Those lazy, crazy Saturdays

Saturdays are lazy, relaxing days around our house. No matter what, my husband and I sit on the back porch, sip coffee and read the morning newspaper. I love our time together. With our new puppy, Molly, Saturday mornings start earlier than ever and sipping coffee is never simple. Molly gets up at 6:00 a.m. no matter what day of the week and she likes to romp around the backyard.

This morning it had rained so the backyard was a little muddy. Today was the wrong day to wear my white bathrobe, with my white nightgown on the back porch while sipping coffee. I looked up and before I could do anything Molly was running towards me and before you could say "MOLLY!!" I had muddy paws and coffee all over me. Oh, and the citronella candle almost got dowsed out by coffee.

So, while I brewed another cup of coffee, I changed into an old pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I took my bathrobe and nightgown and put them in the wash with some detergent and bleach and then I started over with a fresh cup of coffee and newspaper on the back porch.

We had Molly spayed this week. I do not want to add to the pet population. While Molly was under anesthesia, I had them paint her toenails. I think she's "styling."

Today being the last day of the month, I had several coupons that were going to expire. I go through my coupon binder the last week of each month and pull any coupons out that are going to expire. If there are high value coupons on products that I know I can use, I set them aside to possibly use. The rest I throw.

By high value coupons this is what I had: 50 cents off Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, 50 cents off Gain Dish Detergent, $1.00 off any Tide, $2.00 off any Venus or Daisy disposable razors, BOGO Hershey's candy bar, $3.00 off two Pantene products, 35 cents off Ivory bar soap, $1.00 off Secret deoderant, $1.00 off Splenda, $1.00 off Bounty Basic Paper Towels, and $2.00 off Keri Body Lotion.

These are all items I can use and the value of these coupons are quite high for these products. Remember, I live in a small town so it is easy for me to go to Dollar General, drive 1 block to a grocery store and then drive 1/2 mile to the Super Walmart. It doesn't take much time for me to drive around and find the lowest price.

At Dollar General I used the $1.00 off Tide coupon on a smaller jug (25 load size) of detergent which made the final price $5.00. I don't use Tide as a general rule of thumb as it is so expensive but I like to keep it on hand to pre-treat and to use for those really hard stains such as blood, chocolate and ketchup. A little bit of Tide on stains can go a long way and I stretch it.

Here are the rest of the deals I found (most were unadvertised). My net price after coupons for the products are as follows:

1. Venus Simply Disposable Razors - 4 count - $1.50
2. Secret Deoderant - $0.75
3. Bounty Basic Paper Towels - 8 count - $4.49
4. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - 2 count - $1.49
5. Gain Dish Detergent - $1.49 (large bottle)
6. Hershey's Air Delight Candy Bars - 2 bars - $0.75
7. Splenda - 50 count - $1.49
8. Keri Lotion - 15 oz bottle - $3.97
9. Pantene Shampoo - 13 oz. bottles - $1.83
10. 3 bars of Ivory Soap - $0.89

All of the above are products that I use. No, I didn't need these now (except for the chocolate) and I will add them to my stockpile.  I had multiple coupons so this was a nice time to stock up.

I want to address the Ivory soap. I never really used Ivory soap until I started finding coupons for the soap. Granted the coupons are for 25 cents or 35 cents, but when you end up with 3 bars of soap for under $1.00, that is a good deal. You can use Ivory soap for showering or you can even use it in homemade laundry soap. It is a nice basic soap. Here's another tip, rub a bar of Ivory soap on a mosquito bite and it will relieve the itching.

I only used these coupons when the price of the product was a deal. I didn't use them just to use them. In fact, I had several other coupons with me that I ended up throwing away as I never found a good price on the products.

You have to know when to use coupons and when to throw them away. I'm set on shampoo and razors and lotion for long time. As for the chocolate, that will probably only last a couple days.

Why I Coupon

I coupon to save money and to create a stockpile of food for my pantry and freezer.  Those two reasons are why I clip and sort coupons weekly, why I ask friends to save me any coupons they don't use and why I surf the internet for coupons.  I don't spend hours looking for coupons on line as I find I get the most use out of coupons from the newspaper flyers.

We do not have any grocery stores in our area that double coupons or have store loyalty cards.  I really believe that this is true for most people and that is why I wanted to write how I feel about couponing and the new TLC series "Extreme Couponing."

Yes I watch Extreme Couponing faithfully and I mainly watch to see how the women/men get their coupons and how they store them.  Many of them go further than I will ever go with couponing such as dumpster diving for coupons, but a big part of me wishes with all my heart that I could become an extreme couponer and shop at stores that double coupons.  Why?  Because I would be able to donate more to our local Food Pantry. 

At some time in the lives of these Extreme Couponers I would think that a point would come when you would have too much of something such as toilet paper or deoderant (in the case of Extreme Couponers this could be hundred's of packages) and you would then donate to a charity.  Some of them do donate to charity but it would appear that many just like to stand and look at what they have been able to acquire for little or no money at all.

But for the rest of us that do not have stores that double coupons or have store loyalty cards we must save with what resources we have. 

I am patient with my coupons and I wait until items go on sale so that I can get the most savings when I use the coupons.  Also, when some big dollar coupons are coming close to expiring and there has yet to be a sale, I take them with me as I shop and check the prices at both of the grocery stores in town and when I happen to be at Wal-mart.  Then I make a decision as to whether I will use them or not.  An example of a big dollar coupon would be the ones that I have seen for $3.00 off disposable razors.  If I have plenty of razors on hand, then I let the coupon expire knowing that before I run out there will be more coupons and perhaps a sale.

