I took a job last summer 

and found that I had less and less time to devote to couponing.

On the advice of a friend I started shopping at Aldi and of course they do not accept coupons. I still go to Kroger for pet food and some dairy products (we don't care for Aldi's cheese) and we go to Dollar General for detergents and some paper products. There is an IGA a couple of miles away and we also shop there since their prices are comparable to the other major chain grocery stores. I like the fact that at IGA you aren't required to have a keytag to enjoy their savings and I like supporting local economy.

I left my job after Easter of this year and started substitute teaching. I have more time for couponing now, but we save so much money with our present system that I don't use as many coupons as before. I recommend Aldi to anyone wishing to slash their grocery budget. We don't spend an hour or more shopping for groceries anymore. I don't feel as though I've entered a time warp when I go into Aldi. You know the feeling...you go into a large store and it's as if you've entered a parallel universe where time is on a different continuum as you go up and down the aisles.

I've tried to do the whole CVS and Walgreens deals but I have to admit that it makes me so nervous trying to be sure I have the exact coupon and product and then do the deals in the correct order that it's worth it to me to shop at Dollar General where prices are low all the time. I know Wal-Mart says they are the lowest, but I beg to differ. Sometimes they are more expensive, and I don't care for the long lines at Wally World. I still remember how so many stores closed their doors after Wal-Mart came to town, especially craft and sewing stores. I now have to drive almost 30 minutes to the nearest fabric store. I go to Wal-Mart as a last resort. Pardon my rant.

Couponing After a Seminar

I was blessed to be able to attend a couponing seminar. My friends have helped me so much, but I wanted to add what I already know, so I paid my $10 and off I went. I learned more than I even expected! So now I use a box with envelopes for my coupons and go through every month or so to weed out the expired ones. This has helped a lot while shopping in the store. I take in less things (coupon box, re-usable bags, my list and the store mailer) and I find I'm saving even more, esp. if there is a big sale and I've had the time to order extra coupons.

I also keep a calculator, a pen, small scissors and an extra envelope (for days that I've forgotten my list that I make on the back of envelopes). I put a rubber band around the box and make sure I've got my info clearly visible inside.

I like this system for now b/c I can have as many topics as I like. I have canned foods subdivided into soups, for example. I have pet items divided between cats and dogs. I have personal items divided into toiletries, soap and shaving, fem, hair, make-up. It makes for more envelopes but this box can hold a LOT, and it makes it faster when going through the grocery store aisles. I was tired of the binder since I was having to go through it so often to make room for new coupons. I may go back to that eventually but the box works real well for me right now.

 Update

Since November of '08 Fred and I each lost a parent. Fred's mother passed away in a nursing home in Massachusetts in November. She'd had Alzheimer's so the family was sad, but not sorry that her suffering was over. Fred's family had the sweetest memorial service for her I think I've ever seen. Then in Feb. we lost my father very unexpectedly when a blood clot from his leg went to his lungs. He left us in his sleep which was merciful for him but so very hard for us. I am doing better from that, but some days are better than others. It's been hard to get back to the things I enjoy but Fred, my kids, and my good friends have been a tremendous help. You never realize how much some kindness and understanding mean until you go through something like this. My dad was one of my favorite people on earth and I enjoyed spending time with him and talking about fiddles, music, and almost anything else we thought of. I'm so glad that there is more to look forward to than just this life we have here and I have even more reason now to look forward to that. We should live our lives here so that we don't need to be afraid of what comes after we pass away from this life.

So from these experiences I'm taking the life lesson that yes, it's important to meet our life and our daily goals, but is what I'm doing going to be worth it in the long run? Are we taking time to enjoy our lives and especially our loved ones while we have our daily "to do" lists? When we lose someone, regrets can make dealing with the loss so much harder. So I'm learning to temper my goals with some ideas about making it more enjoyable for Fred and the kids, and myself. A special treat now and then, a movie matinee, a good book, a picnicm a special trip. These are things to remember.

Make time to make memories.

Vacations on a Budget

You can still travel and take vacations when you are on a budget, just remember to cut expenses where you can. We go to visit Fred's family every once in a while and we drive to save money. Of course, with gas so expensive, I had to wonder, but it's still cheaper for us to drive. We were able to take our two dogs with us, so that's less for me to worry about with them at home and us not there. We have wonderful neighbors who took care of our cats and kept us updated on things in Tennessee.

  
 




























We go to low-cost motels which are still nice. Most motels offer a free continental breakfast so take advantage of that if you aren't having to watch your diet. Sometimes they will have fruit available but it's mostly high-carb food.


We stayed at a motel that has a kitchenette and we cooked some meals at the motel and ate in. Restaurant food is expensive, and while we still ate out a few times, this really helped us out.


