WANT TO WORK FROM HOME? CLICK HERE FOR THE STEP-BY-STEP PLAN!
Money Saving Mom

Money Saving Mom®

Saving Families Money Since 2007

2hr Cleaning Checklist

2hr Cleaning checklist printable.

2hr Cleaning Checklist

Classic View
Grid View
Money Saving Mom
Shared May 28, 2018 comment

This ends at midnight!

Read More

This ends at midnight!

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Just a quick reminder! This ends at midnight tonight!

I’ve got some BIG news for you today! We are offering a coupon code to give you 50% off ALL (yes, every. single. last. one!) of our courses — through tonight at midnight only!

We’ve never done this before and I don’t know if we’ll every do this again! So if you’ve been wanting to grab one of our courses, now is your chance.

And here’s the best news: You can use this coupon code as many times as you like.

I’m not kidding.

You can buy all 12 courses for 50% off each if you’d like! Or just buy one or two or five at this amazing deal!

So what’s the special coupon code? It’s 50OFF4U.

That will give you 50% off all of the courses below…

Blogging Courses

Intentional Living Courses

Be sure to use coupon code 50OFF4U to get these prices! And remember, you can use this coupon code as many times as you’d like!I hope you’re able to score some great deals to benefit your life!

P.S. This coupon code is only good through midnight tonight (Monday, May 28, 2018)!

Shared May 27, 2018 comment

A Peek Into Our Life This Past Week (+ an update on our goals for 2018)

Read More

A Peek Into Our Life This Past Week (+ an update on our goals for 2018)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly post I share a peek into our lives, talk about things I’m loving, share links to interesting articles or helpful ideas I’ve collected throughout the past week, and just talk about whatever is on my heart! ?

(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

Kaitlynn has been working on learning how to make homemade macaroons. She’s been watching YouTube videos and researching the past few weeks and she started practicing this week. She’s pretty determined to master this — and I have a feeling that she will!

Silas and I had fun making pizza together. Well, actually, I should say that he made it and I mostly just watched and did a little coaching!

This homemade pizza dough recipe is SO easy and it always turns out!

We enjoyed playing some rounds of Bananagrams. It’s such a fun family game — and I love that we can all really enjoy games together now that our kids are older!

Kaitlynn’s school had a special awards day on Tuesday where her teacher gave a sort of blessing over each child and talked about their character qualities. It was such a special time!

We’re so proud of this girl and all she has experienced and struggled through this past year. Someday, maybe, when she’s older, I’ll share more of her story. For now, let’s just say that we are so very grateful for this little school and the adults and girls in her life who have loved this girl through such a rough season.

I truly don’t even recognize the girl she is now compared to where she was last year at this time. It’s amazing what happens when you have people other than your parents who believe in you and love you and speak words of life to you!

And she won second place in the Science Fair!

On Friday, we went to Kathrynne’s school for their End of Year picnic. And just like that, 7th grade, 6th grade, and 2nd grade are finished for our kids and it’s S-U-M-M-E-R!!!

We went to the Crossfit Regional Games in Nashville this weekend. Jesse and Silas are really into Crossfit these days and I am trying to learn the language and lingo and understand this world that they love so much. So I suggested we make this a family event.

We went all day on Saturday and Sunday and we had so much fun!

I read a bit of A Man Called Ove on the breaks. (And I brought a blanket because I’m pretty much always cold at events like this and I drank maybe 5-6 cans of Zevia over the course of two days because they were giving it out for free!)

That’s Rich Froning in the blue shorts… he’s basically a Crossfit legend!

We also got to see Mat Fraser win multiple heats, break records, and win the entire Men’s Event. He’s incredible!

During the breaks, I also worked on a few blog projects and posts. I love that I can take my computer and work from anywhere! I feel so blessed to have a job that provides me with such flexibility!

On Saturday night, after we got back from the Crossfit games, we had two families over for Pizza and Games. The adults had a very competitive game of Ticket to Ride (which Jesse and I lost, but just barely!)

Man, I love this guy!

The energy in this building when the top guys were competing was pretty insane!

And they were giving out all sorts of great snacks — for free! Near the end of the last day, they were trying to get rid of their extras, we got quite a few free snacks!

2018 Goals Update

Personal Goals

1. Read 100 non-self-help books that will build me up/encourage me/inspire me/recharge me. (Fiction/story-driven/biographies/inspirational living books/devotionals.) See the list of 44 books I plan to read this year.

**Progress: 22 books read so far this year

2. Read through the entire Bible.

**Progress: I’m using the Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan and am all caught up— yay!

3. Write one handwritten note to someone every week.

**Progress: 25 notes written so far this year

4. Run 500 miles.

**Progress: 188 miles run so far

Marriage Goal

5. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.Jesse and I went to NYC together in January.

Family Goals

6. Read 10 books aloud with the kids.

**Progress: I’ve finished one book so far.

7. Take the kids to South Africa.

**Progress: We bought our tickets!

8. Go on a family road trip.

**Progress: We’ve been researching and planning for some road trips we want to take this summer. Stay tuned!

Financial Goals

9. Save up to pay cash to finish off an office for me and workout room for Jesse and me in the basement in our new house.

