Shopping with coupons and traveling to several stores is more time consuming than getting everything at one store.   However, by shopping the sales at several stores you can save more money.   Finding a balance between the two can some times be tricky.   I have found the best way for me to make the most of my time and money is to simply cut out the stores that don’t work for me.   The stores that I have taken off my list are ones that  I come away disappointed from no matter how many times I try to shop there.   The stores you exclude from your shopping list will be different than the ones I exclude, but here are a few things to considering when deciding where you want to spend your time and money when it comes to coupon shopping.

Travel Time: Time is money, the amount of time it takes you to get to a store should be something you factor in when you decide where to shop.  There may be a store that has some great deals, but if it takes you over 30 mins to get there, it may not be worth the extra time and effort.  If you still want to shop a certain store, you don’t have to cut it out all together, you can shop their once a month.

Inventory:  Do you head to the same store week after week only to find there are no products on the shelves?  If you head to a store only to find that the items you want are always gone, it may be time to take the store off your list of destinations for awhile.  This may be hard to do when you see a great sale, but I figure another great sale will come along.   Give it a try for a month!

Friendliness: If you are continually disappointed by service at a certain store, stop shopping there.   On the flip side, If you have a store that you enjoy because the employees are friendly and helpful, it may be worth a little extra time or money to shop there.   It also make a big difference if the store you shop at is coupon friendly.

Ease of the Deals:  There are so many things to consider when it comes to how easy it is to get the deals at certain stores.   For instance, Albertsons only allows you 3 double coupons at a time, Walgreens and Rite Aid require several transactions and trips to the store in order to get the best deals and Target only allows one “like” store coupon per transaction.   You have to consider what works best for you.

Here are the stores that I no longer shop at on a regular basis (and why):

Walgreens & Rite Aid:   I haven’t shopped at a Walgreens or Rite Aid in a couple of years.    Honestly, I don’t even look at the ads anymore!!   The deals here are too time consuming for me, because they require several transactions and they also require a return trip to the store.   I would continually let me Register Rewards and +UP Rewards expire , so  I wasn’t saving any money.   Plus, on many occasions they would be out of the items I wanted. I finally just stopped shopping at these stores, and I don’t regret it.   I find I can get many of my drug store items I need for cheap on my weekly trips to Target.

Albertson’s: Yes, believe it or not, I have cut Albertson’s out of my shopping trips.   There are a couple of reasons for this, one of which is that the closest store to me is 20 minutes away (this may sound close to some of you, but I have several other stores within 5 mins of my house).   Alberstson’s deals usually require you to buy 10 of an item before you can get the best price, but I can never find the items in-stock that I am looking for.   They offer the double coupons on occasion which is enticing, but it’s not worth saving an extra $3.00 in 3 separate transactions.

I decided I would give Albertson’s another try when I saw the Wish-Bone and Vlasic coupons in the Sunday paper. I am out of both ranch dressing and pickles, I knew with the coupon round-up they have going on, it was going to make for a great deal. After several months of not shopping at Albertson’s, I was kind of excited to give them a try again.

Here is what I found:

They were all out of the Ranch dressing I was hoping to buy (actually they had one “light” Ranch left, but I needed to buy 10 items total).

Guess what? They were also all out of the Pickles I wanted.

This is one of the major reasons why I stopped shopping at Albertson’s, and now I am even more convinced that I made the right decision for me by taking Albertson’s off my list of stores to shop.   I will say that when I lived in Puyallup, I had great success at the Bonney Lake store, I am not finding the same success with the stores where I live now.

Walmart:  I haven’t given up Walmart completely, but the nearest one with a grocery store is about 20 minutes away from me, so it’s not really close by.   The main reason I choose other stores over Walmart is the lack of customer service I receive while I am there.

I am not trying to bash these stores, many of these stores worked well for me in the past, but at this time they aren’t working for me for a variety of reasons (location, selection, time, etc).   I am sure some of these stores I have listed are several that work well for you!

So, what stores do I frequent:

• Target
• Fred Meyer
• Costco
• Safeway
• QFC
• Trader Joe’s

ThreeJars.com is offering a FREE lifetime membership for your kids when you sign up by March 31, 2012.

