a few savings ideas

So here we are a month into the new year - how has everyone been doing with their New Year's resolutions?  I have probably been keeping up with half of mine, half the time...which I am actually pretty happy about.  I'll do a post update next week.

I am assuming whether it was a resolution for you or not, most people would like to save more money. (Me, me, me!!!!)  But the trick to doing so WITHOUT sacrificing quality of life or the things you like to buy and it takes some learning.

I went on a savings quest 2 years ago.  Since that time, I really have just learned how to coupon.  This has been wonderful at helping me still get what I want (organic milk for instance, most of the time), but I pay less money.  I consistently save more than I spend (spending $65 for instance but saving $75).  My favorite part of couponing is getting most of our toiletries for free (shampoo, lotion, toothpaste/brushes, etc) so that I free up "real food" money.  I am still learning, though.  I don't like how I do some months - this past one I spent $497 on groceries and household needs - so all drugstore (not Bailey's Rx) and grocery trips.  Now, when I started this journey I spent upwards of $150/wk, so spending $500 a month would have been good!  This past month I had to rebound from not couponing at all through December, so we went through some of our stockpile - esp meat and I had to replenish.  This next month, my goal is to spend $400 - all of the things we need and to continue to build my stockpile.

Anyway, here are a few things I just implemented this year to save more at the store.

*No more lunchmeat at the deli counter.  Even at $4.99/lb which is a SALE price for Boar's Head turkey, that is just too much!  I was spending at least $10/wk on Kevin's lunchmeat.  So now I am cooking up an extra serving or two of whatever meat I am making that week - chicken breast for instance, or london broil, and I slice it thin for his sandwiches.  I also have been making egg/tuna/chicken salad a few times, and he gets pb&j at least once a week.   I have 2 turkeys in the freezer that I got for .39/lb at Thanksgiving time that I look forward to cooking soon and saving some of that meat for his sammies.

*Speaking of meat, I have been stretching it with more veggies and sides.  I have been making soup once a week also, which helps too - soup is a frugal meal.

*I stay on top of what's in the fridge.  I used to waste too much!  I'd have high hopes of my kids eating blueberries let's say, and maybe we'd make it through one pint not two.  For shame!  Now I flash freeze the berries (and any other fruit/veg that can freeze) after a few days to insure it won't go to waste.  Our fave way to eat fruits that are in the freezer are in smoothies and waffles, and for veggies - soup.

*Buy big, and separate.  This new year, I have switched most of the girls yogurt to organic.  When they were babies/toddlers they ate organic, but I got away from it in favor of Gogurts for school - so easy to pack!  Well, I'll still buy go-gurts once in awhile but they eat yogurt every day, so now they are getting organic and I buy the quart size and separate it into reusable containers for their lunches and freeze the night before so it stays cool until lunch.  Sometimes it is cheaper to buy small and use a coupon (ie - if a coupon says $1 off, any size - use 4 coupons and get 4 of the smaller one that's on sale for $2, than buying the bigger one that's $8.  So you spend $4 for the same amount of product, than buying the bigger one and spending $7.  See?) but in instances such as the yogurt, it's cheaper to buy big.  (Stonyfield Farms has coupons on their website by the way - you can still coupon with organic!)

*Speaking of couponing organic, look through your circular!!  Last week at ShopRite I scored Gala organic apples (my fave!) and organic cut baby carrots for .99/lb with a coupon that was in the circular.  No limit was on the apples, so I got a huge bag, apples last for a while.

*I made a list of products I like, and am going to be emailing the companies.  I have done this a few times, but want to do more of it.  My favorite coupon I received from emailing the company so far has been Eggland's best - they sent me 4 .50 off coupons.  I waited for a sale - SR then had Eggland's best for $1.77 - the .50 doubled (most grocery stores double coupons, drugstores and supercenters like Target and Walmart don't) so I got the eggs for .77 each.

Do you have any tips?  I'd love to hear them!!

it's my 50 cent

So today as I was out running errands, my stomach started growling and I looked at the clock - 2pm.  I wasn't done my errands but I wanted to get something to eat, so I ran into a McDonald's I was about to pass.