This week, without double coupons I was able to purchase 4 bottles of KC Masterpiece Barbecue sauce for only 28 cents a bottle, six packages of Oscar Mayer Hot dogs for only 49 cents each, two 24 oz. bottles of Ketchup for 49 cents each (limit of one for .49 cents and another for regular price of .99 cents and used a 50 cent off buy two coupon), 30 oz. jars of Miracle Whip for only $1.49 each and 6 pkgs. of Right Guard Deoderant for only 69 cents each.  A couple of weeks ago, Hy-Vee had 150 oz. jugs of Purex Laundry soap on sale for one day for only for $3.99.  I had three coupons for $3.00 off each.  That was a great deal. 

From now until the end of the year is when I use a lot of coupons and it is also the time I stock up on many items.  This is when I find the deals on condiments, canned pork n beans, hamburger, hot dogs, pickles, salad dressings, pasta and more.  It seems like we go from Memorial Day to Labor Day with sales on more and more of those type of items and then we go straight into the holiday baking season. 

It is late May through the end of December that I spend the majority of our grocery budget stocking up on the items to put in my pantry and freezer and then I spend January through May eating from what I have stocked up in my pantry and freezer. 

This year I found that I have been able to live off the majority of the items I have stockpiled from those last 6 months of last year.  Since March I have bought a minimal amount of groceries each week because we have been able to live off of our stockpile.  I honestly believe that this is going to become the way I buy groceries and stockpile for the rest of my life.  It will definitely help while we pay for our youngest son's college education beginning in the fall.  It works for our family and we continue to save a lot of money.

Extreme Couponing on TLC

Last night I watched TLC's Extreme Couponing and it left me longing for stores in our area that doubled coupons.  To my knowledge there isn't a grocery store in the State of Iowa that doubles coupons.  Back in the 1980's we did have stores that would double coupons on a particular day but no more.

So I am curious, how many of you live near a grocery store that doubles coupons?

Nate Berkus Show for March 28 - Couponing

Today on the Nate Berkus Show there was a segment on couponing with the Krazy Coupon Lady.  Here is the link to that episode and you can pick and choose which video you would like to view.  It was interesting.

Extreme Couponing

I recently watched and taped TLC's "Extreme Couponing." I have watched it three times while doing housework.   First of all it makes me want to search the internet more to get better coupon deals.  Second, I enjoy hunting and getting a good deal on the items I buy for me family.  Third, I would never spend hours or days looking for coupons and deals, cancel plans with my family, collect a stockpile that fills my house so much that I have to take out insurance on it and go out and buy a considerable sum of candy bars and sports drinks just because I can get them for free or near free.  That is what Amanda was doing.

But in saying all of this, I am not living Amanda's life and her husband seems to be okay with it as he says he is doing it all for her.

There were two other women profiled, one being the Krazy Coupon Lady, and a man.  All of these people have one thing in common and that is they spend a considerable amount of time collecting and organizing their coupons and researching store sales and deals.  When I say a considerable amount of time, it is like a full time job for them.  But, they save hundreds and thousands of dollars doing this.  Also, the man that was profiled did use his couponing skills in order to make big donations of food to his church's food pantry. 

So, where do I stand on extreme couponing?  I'm intrigued by it and would love to save more on couponing but since we don't have a store in town that doubles coupons, it isn't going to happen. I stayed home to be with my family to bless them with a home and I cannot fathom spending my days only on couponing and finding deals. But I do believe that if we did have such a store in our community, I would find a happy medium with couponing and taking care of my home and family.

I will not judge these people as I am not living their life.  They are doing what it is good for them and their families.  It's just too extreme for me.  What do you think?  How much do you coupon? 

Oh I almost forgot.  I did go on the Krazy Coupon Lady's website and found a great coupon - $1.00 off Xtra laundry detergent.  Our local grocery store had this detergent on sale for only $2.00 for a 48 load size.  I was able to get this detergent for only $1.00.  While I didn't get it free, it was a great deal and I would say my deal of the week.

How long do certain products last?

Back in October I pondered a question of How long do things last?   I always wondered how long some products would last and how much they would cost me over time. 

Last fall I began tracking certain household items by marking the date on those products of when I opened the container and noting when it was used up. 

I started to use a bottle of Finish Dishwasher Detergent (75 oz. size) on October 5, 2010.  I paid $2.75 for this bottle on sale and with a coupon.  I only run the dishwasher once a day as we are only a family of 3.  Here it is January 6th - 3 months later and I still have detergent left in that bottle.  I would estimate I have about a week's worth left.  Now I only fill the dishwasher cup about half or 2/3's of the way so I do save by not using the full amount of the detergent. 

Also, I add Jet Dry Rinse Agent.  I bought a 16 fl. oz. bottle for $1.00 on sale and after using coupons. I started using it the same day as the detergent, October 5th and 1/3rd of the bottle is gone.

So if the bottle of Finish lasts one more week and the Jet Dry dispenser is full and won't need to be filled before then, that bottle lasted 100 days at a cost of .03.  Add the Jet Dry into that (.33 for 1/3 bottle) and it costs less than a penny more - so we will say it cost me 3 1/3 pennnies per load. 

