Calling all (Diet) Coke addicts..

This Bargain of the Day tip comes in today courtesy of a Virginia reader.

She was in Harris Teeter last night and realized they were selling 12 pack/12 oz cans of Coke products for 4/$10. So one package is $2.50.

Easy math here. $2.50 divided by 12 = .21! So than means you can get your Diet Coke fix (or regular Coke, Sprite or whatever you fancy) for less than a quarter!

By way of comparison she stopped at 7-11 on the way home and found the same Diet Coke can for $1.01, five times more.

Harris Teeter sale runs until Tuesday at 11:59 pm.

This is one of many examples that shows how buying in bulk, when you have the space for it, really REALLY pays off!

Coffee & Books

Two things....

This past week the status updates on Facebook of my friends and family members have been filled with news that Starbucks has brought the Pumpkin Spice Latte back for the fall season. I think I have had one, and I seem to remember they are good. They are not $4/day = $20/week = $80/month = $1,160/year good.

Look, I love coffee. I could not live without it. When I was pregnant my doctor banned alcohol, shellfish, sushi and deli meats (I didn't listen to that last one), but she thankfully told me I could have two cups a day of regular coffee. I would have pitied my husband if she hadn't made this call.

People who know me, know Dunkin Donuts is far and away THE BEST coffee on earth. Period. End of discussion. But even DD can add up.

So we get our coffee at Target. Yup, we get a huge 39 oz bin of ground coffee at Target for under $6! This bin will last about a month.

By all means treat yourself to the PSL every once in awhile. We all deserve treats and like I have said before, its the small treats that help us get through the other sacrafices. But don't get in the habit of buying this coffee on a daily basis, the cost will add up, and there won't be any savings to match.

Books.

The Washington Post had this book review today. I will never encourage dumpster-diving for food, but I do reuse Ziploc bags. I haven't read it, but wanted to pass along in case you found interesting.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

Savings, Diapers and Coupons ?????

Thanks everyone for your positive feedback and support! I am glad you find this useful. I know I have, if for no other reason than it keeps me on my toes…something I STILL need to do. We need a new car, that’s what we spent today doing, looking at them. Ugh…

Anyway, since I started several of you have emailed me with questions. My guess is maybe others have the same questions. So I am answering them here as well. Am hoping to make this a weekly feature.

1. How to set up separate savings when work doesn’t do direct deposit? (West Virginia)
2. Why not use cloth diapers instead of ordering, they are cheaper? (Rhode Island & Alabama)
3. How do you find out about coupons and sales (Virginia)


1. As for not having direct deposit. Ok, this might take some time to set up, but this is probably the best way to ensure a) you save and b) you can't touch it unless you really need it --isn't that the point of savings.

You should set up an online savings account. We have one through etrade. I am reasonably happy with it. If I had to do over would likely pick TD Ameritrade, or Scott-trade. There are tons out there, and they mostly all offer about the same stuff, so do a little research and find the one that’s best for you and your needs. I warn you the set up will likely be a PITA. But once you have the account set up, you can transfer funds from you existing account (you will likely have to sign up for their online banking too, but it doesn't change anything about the way you bank now, or at least it shouldn’t. I know with Wachovia and BB&T, our banks, it didn’t.)

Now the easy part. Once the account is set up, when you deposit the check, go home and check to ensure the money has cleared. Do a budget to find out how much you really NEED from that check, and even if you have $5 left over, transfer that to savings WHILE YOU STILL HAVE IT! Don't wait, just do it. If you know you will have a standard amount each month, you can set up to have the deduction taken away automatically. You will be amazed how the money will grow. I am not kidding when I saw that this type of savings is what has kept us above water these last few months....and I really wish I had started earlier.

If you have trouble, shoot me an email or once you decide to set up an account, the customer service people for the particular bank or brokerage, are usually very helpful. We had, and actually still do its just dormant since we used that one too these last few months, one with ING and they were amazing on the phone, very helpful. And they did not treat me like an idiot like some of these places often do.

2. I would love to use cloth diapers. I had planned to when my son was born. I know they are cheaper and also better for the environment. I highly encourage anyone who is not in the position we are in to use them.
We don’t use cloth diapers because the washing machine is literally right next to my son’s bedroom. And since I can’t find enough time to do the laundry that we have now when he is awake and thus not disturbed, I can’t imagine what a nightmare it would be if we had cloth diapers laying around. Maybe one day we will have a bigger house and my son will be a big brother and we can attempt. I am a big fan of cloth diapers, just not for me right now L

3. BUY YOUR NEWSPAPER! This is not the old newspaper reporter in me speaking. Find out when your food section is published. In the DC area it comes out on Wednesday. Also buy Sunday paper. Between these two days papers (costing you maybe $2, unless NYT is your Sunday paper, but then probably still worth it), you get the sales circulars for the grocery stores in your area, as well as A TON of coupons. The money you will save, plus the advance notice you will have of sales, will help you immensely! I honestly can’t imagine not getting these two papers (well I can’t imagine not getting the paper at all, but that’s another story). And the Food Section, well that's just an added bonus...yummy!

You also find out when the stores have their sales. In the DC Area, these are the days stores have their sales…that I know of.

Giant: Friday – Thursday
Safeway: Friday – Thursday
Harris Teeter: Wednesday – Tuesday

HTH!

Credit score guidence

This segment was on TODAY this morning and I thought it was really interesting.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/32670513#32670513

Exceptions to every rule

So random. I was in Safeway tonight picking up a package for a neighbor and I decided to check out their yogurt-covered raisins. My son was on a playdate last week and loved them, so thought I would get some.

