Make Your Own Instant Oatmeal and Save Money!

How would you like a nice, filling breakfast for about $0.10? It is so easy!
Make your own instant oatmeal!

Use a cannister of quick oats. Measure out 1/4 cup of oats into snack size bags. Grab a pack in the morning and treat it the same way you would instant oatmeal. Add water to a bowl and pour in the quick oats. Pop it in the microwave for about 2 minutes and Voila! Your breakfast will be ready before you have had time to get dressed in the morning.
My cannister of quick oats yielded 22 bags and cost me about $2.00 including the bags. This equaled out to around $0.09 per bag

A box of instant oatmeal costs around $2.00 and has 10 pouches inside, which equals around $0.20 per pouch for the exact amount in my DIY bags.

I was very proud of myself a couple of weeks ago. I thought I was saving quite a bit of money (and even bragged in a blog about it) by having my instant oatmeal for breakfast. I thought I was doing awesome by cutting my breakfast budget down below $0.25 until, my daughter showed me this trick.
I eat oatmeal 4-5 times a week for breakfast. It's nutritious, low in calories and low in cost.
This trick of my daughter's is going to save me quite a bit over time. I just had to pass along this helpful hint.

Laundry Tip: Make Liquid Fabric Softener Last Longer

Love the way liquid fabric softener leaves your clothes smelling? Hate the price and having to buy it every time you turn around? Have you tried skipping buying it only to have to deal with all of that static electricity? Well... that is no fun either.

I have just the solution for you! This simple tip will make any liquid fabric softener last at least 4 times longer and your clothes will still have that same wonderful smell and no static electricity.

Buy yourself a couple of packs of sponges. I found mine at Dollar General for $2.00 each. While I was at it, I went ahead and bought a new bottle of liquid fabric softener for $3.00. (I don't typically use fabric softener because the powdered laundry soap I make has Purex Crystals in it, eliminating this need for me. But, it is nice to have on hand for if/when I decide to use it.)

I cut my sponges in half length-wise and then in half across the middle, getting four small sponges out of each sponge I started with. This gave me a total of 52 small sponges.

I put all of the little sponges into a container I had on hand. I recycled an old, plastic snack tub. You can use a plastic coffee can, or any other container you would like. Plastic or glass is best.

Then, I simply poured the liquid fabric softener over the sponges until the liquid fabric softener was about 2 inches from the top. I was only able to pour about 3/4 of my new bottle of liquid fabric softener into my container. This gives me more to refill my container as I use it up.

 Next, you will need to label your container. I always put the name of what is in the container and the date on mine so I can see just how long it lasts. 

Directions for use:
When you start a load of laundry, use one small sponge per load. Squeeze out excess liquid and place in your washing machine with your dirty laundry. When the washing machine finishes, put laundry AND sponge into dryer. After dryer finishes, place small sponge back into the container to re-use.

Eventually, the liquid fabric softener will be used, just refill container with fabric softener remaining in original bottle. You will be so surprised at how much longer this will make one bottle of fabric softener last!

My bottle stated that it was a 40 load bottle (which would last me about a month if I followed the instructions on the bottle). I only used 3/4 of the bottle filling my container. I had 52 sponges to start off. They will be recycled over and over again. I am predicting this one 40 load bottle will last me around 6 months, if I wash on average one - two loads of clothes per day.

How to Clean Your Stove Top For Less Than $1.00

I have one of the oldest (& dirtiest) stoves known to mankind. It is so disgusting that I have been threatening to trade it in on a new one! (I just can't afford it yet!) I have to make do with it. I am just tired of it looking like I pulled it out of the county dump. I have tried all sorts of cleansers and nothing really works. Oh, it might take off a little, but nothing like I want it to. I have even tried Easy Off oven cleaner with no success. I thought after my success with the oven, I would try to tackle this.

EWWW!!!
Believe it or not, I actually washed over it with hot, soapy water just before I took this picture. I am so embarrased but before I show you the after photo, I wanted you to see what it looked like before.

The first thing I tried was a paste made with baking soda and peroxide.

I just poured the box of baking soda in a bowl and slowly added hydrogen peroxide until it made a paste. Then I coated the stove top with it and left it alone for about 30 minutes. After I wiped all of the baking soda paste off, I rinsed the stove top with hot water. These were my results.

It definitely looked better. You can tell it worked. My stove top was just so bad, that it would not get it all. If your's is not as bad as mine was, this is probably all you need to get yours sparkling clean.