Why do this?  Because I have often wondered how long a bottle would last as compared to the convenient gel pacs - such as Electrasol or Finish or Cascade.  Last year I was able to get Electrasol gel pacs 20 count for $1.00 (or .05 per load), Finish Powerball tablets 32 count for $3.29 (or .10 per load) and Finish gel tabs 32 count for $1.19 (or .037 per load) all on sale and with coupons.  All of the gel pacs and tabs contain a rinse agent.  I used to stand there and look at those gel pacs and tabs and wonder if they were a good deal even on sale. 

So what have I learned?  Buying a bottle of dishwasher detergent does last longer and is cheaper than the gel pacs or tabs.  Even if I purchased the Rinse Agent at double the price I paid, it would still be cheaper than the gel pacs or tabs.  I would have to consistently find a $1.19 sale I mentioned above to use the convenient gel tabs over the bottle of detergent and rinse agent. 

Now on to Shampoo.  I use Pantene Volumizing Shampoo and I purchased a 22.8 oz. bottle on sale for $3.00 back in June of 2010.  I still have 1/3 of that bottle left.  I don't wash my hair every day.  If I washed my hair one day and the next day I get up and my hair looks great even after sleeping on it, then I don't wash it.  Also, I only use one application of the shampoo each time I wash my hair.  My hair is shorter so I don't need as much shampoo.  I would say that I wash my hair 5 days out of 7.  That bottle has lasted a long time and will probably last me a few more months. 

Since I make any good quality shampoo last, I could, if I wanted to, buy a higher end shampoo at the salon - about $15.00 for 18 oz. and it wouldn't break the budget.  I have that option, but why would I?

I use a name brand liquid fabric softener on my clothes and since I get the ultra type I only need 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per load depending on the size of the load. Yes, I have experimented and that is all that I need to soften my clothes.  I am presently using Downy and I bought a 77 oz bottle or 90 load size on sale and with a coupon for $6.00.  There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce so I will get about 462 loads out of this bottle.  I opened it on August 16th and I have been using it along with some fabric softener sheets I still have on hand so I have about 3/4 of the bottle left.  The cost is a little over one cent.

Why two kinds of fabric softener?  Well, back in the summer I was drying my clothes outside so I liked using liquid fabric softener.  I have softener sheets on hand because I got some name brand softener sheets for $1.00 for 80 sheets.  I cut the softener sheets in half and use them on jeans, whites and such.  I use the liquid softener on dress shirts, dress pants, and delicates.  When the fabric softener sheets are gone, I will use only liquid fabric softener from now on.  Why two kinds of softener?  I have found that softener sheets can sometimes leave marks on some clothing items.  That is why I only use the softener sheets I have on hand on darks, towels and my load of whites. 

As to coffee, oh my, we are obviously drinking too much in our household.  A 28 oz. container lasts us almost 3 weeks.  I have been able to get our coffee on sale and with coupons over the past 6 months for between $4.00 and $6.00 for a large canister. 

So what I have I learned from all of this?  First, since I know how long things last, I know how much to stock up on when there is a sale.  Obviously I can buy 2 large bottles of softener and it will last me a year.  My shampoo will last about 9 months and dishwasher detergent will last about 3 months.  Now I know when there is a sale and I want to get a one year's supply, I just buy 2 large bottles of softener, 2 bottles of shampoo and 4 bottles of dishwasher detergent. 

Coffee is a little different - I try to keep a 6 month's supply and now I know that is about 9 large canisters of coffee. 

As I stockpile I don't want to get to the point that I overbuy something.  That is why it is good to know how long it takes our family to use up certain products and I can then judge accordingly when there is a great sale nnd how much I would need to have on hand until the next sale comes along.

With all of the above said, how many of you watched TLC's Extreme Couponing?  What an eye opener into, in my opinion, how you can let something good such as saving money with coupons grow into something that totally takes over your life and becomes a compulsion.  I save money on groceries by using coupons and sales shopping, but I will never let that control the time I spend with my family nor will I let a stockpile overtake my entire home.  That was the case of one of the women profiled. 

I would never let that happen. 

Grocery Deals in September

I haven't done this for a long time, so I am posting my grocery deals from last Friday.  There were some great deals and here are the highlights.

Charmin 12 double roll toilet paper was $4.74 after coupons;Tidy Cat was $1.00 and I had four $1.00 off coupons so I got four 10 lb. bags of cat litter free; the salad mixes were 50 cents; red peppers were 3 for $2.00, brown sugar was $1.00 for a 2 lb. bag, the milk was 79 cents, potatoes were $1.00 for a 5 lb. bag, and yes, there are some processed foods in there.  Banquet chicken patties - $3.99; bologna was $1.00 for 16 oz.

I rarely buy the chicken patties but sometimes you have to have something like that in the freezer for a quick Saturday night lunch or supper and as for the bologna, well.... I have been craving bologna sandwiches for the past few weeks.  I haven't had them in years and no, I am not pregnant!!!

I also bought a 26 oz. container of Tide "Release" Laundry Stain Booster for 49 cents after I used an in store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon.  This is a good example of teaming up those coupons.  The in store coupon had Tide Release for $3.49 and I had a manufacturer's coupon for another $3.00.  Normally I wouldn't buy this product but I still clip the coupons and file them away in case this type of scenario happens.  I won't pay full price for this product.  I won't even pay the full price less the $3.00 manufacturer's coupon but I will pay 49 cents when I team the in store and the manufacturer's coupons to try this product. 

