Fruit Harvest at Lot 31

Strawberries are coming in already and it's not even May! Here's the first bowl. The six I ate yesterday that didn't fill the bowl as I was too eager to sample to think of taking a picture. Looking forward to more in the coming weeks....

Hopefully we'll be getting back on the home improvement bandwagon soon, but just in case you thought we weren't doing anything. I wanted you to know we've been keeping busy. We've got swiss chard, lettuce and snow peas in the ground (as long as the squirrels don't uproot them looking for their nuts).

Januaray Projects and Goals for Lot 31

So, I'm trying to get some projects actually accomplished so perhaps at some point this year we'll have our two guest rooms actually furnished and acting in that role.

So for January these are the projects that we'll attempt to get checked off the list and help get us back into the mode of moving forward in the home improvements. These smaller projects have been waiting a while to be done and will buy me a little time to really decide on the upcoming projects.

January's DIY List:
Finish the Guest Bathroom:
Paint the small bath cabinet and hang (done 1/18)
Hang artwork that I purchased months ago (done 1/18)
Touch up a few spots on the walls
Replace Bath Rug

Living Room:
Paint the mirror (started)
Attach new hardware and hang

Office:
Convert closet to office (done 1/18) Will reveal in future post.
Get wireless network back up
Organize office

Master Bathroom:
Repair leaky toilet (this is Rennie's job, but I'll be there for moral support and runs to the hardware store)

My next dilemma is to finally make a decision on colors for the two guest bedrooms and our master bedroom suite. One of the guest bedrooms will someday, Lord providing, be a childs room so I want to keep that in mind. The other guest bedroom will also double as the craft room for any creative arts that I would like to explore (the possiblities are endless!). Our master bedroom will include a big closet reno, but on a serious DIY budget. Hopefully we'll have an efficient closet so that the only furniture we'll really need in our bedroom is a bed and sitting furniture for our personal quiet space.

Ukrops Double Coupon Wednesday!

I'm loving Ukrops double coupon Wednesday, however I do wish it wasn't limited to Wednesdays. Maybe someday not too far away that will happen, we know there are lots of changes in store for Ukrops and I'm hoping that's one of them.

So here's finally a picture of my sales stash for the week. It's not overflowing, but it was definitely a good value for my money. Here's the breakdown:

4 Cans Hanover Kidney Beans .66 ea (-1/4)
4 GM Cheerios 2.50 ea (-1 Savings Spot, -.55/1 IP x 4)
2 Halls Cough Drops .99 (-.50/1 IP x 2)
1 Chobani Greek Yogurt 1.00 (-1/1)
2 Yoplait Smoothie 2.50/ea (-1.50 Savings Spot, - 1/1 x 2)
4 Hormel Naturals Lunch Meat 80z 2.50 ea (-.75/1 x 4)
1 Steamfresh Mixed Veg 1.00 (-.50/1)
-.15 Bag Credit
Total OOP = 12.75
Total Savings = 17.40 or 57%

I will have to go back next Wednesday since they were out of the Johnsonville Sausages. They are 3.48 through 1/30 (I think) and with the internet printable from Hormel's website that makes is 2.38 a pack. Too bad I missed out on this .05 Bonus Fuelperks though!

Also another tip, stock on your vitamins. Ukrops has the Naturemade Vitamins 50% off combined with $1/1 coupons and Naturemade has a program to log their codes to collect points toward a $7/1 coupon. I think that is also good through the end of the month.

Hope that helps someone out!

Trying to maintain self-control in the name of saving money

Happy New Year! I've been missing here at Lot 31 lately, but I'm trying to get back onboard with what's going on over here.

2009 wrapped up way faster than I could have imagined and to boot January is approaching that half way point ALREADY! Time sure flies whether you're having fun or not. Work for me has been BUSY since the beginning of the year, which I hope is a good sign. It does unfortunately mean that I anticipate bringing some work home here to Lot 31. Oh well, I guess paying the bills is somewhat important and I couldn't get as many grocery deals either.

Of course I'm like many who start the year off with great intentions and high hopes for change for the good. I think that one of the most important changes that I need to make is to reign in getting all of these "super deals". Don't misunderstand me to say that I don't believe in stockpiling, because I do. My good intentions to save and get the best prices I think has gotten a little off course. Some things that I have to remind myself is that deal is only good if (a) I need it (b) it's budgeted and (c) I have my cash with me. I am so guilty of letting myself fall prey to the line in my head that this is a deal that is too good to miss because I will be saving so much money, right? WRONG! Mary Hunt wrote recently in her column that when you buy that good deal you only save money (truly save) if and only if you take the money that you didn't spend on that item and go put it into your savings account. In other words that money that I "saved" when I bought the super deal will just get spent somewhere else.

So this is the question I have to ask myself. Do I need/want more stuff? If the answer is yes then that's okay to get more stuff. My problem has been that I want a bigger savings account as we look to the future. So there's where I am drawing a line in the sand. Okay grocery budget I get the point now and I will listen and behave myself.

Have you had any revelations about the money you are spending or saving?

Inspiration

http://janeryanart.com/index.html
Check out this artist's website. I found her work very inspiring and thought you might like to see too.