Because my stove was so stained and had at least 100 years (I may be slightly exaggerating, but it certainly felt like it as I was cleaning it) of grease built up on it, I had to keep trying.

I remembered the mixture I used to clean my oven, and thought about giving it a shot.

I brought a pot of water almost to a boil on the stove. I did this for two reasons. First to heat up the stove top, and second to get my water as hot as I could stand it.

I poured the hot water into a cleaning bucket and added two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid.

Pulled out my rubber gloves,

And, added 1 1/2 cups of lemon scented ammonia to the mix.

I used an old rag to wash off the stove top. There was a tiny bit of steam because of the hot water and hot stove top. I was able to stand it without difficulty. I used a stainsless steel scrubber around the edges of the eyes to try to get the old, cooked on grease off. After about 30 minutes of wiping and scrubbing, I gave up.
This is the final result.

It still did not get off everything, but I have never seen it look this good. This is a stove I can live with while I am saving my pennies to buy a new one. (Patting myself on the back for a job well done!) Try it for yourself and see how good your stove top can look!

DIY Laundry Soap Powdered

Tired of paying high prices for name brand laundry soap? Not me. I have been making my own for years. This is my favorite DIY powdered laundry soap. It makes enough to last for months and costs less than $21.00 total. You have to try this one!

You will need this for your ingredients:
1)   4 pound box of Borax ($3.38)
1)   3 pound 7 ounce box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda ($3.24)
1)   3 pound container of Oxi Clean ($2.73)
2)   14.1 ounce bars of Zote Soap ($0.97 each)
1)   4 pound box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda ($2.24)
1)   55 ounce bottle of Crystals Fabric Softener ($8.96)
All ingredients were purchased at Walmart in the laundry aisle.
The cost for everything was $20.55 before tax.

Directions:
Grate the Zote Soap. I used a food processor.  You can grate it by hand, or slice it and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and crumble it. Do it anyway you want, I just found the food processor to be the quickest and easiest way. You want it to look like pink shredded cheese.
This is what it should look like after grating.

Next you will want to layer your ingredients. Think of making lasagna. Once you have used all your ingredients in the layering process, it will look like this.

Now it is time to mix all of the ingredients. You can do it the old fashioned way with a big spoon and stir until you feel like your arm will fall off.

Or you can do it the easy way by pouring it into a garbage bag and rolling it back and forth.

 

When you get it mixed well, fill your containers. I try to recycle my old ones by refilling them. I label the front with 'Laundry Soap' with directions on how to use.

I make a label with the ingredients for the back. This way, I know exactly how much and what types of ingredients are in it so I do not have to hunt for the recipe when I get ready to make more.

Now, how much to use per load? It only takes 2 tablespoons per load. I use the scoop that came in my oxi clean container. You can also use the lid from the Purex Crystals bottle. Fill to the middle line on the  bottle lid.

You will be surprised by how much this makes and by how little it takes per load. It should last 6 - 12 months depending on how big your family is and how much laundry is done each day in your home.

It is safe to use on HE machines.

To make it easier and more fun to make, get a laundry soap making buddy. In my case, I went to Mom's and we made 2 batches. This way she had one and I had one to take home. We spent the day together AND got something done! Yay us!

10 Ways to Save at Publix

10 Ways to Save at Publix
I have heard several people say that Publix is so expensive that they can't afford to shop there. I am here to tell you that is just simply not true. From my perspective, Publix is one of my favorite stores to shop at because I always get awesome deals. With the deals and bargains I find, I can't afford NOT to shop there. I want to show you how to get the most out of your Publix shopping experience.
This is how to rack up those savings at Publix!
1) Weekly Ad - At least 30 BOGOs every week - Check out their weekly ad. Their weekly ad can be found online at www.publix.com, in the mail, and in the store. You can find all of their BOGOs, and deals right there. This gives you a starting point to start matching coupons with deals.
Example: General Mills Chex Mix $2.55 Bogo
Buy 2
= $2.55 for both (Savings of $2.55)
2) Coupon Savings Helper - If you don't have the time or energy, to match your coupons to the weekly ad, Publix will do it for you. Publix makes it easy to save by matching their sales with manufacturer coupons. Check out this awesome tool at http://www.publix.com/coupon/CouponHelper.do
3) Manufacturer Coupons - By all means, bring those shopping with you, whether you match the coupons yourself, have Publix do it, or use one of the multitude of deals sites (www.truecouponing.com , www.thekrazycouponlady, www.couponmom.com, www.coupon-wizards.com, etc) out there. These are found in the Sunday paper, magazines, inside or on products, online (www.coupons.com, www.redplum.com, www.smartsource.com, www.couponnetwork.com,www.enlinks.com, etc) & many other places. You can even buy them online individually or by the insert. Publix will double coupons up to $0.50 in value in every state except Florida. This doubles your savings! Use those coupons with the sale items!

