Stockpile Recipes ~ Breakfast

If you have a stockpile and need ideas on what to do, here are some breakfast ideas.

CEREAL
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Indoor S’mores

8 cups Golden Grahams cereal
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
¼ cup light corn syrup
5 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup miniature marshmallows (if desired)


Butter rectangular pan, 13X9X2 inches. Measure cereal into large bowl. Heat 5 cups marshmallows, the chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal in bowl; quickly toss until evenly coated. Stir in 1 cup marshmallows.

Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies

(1) Cup White Karo Syrup
(1) Cup Sugar
(1) Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
(6) Cups Cornflakes (plain)

Heat syrup and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over and mix w/ corn flakes until covered and then drop by the spoonful on wax paper or foil.

No Bake Cereal Bars

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups toasted oat cereal
2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups dry-roasted peanuts
2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, toss together the toasted oat cereal, rice cereal, peanuts and chocolate pieces; set aside. Grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the corn syrup and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and quickly stir into the peanut butter and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the cereal mixture and mix well. Press into the prepared pan. Let stand until set. Cut into bars and serve.


Cheerio Treats

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups cheerios

In large saucepan, mix and bring to boil corn syrup and sugar. Continue boiling for one minute beyond the sugar dissolving. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and cheerios. Drop by spoonfuls on well greased cookie sheets or on waxed paper.

Cheerios Breakfast Bars

Ingredients

1¼ (300 mL) cups sugar
½ cup (125 mL) butter or margarine, softened
½ cup (125 mL) peanut butter
¼ cup (50 mL) water
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla
1 Egg
1 ½ cups (375 mL) all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 cup (250 mL) old fashioned or quick cooking oats
1 cup (250 mL) raisins
½ tsp (2 mL) each salt and baking soda
4 cups (1 L) Cheerios® cereal
Directions

Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Stir together sugar, butter, peanut butter, water, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients except cereal. Gently stir in cereal.

Pour into ungreased 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan.

Bake 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Cut into bars.


PANCAKES
If you have a great amount of pancake mix, here are some ideas on what to put in the pancakes.

Mashed Bananas
Chocolate Chips
Butterscotch Chips
Blueberries
Apple Pie Filling
Almonds/Granola

Coupons Coming Out on Sunday

You can see a preview of the coupons that are coming out each Sunday by clicking here: http://www.taylortownpreview.com/index.htm

Coupons are usually up by late Wednesday

Couponing FAQ

Here are some common questions about coupons:

How many coupons can I use for an item?
Only one manufacturer coupon per item, even if they are different coupons. Now, if a store offers coupons such as Target, you can use a Target coupon AND a manufacturer coupon on one item, as long as it does not bring the item total lower than zero.

How can I tell if it is a manufacturers coupon or a store issued coupon?
If you look on the top of your coupon, you will see a box split into two parts. One is the expiration and the other is the type of coupon. It will say either the store's name or manufacturers coupon.

Double coupons, what does that mean?

Double coupons means the value on the coupon will double at certain stores. Check with your local store to see if they double coupons. Stores in AZ that double are:

• Bashas
• Frys
• Safeway

Some stores will do triple coupon promotions, usually around the holidays. Some coupons state do not double, you take the chance of it doubling because sometimes it does double through the computer, sometimes not. You can tell if it will double by seeing if it states do not double, or looking at the coupon number. If it starts with a 5, it will usually double.

Where do I get coupons for the grocery store?
Usually the coupons come in your local Sunday Paper.

If I have multiple coupons, can I still buy multiple items?
Usually stores put a limit on three like coupons per transaction, after that the coupon comes off at face value. If a store does not double coupons, there is no limit. However, check with your store for their coupon policy.

