Category Archives: Coupons

Saving On Saturday

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This week I have several things to share!

First up is the garden, I have already been able to make: 3 batches of Cucumber relish, most of which is frozen to be enjoyed the rest of the year. 4 bags of squash to be used for squash lasagna.                                                              2 bags of frozen tomatoes (they first started getting ripe yesterday, so I am hoping that by the end of the week I can add 30 or more bags to my freezer.                             1 gallon of pickles, we will be taste testing these to determine if I can make more or not.
We have enjoyed fresh produce almost daily with just enough squash to fry up at least once a week, green beans once a week.   I know that if the temps don’t cool off soon and we start getting more rain then I am most likely at end of both cucumbers and squash but I am praying to see much improvement this week. I was so disappointed today that I ended up finding the first batch (6) green peppers that are rotten. We still have several watermelons, a cantaloupe and at least one pumpkin growing!

Next up for saving was my quick trip to CVS on Sunday. I will be really honest and say that I am becoming a little more disappointed with CVS each week. This week I purchased 3 cases of Diet coke and paid $0, out of pocket!  The sale was 3 for $12, I used a free 12 pack purchased with coke points, 2 ECB from several weeks ago  and the $8 remaining dollars came off a gift card that I received several weeks ago for purchasing $30 of certain products.

Finally, Harris Teeter is running a super doubles event this week. They will double all coupons up to $2, with a limit of 20 daily. I ended up spending $34.08 but saved $74 or 70%.  This  may sound like a high amount but I ended up with 12 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 4 boxes of Suddenly Salad,4 bottles of shampoo, 4 cans of hair spray, 2 bottles of spray gel and 2 bottle of mouse along with several other items. I am so excited because we use ALOT of hair products around here!

How are you saving money?

Random Thursday Thoughts

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  • Matt and I have survived our first week of car sharing. Because we do not feel comfortable driving the white van and the truck does not have working air conditioning, we have been car sharing.  The current plan is continue for at least 2 more weeks.
  • My summer clothes shopping is finished. I was able to purchase 2 pair of shorts for myself, a t-shirt for Matt, a shirt to match a skirt for Lily, a pair of short for Lily and 3 pair of shorts for Kendall today all for $92 or about $11.50 each.
  • We will be increasing our food budget to $700 a month starting in July. Today I used our rewards coupon from Costco help us stay on track for the budget for June. We only needed 3 items but decided to go ahead and buy some extra produce and a couple of fun food items as well. Out of pocket was $23 for 22 items at Costco or $1 an item. No way to match that!
  • We are suppose to close on our new mortgage next week so I plan to share more detail and our new budget some time after that.
  • I am already working on the new budget but had to adjust both the water and electric bill higher than I anticipated due to the extreme heat (above 90 for the past 10 days with prediction of another 10 days). At this point if we do not water the garden will be start to lose anything that we have. I had planned to water every third day but I may have to alternate every other day in hopes to still get a decent harvest.
  • Tonight we made the tough decision to skip a practice. We are in week 3 of 8, with 4 night a week swim practice in addition to cheerleading and piano. Because we have been car sharing, everyone has been out to at least 8:30 each night this week. I am tired and so are the kids, which is evident by attitudes so Zach, Kendall and I stayed home while Lily  went to cheerleading only.
  • Amanda is planning to bring a camper over next week and stay the week allowing the kids to sleep outside in the camper with her a couple of nights. I am not sure how this will work out but everyone is excited so at least it should make for some good stories in the future.

All about the Food

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The past several months have been a struggle in regards to food/groceries and our budget.  We have been attempting to eat what we have and maintain a $600 a month grocery budget while keeping a crazy schedule. I am very thankful that when school ends this Friday, our schedule will become a little bit simpler because the kids will be able to sleep in a bit later in the morning in addition to getting a nap during the day if we are really late getting to bed. School ending will not have an effect on our grocery budget however. We have been packing lunches all year long so in theory we should be eating the same amount of food.

