2016

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Sheila

The garden is doing the best EVER! We have corn growing, cucumber and squash with huge blooms and we are already picking dill and basil to use! I am hoping this continues and we get to enjoy the benefits for the entire year.
In checking the freezers, I realized that we were out of beef stock. Between yesterday and today, we have made and frozen 3 gallon that should last for a while.
The air conditioning in the house is still off. I am so excited as this is definitely the longest time in May we have been able to keep it off. I have already checked the forecast for the next week and with temperatures in the 60s till Wednesday, May 20th is now my goal date!
I am going to head out tomorrow night with some friend from work to Dinner and a Movie. I am excited as this is the first time in years, I have been able to do something like this.
I am planning to add a goal to my financial side to earn a $25 gift card each month from Swagbucks. This will help to boost my saving significantly.

Grocery Shopping- My Way

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Sheila

I have been getting a couple of questions about the way I shop, so I am going to try and explain it along with the example of my shopping today.

Meat- My first choice is Zaycon food. Typically we buy chicken breast once every six months and other items usually about once a year. We currently have pork roast and pork chops in the freezer. The purchases of the other foods depend heavily on our need and ability to pick up when things are offered. My second choice which is also more convenient is the “meat store” which is in the next town. Over the past three years we typically go and purchase meat about once every 5-6 months. We always buy ground beef in bulk and process by making several items but a lot of packages of pre-cooked meat. Other meat is typically purchased at Costco on an as needed bases. Today I purchased 5 bags of shrimp at Harris Teeter, this should last a minimum of 6 months if not longer.

Health and Beauty Items, including toilet paper, I purchase on sale cycles at CVS or Harris Teeter. CVS is my only “weekly” trip because it is in town. I try and spent $1 or less on most items. Toothpaste is always free and I currently have around 20 tubes in the stockpile. I always watch sales and try to keep things pretty well stocked up. For the first couple month of the year, we were able to reduce spending significantly and just use what we had. My goal is to try this again this summer.

Drinks- I am addicted to Diet Coke and I fully admit it. I usually purchase most of my drinks both can and bottles at CVS. I try always to combine an ECB deal with free 12 pack coupons from Coke. Today however was the exception, we purchased 10 cases of soda at Harris Teeter on a Buy 2 Get 3 free sale. I also currently have 3 rain checks for cokes. Typically price for 2L is less than $1 and cans- 25cent each or less.

I purchase the majority of the rest of my groceries at Costco. Just like regular grocery stores they run sales and I tended to stock up on good deals. Today we purchased 3 boxes of Cheez-its and 2 boxes of gummies. These should last through the summer. I do also keep a watch on sales. I typically go to Harris Teeter every other month depending on when Super Doubles or great sales occur like today. Food Lion is the only grocery store beside Walmart in my town so I will shop there for great deals and for their annual sale which is typically an additional 25 cent off house brand purchases. Aldi is also local and we grab our vegetables, canned foods and snack items there. I usually go to Aldi every two weeks.

Our Costco trip today ended up totaling close to $500 but this was a stock up trip because I honestly don’t plan or want to go back till at least the first of August if not the week before the kids return to school. I enjoying shopping at Costco but tend to spend more than I should. Today’s trip included 8 gallons of milk, 7 dozen eggs and 4 packs of shells.

How different are your shopping trips than mine?

Wordless Wednesday- ZACH

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Sheila

Step by Step CVS Trip!

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Sheila

I started my trip with $5 ECB from last weeks trip, I also received $5 ECB from Beauty Club Rewards. I will explain these below.

CVS tracks your spending in several ways that end up helping you. First if you buy a CVS brand item you get 2% back at the end of the quarter. This shows up on the bottom of your receipt each purchase but does not include anything from today. Second is the “Beauty Club.” You actually have to sign up for this but it is very simple. It tracks how much you spend on soap, hair care, body wash, make-up and other random items. This cost is considered pre coupon, for example, I purchased a razor today that was marked at $13.49,this is the amount that is counted as beauty club. These is also are tracked at the bottom of your receipt but do not show items purchased on the same day. Both these items print automatically when you scan your card at the red machine. Quaterly ECB print the first time you scan in April, July, October and January. Each time you reach the $50 mark of Beauty Club they will print in approximately a week.

