2016

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Sheila

I did not have a chance to share my Food Lion trip from last week, it was a needed trip but not a fun and exciting trip. It also ended up being my large trip during this sale. I spent a total of $104 and saved $43 or 30%. What I did accomplish on this trip was to grab soups for cooking, such as Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom, in addition to canned beans and fruits. I also grab Kendall’s favorite tomato soup as it was on sale.

Now on to more fun savings. I did return to CVS this week to grab deodorant and Diet Coke. A nice surprise to start my trip was 2 ECB from quarterly savings. I was able to grab 4 deodorants for Matt and 3 12 packs of Diet Coke for a total of $10.34 saving 74%.

A final trip to Food Lion happened on Thursday night as well. A friend told us about the frozen burritos that are part of the quarter back sale. The original price on the burritos is 2 for$1. I did not go to my normal store but instead left Lily at cheerleading and went to the store in Welcome. I was only able to find 15 burrito but I grabbed all of these. To get my total up to 40 items, I grabbed 2L sodas, cans of beans and corn. I honestly did not have any of this transaction planned but am certain we are stocked up for in our pantry now. The second transaction was much more fun, the reason why it was FREE!

Food Lion has an additional promotion this week, where if you buy 5 items on there list you automatically receive $5 off. Kelloggs Poptart 12 count boxes are on the list. I purchased 5 boxes for zero.

This has again been a bigger than normal shopping week so I hope the rest of October goes smoothly.

September in Review

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Sheila

Personal-
1. Blogging– Post 20 per month. Fail. This is post number 18. This number is slowly but surely going up. We are currently in an extremely busy season with work till 6 most nights for me and multiple practices and games every night.

2.Weight Loss– 175#. No comment.

3. Spiritual– Spend at least 5 days a week, reading and studying The Bible. This continues to be a challenge for me. I need to find a time to set for this but so far not happening.

Personal goals are a failure for the fourth month straight. But on a positive note, things are improving. I know that once things settle down and I get my school groove back it will get better.

Financial-

1. Set aside money each month in every budget category. Fail. We have been able to meet all expenses but this is a huge struggle.

2. Establish and maintain Emergency Fund- Fail.
3. Groceries: Goal is for $550. I knew once Food Lion started their sale that I would be way over for the month. I currently have spent $920 which is close to two months. The good news is that I am going to order fruit trees in October and may make one more trip for sale items at Food Lion but otherwise the month of October I don’t plan on a trip until the end of the month if at all!

4. Gas: Spend $300 a month- Fail! We spent $313 this month including an oil change for the van. In October, the truck needs an inspection and tags so it will continue to be a expensive time.

5. Pay off all Credit Card debit by December 2016- Fail. I am meeting bare minimal payments on everything but really was hoping to begin to get control and reduce this number.

6. Money Making Apps- I am adding this for monthly reporting. Matt and I both are trying to see how much we can earn doing small things. This month has been very successful. Matt cashed out for 2 $25 gift cards from Swag Bucks and 2 $5 gift cards from MPLACES. I have cashed out for a total of $75 in gift cards from Swag Bucks and $20 in gift cards from MPLACES. Total of $145 for the month. Extra money is awesome and helping to work our way back to a budget.

Menu Planning-9/25/2016

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Sheila

Another busy week in store. We are determined to keep our food bill down so with a plan in place here we go.

Breakfast– Saturday-We splurged- Breakfast from Biscuit King, Sunday- Yogurt and leftovers. Monday- Grits and Eggs (I am not planning to head to work till 9 so good morning to cook) . The rest of the week will be leftovers including Waffles, cereal, toast including French toast or yogurt.

Lunch- This week, I will have leftovers and salad. Zach and Kendall have 2 days of chicken nuggets, 2 Uncrustables with pirate booty and a sandwich. Lily and Matt will have salad or leftovers.

Dinner- Saturday- Lunch- leftovers. Dinner- leftovers.
Sunday- Lunch- Stuffed Green Pepper Soup. Dinner- Cheeseburger Pizza
Monday- Rice Kreola
Tuesday-Cowboy Beans from freezer
Wednesday- Turkey breast and stuffing
Thursday- Beef and Broccoli or left overs
Friday- Squash lasagna or leftovers.

Simple and quick are the cues for the week. Maybe we will get more creative next week.

Saving on Saturday – 9/24/2016

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Sheila

Took this cutie with me on my trip this morning to Food Lion!

I am doing more shopping than normal the last couple of weeks and will continue for at least two more due to my favorite yearly sale at Food Lion. To learn more about how I plan for these trips check out this post. I have been very pleasantly surprised during both my trips that the cashiers have been very nice and supported even with 3 different transactions. Remember I always use my $10 reward from transactions 1 and 2 in the next transaction.

I have actually made two separate trips to Food Lion this week, the reason sale on Diet Cokes. My first trip on Wednesday was very planned. This week, frozen vegetable are on sale for $1 a bag, pasta sauce is $1 a jar. I also stocked up on yogurt and bought pasta to go with the jarred sauce.

