Grocery Prices

You walk into your favorite grocery store.  Instantly your eyes are bombarded with colorful tags and signs:  50% off, Clearance, Managers Special, Limited Time Offer.  You walk past a table of Hot Sale items in order to get to the rest of the grocery store.  You came to the store with a small grocery list, but now you are wondering if maybe you should grab a few more items while they are on sale.

Then you ask the question, "What is a good price for this item?"

One of the first steps in saving money on groceries is figuring out prices.  An item might be on sale, but your job is to determine if that sale price is really a good deal. 

Grocery stores are out there to make money.  They know that they can sell more by putting items "On Sale" and positioning them so they are more visible.  Sometimes the sale actually is a good deal for the product, and sometimes it is just a few cents cheaper than the normal retail price.

So how do you know when it is a good deal?  Good Question!  Unfortunately, there is not just one answer.  Every person and situation is different.  How much you spend on an item and your stock up price for that item depends on how much of the product you use and how often you use the product.

For Example:  Daniel and I usually eat cereal once a week or less.  I usually try to purchase cereal for under $1.00 a box.  I stock up on cereal if I can get it for $0.50 a box or less.  This works for Daniel and I.  A mother with 4 children who eat cereal every morning would probably spend a little more on cereal because she has a greater need.

It takes a while to figure out "good prices" for items.  I recommend that you start by making a list of the top 10 items you buy most frequently.  Keep track of sales & store prices to determine the lowest price you can get those items at. 

Here is a list of the prices I look for on some of my top grocery items:

1 Gallon 1% Milk         - $1.68
1 Dozen Large Eggs     - $1.00
Sour Cream 16 oz.       - $1.00
Cottage Cheese 16 oz. - $1.00
Cheese                         - $2.00/lb
Meat                            - $2.00/lb
Cereal                          - $1.00/box
Lunch Meat                  - $2.00/lb
Apples                         - $.89/ lb
Granola Bars                - $.80/box
Pasta                            - $.50/lb

It is much easier to see past all of the colorful sale signs and mark down tags when you know what price to look for on the products you buy.

For more information about building a stockpile, see my Grocery Saving Secrets post.

It Pays to Pay Attention

Yesterday I made a quick trip to Albertsons to use my Kraft Salad Dressing Rain Check from last week. I also grabbed some Farm Fresh Frozen Chicken Tenders because they were on sale for $5.97 for 3 lbs. (I always try to buy chicken for $2.00/lb or less).

I did two transactions so that I could use the Kraft Dressing Catalina (buy 5 get $5.00 OYNO).  The first transaction went great, I paid $5.10 for 5 Kraft Salad Dressings and received a $5.00 Catalina.  On Transaction 2 the chicken rang up at $6.99 instead of $5.97. 

Normally I might not have caught this, but I only had 1 item in the transaction.  I asked the Cashier if that was right and she called the meat department to verify.  In the end they gave me the chicken for FREE because they had charged me too much!

How did my little shopping trip turn out?
(5) Kraft Salad Dressing
3 lbs of Frozen Chicken Tenders
Total Paid: $0.10!!

I learned 2 big lessons on this trip.  First, it really pays to pay attention at check out.  Second, Albertsons can have great customer service.  I could have left the store a disgruntled customer, but I was a very happy camper!

Saturday Budget Check- Bountiful Baskets

As you may have noticed, we have not been doing a lot of what I call "intense coupon shopping" lately.  We have learned that sometimes you just need a break, and it is ok to not get all of the deals.  With the warm weather comming on, we have spent a lot of time outdoors and in our garden.  We are working out new schedules for the summer months.  We are not using as many coupons, but we are still smart shoppers.

Winco
We have done a lot of Winco shopping this month.  Generally they have the cheapest prices on produce and a few of our other regular purchase items, so it makes for a nice one stop shopping trip.Grapes
Onions
Banannas
baking cocoa ( I love the bulk food section!)
Margerine
2 gallons of Milk
10 lbs Potatoes
Vanilla Extract
 Total Spent: $17.81
This next week I plan on ordering a basket of fruits and vegetables from Bountiful Baskets.  We have done it once before and love the program.  Because there are only 2 of us and we cannot eat all of the produce before it goes bad, we will split it with a friend.  I do not have a picture of everything that came last time, but here is an approximate list:

8 Apples
8 oranges
Cantalope
Cauliflower
Asparagus
Sweet Potatoes
8 Cucumbers
Bannana Cluster ( 7 or 8)
Lettuce
Pineapple
4 Small Zucchinni

It was a great deal.  Here is a picture from another participant, Glenda at The Little Red Hen Food Site.

