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My son and DIL own a home in the Tampa, FL area. When we went to visit them a few years ago there, we all ate there. I had a coconut shrimp dinner that was outstanding. They also show that they have a location in Orlando, FL. So if you are going to be visiting soon, you might want to think about signing up for one.
Since it snowing here and probably will be for the next 24 hours, I have some spare time. Once we get the snow out of the way, perhaps Spring will come. I can't wait until we can buy local fresh vegetables! Here are some of the ways I save on vegetables:
- Always buy in season because the prices will be cheaper. Here is a great article on why you should eat vegetables that are in season and the benefits of buying organic: Seasonal Vegetables
- Buy at local farm stands or join a co-op. This site will help you find a co-op in your area: Co-ops. Whenever I would stop at a farm stand later in the day, I would negotiate a better price on the bushels of veggies than they were asking. They would rather sell it than have to pack it up. So don't be afraid to ask.
- Local area produce markets will have terrific prices. Our Niagara County Produce and Meat Market on Transit Road in Amherst has some of the best prices in the area. Last September when I was here contracting for my house to be built, I was in awe of the great prices. I can't wait until I can buy in bulk there this summer.
- U - Pick Farms are usually cheaper if you have the time and inclination to do your own picking.
- Buy bushels of tomatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, yellow beans, etc. when they are at their cheapest and blanch them for the freezer. That way you can enjoy them at the best price all year round. I love boiling up the tomatoes to get the skins off and stewing them or making spaghetti sauce to can or put up in the freezer.
- Buy onions, green, orange and red peppers, dice and freeze. I also slice up the peppers and freeze them for stir frys, fajitas, and to put on pizza. I would rather buy peppers at $ .25 a piece than pay $2.99 for one in the middle of winter.
- Buy celery when it is around $.69 and dice some up for the freezer also. I do the same with carrots. I just use a handful in soups, stews, etc.
- Don't be afraid to buy marked down produce if you can use it quickly. I have done this many times. I am sure my Arizona friends remember when I got this huge box of Bananas for $1.00. After giving 1/2 of them to my DIL and the neighbors, I froze them for bread and smoothies. You can do the same with vegetables. Get to know your produce manager very well. He can become your best source for these markdowns.
- Grow your own if you have the time and like gardening. I find after the expense of seeds or plants, water, fertilizers, etc. and my time, that I can buy them cheaper. The advantage to a garden is that you can make sure that no pesticides were used.
- In the wintertime, I check the prices of fresh against canned and frozen and then buy the cheapest per lb. Canned is usually my last choice if the prices are close. Frozen vegetables are sometimes more nutrient rich than fresh when the fresh have to be trucked a long distance. That is because they are frozen right at their peak.
- When I freeze vegetables for the winter, I do them with my Foodsaver. They keep better in the freezer and I can just drop the bags in boiling water to quickly cook them.
- Lastly and the one we all know well, buy frozen veggies when you can get them Free after doubled coupons.
Please feel free to leave a comment and tell us how you save on the cost of veggies.
Guess what they had just started installing today? :-) Please excuse the dirty lens on the camera. I am off to clean it.
Since I will be extremely busy the next few weeks, my blog posts may be farther apart. But when I have snippets of time, I will do my best to let you know what is new.
I have done a few money saving things over the past few days to save money:
- Received 3 more Amazon Gift Certificates from SwagBucks and ordered one more
- Received an Amazon Gift Certificate from Opinion Outpost
- Received a really nice Freezer Reusable Bag from Nestle and Haagen Daz
- Our National Grid bill came and it was $ 6.00 less than last month so I must be doing something right.
- Received my Free Subscription to Weight Watchers Magazine
- Finally picked out 4 paint colors for 4 of the rooms in the house. Now I can research the best price for the paint.
- Researched electric and gas options for the house. Leaning towards a TOU rate for electricity and a supplier for gas
- Ordered a few free samples
- Earned $10.00 in ECBS for a CVS Advisor survey
- Purchased 5 Free Scotch Fur Fighters so that I can keep them in many rooms of the house and one in the car to keep my cat's fur under control in those rooms
- Purchased the Fisher Price Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym for my grandson using Amazon GC's
- Roasted a turkey breast for dinner last night so that we will have leftovers and easy meals the next few nights.
Please feel free to leave a comment telling us what you did to save money and share with all of us.
Continued from yesterday...............
Both the Thinkers and the Nows like to eat out. The Thinkers do this not only to save money but to eat healthier. The Thinkers make the majority of their meals at home and save eating out mostly for special occasions.....get togethers with family or friends. The Nows eat out 2-3 times a week, at the greasy spoons or fast food joints putting the meals on their credit card. By the time the credit card bill arrives, the Nows can't even remember what the meal was that they charged. The Thinkers budget for the meals out. The Nows never budget anything.
The Thinkers and the Nows love vacations with their families. The Thinkers have always budgeted for trips. The Thinkers idea of a nice vacation was renting a camp where the family could have a wonderful time together for a week or two or taking a long weekend trip. They made it a priority to make sure that their children went on weekly class trips in the US. If the money wasn't set aside, they simply didn't go. The Nows idea of vacations were much more elaborate. They spent money they couldn't afford to spend on timeshares and expensive trips. That is okay if it is in your budget and your retirement and emergency funds are being set aside. But instead the Nows spent money for trips and had no savings. So everytime an emergency came up, like a car repair, they had to charge it. The Thinkers had their emergency funds, college funds and retirement funds set aside before they would even consider budgeting for a vacation.
The Thinkers would buy enough clothing for their family, always looking for at least 50% off. They didn't need to have the latest styles or colors each season. They bought classic clothing that would last through many seasons. The Nows were always purchasing the latest designs and styles for themselves and their children. Many of these pieces of clothing ended up on the floor of their closets never being worn and eventually being thrown out with the price tags still on them.
The Thinkers, for the most part, spend some time thinking about their purchases before they buy them....asking do I really need it and I can I afford it. Is there a place in my house for it or is it just clutter? The Nows don't think. They just purchase whatever they want and put it on the credit card. They bring it home and it just adds to the clutter. If the Thinkers buy something, they know where it will go and they get rid of one thing in it's place. The Thinkers are clutter free. The Nows have to rent dumpsters every few years to get rid of the things cluttering their homes that they they spent time and money on. Their time and money would have been better served by putting it in a savings or investment account. The Nows are some of the people on "Clean House".
