You say potato...

My son Ivan loves baked potatoes. Loves them. One day he ate 3 in a day! Seriously. The kids loves a baked potato.

Of course they are loaded with  cheese, chopped ham and ranch.

After a busy day at 2nd grade, he asked me if he could, "please, please, please have a baked potato for an after school snack?"

Unfortunatley for him...we didn't have any.

So of course he asked me to go to the store and get him one. He promised that I only had to get him one. Just one for him.

Now, potato's are pretty darn cheap in and of themselves. You can turn them into so many different things. They are cheap, tasty and verstaile. How could you go wrong?! Hmmm, yep there is a way...So while I was at Ralphs I did some investigating.

First we have a single potato. Wrapped and ready to go into the microwave. Cost = .99each

Right next to these, were loose potatoes. They were .99 a lb.

Hmmm, it gets better...

A pre-bagged 5 lb. bag of potatoes was $2.49 each.  A lot more spud for your buck right?

BUT...a 10 lb. bag of potatoes? $3.49 each. That is 5 more lbs for a dollar!!! Five!

What the heck kind of math is that?! I think my 3 year old could figure out that the 10 lbs is the best deal.

When my husband was in school, I read every book I could find on saving money. I still have a lot of them today! One of the lessons I learned, and has stuck with me, is that you pay for convenience. The more the store/manufacturer does for you, the more it is going to cost you.

These potatoes are a good example of this. But there are soooo many others.

We need to be educated consumers if we want to get the most bang for our buck.

Be a smart shopper! I will try to show more of these examples as I find them, so be prepared.

So, of course you know I am going to ask...what is your favorite way to eat a spud?!

3rd times a charm

Way back when I lived in Norfolk, VA I was given a food saver. I don't know if it was for my birthday or Christmas or what exactly, but I was thrilled!

I read this cover to cover

So while learning how to use it, I decided to put some chicken in a marinade and seal it. However, I didn't do it properly, and when it started to vacum, not only did it suck out the air, but it sucked all the marinade as well. I had a huge marinade-y mess on my counter and inside the machine.

After only  a couple of uses, it was no longer functional. I couldn't get them to replace it because it was "user error". I couldn't pay to replace it because we just didn't have the money. So basically, I was out of luck.

While living in Guam, I went to a yard sale. There I found a Food Saver for $5. I grabbed it but...I didn't have all the parts. So it sat and collected dust until it made its way to a GoodWill.

I decided that Santa was going to bring me another one. I broke it out last night. After wasting some bags on practicing (I thought it was supposed to save money?! lol) I finally got it!

I took the rest of my Christmas ham, cubed it and then vaccum sealed it. Success. Then I got into it and did a few other things around the kitchen. I am so excited to use it. I am looking forward to saving some money on produce and meats.

Do you have a Food Saver? What is your favorite item to seal? Any hints or tips?

Poor

"Mom, are we poor?"

My kids at SeaWorld (minus the youngest)

One of my cute little kiddos asked me this the other day. Of course I asked why they thought that.

"Well because you always use coupons, and say, "I am not spending money on that" and you always accept hand me downs, plus a few other things."

I thought about their question before I answered. I wanted to make sure that they understood why I do the things that I do.



No, we are not poor. My kids have never known what it is like to have a hungry belly, or to not have a roof over their head. Or to suffer with an injury or sickness, because we can't go to the doctor. They always have clothes that fit them. They get new books & video games, go to movies & amusement parks. We eat out, from McDonalds to more "fancy" places like Olive Garden.

No we are not poor.

I try to save money because:
 I don't want my kids to know what it is like to have a hungry belly.
I don't want my kids to go without a roof over their heads.
I don't want my kids to have to suffer because we can't afford to take them to the doctor.
I don't want my kids to have to be without nice clothes. (Not the nicEST, but nice).
I want to be able to buy my children new books. I want to be able to buy them video games.
I want to go to the theater and watch movies with my kids. Or take them to an amusement park.
I want to be able to eat out.
I want them to feel safe and secure. Content.

Nope, we are not poor. But I am going to spend the least amount of money I can, so that I can AFFORD to do what we enjoy.

Its not about the money.

