Anyone willing to be a mentor?

[smurf8488]

Ive been couponing for about 2 months now reading alot of posts and taking tips but i still dont feel like im understanding as ive only seen minimal savings of a couple bucks here and there though my largest savings was $30 at wm which i am still very proud of. Im still in need of some major help my grocery budget has gone from $400 bucks a month to only having $100- $200 if i work more then 40hrs a week all because my partners income has been takin away from him (he was on disability). Its just the two of us in the house and our 2 kittys but it is still very very overwhelming trying to stay afloat with such a small budget. im really hoping couponing and any other saving tips can help us, which is why im looking for a mentor any one who is willing to work one on one in person(on the rare occasions due to work schedule being weird) and online (email, facebook, smartcanucks any way you want) to help me better understand things like best prices for items, flyer sale rotations, finding the coupons, maybe some better budgeting skills within my budget, anything you have that could help, i learn beter with visuals and one on one then groups and text. thank you

[Nettie]

Ive been couponing for about 2 months now reading alot of posts and taking tips but i still dont feel like im understanding as ive only seen minimal savings of a couple bucks here and there though my largest savings was $30 at wm which i am still very proud of. Im still in need of some major help my grocery budget has gone from $400 bucks a month to only having $100- $200 if i work more then 40hrs a week all because my partners income has been takin away from him (he was on disability). Its just the two of us in the house and our 2 kittys but it is still very very overwhelming trying to stay afloat with such a small budget. im really hoping couponing and any other saving tips can help us, which is why im looking for a mentor any one who is willing to work one on one in person(on the rare occasions due to work schedule being weird) and online (email, facebook, smartcanucks any way you want) to help me better understand things like best prices for items, flyer sale rotations, finding the coupons, maybe some better budgeting skills within my budget, anything you have that could help, i learn beter with visuals and one on one then groups and text. thank you

Hi smurf8488. While I'm about 3 hours away I can't be a mentor, but I can let you know things that have worked for me so far (I'm still learning too).

In my home, it's just DH, myself and our two cats as well. Our grocery bill has been/is $500-600 month, and we aren't huge eaters. My goal is to trim that 50% to $250-300. It's going to take alot of work.

The biggest thing that I have found that is helping is stockpiling. I started researching stockpiling online about a month to a month and a half ago. I slowly started to build my stockpile a little each week with the weekly sales. I don't have alot of room, so right now I am keeping my stockpile in the dresser of my spare room, and a couple totes beside it. The idea is to buy multiple items when the price is "rock bottom" or you have a coupon to make it really low. For example, a few weeks ago laundry detergent was on sale here for $1.50 with my coupon. Instead of buying 1 or 2 like i normally would, I bought enough for a year. Yes it was a bigger expense that day, but for the rest of the year when I need laundry detergent, I am "shopping" at my stockpile and getting it for $1.50, rather than full price of $4.99.
I have a years supply of alot of hygene products. Crest Toothpaste was on sale for $1.19, and I used a $.75 coupon. Instead of one, I got 12. So everytime I need toothpaste throughout the year, it's $0.44 each. Paper towel was on sale for $3.00 at Sobeys. I bought 8 of them. Now I don't have to buy $4.99 paper towel when I run out, like I would of when I bought one at a time.

I'm trying to stockpile non perishable food too. For food I'm just trying to stockpile a few months worth, as I don't have alot of space. So far I have instant oatmeal, pasta, pasta sauce, cases of ice tea, miracle whip, peanut butter, onion soup mix, a few spices, taco kits, canned tomatoes, canned soups, flour, sugar, etc. I still have more items to go, and alot more learning to go. The idea will be to buy enough non perishables when they are low low prices, that you only ever buy them at that price. When you go grocery shopping after your stockpile is built, you should only have to buy the perishables (milk, eggs, veggies, etc), and any deals that are on to replenish your stockpile. Have a look at the non-perishables that you buy often, then watch for a super good deal on them and stock up. It can take a few months to build your stockpile. Mine is only about half done, but this week I've started to notice a big difference on our budget.

Also - do you have a freezer? Same thing with meat, frozen foods and fruit. Buy it when it is low low price, and shop from your freezer.

There are alot of blogs out there that discuss stockpiling, and that's where I've learned the most about it. Here is a good one that will give you the basics: http://www.savvyspendingmommas.com/p/stockpiling-101.html (copy and paste link if clicking on it doesn't work).

