Okay girls and guys! We are nearing the 1st of the month, have you started gathering your coupons? If not, you have two days to really get a move on it. The month of July is going to be fun I think so we will try a few different things this month that I've never tried before and we are gonna rock with it. One of the ideas that I am going to do is I am NOT going to eat out like I do now. It's hard! I am on the go constantly but my stockpile needs to be used. Seriously. This week I made two large meals and they lasted me several days. With just my daughter and I being here, we can do this. We both have different savings goals for July (hers for a trip and car stuff and mine for a cushion after deployment money is gone) so I am on a mission!!! Military wives, you know what it's like when your spouse gets back and all of the money is gone that you are used to on deployment. It sucks, so I refuse to not have a huge cushion when he gets home so it's not like we miss a beat. Being prepared is half of the battle. So, I am going to take sandwiches if I have to eat out a lunch or I am going to take some of these nummy snacks I have 20 of and use them~ it doesn't matter if they are Mario Brothers Fruit Snacks, I am using them up.
The second thing I am going to do for July is get really good and stockpiled on my meat again. I am buying a deep freezer this weekend and I am going to get re stocked on my meat supplies. I always say "with meat all things are possible" because seriously if you have a good stock of meat who cares what the side is (EXAMPLE FREE RICE FOREVER!!!). Get creative.
The third thing I am doing is more organizational than anything and I highly encourage you to do it too. Make your menu for the month based off of your shopping trip. It will help you stay on task. Something I saw recently at my sister's house was an 8 by 10 plastic flat photo frame magnet on her refrigerator with "DINNER IDEAS" in it. She had just typed out 25 or 30 dinner ideas that her family enjoys and she put them in this flat frame and put it on a magnet on her fridge. That is a great way to stay on task and get creative when you have that "blank mind" after you get back from your big grocery trip for the two weeks pay military pay day shopping.
Now, I understand hiccups happen, and I know for a fact there will be at least four days I will be eating out in July because I have a work trip planned to teach military wives how to coupon in Alabama and Georgia. I cannot always cook while on these trips so I have to eat out. Because of that I will be packing my own snacks and drinks in order to save on those items. I know it sounds super frugal but I am going to start taking cans of soda with me if I want one, into restaurants in my purse and just ask for a glass of ice. Think about that, every time you want a Coke, it's $2.39 or more at restaurants. Think in that four days I can save minimum of $20.00 doing this!!! I am gonna try it and see how it works for me.
Until Next Time! Happy Shopping!!! Tammy
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Our Ft. Stewart Weekend
We, Tiffany and I , got the pleasure of teaching some classes in the state of Georgia last weekend. I am not sure how to express to anyone the fun we had teaching these groups of ladies. Friday ight we were in a small town on the Georgia/Alabama line. Even though we ended up being very late because of unschedule horrible road construction and we had to go through the boon docks, it was a great class. It was in the middle of nowhere however it was in gorgeous location. It was held at someone's home however on the back porch (bigger than my house I believe) of the home. I was in heaven because it was in Primitive Style and even the light fixtures were period. On the property were five 1855 Log Cabins that the couple rent out on a daily/ weekly basis. I plan to visit this property again when Mike gets home. They are simply breathtaking and I feel blessed to have visited and met these ladies. Their ideas and large families kept us challenged and intrigued and I pray that we were able to meet these ladies needs for couponing.
Late that night we went to the world's smallest Chili's . It was the size of a large convenience store and we were one of the only people in there. It was yummy food after a long day of driving. Then with our luck that day it was bound to happen. We went to the wrong motel to check in. It was humorous and what do you say? We said the right thing by "please give us directions to the right one". After he looked for fifteen minutes for the right room. Ha! Sorry man at Motel 6!!!
The next morning we awoke and went to Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Couponing is not big in Ft. Stewart it seems but I think it's catching on. After the class Tiffany and I went and ate at my beloved Taco Johns (do you see that Missouri people!!!) and then we went into the PX. Okay, sorry Ft. Stewart girls we so raided your PX. They had Aussie shampoo on clearance for 1.60 and we had a few qs for 1.00 off any Aussie product. :) I would have cleared all that they had (I normally do not ever do that) however they were stocked well. I just didn't have enough qs with me. We also were able to buy Pringles for .50 a large can (nine each).
