Menu Planning Monday: Another $60 week

This is the second week I have come in under budget. I had $30 left over so I stocked up on a few great deals they had out there. I should be able to work those into next week's menu. The one thing I was able to get with my extra money this week was a flat of strawberries. I am buying another one when I get my money this week so I am hoping to make some nice desserts and can a few jars of preserves!

Breakfast:
Monday: Waffles and fruit
Tuesday: Baked Oatmeal
Wednesday: Eggs Florentine and fruit
Thursday: Muffins and Sausage
Friday: French Toast sticks
Saturday: Eggs, biscuits, and a meat
Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:
Monday: Sandwiches and a side veggie--->either raw or cooked
Tuesday: A meat, mac & cheese, and a veggie
Wednesday: Chicken Salad
Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit
Friday: Leftovers or quesidillas if we have no leftovers
Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:
Monday: Carrots and ranch dressing
Tuesday: Fruit
Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey
Thursday: Baked pepperoni(we do this every so often since I don't buy chips, they crisp real well)--->The children want this again
Friday: Tortilla wraps---> I usually fill them with pizza sauce and cheese, which the kids call "mini pizzas", or peanut butter, banana, and honey

Dinner:
Monday:
Lasagna
Green beans
Pumpkin rolls

Tuesday:
Zesty chicken
Corn

Wednesday:
Mexican night

Thursday:
Black bean soup
Cornbread

Friday:
Pizza night
Cheesebread

Saturday:
Cheeseburger pie
Buttered peas
Salad

Sunday:
BBQ pork pull-apart sandwiches
Potatoes cooked in butter, onions and bell peppers
Green beans

Zesty Chicken:
4 chicken breasts
2 cans italian diced tomatoes
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 T butter
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
Pasta--->I use vermicelli, but you can use whatever you like!

Directions:
First, put on water to boil for noodles. I like to use a bay leaf in my water but you don't have to. Put butter in pan to melt. Dice chicken breasts and brown in melted butter. Add garlic to chicken breasts. Next, add the italian diced tomatoes and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Measure out heavy whipping cream andpour into pot. Add basil, salt and pepper at this time. Cook on medium for 12 minutes. After done, season with more salt and basil if desired. It will thicken a bit after it sits, but this is not a super thick sauce. Serve over pasta.

Baked Pepperoni Chips:
6 ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lay the pepperoni slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and soak up the excess grease by pressing paper towels against the pepperoni chips. Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 2 to 4 minutes, until the pepperoni slices are very crispy, unless they already are crispy.

For more great menus, head over to Organizing Junkie for menu planning monday.

How I Feed my Family of 8 for $300 a month - Part 6

I have to say that the most common question that people ask me, after they find out that I only spend $300 a month on groceries is, "Does that include everything, or is it just for food?" My answer is "Yes, the $300 does include everything. It includes all paper products, diapers, wipes, and toiletry items."

The secret is, that I don't pay for any of these things. I get them for free! I get them free by shopping at CVS and Walgreen's. Some of you already know all about how to work the deals at these stores, but other's don't. The best place for a beginner that I have found, is at Money Saving Mom's website. She has tutorials you can read called, CVS 101 and Walgreen's 101. They will explain everything in detail, but I will try to give a quick run down of how things work.

So, how do I get it all free? I buy the weekly and monthly deals that the drugstores offer. The first thing people usually think, is that they will pay more for items at the drugstores. I know that I used to only shop at the drugstores when it was a middle of the night emergency. Many of the items they sell are overpriced, but by working out their weekly and monthly deals you actually save money. Although I shop at both CVS and Walgreen's, I am just going to focus on talking about CVS today because Walgreen's is a little tougher to figure out.

How to make CVS work for you:

1. Get a CVS card

They are located at the cash registers. You just have to fill out the information, turn it into the cashier, and then it is ready to use instantly. All of the deals are tied into this card, so you need to have it with you every time you go in.

2. Look at the weekly ad that comes out

You either will get one in your local paper, which you should be getting at least on Sunday's for the coupon inserts, or you can get one at the store. CVS also puts out a monthly booklet that has a few free deals in it. You can only pick those up in the stores.

3. Start small

When you are just beginning, don't do any big deals, and only work the ones that are going to be free. You can work your way up to bigger, more complicated deals after you understand how everything really works, and you do a few deals.

Take for instance, this week they have Softsoap Spa bodywash on sale for $4.99. That is not a good deal for bodywash, but by buying this bodywash you will earn $4.99 back in extracare bucks. That means that the bodywash is "free!"

I know some of you are thinking, "What are extracare bucks?" Well, extracare bucks are coupons that CVS gives you for buying cetain items. They print at the bottom of your cash register receipt, so don't throw it away! You can then use that extracare buck just like cash on your next visit.

When you are just starting out you will pay for the first one to two deals. After that, though, you can use any ECB's that you have earned to help pay for your next deal. Your goal is to earn enough ECB's to cover the price of future deals so that you never pay any money out of pocket again (OOP.) This is what's called, "building your ECB's."

