The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.308: A List of October’s Frugal Accomplishments

Month #4!  This month, I focused on looking critically at our possessions, dealing with the things we no longer need (creating the 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge!) and trying to take good care of everything else.  I’m so happy to be tackling this during our children’s fall birthdays and before the Christmas season.

OCTOBER’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.  
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I gave my son a haircut.

+ I borrowed and read a book from the library.

+ I reused an empty jam jar as a water pot when the kids painted with watercolors.

+ I bought the huge bag of dog food, even though the price makes me cringe.  When I did the calculations, I actually save over a dollar per pound, making it the better deal.

+ With the kids in more activities this fall, we tried to save gas and do errands when we already have to be in town: meeting people to pass off things from Trash Nothing or Facebook Marketplace, popping in the grocery store for an ingredient, etc.

+ We moved our oldest into the basement bedroom and I was able to rearrange our furniture around to give him everything he needed, including a nightstand, dresser and even an old loveseat.  The only thing I purchased was a new lamp.  He’s got quite the man cave now!

+ I unclogged our troublesome master bathroom shower drain with a homemade solution I found on Pinterest.  Definitely my favorite frugal accomplishment this month!  Here’s the “recipe”:

DIY Drain Unclogger
8 cups boiling water
1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar
1 cup very hot water
8 cups boiling water
 Boil 9 cups of water.  Reserve 1 cup and dump the rest down the drain.
Sprinkle the baking soda down the drain and let it sit for a few minutes.
Mix the 1 cup of reserved water with 1 cup vinegar and pour slowly down the drain.
Let sit for 10 minutes while you boil 8 more cups of water.
Pour boiling water down the drain.

+ I made more homemade chicken broth and finally got to use my new Souper Cubes (affiliate link).

+ Ebay had a 3-day promotion that waived the listing fees for 200 items.  I listed 23 items, saving me over $8.

+ When our oven started taking forever to preheat and then not cooking evenly, we paid the $125 fee to have our home warranty send someone to look at it.  There was a whole host of issues including a broken bottom coil and glitchy front panel, which would cost $1,200+ for parts and labor.  I hate paying that home warranty bill each month when things are good, but sing its praises when appliances start breaking!

+ I learned a laundry trick to get grease stains out of clothes by using plain white chalk.

+ I turned off the A/C on October 4th and now we play my favorite game of the year: how long can we go before having to turn on the heat?

Your turn!  What did you do to save a little money this month?

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments: 
JULY  //  AUGUST  //  SEPTEMBER

No.297: A List of September’s Frugal Accomplishments

Month #3!  This month, I tried to focus my frugality lens in terms of consuming: not in the sense of buying more, but instead using up the things I have already purchased and own.  What good are things, even if they are neatly organized in drawers and shelves, if you never use them?  This new way of thinking has been eye-opening for sure.   

P.S. I have another new blog to share with you this month: The Frugal Girl.  Another great resource to inspire you on your frugal journey!

SEPTEMBER’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.  
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I took apart and then reassembled my vacuum cleaner after one of the kids sucked up a colored pencil.  A most ridiculous accomplishment, but you would not believe how many vacuums we’ve been through in almost 13 years of parenting!

+ I took a yard of orange fabric (that I’ve had stored away) and ripped it into strips to use as ribbon for my Poshmark/Ebay packages.  I love how cute it looks and it was free!

+ Our living room chair is almost nine years old and was in sad shape.  The removable back cushion was saggy and the arms were stained.  I fixed the back cushion by wrapping a blanket (this cheap one from Walmart – we used them as furniture blankets when we moved here to the farmhouse and they’ve proved to be quite handy) around the insert and then cramming plastic grocery store bags in the sides to fill it out a little.  Add a $25 slipcover and I have a brand new chair!  So excited about this little project.

+ I got a sourdough starter up and running again.  Hoping to get into the habit of making fresh bread at least three times a week.  So far I’ve made an everyday loaf, a cinnamon raisin swirl, and waffles.

+ I made a big batch of ditalini pasta to accompany our dinner one night.  I froze the leftovers and will use them in a soup once the weather gets cooler.

+ I used up all the birthday wrapping paper I had left from last year before buying new rolls.  I also found a few gift bags I had stored away, which I can reuse for all the kids.

