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July 10, 2008 By The Amies 1 Comment

We would like to wish our wonderful Heather a very blessed birthday. Please stop by her blog at Dime Savin’ Diva and leave her a birthday comment.

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June 7, 2008 By Heather 1 Comment

While you want to teach your children how to manage money and be good stewards, what is the “right” way to do it? Do you give your child an allowance or not?

My husband and I have been on both sides of this equation at one time or another, sometimes drifting back and forth, really. This left us many questions about how we were teaching our children about money management.

We tried the “$1 per year of age per week” and I think we failed miserably at that. Our oldest child, who was 8 at the time, wound up with money in the bank that she didn’t know how to manage. And simply letting her make mistakes, as the experts advise, didn’t work. One day, she had $100 in the bank, and the next, she had $2, but had a great collection of Webkinz. What did she learn, really?

Then, we tried the “money for chores” reward system. I spent days making chore charts, and assigning chores to children, and figuring out the monetary value of each chore. That went over like a lead balloon for us. For one, did we really want our children to learn that if they did a chore like make their bed, or pick up their toys, that the reward would always be monetary? What about going out into the world at a job? Would they only flip a hamburger if they got paid specifically for that? Would they charge extra for putting on the cheese slice since they got “extra” for taking out the trash at home? And our middle child, who was 7, decided that he would rather make $1 for making his bed than 50 cents. So, we were in a struggle. What did he learn, really?

We have been following Dave Ramsey’s babysteps for some time now. We would like our children to have a little more knowledge about money and how it works than we grew up with. I grew up not really knowing how to manage money. As I graduated from high school at the age of 15, and got my first job at 16, four months later, I really had no bills. I worked two full time jobs since I was bored, and didn’t have any money saved. I spent it as fast as I made it. I learned at an early age how to play “checkbook roulette” where you would cash a check at one store, and deposit the money to cover a check that you wrote that you didn’t have the money for, then the next day, you would go to a different store and repeat the process. YIKES! I vowed that I would teach my children good money stewardship. Well, I do get an “A” for effort.

We have tried the following process and I think that it’s working for us.

We have played the game “CashFlow for kids” with our children as a family. We are wanting our kids to learn that real wealth does not come from debt, as we learned growing up. The whole premise of this game is teaching kids that when their “passive income” (money NOT worked for) exceeds their monthly outflow that they are truly wealthy.

So, simple terms, right? Well, what my now 10 year old daughter has been doing is saving her money from her birthday. She has sought out sale prices on pop, and looked for coupons. She has “invested” her stash into pop and chips for our annual community garage sale. She is hoping that she will more than double her money. And, as a bonus, she has figured out how to buy for the lowest price and wait until things go on sale. Our son, who is 8, has been learning that you really don’t have to pay full price for anything if you are willing to wait. He has been wanting this Webkinz for some time now, and had the $13 saved up for it. Bam! There was a coupon in our Sunday paper for Meijer that had $3 off Webkinz! He got the Webkinz, and got to save $3 in the process. He is using that leftover amount to invest in his sister’s pop stand. He will become a shareholder and get $4 back. Nice, huh?

We no longer give our children an allowance either for chores or “just because.” We would like them to learn early how to invest and watch their money grow and work for them. Hopefully, they will know more about money management when they are off to college than we did. Maybe they won’t repeat our mistakes.

What are some of the ways that you teach your children about money stewardship? I would love to hear your ideas!

Heather is a stay at home mother with 3 blessings to take everywhere with her. Teaching women to shop and save and get the most for your dollar are a vision that has been a long time in the making. She enjoys sharing her trials and triumphs at the local stores, as well as some good (and some not so good) recipes to help make those dollars stretch. Her column, “Practical Penny Pincher” is a must read for the thrifty homeschool mom. Visit her blog at Titus 2 Woman.

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May 7, 2008 By Heather 6 Comments

If you are anything like me, you avoided CVS and Walgreens like the plague because some of their prices were so much higher than at WalMart or the grocery stores. You were being frugal after all, and watching your prices. (Go you, by the way!)

