Wednesday, December 5, 2012

More Freebies

During October P&G had a deal where if you purchased $30 worth of P&G you would get a free pink breast cancer cookware set with free shipping. I just couponed and bought $30 worth of diapers, which is something I would have to have anyways. It only took two months to arrive so I was very happy! Originally when I went to their site to track my shipping, it said it wouldn't be processed and shipped until February.



Wrapp an app that lets you send free gift cards to friends had free $10 gift cards to hayneedle.com. Since it was Thanksgiving the site had free shipping all week! I sent a few out to friends and some friends just gave me their gift card number because they didn't want it. I ended up getting myself and other gifts for under $20 below are pictures of the items that have come in so far.

Racheal Ray Spoon Set $2.99

Georgia Tech garden flag $1.99

Georgia Garden Flag $1.99


Rachael Ray Spoonula set $4.99



Sunday, December 2, 2012

Nail Polish Rack (How to)

Since I was little I would always insist on getting nail polish every time I went to the dollar store. My mom would sometimes give my brother and me the option of getting a candy bar and a drink on Fridays. I however, would ask if I could get a nail polish instead. To this day I still treat myself to a bottle of polish about once or twice a month. My mom mails my daughter goody packages and she normally throws in a few polishes for me. After moving into my first home with my husband I quickly learned that I needed something to hold my polishes on so I could easily find the colors I want without having to open every baby wipes case. Yes, I store my polish in baby wipes cases. After moving 6 times in 3 years, you quickly learn the best ways of moving nail polish. With that being said, thank goodness for Pinterest. I came across this blog: http://polishedloveaffair.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-polish-rack.html    with a pattern for a nail polish rack. My husband's grandfather does wood work and was able to make my nail polish rack out of scrap wood. 

Here is a breakdown of the measurements:
This rack measures 3'X2'
We used 3"X1" wood to make the entire shelf.
The spacing between the shelves are 5 inches apart.

Below is a picture of my nail polish rack. We haven't hung it yet, because we are about to paint my bathroom. 



The nail polish rack is deep enough to be able to store the polishes two deep. I would suggest using ribbon to put in front of the polishes in case there is an earth quake or something so that the polishes don't all fall off. I haven't put anything in front of mine yet, but I am thinking of someway to. The blog lady suggests using string. 

I hope you have enjoyed my post, and please if you use the pattern let me know! 

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

11/28/2012 Shopping Trip and Freebies!


So this week my mailbox was pretty empty. I was able to get a free 8X10 print from Walgreens, a Steelers towel, and a free local newspaper.  



Weekly Shopping Trip

I decided to go grocery shopping today instead of waiting till tomorrow. I did pretty well, spending only $49.58! I bought a few things that weren't necessary and some things that weren't groceries. Selah destroyed my receipt so I wasn't able to look at it. Here are the items I can remember and the prices are guesstimates:
Milk $3.48
Creamer $1.98
Bread (2) $1.30
Christmas Tree Cakes $1.50
Tomato Paste (2) $0.30
Zzz Quil  $7.78
Wipes  $1.70
Cheese Puffs $1.98
Sketties (2) $0.78
Pasta  $1.98
Cream of Mushroom Soup (2)  $0.76
Alfredo Sauce
Orange Juice  $1.98
BBQ Sauce  $3 
Sugar  $2.88
Hot Dog Buns $2
Hot Dogs  $0.98
Cereal $3.98
Granola Bars $2
Chili (2) 0.76
Bag of Ghirardelli Chocolates $4.95 (free after coupon)
Turkey $2.98
Chili Mix $0.98


Once again I'm not sure on the prices, but they are around the right price. If you notice I didn't buy meat. I stocked up last week when Food Lion had the meat on clearance.

This week I plan on making:
Chicken Alfredo 
 (made from the whole chicken I cooked, pulled off the bone, then froze)
Deer Chili 
(1pound deer meat, 1 can of tomato paste, 1 can beans, 2 cans of chili, chili mix & whatever else I throw in)
Hamburger Helper 
Stir Fry
 (Chicken Voila $3.48)
Boston Butt with mashed potatoes and a veggie. 
Will have tons of leftovers! I smother it in Lawry's Seasoning Salt and cook on low all day in crock pot

                                        Last week we had: 
                                                  Chicken Nuggets and Mac and Cheese
              Crock Pot Roast (my roast was on sale from Food Lion) greens, corn recipe is below                                                                    - http://bubblecrumb.blogspot.com/2011/02/crock-pot-pot-roast.html
                                                         Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing                                                                                                                   - http://team-t-adventures.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-crockpot-chicken-stuffing.html
                                                Thanksgiving my mom took us out to eat. 
One night Drew surprised me with Sushi for dinner. Selah had a Gerber Graduates Meal and fried rice. 
                                                                    Hamburger Helper
                                               Pork Chops, green beans, and mashed potatoes




Wednesday, November 21, 2012

This Weeks Freebies!

