Homemade Bean Soup

DH was getting tired of ham leftovers, so today I froze what was leftover in 2 people servings except for what I needed to make a crockpot full of bean soup which is pictured cooking away above.  We love homemade soups in the wintertime. They are healthy comfort food for us and so cheap to make.

So this morning, I got out the crockpot and threw the  following ingredients in:

2 cups of  dried navy beans - rinsed throughly

1 ham bone with lots of ham still attached to it

6 cups of water

2 chopped carrots

1 onion, chopped

Cook all ingredients on low for 10 - 12 hours. Remove the bone from the soup and take off all the bits of ham. Cut them up. Also cut up any large chunks of ham that may have fallen off the bone into the soup during the cooking process. Put all of the ham back in the soup. Salt and pepper at the table when served. I don't cook with salt do that we can each choose to add it or not add it.  

I have been making this for over 40 years and we love it. If you don't own a crockpot, you can make it in a large pot on your stovetop. Just make sure to soak your beans overnight with enough water to cover them.  Rinse beans in the morning and return to the pot and continue adding the ingredients. Then cook on the stovetop for 3-4 hours. To save on energy, I am using my crockpot today. You could also substitute canned beans but that will cost a lot more than using dried beans which can be purchased in bulk. 

Since we will be having some homemade sausage cheeseballs and  shrimp canapes for New Year's Eve celebrating, we will eat nothing but a cup of the bean soup for dinner.  

Enjoy your New Year's Eve and stay safe. We are staying home and off the roads. How are you celebrating your New Year's Eve? 

Money Saving Challenge - December 30th

After getting a really good night's sleep now that company has left, I took my navy shower, washed my hair with free sample shampoo, and made a pot of coffee. I put the last load of laundry from the guest beds in the HE washer on a warm wash with 2 Tbsp. of detergent. Then I hung them to dry in the basement.

I turned the heat way down in the guest rooms, closed the doors and put the snakes in front of the doors to create a barrier so that no heat from the rest of the house will go under the doors. I have to save energy every way I can. My last gas and electric bill was horrendous because of the rate increase. Because of the economic policies in Washington, I expect they will continue going up. I also read that the electric bills will increase over the next year because of all the regulations being put on coal plants. Soon we will all be lucky it we can eat, afford a doctor's appointment or hospitalization, or stay warm or cool in our own homes. Businesses will be passing along those extra costs to us also so we get hit twice. So I will be saving any way I can and it will be drastic this year. Always pick and choose what I do to fit your own lifestyle. Some things may be too drastic or time consuming for you which is okay. I have the time and I have the willpower to do them all!     

For breakfast I decided to use some of the ham from the spiral sliced one I cooked on Wednesday evening. So I made this recipe: Ham, Pineapple and Cheddar Quiche .
You all know I substitute when I use recipes.  So since I had piecrust, I used that. I also used evaporated milk diluted a little for the half and half which I did not have. I used white onions instead of green. I only had canned pineapple chunks so I cut them into tidbits.  And as you can see, I did not have a glass pie pan so I used a round metal cake pan since it was the first thing I grabbed.  It worked fine and breakfast was delicious. We will have the leftovers the next couple of mornings.

 
I had lots of leftovers from having company so I froze them today to make sure that nothing gets wasted. I froze muffins and  pound cake, whole beef tenderloin roast which I will use next week to make beef barley soup, leftover cheeses and pepperoni, and leftover bread cubes from the fondue at my son's last weekend which will become croutons or stuffing. I have lots of ham left which will get used for meals over the weekend and, along with the hambone will make a pot of homemade bean soup. 

This afternoon, I will be starting to make a birthday gift. I have a number of birthdays coming up in the next few months. So that I won't feel rushed, I am starting to work on them now. I will watch football with DH while I am doing that.

Dinner will be leftover sliced ham, leftover broccoli, corn and macaroni and cheese.  Everything but the ham will be reheated in the microwave to save on energy.

Tonight DH and  I will watch a Netflix movie: "The Departed". I only subscribe to the one DVD Netflix plan but they gave us a free extra one over Christmas. So we watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with family and we need to watch the other one so that I can mail them back at the same time so that they will send me another one.  

Be sure to check the other blogs on the Money Saving Challenge for 2012. Both  Lucky at Making My Own Luck and Marilyn at Marilyn's Money have a post up today.

BTW, I can't find a couple of the blogs of people who told me they wanted to join the challenge in 2012. They are "Small Slice of Life"  and "If You Do Stuff, Stuff Gets Done". It is possible that they are down to be worked on. I will check over the next few days to see if they are back up. If not I will assume, they are gone and delete them off my sidebar.

Have you done anything today to save money? Please share with us by leaving a comment.     

I'm Back.

I'm finally back.  Thanks for being patient while I had a wonderful 5 days of celebrating Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day at my son and DIL's home here. We ate lasagna, and many different kinds of fondue over 2 day period, all of which was very delicious. But best of all, we were able to play with West and watch his fascination with his new toys. He spent hours pushing his new grocery shopping cart around the house. I think he takes after his Grandma. :-) He was so much fun and he is always smiling. You just never know what new thing he will do next.

On Monday, my  son,  DIL, and Alexa arrived from the other side of the state. We hadn't seen them since October so we were very excited. Alexa was so much fun.  She didn't let her broken arm stop her from doing anything. One of the gifts that we gave her was the Melissa and Doug castle with the royal family and some furniture. My other son and DIL gave her a firetruck. Her Dad is a volunteer firefighter so she is fascinated with firetrucks. It only took her a moment to take the truck over to the castle and  rescue the queen from the burning tower. Her imagination at this age is so creative.  But what she did on Wednesday evening really put a smile on our faces.  She had changed  into her PJ's and knew that her bedtime was in 10 minutes. She came out to the kitchen just in time to see our cat climb into her bed to go to sleep. She sat down on the floor next to the cat and sang her the most beautiful lullaby in such a beautiful singing voice that it brought tears to my eyes. Then she said Goodnight to the cat and went off to bed after kissing and hugging Grandma and Grandpa first.  It was a beautiful moment. Yesterday, they left to go home so that she could make her follow up orthopaedic appt. in the afternoon.  She is doing well and has at least 2 more weeks in this big cast. Then maybe they will be able to give her a smaller one.

