Food Facts

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Sheila

I realized the other day that groceries are the single biggest category of expense that we have each month, yes it is more than our mortgage payment! So it is fitting that I share some interesting, at least to me, facts about this number.

Based on the budgeted amount for July, we spend about $3.90 a day per person for food, toiletries and other supplies. That averages out to $1.30 a meal.
For the month of July, I am currently $4 over budget but I know this will go up by at least $10 due to the swim team party on Thursday, I need to purchase several items to use for my dishes.
Included in the spending for July are school supplies, I decided to stock up with the sale prices. I also had to purchase a new book bag for Lily and several new lunch containers. The only remaining supplies I know of for the girls are new 3 ring binders.
Matt and I have been shopping in our freezer today, we have no ground hamburger and no chicken at all.
We will be picking up 40# of ground beef on Friday from Zaycon. My plan is to cook at least 20# and freeze in individual bags. The other will be used to make “sloppy joe mix, meatloaves (4) with the remainder to be frozen uncooked for anything else that may show up!
Our menu plan this week included the swim team party and at least one night of leftovers.
Over the last 2 weeks we have been attempting to eat most of the leftover food from Kendall’s birthday party. We did end up throwing out a couple of hamburgers but otherwise we have been successful. I am going to bring the plates, cups and napkins to the beach as well.
I have already cooked and frozen 4 dinners and 1 breakfast meal for the beach. We most like will eat out 2 times and use the final night as left overs.
I am a recipe follower- I am afraid to just try things most of the time because I don’t want to waste food; however, I made a chicken/vegetable casserole today without a recipe and it turned out great!
We have been able to cook and freeze at least a couple of packages of stewed tomatoes a week to use in the winter.
I made approximately 10# of mashed potatoes today because I realized that the potatoes in our closet were starting to go bad.
The current plan is that any unused grocery money for August prior to our beach trip will become “fun” money. To assist with this I will not be going to Costco until after the trip in addition to purchasing only items at CVS for stockpiling. The overall goal is to add $300 to our fun money!

Weekend Rambling

Posted on July 6, 2014 by Sheila

I have enjoyed 4 full days off work in a row! I am excited and feeling accomplished that I just had to share all that we have been up to.

Both Friday and Saturday, we spent over 5 hours enjoying the pool. I can finally say that I have a tan now!
The weather has been awesome, much cooler than in the past week and much cooler than I expected, temperatures have been in the mid 80s by day and even some 50s at night.
Because of the nice weather, I was able to spend several hours working not only in our square foot garden but also working in the flower beds around the house. I am very pleased with the results!
The square foot garden continues to provide us with fresh vegetables daily, our cherry tomatoes are awesome! Hopefully by the end of the week, we will have some full size tomatoes to go with our cucumbers and squash. Because of the really hot weather, I am not sure if we will be getting any more beans this year but the kids loved planting and picking so they will be repeated next week. My most exciting discovery this week has been that we have 4 watermelons and 2 cantaloupes growing! I can’t wait to eat these.
I have been grabbing some good deals at both CVS and Food Lion this week. I will say that I was most disappointed to find that Diet Coke was not on sale at Food Lion after being told it was by 2 different people.
Both the little girls are really enjoying swim team. Lily is now able to swim all 4 strokes but needs to work on her endurance. Kendall is able to swim the back stroke and freestyle without stopping. Kendall has also been working on the butterfly but I am not sure she will be able to compete in this stroke this year.
Our new dryer arrived on Saturday and we were able to dry a load of towels in less than an hour!
One of the best deals I got at Food Lion was ground chuck for $2.67 a pound, this afternoon in less than an hour, Matt and I put together 5 meals. We decided to combine the ground chuck with venison that we had previously purchased. All the meals were frozen because we are still eating leftovers from Kendall’s party. We packed 2 bags of cooked ground beef; these will be used for Hamburger Helper or other meals such as pizza that started with cooked meat. I made a meatloaf and cheeseburger pie and finally Matt made a container of Taco rice that we plan to take to the beach as a meal in August.
On Friday, which was the Fourth of July, Amanda came and took Kendall shopping for her birthday. She purchased a dress, 2 complete outfits, a pair of shorts and a couple of Disney shirts. Kendall is so excited to have new clothes to wear! Haley decided to spend time with us as well. She actually went to the pool. The little kids absolute LOVE when their big sister spend time with them!
Tonight, all three of the little ones are attending Vacation Bible School at my brother’s church. I am excited and surprised because Zach wanted to go and did not even get upset when we left him eating with his cousin. I hope they all have a great time. This is the first time that Zach has been able to stay somewhere without either of his parents. He will sometimes stay at the child watch center at the YMCA but other time he refuses so for him to want to stay is AWESOME! I hope the trend continues all week!