With our busy schedule it has been several months since I have been able to devote time to restocking our freezer with items that make life easier at dinner and breakfast time. The good news is that this weekend, I have been able to accomplish a little bit of that. I am trying to be creative and use food before it ends up in the composite pile as well.

Saturday cooking included: French toast, deviled eggs, potato salad, mandarin salad, watermelon prep, sour dough bread, banana chocolate chip muffins, Mexican rice and a baked spaghetti.

I made a huge batch of French toast, using sour dough bread that needed to be eaten. The down side to making my own bread at this point is that I have to feed the starter every 7-10 days, I could simple toss a cup of starter after feeding it but that feels like waste to me.  I was able to use up a loaf and half of bread this morning. Matt is also planning to make pretzels for a treat and it will use the same dough as well.

My kids love to help in the kitchen and I know that I need to encourage and develop that skill as well so this weekend, the little three have been taking turns helping to prepare food. Kendall read the French toast recipe and Zach dump in the ingredients. Lily was able to make “mandarin salad” following the recipe with just guidance from me. For Zach next turn, he was able to help dump and turn on the blender for mixing up bread dough. Kendall helped with deviled eggs today as well.  The kids really enjoyed working in the kitchen. I was able to get all the food prepare that I had planned so it was definitely a win this week..

One of the areas that is always a struggle for us is Sunday. I really like the idea of not cooking and having a day of rest. In order for it not to turn into a eat out day. I am trying to prepare things ahead. The muffins were made on Saturday. Lunch was prepared on Saturday night and will cook while we are at church. Dinner is also all prepared and will just need to be heated up or in the case of most of the food just loaded on plates.

Overall I am very pleased with the food progress we made this weekend and hope that with some extra prep we can avoid eating out and still maintain a budget during June.

Now to the menu plan with some notes about our work on Saturday.

Breakfast-French toast (leftovers from Saturday) ,  Banana Muffins (made for breakfast on Sunday) Cereal, Poptarts, grits and toast.

Lunch-Lunches are going to be packed later today(Sunday) and I will be taking either a salad or leftovers.

Dinner– In addition to the kids “normal” practice this week we have a meeting for Matt on Tuesday and for Sheila on Thursday.

Saturday- Lunch: Potato salad, Mandarin salad, watermelon, deviled eggs. Matt needed some meat so he eat leftover steak.  Dinner- Mexican rice with salsa, cheese and chips.

Sunday- Lunch- Baked Spaghetti (noodles left over from last week and I need to use up the mozzarella cheese , Dinner- Left over meat choice of chicken, steak or pork with the sides from Saturday or a salad.

Monday- Hamburger steak with sides ( whatever is left) from Saturday
Tuesday- Tacos
Wednesday-Rice creole
Thursday-  Options include leftovers, breakfast, pizza chicken  or pulled pork. (I will make the decision Wednesday night based on what the refrigerator is looking like and my mood.)
Friday- Cowboy beans that will be reheated in crock pot. We may add some corn bread just to make things fun.

Finally the budget discussion, after much thought, prayer and analyzing the numbers, I have decided to increase my grocery budget to $700 a month beginning in June. Food prices have been on the rise for the past several years and I have maintained the $600 budget for almost 3 years. In addition as the kids are growing they are beginning to eat more. With this realization I will be add the $100 a month in hopes of making the budget more realistic and obtainable . Is your budget changing?

 

Saving on Saturday 06/06/2015

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I cheated a little this week. First of all, I actually did the saving on Friday night although the deal is good through Sunday. Next, no picture I forget till everything was put away so…

This week I am saving on groceries and adding to our stockpile. The only grocery store in town Food Lion is running a fairly decent sale this weekend, combined with coupons I was able to save 55%. Here is what I purchased; 9 2L soda $0.99 each
2 box of Pasta Salad $1.50 each(coupon machine in the front of store gave me $1.00 off 2)
12 boxes of Hamburger helper $0.99 each, used 4 $0.75/3 coupons, from SS 5/03 insert
1 bag of self rising flour(ran out last week and Costco does not sell)

Total spent with taxes $22.51, total saved $27.12 or 55%

Anytime I leave Food Lion with saving more than I spent I consider it a major accomplishment! As I was checking out with the usually “coupons” that they given I received a free 8×8 hardcover book from Shutterfly.   I came home to try it as I am always doubtful but it worked! I was able to order our third autograph book for Disney and paid shipping only!  That officially makes it a great trip to Food Lion!

