Today was my usual weekly shopping run. My major score today was 8 boxes of ronzoni whole wheat pasta for free! My grocery store had the pasta on sale 10 for $10. I got 2 buy 2 get $1 off coupons from ronzoni.com in their coupon section and another 2 of the same coupons from itpaystoeatpasta.com my store doubles up to 5 coupons so all 8 boxes were free!!
All in all with my store savings card and coupons I saved about $30.00 on a $100.00 grocery bill. I haven't found a way around spending a ton on fresh organic produce yet. Here in Wisconsin we only have farmers markets 3 months of the year. My kids are major fruit eaters so that drives my bill up a bit.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Pantry soup recipe
This is one of my favorite soups for those nights when I just don't feel like cooking. I always have all of the ingredients in my pantry and fridge so it is a quick throw together. Gotta give the credit to Giada on the food network, it is her recipe :)
Ingredients:
1 jar marinara sauce (whichever brand you like and have a coupon for of course) ;)
1 small can of chicken stock or approximately 2 cups of homemade
1 can white beans (I use great northern I think) drained and rinsed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
Handful of pasta (elbows are preferred but whatever you need to use up will work just fine, even broken spaghetti works)
Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
Directions:
In a large skillet sauté the carrots in a little bit of canola or olive oil until slightly tender. Season with salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Add the marinara sauce and chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and beans and cook until the pasta is done.
I usually serve this with a grilled cheese and both kids will actually eat it.
Enjoy!!!
Ingredients:
1 jar marinara sauce (whichever brand you like and have a coupon for of course) ;)
1 small can of chicken stock or approximately 2 cups of homemade
1 can white beans (I use great northern I think) drained and rinsed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
Handful of pasta (elbows are preferred but whatever you need to use up will work just fine, even broken spaghetti works)
Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
Directions:
In a large skillet sauté the carrots in a little bit of canola or olive oil until slightly tender. Season with salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Add the marinara sauce and chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and beans and cook until the pasta is done.
I usually serve this with a grilled cheese and both kids will actually eat it.
Enjoy!!!
Today's shopping trip
So, I hit the grocery store bright and early with the kiddos this morning. I just love shopping again now that the holidays are done. The store was dead quiet (except for my angels of course). I have been going to the same store for about 5 months now and for some reason today I couldn't find anything. I scoured the aisles for honey and tofu (I have never tried tofu but I got a yummy recipe for a chocolate banana smoothie that uses tofu so I thought I would give it a try). After my kids free cookies had been eaten it was time to hit the checkout. I found the honey but gave up on tofu...maybe next week. Today wasn't my best day at the register but it wasn't terrible either. Managed to save $16.00 with coupons.
My prep work last night consisted of going over the sale flyer and planning my meals for the week based on what was on sale. I put together my coupons and my list and I was done!
Thanks so much Sheri for the coupon tips. I wish my store let me load them onto my savings card, it would be so much easier. And also to Alain, I am going to try making my own laundry soap for sure! What an awesome money saving idea :) I couldn't figure out how to reply to the comment thread. I guess I am having a mommy brain day. It just seems to be shut off...
Happy Shopping Everyone!!
My prep work last night consisted of going over the sale flyer and planning my meals for the week based on what was on sale. I put together my coupons and my list and I was done!
Thanks so much Sheri for the coupon tips. I wish my store let me load them onto my savings card, it would be so much easier. And also to Alain, I am going to try making my own laundry soap for sure! What an awesome money saving idea :) I couldn't figure out how to reply to the comment thread. I guess I am having a mommy brain day. It just seems to be shut off...
Happy Shopping Everyone!!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Questions...
If you have any questions about my method please comment here or e-mail me at info@lentzdesignstudios.com
Or, if you have any other tips or tricks...I'd love to learn them:)
Or, if you have any other tips or tricks...I'd love to learn them:)
Coming soon...
I will be doing my shopping tomorrow so I will outline my prep work and store run soon!
