Shopping2

Funny story,  I told my husband, JJ, that I was writing a blog about how to have the perfect life.  He said, "you have the perfect life?!?!"  I said no, but I'm going to, and I'm going to blog about how to make it happen.

So, I make a list of the things that we regularly buy at the warehouse store.  I take about 2 hours and go through sams club and make note of all the prices.  I did this about 2 years ago, so I'm pretty sure my prices are out of date.  I went to Sam's yesterday with 3 of my kids and my husband to buy things, so I didn't have time to write down everything, but I did get the 10 things on my Fav List. 

I have entered the prices of my top 10 into my meal board app.  I have marked them as favorites.  I'm not sure that this is the way to go.  I think just printing up a list, that includes the prices at Sam's works really well.  But if you are only going to focus on your 10 main things at a time, then a small notebook, a printed list, or even a simple notebook app would be sufficient.  Then when you look at sale prices and coupons, you have the "compare price" right at your fingertips.

Last time I made the list, it was actually a total list of all the items I regularly buy, and any item that was available at Sams, had the Sam's price listed next to the name.  It was organized into 4 columns, and each item had a small box next to it, there was a 4th column that had blank lines so that I could write additional items that we needed. 

I have tried to utilize this list in 2 different ways.  One was to make several copies, and use a different sheet each week.  The other was to laminate it, and use a permanent marker and then wipe it off after my shopping trip.  Since I have really gotten into my mealboard app, I very rarely use printed shopping lists, but I keep a copy of this, laminated, and folded, with me so that I can make comparisons.  Just because I am trying to stick 100% to my list, I can still stock up on items that I know we buy regularly and that won't go bad. Soap, Pasta, canned items, cereal, etc.

Make your own Laundry Detergent!

I have started making my own laundry detergent!  Not only is it cheaper, it smells amazing, and works great!  I am not a pre-treater, though one day I hope to be!

I need laundry detergent to get out the spots I didn't see!  The dirt, the chocolate, the baby poop! Oh My!

I got this recipe from a friend, and it works great!  I have seen different variations of this same recipe, and I'm sure that  they are all very similar!

Item #1 Baking soda, 4lb.  I buy this in 13 lb package at Sam's club for $6.00, so $2 a batch.
Item #2 Zote ($1 per bar, these are huge pink bars) grated with a cheese grater, I use pink
Item #3 Fels Naptha- Found in the Launder aisle. Under $2 per bar, grated with cheese grater
Item #4 Borax - 4lb box is under $3.38
Item # 5 Arm & Hammer washing powder -4lb box, under $3.24.
Item #6 (optional) Downey Unstoppables $10.00. This really makes the stuff smell amazing!!! I use pink, spring something.

With the Downey, the total price is $21.62.  This makes a ton of laundry soap.  And like I said, the Downey only makes it smell good, this is not fabric softener.

You only need 2-3 Tablespoons of the powder per load.  I use a 1/4 cup, because it is easier, and I do LARGE Loads.  My whole basement smells fresh!  I will be making another batch this week, and I am going to count the number of 1/4c in the batch, so I can tell you for sure how many loads it makes.  Keep in mind that this is actual loads!  When Tide is telling you 120 loads, that is for the smallest, lowest line on the cup, and I don't' know about you, but I never used the small load amount.

I know this is a money saver, but I would do this even if it wasn't. It really works, and the smell is perfect!  If you really want to save money, you leave out the Unstoppables.  Your clothes will be clean, and unscented, and you will really save because the price would only be $11.62!!

At Sams the tide comes to $0.19 per load. 

To make you simply mix the ingredients in a large Rubbermaid container (or the like) with a lid.  I would recommend cutting the bar soaps into chucks before grating, because the grate will be smaller,  I didn't do this the first time, and my pieces got really long!!

If you Try it I would love to know what you think!

Fall Sports, and my slack!

Ech!  Bleck!  I can’t have it all! I am losing it! 

 

I have not been following any of my advice!  I do have a perfect meal plan though.  I will include the weeks, and info in a separate post.  This is just something to get you started.  Most of these recipes can be found on Foodnetwork.com.  Please note, we decided we didn’t care for the Comforting Beef Casserole, that will be replaced by something (I don’t know what) in our rotation.

 

Now that we are in the full swing of fall sports, it is more important than ever to get and stay organized!

