Saving Families Money Since 2007
I’m excited to be speaking at the MOPS National Convention in Kansas City in October.
As part of their promotional campaign, they asked me to shoot a quick video with a money-saving tip. I thought some of you would enjoy watching this video with two quick ways to save at least $5 to $10 on your grocery bill in less than 10 minutes.
Links mentioned in the video:
Local Store Deals & Coupon Match-ups
What’s your best tip for shaving $5-$10 off your grocery bill in 10 minutes or less?
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
Confession time: I completely forgot to post this earlier! I had my items set out, I took the picture of them, and then I promptly forgot about posting it!
In my defense, I was gone almost the entire afternoon and evening running errands, having a date with Silas, and then attending a family activity evening at church.
But still… I’m sorry if you were anxiously waiting on this post — and had to wait half the day for it!
Today’s things I got rid of:
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
Since so many of you have been enjoying Gretchen’s grocery shopping trips, I asked her if she’d be interested in sharing her weekly big grocery trip and menu plan from time to time.
If you find this helpful, would you leave a comment or click on “Like” button in the top righthand corner of this post. That lets us know that these are posts you’d like to see more of. 🙂
And don’t worry, I’ll still keep posting some of my shopping trips and my weekly menu plans. My sister, Gretchen, is a lot more organized than me and on a tighter budget, so I thought that this would be especially helpful to some of you who may be in a similar season of life or like to see a menu plan on a budget all laid out in a step-by-step fashion!
Local Health Food Store
My first stop was our local Health Food store. We love their oranges so I always buy them there. I was hoping they would have some great deals on produce like usual, but I only found one mark-down. 🙁
6 Oranges @ 3/$1 – $2 total
Organic Girl Greens – Marked down to $0.99 (I like to use this in our smoothies and juice.)
Total with tax: $3.21
Aldi (and Walmart)
1 Bath Tissue – $0.99 (I really didn’t see any great coupon deals on toilet paper this week so I just got it at Aldi.)
1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.19
1 Gallon Milk – $1.99
2 Strawberries – $0.99 each
1 Cucumber – $0.49
I was planning on getting Baking Powder at Aldi but couldn’t find it. (The cashier said they were out and it was only a seasonal item?!?) So I ran into the small neighborhood Walmart right next to Aldi and got it there instead.
Baking Powder – $1.82
Total with tax (for both stores): $9.07
Dillons
1 Kroger Cheddar Cheese – $1.67
1 Simple Truth Bar – $0.89, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Liberte Yogurt – $1, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Ella Baby Food – $1.39, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $0.39 after coupon (My little boy loves these and while I’d prefer to get them free, I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a special treat!)
1 Dillons Bread – $1
2 Dr. Pepper – $1.50 each, used Buy One Get One Free printable (Took off $1.99) – $0.50 each after coupon (I never buy pop but we are having company over this weekend who love pop and I want to be a good hostess.:))
1 Green Giant Veggie Chips – $1, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon
1 Chocolate Chips – $1.69
2 Vlasic Pickle Relish – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 printable – Free after coupons
1 Wishbone Salad Dressing – Marked down to $0.89
1 Dove Soap – $1, used $1/1 e-coupon – Free after coupon
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
2 Broccoli Crowns – $1.34
1 Kroger Applesauce – $2.19
6 Clear Care Contact Solution – Marked down to $2 each! (I was SUPER thrilled to find these marked down. This is the only contact solution both my husband and I can use and it normally is priced $8-$12.)
Total before coupons and sales: $41.99. Total after coupons + tax: $25.22, used $2 catalina from last week’s shopping trip
Paid $23.22 out of pocket
Total for all grocery items: $35.50
Toast, Oatmeal, Cereal, Apple Pie Breakfast, Smoothies/Juice
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Leftovers, Homemade Mac & Cheese, Scrambled Eggs, Fruits & Veggies
Homemade Cheese Pizza, Steamed Broccoli
World’s Best Pancakes (these are SO yummy!), Eggs, Hashbrowns, Oranges
Steak on the grill (gift from Crystal), Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits
Salad Bar, Strawberries
Crockpot Lasagna, Easy Homemade French Bread, Green Beans
Italian Chicken, Banana Muffins, Tossed Salad
Dinner with my parents
We’re big Adventures in Odyssey fans here so I told them we would be happy to participate in their summer A Call to Serve challenge designed to challenge your children to serve others.