DH and I have so enjoyed our family and we are so happy that we moved back from AZ so that we could have more times like this. Thanks to all of our family for making it so special. We love  all of you very much!

Now back to business. Are you all gearing up for the Money Saving Challenge?  I am  getting very excited.  I want to do the best I ever have with this in 2012. So just starting a little early, I will be back later today blogging again.           

I had just a little time.....

In between making appetizers and snacks for lunch and planning to make a whole beef tenderloin dinner tonight, I had just a little bit of time to hit the Walmart 50% off Christmas. I spent $ 55.92. I had no wrapping paper left so I really loaded up.

The thing that I am most excited about is the Bingo game. My mom always played Bingo on holidays with her grandchildren for prizes. They always loved it. So now I have a game and can follow that tradition with my grandchildren too. I picked up some little prizes so that we can play it with Alexa this week. I think maybe next year that West could handle it with help.   

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You All

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year to you all.  I hope you have wonderful holidays with your families. If you are traveling, I wish you a wonderful and safe trip.  And I wish everyone the best for a Happy, Healthy and Wealthy New Year.

We will be doing a lot of celebrating with our children and grandchildren starting today and continuing through next Thursday.  I am so looking forward to seeing both my grandson and grandaughter and the joy on their faces in this Christmas season. Besides the religious side of the holiday, I believe it is seen through the eyes of the children and it so magical for them. And I enjoy every moment of their magic! 

So unless I have time to check in momentarily, I won't be posting until next Thursday. I will be back and gearing up for the Money Saving Challenge for 2012. Till then.....  

An Update to the Money Saving Challenge for 2012

Lucky whose blog is here:  Making My Own Luck was nice enough to make a Money Saving Challenge Button for my blog. Then my DIL, Michelle, was nice enough to put it on my blog. You see I  am technologically challenged. I am pretty good with a computer but this confused me. So thanks to both Lucky and Michelle for your help with this.

If any of you who have joined the Money Saving Challenge for 2012 would  like to grab the button for your blog, feel free to. It is on the right hand side bar on my blog. Just scroll down under the list of participants. You may still join at anytime for 2012. Just be sure to  leave a comment and let me know so that I can add your blog  to my sidebar to share with everyone else.

Money Saving Challenge The Past Few Days

These are the things I have been doing to save money around here the past few days:

- Changed the last two light bulbs in the house to CFL's in an effort to decrease the electric bill

- Using sunlight or daylight instead of turning on lights during daytime hours

- Took next month's budget money for food and household items, gasoline, and entertainment out of the bank in cash

- Had 3 stay at home days where I used no gasoline and spent no money

- Mailed out $ 11.00 in rebates

- We finally used the last forever stamp from our stockpile that we bought when they first introduced them. Since stamp prices are increasing on January 22, 2012, I purchased 200 forever stamps today. That ought to last me a few years. 

- Watched a Netflix DVD

- Washed two full loads of clothes plus the cat's bed using cold water and minimal detergent. Air dried the cat's bed and dried the clothes with minimal drying time 

- I have gotten 8 magazine renewal cards in the mail. I have renewed none of them. I will not pay for any renewal for 2012 - no coupon sites, no coupon subscriptions and no magazines.

- DH and I went out to dinner last night using a $20.00 Groupon that I got for $10.00 in Groupon credit. We brought 1/2 of our meals home for lunch today.

- We will have shrimp cocktails and tossed salad for dinner.  Easy dinner and no gas or electricity used to cook it.

- We have turned the heat down to 64 at night. We turn the electric blanket on for about 1/2 hour when we first go to bed and then shut it off. We seem to be nice and warm all night.   

- I picked up a quarter and 4 pennies off the ground in a parking lot yesterday. I find it hard to believe that people throw money away.

- Took deposit bottles to Fast Cash and got $ 2.10

- With gasoline prices so high, I have been trying to be very cautious of not accelerating too fast when the light turns green.

- We always brew our own coffee at home. I can't even remember when I have bought a cup of coffee out. I think it was when I had a free Starbucks giftcard that I won back in 2009. If I need a cup of coffee in the car, I just pour it from the coffeepot into my reusable insulated cup. The same goes for water or iced tea in the warm weather.   

- Ran all of  my errands today using a circular route to save on gasoline.

- DH made party mix and that has been our snacks this week.

- Walked a mile for exercise yesterday

- Had $ 23.00 in UP Rewards expiring so picked up milk, eggs, margarine, and some greeting cards for birthdays next year


- Stopped today to pick up the items in the picture. My bill came to $ .00!  Thanks Sis for the  Free Chobani yogurt coupons. Wholly Guacamole sent me Free coupons for any product so I used them for the layered dips. I even got  vanilla yogurts as starters for making my own yogurt again.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with all of us what you have been doing this week to save money.    


      

Savings on My Deli Meat

Last week Top's had boneless hams on sale at $ 2.99 a lb. They are normally $3.99 a lb. If I  bought deli ham, I would pay $5.99 or more. 

So I picked one up to slice thin on my meat slicer. As you can see I got a lot of sliced meat. Before I started slicing on the meat slicer, I sliced a really thick chunk off so that DH could make ham salad which is one of his favorites to have on crackers.  

I finished slicing all of the meat. Then I divided it up into 4 portion sizes for weekly sandwiches. Next I used my foodsaver to shrink wrap the packages for my freezer. These will give us about 6-8 weeks of sandwiches. 

Since I am baking a spiral sliced ham the day after Christmas, I will have even more ham to use for sandwiches, extra meals, casseroles, and bean soup. That ham only cost me $ 1.69 a lb. But I would guess that after bone that meat will cost as much as the boneless ham does.

