Our family drove to Zimbabwe (43rd Ave and Bell Rd) to get a good deal on groceries this week. We strapped our young family in the car and drove for 30+ minutes in fierce traffic to buy some cheap cereal. And.it.was.worth.it. I am very happy to say this trip, unlike the American Discount Foods trip, was much more lucrative. We got to the brightly colored store and immediately found their toiletries section. Hallelujah! For those crazies out there like me that pay 5.00 for a bottle of hand soap because it is made with natural ingredients and biodegradable this is your Mecca. I stocked up on Nature's Gate hand soap, shampoo and conditioner at 2.99 a piece. These babies go for 5-9.00 each at Whole Foods or Sunflower. So, even if I go here just twice a year to stock up on toiletries it's worth the trip.
The grocery section wasn't as fabulous, but I still found some good deals. I purchased some minced garlic and ginger for 1.00 which usually goes for 3-5.00. Yahoo! These babies have a three month fridge life once opened. We bought a case of rice milk for 1.29 a piece, Cascadian Farm granola cereal for 1.49 which usually goes for 3.49-5.49. We bought some soy ice cream and regular ice cream; a pint for 1.50. Awesome. We bought some other staples but the prices weren't stellar. They were basically bottom sales prices at an average grocery store. The produce was not my friend. I'd rather pull from my own garden thank you very much.
I still have one more shop to visit, but in a nutshell here's my advice: Shop the ads and get the best deals at local grocery stores and visit Grocery Outlet to stock up on natural toiletries.
Showing posts with label frugality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugality. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Extreme Frugality, Extremely Me
A friend of mine sent me this link to some blog posts by a guy named Hodding that was spotlighted on NPR. He reminds me of Ryan with his weirdness. The reads are short and good and inspiring and funny. Basically, he decided to finally live within his means. Since he was so in debt he had very little means after his have-to bills. His family of six lives on 550.00 a month. Here's the link.
All of these crazy ideas are just up my alley and extremely me. Anyhoo, it's given me some ideas. Our biggest expense is groceries. I have 450.00 budgeted but we always spend more. Always. AndthenRyanbailsmeoutattheendoftheyear. Hodding shops at a discount grocery store and it got me thinking, we have to have one around here somehwere. So I googled my way to three different stores. I like Robin's Nest Ministries in Tempe, but it is a small store. I'd like something bigger where I can stock up. This is what I found on google: Grocery Outlet, Discount Grocery Outlet, and American Discount Foods.
I went to American Discount Foods today. I was a bit diappointed. The prices weren't as fantastic as I was hoping for and the place was a bit ickish. I did find some good steals though that I will list below. It's somewhere I'd go to maybe once a quarter just to see what's available. I hope to hit the rest of the stores within the week. One is on Bell and 43rd Ave and the other is on 27th Ave and Northern, but I figure if I'm just going once a month or less, then the drive would be worth it. So far Grocery Outlet seems to be the best option based on their website and the pictures and FAQ I read. Take a look at the website if you are interested.
American Discount Food Price Frys Sale Price (guessed)
Tropicana orange juice 1.49 2.50
3.06 lbs of white rice 2.11 3.50
Jason face wash .99 8.00 at Whole Foods
lighter 2.99 6.99
4 lbs of potatoes .79 1.50
dozen eggs .89 1.29
dozen red potatoes .79 (.20/lb) 2.50
6 gala apples .53 .33/lb 1.49/lb
agave nectar 2.99 5.99
whole grain bread .79 and .99 4.99/loaf
Total 14.56 Total 38.75
All of these crazy ideas are just up my alley and extremely me. Anyhoo, it's given me some ideas. Our biggest expense is groceries. I have 450.00 budgeted but we always spend more. Always. AndthenRyanbailsmeoutattheendoftheyear. Hodding shops at a discount grocery store and it got me thinking, we have to have one around here somehwere. So I googled my way to three different stores. I like Robin's Nest Ministries in Tempe, but it is a small store. I'd like something bigger where I can stock up. This is what I found on google: Grocery Outlet, Discount Grocery Outlet, and American Discount Foods.
I went to American Discount Foods today. I was a bit diappointed. The prices weren't as fantastic as I was hoping for and the place was a bit ickish. I did find some good steals though that I will list below. It's somewhere I'd go to maybe once a quarter just to see what's available. I hope to hit the rest of the stores within the week. One is on Bell and 43rd Ave and the other is on 27th Ave and Northern, but I figure if I'm just going once a month or less, then the drive would be worth it. So far Grocery Outlet seems to be the best option based on their website and the pictures and FAQ I read. Take a look at the website if you are interested.