Here are the details:
This summer, Adventures in Odyssey is joining with Christian bookstores across the country, inviting kids to participate in a Summer of Service. They’re promoting the biblical message, “When you serve, everybody wins,” encouraging kids to serve their families, their communities, and their world.
Whether it’s baking cookies for an elderly neighbor or putting together a care package for missionaries overseas, kids will discover that serving can be a blast!
How the A.C.T.S. (A Call to Service) challenge and contest works:
Kids who join A.C.T.S. can pick up a service log and collect fun character stickers for hours served at participating bookstores throughout the summer, or download a serving log online at whitsend.org. At the end of the summer, kids can record and upload a short video telling how they serve and why they’d like to become an Adventures in Odyssey Ambassador.
A hundred winners will get the brand-new AIO Album, and after online voting, two grand prize winners (one boy and one girl) will get to travel on an exciting Good-Goers Mission Based Adventure trip to another country with a parent!
The out-of-country destination will be announced on a live podcast May 22—hosted by AIO actors Katie Leigh (Connie) and Chris Anthony (Chris)—which you can watch at whitsend.org/acts. You don’t want to miss it!
To kick things off, they are offering a free Adventures in Odyssey episode and a free downloadable PDF with service ideas for kids.
Be sure to check back next week because I’ll have an Adventures in Odyssey giveaway for you all!
Every week in 2013, I’m sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
You can save at least 20% off the price of many staple products by buying them in bulk. If you’re going to be using the bulk amount of something over the course of a year and it can be stored for a long period of time, you might as well purchase it in quantity at a discount, right?
There are many places to check for bulk deals, here are a few of the best places to look:
This is sort of the default, but it’s worth mentioning. I save around $27 per year by buying yeast from Sam’s Club instead of at the grocery store. However, I don’t find it is worth it to pay for the membership. Instead, I just go in on the get in free days that they have a few times per year.
Be aware that not all warehouse packages are a good deal. In fact, many times, you’ll pay more per ounce for buying the large package than you’d pay if you bought multiple smaller packages when they are on a great sale at the grocery store.
You can often purchase large quantities of produce seconds for great prices from local farms (check LocalHarvest.org to see if there are farms near you that sell to the public). And if you like high-quality meat, you’re almost always going to save at least $1 per pound by buying it in bulk.
If you don’t have freezer space for large amounts of meat or products, consider splitting a bulk order with a few friends. That way, you all get the discount, but none of you have to buy a new freezer to store it in!
If you grind your own wheat or eat a lot of oats, rice, beans, or other staple ingredients, check into the prices of nearby health food co-ops or Azure Standard.
If don’t find great sources for buying in bulk from health food co-ops and Azure Standard doesn’t deliver to your area, check and see if your health food stores or grocery stores would give you a discount for buying in bulk. It never hurts to ask!
You might also just buy in bulk by practicing the Buy Ahead principle — buying multiples of items at your grocery store when they are at their rock-bottom prices!
What you should buy in bulk will vary from family to family. I recommend looking at what you already purchase a lot of that has a long shelf life or would keep in the freezer for six months and see if you can find sources for purchasing it in quantities at a discount.
These will usually be things like grains, beans, canned goods, and meat. But it could also include other items like toilet paper, diapers, or cleaning supplies.
You can save a lot of money by buying in bulk, but there are a few pitfalls you want to be aware of:
1. Don’t buy things you won’t use up in time
There’s no point in buying a big bulk package of something if you’re just going to end up throwing it out because it goes bad. Kind of like my cappuccino mix. Ahem. 🙂
If you want to buy a big bulk purchase but you’re not sure you’ll use it all up, see if a friend or two will split the order with you.
2. Don’t buy things you don’t already know that you love.
If you aren’t 100% sure your family loves it, don’t buy a bunch of it. Because no matter how inexpensive it was, if you’re not going to use it, it wasn’t a good deal for you.
3. Don’t store your bulk items carelessly.
If you buy grains, make sure you store them properly and check them often. The last thing you want to do is find your big bag of oats is bug-infested!
And do not make the $614 mistake we did and buy a bunch of grass-fed meat from a local farm, stick it in your freezer in the garage, and then leave town for two weeks. That is a lesson we hope we never have to learn again!
Target Shopping Trip
1 Organic Carrots – $1.09, used $1/1 Target mobile coupon – $0.09 after coupon
1 Cauliflower – $1.99, used $1/1 Target mobile coupon – $0.99 after coupon (I could have bought something closer to $1, but I needed cauliflower so I used the coupon to get a great price!)
