I haven't blogged in some time...life got a hold of me and we have been busy. But today I just needed an outlet to vent. I've noticed more and more as the kids get older that so much importance is put on "stuff". Here in our household, we are in the midst of a dreaded PTO fundraiser for Mia's school...the wrapping paper. While I don't disagree with fundraisers, I do have a problem with the standards that are set for these kids who are far too young to understand them. Which leaves it to the parents to make the tough decisions on how to handle these things.
Let me start at the beginning. Last year we just HAD to sell five items so that she could get her stuffed hippo key chain. Luckily she has two sets of very supportive grandparents who ordered enough for her to get her hippo. This year it's a crocodile. I made sure we had enough ordered (and yes I grumbled as I wrote the check late last night) so that she wouldn't feel left out when the entire class is presented with their crocodiles. As I put the items in her backpack this morning she said "wow! I hope I sold enough for the Limo ride to have pizza with the principal". The amount needed for this prize is $200. I very gently said how sorry I was, but no we didn't sell enough to earn that. A few minutes later as we were standing in the bathroom getting her hair done for school I noticed the big tears pooling in her beautiful blue eyes. As the tears spilled down her cheeks she asked why we couldn't just order enough so she could have this fun lunch outing. As we normally are in the mornings, we were rushing around so I gave her a big hug and said "that's just too expensive". I guess I hadn't realized that I never really differentiate to her the difference between what we CAN afford versus what we CHOOSE to afford. I throw the word budget around frequently but haven't ever stopped to fully explain to her why we make the decisions we make when it comes to money. I realize she's only 6, but these are things that she's starting to understand. So as we were getting shoes on she said (with a few tears still remaining) so what CAN we afford? Here is where I realized that I've maybe failed a little in explaining to her how and why we live the way we do. I'm so quick to say "we can't afford that" or "it's not in our budget". To her that means we don't physically have the money, where my meaning is usually that we have the money but aren't going to choose to spend it in that way.
So with this fundraiser: Could we afford to write a $200 check for this? Yes. Are we going to? Nope. My responsibility as a mom is to teach my kids what is truly important in life. I feel like we have gotten so caught up in the material stuff that we have lost focus on what is really important. So how do you find that balance? How do you balance making sure your kids fit in at school and with their friends, while still trying to instill a sense of responsibility in them? I want my children to be grateful for what we have and work hard to earn the things that they want. I want them to understand the difference between what we NEED vs what we WANT. We don't live in a big fancy house or take elaborate vacations. We don't eat out a lot or buy the latest and greatest electronics every few months. But we do provide a nice house, with plenty of space for them to grow. We drive nice, comfortable and SAFE vehicles to get us around. They have clothes to wear and food to eat. Medicine when they are sick, doctors visits when needed and more toys and books than they can probably ever play with. Yes I buy name brand clothes for them, but I bargain shop sales. I clip coupons. And we make sure that we put money into savings out of every paycheck. We live comfortably, but we live on a budget. I want them to be able to not look at those who have more than us with envy, but to see those less fortunate than us with empathy and to be grateful that God has blessed us in so many ways.
So as I sent my sweet girl off to school, I spent some time thinking as I walked back to our house from the bus stop with a heavy heart. I would give that girl the moon if I could. What touched me so deeply was that her tears weren't out of anger or frustration, but out of sadness. The things we talked about made sense to her and she agreed there were much better things to spend that $200 on.But at age 6 it's still such a hard concept.
So my goal from this day forward with each of my three children is to raise them to the best of my ability with an understanding of what is really important in life. It's not things and materials. It's our family, our friends, our Lord and our love. It's giving to those in need and cherishing the things that we have. It's living every day realizing that nothing on this earth is a guarantee but that they know when they wake up every morning that their dad and I will do everything in our power to make sure that they are happy, healthy, hugged and loved each and every day. I guess I'm setting out to improve the world, one kid at a time :)
Thanks for listening.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Weekly Meal Plan
Finally getting back on track this week to make some good, home cooked healthy food for my family! I feel like we have eaten out SO much in the recent months and it's starting to make me feel gross.
So my first step this week was to get a good meal plan in place for the week!
Monday - Roasted Lemon Chicken with Greek Salsa served over rice (recipe on Pinterest Board)
Tuesday - Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff, Egg Noodles, Pop Overs and Peas
Wednesday - Pork Chops with balsamic strawberry salad and Orzo
Thursday - Crock Pot Honey Chicken with rice and green beans
Friday - Dinner at my mom and dads house for Tim's birthday (Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad)
Saturday - Tacos, Chips with Salsa, Corn
Sunday - Leftovers
There is always a method to my meal plans. I don't simply pick recipes for certain days because they might sound good...I always go base my meals on what we have going on that day and what is on sale at the store. This way my meals are realistic with my schedule and hopefully can stay within my grocery budget!
For example: Tonight (Monday) I picked the Greek salad chicken because it's a new recipe I haven't tried before. I knew my husband was off tonight and able to help with the kiddos during the dreaded dinner hour so that I could focus on getting the meal going.
Tuesdays meal is a family favorite and also an easy throw into the crock pot meal. After a busy day today, I know I'll be less than energized tomorrow for cooking dinner. Having it already cooking all day is a wonderful way to still get a healthy meal on the table at dinner!
Wednesday - This is a nice day because we have no activities going on and school is early release, which leaves me more afternoon to get cooking done.
Thursday - Thursday is always a crock pot day because of gymnastics. We do school pick up and then rush off to gymnastics. By the time we get home, it's 6:00 and everyone is HUNGRY!
Friday - Fridays always vary based on husbands schedule and what we have going on. I generally don't plan large meals for Fridays because we are always winding down from the week and getting ready for the weekend!
Saturday - It just depends! Mostly on KU basketball games is what I base my cooking around :)
Sunday - Always a leftovers/DYOT night since we normally have a large lunch following church.
So my first step this week was to get a good meal plan in place for the week!
Monday - Roasted Lemon Chicken with Greek Salsa served over rice (recipe on Pinterest Board)
Tuesday - Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff, Egg Noodles, Pop Overs and Peas
Wednesday - Pork Chops with balsamic strawberry salad and Orzo
Thursday - Crock Pot Honey Chicken with rice and green beans
Friday - Dinner at my mom and dads house for Tim's birthday (Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad)
Saturday - Tacos, Chips with Salsa, Corn
Sunday - Leftovers
There is always a method to my meal plans. I don't simply pick recipes for certain days because they might sound good...I always go base my meals on what we have going on that day and what is on sale at the store. This way my meals are realistic with my schedule and hopefully can stay within my grocery budget!
For example: Tonight (Monday) I picked the Greek salad chicken because it's a new recipe I haven't tried before. I knew my husband was off tonight and able to help with the kiddos during the dreaded dinner hour so that I could focus on getting the meal going.
Tuesdays meal is a family favorite and also an easy throw into the crock pot meal. After a busy day today, I know I'll be less than energized tomorrow for cooking dinner. Having it already cooking all day is a wonderful way to still get a healthy meal on the table at dinner!
Wednesday - This is a nice day because we have no activities going on and school is early release, which leaves me more afternoon to get cooking done.
Thursday - Thursday is always a crock pot day because of gymnastics. We do school pick up and then rush off to gymnastics. By the time we get home, it's 6:00 and everyone is HUNGRY!
Friday - Fridays always vary based on husbands schedule and what we have going on. I generally don't plan large meals for Fridays because we are always winding down from the week and getting ready for the weekend!
Saturday - It just depends! Mostly on KU basketball games is what I base my cooking around :)
Sunday - Always a leftovers/DYOT night since we normally have a large lunch following church.
New Meal plan and great grocery deals!!
Well I have finally (sort of) gotten my rear in gear and got my coupons sorted and organized. It was a good week to finally get things together since Dillons is offering their buy any 10 assorted items in the sale and automatically get $5 off at the register. There were several items that were a good deal to begin with but that also matched up well with coupons!!
A few of these deals that I came across were:
Kleenex brand tissues - The tissues are normally $1.49 per box. As part of the sale, they were $.99 per box. I had 3 coupons for $1.00 off of 3 boxes ($.50/3 which doubled to $1/3), which made each box $.65 each. So it normally would have been $14.00 for those boxes, but I paid $5.91. Not a bad deal!! And a great time to stock up on tissues for spring allergies that are right around the corner.
Quaker granola bars - These are a big time favorite snack in my house between the kids and my husband. They are so easy to grab and bring on the go on busy activity nights.
The granola bars are another one that I always stock up on when they go on sale. These are normally $2.11 per box. Being part of the sale made them $1.61 per box and I had 4 coupons for $1 off of every 2 boxes. So the original cost of 8 boxes would have been $16.88 for the 8 boxes. With the sale and the coupons, I paid $8.88, or $1.11 for each box. I generally only buy these kinds of "treats" when I can get them for around $1 or less.
Tostitos Tortilla chips are another that are enjoyed at our house. The 3 bags of tortilla chips are normally $2.99 each. On sale they were $2.49 and I had 3 coupons from Dillons for $2.00 off of one bag, so I paid $.99 for each bag. The original price would have been $8.97, I paid $2.97.
Sunny Delight - Ok so I admit, this isn't something I normally buy because it's not healthy and full of sugar. But my husband loves the stuff so I went ahead and got him a couple of bottles...normal price is $1.49. On sale it is $.99 and with my coupon for $1.00 off of 2 bottles, they were $.49 each.
Another way I was able to save was using $1 off your next purchase coupons to get bags of goldfish for free!! Goldfish crackers are normally $2.14. As part of the buy 10 sale they are $.99. I had 5 of these $1 off your next purchase catalinas which made the crackers all free. This is another item that my toddler especially is crazy about. So to stock up at that low price is a great deal!!
There are several other good deals going on with this sale (sale is good through tomorrow), so it's totally worth checking out to see if there is anything your family likes and that you can match up with your coupons. One thing to always watch for is to make sure items aren't marked up on the "normal price" sticker to make it seem like you are getting a better deal. This is one gripe I have with Dillons in particular, they will mark up the "normal" price to make the sale price seem better! Gatorade is an example of this...the large bottles are normally $.88 a bottle. But every once in a while it will be a "GREAT SALE" that they are 10/$10...which actually makes them MORE expensive at $1 per bottle. Having a price book that you write down prices in can help with this, so if you see a deal at a later date you can look back and know if it's normally more or less.
So grab your coupons, grab the store ads and get busy!
A few of these deals that I came across were:
Kleenex brand tissues - The tissues are normally $1.49 per box. As part of the sale, they were $.99 per box. I had 3 coupons for $1.00 off of 3 boxes ($.50/3 which doubled to $1/3), which made each box $.65 each. So it normally would have been $14.00 for those boxes, but I paid $5.91. Not a bad deal!! And a great time to stock up on tissues for spring allergies that are right around the corner.
Quaker granola bars - These are a big time favorite snack in my house between the kids and my husband. They are so easy to grab and bring on the go on busy activity nights.
The granola bars are another one that I always stock up on when they go on sale. These are normally $2.11 per box. Being part of the sale made them $1.61 per box and I had 4 coupons for $1 off of every 2 boxes. So the original cost of 8 boxes would have been $16.88 for the 8 boxes. With the sale and the coupons, I paid $8.88, or $1.11 for each box. I generally only buy these kinds of "treats" when I can get them for around $1 or less.
Tostitos Tortilla chips are another that are enjoyed at our house. The 3 bags of tortilla chips are normally $2.99 each. On sale they were $2.49 and I had 3 coupons from Dillons for $2.00 off of one bag, so I paid $.99 for each bag. The original price would have been $8.97, I paid $2.97.
Sunny Delight - Ok so I admit, this isn't something I normally buy because it's not healthy and full of sugar. But my husband loves the stuff so I went ahead and got him a couple of bottles...normal price is $1.49. On sale it is $.99 and with my coupon for $1.00 off of 2 bottles, they were $.49 each.
Another way I was able to save was using $1 off your next purchase coupons to get bags of goldfish for free!! Goldfish crackers are normally $2.14. As part of the buy 10 sale they are $.99. I had 5 of these $1 off your next purchase catalinas which made the crackers all free. This is another item that my toddler especially is crazy about. So to stock up at that low price is a great deal!!
There are several other good deals going on with this sale (sale is good through tomorrow), so it's totally worth checking out to see if there is anything your family likes and that you can match up with your coupons. One thing to always watch for is to make sure items aren't marked up on the "normal price" sticker to make it seem like you are getting a better deal. This is one gripe I have with Dillons in particular, they will mark up the "normal" price to make the sale price seem better! Gatorade is an example of this...the large bottles are normally $.88 a bottle. But every once in a while it will be a "GREAT SALE" that they are 10/$10...which actually makes them MORE expensive at $1 per bottle. Having a price book that you write down prices in can help with this, so if you see a deal at a later date you can look back and know if it's normally more or less.
So grab your coupons, grab the store ads and get busy!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Getting my groove back!
So I am a bit ashamed to say that I have not been good with my budgeting/couponing/cooking the past several months. Pregnancy and I just don't mix, plain and simple. While most people have bouts of morning sickness from time to time the first 12 weeks or so, I have round the clock, nonstop vomiting for the entire pregnancy. It's always nice when people say "geesh..you are 19 weeks pregnant, that should stop!" well yeah it should, but it won't. The only upside to all of it, is that in the past I feel GREAT after the baby is finally born! I generally don't suffer that fatigue and strain of the first 6-8 week newborn phase, because it's an improvement from the previous 40 week stretch.
