CHEAP BATTERIES

My 4 year old loves to play with a flashlight so much he got one of his own for Christmas last year. Yep, I pulled out the big guns. I may have only spent $1 on his flashlight, but I can't tell you how much I have spent in replacing the batteries. Yeah, I am now realizing a flashlight is not such a frugal gift. However, I discovered the other day that the $1 Store carries batteries. YEAH!!! Now I don't get so mad when I see that he has left his flashlight on again or when he comes to me just after a few day and asks for new batteries.

So if you have a toy (or child) that keeps your battery budget on the rise, invest in the $1 Store brand and save yourself some big bucks.

I TAKE THEM WITH ME EVERYWHERE

I have what I like to call "I TAKE THEM WITH ME EVERYWHERE" coupons. I have a small 4x7 mini-check sorter that fits nicely in my purse (find them at Target's dollar spot for a buck or at Wal-Mart in the office supply section for around the same price). I keep store, fast food, pharmacy and service coupons in it. I also like to keep a calculator and pencil so I can figure out deals on the spot. It is even where I keep my copy of the Wal-Mart and Target Coupon Policy. Breakdown the sections to match your shopping need, but here are a few of my categories to help get you started.

• CVS
• Walgreens
• Targer
• Kohls
• Micheals/JoAnn's
• Other Retail (Ulta, Bed Bath and Beyond and Bath & Body Works etc)
• Prescription Transfer Coupons
• Fast Food
• Entertainment

I found that I was always leaving these types of coupons at home, and missing out on even more savings. So, being a Smart Shopper, I knew I needed a convenient solution. The mini-check sorter has worked out great for sorting and storing coupons that I don't use at the grocery store, but that can be used in every day shopping trips . Try it out and you will start to see savings in other areas of your family budget.

DID YOU KNOW . . .

Did you know that Micheal's and JoAnn's excepts competitor coupons? Yup they do!!! And it gets even better, at both stores you can use one of each in a single transaction. Just last week, I was at Micheal's for two sticker activity books for my kiddos to use at church. They were not on sale, but I NEEDED them for my sanity. I used one Micheal's 40% coupon and one JoAnn's 40% coupon in the same transaction and was able to save 40% on both books I bought.

I used to pass on cutting out JoAnn's coupons because the Henderson location is just too far for me to frequent all the time. However, now I clip them and keep them with my Michael's coupons to help further my savings.

DINNER IS SERVED

One of my most asked questions is, "how do you get dinner on the table buying mix and match items every week." Simple!

1) I make a menu from the ads. I look at what I have bought in the weeks past and what is on sale the current week to put together my menu.

2) I make sure my pantry is full of my basic (most commonly used) ingredients. Some of my favs are chicken stock, cream of chicken, soy sauce, noodles, rice, tomato sauce and bread crumbs. I have a lot of go to recipes that use these ingredients so when all else fails I can pull together a basic meal from my pantry.

3) I always watch the meat and poultry sales and stock up when I can. If I am able to get ground beef for a great deal, I will buy enough to last me at least a month. Then I can put together a "beef"meal from most of the basic pantry items (spaghetti, stroganoff, tacos, inside out burritos).
Finding success at dinner time comes with a little bit of planning. Grocery Smarts helps me to plan my meals more successfully while cutting my budget.

CHECK THE DATE

One of the best things about couponing is that we can stock up on items our family uses the most for cheap. However, you need to make sure that you are keeping tabs on what you buy. Whenever, I am stocking up BIG on items like the Pasta HERE, I check the expiration date before purchasing large quantities. The expiration date on the pasta was 10/2012 so I felt good buying 24 packages. I hate when the items I bought on sale with a coupon have to be thrown out because I did not use it before the expiration date (we experienced some BAD corn bread the other day and it's no wonder, the expiration date was over 1 year old).

Here are some helpful tips that can help you keep tabs on your expiration dates

• Always rotate your pantry stock. When I come home with new canned items, like the Cream of Chicken Soup, I always take the time to put the newest can in the back and move all other cans forward. Yes - it can be a pain, but it helps me keep tabs on my expiration date.


• Know what is in your pantry before you shop. Just because the Peanut Butter is on sale for $1.00 doesn't mean you have to buy it. Especially if you already have 10 at home. Set a good limit for your stock and stick to it.


• Be smart about your stockpile. Make sure you only stock items your family uses regularly. It would not be wise to buy 10 bottles of a certain salad dressing that is only used in one recipe.