1 Van’s Frozen Waffles – $2.50, used $2/1 printable – $0.50 after coupon
2 L’Oreal Shampoo/Conditioner – $0.97 each, used 2 $1/1 printable (no longer available) – Free after coupons (I finally found these by the regular-sized bottles of shampoo versus the trial section of the store!)
2 Green Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner – $2.29 each, used $1.50/2 Target mobile coupon AND used 2 $0.75/1 printable – $0.79 each after coupons
2 Market Pantry Spaghetti Sauce – $1 each, used $1/2 Target mobile coupon – $0.50 each after coupon
Total before coupons: $15.10
Total with tax after coupons: $5.87
CVS Shopping Trip
Transaction #1
2 Venus Disposable Razors – $11.49 each
Used 20% coupon from the 5/12 CVS ad (took off $4.93)
And used Buy One Get One Free coupon from the 4/14 RedPlum insert (took off $11.49)
And used $5 ECBs from last week’s shopping tripPaid $2.88 out of pocket (total with tax), Received $3 ECBs for buying 2 Venus products
Transaction #2
2 M&M’s bonus size – $2.50 each
Used $2/2 CVS scanner coupon
And used $1.50/2 coupon from the 4/28 RedPlum insert2 Kellogg’s Cereals – $1.77 each
Used 2 $0.75/1 printableUsed $3 ECBs from Transaction #1
Paid $1.16 out of pocket (total with tax)
Total before coupons and ECBs: $31.52
Total with tax after coupons and ECBs: $4.04
Looking for another survey company to sign up with? Definitely check out MySurvey.com. This is a survey company I’ve used myself and my readers have also recommended.
(Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
Today’s things I got rid of:
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
After one of my sessions at the CHAP conference last week, a 10-year-old boy came pushing his mom up to meet me. His mom, Beth, was in a wheelchair and I could instantly tell by that and the hat she wore that hers was a story of great pain and suffering.
She told me that she’d been diagnosed with leukemia a year ago and had gone through extensive treatments. I asked her more questions and discovered a little of just how intensive and intrusive those treatments had been. She’d been unable to do much to care for her family (she has seven children!) and she’d experienced unimaginable pain and suffering.
As she shared her story, though, the joy in her heart — even in this very difficult circumstances — was so evident. In fact, she wanted to come meet me to tell me thank you for my blog as it had been a lifeline for her in the midst of all she was going through.
My heart broke for Beth’s pain. At the same time, though, I was deeply touched that she could still be smiling and joyful.
Even when everything was so hard, even when they are really struggling financially (they’ve hired a full-time nanny–something that has been a blessing, but it’s also drained their budget), even when she doesn’t even know if she’s going to survive… in spite of all this, she was still smiling.
Truly, you can’t always change your circumstance, but you can always choose your attitude.
May I encourage you today in whatever you are facing to choose joy? Choose to smile. Choose gratitude.
It might not change or fix a difficult situation, but I promise that it will make it more bearable.
Can I just say that loved meeting so many of you in Pennsylvania last week? You all blessed me so much!
Thank you to each of you who came to my sessions, thank you to each of you who came up and chatted with me afterward, and thank you to each of you for how warm and welcoming you all were to me. I came home so refreshed and filled up by you all!
And I’m looking forward to getting to meet some more of you in Nashville this weekend! (Will you be there? If so, please come find me after one of my sessions! One of my very favorite things is getting to meet my readers face-to-face!)
Last week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1.Finish Rascal by Sterling North aloud to the children. Read two chapters of The Hardy Boys Book #1 with Kathrynne, read two chapters of Life With Lily with Kaitlynn, read a few picture books with Silas.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.Personal Goals
3. Memorize Romans 1:13
4. Exercise five times.5. Finish reading:
A Lady in Waiting, 24/6, Start, and When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.6. Get at least 8-9 hours of sleep every night.
Homemaking Goals
7. Continue on with the Clutter-Busting Challenge.8. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.
Business Goals
9. Create slides, practice talks, and speak at the Pennsylvania Homeschool Conference this weekend.10. Finish magazine article.
This week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
Personal Goals
3. Memorize Romans 1:14
4. Exercise five times.
5. Finish reading: 24/6, Start, Unstoppable, and When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.
6. Get at least 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
Homemaking Goals
7. Continue on with the Clutter-Busting Challenge.
8. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.
