Also, today at Publix the penny item is a 4 pound bag of sugar. Thanks so much Publix for supplying our pantry with nearly free sugar today. SWEEEET!
Where the voices get to come out of my head and ramble elsewhere...
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I LOVE FREE
Hello Fed Ex man! How I loved to see you this morning bringing me a CASE of FREE formula. I do plan to nurse this baby, God willing, but how can you pass up a CASE of FREE formula? If we don't end up needing to use this blessing, I will be passing it all on to someone else! It's good thru Oct so I'm sure that I can find a friend by then or give it to our local pregnancy resorce center or the co-op nearby if we don't. WHAT A BLESSING! YAY FOR FREE. I found out about this awesome deal on http://hip2save.com/. If you haven't ever investigated this site, it ROCKS! There are crazy awesome deals posted daily.
Also, today at Publix the penny item is a 4 pound bag of sugar. Thanks so much Publix for supplying our pantry with nearly free sugar today. SWEEEET!
Also, today at Publix the penny item is a 4 pound bag of sugar. Thanks so much Publix for supplying our pantry with nearly free sugar today. SWEEEET!
Monday, January 24, 2011
percentages
I'm pretty excited about this...
In my New Year's Goals post (go here if you care to read them) number 4 was to keep track of all grocery spending in excel to see percentages of savings. Well, that also meant that I had to enter in all of December (since I stopped) and catch up January. Thanks to my mom helping me over the phone so that I didn't fight with excel tonight, I have done that! Here are my totals from when I started keeping track in October:
October Savings: 37.80%
November Savings: 39.38 % (nice! Went up slightly in savings!)
December Savings: 23.03% (dropped significantly due to not being prepared for Christmas shopping. Live and learn. Next year, the goal is to be ready for December before December comes!)
January Savings so far: 44.24% (thank you Publix for having ROCKIN' BOGO deals lately).
Ideally I'd love to be saving closer to 50% or more than what I'm spending on a monthly basis. Wouldn't that rock. I am trying to do better and better each time I'm at the store.
I can't stress enough meal planning. THIS is the key to helping you stay on track with your lists when you're buying things that you don't have coupons for. I am trying to lessen greatly however, what it is we have to purchase that doesn't have a coupon.
In my New Year's Goals post (go here if you care to read them) number 4 was to keep track of all grocery spending in excel to see percentages of savings. Well, that also meant that I had to enter in all of December (since I stopped) and catch up January. Thanks to my mom helping me over the phone so that I didn't fight with excel tonight, I have done that! Here are my totals from when I started keeping track in October:
October Savings: 37.80%
November Savings: 39.38 % (nice! Went up slightly in savings!)
December Savings: 23.03% (dropped significantly due to not being prepared for Christmas shopping. Live and learn. Next year, the goal is to be ready for December before December comes!)
January Savings so far: 44.24% (thank you Publix for having ROCKIN' BOGO deals lately).
Ideally I'd love to be saving closer to 50% or more than what I'm spending on a monthly basis. Wouldn't that rock. I am trying to do better and better each time I'm at the store.
I can't stress enough meal planning. THIS is the key to helping you stay on track with your lists when you're buying things that you don't have coupons for. I am trying to lessen greatly however, what it is we have to purchase that doesn't have a coupon.
couponing thoughts
So today at my moms club meeting, we had a speaker come talk to us about couponing. I was like "yes!" I am always wanting to learn more more more. She has her own website/business and besides couponing, she also helps people with their budgets. She's local and came to speak to our club for free which I thought was nice. I will not put her info on here however. She really said nothing I didn't already know. And knowing all that I do know, I found myself interjecting from time to time be/c I could tell some around me were becoming confused and she was speeding right along. Granted, she was trying to do a normally 2 hour workshop in a much shorter time frame, but still. So, after that I find myself thinking about some questions that were asked there and have been asked before. I'm no expert, but I'm going to try to answer some...
My first thought though is start small. Start with one store, one sale, one transaction, one coupon even if you have to. It can be very overwhelming if you think about store hoping at first or even if you think about needing to have a STACK of coupons with you at all times... start SMALL and build up to whatever is comfortable for you.
One question is "do you really buy the Sunday paper each week?" Answer is YES! Start acquiring the Sunday paper each week and saving it. (I recycle the paper, just save the inserts--it takes two minutes to pull the paper apart and get the inserts out). If you aren't already buying a newspaper every Sunday, get one. Don't sign up for the paper to be delivered, in the long run it really is cheaper to just pick one up each week. We swing through QT after church every Sunday to buy a paper. Get a DOUBLE paper for twice the coupons. Pull out the redplum (RP) smart source (SS) inserts weekly. Sometimes there will be Procter and Gamble (PG) (this comes monthly) and General Mills (GM) inserts too. Recycle the rest and keep just the inserts.
Another question: "How do you know which coupons to cut?" Well, I don't cut coupons out of the inserts each week. I SAVE THE INSERTS WHOLE. I date them and store them in a tub. (The most you probably want to save back is 12 weeks worth when they expire). Just because there is something in the inserts that week that I may use, I don't cut it out and use it that week. The chances are that though there are coupons for something in that Sunday's paper, those items wont be on SALE that week. The goal is to use your coupons with the rock bottom sale prices for that item.
The site I utilize the most for looking up deals/sales is Southernsavers.com
She has a very user friendly site that lets you actually click on store (say Publix) then click on the weekly ad date for that week (say 1/19-1/25) and then you can see every sale item listed. On the left of the sale items are check boxes. You can check on the boxes of the items you want to purchase and at the bottom of the list there is a "create list" button. click this and then print off your list. She has coupon match ups listed for each item on sale if there are in fact coupons to be found for that item. For example here is something you'll see:
(for example if you are picking Kroger as your store to start with, here's the check list for last week: http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/01/kroger-weekly-ad-mega-event-19-115/ ) then it will look like this: (I'm just selecting the first entry on that link)
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers 11-12 oz. $1.49 ea
S-.50/2 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Shortcuts eCoupon or Cellfire eCoupon
M-.50/2 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen steamers, SS 1/02 or printable
M-.50/1 Green Giant Frozen Vegetables printable
(use eCoupon and .50/1, makes it 24¢ ea)
That first M listed (S for store coupon, M for manufacturers) I highlighted the SS 1/02. That means that coupon is located in the Smart Source insert of the Jan 2nd paper. Does that make sense? So you go to that folder and pull out the smart source inserts and look for that coupon and clip that if you're going to buy that product.
