Saving on groceries: coupons

Coupons? Who wants to spend time clipping out little rectangles and organizing them? I don't "want" to, but they are an easy way to save quite a bit on your grocery or HBA (Health/Beauty Aids) bill.

If you're looking for coupon match ups and deals, check out Money Saving Mom, Coupon Pro, or the forums at Hot Coupon World. You may also find some local bloggers/websites who do match ups in your area. Those sites are good because they often list the store locations with the best deals or clearance markdowns.

Target and some grocery stores "stack" coupons. That means you can use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon on the the same item. Be careful when printing/clipping "store" coupons. Sometimes they are really manufacturer coupons, even though they are in the store ad or printed from the store website. If you do this, be prepared with the store policy. I've had checkers refuse to take multiple coupons or allow me to stack coupons.

I almost always shop with coupons. I usually buy the Sunday paper on Saturday so I can get a sneak peek at the coupons. I got into this habit because one local store used to put 3-day specials in the Sunday paper. They stopped that a few years ago, but I never got out of the habit. I recently got a Groupon deal for a competing newspaper and it was worth it just to get the better coupons. (disclosure: if you sign up for Groupon via the link, I may get a referral bonus)

If you don't want to subscribe to the newspaper (or if coupons aren't available in your Sunday paper), you can buy coupons on ebay, from a coupon clipping service, or see if a friend will pass them on to you. If I'm out for Sunday brunch or passing by an outdoor cafe, I'm not above picking up abandoned coupon flyers or asking people for their coupons. I'm more prone to do this if I know there are awesome coupons that week. You can check out preview sites or forums at hotcouponworld.com. You can also print coupons at coupons.com, redplum, and smart source. (You'll need to download an app to print the coupons; I've never been able to get the smart source printer to work.) You can also load coupons on your cell phone, but since my cell phone is just a phone, I haven't done that.

Sometimes, you get coupons at the register (called Catalinas, after the company that markets them). They are usually for a product you just bought or may be for a competing product. If the Catalina is especially good, I've been know to put my groceries in the car and then turn around and buy that one item on the Catalina. (Catalinas count as manufacturer's coupons.)

I'm not a rabid couponer and (usually) won't drive out of my way for deals. I also don't shop at CVS or Walgreens because I don't want to figure out their coupon deals on top of the shopping I already do. Call me lazy (or practical since I know my limits). You'll need to figure out what works for you. Do you want to clip coupons only for brands you're familiar with (say, Kraft salad dressing)? Or do you want to clip coupons for everything in a category (all salad dressings).

Clipping coupons takes more time than I'd like so I usually try to multitask and clip the coupons when I'm a passenger in the car or while watching TV. Same with the sorting.

I keep my coupons in this box (I purchased it years ago; yes, those are rust stains). If you only clip a few coupons, a recycled envelope works. Or you could buy a coupon organizer (most are too small for me). Some avid couponers organize their coupons in binders, using baseball card holders to store the coupons. I thought about it, but decided it was too much work. You could also keep the flyers intact and just cut out coupons as you need them.

Some things I never buy without coupons (and usually combined with a sale):
cereal
crackers
canned foods
yogurt (except for Greek yogurt)
feminine products
toilet paper
shampoo
toothpaste/toothbrushes

Keep your coupons near your keys or shopping bags or in your car so that you don't forget to take them to the store. Good luck with your savings!

Saving at the grocery store series (topics subject to change):
My grocery budget
Coupons (this post)
Making a list (coming soon)
Checking it twice (coming soon)
Other ways to save (coming soon)

Scrapbook accounting update

Three weeks into the year and I'm doing okay on the scrapbook accounting front. I'd feel a little better if I actually sold some stuff to pay for what I'm buying, but listing it somewhere just seems like too much work right now.

Used/given away:
22 letter size paper
38 yards of fiber/ribbon
1 ribbon pack
6 buttons
2 brads
3 flowers
3 gems
7 sticker sheets
1 stamp
1 embellishment pack

Purchased (-$25.15):
2 embellishment packs
9 12x12 paper
1 sticker sheet
2 yards ribbon
1 tool (Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher)

March update
Purchased tool (-$20)
LSS garage sale(-$10)
Purchased (-4.25)
5 embellishment packs
5 sticker sheets
Sold $153

Why didn't I think of that sooner?