ThreeJars makes money management fun and easy for 5 to 13 year old kids and parents. Kids learn to manage “money”through saving, spending, and charitable giving jars – with guidance from Mom and Dad.

Before I share my review of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, I am going to share with you how I came across Crystal’s website, Money Saving Mom.

It was about 4 years ago when I was reading a friends blog, she shared a link on her blog for a photographer that she used.  I am a fan of great photos, so I started reading her blog for awhile, when one day she mentioned that she was a secret stockpiler.  I was so excited, to find somebody else that shopped like me!!  I have always shopped by combining sale prices and coupons, but I didn’t know of many other people that shopped like me.  I was thrilled to find somebody else that shared my love for a great deal at the grocery store.  In her blog post, she mentioned a blog that she read to find out about all the good deals at the grocery store, which just happened to be Money Saving Mom.  Now, I was even happier, I found 2 people that liked to shop like me and one blogged about it on a daily basis – LOVE!!

So, I started reading Money Saving Mom on a regular basis.  I was so impressed with Crystal’s discipline regarding money.  I had been reading her blog for several months before I clicked on her “about me” tab.  I was amazed to find out that all the money and shopping advice was coming from a young women in her 20′s!!  I was taken aback, Crystal seemed so wise I figured she had to be older (at least older than me!!).  Don’t let her age fool you, she definately has a great handle on how to spend, save money and live frugally.

Here are my thoughts are her soon to be released book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget:

The book starts out by outlining 7 Rules for Financial Success:

1. Set Big Goals (Break them down into bite-sized pieces)
2. Streamline your life and cute the clutter
3. Set up a realistic, workable budget
4. Take the cash-only challenge
5. Use coupons
6. Never pay retail
7. Choose contentment

As a person that has been frugal most of her life (my parents taught me well), I wasn’t sure there was going to be anything new or earth shattering that I would learn from this book.   However, I found lots of great insights in this book.   I found some new ways I could lower my expenses so I could have even more money each month.   I really enjoyed the chapter about controlling clutter, and I am motivated to get areas of our house in order.   I am sure getting organized will save me my sanity and money!   I think the most important think I took away from the book is to never underestimate the power of setting goals.   It is setting goals that will help you achieve your financial (and other) goals.

My husband and I have some big financial goals this year, and I plan to use several of Crystal’s suggestions in the book to help us implement and achieve our goals.   With the start of the new year, everybody is looking to make changes.   If you need to make changes in your life that revolve around your finances, I would recommend this book to help you get your financial life in order.

Not only is Crystal a frugal minded person, she is also very generous, all the proceeds from her book are going to Compassionate International.  So, head on over and pre-order your copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, it will be released on January 10th 2012.

I received an advanced copy of this book to facilitate my review, no compensation has been given. The thoughts I share, are my own.

It’s fun to show examples of how I was able to get $130 worth of food for only $13, but this isn’t really a typical shopping trip for me. Do you want to see what one of my typical shopping trips looks like?

Once you have been couponing for awhile you will have a nice stockpile of items, so you will find you need to run to the store less and less. You will have to head to the store for necessities that you can’t always stock up on (milk, eggs and fruit come to mind). When I make these “necessity” trips I try my best to add in some really great “deal” shopping with them, so it reduces the amount of times I need to head to the store during the week.

Here is my most recent trip to Fred Meyer, and it is a good example of what a typical shopping trip would look like for me. This trip includes the following:

Things we are out of: I had to make this trip specifically because we were out of eggs, milk and some fruit and veggies.

Special Deals: I knew I wanted to pick up the Jamba Juice Smoothies for $ .67 and the FREE Corazonas Oatmeal Squares so I added them to my list.

When there are great store deals that pop up, I don’t usually make a special trip for them. I will add them to a store shopping list and a specific store envelope along with the coupons. When I head to a specific store, I will take the envelope along with me, and I will already know what special deals I need to pick up while I am there.

Raincheck items: My trips often include an item that I have a raincheck for. Rainchecks are a great way to ensure you will get to pick up the sale item at a later date if the store is out of stock when you check the first time. I was happy to find the Wisk back in stock at Fred Meyer, so I was able to pick it up for $ .99 each with my Raincheck and coupons.

