Five Tips to Help You Save $$$ on Produce....

Morning lovelies! Today we are talking about produce. It is something we all buy. Every time we go grocery shopping we usually have some type of produce on our shopping list, so today I am sharing 5 of my top tips for saving money on produce. These are the very same tips and tricks I use to save my family money and keep us eating healthy all month long. 

Here we go....

1) Shop Your Store Flyers- Look specifically at the first two pages of your store sale flyer. That is where grocery stores lists what produce is on sale. It is also where their top sale items are usually listed. They do this to entice us. They real us in with those grapes on sale and hope that we will continue turning the pages and find more items we have to bring home. Use produce as a base for most of your meals. By making produce the foundation you will save money because you are not so focused on the meat part of the meal, which usually costs twice as much. Some favorites of ours are eggplant Parmesan, stuffed mushrooms, and baked potatoes. In these meals produce is the hero and that helps keep food costs down. It's good for you too! 

2) Do The Math- Anytime you are shopping, you need to do the math to see if you are getting a good deal or not. A lot of times you can find produce in bags or sold individually. Do not assume that just because you are buying something in bulk, you are saving money. Compare the difference between the price per pound and the price per bag. It really makes a difference. 

3) Frozen is Not Always Cheaper- I know that a lot of times we may feel like the frozen option is always cheaper when it comes to our fruits and veggies. Frozen fruits and veggies are great time savers and can also allow us to create a stock pile of fruits and veggies to use when we are going through leaner times. The one thing to remember is that it is not always cheaper to buy frozen produce. I always compare the prices. I try to keep a price book, with the prices I like to pay for certain items. This allows me to know the rock bottom prices I want to pay. When I see fresh strawberries on sale for less than $1.50, I know I can stock up and freeze these. Buying them fresh and freezing them is much cheaper than buying a big bag of frozen fruit. When I find produce at these low prices I try to buy enough to last us for a few weeks or a month or so...depending on the room I have in the freezer.

Be smart when you are shoping and always compare the prices. When veggies go on sale for less than I could buy fresh, I stock up. Also frozen produce is flash frozen, meaning it keeps it's nutrients. I love having a freeze stocked of produce. It makes this mama happy :)

4) Don't Let Food Go To Waste- One of the biggest ways money is wasted on groceries is through food waste. When produce is bought, shoved into the fridge, and not eaten..it ends up going wasted and thrown out. You wouldn't throw $20 in the trash right? We just wouldn't! That would be crazy. Well, don't do it in food form either. When you bring produce home, chop and wash any produce you have. You have to make the healthy option the most convenient one. Making it easy to grab, will allow you to not only cut down on food waste, but your family will be eating better too! 

5) Join a Produce Co-Op- One way that we REALLY save on produce is by participating in Bountiful Baskets. It is a great way to get a lot of produce without spending a lot of money. Here is a sample haul from my archives to give you an idea of the amount you can get. Once I get my basket, I meal plan off of whatever came in my basket. I make produce the hero and pull items form my pantry staple list to make healthy, yummy meals for my family.  Check out what food co-ops are available in your area. Ask around. I know that their are similar things to Bountiful Baskets in different areas of the country. If you know of some, leave it in the comments below. You could also check out your local farmer's market, but make sure to compare prices, so you get the best possible deal. 

So there you have it lovelies....five simple ways we are stretching our grocery budget by making sure that we are not spending a fortune on produce. You can eat a healthy diet, without blowing your grocery budget. Get creative and stay on budget. 

You got this!

XO Danielle

#ExtraCreditWeek with Schoola -- save $$ on your kids clothes :)

Hi lovelies! I wanted to hop on here real quick and share a few extra savings with you. Remember a few weeks ago I talked about Schoola? Schoola is an online gently used kids’ clothing retailer. All the clothes they sell are donated by parents, and the best part is that $2 out of every $5 spent on Schoola goes right back to schools! This money is then used to help support PE, music, and Arts programs.

I loved being able to share all the free stuff I was able to score with the $15 credit you get when you sign up. Well I recently found out they are having Extra Credit week, where you can raise more money for your local elementary school. Cool right?

You can shop till THIS Sunday (April 5), to get an extra 10% donation to the shopper's school in addition 40% always goes to the donor's school. By simply shopping, you could put more paint brushes, basketballs, and violins into the hands of children. I love that!!

Simply enter your school's name at checkout to give 10% of your purchase to the school of your choice. I love being able to shop with an extra purpose. It makes this mama's heart happy :)

So check out what your munchkins need for this upcoming spring/summer season and get your shop on. I have ordered twice from Schoola and have loved every piece we got. Every gently used item was in AMAZING condition and the shipping was supper fast! You can see one of Miss Priss's outfits here we scored for under $8 here. Awesome-sauce!!

Happy Shopping!

XO Danielle

How to Save $$$ With a Thanksgiving Turkey...

Hi there lovelies! Today I wanted to hop on here real quick and share a few quick tips on how you can save money with your Thanksgiving Turkey. Whether you are cooking a turkey yourself or going to someone's house for dinner, there are things you can do that will save your family money this month!

Right now a lot of grocery stores are having deals, where if you spend a certain amount of money, you will get a free turkey. I have already planned and shopped for this month, and I was able to score two FREE turkeys. One we will use for Thanksgiving and the other we are cooking this weekend. Turkeys have a lot of meat on them and can be very beneficial if cooked, bagged, and then frozen for later use. We do this each holiday season and we end up with cooked turkey in our freezer that lasts for months! It is so nice to be able to pull a bag of cooked turkey  out of the freezer to throw into soups, casseroles, and various dishes. Having half the work already out of the way, since it is cooked, saves me so much time! I don't know about you, but this Mama is all about saving myself some time in the kitchen. You do a little bit more work now, so you don't have to do as much work later.