When I first started going to CVS I earned less than $10.00 in ECB's in the first few deals I did, but now I have over $50.00 that I can use to pay for my deals. You really do not need that many, but I would say that $20.00 is a good number to stay at to be able to keep from having to pay anything OOP.

4. Buy the items that are free

Or close to being free after you earn your ECB's. I know it is tempting to buy other things that will give you a few ECB's back at the beginning, but like I said before, you want to earn more ECB's. By sticking to the free items you can generally build your ECB's up.

So how do you build ECB's when they are only giving you back the same amount it costs? Wouldn't you just come out even? Not necessarily. You use any coupons you have to bring down the price of the item. Let's look at the softsoap again. The softsoap costs $4.99, but there are $1.00/1 printable coupons here. that would bring down the price to $3.99, but you would still earn back $4.99. If you're one of the lucky ones, in some coupon inserts there were $1.50/1 coupons, making it an even better deal. So, you are actually earning back more than you are paying for the bodywash. That's what's called building your ECB's.

There are a few websites that you can visit where people will post all of the free deals and actually put together deals for you that will earn you the most money back. You can visit Money Saving Mom or Hot Coupon World. These are my two favorite sites for deals. Now that I have been doing this for quite awhile I don't always follow the deals they offer, but for a beginner, they are great resources.

5. Buy even items you don't need and don't be brand loyal!

There are many items that CVS offers free every week that I will buy eventhough I will never use it. I will still pick up those items if they will "make me money" so that I can build up more ECB's or at least just roll them over. What I mean by rolling ECB's is that I buy things to keep the same amount of ECB's up. They expire after one month, so sometimes you have to go to the store and do a deal before they do expire. You want to do a deal that will not lose you money. I just give away or donate the things I will never use. You can read my post on what to do with your CVS stockpile here.

6. Stockpile the items you do get so that you never have to buy them again

Your goal is to be able to stockpile a few of the necessities. Things like toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper, etc. You don't really want to run out and have to buy them in an emergency. These frequently go on special, but it's better to keep a few on hand.

I want to show you one quick deal that I did today.

As you can see, I bought 5 Softsoap bodywashes. My total, before taxes was $24.95. I ended up paying $.08 OOP. I spent $16.00 in ECB's I had and earned back another $24.95. So I guess you can say that they paid me $9.00 to buy this bodywash. Not too bad!

There is so much more infomation I could give you. Working the drugstore deals can stretch your grocery budget so much. By working the deals at the drugstores, I am now free to spend more on food since I don't have to pay for anything else.

As you have found out over the last few weeks, there are many things that I do to keep my grocery budget low. It is worth it to me put a little effort into stretching the money my husband makes and still be able to provide good food for my family. If I can do it, so can you!

Make your own restaurant recipes at home!

Sometimes there is that one special dish, or dessert, at a favorite restaurant that you really love. Instead of going out and spending way too much money on it, you can just make it at home! There are a few websites that I have found that copycat the recipe pretty closely. While they are not the exact recipe, they sure are close.

An example of what you can find is from one of my favorite restaurants, Olive Garden. I love their chicken marsala. So yummy! Well, I have found the recipe for this that I can make at home for about 1/4 of the cost. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to find this recipe.

Olive Garden Chicken Marsala:

Chicken half breasts - boneless, skinless

1/4 C. cake flour

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Oregano

4 Tbsp. Oil

4 Tbsp. Butter

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1 C. Fresh Mushrooms, sliced

1/2 C. Marsala

Combine flour, salt, pepper, and oregano and blend well. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet until bubbling lightly. Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off the excess. Cook the chicken on medium heat for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly brown. As you turn the beasts to the second side to cook, add the mushrooms around the chicken pieces. Cook about 2 more minutes, until lightly browned on the second side. Stir the mushrooms. When the second side is lightly browned, add the wine around the pieces, cover the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.

It's so easy to do and saves so much money! I even make it with roasted potatoes on the side. I can not tell you how good it is. Do you love their salad dressing as much as I do? Well, now you can make it at home.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing:

1/2 C. Mayonnaise

1/3 C. White Vinegar

1 tsp. Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup

2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese

2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese

1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt - or one clove garlic minced

1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.

Both of these recipes are from http://www.copykat.com/, my personal favorite. Another website I have used is http://www.recipesecrets.net/.

Who says that you can't have your cake and eat it too? You can still have those wonderful restaurant dishes, and save money at the same time! Of course there is no guarantee they'll have every recipe, but try typing in your favorites and see what you come up with.

For more frugal tips, head over to Crystal's blog at Biblicalwomanhood.

Home Organizing Binder

Today is Wednesday and it's time for another, "Works for me Wednesday." One thing that really worked well for me is a home organizing binder.

One of the biggest questions I get asked is how I keep up with everything and stay so organized. Ok, those of you who really know me can stop laughing now...really!

Seriously though, I love my lists! I have a list for everything. I have a to do list that covers anything that I have outside of my normal schedule. I also have a grocery list, a list for all of the weekly sales, a daily, weekly and monthly chore list, etc. You get the picture.