So because of this, my usually organized house is cluttered and my meal plans are a bit more simple and sporadic. With all of that said, I'm doing my best to get back into it!
My first goal this week is catching up with my coupons. I plan to get my meal plan together for my weekly shopping trip which will occur on Saturday morning. But first I have to tackle the massive, overwhelming stack of coupons sitting on my kitchen table. My first goal is to go through and purge my binder. Anything that is expired or that will expire before I use it will be tossed. I *hate* throwing away coupons, even expired ones. I feel like I"m just tossing money out of the window. But sometimes it's needed to get my stuff back on track. Once my binder is organized, my meals are planned and my grocery shopping is complete, I will tackle a new project for next week. Haven't decided what that will be yet, but I'll keep you posted! I'm thinking a new organizing system for toddler toys in the family room!
On a side note, here is a great, family friendly recipe that was a snap to throw together and super easy on the budget!! I found pre-made pesto super cheap at the grocery store and wanted something I could use it for before it expired.
Creamy Pesto Chicken with bow tie pasta
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup pesto sauce
1 box bow tie pasta
1. Arrange chicken breast in the crock pot
2. mix water, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low 6-8 hours
4. Cook pasta according to package
5. Stir in soup and pesto with the pasta, cut chicken into cubes and add to the mixture (I added a dash of milk to make it just a bit more creamy)
serve with breadsticks and green beans! it was a simple easy meal to prepare and a huge hit with the entire family! ENJOY!! :)
So because of this, my usually organized house is cluttered and my meal plans are a bit more simple and sporadic. With all of that said, I'm doing my best to get back into it!
My first goal this week is catching up with my coupons. I plan to get my meal plan together for my weekly shopping trip which will occur on Saturday morning. But first I have to tackle the massive, overwhelming stack of coupons sitting on my kitchen table. My first goal is to go through and purge my binder. Anything that is expired or that will expire before I use it will be tossed. I *hate* throwing away coupons, even expired ones. I feel like I"m just tossing money out of the window. But sometimes it's needed to get my stuff back on track. Once my binder is organized, my meals are planned and my grocery shopping is complete, I will tackle a new project for next week. Haven't decided what that will be yet, but I'll keep you posted! I'm thinking a new organizing system for toddler toys in the family room!
On a side note, here is a great, family friendly recipe that was a snap to throw together and super easy on the budget!! I found pre-made pesto super cheap at the grocery store and wanted something I could use it for before it expired.
Creamy Pesto Chicken with bow tie pasta
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup pesto sauce
1 box bow tie pasta
1. Arrange chicken breast in the crock pot
2. mix water, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low 6-8 hours
4. Cook pasta according to package
5. Stir in soup and pesto with the pasta, cut chicken into cubes and add to the mixture (I added a dash of milk to make it just a bit more creamy)
serve with breadsticks and green beans! it was a simple easy meal to prepare and a huge hit with the entire family! ENJOY!! :)
Thursday, September 22, 2011
A couple of quick deals I had to share!
I have to start with saying that I'm sorry I haven't kept up on my end with blogging deals and sales I find...life has become so busy it's all I can do to get to the store and buy food for the week! I will try to be better.
There were a couple of good deals I grabbed yesterday that were too good to pass up. Hopefully the prices are still as they were yesterday, sales re-set on Wednesdays, so no gurantee that it's the same.
The first one was for the new Knorr condensed stock tubs. I use a lot of chicken and beef stock in the winter for soups, stews, pastas etc. I try and make my own stock when I can, but having prepared stock on hand is always helpful on busy nights. Knorr just came out with their new condensed tubs of stock that you dissolve in water. A 4 pack of these retails for $3.99. Currently Dillons has them for $2.99 on sale and with the recent $2/1 coupon that was, it makes these $.99 for a 4 pack! Each tub makes about 3 1/2 cups of stock, so $.24 per 3 1/2 cups is a great price. I have tried these in a couple of recipes and really liked the flavor from them!
The other great deal happening at Dillons is the buy 10 items get $5 off at check out. Some deals we got were honey nut chex on sale for $1.99 (with this sale, buy any 10 mix and match items). Paired with a $.50/1 box coupon that doubles to $1/1 it made these boxes $.99 each. "Go-Gurt" and other yoplait kids yogurts are part of this sale for $1.49/pack. Paired with coupons that come from the paper or printed online for $.75/2 (doubles up to $1.00/2) it makes these yogurts $.99/each. Yoplait 32 oz yogurt containers are also $1.49 with this sale and with a $1/1 coupon, these become $.49 each.
There are many other great deals out there right now, but with two kids in tow and rapidly approaching dinner time, I didn't shop to the fullest extent. I will probably be going back tonight and will update any other good deals I find.
Happy shopping! Enjoy this lovely fall weather!
There were a couple of good deals I grabbed yesterday that were too good to pass up. Hopefully the prices are still as they were yesterday, sales re-set on Wednesdays, so no gurantee that it's the same.
The first one was for the new Knorr condensed stock tubs. I use a lot of chicken and beef stock in the winter for soups, stews, pastas etc. I try and make my own stock when I can, but having prepared stock on hand is always helpful on busy nights. Knorr just came out with their new condensed tubs of stock that you dissolve in water. A 4 pack of these retails for $3.99. Currently Dillons has them for $2.99 on sale and with the recent $2/1 coupon that was, it makes these $.99 for a 4 pack! Each tub makes about 3 1/2 cups of stock, so $.24 per 3 1/2 cups is a great price. I have tried these in a couple of recipes and really liked the flavor from them!
The other great deal happening at Dillons is the buy 10 items get $5 off at check out. Some deals we got were honey nut chex on sale for $1.99 (with this sale, buy any 10 mix and match items). Paired with a $.50/1 box coupon that doubles to $1/1 it made these boxes $.99 each. "Go-Gurt" and other yoplait kids yogurts are part of this sale for $1.49/pack. Paired with coupons that come from the paper or printed online for $.75/2 (doubles up to $1.00/2) it makes these yogurts $.99/each. Yoplait 32 oz yogurt containers are also $1.49 with this sale and with a $1/1 coupon, these become $.49 each.
There are many other great deals out there right now, but with two kids in tow and rapidly approaching dinner time, I didn't shop to the fullest extent. I will probably be going back tonight and will update any other good deals I find.
Happy shopping! Enjoy this lovely fall weather!
Monday, September 5, 2011
A few good deals and freebies!
There are a few good deals and freebies happening right now that I wanted to update everyone on!!
Snapfish - For printing pictures there is a GREAT deal going on through snapfish. From now until September 10th, you can get up to 500 prints per order for $.01 each! When you select your prints, go through the check out steps. When you get to the coupon code, put in the code "penny094u" and hit apply. This will make all of your prints a $.01 each. With shipping etc I got 493 prints yesterday for around $25. Not a bad deal! Normal cost I would have paid closer to $70. You can use this code up to 5 times I believe!
3 Spoons Frozen Yogurt - Back to school Bash! On Thursday, September 8th, any student can get free yogurt at 3 Spoons from 12 noon until midnight!! What a fun way to treat your family and kids to some yummy self serve frozen yogurt (with tons of toppings to choose from) in celebration of back to school!
Hastings Books and Entertainment - Hastings has TONS of DVDs for super cheap (as low as $.01, $.99, $1.99, $3.99 and up). They have been running a promo for buy one used DVD, get the second for $1. I was surprised how many current titles were marked down super cheap. I was able to get 6 fairly recent movies (3 for me, 3 for Mia) for under $15.
FYI - http://www.coupons.com/ has some pretty good printable coupons out right now that were just released at the beginning of the month. My favorite right now is the $.35/1 bottle of Dial hand soap.
Happy Shopping!
Snapfish - For printing pictures there is a GREAT deal going on through snapfish. From now until September 10th, you can get up to 500 prints per order for $.01 each! When you select your prints, go through the check out steps. When you get to the coupon code, put in the code "penny094u" and hit apply. This will make all of your prints a $.01 each. With shipping etc I got 493 prints yesterday for around $25. Not a bad deal! Normal cost I would have paid closer to $70. You can use this code up to 5 times I believe!
3 Spoons Frozen Yogurt - Back to school Bash! On Thursday, September 8th, any student can get free yogurt at 3 Spoons from 12 noon until midnight!! What a fun way to treat your family and kids to some yummy self serve frozen yogurt (with tons of toppings to choose from) in celebration of back to school!
Hastings Books and Entertainment - Hastings has TONS of DVDs for super cheap (as low as $.01, $.99, $1.99, $3.99 and up). They have been running a promo for buy one used DVD, get the second for $1. I was surprised how many current titles were marked down super cheap. I was able to get 6 fairly recent movies (3 for me, 3 for Mia) for under $15.
FYI - http://www.coupons.com/ has some pretty good printable coupons out right now that were just released at the beginning of the month. My favorite right now is the $.35/1 bottle of Dial hand soap.
Happy Shopping!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Grocery Deals this week!
A few grocery deals this weekend that I scored!
Dillons is having their Mega Cart Buster sale right now. This is a great time to find match ups with sales and coupons and build that stock pile!
Dillons:
Farmland bacon - $3.99/package. If you "like" the Farmland page on facebook you can instantly print a -$.55/1pkg coupon, which doubles up to $1 off of 1, making it $2.99 for a package! If you sign up for newsletters from Farmland you can also get emailed printable coupons from time to time.
Hamburger Helper - These are on sale at Dillons right now for $1/box. With your coupon for $1/3 boxes, it makes these $.66 per box. We don't do hamburger helper often, but it's nice to have it on hand for crazy busy nights that I don't have time to cook otherwise! My husband likes to make these to take for lunch at work as well.
Pasta Salad - 4/$5 ($1.25 a box) right now. Dillons mailed out coupons a while back with a $1/3 coupon, making these $.92 a box.
General Mills Cereal Treat Bars - on sale for $2 a box. With a $.50/1 coupon doubled to $1/1 coupon it makes these treats $1/box.
Gatorade - $.79 each
Toaster Strudels - on sale for $1.79 a box, with coupons for $1/2, it makes these $1.29 per box
Crest and Oral B indicator toothbrushes are still on sale for 10/$10. If you have coupons you didn't use, it makes these free for the toothpaste or $.50 each for the toothbrushes.
Degree deodorant - on sale for $2.99 each right now. With the BOGO coupon (buy one women's, get a men's free) plus the $.75/1 coupon (makes it $1/1 after doubling), you can get 4 women's and 4 men's deodorant for $7.96 each (or $.99 a piece)
School supplies are still on sale!!
Hy-Vee Deals
Tuesday Sale - 12 pack Coke or Pepsi products for $2.79 (limit 1)
Midwest Country Fare Frozen Veggies - $.59 per bag (16 oz) on peas, corn, cut green beans or mixed veggies
Natural Fresh Value Pack split chicken breast - $.88 per lb
Lunchables - 10/$10
Ragu Pasta Sauce - on sale for $1.77. When you purchase 2, you get a free 2 lb bag of HyVee elbow macaroni or spaghetti. There is also a coupon for $1.25 off of 3 jars Ragu, making 3 jars of sauce plus a bag of pasta $4.06.
Buy 10 participating Kellogg's or Keebler products, save $5! Mix and match various products.
Charmin Bathroom Tissue - Ultra Soft or Ultra Strong 9 roll for $4.48. Use $.25 coupon, get it for $4.23
Bounty 2 huge roll paper towels for $4.99
There are a few other match ups that I haven't put together at HyVee yet, but I will post them as soon as I get them together!
What deals have you found this week??
Dillons is having their Mega Cart Buster sale right now. This is a great time to find match ups with sales and coupons and build that stock pile!
Dillons:
Farmland bacon - $3.99/package. If you "like" the Farmland page on facebook you can instantly print a -$.55/1pkg coupon, which doubles up to $1 off of 1, making it $2.99 for a package! If you sign up for newsletters from Farmland you can also get emailed printable coupons from time to time.
Hamburger Helper - These are on sale at Dillons right now for $1/box. With your coupon for $1/3 boxes, it makes these $.66 per box. We don't do hamburger helper often, but it's nice to have it on hand for crazy busy nights that I don't have time to cook otherwise! My husband likes to make these to take for lunch at work as well.
Pasta Salad - 4/$5 ($1.25 a box) right now. Dillons mailed out coupons a while back with a $1/3 coupon, making these $.92 a box.
General Mills Cereal Treat Bars - on sale for $2 a box. With a $.50/1 coupon doubled to $1/1 coupon it makes these treats $1/box.
Gatorade - $.79 each
Toaster Strudels - on sale for $1.79 a box, with coupons for $1/2, it makes these $1.29 per box
Crest and Oral B indicator toothbrushes are still on sale for 10/$10. If you have coupons you didn't use, it makes these free for the toothpaste or $.50 each for the toothbrushes.
Degree deodorant - on sale for $2.99 each right now. With the BOGO coupon (buy one women's, get a men's free) plus the $.75/1 coupon (makes it $1/1 after doubling), you can get 4 women's and 4 men's deodorant for $7.96 each (or $.99 a piece)
School supplies are still on sale!!
