My $150 Shopping Spree

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Tuesdays are our "Town Days".  We live about 15-20 minutes outside of a decent sized town so I like to run all of our errands on one day trying to get as much done as possible so that I don't have to make another trip into town on another day.

Yesterday we had piano lessons and an orthodontist appointment and we also needed to pick up a big pile of books that I had requested from the library.   As is usual for me, I pulled up the Kroger sale paper online to see what great deals they had to offer.  I noticed they had boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.68 a pound, split chicken breasts for $1.47 a pound, Del Monte canned tomatoes were .49 each when you purchased 10 and Caedmon's wheat free, egg free, dairy free, nut free waffles and French toast were on sale at an unheard of price of $1.99 when you purchased 10.  I intended to get 10 of the French toast and waffles and about 40 cans of the tomatoes.  I also needed some grapes and apples.  I also had a coupon from JCPenney's for $10 off a $10 purchase.  Love those...and as I seem to collect grease spots on many of my tops, my goal was to find a couple of tops on clearance to freshen up my wardrobe.

We loaded up the truck and we headed to Beverly...um, I mean Tupelo.  We dropped Jordan off at work and as we had a few minutes we stopped in to say hello to daddy in his new studio and then as we still had a few minutes before piano lessons started I ran in to Big Lot's and picked up 10 bars of Zote laundry soap.  I use this to make a powdered laundry detergent....and as it was about 100 degrees I also grabbed two bottles of water.  Total spent so far?  $12.55

Jackson and I dropped Aaron and Kaelan off at piano lessons and headed to a small locally owned grocery store.  I decided to check to see if their meat prices were cheaper than Kroger.  This store does not have an online ad and I don't get a newspaper.  It is on the main drag, so it is easy to stop and run in. Well, BINGO!!   Ground beef in the family pack $1.69, sausage 2.50 a pound, boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.39 a pound!!  So, I bought one pack of the beef, four pounds of sausage and six family packs of the chicken breasts.  Now I can't find the receipt, but it was somewhere around 30-40 dollars....I am still doing good!

Jackson and I head to the library.  I restrain myself from stepping in the bookstore as I raided it last week and need to save my book money for curriculum purchases later this week.  We find a couple of history related videos, two picture books, chat with the children's librarian and then gather our huge pile of books and WWI videos from the circulation desk....and chat with another librarian.  We load up and head over to pick up Aaron and Kaelan from piano lessons, drive across town to drop Aaron off at the orthodontist and the rest of us take a potty and reading break.  Fifteen minutes later we are headed to the mall area for the rest of the day.  We head into Penney's bearing the $10 off $10 purchase card and quickly realize that the store is undergoing an extreme makeover.  I warn everyone that we are on a mission and it is all about ME this time.  We find the women's department and my eagle eye is scouting out clearance racks.  I quickly find two tops that I think will work but two tops are under $10 and you must spend $10 to get the $10 off.  So, we head to the shoe department as the boys both need some shoes.  I find some athletic sandals for Jackson for less than six dollars.  We decide to get them and look around some more.  The clerk keeps our intended purchases and Jackson's old tennis shoes for us while we look around with Jackson wearing the new sandals.  Two minutes later he says the shoes hurt his feet when he walks....I make him pull them off.  We walk (with Jackson barefoot) back to the shoe department and exchange those sandals for his old tennis shoes left at the desk with my two shirts.  We head back to the women's department where I find another shirt.  We head to the checkout where my total spent is $3.64 for three shirts.  Another big SCORE!!

