Holy savings, Batman!!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to put meal plans together and focus on making better meals more often for my family. As I was trying to figure out how this all works, I asked a well-known bargain shopper in the area how she meal plans/grocery shops because I heard her say one time that she LOVES to shop for food! Crazy! Grocery shopping was my arch-nemesis. It's no fun at all. But if she loved it, she must know some secrets, right? Lucky for me, she was totally excited and willing to show me exactly what she does. I had no idea what I was getting into...

Lisa showed me some websites, how they work, and where/how she does her grocery shopping - with coupons. It was all very intriguing but a little overwhelming. But what sealed the deal for me was when she took me into her storage room and said, "This is where the real savings come in." Her storage room was ah-ha-aaawesome. She pointed out cases of canned veggies that were 11 cents a piece, containers of laundry detergent that were 50 cents a piece, a big pile of feminine products that apparently she never paid a dime for. What-what? Yep. Cereal, crackers, shampoo, soap, everything. Incredible, I tell you. She finds these awesome deals then stocks up! So, she really never needs anything or even buys anything unless it's a super duper deal. I had storage envy. Bad. And since I found out these crazy deals existed, I couldn't ignore it. I couldn't pretend I didn't know you could save so much frigin' cash. I became a believa'

I now get the Sunday paper, save all my coupons, and stock up on the bargains. It's crazy-exciting. Tyson was so totally up for it (what bread-winner wouldn't be?) He agreed to hold down the fort on Wednesday nights while I plan and execute my scary hunting trip. I mean, grocery shopping trip. I do it with a friend or two, and we stop for milk shakes after wards to congratulate ourselves on a job well- done. It's a party!!

It's been almost 3 weeks. The deals I am most proud of are:

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
Original price: approx $2.79/box
MY price: $0.20/box
That's right, I bought 20 boxes of of granola bars (200 granola bars) for $4.04.

Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers
Original price: approx $1.99-$2.19/box
MY price: $0.13/box
Yes, I also stocked up on these.

My last shopping trip, I was so excited, I took a picture of my loot:

Lot's of good stuff, right? Lunch meat, tomatoes, crackers, tortillas, tons of cheese (for my new freezer, of course!) sour cream, gummie vitamins, plastic ware, etc etc etc.
Orig Total: $159.73
MY total: $40.29
That's 76% savings. Crazy, eh?

Thanks to my new friend Lisa, I am having so much fun shopping like crazy (but not spending much) and now my arch-nemesis is my favorite past time.Woo hooo!! I am loving these mad coupon skills.

Water Purifying

Jack Sprat - I buy cases of water bottles and rotate them out. But, this website tells you 5 different ways to purify and this website is all about storing it. It's good info to know!!

Storage

If anyone has lack of room for food storage, it's me. I am in a condo, 1-car garage NOT attached, and 1 storage closet on our patio full of camping shiz. So! I have big buckets of wheat and beans in my bedroom closet, and definitely planned to stop there. Clutter. Ugh! I hate clutter, there is no way I was taking tips like "you can slide cans under your bed!" or scarier tips like, "When we were young, we made end tables out of the cases of canned goods - just throw a table cloth over them!" I think I'd rather starve than live with that.

But 2 summers ago, I read a lot about storage, preparedness, and pandemic planning. I read about the flu pandemic that came around in the 20's (I think started in 1918). Not the 1600's, it was in President Hinckley's lifetime - and he lost loved ones to it, by the way. The Provident Living website had tons of resources about pandemics and preparing for one and even when they expected another. Within the next 3 years they said. Yipes. That, well, freaked me out a little. So I started stocking up on Clorox wipes and things like that. My doctor brother poked fun. No less than a year later the Swine Flue started up, and finally built up to "pandemic" level. When my brother got it, and his family was quarantined so they wouldn't spread it, I asked what I could do. Nothing! She had not only food storage, but plenty of other basic needs stored (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, diapers, etc). They were set.

It was then I realized how many reasons having storage is so important. Not just if there's an earthquake and you're stuck in your home, you suddenly lose a job, or some other catastrophe. We need to be prepared very realistic situations like getting stuck at home with a sick family. Or even stores closing because the pandemic is just too prevalent. I read the Bird Flu was only 1 strand from mutating to the point where it can transfer from human to human. (Now, it already can go from bird to human.) There will be a 2nd bout of Swine Flu after that mutates, and it will be worse. I plan to be prepared for it. Whose with me!? :) Here is a list of things basic things you should have:


-Food
-Water
-toilet paper (100 rolls of toilet paper per person-you use much more when you are sick)
-feminine products
-paper towels
-toothpaste
-soap
-Clorox wipes
-rubber cloves
-hand sanitizer - did you know stores ran out of this when H1N1 got around?
-breathing masks
-cleaners
-dish washing
-laundry
-disinfectant
-baby supplies
-diapers
-wipes
-formula
-baby food
-cash
-games
-batteries
-camping stove

So... I didn't start this post planning to say all that. I wanted to talk about my new freezer. Hmm. That's weird. Oh well, get prepared.