I’ve decided that I am going to start tracking the amount I save at the supermarket each week with coupons and price matches.  In part this is to keep myself motivated that the hours of work involved is worth it.  Additionally, I hope that it serves as motivation for others as well.

For the pantry stockpile I purchased 10 lbs of Barilla pasta and 10 5oz cans of chunk light tuna.  I picked up 5 bottles of Ocean Spray Cranberry juice (3 100% juice, 2 “cocktail”) and 3 64oz. containers of Tropicana punch/ade (2 of which are in the freezer).

For Accolan’s daily smoothies I picked up 8 lbs of oranges, 3 lbs of strawberries, over 2 lbs of bananas, and 2 whole pineapples.  I also decided to try out Silk’s fruit and protein beverage ($1.50 a container after price match and c/o) as a way for me to have a cheater’s smoothie as I dash out the door to work.

The “snack drawer” is the happy recipient of 4 boxes of Entenmann’s treats, 1 package of Chips Deluxe cookies, and 3 boxes of Great Value brand snacks.  I’d like to say these will last a while but blogging is about honesty.

I also brought home 3 8oz blocks of cheddar cheese, 2 bags of packaged salad, 4 16oz bottles of salad dressing, a loaf of white bread, an 18-pk of eggs, a box of no-name Splenda, a lb of Oscar Meyer bologna and 2 16oz bottles of coffee creamer.

I also snagged 2 packages of dental floss and 2 small tubes of hand cream.

We saved $40 in price matches and $24 in manufacturer coupons.  I spent about $65 for $130 worth of groceries.  That’s a 50% savings!!!

Now granted “earning” that $65 savings comes at a cost …

1) It takes hours to find, print and sort the coupons (and then match them to a given week’s sales).

2) I have to buy ink for my printer (printing in grayscale & draft mode helps alleviate this) and purchase the weekly Sunday paper (sometimes multiple copies)

3) It takes time to read each competitor sale flier and list all the sales that intrigue me.

4) I have to then take that list and narrow it down further in order to make sure that whenever possible I am matching a coupon to the sale and that I am adhering to my weekly budget.

And then there is the juggling act that comes from having to keep track (at least mentally) of what I have on hand and what meals I can make out of it.  I personally think it’s worth it.  What are you willing to do to save money on groceries?

Blessings

Jia

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The last couple of weeks have been difficult for me.  There is of course the physical aspect of it.  Working 60+ hours a week, only rarely getting a day off, is tough.  Add to that my issues with chronic pain (arthritis, neurofibromatosis, pelvic/abdominal adhesions) and fatigue and I’ve been, frankly, a mess.

More recently my stress levels have been heightened by both a situation with Reya (not fit for public consumption) and an issue with my primary job where (just like Spring of 2011 and 2010) I am being threatened with a pay cut.  The reasoning behind this threat is long and convoluted (and unmerited to boot) and is compounded by the fact that the business of telemarketing sales has become so much harder than it was when I joined this company 10 years ago.  Unfortunately, while I’ve managed to squeak by in years past I might not be able to pull it off this year – which fills me with stark terror as I can’t afford to lose the $160-320 a month I might lose.

Last week I reached my breaking point.  I took a sick day on Wednesday after having a headache for 3 straight days.  Friday found me crying 2 hours into my shift as I was, yet again, finding myself unable to make a sale no matter what I said or did.  I realized that I had to make a change.

Effective this week I have rearranged my hours at my primary job, and cut back from 40 to 36 hours a week.  This will allow me to have one day completely off a week – to catch up on sleep, to catch up on cooking (and other chores), to spend time with the family, and to just not have to deal with customers (on the phone or in person).

I also hope to use this found time to start working on me.  My therapist wants us to start working on excavating/rediscovering my Self.  The real me that I have slowly over the years shoved down into boxes, put up on shelves, or hidden in closets.

I will of course keep you posted.

Jia

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In years past our gardening has not done very well.  Most years we used containers – and got very little for our efforts.  Last year my father relented and allowed us to actually break ground and plant an actual (albeit small) garden.  It pretty much failed.  Some of it was due to weather, some of it was due to poor soil quality, but most of it (I think anyway) was due to the allowed spot getting too little sunlight.

This year my dad gave his go-ahead to actual rip up a goodly amount of lawn for raised beds.  We are planning to use the square foot gardening model and are planting much more than we ever have before.   Earlier this year Accolan built the frames for 2 8′x4′ garden beds – which gives us room (according to their plan) for an awful lot of variety.