After the Stewart class we headed to Savannah, Georgia. I love that place. I would love to settle there some day or at least near there. We were at Hunter Air Field and we were just exploring. We did a Commissary trip and Tiffany and I loaded up. The tearpads at the Commissary there were unbelievable! One of our amazing deals was Cheerio Chex Mix marked for 1.09 and having .75 cent tear pads for each one we could purchase. There were many goodies there for great prices with qs that we had. I enjoyed the Ft. Leonardwood like atmosphere, meaning all the tear pads. We don't have a ton of them at Fort Bragg. I will say this though, they were VERY thorough at Hunter so if by some chance ya all are near there and want to coupon, you better not try to get over on them, they won't have it :)
Late that night we went to the world's smallest Chili's . It was the size of a large convenience store and we were one of the only people in there. It was yummy food after a long day of driving. Then with our luck that day it was bound to happen. We went to the wrong motel to check in. It was humorous and what do you say? We said the right thing by "please give us directions to the right one". After he looked for fifteen minutes for the right room. Ha! Sorry man at Motel 6!!!
The next morning we awoke and went to Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Couponing is not big in Ft. Stewart it seems but I think it's catching on. After the class Tiffany and I went and ate at my beloved Taco Johns (do you see that Missouri people!!!) and then we went into the PX. Okay, sorry Ft. Stewart girls we so raided your PX. They had Aussie shampoo on clearance for 1.60 and we had a few qs for 1.00 off any Aussie product. :) I would have cleared all that they had (I normally do not ever do that) however they were stocked well. I just didn't have enough qs with me. We also were able to buy Pringles for .50 a large can (nine each).
After the Stewart class we headed to Savannah, Georgia. I love that place. I would love to settle there some day or at least near there. We were at Hunter Air Field and we were just exploring. We did a Commissary trip and Tiffany and I loaded up. The tearpads at the Commissary there were unbelievable! One of our amazing deals was Cheerio Chex Mix marked for 1.09 and having .75 cent tear pads for each one we could purchase. There were many goodies there for great prices with qs that we had. I enjoyed the Ft. Leonardwood like atmosphere, meaning all the tear pads. We don't have a ton of them at Fort Bragg. I will say this though, they were VERY thorough at Hunter so if by some chance ya all are near there and want to coupon, you better not try to get over on them, they won't have it :)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Let's do 3 A Day !!!!
Recently I had the opportunity to write to a company about an event we were doing here at Fort Bragg called Fill Your Binder Event. It is where ladies come together and cut and swap coupons for a few hours a day. We had drawings, snacks, drinks, and smaller classes on topics such as the pharmacies. It was a great success for the first month.
About a week before the event I remembered something a PR person told me on a website months back about if we ever needed them at Fort Bragg to let them know. So, I sat down at my computer and began to spill our stories of our coupon group and our upcoming event. Wholly Guacamole graciously sent out a freezer pack of items for this event for our wives to sample as well as a ton of 2.00 coupons for everyone to try their products. All I had to do was sit down and write a five minute letter. Honestly it took less than that. I will advertise for them forever because not only are they absolutely giving their stuff is amazing as well. I loved it as did everyone else!
My goal is to write three companies a week, maybe not a day, as I can barely sit and write a blog these days with my busy life, however a goal of three a week will form a great habit. When you coupon you are always trying new products because that is what alot of coupons are for; new products. Do this and tell me what you are getting. Go to my facebook page BraggAbout Savings and telll me what you are getting for free or cheap. Tell me about your coupons! I am excited for this new adventure, will you come along with me?
About a week before the event I remembered something a PR person told me on a website months back about if we ever needed them at Fort Bragg to let them know. So, I sat down at my computer and began to spill our stories of our coupon group and our upcoming event. Wholly Guacamole graciously sent out a freezer pack of items for this event for our wives to sample as well as a ton of 2.00 coupons for everyone to try their products. All I had to do was sit down and write a five minute letter. Honestly it took less than that. I will advertise for them forever because not only are they absolutely giving their stuff is amazing as well. I loved it as did everyone else!
