Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Home made wipes! Better and cheaper!


Wipes
** Most ingredients found cheapest at  vitacost.com ***
1 roll of viva paper towels makes 2 or 3 containers of wipes
Option 1: cut roll in half and stick into empty folgers container. Cut slit in lid. After mixture is added the carboard roll with be wet and you can put it out of the center, with it will come a paper towel, pull this through the center cut.  2 per roll.
Option 2: cut roll in half. Separate paper towels. Fold in half. Add to empty huggies or pampers container stacking them on top of eachother. 3 per roll.

1 tbsp olive oil or calendula (both are healing agents)
10 drops Tea tree oil (this is a disinfectant and prevents molding)
1 tbsp aloe vera
3 tbsp witch hazel (can be witch hazel with aloe)
4 tbsp castile soap (I use almond castile because it smells better)
4 ½ cups water.
Mix all ingredients well.

1 ½ cups solution is needed for folded wipes in a huggies or pampers container. Be sure to pour slowly and in layers so all the towels absorb.
2 ½ cups solution is needed for Folgers container wipes. Be sure to pour slowly, evenly and layered so it all absorbs!

This mixture makes 7 cups of mixture. That is 2 huggies containers, 1 folgers container and a serving size amount prepared and waiting for that day where you run out and need wipes quick!

Friday, November 18, 2011

WHOLEsome baby food


WHOLEsome baby food

I'm sure post people have thought that making your own baby  food would save some money, but maybe you don’t know just how much money.

Baby foods jars sell individually for between 80cents and $1.00. 
A baby on food once a day would eat $30 in one month
A baby on food twice a day would eat $60 in one month.
A baby on food three times a day would eat $90 in one month.

 I started Kenzie on baby food once a day at age 4months and then twice a day at age 5months. She has eaten $90 worth of baby food in the past two months and I spent $11.50.
Broken down:
Zuchini- $2
Apples- $5
Carrots- $1
Butternut squash- $1
Sweet potatoe- $1
Green beans- $1
Peas- $0.50
Bananas- $1
Obviously making baby food is a significant money saver and it is so easy! I spend 1hour a week making baby food. I’m sure it will increase as she eats more but it is definitely worth the time.

We are forgetting the best benefit of all- It is WHOLE foods. Making it from scratch with no added preservatives or sweeteners is so much better for your little baby.

How I do it:
I boil the food until it is nice and soft and then I blend it. I add as much water as needed to make the consistency just right for her. I also add a spice or seasoning. This helps to expand her taste buds. For example, carrots get cinnamon, sweet potatoes get nutmeg, peas gets basil, etc. I stay away from salt and sugar products.
After preparing it I freeze it in small plastic containers that fit her serving size. I also have done it where I froze it in ice cube trays and then transferred to zip loc baggies. Either way works.

Check out this awesome site for more tips and help:

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

baby on a budget- cloth diapers

This week I am going to do multiple post under the category BABY on a budget. Our first post is from my very dear friend who does cloth diapering. Don't shake your head before you read the whole article!


When Sharee asked me to write a guest entry for her blog, I was very honored.  Cloth diapering has come a long way in the last few years, and I hope that I can help you save money, live a little more green, and give some soft comfort to your little baby’s bum!

First of all – why in the world would anyone use cloth diapers? Here are my 3 reasons:

1) Comfort & Health: Would you like the wear paper underwear?  What are your favorite underwear? Probably, the softest, best fitting ones. Now, imagine wrapping your little one in oh-so-soft velour, or cuddly microfleece, or organic cotton. Imagine how much happier your baby would be.  As for health, modern disposable diapers use a gel to suck up the liquid, and the gel is made from chemicals. (Dioxin, Tributyl-tin, Sodium Polyacrylate). And all of these chemicals have been studied and can have harmful side effects.

2) Cost: Cloth can seem like a big investment in the beginning, but for between $100-$500 dollars you can be set from birth – potty training. The average child will cost about $1,600 to diaper in disposables for two years. Oh, and if you have more than one child, you can keep using what you bought, cutting costs even more!

3) Environment: A disposable diaper seems to take up to 250 years to decompose. And diapers make up about 50% of a household’s waste.

