Time to get back to couponing

While I have been away, tons of things have happened, I have to get back to couponing and saving the difference.  Once we release what is going on I'll be sure to share our progress of saving money for this life event!  It's exciting!

Wow! What a week it's been! Getting ready for Christmas and Santa in addition to just getting back into frugality! I didn't realize I had bought groceries for 2 weeks when I did last weeks grocery shopping, so this week, I was able to spend just a few dollars to get what we needed for meals this week. I took advantage and got a few things that will carry over for next week.

So, you will be happy to know that the 10 pounds of chicken leg quarters I got were only $5.90. I put all of the chicken in my crock pot on Thursday and cooked it on low all day. This was perfect because the girls and I decided to have leftovers instead of our chicken that night. So yesterday, I pulled all the chicken off the bone and saved the broth for later this week. We were able to split the chicken for 4 meals! I thought I was only going to get 3 out of it, but there was more than enough.

So, this weeks meals are:

Friday we had BBQ chicken with mashed potatoes.

Saturday I am making Crock pot chicken and rice burritos and homemade refried beans.

Sunday the girls asked for breakfast for dinner, so we are having sausage gravy over biscuits with eggs.

Monday I'll be making a pot of beans and cornbread

Tuesday we are having home made chicken and rice soup.

Wednesday we will do Sloppy Joes with French fries.

and Thursday is our spaghetti night.

Its sure to be a yummy week here!

saving pennies at the table

it's been a while since I was here but I will be doing my best to update regularly with deals I find and the like. I will be adding a few fun things over time, the first is my menu. Each Saturday morning I will be posting what we will have to eat that following week. These will be under $50 for a family of 4. I will have leftovers for use in other meals, this is an amazing savings in and of itself. I shop for my groceries at aldi for the most part. I get my ground beef and chickenn leg quarters from save a lot, and anything else I may need comes from WalMart.

so, for this week, starting with Friday, we are having:

Friday is taco salad
Saturday is thanksgiving leftover pie
Sunday I am making a pot of beans and cornbread
Monday we will have beef stroganoff with peas and mashed potatoes.
Tuesday its potato soup
Wednesday we have a pot of chili
and Thursday its salsa chicken with refried beans left over from our Sunday dinner.

in total we might use $20 of what we bought Friday, and it sets us up for some great meals for next week!

if you would like the recipes I use, comment below! With enough comments I will start posting the recipes on a daily basis! Until next time,lots of frugal lovin and merry Christmas!

Not really sure I understand

With the economy the way it is, everyone is hard up for money, so when I am told, "I wasn't brought up to coupon... I don't see the sense in it.  You don't save money using them."  I about freaked out on the girl!  She's a single mom with 3 kids and just lost her job!  She just didn't get the savings!  She thought I was crazy for going to Publix to shop because, "Publix is the most expensive store."  While that part could be considered true, I disagree!  I can shop at Publix and get such great deals!  Yes, I still have to really shop around for meat, but once I get that, then I can figure out what I'm making based solely on my pantry due to my BOGO and Coupon sales!  I love that I have access to these wonderful bits of paper that my family calls, "Money".  It really does save me money, so I am taking a challenge.  I am challenging myself to start finding and posting deals to help all of you save a few more dollars a week.  A penny saved is a penny earned in my book! 

Publix Trip

This morning I headed out for a little small shopping trip.  I only had a total of $30 set aside to shop with and we only needed a few things.  So, I had worked it all out, but when I got to the store I realized that for some of my coupons, I couldn’t use them because they were for 10 oz or more in the cereal, but it was the 9 oz box that was for sale, so I didn’t do as well as I wanted to, but I did well either way.  Here’s the breakdown!

Brawny Pick a Size Single Roll Papertowels.  I bought 2 of them because they were on sale Buy One Get One Free!  They were just $1.99 for the TWO rolls. 

Lysol Cleaners—another that was on the BOGO sale.  I had 2 coupons for 25 cents off of each one, so I only paid 2.19 for BOTH!  They are regular priced at $2.69 EACH!

Aunt Jemima Pancakes—they were BOGO, so I took them up on that!  My kids LOVE these and although I didn’t have a coupon, I only spent 2.79 for BOTH packages. 

Hormel Chili with no beans was another BOGO but because I used a coupon for 55 cents off of two of them, I spent $2.74 for BOTH cans. 

International Baker Cookie Dough was on sale BOGO!  These are normally $3.29 per package, but I scored them at $2.29 for BOTH packages!  Woohoo!  Santa will love his cookies this year!

Bob Evans Side Dishes were on sale for 2 for $6.  I got one of them and had a coupon for $1 off of one.  So I paid $2 for the one.  Not bad.

Juicy Juice Fruitfuls was on sale for 1.99 and I had a coupon for $1 off!  I got this new juice for just 99 cents! 

Del Monte Tomatoes—I love these things!  We use tomatoes and tomato sauces all the time, so this is a great buy for me!  They were bogo and I used a 50 cents off of two, so got them for 69 cents for BOTH CANS!!!  So I paid 34 cents per can!!! 

International Delight Creamer (the big bottle) was on sale for 2/$5.  I bought one and used a coupon for $1 off one.  I got my creamer for $1.50.  

And lastly, the best!  Truvia Sweetner is normally $3.99 per box.  I got them BOGO, but had 2 coupons for 85 cents off of each one.  I paid a total of $2.29!  That’s just $1.15 each box!!! 

So, In all, my savings at Publix was $28.08.  I only paid out of pocket $19!!!  WooWoo!!!  That’s a total savings of 68%!!!

Walgreens Trip 12/3/12

This morning, I decided to go on a walgreens run at the last moment.  I stopped here after my Publix run, but will post the savings at walgreens first :) 

I had only $11 I could spend at this store including tax, and think I did fairly well considering I had NO coupons to use for the things I needed from here.  Here's the breakdown...

Xtra Detergent-- Regular price $2.99.  I paid $1.49
Dawn Dish Detergent-- Reg. Price-- $1.69  I paid $0.99
Puzzle Erasers-- Regular Price-- $2.69  I paid $0.99
Colorsilk Hair Color-- $3.99  I paid $3.00
Christmas Tree Icecicles-- $0.99 I paid $0.99
Cotton Swabs-- $2.49  I paid $2.49

In all, I spent $9.95.  I saved $4.49 without coupons!  Total percentage saved 31%

It's been a while since I have posted here

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!!!