Wisdom from My Kitchen Window

Beginning to Coupon

 When I first began couponing I was really nervous about it.  It seemed a bit overwhelming and I feared that I would end up spending money I never intended to spend.  I'd love to tell you that it didn't happen, but it did.  It was a learning process; something I had to get the hang of.

My suggestion is to start one store at a time until you feel confident.  Walgreens was my first store to try.  I read up on their store policy.  Basically you cannot have more pieces of paper (Register Rewards or coupons) than you have items to purchase.  If you do, then grab a couple pieces of 33 cent caramels at the check out to make it work (they are to die for!).  Their Register Rewards (remember these are printed when you check out and you can use them as cash next time you shop there) usually expire in 3 weeks from getting them, so keep that in mind so you don't forget and let them expire.

I subscribe to Faithful Provisions.  If you live in the south, I highly recommend this web site.  Not only is she a strong believer and incorporates that into her saving knowledge, but she will only tell you about the very BEST deals so you don't have to weed through all the deals and wonder if they are good ones or not.  In the week (usually Thursday or so) she will post the deals at the drug stores for the following week.  I print out the ones that I want to take advantage of.

On Sunday after I have gotten my Sunday paper, I sit down with my print offs (for Walgreens and CVS) and find the coupons from my list.  I put them in envelopes for each store and I'm set.

For Walgreens this week, I could use 4 Alka Seltzer coupons and get 4 boxes for 74 cents each.  There's an iron supplement I can get for free after Register Rewards (with NO coupon) and  children's aspirin for free with Register Rewards (no coupon).  I also wanted to get some eye drops for free but the coupon listed was not in my coupons.  This sometimes happens and just be careful to double check your coupons, but don't let it discourage you.

At CVS, I can get John Frieda hair care products for a good price. I will wait until I shop to see exactly what I can get for how much.  I just cut the coupons I had and there were 4 of them.  Pantene products were as low as $1.48 each.  I plan on getting mouthwash for 99 cents, a Cadbury egg for free after Extra Care Bucks and 3 Hallmark cards for free.

As you can see, not all of these deals require coupons.  Sometimes the drug stores just offer you something free or almost for free with their reward program.  That will keep you shopping there the next time.  Start small this week and try out one of these drug stores and see what you can get.

Wisdom from my Kitchen Window

Beginner Couponing

 I became a couponer a couple of years ago.  I'm not extreme - nothing like the TV show, although I have had a clerk or 2 occasionally tell me I am extreme, to which I say, "Why, thank you!"

I started off with much hesitancy and a tad bit of fear.  I also started off slow, so as not to overwhelm myself.

I'm going to tell you what I do and how I started and I would love to hear that you are giving it a shot.  It has become lots of fun to me and it's so wonderful to get to save my family money.  I've been able to create a stockpile that I can not only provide for my familyr, but share with others in need.

So here's step one.  Collect coupons.  I used to be able to buy the Sunday paper in stores for $1.  When that was available, I would purchase 4-6.  Most sites suggest you buy as many as you have people in your family.  I have 8 but don't buy that much.  Since my local paper no longer offers the $1 deal, I have subscribed to the Sunday paper (which I waited until they ran a special).  I also subscribe for my in-laws since they live a few houses down.  My mom gives me her coupon inserts also.  Right there I have 3 each week.  Sometimes I pay full price for 2 or 3 at the drug store during the week. 

The Sunday paper will have inserts from Smart Source, Red Plum and sometimes Proctor & Gamble or General Mills.  It varies from week to week.

Step 2 is to organize them. I am NOT a coupon clipper so I just put the date on the outside with a marker and fill them in this box.  There are 12 hanging folders (one for each month) and within each are 4-5 folders labeled for each week of the month (1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on).

And that's it.  Now you're ready to begin saving.  I'll post more later on just how to do that.

Sprinkle Toast

My SIL gave me this idea a few years back.  The Fish Sticks love it.  Instead of the same ole cinnamon toast, buy cupcake sprinkles (these were only $1 each) and make Sprinkle Toast for breakfast.  Spread bread with butter, sprinkle, put under broiler until butter is melted and bread begins to toast along the edges.

All in a Week

 Each week I make a few quick stops in stores to coupon.  Walgreens and CVS are weekly stops.  Sometimes I include Kroger if the sales are good.

Here's what I got this week.

