Final Garden Update 2009

Thanksgiving week seems the perfect time to give the final update on our garden, including my estimated cost vs. yield breakdown.  The garden actually continued to live and give us a harvest through the end of October; the first real frost at the beginning of November was what really killed the remaining plants.  Even now, we have a few radishes, carrots, and salad greens still to harvest, which are the last bright spots of green in our bare beds.  Last weekend we pulled out the other plants, and we plan to turn them into compost.

I really enjoy gardening, and it is a great family activity and hobby that we absolutely plan to continue.  However, saving money was definitely also a consideration in planting the garden, so I tried to keep decent records both of what we spent on the garden and what we harvested.  I knew that we spent a good deal in the spring on tools to create our garden bed, as well as seeds and soil, so I was willing to accept that we might not have a return on our investment this year.

Here are my final tallies. The garden yield is not exact; it is to the best of our memory and our imperfect record-keeping.  The approximate grocery store prices are in parentheses, using HT's online grocery store as a guide.  I used prices for conventionally grown produce, since that's what I would have purchased, but in reality our homegrown produce is organic, which increases its actual value.

Investment:
Home Depot - $112.91 (tools and supplies)
Home Depot - $36.65 (seeds, starting mix)
Walmart - about $40 (stakes)
Home Depot - about $30 (soil)
Total: about $220

Harvest:
30 cucumbers (@ $.75/each) = $22.50
29 bell peppers (@$1.00/each) = $29
61 jalepeno peppers (@ .25 each) = $16.25
7 bunches of radishes (@ 1.00/each) = $7.00
15 carrots (@ 2.00 total) = $2.00
120+ cherry tomatoes (@ 2.99 for 50) = $7.50
16 packed cups of fresh basil leaves (@ 1.99 for 2 cups) = $15.92
1 spice jar full dried basil (@ 3.00) = $3.00
1 gallon storage bag dried mint tea (@ 4 x 2.50) = $10
2 spice jars full of dried parsley (@ 2.00 each) = $4.00
2 bunches fresh parsley (@ 1.79 each) = $3.58
salad greens for 10 people (@ 3.19 for 4 people) = $.7.98
Total approximate value of produce: $128.73

So technically, we spent about $100 more on the garden than we yielded this year.  However, the vast majority of what we spent was on tools and equipment which can be reused next year.  We also experimented with saving the seeds of many of our plants, so we may be able to reduce what we spend on seeds next year as well.  Further, I think that with better planning and care we could have yielded a lot more on the garden, which will be something to work towards in the future.


Overall I'm actually quite happy with our garden this year, and I'm confident that next year we will actually save money by doing it.  I look at it as something that we are incorporating into our lifestyle, which might take a little time to reach its full potential.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
                                                                                                                - Deut. 8:10

Wegmans Deals: 11/22-11/28

NOVA Wegmans shoppers: don't forget to continue using your two free coupons each week.  Deal Chasin' Mama kindly let me know that these coupons, sent to shoppers in the area of the new Leesburg store, can actually be used at any Virginia Wegmans.  This week's coupons are for a free box of Wegmans facial tissues and a free head of iceberg lettuce.


If you're pressed for time this Thanksgiving, Wegmans if offering a Premium Turkey Dinner, which is ready to serve in 1-1/2-2 hours.  It costs $79.99 and serves 8-10.  Check your ad for more details.


New Deals:


Southern Yams/Sweet Potatoes - $.49/lb.

Asparagus - $1.99/lb.

Wegmans Fresh Green Label Turkeys - $.99/lb. (through 11/26)


Near East Rice's and Coucous (4.7-10 oz. All Varieties) - $1.49


Birds Eye Vegetables and Sauce (8-10 oz. box) - $.99

Ongoing Deals:

U.S. #1 NY State Apple Tote (All varieties - approx. 4-1/2 lbs. per tote) - $.89/lb.

California Small Celery - $.69

Wegmans U.S. #1 White Potatoes (5 lb. bag) - $.99 (Limit 1)

Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, or Buttercup Squash - $.79/lb.

Wegmans Cereal (13.5-20 oz.) (selected varieties) - $1.99

Wegmans Instant Oatmeal - $1.99
Specially marked packages of Wegmans instant oatmeal have a mail-in offer for free Rand McNally flashcards.

