Category Archives: Budgeting

Food Lion Savings

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I am the first and maybe the loudest to say that Food Lion has a really back coupon policy in addition to no doubling or extra perks for shopping there. It is also the only grocery store in my small town. But after shopping this weekend, I might even say that things are starting to look up at Food Lion.

I realized earlier in the week, that part of their 3 day sale would be 2L Cokes for $0.79, my stock up price for these are 0.99 and since we pass a Food Lion on any trip we take, I was going to take advantage. Today, we decided to shop at the Food Lion near our church and pool. I did not even take my coupons with me but instead scanned the MVP card up front and decided to go from there.  I did have a “Free roll of Paper Towel” with a $10 purchase and $1.50 off any Laundry supply. Both of these we received on Friday night when we made our first stop to grab Diet Cokes.   I was pleasantly surprised to receive several coupon from the kiosk to use. I was able to purchase the follow for $10, in two transactions. I had to split up the Diet Cokes because you are only allowed to purchase for at a time.

8 2 L Diet Cokes    $0.79 each
Roll of Paper towel- used the free coupon
24oz Ketchup 0.99 with 0.50 off coupon-  0.49
2 cans of Sweet Peas 0.67 each with 0.50 off 2 or 0.42 each (not a stock up price but I need to get my total to $10 before coupons)
Loaf of Sandwich Bread 0.95 with coupon for 0.50 off – 0.49
ALL Mighty Pacs  on sale for 2.99 with coupon for $1.50 –  $1.49.  I am usually very brand loyal for washing detergent however with us doing an additional load  a day of pool items there really is no need to be- these items are not really dirt to begin with.

Total Spent $10, total saved $17 or 62%

Budgeting on Thursday 6/06/2013

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Today is my regular payday so I was able to spend a good amount of time, going over the budget and making some minor adjustment to keep us on the right track.  Beside the regular bills, I was able to reduce our debt load by $500!!!!!!!!! I am so excited about this because each little pebble I throw makes a big impact in the picture.  This was extra money from my working. My goal and hope is that I can do the same on the 20th. But I do realize that the next two weeks are heavy with extra fees for cheerleading and some extra items for graduation.

I only have $100 left in my grocery budget for the month. I did place a huge order for Chicken Tenders this month. These will not be picked up until July so that hurt us in addition at Costco we stocked up on “pool food.” The plan is that we take food with us especially each weekend so that we don’t end up spending money on pizza or fast food just because I didn’t plan ahead.

One of the most exciting things that happened today in regards to budgeting is that Amanda actually texted and called me to let me know about an awesome deal on milk and then offered to pick some up for me as it was out of my way!  I am so excited to see that she is realizing the value of money and can spot a good deal!

Finally, we have really been enjoying 50 cent ice cream from Burger King!  I think I understood that this special would last all summer. I hope so, because BK is on the way home from the pool and for the cost of one container of ice cream at the pool we can all enjoy a cup.

Overall I am super excited about where our money is going this month!

May in Review- A Day Late

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Financial goals: May has been a month to re-evaluate, change and move forward on this goal. My plan is to start at least bi-weekly updates on our budget to keep us focused forward and to share real world numbers.

  • Pay off Lawn mower by March 2014, so no interest is charged. Only made the minimal payment this month but  this is a new focus so hopefully, I can catch up and pay this off my December.
  • Pay off all outstanding debt except the mortgage by June– Changing this to December.
  • Emergency fund to $2000–  I was able to get the fund up to $500. I am content to let it sit at this mark and slow increase as the debt goes away.
  • Maintain a budget using a form of the envelope system – Still working well!
  • Groceries: Spend $600 or less a month Goal met. I am not counting our trip to Costco on Friday night or the Zaycon food order in May but both will be counted in June. We are actually $20 under for the month!
  • Gas- I am adding this category. The goal each month is to spend $450 or less for gas.  We spent $400 this month. Starting in June, any left over amount will be moved to the Auto fund. This is basically a repair/maintenance fund in place because the vehicles we own are older and repairs are expected.

Blogging:  Goal: 15 per month I have 13 post for May. My plan was to post this last night but it just did not happen so something to work on.  Still have not met this goal for the year but will continue to keep working toward it.

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.. This continues to be a daily struggle for me.

Budget Update and New Series

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I have decided in order to keep myself more accountable that I am going to update our budget numbers at least bi-weekly when I get pain. I hope that this will keep me focused on the goal as well as share some of my own excitement as we approach the goal of becoming debt free! So to start….

  • Our Emergency Fund is currently sitting at $500!!
  • We purchased today, a new to us 1999 Minivan with less than half the miles of our current one. After considering this options carefully and doing research we have discovered that we should be able to sell our current 2005 Minivan for the same price as we purchase this one.  One of the major upgrade besides the mileage is that this van is a 6 cylinder as opposed to our current 4 cylinder one.
  • Auto insurance will decrease by $75 one we are able to sell our current Minivan
  • Debt (excluding mortgage) is sitting at 10k, however 1/4 of that should be erased when we sell our 2005 Minivan.
  • For the month of June, we will have a zero balance budget, meaning that our expenses and income are even. Any “extra” or found money will be used to bring the debt load down even more.
  • All of Zach’s medical expenses have been paid! In addition, I have finally managed to pay off all outstanding medical debt!