+ I made my own broth after roasting a whole chicken.  I’ve had a full “broth bag” of veggie scraps in the freezer for over a month!  It will never fail to amaze me how you can make something so delicious from things you’d normally just trash.

+ You know me and rabbit holes…one night, I got sucked into the world of bullet journals on Pinterest.  So many beautiful books and inspiring ideas!  I immediately wanted a brand new Leuchtturm notebook, highlighters and pens. ($$$)  Instead, I took one of the extra composition books I bought for the kids (only 50 cents!), covered it in scrapbook paper I already owned and I love it all the same.

+ I moved the potatoes from the pantry to the fridge after reading this post.  It seems like commonsense (potatoes were traditionally kept in root cellars; root cellars = cool temperatures) but I never took the time to really think about it!  Hoping for much less waste with this small change.

+ I bought a “soap saver” to use up all those little bits of leftover soap.  Love that I was able to support a maker on etsy too.

+ I sold four bar stools (that have been collecting dust in our basement for two years) on Facebook Marketplace.   I’m happy to get them into a new home and really happy to get $100 for them!  That money allowed us to cash flow a little day trip to go apple picking and have lunch near our “old-old house”, which is about an hour away.

+ I made soap from supplies I’ve had for years!  I made this recipe for goat’s milk grapefruit mint soap once before and still had half of a container full of the melt and pour product.  I made another batch (5 bars) and loved that I could actually use up something that was in my craft “stash” as well as make something useful.

+ I redeemed Swagbucks points for a $10 Amazon gift card.

+ I borrowed and read three books from the library.

+ I started buying supplies for our emergency closet: water, snacks and canned goods.  Winter (and possible power outages) will be here before we know it!

+ I went to a few thrift stores with my mom and found 12 pieces of clothing for four members of the family, two books, a big mixing bowl and three of the same Crate & Barrel glasses I own for under $40.

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments: 
JULY  //  AUGUST

No.285: A List of August’s Frugal Accomplishments

Month #2!  I’m really enjoying this challenge of noticing and recording.  I’m trying to change my knee-jerk reaction of buying instead of making do/mending/fixing and this monthly post is helping.  I’m starting to look around my home in gratitude, taking care of the things we’ve purchased, and being thankful that we have all that we need.

P.S. I have a new blog to share with you this month: The Non Consumer Advocate.  Maybe this is just me, but I prefer blogs that don’t tell me what to do, but instead show me what they’re doing.  I’m always inspired after reading her weekly “Five Frugal Things” and think you will be too.

AUGUST’S FRUGAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.  
And if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ I became very vigilant about turning off all the lights in unoccupied rooms (I’m turning into you, Dad!).  I gave a reminder talk to some of the kids who were especially guilty of this.

+ I have had a small hole in one of the throw pillows on my bed for years.  I’ve just propped it up on the opposite side all this time, but finally decided to sew it up!  It took all of five minutes and now I feel ridiculous that I didn’t do that sooner.

+ After reading about fast fashion and different types of fabric this summer, I gave myself two goals when purchasing clothes going forward: seek ethical companies (made in the USA even better!) and look for breathable fabrics like cotton, linen and silk.  These goals are tricky because the price tags tend to be $$$.  BUT!  While I was shopping on ThredUp for fall clothes for Sophie, I found a linen-blend black v-neck tee from Dolan (I think that’s an Anthropologie brand?), made in the USA, and only $3!

+ I collected all of the free samples we’ve been receiving in our “goodie bags” from the dentist and put them in a milkglass bowl I already own.  Now they’re all easy to find and we’ll be good on floss and toothpaste for awhile.

+ I didn’t buy a single book for myself.  Book Outlet even had a sale and I kept my debit card in my wallet, hah!  Still working through the stacks on my nightstand.

+ The white quilt on my bed was looking really dingy from the dirty feet of my children.  (Full disclosure, I immediately started daydreaming about buying new bedding from Pottery Barn.)  Instead, I bought a bottle of OxyClean, washed my quilt and it looks brand new again.

+ I put out a request on Trash Nothing for a deep freezer.  No luck yet.

+ Ebay had a 4-day promotion that waived the listing fees for 200 items.  I listed 40 items, saving me $14.

+ Speaking of Ebay, I sold a handful of homeschooling books we no longer use and made a nice little profit…which went right into buying more supplies for the current school year.  An educational circle of life.