Weekly (hopefully) I will outline any amazing deals, funny store stories (I have a ton), and general stuff that happens in the crazy life of a stay at home mommy...
Weekly (hopefully) I will outline any amazing deals, funny store stories (I have a ton), and general stuff that happens in the crazy life of a stay at home mommy...
Money in your pocket
Another way that I have seen people supplementing their income is to sell items or services that you enjoy making or doing anyway. A great crafters website is etsy.com You can sell any handmade product for a very small fee. It is also a great place to find some very unique gifts at reasonable proices. One of my favorite etsy stores is Bashful Designs.
I have an online business where I make memory blankets out of clothing. It is a great way to be creative and make a little extra money as well. My website is www.lentzdesignstudios.com.
Not really a way to make money but we also have passes to the zoo and kids museums here. By the second or third visit they are paid for and the rest of the year we go for free. It is a great place to walk around and not cost anything.
Anytime you are buying a big ticket item or even not so big be sure that you are getting the best price. Most stores will price match as well. When I went to target optical to get a new pair of glasses I found a perfect pair but when she wrung me up it was around $400.00 including the exam. I wavered a little bit and asked the manager if there was any better pricing and she ended up knocking off $50.00 to make the sale. This won't always happen but it never hurts to ask.
I have an online business where I make memory blankets out of clothing. It is a great way to be creative and make a little extra money as well. My website is www.lentzdesignstudios.com.
Not really a way to make money but we also have passes to the zoo and kids museums here. By the second or third visit they are paid for and the rest of the year we go for free. It is a great place to walk around and not cost anything.
Anytime you are buying a big ticket item or even not so big be sure that you are getting the best price. Most stores will price match as well. When I went to target optical to get a new pair of glasses I found a perfect pair but when she wrung me up it was around $400.00 including the exam. I wavered a little bit and asked the manager if there was any better pricing and she ended up knocking off $50.00 to make the sale. This won't always happen but it never hurts to ask.
Working the store
Another tip when shopping is to walk the outer aisles and avoid the displays. They usually don't contain the best deals. On the back aisles they have things marked 15-30 percent off of regular items from toothpaste to baby food. Also avoid the precut/pre chopped items. They are so much cheaper if you do the chopping yourself.
Get familiar with the prices of the products you use most often. That way when they go on sale you will know if it is really a deal. Generally things go on sale once every 2-3 months. But lately my store has been having a lot of milk and chicken sales. When those happen it is a good idea to stock up a little bit. I don't have 6 months of products stocked up or anything like that. I usually only buy what I need and what will fit in my pantry and fridge. I do have an extra fridge in the basement because when things like organic beef and chicken go on sale at whole foods I will go buy 6 months worth since I don't get down there all that often.
Get familiar with the prices of the products you use most often. That way when they go on sale you will know if it is really a deal. Generally things go on sale once every 2-3 months. But lately my store has been having a lot of milk and chicken sales. When those happen it is a good idea to stock up a little bit. I don't have 6 months of products stocked up or anything like that. I usually only buy what I need and what will fit in my pantry and fridge. I do have an extra fridge in the basement because when things like organic beef and chicken go on sale at whole foods I will go buy 6 months worth since I don't get down there all that often.
Cleaning products
I use all green cleaning products which generally cost a little more. You can make your own all purpose cleaner very easilly with just 4 parts vinegar to 1 part water (double check with google on the ratios for that) but I hate the smell of vinegar. I use Shaklee brand cleaners. They are super concentrated so they last forever. I have been on the same bottle for a year and a half now. You can get them on Shaklee.com. My brother is a distributer so let me know if you are interested in the cleaners. I use the same cleaner for disinfecting, bathrooms, and kitchen floors. That way I don't have to buy a bunch of different things.
The lowdown on coupons
As I mentioned, I get the Sunday paper each week for coupons. I also use the midweek circular. Once per month the P&G coupons are in there which is what I use for the majority of my paper products. Also in the weekly circular are the grocery store sale flyers. I only clip the coupons that I would actually use. If you clip everything it gets very overwhelming.
