Gardening to Save Money

Being blessed with a lot of rich soil, this year we planted a fairly large garden to help trim the grocery budget. Not only will it save money, but there's just something about produce fresh from the garden. All the hard work, watching over and nurturing plants, there's just a sense of satisfaction that comes with growing your own food.

Early in the season I bought two mini-greenhouses off eBay for $40. They are well made, and seem like they will last several seasons. I used them to start most of the garden from seed. Most things came up really well, only a couple did not and it was probably that I tried to start them outside when it was a little too cold. I did also buy some tomato plants, a jalapeno plant, two green pepper plants, and some summer squash already started.

And I couldn't resist, I also bought the Topsy Turvey tomato planter. I put one tomato plant in that and two others the same size in the ground. Guess which sprouted the first tomato? Yep, the upside down one! I'm not as impressed with the upside down strawberry planter. I think it could work for some fruits and veggies, but my strawberries just aren't doing that great.

One other thing we did was stagger plant some things like peas and green beans so we have more than one harvest, and not stuck processing too many at one time. I plan to freeze or can a lot of what comes out of the garden to use through the year. I really hope to trim down the grocery budget with this. 

And of course we had to have the one novelty plant. I am growing three giant pumpkin plants. I didn't follow all the advice for growing the record breaking pumpkins, some of them top 1,000 lbs! But I did buy seed of the same stock as the champs and even if it's only half that size we're going to love it!

Another Alice.com order!

I was so impressed with Alice.com that I've decided to do another order with them. The first order came on the third business day, and everything was just how it should be. Not to mention all item but one had a coupon, yay!

This time I branched out a little more. I got bleach, diapers, toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, some snacks for Gracie, air freshener, and a couple other things. All told, I ordered nine items, and saved only $2.05 in coupons. But the regular prices seem to be pretty good, too. The Luvs diapers were a full dollar cheaper than the dollar store, without a coupon! My total order was $27.85, and the shipping was still free. PLUS there was a note with the order that there will be free samples included, yay!

So I'm working my way to that first $50, at which I'll get a $10 discount. So that takes an extra 20% off everything I've ordered to that point. When you sign up through the referral program, both the referred person gets the discount. The referrer also gets a little cash, so that's nice, too!

Alice.com is great for those of us that have a long drive to the store, for minimizing trips and saving gas to just pick up a few items. Not having to clip coupons is also nice, but I generally don't mind that. It's nice that they have so many products with coupons right on the site!

     

Alice.com order, arrived safe and sound!

I thought I'd do a quick update about my Alice.com order. As advertised, it arrived safe and sound within three business days! The bottles were all taped shut, to prevent leakage in transit, and everything was as advertised. I'm really pleased with my experience, everything was at a bargain price, and they list a lot of dry goods groceries and household items. I will definitely be a returning customer!

If you sign up with this link, you will receive $10 off your first order of $50. It's like taking an additional 20% off your stuff! With already low prices, and fast and free shipping, you just can't beat it!

Saving money and time with Alice.com

Well I made my first order with Alice.com today, and felt I made out with quite a deal! Alice.com applies manufacturer coupons automatically, no more clipping! Plus if you have a minimum order of six items, the shipping is free. They estimate two to three business days, so hopefully by Wednesday I'll be updating again. Yay!

My order consisted of Degree men's deodorant, Kashi granola bars with coconut and dark chocolate, Suave coconut shampoo and conditioner, Dove's women's deodorant, Bic disposable razors, and Softsoap moisturizing hand soap. Total before coupons was $14.76. There were coupons on all but the hand soap, and total after coupons was $10.08. So I saved $5.25 total, plus free shipping! Yippee!

One thing I've noticed with Alice.com is that their selection is improving, and you can sort your view with lowest price first, or best value first, which helps bargain hunting tremendously. The prices before coupons are pretty reasonable, as well. Plus, if you sign up through this link when you accumulate $50 in orders, you automatically save $10, too. 

All in all, I'm pretty impressed with Alice.com. I've heard other people say the shipping is super quick, so I'm looking forward to that, too. I think this website will be invaluable to stay at home moms trying to save a little money! 

Coupon Mania!

Getting the budget under control has been one of the most difficult tasks in becoming a stay at home mom. Trimming the grocery budget hasn't been easy, but not that difficult, either. There's many ways to accomplish this, coupons being the easiest and fastest. Changing the way you shop also helps. Keep up on store sales to maximize the power of your coupons, matching them to store ads. Coupons can also be found online at various websites, and even can be bought in bulk on sites such as Ebay.

Many websites offer manufacturers coupons, plus they can usually be found in local newspapers. Call around and find out which stores offer double or triple coupons, and if there's certain days. Keep this info on a chart, so that you can plan your grocery shopping around these days. Coupled with store sales, this can amount to substantial savings! Stockpile what you can when you find a terrific deal, things such as dry goods or frozen food will keep, and you won't be shopping for those items for a while, which saves money in the long run. I allow about $20 extra in my grocery budget to stockpile needed items. There have been weeks all I've needed to get from the grocery store is milk and diapers, everything else was stocked up!

Learning to perimeter shop can help trim the budget as well. The theory is the vast majority of your shopping should occur on the outer walls of the store, fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and dairy. Making dinner from scratch is not only satisfying for most stay at home moms, but nutritionally superior and cost effective. Watch the prices for produce, a good sale in frozen veggies can end up cheaper in the long run. Plus steaming from frozen produces quality similar to fresh.

When you have enough coupons, shop on a double coupon day, and use it for products on sale already for things you usually use, you can save a huge amount of money in the long run. It can be a little tricky to get started, but the payoff is unbelievable overall.