At this point I have around $95 left in my wallet.  Only the tomatoes and bread products for Caedmon are remaining and I  figured the cost for them to be $40 plus tax....which meant I had around $40 left.  So, after measuring Jackson's foot at Penney's and discovering that his current shoes were a size two and his foot was measuring at a three, we headed to Shoe Carnival where I have scored some big savings before.  I ALWAYS  look at the clearance rack first.  I found some high quality running shoes for Jackson but they JUST fit...no room to grow so I put them back.  Aaron needed dress shoes and tennis shoes, but we didn't really see any dress shoes on the clearance rack that suited him.  We look at the regular aisles for sale priced shoes and I decide we will not be buying him any dress shoes today!!  Lowest price I found was in the $60 range.  So we go back to looking in the regular aisles for sales on tennis shoes for Jackson and find some New Balance on sale for $29.95.  He likes them and we find the size he needs with a little growing room.  There is a buy one get one half off sale.  So we start looking for another pair of shoes.  Aaron finds a pair of Adidas RED running shoes on clearance for $25....half off would be $12. 50.  He likes them.  (he's a little quirky like that!)  Another SCORE!!  We head out of Shoe Carnival spending $45.46 for two new pair of very nice athletic shoes.  At one time I would think that was way too much money.  Times have changed and most of my children are now in adult shoes.  Scouring the thrift stores takes up too much of my time and the stores are generally so cluttered that I cannot think straight once I enter.  My time and sanity are worth at least $45. 46 this day!

We pull into Kroger's parking lot.  We are tired, hot, thirsty and a little hungry.  It is now 4:30!!  I count my money and do a little tabulating before we enter the store.  I have $50.   I think I will get only 10 cans of tomatoes instead of the planned 40.  It's ok....I have been canning tomatoes and there will be another sale another week.  We check the produce department for markdowns.  Pick up a bag of grapes at $1.48 a pound, a free pound of baby carrots (coupons from Kroger come in the mail) and splurge on two green bell peppers for our pork tostado dinner.  Each pepper was .85.  Pick up a box of reduced green salad for $2.  We'll have this with a couple of meals and the last of the tomatoes and cucumbers from home.  I check out the apples and leave them on the table.  Three pounds for $5!!  I'll head to the produce market in a little town near us next week and get them much cheaper.  Grab 10 boxes of waffles and French toast for Caedmon, then find the tomatoes and only get 10 cans.  I am keeping track of my spending in my head.  I check the meat department.  If there are some really good reduced deals I will use the debit card.  I don't find any.  We head up the snack aisle and I let them get two cans of Pringle's.  I check the clearance rack  (it's a habit!!)  I find a food thermometer and two long-handled cooking utensils for $1.39 each and four tubes of toothpaste @ $1.29 each.  I toss them in the buggy.  Oops!  I remember we are almost out of cheese.  Grab a chunk of Monterey Jack.  Not on sale.  : (  We need drinks and I need chocolate.  One 50 cent candy bar and four bottles of soda go in the basket.  I am wilting.  We check out.    I give the clerk two coupons...one for the free carrots and one for $2 off a $10 frozen food purchase.  The computer doesn't want to take the $2 off coupon.  My frozen food is from the organic section.   The clerk thinks the purchase must come from the regular section.  The coupon doesn't say that....  A higher level clerk comes over.  He thinks about it for a while, reads the coupon, looks at the waffles and French toast and then overrides the computer and gives me the $2 off.  My total?  $58.82...over by $8.82....that's the drinks and snacks...  I put the overage on the debit card and we head home.....Well- pleased with the day's shopping!

Have you found any great deals lately?  Do you shop the clearance racks?  What ways do you save money while feeding and clothing your family?

Quit Spending Even More!

Yesterday after I pushed the Publish Post button for THIS post, I had other ideas swarming in my head of things that my family does to save money.  My blogging time was up for the day, so I decided to do a second post today.  I really would love to hear some of your ideas as well, so please....leave me some comment love!!

Do it yourself!


Haircuts- For many, many years I have cut everyone's hair in my family.  When my older girls started making money babysitting they used some of their money for professional hair cuts.  There was also a time when life was completely overwhelming me (having a baby at 44 just might do that to you....or maybe not!) and I took the boys in for hair cuts as well.  Jeff generally goes to a barber now who has a ministry of fostering children, so Jeff feels like he is contributing to that ministry.  Devin pretty much does all four boys hair now and does Kaelan's as well.  You should spend a few bucks to invest in quality hair cutting scissors and trimmer.   Devin and I both get our hair professionally done.  Devin pays for her own and goes every other month or so, while I go 2-3 times a year.