+ I borrowed and read two books from the library.

+ One of my favorite coffee mugs has a crack inside, so I re-purposed it into a pen holder.

+ I made two banana breads with bananas that were starting to turn brown.

+ I went through my entire fall/winter wardrobe and looked at every.single.piece.  Perks to being the most boring dresser ever: almost all of my clothes are navy blue, olive green, gray, white or black!  I threw everything on my bed and inventoried what I had and what I needed.  So for example, I noticed that I could use a new plain black long sleeve tee and a chunky black cardigan, but I’m all set on gray sweaters and anything striped.  This process gave me a very specific shopping list, which will ultimately save me money in the long run.

+ I invested in a dryer lint trap brush (I bought mine locally, but it’s similar to this).  So many pros to this little $5 gadget: it will help prevent fires, less lint in the trap will increase dryer performance (faster loads = money saved) and it even helps with pet hair.  A worthwhile purchase.

+ I made a double batch of buttermilk waffles during our “Big Sunday Breakfast” and froze the leftovers for easy breakfasts during the week.

+ I gave some of Lucy’s puppy supplies to a lady through Trash Nothing.  I’m happy that another dog will have them since they were only used for such a short amount of time.

+ Lucy (almost 7 months old) suddenly become very picky about her breakfast/dinner, turned her nose to it and refused to eat.  After ruling out any illness, I did some research and decided to try the least expensive option: adding a little rice and/or chicken broth.  And it worked!  She’s gobbled up her meals without complaint ever since.  Silly dog.

+ I made a batch of homemade taco seasoning using this recipe.

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Previous Frugal Accomplishments // JULY

No.277: A List of July’s Frugal Accomplishments

Do you read The Prudent Homemaker?  She has a weekly series called “Last Week’s Frugal Accomplishments” and it is awesome and inspiring.  The comments are great too!  I’ve wanted to make an effort to notice and record my own frugal accomplishments and July seemed like the right month to start.

My Goal: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.  
And I would add, if you have to spend money, do it with intention.

+ We added a ton of brown matter to the compost pile and that seems to have helped with the unwanted animals problem.
+ I passed on a big box of P’s outgrown clothing to another mama on Trash Nothing.
+ We recreated a few “fancy” Home Chef meals, using the recipes cards we received back when we got the boxes.
+ I opened all of the windows first thing in the morning to let the cool air in and went as long as we could stand before turning on the A/C.
+ We started brainstorming and researching ways to reduce our cell phone and Internet bills.
+ I watched a lot of Poshmark/re-selling videos on YouTube.  They’re like business development courses for free!  So helpful.
+ I mended three small holes in the knitting on Sophie’s Cuddle + Kind bunny.
+ I also mended a pair of my black pants where the stitching was starting to come undone.  A two minute fix and they’re good as new.
+ I made a homemade weed killer using this recipe.
+ I cut the little boys’ hair at home.
+ I easily fixed the wheel on my Ikea cart after thinking it was broken for a year.  Face palm.  Now it rolls like a dream!
+ I redecorated our side entryway by using things we already own.  I splurged on a new houseplant for $10.
+ We bought a new dishwasher during the Fourth of July sale, saving us $150.
+ I stuck to my list on Amazon Prime Day and then resisted temptation by staying off of social media and not reading blog posts for the rest of the day.  No impulse shopping for the blissfully unaware, although I was tempted!

{saving our pennies} Saving Time & Money with Jet.com (& Why You Should Try It Too!)

This post contains affiliate links.


As a faithful customer for over a year, I was so excited to be asked to be a part of Jet‘s new Ambassador Program!  I’ve sung their praises here on the blog before and my experience has only gotten better as they’ve grown.  Honestly, their customer service cannot be beat!  


Let me share two recent encounters with Customer Service: 
= I tried out their new Fresh Food program and ordered three Green Machine juices.  The box arrived a day later than it was supposed to, but I (naively) didn’t bat an eye.  The Jet team called me and emailed, letting me know that the time frame of delivery did not match their standard of freshness, and I should throw the juice away immediately.  For the inconvenience, they refunded my money AND gave me a store credit.
= I ordered two Capri Sun juice boxes for the kids’ lunches, but found shampoo and conditioner in the box instead.  A honest mistake at the warehouse, so I emailed them to let them know and see if I could get a refund or a resend of my order.  They apologized for the mistake, said I could keep the wrong products AND resent my order with a bonus box of juices for the inconvience.  


