Frugal March chatter (Marching on with Savings) cont'd Frugal Feb....

[jasperandchar]

Are there are any cereals you don't want for example All bran buds (lol)? Or kid friendly only?

I am looking for any snack, dairy or cereal coupons.

[LuvToUseCoupons]

So my big purchase was Stamps.....Yes you heard me stamps.
I do/ride train and the postage/B.P. adds up.
So I spent $33.45 for 50 stamps .

[dreamcatcher1962]

wimbly11, you got some great tips from jasperandchar.
One thing she didn't mention though was meal planning. If you aren't already doing this give it a try.
I have only just started this myself and can't believe the difference it makes.
The thing I like best about it is that I am not staring in the fridge or pantry wondering what I am going to make for supper.

We don't always stick to what I have written down for that day, but it is easy to switch today's meal for tomorrows.
Today I had planned on having Chili & rice, but opted instead for Spagetti as we just had Sweet & Sour Meatballs with rice last night. I don't want rice again tonight.

Try to plan your meals around what you already have on hand and what is on sale in the flyers.
I started with 1 week and then when that was done, did up a second week. I print them off and am keeping the printouts as a reference for later on. I hope to have a months worth of meal plans soon, but find it too overwhelming to do it all at once.

[LuvToUseCoupons]

By the way yesterday I reach my 200 iTrader rating and in honor of that I am having a $2.00 VWT.
Meaning you get to list the coupons you are looking for and you/they send you $2 worth of coupons from your wish list.
Anybody needing coupons check it out to see if you are interested in joining.

*P.S. How that was OK to post here. If not I can delete it.

[Frugal Lisa]

Is it in your about me section?

Yes, or in my signature.

[jasperandchar]

I hear ya, they are expensive, I don't know if this is true or not but my mother-in-law said that you can purchase bulk stamps by the roll at Costco and they are cheaper, DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE!

So my big purchase was Stamps.....Yes you heard me stamps.
I do/ride train and the postage/B.P. adds up.
So I spent $33.45 for 50 stamps .

[jasperandchar]

absolutely, we're all friends here

By the way yesterday I reach my 200 iTrader rating and in honor of that I am having a $2.00 VWT.
Meaning you get to list the coupons you are looking for and you/they send you $2 worth of coupons from your wish list.
Anybody needing coupons check it out to see if you are interested in joining.

*P.S. How that was OK to post here. If not I can delete it.

[Frugal Lisa]

I hear ya, they are expensive, I don't know if this is true or not but my mother-in-law said that you can purchase bulk stamps by the roll at Costco and they are cheaper, DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE!

Yes!! You can, I think it's like 100 stamps for around $50... I'll be going there this week and can confirm when I do.

[Frugal Lisa]

Ps... What the heck is a vwt?????

[jasperandchar]

It a type of train, where you send each rider x amount of coupons or x amount $ wise of coupons.

Ps... What the heck is a vwt?????

[jasperandchar]

Tonight is the porc chops I didn't make yesterday because the boys were sick. you are so lucky that your girls will eat soup (my kids don't at all with the exception of Lipton noodle soup, the little guy we'll have a bowl everyone once in BLUE MOON.

With our savings, we are putting every extra PENNY or nickle (haha) towards are line of credit and hopefully by June it will all be gone.

So ladies what is for dinner today?
I am making homemade perogies and going to start my turkey stock for turkey soup for lunches.
DH is not a big turkey fan but the girls will enjoy a thermos of hot soup in their lunches
When I "picked" the carcass I put a big bag of meaty bones in a ziploc bag in the freezer so we can enjoy turkey soup next month too!
So that is at least a week's worth of meals from ONE TURKEY~! Awesome!

I am currently at $80/$250 for groceries for two weeks. We will be needing fresh produce for filler and milk again. Diapers too.
My youngest son is autistic and has extreme sensory issues so he eats mostly instant oatmeal, crackers, waffles and popcorn. That is about it, no kidding! He has recently started eating pizza (we are thrilled!) so I am buying some packaged/processed stuff for him.
I wonder if anyone has any ideas for making oatmeal? We have tried several brands and he does not care for any of the larger chunkier flaked brands.

Question for the day: What are you doing with your savings this month? Paying debt or saving?

Me, I"m paying debt with tax refund but want to register my kids for their sports (gymnastics, swimming and soccer about $500).
z

[jasperandchar]

OMG I need to get someone to buy me some.

Yes!! You can, I think it's like 100 stamps for around $50... I'll be going there this week and can confirm when I do.

[Frugal Lisa]

I'll need to also!!! I didn't expect that in a day I would have like 4 trades to send out!

[jasperandchar]

awesome stuff

I'll need to also!!! I didn't expect that in a day I would have like 4 trades to send out!

[SassyAshley]

As jasperandchar said grocery budgets are pretty tricky. Our househols is 2 adults, me and my mom. I try to keep out groceries to $50/week, which is a true accomplishment for us as we used to be spending $100-$150/week, we seemed to be averaging at $120. Some of the biggest issues we found in the past when we tried to get our grocery bill down was not planning and not looking at what we buy. This time around we slowly lowered the bill, the qucik drastic cut never worked so we slowly went down until we hit the $50 mark where we were happy.

I have also found our stockpile really helps, it has elimanted the we are out of ____________ and have to buy it on sale or not. I was pretty lucky we were going to use $25 a week to get our stockpile to where we wanted/needed it but I came into some extra money I was not expecting so I was able to go out and about about $350 - $400 for about $150 using sales and coupons to fill most empty spots in our stockpile in one shot. There were still a few holes as somethings were just not the right price or were no on sale but really helped to have that base to work off. Now whenever we need to stock up I can fit into our weekly budget.

Another thing I do is when tracking our budget if we are under I keep that money off to the side to use at a later date. Only once we get to certian point (not sure what the $$ amount will be as I have no hit it yet) or the end of the year and all our Christmas extras are covered will I use this money for something else. Really helps as you can than even things out overages and under spends and your budget will still balance.

We've started a budget, but we're wondering what to budget for food. That seems to be our downfall because we were both stopped at the grocery store whenever and spending way too much. We thought we would pick a number and actually take that money out each month to spend. What do you guys spend on groceries? There's the two of us and my step daughter on a part time basis.

Ah our internet went out at work yesterday. So frustrating when I am trying to look up time zones and just hope I am not calling a customer at like 6 am their time.

Good morning Frugal(ers?) LOL.
I missed you yesterday......internet went down, saaaaaay what?!
I have TONS of Iogos and $2 dry whiskas and $2.50 whiskas wet if either of you wants them they are yours