It's not saving unless you actually USE it.

It's Monday again and I'm actually off to a good start! I'm showered and dressed, I've got a load of laundry going and a chuck roast with potatoes and carrots in the crock pot. Nice. Dinner is going to be ready and waiting for me tonight. It's almost like having a wife of my own!

As I was preparing the potatoes and carrots for dinner I thought again that just because I get something on sale...or get it FREE because of a rebate...if I don't actually USE "it", whatever "it" may be; food, soap, shampoo, etc...then it's NOT a savings. It's a waste. I think what made me think about this was deciding how many carrots to cut up to add in to the pot roast. I know it seems silly...and maybe even a little obsessive (ahem)...but this is how my mind works. (Still wanna be my friend..?)

So I'm peeling carrots...and realistically, I'm the only one that really LIKES carrots with roast. The guys just eat a few to humor me...and I let them. So I cut enough carrots for the meal and had ONE carrot left. I was tempted to just chop it up and throw it in. But then I knew that it would more than likely not get eaten at dinner...and so after dinner I would put it in a container in the fridge as a leftover...and then it would NOT get eaten again. I decided to put the lonely carrot back in the crisper and reminded myself that I was going to make stir fry later in the week to use up the rest of that broccoli and I could toss the carrot in with that. Perfect! And no waste!

Would you believe that this is the type of thing that satisfies me to no end? And people think I'm hard to please....I think not!

These items represent the reason why I like the 99 Cent Store (which is a bit misleading as it's actually the 99.9 Cent Store....but...whatever). All of these items were purchased there last week. These are all items that I would buy at the regular grocery store...and trust me, they would NOT be a dollar. Sometimes...maybe. But not on a regular basis. I got Swanson chicken broth, Snow's minced clams, Palmolive dish washing liquid and Gatorade for the boys to take to baseball practice(these were actually $.59 each).

The 99 Cent Store is a great place to find major bargains! Stick with brand names and you should be fine...as long as the expiration date is good!

I will admit that when I shop these types of stores I am very careful. I'm diligent with expiration dates and snobby about name brands. It's got to be name brand...anything unheard of freaks me out. So what I do is I begin my shopping at the dollar stores, make the rounds, get what I can there, and then move on to the grocery outlet. I get what I can there which is usually quite a bit! Then I go to the regular grocery store for the rest. Yes, it's my last resort. However, I made an exception the other night so that I could use a $10 off coupon $50 or more, a $5 off when you buy (4) frozen food items (that I would use occasionally anyway...I'm still not totally dedicated to the whole 100 mile diet. I try. But sometimes savings wins.) and then I had another $2.50 in manufacturer coupons I used as well. My bill tallied close to $130. I saved $71 and some-odd change. I walked out of the major chain grocery store with 8 bags of groceries and a few loose items (like a 10 lb. bag of potatoes for $1.79) for $58. Not bad, eh?

I came home and bragged to the family as they helped haul it all into the house...they humored me. Again.

And again, I let them.

Now...to figure out a way to use up all of those potatoes before they start sprouting! I made mashed potatoes last night. I added potatoes to the pot roast today. Hmmm..potato soup? Shepherd's Pie? Any recipes you'd care to share with me? I'm always open to a new recipe!