Today's Shopping Trip

Several weeks ago, we traveled to Iowa, & I got some Earth's Best diapers for Harper girl.  Though I love Earth's Best, the diapers just did not agree with her.  Harper's bottom was absolutely covered in blisters & they didn't improve for a week, even after returning to cloth diapers.  It was horrible.  Because the reaction was so severe I called the company, & they were kind enough to send 6 free food product coupons, & 2 $0.55 coupons. 

Today, the girls & I went to Toys R Us to return the second, unopened package of diapers, & to use my coupons to stock up on baby food for our upcoming month of travel.  

Here's my haul:  3 EB organic puffs, 1 box of  EB organic cereal, 2 boxes of EB organic teething biscuits, 6 Earth's Best organic pouches, & 6 Babies R Us baby food pouches, $29.84 full retail. 

After coupons the total was $11.18, but I had the credit from the returned diapers, so I only paid $1.35! Not too shabby! 

How to Cut Your Food Budget in Half

Innumerable blog posts & books have been written claiming to cut grocery budgets in half, leading to copious redundancies on the subject.  This recent article is by far the best I've seen & is short & sweet.  If you are looking for simple solutions to cut your grocery budget read this Forbes article. 

Cutting our Grocery Budget: Bread Edition

Over the last year I've been buying bread at The Dollar Tree.  They sell loaves of Natures Own whole wheat for, you guessed it, a dollar a loaf, which is a significant savings over regular prices.  There are only two problems with this:  1. I loathe making a special trips, so I only go after we've been to the pediatrician.  2.  The store doesn't consistently have bread, & can't predict when they'll receive it, so you have to get while the gettin's good.

Consequently, when I do find bread at the store, I buy at ton; a minimum of eight loaves at a time.  In order to prevent freezer burn & the bread drying out, I've figured out the optimum method for storage in the deep freeze.

I simply bag two loaves of bread at time, tie the ends of the bag, reverse the opening of said bag, & slip it into another grocery bag.  This keeps the bread fresh for several months & allows the bread to stack nicely & keep the freezer orderly.  Not only does this method prevent having the run to the grocery frequently, but it saves us several dollars per loaf.  Win win. 

Make Your Own Foaming Dish Soap

After seeing the exorbitant price of foaming dish soap in the store, I figured I could make the same thing for much cheaper.  I use dish soap samples, which makes the soap completely free, & a few pumps work just as well as a squirt of regular dish soap. Yeah!  Here's how to make it:  

Simply take an empty foaming soap dispenser & your dish soap. (The same method can be used to make hand soap, just replace the dish soap with hand soap.)

Fill 1/4 of the pump with soap & fill the remainder with water.  Gently mix together.

Voila, you have foaming dish soap! Just add a few pumps to a sink of dishes & you're good to go.  Look forward to long lasting bottles of dish soap & fewer trips to the store!

Storing Up For Winter

One of the many wonderful things about summer is the bounty of produce.  We try to eat seasonally, so in the summer, while produce is at the peak of freshness I like to prep & freeze as much as possible for the winter.

When strawberries were on sale for $0.99/lb I went a little nuts & bought 10 lbs to be prepped & frozen.  The frozen fruit isn't so fabulous on its own, but they're delicious in cereal, yogurt, or smoothies. 

Though it's a lot of work, it's nice when the pickings are slim in the winter to be able to walk out to our freezer & taste the freshness of summer.  Plus, the work is much more fun when it's overseen by the happiest little sous chef in town!

Stock Up Shopping July Edition

I try to spend as little as possible on groceries & I've found the most effective way to do that is to stock up when things are at their rock bottom prices.  This week when I went shopping these were the things I stocked up on:

Walgreens:

• This was a rare trip & against my usual method of spending $1/box of cereal, but JC & Emerson both love "waisin bwan", so I made an exception.  The cereal was on sale for $1.99, I bought 8 boxes, & after a coupon paid $1.87 a box.