I always figure the cheapest price for deli meat. 99.9% of the time when you do the work it will cost you a lot less.  So grab those hams while they are cheap this time of the year.

Whether it is turkey breast, chicken breast or roast beef, I do my own using on sale meat and slicing it myself. I decide on Sunday if we will be having meat sandwiches for lunches. If so, I cook a turkey breast, extra chicken breasts, or a roast beef for our meal and then slice the leftovers up for sandwiches. Right after St Patrick's Day, I cook up extra corned beef for sandwiches that month. In the long run, it saves me many dollars over a years time.     
         

DH's Two Christmas Recipes

DH has been busily making his two Christmas specialties today. First, he always has to make a  canning kettle or two of Party Mix. It is the same recipe that we have made for well over 40 years and his mother made it for years before that. Here is the recipe:

1- 10 oz. box of Wheat Chex
1 -12 or 14 oz. box of Rice Chex
1- 12 oz. or 14 oz. box of  Cheerios
1 bag of Thin Pretzel Sticks
3 cans of Mixed Nuts  
3 cups of canola oil
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 and 1/4 Tbsp. garlic salt 

Bake 2 hours at 250 degrees; Cover the first hour and stir every 20 minutes the second hour.

Next he made his Bourbon Balls. These are cookies for adults only because of the bourbon in them. Here is the recipe:

1 Cup of Vanilla Wafer Crumbs 
1 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 Cup of Chopped Pecans
2 Tbsp. Cocoa

Combine these ingredients in a bowl. Then in a measuring cup combine:

1 Tbsp.  Karo Syrup
1/2 Cup Bourbon

Stir well. Then combine the dry ingredients with the wet and stir very well. Form into small balls and set them on parchment paper or wax paper to dry. Then roll them in powdered sugar. Store in a covered container. We love these but be forewarned that they taste very strongly of bourbon.

Homemade Potpies

First, I want to say thanks to all of you who left comments on my post when I asked for potpie recipes. I truly appreciate it when you add your $ .02 by leaving comments on my posts.  I will eventually try each and every one of them. But today because of a lack of  time, I made this one. First I cooked up potatoes, carrots and celery because I had no leftover vegetables. These are the vegetables that DH will eat.

At the same time I cut up 3 all natural, hormone free chicken breasts that  I purchased yesterday at  $2.38 a lb. Then I cooked them till they were white and cooked through. 

When everything was cooked I put the ingredients in a bowl and added Fat Free Cream of Chicken soup and salt and pepper. While I was doing that DH was cutting the pie dough into the necessary bottom and top crusts.  

Then he put the bottom crusts in the pie maker, added some of the filling to each, and added the top crusts. 

After 9-10 minutes of baking in the pie maker, they were done. The top crusts look wet, but they weren't, they were baked and crusty. Because DH overfilled them just a little and the dough was very thin, I think you are seeing the filling through the crust.

But anyhow, these were absolutely delicious and tasted even better than Marie Callender's and we all know how expensive they are. These are a whole lot cheaper and much healthier. I know what is in mine. We ate  a couple for dinner, made 4 more for the fridge to reheat tomorrow, and made 8 more uncooked to put in the freezer for future meals. In a couple of weeks when we are craving them again, I will pull some out, thaw them, and just pop them in the potpie maker and bake them.

These can be made from any kind of leftovers and I will. But today, we had no leftovers. DH and I were thinking we could make ones with homemade chili in them too. There are all kinds of combinations that you can make. I even use this potpie maker for fruit pies, onion  and cheese tartlets, and mini quiches for breakfast. 

If you can think of other combinations, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know.     

Yesterday Was An Awful Day For Our Grandaughter

This is especially for Alexa. You all know that she is my 4 year old grandaughter. Well, she fell off a climber at preschool yesterday and broke her arm. Poor baby!  It was a tough day for both her and my DIL. She was a trooper though and was smiling after her arm got casted.

Hopefully, she slept well  last night and we will get to talk with her today via webcam. We love you Alexa and we look forward to it.

Lockport Petsmart Grand Opening

Finally, the Petsmart in Lockport had their grand opening today. I went but was too late to get their free giftcard giveaway. However I was able to  snag these freebies. The cat has already been running around the house with the white one which is loaded with catnip. She is like a crazy cat right now. I don't have a dog but the flying saucer is kid sized so that works around here. 

They also sent a $5.00 off $10.00 coupon so I was able to snag 35 lbs. of Tidy Cat Scoop cat litter for  $5.98.  I wonder if I can keep getting cat litter as cheaply as I have been getting it the past couple of times. We'll see. What is nice is that Petsmart honors competitors coupons.  

Another Healthy Meal

I was a little under the weather today. So rather than order out for dinner, DH came to the rescue.  He made a wonderful Chef's salad for each of using ham, turkey, provolone cheese, romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes and black olives. I just had to add oil and balsamic vinegar. Why does food taste so good when someone else makes it?

Tonight I am researching homemade potpie recipes. I love potpies but I don't like the prices they charge for them in the market freezer case. So if I am up to it tomorrow, I will make a whole bunch of individual potpies. A couple will be for dinner and the rest will go into the freezer for future meals.

If anyone has a great potpie recipe that you could share the link for, I would love it.        

Changes for 2012: Final Post

I had my thinking cap on today while I was cleaning our master bedroom and bath. Some of things that I want to do on a regular basis on the blog next year is post my menu every week,and concentrate on an energy post every couple of weeks. Energy and water bills account for megabucks in most households right along side the cost of food. So I want to drop my costs down and at the same time help you drop yours.

Since I am planning on making all of my adult gifts next year, I need so start early.  I might even dabble with making some gifts for my grandchildren. So I plan on writing about some of the homemade gifts that can be made so that all of us can give nice Christmas and birthday gifts without a lot of cost. Birthday gifts will also be homemade. I won't be able to put pictures up of what I am giving for obvious reasons until after the gift date. Any retail store gifts will be purchased with earned giftcards from points programs, Amazon e-certificates from using Swagbucks, rebate or survey cash.  Let's see how nice I can make this for my family.    