If you aren't in the south, there are other similar sites available! Don't be discouraged. I have midwest friends that use pennypinchinmom.com for their deals. There are also couponmom.com (though you have to sign up for it) and sites like ihearttarget.com and iheartcvs.com to find deals.
Another question: "Coupons seem to push a lot of processed foods, I don't want Popsicles and ice cream and Doritos in the house, how do you handle that?" Well, just because Doritos might be on sale, doesn't mean that I'm buying them. Or just because there is an ice cream coupon available, doesn't mean I'm going to use it. There are coupons for pasta-- I choose whole wheat and Hamburger Helper which I do buy from time to time be/c it is a quick and easy meal I can make with a salad and fresh fruit. I don't stock my cart full of junk food just because junk food is on sale. This past week I bought yogurt for free. I see that as a healthy choice. I have in the past bought pringles cans, but we take FOR EVER to go through them, we don't hog pringles just be/c they are in the house. This really comes to self control. Also, I don't let ANYTHING in my cart that isn't on my list when I'm using coupons. So if you plan to purchase ten bags of chips, I guess more power to you, but you sure don't have to, just be/c they are there. Also there are frozen veggie coupons and milk and egg coupons out there. Certain milk brands also have coupons, butter, yogurt, cheese, meat all have coupons... it may "seem" processed heavy, but your cart doesn't need to be loaded down with processed food if you don't want it to be.
Another thought along those lines... it does no good to save 200 bucks, stockpiling junk food if you can't make dinner for your family. Meal planning is part of couponing. Get your own system in place so that you know what you're making when --if it's weekly, bi-weekly or monthly and own it. Going to the store to "pick up stuff for dinner" is NOT how a couponer operates.
Another question I get is "Where do you store your stockpile? We have a small pantry, I can't get four of the same items." Honestly, we have no pantry. We have two kitchen cabinets that are our pantry and I use all three cabinets in the laundry room (the laundry soap sits on top of the dryer) However, I do have a mud room/storage room off the kitchen that is unfinished. We have all our garden tools, strollers, outside toys in there. It used to be a carport I think but the previous owners closed it in (poorly) and cut the car sized room in half, leaving a walk way and a storage room. In that room, I have a three shelf stand that my brother in law drilled into the wall for me. It's crude, but no one sees it really.
If you're just looking for a place to start... get a shelf and put it above the door in the laundry room (what a different friend of mine did.) it's out of the way and no one see it. Or put some shelves in your garage, if you have one, dedicated to just couponing. I store all the soap/cleaning products under the kitchen sink (which is child locked) and all the extra tooth paste/baby soap stuff in the linen closet. I'm sure you can be creative to find storing spots even if you don't have an extra "room" to store stuff in.
So, there are some questions... and my answers to them.
The most important thing I think when it comes to couponing in the beginning is starting small. Do not let yourself be overwhelmed. It would be very easy to get WAY overwhelmed quickly. Just start small. (think of Robin Hood where the Sheriff says "keep the stitches, small"... it's like that.) Keep the coupon trips small. DO NOT go look at the sales next week and spend five hours hunting down coupons for everything that's on sale. You'll think "THIS SUCKS!" and never want to do it again. START SMALL. One store at a time, one sale, one item even. And then when you get to a point, like last week when I spent $12.03 at one store on $76.83 of product, saving $64.80, pat yourself on the back! I sure do!
I'd love to see comments on here if you have anything to add, please leave me a comment about your own couponing experiences or if you're going to start now or any other questions I can maybe answer!
My first thought though is start small. Start with one store, one sale, one transaction, one coupon even if you have to. It can be very overwhelming if you think about store hoping at first or even if you think about needing to have a STACK of coupons with you at all times... start SMALL and build up to whatever is comfortable for you.
One question is "do you really buy the Sunday paper each week?" Answer is YES! Start acquiring the Sunday paper each week and saving it. (I recycle the paper, just save the inserts--it takes two minutes to pull the paper apart and get the inserts out). If you aren't already buying a newspaper every Sunday, get one. Don't sign up for the paper to be delivered, in the long run it really is cheaper to just pick one up each week. We swing through QT after church every Sunday to buy a paper. Get a DOUBLE paper for twice the coupons. Pull out the redplum (RP) smart source (SS) inserts weekly. Sometimes there will be Procter and Gamble (PG) (this comes monthly) and General Mills (GM) inserts too. Recycle the rest and keep just the inserts.
Another question: "How do you know which coupons to cut?" Well, I don't cut coupons out of the inserts each week. I SAVE THE INSERTS WHOLE. I date them and store them in a tub. (The most you probably want to save back is 12 weeks worth when they expire). Just because there is something in the inserts that week that I may use, I don't cut it out and use it that week. The chances are that though there are coupons for something in that Sunday's paper, those items wont be on SALE that week. The goal is to use your coupons with the rock bottom sale prices for that item.
The site I utilize the most for looking up deals/sales is Southernsavers.com
She has a very user friendly site that lets you actually click on store (say Publix) then click on the weekly ad date for that week (say 1/19-1/25) and then you can see every sale item listed. On the left of the sale items are check boxes. You can check on the boxes of the items you want to purchase and at the bottom of the list there is a "create list" button. click this and then print off your list. She has coupon match ups listed for each item on sale if there are in fact coupons to be found for that item. For example here is something you'll see:
(for example if you are picking Kroger as your store to start with, here's the check list for last week: http://www.southernsavers.com/
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers 11-12 oz. $1.49 ea
S-.50/2 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Shortcuts eCoupon or Cellfire eCoupon
M-.50/2 Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen steamers, SS 1/02 or printable
M-.50/1 Green Giant Frozen Vegetables printable
(use eCoupon and .50/1, makes it 24¢ ea)
That first M listed (S for store coupon, M for manufacturers) I highlighted the SS 1/02. That means that coupon is located in the Smart Source insert of the Jan 2nd paper. Does that make sense? So you go to that folder and pull out the smart source inserts and look for that coupon and clip that if you're going to buy that product.