Hy-Vee Deals
Tuesday Sale - 12 pack Coke or Pepsi products for $2.79 (limit 1)
Midwest Country Fare Frozen Veggies - $.59 per bag (16 oz) on peas, corn, cut green beans or mixed veggies
Natural Fresh Value Pack split chicken breast - $.88 per lb
Lunchables - 10/$10
Ragu Pasta Sauce - on sale for $1.77. When you purchase 2, you get a free 2 lb bag of HyVee elbow macaroni or spaghetti. There is also a coupon for $1.25 off of 3 jars Ragu, making 3 jars of sauce plus a bag of pasta $4.06.
Buy 10 participating Kellogg's or Keebler products, save $5! Mix and match various products.
Charmin Bathroom Tissue - Ultra Soft or Ultra Strong 9 roll for $4.48. Use $.25 coupon, get it for $4.23
Bounty 2 huge roll paper towels for $4.99
There are a few other match ups that I haven't put together at HyVee yet, but I will post them as soon as I get them together!
What deals have you found this week??
Back to School Clothes for Kids!
It's back to school time and kids clothes for Fall and Winter are on sale! There are great deals to be had right now. There are also great clearance prices on summer stuff that I have been buying for super cheap and putting away for next summer!!
First things first, when starting on your back to school shopping, having an idea or list of things you need plus a general budget for what you are hoping to spend is always a good idea. Take into account clothes you already have, clothes that will still fit this year and don't forget to add essentials into the clothes budget, like socks, underwear, coats, hats, gloves etc.
My budget this year was $150 per kid, so $300 total for fall and winter clothes. I bought ahead last year in preparation for this fall/winter, so I already have quite a bit of clothes ready. I sat down a few weeks ago and sorted through the clothes we already have and wrote down what was there. Then I made a general list of things I thought we needed.
Example:
M's list for this year (age 5)
4 or 5 pairs of Jeans
3 pairs of Yoga Pants
2 pairs sweat pants
3 Pairs of leggings (various colors for under dresses/skirts)
3-4 Dresses
4-5 sweaters
2-3 zip up sweatshirts/hoodies
10 long sleeved shirts (various types)
Socks
Underwear
Rain Jacket
Winter Coat
3 night gowns
4 leotards for cheer/gymnastics.
This is my "master" list of how much I think she needs. Because I bought several items ahead last year for super cheap (many things less than $1 a piece from Old Navy and Gap), she'll usually have more clothes than this. But this is a decent idea of how much she NEEDS to have so I'm not doing laundry every day during the school year. I bought everything on this list and paid just a little under $150 for all of it
O's list is a little different since she's a baby...but same concept!
Here are some of the deals I've gotten or seen:
Carters - up to 50% off on their long sleeved onesies and pants (mix and match) plus online you can get a 20% off of a $40 purchase or more coupon online to use in store. I got several long sleeved tops and stretchy pants for Olivia, plus a couple of clearanced sun dresses there for both girls. If shopping online, there is a $6 flat shipping rate right now!
Old Navy - all of their kids jeans are $10 (normally $19.50) from now through August 7th. They also have it in store that if you spend $40, you get a $20 old navy bucks to use at the end of the month. So I got $40 of Old Navy bucks to use later. They had a lot of good stuff on clearance as well, we stocked up on swim suits and summer clothes for next year (most were like $3.99 and under)
Gap (regular store, not outlet) is having their Friends and Family 30% off right now through August 7th. If you mention "Circle of friends 30% off" when you check out you get 30% off your entire purchase. You can also "like" their page on facebook to get this deal. If shopping online, use the code "300ff" to get your 30% off (if you have a gap card you can get 35% off using "35off") I got some cute long sleeved tops and zip up hoodies for both girls at the Gap store here in town, as well as some cute skirts and dresses. The nice thing with their dresses and skirts, is that they can still be used this fall by adding leggings and a cardigan sweater. Their GAP logo zip up hoodies are favorites in our house! You also will get a survey when you check out that gives you 20% off of one single regular priced item on your next shopping trip.
The Gap Outlet at the Legends is also having their "everything kids" sale (as of last Friday anyway) that had a lot of stuff from 20-40% off plus tons of summer stuff clearnaced out.
Stride Rite has BOGO 1/2 off at their outlet store right now plus tons of sales on kids shoes.
Gymboree - I didn't make it to Gymboree this time, but I've been told by a few that they had several bins of marked down items there, if not for this year, buy big for next year. Right now they are advertising $5.99 back to school sale on Graphic Tee's, leggings, polo's and more. They are offering up to 60% off on all kids clothes! I'm not sure if they are doing gymbucks right now or not, but that's always nice too! Gymboree clothes are a tad more expensive than others, but hold up well.
Justice - Justice for Girls has everything in store and online 40% off right now! If shopping in store there is no coupon required, if shopping online at www.shopjustice.com use code 760 or 779 to get the 40% off. If you shop through www.shopathome.com, you can also get 10% cash back on Justice purchases.
So there are a few deals to get you started with back to school shopping. My goal this year was to not pay full price on anything for fall/winter clothes! I have managed to do that so far!! :)
Happy Shopping!
First things first, when starting on your back to school shopping, having an idea or list of things you need plus a general budget for what you are hoping to spend is always a good idea. Take into account clothes you already have, clothes that will still fit this year and don't forget to add essentials into the clothes budget, like socks, underwear, coats, hats, gloves etc.
My budget this year was $150 per kid, so $300 total for fall and winter clothes. I bought ahead last year in preparation for this fall/winter, so I already have quite a bit of clothes ready. I sat down a few weeks ago and sorted through the clothes we already have and wrote down what was there. Then I made a general list of things I thought we needed.
Example:
M's list for this year (age 5)
4 or 5 pairs of Jeans
3 pairs of Yoga Pants
2 pairs sweat pants
3 Pairs of leggings (various colors for under dresses/skirts)
3-4 Dresses
4-5 sweaters
2-3 zip up sweatshirts/hoodies
10 long sleeved shirts (various types)
Socks
Underwear
Rain Jacket
Winter Coat
3 night gowns
4 leotards for cheer/gymnastics.
This is my "master" list of how much I think she needs. Because I bought several items ahead last year for super cheap (many things less than $1 a piece from Old Navy and Gap), she'll usually have more clothes than this. But this is a decent idea of how much she NEEDS to have so I'm not doing laundry every day during the school year. I bought everything on this list and paid just a little under $150 for all of it
O's list is a little different since she's a baby...but same concept!
Here are some of the deals I've gotten or seen:
Carters - up to 50% off on their long sleeved onesies and pants (mix and match) plus online you can get a 20% off of a $40 purchase or more coupon online to use in store. I got several long sleeved tops and stretchy pants for Olivia, plus a couple of clearanced sun dresses there for both girls. If shopping online, there is a $6 flat shipping rate right now!
Old Navy - all of their kids jeans are $10 (normally $19.50) from now through August 7th. They also have it in store that if you spend $40, you get a $20 old navy bucks to use at the end of the month. So I got $40 of Old Navy bucks to use later. They had a lot of good stuff on clearance as well, we stocked up on swim suits and summer clothes for next year (most were like $3.99 and under)
Gap (regular store, not outlet) is having their Friends and Family 30% off right now through August 7th. If you mention "Circle of friends 30% off" when you check out you get 30% off your entire purchase. You can also "like" their page on facebook to get this deal. If shopping online, use the code "300ff" to get your 30% off (if you have a gap card you can get 35% off using "35off") I got some cute long sleeved tops and zip up hoodies for both girls at the Gap store here in town, as well as some cute skirts and dresses. The nice thing with their dresses and skirts, is that they can still be used this fall by adding leggings and a cardigan sweater. Their GAP logo zip up hoodies are favorites in our house! You also will get a survey when you check out that gives you 20% off of one single regular priced item on your next shopping trip.
The Gap Outlet at the Legends is also having their "everything kids" sale (as of last Friday anyway) that had a lot of stuff from 20-40% off plus tons of summer stuff clearnaced out.
Stride Rite has BOGO 1/2 off at their outlet store right now plus tons of sales on kids shoes.
Gymboree - I didn't make it to Gymboree this time, but I've been told by a few that they had several bins of marked down items there, if not for this year, buy big for next year. Right now they are advertising $5.99 back to school sale on Graphic Tee's, leggings, polo's and more. They are offering up to 60% off on all kids clothes! I'm not sure if they are doing gymbucks right now or not, but that's always nice too! Gymboree clothes are a tad more expensive than others, but hold up well.
Justice - Justice for Girls has everything in store and online 40% off right now! If shopping in store there is no coupon required, if shopping online at www.shopjustice.com use code 760 or 779 to get the 40% off. If you shop through www.shopathome.com, you can also get 10% cash back on Justice purchases.
So there are a few deals to get you started with back to school shopping. My goal this year was to not pay full price on anything for fall/winter clothes! I have managed to do that so far!! :)
Happy Shopping!
Monday, August 1, 2011
More FREE and great deals :)
Ok I have spent my ENTIRE day today working on my coupon binder. I organized, cleaned out old coupons, clipped a billion from this weekends papers/Internet and just now got started on my grocery list for tomorrow. I normally go on Saturday mornings...so you can see I'm a little behind if I'm just now making it on a Tuesday. Don't forget that all of the Internet coupon sites re-set today because it's the first day of the month!! Hurry and get the good coupons that are out there!!
So even with all of that work, the exciting news is that there are SO many great deals and coupon match ups right now! I posted yesterday about a few great deals I got, but here are a few more!
One that I'm excited about is Knorr Pasta and Rice side dishes. I usually prefer making more "from scratch" types of sides, but the reality of my life is that I'm pretty busy. I try to cut myself some slack...My husband works as a nurse in an Emergency Room and also Same Day Surgery...so he works some strange hours and I'm home with the girls by myself about 95% of the time. So there are nights that pre-packaged side dishes are faster and the only thing I can do. I try to look at it as it's still better than ordering out or picking something up. So, that being said, I like these because you add milk, water and/or butter and in a few minutes you have a nice pasta or rice side dish to go with almost any kind of meal. These are included in the 10 for $10 sale at Dillons right now (they normally run $1.50ish-$1.90ish).
If you click here: http://www.couponnetwork.com/printable-coupons you can print coupons for $.75/3 and $1.85/7 Knorr Pasta and Rice Sides. This makes these around $.71/bag. Pretty good price! We will be stocking up on them for sure! These coupons were going fast so make sure you get to them quickly!
Another great deal is the Ivory Body Wash. With the $.50/1 coupons that were in the 7/31 P&G insert they will double to $1/1. Since The Ivory Soap and Body Wash is included in the 10/$10 sale, it makes these totally FREE.
Axe Body Wash for men is another one that I bought this week. These normally run between $4-$5 a bottle. They smell FANTASTIC on men, but at that price I usually stay away. I recently got two catalina coupons from a different purchase for $2/1 bottle of Axe for Men. I also clipped the BOGO coupons from the P&G insert yesterday. So I got 4 bottles of Axe body was for Men for $4.98
Gillette Men's body wash is also on sale for $3.50/bottle (normally $4.00). The P&G insert had coupons for $2.00/1 bottle, making these $1.50 each. My husband is going to be smelling wonderful with all of these body washes we now have!!
Another deal I posted yesterday but urge you to look at again is the General Mills Cereal and Nature Valley Granola Bars for $2.88. If you buy 4, you get 2 gallons of Dillons milk FREE! And there are several coupons in the paper and online for money off of GM cereals. Which means you can get boxes of cereal for as low as $1.88 PLUS Free Milk!! In my next post I will go over my meal plan for the next couple of weeks and describe how I plan to use my 6 free gallons of milk (yes I know, you are so excited you can't stand it!!)
Coupon sites for cereal:
http://www.couponnetwork.com/printable-coupons
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.smartsource.com
http://www.cellfire.com
I've had several people show interest in having a coupon class to learn how to coupon. I'd be happy to schedule one if it seems like enough people are really interested in learning the art to playing the coupon game! Please leave me a note or email me if you are interested in getting together to learn!!
Happy Shopping and stay cool :0)
So even with all of that work, the exciting news is that there are SO many great deals and coupon match ups right now! I posted yesterday about a few great deals I got, but here are a few more!
One that I'm excited about is Knorr Pasta and Rice side dishes. I usually prefer making more "from scratch" types of sides, but the reality of my life is that I'm pretty busy. I try to cut myself some slack...My husband works as a nurse in an Emergency Room and also Same Day Surgery...so he works some strange hours and I'm home with the girls by myself about 95% of the time. So there are nights that pre-packaged side dishes are faster and the only thing I can do. I try to look at it as it's still better than ordering out or picking something up. So, that being said, I like these because you add milk, water and/or butter and in a few minutes you have a nice pasta or rice side dish to go with almost any kind of meal. These are included in the 10 for $10 sale at Dillons right now (they normally run $1.50ish-$1.90ish).
If you click here: http://www.couponnetwork.com/printable-coupons you can print coupons for $.75/3 and $1.85/7 Knorr Pasta and Rice Sides. This makes these around $.71/bag. Pretty good price! We will be stocking up on them for sure! These coupons were going fast so make sure you get to them quickly!
Another great deal is the Ivory Body Wash. With the $.50/1 coupons that were in the 7/31 P&G insert they will double to $1/1. Since The Ivory Soap and Body Wash is included in the 10/$10 sale, it makes these totally FREE.