I was looking for some stationery to write a quick note (and I didn't feel like making a card), when I spotted this paper in my scrapbook stash. Why not not use the back of this pretty paper? So I did.(Thanks for the paper S. See, I'm using it even if not on a scrapbook page.)

Hamburger soup

or maybe I should call this Hamburger Stew since there isn't a lot of liquid. This soup is easy to put together and reheats well.
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (I used 85% lean)
2 tsps olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
4-5 carrots, chopped (about 2 cups)
1-2 ribs of celery (about 3/4 cup)
3 medium potatoes chopped (about 4 cups)
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 can of water
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
dash of pepper

Directions

1. Brown ground beef and onion in olive oil until the meat is cooked and the onions are transluscent. (Note: if you use ground beef with a higher fat content, you can omit the olive oil. You may also need to drain any excess fat.)
   
2. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
3. Partially cover and simmer for at least an hour.

The salt in the canned tomatoes and sodium in the celery added enough salt for us. You may need to add salt for your taste.

This soup is more like a light stew. You can add another can of diced tomatoes, plus another can of water if you want this to be more soup-like.

Makes about 3 quarts.

Saving on groceries: my budget

My friend Kristin asked for some grocery shopping tips and I thought, "What? I'm no expert!". But we do live frugally so if I can help anyone by writing down what we do, then I'm happy to do it. I hope to make this an ongoing topic on my blog since it fits in with my desire to save more money this year. I started an outline, broke down the topics into more details, and wrote and wrote and wrote. After I got to eight paragraphs, I knew I had to publish this information in separate posts so neither of us was overwhelmed.

Let's start with some background. I'm not a frugality or financial expert, but we do manage to live okay on what we have. Nor am I an extreme couponer, but I am an extreme saver (more than 30% of my paycheck goes into retirement/savings plans) and I couldn't do that if I didn't save in other places, like groceries. I'm not giving the 30% number to brag, but hopefully to inspire you. A few years ago, my friend (who was making about the same as me) told me she was paying double her mortgage to pay it off faster. Again, this wasn't bragging, but merely a factual statement that she was hoping to pay off her house sooner than 30 years and how she was going about it. I knew we wouldn't be able to do make double mortgage payments, but I was inspired to save more because of what she said.

According to the USDA, the average cost of food for Nov. 2010 for my family/age group was $347.80 to $690.20, depending on if you're thrifty or liberal with your grocery shopping. I'm not sure how the cost of living in different cities comes into play; frankly, I didn't read all 80 pages of the dry report.

We spend around $380/month on "food"; that amount includes vitamins, paper goods, shampoo, soap, and other consumables, which the USDA doesn't include. I group these items together because sometimes I buy paper goods/soap/etc. at the grocery store and sometimes I buy food at Target. It just makes my bookkeeping easier. If you add in our dining out budget, we're still below the USDA average cost for a liberal monthly cost of food. I think we're doing quite well, especially since we live in a high cost of living area. According to the news gas averages $3.35/gallon here. Ouch!

If you're looking at cutting your grocery budget, looking at the USDA average can give you an idea if you're on the right track. Of course, if you live in an expensive area, entertain a lot, buy all organic, or have food allergies or other dietary needs (sorry, chocolate is not a dietary need), your costs will most likely be higher. You can easily track your spending for a few weeks (or even better, a few months) on a spreadsheet. I don't have a specific amount I spend per week, but since I know what our average grocery/consumable costs are, I just keep that in mind while shopping. It doesn't bother me to spend $70 one week if there are great sales because I know I'll spend less the next week. For example, yesterday, I bought vitamins and probiotics at the natural food store, which added another $40+ to the total. That's enough to last us two months and I'll keep my eye out for the next sale so I don't overspend.

Saving at the grocery store series (topics subject to change):
My grocery budget (this post)
Coupons (coming soon)
Making a list (coming soon)
Checking it twice (coming soon)
Other ways to save (coming soon)

Free Rice

I thought I'd post this again in case anyone wants to play.

Check out this website. It is a fun way to test your vocabulary and get rice donated to the UN World Food Program. Each time you get a word wrong, the vocabulary level drops by one. If you get three right in a row, the vocabulary level increases by one. So it is really easy to drop levels, but not so easy to go up.

