Moms Need To Know

I’ve seen women who woke up one morning and decided to be what they call “radically frugal”.  They were going to ban credit and debit cards from their life, no longer buy shoes or expensive makeup.  They were going to get all their clothes at thrift shops!  Live on rice and beans! Today was the day!  They were going to do it!

And they failed (by the way - the woman I saw do this all the time?  It was the one in the mirror)

We tell our children that they can’t learn to ride a bike without practice.  That Olympic Swimming Guy (I didn’t watch the Olympics) didn’t wake up one day and say “I think I’ll go to China and win a bunch of Gold Medals!  I’ll just stop by the Y on the way to the airport and take a few swimming lessons!”

Just like babies…we have to learn to crawl before we can run.  So if you are struggling with where to start, try these simple changes….

1.  Ban Starbucks from your life (or at least, make it a Very Special Infrequent Treat):  When I was working, I used to stop every morning at Starbucks and get a Venti Sugar-Free Vanilla Skim Latte (I’m sure I just typed that wrong, but I never cared enough to learn their “system”…they always seemed to get it right no matter how badly I mangled the lingo).  At a cost of about $4 each morning.  Extend that out to 52 weeks and don’t even include the 60% of the time that I went out for a mid-morning 2nd cup…and it’s almost a full mortgage payment for us.  Then I had my first child and became a Stay-At-Home Mom with no Starbucks for 15 miles.  You know what?  I survived!  Now we DO have a Starbucks that just opened 2 months ago and is only a mile from my house.  I haven’t been there yet.

2.  Learn to cook…well.  I know that people will disagree with this, but I firmly believe in the old adage of “If you can read, you can cook”.  But don’t try to master French Fusion cuisine right away if you are what they call a “Ding Ding Chef” (which means you are done cooking when the microwave dings). There are two cookbooks that every kitchen should have:  The Joy of Cooking and Betty Crocker’s “Classic” Cookbook (you can get them much cheaper at used stores, garage sales or even eBay).  In them you will find recipes for everything from the simplest of pancakes to making a crown roast.  Start making many items from scratch and you will amazed at how much cheaper it is (as well as healthier!)

3.  If you are a Stay-at-Home Mom, join a MOMS Club. (disclaimer:  I served on the Board of my club for 3 years, so I am a little biased towards MOMS Clubs)  There are other clubs out there with different names (MOPS, Mothers of Multiples, etc), but the MOMS Club has over 2000 chapters, so chances are there is a chapter in your area.  Generally the annual membership is $25 or less and you will meet other women in your area and be able to get your children in playgroups and get them socializing with other children.  Gymboree is expensive.  Mommy & Me Music classes are as well.  MOMS Clubs are cheap (to find a local chapter click here.  If you don’t see a group listed for your area, that only means that they may not have a website, use the contact tab to ask about a local chapter)

4.  Sort your mail next to the trash cans and THROW OUT the catalogs.  I have a SERIOUS Coldwater Creek addiction.  They must know this because I get about 2 catalogs a week.  I just toss them….what point is there in looking at them when I know that I won’t be buying until I can find it on the clearance rack?  The same goes for the American Girl catalogs that come (my daughter has 2 dolls which were a gift from her grandparents).  Those catalogs are so cute and the more I looked at them the more I was convinced that I was depriving my daughter by not spending the weekly grocery budget on a new outfit for her doll (not that my daughter would care anyway - she IS only 2!).  In the trash they go!  Besides - there are plenty of places to buy outfits that fit those dolls that cost much less (like Target and Etsy!)

5. Stay home.  Not only will you be saving gas, but you will be sparing yourself the temptation to shop.  I can’t tell you how many times I went out “just to look” or “just for a drive” and came home with an additional $200 on my credit card!  That doesn’t mean that you need to become a hermit, but a subscription to NetFlix can go a long way towards keeping you at home and from wondering where the money went at the end of the month!

What are some of your Baby Steps that you will be trying?

Sign up for a free full-sized roll of Extra Soft Scott Toilet Paper to be mailed to you here (hurry - this one probably won’t last!)

Get a free sample of Gas-X strips here

Get a free 13oz vacuum bag of Maxwell House Arabica coffee here (don’t forget to confirm your email address to complete the offer!)

