Final Coutdown

It kind of feels like the final countdown. I'm trying to accomplish as much as I can before this baby comes or I end up on bed rest. I'm a month in to my crazy coupon summer, I'm not doing as good as I want to be, but still saving money.

Here's what I snatched up last week:

5 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Thins= Free

2 pkgs of Dixie paper plates= $3.00

2 packs Twizzler= $.50 each

$4.00 is not bad for all the snacks above, I can't calculate savings since I didn't save my receipt for original price, but still, fabulous! Oh, and the granola bars came with a coupon for free milk, so even cheaper here!

Both of our camping chairs broke last summer, so I found a great deal to get new babies.

2 camping chairs (reg. $10.99) on sale for $7.99

Used 2 20% off coupons

Used 2 coupons for "Free LED flashlight with any purchase"

Thanks Harbor Freight Tools!! (My husband adores that store, anybody else?)

Speaking of husbands, mine celebrated a birthday and he got homemade funnel cakes. Yum!!! I wasn't totally in love w/ the recipe, I felt it was a little too thick, but still delicious with caramel, powdered sugar and cinnamon.

To spoil hubby a little extra I couponed one of his favorite things- Minute Maid Lemonade. I bought 5 cases of the lemonade cans for $5. Hot! (We'll see how long it lasts, we sure cruised through them this 4th:)

I'm still working hard on getting freezer meals ready too. This is a Spaghetti Sausage Nest, it's actually very delicious, I'll post the recipe soon.

In my freezer I have:

4 bags grilled cajun chicken, sliced

4 containers of beef and bean taco filling

1 Spaghetti Sausage nest

1 Funeral Potato Casserole

Not bad right? Today for dinner I'm making homemade chicken nuggets, I'm tripling the recipe and going to freeze the extra. Throw some quick potatoes and steamed carrots on the side and we're in business!

And in between all of that, I'm just getting bigger:)

Coupon Attack Continues . . .

I'm still determined to stock up my pantry in 3 months, but this week wasn't anything miraculous. There were good deals on things like cake mixes, brownie mixes, frosting and sugar cereals, but I passed them by. I didn't pass my glucose test for gestational diabetes, so I'm not eating sugar for 3 months. (Well, I will avoid sugar as much as possible, let's be real:)

My first stop was at Staples. I'd never couponed there before, but I will be back.

2 rolls Scotch tape, FREE (reg. $1.99 each) = 0

2 packs colorful pens, .35 cents each (reg. $3.99 each) = .70 cents

Albertsons was good to me also.

1 pkg. Dananino yogurt, .49 (reg. $2.49) = .49 cents

1 bottle Garnier Fructis shampoo, .50 (reg. $2.50)= .50 cents

2 pkgs. Lance Sandwich Crackers, FREE (reg. 2.75)= 0

And let's not forget Kohls. I loooove Kohls, they have the cutest jewelry and little boy clothes. I got this super fun necklace, regular price $22 for .85 cents. Wa pow!

So, I spent $2.50 on all the above items

And I saved $39.20 this week.

(But, let me be honest, I wouldn't have bought that necklace for $22, well maybe in my former life as a rich/carefree single girl, but not now. I wouldn't have bought expensive yogurt or the crackers. I only got the tape since it was free, I will use it, but it's not like essential. So, not my best week, but still fun to score some freebies.)

And what am I up to this week? I'm getting these beans ready to be turned into the yummiest beef and bean taco meat you've ever tried. I'm documenting with photos as I go, but be watching for my post on how to make beans so your family will eat them!

Attack of the coupons

I've been a casual couponer for the last couple of years, I've even posted several of my great deals on this blog. Well, I've decided that I need to go a little crazy this summer with coupons. This winter was my husband's shop's worst ever. No really, he was one of the only guys not laid off, and his paychecks were sometimes half of what we normally get. We used almost every bit of food storage that we had, and it's a good thing we had it. Now that it's summer and they are busy again I feel it's very important to stock up and get my pantry shelves full again.

So, my goal is to stock my entire pantry and garage shelves in 3 months. I'm having a baby in 3 months, and that's usually when the extra overtime pay stops. I want canned food, cereals, pastas, flour and things like that, but I also want to stock up on toilet paper, kleenex, paper towels, ziploc bags, everything we use.

I've never subscribed to the paper before, but I bought a 3 month subscription last week. For $17 a month I get a daily paper and 5 sunday papers. This is so if there's a good deal I get it 5 times instead of just once. I've invested $51 in this, so I need to save waaay more than that to make it worth it. Here is what I've done so far:

10 boxes of Ronzoni pasta from Albertsons, .15 cents each (reg. 2.17) = $1.50

1 Gillete fusion razor from Walgreens .89 cents (reg 9.89) = $ .89

Saved: $29.20

Spent: $2.39

Not bad for one week. I will check back in and let you know how I'm doing. Food storage in 3 months!!