2016

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Sheila

Our first official harvest from this morning. We have been collecting and freezing basil for the past few weeks and have used a couple of squash, but this is the beginning of what I hope to be a very productive season for us.
Our new freezer arrived today, which gave me a chance to do some arranging and make a list of all the meat that we currently have on hand. I am excited and pleased to report we have meat for 75 meals in our freezers.
The bad news is that we also have a delivery of 120# of chicken breast coming a week from Tuesday. I need to get a plan in place of how I want to prepare and use this.
Given the above information, I am setting the grocery budget at $150 for the month of June. I will need to make some purchased to help prepare the chicken but otherwise I am going to stick to Aldi each week for $10 worth of extra health options!
All three kids are going to participate in swim team this summer which is my favorite activity to watch. The only down side to this is that I have to find Zach some trunks that he can wear.
I will receive my extra paycheck the first of July, our initial intention was to make an extra payment on both the house and van with this check however given our current situation, we will be using this money to help keep things on an even playing field for the summer.
The kids have one more week of school left, I think we are all excited to have some extra time.

May in Review

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Sheila

May did not bring the expected income boast that we were counting on but it did teach us a valuable lesson to not count on things but on God. We are continuing to move along and have now put in place some money saving belt tightening measure that hopefully will keep us on steady ground for the summer. The lost of our stand up freezer which contained most of our vegetables will have a financial impact during the next several months as well.

Personal-
1. Blogging– Post 20 per month. Fail. This is post number 17, life is crazy and I need to make a plan.

2.Weight Loss– 175#. Struggling with time for this still. I am starting to get some regular exercise and decided to try a supplement as well. But the scale still is not moving in the direction I want as quickly as I want.

3. Spiritual– Spend at least 5 days a week, reading and studying The Bible. Goal Met. Working on improving this. I realize that once the summer starts I have to make time to do this no matter what!

Personal goals are a failure this month. Not much more to say in regards to that.

Financial-

1. Set aside money each month in every budget category. Fail

2. Establish and maintain Emergency Fund- Fail.
3. Groceries: Goal is for $700. Fail – Total spending for the month is $879.00. Which is a decrease from last month. I did purchase 120# of chicken this month so hopefully we will be heading to much lower grocery bills for both June and July.

4. Gas: Spend $400 a month- Goal Met! Still have $19 to spare.

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.

As you can tell we are struggling. I am not sure what the summer holds but I have placed a plan to reduce spending in all categories but at the same time. We are not in a financial crises and we are still enjoying many things in life. I am going to end with the statement that God is in control and his plans are always much better than my plans so I am trusting regardless of what the numbers say.

5 Things Friday- A Day Late

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Sheila

We decided to go strawberry picking with the kids this morning. The local nursery offered BOGO on pick your own strawberries. We picked 4 gallons of strawberries for $18. I did share some of these with both my mom and Amanda.
After getting home and trying to decide where to put the strawberries, we discovered that our stand up freezer had stopped working. I was able to save milk and about a fourth of what was in the freezer.
I found 3 gallons of half thawed strawberries so I decided to cook with these instead of the fresh one. I did end up flash freezing at least 2 gallons for future use.
I made strawberry lemonade muffins, strawberry cream cheese coffee cake, and a double batch of strawberry jam. They all turned out awesome but my favorite is the strawberry jam.
We will be having a yard sale hopefully next Saturday so this coming week is incredibly busy.

Gift Cards- Spending Money The Fun Way!

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Sheila

I had some extra time on my hands as I waited in a doctor’s office today so I decided to clean out my purse. I was so excited to find a five dollar bill and a Walmart gift card that I had totally forgotten about. I knew we needed a bag of frozen veggies to go in the chicken pie I was planning for Friday night, so after the appointment I headed to Walmart. I was able to grab 2 bags of frozen vegetables, a bag of Twizzlers for Matt and a pack of Kool-Aid drinks for the kids. I still have 57 cent left on my gift card.

My other use of gift cards today is a little bit confusing but even more exciting. During the past month I have been using an app called “Swagbucks” I can be use for shopping but I am using it to watch videos, random and not so random search of the internet and answering survey questions. So far in two months I have gained enough point and cashed in for 2-$25 gift cards to Target. This afternoon, I decided to place an order at Target. I had already linked by Red Debit card to my account. This gives me 5% off and free shipping. I placed in my cart a $50 Disney card and a box of baking soda. Total cost was $49.43 which I enter both gift cards as payment. I have 53 cent left on one.