I am going to share a few secrets with you today and some tips that may help you change your mind. This has taken me hours of extensive research and time, but I’ve had a lot of success with this. Let’s start with Walgreens:

Each week, either look online or buy a Sunday paper with the ads in them. Walgreens has many deals each month that are “Free after rebate” that you will want to watch for. They also go on sale cheaper sometime during the month, so you will want to note that as well. For example, Aquafresh toothpaste was on sale for $2 a tube this past week. You use a $2/1 coupon and bam! it’s free. Neat, huh? Well, here’s the best part: you send off that receipt for Aquafresh and get your $2 back as a rebate! Even better, if you have Walgreens put their rebates on a gift card, they will add 10% more. So, your toothpaste “made” you a net profit of $2.20. Not too shabby, I’d say!

Walgreens also has what are called “Register Rewards,” where you get a coupon back for money off your next visit. For example, they had “buy 4 Aveeno products (any) and get $10 in Register Rewards.” Well, simple math tells you that you buy the cheapest products and “make” money. This is what I did. I bought 4 hand lotions that were $2.39 each (on sale). I had 4 $1/1 coupons, which made that $5.56. I got back $10, netting a profit of $4.44! And a really good deal, too, since I use a lot of hand lotion.

The main idea here is to buy things that are “Free after Rebates” and when you get your gift card, keep using that for other things that you need and “roll over the rebates.”

The only thing that I’ve found with Walgreens is that you are not able to reuse the Register Rewards to make more. I couldn’t take the $10 Register Rewards to buy more Aveeno. They are programmed to show what you bought to get the Register Rewards for that reason. You also have to be aware that they do expire. Usually, I have found that you have 2 weeks to use them. The order of the coupons matters, too. If you use a Walgreen’s coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon for the same item (totally legal), first hand them all your Walgreen’s coupons, then the manufacturer’s coupons, then any Register Rewards. If you have a total of 17 coupons, you will need to have a total of 17 items. I have thrown in pocket packs of Kleenex or penny candy items to make that up. For example, last time I went, I bought:

2 gallons of milk – $2.89 each

1 can Pringles (earned me the title Awesome Mom of the Year) – $1.29

2 boxes Celestial Seasonings tea – $2.99 (w/BOGO deal)

2 Dawn dish soap – $2.98

Minus the coupons

$2.00 off Dawn (Walgreens coupons)

2- $.50/1 Dawn (mfg coupon)

$.50 off Pringles (Walgreens coupons)

$.45 off Celestial Seasonings (mfg coupon)

$10.00 Register Reward (from Aveeno deal)

Grand total out of pocket = $0.23!

At CVS, you can get some really great deals by using their “Extra Care Bucks” (to be referred to as ECB from now on). First, to take advantage of that, you will need to have an Extra Care Card. If you don’t have one, they have them at the cash registers. Just fill out a quick form and include your email address and you are on your way. Why the email address, you ask? You will also get coupons for CVS in your inbox. For example, they will send you a $4 off your next $20 purchase if you sign up online with your care card number. Just go here.

Then, take your ads and let’s go shopping. No, wait! You need to have a plan. First, note what is on sale that will give you ECB back. For example, L’Oreal products have a $2 ECB back on buying one. So, you buy a lipgloss for $7.99 and get $2 ECB for your next purchase. Here’s an example of a week that I had at CVS.

Transaction #1

4 Softsoap Spa Radiance Body Wash – $4.99 each

2 Lady Speed Stick Deodorant – 2/$5

2 Colgate Advance Toothpaste – $3.49 w/BOGO

1 Reeses Candy bar

Minus

$1.00 coupon for deodorant

4- $1.50 off body wash coupons

2- $1.50/1 toothpaste coupons

$4.00 off $20 for signing up for email offers

Total out of pocket = $2.41
ECB earned = $22.96

Transaction #2

2 Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom cleaner – $5.00

3 Jergens Natural Glow Lotion – $5.99 each

1 Spa Radiance Body Wash – $4.99

Minus

2- $.75/1 Scrubbing bubbles coupons

$1.50/1 Spa Radiance coupon

2- $1.00/1 Jergens Lotion coupons

$22.96 ECB

Total out of pocket = $0.30
ECB earned = $9.99

Transaction #3

2 Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom cleaner – $5.00

2 Windex window cleaner – $5.00

1 Lip gloss-$2.99

Minus

2- $.75/1 Scrubbing bubbles coupons

2- $.40/1 Windex coupons

$9.99 ECB

Total out of pocket = $0.88
ECB earned $5.00

Transaction #4

2 Lip gloss

1 sunflower seeds (snack for friend) – due to not enough pre-tax for ECB

Minus

$5.00 ECB

Total out of pocket = $0.51

ECB earned = $5.00

Total amount spent = $4.10
Total amount saved = $86.91

The thing with ECB is that you also want to make sure that you “roll” them over as well. Your card is connected with them, so you can’t give them to a friend to use unless they use your card as well. There is also always a limit on the number of “deals” that you can have. For example, the body wash had a limit of 5 per card. I could’ve gotten 6, but I would not have had the ECB back on the 6th one.