Transaction #1
10 bags frozen corn        $10
5 bags frozen Broccoli $5
6 jars of Alfred sauce   $6
4 jars of Spaghetti sauce $4
10 containers of yogurt    $5
4 boxes of pasta              $3.56
2L of Ginger Ale               $0.84 with a 20 cent off coupon that printed.
Total Spent          $34.91

Transaction #2
4 containers of sour cream    $5.16
6 containers of mustard         $4.14
30 containers of yogurt          $15.00
Total Spent      $14.59

Transaction #3
10 Diet Coke $0.99 each
Total Spent $0.49

Total Spent $49.99
Total Saved $36.06 This is the store calculation and does not include how much cheaper store brands are usually. So this is sale items only.

We, Kendall and I headed back to Food Lion this morning. I did not have a list but just knew I wanted to purchase 10 more Diet Cokes. I decided to walk around and see what items I could find that I could put in our pantry. I did need the butter which is the most expensive item I purchased.

Transaction #1
10 packets of brown gravy       $5
10 cans of tomato paste           $5
20 containers of yogurt            $10
Total Spent    $20.44

Transaction #2
5 bags frozen peas and carrots   $5
5 bags frozen broccoli                  $5
5 bags shredded cheese              $10
4 cans of black beans                  $2.72
2 cans of chill beans                    $1.36
5 packs of pasta                           $3.95
4 jars spaghetti sauce                  $4.00
4 2L soda                                     $4.20
Total Spent 32.66

Transaction #3  I used this to gain some ibotta cash. These are all things we use so I did not mind adding
10 Diet Coke                             $10
2 Apples                                    $2.24
2 Oranges                                 $1.38
4 Bananas                                 $0.92
Package of Bologna                 $0.99
Total Spent $6.03

Total Spent $59.09
Total saved $36.69

I am trying to keep each trip around $50. I did receive an additional $4 off $50 that I will use next Saturday. My saving percentages are only in the 40% range but I know this is savings I would not get otherwise so worth the effort for me.

5 Things Friday-9/23/2016

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Sheila

The weather is finally starting to cool off here. This week we went from highs in the 90s to Highs in the low 80s and even some 70s. We decided to turn off our air conditioning on Tuesday night. If we can survive tomorrow, with predicted temps around 85 then we should be good for the rest of the month and hopefully all of October.
I knew this week would be crazy busy but I am exhausted. Monday night we all arrived home around 9pm. Wednesday night is was 8:30pm and Thursday night 9:30pm. Zach’s ball games are an hour earlier this coming week so hopefully that will help.
I am over budget in both groceries and gas but neither are a surprise.
Zach loves baseball. He is actually starting to hit the ball. I am so proud of him for trying his hardest.
My plans for the weekend include getting the October schedule put together and watching television, sounds industrious to me!

Saving On Saturday 9/17/2016

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Sheila

We have been taking advantage of some really good deals this week. On Thursday, Moes Southwest Grill offered a free cup of queso with any purchase. Zach decided that he wanted to share everyone food so we purchased lunch for five of us for $19.65. We even had enough queso left over that I have it warming in my dipper slow cooker to enjoy as part of lunch.

Next, the local grocery store has my absolute favorite sale of the year. This particular sale is running for a month this time with different special each week. For each of the house/store/generic brand item you buy you receive a quarter back to use on your next purchase. Initially this sale ran twice a year in January and June, unfortunately for the last two years it is only running once a year. The reason I LOVE this sale is that it is a perfect chance to stock up on items that normally don’t go on sale. I have discovered via math calculations that I can purchase bread flour, regular flour, and sugar in bulk at a better rate, so I am leaving those out. The limits of the sale are, you must buy at least 4 house brand items in one transaction and the limit is 40 per transaction.

Here is a breakdown of how I am shopping this sale. First I checked the pantry for items that I may need. My goal is to have 12 of most items as I “plan” to fix each dish once a month. I don’t stick to this especially if we like something but it at least gives me a plan. After making the list, I check my price book and/or Aldi to make sure if I can just purchase regular at Aldi at or below the cost. Next is to check the sale ad to see which if any of the items are on sale for the week. My plan is to only buy items that are on sale or a best deal to round up to even dollar. The remaining items stay on my list and I will wait till the final week of the sale to purchase unless a better price comes first.

Here are the items and transactions I used this week.
Transaction #1
20 boxes of store brank gelatin (jello) 2/$1
10 boxes of pudding                             $0.72 each
5 packets of Gravy                               2/$1 but they only had 3 so the remaining 2 were $0.72 each
5 packets of Ranch Dip                        $1.09 each
Total out of pocket $26.54 and received $10 off next order

Transaction #2
20 cans of Tuna $0.78 each
15 cans of can veggies ( 10 mixed vegatables) $0.68 eacyh
5 boxes of Tea $1.58 each
Total out of pocket $23.97 and Received $10 off next order

Transaction #3- This was things we needed and keeping as close to no out of pocket
2 packet shredded cheese     $2.00 each
Gallon of OJ                           $3.89
Packet of Diet Coke (for IBOTTA deal) $2.50
Packet of Gravy                  $0.50
Total out of pocket $1.25 and received $1 off next order.

