[jb829]

Haven't posted here in a long time, but I've been reading on and off. One reason for not being here was computer problems about two months ago, and when I got the 'puter back, I couldn't post on familycorner.com, had to go in and change my cookies. So it's nice to be back.

Congratulations to Joe'sBaby! Hope you have many, many more long and happy years together, and also that you have many more posts here, lol.

I don't even look at coupons anymore. The only two stores that they'd be worth my time are Kroger and Publix, and I will not shop at either one unless I need a *specialty* item, usually one of the soy products I use. We do our grocery shopping at either Aldi's or Food Depot, and don't really need coupons at either place. Both of them use the store or *off* brands, at much cheaper prices than I could get national brands, even with coupons. I have learned thru trial and error that the majority of store/off brands are as good as, if not better than, the national brands. Food Depot will take coupons on the national brands, but they won't double them, and I don't know if Aldi's will take coupons at all. Most of our paper and cleaning supplies come from either the Dollar Tree or Fred's...again, no coupons. Considering the fact that we usually eat for less than $150 a month, I'm satisfied. And, I agree with y'all: the buy three get 50¢...or whatever...off just isn't worth clipping most of the time. Neither are the so-called store sales that require you to buy another $10 of goods to take advantage of the sale...unless I was going to buy the product anyway, at that particular store.

Last week I was decidedly unfrugal at the grocery store...and it just happened to be Kroger, lol...I went in for my soy-based ice cream, and spent almost $40. Yikes! That same $40 at Food Depot or Aldi's would've fed us for over two weeks! Anyway, I splurged and bought two lamb chops for $9.01!!!!! BUT! I have turned two chops into three meals, and there's still enough leftovers to have a fourth one, ta-da. So I feel I got my money's worth, and enjoyed tasting lamb again after not having any for over at least five years. The first meal was, of course, just the chops and 'taters and a vegetable. The next meal, and the leftovers, I turned into a lentil/lamb stew...excellent, absolutely excellent!!! Once we eat the stew...for the third time, lol...again, it will turn the $9 chops into a $2.25 meal for the two of us...I can live with that!!

And I did something quite frugal today...very proud of myself for thinking about it, too, btw. A LONG time ago, we had a discussion here about homemade laundry soap, and I bought the Borax and the Arm and Hammer washing soda to make it...turned out it gave Dearly Beloved a rash, so went back to buying soap. Anyway, I still have the borax and the washing soda. I ran out of dishwasher detergent this week, and needed to run a load of dishes today, so I mixed a cup of the borax and a cup of the washing soda in an old coffee jar, stirred them well, and then used three tablespoonsful in the dishwasher. The dishes look great, the silverware looks great, and even the bowls on the top rack look cleaner than usual. So I see no reason to buy dishwasher detergent for a lonnnnng time, as I still have a LOT of the other two powders left, several months' supply, I have no doubt. The two powders together ran a tad over $5, if I remember right, so this works out pretty darned cheap, I think.

One more thing, and I promise to stop babbling, lol. I don't know if any of y'all would've noticed, but my number of posts says 151...I have wayyyyy more than that. It also says I am a *new neighbor,* and I am NOT a new neighbor, I am a member of the family. Several of us on the GA forum had this happen to us...our numbers were taken away from us, and we are now called new neighbors, when we're not new. Don't know the reason behind it, but we don't like it. Ah, well, life does go on, doesn't it? God bless.