Post holiday shopping

So I did go shopping for post holiday specials and was very disapointed.  I found that most of the shelves had been picked over and there really weren't any deals on anything other wrapping papers and decorations. I did pick up a few Boxes and bags for 50% off so 8 shirt size boxes for $3.99 and 3 big bags for $1.50.  I did find storage totes at K-mart for $3.50 they were 17 gallon which is perfect  for toys. I didn't find much in way of clothes or toys but I blame myself for taking a 2 1/2 yr old shopping with me. Oh well.  I may try again this weekend anything else left over should be cheaper yet, but I may have to dig harder to find it.  I do however enjoy the thrill of hunt.

holidays

I would love to be able to say that I am some kind of superwomen that bought gifts for 12 people and only spent $12 but I'm not good at the holidays. Not so much because I can't find a bargain but because I always find so many that I tend to buy more than I should since I saved so much on other items.

I do however love to hunt out the bargains, both before and after Christmas, the before Christmas bargains include getting up at 3 am for Black Friday shopping, scoping all the flyers for items that I know people will enjoy and making some homemade gifts.

This year I did homemade for all of Braxtons Grandparents and Aunts. I purchased photo frames, that had a nice poem about Grandchildren, at the local dollar store for $4.  I also bought small albums there for $2 each.  3 frames and 5 albums for $23 with Tax.  I printed out my own photos so I spent about $30 on paper and ink but $53 split between 5 people isn't too bad for a special Christmas gift.

So hopefully tomorrow I can pick up a few after Christmas bargains.  I need a few more gift Boxes, and bags, as well as a couple of totes to put old toys in for storage.  I try to buy only holiday totes as they are usually pretty inexpensive right after the holidays.  Another thing to look for is anything holiday related for in your house.  Gladwear containers with snowflakes, colored plastic wrap or festive aluminum foil will fall into the holiday discounts so stock up.  If I get the chance to go I'll post how I did.

Cheap meal of the month

If you are anything like me making Delicious yet inexpensive meals is a part of everyday life. Well I Made the most filling, inexpensive meal of the month maybe year last night. I decided to make Chicken A La King so I needed to make gravy, cook the chicken and make biscuits. Well I started out by figuring the least costly way to do the Biscuits and I decided a 4 pack of Home style Biscuits from Wal-mart was the way to go. They are small biscuits but 1 can is 10 biscuits so for $2.37 I bought 40 biscuits, and there was no way I was going to be able to make them for that. Next was the gravy, I am not very good at making gravy so I did buy one package of chicken gravy for $0.97 and decided I could add flour and water to it as I needed, but this way I had good flavor to start. I already had the chicken at home, earlier I had purchased a 10lb package of leg and thigh quarters for $0.49 a lb. so for $4.90. So I took out 3 of the thigh and leg quarters out and boiled them until tender, I started the gravy and just kept adding to it using the water from the boiled chicken to help keep the flavor. I also added some frozen peas, carrots and corn from the garden. I did use 2 of the packages of Biscuits so my husband had them for lunch the next day as leftovers

The way I figure it out
3 pieces of chicken equaled about 1lb or $0.49
2 packages of biscuits was approximately $1.19
1 package of gravy mix was $0.97

So I made a complete meal with leftovers for $2.65

If you want to add the extra flour I used it wasn't much maybe 1/2 a cup and I bought the flour on sale for $1.00 so you could figure maybe $0.10 and the veggies I grew myself.

I have to say I was pretty proud of myself

Shopping lists

So part of the way I really keep track of my money is to set an amount of money I have to spend, make a list of what I need, and stick too it. One thing I like to do is go through the weekly flier for our grocery store so I have prices in front of me. I also like to round up to the nearest dollar. My shopping list for this afternoon is simple, This is how it reads:

$20
Hamburger 2lbs $4
Pasta $2
Pizza Sauce $1
Eggs $.29 (C)
Chicken Breast $4 (C)
Hot Dogs $4

That is $15 total, I know there are Way cheaper hot dogs if that is what you are thinking but I'm a little picky on those, they have to be natural casing ones. I am a little stretched for cash and I would probably forgo the hot dogs all together except I have to spend $10 to get the coupon price for the Chicken and eggs. That is a 3lb bag of chicken breasts.

