Monthly Archives: September 2015

September in Review

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Blogging:  Goal: 14 per month This is actually post 18, I may actually have to up the goal next year!   Goal MET!

Weight: Goal:  Met and maintain weight of 175. This goal will be considered met each month that weight loss is achieved and once this weight is achieved, each month maintained is considered achieved.  Struggling still.. I have been able to exercise at least 1 day a week in September but am hoping to get that up to 3 or more for the month of October and November. I have read that you can walk 10 miles a day at Disney and I don’t want to be tired and miss anything.

Spiritual-  Goal. I want to spend time reading and or studying the Bible at least 5 days a week for the year.  Goal MET! This is making a huge difference in my days and I am planning to stay on track with this!

Financial Goals-
1.  Full Fund the budget each month.   Goal MET!

2. Emergency Fund to $2000.  Met. Added $100!  Goal met 4 months in a row!

3. Groceries: Reduce Grocery spending to $300 for the month. I am going to consider this goal met. We actually spent $335 for the month!  This is huge for us and actually helped to fund the budget as well!

4. Gas: Spend $400 a month . Goal Met! We have actually spent $404 for the month but this includes $200 of preventive work  on Matt’s van and a quick repair to the car. I am so excited because the plan for October is to use any extra to pay on our trip and this should actually allow us to use the regular budget in November to cover our gas cost.

5. Eating out- tracking purposes only 217.52. A HUGE ($200) decease from previous months.  I am excited to see we can control this amount!

Disney- GOAL MET!

September turned out to be the most successful month for us in a long  time. I am so excited to post this update but am also looking at the month of October. We will not be able to keep the grocery budget as low as we did in September and we have to finish paying on our Disney trip.  I have already worked out a plan to cover everything that is required for the month but it will dip in savings and leave a huge chunk of things unfunded for the month.  I am really struggling not to let October put a damper on the huge success September was, so I am going to end on that note.

Menu Planning Monday

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This is probably one of the most important weeks for us in regards to menu planning. The new months starts on Monday and until then, the goal is to only buy what is absolutely necessary.   By sticking to the plan we should be able to sail into October on a budget high note!

Breakfast– Pancakes, toast with  jelly, yogurt,  cereal, poptarts, and grits will be out breakfast for the week. Saturday morning- Pancakes Sunday morning- Bacon Egg and cheese biscuits

Lunch- . Lunches were all planned and mostly packed on Sunday,  including a salad day for all three kids that we were able to use lettuce from our garden to achieve.

Dinner–Things are going really well with me arriving at home  for dinner most nights of the week.

Saturday- Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches    Dinner- Stuffed Green Pepper soup- This was awesome! I get to enjoy leftovers for lunch at least one day.

Sunday- Lunch- Cowboy Beans (previously made)    Dinner-Coconut shrimp

Monday- Spinach Ravioli- Finishing up a bag.
Tuesday- Hamburger helper.
Wednesday-Pork Roast, green beans and fruit.
Thursday-  Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Friday- Hamburger with FF

5 Things Friday

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1. Just because I like to be a rule breaker, I am going to post my saving on Saturday, in today’s list!  Amazon was running an awesome deal on Amazon Prime- $67 for a year’s membership. Matt helped us to join today. This will save us $4 a month starting in January because of the kid’s Kindle subscription. So we are going to enjoy free shipping, movies, music and books for $31 or $2.58 a month.

2. Our Menu plan this week was side track by a couple of things. First, a person at church is growing some awesome peppers and was generous enough to share these. We ended up having Pepper Steak on Sunday afternoon and Chicken Fajitas on Thursday. The second change was due to me locating a container of grilled chicken on Wednesday. Because I did not want for this to get wasted we had chicken fajitas on Thursday instead of shrimp and a awesome chicken pot pie on Friday.

3. This coming week will be the most challenging for our budget. So far for the month of October we are less than $10 over gas and groceries(which I cut to $300).  We already have a menu plan in place so my goal is to stay the course and celebrate an awesome successful month!

