lissa likes • jan 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 1:00PM 
So, after almost a one-year hiatus, "Lissa Likes" is back! This month centers around one of my favorite things, saving money. Instead of calling myself a penny-pincher, I'd rather say I'm more like a passionate consumer. :) My spending/saving philosophy goes a bit like this: If it is worth it, by all means- spend money on it, but if it's not a big deal, then save as much as you can! Of course, priorities are different for everyone, but I don't know anyone who doesn't really excited about a good deal when I see it.
On my list for this month:
1. Target's Coupon Policy
I end up in Target at least once or twice a week. Though we don't have a Super Target in Lubbock, it's my go-to place for cheap, well designed home decor and I love their Archer Farms food products. One of the things I always do is scan the end caps of the aisles for clearance items. There have been many times I've found what I'm needing (or items I frequently purchase) here at a steal. Target's clearance tags look like this:
Many times when I see staple items (flour, sugar, chocolate chips, pasta, etc.) that I can store in my pantry I like to buy them, if they are at a good price. One way to tell is the number in the upper right hand corner of the label. It will be "15", "30", "50", or "75". These are the percentages by which the item has been marked down. Which means- if I really don't need more semi-sweet morsels (though they are always tempting), and they are only at 30% markdown, I will know if they will be further reduced later and I can come back and get them. Genius!
2. Canned Soups
Recently I found a ton of Campbell's Hearty Soups on the clearance end cap at Target. They were all marked .94 per can, so I bought several. Though fresh homemade soup ranks way higher on our menu, these are easy, go-to meals around our household, and most convenient with a toddler. I love having these soups in our pantry for the days when we are low on groceries. I can heat some up and provide protein, carbs and veggies very quickly! The ingredients are also perfect for Knox since they are already well-cooked and easy for him to eat.
If you've been around here long, you'll know that we use BumGenius diapers. It was a decision we made long before Knox was here (I honestly couldn't believe Shawn was up for it), and I'm so glad we did. We were able to make up our original investment (around 300.00) in 6 months of use, and hypothetically, now we save .25 per cloth diaper change. They have held up amazingly well and overall I've been suprised at how convenient they really are.
This is a new style, Albert, that I've been dying to buy for my little genius!
This is my favorite couponing blog as of late- it seems to be the most thorough and up-to-date out there. If there is a coupon for it, The Krazy Coupon Lady will know.
When we knew that Shawn and I would both soon be self-employed (meaning no insurance), we started to look at our options. We looked around at several different group and individual health plans, and then finally decided to go a totally different direction and become a part of Samaritan Ministries. It's a Christian medi-share ministry that is a biblically-based alternative to traditional health insurance. I didn't even know something like this existed until a my friend Alex mentioned it to me. This is actually just our first month to be members and so I will have to post an update with our experience later. So far, though, they have been extremely helpful, available, and up-front about the way it all works- totally the opposite experience of our old insurance company. You can find lots of info about it here. This video also answered a lot of questions for me.
Well, that's it for now! Have a great week!