Axe Body Wash for men is another one that I bought this week. These normally run between $4-$5 a bottle. They smell FANTASTIC on men, but at that price I usually stay away. I recently got two catalina coupons from a different purchase for $2/1 bottle of Axe for Men. I also clipped the BOGO coupons from the P&G insert yesterday. So I got 4 bottles of Axe body was for Men for $4.98
Gillette Men's body wash is also on sale for $3.50/bottle (normally $4.00). The P&G insert had coupons for $2.00/1 bottle, making these $1.50 each. My husband is going to be smelling wonderful with all of these body washes we now have!!
Another deal I posted yesterday but urge you to look at again is the General Mills Cereal and Nature Valley Granola Bars for $2.88. If you buy 4, you get 2 gallons of Dillons milk FREE! And there are several coupons in the paper and online for money off of GM cereals. Which means you can get boxes of cereal for as low as $1.88 PLUS Free Milk!! In my next post I will go over my meal plan for the next couple of weeks and describe how I plan to use my 6 free gallons of milk (yes I know, you are so excited you can't stand it!!)
Coupon sites for cereal:
http://www.couponnetwork.com/printable-coupons
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.smartsource.com
http://www.cellfire.com
I've had several people show interest in having a coupon class to learn how to coupon. I'd be happy to schedule one if it seems like enough people are really interested in learning the art to playing the coupon game! Please leave me a note or email me if you are interested in getting together to learn!!
Happy Shopping and stay cool :0)
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Shopping for FREE today! Great deals and how to get them...
So this morning after I got my papers and started clipping coupons I instantly put together a few great deals and dashed off to the store to grab them! I love any kind of good deal...if it's under $1 I'm thrilled, if it's FREE I'm even happier!
Dillons is currently having their 10/$10 sale on various items. 2 items included in this deal that I LOVE are Crest Toothpaste and Dawn Dish Soap. With the $.50/1 coupon that came out in today's P&G insert it made these totally free. The coupon doubles to $1 and you can use 4 like coupons per shopping trip. So we have 4 bottles of Dawn and 4 tubes of Crest Toothpaste that were all free added to our ever growing stock pile in the basement. At the end of my transaction I received another $2 off my next purchase coupon from Crest. So I basically got paid $2 for 4 tubes of toothpaste!
Another great deal is on the "Beggin' Strips" for dogs. These normally run $3.99 a bag. Right now they are buy one get one free at Dillons. If I use BOGO coupons with a BOGO sale, I get both bags free. With 3 coupons, I got 6 Free bags of dog treats! If I had paid retail for these it would have been $23.94. I paid nothing. This is where the coupon game gets really fun!
A deal I didn't do today but will be getting tomorrow is the buy 4 of any general mills cereal or 4 boxes nature valley granola bars, get 2 Dillons brand gallons of milk for free. These usually retail at $3.08 a gallon. If you have little ones who drink lots of milk, this is a great sale. When you add $1/2 boxes of GM cereal or $1/2 boxes granola bars, this makes it an even better deal!
Gillette Men's Body Wash is currently on sale for $3.50. If you use the P&G BOGO coupon it makes them $1.75 each. My husband uses their body wash and likes it (It normally runs over $4 per bottle at retail price!)
Dillons still has their school supplies cheap...$.25 for 24 pack crayola crayons (limit 12 per purchase), Crayola Markers for $1.50, $.15 pocket folders, $.75 packs of notebook paper, $.15 1 subject spiral notebooks and more!
For those in the KC area, Stride Rite outlet at the Legends has TONS of great deals and buy one, get one 1/2 off deals going on right now! Stride Rite shoes are awesome shoes for kids and are the most durable you can buy. Mia is pretty hard on shoes and most don't last her long. Her stride rite shoes from last year are still going strong (though they are getting snug since she's growing so fast!) This is a great time to get some shoes for the school year.
Other good retail deals right now are at Old Navy with their stock up sale. Lots of shirts, bathing suits, summer items etc are clearanced and $4 or less. Girls Yoga Pants were $6, Leggings for under dresses were $5 and basic t's and tanks were all $4. A lot of these essentials are nice to have several pairs of when it gets cold outside! I found a few long sleeved onseies in Olivia's size for $4 also. I picked up bathing suits for next summer clearanced for $2.99 for both girls.
My organizing this weekend went full speed ahead and we got a TON done! Thanks in large part to my sister and her new husband for taking my 5 year old for a sleepover last night...and my sweet husband for helping haul things around the house! It helped having the house somewhat to myself last night to really dive in and get "back to school" ready. We got the extra bedroom set up nicely, and I spent 7 hours cleaning, organizing, sorting and decorating the play room and all of the toys! I was shocked to see that we actually DO have carpet in there :) I also added some cute flower decals to the walls (clearanced at Target for $4.98 a pack...regularly $19.99 each) and made it somewhat more baby friendly for Liv to go in and play. Target has some great deals right now on back to school organizational kinds of things. Lots of fun bright colors and cute ways to organize almost any room of your house! Back to school season is a favorite time of mine at Target!
There are more deal/coupon match ups that I haven't gotten to yet and will post soon - but these are the biggies that I was super excited over and wanted to share! Let me know if you have any other great stock up deals :)
Dillons is currently having their 10/$10 sale on various items. 2 items included in this deal that I LOVE are Crest Toothpaste and Dawn Dish Soap. With the $.50/1 coupon that came out in today's P&G insert it made these totally free. The coupon doubles to $1 and you can use 4 like coupons per shopping trip. So we have 4 bottles of Dawn and 4 tubes of Crest Toothpaste that were all free added to our ever growing stock pile in the basement. At the end of my transaction I received another $2 off my next purchase coupon from Crest. So I basically got paid $2 for 4 tubes of toothpaste!
Another great deal is on the "Beggin' Strips" for dogs. These normally run $3.99 a bag. Right now they are buy one get one free at Dillons. If I use BOGO coupons with a BOGO sale, I get both bags free. With 3 coupons, I got 6 Free bags of dog treats! If I had paid retail for these it would have been $23.94. I paid nothing. This is where the coupon game gets really fun!
A deal I didn't do today but will be getting tomorrow is the buy 4 of any general mills cereal or 4 boxes nature valley granola bars, get 2 Dillons brand gallons of milk for free. These usually retail at $3.08 a gallon. If you have little ones who drink lots of milk, this is a great sale. When you add $1/2 boxes of GM cereal or $1/2 boxes granola bars, this makes it an even better deal!
Gillette Men's Body Wash is currently on sale for $3.50. If you use the P&G BOGO coupon it makes them $1.75 each. My husband uses their body wash and likes it (It normally runs over $4 per bottle at retail price!)
Dillons still has their school supplies cheap...$.25 for 24 pack crayola crayons (limit 12 per purchase), Crayola Markers for $1.50, $.15 pocket folders, $.75 packs of notebook paper, $.15 1 subject spiral notebooks and more!
For those in the KC area, Stride Rite outlet at the Legends has TONS of great deals and buy one, get one 1/2 off deals going on right now! Stride Rite shoes are awesome shoes for kids and are the most durable you can buy. Mia is pretty hard on shoes and most don't last her long. Her stride rite shoes from last year are still going strong (though they are getting snug since she's growing so fast!) This is a great time to get some shoes for the school year.
Other good retail deals right now are at Old Navy with their stock up sale. Lots of shirts, bathing suits, summer items etc are clearanced and $4 or less. Girls Yoga Pants were $6, Leggings for under dresses were $5 and basic t's and tanks were all $4. A lot of these essentials are nice to have several pairs of when it gets cold outside! I found a few long sleeved onseies in Olivia's size for $4 also. I picked up bathing suits for next summer clearanced for $2.99 for both girls.
My organizing this weekend went full speed ahead and we got a TON done! Thanks in large part to my sister and her new husband for taking my 5 year old for a sleepover last night...and my sweet husband for helping haul things around the house! It helped having the house somewhat to myself last night to really dive in and get "back to school" ready. We got the extra bedroom set up nicely, and I spent 7 hours cleaning, organizing, sorting and decorating the play room and all of the toys! I was shocked to see that we actually DO have carpet in there :) I also added some cute flower decals to the walls (clearanced at Target for $4.98 a pack...regularly $19.99 each) and made it somewhat more baby friendly for Liv to go in and play. Target has some great deals right now on back to school organizational kinds of things. Lots of fun bright colors and cute ways to organize almost any room of your house! Back to school season is a favorite time of mine at Target!
There are more deal/coupon match ups that I haven't gotten to yet and will post soon - but these are the biggies that I was super excited over and wanted to share! Let me know if you have any other great stock up deals :)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Overwhelming moments as a mama and how to organize them!
So I admit...while I have it together about 95% of the time, there is the other 5% where I lose it. I feel overwhelmed, I feel lost and I get grouchy.
I sat down a couple of days ago to figure out our schedule for the upcoming fall and realized how organized I'm going to have to be to not only pull it all off, but to enjoy it in the process. I know I can do whatever needs to get done...but I don't want to to do it in a grouchy or unhappy way. I want to enjoy myself along the road so I'm not missing out on my kids growing every day, so that I'm not missing out on these moments that we won't get back. Time keeps speeding up and I want to be along for the ride.
So I'm going to attempt to be super mom this year...I'm so excited to start watching two precious little kids (a boy and a girl) this fall a couple of days a week. It's great for my kids to have other kids to play with and it's a little extra spending money for me. Plus it's helping a family who needs childcare but have not so average work hours (something we are VERY familiar with in our house with Tim's crazy work schedule) Add to that, Mia is going to kindergarten (yikes!), is doing cheer leading and gymnastics plus maybe girl scouts (according to her I'm leading her girl scout troupe...we'll see about that one...) keeping up with my couponing/grocery game, my blog, the house work, jazzercise, weight watchers AND I'm attempting to take classes online...12 credit hours that I have to find a way to squeeze into my schedule when I can. I actually find a jam packed schedule like this is helpful because it forces me to stay organized. When I let us have too much down time I get lazy. So if I can manage to get enough sleep it should be a fun and exciting semester!
So with that, my organizational goal for this week is to finish getting the rest of the mail sorted and important papers into folders for quick access. I hate admitting it, but mail is my one thing I can't ever seem to stay caught up on. It never fails that we get the mail, shuffle through it and toss it into the basket. I need to be better about sitting down daily and going through it before it turns into a massive, house over-taking pile.
So here is what I've done:
I have a basket next to my purse on some book shelves that holds the mail when it comes in. I've been trying to sort it as soon as we get it...tossing things we don't need right away and then sorting into two piles: 1) important papers we need (ie: school forms, dance forms, pay stubs etc). These are things we don't necessarily need to do anything with, but that we need to hang onto and know where they are at and 2) Bills that need to be paid.
I set up a portable "office-in-a-box" system with files that are labeled - the files are "Medical Bills" "receipts" "Pay Stubs" "Insurance Papers" "House Papers" and so on. I then got a pocket folder to put the bills that need to be paid into. I keep the file folder and the pocket folder right next to the basket of stuff which holds the mail. So far, this is working for us! Once the bill is paid, I remove it from the "bills" folder, and file it away into the important papers folder in the box. By having everything all in one spot it eliminates the need to run around searching for papers.
My goal next week: I'm going to attempt to tackle the play room. It's a scary scary room that I avoid at all cost because you can't always see the floor in there...I'm going to have to get very creative on that one!
My biggest long term goal is to have everything in the house organized how I want it so we can start the school year off with a bang!
What are your favorite areas of your house that are organized? What are areas that, despite your best intentions, can't seem to stay organized? I'd love to hear some feedback! I'd also like to know what areas of organization can be most helpful to people...coupons, deals, home, budget, health....? Let me know so I can try to get more posts going on topics that are helpful!
Enjoy the day and STAY COOL! :0)
I sat down a couple of days ago to figure out our schedule for the upcoming fall and realized how organized I'm going to have to be to not only pull it all off, but to enjoy it in the process. I know I can do whatever needs to get done...but I don't want to to do it in a grouchy or unhappy way. I want to enjoy myself along the road so I'm not missing out on my kids growing every day, so that I'm not missing out on these moments that we won't get back. Time keeps speeding up and I want to be along for the ride.
So I'm going to attempt to be super mom this year...I'm so excited to start watching two precious little kids (a boy and a girl) this fall a couple of days a week. It's great for my kids to have other kids to play with and it's a little extra spending money for me. Plus it's helping a family who needs childcare but have not so average work hours (something we are VERY familiar with in our house with Tim's crazy work schedule) Add to that, Mia is going to kindergarten (yikes!), is doing cheer leading and gymnastics plus maybe girl scouts (according to her I'm leading her girl scout troupe...we'll see about that one...) keeping up with my couponing/grocery game, my blog, the house work, jazzercise, weight watchers AND I'm attempting to take classes online...12 credit hours that I have to find a way to squeeze into my schedule when I can. I actually find a jam packed schedule like this is helpful because it forces me to stay organized. When I let us have too much down time I get lazy. So if I can manage to get enough sleep it should be a fun and exciting semester!
So with that, my organizational goal for this week is to finish getting the rest of the mail sorted and important papers into folders for quick access. I hate admitting it, but mail is my one thing I can't ever seem to stay caught up on. It never fails that we get the mail, shuffle through it and toss it into the basket. I need to be better about sitting down daily and going through it before it turns into a massive, house over-taking pile.
