Ways I saved money this week...Christmas edition

Christmas shopping!

We save $50 per month, in a Christmas savings account. It is an automatic transfer, I don't even have to think about it. When we opened our checking account, the offer was if you have money transferred, to savings monthly, then checking was free. It was a no brainer.

So, I ventured out this week, looking for bargains, shopping list in hand. I found: 1)the local grocery store had a deal, if you bought $50 in Yankee Candle gift cards you save $10. I had candles on my list, so off I went with $50 in gift cards that I spent $40 for.

2) Bath and Body Works mailed me 2 coupons. One for a free $13 product, no purchase necessary. (I hadn't been in since last Christmas. I think they want me back) And another for buy one $10 product, get a free $13 product. I had a family member request lotions, so off I went.

3) I have a family member that loves Keurig coffee pods. The box of $8.99 pods were on sale for $4.99, and I had 3 $1 off coupons. She will be thrilled, and I saved $15! Same amount of product, I just spent less.

Off to find more bargains today!

Christmas shopping

I have started my Christmas shopping. I received a Target coupon that would net me a $15 gift card if I spent $150. So I spent $150 and received the gift card. I also received a $10 gift card, as one of my purchases entitled me to that. Yay!

So, I went back and used my new $25 in gift cards and finished my shopping. I also printed coupons for $4 off of a woman's sweater. There was also one in the paper, so I bought two clearance ladies sweaters each with a $4 off coupon.

I do not participate in Black Friday. I don't believe in it. It's far too stressful. I just plan, save and look for coupons.

Christmas shouldn't be stressful. It should be relaxing and happy. I actually shop and prepare months in advance. There are just some things that need to be purchased closer to the day. Especially if you have kids that keep changing their minds! ha ha

I actually enjoy strolling the malls during the frenzied shopping times of Christmas. The music, cheer, decor...LOVE IT!

Stressful, crazy shopping is NOT the Reason for The Season!!! ♥

I give up...

I have tried to do the environmental thing. I also was trying to do the frugal thing.

I stopped using dryer sheets.

I've tried vinegar as a rinse agent. I've tried spraying liquid fabric softener on a rag, and throwing that into the dryer. We've also tried the new fabric softener crystals. {our washing machine doesn't mix liquid softener correctly and ends up staining our clothes. Darn high efficiency washer}

We have spent so many days with our clothes just clinging to us. Everything that you touch shocks you. We were literally electronically charged. Ouch.

I used part of my free coupon to buy a box of dryer sheets.

I'm not going back, to life without dryer sheets, but I promise to compost or re purpose them in any way I can find.

Do you pick up stuff, off of the ground?

I never used to, until a few years ago. My younger son found a scratch lottery ticket, and picked it up. It was a winner! We felt sorry for the person that lost it, but there was no way to find out who that was. The ticket had been run over a few times, so we knew it was there a while.
I cashed the ticket in, and gave him the money. You'd never seen a 10 year old that happy! ha ha

So, I always keep an eye out. I've found Catalina coupons, for items that I was going to buy. Mostly we find not winning scratch tickets. But I figure, its a win-win. We are picking up trash, which makes everything look better, and occasionally we find treasures.

Yesterday, I found a Catalina coupon for $10 off of a $10 or more purchase at Safeway! I don't normally shop there, but if it's free...☺ It expired yesterday so I needed to act quickly. As soon as I got off of work, I planned to head over to Safeway. I was tired and ready to go home, but free is free! So, I called hubby and asked what was on my grocery list and went shopping.

The funny part was the reaction of the man in line behind me. He said "You got all that for $0.09?" ha ha. Yep.

I will continue to pick up "trash", you never know what you may find!

What to do?

Our local grocery chain is constantly promoting their credit card. It's supposed to be amazing. You get cents off per gallon more than anyone with just a regular loyalty card. After earning so many points, you get cash back. They will send you coupons. There's no annual fee. It will paint your house and pay for your daughters wedding. Okay, not the last part.

I've resisted because I just don't want a credit card. I was just at the store, and the lady in front of me was using a $25 gift certificate for signing up. It seems that you will also receive that gift certificate, to be used on your first shopping trip.

Lots of benefits. If you make sure to pay it off before the due date, then there are no finance charges.

Hmmm........ What should we do........

coupons!

photo credit: theobsessiveshopper.net

Coupons make me happy. Let's be honest. I may be addicted to them. {okay, not really} But I do love saving money. There's nothing better than being told your total cost and then handing over the coupons and watching a new total appear!