This is what Jessica of Bargain Banana had to say about CVS:

Here are a few key items in saving money at CVS.
1. Buy a Sunday paper to get the weekly coupon inserts and CVS ad. You can also pick up the ad at the store.
2. Clip ALL the coupons even if there are items you don’t use.
3. Set aside time to look at the ad and compare the sales to your coupons.
4. Look for items in the ad that say “Extra Bucks Reward.” These are items that will give you Extra Care Bucks (also called ECB’s) in return for buying that item. Ex: Buy an Oral-B Toothbrush for $4.99 and receive $4.99 ECBs or buy any Mennen Deoderant at $1.99 and receive $1.00 ECBs.
5. Try to buy items with your ECBs that will give you ECBs back. Some people call this “rolling” the ECBs.
6. Use manufacturer’s coupons for as many items as possible.
7. Make a plan and a backup plan. With so many people shopping for the same items you want, the shelves may be empty so a backup plan is important.
8. Use manufacturer’s coupons first to lower your total. Next use ECBs, then cash or credit.

**Try to spend very little out of pocket the first trip. Ex: Buy something that cost $2.99 and will give back $1.99. This will give you $1.99 to start your second trip. Keep buying items that you have coupons for and give you ECBs in return. Eventually you will spend a few ECBs each trip and walk away with more than you came in with.

Here is a sample transaction after a few trips to CVS have been made.
Start with $9.00 ECBs from last trip.

1 Dove shampoo $2.99–will give back $2.00 ECB
1 Venus Razor $9.99–will give back $6.00 ECB
1 Colgate Toothpaste $2.99-will give back $2.99 ECB
1 Johnson Baby shampoo $2.99–will give back $1.00 ECB

Subtotal before coupons=$18.96

Give coupons from the Sunday coupon insert (non CVS)
$2.00 off Dove shampoo
$4.00 off Venus Razor
$1.50 off Colgate
$2.00 Johnson Baby shampoo

Subtotal after coupons =$9.46
Use $9.00 ECB’s
Pay $0.46 + tax out of pocket (OOP)

Earn $11.99 ECB’s for next time.
Keeping rolling these every time and it will get very exciting.

In the last couple of months I have spent about $10.00 of my own money at CVS and saved over $400. My pantry is stocked with toothpaste, toothbrushes, air fresheners, shampoo, razors, etc. In the past we would wait until an item was almost gone before replacing it. This meant we usually paid close to full price. Now we are ready when items run out and we only paid pennies for each.

There are many goldmine deals to be had at each major drugstore, if you know how to find them. Try out the ideas listed above, and see how much you can save! Let me know of any others that you find.

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April 8, 2008 By Heather 9 Comments

Can You Afford That Second Income?

Many stay at home mothers have to work extra hard at making the dollar stretch. For some, like me, it’s a full-time job planning the budget each week. I have had many women tell me that they must find a part time job to help supplement their income. Some have stretched each dollar and just can’t do anymore, some enjoy their careers, others like the break from the everyday.

What I have found, however, is that many women think that if they go out and get a part time job, they can “save” their paychecks to either pay off debt, or towards some other financial goal or obligation. I would like to challenge that notion. I will use myself as the prime example. (simply because I don’t usually learn things the easy way)

After trying to “keep up with the Joneses”, we found that our budget was stretched to the limit. The answer was not to look at our spending and see where we could cut back, NO! It was to have me take on a part time job! Although my husband was set against it, I did it anyway (mistake number one-if hubby doesn’t want you to work, please don’t!) I found a job cleaning offices for $9.50 a hour. I could work in the evenings, which wouldn’t take away from my homeschooling the kids, or my house management. Um hmmm. This is what I found: (taken from an actual paycheck)

$9.50/hour for 20 hours a week=$190.00

$38.00-taxes (very high taxes where we live!)

$50.00 for gas getting back and forth to work

$40.00 that grocery budget went up simply because I didn’t have the time to plan

$65.00 for eating out two times a week because I was too exhausted to cook, or “needed the break”.