Remodeling-  Jeff has totally gutted and remodeled two of our bathrooms through the years.  For our latest remodel, he did hire plumbers to  put in a new spot for the toilet and custom build and tile the shower.  The cost though, even with that work hired out was only around $3000.

Reduce paper use!


I quit using paper napkins years ago and replaced them with inexpensive cloth napkins and even cute bandanas purchased on clearance at Hobby Lobby.  We generally tie them on the back of the chair to use for the next meal and I toss them into the wash each day.  They are very light and don't take up much space in the wash.

I have also quit using paper towels.  I have found lots of dish towels and clothes on clearance and stock up when I find great prices.  I keep worn-out bath towels to clean up messy spills.

At times I have used cloth diapers for my babies.  I really wanted to go all cloth for Caedmon, but Jeff didn't want to invest that much money into diapers that would most likely only be used for one child.  Caedmon is still in diapers, but is working on potty training and is wearing training pants a good bit of the day.

Bulk cooking!


It is very rare that we prepare food for only one meal at a time.  Last week we grilled steaks (a gift from my mom) for an evening meal.  Monday night I sliced the leftover steaks and we ate them on top of or as a side to our salads from the garden.  We cooked way too much food for our gathering Saturday night, so we were able to take a good bit of it with us as our contribution to a meal with friends on Sunday night and shared some as well with a single young man.  There was still enough for another meal of the grilled chicken, but we were a little tired of it so, into the freezer it went for a meal next week.

Last night we had a meal of beef enchiladas that I simply pulled from the freezer.  In early May we prepared several pans of enchiladas at one time.  I just line up the casserole dishes and assemble.  I only had to use one pan to cook up the meat mixture and one bowl to grate up the cheese for four meals.

Right now I have Jordan grilling out about 30 hamburgers.  Yes, it is still morning, but it will be in the upper nineties when dinner time rolls around.  It is much cooler now to grill and we will have plenty of burgers for tonight's dinner with one or two more hamburger dinners for the freezer.

Devin made a large batch of blueberry biscuits for breakfast this morning.  We ate half and I will freeze the rest for next week.  She regularly mixes up large batches of our favorite chocolate chip cookie dough.  She uses a cookie dough scoop to make small scoops, places them on a cookie sheet, flash freezes them and then bags them up for later use.  Cooking in bulk is a time and money saver!

Cut the cable or satellite on your TV!


We haven't had either for many, many years.   I won't get into the trash, etc that comes in to our homes via TV.

Switch phone plans!


We don't have caller ID and all the other extras on our home phone.  We have even considered dropping the home phone line, but sometimes cell phone coverage out here can be a problem.

I don't have a cell phone for myself.  When I am away from home I borrow either Jordan's or Devin's phone or, if Jeff is home I will take his.  Devin and Jordan each purchased their own phones and pay their portion of the cell phone bill.   Jeff and Devin are both self-employed and their phones and usage are tax deductible.

Re-purpose and re-use!


Re-decorating my home usually means moving one item into another spot or rearranging the furniture.  I generally try to use what I have instead of having to buy something new that will quickly lose its luster in my big, busy household.

Reuse gift bags and tissue paper for Christmas, birthday and baby shower gifts.  My children know to look in the storage cabinet in my bedroom for an assortment of gift bags.  It's fun to see the same bags reappear year after year!

I know I will think of several more ideas as I go through the day, but maybe these tips will inspire you to save some money for your family as well.  Remember our goal is always to be good stewards of the blessings that God has given to us whether it be material blessings, talents and gifts or simply our time!  Please share YOUR favorite ideas for being good stewards of what God has given you.