I keep coupons in my wallet and also in a coupon binder in the car. I have a separate binder for groceries and one for misc shopping. {ie retail, dining, auto etc}

I started keeping track, of how much I save using coupons last year. Hubby and kids were skeptical. I was trying to get them to take coupons every time I saw them go out the door. Usually, they ignored me and ran. Yes, I did chase them occasionally. "But you'll save money..."

So last year I kept track of every coupon used. Whether by me or a family member. If I clipped it, I counted it. I did post about the totals early this year, but the total for 2010 was $1053.92 saved! {needless to say, the family now asks for coupons! ☺}

It is October 10th and so far we have saved.....*drum roll, please* $1385.75! We still have a few months to go, and we have already beat last year's total. Yay!

These totals include: grocery shopping, eating out, auto repairs, pet expenses, bookstores, thrift stores, hobby stores, bowling, and shoe stores. {to name a few}

Am I an "extreme couponer"? No, but I really don't want to be. {tried it for a bit and hated the stress level it causes} I think that this is a respectable amount for a normal family and I am proud!

I need to realize that I am not perfect

Since starting this blog, I've put pressure on myself to be the perfect frugal wife and mom. Wow. Why? So my blog posts would be more interesting to read, maybe. Then I thought, why only post the good stuff? Why not post the bad as well? I am an imperfect being. Might as well admit that.

I use this blog not only to share my frugal finds, great recipes, gardening experience, crafts, couponing etc but also to hold myself accountable financially. I have been trying, for a long time, to get my grocery budget down to $400 per month. It is a really big challenge for me. Where did I even get that number? I think that reading others' blogs, and seeing how low their grocery budget is, I decided to "keep up with the Joneses" so to speak. I do well with all of the other budget categories. I clip coupons, combine with sales, cook and bake from scratch and I make my dogs' food. {thats pricey}

Well, I'm Colorado Girl, and I am not perfect. I will accept the fact that my grocery bill is about $500 per month. I will no longer beat myself up over this. I think that my new grocery budget will be $525 per month. There.

This is my sunflower

This is my Hollyhock

This is my amazing bargain of the day: I received a free box of Idahoan potaoes. {I dont normally use boxed potatoes, but they are free} The coupon is in the new issue of All You magazine. The chicken sausage was reduced from $4.99 to $1.29. I had a coupon for $2.50 off of a purchase of 2 Foster Farms chicken pkgs....so only $.08! {total retail value for all three- $10.98!!!}


Have a wonderful weekend!

If this is this farmers market...where are the farmers?

When I went grocery shopping a few days ago, I didn't buy a whole lot of produce. I was planning a trip to the farmers market. I wanted to support local farmers. There were plenty of great sales at the grocery store. I just had a plan.

The farmers market that we used to have in town was so much fun. There were at least a dozen farmers as well as kettle corn, a BBQ truck and a local baker. You could do your shopping and be on your way in a matter of minutes. But why would you? It was a place to visit and even run into friends and neighbors.

The farmers would travel from Olathe, Co as well as Rocky Ford, Co. They would bring their corn and melons. There would be yummy samples.

Well, they moved it away. There weren't enough customers here. Bummer. The new location is a good 20 minute drive. We could walk to the former location. There's a new market this year. Imagine my happiness! It's a mere 8 minute drive. I looked forward to going. Even planned my day around it, since it's only open for 2 hours.

Now imagine my shock when I arrive, with all of my excitement and find ONE farmer. The so called farmer had just one local crop. A few onions. Everything else was from California. Really? And the prices were outrageous!!! One dollar for a small zucchini! Wow! I couldn't believe that this was called a farmers market.


There were 10 other booths. All of them were venders and restaurants. Nothing made locally and nothing made by farmers.

Sad day.

uh-oh....we went over budget

A blog is a great place to admit mistakes and hold yourself accountable.

July was a very expensive month for us. We had major repairs on both vehicles for starters. We had to spend almost $1400 just for auto expenses. {I normally budget $230 for this category} We also had major vet bills. Add to that the over spending of groceries, dining out and miscellaneous expenses and you have the makings of a blown budget! Yikes.

I guess summer does that to you. It's just a time to relax.

Well, we will make up for that this month. I sat down yesterday and took stock of the freezer and pantry. I made a three week menu plan and then made a grocery list around that. I will plan to have leftovers after every dinner, so my hubby will have a lunch the next day.

I went to 4 stores, to find the best bargains. I combined coupons with the sales as best as I could.