• Look at the expiration dates at the store. I try really hard to look at the date before I even put the item in my cart. This can help you determine if you want to buy more or less of the item. Back to the pasta example, I originally only had about 10 packages in my cart, but when I looked at the expiration date (10/2012), I knew that at $0.50 a bag I could stock up on more and be safe.
  

RETURN QUEEN

As of late I feel like I am the Return Queen. Most of the items are things I purchase for my hubby that end up not working out - I even have trouble with socks. Thankfully I keep all my receipts in a small according file (you can find one at the Target Dollar Spot) so it makes it easy for me to locate my a certain receipt when it comes time for me to make a return. My receipt file has 13 different slots so I organize my receipts by the month and I even have a special spot for all Christmas receipts. At the end of the month I weed out fast food, gas and maybe even some grocery shopping receipts that I do not need. This helps keep my according file from bulding at the end of the year.

So if you feel like you are standing in the Customer Service line way too much as of late (like me), make sure you have your receipts stashed away in a nice and organized spot so you will always know where to find them.

GO KIDLESS

Shopping with your kids can add stress to your shopping trips. When I had my kiddos in tow, I felt like I was less focused on my savings and more focused on getting through my list as fast as I can. I was constantly telling my kiddos, "we can't get that today, it's not on sale" or "just a few more minutes." I was about ready to pull my hair out by the time my shopping was done. I would be safe in saying that I have good well behaved kids, but there is something about the grocery store that brings out the worst in them.

Over the past few months, I have adopted a new motto, "Go Kidless!" I go grocery shopping when my hubby is home and work going around his schedule. This has been the best thing ever and as an added bonus I get some alone time. I know "alone time" at the grocery store doesn't sound as appealing as getting a pedicure or browsing around Target aimlessly, but sometimes you have to take what you get.

So if your kids are making it hard for you to give your full attention to your shopping list, LEAVE THEM HOME WITH DAD!!! Oh and if you can't do that - check out THIS POST.

PICK ONE THAT WORKS FOR YOU

We all know that getting started with the Grocery Smarts can be daunting and I believe that one of the reasons is because we all feel like we need to shop at every store. We don't want to miss out on all the good deals that are going to help us save money, RIGHT?!?! To help simplify and streamline your whole shopping experience, choose a few stores from the GS lists that work for you. I will never know if you don't shop all the sales.

I generally shop at either Albertsons, Smith or CVS because they are close to my house and each other. I usually shop at 2 stores or less in a week to keep it simple. I have found that by not looking at the other GS lists, I am not even tempted to hit the other sales.

I know that I have streamlined my Grocery Smarts experience even more by picking a store that works for me. Try doing the same and see the difference it makes in your shopping experience.

ADDITIONAL SAVINGS

Going through the Sunday ads is something I look forward to every week. I can wait to see what new sales are going on. Today I found a bunch of extra coupons throughout the paper. Make sure to check out the coupons in the Parade and USA Today Magazines. They usually have some coupons hidden in their pages. Also - CVS has issued more $25.00 Gift Card Prescription Coupons. I calculated an extra $165.00 in coupon savings this week because of all the EXTRAS I found in the paper.

Lisa's Tip - REMEMBER that the Sunday paper has more value to us than just the weekly coupon inserts. Take some extra time to see what treasures you can find.

Why I Keep the Weekly Ads

Every week on Tuesday or Wednesday I get all the grocery store ads in my mail. Do I scour the ads? No - that is what Grocery Smarts if for. However I do keep the ads just in case an "in-ad coupon" is hidden inside. In my last shopping trip, I was able to get 2 bottle of Tree Top Apple Juice for $4.00 because I used the in-ad coupon to boost my savings.


I only keep the ads until I shop, and then I throw them away when I get home. So don't be so quick to through the weekly ads out, they can add to your total savings.

Making a Weekly Menu

I love to make weekly menus for my family dinners. I take the time to make my menu when I am preparing my shopping list for the week. It only adds about 10 minutes to my prep time. Do I always follow my menu? No! But I usually just carry over what I didn't make into next week's menu. Here are some reasons I find it very helpful to make myself a weekly menu:

1. It helps me use up what is in my pantry and fridge
2. It helps me to know what I need to buy for the week
3. It helps me to get great dinners on the table for my family
4. It helps me not stress out about "What's for Dinner?"

Here is a sneak peak of my menu for the upcoming week

SUNDAY: Pot Roast and Mashed Garlic Potatoes

MONDAY: Pesto Chicken Pasta

TUESDAY: Inside Out Burritos

WEDNESDAY: Beef Lo Mein

THURSDAY: Aussie Chicken w/ Scalloped Potatoes

FRIDAY: BBQ Pork Chop with Baked Potatoes

SATURDAY: Left Overs

SHOPPING ON VACATION

Me and my family just returned from a great California Vacation and were lucky enough to spend some time in Disneyland. Told help tame the costs at the park, we told our kids they were only able to get one prize each. So we shopped around to get the perfect Disneyland prize.