Quit Spending

That really would be an easy way to start saving some money, wouldn't it?  However, in today's world it is almost impossible not to spend money.   There are many ways that we can spend less, though, and our family has been brainstorming ways that we can save a few bucks here and there.  I thought I would share a few of those ideas with you today.

-Stay at home!  

Sounds simple, doesn't it?  But no matter how much I desire to have every one at home all the time, it just isn't possible.  Jeff must travel to work each day and, as we are a two car family with four drivers, at least three days a week he must come home for lunch to pick up Jordan.  Jordan works with his dad so they at least are together while away from home!!  ; )  That means, though, that Jeff is able to eat at home on those days, so it does offset his eating away from home expenses.  For years I packed his lunch daily, but he really likes to get out of the office and see some blue sky and greenery instead of the four walls of his office.  He usually comes home even on days that Jordan doesn't work so he can visit with us, but every week usually brings a business contact that he has lunch with or he meets with one or two men and lunches with them.

I try to combine my shopping and errand trips all in one day.  We live out from town, so a trip in usually takes 15-30 minutes depending on where we are going.  During the school year our "town day" is on Tuesday which is when we have piano lessons, so we also do our library stop, health food store, Sam's and grocery store run all on the same day.  This means I must be prepared with lists of needed items, but it is a great help to get it all done in one day.  During the summer we don't have piano lessons and we drop the library stops.  (we have MANY books at home) I am then able to make a shopping trip every 2-3 weeks instead.

Devin combines all of her violin students into one day.  It makes a long day, but she is also able to run any errands she needs to take care of on that one day.  She also has one day a week that she tutors another homeschool family's children.

Shopping online is another way to stay at home.  Most of our curriculum and book purchases are done online as is most of our Christmas and birthday shopping.  I generally try to get book purchases and gift shopping done when I find great clearance sales on products we love.

Instead of going to the movies we subscribe to Netflix.  For just $10 a month we get great movies sent to our mailbox!  I can't imagine how much it would cost for us (8 at home) to see a movie!!

Create restaurant style meals at home.  Jeff and I love to have an evening out at a restaurant every other month or so, but for the last few years we have generally been disappointed as I have learned to cook so many of our favorite restaurant style meals at home.  Pasta meals are really very easy to replicate and we love our homemade pizzas.  We regularly have some fantastic Mexican meals with enchiladas, fajitas, chimichangas, rice, beans and all the trimmings.  Chinese food can also be made cheaply and well at home.  We still go out occasionally, but it is becoming a rare occurrence.

-Buy in bulk! 


We have been buying in bulk for years, but have recently upped our food storage so that we can make fewer trips to town.  If I have a large stock to choose from I don't have to make purchases as frequently which saves gas and/or shipping and gives me more options for meals.  What do I buy in bulk?

                    canned goods
                    grains
                    flours
                    sugar
                    honey
                   beans
                   oils
                   produce
                    toiletry products
                   and so much more!

-Homemade


Learn to cook from scratch instead of buying mixes, canned soups or bread products.  It is cheaper and healthier for you.  Make large batches of soups and sauces and either freeze or can them.  Make a double batch of muffins, pancakes, biscuits or waffles for two meals instead of just one.  Homemade cookies, cakes, pies and ice cream are so much better than the store bought versions!

Make homemade cleaning solutions and laundry detergent.

Learn to sew simple projects and make repairs to clothing.

Make homemade popsicles with reusable popsicle trays or paper cups and unsweetened juices.

Learn how to can, freeze and dehydrate foods for food storage.

-Start a garden


There is definitely some money involved in getting started, but there are so many ways to garden frugally.  Jeff and the boys go to a friend's house every year and bring back a large load of manure from his barn to add to our compost bin.  Our raised beds were built from either scrap lumber or from landscape blocks that we purchased on clearance many years ago.  We save scraps, rake up leaves and grass clippings to add to our compost.

We have been eating lettuce from our garden now for about 2 months.  I paid about $4 for heirloom lettuce seeds.  That is the price that I would have paid for one box of spinach from Sam's which would have lasted one week.  We will be eating tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, squash and much more from our garden this summer.  It has taken a good bit of work, but we count that as character training!!  For us and the children!