If you aren't in the south, there are other similar sites available! Don't be discouraged. I have midwest friends that use pennypinchinmom.com for their deals. There are also couponmom.com (though you have to sign up for it) and sites like ihearttarget.com and iheartcvs.com to find deals.
Another question: "Coupons seem to push a lot of processed foods, I don't want Popsicles and ice cream and Doritos in the house, how do you handle that?" Well, just because Doritos might be on sale, doesn't mean that I'm buying them. Or just because there is an ice cream coupon available, doesn't mean I'm going to use it. There are coupons for pasta-- I choose whole wheat and Hamburger Helper which I do buy from time to time be/c it is a quick and easy meal I can make with a salad and fresh fruit. I don't stock my cart full of junk food just because junk food is on sale. This past week I bought yogurt for free. I see that as a healthy choice. I have in the past bought pringles cans, but we take FOR EVER to go through them, we don't hog pringles just be/c they are in the house. This really comes to self control. Also, I don't let ANYTHING in my cart that isn't on my list when I'm using coupons. So if you plan to purchase ten bags of chips, I guess more power to you, but you sure don't have to, just be/c they are there. Also there are frozen veggie coupons and milk and egg coupons out there. Certain milk brands also have coupons, butter, yogurt, cheese, meat all have coupons... it may "seem" processed heavy, but your cart doesn't need to be loaded down with processed food if you don't want it to be.
Another thought along those lines... it does no good to save 200 bucks, stockpiling junk food if you can't make dinner for your family. Meal planning is part of couponing. Get your own system in place so that you know what you're making when --if it's weekly, bi-weekly or monthly and own it. Going to the store to "pick up stuff for dinner" is NOT how a couponer operates.
Another question I get is "Where do you store your stockpile? We have a small pantry, I can't get four of the same items." Honestly, we have no pantry. We have two kitchen cabinets that are our pantry and I use all three cabinets in the laundry room (the laundry soap sits on top of the dryer) However, I do have a mud room/storage room off the kitchen that is unfinished. We have all our garden tools, strollers, outside toys in there. It used to be a carport I think but the previous owners closed it in (poorly) and cut the car sized room in half, leaving a walk way and a storage room. In that room, I have a three shelf stand that my brother in law drilled into the wall for me. It's crude, but no one sees it really.
If you're just looking for a place to start... get a shelf and put it above the door in the laundry room (what a different friend of mine did.) it's out of the way and no one see it. Or put some shelves in your garage, if you have one, dedicated to just couponing. I store all the soap/cleaning products under the kitchen sink (which is child locked) and all the extra tooth paste/baby soap stuff in the linen closet. I'm sure you can be creative to find storing spots even if you don't have an extra "room" to store stuff in.
So, there are some questions... and my answers to them.
The most important thing I think when it comes to couponing in the beginning is starting small. Do not let yourself be overwhelmed. It would be very easy to get WAY overwhelmed quickly. Just start small. (think of Robin Hood where the Sheriff says "keep the stitches, small"... it's like that.) Keep the coupon trips small. DO NOT go look at the sales next week and spend five hours hunting down coupons for everything that's on sale. You'll think "THIS SUCKS!" and never want to do it again. START SMALL. One store at a time, one sale, one item even. And then when you get to a point, like last week when I spent $12.03 at one store on $76.83 of product, saving $64.80, pat yourself on the back! I sure do!
I'd love to see comments on here if you have anything to add, please leave me a comment about your own couponing experiences or if you're going to start now or any other questions I can maybe answer!
rings
I haven't been posting tons of updates baby wise with this one, but know that things are going well, moving right along. Baby is kicking me constantly so I have reassurance daily that things are okay in there, thanks be to God.
Since I did post about this with Mark in the womb, I thought I'd also document the day for this baby too.... yesterday I had to take my rings off. :( I'd been feeling swollen for a while and Saturday I knew it was coming. Yesterday in church though, I felt like my ring fingers were going to fall off, so I moved the rings to my pinkies until we got home. At home I placed them on a chain. So at 32 weeks, I'm now ringless. Boo. I will wear them on the necklace chain until I can get them back on my hands.
I go back to see my midwife on the 7th and then from there we'll probably move from three weeks to two week appointments.
Since I did post about this with Mark in the womb, I thought I'd also document the day for this baby too.... yesterday I had to take my rings off. :( I'd been feeling swollen for a while and Saturday I knew it was coming. Yesterday in church though, I felt like my ring fingers were going to fall off, so I moved the rings to my pinkies until we got home. At home I placed them on a chain. So at 32 weeks, I'm now ringless. Boo. I will wear them on the necklace chain until I can get them back on my hands.
I go back to see my midwife on the 7th and then from there we'll probably move from three weeks to two week appointments.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday shopping...ROCKS!
As much as I don't like lugging the kids around with me from store to store, we did awesome today on the deals! AWESOME!
Here's a picture of what was purchased. Let me tell you... Even though I had done the math last night and knew what I thought I would be spending... I wasn't so sure as it was all being scanned. However I should trust what I plan. It is so awesome to see the little savings amount go UP and the total go DOWN as they scan each and every coupon! I had planned to spend about $15.05. On all of that. Seriously! Let me break down what you see:
8 four-packs of yogurt
6 boxes of instant oatmeal
4 packs of kraft homestyle mac and cheese
4 bottles of veg oil
4 travel packs of band-aids
3 cans of hunts tomatoes
2 tubs of butter
2 baby jar foods
1 box of cake mix
1 box of baby cereal
(and a partridge in a pear tree)
The honest truth: I got ONLY what was on my list. Nothing jumped in the cart miraculously. I LOVE STICKING TO THE LIST and knowing what to expect! ... back to the totals: I wanted to spend 15.05 for all that.