The result was spending $164.92:
grocery- $53.69
Walgreens- $12.74
Whole Foods- $48.12
Sam's Club- 50.37

I also had to renew my Sam's membership, so that will add $40 to the grocery total for the month. I plan to visit the farmers market on Thursday and will most likely run out of something, in the next 3 weeks, so I have a budget of $60 for those trips. That will put me at $245 at the end of three weeks for groceries. {including membership renewal}

I will have to do more baking {early in the day of course} but we really need to get back on course.

I also went to the bank yesterday and filled my budget envelopes. No debit card this month!!! Hubby also has his "mad money" already in his wallet. So we have our funds for entertainment, allowance, grocery, home care, eating out, any gift purchases, gas and misc purchases. When the envelope is empty...that's it!

We will have to go school clothes shopping and pay school fees, but those have been budgeted for. We are actually starting school clothes shopping today. We are going to Ross and the thrift store. We already have the school supplies. {Hello summer school supply sales! ha ha}

Okay, I feel better now that I've confessed. Thanks. ☺

coffee time

I love a good cup of coffee. Not in the morning. That's tea time. Early afternoon is coffee time.

{photo: gourmetcoffeeisbetter.com}

There's something comforting and relaxing about going to a coffee shop. Ordering your coffee in a ceramic mug. Not a paper cup. Sitting back and reading the paper, a magazine or a good book. Working on your laptop or visiting with a friend or loved one is also a good choice.

Well, that can't happen everyday. So, you make coffee at home. Really good coffee is not good for the ole budget. I found a solution that works well for me. I buy the store brand coffee, when it goes on sale. I wait for coupons for the really good coffee, also on sale {the kind you need to grind yourself} and get the smallest package the coupon will allow. Hopefully, I have more than one coupon.

When I get home, I grind the beans of the good vanilla coffee. {yum} and mix it approximately half and half with the store brand coffee. This way, I get the tasty expensive coffee, but the pay the store brand price. This last time, I bought a 13 ounce can of coffee and a 1/2 pound of bulk coffee and spent less than $5.00. Since I only drink 1 cup per day, this will last for months! {I make a small pot and keep it in the fridge. I just reheat one cup at a time}

As I type this, I am enjoying a cup of coffee with a pizzelle cookie purchased at the farmer's market. I am using a beautiful mug given to me by my son. Awesome.

Support your local farmer

Today is a perfect day for a stroll around the farmers market. It is sunny and 92 degrees. Since I don't have much to harvest, I like to support the farmers for my veggies.

We didn't get much today. Just some vine ripened tomatoes, a bunch of cilantro, some onions and a nice bag of red cherries. I came home, and made some pico de gallo right away. Yum!

It sure is nice, for this homemaking mama, to get out of the house once in a while.

Happy 4th of July! Stay safe.

Garden update and a bad deal

Even though our neighborhood critters ate most of my seedlings, we are still doing okay in the garden. We have: 2 types of squash, zucchini, pumpkins, 5 tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, sweet peppers and herbs: oregano, basil, cilantro, lemon balm, chives, peppermint and spearmint. The weeds are a real challenge this year. There's a lot of digging and mulching, just to try and stay ahead of the weeds. I have been trying a new way to mulch this year. I have been using shredded white paper.So far, so good. I'll have to take some new pictures.

When is a deal a bad idea? When it's bad meat. I recently found ground turkey for $0.99 per pound. The cheapest price I have seen lately has been $2.49. I bought 20 pounds. I cooked it up, and discovered that it doesn't taste very good. Unfortunately, I didn't have a back up plan for dinner. I threw dinner away. I guess I will be taking 19 pounds of meat back to the store. Bummer. Lesson learned.

Why we go to the flea market

Yes, we are decluttering. Yes, we are on a really tight budget. And yes, we are trying to simplify our lives. So, why do we go to the flea market?

To treasure hunt, of course!

We packed drinks and lunch. Grabbed our old red wagon, and headed off.

We always have something in mind, that we are looking for. For the kids, it can be any kind of toy or collectible. Hubby is usually looking for tools and gadgets. I'm always looking for craft supplies and sometimes gardening supplies.

We each have a set amount to spend. When it's gone, it's gone!

We came home yesterday with a few odds and ends, nothing too major. {except a bit of a facial sunburn, WITH sunblock. Crazy high altitude.}

The real fun is the hunt and time spent as a family. We really like to browse. It's always fun for hubby and I to find things from our childhood. This time it was metal roller skates. Ahhh, the memories.

