Coupon vs Not Couponing

I found this on theKrazycouponLady and thought I would share this with you.

What I Learned from My 6 Month Coupon Break:

Six months ago I canceled my subscription to the newspaper, stopped checking the couponing websites hourly, and let several Register Rewards from Walgreens expire…Uggg! I was just plain burned out. My third baby was 3 months old, and I had just returned to work full time. Newspapers were piling up with coupons unsorted, and I just couldn’t deal with it any more. So I had a radical idea: Why not just shop like a normal person?

The first few months were fine. We had a nice stockpile of everything our family needed. In fact, our storage of food and other products was overflowing! It was nice to start seeing a little wiggle room in our pantry. I didn’t have to un-stack 6 boxes of cereal to get to the cans of peaches piled up in the very back of the cupboard.

Around month 4, we were still doing okay. It was late summer, and the local produce stands were overflowing with fabulous fresh food. We went grocery shopping about once a week usually just to get milk or charcoal for the grill. Living off our stockpile was amazing because we spent far less than our allotted weekly grocery budget, leaving more money for fun!

But then the downward, spending-too-much-on-groceries spiral began. It started suddenly but quickly escalated out of control! First we were down to one pack of diapers. With two children in diapers and one still in the process of potty training, this is a big deal. “Okay,” I thought. “I’ll just buy a box of Great Value diapers, like any normal person would.” Little did I know I would have to buy a box every 1-2 weeks, and at close to $20 a pop it was adding up quickly!

Next, I realized we only had one jar of spaghetti sauce left. Yikes! Spaghetti is our go-to meal that we have at least once a week. How could this happen? We had close to 20 jars. I guess that explains why we only have 3 boxes of spaghetti noodles left too. The final straw: when my husband had to buy body wash at FULL PRICE! Anyone who has couponed for any length of time knows how easy it is to get health and beauty products for free. What were we doing wasting our hard earned money paying for products we can easily get for free? This could not be happening! That’s when I realized I NEEDED to get back to couponing.
To sum it up, this is what I learned from my coupon sabatical:

It is a very good idea to have a 6 month stockpile of items around the house–not only to be prepared for a job loss, but for other times when you just might not want to go to the store.
Only buy items you or your family will use. Those cans of peas I got about a year ago for a ridiculously low price are still in my pantry. Even though they were close to free, and even though our pantry became close to empty, we still didn’t eat them. I’m sorry, we just can’t stomach canned peas.

No deal is a good deal if it goes to waste.
Use it or lose it. Your newspaper subscription, that is. The point of getting 6 (or however many you get) newspapers a week is to save money with multiple coupons. But you’re losing money if you just let your papers pile up. Cancel if you need to, save a tree, then re-sign up when you are ready.
Couponing can save you thousands of dollars. During the end of the 6 months without coupons, my husband and I found ourselves going to the store 2-3 times a week. We were out of items we got used to having on hand, and shopping on such short notice doesn’t leave much time for clipping coupons or looking for sales. I’m scared to go back and check receipts to see how much money we wasted by not being prepared.
Moderation in all things, including coupons. Cut yourself some slack. You don’t need to get every deal. Sales and seasons cycle. You don’t need to clip every coupon, either. I found myself saving contact solution coupons because they had previously been moneymakers. But I don’t wear contacts. I don’t need to do that. The time would be better spent playing with my kids.



This Sunday our dry spell came to an end. I was excited beyond words when my 6 Sunday newspapers were delivered. I no longer have to shop like “normal” people, and it feels so good! It will take a little time to rebuild everything we have depleted, but I am re-energized to keep on top of the organization and stockpiling. It was good to have a break, but it is GREAT to be back!!!

