Week 4: STOCKPILE

In relation to last week's post I wanted to quickly give you a link and video to watch called "Hunger for Change". The video is an hour and a half, so best to watch when you have some down time. It's all about why diets don't work and what happens when we eat sugar, which mainly comes from corn in the form of high fructose corn syrup. A lot of the information I already knew, but some stuff was very eye opening. It's one of the best food documentaries I have watched to date. Watch it for free here:

http://documentarylovers.net/hungry-for-change/

Stockpiling

I had a hard time coming up with what to blog about this week. Mrs. January (http://www.mrsjanuary.com/) did an awesome snippet this past week on stockpiles, how to create one and why they are important in order to save money, so I thought I would expand on this topic a bit more:

A stockpile is where you keep excess items you purchase when you buy more then you will use.

Benefits to Stockpiling:

-The biggest reason to stockpile is to spend less. You may have to invest more money at first (by purchasing more than you normally would), but in the long run it will save you money (as you won't be purchasing these items at full price ever again). Only buy items you will use when they are on an INCREDIBLE sale (lowest you have ever seen). This way you won't have to purchase that item again until another great sale (thus saving you money in the long run).

-You will never run out of the things you use a lot of. Stocking up on things like toilet paper, paper towel, diapers etc. ensures you will never run out and have to purchase these items at full price when they are NOT on sale.

- You'll always have food to make into meals.

There are a few points you should keep in mind when creating a stockpile:

1. What to Stockpile - Determine items that you use on a day to day or weekly basis. Those are the items you should stockpile a lot of. Items you use only once in a while are still good to stockpile when they are on sale, however you may decide to only purchase 10-12 of that item, rather than 40.

2. Expiry dates - Only buy enough of an item that you will use it up before it expires. Purchasing 40 cans of beans that expire in 6 months is probably a little unrealistic (unless you love beans!)

3. How Long? - Typically I stockpile enough of my items for a year. For example, if pasta sauce goes on a really good sale I typically will buy 12-15 jars. We only eat pasta about once every 3 weeks, so those jars will last me a year and I won't have to buy anymore sauce until it goes on a really good sale again.

Stocking Up:

1. Use Coupons on items that are already on sale:

Look for items that you use that are on sale that you ALSO have a coupon for. For example: This week Walmart has Royale Toilet Paper and Paper Towel on sale from $7.78 for $4.78. There was a $2.00 coupon for both that they released at Christmas making them $2.78 each, which is a steal! I'll definitely be using up all my coupons this week to get them for next to nothing and I won't have to purchase again until another great sale!

2. Look for Reduced to Clear Items:
 
There are always meat items labeled with reduced to clear stickers or 50% off labels. This meat is fine to purchase and eat as long as you freeze it right away and take it out only when you need to use it.

3. Buy a Chest Freezer

This is one thing my husband and I purchased this year. The Brick had a small chest freezer on for $175 during one of their monthly sales. We scooped it up and have it already stocked with frozen blueberries and pumpkin.

4. Buy in Bulk/Vaccum Sealer

We have a Costco membership which has been a lifesaver for our growing family. Some things are definitely NOT good deals at Costco (such as toilet paper and paper towel), only because I can get those items cheaper by couponing. But, for some food items that I cannot get coupons for buying in bulk in cheaper. For these items, such as hotdogs/bacon we have a vaccum sealer. We portion out the meat and use the freezer vaccum bags to freeze them into portion sized meals.

My challenge to everyone this week is to find one item on sale that you use regularly and buy a bit more than you normally would, thus starting your stockpile!

Total Spent Week 4: $153.68
Total Coupon Used Week 4: $43.48

YTD Grocery Total: $505.44
Coupons To Date: $97.01
% Savings to Date: 16%

Week 3: Food for Thought...What are you eating?

One of the biggest things I am trying to change this year is the fact that it is sooo easy with couponing to eat processed food. Don't know what processed food is? It's the stuff in the middle of grocery stores, down the aisles. Things that sit on the shelf and don't spoil in a matter of days/weeks.

Couponing last year allowed me to get a lot of things for free or next to nothing, 90% of it processed. Popcorn, Chips, Crackers, Cereal, Coffee, Tea...etc. Processed food in case you didn't know, is NOT good for you The additives and the way they process the food to keep it from spoiling is not to be desired.

