http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/ Coupons, coupon forum, printable grocery coupons, grocery store coupon matchups, printable coupons, coupon trading, coupon database, coupon trading, deals en Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:45:12 GMT vBulletin 720 http://static.hotcouponworld.com/forums/images_hcw/misc/rss.jpg http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/ http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2523-cvs-trip.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:28:30 GMT Popped into CVS today to pick up another Rx for my sinus infection (am still smarting over how rude the nurse practitioner was.... highlights of... Popped into CVS today to pick up another Rx for my sinus infection (am still smarting over how rude the nurse practitioner was.... highlights of visit included her quip of "well, if you were in Europe, they wouldn't even TREAT you...." yeah.).

Christmas was at 90% off, so I got:

$0.38 2sets of gift tags
$0.29 1 roll wrapping paper
$1.25 5 gift card tins
$0.72 4 medium-ish hallmark gift bags
$0.65 5 small to medium hallmark gift bags

Also snagged a bunch of l'oreal clearance. Used the rest of my $2/1 any eye product q's. Got 4 mascara and 4 eyeliners

Total before q's: $17.00. Used 8 $2/1, so total OOP for L'Oreal (before tax) = $1.00.

While some of the items were under $2, I matched them with items that were over $2.00 ($1.92 and $2.29), so the q's didn't beep.

Since I'm having sinus issues and the store had the nasogel in stock, I got 2. Used a $2/1 peelie from the nasal salts I bought before (and saved for the nasogel as I can submit the salts for FSA reimbursement and didn't want to decrease total with q's). Also bought a puffs to-go pack (very much needed. the lotion and vicks in them were a nice touch) and a gatorade.

Total OOP-- $7.10 + $0.50 sales tax = $7.60 for 29 items. I spent $13.50 in ECBs and earned $15.98.

I'm submitting the receipt for a rebate on the nasogel, which, along with the nasal salts bought previously, will get me a rebate of $9.00.

Might try to find 1 or 2 more rolls of wrapping paper, but otherwise, I'm totally set for gift wrapping for next Christmas. :) ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2523-cvs-trip.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2505-home-sick-but-cooking.html Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:11:41 GMT I'm staying home from work today with a sore throat (and I'm just really tired). On antibiotics already for a sinus infection, so I'm guessing that this is a cold on top of all of it. yippee.

Since I'm working from here today, I decided to use the chance to get my homemade chicken stock made. In the pot as I post is:

2 whole chicken carcasses with a liberal amount of meat still on them.
Giblets and necks from both chickens
1 1/2 onions
2 carrots
some celery-- I got a really leafy bunch, so I cut off the leafy tops for the soup pot and can then use the stalks for recipes and snacks.
handful of peppercorns
several cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
half a bunch of parsley

Working on getting it to a boil now, then it will simmer all day.

I've still got about a chicken and a half left of meat-- which was very tasty! I'll probably have a chicken breast for lunch or dinner. I plan on making a small pot of chicken and noodles... right now comfort food sounds perfect.

I've also got alot of pears left from the big tub of sugar pears that I bought last week, so I found a recipe for a chicken salad done with pears.

Plan to go to the store today or tomorrow and get:
homestyle noodles
head of bibb lettuce (nice with the chicken salad)
maybe some fresh tarragon for the chicken salad.
2 more chickens b/c they are on sale cheap and I have room in the freezer.

On the one hand, I'll be spending a bit more, but on the other, I'm working to not let food go to waste... to really stretch it into additional meals.

I'm really bad about buying produce and letting it go to waste. So here, I'm stretching that chicken and the pears into a dish I probably would never have gotten before, paying maybe an extra $3 (for lettuce and herbs) for a dish that will net me 4 servings or so.

Plus, I'm getting the stock, which means no need to buy that at the store. That's a good budget saver for me, b/c while I will get the cans of broth from time to time (like when they're on ESR at WAGS), I usually buy the cartons of actual stock, which are over $3/container.

The carrots and celery I bought yesterday will go into the chicken and noodles, which I'll probably freeze at least a serving of. So paying the extra for the noodles works b/c I'm multi-tasking the rest of the ingredients in the recipe.