More good deals:  A 5 lb. bag of all purpose flour was on sale for 79 cents and I was able to get Playtex tampons - 18 count for $2.00 after using a coupon. 

At Wal-mart Wisk laundry soap was on sale for $4.97 a 32 load size and I had two $3.00 off coupons.  When it is this low I buy it and alternate using my homemade soap with the commercial detergent.  My teenage son likes men's body washes and I had some coupons.  BOGO for the Axe body wash ($2.97 each normal price and with BOGO were $1.49 each) and $2.00 off the Gillette body wash (came to $1.50 net) which also came with a free small deoderant.  Body wash is one of those unnecessary items since a bar soap will clean you just as well and for a lot less.  But, if you find a product that your teenage son likes and that product helps him get clean and smell great, I'm all for it - as long as it's on sale and I have a coupon.

Why I bought what I bought.  When toilet paper, tampons, soaps, flour and sugar are on sale, I buy these items no matter what.  These are items that are going to get used up in a relatively short time so why not stock up and save?

I haven't bought this much in a long time as I have such a stocked pantry and freezer and it hasn't been necessary, but I really wanted to take advantage of some good sales on items that I know I can donate to the food pantry.  Have you ever thought about donating items such as tampons?  They are expensive and when I can get them for $2.00 a box, I buy extra to donate.  What about dish soap or laundry soap?  All of this adds up and can be very helpful to someone who his living on a very limited income.

What grocery deals have you found in your area? 

A Little Bit of This and That

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here in south central Iowa.  It has been in the upper 70's and low 80's, the sun is shining and the trees are budding and the grass is green.  My day lilies are coming up and so are the peonies.  Tonight we are expecting severe storms.  This means the possibility of tornadoes and strong winds, but for now I am enjoying the beautiful spring day.

Today I headed to Hy-Vee grocery store to pick up some ziplock storage bags.  They are on sale for only 99 cents a box and I had several coupons for 40 cents and 50 cents off.  I bought 6 boxes for a total of $3.14.  When I got to the checkout I received a coupon for $4.00 off my next shopping trip to Hy-Vee courtesy of Ziplock.  Nothing makes my day like getting a great deal especially when the deal is free. 

My DH's birthday is Monday the 19th and I have saved up $100 towards the purchase of a Kindle for him.  He has $140 saved for this purchase.  He has no idea that I have been taking my coupon savings for the past few weeks and saving it for him.  There is nothing that brings more happiness to me than to surprise a family member with a gift that they have wanted. 

This weekend I will be tuckpointing bricks around the outside foundation of our house.  I have done this before on the inside walls of the basement and used a mortar that was premixed and in a tube that you just squirted in between the bricks.  My former boss gave me half a bag of mortar mix (hey, again I love free).  I have to mix it with water to the right consistency and then with a trowel work the mortar inbetween the bricks.  There aren't a lot of bricks that need pointed, but to hire it out would still be costly.  An afternoon of my own sweat equity will take care of the job.

My DH will be working on a drippy faucet in our bathroom.  I would love to get a new faucet but our budget has been and will continue to be tight.  So, if we can put a little work into it and just have to replace a washer or two, that is good enough for me.  However, if new washers can't fix the problem, we will purchase a new faucet.

March was fraught with added expenses such as a new washing machine and some hired plumbing work as two examples.  The month of April is continuing the theme of added expenses with a truck repair bill and the possibility of replacing our refrigerator.  To help with these expenses I have cut back our grocery bill to just the necessities which means milk, eggs, butter and fresh produce.  We can easily live off what is in our freezer and pantry. 

One thing I have learned over the past few months is that when I see unforeseen expenses coming our way I can rely on a stocked pantry to get us by.  I will be doing this for the next few months as our emergency fund has really dwindled since I became unemployed.  Thankfully we have had money in savings to pay for these added expenses but we need to replenish the emergency fund.

Since starting this post, the clouds are now rolling in and my neighbor has started to mow his lawn.  He is probably hoping he can get it done before the rain comes.

Groceries and savings

I have taken a new approach to grocery shopping over the past month.  Before that I had been using the Grocery Game to help me decide what was a sale and so on and when to stock up on a rock bottom sales price.  I had been using coupons from the Sunday paper, in store coupons and had started to dabble in some online coupons. 

Over the past couple of weeks I have moved to a different level.  I have subscribed to manufacturer's websites in order to receive free coupons.  Examples of sites I have subscribed to are Kraft, Kellogg's, Chinet, Procter and Gamble, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury.  I have subscribed to other sites that have also helped me such as Surviving the Stores, and  Housewife Hacks.  Housewife Hacks is a site that is produced by a homemaker who lives in Des Moines, Iowa which is about 1 hour from where I live.  I also love Econobusters.  Bottom line, I have come up with more sources for coupons and finding the sales at grocery stores.

This week I tracked the actual time it was taking me to clip coupons, search for coupons, organize coupons, make up a list for the three stores I visit, drive time to those stores, shopping at those stores, drive time home, putting the groceries away and then recording my sales in my spreadsheet.  What I learned did not surprise me.  I spend 1 day in this venture.  For many people that would be too much.  For me, any money saved is valuable to my family.  Clipping, searching, organizing coupons and making up a list is done in the evening when my family is home and I sit at the computer (in the living room) and also at the dining room table.  I am surrounded by my family carrying on a conversation and such.  We are together in the same area of the house.

