Last Super Doubles Shopping Trip

This afternoon was my last trip to Harris Teeter for Super Doubles shopping.

I knew I was only going for a few things, and I had my coupons in hand as I walked into the store.

What I got:

(2) boxes of Special K protein bars (I eat the special K bars for breakfast)
(4) 4-packs of Snack Pack puddings (Ben and Elizabeth eat them with lunches or as a snack)

Total before savings: $12.48
Total spent after savings: $2.68
Savings: 79%


Coupon break down-

(Some people have asked me how the deals and coupons work, so I thought I would explain with a small shopping trip as my example)

The Special K bars are usually $3.39 each.
They are on sale 2/$5 or $2.50 each.
I had (2) $1.00 off/ one box coupons.
Those $1.00 coupons double to $2.00 off.
That makes each box 50 cents.

The pudding packs are usually $2.78 each.
They are on sale for $1.00 each.
I had (1) $1.00 off/ (4) pudding packs.
That $1.00 off coupon doubled to $2.00 off
That makes the four pudding packs 50 cents each.

Places to Go, Things to Do

I love to travel. 

ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO TRAVEL!

So...it got me thinking.

What are the best things in the US to see?

If you live in this wonderful country your whole life, 

what are some places you should try your best to go see?

I have come up with a list based on my own personal travels and lots and lots of research.

These are in no particular order.

#1: Walt Disney World, Orlando

#2: Times Square, New York

 *And the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, 

and The Empire State Building

#3: Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

#4: Grand Canyon, Arizona

#5: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

#6: Las Vegas Sign, Las Vegas

*And the Vegas Strip

#7: Millennium Park, Chicago

#8: Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles

#9: Portland Head Light, Maine

#10: Liberty Bell and Philadelphia City Hall, Philadelphia

*Also take a historic walking tour

#11: Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

*All of Yellowstone National Park is awesome

#12: National Mall, Washington DC

 

 #13: French Quarter, New Orleans

 #14: South Beach, Miami

I have been to a lot of these, mostly as a child, and I would love to go back as an adult.

Have you been anywhere not on the list?

What is a "must see" to you?

Sunday Night Dinner

Every Sunday we sit down for a nice family dinner (we eat dinner together every night, but Sunday we relax, enjoy ourselves, and take our time with dinner).

And since it is the new year, I thought I would try something new- Sunday Night Dinner's. 
I am always looking for new recipes to try or updates to classics.  So I thought this would be a great forum to share ideas and hopefully find new recipes.

Sunday, January 5, 2014:

Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and corn

 Dinner table

(Elizabeth already enjoying dinner)

 Ben's plate

 My plate

Elizabeth's plate (already enjoying the mash potatoes)

Recipes:

Meatloaf:

Preheat oven to 425

 

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 onion, chopped finely

3/4 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

1 cup BBQ sauce

Salt, pepper, garlic, and parsley to taste

Mixed by hand

Placed into shallow glass pan, in the shape of a loaf

Once you place loaf in oven, immediately lower to 375
Bake 1 hour.


Mashed Potatoes:

Boil large pot of water

Peel 2 pounds of potatoes
Boil 20 minutes, until soft

While potatoes are boiling, simmer 1/2 cup of milk and 3-4 TBSP of butter, until butter is melted

Once potatoes are done boiling, place into large mixer and mix.
Add milk/butter mixture to soften potatoes.
Add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.


Corn:

1 can of corn
olive oil
pepper

Drain water from can of corn
Heat corn on stove
Add oil and pepper for taste

What does your family do for Sunday Night Dinner?

Please link up and share!

Cutting the grocery bill in half

I usually shop at Giant, CVS, Harris Teeter, and/or BJs for our groceries and family needs.  But when Super Doubles are going on at Harris Teeter, I do all of my shopping there and try to get as many deals as possible.

We always make a list of what we need and then match-up as many coupons or sale prices as we can. Sometimes I end up buying stuff without coupons because the sale price on a similar item is a better deal.  I also only buy things we will use.

Below are my two shopping trips from this week.  All of my coupons are from the newspaper from December or this weekend.  The super doubles at Harris Teeter are going on and that is when any coupon up to $2 is doubled.  So, my $1.50 off coupon is now $3 off the item.

I have been to Harris Teeter twice this week and I may try to go one more time tomorrow.


Trip 1, January 1:
For my trip on the 1st I was grabbing things that were inexpensive that I had good coupon match-ups for or things we needed.

(4) bottles of shampoo* 
(1) bottle of conditioner*
(2) 4-packs of razors*
(1) package of napkins
(1) 10-pack of Minute Maid Apple Juice*
(1) box of Special K bars*
(1) package of Pillsbury Cresent rolls*
(1) 10-pack of pens*

* I used a coupon for the item

A few notes on this trip:

Ben is not brand loyal when it comes to shampoo, conditioner, or soap.  So when I see good deals I grab them.

I had several napkin coupons, but the Mardi Gras were cheaper than anything I had a coupon match-up for.

