Tobins' Tastes: August 2012

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Weekly Totals Link Up: Saved 65% At Publix- A Huge Shopping Week!

Spent  less than $70 for almost $200 worth.
I had a HUGE shopping week this week. Not only did I grab some amazing deals at CVS on Tuesday but today's Publix trip was quite possibly the biggest single shopping trip I have had since the Holiday sales ended in January. I was able to stack some great coupons with good sale prices and great deals on not just groceries but lots of household products as well. I wanted to take advantage of the Labor Day ad and get us well stocked on things to last until the holiday sale ads start in November.

Even though I "only saved 65%" this week, I am beyond thrilled with what I was able to get for $68. My trip was a great combination of things we needed for the week as well as stocking up on lots of basics and staples. I was really excited to get a decent deal on sugar since I haven't been able to find any good sales on it since the holidays and I HATE having to pay full price for it.

I did dip into my reserve grocery money this week but that's ok because many of the things I bought will be used for week's to come and end up saving us money in the long run when I don't have to pay full price for them. Justin went shopping with me tonight so we did end up splitting our trip up into two transactions so we could use two $5/$50 Winn Dixie coupons which helped bring our totals down a bit too.


Breakdown of today's Publix trip:
Total retail value: $196.88
Total spent: $68.42
Total saved: $128.46
Percent saved: 65%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:
  • 2 packages of Purdue Chicken Breasts (about 3 pounds total), retails for $11.74 total, on sale for $7.82 total
    • Used two $1 off Facebook coupons
    • Made it $5.82 for about 3 pounds
  •  5 bags of Birdseye Steamfresh Vegetables, retails for $2.67 a bag, on sale for $1.34 a bag
    • Used two .50 cents off coupons from man. website
    • Used one $1/3 coupon
    • Made them .94 cents each
  •  4 (five pound) bags of Domino Sugar, retails for $4.17 each, on sale for $2.99 each
    • Used two .75/2 coupons
    • Made them $2.61 per five pound bag (a good price in my book, especially for the non-holidays)
  •  6 boxes of Ritz Crackers, retails for $3.99 each, on sale BOGO ($1.98 each)
    • Used two B2G1 coupons (coupons.com, doesn't look like it's still available but check)
    • Made them .66 cents a box 
  •  3 Chobani Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.33 each, on sale for $1 each
    • Used three .30 cents off coupons from man. website
    • Made them .70 cents each
  •  2 tubs of Sabra Hummus, retails for $3.99 each, on sale BOGO making them $1.98 each
  • 2 bottles of Coffeemate Natural Bliss Creamer, retails for $2.50 each, on sale for $1.67 each
  •  2 packages of Athenos Feta Cheese, retails for $2.79 each, on sale BOGO made them $1.39 each
  • 1 package of Bounty Paper Towels, retails for $10.99, on sale for $6.99
    • Used a .25 cents off coupon from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made it $6.74 for 6 big rolls
  •  1 package of Bounty Napkins, retails for $1.99 each
    • Used a Publix Stocking Spree coupon for a FREE product WYB paper towels
    • Stacked with a .25 cents off coupon from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made them FREE plus a .25 cents moneymaker!
  •  1 packages of 12 double rolls of Charmin Ultra Soft, retails for $9.99, on sale for $6.99
    • Used a .25 cents off coupon from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made it $6.74 for twelve double rolls
  •  1 tub of Charmin Freshmates, retails for $2.39
    • Used a Publix Stocking Spree coupon for a FREE product WYB Charmin
    • Made them FREE
  •  2 Breakstone Sour Creams, retails for $2.69 each, on sale BOGO made it $1.34 each
  • 4 bottles of Kraft Salad Dressing, retails for $3.27 each, on sale BOGO ($1.63 each)
  •  6 boxes of Mullers Pasta, retails for $1.59 a box, on sale BOGO (.79 cents each)
    • Used three $1/2 coupons from man. email
    • Made them .29 cents a box
  •  1 five pound bag of potatoes, retails for $4.09, on sale for $2.99
  • 2 Downy Unstoppables, retails for $7.99 each, on sale for $5.99 each
    • Used two $2 off coupons from the 8/26 P&G
    • Stacked with two .50 cents Target coupons from the 8/26 RP
    • Made them $3.49 each
  •  2 Haas Avocados, retails for $1.50 each, on sale for $1 each
  • 1 package of Cascade Action Pacs, retails for $4.99 each, on sale for $3.99 each
    • Used a $1 off coupon from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made it $2.99 
  •  2 packages of Dixie Plates, retails for $3.25 each, on sale BOGO ($1.62 each)
  •  2 Smart Balance Spreadable Butters, retails for $2.50 each, on sale BOGO ($1.25 each)
  •   2 large bottles of Heinz Ketchup, retails for $3.59 each, on sale BOGO ($1.79 each)
    • Used two .50 cents off coupons from the 8/19 SS
    • Made them $1.29 each
  •  1 bottle of Lea Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, retails for $3.19
    • Used a coupon for a FREE product WYB two Heinz Ketchups from the Publix Toss for Cash booklet
    • Made it FREE
    •  

