Low Spend January, Day 25

This has been a long month, I may have hurt myself by not figuring for a five week month as well as I thought I had. All of my line items are overspent so the only thing to do at this point is declare the next seven days No Spend Days. However I have a prior commitment on the 30th where I will have to spend money so the next five days will be No Spend days and I'll end this month at midnight on the 29th. I'm going to plan better for February and I'm hoping without sick kids and only four weeks in the month I can do a little better. Here's the damage:

Gas            $ 290,   -15 left
Spending    $290,      0 left
Eating Out  $30,     -14 left
Groceries    $300,   -100 left
misc            $40,      -95 left
                     
Over budget $224

Last Week's Menu, Only a Week Late

Sunday I made the Pasta e fagioli except I decided omit the meat the recipe called for because it had two kinds of beans as well. I was pretty good except I kept thinking of how much better it would taste if it had Italian Sausage in it. Next time I'll for sure be adding it, turkey Italian Sausage that is. I tossed a spinach Caesar salad together to go along side this warm soup which was perfect on a cold evening.

 My fresh basil didn't keep as long I had hoped it would, so the Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce on the menu for Monday night was a no-go. We had salad with some cut up chicken on top instead.

Tuesday for lunch, I tried the Chicken Roll-ups, this is not healthy I know, but oh-so-yummy! I did however use neufchatel cheese instead of regular cream cheese because, according to the package, has 1/3 less fat. Also I chose the reduced fat crescent rolls and cut back the amount of shredded cheese it called for, which was of course 2%. I took a little time to stuff and roll these but they are worth it! I did decide not to at the melted butter and bread crumbs just because I cut butter wherever and whenever I can. When it came time to cook supper I was suffering from a terrible headache so my husband gave me the night off and made some really yummy fajitas. He pulled my last bag of pinto beans from the freezer so this coming week has a big pot of beans on the menu.

Wednesday night held another menu change, since I had a sick kiddo and I was out of Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup in the freezer, which I always keep for lunches or sick family or friends. I made a big pot for supper; this will be reappearing on the coming week’s menu.

Now for this week’s menu……

Fortunately I’m able to carry some meals over from last week’s menu; this really helps since I’m on such a tight grocery budget this month. I’m trying to keep it at $300 for January and I’ve already spent $225… I know, yikes!

Well here‘s the plan:

Thursday

Breakfast- pancakes

Lunch- leftovers

Supper- Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes and green beans.

I normally make my meatballs with ground turkey but the store was out. I used ground sirloin instead and rinsed them after they were brown. I make my gravy with coconut oil, use a minimum amount of butter in my mashed potatoes (about 2 TB) and 2% milk. My green beans I cook in water until soft using only The Lady’s House Seasoning, coconut oil and some homemade vegetable stock.

Friday

Breakfast-pancakes

Lunch-leftovers

Supper-Baked Potatoes and Salad

Saturday

Breakfast-cereal

Lunch- leftovers

Supper- Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce, pasta and steamed broccoli

Sunday

Breakfast-cereal

Lunch-Sandwiches

Supper- Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup,  Bread

Monday

Breakfast- cereal

Lunch-Sandwiches

Supper-Bean Burritos ( I’ll make a big pot of Pinto beans, use for burritos and freeze the rest)

Tuesday

Breakfast- Cereal

Lunch-Sandwiches

Supper-Sour Cream Enchiladas, Beans

Wednesday

Breakfast-cereal

Lunch- Grilled Cheese sandwiches

Supper- Spaghetti

 

 

 

Low Spend January Day 19

It's been a challenge to keep up with this while being cooped up in the house with two sick kids, but I tried. I did go over on my grocery budget by about $75 and my spending money I used up renting movies and getting treats for sick/sad kiddos. I had planned on keeping my spending down so I could buy some theatre tickets to a play we are going to later this month, but I ended up having to take that $24 outside of my spending money. Also I quickly discovered I had aimed too low with my misc. line item, I some how had forgotten that I was going to need more toilet paper, trash bags, dog food, ect. Needless to say, I over spent that line by $60. With only eleven more days left in the month I feel pretty good about things. Even though I overspent some places, trying to keep within a certain limit helped us save some money. Which came in handy when my car died and we needed to get it repaired. Here is what my budget looks like on day 19 of my Low Spend Challenge:

