Want to save more of this?

I’ve found a great resource for organic coupons!

There are coupons for food and also for body care.  Just click the coupon to add it to your print page, click print on your computer and save lots of money at the store!

I’ve had quite a few people ask me, “What is Etsy?”, so when I came across this video I was excited to get to show it to you all!

Thanks Sara of http://walkslowlylivewildly.com

I’ve been hearing a lot about using coupons to save money.  However, when eating natural foods, coupons can be hard to come by!

After looking in the usual places like the Sunday paper and online coupon sites, try Ebay. You can search for “organic coupons” and you’ll be surprised at what you find!  (You are paying them to “clip and ship” your coupons.)  I’ve bought 20 $1.00 off coupons for as little as $2.50.  I’m buying these products anyway…so I’m saving a lot of cash!

One of the best ways to find healthy and inexpensive food is to shop the edges of the store. After that, quickly go into the middle aisles for pantry staples.  For foods like rice, beans, grains and spices, see if you can buy them in bulk.

Here’s what I bought on my last grocery trip…the total was $179.36.  I think I did pretty well, since about 80% of these things are organic.  These groceries, combined with food from the pantry and freezer, will feed us for about two weeks.

When you shop, look around for the mark-down areas. This week I found salad, artisan bread and milk on clearance; everything was in perfect shape and still in date.

I’m going to try making yogurt, for the first time, with the milk I bought.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

This is what works for me, but how do you save money on your groceries?  Have you found any money saving blogs?  Please share what you know so we can all feed our families frugally!

For further reading look at these posts:

Top 100 Blogs for the Frugal Gourmet

The Nutrients You Need

S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Food Budget

As women the task of grocery shopping is usually ours.  Whether you love to get out and shop or just don’t like the thought of starving, we have to buy food! With all the effort that goes into getting meals onto your family’s table, let’s make your hard work count.
No matter how often you shop there are a few things you can do to make shopping easier and more pleasant.

Here are my top 8 tips:

• Have a list!  If you don’t you will probably be wandering about the store buying everything BUT what you need.
• Use coupons. It may seem like a small amount, but over time it will add up. Just don’t succumb to manufactures ads and buy things you won’t use.
• For the healthiest shopping stick to the outside edges of the store, venturing into the interior aisles for pantry staples.
  Cook from scratch as much as possible.  If you use prepared meals you’ll trade the time saved for your hard earned money, in addition to not giving your family the best nutrition possible.
• If having a daily menu plan seems too confining, at least write down about a weeks worth of dinner plans.  Buy the things needed to make the meals and then look at your list and see what sounds good to fix that day.
• Try to eat before you shop and if you have children feed them too.  There are few things as tiring as a whining child. And if you’re not hungry you’ll be less tempted to buy junk food and it will be easier to stick to your list.
• Don’t be brand loyal.  The store brands are usually just as good as the national brands and cost a lot less.
• Are you concerned about the pesticides on fruit and veggies? But, buying organic isn’t in your budget?  Try a fruit and veggie wash product to make your produce healthier.
• When you see hamburger or chicken on sale try to buy extra and freeze it to use later.

Above all pray and ask the Lord to show you the best deals to bless your precious family.

I’d like to tell you about a wonderful Etsy artist named Hannah.  (I go to church with Hannah and her mom Teresa; they are some of the sweetest gals I know.) She has just updated her Etsy shop with something very special–vintage button bracelets.

When I asked Hannah why she makes these bracelets she said,

“I love to make things, especially things that will be special to someone else. They are my great-grandmother’s (Mammy, as I called her) buttons.  Since she passed, my grandmother has a huge container full of her buttons that she let me use.  It is so special to my mom and the rest of our family to be able to wear something that was hers on our wrists.    I really enjoy making them and if someone would want a bracelet made with their heirloom buttons I would gladly do it.”

So, do you have any buttons from your family or children’s clothing you’d like to make into a memory bracelet? Just let Hannah know (contact her at her Etsy shop), she’s friendly and easy to work with.  I know that you will treasure what she creates especially for you!

Go say hi and check out Hannah’s new Etsy listings!

(You won’t want to miss the hilarious video coming tomorrow.  For those who have um..bladder control issues when laughing, you better be ready!)

I promised some frugal tips and so here is my find of the month.
Yall!   You’ll be so surprised to see what happened at to me at DSW.

Don’t be mad, you can find great deals too!

(I pray and ask the Lord to help me find great deals to use our money wisely.  He is always so faithful to help me!)

I had a $10 coupon DSW sent me.  (Sign up for a free membership to get coupons and other perks.)

So…time to buy some shoes!

This is what I found on the sale rack:

Do you see the $2.16 ?  That’s what I paid for a NEW pair of heels! I think this is the best deal I’ve ever found on shoes.  They almost paid me to take them home!  Whoo Hoo!  Happy, happy day!

What was your favorite bargain you found lately?  Do tell!

( P.S.  Be sure to stop by on Monday.  I have a great tutorial in the works!)