How to Make Your Stockpiles into REAL Meals

Rustic Chicken Pot Pies Recipe from the Pillsbury Recipe Collection

The first tidbit of advice I can give is that for the first 4 to 6 weeks of couponing, you should be building a STOCKPILE. A stockpile is NOT hoarding. Can I repeat that?! YOU ARE NOT HOARDING! The best way to figure out if you are stockpiling vs hoarding is actually quite simple. Think about your families habits over the past 2-4 weeks. If cereal is at good price this week, how many boxes did you use during that 2-4 weeks? For instance, my family of 5 used about 4 boxes during that time frame. The sales run on a cycle of about 4-6 weeks, so you are going to want to buy around 6 boxes of cereal. You could go over a little and buy 8, but buying 10 boxes is only filing your pantry space up with food that WILL GO ON SALE AGAIN! Besides, just because Kellogg's cereals were on sale this week, doesn't mean that General Mills won't be going on sale for 4-6 weeks...A lot of times I find them to piggyback weeks...General Mills one week and Kellogg's the next! So don't feel like you have to fill your stockpile with just one brand b/c it is what is on sale. (Disclaimer- this gets easier with experience)

So, now that we have established how to stockpile and not hoard (I mean who needs 100 bottles of ANYTHING?!), you probably want to know WHY you are even doing this. Once you have couponed for that first 6 weeks or so, you will have a decent stockpile of non-perishables, freezer foods, and hopefully some other nice to have items. So, how do you turn all that randomness into meals for your family and how do you keep organized with it all? (yes, I can't stand to not be organized, lol)

I've come across a few good ways to help my family. My ideas may not work exactly for your family, but tweek them to fit your needs! My family keeps a 1 inch clearview (pink! lol) binder. Inside of it, I have the plastic sleeves. The first sleeve is 2 blank calendars, backs facing each other. We update these to help the family keep up with soccer games/practices, doctor appointments, holidays, no school days (or half days), and other special events. The next plastic sheet is a printable weekly calendar with a menu on it. *Note* I'm not 100% liking this one. It is awkward to me because it starts on Monday in the detailed area, but the menu starts on Sunday. But, I've already printed a few of them, so I will use them and then look for something else or make my own.* Then, any recipes that we will be using for the week can be placed behind this sheet facing outward, so you can use it right in the book while cooking without fear of messing up the page due to the plastic sleeve! This also is VERY handy for my family because I'm in school 4 days a week. Two of those days dear hubby has to cook and let's just say he needs all the instruction he can get in an easy to find place! :D Moving on, I also have a copy of my class schedule on the inside pocket of the binder with my breaks and class end times marked so my kids and hubby can get a hold of me if needed while I'm at school. I also have stuck the Grilling Chart for our George Foreman grill in a pocket so that it can be easily referenced.

Moving on again (yes I like to ramble, sorry!), I take a look at my stockpile:
What do we have currently? What is on sale this week as far as fresh veggies, fruits, and meats? For instance, I don't want to plan to have ground beef 5 days if I don't have any in the freezer and its not on sale!
*Frozen Meatballs, spaghetti noodles & Sauce = quick and easy spaghetti. Add a salad and some italian breadsticks if needed! Plus, the meatballs and sauce can be thrown in the crockpot so all you have to do is cook the noodles! We like to use Angel Hair since the cook time is half as much as spaghetti noodles!

*Tacos are always a hit...Just add lettuce, cheese, and chopped tomatoes! We also like to add a can of black beans and corn together. You can use chicken, shrimp, or beef, so it is very universal for sales!

*Chicken +Grill Mates Marinade with Scalloped potatoes, frozen veggies, and crescent rolls are delish as well! Plus, this is almost everything you should have in your pantry except possibly the chicken!

*Diced Ham with linguine and cream of mushroom soup (add frozen peas!) is a favorite as well!

*Pepperoni, Italian Dressing, Garden Delight Rotini noodles, olives, cheese, pepperoncini peppers, onion & peppers chopped is a great pasta salad!

*Any Diced meat or deli meat on tortilla shells with shredded lettuce and any mix of veggies (we like cucumbers and tomatoes with black olives and feta) and cheese wrapped up and sliced in half. Also, hummus or chive cream cheese can be used as a spread before to give it an extra kick! I tend to make these ahead of time and wrap them up in aluminum or plastic wrap for a quick dinner after soccer practice.

*Breakfast! Bacon/Sausage, Eggs, Pancakes, Grits, Casseroles, etc...It is always a favorite!

*BLT's! Add some fruit as a side and you have a quick and easy meal!