About Bountiful Baskets:
Bountiful Baskets is a Co-op that operates mostly in Arizona, Utah and Idaho.  Each Monday or Tuesday (depending on your area) you can order a basket online.  You do not know what exactly you will get except that it is 50% fruits and 50% vegetables.  Each Basket is $16.50($15+$1.50 shipping and handling).  The Co-op takes the money and number of participants and purchases produce from small farmers in Mexico, Arizona, and California in bulk. 

In the end you are able to get quality produce for very little money.  You pick up your produce on Saturday at a pick up point in your area.  You pick where you will pick it up when you order the basket.

They also offer a variety of other baskets including bread and a mexi pack.  I have not tried these, but I have heard that they are great.

Cook Once, Use Twice

Do you make leftovers on purpose?  I do!  Daniel and I have found this to be a huge time saver in our weekly menu planning.  I am not just talking about eating leftovers from a meal, but cooking more ingredients than you need so that they can be used in something else.

For Example
Last night (Monday) we ate taco salad (it tasted great- so I will be posting the recipe later this week).  I cooked 1lb of hamburger.  There are only 2 of us, so instead of using the whole pound, I divided it in thirds.  I froze 1/3 to use another week.  The other 1/3 is in the fridge to be used later this week in our spaghetti sauce.

On Wednesday I will just warm up the cooked hamburger to go in my sauce.  I love time savers!

Cooking from Scratch: Cutting Cost & Prep Time

In general, I would say that I enjoy cooking.  I enjoy the satisfaction of making something delicious with my own hands.  I also love enjoyng good food without putting a dent in our savings plan.

The only problem that I have had with cooking from scratch is the amount of prep time it can take.  Daniel & I have researched & experimented with several ways to spend less time cooking & keep our grocery budget low.  This week I will be posting a few things that have worked for us, and my latest time/money saving idea.

Things That Work For Us

Menu Planning
Having a menu plan helps us to be prepared.  We know what we will eat each evening & that we have the ingredients for that item.  We can plan around busy days by picking something simple & quick.  We can also plan our meals based on what we have.  This encourages us to use our food storage instead of purchasing new things for dinner every day. 

Freezer Cooking
I have never made a month of meals in one day like many people who participate in freezer cooking, but I do try to have at least one meal in the freezer at a time, just in case.  If I am making a caserol type dish, I make two and freeze one.  When I make rolls, I cook what we will eat and I freeze the rest to use throughout the month.  It only takes a minute to make a little extra food, and it is so nice to have a few quick meals on hand.

Next- A way to keep variety in your menu with fewer ingredients.

The Envelope Accounting System

Daniel & I have been working on our budget/accounting system the last few months.  We want to make it easy & efficient to stick with our budget & account for the money we spend.  Our latest idea that we are trying is the receipt envelope system.

We have spending categories in our budget (Groceries, fun, gas, eating out, etc.) For our new system, we created a coresponding envelope for each category.  As we buy things, we put the receipts in the correct envelope.  At the end of each week we can easily update our budget spread sheet with everything in the correct category.

This is  an accounting system more than a budget system, but it works for us.  It is up to us to not overspend, but our envelope system makes it easy to record our expenses each week. This has also solved our problem of what to do with all of our reciepts.  After they have been recorded, we throw them away (unless I am keeping them for a rebate).

Guest Post: Traveling on a Budget Part 3

On the Road
Lots of planning and hard work have gone into the trip and now it's time to hit the road!

What a Typical Meal on the Road is Like
We've driven about 400 miles, it's time for gas. We stop at a gas station and everyone piles out of the van. My husband warms up any food in the microwave. I sit with the children at a picnic table, (if there are none available we lay down a blanket on grass), then I pull out the rest of the food from a cooler. We eat, take a restroom break, get back in the van, travel another 400 miles while eating lots of snacks on the way! Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner stops usually take us about 1 hour. See what we eat in Part 1.

Keep the food plan nearby so you can stick to it. If I lost the plan I'm afraid things would get a little crazy in our van! The food plan helps me to know what we're eating for each meal, and how to ration the snack food throughout the day. Here are a few other things you can do to stretch your travel budget.

Pack a Cooler or Two
I usually pack two coolers one for frozen foods like hot pockets, and the other refrigerated foods. The hot pockets are surrounded by frozen water bottles to keep them extra cold.

Shopping While on Vacation
When my family travels to see our family, I will typically take a trip to a grocery store the day before we head back home. On my list will be refrigerated, frozen, and fresh produce that I could not bring from home. Shopping at a grocery store for lunch, rather than a last minute gas station lunch, will save you money. I also plan ahead and take any coupons that I think I might use.

Eating Out
If eating out is on the menu gather coupons before you leave! On a trip this past summer, my family stopped in the Kansas City area, a few weeks prior to our vacation I received a $50.00 Restaraunt.com gift certificate from Orbitz. I then looked at the Kansas City area, selected a restaurant and printed my voucher from Restaurant.com. We were able to save $25.00 by using this coupon. There are quite a few fast food coupons that come in the mail, keep them in your vehicle just in case you decide to stop for fast food.

