sevenchicks

saving some serious dough on groceries (pun intended)

by photochick (posted in advance, just for you!)~ As I was searching a couple of weeks ago for recipes for freezer cooking I stumbled upon a few posts about saving money on food in general. Some were about the coupon sites (I think a chick blogged about those once before??), but to a greater extent the blogs were about how to use those coupons, combined with store offers, combined with double coupon days, combined with . . . well, you get the idea.

All that combining added up to some serious savings. Read THIS post for an example of what I'm talking about. This mom started off with a $108 grocery bill and after coupons owed only $55.15!!!! What????

And it wasn't all wierd, crazy food. Just for starters the order included: six boxes of cereal, 3 gallons of milk, produce, meat, canned food, cookie dough, pancake mix . . . should I continue?

I really need to get on this. When I get my brain back together, anyway. Just think of all the clothes and purses and shoes we could buy with all that extra money. 

So my question is, do any of you have this down to a fine science? If so, please, do tell. I need the abridged version to match my abridged sleeping these days.

Go Green

by bossychick~ Well if you didn't know, today is Earth Day. So, every show and business has some "Go Green" tips, to save energy and to make less waste.

To be more green, I have decided to put my 652 beach bags, to good use. Instead of accumulating tons and tons of plastic bags from the grocery( which, I recycle by the way) I am pledging to myself to put my beach bags in my vehicle and use those when I go to the store.

Here are a few good energy saving tips that I've heard:

-When doing laundry, dry loads back to back so your dryer doesn't lose the heat, and then have to consume more energy to regain that heat.

-also wash more loads in cold water rather than warm or hot, some companies make detergent just for cold water cleaning.

- fix any leaking faucets or toilets in your home, if you're thinking "oh, its only dripping, no big deal" well then put a bucket under it and see how fast it fills up and when you empty that bucket, imagine its your money going down the drain, because it is!

-use ceiling fans to help circulate the air in your home thus helpingyour ac/heating unit to run more efficiently, don't' have ceiling fans?, buy a freestanding oscillating fan.

-pay your bills online, it reduces paper mail

-buy your kids a chalk board to draw on, it costs less to produce chalk, than cutting trees for paper

-STOP THROWING AWAY PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES!!!!!!!! When people do this it annoys me, and yes I have been guilty of throwing away my fair share, they're very convenient, but I quit when one day I looked into my garbage can and it was full of plastic water bottles I had used to put into my kids lunch boxes that week. Did you know it takes 700 years for a water bottle to STARTdecomposing? Thats a long time.

So I challenge you to keep all of the plastic bottles you and your family use for one month, then after you see it physically in front of you, times that amount by all the families in the world. If you are like me you'll keep one per family member to wash and reuse, and recycle the rest!

I would like to end with saying I am by no means a "tree hugger" , but I am trying to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

So, tell me what are you doing to go green? Got any helpful Earth friendly tips?

That is all, You do what I say- Bossy