Wondering why you are seeing this post on a couponing site? View my posts here and here to find out why I believe these issues are important.
Stockpiling-- Here are the weekly “best buys” I found for adding to your stockpile (therefore the list is mostly of shelf stable items or toiletries). Some of the stores are regional. If you do not have a store listed in your area, or if you do not eat the items mentioned, then consider taking $1-$5 from your weekly grocery budget to use for building your stockpile.
If you find some deals I missed, please post in the comments section. The scenarios are from the websites I’ve linked for the sales and match-ups.
Walgreens—Use the Bayer Meter deal to help pay for your purchases this week. If you are local and want a place to donate them, I will accept them on behalf of Faith UMC (contact my e-mail address if you’d like to do so). Or, you can visit Catholic Charities to make the donation—Father Regan has been happy to have these for the people with which he serves.
- Libby’s Canned Pumpkin, 99cts with in ad coupon
- Betty Crocker Warm Delights or Cake Mix 99¢ w/in-ad coupon
-.50/1 Betty Crocker Warm Delights, SS 10/04 or printable or here - Chicken of the Sea Sardines (3.75 oz) Chunk Light tuna 5 oz $.69 Limit 4
- Deerfield Farm Baking Soda 16oz 2/$1 Limit 4
- Jell-o Boxes 2/$1 after in-ad coupon Thanks Common Sense with Money!
Use $0.50/2 printable coupon (IE Link) (FF Link)
Pay $0.50 for two after coupons - Sun-Maid Raisins 18oz 2/$4 after in-ad coupon Thanks Common Sense with Money!
Use $1/2 coupon from 11/8 SS insert
Par $3 for two after coupons - Jiffy Muffin Mix Limit 4 2/$1
- Morton Iodized Salt 26 oz 2/$1 Limit 4
- Royal Instant Pudding Limit 4 4/$1
- Use this deal to help pay for your purchases. Thanks Southern Savers: $5 RR wyb Breeze 2 or Contour Meter at $14.99
-$30 Breeze 2 or Contour meter from Bayer, RP 10/25 (will take off $14.99)
(pay nothing get back $5 RR) - Gold Medal Flour 2/$3 with in ad coupon. Use the 50ct/1 coupon here.
Kroger Atlanta/Knoxville area--
- Bananas 39cts/lb
- Kroger Instant Oatmeal 10.9-15 oz $1.50
-$1/2 Kroger Active Lifestyle Oatmeal Shortcuts eCoupon - Dole Pineapple 20 oz or Mandarin Oranges 15 oz $1
-.50/1 Dole Fruit printable - White Lily Flour 5 lb Bag $1.99 ea (the new Kroger store in Fountain City is selling them for $1.49/bag!!)
- Northwest Pears Bosc, Red, Anjou, or Bartlett, $0.98 lb
- North Carolina Rome Apples 5 lb bag, $2.50 ea
- Mahatma Rice 3 lb bag, $2.32 ea
-.55/1 Mahatma rice RP 8/30 (regional coupon) - Sun Crystals 50 ct, $1.88 ea
-$2 off Sun Crystals RP 9/20 (makes it FREE)
-$1 off Sun Crystals RP 11/01
-$1 off Sun Crystals Oct 2009 All You Mag
-$1 off Sun Crystals 50 ct. May ‘09 or June ‘09 All You Mag - Martha White Muffin Mixes 7 oz, $0.80 ea
-.55/2 Martha White baking mix RP 8/09, 11/08 - Crisco Cooking Oil 48 oz - vegetable or canola, $2.50 ea
-.55/1 Crisco product RP 11/08
-$1 off Crisco Oil RP 11/08
Three Rivers Market/Co-op Advantage Stores-- My favorite deals to stock up on are the Annie’s Mac and Cheese, Terra Chips, Back to Nature Crackers, Thompson’s Raisins (in the bulk area). This $3/3 coupon is very exciting, and I’ll be scoping the store to find the best way to use the coupon to get the most bang for my coupon buck.
- Marcal Toilet Paper $1.59, Use $2/1 from 10/18 SS insert, MAKES IT FREE!
