Tip - Maximize your Savings - Minimize your Time

When I teach a Savvy Savings class, I occasionally get a comment from someone who says that they don't have the time or the desire to make multiple shopping trips during the week. That they only want to go to one store. So, what can you do if this is your situation? Here are 2 solutions for you to consider.

Solution #1 - Only shop one store

If you are genuinely time pressed and have only enough time for 1 trip, I suggest that you take advantage of Wal-Mart's price matching policy. Wal-Mart will match any advertised competitor's price. You will need to bring the ad with you and it will need to be current. Wal-Mart will not match double coupons or % off sales. If you will look at all the current sales papers you can do pretty well this way, but you will spend more. Some Wal-Mart stores will also accept competitors coupons.

Solution #2 - Work your shopping into other errands or trips out.

At the beginning of the week (or even Saturday night - if you picked up the Saturday edition of the Sunday Star) find 15 minutes to take a look at the deals -especially those at CVS and Walgreens.

Make a list of the items you would like, pull the coupons and place the list for the store and the coupons in the envelope for that store. Place envelope in coupon box. (I keep an envelope for each store that I shop at in my coupon box.)

I always keep my coupon box in the car and that way if I can find a few minutes while we are on the way to do something else - I can make a quick stop in for the items I want. I find the best time for me to do this is when my hubby is along. I can dash in get the items and leave the kids in the car with him. It is much faster than me and the kids going in together.

If you work outside the home maybe you could find 15 minutes on lunch or going to or from work to make a quick stop. If you are prepared ahead of time with your list and coupons it is much faster.

The amount of money you can save by taking advantage of the weekly deals at CVS and Walgreens quickly adds up and is well worth the time to make a stop!

Update:
After I posted these tips, I thought of a few more things to add.

After the grocery ads come out on Thursday, I take a few minutes to look over them make my list and put it in the coupon box too. I do like to limit my grocery shopping to one store - unless there are deals too good to pass up.

If I find a week that there are really no items on sale that I need - I just make a quick stop to Aldi for the essentials.

Tip - Recycle Your $

You know, it's always good when you can use something more than once before you have to part with it - especially when it is your money. I like when I can use mine twice (or more) before I say "bye-bye" to it.

So, how can you do that? Spending $ is usually a once and done thing - unless you know the tricks that will let you use it again and again!

This week at Walgreens there is a "Money Recycle" deal going on that will help you to use your $ twice!













Softsoap Nutri Serum body wash is on sale for $3.99 and you will receive a $4.00 Register Reward (RR) when you buy 1. Here in Indianapolis, I had to pay $4.27 including tax.

If you then use that $4.00 RR to buy some things that you would have gotten at the grocery store anyway, you've actually used your $4.00 twice before you kissed it good-bye.

I spent my $4.00 on milk and Kleenex that were on sale - 2 things I needed to buy anyway. I chose items that would not cost me more at Walgreens - in fact with the sale and a coupon I only paid .75 a box for the Kleenex!

Remember at Walgreens if you want to do more than 1 RR deal - you must ring each up seperately and you cannot pay for a RR purchase with a RR.

Happy Recycling!

Homemade Cleaning Supplies - Powdered Laundry Detergent

Yesterday I posted a video from The Simple Dollar about Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent. You can check out that post for a link to a "recipe" to make your own liquid laundry detergent.

While doing some research on the subject, I have found that there are also "recipes" for homemade powdered laundry detergent.

Homemade powdered detergent seems like a more practical option to me. I have an 18 month old, who is just starting to walk and the thought of a large bucket of liquid in the laundry room is terrifying to me! She's just the right size to topple into it. Also, it would just be so much easier to store than the liquid!

I found a good article on Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent by Felicia Williams at Suite 101.com.

Here is Felicia's recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2/3 bar Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (equivalent of 1 cup grated)
• ½ Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
• ½ Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.
• Container large enough to hold 2 cups of laundry detergent

Directions:

1. Grate the Fels Naptha laundry soap with a grater or use a food processor. Approximately 2/3 of a bar of soap will make 1 cup of grated soap.
2. Add the ½ cup of Borax and ½ cup of washing soda to the grated soap.
3. Shake and/or mix well

Use:

One tablespoon of detergent is sufficient per load of wash. If you have a high-efficiency machine, you might want to experiment with using a little less detergent for normal loads. If your clothes come out feeling stiff, lower the amount of detergent. For clothes that are heavily soiled, add a teaspoon more of the detergent..