The Thinkers children go to college with money they have set aside for that purpose. Their children are expected to work and earn towards that goal also. The Nows fund their childrens college with loans in lieu of saving for their own retirement. Their children are not expected to work to help pay. Out come the credit cards for the additional expenses like gasoline, food, fees, etc. again.
The Thinkers budget for almost everything and try very hard to stick to that budget. The Nows ask "What is a budget?"
The Thinkers ask " Can I afford it?" The Nows say " I deserve it!" even though they can't afford it.
The Thinkers are on easy street in early retirement and do not have to worry about money or how they will survive till they die. They own their home and will always have a place to live. The Nows are constantly worrying how to pay the bills including paying off their mortgage..... the mortgage that they have had for well over thirty years because they kept using their home as a piggybank to pay their credit card bills and other loans, over and over and over again. The Thinkers have a few million to live off of because of choices(both jobwise and moneywise) they made throughout their careers. This is made up of many combinations of personal savings and investments, 401K's, IRA's and small pensions. The Nows have a few hundred thousand from a pension plan due to the choices they made throughout their careers. They are always looking to see what entitlement program they can milk to supplement their lack of savings. The Thinkers, barring a catastrophe, will never have to work again. The Nows may find themselves competing for jobs with all of the 20 and 30 year olds in a few years.
We all know the Thinkers and the Nows! I asked you in my prior post, if you knew people like the Thinkers and the Nows. Of course, you do! We all have some of the Thinkers and the Nows in us.
At the extremes, the Thinkers are at one end and the Nows are at the other end. There is a happy medium somewhere in between. We all need to live a comfortable life and enjoy some of the pleasures along the path. But I want you to realize that it is not a smart idea to enjoy everything that comes your way exclusive of whether you can pay for it or not. You need to think about your future even though it may seem very far off to you. Don't keep thinking, I will plan for that tomorrow. Tomorrow will be here before you know it. THINK NOW! You don't need 5 or 10 million dollars to retire. You need enough for you! You will have enough if you live a comfortable frugal lifestyle and keep all of that interest for yourself that the Nows paid to the banks. What is enough? Enough is the amount that you can live comfortably with and not feel you are being deprived. Enough is the amount you need to pay your bills and still be able to enjoy your retirement. Make it a priority to pay off your home so that it is one less bill you have to pay in retirement. Everyone's enough will be different!
I am both a Thinker and a Now. We planned our life about 70% as Thinkers and about 30% as Nows. We have made mistakes along the way. If we had not, we would not have learned from them. We have the same struggles that everyone else has. There are things we see that we want now. But if I buy them, I make sure I pay cash or that I can put it on the charge and pay the bill when it comes. I have two "addictions" that I am trying fiercely to break. I LOVE every kind of small appliance made by man! I also LOVE books, especially reference books. Before we moved, I gave over a hundred books to the Salvation Army. I only kept a few that I read over and over again. I did this for two reasons. The first reason being that books are heavy and since movers charge by poundage, I was trying to lighten the load. Secondly, I needed to see if I could live without those books. I have found out that I don't need them. They were just clutter that needed to go. The appliances I do use. But if I find in the new house that I don't use them enough to make them worth taking up space, I will donate them.
The other thing that I think is very important is that you teach your children fiscal responsiblity. As Eileen told me in the comments yesterday, she was very lucky to have parents who taught her how to be responsible with her money. I did not have that same upbringing. My mother left my father when I was 3 years old. We were fortunate that my grandparents took us in or we would have had no place to live. My father was not responsible with money. He thought that a job was something you got one day and quit the next. He also spent most of his life on a barstool. My mother never received any child support from him for myself or my sister. She worked hard to support us but she also had a lot of credit card debt. As a kid, I was so happy when I saved a nickel that had been given to me or my birthday money in my weekly savings account. Those of us who are old enough will remember that we used to have savings passbooks that we took to school every week along with our nickels or dimes and the school would deposit them in our accounts for us. I loved doing that every week and watching the balance grow. After a while, the school no longer did that. I remember, in later years, asking my mom about my savings account and how much money I now had in it with all the interest I had been earning. She told me that she took my money to pay bills. I can't really fault my mom. She did the best she could. My grandmother took most of her paycheck every week as payment for watching us while she worked. My mom did not have an easy life. But growing up in this environment made me want to learn about money and how to handle it. I was never taught anything. Money was a taboo subject, so most of what I have just told you I either experienced or overheard in the household.
So when I was starting out my married life, I read every book that I could get my hands on that was about investing and frugality. I also pinched every penny that I could. I tried my best to lead by example when my children were growing up. I think some of it rubbed off. They are all doing well.
So please teach your children about how to handle money. It will be one of the best lessons they can learn.
They need to know that they can't spend money that they don't have. They need to know that only they are responsible for their own debts....not the banks that gave them the mortgage or the credit card companies who gave them a credit card. They need to be taught how to save money and how to handle a checking account.
If you don't know that much about money, educate yourselves. Go to the library, start reading. There are so many books out there that are great. So many more than when I was young. I still learn everyday from reading or from other people. Be lazy and don't do the work to learn and you will end up at retirement at the extreme end where most of The Nows that I know are now!
As I said in the disclaimer, The Thinkers and The Nows are a collection of people. Some of the Thinkers have pensions, some have investments and savings, some have 401K's, and some have all of them. The Nows are living off of whatever money they got from their companies when they retired. That is a pension or a lump sum or in some cases, both. Sure, I drew off my experiences because that is what I know well, but there are about 20 of our friends who are also part of the Thinkers and many, many friends who are the Nows that I also wrote about. Just ask yourself, when you reach your retirement age, who would you have rather been most of the time? Only you can make that decision, so whatever way it goes, you are the designer.
Now I am out of here because I have a move to prepare for.
DISCLAIMER:
A comment was left on my blog by "Jessica" informing me that my post was condescending and I was putting others down. She clearly did not get the gist of my post which is to make people think about their actions and how they affect their lives. Those of you who know me know that I "tell it like it is". I, in no way, meant to put anyone down nor was I trying to be condescending to anyone. That is never my intent on my blog! My intent is to teach financial life lessons and hope that my experiences and those of others who have been my mentors can help all of you - especially those of you who are in your twenties and thirties and have a long life in front of you. Hopefully, by the time all of the pieces of my posts this week are finished, it will tie it all together for you.
Sometimes, the written word is not my favorite way to express myself because without inflection from my voice, the tone can be taken the wrong way.
BTW, since "Jessica" referred to me as Mrs. Thinker, I want you all to know that the Thinkers and the Nows are no particular people. They are a collection of people that I have come in contact with over the years. They are totally a collection and no particular person.
