Catching Up

The McLife has been all Max, all the time lately, which I know is what most people want. But...I thought I'd take a minute to blog about some other things for a day. So...if you could care less, and just want to see pictures of Max, I'm sure he'll be back very soon. If you want to know all my business, read on.

1. On the 50 by 30 front, I sadly don't have much to report. I was down 25 pounds when we left for Texas, and then I decided to eat my way through the Metroplex. Two words: guacamole and cupcakes. So...I'm rocking a 22 pound loss these days, and I haven't seen a whole lot more movement since we've been back. Mostly because I think it's okay to run twice a week and eat dessert every night. Sigh. It's a marathon right?

I know my 50 by 30 is looking a little dismal right now, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. And I could list all sorts of excuses, but I'm not going to do that either. I'm just going to say it's a daily thing. And I've decided that if it ends up being 30 by 30, I'll take that, too. I would much rather take it in small pieces and keep pushing than to decide it's not going to happen and give up all together. So...that's where that's at. Now you know.

2. I haven't sewed in months. I can tell you exactly when it happened. The day Max started crawling and realized he didn't have to play in the floor right next to me. And the day he realized that he can pull cords out of the wall. You can't sew if someone keeps unplugging the machine. Now, clearly, I could sew when he's asleep. I can't say I haven't had the time. You make time for what you want to make time for. I just haven't made it a priority. And I'm totally good with that. But I am working on some fun things for our upcoming birthday celebration!

3. Same goes for couponing. I'm still clipping those coupons and using them as I can, but I am not planning grocery trips around them. As I started to change my diet and the way I shop, I found that I used very few food coupons. I also found that I would get home with 15 cans of tomatoes and nothing to eat them with. I started using E-Mealz , and I love it. I am saving money, coming home from the store with actual meals, and adding a lot of variety to our diet. I do the low-fat for two plan and modify it.

I do have to say that although I'm not using as many food coupons, I still think couponing at a drugstore is the way to go. I feel like if I'm saving lots of money on toiletries and cleaning products, I don't have to worry as much about the food side of it.

So there you have it. Food. Exercise. Sewing. Coupons. Bam. I couldn't be any cooler if I tried. More Max coming right up.

Triumph

Max and I were in Texas all last week, so I am a little behind on "couponing." However, I did manage to score a fabulous deal at Walgreens this week! Here's what I got:


After coupons and rewards? FIVE DOLLARS! Whoo hoo! That's a whole lot of savings!

It breaks down to a quarter for the toothpaste, a quarter for the toothbrush, and about $4.50 for over $20.00 worth of diapers and wipes.

(PS: I did pay a bit more than $5 out of pocket, but I got back rapid rewards to use on my next purchase. I could have split it up into different transactions and paid less out of pocket by using my rewards right away, but I go every week so I don't mind rolling them over. Plus, they are starting to know me in there, so I'm trying to keep it normal!)

Frugal Friday

Total before sales and coupons: $91.00
Total out-of-pocket: $32.00
Savings: 66%

I just had to share my fun Walgreens trip this week. I always feel a little crazy taking these pictures and blogging about it, but I wanted to show you how easy it really can be. I usually look at the Walgreens ad Sunday afternoon, decide what I might like, match it with my coupons, and go grab it at the store that evening or the next day. Total time spent? Probably about an hour. But it's worth it to me when I see that total on the register.

Non-Extreme Couponing

I have had fun at Walgreens the past two weeks, and I managed to save over 60% both times. I didn't take a picture this week, but here is my loot from the week before.


As you can see, I may never need to buy shampoo or deodorant again! But...I would much rather buy it now at anywhere from free to $1 than later at $4. Clearing out a cabinet to store it is totally worth it in my opinion!

I didn't watch the new extreme couponing show on TLC, but the reaction from the "couponing world" hasn't been great. I can imagine. The large (huge) majority of couponers are just families and individuals trying to save a little money, not people out there taking it to that extreme. You can read what Jenny from Southern Savers says about it here if you are interested.

Frugal Friday: Plus Card Edition

I got some great (and free) deals this week at Walgreens, but what I really want to talk about is the Kroger plus card (or any other grocery store savings card, really).

