Category Archives: Saving Money

Fun CVS Trip

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I was kinda disappointed this past Sunday when I finished my CVS shopping. I ended up not splitting my transactions up the best way and spent $20 out of pocket and ended up with $12 in ECB. My saving total was right at 60% not bad but not great. However the week is saved!!! After work, I discovered a high value Tide coupon ($3 off). I decided to head to CVS just to use the two I printed. I spent $2.15 on the following..

FullSizeRenderI did receive a nice surprise tonight of 2 $5 ECB printing from the Red Machine because of my beauty club purchases.

Total spent for the week $22.31, total value 118.46, total saved 96.15 or 81%!!! And I still have 6 ECB to save till next week.

Random Thursday Thoughts

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  • We are traveling again today. First headed to Matthews for eye appointments for all the kids. Next to IKEA to enjoy some window shopping. Finally back to Winston-Salem to pick out new glasses for the girls. I am estimating that we will be travelling over 150 miles and eating out at least 2 meals.
  • I am continue to list items on several Facebook groups in order to sell them. So far all the transactions have worked out very smoothly. I only have one more item that I am planning to list. The real yard sale is scheduled for the first weekend in April. I am planning to post this both online and in our local paper. I have already made $300 and my goal for all the yard sale is now $500. This is a lofty goal but I am hoping that it works out. If not then I will have a huge donation for the year to go to Goodwill and I have managed to really clean out!
  • After travelling tomorrow, our lives should slow down to a more normal hetic pace. It is a full month until we will be travelling again for cheerleading. That trip is so much fun and I am already looking forward to it. Myrtle Beach is always my favorite spot to visit.
  • Currently our budgets are right on schedule. We had to make a small repair to the white van again this past week but if all goes as well we will stay under our $400 gas budget for the month. The lower price of gas is certainly a nice thing and has helped our budget tremendously so far this year. The grocery budget is also doing well for the month with $170 left in it. I am really trying to clean out the freezers as much as possible with plans to start filling them again in May with freshly frozen fruits and vegetables.
  • My goals for the weekend include: yard work and trying to make homemade granola.

Enough randomness for today!

 

5 Things Friday!3/13/2015

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1. I decide to post to an online yard sale yesterday, these are all items that I was gathering to sale anyway so I figured I would just get a head start.  If everyone arrives and picks up the items they have claimed I will have made $250! This is going to help with our Disney trip!  We had decided that the first $100 would be used for a stroller, so that takes a chuck but I am super excited to see extra money coming in!

2.Matt is working tonight, tomorrow night and Tuesday night… three nights a month is nothing to complain about but main it just seems like a lot at this moment. It probably has to do with the fact that I worked late and am tired but I was so glad  to put the kids to bed.

3. Our new to us white van continues to need small repairs. Yesterday, we took it to the radiator shop and they were able to fix a small leak that was causing the van to smoke especially when sitting in traffic. I don’t like sitting in the school line with smoke coming out from under the hood!  We are hoping to be able to pay for this repair out of our gas fund for the month. It will leave us stretching a tank for a little over a week but it would also mean that our Emergency Fund is able to stay in tact

4. After a huge trip to Costco last week we have $200 left in our grocery fund. I am hoping to spend half this amount for the month but if some excellent sales come along I may just stay under budget and be happy.

5.We are travelling again on Sunday. This will be the second Sunday in a row that we have missed church. Other than during our annual beach trip each year, I can not tell you the last time that we have missed two Sundays in a row!

Sunday Catch Up 3/01/2015

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This weekend has flown by and as I was talking to Matt this afternoon it really is one of the least busy weekend that I see in the next several months. I thought I would take a bit of time this evening and catch you up on the happenings around here.

CVS shopping– I am continuing to make my weekly trips to CVS and the kids are really really enjoying the special one on one time that each is getting. Last week, was an ok week that turned out great. We ended up purchasing a credit card reader for Matt’s business  which boosted our saving. This week was AWESOME!  I made a trip and spent 15 saving $66 or 81%. But I am more excited because Amanda came over and with a little bit of help she made a trip by herself and was able to save around the same amount. I am also very happy because this week alone, we have used $18 worth of coupons from the Sunday papers. This covers the entire month subscription.