I takes me about 7 minutes at the most to drive from my house to the furthest store to shop.  I live in a small town so drive time is minimal.  I pass the two other grocery stores on my way to Super Wal-mart so there is no zig zagging around.

Grocery shopping at those stores is a day out of the house for me and perhaps would be defined as a social day.  I always encounter people I know and that I haven't seen for awhile.  Also I have come to know a lot of the people that work at those grocery stores.  I don't spend a lot of time talking to people but it is nice to see people that you know, chat for a moment and connect with them.

Then there is the bringing the groceries in the house and storing them.  I lift weights twice a week and I consider lugging groceries in the house as helping me stay in shape.  Okay - I may be reaching here, but I kind of take pride in lifting those heavy sacks and getting them from the garage, across the back yard, on the back porch and into the house.  Also, our black lab is there to greet me hoping that I have bought her dog treats.

Then I have to put those groceries away which can be overwhelming on days when I have found a great deal and stocked up.  I have one room in my basement that I use as my stockpiling pantry.  I have to lug many of those groceries to the basement.  Before I do that I take a marker and write the expiration dates on the labels.

Lastly, I sit down sometime the next day or evening and I enter the results in my spreadsheet.

Okay, this is a lot of work.   And while probably my least favorite part of it is spent in the getting ready phase - couponing and such - I love the end result and I love the hunt.  Yesterday I encountered an acquaintance from my church at one of the grocery stores.  She had coupons out and was looking at the sale on yogurt.  The sale was 10 Yoplaits for $2.00 but the store was running an in store coupon for 10 Yoplaits for $1.00 that day.  The yogurts were due to expire over the next week or so.  She was so excited as she had a lot of coupons for Yoplait and the end result - all of that yogurt was going to be free for her.  She told me that she has recently been using coupons and can't believe the money she is saving.  We shared a few tips and I felt like I had made a couponing friend.  My family does not like yogurt so I told her I would pass on all my yogurt coupons to her.  We joked how I could slip her an envelope of coupons at church.

Being a SAHW and SAHM can be isolating so I have come to enjoy my day out.    I wouldn't enjoy it if I had young children to take with me to the store though.

I think that this day of prep, shopping, putting away and reporting "feeds" my business woman's soul as I am employing skills that I used in my former job. 

Yesterday I reached what I would call my stockpiling pantry limit. I have spent more per week this month due to the deals and now my room in the basement is full of food.  My freezer is full also. Now I can "shop" from my pantry and freezer.  I have reported in a prior post that in years past the best food deals in our area  happen right up to Thanksgiving and then after that they taper off.  I know that now is the time to buy and stock up.  Any deals of non perishables from now on will have to be really, really great deals in order for me to add anything else to my pantry or those items will be items I will donate.

A sample of deals I got this week are as follows:  Tones spices (small containers) were on sale for 50 cents.  The lowest I have seen these are 69 cents.  I had two coupons that were $1.00 off two; and three coupons that were 35 cents off one.  I bought a total of 7 spices and paid a total of 45 cents for all 7.  There was an in store coupon for Planter's mixed nuts or cashew nuts - 11 oz. container for 99 cents.  Also 8 oz. blocks of  cheese were on sale for 99 cents and crackers were on sale for $1.50 and I had coupons for $1.00 off two boxes.  Do you sense a theme here?  I plan to give away some food gift baskets for Christmas. Crackers and cheese are always a great give away item and so are nuts.  Del Monte canned vegetables were on sale for 48 cents per can and I had a coupon for $1.00 off 8 cans.  I was also able to buy another turkey for 40 cents a lb. and found room for it in my freezer.  This time I got a 15 lb. turkey.  There were a lot of other great deals also. 

Now my goal is to reap the reward of spending $125 more this month to add to my already stock piled items. I am going to keep track of how long we can live on these stock piled items and only purchase milk, eggs, produce and what is absolutely necessary to get by for as long as we can.  I need to set a spending limit per week on this and keep it is as low as possible.

So now the hunt is on with a new goal - making things last.  I need to also come up with a goal to see how long I can live on those stockpiled items.  How many weeks, months...?

I will post a picture of my pantry room in an upcoming post and will then acknowledge what my goal is for living off of these items.

Groceries and Couponing Update

First of all I think that in saving money I never want to become a bragger. I never want any posts of mine to have the element of being a bragger or being superior in any way. The system that I am working on and tweaking (through a lot of suggestions by others – which I truly appreciate) is just that: my system. It is working for me for now. As time goes on I may change it or decide down the road that perhaps there is a better system for me.

Secondly I am approaching my grocery savings and couponing just as I approached a project when I was working as a legal assistant. I am trying to be organized and have a plan as I approach this task.

Third, since I was in the “business world” for a long time I have been adding elements of looking at my home as a business. Perhaps this sounds a little cold, but for me this means that I have income and expenses; projects; deadlines and so on. Of course, this does not mean that our home is filled with cubicles, printers, copiers and a coffee pot. It is obviously a home filled with love for one another. I have just brought to my home the skills I learned in helping to run a small business. In fact it has helped me make the transition to being home full time a lot easier.

Well, enough said. In thinking about a grocery budget my goal has been to serve healthy meals with ingredients that I purchased at rock bottom prices. Also within that grocery budget I have acknowledged that I will spend more money at certain times of the year when the sales are very big and it necessitates a major stocking up time. That time of year is now for baking supplies.