Get a free subscription to KidsHealth and a free First Aid kit here (use gift code 0000054384)

When someone links to a funny or informative post, I always make it a point to check out the rest of that person’s blog (especially when it was a funny post!).  And that’s how I found this one!

Frugal In Virginia is hosting a giveaway of over $160 worth of coupons at her site!

You have until 9:00pm on August 23rd to enter!

Check it out!

While checking out the QueenOfTheFrugalBlogosphere, I found a link to this article.

Let’s just say that as I was finishing off a bag of…ahem….snack products that I was being paid to test but I can’t tell you which ones they were or they could sue me in to bankruptcy…I spit said snack product all over my computer from laughing. (lucky thing I got free Windex 3 weeks ago to go with the free Bounty Towels last month!)

It got me to thinking about Brad’s reactions to my couponing.  In the beginning, he was hesitant…mainly because he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that I walked in to CVS, gave them $4 and walked out with 4 tubes of Crest and $12 in ECBs…and that I kept doing that over and over with different products.  I honestly think that for the first few months, he was expecting the police to show up at our door any minute!

But after a while he got on board….he loved the free razors, how I seemed to be satisfying my shopaholic tendencies without it costing more than a dollar or two per trip…..AND we were getting free toiletries and cleaning products for free.

Then I went over to (what he calls) “The Dark Side”.

No longer content with just free toothpaste, shampoo and deodorant at CVS, I started seriously couponing at the grocery stores.  Sure, he loved the free Bagel Bites and Totinos in the beginning (he has roughly the same tastebuds as my 5-year old)…but then he started to need to rearrange the extra freezer in the garage after each shopping trip.

Today I came home from Target with 14 free trial size bottles of All Free and Clear.  I didn’t tell him…I just emptied them in to an existing full-size bottle and buried the 14 bottles in the recycling bin.  It’s just easier that way.

Then again, he didn’t mind the 6 cases of Mountain Dew Code Red that I bought him in the same trip…at only $1.50/12-pack.  He works insane hours and sometimes the only thing that keeps him upright is Code Red (he doesn’t drink coffee).  And despite the fact that he can walk across the parking lot from his work to a Target, he would be too “embarassed” to get more for himself, even if I gave him the coupons. 

And have I ever mentioned his tendency to walk away from the register on those rare occasions he is shopping with me?  He doesn’t mind the couponing…he just doesn’t want anyone to know that he is “with me” (note to Brad:  they know me and our kids at the stores.  You trying to act casual as you are wrangling the children all of the cashiers know as mine doesn’t exactly qualify as “incognito”)

But he does seem to find all the free Skintimate shaving cream.  I won’t go in to details, but comments WERE made about how, if I HAVE all that shaving cream AND an abundance of free razors……..well - you figure it out!

So what does your spouse think of your couponing?

Imagine my shock when I was contacted by the people at Rachael Ray Magazine asking if I would be interested in posting some of their inexpensive recipes that appear each month in the “$10 Spot” section.  After looking at the copy of the September magazine that they sent me last week, I said “Sure!”

PREP 15 min COOK 10 min

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound penne rigate pasta
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped
• ¼ red onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper
• One 6-ounce can solid white tuna in water, drained and broken into chunks
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, drain and spread onto a baking sheet to cool.
2. Meanwhile, pour the vinegar into a large bowl and whisk in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Stir in the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and olives. Add the pasta and parsley and toss; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tuna. Top with feta.

The great thing about this recipe is that it includes so many things that we already have in our pantry and for which we can get great deals. Red Wine Vinegar?  Got that last week at Giant for free!  Olive Oil?  Getting that this week at Giant on the BOGO sale with an additional $1 coupon.  Parsley?  I bought a $.99 plant at the beginning of the summer and I have enough to keep my entire street swimming in free parsley…ditto the tomatoes!  Pasta & tuna?  Do people actually PAY for Pasta & Tuna? 

So here is your challenge:  take this recipe (and try it - we had it last night for dinner and it was great) and tell me how cheap you can make it!

Here are the original numbers, courtesy of Rachael Ray Magazine:

• Pasta:  $1.25
• Red Wine Vinegar:  $.27
• Olive Oil:  $.59
• Tomatoes:  $.96
• Cucumber:  $.50
• Red Onion:  $.30
• Kalamata olives:  $1.20
• Parsley:  $.33
• Tuna:  $1.80
• Feta:  $.96

Total:  $8.16 or $2.04/serving

Let me know how cheaply YOU can make this!