I'm also saving my veggie scraps in ziploc in the freezer... When I've filled a couple bags, I'll make a homemade veggie stock as well. ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2505-home-sick-but-cooking.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2494-todays-grocery-spending.html Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:17:21 GMT I took everyone's advice and pared back the grocery budget a bit. Spent right at $45 and got the following:

6 boxes cereal 3/$8, $1/1 q's for each
2 gallons milk, free with cereal (one for my sister)
4 Harvest select light soup. 4/$5, $.50/2 q's
3 pkg. Kroger shredded cheese, $1.88 each
3 bottles low sodium V8 (64 oz.), $3.66 each, $.50/1 q's used
1 6-pack 6 oz. V8 cans (for weekends)
2 lb. organic carrots $2.49 (conventional was $1.99)
10 lb. potatoes 2.99
large bunch celery (forgot how much)
8 lemons @ $0.40 each
2 heads of garlic (don't remember how much)
1 bunch parsley $0.79
1 pkg. dill 2.50 (need an herb garden)
2 danactive, 2/$4, $1/1 q for each.
2 activia, 2/$4, $1/1 q for each
3 cottonnelle toilet papers, $0.99 each, $0.50/1 for each.
1 ocean spray diet cranberry/pomegranate juice, $2.50 (?), $1/1 q.


Store I was at (Dillons), doubles up to $.50 and q's between $0.50 and $0.99 become $1. I had $5.80 in q's from mistakes made by shortcuts and cellfire.

Tonight's dinner included roasted lemon chicken (bought chicken earlier this week), potatoes, and green beans. I roasted a second chicken which I'll be eating for leftovers this week, and I'll be making chicken stock from the carcasses. Carrots, celery, parsley, and garlic are for that. Already have onions.

$0.79/lb seems to be a really good price for natural whole chickens. I may pick up a couple more and put in the freezer (even though I have a ton of meat).

Also, had McDonalds yesterday, and a big bottle of water. $3.29.

Friday, went bowling with a friend. $14.00 for 3 games of bowling and a couple beers (with a generous tip to the bartender). Will count $11 towards eating out budget. I was good though... I had frozen pizza before going instead of eating out. :)

Remaining grocery budget for the month: $98
Remaining eating out budget for the month: $25 ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2494-todays-grocery-spending.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2483-weeks-shopping-so-far.html Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:20:54 GMT Walmart-- $23ish 6.00 2 bags cat litter 9.00 stackable shelves for chest freezer 7.00 2 Olay Regenerist cleansing cloths after $5/2 q. Will... Walmart-- $23ish
6.00 2 bags cat litter
9.00 stackable shelves for chest freezer
7.00 2 Olay Regenerist cleansing cloths after $5/2 q.

Will mail in Olay rebate for my friend Mariah.

Walgreens-- $8ish
2.00 4 pkg. stayfree after $3/1 WAGS q's and 2 BOGO q's
6.00 2 benefiber after $2/1 q's

earned $5 RR

CVS Round 1:
3 soyjoy
3 kotex
1 of those things for spreading your toes made by the ped-egg people (burned $10 ECB for this)
1 Rx for amoxicillin :(
less than $3 OOP incl. Rx

CVS Round 2:
3 Soy joy
1 kotex used $1/1 from this week's paper (I get them on Saturday)
2 Revlon eye makeup ($2.50 each, used $2/1 q's and a $2 Revlon CRT, so $1 MM)
1 J&J bonus pack
spent under $3 OOP and $18.59 ECB, got back $20 ECB.

Also got 10 newspapers for $7.50.

I think that's about it. :) Going grocery shopping with my sister tomorrow. ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2483-weeks-shopping-so-far.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2482-contemplating-food-budget-revision.html Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:28:34 GMT I've set my monthly food budget at $250. $200 for groceries, and $50 for eating out. Just finished taking inventory of my stockpile, and I need to get to eating!