Total amount earned=$190.00 Total amount spent working=$193.00

No kidding, folks, I was in the hole around $3 per week!!! Not to mention the guilt that I felt at missing baseball games, piano recitals, and not being able to function as well during school time. Here’s the biggest loss of all. When we filed our taxes, my “extra” income put us in a higher tax bracket, and we paid even more out in taxes!

Another example is a friend of mine, who works “because she needs to”:

$8.50/hour for 40 hours $340.00

$51 week taxes

$50 week sitter fees

$25 week for breakfast at school (sitter won’t feed them breakfast)

$50 gas getting to work

$60 week eating out (two meals a week)

$60 week for convenience foods at the grocery storeThis leaves her about $44 a week. For 40 hours of working, not to mention getting the kids up at 5AM to take them to the sitters, being exhausted, and having no time to herself to recharge her batteries.

Before you take on that part time job to “help the budget”, please look at all areas. Sometimes, the money isn’t really that green on the other side.

Other options include working from home as well. You can look on the internet and find many different opportunities. If you are computer savvy, consider teaching others. Can you sew or crochet? Consider running a class. You can also look up different ways to start your own online business with places such as eBay or Wagglepop. They can get you started with little out of pocket expenses.

For other ways to help stretch your dollar and get more “bang for your buck” check into some of these resources:

Money Saving Mom

Bargain Banana

Frugal HacksKeep checking back for more money saving ideas!

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March 9, 2008 By Heather 1 Comment

Holiday Leftover Ideas

Easter is almost upon us and the very thought gets me excited. To think about what that means to me, to know that it’s the day my Lord rose from the dead and conquered my sins forever makes me happy all over. The very idea of making a ham or turkey and getting together with my loved ones to celebrate this is the best warm fuzzy!

Then, on Monday, you are faced with leftovers. Lots and lots of leftovers. Leftover turkey, leftover ham. And you can only have so many sandwiches before the kids go on a eating strike! What to do? I think I may be able to help. Here are some of my favorite recipes to use those leftovers in a different way. Enjoy them and please leave a comment and let me know if you liked them, or if you have others to share.

Ham and Bean Soup
1 cup leftover ham, cubed
1 large jar of white navy beans or 2 cans Great Northern beans, with liquid
1T. garlic powder
1/4 chopped onion
2 c. water

Place ingredients in crockpot and set on low. Simmer for 5 hours. Serve with cornbread or biscuits.

Cordon Blue Casserole
1 cup leftover ham, chopped
1 cup of leftover chicken, chopped
1 bag frozen broccoli
2c. Shredded cheese
2T soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place leftover chicken in pan and add soy sauce, stirring until heated through. Place in “pammed” 9×13″ pan and add ham and broccoli. Stir around until mixed and add cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve or rice.

Ham Skillet
1/2 cup leftover ham
1 potato, peeled and cubed
2 T. butter or margarine
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. shredded cheese
2T sour cream (optional)
1/2 red pepper, chopped fine (optional)
2 eggs, any style

Melt butter in pan on med-high heat. Place cubed potatoes and cook until almost done. Add garlic, onions, ham, and peppers and simmer until just sweating. Cook eggs in separate pan to your liking. Place potato and ham mixture on plate and cooked eggs on top. Top with cheese and sour cream.

Hot Turkey
leftover turkey
leftover gravy
leftover mashed potatoes
2 slices of bread, buttered

Lightly grill the bread in a hot skillet until golden brown. In the microwave, heat the turkey, potatoes, and gravy separately. Lay the bread on a serving plate grilled side up with the mashed potatoes in between. Layer the turkey over the bread and pour hot gravy over all. Yummy!!! And a great quick meal for those days when you are on the run!

Turkey Enchiladas
leftover turkey
tortilla shells
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
1 8oz tub sour cream
milk
1 c shredded cheese

Mix 1 can soup with 1 can’s worth milk, 1/2 the sour cream, 1/3 cheese and turkey. Place in tortilla shells and “roll up”. When all shells are filled, add the second can of soup, and can of milk, and 1/3 of cheese and rest of sour cream. Make a creamy topping and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remainder of cheese. You can make these ahead and freeze. Bake at 400 for 1 hour for frozen, or for 20 minutes for “fresh”. What I like to do when I freeze extra, since I only have 2 pyrex pans, is I line them with heavy duty foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. When I am done, I make sure the foil wraps around the food like a neat little package and then I freeze the whole thing in the pyrex pan. When it’s frozen, I can take it out of the pan and store the foil package in the freezer. When it comes time to cook it again, just place it back in the pan, foil and all! Easier to clean up, too! That idea works for almost any dish.

