Clifton Kroger Rocked!!

I am SOO excited over this coupon experience! I have been to the Clifton Kroger twice this week and got some major deals. I came home and told Shane, but he didn't squeal with enough excitement, so I had to blog about it. I got 2 backpacks and a lunch bag for Harper for 75% off, and some great deals on groceries, like a $3.47 Digiorno Pizza and .75 Healthy Choice meals. However, these deals are my favorite:

2 Clean and Clear face washes--normally $4.19. On sale for $1.99.

Used two coupons for $2 off one Clean and Clear product

Final Cost: FREE!! Savings: $8.38

2 large cans of Nestle Good Start formula powder--normally $13.12. In clearance for $6.59

Had one coupon for $5 off one can. The cans had peelies coupons for $2 off one can. So I got one can for $1.59 and the other for $4.59,

Final Cost:$6.18

Savings: $20.06

6 large canisters of Lysol wipes--normally $5.99 each. They were on sale $2.99 each AND they were bundled bogo free.

I used 2 coupons: $2 off of 2, and $1 off of one

Final Cost: $5.97 Savings: $35.94

Total savings for above: $64.38!!

I messed up b/c Kroger Comfort diapers are on sale for around $6, and I have a coupon for $3 for one, so I could have gotten those for $3! I might have to go back for those :)

Also, there were a ton of medications and Kroger brand formula in the manager's special shelves by the restrooms. If you need Motrin Infant drops or any cold medicine, there were still a ton on clearance--like 50% off or more. There are 4 other Krogers closer to my house, but Clifton's is by Harper's preschool, so I can justify it in that way. I always found way better deals here, and the employees have always been so nice. Not to mention that it doesn't take all day to walk across the store if you forget something!

Baby Tips: 1. Diaper Rash

These are things I learned over the past 8 years with 3 girls. I decided that diaper rash needed a post all to itself! I don't know much about baby boys, but most of the tips work for both. Thankfully, I wrote these down as I went, and then changed/added over the years. I give this to all my new friends who are having their first babies. That way they can either listen to my unsolicited advise, or can throw it away if they want! haha

First of all: Always follow your doctor's advice before mine, your mom's, grandmothers, etc. If something sounds crazy, it probably is. Don't put dangerous concoctions on your baby in order to be holistic or natural. Be reasonable. You are going to be very emotional because this is your precious baby, but use reason to guide the care you give your baby, not emotions.

1. Diaper rash: All 3 girls experienced diaper rash. Lucy (my 3rd) had it the worst. It usually starts with bright red spots--sometimes in patches, sometimes bumps, either raised or unraised. When it gets bad, it can look like burns or blisters on their butt cheeks, almost like you set them on a stove. It spreads VERY quickly, so you have to take action immediately. This will make baby irritable, and you miserable and full of guilt. I actually cried when I pulled off Lucy's diaper and it had BLOOD spots in it from her rash! But it's not your fault! It just happens, and act quickly and be relentless. It's going to take a lot of time day and night to get rid of it, and it's going to take several days before you see a perfect little baby bottom again. The red spots that look like scars do fade away. It just takes time.

There are many types of diaper rash, and in my experience, the doctors don't want you to come in unless it is to the point of bleeding. Since all diaper rash is aggravated by moisture, the main rules are keep it clean, keep it dry, keep it sealed!

CLEAN: If bright red raw spots (shiny, wet) are on bottom, STOP using baby wipes. Use a wash cloth with plain warm water OR keep a roll of higher end toilet paper and a spray bottle of plain water at the changing table.Wipe gently, but make sure you get all the poop and pee off. Wipe from front to back (especially for girls). To help the sores dry up and heal, soak baby in a baking soda bath. This worked wonders! I just put her in her baby bath tub (or a dishwashing tub would work) and dumped a couple tablespoons of baking soda in the warm water where it touched her bottom. Then we would play for a few minutes--she was only about a month old, so I was the one playing. She would stay in for about 5 minutes or so.

DRY: Dry bottom with hair dryer on low (keep your hand where the air is blowing to make sure it’s not too hot) This dries the spots. As they start drying and sealing themselves, they will become less shiny. The sores will also be dry to the touch when they are fully dry. Sometimes this takes a couple of minutes. Again, make sure you use the low heat setting and keep your hand on the bottom the whole time to keep from burning the baby!