I live in Iowa. I grew up in Western New York State where my mom still lives. When we go back to visit her we always make a trip to a grocery store. I cannot believe the prices on food in my home town. I am so fortunate to live where food prices are reasonable. As I have stated before I live in a small town (around 10,000 to 11,000) and we have two grocery stores (Fareway and Hy-Vee for those that live here in the Midwest) and a Super Walmart. When Super Walmart came to town a few years ago, Aldi closed its doors. Unlike those individuals that live in a large city I do not have a Costco’s, Sam’s Club, Super Target or Walgreens (for examples) as sources for groceries.

The grocery stores in my town have great sales. I am finding out since I have been more diligent about tracking my spending and about using coupons, how fortunate I am to have such great sources for my groceries. Prior to this path to frugality I would not even make up a list. I would glance over the ads and go to one grocery store and buy a bunch of stuff and come home and hopefully we would have meals for the next week. Now I plan. I enjoy it. It is a little challenge I have for myself each week and it has become a game to me. I buy what is on sale at a rock bottom price; have built up my pantry and my freezer from this stock piling and from this I make up my menus for a week. Also I have been able to give more and more to our local Ecumenical Food Cupboard from sales and couponing.

In keeping track of my coupons I have gone from an envelope system to using a notebook. My 24 year old son used to collect baseball cards and when he got married he didn’t want those cards anymore. I took the cards from the page protectors and have stored the cards in a box. (I know full well that someday he will want his baseball cards.) I now have page protectors that hold 9 coupons per page. I had a notebook here at home that I was able to use so there was no additional expense there. I went to the dollar store and purchased plastic page dividers for the different categories of coupons.

On the front of the notebook I put a clip and clip my grocery list on the outside.  

In the inside pocket I have made a list of coupons that are about to expire for items I can use. I wait until I see them on sale prior to expiring and then use them; however, if there is no sale I will go ahead and use the coupon any way. An example of this is dog food. We have a black lab and she eats Iams dog food. We will always need dog food so I might as well use the coupon and store the food. Any coupons that I know I will use, I put in my little blue Velcro coupon holder.

Here is the inside of my coupon notebook with the divider and coupons.

I used this system for the first time last week and I took it with me to two grocery stores and to Walmart. At each store I saw an in store unadvertised sale for an item that I could use and that I had a coupon. Such items are cream soups, cereal, soap, toilet paper and such. We can always use these items. It was so easy for me to flip through the notebook, find the coupon, put the coupon in my blue coupon holder and get on with my shopping.

As to unadvertised sales, this is where a price book or just a good knowledge of prices comes in handy. At one unadvertised sale this week I bought our turkey for only 40 cents a lb. Unfortunately my choices were limited: a 22 lb. turkey, a 20 lb. turkey or a 12 lb. turkey. I went with the 12 lb. turkey. Okay, I could hear my mother saying “I can’t believe you didn’t go for the 22 lb. turkey.” We can only eat so much turkey. Also we are going to be at my in laws for Thanksgiving so the 12 lb. turkey will be roasted a couple of days later for us to use as “turkey leftovers.”

The following are some of the good deals I have encountered recently. 

I paid $12.85 for the above items.  The cake mixes and frosting tubs were on sale for .78 each and I had an assortment of coupons for them.  I normally don't buy these two items but I needed to bake 10 dozen cup cakes for a banquet at school.  The relish was .50 with coupons, the cereal was .50 with coupon, and the potato mixes were .78 on sale and I had coupons that brought that down to .38 each.  I will donate these. The candles were purchased with coupons and I also had a BOGO.  I will use these for some small Christmas presents. 

On this day the chocolate chips were on sale for $1.50; the almond bark was $1.49; cheese was on sale for $1.67 and I had a coupon for $1.00 off two; the vegetable steamers were .99 and I had 50 cent off coupons; the Snuggle was $3.49 and I had a $3.00 coupon off; baby spinach was on sale for .99 as it was expiring that day.  It was fresh until it was used up 4 days later.  The sugar was .99; red peppers were on sale for .99 each.  There is more but my total sale was $35.22.  I saved $12.30 in coupons.

Here is one more:

Hunt's spaghetti sauce was on sale for .88 and I had a coupon for $1.00 off 3; Deluxe Mac and Cheese was one sale for three for $1.00 - yep - it was a great deal; shredded cheese was .99 for 8 oz bag; Chinet coffee cups were $1.50 and I had a $1.00 off coupon; potato chips were $1.50 each; Chili sauce was on sale for $1.18 and one had a .25 off coupon; Townhouse crackers were on sale for $1.50 and I had a coupon for $1.00 off two; 4 lb. sugar was .99; Nestle chocolate chips were $1.69 and I had a .50 coupon; the Shaving creme was .99; the bacon was $1.38 with in store coupon; the Glade bathroom spray was .30 after coupons; and lastly the deli turkey was on sale for $1.88 a lb.  Total amount paid was $34.11.  I saved $20.01 with coupons and store discounts.

In tracking my spending, I have created a spreadsheet in excel to track my grocery spending – gross, coupon savings and net spent. I have also created a spreadsheet to track my Christmas gift shopping – gross, coupon savings and net spent.  So far this month I have spent $282.43 on food (mostly stockpiled) and I have saved $83.28.  I have alloted $400 for this month so that I can stockpile as needed.  I think that will be the case as the grocery ads came out yesterday and there are even better deals this week.