Another thing that I will be doing is making all of my homemade cleaners. So I will give you recipes for everything that I will be using. I have a few store bought cleaners left that I am using up. After that it will be all homemade.

I have dabbled in making bread, popovers, and hamburger rolls.  I want to learn to make good English muffins, hot dog rolls, and any other bread item that we might need. Believe me when I say that I am not a baker but I am going to teach myself.  Bread prices are outrageous and I no longer want to pay that much.

Once my boxed pasta is gone, I will be making my own also....all kinds of macaroni and spaghetti and possibly even lasagna noodles. 

Something that I have done in the past is make all of our yogurt. I will be doing that again after I buy the first plain one to use as a starter. I also want to learn how to make sorbet.

All of these ventures I will share with you. I hope you will share any ideas you have as I go along this path. 

Matter of fact, if there is anything else that you would like me to write about that would be helpful to you, please ask by leaving a comment.  If I have any expertise in the field, I will see what I can do. One thing I will not write about however is investing because I do not give that kind of advice.          

Our Healthy Dinner Last Night

I was so busy yesterday that I forgot to eat lunch. So DH made sure that I had plenty to eat for dinner. In my quest to eat healthy, I roasted a whole chicken, cooked fresh asparagus and baked some potatoes. And no, I did not eat the skin that DH put on my plate. The potato has Smart Balance margarine on it.

For those of you who are in Wegman territory, I roasted a chicken that I purchased at $.88 a lb. at Wegmans.  They will be that price until at least December 31. These are the meatiest and most tender chickens that I have ever purchased. If you  follow the directions on the back of the chicken package, they turn out so moist. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes and then turn down to 350 for 18-20 minutes per lb.   I am so glad that I purchased quite a few of these over the past couple of months.

Since I already had the oven on, I figured I would make good use of that natural gas and add 4 baking potatoes the last hour. Two were used last night and two will be quickly heated in the microwave tonight to go with all the leftovers.  After that I will make a pot of homemade chicken soup that will be used for a few meals.    

For 2012- Part 2: The Money Saving Challenge

I plan on continuing the Money Saving Challenge for next year. But before I do, I promised that I would tell you what we have been able to save this year. Being retired, the way we save is a little bit different from the way someone with a job and income would save.  They would put away into savings, stocks or any other savings vehicle, a certain portion of their income a month. As retirees on a fixed income, our savings consists of not spending the amount of money that we could in our yearly budget.  It also includes any income generated from investments. For us this year, it also included a small consulting job that DH spent a few hours on.  It also includes any rebate or survey checks that we did. So by doing all of those things, we were able to keep in our savings $31,117. that we could have spent in 2011. I am very happy about that since investment income is hard to earn these days.   It used to be a rule of thumb  that you could easily spend 4% of your investment income a year and have it last. That is no longer the case. Interest on savings accounts is a pittance. The stock market has been a roller coaster and a crap shoot over the past few years.  The more money we can keep instead of spending, the more we earn. With inflation pushing up our expenses, the more we can keep for future years, the happier I am.  

Now I know that many of you can't save that much money. Some of you probably don't have incomes that large. You have to remember that I am working with a lifetime of working and saving. There is just DH and I so our expenses will be less than a family with children and our savings will be more. Some of you can't save because you have debt and so you are trying to pay that off. I admire you for doing that. Pay off the debt and then start saving your nest egg.  I don't want you to be discouraged. Everyone can save according to their means. We have no debt or mortgage on our home so our expenses will be less than a lot of you. We have already put our children through college, so we don't have to worry about that any more. Yes, I have that blasted credit card bill but we pay that off every month. I hate seeing that bill come in so except for the Netflix bill,  gasoline and the really necessary online shopping, I will be using all cash. 

So on that note,  I will be continuing the Money Saving Challenge for 2012. What that means is that I will be keeping every dollar that I can in our pocket instead of handing it over to a corporation or  business for their profit.  My mantra is that no one will take care of you but you. 

This year I will strive to post the Money Saving Challenge at least twice a week if not more. I will let you know what I am doing and how I am saving.  I will let you know about my successes and my failures.  Yes, I have failures too.  I am hoping by doing this, I will keep myself accountable and that you will learn just a few tips that will help you along your path to financial freedom.

So as other years, I am asking any of you who would like to join me to leave a comment and let me know.  I will be putting up a list on my sidebar of those who would like to participate. If you have a blog, let me know and I will put up a list of those also so that people can learn from you too. There are no rules about how many times you have to post your money saving. Do it at your own pace as time allows. The more who join, the more content there is to share and the more we can save with your tips along our journey together.

Part  3 tomorrow............

Many Changes Coming for 2012: Part 1- Eating Healthy

There are going to be many changes on this blog in the New Year. One of the changes that I will be making is to cook and eat healthier than we have been this year. There will be lots of fruits, vegetables and grains added to our diet. I will be incorporating and using up the stockpile in our diet. And  I will be stockpiling at the same time, much healthier items in our pantry. 

It used to be that you could get many items free or cheap with doubled coupons. Since the TV program "Extreme Couponing"  aired, that has changed. Very rarely can you get anything free or cheap. If you do, most of the time it is for something sugar laden or unhealthy. Matching up coupons with sales has been more and more non-existent when it comes to food. You can still get some great deals on non-food items at both the drugstores and  Walmart. So I will continue to use coupons for those items.  However, I doubt very much that I will be buying extra coupons or inserts unless I find that most of the insert coupons are on items that we are using all of the time. Instead of spending the money on coupons, I will be adding the money that I would have spent to our healthier food budget. Printing needed coupons online will be a priority.  

I will be cooking most everything from scratch. This means I will be scoping out the best places to buy the ingredients that go into my meals. I will be looking for the best prices on meats, poultry, fish, veggies, fruits, grains, milk, juice, etc.  My hunt will include all of the grocery stores, the Dollar stores, Niagara Produce, BJ's and any other place that I run across. I will be updating my price book with all of those prices. Buying fresh produce that is in season will be a priority. 