The way a company treats its customers is huge to me and I’ve been so happy with Jet.  In case you’ve never heard of them (and nope, they don’t have anything to do with airfare or planes!), here’s how it works:


1. Savings add up as you add items.  
Jet is an easy way to save on all your go-to products at once. I tend to do my shopping two-weeks at a time and try to lump as much as I can into one order to max on the savings.  Jet is also a lifesaver if you’re trying to buy in bulk while sticking to a budget!  
Tip: Look out for items marked with the 2-day delivery flag: When you add those items to your cart, you’ll save more on the items you’ve already added. So, for example, when you have Tide in your cart and you add Bounty, you save on the Tide.  And when you add Cheerios after that, you save on the Bounty and even more on the Tide!  (This may or may not be my favorite part of their website, hah!)


2. Stack even more savings on top.
If you know you’re not going to be returning something, there is a box you can check to waive returns, which saves you even more.  I tend to do this with products I’ve used in the past and know we like, like paper towels and toilet paper.  You can also choose to pay with your debit card vs. credit to save an extra 1.5%. 


3. Shipping is free over $35 and delivery is fast.
The free shipping minimum is just $35, which is super easy to reach when you’re doing most of your nonperishable shopping through Jet.  Most of the items I order arrive at my door within two or three days, so with just a bit of prior planning, you can get what you need in no time at all.  (A lifesaver for those of us who may not be on top of our meal planning…ahem)

The photo above shows my latest order: A random assortment of household paper products and carb-filled goodness.  I ordered on Wednesday afternoon and the box was at my door by Friday morning!

Here are a few more tips I’ve learned along the way before I wrap up this novel of a post:

+ Similar to Amazon, the prices on Jet do fluctuate, so while I may have purchased something last month at a great price, I’ll pass on it if it’s too high this time around.  It’s really helpful if you have a basic knowledge of what things cost at your local grocery store. 
+ I also find it helpful to not be brand-loyal.  With the exception of our toilet paper (we have very specific requests from the men around here!), I will typically search for the general product (like pasta, cereal, protein bars, etc.) and then sort lowest to highest.  It’s an easy way to try new things and save more in the process. 
+ If you’re a diehard couponer, you probably won’t be blown away at the “deals” listed on Jet.  However, if you are busy, live in an area where the food costs are high, or generally just hate the grocery store, Jet is the one stop shop for you.  Jet sells a lot more than just groceries and I love that I have the ability to add a birthday present to my cart at the same time I’m picking out my pasta and cereal.

Have I convinced you yet?  New shoppers at Jet can now use the code TRIPLE15 to get 15% off their first 3 orders! Three!!  The deal is valid through Thursday, September 1, 2016. I hope you’ll try it out and let me know what you think!

{saving our pennies} Five Easy Ways to Make Money While Decluttering

After thinking about contentment for an entire week now, I believe that part of the process is enjoying the things you already have.  Not just accepting that you don’t have the latest cell phone or the kitchen you’ve pinned on Pinterest, but actually really enjoying the items you have acquired.  

 Mark and I have spent the last ten years accumulating things that make up our home.  Like most people, it’s a healthy mix of heirloom quality furniture and cheap-o Ikea, well thought through purchases and quite a few impulse buys too.  In short, we have enough.  Probably too much.

 So now as we enter our second decade of marriage (next month!), I’m looking at our things in a new light: if the items in our home cause me stress or overwhelm, it’s time to let them go.  Since we’re also working on our student loan debt, I’m killing two birds with one stone by selling what we don’t need.  Here are five easy ways I’m making money while decluttering the house:

 Linking up with Jenna today!

 1. Ebay  //  Ebay was my first experience with online selling and my first love.  (I wrote my best tips and tricks for purchasing in this post!)  I use ebay to sell easy to ship items that have a pretty good profit margin: shoes I never wear, homeschool curriculum, etc.  

 2. Kidizen  //  Kidizen is my latest find and I love it.  It’s a phone app that works much like ebay, but only sells kids clothing, shoes, and accessories: perfect one-stop shopping for moms!  I just started selling items in our shop (find me at Big White Farmhouse!) but so far, it’s been an easy experience.      