*Zatarain's Rice Mixes + Smoked Sausage (or ground beef/sausage)

As you can see, these are all items that we've added to our "monthly staple meals"- or basically, we tend to have these around 1-2 times a month. There are TONS more, but these are just the off the top of my head ones I came up with that we have often. Another good way to find ways to incorporate your "coupon" stockpiles into REAL meals is to look at the manufacturer's website. For instance, I recently have fallen in love with the Pot Pies from Pillsbury and the best thing is that almost everything needed to make comes from my stockpile!

So, I hope this helps you create some meals from your stockpiles, because I know I've heard more than one person complain that it's hard to coupon and make real meals for your family. Also, I know a lot of people don't like all the boxed foods. We do eat Hamburger Helper and boxed meals, but some of these meals are slightly healthier than just a boxed or frozen dinner all the time. Also, we've been making a habit of having bagged greens, tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, and dressings (I just like a light sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil myself though) at every meal to get some fresh veggies.Pin It

Cutting Your GROCERY Bill Down!

My Tiny Kitchen

"I was wonderin if you could give me hints, tips, advice whatever its called, on GROCERY COUPONS...how can I bring the grocery bill down some more...I'm doin ok but wanna do even better...I'm getn personal items practically free at times but my groceries aren't exactly as low as i would like...thanks so much!!!! "- From a Couponing Mommy reader

Coupons are great and drugstores are super fun, but it's when you cut that grocery bill down from 200-250 a week to less than 40 that is when you really go W-O-W! Some weeks this is reasonable to do, and some weeks it is almost better to skip the coupons and grab the necessities. The first thing I want to mention, is that you need to have a realistic goal. Do NOT expect to be like the show, saving over 90-100% and sometimes getting money back. That is so unrealistic it makes me cringe. Here's a few tips I've learned along the way that ARE REALISTIC:

1. Learn to stockpile more than your toothpaste. When that box of cereal (or whatever it is) goes on sale at rock bottom price, you are going to want to grab up as many boxes that your family is going to need for the next 6-8 weeks. Now, I know this can be hard for some people, because I have an itsy bitsy kitchen myself. Then, you won't be buying it again till it goes on sale again. So, basically, you need to create a price point list of sorts on what you consider to be that rock bottom price. There is a link there to one list that I used when first starting, but I recommend making your own  based off of this one that is according to your stores that you shop at and your area...Everyone is different!

2. The BOX Syndrome. Or at least that's what I like to call it. I've noticed that a lot of coupons are for not so healthy boxed dinners and such. It's hard to feed a family the healthy things, like fresh produce, with coupons. There is a couple things you can do to get make sure you don't have The Box Syndrome. First, you are going to use overages to your advantage. Overages are when an item is on sale or sometimes regular price, but your coupon is for more than that! So, if you (at a store that doubles) have a coupon for 50 cent off a box of pasta and the past is buy one get one free at 1.69, you are getting 15 cents in overages back! I know you are thinking "seriously, 15 cents?!", but you have to remember that 5 boxes at that price will give you 75 cents back. If bananas are on sale that week at 49 cents, you can get 1.5 lbs of bananas for FREE! Also, when doing overages, remember that competitor coupons work really well with this, too! The second thing you can do with meat, produce, and milk is take full advantage of when there actually is a coupon for it. Sign up for emails from your favorite stores and make sure they have your address correct for mailing information to you. Occasionally you might get a coupon for 5 off 50 worth of groceries or 2 off 10 worth of produce. I ALWAYS print any and all bread, milk, meat, and produce coupons and I rarely let them expire without using them (see next point). Third, you are going to want to only buy these things when they are on sale at the same low price as the first point. When ground hamburger goes on sale for 1.99 a pound, don't buy 2 pounds! Buy what you are going to need for the next 6-8 weeks. For example, this week at one of my favorite grocery stores, Springer Mountain Chicken was on sale buy one get one free. I got 6 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts for 2.83 a pound making my total before the coupons, 17.00. That seems kind of high right? Well, I had the SS 8/07 $1.50 off coupon for it, and since I had 4 packs, I got to use 4 coupons. So, now it is 11.00 for 6 lbs or 1.84 a pound. Not too bad! Make your household meals around what fruits and veggies are in season...Like right now, we have a huge bowl of apples constantly on our counter for everyone to snack on! This is also where you might need to consider having an extra freezer to store some of these things.