Being prepared

I had planned to post about menu planning. Some tips and tricks, and why it is helpful.

With last night being the elections, this morning my Facebook wall was covered in a lot of negativity. I have many happy friends, and many who are not.

I rarely share my political beliefs. Not because I don't care, but because I don't like controversy. I stand for the "we agree to disagree and I love you because you are my friend." I don't want to get into arguments or political discussions. Its just not who I am.

I am a verrry conservative, LDS, military wife. I think my political beliefs are obvious.

In all the things I have read, a lot of concern stems from the economy & welfare situations.

As someone who has been on almost every kind of gov't assistance, during my husbands college years, to someone who now is a very frugal shopper, is debt free (except for one car payment and student loans) I am not worried.

Why? Because we have the power to teach our families how to live, in line with our beliefs. We can teach them to be self reliant. We can teach them to stay out of debt. In our homes, we can have a food storage, learn to make things from scratch, have an emergency kit, be prepared.

Coupons have helped me establish a wonderful stock pile. I am proud that I have food to feed my family. You can do this also. Couponing, and watching every penny, can lead you out of debt & provide a safety net for your family.

The other night, I woke up from a dream that really had me thinking. Our family was off in different locations, a friends home, the store...when a fire broke out. It burned for days and, I COULDN'T FIND MY FAMILY!! It seriously scared me. I had no idea where my kids were. Where my husband was, I didn't know. Did they have food? Shelter? Were they safe? It scared me.

Although it is not New Years, I am making a resolution, to get prepared. Make sure I have a food storage, emergency kits, and am fiscally responsible. Who is with me?! Lets be prepared for...whatever is to come! Who is with me?!

A look back...

Today my husband woke up early, showered, grabbed a few snacks and his backpack and he was gone. Off to school. Grad school. Cal State Northridge to be exact.

It has brought back so many memories of the last time he was in school. Life for our family is so much different now than it was then. So, so different.

That time in our lives was when I learned so much about saving money. Unfortunatley, it didn't happen with a lot of speed bumps along the way.

 

Here is a little comparison:

Then (1999-2002 approx)

**3 kids
**3 kids all in diapers
** Ben at school from about 8ish to 5ish
**one car (an old blue mini van) still making payments on it
**Ben had to ride the bus, so that I could have the car
** lived in a variety of housing, including: student family housing, managing an apt. complex and later we moved into a low income housing complex.
** qualified and were recieving: food stamps, WIC, the state health plan, and a stipend every month for our utility bill so that we could run the heat w/o worrying about the cost
**lived off of approx. $1000 a month


My hubby will probably kill me for this one (:

Our family then, with some help from both sets of Grandparents

in front of our low income housing






 

Ben graduated from the University of Oregon in June of 2002. We have lived in a few different places, but our life NOW looks like this...

**5 children (ages ranging from 13--->3
**1 child in diapers (although is almost completely potty trained!)
**Ben's hours have not improved much...
** 2 cars (1 SUV that we bought just 2 years ago, brand new and  a 2006 Ford Focus that is paid for)
**We made the choice to live in military housing, it was brand new and renovated, has parks, a pool, gym and we don't have to pay for utilities (other than our phone/internet/cable etc)
** Qualify for absoutely nothing
** Insurance is through the military,  as well as our life insurance.
**We have a variety of savings accounts, (long term, short term etc)
** while I am not going to share how much my husband makes, I will tell you that it is quite a bit more than $1000 a month (:

Turner family now...

 

 

While things have changed, we still try to keep our heads about us when we make choices. We are not perfect. I have been know to make frequent visits to a store that rhymes with Shmarget. I know we have come a long way and I know that we LEARNED lessons that we wouldn't have learned, had we not had to go through what we did. I like where we are at now...ecspecially not having 3 kids in diapers!

back to school

Every Sunday I go and get my papers off the front porch.

I sit and go through them, taking out all of the ads and coupons. Yes, I lead an exciting life.

This past Sunday as I was looking at the ads, I was shocked to see school supplies already. I mean we just celebrated the 4th of July right?

However, I shared on Facebook how I shocked I was, when people started sharing the dates their kids are heading back. Most were headed back in either July or Aug.

Even though as a homeschooling Mom, I get to decide what my school supplies are, I still want to take advantage while the getting is good!

