But, not to worry, I have good reason. I haven't needed to go shopping! Our stockpile has sustained us very nicely! In fact, I was able to have hubby go to our stockpile and help restock my mother in law's refrigerator of some condiments she was out of. She's out of town, and I have been doing a few things around the house for her, when I noticed what she was out of that I had at home, he replenished it for her and it didn't hurt us either! I am excited to really see the small stockpile we have going is really helping!
I'll have a new post for you next week, but I just needed to let you know that when you are trying to save, it is a great feeling to give to others! Be ethical and bless others! I truly believe in this, "in order to be blessed, you have to bless others" so with that said, please remember to bless others!
God Bless Each and Every One Of You!!!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
My Points
One of my new found favorite ways to save money and earn money at the same time is really easy. As many of us know, it is very convenient to shop online. I do a lot of my clothing shopping for my daughters in this manner as it is MUCH cheaper for me to shop online and pay a little for shipping than it is to travel 30 minutes or more to find the stores that I want to shop at. As I posted the other day, I was able to achieve 13 shirts and 12 pairs of shorts for my girls for 101. That is an amazing deal considering that the clothes all come from Old Navy. Now, how do I get that it is cheaper for me to do that? I'll break it down for you:
The closest Old navy to me is 23.3 miles which converts to 38 minutes. In gas mileage that converts to roughly 1.5 gallons each way. So that's about 9 dollars in gas to go for one trip. And that store may not even have what I need when I get there right...
So, I simply went onto my click through website : MyPoints and searched for Old Navy. I clicked to shop at that store. Then I went about shopping just as normal as I would if I had of gone to the Old Navy website in the first place. With My Points, they award 4 points for every dollar I spend at Old Navy, so that one purchase was worth 404 points!!! This is great because I am saving up for a couple of things. Here's what the points will end up doing for me:
7500 points awards me a $50.00 amazon.com gift card
3700 points awards me a $25.00 rainforest cafe gift card... and the list goes on and on...
So as of the present time I have 694 points, and I haven't even begun christmas shopping... When I do I am expecting to rack up tons of points just for doing what I would do all the time anyway... Keeping in mind that I still have fall wardrobe, winter wardrobe, christmas shopping, as well as anniversary and birthdays to buy for, it will not take me long to get that amazon as well as the rainforest cafe cards too. the rainforest cafe card will be a gift for christmas for my sister in law and her family since they live in orlando and the amazon gift card will be one of the gifts I am giving to my oldest daughter since she has done so well here lately, we are getting her a huge christmas present and that money will come in handy to go with it!!!
The closest Old navy to me is 23.3 miles which converts to 38 minutes. In gas mileage that converts to roughly 1.5 gallons each way. So that's about 9 dollars in gas to go for one trip. And that store may not even have what I need when I get there right...
So, I simply went onto my click through website : MyPoints and searched for Old Navy. I clicked to shop at that store. Then I went about shopping just as normal as I would if I had of gone to the Old Navy website in the first place. With My Points, they award 4 points for every dollar I spend at Old Navy, so that one purchase was worth 404 points!!! This is great because I am saving up for a couple of things. Here's what the points will end up doing for me:
7500 points awards me a $50.00 amazon.com gift card
3700 points awards me a $25.00 rainforest cafe gift card... and the list goes on and on...