The first has been in the ground for several weeks now, and this week found me getting my first seedlings and seeds planted.

So far we have planted various culinary herbs, 6 squares of sweet peas (8 plants in each square with tepee frameworks to climb up), 2 squares of mixed lettuce (buttercrunch, romaine, and red leaf), 1 square of spinach, 2 squares of broccoli, 2 squares of cauliflower, and 1 square of purple kale.  I also have 4 squares of bush bean seeds planted as well as 1 box each of radish, beet, and turnip seeds.  There is still room for cucumber and zucchini.

Accolan broke ground on the second bed today.  This is earmarked for primarily nightshade variety veggies (yes yes I know that they are botanically fruit) – eggplant, tomato, and sweet bell peppers.

Not much excites me these days (depression sucks), but, this garden does.

Blessings

Jia

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Probably the biggest, and unfortunately the most time consuming, way I save money on groceries each week is by making use of the ad match policy at my local Walmart.  If you’re unfamiliar with it, in simple terms it means that the cashier can lower the prices on the items you’re buying to match ads in local competitor fliers.  And while this policy means matching prices on toys, movies, and electronics, it also means matching prices on groceries.  It must be the exact same item, but this applies not only to brand name items, but to fresh meat and produce as well.

This is what I do:

Over the weekend I read my sale fliers (Acme, Pathmark, Stop & Shop, Top Tomato, Aldi, A&P, Foodtown, Shoprite etc) cover to cover making lists of any item that catches my eye as being a particularly good deal for each store.

I then condense my list into a master shopping list that lists everything I plan to price match and the store I am matching it to.  For example:

• Frozen – Bird’s Eye Steam Fresh Veggies – 10 to 12 oz – Shoprite – .99 each
• Produce – Whole Pineapple – Aldi – .99 each
• Meat – Bone-In Asst’d Pork Chops – Pathmark – 1.49/lb

Shopping involves using two carts – one for items that don’t have a price match and the other for everything I will be asking my cashier to do a price adjustment on.

Checking out takes forever, I won’t lie.  It gets easier as you get to know the cashiers in your local Walmart and learn which ones have a harder time with doing the manual price change.

You can still use manufacturer coupons on top of any ad matches you take advantage of.

This week I was able to save over $50, close to 50% of my total grocery purchase.  This may be a time consuming way to save money on your groceries, but in my opinion is well well worth it.

Blessings

Jia

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The more time that passes with me working two jobs, the more things manage to fall through the cracks.

Most recently (and most troubling) has found me having to play catch up on a number of bills, because simply I forgot to pay them.  Of course that this is compounded by the fact that (even with working my full time job and my part time job) that there isn’t enough money to pay everybody.  And, unfortunately, this is only getting worse as we live off of credit cards as a way to supplement my meager wages.

Most of this is due to the limitations of my wage-earning ability right now.  I am barely managing to hack it working the hours I am.  And there are times (like with an upcoming appointment for Sephoni at the gastroeneterologist, or an unpaid sick day, or an evening off so I can go to therapy, or an unpaid holiday closure (Easter, Memorial Day, etc) at my full time job) when I have to lose hours I really do desperately need.  Of course this is compounded by the fact that (despite promising time and again to stop) we have not yet been able to give up all of our unnecessary spending.

The bigger cuts were relatively easy.  Cutting back on cable services.  Using less utilities.  Telling Sephoni that we can’t afford summer camp this year.  You get the idea.

But, the smaller expenditures seem so harmless at the moment (or maybe more honestly we feel entitled to them) and add up all too quickly.  A bottle of cheap wine, a bag of chips, a novel I’ve been waiting to read, a bunch of clothes off clearance.  $5 here … $10, 15, or 20 there.  It adds up.

I think a lot of it had to do with thinking that it would be resolved by now.  That we only had to hold on “for a little while.”  Unfortunately, more than 8 months later, there isn’t an actual end in sight.  Armed with the knowledge that it will be at least 4-6 months until we hopefully start to get anything in the way of good news (if Accolan gets approved for VA benefits, if our lawyer can convince his disability provider to do the right thing, if we can get him approved instead by SSDI) I have renewed my intentions toward living on less, living more simply, learning to be free from the gimmies.

I don’t share this to whine, although I know that it is probably how it sounds.  I share this more as a way to hold myself (us) accountable.  To start moving in the right direction.

In the meantime all I can do is try to hold on to the faith (the hope … the prayer) that it will all be ok in the end.

