Archive for the ‘
Ways to Save ’ Category
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
Have you signed up for Kellogg’s Family Rewards? If not click the banner above and join today. By inputting codes from Kellogg’s products you’ll earn points that you can then use towards high value coupons, gifts cards, magazines, toys and more. There are also frequently free point codes available too.
Add 50 Points: 2013KFRBonusCode
And here are some old codes that you can enter too if you haven’t already used them:
KFRNOWONFACEBOOK
ERESUNGANADORHOY
KFRDELTAENTERNOW
KFRFAVPOPTARTS10
HOWITWORKS20PNTS
KFRFREEGROCERIES
Thursday, January 17th, 2013
Are you a Home Depot shopper? Click the banner above to sign up for the Home Depot Orange Insider and get exclusive coupons and savings. Sounds good to me! We’re always working on some home improvement project and any savings we can get is wonderful!
Thursday, January 10th, 2013
No two ways around it, diapers and wipes just get to be plain expensive. It’s galling to have to spend so much money on something that just get thrown out in the end. Yes, I know there are cloth diapers and that they are supposed to be cheaper, but if you are like me and just can’t bring yourself to switch to cloth diapers, take heart. Without too much hassle, you can save money on disposable diapers and wipes and probably keep from going broke in the process. 
1. Use Coupons
Hands down, this is the way that I save the most money on diapers and wipes. There are almost always coupons available for at least $1.00 off Huggies, Pampers and often Luvs too. Combine that with sale prices and you can save a bundle, especially at drugstores. I almost always can get a pack of diapers for $5 or less and wipes for $1.00 or less.
Here are a few of the current diaper/wipes coupons available.
2. Be Slow to Switch Sizes
Why is this such a big deal? Because the bigger the diaper, the less diapers there are per package and so therefore the more expensive it gets.
Diapers come with a suggested weight per size. I’ve discovered that with both of my children, I could wear the various size diapers for longer than what the package suggested. For instance, my daughter weighs more than the size 3 diapers say they are made for but they still fit her fine, we don’t have leaks and so we continue to stick with them. Instead of going with what the package recommends, we change sizes once we start having lots of leaks.
3. Be Mindful of How You Put On the Diaper
And speaking of leaks, I know we get more mileage out of smaller diapers by using this little trick. Your child can stay in smaller diapers longer if you are careful how you put the diaper on. If your child’s tendency is to leak out the top, then pull the diaper up more in the front. Have problems with messes oozing out the back? Then pull the diaper up more in the back. Both are a problem? Well, then it’s definitely probably time to switch to the next size!
4. Watch Package Sizes
Instead of thinking price per package, think price per wipe/diaper. The reason for this is because not all packages contain the same amount of product. For instance, Pampers Soft Care wipes come in 72 ct. packages while Pampers Sensitive wipes come in 64 ct. packages. Both products cost the same amount but by purchasing the larger count you get 8 more wipes per package, reducing your cost.
You’ll find similar things in diapers. Huggies Snug & Dry size 2 come in 42 ct. packages while Huggies Little Snugglers size 2 only have 36 per package. Again, they typically are priced the same but you can save around $0.04/diaper by choosing the larger package.
5. Stockpile
Whenever you see diapers or wipes at a low price, if you have room in your budget, buy them even if you don’t immediately need them. The concept behind this simple. Why pay full price for something that you can easily save a couple of bucks on. By waiting to buy diapers and wipes only when you need them, you end up almost always spending more.
I take diaper stockpiling pretty seriously. When I was pregnant with our daughter, I started buying diapers and wipes when I would see them at rock bottom prices. By the time she was born 12 1/2 months ago, I had 42 packages of diapers and around 30 packages of wipes. I’m just now starting to use up the last of what I bought then. The great thing is that I’ve continued to be able to keep buying ahead so I have never had to pay more than $5 for a package of diapers and $1 for a package of wipes. That has translated into huge savings for us!
6. Be Willing to Vary Brands
If you are going to maximize your savings, you are going to have to be willing to use whatever brand of diapers/wipes you can get for the least amount of money. Some weeks Pampers are the cheapest, other week Huggies. And sometimes it’s the store brand. Be willing to try brands other than the one you typically use. Often you will find that you like it just as well. And while I’m not a huge fan of store brand diapers, sometimes they actually are surprisingly good. Both Costco and Target brand diapers are really decent in my opinion and have great reviews online.
And remember, often store brand diapers have a money back guarantee, so if you don’t like them you don’t have anything to lose!