In the meantime, as "Jessica" pointed out I mispelled Bachelor. As I have told all of you before, my English is not the greatest and I do misspell words sometimes. But that is me. I am not perfect nor do I pretend to be. I do the best I can in my 60's with the thought processes that I have left.
If any of you are bothered by anything that I write, I invite you please to not read it. So if this post bothers you, just skip over it. I will be continuing it over the next few days!
I am going to tell you a story of the Nows and the Thinkers. The Nows or the Thinkers could be your relatives, your neighbors, your best friends or yourself. The Nows and the the Thinkers got married within 5 years of each other. Mr. Now had attended college and earned his Bachelors Degree. Mrs. Now went to a 4 year college but never earned her degree. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thinker went to 2 year colleges and graduated with their Associate Degrees. They both had no money when they married. They each, over the years, had two children. Both Mr. and Mrs. Now worked fulltime jobs for 25- 40 years and at times during their careers they also each worked part time jobs to supplement their incomes. Mr. Thinker worked one fulltime job for 37 years and Mrs. Thinker worked a total of 11 years: 9 fulltime years and 2 years part time. The Thinkers made a plan for their goals the first week they were married: 1 year, 5 year, 10 year and lifetime goals. They knew what they wanted to accomplish for their lives and their families and they set off on a path to get there. Mr. Thinker because of his Associates Degree and great interview skills started his career in a management position. But the Thinkers knew that it was very important for Mr. Thinker to get his Bachelors Degree and his Masters Degree to advance in his career. They set out to make sure that that goal was accomplished. Mr. Thinker worked hard to advance in his career and even changed jobs at one point to accomplish even more for his family. The Nows made no plans. They lived for today. Both Mr. and Mrs. Now started their lives out with great jobs but never strived to further their educations nor did they achieve management positions during their careers. They preferred to go to work every day and just do enough to keep their jobs. Because of their attitudes, they never really made the amount of money that they could have made over the years. Perhaps they would not have had to work part time jobs in addition to their fulltime jobs to make ends meet if they had just adjusted their attitudes a bit. Now, I am aware that not everyone can achieve a management position, but if you never strive for that goal, you will never attain it. As the old saying goes, "It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all!" The Thinkers didn't know many people who didn't want to better themselves and earn as much money as possible over their lifetime. So the Nows attitude was just not the norm! Supposedly as the story goes, Mr. Now turned down a management postion early in his career. If that was true, Mr. Now was most likely never offered the promotion again. The Thinkers could never figure out if Mr. Now did that because he was lazy or was never really offered the position to begin with.
The Thinkers saved every extra penny the first two years of their marriage so that they could buy their first house- a little 3 bedroom. They put a sizeable down payment on that house so that their mortgage payment was less than most people's car payments. It was important to them to save for their future and their childrens futures and not put every dime they earned into their mortgage payment. The Nows saved enough of a down payment so that they could buy a large two story house and make a large mortgage payment every month. The Thinkers furnished the house with the bare necessities that they could pay cash for: a refrigerator, a bed and a sofa bed so that they had a place to sit and could have company stay. Their family offered them old dressers, extra beds and a table they could eat at. They were thankful to their family for giving them these things.They needed to spend their cash for college for Mr. Thinker and to save 10% of their income. The Nows furnished every room of their home with beautiful new furniture that they took loans to pay for. The Thinkers bought new furniture over the years as they could pay cash for it. This was after they saved at least 10% of their income for retirement and their childrens college educations. This was also after they had paid off their first home and made sure they had a 1 year emergency fund. The Thinker's necessities were much different than the Now's necessities.
The Thinkers lived for years with one car. When Mrs. Thinker worked those first years, she rode with Mr. Thinker to work, took the bus or paid for a ride. Mrs. Thinker, as a stay at home wife and mom, worked the family appointments and errands around Mr. Thinkers work and college schedule. It just took planning and was very easy. The Thinkers finally bought a second car when they had children that needed to be transported to school activities, sports games, etc. They mainly purchased new cars but maintained them well and kept them for 8-10 years. They did not like car payments nor any other debt so this worked well for their plan. When Mr. and Mrs. Thinker reached financial independence, they went back to one car because that is all that was needed. Mrs. and Mrs. Thinker do almost everything together and work around each other's schedules when need be. Mr. and Mrs Thinker know that it just isn't the cost of purchasing the car that they are saving but the insurance, maintenance and repairs. They are saving thousands of dollars a year planning their lives around one car.
The Nows over the years had two cars and two car payments. Every couple of years they would trade them in for a new car. The Nows paid interest to the banks instead of making interest on their own savings. Throwing money at depreciable assets was what they seemed to strive for.
The Thinkers paid off their first home and a subsequent home as quickly as possible putting extra money on their principle every month. They paid cash for their third home and will for any others they may buy. They prefer to buy homes that they can afford to own and not pay thousands of dollars in interest to big banks. The Nows have never had a paid off home because of all of their years of debt.
The Thinkers have always used credit cards as a convenience. They pay their bill every month when it is due. The Nows purchased everything with credit cards over the years, clothes, meals, clutter,travel, their property and school taxes, etc. At one point, they had over $ 80,000. in credit card debt ( a scenario that was repeated many times; not $80,000. every time but significant cc debt ), a mortgage, two car payments and college loans for their children. They had no plan or goals. They also had no savings because they were always in debt and always trying to catch up. I wonder if they ever sat down and added up the interest they paid over all of those years and that they still pay now. Can you just imagine how much money they would have in investments and savings if they had waited until they could pay cash for what was important in life? Instead they made the banks rich and themselves poor.
Since this is going to be much longer than I planned on, I will continue this tale tomorrow. In the meantime, do you know people like the Thinkers and the Nows? Who would you rather be? Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts!
To Be Continued..........
Well, I am back a little early blogging after a great visit with all of my kids and grandchildren. My grandaughter loves her new cousin. She was so cute with him. He is so adorable and growing like a weed. We had wonderful meals, a lunch out and I spent the day shopping with my DIL from Albany yesterday. We went to the Niagara Falls Outlets. This place is huge. We only had time to do about 1/3 of it. I bought lots of clothes for both my grandaughter and grandson at OshKosh, Childrens Place, Carters and Gymboree using coupons for all of course. I will be frequenting these outlets alot after we move. We managed on Saturday to hit the toy section at Target with all of the coupons. com coupons. We purchased some stuffed doggies there at 75% for both of them. Thank you to all of my children and grandchildren for making this such a wonderful visit! We love you all!