So here is what I've done:
I have a basket next to my purse on some book shelves that holds the mail when it comes in. I've been trying to sort it as soon as we get it...tossing things we don't need right away and then sorting into two piles: 1) important papers we need (ie: school forms, dance forms, pay stubs etc). These are things we don't necessarily need to do anything with, but that we need to hang onto and know where they are at and 2) Bills that need to be paid.
I set up a portable "office-in-a-box" system with files that are labeled - the files are "Medical Bills" "receipts" "Pay Stubs" "Insurance Papers" "House Papers" and so on. I then got a pocket folder to put the bills that need to be paid into. I keep the file folder and the pocket folder right next to the basket of stuff which holds the mail. So far, this is working for us! Once the bill is paid, I remove it from the "bills" folder, and file it away into the important papers folder in the box. By having everything all in one spot it eliminates the need to run around searching for papers.
My goal next week: I'm going to attempt to tackle the play room. It's a scary scary room that I avoid at all cost because you can't always see the floor in there...I'm going to have to get very creative on that one!
My biggest long term goal is to have everything in the house organized how I want it so we can start the school year off with a bang!
What are your favorite areas of your house that are organized? What are areas that, despite your best intentions, can't seem to stay organized? I'd love to hear some feedback! I'd also like to know what areas of organization can be most helpful to people...coupons, deals, home, budget, health....? Let me know so I can try to get more posts going on topics that are helpful!
Enjoy the day and STAY COOL! :0)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Weddings, Birthdays and Kindergarten, Oh My!
Ok, so for about 6-8 weeks now I haven't had time to blink, let alone get any sleep, keep up on my couponing/shopping or blog. Thank the Lord for my stockpile, because without it we might have starved! In June we had 5 bridal showers to attend, 3 Family birthdays (Me, My sister and Olivia) and Fathers Day. And now, as of Saturday, July 9th, my sister is officially married and my duties as the sister of the bride/matron of honor/mother of two flower girls is OVER! While I enjoyed the events and loved helping with it all, I'm glad to be back to a more normal place in my life. A place filled with coupon clipping, meal planning, kid raising and finding new creative ways to use my label maker (I love my label maker more than I like to even admit!) Yes, this is where I'm comfortable at in life!
So how is it possible that I was so wrapped up with it all that I glanced at my calendar yesterday, only to notice that there is only 5 weeks left until school starts...that's right, 5 weeks! I admit, there is a tiny piece of me that has been ignoring the back to school sales because for once it actually applies to me. My baby, my first born little girl is going to be in kindergarten. I can't believe it. It's a bittersweet feeling...while I'm so excited for her (and for afternoons to myself everyday) I just can't believe we've gotten to this point so quickly. As I watched her coming down the aisle fulfilling her flower girl duty I got teary eyed...because I'm so proud of her, I'm so amazed at how much she's grown and because I can't believe she's so big. Any last bit of baby that was left in her is gone. She has these long legs, slim body and a personality that I can't keep up with at times. As I was standing there watching her walk down the aisle to come stand with me, I realized how little time we get with her. Yes, she's only 5...but I guarantee my dad was thinking "how did we get here?" as he was getting ready to walk his last baby down the aisle. He blinked and we were grown. I know it won't be long before I'll be standing there as the mother of the bride, rather than the mother of the flower girl.
So yesterday we did what we needed to do...we started our back to school shopping. First on the list: the Pottery Barn Backpack that Mia wanted so badly. They finally went on sale (with FREE SHIPPING!) so we ordered the pink polk-a-dot monogrammed backpack with matching lunch box. No, she won't need the lunchbox this year, but my hope is that we'll get a few years out of a nicer (much more expensive) backpack and next year she will need the lunch box. So Pottery Barn Kids is having a huge summer sale on lots of things including their backpacks and luggage. If you are a PB fan, this is the best way to buy their stuff if on a budget. The free shipping is always a plus as well!
Another great sale that I was super excited about came at Dillons...their 24 count Crayola Crayon Boxes are marked down to $.25 per box! These normally retail for $1.99 each. So I stocked up! We bought 20 boxes. This might seem like a lot, but at that price it's a great stock up item...at $.25 each I paid $5 for $40 worth of crayons. I use them to put with birthday gifts for friends throughout the year, Easter baskets, backpacks for car rides with new coloring books, stockings at Christmas etc. You can never have too many crayons! Along with the crayons I bought a bunch of single subject wire notebooks. Mia will color for hours on a blank notebook and at $.15 each, you can't beat it! I have always done this and it has cut down tremendously on birthday gifts for classmates of Mia's throughout the year. I have a storage tub that I keep it all in down in the basement so I can pull them out as needed.
Other good deals on school items were their markers and colored pencils, normally $3.15/box, marked down to $1.50.
I've also pledged to myself to do one major organizing project each week. This past week was rounding up and organizing all of the different chargers we have for our various electronics. I was shocked at how many phone chargers I found for phones we don't even have any more! I took one bin on my shelves and designated it as my charger/electronic accessories bin. I put different stuff in different labeled zip locks in the bin so it's easy to find what I'm looking for, and even easier to put them back after we are done! This was a project inspired by the 3 days we spent looking for the charger to the video camera. So now we have a bag for video camera charger/accessories/information booklet, as well as bags for ipod stuff, blackberry stuff, camera stuff, portable DVD player stuff, and a random bag for random chargers that go to other various things. It took me a while to round up most of these items, but having them all in one place and labeled is already making a HUGE difference!
My next project: Sorting mail and keeping up with it! I'll let you know when I find a good method for this :)
Now I'm off to finish dinner and work on next weeks meal plan. I will attempt to be better with my blogging and keep you posted on deals, coupons, meal plans etc so you can continue to stay organized!!
My goal and challenge to myself is to get back to my pre-pregnancy/pre-illness weight by January. If we decide to have more kids, I'd like to be at a healthy weight and feeling better about myself prior to another gruelling pregnancy...because lets face it, more kids = more chaos and less mommy time. Better to do it now than later on down the road. What I'm realizing more and more is that I can't get my body into shape unless my life and schedule are "in shape" too. It's sort of a domino effect...if one area of my life is chaos (ie messy house, no meal plan, budget is off etc) then nothing flows. So I think the key to my life is to get everything in it organized so my life can flow smoothly and I can reach these goals I have set for myself and my family.
Happy Wednesday!
Erica
So how is it possible that I was so wrapped up with it all that I glanced at my calendar yesterday, only to notice that there is only 5 weeks left until school starts...that's right, 5 weeks! I admit, there is a tiny piece of me that has been ignoring the back to school sales because for once it actually applies to me. My baby, my first born little girl is going to be in kindergarten. I can't believe it. It's a bittersweet feeling...while I'm so excited for her (and for afternoons to myself everyday) I just can't believe we've gotten to this point so quickly. As I watched her coming down the aisle fulfilling her flower girl duty I got teary eyed...because I'm so proud of her, I'm so amazed at how much she's grown and because I can't believe she's so big. Any last bit of baby that was left in her is gone. She has these long legs, slim body and a personality that I can't keep up with at times. As I was standing there watching her walk down the aisle to come stand with me, I realized how little time we get with her. Yes, she's only 5...but I guarantee my dad was thinking "how did we get here?" as he was getting ready to walk his last baby down the aisle. He blinked and we were grown. I know it won't be long before I'll be standing there as the mother of the bride, rather than the mother of the flower girl.
So yesterday we did what we needed to do...we started our back to school shopping. First on the list: the Pottery Barn Backpack that Mia wanted so badly. They finally went on sale (with FREE SHIPPING!) so we ordered the pink polk-a-dot monogrammed backpack with matching lunch box. No, she won't need the lunchbox this year, but my hope is that we'll get a few years out of a nicer (much more expensive) backpack and next year she will need the lunch box. So Pottery Barn Kids is having a huge summer sale on lots of things including their backpacks and luggage. If you are a PB fan, this is the best way to buy their stuff if on a budget. The free shipping is always a plus as well!
Another great sale that I was super excited about came at Dillons...their 24 count Crayola Crayon Boxes are marked down to $.25 per box! These normally retail for $1.99 each. So I stocked up! We bought 20 boxes. This might seem like a lot, but at that price it's a great stock up item...at $.25 each I paid $5 for $40 worth of crayons. I use them to put with birthday gifts for friends throughout the year, Easter baskets, backpacks for car rides with new coloring books, stockings at Christmas etc. You can never have too many crayons! Along with the crayons I bought a bunch of single subject wire notebooks. Mia will color for hours on a blank notebook and at $.15 each, you can't beat it! I have always done this and it has cut down tremendously on birthday gifts for classmates of Mia's throughout the year. I have a storage tub that I keep it all in down in the basement so I can pull them out as needed.
Other good deals on school items were their markers and colored pencils, normally $3.15/box, marked down to $1.50.
I've also pledged to myself to do one major organizing project each week. This past week was rounding up and organizing all of the different chargers we have for our various electronics. I was shocked at how many phone chargers I found for phones we don't even have any more! I took one bin on my shelves and designated it as my charger/electronic accessories bin. I put different stuff in different labeled zip locks in the bin so it's easy to find what I'm looking for, and even easier to put them back after we are done! This was a project inspired by the 3 days we spent looking for the charger to the video camera. So now we have a bag for video camera charger/accessories/information booklet, as well as bags for ipod stuff, blackberry stuff, camera stuff, portable DVD player stuff, and a random bag for random chargers that go to other various things. It took me a while to round up most of these items, but having them all in one place and labeled is already making a HUGE difference!
My next project: Sorting mail and keeping up with it! I'll let you know when I find a good method for this :)
Now I'm off to finish dinner and work on next weeks meal plan. I will attempt to be better with my blogging and keep you posted on deals, coupons, meal plans etc so you can continue to stay organized!!
My goal and challenge to myself is to get back to my pre-pregnancy/pre-illness weight by January. If we decide to have more kids, I'd like to be at a healthy weight and feeling better about myself prior to another gruelling pregnancy...because lets face it, more kids = more chaos and less mommy time. Better to do it now than later on down the road. What I'm realizing more and more is that I can't get my body into shape unless my life and schedule are "in shape" too. It's sort of a domino effect...if one area of my life is chaos (ie messy house, no meal plan, budget is off etc) then nothing flows. So I think the key to my life is to get everything in it organized so my life can flow smoothly and I can reach these goals I have set for myself and my family.
Happy Wednesday!
Erica
Monday, May 9, 2011
Setting up your household budget and cash flow
I have had several people ask me recently how we set our budget. How do I know what to spend each week on groceries etc. So I thought I would share our system and explain how and why it's working for us. Every family is different, so I think you have to find a way that works for you and stick to it. But it's always good to have different ideas on managing money.
The first thing we did was enlist the help of a super-smart Financial Advisor. She's one of the smartest people I think I have ever met in my life. Shes worked with my parents for several years and has done a fantastic job for Tim and I as well. She oversees what we are saving, how we are saving it, retirement etc. Any big purchases that we make go through her :) It's nice having an un-emotionally involved opinion when making a big purchase or financial decision!
Our day-to-day budget is set up like this:
We have 2 checking accounts and a savings account all with the same bank. The savings account is pretty self-explanatory...it's there for savings :)
Our main bank account is for fixed expenses which are our "bills"...these are bills that don't change and have to be paid whatever amount that they are.
Our second account is our flexible spending, or our discretionary money...which includes things like gas, groceries, clothes, entertainment etc. These expenses aren't fixed, we determine how much we spend on them.
So the process goes like this: Tim gets paid weekly on the same day of the week each week. His checks are automatically deposited into the main account or the "Bills" account. We went through and added up all of our fixed expenses. We subtracted that from the total that he makes monthly. Whatever was leftover after all of the bills, we split between living expenses for the month and savings. We figured up a baseline of what we needed for living expenses each week and whatever the difference was we set aside for savings.
So on his pay day, his check goes into the account. We have automatic transfers set up for a specific day each week that automatically transfer a set amount into savings and the amount we set for weekly living into our second checking account or our spending money. By keeping our bills separate from our spending money, it forces us to stay on budget each week because there is no cushion in our spending money (except money left from the week before, which happens almost every week). With all of it automatically done it's sort of "out of sight, out of mind". We forget that it's there, it continues to grow and ensures a great future for our family!
So the next question I get a lot of is "How do you determine how much you need weekly??"
Well, this totally depends on your family size and lifestyle. With the recent increase in gas prices (and Tim commuting to work at KU med 3 days a week) we've had to increase our weekly spending money quite a bit just to cover the extra in gas he is spending a week. Here is a breakdown of our spending money for our family of 4:
Gas: $75/week between the 2 of us
Groceries: $100/week (this includes diapers, cleaning supplies, dog treats, toilet paper etc)
Misc Spending: $85/week - this goes for play dates, dinners out, birthday gifts etc.
Some weeks I use the extra $85 to put some more into groceries or adding to my stock pile, but for the most part I try to stick to this budget amount. I almost always have money left over at the end of the week, which is a great feeling!
Now, there are other expenses that come up, such as car repairs, clothing, special occasions (like a sisters wedding) etc. These are all things we discuss with our financial planner to help set a reasonable budget and stick to it. This generally will come out of Tim's paycheck and we transfer it with our regular weekly money, take it out as cash and use only that. Cash is a really easy way to ensure you are sticking with your budget because you can't spend more than you have.
