Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy

This is a new book I have been reading :) I love a lot of the ideas, so I wanted to share them with you ;)

One of the websites that she references is one I have not used yet, but it looks very helpful :) www.mygrocerydeals.com All you do is go and sign up with your zip code and it pulls up the sales in your area ;) It even has Polly's listed for you loyal family business shoppers ;)It also has a coupon matching section :) I have to say I think I am really going to enjoy this site!

Another thing that she points out are some helpful recipes to save A LOT of money :) She has recipes for granola for cereal, maple syrup, pot pies, Bisquick mix...etc...a lot of ideas that I will be incorporating. Mainly because I like to know what are in the things that we eat...Amanda has had a facial allergic reaction to things like oatmeal...so I started making it myself...she hasn't broken out since...but she still breaks out with things like ranch dressing, so I will probably try to use the recipe in here to see if that helps.

Bisquick Recipe
8 cups flour
1 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup baking powder
1 T salt
Mix together and then cut in 2 cups of shortening...it should look like cornmeal...store in air tight container up to 6 months.

Spaghetti Herb mix (I love this idea because I can just can my tomatoes this summer and then use this when I need to vs having to make the sauce and then can it)
1/2 Cup garlic powder
1/2 Cup onion powder
1/2 cup dried oregano
3 T dried basil
3 T dried thyme
3 T salt
2 T sugar
Mix together and store in airtight container...use 1/4 cup mix to 16 oz of diced tomatoes.

Overall, there were too many items for me to list on here ;) But if you get time pick up a copy from the library and check it out yourself!

Savings Week 2/18/11

Went to Polly's this week because I had coupons to double and they had great sales for things we needed :)

This is what we got: $34.89

4-2lts pop .73 each
3- apple juice
4- ketchup .70 each w coupon
6- pasta sauce .70 each w coupon
5-cheese 1.25 each
1-ground sausage .99 w coupon
1- sour cream .45 w coupon
1- gallon milk
1 - brown rice 2.49 w coupon
2- 4pks yogart .75 each w coupon
4-tomato soup .12 each w coupon
1- cooking cream cheese 1.25 w coupon
2 cream mushroom soup .80 each forgot coupons :(
1- taco shells $1 w coupon

Overall not too bad...already have the ad for Polly's, Kroger and Meijer for next week and there are going to be some definite savings with coupons...Heading to make my list of things needed for pantry and then getting coupons needed to save more ;)

Please let me know if you have any deals that you would like to point out :)

Savings this week

I haven't even had a chance to go over the ads yet ;) So I will try to do that tonight ,so that I can figure out if I will attempt to go shopping after I pop popcorn on Thursday am :)

We really only need milk, bread, and taco shells as of right now...but I like to stock up on things when they are on sale and I have coupons...it is a double whammy of savings ; p

Valentine's Day

I have to say that Rod is the best thing that has happened to me ;) We were meant for each other...we think the same way, we agree on most things, we rarely fight and hey the sex is really, really phenomenal ;p
A couple of weeks ago I found out that I have to go back into the doctor to have another test done...there is a possibility of nothing and there is a possibility of cancer. I have to say that he melted my heart when I told him about the appointment. Trying to convince me that I needed to make sure I was putting myself 1st when needing to make doctor appointments, because "this just doesn't work without you"...
I have to say there are many things that melt my heart...the way he kisses my hand and tells me he loves me...the way he makes me laugh, even if it isn't out loud ;) That man has a spot in my heart that has brought even more love into it by giving me the gift of children ;) He was the one who comforted me when pregnancy wasn't quick enough or when I had a headache and just couldn't get things done that I wanted to.
I think that I am the luckiest woman in the world. I may be a little partial on that opinion ;) But we wouldn't be where we are today without everything that he does for our family. He has made huge sacrifices to give us the things that he wants us to have. He works long hours so that I can be with our kids and he gave up weekend softball just so that he can spend time with us.
Overall, the luckiest woman on the world wants to tell her husband that you still make her world go round ;) I love you more than words will ever say!

Saves Money, Sign me up ;)

So here are some great cleaner recipes if you are trying to save money and be conscious of what is around your family :) These came from a book I have been reading: Be CentsAble by Chrissy Pate & Kristin MeKee ;)

All purpose Cleaner/ Glass Cleaner
1 part vinegar
1 part water
Essential Oil-optional

Dish washing Detergent
1 part borax
1 part washing soda (aka baking soda)
1 T of each per load We use borax in our pool in the summer so I still have some :)
I am glad I found this because I am almost out...can't wait to see how well it does!

Toilet Cleaner
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup vinegar
Scrub it, let sit for 1 hour, scrub and flush...