Staples is the closest office supply store to me. They had a coupon good for $5 off a $30 purchase. They also have an offer, where you can buy a Back to School savings pass. It was $10 and will give you 15% off every purchase from now until mid Sept. While I normally refuse to pay for a discount card, I believe I will make my money back on this one. Here is my breakdown:

Transaction 1:
Back to School Savings pass (this had to be on the first transaction, so I could use it towards my 2nd one!) =$10
2 (4oz) Staples glue =.02
2 (24ct) RoseArt crayons=.02
2 (10ct) packs of Bic pens =.02
Total $10.06
**You had to buy a minimum of $5 in order to get the .01 items**

Transaction 2:
4 HP photo paper (50 ct. each) = 9.99 each (.50 each after rebate)
2 Staples brand reams of paper (500 ct) = $2.99 each (.25 each after rebate)
4 pkgs of Expo Dry Erase markers (4ct)= .50 ea for a total of $2
4 pkgs of mechanical pencils (5 ct) = .50 each for a total of $2
2 pkgs of filler paper= $1.00 each for a total of $2
Total $51.94 (before tax)

I am not sure what he took off first, the 15% off coupon or the $5 off coupon but after those were included it brought my total down to $41.73. The reciept printed out and I am getting a check for  $45.58 back. Yeah, that is a profit baby!! Next up, Office Max. Praying no one else got all my deals today!

Determination

Oh.my.gracious. When Ethan (my 11 year old) gets an idea in his mind, he is not going to be deterred.

It is great....and a tad annoying. Whenever he wants to earn money for something, he is so young that the only thing he can do is work for me. Every day, no matter what I am doing, its, "Mom, do you have any jobs I can do?". Following me around begging me for jobs he can do.

He is a hard worker and doesn't want to wait. At all.

He had about $15 saved for a Pokemon DS game. He is his Mothers son because...

1. He saved every penny, nickel etc. that he found.
2. He bought it pre-owned to get a discount.
3. He didn't add anything on (a Pokewalker) which would have upped his cost.
4. He sold back some of his old games.

So with all this, he was still short by about $10. Then, out came the big guns...

"Mom, if I clean out both freezers in the garage, would that be enough work to cover the rest of the cost?"

He knew it was something I needed and wanted done. I said yes. In the 80* heat, he went out in the garage and got busy.

His hard work paid off...he got his game. And now I no longer have a shadow following me around every where saying, "Can I have a job Mom? Can I have a job?"

produce

One of the questions that I get, CONSTANTLY, is how to save money on produce. I will admit, coupons for FRESH produce, are few and far between.

Yes there are coupons for canned and frozen varieties, but fresh...eh not so much.

Normally my number one advice is to plan your meals around what is on sale that week. If apples are on sale, have apples instead of grapes. Grapes are a good deal? Then don't go with oranges this week. Right?

Well I just found an amazing resource for produce. I am soooo excited about it! I had heard but never tried it for myself, that the .99 store had great produce.

I happened to be there yesterday, and walked by their produce section. I grabbed 2 packages of roma tomatoes (8 in each), a bag of spinach, 2 bags of grapes, 3 pints of strawberries and 2 ginormous cucumbers.

They are all yummy and high quality. That spinach and tomatoes made a very yummy BLT (or would it be a BST?)  So exciting.  If you have a .99 store or similar, with fresh produce, give it a chance! Next up, maybe I will try their steaks next...or not. Hmmm...

book love

I have always loved books. My kids love books.

One day, I took some of my kids to a store that rhymes with Smarnes & Bobles. Even after getting some of the books from their value section...we still did not get out of that store without spending...I won't finish that.

So today while we perusing the local Goodwill we hit the book section.

Book after book made it's way to our cart. From cookbooks to kids books, to novels to childrens books. Childrens books are a measley .49 cents each. Love it!!

I had to laugh when the workers pointed out that one of our books was labeled as .99 and "who was tagging books in the kids section?". Seriously it was funny.

Our Harry Potter books are all in sad shape, so for .69 I replaced one of them.

I was also excited to find some great books for homeschooling, plus a book called, "Yes You Can Teach Your Children."