I spent approximately 30 minutes on Thursday or Friday evening looking at the upcoming weeks list at Southern Savers. Click on Drug Store at top, then CVS, last click weekly deals and pick the correct week. It is very simple to make a printable list. For me I pick all free items after coupons, and then I usually pick items that we use that are less then $1. I try to check my coupon inserts so that my list only includes items that I actually have coupons for. I print my list and stick in my folder with the coupons I will use. Next step is to decide how many transactions? I will also label this on my printed list if I have more than 2 or 3. I have learned that it is easier to do multiple transaction and then you can use ECB for the next one. This week, I planned two transactions.

I ended up actually going to CVS prior to work today because I got too busy yesterday. My first transaction was for the Woman’s Razor. I use a coupon for $3 off from Smart Source 4/24 and $10 ECB that I listed above. Total cost was $1.08. I earned $5 ECB. My second transaction was for a total of 4 bottles of Suave, 2 were the 3n1 Kids and the other two were Suave Professionals. I had a coupon for 3 of the items again from Smart Source 4/24. After coupons and ECB my total was $4.84 and I received 5 ECB,

Total spent $5.92, saved $26.86 or 82%

The razor has been on my list for several weeks and will last me most of the summer. The shampoo is one of the items along with deodorant and body wash that I always stock up on if possible for around $1 each. I NEVER pay for toothpaste or mouthwash.

Do you have a question that I missed?

Saving on Saturday- 5/7/2016

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Sheila

This project actually took us two days to complete but mainly because we had lot of other things going on at the same time. One side of the “addition” has an area of 6 inches or so from the wall that we have been attempting to grow grass in for the past three years. Last year, we bought specific “shade” grass and it still did not work. So after so talk and planning we decided to make it a flower bed. We decided not to attempt to grow vegetables in this area because it is in the shade for the majority of the day and would have a huge expense associated with it attempting to buy dirt to make sure things could grow.

I woke up bright and early Saturday morning and head out to the local “plant sale” that is by the master gardeners in the area. In the past, I have not arrived early enough to find as much as I have wanted. This year, I arrived at 7:50am for the sale that was scheduled to start at 8. I did miss out of a couple of specific things I was looking for but was successful over all. I focused on purchasing plants that were known to grow in the shade. I purchased 6 different shade plants for a total of $18. As I have been looking at the front flower bed which touches this new bed, I realized that at least one of the hosta plants was too close to other plants so I decided to dig it up. I was able to spread this one plant into 5 different sections which saved at least $20. I know this plants spread and grow very quickly so by next year they should be back to the right size. After coming home and going to Zach’s soccer game, we stopped at Lowes to purchase brick blocks to line the bed and some mulch. We ended up spending $100 total for this new bed. I am so pleased and excited about this huge accomplishment.

This is an attempt to view the entire side.

5 Things Friday-5/6/2016

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Sheila

We finished re-planting the garden this evening between the rain showers and managed to harvest our first crop of basil. I just froze the basil for use in spaghetti sauce, once we have an abundance of tomatoes.
I ended up spending close to 6 hours in the car yesterday. I took the girls for an eye appointment which meant that I had to then come back home and drive in the opposite direction to update their glasses. Kendall will be wearing bifocals and Lily needed to go back up to a stronger prescription.
Zach has his last soccer game tomorrow. The girls both competed in their last cheerleading completion last Sunday. The hope is that things slow down for two to three weeks prior to swim team practice starting.
Our budget is going to get tight for the summer. I realized that we need to make some serious debit repayment during the summer. We have already purchased season passes to the local water park and will be paying our pool dues this months. So the goal is play hard but not spend extra money!
The kitchen is officially finished. I have decided that I will not be purchasing a new table until and unless, I am able to sell enough items on line and with a real yard sale to make the purchase.