Other than stockpiling, the other biggest money saver I've found is to use coupons on the stores "rock bottom deals" of the week, which usually make them free or almost free. If you don't have many coupons, check out the coupon section of this site for links on where to order some online that will be mailed to you, or join one of the coupon trains. I have an account in my name and DH's name for the coupon sites, so if something really good comes along, we can each get one.

Oh - and if you drink iced tea, the Nestea iced tea FPC is a really good one. I know alot of places in Canada it's sold out, but I'm still finding them every once in awhile in the western end of the province. Buy a case of Nestea cans that have the big pink label on it saying there is a free coupon inside for another case of Neatea ice tea. (Make sure it has this big bright pink label). Go to your car and cut out the coupon, go in a get another case with the same label, repeat, etc. I've gotten 12 cases so far and have only paid for one (other than the $1.20 deposit per case). Some people on this website have gotten over 100! I didn't find any at Walmart, but Sobeys and the Superstore had them last weekend. People have found them at Shoppers Drug Mart too. Not sure how quickly they would have went in Dartmouth though.

Here is another good site for cheap cooking: http://www.cheapcooking.com/

I've also read that weekly meal planning cuts costs on grocery shopping. I'm still learning stockpiling, but once I master that I think I'll give meal planning a try. You plan your weekly meals based on what you have in your stockpile and what is on sale for the week. Then you know which exact items you have to purchase, rather than just picking things up that you might make a meal with. Worth a shot.

Hope this helps!

[dreamcatcher1962]

Nettie has given you some very good tips.
I'm too far away from you as well to be a mentor, but there is a lot of good info on this site and if in doubt, just post questions.
There is always someone here who can give you tips.

This week Degree deoderant is on sale at Superstore for $1.49, there is a $1 coupon (from insert) which is out making the deoderant .49 each. This is the time to stock up on deoderant.
Ground beef is on at NF for $2 /lb. I haven't seen it any lower than that in a long time, so stock up on that now as well.
Best of luck & feel free to ask questions

Here is another link for you to check out as well. The site is American but it has a lot of information on meal planning in addition to budgeting etc. It's quite interesting to read through.

http://thepeacefulmom.com/living-on-...a-year-series/

[smurf8488]

Nettie - Stockpiling sounds fantastic and i would love to start im finding right now though with such low money trying to get all my everyday needs there is no money left for anything else...heck theres never enough money even for the every day needs...dreamcatcher1962 - i saw the degree on sale and i had coupons for it but i only had 2 and used them already on a sale previous. stocking on items like that would be fantastic expecially a that price but im not finding enough coupons the most im getting of an insert coupon is 3 which is good i think though not so much for stockpiling. With that though how do you know what price is the best to pick multples up?

[dreamcatcher1962]

Nettie - Stockpiling sounds fantastic and i would love to start im finding right now though with such low money trying to get all my everyday needs there is no money left for anything else...heck theres never enough money even for the every day needs...dreamcatcher1962 - i saw the degree on sale and i had coupons for it but i only had 2 and used them already on a sale previous. stocking on items like that would be fantastic expecially a that price but im not finding enough coupons the most im getting of an insert coupon is 3 which is good i think though not so much for stockpiling. With that though how do you know what price is the best to pick multples up?

If you can, join some trains.
The insert coupons I had, I got from trains. I ended up with 20 of them. Used 10 and gave my mother the other 10 for she and my sister.
Also watch Superstore for their Coupon Zone Coupons. A few weeks ago they had a $3 Mennen Deodorant coupon. Lawtons had that on sale for $2.99 so I price matched at NF and got some mens deodorant for free. Didn't even have to pay tax on it.

I think what might be a good starting point for you, would be to make a list of the items you use on a regular basis, watch for coupons for those items, and then watch for sales. Keep an eye on Peterman's thread in the Local Halifax section as to what are good deals for the week and try to match your coupons up with those sales. You're not always going to get a lot of free items but you can certainly get good deals.

Also take advantage of the pink stickered items at Superstore and No Frills and use coupons on those items as well.

