Trying something new.....

Those that know me well, know I like to use coupons. A lot. I went to a class about coupons about 5 years ago, and walked away with stars in my eyes. I loved it!!! In the months that followed, I filled my food storage with so much food, that I hardly paid anything for. Boxes and boxes of cereal, fruit snacks, granola bars, Hamburger Helper, and on and on. As time went on, I decided that I didn't really like feeding my family stuff that came from a box. My mom cooked from scratch and that is what I prefer. For taste as well as for health reasons. The less of all those super weird ingredients, the better, right??! Plus, it is always nice to know exactly what is in your food. So, I scaled back my couponing. I make things from scratch more. I have found you can make just about anything from scratch. Enchilada sauce. Tortillas. Karo syrup. It is kind of fun to search for "homemade granola bars" online and make them yourself. I buy a lot of my food storage items that I use daily from the cannery and save a ton of money. Did you know you can get a #25 bag of oatmeal from the cannery for around $14??? That is way better of a deal than I ever got using coupons!! I buy all my wheat, flour, sugar, noodles, powdered milk, hot cocoa, oatmeal and beans there. Best deal in town. Without clipping a single coupon, baby!

I still coupon, but not like I used to. I just don't use many of the coupons that come out these days, and since we started homeschooling several years ago, I just don't have the time to run to 2-3 stores each week to get the deals. I shop once a week. That's it. Usually one store. Are deals passing me by? Totally. I do miss that whole "I just scored a ton of food for $xx.xx!!!", sometimes. So, tonight I found something I want to try called http://www.dealstomeals.com/ . I put a ticker on my sidebar if you wanna check it out. For $5 a month, (there is a "2-week free" promo going so that makes it even cheaper), she tells you where the deals are, and makes a menu out of those deals for the week. That is really appealing to me as I have been in cooking rut for awhile. I need some help!! She recommends price matching at Walmart, which I plan on doing, cause, hey my time is precious! She does not use coupons to get her deals, but I will if they match up. She also helps you know how many of a certain item for your food storage, so you can get that built up as well. Has anyone tried this website?

I have been on free websites like http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/ which is great, but I don't get on there much anymore and have been looking for something more simple and not filled with endless dialogs and questions. Give it to me straight so I can get off the computer and do something else. I liked what I saw on deals to meals and thought for $5 I will give it a go for a month and see if I like it. I am excited to see how it works for our family.

I want\need easy: 1. Tell me what the best prices are and where so I can price match them at Walmart. 2. Tell me what the heck to make for dinner out of it while you're at it. Sweet?! Crossing my fingers I love this............... :)

p.s.
Baby Noah is coming in about 8 weeks. I will have 5 kids. (Insert giddy squeal with a hint of panic). Maybe that is why I am feeling a wee bit apprehensive and am feeling like I need to try something new that will make my life a bit easier........hmmmm. I think so.