Powdered Milk

I always thought powdered milk was a frugal choice. I had a huge box of it and always used it when I ran out of milk, but I finally ran out of it. I decided to buy some this week. I bought it from the bulk foods section at Winco, which is usually the cheapest place to pick up a lot of things (like spices and cream of tartar!).

It was $3.39 per pound, so I got just over a pound and it was $4.17. Many times I can get a gallon of milk for between $2.00 and $2.75 so I thought if I could make 2 gallons of milk with the powdered milk I bought it would be comparable.

I just measured what I got and it was exactly six cups of powdered milk, which will make 18 cups, so just over a gallon. If I pay $2.75 for a gallon of milk it is about $.17 per cup. The powdered milk I just purchased was $.23 per cup!

Lesson learned, I will not purchase powdered milk unless I can get it for less than $2.50 per pound (which makes it about $.17 per cup).

That is my perspective - however I know that milk is more expensive in different parts of the country. I had a reader tell me their milk is close to $4.00 per gallon. Be sure to do the math to determine if powdered milk is a good deal for you!

Overbudget...

I'll have to admit I am new to this whole budgeting thing. I had to get some stuff from Albertson's today with my $15.00 catalinas and I ended up spending $23.81 (after the catalinas and other coupons)! Everything I got was a great deal and I will use it, but where to draw the line? I am making a goal right now to only spend $25.00 for the rest of the month. I just have to quit picking up all the good deals. I think it is a sickness. My stockpile is overflowing. At least I didn't buy more Hamburger Helper, although it did cross my mind :). Ahhhh!

I obviously need to make some changes so, my plan for December is to make the switch to $$cash$$ only for my grocery shopping and I will leave my debit card at home (I promise)!

But here is the reality - even though I have a blog about saving money, I am not perfect at it. That isn't why I started SavingSomeGreen. This is a journey for me. I am learning right along with you. The point of this whole frugal adventure (at least for me) is to live within our means by saving on many of our expenses and doing it in creative ways (like coupons and rebates etc.). If I am over budget a few times, it is not the end of the world. I just have to work on getting better the next time!

Now, time to share the love. I would love to hear from all of you - what are some of your struggles with your frugal lifestyle or getting started with couponing saving money. What are some things you are working on?

Getting a good deal????

I had an interesting conversation with my sister-in-law this week regarding coupons. She said her husband's philosophy is that using coupons makes you buy things that you wouldn't normally buy. She also went on to describe some people that she knew who "got a great deal" on Hot Pockets and purchased so many that they were eating them every day for every meal and getting sick of them (gross!). That doesn't sound like a great deal to me!

I think that many people who coupon do it for the right reason...to save money. I think there are those out there who are purchasing stuff they don't normally use in order to get that "great" deal. I have done this a lot of times in the heat of the moment - like the PUR water pitcher I got at Walgreen's last week. Yes, it was $7.49, which was a decent deal - but we have been drinking tap water FOREVER and it tastes fine! Ugh! That is $7.49 that I should be using somewhere in my grocery budget!

Also, I am an advocate of building a stockpile - but not a stockpile of things that you will never eat/use. For example, I have about 25 boxes of Hamburger/Tuna/Chicken helper that I got for about $.75 per box. This might make some families sick! My family loves this and I make it at least once per week. I will use this so this is a good deal. The yogurt that I stockpiled a few weeks ago (I bought 40!) that I just threw away because they were out of date - that was not a good deal, poor planning on my part - even though my husband has has one in his lunch almost every day!

My point in this whole rant is that when you are getting great deals and building your stockpile - buy what you will use and figure out a way to rotate it - don't eat Hot Pockets every day so that you can make room in your freezer. Buy smart, so you are not throwing your money in the toilet!

Yikes! My (HUGE) grocery mistakes...

I have always considered myself to be a frugal person. I felt as if I never wasted money and was doing "the best I could." That was when I started to read books about saving money, spending less, budgeting, etc. What an eye opener! I just recently started using coupons. I knew about the possibilities in the past and I had used them some in the past, but never to their full potential - and I know I am not now. I was inspired by reading Money Saving Mom and decided this would be a fun hobby. Of course now I am addicted to getting a great deal - even the best deal possible - free or with overages. I have had a few decent success stories. I decided that I would (and could) start spending much less on groceries. Crystal from Money Saving Mom spends $35-$40 per week on her family of 4. Because I am also a family of 4 I decided to try. I looked back at my grocery spending (I use Quicken) and gasped - for the past year this is what I have spent on groceries:

August '07 - $563.91
September '07 - $610.53
October '07 - $634.52
November '07 - $559.33
December '07 - $114.65 (great month!)
January '08 - $457.67
February '08 - $499.57
March '08 - $582.95
April '08 - $559.81
May '08 - $666.50
June '08 - $989.16 (YIKES!!!!)
July '08 - $443.36
August '08 - $211.21

Overall total for the past 12 months - $6,893.17!!!! I have been throwing our money down the toilet!

I do have to mention that those prices included all household products, baby formula, and diapers for 2 kids - but still! This is ridiculous. The numbers speak for themselves. So now, my current goal is $60.00/week, which is kind of high from what I've seen on other blogs (see my link list), but I have to start somewhere. So, my frugal journey has begun - thanks for being here for the ride!