-Take care of what you have!


Maintain your car properly.  Make sure you change the oil when it is due, use the correct gas, go the speed limit and all those other things that will prolong the life of your vehicle.

Promptly take care of home maintenance projects.  That leaky faucet is not going to suddenly stop leaking and will cause more damage if left alone.  Been there, done that!!

Take care of your clothing.  Treat stains promptly and sort your clothes according to color.  Use the correct temperature.  We have outside clothes and shoes  and town clothes and shoes for the younger children.  Have work clothes and boots for those who work outside and aprons for those who spend lots of time doing kitchen work.

Have a method for storing toys, games, puzzles and curriculum.  My youngest children have some of the same toys, games, puzzles, curriculum and manipulatives that my older girls had 25 years ago!  My grandchildren come over and put together the same puzzles that their mommy had!

Save clothes for the next child.  My children have always worn hand me down and even though Jordan and Caedmon are 16 years apart, Caedmon does have some clothes that have been handed down through all four boys!

-Decrease use of electricity, propane or natural gas!


Hang clothes on the clothesline.  If you don't have a clothesline you can purchase a drying rack cheaply and hang some articles of clothing to dry on hangars hung in doorways or on shower curtains.

Fill the sink with dishwater rather than letting the water run while you wash dishes.

Turn the water off while shaving or brushing teeth.

We do not have central air conditioning and have 5 window units.  During the night we only run the units in the bedroom.  During the day we run the two ACs in the living areas and in the boys' room.  We use a fan to move the air from the boys room into the living areas as well.

Keep lights turned off.

 Cook outdoors on the grill or set up a table on the porch or deck to cook outside in your crock pot.  This will help keep the house cooler.

Cook more than one meal at a time.   Eat one/freeze one!

-Don't pay full price for anything if possible!


Search out clearance racks.  Almost all of our clothing comes from clearance racks.  I never buy clothing unless it is on sale (usually at least half off), clearance or buy one get one half off.

My strawberry plants were purchased on clearance last year as were many of my perennial herbs.  I also have three knock out rose bushes purchased on clearance and some salvia as well.   A very little amount of TLC and they are doing great!

Most of my meat purchases are from the reduced section in my grocers meat market.  I also buy lots of my produce this way as well.

-Homeschooling!


Yes, I really think homeschooling our children has saved us lots of money through the years.  Yes, we spend money for books and other materials, but in the long run I know we have saved.  Here are some tips to save money while homeschooling.

          Use unit studies....teach them all the same topic at the same, but at different levels.
          Use curriculum that can be adapted to a wide age span.....i.e. The Natural Speller and more.
          Use curriculum that can be passed down.  My six year old is using the same math program that three of his older siblings used.
          Use curriculum that can be reproduced.




So what are some ways that you use to save money in these days of the disappearing dollar?  Have you tried to cut back your spending?  I would love to hear some ideas from you!

Use It Up!

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Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!  That's a wise old adage that many of our grandparents or great-grandparents learned as children.  However, through the years as convenience foods became more available,  homemaking skills decreased, and moms joined the work force it seems that many of us today have no idea how to live or even want to live by this adage.

It is so easy to hop in the car for a fast food dinner, ask hubby to stop by Walmart on his way home from work for that single ingredient we left off our shopping list earlier in the week, or make a quick run to pick up a few necessary items for a project that if we had planned more carefully, could have been picked up when we were out for other reasons.

With gas prices inching up even as I type and the cost of groceries and other products going up right with the gasoline, it is even more important for my family to make wise decisions concerning where our money goes.  I thought I would share some of our ideas on saving money and energy today.

USE IT UP!   I am working hard to be more creative in using up our leftovers.  Through the years I have saved bits of meat and vegetables to make homemade soups, but now I am saving even more and freezing them.  When the container is full I then make a big pot of soup.  I did this last week and made so much that I was able to share a large amount with a family who just celebrated the birth of their newest member and froze some for my married daughter to take home with her.  We also had 2 meals off of this soup made with ingredients that many folks would have thrown out!