Business Goals
9. Practice the tweaked talk for the Teach Them Diligently conference this weekend {I overhauled one of my talks recently and this conference will be the first conference I’m giving it at. Excited to see how the changes work from stage!}
10. Finish magazine article.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
It’s my third week of not eating sugar, coffee, or gluten and I’m really excited and surprised at how easy it’s becoming to eat this way — even when traveling for a few days like I did last week. And yes, I still feel great. 🙂
I’m headed to Nashville to speak at the Teach Them Diligently conference later this week, (will you be there? If so, I’d love to meet you!) so I’m keeping our menu pretty simple.
Breakfasts
Oatmeal, Cereal, Eggs, and/or Fruit
Lunches
{I’ll be eating a salad with chicken/tuna, etc. on it every day}
Mac & cheese, fruit
Snack-y lunch
PB&J, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks
Leftovers x 3Snacks
Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Healthier Dark Chocolate Muffins
Boiled eggs
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free WafflesFreezer Cooking {I’ll share how this goes later this week!}
Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins
Healthier Dark Chocolate Muffins
Taco MeatDinners
Steak on the grill, veggies, fruit
Chili Tortilla Egg Bake (using gluten-free tortillas that I got marked down to $0.99!), fruit
Oven-Baked Tacos, fruit, tossed Salad
Build-Your Own Haystacks, fruit
Dinner out
Dinner with extended family x 2
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
Today’s things I got rid of:
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
Guest post from Kathy of The Budget Decorator
Decorating a small bedroom can be a challenge, especially when your budget is tight. Follow these five great ideas for visually expanding your bedroom space, without shrinking your pocketbook!
Matchy-Matchy
No one does matchy-match anymore. However, there is one place in a small bedroom where you might want to consider it.
Match the color and tone of the bedding to the wall to make your bedroom space seem larger. The bed and the wall are the largest areas of real estate in the room… match them in color and the eye will glide over them.
The fewer times the eye has to stop, the larger a room seems. Use a light and cool color selection, get even more space stretching bonus!
Roll Away
No, not a roll away bed. But adding rolling drawers for under bed storage allows you to have handy access to things you use on a regular basis, but keeps it all put away. Keeping things out of site and the clutter level down in your bedroom will make the whole room seem larger, not to mention neater!
Easy ways to create rolling storage on a dime? If your floor is carpeted, attach caster wheels from your hardware store to old dresser drawers, plastic bins, or even sturdy cardboard boxes. Be sure to measure the height of your container with the attached wheels so that it will fit underneath the bed.
Hardwood under your bed? Instead of risk scratching your floor with caster wheels, how about adding self stick felt to the bottom of your storage container? It will allow it to slide easily out from under the bed, and be gentle on the floor as well. Craft stores sell adhesive backed felt for a few cents.
Lighten Up
Is the furniture in your bedroom dark or in need of an update? Paint your dresser, nightstand and headboard a light, neutral color, and see the whole room open up!
Let the Sun Shine In
Make sure your windows allow the most possible light enter the room. A bright room seems airy and light, and is a must for a small bedroom. Hang curtains and blinds so that when open, they clear the window and don’t block any natural light.
Less is More
Make sure when decorating a small bedroom, you always remember “less is more”. Remove anything in the room that isn’t necessary. This might even include sliding the dresser into the closet, using floating shelves in place of nightstands, or making sure every shoe, every piece of clothing, every earring has its place!
Decorating a small bedroom on a budget doesn’t have to be an exercise in magical powers. You can’t make more square footage appear, but you can make the most of what you’ve got!
Want more small home decorating ideas? Visit Kathy at Decorating Your Small Space or The Budget Decorator.
I changed up my freezer cooking plan for this week a little because I wanted to get some Gluten-Free Waffles in the freezer and I also was really curious to try these Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes.
Unfortunately, the Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes weren’t the success I was hoping for. They cooked really, really fast and I found it was basically impossible to not burn them. Of course, it didn’t help that I was multi-tasking in the kitchen. 🙂 I also just didn’t really care for the egg-y banana taste. But it might just be me!
I also made a big batch of Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. None of it made it to the freezer though, sadly. We had one batch for dinner and then ended up serving the rest of it for dinner the following night. Yes, it’s a hit recipe around here!
I love these Gluten-Free Waffles. They are so, so good warmed and dolloped with a little butter and honey!
And I already told you about the Grain-Free Muffins. Because I couldn’t wait. I finished off the last muffin tonight, so I think I’m probably going to be making the recipe again soon… but I want to try a few different variations this time. Because you know how hard it is for me to stick with the recipe as it is! 🙂
Recipes I Made
Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Grain-Free Muffins
Gluten-Free Waffles