Menu Planning– Last week was a bit of a challenge as the kids only went to school 1 day, we also ended up cancelling our scheduled eye appointments due to the weather. Our initial plan included eating out a total of 4 times but instead we ended up eating out once.  Matt and the kids did enjoy pizza from Pizza hut but they used reading reward that Kendall and Lily had earned so the total cost was $0. Here is the plan for next week

Breakfast-I made a batch of French toast on Saturday which will be eaten as leftovers, I am also going to make an overnight egg back and baked oatmeal this week for some warm easy breakfast.

Lunch-Lunches for the girls and I have already been packed. I made a huge salad that I will be eating from most of the week in addition to a couple of days of leftovers.

Dinner– We do have a busy week and plan on going out of town next weekend so we want to eat at home as much as possible.

Sunday- Lunch- Baked Potatoes  Dinner- Leftover soups from the week.
Monday- Shrimp Scampi- Frozen meal I purchased with week with coupons.
Tuesday- Taco Rice Burritos or Taco Rice Salad
Wednesday-Roast
Thursday-  Leftovers or pizza or what ever I decide
Friday- Pork Chops, mac and cheese and apple sauce.

Planning Ahead-  One of the ways I want to increase our funds for our planned Disney trip is by having a yard sale. I have decided to attempt to hold this on April 4th, the Saturday before Easter. This weekend, we have been sorting through everyone clothes especially Spring and Summer clothes. I have discovery that unless someone grows significantly, we actually have enough clothes without the need to purchase any items. Shoes may be a different story but I am excited to save money any way we can.

 

 

5 Things Friday 2/20/2015

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1. It has been extremely cold here the last several days, the kids have been out of school due to the weather for the entire week. Last night the pipes to our bathroom froze, luckily they did not burst but this will be a major headache to repair in the spring. I expect our electric and water bill to be much higher than normal. Matt called someone to come look at our heat pump next week because it simply is not keeping the house warm. We woke up to a temperature of 60 this morning. NO FUN!

2. We anticipate small repairs on our vehicles because they are older: however this month we have spent over $100 on parts for these small repairs. I am thankful that Matt is doing all the labor but I had hoped to be able to save some of our gas budget this month, instead it is going into parts.

3. We have received both our tax returns now. I am thankful that this extra income has been able to help us reserve our rooms at Disney World. I am planning a full post on the cost associated with this trip and ways we are saving for it very soon. tomorrow.

4. I should be able to control the grocery budget this month and keep it below our $600. Currently, it has $94 left in it with one week left in the month. I know that I will be shopping at CVS on Sunday but otherwise I hope to avoid any other purchases. This past week I have made several trips to CVS and ending up spending $50 on soda and another $10 on make up but this should not be the case for next week. It was fun to see a couple of receipts that showed 100% savings.

5. Because of the weather, my work hours have been crazy. I will admit to enjoying not going into work on Tuesday or Wednesday until 10 am and getting off prior to 3pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was a rare treat. I ended up working only 23 hours so between the past two week I have taken 14 hours of vacation time. I try to save these hours for the summer or events that I need to attend with the kids.

January in Review

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Blogging:  Goal: 15 per month Goal Met!  I know that this will be at least post number 15 for the month but I also have a couple of other post in my head that I am going to try and get out but no matter what I am good for the month!

Weight: Goal:  Met and maintain weight of 175. This goal will be considered met each month that weight loss is achieved and once this weight is achieved, each month maintained is considered achieved.  I am very excited to say that I have been able to lose 4 pounds this month. I honestly think it is having the treadmill sitting in my room. I have gone from a maximum of 3 nights a week working out to a minimum of 6 nights a week walking on the treadmill. I have struggled a lot this month with my eating but success is awesome. The down side is that I am not yet back down to the weight I was prior to Thanksgiving.  Goal Met!

Spiritual-  Goal. I want to spend time reading and or studying the Bible at least 5 days a week for the year.  I am trying to spend more time in the Word, but I don’t honestly think I have met this goal for the month. Room for improvement.

Personal Goals: Achieved 2 of 3

Financial Goals:  Achieved 1 of 4

1.  Pay off all debit by December  2015, except for mortgage.  
a. JC Penny- 79.32– . DONE
b. Home Depot-     $210 a month Payment. Goal met!
c. American Express   – pay $12OO a month – paid $700 due to windshield
d. Personal Loan (used to purchase van) .The current scheduled payment is $217 a month with this scheduled to be paid off in December 2015. Goal Met!

