saving on groceries without using coupons

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!

So, I um did a little school supply shopping today

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.

school supply season is about to start!

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!!!

$500 challenge - update

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.

$500 challenge - update

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!

This Month - 5/22 - 6/18

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!

Q&A - part 2

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!

Q&A - Part 1

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

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

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!