June Budget Busters

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Sheila

I mentioned several times during the month of June that it was one of the most expensive month that we have seen in a long, long time. I am going to go into a little bit more detail in regards to some of the things that helped bust the June budget. If you missed how bad I did for the month, you can always see it in black and white here.

One of the unexplained increased expenses was gas. During the month, I can not pin point any extra mileage that we had, there are no long trips. However, we were way over in our gas for the month. In addition to the extra gas money that was spent, my car also is in need of repair work. In fact, we spent over $110 of our July gas budget today to make some repairs. My hope is that with the repairs, I will gain at least a few miles per gallon and help reduce the overall expense. This summer, the kids have been super busy with something going on each day so that would probably account for the extra gas if I really wanted to figure it out.

Groceries are a much easier explanation in regards to the overage for the month. Looking at the numbers, I am over $200 over for the month but this does include a LARGE meat purchase that should last around 3-6 months in combination with the two orders from Zaycon foods that I will be picking up in the next several months. In addition to this purchase, I did purchase about 1/2 of the food for Kendall’s party during this month as well. I am been able to maintain an average spending of $610 a month for the year until this month. My goal is that with the meat purchases in addition to a lot of fresh veggies from the garden, I can lower at least the July grocery spending.

Summer activities are next on my list of June budget busters. During the summer, we are involved in several different activities that when looked at over the whole summer are relatively inexpensive however, each of these requires initial cost and most were covered entirely in the month of June. The list of these activities include pool membership, swim team and swim team meets, and piano lessons. Because this is the first time we have taken piano lessons, the purchase of a used keyboard and materials were also undertaken in June.

Finally on the list of budget busters for June is the purchase of a new dryer. Over the past several months, our current dryer which is 6 years old has slowly stopped working. It is taking 2 and 3 cycles to dry most clothes. In addition to the extra electricity that we are using to dry the clothes, it has started making very loud noises. Our electric bill crept up this month from $163 in May to $211 in July. I know that the dryer is not the entire cause of the increase but it can’t be helping matters either. Matt and I have discussed the dryer situation several times and he has attempted easier fixes such as cleaning out the hose. Nothing has worked. The last dryer that was purchased was an emergency one. Kendall was barely two weeks old and it stopped so we were forced to purchase a dryer on credit. I did not want to find ourselves in the same situation again so we decided to do some shopping. I currently have a Home Depot credit card and over the past month have received several promotional offers for no interest if paid in 12 months. Using a similar promotion, in the past we have purchased a lawn mower and flooring. I am very proud to say that I have not paid any interest to Home Depot in 2 years so I feel very comfortable saying that I will complete this offer in the same way. Interesting enough, I am scheduled to make the final payment on the card in July. After looking several place and doing some research on the best options, we chose a dryer that was on sale for $599. It will be delivered on Saturday! I am hopefully that this will actually help our budget in the long run and will plan on paying off the dryer in 7 months just in case I need to stretch out some payments.

I have been some time today looking at our July budget and am very optimistic that it will not contain any more budget busters!

Saving at Harris Teeter

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Sheila

I have been looking at the Harris Teeter ad for several days now, trying to decide it I should make a trip for this week or wait. I am reading rumors that they will host a “Super Doubles Event” in the next few weeks, but after a little more printing, I knew this would be an awesome week to go. I was able to load my card with the ZVR coupons (Harris Teeter) and I even signed into Saving Star to make sure I could get the best deal.

Bright and early this morning we headed out to Salisbury. I am so glad I did!

Total Spent $65.01
Total Saved $109.56
Percent Saved 63%

Once everything shows up in my Saving Star, I am also eligible for $10 cash back!

One of the reason I am so excited about this trip is the number of convenience foods, I was able to grab. We spend ALOT of time at the pool during the summer but there is no way we can afford to eat out or even just buy snacks at the pool each time. So today was awesome, I grabbed around 20 Lunchables- great for swim meets and if they last that long to take to the beach, 5 packs of Hunt’s pudding, 8 boxes of Granola bars, 4 boxes of fruit by the foot/fruit gushers and 5 cases of soda for Matt to drink at the pool and also for the beach. These are all easy things to carry to the pool. In addition to these items I also included in my purchase was 2 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 2 boxes of Suddenly Salad, 3 boxes of Stand up Taco shells and 2 bottles of salad dressing.

I keep a spread sheet for the year with most of my best saving trips on it. This is not the best trip as far as percentage wise that I have saved but it is the second largest savings dollars that I have achieved this year!