SEAL: Unfortunately, this area is a little experimental. Different ointments/creams work with different rashes on different babies. At the FIRST sign of a rash (if no blood yet), my suggestion is to start cheap and use Original Desitin in the purple tube. Yes it stinks like old fish because of the castor oil, but it coats better than anything else I found. And it will make your cloth diapers stink like fish. Use a Q-tip to keep it out of your fingernails. Blech. If the rash isn't getting better by the next day, or starts bleeding (it almost looks like acid burns), then you probably need a prescription cream. What worked for us is a prescription cream called Silvadene Cream, or silver sulfadiazine. The generic is significantly cheaper than the brand name. We also used a couple of different anti-fungal creams, because the rash looked a little yeasty (bright red, spreading outward, bumpy, hot). These creams are also inexpensive, and your doctor can tell you which over-the-counter ones work also. Neosporin is also helpful for the sores, as long as they are not yeast. If the rash is yeast, the Neosporin will aggrevate it, and you will have to change your game plan. We tried SO many creams and combinations. Once you find what works, stick with it!!

PREVENTION: I used cloth diapers and disposable. The thinking was chemicals in the disposables could be aggrevating the rash. But, cloth diapers are not as absorbant and wicking. For us, cloth/disposable or even brand of diaper didn't make a difference, but I know some moms whose babies were sensitive to one. I think the key is to dry out the rash and seal it with Desitin every diaper change for the next few weeks. And make your diaper changes very very frequent. When Lucy's was really bad, I was changing her diaper about every 2 hours--even through the night. And that was doing all the cleaning, drying, and sealing steps EVERY time. Thankfully, all 3 girls grew out of this by about 3 months. Also, try using a diaper that’s slightly too big for baby to give some air circulation. Do this until sores dry up and are no longer bright red and seeping. Also check to see if the baby has thrush (white sores in mouth). Baby may also have a low fever from the rash or being sick could case them to have a rash. When baby has diarrhea for any reason, keep bottom very clean and dry or the rash will start. Unfortunately, sometimes they will just get it no matter what you do!

Crazy Finds!!

Okay, so I'm a little coupon/deal finding obsessed right now. I just found out that Old Navy HIDES coupons on their weekly sales ads!?! You have to click around and find them by moving things or clicking things in the right order. They actually had $75 off $100 purchase coupons that were gone really quickly. I can't wait until they reset the coupons next Thursday night, or in the wee hours of Friday mornings, so I can try to find one of the really good ones!!

Also, Restaurant.com has deals all the time where you can get gift certificates for restaurants at ridiculously low prices. Last week you could get a $25 gift certificate for $1.00!! Seriously! These are more like coupons than gift certificates, because there are restrictions on them. For example, we got one to Shalimar Indian restaurant, and you have to spend $35 or more to use it. But it is easy to do that there! So basically we were out $11 plus tip. ($1 for the gift certificate, $10 for the rest of the bill, and tipped on the original total BEFORE the gift certificate). So far we haven't had any problems using them anywhere. But read the restrictions carefully. Some exclude weekends. Most exclude alcoholic drinks. If you go on there and register you will get emails with the discount codes to use at checkout. This week the code is "ENJOY". When you use this you will get 60% off, or a $25 certificate for $4. Still not bad!

Lastly, FREE CHOCOLATE!!! Go to https://secure.realchocolate.com/Register.aspx and register to get a free chocolate coupon in the mail. I think they have been doing this every Friday morning starting at 9 am. Who doesn't need free chocolate??? Well...I don't. But I still want it!!

4X6 dinners with a side of coupons

First of all, I do NOT profess to be an expert at this! I'm just posting what has been working for me the past few months. And each month I make adjustments and get a little better. The topic is menu planning and grocery shopping. The goal is to be organized and to save money!

Confession: I used to go to the grocery store and say, "Well, we use chicken breasts, ground sirloin, lunchmeat, milk, and bread every week. I'll get those. Do we have lasagna noodles? I better get some. Oh, what goes in lasagna? Does that have carrots? I know I put carrots in something. I better get some carrots. Oh...that's all the way on the other side of the store in produce. Crud. Oh...avocados! I love avocados! I'll just get a couple since they're so expensive. I'm sure I will use them for something. Oooo. Fresh peaches..."

You get the idea. If I did have a clue about what I wanted to make for the week, I'd forget half of the ingredients and have to go back or make something else. And then I'd get home and think, "Now WHY did I get avocados? What was I making?" And I seriously had 4 boxes of lasagna noodles in my pantry. Every night I'd struggle and we'd have whatever I could make with the hodgepodge mess of groceries I brought home. I would drag the kids to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market a couple of times a week and spend around $600 a month! I never went anywhere else because I thought Kroger, for example, was way more expensive. Which, if you shop like I used to, it is. BUT, I have seen the light!

