Where Every Penny Counts
Panda Express is offering a free single serving of Kobari beef today (9/29) only. Click here to print your coupon and try out this new dish!
No purchase is necessary. This freebie is available while supplies last. One coupon per person. Not valid with any other coupons, discounts, or promotions. Valid only at participating locations.
Enjoy!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
I started this blog almost two years ago and since then, I have had many people comment that they don’t know how I “do it all.” So, to start off my post today, I want to clear up any misconceptions. I’m not Super Woman and I definitely am not able to “do it all.” Like many other moms, I struggle to find the balance between all of the different roles that I have in my life: mom, wife, employee, chef, maid, etc. and to find time for myself. Bargain hunting is just one more role in the mix and I have a confession to make: I don’t spend all of my time at CVS, Walgreens, Target, or Kroger and some weeks I don’t even visit some (or any) of those stores!
From my experience, once you become a bargain hunter/extreme couponer, you tend to go in cycles. When you first discover bargain hunting and how to use coupons, you experience this adrenaline rush and somehow it tends to overtake your life for awhile. You find yourself waking up in the middle of the night with CVS scenarios on your mind. Then, at some point, you experience a burn out and perhaps guilt about not having the energy or motivation to do ANY deals.
The key is finding a balance between the two extremes! Here are some things that have worked for me along the way:
Prioritize
I have found that it helps for me to prioritize all of my responsibilities and then set limits for myself. So, for bargain hunting my goal may be to build up my stockpile of toilet paper or canned vegetables and so if a hot deal on toothpaste comes along, I have to stop and ask myself if I really “need” all of that toothpaste when I already have 10 tubes sitting in a bin already? Do I really “need” to drag myself and my kids to 10 different stores on a Saturday or would that time be better spent doing something with my family?
If you are new to using coupons, you may be wondering what “stock up” prices are and if you should really jump on a deal. If you’ve started reading message boards and blogs, sometimes it’s easy to be caught up in some of the “deals” that are posted, but sometimes you have to stop and ask yourself if a “deal” is really a “deal” if it’s something you don’t need and won’t use.
I can pretty much guarantee you that you will be able to find a “deal” on toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and razors at least once a month and by “deal” I mean that you will be able to get those items for free or close to free. Once you build up a stockpile of those items, you have the freedom of being able to skip those deals sometimes knowing that another one will come around before your stash is gone. It’s harder to find deals on items like toilet paper or paper towels, so when I see a good deal on those items, I jump on it. If you want ideas about “stock up prices,” check out my post on “What I’m Willing to Pay for Things” (keep in mind that pricing can vary greatly depending on where you live and also, I’m starting out with a stockpile).
Most grocery items run in sales cycles of 6-8 weeks and over time, you get a feel for those sale cycles. There are also certain times of the year that are “stock up” times for grocery items. August and September are good months to stock up on things like cereal, oatmeal, and peanut butter with back to school sales. October and November are good months to stock up on canned vegetables and canned broth as well as baking items (flour, sugar, chocolate chips, baking mixes, etc.) because there are very good sale prices. March is “frozen foods month” so you can usually get very good deals on frozen food items during that month.
Organize
Once you learn the ropes of extreme couponing, organization becomes key. Otherwise, you soon find that coupons, canned goods, toilet paper, and toothbrushes are taking over your house. Come up with an organization system to store what you have. Food Storage Made Easy has some great ideas for creative ways to store items in small spaces here. You also have to come up with a plan for coupon organization. I plan to post more on this in another post. You can organize your coupons in a binder (get dividers and baseball card holders to organize your coupons in a binder) or you can store your whole inserts and just clip what you need. Most blogs do match-ups based on the insert and date. I write the insert date on the outside with a Sharpie and then file it in a hanging file folder by month.
Give yourself permission to take a break
If you start to feel burned out, give yourself permission to step back and take a break!! It’s OK! 🙂
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
Right now, you can save 25% off “new styles” (regularly priced merchandise) for the whole family when you enter the code GAPSAVE at check-out. You also get free shipping on orders of $100 or more. Don’t forget to shop through Shop at Home to get an additional 3% cash back (plus a $5 bonus if you are signing up for the first time). If you are not familiar with Shop at Home, check out this post here.