3. OMG! I have about 300 hundred million coupons expiring this weekend! This is the absolute WORST coupon habit I have seen. Just because you have a coupon for it, does not mean that you have to buy it. I absolutely can not stress this enough! Coupons come and go, but once you spent that money buying it, you can't get that money back. There are a few high dollar coupons that you obviously will want to use before they expire, but ONLY if they are things that your family are going to use. You do NOT have to buy something simply because you have a coupon. Matter of fact, you don't even have to buy it if it is free. If it is something that is going to not be used or you already have plenty in the cabinet, SKIP it. Throw those coupons away or send them to the military to use. Move on.  Coupons are not given to consumers because they want us to save, they are MARKETING techniques to get us to buy. If you are buying simply because you have a coupon for it, then they are winning, and your grocery bill will never reach your realistic goal.

4. Make your list and don't go hungry! Shopping from a list can be the best way to save on your groceries. You avoid impulse buying. This can be pretty hard to do, especially if you have kids with you, but if you find that you simply *need* to buy some things that aren't on your list, let each person/child shopping with you pick out one thing they want. If you go down each aisle and are grabbing something on each aisle, you are bound to spend hundreds of dollars. This also goes with the weekly meal planning...which can take time to get used to as well. This is an example of what my meal planner looks like:
Mon- (hubby's night) Spaghetti, Salad, French Bread
Tues- (Soccer practice) Pizza, Salad
Wed- (hubby's night) Lloyd's BBQ Sandwiches, Peas & Carrots, Pasta Side Dish
Thurs- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn, Biscuits, Gravy
Fri- (Soccer practice) Crockpot Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, & Onions
Sat- (Soccer game/Lunch out) Steak & Shrimp Stir Fry
Sun- (Church, Gamecock Soccer Game 1pm, Annabelle's Bday Party 3pm) Lunch-out, Dinner-bday party or snack on veggies & dip @home
Breakfast/Lunches- Ham Sandwiches, Leftovers, Bagels & Fruit, Cereal, Apples & PB, Soup, Chef BoyardeeAnd yes, all of these notes are on my planner because then I know what is going on and whether things need to be prepped before or meat taken out the night before. As for not going while hungry, well, that kind of just makes sense, lol! :D

5. Prepare ahead of time. Do NOT take your binder. Now, I know that seems like a strange idea...But, until you learn to stop impulse buying simply because you have a coupon for something, it is best not to have your huge stockpile of coupons with you. Plus, it will be a lot easier to stick to your list. Once you get established as a couponer, you can start taking it in with you again, but until then, at least leave it in the car. That way, you would have to make a special trip back in the store, so it must really be something you want, not an impulse buy. As for planning ahead, it goes hand in hand with making a list and a weekly meal planner. Get your list together, do your coupon matchups, look at the sales ad online (or hard copy if you get it in the mail). Prep! You will be a lot happier with your results if you can simply instill this rule with the #4 rule.

*Also, please remember that just because it isn't free, doesn't mean that it isn't a good price. It is not realistic to think that you will always be able to get everything for free. *

So, I hope this is helpful and answers some of the questions on how to get your GROCERY bill lower. A few other things to take in mind is to shop the stores that double and take competitor coupons. And don't forget RAINCHECKS!Pin It

Why? Part II: The Drugstores...CVS

The drugstores can be very very confusing, but once you learn the tricks of the trade, they can be the most rewarding. The main drugstores that I know of are CVS, Walgreens, and Riteaid. Each has it's own pros and cons, so you will have to decided which one or ones work the best for your needs. All three have their own version of "store currency" that you get as a reward for buying a certain product at a certain time.

CVS
CVS is by far a favorite among most couponers. It is personally my favorite as well.  As I described above, all three of the drugstores have their own version of store currency. At CVS, it is called Extra Care Bucks or better known in the couponing world as the famous ECB's. Basically, to make it simpler for everyone, think of these ECB's as cold hard green cash. If you loose one, you can reprint it from the ExtraCare website, but for our purposes, you want to think of it as money. Once you grasp the idea of trading ECB's for more ECB's everytime you shop, you will have mastered the basic idea behind ALL of the drugstores. Here's the idea: Every week there are special deals that will say if you buy {this item} you will get back {certain dollar amount} in ECB's. The concept is for you to go into the store, with the idea of using your coupons to make the deals even sweeter to receive the ECB's. Then, you use the ECB's to pay for your next transaction (remember, ECB's are MONEY). If you are smart, you will try to use ECB's to pay for other transactions that will in turn give you more ECB's back, therefore you will NEVER pay more than tax out of pocket. Let me give you a real example from a few weeks ago:
Sample Scenario
*$3 ECB WYB Oral-B Pulsar toothbrush 1pk $6 (Limit 2)
  Use $3 off Oral-B Adult or Kids battery toothbrush, PG 6/05
*$2.50 ECB WYB Crest Pro-Health rinse 1L $4.50 (Limit 2)
  Use $2 off Crest rinse, 946 mL +, PG 6/05
*$2 ECB WYB Colgate MaxClean 6oz $2.79 (Limit 2)
  Use $1 off Colgate MaxClean toothpaste, May All You magazine
In this scenario, we are getting some great deals on oral care! Here's the idea:

Transaction #1: Buy 2 Colgate MaxClean toothpastes (5.58). Use 2 $1.00 off coupons (3.58). Pay for your items, which will be 3.58 without tax. Get back $4 in ECB.