- Arrowhead Mills Herb Stuffing, Assorted Varieties 10 oz 2 for $5.00, Use $1/3 from Earth Fare Holiday Saving Booklet
- Back to Nature Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Assorted Varieties 9.3 oz 2 for $5.00
- Farmer's Market Organic Canned Pumpkin
15 oz 3 for $5.00 - Thompson Organic Raisins $2.49 lb
$1/1 from Earth Fare Holiday Savings Booklet, $1/1 Mambo Sprouts booklet, $1/1 printable
Target--
- Archer Farms Artisan Mini Loaves - $0.99/ea
Use $0.50/1 Artisan Bread Target Coupon here
Final Price = $0.49/ea - Hormel Compleats - $1.89/ea
Use $2/1 in October All You magazine
Final Price = FREE - Duncan Hines Cake Mix - $0.97/ea
Use $0.55/2 in 10/11 Smart Source insert
PLUS
Use $0.50/1 Target Coupon here (use 2 if your store will let you)
Final Price = $0.20-0.45/ea when you buy 2 - Chex Mix (8 oz bag) - $1.75/ea
Use $0.50/1 here and here
PLUS
Use $1/1 Target Coupon here
Final Price = $0.25/ea - Kraft Marshmallows - $1.02/ea
Use $1/2 Target Coupon here
Final Price = $0.52/ea when you buy 2 - Musselman's Totally Fruit - $1.54/ea
Use $1/1 here
Final Price = $0.54/ea - Old El Paso Taco Seasoning - $0.69/ea
Use $0.60/2 here
Final Price = $0.39/ea when you buy 2 - Quaker Oatmeal Cups - $1/ea
Use $1.25/2 in 8/30 Red Plum insert
Final Price = $0.38/ea when you buy 2 - Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta - $1.19/ea
Use $1/2 here
Final Price = $0.69/ea when you buy 2
- Nature’s Bounty Vitamins and Supplements B1G1 Free
Use $2/1 printable coupon (also receive a $5 coupon for participating in their rewards program)
Possibly FREE or cheap after coupons - Candy Spend $15 Earn 5 ECBs Limit 1
Deal Idea
Buy 5 Hershey’s Kisses @ $3 ea.
Use 5 $1/1 coupons from the 9/13 SS insert
Pay $1 per bag after coupons and ECBs
Emergency Preparedness—This week I encourage you to think about what alternate sources of heat you have in your home if you have an extended period of time without electricity. (For some readers, like my loyal reader in sunny Hawaii, this might not apply. I’ll give you all some suggestions in the next paragraph.) We have a goal in the near future to invest in a wood stove insert. Until that time we are more reliant on our fireplaces for heat. We have dried firewood over seasons so that it is ready for each winter’s use. We collect kindling and move the firewood closer to the house and under shelter so that it is ready when we need it. We keep matches and other fire starting materials on hand. If you do not have a fireplace or wood stove, think about what extra supplies you might need if you were without electricity for days.
- Blankets and quilts
- Long John's, winter silks, or another form of layered clothing
- Hot water bottles
- Hot Hands or another brand of warmers
Preparation for times without electricity regardless of climate also involves the following considerations:
- How will you prepare meals? If you have a large variety of canned and packaged products that are ready to eat, may not be an initial concern. If you are reliant on a grill of some sort, purchase extra propane or charcoal.
- What will you do with the foods in the freezer?
- Will water be a concern? If the temperatures stay below freezing, what will you do to help prevent pipes bursting?
- What will you do for lighting? Have candles, lanterns, flashlights, and crank powered lights available.
- What about communication with others? Many people no longer have a home line for their phone and use a cell phone. If for some reason you cannot get to your car to use the charger, what are the other options?
Food Security—How well do you cook? How many foods do you know how to prepare…here’s the clinger…from scratch? I started teaching others to cook when I was a teenager. It started with friends who came over for a visit and has snowballed from there—empanadas, Natchitoches Meat Pies, etouffee, vegetable soup—you name it. My mother’s passing early in my life put me, the oldest daughter, in charge of many of the kitchen duties. My father is an excellent cook and instilled in me the love of preparing foods and experimenting in the kitchen. To this day, I’m still amazed when people tell me that they do not know how to prepare dried beans. Whatever your level of expertise in the kitchen, I highly recommend continuing to develop those skills. Being truly secure in regards to food means that you must learn how to take food in its rawest form and use it. Knowing what treatment it might need (dried corn needs a lime soaking, raw rice needs hulling, etc) is also important, and these are skills that are quickly becoming lost to the younger generations. For learning traditional food methods I recommend the cookbook Nourishing Traditions. The book Joy of Cooking has long been hailed one of the most comprehensive cookbooks of history and is also a good starting place.
I am in charge of the food pantry at our church. Last year I “bought” dried yeast at a profit with coupons and was going to donate the packages to the food pantry. The lady who was then in charge suggested that I keep them because she feared that very few recipients of the food would know what to do with yeast. I’ve heard that many food banks find that flour is one of the last items gone from their shelves because people no longer know how to cook from scratch. We have been “dumbed down” by manufacturer’s for so long that when you ask children about baking cookies hardly any of them have done so—mixes, slice and bakes, and even preformed cookies that are ready for the baking sheet make everything too easy. Frankly folks, we are better than that. How could we let our society become so focused on ease that we forget how good a homemade cookie is?
Even the most experienced of chefs are constantly learning and honing their skills so do not think that I’m talking to only the people who have never made a homemade cookie. Whatever your current level, I hope that you will make an effort to improve your skills by this time next year. Make a list of some of the foods you would like to try and think of people you know who prepare them well. Enlist their help. Grocery stores, gourmet food companies, and local organizations often have free or nominally priced cooking and kitchen skills classes you can take. One more idea comes from my friend Jennifer on how to use your cookbooks. She has a jar with all of the cookbook titles she owns on pieces of paper. Another jar contains food categories—appetizers, desserts, etc. Each week she pulls one piece of paper from each jar and randomly picks a new recipe to try. She reports being very happy when she finds a new favorite.
Happy Cooking!
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