I am really excited to see this journey speed up as we head downhill and finally our goal is in sight and manageable!

 

April In Review

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Financial goals: April was a month of catch up that didn’t have us catching up as I had hoped. One of the reason was I actually was shorted a full day on a check. Hopefully things will start to improve in May

  • Pay off Lawn mower by March 2014, so no interest is charged. Payment made of $175
  • Pay off all outstanding debt except the mortgage by June–  No progress this month
  • Emergency fund to $2000–  This fund has actually decreased again this month. My focus for May will be to return it to the $500 mark.  I would like to have it up to $500 ASAP and $2000 by the end of the year.
  • Maintain a budget using a form of the envelope system – Still working well!
  • Groceries: Spend $600 or less a month Goal met, and we are on track for meeting our projection for the year as well. , We spent a $564.00 this month. We have decided not to participate in the food co-op this year but instead use of the money for fresh fruits and veggies.

Blogging:  Goal: 15 per month This is my 14th post of the month . Still have not met this goal for the year but will continue to keep working toward it. I am actually pleased this month because I feel I have achieved a good balance with pictures and information.

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. Exercising has not been as consistent as I want it to be and I have realized that I really need to focus on my water intake as well. This continues to be a daily struggle for me.

Stretching Your Dollar and Ground Beef

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I wanted to share today how we have managed to stretch our ground beef over the past several days.  These are simple and fast, but because my family  really does not like left overs this is a way to stretch the ground beef.

Start with 3-4 pounds of ground beef and simply brown.
Tacos are first, add the seasoning and water. Enjoy!
Sloppy joes are next add one can of rotel and enough ketchup to make the remaining meat look “soupy”. Let this mixture simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Add bread and cheese.
The remaining mixture can be used in several different ways; chili(or sloppy joe) cheese fries, hot dog chili, spaghetti sauce.

We actually have practiced this for the past couple of days. We have actively been raising money for Haley’s summer youth trip to the National Youth Conference. Our first meal was pintos, I brought home leftovers and made refried beans. The next meal was a “Mexican Meal” we used the refried beans and add Taco meat. I definitely over purchased the meat, so we frozen the remaining 10 or so pounds. This past Sunday was our “Soup and Sandwich” Meal. I used the above recipe to change the taco meat into sloppy joes. Because the meat had been frozen one time, the remaining meat was sent home with several families. Matt has enjoyed several meal of Sloppy Joes but the kids really did not like this idea so the other idea became part of the plan. Tonight Matt was able to use up the remaining meat mixture in a baked spaghetti which was really good!

 

 

Day of Cooking 4/13/2013

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One of the things that I have not done in over a year is spend a day preparing food that then is easy to heat up and serve as meals. I have done this several times a year in the past. With our focus this month on reducing all expenses, I decided to spend my day in the kitchen. I purchased a total of 12# of ground beef from Costco on Thursday and Matt had picked up an order of Chicken from Zaycon Foods on Tuesday so I knew we probably had everything I need to cook most of these items. I spent a total of 8 hours in the kitchen today including clean up time and I took several breaks. I was able to assemble 15 different meals. I have a list of these meals along with all the different other meats we have on the fridge. We will mostly like have one or two a week and then wait a week before having the same item again. I find it much easier to prepare a larger quantity at once. I first heard of freezer cooking several years ago, most of the recipes I use are from 30 day Gourmet, I have not purchased any of their books but printed out a ton of recipes from their site.   Here is a list of what we have, most have recipes with them.

1 pack of cooked ground beef this will be great for chili or another dish
2 meals of Chicken Fried Rice this is Haley favorite meal of all time.
2 Cheeseburger Pies
4 Packs of Salisbury Patties
4 packs of Taco Rice – one of these is actually to take with us to the Beach in August. It was a favorite last year.
2 meatloaf This is a recipe from my mother, I will place at the end if you are interested. I have taken one of Matt’s sisters idea (cheese) and add to make it even better!
1 Baked Ziti For our lunch tomorrow

We had one of the meatloaf for dinner tonight along with Pineapple casserole and Paula Deen Mac and Cheese

I plan to finish the night by making a Baked Oatmeal that I will set for the oven to bake first thing in the morning!

I started by making a huge batch of Rice since I planned to make several items that called for it. I also browned up 6 lbs of ground beef at once and spread between several dishes. I like to clean up as I go. So I was able to use my Kitchen Aid mixer for several things after a quick clean. I will say that it made especially the Salisbury patties much easier. Currently I am just under $200 left in the grocery budget for the month. I have a list of 35 main meal items on the fridge so maybe I can keep our budget way down and transfer the money to other needs!