Cards from the crop

The crop this past weekend was a bust. $45 for an all day crop. It included breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but for what we got, it wasn't worth it. The crop was supposed to start at 9:00, but the doors didn't open until 9:20. Not that we'd start scrapping as soon as we got in, but geez, we're paying for this. Start on time, especially since people were waiting for the doors to open. Breakfast was bagels, Krispy Kreme donuts, and OJ; that was okay. Lunch was teriyaki chicken bowls; tasty, but not a vegetable in sight (I'm not counting the sprinkling of green onions as a serving of veggies). Er, no vegetarian option? Okay, I understand that it is the scrapper's responsibility to inform you, but after an inquiry at lunch, you knew that there were vegetarians present. So why was dinner In-and-Out hamburgers? That was a disaster with half the orders wrong and other orders missing. Next time, I'm scrapping at home. Or, I'll wait for a free crop day. I did enjoy the company and we had a scrap celeb at our table. She was very sweet. Her style is totally not my style, but it was fun watching her build her pages. She used color combos I never thought of and lots of layers and tags.

My goal was 20 cards (such a modest goal) and I made 21 cards, woo hoo! Too bad it didn't make much of a dent in my stash. For accounting purposes, I'm counting each card as one sheet of letter-size paper since each card base is 1/2 sheet, plus many were lined and then whatever I used on the front. Supplied used: 21 letter size sheets of paper, 8 yards of fiber/ribbon, 6 buttons, 2 brads, 3 flowers, 3 gems. Maybe I need to learn how to add more layers to use more stuff. Here are a few of my favorites from the crop.

Another sales bust at Michaels

I heard that Michaels (the craft store) was clearancing some Cricut cartridges for only $9.99. Michaels sales are so weird. These cartridges were regularly $69.99, not that anyone would pay full price for them. You could easily find them online for $39.99, $29.99 if there's a sale, and less than $20 if you went the ebay route. If Michaels had priced them at $14.99 or maybe even $19.99, I think they still would have sold out.

Of course, the sale started on different days in different parts of the country and 2peas was abuzz with the deals or empty shelves people were finding. Me, since I didn't check out sale for a couple days, I was met with empty shelves. I'm not sure why I bothered. I hardly use my Cricut (I'm more of a Quickutz gal).

Winner, winner!

The good folks over at Random.org helped me pick the winners for my cardstock giveaway. According to my count, #7 is CraftyJen, #4 is Nancy, and #6 is CJJ. Jen, I have your address. Nancy and CJJ, I'll contact you for your addresses. Thanks for playing!

That was a different shopping trip

We went to a different grocery store from our usual since it was on the way home from running errands. Adding to the strangeness was I didn't have my coupon box with me. I have no idea why I didn't bring it. As it turns out, we really didn't need it because we bought a ton of stuff on clearance (and I know I didn't have coupons for any of this). Most of food has a sell by date of 1/12 or later so we're very comfortable buying it to eat/freeze this week. All this plus another bag of groceries for $16! Dry salami $0.79, regular price $5.49. Individual tapioca pudding $0.10. Cooked chicken breast (6 oz) $0.25, regular price $4.49; we're adding some sauce and having it for dinner tomorrow. Bean sprouts for $0.25. A frozen dinner for an emergency lunch or dinner. Our groceries usually have a much lower amount of packaged/processed foods, but I couldn't resist these deals. We may have to switch back to this store if we continue to get deals like these.

My scrapbook resolution

As with many of you, I have waaaay more supplies than I could ever use. But I can't seem to stop buying scrapbook goodies. Is there a 12 step program for me?

one tiny portion of my stash

I'm not one for new year's resolutions, but I've really got to get a handle on my roomful of supplies. So, for 2011, I resolve to get rid of, pass on, sell, or use the equivalent of everything I bring into the house. You might think I'm making a dent with my giveaway, but I'm not counting that. That would be too easy. Maybe I'll post an occasional update if you remind me.

Wish me luck. First hurdle, an all day crop tomorrow.

Thank you cards

(It has only taken a me months to post this.)

Last year, I received some really lovely birthday gifts and I wanted to send thank you notes that reflected my appreciation. I also wanted to use some new toys: a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder (which I've since destroyed and need to replace) and a Fiskars punch that I got on clearance for only $2. There's a lot of layers on this card, but it is still flat enough to not to require extra postage, especially since I put a piece of cardstock over the front of the card when I mailed it.