Presents
One thing I like to do to keep my boys busy during our long trips is give them presents along the way. I don't spend more than $10.00 on these presents. I will look for small toys, games, books, or candy necklaces, etc., while I'm out shopping and collect a few presents for each boy. This time around I have some power ranger sticker/activity books from the Target Dollar Spot, candy necklaces from Walgreens that I used for a "filler item", travel Hungry Hippo games that I bought for $0.99 each!, glow bracelets, and a few other toys items from our local Dollar Tree.

I will take the presents home, wrap them, and put their name on the presents so I remember what gift belongs to each boy. My boys don't seem to care what's inside, just received an unopened presents get them really excited. I love giving them presents along the way because it's something new for them to play with and keeps them busy. I usually wait until they are bored or whining then hand them a present to open.

Hotel with Breakfast
Because we are traveling 1800 miles plus one way we usually stay in at least one hotel. When booking a hotel I like to find those that will have some kind of continental breakfast-some are better than others. This gives me a break! Something else I recommend is asking for a room with a microwave/fridge, especially if your brining in your own meals.

Go here to see Natasha's review of how here trip turned out!

Natasha is the creater of Saving a Bundle. She began couponing out of curiosity in 2008. She soon saw how much she could save for her family of 5. Now she is eager to share her knowledge of couponing and frugality with others through her blog at Saving a Bundle.

Guest Post: Traveling on a Budget Part 2

As you may have read already, we are getting ready to make a 3,670+ mile trip in a few weeks. Traveling long distances is not new to our family, as we have done this for a number of years now. Throughout our travels I've tried a number of different things to keep the cost down and everyone happy at the same time.

Keeping It All Organized
In Traveling on a Budget Part 1 I shared with you how I plan for food when traveling. Today I want to explain how I pack all the food I've planned for. Here's what I've discovered works best for my family.

Sort the Food
A few days before the trip I gather all the non-perishable food into a big pile. I then sort the food by the date it's scheduled to be used. I then make any last minute changes. For example, I will see that I have too many fruit snacks one day, so I take them and trade them with something from another day. When everything is final I write down any changes I have made on the planning sheet, so that I can make a final print later.

The Box System
Now with my piles of food sorted by the date it's going to be eaten, it's time to pack! I use boxes to keep the food organized. I pack all the non-perishable food items, except any drinks I'm going to keep cold, into a box. I then label the box with the date that I've planned to eat the food. I end up with a bunch of boxes that have dates on them. (See the picture above.)

Packing
Keep in mind when packing the boxes to pack those boxes you need right away in an easy place to get to. I keep a "snack box" up front near me. This is the box that everyone can eat out of for the day. Any leftovers will roll over to the next day. As I mentioned in Part 1, it is so important to have a good variety or everyone gets bored which can lead spending money. I am lucky to have a large minivan with lots of room. If you are limited on space I would try to purchase items before hand that can save you the most amount of money. If you know you're going to eat out a lot anyway, pack lots of snacks!

Don't Forget the Plan
Be sure to print and keep a copy of the plan in a place that is easily accessible. I make two copies and put one in my suitcase just in case the first one gets lost. Use the plan to stay on track, but it's okay to make adjustments as needed. One of the main reasons I write everything down is so that if I'm looking for something in particular I don't have to open every box to find it. I can look on my planning sheet and know exactly where the item is that I'm looking for.

In Traveling on a Budget Part 3 I will share thoughts and tips about how you can be frugal while on the road.

Natasha is the creater of Saving a Bundle. She began couponing out of curiosity in 2008. She soon saw how much she could save for her family of 5. Now she is eager to share her knowledge of couponing and frugality with others through her blog at Saving a Bundle.

Guest Post: Traveling on a Budget Part 1

As you may have read already, we are getting ready to make a 3,670+ mile trip in a few weeks. Traveling long distances is not new to our family, as we have done this for a number of years now. Throughout our travels I've tried a number of different things to keep the cost down and everyone happy at the same time. Here's what I've discovered works best for my family.In this post I will share with you my planning strategies.

Planning Ahead
Planning ahead is vital to having a successful low-cost trip. As soon as I know our family will be traveling I start the planning process-sometimes I will know months to a year in advance. I begin by watching for good deals on food and other items that I plan to take with us. About a month before the trip I look at the stockpile that I accumulated so I know what I am lacking.

This time around I only had a months notice, but thankfully I already had a lot of snack foods purchased at rock bottom prices. I cannot emphasize enough how much money purchasing ahead saves me!

A Written Plan
A month before the trip, after I've checked my stockpile, I create and write down my plan. I include all the meals we will need to prepare for and snacks as well. I like to use Microsoft Word when preparing my plan. This is what my plan looks like.