Kashi Go Lean Cereals - $2.49 (through 12/26)
Use $1.50/1 coupon from Vocalpoint or $1.50/2 coupons recently available to print
Final Price: $.99-$1.74

Baking items - prices all good through 01/02:
Wegmans All Purpose Flour (5 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Light Brown, Dark Brown, or Confectioners' Sugar (2 lb.) - $.99 (Limit 2)
Wegmans Granulated Sugar (5 lb. bag) - $1.99 (Limit 2)
Nestle Toll House Morsels (10-12 oz.) - $1.69
Buy 2 and use $.50/2 printable coupon (doubled) or $1.00/2 coupons from recent inserts
Final Price: $1.19 each
Pillsbury Cake Mix (18.25-18.9 oz.) - $.88
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix - $1.49 (through 01/02)
Use $.40/1 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.69

Diamond Walnuts (16 oz.) - $3.99 (through 12/26)
Buy 2 and use $3.00/2 or $1.00/1 coupons from recent insert
Final Price: $2.49-$2.99 each

Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce - $.99 (through 01/02)

Goya Canned Beans (15.5 oz.) - $.50 (through 12/05)
Buy 6 and use $1.25/6 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.30 each

Wegmans Canned Vegetables (14.5-15.25 oz can) Cream Style Corn, Whole Kernel Corn, French Style Green Beans, or Cut Green Beans - $.39

Green Giant canned vegetables (selected varieties, 11 oz.) - $.89
Buy 2 and use $.40/2 Green Giant specialty corn coupon from recent insert (doubled) (if included/available)
Final price: $.49/each

Del Monte Canned Vegetables (selected varieties, 14.75 oz.) - $.79 (through 11/28)
Buy 5 and use $1.00/5 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.59/each

Campbell's Select Harvest Canned Soups - $1.25 (through 01/09)

Swanson Broth - $.60 (through 12/12)
Buy 3 and use $.40/3 coupon from recent insert (doubled)
Final Price: $.33 each

Nestle Hot Cocoa (10 pk.) - $.99

Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes - $1.29 (through 01/02)
Use $.25/1 coupon from recent insert, $.40/1 printable coupn, or $.50/1 coupon from free sample recently available (doubled)
Final Price: $.25-.79

Wegmans Ziti, Spaghetti, or Thin Spaghetti (16 oz.) – $.69

Wegmans Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes (28-29 oz. can) – $.69

Wegmans Pasta Sauce (24 oz.) – $.99 (through 01/02)

Wegmans Canned Vegetables (14.5-15.25 oz. can Cream Style Corn, Whole Kernel Corn, French Style Green Beans or Cut Green Beans) – $.39

Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup (10.75 oz.) - $.59
Buy 2 and use $.40/2 Healthy Request condensed soups from recent insert (if that variety is included) or buy 4 and use $.40/4 from recent insert
Final Price: $.19-$.49 each

Dole Canned Fruit (select varieties, 15-20oz.) - $.99 (through 12/19)
Use $.50/1 Dole canned fruit printable coupon (doubled)
Final Price: FREE

Frito-Lay Snacks (10.5-11 oz. Lay's Potato Chips or 11.75-13.875 oz. Doritos Zero Grams Trans Fats) - $2.00

Coca-Cola (12 pk./12 fl. oz. cans) - $2.00 (Limit 5)

Wegmans Premium Orange Juice (64 fl. oz.) - $1.99

Danimals Drinkable Yogurt or Crush Cups Yogurt (4 pk/4 oz. cups or 6 pk./3.1 fl. oz. bottles) - $1.99
Use $1.00/1 coupons from recent inserts
Final Price: $.99

Wegmans Shredded Cheese (6-8 oz.) (excludes 2%) - $1.69

Pillsbury "Simply" Refrigerated Dough - $2.49
Use $1.25/1 printable coupon
Final Price: $1.24

Wegmans Cream Cheese (8 oz. bar) - $.79

Tribe Hummus - $1.99 (through 01/02)
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.49 each

Stouffers Frozen Meals - $1.99-$2.49 (through 12/21)

Bird's Eye Steamfresh Vegetables - $.99 (through 11/28)
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $.49 each

Wegmans Paper Towels (8 pk./480 ct.) – $4.99 ($.62/roll)

