Couponing Meets Menu Planning

That's right ladies and gents....she's back!  I interviewed Jereka, the Coupon Queen, in the post titled: Couponing for Jesus, where she gave us some basic instructions, best places to find coupons, and her reasons for couponing.

Today we'll be showing you how we developed a dinner menu plan for a week, and we found coupons and grocery store sales to match.  You can save more money if you develop your menu plan around the coupons and sales that are out there, but I'm kind of a spoiled princess when it comes to my food, so we did it the other way around.

This week we've had temps in the upper 90s and even over 100 degrees, so we designed a menu to accommodate not turning on the oven so we didn't have to heat our houses any further.  I could have picked meals that didn't require the stove top either, but like I said, no matter the temperature, I'm still a spoiled princess (my men are spoiled too) when it comes to my food.

Here's our menu:

Monday- Gourmet Chicken Salad with pecans, dried cranberries, celery, and a diced apple & Chips

Tuesday- Blackened Tilapia, rice, and mixed veggies

Wednesday- Chicken Caesar Salad with homemade garlic toast

Thursday- Pepper Steak, mashed potatoes, and corn

Friday- Breakfast for Dinner (pancakes, bacon, eggs, cream of wheat)

If you would like any of these recipes, please e-mail me at tianna.mae@gmail.com

There's enough food to have "Clean the Refrigerator Out" meals for Saturday and Sunday.  I know ya'll have heard about cleaning the refrigerator out; you either eat what's leftover or freeze it!

Also, if you'd like to save the maximum amount of money you should consider going to more than one store.  However, due to extreme allergies, heat, and church, we went to one store called: Hilander, which is in the Kroger family.

Here are the stats on our Couponing Meets Menu Planning Adventure:

• I saved approx 13% off of my grocery bill for this past week's dinner menu using coupons and sale ads
• I paid about $11.67/meal for these wonderful heat friendly gourmet style meals, which of course is way less than eating at a restaurant
• Per person, I only spent $3.89!  Wow!
• I only used 5 coupons, and I was able to take advantage of at least 10 sale promotions going on at the store

I saved more money than I ever have just by having a list (menu plan), using coupons, and going to the store with the best sales on the items I needed.  Here are a few couponing etiquette tips.

• If you have a coupon that you are not going to use, leave it on the shelf by the item that it is for.  Someone will surely be blessed by your generosity.
• Don't be so eager to use your coupons.  Oftentimes, a store may be having a sale on a different brand than your coupon, and it's cheaper to just use the sale price for that item.  You've hit a jackpot if you can match a coupon to the store sale, but it's not always possible.
• Only buy what you are going to use, unless you plan to give away some items.  Now, if you have some coupons that allow you to get an item for FREE, then by all means, get as many as you can.  
• Make sure you know the store's coupon policy.  Many stores are modifying their policies due to shoppers coming in and wiping out their inventory
• When your BFF comes to your town and finds the bread store and tells you that they have $.75 gourmet bread, take heed!

I'm obviously still very green at this couponing thing, and I know I'll get better and save more and more money.  Jereka and I will definitely keep you updated on our couponing adventures.

Do you coupon?  What tips do you have?  

Style Files: Turn Your Problems into Your Assets

source

A miracle happened this past weekend!  Yes, it's true, I did go shopping.  Anyone who knows me knows that I super detest shopping of any kind.  Just the thought of searching for the perfect item and never finding it, walking up and down aisles, and going from store to store still searching really bothers me.  However, the fact that I don't like shopping doesn't excuse the fact that there are things that we need that I have to go out and buy...like groceries.  I know there's on-line shopping, however, if I'm going to spend money, I want instant gratification.  Weird!??!!??  I'll accept that.  Anyways, I grabbed a friend, and she led me to TJ Maxx, a place that I've never shopped.  I was delighted by my inexpensive finds, I wish I could have pushed myself to buy more.

Did I say that I grabbed a friend?  I meant to say, Modern Style Maven that specializes in nautical fashions.  She taught me all kinds of stuff that is relevant for buying clothes for my body type, which is petite, curvy, with a large bust.  Here are her recommendations:

• No large print/patterns on shirts, it will only make me look bigger
• No turtlenecks, they will also make me look even more top heavy than I am (if that's possible)
• No horizontal stripes, you guessed it, they'll make me look bigger
• V-neck or open neck-line shirts are best to show a little of the decollatage (I apologize, I don't know how to add a fancy accent mark) area to make me look presentable and modern
• Fabric should just drape across my skin, it shouldn't be too tight or too loose
• Clothing with a defined waist and defined bust area will make me look smaller and more put together

There were many more suggestions that she gave me, but I could only soak so much up!

1.  When you have a large tummy or one that sticks out, then you want your clothes to have a defined waist.   If they don't have a defined waist, oftentimes, you can create one with a belt.

MuMu

2.  If you are top heavy, make sure the buttons are not pulling.  If they are, then you need to go up a size, and you may have to have the sides taken in by a seamstress.

Cute, but too small to fit my chest

3.  If you have big arms that you don't want to accent, sometimes cap sleeves make them look bigger.  Also, if you have a mid-section that you want to hide, don't choose items that are too tight.

