To build an inventory, use coupons with small dollar items. The discount applied by a fixed dollar coupon against a small dollar item is larger than a discount on a larger item.
Always use store loyalty cards with every transaction. Plan your trip and clip your coupons at home.
You probably already know some of these things. If you really want to save money, shop for things online. And if you want to save money online, compare prices with different retailers. However, you might not know that there are different strategies for getting the best price from your online retailer.
Did you know that some online retailers will send you a digital coupon if you close your browser window with items in your cart? The strategy is to try and get you to buy an item before you change your mind. They hope that the coupon will help nudge you in that direction.
Several online retailers will quote different prices to different
consumers based on spending habits, digital cookies in your browser, your logged in status, and other things. The quoted price differences can be significant. If you see a deal on line, send an instant message to a friend or family member and ask them to price the same item on the same website. The one who is quoted the lowest price should order the item. For big-ticket items, the savings can be significant.
Other strategies for buying online include using a shopping website to compare prices for products. This works especially tell when you are buying something that has a clearly defined product number. You can compare prices for these items by Googling them or going to major online retailers like Amazon.
As always, if you want to live a frugal life, only buy things you really need. Analyze those needs versus your wants and prioritize. That's the best way to become free financially.
Couponing is totally sexy. The average woman spends nearly $15,000 on makeup in her lifetime, but with more than $220 billion in health and beauty coupons in circulation, you can avoid those costs.
Many couponers start looking for coupon deals to stretch their budget. The catalyst for this action is usually a stressful event like a job loss or a divorce.
Living a frugal life means living a simple life. In today's world that can actually require some planning, adapting, and a change of attitude.
Here are some ideas that may help you find ways to save by simplifying your life. Not all things are feasible for all people, but at least one change in your life can make a big difference. Once you make a change it will soon become a habit.
Travel and Transportation
If you can, arrange to take public transportation whenever possible. For urban commuters, a trip on the city bus might save several dollars in gas and parking. Do this daily and savings pile up.
When you must drive try to combine your errands into a single trip with as little back tracking as you can. Imagine your trip as a loop, with each stop a portion of that loop. Minimize the amount of time and distance to save time and money on fuel.
Try to travel when the streets are less crowded and you will spend less time at traffic lights idling away your expensive gas. This also reduces your stress levels, if you are an impatient driver.
Maintain your tires to reduce wear. Fewer miles driven also means longer tire life, but if your tires aren't properly inflated they will wear out quickly anyway. Why replace a $90 tire after only a year when it could last far longer with proper care?
Eat Out Less
Our nation's culture increasingly relies on fast food. It's unhealthy and more expensive than eating a nutritious meal at home. Food is fuel, not life. Get in a habit of planning meals before you go to the store. There are unlimited resources for recipes on the internet. Even if you buy expensive brand name food at the store, it will still likely be cheaper than eating some fast food prepared by someone that probably didn't even wash their hands. Most fast food is simply marketing and high-fat low-grade junk.
Chicken thighs can be very economical alternatives to other meats, often costing less than $1 per pound. For those that prefer dark meat, the flavor of the thigh is preferable to white meat because it is richer and more moist. That flavor is actually fat. This recipe could be altered to remove the skin, which lowers the overall fat content. Broiling should cook a lot of the fat off as well. Also, by de-boning the thighs, you also make them more appetizing to those that don't like to mess with taking the meat off of the bone.
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs 1 cup of rice
2 stalks of celery
1/2 cup of baby carrots
1/2 cup of fresh green beans
1 medium onion
Salt, Pepper, and Seasoned salt
Rosemary
Directions
1. Slice the onion in half then put it in a large pot on the stove with about two cups of water. Start the heat at medium.
2. While the water begins to heat begin de-boning your chicken thighs. Place the thigh bones in the pot and bring the heat up to get the water to a boil. Once the water has boiled lower the heat to simmer the liquid. Place the chicken thighs on a piece of foil.
3. Cut the celery into sections one inch long. Add the celery and carrots to the pot.
4. Season the pot of vegetables and chicken bones with salt, pepper, rosemary, and seasoned salt.
5. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and seasoned salt.
6. After the chicken bones have cooked in the pot for 15 minutes remove them from the pot and discard. Pour one cup of rice into the pot and add a 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring the heat to high briefly to get the water boiling. Then reduce the temperature later.