My goal is to write three companies a week, maybe not a day, as I can barely sit and write a blog these days with my busy life, however a goal of three a week will form a great habit. When you coupon you are always trying new products because that is what alot of coupons are for; new products. Do this and tell me what you are getting. Go to my facebook page BraggAbout Savings and telll me what you are getting for free or cheap. Tell me about your coupons! I am excited for this new adventure, will you come along with me?
New Commissary Shopping Trip
So, ladies and gents, I went on a small grocery trip yesterday to the North Post Commissary on Fort Bragg. For it being a middle of the payday trip, there were TONS of people there. I think others are catching on pay day is not the time to go there at all. I had a list of things I was going to get and my goal in this trip was NO overages other than one that I used. Listed below is my haul and what I paid.
Slim Jim Beef Jerky
3 Duncan Hines Cake Mix
2 Large Bags of David Sunflower Seeds
1 Marinade Mix
3 Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Packets
1 Toliet Paper
2 Nutro Dog Food
3 Arm and Hammer Dryer Sheets (THIS IS THE MISTAKE I FOUND AFTER***)
1 Aluminum Foil 37.5 Feet
1 Glad Febreeze Trash Bags
3 Lunchables w/ Fruit
1 Lunchable Sub
2 Tylenol Precise Patches
1 Kandoo Wipes
1 Ivory 3 pack bar soap
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Mixer
I got all of this for $23.92 after my qs. I received alot of free or almost free items and everything I bought had a coupon except for the toliet paper. I have a mission for the month of July to start stocking up on paper goods with my overages because of the fact that I need certain items more than others. Toliet paper happens to be one of those :) I was looking over my receipt just now posting this and realized that the Commissary made a mistake on my receipt. I was charged for three Arm and Hammer Laundry items instead of two. I am going to take it back up there today to see if they will adjust it because I know for sure my coupon said 1.00 off any two Arm and Hammer Items. I could have bought the Baking Soda and only paid .12 but this is one of those instances when nearly free didn't work for me, I needed Dryer Sheets. I believe that you need to buy what you have coupons for because you NEED an item. The dryer sheets were 1.69 each so I bought two making it 3.38 minus the 1.00 q making it 2.38 which breaks down into 1.19 each. It's not free as I said but they were the larger ones with over 100 sheets each so I will pay a little over a penny for each in order for my clothes not to be static filled. This was another trip that I am doing in order to prove that you do not have to use overages only at the Commissary. It is fun to go in there with a 20.00 bill for example and see what you can get. I believe I am going to do a series on what will 10.00 buy??? Wouldn't that be a fun topic!
Slim Jim Beef Jerky
3 Duncan Hines Cake Mix
2 Large Bags of David Sunflower Seeds
1 Marinade Mix
3 Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Packets
1 Toliet Paper
2 Nutro Dog Food
3 Arm and Hammer Dryer Sheets (THIS IS THE MISTAKE I FOUND AFTER***)
1 Aluminum Foil 37.5 Feet
1 Glad Febreeze Trash Bags
3 Lunchables w/ Fruit
1 Lunchable Sub
2 Tylenol Precise Patches
1 Kandoo Wipes
1 Ivory 3 pack bar soap
1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese Mixer
I got all of this for $23.92 after my qs. I received alot of free or almost free items and everything I bought had a coupon except for the toliet paper. I have a mission for the month of July to start stocking up on paper goods with my overages because of the fact that I need certain items more than others. Toliet paper happens to be one of those :) I was looking over my receipt just now posting this and realized that the Commissary made a mistake on my receipt. I was charged for three Arm and Hammer Laundry items instead of two. I am going to take it back up there today to see if they will adjust it because I know for sure my coupon said 1.00 off any two Arm and Hammer Items. I could have bought the Baking Soda and only paid .12 but this is one of those instances when nearly free didn't work for me, I needed Dryer Sheets. I believe that you need to buy what you have coupons for because you NEED an item. The dryer sheets were 1.69 each so I bought two making it 3.38 minus the 1.00 q making it 2.38 which breaks down into 1.19 each. It's not free as I said but they were the larger ones with over 100 sheets each so I will pay a little over a penny for each in order for my clothes not to be static filled. This was another trip that I am doing in order to prove that you do not have to use overages only at the Commissary. It is fun to go in there with a 20.00 bill for example and see what you can get. I believe I am going to do a series on what will 10.00 buy??? Wouldn't that be a fun topic!
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