Do you ever shop at thrift stores for books? What was your best find?

It's coming...

The time is rapidly approaching. It comes so fast and yet I never feel quite ready.

Nope, it's not Christmas. That is what you were thinking wasn't it?

Well I am actually talking about something else.

New Years Resolutions. Yep, they sneak up on me every year. I do make them (whether or not I keep them or not is a completely different story!) as a way to make goals and better myself.

One goal that is on there every year, like many, many, many others is to lose weight. The other of course is to save money.

Saving money is easy...well not easy but easier for me than the whole losing weight one!

I have done a variety of different weight loss programs, Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, my own programs...But one of the things I find myself doing is spending way.to.much.money. Now I am sharing this as my own personal experience, not as a reflection of the program. Here are a few examples of what I would do...

I would wake up in the morning and would be in a rush. I didn't have time to make a low fat meal OR I wouldn't have anything to eat that was "healthy". So I would either a.) not eat and then be starving so I would eat whatever I could find or B) go to the grocery store and stock up on healthy items. Again.

Or, I would be trying to make dinner for the family and realize that it had too many calories/fat/points to fit into my program. So I wouldn't eat it. I would go buy something for me.

I would stock up on pre-packaged items so that I could follow my program completely.Not being willing to branch out, but just stick with items that " I know I can eat."

 That doesn't even include the actual cost of a program. Know what I mean?

Well, that is why starting on January 1st I will be starting a coupon diet. No I will not be eating coupons (I'm so funny I know!). Every January you see a huge rush of coupons for frozen healthy dinners, protein bars/shakes, all sorts of "diet foods". Coupons are seasonal and manufacturers know that everyone is making the resolution to lose weight and eat healthier, right?

Programs like Jenny Craig, NutriSystem etc. work because everything is pre-portioned. You know exactly what is in it. The trouble is when you go off those programs. So I will be making my own.

For example:

B-fast: whatever yogurt is on sale for the week, a bowl of healthier cereal or protein bar & fruit.
Snack: whatever pre-portioned snack is on sale...100 cal packs, light popcorn etc.
L-maybe a Smart Ones, or Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice etc
Snack: same as above
Dinner:  a meal that is healthy as I can make it (making small switches like using leaner cuts of meat, portion control etc.

Over the next couple of weeks I will share more of my plan, and how I plan to implement it. I will also doing more product reviews (whether sponsored or not) on "diet foods/drinks". What were hits and what were misses.

If you have made a resolution to get healthier, I would love for you to join me. You can follow whatever program you want. I look forward to saving money and getting healthier. I hope you will join me, but in the mean time, enjoy those yummy holiday goodies! I know I will!

clothing budget pt 1

Not only do I have to FEED my kids, I have to CLOTHE them too? Oiy!

We have an awesome playground in front of house, where an awesome group of ladies meet every afternoon. While the kids run around like wild, we talk. And talk. And talk. Sometimes we are out there so long chatting that our kids have gone inside! But the other day one of the other Moms asked me...

OK so from L-R Connor, Ivan, Harmony, Mason and Ethan

"Your clothing budget must be huge for all those kids. How do you save money on clothes?"

So, let's talk about it shall we?

First things first...let's meet the cast:

My daughter Harmony is the only girl in the house. She is as tall as her Mom, but unlike her Mom, she is skinny with no bum. It is hard to find pants that really fit her well. Tiny in the waist but long enough... She is not the biggest fashonista in the world but definatley has her favorites! She is big on comfort though (:

Ethan is the oldest of my boys. He is a "bigger" kid. He wants nothing to do with buttons or zippers. So he is happy with warm up pants or basketball shorts. The end. You hardly ever see him in anything else. He prefers t-shirts but will wear a long sleeve t-shirt if he feels that it is too cold.

Guess what? Out of all the things boys are wearing, I only bought their shirts! Everything else was handed down!!

Connor the next oldest is...skin and bones. Seriously, the kid has hardly anything to him. He is more into clothes than his older brother but still is mostly happy to wear a t-shirt and jeans. He doesn't wear shorts. He thinks his legs are too skinny and so he doesn't want to show them to people.