I have shared before about how I cook chickens:  I bake two whole chickens at a time and freeze one for another day.  That saves much time and energy, but after we have cut the meat from the chicken I then use the carcass to make a rich flavorful broth.  I put the carcass in a big pot and cover it with filtered water.  Add a splash or two of organic apple cider vinegar, garlic cloves, a couple of carrots, a quartered onion and some salt and pepper and I can create some fabulous recipes using this broth as a base.  I also use chicken breasts in the same way after we cut the meat from the bone for chicken strips or whatever we are cooking.  I used to freeze this broth, but am now canning it which makes it even easier and quicker to use.

One roast can become several meals as I divide it in half after cooking.  I serve one portion and freeze the other with the juices for another meal.  This week we had a smaller roast and we used the leftovers to make wonderful hot open-faced roast beef sandwiches.

WEAR IT OUT!  Hand-me-down clothing has always been a budget saver for my large family.  Most of my younger boys wardrobes consist of hand-me-downs---even those from their oldest brother who is 12+ years older!  I have purchased a handful of clearance rack items each year to give them a few fresh pieces to have as well.

Jackson has grown so much recently that he was ready for a larger bike.  Did we go out and buy one?  No, just headed out to the barn where there was a bike in just the size he needed.    Jackson's outgrown bike will be just right for Caedmon in the next year or two.  We'll just need to add a new tire and put the training wheels back on.

Toys and school items?  Yes, my little man and the grandchildren play with toys and puzzles that my oldest daughter played with over 25 years ago!  And they are not worn out yet!  I also have many manipulatives and handmade educational games that I made for my oldest daughter 23 years ago.  In fact, we even have some shaped crayons in our crayon bucket that she received as gifts when she was two years old!  She is now 27!  We also try to use as much of our curriculum as possible with all the children.  There are workbooks that we have that are reproducible that I have been using for over 20 years.

MAKE DO!  Learn how to substitute ingredients in the kitchen.  If you don't have one particular ingredient for a meal use another one that will work just as well or be creative and come up with your own recipe.

We have been making the raised beds for our garden from wood recycled from a deck that the boys dismantled two years ago.  When only small pieces were left, Jordan began making planters.  We used logs from our woods to make another needed bed or two as well.

If I have curriculum that is not fitting the learning style of one particular child, I find ways to tweak it to fit by adding in simple hands-on activities, changing the location of our lessons, or finding free materials from the internet.

Instead of buying mixes and instant foods, make your own!!  Grow and preserve as much of our own food as you can.

DO WITHOUT!    I think this will probably be the hardest thing to do!  We are taught that we deserve anything we want and only the best.  But really, we need to practice self-discipline and realize that there are many things that we can simply do without!  Do we really need a new pair of shoes or a new outfit for Easter this year?  Won't the same outfit we wore last year do and will anyone really notice or even care?   Is that junk food or soda really necessary?  Can we drink water for more of our meals instead of tea?  Can we stay at home and play a game instead of using gas to head to the park?   There are so many things that we can simply do without that will not really be sacrificing all that much and will probably be much better for us.  We are trying to do without running the air conditioner more often.  We are hanging out the laundry....hanging our clothing out on the clothesline does take more time, but it gets me outside and saves much money as we aren't using the dryer as much.  Turning out lights when they are not really needed.  Keeping electronics turned off and unplugged when not in use can also save money.

Stay at home more often when it is not necessary to travel.  Create a day or afternoon for all of your shopping, music lessons, and library trips.  It may make your day a little longer, but you will save money and time in the long run.

There are so many ways that we can use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.  What are some changes that your family is making as we face these more challenging economic times?  Maybe this is the way your family has chosen to live regardless of the world's economic situation.  I would love to get some new money saving ideas from you!

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