period. I had to work to learn how to make that amount buy the types of foods I wanted to feed my family. This may be where you are - and that's ok.

2. Shop your home. Before you hit the store, check your fridge and your pantry. See what meals you can put together from what you already have. Start a list of ingredients you might need to make other meals featuring what you already have.

Check your non-grocery items, too. If you only have $40 a week, you don't want to be in the store trying to remember if you need toilet paper or toothpaste. Make a list of things you'll absolutely need before your next shopping trip.

3. Grab the sales ads. If you don't get copies in the paper or in your mail, check the ads online. Plan your meals around what's on sale. Seasonal produce will be on sale. Some meats will be loss leaders. There may be great store coupons printed in the ad.

I'm not a weekly meal planner, but if you're just getting started - you may want to plan weekly. I usually plan our meals a day or two at a time based on what we have in the house. When you're making your meal plans, try to plan for a couple of meatless meals and/or meals where meat is just an ingredient and not the star of the show. Breakfast for dinner is also an option for a cheap weeknight meal.

When I peruse the ads, I'm usually looking for organic produce deals, meat prices at Whole Foods, and things for the kids to snack on. Snacks around here are usually fresh fruit or veggies, Cheerios, cheese cubes (that I cube myself), or trail mix type things that I make from nuts, raisins, etc.

If you have coupons, this is when you want to pay attention to what is on sale that you also have a coupon for. If the combination of the sale and coupon is a great price, try to add as many as you can to your list after you account for the things you need for meals while remaining within your budget.

Remember step #1 and keep your number in mind as you make your list. If your budget is $40 - then your budget is $40. I try to make my list with a little bit of extra room for marked down produce or dairy. So, you might try making a list that represents $30-$35 to leave yourself a little room for unexpected markdowns, or extra stockpiling. You can always roll money you don't spend to the next week, or save a little in case you need milk in the middle of the week.

I try to make my list in the order I shop the store. It keeps me from back-tracking and helps me to avoid extra spending. I use an envelope and write my list on the outside of it. I put any coupons I'm using in order inside of it. If I have any E-coupons loaded on my shopping card, I also have a piece of paper with those listed inside of my envelope. As I'm doing my shopping, I keep my eyes peeled for coupons - blinkies (the one's in the little red boxes with blinking lights), tearpads, and booklets. If I find any, I put them in the back of my envelope and sort them when I get home.

4. Hit the stores. If you're just getting started with shopping this way (with a budget, coupons, etc) then if at all possible, shop alone the first couple of trips. Kids and spouses have a way of increasing grocery spending if they're along for the ride. However, once you feel comfortable with this way of shopping, I think you should try to take kids along. Learning how to stick with a budget, looking for the best value for your money, and just plain old math are all valuable lessons for your kids to learn while they're young.

Go to the store with your list, your coupons, and a calculator. Really, a calculator. You'll feel like a nerd, but you'll be the nerd in control of her money. Take your budgeted amount in cash. Leave your debit card and your credit cards at home. Remember - you only have your number. If it's $40 - you don't want to realize you're over when the cashier tells you the total. If you only have your budgeted cash with you, you'll be forced to take something off. Use your calculator and know your total before you even get to the check-out.

In the store, I try to mainly shop the outer edges. Produce, meat, dairy - fresh, whole foods. These are generally where you get the most bang for your buck in quality nutritionally dense foods for your family. We make most of our food from scratch. That may or not be an option for you depending on your time constraints, but when possible try it for definite money saving.

I don't go up and down the aisles. I only go down the aisles for items that are on my list. If you've planned before you hit the store, you don't have to worry about forgetting something you might need.

Before you check-out, take a sec to look over your basket and get your coupons in order. I usually do one more quick total check, too.

After you check-out, look over your receipt before you leave the store. Make sure that produce prices and sale prices rang up correctly. Make sure that any promos (buy x amount to get y amount off of your total) have come off correctly. If you keep track of what your total should be before checking out, you'll usually know if there's an issue on your receipt. If anything is wrong, go to the service desk and have them fix it. Many stores have a ring right guarantee - if something rings up incorrectly, you get it free.

Once you get home - use what you bought. Use the produce that spoils more quickly first, incorporate leftovers into your next few meals, and freeze things for later.

I hope some of that helps. Please let me know if y'all have any questions or tips on how you got started saving $$ on groceries. We'll look at the actual getting started with couponing itself, tomorrow.

Babies R Us sale June 5 - June 18

2009-06-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

Lisa emailed me to let me know that Babies R Us is running a big sale from June 5 - June 18. This is one of the sales where they run the coupons off of bigger ticket baby items like car seats and play yards. I checked the site and it looks like you can print the ad (including the coupons) in pdf form. If you're interested, I'd call the store first to see if they have coupons in the flier there. You'll save your ink that way. If they don't, then make sure that they'll take the printed version before you head up there.

And be sure to check this guest post about saving at Babies R Us from Freebies 4 Mom.

Thanks Lisa!

$500 challenge update - I heart coupons

2009-06-05T13:26:00.001-07:00

(For some reason, I can't get the spaces to stay in this post - sorry everything is running together.)

This is what $9.84 looks like:

Did you see my bag?!? I had $6 in RR at Walgreens that were expiring tomorrow. There was nothing that I wanted to roll them on to. I checked the food aisles, but there wasn't really anything we needed and not much that doesn't contain HFCS or trans fats. My Walgreens does carry organic milk, but the fine print on the RR excludes dairy.

Anyway, I found that great big insulated bag for $4.99! In this Texas heat, it will be perfect for trips where I'm stopping 2 or 3 places. Woo-hoo!

So, the breakdowns:

Walgreens

1 big 'ol lovely bag $4.99

2 baking soda - 2/$1 with in-ad coupon

1 salt - .50 with in-ad coupon

used $1 RR and $5 RR

spent .49

saved $8.39

Kroger - I heart Kroger

Those big bags of bananas were marked down to .30 PER BAG. I bought 2 bags - 7 lbs of bananas for .60!! They would have been $4 at this week's sales price. I saved a couple for snacking on tomorrow. I peeled the rest, broke them into thirds, and froze them. I'll use them in smoothies or maybe, banana bread. AND only 1 of them had a bad spot. They are perfectly ripe. Another woo-hoo!

The Wholly Salsa was on sale for $1.99. I used a BOGO Wholly Salsa q and a $3 off chips wyb Wholly Salsa q. The BOGO q rang up as $2.99 - the regular price. The chips were $3.49. So, both Wholly Salsas and the chips were $1.48 - total!

2 Wholly Salsa

1 Tortilla chips

1 lb organic strawberries - $2.50 on sale

1 cantaloupe - $1.88 on sale

7 lbs of bananas - .60

spent: $6.22

saved: $11.88

Tom Thumb:

2 Texas sweet onions - on sale for .49/lb - .84

1 honeydew melon - on sale for $1.50

6 ct eggs - .79 on sale

spent: $3.13

saved: $4.04

Total spent: $9.84

Total saved: $24.31

$500 Challenge Totals:

food & eating out (includes HBA): $187.59 ($155.68 savings)

- (eating out $53.36)

gas: $110.74

clothing

coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05

household necessities (like air filters, etc)

entertainment:

- Derek allowance: $20.46

- Wendy allowance: $18.85

- Kids' allowance: $5

crafting supplies: $45.38

gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $452.95

Remaining: $47.05

Free Krispy Kreme donuts today (6/5)

2009-06-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts today. I called to make sure our store was participating and to see if it was ok to use the drive-thru. All we had to do was say that we were there for the free donuts - we even got to pick out what kind we wanted! YUM!

Earth's Best and JASON promo

2009-06-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Tara just sent me this Earth's Best and JASON promo:

Earth's Best Baby Body Care by JASON
Here is your chance to receive a FREE Earth's Best Baby Body Care by JASON; Travel Kit. Each kit contains travel sizes of 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash, Extra Rich Therapy Crème, Everyday Lotion, Mineral Based Sunblock SPF30+, and Diaper Relief Ointment. Pediatrician Tested and Approved, each product has been evaluated and given the seal of approval from an American Medical Association certified Pediatrician. It's perfect for the diaper bag!

Simply send your register receipt(s) for $15 in purchases for Earth's Best products, along with the accompanying box tops and jar labels and a check or money order payable to Earth's Best for $1.95 (for shipping and handling). Offer good while supplies last.

Mail to:
Earth's Best Travel Kit Offer
P.O. Box 8960 Dept. 02
St. Cloud, MN 56398-8960
Please allow 6-8 weeks for shipping. Offer good while supplies last. Click here for a redemption form.

Also, sign up here to get on the Earth's best mailing list.

Thanks Tara!!

$500 Challenge update - halfway there

2009-06-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

An update and some observations.

Sonic - $3 - we went for free floats on Wed. We got there about 10 minutes early, so we went ahead and ordered some fries. The kids and I munched them while we waited for the free floats to start. I think we'll do that again next year, because at 8:00 on the dot that place went nuts!

Gas - filled up my car - $40.21

Pizza again - house arrest is kicking my rear - $21.64

Derek allowance - $5

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $177.75 ($131.37 savings)
- (eating out $53.36)
gas: $110.74
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $20.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $5
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $443.11
Remaining: $56.89

Now for some random rambling. I usually budget $250 a month for food/HBA (basically anything we consume). This month I've tried to stick with including eating out in that total - which leaves us with $20.20 for the next two weeks, if I include the coffee with it. I'm going to try to do that, so that means just milk and produce buys for the next two weeks. We have plenty of everything else, so that should be ok.

I think I don't like lumping everything together. I basically stuck with my original envelope breakdowns anyway.

Typically my cash envies went like this:

Food/HBA: $250
Derek allowance: $20
Wendy allowance: $20
Kids allowance: $30 (this month they're really low, but we've been stuck in the house!)
Gas: $100 (gas prices are rising for the summer, so I'll have to bump this up)
Coffee/Beer making supplies: $50-$60

Crafting supplies isn't a usual category. I'm considering homeschooling, so I think I'd like to add in a permanent crafting/school supply category.

I'm thinking I'd like to start budgeting Food/HBA, eating out, and the coffee/beer making supplies all together each month. I'm not sure if I want to push my budget out to $300 or leave it at $250.

Maybe I'll try that as my goal for next month, if anyone is interested in following it.

Breaking down that remaining $56.89 for the next two weeks:
Food: $20.20
Kids allowance (when we finally get to leave the house!): $15 (gym twice and a couple of cheap summer movies)
Other stuff: $21.69

That might seem scary, but that's the beauty of stockpiling. We have plenty of good, quality food in the house. $20.20 for just milk and produce is plenty. I'll definitely post our meals for the next two weeks, so you can see how we're eating.