[Mich649]

You may not be able to join very many trains until you establish a trade rating, but check out the trading section. You can often trade coupons you do not need for coupons you do (for the cost of a stamp), and alot of members have extra inserts or tear pad coupons. This way you do not have to buy newspapers to get them (I don't get any inserts in my flyers, unless I pick them up at the newspaper office here in my town, so often I trade for them) and alot of the coupons out there are not available here. Alot of times, you can trade stamps for coupons, if you do not have coupons to trade. Or just post here what coupons you are looking for, and someone locally may have them to trade. I find that usually people are pretty generous with insert coupons, as they are not too hard to come by.
Another way to really benefit from sales and using coupons is to combine it with a reward program. Airmiles and Optimum are probably the most popular. I personally love the Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum program. You get points on your total purchase before coupons, which really can add up on 20x the points days. As long as your total before coupons is over the minimum dollar amount for the reward ($50.00 or $75.00 usually) before tax, you get the points reward. I have had an order of over $80.00 before coupons, and brought it down to just over $38.00 after coupons (free product coupons do not count) and recieved 20x the points on the over $80.00 cost. Check out the Shopper Drug Mart thread (top of the deals page) for lots of tips on bonus points, etc. You can really rack up the points just buying regular groceries. I like to save my points for christmas

[rxslh]

Dartmouth Community Health Team has free workshops on stretching your food dollar:

https://cht.cdha.nshealth.ca/Select.aspx

[Nettie]

Nettie - Stockpiling sounds fantastic and i would love to start im finding right now though with such low money trying to get all my everyday needs there is no money left for anything else...heck theres never enough money even for the every day needs...dreamcatcher1962 - i saw the degree on sale and i had coupons for it but i only had 2 and used them already on a sale previous. stocking on items like that would be fantastic expecially a that price but im not finding enough coupons the most im getting of an insert coupon is 3 which is good i think though not so much for stockpiling. With that though how do you know what price is the best to pick multples up?

Stockpiling doesn't require alot of money up front. You can take as long as you need to build your stockpile, it doesn't have to happen in a month of two. Even if you dedicated $5 a week or month out of your food budget for stockpiling, it will add up. If you buy $5 worth of a product (something you use often) when it is a low low price, you should get a good number of them. (Toothpaste for $0.45 each or deodorant for $0.49 each, tomato or mushroom soup if you use it to cook with when it's on sale for $0.49, Ragu pasta sauce when it's on sale for $0.99, etc). I don't do the Shoppers Optimum points becasue I don't have a Shoppers close buy, but I do Airmiles. I get enough for $20 of free gas or groceries every few months with no effort.

I rarely ever get inserts either. I don't subscribe to a newspaper and that's the only way to get them here. They don't come in my flyers. I get alot of coupons from the P & G BrandSaver website. One bunch in my name, one in my DH's name. My mother also gets them, so we trade. She uses some that I don't, and vice-versa. I just joined my second ever coupon train. Both times I've never had a problem getting in on a train. Just make sure you follow the directions of the train very closely, and you'll get a good rating so more people will want to let you in. I've also seen inserts for sale on ebay, though it's a shame to pay for coupons if there are other ways of obtaining them (trains).

I also get alot of good coupons from save.ca, websaver, gocoupons, etc. I follow the links in the coupon section. I probably order some almost every week.

[ErinsMom]

I have found lately some of the best coupon offers have been on facebook (usually redirects you to websaver or save.ca after you "like" them on facebook). Watch the main SC thread daily http://smartcanucks.ca/ they are always posted there, but they don't last long. Sometimes only 1 day. For example the recent Old El Paso FPC was only up for a short time, now it's a $1 off coupon.

[smurf8488]

Rxslh – thank you for that tip I will defiantly have to look into that ErinsMom – I’ve seen a lot of things coming from Facebook I didn’t know that most are posted on the main smartcanucks page so thank you for that I always skipped over that page to go to the forums or coupons sections ill have to pay more attention there. Nettie – I never thought of it like that the spending only a little, as you put it the 5 bucks a week or I read somewhere else 10-20 a month as a stocking budget for items that are at the stocking prices. Also the items you listed at stocking prices thank you I didn’t know toothpaste and canned soup went down that low ive always baught both at $1 each which isn’t bad but cheaper is better. Things like ragu I do stock on now and hunts thick and rich I think its call another canned pasta sauce that goes on for $1. Deodorant at the .50 that’s a fantastic price but I have to watch what I use for deodorant as some brands break me out so I find most of the time im stuck to ladys spead stick and spending $1.5-$2 per stick do you know if that’s a good price or have they gone on cheaper I buy it so infrequently as my mom usually stocks me up for xmas that I just tend to grab it if I need it. How about things like laundry detergent, fabric softener, toilet tissue and female body washes (my partner only uses axe or old spice body wash and deodorant which I find is always pricey) what would you say would be good stocking up prices for them before coupons as I never seem to have enough :D. I hope you don’t mind me asking so many questions, I guess I had a lot more on my head then I thought but thank you so far for your help…for everyones help

[dreamcatcher1962]

The cheapest I have seen Lady Speedstick lately is $1.99 - $1 (insert) coupon = .99
I haven't seen many coupons for Old Spice lately, but do know that there is a $2 coupon out there for Old Spice Body Wash.