This afternoon it was back to couponing. I hadn't planned to go out until I realized that I had three RR's expiring today at Walgreens. So I scanned the ads quickly and did it all at once. This is what I purchased:
Target:
5 Scotch Fur Fighter Tool Kits - $ 3.99 - Used $ 4.00/1 Mfrs. IP Cpns = Free
Total OOP was tax only of $ 1.75!
Walgreens:
I did three orders separately for these:
3 Gillette Venus Embrace Razor - $ 8.99 - Used $ 2.00 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 6.99 each and I received a $ 4.00 RR for each
3 Olay Body Wash - $ 4.79 each - Used Free Mfrs. Cpn wyb Venus Razor for each = Free
3 Stouffers Mac N Cheese - $ 1.50 each
Used (3) $ 3.00 RR's
Total OOP for each order was $ 6.70 including tax = $ 20.10 and I received $ 12.00 in RR's! Since I am also mailing in for the $15.00 Olay Rebate, this is quite the moneymaker. I could have just used a cheap filler to use the RR's and had a much cheaper total but we like this mac and cheese and it was on sale.
Wegmans:
2 Green Works Laundry Detergent - $ 2.99 each - Used $ 3.00/1 IP coupons( Thanks Katie!) - made $ .02
12 cans of Campbells Chunky Soup - $ 1.25 each - Used $ 1.50/3 IP Cpns = $ .75 each = $ 9.00
1 Softsoap - $ .99 - Used $ .50/1 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled = Free
Total OOP including tax was $ 9.58!
Tops:
2 Land O Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste Spread - $ 1.00 - Used $ .55/1 IP Cpns Dbled = Free
2 Land O Lakes Butter with Olive Oil - $ 1.00 - Used $ .50/1 IP Cpns Dbled = Free
10 Bounty Basic Paper Towels - $ 1.00 - Used $ 1./2 Mfrs. Cpns = $ .50 each = $ 5.00
1- 6 pk. of Diet Peach Snapple - $ 4.99 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 3.99
1 Gortons Fish Fillets - on sale for 50% off - $ 2.24 - Used $ .60/1 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled = $ 1.04
1 Family Size OnCor Mac n Cheese - $ 1.99 - Used $ .50/1 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled = $ .99
1 Honeysuckle Turkey Breast on sale for $ 1.29 lb = $ 9.24
1 Pkg. of Loin Pork Chops - $ 2.39
1 Pkg. Green Giant Rice with Broccoli - $ 1.99 - Used Free Mfrs. Cpn = Free
1 Chicken of Sea Solid White Tuna in Water - $ .88 with Super Coupon
Total OOP including tax was $ 23.97!
My rollover grocery budget was $ 43.20 minus $ 55.40 I spent today leaves me a negative balance of $ 12.20 for the month. I was not going to let those RR's expire and I still have $12.00 in RR's that I earned today to use and will get the $15.00 back from the Mail In Rebate, so I don't feel too bad about it!
There is a great deal on laundry detergent that I have been meaning to get since Sunday. When I saw that Alex had posted the deal on her blog, Living Without Money, I knew that I had better get over there to get mine before the shelves were cleared. The 45 oz. Green Works Laundry Detergent are $ 2.99 each. Use the IP coupon for $3.00 each and they are Free which is my favorite price.
Besides running some errands to Wegmans, the bank and to get my hair cut, we are just going up to the house to check on it and go get our mail. On the way, we are going to stop at the blinds and shades store to see what they have. We are just in the early planning stages for those.
I will be taking Friday, Saturday and Sunday off from blogging to enjoy my family. My son, DIL, and grandaughter are on their way here from Albany. I am so very excited about having the entire family together at one time for the first time in about 5-6 years and looking forward to spending some great times with all of them! Talk to you all again on Monday!
DH and I went to the Post Office to pick up our mail since we hadn't been there in a few days. There was an envelope addressed to Grandma and Grandpa from our grandaughter waiting for us. These lovely homemade Valentines were inside that my 2 year old grandaughter made with the help of her Mommy. We get envelopes frequently from Alexa with her artwork also. Mommy always nicely dates them for us. These are priceless to us! Thanks so much Alexa and her Mommy. We look forward to seeing you all in a couple of days!
All of the stonework was finished on the house today. The siders still have to come back and finish the siding on the side of the garage and a couple of other small places. This is looking so beautiful now that it is all coming together. Also while we were at the house today there were trucks all over the road and about 18 people working to finally start putting in the utilities..electric and gas, telephone, and cable. The utilities are on the road before ours and have to be run quite a distance back to where our home is. So they were digging! I was very happy to see this since the lack of them would have really held up the house. Now we have to wait and see how long it takes them to complete.
These are the few things we did today to affect our bottom line:
- I made biscuit breakfast sandwiches today using ham, cheese and eggs. The biscuits were Pillsbury Grands Flaky ones that I purchased in January for $ 1.00 a pkg. The ham was frozen leftover from December. The cheese was from Kutters the other day. I used 2 eggs that I purchased for $1.19 a dozen. This is much cheaper and tastes so much better than buying fast food.
- Lunch was leftover frozen homemade beef barley soup.
- Dinner will be fish filet sandwiches with lettuce and tartar sauce to use up more of the Grands biscuits that I made this morning. I will serve those with sliced apples and green seedless grapes.
- The mail today brought $ 9.00 in Pinecone Checks, a $5.00 check from Cash4Books.net, Babies R Us and Toys R us coupons, a Free full size box of Stevia Sweetner, and 5 more Coke coupons from Recycle Bank.
- DH and I did some research to find Curtain Stores so that we can order our blinds and shades after we measure the windows this weekend. We located one that is close that carries Hunter Douglas which we love.
- Today, we realized that the Title for our car never came to us from NYS. We applied for it with our registration back in early December. DH called them and since we never received the original, they are not charging us for a duplicate.
- Since I am going to need custom made orthotics for both of my feet, according to the podiatrist, due to the plantar faciitis, DH researched our health plan to see if they are covered. They are and there is no co-pay.
- I updated my pricebook by entering the last 3 weeks receipts.
- We had a note in our PO Box that we had to pick up an item at the counter. We had a letter with $ .20 postage due. DH had no change (since we empty our pockets every night to save it for our grandchildren's piggy banks for their education). They had not one bit of change (which I couldn't believe) at the Post Office so the lady told DH just to take it- no charge. :-)
- I signed up on Twenga which is a wonderful comparison price site for almost anything that I am shopping for.
- I borrowed a couple of DVD's for my grandaughter, when she visits, to watch from the complex office for Free.