In conclusion: Dave Ramsey is right and individual envies are the way to go for this girl. Letting myself have the lump sum made it way too easy to make a couple of uncharacteristically large purchases at the beginning of the month.

Go DH!

2009-06-04T08:03:00.001-07:00

I mentioned before that Derek is best man in his friend's wedding this month. I'm not counting his wedding related expenses in our budget this month, but I had to brag on him for this find. (I'm taking his costs and the wedding gift costs out of our garage sale earnings.)

He found these shoes on 6pm.com (Zappo's clearance site - love, love, love it):

He paid $36.90 including shipping. He bought the last pair, but you can also find them on Amazon for $129.95 - $162.00!!! I'm so proud of him, I think I might cry!

Q&A - part 3 - this one's for Cate

2009-06-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Just one question this time, from Cate: That is a really cool idea. There don't seem to be any stores in my area participating. I notice that about your posts, too, that you have different stores where you live. I've never heard of Tom Thumb. Do you know of any other blogs/sources that focus on deals in other areas (like, say, New England)?

This is making the latent (and formerly employed) researcher in me happy. I'm just going to pick Boston as my town and see what I can find. Cate - you're lucky both of my kids are sleeping, both of your kids are adorable, and I'm bored. If these don't match your stores - lmk and I'll try again.

So, it looks like Boston has these chain stores (in addition to local stores):

Shaw's - go here for info on store promos, online printable coupons, etc. Looks like they send home mailers, so probably worth making sure they have your info registered on your shopping card.
Stop & Shop - here for info on the store card - again, looks like they send home mailers so register your card
Trader Joe's - I am SO jealous.
Whole Foods - here's the Boston store's home page - dang your flier is better than mine.

Tom Thumb is part of the Safeway family of stores, which include Safeway, Carrs, Dominick's, Genuardi's, Pavilions, Tom Thumb, and Vons - I'm not seeing any of these in Boston.

I googled "Shaw's coupon match-ups" and "Stop & Shop coupon match-ups" and found these two blogs. They seem like they're along the lines of what I'm trying to do. The others I found are more like Money Saving Mom - and I'm partial to her. Let me know if these are good.

The Wandering Peanut (Connecticut)
The $200 Mission looks like she does match-ups for both Shaw's and Stop & Shop

And, of course, my favorite Hot Coupon World. Here are the Shaw's forum and the Stop & Shop forum.

Hope some of that helps!

Sonic - Free Root Beer Floats tonight starting at 8:00

2009-06-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

We hit Sonic for half price burgers last night. I HAD to get the kids out of the house, but since we're still contagious we couldn't get out of the car.

Tonight, Sonic is offering Free Root Beer Floats from 8pm to midnight. Go here to find a location near you.

The kids and I are getting out for this. I'm sure that the wait will be crazy, but we'll act like it's an adventure. I have a kids' cd of silly songs I checked out from the library. They haven't heard it yet, so I'm going to surprise them with it while we wait. Should be fun and at least we'll get out of the house for a little while.

If you go, please tip your carhop - they're going to be skating their lil' butts off.

updated totals to include the $9.25 we spent at Sonic last night:

$500 Challenge Totals:

food & eating out (includes HBA): $153.11 ($131.37 savings)
- (eating out $28.72)
gas: $70.53
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $15.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $5
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $373.26
Remaining: $126.74

Half Price Books summer reading club

2009-06-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Kam sent me this email:

Every week from June 1-July 31, 2009 kids 12 and under can earn a $3 shopping card at Half Price Books for reading for at least 15 minutes a day for at least five out of seven days a week. Visit the Half Price Books website for more details, to find a location near you and to download the weekly reading log.

I checked the site and reading TO your kids counts, too. We're definitely participating in this one! $3 can buy a couple of kids' books at Half Price - this is a fabulous offer! We're a stop, drop, and read family - 15 minutes a day? No problem!

Thanks Kam!

E-coupons

2009-06-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

Do you use E-coupons? E-coupons are coupons that you load onto your shopper's card. They automatically come off when you check-out.

Some things to remember about E-coupons:

They don't double or triple
You can only use them once. If you buy two of the same item, they'll come off of the first one, but not the second. Once you use it, it's off of your card.
Currently, you can use them along with a manufacturer's coupon on the same item.

You can find E-coupons at Shortcuts.com and Cellfire. Cellfire asks for a cell phone number, but I just used my home number, since I don't pay for text messages.

There is a new source for E-coupons for Kroger customers: Bringing Hope to the Table

You can upload up to 25 coupons at a time onto your Kroger card. Thanks Common Sense With Money!

I was going to be funny

2009-06-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

and title this post beer and babies - then I changed my mind. ;)

Tara emailed me to let me know that she found Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for $19.99 for the 24 pack at Costco. That's a really great price for a yummy summer time brew.

I really like Costco. Time is money and I think of the time I spend couponing as sweat equity. If you don't have time to coupon and you are cognizant of prices and using what you buy, then I think you can find some great deals at Costco. When I've had a card in the past, I've found great deals on organic produce and dairy there. They also take really great care of their employees, which means something, too.

Now for the babies part: Freebies 4 Mom has a guest post about saving at Babies R Us. They have some new programs that they didn't have when I shopped there regularly, so I'm sending you over there to check it out.

Redbox code - free rental 6/1 only

2009-06-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

I just got this email from Redbox:

Get a FREE one night rental from redbox when you buy a 3 oz Endangered Species Chocolate bar. This all natural chocolate bar using ethically-traded cacao, is a great-tasting hunk of chocolate yum you can feel good about. When you check out, your receipt will include your code.The offer's valid at Walgreen's from 6/1/09 to 7/31/09, so hurry. But does anyone really have to tell you to rush for a chocolate fix?

As I was coming to post it, I saw this post from Common sense with money: Get a free movie rental at Redbox locations today 6/1 only, when you use the code FM63H7 at checkout. To use the code you will need to visit your local Redbox location, select “Rent with Promo Code,” enter code, select movie and continue to check out. This code expires 6/1 at midnight CST. Thanks Cha-Ching on a Shoestring!

Enjoy!

$500 challenge - update

2009-06-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

Crazy, crazy week for this family - cellulitis, wasp sting, stitches, possibly hand foot and mouth disease - woo!

So, I caved last night and ordered pizza. We always order from a local chicago style place. They have a pick-up special - 2 1-topping 16 inch pizzas and a 1 liter coke for $19.47. You get a card for each pizza you buy - 25 cards = any pizza free. We always order the pick-up special, so our pizzas are always $10 each. When we reach 25 cards, we call the giant everything on it pizza we order our $250 pizza.

Derek filled up is car: $35.52

Walgreens: fluids for my poor sick boy
bought:
Pedialyte $5.29 - used $2/1 insert coupon
2 ltr 7up $1 on sale
popcorn $1.99

paid with $5 RR and $1 RR from last weekend
spent: .28
saved: $8.89

Tom Thumb
The past couple of times I've gone to Tom Thumb they've given me catalinas of store coupons. (Catalina is the name of the company that makes those machines that print the coupons they give you with your receipt. So, those coupons are called catalinas. If you ever want to freak out a checker, ask them if their catalina machine is working. They'll think you're a secret shopper or from corporate or something.)

Anyway, the coupons have actually been pretty good. One was for $3 off of the 24 double roll pack of Cottonelle. It's a store coupon, so that means that I can "stack" it with a manufacturer coupon. (Most stores let you use one manu coupon and one store coupon per item. If you're not sure what you have, check the barcode. Manufacturer coupons always start with a 5 or a 9. Store coupons usually start with a 0.) So I had $4 off ($3 store and .50/1 doubled insert) - now I just needed a sale. The Sunday circular had purchase 2 large size items and get them for $9.99 each. Derek asked me for large trash bags for the yard, awhile back and I had a $1/1 Hefty insert q - so there was my second item.

I also had a $10/$50 coupon that my SIL gave me that I thought I might use. I rarely spend that much at Tom Thumb, but since I was already spending $15 (the Cottonelle and Hefty) and I knew I was going to check the dairy markdowns, I thought I'd see how close I was once I had the things I wanted.

Derek usually has a running list of things he wants me to keep an eye out for - I try to work them into deals whenever possible. He asked for wasp spray before I left and since one of those little &%^#'s stung me Sat morning, I was inclined to look for it.

One of the catalina coupons that I mentioned earlier was for $2 off a grande specialty Starbucks beverage in the store. I really, really wanted an iced coffee. It was a $1.95, and I figured it didn't count as "specialty." So, I was standing there trying to decide if I wanted a Mocha Frap. The barista asked me if I was looking for something in particular, and I told him that I really wanted the iced coffee but didn't think I could use the q. He said, "Well let's try it!" and it worked! I paid .11 for my grande iced coffee (the tax)! I tried to give him a tip, but he said they weren't allowed to accept them.

Armed with my .11 yummy bev, I hit the aisles and here's how I did:
2 - 27 oz Wallaby organic yogurt - marked down to $1.95 ea (and they don't expire until June 11!)
32 oz bag of shredded cheddar - marked down to $4.50 (again, June 11! The shredded cheese freezes really well - this went straight into the freezer.)
24 double roll pack of Cottonelle - $9.99 used $3 store and .50/1 doubled insert - so $5.99
55 bag Hefty large trash bags - $9.99 used $1 insert - so $8.99 (ok price - but worth it to get the toilet paper so cheaply and to check an item off my honey-get list)
1 gal organic whole milk - $5.49 (on sale but not marked down - Derek wants to make homemade ice cream)
1 carton organic heavy whipping cream - $3.79 (homemade ice cream)
1 10-pack Nestle lil' drums - $5.19 used $1/1 manu coupon I found in Family Fun magazine (outrageously expensive, but a treat for my lil sickie-sicks)

Are y'all still with me? So, at this point I've "spent" $36.85. The $10/$50 is AFTER all coupons have been subtracted - using it means I'll spend at least $40. I'm already planning on spending $36.85 - $3.15 away from $40. Spending that additional $3.15 and using the $10/$50 means I'll get an additional $10 in groceries. I thought it was worth it - so I added:

3-pk Huggies wipes refill (216 wipes) - $5.99 used .75/1 insert q
Food coloring - $4.49 - used .75/1 insert q (I ended up going over my $40 total, so I should have put this back. We're using it for homemade washable paint and play-doh, so I'm glad I didn't put it back.)
Wasp & Hornet killer - they actually had an organic kind made with essential oils! - $6.29

Grand total: $44.22
saved: $35.45

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $143.86 ($131.37 savings)
- (eating out $19.47)
gas: $70.53
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $15.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $5
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $364.01
Remaining: $135.99

Stocked up on toilet paper (2 months ish), trash bags (6 months or so), diapers (1 month), wipes (at least a month), ground beef (2 months), cheese for the rest of this budget month, coffee (2 months), coffee filters (3 months), brown rice (2 months)

Still needing a deal on canned organic tomatoes - I hate buying them one at a time and I'm three cans away from that point. If anyone notices a great sale at Whole Foods, please let me know. I'm also keeping an eye out for good chicken prices at WF - I'm starting to run low in the freezer.

