Shopping list

So now it gets exciting! You have your coupons; you've got them organized now all you need is a nice list that matches all those coupons up to the sale items right?!? Well, here you go. Go to pinching your pennies (click the blinkie is on my blog). Under the deals by state forum you will find Idaho deals. Click on the store that suits you and print your list. Here is the link


http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30"

Reading through the forum is helpful too because people will post the unadvertised deals they find. I have made additional trips back to the store just based on the comments posted. Also, the Utah forum is usually busier than Idaho's and you can get the Albertsons list on Monday evening. This may change though with Utah Albertsons being sold but for now Shelley usually has the list up by Monday evening. I love this cuz then I can plan my shopping budget for the week and whether or not to take advantage of the current sale before it changes Wednesday morning.

PYP teams up with Grocery smarts to provide shopping lists to other stores as well. I haven't used this option as much but I think it has great potential. Click on the grocery guide tab at the top of the PYP page. Then just follow the instructions to getting the list for your area. Try these links. (hopefully I did it right)....
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/groceryguide.php
http://grocerysmarts.com/idaho/lists/splashg83ro1.php

Once you get your list all you need to pull your coupons for what you want. On the list you will see a star rating, the sale item, sale price, coupons available if any both in the newspaper and online links, and the end price. 3 star ratings are Walmart type prices, nothing big. 4 star is a good price but 5 star is a great price. The 5 star items are what you want to stock up on. Buy everything you want and can. Now you will have 10 boxes of quacker hot cereal and won't have to buy it again until it is on sale again which with Quacker won't be until February- ish. I can handle $0.75 a box much better than $2.50 or $3. What about you?

How easy is that? Really, guys, I work full time nights. I don't have time to sink into coupons but when someone else is helping make the list- THAT I CAN DO! Before long you all are going to realize how plan ordinary I am. I am giving away all my secrets.....I guess it's ok, you're all worth it. Let me know if you have questions. Next time I will give you tips on the internet coupons....

Organization

So did you get your coupons coming? There are lots of ways to collect them if you don't decide to get a subscription to the paper. But, now you need a way to keep track of all the great coupons you are getting. It doesn't do much good to get the coupons if you can't ever find the one you need when you need it. There are several ways to organize your coupons. 2 of the most popular ways is the file method and the binder method. The file method: take your inserts and band them together and write the date on it with a black marker. The benefit here is you don't spend time cutting them all at once. The downside is you won't have them with you for any unadvertised deals you may run a crossed, rather you only cut the ones you need for your shopping list.

I prefer the binder method. The benefit is having all my coupons with me, but I spend about an hour on Sunday clipping my coupons. I don't clip everything, only the products I use. I love this. There have been several times I forgot I needed something or else I run into a great deal unexpectedly. It's great to already have them. I take my binder to the store almost every time I go.

It's best to use a binder with a zipper to hold in any loose coupons. In the front, I have a zipper pocket for pens, scissors, calculator etc. Then there are dividers with stores and categories. I use trading card sheet protectors to place the coupons in. This way I can see what the coupon is for and usually when the exp date is. I also have a list of typical prices which you can find on pinchingyourpennies.com. Here is a picture of mine to give you an idea.



Now decide which system will work for you and get them organized and get ready for the next tip. It's gettin' good!

Coupon 101

I will be teaching another coupon class tonight but I am finding a problem. I have lots of people asking about how to find great deals but fewer and fewer people coming to my classes. I know everyone is sooo very busy, life just kinda happens and messes up our plans. So I thought I would post tips, step by step, over a few days on how to save. Then you can read at your leisure and follow the steps yourself. By the way, if anyone has a group that you would like to get together I would gladly come to you to teach a class. I don't charge- so what do I get out of it you ask? Nothing really, just the satisfaction of helping others. I have been blessed in many ways and I just enjoy seeing others go WOW! at a great deal. Consider it the "Pay it Forward" philosophy. Plus, I just love sharing how I survive with only $100 or less a week for groceries, hygiene products, paper products including diapers, and household cleaners for my family of 6.

So tip #1: Get your coupons!
In order to work the coupons ya gotta have COUPONS. They mostly come from the paper. The Post Register has a "coupon" or "pinching pennies" deal where you get a daily paper but on Sunday you get 5 copies for $17/month on auto pay. Now, why would you want 5 Sunday papers? To get 5 copies of each coupon!!! Then when a great sale comes along I can stock up with my 5 coupons then sit back and enjoy until another great deal comes along. This is how you build your WORKING food storage. It will start to accumulate really quickly with 5 coupons. I spend about an hour on Sunday clipping my coupons AND filing them into my binder (more on this later) so it is not too time consuming either. The other places to look for coupons is in the mail, along the store aisles, or by trading with friends and online. Rebekah likes Suave shampoo, I like Pantene, so we swap. 10 Pantene coupons for the next sale YAHOOO!! It's win/win for both of us. Sound good? Get your subscription to the paper- YES it's worth it. Rebekah watched me for a couple of months before realizing she couldn't afford NOT to get the coupon subscription. You definantly get your money back.
Watch for how to organize your coupons next.... and leave me a note and tell me if this is helpful or not. I sometimes wonder who, if anyone, ever reads my wanderings...

200+ bottles

Last week I was a canning fool! We held our own canning marathon. I needed to get the house cleaned up but first had to finish the canning. I got home from working all night and set in immediately. At 9pm I shut the stove off and drug myself up to bed. I was exhausted. I had not slept in over 24 hours!

71 bottles of corn, frozen broccoli....

pickled beats....

jam and corn.....

more corn....

peaches and pears....

18 quarts of beans
By Saturday night I had canned over 200 bottles of pears, peaches, jam, pickled beets, green beans, carrots and corn and frozen numerous bags of broccoli. WHEW! Now the fruit room is stocked full. I only have salsa and stew left to do. It is a lot of work but I have very happy to see my storage built up. We may be out of a job but we will still have full bellies. The Lord is watching over us and blessings abound. (I just have to remember this EACH day!)

Clean Carpets!

I spent my grocery money this week on carpet cleaning. For $104 I got 3 rooms, the hallway and my stairs cleaned. It was worth it! What do you think? Best Price Carpet Cleaning did it. They were a great bunch; nice and very efficient. Here is my living room before- yuck!

and the after:

You could literally see black and white as they were cleaning. Now to keep it clean. I thought of demanding "stocking feet only" but they are usually barefoot....hmmmm gonna have to think.....