Not your Grandma’s Diaper!
There are 5 main categories for modern cloth diapers. I’ll give you a brief overview of each, and then some pointers for doing each cheaply.

1)     The All-In-One: this is a diaper made of cloth. Literally. The inside is absorbant fabric and the outside is waterproof. It has elastic around the legs, on the back, and Velcro or snap fasteners. Easy Peasy.
PROS: easy to use, comfy for baby, lots of options for colors, prints & fabrics!
CONS: can take a while to dry, a little bulky for storage
$$$ TIP: buy second hand (links below) or make your own!

2)     The All In Two: this is similar to the AIO but the absorbant inside can be detached from the outside cover.
PROS: easy to use, faster drying, less bulky for storage
$$$ TIP: buy second hand (links below) or make your own!

3)     Pockets: similar to the AIO, it has a waterproof outside, and a soft inside, but rather than having the absorbant fabric sewn in or snapped on, you can stuff it with whatever absorbant fabric you want.

PROS: cheap and easy to use, you choose how thin/trim or absorbant you need. Great for nights and naps.
CONS: take a little extra work to unstuff and then restuff
$$$ TIP: buy second hand (links below) or make your own! Use anything lying around the house to stuff – t-shirts, old washcloths and hand towels, dish clothes, etc.

4)     Prefolds and Flats: This is similar to what our grandmothers used. A square piece of fabric that you fold, place on baby, and then pin or Snappi closed. A snappi is an amazing plastic piece that holds on to each edge of fabric without worries about poking the little belly.  These are paired with a diaper cover.
PROS: Very cheap, very comfy for baby, fun to use, and you can use them later for other things – burp clothes/cleaning/etc.
CONS: There’s a bit of a learning curve for the folding
$$$ TIP:  With a pair of scissors you can cut a “flat” out of anything soft, like those old T-shirts you’re holding onto. You can also make a “flat” out of kitchen towels, and old wash clothes & hand towels. Very popular at the moment are the kitchen towels from Target, only $1 each!

If you have a sewing machine, or access to a friends, you can hem what you cut (knit fabrics don’t need hemming, but towels do) and you can make a prefold. I’ll put some tutorial links at the bottom of the post.

5)     Fitteds: these are the cutest, most luxurious, and sometimes priciest of the new cloth diapers. It is a diaper made all of cloth, but without a waterproof layer. You need to use a cover with these.
PROS: so soft, so comfy, lots of beautiful prints and colors and options
CONS: a little bulky and not waterproof alone. Can be pricey.
$$$ TIP: buy second hand or make your own. A great cheap fitted is the GMD Workhorse from www.greenmountaindiapers.com

Sizing: You can buy One Size diapers, that usually fit from about 1 month up, or you can buy “sized” in newborn, small, medium, medium-long, large and extra large. Sized fits the best, but one-size is the cheapest! Also, consider renting a newborn setup. They grow out of them fast!

Liners: if you use microfleece or disposable liners, all you have to do with the mess is lift it off the diaper, and dump it in the toilet – then flush! Microfleece also helps a baby’s bottom feel dry. $$$ TIP: make your own microfleece liners by cutting up an old fleece or footie pajamas into rectangular strips.

Diaper covers: these are the waterproof barrier used with prefolds, flats, and fitteds. These are NOT plastic pants. Thank goodness. You have 3 types. 1) Wrap – it is the same shape as a diaper and goes on the same way. 2) Soaker – just like the cute diaper covers that come with girls’ dresses, just pulls on and 3) Longies – pants that double as a waterproof barrier.  Diaper covers are usually made of PUL (polyurethane laminate), fleece, or wool.  I’d love to write another post on the wonders of wool. It is a miracle fabric. But I won’t go into detail here.

$$$ TIP:  Raid your closets, second hand stores and walmart fabric sections. You’re looking for good fleece or cashmere/merino wool.  Once you have a few big sweaters or fleece hoodies, you can sew your own soakers and longies. (Links at the bottom of the page)

Buying Diapers & Covers: Now it’s time to go the internet.  Amazon.com carries PUL covers (Bummis is a popular brand) and with Amazon Mom you get free shipping! Bum Genius (www.cottonbabies.com) makes 2 types of covers – Flips & Econobums. And they have free shipping too!