Total spent today ZERO and I was able to grab a couple of grocery items we are out of. I call that success!

Savings With Only 2 Coupons

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Sheila

I apologize upfront because I had ever intention of getting this post up last week but life happens. I do use coupons as much as possible but it is not just the coupon that makes a great deal. A great deal is sometimes finding the right sale.

This week we were able to find the right sale at Harris Teeter. I will continue to wish that another grocery store moves in our area but until then I will plan and drive 30 minutes each way for sales like this.

Harris Teeter is having a “stock up sale” The one big catch to this sale is that you must Buy 2 and get 3 Free. This week we spent $170.60 and saved 228.75 which is 57%. All the items we purchased are things we normally use so this is a good deal for us. I did use 2 $1.00 off coupons for Ken’s Salad dressing. Unfortunately these did not double. I was also able to grab a raincheck for 10 additional packs of cheese which I will use when needed. Things we purchased included 10 12 packs of soda, 6 bottles of Salad Dressing, 7 small containers of yogurt. 10 pounds of potatoes, 5 packs of Provolone cheese, 3 blocks of cheese for Matt and the kids, 10 containers of ice cream, 7 bags of chips and 5 bags of frozen shrimp. As you can tell this was a huge trip but it is likely that this will last us through the summer.

5 Things Friday-5/13/2016

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Sheila

The garden is doing the best EVER! We have corn growing, cucumber and squash with huge blooms and we are already picking dill and basil to use! I am hoping this continues and we get to enjoy the benefits for the entire year.
In checking the freezers, I realized that we were out of beef stock. Between yesterday and today, we have made and frozen 3 gallon that should last for a while.
The air conditioning in the house is still off. I am so excited as this is definitely the longest time in May we have been able to keep it off. I have already checked the forecast for the next week and with temperatures in the 60s till Wednesday, May 20th is now my goal date!
I am going to head out tomorrow night with some friend from work to Dinner and a Movie. I am excited as this is the first time in years, I have been able to do something like this.
I am planning to add a goal to my financial side to earn a $25 gift card each month from Swagbucks. This will help to boost my saving significantly.

Grocery Shopping- My Way

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Sheila

I have been getting a couple of questions about the way I shop, so I am going to try and explain it along with the example of my shopping today.

Meat- My first choice is Zaycon food. Typically we buy chicken breast once every six months and other items usually about once a year. We currently have pork roast and pork chops in the freezer. The purchases of the other foods depend heavily on our need and ability to pick up when things are offered. My second choice which is also more convenient is the “meat store” which is in the next town. Over the past three years we typically go and purchase meat about once every 5-6 months. We always buy ground beef in bulk and process by making several items but a lot of packages of pre-cooked meat. Other meat is typically purchased at Costco on an as needed bases. Today I purchased 5 bags of shrimp at Harris Teeter, this should last a minimum of 6 months if not longer.

Health and Beauty Items, including toilet paper, I purchase on sale cycles at CVS or Harris Teeter. CVS is my only “weekly” trip because it is in town. I try and spent $1 or less on most items. Toothpaste is always free and I currently have around 20 tubes in the stockpile. I always watch sales and try to keep things pretty well stocked up. For the first couple month of the year, we were able to reduce spending significantly and just use what we had. My goal is to try this again this summer.

Drinks- I am addicted to Diet Coke and I fully admit it. I usually purchase most of my drinks both can and bottles at CVS. I try always to combine an ECB deal with free 12 pack coupons from Coke. Today however was the exception, we purchased 10 cases of soda at Harris Teeter on a Buy 2 Get 3 free sale. I also currently have 3 rain checks for cokes. Typically price for 2L is less than $1 and cans- 25cent each or less.

I purchase the majority of the rest of my groceries at Costco. Just like regular grocery stores they run sales and I tended to stock up on good deals. Today we purchased 3 boxes of Cheez-its and 2 boxes of gummies. These should last through the summer. I do also keep a watch on sales. I typically go to Harris Teeter every other month depending on when Super Doubles or great sales occur like today. Food Lion is the only grocery store beside Walmart in my town so I will shop there for great deals and for their annual sale which is typically an additional 25 cent off house brand purchases. Aldi is also local and we grab our vegetables, canned foods and snack items there. I usually go to Aldi every two weeks.

