Oh how I get so excited when I am able to get enough of something to hold us over for a bit! I am not a shelf clearer....but I will stock up when the price is right! Right now, I have about a year supply of laundry detergent, 20 toothbrushes, a years worth of toothpaste, 4-6 months of body wash, about 30 razors, a years worth of dishwasher tabs, a bunch of hot sauce, tons of baby wipes and some pasta (there is more, but those are the ones I can think of...) I love that I do not have to buy these things for a while! Here are some items that end up being close to free and you should wait to stock up when the price hits rock bottom!
Toothpaste
toothbrushes
body wash
pasta
bbq sauce
frozen vegetables
Anything else???
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Meal Planning!
In order to save money you absolutely must plan your meals! One of the best ways to blow a grocery budget is to make multiple grocery trips per week! I plan our meals two weeks at a time and make on big trip every two weeks. I have to make a couple of small trips for bread, milk, vegatables and such, but really save money by knowing what is for dinner each night! I have to admit, I am not so good at making the lunch and breakfast plans, but do have different meals on hand for those as well.
To make my dinner plans, I review the last two week menu first. I do not like to have the same thing in a month if possible. There are a few exceptions to the rule...family favorites or something I have made double of and frozen are a few. I next check what we have available. I love to buy meats and such when they are marked down or on sale, so we almost always have some on hand. once I know what we have available, I make a list based on that and the sales for the week. My lists are usually made on Sunday so I have the sale ad available. Here is the plan for this week....made last Sunday.
Monday Chicken Brats, fries
Tuesday French's Crunchy onion chicken, green beans, salad
Wednesday Burgers, pasta salad, slaw
Thursday English muffing Pizzas
Friday Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad
Saturday Tilapia, steamed vegetables, rice
Sunday Beef Brisket, baked beans, slaw, corn on the cob
I will start adding recipes as time goes on. The spaghetti sauce I make is so easy and yum and makes enough for 4 meals. It freezes very nicely! I love to make meals ahead and freeze them for a night I do not have time for or feel like cooking!
To make my dinner plans, I review the last two week menu first. I do not like to have the same thing in a month if possible. There are a few exceptions to the rule...family favorites or something I have made double of and frozen are a few. I next check what we have available. I love to buy meats and such when they are marked down or on sale, so we almost always have some on hand. once I know what we have available, I make a list based on that and the sales for the week. My lists are usually made on Sunday so I have the sale ad available. Here is the plan for this week....made last Sunday.
Monday Chicken Brats, fries
Tuesday French's Crunchy onion chicken, green beans, salad
Wednesday Burgers, pasta salad, slaw
Thursday English muffing Pizzas
Friday Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad
Saturday Tilapia, steamed vegetables, rice
Sunday Beef Brisket, baked beans, slaw, corn on the cob
I will start adding recipes as time goes on. The spaghetti sauce I make is so easy and yum and makes enough for 4 meals. It freezes very nicely! I love to make meals ahead and freeze them for a night I do not have time for or feel like cooking!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Must use sites!
Being a stay at home mom is amazing! I am so blessed to be able to watch my children grow up! I do like to feel like I am financially contributing to the family...for things such as vacation and extras that we enjoy. I know that the savings of day care is a huge contribution itself, but why not get a little extra if I can! I do not have a lot of time to earn money. I can not sit on the computer for hours and do surveys to earn $5 a month or do three direct sales shows a week for extra money. I do, however have a couple minutes at a time to earn a little extra cash! If it is $5 a week for things I already do, I will take it! Here are some great sites I use to earn a little extra!
Ebates is a great site! I do a lot of shopping online because it is easier than dragging the kids along with me and loading and unloading them! With so many free shipping offers and coupon codes, you can often get a beter deal online! Now with ebates, I not only save money with the coupon codes, but also get cash back for shopping! I love it! I get a check about once a month or so. It may just be $20, but it is free money to me! Use this link to sign up and get a $10 gift card after spending $25 at any store!
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=XnFwKJDVfVP%2F6GlF81pZzg%3D%3D
Swagbucks is also a great site! I use the toolbar to do all of my searches and earn points which I use to purchase Amazon gift cards. I have $25 so far and it has been only a little over a month. I plan to save these and use them toward Christmas shopping! Sign up using the below link. It is easy to earn points doing things you already do every day!
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Alimay0818
Crowdtap is still new to me. I am not sure about it yet, but will keep you posted. It is a way to try new items and earn cash for yourself and your favorite charity. It is free, so I am happy to try it and see what it is!
http://bit.ly/jQxeib
Are there some other great ways to earn a little extra without too much time? Please share your thoughts!
Ebates is a great site! I do a lot of shopping online because it is easier than dragging the kids along with me and loading and unloading them! With so many free shipping offers and coupon codes, you can often get a beter deal online! Now with ebates, I not only save money with the coupon codes, but also get cash back for shopping! I love it! I get a check about once a month or so. It may just be $20, but it is free money to me! Use this link to sign up and get a $10 gift card after spending $25 at any store!
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=XnFwKJDVfVP%2F6GlF81pZzg%3D%3D
Swagbucks is also a great site! I use the toolbar to do all of my searches and earn points which I use to purchase Amazon gift cards. I have $25 so far and it has been only a little over a month. I plan to save these and use them toward Christmas shopping! Sign up using the below link. It is easy to earn points doing things you already do every day!
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Alimay0818
Crowdtap is still new to me. I am not sure about it yet, but will keep you posted. It is a way to try new items and earn cash for yourself and your favorite charity. It is free, so I am happy to try it and see what it is!
http://bit.ly/jQxeib
Are there some other great ways to earn a little extra without too much time? Please share your thoughts!
Organizing my Coupons...
The first step to saving is to get your coupons organized! I hate to get to a store and see an amazing deal on something that I know I have a coupon for but have no idea where to coupon is! I try very hard to keep up with organizing my coupons, but am not always able to. My coupons are stored using the binder method. I actually have 2 binders, one for H&B items and one for grocery items. I love this method of organization because I am able to see every coupon I have. There are many other methods and you have to find the one that works for you!
I also carry in my purse a coupon "accordian". I am not sure what they are actually called, but they are the wallet size organizer that has tabs. My tabs are labeled with the names of the stores I go to most often. When I know there is a deal coming up on an item, I find the coupons and stick them in the section for the store where the deal is. That way, if I am out and happen to be close to the store, I can stop in and grab the deal and the coupons are always with me! I also keep the store coupons in this so I can check for any coupons as I am shopping. This has helped me many times since I am not one that is able to go out on Sunday morning and spend the day shopping when the deals first begin!
I also carry in my purse a coupon "accordian". I am not sure what they are actually called, but they are the wallet size organizer that has tabs. My tabs are labeled with the names of the stores I go to most often. When I know there is a deal coming up on an item, I find the coupons and stick them in the section for the store where the deal is. That way, if I am out and happen to be close to the store, I can stop in and grab the deal and the coupons are always with me! I also keep the store coupons in this so I can check for any coupons as I am shopping. This has helped me many times since I am not one that is able to go out on Sunday morning and spend the day shopping when the deals first begin!
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