| Good morning all!!
I know that if I buy laundry detergent on sale, and with a coupon, that frees up part of my grocery budget to spend on more fresh fruit and veggies, or even stock up with one more bag of frozen veggies.
Using coupons a few years ago on a particular brand of mac and cheese that my family absolutely loved (and who doesn't eat mac and cheese) saved endless dollars. There were plenty of coupons when it first came out for free. No one in the coupon club wanted them, sent them all in, and Carol Ann kindly passed off to me. I got many boxes free, and then for just pennies, when the cents off amount was decreased and I had to pay "something" for the boxed product. I would serve one box a week and it saved me probably a dollar or more a week. That dollar was then spent on another bunch of broccoli, or maybe some asparagus (which is always expensive). When they stopped offering coupons for this product, I was stocked for many more weeks. I will not pay full price to try a product, and this particular product at first offered the product free, then just for pennies. Since I am not brand loyal, it gave me a chance to try it, enjoy it, and move on to something else when it went to full price. This one product also paired different cheeses with different pasta shapes, so it got my nephew, who hates change of any kind (even pasta shape), to try something new. Not just Kraft mac and cheese.
Rice-A-Roni and Pasta-Roni have also pretty much stopped offering coupons, so I have stopped buying their products. These were products I used to buy and use once a week. No more coupons, no more purchase. There are scads of other brands, which offer coupons. Buy one, with a coupon, try it once. If you like it, use more coupons to stock up while the product is in the "first offering" stage. That is when stores have sales, and the manufacturer offers lots of good coupons. Stockpile while it is in this stage, and then be prepared for the coupons, and sales to slack off.
I have found that there are pretty much no products I can live without. And everytime you save, if you re-invest that money into a bag of apples, or some fresh veggies, or even frozen ones, you are feeding your family healthier.
I have also gone to vinegar in my wash in place of fabric softener, and to deodorize and sanitize them. Works a lot better than fabric softeners, and is certainly cheaper. I buy a gallon of white vinegar whenever I go to the grocery store. I have a 10 oz. cup I 'won" from a Tide sweepstakes. I fill it, pour what will fit in the fabric softener container in the washer, and then just pour the leftovers directly onto the clothes. The money I save by this is approximately $3-4 per purchase. A gallon of vinegar lasts longer than a container of fabric softener, and there are other cleaning uses for it too.
Well ladies, I have bent your ears long enough. Please add to this thread, I want to learn more from you.
Take care all!!
Norma
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