4.I have absolutely no plans for tomorrow. My goal is to not leave the house all day!

5.The kids had an early release day today and were picked up from school at 12 noon. I am very proud to say that so far this year, no one has missed a day of school or received a tardy. FIRST TIME EVER!

 

Update of Square Foot Garden

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This summer we have spent a lot of energy updating and expanding our square foot garden. I am excited that at the end of September we are still enjoying some of it’s benefits.  Our large tomatoes have all died except for one plant that is actually laying on the ground, however the cherry and grape tomatoes are still going strong. We have plenty to snack on and I am still freezing some, usually once a week.

A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I decided to try my hand at fall planting. I picked up 9 cabbage plants and 9 lettuce plants.

imageI was able to pull a couple of leaves last week to use on a salad last week and plan to use some for my lunch tomorrow.

Since I was not sure how these, the cabbage, would turn out, I decided to plant 4 in a bed with soil that I had purchased locally and 5 in a bed of “Mel’s Mix” which cost with shipping $18 a bag , but is recommended in “Square Foot Gardening.”

These are in "regular" soil.

These are in “regular” soil.

Mel's mix

Mel’s mix

As you can tell there is a huge difference. But does it justify over $10 a bag??  I should also clarify that these are located side by side so the only difference is soil.

After removing the corn stalks, we are suddenly growing peppers.

imageFinally, this is the part of the garden that I am most excited about….sweet potatoes.

image

The purple blooms have started this week and with hopefully a month left of growing. I can hardly wait  to see what we harvest when it is time to dig up the potatoes.

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Menu Planning Monday

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This week is back to the normal busy routine. The weather is turning cooler so I am starting adding a soup day to most weeks. The challenge for the next two weeks is to use the groceries we have on hand and make a good list of items needed  on the first of October. I currently sit at $306 spent on groceries and that included buying a gallon of milk for this week.

Check out this awesome list of ways to use food and not waste, written by a friend of mine.

Now on to the menu plan

Breakfast– French toast, toast with new jelly, yogurt,  cereal, poptarts, grits or donuts at least for Monday and Tuesday. . Zach has been grabbing applesauce or canned fruit for breakfast as well.  Sunday morning- Breakfast Omelet

Lunch- For some odd reason, we have one Lunchable left in the fridge but no one wanted it this week. Lunches were all planned and mostly packed on Sunday. Our lunches include homemade chicken dunks, tomato, ranch and cheese, sandwiches one day, and a “grab day” which means crackers for most. I am going to take leftovers and Matt is eating these as well.

Dinner–Things are going really well with me arriving at home  for dinner most nights of the week.

Saturday- Lunch: McDonalds (profits from yard sale) .   Dinner- Hamburger Helper (we had the meat left from Thursday, we ended up eating our leftovers from Olive Garden).

Sunday- Lunch- My parents   Dinner-Pepper Steak using fresh peppers!

Monday- Rice Creola
Tuesday- Tomato Soup and Tomato/Basil Drop Biscuits
Wednesday-Salisbury steak, rice, green beans and fruit.
Thursday-  Coconut Shrimp
Friday- Chicken Broccoli Casserole

It just occurred to me that we are have rice three times this week. Matt loves it so I don’t think he will mind.

5 Things Friday

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1. Our September bills are starting to arrive. The good news is that the water bill is $8 less than last month and the electric bill is $30 less than last month. I am going to attribute both of the deceases to the week we were on vacation. We decided to turn the air up to 85 degree and did not use any water that week along with getting all our laundry taken care off while at the beach.

2. We are once again have a very unusual weather pattern. This summer has been hot with the majority of day reaching above 90*. However last Saturday, the temperature dropped to daytime highs in the 70s so we were able to turn off our air and open up the windows. So far, we have been 6 days without the use of heat or air. I have been researching the weather and we should be able to continue without heat or air for the next week or so. I fully expect to need to turn back on the air at least once more but in the meantime, our finances are enjoying the break.

