More Savings Sites/Videos

Since everyone seemed to enjoy my last post on savings I am going to add more links and videos here that I have found since making that post.

We are in the process of getting organized to move to GA.  Big plus:  DOUBLE COUPONS>>>  so I have been watching videos by other super savers to learn how to stack coupons.  Which stores are best and different policies. 

www.southernsavers.com    great for links to stores in the south and lists of match ups.

www.afullcup.com  awesome forum to find deals and share deals with others.

For those near a Kroger: 

This one is just for sheer inspiration:

http://dealseekingmom.com/

http://www.couponing101.com/

This website I just love.  She is more on simplifying your life than on couponing BUT if we simplify couponing will be easier. 

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

Ok I’ll keep searching… for now enjoy these sites and videos. 

Tough Times Savings Strategies

As some of you already know we have struggled financially since I lost my job, however, recently an unexpected loss of almost 900/month has put us struggling more than we ever have before.  Not knowing how we are going to pay upcoming bills is so very stressful but I try to find even more ways to save money.  It helps keep me occupied and my mind on a more positive note.

I also had a friend message me recently and tell me she loved some of the savings sites I had posted in the past and that she is without work for awhile and would love to have more sites and money savings ideas so here it goes.   This might end up being quite lengthy but I’m sure you’ll appreciate it.

I am going to list links to other sites, some of my previous blog posts that you may have missed that can help your family same some money. 

One thing that saves me a major hunk of change is making my own laundry soap. (click link to go to how to page) Don’t knock it till you try it.  The stuff works great, takes less than 10 minutes to make and saves probably $30 bucks a month if you have a good sized family that does a lot of laundry.  I used to go through 3 containers of soap a month that could cost upwards of $15/container.  (I had a child that couldn’t use just any soap – but the home made stuff doesn’t bother her skin so win win)  My new laundry soap looks much different than the first few batches.  I now use Zote soap which you can buy at Save A Lot for a dollar or under.  (one bar makes two five gal buckets) – Zote is pink so I have pretty soap!   I also make a 5 gallon batch at a time in a large bucket I purchased for $3 @ Gander Mtn. This bucket will last us MONTHS and Months.  One box of borax and washing POWDER (not baking soda) will easily make enough soap for a year! With three – four bars of soap… how cheap is that!

If you have problems in your area finding washing powder or borax you can purchase online (sometimes cheaper than at your local store) from Alice.com   This site has great savings on many everyday household items, many times cheaper than walmart (and you don’t have to pay gas for the trip)  If you buy over 6 items shipping is absolutely FREE.  I try to check Alice @ least once a month for sales.  They also have coupons available on site.

Technorati Tags: menu planning,menu,savings,money savings,cutting back

Using coupons is a GREAT way to save.  Especially if you live in an area where they double or even on certain days triple coupons.  Some great links to learn couponing AND where they give you FREE match ups to save you time.  (the person posts the sale and links to where to find matching coupons).

One of my favorite sites is www.couponmom.com she also has a great Youtube channel with how to videos for couponing @ http://www.youtube.com/user/CouponMom

Great video on using cvs http://www.youtube.com/user/CouponMom#p/a/8008CBA64662E85E/2/7xdGVhnm-so

www.weusecoupons.com  forums where ppl post the deals they have found.

www.hotcouponworld.com  more forums with match ups

http://dealseekingmom.com/

http://www.couponing101.com/

http://proudtobecheap.blogspot.com/

http://www.centsible-sawyer.com/   great links for match ups also at the top you will see a link for cvs 101.  If you have a cvs in your area combining sales, coupons and extra bucks can get your shampoos and everyday items for super cheap or even free.

Couponing may seem like a lot of work but when you weigh out how much you save it’s well worth an hour or two of work.  Where I live in central FL I have not found any stores that double coupons.  So, many times I end up doing most of my shopping at Aldis or Save A Lot and save the most that way.  Taking the time to make a PRICE BOOK will also help you get the most for your money.  This book will let you know the best price you have paid for an item and where it is at.  Eventually you will get to where you can see a trend on sales for each store and can help plan that way.