From past experience the sales will dry up by the first week in December.  I noticed this the past two years and that was when I wasn't tracking my spending. 

Well, I cannot announce that I am only spending $50 a week for groceries.  I do believe that the extra money spent on stockpiling will come back to me two fold.  It is obvious that combining sales with coupons works.  I have the confidence that come the first of the year I will be able to keep my grocery bill down for a very long time due to some investment in extra spending this month.

Couponing and Groceries continued

I wanted to add a post early this morning and will follow up with an update later today.  I made a decision this weekend to spend more on groceries this month.  Okay, that doesn't at first glance go with the title to my blog.  However, it would appear that the two grocery stores we have here in town are both doing everything they can do to get business away from Super Wal-Mart.  It is like we are having "grocery wars" similar to the gasoline wars in the 1960's.  Over the past month I have been able to purchase 5 lb. bags of flour for 88 cents; 4 lb. bags of sugar for 99 cents and the savings go on and on.  All sorts of baking supplies go on sale at this time of year but these stores are offering real deals right now.  All of the flour I have purchased has a use by date to the end of 2010 - not that I will wait that long.  Also, my husband believes that the only cookie God intended for us to eat is chocolate chip.  Name brand chocolate chips - Hersheys and Nestle - have been on sale for as low as $1.00 and when you team them up with a coupon (50 cents off) it is a real deal.  Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese was on sale 3 for $1.00 at one store. There has been a lot of sales on Kraft Cheese, produce (large bags of baby spinach for 99 cents, red peppers 99 cents, carrots as low as 49 cents a lb.) and deli meats.  These are only a few of the great deals these stores have been offering and when I have teamed them up with coupons the savings have been great.  Of course, this adds to my pantry and I have had to come up with some interesting ways to store and keep track of all of my stock piled items. 

So I have increased my grocery budget to $100 a week for the next month in order to stock up for the future.  Come January you will not see flour and sugar this cheap.  Whole Wheat flour has not been on sale as much but I have noticed that the prices have gone down somewhat and have been able to purchase 5 lb. bags at $1.99. I have changed my goal for the time being by increasing my grocery spending now in order to save a lot more come January.  I know that by then flour will be back up to $2.00 for a 5 lb. bag and so will sugar.   The additional $25 I am spending is giving me easily $50 or more in groceries. 

I will post this evening (hopefully if not interrupted) about my savings with pictures and I will also post my new way of keeping my coupons.  I have gone from an envelope system to a notebook.

Today I am taking a meal to a family that attends our church.  The husband had knee replacement surgery on both knees last week.  With a stock pile of food in my pantry and freezer I didn't have to make a trip to the store for something to make for them.  On the menu for them is meatloaf; scalloped potatoes; steamed broccoli, buttermilk cornbread, and rice krispie bars for dessert.  As to the cost of this meal - the ground beef (85% lean) was purchased on sale at $1.59 per lb., the scalloped potatoes is not homemade but from a mix purchased on sale at 78 cents and then I had a 40 cent off coupon; green giant vegetable steamers were on sale for 99 cents and I had a 50 cent off coupon; I always have cornmeal in my pantry and I had the buttermilk from another recipe; and as to the crispy rice cereal - purchased extremely cheap about 2 months ago knowing it would get used in something.

I guess the point I want to make here in this early morning post  (now it is not so early) is that sometimes in order to meet financial goals you have to look ahead.  Spending some money now may save you a load of money down the road.  Fortunately I have some flexibility in my grocery budget right now but if I didn't have the flexibility I would find money in my budget in order to buy flour at such a low price. Also, hospitality doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I have a lot of nice budget conscious casserole recipes to choose from that might have been cheaper but I thought that the above menu would be a nice change from hospital food and would give them some leftovers for sandwiches tomorrow.

I know that macaroni and cheese and scalloped potatoes from a box are convenience foods and have a lot of sodium in them and such BUT these are used within reason.  Nearly everything I make during the day is made from scratch but it is nice to have some convenience foods on hand and as I have posted before I donate several of these items to our Ecumenical Food Cupboard for their use. 

Well, this whole journey has been interesting. Come January or perhaps by mid December when the sales are not as good, my grocery bill will be down considerably and should remain low for a very long time.  I need to come up with a goal but I would say that I should be easily able to keep my grocery bill down to $60 a week for a very long time.  Actually I would like to get it down to $50. 

Every day I struggle with spending money.  I track all of my grocery spending on a spread sheet so I can stay on budget.  I am prone to spend and I could easily get carried away with stock piling too much food and over spending by having to throw something out that expires.  So far I have had a good handle on it.

Well it is Monday and Monday is laundry day in our house.  I need to get started.  When I became a SAHW I decided that the housewives of years past had the right idea with Monday being laundry day and it works for me.

My journey to using coupons

I like to spend money on stuff.  There - the secret is out.  Truth be told we all love to spend money but know that if we over spend we will be in a world of hurt before too long.  I had known for 9 months that it was a good possibility that I was going to be unemployed.  I also knew that I didn't want to look for another job and wanted the opportunity to be at home.  I knew that to be successful I had to have a change of viewpoint on money, spending and saving.  I used to log on to amazon.com and purchase any dvd's or books that I wanted.  A trip to Wal-mart also meant a quick trip around the store to "see if there is anything else we might need."  I used that comment a lot.  We didn't need anything else, but I always found something.  I guess it is a feeling of entitlement from working a 40 plus hour work week.

