My New Hobby is Saving Money and Time

That's what Jason said at least. We were talking about the time I spent online doing what I called family related things versus his football (or something like that). He said they were the same cause this is my hobby and that is his. I guess he has a point. I do enjoy it sometimes - but in my defense (which isn't really necessary cause we were just talking) everyone benefits from my hobby. ...I could talk more about this but I'm gonna move on.

This week has been rather productive where my hobby is concerned. We got several free things - a meal from Schwann's, 2 red box dvds, shipping for Ariel's new cloth diapers, loads of samples I've ordered (but they should really count with the week they arrive), and a couple of magazines (one is Golf Digest for Jason - I don't think a magazine could sound more boring personally). I also saved a good bit of money (and spent a good bit too). This week was grocery week and I got A LOT. So much that right now there are still cans on the counter because they won't fit in the cabinet yet. But the groceries should last for close to two months - maybe even more, but I will have to pick up a few perishables when the time comes - but only milk I think, maybe a fruit or veggie or two. I saved over $90.00 dollars though using coupons and sales. How exciting is that! 

On the organization front, things are getting done too. I have officially begun my price book. It is formatted, items have been entered, and prices are arriving. It is definitely not done, but my impression is that a price book is never really done. Mine's not even kinda done though - about 1/3 of the items in it don't have prices at all and the rest have only been picked up from one store without a whole lot of comparison between stores.  That one store was usually Wal-mart though, so I'll probably get lucky and find my first price really is the best price. To get the Wal-mart prices I shopped with a list organized into areas of the store and only bought the best price. There were a couple of best price exceptions that I noted in my list. One - very rarely name brand wins over generic - velveeta shells and cheese - sometimes I want velveeta instead of the dry powder, I would go for generic but the price wasn't even a whole cent/oz more so I gave in. Two - size - usually the more you buy the cheaper a product is per unit, but I have a small house with little storage space to spare, plus how many 2 gallon containers does one need of olive oil - I'm not sure when I would ever buy another container of olive oil - so I made a new rule that I don't have to buy the absolute best price if a more reasonably size product is very close in price per unit. One a side note, the velveeta also fit this catagory. I don't need the family sized mac even though it is cheaper. We don't eat all of it and usually some goes to waste so we lose any possible savings. 

I'm really excited about this new tool after putting in the prices. Even Jason thought it was a pretty worthwhile project - although he admittedly would never put the time in to make one. So often I look at store ads and am tempted to trust that their "sale" really is as amazing as they say - then go to Wal-mart and see a bigger size, at regular price cheaper. That really stinks when I have stocked up for good measure at the "sale." I won't have this problem any more now. 

An interesting deal I've found over the last few months is at Wal-greens. Almost every time I go in they have tons of final opportunity items marked with florescent orange tags. These items are basically clearance items that the store isn't gonna sell anymore or the manufacturer is replacing in some way or stopped making, but they have great prices. The other day I found my face powder (neutrogena-its the only one that doesn't make me break out and I feel more finished in the winter with it on) as one of these items marked at half price, plus all Neutrogena products were on sale buy one get one 50% off, plus I had a $3.00 coupon. Thus I got around $23 worth of make up for $6.20. Seemed like a great deal to me. 

I did do more than shop this week. I also got a lot of garden produce chopped (if necessary) and into the freezer. I don't have the materials to can, the space to put cans, or the know how (though I hear it's easy). So I freeze. I can't eat the stuff out of my garden fast enough and well even if I could I want to have some of it for the winter. Now is truly the cheapest time to buy it in the store so technically my zucchini would save me more money in January than it does now. Don't think I'm going out an buying zucchini or anything - that would be funny. What would Jason think if I brought home tomatoes from the grocery store when our window sills are still over flowing with them? Anyhow, the freezer now has a good starter supply of zucchini, chopped onion for soup, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I have some zucchini to shred and tomatoes to prep for today. I think I'm also gonna get some fruit into the freezer - cantaloupe was on sale last week. Which reminds me...

Ariel is changing from regular baby food to whatever we are eating now...at least for the most part. I know it probably should have been this way from the beginning, but those little jars were just so convenient and I'm taking one step at a time being an economical, healthy mother. It can be too overwhelming to try to do all at once - at least for me. I think now is a good time for her anyhow, since she is getting really good at eating more chunky foods. Last night we had beef stroganoff and so did she. She liked it. I just put some noodles and sauce into our chopper, chopped it up to small enough chunks and she had her dinner. I like that she ate dinner with us in a more real way. I bet her taste buds will be less confused now. Usually she smells dinner - say chicken pot pie - then eats hers - like sweet potatoes and turkey. Could be a bit confusing. Well, no more! I also bought canned and fresh fruits to give her which just saves a good bit of money. I'm not totally sure how much the fresh stuff saves, but even if we break even - can you really think fresh isn't better? I mean how often can you eat fresh pears! Mmmm. She will continue to eat her baby yogurt though...but I eat my packaged yogurt too. I'm just not ready to start making my own. 

Well, I'm done for this morning. Next time - the great diaper change over...for real this time. This week we officially turned over a new leaf on cloth diapering...and homemade wipes (maybe even cloth). Disposable no more. I'm excited. Now I have to find the right detergent...do I have to buy it online? Does anyone know where I can find good stuff in stores?

Geez I'm long winded. These blogs are crazy long. I have to work on that. However, I do enjoy getting the thoughts out of my head and onto paper. It's kinda relieving.