(for more recipes, please visit www.RachaelRayMag.com; photography by Kana Okada)

Don’t throw away your Parade Magazine from the Sunday paper until you grab this coupon!  There are two coupons on it…one for a free Southern-Style Chicken biscuit (breakfast) and another for a Southern-Style Chicken sandwich.  Both coupons require you to merely purchase a medium or large beverage in order to use them. 

Didn’t get the coupon in your paper?  Just go here to print one out!

As a reminder, make it a habit to swing by the computer kiosk whenever you go to Target.  If you use their computer to print off your Target coupons (which change every week), not only will you save yourself paper & toner costs, but the coupons will print on their blue paper.  When/if they give you a problem about IPs (as they have been cracking down lately…read more about that here), you can point out that you printed them IN THE STORE.

If you’ve been waiting for a good sale so that you can use your $5 Luvs coupon, now is the time to use it!  Luvs are on sale for $6.99 this week! 

JuicyJuice:  While it wasn’t in my RedPlum insert this week, many areas got a $1/2 Target coupon for JuicyJuice.  This can be paired with this coupon.  Juicyjuice is reported to be about $2 each.   By combining the coupons, you can get 2 packs for $1!  Even if you didn’t get the Target coupon, it is a good price!

Pepsi products are on sale 4 for $10.  Print off $1 coupons for Mountain Dew here (you can print as many as you want…scroll down about halfway to find it)

On the same as the Mountain Dew Coupon is a $1 coupon for Bowl Appetit.  These are $1.59 at my local Target (there are no manufacturers coupons available right now, but $.59 each isn’t bad!)

Look for the 25-count Ziploc bags in the checkout aisles.  These are $1 each.  Pair with $1/2 coupons from the 8/3 & 8/17 SS to get 50 Ziplocs for $1

Don’t forget the Trial/$1 Size aisles for your free items (note:  the coupons listed DO NOT exclude Trial sizes…save yourself some headaches and take a coupon with you that DOES say “excludes trial sizes” so that when the cashier says “You can’t use these on trial sizes” you can whip out an example of one that does and say “if the manufacturer wanted to exclude trials, they would”)

• Satin Care Shave Gel:  $1 coupons in the 8/3 P&G
• Rolaids Travel Pack:  $1 coupon in the 6/22 RP
• Tylenol Trial size:  $1 coupon here
• Clean & Clear:  $1 coupon in the 8/3 SS
• All Small & Mighty:  $1 coupon in the 6/22 RP, the August All You, or the $1/2 from the 8/17 RP

This post is part of The Grocery Gathering hosted by BeCentsAble.  To find the best deals at your local store, please visit her site!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…it’s weeks like this that prove why you need to build a stockpile.  Between the 4 stores ads I dissect, there isn’t ONE store that has decent sales (unless you want to go on “South Beach overload” with the Catalina deals at Acme and Giant. Click here  to see how to make that deal extra sweet!)

Page 1

• Strawberries:  BOGO
• GIANT Split Chicken Breasts:  BOGO (pair with $1/Giant coupons….I hope you readers have been on the lookout for them, because these are GREAT coupons!)
• Kunzler Meat Franks:  BOGO
• In-ad-coupon for a free 6-pack of Coke wyb 4 12-packs for $12 (I’ve seen MUCH better deals, but it’s a coupon….if you have $1/1 coupons from VocalPoint for the 12-packs, you can make this beal better)
• Get $4 off instantly wyb 4 Kellogg’s Cereals:  if you’ve been holding on to your $1/2 coupons from the 8/3 Kellogg’s circulars, now is a good time to use them!  Don’t forget to pair those coupons with Fuel For School coupons so that you can get $ off produce, milk, etc AND so that you can buy 10 particiapting items in 1 transaction and send away for your Kellogg’s $10 rebate! )
• Arm & Hammer 2x Laundry Detergent:  BOGO (pair with $1/1 coupon here….and can someone PLEASE tell Arm & Hammer that “Jill” is the most annoying person ever?)
• Hunt’s Snack Pack:  10 for $10 (pair with $1/4 from the 8/3 and 8/17 SS…some areas got a $.30/2 which would make this even better)
• Scotties Facial Tissue:  10 for $10 (pair with $1/3 from the 7/13 and 8/17 RP)

