Unbelievable...Can't believe I found this stuff today

I got out of class around 430 - and decided to roll by the 99 cent store. I saw a lot of ads for Organic Spinach in town which means a LOT of overstock going to the local 99 cent only's.

We already went through 4 jars of lemon juice - so I picked up 4 more jars.

Yep 99 cents each






I flipped it to check if it was still 25% juice - NOPE it's actually gone up it is now 36% juice.
Awesome.











And it's STILL made in the USA.












They had these half and half organic salad mix packages. I love these coz they are half spinach and half spring mix...I also picked up a cute little Kleenex box for the bathroom - since Momma In Law will be in town in a couple days :)










I was looking for forks for Mr. Man's desk but instead I found these - Foldable Water Bottles non BPA. Only 99 cents each. I figure these would be great in the emergency bag.









Romaine Lettuce (3 heads per bag)
Earthbound organic spinach (9oz bag)

both looked fantastic today...

I can't believe I also found 21 foot parchment for only 99 cents. That is just disgustingly cheap.







Mr. Man loves pork rinds - so I got him a bag. They had Idaho potatoes - so I picked up another bag of those. I also copped 4 cans of water chestnuts (59 cents each) and some Kraft sourcream (expires 11/2011)...

I always get water chestnuts for Momma coz she loves them in her stirfry!

I got a few other things - chapstick and such...the grand total was $23.76. Crazy right?

oh and check this out I was having a conversation with the stockguy - Rafael and he told me that tomorrow they may have the 1lb organic spinach and DAK canned ham also for 99 cents and I should come by after 12. Right On. I might be able to go I might not - we'll see.

October - One Week has passed Already?

Hello Everyone!


It's been pretty crazy but last weekend I managed to can 15 pints of beef









We have had chicken at a very good price recently but truth be told this house loves beef - and if I ask anyone what do you want to eat - BEEF is almost always the answer. Also since we are trimming the budget until December we are probably using the preps 2-3 times a week.








I got potatoes and carrots at a steal last week so I canned those - and the Atlas jars from the classico pasta worked just fine...like almost everyone said - and I do like how BIG they are.









4 quarts potatoes
5 pints potatoes (some with carrots)
4 pints carrots

it's amazing what you can do when you are really determined to get it done huh?








Last week I got 3 pineapples for 3 dollars and canned them midweek to test it. Some folks said when they have canned pineapple it's been very bland but these ones were very good - not like bush ripe but for box ripened - I won't complain.

Cost is about 42 cents a pint when you can it yourself. I do add a touch of lemon juice - not only for safety but also for flavor.



At one point I overcooked this pineapple syrup a bit too hot so that's why it has that brownish color. I caught it right before it turned amber LOL scary thought to have to wash a burnt pan from carbonized pineapple simple syrup.








Yesterday there were a few sales and I always stop by the 99 cent only before I hit the regular stores. I just hit the stores randomly - and it kind of trips me out how there is always something good when i say "let's check..."

I found this sri lankan tea 100 bags 99 cents
organic greens and spinach 99 cents




I checked the freezer for some frozen peas and beef sausage - yes on the peas..and guess WHAT - butterball kielbasa 99 cents. exp 11/27/2011.
I think they had 9 in there and I took them all.

I also picked up sunflower seeds and persian cucumbers -also 99 cents.





3 dishtowels were 99 cents
At the next store the chicken breast was 1.49 a lb but there were only 2 little packets left. Better something than nothing at least I could use it for a couple meals.









The cilantro was 33 cents.
The vitamin E with coconut oil - 99 cents.












El Pato was 79 cents
tomatoes 3 lbs 99 cents
jalapenos 3 lbs 99 cents











Cabbage was 6lbs 99 cents limit 3 heads













Limes 2lbs 96 cents













Pears 3 lbs for 99 cents

The limit was 6lbs but there were 2 of us so I got 12 lbs.










10 lbs of pears made 13 pints
2.5 lbs of limes made 3 pints of 75% juice.

I'm going to wait awhile to make juice by hand again especially using a reamer.

I'm tough but tired. haha



Click here for Pear Canning Video



Yesterday before Lit class I stopped by Ace Hardware - I've decided that even though Ace Hardware charges 50 cents more a case I am going to buy my jars there because it is privately owned - at least the one by our house is.

a case of pint jars is 10 bucks
a 6 pack of HALF GAL jars was 10.50

Kind of pricey but it is what it is.