 

CVS shopping 5/26/2015

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Consistency is the key when shopping at CVS. I will be the first to say that in recent months, I have not made a trip to CVS in weeks. But this week was well worth the effort. I ended up with 3 separate transactions. I started the week off with 5 ECB from the Coke products I purchased last week. I ended with 5 ECB from the Nail polish.

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Total spent was $5.30 and total saved $41 or 89%. I like to think of it as free nail polish and bath wash with half price sun screen. I should also say that I purchased 3 photo prints to use for Kendall’s poster as well.

 

Fun CVS Trip

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I was kinda disappointed this past Sunday when I finished my CVS shopping. I ended up not splitting my transactions up the best way and spent $20 out of pocket and ended up with $12 in ECB. My saving total was right at 60% not bad but not great. However the week is saved!!! After work, I discovered a high value Tide coupon ($3 off). I decided to head to CVS just to use the two I printed. I spent $2.15 on the following..

FullSizeRenderI did receive a nice surprise tonight of 2 $5 ECB printing from the Red Machine because of my beauty club purchases.

Total spent for the week $22.31, total value 118.46, total saved 96.15 or 81%!!! And I still have 6 ECB to save till next week.

Sunday Catch Up 3/01/2015

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This weekend has flown by and as I was talking to Matt this afternoon it really is one of the least busy weekend that I see in the next several months. I thought I would take a bit of time this evening and catch you up on the happenings around here.

CVS shopping– I am continuing to make my weekly trips to CVS and the kids are really really enjoying the special one on one time that each is getting. Last week, was an ok week that turned out great. We ended up purchasing a credit card reader for Matt’s business  which boosted our saving. This week was AWESOME!  I made a trip and spent 15 saving $66 or 81%. But I am more excited because Amanda came over and with a little bit of help she made a trip by herself and was able to save around the same amount. I am also very happy because this week alone, we have used $18 worth of coupons from the Sunday papers. This covers the entire month subscription.

Menu Planning– Last week was a bit of a challenge as the kids only went to school 1 day, we also ended up cancelling our scheduled eye appointments due to the weather. Our initial plan included eating out a total of 4 times but instead we ended up eating out once.  Matt and the kids did enjoy pizza from Pizza hut but they used reading reward that Kendall and Lily had earned so the total cost was $0. Here is the plan for next week

Breakfast-I made a batch of French toast on Saturday which will be eaten as leftovers, I am also going to make an overnight egg back and baked oatmeal this week for some warm easy breakfast.

Lunch-Lunches for the girls and I have already been packed. I made a huge salad that I will be eating from most of the week in addition to a couple of days of leftovers.

Dinner– We do have a busy week and plan on going out of town next weekend so we want to eat at home as much as possible.

Sunday- Lunch- Baked Potatoes  Dinner- Leftover soups from the week.
Monday- Shrimp Scampi- Frozen meal I purchased with week with coupons.
Tuesday- Taco Rice Burritos or Taco Rice Salad
Wednesday-Roast
Thursday-  Leftovers or pizza or what ever I decide
Friday- Pork Chops, mac and cheese and apple sauce.

Planning Ahead-  One of the ways I want to increase our funds for our planned Disney trip is by having a yard sale. I have decided to attempt to hold this on April 4th, the Saturday before Easter. This weekend, we have been sorting through everyone clothes especially Spring and Summer clothes. I have discovery that unless someone grows significantly, we actually have enough clothes without the need to purchase any items. Shoes may be a different story but I am excited to save money any way we can.

 

 

5 Things Friday 2/20/2015

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1. It has been extremely cold here the last several days, the kids have been out of school due to the weather for the entire week. Last night the pipes to our bathroom froze, luckily they did not burst but this will be a major headache to repair in the spring. I expect our electric and water bill to be much higher than normal. Matt called someone to come look at our heat pump next week because it simply is not keeping the house warm. We woke up to a temperature of 60 this morning. NO FUN!