Page 2

• Aunt Jemima Waffles/Pancakes or French Toast:  3 for $5 (pair with $1/2 from here)
• BlueBunny Personals:  10 for $10 (pair with B2G1F from here)
• Weight Watchers Smart Ones Entrees:  5 for $9 (pair with $1/5 from here and here)
• Save $4 OYNO wyb Edy’s Ice Cream, Haagen Dazs, Nestle Drumstick/Push-Ups/Eskimo Pie or Edy’s Dibs:  2 for $6 (this works out to 4 for $8 after the catalina, so it’s not THAT bad of a deal, but htere are no coupons right now to make it better)

Page 3

• Turkey Hill Iced Tea or Lemonade:  5 for $5 (pair with $.35/ from the home mailer or the $1/2 from the 6/22 RP
• Jell-O Ready to Eat Dessert:  $2.29 (pair with $1/1 from the 6/1  and 8/17 SS)
• Sea Choice Wild Alaskan Salmon Burgers:  BOGO
• Maryland-Style Crab cakes:  $5 for $5
• Purdue Short Cuts:  $3.99 (pair with $1/1 from my sidebar coupon printer)
• Banquet Boneless Chicken Nuggets, Strips or Breast Nuggets:  $3.99 (no coupon matchups, but this is the cheapest I have seen them anywhere in a long time.  Target is usually the best price on these and Targets price is $4.99!)

Page 4

• plenty of decent prices on Giant Products that, if you found the 8-to-a-sheet Giant coupons, can be made better with the $1 Giant Product coupon
• Lipton Green or White Tea:  10 for $10 (pair with $.50/1 tearpad and/or B2G1F tearpad coupons…both tearpads found at Wawa)
• Mott’s Apple Juice:  2 for $4 (pair with $1/2 from the 8/10 SS…GREAT price for 100% Apple Juice!)
• FREE Weight Watchers Breakfast Item, Entree or dessert wyb any 6 Entrees (make sure that you use the $1/5 coupon mentioned above!)

Page 5 

• Knorr/Lipton Side Dishes:  5 for $6 (pair with the $.75/2 from the 5/18 and 8/17 RP)
• Mott’s Apple Sauce:  3 for $5 (pair with $.55/2 from the 8/10 SS)
• Pompeian Olive Oil:  BOGO (pair with $1/1 from here)
• Ken’s Salad Dressing or Marinade (includes Spritzers):  3 for $5 (pair with $1/1 from the 8/3 SS and hangtags that were EVERYWHERE last month)
• Martins Cheese Curls or Tortilla Chips:  BOGO
• Jolly Time Microwave Popcorn:  BOGO (pair with $1/1 and $1.50/1 from here)

Page 6

• GE Light Bulbs:  BOGO (pair with $1/1 from here)

Page 7

• Atkins Advantage Bar:  2 for $3 (I’ve received $1 coupons for these from the Catalina machine the last few times I shopped and there is also a $1/1 in the 8/17 SS)
• Palmolive Ultra Dish Liquid:  10 for $10 (pair with $.40/1 from here or the $.25/1 from the 7/27 SS

Page 8

• In-ad coupons:  save $2 on apples wyb any 2 Marzetti Carmel Apple Dips

Do you see any deals that I missed?

As said to me by the regular Saturday AM cashier at my Dollar Store when I went to get my 6 newspapers this morning……

She also wanted to know how many people I told to start shopping there…

“We NEVER used to run out of papers on Saturday before you started coming in!  Now we have a bunch of people every Saturday morning buying 3, 4 or 5 papers!”

I just smiled and said “I guess that means that I’ve taught a bunch of people how to save money”

And that’s the main reason I have this site! 

(and I wrote down this website for her…I’m actually thinking of getting some free cards made up at VisaPrint because I’m getting tired of searching for a pen while my 3 kids are fighting over who gets to sit in the cart!)

The freebie offers have been pretty slim lately (and I am very selective about which ones I post…if it looks like a phishing site or a “first 500 people only”, I generally don’t post them), but there are a few new ones!

Get your free sample of the new Bounce Awakenings here

Get a free 12oz bag of Al’s Pistachios here

Get a free sample of Degree for Men here

Don’t forget to sign up for your FREE Daily Eco-tips (many of which don’t cost anything) here.  There’s even an upcoming “Mommy Edition”!

Get a free 1/2-year subscription to Car & Driver Magazine here