Cereal obsessed...

We eat a fair bit of cereal in our house, both my kids and husband are happy when there are sugar coated varieties in the mix.  I am happy to buy it when there are coupons on the box.  This is a very common site in our cupboards when it comes to cereal, boxes with 1/2 the back cut out.  There are currently 8 boxes at the present time in this condition.  The best part is I have coupons for FREE Eggo's ready to pick up when I have a little more room in my freezer.   Both make me smile.

Kellogs is running a great promotion right now on specially marked boxes of cereal.  Free, Eggo Waffles, Minute Maid Juice, Banana's, Yogurt, or Tasters Choice coffee when you buy specially marked boxes of cereal.  I found my boxes at the Real Canadian Super Store (Lougheed & Schoolhouse) on Sunday afternoon.  There were LOTS, but I suspect that they will be scooped up quickly. Sale price on cereal runs through to close on Thursday.

This is how I worked this deal.  

6 boxes @ 2.97 =17.82 Less $6.00 for coupons ( found in store, save 3$ when you buy 3)

Total paid 11.82 (1.97 per box) Regular price is around 5.00 per box

Total savings 61% 

Add to that the 6 FREE coupons for waffles a $17.94 value

Total out of pocket 11.82 for 47.94 regular priced items.

Grand total savings 75% 

Which is $36.12 still in my pocket! (which is 3 x the amount out of pocket - I like doing math like that!)

What does your grocery list say about you?

I have been Spring cleaning my computer, my "favorites"  files are getting the once over.  During this cleaning binge I came across this goodie... http://www.grocerylists.org/top10/.  A website dedicated to of all things grocery lists.... yes you truly can find anything you want online.  It is an entertaining visit to be sure.

What does your grocery list look like?  Do you even write one?  Here is a copy of the current one that is on my fridge I am pretty sure that the creator of Gorcerylist.org would laugh if he found this list in his travels. Notice; TP- Butt  & TP- teeth at the bottom of the list.. Yup that is pretty much how it get's listed.  It started when I was dictating a grocery list to one of my girls while driving on the way to the store a number of years ago.  The scribe asked .. hmm mom TP, what kind the kind for your butt or the kind for your teeth.  (because you know you would not want to confuse the 2). I am not sure what the WOW is for, will have to ask.  Everyone is welcome to add to this list at anytime however I have the final say when I make the master before I go to the store. 
I am learning that shopping and sticking to a grocery list is the # 1 way to save in the grocery department.  No excess buying,  no impulse buys, I can have my coupons ready and attached to the  list.  It truly helps. 
I also keep a list WHILE shopping.  If I see something that I think we need I list it on the second list, then come home and check to see if we really do NEED it at this time.  This cuts down on the impulse buys and unnecessary "extras" in my cupboards.  The only exception to this is milk.. because I do not drink it, and am not always aware of what is left in the fridge, if one of the girls says we need milk... I buy milk. This double list system is working well for us. 
What works for you when it comes to a grocery list?

To stash or not to stash that is the question....

How much of a good thing is too much?  Is there a limit?
When does stock piling or stashing items become hoarding?  Is there a difference?
When does "Getting the good deal" feed a deeper issue than just trying to feed your family, and keep them and the house clean?  (shopaholic?  OCD?)
When does "getting the good deal" cost you more? 
What about expiry dates and best before dates?  Things like toothpaste can go bad. 

I think these are questions you have to ask & answer for yourself.  Each of us will have a different answer for each question - and that is o.k.  I think that the problems come when we just shop and do not have limits and do not ask our selves the questions.  One person could have a different answer 2 months from now too as their life situation changes.  It's o.k. Life is about finding a balance that works for you. 