Example: General Mills Chex Mix $2.55 Bogo
Buy 2
Use (2) $0.50/1 manufacurer coupon
Publix doubles itit, so it becomes $1.00 ea
= $0.55 for both bags (Savings of $4.55)

4) Publix Coupons - These can be found just about anywhere you find manufacturers coupons. You can also find these at www.publix.com. For the most savings, stack your Publix Coupons with your manufactuer coupons. Publix allows one of each to be used with each product. This is called stacking and is one of the best ways to get the most out of coupons.

Example: Alka Seltzer Plus $4.99
Use $2.00/1 Manufacturer coupon
And
Use $2.00/1 Publix coupon
= $0.99 (Savings of $4.00)
5) Flyers - Publix puts out several flyers full of coupons every two weeks. You can find these in the store. I always get mine from the service desk. If your store does not keep them at the service desk, they should be able to tell you where you can find them in your store. Match these coupons with sale items to get BIG savings.
6) Email - Best Things Happen At Home - You can register at www.publix.com to have an email sent to you every week that is full of great coupons. Just register and you will begin receiving your coupons in your inbox the following week.
7) Competitors Coupons - Publix accepts competitors coupons. They do not double them like the manufacturer coupons. You can simply call your local store to ask them which stores coupons they will accept or check out this site that has them listed for you http://truecouponing.com/publix-stores-competitor-list/
8) Digital Coupons - If you dislike fooling with paper coupons or are just looking for extra savings wherever you can find them. Check out Publix Digital Coupons. You can register for these coupons at https://publix.couponselectionpage.com/offers/all
The coupons will be electronically linked to the phone number or 10 digit code that you enter. After signing up, you can choose which coupons you would like to have. To redeem these, simply type in the 10 digit code or phone number during the check out process and the coupons that you selected that match the items you purchased will deduct automatically.
9) Penny Item day - Once a week on the day that your Publix store's sale starts they will have a certain item for a penny. To find out more information about this Penny item day, check at your store's Customer Service desk or give them a call,
10) Publix Brand Products - price compare Publix brand products to national brand products to see how you savings can add up. Publix also puts out a flyer for savings on these items frequently.

Coupon Abbreviations

Are you all geared up and ready to start your New Year off right with couponing? I am ready, willing and able.

As I was looking through some of the coupon sites earlier, I started to remember when I first started down this road. I found a few coupon sites that had deals posted. I was lost. It looked like a foreign language to me. I had to learn the abbreviations for coupons  the hard way. I did not have any one to teach me.

The couponing abbreviations that are used are almost the same on every site and used by couponers every where. I wanted to help those of you who are newbies and maybe a few veterans out there who are still not sure what those pesky letters mean.

I have made a list here for you of some of the most widely used abbreviations. I hope this helps to understand couponing a little bit better.

These are in no particular order.

ALA - as low as - this means the price can be as low as
B1G1 or BOGO - most of us who shop any where know that this on means when you Buy One you Get One free!
B2G1 - Buy 2 Get 1Free - Buy 2 Get 1 Free
OOP- Out Of Pocket - this one is widely used. This is the final price after coupons.
SS- Smart Source - this is an insert in the Sunday paper an also a website to find printable coupons -www.smartsource.com
RP - Red Plum - this is an insert found in the Sunday paper and also a website to find printable coupons -www.redplum.com
PG or P&G - Proctor and Gamble -this is a coupon insert found in the Sunday paper and also a website to score free sample and coupons -www.pg.com
GM - General Mills - a maker of breakfast cereals and also a rare coupon insert found in the Sunday paper
Wags - Walgreens
RR- Register Rewards - these are rewards found with certain products that will give you a coupon (electronic or paper) worth a specified amount of money to be used on your next visit to that store. Be careful with these and watch your expiration dates.
Q- coupon
MQ -manufacturer coupon
SQ - store coupon
MM - money maker
ECB - Extra Care Bucks -- a register rewards system found at CVS
Plus UPS or +UP - a register reward system at Rite Aid
SCR - Single Check Rebate - a rebate system at Rite Aid
MIR - mail in rebate
FAR - Free after rebate
IVC - Instant Value Coupons - a coupon for Walgreens
WYB - When You Buy - this one is used a lot.
BTFE - Box Tops for Education
YMMV - Your Manager May Vary
YSMV - Your Store May Vary
NED - No Expiration Date
WSL - While Supplies Last
CRT - Cash Register Tape
NLA  - No Longer Available