I'm going to repeat that list and break it down:
8 four-packs of yogurt-- FREE
6 boxes of instant oatmeal --$0.84 each
4 packs of kraft homestyle mac and cheese --$0.24 each
4 bottles of veg oil --$1.29 each
4 travel packs of band-aids --FREE
3 cans of hunts tomatoes --$0.26 each
2 tubs of butter --$0.14 each
2 baby jar foods-- FREE
1 box of cake mix --$0.87
1 box of baby cereal -- FREE
Some how... my total ended up being $12.03 with a savings of $64.80! I spent three dollars less than I thought I would. Which means somewhere in my calculations from the sales ad, there was something marked higher than what they'd actually marked it for at the store! I CAN NOT believe I got all that stuff for TWELVE BUCKS!
Last week or the week before, I forget now, they had this crazy deal where you buy $25 dollars worth of marked products you get 10ECBs back. Well Wisk was on this list. Wisk was also on sale for $5.00 instead of normal price of $8.99. AND there were $2.00 off coupons in the paper for Wisk the same week... SCORE. However... at my CVS and the one down the road and the one in loganville and the two others I called... this was GOBBLED up the first day and no Wisk was left to be had. I went in and got TWO rainchecks to do this deal. So 6 bottles on each rain check.
I went to try to do my deals today and there wasn't enough Wisk on the shelf to do both. I left four bottles there and got my six. I'll be going back next week to get the other deal. SO... I paid $19.80 on SIX bottles. A savings of $34.14 AND got back the 10ECBs.
Next week I'll do it again... spending $9.80 be/c I can use the ECBs on that purchase. So I'll spend $9.80 and then ALSO get another 10ECBs back, making those six bottles basically free! WHAT?! LOVE IT. LOVE IT! ... I don't normally use Wisk, but um. yah, we will now. LOVE IT!
~~Daily totals~~
Spent: $77.78
Saved: $132.99 (63% savings for the day)
Earned: 10 ECBs (if you aren't familiar with that, it's like ten bucks to spend only in a CVS store)
WAH CHA!
I'm WELL within my grocery budget and eager to see what the sales are next week. I love stocking up. Love it! I love FREE. Say it with me... FR-EE! FREEEEEEEEE!
First stop was Publix.
Here's a picture of what was purchased. Let me tell you... Even though I had done the math last night and knew what I thought I would be spending... I wasn't so sure as it was all being scanned. However I should trust what I plan. It is so awesome to see the little savings amount go UP and the total go DOWN as they scan each and every coupon! I had planned to spend about $15.05. On all of that. Seriously! Let me break down what you see:
8 four-packs of yogurt
6 boxes of instant oatmeal
4 packs of kraft homestyle mac and cheese
4 bottles of veg oil
4 travel packs of band-aids
3 cans of hunts tomatoes
2 tubs of butter
2 baby jar foods
1 box of cake mix
1 box of baby cereal
(and a partridge in a pear tree)
The honest truth: I got ONLY what was on my list. Nothing jumped in the cart miraculously. I LOVE STICKING TO THE LIST and knowing what to expect! ... back to the totals: I wanted to spend 15.05 for all that.
I'm going to repeat that list and break it down:
8 four-packs of yogurt-- FREE
6 boxes of instant oatmeal --$0.84 each
4 packs of kraft homestyle mac and cheese --$0.24 each
4 bottles of veg oil --$1.29 each
4 travel packs of band-aids --FREE
3 cans of hunts tomatoes --$0.26 each
2 tubs of butter --$0.14 each
2 baby jar foods-- FREE
1 box of cake mix --$0.87
1 box of baby cereal -- FREE
Some how... my total ended up being $12.03 with a savings of $64.80! I spent three dollars less than I thought I would. Which means somewhere in my calculations from the sales ad, there was something marked higher than what they'd actually marked it for at the store! I CAN NOT believe I got all that stuff for TWELVE BUCKS!
The second stop was CVS.
Last week or the week before, I forget now, they had this crazy deal where you buy $25 dollars worth of marked products you get 10ECBs back. Well Wisk was on this list. Wisk was also on sale for $5.00 instead of normal price of $8.99. AND there were $2.00 off coupons in the paper for Wisk the same week... SCORE. However... at my CVS and the one down the road and the one in loganville and the two others I called... this was GOBBLED up the first day and no Wisk was left to be had. I went in and got TWO rainchecks to do this deal. So 6 bottles on each rain check.I went to try to do my deals today and there wasn't enough Wisk on the shelf to do both. I left four bottles there and got my six. I'll be going back next week to get the other deal. SO... I paid $19.80 on SIX bottles. A savings of $34.14 AND got back the 10ECBs.
Next week I'll do it again... spending $9.80 be/c I can use the ECBs on that purchase. So I'll spend $9.80 and then ALSO get another 10ECBs back, making those six bottles basically free! WHAT?! LOVE IT. LOVE IT! ... I don't normally use Wisk, but um. yah, we will now. LOVE IT!
The third stop was Kroger.
There is no picture for this stop. It was mostly ingredients needed for meals I'm making this weekend. I am cooking for three families this weekend in addition to my own. I got the normal fruit/milk/eggs purchases and we also scored some FREE OJ, FREE soda, and TEN more FREE toothpastes! I think we're SET on toothpaste for the rest of 2011. Overall, I spent $45.95 and saved $34.05. So not bad really, considering that I had to get a lot without coupons for the meals I want to make.~~Daily totals~~
Spent: $77.78
Saved: $132.99 (63% savings for the day)
Earned: 10 ECBs (if you aren't familiar with that, it's like ten bucks to spend only in a CVS store)
WAH CHA!
I'm WELL within my grocery budget and eager to see what the sales are next week. I love stocking up. Love it! I love FREE. Say it with me... FR-EE! FREEEEEEEEE!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Random
Things you just don't think about...
1. Showering when you're the only one in the house. How many people get to do this? How many moms... don't?
2. Not being able to tie one's shoes...
Other random thoughts...
