deals and steals

I had lots of blessings with my shopping trips to Kroger and Walgreens on Thursday.  It definitely took me a little bit of time to plan out my shopping trips (probably about one hour).  However, overall, I saved $19.74 in coupons.  I like to look at this as money I have made to supplement our income....if you're not spending it, you're making/saving it.  If you make $20 an hour and work a 40 hour a week job...that would be a $41,600 salary.  (Plus I get to save this money...and it's tax-free...even better!) I think that's definitely worth the one hour a week of clipping coupons, printing coupons, meal planning, and list making.  To add to that, because I had my trips completely planned out...down to a sticky note with the list for each store and coupons already pulled for each store and separated, I was finished with Kroger, Walgreens, and a bank stop all in less than an hour.

Kroger

Total spent: $30.94

Total saved: $16.74

35% savings

Best deals:

*Kroger is running a summer savings special where you get $4/4 items on their designated list (which includes a lot of items...you can find the entire list in the store or part of the list in their weekly ad.) Remember that at Kroger you can use an ecoupon loaded onto your Kroger card and a MC from coupon inserts.

For this deal I purchased the following four items:

Charmin 12 pack- $6.99

-use $3/1 Kroger ecoupon

-use $.25/1 coupon that will double from 8/1 P&G

-Summer Savings bonus $1 off

$2.49

Downy Fabric Softener- $4.99

-use $2/1 Kroger ecoupon

-$1/1 coupon from 8/1 P&G

-Summer Savings bonus $1 off

$0.99

Two Old Spice Body Washes- $2.99 each

-use $2/2 Kroger ecoupon

-Summer Savings bonus $1 off each

$0.99 each

Other Kroger deals:

Cascadian Farms Organic French Fries- $2.49 on sale

-use $.75/1 from coupons.com

$1.74

Private Selection Organic Natural black beans- on sale for $0.89

Right Guard Total Defense Deodorant- $2.49 each

-use BOGO coupon from 7/25 RP

-use $1/2 coupon from in-store coupon generator

$.75 each

Walgreens

Total spent: $1.67

Total saved: $3.00

64% savings

First Transaction:

Crayola crayons 24 pack- on sale for $1

Get $1 in Register Rewards

Pay $1 plus tax out of pocket

Second Transaction:

Two 10 pack Penway #2 Pencils-$0.09 each

Cottonelle Fresh Wipes 42 count-$1.99 with in-ad coupon

-use $0.50/1 coupon from July All You

$1.49

 *Use $1 RR from previous transaction

Pay $0.67 plus tax out of pocket

There are many opportunities to give away school supplies right now.  My church is collecting supplies for kiddos in need of supplies, many stores allow you to purchase and leave supplies right there in the store, and you can even call your local school district and/or specific schools around you to ask for specific supply needs.  These are all great options for some of the deals and freebies you can find right now in the school supply sections.

Found any of your own great deals lately? Feel free to share them in the comment section!

stop to think

How often do you stop to think about how you spend your money? I know that since getting married and living on a strict budget, we think about it a lot in our household.  Now don't get me wrong, we splurge sometimes on things...such as a Starbucks drinks (you'll hear more about that in a second), dinner out, or a new article of clothing we find on sale that we don't necessarily need but want.  I think we all do that.  However, I'm one of those people that have a really hard time justifying splurges.  I just feel guilty.  I've always been kinda "tight" with my money and it actually seems now to be a fruitful trait on our Dave Ramsey budget.  (Hence all my budget-friendly and thrifty posts.)  We've always been people that give of our time and money.  We go on mission trips each year with our church and give often.  However, Justin and I have been talking more and more lately about how God is calling us to give even more.  More of our money and more of our time.  I've been convicted of spending money on all those "extras" when there are so many people in need in my very own community.  Needs that are as simple as food to put on the table and diapers for babies.  So where am I going with this?

image source

Well a few weeks ago, Justin was finishing up his final big paper for school.  His paper had to center around a company that has recently had problems and he had to discuss ways to "fix" the problems within the company.  He chose Starbucks and their recent decline in sales due to the economony.  He found this great website with a Coffee Cost Calculator that I just had to share.  If you are a Starbucks person...this is for you.  (And I'm even talking to the "a few times a month" Starbucks drinkers like myself.)  This website allows you to put in the average cost of the drink you purchase and approximately how many days out of the year you purchase the drink.  You can then choose how many years you want it to calculate and the percentage for your investment yield (your interest on the money if you put it into savings).  The default was $3.50 for one cup of coffee for 250 days out of the year (average number of days in a work year) for 10 years at a 4% investment yield.  (The website includes an extra slot to input your cups of coffee from your office as well.  I just input a 0 there.)  After a year, at this many cups of coffee, you spend $812.50 (yikes!), after 10 years with this money invested, you would have $9,754.96 in the bank.  Oh my! Even if you just get a cup about once every week throughout the year, like myself, that's still a little over $2,000 in savings.  Crazy!

So my point in all this? Even those Starbucks "splurges" add up.  That's $2,000 I could be putting to further God's kingdom and help those so much less fortunate than our little family.  That's $2,000 that could go toward our savings or whatever else God has in mind.  That's $2,000.