I am still learning. Every once in a while a new abbreviation will throw me for a loop and I have to track down on the website what it means. I hope this helps you on your quest to save money by learning these few abbreviations.

10 Simple Rules to Saving at Target

10 Simple Rules to Saving at Target
1) Price match other stores sales and discounted items at Target.
TIP- check Amazon.com for deals that Target will price match
2) Check out their Weekly Ad to find out what is on sale this week. The ad can be found online at www.target.com or you may find the paper version in your local paper or in the store.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
= $5.00 for 2 bags (savings of $2.00)
3) Use manufacturer coupons. These can be found in your local Sunday paper, magazines, on packaging of products you buy, direct mailers, in the grocery store as blinkies (the red box with the blinking light that you can pull coupons out individually for certain products) and free printable websites (like www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com and www.couponnetwork.com & others). You can even order coupons online (for a small fee of course) through insert purchase (my favorite one is www.insertinsanity.com) or you can buy them individually through a site (my favorite choice is www.wizclipz.com). There are hundreds of ways to get coupons and thousands of places to order them online.
TIP - match your manufacturer coupons to sale items for more savings

Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
= $2.50 for 2 bags (savings of $4.50)

4) Use Target coupons. These are different than your manufacturer coupons instead of 'manufacturer coupon' in the block at the top it will say 'Target coupon'. These coupons are only redeemable at Target.There are a few different ways to get your hands on these.
a) Printables - these can be found on the Target website underneath the 'more' tab on the far right of the screen. Click Coupons and just choose the ones you want and print to your heart's desire.
b) Paper coupons - these can be found in your normal Sunday coupon inserts, in magazines, and other places you find manufacturer coupons.
c) Mobile coupons - these are coupons that are sent directly to your telephone via a text message (there is no charge for this from Target but standard text rates will apply). Text OFFERS to 827438 for all of their general store offers for the month. Text UPUP for their offers on Up & Up products. Their will be many other offers that you can text and request. These other offers change regularly. To use mobile coupons in the store simply pull up the incoming text from target and allow the cashier to scan the code. The computer at the register will automatically deduct the coupons that apply to what you have purchased.
TIP - Use Target coupons and manufacturer coupons together on sale items. This will increase your savings. This is called 'stacking' and it is allowed by Target.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
And
Use $1.00 off of the purchase of 2 Beggin Strips Target Coupon
= $1.50 (Savings of $5.50)
5) Use the Target Cartwheel. This is a customizable savings tool unique to Target. It allows you to choose percentages (most are from 5% - 50%) off of the products you are purchasing. The Cartwheel can be found on www.target.com on the far right under the 'more' tab. The Cartwheel allows you to customize your savings on the items you are purchasing. Just use the search box to look for items you will be buying and add them to your Cartwheel. You can either print your Cartwheel before heading to Target or download the app to your smartphone and choose your products while you are shopping in the store. During the checkout process simply allow your cashier to scan the barcode on your Cartwheel to get your savings. it is important to remember the Cartwheel will only take off the percentage after you have used all coupons.
TIP - Use your Cartwheel with store coupons and manufacturer coupons to increase your savings.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
And
Use $1.00 off of the purchase of 2 Beggin Strips Target Coupon
And
Use 20% off Beggin Strips Cartwheel
= $1.20 for 2 bags (Savings of $5.80)
6) Clearance items. We all know the best deals around are found in the clearance section. These are really good to check after major holidays and seasonal changes. Check these deals out and remember to 'stack' your manufacturer coupons, Target coupons, and Cartwheel to get the most savings!
7) Check couponing websites before you head to Target (or any store for that matter). These sites do the hard work for you by finding the best deals for the week and showing you which coupons to use and how to stack those coupons and use your Cartwheel. Personally, I have to check http://thekrazycouponlady.com/coupons-for/target/ before I ever leave home. Love those Krazy Coupon Ladies! As much as I love them though, I always take a few minutes to check out other sites (such as www.southernsavers.com, www.couponingwithboys.com, www.couponmom.com, www.passionforsavings.com, www.savingwithshellie.com, www.savingmyfamilymoney.com & www.couponingtobedebtfree.com and any others that I can think of!) It is impossible for any one website to have every possible deal out there. The more sites you check the more deals you can find! Be sure to share your deals between sites. It benefits all of us in the long run!
8. Gift Card Deals - Almost every week Target offers a few deals that will give you a bonus gift card when you buy certain items or combinations of items. Check your weekly ad for these deals. The gift cards can be redeemed on your next visit to the store.
9. BYOB -Bring your own re-usable bags. Target will deduct $0.05 for each bag you bring that they use to bag your groceries. (I found the ones I use on Clearance at Cracker Barrel. They are nice big, sturdy bags regularly priced at $1.99 each and I got them 75% off.)
10. Target Red Card - This card is linked to your bank account and is used like a debit card only at Target stores. It will save you 5% off your bill each time you use it at Target.
I sincerely hope you picked up on a few Target shopping secrets. Just writing this helped me remember to make sure I have my ducks in a row to get the most for my money!
The breakdown is simple and easy to remember.
1) Price Match
2) Check Weekly Ad
3) Use Manufacturer Coupons
4) Use Target Coupons
5) Use the Cartwheel
6) Check Clearance Items
7) Check Couponing websites
8) Gift Card Deals
9) BYOB - Bring your own bags
10) Target Red Card
I wish you Happy Savings at Target!
Please leave me a comment if this post was helpful and let me know how much you were able to save!