- Tonight's entertainment will be NCIS and NCIS L.A. I LOVE these shows!
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you did today to affect your bottom line.
It has been a busy day at Precious's house. DH was off to the Dr. this morning to see how his dislocated and broken toe was doing. It's healing, Thank God! Otherwise, it would have been surgery and that is the last thing we needed with moving.
When DH's appt. was over, we went up to the house. They are in the middle of doing the stacked stone. It is so beautiful! They expect to finish it today. The sheetrock is almost all taped and should be finished tomorrow. It is really starting to look like a home. We have a date for closing and so far they are on schedule. We will see how it goes over the next few days. :-)
I spent the afternoon doing some paperwork until the UPS man arrived a few minutes ago. Yup, those are DH's new Dockers that he won in the other picture. They are the new soft khakis and they are SO Soft. DH likes them.
That is about it for today. I am off to reheat the Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken leftovers from Saturday night for our dinner.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This is what we did today to up our net worth:
- Breakfast was Special K ( $ 1.00 a box) with $ 1.63 for a 1/2 gal. milk and $ 1.49 a 1/2 gal. orange juice.
- DH and I exchanged Valentine Cards- $ .50 each at Dollar Tree. We did not do gifts this year because of the thousand of dollars being spent on items for the house.
- Washed two loads of laundry in cold water using 1/2 the amount of Tide that the manufacturer says to use. Minimal timed dryer time and I always hang my clothes immediately so that I don't have to run it again for a few minutes to get the wrinkles out. How many of you forget you have laundry in the dryer and then waste electricity running it for just a few more minutes? I do my laundry when I am sure I will be home to get it out of the dryer. I have no dryer sheets here and have not bought them. I don't seem to have static.
- Baked brownies for dessert for our Valentine's dinner from a $ .25 mix.
- Looked over the grocery ads and determined that I don't need much this week. It will be a mostly use from the pantry and refrigerator week. Bonus: Less money spent.
- However I did have to run out for some things at Wegmans that we needed and to Walgreens for some things. This is what I purchased at Wegmans:
4 - 2ltr. Diet Cokes - 4 for $5.00 - Used (4) $ 1.00/1 Coke Cpns.= $ .25 each
2- 20 oz. Diet Cokes - $ 1.50 ea. - Used (2) Free Cpns = Free
2- 32oz. Amaretto Liquid Coffeemates - $ 2.99 ea. = $ 5.98 - Used $ .75/1 IP Cpns Dbled = $ 1.49 ea.
Bananas at $ .49 a lb = $ .99
Total OOP was $ 5.97 including $1.00 for tax and bottle deposits.
I did 2 orders at Walgreens. This is what I purchased:
Order # 1:
2 Revlon Colorsilk - $ 1.99 ea. with Walgreens Cpn - Used $ 1.00/2 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 1.49 ea.
Total was $ 3.24 which I used a Free Giftcard to pay so nothing OOP!
Order #2:
2 Revlon Colorsilk - $ 1.99 ea. with Walgreens Cpn - Used $ 1.00/2 Mfrs. Cpn =$ 1.49 each
3 Tuf Papertowels - $.50 ea. with Walgreens Cpn = $ 1.50
1 Maalox - $ 6.79 - Used $ 1.50/1 Mfrs. Cpn
Used $9.00 in Register Rewards
Total was $ 1.25 which I paid with a Free Giftcard so nothing OOP!
My rolling grocery budget was $ 59.96 minus $ 10.79 I spent on cheese at Kutters the other day minus the $5.97 OOP today leaves $ 43.20 for the rest of the month.
Analysis:
DH was out of Coke and these were cheap because of the coupons from Coke Rewards and from Recycle Bank. We were almost out of Coffee Creamer and these were on sale and cheap after doubled coupons. I wanted bananas for cereal this week and this was a good price per lb. I never use papertowels but don't have my rags here with me in the apt. so I picked these up to clean the apartment when we move since they were a great price. We were out of antacids so this was a necessity. I color my hair so rather than pay $ 45.- 85. each time at a salon depending on where you go, I stocked on a years worth to color my hair at home. Free after coupons and a Free Giftcard is a great price for haircolor.
-Ran my errands at once in a circle to save on gasoline. We are not going out to the house today or anywhere else which will save on gas.
- Lunch was homemade chicken salad wraps. I made the salad with chicken I cooked extra the other day, mayo, dried cranberries, and sliced green grapes.
- DH is happily watching sports on TV for free entertainment.
- Recharged the batteries for the digital camera. This saves on buying batteries all the time.
- As I was brushing and flossing my teeth today which I do every morning and every night with Free Toothpaste and Floss, I was wondering how much I have saved over the past few years on the dentist because I am faithful about this. We have no dental insurance so pay out of our own pocket. I will bet it is a serious amount of money!
- Valentine's dinner tonight will be grilled shrimp( Gortons bought for $ 2.24 after 1/2 off and a coupons) served with a homemade orange sauce, roasted potatoes( $ .66 Green Giant), broccoli ( $.66 Green Giant) and the brownies for dessert. I picked up a cheap bottle of White Zinfandel( $5.99) to serve with it. Easy and cheap Holiday dinner! The grilled shrimp is partially cooked. It says to either do them in a skillet or bake them in the oven. I am choosing to do them in the skillet - less cooktime and I won't have to heat up that big oven saving on electricity. The veggies will be microwaved rather than heating up another burner which will also save on electricity.
- Since I am not going out again today, I decided to let my face breathe. I removed my make-up with 1/2 an unscented store brand baby wipe. These are cheap and do a perfect job and don't hurt my skin. This saves on makeup remover wipes and saves me from ruining my washcloths.
- I ran the dishwasher full to save on electricity and then let the dishes air dry.
- This afternoon, I collected and rubber banded all of the return enevelopes that I have gotten in the mail the last few weeks that I don't use. Then I reuse them to send out mail if they don't have bar codes. The ones that are bar coded, I use for grocery lists and to hold the coupons for my lists. I also save all of the 8x10 pieces of paper that I get in the mail that I don't need to keep for anything. I print coupons on the blank side of them.
- I also am filing coupons in my binder that came in the mail the past few days and tidying up my desk. I need room to copy over my income taxes and get them ready to mail. They will both be mailed close to April 15th. The Federal because I am waiting to see if we close on the house before then and the AZ State because we owe them a lot of money and I would rather earn money on it until then. We didn't make enough the 3 and 1/2 weeks we were in New York to have to file.