I love the feeling of knowing how my day should run. I thrive on a schedule. I am so busy taking care of my household, that without my lists and my schedule I would be lost.

The problem I began to have over time though, because of my list obsession, is that they began to take over. I had lists at the computer stand, at the table, on my headboard. They were everywhere. Of course with 6 children they would get misplaced and then I would panic and start having heart palpitations.

One day, while complaining to my sweet husband, he suggested to me that I keep all my lists in a central location. In something I could carry around with me. He actually gave me a binder and told me to put everything in there. Can you hear the choir in the background as that lightbulb went off in my head? Wow, why didn't I think of that?! Yes folks, he is a genius.

So now I have everything I need in my binder. It is my lifeline. Our main schedule is in there. I write all of my lists in there. I keep tips and tricks i've learned, my grocery price book, our chore charts, and more in there. Basically everything I need to run my house is in that binder.

I have since found that other women do the same thing, imagine that! If you are interested in making one for yourself, you can do a quick online search to get an idea of how others are making theirs. A really good one is Keepers at Home's Organizer. If you look at her page, it will give you an idea of just what you can include in your binder. Just remember that everyone's will be different because every family is different. I have tweaked mine several times over the years to fit our changing family.

Another great thing about my binder is that I hope to be able to share it with my girls one day, when they are ready to run their own household. I am actually working on one that I am decorating beautifully. I plan on doing the same for them. It's a little bit of me that I can pass on to them.

How I Feed my Family of 8 for $300 a month - Part 5

With the holiday weekend i'm a little late in getting this up, so please accept my apologies.

Ok, now on to business. This week I will cover stockpiling. Stocking up on items when they are vey low priced or free is a key to helping stretch your grocery budget. You don't want to have a completely empty pantry each time you have to grocery shop.

The goal is to shop for "fillers" for your meals, not for the whole meal itself. Now, I am not saying that is all I shop for. There are things that I have to buy each time I grocery shop, like fresh fruits, vegetables, flour, sugar, and meat.

I have a bi-weekly budget of $150. I do my menu plan for two weeks and then shop according to that menu. I know I have mentioned the fact that out of that budget I try to save at least $10.00 for any great deals that come up. Now, this 2 weeks I have an extra $30.00 that i'm excited to be able to use to stockpile. It doesn't happen very often that I have this much money leftover, so I plan to use it to help cushion my future budgets.

Let's take for example a deal or two that I know i'll be doing this week. I am going to buy 10 boxes of Green Giant vegetables and 10 Muir Glen organic tomato products. At Target they have a printable coupon for $1.00 off of any 2 frozen Green Giant vegetables. I have manufacturer coupons that I can stack on top of this.

I also have Muir Glen coupons for $1.00 off. Before any coupons the total I would have to pay for all of this would be $28.00. After using my coupons that total would drop to $8.00, which is still a great deal, but I have a $5 off of any $25 grocery purchase. That means I will pay right around $3.00. We go through lots of vegetables here, but I should only have to buy my fresh vegetables on my next shopping trip.

Another example is at Walmart they have Dino Bites chicken nuggets 2/$2.00. You can get a $1.00 coupon from Money Saving Mom, which makes them free. I don't normally buy this kind of stuff, but since it's free it'll make a nice quicky lunch if I need. I'll probably save them for after the baby is born.

Now, I do want to say that even though something may be a good deal, does not mean you have to stock up on it. If it is something that you will never use, unless it is free, then don't buy it. I will only get things that I don't use, if they are free, so I can donate them.

It is by watching for these kinds of deals that I am able to stock up. By putting aside a little each time I get my grocery money, I can afford to work the deals without blowing my budget. Then, when I am planning my next menu, I make my meals according to things I have on hand.

This is just one more tool for you to use. It is getting increasingly important to find ways to save money on food, since the prices keep climbing. It takes a little time to learn it all, but it is so worth it in the end. Stockpiling is an art!

Coming up next week: How to get free or even get paid to buy all of your toiletries and paper products at the drugstores. You definately don't want to miss this!

Kids choice week, $60 spent on this menu!!

This week is kid's choice week in the house! The children all pick out a meal that they want mom to cook. Now, my 3 yo son's first choice was McDonald's, but that is out! Do you know how much it costs to feed a family of 8 there! We compromised though and will have chicken nuggets for lunch(they are a vegetarian version....shh, don't tell him!)

After they pick out their meal, they have to help me make a grocery list for their meal. I help the little ones with this, of course. Lastly, they get to help mom cook their meal and then serve it. This is all their favorite thing to do. My 12 yo daughter loves to decorate the table so she will go all out. It is a fun week for the kids and mom, and as you can see, they generally pick meals I would have made anyway!