Budget Update-Mid June

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Sheila

As I predicted May and June have been some of the most expensive months for us. However, God has provided, Matt has been able to complete a major website and I have been picking up extra work due to the change of computer system at work. Between the two, we are actually way ahead of where we were even 3 weeks ago. I am not going to include the update on groceries or gas because we still have several weeks in this month but I am adding new goals and I am excited at our financial picture looks currently.

Monthly Goals

: 1. Pay off credit card debit by June. Home Depot will be paid off completely in July! I have a small balance on my JCPennys card as well but it will be paid as well.

2. Emergency Fund to $2000. Currently sitting at 625. I will have to “find” the money for saving in July however starting in August $100 will be budgeted to savings each month. I will need to boost this amount to $200 each month to met the goal but we do have progress.

. Short term goals: These are planned to be covered in June with extra income.

~~1. $400 pool dues~~– Paid
~~2. $200 for music/piano lessons for the girls this summer-~~ Paid in addition to a used keyboard purchased for practicing.
~~3. $46 Kids dentist bill~~ Paid.

Additional Short term goals for the month of June- these were added at the end of May.

~~4. Purchase of new “tent” to use at swim meets.~~
~~5. Update Emergency Fund to $625~~
6. Cheerleading Expenses for first of July- $750 including new shoes for Lily. My plan is to use most of my extra check in the month of July to cover these expenses. I am updating this goal to cover all known expenses( $1910) except for the monthly fee which is already part of our budget. After meeting this goal we will start to save at least $100 for each of the competitions scheduled for the year.

NEW Short Term Goal: Save around $500 for some minor car repairs that are needed on my car. Currently it needs new wheel bearings and a new window shield prior to the inspection taxes and tags due in September .

Long Term Goals: These are for the next 6 months

1. $2000 to repair our septic system- I have no clue of the cost for this but this is a save range. I will be counting our Emergency Fund in this amount for the time being because if it cost less than anything left will stay in this fund. No progress
~~2. $1000 to replace the floor in our Living room. No progress~~ We have decided that it will be in our best interest to skip the huge expense of remodeling this year until we have covered the cost of repair to the septic system.

As you can tell we still have a lot of known extra expenses but I am hoping to stay on the right track and meet all of these prior to the end of the year.

Square Foot Garden Update- June

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Sheila

I am so totally excited to be able to pick and enjoy vegetable from our garden. I can say without a doubt that this year, we are getting the most and best veggies that we have ever grown.

Yesterday we harvested our first major amounts. For the last several weeks, we have been picking squash and a few random cherry tomatoes. But yesterday we harvested 2 green peppers, squash, several cucumbers, several cherry tomatoes and enough green beans to cook and have as a side dish. So far I have frozen around 8 packets of squash for casseroles and given away at least that much. I can’t wait till we can restock our tomato sauce. I have not bought any tomato products in 2 years but my freezer is empty of these so I hope to get a huge harvest in by the middle of July.

We have decided to make one change for next year, I will be adding an additional bed on the side for just squash. This should allow us to have more cucumbers as these are our current favorites.

Finally a sample of what we are getting..

Busiest Day of School

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Sheila

Wednesday, June 11th, was quite possibly the busiest day of the school year for us. It was also the last full day of school. I knew in advance that I would not be able to attend all the festivities, due to the implementation of a new computerized medical records system at my work. I had asked Amanda to help out and she did. I was so thankful! First thing in the morning was the Awards Assembly for 3rd and 4th graders. Matt, myself, Zach and Kendall all attended to watch Lily. She was able to achieve “A” honor roll for both the 4th quarter and all year!

Brooke, my niece, who is 9 months older than Lily also made both a Honor Rolls.

Next Kendall had a “Fiesta” for the entire Kindergarten Group and Lily had a class party. Zach and Matt went to the class party that was themed “The Awards” . In Lily’s classroom, they have been doing a movie theme all year. The invitations were to come and watch your child walk the “red Carpet”. Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Amanda attended the Fiesta with Kendall and joined her for lunch. After lunch, Matt, Zach and Lily were able to attend Kendall’s class party. So as you can tell I was really not missed at all.

Random Thoughts Thursday- Money Edition

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Sheila

Today, we have spent most of the day running errands and shopping so this is a great way to share my best deals of the day!