Due to this and the fact that I will still ALWAYS buy processed food I decided to research healthier alternatives. I am in the process of switching out my entire pantry for organic, all-natural processed foods. I thought this week I would share some of my favorites, some I already use and some I can't wait to try.

Pasta Sauce: Newman's Own (Walmart, Safeway, Save On Foods, Superstore). The best price I have seen this sauce on for is $2.00 at Walmart. There are $1.00 coupons that do appear every year, making this all-natural pasta sauce a steal for only $1.00 a jar! The other thing I love about this company is all profits go to charity. (They also make all-natural Salsa, Salad Dressing and Extra Virgin Olive Oil).

Tortilla Chips: QuePasa (Save On Foods, Coopers, PriceSmart and Superstore). I score a bag of these chips for $3.50 when they go on sale. Made from 75% organic corn that is stone ground and cooked in Non-GMO canola oil. Haven't seen any coupons for this product yet.

Snack Chips: Hardbite (Save On Foods, Superstore). Kettle-cooked potato chips with all natural ingredients, Non-GMO, no trans fats, no MSG and the best yet they are made right here in BC! At only $2.00 for a 150g, you won't feel so bad about eating the entire bag yourself!

Yogurt: Olympic Organic Yogurt (Superstore, Save On Foods). Pretty pricey, but nothing beats the taste. There is NO potassium sorbate, gelatin, gluten, preservatives, fillers or artificial sweeteners in any of their products = 100% natural ingredients. You can buy a large tub of this yogurt for under $3.50. There are lots of coupons for this yogurt, making it pretty cheap when you can find it on sale.

Milk: Earth's Own Fresh Almond Milk (Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart). Our favorite flavor in this house is Chocolate. I always keep at least 2 cartons on hand. Regular price is $3.97 and again there are lots of coupons out there for this product. I typically never spend more than $1.99 on any 2L carton I buy making it essentially the same price as milk, yet way healthier!

Baking: Wholesome Sweeteners (Costco, Save On Foods, Pricesmart, Coopers). LOVE this line of sugars and sweeteners. Cane sugar, agave, honey, syrups, molasses. All natural and organic. We use nothing else. Prices range from $5.99-$12.99 depending on the size of the bag/product.

Pasta: TruRoots (Save On, Costco). This line of whole grain products are completely made from quinoa and brown rice. All of their products are natural, most are organic and gluten free as well. I can't wait to try their pasta. Costs range from $3.99-$9.99 depending on the size of the bag/product you purchase. Sorry folks, no coupons for these products.

Cereal/Granola Bars: Nature's Path Organic (Walmart, Save On Foods, Superstore). The name pretty much says it all. Healthy, all-natural and organic grains. They make cereal, granola bars and oatmeal. Prices range from $3.99-$9.99 depending on the size of the bag/product you purchase. $1.00 coupons have been seen from time to time.

The more I switch out my pantry the more I realize that it isn't that expensive to healthy. You buy less since its more expensive, but you don't need a lot of unhealthy processed foods in your house to feed a family. Healthy processed foods are also more filling, since they don't have a lot of msg and additives, making the need to buy more of it not necessary.

My challenge to you this week is to pick 1 unhealthy thing in your pantry and find a healthier alternative to purchase.

Total Spent Week 3: $155.96
Total Coupon Used Week 3: $21.50

YTD Grocery Total: $351.76
Coupons To Date: $53.53
% Savings to Date: 13%

Week 2: No Food in my Fridge...or Is There?

So how did everyone do on last week's challenge? I made about $100 this week by selling some old clothes, books, and some household goodies. I even gave away a whole box of $1 items that I didn't want to bother selling. I spent a lot of what I made on some shoes/clothes for the new baby were expecting in May and some "used", but new to me clothes. Most of the money I made went towards groceries for this week. Which leads me into this weeks saving money topic:

January is a super tight month for us. My husband is part salary/part commission and earns almost none of the latter in December, which means his New Years paycheck pays our rent, car payment and life insurance right down to the penny. For me, this presents a challenge - namely groceries, since thi means I have no money to budget for groceries until the 16th, when his mid-month advance comes in. Sure there is always the credit card, but we don't like using those unless we have to, so this week I put myself to work meal planning to see what kind of yummy things I could put together. Amazingly I put together 16 different healthy meals all with what was in our fridge/freezer and pantry. The saying is true that you always have more than you think you do. Here is just some of the meals I made this week:

Chicken/Bacon/Avacado Wraps, Tacos, Salmon/Rice/Veggies, Potato/Bacon/Leek Soup, Roasted Chicken/Potatoes, Homade Chicken Noodle Soup, Chili, Burgers, Beer Battered Cod and French Fries and finally we had Appie Night!