7. Move the oven rack to about 7 inches from the broiler. Preheat the broiler at high. Place the chicken one inch apart on the foil lined baking pan or on a broiler pan.
8. Broil the chicken for 10 minutes. Check the chicken to determine if it is cooking too fast. If the top is brown or black, you may want to move the oven rack down several inches. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Tips: Frequently stir your rice and add water if it is getting dry too quickly and place the chicken with even thickness on the broiler pan for even cooking.
What is the cost per serving?
Each chicken thigh is about three ounces of meat. Including the weight of the skin and bone, four chicken thighs should weigh about one pound and at $0.99 per pound, the cost of the chicken is $0.99. A bunch of celery costs about $1.49 and has at least 8 stalks. So, the celery should cost you about 19 cents. A bag of baby carrots could about $1. A 1/2 cup of carrots should cost about 20 cents. A cup of rice would cost about 8 cents. One medium onion might cost 50 cents. And the green beans could be purchased on sale, leading to a price of about 20 cents for this 1/2 cup. The cost of the spices would be about a nickel. The total price of this meal would be about $2.21 and has four servings. The cost per serving is 55 cents.
How do you de-bone a chicken thigh?
De-boning the thigh eliminates a mess at the dinner table and can actually eliminate waste. Someone that turns their nose up to meat on the bone may eat the entire thigh rather than picking small pieces off of the bone. Follow the instructions in this video and you should have no trouble. Use a sharp knife to make the job easier.
Make some instant oatmeal mix to save money off of the packets that you may buy for a quick breakfast this winter.
Ingredients
8 cups of Quick Oats
2 cups of brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg (optional)
Makes 20 servings of 1/2 cup each. Simply pour into a bowl and microwave with water or milk.
Instructions 1. Find a plastic container that will hold at least two quarts. Make sure the inside is washed and dried to prevent spoilage.
2. Measure 8 cups of oats and 2 cups of brown sugar and mix thoroughly. Break up clumps of the brown sugar. Mix in the spices and salt. If the container has a top that seals, this can be accomplished in the container itself by shaking.
3. When you are ready to serve, measure portions with a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Heat in the microwave for one minute after adding water or milk.
Cost Per Serving
Each cup of brown sugar costs about 44 cents, bringing the total to 88 cents. Quick oats cost about $3.18 for 48 ounces. This recipe calls for about 30 ounces of oats when measured to 8 cups. This brings the total cost of Oats to $2.27. The total cost of the spices is about 20 cents. This whole mixture cost $3.35 and makes 20 servings. Thus, the cost per serving is 17 cents.
Calories per Serving
Each 1 cup of oats is 300 calories and there are 8 cups in the mix. This is 2400 calories total. Two cups of brown sugar are 1658 calories. The mixture totals 4,058 calories for 20 servings. Each serving is 203 calories for 1/2 cup measured.
These muffins are hearty and filling. Not too sweet, but just the perfect blend of crunch and chocolate mixed together. They would pair well with a delicious pot of soup (like Hamburger Vegetable Soup) for a chilly December evening.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 cups oats (old fashioned or quick oats)
2 and 2/3 cups flour (white, whole-wheat, or a mixture of both
2/3 cup sugar or raw sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil or butter
6 ounces chocolate chips
Combine the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and oil.
Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until moistened. Mix the chocolate chips in.
Fix greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full with the batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes, or until tops are light golden.
Makes approximately 18 muffins. Recipe adapted slightly from Frugal Homemaker.
How much does this recipe cost?
Of course, we are dedicated to being frugal and finding ways to save money. That also means knowing how much things cost to make. Here's a rough breakdown of the possible cost of this recipe. 48 ounces of Whole Grain Quick Oats will cost about $3.18. 12 ounces of Oatmeal will cost 79 cents. Flour costs about 12 cents per cup. So, this recipe uses 32 cents of flour. Each cup of sugar costs about 62 cents and this recipe calls for 41 cents worth. Baking powder and salt cost about 5 cents. The eggs will cost about 20 cents. A gallon of milk will run about $3 leading to this recipe using 28 cents of milk. Half a cup of canola oil costs 22 cents. Half a bag of chocolate chips will cost about $1.25. This brings the total cost of the recipe to $3.52, or about 20 cents per serving.
One extreme couponer has a Masters Degree in Business (MBA). The other is a mother of four children.
Facts: Did you know that Americans only redeem 3% of coupons? That means most of them end up in the landfill. A quarter of all coupons require you to buy at least two of an item to get the discount.