American Discount Food Price Frys Sale Price (guessed)
Tropicana orange juice 1.49 2.50
3.06 lbs of white rice 2.11 3.50
Jason face wash .99 8.00 at Whole Foods
lighter 2.99 6.99
4 lbs of potatoes .79 1.50
dozen eggs .89 1.29
dozen red potatoes .79 (.20/lb) 2.50
6 gala apples .53 .33/lb 1.49/lb
agave nectar 2.99 5.99
whole grain bread .79 and .99 4.99/loaf
Total 14.56 Total 38.75
Friday, February 20, 2009
Because of the Economy…
Many people are out of work or have been demoted, or have lost some compensation for their work because of the economy. I know many people personally that are in these situations. Times are tough, money is tight and people and struggling. I just had a friend ask me for some tips on cutting her budget to help things out. I have always been frugal, even when I was young and not spending my own money. I wanted to get the best deals on everything. Now, that I’m an adult (well, sort of) and am raising my own family and spending my own money I have learned a few tricks here and there to cut costs. It is here that I will list a few tips that have helped my family to stay financially sound during these tough times because of the economy.
Grow a Garden
Growing a garden is actually quite simple. Start with basic produce items that your family will eat regularly. You can grow almost anything in Az if you plant it at the right time. You basically have to ignore all of the ‘outside of AZ’ gardening authors. My favorite gardening author is Dave Owens the Garden Guy. His most helpful book is Extreme Gardening. His insights work because he lives here in Phoenix.
I just recently shopped at Goodwill to buy for next year for Justin. I spent a total of thirty dollars and this is what I purchased: 3 shirts for Tyler, one diaper bag for me, (the rest is all for Justin) 5 shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 sweater, 2 hoodies, 5 pairs of shorts and a pair of shoes. That is six complete outfits including sweaters and shoes (but minus underwear and socks) just for Justin alone. That’s a good deal. I bought Gap, Wrangler’s, Levi’s, various Target Brands including Genuine Kids and Mossimo, Osh Kosh, Billabong, and Old Navy. Good brands if you ask me. And this stuff is gently used too. I have people ask me all of the time where I find cute clothes for myself and my boys. In fact Jaylee’s favorite phrase seems to be, “Where did you get that? If you say it was $2.00 and you bought it at Goodwill, I’m gonna’ scream.” I love it. That’s how it should be. We don’t need to spend a lot of money when we can buy the same stuff cheaper elsewhere. Plus we get the satisfaction of sticking it to the man!
Grow a Garden
Growing a garden is actually quite simple. Start with basic produce items that your family will eat regularly. You can grow almost anything in Az if you plant it at the right time. You basically have to ignore all of the ‘outside of AZ’ gardening authors. My favorite gardening author is Dave Owens the Garden Guy. His most helpful book is Extreme Gardening. His insights work because he lives here in Phoenix.
Having produce straight from the garden, not only saves money, but it is the best damn produce you’ll ever eat. Gardening also develops a sense of pride and ownership and brings you down to earth (literally). It is a very humbling and satisfying experience to grow and eat and can your own food.
Save Money
I know this sounds stupid, but it helps. I have family right now that is completely out of work. Because they had an emergency savings, they are doing fine. They are not worried, and are able to continually care for their family without too much stress or strain.
Save Money
I know this sounds stupid, but it helps. I have family right now that is completely out of work. Because they had an emergency savings, they are doing fine. They are not worried, and are able to continually care for their family without too much stress or strain.
I personally have several savings accounts. Ryan takes care of long term savings because, honestly, I’m not interested in that and have never been good at it. I save for Christmas, and Household Projects and Vacations. Each year I pick a project to work on and have the money readily available. Each Christmas I am not worried about straining our finances because that money is already there to spend. I could start Christmas shopping now if I wanted to as I already have some money in savings. Another benefit to these odd savings accounts is that if I need them for something else, like groceries if Ryan lost his job, I could use it.
Create a Food Storage
We have a three month food supply and some other basics. Food storage is not only for natural disasters. If my family was out of work, I know that I can get by for at least three months with my food storage (and garden) and be just fine. That is so comforting. In fact, with the flu traveling through my home I have not been to a grocery store in about three weeks. Ryan went to Guadalupe Farmer’s market for fruit once and I went to Sunflower to buy diapers and medicine for the boys and that’s it. And the diapers weren’t necessary at all. We used our food storage for all of our meals while we were ill. Our freezer was stocked full of chicken, beef, and sausage and our cupboards were full of canned goods for recipes that we make often. It was nice not to have to worry about when or how I was going to get to the store.
