Category Archives: Budgeting

How We Re-stock

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For the past several months, I have been on a mission to clean out our freezers. I can finally say that I did succeed. So now what?  This month’s grocery budget or should I save overspending will show just how much we can spend in a month.  But more about that later.

The first stop we made to re-stock the freezers was a local meat market. We ended up spending around $200 but purchased what I am planning on being enough meat when combined with our chicken order that we will pick up this Saturday to last approximately six month. We purchased chicken wings for our super bowl party in January, several packs of steaks, a couple of London broils, flank steak for use in some fried rice meals, cube steak and  a pork tenderloin which Matt split into 4 separate roast before freezing.  I did purchase 20# of ground beef which I divided up and froze most of the following out of:
2 meatloaves (this are uncooked but can be easily thawed)
2 Cheeseburger pies. (We have eaten one of these this week)
7 meal packs of Salisbury steaks. ( Matt will combined with frozen mashed potatoes for a really quick but hearty meal).
8 packs of already browned ground beef.
4 meals of stuffing for green peppers. We enjoyed one of these for Amanda’s birthday and a second is a left over meal. The other 2 packs are in the freezer.

Next stop was at Costco where not only did we purchase food to re-supply us but also we need to purchase several vitamins and medicines that I have not been able to coupon for in a long time.  We also had to renew our membership which only ended up costing me $14 so I will continue because that works out to around $1.25 a month and just the convenience of buying in bulk is well worth that cost!

Finally we headed out to Target to grab an awesome deal on Starbucks coffee and to gather some additional items we need to make meals out of our chicken.

In addition to cooking above I have also added a Baked Ziti to the freezer and will be placing some Taco soup in tomorrow as well.

I did take a look at our overall grocery budget for the year. Including all the additional spending this month, our monthly average is $650 which is less than last year. My plan is to make a couple of small trips over the next several months but I would imagine that by the end of the year our spending will be at less than $600 a month!

The plan is to let you in on how we end up processing 120# of chicken on Sunday or Monday after it is completed.

 

 

Savings!

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A list of the things we have done or are currently doing to save money :

  1. No heat or air for the past month! The goal is another month or 6 weeks.  The last several days have seen highs in the upper 80s but with low 60s or 50s at night, we have survived with ceiling fans.  I can’t wait to see how much this has effected our power bill.
  2. By switching our cell phone bill to  my name, we increased our discount by 2% and for some reason they applied the discount differently as well. As a result, our total cell phone bill is over $50 less starting in October!
  3. Matt has been researching our cable tv and its charges. We were both really surprised to find $10 charge  for on demand items that we have been paying for over a year that simply we don’t use. In addition, we are planning on dropping our cable tv entirely in the month of November, when our contract is up.  We should see this reduce our monthly bills by $100 a month. We know that the first 2 months will be sent on obtaining boxes but still $100 a month is HUGE!
  4. Matt cut his own hair yesterday. The current decision is that some things are just better left to the pros. Hair cuts being one of them!
  5. We are continuing to clean out our freezers. A major shopping trip is planned for next weekend but we are continuing to eat what we have. A good example is today, for lunch everyone chose a left over for lunch. At dinner, I used left over taco meat and made a taco bake which basically was a free meal!
  6. By combining discounts, I was able to purchase a new comforter set for our bed for less than half of the advertised price including shipping and tax. I will definitely be posting pictures of that after it arrives.
  7. I was able to purchase 3 Diet Cokes and 2 bottles of dish detergent at CVS today for $0.34 and left with $2.50 in ECB. I started with NONE!  I did use a rain check
  8.  As I was cleaning at work last week, I found a huge stack of papers that have been sitting in the same place for 9 months.  My first thought was to toss them but then I realized wait they have only been printed on one side. So I brought the stack home, cut off the corners with the staples and not have an entire pack of paper to use for printing and the kids art work. I honestly have not bought paper in over two years. We print a lot but keep a scrap paper bin at church and then recycle all we get here. This saves us a bunch on paper. I do have some “clean” paper for use for official things but have found that no one care what the back of my coupons or list say and the kids are so used to coloring on paper that they use at least 10 sheets a day for art!

So it is important to see savings as a marathon not a sprint!

Bunches of Breakfast

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One of the areas that few people talk about is breakfast meals. I am assuming that most plan to eat the cheap  cereal for months on in. However that just would not happen in this house. I LOVE breakfast, it is probably  my favorite meal. Now that school is back in session, it is hard to eat a quick and healthy breakfast that does not cost a lot. Over the past few weeks we have developed a list of breakfast items that seem to be working for us.