Creating a plan helps me visualize what we are going to eat and what areas need improvement. I then write a shopping list of those things I need to purchase. Throughout that last month I watch for these items to go on sale and purchase them if they do. A few days before the trip I take one last trip and purchase the fresh items and anything else that I haven't been able find a good deal on.

After I've made all the final adjustments I print the plan, two copies in case one gets lost, and put one in my suitcase and one in the glove box. I will explain how I execute this plan in next week's post.

Foods in My Plan
Variety keeps everyone happy. Having a variety of food helps keep my family happy and not so bored. This also keeps us from eating out as much or buying things on the go.

Use the microwave. I purchase microwaveable foods for example, Hot Pockets, Cup of Noodles, Easy Mac, Warm Delights, etc. We do our best to only stop when it's time for gas, so when we stop for gas we eat too. Everyone piles out of our van and into the gas station. We use the gas station's microwave and cook our meal and eat. I pack along a blanket just in case there are not tables and chairs to sit at.

Foods to Keep the Driver Awake. My husband is the main driver in our family. We take turns driving but I can't stay awake as well as he can. My husband loves sunflower seeds and this happens to be an excellent food to eat while driving. I pack extra plastic cups so hit can spit the shells without making a mess-he goes through a lot of these on our trips.

I also buy Mountain Dew and Pepsi when we travel. We are not regular soda drinkers, nor do we purchase caffenated drinks, but when we travel long distances these two sodas work wonders. Mountain Dew helps to keep my husband awake-I don't like this stuff at all. I do like the Pepsi though, it helps calm my stomach from all the driving.

For the Kids. Suckers and candy are always fun for the kids. I try not to give them too much, but when they start getting antsy for something new I'll hand them some candy it keeps them preoccupied for a time. I like to pack bags of cereal for an early morning snack. We do not drink milk during our trips, even though we go through 6 gallons of milk every week. We have had car sickness issues so I just stay away from this all together and it usually eliminates any sickness incidents. My three boys are all under the age of 6 so I keep really sticky-messy foods out of the food plan-it's not worth the cleanup hassle.

Healthy Foods. I do my best to incorporate some healthy foods as well. Foods I've had good success with are carrots, apples, oranges, pears, string cheese, yogurt, nuts, granola, jerkey, and fruit cups. I usually always make my Grandma Brown's Chicken Salad Recipe. It is absolutely delicious, serves well cold, and keeps for a few days after it's made.


Other Items I Include
I try to plan ahead and purchase before hand everything we might need on our trip. I know that if I take a last minute stop somewhere along the road I'm going to pay a fortune for that item.

Wipes. These are a must! We have little kids so we go through a ton of these. I like to get at least one tub of the antibacterial kind to wipe the eating area when we sit down to eat.

Hand Sanitizer. I have the small bottles of sanitizer that I fill before we leave. I got the small bottles for free one day and have kept them ever since. When they are empty I fill them back up again. I place a bottle by each door so that every person has access to one easily. This helps to keep those nasty germs away.

Ziploc Bags. I pack a variety of sizes in the front where I can access them at all times. I use the sandwich/snack bags to give each child a snack without passing back the whole package.

Vehicle Emergency Kit. This is a must when traveling. I take extra care when traveling long distances to plan for an emergency. My food plan consists of more food than we can eat for the purpose of being prepared for an emergency. If it's a winter trip I be sure to pack plenty of warm clothing and blankets for everyone. If you would like to know what to include in your kit look at the following sites here, here, and here.

Water. Since we can't live without water I be sure to stuff as many water bottles as I can find space for in our van. We have a lot of cup holders so each one is filled with a water bottle when we travel. I also use frozen water bottles to keep our cooler cold.

Plastic ware. Since we are eating on our own most meals I bring along plenty of plates, spoons, forks, bowls, cups, and napkins. I also like to keep paper towels in our van for spills and such.

Natasha is the creater of Saving a Bundle.  She began couponing out of curiosity in 2008.  She soon saw how much she could save for her family of 5.  Now she is eager to share her knowledge of couponing and frugality with others through her blog at Saving a Bundle.

Guest Post: Couponing to Disney

Can the average person afford a trip to Disney? Well Kristin at Couponing to Disney proves that they can. She started her blog to showcase how she is using money she has saved by being a smart shopper, by using rebates, by saving found money and by earning extra cash online to pay for her yearly trip to Disney World. 
Since June 1st, 2009, she has saved over $2600 and not one dime has come out of their paychecks! And she teaches that anyone can save for anything they previously thought was out of their budget. She has readers couponing to Germany, couponing to cheerleading camp and couponing to a new television! It doesn't matter what you want to save for, she shows you it can be achieved.