We're still eating the produce from last week. I'll need to buy fresh produce next week. I have a coupon for 1 lb of chicken free when you spend $40 at Central Market (Texas store). Depending on their sales next week - I may just stock up on produce, canned tomatoes, and get chicken there.

I need to fill my car up in the next couple of days - that will be about $35.

I'm planning on 3 more gym trips ($6) and a couple of summer movies ($10ish) before my budget month ends on the 18th.

I have $6 in RR at Walgreens, $4 in ECB at CVS, and $1.38 on the Target gift card.

Other than illnesses and accidents, I think this month is going pretty well! And if you read this whole post - bless your punkin' heart and thank you.

Home Mailers

2009-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

(I've been trying to get this posted for two weeks now - maybe this is finally the day!)

I love checking my mail. Seriously. Prior to couponing and budgeting, I hated the mail. Bills, bills, bills - yuck! Now when I check my mail I usually find coupons, samples, and magazine issues from the many free subscriptions I've found.

Home mailer coupons are awesome. In the past couple of weeks, my mailbox has featured:

Free Cheerios coupon from Kroger

Free Kashi Go Lean Waffles coupon and 5 $1.50/1 coupons from Kashi

Free Kashi Go Lean Waffles coupon and 5 $1.50/1 coupons from Vocalpoint - same coupons different source

Huggies samples and coupons for $3/1 on their new Naturals line - Kira's been using the size 1 samples on her baby dolls!

Shopping bag from Earthbound Farms

If you have store cards (Kroger, Tom Thumb, etc) call the 800 number on the back of your card and make sure that they have your mailing address. Kroger periodically sends packets of coupons tailored to what you've been purchasing. They usually send a free and some $/$$ off of produce, meat, or HBA.

Vocalpoint is a great source for home mailers. They also have opportunities to do focus groups - I was accepted to one last year and made $100.

Earthbound Farms and Kashi send great coupons - definitely get on their mailing lists.

Signing up for samples also nets some great mailbox treasure. Dove sends HUGE samples. Sometimes samples also come with coupons, frequently higher $$ amounts than you'll find in the paper. I like to use the sample size HBA items to put together hospital kits for expectant moms.

And, again, if there are products you love, email the companies and let them know!

$500 challenge - update

2009-05-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Busy day today! I'm still getting over a cold, so I'm actually amazed at what we've accomplished.

The kids and I went to our local rec center for their play time. $1 per kid for an hour and a half of running around in the gym, getting completely worn out, and practically guaranteeing nap synchronicity later. Totally worth it. Spent: $2

Then we went to the library and checked out a whole stack of books, kits, and cds. Free

Stopped at Tom Thumb. I cannot find my receipt to save my life. I can recreate the prices, but have no idea on my savings. Dang it.

Purchased:
1 cantaloupe .88
1 onion @ .88/lb - so about $1
1 gallon organic milk marked down - $2 (expire date of 5/31 - we can kill a gallon of milk in 4 days easy)
1 rotisserie chicken - $4.99 (more on this in a moment)
1 7 oz package of Kraft shredded cheese - $1.99 and used .50/1 (doubled) tearpad coupon that was hanging right in front of it - so .99
1 organic herb salad mix
1 organic spinach salad - these were BOGO, so $3.99 for both

Spent $14 (rounding up, it was just under $14. I'll change if I find the receipt.)
Saved: $1 with the coupon and $3 off of the milk for sure - so $4 savings, again I'll update if I find that @#%%$# receipt!

$500 Challenge Totals:
food & eating out (includes HBA): $80.06 ($85.03 savings)
gas: 35.01
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $15.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $5
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

Total spent: $264.69
Remaining: $235.31

Now, about the chicken. I love to get rotisserie chickens when I know I need a quick meal. I frequently get them at Whole Foods, as well - usually $8.99 there.

We usually eat chicken with whatever quick veggies/fruits/grains I have. So, today's lunch was nosh plates of chicken, cheddar cheese cubes, raw carrots, and fresh cherries (Thanks Kam and Teri for the cherries!)

The next day I pull more chicken off and usually make a casserole-esque thing with it - chicken, cheese, veggie, pasta/rice. Finally, I pull off whatever chicken remains and boil the bones. I strain it and freeze a couple of bags of broth and add the remaining chicken to one more bag of broth and freeze it. That way I have broth for rice, a quick soup, or mashed potatoes and a broth/chicken ready to mix with frozen veggies and egg noodles for a quick chicken noodle soup.

So, 3-5 meals out of the $4.99-$8.99 chicken. We do the same thing when I buy fresh whole chickens, too. It seems like kind of a pain, with the boiling, straining and everything. But really, it's a minimal amount of work for several quick easy meals that keep us from going out.

This really illustrates how most of our meals come together - they're usually made up of fresh produce, what needs to be eaten, and stockpiled freezer items.

Another example (if you're not bored to tears, yet!): We had yummy grilled pork loin at my in-laws this weekend. Derek made it with whole garlic cloves pushed into the pork - it was so good! We had a couple of slices that we brought home. The kids were with the in-laws yesterday (God bless them) and I needed a quick dinner for Derek's dinner break. So I sliced up the leftover pork, chopped up the garlic that it was cooked with and added it to frozen broccoli and rice from the pantry for a quick stir-fry. Easy, delicious, and healthy! I just wish I had stockpiled lo mein noodles.

Prior to couponing/budgeting, I guarantee you I would have found that bag of leftovers pushed to the back of the fridge sometime in mid-July.

My goal with this blog is to show that you really can eat well and have fun on a budget. Hopefully, I'm illustrating that. I'd love to hear your tips, too!

Just so thrilled for y'all!

2009-05-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

I can't even tell you how much joy I get out of hearing things like this:

Beth said: Also, thought I'd let you know that I set a new record at Kroger today: $128 and some change for a week's worth of groceries for this family of 6! Remember, that's down from about $250 just about a month ago! Not to be too dramatic, but you have changed my life! I organized all my coupons about a week ago and now my kids make fun of me. We start to go somewhere or buy something, and I'll say, "Wait! I think I have a coupon for that!" and they'll say, "Well, of course you do Mom," all playfully disgusted. It's great:)

Beth - you rock!! Hopefully your kids will take some of that couponing knowledge with them to college - if I'd only know then.

Karly said: And I will have you know that I found a store brand of organic PB that is the same as the WF one. It is a whole dollar cheaper. I was so excited and immediately thought "Wendy would be proud" LOL! Yeah, not huge, but baby steps, right? At least I am trying to come up with the best deals on my basics and see where I can save.

Karly - it is huge!! WTG!!!

And look at what my friend Kam did:

She bought:
11 pkgs. of solo cups
2 pkgs. chinette dessert plates
2 wishbone dressings
4 pkgs. butter
1 block Kraft cheese
2 pkgs. hot dogs
2 pkgs. lunch meat
2 pkgs. bacon
2 chorizo
1 dozen eggs
2 snapple drinks
1 liter coke
1 wasp & bee spray
3 pkgs.crackers
6 Kraft mayonnaise
2 pkgs. easy mac
3 Kraft dressings
2 cans Bush beans
4 pkgs. bandaids
4 neosporin
1 lipstick
1 chapstick
1 - 3 pack razor
6 - scotch tape dispensers
Total Spent: 60.55
Total Saved: 160.86

And she checked in with me by phone throughout that shopping trip - so I got to coupon vicariously! I was thrilled!!

AND Kam's wife Teri bought her The Creative Family AND used a 40% off coupon to do it!!!

I am so dang proud of y'all for taking control of your $$$ like that!!!

It never hurts to ask + 1 Q & A

2009-05-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

I had to unexpectedly have a prescription filled for my daughter yesterday. (No big deal, just antibiotics.) I knew that Target had a prescription coupon in the paper on Sunday. I usually clip those just in case. However, there were no coupons this weekend, so I didn't even buy a paper.

Driving back from the dr's office I was debating with myself - Should I stop and try to buy a paper? Should I go to CVS and ask if they have a prescription coupon? Should I just stop at Target and see if they have an extra?

It was nap time and I didn't want to load/unload the kids anymore than I had to, so just stopping at Target won. I asked if they had any extra ads/coupons at the Pharmacy counter. The clerk said no, but that I might try at the service desk. We hiked over there and YES!! They did have one!

So, I used the $10 giftcard to buy:

32 Stonyfield Farm organic vanilla yogurt - used $1/1 manu coupon from a booklet I found at Kroger last month.
1 lb Earthbound Farms organic celery - used .75/1 manu coupon home mailer
1 lb organic carrots
2.34 lbs of bananas (my kids are inhaling bananas lately!)
5.5 oz bag of organic raisins

spent: $.00
saved: $10.37 (by using the gift card and $1.75 in coupons)

One quick Q&A for Chrystal - HBA = Health and Beauty Aids

$500 challenge - update

2009-05-25T16:03:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend! We spent the weekend with my in-laws and were treated to a wonderful meal and swimming with friends, today. As a result, I'm cramming the past three days' receipts into this post.

Y'all remember when I said that I was giving myself permission to adjust the amounts from week to week? Yes, well, that takes effect right now.

We apparently decided to enjoy this lovely holiday weekend by spending like crazy people. Let's see how my receipts break down. I'll list details when I think it's info that will be helpful - lmk if there's anything else you're wondering about. I'm not going into too much detail on the Walgreens and CVS deals, because Walgreens was last week and the CVS deals were only good yesterday and today (Sun-Mon).

First, the semi-normal spending:

Walgreens - I had several Walgreens runs throughout the day on Friday. I took advantage of the MM (moneymaker) that I mentioned in my last post. I was able to do it 4 times on Fri. I tried once more on Sat, but the deal was dead.

The deal was: buy one particular kind of Right Guard for $2.99 - I used a $1/1 coupon and paid $1.99 and received a $5 RR. So, basically I made $3 on each of the 4 that I was able to purchase on Friday.

I used one $5 RR to buy 3 packages of coffee filters, Skintimate shave gel, and a candy bar (because I was under) - I spent another .41 and received a $1 RR.

I used one $5RR to purchase saline spray that Kira needed while we were at my in-laws, another package of coffee filters, and another Skintimate - I spent .10 and received another $1 RR

Totals for Walgreens:
Spent $10.46
Saved $31.85
I have $12 in RR left - I'll either "roll" these on other RR deals this week, or use them to purchase baby wipes at the end of the month.

Kroger - I hit Kroger yesterday evening for the Huggies Pull-ups deal I mentioned in my previous post.