Just Because items: The Santa Cruz Mango Lemonade was purchased because my family loves it and my daughter noticed that it was on sale 4/$5. My kids are normal kids, and they often ask for things at the store. More times than not, they hear “No, we can’t get that right now, it’s not on sale” or “We can get that cheaper at a different store”. Occasionally it’s nice to buy something “just because”. It’s even nicer when the “just because” items are on sale.   The Mango Lemonade was a “just because” item.

More Expensive Items: It seems weird that somebody that claims to be frugal would pay more for items they can get cheaper somewhere else, doesn’t it? I bought these nectarines at Fred Meyer, which were $1.99 a lb. even though I knew that nectarines were on sale for $1 lb at QFC this week. In the interest of saving time, I chose to purchase the nectarines at Fred Meyer even though they were more expensive than they would have been at QFC.  Remember, time IS money!

Seasonal Items: Right now the seasonal items on my list are school supplies.  I keep my kids school supply list in my purse and when I see a great deal on an item on the list I buy it.  I don’t go to the store and buy all the supplies at one time, I just buy a few here and there when I see  on sale.

Another example of a seasonal item would be sunblock, it’s not something that we need year round, I only need it certain times of the year, and it is not something I generally stock up on. In fact, here in Washington we have barely needed it this summer! I do buy some extra school supplies for later though when they are on a great sale.

I paid $24.95 for this Fred Meyer trip, which really isn’t anything to write home about. It is however, a sensible way for me to save my family some money! Not all of your shopping trips have to be AMAZING! I am pretty sure that most of us couponers have more of these typical shopping trips than we do the amazing ones.

One of the biggest ways I save money is by buying items ahead of time while they are on sale, usually for 75% off or more.  I do it with groceries, clothing, toys and gifts.  Since, the Target Toy Clearance will be starting soon, it makes for a great opportunity to start a gift closet.   I am sharing some of the benefits I have found by shopping ahead of time for toys and gifts.

Saves Money

One of the biggest reasons to shop ahead of time, is that it can save you money.  I have 4 boys, and ALL of them have been HUGE Lego fans.  If I went out and paid full price (or even a sale price) for a Lego set I would be spending a ton of money on Lego’s.  I have been able to find Lego sets for 75% off, so I am able to spend LESS money on their birthday and Christmas gifts.

An important point to make here, is that just because you bought something on sale, it doesn’t mean you have to buy more. Some people have the mindset that they “have” to spend a certain amount of money on a gift.  If you buy more, you aren’t really saving any money, you are just getting more.  Kids don’t really need more!  I prefer to give them a nice quality gift and stick with that. We actually only give our children one gift for Christmas. Yes, you read that right, just ONE GIFT from Mom and Dad!  They also get a gift delivered from Santa, and a gift from each of their siblings too, so they end up with more than one gift on Christmas morning.

By purchasing items ahead of time, it saves me money that I can use on other important things, like family vacations, groceries, charitable donations, and even super fun stuff like braces for my children.

Saves Time

If you do clearance shopping every time you head to the store, you are bound to find some great deals sooner or later.   When you have a stockpile of gifts at home, you won’t have to run to the store every time your child get’s invited to a birthday party.   It’s quicker and easier to run out to the garage to grab an item than it is to run to the store searching for a gift.

This also is a huge time saver at Christmas time!  With the majority of my Christmas shopping done I can spend more quality time with my family enjoying the things that Christmas is really all about.  I don’t have to spend the majority of the Christmas season running around trying to find the perfect gift.

Allows for Generosity

I have fond memories of going to the mall with my Mom at Christmas time and choosing a name off  ”The Giving Tree”.  Both my sister and I would get to choose the item for the children that we selected.   We did this every year!  I still remember the item I bought when I finally purchased my first Giving Tree item with my very own money – it was a Cabbage Patch doll!

I wanted to do the same thing with my children that my Mom did with me and my sister.   Money was a lot tighter during our first years of marriage, but I still thought it was important to teach our children to be generous.  So, I did same thing that my Mom did with The Giving Tree, only I did it in reverse.  I would purchase items at 75% off and save them in a bin at home.  When Christmas would come around, me and the kids would see what toys we had and then go find a name on the tree that would be a great match for the gifts we had at home.

At the end of the year, I also like to go through the gift closet and anything that I don’t already have plans for can be donated to Toys for Toys or given to a family in need.   Shopping this way has allowed our family to be more generous than we would be able to if we just bought the gifts when they were needed.