                    Allotted    Used     Left

Gas              $290        $250    $40

Spending      $290        $250    $40

Eating Out    $30           $30     $0

Groceries      $300        $375    -$75

Misc.             $40          $100    -$60

Low Spend January Update

Low Spend Update 1/10

We're ten days into our Low Spend January so it's time for an update. We started with a total of $950 to spend for the whole month broken down like this

                                                

Gas	290
Spending	290
eating out	30
Groceries	300
misc	40

 

Remaining Balance

Gas 230

Spending 160

Eating out 30

Groceries 75

Misc. 40

Total 600

Also I was on Beg, Barter, Buy, Sell and bought some things, but don't worry I didn't blow my budget, I sold some stuff as well along with the fact I made I made some extra money dog sitting. I had a total of $220 unbudgeted funds and spent $145 of that. The leftover money went to buying a part for my broken washing machine, bummer, but at least my budget was spared.

Menu Update

Friday I tried making Baked Cheese Sticks for lunch and it didn't turn out well. They were more like cheese patties, but don't worry, I ate them anyway. Then for Supper I made Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread and I did much better with that! I cooked the chicken in coconut oil instead of olive oil, used part skim cheese and light ranch ( we're not Blue Cheese people). There isn't much you can do about all the bread the chicken and cheese are wrapped in except not eat too much. My daughters LOVED it, I thought it was pretty good too. I served it along with some steamed broccoli from my neighbors garden, yum!

Saturday I made English Muffin Mini Pizzas, my kids and their friends LOVE these! I cut an English Muffin in half and lay it open face on a cookie sheet. I spread some tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Then sprinkle with part skim mozzerella and whatever toppings you like, we use Turkey pepperoni, black olives and mushrooms. I bake them on 425* until cheese is melted and edges of muffin are toasty. Right before I made lunch I put some Chicken Teriyaki in the crockpot and sprinkle some sesame seeds in with the mixture. I let that cook all afternoon while we were at a birthday party and then served it over some parboiled white rice. Unfortunately my kids didn't even try it because I was super nice mom and let them each get a $1 hamburger when we stopped at McDonald's on the way home from the party for a potty break. I felt bad because I knew they were starving and it was still going to be a couple of hours before supper. Well it was a mistake on my part because they claimed they were too full to eat their supper after that, lesson learned!

New Recipe Hailed a Success!

I made the Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme last night and it was really good, my family approved as well! I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, low sodium taco seasoning, whole grain chalupa shells, light sour cream and 2% milk shredded cheese. Another thing you could do that I did not is use light or low carb tortillas instead of regular tortillas. I have been using ground turkey to make taco meat for awhile now and really prefer it, it's much less greasy and has a better flavor.

This Week's Menu

I've been asked to post my weekly menus with recipes and how I altered some of them to be healthier. I plan my menus from Thursday to Thursday because it just works best for us and coordinates well with groceries shopping/pay days. I'm just posting the menu but please let me know if you want a recipe and I'll post it. Oh and one more thing, since I've been working on a lot of Pinterest projects, several of these recipes are from there and I haven't tried them yet. My family is going to love me...not!