A long day and some warm bread

After a long day it seemed fitting that I should relax with a nice cup of tea and a slice of warm Amish Friendship Bread that had cooled enough to be eaten. After all, I had gotten up early to go to the dentist that morning, put in eight hours at work, came home to help Rennie finish with dinner preparations, bake and separate the bread starters into new bags and then I went to the grocery store at 9:00pm. I had just gotten home from double coupon Wednesdays at Ukrops just before 10:00. My thanks to Ann for the coupon match-up and the bread starter.

I now interrupt today’s post for a brief commercial break…Ann a faithful Ukrops employee and shopper has really won me over to Ukrops now that they double coupons, have there CLP deals and pretty decent sales to boot. All of that combined with Ann sharing her match-up for the week on her blog http://annscrazyworld.blogspot.com/ has been wonderful for me since I really live within walking distance to Ukrops. Now if there was a nice sidewalk and a shopping buddy to help me schlep (sp?) all my bargains home I’d really walk to the grocery store. Check out her weekly deal match-ups, usually posted on Tuesday, if you like to shop Ukrops or if you want to save money but didn't think you could shopping at Ukrops, and now back to our story of the end to my day.

Rennie had helped put away most of the groceries and I was looking to the last few items. I had already flipped the bread out of the pans. One dirty pan was in the sink and the second was sitting on the front burner of the stove where Rennie had set it when he pulled it out of the oven to cool. I should have put both pans in the sink, but didn’t for some reason. Maybe I had thought it still needed to cool a bit more or I was just tired and not being logical or effiecient? I sliced off a piece of the bread and turned on the stove to warm some water for my tea. I then turned back to finish putting away my reusable grocery bags and checking over my receipt. A couple minutes and I started hearing a heat popping noise and an odd burning sort of smell. I thought that my new copper tea kettle must be getting broken in or something? I turned around to see the empty Pyrex loaf pan sitting on a red hot burner! All I could seem to say was “Oh no!” I said this several times as I tried to collect my thoughts quickly, turn off the burner, find a hot pad and move the hot loaf pan between the burners on the stove top. Of course my worried husband came into the kitchen after I was unable to tell him why I was saying “Oh no!” I met him walking into the kitchen as I was pushing him to get out of the kitchen. I said I thought that the pan might explode and to get out of the kitchen. I knew that Pyrex was not intended for use on a stovetop plus I had read those email forwards about Pyrex exploding when baking too. Sure enough not ten seconds or maybe it was even less than five seconds after I said my warning the pan exploded.

Fortunately, no one was hurt. Lesson one I learned is do not put anything on the stove burner unless it really belongs there. Lesson two I learned is double or triple check to make sure that you have turned on the correct burner. Lesson three is that email you read about the possibility of Pyrex exploding is very possible. I don’t believe I’ll be replacing my Pyrex loaf pan. Maybe lesson four should be don't try to bake past 9pm lest you're too tired and have a kitchen disaster.

So, after getting the cleanup completed I had to throw away one loaf of the bread because it was right next to the explosion and I didn't want to take that chance. Fortunately though I've got plenty of starter. I offered my hubby some bread, but he didn’t want any. Then he asked if I would now have my cup of tea. I said no and that I didn’t want it anymore. Oh well not such a relaxing end to my day.

Keep learning to save

Even though I've been doing the coupon thing for quite a while I'm still learning. Just like anything else you have to keep up with the changes. I love to share with my coupon buddies what I'm learning. After all that's how I even managed to get this far with the couponing bit.

What I learned this week.

Ukrops:
They will double coupons that are barcoded started with the number 5. Even if the coupon states not subject to double/triple. If it scans right the first time, then you should be fine.

The revised fuelperks format requiring a $50 purchase to earn a .05 discount/gallon is based on your out of pocket cost. (This is different from Kroger where you coupon value including the doubled amount counts towards your fuel savings).

Always scan your card at the Savings Spot for in-store same day savings. A couple of weeks ago I scored Bosc Pears for .49/lb.

Check out my friend Ann's blog http://annscrazyworld.blogspot.com/. She's been so kind to share her Ukrops coupon matchups. This has been helping me make it to Ukrops which I love since it's so close to my house that I could walk if there was a better pedestrian route--maybe someday. Wouldn't that be great if I could get some added excercise benefit, save on gas and save money on groceries too? I'll be the lady walking by the side of the road with my personal grocery tote, don't run me over please.

Kroger:
If you're getting ready for holiday baking or just bake regularly there is a catalina deal for Fleischman's yeast.

9/7/09 to 11/29/09 Buy any Fleischman's yeast strip and get .50 off a future order with coupon. But any Fleischman's yeast jar and $1.00 off a future order with coupon. I checked it out the other day and the yeast is either 1.56-1.59 for the 3 pack strip combine with .40/1 and that makes for some super cheap yeast. Net cost is max .29 after the catalina is accounted!!! What I don't yet know is if you can buy multiple packs all in one transaction or if you max out with a certain number of packets in your transaction. If it's like last year's deal there is no limit.

Any store:
ALWAYS no matter what take your entire coupon notebook where ever you go, at the least take keep it in the car so you can run back in. You don't want to kick yourself when you see a super deal that you know you have coupon for somewhere else. Last night when I went to Ukrops for double coupons I missed out on free Betty Crocker Whipped Frosting on sale for .99 each. I had just printed several .50/1 IP's earlier that evening. Oh well.

DON'T FORGET to make sure your get your bag credit. I seem to forget rather frequently and I am usually too done and/or too embarassed to ask for my .10, .15, .20, etc bag credit at the service desk.

Have you learned any tricks to the game lately? Please do share.