Our Costco trip today ended up totaling close to $500 but this was a stock up trip because I honestly don’t plan or want to go back till at least the first of August if not the week before the kids return to school. I enjoying shopping at Costco but tend to spend more than I should. Today’s trip included 8 gallons of milk, 7 dozen eggs and 4 packs of shells.

How different are your shopping trips than mine?

5 Things Friday-5/6/2016

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Sheila

We finished re-planting the garden this evening between the rain showers and managed to harvest our first crop of basil. I just froze the basil for use in spaghetti sauce, once we have an abundance of tomatoes.
I ended up spending close to 6 hours in the car yesterday. I took the girls for an eye appointment which meant that I had to then come back home and drive in the opposite direction to update their glasses. Kendall will be wearing bifocals and Lily needed to go back up to a stronger prescription.
Zach has his last soccer game tomorrow. The girls both competed in their last cheerleading completion last Sunday. The hope is that things slow down for two to three weeks prior to swim team practice starting.
Our budget is going to get tight for the summer. I realized that we need to make some serious debit repayment during the summer. We have already purchased season passes to the local water park and will be paying our pool dues this months. So the goal is play hard but not spend extra money!
The kitchen is officially finished. I have decided that I will not be purchasing a new table until and unless, I am able to sell enough items on line and with a real yard sale to make the purchase.

Saving on Saturday-04/09/2016

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Sheila

Today has definitely been a day about saving, really more about saving time than money but they both are pretty important around here. First a little of the background, one of the ways that I have been trying to control our budget and spending this year is with grocery purchases. We have only spent $1250 for the first three months of the year, I focused on using the items that we had on hand and we were able to clean out and reorganize a lot of our freezer space. In March, we used up all of our ground beef, so we need to start replenishing our supplies. On Thursday, Matt and I managed to make a huge grocery trip which included our local “meat market”. Now back to today, we need to “process” the thirty pounds of ground beef we have purchased. I decided that since the weather outside was cold and windy, I would prefer to spend the day in the kitchen. I am very pleased with the results. Total time spent was approximately 7 hours, but this includes lunch and snacks for the kids as well as clean up and a couple of breaks. We were able to make the following:

3- cheeseburger pies (This are a quick and easy dinner to reheat)
4- Baked Ziti- We are sharing one with our friends for lunch tomorrow and another is already on our summer beach list. The other two will be easy Sunday lunches for this summer.
4 sets of Salisbury steaks- (a little bit more work than the cheeseburger pies but can turn out a dinner in 30 minutes).
20 one pound bags of pre-cooked ground beef. This is one of the easy ways to plan ahead and can be used in everything from spaghetti to Hamburger Helper.
Breakfast casserole for Sunday morning
Mexican rice and sausage dip for snacks and dinner today.

We will need to purchase chicken for delivery in June but otherwise we should be stocked up for the summer.

Did you save today?

Saving on Saturday 3/19/2016

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Sheila

The weather has been warm and sunny the last week. This has made Saving a little bit easier for us. We decided to turn off the heat and air around 2 weeks ago and managed a solid 10 days without the use of either until today. I am hopefully that we can again turn it off next weekend. My goal is always to go an entire month without use either which will reduce our electric bill by approximately $100 for the month.

The warmer weather has also got me thinking about our garden. I purchased some new netting and some lawn fabric to use. The netting is specific to square foot garden but is also much cheaper than wire so I am hoping that it will last for several years. I am also trying something new this year. We still have sweet potatoes from our harvest in the fall, so I am trying to start a new crop from the ones we have. The kids enjoying helping with this project. I am not sure if this will give us enough but I am thinking that once I see it working I may start a second batch as well to equal the amount we planted last year.

I read last month that you could grow romaine lettuce using a similar water method. The red cup you see is out second head we have attempted. Last week, Zach and I planted the first one in the garden.

I realize that we may not be able to have a continual harvest and most like will only get a few extra leaves from this but as I have said before, every little bit helps.

Other areas of saving is our grocery budget, so far we have managed to spend $125 out of pocket for the month of March in addition to less than $1000 for the entire year so far. This has been the best and most controlled my grocery budget has ever been. I will admit that monthly meal planning helps but we also are buying on a rotating schedule. Our March spending should remain well below $200 however I will need to purchase meat in April so the budget will again be higher.

Finally, I am attempting to save money by using Swagbucks. My goal for each month is to earn one $25 gift card.

What are your saving secrets?

Teens Tots and Everything In Between

Life, Love and Coupons

Category Archives: Groceries