Here is an element of what I was talking about in my last post - Jason over at Bible Money Matters said it much better than I did.

Avoid the Pressure to Spend.

and ultimately become sacrifices . . .

I very much would love to be a “chauffeur” for my son - he’s going on a field trip with his class next week and they are looking for volunteer drivers.

Cool!  I’m in.

Only to learn that it will cost $3 admission to the event I would be driving to.

Hum.  We have decided to budget so tight that $3 is nothing to sneeze at and frankly, I’d much rather throw it towards debt and be FREE than to spend it just so I can drive (and pay for gas too).

It’s things like this that come up and nickle - and - dime you to death.

Don’t let that happen.

Don’t let others make you feel guilty for not doing something like the above when the ultimate reason you are doing it is so much better for you and your family then to drive a few classmates on a field trip.

I only went to one store, although I did 3 transactions.

I must apologize in advance, i do not have a photo of today’s excursion… the camera is with my sis so no photo today… I’m sorry!!

Ok, Fred Meyer had some good sales this week.  Here’s how I did:

Item description: (Retail price / sales price / - coupons / my price - Qty )

Kraft Mac n’Cheese: 89c / 59c / -9c / 50c - 20
Barilla Pasta: 1.99 / 1.00 / -50c / 50c - 6
VO5 Shampoo: 1.29 / 99c / -45c / 54c - 4
Fred Meyer Bread: 1.29 / 50 / -0 / 50c - 12
Activa/Danimal/Dannon Yogurt 4pk: 2.29 / 1.88 / -1.00 / 88c - 3
Bumble Bee Tuna Pack: 1.99 / 1.00 / -62c / 38c - 5
Hunts Pasta Sauce: 1.10 / 99c / -30c / 69c - 18
Bar S Bacon 1lb: 2.99 / 2.50 / -50c / 2.00 - 6

Total Coupons: $20.29
Total Spent: $48.62
Total OOP w/tax: $52.15

Today wasn’t as awe inspiring as other days, but savings were still phenomenal:

• 58 yoplaits - this will last us MAYBE 2.5 weeks (4-5 kids, 1 yogurt a day) 14.5-21c each (Super 1)
• 7 blocks of 2lb cheese - cheddar, colby, mozzarella, jack $2.99 each (Fred Meyer)
• 1 herbal essences shampoo 99c (Walgreen’s)
• 1 herbal essences conditioner 99c (Walgreen’s)
• 3 bunches of banana’s 38c/lb (Super 1)
• 6 cans campbell’s chicken soup 30c/can (Fred Meyer)
• 16 packages trident layers gum 25c-50c each (Walgreen’s)
• 3 packages frozen vegetables 66c each (Super 1)
• 2 large heads green leaf lettuce 88c each (Super 1)
• 4 boxes pillsbury cake mix 69c each (Fred Meyer)
• 7 bottles joint juice free (Safeway)
• 2 impulse buys: chicken pieces/shrimp pieces $2 each (Walmart)

Total retail: $137.73
Total paid: $62.10

Tax paid: $5.86
Total OOP: $67.96

I’ve been “coupon” stockpiling for a little over 2 months now.  HOWEVER, I have always been someone who stocks up at Costco on things that I never want to run out on: toilet paper, paper towels, deodorants, food items we eat regularly, etc. With that said, I usually always have a 2-4 week solid stockpile in our home.

Now that I’m couponing so intensely again, all that has changed.  I will now stock up on something as much as I am able to buy at the pennies or free price.  For example, we currently have 41 boxes of kleenex (well we have more, but I’m speaking about the ones I got free) because they are free.  Today is the last day to take advantage of this deal so I’m going out and getting anywhere from 12-20 more depending upon the stock the store has available.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my stockpiles, with explanations of what you are seeing within each picture.  Enjoy!

View 1 of my main, near my kitchen, pantry

The top shelf back in the corner has 20+ boxes of cereal… the edges of the pantry extend pretty deeply beyond the doors (sort of annoying when trying to utilize said space!!).

View 2 of my main, near my kitchen, pantry

Again, top shelf has another 30+ boxes of cereal back in that corner.  My pantry stockpile here is actually somewhat low right now.  I haven’t been through a full cycle yet of sales/coupons (takes about a year) so there are things I haven’t stocked up on that we were using regularly.  Now however, we’ll use what I’ve been able to purchase at steep discounts.

View 1 of my laundry room pantry area.

My laundry room is nice and spacious.  However, we recently moved in and I don’t have anything really built in yet.  In another picture you’ll see some shelves we did put up - with supplies we already owned.  Now the quest  begins to find things free to better utilize this space.

View 2 of my laundry room pantry area.

I can’t wait to start taking advantage of Walgreen’s and Rite Aid sundries sales… my coupon stockpile is pretty solid right now so BRING IT ON you two!!