Helps Others

My family knows that if they ever need a gift for a birthday, they can come to me.  My sister has 3 kids, both her and her husband have their own businesses, so there is not a lot of time left in her schedule for gift shopping.   She can call me up and let me know what type of party she is going to, and I can usually help her with a gift that I have bought previously.   Plus, it is usually 75% of the cost she would have paid at the store!  If you have the time, money and space to create a gift closet, let it work for others too!  Everyone loves to save a little time and money.

Tips for buying ahead:

• NEVER go in to debt to purchase gifts ahead of time (or anytime)!   You aren’t saving money if you are incurring interest charges.
• Make sure the item is worth the money. Just because an item is 75% off, it doesn’t automatically make it a great deal. I always check reviews on Amazon, if something I bought didn’t get great reviews, I return it.
• Stay away from “themed” merchandise that may only be around for a year or less. I am not talking about classic items, like Star Wars, or Sesame Street.  When you have a gift closet, things may stay there awhile before you have the chance to give them to someone. Find items that will be popular gifts at any time.
• Buy the classics like Lego’s, Playmobil, or other brands you personally love.
• Make sure you have the room to store the gifts. I now have a closet in my garage, but I have previously kept the gifts in a Rubbermaid storage tote.
• Make a list of what you have.  It’s so easy to forget that you already bought a gift for your someone, and you end up buying another.
• Set a price point for yourself.  For instance if I am buying ahead, I always aim for items that are 75% off.  I will go 50% off for certain Lego’s, but I never pay more than that.  I always know that if I miss out on one thing, another great deal will always come around.

Let’s hear your thoughts on buying ahead of time and having a gift closet.   I’d love to hear if you do the same thing, where you store your items, or let us about your favorite find.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is how to save money on paper products, like paper towels and toilet paper. If you really want to save big money on paper towels, I suggest you stop buying them!  (I however, do not suggest you stop buying toilet paper).    I consider paper towels to be a waste of money, I don’t really think of them as a necessity.

Think about the things you use paper towels for, I am guessing you use them to wipe up spills and clean your windows. You probably already have things in your home that will do these jobs.

Old Towels: I keep around some old kitchen towels for wiping up messes. I have also cut up an old bath towel into several smaller rags.

Washing Windows: The thing that works best for washing windows and glass furniture is newspapers. Trust me on this one! Since most of us are couponers, we probably have lots of newspapers laying around anyway. When you use newspapers to clean, your windows will be streak-free and you won’t find any of the lint that paper towels leave behind.

Napkins: Do you like to use paper towels in place of napkins? I recommend going with cloth napkins. Not only will you be saving money, but you will be saving our natural resources too. You can possibly save even more money by making your own cloth napkins with the instruction found over at Skip to My Lou.

Let’s hear your thoughts.  Do you think you could survive without paper towels?  We haven’t purchased paper towels in over 10 years and we don’t miss them one bit.

Canning chicken is super easy, and it’s a great way to store chicken to be used in soups, sandwiches, casseroles and more.  Here is a great method to use, especially for those of you that don’t have a lot of freezer space. When you find a great deal on chicken breast, you can use this method to stock up and can the chicken for future use. I love being able to grab a jar of pre-cooked chicken to help me make a quick and easy dinner!

I am going to how you how to can your chicken using the  ”raw pack” method.   There really isn’t too much prep work involved, but this method requires the use of a pressure cooker, and you can’t can your chicken like you would raspberry jam, as it requires a different processing method. You will need to consult your manual for instructions related to the specific size and model of the pressure cooker you own.

What you will need:

• Pressure Cooker/Canner
• Canning Jars (quart or pint)
• Canning Lids and Bands
• Pickling/Canning Salt (optional)
• Dish Towel
• Cutting Board & Knife
• Jar Lifter or Tongs

What you need to do:

Step 1: Clean and sterilize your jars, by boiling them, or washing them in hot soapy water.

Step 2: Set your lids in hot water until they are ready to use. Boil the water that will be added to the pressure cooker for the canning process (check your pressure cooker’s instruction book for the exact amount of water to add – this will vary according to the size of your pressure cooker.)