Here are the samples I received this week. Below is a Bic Hybrid 4 razor with extra cartridges and a Kashi bar brownie with coupon. Not sure if the razor has a coupon with it or not, I haven't opened it yet. 

Below is two sample packs of Green Mountain Coffee which each include a coupon and have 4 k-cups per sample. I also received a coupon for a bag of Ghirardelli Chocolates for free up to $5.


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Craft: Hairbow holder

Recently I was asked if I would start posting my crafts and how to do them on my blog, so here goes!

Before my daughter was born I decided to make hairbows for her. It was something fun that I could do to keep myself entertained while on bed rest. After making the bows I realized I had no where to put them. After searching the internet for ideas I decided to make my own hairbow holder, rather than buying one from a boutique. I didn't take step by step photos of the process, but if you need help just comment and I will help in any way possible.

What you will need:
Canvas
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Paint
Ribbon of different sizes



I was able to make my hairbow holder for free! I had all of the items on hand including the paint and matching ribbon! Some of the ribbon came off of her baby shower gifts, some even were tied to onesies. I always save the ribbon that comes on anything I buy or get!

If you need any supplies simply go to Michaels.com and print off a 40% off coupon for 1 item. You can use that for one item that is not on sale. I would print of several coupons and just go twice a day to the store. I also live only 10 minutes from Michaels, so it wouldn't be a big deal for me. After you use the ribbon for the holder, whatever you have left you can use for hairbows! 

Step 1- Paint the canvas the color you would like
Step 2- Measure out ribbon, make sure it is enough to go to the back of the canvas so you can glue it to the back canvas
Step 3- Glue ribbon to back of canvas. Make sure you leave some space between the ribbon so the bows won't be cramped. Also make sure the ribbon is straight.
Step 4- Let glue dry
Step 5- Enjoy! 

This picture was taken before I had all her bows on!
How it looks now:


Friday, November 16, 2012

Grocery Trip 11/15

This past week my husband has been out of town doing a gun class for work, so I really didn't cook anything. When I went grocery shopping I decided to put more money towards stocking up my meats and then I decided to buy more coffee, tea, paper towels, and snacks/food for Selah. Anytime you have a stocked kitchen and don't need groceries, is a perfect time to stock up! It took me forever to make Drew understand why I was shopping even though we were gone all week and didn't need to buy groceries. Since we only buy for the week, it makes it almost impossible to "get ahead" and "stock the pantry."
     Walmart had their Campbell's chunky soups on sale for $1.50 rather than $1.90 like normal. Normally I would just buy the walmart brand for $1.70, but not only was the Campbell's cheaper, I also had coupons that I printed off of coupons.com. They also had their "cream of" soups on sale for $1. It isn't that great of a deal, but I really didn't want to go to different grocery stores.
      While watching Extreme Couponers, I saw this lady from Swainsboro, where my husband was in the National Guard at, and so I facebook stalked her and added her, then found her website and added her. Her website is AWESOME! Here is a link:  http://fun2bfrugal.com/  I am big on supporting America and I am also big on supporting people from Ga, so I will now be following her blog. Side note; I only buy Williamson Brothers BBQ sauce, because the people that make it live in Canton, Ga. :) Unless I can get a different sauce for free, then I will get the free one. But anywho, check out her website and see the deals. It is great because she does her deals based on Ga prices. Sometimes people from other areas have prices that are much different from my area.
    While stocking up on meat I found a Boston Butt on clearance and a chuck roast on clearance. I have gotten the Boston Butt for much cheaper before, but I figured with Drew out of town I wanted to surprise him with his favorite meal when he got home. They also had sausages on sale which had a coupon on them, but sadly, I am out of freezer room so I decided not to get them. I also received a coupon at the register for $2 off my next purchase from Food Lion!


So far in my mail I have only received a coupon for a free large bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate. Not great, but not bad! 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Sandwich meat on sale!!