Other items that would make good deals if you did not need as much as we do on one item include 2L soda $0.84 each, packets of Taco and Chill seasoning, and cans of beans for soups and chill.

Let me know if this helped.

5 Things Financial

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Sheila

A day late and a dollar short…. so I thought I would share anyway. I can’t even say these are five frugal things but this is our reality.

The first pay of the month was this week. Unfortunately, both our electricity and water bills were both the highest we have had in several years. The water bill was $45 due to a leak. The electric bill $301, mainly due to extreme heat we are experiencing this summer. I saw last night that we have had 53 days in the nineties, our average is 26. The good news is that we are expecting to have cooler this week, which means the end of our air!
We were planning to keep our grocery budget at bare bones this month. We already have a menu plan in place. We did need some breakfast items including milk so I head to Costco. Our membership was due. We also decided to purchase some steaks from Zaycon, so we are still under budget but no where near bare bones.
I am really liking the McDonald app. Today, I enjoyed a large diet coke and Kendall a hashbrown for $1.07.
Baseball is an expensive sport. Zach decided he wanted to try it out this fall. I am really surprised at all the cost associated with it. I did purchase cleats and a helmet from a family at our pool.
After a month of struggling with Verizon, Matt and I both have new IPHONES. They really are a lot faster and easier to read for me. This should be the end of electronic purchases for the year!

Saving on Saturday-9/03/2016

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Sheila

Just for the record, I have 3 or 4 post that I have planned in my head and just no time to get posted. I am going to have to work on a better schedule for the next month if I have any hope of meeting my goal of 20 post. Now on to the regularly scheduled topic… saving.

This week, I have been saving and using gift cards to keep our budget low. If I purchase a gift card that is one thing but these cards are free from either swagbucks or MPlaces.

Thursday- I used my McDonald’s app to purchase Matt, Lily and myself breakfast for a grand total of $4.70. Total saved $10.00
Next Matt stopped at Starbuck’s to grab he and Lily a treat. He used a gift card earned from Swagbucks to pay so no out of pocket. Total saved $8.50
We picked up donuts to take to Zach’s class at school for his birthday. I purchased a BOGO card several years ago and continue to reap the benefits. Total saved $8.35.
I was disappointed that my Disney gift card order at Target was cancelled but decided to use the money to purchase some K-cups. I was able to purchase 4 16 packs and a container of pumpkin pie spice for zero out of pocket. The best part was I received free shipping and an additional 5% off because I have my target card store. Total Saved $53.
Total saving for Thursday: $80

Of course, it is Labor Day weekend so we had to go to Lowes. Last week, we grabbed a $10 Lowes card and a $5 Lowes card from MPLACES. We purchased bug spray, mums, pavers for the garden and light bulbs. I was able to use the cards with no trouble. One was actually on my phone and the second was a printed one. Total saved $15.

I did some planning ahead for this weekend, we have enjoyed three meals at home today, in addition to work outside the entire day. I am very tempted when we get busy to grab some fast food or order a pizza, so this is a true victory. I am going to say we saved $10 on pizza that we made at home instead using Sour Dough bread, spaghetti sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

Aldi is a great place to shop for groceries and their price in our area are significantly lower than the other stores. I sent Matt to pick up a dozen eggs on Friday. They were on sale for $0.79 a dozen so he grabbed the last 4 dozen available. Total saved $3.00

Our biggest and final saving of today is on clothing. My sister in law called and offered hand me downs for the girls. I am excited to spend a couple of hours see what we were given.

I think this is probably one of my biggest weeks of saving so far!

Saving on Saturday 8/27

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Sheila

This week has been back to normal for us. We also are really trying to control spending and focus on saving. First this weekend, we have been taking stock of what foods we have in our pantry and freezer. I am very pleasantly surprised to say that we are very well stocked with food and not over our grocery budget this month either. I ended up making a meal plan for the month. We are going to have a different meal each weekday with no repeats. I leave the weekends open and we can have something that sounds good or try a new dish if we want. I also went to Food Lion this morning to pick up some lettuce and a couple of other items. My total out of pocket was 59 cent because I used the gift cards that we earned several weeks ago that I talked about.

My bigger saving is on sports equipment. ALWAYS check on line and ask around before buying new sports equipment! Zach has decided to play baseball this fall and after asking around I was able to purchase most of the equipment he needs for less than the price of a new pair of shoes!

How did you save this month?

5 Things Friday

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Sheila

1. Our vacation is coming to an end very quickly. I have enjoyed the time with just family as well as some trashy tv, reading and just wasting of time on the Internet .

2. The kids favorite activity of the week has been digging holes. Each day that have attempted to make a bigger as in deeper and wider hole. Lucky for them that the tide is going out during the morning so they can dig for hours without worry.