My 52 item list for food storage

My 52 item list for food storage

You know that I love getting a good deal and then stocking up on it when it is a good deal, with not too many strings attached, like using coupons and store coupons and then going to Ibotta to get an even better price. No, I like the rock bottom deals that happen once a year. The list I made up has the timing when grocery go on sale at the lowest price so you can stockpile

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Here are 52 items that you can buy that isn't that expensive to help with your food storage.  the idea is that each week of the year you get what you think you need for the year, or 3 or 6 months depending on your situation (aka space you have to store.)

For example, I know my family likes spaghetti a lot, I go all out when this is my price point. I will buy at least 52 cans of spaghetti sauce when it's at my price point. the same thing with all the other food, so at any given week you will buy 52 of one thing, that could potentially last you for the year...

the beauty of this plan is that if there isn't a good sale that week or funds are a bit low the sale will come back around every 2-6 months, so it's a really forgivable plan.

These sales are taken from Hy-Vee's sales cycle, but other Grocery stores are on the same general cycle. It's also important to note that I wrote this list knowing that these items are on sale sometime during that month so it is very possible that the item doesn't go on sale the week I say it is, but be on the lookout for that item to be on sale during that month or a couple weeks after.

January January- February is frozen food months look out for good deals. 

week 1 Oat Meal

week 2 granola bars, nutrigrain bars, healthy high protein/fiber bars

Week 3  vitamins (shelf life isn't that long, so restock again in summer) and protein powder, healthy food items

Week 4: Sea Food- frozen, fresh, or canned. its a great time to buy and stock up!

week 5: frozen bread- garlic, warm and ready, frozen noddles.

February: National canned food month

Week 1 Syrup, Honey, pancake mix

Week2 Canned fruit, (I like to buy oranges and peaches, every three months)

Week 3 canned Beans, tomato sauce

Week 4 Frozen Vegetables and  Frozen Pizza's and dinners, be careful to only buy what you have room for.

March

Week juice, apple, lemon, and other juices you drink and cook with.

week 2  Butter

week 3 Strawberries, frozen fruit

week 4 Chicken- whole ones that you can roast and shred and then freeze the meat.

April

Week 1 Ham, (also on sale in November)

Week 2 Spaghetti sauce (march is also a good time to get this deal)

Week 3 Butter (on sale during Easter, best price of the year, I like to freeze it!)

Week 4 Baking supplies, cake, brownie, mixes, Marshmallows, chocolate chips and stock up on flour and sugar, the next good deals won't be until November.

week 5  sports drinks, bottle water, flavored water

May

Week 1 BBQ sauce, Salad dressing and marinades, and salt

Week 2 Hot dogs, brats and other grilling meats

Week 3 Sunscreen, and bug spray

Week 4 fresh berries, and vegetables

June National Dairy month   

Week 1 Dairy - think of freezing yogurt, ice cream, heavy whipping

Week 2 Mason Jars (also on sale in August, but I find them best deals in June)

Week 3 Paper goods, toilet paper. napkins, paper towels

Week 4 Paper goods, plastic ware, paper plates,

July

week 1 Pop sickles

week 2 back to school supplies, pencils, pens, binders, crayons, markers, notebooks (it's a great week to do some shopping (after July 4th))

Week 3 office supplies

Week 4 fresh produce to freeze and can (I like to get tomatoes and make bruschetta)

week 5 baked beans, and other picnic sides (pickles, olives,  suddenly salads)

August ( not a great month for deals on food, I save some  of this month's budget for November)

Week 1 pudding cups

week 2 Cereal (Chex and other cereal are on sale in November)

Week 3 Facial Tissues

week 4 and disinfectant wipes

Week 5  fresh peaches freeze them or can them!