  • Cereal at least once a week, currently we have several varieties of Cheerios. My price point is $1 a box so I try to stock up when I can.
  • Poptarts- depending on the flavor we have, some weeks the kids could eat this several times a week. But I can definitely say these are one of the foods I refuse to eat.
  • Eggs- Fried or scrambled.  Over the summer it has been really  nice to add fresh green peppers, ham and onions to make a quick omelet. The kids are starting to enjoy plain fried eggs which take less than 3 minutes to fix.  Last week I was given the following recipe which I plan to make over the weekend and we can re-heat at least one time if it last. I  made it last weekend but we did not have any leftovers.
      • 10 eggs whisk together, 2 cups of cottage cheese, diced onions, diced green pepper and spinach. Bake at 350 for  45 minutes.
  • Pancakes- These are a great meal that we can prepare ahead. I place in a ziplock bag and simply pop in the toaster any morning when the kids ask for them.
  • Baked Oatmeal- our current favorite is Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips. The recipe can be found here :http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2009/05/peanut-butter-baked-oatmeal.html.   I timed this last night and it took 10 minutes from start to finish. I set the stove to cook and we wake up to a warm breakfast. I also have tried apple oatmeal in the crock pot not bad but with all the variety and ease of this recipe, honestly this is better and easier!

On the weekends we tend to make bigger more traditional breakfast meals but these are quick and everyone enjoys!

September in Review

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Financial goals:  September was an ok month for us financially; I was able to get our Emergency fund back to $500 and we are only currently about $300 behind budget for the month. I am hoping/anticipating that by the end of October, we will be even for the year. I am continuing to pick up extra hours at the nursing home in addition to some slow web work that should produce income.

  • Pay off Lawn mower by March 2014, so no interest is charged. Payment of $100 made, almost a triple payment. I have also made a plan to pay this completely off in January!
  • Pay off all outstanding debt except the mortgage by June– We missed this goal obviously but my new goal is June 2014!
  • Emergency fund to $2000–   Currently at just over $500 but at least it exist again.
  • Maintain a budget using a form of the envelope system – MET!
  • Groceries: Spend $600 or less a month  We are currently at $575 for the month including our purchase of 120# of chicken!  I anticipate that October will be an expensive month as we have to replenish. We have not purchased a lot of groceries since June. At this point our average for the year is $600. My goal will be to stay on budget for the rest of the year!
  • Gas- Goal Met!! We currently have $89 left in our gas budget which will be used to offset a medical bill!

Blogging:  Goal: 15 per month This is the 15th blog posting of the month, for the third month in a row. I will admit that this month has been a struggle but I am so glad I have been able to stay on course.

Devotions: Goal is 5 a week   Goal Met! I am really enjoying my morning time.

Weight: Goal to exercise 3x a week and to be down to 150 by December by losing around 4 # a month.. Something is better than nothing… with that being said, I have managed to work out 2 nights a week for the past 3 weeks so that is at least better than nothing!

September was a good month!  We have met all goals this month!!!

September Challenge Final Update-Budget

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Have you not heard?       Long ago I ordained it.   In days of old I planned it;  now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified  cities into piles of stone.”
– Isaiah 37:26

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,  “Never will I leave you;     never will I forsake you.
-Hebrews 13:5

Yes, those are the verses that keep coming to my mind as I think about updating our budget status this month.  First I will be really honest, I did not met either of the goals that I had aspired to this month. However, I don’t count this month as a total fail either. In the area of money we have made small but steady progress.

Our emergency fund is currently sitting at just above $500, I was able to make steady payments on our small debt that is left. We are actually under budget in gas and groceries. In addition, I am actually currently under budget for the year on groceries. I will include actual numbers on the month in review post.  Finally, we are currently less than $800 to be even for the year. I am actually really excited by this number!  I have committed to work at the nursing home, one day a week for the next six weeks. This alone will make a huge dent in this $800. In addition, our hope is to finally get a web site published and therefore paid for in October.  Slow and steady wins the race and I am actually seeing a finish line way up ahead in the distance. The biggest blessing is the verses above because I do not have to worry, my God is in control and his timing is PERFECT!

 

 

Restocking

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Over the past several months we have been working on cleaning out our freezers. I am happy to say that task is complete. We currently have chicken broth/stock and beef broth in our large chest freezer along with a 20# box of chicken tenders/nuggets. In our second stand up freezer we have veggies. It is quite full but all these are easily seen and I now know what can be used. The plan/goal of the next several weekends will be to restock.
We are a busy family and most weeks, we have extra activities three to four nights a week. One of the most successful ways that we have found to make these evenings go smoothly and not end up eating out is by  have an assortment of items in our freezers that when combine make simple meals.  We have recently purchased 120# of boneless chicken breast, these will be picked up mid October. I am already collecting recipes to use to make meals with at least the first 40#. The remaining will be divided into portion bags and use for grilling or other things.  My hope is that we can find several of meals that we really like and can then just add ingredients together.

This weekend, I am cooking and freezing beans. A can of beans on sale usually is about $0.50 to $0.75 each. A bag of beans is around $1.00. Currently, I have 4 variety of beans soaking overnight; pintos, red beans, black beans and navy beans. I have washed and looked them over, actually removing one rock today.  They will soak overnight. I will cook overnight on Friday night and then divide up and freeze on Saturday.  Each bag of dried beans will produce 3-4 cans so the saving add up quick, in addition to a significant decrease in sodium. We mainly use beans as soup ingredients, because I don’t like the taste of them.