Breakfast:
Monday: Waffles and fruit, mom will eat eggs since I bombed my glucose test at the doctor's

Tuesday: Baked Oatmeal

Wednesday: Eggs Florentine and fruit

Thursday: Muffins and Sausage

Friday: French Toast sticks

Saturday: Eggs, biscuits, and a meat

Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:
Monday: Sandwiches and a side veggie--->either raw or cooked

Tuesday: Chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, and a veggie (3 yo son's choice)

Wednesday: Chicken Salad

Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit

Friday: Leftovers or quesidillas if we have no leftovers

Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:
Monday: Carrots and ranch dressing
Tuesday: Fruit
Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey
Thursday: Baked pepperoni(we do this every so often since I don't buy chips, they crisp real well)
Friday: Tortilla wraps---> I usually fill them with pizza sauce and cheese, which the kids call "mini pizzas", or peanut butter and honey

Dinner:
Monday:
Turkey noodle soup

We had turkey for Easter, so i'm gonna use the leftovers to make this

Tuesday:
Homemade chicken pot pie

Salad

Hearty herb bread

Wednesday: (10 yo son's choice)
Spaghetti and meatballs

Garlic bread

Thursday:
Chicken and sausage jambalaya

Corn

Dinner rolls

Friday: (5 yo daughter's choice)
Mini Cheese pizza's

Homemade pepperoni pizza rolls

Saturday: (12 yo daughter's choice)
Chili cheese enchiladas

Mexican rice

Salad

Sunday: (14 yo daughter's choice)
Sticky chicken--->yum!

Carrots and brocolli

Pumpkin rolls

For more menu plans, stop over at Menu Planning Monday at Organizing Junkie.

Quick tip on how to get free produce!

Fruit and Vegetables

I have been having multiple conversations with people lately about the rising costs of groceries. It seems as if some people are in a near panic about it, because it doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon.

So, I thought I would offer one tip on how we have gotten free produce that has been a blessing to our family at different times of the year.

Your local freecycle!

Most people just think of it as a way to give away and get old junk. Think about it though, there are lots of people that have an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit that will go to waste if someone doesn't take it. It's just not something most think of posting for.

In our experience, if you post in a friendly, and not desperate sounding way, most people will gladly give any excess they have. Don't think of it as begging. That's what freecycle is for, to give away something you don't need.

We have been offered free figs, pears, and even chickens. When we go, we pick for whomever it is that offered them. It is usually an older person that just doesn't have a need for it all. It is a blessing for them also. We have made preserves, canned, and frozen the produce we have received. We also offer to share what we have made. So far, everyone has invited our family to come back every year since they love the kids.

In this day and age, we have to be creative and think outside of the box. Go ahead and try it, freecycle is easy to join. It's what works for me!

Please share any other tips you have for saving on produce. It can be so expensive!

The Family Dinner Table: Making Memories

We all have memories of our childhood, whether good or bad, they are they engrained in our minds. As far as I can think back, I remember sitting on the couch eating dinner on tv trays in front of the tv. Mom was great at cooking dinner every night. As soon as it was done though, we all rushed to grab our food and eat in front of the tv. I can't even tell you what we were in such a hurry to watch.

Think about it. What are your memories of dinner time from when you were a child? I'm sure some of you have very fond memories and then others, not so fond.

Early in my marriage I continued the tradition my parents had started. Neither my husband or myself felt that it was necessary to eat at the table, so in front of the tv we ate. Eating dinner at the table was only for special occasions, like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We continued to eat like this for many years until Scott and I started working opposite schedules. I worked nights and he worked days so we never saw eachother. We decided to start eating dinner at the table so that all of us could at least see eachother every day.

It was ok. We enjoyed it, but as I started cutting back hours at work I was home more. We slowly started reverting back to our old ways of doing things. It was the children who brought up eating together as a family again. We didn't realize it had made such an impact on them. They had never told us how much they loved it and how special it was to them.

At that point we talked it over together and decided to make it a point to eat together at least at dinner time. We did this initially for our children, but we have found that we love it as much as they do.

Is it always a wonderful experience where no one bickers and we have great, meaningful conversations? Not with 6 children! At first we had to train them, especially the littles ones, how to sit and wait for their food, to say grace, and then not to get up until they were given permission. I can guarantee that while it is not always picture perfect, most of the time things are great. It is actually quite humerous. We just enjoy being with eachother.

So you say, "What's the big deal about eating together at the table and not in the livingroom instead? Aren't we still eating together?" Yes, you are eating together, but you're missing the point. The point is to foster togetherness while building healthy relationships within the family. Your focus is on eachother and not the tv.

I have 5 great reasons why I think it's important to eat together as a family:

1. I've already mentioned this one earlier. It builds healthy relationships in the family. Are you to just sit at the table and eat in silence? No, of course not! Talk, laugh, be quiet at times. Just enjoy eachother.

2. It makes lasting memories that you and your children will be able to look back on with fondness. Hopefully, they will pass on this wonderful tradition to their familes too.

3. It forces you to slow down for just a bit. We all have such busy lives nowadays. This forces you to sit back and relax with your family for awhile.

4. It's a great time to have family devotions. It further opens the door for communication and gives spiritual training at the same time. Our children have felt more comfortable asking questions that they might be too embarrassed to ask in church. It's really wonderful to see a spiritual truth "click".

