Saving Money Again with Coupons

Towards the end of my pregnancy with Troy, I'll admit that I got pretty lazy when it came to things like properly grocery shopping (taking time to plan things out so that I could save money) and couponing. I'm a big believer in couponing and stockpiling because if I'm diligent at taking the time to do it, I can save a significant amount of money.

The past couple of shopping trips I've taken have been a good reminder and encouragement to myself to get back in the good habit of couponing so that we can stay on budget and save money.

First, at Target, I got a great deal on diapers for Ella. Target runs a special every few weeks where if you buy (usually) two of certain boxes of diapers you receive a $5.00 Target gift card. On top of this deal, I had 4 coupons I could use with the diapers: 1 Target coupon for a box of Huggies, 1 Target coupon for a box of Pampers plus a tub of wipes, and 1 manufacturer's coupon for each box of diapers. Each box of diapers was originally priced at $19.79, and the tub of wipes was $2.39, for a total of $41.97. My coupons for these items totaled $6.50.

• Original price of two boxes of diaper and one tub of wipes: $41.97
• Coupons for three items: $6.50
• Total paid for three items:  $35.47
• Additionally, I got a $5.00 Target gift card for purchasing the two boxes of diapers, so the deal was even better!

Secondly, when I was grocery shopping, I got a great deal on cereal. We love Cinnamon Chex at our house (if you haven't tried them, you should - they are GREAT), but I don't always buy it because it can be kind of expensive for the amount of cereal you get. However, our grocery store had them on sale this week, for $2.00 a box (the cheapest I have ever seen it before this was $2.52). In addition to the cheap price, I had several coupons for a $1.00 off of two boxes of cereal. I ended up getting 4 boxes of Cinnamon Chex for $6.00, whereas they would have normally cost me $10.08 for a savings of $4.08. I also got a good deal on a couple of other cereal varieties.

Now, I just need to keep up with my couponing so that I can continue to save money!

My Stockpiling List

A few weeks ago I wrote about completing a pantry clean-out and inventory so that I have a better idea of what I have on hand, as well as what I items would be good to stockpile. Well, I finally completed my pantry clean-out and inventory list! I know these photos aren't cute pictures of Ella, but I'm so proud of my organized pantry, I had to show at least a few of these photos off.

I'm not going to bore you with my entire food inventory list. Instead, I'm listing the items that I will be considering for stockpiling. As I mentioned in my food inventory post, when I talk about stockpiling, I'm talking about purchasing multiples of items that I commonly use when they are at a low price, I have a coupon for them, or, ideally, they are at a low price AND I have a coupon for them. To me, for an item to be a good target for stockpiling, it must meet several criteria.

1. We must use the item fairly often. What good does it do for me to stockpile something that we don't eat often? I'd just be filling my pantry up with items to collect dust.
2. The item (if food) must remain fresh/good quality/safe-to-eat with the period of time within we'd get to using it in our stockpile. This seems like common sense, but it really is something to consider. For example, we use tons of spices in our cooking, but I don't use many spices frequently enough (point #1) for these spices to still be fresh when I'd finally be able to use them. There are a few spices that we use frequently enough that they are on my stockpiling list (and I'll mention them below), but the majority of the spices in my pantry would not be good targets for stockpiling. With all that said, if I know that I'm getting low on something, I can watch for several weeks to grab the best price, even if I'm not stockpiling the item.
3. We must be able to store the item in a reasonable space. My pantry is a decent size, but it certainly not large. I don't have tons of extra space to store items, especially large ones. This rule comes into play more with household items, like toilet paper and diapers.

There are probably more criteria, but these are the ones I can think of right at the moment. So, here's my list of items that I'm going to target for stockpiling. I've included all the food pantry items, as well as household goods. This list doesn't include items that would go in my freezer . . . I'm still working to get that list together.

• Household goods
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper
• Paper plates
• Dishwasher Detergent
• Laundry Detergent
• Baby goods
• Diapers (Diapers can be tricky, because I have to guess what size she'll be if I'm going to buy a lot. This was harder when she was younger and changing sizes more quickly. Although, I figure if we have extra of a size she outgrows that's OK, since we plan to have more children in the future. I don't want to have lots of extra diapers lying around, but if I do have a few, I don't see it as a big deal.)
• Formula (although, not for much longer!)
• Wipes
• Canned goods
• Green beans
• Corn
• Pinto beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Canned tomatoes (great for salsa!)
• Chicken noodle soup
• Harry and David dry soup mixes (I haven't seen them at our grocery store, but we have a Harry and David outlet store near us. These soups are great!)
• Tomato sauce
• Diet cokes (That's a canned good, right??)
• Snacks
• Popcorn (I really like the 100 calorie bags, and they are EXPENSIVE)
• Chips
• Granola bars
• Nuts (peanuts and almonds, especially)
• Spices, etc. 
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Cinnamon
• Chicken buillon cubes
• Beef buillon cubes
• Dry goods
• Brown rice
• White rice
• Pasta
• Dry beans (I've yet to master cooking these, but I'm working on it.)
• Breakfast items
• Cereal
• Nutrigrain bars

I've probably missed a few items, and as I think of them, I'll add them to my list. But that's all for now!

On a very exciting side note, I got my $5.00 rebate check in the mail on Friday from my Glade candle purchase!

Food Inventory List

One of the many things I plan to do this year is to keep an inventory of the items I have in my pantry, fridge, and freezer. This inventory will serve at least two main purposes: first, it will allow me to always know what I have on hand, and second, it will help me in my effort to stockpile.

Sadly, many times I don't have a good grasp on the groceries I have on hand. We have a decent sized pantry, but the pantry is difficult to see in, and items easily get lost in there. To top it off, I really haven't taken the time lately to properly organize it, so it is even harder to locate the items. Although I plan to complete a pantry reorganization during this inventory process, the inventory list will still be helpful because it is difficult to quickly assess what is in the pantry because of how it is built. I also have a difficult time easily assessing what is in my freezer, so the inventory list will certainly help keep up with what I have. It is easy to see everything in my fridge, but I'm still going to include those items on my inventory (although, I feel like it is less important to keep an inventory for these items because I replace them often since they usually don't last for a long time). Knowing what food I have available will not only be useful in meal planning, but also in preventing headaches when I start making something only to realize I'm missing a key ingredient!

The second purpose of my food inventory list is to use that information to help me stockpile. This purpose is really what prompted me to want to complete an inventory in the first place. What do I mean by stockpiling? When I talk about stockpiling, I'm talking about purchasing multiples of items I commonly use when they are at a low price, I have a coupon for them, or, ideally, they are at a low price AND I have a coupon for them. Before I really started paying attention to how I grocery shopped, I naively assumed that the prices on most items remained relatively the same from week to week. I was very wrong in my assumption. One week a box of cereal might be $4.00, and the next week it might be $2.50. Rather than buying a new box each week, if I buy multiple boxes the week the cereal is at the lower price, I save money in the end. My food inventory list will help me focus on the items that we use most often, and therefore identify those items that would be good targets for stockpiling. (I first read about stockpiling through Coupon Mom. Tons of great information on that site!)

I plan to keep my inventory list on the fridge, so that I can easily update it as I use or restock items. Once I get my inventory list together, I'll be sure to post it.