However, me and my hubby realized that we were leaving behind some toys our kids would love. So we planned an undercover operation, I went back and purchased two additional toys for our kids as Christmas gifts. They will totally be shocked when they find toys they had to leave behind under the Christmas tree. Yes I did pay full price for these items, but I will not be able to find them anywhere else so I am willing to fork out the full retail cost.


So the next time you are on family vacation and you see your kiddos eyeing something, pick it up and surprise them later with a great unexpected present.

Shop on Craigs List

My daughter told me last week she wanted a Dollhouse for Christmas. I have waited or maybe even dreaded this moment for a long time. A new Dollhouse and accessories can cost well over $100.00 and in my opinion, that is a huge investment for something that may or may not be played with. A HUGE gamble in my Christmas budget.

However, I looked on Craig's List and found an older version of the Fisher Price Loving Family Dollhouse for only $25.00. It came with a few accessories and may need some more to make it totally playable, however the newer accessories will fit this model just fine ( so I am on the look out for some great sale price). I will need to put a little elbow grease to get it cleaned really nice, but nothing Mr Clean can't handle.

You can also look for good deals at your local Goodwill or Thrift store. My Sister-in-Law was able to get a used Princess Kitchen for only $10.00 at Goodwill that retails for about $60.00 new- NOT BAD

You should also give E-bay a try. A few years ago, I purchased an old Fisher Price Farm (I like to older model better) for only $10.00 and that included shipping. It is still one of my daughter's favorite toys.

Coming to terms with the fact that my kids don't always need brand new toys and that I can find good deals on perfectly good toys through other sources, I am able to save and maximize my Christmas budget.

Christmas Already!!!

In the past I have always assumed that the best deals for Christmas gifts would come after Thanksgiving, but last year I found that is just a myth.

Around July, I start scouring the Sunday Ads (another benefit I get by subscribing to the Sunday paper) looking for great toy deals. A lot of big box retail stores have huge clearance markdowns around July to clear their shelves for the NEW and MUST HAVE toys for Christmas. I have armed myself with this knowledge and have found some great deals that help me get my Christmas for less.

As of today, I am 90% done with my kiddos Christmas shopping, and I must say I think it is going to be a great Christmas morning around here. Here are some of the things I have been able to pick up at a great price.

Fisher Price Cash Register - Retail $25.00/My Cost $9.50 = 62% savings
Snow White DVD - Retail $30.00/My Cost $4.99 = 83% savings
Pink Brick Lego Set - Retail $30.00/My Cost $19.99 = 33% savings
Monster vs Aliens DVD - Retail $20.00/My Cost $4.99 = 75% savings
Doll House and Accessories - Retail $100.00/My Cost $25.00 = 75%

I will still be on the look out for great deals in the months to come, but for know I know that I have gotten Christmas for less by shopping smart.

Come back tomorrow to see how I got my doll house for so cheap.

KNOW THE POLICY

It seems that every now and again, we couponers can run into problems getting our coupons accepted. I can see why we may look "fishy" with a stack of coupons in hand, but we are all honest couponers. We have held onto our coupons for just the right time so we can get a big bang for our buck and we are trying to get a good deal, but the honest way. So the next time you run into some problems getting some of your coupons accepted, know the store policy and pull it out of your purse. Remember to be nice as you are trying to explain to the cashier that, "you do accept Buy One Get One FREE coupons" because you will get further with that smile on your face.

Click on the image to print your copy of the coupons policy today.

KIDS IN TOW

Do you ever feel like your cart is full of chickens? I do! Here’s a few tips to keep your coup in control and get you out of the store as soon as possible. Plus, the longer you stay, the more you spend… so it’s always wise to keep your trips short and in control!

1. PLAN AHEAD! Have your list ready and your coupons cut and clipped to your list. When you go in, know what you are going to buy and how many. The worst thing you can do for your budget and your little chickens is wander up and down the aisles. Wandering only adds to your total.

2. ALWAYS GRAB AN AD WHEN YOU COME IN THE STORE! I hate having to trek to the front of the store to double check something that’s not marked on the aisle.

3. LET YOUR LITTLE CHICKS HELP! Let your little ones hold something they like or choose something you are buying. For example, if Betty Crocker fruit snacks are on sale and you have coupons for 4 boxes, let them choose the variety they want – then let them hold a box.

