I have kind of been MIA over the past couple of days...DH was out of town and then he returned, my birthday was last week, I came up with new craft projects I want to do (of course), and I was just generally REALLY BUSY! I finally had a reprieve yesterday, but a mom's work is never done...the laundry pile was getting a little big.
So today I decided I was going to take a break from shopping for toiletries and personal care items. The CVS game is so fun to play (it is so exciting to get those ECB's!), but we are set for a while with our personal items. This is where a stockpile is nice, especially for those items: I can easily take a month off from shopping and still be fine. So I have some ECB's that are set to expire on March 22. I will wait until then to even think about going again, and then it may only be for Easter candy. ;-)
But, I thought I would suggest looking at couponmom.com to make your plan...looks like there are some good deals on Revlon, Welch's grape juice, Gillette razors, Garnier hair products, and Physician's Formula makeup. I *may* have to go just to get the Arizona Half and Half that I love since it is buy one get one free this week. But that's ALL I am going to get. ;-)
Just looking at couponmom.com and the ads, Vons has a deal for a $10 reward coupon when you spend $75 (easy to do...). You have to use the reward q by the 11th, but still... It also looks like there are good deals on asparagus, Hillshire Farm smoked sausage or bratwurst (great for grilling in the good weather), Cheerios, Foster Farms chicken breast (which is good since I recently used my last frozen chicken breast!), Ribeye steak, Tyson breaded chicken selections, Frosted Flakes, oranges, and coke. I haven't looked at my "Just4U" list yet, so there may be even better deals there. I will post my plan this afternoon.
I also want to note here, since we are approaching Earth Day, that I also consider how my choices at the store affect the environment. I am not obsessing over it, but if I can get produce from the USA and not from South America, that is a huge savings in transportation emissions. Pesticide standards can also be very different in other countries. When I make my menu plan for the week, I include a meatless meal...the production of meat is also a huge drain on resources. I will also admit that I have harbored a long hatred of the Smithfield meat company: their swine processing facility is on the James River in Virginia nearby where I used to live. They continually had serious issues with discharges of waste into the river when we were living there, and I still refuse to buy their products.
You may also want to consider buying organic produce in some cases to both reduce your exposure to pesticides and fertilizers and to encourage the reduction of those chemicals in the agricultural process. You can hit them where it hurts (the wallet) and they respond. This is the reason why there are so many organic choices in your corner grocery store! Take a look at my "Buying 'Green'" page for more guidance on which produce items have the most potential for exposing your family to high levels of agricultural chemicals.
I hope you all are successful in saving money while providing healthy meals to your family...good luck to you!
--Katie
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