Yield:

The recipe yields 2 cups of laundry detergent. If you use 1 tablespoon per load, you will be able to wash 32 loads of clothes.

You can read Felicia's whole article with her comments here. She also comments on both liquid and powdered laundry detergent (she has made both) here in her blog Blulow.

I believe that this is where I will start with my experiment on homemade laundry detergent.

I wonder how it would come out with other soaps? I have seen recipes for liquid laundry detergent using Ivory, Pure and Natural, Zote and Fels-Naptha. Felicia says that she has used Ivory, Lever and Fels-Naptha and prefers the Fels-Naptha.

I read a good tip elsewhere - if you are not using a very hard bar of soap like Fels - Naptha, take the soap out of the wrapper for a few days to let it dry out and it will grate easier.

Here are some other links you might like to check out:

10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes

Homemade Laundry Powder

Homemade Laundry Detergent - One Acre Homestead

And another one here from Evening Shade Morning Latte.

If you have made a homemade powdered laundry detergent - I would love to hear from you with your recipe or comments on it's effectiveness! I have a 5 year old who is VERY good at getting dirty, so my laundry detergent has to actually work!

Tuesday Tip - Reader's Questions - Homemade Cleaning Supplies

Last week, I asked for a few questions from you. Stefano asked about homemade cleaning supplies - ones that actually work.

I have seen posts here and there on making your cleaning supplies, but since I usually find items like Windex and toilet bowl cleaner for free, I have not yet explored this as a way to save money.










One of the household cleaning items that it seems I cannot ever - EVER, get for free is laundry detergent. Laundry detergent is a big expense - even though I try to find it on sale and use coupons. It is an area that I would love to reduce my spending on!

I do a lot of laundry. There are only 4 of us - but my 5 year old seems to make as much laundry as the rest of us combined!

Now, I have to admit that making homemade supplies has not been on my frugal list of things to do - until I saw a video last week from Trent at The Simple Dollar. It gave me hope that I can both make laundry soap easily and save myself a lot of $ while I do it!

Here is the video:

You can go to Trent's video and post here. You can read an older post he did about making laundry detergent here - this one includes the ingredient list.

So what do you think? Has anyone made their own detergent and what type of results have you had? Also, have you made other homemade cleaners? What have the results been?

Tuesday Tip - Keep Your Receipts

Do you make a habit of saving receipts? I think it is a very good idea to save almost every receipt for a time. I have a basket very similar to the one above. It sits on the shelf above my computer and after I am done entering a receipt into my computer budgeting program, I toss it in the basket. There is no organization to the basket, but it is easy and I can find something if I need it.

Why would I want to save receipts? Well - for a few good reasons.

#1 - Unexpected returns, you may not think you will need to return an item, but maybe it unexpectedly breaks. Some stores such as Meijer, Toys R Us and Target have very strict return policies and without a receipt you are pretty much out of luck!

#2 Rebates. I have occasionally found a rebate on an item that I have already purchased or maybe I have purchased part of the required total of items. Saving my receipts has saved me money this way!

How long do I keep the receipts?

For grocery items and such you probably don't need to keep them for more than 2 -3 months. The basket I have is a pretty nice size, so I can go through it 3 -4 times a year and shred what I don't need. It doesn't take much time. For big ticket items I keep them at least a year, for appliances I keep them as long as I have the item.

What don't I keep?

Gas, fast food and Aldi. I would never have a rebate on these items and would know immediately if I needed the receipt, so they can get shredded right away.

Do you keep receipts? Do you organize them, and if so how?

Tuesday Tip - Birthday Freebies

Did you know that there are a ton of Freebies out there that you can get on your birthday? You would be amazed by all the offers available.

Freebies 4 Mom has put together an excellent collection of Birthday Freebies! Go here to check them all out!

Tuesday Tip - Pass Up "Good" Deals

If you want to save money, you need to pass up "good" deals. Whoa, what is that? Yes, pass up the "good" deals! Every week there are "good" deals out there waiting for you. But, if you want to save a lot of money, you need to learn to look for the "best" deals - not just "good" ones!

What do I mean? Well, toothpaste at .75 cents is a "good" deal, but I would pass it up. There are plenty of free toothpaste deals that come around often enough to keep my toothpaste stockpile in good shape. I would also pass up "good" deals on toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner and razors. All these things generally can be found for free - that is, if you can wait for the "best" deal.