Well - living on one income meant a major change in my way of thinking.  I have used coupons off and on but never consistently.  That changed in February of this year when I saw an interview with Teri Gault of the Grocery Game on a news program.  I decided to give it a try and I enrolled for a trial subscription.

If you go to Teri's website here she does an excellent job of explaining the grocery game.  Basically it comes down to this, you sign up for one or more stores in your area and she will post the sales each week.  The list is color coded to show what items are free with a coupon, what items are on sale but not at a great sale price yet, and third, a list of items at rock bottom prices.  When items are at rock bottom prices you are to stock up.  Teri talks about sales rotating every 12 weeks so you buy at the rock bottom price for what you will need until the next sale.  The list in an of itself would be great at that point but what really makes it wonderful is that next to each item she teams it up with any coupon available and tells you where you can find that coupon.  I simply place a check mark next to what I want to buy and print it off. 

Since using this program I have saved money and my pantry is piled high with lots of items that I purchased at rock bottom prices.  All of these items are items we will use.  The regular subscription cost is $10.00 for eight weeks and I more than recoup my $1.25 per week outlay for this service.

Why is this helpful to me?  I like the power of knowing that this is the time to buy, this is a good deal and this is the time to stock up.  Teri always says to trust the list. One time I went ahead and purchased something with a coupon because I thought it was a good price.  Then the following week this item went on sale and it was on Teri's list to buy.  Lesson learned.

I started collecting coupons from the Sunday paper. We have had a subscription for years as we love to read the paper on Sunday morning over coffee prior to going to church.  I found out one day that a local convenience store gives away the Sunday paper if you fill up your car on Sunday (fill up means anything over 1/4 of a tank).  Now I get two sets of Sunday coupons.

The above two steps were big for me: subscribing to the Grocery Game and saving and clipping coupons from the Sunday paper.  Remember, this path to frugality that I am on is a "baby step" path.  If I try to take on too many changes at once I will set myself up for failure.  My next step was getting coupons on line.  First of all I made sure that our local stores would accept them.  The town I live in is a population of 11,000 and we have two grocery stores plus a Super Wal-mart.  I wanted to make sure that these stores would take these coupons before I turned them over at the cash register and got a surprise.  My favorite site is obviously the coupon mom.  I have added other sites along the line but I love the coupon mom's site the best.

My goal with using coupons and the Grocery Game subscription is to buy only items my family will use with a goal of saving $20.00 average per week with coupons.  None of the stores in our area double coupons.

Two weeks ago I made my biggest savings when there was a sale on General Mills cereal.  I had to buy 6 boxes of any GM cereal and then I would get $10 off with an in store coupon and would also receive a coupon at the checkout for a free gallon of milk on my next trip to the store.  When I got to the grocery store I was armed with manufacturer's coupons for the cereal as the store allows you to "stack" coupons.  In other words you can use a store coupon and tag team it up with a manufacturer's coupon for more savings.  The cereal that I purchased totaled $16.00.  Then the $10.00 store coupon was taken off and I presented them with 3 coupons for $1.00 off two boxes of ceral.  Now my net cost was $3.00 for those 6 boxes of cereal.  I then received a coupon for 1 free gallon of milk on my next visit. Milk was $2.99 a gallon at that store.  So for 1 penny I was able to buy 6 boxes of cereal and milk.

Couponing does take some time but now that I have been doing it for 9 months I spend about 1 1/4 hours a week clipping, sorting, storing my coupons along with planning the shopping trip itself.  It is worth my time for any coupon savings as I am not bringing in an income so my goal right now is to not spend and to save.

Because of all the stock piling and such I have a room in my basement that has a lot of paper products, soaps, canned goods, cereals, flour, sugar and more.  I have several shelves of items to choose from.  My estimation is that I have in my pantry and my freezer close to a 6 month supply of food items.  In the news today you will hear about the need to have a 6 to 8 month emergency fund in savings in case of a job loss.  I cannot fathom how we would be able to save that much money right now, but at least I have our groceries covered.  It is a beginning.  I do want to add that while stock piling I used a budget of $100 per week which was lower than what I was spending when I was working full time.  In maintaining this stock pile I have been able to go a lot lower which is my goal.  As I continued to buy mostly stock pile items, my grocery expense went down each week.  It is a beginning and also is characteristic of my taking baby steps along this journey.

One additional benefit to couponing is that I have been able to buy items and donate them to our local Ecumenical Food Cupboard to help those in need.  I look at it as a way to stretch my donation dollar.  I have been able to purchase deoderant for 25 cents a stick and shampoo for 50 cents a bottle.  Recently they had a 4 roll brand of toilet paper on sale for $1.00 a package and I had five $1.00 off coupons.  I donated these packages.

My goal is to get my grocery expense as low as I can without feeling deprived.  Right now I am averaging $70 to $80 a week for me, my husband and our teenage son (along with a cat and a large dog).  I want to get my grocery expense down to $60 to $65 a week.  I think that is quite doable and the money I save can be put in savings.  For this month I want to get the weekly grocery expense even lower by using food from my stockpile and only buying rock bottom items such as turkey, flour, sugar and other baking supplies that go on sale. I want to use the money that I don't spend towards Christmas gift giving.  We have set some money aside for Christmas but I would prefer to use what I can from our grocery budget savings and leave the Christmas money in savings to help build up our emergency fund.

I may not be a coupon queen but I'll settle for being a coupon duchess for now.