In regards to Fabric Softener, have you ever considered making your own?
I found a receipe for it on Pinterest which I have tried and found it works quite well.
If you are interested in trying it here it is:

1 container Suave Hair Conditioner (frequently goes on sale for .99)
3 Cups White Vinegar
6 Cups Hot water.

Mix it all together in a container, shake well.
Use 2 Tablespoons in each wash load in the dispenser in your machine and fill remaining space in the dispenser with water.
I found it makes a little more than 3 Litres and lasts quite a while.


One other tip I would like to mention is to do as much of your own cooking/baking as possible rather than buying prepackaged foods. My DD and I worked out what it would cost to buy a pkg of Michelina's Fozen Dinner compared to making the same thing at home. As an example, we made Macaroni Mess (comparable to Michelina's Lasagna), it cost us .17 to make the same serving size as what we would have paid .99 (sale price) of Michelina's.

When we did this, all the ingredients we used were at sale prices. You can buy a 2 kg bag of ItalPasta on sale for $2, Canned Tomatoes (Aylmer Accents) were .50 , Ground beef was $2/lb etc.
You can make a lot of frozen meals much cheaper than what you would pay for prepackaged frozen dinners and save yourself a lot of money in the process.

I have also found that NF has the cheapest price on flour a 10kg bag of No Name brand is $9.97 where the equivalent in any other store is $12-$14. Even with a coupon Robinhood is more expensive.

[Nettie]

Rxslh – thank you for that tip I will defiantly have to look into that ErinsMom – I’ve seen a lot of things coming from Facebook I didn’t know that most are posted on the main smartcanucks page so thank you for that I always skipped over that page to go to the forums or coupons sections ill have to pay more attention there. Nettie – I never thought of it like that the spending only a little, as you put it the 5 bucks a week or I read somewhere else 10-20 a month as a stocking budget for items that are at the stocking prices. Also the items you listed at stocking prices thank you I didn’t know toothpaste and canned soup went down that low ive always baught both at $1 each which isn’t bad but cheaper is better. Things like ragu I do stock on now and hunts thick and rich I think its call another canned pasta sauce that goes on for $1. Deodorant at the .50 that’s a fantastic price but I have to watch what I use for deodorant as some brands break me out so I find most of the time im stuck to ladys spead stick and spending $1.5-$2 per stick do you know if that’s a good price or have they gone on cheaper I buy it so infrequently as my mom usually stocks me up for xmas that I just tend to grab it if I need it. How about things like laundry detergent, fabric softener, toilet tissue and female body washes (my partner only uses axe or old spice body wash and deodorant which I find is always pricey) what would you say would be good stocking up prices for them before coupons as I never seem to have enough :D. I hope you don’t mind me asking so many questions, I guess I had a lot more on my head then I thought but thank you so far for your help…for everyones help

The Crest toothpaste & deodorant price I mentioned was after coupon, but Colgate usually goes quite low without using a coupon I've seen Colgate at $0.88.

My DH will only use "man" scented body wash too. I've tried to get him to use the unisex stuff, but I've had no luck, LOL. Irish Springs was on sale at Lawtons a few weeks ago for $0.99. That has a "manly" scent. My store never got any in and wouldn't do a raincheque (insert curse words here) so I didn't get in on that deal, but apparently there was a coupon out there for it too. I hope Old Spice body wash has a coupon soon.

Do you have a certain brand of laundry detergent you use? If not, ABC goes on sale at Sobeys quite often for $1.99 or $2.00 for the 32 load bottle. I buy this often, and to me it works just fine. For $12 you could have a 6 month or more supply (if you go through one bottle a month, which I do). Oh - and fabric sheets go on sale often. Alot of people cut the sheets in half, and get double the use out of one box.