 

I have 2 in football, 1 doing cheer, and 1 playing soccer.  These are 4 different teams, because they are by grade in school.

This means that we are running running running, always!

 

Our weekly schedule is like this:

 

M: Football 6:15-8:15, Football 6:30-8:00. (my husband works Monday night, so this is all me, luckily the practices are really close to each other)

T: Cheer 6-8pm (another night my DH is working)

W: Football 6:15-8:15, Football 6:30-8:00, Soccer 6:30-7:30

R: Football 6:15-8:15, Football 6:30-8:00,

F: Cheer 6-8pm

 

Games are on Saturdays, and Sundays (my DH also works Sunday morning).  Luckily I have a few people on the teams that I can rely on to help out with transportation. 

 

But on the days there are two football games, we will be carting around a cooler, with Gatorade, water, snacks and sandwiches.  I refuse to resort to McDonalds!  My waist, and bank account will thank me.  This weekend will be chicken salad sandwiches.  I have two whole chickens at the house, which will be roasted and used for soup, and chicken salad sandwiches.

 

My children each have a sports bad, all their sports stuff has to go into that bag!  Ball, pads, mouth guard, shin guards,   shoes, uniforms, hair bows, socks, etc.  Clean or dirty.  When it needs washed, it will be all washed together, and returned directly to the bag!

 

In addition, school starts soon, and tumbling will be starting soon!  Argh!  I will make this happen!

Fairies in a jar

This came to me from my dad.  I haven't tried it yet, but it looks really neat.  I'm putting it here because he e-mailed it to me, and I don't know where else to save it!

How To Make Fairies In A Jar

This is something everyone will love! Just imagine the look on your childs face when they see this.

FAIRIES IN A JAR DIRECTIONS..

1.      Cut aglow stick and shake the contents into a jar

2.      Add diamond glitter

3.      Seal the top

4.      Shake hard.

Roast it, and Save it!

We eat a lot of lunchmeat at our house.  If we have ham sandwiches for dinner it is a pound of ham, ½ pound of cheese, and a loaf of bread.  While this is cheaper, and better for us than fast food, it isn’t very economical either.  When you consider that deli ham is $7-$10 a pound, and doesn’t have a lot of flavor. 

A whole ham, is around $2 per pound, and tastes a million times better than deli ham.  Pick up a ham, and bake it.  Slice it up, freeze half, or in portions that make sense for your family.  Eat it on sandwiches until it is gone.  But why stop at a ham.  You can do this with Turkey, Chicken, Roast beef, and pork shoulder.  Having these meets bought in bulk saves money.  Cooking them and eating it through the week for lunches, or quick dinners, saves time.

This week I bought 2 whole chickens.  Granted I bought these at Kroger, not Sams, because I didn’t go to Sam’s, and I had pre-planned enough.  But two 5 pound chickens cost me $10.00.  I put them in the oven Sunday morning, seasoned with salt, pepper, sage, rosemary and thyme.  Just dried herbs sprinkled on top.  They roasted for 2 hours; we were busy doing other things around the house.  Once they were done roasting, and pretty cool, I cut them up.  I am not good at cutting up whole chickens, yet.  I was able to remove the wings, drumsticks, and breasts (mostly) whole.  The rest of the chicken, I picked off.  I put the chicken in a Tupperware container.  Tonight, I will divide it up into meals that I will plan.  When I was cutting it up yesterday, I had several meal ideas in mind, but hadn’t set them in stone.  Tonight I will set them in stone, by preparing the chicken the way it would be needed.  If I was super mom, I could have used the carcasses to make broth, but I’m not there yet, they went in the trash.

Some Ideas for meat from a roasted chicken:

Quesadillas, BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches, chicken salad (mayo, celery, etc.), chicken soup, chicken sandwiches, enchiladas, and Big Salad with chicken; and this is just from the top of my head.  I would recommend that you know several recipes that your family likes using pre-cooked chicken and ground beef (cooked crumbled).  Ground beef is good for a quick chili, pasta sauces, bbq sandwiches (like Mamwich), tacos, Taco dip (a family favorite of my family),

Another good go to meal would involve pasta.  Have several recipes that use cooked pasta.  I don’t really have any of these; we just toss Prego on it.  But I am looking into it.  Contrary to what our mothers and grandmothers would have us believe, every meal doesn’t have to be, meat, potatoes and a vegetable.  If you cook pasta and mix in some grape tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and a dash of parmesan, you can call that dinner.  Dinner doesn’t have to be heavy, just delicious and filing.  There is nothing wrong with having fruit crackers and cheese for dinner.  If you are satisfied, it’s dinner.  That is a nice, light and nutritious meal that your family will love.  Try to break free of what you think about dinner.  Sandwiches can be a dinner, just because you are eating with your hands, doesn’t mean it’s not dinner.