 3. Facebook Yard Sale Groups  //  One quick search on Facebook and I’m sure you’ll find a yard sale group near you.  I actually find this way the most aggravating (we’ve been dealing with people who don’t show up or neglect to tell you they pass on an item, grr), but this is the way to go when you have big items that are too difficult to ship.  Right now, we’re trying to sell a lawn mower and a headboard.    

 4. Amazon Used Books  //  Selling your old books through Amazon is really easy.  I have sold a lot of our old college textbooks and even books that I’ve read and ended up not enjoying.    

 5. Thredup  //  I can only personally speak to ThredUp from a buyer’s perspective, but I’m seriously considering requesting a bag to sell some of my unneeded clothing!  Seems easy enough: fill the bag, put in your mailbox and you’re done.  

What easy ways do you use to make a little extra money?  Tell me all your secrets!


**a few of the above links are affiliate – thanks for supporting the Big White Farmhouse!**


{saving our pennies} Five Easy Ways to Make Money While Decluttering

After thinking about contentment for an entire week now, I believe that part of the process is enjoying the things you already have.  Not just accepting that you don’t have the latest cell phone or the kitchen you’ve pinned on Pinterest, but actually really enjoying the items you have acquired.  

 Mark and I have spent the last ten years accumulating things that make up our home.  Like most people, it’s a healthy mix of heirloom quality furniture and cheap-o Ikea, well thought through purchases and quite a few impulse buys too.  In short, we have enough.  Probably too much.

 So now as we enter our second decade of marriage (next month!), I’m looking at our things in a new light: if the items in our home cause me stress or overwhelm, it’s time to let them go.  Since we’re also working on our student loan debt, I’m killing two birds with one stone by selling what we don’t need.  Here are five easy ways I’m making money while decluttering the house:

 Linking up with Jenna today!

 1. Ebay  //  Ebay was my first experience with online selling and my first love.  (I wrote my best tips and tricks for purchasing in this post!)  I use ebay to sell easy to ship items that have a pretty good profit margin: shoes I never wear, homeschool curriculum, etc.  

 2. Kidizen  //  Kidizen is my latest find and I love it.  It’s a phone app that works much like ebay, but only sells kids clothing, shoes, and accessories: perfect one-stop shopping for moms!  I just started selling items in our shop (find me at Big White Farmhouse!) but so far, it’s been an easy experience.      

 3. Facebook Yard Sale Groups  //  One quick search on Facebook and I’m sure you’ll find a yard sale group near you.  I actually find this way the most aggravating (we’ve been dealing with people who don’t show up or neglect to tell you they pass on an item, grr), but this is the way to go when you have big items that are too difficult to ship.  Right now, we’re trying to sell a lawn mower and a headboard.    

 4. Amazon Used Books  //  Selling your old books through Amazon is really easy.  I have sold a lot of our old college textbooks and even books that I’ve read and ended up not enjoying.    

 5. Thredup  //  I can only personally speak to ThredUp from a buyer’s perspective, but I’m seriously considering requesting a bag to sell some of my unneeded clothing!  Seems easy enough: fill the bag, put in your mailbox and you’re done.  

What easy ways do you use to make a little extra money?  Tell me all your secrets!


**a few of the above links are affiliate – thanks for supporting the Big White Farmhouse!**


{saving our pennies} 5 Reasons We Love Jet.com

Back in July, I learned about a new website called Jet.com.  To make things sweeter, I even won Cristina’s giveaway for a free year-long membership.  I was intrigued by the idea of an alternative Amazon and couldn’t wait to try it out.  I specifically was interested in their grocery section because…have you been to the store with five always hungry children? 


Well, after about five orders in a one month span, I can honestly say: I LOVE JET.  Linking up with Jenna to share my five reasons why I think you should try Jet too:   


We Don’t Have to Leave the House
Like almost everyone, we’re on a budget here and taking all five kids to the grocery store is a major battle of wills.  Despite telling them that we’re only there for the items on my list, I always have four little voices who can’t help but ask, “Do you think we can get this?  Oh mama, these are my favorite!  We’ve been meaning to make this for awhile, mom.”  Exhausting.  With Jet, I don’t have to leave my house and the groceries come to me!  The kids cheer when they see a purple box on the doorstep and can’t wait to see what surprises I bought.