So as of the present time I have 694 points, and I haven't even begun christmas shopping... When I do I am expecting to rack up tons of points just for doing what I would do all the time anyway... Keeping in mind that I still have fall wardrobe, winter wardrobe, christmas shopping, as well as anniversary and birthdays to buy for, it will not take me long to get that amazon as well as the rainforest cafe cards too. the rainforest cafe card will be a gift for christmas for my sister in law and her family since they live in orlando and the amazon gift card will be one of the gifts I am giving to my oldest daughter since she has done so well here lately, we are getting her a huge christmas present and that money will come in handy to go with it!!!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
School supplies shopping
ok, so here's my list of what i needed broken down by each child since they go to 2 different schools:
Maddie's Kindergarten Supplies list:
6 glue sticks
2 packages #2 Pencils
2 boxes of crayons (24 count)
1 pack colored pencils
1 pair FISKARS
2 primary composition notebooks
4 double pocket 3 prong folders
1 standard size backpack
2 boxes tissues
1 box baby wipes
1 water bottle
1 box ziploc bags
1 hand sanitizer
1 ream computer paper
Kenzie's 3rd Grade Supplies List
1 backpack
6 three prong two pocket folders
5 one subject notebooks
1 one inch 3 ring binder
1 package of dividers
4 packages loose leaf wide rule paper
3 packages #2 pencils
1 pair scissors
6 glue sticks
1 package colored pencils
1 pencil box
3 boxes of pencil cap erasers
1 package EXPO dry erase markers
2 boxes tissues
1 tub baby wipes
1 box crayons (24 count)
with that said, I went to walmart and walgreens. here's the break down:
WALGREENS:
Maddie's backpack: $5.00
1 pack erasers: .59
4 Roseart Gluestick 3 pack: .49 ea
5 packs Penway pencils: .19 ea
total out of pocket: 9.10 (keep in mind there was a backpack in there!)
WALMART:
4 filler paper @ .75 ea
2 color pencils @1.97 ea
2 Fiskars @ 1.47
1 binder .92
10 folders @ .15 ea
2 composition books @ .40 ea
5 notebooks @ .20
expo markers 3.47
2 erasers (40 ct) @ .97 ea
2 pencil boxes @ .97 ea
total out of pocket: 22.96
now, here's what i have left to buy:
kenzie backpack
4 boxes tissues
package of dividers
2 babywipes
2 boxes crayons (walmart was sold out but when they are back stocked up i will be paying .25 ea)
water bottle
ziploc bags
hand sanitizer
copier paper.
I think I did well!!!
Maddie's Kindergarten Supplies list:
6 glue sticks
2 packages #2 Pencils
2 boxes of crayons (24 count)
1 pack colored pencils
1 pair FISKARS
2 primary composition notebooks
4 double pocket 3 prong folders
1 standard size backpack
2 boxes tissues
1 box baby wipes
1 water bottle
1 box ziploc bags
1 hand sanitizer
1 ream computer paper
Kenzie's 3rd Grade Supplies List
1 backpack
6 three prong two pocket folders
5 one subject notebooks
1 one inch 3 ring binder
1 package of dividers
4 packages loose leaf wide rule paper
3 packages #2 pencils
1 pair scissors
6 glue sticks
1 package colored pencils
1 pencil box
3 boxes of pencil cap erasers
1 package EXPO dry erase markers
2 boxes tissues
1 tub baby wipes
1 box crayons (24 count)
with that said, I went to walmart and walgreens. here's the break down:
WALGREENS:
Maddie's backpack: $5.00
1 pack erasers: .59
4 Roseart Gluestick 3 pack: .49 ea
5 packs Penway pencils: .19 ea
total out of pocket: 9.10 (keep in mind there was a backpack in there!)
WALMART:
4 filler paper @ .75 ea
2 color pencils @1.97 ea
2 Fiskars @ 1.47
1 binder .92
10 folders @ .15 ea
2 composition books @ .40 ea
5 notebooks @ .20
expo markers 3.47
2 erasers (40 ct) @ .97 ea
2 pencil boxes @ .97 ea
total out of pocket: 22.96
now, here's what i have left to buy:
kenzie backpack
4 boxes tissues
package of dividers
2 babywipes
2 boxes crayons (walmart was sold out but when they are back stocked up i will be paying .25 ea)
water bottle
ziploc bags
hand sanitizer
copier paper.
I think I did well!!!
Old Navy
So, we all know how stressful back to school time can be for our families... I just scored big time for my 2 daughters!!! I got 12! yes I said 12 outfits (shorts and tops) for my daughters to start the school year with. That's 6 for each of them. And I only paid 100 for all of them including shipping!!! I love me some Old Navy and when I can score some really good deals on their clothing I do. With us living in Florida, they will wear shorts for several months after school starts so it is perfect for us! I will do the fall shopping around october when those clothes go on sale!!!