This will cover meals for the week. I also purchased a large loaf of frozen garlic bread last week because it was on sale for $1.19 All you have to do it warm it up. So I used 1/2 of it last week and saved 1/2 for this week when I make Pizza Bake. I usually don't buy the pre-made stuff but it was cheaper than buying a loaf of french or Italian bread. If you want to buy the pre-made stuff, add your own cheese because it usually costs at least a dollar more for cheese bread, and you can add your own a lot cheaper than that.

good shopping trip

So my husband and I went to Sams club on Saturday, and we found some pretty good deals, still spent a lot of money but we did pretty well. My parents are having a party this weekend and we are having one in 2 weeks so we bought 600 plastic forks for $9. We figure that this way we will have enough for birthday parties and other parties for a couple of years. Also we got 2lbs of string cheese for $7.50 wich is $1 more than I pay for a pound of it at Walmart. We found a few other things for a reasonable price.

After Sams club I went to Walgreens. I bought myself Dove shampoo and conditioner, My husband some Head and shoulders Shampoo, 4 jars of Ragu Pasta sauce, a thing of Q-tips, Gillette razors for my hsband, Degree deodorant, and a big box of Lipton tea. I had a coupon for every item plus the Razors, sauce , tea, Shampoo's and conditioner were all on sale. My total after Tax was $30.33 but I also got $10 dollares in register rewards to use at my next purchace. So my next trip will be even better, I can try to pair the $10 with other items that earn me more register rewards and couple them with more coupons. I will be going shopping Thurday so I will let you know how I do.

easy chicken

So I don't want this blog to be entirely about coupons and saving money at the store, I want to teach you how I save money at home too.

One of my favorite meals growing up was Shake and bake chicken and I still love it today. Well since I am trying to cut back where ever possible making my own shake and bake is a great way to do it. I am not even sure how much it costs in the store since I have been making it my self for so long but I'm sure it is cheaper my way.

I always have bread crusts left after the loaf is gone so i just set them aside and grind them up for bread crumbs and store them for times like this. I like to add a little bit of cornmeal to the bread crumbs for some flavor, then I add whichever seasonings I am in the mood for. From Italian seasoning, to dry ranch dressing mix(bought in bulk at Sams). I think tonight I am going to do Garlic, onion, and Italian seasoning with some Parmesan cheese mixed in. Add a little salt and pepper. Just dip the chicken (Leg and thigh quarter I bought for $0.49 lb) in milk then in the bread crumb seasoning then toss in around in an egg wash and bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 min. I am serving it with green beans fresh from my garden and some homemade applesauce. YUMMM!!!

Quick shopping trip for $10

So yesterday I had to find something quick for supper so I went to the store with $10 in my pocket.

I left with 3 steaks, 2 loaves of bread and a gallon of milk for $10.13, so I had to dig for a little change
The bread, with savings card, was $0.69 a loaf
he steaks were $3.56, $3.03, and $3.57 each, however they had been cut a few days ago so they each had a sticker for $1.00 off.
The Milk, with a coupon, was $1.69

Also Sunday when i was there I bought my husband 4 packs of Vitamin water (4 in a pack)for $9.99 and they are normally $5.19 a pack. They were on sale for $3.33 ( with savings card) a pack and if you bought it in quantities of 4 they were $9.99 so essentially I got to pick up an extra one for free just for taking 4. YAY for me!!!!

$20 at the store

So this morning I am heading to the grocery store with $20 in my pocket and here is a list of what I need.



1. A gallon of Milk

2. 2 frozen juice concentrates

3. A bag of Potatoes

4. 1 lb of fully cooked shrimp

5. 1 bag of apples

6. 1 bag of grapes

7. 3 Pears

8. Small loaf of Italian bread

I do have a coupon for the Milk and potatoes. The milk is on special (take advantage of those moments) so a gallon of milk is going to cost me $0.99 and 5lbs of potatoes for $.069 with the in store coupon and a $10 purchase. I am hoping I can get it all for $15 so I can buy My son a treat if he is good in the store.