One tip I learned after a few months… I don’t clip all the coupons at once.  I file them in a box with the date of the insert written in sharpie marker on the front of each insert.  Each type of insert has a folder.  I have one for RedPlum, One for P&G, One for Smartsource and so on.  I put the newest in the front of each folder.  As I go to the forums and websites to find weekly match ups they give you the source of the coupon either a link to a printable coupon or will say s/s 5/11 meaning it’s from the 5/11 paper.  So all I have to do is pull that one out and clip and put back.

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/   this mom went extreme.  She feeds her and her three daughters on $800 a year!!!!   Great tips.  Daily links to $ savings.

www.hillbillyhousewife.com has some great free money savings e-books and recipes/menus.

http://www.5dollardinners.com/   great meals to feed your whole family of 4 for $5 or under.  She has just added a great recipe tool that you can click on ingredients to add to a printable shopping list.

From the above sites you can also find the importance of menu planning to save money.  Menu planning is one of the top priorities when you are trying to save on groceries.  You plan your menu, make a list of what you do not have on hand, and go to the store and BUY WHAT IS ON THE LIST.  When you are really trying to save using the sales fliers for the stores weekly sales and what you have on hand to plan your menu will save you the greatest amount of moo-lah.

Another great website/tool that I enjoy using is ZIP LIST it allows you to make grocery lists and save recipes and make lists from it.  It’s a quick and easy way to help you organize your shopping especially if you need to hit several stores in the same area to make the most of their sales.

http://mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com/

http://blog.plantoeat.com/  some great tips but also has a subscription service.  I stick with the free stuff.

http://savingdinner.com/   great free tips she also has a service you can subscribe to to give you weekly menus/shopping lists.  This is great if you are working a lot and do not have time to do this on your own.

I’ll end my post now since you already have a ton to look at.  I will add more later on as I think of them.  Please feel free to comment me and leave any questions you might have.  Use google and YOUTUBE to learn more on couponing and saving.  They have both been an WONDERFUL resource to help me.

For many of the blog sites you can subscribe to the blogs daily RSS feed in order to have it sent to you in a feed reader or email so you don’t miss any posts about great savings!  I do this with most money savings blogs I belong to.

A New Favorite Website

I have been going to blog about this site I found for a few weeks now.  I love it.  The more I use it the more I love it! 

I had originally found ZipList when searching for a way to make grocery lists easier.  That it does.  But there is another feature that I find I use even more frequently that I love.  The recipe box!

I have used and still have recipe boxes on a zillion sites.  You know, you go to food network and save your fav’s there, more on recipe zaar etc.  Then you try to remember where you found what and before you know it you have wasted HOURS trying to find the ONE recipe you were looking for and all you have is a head ache to show for it.

Ziplist is great.  You drag this little icon to your tool bar or add a shortcut to your favorites.  When you are on a site with a recipe you hit it!

So when I am on a site I click the little saved link and a box opens up.  If it recognizes a recipe it loads it in.  Many times I get my recipes from blogs or other sites that ziplist doesn’t recognize.  Still easy.  Ziplist opens blank and I copy and paste.  Then I save to my recipe box.  I can type my own notes etc. if need be.  When I go to my recipe box on ziplist there are all my recipes and links to the original sites!   There is also an option to add to recipe box AND list.  It puts all the ingredients on your list you have in progress so they are already there!!

Here is what my recipe box looks like:

And my grocery list page (which can be sent to your mobile phone….how cool is that??)

Notice where walmart is circled. You can add your own stores then show only the lists for things that are on your list for that store!  You can use it for meal planning and over all organizing your shopping!

Ok, I’ve barely even touched on the greatness of this site so go check it out for yourself.  You’ll love it.  I promise.

Go on it's free!  Find it here.

Got a couple minutes?? Make a breakfast sandwich – from scratch (under 3 min to make)

---- over the next couple of weeks I am going to repost some previous blogs that were on my Lifedomestic site which I have shut down.  I will repost many of my more popular posts so my readers will still have access to them.  Enjoy.  And please remember to comment @ the bottom of the post. 