We packed snack and sandwich foods in coolers and boxes, so that kept down expenses while traveling. It helped us on our time, too. Our lunch only took as long as it took us to make sandwiches, eat and then clean up. Much healthier than fast food. Not to say that we ate no fast food at all. But we kept that to a minimum so that it was a treat, which is what fast food should be in my opinion.

















We skipped amusement parks, but we did splurge on a train ride into Boston and a trolley tour of the city. How often are kids from Tennessee going to be able to ride a train anywhere? So our kids have that experience now, of reading train schedules and helping to figure out which train we need and how long we have to wait. The trolley tour was wonderful - great lessons in history. Since we home school I counted that for a school day: Field Trip! We learned stuff that not even Fred and I knew - and he's from that area of Massachusetts! It was great. I highly recommend the Old Town Trolley Tours (orange trolleys) in Boston. Not cheap-but worth every penny.

We only charged our hotel stay, everything else was paid for by cash or our debit card which helped us keep our bills to the lowest amount we probably ever charged. We were so fortunate with the timing. Gas stayed reasonable until the afternoon we got home and then the hurricane had everyone scrambling and gas running low at the stations. I was so glad that didn't happen while we were away from home.

 No Whining

With all the conserving of energy and money that we're doing at our house you might wonder about our attitudes. I'm very proud to say that we are a "no whining" family.

Not all the changes we've made are easy or fun, but I'm taking it as a personal challenge to see how low I can get our spending. Luckily, the whole family is on the same page. We are all excited to see our spending go down, down, down. It's already making a difference. Of course, if gas and groceries weren't so high, it would be making much more of a difference!

A few years ago, the current economy would have seen me throwing a huge pity party. With the knowledge that I have now, I know that I still have many choices and it doesn't seem like we're doing without anything. I think the word "choice" is the key.

The kids don't feel as if they are doing without either. They are still getting things they like from the sales we see.

My husband is glad we are saving more money. I hated that we were spending all or more than he made. It was unnerving, knowing that we were just a payday or so from being in real financial trouble. Our savings is going up at a good pace, and that makes us all feel SO much better!

It's the time of year for home school resource fairs and early curriculum planning, so we still must spend on that. Yes, it's possible to home school on a shoestring budget, but with a high school student I want to make sure she gets a great education. I've been tracking down good, used curriculum as well as offering some of our used curriculum for sale so that has helped.

The point I'm getting at is that we are still able to supply our material needs less expensively so that no one is "feeling poor." Wealth is truly a state of mind.

 Saving Gas by Hypermiling

I'm all about getting good gas mileage these days. I drive a van, so there's a limit to how much I can save, but I've stumbled across a cool way to improve gas mileage, no matter what you happen to be driving. Hypermiling mimics your vehicle's cruise control by applying gas as needed to go uphill and coasting downhill. Basically you're taking advantage of gravity. There are several websites devoted to hypermiling, but beware of those that advise unsafe practices such as drafting or driving while in neutral.

Speeding, and sudden starts and stops will lower your gas mileage, sometimes dramatically. Most of us already know that, but I'm learning to gauge hills to see how much gas I'll really need to crest it, then I let gravity take over. It's a good idea to keep your brake covered. I've been surprised at how often I've been applying gas when I could actually let my van's weight pull itself down a hill. I've seen a difference in my gas mileage. Normally when I'm running the A/C, it goes down quite a bit, but I've not seen a big difference at all this year! I still wish gas prices would go down, but at least I can squeeze a few more miles out of each gallon.

All the advice telling you to walk when you can, or ride a bike, and take public transportation when possible is great, but what about when you live in a rural area where there are no sidewalks, no public transportation, and the roads aren't safe at all for biking? Some people have no choice but to drive, like the area I live in. I would walk or take public transportation if I could, but it's not an option for my area.

What do you do to save money on transportation?

 Conserving Water

There are so many parts of our country and our world that suffer from drought that we should all conserve water as much as possible. In some areas, water is a precious resource, the people there would give a lot just to have the water we waste in one day.


Repairing leaky faucets and toilets is a no-brainer but how much further can we go?

Do you remember to turn off the water when you aren't really using it? Do you turn off the water when you brush your teeth, or scrub dishes?

I'm pricing low-flow shower heads. We already try to limit our time in the shower but this will help reduce our water waste even more. There are also low-flow adapters for faucets.


I'd love to have a grey-water tank for watering the garden and plants but that might push my husband over the edge!


One thing I do is keep an old plastic pitcher on the counter for "old" water. All glasses of water not drunk up are poured into the pitcher. I water the houseplants with this, and haven't had to "run" water for my plants in some time!


I got this idea from a friend: Use dishtubs for washing your dishes. When you are finished, pour the water on your garden or plants outside.


