My Least Glamorous Post Ever

I want to preface this post by stating that I get immense satisfaction from weird 'adulting' tasks.  You know, handling shit on my own.  I don't always necissarily enjoy the process, but the end results can be so gratifying.  Case in point, finding health insurance each year for our family.  (I highly recommend looking into your area Farm Bureau health plans if you reside in Kansas.) This year, due to my diligence we should be able to save HUNDREDS each month in health insurance.  Hundreds of dollars, folks, not clam shells.  So exciting.  But I digress...

Finding hew health insurance is just one way that I am able to help my family succeed.  As an uber glamorous stay-at-home mom I am not always able to bring more money in for my family, but I can always find ways to save.  We have the cheapest cable tv package possible, we keep our heater on low in the winter (put on a damn sweater, people!), I make meals from scratch (yes, even when I'm tired and feeling lazy), and my personal favorite: I CLIP COUPONS.  

I've watched the extreme couponing shows and while that is aspirational, I cannot achieve that so I don't even try to purchase $600 worth of canned goods for $4. I would liken this to working out each day thinking I can someday look like a Victoria's Secret model.  These goals are not feasible for me so I try to set reasonable goals and hit them rather consistently.  Therefore, I try to run/walk several miles per week to keep myself healthy and I try to save as much as possible when couponing.  

The following is a rough outline of my couponing system.  On this particular excursion I managed to combine store coupons, Sunday paper coupons and sales in order to save $107 on a $300 shopping trip.  (Okay, technically it was $106.97 but this is my story and I'm rounding up the three cents.) 

I like to shop in the mornings as the stores are much less crowded.  It is worth it to me to get my behind out of bed and get going in order to miss the lunch crowd, the 'we're skipping naptime and that's why my kid is having a meltdown' crowd and all sorts of other various less desirable groups to shop with.  I find that shopping in the mornings usually leaves me surrounded by older men in overalls, and I'm perfectly at home in this environment.  

Shopping in the mornings means that I need to spend time planning my shopping trip sometime the day before.  It doesn't take me long; I just need 30 minutes to get prepared.  I'm not sure how else I can 'make' over $100 in 30 minutes for my family (despite what all those online businesses promise). 

Behold, my shopping list below which is really quite simple.  I list out everything I need.  The asterisk * next to items indicates that I have a coupon.  Two asterisks ** indicates two coupons for that item.  Also, I write a small description next to items that I have a coupon for.  This saves me soooooo much time in the store.  I don't have to search through all my coupons to find out if my cottage cheese needed to be 12 ounces, 20-30 ounces, buy two get one free, etc.  I simply write out briefly next to each item.  

• Soy sauce >55oz. *

(Purchase soy sauce, greater than 55 ounces, use a coupon.)

• Cheese, 24-32oz. **

(Purchase any cheese, 24-32 ounces, I have two coupons so purchase two packages of cheese.)

Also, you may notice that I have soy juice listed on my shopping list.  I do not, nor does anyone in my immediate family, drink this.  We love our dairy!  However, when my sweet little grandma asks me to purchase this I won't say no.  Whew.  Glad that's off my chest. 

After writing out my list I take a moment to sort through my coupons and order them.  I normally accumulate more than one coupon for the same item so I put all my salad coupons into one pile, all the cheese coupons in one pile, etc.  Then I can place them into my coupon divider quite easily.  The coupon divider is a small item that costs approximately $8 and allows me to sort coupons into categories.  One space for: refrigerated groceries, shelf stable groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, baby items, batteries, etc.  You can certainly arrange categories depending upon your personal needs.  

Also, turn your head sideways and view the coupons below.  I often have multiple coupons for the same product.  I place them in chronological order so the coupon expiring the soonest is on the top.  When pulling out coupons from my divider in the store this makes for one less hassle. 