Pineapple $1 ea at Sprouts.
reg jar lids $1.29
wide mouth lids $1.59
pectin free with coupon

I got 3 of those- I think 2 of them fell out in the car - LOL I'm discombobulated lately.






Here are the pineapples broken down...I saved the leaves for the compost as well as the trim.

When Mr.Man got home he walked through the laundry room and said WOW our house smells like pineapples! haha. That's so great - Eat THAT febreeze!








4 fresh pineapples made 8 pints plus leftovers of about 2 cups. Not painful at all because it's water bath canning...

click here to watch canning pineapple video

That's pretty much my shopping week. School has been hectic and good. I'm actually ahead in Lit because I'm such a spazz I finished my paper last Wednesday night and it isn't due until this coming Tuesday - HAHA. Imagine that. I took a Math test and it wasn't anything I really studied for and I made 3 really silly mistakes from overcorrecting it and got an 86 which brought my class average to like 94 or something. I've got some really nice people in my classes this semester - much better than last semester.

I'm just hanging in there. I'm trying to get a part time job at a coffee place or something so I can at least get some free coffee and a few hours. It seems that Mr. Man is not down with this. I know I mentioned that he already changed jobs for an increase in pay, better hours and more vacation time - but tonight he called me to tell me that he will be doing some flooring work a few Saturdays a month for extra money because I could use the money for jars.

I was really touched when he said that because he already got an increase so there wouldn't be pressure for me to work. I seriously respect him - not only because he is bringing home the bacon but because he went out and did MORE than I expected and I didn't have to nag him or something to make it happen - he did it of his own Accord. I'm not really the nagging type I've never got on his ass about money or I want this, or you have to get me this or stuff that ham head girls might do - that's just not my thing.

We prep not only for what we have but what we will have.

He is a good man truly.

Find Room in your Budget

School started today. Last semester I would go preps shopping Monday, Wednesday and Friday because my Math class was from 7am to 830am. So I would always hit the stores right after class because I would be one of the first customers and would often have my pick of produce and stuff. Today I had a class at 11 - 1, and out of habit I headed towards the store.

I managed to find a few things and pinched 60 bucks out of my budget to purchase some preps. Truth be told I was really out at my local discount places just looking for some fleishmans yeast because I am down to about 9 packets. Sometimes I do get super lucky and I'm able to find 4 packets for a dollar at a the local dollar stores. But no such luck today - I will have to look again later in the week. I really thought that I would not be buying any preps this month as I stated in the previous blog our budget isn't even thin anymore it's just straight anorexic.

But when you see things that are an absolute steal you make room for them in the budget. That is another thing about prepping - sometimes you see something and you are tempted to add it into your stores because it looks handy or seems like a deal or looks interesting...but no matter what - I pick and choose what I buy - because I always keep 60-100 sitting there in case something really good comes up.

As seen in the photos. Pink Beauty Pink Salmon in a 15.4 oz can. Since there was no activated yeast in the store I stopped to look for lemon juice and celery seed - no such luck. Right as I started to head towards the register I saw these 4 shelves fully stocked. 99 cents a piece Expiration? 06/2016. WOW

You've got to understand that this size salmon on sale is $1.99. Regular price ranges from $3.99 to $5.99 depending on which store you go to. Pillar Rock is my favorite, Pink Beauty is a close second but only because it is not Red Sockeye Salmon. After trying the Pillar rock and Pink Beauty I don't even want to eat the Chicken of the Sea brand. But it's in the preps and if you mix it with shrimp and cracker meal - it makes passable croquettes.

At 99cents a can with a long expiration I had no choice but to go back. I originally purchased 40 cans - and then I went back and got the last 20 cans on the shelf.

The last time I found Salmon at this price in this size was in June...I even put in a special order to the home office for 200 cans of the pillar rock but they said it's rarely in stock.

We are flush for canned salmon now - over 100 cans of this size in rotation!


The large Kraft Ricotta was also only 99 cents expires November and ditto for the Sour Cream. I checked the ingredients and it's like milk, milk curds, milk fat, salt - in that order. Nothing new about it but the packaging LOL. Since we were lucky enough to find Ricotta I will make a lasagna this week and the sour cream will be used to make some sour cream amaretto almond cupcakes.