Turkey Spaghetti
leftover turkey
1 lb. cooked spaghetti noodles
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, mix noodles, sauce and turkey together. Place in a pyrex dish sprayed cooking spray. Sprinkle the cheese all over the top and cover with foil. Bake for approx 30 minutes. Dish can be made ahead of time and frozen for later use.

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March 8, 2008 By Heather Leave a Comment

Holiday Leftover Ideas

Ham and Bean Soup
1 cup leftover ham, cubed
1 large jar of white navy beans or 2 cans Great Northern beans, with liquid
1T. garlic powder
1/4 chopped onion
2 c. water

Place ingredients in crockpot and set on low. Simmer for 5 hours. Serve with cornbread or biscuits.

Cordon Blue Casserole
1 cup leftover ham, chopped
1 cup of leftover chicken, chopped
1 bag frozen broccoli
2c. Shredded cheese
2T soy sauce

Hot Turkey
leftover turkey
leftover gravy
leftover mashed potatoes
2 slices of bread, buttered

Turkey Enchiladas
leftover turkey
tortilla shells
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
1 8oz tub sour cream
milk
1 c shredded cheese

Turkey Spaghetti
leftover turkey
1 lb. cooked spaghetti noodles
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

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February 8, 2008 By Heather 3 Comments

Does this sound familiar to you?

Wake up early, hit the ground running
Try and get kids to eat breakfast and stop 3 year old from feeding bagels to the dog
Try and get a shower yourself while getting your daughter to stop teasing her brothers
Get the kids dressed and the kitchen cleaned up so that you will be able to accomplish schoolwork
Trip over toy trains while running laundry to washing machine
Dinner???? Are you serious???? How on earth can I think about dinner now??? So, you just do the next best thing. You go out to eat, spending an average of $25 for a family of four.

A homeschooling parent has tons of planning to do. Plan schedules, lessons, curricula, field trips, play dates, bill paying, etc. You get the picture. And just when do I have time to fit another planning session into my day? Understand, dear one, you are not alone.

Grocery planning and meal planning are essential to saving money. You can’t expect to walk into the store and gaze up and down the aisles and buy whatever jumps out at you and still save money. You have to plan. Even a simple list will help you save.

What I do is so easy and it’s a lot of fun to get the kids involved. It takes about 3 hours a month for me to plan and buy food for the month. Here are the steps to what I do:

Gather all your local supermarket ads (those of you with a Super Wal-Mart nearby will be more fortunate). If you can’t find them (ads), most places will have an online version of their ad that you can look at.
Go through each one and write down the sale items that they are advertising and that you will need for your family. I list each one on a separate sheet of paper for each store, comparing sales. If milk is cheaper at Martin’s, I list it there instead of Kroger’s.
Make a list of other things that you need that are NOT on sale. ie…paper products, cleaning supplies, pet food.
Check your coupon box to see what you have coupons for on your list and put them in a separate envelope.
If you have a Super Wal-mart they will match all competitor’s ads for exact amount and like product. For example, if Martin’s has their store brand (Spartan) of instant oatmeal on sale for $.99 a box, then Wal-mart will match that ad with their brand (Great Value).
Write one list that has each store in a separate column with their sale prices. When you go to Wal-Mart, have the ads with you. You can also bring the printed out version from online if that is what you used. I also check Wal-Mart’s prices, since many times they are lower than the other store’s sales. Be aware!

When you are finished with your list, separate all the price matched items by store for the cashier. It just makes it easier on them and you to verify a price. Then I place all other items at the end. If you are not able to go to a store where they will price match the lowest price then you could also just go to each individual store and buy just the loss leaders or sale items and finish your list at the cheapest store. In my area, Wal-Mart often has the lower prices on other items as well, but you will need to check. Knowing your prices takes a little time. I personally used this as a unit study for economics for my kids. We would go to the different stores, and write down prices of each item that our family normally bought. I keep them all together in a notebook that is easy to access. This has helped save money for us, since I knew which store had the lowest regular price on macaroni and cheese.