Price Examples

At Sam's club Gogurt tubes cost $0.24 each tube.  They are on sale at Kroger this week for $1.49 for an 8 count, (when you buy 5 participating items).  Plus I had a coupon for $0.75 off of two.  That is $1.11 for an 8 count,  that is $0.14 each tube.  Quite a deal, and my kids love them, and freeze them, and pack them for lunch.  Since you can freeze these, I will stock up on them.  Even without a coupon they are only $0.18 each.  We can each a box per day, easy.  Since they can be frozen, those won't go bad.

Tide was on sale at Kroger for $4.99 for a 45 load bottle.  I had save $3 off 3, which made them $3.99 each bottle (regulary $7.99 at Kroger).  This breaks down to $.08 per load!!  At Sam's it is $0.19 per load, but I blew it!  When I showed up at Kroger with my coupons, the sale was over.

Thats how you do it.  Depending on the number of items you are tracking the price, determines how much time each week it will take you to do this. 

I thought Coke was a wicked deal at Kroger, 12 packs $0.25 per can.  This is the regular price at Sam's.  However, Sam's doesn't have Orange Crush, or Dr. Pepper, so I will buy pop at Kroger, I may or may not stick up on the Coke, because that is the regular price at Sam's.

Once you have your main list in place, the time you spend each week should be less and less.  I would start with a smaller number of items, and gradually add more.  If you try to do too much too soon, you will feel overwhelmed, and like you are using too much of your time.  Then you will quit, and not save any money.

Even utalizing $5.00 of coupons per week on items you typically buy, saves $5.00, and that $5.00 should go straight to the savings account.

WareHouse Club

So instead of going to Sam’s club, I was able to get the price of the most common things that we buy there from their website.  It took a while, but I was able to do it on my couch while I watched Psych.   I will print my list, and keep it the front of my coupon folder.  I just have one of those small accordion files for coupons.  It has a spot for a pen, and there is a small pad of paper at the top.

Below is my list.  It has the prices at my Sam’s club listed to the side.  The lowest prices are not listed here, and I will just write those into my printed list as I see them.

Now, I will clip my coupons each week.  As I go through the different adds, I will take note of any items that I commonly buy, (these would be the same items that I would clip coupons for if I see them).  Then I will compare the sale list to the coupons I have, and decide which items to buy.  They must be cheaper than the price at Sam’s.  The prices at Sam’s are only for the quantities that I would actually buy at Sam’s.  They have 5 lb blocks of cheese for $2.43/lb, but I can’t eat 5 lbs of cheese before it goes bad, I don’t have a food saver, and I don’t want to freeze it.  But they do have 2lb blocks of cheese.  Those will get eaten. 

This list is effective 3/25/2013.  I know this list is subject to change, even at my own club, but I have to have a base line.  This is it. My verson is in Word, so that I can make changes to it.  When I print it, I try to make sure that I can fold it in half, top to bottom.  Some of these prices can never be beat at Kroger, or Meijer.  The problem with a warehouse club, it's not for small families, and we spend $200 everytime we go there.

Save it!!

As I have mentioned, I have no savings.  Seriously, NO SAVINGS.  For an adult with 5 children to have nothing saved is, honestly, STUPID.  Lucky for me,  if I really needed something I could borrow it from my date, or actually I have a job that allows me to get small bonuses through the year.  But the fact remains, if I can’t save money, I will never be able to buy a bigger house, or take a nice vacation, or be prepared in case of an emergency.

How can I save money?  Obviously I don’t know.  People do it, even my dad does it and he is pretty horrible with money!

I have a few ideas that I am going to try.

I bank at PNC.  The PNC mobile app is actually pretty great.  There is a “money bar” that you can use to “slide” money into your savings account from your checking account.