5. I had to throw this in, being frugal like I am. It usually means mom will have dinner planned, and cooked rather than eating out. Now it's not always the case, and even we order out at times. As a general rule though, you do plan meals and cook more.

Now, Scott works late at least a few days a week. God has blessed him with extra work, but it does make him late at times. On those days that I know he will be late, I serve snacks late and then we all eat together. I have little helpers that set the table and the olders are in charge, with mom's oversight of course, of making the table look pretty. After a hard day's work it sure is nice to sit down to a tastefully decorated table along with a hot cooked meal.

Can we always eat every meal together every day? No, sometimes we have something that comes up. We busy ourselves far too much at times. After seeing the benefits of eating together though, I have purposed in my heart to eat together at least once a day. We're making memories one meal at a time.

Tell me, do you find eating together as a family at the table important? Are there any special mealtime traditions that you do as a family?

How I feed my family of 8 on $300 a month - Part 4

You've put some thought into the value of budgeting and planning a menu, now what? It doesn't really help when you have a menu planned, but it's not affordable. The best savings come by not only planning a menu, but planning one around the sales, and also using any coupons you have to make the sales even better.

[Side note: You can find coupons in your Sunday paper, in the stores, online, or you can buy the really great ones off of ebay. I have some links in my sidebar that will show you lots of different coupons and deals for you to use.]

Every week, either in your Wednesday newspaper or in your mailbox, there are flyers that come out for the grocery stores. I suggest that you look at them. Either on the front or the back page of the ad are that store's really great deals. These great deals are what's called loss leaders, and they are used to draw you in to their store.

Most people will drive to that grocery store for the really great deal, but do not want to drive to more than one store to shop. So, while picking up that great deal, they will buy a few extra things. That's what the store is hoping for anyway.

Your goal is to go and get the loss leaders, if you need them, without buying any extra items. If you've planned your menu and then made a grocery list from that menu, then you shouldn't have to get anything else while there becasue you've already prepared.

If you'd like to make your family steak for one meal, you can do it, but you don't want to pay full price. Wait until the meat goes on sale, or is a manager's special. A manager's special is just meat that is reduced for a fast sale. Most stores mark down meats at certain times. Just ask someone in the meat department when that time is. When you do pick up a reduced meat, just get it in your freezer as soon as you get home and it'll still be good to eat for quite some time.

So, you've looked at the ads and see a great special for something you routinely buy, now what? Let's look at an example of what I am doing this week. In one of my local ads, they have boneless, skinless chicken breast on sale for $4.97 for 3 pounds. That equals about $1.66 lb. That is a good price here already, but I have a coupon for $.55 off that I will use on top of the sale. That will bring the price down to $1.43 lb. Remember how I told you to save a little out of your budget for sales? Well, I have a little put aside that I will go buy the chicken breasts with.

At another local store of mine they have Fresh Express salads 10/$10. I have $1.00 off coupons that make the salad free, so I will pick up a few on the last day of the sale so that I can use them in our next weeks menu.

So, now I have gotten a bag of chicken breasts and a few bags of salad for under $5.00. On next week's menu I plan to get at least 2 meals out of that bag of chicken and salad mix.

One of our weekend lunches will probably be chicken salad with some kind of fresh bread served on the side. For dinner, I will probably make what we call zesty chicken, using the rest of the chicken breasts, with a side salad and a fresh bread. This recipe also calls for italian, diced tomatoes which I already have on hand because I stocked up when I had a great coupon for them.

Just know that you don't have to buy every loss leader, every week, if you don't need it. The stores always run specials in cycles. Usually every 6-8 weeks. I could have gone crazy and bought up a ton of chicken breasts and salad mixes, but I know that one of the other stores will run a good special on these things soon. One, due to the usual 6-8 week cycle of specials, and two, due to competition. Since i'll still have more salad coupons, next time they're on sale i'll get them free again.

See how it works? I looked for the loss leaders the stores have, used coupons from my stash to make the deals even better, and then planned meals from what I got on sale. You can still get good deals without coupons, but they do help maximize your savings so use them when you have them. I could go on for quite some time on this topic, but I have no desire to write a book.

I know this can be a little difficult to wrap your head around, but it does get easier once you do it yourself rather than just reading it on paper. It's really a fun and challenging game to play.

Next week: Stocking up your pantry with the all those great deals you find

$70 menu for our family of 8...Wow, under budget by $5.00!

Well, this week I was able to come in a little under budget, but there is chicken breast on sale, so I will spend the rest I have on that. I have had people tell me that there is no way to feed a family good, healthy food on a low budget. Well I am here to say, that it can be done. It just takes a little time and creativity. Enjoy!