7. Buy in Bulk
If you don’t plan on using coupons, the next best way to save is to buy in bulk. Places like Amazon
and Diapers.com are great options to purchase boxes of diapers and wipes at decent prices. Amazon even has a program called Amazon Momthat allows you to get 20% savings on many of their diapers and wipes plus free 2-day shipping on most items too.
(Update: the prices below were current in Jan. ’13. They are obviously going to change frequently and are given as an illustration.)
Here are two current Amazon deals:
- Pampers Softcare Wipes 864 Count
$17.51 with Amazon Moms and Subscribe & Save. (Be sure to clip the $0.50 coupon found just below the product description too!) This comes to just $0.02/wipe.
- Huggies Snug and Dry Diapers, Size 3, 222 Count
$35.74 with Amazon Moms and Subscribe & Save. (Be sure to clip the $2.00 coupon found just below the product description too!) This comes to just $0.16/diaper.
Do you do any of these things? How else do you save on diapers and wipes? I’d love to learn from you!
Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
I’m all about saving but I still love to give gifts. And I enjoy trying to give beautifully wrapped gifts even though gift wrap might seem like a waste of money. To me, giving and receiving beautifully wrapped gifts only adds to the joy of the gift itself. So while we try to keep our Christmas spending low, we also try to get creative and wrap our gift beautifully without blowing our $250 Christmas spending budget. Here’s some inspiration for inexpensive Christmas gift wrap. Be inspired!
{Source}
1. Use paper bags or Kraft Paper
to wrap gifts then embellish with greenery or lots of other things as you’ll see below. (I’m guessing that the Kraft paper would probably be less expensive at a local craft store, although I haven’t checked it out. Or check Dollar Tree. I’m told they have a 15 foot roll for $1!)
2. Aren’t these beautiful? And for free, you can even print out your own gift tags just like the ones pictured above. How cool is that?
3. Recycled Bread Tag Snowmen. If only I were craftier I would make these cute little fellows to go on the bags of cookies I give to neighbors and friends.
4. Love the simplicity of these stamped brown paper packages.
{Source}
5. Totally into this look! And what a great “free” gift wrap! Use comics for fun “kid” wrapping paper.
6. Skip the gift tags/Christmas card and just put the name right on the wrapping paper! Bonus: you could use scrap paper, newspaper or pages from old books to make the letters.
{Source}
7. Isn’t this fun? I’m thinking Christmas colors would create a festive look.
{Source}
8. Again, simple but oh so sweet! (Pun intended.)
9. Don’t you love this idea of a gift wrapping ornament made from none other than a toilet paper/paper towel roll?
{Source}
10. Use Black Kraft Paper
to get a chalkboard look. I really like this for different! (I realize the paper is kind of pricey but it is a huge roll. And again, you very likely could find it at local stores for much less.
How do you get creative and save money on gift wrapping? I’d love to learn from you!
Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
Over the last year or so I kept seeing little comments online where people would mention something about homemade stock. But for some reason I just kind of ignored it until one day recently when I read a friend’s blog post and she talked in more detail about how she made her own chicken stock and how simple it was and how rich the broth was and well, I decided I was crazy for not doing this! Not only is it super simple, it is also considered really healthy since the nutrients from the bones get “cooked out” into the broth. And to think that all these years I was glibly throwing out the bones thinking they were useless!
I cooked up a turkey recently to have for some dinner guests and so I used the bones and skin from it to make my first stock. The stock or broth turned out so rich that I actually watered it down a bit. And it really was as simple as 1-2-3!
Here’s how to make your own chicken stock:
Homemade Chicken Stock
Bones, skin and any scraps from one chicken or turkey
Dash of vinegar*
Approx. 1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 onion, chunked (opt.)
2 carrots, chopped (opt.)
1 stalk celery, chopped (opt.)
Water
1. Place bones, skin and scraps into your slow cooker. Add vinegar, salt, pepper and any onions, carrots and celery that you want (as well as any other seasonings you feel like throwing in). Cover with water and put the lid on the slowcooker. Turn it on to low and let cook all night or at least 8 hrs. Cooking it longer will not hurt anything—you’ll just get more nutrients from the bones.
2. Strain out the bones, skin and other ingredients.
3. Once cooled, put the broth in containers and freeze any that you won’t use within a few days.
(You can also do this on the stove top. Just simmer on low all day.)
* The vinegar helps draw the nutrients from the bones and you won’t taste it as it is such a small amount.
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, Blessed with Grace’s Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, and 33 Shades of Green’s Tasty Tuesday.