I had yet another person ask me today if I was "ready" for the baby to come out. I was like ummm yep, in about 9 weeks. The person's eyes bugged out. And wanted to know how many were in there. sigh.
And another person today asked me when the big day was. I said "March 18th" she said "March?! oh you wont make it" ... seriously? How big do I look? Ugh. People are so rude.
1. Showering when you're the only one in the house. How many people get to do this? How many moms... don't?
2. Not being able to tie one's shoes...
Other random thoughts...
I had yet another person ask me today if I was "ready" for the baby to come out. I was like ummm yep, in about 9 weeks. The person's eyes bugged out. And wanted to know how many were in there. sigh.
And another person today asked me when the big day was. I said "March 18th" she said "March?! oh you wont make it" ... seriously? How big do I look? Ugh. People are so rude.
Friday, January 14, 2011
coupon score
Publix had a good sale going this week.
I'm SO pleased I got to get out of the house to do the sale! I didn't venture very far, but it was nice to leave the house and be by myself for a few minutes. The roads aren't great, I was sliding in a few shady still solid icy places and the stores are BARE! It was crazy. But I made it there and back... Here's what I got...
24 boxes (yes, twenty four) of cereal (all BOGO) for around 37 bucks, divided by 24 is around 1.50 a box. That's not super great, (not when I can get some deals for 1.24 or 1.15 a box) but VERY nice when the cost of a box of cereal is $3.99, so I ran with it. ... I will say the selection of cereal options were SLIM. Very slim. It was nuts, I had to really hunt the shelves to make my deal work out right be/c there were giant holes all along the shelves where certain kinds were bought out.
8 packs of rice for less than 4 bucks
2 packs of popcorn for free
1 32 oz bottle of olive oil for super cheap
1 pack of hot cocoa for super cheap
6 bottles of baby soap for SUPER CHEAP! roughly 7 bucks spent on SIX 15 oz bottles of Johnson and Johnson baby soap was totally worth sliding on the ice for! This is a big deal when they are normally $3.15 each.
All in all at Publix today I spent $63.42 and saved $91.15 .... YES! I love deals. I love going into Publix with my little list of BOGO deals and killing it!
Cereal shelf (first time it's touched the top of the next shelf, haha!)
Other goods shelf (... note the soap is not pictured be/c it's not stored out there)
I'm SO pleased I got to get out of the house to do the sale! I didn't venture very far, but it was nice to leave the house and be by myself for a few minutes. The roads aren't great, I was sliding in a few shady still solid icy places and the stores are BARE! It was crazy. But I made it there and back... Here's what I got...
24 boxes (yes, twenty four) of cereal (all BOGO) for around 37 bucks, divided by 24 is around 1.50 a box. That's not super great, (not when I can get some deals for 1.24 or 1.15 a box) but VERY nice when the cost of a box of cereal is $3.99, so I ran with it. ... I will say the selection of cereal options were SLIM. Very slim. It was nuts, I had to really hunt the shelves to make my deal work out right be/c there were giant holes all along the shelves where certain kinds were bought out.
8 packs of rice for less than 4 bucks
2 packs of popcorn for free
1 32 oz bottle of olive oil for super cheap
1 pack of hot cocoa for super cheap
6 bottles of baby soap for SUPER CHEAP! roughly 7 bucks spent on SIX 15 oz bottles of Johnson and Johnson baby soap was totally worth sliding on the ice for! This is a big deal when they are normally $3.15 each.
All in all at Publix today I spent $63.42 and saved $91.15 .... YES! I love deals. I love going into Publix with my little list of BOGO deals and killing it!
Cereal shelf (first time it's touched the top of the next shelf, haha!)
Other goods shelf (... note the soap is not pictured be/c it's not stored out there)***Also, I just did some math and I'm at 34.42 pounds of grains out in storage. Including pasta, rice, potatoes, flour and popcorn.... anyone keeping track of how many more pounds of grains I'd need out there for a 6 month supply?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Snow Day times 4 going on 5
Oh mercy. So seeing all the beautiful snow Sunday night falling down was wonderful.
Playing in the fun new snow Monday morning was so nice and new and exciting for the boys, truly wonderful.
Being home Tuesday due to the ice and having Jamie stay home with us for the day was a little like being on vacation and sort of wonderful.
Wed.... well... Wednesday we were starting to get a little cramped in here. The fun of it was gone. Why can't they go to school? Why can't Jamie go to work? There is still ICE every where. Atlanta just isn't capable of handling this type of storm. AND it just isn't getting warm enough to melt it all. Wednesday was a little trying. The wonderfulness was wearing off.
Today was Thursday... Jamie left for work and two hours later returned home after going not far at all, saying he'd passed accidents and people sliding left and right and sat parked on the on ramp to the highway for 20 minutes. Nope. No further going for him. The kids have used up all the fun from their toys and now the only thing that is fun is hitting each other or running from one piece of furniture to the next throwing your whole body into it and flopping around making the parents of the house a little crazy. I think Matthew is over TV and pbskids.org and can only color 400 pages in three days for fun. Today I printed him off MANY preschool worksheets including: counting, coloring, letters, matching, shapes... and he whizzed through then. Let me tell you that today was not so wonderful. I think we're all about ready to pull our hair out. I miss my car. I miss female companionship. I miss other human interaction besides the two small people in this house shrieking all the time.
Tomorrow will be day 5 of being snowed/iced in. There is no school tomorrow again. We've yet to know if Jamie will be going to work or not. (Granted, while he's been home he's been trying to work remotely. Try telling the squealing two year old to "shhhh daddy's on the phone" it's a joke!)