CVS paid me to take 4 tubes of Toothpaste today including 2 of the hard side bottle that are great for traveling. Total Spent $3.66, ECB back $4ECB and I did not start ECB with any so this is definitely a profit.
We found 2 “Palm Tree Coolers” at “Five Below”. I can’t wait to use these at Kendall’s birthday party.
At BedBathandBeyond, the salesperson asked if I had any coupons, I replied “No, but I would take one if you can find one.” She said let me look. I ended up with a $5 off my purchase! I was able to buy a new steam iron and a melon baller for $19.05!!
Our first stop of the day was to purchase meat at one of the ~~“local”~~ closest (20 miles) Meat Markets. We spent $185 for 15lbs of bacon, pork chops. hamburger patties, chicken nuggets, cube steak and 2 packs of steaks for grilling. All were processed and frozen within the past 24 hours. This is addition to our purchase of hamburger to be delivered in July should help us stay in budget for the rest of the Summer.
I am glad to say that June will still be our most expensive month of the year however God is providing so that it also appears that it will biggest income month to date as well.

Budget Update for May

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Sheila

May has turned out to be the most expensive month for us so far this year. I am struggling to keep up and even had to use some of our Emergency Fund but Lily’s medical expenses today. The future is looking better with Matt income for June but I really don’t like the way this month ended.

Monthly Goals: 1. Pay off credit card debit by June. I did make a huge payment (over $150 to the Home Depot card, I am planning to finish paying it off in June)

2. Emergency Fund to $2000. No progress this month due to other necessary spending. This is actually falling way behind but my plan is to make up and get it on track with $625 by the end of June.

. 3. Groceries: Spend $600 a month- Total Spent $790. This does include a 40# ground beef order that will be picked up in July. I also have slowly begun purchasing items for Kendall’s birthday party at the end of June. Ouch is all I can say. I don’t even think we will come significant under the amount in June due to the need for purchasing meat and Kendall’s party.

4. Gas: Spend $400 a month with any remaining to be move to Auto fund for repairs. Total Spent $430 that does not include the cost of a new hatch for the van. The van inspection, tags and taxes are included in this amount in addition to a repair to pass inspection. I drove to Raleigh as well which was unplanned.

Overall 1/4 goals met this month. Ouch!

Short term goals: These are planned to be covered in June with extra income.

1. $400 pool dues- untouched this month, a must for June!
2. $200 for music/piano lessons for the girls this summer- I did purchase on book with need but otherwise no progress
3. $46 Kids dentist bill
4. ~~$200 for the remainder of our car insurance for 6 months.~~ Goal met and I actually ended up saving over $200 on car insurance which will reduce my monthly budgeted amount to $45!
5. ~~$ 50 initial registration fee for both girls in Cheerleading.~~ We have decided to take the month of June off from cheerleading as well. Part of the reason is the expense but in addition both girls are swimming on our pool team and this means daily practice Monday- Thursday. See below for an even more goals for June.

Short term goal were 2/5 met for the month. Again OUCH

Additional Short term goals for the month of June

4. Purchase of new “tent” to use at swim meets.
5. Update Emergency Fund to $625
6. Cheerleading Expenses for first of July- $750 including new shoes for Lily.

Long Term Goals: These are for the next 6 months

Absolutely no progress on Long Term Goals. I do not expect these to change unless we have a significant increase income for the month of June.

As you can tell, May was an extremely expensive month. I am glad we survived and still have a small emergency fund in place. June does look to be more positive so onward!

Saving Money- Checking Insurance

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Sheila

I dislike insurance of all kind and fashion. My thoughts are that they companies are making money on someone’s worries but that being said it is a “requirement” in most situations. We have had both Auto and Home Insurance with the same company Liberty Mutal for close to 10 years. One of the reason’s that I have stayed with this company is it is easy to do. In addition, I usually check out rates every couple of years just to make sure we are still competitive. In the past, the difference have been so small that it was not worth changing. Over the past several months, I have become more and more frustrated with the company. First is their billing system, starting 3 months ahead of time, you get a bill with monthly and then bi-weekly reminders. I receive both paper and email remainders. Next as I started to look over the bill, I found a “clean air allotment” charge, I call to ask and never really got an explanation. I was told that in the past this was split between the billing cycles??? I still don’t know what this charge is. The final problem that made me starting comparing rates and looking for a different company was the statement that once a bill is issued, no changes can be made to the amount due on it. For example, I dropped one car off the policy which reduced my overall policy amount by over $200, however since my bill had been issued I would be given credit for this on the next billing cycle six months away.

I went online the other night and requested auto insurance quotes, I have received five. Each of the five was lower than the amount I am currently paying. So today, I decided to call the companies to verify the amounts before making a decision. I am excited to report that I saved $210.56 by switching my auto insurance to GEICO! I will be able to make changes and even claims online if needed!!

This definitely helps our budget not only this month but for the rest of the year!

Teens Tots and Everything In Between

Life, Love and Coupons

Category Archives: Budgeting