3. I have remained under budget in both gas and groceries for the month.

4. Yesterday, Matt and I spent most of the day shopping for a desk to fit and complete our bedroom. This will be my primary “workspace” so I am trying to be both practical and frugal with this purchase. In the past I have been using a kitchen table and then the small computer desk. Kendall requested a desk and was able to clear out a huge space in her room, so that desk will be moving in her room.  We decided on purchasing both a new chair and desk at IKEA. Matt has worked really hard at getting everything assembled and I am going to hopefully find some time this weekend to organize this area.

5.  I am planning a “sleepover’ yard sale with my best friend tomorrow.  This should be fun and hopefully profitable.

Monday Menu Plan

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We are half way through the month and actually on budget in all areas, as you read yesterday!  This is really the most challenging part of the month for me. We are out of a couple of breakfast foods that are a frequent easy fix and with money left in the budget, I want to just go pick up. But instead we are going to try and use what we have and make sure we stay in budget.  I was out of town last Friday and most of the day Saturday, so things were a little bit different. This week it is back to the usually with an activity every night of the week except Tuesday and our yard sale next Saturday.

Breakfast– French toast, toast with new jelly, yogurt,  cereal, poptarts or grits. Zach has been grabbing applesauce or canned fruit for breakfast as well. Keeping it simple this week!  , Sunday morning- Sausage crescent rolls

Lunch- We are down to our last 3 days of Lunchable this week. Kendall was excited to be able to take chicken nugget two days, Zach decided on a sandwich one day and chicken nuggets one day and Lily has a grab lunch (crackers, fruit, gummies and cheese) with a sandwich the second day.

Dinner– I am trying to stick to my goal of leaving work by 5:30 daily so I can eat with the family most nights.

Saturday- Lunch: leftovers .   Dinner- Pizza Bread-Pop Up

Sunday- Lunch- Taco Soup .  Dinner-Leftovers .

Monday- Grilled Chicken salad (Leftovers make awesome wraps for me for lunch) Pasta Salad
Tuesday- Breakfast- Bacon, Eggs and Biscuits
Wednesday-Pork Chops, stove top stuffing and fruit
Thursday-  Crockpot Beef Roast
Friday- Hamburger Helper.

September Goal Update

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1.  Full Fund the budget each month.  I was able to complete this by using $400 of our grocery budget.!

2. Emergency Fund to $2000.   Added $100 this week.

. 3. Groceries: Reduce Grocery spending to $300 for the month. Currently, I have spent $274 for the month. I have the remaining $26 plus a $5 refund from Target in cash. I am excited because I have purchased 80# of chicken, 90 rolls of toilet paper and this list, all this month!  I will admit that the last 2.5 weeks of the month will be challenging but I am setting myself up to succeed.

4. Gas: Spend $400 a month .  Total spent this  month is $304.11. We decided to go ahead and complete some preventive work on Matt’s van this month, our goal is to extend the life of the van till my current van is paid off. I was able to find gas for $1.99 a gallon so I am very hopefully that we are able to stay within the budget for the month.

5. Eating out- Reduce/Eliminate Eating out for the month of September. $80 for the month including the purchase of 2 meals during my recent trip.

Disney- Pay at least $375 toward our Disney trip to maximize Disney points prior to November. This week I paid an additional $100 toward our Disney trip so total for the month so far is $200!  I do have a yard sale planned for next Saturday, all proceeds will go toward meeting this goal!

Extra Goals:
1.  Plan to purchase both Lily and Amanda birthday cards.  Completed! 

As you can see, for the month I am really on track financially. I want to make sure that I stay accountable for the next two and half weeks, they will be the most difficulty. I am also very excited that we have been able to turn off the air conditioning for the last 24 hours. My goal is to get at least 7 days of no heat or air this month to reduce our electric bill to under $250.