You can only wait for the best deal if you have a stockpile, and yes, sometimes you do need to build your stockpile with a few "good" deals. But, once you have an established stockpile, sit back and wait for the "best" deals! And let the "good" ones pass you by!

If you would like more tips go here.

Tuesday Tip - Menu Making with Your Stockpile

If you have attended a Savvy Saving Class, you will have learned the importance of having what I call a "Stockpile". By "Stockpile" I don't mean hoards of food that are piled up all over your house. I only have a small pantry and a chest freezer and that works fine for me.













(My pantry)

There are many good reasons for having extra food on hand, but I am not going to go into all the reasons for stockpiling in this article. Instead I want to talk about how to use your stockpile in menu preparation and how it can save you a lot of money.

When I grocery shop each week, my goal is to get the most bang for my buck. In- other-words, I want to get the most possible meals out of my weekly budget. This is how I do this:

The first thing I do, before I make my weekly grocery list, is make a menu. I generally make a menu for the whole month.




















(My monthly menu planner and schedule)

By planning ahead, I can see how many meals that I need to get yet for the month (and then I buy sale items for those meals.) Usually, I have enough stock in my freezer and pantry to plan out the meals for the month and only need to purchase a few fill in items.

About 1/3 to 1/2 of my grocery money is used each week to buy fresh items that I cannot stockpile. These item would include fruit, fresh vegetables, eggs, milk and yogurt.

Because my meals are planned out of my stockpile, I have extra money leftover in my grocery budget. I then use this remaining grocery money to restock my pantry and freezer with what happens to be a really good deal that week. This gives me that more bang for the buck, because I can choose how the money is spent, my menu is not dictating the spending.

When you have a stockpile, it puts you in the drivers seat. You have the freedom to wait until an item you use is at a very good price and then stock-up.

If you only have the groceries on hand to get through a week or two, you are much more likely to have to purchase items at full retail price, increasing your grocery bill drastically.

If you don't have a stockpile, you can start one by buying extra items that your family uses, when they are at a really good price. I look for items that are at least 50% off the regular price.

I stock-up on certain items when they hit or go below my target price. For example, here are my target prices for these items:
Cereal: $1.00/box
Meat: $1.00/lb for beef, chicken
Yogurt: $.25 per serving

I also use the Internet to look for free items, keep an eye on The Grocery Get-Together for good grocery deals. I also like to check out Money Saving Mom.

You can check out my blog list in the left side column near the bottom.

So, I would encourage you to:

#1 Have a "Stockpile" (1 month + of food on hand)
#2 Plan your menu from the stockpile
#3 Take a portion of your grocery $ to keep and build that stockpile with low cost and sometimes even free items!

Frugal Indy's Top 10 CVS Tips

Are you a new CVS Shopper? Maybe you are giving CVS a try after attending a Savvy Saving program and are learning the CVS ropes.  Today I am going to share some CVS tips with you.

If you are a veteran CVS shopper and have some tips you would like to share with us please leave a comment with your tip!

Frugal Indy's Top 10 CVS Tips

1.  Register your CVS Extra Care Card online and receive a  $4 off $20 coupon.  You will also receive other coupons occasionally including $4/20 and $3/15.  If you get an email coupon you can only use it 1 time.

2. Scan your card at the price checker for more coupons when you go into CVS.

3.  Scan your card often for coupons. If you live/work near a CVS and it is convenient for you to make a quick stop during the week - just stop in and scan your card for more coupon opportunities.  I have even gotten the occasional  $5/15  coupon from the "magic scanner".

4.  Roll Your ECB's. When you plan your CVS shopping transaction or "deal" as I call it, start with the ECB earning items first - make sure you get your ECB's so you can go back again and have more fun!

5.  Use your expired CVS coupon.  Many CVS's accept expired CVS coupons for 2 weeks past the expiration date or until the coupon "beeps" in the register, so always give your CVS coupons - even if they are expired.  I have never had an expired CVS coupon refused.

6.  Look for CVS  $3/15 coupons.  Keep a diligent watch for legit $3/15 and $4/20 coupons that can be printed from online newspapers and magazines.  You can use one of these on each transaction that you do.

Please make sure you are printing from an original source.  CVS coupons that are in PDF format or scanned in may be altered and fraudulent.  If you are printing from an original source (the actual online newspaper)  you know the coupon is valid.  My favorite place to check is I Heart CVS.  But be aware that not all coupons posted to this site are from original sources.