I have on hand, unopened:

Meats
2.75 # catfish nuggets
3 tubs Farmland shaved ham
4 packages Tyson 100% natural chicken breast
2 cornish game hens
2 # ground turkey
2 smoked sausage links
2 boxes stuffed chicken breasts (1 buffalo, 1 fiesta)
1 turkey breast roast
2 0.5 # bags cubed turkey from thanksgiving
3 pkgs. ground sausage
1 2# pkg. ground beef
1 # tofu (can you freeze that? i did and am now afraid...)
1 small boneless ham

Vegetarian Entree Items
3 pkg. Morningstar Farms crumbles
1 pkg. Morningstar Farms chik strips
1 box Morningstar Farms veggie cakes
1 box Morningstar Farms black bean burgers (plus 3 open boxes misc. veggie burgers)
2 boxes quorn patties
2 Amy's veggie pot pies

Vegetables (steam in bag unless otherwise noted)
4 bags corn
4 bags green beans
1 bag peas
2 bags spinach
6 bags mixed veggies
6 bags broccoli
2 bags Kroger garden blend veggies
1 pkg. sweet potato patties
1 bowl spring blend veggie mix
1 bag sugar snap peas
2 bags edamame
1 bag gingered carrots

Misc.
1 can maxwell house coffee
8 frozen bananas
3 pkg. activia yogurt
2 Pepperidge Farms mozarella garlic bread
1 pkg. Pillsbury whole wheat rolls
1 box kashi waffles
1 bag shredded cheese

Pantry
4 cans cream of mushroom soup
4 cans tomato paste
4 cans misc. soup
5 cans misc. beans
8 cans misc. diced tomatoes (some flavored)
3 cans tomato sauce
15 cans mandarin oranges (15 oz. cans)
4 cans tropical mixed fruit
6 boxes of good cereal I should eat
15 boxes bad cereal I shouldn't eat
4 misc. jams/apple butter (1 very large)
1 big canister brown/wild rice mix (used once)
8 bags pearl rice
1 # couscous
2 Falafel mixes
3 Near East side dishes
4 Refried beans
2 cans enchilada sauce
15 misc. Old El Paso packets
3 tuna pouches
5 boxes whole wheat penne
2 boxes whole wheat spaghetti
40 nutrigrain bars
15 soyjoy bars
25 pure protein bars
50 big 100/protein plus bars (in freezer for over a year, so pitching)
1 chicken parm in a bag frozen meal (okay, not in freezer, now on my plate :biggrin:)
12 pkg. ramen noodles
1 canister regular cook oatmeal


Basically, I have a lot of food!!! I see some areas I need to stock up on... shredded cheese, instant oatmeal, quick sides (I like the brown rice pouches), But really, I'm starting to think I need to get to work eating down this stockpile a bit. January is a tougher month for me financially... vehicle property tax due at the end of december ($569), and my association dues have to be mailed by end of January ($305). Should I cut the grocery budget back until I get the stockpile eaten down some? The #s may not seem that high, but remember, I'm cooking primarily for me, and occasionally my sister.

Thoughts?? ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2482-contemplating-food-budget-revision.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2452-why-my-food-budget-will-always-bit-high.html Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:33:27 GMT The thing is, I love food. While I'm a huge fan of down home cooking and count several total dives in my list of all-time favorite restaurants (Shout out to the Augusta Tap in Augusta, Iowa!!!), I love fancy pants food too. The real snootie-patootie stuff.

And I really love goat cheese. That tiny little brick of gooey goodness that will set you back $6 a pop. And I know that if I'm going to committed to cooking a LOT more at home, I'll fall off the wagon if I don't work to satisfy my inner gourmet.

So tonight, I gots me some goat cheese. Spending at the store tonight included:

$6.88 2 whole chickens (on sale @ $0.79/lb)
$2.99 Package cremini mushrooms, sliced
$1.02 1 zucchini
$5.49 Goat cheese
$4.66 4 Red peppers

With tax, $22.14. Monthly grocery budget remaining: $142.36

I got the chickens because one of my goals for this year is to cook more whole chicken and then use the bones and some of the dark meat (I generally eat breast meat only) to make homemade chicken stock. Much better than buying. I'm saving my veggie scraps in a ziploc in the freezer to throw in the soup pot as well.

For dinner, I'm having:


Red Peppers stuffed with wild/brown rice, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. Oh! and goat cheese!

