Best Harris Teeter Trip Yet!

BC/VIC - $257.22
AC/VIC - $92.56

Total Savings $164.66 or 64%

I swear, I was dancing across the parking lot! Gotta love those Triple Coupons. :)

I plan to go again tomorrow.

Joi

A Teacher and his "joking"

As I am sure most everyone has seen, a local middle school teacher has made national news for being....shall we say, not so smart. This man believes it is ok to call his students losers. He says he is trying to relate to his students and does not mean it in a derogatory way.

Hello? Does he know the definition of th word loser? This man wrote on an 11 yr old girl's paper "-20% for being a loser." Loser was underlined twice. THIS is a joke? THIS is how you relate to your students? This young girl's mother contacted the school and met with the teacher and the principal. The teacher was told not to do this to this student again (not all students, just this one) and apologized to the mom.

Then, he does it again. This time mom went to the press. People are coming out of the woodwork in support of this man. They are blasting this little girl, who is getting tormented over this. How can anyone say that it is ok for a teacher, an authority figure, a person whose job it is to encourage students...to belittle them? Even in a joking manner?

Thoughts?

Today's Savings.....

Not that great, but what I did save on, I saved big! Unfortunately, I needed a few things that I didn't have coupons for. Oh well.

Harris Teeter

BC/Vic $70.81
Vic/Coupons $28.20
Total OOP $42.61

Total Savings 39.82%

Another Harris Teeter Trip....

This one was so good in so many ways. My 13 yr old is suddenly into salads....I found 3 bags of prepackaged salad for $.49 each! Then, I found Sudafed PE Severe Cold & Congestion formula marked down from $4.99 to $1.94 per box. I had 2 $3.00 off 2 boxes coupons. I got 4 boxes of medicine that would have originally cost $20.00 for $.88! That's right....4 boxes of name-brand medicine for $.88!! I LOVE COUPONS!!

Totals

BC $97.58
Coupons/VIC Savings $62.69
Total OOP $34.89!

Total Savings of 64%!

Not bad if I do say so myself. :)

Harris Teeter Trip...

Total before Coupons/VIC - $92.28
Total Savings - 53.76
Total OOP - $38.52

Savings of 58%

Not my greatest, but not bad either! Now is a good time to stock up on soup at Harris Teeter. They have Progresso Soup Buy 2 Get 3 Free. I bought 10 cans and had 2 $.50 off 2 coupons that were doubled. So I paid $8.76 for 10 cans of soup which would have normally cost $26.90! I love when Harris Teeter does Buy 2 Get 3 Free sales. :)

Joi

Snow....

I am tired of snow. I never thought I would say that, but I am TIRED OF SNOW! We still have snow on the ground from the 18th of December. This is a record for us. Normally, it will snow and melt the same day. But, this wonderful state of Global Warming that we are in (Don't EVEN get me started on that crock of boloney) is not allowing the snow to melt.

It snowed again this morning....just about an inch, but enough to freeze on the roads and keep us in the house.

Maybe if we lived somewhere where people were actually used to snow and how to deal with the aftermath, it would not be so bad.

Joi

Coupons Baby!

I LOVE coupons. Coupons are my best friend right now. Ever since I lost my job last March, coupons have become a huge necessity in my life. Now, with the possible end of my unemployment benefits looming on the horizon, they are becoming an even bigger necessity.

I didn't always use coupons. Oh, I looked at them sometimes in the paper and I saw a woman here or there using them. But I thought it was too much trouble. Too much effort. After all, you didn't really SAVE enough for them to be worth it, did you?

Oh, how wrong I was. If I had a dollar for everytime I told the girls not to get the coupons as we walked down the aisles of the grocery store, I would be a very rich woman.

I have a coupon binder which has all of my coupons (semi)neatly organized by category. I buy 2-4 papers a week (both the Asheville Citizen-times and Charlotte Observer.) And I plead with anyone and everyone to give me their coupons if they aren't going to use them.

My goal this year is to really keep track of exactly how much I am saving on groceries, household goods and personal care items. I mainly shop at Harris Teeter, Ingles, Walmart and CVS. Before coupons (B.C.) I was a die-hard Grocery Outlet shopper. I still go there, but, I honestly save more with coupons than I do buying things there.

Here's my totals for this week:

CVS (home of the Extra Care Card and Extra Care Bucks or ECBs) - 2 Trips
1st Trip - B.C. Total $50.09
Coupons/ECB 29.78
OOP $20.31
Savings of 59%

2nd Trip - B.C. Total $33.98
Coupons/ECB 17.62
OOP $16.36
Savings of 52%

Harris Teeter (home of the VIC card, Evic and the almighty land of Triple Coupons and Super Double Coupons)- 2 Trips for Super Double Coupons
1st Trip - B.C. Total $165.78
Coupons/VIC 104.04
OOP $61.74
Savings of 63%

2nd Trip - B.C. Total $70.62
Coupons/VIC 42.60
OOP $28.02
Savings of 60%

Total B.C. for all Trips $320.47
Total Coupons/Store Savinsg 194.04
Total OOP $126.43
Total Savings of 61%

Not bad if I do say so myself. I'm no expert, and I don't claim to be. There are women saving a whole lot more than I am. But, I am trying hard and my goal is to average 70-80% savings every time I go to the store. I plan to post my totals here and also any tips or deals I find.

Come on along for the ride!

Joi

Fried Dill Pickles....

One jar of dill pickle chips, drained
2 eggs
1/4 cup of water
1 cup of flour
2 cups of COLD milk
seasoned salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Beat eggs and water together until frothy. In a separate bowl mix flour and milk. The milk needs to be COLD! This is the trick for great tempura batter. ICE COLD MILK. Add seasoned salt and black pepper to taste. You could add other seasonings if you like, but this is our favorite blend.

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375. Dip pickles in egg and then tempura. Drop in fryer in batches. Stir to keep them from clumping together. You want a nice, light golden-brown color when you take them out. Drain and enjoy!

Don't you hate it....

when you type out a nice long blog post that is straight from the heart and it disappears before you hit publish?

Keeping up with the Kelleyclan.....

I've been told it is hard to do. Especially by my mom who says I try to do too much. She's right....I'm just a girl that can't say no. Most of what I do revolves around my kids, my husband and my house. As a matter of fact, ALL of what I do revolves around them. Finding time for me is a lot harder. Right now, I am an unemployed homeschool mom of 2 girls (and 1 son who just moved out on his own,) with 6 cats, 2 dogs and 1 husband that I love very much. We live and breath cheerleading in the fall and soccer in the spring. My house is not always picked up, schoolwork is not always completely caught up, the animals are not always freshly bathed, but, my family is happy (most of the time.) I love God and strive to put him first in my life. I don't always succeed, but I am working on that. I struggle with money woes, especially when I don't know how much longer I will have unemployment or when I will find a job that will work into my schedule. I struggle with homeschool insecurities, especially now that my oldest daughter is nearing high school age. Eek! I struggle with my weight, especially since I have been diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in my hip that makes exercising difficult. But most of all, I struggle with not letting any of that distract me from what is truly important. My family is healthy, happy and by the grace of God, intact! Keeping up with the Kelleyclan is not always easy, but, I hope I make it fun.