Today my friend Matt asked if I wanted to go grocery shopping with him. He likes me to go with him that way I can help him find deals and not buy unnecessary items. While shopping look what I discovered! I also want to add that each pack had a stick on coupon for $0.55. Not only did I get the sandwich meat on clearance, I had a coupon too! I ended up paying $2.40 for a total of 18oz of ham!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Freebies!

There is nothing like getting free stuff, especially if you don't even have to leave the house to get it! I follow a few blogs, which show up on my facebook. The pages are: hunt4freebies https://www.facebook.com/Hunt4Freebies, centslessdeals https://www.facebook.com/CentsLessDeals?fref=ts . I also shop at 1saleaday.com, dailysteals.com, nomorerack.com, and shadora.com. Everyday they have new deals for great prices. Some days they even offer free items. 


Below this is a picture of the items I got free last week: A pair of panties from Victoria's Secret, Perfume from Victoria's Secret, a beauty bag with coupons and samples from Target, a coozie from Chubbies, K-cups from Green Mountain, and a sample of hair stuff from John Freida. 



Below is a picture of most of the coffee stuff I have gotten FREE within the past 3 months. Missing is a few K-cups and 2 Tumbler cups, they are at my moms. Also, each item came with a coupon. The only thing that didn't come in the mail was the red Target thermos that Drew got from Target. They handed them out to the Savannah cops :) I had much more K-cups than this, but I gave them to my father-in-law since I don't have a Keurig. Yet!

Not every week is a great week for Freebies, but some weeks I get something in my mail everyday! 
   

Thursday, November 8, 2012

My 11/8 Shopping Trip

          I was very disappointed this week when I saw what sales were going on, or I should say, lack of sales. The only coupon I could find to go with what I was buying was one $0.40/2 Cinnamon Rolls. Normally I would take this to Kroger since they would double it, but it wouldn't be worth it to go there for just one item. I was pretty good on meat, I just needed boneless skinless chicken breasts, so I only went to Walmart.
         I knew I would be spending a little more because I needed a lot of prep/fridge items (aluminum foil, mustard, sour cream, butter, onion soup mix, Lawry's seasoning salt, zesty Italian mix) I decided to go ahead and buy the large sizes instead of small ones which would have helped me stay on budget. I spent right at $65, tax included. I also was a little bad and bought some junk. They had a pumpkin cheesecake on sale for half price and Drew requested Christmas Tree Cakes. I tried to find a wine to buy, but there were just so many. Any suggestions on a nice sweet wine that isn't real expensive?
        Selah was a pretty good helper today. Once I got past her throwing her shoe off in the middle of us going across the crosswalk with cars waiting to go, we were fine. She only flirted with one man today. I don't  know what it is, but everytime she see's a young 20something man she thinks she has to wave, blow kisses, and talk to. The coca-cola man was her friend today. While looking at butter she starts saying very loudy "hey hey" while waving and smiling. I looked around and saw a nice looking coke man waving back. I swear my daughter is the biggest flirt!  

My Items and Prices:

$1.18 GV Bread
$2.97 Alumiunum Foil
$1.94 Pumpkin Cheesecake
$0.74 X 5= $3.70 for 5 cans of GV Spaghetti and Meatballs
$1.50 Christmas Tree Cakes
$2.97 GV 24 pack of Waters
$2.48 White Rice
$1.00 Stuffing
$1.24 Onion Soup Mix
$1.48 Zesty Italian Mix
$3.64 Duckes Mayo (only the best!)
$0.92 Mustard
$2.68 Sour Cream
$2.78 Tub Butter
$1.78 each 2 GV Cream Cheeses
$2.48 pound of hamburger meat
$6.48 bag of Boneless Chicken Breasts (not my best deal)
$1.78 Lawrys Seasoning Salt
$1.98 each 2 Cinnamon Rolls
$2.38 Ham
$2.88 Sliced Cheese
$3.48 Milk
$1.98 Bounty Paper Towels
$3.50 Cereal
$0.40 off coupon
Total $64.65

I also bought Selah a few stocking stuffers and some non grocery items, so excuse if my math is wrong. I had to take those items out of the total.

