Saving money by cooking at home

One of my New Year's goals is to save more money this year. I've been doing pretty good with price-matching, couponing and rebates but in order to save even more I know it's best when I cook from scratch. I recently saw that a 10lb. bag of pancake mix at the grocery store sells for $7. This homemade version below costs a fraction of that and it's a little healthier too because it has wheat in it. I store this in my fridge and try to use it at least once a week when we have pancakes or muffins.

Homemade Bisquick Mix:
In a LARGE mixing bowl combine 5 cups whole wheat flour, 5 cups white flour (you can adjust this however you want to get your family used to it). Add 1/3 cup baking powder, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon salt then stir around really well. Add 2 cups butter flavored shortening and use a pastry blender till crumbly (you'll get a nice arm workout). Store in airtight container in your fridge for up to 6 months.

"Now what do I do with it?" you ask.

Pancakes:
In mixing bowl combine 2 cups mix, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of vanilla. This works well with powdered eggs as well and no one will know the difference! Cook on a hot griddle like you normally would. I like mine with a thin smear of peanut butter and some syrup. Other times I like a thick layer of applesauce and powdered sugar on top. Add some turkey bacon for a side and everybody's happy.

Blueberry Muffins:
In mixing bowl combine 2 cups mix, 2/3 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons oil, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 mashed banana to make it moist and after mixing it all fold in 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen). Pour into a regular muffin tin (greased or use the paper liners) and cook in preheated 400 degree oven for 13-18 minutes. 425 degrees for high altitude but you'll want to check it and possibly cover it with aluminum foil the last 5 minutes so as not to over-brown the tops. Is that even a word? Oh well, you won't care once you're eating them. I like serving them with hard-boiled eggs. Kids LOVE cracking eggs.

There are few things more rewarding than being able to say, "I made that". As women we love to create and share. Cooking is a great way to do that. Now go get on your apron and try these new recipes!

Stretch your Dollar

Here are my notes from our Enrichment class we did on saving money: (I added a few ideas of my own as well)

Subscribe to up to 4 Sunday newspapers so you can get multiple coupons. If you live in Utah, I have a neighbor who can offer you a discounted price on this AND you get a visa gift card you can use anywhere if you do more than 2 papers. The more papers you buy, the greater your gift card amount. I like to keep my coupons organized in a binder with baseball card holders. In the front I also have my Best Prices Sheet which I made by going to a few stores and writing down the prices of items I normally buy. Now I know where to buy what for the best deal and when the ads come out, I know if it's really a sale or not. Great sites that tell you where and when to use these coupons in conjuction with grocery store sales are:

http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/ They have a Utah forum with Screaming Deals.
http://www.grocerysmarts.com/ use code: g84clh You can find printable coupons here as well
http://www.utahcityguide.com/new/guru/index.asp for Utah’s Grocery Guru’s weekly deals

*Did you know you can stack store and manufacturer coupons on one item?
At Kohl’s you can also stack their “15% off” with “$10 off any $20 purchase” coupons which recently came out in the mail. (They expired now but do this a couple times a year - we go to the clearance section at the end of season and with the coupons, it almost feels like stealing: $2 for a tee or $6 for a jacket, then use the coupon... you get the idea)

Walmart will price match other stores advertised prices. Great if you only want to go to one store. I do this almost every time I go to this store. Half of the items are usually the same price or a better deal. It helps to be organized when you go to checkout.

Catalinas are coupons that print out at the register. You can use them on your next shopping trip.

For free/almost free Prescriptions consider using the gift cards for transferring prescriptions. These are found in Target ads, Smiths, as well as other stores.

Beer companies are offering amazing rebates on various items. Some end up being totally free. And the best part is you don’t have to buy the beer! You can find these on posters on end caps of the grocery store aisles or in the beer section. They are on tear pads. Most of them are located at Smiths or Albertsons. They come and go but summer and holiday seasons are a great time to look for them.

Clothing: ShopKo and Sears have a Kid-Tough Guarantee on their store brand of kids clothing. If they wear out, just take them back and get the same size item. Sometimes you have to save the receipt so be sure to check out the details at each store. Great for boys who wear out the knees in the pants and even better if you have more than one of the same gender child. ie: 11 year old wears out the size 10 pants, go back and get them exchanged and now your 8 year old has new pants! Consignment or Thrift stores are also a great place to get a good deal on gently used clothing. Also, it's a great way to recycle. Whenever we travel down to Arizona, I try to stop at the shops down there. $2 for shirts, $5 for shorts/pants. Garage sales are even better and you can usually barter down the prices. Our neighborhood does an annual garage sale every June so everyone waits till then and it is packed! A realtor does the advertising for us in the paper and offers a pod afterwards that you can fill with your leftover stuff which is then donated to Deseret Industries.