Broiled salmon, served with stuffed pepper on bed of fresh spinach

Got the salmon last year at Dillon's on markdown. Will get 2 servings of fish and 4 servings of stuffed peppers, so the cost of the produce will spread out. Normally, I'd get some of this at Aldi, but I got out of work late, had to run an errand, and it would have gotten me home really late. Plus, I'd have to cook. So, I went with Sunfresh instead. I'll compare prices over the weekend to see how much more I spent by not going to Aldi.

I only used half the zucchini and mushrooms I bought for the stuffed peppers. I went ahead and cooked the remained in the same fashion (diced fine and sauteed with onions), and I'll be using those veggies for the rest of the week with my morning egg(s).

Easy Eggs at the Office:

1-2 eggs, beaten
big handful of fresh spinach, torn with hands
large pinch of cheese
1/2 c or so of other veggies-- tomatoes, peppers, etc.
milk, sour cream, yogurt...whatever you'd add to make your scrambled eggs fluffy (I'm using this as a way to make sure I don' t waste all the free sour cream I got in Nov!).

Cook spinach in container in microwave for 30-45 seconds until reduced signficantly. Drain. Then add egg(s) and other veggies with some salt and pepper. Microwave in 30-45 second increments, stirring after each cooking period, until eggs are sufficiently scrambled. Add cheese, and put lid on container until melted. If you use a lowfat cheese or didn't precook veggies, you may need to drain off liquid before eating.

It's an easy way to do breakfast at the office, or a fast stove-free way to have a morning (or afternoon or evening) omelette. I'm doing my best right now to get back on track with eating healthy (I"m a big believer in the south beach diet way of eating), and this for breakfast gets me a ton of good veggies and some good protein. I'll have it with 6 oz. of low-sodium V8 and a small bowl of cereal or a single Kashi waffle.

So, in the end, I'm not going to feel guilty for spending around $15 on a spur of the moment grocery whim (not counting the chicken). Out of that money, I'm getting:

4 servings of stuffed peppers (will eat leftovers for lunch @ work and dinner)
2 servings veggies for breakfasts

Before I was serious about budgeting, I would have probably stopped at Lulu's and got soup with a side of brown rice. One meal, almost same price.

Are you a strict grocery planner, or do you do last minute trips like I do? Tips? ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2452-why-my-food-budget-will-always-bit-high.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2443-spending-1-5.html Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:25:21 GMT 1/2/09-- Spent about $80 on essential oils. I have lots of allergy/sinus issues in addition to migraine problems. A friend recommended Young... 1/2/09--

Spent about $80 on essential oils. I have lots of allergy/sinus issues in addition to migraine problems. A friend recommended Young Living Oils, but I found a couple other vendors that are much more economical. I'll be submitting these expenses to my FSA plan.

1/3/09--

$25.00-- 30 Newspapers + tax

Walmart-- $63.43
$3.00 Clearance extension cords (2)
$2.50 Switches for Xmas tree (2)
$1.50 2 prs. clearance xmas socks
$4.85 5 pkgs. vaccum bags (hard to find)
$12.75 6 sets LED lights
$2.50 Oven Mitt w/snowflake cookie cutter
$3.00 3 candles for living room
$0.70 Clearanced xmas stamper
$8.91 3 bags 7-lb. Pine kitty litter
$3.20 fiber optic xmas tree for sister
$9.00 Gift wrap tote (soo worth the money)
$6.00 Wreath holder (going back)

I'm switching out my xmas lights in my house to LED and figured now was the best time to do it. Plus, I've been looking for a snowflake cookie cutter. LOL


1/4--

Walgreens-- $22.47:

9.96 4 LED Lights
10.00 2 Benefiber stick packs
28.90 10 misc. Garnier items

had 2 $2/1 for benefiber, 10 $1/1 for garnier. For some reason, only took off ESQ for 7 of the Garnier items (14.00). Plus, I earned a $5 RR.

CVS-- 4 trips (2 cards, one mine, one my sister's)

Trip 1 OOP under $2. Purchases included:

2 Throat pops (BOGO q)
4 Stayfree pads (2 BOGO q's)
1 bandaids (i forgot about printable even had it!) (earned $10 for J&J deal)
2 kotex bonus packs ($1/1 for each, earned $4 ECB)
10 L'Oreal clearanced makeup items ($2/1 for each)
5 cans libby's pumpkin, clearanced to $0.49 (I use this in homemade cat food)
2 clearanced Olay definity mousse @ 5.00 each ($3/1 for each)
1 Garnier styler ($1/1, earned $2 ECB)

Will send in for $15 Olay gift card.