To be an extreme couponer, you must have a ridiculously organized pantry. Toothpaste is an item that comes for free all the time. Amber started couponing when her husband lost her job (something fairly common in the past few years). Tammilee uses excel spreadsheets to manage her coupons. Her coupon obsession began years ago when she lost her management job.
Grocery stores have seasons just like the people who shop there. Coupons tend to follow the seasons. Amber keeps a couponing box to hold all of her coupons. Since couponing takes concentration, it pays to shop without the kids.
Send letters to manufacturers to tell them how much you like their products and they will send you coupons. Write the product expiration date on your items when stocking your shelves. Tammilee uses binders to organize her coupons.
This program originally aired on TLC, but has gone viral on the internet since. The documentary style reality program chronicles the efforts of Extreme Coupon Mavens as they search for exceptional coupon deals on groceries and household supplies.
"Couponing is free, but it ain't easy." - Chris
"It's you against the computer. It's you against the cashier." - Antoinette
Using coupons to get deals can be an essential part of living life frugally. Save money by getting the most for your spending dollars. Manufacturers offer coupons to entice you to buy products. When a product you need is on sale and a coupon is offered, stack those deals. In episode 5 of the first season of Extreme Couponing, these mavens help us to learn how to be a better couponer. This show originally aired on TLC.
This show originally aired on TLC. Consumed with coupons, these mothers create stockpiles of goods using coupons. Each requires their own storage space. One never pays for hot sauce or BBQ sauce. For them, couponing is not just grocery shopping, but a way of life. They'll accumulate cat food, even though they don't have a cat, because the purchase of cat food pays them at the register. Couponing is an essential part of saving money and living frugally.
In this episode of Extreme Couponing, identical twin sisters Tai and Tarin stockpile things like diapers, even when they don't have kids. The twins call themselves the Double Saving Divas. They store their coupons unclipped by the date of the circular.
Nathan aims his sights on other deals. He has 1,000 tubes of toothpaste that he received for free. Nathan also has a massive stockpile.
http://www.couponqueen.com Learn how to become an Extreme Couponer and save thousands of the dollars.
Susan Samtur is the self-proclaimed original extreme couponing Queen. Here she explains how to use store advertisements to match coupons to deals and get things nearly free. You can also go to rewards sites on the internet to collect points and redeem them for free merchandise.
Originally airing on TLC, Extreme Couponing is a reality show that documents the trials and tribulations of extreme shopping mavens. They attempt to get as many free groceries and household products as they can, using manufacturers coupons.
In the 3rd season's opening episode, couponing all-stars battle for a trophy to prove who is the best couponer. This documentary style program originally aired on TLC.
Before attempting to coupon like this, contact your local store to find out about stacking coupons and doubling coupons. You might need help when going to the store with stacks of coupons and you will need to spend considerable time to rack up savings.
Get the Recipe: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001875401
Use your kids' favorite shapes and colors for these jiggly Jell-O creations.
Yield: 12 Servings
Cost per Serving: $.40
Ingredients
* 2 (3 oz.) packages Berry Blue Jell-O
* 2 (3 oz.) packages red Jell-O
Preparation
In a bowl, dissolve 2 (3 oz.) packages Berry Blue Jell-O in 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Pour into an 8-inch baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Repeat with red Jell-O. Dip bottoms of pans into warm water for 15 seconds. Cut Jell-O into stars with a 1 1/2-inch star cutter. Yield: about 50 stars.
All You, JUNE 2006
Find more Kid Approved kids recipes: http://www.myrecipes.com/kids/
The cost per serving for this dessert is only 40 cents. However, just a few weeks ago, coupons.com ran a coupon on the main ingredient, Jell-O. So, reducing your input costs for the food will lower this cost per serving dramatically. Also, you could consider doing Jell-O circles, squares, or triangles to eliminate wasted Jell-O. Remember, making your own food is one of the best ways to be frugal and save money.
Sign up for Amazon Mom and get free Amazon Prime shipping for a limited time. Sign up for subscribe and save. Choose 6 month plan and get 30% off automatically. Look for codes in parenting magazines that are good for 20% off of your orders. These are called YJ and YT codes. Stack these codes with coupons to get free diapers with free shipping.
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
This recipe brings back special childhood memories for me… every December, my family would make and freeze dozens and dozens and dozens of cookies – and we always included these bon-bons!