Next week, since I won't be needing to buy waters, mustard, mayo, butter, seasoning, cheese, stuffing. I will probably buy some more soups, maybe a frozen lasagna, some frozen hamburgers to grill, and hopefully a boston butt. I will still need bread, milk, paper towels, and I will need to get Selah some more snacks and some fruit. Next week I will also buy the drink mixes Drew likes. If you learn to move stuff around that you don't need every week, when you do need it you just make it where you are only buying one of those items a week. Like with Dishwasher detergent, buy it one week, regular detergent the next, then cleaners the following. Get a dry erase calendar for the fridge and keep up with what weeks you will need certain items. I also keep a magnetic grocery list on my fridge and when I run out of something I write it down immediately.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Go-to Budget Recipes


Chicken Divan
Ingredients:
Bag of frozen broccoli
Sharp Cheese, shredded
Can of cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup of milk
lemon juice (couple squirts)
pepper to taste
shredded chicken (enough to cover top, normally small ziplock bag full)

Directions
Cook chicken (either buy and shred a rotissary chicken, boil/bake a full chicken, or bake chicken breasts and shred)
Boil one bag of frozen broccoli
In bowl mix sauce
    -cream of chicken soup
    -mayo
    -milk
    -lemon juice
    -pepper
 Layers
-Broccoli
-Chicken
-Sauce
-Grated Cheese

Bake at 350 until cheese is melted. If frozen thaw out, then bake.


Sheppards Pie:
Ingredients:
1 pound of beef
1 bag of mixed veggies (I use the one with corn and peas)
1 packet of brown gravy mix
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup water
Mashed potatoes (2 servings or more if you like more)
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
Brown beef, drain
Mix with veggies, gravy, water, pepper
Cook veggies and meat on low
Mix together
Make mashed potatoes

Layers
Beef mixture
Mashed Potatoes
Cheese

Cook on 350 until bubbly roughly 25 minutes. If frozen thaw, then cook.



Italian Chicken

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Italian Dressing

Directions:
Thaw chicken breasts in a ziplock bag, squirt Italian dressing in with the chicken breasts, roll around so it covers the breasts. Let sit in fridge overnight. Broil for 15 minutes  flip and broil an additional 10 minutes. Fast, simple, and very juicy.


Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:
Boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
Bisquick
Honey Dijon Mustard

Directions:
Apply Dijon Mustard on both sides of chicken breast, In ziplock bag add about a cup of Bisquick, roll mustard, chicken breasts in Bisquick. Cook 350 for 15 minutes then flip for additional 15 minutes


Pork Chops

Ingredients:
Boneless pork chops
Lawrys Seasoning Salt

Directions:
spring Lawrys on both sides of pork chops, Cook on Broil for 15 minutes, flip, cook additional 10 mintues.




Kicked Up Crock Pot Cubed Steak
http://www.thesaturdayeveningpot.com/2011/05/kicked-up-crock-pot-cubed-steak.html

Ingredients:
1 large can of cream of mushroom soup (about 28 ounces)
2 to 2.5 pounds of cube steak or top round steak, cut in to about 4 ounce portions (approx. 10-12 pieces)
1 envelope of onion soup mix
8 ounce package of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces of sour cream
 salt
garlic powder
2 cups of chicken broth

Cooking Directions:
In a large bowl combine cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, onion soup mix, sliced mushrooms and sour cream
Lightly season each piece of steak with salt and garlic powder
In a 5 to 6 quart crock pot, place one layer of steak in bottom of crock pot.  Spoon a thin layer of mushroom soup mix over meat.  Add a second layer of meat and spoon more soup over this layer.  Repeat process until all meat has been added.  Add remainder of soup mixture into crock pot.
Cook on low temperature 5 to 6 hours or until meat can be cut with a wooden spoon.
Serve over rice or pasta.  (Serving size is two pieces of steak per person.)



Breakfast Casserole
http://www.culinary.net/recipes/RecipeDetail.aspx?ID=6141&CourseName=Breakfast+&+Brunch&CourseID=4

1 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 pound  Original Recipe Sausage Roll
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Half a bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 °F. Crumble and cook sausage in medium skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain.
Line bottom of greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish with crescent roll dough, firmly pressing perforations to seal. Sprinkle with sausage and cheese, sprinkle hashbrowns
Combine remaining ingredients in medium bowl until blended; pour over sausage.
Bake 15 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into squares; serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers.
**I omit the cresent rolls. When I used the cresent rolls they were still doughy**



No Peek Chicken
http://thriftydecorating-nikkiw.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-peek-chicken.html

Ingredients:

1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Wild Rice (original recipe)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cans of water

Preperation:
In a greased 9 x 13 pan, mix the box of rice, cans of celery and mushroom soup and water.
Arrange the raw chicken on top of the rice mixture.
Cover and seal with foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours



EASY CROCKPOT POTATO SOUP
http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/search/label/soups

Ingredients:

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns
3 14oz. cans of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 pkg. cream cheese {don’t use fat free.  It WON’T melt!!!
Preperation:
In a crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.  About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted. I turn the crock pot on hight the last hour.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you think would be good!!



Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy (I use deer meat)
http://thepost-itplace.com/2012/01/crockpot-cube-steak-and-gravy/

Ingredients:
Cube steak   (I used a family size pack)
2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
3/4  cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low all day. Serve over rice, noodles, mashed potatoes or with your favorite side dishes.


Crockpot Stroganoff
http://thecrockstar.blogspot.com/2009/01/absolute-best-crockpot-beef-stroganoff.html

Ingredients:
2 pounds cubed stew meat
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 largish onion diced
2-3-4 tabls of Worcestershire
1/2 cup of water
8 oz of cream cheese
couple of dashes of Garlic Salt (1 tsp?)
couple dashes of Hot Paprika

Directions:
In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients, except the meat AND the Cream Cheese, together. Once combined add the meat and mix together.
Cook on Low for 8 hours. Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crockpot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined. You might have to put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes.


Crockpot Mexi
http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com/2011/05/easiest-dinner-ever.html

Ingredients:
Bag of frozen Chicken Breast Tenderloins (2.5-3lb bag)
- 8 oz block of cream cheese (don't use Fat Free! 1/3 less fat or regular is fine)
- Can of Black Beans, drained & rinsed. (or Pinto Beans if you prefer)
- Can of Corn, drained.
- Can of Rotel

Directions:
Put frozen chicken in the crock pot.
Put Cream cheese on top of the chicken.
Dump in the Black Beans (make sure they are drained & rinsed!!!)
Dump in the drained corn.
Dump in the Rotel,
Cover & cook in your Crock Pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Every 2 hours, I stir the ingredients.I turn the crock pot off & let it sit for about 30-45 minutes.
It is a little soupy, but letting it sit causes it to not be as soupy.
I serve this over rice. The rice soaks up some of the soupy-ness.
It makes a lot, it feeds 6-8 adults. You could have it for dinner a couple nights & for lunch.
I actually like it better on the 2nd day, when it isn't as soupy.
So, you could make this the day before & then keep it in your fridge overnight.
When we have it on a leftover day, sometimes I combine the rice & the cream cheese chicken mixture and use it for burritos. Add a tortilla, some lettuce, cheese & salsa.
Easy. Good. Healthy.


Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing
http://team-t-adventures.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-crockpot-chicken-stuffing.html

Ingredients
• 4 thawed chicken breasts
• 6oz. package of Stove Top stuffing mix
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup

Directions
First put your chicken in the crock pot.
Pour the package of stuffing on top.
Mix sour cream, soup, and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl.
Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken and stuffing.
Cook on LOW for 4 hours.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken


Time: 15 minute prep + 45 minutes baking
Yield: 7 servings


Chicken:
4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C milk
3 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 t dried parsley

Sauce:
1   14 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 T sour cream
2 T butter
 
1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans.
Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs
 and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese and finally the cracker crumbs.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.
Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes,
 or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and
butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot.
 Serve over the chicken. Enjoy



Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice



Ingredients
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 large onion, chopped (I use Vidalia)
  • 1 -8 ounce box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese
  • 1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (regular or fat free)
  • 1 -15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
Instructions
  1. Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. 
  2. Scatter chopped onion over top. 
  3. Spoon cream soup over top of that. 
  4. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. 
  5. A few minutes before serving, add in cooked rice, corn, and cheese. 
  6. Stir to combine. Serve hot.





Crockpot Rach Pork Chops (3 ingredients)

Ingredients:
Pork Chops
Ranch Seasoning Dry Mix Packet
1 can Cream of Chicken plus 1 can or water or 2 cans Cream of Chicken

Directions:
Combine all three ingredients in the crockpot and mix well.  




Other meals we eat a lot that are quick:
Sausage dogs
Hot dogs
Fish Sticks
Chicken Nuggets
Stir fry
Hamburger Helper
Tuna Helper
Basquet Boxed Meals
Spaghetti
Lasagna
Pizza
Corn dogs
Breakfast
French Toast
Pancakes

Cooking on a budget


Cooking on a budget.