Trip 2:

2 Olay definity clearanced mousse cleansers. $3/1 for each, got for my sister to do rebate.

Trip 3:
3 Stayfree (used 2 bogo q's by mistake)
4 Kotex (earned $8 ECB)
1 Bandaids
OOP = 0. Cashier dropped a stayfree (I had 4), but q went through anyway, but then ECB didn't print.

Trip 4 $0.79 OOP:
2 Stayfree (used bogo q, got the $10 ECB)
1 garnier styler ($1/1, earned $2 ECB)
10 L'Oreal clearanced items ($2/1 for each)
5 cans libby's pumpkin @ $0.49 each.

1/5--

CVS-- $0.00 OOP
2 CVS Gummy B12 vitamins (BOGO), $7.99, spent $8.00 ECB

Costco-- 49.76 OOP
12.39 Case of San Pellegrino sparkling H2O
4.39 18 ct. organic eggs
3.79 1 lb. organic spinach
2.49 1 gallon skim milk
5.49 vine ripened tomatoes
4.99 large clamshell of sugar pears
13.59 Sinus rinse

I'll be submitting the sinus rinse to my medical flexible spending account. Plus, I'll get a free neti pot with the sinus rinse and it appears i can get either a $3 or $6 MIR (It was a twin pack, so not sure if I get credit for one or two).

Costco trips always kill me, but the produce items were all good deals, and I splurged on the bottled water. They ended up being only $1 each for large bottles, so it was also a good deal. I'll probably take at least a month to drink them all. Produce and milk should last me close to 2 weeks, and I've got meat in stockpile.

I'm budgeting $50/month for HBA... which I will come nowhere near. I'm thinking of doing CVS gift cards and just spending those down rather than paying cash each time or using my debit card. Though, the debit card is handy because I can then track it easily using mint.com.

Also budgeting $100/month for pet stuff. I'll share my homemade cat food recipe another time! ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2443-spending-1-5.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2442-sticking-budget.html Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:56:38 GMT Tammy brings up an excellent point-- how to make a budget and stick to it! I think that the following things will help me stay on track this year:... Tammy brings up an excellent point-- how to make a budget and stick to it! I think that the following things will help me stay on track this year:

1. Start off knowing what you HAVE. A poster in the CVS forum asked people what was in there stockpiles. It got me thinking it was inventory time. I did my HBA inventory last night, and I'll be doing my food inventory sometime this week.

2. Know what is/is not a must have. Last month, I sat down and made a realistic list of food items that were staples in my budget. Things that would be must haves. I posted my list in my last entry. I calculated a rough cost of just those items, then built from there.

3. Have a plan. I don't think I'll ever be one that can plan out a week of meals and then stick to it religiously. In fact, that will probably end up with me eating out more! Instead, I'm going to take my inventory list and create a list of possible meals. Then, I can take an idea off the list if I'm unsure of what I want.

4. Know your habits and plan carefully to avoid them. I'm a busy girl and I often don't get home until late. My trap is that I'll say "it's too late to cook" and just grab something on the way home. So I try to keep things like Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (plain brown), Steamfresh frozen veggies, canned beans, and meats frozen in easy to thaw packaging so that I can throw a decent meal together in 10-20 minutes.

5. Be realistic in your goal. The $50/month eating out one is going to be tough for me. I may not make it. But I've found already that when my mind wanders to having Lulu's for dinner (my favorite Thai place), I stop and really think about whether or not I want to give up that $10-15 out of my takeout budget. Is the occasion really worth it, or am I just being lazy? Is there something at home that will make me just as happy? Or if I'm bent on eating out, can I settle for the soup and steamed rice at the cheapo Chinese place down the street?

My grocery budget is probably a bit high. But I figure it's a matter of managing expectations... better to set the amount higher and succeed than to set it too low and become discouraged.


Hope these suggestions are helpful. Any others? ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2442-sticking-budget.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2434-what-your-monthly-food-budget.html Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:57:28 GMT One of my New Year's resolutions is that I want to better budget my expenses over the next year.