We would spend the week before Christmas making up platters of goodies to give away to all of our neighbors, relatives, friends, co-workers, and anyone else my mom could come up with… we even included the mailman and UPS man! Of all of the delectable treats we would make, these were always one of my very favorites. I mean, how could you not like peanut butter and chocolate?
These bon-bons only take a handful of ingredients, make a large batch, and store in the freezer very well. They look fancy and indulgent and taste amazing. Just one word of warning, though: these are extremely addictive!
Peanut Butter Bon-Bons
Adapted from an ancient edition of Better Homes and Gardens "Gifts From Your Kitchen" Makes 4-5 dozen (or more, if you like them smaller) Ingredients:
2 cups peanut butter
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups crispy rice cereal
4 cups powdered sugar
12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* This amount of chocolate is just enough to cover each ball. If you coat them very thick, you will need more chocolate than this.
Directions:
Melt peanut butter and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir in vanilla. Add rice cereal and powdered sugar and mix well (it might seem a little dry at first but will start holding together the more you mix. I usually finish up the mixing using my hands).
Form into 1-inch balls, firmly packed. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm (at least 30 minutes).
In a saucepan (or the top of a double broiler), melt the chocolate chips and oil together over very low heat, stirring often.** Using a toothpick, dip each peanut butter ball in the chocolate and place on wax-paper lined cookie sheets (I go back later and smooth out the toothpick hole on the top of each bon-bon). Chill until firm. These can be eaten cold or at room temperature (or even frozen… but I'm weird like that!) **You want the chocolate to stay in a nice, warm "liquid-y" state during all the dipping. I don't have a double broiler, so I usually take the saucepan on and off of the very low heat several times during the process. You can also add a little more oil if you need to.
That’s it!
If you’re looking for a simple, delicious treat to make for a holiday party… give my Peanut Butter Bon-Bon’s a try!
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 5, 3 and 1). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
This is a how-to video for my delicious homemade fettuccine alfredo sauce. I add mushrooms and olives for richness, but you can leave them out if you prefer a more standard Alfredo sauce. This recipe is so good, and only costs LESS THAN $1 per serving. The recipe makes about 8 servings. If you like the video or any of my other videos, please subscribe or like my video(s).
Noodles are a staple food in many cultures because they are high in carbohydrates and calories, yet very economical. They are also very versatile, as you can add many different toppings and sauces to them. Live frugally by making noodles a staple of your diet.
So many times I turn to the slow cooker for feeding my family. And often I try to put a new spin on a family favorite recipe just to make it stretch a little further for those hungry teens. Recently I paired two different slow cooker recipes. The result was delicious!
My friend Phyllis, at Household Ways, inspired my Slow Cooker Old Bay Chicken recipe. I made a new variation of that using a favorite rotisserie chicken recipe and Old Bay seasoning spices. The rotisserie recipe calls for seasoning with seasoned salt. I simply substituted Old Bay seasoning and just a sprinkle of garlic salt.
You just can’t beat easy, frugal, delicious – and being able to feed a crowd! Plus, there just may be a few leftovers you can use another night.
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
Learn the basics and advanced tips to shopping the deals at Walgreens.
Use register rewards at Walgreens to get better deals and better savings. Get the weekly ad and the monthly coupon book for checkout. There's no need to clip the coupons. The register rewards print from the Catalina machine. The rewards print like a coupon and work just like a coupon too.
The Frugal Gourmet, aired by WTTW Chicago, was one of many cooking shows that I watched in the mid 80's. I recall thinking that Jeff Smith was pretty hilarious when I was a kid. Check out this classic clip.
1 cup of rice
2. While the water begins to heat begin de-boning your chicken thighs. Place the thigh bones in the pot and bring the heat up to get the water to a boil. Once the water has boiled lower the heat to simmer the liquid. Place the chicken thighs on a piece of foil.
3. Cut the celery into sections one inch long. Add the celery and carrots to the pot.
1. Find a plastic container that will hold at least two quarts. Make sure the inside is washed and dried to prevent spoilage.
Each cup of brown sugar costs about 44 cents, bringing the total to 88 cents. Quick oats cost about $3.18 for 48 ounces. This recipe calls for about 30 ounces of oats when measured to 8 cups. This brings the total cost of Oats to $2.27. The total cost of the spices is about 20 cents. This whole mixture cost $3.35 and makes 20 servings. Thus, the cost per serving is 17 cents.