Breakfast:

Monday: Waffles and fruit
Tuesday: Baked Oatmeal
Wednesday: Eggs Florentine and fruit

Thursday: Muffins and Sausage
Friday: French Toast
Saturday: Eggs, biscuits, and a meat
Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:

Monday: Sandwiches and a side veggie--->either raw or cooked
Tuesday: Ham, mac & cheese, and a veggie
Wednesday: Chicken Salad
Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit
Friday: Leftovers or quesidillas if we have no leftovers
Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:

Monday: Carrots and ranch dressing

Tuesday: Fruit

Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey

Thursday: Celery and peanut butter or ranch dressing

Friday: Tortilla wraps---> I usually fill them with pizza sauce and cheese, which the kids call "mini pizzas", or peanut butter and honey

Dinner:

Monday:

Chicken Tetrazinni

Corn

Garlic bread

Tuesday:

Chicken Teriyaki

Fried rice

Eggrolls

Wednesday:

Taco and Burrito Bar
Refried beans

Thursday:

3 bean chili

Rice

Cornbread

Friday:

Pepperoni pizza

Breadsticks

Saturday: (Hubby's been asking for this for awhile)

BBQ burgers and hotdogs

Potato salad

Coleslaw

Garlic bread

Sunday:

Easter meal with extended family

Next week is kid's choice week. All the kids get to pick their own meal and help mom plan the grocery list for their meal. Then they each get to help cook their meal. It should be fun!

Reconstructing Clothes: Using what we have

While on my quest to save money, I came across the idea of using what you have. Since then, I have been trying to find creative ways to use what we have in our house. I have already talked about using what I have to make chemical-free cleaners, but I found something else I can reuse in our home. Old clothes!

I was given this link to a tutorial on how to remake a man's shirt into a little girls dress. It is such a cute little dress, and so easy and cheap to do. All you would need to buy is elastic and maybe some trim, if you don't have any extra fabric. I'm using eyelet for my trim. I am in the process of doing this right now for my sweet lil' mama, so hopefully tomorrow I will update this post with my pictures.

Another way we are reusing clothes is by making purses out of old jeans and then giving them as gifts for my daughter's friends.

We got the idea for my oldest daughter's 14th birthday. My 12 year old daughter wanted to give her sister a present, so she decided to make a purse out of jeans. She is as frugal as her mother, but way more creative!

We looked up a few sites online, got an idea of what to do, and an hour later we had a purse! All the little girls love her purse. Now that they are learning to embellish them with belts, charms, and flowers, the girls want to turn this into a little side job. They actually sell pretty well on ebay. I haven't checked Etsy yet.

Here is a picture of the first purse my daughter made. Not too bad!

Now, not only do I have a great, inexpensive way to make the younger girls dresses, but I have a great gift idea that I don't have to spend much on.

I know there are lots of ways to use olds clothes. In fact, my next big project is to make a denim quilt out of old jeans. I have been saving these for awhile in order to get enough. I can't wait to get started, but it'll have to keep for awhile yet.

Does anybody else have any ideas to reuse old clothes? Some of the ideas i've gotten so far is to use old t-shirts as rags. You can also use them to make a maternity band for the tops of your skirts or pants. Also, another great idea is to use old flannel shirts or blankets to make cloth babywipes.

God's Provision

I was having a conversation with my neighbor the other day on the topic of how my husband and I make ends meet. As I started telling her some of the things we do, God reminded me of the many times He has provided for us. What a blessing to be able to share that with her.

Just today a lady was asking how we were going to prepare for the upcoming grocery price increases. The news is out and people are starting to worry.

My first thought in how to answer her question was a step by step, detailed list of how we do things now, and how we plan to prepare. Again, as I started answering, that still small voice reminded me that we needed to trust in Him first. The scriptures that keep coming to my mind are:

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

Matthew 6:25-34 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"

I am a list person. I think that I have our whole lives planned out on paper. It is a security blanket of sorts for me. God has been reminding me, that although all my lists and plans are good, that His provision is what will really see us through.

Just as I was able to give a testimony to my neighbor of the faithfulness of God, I will be able to continue to share with others in the upcoming times ahead on how God has taken care of us time and time again.

I know that in the last two years I have been home full-time, I have seen that to be true over and over. Whether it be from Scott getting extra work, people bringing over clothes, or God teaching me how to be frugal. We have always had enough. It is only by the grace of God that I can say we are better off financially now, than when I worked.

So, while we plan and while we learn to be better stewards of the money God had entrusted to us, let us not forget of God's provision. He cares enough for us that He will take care of us no matter what comes our way.

Graphics courtesy of All Posters

Our $75 menu this week...for my family of 8

Here we go again. I thought I would post another menu plan since it is so near and dear to my heart. If you're interested, I just wrote part 3 of my series on how I feed my family of 8 for $300 a month. The last topic just happens to be on menu planning. Hope you enjoy!