View 3 of my laundry room pantry area.

See what I mean about utilization of space??  I’m desperate for shelves, counters, etc.  I’m excited for the day this room will really function well.

View 4 of my laundry room pantry area.

As I said before, I did have some shelves and brackets so we put them up.  I really want to extend this whole thing towards the right… someday!!

FYI, 90 boxes of “helper” meals, all found for 62c a box.  Capri Sun’s were free, so were crackers.  Soups were 30c can or less, bars were free to $1.00 box.  Kraft Mac and Cheese was 30c box or less, cereal is 75c/box or less, etc.

View 5 of my laundry room pantry area.

Extended view of the last one… bin of snack size chips, bin of school supplies and 44 bottles of joint juice (free).  Oh, and the lovely cat box (sorry!!).

$3.48 for 12 boxes of kleenex, 1 bottle of shampoo, 3 reeses cups

This is a combined Safeway / Walgreen’s purchase (6c at Safeway for the kleenex and $3.42 at Walgreen’s for the shampoo and candy PLUS, I have $6.00 oyno at Safeway and $2.00 oyno at Walgreen’s from this purchase).

Today was make out like a bandit day!

• 29 boxes of Kleenex
• 1 large bottle of Cascade dishwasher soap
• 2 Speed Stick deodorants
• 14 bottles Joint Juice
• 6 boxes Raisin Bran cereal
• 2 36ct packages Chinet plates
• 2lbs cheddar cheese
• 2lbs bacon

$89.15 retail prices for which I paid $6.48 (plus $3.84 in sales tax for a grand oop total of $10.32).  And, I have $6.00 oyno cash for my next purchase.

Not many sales at Safeway this week, but still did great!!

Here’s my 21c Walmart deal… 2lbs Velveeta (specific for a recipe), 2 jalapeno peppers, 1 bunch green onions, 24oz sour cream, 1 can black beans, 1 lg. can diced tomatoes with green chilis = 21c.

We recieved a $10 gift card a few weeks back from a manager due to a stocking issue on a product (this was a FIRST), so I used it today :D.

21c + 62c tax = 83c oop

Let’s see… how many people “really” need WIC or foodstamps?  If we treated our inability to take care of our families as the #1 priority in our lives that we “say” they are, we’d be doing everything possible to provide for them, including taking on 2-3-4 jobs, selling the majority of our possessions to provide food and shelter, discontinue our cell phones, our internet, our cable/satellite TV, not take on (or get rid of) car payments, etc.

The fact is, we don’t really treat providing for our family as our #1 priority.  I’ve seen families take on as many money making things as possible to provide, even to the point of one of the family members getting as few as 2-4 hours sleep a night just in order to provide for the family through jobs, odd jobs, part-time work, etc.

I’ve seen families prepare for the inevitable disaster by not buying all of the so-called “necessities” in life (you know the things: movies, tv’s, dvd players, stereo’s, internet, computers, cable/satellite, cell phones, books, stuff to have stuff, etc.) and making sure they had “shored up” just a little to cover in case of that upcoming emergency.

We personally have gotten so “tight” financially that we wouldn’t even buy a cup of coffee at times.  If we needed to be with people in public places we’d just not buy something, it was that simple.   We are watching our pennies so closely now that we are being ultra careful… things such as an $8 business lunch are out of the question.  No it’s not convenient, but it can be done and with a little bit of work and organization, it works out just fine. We’ve given up many things and continue to do so in order that we do not become dependent upon someone or something else.

I’m constantly hearing all of the “reasons” people are receiving public assistance and in every single case they could have made choices prior to the assistance to change the need for assistance.  In most cases, they could be off the assistance quickly, but choose to continue to receive anything they can get. Why aren’t people working harder to change their circumstances while they are on assistance?

Do we realize the impact of this? The cost to society? The intent on this dependancy being created by the ones creating the “assistance” programs? We need to get off our butts and start really taking care of ourselves and our families.  Unfortunately, our country is moving into the opposite direction and has been for over 50 years (it’s all political parties, not just one).  It’s sad… in a few decades people will be so dependant upon the government to provide for them that they’ll essentially be “fat and happy” and the “government” will do whatever they want, because they’ve created a society of dependancy.

Maybe it’s the summer heat. Maybe it’s the fact that summers are busier, and the last thing I want to think about at the end of a long day is cooking. Or maybe it’s the fact that we haven’t been planning our meals. Oh. Yeah that last one is it!

When nothing sounds good, you’re tired, and it’s a little hot out, those are great times to default to indiscriminate spending on eating out. This is how we got into debt in the first place. Giving in to laziness and poor planning is not a good way of living in general. But this kind of behavior affects our physical health, as well as our financial health.

So the solution? Hate the fact that we got ourselves into this mess, and love the idea of getting out if it more!