Casual couponing

One of my goals for 2024 was to do casual couponing a few times a month and I’ve pretty much done it.  

I don’t use paper coupons,  just digital coupons on the store webpage or app.  

I’m not trying to spend zero,  I just want to get products my family uses at as big a discount as I legally and reasonably can.  

There are many coupon experts out there.  

Look on Instagram or YouTube and you’ll find all the advice you can use.  

I’ve been doing my coupon shopping at Walgreens and DollarGeneral.  And just a few times at CVS.

I plan out my deals but I never know just how they will go until I check out.  

Today I got 2 big packs of Bounty towels,  3 toothpastes and 1 tooth brush. 

My out of pocket cash spent was $23ish (I  should have planned to spend Walgreens cash but I forgot and the cashier didn’t ask). I also used some digital coupons and some Walgreens rewards from last week) 

Walgreens gives out paper rewards -made the $4, $3 and $5 rewards under the toothpastes?  

And they give out Walgreens cash- see my earnings and balance on today’s receipt 

I never know exactly how a transaction will go but lately they have been going great!

At Dollar General, I use their digital coupons and combine them with sales and cash rewards.  

I’ve been happy with my purchases there too.  

I’ve got a nice stockpile at home and I just started making a pile for my daughter.  They are not low income but they are raising a family, and their property insurance and loan interest rates are going up, just like so many people.  

The main products I see with the biggest discounts and rewards are laundry products and dental products,  next are cosmetics and personal care like lotions, hair products, etc.  

I’ve also found recent deals on paper products.   And air freshener products- 

This way of shopping isn’t for everyone but I’m thankful for it and it’s helping us.  
 

❤️Rhonda 

Homemade soup and thrift store purchases

Hello everyone 

I made a batch of cabbage bean soup for our lunch and it was so fast to make with already having the carrots, onions and potatoes peeled and chopped.

I like this recipe from Lena 

Cabbage Bean Soup

She doesn’t blog anymore but she always was so sweet and had really helpful content.  

We had some cheese and crackers with our soup 

I went to 2 thrift stores this week.  I used to think our town had wonderful thrift stores.  

But I’ve been in a decluttering and downsize pattern for a while now and most stuff doesn’t appeal to me anyway.

I bought these vintage magazines and 1 little jigsaw puzzle.  I think my total cost was in the $3 range. 

This is the vegetable chopper I used.  

I bought it from Amazon but,this model is not available any longer but there are many similar ones available. 

I like it but it don’t get it out unless I’m chopping a lot of things.  The green grid thar pushes the vegs through the blades can be a little tricky to clean.  

Hope you’re all having a nice weekend 

❤️Rhonda 

Back to homemaking

Where did January and February go?  Wherever it was, they certainly went fast for me.  

But I’m ready to get back to normal homemaking, as normal as is possible anyway.  

So last night I wrote out a meal plan 

It’s not a day by day specific plan but I think we have all the ingredients on hand for these meals and they all sound good.  

To get a head start,  I decided to chop up some vegetables and I ended up doing a lot more veggies than first planned.  

I wanted to make a big salad to eat for lunches and for a supper side dish. 

I wanted to cut up onion, celery and bell pepper for the dirty rice I cooked today.  

The 5 pound bag of carrots in the fridge drawer were starting to grow roots.  

We had 3 onions on had and 1 was just starting to get soft.  

So, I processed all of them and they will be waiting in the fridge for future meals.  

Then I saw we had a half bag of potatoes. My husband peeled all them and I chopped them into cubes in the same chopper used for the onions, bell peppers, part of the carrots and celery.  

It feels good to have ingredients ready for some easier home cooked meals in the future.  

And I hope we don’t turn orange from eating  so many carrots. 

Our main meal today was dirty rice and it was so good!  

I browned a half pound of lean ground beef and then cooked it with about a half cup each onion, celery and bell pepper.  

Then I added about 3 cups of cooked  brown rice, about 2 cups of cooked red beans, 2 t Cajun seasoning and 1 t sage.  

It’s not pretty but it’s tasty.  

About my husband,  he had 3 doctor appointments this week.  He has a shoulder impingement and will start physical therapy next week.  

He also had treatments to his shoulder and back, he’s not good as new but is feeling a lot better.  

I’m very thankful that for now,  surgery is not in his future.  

Thank you all for the YouTube channel recommendations 👍👍👍

❤️Rhonda