4. LET YOUR CHICKS HAVE SOME COUPONS! Pull a coupon or two from those little aisle machines for them to hold. Kids want to do what we do, so get them involved so they think they are helping.

5. USE THE CAR CARTS WHEN AVAILABLE! These are are kind of cumbersome to push around, but my kids love them and they allow me to shop with no complaints out of them.

6. And... of course, when all else fails, pull a dum-dum sucker out of your purse!

The bottom line for me (and this trick works every time) is to BE ORGANIZED. When I walk into a store, know what I need, feel like my list is complete and my coupons are in order, I have a successful shopping trip and it keeps the kid craziness (and my total out of pocket) to a minimum. Happy shopping!

GRAB A SNACK

I feel like when I have a treat drawer, my snacks disappear faster than I can put them in. However, I hate having a million open boxes in my pantry that usually end up put back on the shelf empty. Not by me of course, but by a mystery culprit that I happen to be married to. So to solve my snack dilemma, I have a "grab a snack" container. Here's some reasons I love it so much:

• It makes grabbing snacks easy for my kids.
• It helps me rotate through all my stockpiled snacks.
• It is out of site out of mind for my kids - most of the time.
• I grab the whole container and put it in my car for road trips.
• I wait until it is empty to reload.

So if your family has a snack dilemma, try a "grab a snack" container and see your problem disappear.

PLAN & PREPARE

Sometimes, I do not have time to plan, prepare and shop all in one day. So to make my life easier, I like to split up that process. Every Wednesday or Thursday I log onto Grocery Smarts to get my list started. Then I prepare my list by printing or cutting all coupons needed, calculate my estimated out of pocket, and split up my coupons (if needed) into my different transactions. Because I prepare my list in advance, when I am ready to go shopping, I grab my list and go. So NICE!!!

So if you feel stressed about the whole planning, preparing and shopping in one day, split up the process and feel the stress melt away.

CALLING ALL CHERRY PICKERS!!!

Growing up, my mom only bought certain brands of household items. She bought Cascade, Tide, Bounce, Windex, Crest, Zest and Dove to name a few. So when I got married and began buying my own household items, I naturally went for the things my mom bought. I can remember thinking that, "If my mom bought it, then it must be the best."

So, are you loyal to all your favorite brands? I would certainly call myself a "cherry picker" or brand loyalist when it comes to certain products (like chicken stock or OJ), but for the most part a have shifted my brand loyalties to coupons and sale loyalties! And, because I am willing to try new products (when they are the best value) I have come across some gems that I would have never tried if they weren't on sale (and stacked with a coupon of course)! Plus, since I have started couponing and have branched out to buy a variety of products... I've learned that they are just as good, if not better, than what I previously believed were the best.

Here are a few of the gems that I have found, tried and LOVED since I started couponing:

ELECTRASOL - I love Electrasol and the $2.50 COUPON from the 7/12 Smart Source makes me like it even more. It works great and is easy to use. At first, I thought it would be such a pain to have to open each individual package every time I needed to run my dishwasher. BUT it has not been a problem for me.

AQUAFRESH EXTREME CLEAN - My husband has found that he loves the new Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste. He has never been a big fan of Aquafresh, but when I got 4 tubes for free, he was forced to try it at least once. It has replaced the Colgate that he used for years, and he is now worried that we only have 2 tubes left.

SCRUBBING BUBBLES - Oh my Goodness!!! I love anything that Scrubbing Bubbles makes. But there foaming spray is my FAV. It makes my cleaning life so much easier. When I first tried this product, I wondered where it had been all my life. Scrubbing Bubbles is definitely on my TOP 5 Cleaning Product list these days.

I guess old habits die hard sometimes, but if you want to start shopping smart, you have to be willing to branch out from what you like and try something new. You never know, you just might find something you like even better!

TOP 5 PANTRY ITEMS

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of recipes that call for the same ingredients. Plus, (like most people) I have a few recipes that I find myself making every week. It seems like I am always running out of these "popular" ingredients and I have found myself buying them weekly.
So, to help get the most out of my budget (and to start building a stockpile of what I use most), I did a quick inventory of my recipes and actually created a "top 5 most used pantry ingredients" list. Now that I know what I use the most, I will buy and totally stockpile these items when they go on sale. Now I am saving money on my weekly budget, and I also have a great supply of what I use the most, and always have it on hand when I need it.

Here is my TOP 5:

Cream of Chicken Soup
Chicken Stock
Soy Sauce
Peanut Butter
Spaghetti Sauce

What's yours? Do a quick inventory check list against your recipes and get your TOP 5 list together so you buy big when the right sales and/or coupons come along!