Step 3: Prepare your chicken, by washing and cuttin your chicken into chunks or pieces, the size doesn’t really matter. Keep in mind that smaller pieces will be easier to use in soups, casseroles, sandwiches, etc.

Step 4: Add the chicken to the jars, making sure to leave 1 inch of space between the chicken and the top of the jar. You do not need to add any liquid. You may add salt if you desire, but it is best to use canning or pickling salt.  If table salt is used, it may turn the liquid cloudy over time.  If using salt, you will want to use 1/2 tsp for a pint jar and 1 tsp for a quart jar.

It’s very important that you wipe the rims of your jars clean after adding the chicken, because they need to be totally clean in order to seal properly.

Step 5: Prepare the pressure cooker for the canning process. , putting the canning rack on the bottom of the pressure cooker, and adding the boiling water. Don’t forget, you will need to consult your pressure cooker instruction manual for the exact amount of water that is needed. My pressure cooker tells me to add 3 quarts.

Helpful hint: To prevent water stains on the jars, add 2 tablespoons white vinegar to the water inside the canner.

Step 6: Carefully place your jars into the canner, and close the lid.

Step 7: Follow the specific instructions for your pressure cooker  in regards to what pressure you should use to cook chicken. My pressure cooker needs that I need to process the chicken at 11 lbs of pressure.

Helpful hint: To more easily maintain the pressure you need, you may want to lower the temperature. on your stove when it gets to within 1.5 – 2 lbs of where it needs to be.

Step 8: Once the gauge on the canner reaches the required level (mine needs to reach 11 lbs), you will need to add the pressure regulator onto the vent pipe. You will then need to cook the chicken for the desired amount of time as detailed in the instructions of your specific pressure cooker. For chicken without bones in pint jars my book says it needs to cook for a total of 75 minutes. You may need to adjust the heat on your stove to maintain the level of pressure needed.  Its okay if it goes a little higher, but you don’t want the pressure to go below the required pressure.

If the pressure drops below the required setting, it is necessary to bring the pressure back up to the correct setting and begin timing it again.

Step 9: Once the time is up, turn off the stove and remove the canner from the heat source. Do not open the canner right away as, the jars need to stay inside until the pressure has been completely reduced. You will know when it’s safe to open, because the overpressure plug on your canner will drop.

Step 10: When the pressure has been sufficiently reduced, remove the pressure regulator from the vent pipe and let pressure cooker cool for an additional 10 minutes before opening the lid to the canner.

Step 11: Remove the jars from your canner and set them on a dish towel or board. Once completely cooled, check the  seals on the jars and date the lids, so it will be easier to rotate your food storage and ensure the oldest product gets used first.

Step 12: Enjoy the chicken in some of these great recipes!

• Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Best Chicken Salad Ever
• Simple Ranch Chicken Macaroni Salad
• Chicken Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad
• Ziti Chicken Casserole

Buying chicken in Bulk: I get my fresh boneless skinless chicken in 40 lb boxes from Zaycon Foods. You can register at Zaycon Foods, and they will send you an email when there is a chicken event coming to your area.   They will be coming to the Northwest in June 2011, several of the locations are sold out, but you can still create an account and be put on the waiting list in case more chicken becomes available.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Welcome to Thrifty and Thriving! You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or have the once a day email delivered to your inbox. My Facebook Page is an excellent way to stay up-to-date on the hottest deals.

Today is my daughters birthday, she woke up to her usual birthday note and flowers, which reminded me of this post I shared a year ago. I thought it would be nice to share again today. Plus, check out the bottom of the post for a fun update!

Think back to when you were young, do you remember any of your birthday presents? Chances are you may remember one or two, but if you think about those gifts, they are probably memorable because of the emotion attached to them.  The only one that sticks out in my mind is a Snoopy radio I received from my parents.  I loved that thing!  It had terrible reception and a tiny speaker, but I loved it because I loved Snoopy, and my parents knew that I loved Snoopy.  The radio was probably a cheap radio, but if I had received a sophisticated high-end radio with ten times the features and superior quality, I doubt it would have meant as much, or even have been remembered.

When I think about my birthdays as a child, the things I remember the most, are not the gifts that were given to me, but the things my parents did for me.  My strongest memories are attached to experiences that evoked the strongest emotions.  Things that made me feel loved, things that often didn’t require any money at all, are the things that have been warmly preserved in the cherished corners of my mind…and heart.