Aldi:

• Boca Chick'n Patties were on special for $2.89 (they're usually in the $3-$3.50 range at other places), so I bought 6 boxes.  

• The pretzels were on markdown for $.89 a bag, so I bought 4.  I have been getting pretzels at the Dollar Tree, so saving the trip & paying less was exciting.  

Target: 

• 3 bottles of pure vanilla--marked down from $3.69 to $1.84

• Almond extract--originally $3.69 now $1.84

• Bay Leaves--clearanced from $2.99 to $1.48

• Walnuts--reduced from $7.99 to $3.98 for a pound. 

• And the shoes...well, how could I resist such a cutie pie pair of flats, especially when they were only $4.48, down from $15!

Happy weekend to you!

When Life Hands You Frozen Tomatoes

So our fridge makes me want to bash my head into a wall.  Try as I might to get the proper temperature settings, we still occasionally wind up with a tomato that gets frozen in the produce bin.  I used the throw them out because they become complete mush once they thaw.  That is until it occurred to me that I could actually USE THEM for something.  Um, Duh.

Now I just wash them, cut out the stem, & place the juicy/mushy tomato in a container.  I then proceed to chop it to bits with kitchen scissors.  (How cute are these Woodpecker scissors?!)

The tomato & juice are then perfect for sauces & soups, & I just keep it in the freezer until it's needed.

If only I had thought of this three years ago when we moved into this house...

Freebies In My Mailbox

I love getting the mail every day.  I look forward to it primarily because our mail is frequently peppered with free samples.  I definitely feel conflicted about the amount of waste that smaller sized samples create, but I do try to only order the samples I'll use & recycle all possible materials from the packaging.  I've found that for our budget, samples are a HUGE blessing, as are the coupons that often accompany them.  Here is an example of what we've received in the last week and a half:

Tide Pods
Sample box of Quaker Oat Squares & $1 off coupon (not pictured)
Purex Ultra Pack
Purex Detergent & $0.50 Purex coupon
3 bags of Lipton Tea (Not pictured) & $0.75 off coupon
Marley Organic Coffee
Gevalia Coffee
2 Dr. Weil for Origins Mega-Bright Serum
Garnier Pure Clean Shampoo sample
3 Tampax Tampons & 3 $1 off coupons
1 oz Craisin sample with accompanying coupon for a free bag of Craisins
 And I'm still waiting on my P&G sampler

 If you're interested in learning more about samples, find out my methods for getting free samples here.

Price Matching for Produce

I've never price matched at Walmart before, but this past weekend I was too tired to drive across town to Aldi, so I decided to go several blocks & price match Aldi's produce prices at Walmart.   I found it to be an extremely easy process.  I simply went in, grabbed the produce I needed, & had the Aldi sale flier handy for the cashier while checking out. 

I was able to get the pineapples & cantaloupes for $0.99 each, strawberries for $0.99/lb, & grapes for $0.89/lb.  I'm sorry to say I didn't pay much attention to the existing produce prices at Walmart, but I do know the Walmart price for pineapples was $2.25 each, so that alone was a great savings. 

I was told that Walmart cannot price match produce prices if they are priced per tray (Aldi had a 4 count tray of pears for $0.99), they need prices per lb. or individual prices, but other than that, price matching was a piece of cake.  I'm not sure it's something I'll do all that frequently, but for days when I'm just too worn out to drive across town it's a great alternative, especially as I currently like to eat an entire pineapple in one sitting!

Frugal Experiment: Cooking Dried Beans in the Crock Pot

I have long heard that cooking dried beans is more economical than buying canned beans.  Approximately 95% of our meals are vegetarian & we go through a lot of beans in a month, so when I recently found packages of black beans for $0.30/lb I figured it might be a worthwhile experiment. 

Simply sort & wash the beans.  

Find a recipe, pour beans, water, & seasonings in the crock pot.  