2. Emergency Fund to $2000.  Did not happen this month due to purchase of new to us van and the windshield replacement.

. 3. Groceries: Spend $600 a month . Currently at $680 for the month. My excuse this does included the junk food for Super Bowl Sunday.

4. Gas: Spend $400 a month with any remaining to be move to Auto fund for repairs.  We did end up purchasing the new to us van and had to do some repairs to it to get it the way I feel safe in it. I am not counting the tax,title and tag fee of $126 in this cost, it was covered with the sale of my car. Nor am I counting the $217 windshield because that was a true Emergency. Even eliminating those 2 expenses that I can account for else where I am way over budget for the month at $514.  The price of gas has finally dropped to below $2 a gallon so I am hopeful that next month this expense will go way down!

 

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Sunday Catch Up and Menu Planning

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We had an unexpected weekend at home due to our cheer squads not being ready for competition. I am not going to complain because I honestly think that I am more tired tonight than I was on Friday. We definitely have stayed busy this weekend.  I will share a few highlights before our Menu plan for the week.

  • I have completed our taxes for the year. We are going to receive a refund but it is less than half of what we have received in years past. I am very proud and glad of this as it means I am letting the government borrow less of my money interest free!  We are going to use this money as a down payment on a family trip to Disney in November so everyone is excited!
  • Matt finished the required repairs to our new to us van including a new heater/cooling fan in the back. And we have started to make some other repairs that just make it look and feel better. The best news is that so far we have not spent any money on the cosmetic repairs such as ripped seat covers but instead used some supplies from the house. I am pleased to say that at this point, the van looks and runs as good as or even better than we hoped. I am really really enjoying the power sliding door!
  • I have also been able to keep caught up with an online Bible course  that we are taking.

Now on to the menu plan..We were able to stick to the plan last week except for Tuesday and Thursday.   Sonic offered 50 cent corn dogs on Tuesday so we splurged for those.  Because of the cancelled cheerleading competition we did not end up eating out this weekend so actually are way ahead of our low dinning since that eliminated at least one meal out if not two. On Thursday we ended up purchasing a chicken at Costco and using it for dinner on Thursday and a chicken pot pie for lunch today.

Breakfast-  Less choices this week unless I get ambitious toward the end of the week. Choice of  toast, grits, cereal, pop-tarts or Egg/Spinach dish (left-over last Friday). The kids can also request an egg any morning they remember it is available.

Lunch- Both of the girls have picked out and we have packed school lunches for the entire week. I am planning to use my soup at work most days as well.

Dinner-  We are back to activities 4 out of 5 nights this week.
Monday- BBQ Chicken Pizza with sourdough crust.
Tuesday- Beef Stew in the Crockpot. This is one of 2 remaining meals from our bust of a cooking day!
Wednesday-Chicken Enchilada- box mix we purchased several weeks ago.
Thursday-  Cheese Tortellini Soup-new recipe attempt.
Friday- Grilled Chicken
This should allow us enough leftovers to actually only cook on Sunday next weekend.

Finally we are looking forward to our Annual Party next week. It is one of the few times in the year that I just lay food on the table and the kids are allowed to eat what and when they want.  I have purchased everything needed including wings so I hope to keep the cost as low as possible as I am already way over budget for the month.

Menu Planning 01/17/2015/Grocery Update

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A grade from last week will be a “C”, we did eat out one time for lunch on Tuesday in the middle of the windshield problems and I grabbed a dozen donuts from Krsipy Kreme after Zach’s appointment. Total spent less than $30.  I am going to try and tighten the belt even more due to a water line freeze and a new heater/blower for the white van so I am digging in the freezer all week. I made a quick trip to Aldi for fruit and veggies. I have spent $386 so far this month for groceries with less than two weeks left.

Weekends usually end up the time we most likely eat out so I plan on BBQ Chicken Pizza for lunch, and Philly Cheesesteak Pasta for dinner on Saturday, both are new recipes but they use things in the house!  The pizza was a huge hit so it will definitely go into the cycle to be used again! Sunday I already have laid out a Chicken Broccoli Casserole for lunch and plan for leftovers for dinner as I have a church meeting.

This week will be a somewhat unusual week as the kids are out of school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Goals for the week no eating out till Saturday.