That is pretty much how it works around here I cook what is here and what's on sale, tha'ts how we save money :)

Organic romaine was still 99 cents for 3 heads.













30 tab ginkgo and 8 sausage packs and 12 sausage paacks were all 99 cents each. I usually get beef sausage but I haven't seen that in over 6 weeks. Beef is getting very hard to come by at a cheap price around here.









It's almost time to make my own version of Mrs. Dash no salt blend. I have no desire to pay 3.79 a small packet so I am going to make one for me and one for Momma in Law.










Cauliflower and 5 lbs of potatoes are all 99 cents. I was really short on potatoes this week and I don't like coming up short.











Finally, I stopped at dollar tree because they are the only ones who carry the gossner whole milk and borden half and half. Both of them are shelf stable and good until February and May of next year. If the expiration date comes up I'll just use them for a small batch of white cheese. Truth be told I think the flavor on both is above average for something that comes out of a tetra pack. I've had similar milk in Asia from New Zealand - this has a smoother mouthfeel and no aftertaste. The half and half is fantastic in coffee whether it is hot or cold way better than powdered creamer.

I also threw in another bottle of lemon pepper and ground cloves. It never really ends. Things are improving for us financially, but it's going to take a watchful eye over our lifestyle and keeping our spending in check. We still have projects that need to be started, projects that need completion and we would like to go solar and on top of that I am still in school. It would be very easy right now for me to say "I'm too busy or too frazzled to prep..." I could say "It's just not in the budget...we need to live our regular lifestyle and take a week off and blow out of town..." I could say a ton of stuff but I won't - staying prepared is just a part of our lifestyle now and when you are strong and aware you don't get off the hook that easily. You just have to rise to it.

Stay Preppin'...Stay Positive.

Truth be told - I like having all of this stuff stored - because when we want something and it's not on sale I can just reach on the cupboard for it - I like slathering butter on my cinnamon rolls and not worry if there is any left. I like having chicken and beef at our disposal even if it hasn't been at a good sale price in over a month. It truly saves you money in the end because you aren't running to the store for 1 thing and come home with 10 - haha. It's nice to look on your shelf and see 7 dollar hair conditioner that you purchased for 99 cents and know that you don't need any for another year.

My lit professor heard me telling people they should get stuff like TP and toothpaste on sale and just leave it in the linen closet so they aren't constantly running to the store for 1 or 2 things and overspending. Don't you know - that high fructose sucking, junk food eating, intellectually slothful mess of a professor asked me,"do you live in a bunker?" I laughed and said,"is your house paid off?" She said,"no..." I said,"Mwahahahaha...ours is, that's what we live in" I'm surprised that cow didn't fail me - I got my A.

People who have fear and are addicted to fear will often try to shit on you. They want you to live in that same vat of shit that they live in. People who have fear are rarely loved, rarely peaceful, often distrustful and live sad lonely existences - that is WHY they try to suck you into their petty bullshit and fears. I rarely nibble in those cases. I am really working on reacting in a clever exemplified way. We don't prepare because we are scared we prepare because we want to thrive when the world changes. This isn't the end of the world - this is a growing pain - a changing pain. You just gotta work through it yanno?

Deals of the Day...

I realized Mom had given me some plastic bags for a vac sealer that is not a food saver and the food saver would not take the thinness of those bags. So I went to return them to big lots. I didn't have a receipt so I told the guy I would just take an exchange he said ok - I turned around and don't you know - Liquid Pectin is on sale.





2 pack of certo sure jell. 25 cents. Expires Sept 2012. Some of them expire next month, most of them don't. I bought the expired ones too - I"m going to try canning some jam with them and test this theory that it doesn't work after expiration. We'll see. 58 boxes HA HA.

See...the same thing goes for yeast and baking powder - so as it ages you just increase ingredient. I'll let you know how it goes in December.


7 oz sockeye salmon was only 99 cents. Expires 2014. It's not the 15.4 oz can that I like but it's also not the paltry 5 oz that most stores have. It's a win because red salmon is better than chicken of the sea brand.








I had a 10 dollar credit - and I saw these 16 pc bungee cords and 10 pc rubber tarp straps. It sounded like a good deal and we didn't have either of them.