 Here was my Walgreens run.  I got:
*8 packs of Stayfree for $1 each (they were $1.99 and I had a BOGO coupon)
*2 packs of children's Triaminic (they were 2 for $10 and I had a coupon for $3 off of 2, plus Walgreens gave me $5 back in Register Rewards - use like cash next visit - and so they were only $1 each)
*3 cans of Chicken Noodle Soup for 69 cents each from the in-ad coupon
*2 tubes of Colgate Total (they were 2 for $8, I had 2 $1 off coupons and Walgreens gave me a $4 Register Rewards which makes the toothpaste $1 each)
*3 tubes of Cortaid (Walgreens had an in-ad coupon for $2 each with a limit of 3.  I matched that with a coupon from the paper for $3 off and they were all 3 free!)
I had on my list to get a protein bar for $1.99 with a $1.99 Register Reward, making it free, but totally forgot!!  You can go grab it though this week.

Total without tax was $14.07!!!

 

CVS was a quick, simple run.  They had Extra Care Bucks (used as cash on next visit) for Blistex.  I matched that with a 55 cent coupon and they cost me 32 cents.

The deal with Revlon was that if you bought 2 Revlon items, CVS would give you $7 back in Extra Care Bucks.  I just chose these 2 products because they cost $3.19 and $3.59 which made them free (actually I made 22 cents).

These great deals were made with no coupons so go ahead and grab them this week!

Last was Kroger.  They had a deal this week that if you buy 10 participating items, you get $5 off your order. I bought a total of 20 participating items and matched them with coupons so I got $10 off my order.  I purchased:
*9 boxes of Triscuits (My Man's favorite) for $1.33 each
*6 boxes of Post Cereal (just when I posted an anti-cereal campaign - ha ha!) for $1.50 each
*5 boxes of Kleenex for free (they were 99 cents and I had a 50 cent coupon that doubled)
I paid about $21 before tax for all these items.  Kroger surprised me with a $1 money back coupon from Kleenex at the checkout too.  Yippee!!

I'll be posting later how YOU can save like this too!!

Think Outside of the Cereal Box

I don't know about you, but the more I read about health and nutrition, the more I realize that boxed cereals are just not the best breakfast.  Almost ALL of them are packed with sugar...even the ones you would least expect.  They just aren't filling.  Why else would your kids want 2-3 bowls of them?  When all research shows us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why would we give our kids cereal for breakfast that just doesn't pack the punch?

Problem is that cereal is just plain convenient.  It's not extremely costly either.  (Sad thing is the more the unhealthy it is, the less it costs!)  But honestly, who has the time or energy at the crack of dawn to make a big, homemade, healthy breakfast?  It's hard, I know.

One month last year we went on a cereal fast. I told the kids I would not buy cereal for a whole month.  This forced me to be creative and intentional about planning a good breakfast menu.  I made a brain-storm list of breakfast items to help me plan for each day.  Some things are just easy and some need some prep time the night before or cooking time in the a.m.  I refer to this list regularly to help remind me of my options.  My latest rule is that I buy X amount of cereal at the first of each month.  When it's gone, it's gone.  Then we gotta think outside of the cereal box.  :)

Cinnamon rolls (make the night before and cook in the a.m.)
oatmeal
french toast
pancakes/waffles
sweet rice (Mexican style)
muffins
cinnamon toast
toast & jelly
biscuits & jelly
eggs cooked with chunks of ham
grits
monkey bread
crepes with jelly filling (or pie filling)
mini quiches
omelet
homemade granola & yogurt
smoothies
puff baby
pigs in a blanket
banana bread
hashbrowns with cheese and ham
English muffins/bagels

Join Me!

I am so glad you dropped by to check out  my new blog.  I know that being a homemaker isn't always as easy as most might think.  Sometimes our work is just downright exhausting:  juggling schedules, training our children to obey and be a blessing, keeping the house clean, making sure our kids wear matching clothes with minimal stains and holes and most of the time just remembering if we, the mom, brushed our teeth in the last 24 hours.

This blog is centered around all of that.  Homemaking.  At least in our house, it seems that a majority of my days are centered around my kitchen.  Meal planning, shopping, saving, washing dishes, preparing meals, preserving meals, clearing tables, thus the title "Feeding the Fish Sticks."

I subscribe to all kinds of helpful blogs.  There's one that gives me recipes every day.  There's one that tells me all the great couponing deals in my area.  There's some that feed my soul and keep me in check with my attitude as a mother and wife.  Some are devotional centered around the stage of life that I am in.  Some of them are about mothering and training my children to serve and honor the Lord.  And some are just good ideas whether it be shortcuts in the kitchen, decorating or help in how to remove stains.  My blog will be just a bit of all of those things.  Through it I hope to encourage, inspire, admonish, and share the joys and trials of homemaking.  I hope you can receive some type of "take-home" through reading!