Ordering Online Prevents Impulse Buying 
Right now, I am in full-on fall preparation mode.  Our days will be packed the next few months, so I’ve been brainstorming easy dinners and ways to keep us from frantic fast food stops.  Buying on Jet keeps me right on track.  I jot down my meal plan, then head online.  I love to look for pantry items in bulk; I actually just got a case of pinto beans because we make lots of chili around here!  A good tip is to always check the price per ounce/can/pound to see whether it really is a good deal.  (It’s a plus to have a general idea of what your favorite things cost at your local grocery store just to compare too.)  After I go through my list, I double check before I hit Order in case something unnecessary found its way in.  Jet really keeps me right on budget.    


Savings, Savings, Savings
My favorite part of Jet’s system is seeing their real-time added savings.  Jet takes Amazon’s prices and then saves you even more.  Sometimes that is as little as 10 cents, sometimes it can almost be $10!  I always take that amount into account as I’m calculating whether a product really is the best deal and from my experience so far, it has been (for a family living in northern Virginia) nine times out of ten.

When We Do Go Grocery Shopping, the Trips Are Really Fast
After purchasing all of my pantry items on Jet, grocery trips take much less time!  We can buzz around the perimeter of the store and get in and out quickly.  Mark sometimes picks up a few things, like milk or fresh fruit, on his way home from work too.  And double bonus: when you look at our cart, we look super healthy, hah!


The Purple Boxes Make Great Ships and Forts
If you ask the kids, the best part of Jet is the big boxes!  I can’t tell you the amount of hours the kids have spent making forts, ships and castles.  

From now until September 1, if you use my referral code, you can try Jet.com and receive $15 off your first order of $50 or more.  I also get $15 in credit‚ so it’s a win–win for both of us!  My code is 37C7BFB.  Let me know what you think! 

{saving our pennies} Three Money Saving Apps We Use and Love



My husband and I have big goals in the financial realm for 2014.  As you may have seen in my 100 Little Things post, we are hoping to pay off our van, credit card and student loan.  It’s daunting, but we can’t wait to be debt-free and have that weight gone!


One of the easy ways to trim the budget a bit is through our groceries.  I am embarrassed to admit that we were previously so wasteful with our money: eating out way too much, throwing away too much expired and rotten food…it was bad.  With the new year came a new commitment and so far, so good!  Getting rid of the bad habits is a good, good thing.


Today, I thought I’d share three apps I use on my phone that have helped me save some money in the grocery department.  At first, it doesn’t seem like much, but every little bit helps and it does add up!    

1. Cartwheel: We have a Super Target nearby and I’m there at least once a week.  The Cartwheel App is so great!  There are tons of offers for 5-10% (sometimes more!) off different products and they update regularly.  


There are two features that I find especially helpful:
A. When I prepare beforehand: The search bar is so helpful when I am making a grocery list at home.  I type in the items I plan to buy and see if there are any corresponding offers to put in my Cartwheel “cart”.  
B. At the store: If I don’t have a chance to prepare before I get to the store, I use the UPC scanning option to check each item that goes in my cart.    


When you get to checkout, you simply show your cashier the barcode, they scan it and done!  So easy!  I’ve been using the app for a few months now and I’ve already saved about $70.  Every little bit adds up!


2. Ibotta: This is a fairly new one for me, but I like it!  Basically, it is an app where you can earn cash back for purchasing participating products.  This video from the Krazy Coupon Lady is really helpful and explains it better than I can.  I often don’t purchase a lot of the items they offer, but I keep checking back just in case.  I also like that when you reach a certain amount ($5, I think?), you can cash out right to your Paypal account.    


3. emeals: Oh man, has this one changed my life!  Back in December, I purchased a year-long membership to emeals to help me with meal planning.  It has been worth every penny.  We have eaten delicious, healthy meals every night since!  The mobile app that accompanies the plan is amazing.  My favorite part is the grocery list.  I follow along as I run through the store and I love how you can check each item off as you put it in your cart.  Makes grocery shopping so easy!  I also like that it keeps me on track.  If it’s not on the list, it doesn’t go in my cart.  It’s a great reminder to stick to the plan and avoid the impulse buys.

What tips do you use to save money on your groceries?  Do you coupon?  I’d love to know your secrets!

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