Operation $40K

I am a huge "cherry picker"! That means I usually go after the big sales specials and loss leaders, and try to match coupons to them to maximize my savings. I learned that next Wednesday, Copp's will not double five coupons, they will double TEN! So, here are the items I am watching...it is SOOOO easy to hit that $25 when you know that you can use ten $1 coupons and double them! :) I scoped out the "pocket your dollars" site and then my circular came! These are just a few of the deals available, the ones that I am aiming for! Meat Deals Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (3 pounds) $1.88/lb (Limit 2, in combination with ground beef)Sale price, no coupon required Final price: $1.88 after sale** 75% Lean Ground Beef (3+ pounds) $1.88/lb (Limit 2, in combination with chicken) Sale price, no coupon required Final price: $1.88 after sale** **Fattier ground beef is good for burgers. I take the raw meat, form it into patties when I bring it home, set them on a gr

I have had people ask me "WHY do you buy 10 cans of spaghetti sauce or 10 boxes of pasta at a time"? It's a simple answer: Stockpiling. Stockpiling is a time-proven method to combine the discounting power of coupons, sales, and rebates over the long term to free up some much needed cash. Finding that killer deal and then buying not one or two, but as many as you can at the super deal price. This requires you to have as many coupons as possible for every item at any given time (why it's nice to know the newspaper coupon inserts in advance so you can get extra papers!). Then corner the market, and store them away. Some people call this "cherry picking" - you really only shop the loss leaders and sales specials at the store - ignoring the other items until they go on sale. Create your own mini warehouse in your home and you are no longer depending on the store to give you a great price. You can wait it out, until another super deal comes along. HOW much is TOO

Here it is, June and I am going to do the $100 challenge again! I made it thru last month and also hosted tow parties -- this month should be a breeze, especially with a full freezer and almost full pantry! You will see that I was stocking up on BBQ sauce and cheese this week -- I will share some recipe ideas at the end of my shopping summary for you -- some things I plan to do! I did pretty darned well this week and used up $19 in Register Rewards that my mom gave me. I DID try to talk her into using them herself and she wouldn't so I will share some of this weeks bounty with her :) NOW, at MY Roundy's store, we get to use the original shelf price to figure out our $25 before the coupons get doubled, I know some stores work off the SALE prices. I will have the sale prices listed and the original prices in ( ). Transaction #1 Hamburger Buns $.78 (1.19) Heinz ketchup $2.49 8 Pink lemonade Koolaid Packets @$.25 4 KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce @$2.50 (2.99) 2 Oscar Meyer Wieners @ 1.50

It's 5/31 - the end of a LONG month and we did our last bit of grocery shopping today: We hit Target today for the pet food we needed. Cat food, 12 large cans for $4.45 -- and the $11 20# bag of Dog Chow for our black lab with a $1 coupon...OK, far from great deals, but we needed it! This should hold us over a month as the cat food is mixed with dry and the dog gets 1.5 cups a day with possible supplementing from my dear child. $14.45+ tax...gives us about $1 left and we came in under budget for the month. SEE - it CAN be done!! Pet food, REAL food, personal care items and more for a family of three with a cat and a dog. $100 beginning budget -14.73 ---------- $85.27 (as of week one) -18.62 ---------- $66.65 (as of week two) -$16.50 -$2.53 from Target ---------- $47.62 (as of week three) -$18.99 ---------- $28.63 -$12.40 ---------- $16.23 -$15.25 ---------- $.98 left ***take the time to set a budget, then work with it - you will be amazed at what happens!

Here is the plan for the week...after looking at what I have in the freezer, and what I did NOT make during the heat wave that hit: Breakfast is usually the same: Breakfast Cookies, cold cereal* or oatmeal* with a piece of fresh fruit (apple, strawberries, grapes or banana). Lunch is either leftovers, peanut butter* & jelly sandwiches, quesidillas, or cold plate with sausage or diced chicken - cheese* - crackers* & fresh fruit or yogurt. Dinner: Monday - left overs/fridge clean out! Tuesday - Salmon steaks, pan fried potatoes, creamed peas Wednesday - Meatless dinner: spaghetti* and garlic bread* Thursday - breakfast casserole* (for dinner) Friday - beenie weenies* (a few hot dogs to use up from the picnics)! Saturday - sandwiches -> it's dance recital night! Sunday - Picnic at church campground * Denotes items that were free or almost free from my coupon clipping. My challenge to you this week: Keep your family from eating anything that came out a window!

Every year (as far back as I can remember) I have done a family picnic for my TupperTeam. I think it's important to recognize the families behind the family business! We let EVERYONE come - they don't have to earn the event, it is FREE. We have the food to grill, drinks, games for the kids, a bounce house, drawings for them, goodie bags for the kids and more! They only need to bring something to sit on and a dish to pass. If their last name is: A-K, bring a salad, L-Z, bring a dessert. We end up with everything from 7 Layer salad (my absolute fav!) to Chocolate Eclair torte! If you have followed my blog, you know I shop smart and have gotten good deals on brats, dogs, buns, chips and soda -- Mr Andy tends the grill. We put put the croquet, bocce ball and more, we did skip the nets this year - we felt it was going to be too hot for playing and we were right, it topped 90*! The line of prizes...we just make a trail along the sidewalk of all the goodies I collect over the year an

It's kind of funny that my hubby thinks he is healthier than I am...he just goes by looks. I am a large gal -- cursed with a very slow metabolism from my FibroMyalgia that I inherited with a car accident in 1993. However, I have better than normal levels of everything from cholesterol to blood sugar, rarely get a cold/flu and seem to get more things done in a day than many people. Compare this to him, who as a cold of some sort every other month, rarely goes to the gym with his FREE membership, and is often commenting on how tired he feels...I must be doing something right! Have you ever used the excuse “It’s just too EXPENSIVE” when it comes to improving your health?!?! I once used this excuse too, but cutting back from having my favorite latte everyday to making coffee at home has now allowed me a little extra money to make better decisions. Here is how you can save $150 - $600 per month to put towards your healthier lifestyle, a personal trainer, gym membership, savings, and so

I saw a friend on Facebook post the following Coaching Question- What do you want your grandchildren to say about you on your 85th birthday? How will you live it today? This got me thinking...we didn't have a lot of money while I was growing up -- Mom was pretty much a single parent and there were times that she couldn't even give us a quarter so we could get an ice cream cone. These are things I know of from being the oldest, I saw and knew more than she realized I did. Despite the tough times, we have BILLIONS of fantastic memories. Goofy days in the back yard with homemade bubbles, walks and adventures to the public library, our birthdays were super special events, and more! I remember holidays with guests at the table - people who would have been alone on that day, had she not learned that they were going to be alone...All the ways my Mom has touched people's lives. SHE is a gentle spirit, a kind servant of humanity. I can only hope to be a fraction as good as she is! I

One of the hard things to do when you are saving money, is to ignore the great sales specials that they have, especially in a tight economy when they are trying to at least just move the merchandise out of the store! 20%-75% off sales on everything from clothes to small household appliances...this can be very tempting! Here's the deal: I am ELIMINATING stuff from our house and freeing us from clutter! As I go through our house, room by room, shelf by shelf, I am either adding it to the Garage Sale pile or the weekly Frecycle box that I post and gift to someone else. *IF* there is anyting that I REALLY need, I keep an eye on Freecycle for that to be posted as an offer from someone - or put it on the Garage Sale list...so we hunt for it while we are out and about. This way I get it free for for just a few pennies instead of brand new and at close to retail prices. I DO wish that the retailers could leave this holiday alone for it's true meaning...it's to remember those th