How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can now "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

Click below to link up your posts!



Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Saved 77% At CVS: Stocked Up On Paper Products


There were some great deals at CVS this week so I took advantage of my random Tuesday off of work (compliments of Isaac) and grabbed a few things. Thanks to the $10 gas card deal and some high value coupons I was able to stock up on paper products and lots of other things for cheap.

Breakdown of Tuesday's CVS trip:
Total retail value: $82.22
Total spent after ECB's and $10 gas card earned: $18.99
Total saved: $63.23
Percent saved: 77%

Transaction #1: Spent $13.42 out of pocket and earned $11 ECB's for next transaction
  • 2 boxes of Advil Congestion Relief, retails for $7.99 each, on sale for $4.99 each
    • Used two $2 off printables
    • Stacked with a $4 off any allergy product from the CVS coupon machiene
    • Made them .99 cents each
    • Earned $4 ECB for buying two products (made them better than free in the end!)
  • 1 bottle of ZzzQuil, retails for $5.99, on sale for $4.99
    • Used a $3 off Vocalpoint coupon
    • Made it $1.99
    • Earned a $2 ECB (made it free in the end!) 
  • 1 large bottle of Crest 3D White Mouthwash $7.79 and one tube of Crest 3D white toothpaste, $3.39
    • Used a .75 cents off coupon from the 7/29 P&G for the toothpaste
    • Used a .50 cents off coupon from the 7/29 P&G for the mouthwash
    • Earned $5 in ECB's for spending $10 in Crest 3D white products
  •  1 bottle of Crest Prorinse mouthwash, retails for $5.49, on sale for $3.49
    • Used a coupon for a FREE product WYB buy a large Crest mouthwash from the 7/29 P&G, took off the full value of $5.00
    • Made it FREE plus $1.51 MONEYMAKER!
Transaction #2: Spent $5.57 after earning a $10 gas card and using the $11 ECB's from the first transaction (all products counted towards the $30 to earn gas card)
  • 1 bottle of Biore facewash, retails for $7.79, on sale for $6.99
    • Used a $1 off coupon from a home mailer
    • Made it $5.99 before gas card
  •  2 (nine roll count) packages of Charmin Extra Soft Double Rolls, retails for $7.29 each, on sale for $5.99 each
    • Used two .25 cents off coupons from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made them $5.74 before gas card
  • 1 package of six count Bounty Paper Towels, retails for $7.99, on sale for $5.99
    • Used a .50 cents off coupon from the 7/29  P&G
    • Made them $5.49 before gas card
  • 6 bottles of Dawn Dish Liquid, retails for $1.67 each, on sale for .99 cents each
    • Used five .75 cents off coupons from the 8/26 P&G
    • Used one .50 cents off coupon from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made them .28 cents each before gas card
Make sure to check back tomorrow night for my weekly totals link up and Publix trip!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Toffee


You're probably wondering if I was ever going to post a recipe post again. First it was going back to work. Then I lost my camera. Then my camera was found but we got hit by some of the feeder bands of Tropical Store Isaac and I spent most of my Monday on lockdown at school due to tornadoes and bad weather. Then when I got home we had no internet. So I did what all stressed out people do. I made toffee.