Drain Cleaner
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup vinegar
Pour both in, let sit for 1/2 hour and then:
1 cup HOT water

Tub Cleaner
3 parts Baking Soda
1 part water
Makes a paste, scrub and rinse be careful with fiberglass inserts as it can scratch...but it works great on the ring in the tub ;)

Furniture Polish
2 T of lemon juice
1 drop Olive Oil
2 cups vinegar

Floor Cleaner
1/4 cup mild dish soap
1 gallon water

Post it Meal planner

Ok, so one of the ideas I read about was making a monthly meal plan and sticking to it...So, we sat down and wrote up things that we enjoy as a family and don't have issues with the kids not eating ;) Maybe this will give you some ideas of things you haven't had in awhile...Our family sure likes cheese, pasta and beef...do you have ideas for changing up these meals or different meal ideas:) I would really appreciate some new ideas ;)
Dinner
Tacos
Sloppy Joes
Lasagna
Lasagna Rolls (stuffed shells)
Spaghetti
Mexican Lasagna
Tuna/chicken Noodle casserole
Shepherd's Pie
Homemade Pot Pies
Burger Mac and Cheese
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Casserole
Pizza/ Taco Pizza
Hot Ham/Turkey and Cheese
Chili
BBQ beef
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Homemade Chicken and Noodles
Meatloaf
Hog Dog wraps
Pasta salads/Macaroni Salads

Breakfast
Pancakes
French Toast
Biscuits and Gravy
Omelets

Week 2/10 Groceries

I can't say I did the best this week but I did pretty good ;) Had to buy some things I don't usually buy ;)

$53.36- It was $69 before coupons, not sure what it was before price matches ;) Over $15 in coupon savings ;)

2 lbs bananas
2 pks pepperoni-$1 each with coupon
6 crescents
6 grands biscuits
1 loaf of bread .45
3 pks chunk cheese $1.49 each
4 pks shredded cheese $1.50 each
2 pks brown sugar $1 each
2 bxs pierogy's $1.66, one of my families favorites ;)
2 pks eggs .99 each
1 pk organic lettuce
6 cans mushrooms .46 each
1 cottage cheese $2
2 jars spaghetti sauce .98 each
2 bottles cold medicine (kids are sick...can't plan that one, too much)
1 pk post its for meal planning idea
2 bottles Welch's juice after coupons .50 each
4 boxes pasta-FREE with coupons/price match!!!
mini Mars valentine candy -FREE with coupons/price match!!!

Make sure you take advantage of price matching!!!
It is a big time saver...I really wish more stores did it...saves us time on not having to go to more than one store...I don't think I will be shopping next week, but we will see what the ad's have.

Grocery Store Trip

I have been trying to use the advice on Extreme Couponing...mind you I usually only spend about $40-50 a week on groceries anyway, with a possible trip to Sam's or Gordon's once in awhile. So this is what I did when trying to use Target's Mfg & Store coupon savings as well as a shopping trip to Walmart to price match and use coupons. Honestly we really could go without shopping for at least 2 months if we used everything in the house ;) But that is why we only spend what we do...stock up and save when you can ;)


The Target Bill was $17....

4 6pks of Pop (Rod drinks a lot of Mt. Dew) (normally he buys this at work out of the vending machine if we don't have it...so this is a BIG savings ;)
2 boxes of Honey Crunch Kellogg cereal
2bxs Wheat Thins
2 pks shredded M. Cheese
2 pks Reese Cups
1 pk deli Meat

Walmart Bill was $31...

3.89 lbs Grapes, 3lbs Apples, 5lbs Bananas, 1 lb Blueberries,Lettuce

3 boxes pasta

toothpaste

2 mustard

hot sauce

miracle whip

cake mix and frosting

4 pks dole fruit cups

Reynold's wrap

slow cooker liners

cool whip

2 loaves of bread

1 gallon of milk

Happy Shopping :) Looking forward to being able to get more for our money in the very near future :) Make sure you take a look at the sites from the other posts :) Very smart cookies out there doing this money saving ;) Might as well use what they have and not waste all of your time doing what they already have ;)

Afullcup.com is where I found a lot of my shopping stuff...they make it easy by listing the store...the deals that are out there with the coupons that are out there and then you just need to pick the things that you know you will use in your household. I am not one for hoarding...so I just buy things that I know we will use in a timely manner ;)

savingthefamilymoney.com

This is a great new site I found :) Along with afullcup.com, sarahsdeals.com...these sites are so informational :) I never realized that some stores take both mfg and their coupons on 1 items ;) That is a big savings that I am going to try to take advantage of. I will let you know how my first planned spending spree goes ;)