Last but not least, look for second hand diapers. Don’t worry, you’ll wash them thoroughly before use! The top 3 places to search are:

www.diaperswappers.com - Diaper Swappers
and good ol’ www.ebay.com

Links for DIY

Diaper Covers:

Diapers:

Sewing Supplies:

LINKS FOR MY FAVORITE DIAPERS
www.greenlinediaper.com (the best system to fit from birth-toddler!!)


Intrigued? Curious? Want to know more?

Monday, November 14, 2011

Christmas shopping

Holiday Savings

Just wanted to share a few tips to help you get organized and stay in budget for Christmas!

This site has the instructions on making a Christmas binder. The main points
Have a budget
Keep track of what you buy  and for whom
Keep organized


This site has all of the black Friday deals up with links to Amazon so you can compare prices.
http://thefrugalfind.com/category/black-friday-2011/

If you like Little Tikes on facebook for a limited time you can print some coupons!

Also don't forget Target has store coupons on their website!

Last but not least Walmart will price match! If you buy a gift a Walmart and it goes on sale for cheaper through out the holiday season they will give you the difference on a giftcard!



Wednesday, November 9, 2011

AD DAy!

Double Ads
Wednesday is DOUBLE AD day at Sprouts and Sunflower Market! That means last weeks and this weeks ads are valid. Make for almost every produce item on Sale! This is the best day of the week to shop for produce J
Wednesday also means the grocery store Ads came out today. I usually wait until Sunday when the coupons come in and then do my shopping but some people do it the day of the Ad.
Great deals I noticed:
Frys:
Annies pasta 69cents (when you buy 10)
 Turkey  59cents a lb
Foster Farms natural chicken B1G1 free
I am doing the buy 10 save $5 deal because it has a lot of items I use
Hillshire farm lunchmeat *C*
Orowheat bread
Annies pasta
Birds eye vegetables *C*
Kleenex *C*
Safeway
Avocados 2 for $1
Raspberries 2 for $3
Organic salad mix 2 for $4
Walmart price match
Avocados- food city - 5 for $.99
Ground beef- food city- $1.69lb
Sprouts
Organic gala apples .99lb
Chicken breast tenders (natural) 1.99lb

**** Wholefoods all natural chicken is 1.29lb THIS Friday only. This is an AMAZING price on chicken***
*c* means there is a manufacture coupon out right now.

Monday, November 7, 2011

price matching

For today’s post I asked my friend and cousin, Monica, to write it. Price matching is her sole way of saving money and she is great at it!    Here is what she wanted to share:
_______________________________________________________________________________
So, I typed up this really long explanation about how and why I use ad matching at Wal-Mart. Down to the tiniest details! Then I realized how boring it was. So I'm going to try a different approach.

First let's talk about my method. I do most of my shopping at the beginning of the month and preferably the beginning of the week. I round up my ads and start looking at what I NEED that is on sale. Then I look at what meat is cheapest and then what produce is cheapest and so on down the list. Once I know what'll be the cheapest to buy, I plan my menu for the month around what will cost the least. After I know what I'll be cooking I make my list of items that I'll need to buy including my family's regular lunch and breakfast items. Next, I use a Sharpie to circle any item I need in my ads. Now comes the time consuming part. I like to make life a little bit easier for the cashiers by making a spreadsheet of each item, it's price and which store ad it is in.