We adjusted our toilets until they use just enough water to flush. I added water bottles filled with sand to the tanks, and we set the floaters to the right level (not too low and not too high!)

When we save water we save money, but we are also helping ourselves and our "neighbors" on the earth.

Home made Laundry Soap Link

 
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/articles/detergent.shtml

There are several recipes you can use on this site. Recipe #3 is most like the recipe I use. I don't use Fels Naphtha soap which is recommended on the site, but I do use Octagon. I like the way it rinses clean. Plus it's old-fashioned and versatile. My kids don't really like to use the home-made stuff on their clothes. For some reason it breaks them out and makes them itch. It doesn't seem to bother them on the sheets and towels though, for which I am thankful. I use the home-made stuff for all my clothes and the sheets, towels and rags.

 Laundry - Clean Thoughts!

No matter how you do it, laundry will always take time and money. It just depends on how much time and money you want to spend!

I save money by making my own detergent with a bar of soap (usually Octagon), washing soda and warm water, and adding a bit of commercial detergent. Right now I have several bottles of Whisk on hand that I bought on sale with a coupon thrown in, so I'll add that in. I can make that last a lo-o-o-ng time! I'll add the recipe later, plus links where you can learn more. For fabric softener, get a bottle of white vinegar. Add 1/2 cup to the rinse water for deoderizing and softening. Plus, vinegar kill some germs.

I only tumble dry our sheets and towels. For blankets, beach towels and all other clothing I hang them to dry. We have several clothes lines in our laundry room but things don't really dry quickly in there like I'd hoped unless there's a very good breeze. I love my wooden clothes racks and my umbrella hanging dryer. I use these for socks, underwear and sweaters. Our shirts and pants get hung up on hangars and left to dry on the shower rods and the rail around our stairwell. Our dryer doesn't get used very much now! I wash our cloth rags we use in place of paper towels and hang them up, too.

My Canning Project

I still need shelves in the cellar for my canning project which I'm starting. I got a pressure canner and some pint jars. I already had a water bath canner and quite a few quart jars. I plan to can green beans, dried beans, soup (beef and chicken), tomatoes (for making spaghetti sauce and salsa),jam, possibly corn and potatoes. I'll have to find something to do with the zucchini I'm growing. Any ideas? Last year I experimented with drying some veggies and it worked real well with squash. We are still eating them a bit like potato chips!

I think I'm a throwback to pioneer or depression-era times since there are things I like to do that don't fit in with "modern" ways. I take pleasure in using items that don't require electricity, like my Pampered Chef food chopper and slicers. If I could convert my sewing machine to a treadle, I'd do it! I admire the ingenuity of my ancestors.

Couponing and Shopping Sales

I'm trying to be green, while also acknowledging my "inner frugal person". I've learned from a friend how to "stack" deals and coupons, and to shop the sales in order to build up a supply of food. After you build up your supply, then you need to shop only to keep your supplies up. I used to worry about possible power outtages at the stores due to weather or a truck driver strike (hey, I was getting a little paranoid with all the high prices and talk of shortages!) but now we'd be fine if I didn't make it to the store for 3 or 4 weeks, and even then we'd probably only need eggs and bread! I bought everything on sales and some things I also had coupons for, which made it doubly sweet! If you wait until the coupon is about to expire, sometimes you will find the item on sale. I will buy store brands if they are cheaper than the name-brand item with a coupon. Today I found buns for $.99 and stocked up. My freezer is looking great! Look out for the 10 for $10 sales, though. A few times I was tempted by something that looked great, but then I realized that I wouldn't normally pay $1 for a can of beans, so I pass those up.

I converted a closet into a pantry for food. (You have to make room for the food you buy because it really starts to add up!) The toiletries are kept in a half-bath that has shelves for storage. I love to do Christmas Child boxes each November for Franklin Graham's ministry and this year we'll only need to buy toys, washcloths and towels as I have plenty of toiletries to include already.

For coupons, I use a zippered binder with plastic pocket pages for baseball cards. My coupons are in alphabetical order by the type, not necessarily the name brand, of the product. My name and phone number are in there in several places. I included a calculator and small pair of scissors. It can take a few weeks to build up your coupon supply. Don't be ashamed to ask family and friends for their cast-off coupons. Throw your store and product loyalty out the window (except for where allergies are concerned!). I learned a lot from moneysavingmom.com, and Couponmom.com (you have to fill out a lot of e-mail forms and go through a lot of offers on that site, but she has some great ideas and wonderful e-books). I also used The Grocery Game at thegrocerygame.com. I've learned a lot about shopping frugally for my family, which I pray that I'll shop wisely and well.

What do you do to keep costs down for yourself and/or your family?