Couponing tip: Shop the smaller sizes

Even though we’ve barely unpacked from our vacation, I’m already anxious to start saving money again. One of my favorite ways to save is by couponing.

This evening at Shoprite, squirmy C held down the cart while hubby ran for heavy items like milk and bottled water. It was a good trip. I spent just $6.30 on everything pictured.

About $6 for $60 worth of items!

This week’s couponing tip: Shop the smaller sizes.

Although larger packages typically give you the best price per unit or ounce, that’s not necessarily true when couponing. Here’s an example. The 18-count package of Carefree liners costs $ .99. The 60-count package costs $2.79, which is a better price per individual liner. I had 4 coupons for $ .50/1 package, which double to $1.00 off. Carefree coupons come frequently in the paper, so I bought 4 small packages for free (72 total liners), instead of paying $1.79 for a large package of 60 liners. By doing this, I’m able to keep my stockpile full of small packages without ever spending a cent. I find that this is frequently true for many other items as well, including toothpaste.

Livingrichwithcoupons scouted out the deal on the mini Babybel cheeses for me. These are normally priced at $2.79, but were on sale this week for $1.99 each. Hubby and I were each able to print 2 copies of a $1.00/1 coupon, which doubled to make all 4 packages completely free. But it got even better! There was a Shoprite e-coupon for $1.00/1 (see explanation of Shoprite e-coupons here) making these a $1.00 moneymaker! Baby C is going to love finding these in her lunchbox.

I also received overage on the shampoos, yogurt smoothies, and Barilla entrees by combining my manufacturer coupons with Shoprite e-coupons. I used the overage towards my milk, waters, and fresh green beans – the only items for which I did not have coupons this week.

My savings grand total at Shoprite so far for 2014 is $2,763.47! Perhaps there will be another vacation in store for us this year. I’m going to make it my goal!

Where I’ve been

Hola, amigos! I’ve been off the grid for a bit. We just got back from vacation in Costa Rica. Oh, my.

It was everything I’d hoped it would be. Exciting, relaxing, interesting. Incredibly beautiful.

We spent two weeks in Sámara Beach, located in the north Pacific province of Guanacaste. We lived well, eating at amazing outdoor restaurants and participating in various tours and activities. And guess what? Even while living that good pura vida lifestyle, we still managed to save a little money.

Here are a few ways we saved while on vacation.

• Learning the local customs. We quickly noticed that each time we purchased beer or soda at the store we were charged a deposit of about $1 per 1L bottle. If we returned our empty bottles, we didn’t have to pay the deposit on our next purchase, so we made sure to bring them back to the store. We also noticed that our store charged for plastic bags, so we started bringing our own. Although both of these fees were relatively small, every little bit helps!
• Spreading out meals. We ate a few “fancy” dinners out, but for the most part, we stretched our food budget. For example, on several days we had cheap, hearty breakfasts in local sodas (small family-run restaurants), afternoon drinks and appetizers at a beach bar, and a sunset ice cream cone in town. The rest of our meals, we filled in at home. It was the perfect way to immerse ourselves in the town without spending too much money.

guaro sours and a view to remember

• Eating what’s cheap. No complaints here. In Costa Rica, that means lots of fresh veggies and colorful tropical fruits. Eggs were also plentiful. We found great deals at supermarkets and roadside stands.

beach bar snacks with a new friend

Another great trip down in the books.

I’m rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready to start saving towards our next trip!

Signing off to go get caught up on my coupons. Adios, amigos!

Another haul and pantry challenge, cont.

I’m proud to let you know that the pantry challenge continued last night. I was in the mood for Chinese food, so I grabbed chopped chicken and stir-fry veggies from the freezer and rice from the pantry. I got everything started on the stove and then called in hubby to be the mastermind behind the sauce. It was better (and cheaper!) than take-out.

Today, I went to the store to get a few things for a cookout, and I figured I might as well take my coupons along. (As though I go anywhere without them!) It was another great haul!

I spent about $9 on $70 worth of groceries.

My grand total was 9.00 exactly. It’s actually a little more than I normally spend, but I was happy considering I didn’t have coupons for the cookout items (pickles, sliced cheese, and hotdogs). Luckily, I was able to use some overage from the Dole Smoothies and Nature Valley bars towards those items when I combined manufacturer coupons, Shoprite e-coupons, and a Savingstar offer.

Updated to explain: Shoprite e-coupons are digital coupons that I load directly to my club card through an online account. It can be done through the Shoprite website or app. The e-coupons come off automatically when the item is scanned during check-out. E-coupons can be combined with manufacturer (paper) coupons, meaning that I can also give the cashier a manufacturer coupon to manually scan for that same item. When the 2 types of coupons are combined, it’s often possible to get overage to use towards my other groceries.

Here is an example from today:

• 2 Dole Smoothie Shakers – on sale for 1.99 each = 3.98 total
• – 2, 1.00/1 coupons that doubled to make the Shakers completely free
• – 1.50/2 Shoprite e-coupon
• + 1.50 in overage towards my other items

I’m not sure if other grocery stores offer e-coupons or something similar, but check their websites – you might be missing out on extra savings!

The frozen pizzas were on sale for 3.97 each, and I had a coupon for .75/1 (which doubled to 1.50/1), making them stock-up price for me. “Stock-up price” means that is the price at which I buy (typically more than 1, depending on how many coupons I have) because I know it doesn’t typically get any lower. For frozen pizzas, especially the “good kind,” my stock-up price is <2.50. Frozen pizzas can cost up to 7.00 or more, so an approximate savings of 65% off retail price works for me. Over time, I’ve developed a mental stock-up price list for most of the items I frequently buy.