Transaction #2: Buy 2 Crest Pro-Health rinse (9.00). Use 2 $2.00 off coupons (5.00). Use your $4 ECB (1.00). Pay for your items, which will be 1.00 without tax. Get back $5 in ECB. 

Transaction #3: Buy 2 Oral-B Pulsar toothbrushes (12.00). Use 2 $3.00 off coupons (6.00). Use your $5 ECB (1.00). Pay for items, which will be a 1.00 without tax. Get back $6 in ECB. 

*Now you have $6.00 in ECB to come back with the next deal week! If you can manage to do this every week, you will always have a VERY small amount out of pocket, and you may even have some week's that all you pay is tax!*

There are a few key things to remember when shopping at CVS:

#1: They will accept a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon, so keep your eyes peeled for store coupons. They come out of the "magic coupon machine" (red machine where you scan your card in the store), off of the CVS website as printables, out of a magazine that can be purchased at CVS called Reinventing Beauty, and sometimes hanging around the store itself.  

 

#2: Buy a GREEN TAG. It is a cute little leaf tag that costs a dollar to purchase. If you scan it every time you make a purchase in the store (not different transactions), it will print you a $1 ECB for every 4 store visits!

#3: You MUST have a CVS ExtraCare card to get the deals! Think of it as your Bilo BonusCard or FoodLion MVP card. If you register it online, you will have access to sign up for other deals like the Beauty Club where if you purchase $50 in beauty products you will receive $5 ECB. Also, quarterly, you will get a percentage back of what you have spent in the form of ECB's. Also, for the first time when you register your card, you will get a $4 off of $20 purchase coupon.

#4: ECB's do expire, but you generally have a few weeks to use them.

#5: Rainchecks! See my post here about these! Drugstores are notorious for running out of the "best deals"! Don't let it discourage you, they will have more stock in soon, but in the meantime, get a raincheck so you can still get the sale price AND the ECB deal. Yes, you heard right...You will still get the past ECB deal! 

#6: This is more of a general tidbit for couponers everywhere. Don't be afraid to mess up when you are first starting. Start small. Don't overwhelm yourself. Sometimes things don't always work the way you think they are going to. I always have a back up plan and I'm not afraid to question (NICELY!) the cashier. I coupon because I can't afford not to, but at the same time, I want my cashiers to like me and help me understand their store's policies. I have found that the nicer and more understanding I am with my cashiers and managers, the better response I get when I do screw up. :D

Pin It

My Organizational Methods

*sigh* Public speaking scares the crap out of me. Not exactly sure why, especially since I like to talk. And boy can I talk. Heck, I can talk about anything to anyone (just ask my husband)! But, when it comes to actually *talking* in front of people, I get the heebie jeebies. Which makes me wonder why the @?!# I'm taking a public speaking course this semester!? Oh yeah. I remember. I need it for my BSN and since I'm waiting for clinicals to start, I have nothing better to do. My teacher said that in a poll done, humans fear speaking in public more than they do death! Not sure that I'm that extreme...but, anyway.

This brings me to my point. These videos straight up are awful! But, I'm going to share them anyway, because I'm proud of myself, even if I did it in the privacy of my own bedroom with no one watching, it was still nerve wrecking to think that people might actually LOOK at them. Seriously.  I find that these methods work best for me. Minimal time, minimal cutting, lots of organization. That doesn't mean it will work best for you. Everyone has their niche. I am currently in college taking classes for my ADN and working on my BSN at the same time. I have a disabled husband that has severe medical issues (and is very needy, lol, but I think that is most husbands!). And then, I'm a mom to 3 kids. We do soccer and participate in almost all school activities. We are very involved with our family and friends. So, needless to say, spending any more than 1-2 hours a week to keep myself organized is almost too much already! Plus, I don't like standing in a store flipping through my binder --> I don't like people watching me. It freaks me out. So, an insanely huge binder would only draw even more attention to me, and let's face it....I'm a little weird anyway. Plus, the binder is freakin' massive anyway. I'm not sure where the heck I would put my inserts if I decided to cut them...They certainly wouldn't fit in my binder now (which is up to 5" thick right now!)