Cute, but makes my stomach noticeable and the color is a little too drab for my tastes

4.  Perfect dress- Defined bust area that are large enough for your dress to fit in and a material that glides over your problematic mid-section.  Jack pot!!!!

What is the best style advice you've ever received

Couponing for Jesus

You may think that a mother of five would coupon to make ends meet, but what if I told you that she coupons because of a revelation from the Holy Spirit!  If you've been in America, especially for the last few months, you've heard about the coupon crazed people wiping out grocery store shelves of....croutons??!??!! Yes, that's right, in one episode of TLC's "Extreme Couponing" a lady swiped 96 bags of croutons.

After reading the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, the Spirit prompted Jereka to draw up her first household budget, and to create a "giving" portion, and I'm not speaking of tithes, which is a tenth of your earnings and the first fruits.

Are we in love with God or His stuff????  Click the video to find out!

The "giving" portion of Jereka's budget would be to help people in need and others who specifically asked her for money or help.  This budget item comes directly from her couponing adventures.  Also, she is always ready and willing to give away her finds; she operates on a "what's mine is yours philosophy" and she is always ready to give and has never been left without.

Jereka proclaims that she is completely obsessed with the love of God and wants Him to show her how to love Him...and He did that through His instruction to her about being diligent with her finances and helping His people.  Many people believe that if you help someone, then you will be lacking, however, that is never the case.  Jereka will tell you that anything God tells us to do would not put us in a bind.

Look at the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (one of my favorite Bible stories).  She made a cake (bread-like patty) for Elijah with her last flour and oil, and let me mention there was a severe famine in her country at the time AND Elijah was a stranger to her.  Although, what she made for him was her last, the bin of flour and the jar of oil never ran out, and she and her son ate for many days.  How many of us would have given Elijah the cock-eyed twisted mouth funky face...I know I would have.  The widow gave her last, but the Lord never let her supply run out.

Jereka's Coupon Binder

Jereka, has slashed her grocery budget by $400 or more per month, and here's how: getting coupons from the manufacturers websites, the Chicago Tribune, Coupon Mom, and even ordering coupons from Coupon Clipper.  Couponing takes a lot of prep work with scouting out stores, looking at sale ads, organizing your coupons, however, it's well worth if for Jereka.

Jereka's Stockpile

Although, she still considers herself a novice at couponing, her biggest score so far was at Walgreens.  She got $50 worth of stuff for $3.91.  Here's what she picked up: toothbrushes, body wash, bar soap, chips, Cheerios, Huggies Swim Pants, Advil PM, deoderant, Axe body spray, and Cantu Shea Butter.

Like many, she enjoys the thrill of the deal, however, she's helped people along this journey that began with that specific purpose in mind.  She's helped single mothers and people who are out of work right now.  She would even give YOU her entire supply if you showed up at her doorstep today and said you were in need.  For this reason, I've kept her true identity a secret and cannot reveal her face...just kidding!

However, in all seriousness, Jereka is just a woman relentlessly following God through couponing.  He can use anything for His glory!

Has God instructed you to do something for His kingdom or His people?  What is it?


TiAnna Mae- I always think God is going to instruct me to do something BIG like: go to Haiti and help out after the earthquake, or start a homeless shelter.  However, He usually tells me to do things like pick up trash on the floor, give homeless people a McDonald's or Subway meal, and ask random people who are crying if they are okay and pray for them.


Check out Smockity Frocks for more money saving tips!

Walking the "Catwalk" of Faith

Chelle Lee Design Spring 2010 Collection

What if you had to leave everything and everybody you've ever known to pursue your dream wholeheartedly without knowing in advance if you would succeed or fail...would you do it?  Abraham did it, and he was richly rewarded and became the father of many nations.  Michelle Lee did it as well when she moved to Atlanta, GA, this spring to promote her clothing line, Chelle Lee Design.

Michelle always knew that she didn't want to work a 9-5 type of job, and when she was laid off in 2009, it opened up an opportunity to pursue her true dreams.  She wanted more...she needed more!  She threw herself into her designs and began planning her first fashion show, which at first started off as a small party concept and quickly grew to a full fledged fashion line and catwalk.  After the show, Michelle received a lot of buzz from local publications and people really embraced her work, and she realized it was her time.

Currently, Michelle is in the middle of designing her Spring-Summer 2012 collection where you can expect bold colors and prints with a sexy conservative twist; she's also preparing for a fashion show at the "I Want It All" Conference in Montgomery, AL, August 4-7, where she will debut this new line.

The best part of Chelle Lee Design, is that she begins each day with prayer to provide her with balance and direction; being an entrepreneur in a new place and single mother is definitely a juggling act.  Although, I have a feeling that we'll be seeing Michelle's designs all over the world.


You can check her out on twitter @lovechellelee.

Michelle Lee has been pursuing her dreams of being a fashion designer through her sketches since she was nine-years-old.  In 2010 those sketches came to life in her very first fashion runway show.  She attended the Academy of Design & Technology in Chicago, IL.  Michelle is also the mother of a set of adorable twins.