2 jumbo packages of Huggies Pull-ups - $9.99 ea - used 2 $2/1 manufacturers coupons, $2/1 shortcuts.com coupon (this is loaded on your shoppers card and comes off when you checkout) - $3 came off because I purchased $15 worth of Huggies
1 Mahatma Brown Rice - used .50/1 manu coupon (doubled)
1 Cheerios 14 oz - used FREE coupon - home mailer from Kroger
2.78 lbs of bananas

Kroger totals
Spent: 12.25
Saved: 17.36
I will send my receipt in to the Caregiver's Marketplace to get an additional .75 back on each package of Huggies.

Tom Thumb - just a quick check of the markdowns in the dairy dept.
1 dozen Eat Smart w/omega 3's eggs - marked down to .95
Tropicana OJ - marked down to $1.70

Spent: $2.65
Saved: $2.75

CVS - went on a fruitless hunt for this week's moneymakers. I had no ECB's to start with, but thought that the $3.99 tampons with $3 ECB back was a good way to get back in the game.

trip #1
18 ct Playtex tampons - $3.99 - used $1/1 manu coupon

spent: $3.23
saved: $2.30
rec'd: $3 ECB

trip #2 - again, a little high for me at CVS, but we use band-aids like crazy around here - .49 per box ain't bad.
2 boxes of band-aids: $2.99 ea - used 2 - $1/1 manu coupons
used previous $3 ECB

spent: $.98
saved: $8.00
rec'd: $4 ECB

Whole Foods - I hit Whole Foods on Friday to take advantage of the $2.49/lb ground beef (of course my friend, Kam, got a WAY better deal at a local natural foods grocery store - lucky!)

3 family packages of ground beef - about 7 lbs altogether
Agave Nectar - bulk foods - $1.36
Maple Syrup organic - bulk foods - $5.99
Southern Star Blonde Bombshell beer - for the weekend, of course! $7.49
cut watermelon for the kids to munch on in the store - $2.00

spent: $36.49
saved: $8.40 (based on the normal cost of the beef)

Gas: $35.01 - filled up for the weekend

Now for the unusual spending:

Dr. Jeckyll's - $8.58 - gift for Derek's dad

Half-Price Books - $27.06 - my book club book, books for the kids and Derek, and a gift for Derek's brother

Tom Thumb - $14.55 (saved $6.01) - grown-up bevs for today's cook-out - I'm breaking this down into 1/2 Derek allowance and 1/2 Wendy allowance in my totals below.

Joann's Fabrics - $45.38. I was really, really bummed about this trip. I spent almost $20 more than I had planned, because of some very poor signage that gave the impression that something was on sale that wasn't. I don't want to go into too much detail, because about 2/3 of my trip was for some gifts. I usually let this kind of thing roll right off my back, but this had me so upset that I actually emailed the company. We'll see how they respond.

So, for now, grand totals:

food & eating out (includes HBA): $66.06 ($70.66 savings)
gas: 35.01
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies: $52.05
household necessities (like air filters, etc)
entertainment:
- Derek allowance: $15.46
- Wendy allowance: $18.85
- Kids' allowance: $3
crafting supplies: $45.38
gifts: $12.88

yep. that's half the $500 already. But, we're set on diapers, coffee, coffee filters, and ground beef. We shouldn't need gas again until the end of next week. I'm not expecting to buy any more gifts this month. Y'all are about to see some crazy budgeting!

Sorry for the long post - please let me know if you have any questions!

$500 challenge - on your mark

2009-05-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

Pay check hit the account this morning, so here we go. I think I'm going to do stream-of-consciousness style posts, so you can see how I go about grocery shopping in a month. LMK if it gets confusing, or if you need more explanation.

A reminder - my $500 for the month includes:
food & eating out
gas
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies
household necessities
entertainment
crafting supplies
gifts

I've spent the past couple of days going over what we have currently. I need to restock diapers/pull-ups for Kira. Kroger has a deal this week on Huggies that I may take advantage of. I also have a back-up raincheck from a sale at Walgreens from a couple of months ago - for $4.50 per pack on the Walgreens' brand diapers. I had the cashier write the raincheck for 4 packs. Rainchecks are a great way to guarantee yourself a sale for later.

We've also used almost all of our canned organic tomatoes stash, so I'll be keeping an eye out for a chance to restock those.

We're good on pasta, but getting low on brown rice.

Whole Foods has ground beef for $2.49/lb this week - I need to get there by Wed.

Derek ordered coffee this morning - $52.05 for 10 lbs including shipping. We'll be drinking this and this this month, if you're interested.

There's a moneymaker at Walgreens right now that I may try to take advantage of. I'll do a separate post on that - if I end up making it over there today.

Just read back over this and realized that I should start at the beginning! Before I shop, I look at the current ads. I check for organic produce sales and any obvious freebies. I then check the blogs over in my blogroll for any deals they've mentioned. I check the individual forums at Hot Coupon World and then I click on "new posts" to see what people are talking about - that's how I found the moneymaker deal mentioned above. I usually do all of this checking in little bits of time a couple of days before I actually plan on shopping.

I have an envelope for each store. I note the sales I want to hit on the outside of the envelope and then put any relevant coupons inside. I try to list things in the aisle order of the store. It cuts down on my time in the store, since I rarely have to back track. I do take my coupon binder in the store, too, but I rarely use it.

Kind of a random post here, but hopefully you find a nugget of useful info!

Now for the math:
I'm taking the $52.05 from the coffee off the top and adjusting my weekly amounts. That leaves me $111 per week to work with.

$500 Challenge running totals.
$52.05 - coffee

And finally - I changed the format of the blog - I didn't like how the last template ran the top and bottom of each new post together. What do you think?

I'd love questions! Ask away!

Organic Valley - new printables

2009-05-20T13:34:00.001-07:00

Organic Valley just released a new set of printables - Go here to print two of each.

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Walgreens' $5/$25 for 5/20 and 5/21

2009-05-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Walgreens has finally released another $/$$ coupon.

Go here to print your $5 off of a $25 purchase coupon. It's good 5/20 and 5/21 only. Remember your $25 total is AFTER all store and manufacturer coupons - so you are looking at a minimum oop (out of pocket) cost of $20. I usually try to combine Free after RR deals with things I need, when these are available.

Mercedes at Common Sense with Money has a break even scenario worked out. Even if you're not planning on going to Walgreens, you might want to look the scenario over to see how it's done.

Thanks Mercedes!

Free pack of Oscar Mayer Beef Franks

2009-05-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

Go here to sign up to have a coupon for a free pack of Oscar Mayer Beef Franks sent to you. Hurry - these usually go fast.

Thanks - Money Saving Mom!

So jealous

2009-05-19T12:26:00.001-07:00

Check this out:

In my good friend Kam's neighborhood, they throw a Spanish language edition of the sunday paper WITH inserts FREE to every house. Even to vacant houses. So, when Kam and Vin are out for their evening stroll, she very kindly picks up the papers that are littering the street.

14 sets of inserts y'all. For free. I think I might cry.

Bread Machine Recipe - update

2009-05-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've made this recipe three times now using 1/2 cup of whole wheat and 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose. Just wanted to update, since I hadn't figured out how much whole wheat flour it could take when I posted it the first time.

ExpressBake Traditional-Style White Bread(makes a 1.5 lb loaf)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tsp salt
3 cups of bread flour - I use 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat
5 tsp bread machine yeast (I use 2 packets of Fleishmann's Active Dry Yeast.)

Place the ingredients in the pan in the order listed. Make a little well in the flour and pour the yeast into it - making sure that the yeast doesn't touch any of the wet ingredients.

Select expressbake and press start.

This Month - 5/22 - 6/18

2009-05-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

I read this post about a Family No Spend Month the other day. Their goal is to limit their family spending to $250 for a month.

The $250 includes:

food & eating out
gas
clothing
coffee
household necessities
entertainment

Not included:

tithes and other gifts
house payment, insurance, bills
health expenses
work expenses
savings
investment

For several months now, I've been beating myself up about our spending. We are loosely following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, but I'm not doing a great job with maintaining our envelopes. I also have a hard time making myself budget for eating out. As I've said before, I have a hard time admitting to the fact that we do it. I try to make myself believe that if I don't plan for it, we won't do it. And that's just ridiculous. Grow up, Wendy!

SO, here's what I'm planning. I need to get a handle on exactly where our non-grocery/HBA dollars are going. I don't want to cut my usual $250 for groceries/HBA (although I would like to try the $250 for everything challenge eventually). I'm going to give us a budget of $500 for a month and break it down into $125 per week.

$125 per week for:

food & eating out
gas
clothing
coffee & beer making supplies
household necessities
entertainment
crafting supplies
gifts

My plan is to stick to that budget and track my spending in those categories. That way, I'll have a better idea of how to distribute our money in the envelope system. However, if this system works for us, I might just stick with this. Working = living comfortably within these limits while finding ways to cut expenses further.

I'm leaving myself the option of redistributing the amounts - rolling any extra forward to the next week. $500 is set in stone, though.

Here's where you come in. I'm going to track our spending here. In a perfect world, I'll update daily. At the very least, I'll update our spending once a week.

This is a great month to follow along if you're just getting started couponing. We've been hitting the stockpile hard this past month, so I'm in a rebuilding phase. I'm out of RRs and ECBS, so I'll be working on slowly building those back up.

I'm not a big menu planner, so I think I'll try to post "after the fact" menus every couple of days or so.

I'm having a garage sale next weekend. The garage sale money is going straight into savings. We have some upcoming expenses. Derek's in a wedding in June - I'm not sure what our expenses will be with that. I'd like to get a toddler bed for Kira - I'm thinking from Craigslist. I'm still deciding on what I'd like for the kids' schooling in the Fall - again, not sure exactly what our budget will be, yet.

So, what do you think? What am I missing? If anyone would like to join us in the $500 Challenge - I'd love to have you!

p.s. If you know me IRL (which I think is like 5 of my 7 readers), please don't think we're going into hermit mode. I can't track our entertainment budget if we don't get entertained!

Summer Kids' Movies - update

2009-05-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

My friend, Mary Elizabeth, was concerned that the theaters listed aren't currently showing G movies. The summer series are actually previously run films (Curious George, Horton Hears a Who, etc) - they're rated G or PG. I added start dates for my area to my original post - check your local theaters for participation, start dates, and schedules.

One of the theaters is showing Coraline. I really want to see that, but think it might be too scary for my kids. I think I'm actually going to try to sneak out and see it by myself!

Let's go to the movies!

2009-05-16T06:51:00.001-07:00

If you have kids, or if you just enjoy kids' films, summer is a great time for the movies.

ETA: I'm adding the start dates for the theaters in my area - check your locations for dates and to see what's showing. Most offer a mix of G and PG through the summer.