Yes, there was also a supermarket close by where I could have gotten fruit, or a salad.  Yes, I just saw the link that's been going around facebook that appears to be some kind of McDonald's legal disclosure about their food basically killing you, or at least rendering you infertile.

But in my defense, I haven't eaten McDonald's in months, and I wasn't going to eat my burger's bun...doesn't that count?  Milk not soda, small not a large fry?  And I parked and walked in, instead of the drive-thru, see?

I'm all about health.

That and the drive-thru line was packed.  Perhaps I'm not the only one forgetting their new year's resolutions already.

So I get in line and my cashier is a middle aged man who wishes he was ANYWHERE but there.  I had sympathy for him and I would have smiled, had he looked at me at all. He takes my order efficiently, which was a Mighty Kids double cheeseburger meal, and asked if I wanted a boy or girl toy (which I will save as a treat to give to Bailey next time we go to CHOP).  He looks disdainfully at the $1off coupon I present him, but completes my transaction.  He hands me my order and says, "Here - your 6pc nuggets."

"Um, sir, I ordered the double cheeseburger meal."

"No you didn't, you wanted nuggets."

"No, thank you though, but I wanted the double cheeseburger."

At this point, I notice the lady that is standing to the side waiting for her 10 pc nuggets and large fish filet meal, looks at me like, "what's your problem, take the nuggets!"  I thought she and I could have been friends bc I was impressed with her order, but no, it looks like she has issues.

So the guy huffily turns around to get my burger, and as he's doing that I notice that I was charged for the nuggets, which cost 50 cents more than the burger.

I want my 50 cents back.  What good is 50 cents you say?  Well, on it's own it won't buy much these days, but that's not the point.  It's mine and I want it.

So he hands me my kids meal, expecting to be done with me, and I said, "um, excuse me sir but I was charged for the nuggets which are more, so can I please have the difference back."

Do you hear my 'sir' and 'please' - I knew I was a pain, but I wanted to be nice about it.

I am all about manners.

He looks at the menu board, searching for the kids meals.  Then he starts huffing, and puffing, (and I'm not kidding, he totally wanted me to know how annoying I was) as he starts playing with the cash register trying to figure out a refund.  He gave me my change, and I thanked him, smiled at the lady who could have been my friend, and left.

And then ate my bunless burger, fries and milk in the parking lot.  It was really good.

So what's my point?  Friends, if you work for your money, and most everyone does, KEEP IT!  That's the point of couponing, shopping with sales, budgeting, etc.  Why pay more money for something than you have to?

Of course, it would have been cheaper for me to run in the wawa for a banana, but that's neither here nor there. :)

Top 10 things you can do today to start saving money this month

10.  Don't go to the store.  I know, it's hard!  But, even with good deals - like the Groupon for $10 buying you a $20 credit to Old Navy...it is probably a select few that could get out of Old Navy without spending past the $20.  You'll wander to the clearance, you'll remember your kids have no socks that match (HOW does that happen?!), you'll see an adorable baby outfit and remember you have a shower to attend in a few months.  When you're on a really tight budget and just can't spend money on something this month past the necessities...don't.  Just don't go.

9.  Write a list of things happening in the next month, that will cost you money.  Gifts for birthdays, graduations, anniversary parties, teacher gifts, whatever.  Being organized saves money because it gives you time to think of how you can give frugally - but thoughtfully.  Perhaps instead of money for the graduate, you can find a classic old photo of their family and frame it.  Or put together a college-essentials gift basket (that once you're a couponer would cost you pennies on the dollar, taking stuff from your stockpile).  You'll love giving a gift that means something, and not having to bust your budget over a giftcard.  I was mad at myself this morning that I didn't think of a gift earlier for my daughter's 3 softball coaches.  Cookies in the shapes of bats and balls would have been cute and except for my time, very inexpensive!  Next year.

8.  Try to make do with what you have.  Instead of replacing the shower curtain liner, drag the *&%# thing out to the deck and scrub it.  I know, that is not fun...but if money's tight, every bit helps.