I love Saltine Cracker Toffee and usually make a few batches of it around Christmas time. My cousin recently left to college and I wanted to make a little treat to cheer my aunt and uncle up (and who am I kidding, I wanted some toffee) so I decided to whip up some of aforementioned treat. One problem. We had no Saltines in the house and it was tropical storming outside. No way I was going to the store.


A quick look through my pantry and I found a half eaten bag of pretzels. Salty and crunchy? Sounds good to me.  After a trip to the deep freezer for some butter and chocolate followed by scraping out the bottom of the brown sugar canister and I was ready to go.


I was going to call this "quick and easy" pretzel toffee but that wouldn't be giving you the whole truth. This would have been quick and easy toffee except for the fact that in my stressed out state I accidentally made the first batch on wax paper instead of tinfoil. Have you ever baked toffee on wax paper? No? I don't recommend it. Not only is wax paper not really meant to go in the oven, it REALLY doesn't peel off toffee. I ended up having to scrap the whole first batch once I realized that it was permanently stuck to the wax paper.


Oh well. Good Amazing things come to those who wait. This toffee is addicting. Salty, sweet, sticky and crunchy. Can you think of a better combination? Covered in chocolate? Yes, please. I forced myself to give away most of it but I did save a few pieces for myself. Hidden in the freezer. Maybe I'll forget it's there. Yeah right. No chance.


Chocolate Covered Pretzel Toffee
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
  • Pretzels of any kind
  • 1 bag (or about two cups) of chocolate chips, I used mini because I had them on hand
1.) In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together. Let it come to a simmer and "boil" for about 3 minutes. Make sure to stir so it doesn't burn.



 2.) While sauce is cooking, line a baking tray with TIN FOIL (not wax paper!) and then lay out pretzels on the tin foil.


3.) Pour the toffee sauce over the pretzels and then back for 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees.


4.) When the pretzels and toffee come out of the oven pour the chocolate chips over then mixture and let them sit and melt.


5.) Once they melt, smooth the chocolate out over the top of the toffee/pretzels.


6.) Stick in the fridge until it hardens completely and then cut it up into bit sized pieces. Store in the fridge for as long as it lasts.

Enjoy!

Make sure you stop by this week's Mealtime Monday and link up any amazing recipes you have been working on lately.

***Depending on the day this post may be linked up to any of these fabulous linky parties.***

Do you host a weekly party? If so, make sure to visit my party page and add yours so we all can join in the fun!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Mealtime Monday Recipe Link Up Party & Features {#20}

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Hello lovely readers! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! Ours has been gloomy, windy and rainy thanks to the outer bands and spin off of Tropical Store Isaac. Even though we are on the east coast, we have still felt plenty of the effects of the storm and even though things have been pretty tame compared to what they could have been, I am ready for the rain to stop and the sun to come out.

In happier news, thank you for your thoughts and prayers because my camera was found! We found it yesterday in a pile of house papers and folders that Justin had put away not realizing my camera was with them : ) So after a pretty boring week blogwise, I should be back to business as usual this week with recipe posts and the next installments of the Homemade Bread Challenge and Stalk My Stockpile which took a break due to my lack of photo taking capabilities.

Ok, ok, enough about me and on to the party. I cannot believe that this is the 20th week of Mealtime Monday and that last week we had over 70! link ups. We are on our way to reaching 100 link ups in no time! Thank you for showing up each week and making this party such a success!

This week's most viewed link was these amazing looking Carrot Cake Cookies from Inside BruCrew Life. 


When it comes to features this week, I have an appetizer, main course and a dessert!

Our appetizer feature as these perfect looking Wild Mushroom Egg Rolls from Little Mommy, Big Appetite.  I have always wanted to make egg rolls at home but they seem so intimating. These look absolutely  professional.

