Maybe Your Hamburger Needs Help? Mine doesnt need S@*1%

Let me just preface this post by apologizing to my mother. I was raised in a house where Hamburger Helper was not allowed to enter. She despised that talking glove like Nicholas Cage despises good acting. My mom probably would have been more okay with me sneaking in booze or crack than the dreaded HH. Sorry mom.

My wife however was raised on the HH and it is a guilty pleasure of hers so I decided why not? It's easy to prepare it stays good for a long time and it is cost effective.

So here is the Breakdown .....54 Boxes of Hamburger/Chicken Helper + 6 boxes of Tide laundry detergent to combat all the messes my kids will make with it = $131.52 before sales and coupons. After sales and coupons you are looking at a whopping $42.24. Sorry again mom and I love you.

Have They Started Making Shelters for Battered Grocery Stores?

I know they have made shelters for battered and abused women and children but maybe someone needs to make one for grocery stores and grocery budgets. Today I smacked the crap out of Smiths and Albertsons and yelled "LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? WELL ARE YOU?!?" (seriously though...I made it a point to yell it at both places...cashiers actually loved it)

So here is what we are looking at:
10 boxes Kellogs Frosted Mini Wheats
10 Nabisco Snack Snacks
10 Powerade Zeros
4 bags Peppridge Farms Goldfish
6 bottles Bullseye BBQ sauce
4 packages Hershey Drops
1 Nivea Mens Aftershave

total before sales and coupons: $130.90
total after sales and coupons (brace yourself) $32.50

OH SNAP!!!! I JUST LIGHT SABER ATTACKED THOSE STORES IN THE FACE! That's $98.40 in savings which is 75% off! I want to give a shout out today to my boy Cliff who just had his first coupon class with me. He had his first shop yesterday since couponing and went over the 50% mark! YOUR MY BOY BLUE!!!

The Force Is Strong With This One.

Just thought I'd throw a pic or a more recent shopping trip. before sales and coupons my total was $35.30. after coupons and sales I'm looking at a smooth $11.42

Zeppoli - So Good It May Be A Sin!

So I was at a friend's house and he ordered pizza and as a dessert there was this yummy Italian fried bread called Zeppoli up in there. If you like sopapillas, churros, or doughnuts this is up your alley. So after taking a few bites i decided 3 things.

1. This is the bomb!
2. I think I may have to try and make this myself.
3. 9. I can fit 9 in my mouth at one time!

So the recipe is simple.

1 cup warm water
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 package yeast
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
at least 1 inch of oil in fryer or electric skillet heated to 375.
cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar to top

I throw all this in the bread machine and put it on the dough setting in the order listed and then let it go. If you are without a bread machine though you simply dissolve your sugar and yeast into your warm water then add your oil. then mix in the rest of your dry ingredients until a dough forms. knead the dough a few time to get the consistency right (may need to add more water. then place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and sit it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size.

Then roll it out to 1/4 to 1/3 inch thickness on a floured surface and using a pizza cutter cut it into little 1 inch squares. Then simply take your squares and place them into the heated oil (I do like a dozen at a time) for just a few moments till slightly golden. Now 375 degrees is key because it allows the Zeppoli to puff if it's cooler it will stay flat. then place on paper towels to drain off some excess oil.

Next place some in a bowl of powdered sugar or a cinnamon sugar mixture and swirl um around till coated and your done. Eat um while they still be warm!

Now cooking with yeast may not be your thing. So if you wanted you could pick up some of your favorite refrigerated pizza dough and do THE SAME THING!!!

Until next time ...may The Force be with you.

The Dark Side of The Force: Vons

So today we get to discuss the subject of the dark side. Now as you may know in George Lucas' Star War's series the ultimate power that rules all things both good and evil is known as "The Force." I have applied this to the way I shop and the use of coupons. I believe that there are many of us out there who have learned to use coupons successfully and who have learned to rock the registers with our knowledge of couponing/the light side of the force. However, Just like in the movies there is a dark side of The Force as well.

The dark side of The Force I am referring to today is Vons. Vons has put into place a coupon policy to stifle that of the couponer/Jedi knight. The policy states that only 2 like coupons can be used per transaction per customer per week.

