Savings Saturday - Saving without using Coupons, Part I

Several people have been posting lately about how competitive it is getting to see who can buy the most stuff for the least amount of money. I have been trying to figure out ways to cut my grocery bill using coupons and without using coupons. Full disclaimer – I currently use coupons, but I have friends that don’t and I want to create ways to save even if you don’t.

Cleaning products
There are a million posts on how to clean with vinegar and baking soda. Here you can find out how to make your own. You can also use Shaklee’s Basic H to make several natural cleaners.

I use Shaklee products and I really like them, but when I run out I may make my own cleaners which I have done in the past.

A great post on this subject can be found here.

Toiletries
This one is trickier. Many people believe that homemade toiletries aren’t as good as store-bought ones.
There are several body products that you can make. You can go here to check out which body products you can make and how, and there are more ideas here .

There are even many books written about natural body products. If you do make them and you have had success, please share that and the recipe!


If you would rather not make your own, you can play the CVS game. Even without coupons you can do some of the deals and make it worth your while check out this site to see how.


Paper Products
I personally am trying to cut out most paper products. I definitely still use toilet paper. I try not to use paper towels even though we do have them in the house for really gross things like your child throwing up (which happened last week!)
I only buy paper plates when I have birthday parties.
I am using cloth diapers most of the time and even started using cloth wipes (except for poppie diapers!).
But if you still want to use paper products I would suggest trying the CVS game or the Walgreens Rebate program. Even if you had coupons for these items they usually are only $0.25 or $0.50. You can also buy store brands or go to Aldi’s. I warn against CVS brand of toilet paper – it is only one-ply!

This post also has some very good information. I probably wouldn't do all of it, but I would consider most of it!

Meat/Poultry
This is one thing that I don’t scrimp on. I buy grass-fed beef from a local farmer. I am now starting to buy my chicken the same way. It is more expensive, but worth it to my family.
You could start having a vegetarian meal twice a week. You can do meatless lasagna or a bean dish.

These are some ideas to cut your grocery budget if you do not use coupons. I will be talking more about this next week. What ways do you save without using coupons?

Summer Movie Program

This is from the Kerasotes website:

This is a great way for kids of all ages to spend some of their summer mornings! For six weeks (June 18 - July 31) on Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 10:00am we will be offering free admission on specially selected family films.

This is from the AMC website:

Families, schools and organizations alike are invited to see great kids’ movies during AMC Summer MovieCamp. Available at select AMC theatres, this fun-filled program brings you:
$1 movies from June 25 – August 6
Shows starting at 10:00 a.m. every Wednesday
Great field trip opportunities – groups can purchase tickets one week in advance starting June 18 at the box office or online at participating theatres

Deals of the Week

Here are some Deals of the Week from Money Saving Mom.

Meijer
Target
Wal-mart
CVS

For those of you who don't coupon, the deals above include some printable coupons so you can still get some good deals even if you don't have any other coupons.

You can also see more store deals at The Grocery Gathering at Be CentsAble. It has several stores in several different areas including Kroger and Meijer.

Update on Menu Plan Monday - Master List

I have been working on my Master Meal list. So far I am really, really enjoying it. I have everything needed to make any of the meals so I can pick which one we are in the mood for on any given day. I have started to do a cost analysis on the meals as well. I also try new meals on the weekends if time allows, but during the week I have a plan.

Here is a monthly make-up list that I can make up ahead of time to have on hand for the weekly meals:

Monthly Master List Meal make up

4 Homemade pizzas (including homemade dough and sauce)
2 batches of easy breadsticks
1 Lasagna (makes a 9x13 pan size so could actually be two 4 serving meals)
1 Manicotti meal
1 Spinach Pasta Shell (Kelly’s recipe)
4 4-servings of Chicken Fried Rice
16 Mini Pizzas and 12 Calzones
2 Breakfast Casseroles cut into individual servings
2 Baked oatmeal
4 Fruit smoothies (freezer smoothies)
2-4 lbs. Chicken nuggets
2-4 lbs. grilled chicken (portioned) for lunch/dinner salads

This is still a work in progress, but so far it is working out for our family. If you do try your own Master Meals list you can always start small by having roughly the same meal 2-3 days a week. I started by asking my husband what his favorite meals were and if he could have them on a weekly basis. You can always change up one or two things to not make it boring! Let me know if you do try it!

Check out more menu planning ideas here.

Make it Yourself . . . Tortillas

This week I decided to try to make my own tortillas. At first I tried to make Spinach Tortillas but I used frozen spinach and it didn't work out so well (you can see them peaking out from the bottom of the pile). But then I just made regular tortillas and they turned out wonderful. Although, I need to work on making them round as you can tell from the picture! I will also try to find a slightly healthier recipe since this one called for shortening.

You can find more "Make It Yourself" ideas here.