Last year, and in the past I eat out for lunch, a lot.  Almost every day!  That is bad for me on so many levels.  Now I can’t pack my lunch every single day, I really love going out for lunch.  But, if I can bring my lunch 4 days a week and only eat out once a week, that would be great, and save me a lot of money.  The problem, if I save money by packing my lunch I will just fritter it away in other ways.   So what I am going to do is everyday that I pack my lunch, I am going to “slide” $5 over to my savings account.  I know that isn’t a lot, but it is a start .  That equals about $1000 a year.  To save $1000 in a year just by packing my lunch, and actually see that money in my savings sounds pretty great.

My husband’s paychecks are our savings account, so that is ok.  And actually that is the money that we use for car repairs, and other unexpected expenses.  We try not to touch that if we can avoid it.   His pay is about 20% of our total income.  Keep in mind he only works part time, because he is Mr. Mom.  With all our little ones, it would cost more for child care then he would bring home.

I also plan to move $10 into savings every time I go shopping for non-food items.  For example I will go t Target, and right as I’m leaving, I will remove one thing from my cart and transfer $10 to savings.

Each time I go a grocery store, even if I only buy a gallon of milk, I will slide $5 into savings.  Lets see how much I have in savings by the end of April.  That is one month, and one week.

Wish me luck!

Realistic Couponing

Every time I watch extreme Couponing I feel like I should be clipping coupons. But I'm not sure if you have seen the show or really paid attention to what is happening. It shows people who have a huge stack of coupons, they go into a store and get $200-$800 worth of groceries for $0.85 or so. Sounds awesome right?!

But is it worth it? I think not. Absolute worst, most expensive week of groceries for my family of 7 is $200. These people say, on the show that they spend about 40 hours a week Couponing. What? That is a full time job. Some of them say they buy 20 papers, thats $40. I'm sure one of the ladies said she buys 200 papers. One goes dumpster diving with her children to get more inserts. Others have 4 computers so that they can print more coupons from online. And there is no way that every time they go to the store they get the same haul that they get on the show. Also I don't see a lot of fresh meat or fresh produce in those carts. I do see a lot of mustard, toothpaste and vitamin water. Pass. And $200 for 40 hours a week is $5.00 per hour. Get a job!!!

But there must be a balance. A way to make coupons work for you, and maximize your money. This is what you do....

Pick 5-10 things that you buy a lot, or spend the most money on, and minimize the cost, if possible. These things will be different for each person/ family. My items are:
Chicken, pasta, milk, laundry detergent, cheese, paper towels, coke, ground beef, butter, chips

Now I know that these items are not good for the health aspect of my life, but only one improvement at a time.

So the plan is to find the best possible prices on these items and to stock up when the price is at its lowest. Now unfortunately you will have to hit the pavement to find the lowest normal price at the stores you frequent. My common stores are Target, Meijer, Kroger and Sam's club. Yes I belong to a warehouse club. This is something you will have to decide for yourself, if the membership fee is worth it. For me it is because my dad pays for it. No question, free is great. But I also believe it would be worth it if I had to pay. The best values? Garbage bags, bacon, sponges, cocoa powder and vanilla extract. I refuse to buy any of these products any where else. Fresh meat is a pretty good value there as well, but usually a good sale at kroger beats their price. I don't want to get into the warehouse value at this time, I will revisit that later.

So back to the task at hand. Get a notebook, or a note app of some kind on your phone. Write down your list and hit the stores. You need to write down the price at each store. Not just the price, but the unit price. For laundry detergent, I use the price per the number of loads the bottle states. Unit price is the only real way to compare prices. We all know that if one papertowel roll costs $2.00 and a 4 pack is $4.00, the 4 pack is a better deal because each roll is $1.00.

Now paper towels can get confusing, because there are jumbo rolls and mega rolls. The package will usually say the regular roll equivalent. When noting the price you should consider the actual number and kind, 8 mega rolls, and the regular roll equivalent, 12 regular rolls.

So you write down the prices, and note the lowest, this will be the "compare price."  Anytime you notice the item on sale, make a note of the date, price and store.  You will keep track of the "compare Price" and the "lowest price."  I'm going to say, if you like or have time to go through the ads each week, make note if your items are on sale. If not, whenever you are at the store make a note if your items are on sale.

