Couponing Doesn't Have To Take a Lot of Time.

Well, today was a little busy, so I haven't had a lot of time to try a money saving idea today, but I want to share something that I have been working on over the last few days.  Many people hear of couponing and they think of the crazy people on the show.  I am not sure about copyrights, so I will not say the name of the show I am referring to.  I am sure most of you know what I am talking about.

Anyway, I have found a couple of websites I would like to share with you.  The first is couponmom.com and the second is thecrazycouponlady.com.  What do these sites do?  They pair up coupons with store sales and tell you how you can get your best deals on items you may need at the store.  They do all of the work for you, so you don't have to do it yourself.

I went out Sunday evening and Monday to get some of the "FREE" items myself and did very well.  I did have to spend money on these items initially, but I received coupons to be used like cash on anything I would like on my next trips to the store.  I can handle that.  It all works out in the end.  The drug stores are best for these deals, but don't rule out the others.  I plan on using my reward coupons to purchase next week's "FREE" deals.  This will make them truly free!  In the end, I purchased over $180 in different items including vitamins, cough drops, and personal items and have that amount to spend next week.  I did have to go to several stores, but I live in an area with lots of them very close together, so.  Some of the items are not things my family will use, so these items will be going to local charities.

Another little tip that I found while looking around Ebay, you can buy the Sunday coupons for a very low price online!  Not only do you get all of the coupons that came in Sunday's paper, many times, they are clipped for you!  You can also choose the ones you would like and purchase several of something you will use.  Make sure you check for expiration dates, though.  Some come a little too quickly to allow time for you to use them after you receive them.  I carefully checked the coupons I ordered and had some come in the mail today.  The cost is very close to or less than what you would pay for the paper to be delivered, and you get to choose the coupons you will use.

Save on Popcorn!

Ok, so I tried something else today and wanted to share with everyone.  I got the idea from one of the many blogs I have been reading lately on saving money.  Our family goes through a lot of microwave popcorn and the cost is pretty high considering what you get.  I also don't like the imitation butter flavor that you get and the crazy amount of salt.

Well, here is what I did..

Took half a cup of old fashioned popcorn kernels and poured it into a paper lunch bag.  That's it, nothing else goes in.  I folded the bag over a couple of times and placed it upright (opening at the top) into the microwave for just over two and a half minutes.  I stopped it as soon as the popping slowed down and there it was...beautiful, mouth watering popcorn.  I poured a little real butter and sprinkled some salt.  It tasted just like the popcorn we made before the invention of microwave popcorn and it was all natural.  Jes liked it too!  I encourage you to try because it is really yummy! 

Intro

To begin with, I wanted to tell you a little about myself and why I am doing this blog. First, my husband and I would like to take on a challenge to pay off our house in a much shorter time frame than the 30 years we signed to just last month. We also have another mortgage for a house that we are currently renting out and although we are getting rent payments that more than pay for the property, our debt amount is quite high and we would like to do something about this.

As we have looked at our monthly spending, we have found that food has made up a huge percentage of our spending in the form of groceries and going out to eat with the latter being the biggest culprit. Those little drive through stops can really add up, not to mention the date night twice a month eating out. Don't get me wrong, we do need date night a minimum of every other week, but when we can easily drop well over $60 on a meal, most would agree is a little excessive.

There are some other areas we are finding that we can cut our spending and I plan on sharing those here with you. My goal is to share daily during the week. (probably no Saturdays or Sundays). I don't want to share just the ideas, though. I want to share my experience. This will keep me accountable to try and actually DO something each day to save money.

So here is today's money saving activity...

We are usually in a hurry in the mornings much like other people these days. We don't always have time to cook a meal for breakfast and I have found myself going through drive through for breakfast a lot more than I should. I know, I could eat cereal or something like that, but sometimes I just need protein. Not only because I crave it, but I tend to have a blood sugar drop around 10AM if I don't have protein in my breakfast.

Well, today I made a large batch of easy breakfast burritos. I would have liked to add a few more ingredients, but I have some picky eaters in my house and I am trying to please everyone.

I started out with a whole 18 count egg carton of eggs and scrambled them up with a little milk. (You will find that I rarely measure anything) I would say 1/4 cup or so. I added them to a lightly buttered non stick pan along with about a TBSP of onion soup mix (easier to hide than onions and peppers, but not quite as good...) Added some soy churrizo sausage (1/3 the package), salt and pepper and cooked them until done. I then wrapped them up with some cheese in tortillas. I individually wrapped them in paper towels and then placed them, two each, in sandwich sized freezer bags and labeled them with the date, what they were and the main ingredients.

This ended up making 17 burritos that I threw in the freezer for a quick meal on the way to church/school/work for my family.

My cost of making these 17 burritos???

Eggs - Roughly $2.00

Churrizo - about $2.00 (because we didn't use the whole package)

Cheese (I used half slices of american cheese) - less than $1

All other ingredients, I had in my pantry

Total cost - about $5

Cost per burrito - less than 30 cents.....

Wow, when you think of the amount you spend going through drive through, the savings is huge! Especially when you add the drinks and the hash browns (which I don't need, I can drink water at home and skip the hash browns)

Hmmm...I am starting to think that this venture may not only save money, but help me loose a little weight...we will see.