Before Andrew and I were engaged we discussed being a family and having kids. One of Andrew’s main wants was for his future wife to be a stay at home mother, one who nursed, and who raised the children rather than sending them to daycare. Now that we have Selah Mae, I am a stay at home mom. My husband is a police officer, so we have a police officer salary. In order for me to be a stay at home mom like we both wanted, I knew I needed to learn to coupon and budget. Luckily for us, we only have one car payment, a house payment, no credit card debt, and Selah’s hospital bill.
  Step one, cut out frivolous items. I grew up constantly eating out, so I had no idea how to cook unless it came in a box and could be put in the microwave. I even microwaved ramen noodles. So for our first step we cut out going out to eat. Let me just say ,that saved us tons! My husband was going out to eat almost every night while on night shift, and even with his discount, $5+ a meal 5 times a week adds up. Then we decided to stop purchasing soft drinks. For us, soft drinks are now a treat. If we do buy soft drinks, we buy 24 packs because they are much cheaper and I normally can find a coupon or buy them when they are on sale! Imagine buying a soft drink once a day per person everyday. They are around $1.60 So that saves us around $50+ a month. After I stocked my pantry with necessities like spices, flour, and one of each item, then I started my budget of $200-$250 a month for groceries. I want to say that no, Drew does not only give me $50 a week. I decided on the budget after I added up the necessities and ingredients I would need every week. If I take Drew to the grocery store, then we leave with a buggy full of junk and an enormous bill.
Each week I check out what sales are going on and make my lists around them. My shopping day is Thursday mornings. Thursdays because most stores start their sales on Wednesdays, and because Drew gets paid every other Thursday. Also, my local food lion marks their meats down on Wednesdays so I score all my meat on sale! I make sure I go there first. I have a select 10 or so go to recipes, so once I know what meat I will be buying I just pull out the recipes and pick.
When couponing I’ve learned that sometimes it is cheaper to buy the store brand. We have tested out the Walmart brand on every item we use and rarely find where we don’t like it.  I follow couponing blogs so I see what sales are going on and I also see what items businesses are giving away for free. I haven’t bought razors in two years. Between Schick and Gillette giving away free razors on their sites, Drew and I are set.  If you do need to purchase razors, then Walgreens and CVS is the best place. Clip coupons and watch the ads. Normally you can get a Gillette fushion razor for just $0.89. Basically, they have them on sale, plus you have a coupon., then you get register rewards that you can use on your next purchase.  One example of Walgreens love, after Selah was born, they had nursing pads for $2 and you get back $2 in register rewards making them free. I just made several different transactions and was set with nursing pads.
Back to groceries: I have learned that Bells in LC is the best place to buy canned goods. In Savannah I pay roughly $1 a can, but at Bells they put corn, green beans and other stuff for 3/$1. When this happens my mom buys me a case of each and I get that from her when I visit. So when I make my grocery list, I don’t need to add canned goods to it unless it is soups. One of my hubby’s musts is “sketties” or canned spaghettios, ravioli and that sort of stuff. We learned the hard way that the Kroger brand sucks, but he loves the walmart brand. What I did was bought it, heated it up for him, he didn’t complain about the taste, asked if he liked it, then told him the brand. I’ve learned that people will see the brand then put their mind to thinking it taste bad. Drew prefers walmart brand for his “sketties” They are also $0.40 cents cheaper than chef- boy-r-dee. I cook with soups a lot so I have been real excited to see all the coupons for condensed soups. I print them off online and use my computer, Drew’s computer, my moms, and my friends Matt if I want that many coupons. I will buy the store brand if I don’t have coupons, can’t taste a difference when it is used in casseroles and such. So right now my pantry is stocked up with soups. We eat a lot of rice. I hate taking 20 minutes to cook rice, so I buy instant rice, the walmart brand. It would be cheaper if I bought the regular kind, but until I get a rice cooker, I’m no doing it. We also eat a lot of mashed potatoes. Kroger had a deal on mashed potatoes. They were I think 10 for $10 and for every 5 you bought, you would get back $5 towards your next purchase, plus they had coupons online. So after your first transaction, you didn’t pay anything! I went to two krogers and bought them out! They also had mac and cheese for the same scenario. Hamburger helper. . Yuck. Unfortunately, Drew loves it and would eat it everyday if I let him. Kroger had then on the buy 5 get $5, they were on sale, and I had coupons. So, I stocked up! The key is watching the sales and when they have what you want, stock up!! Oh yeah, crest toothpaste and colgate toothbrushes for 10 for $10 and you can always find coupons for those. Good thing about Kroger, they double coupons up to $50. So, if you had 10 $0.50 cents off of crest you would have gotten those all FREE!
When doing my grocery list, I shop for the week. I make a list and stick to it. This way I’m not putting all kinds of junk food in my cart. It is also easier if I have someone with me to help with Selah or eiher I leave her with Drew. Couponing with a toddler can get nerve-racking.