One of my fondest birthday memories is from my dad.  He created a “Today is Christine’s Birthday” sign, and he would put it out in our front yard on every single one of my birthdays. Every birthday, I would get my photo taken by my sign.  It made me feel special.

As I grew older, and became a teenager, I became a little less enthusiastic about the ritual, but even those years created important memories that I look back on with sincere fondness.  I remember one year being embarrassed of the “Today is Christine’s Birthday” sign that my dad would put in our yard.  Flexing my “independent teenager” muscle, I decided I would hide the sign before my 16^th birthday so it couldn’t be displayed in the yard to announce to the whole neighborhood that it was my birthday.  I can still recall how my dad looked as he searched everywhere for that sign.

As it turns out, I didn’t hide it well enough, because he eventually found it.  I pleaded with him, “Please Dad! Don’t put it out in the front yard”.  In what I momentarily thought was a very tender gesture, my dad agreed that he wouldn’t put the birthday sign in the yard… instead he marched up and down the street holding the sign and shouting “Today is Christine’s Birthday”!

As mortified as I was as a teenager, I am so glad my Dad took the time to make that sign and share with everyone that it was his daughter’s birthday.  As I reflect on those birthdays today, I recognize, even more than I did back then, how much my dad loved me and how much he wanted to show the world that he was proud to have me as his daughter.

In addition to the annual “Birthday Sign” from my dad, I hold very dear birthday memories from my mom as well.  Every year on my birthday, I would always wake up to a bud vase set next to my bed.  My mom would cut some simple flowers from our garden and position them carefully alongside a written note that read “Happy Birthday Chris”. This was such a simple gesture, but it happened every birthday.  I can still remember the soft scent of the flowers that were left each year letting me know that I was loved.

Every year, for my daughter’s birthday, I  follow the wise example of my parents and focus more on some simple experiences, like those that created such a warm tapestry of childhood memories for me.  I want to help create anchoring experiences born from simple, sincere, acts of love that will hopefully evoke emotional recollections of years gone by.  This year, my daughter woke up to this:

I am not advocating that all gifts must be banished for birthdays, or that every present must be handmade or grown in a garden.  But in today’s world where there are so many materialistic messages that persuade us to focus on “stuff”, to spend money to get the shiniest toy or the most expensive trendy trinket, it is important to stop and ask ourselves if we are giving the most important gifts; the gift of love, the gift of time, the gift of a home that is a refuge from the pressures of the world. These are the true treasures of life, treasures that will forge memories for the future, allowing us to remember the simpler days of our youth.

I think when my daughter is older she probably won’t remember the things she got on her birthday.  Instead I hope she will remember the flowers she woke up to and the way it made her feel, a reminder that she was loved.  Perhaps on a distant day, when life get’s somewhat stormy, these memories will provide a saving souvenir that in life, sometimes we need to do more than just “stop and smell the flowers”, sometimes we need to “wake and smell the flowers”.

Written by me, and then re-written by my husband, so it sounds good!  Thanks Steve!

UPDATE: I received a gift from my Dad last Christmas, he was so excited for me to open it. Look what was inside:

He gave me the exact same Snoopy radio I adored as a child. How sweet is that? He had to do a lot of searching, but he finally found one. It makes me smile every time I see it.   Yep, my Dad is a pretty wonderful guy!

The following is a guest post from my husband Steve, who share his thoughts on Extreme Couponing and the value of time vs. money.

In the movie, “The Karate Kid”, Mr. Miyagi does more than teach Daniel about Karate, he teaches him about life.

Miyagi: Lesson not just karate only.  Lesson for whole life.  Whole life have a balance, everything be better. Understand?
Daniel: When do I learn how to punch?
Miyagi: Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good, everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home.

Mr. Miyagi’s profound wisdom applies equally to couponing and thrifty living.

Having recently seen some of the focus placed on “Extreme Couponing” with the commercialized exposés done on television, I am slightly concerned by the superficial glorification of the coupon craft.  Like so many things showcased by Hollywood, in their attempt to make something interesting and exciting, they have suffocated the simplicity and utility of couponing by applying layers of artificial, gaudy, “coupon cosmetics”; so much so that their attempts to be titillating have tarnished and concealed the virtues extolled by common-sense couponers.