I don't know about you, but the savings for this sale breaks down like this:
Total Regular Price: 198.50 (before taxes)
Total Out of Pocket: 108 (including tax)
Shipping: FREE because I spent over 50.
total savings: 111.39 (including the shipping fee and i worked in the taxes for my state as well)
So, I saved about 50% on brand name clothes for my girls to start Kindergarten and 3rd grade this year!!! Love my sales today :)
I don't know about you, but the savings for this sale breaks down like this:
Total Regular Price: 198.50 (before taxes)
Total Out of Pocket: 108 (including tax)
Shipping: FREE because I spent over 50.
total savings: 111.39 (including the shipping fee and i worked in the taxes for my state as well)
So, I saved about 50% on brand name clothes for my girls to start Kindergarten and 3rd grade this year!!! Love my sales today :)
Monday, July 18, 2011
quick trip to publix
here's what i scored at publix the other day:
4 yoplait smoothie. bogo. plus 2 1.00 coupons. So I got the 4 for 4.38. They are regular priced at 3.19 each!!! So I paid: 1.09 each!!!!
Coffee mate non dairy creamer 1.67 with no coupons.
2 smart balance spreadbs bogo (2.89 for 2) minus 1.00 coupon. I got the two for 1.89 or .94 ea
one eggo french toast stick and one muffin top bogo 2.49. so i paid .75 ea
2 splenda essentials 80 count bogo (3.91 for 2) minus two two dollar coupons. So, I had a 9 cent overage and got my splenda for FREE!!!
2 rainers cherries bogo (5.99 for 2)
2 bags ruffles chips bogo (4.29 for 2)
2 Hersheys syrups bogo (3.49 for 2) minus 1 dollar coupon, so i paid 1.24 each
2 boxes ritz crackers bogo (2.99 for 2)
2 del monte diced tomatoes bogo (1.35 for 2)
4 chef boyardee pastas bogo (1.49 for 2)
So, my transaction looks like this:
Before sales my total was: 75.67
I had special prices of : 37.24
and coupons: 7.00
total out of pocket was: 31.43
not a bad price, but i will get it down even more :) just takes time :)
4 yoplait smoothie. bogo. plus 2 1.00 coupons. So I got the 4 for 4.38. They are regular priced at 3.19 each!!! So I paid: 1.09 each!!!!
Coffee mate non dairy creamer 1.67 with no coupons.
2 smart balance spreadbs bogo (2.89 for 2) minus 1.00 coupon. I got the two for 1.89 or .94 ea
one eggo french toast stick and one muffin top bogo 2.49. so i paid .75 ea
2 splenda essentials 80 count bogo (3.91 for 2) minus two two dollar coupons. So, I had a 9 cent overage and got my splenda for FREE!!!
2 rainers cherries bogo (5.99 for 2)
2 bags ruffles chips bogo (4.29 for 2)
2 Hersheys syrups bogo (3.49 for 2) minus 1 dollar coupon, so i paid 1.24 each
2 boxes ritz crackers bogo (2.99 for 2)
2 del monte diced tomatoes bogo (1.35 for 2)
4 chef boyardee pastas bogo (1.49 for 2)
So, my transaction looks like this:
Before sales my total was: 75.67
I had special prices of : 37.24
and coupons: 7.00
total out of pocket was: 31.43
not a bad price, but i will get it down even more :) just takes time :)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Building a stockpile
I can't stress enough how important a stockpile is. Our family has gone through times of famine and we didn't have enough food for all of us so my hubby and I wouldn't have proper food to provide for our children. This is not good, but it's the truth. Once we began building our stockpile, this changed. While we are continually building it, we are doing great with it.