This is a sample of what you would find in my notebook:

If you have friends that are willing to save their grocery receipts for you then the job of knowing what prices are at each store becomes easier. Planning takes time and energy but the money saved in the long run makes it all worthwhile!

What to do with all those groceries when you get home? Do some things just get pushed to the back of your pantry shelves, never to be heard from again? Is your freezer hiding little tempting morsels that are seemingly gone forever? Here’s what I do to help prevent that: INVENTORY LIST.

I make another list with all the different places that I store food such as freezer, pantry shelves, and deep freezer. I usually don’t have one for the fridge since that seems to change very rapidly. Every item is put on there, under the category where it is located. For example, I have 6 boxes of Hamburger Helper (on sale for $1.00 and I had a $.75 off coupon!) that are in the lower pantry shelf, right next to the 4 cans of Manwich sloppy joe mix. In the freezer, I have 10 lbs of hamburger. This way, I can plan meals easier. When you take an item out, simply update your list. It’s a little more work in the beginning, but can make meal planning so much easier. Here’s an idea of what mine looks like: As far as meal planning goes, I know of frugal moms that plan their days out, such as “meatloaf on Monday” and “tacos on Tuesday”. That’s fine, but with my personal schedule, how am I going to know that 5 days from now I will have time and energy to make that meatloaf? And what if the kids aren’t “in the mood” for that on that day? Something to think about is to make up a menu list of meal ideas (based on what you have in your inventory list) and just pick from day to day. Each child gets to pick one day of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have them pick the whole day the night before so that if need be, I can pull something out of the freezer. In my house, this has avoided the “I don’t know what to make” blues, as well as fighting off the urge to order pizza on those nights. The kids are more eager to eat different things since they know that it was their choice.

All in all, planning makes the money go much farther. Now, if I can could just plan our history studies…

Heather is a stay at home mother with 3 blessings to take everywhere with her. Teaching women to shop and save and get the most for your dollar are a vision that has been a long time in the making. She enjoys sharing her trials and triumphs at the local stores, as well as some good (and some not so good) recipes to help make those dollars stretch. Her column, “Practical Penny Pincher” is a must read for the thrifty homeschool mom. Visit her blog at Titus 2 Woman.

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February 8, 2008 By Heather 1 Comment

Does this sound familiar to you?

Wake up early, hit the ground running
Try and get kids to eat breakfast and stop 3 year old from feeding bagels to the dog
Try and get a shower yourself while getting your daughter to stop teasing her brothers
Get the kids dressed and the kitchen cleaned up so that you will be able to accomplish schoolwork
Trip over toy trains while running laundry to washing machine
Dinner???? Are you serious???? How on earth can I think about dinner now??? So, you just do the next best thing. You go out to eat, spending an average of $25 for a family of four.

What I do is so easy and it’s a lot of fun to get the kids involved. It takes about 3 hours a month for me to plan and buy food for the month. Here are the steps to what I do:

Gather all your local supermarket ads (those of you with a Super Wal-Mart nearby will be more fortunate). If you can’t find them (ads), most places will have an online version of their ad that you can look at.
Go through each one and write down the sale items that they are advertising and that you will need for your family. I list each one on a separate sheet of paper for each store, comparing sales. If milk is cheaper at Martin’s, I list it there instead of Kroger’s.
Make a list of other things that you need that are NOT on sale. ie…paper products, cleaning supplies, pet food.
Check your coupon box to see what you have coupons for on your list and put them in a separate envelope.
If you have a Super Wal-mart they will match all competitor’s ads for exact amount and like product. For example, if Martin’s has their store brand (Spartan) of instant oatmeal on sale for $.99 a box, then Wal-mart will match that ad with their brand (Great Value).
Write one list that has each store in a separate column with their sale prices. When you go to Wal-Mart, have the ads with you. You can also bring the printed out version from online if that is what you used. I also check Wal-Mart’s prices, since many times they are lower than the other store’s sales. Be aware!

This is a sample of what you would find in my notebook:

All in all, planning makes the money go much farther. Now, if I can could just plan our history studies…

Share and Enjoy:

January 8, 2008 By Heather 1 Comment

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”
I’ve been clippin’ all my coupons,
All the live-long day…
I’ve been clippin’ all my coupons,
just to stash some cash away.
Single, double, triple coupons,
that stretch my budget a mile.
I have saved so much money,
that now I wear a smile!

