I'm not stealing ok...

So I've been couponing for a few months now.  Not anything crazy like the chicks on the tv show  - but enough to where I have a little envelope...

I got these minute rice 2 packs for 25 cents

I went to the walmart and the cashier acted like I was stealing or something I had the ads to match and she buckled me on every single price match.  I finally asked her,"Why do you act like I'm taking money out of your own personal pocket --- when you damn well know your minimum wage making ass has no reason to be rude to me nor to be loyal to the people who own this damn walmart."  Well that knocked the rudeness right out of her ass.  I mean seriously, the stupid commercials say we price match - then you show up to price match and all they do is give you grief.

I ended up getting all these super D vitamins (gel caps) for 99 cents each.  I have a bunch of other stuff too - like challenge grade AA butter for 99 cents - 25lbs of blue ribbon long grain rice for $7 - jergens 8 oz ultra healing for $1 - various high end razors by gilette for him and her at about 1.99 a piece. My fave is 42oz of kielbasa for 4.15 and tyson chicken breasts for 1.99 a bag.

I only use coupons on what we use - or what my brother or sisters houses can use.  I will not buy 200 sports drinks, or 100 bottles of ketchup, or 300 cases of soda even if I can get them for free.  I focus on stuff we can use like Toilet Paper (12 pack cottonelle for 3.50 after coupons and instant rebate) and different dog food deals.  I already have 2 years of feminine paper products up and 2 years of toothpaste including sensodyne whitening and aim super clean whitening...some of them free and some of them under $1.

I got these flintstones vitamins for my 7 yr old niece they ended up being $3 a bottle after my coupons.  This will hold her until about next August.

I am not greedy - I always pay something.  Because the stores have to make money in order for us to continue getting deals.

The shop I work at gets a local free paper a few times a week.  The friday one has the P&G coupons.  The Sunday one has a redplum coupon book and another less popular coupon book.  The staff hides the papers in my locker until I come in on Monday.

I remember one day I got 5 lbs of butter, 4 packs of kraft singles, 1 lb mozarella, 1 lb medium cheddar, 1 lb meunster, 2 cream cheese, 2 marzettis caesar dressing, 2 boxes organic spinach, 2 tictacs...for a little over $18.  But as always those are things we use. 

I ran into a former co-worker of Mr. Mans when he was in sales at the grocery store and she was so happy to see me.  I invited her over that night to bring baby because I hadn't seen her in 3 years.  She saw our pantry and home and she said,"I'm so happy you two are still together and still in love - you are doing so well for yourself and are so prepared and thriving as usual."  I told her about prepping as a method to saving on expenses and not taking useless trips to the store.  I also admitted that I use coupons for things that we eat or consume such as vitamins.  She told me that she tried couponing but she just "doesn't get it" or she "loses patience"  She then admitted to me that after her husband (who is a real jackwagon and I never did like)  married her - he stopped giving her money and stopped paying her for working - UNBELIEVABLE!  She then admitted she and her daughter are on state medical benefits and food stamps.  WOW!  I don't even know how she managed that because her husbands business makes pretty good money.  Unbelievable and embarrassing.  I was thoroughly embarrassed for her.

Sometime soon - all these little government benefits will be cut off.

Then what will they do?

Where Da Cookies At...Auntie Cheffy...

We had my sister in laws sorority sister stay with us for awhile.  She received a promotion and a transfer here from Chicago and we felt it would be nice to let someone stay in our house rather than a hotel.  She was able to situate herself in a couple weeks. She has a little 13 month old daughter who comes to visit us about once a week.

Mr. Man is teaching her all kinds of funny faces and songs...and it's super fun having her around.  She is genuinely a good-natured and happy baby and super smart because she responds to multiple instructions.

 I always bake cookies for her when she comes over and I make them mini size so they fit her small hands.  Well last Sunday we had a bbq for family and friends - and I had just put in the 3rd batch of cookies when I heard her talking and banging on something.  I was busy preparing potato salad, wilted spinach salad, grilled veggies and breadsticks.  I finally turned around to look at her!

She was talkin to the STOVE! haha.  Don't worry it's heat safe front and sides.  She was pointing at the cookies talking to me in her baby talk. 