I am in the process of updating my sidebar so you will see some changes over time there also. The Buffalo Blogs will still be listed there for those of you who would like to still do the coupon deals each week. Most of those blogs list the deals each week at Top's and some of them list the Wegman's deals.

Most likely, I will not be shopping weekly but more often than not, it will be every two weeks. I will still post what I buy and the prices. If I happen to need produce or milk and have to run into a store just to  pick those items up, I  will post about it. If I see a great deal that I feel should be posted, I will post about that one deal. I will be keeping a running total for the year of every dollar I spend on food and on non-food items.

I will post my menu every week showing what we are eating for that week and any recipes that I can  easily link or type up. I will give tips on what I am cooking and how to do it the cheapest way I know.

Tomorrow, I will be posting about the Money Saving Challenge for 2012 and what that will entail.      

Money Saving Challenge

These are the things I have been doing recently to save money:

- We have a laser printer. I needed to order the 3 color cartridges. New they cost over $ 200.+ shipping. I searched and ended up buying remanufactured ones plus a toner waste bottle for $ 148. shipped. This price was after I used a coupon code that also gave me $ 6.00 off.  It really does pay to spend 5 minutes looking at your options.

- Baked a loaf of whole wheat bread in the breadmaker.

- Meals this week have all been from our stockpile.

- Made my Top's list for Sunday. Potatoes at $ .39 a lb. purchased in a 10 lb. bag look really good this  week along with the 5 lb. bag of apples for $ 3.97.

- Planning all of my Christmas company meals. It looks like I have most everything except the liquor. That will be purchased at Premier because they have the best prices in the area.

- I have not been out since Tuesday and with the snow, I went nowhere yesterday. So I am lowering my gasoline costs.

- I did fill up the car with gasoline on Tuesday using gas points at Top's getting $ .60 off a gallon.


- We got an early Christmas present from our son, DIL, and West. We needed an electric blanket for our king size bed. They gave us one this week that has dual lighted controls. It is so soft and warm to sleep with.  Because of this we were able to turn the heat down another degree to 63 at night. Thanks to them for letting us use it now when it is getting very cold.

- I baked cookies last night. Then turned the oven up 25 degrees and baked blueberry muffins for breakfast. I often use my oven for batches of baked items so that I only have to heat it up once. Half of the muffins went in the freezer to pull out in a month or  so.  What is left of the cookies after DH was into them and the muffins are pictured above. 

- Received our quarterly water and sewer bill. It was $ 48.+, I was very happy with this since it basically pays for the minimum. So keeping an eye on how we use water in this house has paid off. It also helps that we are no longer watering the lawn.  

- Received $ 9.00 in rebates in the mail this week.

- Making homemade goulash tonight using macaroni,canned tomatoes,spices,and reduced price ground chuck. I will only use 1/2 lb. of ground chuck for the whole pan which cuts back on my meat usage and stretches the pennies farther. This will  feed us for two meals and possibly a lunch.  

- We got our  yearly car insurance bill. Since the car is now almost 10 years old, we dropped the collison saving about $ 154. 

- Watched a Netflix DVD yesterday called "Kill the Irishman". This is one of the best movies we have seen in a long time.  I love Netflix since the movies are delivered via the mail to me. DH and I more than get our money's worth each month.  

- Washed three loads of clothes in the HE's using cold water and minimal detergent. I  did use the dryer but dried the clothes in successive batches using minimal drying time. 

- Updated my pricebook with the BJ's prices.

- Have made a couple of  batches of sugar free iced tea this week.

- Our Dr.'s have been switching some of our meds to generic which is saving us money on co-pays. The costs of co-pays has skyrocketed under our plan. So where the Dr. thinks  the generic is as good we have switched.  

- I have been cutting my dishwasher tabs in 1/2  since my stockpile is getting low. This has made no difference in how clean the dishes get.  Here's hoping for a great sale on detergent soon or at least a great coupon. 

- Received a packet of inserts in the mail that I won on a giveaway on this blog:  Tricias Frugal Finds . Thanks Tricia!

- I also ordered this laminator that I found on Tricia's blog: Laminator. I had ordered this once before but they cancelled my order. DH has a few things he needed to get laminated and this costs less than it would have cost us to get them done. They shipped it yesterday so this time I am actually going to receive it. This was a better price also. I needed to buy another item to get free shipping so I purchased a birthday gift that I need next year.   

- Unclogged a bathroom drain using baking soda and hot water. No plumber needed here. 

- I did treat myself this week to a haircut and color at my favorite salon. But I did use a 20% off coupon that they sent in the mail.

Please feel free to leave a comment and share with us any money saving things that you did this week.

My Review of "The Money $aving Mom's Budget" by Crystal Paine

I just finished reading Crystal's book that will be released on January 10, 2012. You may place a pre-order for "The Money $aving Mom's Budget" here: Amazon .

Crystal explains how to set your financial goals and then work on them in bite size pieces. As she so aptly states, there is no get rich quick way to realizing your dreams. It takes lots of hard work, sacrifice and perserverance. She knows because she and her husband reached a milestone in their goals by purchasing their dream home with cash saved over a 2 and 1/2 year period. Can everyone do this in 2 and 1/2 years? No, but as she points out, until you break down the goal and then follow a plan you will go nowhere. So perhaps it will take you 3 years or longer but this book explains the tools you will need to reach your own goals whether they be buying a home, paying off debt, or taking a grand vacation. 

Part of that plan is to streamline your time so that you use it for the things that matter in your life. Crystal focuses on how to set up your time priorities and set up a time budget. She shows you how to get the clutter out of your life so that you can realize your money dreams.  

There is also a wealth of information on living below your means including how Crystal achieves her grocery budget by using cash only. She also takes you through setting up a bare-bones budget and gives you a list of ten ways to lower your expenses by $600. a month or more.  She simply explains grocery budgeting, how to save money using the drugstore gimmicks, and how to never pay retail.