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My name is Kristin and I am a coupon addict. My coupon addiction feeds my other addiction, Disney. How are the two related you ask? Well I have learned how to use the money I save by couponing to pay for my yearly trip to Disney World. Here's how it all began....

When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I started making all these elaborate plans about a fantastic trip to Disney World when she was old enough to enjoy it. Then I saw the price tag of a Disney
vacation and compared our finances and those dreams diminished. There was no way we could afford a Disney vacation with our current budget.

It wasn’t long after my daughter was born that I discovered coupon shopping. But I only used a coupon here or there. I didn't realize the amount I could have saved. In January 2008, my new years resolution
was to become more adamant about using coupons. I started learning everything I could about saving money. I learned how to combine coupons and sales, how to stockpile, how to use rebates and eventually how to save my family thousands of dollars a year.

I was a smart shopper for over a year before I realized we could now afford a Disney vacation. So I started planning and by May 2009, we were at Disney World. We had 8 wonderful, magical days at the parks and it was everything I had dreamed of and more. (You can read about that trip here .)

When we returned home, we decided we would start taking a yearly trip to Disney. But we didn't have the funds to designate to another vacation. We had other things we needed to spend our income on. So I decided to challenge myself to save the entire amount we needed by being a Smart Shopper.

So I started racking my brain to figure out how I could save this money. I had a little less then a year to save.

The first and most obvious way to me was to start saving all our loose change. I withdrawal our weekly budget ($150 for groceries, entertainment, clothing, etc) in cash. Instead of making correct change, I always break a dollar and save the coins. The change goes into the Disney fund. It usually averages out to about $10 a week. That’s $520 a year! That’s 1/5th of the cost of our trip and it's money we don't miss!

Out of that $150, I also save whatever is left at the end of the week. This inspires us to eat out less and not buy items we don't necessarily need. And if I came close to spending money and I resisted, I add that to the Disney fund as well.

Next I save all our found money. Found money can be anything from $1 in the dryer to an unexpected gift from a relative. It could be money earned by having a yard sell or by selling your Aunt Irma’s spoons on Ebay. If we weren't expecting the money, it gets applied to our trip.

One of the biggest sources of my fund is by using rebates. Prior to saving for Disney, I was not very diligent about using every rebate available to me and there were times that I would forget to mail in my receipt and I would lose out on the rebate. So I became more dedicated and organized about rebates and now they get deposited directly into the Disney fund.

There are also lots of ways to make money online. I participate in about 10 different survey and rewards programs. It adds up over time. I usually do them while I watch TV. And the more surveys you do, the
more you can make.

I also have the Disney Visa by Chase. It rewards us with 1 Disney Dollar for every $100 we charge. So we use it to pay as many of our bills as possible. While it isn't the best rewards card there is, it gives us other Disney perks as well. So it's worth it to us.

I started saving for our trip on June 1st. We are going for 11 nights (May 22nd to June 2nd). We have 10 day park hopper tickets (2 adults and 2 children), the quick service dining plan (2 meals and 2 snacks
per person per day) and will also eat at Chef Mickeys. The total cost of our trip is $3050. In 10 months I have saved $2675 and not one dime has been earmarked from our budget.

A Disney trip is not out of your reach if you are resourceful. As the great Walt said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Guest Post: Trading Coupons

Really, I do! It is a great way to get the coupons I need and get rid of coupons that I will not be using. I am still not an expert on it but I will give you a few tips that I've learned.

*There are many groups on the internet that you can trade with. I started trading with a group on Babycenter called Trading Post. I have not yet ventured away from this group so, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of input about other groups. Maybe someone reading this post has had some experiences with other groups?

*Trading is done online and through the mail. Because you are using a stamp, it is important to make sure that your trade will be large enough to make it worth it. I never trade less than $5 worth of coupons when I trade.

*Keep all of your coupons - I keep all of my newspaper inserts. I just write the date on the front so that if someone is looking for a coupon, I can easily go back and find it. Don't throw out those coupons that you get in the mail - someone may be interested. When you see a blinkie or tearpad in the store, grab some (within reason)! They might be good for trades! Sign up for mailing lists - especially for formula companies. I have been fortunate enough to be able to breastfeed so I haven't needed formula but others do and it is expensive! You can trade those formula checks that come in the mail!

*Trading is not limited to coupons! Many people trade Coke Codes, Pampers Points, Huggies Enjoy the Ride Codes and Box Tops for Education. If you don't collect them, save them - someone wants them!

*Keep a list of coupons that you want and that you have. Some traders create their own websites and update their coupons on there. Others (me) keep a list on Microsoft Word and post it on the site. Figure out what works for you.

*Be fair when you trade. This can be difficult as you get started because you don't have an idea of the value of coupons, etc. You'll get the hang of it. Just don't offer a little and ask for a lot.