Blessings

Jia

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1) Stock up on staples, even if they are items that do not go on sale.  An example of this in our house is lentils.  They never go on sale, but I buy the store brand so that I spend as little as possible and try to have around 5 lbs on hand at any given time.  Other items that fall into this category are items that I keep on hand at all times (like milk, eggs, onions, garlic, cheese) whether or not I am able to buy them on sale.

2) Stock up on other staples when they ARE on sale.  Some examples of this in our house are things like canned crushed tomatoes, dry pasta, sugar, flour, ketchup, pickles, and frozen (and canned) vegetables.  I buy them when I can find a good price so that I always have them on hand and don’t have to pay full price when I want to make spaghetti sauce or soup.

3) Each week plan your meals around a combination of what you already have on hand and what happens to be on sale at the supermarket.   Before I go food shopping, I always give quick peaks in my freezer/s and pantry for ideas on what I might be able to make.

4) Venture outside of your comfort zone and try new dishes.  When it comes to eating well on very little, you may find that you are using the same ingredients over and over again.  To avoid burn-out it is important to find ways to turn the same staples into new dishes.  It was this very impetus that led our family to try Kushari, and low and behold we found that we loved it.

5) Make larger batches and freeze part.  We all have those days, nights (heck … weeks!) where finding the time and energy to cook is nearly impossible.  By filling your freezer with some meals that simply need to be defrosted and reheated you will find that it is easier to avoid the lure of ordering in take-out (or even worse heading out for fast food).

6) Make friends with side dishes.  Whether it means making vegetables, baking a potato, or  making some elbow noodles and tossing them with butter, side dishes are a great way to help keep the per serving cost of a meal down, while still making sure that everyone is able to eat their fill.

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I am planning on taking time over the next few weeks to do some work here at Blade and Cauldron.  I want to try and get this blog to have a much clearer focus toward our dreams of creating the life we want.

I am hoping that by doing this that I will be able to find the voice of the muse again and find my way back to blogging regularly.

Blessings

Jia

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Much is the same since I last wrote anything here at Blade & Cauldron.

I’m still working two jobs, often 7 days a week, and there is as yet no end in sight.  My health issues are starting to speak up a bit louder as time passes, but so far I’m still holding my own so long as I rest when I am not working.

Accolan is staying as positive as possible in spite of the fact that, since the appeal (can you call it an appeal if they didn’t send him for another examination but just said “no, we’re not reconsidering”) to reinstate his long term disability was unsuccessful.  We are also in the process of applying for Social Security disability (with the help of an attourney) as well as Veteran’s benefits as well.  None of this does anything to bolster an already shaken sense of self esteem however.

Reya is doing well academically in high school this year.  That being said, we are back in a place where her mood disorder has kicked itself (while not thankfully into high gear) up a couple of notches.  Add to this the expected issues with raising a 17 year old who wants to be given all the rights of adulthood, while having none of the responsibilities thereof.

Sephoni has been having stomach issues for over a year now.  Things have gotten bad enough that she has missed 14 days of school to them since September (not counting days spent down on the couch over weekends and holidays.  We are working with a gastroenterologist and undergoing a lot of tests.  We are also keeping a food/symptom journal to see if we can identify triggers.  Aside from that she is doing well in school and enjoying being in band, choir, and the school musical.

Reya dropped out of Tae Kwon Do and while Sephoni has missed quite a bit of class due to illness and has been unable to proceed further in her belt testings due to our finances it still looks like she’ll be able to go for her black belt in October.

Hope this finds you all well and happy.

Be blessed.

Jia

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Id like to say that I’ve accomplished a lot.  Truth be told I haven’t accomplished very much at all.

We were starting to do well in terms of making healthy dietary changes.  More recently, we’ve fallen back to old ways of comforting ourselves with “junk.”  But, overall we are still eating better than we were.

I haven’t had the time or energy to tackle any de-cluttering tasks.  But, my father will be traveling a bit this month and I will have a little more freedom to pull our bedroom apart and slowly put it back together.

I have gone to 2 appointments with my therapist and am making a commitment to myself to go every 2 weeks for the duration.  It is a hard thing to admit that I need help.  It is even harder to lose my habit of making jokes about my troubles and get real about how frustrated, scared, and even angry I am all too often.

After a brief drop in hours immediately after the holidays my hours at Walmart have returned to their usual level.  This means that I am back to working 58-65 hours a week.  Days off are a rare luxury, but I have learned that I have to have them for both my emotional and physical health.