- I joined Shop It To Me because I am looking for a great price on some jeans and other pieces of clothing I need. They e-mail me twice a week with prices and where they are on sale. They do some of the legwork for me.
- I have made my to do list for the week which includes some important calls I have to make which will save us money in the long run.
-
Ordered another Amazon.com Gift Certificate using my Swagbucks.
- Hopefully, my shows will be on tonight for cheap entertainment for me: Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you did today to save money today. We can all learn from each other.
These are the things I have been doing the past couple of days to up our net worth:
- We changed our menu a little bit for this weekend. Today is going to be a very busy day so I needed to do something in the crockpot. Grilled cheese and soup has been moved until tommorrow and chicken parm has been deleted. Tonight we are having Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken. I am making enough for tonight and Monday night. My recipe called for 1 packet of Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning. This is not something that I normally buy. So I looked up a recipe for homemade on the web and made my own since I had all of the spices. Homemade is so much more inexpensive, so that is a bonus.
- Received $22.00 in rebate checks.
- Received my Free Coke coupons from Coke Rewards.
- Received a coupon from Dunkin Donuts for a Free Cup of Coffee.
- Received my Free Subscription of WW magazine, Tennis, and Woman's Day.
- Received my March issue of All You Magazine; read it and then cut the coupons and filed them in my binder.
- Ordered a Free Subscription to Money Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and The Wall Street Journal using airline miles that were about to expire.
- DH made French Toast for breakfast to use up some old bread.
- With so many thousands of dollars in purchases for the house and the cost of the house itself, we are seeing our cash go out the window at a record pace. We still have major purchases of curtains, valances and blinds to buy, all of the landscaping, paving the driveway, a patio and fireplace, DH's riding lawn mower and many other smaller items to buy plus moving expenses. All of the money for those expenses have been set aside. But I have been brainstorming ideas to save money once we move to rebuild our bank accounts. No expense will be too little to look at. I will post in more detail about this once we are moved and settled.
- DH will be measuring the windows today so that we can purchase blinds and window coverings and not make mistakes on sizes. We want to get them custom ordered so that we can put them up right away.
- I am starting to save any bags that we get for purchases to use to move some of the things from the apt. to the house. I saved all of the boxes from the first move that came to the apt. but I have accumulated more things here. Yes, we will be getting ready to pack soon. We need to hire local movers from here to the house. Once we are moved, we can call for all of our other things from the house to be brought from storage by the original movers.
- We are getting paint samples from Behr Premium Plus paints so that we can make a decision on colors. Consumer Reports rates this paint as #1. I want good paint that will last so that we don't have to repaint in a couple of years.
- I will be taking a trip this weekend to Petsmart to pick up almost free cat food with some large coupons. Poor kitty is almost out of food.
- Won the Dockers pants for DH during the SuperBowl game. They should arrive the beginning of the week.
- Picked up DH's prescription paying with a Free Prescription GC that I got in AZ.
- Since I have minimal toys here for my grandaughter to play with, I went to the Dollar Tree to pick up a few things to keep her busy when she comes to visit for a few days this week. She loves to color and she loves books. I am so looking foward to seeing her, my son and DIL. Everyone is well now and able to come out and meet West.
- I planned my Valentines Day dinner that I will be making for DH.
- We continue to watch our electricity and gas usage to keep the bills as low as possible. I miss being able to hang clothes so a clothesline in the basement is one of the first things I am going to have DH put up at the new house.
- Somehow ( ?) my laser printer choices got reset. I noticed that I was not printing coupons in draft which saves on ink, so I remedied that.
That is about it for now. We have been so busy with house purchases, etc. and will be for the next couple of weeks. But I will be majorly ramping up the challenge once we are moved.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you have been doing to save money this week.
Sorry all but I am posting a little late. This is what we are dining on this week:
Monday: Chicken with Apples and Onions(skillet dish), Roasted Potatoes and Corn
Tuesday: Fish Fillets, Shells and Cheese, and Broccoli
Wednesday: Homemade Pizza and Salad
Thursday: Homemade Burritos with ground beef, seasoning,lettuce, onion, cheese and sour cream
Friday: Leftover Night
Saturday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup
Sunday: Chicken Parm with angel hair pasta and salad
I won a Free Pair of Dockers Soft Khakis in Carmel for DH. I entered as soon as the Superbowl "Men in Pants" ad aired during the game. I hadn't had a chance to check my e-mail until this morning and sure enough there was a Congratulations e-mail from Dockers telling us how to claim them. That e-mail ended up in my spam mail, so for those of you who entered, check your spam!
DH and I are thrilled. His new Dockers will be here next week.
My online friend, Slugmama, whose blog is here:
Don't Read This; It's Boring
has a great post up about what she purchased at Price Chopper last week. I am posting this especially for my DIL in Albany who frequents Price Chopper. But I think everyone could learn from how she put the deals together. I ENJOY her blog almost every day! Thanks Slugmama!
Since I had to return bottles this morning, I figured I might as well do some of the grocery shopping for the week. This is what I purchased:
Tops:
6 Pkgs. of Pasta Roni & Rice A Roni - $ 1.00 each = $ 6.00 - Used (2) $ 1./3 Mfrs. Cpns - Used ( 2) Super Doubler Coupon = $ 2.00 for all or about $ .33 each
2 Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes - $ 1.25 each = $ 2.50 - Used $ 1./2 Mfrs. Cpn - Used Super Doubler
Coupon = $ .25 each
4 cans of Tops Cream of Chicken Soup - $ .89 each = $ 3.56
1 Pkg. of Marked Down 80% Lean Ground Beef - 5.20 lbs. = $ 9.33 or about $ 1.79 lb.
3 Boxes of Gortons Fish Fillets on sale at 50% Off - 2 at $2.24 and 1 at $3.19 - Used $ .40/1 Mfrs. Cpn Dbled and (1) $ 1./2 Mfrs. Cpn - Used Super Doubler Coupon = $ 5.87 for all.
2 Bags of Gortons Grilled Shrimp - on sale at 50% Off - $ 3.74 each = $ 7.48 - Used 2 ($1./1 Mfrs. Cpns) - Used (1) Super Doubler Coupon = $ 4.48 for both
1- 4 pack Dannon Activia - $ 2.00 - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 1.00
Total OOP was $ 26.74!
Wegmans:
1 Pkg. of Hamburger Rolls - $ .99
1 -1/2 gal. Wegmans Milk = $ 1.63
1- 64 oz. Wegmans Orange Juice = $ 1.49
2 cans Wegmans Mandarin Oranges . $ .55 each = $ 1.10
1 Roasting Chicken on sale for $ .79 a lb. = $ 4.98
Received $ .95 in Bottle Returns
Total OOP was $ 9.24!