I'm committing myself to a food budget. Here are the constraints that I am working under:

1. I'm feeding primarily myself (though my sister is in college and lives in an apartment 4 blocks away, so....)

2. While I'm not a vegetarian, I LOVE fruits and vegetables and I eat a lot of produce.

3. I'm also a big milk drinker.

4. I am swearing off foods with high fructose corn syrup as much as possible.

5. I'm a low-fat, whole-grain diet. I eat by South Beach principles (though I have fallen off the wagon and will be starting phase 1 again this week)

6. I'm not totally committed to eating organic, but am trying to go organic on items that make top ten lists for pesticides, etc. I'm also trying to consciously seek out organic products where I can get good deals (muir glen tomato products, for example).

7. I live in an apartment in an urban neighborhood. There will be no gardening for me, though I am looking into joining a CSA again this year (I did it last year through a local supermarket).

8. Few of my local stores offer double coupons, and one option doesn't offer good enough deals to bother every week (though they do have the CSA). When deals are good, I do drive to Dillons (Kroger), which is 30 miles away. When gas prices go back up, this will become a much less regular occurrence.

9. I have a small chest freezer, but it's full!

My must have items (including prices) include:

1. Spinach. Big clamshell of organic spinach at Costco is $5.99. I go through one every two weeks or so.

2. Milk. $2.49/gal. for skim at Costco. I go through a gallon every 10-14 days.

3. V8. I drink this every day. $3.XX for the bigger bottle of low sodium @ walmart and/or dillons. just stocked up on the $0.50/1 q's from this week and will stockpile.

4. Chicken breast. I try to stock up when it's $1.19/lb. Though I've also been getting the Tyson Natural from Dillon's when they run their BOGO sales

5. Whole grain pasta. I use heartland, and will be stocking up for the year with the $0.55/1 q from the paper.

6. canned stock/broth. I prefer stock, but will use broth.

7. Canned tomatoes. I'm a huge fan of the Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes, and always order q's to get these cheap at whole foods (my walmarts don't carry them anymore)

8. Frozen veggies. Free or close to free with coupons.

9. Whole grain cereals (though I got a bunch of Kellogs sugary ones that didn't make it to the donation pile!). I'm a big Kashi fan.

10. Frozen fruit. I make smoothies alot. (tip: add spinach! you won't even notice it!) Usually, I get the $6.99 giant bag of blueberries from Coscto and the smaller bags of frozen strawberries from Aldi, but there were dole q's in this week's paper, so will be price checking.

11. Plain yogurt. See smoothies above. Also use in recipes.

12. Rice. I use pearl rice for risotto dishes (I bought a bunch when I went to florida on vacation b/c you can't get it in KC!), but otherwise, I eat short grained brown rice, which I buy in bulk from Whole Foods. I also try to keep some Uncle Ben's pouches on hand for when I'm feeling lazy.

13. Other produce: I try to keep tomatoes (Costcto, $6.99 during the winter), cucumbers (Costco), and zucchini ($1.99 for a large package at Aldi) on hand. And onions/garlic for cooking.

Other pantry items include beans, cheese, and I can't think of what else! If lean cuisines are on sale, I buy the whole grain ones to eat for lunch at work, or the Kashi meals if I have coupons for them. Though, I've been trying to eat the green giant veggies (the ones claiming health purposes) over a bed of spinach instead. still convenient, but cheaper and healthier!

Taking all this into account, I'm starting with a grocery budget of $200/month, plus an eating out budget of $50/month (high, but I'm single and unfortunately, eat out more than I should). I'm hoping that will end up to be high. I need to eat down my stockpile some, so that should help.

Please share... what is your budget? for how many people? ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2434-what-your-monthly-food-budget.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2427-insert-not-insert.html Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:23:25 GMT I've always been a person who used the inserts. Each week, I'd read the previews for what coupons to expect, and then I'd buy 4-10 copies of the paper, depending on the number of inserts, q's I'd use, etc. I have two CVS cards, so I would get 10 papers when there were coupons that would be usable for items that were limit 10. In KC, there is a neighboring city, Independence, who's paper comes out on Saturday and is only $0.75. So, 10 copies for $7.50 wasn't too bad. If I had to get the KC Star ($1.25-$1.50, depending on the store), I'd get it at CVS or WAGS and burn ECBs/RRs.