In terms of health, the four of us have taken turns with various ills during the entire month of January (Sephoni alone has missed 8 days of school).  Luckily, the girls have health insurance again as of yesterday (through the state) and were able to go to the doctor today and get on antibiotics.  In fact, that is probably the best thing that has happened so far this year – it is a huge load off of my mind and weight off of my shoulders to simply not have that worry (or the out of pocket expenses) anymore.

I hope that 2012 has been blessing each of you

Jia

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While the new year actually began 2 weeks ago, tomorrow marks the first day of what I hope will be a year of positive changes.  Some of the delay can be blamed on us wanting to get the last of the holiday food out of the house, as well as to get past Accolan’s birthday.  Much of it though can be blamed on some health issues that flared up for me.

I am, thankfully, feeling much better than I was for a while there and am looking forward to getting my life back on track.

This weeks goals include:

Starting a healthier eating regimen.  Until the growing season returns and brings with it affordable fruit, smoothies are on the back burner.  Instead Accolan will be starting his days with oatmeal and I will be breakfasting on fat free Greek yogurt with raw honey.  Lunches will have a focus on raw veggies – salad for Accolan and raw veggies with dressing for me (since I can’t digest lettuce).  Dinner will be healthy real food with smaller servings (this week’s menu includes vegetarian chili and a white bean & sausage stoup).  Snacks will be fresh fruit, unsweetened applesauce, sugar free Jello, or air-popped popcorn.

Tomorrow I plan to go to Walmart and pick up some storage boxes and bins and start on decluttering our bedroom.  This means tackling the desk and years and years of paperwork, sorting through every drawer, closet, nook and cranny.

Tuesday I start therapy. As a benefit of Accolan’s Veteran status I am able to get this free and with all the stress that we are currently dealing with (and all of the baggage over the years that I have simply stuffed down) now is as good a time as any to work on getting my head straight.

What steps are you making so far this year?  Are you excited about any particular goals?

Blessings

Jia

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My theme for 2012 is RECLAIMING …

reclaiming my health (and my husband’s)

reclaiming our finances

reclaiming my spirituality

and reclaiming our dreams by working at them each and every day

Part of that reclamation work includes reclaiming a blogging life.  With 2 blogs to keep (2witches, which will focus on all things related to spirit and bladeandcauldron which will focus on the more physical aspects of life).  How, exactly, I am going to fit this in (while I continue to work 2 jobs for the foreseeable future) I haven’t yet decided I only know that it is not something I am willing to walk away from.

Happy 2012 to each and every one of you.

Blessings!

Jia aka Mama Kelly

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I am finding it harder and harder to sit down, when time allows, and find anything meaningful to blog about.

I am still here.

I am still doing my darnedest to work both jobs, do them well, and have energy left over at the end of the proverbial day to put a smile on my face for my family.

I am still spending what extra time I have to peruse my favorite couponing web sites, plan out each week’s shopping, cook real food whenever I possibly can, and working on some crochet projects for holiday gifts.

I am doing everything in my power to hold on to the hope that, in the end, that Accolan’s benefits will be reinstated and that life will be able to return to some semblance of normalcy before too many more months have passed.

In the meantime I wanted to stop by and wish a Happy Halloween to the readers that are still with us (and a Blessed Samhain as well).

Jia

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Friday into Saturday is usually the one night that I can try and sleep in in order to play “catch up” on the previous week’s lost and broken sleep.  Thankfully last night was one such night.  THough, truth be told, I could lie right back down and fall back to sleep given the opportunity.

I only work a short shift at job #2 tonight (4 hours), but tomorrow will be  a bit hectic as I am working 5 hours at job #1, coming home briefly, and then going to job #2 for another 4 hour shift.  Then it is a usual week: 40 hours at job # and 21 hours at job #2.

We’re managing to survive since Accolan’s disability was cut off in July.  Not everything is getting paid on time.  We are having to fall a bit further into debt each month.  But, all things considered, we’re okay.

Of course it means that my 3rd job (now that my actual job #3 ended) is very close to what I used to do when Accolan was the sole bread-winner – to make what income we earn seem like much much more.

Some of that means spending hours flipping through sale flyers, perusing couponing websites, printing and or cutting coupons, and shopping.  Shopping with multiple coupons and combining them with special sales and price matching can be a little complicated and so it is something that Accolan and I do together.

From what I’ve seen of this week’s sale flyers, I won’t be able to pull off anything close to my great deal at Acme this week, but I should be able to fill some holes in the pantry nonetheless.