September (also a slow month for deals, I save some money for November and December)

week 1 Apples

week 2 diabetic supplies(only if needed)

week 3 back to school snacks and cereal

week 4 chia seeds

October

Week 1 canned Pumpkin

Week 2 alarm clocks, batteries, smoke detectors

week 3 nuts

week 4 canned soup

Week 5 Tooth past, and oral care

November

week 1 evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk

week 2 canned vegetables and broth

week 3 Turkey and Ham

week4: Noodles -all kinds, this items goes on sale throughout the year, my price point is $1.00

week 5 flour, sugar, baking supplies

December

week  1 potatoes, like instant potatoes, betty Crocker  boxed potatoes, canned sweet potatoes

week 2 crakers, dips, seasoning mixes for dip

week 3 pie crusts, jello

week 4  canned vegetables and fruit

week 5 spices

 ok, maybe there is a bit more than 52 items for food storage but this really works for me, and it's an easy no brainier way to get a good stock pile. 

I hope this helps!

How to Eat for $7 or Less a Day

Is it possible to eat for $7 or less a day? At least one New Yorker, Zack, an aspiring comedian, says he does it. Here's how, along with more strategies anyone can use:


Buy in bulk. Zack drives to the suburbs in New Jersey to shop at bulk retailers, such as Sam's Club. He fills large duffel bags of food to bring back to the city and estimates it saves a significant chunk of change each month.

Stockpile supplies. Cans of beans and tomatoes are cheap, store easily, and make quick, filling meals.

Compare prices. For some items, such as fruit, buying from street vendors turns out to be cheaper than shopping at Manhattan grocery stores.

Cook big. Zack makes lots of soup, chili, and other big dishes that can turn into leftovers or even go into the freezer for a future meal. To spruce up the dishes and make them even bigger, he often adds pasta or rice.

Plan ahead. By loosely deciding in advance which meals to cook on which nights, Zack avoids getting home from work--starving--and eating out just because it seems easier.

Shop discount. A survey from Washington Consumers' Checkbook shows that families that would spend $150 a week if they shopped at average-priced chains, such as Safeway, could save $1,326 by shopping at the discount store Bottom Dollar Food--or spend $3,510 more by shopping at Whole Foods. While the survey focused on Washington, D.C.-area stores, the same principle applies across the country: Shops sell food, and often the exact same name brands, for very different prices. By switching from Whole Foods to Bottom Dollar Food, customers could save almost $5,000 a year. That figure might be enough to scare you off those pricey organic brands for awhile.

Build your meals around rice, noodles, or other grains, advises the Agriculture Department's recipe book. A casserole, for example, should be heavy on rice and vegetables. The feds offer a beef-noodle casserole along with stir-fried pork and vegetables with rice that demonstrate this technique. The University of Wyoming's cookbook suggests heavy use of oatmeal, and includes an oatmeal cookie recipe that incorporates applesauce. Kansas State University describes "mom's breaded tomatoes," which mixes bread and flour into cooked tomatoes to make the vegetable dish more filling.


Make use of leftovers, and your freezer. The Agriculture Department's recipe book urges users to make a beef pot roast according to its relatively simple recipe, then freeze half of it. It recommends the same technique with baked meatballs and turkey chili. The University of Wyoming suggests using canned peaches for pancakes, then freezing the unused juice in ice cube trays for future ice teas.

Bake "fried" chicken. A variation of "baked" fried chicken occurred over and over again in university cookbooks. The basic recipe: Coat chicken pieces in breading and Parmesan cheese along with spices, then bake in the oven. That way, you avoid the grease of fried chicken takeout.

Avoid prepackaged items. Instead of buying hummus, grated cheese packages, or frozen meals, make these items yourself to save money as well as cut down on sodium.

Go meatless. The university recipe books don't say this explicitly--probably because they want to avoid alienating farmers--but avoiding meat, or even just cutting back on it, saves a lot of money. Instead of beef or chicken, substitute beans and eggs.

[The Secret to Living Well on $40,000 a Year]

Stop wasting. The Agriculture Department recommends stocking up on food that keeps well, such as canned orange juice or dry goods. But be careful with fruits and vegetables, even if they're on sale, to prevent waste. Home cooks stuck with extra eggplant or flounder can avoid wasting food by using websites such as Allrecipes.com and the FoodNetwork.com to search for dishes based on the ingredients they have at home.