Step 1: Menu Planning

The first thing I did was figure out what meals we eat all the time. Tacos, jambalaya, hamburgers, grilled chicken, BLTs, etc. These meals vary with the season. So I got some 4X6 index cards and wrote the meal on each one. This includes the recipe and every side item or add-in options. Some of these are incredibly simple. I have one card that says, "Hamburgers." I know I don't need a recipe for hamburgers, but I do need a reminder of everything that goes into the "hamburger" meal. I even put a "Thaw Meat!" reminder on there, because that has gotten me into trouble several nights. (My goal is to someday have different colored cards for dinner, desserts, side dishes, etc.) When it comes time to make the meal I don't have to go searching through my cookbooks and figure out where I got the recipe. I have all these little cards in a container, and when it is time to do menu planning I spread the cards out on the table and figure out our dinners for the next two weeks. (There will be repeats, and sometimes leftovers, but these people I live with are not big into leftovers, so I try not to do that often for dinner, and instead eat the leftovers for my lunch the next day.) Then I sit down and write out my grocery list, which I have separated according to which grocery store I am going. But it is most often: Produce, Dairy, Meat, Frozen, Shelf, and non-food items. Sometimes I have a "papers" section for toilet paper, paper towels, plates, etc. I go through these cards and look to see what I already have in the pantry and refrigerator. Then I make out my list of EVERY ingredient I need for every meal for the next 2 weeks. I know I'll have to return for some of the fresh produce and for milk and bread, but that should be it! Basically, I go through the cards after the first week and see what's missing.

Doing this planning ahead was a huge help! I just pull the cards that I will be using for the next 2 weeks and then go through them each morning to decide what we will be having that night. And I make a final check to make sure that I'm not missing an ingredient. I try to plan the meals with the perishable produce first. Oh, by the way, one card says "Frozen Pizza." It is used every cycle!! Also, I just started making cards that list our favorite lunches and snacks. I have one that says "lunch" and one for "snacks."

Step 2: Finding deals and coupons

I saved $100 the first month from planning. I was still going to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. Then I kept reading these posts from some of my friends back home about getting $200 worth of groceries for $65, etc., and asked what the heck they were doing, and was it legal?? They referred me to the new world of printable and electronic coupons. These are the links to some very valuable sites that guide you through this world: moneysavingmom.com, southernsavers.com, mrspennypincher.blogspot.com. Moneysavingmom is more of a "deals" site where you can get freebies and discounts. The other two are more for grocery shopping and teaching you how to do it. I'm BARELY going to touch on it, becuase I'm still learning myself, and there's no way I could do any better. Southernsavers is Nashville area, but a lot of the deals are applicable here also. She has really good tutorials on her site. The Mrs. Pennypincher one is a lady here in Louisville, so her deals are local. You will learn how to check all the store websites for their sales ads, and basically only buy what is on sale. You will plan your meals around what meat is on sale, unless you already have some in the freezer. You will begin to stockpile items like cereal and canned foods when they are on sale. I got several boxes of cereal for free the last time I went to Kroger! I had $20 worth of printed paper coupons and several loaded on my Kroger card. You can learn to load your store cards with coupons from these same sites. Basically, it just automatically comes off when you purchase the item. So, let's say you have a paper "manufacturer's" coupon for a brownies mix. Kroger will double these coupons up to .50. You can "stack" another type of coupon on top of that. There's a Betty Crocker brownie mix that costs $1.99 on sale. You have a coupon loaded on your card for .50 off the Betty Crocker brownie mix. You also have a paper coupon for the same mix. When you get your receipt, you will see that you ended up paying only .49 for it!

This takes a LOT of planning. I spent a couple hours the other night making out my grocery list according to my cards AND the store specials AND my list of coupons. However, I'm told you get faster, and those web sites basically talk you through how to do it every week and give you a grocery list. A word of caution though: Don't buy items--especially if they're not on sale--just because you have coupons for them. You'll end up spending way too much. We have to remember the point of coupons is to get you to buy things you normally would not because they are more expensive, unhealthy, or you can live without them. I don't need Viva papertowels when I can buy the off brand for $1 less, even with the coupon. Don't let them outsmart you!! The really good deals are the ones where you either have stacked coupons and/or the item was already on sale to begin with. And again, these deals are listed by the wonderful ladies on those sites.

I hope some of this makes sense! It's very confusing at first, and I haven't even started the whole Walgreens, CVS bucks programs. But it is all worth it! I spent around $200 less on groceries last month, or about $300 total! I'm sure that I'll keep tweaking my plan every month, but I wanted to share where I started. Now GO!