 

For the main course feature we have Italian Crockpot Chicken from High Heels & Grills.  With school craziness and volunteering commitments taking over many of my afternoons and evenings this is going on my menu plan asap.


And for our dessert feature today, we have Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Cake from Break It, Make It, or Bake It. I love buttermilk cakes so this just seems like the perfect sweet treat for the end of a fabulous dinner!


Thank you all again for linking up! I love having lots of new menu ideas to add to our weekly rotations. I would love for you to spread this word about this link up by grabbing a button or by linking back. The more the merrier!

You can also check out my Pinterest board for Mealtime Monday Features where I will be pinning the original links to the items featured here each week.

If you were featured you can feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.

Can't wait to see what you have been up to lately and I love being inspired by all the delicious looking dishes you create.

I will be featuring my favorites next weekend and I will be pinning things to my Pinterest boards too. Make sure you check out my Link Ups page for lots more fun places to link up at too.

As I teacher, I enforce rules all day so I am going to call these my suggestions.

I would love it if:
  • You would link back to this post/blog. You can do so by grabbing my button (upper right hand corner), linking back to this post in your post, or by adding this blog to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up the better it is for all of us : )
  • Please follow this blog through GFC, Linky Friends or Blog Lovin.
  • As an added bonus you can now become our Facebook fan too!
  • Please only post directly to your recipe link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.
  • Please do not link up to posts you have already linked up to before. Also, the recipe needs to be something you made with photos of your own and should give credit where credit is due : )
  • Pretty please visit at least two new blogs and show them some love.
  • Come back next Monday and link up!

Show me what you got!


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Weekly Totals Link Up: Saved 64% At Publix To Cap Off A Great Shopping Week

Spent $40 for $113 Worth.
I have been having some great shopping trips lately and today's Publix trip was no exception. After hitting up Publix earlier this week to buy lots of salad and swinging by Target to grab some Quaker deals, I was so happy to be able to stock up on tons of pantry staples and basics for only $40 at Publix today.

I know that you are probably sick of me talking about how great couponing is but today was just one more reminder for me. Due to the slight chance that Tropical Storm Issac might have an impact on our area, people were going crazy at the store stocking up on hurricane supplies, water and household products.

Thanks to a summer full of couponing, we are so well stocked on everything we could possibly need I was able to spend my whole trip shopping the super deals and getting some weekly basics without having to worry about needing any storm supplies. Just in case we lose power (which happens in a measly rain storm around here), I didn't buy any meat this week and we will just eat from the freezer.

 I was able to find an empty checkout aisle with a very helpful cashier so I did break my trip up into two transactions to use two $5/$30 Winn Dixie coupons.

Sorry for the lack of recipe posts and regular blog series but since my camera is missing I am relying on my phone camera and it just doesn't cut if for extensive photo posts. Hopefully I will be up and running in the camera department soon :  )