I will concede that these types of shows have brought awareness to the pursuit of couponing, which is a positive thing, but I want to ensure that those who may be just embarking upon the path of coupons and bargain shopping do not find themselves demoralized and giving up because they feel inadequate if their coupon pursuits pale in comparison.

There is far more value to developing shopping habits that are moderate, but functional and consistent, than to merely dabbling briefly with coupons while trying to duplicate the glitz, glam, and sensationalism that seems so prevalent in the examples shown by the media.  After all, Mr. Miyagi did not need a Black Belt to prove his martial arts prowess; rather, his canvas belt from JC Penney was just used to hold up his pants, and only cost $3.98 (not a bad deal).  It is this principle of everyday couponing, the down to earth actions which leave out the fluff, but demonstrate the realities of disciplined thrift, that I wish to applaud.

To be clear, I think people that use coupons are mostly normal.  I say mostly normal because even my wife can get a little crazy during Target clearance days.  But what you see on Extreme Couponing and similar programs is about as real as WWF professional wrestling.  (If Hulk Hogan clips coupons I am going to be in real trouble.)  Even hardcore coupon enthusiasts don’t shop like that.  Those are staged events that have at their foundation some truths of thrifty living, but the absurdity of the execution casts a disparaging light on the noble practice of sensible savers.

There must be balance in all things, including couponing.  At the risk of sounding blasphemous to some couponers, let me express a view that perhaps does not echo the more widely embraced mantra of many coupon clippers.  There is more to thrifty living than just the amount of money you save.

For me, time has as much value, if not more value, than dollars and cents.  If stores had coupons for “50% Off Your Time In Line”, or “Get 15 Minutes of Free Time” I would be a more eager coupon user.   Using coupons is a wonderful attribute and can pay rich dividends.  It has been a blessing in our lives and I am grateful for my wife’s efforts.  But we must all weigh the return on our investments.

If the time it takes to use, or research, a particular coupon or deal is overly burdensome and means sacrificing time with the family, or if the requirements for redeeming a rebate or receiving certain savings are so complex that you run the risk of forfeiting the advertised savings, it may be a more balanced approach to forgo the deal.  Likewise, if you are using coupons in such a way that you need to rent a trailer to get your purchases home, you may not have the most prudent approach to frugal living.

In other words, just like Daniel-son from the Karate Kid, we must have balance.  It is not just the punch or the attack that brings victory, it is the balanced approach to the fight.  Am I saying that clipping coupons or researching deals is a waste of time, absolutely not.  Should you use coupons and bargain shopping to build up reserves for your family and stretch your family finances, yes.  But we must have balance in all things.

So listen to your inner Miyagi. You may hear him say, “Balance is key. If balance good, coupons good, everything good. If balance bad, better pack up, go home.”

I picked up my first stocking stuffer for Christmas 2011, while I was out running some errands last night.   I picked up this 2-pack of fuzzy slipper socks at Kohls for only $2.40, they were 80% off.   I will throw these in a bin in my garage, where they will wait until December, when they will be added to my daughter’s Christmas stocking.

I know I have said this several times already, but one of the biggest ways I can save my family money is by buying items before I need them, when they are deeply discounted. I will pick up clearance items at 75-90% off and save them for when they are needed.   Not only does this save me money, but it saves a lot of time too.   When Christmas rolls around, I should have the majority of the stocking stuffers already purchased, so I can spend more time enjoying the holiday.

Anybody else have some stocking stuffers already?   I am sure I am not alone!

Every year Molen Orthodontics offers to buy back your kids Halloween candy.   This year the buy back will take place on Monday, November 1st from 2:30 – 6:30 pm. They will pay $2 per pound (up to 10 lbs) – that is up to $20 bucks!!

Here are all the details:

• Bring in your wrapped Halloween candy and in exchange they will pay $2 per lb (up to 10 lbs)
• Free milk and cookies for everyone
• All Trick or Treaters are welcome to participate
• All Candy and Canned food will be donated to a charitable org.
• Earn an extra $1 if you wear your costume
• Earn an extra $1 in you bring a min of 2 canned items to donate
• Earn 10 Molen Moolah for turning in your candy

Here are their locations:

• Auburn
• Sumner
• Enumclaw

You can read all about the Molen Orthodontics Buy Back event and get the addresses to their locations HERE.