Regal Entertainment Group (UA theaters around here) offers their Free Family Film Festival - Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10:00. starts 6/9

Cinemark offers their Summer Movie Clubhouse - 10 movies for $5 punch cards that you buy in advance - or pay $1 at the box office on the day of the show - Weekdays at 10:00 am. starts 6/3

Studio Movie Grill (in Texas) has the Summer Children's Series - $1 for kids, $2 for adults M-Th at 11:00 am. starts 6/8

AMC hosts the Summer Movie Camp (benefiting Variety The Children's Charity and The Will Rogers Institute) - $1 movies Wednesdays at 10:00 am. They also offer a $3 Kids pack - kid size popcorn, drink, and snack. starts 6/17

Check for locations and start dates.

Please share any cheap summertime entertainment you know about!

Y'all bear with me

2009-05-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready for a garage sale next weekend - sorry I haven't been posting much.

My new budget month begins on the 22nd. I'm planning something a little bit new and I'd like to take y'all along for the ride.

More later!

diapers.com and ebates

2009-05-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

My friend, Tara, had a great experience with diapers.com. I'll let her tell you about it:

I looked online for "coupon codes" and there were TONS, but all of them, you had to actually buy diapers...well...I use cloth diapers. I feel this is rather unfair. There's a lot I can buy off this site but not actual diapers.

So I picked up the phone and called them and told them this. They immediately asked for my email address, which I gave them, and they said "hit refresh on your page" and when I did, the $10 off was applied (which is what the coupon code was for). They did ask me what coupon code I was trying to use and it was BABY10.

Just goes to show that it is worth it to take the time to call! Sometimes you do get good customer service. I highly recommend this site--and their free shipping looks way faster than Amazon.

They also gave her a referral code good for $10 off your first order. Here's how it works:

your Referral Code is TARA4029. Any new customers who enter your code (or your email address) when placing their first order at Diapers.com will get $10 off their first diaper order. You will get a $5 credit for referring them, plus another $1 credit for every additional order they place.

Also, if you order through ebates, you'll get an additional 1% back - not a lot, but every little bit helps.

I love ebates, I've used it for about 2 years now and have earned $173 with them. The link above is a referral link - we'll each make $5 when you sign up and place your first order. Honestly, I just think it's awesome, so if you'd rather not use the referral link, this will take you there without it.

Tara also did a great job of searching for a code before purchasing online. You can just google the name of a store and coupon code or discount code. Retailmenot is also a great source for coupon codes.

Thanks Tara!

I love my bread machine

2009-05-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn asked: ...will you post some of your more common bread machine recipes? I'm considering using our machine more and buying less bread. Thanks!

Jocelyn - I couldn't post on your blog - but I wanted to tell you that your son is gorgeous!

Now for the bread machine. I love, love, love my bread machine. My mother bought it for me for Christmas a couple of years ago. It sat in its box for a year before we ever tried it. Now I use it 2-3 times a week.

If you've never used a bread machine before, here's how it works: You put the ingredients in the machine - wet ingredients first, dry ingredients second, yeast last. You turn it on. You enjoy hot, fresh bread. Seriously, it's that easy.

I have two recipes that I use frequently. Both are from the recipe book that came with the machine. One is a quick loaf that is ready in an hour, from start to finish. It takes quite a bit of yeast and so far, I've only been successful using white flour for it. The other takes 3 hours and I usually make it with a mix of white and wheat flour.

ExpressBake Traditional-Style White Bread
(makes a 1.5 lb loaf)

1 cup + 2 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tsp salt
3 cups of bread flour (I just use unbleached all-purpose flour.)
5 tsp bread machine yeast (I use 2 packets of Fleishmann's Active Dry Yeast.)

Place the ingredients in the pan in the order listed. Make a little well in the flour and pour the yeast into it - making sure that the yeast doesn't touch any of the wet ingredients.

Select expressbake and press start.

I've only used this machine, but I'm sure others have an "expressbake" type option.

Homestyle White Bread (My version is more like Homestyle Kind-of Wheat Bread)
(makes a 1.5 lb loaf)

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened (I've used spreadable butter and it works fine.)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp milk (I warm it up a little before putting it in.)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of flour (I use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. I mix them together before putting them in the pan.)
2 1/2 tsp of bread machine yeast (I use one packet of Flieschmann's Active Dry Yeast.)

Add the ingredients to the pan in the order that they're listed above. Make a little well in the flour and pour the yeast into it - making sure that the yeast doesn't touch any of the wet ingredients.

Select 1 1/2 lb loaf. Select crust color. Use the Basic program. Press Start.

I've tried some other recipes as well. I usually just google whatever ingredients I have + bread machine (Like "sweet potato bread machine" or "vanilla yogurt raisin bread machine"). Be sure that the recipe is for a size of loaf that your machine can handle. I made a sweet potato bread the other day. The recipe was for a 2 lb loaf - I was thinking my machine could do that, but it's largest size is 1.5 lb. Luckily I used wheat flour in place of some of the white flour, so it didn't rise nearly as high as it could have. Crisis averted and the bread was delicious! Could have ended up really nasty and messy, though.

Here are some sources for recipes:

http://www.qis.net/~champion/bread/main.html
http://fp.enter.net/~rburk/breads/breadmachine/breadmachine.htm
http://busycooks.about.com/od/breadmachinerecipes/Bread_Machine_Recipes.htm

And some useful info:
http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/beginners/the-basic-bread-machine-ingredients.php

Saving $$$ with your bread machine
If you buy your various ingredients at regular price, the cost of making bread is around the same cost as store bought. However, you know that you aren't using HFCS or trans fats, or anything else funky in your bread.

I watched and waited for baking season sales to start up this year - usually happens in early November. I traded for yeast coupons and ended up getting paid to buy the yeast I'll use until next year. I stocked up on unbleached, all-purpose flour during the same sale. I buy whole wheat flour from Whole Foods as I need it. I'm planning on watching for it to go on sale next year during baking season and I'll buy whatever amount makes a case to save an additional 10%.

I have no idea what my cost per loaf is now. I have the money-maker yeast, the cheap flour. Sometimes I use free-after-coupon butter, sometimes I use marked-down milk. Sometimes I use marked-down yogurt. The sweet potato bread was made with canned organic sweet potatoes that I found for .33 a can. So, obviously, there's no way for me to say how much each loaf costs. I'm sure it's way less than what I would be paying in the store and I know it's healthier.

A word of warning: be prepared to gain a little weight when you start using your machine. It's hard to resist fresh bread. And it just smells so good.

Q&A - part 2

2009-05-08T06:02:00.000-07:00

Linda asked: Would you ever consider posting recipes?

Sure, if you want to see them! Derek and I usually work with modified versions of things we find in cookbooks or online. We're also prone to just dumping a bunch of different stuff into the crockpot.

Lots of questions about the coffee roasting. Tara asked: I know you can buy a hot air popcorn thingy at Walgreens but would like to know what brand, what to look for, instructions, and where to go from there.Do you have to store them any certain way? Different ways to roast to get different types (we prefer DARK beer and coffee...espresso, french roast, you get the picture).

Derek started here. Tara - the popper we got from Walgreens was Kitchen Gourmet brand. The main thing on the popper is that the air vents are on the bottom inside part of where you put the popcorn - like this. We have also used a Chefmate that we bought at Target and a couple of different ones that we found at thrift stores. Again, the vents on the bottom is the key.

When he was roasting with the popper, he usually roasted every morning for that day's coffee. Now that we have the Behmor 1600 roaster, he roasts a pound at a time. We store the roasted beans in a jar with a sealed top. We store the green coffee beans in the bags that they're shipped in.

I'll have to get Derek to answer the actual roasting questions.

(and Lourdes - I loved the making labels for coffee gifts idea!)

Lourdes asked: I have a stockpile question: when do you stop stockpiling?

When I started couponing, it wasn't long before we were swimming in toothpaste and shampoo. I wasn't sure how often those deals came around, so I wanted to get while the getting was good. Now I know that those deals are ALWAYS around.

Any product that needs to be newer, better, faster, have more blades, get your teeth brighter, whiter, hair shinier, fuller, softer, etc, etc, etc will always be cheap or free several times a month. The highest dollar coupons are for those products and those are the things that are free after RR (Walgreens) and ECB (Cvs).

So, when do you stop? For me, I stop when the drawer/shelf/box is full. I then either send things with Derek for the ladies he works with, give to the Mission, or start planning my next garage sale.

I do try to take advantage of every free toothbrush or floss offer, though. Those don't seem to come around quite as often.

Our food stockpile is obviously a continuing work. Dang family keeps eating. Again, though, I'm limited by the spot where I store whatever it is.

I'm thinking about a stockpiling post - so let me know any stockpile questions you may have.

Keep the questions coming!

aisle by aisle - produce, dairy, meat/fish

2009-05-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Produce
Produce is the area where my percentage of savings is the lowest. I'm just fine with that. The kids snack on fresh fruit and veggies throughout the day. Derek really enjoys making soups and stews, so I need to keep potatoes, carrots, and onions on hand.

I use 4 main strategies in saving on produce.

1. I check the sales circulars of Kroger and Tom Thumb before I head to Whole Foods. I buy the bulk of our produce at WF. However, organic carrots, apples, and pre-packaged organic salads are frequently loss leaders at the other two stores. If I check before I leave, I know not to buy any of those specials at WF.

2. We eat seasonally. For the most part, seasonal produce is what's on sale. I usually buy potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, and oranges every other week. I then add to those with whatever is in season and on sale - like organic strawberries for $2.99/lb at WF this week.

3. Eat what we buy. I used to throw away huge amounts of produce that went bad because I just plain forgot it was in the drawer. I try to keep the fruits on a shelf in the fridge in plain sight - that way I don't forget about it AND the kids notice it right away and ask for it as a snack before anything else. Derek does the bulk of our dinner cooking, so I usually give him reminders of what veggies we have every other day or so. We also try to eat the fruits that may spoil more quickly first. So, strawberries get eaten right away and then we eat the apples. Of course, if the kids ask for a specific fruit, I give it to them.

4. If I have the opportunity to get frozen veggies for free or very cheap, I stock up. This is where The Dirty Dozen comes into play. I can frequently get frozen broccoli and peas free, because they are very low on the list, I'm ok with getting conventional.

Dairy
Organic milk is crazy expensive, isn't it? My best tip on saving money on dairy is to find out if any of your stores mark down dairy that's getting close to the expire date. If they do, ask them when they do it.

My Tom Thumb marks down milk when it's 7 days from the expire date. We can kill a gallon of milk in 7 days easy. Depending on if the milk is store brand organic or Horizon, I can usually get it for $2-$3 a gallon. Way better than the $5.50-$7 a gallon regular price.