I showed them to Mr.Man and said here you go Man Stuff. He said How do you use these tarp straps. I said I dunno. He laughed and asked why did you get it then? I said "because it looks prepperish and useful..." Then we both laughed.



My baby spatula is looking beat so I went around looking for some type of replacement. The paula deen ones were only 1.97, the 2 rubber ones were 99 cents. I even found a mini tripod for $1 since I'm going to start making cooking videos.

Weird to say that.

I'm so pooped but I just had to put this up real quick so I can sleep in a bit tomorrow and then put up 2 slide shows on my youtube.

June Wk 3: Haul Update

Discernment: noun; the ability to judge well. I'd like to say that I have pretty good discernment, sometimes it's painful to be able to discern things because then people annoy you. Discernment is something that you should practice. To discern does not mean to judge people, it means the ability to weight potential outcomes or possibilities. To be able to discern quickly is a skill that will serve you not only in prepping but in many aspects of your life. If you can reflexively that situations are bad you are more apt to make a fight or flight decision faster than that random person next to you.

I mention this because I realized today that I have shopping discernment. Haha! That sounds funny but it's really true. I remember when Mr. Man and I first met and he used to always come along to do the shopping because we both worked late and it was extra time we could spend together. He always said when I went into shopping mode I literally got a game face and I somehow gravitated towards the deals or better purchases. I used to just laugh and wave it off and today - I really found some random things that you don't normally find.

Someone once asked me if I only prep what is on sale. Because we were able to complete our list of staples now we can add other items, but initially I suggest that a target goal be met for staples prior to using sales exclusively for your preps. But the deals I've got in the last week are ridiculous; today I was only supposed to hit 2 stores but something inside me said - try Walgreen's at this location and then my produce guy text me (see below). I know it sounds ridiculous to say that a person can have deal instincts - but you can.

Try your clearance rack discernment - Hit a clearance area of the store and give it a quick glance up and a quick glance down. See if anything catches your eye. If nothing catches your eye then scan the shelves like you would a book. That is when you find something that you didn't realize that you could use or put up for a rainy day. Anyone can go to a shelf and pay regular price for stuff - but if you can go through 50 -100 feet of clearance shelves and find a steal in less than half an hour - you are almost a pro - haha.

I was really looking for more sockeye salmon but I didn't find it - instead I found these things: vaporizer, sunflower seeds, aluminum tape, fly paper, sewing kit refills, and organic powdered red tea with powdered lemon and powered honey - Yada yada yada...maybe that will put some of those with their Organic Prepping high and Mighty bullshit on the SHUTTUP.

Anyway - it was all 99 cents each




My sister and I also stopped by dd discount across the street. I guess it's some kind of clearance center affiliated with Ross. But I was able to find a candy thermometer for only 2.99 and a granite ware cake pan for only $1.99









Hard to believe anything is made in the USA in a clearance store anymore...












Next we stopped by Marshall's because my little sister wanted a bathing suit from there and I actually found this square ceramic bake-ware for $5 - and it's made in Portugal: Oven and Dishwasher safe. This thing will be awesome for the solar cooker








I picked up some Aunt Jemima Instant Oatmeal - no high fructose corn syrup or any of that mess. not a bad deal: $1 a box - I think it has 10 or 12 servings inside of it.










Mom 1 took my cheesecloth so I went ahead and bought a few to keep in the cabinet - these were also $1 each.











DD discount had these multitools for $3.99. They are not the best like a leatherman or whatever but they will do for now. But it is a simple multitool, a swiss army style knife and an LED light keychain.









Whatever the case - it is a good price.













Before we went to Poppa In Laws for Fathers Day we stopped by the 99 cent only by his house to pick up a few things for him and I happen to find these organic coconut flour and whole flax seed - (all of it expires 2013 if that matters at all)...you know the drill - everything was 99 cents. I'm going to add Flax to our daily diet because we have 20 lbs of it put away already.






It's so awesome to find this because I have some recipes for it specifically. Funny how people sit all high and mighty about their "SACRIFICE" for an organic lifestyle and all that bullshit and I'm snatchin up stuff left and right for a penny.









Monday we stopped by Costco and Safeway to fill out Mom and Dads prescriptions. On the way home I said hey lets stop at this Walgreen's and check it out we never go to this one. Well I happen to find prenatal complete vitamins for 5.24 each PLUS they were buy one get one - that is 500 pills for 5.24 LOL.







