Let's go to the movies!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)