Coupons are fun.

Passing on a trick I've learned this last month.... COUPONING!!!! I've recently gotten ADDICTED to finding food deals! Two hours of planning for the week and I spent a total of 114.00 on all of my groceries. Here are the highlights of my trip. In total I saved 73.00, which is half as much as last week! But, I didn't take pics of my finds then. ;)






I got all THIS (70.21 worth of food)

for just 27.14!

That's a savings of 61%!

I also got two "catalina" coupons for my next shopping trip totaling 16.00 off my next order, so it is like I paid just 11.14 and saved 59.07! (that's a savings of 84%!)



The breakdown!

I got 13 easy mac cups (1.00 ea)
2 packs (12 cups) of Dannon Light N Fit Yogurt (3.29 ea)
3 boxes of Carnation Instant Breakfast (6.29 ea)
2 jars of Classico Alfredo Sauce (3.59)
5 packets of chunk light tuna (1.59 ea)
1 32 oz Kraft Mayo (4.29 ea)
5 Vitamin waters (1.89)
1 Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce (2.89)

EVERYDAY TOTAL: 70.21

So, Albertson's was having this great mix and match sale - for every ten of the items in the ad you bought you got 5.00 back instantly at the register. So, I got a savings of

-15.00

INSTANTLY!

Then, some of the items were on sale already.

Tuna -.34 (1.70)
Vitamin Water -.89 (4.45)
Easy Mac Cups -.19 (2.47)
Mayo -.30 (.30)
Inst. Breakfast -2.30 (6.90)
Yogurt -1.30 (2.60)
BBQ sauce - .90 (.90)
So, the total in-store sale savings was 19.32!

Then, I wasn't done yet!

I had the following coupons:

1.00 off 2 easy mac cups
.55 off 2 easy mac cups x 5
1.00 off 5 packs of tuna
1.00 off 2 packs of dannon yogurt
1.00 off 5 vitamin waters
and 2 1.00 doubler coupons

TOTALING: 8.75 in coupons!




Sooooooooo..... my grand total in SAVINGS was 43.07! Niiiiice! :)



MEAL PLANNING

And, if you're wondering how I prepare these foods for the boys and myself.... I supplement their milk EVERY day with 1/3 of a packet of instant breakfast. It isn't too sweet and it gives them a few extra calories and vitamins. They feel like they're getting a treat, and I know it's good nutrition!

I use the tuna in pasta dishes, to make tuna cakes or just for good 'ol fashioned tuna sandwiches. A great source of low fat protein!

With the easy mac, I prepare two cups for the three kiddos, and add some kind of meat to the mix as well as steamed mixed veggies. They devour it!

I make chicken or turkey tettrazini with the alfredo sauce, and puree a bit of broccoli and cauliflower to add to the sauce for the veggie factor.

I have the vitamin waters as a "treat" when I work out, and I have a cup of yogurt with cereal as "granola" every morning for breakfast. :-)

I also use 4 chicken breasts with one bottle of bbq sauce in the crock pot for 4 hours on high to make pulled bbq chicken. It's phenomenal! You can even add snipped apricots and apricot preserve to make a sweeter version. :) Lasts a couple of days and I get some amazing meals out of it!


So, for all you single mamas out there - I issue you a challenge. Re-evaluate your couponing "skillz" and maybe you could save a bundle on your next grocery run! Watch for things you use all the time to go on sale (or use a site like frugalchicliving.blogspot.com to do the work for you!) and watch those savings ADD UP!


Good luck!
~Erin

The first blog....

*applause* Ehem, thank you, thank you. I am so glad you could join me for this momentous occasion, my first true blog on blogspot! I am sure it will be a fun, exciting journey and yet another opportunity for me to blab my mouth and wear out my keyboard!

In all seriousness....

I do not feel like my opinion matters more than anyone else's, or that I am *any* kind of expert on the subject of single or divorced motherhood. But, I have had some experiences in my life that make me want to speak to certain injustices and prejudices, and to encourage those women who will inevitably, and do currently, follow in my path.

Someone once told me, being a divorced woman is more common than not. While I don't like that idea, it is very true. There is a large rank of similar women out there who have shared these feelings at one time or another, and it is very likely that there is someone else you know going through the secret pain of a divorce. God led me to reach out to some friends who were hurting, and through a strange twist of events, we ended up helping each other through the most difficult time of our lives. It is a sad sisterhood, but one of the strongest I've ever known.

For the last two years, I have often times felt like I had a scarlet letter emblazoned on my forehead, somehow "marking" me and preventing me from leading a normal, pain free existence. Then, I realized, NO ONE has that luxury! Life is full of joy, but it has it's share of pain, too. Like my great grandma Laura used to say, "You have to take the bitter with the sweet!" I've begun to realize how right she was, but also that some lives are more bitter-laden than others! Haha. But, regardless of how much pain we experience, God will ultimately use those circumstances to our benefit, purifying us through pain. It is a fascinating and humbling journey.

For all those women out there who view divorced women as dirty, or that there is something wrong with us, or that you are somehow better than us.... I hope you make some mental notes. For some, these circumstances unwillingly fell into our lap. We are simply trying to pick up the pieces of our broken dreams and our irrepairably broken home. We, ourselves, are hurting so deeply at times we can barely get out of bed in the morning to accomplish our daily tasks. Have you hugged a friend that has been going through tough times today? Of any kind? Think about it. I hope that after seeing more clearly, and digging deeper in your heart, you may change your mind.

That's my challenge to everyone for the week! Tell a friend! This has been my personal PSA on single parenting and encouraging others!