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Saturday, August 27, 2011

A word about meal planning...

When I talked about couponing before, I briefly mentioned that to save money you no longer make a list based on what you "need" to go to the grocery store.  Instead, you base what you buy, on what is on sale.

So what does this do to your meal planning? and What if you are making a certain recipe?

These are the first reactions I get when I talk about my grocery strategy.  But this grocery strategy really works for us and probably for most other people.  The way it works for me is I sit down on the weekend and take a look at the food we already have, along with what is on sale this week at the store.  Using those I come up with a schedule of what we will eat each night for the next week.  Lunch is based on leftovers, and other things that are stock piled or were on sale this week.  We even buy produce by what is in season.  There are certain things we buy every week like organic milk and lettuce.  This saves us money and is a fairly simple system.

Now I admittedly am not a future food network star, nor strive to be.  I don't long to cook elaborate recipes.  But I do find myself getting better at improvising as a cook.  If I want to make something, I figure out how to make it with what we have, or I am willing to wait until the ingredients go on sale.

Today I was able to make this curry grape chicken salad (my favorite:)) without getting anything from the store!

Give it a try... meal planning this way makes a difference in your budget and your family :)!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Couponing Lingo ...

When I first started couponing, I felt like the people, blogs, and websites around me were speaking a different language.  It took some time to learn this language... so here is a crash course!

o ***Store coupon- Coupons put out by the store. Can be used with a manufacturer coupon, but not a store coupon.

o ***Manufacturer’s coupon- Coupons put out by the manufacturer. Can be used with a store coupon, but not a manufacturer coupon.

o BOGO- buy one get one free (can use two coupons on these because there are two items J)

o Peelies- coupons that peel off items you have bought

o Blinkies- those you can take out of store displays

o Doubling- when stores give you double a coupons value up to a certain amount

o ***Stacking- Using a coupons with store deals. Also using a manufacturers’ coupon with a store coupon.

o Limits- When there is a deal sometimes there is a limit of how many of that deal you can get

o Purchase amount coupons- coupons distributed by a store that give you a certain dollar amount when you spend a certain amount

o Rain check- a slip that lets you by a product a store is out of after the sale dates are over

o ***Personal Buy Prices- Prices where you know the deal is good/great.

o ***Catalina- machine at most registers that prints out coupons, purchase amount coupons, and the Register Rewards at Walgreens and Extra Care Bucks at CVS.

***Key Lingo for success 

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

How couponing works...

A simple overview for beginners :)

BathandBodyWorksCoupons.gif.jpgHow the process works!
  1. 1. Start basing your shopping on in-store ads, not just the shopping list you “need” from week to week.  So look at the store adds at your favorite stores, the stores that are most convenient or stores you think you will save the most at, to form your list.  At first this is hard, but most sales go in cycles of 6-8 weeks.  You have to start committing to only buying most food items when they are on sale.
  2.  Look for coupons that match the sales you have found.  Stack coupons with store deals for maximum savings!  And for even more savings put a store coupon together with a manufacturer coupon.  Then if you are lucky you can even put a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon for even more savings. I actually never clip coupons before I need them, I will talk about that when we get to organization
  3.         Match up everything and make a list (I use the southern savers website to make this all easier for me).  The better your list the easier and quicker it will be at the store.
  4.         Go shopping for only the items on your list!
Give it a try and see how much money you can save!!! :)

Friday, August 5, 2011

Is couponing worth it???

The Benefits of Couponing
o   Knowing you are being a good steward of what God has given you.
o   Saving money.
o   Ability to share more with others (whether with items you have bought or more money).
o   The excitement of knowing you did not pay more than necessary J.

Couponing in Your Life: Some things to Remember
o   Don’t get discourage, you won’t be an expert right away.
o   It might be good to start with one store or one deal to not get overwhelmed.
o   As you start remember any savings is good.  Decide where your priorities are (if it 
o   Your time is worth money too.
o   Remember how much storage you have (don’t buy more than you have room to store).
o   PLAN, PLAN, PLAN- good planning is key (list making, coupons, trip order), your time at home is just as important as going to the store.
o   Get organized, it will save you time later.
o   Check coupon policies.
o   Just try it, you will learn how as you go!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Clearing the Closet Challenge…


 Take a peek in your closet.  Is there anything you have not worn in a month?  A couple months? A year? You can’t remember the last time you wore it?

This morning I was looking through my closet and thought… something must be done!  So I am doing a closet challenge… I am going to attempt to wear everything in my closet before I rewear anything.  Then when I am done, I will see which things I wear and which things I would have to make myself wear.  Here are my rules:

  1. I will take a quick inventory of what I have in my closet in drawers (5 pairs of jeans, 10 skirts, etc).  Then really think about how many of each I really need.
  2. Then within each category I will not rewear anything until I have worn everything, or I have decided that I won’t be keeping the item.
  3. Then as I go I will decide which things I will be keeping, giving away and consigning… and maybe I can even convince Andrew to join my challenge!


So take a peek in your closet… do you need to simplify?  Join the challenge with me!