*First I feel compelled to mention that it is 8:29am on Wednesday morning and not only did the wonderful man in my life bring me my favorite coffee from Starbucks this morning before he left for work (Thanks for the gift card, Mom!) but I was able to take a shower AND the kiddos are all still asleep! This is unheard of! I'm sure I just jinxed this all by writing the words and they will be awake and needy in minutes, but for now I am enjoying the quiet time with my coffee and thoughts.
Last night I had the pleasure of "attending" a couponing web class hosted by Angela of Frugal Living NW. My motivation for participating in the class was the special offer for the Sunday Oregonian subscription, but she mentioned some basic couponing tips that are great reminders for couponers of all experience levels.
The first thing she said that stuck out to me was, "Don't let a coupon burn a hole in your pocket!" It is easy to think, "oh, I have this coupon so I need to use it." Not true. Coupons are only saving you money if A) the coupon is for an item that you need or use regularly and B) using the coupon will make the item less than the full price of the store brand/generic. The best time to use a coupon is when it matches up with a store sale on the item, don't be afraid to save them until that point.
She also touched on store sale cycles and buying enough during the sale to last your family until the item goes on sale again (store sales cycle every 3-6 months depending on the item). When you stock up at rock bottom prices during a sale you give yourself the ability in the future to "shop" from yourself instead of running to the store and possibly paying full price for that item you need. (and how often do you really go into the grocery store and walk out with that one thing you need to complete your recipe and not one of these and one of those and oh, that too?)
The last tip/reminder I wrote down was to be strategic about stockpiling. Stockpiling doesn't have to be crazy. Its about having items on hand that you need and use regularly. If your storage space is limited, only keep on hand the best deals that don't come around as often as others. It doesn't make sense to keep piles and piles of pasta and toothpaste on hand when those sales are available frequently, instead use your space wisely for more costly items like detergents and other household products you use daily.
I'm super thrilled for my Oregonian subscription to start! I paid $39.98 to have two Sunday papers delivered for an entire year! If I did the math right, that breaks down to about 38 cents per paper. The Sunday Oregonian is $2 if purchased at the store. That would add up to over $200 over the course of the year! Our finances are tight right now, but to me, this offer was worth shuffling some money around to cover the up front cost of the subscription in order to see the savings for an entire year.
As far as our grocery challenge goes, I think we're doing well! Here are the details of our meals & snacks over the last few days. What I hope to establish by tracking this and sharing with you is that a tight grocery budget doesn't have to mean pasta or beans every day. When you shop and plan your meals around what is on sale its possible to maintain variety.
{Sunday}
B: cereal (you'll notice we eat a lot of cereal! My 4 year old son, Dannon, prefers to mix as many open boxes of cereal that we have into one bowl every morning. The last few days that has meant Kellog's chocolate krave, cocoa pebbles, vanilla chex and hershey's cookies & creme. I buy whatever cereal I know they will eat and I can get for $1.50 or less per box. Right now its all the good stuff, sometimes its healthier options and they gobble those down too.)
L: PBJ sandwiches (made with my dad's homemade raspberry jam!) with chips/spicy snack mix.
D: Grilled pork chops & potato wedges
(forgot to track the snacks on Sunday)
{Monday}
B: Cinnamon rolls & cereal
S: Apple slices
L: PBJ, chips/spicy snack mix/fruit snacks & juice
S: Pickles & snack mix
D: Steak fajitas
{Tuesday}
B:Muffins & cereal (& hard boiled eggs for Bob)
L: PBJ for Dan, P for Eli, Ham & Cheese for Ash, chips, grapes & juice
S: Peanut butter crackers & marshmallows (things I found in the pantry)
D: Grilled chicken salad with carrots, cucumbers, hard boiled eggs, cheese & crutons
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