I saved $44 on Meat!!

Meat is probably the single most expensive item on my grocery list. Combine that with the fact that you almost never see great coupons for meat means there is no way to avoid the high prices.. or is there??

A couple weeks ago I saved $44 on meat by simply doing a little work myself. I don't know about you but $44 is a lot of money to me!

Here is how.. The single easiest way to save on meat is to do a little packaging yourself. Meat in larger packages is almost always cheaper per pound than meat in smaller packages. The key to making sure you don't waste it is to repackage it into sizes that your family will actually use.

Our local CountryMart had a great sale on meat two weeks ago.(don't worry if you missed it they often run sales similar to this and even if it isn't on sale it's always cheaper to repackage meat) Anyway the deal was amazing.. but here's the catch.. to get that great price per pound you had to buy it in 10lb packages. What are you going to do with 10lbs of meat? Bring it home and immediately separate it into individual bags. Do not put it in the freezer until you do. If you do then it will be next to impossible to separate and you will waste food.. and money!

So here is the breakdown.

First up ground hamburger.. Reg $3.29lb on sale for $1.99lb   Saved $1.30lb 10lbs total saved $13!!

Here is everything you need. Large package of hamburger, Freezer Bags and a Sharpie

Cut the hamburger into sizes that fit your own family. I divided ours into a little over a pound per bag which is what most recipes call for and what I normally purchase in the smaller packages.

Done! Finished product all ready for the freezer! 

Comparison On the right is the package I packaged and on the left is a package I had purchased a few days before. Both have slightly over 1lb making the cost of the one on the left around $2 and the one on the right $3.72! 

Now for the pork. Pork chops are one of my husband and boys favorite meals but it can be expensive! 

Pork Reg $4.79lb on sale for $1.69lb saving $3.10lb  10lbs saved $31!

 Here is the price of the smaller chops

 Here is the package I bought

 

Here are some of the packaged bags. 

 Another great benefit to packaging your own meat is that you can save yourself time later by doing a little prep work. For example I took some of the smaller chops and cut them into small pieces to make pork fried rice out of later. (One of Connor's Favorites) The same could be done with the hamburger. You could make it into hamburger patties, meatballs and such. So it's great all around. It saves you money and it can save you time at dinner time! 

Hope this helps you save the next time you are in the meat department. 

How To Save Big On Clothes

Today I bought a jacket I've had my eye on for over a month and I saved 53% on it! You can REALLY save big on clothes if you know how to shop for them! Every department store has a clearance section. Always check it out first! This is a GREAT place to find a lot of saving on the generic essentials that we all need. If you are able to pay pennies on the dollar for that tank top or under shirt then you'll have extra money for that cute top or pants.

The Duggars always say "Buy used save the difference" Well I am a firm believer that you can buy NEW and save the difference!

Here is a couple ways that I have found to save big on clothing.

1. Check out clearance racks. Like I said before this is a great place to save on clothing.
2. Stock up at the end of the season. I have literally paid $1-$2 for bathing suits at the end of
Summer and $5 and under for coats at the end of the Winter.Another great Winter item to stock up on is hats and gloves. I've bought gloves for as little as a dime after the season!!
3. Last but not least.. coupons.. of course! Many department stores in the Mall along with places like Target often send out coupons. The best deals are when those coupons do not exclude clearance racks! It is not uncommon for Target to release $5 off Denim coupons that can be used on clearance jeans making them Free or close to it!

With that in mind. Let me show off my new purchase! :) I fell in love with this jacket back in December when I helped my dad pick it out for my Aunt for her birthday. I wanted it then but am too cheap frugal to buy it for myself.

The unseasonably warm weather has Walmart and other department stores rushing in new Spring and Summer clothes.This rush also makes them start marking down their Winter clothes. I assure you cold weather is far from over as Mother Nature reminded us just yesterday so now we are able to snag some great deals and still have time to wear them.

Here's my new coat. Sorry the picture isn't great. I've been sick all day :(

And here is the picture I like....

I saved $9.96 and I still got the exact jacket I wanted! Score! :)

What is your favorite way to shop for clothes?