Everything else you see was pretty much free. Yes, that’s 10 free baby food pouches and 2 free boxes of applesauce pouches. I was saving Happy Tot and Sprout coupons for a good sale and this was the week. Baby C loves those things and I’m hoping they’ll keep her quiet on the airplane! (I did have to sacrifice 1 pouch to occupy her while I arranged this photo, so I hope you enjoy it!)

Normally, when I have a social event on the calendar, I try to plan ahead and base my contribution to the meal around coupons. Unfortunately, this cookout was planned last minute, and these are the specific items that my friend requested. We’re blessed that our budget allows for some leeway here and there.

We’re in the midst of a packing frenzy so we had one of the frozen pizzas for dinner. I might even treat myself to a free popsicle later if I can get everything done!

A meal for a friend

A good friend of mine had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to take her something before we leave on our trip. We’ve been so busy packing that I didn’t have time or energy to go grocery shopping today, but that didn’t stop me from coming up with something pretty awesome using ingredients we already had in the house.

I put together a bagged meal that she can cook in her crockpot immediately, or put away in the freezer for future use. This took surprisingly little effort and was very inexpensive, but I remember “those days” and I know that my friend is really going to appreciate it.

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1 C carrots, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 C frozen peas
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
• 2-3 stocks fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
• 1 large container chicken broth (48 oz)*
• 2 C egg noodles*

Place all ingredients except for noodles in crockpot. Cook on low, 6-8 hours. Shred chicken. Add noodles, cook on high 20 minutes.

*When preparing as a freezer meal, omit chicken broth and egg noodles from the bag. I bagged the noodles separately and will give her a carton of broth.

Hopefully a warm meal will make a busy day just a little bit easier for the new parents!

Beers and apps, toes in the sand

It was a rainy morning and hubby had to go into work. When he got home around 2pm, I said, Get me out of here! 

The sky was clearing so we headed to one of our favorite restaurants. We sat outside, had a beer, and took turns on the playground with C. Since it was mid-afternoon, the place was relatively empty. There was a small birthday party at the table next to us, which meant plenty of new friends for C and even a few for us, too.

Between the deck, live music, outdoor playground and sandpit, the ambience was unbeatable. However, the menu was casual but not cheap (think $14 burgers). Spending $40+ on food that I could easily cook at home seemed like a waste, so we shared an appetizer instead.

It was truly a relaxing afternoon.

We treated ourselves without spending major $$. A perfect balance.

When we spend in moderation, not only do we save more, we appreciate more.

The bakery

I’d been to this bakery before, rushing in and out for donuts while hubby waited in the car.

Today was not like that. Today was different.

Today, Baby C and I walked slowly through the bakery, holding hands. We studied each colorful pastry through the counter. Big, small, fat, skinny, bumpy, smooth. We wrinkled our noses and sniffed the aroma of fresh-baked cookies and breads. We watched a hot air balloon mobile swing gently from the ceiling and a toy train circle on its track in the window display. Outside, we lingered to observe some noisy construction work and waved to the men on the roof.

Why had I never noticed these things before?

We shared a croissant and a donut, but I don’t think that’s the part she’s going to remember.

When we pause to see the world through a child’s eyes, we notice more, miss less. Simple moments can become precious memories.

Life is hectic, so I must remind myself everyday to be present. To be mindful. To slow down. To see the world through my daughter’s eyes.

She’s growing up so fast that I can’t afford to miss a thing.

Grocery store money maker and pantry challenge – day 4

Another thrifty day. I went couponing after work. This trip took a little planning, but was well worth it. I spent $3.21 out of pocket, and got back a $5 Catalina coupon (which is as good as cash towards my next shopping trip), so I actually made $1.79 by buying all this stuff.

I made almost $2 on about $65 worth of items.

The Catalina deal was spend $15, get $5 back on Unilever products. I love these deals. I can’t believe how long I overlooked them in the newspaper ads because I didn’t understand how they worked. Trying to match up coupons to the included products for the lowest out-of-pocket contribution is such a fun little game. My grocery store doubles coupons up to and including $1, so I was able to get to $15 without spending anything. In other words, they paid me $5 to take 9 bottles of shampoo out of the store. I’ll donate most of the toiletries and buy milk or produce with my $5 Catalina. Coupons are amazing little scraps of paper!

I’m also proud to let you know that I continued on with the Pantry Challenge for night #4! I found a frozen Southwest Blend (corn, beans, peppers, onions), chopped chicken, and cooked lentils in the freezer. We sautéed the chicken and veggies with minced onions, garlic powder, black pepper, and a little BBQ sauce and ate it taco-style on whole wheat tortillas from the pantry.

Paired with a boozy pineapple cocktail, it was a mini-vacation for my mouth.

The veggies and tortillas were free or nearly free from couponing. We stock up on chicken breasts when they’re on special at Aldi for $1.99/lb. or less. It causes me physical discomfort to pay more than that for chicken, so we buy a lot when the price is right and freeze it.

In taking the Pantry Challenge this week, I’m finally understanding the purpose of a stockpile. I think I became so enthralled with what was coming in, that I forgot things were supposed to be going out, too. Actually using the items from my stockpile is the part that saves us money!

My “aha” moment is better late than never.