Cook overnight or approx 8 hours, drain (if desired), package, & freeze.  Piece of cake!

Here are a few things I learned from my little frugal experiment:

• Do not overlook the importance of sorting & rinsing the beans before you cook them. You won't save any money using dried beans if you need expensive dental work to repair a chipped tooth from an overlooked rock.  Emerson & I sorted our beans while watching a movie, & she thought it was the greatest thing ever.  

• Aside from water to bean measurements, you don't necessarily need a recipe. I decided to double & loosely follow this recipe, but my beans ended up too spicy for E, so I can only use them for chili or other foods that she wouldn't normally eat.  Major bummer.

• If you do find a great deal on dried beans, STOCK UP!  I only bought two 1 lb packages of beans because I hadn't tried cooking with dried beans before.  I am now chock full of cheap bean regret.  Chock full.

• Unless you find a fabulous deal on dried beans, this might not be the most economical choice for you.  The Simple Dollar does an in depth cost analysis of dried vs. canned beans, but from my experience,  unless I find a fabulous deal, I cannot buy dried beans cheaper than I can canned.  

I'm definitely pleased I tried cooking with dried beans, & hope to again in the near future...as long as I can get a good price.  

Homemade Butter in a Mason Jar

Recently, I purchased some cream for potato soup & while contemplating what to do with the remaining cream, I remembered making homemade butter with my gram when my sisters & I were little.  

Don't mind the crap photo, JC had our camera & I had to use my cell.  Apologies. 

It was SUPER simple & quite satisfying.  I used this tutorial as a rough guide (I didn't wash the butter or salt it), filled two small mason jars halfway, & shook the dickens out of them.  I did the shaking while watching Lord of the Rings & it took me from the beginning of the movie until Frodo was running to Buckleberry Ferry @ The Inn of the Prancing Pony.  For you non-LOTR nerds, I would approximate it was a good 15 minutes of shaking.

The cream separated into butter & a lovely buttermilk, which I poured off & collected for the following morning's pancakes.  Both the pancakes & the butter were delicious & it was such a good use of something that often spoils.  If you've never tried making butter it's a fun arm workout & has tasty results.  Plus, how many people churn their own butter anymore?!  You could be one of just a few!

Happy churning!

Bakery Outlet: Frugal Treasure or Rip Off?

Today, after reading & reading about the wonders of bakery outlets, Emerson & I finally ventured to our local Hostess Bakery Outlet.  I admit, I went in with extremely high hopes of dirt cheap baked goods, cereal, & more. Unfortunately, I didn't find the cheap confections I had assumed I would. 

Here's what I did find:

• A very clean little shop--The store was set up nicely, with cute, tiny carts, & very pristine, orderly shelves.  

• A rather limited selection--There really weren't all that many options & I only found a few loaves of whole wheat bread.

• Prices weren't what I would consider outlet--In general, all of the bakery prices seemed just as high as regular retail.  With the exception of packages of a dozen whole wheat hamburger buns (meant for restaurants), everything was higher than Aldi's prices.  For instance, plain bagels at Aldi are $1.49.  The outlet had plain bagels for $1.79.  

Our local Dollar Tree doesn't have a set day in which they get their baked goods, which makes getting consistent deals difficult, but I think for now I'll stick to trying to get our whole wheat bread for a dollar & supplement with baked goods from Aldi.  

It was worth a shot...

Making The Most Out of Try Me Free Rebates

Right now at Walmart has little peelies on packages of Arm & Hammer Power Pack laundry detergent. The peelie is to the try the product for free after rebate & Walmart has 60 packs, which would essentially be 60 free loads of laundry after rebate.  I've never used the detergent, so I'm not sure how well it works, & I usually make my own, but I figure it's good to have on hand in case I'm to tired to make detergent in the next few months.   