They also had this ocuFresh eyewash for 1.99. It has 6 or 7 individual eye washes and an eye cup or something. I figured it wouldn't hurt to add it to the first aid kit.










Here's a receipt for all you disbelievers lol.













I happened to stop at one more walgreens on an alternate route home and they had these individual superglue things for only 80 cents. Pretty cheap huh. Then I got home and my tasters choice samples were there Yippee.









I also picked up another bottle of b-12 for 16.99. I know it sounds expensive but outside of Costco they are charging the same price for less than half the amount of pills.

Sickening how they charge so much for vitamins - and all the good ones cost the most --- no wonder people sit around and just be sick.






Last stop Safeway for my Dad's meds...I was trolling the store for mason jars and they didn't have any - but they sure did have these Pyrex with lids for 4.25 or something like that.










Here's another receipt for you disbelievers. That ain't my name on there - I use a dummy number from our childhood home. I use dummy numbers for all my discount programs, with dummy PO box addresses, and dummy emails - I've been doing it since 1997 like that ever since I worked on a data warehousing project.







Today's buys were pretty good:
Rice, long grain: 4lbs/$96 cents
Pinto beans: 4 lbs/$.96 cents
Mangoes: 6 pcs/$.96 cents
Liquid Pectin: 99cents each
Peanut Butter: $1 each
Coconut Milk: 99 cents each
Key Limes: 3lbs/$1






Strawberries: 88cents/lb
REAL Bacon Bits: 1.29 each
Sara Lee whole wheat: $1 each
Morehouse German mustard: .99cents each

I don't even know how to tell you I do it except it's a combination of memory, scanning and instinct. Just put yourself out there.






Jars with Coupon: $7
Sugar: $13.58 / 25 lbs.

Hard to believe sugar is actually down 20 cents since I last got it. But I will tell you this - at Costco sugar is now close to $16 for 25 lbs.








After I picked up Mom's request for Diabetic Robitussin I stopped at the Walgreen's for a rockstar energy drink and I noticed they had a clearance aisle.

Well wouldn't you know -they had these 60 watt light-bulbs for just 75 cents. 12 light-bulbs for 75 cents! That's nuts.






Mr. Man is adamant in always saying that we get light-bulbs for our preps because next year they will start pushing the blinking fluorescent from GE that are supposedly energy saving. 1) florescent lights give me a headache. 2) Florescent make your complexion look like shit no matter what color you are. 3) Yuck

I got 6 light-bulbs last prep mission for 75 cents and thought that was a good job but 12 bulbs is a great job.










Couple more things today:
Kerr lids and caps in small mouth size - I'm going to start carrying small mouth ones for the purpose of gifting them lol. The Lindt chocolate was only 2.27 and the Ghirardelli chocolate was only 1.12. The toothbrushes were $1. and the coffee filters were just 88 cents a pack. I also found another candy thermometer but this one I am mailing to a friend. And I found a strange little "finger cutter" for $2 and post its were only 50 cents. I also picked up another set of 3 funnels for $1 - these ones are really good quality. And I figure it doesn't hurt to have funnels.

This is my steal of the day!

Thank you to my Produce man - now I have to bring him cupcakes - because no good dead goes unpunished. haha.

He always sends me texts when he has something he thinks I'd like = last time he sold me Asparagus at 99 cents a kilo. Today he told me he had overstock of the organic baby spinach.




Well first of all I love Earthbound because they are near my hometown. Earthbound is based in San Juan Bautista, California. I also like this kind because it is crunchy enough to eat and not chalky at all but it is also strong enough to cook with...and that is rare for an organic.








Oh boo hoo hoo on the Organic Purists...Let's see you grow 17 lbs of Organic Spinach for a mere $16.50. Looool yeah you heard me it was about .97 cents a lb. Bwa hahahha.

1 lb: house eats
13 lbs: for canning
3 lbs: for dehydrating






It's not very cute is it - but it's very yummy to us. That's it, that's my whole story --- that's week 3 of the preps for this month. I wasn't really planning on doing much since I leave in a week but if you are given a blessing and an opportunity then by all means you have to rise to it. Can't be sitting around the house painting your toenails and eating ferrero Roche can ya?

:)