This week's menu

THURBreakfast- cereal Lunch- leftover broccoli cheese soup Supper- Homemade Crunch Wrap Supreme FRI Breakfast-Pancakes Lunch- Baked Cheese Balls and leftover Lentil Soup Supper- Buffalo Garbage Bread, Steamed Broccoli         SAT Breakfast- Mini Frittatas Lunch- English Muffin mini pizzas Supper-Chicken Teriyaki and Rice              i     SUN Breakfast-cereal Lunch- Ruben Sandwiches, Fried Potatoes Supper- Fagioli Soup, Salad       MON Breakfast- cereal Lunch-Chicken Roll ups Supper-Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce, pasta, green beans       TUES Breakfast-cereal Lunch-Mac n Cheese Supper- Chicken Pot Pie, salad (Daughter's night to cook)         WED Breakfast-cereal Lunch-Grilled Cheese sandwiches Supper- Sour Cream Enchiladas

January **Low Spend Month**

Our Family is declaring January a Low Spend Month instead of a No Spend Month. Since January is a relatively quiet month it seemed like a good time to have one. Our hope is to be able to save a little and and maybe pay down some bills, so yesterday we sat down and made a plan for the month. We figured about how much we could resonably scrape by on, made a budget for the month with all of our bills due, and now have a plan. Here is what our Low Spend Month looks like:

Gas-$290

Spending money ( lunches out, sonic drinks, ect.) $290

Groceries $300 ( know this is a terrible stretch but I'm up for the challenge)

Eating out $30

Misc. $40

Total $950


Honestly I'm a little nervous to take this on, because the numbers don't look low to me but I also feel I have to be realistic or I'll set myself up for failure. Ultimatly, my goal would be to come in under budget by January 31st but I guess we'll see how "low" I can keep my spending. I will update this throughout the month on each line item and how it's holding up.

***Update

1/2/2013 Spent $170 on Groceries, Spending money was issued, my husband got $80, I got $50. I have $25 left of my $50 after a trip to Baskin Robbins and one to McDonalds. I also spent $50 on gas, this is what the numbers look like now.

Gas $240

Spending money, not issued $160 (I still have $25 of my $50 issued, I don't keep track of Hubby's, it's not my problem if he runs out:) he's pretty good a stretching it though)

Groceries $130

Eating out $30

Misc $40

Total Remaining for the month $600

No Spend Challenge Update

I've always wanted to do a no spend challenge but was always afraid to bite the bullet and do it. My friends are asking me what a no spend challenge is, apparently not everyone is a money/budgeting nerd like I am. I explained it like this; you set a time limit like a week, month, whatever, I chose 10 days. During the time you set you cannot spend any money beyond basic necessities, you know like groceries, gas, bills or things you have previously committed to. I started my challenge on Tuesday, this means I completed day #3 without spending anything. Has anyone else taken a similar challenge and were you successful?

The Grinch

I am such a grinch, that's right I REALLY don't like Christmas! Now don't get me wrong, I love Jesus and love celebrating his birth but what I don't love is how the holiday season hijacks my sanity, calendar, bank account and at times my credit card balance. Why can't it just be a simple time to relax, read the story of Jesus' birth, to reflect on the past year and reevaluate what you'd like to do in the coming year? Instead it gives my children a bad case of The Gimmies, everyone decides to have a Christmas Party and I have to figure out how I'm going to find all the the extra time and money. So that's it, I'm going to start researching creative ideas to take the focus off of all the commercialism, which causes me to be a grinch, and to bring the focus back to what's really important. I'm thinking less gifts, less parties,less running around like a decapitated chicken,  more cookies, more crafts (yes I said crafts, I hate crafts), more relaxing and more thoughtfulness. Ideas appreciated!

Just A Little Rant

I just need to vent a little about a couponing incident that occurred yesterday at HEB. After years of couponing I've discovered that some people who work at stores think they are the coupon experts when clearly they have no idea what they are talking about. I've had them try to tell me outrageous things and act like I'm the one who doesn't know what I'm doing when they've probably never used a coupon in their life. So back to yesterday, I've been under the impression and have found that some coupons have a store logo on it's face but is marked manufacturer's coupon at the top. I've used these coupons at any store without trouble many times. Yesterday my cashier looked young and a little inexperienced, I had two coupons with a Kroger logo on it but they were also manufacturer's coupons. She went to verify it with I guess a manager. She came back and told me I couldn't use them because they were Kroger coupons. I very nicely explained to her that she was wrong, she asked the manager to come over, I explained what I believed to be the coupon rules to her. She then told me that I was incorrect but she would let me use the coupons this one time but in the future I needed to understand that the manufacturer would only reimburse the store who's logo was pictured on the front. This may be true but I just had this funny feeling that she pulled this out of the air because she really wanted to have the last word and she was annoyed that I was using coupons (store employees do not like couponers). Don't think I'm going to let this rest, I'll find out if she is right or not.