For a great deal on fresh, local food think about joining the Community Food Co-op. In Utah, you order before the middle of the month and get your fresh local food the last Saturday of every month. It helps a great cause. Google it to find out more. You have the option of picking up your food at a location closer to you if you join a team.

Entertainment: At the library, you can place holds on new books and movies and watch them for FREE. If you can't wait that long, try the $ theatre. Ours just changed their day to Wednesdays. Another free way to watch movies is to go to http://www.insideredbox.com/. They used to have weekly Monday codes for a free movie but during the summer they will be changing to monthly. Entertainment books are great for buy one, get one free offers.
Boondocks offers $12 Tuesdays in the summer. Some local attractions offer free days thanks to ZAP (Zoo, Arts, Parks tax). If you plan on going somewhere frequently (like the Children's Museum or Zoo) it might be worth your money to get a yearly membership. Better yet, tell the grandparents it would make a great gift for Christmas/Birthday gift!

With all the money you save, you can maybe even go to Paris! That's what my neighbor is doing! I think I'll buy more scrapbook supplies (with a coupon of course)!

Free Kids Meal Days

Sorry, I've been busy with couponing and finding other ways to save money. All I can say is, I love beer rebates! You don't even have to buy beer! In the past 2 1/2 months I've gotten back over $200. Love it! I recently put together an updated list of where kids eat free/cheap in our area. Search it out if you don't live in Mormonland. Each city has different days.

Fuddruckers- Mondays after 4pm $1 kids meal per adult meal

Joe’s Crabshack- Mondays kids eat for 99 cents. Two per paying adult

IHOP- Tuesdays after 4pm 2 kids eat free per paying adult

Mayan- Tuesdays 1 free kids meal per paying adult. Great shows!

Fazoli’s- Tuesdays 5-8pm kids eat for only 99 cents

Denny’s- Tuesdays after 4pm 2 kids eat free per paying adult

Chick-Fil-A- Wednesdays 5-8pm 1 free kids meal per adult combo purchased. They also get a ticket for free ice cream and they have activities for kids to do. *Remember to ask for a stamp card and earn your way towards more free kids meals!

Carl’s Jr.- Wednesday nights 1 free kids meal with purchase of a combo meal

Some of my favorite money saving ideas:

1. Make a budget and stick to it!
2. Do you really NEED to upgrade to a new car? Do you really need a second car? Learn how to do your own car maintenance to save labor costs. Bike or walk when you can. You’ll save gas $ and enjoy the free endorphins that come with exercising regularly.
3. Buy generic items and save the difference. So many people don’t even look to see how much they are paying for their food items. Also, take advantage of food sale items but also know when it really is a true sale.
4. When shopping, ask yourself, “Do I really need this or just want this? How many shoes does one person need? Think of the starving children in Africa who if they’re lucky have one complete outfit and one pair of shoes.
5. Have a “Change Jar” where you store extra change from the week to save up for big items or donate it to a charity at the end of the year.
6. Learn to cut your children’s hair, do you own nails, and have you spouse give you those priceless massages instead of paying $xx (and tip!) at the salon.
7. Forego the expensive vacation this year and visit local area attractions instead (no flight, rental car, or hotel fees). Go to your Visitor’s Center because sometimes they have coupons or locals-only deals.
8. Don’t buy books or rent videos; go borrow them for free at the library. Our library lets us reserve items online so I just walk in, pick up my items in the hold area and I’m out in a minute. Sure, sometimes I have to wait a few weeks for a new book but patience pays.
9. Bake your own bread and eat healthy foods from the cannery and fresh fruits and veggies from your local farmers market instead of junk food and sodas. I wonder if some great-grandmas in heaven are shocked most women don’t even know how to bake bread today.
10. Eat out less. Bag your lunch. Drinking water is free and good for you too. I only buy soda maybe once a year and the kids know that it's a special treat not a staple in our diet.
11. Coupons! Use only if you plan on buying that item anyway. Usually it’s still cheaper to try the generic brand.
12. Breastfeed your babies. You’ll save yourself hundreds of dollars, bond with your baby on a regular basis, never have to wash and prepare bottles - those diapers won’t smell so bad and the spit up stains will wash out easier.
13. Generic diapers, again I could’ve save a few hundred dollars with my first kid if I had only tried them out. My favorite is the Walmart brand Parent’s Choice. If you can, cloth diaper you’re children. It took me several times and different diapers but we love g diapers and use washable inserts and wipes with them. I wish I had started with my first child and not my fourth.
14. Get your clothes on sale or buy consignment. Most of the fun comes from finding that great bargain! Even better- you can swap clothes around with your extended family. It’s fun seeing the new babies wear my toddler’s old clothes.

Thanks to a hard-working husband and these ideas, I have been able to be able to stay at home and watch my children grow up. That’s worth more to me than all the money in the world.