Start slow. I suggest you find 10 recipes that your family loves and that you cook on a regular basis and write a list of each ingredient that you need for those recipes. As the items go on sale rock bottom, that's when you will stock up on that item. For example, we use a lot of tomato sauce, diced tomato, and rice in our family, so every time either of those items are on sale, I will grab them. I currently have just a few cans of tomatoes because we use them so often, but I have a good stock of rice right now. It just makes sense to me.
Buy for the future. None of us know what the future will bring. Be prepared in case of an emergency. Here in Florida we face the possiblity of Hurricanes every year, so that is my example. We are building our stock to be prepared should a hurricane arise. This will make our lives much more managable in an event that one should hit our area.
Know how much you use. Keep track of what you use and come up with an average so you will know how much you need to keep in the stockpile.
DONATE. this can't be said enough. you are being blessed with the information on how to get started, so please take the time to bless others. there are many food banks in need and your over abundance would be a perfect way to bless others!
Start slow. I suggest you find 10 recipes that your family loves and that you cook on a regular basis and write a list of each ingredient that you need for those recipes. As the items go on sale rock bottom, that's when you will stock up on that item. For example, we use a lot of tomato sauce, diced tomato, and rice in our family, so every time either of those items are on sale, I will grab them. I currently have just a few cans of tomatoes because we use them so often, but I have a good stock of rice right now. It just makes sense to me.
Buy for the future. None of us know what the future will bring. Be prepared in case of an emergency. Here in Florida we face the possiblity of Hurricanes every year, so that is my example. We are building our stock to be prepared should a hurricane arise. This will make our lives much more managable in an event that one should hit our area.
Know how much you use. Keep track of what you use and come up with an average so you will know how much you need to keep in the stockpile.
DONATE. this can't be said enough. you are being blessed with the information on how to get started, so please take the time to bless others. there are many food banks in need and your over abundance would be a perfect way to bless others!
Shop Smart
10 for $10-- Just because something is on sale for 10/10 does not mean you have to buy 10 to get that price. Buy just what you need.
Rock bottom prices-- buy your items when they are at a rock bottom price and buy enough to get through the cycle (typically 12-18 weeks worth).
One per purcase-- sometimes you will only be able to have one deal per purchase. When this happens, I will split it up into several orders to get what I need.
Leave the kids at home-- this way you won't be suckered into buying things not on your list! Same goes for the hubby!
Make a price book-- I have not done this, but will be starting one soon. Why do you need one? The answer is simply, so you can know if you are getting the best possible price.
Limits-- sometimes there are a limit of what you can buy. Do us all a favor and abide by those limits. The sales are for everyone, so have the courtesy to share the sale.
Shop Early-- I don't do this. I have found that if I wait til Monday I can get more bargains. My ad begins on Thursday, and I have the boost of the Sunday Newspaper by waiting til Monday. It just makes more sense for me and if by chance they are out of what I need, I can always get that raincheck.
Watch the cashier-- to make sure you are getting all of your discounts
Check your receipt before you leave the store to make sure it is correct and that all of your savings are accounted for.
Rock bottom prices-- buy your items when they are at a rock bottom price and buy enough to get through the cycle (typically 12-18 weeks worth).
One per purcase-- sometimes you will only be able to have one deal per purchase. When this happens, I will split it up into several orders to get what I need.
Leave the kids at home-- this way you won't be suckered into buying things not on your list! Same goes for the hubby!
Make a price book-- I have not done this, but will be starting one soon. Why do you need one? The answer is simply, so you can know if you are getting the best possible price.
Limits-- sometimes there are a limit of what you can buy. Do us all a favor and abide by those limits. The sales are for everyone, so have the courtesy to share the sale.
Shop Early-- I don't do this. I have found that if I wait til Monday I can get more bargains. My ad begins on Thursday, and I have the boost of the Sunday Newspaper by waiting til Monday. It just makes more sense for me and if by chance they are out of what I need, I can always get that raincheck.
Watch the cashier-- to make sure you are getting all of your discounts
Check your receipt before you leave the store to make sure it is correct and that all of your savings are accounted for.
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