With two other children who see their beloved big brother eating these and demand the same, we end up going through as many as 90 per month. At approximately $3 a box (50 cents per bar) that comes to about $45 a month just for these breakfast bars! Coupons for them are rare and we do stock up when we can get them at a cheaper price, but it still ends up being about $30 a month. Just not a very good idea for our food budget anymore.

Not only are they expensive, but the second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup, which I’m trying to cut back on. I’m all for moderation but when HFCS is in everything, it’s not so easy to be moderate in your consumption! Needless to say, I’ve been doing a lot of home cooking to try to minimize this in our diets.

So how to go about a) minimizing costs and b) eating healthier while keeping the kiddos happy? I googled copycat recipes, of course! I came up with several different options to try and with a little trial and error, I’ve managed to come up with my own variation that works out to about 20 cents a bar, assuming you don’t use any coupons or sale prices. With coupons and sales (or WIC food items, if you qualify) this can be much, much less…almost free if you do it just right!

If you’re a fan of Quaker Oatmeal to Go but want to save money or eliminate this source of HFCS in your life, here’s my recipe for a similar breakfast bar:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 cups uncooked oats
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine wet ingredients and mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour mixture into pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

To change it up a little, consider these variations:

• Add a cup of raisins. (Or chocolate chips for a really special treat.)
• Use a half cup of chopped apples and add in some apple pie spices.
• Try substituting mashed banana for the applesauce and add some nuts for a healthier banana bread substitute.
• Consider using pureed pumpkin in place of the applesauce.
• Add fresh or frozen berries like blueberries or strawberries.

It’s an easy recipe that takes very little work and there are so many ideas for variations out there. If you try it, let me know how it works out and any substitutions you tried!

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Certainly give cash if you can, because it is ultimately the most useful commodity…it can be used for any need, whether that’s food, electricity, or a mortgage payment. Of course, handing over your own hard earned money can be hard, no matter how well you know someone. How can you be sure those funds will be used in a way you find appropriate? I’ll be the first to admit that I have a hard time with this so I rarely gave money, but I have learned that there are many other ways to help during a crisis situation. If you know a family in need, consider doing some of these things for them.

• If the financial situation is due to job loss, remember that a working phone number, email address, and internet access can be crucial to finding new employment. Call up the phone or internet provider and ask if you can pay an amount towards the family’s bill. It helps to know the address and phone number of the account, as well as the name it’s listed under. Or, if it’s something you’d be comfortable doing, consider adding an extra line to your cell plan and paying it until the situation improves. Sometimes you can do this for $10 a month under a share plan. (Be sure to talk to them first…they will probably need to try to keep the same number if they’ve listed it on resumes or job applications.)
• Electricity and running water are necessities…to prepare food, to bathe, to keep the home cool or warm…a home without electricity and water isn’t incredibly useful. Again, call the utility office and tell them you’d like to pledge something to the family’s bill. It doesn’t have to be a large amount. Amounts as small as $5 or $10 can make or break a tight budget, especially in periods of extreme high or low temperatures.
• Gift cards in small amounts to places like grocery stores, gas stations, Walmart/Target, and restaurants are very helpful. This could mean a family can get food to feed themselves, gasoline to drive to that job interview, toilet paper and shampoo, or ensure they get a meal if there’s an emergency or other situation that keeps them from being able to eat at home. (Just for example, the night our chicken burned so badly that we had to go out to eat because it was inedible and the house was too smoky for my asthmatic kids to be in.)
• Gift cards for periodic services like haircuts and oil changes. When we have months that we have to do these things, that means some other budget area gets shorted because our budget is so tight. Better yet, offer to do it for them or teach them how to do it themselves. I have never cut my own hair but if someone took the time to help me learn how I might do it.
• Give them your unused coupons. Or pay for a subscription to the paper in your area that offers the most coupons. Here, that’s the News & Observer. For less than $10, you can give them 4 weeks worth of Sunday papers delivered right to their home. For less than $30, you get 13 weeks of the Sunday paper. Not only do you get coupons in the Sunday paper, but that day generally has the most help wanted ads. Two birds, one stone, right? (Side note: If you do this, consider adding a second paper so they can have 2 of each coupon…in many places you can get a discount on the second one.)
• If they have kids, offer to keep them for a few hours so that the parents can have a breather. For single parents, this means a chance to go get groceries without little ones. For married people, this can give them a chance to have a date, even if that’s just a quiet dinner at home. (This is another place that restaurant gift cards come in handy!) No matter how much we want to say that time away from our children isn’t a necessity, it can make a lot of difference in the mental state (or the marriage) of someone who’s already under extreme stress.
• Offer to pay for children’s activities. My mom is paying for Cub Scouts for my oldest son. He won’t get to do everything because there will always be activities that cost extra, but she paid for his dues and his uniform so that he can have an extra-curricular activity. Many Parks & Rec departments offer sports, dance lessons, and classes for kids at a very low cost. (Think as low as $15 in some cases.)
• Search your attic and closets for clothes and items they might be able to use. If they have children, this is especially helpful. My goal these days is to keep my kids dressed. While I do want them to wear nice clothes that are in style, it is more important that they not be naked. I’m not picky and most people in similar positions have learned to put aside their pickiness when it comes to clothes. (The one exception for me is underwear…I do not want my kids in someone else’s underwear. Beyond that, I’m not in a position to care.)