First let me say this, the joint WAS EMPTY there was virtually no one in the store except employees because their prices are typically so high. Secondly a lot of people think that using coupons hurts stores when in actuality it helps stores! They get the cost of the coupon back plus 8 cents for every coupon so they are making more than if they just sold it to you! So if your store is empty, you know your charging an arm and a leg, and your trying to up business why put such a bad policy in place?

Even then I am a Jedi Master of Coupons so I light saber attacked the crap out of Von's regardless. My total before coupons was $122! after coupons.....$53! (this is the equivalent of Luke cutting off Vaders hand in Return of The Jedi).

As for me I wont be traveling to Vons for their "sales" anytime soon. With Wal*Mart matching their sales prices I can go there and not worry about limits! So farewell Von's it's been real and I hope you and the rest of the Empire have fun fighting the coupon rebellion!

Set My Splenda Free!!!!

I was using my radio at home when I heard a disturbing police bulletin that products where being held against there will at my local Walgreens. I thought to myself someone should do something! If only there was a super hero, a gunslinger, or a Jedi of the Coupon Variety that could get all these products for FREE. Then I remembered...that's my department!

I made haste to my local Walgreens. Using the force I opened the front doors (might have been that they were automatic...but who is telling this tale?) where I found 4 boxes of Splenda, 4 Butterfinger Snackerz, and 2 boxes Huggies Wipes being help prisoner by the evil Darth Jennifer (actually really nice for a being on the dark side, even showed me to the Splenda). I placed the items on the counter and let her ring them up at $20.23. I calmly waved my hand in front of her and said "that is not the total your looking for."
"this is not the total I'm looking for?" she repeated.
I then slid my coupons on the table and low and behold my final price was less than $1 (sales tax all of it was free!!)

I then crammed my goodies in into my x-wing (Ford Freestar minivan) and left for a galaxy far far away (home).....

Feeding a family of 5 for a week on $13.42

Yes you read the title right I am feeding my family this week on $13.42. So I'm sure you're wondering: A: how he did it. B: Ramen is not a Meal! C: How can I do that?

First I am going to unveil a secret piece to the couponing puzzle that people overlook when first starting out. The stockpiling phase! When you begin couponing your shops aren't necessarily what you see on TLC's Extreme Couponing but do include buying in bulk. You typically need to go through what is called a stock up/stockpiling/food storage phase. What this means is that you are going to shop in bulk ON THE CHEAP! instead of saving 10-15% shopping at a Costco or a Sams Club you will simply use coupons and buy in bulk for 50-90% savings and start stockpiling what you buy. For instance I probably have 20 boxes of cereal (cost me between free - 80cents) and 50 boxes of pasta (all free) in my storage now...when do you think I will have to buy those again? not for a long time, just to replenish!

A: How I did it = I simply looked into my stockpile and made a meal plan around it, then went and bought some necessities that are more perishable (milk, breads, cheese) along with some odds and ends for some recipes.

B: You are absolutely right, Ramen is not a meal! So lets take a look at this weeks menu and you tell me what you think?

Fri = Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburgers with Tater tots
Sat = Chicken Parmesan with French Bread
Sun = Shredded Steak Enchiladas with Rice
Mon = Potato Cheese Soup with grilled cheese
Tues = Bananas Fosters Pancakes with Sausage (my kids love breakfast for dinner)
Wed = Beer Brats with Fresh fruit
Thurs = Left over night (my fave, plus helps clean out the fridge)

C: How can you pull this off. I spend 5 min a week sorting my coupons and it takes me ruffly 20-40 minutes to print/clip/meal plan a shopping trip and drive to the store! I suggest simply booking a class, it worked wonders for me and my family and made what seemed impossible very possible.

PS - What inspired this trip was doing the laundry. I kept coming up with more and more spare change in pockets and thought "I bet I could feed us for a week on this" so I took the change along with whatever change was in my couch and in my car console and took it Coinstar at Smiths at got a ticket for $15.69. So after buying what I needed I still have $2.27 for next time. Yes...I fed a family of 5 on their own spare change they didn't know existed. THAT'S USING THE FORCE!!!!