Now for the shopping! I always take a calculator to check and see if the sale price is the cheapest. Many times the store brand is cheaper, but not always. Also, the store brand isn't always as good as the name brand (in my opinion). If I end up not getting the specific item that is on sale I just cross it off of my list. Sometimes I'll eliminate whole ads like that. The most important part is to always put your ad matching items last on the conveyor belt and to notify the cashier that there are ad match items at the end.
There are some downsides to ad matching though:
• They will only match the price on the exact same item which means that store brands are out. (I usually stop at one or more other stores while I'm nearby to pick up good sales on store brands.)
• They will not ad match meat per lb unless is it packaged by the lb. (i.e. They like to package their ground beef in 2.5 lb packs which other stores rarely advertise a set price for that set weight.)
• They will not give you a per lb price on a produce item that they are currently selling per piece and vice versa (i.e. you cannot buy a cantaloupe for 20¢ per lb if they are selling them at $1 each)
• They will not match online pricing; only in store sales.
• Wal-Mart is notorious for carrying package sizes that no other store carries so they don't have to price match those things. (The perk is that many grocery stores carry a variety of sizes and so their ads give a package size range rather than a specific size.)
• I have heard of some Wal-Marts claiming that they will not ad match a store that isn't within 2 miles of it. (This is not stated in their public policy so you could dispute it.)
My tips for success:
• Be organized to save yourself a headache.
• Use coupons to save even more .
• Wal-Mart will ad match from ANY store ad, not just grocery stores.
• I only get ads for grocery stores that are located near me, but I can look up other grocery store ads online. As long as the price is valid in store Wal-Mart will match it.
• You do not HAVE to have the ad with you for the cashier to match it (it says so in their policy).
• Most stores do not list brand names for their produce sales. That means that you can use them for Wal-Mart produce. (i.e. Albertson's lists 5lb bag of russet potatoes for 99¢, Any 5 lb bag of russet potatoes at Wal-Mart will be matched at 99¢)
• I buy ALL of my produce at Wal-Mart. I've found at my local Wal-Mart that I get the best selection in the morning.
• Even if the ad states only select varieties, you can pick any at Wal-Mart within the size and brand listed. (i.e. 3 boxes of General Mills cereal for $7, select varieties, 12-19 oz means as long as they are within the size and brand, it's 3 for $7). You get to pick your favorites this way!
• Though it is time consuming, I have made a spreadsheet with the prices of items that I purchase often at store that I shop often. I can compare those prices to sales so I always know if it's a good deal or not.
• You can use other store's coupons, even the ones that are $5 off a purchase of $25 or more. (in AZ you cannot anymore is the rumor.)
• Keep a copy of Wal-Mart's ad match policy when you shop if you don't have your ads with you. Here is the link: http://walmartstores.com/10563.aspx
Wal-Mart doesn't give you a breakdown of your savings, but I do spend about $200 a month less than I used to. For example my total expenses for my monthly shopping were $126 and some change. I went to 2 stores other than Wal-Mart to buy store brands. I should only need to spend not even $30 more on additional produce, milk and bread!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 I
price matched once and had a wonderful experience. I didn’t have the ad but the cashier had it on hand and flipped through it with me. I definitely know that if you are going to price match frequently you need a spreadsheet to keep things quick and organize. Personally I would do my spread sheet by store, then the product in alphabetical order and the page number where it is in the ad.

GOOD LUCK!
Be sure to check out yesterdays post about organizing coupons and stay tuned for tomorrows post, " A few tips for holiday shopping"

Sunday, November 6, 2011

organizing coupons


Organizing coupons

Just finished clipping my coupons and wanted to share with you my method of organization.

I keep all clipped coupons in a big binder in alphabetical order by the product (for ex. Apples, toothpaste, mayo,). They fit into baseball card plastic inserts. The first insert under each letter is food and the second is toiletries. 

Store coupons and coupons to stack them with go into that stores section of my mini organizer. I never put store coupons in my big binder. 

After I have cut apart the inserts (red plum, smart source, etc) I put the date on the front cover and insert them into page protectors in a separate binder. The couponing sites reference the coupons by the insert and date, for ex. Red plum 10/23. They can reference months back sometimes so I like to keep all my inserts. There is just not enough room to keep the 2gogurt coupons per insert per paper per week in my binder. I also don’t cut every brand shampoo or my binder would be too heavy to lift up. It’s these extra coupons that stay in the insert tucked away until I need them. I cleared a whole shelf of inserts last week by inserting them into a binder. (so excited to have one more shelf for new stuff !)

I have listed another copy of my process:
1.       Sit down with scissors, your paper, your computer, envelopes and a pen.
2.       Cut the coupons of the products you use
3.       Visit coupons.com and target.com to print coupons of products you use.
4.       Visit the websites listed. Look at the deals of the week at Frys, CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart
5.       Decide which stores you are going to get what deals at.
6.       Label each envelope the name of the store you are going to shop that week. You can use envelops or a small organizer. I have a small one with about 10sections. Each section is a store.
7.       Insert the coupons in their proper envelopes
8.       Write on the outside what deals you are getting – use this as your list for that store.

Hope I provided you with some helpful tips! I love to organize!