Get more information on this Gap promotion here.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
If you missed out on these two hot Groupon deals last week, they’re back! You can take advantage of Groupon deals in other areas and today there are two HOT deals that you won’t want to miss! Keep in mind that these are limited availability offers and both of them will likely sell out quickly!!
Soap.com – The Atlanta market has an offer for $10 off a $20 Soap.com purchase. This offer is valid through 12/27! Remember with Soap.com, you can send in manufacturer’s coupons and shipping is FREE! So, if you send in coupons and use this coupon, you should be able to get great deals on household items such as toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry detergent! There are also e-coupons that you can add for many items! To take advantage of this offer, just visit Groupon and then click on “visit more cities” and choose Atlanta.
Weekly Cinema – Weekly Cinema offers subscriptions to discounted movie tickets, but with this offer, there is no subscription required. You get 4 movie tickets for $20! Tickets in my area are $7.50-$9.50 each, so this is a great deal. There are several movies my kids want to see, so these will definitely come in handy! Before you take advantage of this offer, visit Fandango.com and make sure that there is a theater in your area that offers online ticketing. Then, visit Groupon and click on “Visit more cities” and choose North Jersey.
HURRY because this offer sold out quickly last time and will likely sell out quickly again!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
Most of my recipes are new this week and I haven’t had a chance yet to calculate points per serving. For those of you who may be doing Weight Watchers, I have included the points per serving calculations for some of my recipes this week. I used the “Recipe Builder” feature on the WeightWatchers.com e-Tools program to input all of the ingredients and calculate the points, so it should be pretty accurate.
You can read more about my $40 weekly budget in this post here.
If you’re new to menu planning, check out my post about how I do my menu planning.
On weekdays, my posts don’t include lunches. My son eats lunch at daycare, most days I take lunch or eat a Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones/Healthy Choice meal, I pack a lunch for my daughter, and my husband fends for himself!
MONDAY:
Breakfast ~ Cold cereal
Dinner ~ Slow cooker chicken and gravy over rice – This recipe comes from Eat at Home and was posted on orgjunkie.com last week. It sounded good and easy to make!
Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
1 onion, diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 Tbs. soy sauce
black pepper, to taste
brown rice, enough for 6 people, cooked according to package directions
Place the chicken and onions in the slow cooker. Stir the cream of chicken soup, soy sauce and pepper together and pour over the top of the chicken. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Serve over hot, cooked brown rice.
This dish doesn’t have a strong taste of soy sauce. The soy just makes the gravy rich and flavorful.
TUESDAY:
Breakfast ~ Scrambled eggs and turkey bacon
Dinner ~ Family sized burrito – I saw this recipe on DeAna’s blog originally (she’s got great pictures of it all on her blog, so you should definitely check it out!). We tried it awhile ago and it was a hit, so we’re having it again!
Ingredients:
2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded*
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chicken taco seasoning mix
1 Tbsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp salsa
1 shredded cheddar cheese
4 burrito-size flour tortillas
1/2 can (9oz) bean dip
Toppings: shredded lettuce, sliced olives, sour cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix chicken with onion powder, lime juice, seasoning mix, garlic powder and salsa. Microwave chicken mixture 3-4 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.
Arrange tortillas in an overlapping circular pattern on a large pizza stone (you could use a cookie sheet as well), covering entire surface of baking stone. Tortillas will extend off edge by a few inches.
Starting in the center, spread bean dip over tortillas. Spoon chicken mixture over bean dip and cover with 3/4 cup of cheese.
Fold edges of tortillas up over chicken mixture in an envelope pattern. Arrange sliced tomatoes in rows over top of burrito. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake about 18 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are browned.
Cut into rectangles; serve with assorted toppings and enjoy!
Notes: I put my chicken in the crockpot with the taco seasoning, spices, and salsa and then shred it. I also just use regular refried beans rather than bean dip.
WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast ~ Waffles
Dinner ~ Chicken lickin’ good pork chops (slow cooker) – I know today’s going to be a busy day, so I wanted something I could stick in the slow cooker that would basically be ready by the time I got home, and this recipe is perfect for that!
Ingredients:
6-8 lean pork chops, 1-inch thick
1/2 cup flour (omit if you don’t brown chops in skillet)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp oil (omit if you don’t brown chops in skillet)
1 10.5oz can chicken & rice soup
Dredge pork chops in mixture of flour, salt, dry mustard & garlic powder. Brown chops in oil in a large skillet. Place browned pork chops in crockpot. Add can of soup. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3 1/2 hours. If I don’t brown the chops, then I just toss the salt, dry mustard & garlic powder in the crockpot instead of dredging the chops.
*Note: When making this meal, I use a can of family size chicken & rice soup and drain off some of the broth – it keeps the meat tender and there is more of the chicken & rice mixture for everyone! If you don’t have time to brown the chops first in a skillet, I’ve also just dipped it into the flour mixture and put it straight into the slow cooker and it works fine that way, too.
WW points = 6 servings, 7 points per serving
THURSDAY:
Breakfast ~ Cold cereal
Dinner ~ Creamy beef over noodles – This recipe is from the “A Year of Slow Cooking” blog
Ingredients:
–2 lbs stew meat
–2 T butter
–1/4 cup soy milk
–1 T gluten free worcestershire sauce
–1 T black pepper
–2 T dried minced onion
–1/4 cup beef broth
–1/2 t kosher salt
–1 t herbs de provence
–1/2 block of cream cheese
Place the frozen meat into the crockpot. Add all other ingredients (with the exception of the cream cheese). Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Add in cream cheese and mix. Serve over rice or pasta.
FRIDAY:
Breakfast ~ Waffles
Dinner ~ Texas Kielbasa skillet – I originally got this recipe from a freezer swap and it has become a big hit with our family
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) CREAM OF CELERY SOUP (I use whatever cream soup I have on hand)
1 1/2 cups WATER
1 Tablespoon BUTTER
¾ cup uncooked LONG GRAIN RICE
1 pound SMOKED KIELBASA SAUSAGE, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pkg. (10 oz.) FROZEN PEAS
½ cup SLICED MUSHROOMS
1 cup SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
Combine soup, water and butter substitute in a large skillet with a lid. Bring to a boil. Add rice and sausage. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in peas and mushrooms. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes,
or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with cheese and serve hot.
SATURDAY:
Breakfast ~ Breakfast pies– This was posted on a message board that I belong to and sounded yummy!
Dinner ~ Perfect Enchiladas – I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner on Father’s Day and was surprised when this is what he chose. Don’t get me wrong – these are yummy. But, his “favorite” has always been my creamy chicken enchiladas. The basis for this recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman, but she uses ground beef and I’m going to use chicken (I’ve used pork before and that was yummy, too!) Marci posted the recipe on her blog awhile back and we have tried ti several times now and love it!
Our “filling” – I’m going to put 2 frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot on low with a can of enchilada sauce (red) and some taco seasoning. I’ll shred the taco meat and that and some cheese will become our “filling”
The sauce (from Marci’s blog)
1 T. canola oil
1 T. flour/cornstarch
1 large (28 oz) can enchilada/red sauce
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 T. chopped cilantro
-In a large saucepan over med. heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for 1 min.
-Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cilantro, and bring to boil.
-Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 min.
I’m going to use 1 dozen flour tortillas. Whenever I make enchiladas, I always put a little bit of sauce along the bottom of the pan to keep the enchiladas from stocking to the pan. I’ll fill each tortilla with the shredded chicken breast and cheese, roll it, and place it in a 9X13 Pyrex baking dish. Then, I’ll cover the rolled enchiladas with the sauce and some cheese and bake it in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 350 until the cheese is melted.
WW points = 9 per serving for 2 enchiladas
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
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