I will say this... THANK YOU JESUS FOR MY STOCKPILE. Seriously. I mean Saturday I was at walmart processing pictures... I saw CRAZY PEOPLE with gallons and gallons of milk in their carts, emptying the soup and bread aisles. I thought, "yah right" ... we've been down here 6 years, I haven't seen more than a couple of inches which melted the next day, you know? We're not going to see any snow sticking and staying on the ground for days ! HA! ... well I was wrong. but at least I was also prepared. We haven't run out of meals to make. We haven't run out of milk be/c I usually buy four at a time since these crazies go through it so fast. We haven't run out of canned goods. We're getting dangerously low on fruit but enough to at least make it through tomorrow I think: 3 bananas and 3 apples left and also a small bag of frozen blueberries. Today we did empty the eggs be/c I made a big "breakfast for dinner" and we ran out of (randomly) pepper. However, there is still meat in the freezer (two whole chickens, ground turkey from a crazy sale, hotdogs, and an opened and unopened bag of nuggets). We still have pasta and plenty of canned and frozen veggies... we still have bread in the freezer as well as nice homemade loaves I made yesterday. So, really we're doing okay. A friend made it to the store the other day and put a pic on FB of the EMPTY meat section. Trucks just can't get in to restock the stores. I don't like being out of eggs, that's just annoying. And I don't like not having a good stash of fruit for my fruit-a-holics, but I'm really pleased with how we aren't neeeeeeeeeding to go to the store. If the milk and cereal and chicken nuggets last... I think we'll be okay.
Playing in the fun new snow Monday morning was so nice and new and exciting for the boys, truly wonderful.
Being home Tuesday due to the ice and having Jamie stay home with us for the day was a little like being on vacation and sort of wonderful.
Wed.... well... Wednesday we were starting to get a little cramped in here. The fun of it was gone. Why can't they go to school? Why can't Jamie go to work? There is still ICE every where. Atlanta just isn't capable of handling this type of storm. AND it just isn't getting warm enough to melt it all. Wednesday was a little trying. The wonderfulness was wearing off.
Today was Thursday... Jamie left for work and two hours later returned home after going not far at all, saying he'd passed accidents and people sliding left and right and sat parked on the on ramp to the highway for 20 minutes. Nope. No further going for him. The kids have used up all the fun from their toys and now the only thing that is fun is hitting each other or running from one piece of furniture to the next throwing your whole body into it and flopping around making the parents of the house a little crazy. I think Matthew is over TV and pbskids.org and can only color 400 pages in three days for fun. Today I printed him off MANY preschool worksheets including: counting, coloring, letters, matching, shapes... and he whizzed through then. Let me tell you that today was not so wonderful. I think we're all about ready to pull our hair out. I miss my car. I miss female companionship. I miss other human interaction besides the two small people in this house shrieking all the time.
Tomorrow will be day 5 of being snowed/iced in. There is no school tomorrow again. We've yet to know if Jamie will be going to work or not. (Granted, while he's been home he's been trying to work remotely. Try telling the squealing two year old to "shhhh daddy's on the phone" it's a joke!)
I will say this... THANK YOU JESUS FOR MY STOCKPILE. Seriously. I mean Saturday I was at walmart processing pictures... I saw CRAZY PEOPLE with gallons and gallons of milk in their carts, emptying the soup and bread aisles. I thought, "yah right" ... we've been down here 6 years, I haven't seen more than a couple of inches which melted the next day, you know? We're not going to see any snow sticking and staying on the ground for days ! HA! ... well I was wrong. but at least I was also prepared. We haven't run out of meals to make. We haven't run out of milk be/c I usually buy four at a time since these crazies go through it so fast. We haven't run out of canned goods. We're getting dangerously low on fruit but enough to at least make it through tomorrow I think: 3 bananas and 3 apples left and also a small bag of frozen blueberries. Today we did empty the eggs be/c I made a big "breakfast for dinner" and we ran out of (randomly) pepper. However, there is still meat in the freezer (two whole chickens, ground turkey from a crazy sale, hotdogs, and an opened and unopened bag of nuggets). We still have pasta and plenty of canned and frozen veggies... we still have bread in the freezer as well as nice homemade loaves I made yesterday. So, really we're doing okay. A friend made it to the store the other day and put a pic on FB of the EMPTY meat section. Trucks just can't get in to restock the stores. I don't like being out of eggs, that's just annoying. And I don't like not having a good stash of fruit for my fruit-a-holics, but I'm really pleased with how we aren't neeeeeeeeeding to go to the store. If the milk and cereal and chicken nuggets last... I think we'll be okay.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Snow Day
Last year we had a little bit of snow about this time. I remember Matthew was so upset he couldn't build a snowman with the dusting we had last year. We built this little tiny snow two inch sort of nothing man... Well folks, after a hefty waffle breakfast (YES, I SAID WAFFLES! HE ATE WAFFLES) he built himself a nice snowman today because yah buddy did we get some snow!!!!! Here's a picture of the snow falling last night and then a few of us playing this morning.
Matthew and Jamie built a cute little snowman complete with pipe! I got the beach shovels and buckets out and they went to town making a snow castle. We also got a toy box out and um, used it for a sled... shhh! It was fine! Jamie never let go and the boys loved it! "Do gen Daddy" Mark said after his turn. I had to take Mark inside screaming when it got too cold for him to be out anymore. He and I came in first and then Jamie and Matthew the Popsicle came in later. Poor child had beat red hands. I stripped him down, bundled him in dry clothes, under a blanket, in front of the fire with a sippy cup of hot (warmish) cocoa. We had a nice morning for sure!
Matthew and Jamie built a cute little snowman complete with pipe! I got the beach shovels and buckets out and they went to town making a snow castle. We also got a toy box out and um, used it for a sled... shhh! It was fine! Jamie never let go and the boys loved it! "Do gen Daddy" Mark said after his turn. I had to take Mark inside screaming when it got too cold for him to be out anymore. He and I came in first and then Jamie and Matthew the Popsicle came in later. Poor child had beat red hands. I stripped him down, bundled him in dry clothes, under a blanket, in front of the fire with a sippy cup of hot (warmish) cocoa. We had a nice morning for sure!
Friday, January 7, 2011
OT update
So, after writing my goals for 2011 and one of those being to give OT honest effort.... guess what happens to OT? Sadly, it needs to stop for the time being. Two days ago I was very depressed about this. I was a mess. I'd been on the phone with the pediatrician's office, Children's hospital, back and forth emailing with therapist Jennifer and a friend who's an OT as well, Laura. I'd been on the phone with my mom, Jamie at least 5 times, Nancy, Nic... ugh... It was just a bad day.