Breakdown of today's Publix trip:
Total retail value: $113.05
Total spent: $40.86
Total saved: $72.19
Percent saved: 64%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:
  •  5 Sizzling Salad Kits, retails for $3.26 each, on sale for $1.54 each
    • Used five $1 off peelies found on product (wanted to get more but didn't want to clear the shelves... I may go back later this week to get a few more)
    • Made them .54 cents each
  •  1 twelve pack of Charmin Basic double rolls, retails for $7.49, on sale for $5.99
    • Used a .25 off coupon from the 7/29 P&G
    • Stacked with a .50 cents off Target coupon from the 7/29 RP
    • Made it $5.25
  •  1 tub of Charmin Freshmates, retails for $2.29
    • Used a Publix Stocking Spree coupon for FREE product WYB Charmin toilet paper
    • Stacked with a .25 off any Charmin product from the 7/29 P&G
    • Made it FREE plus a .25 cents money maker
  •  4 packages of Buitoni Whole Wheat Ravioli, retails for $4.19 each
    • Randomly marked down to 50% off at my local store
    • Made them $2.10 each
  •  2 bags of baby potatoes, retails for $3.99 each
    • On sale BOGO, made them $1.99 per bag
  •  1 bag of Publix baby carrots, retails for $1.79, on sale for $1.29
  • 4 boxes of Far East Whole Wheat Couscous, retails for $2.29 each
    • On sale BOGO, made them $1.15 each
  •  2 bags of Pretzel Crisps, retails for $3.29 each, on sale BOGO ($1.65 each)
    • Used two $1 off coupons from coupons.com (no longer available)
    • Made them .65 cents a bag
  •  2 (twenty four count) All Laundry Detergent Mighty Pacs, retails for $5.99 each, on sale for $3.50 each
    • Used two $1 off coupons from the 7/29 RP
    • Stacked with two $1 Target coupons
    • Made them $1.50 per twenty four pack
  •  2 jars of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, retails for $3.39 each, on sale BOGO ($1.69 each)
    • Used two $1 off Publix coupons from an in store Conagra rebate flyer
    • Made them .69 cents each
  •  1 cucumber, .85 cents
  • 1 half gallon of Silk Almond milk, retails for $3.49
  •  6 Dannon Okios Greek Yogurts (yay for Publix FINALLY carrying them!), retails for $1.25 each
    • Used two .55/3 blinkies from in the store
    • Made them $1.06 each
  •  1 dozen vegetarian 4 Grain Eggs, retails for $2.69, on sale for $2.25
  • 2 jars of Pop Secret Popping Corn, retails for $5.13 each
    • On sale BOGO, made them $2.57 each

How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can now "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

Click below to link up your posts!



Saved 70% At Target

Spent $13, Saved 31
I swung by Target today to grab a gift card for a present. I had a few lingering coupons that I had been wanting to use so I decided to take advantage of that and get a few deals. I was hoping to grab the free Hershey's Simple Pleasures but my store didn't seem to carry them or have them in stock so I will have to check back later.

I was happy to get some free lip gloss and lots of cheap and easy breakfast options for me now that I am back to the morning rush with school/work. I managed to stay away from the clothing clearance racks so I am very proud of myself : ) 

Breakdown of Wednesday's Target Trip:
Total retail value: $44.61
Total spent: $13.16
Total saved: $31.45
Percent saved: 70%

What I got with sale/coupon breakdown:
  • 2 Revlon Lipglosses, retails for $8.54, on clearance for $2.56
    • Used two $3 off Target coupons from the Summer Beauty Bag
    • Didn't have any man. coupons on me at the time, but they would have made it a moneymaker
    • Made them both FREE
  •  2 packages of Up & Up sponges, retails for .99 cents each
  •  2 boxes of Hefty Storage Bags, retails for $2.19 each
  •  1 box of Quaker School Days granola bars, retails for $2.18, on sale for $2.00
  •  1 box of Quaker Breakfast to Go Squares, retails for $3.04, on sale for $2.31
    • Used a $1 off any Quaker Breakfast item coupon (no longer available)
    • Made it $1.31
  •  4 boxes of Quaker Snack'ems, retails for $2.99 each, on sale for $2.50 each
    • Used two $1 off Target coupons (same as above, no longer available)
    • Used one $1/2 Target coupon
    • Stacked with one $1/2 manfacturer coupon (no longer available expired today)
    • Made them $1.50 per box
  •  Chefmate Tongs, retailed for $3.99, on clearance for $2.78
Check back tonight for my weekly totals link up and weekly Publix shopping!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

$10 Rue La La Credit for New Members

Give $10 | Get $10 - Style's best shared.


Rua La La's $10 credit for new members is back. If you are new to Rue La La, you can sign up here and you should receive a $10 credit a few days after you do so. It may take up to 48 hours for your credit to show up so don't worry if you don't see it right away.

Rue La La is a daily deals/discount website that sells name brand products at a lower price. There shipping is a little pricing at $9.95 flat rate but the fun thing is that once you pay a shipping rate that covers all your shipping from the website for 30 days.