Shop Smart
When I buy groceries I do several things beforehand. I shop the ad and look for the best deals. Then I get out my recipes and compare them to my ad. I create a two week menu and then I shop at the store. While there I also pick up any items that we use on a regular basis that are on sale. These items go into my food storage. I always know that I have purchased my canned goods, frozen meats and toiletries and household cleaning products at the cheapest price possible. That makes me feel good. I like knowing that when I wipe my bum I’m only spending .003 instead of .03 or whatever the math really is.
Create a Food Storage
We have a three month food supply and some other basics. Food storage is not only for natural disasters. If my family was out of work, I know that I can get by for at least three months with my food storage (and garden) and be just fine. That is so comforting. In fact, with the flu traveling through my home I have not been to a grocery store in about three weeks. Ryan went to Guadalupe Farmer’s market for fruit once and I went to Sunflower to buy diapers and medicine for the boys and that’s it. And the diapers weren’t necessary at all. We used our food storage for all of our meals while we were ill. Our freezer was stocked full of chicken, beef, and sausage and our cupboards were full of canned goods for recipes that we make often. It was nice not to have to worry about when or how I was going to get to the store.
Shop Smart
When I buy groceries I do several things beforehand. I shop the ad and look for the best deals. Then I get out my recipes and compare them to my ad. I create a two week menu and then I shop at the store. While there I also pick up any items that we use on a regular basis that are on sale. These items go into my food storage. I always know that I have purchased my canned goods, frozen meats and toiletries and household cleaning products at the cheapest price possible. That makes me feel good. I like knowing that when I wipe my bum I’m only spending .003 instead of .03 or whatever the math really is.
I also shop at Robin's Nest Ministry. This store is on the corner of University and Hardy. The goods for this store are purchased in bulk from local grocery stores. The items are generally just expired, dented or squished. Frankly I don't care. If I eat rice crackers that are one week old but I paid $1 instead of $4, then I'm ecstatic. We buy lots of canned goods and cereal here. As more stores pick up organic and whole foods items we get to purchase better and better products at amazing pricesat Robin's Nest. Sometimes I find soy flours, gluten free baking mixes and organic sugarfree goodies for my kids. The proceeds from the purchases go towards a church too. We also shop for buns here to feed the ducks. They are super cheap at $.10 a bag.
When shopping for clothing I have a few rules I’ve made for myself. I never buy anything that’s not on sale. Although there are a few exceptions to this one. If it’s for me and it has a specific purpose, I will buy it full price. But for the most part I stick to this rule. Secondhand shopping is a must if you have children. Clothing can take up a huge amount of cash and be quite burdensome on one’s budget. I enjoy Goodwill. Every day at goodwill is a sale day. Each day there is one tag and one week number that is on sale. If you donate items ask for a receipt. This receipt has a 20% off coupon on it and is good for any purchase over ten dollars. I almost always have something I can bring with me to donate to Goodwill. Thursday is dollar day, where one colored tag is one stinking whole dollar. This is a great day when shopping for adult clothes. You can really find some good steals. Every other Saturday is their 50% off the entire store sale.
Goodwill has honestly spoiled me. This past year has been really difficult shopping for me. Since Justin now has timelines for when he needs certain articles of clothing for school I’ve had to venture outside of Goodwill more than I normally do. That has been difficult. As I’m at Old Navy looking at a pair of jeans that are $8 all I can think is, this is worth eight jeans at Goodwill. To avoid the sorrow of shopping sales elsewhere I try to shop ahead of the season.
When shopping for clothing I have a few rules I’ve made for myself. I never buy anything that’s not on sale. Although there are a few exceptions to this one. If it’s for me and it has a specific purpose, I will buy it full price. But for the most part I stick to this rule. Secondhand shopping is a must if you have children. Clothing can take up a huge amount of cash and be quite burdensome on one’s budget. I enjoy Goodwill. Every day at goodwill is a sale day. Each day there is one tag and one week number that is on sale. If you donate items ask for a receipt. This receipt has a 20% off coupon on it and is good for any purchase over ten dollars. I almost always have something I can bring with me to donate to Goodwill. Thursday is dollar day, where one colored tag is one stinking whole dollar. This is a great day when shopping for adult clothes. You can really find some good steals. Every other Saturday is their 50% off the entire store sale.
Goodwill has honestly spoiled me. This past year has been really difficult shopping for me. Since Justin now has timelines for when he needs certain articles of clothing for school I’ve had to venture outside of Goodwill more than I normally do. That has been difficult. As I’m at Old Navy looking at a pair of jeans that are $8 all I can think is, this is worth eight jeans at Goodwill. To avoid the sorrow of shopping sales elsewhere I try to shop ahead of the season.