I believe that this book should be made required reading in every high school in the country. So many of our students graduate high school without a clue as to how to budget their money. Then they go off to college and run up staggering debt. Crystal's book shows them that there is another way by teaching them how to handle their money and hence be able to attain their dreams. The youth of America and people starting out on a financial path need this book. Even if you are a mature person like me, there is something for everyone in it. 

I  think it is important to mention that all of Crystal's proceeds from this book will be donated to Compassion International.                                

In  full disclosure, I was sent this book to read and review. I was not paid for my opinion. 

Let it Snow

This is what we woke up to this morning. It is still snowing heavily. Seems we have won the "snow lottery" for the Buffalo area. It's a good day to just stay home.  

Stocking on Some Items for Christmas Company at Top's

I waited to shop at Top's until yesterday when I could get my 6% Young Hearts discount that is only once a month. There were a few things that I needed for company coming at Christmas. Some things on sale, some not. Some coupons and some items no coupons.

This is what I purchased:

3 Bags of Tostitos - on sale 3 for $6.00 

1 Tostito Dip - $ 3.50 - Used $ 1./1 MQ wyb 2 bags of Tostitos tortilla chips = $ 2.50

2 Bags of Rold Gold Thin Pretzels ( for party mix) - 2 for $ 6.00 - Used $ 1./2 MQ = $ 5.00 for both 

4 jars of Welch's  Grape Jam - $ 2.00 each = $ 8.00 - Used ( 4) $ .55/1 MQ's D = $ .90 each or $ 3.60 for 4

2 Duncan Hines Blueberry Streusel Whole Grain Muffins - $ 3.19 each or $ 6.38 - Used (2) $ 1./1 MQ's = $ 4.38 for both

2 - 6 oz Chobani Yogurt - $ 1.00 each - Used $ .30/1 IPQD = $ .40 each or  $ .80 for both

2 Kikkoman Panko Bread Crumbs - $ 1.99 - Used $ 3.00/1 IPQ = Both Free

2 Heinz Cocktail Sauce - $ 2.00 each = $ 4.00 - Used $ .35/1 IPQD = $1.30 each or $ 2.60 for both 

1 Silver Palate Pasta Sauce ( been wanting to try it) - $ 3.00 ( had it last night - hated it)

1lb. Top's Thin Spaghetti - Used Free Top's e-coupon wyb Silver Palate Pasta Sauce = Free

1 Ken's Ranch Dressing ( for dip) = $ 2.00

1- 2 ltr. Pepsi Max - Free Q from the manufacturer = Free 

Received 6% Discount of $ 1.79

Total OOP was $ 28.09 + tax and bottle deposit.

Feel free to leave a comment and share any good deals that you got at Top's this week.

Coke Rewards - Hurry!

One of my readers who has also become a friend just let me know that Coke Rewards has a Free 12 Pack for 30 points instead of the usual 240 today. Hurry on over there because this probably will not last long. Thanks so much Kathy for sharing.

My New Experiment

I have been saving my spending money for the last few months so that I could make a trip to BJ's, the grocery warehouse club. It has been years since I belonged to one. The last one was when we first moved to Arizona and my DIL took me to Costco. She had a membership. Then when hers expired I purchased one. But that was only for one year. I quickly figured out that I could  do better at the grocery stores there.

However, with supermarkets and manufacturers raising their prices so rapidly, it is getting very difficult to get great deals. So I have been using every option at my disposal including Aldi's, Big Lots, Save- A -Lot, Niagara Produce, and the dollar stores.

When BJ's put out a Free Trial Membership Coupon that was good for 60 days, I decided that I would go get it. So yesterday, I made a trip there. However, they offered to give me 14 months instead of 12 months on a membership and  a free card for DH and $ 10.00 off a membership, so I signed up for the 14 months. I am positive that I will easily save back the $40. that I spent in those 14 months plus more.

What I liked about BJ's is that they put out store coupons and they allow you to use your manufacturer coupons with them. If you are buying an item that is in a three pack, you can use a store coupon and three manufacturers coupons. I had no coupons with me yesterday, however they gave me 6 different books with coupons in them. I was able to pull out the Glad and the Hefty for much needed trash and zipper bags that I needed. BJ's also sells gasoline at a great price. Those weeks when I have no gasoline points or on the off weeks of gasoline points from Top's, BJ's gasoline will be a good alternative.

Pictured above are the items I purchased yesterday. I bought a 2 lb. package of yeast for $ 4.49. Since I make almost all of our bread, rolls and pizza dough, I use a lot of this. The yeast at Top's cost me $ 5.99 for 4 oz.  Buying it at BJ's, it cost me about $ .14  per ounce. Top's  is $ 1.49 per ounce.

I also purchased a box of 24 bags of Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn for $ 7.99. I pay $ 8.00 for 24 bags of Top's Popcorn when it is on sale. I needed the Triscuits for a Buffalo Wing Dip that
I am making this weekend. I got a 2lb. 6 oz. box for $ 6.99  or about $ .18 an ounce. A 10 oz box of Triscuits at Top's this week  is on sale  for $ 2.50 or $.25 an ounce. Don't forget that I can use coupons for these items at either place. 

Since I needed a lot of Cheerios to make party mix, I purchased a 37 oz. box for $ 5.59 or about $ .15 an ounce. At Top's it cost me $ 3.99 for a 14 oz. box or about $ .28 an ounce. 

I also needed canned chicken breast for the same dip recipe mentioned above. I needed 12. 5 oz. cans. I got a 4 pack of those size cans for $ 7.69 or about $ .15 an ounce. A 4.5 oz. can at Wegman's is $1.99 or about $ .44 an ounce. A 3 lb. bag of onions was $ 1.99.  A container of chicken bouillon cubes that makes 150 cups of broth cost $ 5.99 or about $ .04 a cup. At Wegmans, a 3.33 oz. bottle costs $1.99 or about $ .06 a cup. The Lowry's garlic salt was 33 oz. for $ 6.59 or about $ .20 a ounce.  At Wegman's, McCormick's garlic salt is 5.25 oz. for $ 2.79 or $ .53 an ounce. 

