Thinking Ahead

Last week's sale ads had a lot of really good deals that made it worth it. I was able to stack those with the coupons from the paper and follow the list I made out. Because of that I saved 84% on the batteries, 54% the first time I went and I also went for the Friday only deals and saved 60% that day.

Tomorrow I am going shopping with my mom at Saver's Thrift Store. It is located in Maplewood, MN as well as various other locations through out the US. To find a location near you go to www.savers.com. This one happens to have 40% off the whole store on Tuesdays if you are 55 or older, that's where my mom comes in. We are also going to North Branch Outlet Mall in North Branch, MN.

When we go I will be looking for things my boys need in bigger sizes. Remember how I talked about that chart of what is needed in bigger sizes... This is where it comes in. I know I will be needing shoes for my oldest. He is already growing out of the 10 1/2 I found I got earlier. Kids grow out of shoes fast and wear them out a lot during the school year. There happens to be a Nike Outlet and that's where I buy his shoes. We get clothes off the clearance racks at Carter's because they also give out 20% off a $40 purchase. At Saver's I have been able to find just about anything. I have found Columbia jackets for my whole family, Carhartt jackets, full sheet sets, full toddler bed set, jogging stroller, along with all the normal clothes, shoes, and household stuff.

I am also going to buy all my son's school supplies for kindergarten next year. This is the time when they normally go on clearance because school has already started. We all know the lists never change so why not shop for the year ahead. I plan on doing this as long as I can, which is at least until he starts caring about the characters on his folders and gets picky.

By shopping for clothes and shoes this way, I am able to give my family the higher quality items that are now cheaper prices than the cheap clothes are to begin with. I hope that shopping this way allows me to stay one step ahead and always have something for them to grow into and I am never left "stranded" and forced to buy full retail price.

Sale/Coupon Match Up

Waynes:
-General Mills cereal - 4/$8.00 with their in ad coupon, $1.00 off 3 coupon. Final price $1.70 a box.
-Yolpait Yogurt - 10/$5.00, use 40 cent off 6 or 50 cent of 8 coupon. Final price .43 each.

Marketplace:
-Hamburger Helper - 48 cents for 2, 99 cents after the first 2, use 75 cents off 3 coupon. Final price .23 for the first 2, .74 for all others.
- Progresso soup - 5/$5.00 limit of 5, use 2 50 cent off 2 coupon and 1 50 cent off 1 light coupon. Final price .70 each. (Go back and buy more)
-Westpac frozen veggies - 1.88 each large 32 oz bags, use 35 cent off 1 coupon. Final price 1.53.
-Betty Crocker frosting - 1.48 limit of 3, use 75 cents off 2 coupon. Final price 1.11 when buying 2.
-General Mills coupon - $3.00 off when you buy 6 (must buy 6, additional ads and coupons by front door if buying 12)
   -1 Fiber One bars box, $1.79, use 50 cent off 1 coupon. Final price $1.29
   -2 Fruit snacks, $1.29, use 50 cent off 2 coupon. Final price $1.04 each.
   -3 Toaster strudel, $1.99, use 75 cent off 3 coupon. Final price $1.74 each.
-Cheetos, Fritos, Funyuns - 3/$6.00, use in ad coupon. Final price $2.00 each.
-Energizer batteries - 2/$5.00, use $1.50 off 1 coupon. Final price $1.00 each.
-Pillsbury rolls or cresents - $1.99 each, use $1.00 off on 3 coupon. Final price $1.66 each.
-Totinos Party Pizza - 5/$5.00, use $1.00 off 5 coupon. Final price .80 cents each.
-Totinos Pizza rolls - 5/$5.00, use 75 cent off 3 coupon. Final price .75 cents each.
-Friday Only Sale
  -Yoplait yogurt - 38 cents limit of 6, use 40 cent off 6 coupon. Final price 31 cents each.
  -Betty Crocker cake mix - 88 cents limit of 3, use 75 cents off 2 coupon. Final price .51 cents each when buying 2.
  -Pork Roast - 99 cents/lb. limit 2 packages.
Other good sales:
-Kraft Mac and Cheese - 48 cents limit of 3.
-Bar S Corn dogs - $4.49 a 3 lb package.
-Gustafson's Ice Cream - $4.98.
-Sunkist Tuna - 88 cents limit of 6.
-Aunt Jemima Pancake mix and Syrup - $2.38 each limit of 3.
-Bar S hotdogs - 4/$5.00.
-Captain Crunch and Life cereal - $2.48 each limit 4.