OK so I'm back from the store $19.64 spent

Every thing I bought except for the fruit was on sale.

The Milk that I had coupon was out of stock they substituted it with a different brand, I still got the sale price of $1.99 but didn't get the $1 off. I did get the potatoes for $0.69 though. I also found frozen juice concentrate on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.45 so I bought 6 instead of 2 I also found an in store coupon for $2 off the shrimp. I also ended up with 2 bananas because my son asked for them. And I spent $1 to buy my son a bottle of Hog Wash juice as a special (way too sugary) treat. I also found the reduce bakery cart and got a Large loaf of French Bread for $0.99 instead of a small loaf of Italian for $2.99 I was planning to use it as a side with some steak rolls so it won't matter much. and I can take the left overs and make bread crumbs with it for a later date.

It did average at $1.40 and item which doesn't sound great but considering I had a bag of Shrimp and a gallon of milk which are higher ticket items it didn't seem too bad.

My total saving with coupons and the store savings card was $7.52 and that doesn't count the reduced bakery item because they just ring those in at the price listed. The price on the package said $1.99 and I got it for $0.99 so that was another $1 bringing my total saving to $8.52 which is 43% of what I spent.

shopping for meat

For me meats are a tricky item, my local grocery store has pretty good quality meat and we do have a butcher shop about 15 miles away but I don't get there often. I a few tipsI use for shopping for meats and not spending a ton.

1. I buy the lesser quality cut, unless you were planning something special Porterhouses aren't really necessary for a day to day meal.

2. Look for the meat that has been on the shelf a little longer and see if you can get it discounted. Our grocery store will put coupons on the stuff that has been on the shelf for 2 days.

3. Don't buy things like stir fry or stew meat they charge you extra because they cut the meat smaller.

4. Buy roasts you can use them as roasts, you can cut them into the stew and stir fry meats, you can also cut them into sandwich size steaks.

5. watch for sales on bags of frozen chicken instead of fresh.

6. also look for chicken that is sold as Leg and thigh still together those are sold here 2-3 times a year here for about 50 cents a pound in 10 lb bags, I just separate and freeze with a vacuum sealer.

7. Buy bone in pork chops they will cost less

There are so many things I watch for when it comes to buying meats and it saves me so much money. I bought 4 steaks the other day for less than $2 a steak and 1 steak will feed me, and Braxton for supper, plus I had enough left over to keep for lunch the next day so I could treat myself with a steak sandwich.

today is grocery store ad day

I thought today would be a fitting day to start this as today is the day I get my weekly ad for the local grocery store. I live in a very rural are and do not have the luxury of multiple stores for comparing prices and no large chains either. we have a Piggly Wiggly in town and Wal-mart is about 20 miles, and sams Club is about 55 miles, so these are my only real options for grocery shopping.

The one thing I can not stress enough is if your local store has any kind of a rewards card SIGN UP!!! Our Piggly Wiggly has a savings card that helps you get discounts and they are currently running a promotion with one of our gas stations where you buy certain items and you get money off per gallon of gas. It is like free money, I can buy certain items through out the store save anywhere from 1 to 20 cents off per gallon of gas. They can be used whenever so you can save them up. The only thing is that it is for up to 15 gallons at a time and if you only put in 10 gallons your points go back to Zero so watch the fine print.

My other Big thing is coupons. I love them and then use them as often as possible, now unfortunately our store won't double, but you can use coupons with their in store promotions so you can save a lot if you pay attention.

I would also like to make sure that people know with grocery stores and savings cards there may be more on sale than what is in the flier so make sure you take the time to look around while you shop. Another thing to really watch for is clearance or special pricing deals like 5 for 5 or 10 for 10 type deals. Also if you find something that is supposed to be on sale and the store runs out ask for a rain check most of the time you will get one unless they are 2 day sales those are normally first come first serve.

So today I get the flier and I go through it and will circle all the things that I need that are on sale this week. My big thing is meat, I only buy meat when it is on sale and I stock up on it when it is.

OK I'm off to see what I need. Happy shopping for now.