So this weeks topic is about using up what you have. I'm sure i'm not the only one that finds themselves tight on money at times. I thought it might be helpful if I shared some of the meals that we typically pair together to save money. The leftovers from the previous meals are a main staple for dinner in the next 2 days:

1. Roasted Chicken Dinner with Potatoes- use extra chicken and carcass for - Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
2. Bacon/Eggs/Hashbrowns (Breakfast for Dinner) - use leftover bacon and chicken from above for - Ranch Chicken/Bacon Wraps or BLT Sandwiches - use extra bacon and potatoes from above for Potato/Leek/Bacon Soup
3. Tacos - use leftover hamburger for - Chili or Spaghetti - use leftover chili/pasta sauce for - Chili Dogs

Here are some other great ideas for cheap healthy meals to help you get by:

- Tuna Melts
- Fish and Chips (we picked up 5pieces of wild cod this week at the Superstore for $5.98!)
- Appie Night!

For those of you who followed my blog last year, you will remember that I cook and froze 30 bags of pumpkin (yes it was all FREE!). I also made 2 yummy Pumpkin Cranberry Loaves this week as well, which only cost me the cranberries (a great deal at $1.28/bag during Christmas at the Superstore).

Challenge: This week my challenge to you is to see how many meals you can create with just the stuff you have in your house. You may be surprised at how much this can save you on groceries..I figured I saved at least $100 this week alone (which is typically my grocery budget for 1 week).

Total Spent Week 2: $107.27 (remember my totals includ. diapers!)
Total Coupon Used Week 2: $8.00

YTD Grocery Total: $195.80
Coupons To Date: $32.03
% Savings to Date: 14%

Happy New Year!...Week 1: Every Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

So this year I thought i'd try to blog about ways to save money.

As most of you know I started couponing because my husband lost his job 18 months ago. Our only source of income for 3 months was my maternity pay, and so when life becomes tough you find ways to scrimp by, make money and pinch pennies. I've become really good at it and the thought occurred to me that I should share some of the ways I make extra 'moo-lah' to get by or buy those things that I really want.

January is one of my favorite times of year. In with the New Year and out with the old. This is the time of year that many people make New Years Resolutions in the hopes of starting something to make their life better. I don't make New Years Resolutions, probably because I never stick with them past a week and then it just seems like i'm failing at life 1 week into a New Year - how depressing. Instead I choose to purge. Yup January is PURGE month for me...you get new stuff at Christmas so why not get rid of the old stuff that you no longer use.

The one thing I find fascinating is how much 'stuff' people collect. You can ask my mom (yes I know you are reading this :))...I have never been one to keep things UNLESS it is sentimental. I used to throw out pieces of paper, artwork, etc that I know longer needed and it would drive my mother bonkers when I was younger. I'm still that way today. I do keep a lot of things; pictures, art, a nativity set my mom bought me, baby blankets, cards, letters, photo albums...etc. Think about what the things you would gather up and take if your house were on fire; those are the sentimental things. Then you have your everyday things; clothes, a hair dryer, the toaster...they are useful, but they probably wouldn't be the first things you grab if you had to. Then there are the 'other' things; all of us have things in our houses that either just sit on a shelf collecting dust or aren't functional anymore or maybe we got a new one and the old one now sits in the corner somewhere.

One of our families biggest sources of income is selling that last kind of item. Last year alone I think I made $500 selling odds and ends that we no longer used; clothing, a coffee table, extra couch, toys, tools, etc. We replaced things we got for free, such as a couch and a coffee table with a beautiful new sectional. We made a $200 profit on those 2 items that were acquired for free!

This week I want to encourage you to take a look around your house...are there clothes you don't wear anymore, shoes perhaps? Linens that are worn out that you could get $5 for or some appliances in your kitchen you no longer use? Furniture? Try selling them on swap sites, in the paper or hold an indoor garage sale. That extra income could be used to pay down debt, to buy this week's groceries or even be put towards that year end vacation you are saving for this year.

Every man's junk is another man's treasure!

YTD Grocery Total: $88.53
Coupons To Date: $24.03
% Savings to Date: 21%