A homeschooling mom has nothing to lose by using coupons but she has lots to gain with the money saved. I worked with another lady who was as addicted to coupons as I was. We would compare sales slips from grocery stores to see who had saved the most. I once got $200 worth of groceries for only $65…no joke! I happened to win that week…

About 5 years ago, I got caught up in the “Great Coupon Race”. Hardcore.

I would buy 20 Sunday papers with the coupons in them. Since I lived in a large city (Omaha, NE) at the time, there were several different papers to choose from. And for some odd reason, they had different sets of coupons available. So, I would make sure to get about 5 of each. I had people look at me kinda funny sometimes, but that was the “price” I paid

My wonderful hubby and kids would help me with this. We would take the coupons out, and lay them out in an assembly line fashion. Like coupon pages in piles. Then, we would take scissors and cut out 3 or 4 coupons simultaneously. I had a large box of them. Like I said, I was addicted! Sometimes, I would find a “buy one, get one free”! That was so cool! Then, I would go shopping. Didn’t matter where…I just had to “spend” the coupons. One time, I had a pile of coupons for $1.00 off 2 boxes of Playtex tampons, and buy one get one free bottles of Pantene shampoo. Well, neither coupon stated size limitations, so, I went to the trial size area. (believe me, after a while, the cashiers would check size and quantity!) I wound up with 40 boxes of trial size tampons(4 in a box), and 20 bottles of trial size shampoo and conditioner for only $5.00! I also purchased on that trip 20 trial size boxes of Q-tips for about $.05 each. That was cool!
Some things to remember about coupons:

always check the size and quantity listed on the coupon
check your expiration dates and use before that date
always carry a calculator with you and check the price per ounce with your coupon compared to the store brand, which usually doesn’t have a manufacturer’s coupon

It would be to your advantage, if using many multiple coupons, to not go shopping on a weekend morning. The stress of the store being so busy would not make this fun for you. Monday mornings work great, if you can, otherwise go later in the evenings if at all possible.

Here’s how I used my coupons:
I would make sure that I had the number of items for each coupon listed. 10 “Buy one, get one” coupons would mean that I had 20 of that item in my cart. If it didn’t have size limitations, then I would get the smallest size I could. For example, $1.00 off of a $2.50 jar of 24 oz Skippy peanut butter would be $1.50 or $.07/ounce. However, $1.00 off a $1.97 jar of 18 oz Skippy peanut butter would be $.97 or $.05/ounce. And, using 2 or 3 of your coupons, you could stock up for a good price.

Remember, that you don’t have to have an expensive “coupon holder” for your coupons. You can use a index card file box, an old shoe box, or even an envelope box. You can put your coupons in different envelopes and just carry them in the box. Some categories that I use are:

personal hygiene or HBA
pet supplies
beverages (including coffee, tea, and pop, as well as creamer)
condiments
frozen
paper and cleaning

If you have coupons that you don’t need, then don’t throw them away. Think about starting a coupon swap club. Check and see if your local library has one, or see about starting one. Look at church groups, or any clubs that your kids are involved with. Maybe other mothers would be interested. Expired coupons can be sent to military addresses overseas, as they can use them for up to 6 months beyond their expiration dates.

It would a good idea to contact any location first before sending out the coupons you collect. The list below is just some of the locations participating in the program.

COMFLEACT DET
Yokohama
Family Service Center
PSC 472, Box 8
FPO AP 96348-1150

COMFLEACT DET
Ikego
Family Service Center
PSC 474, Box 700
FPO AP 96351-0007

Coupons can be a wonderful way to stretch your budget. But, be careful to avoid the pitfalls of buying something just because you have a coupon, or you won’t have saved at all. For example, have you always bought the store brand cleaner and now you have a coupon for a “name brand”? If you are satisfied with the store brand and it’s cheaper, then I would say don’t buy the name brand just because you have a coupon. Always check your prices, and follow your list! Now, go clip! And make sure that you have your coupons with you when you go to the store. I usually put my box in my van and that way I have them with me at all times. And don’t forget to give them to the cashier when you are paying for your items. A coupon stashed is not money saved! I learned this one the hard way myself

Heather is a stay at home mother with 3 blessings to take everywhere with her. Teaching women to shop and save and get the most for your dollar are a vision that has been a long time in the making. She enjoys sharing her trials and triumphs at the local stores, as well as some good (and some not so good) recipes to help make those dollars stretch. Heather’s column, “Practical Penny Pincher” is a must read for the thrifty homeschool mom.

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