Please leave a comment if you know of another business that participates in a candy buy back event.

The weather is finally warming up around here, and my kids were in need of some summer clothes. We did a little summer clothes shopping in our garage. OK, so we really didn’t go “shopping”, but we did go through the bins to see what we had for summer. I have mentioned before that I buy our families clothes “off season”, and it saves us tons of money.

We went to the garage and grabbed the bins, I have a separate bin for each child. All of the clothes in the bins are items that I bought at the end of the season last year. I went through each bin and took out the items that would fit my kids this summer.

These are the items I had for my youngest son, he already has several other short sleeve shirts and swim trunks, so I won’t need to get him anything else for summer. All of these items were at least 75% off. The sandals were “hand-me-downs” from my nephew. Hand-me-downs are another great way to save lots of money on clothing.

The benefit to shopping ahead of time, means you can buy clothing when it is marked down and it saves you from having to pay full price for your clothing. I have a rule that anything I buy ahead of time has to be at least 75% off. Lots of the items I buy ahead are actually 90% off. That is a huge savings on the clothing budget.

I would love to hear what you do to save yourself money on clothing.

Hello everyone! It’s so nice to be here. I’m Stephanie from My Frugal Lifestyle. I love being a frugalista chica and I can’t wait to show you some of the things that I like to do in my everyday life to help my family and I stretch a buck or two. I’m a stay at home mom to 2 handsome little boys. I’m married to my best friend and soul mate for almost 7 years now {Yeah!!}. Life is great and I couldn’t be more happy.

When most people think of the word frugal or thrifty, they instantly think we’re paupers who have to live with less. That is SO not true. You can still live your life frugally and have everything you’ve ever wanted. I want to show that anybody and everybody can be frugal, just by slightly changing their everyday decisions and lifestyle. I love couponing, but I don’t really post about it too much. That is a whole other blog in and of it’s self. That’s what Christy’s for, right? Ha ha! I prefer to talk about the FUN frugal stuff.

Here are some example’s of what I’m talking about:

Have you ever wondered how to make your own liquid or dry laundry detergent. It’s amazing how much money you can save by making your own detergent. I have a family of four and I only paid around $6 dollars for a year supply of laundry detergent. I prefer making the liquid detergent, but it depends on what you like. I’ve got the recipes for both.

I love making my own household cleaners. Not because it’s green {except that is a bonus}, but because it’s easy and really cheap. Want to learn how to make your own Comet? You probably already have the ingredients in your house to make it. It’s safe to use around your children and pets too. I’ve got several household cleaner recipes, and I’ve got many more to come in the future.

I also love to share great Beauty Tips that anybody can afford! Learn how to make your own homemade bubble bath recipe for your kids, facials for yourself, footscrubs, and tons more! It’s amazing how many things you can use Olive Oil to make yourself more beautiful.

There’s no better feeling than trying to reuse or recycle something in your home to help stretch your dollar. For instance, what do you do with your old scentsy wax? Learn how to reuse the wax. I made my very own emergency candles by pouring out my used scentsy wax into old jars. These are great to have in your food storage for back up candles. They burn longer than your normal candles and sometimes, you can smell a small remainder of yummy goodness from them. Waste not, want not!

Here’s another trash and treasure awesomeness. Learn how to make a magazine organizer from a used cereal box. Decorate it with scrapbook paper and you’ve got a great organizational piece. Get creative and have fun! Make them for the bathroom, the living room, or even for a friend.

My oldest son, who’s 4, is such a picky eater it makes my teeth ache. So, over the years, I’ve had to become really tricky into making his food look fun. One of my all time favorite fun recipes is homemade edible playdough. I’ve got several more “picky eater” recipes, but I also have tons of regular “cheap” recipes that are great for the family budget.

I want to thank Christy for letting me guest post today. I love reading Christy’s blog everyday! Keep up the hard work! I know we all appreciate it.

I’ve only scratched the surface on the things that I do and can’t wait to share more with you. Come on over to My Frugal Lifestyle and join me in the fun! I can’t wait to meet you. If you stop by My Frugal Lifestyle, I’d love to hear from you! Give me a “Shout Out” or a “Hey!” Hope you have a Frugalistic Day!