Butter - I prefer organic, but butter is very often FREE with coupons and sales. If I can get it free, I stock up and freeze it if necessary.

Cheese - Again, I'd love organic, but can rarely afford it. I figure my prices on cheese based on 8 oz, because that's the smallest package of cheese. Sometimes the best deal is on the 8 oz size, sometimes it's on the 16 oz or 32 oz. Remembering my 8 oz price and then doing the math, is the easiest way for me.
- My buy price is $1.50/8 oz - if we need cheese, I'll buy a couple of packs. My stock-up price is $1.25/8 oz or less. If I can get it at that price, I'll buy as much as I have room in the budget for.
-For organic cheese, I generally add $1.00 to the above prices. However, if I see organic cheese marked down and I have room in the budget - I'll generally buy all that they have and freeze it.

Whole Foods often has tearpad coupons for dairy hanging off of the shelves. Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm usually have printables on their sites or through coupon sites like eatingwell.com (thanks Lourdes!). You'll also frequently see coupons in the circulars off of the store brand dairy products - that's another great way to save.

Meat/Fish
We don't eat a lot of fish - I supplement with flax seed to get omega-3s into the kids. When we eat fish, it's generally tilapia when it's on sale at WF. We also eat tuna - frequently free or cheap after coupons.

Meat - I prefer to buy our meat at WF. My buy price is $4.99/lb or less. I usually have a set amount I'm going to pay for meat, before I hit the store. It's generally $20-$30 every other week. What I buy depends on what's on sale, what we have in the freezer, what new recipe Derek may want to try, and so on. I always check the ad on-line to see what meat is on sale that week. If I shop on Wednesday, I have the luxury of shopping from the old and the new sales.

I also check the marked-down meat at Tom Thumb when I'm there. Every now and then there will be a great deal I can't resist. I once sent Derek to buy chicken when it was .99/lb there. He came back with two packages and the receipt was WAY lower than it should have been. He said that all of the chicken was marked .99/PER PACKAGE not per lb. I sent him back with $25 and told him to buy all that he could. We ate on that chicken for almost a year.

If you buy your meat from a traditional grocery store, you can save big $$. Watch for the loss leaders and stock-up when you can. The days right after an "eating" holiday (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc) or big weekend are a great time to find BIG markdowns on pricey cuts of meat. I have several packages of Italian sausage that usually sell for $8 that I picked up for $1.99 per pack after Christmas last year.

Another option for saving $$ on meat is to look into purchasing all or part of a cow or pig. If you have the money to invest at the beginning and space to freeze the meat, you can get a really great per pound cost. Check http://www.localharvest.org/ for farmers near you.

Grocery shopping is actually pretty personal. My "stock-up" price on something might not be the same as yours. If you're not sure what a good price is, I'd suggest making a list of the top 2 or 3 things you buy from each category. Then just watch the prices for about a month. I think you'll be surprised by how widely the costs can fluctuate. Once you get a feel for what a good price is, you'll know when to stock up.

The main thing to remember is that even if something is an outrageously good price - you are limited by your budget. If you don't have the money, it's not worth whipping out a credit card. Ever.

(My non-napping son is making me crazy at this point - sorry for any spelling errors I didn't catch!)

getting started - doubling/tripling

2009-05-05T10:10:00.001-07:00

Beth asked: Could you please explain sometime the double and triple coupon phenomenon? Do you have to have 2 or 3 identical coupons or does the store give you double or triple value for one? Also, do some stores do that all the time or only on certain days?

Doubling and tripling coupons is something I never appreciated until I started couponing. The basic principle is that a store will double or triple the face value of an individual coupon up to a certain amount.

So, you may see that a store's policy is to triple coupons up to .35. That means that if you have a .35 coupon - the store will "triple" the value of it to $1.05.

If you have a .25 coupon - the store will triple the value to .75.

My stores triple coupons up to .35 and double coupons up to .50. So, if the coupon's face value is between .36 and .50 - it gets doubled.

A .45 coupon will double to .90. A .50 coupon will double to $1.00.

Policies vary by store. My Kroger will double or triple up to 3 like coupons at any time. That means I can use 3 Angel Soft .50/1 coupons and all three will triple to $1.00. I could use a 4th coupon, but it's value would just be the .50 - it won't triple.

The limit is only on "like" coupons - so I could use 3 .50/1 Angel Soft, 3 .50/1 Mahatama Rice, 3 .50/1 Eggland's Best eggs and so on.

My Tom Thumb will only double/triple one like coupon per transaction. So, I could use one .50/1 Angel Soft and it would double to $1.00. If I use a second one, it's value will only be .50. Again, I can double/triple one coupon for each different individual product I'm purchasing.

In some areas, the grocery stores only double/triple during certain times - like Harris Teeter in some areas. The store will usually limit how many coupons you can double/triple at a time - so many couponers will make several trips into the store.

Your store's ad may have their coupon policy printed in teeny tiny print somewhere in their ad. You can also check their website. Policies may change from store to store within the same chain - your best bet is to call your store and ask what their doubling/tripling policy is.

The beauty of doubling/tripling is when you are able to combine it with a great sale to get products Free or really cheap.

Hopefully that answers some questions - please let me know if you have more!

(Next up - shopping for produce, dairy, and meat)

Whole Foods this week

2009-04-30T17:52:00.001-07:00

Some highlights from the Whole Foods ad - this is for the Texas area, check your local ad online before heading to the store.

Back to Nature Assorted Crackers, 5.5-8.5 oz- 2/$5 - use the .70/1 any Back to Nature product from The Whole Deal pamphlet (found in store usually near the front door or the check-out desk) and get them for $1.80 ea.

Wallaby Organic Low-Fat Yogurts, 6 oz - 4/$3. I don't know of any current coupons for this, but .75 is pretty good for organic yogurt. Whole Foods also offers a case discount on just about anything. If you look in the lower right hand corner (I believe it's the right hand) of the shelf tag, you'll see the number of items that qualify as a case. Buy that amount and get 10% off - in this case making the yogurts .68 ea.

Some great meat prices (for Whole Foods) this week:

Value Packs of 85% Lean Ground Beef - $2.49/lb (various sizes on the value packs, but usually around 2-3 lbs each)
Whole Chicken Wings - $1.79/lb
Country Style Pork Loin Ribs - $2.49/lb

I buy the majority of our meat from Whole Foods - I feel fairly confident that we're not eating growth hormones or antibiotics in addition to our protein. If we need meat when I'm there, I'm looking at anything that's $4.99/lb or less. Some weeks, like this one, I have a lot to choose from. Some weeks, I buy ground turkey ($3.99/lb reg price) and/or whatever specialty sausage (italian, chorizo, brats, etc) is on sale (usually $3.99 - $4.99/lb). Some weeks, we eat from the stockpile.

Let me know if you find any other great Whole Foods deals this week!

Kroger and Tom Thumb this week

2009-04-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd go through and mention what jumps out at me from this week's ads. If you live in another area, your ad may be slightly different and you may have received different values on these coupons.

For coupon match-ups for the Texas Kroger ad, check here. Coupon match-ups can get kind of confusing - if you have any questions, let me know. Hotcouponworld doesn't have a Tom Thumb forum - I usually check Safeway or Randall's. If you do, remember that those stores have slightly different doubling/tripling policies.

If you're not familiar with coupon listings:

RP = Red Plum
SS = Smart Source
P&G = Procter & Gamble

If you have inserts and you're not sure what date they're from, just look along the spine of the insert. The date will be printed in teeny-tiny print. The papers the insert was in will also be written there. This is helpful for me, because we have two papers in the DFW area. If the insert lists both papers, then I know that it doesn't matter which paper I get for extras. If it just lists one (The Star-Telegram, for example), then I know that the Dallas inserts will be slightly different and usually that means the Dallas paper will have more coupons.

Kroger

The biggie is Wholly Salsa on sale Buy One Get One Free. The 4/19 SS insert has a Buy One Get One Free coupon as well as a $3 off of chips wyb Wholly Salsa coupon. That means you can get 2 free salsas and $3 off of chips (so free chips, too). How it works:

The store agrees to buy one if someone else does.
The manufacturer agrees to buy one if someone else does.
Since they both agree to those terms, I agree to take those two free salsas home.

I have never had a problem using a BOGO coupon on BOGO sale. However, some stores want you to purchase one to get the other two for free. If that happens, you might as well throw in one more. The register is programmed to ring one free for each one purchased. So buy one, get three free.

1 you purchase
1 store bogo
1 free with bogo q
1 store bogo

Again, I've never had that happen - but just in case you need the info.

Also, the 16 oz cheese is still 2/$5. My family apparently didn't read my blog to see that the cheese I bought last friday was supposed to last all month. I'll most likely buy a couple more packages on Tuesday.

Organic Braeburn apples are .99/lb - that's a great price.

There is a coupon for a $25 gift card with a transferred prescription, as well.

Other than that - kind of a blah week.

Tom Thumb

This is the last week for the Living Well promo.

I noticed that they have Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks marked as part of the promo - they are on sale for $1. The 3/29 RP had a $1/1 any Quaker Rice Snack - which makes it FREE and also takes $1 off of your $30 total for the Living Well promo.

Dial Hand Soap is $1 - FREE after the .35/1 (tripled) from the 3/8 SS. My Tom Thumb only lets me double/triple one like coupon per transaction. Check your store's policy before you head for the check-out.

Hass Avocados are .99 ea - that's the best price I'm seeing this season. Have any other Texans seen a better price on these?

I'm sure there are more deals - those are just what hit me at first glance. If you find more, feel free to share!

I'll check the Whole Foods ad, tomorrow, and let you know what I find. Happy Shopping!

Coffee & Beer

2009-04-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Random title - huh? My friend, Kam, is worried that y'all are going to think that we live a deprived life. So, this post will address two of Derek's hobbies and how they fit into our overall budget.

Derek home brews beer and home roasts our coffee (we order green coffee beans in bulk). Two hobbies that I am more than happy to support! Mama needs her coffee and life on a budget without alcohol is madness. (My apologies to any teetotalers out there.)

The beer has it's own line item in our budget every other month or so. I usually budget $50. Depending on what he's brewing, it usually works out to about $10 per 12 pack. And it's really, really good. I don't roll this into our food budget, because it is a treat. If we're having a tight month, it's obviously one of the first cuts. However, it's not just about beer - it is his hobby. And, I figure there's a ton of other hobbies he could have that wouldn't afford me nearly as much pleasure!

The coffee works out to about $5 a pound, because we buy in bulk. That is actually about half the price of buying whole coffee beans at the store. Derek likes to order from Sweet Maria's, if you're interested. He's used a hot air popcorn popper to roast for the past two years. We recently used some gift money to purchase a small home roaster. Again, an unnecessary expense, but one that keeps us willing to stay on the getting out of debt track for the long haul.