I will admit...I LOVE to shop. I enjoy shopping more than anything else to be honest. Nothing is more fun to me than going to Target, buying whatever I want and then coming home and organizing yet (yes I am a strange person who loves organizing things!) But the reality is that we (as in, the United States) are in a tough economic state right now. And I'm blessed to have the ability to not work and stay home with my kids. So by stretching our money as far as I can, I know I'm doing my part to try and give my girls the best possible advantages later in life. As much as I enjoy shopping, I enjoy seeing our savings account grow every month even more...there is no better feeling than not having a panic moment when something goes wrong. It's no longer a crisis, its merely an inconvenience. So I challenge everyone to get a budget in place and stick to it!
My other advice: Find a class for Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University"...it will change how you look at money forever! It was by far the best investment to our future I could have made!
Happy Planning!!
The first thing we did was enlist the help of a super-smart Financial Advisor. She's one of the smartest people I think I have ever met in my life. Shes worked with my parents for several years and has done a fantastic job for Tim and I as well. She oversees what we are saving, how we are saving it, retirement etc. Any big purchases that we make go through her :) It's nice having an un-emotionally involved opinion when making a big purchase or financial decision!
Our day-to-day budget is set up like this:
We have 2 checking accounts and a savings account all with the same bank. The savings account is pretty self-explanatory...it's there for savings :)
Our main bank account is for fixed expenses which are our "bills"...these are bills that don't change and have to be paid whatever amount that they are.
Our second account is our flexible spending, or our discretionary money...which includes things like gas, groceries, clothes, entertainment etc. These expenses aren't fixed, we determine how much we spend on them.
So the process goes like this: Tim gets paid weekly on the same day of the week each week. His checks are automatically deposited into the main account or the "Bills" account. We went through and added up all of our fixed expenses. We subtracted that from the total that he makes monthly. Whatever was leftover after all of the bills, we split between living expenses for the month and savings. We figured up a baseline of what we needed for living expenses each week and whatever the difference was we set aside for savings.
So on his pay day, his check goes into the account. We have automatic transfers set up for a specific day each week that automatically transfer a set amount into savings and the amount we set for weekly living into our second checking account or our spending money. By keeping our bills separate from our spending money, it forces us to stay on budget each week because there is no cushion in our spending money (except money left from the week before, which happens almost every week). With all of it automatically done it's sort of "out of sight, out of mind". We forget that it's there, it continues to grow and ensures a great future for our family!
So the next question I get a lot of is "How do you determine how much you need weekly??"
Well, this totally depends on your family size and lifestyle. With the recent increase in gas prices (and Tim commuting to work at KU med 3 days a week) we've had to increase our weekly spending money quite a bit just to cover the extra in gas he is spending a week. Here is a breakdown of our spending money for our family of 4:
Gas: $75/week between the 2 of us
Groceries: $100/week (this includes diapers, cleaning supplies, dog treats, toilet paper etc)
Misc Spending: $85/week - this goes for play dates, dinners out, birthday gifts etc.
Some weeks I use the extra $85 to put some more into groceries or adding to my stock pile, but for the most part I try to stick to this budget amount. I almost always have money left over at the end of the week, which is a great feeling!
Now, there are other expenses that come up, such as car repairs, clothing, special occasions (like a sisters wedding) etc. These are all things we discuss with our financial planner to help set a reasonable budget and stick to it. This generally will come out of Tim's paycheck and we transfer it with our regular weekly money, take it out as cash and use only that. Cash is a really easy way to ensure you are sticking with your budget because you can't spend more than you have.
I will admit...I LOVE to shop. I enjoy shopping more than anything else to be honest. Nothing is more fun to me than going to Target, buying whatever I want and then coming home and organizing yet (yes I am a strange person who loves organizing things!) But the reality is that we (as in, the United States) are in a tough economic state right now. And I'm blessed to have the ability to not work and stay home with my kids. So by stretching our money as far as I can, I know I'm doing my part to try and give my girls the best possible advantages later in life. As much as I enjoy shopping, I enjoy seeing our savings account grow every month even more...there is no better feeling than not having a panic moment when something goes wrong. It's no longer a crisis, its merely an inconvenience. So I challenge everyone to get a budget in place and stick to it!
My other advice: Find a class for Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University"...it will change how you look at money forever! It was by far the best investment to our future I could have made!
Happy Planning!!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Walgreens, CVS and Kroger Deals this week!
Well today was one of the few times I have not had a great shopping day. Dillons was pure chaos with last minute mothers day shoppers, I was overly tired and had a headache...not a good combination! They have their big 10 event going on right now, where if you buy any 10 participating items, you save $5. This is usually a great deal because you can have more than one set of 10 in your transaction. For me, I had planned out 40 items (4 sets of 10 participating items) that all fit into this sale and matched up with coupons. I had my coupon binder with me, my detailed spreadsheet of deals+coupons=final price etc. I was on budget and doing well, I even stopped and added everything up at the end before checking out to make sure I had my 40 items. If you are missing even one item, then you pay the full price instead of the sale price on the other 9 items in that batch of 10. Well somewhere along the way one of my 40 items got added to the person in front of me...which threw off my entire total. Add to that, several of my coupons weren't scanning (everything was correct, not expired, correct sizes/items etc) but for some reason it was just one of those days. So I ended up with about $20 extra on my bill today. I finally got so frustrated that I just paid the bill and left.
Lesson Learned: I will not shop on a busy Saturday afternoon that happens to be a holiday weekend EVER again! But the good news: My stock pile is looking FANTASTIC again! I wiped out most of it during our recent move because I didn't have time to shop and didn't feel like moving it all to the new house. So a few months in our new home (with a fantastically big basement to house my stockpile along with several of Mia's big toys, YAY!) I finally am getting my stock pile back to how I had it before.
So, with a few frustrations I had a less than successful day (though I managed to still have a 40% savings...my personal goal is always 50% or higher...but I'll take 40%!). I did manage to enjoy the morning with my girls, walking around the Farmers Market and snacking on some yummy homemade Apple Cider Doughnuts, which are now a new favorite to both of my girls!!
SOOOO...here are a few deals I plan to snatch up this week. Some are deals I found, along with other deals I've seen posted on various websites/blogs. Walgreen's is a bit confusing, so make sure you totally understand their coupon policy before going (it took me a few months to get the hang of shopping there!)
Walgreens:
Clean & Clear Morning Burst Body Wash (16 oz.)
Sale: Buy 1 at $5.99, Get 1 Free
Use Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon from 3/27 SmartSource insert
Final Price: 2 FREE
Carefree Liners
Sale Price: 99 cents
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Or use 50c/1 coupon from 3/27 RedPlum insert
Final Price as low as: FREE
Walgreens Photo {select link to deal}
12 cent 4×6 Prints – use promo code: MAYFLOWERS$5 off any $25 Photo Gift Order – use promo code: SPRING5
Colgate Toothpaste or Toothbrush {select varieties}
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Receive $4.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy 2 (limit 1)
Use $1/1 Total Toothpaste coupon from April All You Magazine
And use 75c/1 Toothpaste coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Or use 75c/1 Toothbrush coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two as low as: 12 cents each!
Palmolive Dish Liquid (10 oz.)
Sale Price using in ad coupon: 89 cents
Use 25c/1 Walgreens coupon from 4/17 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $.64
Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide Razor System
Sale Price: $9.89
Receive $5.00 back in Register Rewards (limit 1)
Use $4/1 coupon from 5/1 P&G insert
Final Price: $.89
Mitchum or Lady Mitchum Antiperspirant/Deodorant
Sale Price using in ad coupon: $1.99
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price: 99 cents!
Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaners
Sale Promo: Buy 1 at $2.99, Get 1 FREE
Use $1/2 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaners Coupon
{register, then print coupons under ‘Special Offers’}
Or use $1/2 coupon from 4/17 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: $1.00 each!
Reach Advanced Design Toothbrushes {2-pk.}
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Receive $2.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy 2 (limit 1)
Use $2/1 Reach 2-pk coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two 2-pk’s: $1.00 each!
Pantene Shampoo, Conditioner, or Styler
Sale Price: 2 for $7.00
Receive $1.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy 2 (limit 1)
Use $3/2 coupon from 5/1 P&G insert
Final Price when you buy two: $1.50 each
Nabisco Fig Newtons
Sale Price: 2 for $5.00
Use $1/2 coupon from Walgreen’s May Coupon Book
Also use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: $1.50 each
Fiber One Bars
Sale Price: $2.00
Use 4oc/1 coupon from 4/3 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $1.60
Dove Minis {8.5-11 oz.}
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Use $1/2 coupon from Walgreens May Coupon Book
Also use $1/1 coupon from 5/1 RedPlum insert
Final Price when you buy two: $2.00 each
Revlon ColorSilk Hair Color
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Use $1/2 coupon from Walgreen’s May Coupon Book
Also use $1/2 coupon from 4/17 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: $2.00 each
Coppertone Sun Care {select varieties, excluding lip balm}
Sale Price: $9.99
Receive $3.00 back in Register Rewards (limit 1)
Use $1/1 Coppertone Coupon
Final Price: $5.99
Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers
Sale Price: 2 for $18.00
Receive $3.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy two (limit 1)
Use $1.50/1 coupon from 5/1 P&G insert
Final Price when you buy two: $6.75 each
CVS:
Carefree Body Shape Liners {20-22 ct.}
Sale Price: 99 cents
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Or use 50c/1 coupon from 3/27 RedPlum insert
Final Price as low as: FREE!
Stride Spark Gum
Sale Price: $1.00
Use $1/2 coupon from 4/3 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: 50 cents each!
Colgate Total Toothpaste Sale Price: $1.67
Use $1/1 Total Toothpaste coupon from April All You Magazine
Or use 75c/1 Toothpaste coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Final Price as low as: 67 cents!
Mitchum or Lady Mitchum Antiperspirant/Deodorant
Sale Price: $1.99
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $.99
Kellogg’s Cereal (select varietiesSale) Price: $1.97 (limit 6) --This deal is also good at Dillons or Kroger, their Kellogg's cereals are on sale for $1.98 right now.
Use 70c/1 Raisin Bran Coupon
Or use $1/2 Rice or Cocoa Krispies Coupon
Or use $1/2 Corn Flakes Coupon
Or use $1/3 Kellogg’s Cereal Coupon
Final Price as low as: $1.27
Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick {select varieties}
Sale Price: $1.99
Use 50c/1 coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $1.49
Sundown Fish Oil, Herbals, Vitamin D, B or Melatonin
Sale Price: $5.49
Receive $2.00 back in Extra Bucks (limit 1)
Use $1/1 coupon from 4/17 RedPlum insert
Final Price: $2.49
Sobe Lifewater {20 oz.}
Sale Promo: Buy 1 Get 1 Free {limit 8}
Use $1.50/5 coupon from 5/1 Pepsi insert
Dillons/Kroger:
Some of the items I liked in their $5 off when you buy 10 were:
Kraft BBQ Sauce (Select Varieties)
Final Price: $.49/each (I bought 10 of these to last the summer)
American Beauty Pasta
Regularly priced: $1.29, Sale: $.99, Buy 10: Final Price: $.49 each
Campbell's soups
Regular Price: $1.50
Sale Price when you buy 10: $.89 each (I bought ten of these)
Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush
Regular Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $2.49 when you buy any 10 items
Matched with Coupon for $2.00 off any cross action toothbrush
Final Price: $.49/each
Crystal Light Drink Mix
Normal Price: $3.29
Sale Price: $2.49 (when you buy any 10)
Buy Any 10: $1.99
Matched with store coupon for $1.00/2
Final Price: $2.98 or $1.49/each
Quaker Rice Cakes:
Regular Price: $1.29
Sale: $.79/each (when you buy any 10)
Coupon I had: $1.00/2 (I had 2 of these))
Final Price: $.29 each
Kroger Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Tenderloins or Thighs
Regular Price for 3 lb bag: $8.48 (around $2.83/pound)
Sale Price for frozen 3 pound bag: $4.98 ($1.66/pound)
**I always try to have at least 1-2 bags of each kind of frozen chicken on hand. There are so many simple meals that can be thrown together with chicken! I always try to stock up when it's less than $5/bag.
I'd love to hear it if you have any other good deals that you know about!!
For now: Happy Mothers Day and Happy Shopping!!
Lesson Learned: I will not shop on a busy Saturday afternoon that happens to be a holiday weekend EVER again! But the good news: My stock pile is looking FANTASTIC again! I wiped out most of it during our recent move because I didn't have time to shop and didn't feel like moving it all to the new house. So a few months in our new home (with a fantastically big basement to house my stockpile along with several of Mia's big toys, YAY!) I finally am getting my stock pile back to how I had it before.
So, with a few frustrations I had a less than successful day (though I managed to still have a 40% savings...my personal goal is always 50% or higher...but I'll take 40%!). I did manage to enjoy the morning with my girls, walking around the Farmers Market and snacking on some yummy homemade Apple Cider Doughnuts, which are now a new favorite to both of my girls!!
SOOOO...here are a few deals I plan to snatch up this week. Some are deals I found, along with other deals I've seen posted on various websites/blogs. Walgreen's is a bit confusing, so make sure you totally understand their coupon policy before going (it took me a few months to get the hang of shopping there!)
Walgreens:
Clean & Clear Morning Burst Body Wash (16 oz.)