This week I plan on cooking Sheppards Pie, Crockpot Italian Chicken, Crockpot Deer Cubed Steak, Stirfry, and Pork chops. I will post recipes at the end. I don’t have to worry about buying any sides because with couponing, I’m stocked for now. Normally I buy either a whole chicken or rotisserie chicken and make as many meals as I can out of it. $4 for a chicken that makes 4 or so meals. I love making Chicken Divan each time I make one, I make an extra and freeze. When I make Sheppards Pie I also make an extra and freeze. This comes in handy later for if I’m ever sick, out of town, or an emergency came up and we are tight on money. Unfortunately, Drew hasn’t shot a deer yet, but we were given deer meat by his grandpa so I am set. Deer makes great chili, can be used in spaghetti and cubed steak. I season it a lot so it doesn’t have the gamey taste. Just that helped out with my meat. I try to keep my meat purchases under $15 a week. Sometimes I get lucky and Food Lion had Boston Butt on sale. I never pay more than $8 for it, which is 70% off the regular price. I just do like I mentioned above, and go in on the day they mark down the meats. I either freeze it right away or make it that day. If we have boston butt then I freeze half and let Drew take BBQ sandwiches to work everyday that week. If I can’t find hamburger meat for less than $2.48/pound then I buy the packaged ground beef from Walmart. I almost always find the meat I want to get on sale or on markdown. If the sale is great than I buy an extra to freeze.
Some items I keep on my grocery list: Milk $3.40 at Walmart unless they have it on sale at walgreens, Bread (cheap $1 kind bc Drew packs a lunch and after hours in a lunch box it doesn’t matter the type of bread) I wait and get cheese when Foodlion has it buy one get one, then I stock up. You can freeze cheese so no need in worrying that it will go bad. Lunch meat, if I don’t have coupons then I buy the walmart brand so $2.48 for half pound. I am always buying sugar bc we have tea at dinner, yet again I buy the walmart brand $2.88/5pounds. The fruit I buy depends on what is on sale or in season. I buy creamer for my coffee every other week or so, but normally I can find coupons for it so I pay around $1 for it, sometimes they send out free coupons on their face book so I have gotten them free. Cinnamon rolls, Drew loves to have cinnamon rolls when he is off work for breakfast, here lately they have had coupons for so much off 2, and they are always on sale at food lion or Kroger. I just watch the ads and see which store to get them from, so I stock up. When buying dinner rolls I get the kind on sale at walmart, they have a cart with clearance breads. You can always freeze what you can’t eat. You can also freeze regular bread too! I freeze everything and will be investing in a chest freezer after the new year. Not too long ago there was butter coupons available online making it $0.30 for a tub of butter at walmart, so I stocked up. The best place to buy yogurt is Kroger. They almost always have it on sale and you can always find a coupon. Use the $0.40 off 6. It then doubles to $0.80 off. They have them on sale right now for 10 for $3. I buy eggs in bulk by the 3 dozen. Sometimes they have coupons where you buy a gallon of milk and get eggs free. I get them in the mail here in Savannah, great deal! I don’t buy bacon much, it is expensive if you think about it, so when I do buy it, I get it from food lion when it is buy1get1 and I stock up. I also only buy the bag malt-o-meal cereal. It tastes just as good and there are always coupons on their website available. Just recently I got $1 off coupon, so I bought the smaller $3 bags and paid $4 for 2. Even the small bags have more cereal than boxed cereal. Foodlion had pop tarts for 1.70 I think and well I had coupons for $0.70 cents off one, so I paid $1. You can find pop tarts coupons on the boxes sometime and online a lot. I love birdseye voila stirfry. Luckily they have coupons a lot for it. I also buy the box meals that are $3 and makes and entire entrĂ©e they are made by Banquet and normally coupons come in the box or you can find online.  Almost forgot Tostino’s pizzas. You can always find coupons $1/5 and Kroger had them 10 for $10 and buy 5 get $5, unfortunately I didn’t have a chest freezer so I couldn’t stock up. I try to keep at least 2 in the freezer at all times for Drew. I get lucky with Salads because Food lion normally has salad mix buy 1 get 1 and they are only $2. If they aren’t on sale I just buy a head of lettuce. Drew doesn’t like (rabbit food) so I’m mostly the only one that eats salads.
The main meal I worry about everyday is dinner. For breakfast I made Drew cereal, oatmeal, or sometimes if he is real hungry I make French toast. Selah eats oatmeal, yogurt, and cereal everyday, small portions. I don’t really eat breakfast I make myself a coffee and eat toast or yogurt or fruit. For lunch I pack Drew two sandwiches, a walmart brand drink mix, a bottled water, and chips or pretzels or whatever I got on sale that week. I either eat left overs, a sandwich, or pancakes for lunch. Selah eats leftovers, bologna,  bread, and veggies it all depends on what we have, but she loves meat. Today she had bologna, mashed potatoes, and chasse puffs. For dinner I try to make a large enough portion to have leftovers.
Non Groceries:
Shampoos, I always find coupons for what I want and I wait and use them for when they are on sale at either Walgreens or Kroger. Panteen is easy to get for cheap if not free. I haven’t had to buy shampoo or conditioner in about 2 years because of couponing and face book giveaways.  For deodorant I find coupons for the kind we like. Kmart always puts my husbands on sale for buy1get1 and you can use a coupon on each so we never pay more than $1 for his. Tide is always giving away coupons and free pods, so sometimes it is cheaper to buy tide than the cheap brand. We have a frontload washer so we have to use the High Efficiency detergent. The walmart brand is awesome though. I like how it smells more than tide, but between all my free tide pods I got through the mail, and Publix sending store coupons for tide and me having tide coupons, well we have tide pods right now and I paid $5 or more less than they normally cost. Dishwasher detergent you can always find coupons for and for dawn, I never pay more than $0.25. If I can’ find paper towels on sale than I just buy one roll a week, if I find a good sale, then I stock up.  Toothbrushes and toothpastes I get either free or right at free and stock up. I even got my swiffer free. I found a site on pintrest where you can make your own cleaner for your swiffer and it is safer having babies. I want to make my own dishwasher detergent, after I do I will post about it and let you know if it is worth it.