Grocery shopping

Today, I went grocery shopping. I took about an hour clipping coupons and making my list. I planned to visit 2 grocery stores, 1 health food store, 1 dollar store and 1 drugstore. The reason that I shop at more than one store is simple, I save money that way.

The first grocery store is a discount store. The prices are great and they take coupons. I found ground turkey there for $1.00 per pound!!! I bought 20 rolls. That should last for a while. (the next cheapest price in town is $1.99 per pound) I also found many great bargains and stocked up on a few things. Total spent there was $99.00.

The next was a chain grocery store and I focused on loss leaders and items that I had coupons for. Total spent there was $113.00. Coupons value was $19.20. Store card savings were $44.00.

Next was the drugstore to pick up picture prints. Walgreens had a buy 50, get 50 free deal. SoI sent 3 separate digital print orders. I had lots of pictures, on my computer, to be printed. I also ordered some doubles, so that I could make a gift scrapbook. Total spent $21.00, total saved $19.00.

At the dollar store, I just bought a few bags of candy for the candy jar and some beef jerky. Total spent $5.00.

This is enough to last us for many weeks. We are stocked up on meat, veggies, fruit and normal staples. I should only have to shop for fresh produce in the next month. I plan to buy produce at the farmers market, until my garden starts producing. I normally try to do one big shopping trip per month.

The freezers are full, the pantry is well stocked. All meals will be homemade every night. We are so blessed.

God is good!

How do you get $47.09 worth of product for $7.21?

How? Easy. Coupons! I know many people that won't use coupons. I read a few bloggers that saw clipping coupons is a waste of time. I have actually heard people say using coupons makes you look poor! Well, I think I look like a very nice "poor" person! ha ha

This is what I came home with:

I went to Staples and Target. Staples mailed me a coupon for $10 off of any purchase $10 or more. Silly them! I went in and walked straight to the clearance section. There I found:

*Skull Candy earbuds for $9.99 {reg $19.99}{when I got to the check out, they actually rang up as $4.25!}
*1 box of colored 4X6 envelopes for $3.00

*1 set of 24 blank Christmas cards and envelopes for $1.50 {reg $5.99}

*2 colored ink pens and 2 matching notebooks for $4 {stocking stuffers}

total spent $3.24

Then to Target:

*4 apples for $2.76

*1 Cottonelle wipes for $0.00 {reg price $2.74}

*2 travel sized Shout wipes for $.24 {reg price $2.24}

*1 5 count Zyrtec allergy pills for $0.00 {reg price $6.49}

total spent $3.97

I am not a crazy "Extreme Couponing" kinda gal, but I do love a bargain! I still have four free coupons hanging out in my binder. I just can't find a place to use them now that Walmart won't take them! Bummer. Still not bad for 30 minutes of my time!

Goodbye Walmart

I have never been a person to boycott a company or organization. I must say that I am ready to start.

I have been going to Walmart for about 20 years. I hear all of the propaganda and negative comments on the company as a whole. As previously stated, I don't normally buy into that.

Recently I have come to see Walmart as it truly is. The rose colored glasses have come off!

I have been hassled, at the check stand, for using my own bags. I literally had a woman come unglued, saying that I was slowing her productivity by bringing my own bags. Well, then!

I have been hassled over coupons. I am very careful to make sure that I have the correct product for each coupon. I have had checkers tell me that I didn't buy an item, only to have me dig through my cart and show the that I indeed did buy the correct item.

I have had rude checkers and/or employees.

Today was the clincher. I had three free coupons. Not printed from the internet. They all came straight from the manufacturer. With a seal and all. She said that Walmart no longer takes free coupons! Say what??!! She was not pleasant about it either. She treated me like a known felon. For free coupons. Wow! I dug through my cart and removed those items.

I told her I wouldn't be back. I don't think that she cared. Approximately once a week for 20 years is alot of time wasted in Walmart.

Hello Target!!!!!

such great deals!

I have found some wonderful deals this week. I recently discovered combining manufacturer coupons with store coupons, and put it to the test this week!


At Target, they have Purex Crystals fabric softener on sale for $2.99. I printed a $1 off coupon from the Target website, and combined that with a $2 off coupon from my stash. I was able to print 2 coupons from the Target website and had 2 coupons in my coupon binder, so I got 2 free fabric softeners. Yay!


