Coupons, Frugal Shopping and a Recipe!

Bina asked yesterday where I get my coupons. Well, all I can say is "Thanks Mom!" LOL But, seriously, my mom mails me all of the coupons she gets in her paper that she does not use. And any that her friends or my other family members give her. I also get the Sunday paper every week. There are usually at least one or two coupons in there worth the cost of the paper. I also check out many different online resources for printable coupons. AND I recently signed up to get the coupon inserts mailed to me at home. UPDATE: This is not valid... it is just the ads and not the coupons! Darn... You can sign up for this here. I joined a couponing group on Yahoo that does coupon"trains" where you get about 50 coupons in the mail and take what you can use and replace with ones from your own stash. That is starting soon. I like this idea as different coupons are available in different parts of the country.

I know. So many of the coupons are for things you won't use! Or, in my case, the store brand is cheaper than buying a name brand with a coupon. For food, sadly, I have found this to be true. BUT. Sometimes you come across a really great deal. For instance, Wally World has Birdseye Steam Fresh vegetables on sale for 2/$2. I had a coupon for $1 off when I bought two. So, I got 2 bags of the broccoli for $1. Not bad. Definitely worth it to me!

The way I do it, right now, is that I cut out every single coupon I find in the paper or that someone sends to me. I have two little expandable coupon files, one for food items and one for nonfood items. I separate the coupons by category (dairy, meat, canned goods, dish soap, paper goods, etc) and file them away. I am in the process of creating a database on my computer of all of my coupons so that it is easier to know what I have and what is about to expire. Right now I just try to go through them periodically and throw out the expired coupons. I recently found out that military families overseas can use expired coupons so I will be saving these from now on and finding out where to send them.

Each week when the sale papers come out I take a look at them. I usually already have my menu planned for the week. If there is a really good sale for an item that I have a coupon for I might go and get that. It depends on the deal. Usually I would then incorporate that item into my menu for that week or the next. Sometimes I find such a good deal that I stock up on something and don't need to buy it for months. Recently I found Triscuit crackers on sale for 2/$1. I bought 4 boxes and will not buy crackers for at least 3 months now.

I also visit several different websites that lay out the deals for you and tell you what coupons are available online in conjunction with these deals. The sites I visit almost every day are: Money Saving Mom, Thrifty Florida Mama, Fiddledeedee, Centsible Shopper, The Centsible Sawyer, More Than Enough, The New Frugal Mom, Mommies With Cents and Freebies 4 Mom. There are other sites I visit too but these are the ones I try to hit every day without fail. Thanks to Jessica for sending me links to several of these! Many of the deals are overlaps but not all of them. It is worth checking out! Money Saving Mom has links on her site to many different couponing sites.

It takes some time to get the coupons together and check the ads and sites. But the more you do it the faster you get. Everybody has a different system. I am still working on mine. My best advice is just jump in and give it a shot! And MAKE A MENU for the week! It is an invaluable tool to being frugal and getting good deals. In fact, I am about to begin making up my menus on Wednesday instead of Monday because that is when the sale papers come out! That way I can shop from the new sales each week for my menu.

Speaking of menus... Jessica mentioned that my Hamburger Gravy and Rice sounded pretty good. SO, here is a recipe. The closest I can get anyway since I don't follow a recipe! LOL

1 pound lean Ground Beef ( You can use less or more and have no effect on the recipe really... it depends upon how much actual meat you want in the gravy)
1 onion, minced
Minced Garlic
salt
pepper
Worcetershire Sauce

Cook all of this until the meat is browned, drain and return to pan. (I use a LARGE electric skillet for this)

Add to meat:
2 packs of Knorr Vegetable Soup mix (this has all kinds of dehydrated veggies in it)
Sometimes I might add some dried or canned mushrooms as well
Enough Water to cover the meat and make as much gravy as you want.

Bring to a boil and add Beef Boillion (I use Better than Bouillion) to taste.
Thicken with cornstarch and water slurry to make a thick gravy.
Add pepper to taste. (We like a lot)

Spoon over cooked white rice and enjoy!

I like this recipe because it is an all in one. The veggies are right in the gravy. The Knorr mix is a little expensive so I am looking for alternatives. My family would eat this once a week if I cooked it!

So, there you go. I am still refining my coupon system and learning every single day how to be more frugal and save money. It's an ongoing process but the least I can do to contribute to our household finances!