DISCLAIMER: This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

Since this is our first official "back-to-school" season, we are total newbies with setting a routine.  I remember what I used to do back in the day: get to bed earlier, buy new school clothes, etc--but with kids of your own it's totally more complex.

Fall can be expensive!  First thing to do is to set a budget.  When you have a general idea what you have to work with, you know how to designate the money.  Since my girls had a growth spurt this spring/summer, I got out all of their clothes and took inventory.  We had an afternoon fashion show and set aside items that didn't fit anymore.  Don't forget the shoes too!  From that point, I would focus on one item of clothing every week or two, based on sales.  The first week, Children's Place had an amazing deal on jeans, so we stocked up.  Two weeks later, Target had a deal on undies/camis.  When you break it down throughout July and August, it doesn't seem as bad!

Another tip: don't wait until the last minute for school supplies.  Sales will continue all through August, with basically the same prices...but the selection becomes much smaller.  Print coupons when you see them, they go quickly!  If you can, wait until 2-3 weeks into school to hit the clearance.  I like to make bags for teachers with the markdown finds.

I don't know about you, but summer is rough for me.  My hair gets dry and frizzy, my skin is dry--when the end of August came around, it was time to refresh!  With my kids, they have all sorts of summer scrapes and "flip flop feet" to deal with (permanently dirty looking feet, even after a shower!).  Right now Johnson + Johnson has over $40 of printable coupons for their #HealthyEssentials program.

• For the kids: 
• Lubriderm is our favorite lotion.  It's moisturizing, yet doesn't have the irritating scents like some other "big kid" lotions.  
• Neosporin to help heal all of those bug bites and summer scrapes.  I also picked up a few new boxes of Band-Aids. 
• No More Tangles conditioner and spray can't be beat, especially with Gabby's curls.  We've tried other brands, but this is something we always stock up on! The conditioner is great for post-swimming/beach tangles, we leave it in for 2-3 minutes during the bath.
• For the adults:
• Refresh your skin with Neutrogena oil-free pink grapefruit scrub. This is my go-to for getting soft skin and it smells amazing!
• Take off that nail polish! After the sand, sun and flip flops, your feet have taken a beating.  I like to let my nails breathe for a few days before putting on a new polish.  Sally Beauty Supply has a great cuticle oil that I keep by my toothbrush to apply at night.

The biggest step to getting back on schedule is to stick to it, which is hard during the busy summer.  My girls still occasionally nap, so near the end of the summer we cut those out (early bedtime outweighs the cranky kids, right?) and tried to push their bedtime to 7:30-8:00.  Now that school is in session, we're trying to keep that schedule going on the weekend too.  We'll see how that goes!

For me, I had to organize myself--which, if you know me, is not easy.  I like to say I'm an organized mess because I usually know where something is, but I'm quite messy. I try to pack as much of the lunch at night, so I just have to quickly add components in the morning.  Backpacks are all lined up by the door at night, with shoes right next to them.  This saves SO MUCH time in the morning!

Check out over $40 in Healthy Essentials coupons to save while you're shopping this month!

What Back-to-School tips can you share?

Grocery Prices Rising: How to Save Your Budget!

Guys, I'm kinda freaking out here.  The price of food is getting ridiculous.  Or maybe it's the lack of sales and good coupons.   I swear there is an extreme couponing shadow at my local Meijer store that clears the shelf minutes before I get there.  Save some for everyone else, shadow!

I know that everyone around the country is feeling their grocery budget stretch a bit.  There have been various reasons: rise in gas prices, bad growing seasons, etc etc.  No matter what it may be, it's time to take action!

Clip more Coupons
This is kind of obvious, but it's worth your time to spend ~20 minutes a week searching for coupons online.  This can be by clipping coupons on websites, reading deal blogs in your area, using digital coupons...whatever you chose.  I also recommend buying Sunday papers!  Depending on the week, we will get 2-5 papers.  It's worth the investment!  With extra coupons, you can stock up on a deal. At Discounted Newspapers, you can get up to 80% off! I love getting the Sunday and Thursday papers delivered--I never miss out on any deals!

Shop early on Fridays.
I'm not a huge fan of shopping on weekends, because it's CRAZY, but early Fridays seem to work well for us.  Why? Usually any weekend sales start on Friday, so you'll get bonus savings.  Plus, the shelves will be stocked up for the weekend shoppers.  I tend to find the most selection and markdown meats, also.  Since you have the whole week to research any deals, you can make sure you have yourself organized to hit up whatever you want to buy.  It's easier to stick to a list if you have your coupons all together!

Farmer's Market Tips
As much as I love to buy local, sometimes farmer's markets can be a strain on the budget.  I have a few tips to help stretch your buck:

• Shop early or at the very end of the day.  
• In the morning, it will be less crowded and the selection will be great.  Since it's less crowded, farmers will be more available to talk to or bargain with. 
• By the end of the market day, farmers will start to load up their trucks.  Ask if there are any gently bruised produce that you can score cheaply.  Last year I got tomatoes for canning super cheap this way! Don't be afraid to ask!
• Browse first, buy last.
• Walk around and take note of prices.  This helps you get the lowest possible prices!

•   Check out the info booth.
• You never know what you might find there!  We have a punch card to get free reusable bags, sometimes they have contests or coupons to use at vendors. It's worth a walk by!

Cut back on meat.
Think about adding different proteins to your diet.  I like to stretch ground turkey by adding other proteins to bulk it up.  Our tacos or enchiladas frequently have black beans added.  Canned or dry beans are MUCH cheaper than meat, you just have to be creative.  That's what Pinterest is for! Lentils are super nutritious fillers too!  If you happen to see a great deal on meat, freeze extras!  This week we have a Buy 1, Get 1 Free deal on pork at Family Fare.  I will get roasts for carnitas or pulled pork and chops for easy grilled meals.


Shop at Aldi first.
I'm pretty Aldi obsessed.  I love how they are growing and changing each year!  Their new organic and natural line is so tasty!  I love Aldi for their prices AND best part: you don't need any pesky coupons!   I do realize you can't get everything there, so I shop Aldi first...then hit up other stores.

New to Aldi? Check out my old post: Aldi for Beginners

What are you doing to help save with the rising prices? Any tips for us?!

Get up to 80% off local newspapers! A great gift idea too!

For all of you movie fans!

Having twins, Ricky & I never get to see movies like we would like to, but I feel a lot of people could benefit from this new website I have been hearing about.  For $15.99 a month, you get 3 Fandango coupon codes from Weekly Cinema.  For us, we just couldn't benefit from this, but if you are a frequent moviegoer, this is perfect!  Fandango has partnered with hundreds of cinemas across the country, but obviously you should make sure your local theater is participating.  If you have never used Fandango, you can pre-order tickets, so you don't have to wait in line for a movie ticket.  At our theater you just walk right up and get your ticket from a machine.  Super quick and easy!

If you try this out, let me know!  Once the girls get older, this will be great for them.  Three tickets is kind of an odd number, but that is a huge savings for the high ticket prices around here!

Xoxo!
Ashleigh