What happened was, it's a new year. Insurance plan changed BIG TIME. And right now, they wont cover therapy sessions. These sessions cost $332.00 per week. Can you even begin to imagine spending that kind of money on an HOUR long session PER WEEK!? Eeek. We can't swing that. We can't even try to negotiate swinging that. So, until we meet our deductible -- our hefty, hefty deductible, Matthew's sessions will be on hold.
That said, we still have Jennifer's support and encouragement. We are making our own charts and will attempt to continue to move forward with each bite at each meal. I've got a "Miss Jennifer Chart" and a "chore chart which includes table chores" AND we have a "new food calendar" to help us bridge this hurdle. My prayer right now is that we don't go backwards. Even if we stay at status quo for a month or two, my prayer is that we don't slide back. Will you please pray with us for strength to overcome each day, patience for me to do what I say and say what I mean, strength and courage for Matthew to approach the table positively, fear that Matthew has at the table to be gone, and God's healing peace over all this in our lives, in our house, at our table? Thank you so much.
I want to repeat something from my goals post, I need to keep telling myself this OVER and OVER. THERE IS TRUTH HERE. THE DEVIL CAN'T HAVE MY HOUSE...
God is already in complete control... And DEVIL BE WARNED, WE WILL OVERCOME BECAUSE WE ARE OVERCOMERS. My main goal in this area is to not let the Devil get me down. To not let the Devil push me around. He can't have my family dinner time as his stomping ground and play pen anymore. This is a sacred time that our family has been yearning for that Jamie and I long to no longer dread each day and it stops here. We are making headway, we will continue making headway and we will be at peace at the table with the help of Christ Jesus!
What happened was, it's a new year. Insurance plan changed BIG TIME. And right now, they wont cover therapy sessions. These sessions cost $332.00 per week. Can you even begin to imagine spending that kind of money on an HOUR long session PER WEEK!? Eeek. We can't swing that. We can't even try to negotiate swinging that. So, until we meet our deductible -- our hefty, hefty deductible, Matthew's sessions will be on hold.
That said, we still have Jennifer's support and encouragement. We are making our own charts and will attempt to continue to move forward with each bite at each meal. I've got a "Miss Jennifer Chart" and a "chore chart which includes table chores" AND we have a "new food calendar" to help us bridge this hurdle. My prayer right now is that we don't go backwards. Even if we stay at status quo for a month or two, my prayer is that we don't slide back. Will you please pray with us for strength to overcome each day, patience for me to do what I say and say what I mean, strength and courage for Matthew to approach the table positively, fear that Matthew has at the table to be gone, and God's healing peace over all this in our lives, in our house, at our table? Thank you so much.
I want to repeat something from my goals post, I need to keep telling myself this OVER and OVER. THERE IS TRUTH HERE. THE DEVIL CAN'T HAVE MY HOUSE...
God is already in complete control... And DEVIL BE WARNED, WE WILL OVERCOME BECAUSE WE ARE OVERCOMERS. My main goal in this area is to not let the Devil get me down. To not let the Devil push me around. He can't have my family dinner time as his stomping ground and play pen anymore. This is a sacred time that our family has been yearning for that Jamie and I long to no longer dread each day and it stops here. We are making headway, we will continue making headway and we will be at peace at the table with the help of Christ Jesus!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Food storage list
In case anyone is interested... Here's what I got off a website a while ago. I've started a word document with all kinds of food storage/canning/stockpiling/saving things I'm copying and pasting from different places. (Remember I don't' plan on going this crazy [yet] and most sites/people say to start with a two week supply then build to a 3 month and then to a 6 month and then to a year's worth for food storage starters. We'll see how it goes....)
Anyhow, I don't remember which site this if from but here is what one mom writes...
Here is what one basic year’s supply of food includes: it will provide about 2200 calories a day, which means you’ll probably get 1800 and your husband will get 2600. This is less than most people are used to, but it will keep you alive! You’ll have to ration, too, to make it last. Quantities are per person.
300 lbs grains- includes Wheat, Rice, Rolled Oats, Dried Corn, Popcorn, Flour, Pasta Products, Dried Potatoes, Quinoa, Amaranth, Spelt, Buckwheat, etc. Some lists say 400 lbs per person, but the current Church site says 300. Take your pick, according to what you can handle, storage-wise or hunger-wise. That extra 100 lbs provides an extra 435 calories per day.
16 lbs. powdered milk- this is just enough for cooking, about ¾ cup per day. You can store instant, regular powder, and canned milk. It takes about 5 (12-oz) cans to equal one pound of powdered milk
60 lbs sugar- this includes white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, honey, molasses, jam/jelly, corn syrup, fruit drink mix, gelatin. If you have honey that crystallizes, set the bottle in the sun on a warm day, or put it in a pan of water on lowest heat overnight. It will become liquid again. You will want more sugar than 60 lbs. if you can your own fruit.
10 quarts cooking oil (2 ½ gallons)- yes, YOU NEED FAT. Your brain is made mostly of fat. Guess what happens if you don’t get any fat in your diet? Plus, it’s a lot of calories for very little storage space. The darker & cooler you keep it, the longer it lasts. Fats include shortening, cooking oil, butter/margarine, mayonnaise, peanut butter.
8 lbs salt per person- this is the cheapest of them all! In addition to the round canisters, you can buy salt in 4-lb rectangular boxes; these stack together more efficiently. At Sams’ Club, these boxes are just under $1. Woo-hoo! Two bucks and you have your personal salt for the year!
60 lbs. legumes, dried- includes soybeans, pinto beans, white beans, kidney beans, lima beans, anything that ends with ‘bean’ (unless it begins with ‘jelly’), black-eyed peas, split peas, and lentils. These are a great, inexpensive source of protein. Store the same as wheat- dry, clean, dark and cool if possible. It takes 4 ½ (15 oz) cans to equal one pound of dry beans.
