The Holidays Are Here!

It's a busy time of the year, but did anyone go out shopping for Black Friday? :) Personally, I stayed home, as I have for many years now, but don't let that fool you! I shopped online! Feel free to tell me about the deals you got in the comments! I love hearing what everyone finds!

Saving Money on Dryer Sheets for the Laundry

Sticking with the laundry theme here, I wanted to share with you on how I save money on dryer sheets!

You can look at this one of two ways: either you feel you have just saved 50% or that you have doubled your money.  :)

It is so simple, and only takes a moment.

Cut your dryer sheets in half and only use half a sheet per load!  I have been doing this for years and yes, it still works just fine!

Start with a box of dryer sheets.  I have selected a box of 40 sheets of Bounce.

Now open the box and pull out all the sheets inside and grab a pair of scissors.

Take several of the sheets at a time and just cut them in half.  Go through the whole pile, cutting them in half.  Don't take your time with this, just grab several off the pile and cut!  They do not have to be perfect or even.

Once you have them all cut in half, place them back into the box.

Now you are done!  You have just turned a 40 count box of dryer sheets into an 80 count box!  Simple, right!  You've just doubled your product.

Let me know what you think!

Measuring Laundry Detergent with the Cap.....BEWARE!

Do you find that you run out of liquid laundry detergent way too fast?  You probably do.

That the 32 load bottle you bought didn't seem to go that far?  It probably didn't.

If you use liquid laundry detergent, pay attention to the "fill-line" on the inside of the cap!  Yes, there really are "fill-lines" on the inside of the caps.  Are they easy to find or see?  No. 

Most laundry detergent now is very concentrated and only takes a little bit for a load of clothes.  I'm guilty of using too much, as many are.  Back in the day, before concentrated detergent, you "filled the cap" for a load of wash.  THIS IS NOT TRUE ANYMORE!  And I think companies count on that!

You will save a TON of money on laundry soap if you take a black Sharpie marker and mark the lines on the cap.  A regular load of laundry should only use #1 fill-line, which is the smallest marking on the cap.

I can almost bet you were at least filling that cap half full for a load, right?!?!  I know I was!  That is WAY too much and your "32 Load" bottle of detergent is gone in less than 16 loads. 

Below is a picture of the same amount in the above picture poured into a glass Pyrex measuring cup.

Just one and a half ounces!  A few tablespoons!  I was shocked, but now realize how much I've wasted over the years.  Even by "only" using 1/2 cap, I've used double the amount that I should have, costing twice as much for laundry detergent in the long run because I wasn't getting 32 loads from the bottle they way I was measuring it.

Prices Creeping Up

I'm a numbers person.  With that being said, here is what I've noticed this week.

Not only are sizes of some products shrinking on us, but prices are creeping up as well.

For the last month, I've been working on stockpiling Heinz gravy with the coupon they had out $1/2.  My go-to store with dollar coupons is Kroger here, because our stores double $1 coupons.  Each time I stopped at the store, I'd pick up 6 Heinz gravy and use 3 of the $1/2 coupons, which my store doubled to $2....basically, getting $1 off each jar.

The price has been $1.28 a jar.

I was purchasing the Roasted Turkey jars because under each label is another $1/2 Beef or Chicken gravy coupon that doesn't expire until October I believe.  :)  More savings!

Out of curiosity, I'm always "checking prices" of things I always buy, even if I'm not planning on purchasing them right then...........again, it's the numbers thing coming out in me.

Yesterday, while at Kroger, passing the gravy, I just had to look.  Big yellow sign stating "New Low Price" that read $1.34!!!

Now, that doesn't seem like a lot, only .06 cents a jar..........but it all adds up.  My six jars would now cost me an extra .30 cents.

This is only one item, but if every item in your cart went up a nickel, a dime, a quarter............you end up paying an extra $5, $10 or $20 for your cart of groceries without even adding anything extra!

What do you think?  Have you seen any prices creeping up lately?  Let us know! 

The Incredible SHRINKING Package........

The shrinking product continues......it won't be long before we are paying a lot of money for nothing! LOL!! :)

Dawn was 10.3 oz, now 9 oz.......
Angel Soft was 150 sheets per roll, now 132 sheets per roll.......
Maxwell House Master Blend was 270 cups, now 240 cups.....

Another one (not pictured) is Kleenex........was 184 ct boxes, now 174 count........


When will it end?

Mason Jars and Dry Foods

I have decided to stock up on dry goods when they are on sale and store them on my shelves in Ball canning mason jars (these are 1/2 gallon size).

Hungry Jack premium hashbrowns are on sale this week at Meijer's for $1.25, and I had coupons (expire today) for .50/1.  Each day, I stopped at the store and bought two, Meijer's doubled my two coupons, final price was .25 cents each!  :)

The yellow popcorn is on sale at our local Spartan brand store this week for $1.79 for a 2 lb bag (cheaper than Walmart!), so I bought lots because we LOVE popcorn in this house.

Green split peas are on sale at Kmart for .99 a lb bag, so I used previously earned gift cards from last week to pay for the peas.

Mahatma rice is also on sale at our local Spartan brand store for $1.49 each and the store doubles .50 cent coupons, limit 3 like coupons.  Because of a bonus point promo (for store reward card members) of gettinng 50 bonus points when you buy 2 of the Mahatma rice, I only purchased two bags each time I passed the store.  This way, I was able to benefit getting 50 bonus points each time!  The rice ended up costing .49 each bag (one pound) with the doubled coupons.

The pinto beans were also on sale at Kmart this week for $1.39 a bag, which is the cheapest price I've been able to find in my area here, so I snagged up some with my gift cards I had earned last week.

The jars ended up averaging $1.87 each after tax, but I'm a huge fan of Ball, and they were made in the USA!  :)