By the end of October, my goal is to have the freezers restocked and ready for the winter.

September No-Low Spend Challenge Update 3

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1.Emergency Fund at $1000 by the end of the month. I did receive a refund on Haley’s tuition so I was able to place $500 in the fund. I still need to find another $500 but this is a start.

2. Grocery spending at $200 or less not including our Zaycon Food chicken order. This week was expensive for groceries. I did place our chicken order and will be picking up 120# of chicken in a October. This week I have made two stops at the grocery store, one at Aldi and another at Food Lion. I am over my $200. Currently I sit at $226 for the month.

As you can tell, I most likely will not be able to met either of my goals for the month. However, I am glad I accepted the challenge as it has made me hyper aware of spending and has actually keep my grocery shopping well under budget as well. I will only do a find update since I am already fallen from the wagon so to speak.

 

What Does Our Stockpile Look Like?

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Over the past several months, we have been cleaning out our freezers and pantries. However during the last three weeks, two of the stores in the area have been running some really good deals so I chose to start to stock pile again.  I am always looking for what other people consider a stock pile and how they do it so I thought I would share about ours. Here is a breakdown of some of the items we have on hand:

  • 10 tubes of unopened toothpaste. I was able to grab 4 tubes for free this past week!  I will not be purchasing any more, but free is free no matter how many you have.
  • 20 plus bottles of Shampoo and Conditioner. I did purchase 3 bottles of Kid’s shampoo this past week. This is definitely an item, I will not be buying anytime soon. In fact, I will not even be looking for any deals on these until I am down to 5 bottles or less.
  • 15 un-open bars of soap. Lily has very sensitive skin so I try to stock up when even one of the few brands she uses is on sale. I was able to purchase 3 bar packs at Harris Teeter for $0.35 this week.
  • 6 bottles each of Ketchup and mustard. These were actually purchased in January when I was able to find them for $0.50 or less.
  • 4 5# bags of sugar. I remember purchasing these at less than $1.50 a bag, they are in Ziploc bags so they should last a good long time.
  • 40 can of vegetables. I purchased these at Food Lion two weeks ago for $0.25 a can. I prefer the frozen veggies but these are awesome to have on hand.
  • 10 cans of soup.  Tomato soup is one of the few items that I am brand loyal to, so when I find coupons that make it less than $.50 a can, I buy. But I also have another 10 cans of cooking soups as well.
  • 10 cases of soda, I take usually 1 a week to work. These were all purchased in May and June when I was able to get for around $0.08 a can or less than $2.00 per 12 pack. I also use my coke points to add to this any time I can.
  • 12 2 L Diet Cokes. I have been enjoying these that I purchased at $0.88 in August but I know that I will soon need to add to this.
  • Our meal list is currently at 14 dinners. After these are used up, I will be stocking back up the freezers. First with a 120# order of chicken from Zaycon and then with a trip to the local meat butcher/market.

Lastly our veggie freezer is almost full, I have been slowly adding diced/stewed tomatoes this summer. Otherwise I have several packages of plums from last year. I also have an abidance of frozen zucchini and squash from 2 years ago.  I did add to the freezer with frozen broccoli and corn purchased again on the brand sale at Food Lion. I know that Food Lion usually has the brand sale in January so I purchased what I thought would last till then.

Can anyone give me an idea what their stock pile looks like?

 

 

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1. Emergency Fund at $1000 by the end of the month. I found out that I will be getting a refund on Haley’s tuition next week, so that will help to bump this up. But as of yet, I have not added any to the fund.

2. Grocery spending at $200 or less not including our Zaycon Food chicken order. We have made three shopping trips this week Harris Teeter #1 $8.82 (triples sale), Food Lion $ $20.39(things we are out of including paper towel) and Harris Teeter $22.42 (triples sale),. I also had to write a check for the girls to eat at school several times a week. But the good news is we are still under budget $163. The plan is to spend $200 or less!  I actually think we are going to make it!

Low/Spend No Spend Challenge Update 1

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I am a day late with this but yesterday was one of those day when I was not home enough to post….

1. Emergency Fund at $1000 by the end of the month. I did some extra work at the Nursing home for the past two weeks so this should help. But in reality no extra money came in this week.

2. Grocery spending at $200 or less not including our Zaycon Food chicken order. We are continuing to eat out of our freezer with a couple of list going on. The first is on the side of the refrigerator, this is a list of items that will be purchased on the first shopping trip to Costco in October. The second list is a list of all the available meals that we can make. It has been helping as we can look and decide in the morning what will be for dinner that evening without checking three different place. I have already spent $80 of our $200 grocery budget. Our only local grocery store is having their “brand” sale this month. This basically is where you have an additional $0.25 off each item between 4-40 that is a store brand. We combined this with a regular sale to stock up on canned veggies at $0.25 a piece and frozen veggies at 0.75 a bag. I am really pleased in how much we were able to stock up and my plan is to stick to the budget!