My rollover grocery budget was $ 95.94 minus the $ 35.98 I spent today leaves $ 59.96.
ANALYSIS:
I was going to make macaroni and cheese this week for side dishes but the Pasta and Rice A Roni were so cheap after coupons that it would have cost much more to make it. I can't make brownies for $ .25 a pan. They will be our snacks after the carrot cake is gone. I was totally out of cream soups and do not have all of the ingredients here in the apt. to make my own, so these will have to do for now.
The ground beef was a great deal. I buy marked down, rebag it and freeze it right away. I don't mind buying a higher fat beef because I rinse it in a colander by washing it with hot water after it is cooked. That purges a lot of the fat! This package will give us 7 meals plus a night of leftovers.
The fish fillets and shrimp will give us 9 meals. When ever I can get frozen fish at 50% off , I stock. $ 10.39 for all or $ 1.15 a meal for fish for both of us is phenomenal. I can't buy fresh fish for a meal this cheap. With Lent around the corner, the fish deals will be around for a few weeks.
I like this yogurt and eat it for lunch at $ .25 each. The hamburger rolls, milk and oj were all necessities bought at great prices. As I went out the door, DH asked for mandarin oranges. Wegmans brand is much cheaper than the name brands. The roasting chicken will give us about 5 meals at $1.00 per meal.
These are the things I have done the last few days to up my net worth:
- Ordered 5 - $1.00 off Coke Coupons and 1 Free Seventh Generations Coupon for All Purpose Cleaner with my earned points from Recycle Bank
- Ordered 3 Amazon Gift Certificates with points earned on SwagBucks
- Received my $ 7.99 Rite Aid Single Check Rebate check
- Received $ 16. in checks from survey sites
- Bought 2 Contour Meters with coupons paying nothing and earning $ 20. in RR to spend at Walgreens
- Received Free Samples with our home delivered Buffalo News Sunday paper: Fiber One Honey Clusters Cereal and a Fiber One 90 calorie Chocolate Chewy Bar plus some great coupons.
- Negotiated $ 200. off the purchase price of our appliances.
- Made my own homemade French Fries this week using $ .25 a lb. fresh potatoes.
- Made my own homemade pizza crust using about $ .30 worth of ingredients.
- Filed coupons in my binder to keep them up to date.
- Joined Amazon Prime to get Free 2 day shipping for a month.
- Using Amazon Prime, I ordered a book that I have been wanting for months and got free 2 day shipping although the book arrived the very next day. I used my Amazon Gift Certicficates earned through SwagBucks to pay for it.
- Saved gasoline by sitting in the car reading my book at both the house and when DH got his haircut at the barber.
- Sent a letter to our primary care Dr. in AZ to have them fax our records to our new Doctor here. If we had brought the records with us, the Dr's office would have charged us $ 35. each.
- Filled up the car with gasoline saving $ .10 a gallon using my Tops card
- Washed laundry in cold water using 1/2 the recommended detergent.
- Heat is at 68 to save on gas.
- Tonight's entertainment will be Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters for me and The Superbowl Game for DH.
- Made my grocery lists for tomorrow using a number of cost cutting ideas and pulling coupons that I can use. My analysis will explain tomorrow.
Please feel free to share with all of us what you have been doing to save money by leaving a comment.
4:
1 Huggies Little Snugglers - $ 8.99 - Used $ 2./1 Mfrs. Cpn & $ 1./1 Walgreens Cpn = $ 5.99 and I received a $ 3.00 RR
Total was $ 6.37 and I received a $ 3.00 RR.
Not too bad a trip since I actually only had to pay $ 6.37 out of my pocket for all of this and I ended up with $ 18.00 in RR for a future order!
Since the diapers are a gift to West, I don't deduct them from my grocery budget. They come out of our gift budget.
Early this morning I made a quick trip to Walgreen's and Wegmans. This is what I purchased:
Walgreens:
1 Bayer Contour Meter - $ 14.99 - Used UP to $30.00 off Mfrs. Cpn = Free and I recieved a $10.00 RR
Total OOP was $ .00 but I made $10.00 with the RR. I LOVE Moneymakers!
Wegmans:
1 Large Pkg. of Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts - on sale for $ 1.97 a lb = $ 10.60
1 Pkg. of 80% Lean Ground Beef - $ 2.99 lb. = $ 3.29
2 Lay's Potato Chips - $ 2.00 each - Used $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpns = $ 1.00 each
1 Bakery Carrot Cake - $ 19.00
Total OOP was $ 34.89
My rollover grocery budget was $ 130.83 minus the $ 34.89 I spent today leaves $ 95.94 for the rest of the month!
ANALYSIS: The meter is a no brainer when you can make money. This was my last coupon for them. I am out of meat except for some Italian sausage and a few fish sticks. Chicken was on sale this week so our menu will have a lot of chicken dishes this week. Even on sale at $ 1.97 a lb, the price of the package seems expensive. However, it had 8 really big chicken breasts totalling 5.38 lbs. I cut them in half lengthwise which gives us 16 decent portions. The first meal might be chicken parmesan made from the two largest breasts cut in 1/2. Then the other meals I will be using the meat more like a condiment than the main course. I cook at least double portions so that the extra 2 are ready for a second meal like chicken fried rice, stir fry, fajitas with lots of onions and peppers, and any # of skillet dishes. So since I need 2 portions per meal for us, our cost is $ .6625 per portion or $ 1.325 per meal. It is not the greatest price since I prefer to pay a lot less for my chicken breasts but it would be a lot more expensive at the full price of over $5.00 a lb. The ground beef was expensive because it was not on sale but I needed it for our Super Bowl meal tomorrow.
The chips were not on my list. However I spotted these bags on sale and taped to each of them was a $1.00 off coupon. Since DH loves chips, I snagged him two bags for $ 1.00 each.
The meat looks cheap next to the price of the cake. I told my son that I would bring dessert for the turkey dinner at his home later this afternoon. Since my right foot is killing me, I decided I would buy it instead of make it. So I splurged on all of us and bought this carrot cake at the bakery. Wegmans has some of the most beautiful desserts that I have ever seen. Up until this morning, I have resisted them calling to me. But I just had to have that cake. It will be a nice end to our dinner and we can celebrate West being with us all. I don't splurge often but when I do, I enjoy it!