14 gallons water per person. This is just 2 weeks’ supply, for drinking and a tiny bit for washing; the minimum our church leaders have counseled. You may also want a way to purify water for longer-term use. To purify, you can boil water for 2 minutes, or use chlorine bleach (plain only, not scented!) If the water is clear, use ½ tsp. per 5 gallons of water. If the water is cloudy, use double; 1 tsp. per 5 gallons of water.
Children do not need a full adult’s portion. For them, figure age 3 and under= 50%, ages 4-6= 70%, ages 7-10= 90%, ages 11 and up= 100%.
Obviously, kids' ages are always changing, so when I calculate what to have on hand (I inventory every Conference), I project out six months to a year. For instance, if someone is 6 years old, I count that child as 7 years. That way I'm not always slightly behind when it's time to replenish.
This is from a different mom on either the same or a different site... Here's what she keeps in storage.
WATER! (I have two 55 gallon drums sitting on my porch.)
Wheat berries (red and white) - this is absolutely the best grain to store because of it's long shelf life, however, you will need to invest in a wheat grinder if you want to use it. I got the Wonder Mill for Christmas last year. Even if you don't have a grinder or are saving up for one, I suggest buying wheat anyway. Buy it while we have it. I always think about the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat story in the Old Testament where he had the dream about the 7 years of plenty and the 7 years of famine.
Flour
Oatmeal
Grits (I live in the South)
White rice
Cream of Wheat
Popcorn
White sugar
Brown sugar
Pasta/ Spaghetti
Dry beans
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Ready to eat cereal
Crackers
Butter
Cheese
Powdered Milk - I suggest storing this in sealed #10 cans to extend it's shelf life. There are several sites that sell this. It's kind of expensive though.
Canned vegetables, fruits, spaghetti sauce, and beans
Canned meats (tuna, chicken, sardines)
Juice (concentrate and bottles)
Powdered eggs
Salt
Baking soda
Alfalfa seed (these are good for sprouting as well as some other dry beans)
Chocolate and candy
Anyhow, I don't remember which site this if from but here is what one mom writes...
Here is what one basic year’s supply of food includes: it will provide about 2200 calories a day, which means you’ll probably get 1800 and your husband will get 2600. This is less than most people are used to, but it will keep you alive! You’ll have to ration, too, to make it last. Quantities are per person.
300 lbs grains- includes Wheat, Rice, Rolled Oats, Dried Corn, Popcorn, Flour, Pasta Products, Dried Potatoes, Quinoa, Amaranth, Spelt, Buckwheat, etc. Some lists say 400 lbs per person, but the current Church site says 300. Take your pick, according to what you can handle, storage-wise or hunger-wise. That extra 100 lbs provides an extra 435 calories per day.
16 lbs. powdered milk- this is just enough for cooking, about ¾ cup per day. You can store instant, regular powder, and canned milk. It takes about 5 (12-oz) cans to equal one pound of powdered milk
60 lbs sugar- this includes white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, honey, molasses, jam/jelly, corn syrup, fruit drink mix, gelatin. If you have honey that crystallizes, set the bottle in the sun on a warm day, or put it in a pan of water on lowest heat overnight. It will become liquid again. You will want more sugar than 60 lbs. if you can your own fruit.
10 quarts cooking oil (2 ½ gallons)- yes, YOU NEED FAT. Your brain is made mostly of fat. Guess what happens if you don’t get any fat in your diet? Plus, it’s a lot of calories for very little storage space. The darker & cooler you keep it, the longer it lasts. Fats include shortening, cooking oil, butter/margarine, mayonnaise, peanut butter.
8 lbs salt per person- this is the cheapest of them all! In addition to the round canisters, you can buy salt in 4-lb rectangular boxes; these stack together more efficiently. At Sams’ Club, these boxes are just under $1. Woo-hoo! Two bucks and you have your personal salt for the year!
60 lbs. legumes, dried- includes soybeans, pinto beans, white beans, kidney beans, lima beans, anything that ends with ‘bean’ (unless it begins with ‘jelly’), black-eyed peas, split peas, and lentils. These are a great, inexpensive source of protein. Store the same as wheat- dry, clean, dark and cool if possible. It takes 4 ½ (15 oz) cans to equal one pound of dry beans.
14 gallons water per person. This is just 2 weeks’ supply, for drinking and a tiny bit for washing; the minimum our church leaders have counseled. You may also want a way to purify water for longer-term use. To purify, you can boil water for 2 minutes, or use chlorine bleach (plain only, not scented!) If the water is clear, use ½ tsp. per 5 gallons of water. If the water is cloudy, use double; 1 tsp. per 5 gallons of water.
Children do not need a full adult’s portion. For them, figure age 3 and under= 50%, ages 4-6= 70%, ages 7-10= 90%, ages 11 and up= 100%.
Obviously, kids' ages are always changing, so when I calculate what to have on hand (I inventory every Conference), I project out six months to a year. For instance, if someone is 6 years old, I count that child as 7 years. That way I'm not always slightly behind when it's time to replenish.
This is from a different mom on either the same or a different site... Here's what she keeps in storage.
WATER! (I have two 55 gallon drums sitting on my porch.)
Wheat berries (red and white) - this is absolutely the best grain to store because of it's long shelf life, however, you will need to invest in a wheat grinder if you want to use it. I got the Wonder Mill for Christmas last year. Even if you don't have a grinder or are saving up for one, I suggest buying wheat anyway. Buy it while we have it. I always think about the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat story in the Old Testament where he had the dream about the 7 years of plenty and the 7 years of famine.
Flour
Oatmeal
Grits (I live in the South)
White rice
Cream of Wheat
Popcorn
White sugar
Brown sugar
Pasta/ Spaghetti
Dry beans
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Ready to eat cereal
Crackers
Butter
Cheese
Powdered Milk - I suggest storing this in sealed #10 cans to extend it's shelf life. There are several sites that sell this. It's kind of expensive though.
Canned vegetables, fruits, spaghetti sauce, and beans
Canned meats (tuna, chicken, sardines)
Juice (concentrate and bottles)
Powdered eggs
Salt
Baking soda
Alfalfa seed (these are good for sprouting as well as some other dry beans)
Chocolate and candy
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