Breakfast:
Monday: Waffles and fruit

Tuesday: Baked Oatmeal

Wednesday: Pancakes and fruit

Thursday: Muffins and Sausage

Friday: French Toast

Saturday: Eggs, biscuits, and a meat

Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:
Monday: Sandwiches and a side veggie--->either raw or cooked

Tuesday: Ham, mac & cheese, and a veggie

Wednesday: Soup and crackers or 1/2 sandwich--->soup is usually leftover from night before

Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit

Friday: Leftovers or quesidillas if we have no leftovers

Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:
Monday: Carrots and ranch dressing
Tuesday: Fruit
Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey
Thursday: Celery and peanut butter or ranch dressing
Friday: Tortilla wraps---> I usually fill them with pizza sauce and cheese, which the kids call "mini pizzas", or peanut butter and honey

Dinner:
Monday:
Meat Lasagna
Green beans

Pumpkin rolls

Tuesday:
Baked Tilapia

Sauteed Squash

Hearty Herb Bread

Wednesday:
Spaghetti

Homemade Garlic Bread

Thursday:
Italian Sausage and peppers over penne

Salad

Peas

Friday:
Homemde BBQ Chicken pizza

Cheese Bread

Saturday:
Chicken Tetrazinni

Corn

Garlic Bread

Sunday:
Ribs

Mashed potatoes

Green beans

For more great menu ideas, check out Menu Planning Monday hosted by Organizing Junkie!

How I feed my family of 8 on $300 a month - Part 3

If you missed part 1 of the series you can read it here, and you can read part 2 here.

Now that everyone has sat down and set up a budget, it's time to make a menu. I will say this one more time. Cut back on the amount you are spending each month a bit at a time. In fact, practice doing a few weeks of menu planning first before cutting back on the amount of money you spend. This will allow for a learning curve. Most of us get so excited in the beginning and try to do too much. This leads to disappointment and failure. Once you learn how to do this you will be able to save your family lots of money.

So, what's the big deal about menu planning anyway? Well, menu planning saves you time and money! I am a busy woman, so I am always looking for a way to make my life easier and more efficient. Also, saving time and money are two of my favorite things.

When your plan your menu in advance there is no more standing in front of the refrigerator in a panic wondering what to cook for dinner at 5:00 in the afternoon. Only to realize that once you've decided on something, that you're out of a key ingredient, so now you have make a mad dash to the store. While you're there you see those cookies that look really good, and a nice cold coke sounds great. Before you know it, you've spent an extra $10.00.

Or you might be like me when when this happened. You know how it goes, you call your sweetie on the phone and say, "Hey honey, can you stop at so-and-so and pick up dinner?" Here at our house a run to McDonald's will cost us over $35.00. A typical dinner that I make at home will cost about a tenth of that. Like I said, planning your menu can save both time and money.

This is how menu planning goes at my house. First thing I will do is ask my husband if there is anything that he is hungry for that he wants me to cook. There is nothing worse than sitting down and planning everything out, only to have to have to change something because my husband really wanted to BBQ on Saturday when I had chicken tetrazinni planned instead.

So, after talking to him I will grab one of my older girls a few days before shopping day. We will go through and do a quick inventory of what's in the pantry. I don't know how many times I have bought something thinking I was low, only to get home and find out that I had way too many already. Or even worse, I would assume that I had enough only to find that I had to make that last minute mad dash to the store. So, now we do an inventory. If you really like to be extra organized, you can find master grocery lists online and print them out. They usually have a column for what you have on hand and a column for what you need.

To make things simple, you need to know what some of your favorite meals are. You can alternate those every week, every other week, or even monthly. For example, we usually will have a taco and burrito night one Wednesday and the next Wednesday we will have spaghetti and garlic bread. We also do pizza night on Friday nights at least every other week. The key is to simplify. Most families know what they like, and will tolerate some variety, but as a general rule like to stick to what they know. I am one who likes to try new things, so at least once a month I will try a new recipe. I have found some winners and some losers.

After I know what I have, my daughter and I sit down and write out our dinner menu. My weekly breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack menu stay the same for at least a month, sometimes longer. I make a dinner menu for 2 weeks at a time. To start off with though, I would only do one week at a time. This includes the main dish and any sides and desserts. Here at my house we like to include lots of different fresh breads. They are inexpensive, I make them with whole grains, and they fill us up!

Once we are satisfied with how our menu looks, which usually only takes about 30 minutes, we start on the shopping list. Knowing what I already have on hand makes it easy for me to write out what I need. I then write out everything I need to make all my meals and snacks. Like i've said before, when I shop, I only carry cash and stick strictly to my list. I know I only have $150 on me and I need to buy everything with that money to feed my family for two weeks.

Try planning a menu for a week and then shopping according to that menu. In the beginning it may be a little difficult. It is well worth the effort put into it, in the end. Once you get the hang of it though, it really makes things so much easier.


Next week: Shopping the weekly sales and further planning your menu from that!

Free Cereal Week for Me!

Sorry i'm late in getting this up, but it was a nice day outside, and we roasted hot dogs and smores out on the fire pit this evening!

Albertson's:

This was definately the week to get free cereal if you wanted it! Albertson's was having a special for Post cereals 5/$10 and then $2.00 taken off at the register. That brought it down to 5/$8. Not too bad of a deal, but I had $2.00 off coupons for each of the boxes of cereal, so it brought the total for 10 boxes to -$4.00. That's why I got my gallon of milk free! Which, as you can see, we've already started on. I also got the pack of beef on sale. So, 10 boxes of cereal, 1 gallon of milk and 4 pounds of beef cost me right at $8.00 OOP!