**All of the coupons were found in either the Sunday paper or online at www.coupons.com.
**Wayne's only accepts in ad and Sunday paper coupons.
** Marketplace accepts in ad, Sunday paper, and online printable coupons. They also receive trucks on Tuesday and Thursday for best selection. Rice Lake MarketPlace gives out coupons for gas discount at Kwik Trip with purchase, St Croix Falls does not.

Stockpiles

How and where to stockpile can be a problem for some people if they don't have the space, but for those of us with basements, that's the easiest. Shelving units from Menards are probably the easiest. Plano makes 4 or 5 shelf units that are strong enough to hold all our groceries. I got mine when they were on sale with a rebate to get even more money back. The reason I like shelving as opposed to cupboards is I can see what is on the shelves and am therefore more likely to use them. If things sit in cupboards, I don't see it, possibly buy more of it and it ends up never getting used.

When placing things on the shelves it makes it much easier to place like items together. All my pasta sauces and pasta is on one shelf, fruits and veggies on another, baby food and formula together, and cereals on a shelf. Things come on sale in cycles. Every so many weeks they are on sale again so there really is no need to have a tremendous amount of food in your stockpile. There is no need to be "extreme" about it. Plan on buying only about how much you would use in 3-6 weeks. By then it is usually on sale again. Of course some of the best sales have limits on how many you can buy. That means in that shopping trip you can only buy so many of that item. That does not mean I don't give money to my husband to go to another check out line or bring it to the car and go back in the store for more, as long as it is a really good price. You can do the same with your husband or with your kids if they are old enough. Always have more of the staples that make a good meal. I always have more veggies, pasta (in a variety of shapes), sauces, cream soups, cereal, and rice. These things are in so many different recipes that they get used more often to make meals.

Kids Clothes and "Stuff"

Admit it. You have gone shopping and found that really cute outfit for your child that is just a little too big but just have to have it. You buy it, bring it home, leave it in the bag so it won't get dirty and put it away. Soon life gets busy and you forget where you put it. Time goes on and your child grows. Eventually you find it and now it is too small. Then you are disappointed because you remember how cute you thought it was and the thought that they never got a chance to wear it.

I find cute clothes or go to garage sales and thrift stores to find clothes all the time. With having 2 boys, that's a lot of clothes. My oldest is 5 and my youngest is 5 months. I started using 18 gallon Rubermaid bins for clothes before my oldest was born. I have all my bins and labeled them with the size, 1 bin (sometimes more) for each size. This made it so I could shop ahead and save them for him to grow into. After I get home from shopping, I sort the new clothes into the appropriate bin for that size. Now, I did sell a lot of his clothes because I didn't know when we were going to have more kids. We figured out when he was 3, almost 4, that we were going to have a baby. I have saved all of his clothes since then (3T and up). I did have to shop again for this baby, that was hard because I had to buy everything I had just sold a few years earlier. Right now my boys' closet is full of bins, 3-6 month through 18 month and size 5. The basement holds everything else, 2T-4 and 6/7. There are currently 18 bins of all sizes clothes, 2 bins of shoes, 1 of maternity clothes, and 3 of winter coats and snow suits all sizes.

A friend of mine just told me about a system she used for her boys. She had a chart that listed the sizes and all the different types of clothes (jeans, t shirts, hoodies, shorts, etc.). She would write in the appropriate column how many she had of all the different items that way she would never over buy or under buy of a particular item. I plan on implementing this idea for buying clothes. One tip I have is "Always buy ahead." I say this because you never know when your kid will growth spurt and need new clothes and being able to shop clearance, garage sales, off season saves a lot of money when buying new in stores when they need the clothes right then. By being able to store the clothes in the bins, I am able to use them with my younger son and not buy over and over. If you are pregnant, have kids, or know you are going to have more in the future, this is a great idea. As they grow and are involved in more activities or have more kids, lives get more and more hectic. There is less and less time to plan ahead and do the "cheap" shopping. Do the shopping while there is an open schedule instead of being stressed and rushing last minute.

The boys' closet.

Bins in the basement.

Bins in the basement.