Wegmans Facial Tissue (65-160 ct. cube or flat) – $.79

Wegmans Bathroom Tissue (12 pk.) - $3.99 (Limit 2) ($.33/roll)

Speed Stick (3-3.25 oz.) or Lady Speed Stick (2.3 oz. Deodorant or Antiperspirant) – $1.88
Use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price – $1.33

Edge or Skintimate Shave Gel (7 oz.) – $1.88

Suave Body Wash (12 fl. oz.) - $1.50
Buy 2 and use $1.00/2 coupon from recent insert
Final Price: $1.00 each

V05 Shampoo or Conditioner - $.69

Crest Toothpaste (3.5 oz.) - $.97

Thanksgiving Week

Just wanted to let you all know that I'll be posting Monday through Wednesday this week and then be taking a break until next Monday, November 30.  We'll be traveling to New York for Thanksgiving to spend some time with Michael's extended family and then stopping in Pennsylvania on the way home for our goddaughter's first birthday party.  It should be a fun weekend, although it will be a lot of bustle and unfamiliar people for my two toddlers.  I'm hoping to keep stress to a minimum for them by planning and organizing as best I can, so I definitely have a lot of work to do in the next few days!

I should have this week's Wegmans deals up before I leave, as well as the scoop on any awesome Black Friday deals that I hear about before we go. 

Hope all of your Thanksgiving plans are going well!


Photo by Taniasha.

Top CVS Deals: 11/22-11/28

Huggies Products including Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers or Pull-Ups $18.99/2 or Huggies Mega Wipes $6.99 (get $5 ECB wyb $20) Limit 1
$.50 wipes SS 10/25
$.50 wipes SS 11/15
$1 Diapers, SS 10/25
$1.50 Diapers SS 11/15
$2 printable (IE)
$2 printable (FF)
$2 Pull-Ups printable
$3 Pure & Natural (if included) printable
$3 Pure & Natural (if included) SS 10/25
$3 Pure & Natural (if included) SS 11/15
= varies
The best scenario is to buy 2 diapers and 1 wipes use $2 and $3 coupons for the best savings. $3 are only for Pure and Natural (if included), $2 coupons are for ANY Huggies products.
If you use 2 $3 coupons, and one $2 coupon = $4.33 each
If you use 3 $2 coupons = $4.99 each

Complete Contact Solution $8.99 (get $8.99 ECBs) Limit 2
$1 printable
$1 RP 10/25
= $1 MONEYMAKER after ECBS (buy and donate if you don’t use it)

Tums – 36 to 150 ct $3.99 (get $1 ECBs) Limit 2
$1/2 RP 11/15
$1 printable
$2 CVS Coupon $100 Flu Booklet
= FREE – $.50 each (combine SC and MFR)

Ashley has a complete list of deals here.

I'm really not excited about anything this week, and I'll be busy packing for our Thanksgiving trip anyway.  However, if the Black Friday ad is anything like last year, there should be some great deals and freebies.  I'll have an update on those for you soon. Maybe I'll even be able to find a CVS in New York to stop by while we're on our trip!

Black Friday Shopping Tips

I admit it - I do love shopping on Black Friday!  True, I've never gotten up at 4:00AM and waited in line to get any of the hot electronics deals.  However, my mom and sisters and I have a tradition of kicking off our shopping on that day and hitting some good (but not too crazy) sales.  We embrace the crowds and bustle as fun and festive.  We still talk about the year that we had to camp out with our food on the floor in front of Chic-fil-A since there were no seats!

If you plan to venture out on Black Friday this year, I've put together a few shopping tips that I hope will be helpful:

Check out the deals ahead of time - Most store release their Black Friday ads early, so get an idea of what's out there.  Go here to see the ad scans for a whole bunch of stores.

Decide which (if any) of the hot deals you plan to pursue - Once you've discovered what deals are out there, decide what you hope to purchase.  Remember, just because it is a great deal on BF doesn't necessarily mean that a) you need or want it, b) you can afford it, or c) that you won't be able to find an almost-as-good deal again before Christmas.  However, if after thinking it through you decide that there is a "hot" BF item that you'd like for someone on your list, plan to go after that first.  I wouldn't advise picking more than one or two hot items - instead, devote your energies to trying to snag those top priorities.