[smurf8488]

Dreamcatcher1962 – I didn’t know there was a coupon out for old spice I’ll have to keep an eye out for that, I did know about the lady speed stick coupon but I haven’t found any yet so I guess $1.99 for me :D. As for the fabric softener no I never thought about making it but now I will have to give it a try and that’s convenient to as i use the suave when it goes on sale if I can get my hands on it. I’m a little torn when it comes to the prepackaged items I defiantly know it’s cheaper to do it yourself which right now it’s easy for me to prep and cook from scratch. While I’m working though is when I get lazy lol and the left overs never get eaten unless I take it for lunch the next day. I guess I’ll have to look at it a little further though thank you.
Nettie – even at .88 for Colgate that’s still a good price I’ll have to watch out for that and ya I saw the Irish Spring on sale and literally begged my partner to use it…he refused I don’t know why he will only use old spice and axe, I can get it him to pull away a little with the shampoo using fructis and head and shoulders but that’s only if it’s a no other option scenario otherwise he sticks to axe for that too…I think it’s funny but oh well lol. Laundry Detergent I have never been picky on I’m using purex and arm & hammer right now because I have coupons for them but I’ll have to keep an eye out for the ABC as it is still cheaper. Seems like Sobeys is a little better than what I thought :D I very rarely shop there even though it is the closer store to me I’ll have to watch that flyer more often. Thank you… I would like to ask when it comes to your two kittys do you stock pile for them too and what do you buy?

[TonkaKitty]

we find it really cost effective to make ahead lunches, we try to, two or three times a month on a day off, usually sunday, when we make supper, we will cook two meals instead of one, the second meal, we package up in re-useable ziplock freezer containers, in single size portions, freeze, and take them out of the freezer on the way out the door in the morning. the last time we did it i was making speghetti for supper, and in another pot i was cooking chilli, we packed up the chilli in the containers, i think we ended up with 12 containers. there was some leftover speghetti too, so we did up another 4 containers of it too. we do not wait until all servings are used up before we do it again, and in the end if you always make something different, you end up with variety in these meals. we've done a turkey dinner once just to make for lunches, we had gotten turkey bogo, and it was our second used out of the 2 we had. we almost always have chilli in there, because we both love it. we are going to make a stir-fry, casseroles, soups and stews are all good for doing this too, and if you do it once in awhile it doesn't feel like you spend all of your time cooking. also if you have leftovers from a meal, even if it is enough for just one person, you can freeze it too. when doing these home-made frozen meals, anything goes.

[Nettie]

I do that too TonkaKitty. I make a double batch of chilli in the slowcooker and freeze it in individual servings, then just take it out in the morning and it's usually thawed by lunch to microwave. Same for chicken breast. When it goes on sale I'll buy an extra pack just to cook, shred and freeze in small portions. It's good for sandwiches or to add to salad.

Smurf8488 - Sobeys is okay. It's the only grocery store I have here unless I want to drive an hour. It does have some really good sales from time to time, but I do wish there was a Superstore close by to have more of a variety of sales. Definitely worth while to watch the flyer though. Plus you get airmiles which is a bonus.

I haven't had much success stockpiling for my cats, or even really getting many deals. I buy the really big bags of cat food from Walmart. I usually buy two at a time, only because we don't have a Walmart close buy. Rarely Walmart will have the large bags of Meow Mix on sale for $14. If that happens I'll buy as many as I can fit in my cart, because it's a good deal, but also because it doesn't happen often. I only buy a little bit of canned cat food. They get a can 1-2 times a week as a treat. I buy the large bags of cat litter from Walmart too. We live in a rural area and my cats go outside during the day sometimes, so that cuts down on cat litter for me. I wish there were better deals for cat products.

I was working on my list last night for items I still need to stockpile. I seen that I had Shake-n-Bake on the list. (This is my "I'm too lazy to cook anything creative" staple, which I use at least once a week). I decided to search and see if there was a way to make shake-n-bake myself since it seems pretty basic. I found a super easy recipe. I made a double batch last night to keep in my pantry, since I had all of the ingredients. Mind you I haven't tried it yet to see if it's any good, I'm still pretty excited over it, because I buy this often. I hope it's good!! You can add pretty much any extra spice you like to it, to give it more flavor. Here is the link: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,164,...255198,00.html

If you have a slow cooker, you can make easy meals that will last multiple days. Sometimes I do a roast with potatoes & carrots. I have everything ready the night before (carrots & potatoes peeled and soaking in water overnight), then before I leave for work the next morning, i put the roast and veggies in the slow cooker with a cup of water and a half packet of onion soup mix. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or whenever I get home, and it's enough to eat for us for two suppers and sometimes some for a sandwich for lunch. I make chili in my slow cooker too. Super easy, super cheap and freezes well.

The flyers should be posted today. If I see anything that I plan on stocking up on, I'll post here too to let you know.