So, the first video is about my whole insert method and how I've organized it. My second video is about my binder itself. It is a Case-it binder from Amazon, but I have seen them for 14.99 at Walmart.  The third video is how I have organized my restaurant and retail coupons. And in case you couldn't tell from the video, I absolutely HATE when my free panty coupons expire! It drives me batty! :D Anyway, have fun with these and please...DO laugh at my expense! Feel free to comment and ask questions! I'm hoping these are helpful to those that haven't find their *niche* yet!

Pin It

Why? Part 1: Grocery Store Shopping

I thought I might be able to explain a lot of Jenny's ideas shorthand here. I've had a lot of people question about how this works, how much time, how to start, why certain stores, isn't it cheaper to just Wal-mart, etc. So, I'm going to try to break it down as best as I can, but I truly believe in order for anyone to completly understand what and how this works, you really really really need to go to one of Jenny's workshops. Feel free to ask me any questions, but again, I can't stress enough how much I learned at the workshop....And to be honest, I wish I had time to hit up another one. Abbreviations can be found here. But, here goes!

The first thing you must do is stop shopping your "list". This was hard for me at first. And it will probably take you 6-8 weeks unless you are already stocked up. The basic concept is that EVERYTHING you use will eventually go on sale AT A ROCK BOTTOM price. You don't stock up until that price hits. In other words, if your family eats 2 boxes of cereal a week, and you don't expect to buy cereal again for 4 weeks, you need to buy 8 boxes max. (Not 25, lol, we are not stocking for the apocalypse!) For example, cereal may be on sale this week for 2.50 a box, but next week it went on sale for BOGO at 3.50 a box. So, you saved 75 cents by buying at the BOGO sale. And then if you had coupons for 50 cents off a box, you use TWO coupons if you buy two, even if they are BOGO. So, now you are paying 2.50 for 2 boxes. And then, don't forget the grocery stores that double manufacturer coupons! So, if you are shopping Publix (double up to 50 cents) or BiLo (double up to 60 cents), you now are getting TWO boxes of cereal for 1.50 or 75 CENTS per box! And then, comes the fun part...You can use a MANUFACTURER coupon WITH a STORE coupon! So, if Publix has the BOGO sale for 3.50, you use (2) manufacturer coupons that double to take off a total of 2.00, and then Publix has a store coupon for $1 off 2 boxes, you now are paying 50 CENTS for TWO boxes, or 25 CENTS per box. Another good thing to remember is that Publix takes competitor's coupons to certain stores. In our area, usually just BiLo, Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, etc. Bilo is also taking competitor store coupons and they are including drugstore coupons as of right now as well as Target. So, remember Bilo and Publix will take BOTH a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon on one item!

Another good concept that completely boggled my mind was OVERAGES. For instance, when I first started this, Maalox gave a manufacturer coupon for $5 off 1 bottle. Well, it was only $4 dollars at some stores. So, they were actually giving me a dollar off of something else to buy it! I've had this work quite a few times and it just totally throws me! LOL My favorites here lately have been the $1 off Mueller's pasta coupon. Publix had Mueller's pasta on sale BOGO for 1.35. So, you use 1 coupon on EACH box, making it FREE plus, for every 2 boxes, you would get 65 CENTS off of something else! I had some really cheap groceries that week!

The next question I get, is how time consuming is it. Well, it depends on how much you want to put into it. I'm full time mommy, full time nursing student, full time wife and caretaker! Plus, I have a million other things on my list (don't all moms?). I choose NOT to clip my coupons. Jenny recommended an accordian file folder and each week when I buy my newspapers, I stick the whole inserts into a file and then I print the weekly inserts list. I keep it with the inserts so, I can refer back to it to see what we received in our inserts (every newspaper varies). Then, I use Jenny's sales list (example of Publix one is here) and simply check every item that we either need or is a good stock up price (the little acorns next to the check box mean to stock up!) and then I head to the next page where I delete all the coupon matchups that I don't have (some magazines, mailers, etc take a while to get or you miss). Then, I can take a good long look at what my actual price is and so forth. Then, I go and collect all the coupons together and put them in an envelope, print the list, and hit the store.

This was pretty vague compared to what I learned, but its a good starting point. Another good thing to remember is that you don't have to buy TWO at BOGO sales with grocery stores. These stores are set up to ring each item half off of its price regardless. Again, though, your best bet is to at least read through Jenny's tutorials and spend some time on her blog.Pin It