Ivan my next boy is on the thicker side. He is the same weight as Connor but their bodies are built so differently. He could care less what he wears everyday. So once again...t-shirts and shorts/jeans.

Mason the last boy/child (whew!) is almost 2. He hangs out with Mom all day. He learned how to take his diaper and shorts off and so...yeah he doesn't care what he wears!

(Mason's favorite outfit!!)

Since my husband joined the military we have lived in Virginia, Guam and now So. Cal.
Virginia was the only place that it got rrreally cold and required coats, hats etc. We were there for 4 years. Guam was hot and humid every.single.day. The "coldest" it ever got was 80* but the humidity was still at 90* or some crazy number like that. We were there for 3 years. So not a lot of climate changes for this family.

Here is another little tidbit...of all the schools my kids have been too, this is the first year with no uniforms!! They were delighted to be able to wear whatever they wanted!

OK so back to the topic at hand....

(I bought this shirt for $2 after Christmas in the seasonal section!!)

1. I buy on clearance. No brainer but some people don't do it. In fact, my oldest sister totally made fun of me, because while out shopping, I headed straight to the clearance racks. Her : 1 child me: 5  I love to buy "holiday" items. I will go in after a holiday and buy 4th of July t-shirts for $1-$2. They can wear them year round. Same for Valentines, Christmas etc

2. Hand me downs. Whenever a friend, family member or whomever, asks if I want hand me downs I always say yes. Always. After going through them, if there are things I don't like/don't fit...I donate them to a thrift store. But by always accepting, I have a lot of people who keep me in mind. For example just this year, a friend dropped a bag of 5 or 6 pairs of basketball shorts. Another friend just brought over like 10 pairs of pants. Yay!

(This name brand shirt was a whopping $1 at my local thrift store!)

3. Thrift stores: My kids and I have NO problems buying at thrift stores. My hubby won't but...he wears a uniform all week so... he is easy. I stock up on whatever I see that I like. If something doesn't fit like I had hoped...then I only paid a couple bucks for it. My local thrift store won't give $$ back but they will give you a store discount. Works for me.

So in an effort to not make this post any longer, I am going to go through other helps in another post!!

Are you brand loyal?

(Finally remembered to use those green bags!)

So we all know not to be brand loyal right? It CAN cost you $$ right?  Well lets look at the flip side for a moment shall we?

For the most part, I buy Coke brand products. Nothing against Pepsi, it's just that...well I earn MyCokeRewards points. My husband has PT (physical training with the military) at least 3x's a week, on top of any other exercise he does. He also, when wanting something to drink but not carbonated, he usually goes for...a Powerade or Gatorade. Powerades, with the black cap, has rewards points. When coke products are on sale, I usually grab those. I don't ALWAYS do it. For me it is always PRICE before anything. But here is how I see it...
Buy coke products on sale & with coupon.
Get points.
Redeem points. While they have lots of offers, I usually just get free item coupons for...you guessed it...coke products.
Use free coupon to score free coke.
Get the points.
Redeem.
Rinse and Repeat.

I laughed when my friend pulled out a huge stack of loyalty cards the other day, but seriously, if a place offers a loyalty card GET IT. Ecspecially if it is something you are going to buy anyway!

Does your movie theater offer a loyalty card? Ours does. You can redeem rewards for concessions.

My son's favorite place to get ice cream has a buy 10 cones get one free.

A local gift shop offers a punch every time you spend $5. Earn enough and you get $10 towards your purchase.

Loyalty rewards can go from shops to products. Kind of like the Coke.

Personally, I am signed up for:
*Tropicana Rewards
* My Coke Rewards
*Stouffers Dinner Club
*Disney Movie Rewards
* Huggies
*Pampers
*almost every hotel I have ever stayed at
*frequent flyer miles
*Warner Brothers Rewards
*Game Stop
*Famous Footwear
*Borders
*Babies R Us
Honestly I could go on for a lllllong time!


It can't hurt to ask places. Also being placed on a mailing list can also give you the chance to get coupons and discounts. Remember, the goal is to never pay full price for anything!! Using your reward points is like icing on the cake!

brand loyal

(image found on Amazon.com)

(image found through internet search)

(image found on Tide website)

I have talked about this before but I think that as I have a lot of new readers, it is important to talk about again!! Everything I say is important right?! lol

As a couponer, you learn very fast that being brand loyal costs money. Manufacturers count on it.