Less than $5

Couponing for less than $5

As many of you know one of my favorite things to do is take a $5 bill and see how much I can buy. I know kinda a crazy hobby but hey some people buy lottery tickets.. well I ALWAYS win! Lol 

So I got all of this for $4. I have somehow misplaced my receipt but I will give you a quick rundown of the products… 

White Cloud toilet paper 4 pack of double rolls. $2.08 used $2 off any White cloud tissue. Excluding 4 pack regular rolls. This means that you CAN use them on the 4 back double rolls. 

BIC Pens. I got the colorful ones J $1 used a $1 off any 2 Bic products. You can never have too many pens especially when they are in pretty colors! Made one of them FREE

Halls Cough drops. It’s cold season! I bought Cherry and Honey-lemon. You can pick your favorite flavor.$1 used $1 off any 2 so that makes one of them FREE!

Last but not least my FAVORITE buy of the day.. NIVEA Lotion! I Love Nivea products! These were almost $3 each! (Around $2.76 I think) I had a $2 off coupon meaning I just paid the change. My hands are nice and soft tonight!  

Not as big of a trip as normal but got some good stuff. 

Happy Couponing!

Welcome New Readers

First I want to say thank you to all of my new readers. I currently do not have great internet access at my new apartment, but I will do my very best to keep my blogging up.

I want to welcome all of you that are new to reading my blog and to some of you that are new to couponing. With the new year upon us come of you are searching for ways to save money, build your stockpile, maybe pay off debt or just spend smarter. I want to spend some time going over a few basics.

First and foremost.. For those of you that have found my blog after watching the TV show Extreme Couponing.. Let me say this. That is a TV show! It is great entertainment and great inspiration. Those shopping trips are not usually realistic. The show insures that they have a large supply of high value coupons. They buy large amounts of just a few products to make their totals crazy high, They spend a crazy amount of time preparing for just one shopping trip. I don't know about you guys, but that isn't me. I'm real. I'm a mom, a college student, and a woman trying to get by.

My first piece of advice is just simply use coupons for things you already purchase! Sounds easy enough, right? Well it is. For example how many of you with little ones buy diapers or pull-ups? By printing pull-up coupons from the companies website I am able to purchase Pull-Ups and wipes for much cheaper than the off brand.

That brings me to my next point. Is the store brand cheaper? Well, if it is then buy it. I often joke that my favorite brand is whatever is on sale! Often times though a coupon will make the name brand cheaper than the store brand. Why buy the store brand if you can have the store brand cheaper!

Watch your sizes. Bigger is not always better! Often times smaller is better when using a coupon. If a product does not have a size limitation buy the smallest one to have the smallest amount of out of pocket expense. For example if you have a $1 off Any Secret deodorant why buy the big bottle that is $3 when you can buy the small one for less than $1 making it FREE! Doesn't get any better than free.

Use coupons in conjunction with sale prices. This is a win win situation. A great sale plus a coupon means maximum savings. For example not too long ago Dawn Dish soap was on sale for $1 at CountryMart. I used a $0.50 coupon found from the previous weeks Sunday paper. CountryMart doubles coupons so it made them FREE! 

Finally my last and one of my most important pieces of advice.. stock up so you don't have to pay full price! If you get a great deal on something buy extra. For example not too long ago I was able to buy bottles of Softsoap hand soap for $0.25. I could have bought just one but instead I bought 5. This way when one runs out I don't have to pay full price for another one. There isn't any need in hording a bunch of stuff you will never use or that will go bad, but buy a few extras to last you until they go on sale again.

Happy Shopping! :)

Casey's Coupons

Sorry for the lack of posts. Life has been busy but as part of my New Year's Resolutions I hope to focus more on my couponing and blogging.

Coupons are everywhere. Right now there are a couple really good Coupons at our local Casey's General Store.

Found on the door of the Soda cooler and in the Candy aisle.
$0.75 off when you buy a 20oz Dr. Pepper and and Milky Way or 3 Musketeers.
These are manufacturer coupons so they do not have to be used at Casey's alone.

At the front counter there are some coupons for Buy one Yoohoo get a free Casey's doughnut.
This is a Casey's only couon so has to be used there.

Also online at www.caseys.com there are some printable coupons for $2 off Large Pizza.