2. We anticipate small repairs on our vehicles because they are older: however this month we have spent over $100 on parts for these small repairs. I am thankful that Matt is doing all the labor but I had hoped to be able to save some of our gas budget this month, instead it is going into parts.

3. We have received both our tax returns now. I am thankful that this extra income has been able to help us reserve our rooms at Disney World. I am planning a full post on the cost associated with this trip and ways we are saving for it very soon. tomorrow.

4. I should be able to control the grocery budget this month and keep it below our $600. Currently, it has $94 left in it with one week left in the month. I know that I will be shopping at CVS on Sunday but otherwise I hope to avoid any other purchases. This past week I have made several trips to CVS and ending up spending $50 on soda and another $10 on make up but this should not be the case for next week. It was fun to see a couple of receipts that showed 100% savings.

5. Because of the weather, my work hours have been crazy. I will admit to enjoying not going into work on Tuesday or Wednesday until 10 am and getting off prior to 3pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was a rare treat. I ended up working only 23 hours so between the past two week I have taken 14 hours of vacation time. I try to save these hours for the summer or events that I need to attend with the kids.

One Cent Soup Sunday Shopping

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I have decided to change up my regular CVS shopping on Sunday a little bit this year.  One of the hardest things to do with five children for me is to find time to spend with each one individually. In reality, with the older girls this usually is a phone/text conversation once a week or so but to find one on one time with the little ones is hard especially with the girls who are so involved and in school most days. I think I may have found a great solution for all of us….Sunday shopping.  I am going to plan on taking one of the kids only with me each week as I go to grab the deals.  Today was Zach’s turn as Kendall went with me last week.

Zach was really luck as I made 3 stops today, Dollar General, CVS and Aldi.  At Dollar General, I used 2 BIC coupons from today’s paper to grab a set of pens and a set of highlighters for free. I know that these will not go bad and simply added both to the stockpile. I also picked up a box of instant grits as this was a request. Total spent $2.74 , of which the grits were $2.74.

CVS was our second stop. One thing that really helped me out was the fact that winter quarter ECB are printing. So I was receive 3 ECB from my card and 5 ECB  from Matt’s card. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the store they had already sold out of Lipton Tea and the free Gummy vitamins were not in stock either.  But who can be disappointed when both my receipts show 100% savings. I was able to purchase one can of Tomato soup and 2 cans of Progresso Soup on each card a grand total of $0.04   I used 2 progresso soup coupons from today paper for $0.50 off two cans and along with the 0.50 cent off a can of Campbell’s tomato soup printing from the red box.   I was rewarded with 1 ECB back on each transaction so I have a total of 7 ECB left to use either later in the week or save until next week.

Our final stop was Aldi, I mainly needed to grab fresh fruits and vegetables to use in our lunches this week I found an awesome deal on OceanSpray cranberries, $0.25 for a 12 ounces bag. I grab 8 of these and came home and froze as we love fresh cranberry sauce and the bag stated to simply freeze and use as fresh in recipes.

Total spent for the day $37.72….awesome start to the year.

First Coupon…2015

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Although I did not have any plans for leaving the house today, I ended up taking Haley to the doctor, confirmed that she has the flu.   I decided to use my first coupon of the year.

10906233_10203493011954885_4338929245926770533_n[2]These can be found on a calendar that is purchased for $5. I think we purchased this back in November. This calendar has 3 coupons per month that usually include a “deal’ on a dozen donuts. This month it has 3 total freebies so I was really excited. Hot Krispy Kreme donuts are my absolute favorite food and even Lily knows the only thing better than donuts are free donuts. A normal dozen cost $8.00 with tax so even after purchasing the entire calendar a few of our donuts were totally free.

I also ended up shopping at Walmart in the Christmas clearance section while waiting for Haley’s prescription.  I found some awesome deals on wrapping paper and several different “gift set” I am already planning to use some of these sets as Easter gifts and will be using the other during the year for Birthday parties and such.

What is your “first” for the year?