I love Rue La La! I have ordered quite a few things from them and I am always so impressed with their brand and price selections as well as their customer service. They also have sales on Lilly Pulitzer pretty often so that makes me a happy camper : )

You can always sign up now and save your credit for a good sale : )

Saved 85% At Publix: Tons of Organic Salad!


Spent $7 for $50 Worth
I had to run to Publix to pick up pretzels to make these adorable Back To School Apple Candies from Crazy for Crust (btw, mine did not look anywhere near as cute as hers) so I figured I would grab a few deals and use a $5/$30 Winn Dixie coupon too. I had gotten a few extra prints of the Organic Girl salad coupon and who can pass up .99 cents organic salad?

And since I was there already, I decided to grab some free toothpaste, cheap crackers, and two more boxes of Kashi bars. I also caved and had a little impulse buy as you may see in the photo. We NEVER (like seriously I have never purchased these in my adult life) buy prepackaged cookies but at .37 cents a package I figured we could eat a few and then "gift" the rest of the packages to the teachers' lounge : ) 

On a side note, I am still camera less and sadly coming to the realization that my camera may never be found. I am trying not too get too sad about it and I guess we will start shopping around for a replacement. Please bear with me since I am currently using my phone for photos and I will have to postpone any recipe posts and the next installment of Stalk My Stockpile until I find a camera. 

Breakdown of Tuesday's Publix trip:
Total retail value: $50.11
Total spent: $7.20
Total saved: $42.83
Percent saved: 85%

What I got with sale/coupon breakdown:
  • 2 tubes of Aquafresh toothpaste, retails for $2.59 each, on sale for $1 each
  •  2 packages of Chips Ahoy Cookies, retails for $3.75 each, on sale BOGO ($1.87 each)
    • Used two $1 off Publix Stocking Spree Coupons
    • Stacked with a $1/2 coupon
    • Made them .37 cents each
  •  2 boxes of Jingos Crackers, retails for $2.99 each, on sale BOGO ($1.49 each)
  •  5 boxes of Organic Girl salad blends, retails for $3.99 each, on sale for $2.99 each
  • 2 boxes of Kashi bars, retails for $4.05 each, on sale for $2.99 each
    • Used two $1.50 off Vocalpoint coupons
    • Made them $1.49 each
  •  1 bag of Snyder's Pretzels, retails for $3.29, on sale for $2.50
Check back tomorrow night for a weekly totals post and my weekly Thursday beginning of the sale ad Publix trip!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Mealtime Monday Recipe Link Up Party & Features {#19}

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Happy Almost Monday! Last week was a crazy one for us with my teacher workdays and trainings as well as an amazing Pig Roast/BBQ with our family and friends at our house yesterday. I was hoping to have lots of pictures and recipes to post this week from the party but my camera went missing and now I am pictureless and cameraless. Hopefully it will turn up this week...

Tomorrow is my first day with students and I hope that everyone who is heading back to school has a safe, fun and successful first day back. Good luck to all my fellow teachers out there too!

As sad as losing my camera is I was instantly cheered up (and starving) after looking through the links of the past week. I really can't tell you how happy you all make me and I am so grateful for your participation and help in making Mealtime Monday a success every week.

It seems like I am not the only one in a dessert mood this week because our most clicked link and the rest of the most popular link ups/features were all desserts!

This week's most viewed link was Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake from Aunt Nubby's Kitchen.


 Our next feature are these Individual Oreo Turtle Cheesecakes from What's Cooking Love? I don't even like Oreos and I am drooling over these. How decadent to they look?



 And finally we have this Toffee Fudge Shortbread from With A Blast. I LOVE toffee. Can't wait to try this out!


Thank you all again for linking up! I love having lots of new menu ideas to add to our weekly rotations. I would love for you to spread this word about this link up by grabbing a button or by linking back. The more the merrier!

You can also check out my Pinterest board for Mealtime Monday Features where I will be pinning the original links to the items featured here each week.

If you were featured you can feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. I have finally worked out all the HTML kinks and I am very proud of myself : )

Can't wait to see what you have been up to lately and I love being inspired by all the delicious looking dishes you create.