When I watch some of the extreme coupon shows on YouTube (no cable in our house) I think wow  excessive much?  Do we really need 40 years worth of toilet paper in the house?  Not likely, at least not here in North America where we have the convenience and privilege of a grocery store / department store or drug store on pretty much every corner.  With each of those stores featuring something new on sale every week is there truly a NEED for such a stock pile? There comes a time when "being prepared" becomes being obsessed and neurotic.  Sure in today's roller coaster economic situation it is good to be prepared, to look a head to save for a rainy day, but seriously, even the largest of families can not go through that much TP before things pick up or the next sale/coupon rolls around.  I think that we need to be realistic, what does my family use?  What does it really truly NEED?  This too will be different for each family.  I also very much realize and appreciate that these levels are different for different people and different family situations.

For example a family that lives a rural area far from decent stores will need a larger stash than a family like mine who has several shopping options within a 4 min drive. 
People living in areas with threats of extreme weather ccertainly need to have more items on hand, especially in those extreme weather months.
A larger family will require much more "on hand" in an average month than my family of 5. 

As with anything in this life the key balance.  A balance that works well for your family.  Balance that is not excessive and wasteful.  I have a small stash, small for several reasons;
One I am limited by space. 
Two I do not want to stock things my family will not use
Three I know the sale rotations of my local stores and know that the same product will be on sale again in 6 -9 weeks. 

For me and my family my stash is limited to items we will use in the time before the next sale rolls around. OR the sale with coupons added is too good a deal to even consider passing up. Which means a 90 -100% savings.  Even with coupon / sale combination I am considerate of the "shelf life" of the product.  My major " stash" item would be feminine hygiene products.. with 4 girls in the house,  that is pretty much obvious. With these items in my stash I have paid only taxes.  Meaning that with coupons and sale combinations I have gotten them for FREE!  Free is always good when I am going to pick them up and add them to the 'stash'   Items like Shampoo, toothpaste, tooth brushes and deodorant are also items I will continually stock up on - simply because we go through them on a continuous basis.  The other biggie in my stash is cleaning supplies, before I started couponing, and really watching sale prices cleaning supplies are one thing that I purchased sparingly, multi surface products that will do more than one job, not always the best job either, but it was a way of cutting corners.  Now I find that there are tons of coupons out for cleaning supplies and I often can get them for next to nothing if not free (taxes only paid).  So I have a 'collection' of cleaning supplies in my stash.  I guess you could say that in the long run I have trouble spending money on things that literally go down the drain.
So what is it that you 'stash' and would hate to pay full price for? 

Time... it is a ticking BUT it is well spent.

Yes, clipping coupons takes time. 

Now that my system is in place and it is working for me it takes me a couple of hours a week to clip / sort / file.  In the beginning it certainly took much more time as I was setting up my system and just getting used to it all. ( 8 to 10 hours is not unrealistic when you are first setting up, to get it all figured out, sorted, keep in mind you only want to be doing this once)

I  spend about 30 - 45 min weekly checking the coupon sites on-line to make sure I have all the up-to date ones coming to me or that they are printed for the next time I go shopping.

Sunday afternoon when all the new fliers have landed in front of my door, I spend about an hour perusing them to see what is on sale, what I have coupons for and what I need.  This is when I make my shopping list.


I do think that it is worth every minute, and I am saving $$ not pennies.
My goal is to save 100's a month and I think it is realistic.


Here are some things that I do to make the best use of my time.


I have one area I put the coupons when the arrive at the house so I am not spending time looking for them when I sit down to clip / sort / file.  In this same place I also have scissors, paper clips, ruler, pen paper so I do not have to go looking for them.


I clip / sort / file when watching a movie or TV - this is time I was spending anyways, now I am productive when I am watching.


I enlist able bodied children when they are willing and watching.  My youngest will clip and sort, while I file.


When I have multiples of the same flyer I cut them or tear them in sets of the same pages.


When I stared to think again about clipping coupons back in May as a way to save money I wondered if it would actually be worth it, I have found that it certainly is.  Last week's coupon savings was over 50.00 for around 2 hours of time invested (not including the actual shopping) that would be like getting paid $25.00 per hour - that is not too shabby I'd say.