We spend around $30-$50 every other month for the green coffee beans. I usually try to roll the orders into months when I'm not trying to stockpile cat supplies, diapers, or other higher $ items. So, technically the coffee usually comes out of the grocery budget. There have been a couple of months that it bumped our grocery spending to $300 for the month. I can't live without high-quality caffeine. For real.

If anyone is interested in learning more about either the home brewing or the home roasting - I might be able to talk Derek into a guest post.

See, not deprived at all!! And after all that coffee talk - I now need a cup.

I prefer Coupon Duchess

2009-04-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

My friend, Tara, sent me this link (thanks Tara!). A Coupon Queen saving lots of money - watch it and let me know what you think.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/04/28/dnt.coupon.lady.wjla

Shopping trips like the one featured leave you so pumped up - an adrenaline rush that lasts for hours.

I agree with most of what you'll hear, except I definitely DO NOT clip every coupon from the paper. That's the quickest way to get burned out on couponing if you're just getting started. I clip the coupons I know I'll use and the ones I believe will turn into freebies/money-makers.

I leave my inserts whole and write the date on the cover. I store them in magazine files and clip as needed for my trips. I use the coupon database at HCW to locate specific coupons.

This is what works for me - you may find that clipping everything works for you. There are lots of couponers who shop aisle by aisle searching for clearance deals and unadvertised sales. They do need to have everything clipped and easily accessible. I am so thankful that they do and that they post about their finds. I make sure to say thank you when I can and use their info to get myself into and out of the stores quickly. And on the rare occasion that I stumble across an unexpected deal, I make sure to post about it for others.

Couponing Karma!

Q&A - Part 1

2009-04-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

I have a handful of questions to answer. Most of these will end up as posts in themselves - they're really good questions!

Lacia asked: My biggest problem is that I buy mostly fresh stuff, and I find all the coupons are for boxed/pre-packaged food that I don't tend to ever buy. Plus our stores here (remember, I live in Canada), don't do coupons like they do in the U.S. I guess i have to get on some sort of mailing list with the companies I do buy from?

Yes - contacting companies is a GREAT way to get coupons for products you buy. You will often even receive coupons for FREE products. It doesn't take much, just a quick email letting the company know that you like their products and including your contact info.

I'd also suggest really getting to know the stores you shop most frequently. Do they have in-store coupons? Do they offer a bulk discount? If so, take advantage of it when a product you like goes on sale. With fresh food, like meat or produce, really pay attention to costs. I have a buy price and a stock-up price on meats - and stockpile in the freezer when I can. I check the on-line ads of the three stores I buy produce from before heading out - that way I know who has the best prices that week and buy accordingly.

Lourdes asked: I'd love to hear about how you have paid $10k of debt in about 2 years. Also, what does your "fun" budget look like (vacation, entertainment, etc.)?

Short answer on the debt repayment - Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, budgeting, and no new debt.

As far as "fun" money - we each get $20 a month for whatever. I use the kids' money to cover unexpected play date expenses, little treats here & there, etc. It's not much, but until we're totally out of debt, it'll do. We're blessed to have all of our family close by, so most of our family fun involves extended family get-togethers and events. If I know something's coming up (like the State Fair in October - woo-hoo!!), I budget that in for the month.

We also take full advantage of the library - we check out books, DVDs, CDs, even magazines.

Our downfall is eating out. We only eat out about 6 times a month, but that's still too much. I also have the hardest time actually budgeting for it. It's like I don't want to admit that we do it! Ah well...it's a work in progress.

Lourdes had a Walgreens issue: went to Walgreens today and they didn't let me use my MC because they said that RR wouldn't print out. THEN, they didn't let me use my RR to purchase a different item. I haven't read anything about this being a new policy. Did I just go to a crabby Walgreens?

More likely you had a poorly informed cashier. A manufacturer's coupon shouldn't have an effect on the RR printing. I have heard of one occasion where the coding on the coupon did prevent the RR from printing - but just that one time. I'll let you know if I read anything else, though.

The RR is "good on your next purchase." They absolutely should have let you use it to purchase another item. I would request a manager's assistance next time on both of these issues.

I have rarely had issues with cashiers, but when I do I just calmly smile, request the manager, and calmly explain the situation to the manager. Although I may be sweating bullets while my heart beats crazily, I just keep smiling. You can always say, "Thank you, I won't be needing this then."

Karly asked: What kind of storage system do you have for all your stockpiling? I feel like I need a deep freezer and maybe some shelving in my basement.

This one will most definitely be a future post with pictures. When I started couponing and was having so much fun getting freebies/money-makers I had HBA items coming out my ears and nowhere to store them all. Plus, I'm the only one in the house using a lot of those things - I don't buy products with phthalates for the kids to use and Derek's shaved head doesn't require much shampoo. So, I've scaled back my stockpile on those items.

I have a shelf in my linen closet for shampoos, bodywashes, the kids' Burts Bees wash, shaving cream, and lotions. I have two Sterlite carts with drawers that I use for make-up, soap, toothpaste/toothbrushes, razors, and pads/tampons. Toilet paper is stored in the top of my bathroom cabinet.

For food, I actually don't have the towering food stockpile you may have seen in the stockpile pics of others. We don't eat a lot of processed foods - most of our cooking is done from scratch. I over-stocked when I began couponing, and ended up having to throw things out that had expired. I try to be conscious of rotating my stock, now - and give things away as needed.

We have a laundry room off of the kitchen that I've added shelves to for a pantry. I have one shelf dedicated to pasta (it's often free or very cheap with coupons - Whole Foods actually has a Buy One Get One coupon out right now for their pasta). One shelf holds condiments (mustard, hot sauce, worcestershire, barbeque sauce). One shelf holds canned tomatoes.I have flour stored in rubbermaid containers - 5 bags per container. (I've never had a problem with bugs - but use the containers just in case). These are stacked next to the shelves. I have another container that holds bagged rice (brown and white). I'm actually re-stocking that one right now with the current Mahatma .50/1 insert coupon.

I do have a small upright freezer that I purchased at a garage sale for $50. I currently have meat, veggies, tortillas, and cheese stored in it. I'm gradually switching to keeping the majority of the meat in our small fridge freezer, though. The upright's door was accidentally left open one day - I'd much rather have the free/cheap veggies and cheese get ruined than the meat, next time!

I'd say that we could comfortably live on my current stockpile for 2 months, although some meals would have to be very creative. I'd like it to be enough for 3 months, but it ebbs and flows with our needs. It really is like a back-up emergency fund.

If you're interested in adding a freezer, I'd research whether an upright or chest would be better for your needs. There are pros and cons with both. If adding shelves is an option for you, I'd go for it. I'd love to eventually have built-ins in our laundry room.

Keep the questions coming! If I can't answer something, I'll do my best to find someone who can.

This Weekend's shopping

2009-04-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Are y'all ready?

First, let me say that these types of posts won't always be this long - and this one's gonna be a doozy! Since I'm just getting started with this blog and since I suspect that most of you are just getting started couponing, I'll have a lot more explanation here in the beginning.

If it's too much, don't read it all. Seriously. Just take what info will be helpful for YOUR family - however much or little that may be.

First, my stores - where I shop regularly and how often:

Whole Foods - I generally hit Whole Foods 2 times a month. I try my best to shop on Wednesdays, because their weekly sales overlap that day. I also usually have one or both kids with me. That's actually on purpose. We nosh on cut fruit for a treat and talk our way through the store. Whole Foods is about 20 minutes away, so more trips than that just aren't reasonable or worth it.

Within 5 minutes of my house, I have: Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Tom Thumb. Usually 2 times a month I do the circle - it usually takes about 2 hours start to finish. I try to do this on Sundays, because Tom Thumb marks down dairy on Sundays. I can count on getting a gallon of organic milk for $2 - $3 and usually deals on organic sour cream and sometimes, cheese. I do my circle alone, with a cup of coffee and Sunday Jazz Brunch playing on the radio. It is bliss.

Kroger - sometimes I go for weeks without stepping foot in Kroger. Some weeks I end up there 2-3 times in one week. It just depends on the deals, the shape of my stockpile, and life in general.

Tom Thumb - I'm usually there once a week for the milk. Tom Thumb is on Derek's way home from work, so this might actually be his once week a stop.

Walgreens/CVS - these are all over the place, so I usually just work in stops here on the way to or from other errands during the week - or my circle, as mentioned above.

Target - Y'all know you shop Target. I don't regularly grocery shop there. However, if I know I'm going there for something else, I'll check the blogs and hotcouponworld for current deals.

That sounds like a lot of shopping, but actual time is:

Whole Foods - 2x a month, 1 hour a trip = 2 hours per month
My "circle" 2x a month, 2 hours a trip = 4 hours per month
Other trips as needed, probably about an hour a week on average = 4 hours per month
Prep time - this is hard to figure since it's just part of my existence now, but I would say a safe estimate is an hour and a half a week. You will spend more time on this part at first. = 6 hours per month

So, 16 hours per month including drive time, or an average of 4 hours a week. I think if you add up your drive times and times in stores during an average month, you might find that you're spending that much time or more shopping, right now. Plus, I consider this the part-time job that lets me stay home with my kids - so a 4 hour work week, that often includes much needed me time.

And now for the shopping! This was a big, not typical, shopping weekend for me. Derek worked Saturday, so I shopped on Friday and Sunday. I'll list the receipts in order.

Friday - Whole Foods
Canola Oil (for baking bread) - $3.99
365 Organic Honey, 12 oz - $3.99
365 Organic Raisins, 15 oz - $3.69
2 pkg- 365 Organic Corn Tortillas - .99 ea
4 pkg - Organic Flour Tortillas - 2.19 ea
Whipped Cream Cheese - $1.98
5 lb bag Organic Red Potatoes - $4.99
Garlic - 4bulb pack (I buy this so I can use the bag for a dish scrubby) - $1.29
1.4 lb organic white onions - $2.37
2.5 lbs organic braeburn apples - $4.84
.74 lbs green beans (conventional, but local) - .73
cantaloupe chunks (for K and I to nosh on during shopping) - $1.70
Nutmeg (Whole Foods brand - for baking) - $5.99
4 lbs of ground buffalo (split into 2 - 2 lb packages - one for this week, one for the freezer) - $20.56
1/2 lb sliced nitrate/nitrite free bacon (for cooking with pinto beans) - $3.29

Total: $70.15
Saved - Whole Foods doesn't track savings on the receipts. I know I didn't use coupons on this trip. I bought the ground buffalo because it was $2/lb cheaper than usual - so savings for this trip are $8.