Sale: Buy 1 at $5.99, Get 1 Free
Use Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon from 3/27 SmartSource insert
Final Price: 2 FREE
Carefree Liners
Sale Price: 99 cents
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Or use 50c/1 coupon from 3/27 RedPlum insert
Final Price as low as: FREE
Walgreens Photo {select link to deal}
12 cent 4×6 Prints – use promo code: MAYFLOWERS$5 off any $25 Photo Gift Order – use promo code: SPRING5
Colgate Toothpaste or Toothbrush {select varieties}
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Receive $4.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy 2 (limit 1)
Use $1/1 Total Toothpaste coupon from April All You Magazine
And use 75c/1 Toothpaste coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Or use 75c/1 Toothbrush coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two as low as: 12 cents each!
Palmolive Dish Liquid (10 oz.)
Sale Price using in ad coupon: 89 cents
Use 25c/1 Walgreens coupon from 4/17 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $.64
Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide Razor System
Sale Price: $9.89
Receive $5.00 back in Register Rewards (limit 1)
Use $4/1 coupon from 5/1 P&G insert
Final Price: $.89
Mitchum or Lady Mitchum Antiperspirant/Deodorant
Sale Price using in ad coupon: $1.99
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price: 99 cents!
Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaners
Sale Promo: Buy 1 at $2.99, Get 1 FREE
Use $1/2 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaners Coupon
{register, then print coupons under ‘Special Offers’}
Or use $1/2 coupon from 4/17 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: $1.00 each!
Reach Advanced Design Toothbrushes {2-pk.}
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Receive $2.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy 2 (limit 1)
Use $2/1 Reach 2-pk coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two 2-pk’s: $1.00 each!
Pantene Shampoo, Conditioner, or Styler
Sale Price: 2 for $7.00
Receive $1.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy 2 (limit 1)
Use $3/2 coupon from 5/1 P&G insert
Final Price when you buy two: $1.50 each
Nabisco Fig Newtons
Sale Price: 2 for $5.00
Use $1/2 coupon from Walgreen’s May Coupon Book
Also use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: $1.50 each
Fiber One Bars
Sale Price: $2.00
Use 4oc/1 coupon from 4/3 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $1.60
Dove Minis {8.5-11 oz.}
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Use $1/2 coupon from Walgreens May Coupon Book
Also use $1/1 coupon from 5/1 RedPlum insert
Final Price when you buy two: $2.00 each
Revlon ColorSilk Hair Color
Sale Price: 2 for $6.00
Use $1/2 coupon from Walgreen’s May Coupon Book
Also use $1/2 coupon from 4/17 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: $2.00 each
Coppertone Sun Care {select varieties, excluding lip balm}
Sale Price: $9.99
Receive $3.00 back in Register Rewards (limit 1)
Use $1/1 Coppertone Coupon
Final Price: $5.99
Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers
Sale Price: 2 for $18.00
Receive $3.00 back in Register Rewards when you buy two (limit 1)
Use $1.50/1 coupon from 5/1 P&G insert
Final Price when you buy two: $6.75 each
CVS:
Carefree Body Shape Liners {20-22 ct.}
Sale Price: 99 cents
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Or use 50c/1 coupon from 3/27 RedPlum insert
Final Price as low as: FREE!
Stride Spark Gum
Sale Price: $1.00
Use $1/2 coupon from 4/3 SmartSource insert
Final Price when you buy two: 50 cents each!
Colgate Total Toothpaste Sale Price: $1.67
Use $1/1 Total Toothpaste coupon from April All You Magazine
Or use 75c/1 Toothpaste coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Final Price as low as: 67 cents!
Mitchum or Lady Mitchum Antiperspirant/Deodorant
Sale Price: $1.99
Use $1/1 coupon from 5/8 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $.99
Kellogg’s Cereal (select varietiesSale) Price: $1.97 (limit 6) --This deal is also good at Dillons or Kroger, their Kellogg's cereals are on sale for $1.98 right now.
Use 70c/1 Raisin Bran Coupon
Or use $1/2 Rice or Cocoa Krispies Coupon
Or use $1/2 Corn Flakes Coupon
Or use $1/3 Kellogg’s Cereal Coupon
Final Price as low as: $1.27
Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick {select varieties}
Sale Price: $1.99
Use 50c/1 coupon from 5/1 SmartSource insert
Final Price: $1.49
Sundown Fish Oil, Herbals, Vitamin D, B or Melatonin
Sale Price: $5.49
Receive $2.00 back in Extra Bucks (limit 1)
Use $1/1 coupon from 4/17 RedPlum insert
Final Price: $2.49
Sobe Lifewater {20 oz.}
Sale Promo: Buy 1 Get 1 Free {limit 8}
Use $1.50/5 coupon from 5/1 Pepsi insert
Dillons/Kroger:
Some of the items I liked in their $5 off when you buy 10 were:
Kraft BBQ Sauce (Select Varieties)
Final Price: $.49/each (I bought 10 of these to last the summer)
American Beauty Pasta
Regularly priced: $1.29, Sale: $.99, Buy 10: Final Price: $.49 each
Campbell's soups
Regular Price: $1.50
Sale Price when you buy 10: $.89 each (I bought ten of these)
Oral B Cross Action Toothbrush
Regular Price: $2.99
Sale Price: $2.49 when you buy any 10 items
Matched with Coupon for $2.00 off any cross action toothbrush
Final Price: $.49/each
Crystal Light Drink Mix
Normal Price: $3.29
Sale Price: $2.49 (when you buy any 10)
Buy Any 10: $1.99
Matched with store coupon for $1.00/2
Final Price: $2.98 or $1.49/each
Quaker Rice Cakes:
Regular Price: $1.29
Sale: $.79/each (when you buy any 10)
Coupon I had: $1.00/2 (I had 2 of these))
Final Price: $.29 each
Kroger Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Tenderloins or Thighs
Regular Price for 3 lb bag: $8.48 (around $2.83/pound)
Sale Price for frozen 3 pound bag: $4.98 ($1.66/pound)
**I always try to have at least 1-2 bags of each kind of frozen chicken on hand. There are so many simple meals that can be thrown together with chicken! I always try to stock up when it's less than $5/bag.
I'd love to hear it if you have any other good deals that you know about!!
For now: Happy Mothers Day and Happy Shopping!!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
$.50/1 Driscolls Printable Coupons
If you haven't done so already, you can go here to sign up for a $0.50/1 Discoll’s Berries printable coupon. My computer let me print this twice!! I'm always on the hunt for good coupons for produce since that is generally the bulk of my money spent at the grocery store. The more I save with coupons in other areas, the more I can load up on fresh, organic fruits and vegetables...both at the store and the Farmers Market. These particular coupons state that they cannot be doubled, but regardless, it's great to have a coupon for fresh produce!!
Check out your Dillon's ad this week as well....they are having another round of their save $5 when you buy any certain 10 products. I used this sale last time to stock up on 60 bags of pasta that was down to $.49/bag! These deals are the best because you can stack coupons on top of these low prices for great savings!! It's the easiest way to get your stockpile really going! The way this particular sale works at Dillon's is that you have to buy a combination of any 10 items to get the savings. So if you buy more than 10 of any of these items, make sure you do it in increments of 10 to get the good price. They will do multiple sets of 10 in one transaction which is nice!
Target Deals - We just moved baby girl #2 into her big girl car seat. Target has the Graco My Ride 65 car seat on sale for $100 right now (This normally goes for around $150). This is a good price for this particular seat, which is durable, comfortable and has tested extremely high in safety tests.
Happy Shopping!
Check out your Dillon's ad this week as well....they are having another round of their save $5 when you buy any certain 10 products. I used this sale last time to stock up on 60 bags of pasta that was down to $.49/bag! These deals are the best because you can stack coupons on top of these low prices for great savings!! It's the easiest way to get your stockpile really going! The way this particular sale works at Dillon's is that you have to buy a combination of any 10 items to get the savings. So if you buy more than 10 of any of these items, make sure you do it in increments of 10 to get the good price. They will do multiple sets of 10 in one transaction which is nice!
Target Deals - We just moved baby girl #2 into her big girl car seat. Target has the Graco My Ride 65 car seat on sale for $100 right now (This normally goes for around $150). This is a good price for this particular seat, which is durable, comfortable and has tested extremely high in safety tests.
Happy Shopping!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
FREE Ivory Body Wash at Dillons
At Dillon's right now the Ivory body wash is included in the 10/$10 sale. With the recent Ivory coupon that came out this past Sunday in the P&G Insert for $1/1, that makes these free :) I had 4 of these coupons so I got 4 FREE body washes!
Sometimes the sale will continue for 2-3 weeks and sometimes not, it just depends on the item and the specific store, so I don't know if the Ivory body wash will continue to be at that low price, so if you can, run to your closest Dillon's store tonight! :)
Happy Shopping!
Sometimes the sale will continue for 2-3 weeks and sometimes not, it just depends on the item and the specific store, so I don't know if the Ivory body wash will continue to be at that low price, so if you can, run to your closest Dillon's store tonight! :)
Happy Shopping!
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Best Bang For Your Buck: Minivan Shopping and 3rd row options for vehicles
I finally made the leap and officially joined the mom club...on Saturday I traded my sporty cross-over SUV -my Toyota Rav4 that I LOVED, for a Minivan. I'm not going to lie, I struggled with this in a big way! But the reality is that with two kids and a socially active 5 year old, we needed more space!! We ended up with a sporty 2010 Kia Sedona LX. It's black with tan interior and is about as sporty as you can get with a van :) So far in the 2 days I've had it, I really like it!
Here is what I found when shopping for a new vehicle, we drove several different ones and ended up with the Sedona.
Vans:
Our Top 3 choices on vans came down to what was ranked the highest in safety, reliability, features and price. The Kia Sedona, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna were the only 3 vans I would look at based on safety and reliability reviews. I've always been a car snob and have never had anything except for Toyota (yes, people laugh when we are all gathered at my parents' house because it looks like a Toyota car lot over there! We ALL have Toyota's) The reliability and the history we have with Toyota has been nothing but superb (as indicated by the 1996 Toyota Camry that has survived commuting by my dad, me and now my husband. It has 270,000 miles on it and is still going strong!)
Because Safety, Reliability and Features were all equal on the three choices of vans, the next thing it came down to was price. We could get more features for a better price by going with the Sedona. Standard on the LX is the Sirius Satellite radio, MP3/USB hookups, 6 disc CD changer, Roof Rack, Rear Air/Heat, Back up Reverse Sensors, 2nd Row Bucket Seats, Stow-N-Go 3rd row with 60/40 split bench, power rear windows, security system, key less entry, extra cargo space, tons of extra storage cubbies and cup holders throughout and an overall nice design on the inside. Other options you can get include the DVD system, heated seats, automatic climate control, power sliding doors and windows and other luxury features found in both the LX and EX models. The Kia warranty is also the best out there - some are 5 year/50,000 mile bumper to bumper, all of the way up to 10 year/100,000 mile warranties.
Other Vehicles:
A few other vehicles we looked at were SUVs and Cross-Over SUVs with the 3rd row. The main problem I found with all of these is lack of rear cargo space and difficulty getting access to the 3rd row. With older kids this isn't as big of a deal, but when you still have car seats latched in, it's too much work to take the entire car seat in and out to fold up the seat just to get in and out of the 3rd row seating. Most of the 3rd row SUVs were not designed for car seats...meaning you can't even use the extra seating with smaller kids.
a few we looked at and liked:
The Honda Pilot: Very nice, loaded with tons of great features. Not great on gas mileage, but great safety reviews. 3rd row didn't have much leg room, was not equipped for car seats and took up most of the cargo space in the back. I couldn't fit a full sized stroller in, only a smaller McLaren stroller fit back there.
GMC Acadia - Liked the look of this a lot but it didn't get great reviews on reliability and it was very heavy. Decent cargo space even with the 3rd row, can have car seats in the 3rd row as well. Some models come with 2 captains chairs in the middle, which made access to the 3rd row much easier with small kids.
Chevy Traverse - By far my favorite of the SUVs we looked at. If we hadn't gotten a van or if our kids were older, this is what I would have gotten. Tons of interior room, great cargo and storage space. Good reviews on safety and reliability. So/So on gas mileage. Drives a little lighter than the Acadia. Still harder to get in and out of the 3rd row if you have car seats.
Toyota Highlander - I've always wanted a highlander, but would only do it if I knew we weren't having any more kids and only had the 3rd row for occasional guests. It's not functional for everyday use with 3+ kids. The 3rd row takes up the entire cargo area, I couldn't fit any strollers back there with the 3rd row up.
So there are a few ideas if you are in the market for a new car! I loved my Rav4 and highly recommend it if you are needing a sporty little fuel efficient SUV. But we are on to the more practical phase of life where the reality is that a minivan just makes like SO much easier with small kids :) Our find, the Kia Sedona offered the most "bang for our buck".
Here is what I found when shopping for a new vehicle, we drove several different ones and ended up with the Sedona.
Vans:
Our Top 3 choices on vans came down to what was ranked the highest in safety, reliability, features and price. The Kia Sedona, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna were the only 3 vans I would look at based on safety and reliability reviews. I've always been a car snob and have never had anything except for Toyota (yes, people laugh when we are all gathered at my parents' house because it looks like a Toyota car lot over there! We ALL have Toyota's) The reliability and the history we have with Toyota has been nothing but superb (as indicated by the 1996 Toyota Camry that has survived commuting by my dad, me and now my husband. It has 270,000 miles on it and is still going strong!)