I will be featuring my favorites next weekend and I will be pinning things to my Pinterest boards too. Make sure you check out my Link Ups page for lots more fun places to link up at too.

As I teacher, I enforce rules all day so I am going to call these my suggestions.

I would love it if:

  • You would link back to this post/blog. You can do so by grabbing my button (upper right hand corner), linking back to this post in your post, or by adding this blog to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up the better it is for all of us : )
  • Please follow this blog through GFC, Linky Friends or Blog Lovin.
  • As an added bonus you can now become our Facebook fan too!
  • Please only post directly to your recipe link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.
  • Please do not link up to posts you have already linked up to before. Also, the recipe needs to be something you made with photos of your own and should give credit where credit is due : )
  • Visit at least two new blogs and show them some love.
  • Come back next Monday and link up!

Show me what you got!



Thursday, August 16, 2012

Stalk My Stockpile: Part Two- Health & Beauty

 


I have to admit that I didn't start couponing to save money on food and groceries. I really got into couponing because I could not stand spending $50 every other week at Target for a small bag of health & beauty products. Don't get me wrong, saving money on food is amazing but nothing beats the feeling of knowing that I will never have to run out at 11pm for shampoo, toilet paper or contact solution again : )

All the stockpile items in these photos and those that will be in the rest of the series come from my weekly shopping trips. Check out my past trips for details about what I paid and the sale/coupon match ups I used to purchase these products.

Main H&B Stockpile Closet
My health & beauty (H&B) stockpile includes personal care items, make up, beauty products, medicines, vitamins, razors, toilet paper, tissues and so much more. I currently store my H&B products in a large linen closet in my extra upstairs bathroom. The only things I don't keep in there are all my vitamins, medicines and other first aid products since I don't want them to get ruined by moisture. 

I am going to try and show you some close ups of each shelf and what I store there. Keep in mind that these products have been purchase over the last year and are bought using my weekly household/grocery budget of $50-$80 a week for all food, groceries, household items, H&B products and paper products.


When I store most of my H&B products I try to organize them by earliest expiration date first. For products that don't have expiration dates like shampoo or tissues I make put my most recent purchases in the back of that products stash to make sure I use up the products I bought earliest before I use the newer ones.


We also keep paper products and personal products in each of our three bathrooms so those are not pictured here. As you can see we are very well stocked on some things thanks to recent trips and deals and we are running low on a few things too. Hopefully we will see some good pricing on things like mouthwash, toothbrushes and other things soon.

This photo was taken before I bought 8 bottles of Pantene Products today too.
 Along with never having to pay full price this part of our stockpile comes in very handy when we want to donate to toiletry drives or to homeless shelters and we definitely have some family who likes to come over and raid the H&B closet : )

About 30 boxes of tissues
The equivalent of over 100 regular rolls of toilet paper
In my early couponing days when Justin was still skeptical about the merits of couponing I think that it was saving money on these types of products that convinced him more than saving money on food did. Before we got married he had a very bad habit of waiting until he absolutely HAD to have razors or shampoo before restocking and he was always having to pay full price.


Additional first aid supplies
As I mentioned, my medicines, vitamins and other first aid products are stored in a different place than my other H&B items. I keep these in the upstairs hallway linen closet and store many of them in air tight containers to keep them from spoiling.


I am constantly check expiration dates on these products so I can make sure we use or donate things before they expire.

Vitamins and Pain Relievers
Where do you store your Health & Beauty stockpile? What is your favorite H&B item to get for cheap/free with coupons?

Join me over the next few weeks as I share more photos and information on my stockpile and how I store it.

Part Three: Cleaning Supplies and Household Products
Part Four: Pantry
Part Five: Fridge & Freezer

Make sure you stop by this week's Mealtime Monday and link up any amazing recipes you have been working on lately.

***Depending on the day this post may be linked up to any of these fabulous linky parties.***

Do you host a weekly party? If so, make sure to visit my party page and add yours so we all can join in the fun!
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