Going against everything that makes sense, and an earlier posting, the snack size portion, which was 6 boxes each 1 oz, cost $3. The 6 oz. bag cost $4. So, always check, even when logic tells you not to.

Harris Teeter coupons...more fun!

This past week HT had a promotion of doubling coupons up to $1.98. It ended at 11:59 pm last night. I, of course, didn't make it there until just after 8 pm. Here is what I purchased, with normal price per item.

Rice-A-Roni (3 boxes) $1.79 each
4lbs sugar $2.69
Lysol Disinfectant Wipes $3.49
Newman Salsa $3.15
Kraft Horseradish $2.19
4 pack Ziploc Containers (2 boxes) $3.65 each
Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Foamer $4.79
Tide Detergent, 96 loads $22.49
Bounty 8 Roll package $8.97
Downy Liquid Softener $3.99
4 Snickers Bars .50/each
HT Shredded Wheat $1.97
HT Dishwasher Soap $3.79
Arizona Iced Tea .99
Lady Speed Stick (2) $3.19 each
Colgate Paste $3.15
2 Raw Carrots .83-total
Starbucks Java Ice Cream $4.19
Rice Pudding $3.19

Total Before Coupons and HT Promotions: $109.99

What I paid: $60.19!

Yup, that's right, yet again the savings they offered through their coupon promotion, plus the sales they were offering already, we saved boatloads. I don't need 4 Snickers bars, but we didn't wind up paying for them because the coupon I had was $1/off two, which became $2 off...and I wasn't going to just buy 2 bars and give THEM a credit of $1. The Starbucks Ice Cream was on sale for $3, and I had a $1/off coupon, which became $2. So I in essence paid $1 for it..YUM! Perhaps the best deal, the Ziploc containers were on sale for $3/each. I had a coupon that was $1.50 off/when you buy two. So I bought two, at HT price that became $6, but with my coupon I got 8 Ziploc containers that regularly would cost me close to $8, for $3! Also, you see I bought new dish detergent. Electrosol just did not cut it, and was a waste of water not to mention energy to continue to use when we would have to wash ourselves afterward, so it was pitched. I can say HT brand works fine, just like my beloved Cascade.

Obviously I love HT. Its convenient to where we live, its clean, the people are friendly and the food is good. But I do have a complaint. The sale ended at 11:59, yet they were taking down the sale prices while I was shopping. I asked the girl why it was HT policy -- knowing full well she was doing what she had been told -- and she went and got her manager. I felt bad, I didn't want to get her in trouble. He gave me some song and dance about corporate makes them do it starting at 9 pm, but he was happy to get me a circular. I said no thanks, and suggested perhaps they tell associates to not take down tags when customers are looking at the items. Ironically, a few minutes later I checked the time to make sure I wouldn't miss out on Five Guys (our celebratory dinner) and it was only 8:43 pm..so the girl and the manager started this process even before corporate wanted them to. I just think this is dumb.

I was also surprised at how many items my HT simply didn't have. I had coupons for half-dozen plus items that they didn't carry.

Finally, the humorous/embarrassing part of the night only a mother could love..I am checking out. Just handed in all my coupons, open up my purse and my wallet is no where to be seen! DOH! Its still in the diaper bag!! So, I apologize profusely and run to car. Cashier was very polite, but I was mortified.

Coming tomorrow: Questions answered...hope to make this a weekly posting.

Endless (sort of) supply of tortilla chips for 49 cents!

Took advantage of Harris Teeter's great promotion of doubling coupons of value up to $1.98 tonight. I will write more about the whole experience tomorrow (the good, the bad and the downright embarrassing!) but decided to use this post to talk about one of my favorite snacks...homemade tortilla chips.

I saw this on Food Network awhile back. Food Network is my favorite SHOW. I know its a network, but virtually any show on there, aside from Paula Dean, is better than whatever else is on TV at any given time.

Take corn tortillas that you buy in the store and cook them in the oven. Put aluminum foil down, spray with Pam-like spray and then place sliced and diced tortilla chips on the tray. Spray again (I like Olive Oil variety, sure any would work) and then sprinkle with Kosher Salt. Put in oven at 350 for 10 mins, or you can eyeball for crispness.

Are these as good as what you get at your favorite Mexican restaurant? Not even close. Not even as good as Tostitos. BUT, and this is huge, you save money by not plowing through an entire bag that I know I can eat in one sitting because it requires some effort to make them AND this variety is much healthier than the store bought chips. The taste is certainly good enough (and this comes from the person who refuses to eat FF or Low Fat just about anything!) and since you can make so many (about 6 to 8 chips from each tortilla, depending on how you cut) you are saving big bucks.

One of the lessons I learned doing this, is don't make a big batch and expect them to stay good for a few days. I have found these only last about a day, and then they become flat.

So, since Harris Teeter had their crazy sale, I had $1 coupon for Misson products. That became $2 off. And the corn tortilla's cost $2.49, thus 49 cents tortilla chips. Heck even without the sale, the regular price of 30 tortillas (which a conservative cutter would get 180 chips from) is far better than a bag of Tostitos, which runs at least $3 most places, and while I have never counted, my guess is has less than 180 chips.

N.B. We received some VERY GOOD news today. My husband was offered a job, and begins next Wednesday. Rest assured though, this blog will continue! We made a dent in our savings to stay a float, so we have to build that nest egg up again. Happy Reading, and thanks again to everyone for their support.