My husband is not a breakfast eater when he first gets out of bed.  Getting him out of bed sometimes requires a crow bar or cattle prod.  He will lay in bed until the very last second possible, jump up, throw on some clothes, grab his lunch pail and out the door he goes. 
We’ve all heard how important breakfast is.  My husband is diabetic and he works outside in a highly labor intensive job so having breakfast is doubly important for him.  I am not a morning person myself but I would get up and make a big breakfast when we first found out he was diabetic only to have him bite two things and run out the door leaving the rest on the plate.  I had to get inventive. So I did. Over the last couple years I find myself getting more and more inventive.
First pop in the toaster, if need be, what you are going to use for the outside of your sandwich.  I have used toast, leftover pancakes, waffles, biscuits (I don’t toast these), bagels, croissants, French toast that is leftover from a previous meal.  Pancakes and French toast can easily be toasted to warm them through or you can microwave them.  The choice is yours. 



I use a Corelle cereal bowl.  It’s my preference for the size but I’m sure any glass microwavable bowl will do. (just remember your egg will be as big as the bow you put it in)  Spray the bowl with non-stick cooking spray or lightly butter/margarine the inside of the bowl (I use a cold stick of butter and just give it a few whirls around the bowl)  If you skip the spray/oil step you WILL regret it later.
Put an egg in and whip it up with a fork.  Make sure to whip it well, if you do not have the yolk whipped well it can pop and make a nice, big mess of your microwave. (learned the hard way)
 
Now, plop  gently lay your meat choice right in the middle of the eggs.  Hubby’s favorite is the sausage patties from Wally World.  They come precooked and frozen.  No need to thaw just put right in the bowl with the eggs.

Put bowl into microwave and zap it for one minute.  Remove and add a slice of your favorite cheese (of course if making for hubby use his favorite). Now, zap it for about 10 seconds more.

Use a fork to lift the egg up and make sure the egg is completely cooked through, if not zap it another 10 seconds.

Microwaves do vary.  I know that in order to cook the egg, sausage and cheese mine will take exactly one minute and 20 seconds.
Then put onto your choice of bread.  It took me WAY longer to compose this post than it did to make two breakfast sandwiches.  I made a ham, egg and cheese biscuit for my daughter.

Of course, she had to say “Geeze, Mom, you can make me breakfast when you want to blog about it!”  See if I do it again Ms. Sassy Thang!
Here are a list of different things you can combine.  Feel free to add onions, green peppers, mushrooms or any other thing your little heart desires into your eggs to make it your own.  I literally can make one of these in LESS than three minutes.  I put hubby’s in tin foil to keep it warm and he heads out the door with it.  This saves him from stopping at some fast food joint and spending money on breakfast OR even worse skipping it all together.

Meat Choices	Bread Choices
Deli Ham	Toast (any kind wheat, white etc)
Left over Ham	Bagels
Sausage	English Muffins
Smoked Sausage sliced	Biscuits
Cooked Bacon	Croissants
Leftover Hamburger Patty	Pancakes
Canadian Bacon	Waffles
Turkey Bacon (pre-cooked)	French Toast (use leftovers)

Some things not to worry about:  when cooking your egg in the microwave it WILL swell up.  As soon as the microwave stops it’ll deflate.  Perfectly normal.
I have made these in a small fry pan on the stove top.  It does take a couple minutes longer but it is worth it.  It is a ton cheaper than going to a fast food place or buying pre-made breakfast sandwiches from the frozen food section.
If you have a great combo for your breakfast sandwich please share it with us.
Enjoy!  

del.icio.us Tags: breakfast,breakfast sandwhich,frugal tips,save money,recipe,sandwich recipe

Technorati Tags: recipes,quick breakfast,cooking

Discount Food Store -- my foot!

This a.m. I needed a couple more ingredients for my soup.  I was thinking about it and figured I would run to the "Forest Discount Grocery".  It opened last summer but I have only been in there a couple times.  It's not far, right across from the Winn Dixie BUT it is tucked back in and I don't much think about it.  Since I am trying to find ways to cut corners where we can I figured that might be the place to do some shopping.

WOW!  Was I ever wrong.

Canned veggies:  .89 per can.   Cost at Save A Lot  .39/ can    

Milk:  4.89/gal Cost accross the street at CVS: 3.69/GAL    Cost at Aldis:  2.79/ Gal

NOW... can they legally call themselves a discount grocer????  I think not!