Stockpiling ~ Take Advantage Of This Low Cost Investment

Stockpiling is something I have been practicing for nearly a year now, so this is not new to me. However, I have been hearing recent buzz about news reports on why people should start stockpiling food. I decided to use my good ole friend google to find out what the AP has been saying. I was quite shocked to see how many articles have come out in the recent weeks regarding this topic, including one from Wall Street : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120881517227532621.html

With the way the economy is going, it's probably a wise choice to stockpile because you know everything is going up in price. Think about the truckers that take the food to the stores, thier gas prices have gone up significantly, so in turn, their prices go up, then in that turn, the sellers raise their prices. It's the domino effect, once one price goes up, everything goes up. Not only are prices rising, people are being laid off. Stockpiling is a wise investment just incase something happens that you are not counting on in the future.

Now, I am not one for believing that Armageddon is knocking on the door and we need to go out and buy canned foods and run to a bomb shelter. However, I am a firm believer in saving my pennies so when I find something that is a great deal, I stock pile it. Coupons are a great resource in helping with this. For example, if Aquafresh is on sale for 1.00, and we have coupons for 1.00 off, that makes them of course, FREE! So when I know that something will be on sale like that, I will scope out my coupons and check ebay for a lot of those coupons. The main benefit to stockpiling is you never know when that item will be on sale again, especially when you need it. Now say you have 5 toothpastes that you got for free or for under a buk, isn't that better than going out and buying it whenever you need it, and maybe its not on sale or there isn't a coupon? Toothpaste is more than three bucks, free sounds a lot better to me!!

Here are a few things I stockpile:

NONFOOD:

• Razors
• Toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Shampoo/conditioner
• Soap
• Laundry detergent
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper

FOOD:

• Pasta
• Rice
• Canned Food
• Cereal
• Snacks

Basically, if its nearly free and non perishable, I stockpile it. Now some people freeze milk, but I have never done this but I have heard it can be done. Especially with the rise of milk prices, it may be worth a shot.

The main inconveinence of stockpiling is space. If you live in a small living space, its harder to stockpile. So if you decide to, you will need to organize it. If your stockpile is just getting overwhelming, there are many shelters and food banks that would be happy to take your overflow off your hands.

Grocery Store Tips Pt. 1

I consider myself to be a money saving expert and I believe I have gotten grocery shopping down. Here are a few of my favorite tips:

• Create a List ~ Scope out the ads and either circle the items in the ad you need, or make a list. Here is a great tip, create a list on a back of an envelope. Inside the envelope, place your coupons that you will be using for that shoppin trip.
• Never buy an item because it's on sale ~ Just because you see something on sale, doesnt make it a great deal. Keep your eye out on the ads and stock up on what you usually use when it's a great deal. What is a great deal? When its at least 40 percent off and of course higher with a coupon.
• Create a "Never Pay More List" ~ Start a journal of what you think the best prices are and where you get them at. Say, a gallon of milk is $1.99 at it's best price so you would put that down on your list. Break it out into sections such as dairy, meats, etc. Once you do frugal gorcery shopping for at least 2 months, you will no longer need that list as you can store it all in your money saving mind =D
• Shop Monday Mornings ~ I think this is the best day to shop because usually, stores stock late Sunday night. Plus, they go through their inventory and this is when the markdowns happen. The best place to look is in the dairy section for these deals. I've gotten gogurts for .25cents a box (plus a coupon that made them free), Eggs for .50 cents a carton, milk for under a dollar, and juice for 1.00. They mark these down because they have just stocked the new inventory and they need to get these older ones out. Usually they dont expire for at least a week and dairy in my house goes pretty darn fast!
• Be Prepared When Shopping With a Child ~ It is easy to get distracted or frustrated when you are shopping with a little one. Bring a book, snacks, toys, etc to keep them occupied. My kids help me by looking for the item that is listed on the coupon and we play games such as I Spy. This keeps them from being bored and it keeps mommy sane!
• Make Sure The Deal is Worth It ~ I am fortunate enough to live within two miles of all the large grocery stores. However, if there is something on sale at a store that is not by you, make sure it is not costing you more in gas to get there than you would be saving.
• Read the Fine Print ~ Sometimes ads can be tricky with the way they word things. If something says buy 10 for $10.00, make sure it says must buy 10. If it doesnt, it usually means that you dont have to buy 10 items to get the deal. Also read the limits in the ad, they love to put this in smaller print so you will be more apt to buying additinal items at regular cost.
• Bring in Reusable Bags ~ Most grocery stores will give you a discount for using grocery bags that are reusable, plus they are great for the enviornment!