I love sending in for rebates, but there are definitely a few tricks to the trade.  Here's how to maximize your free offer:  

 When it comes to Try Free offers, here are a couple of ways to maximize the offers:

•  Make sure you'll use the free product--In general you will need to mail in the UPC with the rebate, so you will often have to destroy the exterior packaging, which does not make it ideal for charitable donation.  Unless you have someone you know who could benefit from the product, or you'll use it yourself, there is no benefit to buying something you'll never use.

• Don't forget to mail in your rebate--Prepare the rebate the day you purchase the product.  Something like 40% of all rebates are never claimed, so the manufacturer is just hoping you'll forget.  You don't save any money if you forget, so be sure to mail in that rebate!

• Realize that free isn't totally free--You'll still have to provide the stamp & pay the sales tax on the item purchased.  Make sure it's worth it to you to spend $0.44 & tax.  

•  Use salvaged envelopes-- I use envelopes saved from birthday cards or from old teaching newsletters.  As long as there is no writing on the outside, or a label that can be covered up, the envelope is perfect for mailing in rebates. 

• Get the largest available size--Most rebates say they will refund the money up to X amount per X package size.  For instance, the Arm & Hammer rebate says they will refund any 16 count or larger up to $9.99.  The 60 count was the largest size available & $7.97, so it was within the parameters.  

 Happy rebating!

Monthly Roundup: What I Got on our $150 Grocery Budget

My New Year's resolution is to spend $150 cash on our grocery budget.  We do have a good pantry stockpile, as well as toiletry stockpile, so in general I haven't had to purchase items for either.  I did decide that at least this month & the next I'll allow myself to spend up to $200 (I spent $186) in order to stockpile for the impending arrival of Little Baby. 

Here's what that $186 got us:

Aldi:

Produce:
12 roma tomatoes
1 cucumber
6 romaine hearts
1 bag of onions
bananas
1 bag of oranges
4 avocados
6 green peppers

Pantry:
6 cans fat free refried beans
6 cans black beans
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
3 cans tuna
3 cans chicken
2 boxes lasagna noodles
2 boxes ritz type crackers
1 box saltines
1 bottle syrup
1 bag corn chips
2 pack pizza crusts

Frozen:
2 bags shredded hash browns
2 cans frozen apple juice

Bakery:
1 bag plain bagels
1 bag english muffins

Dairy:
heavy whipping cream
unsalted butter
2 gallons of whole milk
1 gallon of skim milk
3 bags of shredded cheddar
1 bag of shredded mozzarella
1 container cottage cheese

Walmart:

Pantry/ Junk Food (many of these were special buys for E's 2nd birthday & not normally on our list):
2 2 liters of Coke
1 2 liter of sparkling water
6 packs of kool-aid
1 pack of crystal lite mix
2 boxes of Duncan Hines cake mix
2 Duncan Hines frosting
2 boxes jello

Dairy:
3 gallons milk
18 eggs
2 dozen eggs
1 quart of Dannon plain yogurt (homemade yogurt starter)
2 Athenos yogurts
cheese

Fozen:
2 Jack's pizzas

Produce:
bananas

Pantry:
3 cans of Rol Gold tomatoes (free after coupon)

Bakery:
2 loaves french bread

Walgreens:
3 dozen eggs $0.99 each

A-Z (Scratch & Dent Grocery Shopping):

4 boxes of Zatarains Jambalaya
2 boxes of Life cereal
1 box of Blueberry Morning cereal
1 box of Honey Nut Cheerios
12 Luna bars
2 Wishbone Italian dressings
2 Wishbone Balsamic vinaigrette
2 bags of Indiana Popcorn
Valentine's Candy Hearts
12 bags of Dole Apple Bites
2 boxes of Chocolate cookies
1 box of Whole Wheat Linguine
4 bags of Tortilla Chips


All of this for $185.72.   Which we used to make these meals:

Definitely an improvement from last month & we're well stocked for this upcoming month.  Here's hoping I find some more deals this month before I can't go out & easily bargain shop!  ;)