I know that at least a few of you think I have gone crazy or roll your eyes at couponing. And I know even more of you don't feel like you have the time to coupon right now. And I totally get that. So, I just wanted to show you this:


On this grocery trip, I bought a TON of stuff. And sometimes you just need things you don't have a coupon for! But...the majority of my savings on food this week was because of my plus card and store sales. So...just by signing up, using your card, and paying attention to store circulars and bonus events you can still really cut your grocery bill. No coupon cutting involved!

Frugal Friday...Procrastination Edition

Okay, so Frugal Friday sounds much better than Frugal Sunday, but I just never got around to it. Oops.

I found a couple of really great deals last week, and had some very successful shopping trips. I know I'm probably kind of strange, but it's just so fun! I may or may not have already been to Walgreen's twice today. I feel like they are going to put me on their crazy coupon lady watch list, but I totally outsmarted them by changing clothes, putting my hair up, and changing into glasses. Not intentionally. But it kinda made me feel like Clark Kent. If Clark Kent was more about coupons than superpowers. Anyhow...I digress.

Kroger trip
Spent: $6.74 ~ Total Savings: 81%
This was due to all the free groceries I won playing their online game!

Walgreens Trip 1
Spent: $46.86 ~ Total Savings: 47% (Plus coupons for next trip)
I thought this was pretty good, considering a lot of these items are normally very expensive!

Walgreens Trip 2
Spent: $10.24 ~ Total Savings: 71% (Plus coupons for next trip)

I did have to do some stocking up on things like fruits and veggies, so I did that this week while they were having some good sales at Kroger. I feel like I ended up spending quite a bit this week, but I stocked up on some high dollar items. Overall, I still ended up saving about 44% this week, so I was happy. Next, I want to focus on setting a very specific monthly budget and sticking to it!

Coupons Galore

Have I mentioned that couponing can be kind of addictive? Because it is. I had a fabulous shopping week, and I wish I had taken a picture for you. I know...you're upset. Don't let it ruin your weekend.

Anyhow, I have mainly focused on Kroger and Walgreens, since those are the two stores I have here in town. This week, I spent $40 at Walgreens and walked away with $80 in groceries. On the Kroger front, I got $60 worth of groceries for $15. I was so excited! I've also been playing Kroger's Deal of the Day game online, and I have already won some fun free groceries. And, just in case you are curious, I do not buy random groceries that I will never use or weird brands that I've never heard of. I only buy things I know we will need and like. So, I may be officially obsessed. But, I figure I could be obsessed with a lot worse things than saving money!

Getting My Coupon On

Well, after months of lurking around couponing blogs and hearing various friends talking about saving money, I have decided to jump on the bandwagon. I have become a couponer. I kind of feel like I just admitted that I have an entire room of unicorn statues, but I'm not exactly sure why. And just for the record, I don't have any unicorn statues. That you know of.

Anyhow, the past few weeks, I have really started to figure out how to use coupons, where to use them, and the best time to use them. I really never knew before that couponing was any more than cutting out a piece of paper to save 30 cents on laundry detergent. And really, in the long run, was the 30 cents worth it? Not in my book! But, I am learning that by frequenting stores that double coupons, using store and manufacturer coupons together, and by using them on things that are already on sale, you really can save a ton of money! Without even trying all that hard, I have been saving up to 50 percent at the grocery store, and I know I can do even better than that! I'm not gonna lie. It's kind of addicting.

The only reason I have had any success at all is my favorite site, Southern Savers. Seriously, it's so easy! They tell you what's on sale, where, whether it's a good price, and what coupons are available for what you want to buy. Now, just for the record, I have no intention of traipsing all over town going to 5 different stores just to get the best price. For one thing, my town doesn't have 5 stores. For another, I don't want to get that into it. Southern Savers recommends choosing one grocery and one drug store to focus on, and that's what I'm doing.

So, here I go. I am determined to keep up with all these coupons and save our family money this year! My goal isn't to go crazy with it, but I really want to change our grocery budget. I want to be somewhere between never using coupons and that lady who gets blacklisted because she wants to use 100 coupons in one store visit. Although I do have a coupon binder. Don't judge. It's pretty.

Here are a few more sites I like, but really Southern Savers is the only one I consistently use:

The Krazy Coupon Lady
Coupon Geek
Money Saving Mom