Most of all, be there for them. Understand that they want to do things with their friends and loved ones but money can be an obstacle. I don’t have people over for dinner because I can’t afford to buy extra food. This means nobody invites my family over to dinner, and that hurts. When my girlfriends go out, I may not be able to spend the money on gas or I might feel guilty going to a place and just having water so I stay home, which can mean the invitations stop. Don’t forget about them, and don’t stop inviting unless they tell you to. Pray for them. Let them know you haven’t forgotten them. Send an email to remind them you care. It’s the little things that mean the most in a crisis, especially when that crisis becomes a long term problem. I would be way more touched by someone taking the time to make dinner for my family and bring it to us than to receive $5000. (Not that I’d turn down the $5k!) Think outside the box and remember that mental health is just as important as financial health. You can make a difference to someone.

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1. Hot Coupon World — This site has forums, coupon databases, link to sites where you can print your own, etc.  It has good info, but can be overwhelming for newbies.
2. Taking Stock — This is a blog by a Raleigh N&O reporter.  It’s a lot of local information on couponing.  And because I had a hard time figuring out how to do an RSS feed (I am RSS stupid) for my blog reader, I’ll just link you up to that, too.  And if you want even more access to info, you can follow her on Twitter @sue_stock.  Look in the left hand column for links to some basic information on couponing in this area.
3. Southern Savers — This blog has lots of deals for Southern grocery stores.  She’ll lay out all of the deals for you…all you have to do is find the coupons in your super-organized coupon folder.  There are also some good posts about getting started.

Those three sites alone give me pretty much all of the information I need to plan shopping trips to maximize my savings.  I don’t spend more than a few minutes scanning the sale papers each week because most of the good deals are spelled out on those sites.  That means my couponing time investment is in clipping and organizing on Sunday nights.  (Or whenever I get to it…sometimes Tuesday afternoon!)  That doesn’t take more than a couple of hours if I have no interruptions.  And it’s well worth the time if you’re looking for an easy way to save some money!

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It sounds like the deals are not as good as they could be, but I’ll be taking this opportunity to use all of my higher value coupons for things I need.  After all, $3 off is always going to be better than $1.50 off!

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1. Get organized. Find a method that works for you.  The woman who taught the class I went to suggested a zippered binder and baseball trading card pages with categorized tabs.  This has worked really well for me, but I realize there are other methods out there.  Figure out a system that works for you…if you don’t, you’re not going to be able to maximize your savings.
2. Purchase the Sunday newspaper. It’s best to get the largest one available in your area.  In Sanford, that’s the Raleigh News and Observer.  There are other sources of coupons, but this is the best way to start.  I get at least 2 copies.
3. Cut and organize. When I go out to buy my papers, I try to grab a kid’s movie from Redbox.  Sunday evenings, while my husband is at church for a class, I put in the movie for the kids and go to work.  I staple the like pages together (if you only buy 1 paper, this isn’t necessary) and clip them together.  This saves a lot of time if you have multiple copies.  Just be sure you don’t staple or cut the barcodes.
4. Know the rules. Each grocery store has their own rules.  You can usually find a store’s coupon policy on their website.  If not, ask at the service desk. They’re all just a little different, so to maximize your savings you’ll need to know how best to use your coupons.
5. Know what things cost. Make a list of things you use frequently.  Then, every time you go to the grocery store, write down the price of those things in a pricebook.  Do this for at least 2-3 different stores.  This will give you lots of extra info and help you plan where to use your coupons.
6. Find the deals. The forums over at Hot Coupon World will pretty much tell you where to go, what coupon to use, and how much you’ll end up paying.  It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the process and helps me to plan my trips ahead of time.  With 3 kids, I need to plan ahead as much as possible!

It’s not that hard, but it does require some work and research to get the best deals.  And it has already saved us a LOT of money.  I’ve been doing it for a month and have saved over $300 already.  All for the price of a couple of papers on Sunday mornings and some office supplies.  I finally feel like I’m doing something to help my family save money and that is a good feeling!

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