Because Safety, Reliability and Features were all equal on the three choices of vans, the next thing it came down to was price. We could get more features for a better price by going with the Sedona. Standard on the LX is the Sirius Satellite radio, MP3/USB hookups, 6 disc CD changer, Roof Rack, Rear Air/Heat, Back up Reverse Sensors, 2nd Row Bucket Seats, Stow-N-Go 3rd row with 60/40 split bench, power rear windows, security system, key less entry, extra cargo space, tons of extra storage cubbies and cup holders throughout and an overall nice design on the inside. Other options you can get include the DVD system, heated seats, automatic climate control, power sliding doors and windows and other luxury features found in both the LX and EX models. The Kia warranty is also the best out there - some are 5 year/50,000 mile bumper to bumper, all of the way up to 10 year/100,000 mile warranties.
Other Vehicles:
A few other vehicles we looked at were SUVs and Cross-Over SUVs with the 3rd row. The main problem I found with all of these is lack of rear cargo space and difficulty getting access to the 3rd row. With older kids this isn't as big of a deal, but when you still have car seats latched in, it's too much work to take the entire car seat in and out to fold up the seat just to get in and out of the 3rd row seating. Most of the 3rd row SUVs were not designed for car seats...meaning you can't even use the extra seating with smaller kids.
a few we looked at and liked:
The Honda Pilot: Very nice, loaded with tons of great features. Not great on gas mileage, but great safety reviews. 3rd row didn't have much leg room, was not equipped for car seats and took up most of the cargo space in the back. I couldn't fit a full sized stroller in, only a smaller McLaren stroller fit back there.
GMC Acadia - Liked the look of this a lot but it didn't get great reviews on reliability and it was very heavy. Decent cargo space even with the 3rd row, can have car seats in the 3rd row as well. Some models come with 2 captains chairs in the middle, which made access to the 3rd row much easier with small kids.
Chevy Traverse - By far my favorite of the SUVs we looked at. If we hadn't gotten a van or if our kids were older, this is what I would have gotten. Tons of interior room, great cargo and storage space. Good reviews on safety and reliability. So/So on gas mileage. Drives a little lighter than the Acadia. Still harder to get in and out of the 3rd row if you have car seats.
Toyota Highlander - I've always wanted a highlander, but would only do it if I knew we weren't having any more kids and only had the 3rd row for occasional guests. It's not functional for everyday use with 3+ kids. The 3rd row takes up the entire cargo area, I couldn't fit any strollers back there with the 3rd row up.
So there are a few ideas if you are in the market for a new car! I loved my Rav4 and highly recommend it if you are needing a sporty little fuel efficient SUV. But we are on to the more practical phase of life where the reality is that a minivan just makes like SO much easier with small kids :) Our find, the Kia Sedona offered the most "bang for our buck".
Good Deals and Coupons this week!
Here are a few quick deals I've found this week!!
Goldfish Crackers - right now at Dillon's (Kroger) these are 10/$10. If you go to http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/News.aspx you can print two coupons for $.75/2 bags of goldfish crackers. Since this would double up to $1, that works out to be $.50/bag. Not bad to get 4 bags of goldfish (any flavor) for $2!
Yoplait Greek Yogurt - $.99/1 right now at Dillon's. With my Coupons from the last few papers for -$.60/2, I was able to get these for as low as $.49/each. That's a good deal, normally the Greek yogurts retail for around $1.20-$1.30 each. I stocked up on 16 of these! These are great in the mornings and wonderful source of protein for before or after a workout!
Crest Toothpaste - part of the 10/$10 sale at Kroger right now. With -$.50/1 coupons that double up to $1 it made these totally FREE! I had 6 coupons for these, so 6 FREE toothpastes.
Kellogg's Cereals - Several Kellogg's Cereals are on sale for $1.98/each right now at Kroger. If you go to the Kellogg's website you can print off coupons for different Kellogg's cereals to stack with this sale price. I normally try to stay around $1/box, sometimes I'll go as high as $1.25 per box. For boxes that normally retail for $3-$4, this is still a great deal.
Some Target Deals I also found:
The P&G insert in this weeks paper had a Target Coupon that was good for $5.00 off one box of Pampers Diapers and one wipes. Plus, Target is offering a deal that if you buy these two items together, you get a $5.00 off gift card at check out. I bought a box of diapers ($19.99) and a pack of wipe refills ($6.99). With my $5 off coupon, plus a $3 off Pampers coupon stacked on top of it, plus the $5 gift card, it makes a box of diapers and a 3-pack of wipe refills $13.98 total.
Aquafresh Training Toothbrushes for Kids — $1.99
Use $1/1 Target couponStack with the $1/1 Aquafresh Kids toothbrush coupon from the 4/17 RedPlum insert (or use the $.50/1 Aquafresh coupon)
Free after coupons
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars – $2.50
Buy 4 – Get 1 Free
Buy 5 and use 2 $0.75/2 coupon from the 3/13 RedPlum insert
Stack with 2 $1/2 Target printable
$1.30 each after coupons
Tostitos Chips – $2.50
Use $1/1 coupon from the 5/1 Moments to Save insert
$1.50 after coupon
Happy Shopping!!!
Goldfish Crackers - right now at Dillon's (Kroger) these are 10/$10. If you go to http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/News.aspx you can print two coupons for $.75/2 bags of goldfish crackers. Since this would double up to $1, that works out to be $.50/bag. Not bad to get 4 bags of goldfish (any flavor) for $2!
Yoplait Greek Yogurt - $.99/1 right now at Dillon's. With my Coupons from the last few papers for -$.60/2, I was able to get these for as low as $.49/each. That's a good deal, normally the Greek yogurts retail for around $1.20-$1.30 each. I stocked up on 16 of these! These are great in the mornings and wonderful source of protein for before or after a workout!
Crest Toothpaste - part of the 10/$10 sale at Kroger right now. With -$.50/1 coupons that double up to $1 it made these totally FREE! I had 6 coupons for these, so 6 FREE toothpastes.
Kellogg's Cereals - Several Kellogg's Cereals are on sale for $1.98/each right now at Kroger. If you go to the Kellogg's website you can print off coupons for different Kellogg's cereals to stack with this sale price. I normally try to stay around $1/box, sometimes I'll go as high as $1.25 per box. For boxes that normally retail for $3-$4, this is still a great deal.
Some Target Deals I also found:
The P&G insert in this weeks paper had a Target Coupon that was good for $5.00 off one box of Pampers Diapers and one wipes. Plus, Target is offering a deal that if you buy these two items together, you get a $5.00 off gift card at check out. I bought a box of diapers ($19.99) and a pack of wipe refills ($6.99). With my $5 off coupon, plus a $3 off Pampers coupon stacked on top of it, plus the $5 gift card, it makes a box of diapers and a 3-pack of wipe refills $13.98 total.
Aquafresh Training Toothbrushes for Kids — $1.99
Use $1/1 Target couponStack with the $1/1 Aquafresh Kids toothbrush coupon from the 4/17 RedPlum insert (or use the $.50/1 Aquafresh coupon)
Free after coupons
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars – $2.50
Buy 4 – Get 1 Free
Buy 5 and use 2 $0.75/2 coupon from the 3/13 RedPlum insert
Stack with 2 $1/2 Target printable
$1.30 each after coupons
Tostitos Chips – $2.50
Use $1/1 coupon from the 5/1 Moments to Save insert
$1.50 after coupon
Happy Shopping!!!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Weekly Meal Plan and Challenge to myself!
With Easter and several other events coming up as the school year winds down, I am having to stretch my grocery budget more and more to account for all of the "extras" that come up this time of year. So my goal and challenge to myself for this week was to plan an entire menu for a week using only things I already had in my freezer/stock pile/pantry. I was able to do it (other than the fresh produce for a couple of meals) and devote my entire weekly grocery budget to adding items to my stock pile plus fresh produce and milk for this week!!
Here is my meal plan for the week:
Saturday - Blackened Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, *Caesar Salad, French Bread
Sunday - Easter Brunch -Out with the Family
Monday - Baked Chicken, Creamy Lemon Risotto, Mixed Veggies
Tuesday - Parmigiano Reggiano Crusted Chicken Picatta with angel hair pasta, Green Beans, Garlic Bread sticks
Wednesday - Texas Steak House BBQ Beef Sandwiches (meat was cooked and frozen, ready to throw into the crock pot for Wed night!) French Fries, *Corn on the Cob, *Sliced Watermelon
Thursday - Spaghetti Ham Bake (already in the freezer, ready to be cooked), Garlic Bread, Peas
Friday - Cornbread Casserole (1 lb hamburger for this already cooked and frozen), Cottage Cheese, Peas and Carrots.
Some of this I already had prepared and in the freezer for busy weeks like this that I need some extra time that I would normally be cooking. And everything else (except for the few fresh produce items) I already had in the house! So my grocery budget went this week to stock up on produce, milk, eggs, yogurt, diapers, granola bars, more cereal etc.
Obviously I've been working on my stock pile for a while so this was possible. If you are just starting out you might not have quite enough to be able to do this. I challenge you to see how many meals you can make with what you already have in the house, or how many meals you can make without having to buy much for them!! Having this much set aside and ready for crazy months is a wonderful way for us to stay on budget and not worry about spending more money to eat out if I just don't have enough time (or hands) to cook.
Happy Menu Planning!!
Here is my meal plan for the week:
Saturday - Blackened Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, *Caesar Salad, French Bread
Sunday - Easter Brunch -Out with the Family
Monday - Baked Chicken, Creamy Lemon Risotto, Mixed Veggies
Tuesday - Parmigiano Reggiano Crusted Chicken Picatta with angel hair pasta, Green Beans, Garlic Bread sticks
Wednesday - Texas Steak House BBQ Beef Sandwiches (meat was cooked and frozen, ready to throw into the crock pot for Wed night!) French Fries, *Corn on the Cob, *Sliced Watermelon
Thursday - Spaghetti Ham Bake (already in the freezer, ready to be cooked), Garlic Bread, Peas
Friday - Cornbread Casserole (1 lb hamburger for this already cooked and frozen), Cottage Cheese, Peas and Carrots.
Some of this I already had prepared and in the freezer for busy weeks like this that I need some extra time that I would normally be cooking. And everything else (except for the few fresh produce items) I already had in the house! So my grocery budget went this week to stock up on produce, milk, eggs, yogurt, diapers, granola bars, more cereal etc.
Obviously I've been working on my stock pile for a while so this was possible. If you are just starting out you might not have quite enough to be able to do this. I challenge you to see how many meals you can make with what you already have in the house, or how many meals you can make without having to buy much for them!! Having this much set aside and ready for crazy months is a wonderful way for us to stay on budget and not worry about spending more money to eat out if I just don't have enough time (or hands) to cook.
Happy Menu Planning!!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Great Deal at CVS!
I always clip coupons that I think I *might* be able to use. And it often works out to be a great deal...even if it's not a product I normally buy!! I clipped 4 of these coupons from the 3/27 Smart Source insert thinking I could possibly use them.
CVS has a deal right now on their Dove Men+Care Deodorant. Normally these are $4.99 each. Right now they are on sale for $.99 at CVS...the sale price paired with my $1 off of 1 coupon I got these totally FREE!!! Yes, 4 tubes of Dove Men's Deodorant for Tim that normally would have cost me $20 retail, I got for FREE and paid $.40 for tax. I'll take that any day!!
Dillons had some decent sales today as well, they are still having their buy 4 of certain General Mills products and get a $5 off gift card for your next trip. I bought 4 boxes of Fiber One Bars and 4 boxes of Nature Valley Yogurt Bars to get 2- $5 off gift cards. I had coupons for $.40/1 box for the Fiber One Bars (doubles to $.80/off per box) and then $.75/2 boxes of the Nature Valley bars (which doubles up to $1/2). Both brands were on sale for $2.79/box. Total retail for these would be $22.32 for the 8 boxes. After coupons the total came down to $17.12. If you figure in the $10 worth of gift cards that I earned, this brings the total for the 8 boxes to $7.12...which works out to be $.89 per box. These boxes are generally over $3 a box normal price, so to pay $.89 per box for healthy snacks that my whole family enjoys is a great bonus!!
Happy Shopping!
CVS has a deal right now on their Dove Men+Care Deodorant. Normally these are $4.99 each. Right now they are on sale for $.99 at CVS...the sale price paired with my $1 off of 1 coupon I got these totally FREE!!! Yes, 4 tubes of Dove Men's Deodorant for Tim that normally would have cost me $20 retail, I got for FREE and paid $.40 for tax. I'll take that any day!!
Dillons had some decent sales today as well, they are still having their buy 4 of certain General Mills products and get a $5 off gift card for your next trip. I bought 4 boxes of Fiber One Bars and 4 boxes of Nature Valley Yogurt Bars to get 2- $5 off gift cards. I had coupons for $.40/1 box for the Fiber One Bars (doubles to $.80/off per box) and then $.75/2 boxes of the Nature Valley bars (which doubles up to $1/2). Both brands were on sale for $2.79/box. Total retail for these would be $22.32 for the 8 boxes. After coupons the total came down to $17.12. If you figure in the $10 worth of gift cards that I earned, this brings the total for the 8 boxes to $7.12...which works out to be $.89 per box. These boxes are generally over $3 a box normal price, so to pay $.89 per box for healthy snacks that my whole family enjoys is a great bonus!!
Happy Shopping!
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