Couponing Resources

I've been couponing for quite a while now, but I've just discovered this a wonderful new tool for my grocery adventures. I decided that I should take a few moments (since I'm in the bed with a stomach bug and skipping church) to write to you about my adventure in couponing. If you are a true couponista, this is NOT really anything new to you (except maybe the websites). However, if you are new to couponing or still trying to figure out exactly what's best for you, you may want to read on.

I've been using sites like Southern Savers and CouponMom.com for a while, both of which I love. I love that these sites are basically blogs, and that I can look at sells from individual stores to see the best match ups and prices. Each site gives individual stores their own place, so that you can look at just one store at a time. This is great if you have one favorite place to shop. 

My favorite thing about Southern Savers is the little acorn symbol beside the items that she (Jenny -the blogger) feels like are at their lowest possible price and worth stocking up on. I love that if I am preparing to go to one specific store, I just look at that store's page. I also love her constant updates. She is posting daily,  and even several different times a day!

CouponMom.com is another of my "go-to" sites. This site is set up very much like Southern Savers in that you look at one store at a time. One of my favorite things about this site is that I can search for an individual item. Let's say I know I'm running to Wal-Mart (I hate going there, btw) for just a few items. I can log on and pull up the Wal-Mart sales list. Once I'm in the Wal-Mart list, I can search for key-words and see if the items I need are currently on sale. 

The problem with these sites and my location is that Wal-Mart is the only major grocery chain listed that is withing a 40 minute drive for me! So I've been struggling with deciding between:

Is it really beneficial for me to drive 40 minutes out of my way in order to shop and great stores like Kroger and Publix (since I have access to their coupon matchups)?
or
Do I take hours upon hours to figure out if the items listed on these websites are also on sale at the small town, local owned, stores here in my area?

It's a tough choice, because the time I spend preparing my coupons to go to a local store usually takes longer than the drive to the larger chain stores (except Wal-Mart, but I will avoid that store at all costs! I just hate going, I always spend way more than intended and just get frustrated -but that's another post...)

What I wish is that I could find a resource where I could type in each item I'm looking for and them tell me where to go for a coupon (printable or Sunday insert), even if that item is not currently on sale.

Well guess what?! I FOUND THAT RESOURCE!!!! Yep! I am so excited -I wish I had known about it a few years ago!

Allow me to introduce you to A Full Cup...

This is the best site I've found yet! They have links to most of the grocery and drug stores out there, even some that  my other favorites sites don't list (like Food World, for example). The also have a coupon data base that is searchable. The items do not have to currently be "on sale" at a store to be listed -all non expired coupons are listed! For example, I searched for yogurt coupons. The particular brand I planned to purchase was not currently on sale, but that's what I wanted. I was able to find a coupon to use anyway.

Once you search for the item, the results will tell you:

-what type of coupon is available (printable, Sunday insert, tear pad, etc.)

-coupon value

-how many you have to but to use the coupon

-if the item is on sale currently

-if you need to print it, a link to the site is provided

This is exactly what I've been searching for! I wish I had searched harder sooner! Please share this resource with all your coupon friends!

If you have any other resources, please comment below and let me know! These are my 3 go-to resources, but I could always use more!

Birthday on a Budget!

My little girl will be turning 2 next week -I can't believe it! I'm trying to do a luau party on an extreme budget of $50! I will be updating this post periodically over the next week to see if it happens. I do have a little help on the budget part, because my step mom is making the cake. That's her gift to my baby -so that saves me about $50 in itself!

For the party, we already have a small blow up pool (well pretty big for a boxed, blow up, kiddie pool) that the kids can play in.

I have decided to set up stations for the kids to do during the part, since only about 5 or 6 can play in the pool at a time. Here's what I've spent so far for the party:

• Face Painting: I spent $2.49 on face paints and $.99 on brushes for this station (wal-mart)
• Sidewalk chalk: Wal-Mart, clearance summer stuff - $.50
• Nail Polish (cause Madeline LOVES this): FREE cause we have tons at home already
• Pool: already purchased
• Sprinkler: borrowing from a friend
•  Decorations from oriental trading:
• leis - $12.99
• flowers (to make clips and put on tables) - $4.25
• Sea shells -for a shell hunt in the sand - $4.25
• We already have on hand paper goods that were purchased earlier in the year at a local store closing sale! 

Total spent to date: $25.75
Hoping I can get hot dogs, hamburgers, and fruit for the rest! Anyone have any extra hot dog coupons laying around? :)

Budget: Dave Ramsey Style

My husband and I have decided to go all out Dave Ramsey style! We are doing the envelope system now! That's right... cash only! At the end of July, we ordered the Deluxe Envelope System for myself, and the regular one for him (cause they were on sale, and we needed motivation). We spent about $30 getting the system.