This is what $30.00 buys you at Goodwill.
I just recently shopped at Goodwill to buy for next year for Justin. I spent a total of thirty dollars and this is what I purchased: 3 shirts for Tyler, one diaper bag for me, (the rest is all for Justin) 5 shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 sweater, 2 hoodies, 5 pairs of shorts and a pair of shoes. That is six complete outfits including sweaters and shoes (but minus underwear and socks) just for Justin alone. That’s a good deal. I bought Gap, Wrangler’s, Levi’s, various Target Brands including Genuine Kids and Mossimo, Osh Kosh, Billabong, and Old Navy. Good brands if you ask me. And this stuff is gently used too. I have people ask me all of the time where I find cute clothes for myself and my boys. In fact Jaylee’s favorite phrase seems to be, “Where did you get that? If you say it was $2.00 and you bought it at Goodwill, I’m gonna’ scream.” I love it. That’s how it should be. We don’t need to spend a lot of money when we can buy the same stuff cheaper elsewhere. Plus we get the satisfaction of sticking it to the man!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Hooray, a Bidet
I finally broke down and bought my bidet. I am so excited I have to pee and then clean myself with my new bidet! Ha ha ha! It's come to my realization that when I say bidet people think of a massive toilet-esque bidet in my bathroom. Not at all. Please, people I am all about practical. A picture of my bidet can be seen here at Wildflower's website. It is a handheld sprayer that is attached to your toilet or nearby wall. It will be great for cleaning diapers, wetting bums, and personal hygiene during my ladies' days and postpartum days. The cool thing about it is that it will eliminate toilet paper use in our master bath. I hate buying toilet paper. It's so expensive and you just wipe your butt with it and then it goes on to ruin our water supply. Great investment. We will have cloth wipes and a bin for those obviously to wash on a regular basis. And since you will be rinsing yourself before wiping they shouldn't be too gruesome (since I know that's what you all are thinking). Hooray...a bidet!
Friday, November 28, 2008
A Practically Crafty Red and "Green" Christmas
It's Christmas time and no one has money. The economy is in the crapper. The planet is in the crapper. I was in the crapper last night myself (stupid glairegg full feast of temptation), three times to be exact. The point is, this Christmas I am pulling out all of my practicalities and craftiness to make this Christmas as cheap as possible and as green as possible.
Crafty Thing #1
This advent calendar is way cute and I made it myself thankyouverymuch!
Crafty Thing #2
I am making many gifts this year with my own two hands. I made four Christmas gifts for a whopping 15.00. Awesome. I will post pictures later for these items.
Green Thing #1
I have been trying for a long time to figure out a good substitute for wrapping paper because it cannot be recycled. I LOVE wrapping paper so this has been particularly hard. for birthdays I have Justin draw or color a picture on large craft paper that can later be hung up as artwork or recycled. I though maybe we could do this for Christmas but we are all opening up gifts together no one will recycle this and it will get chucked. so what to do? And then it came to me...cloth bags. I have been making these cute cloth bags. I will not try to use them for extended family since I have already burdened them with buying my children natural material-ed (I love making up my own words) toys, but next year I may try. My immediate family will open gifts that are enclosed in cute Christmas-y cloth bags. We can use these year after year and just add to them. I am so excited. I want to runt o the store and buy up cute fabric, but I'm cheap and awaiting sales.
Practical Thing #1
I'm using up gift cards to buy presents. Usually I am selfish with these and spend them for extra fun items, but this year I've been using them to purchase gifts. I bought just under 200.00 worth of gifts using gift cards at no cost to myself. Awesome.
Practical Thing #2
I've emptied my credit cards reward points. I purchased for myself with no money of my own a Sony 4GB MP3 player, a $25 itunes gift card and a $25 blockbuster gift card. Sounds good to me! Woo hoo!
Crafty Thing #1
This advent calendar is way cute and I made it myself thankyouverymuch!
Crafty Thing #2
I am making many gifts this year with my own two hands. I made four Christmas gifts for a whopping 15.00. Awesome. I will post pictures later for these items.
Green Thing #1
I have been trying for a long time to figure out a good substitute for wrapping paper because it cannot be recycled. I LOVE wrapping paper so this has been particularly hard. for birthdays I have Justin draw or color a picture on large craft paper that can later be hung up as artwork or recycled. I though maybe we could do this for Christmas but we are all opening up gifts together no one will recycle this and it will get chucked. so what to do? And then it came to me...cloth bags. I have been making these cute cloth bags. I will not try to use them for extended family since I have already burdened them with buying my children natural material-ed (I love making up my own words) toys, but next year I may try. My immediate family will open gifts that are enclosed in cute Christmas-y cloth bags. We can use these year after year and just add to them. I am so excited. I want to runt o the store and buy up cute fabric, but I'm cheap and awaiting sales.