I have a confession to make, though... today, I went a bit crazy.

Originally, I was only going to get 10. Except that there are ALOT of inserts this week (5 in our paper). And there is the once-yearly coupon for V8 vegetable juice, which I drink every day. My original thought was to get 10 copies of the paper, then get 20 more V8 q's elsewhere.

But then, I started reading the inserts. L'Oreal q's... Smuckers natural peanut butter... Powerade Zero. So many good q's!!! So then, I was going to get 20. Which proved to be difficult to find... and at the last gas station I stopped at, intending to buy just 2 papers, well... they had exactly 12 left.

So, yes. I now have 30 copies of the Independence Examiner in my car (I don't dare bring them in... I just pull them out Monday mornings and drop them in the recycling). And ooodles and ooodles of inserts.

Side note...they had last Sunday's KC Star too, so I got 4 of those. Even though they just had PG inserts, those inserts had the Infusium and Pantene q's that will lead to cheap shampoo and conditioner for the women's shelter.


I'm a binder girl, so I'm about to spend my Saturday night clipping q's. It's an exotic life I lead. :)

And I'm wondering... is it worth it? I spent $22.50. Now, I'll use all 30 of the V8 q's (not sure where I'll put all the V8, but I've got until March 31 to figure that out!), which means that by using just that coupon, I'll have saved $15.00... $30 if I use them at a store that doubles, which is likely.

I'm going to try to keep better track this year.... how much am I really getting out of all these newspapers? I'll update my blog at the end of each month with how much I've saved from each week's inserts vs. how much I spent for them.

For now, though, I'm off to clip. and clip, and clip...... ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2427-insert-not-insert.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2405-my-new-years-resolutions.html Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:25:05 GMT 1. Make a budget and live by it! I'm using Mint and am loving that it totally feeds my obsessive compulsive tendencies. :biggrin:

2. Get back into the gym and eating better. I've been lax in eating well over the holidays and I've been under the weather, which has kept me out of the gym. :(

3. Get back in the dating game... it's time.

4. Do more volunteer work.

5. Finish a 10K this year and train for an October half-marathon.

What are your resolutions?? ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2405-my-new-years-resolutions.html http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2404-greetings-all.html Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:22:11 GMT This is my first official blog post, so a little about me...

I'm 34, single, living in KC with my two cats. I'm an attorney for a federal agency, so while I make a good salary, I went to a private law school (and also put in 4 additional years of graduate school) and now have a mortgage worth of student loans, which means money is often tight. I started couponing a couple years ago when the Osco stores in KC were all taken over by CVS. Between the $5/15 coupons in the paper every day and the ECB program, I was quickly hooked. I had done a couple deals in law school, but boy do I wish I had gotten serious about couponing then! I remember the deal I did back then resulted in me getting free Oust. Little did I know I could get so much more for free or for pennies.

I'm a big believer in giving back to the community. I volunteer for Komen for the Cure (though not as much lately as I'd like) and also a local domestic violence organization. While I do give lots of care packages to friends and family members, I have a LOT of stockpile stuff that would otherwise go to waste, so I make sure it gets a good home with a local shelter or in a carepackage for a military member serving overseas. I'm not someone in a position to write a $1K check to a charity, so it really feels tremendous when I can make a donation worth that of stockpile type items... items that everyone has been so overwhelmed to receive.

Now, I find that I have a plentiful stockpile of hba products, medications, paper products, etc. I also have a great pantry of food, and my couponing allows me to afford my diet that includes lots of fresh produce (thank you costco and aldi!) and fresh meat (love Dillons/Kroger markdowns!).

My hobbies (aside from couponing!) include reading, travel, running, and working out in general. In the summers I play softball and am also in a bowling leauge for work. I also sometimes work part-time tutoring students for their law school entrance exams. CJ is a busy girl! :)

Well, that's a bit about me! I've been doing this for awhile, so if you need help with a scenario or just want to chat about deals, feel free to say hi! :wavehi:

Happy New Year, everyone! ]]> thriftycj http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/blogs/thriftycj/2404-greetings-all.html