The Vlasic Pickle Relish was a 2 pack of  24 oz. bottles for  $ 3.99 or $ .08 an ounce. A 16oz. jar of Wegman's relish is $ 1.79  or $ .11 an ounce.

And lastly I purchased a 200 ct. box of Glad Tall Kitchen Garbage bags for $ 14.99 minus a $ 2.50 BJ's  Q for a total of $ 12.49 or $ .06 a bag. The last time I bought these at Walgreen's they cost me $ 5.99 for a 45 ct. box or about $ .13 a bag. And I purchased a box of  94 ct. Hefty One Zip Freezer bags for $ 7.99 minus a $ 2.00 BJ's Q = $5.99 or  about $ .06 a bag. Wegman's has their 30ct.for $ 2.99 or about $ .10 a bag.

A lot of prices that I saw were higher so I will have to pick and choose what I buy there and be vigilant about having coupons for those items. I  did notice that their choice meats seem to have competitive prices along with a lot of cheaper prices on dairy products. This will be an experiment in progress to always make sure that we are paying the best price. So hang in there with me and eventually I will have a list of items that I regularly buy there.

If there are things that you consistently purchase at a warehouse club that you know to be cheaper than other sources, please feel  free to leave a comment and share that with all of us.  

I Could Not Pass Up This Deal

When they had the Home Improvement Giftcard Deal last time which I learned about  from Slugmama , I just couldn't get back to Rite Aid to get it. But as I was going through my flyer that came in the newspaper on Sunday, I noticed that they had it again. 

Since DH is still buying drywall and other items for my pantry that he is building, I went and purchased two $ 50.00 giftcards. I would have purchased more but the deal was limited to two.

When you purchase one this week, you get a $ 10.00 UP Reward. Since I got two, I now have an additional $ 20.00 in Up Rewards to roll over the next few weeks for things we need.

These cards are good at Home Depot which is where DH shops and many other home improvement retailers. Here  is a list:  Home Improvement Gift Card Retailers  

So if you have a project that you are going to need supplies for, run to Rite Aid this week and get in on this deal. It is a win, win!    

I'm Singing in the Rain

This post has been over 8 months in the making. I am so happy today that I found myself out all day running errands and singing in the persistent rain.

Most people that know me know that I am a very happy person who packs as much into a day as she possibly can. I have such a wonderful life and such a wonderful family that I have always been so contented. All of that changed last March when I started being in so much pain that I could not stand it. The pain has gotten worse and worse over the months. I have been to two specialists who didn't diagnose the problems. One sent me to physical therapy for about 6-8 weeks which didn't help me at all. The Dr. also gave me pain control pills that I threw out after only taking them one week.  They made me nauseous and didn't work.   

I became a person who was always in chronic pain. The slightest thing that someone would say to me would set me off. I became depressed and started to wonder if I ever again would feel good. I often thought that soon someone else would have to take care of me. That depressed me even more. I have always been very active and done so much that the thought of inactivity was not palatable at all. Being in my sixties shouldn't mean that I have to slow down or change my way of life. I am too stubborn for that.

At times I have been miserable to DH and miserable to my children. I want them to know that it wasn't me. It was the pain talking. If I haven't answered an e-mail over the months to any of you, it was because I was in so much pain that I couldn't sit to answer it. At times, I couldn't even turn on the computer to post.  

I love my grandchildren but was having trouble even lifting the little one. I would babysit and pray that I could get him up the stairs to his room for bed. He would always help me by taking my  hands and walking up the stairs so I wouldn't have to carry him. Just lifting him out of his highchair when I would feed him was an issue.

I would come home from all the shopping I would do in agony but I would continue to do it. It took my mind off the pain for a little while anyhow. Sitting for any length of time at the computer was impossible so I would do my posts in bits and pieces and then publish them when I had finished.

The neighbors would come by to chat with us and always ask DH why I wasn't outside and ask for me. DH was starting to think I had turned anti-social. It wasn't that. I just couldn't be around anyone because I was afraid of being grouchy.

I was not getting sleep because I couldn't get comfortable in bed.  My legs and back hurt so bad when I would lay down.  The only time I wasn't in pain was when I was standing up. But if I did too many  errands or too much shopping, I would again be in agony.       

Finally, after 8 months, that all changed last Friday when my primary Dr. diagnosed me with sciatica and severe bursitis. I have had back problems since 2003 but they were always manageable. I was even getting used to the sciatica. But the bursitis was debilitating. Well,  after two cortisone injections and 2 Motrin a day, I am pretty much pain free. I  did go get a hip X-ray this morning because I may have a right hip problem. But I can deal with it knowing that I can take care of that. I am praying that the X-ray is fine and that it is just a little arthritis. 

For two days I have been busy as a bee and back to my old active life. I find myself up until midnight doing so many things that I had not been able to do. Today I went and got the X-ray,  did something which I will keep secret until tomorrow( picture above- my new experiment), continuing to read Crystal Paine's book and looking forward to writing my review, ran 5 other errands and brought DH and I home a submarine for a late lunch to celebrate. If the X-ray shows no problems, then the Dr. says I can  get back on my treadmill which is something I have been so looking forward to. I have packed on some weight since March and I need to get rid of those excess pounds. 

I have to thank my family for being so patient with me over these long months.  I love you all! I also have to thank my sister, Pat, for listening to me complain all of these long months.  And a big thank you to Didicoffeegirl, one of my online readers, who is a nurse and suggested that I might have sciatica a long time ago and who has been my sounding board even though she had her own problems. Thanks for listening Didi.

I wanted to share this with all of you and let you know that the old Precious is back! You can look forward to many more posts to hopefully help you in your frugal endeavors. I am so looking forward to continuing the Money Saving Challenge with a new fervor for the New Year.