Practical Thing #1
I'm using up gift cards to buy presents. Usually I am selfish with these and spend them for extra fun items, but this year I've been using them to purchase gifts. I bought just under 200.00 worth of gifts using gift cards at no cost to myself. Awesome.
Practical Thing #2
I've emptied my credit cards reward points. I purchased for myself with no money of my own a Sony 4GB MP3 player, a $25 itunes gift card and a $25 blockbuster gift card. Sounds good to me! Woo hoo!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Green and Green
One of the hardest parts of being environmentally friendly is watching the dollars disappear from your wallet faster than you can say global warming. It's amazing to me how expensive items can be just because they aren't popular and the demand is not as high as the average American product.
I've been wanting to replace my cosmetics and facial creams for sometime now, but have been waiting for them to run out (I'm cheap and I hate to throw things away). Anyway, my cosmetics stores are nearing the end so I've begun my research. The main ingredients that your cosmetics should not have are sodium laurel sulfate, Pthalates, parabens and fragrance/parfum. It has been difficult to find cosmetics that are a good price and healthy for you. I feel lucky that I've found a few items at Target, of all places. I've discovered Physicians Formula Organic Wear. I've purchased their pressed powder and blush. Hopefully they are just as good as my chemically ridden products that I smear all over my face that I buy at such high end stores as Walgreens while on clearance.
Today at Whole Foods I was in search of face wash, eye makeup remover and face lotion/sunblock. I could not believe that prices. Some of these items are over $40.00. It's amazing! I found a Kiss My Face facial line that was on the lower end. Face soap 12.99 and lotion 18.99. The lotion was in a one ounce bottle if you can believe that. I know! I also purchased Earth Science makeup remover for 6.49. It's so hard to buy these items at these prices. I'm just not used to it. But I suppose if I really want to be healthy and green I've got to give a little more green than I'm used to. Now is the time to put my money where my mouth is...and maybe I can look pretty while doing it too.
I've been wanting to replace my cosmetics and facial creams for sometime now, but have been waiting for them to run out (I'm cheap and I hate to throw things away). Anyway, my cosmetics stores are nearing the end so I've begun my research. The main ingredients that your cosmetics should not have are sodium laurel sulfate, Pthalates, parabens and fragrance/parfum. It has been difficult to find cosmetics that are a good price and healthy for you. I feel lucky that I've found a few items at Target, of all places. I've discovered Physicians Formula Organic Wear. I've purchased their pressed powder and blush. Hopefully they are just as good as my chemically ridden products that I smear all over my face that I buy at such high end stores as Walgreens while on clearance.
Today at Whole Foods I was in search of face wash, eye makeup remover and face lotion/sunblock. I could not believe that prices. Some of these items are over $40.00. It's amazing! I found a Kiss My Face facial line that was on the lower end. Face soap 12.99 and lotion 18.99. The lotion was in a one ounce bottle if you can believe that. I know! I also purchased Earth Science makeup remover for 6.49. It's so hard to buy these items at these prices. I'm just not used to it. But I suppose if I really want to be healthy and green I've got to give a little more green than I'm used to. Now is the time to put my money where my mouth is...and maybe I can look pretty while doing it too.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Food Storage for Dummies
Step 1 Marry a Sauer
Step 2 Tell your Sauer spouse that strawberries are on sale at Frys 10 for $10
Step 3 Send Sauer spouse to Frys to "pick up a few things"
Step 4 Help Sauer Spouse unload 3 full flats (24 containers) of strawberries into the kitchen
Step 5 spend the entire next day lalening, cutting, bagging and freezing strawberries, while simultaneously breaking child labor laws to train up the next generation of Sauer spouses
Best of luck! Hurry there is still one Sauer available - he's great with children and he's a looker!
Step 2 Tell your Sauer spouse that strawberries are on sale at Frys 10 for $10
Step 3 Send Sauer spouse to Frys to "pick up a few things"
Step 4 Help Sauer Spouse unload 3 full flats (24 containers) of strawberries into the kitchen
Step 5 spend the entire next day lalening, cutting, bagging and freezing strawberries, while simultaneously breaking child labor laws to train up the next generation of Sauer spouses
Best of luck! Hurry there is still one Sauer available - he's great with children and he's a looker!
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