The trick with coupons is that you can't be too set on which brands you use because they are not always on sale when you want them. One month we may be using colgate toothpaste and the next month it is crest. I used to be a complete diaper snob. I would only put my precious angels in pampers diapers because they were the pretty ones. Now that I am much wiser I have realized that the target brand diapers are roughly $4 cheaper per box, usually have a $1.50 coupon on them, and overall work just as well as the others.
Using just a coupon toward a product purchase is a great start but where the big savings come in is when you start stacking them. For example... If a box of pasta is regularly $2.25 per box but is on sale for $1.50 and you have a $1 off coupon the pasta would only cost you $.50 but my store doubles coupons on wednesdays and Saturdays so it would be free!!! At target you can use a target coupon and a manufacturers coupon for the same item. Generally I get things like toothpaste, deodorant, shave gel, toothbrushes, etc for less than $.50 but more often they are free. It is all about watching when things are on sale and comparing with what coupons you have on hand.
I can occasionally find coupons on some of the coupon websites like coupons.com, couponsuzy.com, and couponmom.com. A lot of times they are the same ones I get in my Sunday paper. If there is a specific product I use that I need a coupon for I will go to that companies website to see if they offer coupons. Organicvalley.com is great for organic milk, etc.
At most stores if you bring your own bags they will give you $.05 per bag. It doesn't sound like much but I love the feeling of making money before I even step foot in the store :)
The trick with coupons is that you can't be too set on which brands you use because they are not always on sale when you want them. One month we may be using colgate toothpaste and the next month it is crest. I used to be a complete diaper snob. I would only put my precious angels in pampers diapers because they were the pretty ones. Now that I am much wiser I have realized that the target brand diapers are roughly $4 cheaper per box, usually have a $1.50 coupon on them, and overall work just as well as the others.
Using just a coupon toward a product purchase is a great start but where the big savings come in is when you start stacking them. For example... If a box of pasta is regularly $2.25 per box but is on sale for $1.50 and you have a $1 off coupon the pasta would only cost you $.50 but my store doubles coupons on wednesdays and Saturdays so it would be free!!! At target you can use a target coupon and a manufacturers coupon for the same item. Generally I get things like toothpaste, deodorant, shave gel, toothbrushes, etc for less than $.50 but more often they are free. It is all about watching when things are on sale and comparing with what coupons you have on hand.
I can occasionally find coupons on some of the coupon websites like coupons.com, couponsuzy.com, and couponmom.com. A lot of times they are the same ones I get in my Sunday paper. If there is a specific product I use that I need a coupon for I will go to that companies website to see if they offer coupons. Organicvalley.com is great for organic milk, etc.
At most stores if you bring your own bags they will give you $.05 per bag. It doesn't sound like much but I love the feeling of making money before I even step foot in the store :)
Get organized and plan ahead
The biggest tool to save money is organization. I get the Sunday paper each week and clip coupons. I only clip what I will actually buy. More on coupons later. I keep everything organized in a binder divided into several categories so that I can find what I need very quickly. I plan a weeks worth of meals at a time and do one weekly grocery shopping trip and one weekly trip to target for everything else. There is a dry erase board on my fridge so when I run out of something I won't forget to get it on my next shopping trip. I have found that every extra trip I make to the store costs me more than planned because I can never seem to just run in and grab one thing. Along with the grocery list in hand I try to only spend on average $75 per week on groceries.
After watching the show "extreme couponing" on TLC last week I seem to be spending way too much but I am just an entry level couponer. With a one year old and a three year old running around the house I do not have hours each day to devote to this. I spend on average 1-2 hours each week.
After watching the show "extreme couponing" on TLC last week I seem to be spending way too much but I am just an entry level couponer. With a one year old and a three year old running around the house I do not have hours each day to devote to this. I spend on average 1-2 hours each week.
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