I'm not here to tell you what to do.  Not my point at all. I'm just sharing what God has laid on my heart recently.  I'm definitely thinking more about those "little expenses" that just don't seem so necessary anymore!

buying local...creativity and inspiration

Since it's my spring break, my mom and I planned a local shopping extravaganza.  Our plan was to hit the local, "little man" stores that we never make our way to.  They're the fun gift shop stores that we just find ourselves moseying through when we have some down time.  Obviously that doesn't happen a lot.  But what a blessing it was to be able to have fun with my mom out today and browse some of the amazing stores we have close to us.  Each shop we went to is locally owned and most contain fair trade products.

We found the cutest stuff! We also found quite a few stores that helped rejuvenate the "artsy fartsy", creative side of us.  My mom was a wonderful hippy, granola gal herself when she was younger (still is deep down) and she pulls that out of me quite a bit.  I love it.  (I think it all started when they dressed me in tie-died shirts, took me to gobs of arts and crafts fairs when I was little, signed me up for art classes as an itty bitty, and took my little bro and me hiking at every chance they got...I even learned to "potty" in the woods at a very young age...not easy for a girl.)

Check out some of our great finds today! (My mom was sweet and purchased a few of these as "spring break treats" for me!)

-Sketchbook made from recycled paper

-Drawing pencil and eraser

-Two art canvases

-Change purse

-Headband

-Birthday gift for someone (not pictured so it's a surprise)

*The art supplies came from two local art supply stores we found that we had no idea even existed.  They were an artist's dream.  I got lost in those stores (both literally and figuratively).  Amazing items for awesome prices.  Perfect to get that artist within me stirring again.  (That side of me sadly takes a back seat during the school year.)

*The headband was bought at a local fair trade store.  It was handmade in Guatemala.  Almost the entire proceeds of the sale will go back to the community in which the headband was created.

*And the change purse? This one went straight to my heart.  On the tag it has the specific name of the lady that created this in Guatemala with her own hands.  Macaria Quisquina.  It also has the specific community in which she lives checked.  These Mayan women are directly benefited from the purchase of their handmade items.  From this small purchase...something that seems so small to me...Macaria receives proceeds to go toward her family for food and schooling.  Amazing.

So what is all this "buying local" and "fair trade" talk all about? It's all about making choices about where you spend your money to benefit others and your own community.  (And no, it was not created by Al Gore, it's not a party-specific way to shop, ha, and it is not for specifically "green" people.  Just in case you were wondering.)

In a nutshell....

Fair trade means the items were created without any harm to others (think, "no sweatshops") because it honors the producers and consumers of the product, the communities in which the product is created or sold, and also the environment.  Fair trade products means that the individual that created the product will receive appropriate wages for their trade....wages that will go toward necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, education, and medical care.

Buying local means that at least 45 cents of every dollar you spend will go back to the local economy, a huge increase to the 15 cents that will be returned locally when you purchase items at a corporate chain store.  You are assisting local merchants in your own community, keeping jobs in the community, helping keep local options available, and simply doing a good deed.  I may be a little partial coming from entrepreneur parents....but who doesn't want to support a small business?

So my challenge to you is to find some local shops, preferably that sells some or all fair trade items, and start supporting them! You'll be amazed by the quality of the products.  The hullabaloo about things being more expensive in small businesses isn't always true, either.  And personally, I don't mind to pay a dollar or two more knowing that I'm helping others in the great ways listed above.

 

Happy local shopping! Be inspired.

(If you know me beyond blogging world and live in the area...let me know and I can give you specific store names and locations if you're interested.  I just don't wanna disclose that on here due to all the "creepies" out there in internet world.)

coupons for troops--send expired coupons to families stationed overseas

Image link

If you're as crazy as me about decluttering your coupons in order to make room for more and you're looking for ways to help others...listen up! A friend of my sister-in-law recently contacted me about joining in on a coupon exchange through the mail...love it! We live in different places and she's working hard to get a few people together across the US so that we get a variety of coupons.  Can't wait to get it started! However, she told me about something I had never heard of.  Maybe you have.  If so, I hope you're participating!

Coupons to Troops is a source for a place to send your expired coupons.  American families that are stationed overseas can use our coupons at the Commissaries and Post Exchanges (their stores) for up to 6 months past the expiration date.  This is where they purchase groceries and everyday items.  Think bread, milk, diapers, etc.  Supposedly prices are much higher and any little financial help is appreciated.  Check out the great, detailed website for all the specifics on what to send and what not to send, how to organize the coupons for sending, and how to ensure the coupons reach their destination before they are past the 6 month deadline.

I'm not sure about you, but I'm always looking for ways to help our troops and their families.  They're living an amazing calling.  Can you imagine trying to live on a budget overseas? I'm sure it's just one more thing we take for granted in the United States.

So do what you can to help.  Get this started in your community of friends, your workplace, your church...wherever you have coupon crazies lovers among you.  I can't wait to do this! (I'll start with the pile of expired coupons I just cleared out of my coupon album!)

Thanks for sharing, Jess!