For example, lets say you only use Tide laundry detergent. (This is the most expensive brand I have ever seen!!)

So you have run out of laundry soap, and you head to the store to get some more. Tide is on sale for $10. Normally the P&G insert has Tide coupons good for .35-$1.00 It is rare to find one higher. But for arguments sake, you have a $1 off. Bringing your total down to $9. You used your coupon so you must have gotten a good deal right? Eh...not so much.

Down the aisle a little way is All detergent. It is on sale for $3.99 and is offering a $1 off. Now you have moved your price down to $2.99

Even further down the aisle is Purex. On sale for $1.99. They put out coupons for $3/1 down to $1/1. Obviously if you had a $3 one that would be a money maker. If you had a $1 that would bring it down to .99! How is that Tide looking to you now?

Now lets say that you buy laundry soap every 2 weeks. 52 weeks in a year divided by 2 equals 26 weeks.

26 weeks x$9.00= about $234 a year for that laundry soap. And that is assuming that Tide would ever get that low in price and that you would always have a $1 off coupon.

26 weeks x 2.99 (for All)= about  $77 a year (which subtracting $234 from $77 would make it so that you are saving $157 a year on laundry soap)

26 weeks x.99= a grand total of $25.74 ( Tide's cost of $234- Purex's cost is $208.26) that is a big difference!! Purex's price minus the price of the All would be around $52

Now obviously this is oversimplified and completely made up. (: It just goes to show you that being brand loyal CAN cost you.

 If you have a product that you refuse to give up and won't try another one? Well my best advice would be to stock up a 3 month supply of that item, to get you through to the next sale.

Don't be afraid to try new things! You might find a product you like better than the one you are currently using. I would rather pay .25 or less for a tube of tooth paste than to pay 3.99 for a tube just because that is what I have always done!

It is all about matching a sale with a coupon, no matter what the brand!

What is that saying? "If you always do, what you have always done, you are going to get, what you've always got"!

********FYI: I chose laundry soap as an example. I am not getting any sort of benefit from any of these companies. You can do similar calculations with many,many products. ******

Happy Earth Day

(My cute kiddos hanging out on nice GREEN grass)

(reusable lunch containers)

I am not very green. I try. But I have been known to not recycle my pop cans, forget my reusable bags (in the car no less) leave my a/c running...OK maybe I don't try very hard. *gulp*

However, it is amazing how being frugal/saving money is very similar to the ideas given for being green. We have all heard the 3 R's right? Reduce, Reuse, Recyle. So here we go...

How do we save money on our bills? Reduce our usage right? Turn your lights off when not in use. Don't leave your water running....or your a/c or heat if not needed. Save money and be green!

Next...reuse. My Sunday papers come in plastic bags. So instead of just tossing them, I reuse them for Mason's poopy diapers. Reuse water bottles. Use containers for lunches instead of plastic bags. Just because you get them cheap with coupons doesn't mean you need to use a box in a day right? Use your reusable bags at the grocery store.

And of course, recycle. If you can't find something to do with that leftover pizza box, put it in the recycling instead of the trash. Recycle your pop cans (get the money back and use it towards your groceries).

Are you GREEN? What do you do to save money but also helps the planet?

****If you are looking for some FABULOUS reusable products, you can check out my Tupperware page here****

**OUCH**

the cute little cavity culprit!

Yesterday I logged quite a few hours at the dentists office. I try to get all my kids back to back appts. It makes for a loooong day but then it is done for 6 months right?

I ended up having 2 kids with appts in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Yep looong day.

3/4 of my kids had zero cavities! Nice right? However that one child, had one cavity. However, the process to fix it is involved. $342 involved. Ugh.

So in true money saving form, here is the run down...
co-pay: $0
5 toothbrushes:$0
5 floss pkgs: $0
5 kids toothpastes:$0
before insurance price: $900
after insurance price: $342

Yeah guess where all my coupon savings for the month will be going? Ugh.

The kids next appt is in October. I told the kids that if they have a cavity free appt. they can each pick out a new video game. 4 video games x $30-$50 = a lot less than $342