Main key things to do is sign up for coupons. Publix puts out a book quarterly that they mail to you and you can use those coupons with manufacturer coupons. P&G also does the same thing, just sign up on their site. Anytime they do giveaways on face book for samples, they always send coupons with them. I use smart source.com, red plum.com, coupons.com and I use the coupon database at debbiedoescoupons.com to find coupons for items I will be buying if I don’t have a coupon for it. Oh, and you can buy coupons off eBay. One time they had razor coupons for $3 off and they sold those same razors for $3 at dollar general. I bought 20 coupons for $2 and got 20 packs of razors basically free.
Something that also saves us money, is that we don’t buy junk. If we do, it is a treat. Junk food is expensive and not a necessity. The kids or my case hubby snacks and fills up on junk rather than food at dinner. Selah drinks water not juice. Not only is juice not good for toddlers teeth and stomach, but it gets kids to not want water. She still nurses right now, but we will soon be moving her to regular milk.

Items normally on my grocery list
Stir Fry $3.40 -almost always have a coupon and sometimes food lion has them buy1get1 (I try to keep 2 in freezer at all times)
Milk  $3.40
Bread $1-$2 depending on if Drew is on day or night shift
Sugar $2.88 (every other week)
Drink Mix $1.98 or $1 crysalite if I have a coupon (every other week)
Cereal $3-$5 (If I buy the large bag it lasts over a week)
Meat $15 (sandwich meat and meat for meals)
Pop Tarts $2
Bag veggies $2
Sketties $3 for roughly 5 cans
Soups $3
Fruit $2-$3
Rice $3 once a month
Box Meal $3 if coupon $2 or buy1get1
Cheese $5 a month
$10 for random ingredients
Chicken nuggets $3 once a month
Fish Sticks $3 once a month



I try to keep $10 for the rest of the items I don’t have in my pantry that I need for my ingredients for recipes.  Cream cheese (for crockpot meals I use walmart brand), onion mix(walmart brand or buy1get1 at food lion), broth (which I get the big carton, walmart brand). Anytime I buy these I buy enough for a double recipe, plus one extra. Sometimes I don't need anything because I already have the items from stocking up. If I stay under my budget $50 then I take $10 cash back and put it aside. Putting a little money aside a week is good for when you find sales and want to stock up. Here lately I have slacked and bought Drew beer so I went a little over budget.