Do you have any good recipes to share along these lines if so leave a comment!

Meatloaf
1 ½ Lb ground Beef
¾ cup Bread crumbs
1 T prepared Mustard
2 T Ketchup
1 cup Milk
1 sm onion 1 cup Cheddar Cheese
Blend onion and milk in blender. Mix together all above. Place half in loaf pan. Cover with layer of Cheddar Cheese. Place remaining meat mixture on top be sure to round the ends so that the cheese is sealed. Top with the following, after mixing together
¾ cup brown sugar
2 cups Ketchup
1 ¼ tsp prepared mustard
¼ tsp nutmeg

Random Thoughts Tuesday- April Catch-up

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So this is the perfect chance for me to get all the information that I had intended on post on the blog out in one great list!  The order is how it pops in my head.

  • We were able to sell our old lawn mower for $100 after posting it for less than 3 hours on Craigslist. This makes our first payment on the new lawn mower
  • I was able to confirm that if we can pay off the new lawn mower in 12 months without a late payment it will be interest free so that has been added to my financial goals!
  • Haley complete her driving requirements of 52 hours on our trip to the beach. She is now an official licensed driver without restrictions in NC!
  • We all really enjoyed our short trip to Myrtle Beach to watch Lily’s competition. The girl performed really well on Saturday and did a great job on Sunday. They ended up placing 4 of 7 teams!
  • One of the fun things we did on this trip was shop. Haley has lots of new summer clothes. I was able to find Nike shoes for both Kendall and Zach for under $20 each. Matt also has a new pair of Nikes for  less than $50. Finally I was able to grab some flip flops and camis for myself at the Old Navy outlet
  • Myrtle Beach was COLD!!! With the wind and the temperatures only in the 60s I did not even step foot in the sand. I did enjoy our awesome view from our balcony! Pictures will hopefully be posted this week as well.
  • We enjoyed several great meals on our trip. On Friday night, we ate at PF Changs. It was awesome and even Haley said she enjoyed it! Saturday night we ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise, another great meal for I do wish I had tried the Key Lime Pie.  So that means that it is on my return list!!!!
  • This was probably one of the most STRESS FREE trips we have taken in several years and I hope that we can do it again!
  • This week we have returned to our crazy schedule and I have decided that it is time to get serious about my diet. I now want to catch up to my goal of 4# a month by May which would be a total of 25 # down!!! I have gone back to a food journal in hopes that it will keep me accountable and on track!
  • The weather has been awesome the last several days, Matt has done some improvements to my Square foot garden and I ordered dirt this year! I hope this will double the amount of food we are able to harvest!
  • Haley has been excepted into the Early Childhood program at our local community college. She will begin in the fall with 16 credit hours.
  • It is 12 weeks till Kendall’s birthday, random fact I discovered at work today!

 

April Saving Challenge

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This is a challenge that I really need to participate in but at the same time, I know that this is one of our low months so therefore it will be even more difficult.  After debating back and forth,    I have decided that I am going to accept the challenge but only with one saving goal in mind.

  • I currently have $325 in my emergency fund, by the end of April, I want to increase it to $500.

Does anyone want to join me over at http://www.halfdozendaily.typepad.com/

 

March in Review

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Financial goals: March has been a drain on us financially.   We have had to complete minor repair work on both the vehicles, additional medical expenses for Zach and yesterday our lawn mower decided to smoke us out. We  did purchase a new lawnmower on a special finance deal which means that if we pay off the purchase within 12 months, we will not be charged interested. I am adding this as a goal to keep us accountable.

  • Pay off Lawn mower by March 2014, so no interest is charged.
  • Pay off all outstanding debt except the mortgage by June–  No progress this month
  • Emergency fund to $2000–  With all the additional expenses we had this month, I was able to only add $50 to this. I would like to have it up to $500 ASAP and $2000 by the end of the year.
  • Maintain a budget using a form of the envelope system – DONE! I love the app and the “freedom/expense” accounts that are making tracking so much easier for me to keep track of the money. I also realize just how much we are spending on gas, clothing and gifts. I decided to increase the clothing and gifts to $100 a month to see if that will even us out.
  • Groceries: Spend $600 or less a month Goal met, We spent a $582.00 this month including an order for 40 pounds of chicken breast. We have not broken even for the year yet, sitting at negative $8. We are continuing to clean out the freezers and I have actually started to notice a difference in the stuff upstairs. I am going to plan to continue to buy only as needed stuff in April to get us back on track. I am thinking that our summer produce co-op will be due this month as well as by May, we will need another trip to the meat market. I hope to include both of these items in our $600 a month budget.

Blogging:  Goal: 15 per month This is my 13th post of the month . Still have not met this goal for the year but will continue to keep working toward it.

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. Exercising has not been as consistent as it was during February but I have managed to loss 2 more pounds this month. I have officially lost 10 pounds this years so I am making progress!   I have not met the pound goal but I am consistently losing weight and that is the most important thing!