To get my free turkeys, I planned out my grocery trips as normal. I wanted to score a free turkey, but I didn't want to buy stuff I wouldn't normally. Two grocery stores are having the turkey deal in my area. If you spent $100 or more, you got a free turkey, up to 20 pounds. I checked out their store ads and I was able to plan my trips, so that at each store I spent $100 of my grocery budget. Two grocery stores and $245 dollars later, I had two FREE turkeys, totaling a saved cost of over $40! Each turkey was over 15 pounds and each costs over $20. That is a lot of savings in the meat department, which will help my family in the new year.

When digging through the pile of turkeys, I always try to get the biggest bang for my buck. Since I am getting the turkey for FREE, I try to get as close to the highest weight mark as I can. My two turkeys are 15.99 lbs and 19.89 lbs. These will be great to cook this holiday season!

When I cook the turkeys, I love to cook them in an oven bag (they cook faster this way). We also have a regular turkey dinner the first night I make it. Once the meat is cooled, we pull as much meat from the bones as we can. I bag them in one cup portions of shredded meat. Make sure you label and date your bags as well. Don't throw out the bones though! You can save them for homemade turkey broth later on! I plan to can my broth this year, since my freezer is already full with chicken broth.

So take advantage of this awesome time of year and plan your trips, so that you too can stock that freezer with some yummy turkey goodness! Woot! Woot!

Have a wonderful day lovelies!!

XO Danielle

Video Tutorial: Price Match at Wal-Mart and SAVE!

Good morning lovelies! I am so excited this morning y'all! Why am I so excited? Well first off, it is Friday! Can I get a woot woot?! Fridays are the best! We do a shorter day of school and then we go and do some kind of fun activity. Today we are going on a hike with our homeschool group. I am not usually an outdoorsy kind of gal, but today I am all in for a fun hike in the outdoors. The weather is beautiful outside, with lower temperatures (hallelujah! Summer is finally leaving this desert I live in!) Second, I am trying out a new recipe for dinner tonight. I'll have to share if it turns out great. Third, Hubby and I just finished season 4 of The Walking Dead....Oh my heck peeps. It is A-MAZING! Seriously! If you are into zombies...or just into really great, sitting on the edge of your seat story lines than try this show. Seriously people!! It has me constantly shocked and wanting more! Oh and last but not least.....I am excited because I have a new video today! Two videos in the past week...I need to give myself a pat on the back. I am staying on top of things this week :) I have a few more videos on the "to edit" list too......Oh and I filmed a bit of the info I shared at my budgeting class. I can't wait to share it with you all.

Today though, I have a video on price matching at Wal-Mart. Have you all tried it? It is a great way to save money, without spending all your time clipping coupons. You can also do both and save even more money! That is what I do! So check out my new video and share it with your friends. I love it when you all do that ::wink wink::

Find more frugal videos HERE.

Have a great Friday Lovelies!! To see pics from our hike, check me out on instagram.

XO Danielle


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Saving Tidbit #2- Using Muffin Tins

Hey there lovelies! I have a new fun series for the blog...savings tidbits. This is a way for us all to share the little ways we save pennies for our families. Those pennies add up to dollars, which means more money in your wallet. So I will share my tips and tricks, while you all share yours in the comments. Each week I will add more savings tidbits and include your tips and tricks as well! Lets uplift and inspire each other to live more frugally and on a budget!

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I love finding more uses for things I have around my house. Did you know muffin tins can be used for more than just baking cupcakes and muffins? Fill those muffin cups with water and freeze. You will then have large size ice cubes for your next BBQ, whether it is in a cooler or punch bowl, you will be keeping your drinks cold. You can also invert your tin to hold tacos, while you fill them. Have a sick munchkin? Use your muffin tin to bring your nugget lunch in bed. The muffin cups are perfect single portion size for peas, mashed potatoes, and other foods. You can also make individual meatloaves and casseroles! OH and we can't forget they're great for holding bath tub finger paints! These are just a few uses for those muffin tins in your cabinet. What other creative ways do you use muffin tins in your house? Leave your tips and tricks in the comments below.

XO Danielle

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Savings Tidbit #1 - Those Pesky Plastic Grocery Bags

Hey there lovelies! I have a new fun series for the blog...savings tidbits. This is a way for us all to share the little ways we save pennies for our families. Those pennies add up to dollars, which means more money in your wallet. So I will share my tips and tricks, while you all share yours in the comments. Each week I will add more savings tidbits and include your tips and tricks as well! Lets uplift and inspire each other to live more frugally and on a budget!

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We all have them right? Those plastic grocery bags. I like to use reusable bags, but I always end up having quite a supply of those plastic grocery bags. Yes, you could just recycle them, but what if you could find some uses for them around your own home? Plastic bags can be used for all sorts of things. You can use them to stuff cushions in outside chairs. When the cushions flatten out, open the back and add some more bags. They can also be used to put in bathroom wastebaskets or even in the car, so you always have a trash bag handy. I always have something that needs to be thrown away in the car. Having plastic bags stashed in there, keeps my pile up of trash to a minimum. One other way to use those bags, is to stash one in your pocket when you go out to walk the dog. They're perfect for cleaning up after Rover's potty time. These are just a few of the many ways you can reuse plastic grocery bags. Now I want to know how you use them. Leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

XO Danielle

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