I am not a big purse kind of girl, so I don't plan on using a notebook. I want to use my iPhone. I am going to look for a good app to use.

So the coupons. For now, I will only clip coupons for my items any brand or store. I will also clip any coupon of items that I regularly buy. Not just any and every coupon like the extreme Couponers would have you do. How should you organize them, and keep track of what you have without wasting your time. I'm still working on that. I'll let you know when I find the best way to maximize coupons and minimize hassle and time. There must be a way.

I'm going to check my items today, and find a great way to track the prices. Stay tuned.

Update:
I have checked the prices at Sams. I try to keep things simple, so for me anything that is available at Sams, I use the SAMs price as my compare price. I will keep track of the Sam's price and the cheapest price I've seen. I have decided that I will keep track of the prices either in my MealBoard app, from the apple App Store, or in a tiny notebook, or a list.  I'm going to do all three, and see which one is the most convienent while shopping. 

Can you have it all? I’m going to find out!!

I have decided to find out if it is possible to have it all.  I’ve been thinking about this since I have 5 children and a full time job.  My grandma is convinced that I will be an old lady by the time I’m 40 because I will run myself to death.  I don’t think that is true.    But there are days, most days, where it feels like there is too much to do.  Not enough money and everything is a mess.  AAAGH!!!  We’ve all read the books, we know what should be done.  We just can’t seem to make it happen.  I am determined to make it happen, and if I can do it, so can you.  A few very important things you need to know about me, I’m ADD, and type Z personality.  Never heard of Type Z?  I’m sure you’ve heard of type A.  We all know some type A’s.  You may be type A.  I have some friends I would classify as A+.  Being type A will drive you, and everyone around you, crazy.  Then there is type B, which basically means, not type A.  Well I am type Z, as far from type A as you can get.  The bad news: My house, and my life, are a mess.  The good news: It doesn’t really bother me, most of the time.  But I don’t “have it all.”    

What does it mean to have it all?  I thought that was the first question that needs to be answered.  How can you have it all, if you don’t know what “it all” is?  Even worse, how would you know if you already had “it all”???!!!!

I have defined having it all.  The simplest definition possible.   This definition should be true for everyone.  The details of it will change from person to person, but it will basically be the same.  Are you on pins and needles yet?

Having it all: “You, and your immediate family, are happy and healthy.”    Well, let me revise:  “You and your immediate family are as happy and healthy as possible.” 

It’s the “as possible”  that makes it different.  My family is happy, and healthy.  But we could all be happier and healthier.  An important thing about children being happy and healthy is they need to also know how to be happy and healthy adults.  This is the trick.

Since everyone has different things that make them happy, this will adjust to each person.  But I think we can all agree, you have to be healthy.  My “immediate family” is my household.  My children, my husband, and my pets.  These are the people that I have control over, and with whom I interact every single day.  This means, I have to define happiness for each one of these people, if I intend for each one of them to be happy.

What are the keys to being healthy and happy?  Money, Time and Spaces.   These three things are not mutual exclusive, they go hand in hand.  You need a happy, neat environment that makes you feel relaxed and is conductive to productivity.  You need money to pay for things, EVERYTHING costs money.  Finally you need time to do the things you have to do as well as the things you want to do. So my problems?  My house is small and messy.  My ADD causes me to  spend money recklessly (there is no savings).  I have 5 children and a full time job.  I double dare you to find time in my schedule.  As far as healthy goes, I am 30 pounds overweight, I don’t exercise, and my diet is, meh.  These are my children’s problems as well.  How can we do things they want to do if there is no time, and no money?  How can they be happy and relaxed at home if it is small and messy?  How can they be healthy if they don’t exercise and eat junk food/ fast food/ ravioli from a can?  Sounds pretty bad.  I hope I don’t get depressed!

I will make changes, I will have it all, and I will be as happy and healthy as I can be, and so will my family.

You need to identify the same things in your life.  We all want more time, and we all want more money.  We want a nice home, and to feel good.  I believe that these are the basic wants and needs of everyone.  But the specifics of how to get them may change from person to person.  I do not believe this will be easy, nor will it come quickly.   I believe this journey could help everyone.  It doesn’t matter your age, family status, or income.  There is room for improvement in all our lives.  Let’s find it, and improve them!!