Breakfast- Choice of grits, cereal, pop-tarts, pancakes (left overs from Saturday) , Baked Oatmeal  or Egg/Sausage Burrito (from last week). As you can see all these are quick and simple heat up. Sunday morning will most likely be biscuits and gravy.

Lunch- Matt will be in charge of lunches on the days the girls are out of school and will use some of the convenience meals we try to buy on sale. I have recently stockpiled a bunch (8 cans) of soup at work so if I don’t have any leftovers, the I am sticking to quick this week so no planning ahead with that.

Dinner-  The kids continue with another busy week this week so we just want to eat together if possible.
Monday- Country Style Steak, make ahead mash potatoes and squash casserole. I am only working a couple of hours so this will be an extra treat day!
Tuesday- Chicken nuggets, green beans and fruit
Wednesday- Hamburger Helper- from the stockpile so they will choose the flavor.
Thursday- I have to cook or if I get busy this will be a left over day. I am thinking toward Shrimp but will wait till see what is going on.
Friday- Pork Chops, mac and cheese and applesauce.

I am hoping this week goes as well as last week.

Menu Planning

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Even before all the fun and expense of the white van this week, I was trying to tighten up our budget for at least the next 4 months. When we start adding in the additional expenses, then I know I need to put on the brakes of spending.  One of the largest expenses for us is groceries and especially eating out. We have decreased our eating out significantly in the last year but I find it very easy to grab a deal especially when we get busy.  By Menu planning and doing a lot of prep work on Sunday, I am hoping to not eat out at all for the next two weeks. We have a cheerleading completion on the 24th so that means we have to eat on the road but otherwise my goal is to not eat out any other time this month.

Breakfast- Choice of grits, cereal, pop-tarts, French toast (left-overs), Banana French toast (left-over from Sunday morning), Baked Oatmeal (left-over from Friday), Banana Muffins (Saturday morning) or Egg/Sausage Burrito (made on Sunday). As you can see all these are quick and simple heat up. I am so thankful for these as mornings are not my favorite time.

Lunch- The girls have decided on and I have already packed 4 out of the 5 days this week. They both wanted sandwiches one day, so I can easily do these Thursday morning. I also have packed my salad for Monday and have cans of soup for the rest of the week unless I choice left-overs. Matt and Zach have a choice of what ever we have since they are home during the day.

Dinner-  The kids have an activity every evening this week so we are going for simple/convenient in order to make sure we don’t eat out.
Monday- Crockpot Rio Chicken  with rice. The rice is already cooked and can be heated. We also have bananas and oranges for a fruit this day.
Tuesday- Grilled Pork chops with potato salad, cranberry sauce and pineapple.
Wednesday- Chicken Enchilada- kit we purchased last week. We have all the extra stuff for these and will add applesauce or a can of fruit.
Thursday- I have to cook or if I get busy this will be a left over day. Since I don’t work on Thursdays I usually see what I feel like for dinner that morning. This gives us a little wiggle room as well if we decide to change plans mid stream.
Friday- Salisbury steak, rice, green beans and fruit.

 

Sounds simple…… Let’s hope so!

 

5 Things Friday- Financial

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I have mentioned before that I really like this format-just bulletin points with a little to no connection between them so I am going to adapt it a little bit , give myself permission to change between them randomly, and attempt to make it a regular part of my blogging.

1. Harris Teeter is having one of their super double events. This means they will double up to 20 coupons a day up to $2.00 each. Of course we shopped yesterday, I spent 17.16 and saved 77.14 or 82%. I was most excited with this because they were out of at least 3 of the items on  my list.  But even more exciting was the fact I bought Band-aids, Tide pods, and dishwasher tabs to name a few.

2. My grocery budget is currently sitting at $302 spent for the month, I am hopeful to keep this amount low for the month to help pay off debt.

3. My gas budget is sitting at $233 for the month. This includes several minor repairs for the white van that we purchased in addition to an oil change for my car as well. I am almost confident that this amount will say under our budgeted $400.

4. We were pleasantly surprised to not have to have the white van inspected prior to purchasing tires for it. We did pay $126 for tags and taxes for the first year. This amount is in addition to the regular gas budget, because this is a one time expense that will decease to less than $50 any other years that we owe the vehicle.

5. Haley will be purchasing my car, over the next several months. I am still debating and deciding how to use and account for this money.   I will be deducting the $126 above from her down payment otherwise I hope to place in a saving account until it is completely paid for and then make a big debit payoff with it!