The last day in July, we sat down and made a budget. Every dime we expected to have come in was going on paper (the amount is easy for us to know because we are both salary employees). Every penny has a place this month. Anything extra that happens to come in (random things we've sold, projects I sew, photography, etc.) goes into our savings account. Once we get $1,000 in our savings -we start piling the extras toward debt.

When we sat down and looked at our budget, we were shocked (well at least I was -my husband not so much) to see that we were consistently spending more than we were bringing in! I knew we were living pay check to pay check, but I really didn't know how bad it was until we put it on paper. We had major decisions to make -major funds to cut... and our little girl's birthday is this month :(

Aug 1st = Payday!
On payday, we sat down with our budget list and figured out exactly how much cash we needed to fund our envelope system for the month. After paying all our bills online and/or scheduling payments for the month, we went to the bank and told them exactly how many of each bill we needed for our cash.

Now the test, can we make it this month? So far (it's only the 7th) we've done great! I'm a little nervous about the grocery category, but we've got enough in others we can shift if needed. Wish us luck!

Cloth Training Pants Tutorial

I am ready to start potty training my almost 2 year old, and I've tried pull ups. I just don't think pull ups are going to work for us because they feel too much like a diaper. I searched Pinterest trying to find a cloth training pant, and discovered that Gerber makes some.
Here's the link to the pinterest post I found:
 http://itsourlongstory.blogspot.com/2012/01/diy-cloth-training-pants.html?showComment=1328030266224#c6638174278670575212
In my area, I have to order the Gerber ones online; not available in store. I'm impatient. So I decided to make the same thing I found on Pinterest, but use size 2T panties instead! So here's my tutorial. It took about 30 minutes to make ie pair, and a total cost of about $2 per pair! Thats way cheaper than buying the gerber ones to start, because a 3 pack is at least $8!
Materials:
Toddler panties (I bought mine real cheap at dollar general)
Scissors (rotary cutter us better, but I don't have one)
Sewing machine
Flannel (I bought a yard, but it will make TONS!)
PUL (they have this at hobby lobby, it's about $15 a yard, I bought 1/4 yd, it only takes a little!)
The thick lined cloth diapers
Pins
Paper to make a pattern

Step 1:
Using the panties, trace their shape on paper to make a pattern.

Step 2:
Take a padded cloth diaper and cut it in half, width wise. I served the cuts to make sure they sealed well but you could use a zigzag stitch if you don't have a serger.

Step 3:
Using the pattern you made, cut the cloth diaper, 4 layers of flannel (you might want to use 2 or 3, depending in how thick you want it), and one layer of PUL to fit the panties. I also zigzagged the cloth diaper to seal the padding.

Step 4:
Turn the panties wrong side out. Pin the cloth diaper with 2 layers of flannel into the panties. I put the flannel against babies skin, thought it would feel better. Sew into place.

Step 5:
Turn panties right side out, pin 2 layers of flannel under the layer of PUL. Sew into place.

Step 6:
POTTY TRAIN! :)

Ball Park Flame Grilled Patties

I recently had the opportunity to try Ball Park Flame Grilled Patties through BzzAgent. I was selected to try a package of these microwavable hamburgers for free. Yes, I said microwave. I took one to school today for lunch. It was convenient, simply heat it for about 90 seconds, slap it on a bun, and instant lunch!

I enjoyed the taste of the burger. It reminded me a lot of the burgers you would get at burger king. It definitely had a flame-broiled taste. I wouldn't say it had that home-grilled taste, but very similar to fast food. Really good considering it came out of the freezer!

Would I try these again? Maybe, with a coupon and if they were on sale. Their biggest downfall is that the MSRP is around $8, for a pack of only 6 patties. I probably wouldn't be willing to pay more than $1 per patty, simply because you can get them in the drive thru for that price.

Taste of Summer

I've been selected to try the new Private Selection items from Kroger! I'm so excited. I've tried the pizza and desserts in the past and have been very pleased. I can't wait to try these burgers, chips, and ice-cream. I'll also have some coupons to give away, so if you are interested in trying them for yourself let me know. I'll post an update and let you know how they taste!

Private Selection Samples

 
I recently tried the new line of frozen foods called Private Selection. As a BzzAgent I received coupons to try one pizza, appetizer, and dessert all for free. Everything I tried was wonderful. I was especially delighted with the Chocolate Lava cakes... wow! They were amazing... I really liked how they were individually wrapped so that I didn't have to cook the whole box at once. After only 40 seconds in the microwave, I was in chocolate heaven! So sweet!