7.   Coupon order is important.  If you are using a $3/15 or $4/20 type CVS coupon - give that coupon to the cashier first - before you give any Manufacturer Coupons.  That way you are still above the required transaction minimum.

8.  Maximize your savings. When you are using a $3/15 type coupon, you only need to meet the transaction minimum ($15) before coupons at CVS.  So, maximize your savings by filling up that $15 order with items that you will get "Free with ECB" or are free with coupons.  Use any overage you have to buy things you need (milk, paper products, etc) and reduce your grocery bill.   

9.  Make a "CVS" envelope and keep it in your coupon box or coupon binder. Keep one of your CVS ECB cards (you should get a few key tags and a card when you sign up), all your CVS coupons and your ECBs in it.  When you go to CVS, it will make it easier to find what you need.

10.  Each adult in your home should have a CVS Extra Care Card.  Because I saved so much at CVS last year, they've decided not to send my card those nice coupons - so this year I am using my husband's card.  You are not limited to 1 card per household, and you can greatly increase your coupon opportunities by having 1 card per adult in your house.  However, ECB items are limited on a "per household" basis, not "per card"  so please keep this in mind if you do have more than 1 card.    

These are my top 10 CVS tips - I would love to hear from you!  What do you do to maximize your CVS transactions? 

Finding Some Extra Cash!

This past Saturday, I found some extra cash.  It paid for the Thanksgiving turkey, my 4 weekend papers at the Dollar Tree and a few other things I needed.  So - where did I find it?  Actually, at the stores I went to - they gave it to me.

You see I've had several things around here I needed to return and I finally did it!  I took back a few things to the Dollar Tree, since I had bought too many.  I took back some scrapbook supplies to Hobby Lobby that I did not need and got almost $20.  

Then to Michael's to return the black frosting.  I decided not to make an actual penguin for Molly's birthday - since black would taste yucky!

I stopped at Office Max and redeemed some of my Max Rewards $ I get for turning in used ink cartridges ($3.00 each) and to turn in 3 more!  I got a cork board for homeschooling from there.

Finally to Walmart and I returned 2 more scrap booking items I didn't need and got a gift card for that.  So, I redeemed the card and bought our Thanksgiving Bird!

If you have some items you bought and didn't need - take them back.  Don't let them collect dust - trade them for a turkey!

Note:

I have a basket I keep near where I do my bills.  I throw any receipt in there that I might possibly need someday.  This has come in handy many times for returns!  When the basket becomes full,  I go through it and see what I can discard and shred.

12 Tips to Save More at the Store!

There are a few things that I do to help cut back just a bit more on my shopping budget and I thought that I would share them with you this morning.   Maybe you could add to my list and give me some new things to do to save!

* Check your shopping cart before you check-out.  Take out any impulse items.  Ask yourself if there is anything in the cart you don't really need or could get for less somewhere else.

* Shop with a list.  Stick to it - unless you find free stuff!

* Take a week off from "sales shopping" every now and then.  You can either just save your grocery $ or sometimes I use those weeks to make a quick trip to Aldi and replenish staple items that rarely go on sale or that never have coupons.  Taking a week off  is also a good thing to do if you overspent the week before.

*Use less.  I just use a little less than the recommended amounts for laundry detergent and fabric softener.   I also use 1/2 lb to 3/4 lb of ground meat in recipes instead of 1 lb.  

*Take a calculator and pad of paper and add your spending as you shop.  This could be a great job for an older child to do for you.  Knowing what you are spending will curb impulse items.

*Use cash.  Leave your cards at home and you will have to stick to your budget!

* Have quick suppers in your freezer.  This will help you avoid eating out because you are too tired to cook.  Pre-cooked pizza crust,  soups and chili freeze well and cook up faster than you can hit the drive-thru.

*Shop alone.  Sometimes this is not possible, but it sure is easier to think when you don't have a cart full of little ones begging for the Cap'n Crunch!

At the Check-out...

* I like to use the self check -out.  That way I can check the price on each item as it scans into the register.

* Check as the coupons are subtracted.  Make sure double coupons actually double.

* Check the receipt before you leave the store.  It's hard to come back for a $3 mistake.  Fix it then!

* Politely but firmly ask for errors to be corrected.

If you have a tip to add to the list post it in the comments section!