Saving on Gifts

The key to saving in the gifts area is to be creative and think outside the box. Don't be fooled by mass media into thinking your kids or other gift recipients need the latest and greatest junk out there. For my own children I usually buy them used items for gifts. Used books and toys are just as fabulous to them as new ones so why not get them used and pay less? Garage sales and used book sales are wonderful places to Christmas shop.

Now before you all think that I must have a short gift recipient list to be able to keep this all under budget let me tell you that for Christmas our gift list includes 12 adults and 17 children including our own 5 kids plus filling Christmas stockings for 12 children and 7 adults. We also give birthday gifts to those same 17 children and 6 of the adults. Then there are also 7 Mother's Day gifts, 2 anniversary gifts, and various baby and other gifts to be given out throughout the year. My husband and I do not give each other gifts.

Just because you don't pay a lot for something doesn't mean it isn't worth anything. If I buy a $25 gift and only pay $5 I'm not buying something else too. It is still a $25 gift even if I only paid $5

I love to give gift baskets, as most of you know:). It's an easy way to make a pretty and expensive gift out of items you got free or very cheap. You can make any kind of basket you want to cater to the interests and likes of your recipient. If you are giving a gift to someone you don't know that well, hey, everyone uses toiletries or cleaning supplies :)

Some gift basket ideas:
Toiletry basket (if you go with a specific color theme or brand they look a little fancier)
Family Fun Night basket - Family games, art supplies, books, snacks
Winter Survival Basket - Medicines, sanitizer, hand soap, lotion, vitamins, chapstick
Vehicle kit - Travel games, hand wipes, bandaids, car wash tokens
Household basket - dish soap, cleaning supplies
Cooking basket - groceries, cookbooks, towels, utensils
Breakfast basket - cold cereal, instant oatmeal packs, juice, granola bars
Basket of Blessings - Absolutely anything you want

The possibilities are endless

I do something that you will probably also be shocked about. I buy items with no specific recipient in mind. I know, shock and horror, right? I have storage bins that I keep my gifts in during the year and a notebook where I have my lists of people written and categorized. Then as the year progresses when I buy something for someone specific I write it down on my list. I also buy items I find that would be good gifts for a variety of people, this works especially good for kids toys and books. Those items go on a separate page in the notebook in inventory. Then when something comes up that I need a gift for I can look at that page and find something. Or when it's getting closer to Christmas I can go through that list and assign presents to people.

Then I also usually have extra things for Operation Christmas Child, Angel Tree, and other various holiday donations we like to participate in without having to go out and spend extra. When the kids get invited to an unexpected birthday party or something I don't have to go out and buy a gift, I can just check my inventory list for something great.

This is my system. I'd love to hear about yours.

Pick and Save Sept 20-Sept 26

This week is a great Pick and Save week so here is a step by step guide on getting the best deals.

Here are the best deals as far as I‘m concerned. You might find more that you think are good deals:

Buy one Boneless Beef Chuck Roast 3 lbs or more at $2.49/lb and receive free 1 lb carrots, 3 lb yellow onions, and 5 lb potatoes ( you buy it all at once and it takes of the price for the free stuff)

75% lean Ground Beef in 3lb or more package $1.79/lb

Buy 6 boxes of General Mills cereal get $10 off and a coupon for a free gallon of milk
Cheerios 8.9 oz. $2.99 14 oz $3.35
Honey Nut Cheerios 12.25 $3.75
Multi Grain Cheerios 9 oz $3.59 12.8 oz $3.35
Golden Grahms 12 oz $2.99
Lucky Charms 11.5 oz $3.29
Trix 10.7 $2.99
(All General Mills cereal is included in this deal these just happen to be the ones I know the prices on. There are a variety of coupons for cereals on coupons.com)

Buy 4 14.5-20 oz Chex Mix, Bugles, or Gardettos ($3 each) get a $4 copuon on products of the Coca Cola Company ($0.50 coupons on coupons.com)

3 lb bag apples $2.50

Dannon Activia, DanActive, Danimal, Light and Fit or 32 oz yogurt $2 (coupon here http://www.activia.us.com/challenge/Signup.aspx don‘t forget to hit your back button to print two)

Clear Value Cream of Mushroom or Chicken soup $0.49

Goody Hair Accessories $1.29-$12.69 $0.75 coupon in flyer

Nestle 8 pack candy bars $1

Round Top White Bread $0.88 limit 2 per transaction

Kraft Mac and Cheese $0.68 limit 2 per transaction


Look over the deals, evaluate what you want and what coupons you have, then make your list. I type my list simply because my handwriting is atrocious and I type really fast. You might want to type yours or just write it down. I use the @ symbol to stand for coupon. That way I can count at a glance how many coupons I’m using to make sure I have at least 5 per transaction. Remember you can double 5 coupons that are up to $1 each. You can use other coupons too they just won’t be doubled. My list usually looks something like this:



Filler items
3 lb bag apples $2.50
Clear Value Cream of Mushroom or Chicken soup $0.49
Clear Value Cream of Mushroom or Chicken soup $0.49
Nestle 8 pack $1
Round Top White Bread $0.88 limit 2 per transaction
Kraft Mac and Cheese $0.68 limit 2 per transaction
75% lean Ground Beef in 3lb or more package $1.79/lb



Transaction #1
6 General Mills Cereals @@@@@








Transaction #2
6 General Mills Cereals@@@@@







Transaction #3
6 General Mills Cereals@@@@@










Transaction #4
3 gallons of milk use free coupons from cereal deal
2 Activia@@







Leave plenty of room around each transaction. I go through the store and get my coupon items first and group them in my cart. Make sure you write down the regular price of each item. Add that up and see how far you are from $25. Then add in the other sale items that you want. For instance if I buy 6 boxes of Trix that equals 17.94 so I need another $7.06 in merchandise to be able to double my coupons. So I will add filler items that I want (make sure to add the regular prices not sale prices) until I get to my $25. Then when I check out I will automatically get a $10 discount for buying the 6 boxes of cereal, they will double my 5 coupons and I will get the sale prices on my filler items plus a coupon for a free gallon of milk. Total will probably be under $5 for all this food!!

I use a small coupon folder to keep the coupons for each transaction separated to make check out time faster. I also add to my filler list items that I have high value coupons for that aren't on sale. Then if something isn't in stock that I wanted I know right away another item I could get instead. Don't forget to pick up a rain check if they are out of a sale items you wanted to get.

Obviously your list will look different from my list and you will develop your own system that works for you . This is just what works for me and will probably be a good starting point for all of you. Have fun!

Stockpiling

Stockpiling is an important part of saving on your budget. Basically it just means that when an item you use goes on sale you buy enough to last until it goes on sale again.

For instance: Hamburger helper goes on sale approximately every two months, so when it is on sale you only need to buy enough to last your family for two months. Quaker products only go on sale once or twice a year so when they go on sale you want to buy a lot more then you would an item that goes on sale more often.

It takes awhile to get used to how much your family will use in a certain amount of time and to get a feel for the sales cycles. Becoming a couponer doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to adjust to living a more frugal life style. Don't beat yourself up if you mess up. Just try again the next time.

Be creative with your storage space. Some people don't have large pantries or extra closets to store their stockpiles in, that's okay. Under the beds is a great place for storage. Nobody ever said it wasn't okay to store cereal under your bed :) On top of cupboards, dresser drawers, even plastic storage containers stacked in the corner of a room will work just fine. If you are tight on space think outside the box for storage ideas. I know you will come up with something.

Shopping at Pick and Save

I went to double coupon day at Pick and Save on Wednesday. There was a lady behind me in line watching me. My first transaction I ended up paying $2.39 for. She said, "I need to start shopping with you." I just smiled. My second transaction I paid $.57. She said, "Where do you get those coupons?" I politely told her a few places. My third transaction the cashier had to pay me $.27. The women behind me said, "They make TV shows about people like you!" It was terribly amusing. Anyway here are my Pick and Save tips:

Your transaction needs to be $25 or more before store discounts or manufacture coupons. So this is before sale prices!!!!! For instance on Wednesday I bought:

5 boxes of Quaker Oat Squares regular price $3.99 each total $19.95
2 Lady's Speed Stick deodorant regular price $2.59 each total $5.18

So my total was $25.18 before discounts. Then I swiped my store card. The Quaker Squares were on sale for $2 and the deodorant was buy one get one free. So my total after store discounts was $12.59.

I had 5 $1 Quaker coupons which all got doubled for $10 off and two $1.50 coupons for the deoderant. So I got a total of $13 off my $12.59 total. There was $0.14 in tax so I recieved $.27 back in cash. See how it works?

As you are picking up your items in the store it is very important to write them down and write their regular price down. Group your items on your list and in your cart by transaction. For instance I had my 5 boxes of cereal and 2 deodorants in the very front of the cart and had them listed on my list together. Then for my next transaction I had my 8 packages of yogurt and my milk all together in the cart. It makes checking out much less confusing and faster. Write the regular prices next to the items on your list and do the math. Sorry ladies, take a calculator with you if you hate math:) To get the most savings for your time you want to stay as close to the $25 dollar requirement as possible and use 5 $1 coupons to double.

Buying things that are going to be free after mail in rebate or using coupons for free items are a great way to get your total up to $25

PIck and save will let you double 5 coupons that are up to $1 each per transaction. It takes a while to get the hang of it so don't be discouraged the first couple of times. I swore I wasn't going back to that store several times after double coupon trips when I first started because it was so frustrating. Once you get the hang of it though it really doesn't take very long to do and the savings is tremendous. And it is very exciting to have the store pay you:)