Now I am back to singing while I make dinner. Stay tuned till tomorrow to learn about my new experiment!              

The Best Eye Round Roast Ever

As most of you know, I am a "young heart" so I have about 45 years cooking. I have learned a lot in those 45 years but I have never been able to make a tough eye round roast tender except to pot roast it or cook it in the crockpot until NOW! The above picture is what was left of our 3 lb. roast after dinner. 

Over the weekend, I decided to see what I could do to change the way I had been making them. I found this 5 star recipe:

 High Temperature Eye - of Round Roast

I followed the directions exactly and we had the most tender eye round roast ever. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

No more will I have to cook it in the crockpot or pot roast it. In the oven it will go. Considering that the oven is only on for about 21- 25 minutes after it is preheated, this recipe is a bonus saving of energy also. Having used ground sea salt and peppercorns to season it, it had a nice crust also.

DH sliced it very thin and it was melt in your mouth tender. Right after I took this picture, DH sliced the leftovers paper thin on our meat slicer. We will have some delicious roast beef sandwiches for lunch this week at a cost of $ 2.99 a lb. When was the last time you bought sliced deli roast beef for such a low price?

When I see these roasts go on sale for about $ 2.99 a lb., I buy 4-6. I also grind them to make very lean ground round much cheaper than I can buy it in the market. Plus I know that my hands and equipment are clean.  

Is there a recipe that you use for any kind of tough meat to make it tender that you could share with us? Feel free to leave a comment and tell us all about it.
       

Rite Aid Deals

Last shop today was at Rite Aid. This is what I purchased:

2 Bags of M&M Peanuts - 2 for $ 4.00 - Used $ 1./2 $ MQ = $  3.00 for both and I recieved a $ 1.00 UP Reward

4 Pkgs. of Duracell Coppertop 4 pack Batteries - $ 2.99 each = $ 11.96 - Used ( 4) $ 1./1 MQ = $7.96 

2 Underwood Deviled Ham - 2 for$ 3.00 - Used (2) $ 1./1 MQ = $ .50 each 

1 Box of  Sucrets - $ 2.99 - $ 1./1 Rite Aid  Flu Book Q and a $ 1.1 MQ = $ .99 and I recieved a $ 2.00 Up Reward

Used $ 11.00 in Up Rewards

Total OOP was $ 1.95 + tax and I recieved $ 3.00 in UP Rewards.   

CVS Shopping

It wasn't cheap to shop at CVS this week because I needed mixed nuts for a few batches Party Mix that we make every Christmas. Here is the recipe: Party Mix .  This was the best price  I have found for the nuts and they were part of the $ 10. Giftcard Deal so that helped.  

Here is what I purchased:

3 American Greetings Cards at $ .99 each = $ 2.97  - Used $ 2./3 IP Q = $ .97 and I received a $3.00 ECB

1 - 10 pack of Candy Canes - $ 1.27 and I received  $ 1.27 in ECB's

2 pkgs. of Schick Quattro Disposable Razors - $ 9.79 each = $ 19.58 - Used a B1G1F Q and a $ 2.  MQ on the one I purchased = $ 7.79 ( I was $ .41 short of  earning the $10. ECB but I will go back and  buy one more razor with Q's this week  to  earn the ECB.)

6 cans of Planters Mixed Nuts - $ 3.00  each = $ 18.00

3 Pkgs. of Dunkin Donuts Coffee - $ 6.99 each = $ 20.97 - Used $1.50/2 MQ = $ 19.47. This and the mixed nuts earned me a $ 10.00 CVS Giftcard. I should have only bought  2 coffee- my mistake. But we love the coffee so it will get used.

Total OOP was  $ 47.50 + tax and I recieved the $ 10.00 Giftcard and $4.27 in ECB's. I will go back and buy a cheap razor to  get the other $10.00 ECB. When you are tired, you shouldn't shop. That is when I make mistakes. :-) Now I will have some ECB's and a Giftcard  to roll for other CVS purchases.

Sunday at Walgreen's

I was so happy to see the brush heads for DH's new Sonicare electric toothbrush on sale today. I got a $ 5.00 off coupon for them when I got the toothbrush. This is what I purchased:

2 Dozen Large Eggs $ .99 each = $ 1.98

1 - 4 Pk. English Muffins - $ .99

1 Simply Orange Juice - $ 2.99 - Used $ .50 Dec Rebate Q = $ 2.49

2 Packs of Gift Boxes - $ 2.99 on sale B1G1F = $ 2.99

1 - 2 pack of Sonicare Brush Heads - $ 24.99 - Used $ 5.00 MQ = $19.99

1 Pro Clean Spinbrush - $4.99 - Used $2.00 MQ  and $ 3.00 Dec. Rebate Cpn = Made $ .01 and I received $ 1.00 Register Reward ( this was not ringing up right at the register so everything was put in manually.   

Used $ 2.00 Register Reward

Total OOP was  $ 26.43 + tax and I received  $ 1.00 RR and $ 5.00 in Jingle Cash. I also received a Catalina Q for $5.00 off another Package of Sonicare Brushheads and will definitely be getting another package.     

Excuse My Absence for The Next Couple of Days

Tonight, I babysat West while his Mommy and  Daddy went out for a business dinner. I came home a few minutes ago to find that UPS had delivered me a copy of the near final draft of "The Money  Saving Mom's Budget" by Crystal Paine. I had been anxiously awaiting it's arrival from her publisher.

Many of you follow her blog Money Saving Mom so you know who I am talking about. For those of you who don't, click the above link and take a look. She is a young mother and wife whose blog I have followed for quite some time. She recently purchased a home with cash which is quite an accomplishment for such a young family. I am hoping that she details a little more about that in this  book. I am sure that both her blog and this book could be very helpful to many of my readers.   Her book is being released on January 10, 2012 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com .   

Tomorrow, after an appointment, I will be reading this book so that I can review it and post that review to this blog. So please excuse me if I am absent for the next couple of days. You now know what I will be doing.