Plan for parking and eating -Scope out your shopping area ahead of time, and plan where you might park.  Also, remember to have something to eat, especially if you're heading out for one of those 4 or 5 AM lines. You don't want to faint in line!  Maybe plan to stop for a more leisurely brunch or lunch after you hit your top sales.


Think beyond the mall - It's not the only place to get BF deals!  Shopping at smaller, independent, or less-frequented stores may get you some great deals with less craziness.  Last year, a friend told me that Home Depot had $.99 pointsettas on Black Friday, and it looks like they're doing it again this year!  That would be a frugal and lovely way to decorate for the holidays!  I also remember Crystal talking about shopping at her favorite thrift store on BF and hitting an enormous sale.

Embrace the chaos - Finally, enjoy yourself and stay in the Christmas spirit!  You're shopping on Black Friday, for heaven's sake, so realize that crowds and lines are going to be part of the experience.  And of course, keep in mind the spirit of the season with kindness and understanding to all.  That's always worth more than any deal.

Check out more Frugal Friday tips here.

Product Review: Ultimate Cloth

This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by Ultimate Cloth America for this review. 

Product: The Ultimate Cloth

Media Blurb: 

The Ultimate Cloth is eco-friendly solution for homes as well as a money and time saver. The Ultimate Cloth is a brand new technology – in fact, it is the only cloth to receive a new patent in the last 25 years.  The Ultimate Cloth is a simple, green and effective one-step cleaning process.  The Ultimate Cloth cleans any hard surface – glass, wood, granite, stainless steel and many more – with just water!  No longer do you have to use harsh chemicals in your home, nor do you need spend hundreds of dollars per year buying them.  The Ultimate Cloth has been lab tested to remove 96% of bacteria, without the use of chemicals.  And, can cut 50% off your cleaning time.  The Ultimate Cloth is truly the ultimate in green cleaning.  

I was intrigued to examine the Ultimate Cloth when it arrived in the mail, wondering what the material would be like, since it is supposed to clean without any cleaners or chemicals.  The cloth is thin and almost papery at first, but it seems to soften with washing.  Although thin, it seems very strong.  It is also quite large, which is why the directions suggest folding it and switching sides to get maximum cleaning time from each use.  The cloth did stain somewhat from mopping my dirty kitchen floor, but a nice benefit is that it can be bleached.

One of the reasons I was very excited to try the Ultimate Cloth was that it was advertised as an alternative to Swiffer mop refills.  I stopped buying Swiffer refills a while ago, as they are incredibly expensive, but I do love the concept and ease of my Swiffer mop and still use it with other cloths.

Therefore, the first test to which I put the Ultimate Cloth was mopping my always grimy kitchen floor.  I dampened the cloth, as the directions dictate, and attached it to my Swiffer mop.  It seemed to clean quite as well as my usual microfiber cloth and vinegar and water solution, if not a little better.  The relative stiffness of the Ultimate Cloth seemed to help it tackle stuck-on stains better than my other cloths.

After washing, the next job I tackled with the Cloth was mopping my hardwood floor.  I'm always leery of putting any cleaners on the hardwood, so this was perfect.  It really shined the floor.  Since the uncovered part of my wood floor is not very big, after I was done I just pulled the cloth off the mop, folded it over, and used it to quickly wash the windows!  I was really pleased with how it worked on the windows; even though it uses only water it both cleaned well and did not seem to streak.

Overall, I was fairly impressed with the Ultimate Cloth.  I would not say that it was a miracle product or anything, but it seems to be a quality, green, and frugal alternative to paper towels and other disposable cleaning products.  And at the reasonable price of $6 each, I think it could be a very worthwhile investment.

And - right now all readers can receive a FREE Ultimate Cloth! 

All you need to do is follow Ultimate Cloth America on Twitter or become a fan on facebook:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ultimate_Cloth
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Cloth-America/209222110335?v=wall&ref=ts 

The company will reveal how to get the free Ultimate Cloths via Twitter and facebook.  Especially for free, I would definitely say it's worth giving this product a try!

Giveaway Winner!

I chose the winner to my Jantsen's Gift giveaway by random number generator, and the winner is:

comment #7 - Thrifty Sarah

I have contacted the winner by email.  Thanks so much to all who entered!