Heather is a stay at home mom to two sweet girls, Cailynn,3 and Elliana, 1.  She originally  started her blog, Spectacular Savings ,  for her family and friends, But she has realized that blogging is an amazing way to help more than just friends and family.  Through her blog she has the opportunity to help others save and earn a little extra money and an opportunity to give!  See more of Heathers frugal tips & deals at Spectacular Savings.

Guest Post: Frugal Easter Egg Dying Tips

Dying Easter eggs is a regular tradition at our house but I really do hate to spend money on egg dye and see a dozen or so eggs go to waste. So here are a couple of tips that can help you save money coloring Easter eggs this year...

Make Your Own Egg Dye
Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to 1/2 cup water and then add in a few drops of food coloring until you get the color you want. Or you can use natural products to make dyes
Red- Blueberries
Yellow- soaked onion peels
Brown -tea
Green - water from spinach

Make Your Own Egg Holder and Egg Dipper
Make your own egg holder using the egg carton or take the cardboard piece from an empty roll of paper towels and cut it into pieces that are about 1 inch long and you will have individual egg holders (1 inch tubes). You can also make your own egg dipper if you don't want to use a spoon by bending a metal hanger. You can save these and reuse them every year.

Decorating Eggs With Style
• Decorate with stickers you may have around the house. You can also get stickers pretty cheap at Walgreens right now and use them as a filler item. Stickers are fun and easy especially for little ones who want to help but are not able to use egg coloring yet.
•You can also make sparkly eggs by adding a dab of glue to the water and then glitter.- wouldn't eat after
•Adding oil to the water and coloring will make a spotted pattern on the eggs.
•Use light colored or white crayons to color on the eggs before you put them in the dye. Kids can write their names on the eggs or draw pictures. The crayon will show up after the egg is colored.
•Use water paint to color your eggs -you can't eat them then so this would work best if you hollowed the eggs first.
•Wrap rubber bands around the eggs to make a cool pattern before you stick them in the egg dye
•Use masking or painters tape to tape off part of the egg so that part remains the same color. You can remove the tape and add it in different areas to make different patterns.

What To Do With All Those Eggs
Hollow Your Eggs the morning you are going to be dying Easter Eggs and save it to make scrambled eggs, quiche, omelettes or use in breakfast burritos that you can freeze. To hollow an egg first wash and dry a raw egg then place a long needle into the larger end of the egg twisting it a little as you insert it. Then use the needle to make a slightly larger hole in the other end of the egg, wiggle the needle around on the inside of the egg to break apart the yolk. Then place the egg over a bowl with the larger whole facing down and put your lips to the egg and blow in the smaller hole until the yolk and white come out. After the yolk and white are out rinse the egg with a little water; be sure there is not a lot of water pressure and then blow the water out and let dry. Hollow eggs are a little more delicate so they tend to work better with older kids.

Yes, you can send hard boiled eggs with your kids in their lunch or for snack the next week but how many can they eat? Here are a few egg recipes and resources for a bunch of egg recipes...
Egg Spread for Sandwiches
Potato and Egg Cassorole
Incredible Egg - has a ton of recipes
You can also find a whole collection of recipes here

-Lanie is a mother of two small children, a wife and teaches kindergarten part-time.  She loves sharing deals and helping people save money. She shares deals & frugal tips on her blog Moms Thrifty Deals.

Small Sacrifices- Living Like No One Else

Until this last Monday, frugal living has not been too much of a sacrifice. We have very few real needs & it has been an adventure to find new ways to save & earn money.

On Monday we sold Daniel's truck.

It only got 16 miles to the gallon.

It was our only debt.

A small car with good gas mileage is more practical.

We did not really Need a truck...

But we will really miss it!!!

This was on our first date:

Yup- Daniel picked me up in his white truck to go snowshoeing. On the way home, we got stuck! (He was pretty embarrassed) A bigger pickup came along & pulled us out.

One day we will have bigger, better truck that we own 100%. For now, we will be frugal.

At the end of last year Daniel & I sat down & made some big financial goals. Our long term financial goal is to get through vet school debt free.  We don't know how we will do this- but we decided to shoot for the stars, do our best, and hopefully get really close.

We have listened to a few Dave Ramsey books about financial freedom & staying out of debt. One of thing Dave Ramsey says is-

Live like no one else Now, so that you can live like no one else later
 The meaning is that if we make the necessary sacrifices now to live within our means & stay out of debt, we will be self reliant & have financial freedom later. Daniel & I decided that the benefits of a debt free (or close to debt free) life is worth a little sacrifice now.

For now we are surviving on one car.  It takes a little extra time & coordinating work schedules, but we can do that!

Some days I look at the money in our savings account & dream about the things we could do with it Today. Then I sit back and realize what a blessng it would be to not have to deal with debt after vet school. The small sacrifices now- the inconvenience of only having one car, living in a small basement appartment, saving every extra penny we earn- will all pay off in a few years.