I've always loved Basic Grey, but I find the patterns difficult to work with so I was happy to be able to use it on these cards. Plus, remember all that fiber we collected in multiple swaps, oh so many years ago? I was able to make a tiny dent in my collection.

Out with the old

Over the holiday break, I convinced Mr. Fix-it to take a few shopping trips so I could scout out some bargains. I didn't get a few things I wanted (a black belt, new coat, dress shoes and pants for work), but I get a few sweaters for work, two pairs of sneakers (mine are falling apart), three nightgowns (I don't really need them, but I couldn't resist since they were only $2 each), and nylons (yes, I still wear them).

In my quest to reduce the amount of crap in the house, I am trying to throw out something for every new item I bring in, so this means I needed to get rid of eight things (I'm not counting the nylons since they'll get thrown out eventually). In an ideal world, it would be one for one, but I couldn't bear to part with two pairs of shoes (I'm keeping my crappy sneakers for working in the yard). It was a struggle, but here's what is going into the giveaway box:Really, why am I keeping skirts that don't fit or blouses I don't like or a rose-colored suit that I haven't worn in 10 years? Who knows if anyone at Goodwill will want this stuff? All of it is still wearable (some of the tops have only been worn a few times), even if it isn't fashionable.

I did pick up another bargain, some of my favorite chocolate. I'm pretty sure the candy will taste just as good now as it would have before Christmas. It was only 40% off, but since the candy hardly ever goes on sale, I couldn't resist.

Got cardstock?

Have you ever submitted your name/e-mail to an online contest? Did you ever think that those contests were a scam or wonder if anyone ever won those contests? Well, real people do win those contests and I'm here to tell you about it. Core'dinations had a contest where you had to watch a video showing various techniques on how to alter their cardstock. I thought the video was well done, entered my name/e-mail, and promptly forgot all about the contest. Imagine my surprise weeks later to get an e-mail from Core'dinations. Still, I didn't want to believe anything until I had the goodies in hand.

Although I mentioned my big win to Mr. Fix-it, he obviously forgot about it because I got a phone call from him at work, "What the heck did you order? It weighs a ton!" There was a squeal of delight from me, followed by an embarrassed cough since I was, after all, in the non-soundproof/non-private cubicle at work. Who wouldn't be excited to win 500+ sheets of cardstock? But what the heck am I going to do with all that cardstock? After all, I probably have that many sheets of cardstock and patterned paper already (another embarrassed cough here). How about sharing the wealth? How about some of this? (this is a 20 sheet pack)Or this? (this is an 80 sheet pack)All you have to do leave a comment by January 7th. I'll pick two winners sometime over that weekend. How's that for a nice start to the new year?

The fine print: The cardstock will be shipped to US addresses only. I priced shipping these overseas and the cost was painful. But if you're overseas and leave a comment and I draw your lucky number, I'll send you some other scrappy goodness.

What I didn't do this year

This was a tough year for us. There was a lot that I didn't do.

• I didn't visit my parents enough, but they were understanding about it (and can any child ever visit their parent enough?).
• I didn't scrap much, but I hope to do more next year.
  
• I didn't lose any weight, but I didn't really gain weight either. I'm considering this two pound difference a temporary increase.
• I didn't buy a new car, but I hope to next year.
• I didn't lose it at work, even though we lost three people and will soon lose another.
• I didn't lose it at home, even with the passing of my FIL and my accident.
• I didn't buy a smart phone so I still have an incredibly cheap cell phone plan.
• I didn't sign up for cable, FIOS, or Dish so that's still hundreds of dollars I'm not spending. I'm pretty sure we'll be the last people in the US to sign up for cable.
  
• I didn't run up any credit card debt. Despite an increase in expenses and a decrease in income, we still managed to get by.
  

It wasn't an easy year, yet I am happy with how we dealt with it and how we got through the rough spots. I found strength (and vulnerability) I didn't know I had. I'm thankful for a loving and understanding husband and thoughtful and supportive friends and family. Thank you!

Wishing you a wonderful 2011! I hope that the new year brings permanent jobs, good health, happy families, and lots of love for you.