Get inspired. Food blogs such as Smitten Kitchen and Cooking with Amy offer practical recipes for all budgets, along with photos and step-by-step directions.
go here for more info

Whats for dinner? Menu planning is worth the time!!

Summer is always a great time to just eat whatever for supper and not worry about the timing issues. When school starts up (which I dread for lots of reasons) you are a slave to a schedule, that is if you are me it is... Bedtime is like a ticking time bomb at our house... I need to know what we are having for supper that morning or the whole evening goes downhill fast.

With Menue Planning,  When I am able to plan a good week or dare I say a month of good meals that are family-friendly usually we save more money and my time is spent better in ways that can enrich my life.

Where do I Begin?

I like two methods: 1 start where you are, and give your self permission to be flexible.
why am I meal planning?  and What is my goal?

How to implement the Why you are menu planning:

1. How am I going to remember the meals that I have planned out?

2. How am I going to implement meal planning and follow through?

3. Do I like prep work, Or how much of a cook do I want to be? 

4. How much time do I have to get dinner on the table each day?

These 4 questions are so important for a good menu, once you know those answers to these 4 questions, then you can start menu planning.

I have two ways that work the best for my family,

Option 1 (great for procrastinators)

Menu plan week to week

build your menu around what is on sale.

Use the sales and adds that are current for this week when you go grocery shopping to help you buy meat, produce dairy, and perishable items that are on sale from your local grocery store.

 For example, if Chicken is on sale I will have at least 3 meals of chicken that week. I will sometimes roast two chickens so I have one to eat for supper and the other chicken to shred for quesadillas. I will also decide what to do for lunches and breakfast, but I don't worry too much about those meals because cereal and muffins are not that hard to plan for. I really love this blog for all their amazing easy recipes

When planning for a week of dinners, I write it down on a post-it note and have it in the fridge for the week, that way it's an easy reminder. I will often make one trip to the store the day after the add hits, so I have time to see what's on sale and what I need for the week. super simple, and my go-to when I don't have a plan like Option 2.

Get this free template here

Option 2 (great if you have a plan and a trying to stockpile good deals on groceries.) 

Monthly menu planning is fun... (I can't lie, I have to tell myself this because if I don't I won't get my monthly menu plan going.)

You will want a good foundation to start with if you have a freezer, and storage space this may be the way to go.

For a month of dinners, I use a cheap calendar. (you know the ones that you get in the mail, or are at the dollar store.) Or I print them like this one from simply unscripted

I start by labeling each day of the week a category for dinner: Monday-Pizza, Tuesday-Mexican, Wednesday-Italian,  Thursday-Meatless, Friday- Grill, Saturday-Comfort food, Sunday- quick and easy.  These categories make it easy to plan each day of the week instead of saying hmm... what should we have on this Tuesday, also My family likes knowing that it's Friday pizza night! Wha Who! It makes your life easier having a label for each day of the week. That is why you are only going to have some type of spaghetti once or twice a night in a month... and so on. does your family get tired of spaghetti too because you make it too often?

 Then I plug in what I think my family will eat, and then make notes for when I need to go the store for an item. it's really that simple!

Tips for doing a Monthly meal plan

When I first started I spent a good hour looking through my cook book, or Pinterest to see what sounds good for supper, I still do but more as a free time thing than for meal planning.  So give yourself a good hour to plan, make yourself a good snack, and plan during a quiet time when you can focus and not be interrupted. I have even prayed to my father in heaven to help me plan, and those months always seem to go smoother.

Some of my great meals are the ones that I can make from memory, like a chili dinner, or a pork chop dinner, and casseroles. I like to keep things simple.
I use a menu planning software called Cook'n, I like it, but I usually find that a cheap calendar works just as well, especially if you are not "a cook that has to have a recipe" and just wants to have supper on the table.