Saving money has become our little adventure/ addiction. I am incharge of minamizing our expenses through using coupons. Daniel is in charge of tracking our savings. He has created a "Grant Family Income Allocation" excel sheet. This helps us put a name on every dollar.

At the very bottom of our excel sheet is an 'account' labled: Daniel's Truck. Right now there is $0 being allocated to that fund, but one day....

For more Frugal Tips & Ideas Visit Frugal Friday

Be Frugal with your Time

I learned in economics that the worth of an item depends largely on supply and demand.  If there is a lot of a good and little demand, that good is not worth very much.  If the number of items are limited and high in demand, then the worth goes way up.

Using this logic, I would venture to say that our time is one of the most valuable things that we have.  It is limited and always will be.  We will never have more than 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, etc.  Every minute that goes by is a minute that we have spent.  I have been listening to Dave Ramsey's book about how to keep an effective budget.  We keep a budget to keep track of how we spend our money- how can we tell if we have spent our time wisely?

I don't know the answer to that, but the important thing is that we are trying our best to use the time we have wisely.

Listen to a Book- Spend your Time Learning
For the past 5 months I have commuted 40 min. to work everyday.  I have always felt like I was wasting that time. This month I finally did something about it.  My husband and I got a library card (it is free for your first year). 

Now I listen to books on CD on my way to and from work.  It is amazing how fast you can 'read' a book when you listen for 1 1/2 hours a day!  It has been so fulfilling to spend my commuting time learning about budgeting, giving, & gospel study.

Visit Thrifty Thursday & Frugal Friday  for more Frugal Tips! 

Keep an Accurate Budget for Free!

Use a Free Computer Program to Keep an Accurate Budget

Last year Daniel & I used an excel sheet to keep track of our budget.  It worked great- we were able to keep track of where we spent our money & how much we spent.  It was not, however, always right on.  Every month our excell budget total savings was a little different than the amount in our banking acounts, but we did not want to BUY a program to help us save money...

Our accountant reccomended that we try using a free version of Quickbooks (you can download it from the Quickbooks website).  This would help us keep a more accurate record- and help him prepare taxes next year.  :D  Since he knows the tax rules best, if he can see exactly where our money was spent, he can more accurately call out itemized deductions.  We decided to give it a try- I was afraid that the free version would not allow us to do very much.  I am happy to report that it has worked great!

QuickBooks allows us to easily ballance our budget with our bank accounts.  We have created customized ballance sheets to see where we spent our money & how we did on our grocery budget. 

If you are working on developing a budgeting method, I would recommend finding a free program.  Quickbooks is the only program that I have used, but I am sure there are other free options available.  Our excel sheet worked, but we have found that using a specialized program has saved us a lot of time and given us more options.

Visit Frugal Friday & Thrifty Thursday for more Money Saving Ideas!

Save Money-Change Your Own Oil

I am currently commuting to work every day, and as a result, we change the oil in my car monthly.  If we had it changed at The Grease Monkey it would cost us $40 each month!  Instead, my husband changes our oil.  Changing the oil in a vehicle is very simple, my husband is not a mechanic or anything.  Here is a run down of the cost:

5 qt. Oil at Walmart: $12.50
Oil Filter: $4.00
Total Cost: $16.50
Labor Time: 15-20 min.

20 minutes of work saves us $20 a month.  That is almost a week of groceries!  Of course, that is just checking the oil & a servie station usually does a full service check.  We take our car to have a full service check at a service station when there is a promotion or coupon to make sure we are keeping everything on the car up to date.

Visit Life As Mom to see more frugal tips!

Treasure Hunting

This summer one of my friends from school introduced me to one of her old family traditions- Treasure Hunting. It was a family activity to drive around to construction sites to see what scrap wood could be salvaged to create 'treasures'.

Daniel, my sister, and I decided to try it out. I really wanted to finish decorating our apartment, but I am too cheap to buy shelves... so we made some! :D We went to 3 different construction sites & pulled wood from dumpsters.  We felt a little bit like thiefs... but we decided to think of it as recycling.  They were done with it, now it was our turn.  Then Daniel and I spent a few hours in the wood shop, and wah-la!

We found several pieces of wall trim... So we made two shadow boxes and painted them black. Above is the first one.

We also made shelves. These are for our bedroom. And the two black ones in this picture are in our living room. As you can see, we are still trying to figure out what to put on our shelves... Daniel decided on the angry, kissy M&M people...
Shadow Box number 2.

It was a successful treasure hunt for three reasons. First, we made adorable decorations for our appartment. Second, we saved money.  Third and most importantly, we made a family memory.  When we are old and grey we will not remember the money saved or exactly what the decorations looked like, but we will remember the the fun, creative times we had together.  