Marinated olives

I needed to take something to the department potluck and I wanted something easy. I signed up for an appetizer and decided to bring marinated artichoke hearts and marinated olives. The artichoke hearts came from a jar; the hard part of the prep was opening the jar. No, seriously, the lid was on so tight, it took us several tries to open the jar. As for the olives, I searched online and found several recipes, but either didn't have the right ingredients or thought the recipes were too complicated. Either my coworkers really like olives or I came up with a great recipe because I got lots of compliments from the cooks in the group. But really, how can you go wrong with garlic and olive oil? Here's my recipe (sorry, I don't have a photo).

Ingredients
1 can black olives
1 can green olives
Zest and juice from 1/2 of a medium lemon. The zest should be in strips.
2-3 short sprigs of thyme (the sprigs I had were about 4 inches long)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together. The olive oil/lemon juice should coat, but will not cover the olives. You may need to add a bit more olive oil.

Marinate overnight.

Serve cold or at room temperature. Add a few more sprigs of thyme for garnish.

Notes
Several recipes called for grated zest, but I thought that the peel was more attractive in strips. Also, I wanted the lemon flavor to be more subtle since I wasn't sure how the marinade would turn out.

Feel free to experiment with different herbs, vinegars, and olive oil.

Crafty enabler alert!

Thanks to my friend Holly (there's a link to her blog on the right), I found out some awesome sales via Splitcoaststampers.com. Check it out!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/shophop

And here a code (SANTA25) for 25% off at your​scrapbookst​ash.com. That includes sale items.

We haven't hit the post holiday sales yet. I'm pretty sure by the time we get to the stores, we'll only find XSs and XLs left, neither of which fit us.

The best Christmas present

(Sorry, I don't have a picture, but maybe I'll get one later. Besides, a photo will spoil the surprise.)

We spent Christmas eve at BIL's and had a delicious dinner (I need to get the soup recipe from my SIL). Afterward, we opened presents or rather, we tried to hold back the kids from opening presents until everyone got in the room. Little G got awesome presents from Nana and Papa. A little birdie must have told them about his love of Star Wars Legos since he received both the Wii game and pajamas. After that, he was glued to the Wii for the rest of the night. As for the girls, Nana and Papa gave them strollers for their Bitty Babies and matching PJs. The girls were so cute with their matching jammies and matching Bitty Babies.

But the best present? The one that actually made the girls gasp? I'll take credit for that gift thankyouverymuch! We gave them Hello Kitty and Ni Hao Kai Lan band aids. Yes, band aids. And even funnier was at dinner, Miss C was complaining about an owie and SIL said they were out of band aids. So after opening her present, Miss C had Nana help her put a band aid on the bruise her leg. Later, Miss E bumped her head, but managed to put a band aid on her forehead all by herself, which made it all better. They both proudly showed off their owies the rest of the night.

My new drinking buddies

Several months ago, we were at a local museum and as usual, we ended the visit with a trip to museum store. I liked this coffee mug and when I saw the price, half off, I liked it even more! It was from a previous exhibit so I guess it was out with the old.

As soon as I started using my new mug, I fell in love with it. First of all, it is china, not ceramic, so it is lighter. Plus, since the material is thinner, the mug actually holds more than a ceramic mug that's the same diameter. More tea for me!

I wanted to go back and get some more mugs, but the museum is a little out of the way, plus there weren't any new exhibits we wanted to see. Finally, months later, we went back. But of course, there weren't any more mugs on the clearance shelf. Bummer! But wait! Mr. Fix-it spotted one lone mug on display with other mugs and also found one for himself. I think he's taken the title to heart.
But I don't think there's much of a likeness.

Noodles

If you're tired of turkey and aren't quite ready for Christmas feasting, here are some links to interesting noodle dishes from some of my favorite food blogs:

I love handmade noodles; this blogger even included a video; I'm going to have to try this some day.

Here's another video on handmade noodles. I also like the shaved noodles.

I always order pad see ew when we go out for Thai food at lunch. Hey, I know it is a funny name, but it is tasty.

This post about sweet potato noodles was interesting, except for the pig intestines part.

La Fuji Mama (love the name) shows us how to make handmade undon noodles. I don't think I'm up to it.

Lest you think I only read Asian food blogs, here's a homey dish I want to try some day.

Hope you enjoyed this little recipe/blog round up.