Walgreen's:

This was the week for Olay and Zest. I ended up getting 6 packs of Olay and 2 packs of Zest for $2.00 OOP, but I earned back $16.00 in Register Rewards. So, today I went out and got 1 tube of Colgate, 1 Listerine Smart Sinse, 1 bottle of Vitamin C, 2 Viactiv Calcium, and 2 boxes of butter for $0.00 OOP. I'll also earn back $15.50 in rebates on my Walgreen's gift card.

CVS:

This week was a light week for me at CVS since I was contracting too much for a few days. I had to be a lady of leisure and plant it on the couch. {gasp}

Anyways, my sweet hubby so graciously went and did this one for me. I figured i'd keep it simple since we had a run-in with a coupon nazi employee the time before. So, we just got 2 Mach 3 razors, 1 Venus Embrace, and 1 Fusion razor. I paid with $16.47 in ECB's and $.53 OOP and made back another $22.00 in ECB's. Not a bad run.

So, all of this would have cost over $110.00 for right at $10.00 OOP, but I made back more in rebates, ECB's, and I still have another register reward to spend! So, I guess you could say it's almost like it was free!

A Sample of our $75 Weekly Menu...for a Family of 8

Here we go again. I thought I would post another menu plan for you guys who are wondering how we feed our family for so little. This time I will add breakfast, lunch and snacks for you to see. If I can do it, anyone can! Hope you enjoy!

Breakfast:

Monday: Waffles and fruit
Tuesday: Baked Oatmeal
Wednesday: Pancakes and fruit
Thursday: Muffins and Sausage
Friday: French Toast
Saturday: Eggs, biscuits, and a meat
Sunday: Country ham and gravy over biscuits

Lunch:

Monday: Sandwiches and a side veggie--->either raw or cooked
Tuesday: Ham, mac & cheese, and a veggie
Wednesday: Soup and crackers or 1/2 sandwich--->soup is usually leftover from night before
Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit
Friday: Leftovers or quesidillas if we have no leftovers
Sat and Sun: We either eat leftovers, or a salad, or sandwiches

Snacks:

Monday: Carrots and ranch dressing

Tuesday: Fruit

Wednesday: Banana Bread or homemade bread drizzled with butter and honey

Thursday: Celery and peanut butter or ranch dressing

Friday: Tortilla wraps---> I usually fill them with pizza sauce and cheese or peanut butter and honey

Dinner:

Monday:

Lasagna

Green beans

Pumpkin rolls

Tuesday:

Homemade Tomato soup

Homemade Italian cheese bread

Wednesday:

Taco and Burrito bar

Refried beans

Mexican rice

Thursday:

Chicken and stuffing

Corn

Friday:

Chili cheese enchiladas

Mexican rice----> leftover from Wednesday

Saturday:

Mock shepherd's pie

Steamed broccoli

Sunday:

Crockpot chicken

Rice pilaf

Salad

Pumpkin rolls

How I Feed my Family of 8 for $300 a month - Part 2

Last week I introduced you to some basic concepts that I follow to feed my family for just $300 a month. This week I will start showing you how to apply those concepts to your personal situation. If you missed part 1 of the series, you can read it here.

Step 1.  Make a budget! 
Even if you don't like budgets or they overwhelm you, just smile and get through it. Once it's in place you will be happy you did.

Here's why a budget is important, if you shop without setting up a budget, you will spend more! Setting up a budget is one of the most important things you can do when trying to save money on groceries. No matter how much you may be tempted to skip over this part, it is integral if you want to succeed.

I also advocate paying with cash. It has been proven that using a credit or debit card will cause you to spend more. I promise that you will make wiser shopping choices when you only have cash to spend on all your groceries. Enough on that for now.

Now, there is one thing that you need to do first before setting up your budget. You need to figure out how much you are currently spending every month on groceries. If you find out you are spending $1,000 a month, you wouldn't want to cut your budget to $400 the next month. The best advice I can give is to slowly decrease the amount you spend over a few months.

The first thing I did when trying to find ways to feed my family for less, was to save my receipts for a whole month. I wrote everything down I spent. Before I did this I thought I was spending around $600 a month. When I totaled it up, though, I found out I was spending closer to $750-$900 a month. It was eye opening to say the least.

Another important fact that you can find out by keeping track of those receipts, is exactly what you are buying. You will be able to see what you need, and what you've spent money on that maybe wasn't necessary. This will help you when you actually sit down to plan your budget. Once you know how much money is going out, sit down with your spouse and actually set a goal to decrease what you are currently spending .

The first goal my husband and I set after we saw what was going out, was $500 a month. After a few months I saw that I could spend $500 a month easily. I went back to my husband and we set another goal to drop it down to $400 a month. After another few months we decreased our spending, yet again, to $300 a month. Do you see how I did that? I didn't drop down to $300 from $750-$900 overnight. I gradually made the change, praying that God would show me how to save money along the way.

When setting your budget pray that God will show you how to save and give you the creativity to come up delicious, healthy meals while still saving money. You will be amazed at what you learn, and what you can do with the money you have.

Coming next: I'll start delving into basic menu planning