Menu Plans, A Must Have This Week

When I sat down to plan this week's menu I realized it was going to be hard because I'm not going to have a lot of time to cook. Then next several days are full of birthday parties and The Kitchen Fairy jobs. Here is what Aaron and I came up with when we sat down to plan (I made him help because I wanted him on board, this makes things flow easier):

Friday- Eat Out
Saturday- Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and French Fries
Sunday- Eat at Church
Monday- Dominoes Pizza
Tuesday- BBQ Sandwiches and Salad
Wednesday-Ham Casserole (this is depending on whether I have leftover ham from my catering job Monday night, if I don't have leftovers I'll pull some Honey Baked Ham out of the freezer and have chef salad)
Thursday- Chicken and Rice with Mixed Veggies

Wrapping Up The Week

I was pretty worried how I would do on my grocery budget after spending it entirely at Kroger on the second day of my two week period. Today finished the pay period with me only going over budget $23 for things like water and milk. I don't even want to talk about what I spent on coffee though, I might have to include a whole other line item in my budget for that. I'm going to try and stretch what I have over this new pay period and figure out how I'm going to wrangle in my out of control coffee cost.

I also completed my second week of doing http://www.flylady.net/ and I'm so lovin' it! The only thing that fell behind this week is my laundry, which I got caught up on today. I had such a busy weekend I only got one load of laundry done and Monday I only washed a load of sheets. The highlight of my week was getting some detailed cleaning done in my kitchen. I can't wait to start on my assignments next week, I love having the inspiration without the pressure.

A Great Find I Have To Share

Last year my mom started to do http://www.theflylady.net/ and she would at times pass on some tips that I found very helpful. After meaning to join myself for awhile now I finally did and completed my first week with it on Friday. Everyday you are sent a small list of things to do to maintain a clean house. Added in our some things to do to work on decluttering. I don't know how this works but it does! I hate how I have to either choose to clean all of the time to have a clean house or not clean at all to have fun, until now I've been unable to find a balance with this. This past week I spent very little time cleaning and my house stayed clean and my laundry was kept up with. Today, after a VERY busy weekend, instead of starting off the week with a mountain of laundry and a disastrous house I've just got my list of daily things to check off. I highly recommend that everyone give this a couple of weeks and see if it works for you, it's free and the worst that could happen is that you wouldn't find it helpful.

Menu Planning Day Is Here!

My family and I have become so spoiled to our little menu hanging on the side of the fridge, it totally takes the brain work out of meal time. Here's this week's menu:

Friday- King Ranch Chicken and salad
Saturday- Tacos
Sunday- Eat Out
Monday- Sausage and Fried Potatoes
Tuesday- Chicken and Rice Soup
Wednesday- Spaghetti
Thursday- Drumsticks and potato salad

The only thing I needed to make these meals are the ingredients for the King Ranch Casserole, this will come out of my The Kitchen Fairy money because I will be making extra for that. Other than that I was able to come up with enough meals from my stockpiles since I've already spent my grocery budget. So far I've only gone over about $20 so I'm pretty pleased with myself.

How To Start Saving On Groceries

I've had so many people come to me lately and ask how to start saving at the grocery store. After going through the steps with them I thought I should sit down and type it out.

Step 1: Before your next trip to the grocery store take inventory of your freezer, fridge and pantry. See how many meals or partial meals you can come up with from what you already have in the house.