Elizabeth's birthday is coming up, so I grabbed the apple juice for her birthday party.  It was on sale and my coupon doubled.  After comparing it to the other brands, I knew it would be the best deal to get it now.

Original total: $52.71
Total spent: $13.56
Savings: 74%

 The crescent rolls and pens were completely FREE!

(because of their regular price and my coupon doubling)

Trip 2, January 5:

For this trip I was doing our weekly grocery shopping.  Ben and I made a list of all of things we needed for breakfast and lunch.  Then we planned our dinners for the week and made a list of the things we would need for dinner.

After our list, I was going to look and see if I could find any more good coupon match-ups.

What was on our list:

Milk

(1) box Special K Bars*

(8) Yoplait Yogurst*

(3) Bananas

(1) bag of Potatoes

(8) Canned vegetables*

(1) Onion

(1) bag of shredded cheese

What else I got:

(1) 10-pack of Pens* (FREE)

(1) loaf of Bread* (29 cents)

(1) jar Alfredo sauce* (75 cents)

(2) Knorr pasta sides* (FREE)

(2) packages of Tuna fish* (50 cents)

(2) Zest body wash* (FREE)

(1) Dawn liquid dish soap* (50 cents)

(3) Digiorno Pizzas* ($10 for 2, 1 was FREE)

(1) Floss* (FREE)

(1) Conditioner* (49 cents)

(2) bags of shredded Lettuce* (FREE)

* I had a coupon for the item

 A few notes on the trip:

Our weekly grocery budget is $50. 

We just needed a few canned vegetables, but they were on sale and I had a coupon, so I got 8.

My pizza coupon was buy 2, get 1 free and they were on sale 2/$10.

We have bread, but I got this loaf for 29 cents and we are going to freeze it

I got the shredded lettuce because we are making tacos this week and I like it on my sandwiches for lunch.

Original total: $100.65
Total spent: $44.70
Savings: 56% 

The body wash, pasta sides, lettuce, pens, floss, and one pizza were completely FREE!

Foot surgery update: Part 2

Today is the 2-week mark since my foot surgery!  I am so excited to be done with this process and even more excited that in 2-3 weeks I should be able to run again.

Today I had my appointment for my 2-week post-op visit and my stitches were to get removed today.  Since the surgery on December 20th, my foot has been wrapped up and the stitches were starting to itch (a good sign that the wound is healed).

Ben drove me through the snow and ice to get to my doctor's appointment and I am so happy to say that I got an all-clear and I got the stitches removed!  Woot Woot!

*Some of the pictures are slightly graphic, so stop reading if that bothers you*

 Waiting for the doctor.

Pumped to get this surgery shoe off and my stitches out.

(and oh yeah, Go Gamecocks!)

 Removing the bandage

 Examining the wound/scar/stitches

 About the remove the stitches

 Removing the stitches

 Band-aid to protect me

Ready to go!

The. Six. Letter. Dirty. Word.

BUDGET.

 

It's a dirty word to some, a mere thought bubble to a few, and a way a living for others.

 

 A New Year, means a new start.  

A fresh start.  

And for some, that means getting finances under control.

Spending less than what we make.

 BUT...

If you have never made a budget, you may not know where to start.

Or, you may need to recheck the budget you have previously started.

Below are a few things I do each month:

#1: I make an excel spreadsheet of all our bills.

I include:

 The predicted amount due

The due date

And the actual amount paid.

I also include the predicted amount of income and the actual amount paid.

Outside of expenses and income, I include another column for savings.

I put a specific amount into savings each month BEFORE our splurges.

#2: I break the monthly bills, into a weekly budget.

Outside of our monthly bills (mortgage, insurance, etc.) 

we live on a specific weekly budget.

 

#3: Our weekly budget is CASH.

Our budget is Sunday to Saturday.

If our cash is out on Wednesday, it's all gone.

#4: If you are starting a budget, leave money for some splurges.

If you like going out to eat, buying a People Magazine, or manicures; 

leave money in your budget for that once or twice a month instead of every week.

 

#5: CASH MONEY

  

If you are trying to get your spending under control, want to save more, 

or want to see where your money really goes;  

 try a cash budget for two weeks.

Set a specific amount, create categories, and challenge yourself to keep to it.

We break our categories into: groceries, gas, baby stuff, and miscellaneous.

*Remember this does NOT include monthly bills like mortgages, insurance, cable bill, etc.*

So... those are some things I do each month to help us stay on budget and save money.

What do you do to stay on budget?

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I had so much fun last night and I hope everyone else did too!

Here are some pictures from our little gathering last night.

Enjoy!

 Relaxing before the party gets too crazy :)

 

 Yummy snacks!

 Festive attire!

Nahed and Nabeel

 

 Noah and Jessica

 Drew and Nahed

 

 Drew and Kyla

 The ladies

 Happy New Year!

 Noah and Jess

 

 Ben and I

We hope everyone has a wonderful start to the new year.

Happy New Year!