Another part of my “third job” is what is always is this time of year – gearing up for the holidays.  Watching for good sales on items the girls want/need is part of it.  But, this year, much of it involves trying to make as many presents as possible. You know? With all that free time I have (hee hee hee).

So are you starting to plan for the holidays?  Do you make any gifts?

Blessings

Jia

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I spent a goodly amount of time this week perusing sale flyers, my two favorite couponing websites, and printing out online manufacturer coupons.  Most of it is for my weekly price-match shopping trip to Walmart tomorrow.  But, this week also required a separate trip to Acme so that I could take advantage of a special sale (extra $5 off the purchase of 10 select items) and the ability to double coupons.

I wound up having to bring the whole family with me so that I could break the order down into 4 separate orders.  I had to make some last minute changes to my plan.  But in the end we purchased:

2 boxes Cookie Crisp cereal
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
4 cans Progresso soup
3 bags Betty Crocker Cookie Mix
2 boxes Betty Crocker Muffin Mix
2 bags Chex Mix
2 bags Bugles
1 box Milk ‘N Cereal Bars

8 boxes Totino Pizza Rolls
4 Individual Totino Pizzas

6 cans Grands Biscuits
2 cans Crescent Rolls
2 boxes Go-Gurt Yogurt

The Down and Dirty?

The full retail for these items would’ve been $112.51

I spent ….. $35.08 …. a savings of 69% and received a bonus $12 worth of boxtops for education that printed out at the end of my order.

But, it gets a little better … one of the items I purchased didn’t get it’s sale discount so on my way home tomorrow I will be stopping for an adjustment (and will likely get the item FREE).

Wonder how well I’ll do at my next shopping outing tomorrow?

Blessings

Jia

PS Sorry I haven’t been here much.  Jobs #1 and 2 are taking up most of my energy (and time).  Job #3 didn’t last as long as I would’ve hoped and so crazy couponing is becoming my third job.  Add to that the fact that I am trying to make a number of holiday gifts this year and it seems that even my “down time” is pretty darn busy.  I am hoping to be able to better organize my time in the weeks ahead and, at the very least, hope that each of you are well.

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The week started out on a sour note.  Sephoni wound up with another occurrence of stomach pain and vomiting, and after some hemming and hawing Monday found us at the E.R.  While she wasn’t truly emergent, she’d been unable to keep much, if anything, down since Saturday and it was the 3rd episode in 3 weeks.  Having no health insurance these days, it seemed to make more sense to take advantage of the E.R.’s ability to do blood-work (and any other necessary testing) so we could leave with answers even if it meant another bill I would have to figure out a way to pay off.

Their diagnosis was the same it was last year – GERD.  It took until Thursday for her to be able to return to school, but by her birthday on Friday she was almost 100% recovered.  And so we were able to start off our weekend on a positive note.

We decided to take her to buy a new bird as the bulk of her birthday present.  She had missed having a feathered friend since the passing of Maya and for about $40 (bird, food, treats, new toys) we were the “best parents ever.”

Saturday brought with it the arrival of our friend Casey.  We had a lovely relaxing day: went out and bought our Halloween pumpkin and then went to a local Chinese place for dinner (treated by my dad). Afterward, we came home and had birthday cake.

Sunday we had a leisurely morning (coffee and pastry) and headed out to Eastern State Penitentiary.  The history was fascinating.  The visit itself was creepy and a bit sad.  While we didn’t have any overt experiences there were plenty of moments of arm hairs standing on end.  We ended our day with burgers at a nearby restaurant and a unexpected stop in a used bookstore.

It has been dubbed the “best birthday ever” by Sephoni and I think we all had an equally wonderful time.  Casey left last night, as always too soon for my taste, and the plan is for her to come up the weekend of 12/17 for our 4th annual cookie baking extravaganza.  The expectation is that she might have to pick up the bulk of the baking (with my girls as her slaves) as I don’t know how much (if any) time I will be able to take off.

In other news, I am struggling with what to do in terms of blogging.  I desperately still want Blade and Cauldron to turn into something more than a place for me to whine.  I am not really ready to let go of 2 Witches, and am contemplating renaming it (and possibly even putting everything previous into unreadable draft status) and starting anew.  The problem of course is lack of time, lack of energy, and lack of inspiration.

Working 60-65 hours a week does not leave me much.  But, I have to believe that there are ways to make the time, ways to create the energy, and even find the inspiration.

Blessings

Jia

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