Kroger - Friday
3 - 4 pks Angel Soft Toilet Paper - used 3 .50/1 coupons from inserts (doubled) - FREE
3 - Birds Eye Steamfresh Broccoli @ .99 ea - used one .35/1 insert coupon (tripled) and one $1/2 insert coupon - 1 package FREE, 2 packages .49 ea (The whole steam in bag thing weirds me out, so we actually cook these in our regular steamer.)
1 - Challenge Spreadable Butter @ .99 - used .50/1 coupon from inside previous package of butter (doubled) - FREE
1 - Mahatma Jasmine Rice @ 2.69 - used one .50/1 insert coupon (doubled) - $1.69
1 - Eggland's Best Eggs @ 2.59 - used one .50/1 insert coupon (doubled) - $1.59
2 - 16 oz Kroger Sharp Cheddar @ 2.50 ea
2 - 16 oz Kroger Shredded Cheese @ 2.50 ea

Spent: $14.04
Saved: $19.83 (coupons and store savings)

Tom Thumb - Friday
I mentioned before that Tom Thumb (Randalls or Safeway in other areas) has a promotion going on right now - Living Well, Feeling Great - spend $30 on particular products, receive a $10 oyno coupon. This particular promo has lots of organic products included. There are also several freebie/really cheap options, but I was focused on buying things we really needed for the next two weeks. If you'd like more info on scenarios for this promo, check here.

A note about Tom Thumb promos, they are notoriously screwy. Knowing this, I made a point of selecting items that put me at $30 AFTER calculating in Tom Thumb store coupons. In this instance, I only used one manufacturer coupon - manufacturer's coupons come off of the $30 total - they shouldn't affect the promo. If you do shop a promo and it doesn't work - odds are one of the products you selected wasn't included correctly in the computer. The manu coupons have nothing to do it with it - even if the cashier thinks they do. When this happens, I just go wait in line at the service desk. I let them know what I purchased and they have always gone ahead and printed my coupon for me.

1 - 18 oz box of Cheerios (with a pack of flower seeds inside!) - $2.99
1 - All 2x Free & Clear - $4.49 - used .35/1 insert coupon (tripled)
1 - O Organics 1/2 gal whole milk - $2.99 (used .50/1 store coupon)
1 - O Organics 1/2 gal 1% milk - $2.99
1 - O Organics Orange Juice - $3.99
1 - O Organics Herb Salad, 16 oz - $5.49 - (used $1/1 store coupon)
1 - O Organics Almonds, 11 oz - $8.99 (I mix these with Cheerios and Whole Foods organic raisins for a trail mix for the kids - and use them in salads for the adults).
1 - organic carrots, 1 lb - $1 (not part of the promo)

So, my total for the promo after store coupons was $30.43. My all coupon came off of that total.

Spent: $30.66
Saved: $15.33 - and have a $10 oyno for next week's milk and produce.

I could also "roll" that $10 oyno into another round of the promo. I could buy the exact same list above, use the $10 oyno and pay $19.66 out of pocket and receive another $10 oyno.

Kroger - Sunday (This trip would normally have happened right after the first Kroger trip. I could only use 3 Angel Soft coupons at a time - I had six. I normally would have put the first round in the car and then walked back in for a quick second run. However, I took the last three bags of broccoli and wanted to check back when they restocked.)

3 - 4 pks Angel Soft Toilet Paper - used 3 .50/1 coupons from inserts (doubled) - FREE
8 - Birds Eye Steamfresh Broccoli @ .99 ea - used 4 $1/2 insert coupon - .49 ea
1 - Wholly Salsa - clearanced at $1.49
1 - Lays Potato Chips (for D & J's "boys' night") - $2.68 - used $3 off chips wyb Wholly Salsa insert coupon. - yep, they paid me .32 for the chips.

Spent: $5.09
Saved: $18.07

Big Takeaway from this trip - sometimes More is Less with coupons. I could have bought the chips alone for $2.69. Because of the coupon I was able to get the salsa AND the chips for $1.17.

CVS - Sunday
1 - Neutrogena Soap - $2.99
1 - Bandaids - $4.49 - used $1/1 Band-Aid product

used $6 ECB to "pay" for this trip - there are larger Neutrogena and Bandaid deals going on at CVS this week - I may or may not take advantage. Part of why I CVS is so that I can burn ECB's when I need to.

Spent: .48
Saved: $7

Grand totals:
Spent: $120.42
Saved: $68.23 and have the $10 oyno coupon

I'm actually shooting for $150 this month. I'll use the $10 oyno on milk and produce when we run out of milk. I don't plan on buying any more meat for the month - we'll use what I have frozen. So really just produce and milk as needed. I bake our bread in the bread machine and have yeast for a year and flour for 3 months already stockpiled.

Ok...questions?

Getting Started - how I stay under $250

2009-04-27T08:44:00.001-07:00

Before you ever clip your first coupon, you need to know what you're spending now. Prior to couponing, my shopping typically looked like this:

Go to store - spend about an hour and around $100
Get home and realize that I forgot 2 or 3 things I needed and ended up buying 2 or 3 things that we already had.
Go back to store later in the week for things forgotten previously and end up purchasing 5 or 6 additional items - the quick trip in would end up costing an additional $10-$30
Reach the end of the week and end up throwing out produce/leftovers/etc - because of not realizing what we already had, when things would expire, or remembering that I had purchased certain things.

Wash, rinse, repeat week after week.

Many people choose not to coupon because they "don't have the time." However, I think it's fair to say that most people shop just like I used to. That represents a huge chunk of time. Yes, couponing takes more time on the front end. However, my actual time in the store is minimal. I'm a woman on a mission. I have my list, my coupons, and a plan.

We arrived at our $250 a month total out of necessity. That's just what I have to spend. You may not need to go to the extremes that I do. So, if you're just getting started, start paying attention to what you spend now. After about a month you should have a rough idea of your average budget. Then decide how much you want to lower that amount.

Here's how I get to $250 in a nutshell - I'll elaborate more on most of these points in future posts.

1. Use coupons in multiples and combine them with sales to get the absolute lowest price. For example: Angel Soft 4-pks are .99 this week at Kroger (Dillons in some parts of the country). Last week's newspaper coupon inserts had .50/1 4 pk or larger Angel Soft coupons. My local Kroger doubles .50 coupons. That means that for me that .50 coupon is worth $1 - or free toilet paper, in this case. My local Kroger will let me double three "like" coupons in one transaction. That means I can buy 3 packs of Angel Soft and use 3 .50/1 coupons (doubled) and receive 3 free packs of toilet paper. I had 6 of these coupons, so I bought 3 packs in one trip last week and bought 3 more yesterday. 6 packs of toilet paper paid for with coupons and leaving me with $6 still in my budget.

2. Know what things cost - know your "buy" price and your "stock-up" price. That seems obvious, doesn't it? The average consumer knows the cost of roughly 10 items - things like a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, etc. Wal Mart knows this and you'll find that they will have lower prices on those items. But what are they charging you for 8 oz of cheese, a lb of apples, a lb of chicken? Usually a higher cost, because you don't know what that same item will cost you somewhere else.

In my area, a decent price for 8 oz of cheese is $1.50 - that's my buy price, if we need cheese. My stock-up price is $1.25/8 oz or less. This week, Kroger has 16 oz blocks of cheese for $2.50 (or $1.25 per 8 oz) - so, I bought 2 blocks of cheddar and 2 bags of shredded (at the same price). The shredded freezes nicely - so I now have cheese for the month for $10.

I'd prefer to buy organic cheese, but this is one area where my budget won't let me compromise much. For organic cheese, my buy price and stock-up price are a dollar more than what I pay for regular cheese. And if I happen to find organic cheese at my regular cheese buy or stock-up price, I buy as much as my budget will allow and freeze it.

3. Know your limits. I do not buy products that contain MSG. I avoid HFCS and partially hydrogenated oils. I use the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen to determine my produce purchases. If it's on the Dirty Dozen list, I only buy organic. If it's on the Clean Fifteen list, like broccoli and peas, and I can get it free or cheap - I'll buy conventional.

4. Use what you have. This is a work in progress for us. I don't plan meals for the week. I think if I worked outside of the home, it would be a necessity, though. Derek and I split the cooking responsibilities, and we're both fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants cooks. We loosely plan our meals for every 2 days or so. What's in the fridge? Are there leftovers? Is there produce we need to go ahead and eat?

The beauty of a stockpile is knowing that we have the basic building blocks for lots of good, healthy meals. I have rice, pasta, canned organic tomatoes (diced and whole, roasted or not, with chilis, with basil & garlic, etc.), frozen veggies, frozen meat, frozen cheese and so on. So, using what needs to be used is usually not a problem.

I think that's enough for now. Once the kids go down for their naps later, I'll post my receipts from this weekend's shopping. Please let me know if you have any questions!

A Couponer is Born

2009-04-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

I became a couponer out of necessity. Our money was running out WAY before our months were. We were relying on credit cards and getting deeper and deeper in debt. I desperately wanted to stay home with my kids - something had to give.

My SIL introduced me to the Grocery Game (a service that you pay for - they provide lists that tell you when to use your coupons). It was good training, but I found that I was buying products that we weren't using. Even if I only paid .25 for something, that was .25 wasted if we didn't use it. Also, the lists rarely included deals on the types of food we usually ate.

I knew there had to be more to couponing than a canned list. Tom Thumb (a Safeway/Randalls store) was running a promo at the time. If you bought $30 in certain products, you would receive a $10 oyno (on your next order) coupon. I figured that someone somewhere must have access to the list of products, so I googled the name of the promo and "list" and ended up finding Hot Coupon World. I thought those women were NUTS, at first. Then I was intrigued. Then I was addicted. A little over two years later, I'm home with the kids, we've paid off $10,000 in debt, and we're steadily moving closer to being debt free. I haven't used a credit card in almost a year and a half.

In February, I gave a very informal couponing class to my dear friend Kam's Mommy Group. Several of the ladies have really taken to couponing, but have lots of questions. Lourdes, my new friend, said the other day, "if I could just shadow you in the store - I think it would help." So, that's what I'm going to try to do here. There are so many wonderful couponing blogs out there - you'll find my favorites in my blog roll. I'm not going to re-invent the wheel, but I will try to show how I'm shopping now and explain how I got to this point. Every family is different, of course. Everyone will have different needs, different methods. Hopefully, I can help give you some ideas. Hopefully, you can give me some ideas!

If you're new to couponing, just remember to take one step at a time. It can be really overwhelming at first. Sticking with it is definitely worth it.

Oh, and btw, Tom Thumb is actually running that same promo right now. I'll have more on that tomorrow.

Welcome!

2009-04-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Howdy! Welcome to my new blog! My goal is to share my couponing/shopping/money-saving tips & tricks. I feed my family of four a primarily organic, whole foods diet on $250 a month and you can, too!

This is definitely a work in progress. I plan on posts about couponing in general, how I shop in particular, saving money on organics, and current deals. Please comment and let me know what YOU would like to know!