She did not leave that stove.  Until I said go play with the doggie (who she thinks is named hotdog).  At 13 months she can now handle her spoon and feed herself and seems to think she's ready for chopsticks. haha.

It's fun having her around.  Even though her grandma reprimanded me for spoiling her. HA!  This is why we also prep - not just for the family we have - but the people we've invited into our circle.

Beef...

We recently moved back to the East side of the valley which is a really happy move for us.  We were on the west side of the valley for a couple years and it really felt like social purgatory.  We met in the east side of the valley and first moved in there together.  We also had a nice little routine here for socializing, working and shopping.  I only recently started my shopping routine again...since I got a new job about 9 weeks ago.

 

 I hit one of my favorite Asian Markets where my butcher Mario works.  This guy always gives me the best cuts and will grind my beef fresh after trimming a LOT of the fat and cartilage off.  He will open fresh vac sealed bags, grind it and give me the sale price of the day.  I used to get 93-95% lean for about $1.49/lb - but lately it's closer to $1.99/lb.  I am not complaining.

 I purchased 35 lbs with none of the store managers raising an eyebrow.  This meat smells and looks good when you cook it - and the idea of getting mystery ground at the "regular" store kind of weirds me out but i'd do it if I had to.

I portioned off 10 bags at 1 lb per bag for my friend Jo to let her try it for her family.  I told her I will weigh and bag this time but next time you just get a sack of meat - haha.

Her husband was over watching the game the day I bought it and I made burgers for him and Mr. Man and let them "try" it to make sure it was good enough...As if...ahahaha. 

Ours are portioned out at exactly 1.5 lbs then I press the air out and flatten them so they stack neatly.  I don't see the point of vac sealing them because we eat them quickly enough.  I am not canning at this time because the new house has a glass top electric stove and I notice when it's on high the temperature fluctuates.  I simply do not want to take the risk of the pressure dropping especially with my new lovely All American Canner.

I will be buying an outdoor propane stove next week as well as an Excalibur Dehydrator.  It's just time to get everything in order - because as usual the analysts are projecting a 30-40% increase in food price in the spring because we had a 3rd drought this last summer.  I've been telling people to "strengthen" their pantries and to my surprise quite a few people have responded positively and started "making room."  That's really awesome - to see people love their family enough to have food and everything else up.  Then there are those who do NOT put anything up. Or even worse...

Those who ACT like they are putting stuff up yet it's just a pathetic attempt to appear like an A W A R E person but it's just a recipe of bullshit made up of whining and excuses.  I love people who say they are broke yet have money for a bunch of useless nonsensical things and they don't make room for important things.  I've heard one person say they can't prep meat and butter and stuff because they are on a budget yet they always have money for liquor or going out or other dumb stuff.  You know it used to make me mad.

It doesn't make me mad - I still feel a big disgusted but I no longer get mad about it.  I mean it's like they are slowly killing themselves and who am I to stop them from the freedom to self terminate?  When we had a chunk of money - I went and got Lasik surgery.  In my opinion not needing glasses or contacts was much more valuable than a new purse.  I like waking up and reaching for my Glock and my eyes are already focused. 

In a couple more months we'll have been putting up food 2 years.  I used to feel more philanthropic about helping others in case of emergency - but I no longer feel like that.  I am doing a lot - to hustle money to get our preps up.  I am working full time, going to school, maintaining the house - I am also selling bread, cookies and eggrolls on the side.  No one will ever call me a slacker in this life.  Someone called me the energizer bunny last night coz I was on a 2 hour skype call and I rolled out the eggrolls the whole time.  I just felt it was efficient.  I'm exhausted a lot of days but my mind is at ease.

Some days I've already been on my feet 6-9 hours doing cakes and on the way home I'm super tired.  But I will play in my mind what I could pick up in one stop just to beef up the preps...and I always find something.  Well and the fact that the lobby at work always has a ton of free papers with a jillion coupons in them.  It never ends but I'm glad to have instead of being a crybaby have not.

I've simply come to accept that some people will starve and they will have done it to themselves.  Some people will get staph or mrsa because they don't have silver ointment in their preps.  Some people will just have no clean water because they bought the latest clothes instead of a ceramic bucket filter.  It is what it is - I intend to simply focus on what I can do - and trade with those who did the same.