**Coupons**

You either get excited or you cringe when you hear that word. You should be excited and I'll explain why.

Here are the pros to coupons:
It's free money!!!

The Cons:
Time and effort to cut and maintain the coupon organizers.
A lot of coupons might not be what you would buy.

Here are some tips to help sway you to use coupons:

If you hate cutting coupons, you can pay your child (if old enough) to do this for you. My daughter loves doing it and all I have to do is organize them.

EBAY! Yes, go look on ebay for coupons that you can use. These will save you on purchasing a paper and it will save you time. There are different ways to search for coupons, type in the following according to what you are looking for:

• Coupon Lot
• Baby Coupons Lot
• Food Only Coupons
• or type in a product I.E. French's Mustard Coupons. You can usually find some lots of one item for pretty cheap. When you know something will be free that week(with coupon), go Wednesday onto Ebay to ensure you will get the coupons before the sale expires.

Wan't multiple coupons but don't want to pay for them? Go to your neighbors and family that you know will not use their coupons and ask them to save them for you. I get 4 sets of coupons a week and never buy a paper. It never hurts to ask!

Even if you have a coupon for something you wouldnt normally buy, go ahead and file it in your organizer anyways. You never know when you can find this item free with coupon, that way if you don't like the item, all you wasted was the tax.

My top tips for using coupons:

• Just because you have a coupon for it, doesnt mean it's a good deal. My rule of thumb is it must be over 50% off with coupon or I will not buy it.
• Stockpile ~ If you find something on sale that is a great deal and that you will use a lot of, find that coupon lot on Ebay and stock up on them so you will have them and won't risk them not being on sale again.
• Two coupon organizers ~ I use two coupon organizers, one for food items and one for non food items. They are plastic and fit nicely in my purse. Others use envelopes, tackleboxes, and ziploc bags. Whatever is easier for you, I like to keep mine organized.
• Check the ads before leaving the house. If you put the coupons you know you are going to use in one envelope, it makes it really easy to stick to your list and it saves a LOT of time.
• Never leave home without them! You can use coupons from places like Walmart to the grocery store to Walgreens. You never know when you will find some unadvertised deals.
• Check out the clearance items, this way you will get more bang for your buck if they are clearancing out something that you have a coupon for. This is especially valuable for the health and beauty items.
  

Internet Coupons: Internet coupons are free and can really help when something is on sale for the week. Now every store's policy is different on what they accept but many stores will accept internet coupons. My top sites for internet coupons:

• www.coupons.com
• www.boodle.com
• www.smartsource.com
• www.bettycrocker.com
• www.redplum.com

Most sites will allow you to print two of each coupon, please don't abuse this sytem! Do not try and copy your coupons that you have printed.

It will take a little while for you to notice how much you love coupons but once you start getting the hang of how to use them efficiently, you will be hooked! Like I said, it's free money and when you see at the bottom of the bill that you are saving 60%, 70% and even 90% yes I have saved that much MULTIPLE times at the store, you will actually look forward to grocery shopping!

What Is A Frugal Mom?

A frugal mom is of course a mom, but a mom who chooses to spend her family's money wisely. It's not just a decision, its a way of life that the moms practice every single day. Every decision that mom makes, is a decision based on frugality.

Frugal moms are all types of moms from stay at home moms, to single moms, to work out of the home moms. Some moms don't understand what it means to be frugal, or even how to be frugal. It can me anything from clipping coupons to creating a budget. Any mom can be frugal, they just need to know how. It is all about saving money, and using money wisely.

In this blog, I am going to share with you my tips for living as a frugal mom ~ Enjoy!