For more frugal tips & ideas visit Frugal Fridays.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge- What I have learned

I mentioned at the beginning of the month that I would be participating the in the Eat from the Pantry Challenge.  It turns out that I have participated a little more than I anticipated.  It has been a crazy month for me.  Returning from the holiday break and trying to get back in the swing of things with work and blogging has taken a lot of time. We have eaten a lot from the freezer and pantry.

As I mentioned in my goals for the challenge, we have not been spending significantly less this month, but we have been trying a few new recipes and freezer cooking techniques.  Here are a few things that I have learned so far this month:

Italian Soup:
I posted about my Italian Soup Recipe.  This was a perfect recipe for January, and It helped us use some of our Hamburger Helper stash. 

Homemade Rolls- from the freezer:
One of the freezer cooking techniques I have experiemented with is freezing rolls.  I LOVE homemade rolls fresh from the oven- but I do not have the time to make them everyday.  Also, with only 2 of us, we cannot eat a whole batch of rolls before they go bad.  My mom taught me a trick over Christmas that has worked great for us this month.

Freezing Rolls:  Once a month I make a batch of my favorite rolls, I posted the recipe here.  We cook 4-6 rolls, depending on how hungary we are. The rest are put on a baking sheet in the freezer.  I let them freeze, then put them in a freezer bag.  The freezer bag takes up much less space in the freezer!  I had tried freezing a whole pan of rolls before, but I had problems with freezer burn.  Also, freezing a whole pan takes up more valuable freezer space!

The Thawing Proccess:

Ideally: get the number of rolls you want from the freezer & place them on a baking sheet for about 1 hr. to thaw & rise.  Bake as normal.

Quicker version: place baking sheet with rolls in the oven on 170 (lowest heat) to thaw and rise (about 10 min).  Remove them from the oven and pre-heat.  Bake as normal.

I am excited to learn a few more things in the next couple of weeks!  I am planning on doing a mini freezer cooking day this Saturday.  I will be researching a few recipes to try out this week.  If you have any ideas, they are welcome!

Stock Up Prices

What is a good stock up price?  This is a question that I hear often- unfortunately there is not just one answer.  Prices vary by region and items hold different value for different households.  Each person must develop 'stock up prices' of there own.  There are, however, several great resources to help us out.

Experienced Deal Shoppers
Though everyone has different stock up prices, an experience deal shopper can guide you in the right dirrection.  Heather and Jonnie at the Krazy Coupon Lady posted a list of their stock up prices as an answer to a readers question.  It never hurts to ask!  I am here to help you learn to save money- don't be afraid to ask! 

Grocery Smarts.com
Grocery Smarts.com is a website that provides an excel sheet shopping list for stores each week.  One side column on the list is a stock up scale.  You can chose from 4 states, it contains lists for Idaho, Arizon, California, & Washington, then you choose a store.  This is a great resource to help you decide what a good stock up price is.

The most important thing to remember is not to stress yourself out.  It is good & fun to save money, but not worth a lot of stress!  Take it one step at a time and enjoy the coupon game!

LeaDawn

Learn more about building a stockpile in my post here.

Shop4Freebies- Keep updated on Free Samples

Cheap is good, but Free is better!

I am a huge fan of samples and freebies. It is so great to go to the mailbox and get free products and coupons instead of bills! (I have a special email address just for signing up for these offers). Here are a few bonuses of online samples & Freebies:

Try New Things:
Online freebies are a great way to save money while trying new products. Since I began couponing, I have become much more product savvy. I get so bummed when I get a great deal on a product that is supposed to be amazing and then it fails to meet expectations. Sampling products has helped me be a more confident buyer. I am always willing to try a new product if I can get it super cheap or free! Hair products, lotions, and feminine hygiene products are some of the most frequent sample offers that I have enjoyed.

High Value Coupons:
Often samples come with high value coupons or coupons for free products. If you are pleased with the sample, you then have the opportunity to get the product cheap or FREE! Sometimes the samples seam too small to really test- but the coupons that come with the products make up for it.

A Great Resource
There are several websites and newsletters that I have used to get free samples, one of the newer ones is a website called Shop4Freebies. This website posts the most recent Free Samples and online deals. They also offer a newsletter to keep you up to date on all the latest samples & freebies. Shop 4 Freebies is updated everyday, so you can always find something new there.

A Few Current Offers at Shop 4 Freebies:
Free Aveda 3 piece sample pack
Free 100 Diabetes Recipe eBook
Free Bumper Sticker
Free Greenworks Sample

I just signed up to get a free sample of a Greenworks bathroom cleaning product. I have heard good things, I am excited try it out!

Enjoy your freebies!

LeaDawn
For More Frugal Ideas Visit mycouponteacher.com & Life as Mom.com