We had our walk through at the house yesterday. There were a few small issues...moving of an outlet so it is more convenient for us and DH needs to contact the alarm company about a few issues. DH videoed the entire living space because they are going to be sheetrocking and taping next week. This way we have a record of all wiring, the prewire on the alarm system and where all the plumbing is just in case we ever need to get at it.
While we were there they were finishing bringing in all the fill and leveling it around the house. The garage door is supposed to be installed today. For the first time, I ventured down into the basement. My son and DH kept telling me how huge it is. They were correct. It is enormous. There is a perfect corner that we will make a storage area out of. DH will put in cupboards, countertops, a center island and my freezer so that I will have plenty of room for stockpiling. After not having a basement in Arizona, I am really excited about this. I had a huge storage area in my basement in my prior home in New York and loved it.
As we were walking each room, I was visualizing where furniture would go to make sure that outlets and switches are where we need them. Can you tell that this is the 4th brand new house that we have built? We have gotten quite experienced at it. The exercise room is going to be perfect and handle our equipment really well without feeling overcrowded. The study is large enough to handle our massive wall unit, writing table, file cabinet and another desk. So DH and I for the first time will be able to have all of our office things in one room. The guest room has plenty of space for the queen size bed, dresser, and a chair. It's much larger than the one in Arizona. Our furniture that is in storage for the great room will fit nicely plus the furniture that we will be buying. The kitchen is so big and I am going to love having a pantry at both ends of it. The glass hutch area will be perfect for all of the dishes because we will be eating all of our big meals in the morning room. We also can eat the smaller meals at our eat in kitchen bar which reminds me that I have to look for some really nice, comfortable bar stools. I am really excited that I am going to have such a nice desk area built in the kitchen. It will be the perfect place for meal planning. Can you tell that I am excited?
They gave us a tentative date for closing. There is one major stumbling block to that date but we are hoping it won't become an issue. The utilities have to be run by the utility companies back to our road. They are supposed to be doing it next week. Meanwhile, there is a humongous generator that they brought in that runs everything in the house so the workmen have heat and light to do their work. So I am not going to count on that date or even whisper it until the utilities are in. Once they are in, I know it will be a go.
In other news, our son, DIL, and grandaughter will not be here this weekend. My grandaughter caught a horrible cold and needs to rest to get better. I feel so bad for her because her head is so congested. I just hope she feels better soon. They will have to wait until she is well to come out and meet West. I miss all of them and can't wait until they come. West is doing so well. He has gained a lb. already. DH and are going to be seeing him tomorrow since our son and DIL invited us for a nice turkey dinner. I just love holding him. He is so darn handsome!
DH and I are going back to Orville's today and plan on buying all of our appliances. We just have to find a different microwave while we are there. Then we are headed out to two lighting stores to find our chandeliers, pendant lights and all the other lighting for the house. The builder puts in the normal ugly contractors fixtures( my opinion) and I want them replaced right away. Tonight we have the wine tasting party at the clubhouse to go to. So it will a busy, busy day!
Enjoy your weekends!
It always seems like I have a lot of errands on Mondays. I ran out early this morning to deposit 4 checks at the bank and move some money into savings, go to Office Depot for printer paper and envelopes, stop at Walgreens and do my grocery shopping at Tops. DH is up at the house right now and picking up the mail. I hope they are making some more progress. I love to go but our new camcorder is being delivered today and UPS needs a signature. So I stayed home! DH is very excited that it is arriving especially since our entire family will be together this weekend.
Sorry that the picture is so poor but I was rushing so that DH could take the camera up to the house. Anyhow this is what I purchased this morning:
Walgreens:
1 Bayer Contour Meter - on sale for $ 14.99 - Used up to $30. off Mfrs. Cpn = Free and I received a $10.00 RR
5 Assorted Deerfield Farms Dried Fruits - $ 1.00 each = $5.00
Used $5.00 RR
Total OOP was $ .00 and I received a $10.00 RR. I just love moneymakers!
Tops:
3 - 48oz. Edy's Ice Cream( not in picture) - $ 3.00 - Used (2) $ 1./1 Mfrs. Cpns and (1) $ 1./1 IP Cpn = $ 2.00 each
1 Birds Eye Rice Pilaf -$ 1.00
3 Boxes of Chungs Egg Rolls - $2.50 - Used $ .75/1 Mfrs. Cpns Dbled = $1.00 each
3 Philadelphia Cream Cheese - 3/$4.00 - Used $1.25/3 Mfrs. Cpn = $ 2.75 for all 3
3 Old El Paso Taco Seasoning - 3/$2.00 and I received a $1.00 off Beef or Chicken Catalina Cpn
5lb. Bag of Idaho Russet Potatoes - $ .25 a lb = $ 1.25
2.13 lbs. of Green Seedless Grapes - on sale for $ 1.48 a lb = $ 3.17
Total OOP was $ 19.17.
My grocery budget for the month is $ 150. minus the $ 19.17 I spent today leaves $ 130.83 for the rest of the month. I had exactly $20.00 left in my January grocery budget after buying eggs yesterday so that got deposited into my savings account today along with other budgets amounts left from January.
Analysis:
The meter was free and I made $10.00 on the deal. We will give the meter to the Senior Center to be given to someone who needs it. I am stocking the dried fruits to make trail mix. We love Edy's ice cream and I wanted to have some on hand for my grandaughter who loves ice cream. The pilaf is so yummy, was cheap, and it is always nice to have an easy side dish. DH loves Chung's Egg Rolls whether we use them as an accompaniment to a homemade Chinese meal or for an appetizer. The cream cheese was cheap and we like it on bagels. I go through a lot of taco seasoning since I use it to spice up a lot of different skillet meals and for tortilla soup. Very rarely can I get it for $ .33 each and get $1.00 off meat coupon also. We were down to our last 2 potatoes and these were so inexpensive. I love these for making french fries or for baking. My grandaughter loves grapes and so do we.
Later when DH gets back, I hope to have pictures to post of the progress on the house. I hope they are doing what they had scheduled for today.
Here is my menu this week. It may get changed a little because all of my family will be together here this coming weekend. I am very excited for my son, DIL and grandaughter from Albany coming to meet West.
Monday - Turkey with gravy, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli
Tuesday - Turkey sandwiches, pickles and chips
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza
Thursday - Homemade turkey soup
Friday - Hamburgs and homemade french fries
Saturday - Breakfast for Dinner ( this could be pancakes and sausage, eggs, hash browns and bacon, etc.
Superbowl Sunday - Finger Foods
I have lots of errands to run today. But first, I had better check to see if I need to brush off the car since it snowed again last night. I will be posting later.