Stock up on items you use often when they are on sale, this helps save a lot when menu planning, I know that I can use Pasta Sauce in lots of other ways than just pasta sauce. so.... I have about 30 jars stored because I got them on sale for half the cost. I like to stock up on about 25-50 items per year so about 1 item per week that I know will last for at least 6 months.

My favorite way to meal plan is to always have a couple oops meals, you know the nights when your not feeling like cooking, or getting dinner on the table, that is when I have frozen pizza or everything I need to make a soup, or a salad, or even mac and cheese for the kiddos. Those meals come in handy, but don't make it a crutch!

If you like to cook, use your kitchen tools, that will also help with knowing what you want to cook and what you have time for... don't underestimate the power of your mixer and food processor!

Here is a link that I thought was also helpful and full of great advice!


If you are wanting a good footing on how menu planning works, MomsByHeart.Net has some amazing blog posts.


I would love to learn how you get supper on the table, are you the family where you are like- let's go out every night and now you need to "figure it out" been there-done that lots of times!

What is your reason for or your WHY you want to start or keep doing Menue planning?

Questions: It's cheaper to go with the Generic than use my coupon

I have had a lot of people say every time I go to the store I have my stack of coupons at hand and ready to go but when I get there it's always cheaper to buy the generic than the brand name so I then only use one or two from my stack of coupons what's up with that?

The simplest answer is that, you are not waiting to use your coupon. Most of the product coupons you will collect will not be cheaper than the generic brand until they go on sale. You must wait and cash in on the "hot deal" when you can pair the sale item with the manufacture's coupon to get the 60%-80% that we say you can get. That is why we stockpile, and get a 6 month's supply of one item in that sale period. You can bet that in another 6 months that item will be on sale again with a coupon.

my favorite tip is to go onto couponmom.com and find the store you want to shop at and see what percentage  you can save during the store's sale and use those coupons that say  you are able to save 80% on this item that's when I stock up and save.

For more information Go to our post baby step 3, how and when to use coupons

questions: how do you start your stock pile?

my small starting out stockpile

What's up with stockpiling?

When you coupon stock piling is part of saving. It's a good idea for every one to have a stock pile (food storage) in their home, but you can't coupon without getting a good stock pile.

So how do you make it work for you? So let's say you are ready to save about 30%-40% on your grocery bill. you will set aside about 10%-30% of your budget to "rock bottom prices" these are the items that are on sale with a coupon, you buy as much as you can with the coupons you have. For example if peanut butter is on sale for a $1/jar. and I have a .50/2 (.50 off of 2 jars)  off coupon for that brand of peanut butter. I can get peanut butter for .75 a jar So I stock pile, If I have 6 coupons that means that I now can get 12 jars of pb at a rock bottom price, I then will not have to buy pb for 6 months. It then snow balls, until you get up your stock pile and then, you only have to spend money on your dairy, produce, and things that don't last long and with your Grocery bill and/or budget you can then spend more money on stock piling so then you are able to save 80% on your grocery bill. Although it does take time to stock pile, for myself it took about 6 months to see getting my grocery list to save 60%-80% from my starting point to buying what's on sale with a coupon items. The key is to know how much you are willing to spend on that item.

Other tips for Stock Piling

So maybe you don't have room for a stock pile, what can you do to save money?

Start small, make a list of 5 of your go to meals that you make. list the ingredients you need for that meal, collect the coupons and then wait till that item goes on sale. Then buy what you can with your coupons you have, that is your stock pile, now you have some of the ingredients that you need at a rock bottom price just waiting for you to use them up. For a simple example I will take my most recent trip to the Wags (Wallgreens) I knew that Dove Chocolate candy bars will be .12 a piece with my coupon on sale. I can use the chocolate for chocolate cookies that our family loves. So I buy what I can and store them, I will not have to buy chocolate chips for a couple months because I got a great deal on chocolate. That money I was going to spend on my chocolate chips can then go towards my next item on my list to stock pile.  Sometimes it takes some creativity to say hay I can  use that in something different than just eating a bar of chocolate. That's how you save money.