Shopping at Target - Learn from my mistakes

Target is one of my favorite stores to shop at. There is not one in the town I live in and it is always worth the 30 - 45 minute drive one way to get there. Yes, I typically save that much!

 I went there yesterday to do my normal shopping. I was excited because I had planned my trip, had my list and knew exactly the deals I was going after. I had all my manufacture and Target coupons together, had my Cartwheel loaded and ready to go. I had my e-coupons pulled up on my phone,  I even had my recycled bags with me. I was all set to save about 70% on my total bill and get around $100.00 worth of groceries for about $30.00. That's awesome right? That was the plan. It didn't work out quite the way I wanted it to.

I broke some of my cardinal rules when it comes to shopping. These are things you should NEVER do when you are on a tight budget. I have been using coupons for well over a year and I know better than to make these simple mistakes.

1)  I picked up items that were not on my list. (I did not have these items in my budget plan even though they were on sale and I got great deals. None of us wants to miss out on a great sale item, not even me!)

2) I chose the wrong check out line and my cashier was brand new. She was very sweet, but I overwhelmed her with all of my coupons and other discounts she wasn't familiar with.

3) I got distracted by a phone call in the middle of the check-out process. I did not pay close attention to make sure all of my coupons were scanned and all of the prices & discounts rang up correctly.

4) I forgot to give the cashier several of my coupons for one set of products I picked up. This mistake cost me about $15.00.

5) The cashier forgot to scan my Cartwheel. Because I wasn't paying attention I did not catch it until I got home. This one mistake cost me over $20.00. Bummer!

6) I did not read the fine print on one set of my coupons. There was a limit on the usage on that particular manufacturer coupon. I could only use 4 of them per visit and I had purchased 6 items with the plan to use 6 of those coupons. I lost a couple of dollars because I forgot to read the fine print. Shame on me.

These six little mistakes more than doubled the amount I had to pay for my items. Remember, I originally only planned to spend out of pocket around $30.00. I almost had a heart attack when my bill was over $60.00. I fully take the blame on myself. I made mistakes and I had to pay for it. I learned an expensive lesson the hard way. I still saved over 50% off of regular price. I was just hoping to do even better. I spent $60.10 and saved $68.69.

Most coupon sites online only tell you how wonderful they did shopping and how much money they saved. They never tell you that they made mistakes that cost them money. I want to be honest on here and when I do well I hope you will celebrate with me and when I make mistakes I will share them as well and hope you can learn from them. I am not perfect so I am sure there will be a lot of mistakes.

A smart man learns from his own mistakes. A smarter man learns from the mistakes of others. I hope you will be the smarter one and learn from the mistakes I made.