7.  Take notice of your electric, gas and water usage and cut back, just a bit.  I'm the first to tell you my AC is crankin.  But at night, we turn it up a little, and when we're out, we turn it up quite a bit.  All the vents are closed downstairs bc we're not down there as much and it's 1/2 underground (we have a bilevel) so it stays cooler.  Use your toaster oven, if you have the kind that fits dishes, to bake.  Do a cooking afternoon and prepare items for the week that just need heated up...you'll save not just a bit of energy, but your time.  If your kids are little, throw them in the tub together.  If you have a pool membership and they have showers, go ahead and bring the toiletries to the pool and have the kids get clean there instead.

6.  Use the library!!!  What a great place to borrow books, CDs and movies, all for free.  Plus, it's a cool place to be for awhile as a family in the hot heat!  Libraries also have free events like movie showings, book readings and crafts for kids.

5.  Look over your bills for cellphone, car insurance, cable, etc.  Make sure you have the coverage you need, and if you are overpaying, cut back.  We recently upped our deductible on the van from $500 to $1000, saving us $55 a month!!

4.  Cut your kids bangs yourself, shave your husband's neck, whatever...to make the haircut last a few more weeks.  Doing this a few times a year could save you a big chunk of change!  Can you say date-night money?!

3.  Try to swap with a friend.  Does she have a hydrangea bush you can hack into to make a bouquet for someone?  Can you take her kids for an hour while she runs errands?  Swapping goods and babysitting saves major money.

2.  Look in your pantry and freezer and make a list of meals you can make, and what ingredients you still need to make them.  This saves you going to the store and buying ingredients for full meals, when you already have items you can work with.

1.  If you're making a trip to the grocery store this week, look through the circulars after you've made your list.  Whatever store has the most sales for your items gets your business - and that could save you at minimum $20 if you were buying typical weekly items like produce, lunchmeat, yogurt, meat, etc.  If you have started couponing, don't forget websites like Living Rich with Coupons that do the work for you as far as matching sales to coupons!

Happy Saving!!

Coupon Crazy

So I have to be honest with you...couponing does take a bit of work.  I love it, and I get really excited about good deals I find for my family, or to give to others.  I take comfort in having a cushion of supplies - like detergent, cat food, toiletries.  I love knowing I have the makings for plenty of meals.  But shopping in this different way - of stocking up in addition to buying perishable items - takes time and effort.  I don't mind looking through the deals - I like it actually.  I don't mind the grocery shopping - I only go to 2 stores usually each week, and I have the luxury of either going while my girls are at school in the afternoon, or my local ShopRite has free childcare if they are with me.  I don't mind cutting coupons.

I DO mind organizing the coupons.  UGGHHHHHH.  Right now I am 2 weeks behind.  So I have a large baggie with lots of cut coupons, all mixed together.  It will take me at least a few hours to organize them into like piles (ie - cereal, yogurt, juices, etc) and then fill them in to my binder.  And because I have some sort of homemaker ADD thing going, I can't just sit and complete this task - I stand at the kitchen counter, coupons all spread out, and all day tomorrow I will take several minutes here and there and file some coupons.  It will annoy me, tire me, and bore me.

But I will do it, because I have figured that my couponing yields me some serious cash.  For a stay at home mom to earn anywhere from $20-$100/hr or more depending on the week, that is a good part time gig.  I don't actually "earn" it I guess, there's no money going into my pocket.  But there's a whole lot less money going OUT, so I count it as the same.

This week is a bit dry at the grocery stores, so I'll spend my couponing time organizing, and maybe an hour getting a bit of produce and spending some Rite Aids UP rewards that are about to expire.  And I'll hit up CVS to get their free stuff (soap and Bayer off the top of my head).  Good luck this week friends - and remember, a dollar not spent, or a dollar saved with a coupon, is a dollar in your pocket.

So what was this post really about anyway.  Well, I guess my point is - couponing is not all roses.  But it can be fun, it IS rewarding, and it's the easiest way I can think of to create more wiggle room in your budget.  Feel free to ask me a question that's been on your mind!