Step 2: Plan at least a seven day menu including the meals you've just come up with. A great way to come up with menu ideas is to check the sale paper and plan from what's on sale. Then make sure you have every ingredient to prepare each meal, including sides and veggies. Make your grocery list based on what you need from the store to cook these meals. Don't forget to plan for breakfast, lunch, snacks and desserts.


Step 3: Now that you have your list made get out your coupons (if you don't clip them now is the time to start, my local library has a box where you can pick them up for free) match coupons with what is on your list. If the store has a great deal (especially if you have coupons to go along with it) on things you use regularly go ahead and buy two or three of them. If it's a great sale on meat you like then buy extra and freeze for another week. Doing this will slowly build you a stockpile so when there are weeks when you need to cut back on your grocery budget you can use what you have.

Following these steps will enable you to see a gradual savings and in a matter of months you should see a more significant one.

Budget Bummer

I'm totally bummed out because I spent my entire grocery budget yesterday at Kroger. I have plenty of food so it's not like we'll have to go with out it's just that I'll still need milk, water and I'm sure a few other things and that will push me over budget. I have to understand that with a budget that low ($200 a month, $100 every two weeks) I'm going to go over sometimes. I decided I rather aim to keep it low and just take the chance of going over than raise it and be spending more because I have it, because that's what I'd do. Last night I watched Suze Orman and Until Debt Do Us Part, I love watching those shows on Saturday night, it keeps me inspired throughout the week. I know several of you have been working on menu planning and budgeting for groceries, how's it going?

My Dirty Little Secret

The past five years since we've lived in this house I've been struggling with mildew in the shower of my master bathroom. Even though both bathrooms in my house have the same tile only the master has proven hard to keep clean. It had become so bad that I would just let it go completely until it made me sick to look at, it was my dirty little secret. I was so frustrated because I had tried every cleaner I could find to keep it clean, even those Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaners. When I was reading America's Cheapest Family they suggested keeping a spray bottle with a little bleach and some water in the shower and spraying it a couple of times a week to keep the mildew away. I figured it was worth a try so I started doing that last week and I noticed today that my shower is cleaner than I have ever seen it! This may be something that everybody else already knows but I am so happy to not have my dirty little secret anymore!

I Did It!!!!

I completed this past pay period without going over my grocery budget. Although I was VERY tempted by some good deals at Kroger I really wanted to stay within budget so I passed. Now hopefully that won't reflect negatively on my stockpile in weeks to come. I've got my menu planned for this week and I'll need the following.

• lettuce


• tomato


• Bread


• Alfredo sauce


• Beef Ribs

• Shredded Cheese

My menu for the week:

Friday- Turkey and Dressing (yes, this is leftover from Thanksgiving, I had it in the freezer)

Saturday- Rollatini (ended up with roast leftovers so we didn't have this last week)

Sunday- Eat @ Church

Monday-Tuna Salad Sandwiches or Chef Salad

Tuesday- Beef Ribs (in the crock pot)

Wednesday- Smothered Steak

Thursday- Taco Soup

Menu Plan and Grocery Budget

This week's Menu:


Supper
Fri- Ribeyes
Sat- Hot dogs
Sun- Make Italian Sandwiches for Church
Mon- Roast
Tues- Hot Wings
Wed- Meatballs
Thurs- Chicken Rollatini


Breakfast will be cereal, poptarts, pancakes ( still have some in the freezer) and waffles.
For lunch will have sandwiches, Mac and cheese, frozen pizza and nachos (I'm planning on using some beans from the freezer.

All I need from the store this week to make these meals is; syrup, Alfredo Sauce, french fries, carrots and shredded cheese. This brings me to my grocery budget, I still have $20 for this week. That should cover what I need to buy to make the meals on my menu. The only problem I'm finding is my stockpile of meat is running low, after this week I have about a week or week and a half worth of meat left in the freezer. I'll have to use next pay periods grocery budget to stock back up so hopefully it will be on sale. There are some good sale items at Kroger and HEB that I'd like to take advantage of but I really don't want to go over budget so I'm trying to decide whether I should or not.