Target also had some items in their travel/trial section that I was able to get free with my $1 off coupons. Examples: men's lotions, men's deodorant, woman's deodorant and band aids. I just searched my coupons for any that didn't have a size printed on it. Some of the coupons actually say "not good on trial size" and I wasn't able to use any of those. {too bad, since they had Dove and Suave body wash that I could have gotten for free}



I also used a manufacturer coupon with a Target coupon to get great deals on Pantene shampoo and conditioner {sale $3.59 minus 1.00 cpn and .50 cpn= $2 each} and also 1 Cover Girl lipstick.{$5.99 minus $1 cpn and $1 cpn= 3.99}



I also recently discovered buying coupons on Ebay. I bought 20 $0.50 off of 1 Yakisoba. My grocery has Yakisoba for $0.99 this week. I have made a few trips and plan to go back, to use them all before Tuesday. {you can only use 3 coupons at a time, in my grocery. Bummer.} That's 20 FREE Yakisoba noodles! I spent $2.00 to buy the coupons, so I'm really getting 18 for free. That should last my kiddo for a while.


The grocery also had Pure Protein bars for $1 and I had 2 $1 off of 1 coupons. Whoo! 2 free protein bars for hubby!


The best one of the day is this: I walked into the grocery, and they had the small clam shell boxes with 7 large bakery cookies for $1. Well, I can bake them cheaper, so I started to walk on by. Something caught my eye. What's that? The large box of 48 bakery fresh cookies, that should be priced $5.99, has the wrong sticker on it? Is this an April Fool's joke a day late? I checked the label again. Sure enough, the $1.00 label is on the $5.99 box of cookies. Hmmmm.....not a bad price for 48 cookies. Should I get it? Yep, I did. They let me have it at that price. It was their error and I am so lucky. {very nice people} These cookies will freeze very well. Yum.

my Walgreens bargains

I'm fairly new to the wonders that are Walgreens bargains. I've been reading many blogs and finding out this is a great way to get stuff fairly cheap. So, I consulted my weekly circular and my coupons and off I went to test this theory out.

On my first trip, I bought this:


The retail value of these items was $42.64. After Walgreens coupons and manufacturer coupons, I spent 14.65. After check out, I received $8.00 worth of Register Rewards to be used on my next shopping trip.

So, two days later, I went back and bought this:

The retail value was $46.27. After Walgreens coups, manufacturer coups and my $8 worth of register Rewards, I paid $7.46.

I discovered that you cannot get more Register Rewards if you are using RR during the current transaction. Maybe next time I'll save the RR for items that I don't have a coupons for. Maybe.

So overall my thoughts on Walgreens deals? AMAZING!!! I bought $88.91 worth of product for $14.11!!!!

My guys will be thrilled, since they normally get cheapo body wash from the dollar store. {deoderant as well}

I love the little air fresheners, so getting 12 of them for $1.46 made me very happy. {I know, they aren't "green", I'm sorry. I just like a nice smell when I walk in the door!}

Grocery trip

I was a little bit over budget, on groceries, last month. This month I will keep a better eye on the amount that I spend. I generally only use cash for groceries, but have been known to whip out the ole debit card if I go over. Shame on me.

So, with a $400 budget, I spent this so far:

Today I went to the health store, Dollar Tree, Walmart and the grocery store

After coupons, e-coupons and store loyalty cards, the total amount was $134.55 {savings- $13.44 in coupons, $1.75 in e-coupons and $12.47 in loyalty card savings, for a total of $27.66}

I also bought some take-out egg drop soup for dinner, but that will go into the dining out budget column. {amazing restaurant...so yummy and cheap!}

This leaves $265.45 left for the month. I planned menus and bought enough for 2 weeks, so this shouldn't be a problem.

Oh, and I'll leave the debit card at home. ☺

more snow and combining coupons

It's another snowy day! So far, we haven't received the full amount of snow that was predicted. It's very pretty though!

Yesterday, I stopped at the grocery to take advantage of my new discovery. After my last visit, I went home, loaded more ecoupons onto my card and printed matching coupons. I was ready!

I bought:

"Ester C" reg price $6.49, after ecoupon and paper coupon I spent $2.49!

Maybelline mascara reg $4.79 after both coupons- $2.79

Vlasic pickles reg 2 for $6.50. After both coupons, 2 for $3.50

Suave deodorant reg price $1.98, after coupons- $0.17

Pillsbury Crescent rolls reg price 2 for $3.98, after coupons 2 for $2.28

Fiber One bars reg $3.49, after both coupons- $1.99

So, the moral of the story is: I can buy little splurges that I don't normally buy{Crescent rolls and Fiber One}, using this method! {and things I will use as well}