Don't Eat Pete!

When Cousins Maggie was visiting a few weekends ago, we played our new favorite game, Don't Eat Pete! It's so much fun for toddlers and a great way to get them to eat, too! I found the game and a download for the board on a cute blog called Sparkle Power I printed it out and laminated it, and we were ready to go!

The game board has 12 squares with a picture in each one. You put a small treat (We used Cheerios.) in each square. One player leaves the room or covers his or her eyes and the others decide which fellow on the board is "Pete." When the person returns, they start eating the Cheerios from the game board. As soon as the player tries to pick "Pete," everyone yells "Don't eat Pete!" That players turn is over. Refill the game board and play again with the next player.
You can keep score by counting how many Cheerios are left, but don't worry with that yet.

The game board:
Mags (who rarely eats anything) got into the game!
AP - trying not to "Eat Pete"

Do You Clip Coupons?

I do. Well, I do now. I always thought that clipping coupons was too much trouble. Why take the time when you're only going to save a few cents? Now, I know it's totally worth it. Thanks to the following sites, I've saved over $25 each of my last three visits to the grocery store:

Money Saving Mom
Money Saving Methods
The Simple Dollar
Thrifty Jinxy
The Grocery Game

Here are the steps I've learned to take that have drastically reduced my grocery bill:
1. Clip coupons. I do this in 3 ways.
1.) The old fashion way - Clip them from the Sunday paper, magazines, or "junk
mail."
2.)Print them - There are tons of sites out there where you can print your own
coupons; just google "coupons," and you'll see.
3.)Electronically - this way has to be my favorite! On ShortCuts.com, you can click
on the coupons you want, they'll be loaded onto your Kroger card (or
whatever store you use), and then you can print out a list of the coupons and their
expiration dates. You can also do this through Kroger.com.

2. Make a plan. Using the sales flyer (found at the store or on your store's website) to see what's currently on sale and my coupons as a guide, I plan a week of meals. Then, I write out my shopping list.

3. Stick to the list. This is a biggie for me. It's hard not to drop extras into my cart, especially when I see something that I think Anne Parks would love or when I'm hungry (which, lately, has been pretty much all the time), but having a meal plan, a list, and the challenge of saving more than last week has made it much easier.

4. Have fun! It is such a great feeling when the cashier starts swiping those coupons, and the total begins to go down little by little. This has become a game for me, and the receipt showing my savings is my little trophy.

On my last trip, my total started out at $162, and after the coupons and my Kroger savings, it was $135. That's a savings of $27 or 20%! If I can save that much each week, that's a savings of $100 a month! A little bit of planning goes a long way!

So, give coupon-clipping a try, and let me know how it goes!