Also of importance - COUPONS DON'T ALWAYS MAKE THINGS CHEAPER!  Behold below.  I really like to use Persil detergent (please consider this a plea to sponsor me, dear Persil executives).  I had a coupon for the Persil tabs.  After reviewing the unit price for each I noticed that the tabs were DOUBLE the price of the liquid detergent.  My $1 coupon was not enough to make up for the price difference.  (Also, I realize that the example below is for cereal.  It was the best picture example I could find on Google.)  

And there you have it folks, my couponing system in a nutshell.  I wasn't lying, this is likely one of my least glamorous posts ever, but perhaps one of the most important ones to my family.  If I can do this with three kiddos in tow I have faith that you can too.  I can't always bring in extra money, but I can always find ways to trim the fat and save for my family!  Now go forth and save!

Life Lately

I've not written in quite some time and the comments from friends and family (okay, like two of you) have been growing more concerned.  Thus, a blog full of life updates.  Of which we may have one or two....

 I just want to do a quick recap.  The picture below is what the children looked like last week, or so it seems.

And now I have these large creatures and I don't know what happened, much less WHEN this happened.

They are old enough now to drive themselves around, which is handy.  

Every Halloween we go to a friend's house where they have downhill power wheel races.  Best. Thing. Ever.  All of these power wheels are old and don't work.  The gears are stripped out of them so the only thing that powers them is gravity and a strong push from someone at the top of a steep hill that contains large rocks.  The kids don't run the full course, but participants roughly 10 years and over race down a hill more than 100 yards long and occasionally run into each other, do somersaults, run off course and into trees, etc.  My belly hurts terribly every year from laughing and this year was no exception.  It is good, clean fun.  No video games, no whining, no bitching and moaning.  Just some good smack talk and the occasional bruise or scrape.  It warms my heart.  (And if you happen to have any old power wheels that you would like to donate to the cause, let me know.  They typically don't last more than a season or two for obvious reasons.) 

Kenyon LOVES school, which came as quite the shock to me.  He has the most wonderful teacher ever, so I didn't anticipate a problem there, I just never imagined he would take this newfound job so seriously.  He enjoys the constant challenge that each day brings - like reading.  I cannot believe he can honest to goodness READ.  He is verrrrry serious when he gets off the bus each day and comes to my desk to lay out his paperwork.  He explains to me exactly what each worksheet entailed, some of the challenges and what was 'totally easy, Mom'.  I love that he loves to learn and hope it continues throughout his life.  My dad beat education into our heads.  'People can take most anything away from you, but they can never take away your education.'  Words to live by, folks. 

John is.... just John.  The kid cracks me up.  He has blossomed in his newfound role as 'top dog' now that Kenyon is gone all day to school.  He lives to make folks laugh and enjoys attending the school of hard knocks most every day with his dad.  

Kathryn is a pretty little girl, with her long, blonde flowing locks.  Her biggest downfall is that she has a fairly good idea that she's pretty.  I'm alright with this as long as she never plays the dumb, pretty girl card as she gets older.  I'll not stand for that.  She enjoys talking incessantly, wrestling with 'my boys', seeing 'my Justin' and being treated like a big boy.  While she does wear a pretty dress most Sundays to church, the rest of the time she's a filthy little animal that runs feral just like her brothers.

Wesley is doing well.  He works too many hours and has too many projects going all at the same time but he doesn't complain as he knew what he was getting into when he was born.  We both talk about how things are tough now but hopefully if we keep our heads down and keep working one day we can sit on the porch in rocking chairs and relax.  Then we laugh, heartily.  If we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't do it, right? 

And then there's me.  Pregnant, again.  But if we didn't enjoy kids we wouldn't keep having them, right?  I'm due in the spring, which is perfect as that's typically one of our slowest times of the year.  *Insert eye roll here*  I've never had babies born this far apart, so I'm at a bit of a loss on what to do when you only have one in diapers.  Sometimes I kid myself into thinking I'll have all sorts of free time on my hands, and then I remember that the oldest are now able to be enrolled in t-ball, swimming lessons, school activities and all the other fun things and then I realize we'll be just as busy as ever while toting this little one around.  

It is always an adventure around here, that's for sure.