**Progress: We’re working on finishing out the workout room.

10. Replenish our Emergency Fund (we dipped into it to replace my car when it got totaled because of the carpet beetle infestation.)

Business Goals

11. Increase our gross income from the business by 8%.

12. Launch 5 new courses.

**Progress: We launched 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life launched in January, Content Creation 101 in February, 4-Week Blog Coaching Program in March, Email List Setup 101 in March, and Make Over Your Mornings LIVE in April.

Links You Should Check Out:

Kindness is Always the Best Choice: “I’m not saying to stay in abusive or unhealthy relationships. I’m not saying to never stand up for yourself. But I am telling you that kindness makes such a difference.”

Spontaneous Hospitality on a Budget: “…I texted everyone and said that I was just making what I already had on hand. It wouldn’t be anything fancy, but we’d love to have them! We ended up having 18 people for dinner — and we had plenty of food!” Read more here.

25+ Frugal and Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids: Keeping healthy snacks in stock doesn’t have to be expensive, especially when you think outside the box and get creative!
This Week’s $70 Menu Plan: I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).
Shared May 26, 2018 comment

Slow Day: Week 21

Read More

Slow Day: Week 21

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly Slow Day post, inspired by Monica from The Homespun Heart. My Word for 2018 is Slow and, in the spirit of that word, I’m taking one day each week (Wednesday) off — I’ll be unplugged and offline and plan to move at a slower pace, take time to do things that refresh me, and just really focus on being present and savoring the moment.

Each week, I’ll be sharing a photographic peek into my Slow Day. Enjoy a little peek into our lives!

(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

I started the morning out like I usually do — with running, prayer, Bible reading, and a shower. I dropped Kathrynne off at school and then headed to Frothy Monkey to enjoy a cup of tea and do the reading/studying for our summer Discipleship Group study. (Our small group is going through this book together.)

A friend texted and asked me what my plans were for my day off. I texted her back to say that I was planning to do some cooking and cleaning, hang out with Jesse and the kids, have a chiropractic appointment, and get together with my Discipleship Small Group.

Well, God had other plans in store for my day… 🙂

When I got home, Kaitlynn and I spent some time together since it was her first day of Summer vacation!

And of course we had to take some pictures of Quill! 😉

I also worked on cleaning up our messy kitchen.

While I was in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen, the doorbell rang and our chair for the library was delivered.

Somehow, the legs for it weren’t delivered, so they put in an order to have them overnighted to us and went ahead and set up the chair without them.

I’m SO happy we chose this chair for our library. It’s perfect for cozy-ing up with a great book! Now we just need to get a rug and floor lamp (and some more books!) and our library is done. We just love this room so much!

Kaitlynn sat at the table (with her freshly-washed hair up in a towel!!) and played with Quill while I finished cleaning up the kitchen.

(She took these pictures and edited them on my phone — something she loves to do!)

My phone started blowing up with a bunch of texts and I found out that some of the women couldn’t come to the Discipleship Group get-together that evening. In fact, we were down to three ladies (including myself). I got this crazy idea… there is a mom and her 4 girls who recently moved to our area and started coming to our church that is a relative of one of the women in our small group.

We’d talked about having a get-together as a group with our families and this mom and her girls. Well, why not invite the two women who can come tonight and their families over for dinner and invite this mom and her girls, too?

It was one of those ideas that I often get, but I usually talk myself out of because it feels so spontaneous and crazy. But I decided to not talk myself out of moving forward with it… and I checked to see if we had food on hand that we could use to make dinner for three families plus our family.

I had bought 7 pounds of meat the day before and was already planning to make a bunch of meatballs for the freezer. We had marked down potatoes I could make mashed potatoes with. We had a bunch of corn on the cob I had gotten marked down. We had frozen broccoli I could use to make Roasted Broccoli.

So, as I shared here, I decided to just text the three families and offer what we had on hand and invite them to come for dinner.

And guess what? They were all so excited about it!

So, the rest of my morning was spent prepping food.

Kaitlynn came and helped me and she made two Spaghetti Casseroles for the freezer for later.

And then I watched some YouTube shows with the kids and relaxed while Kaitlynn gave me a pedicure — complete with foot massage! (Have I mentioned how amazing it is to have older kids??)

You can’t see it very clearly here, but she did this fun design on them. Because Kaitlynn never does anything in a boring way! 😉

Kathrynne and I headed to our chiropractic appointments — which is always super relaxing!

And then I came home and finished dinner prep and we all worked on cleaning the house and getting things ready for our guests — including getting this burned spot off the stovetop!

I stuck the broccoli in the oven… and then our doorbell rang and the three families arrived. I didn’t get any pictures of the evening, but I wrote a little more about it here.

I love how intentionally taking time to be offline gives me the ability to have more space in my life for spontaneity and relationships!

Shared May 26, 2018 comment

Brigette’s $72 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Read More

Brigette’s $72 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Aldi

1 bag Frozen Raspberries – $1.79

4 ears Sweet Corn – $0.80

1 3-lb bag Pink Lady Apples – $3.39

1 3-lb bag Gala Apples – $2.65

1 Seedless Watermelon – $2.99

1 10-lb bag Russet Potatoes – $3.89

1 pkg Zucchini – $1.49

1 head Cauliflower – $1.85

1 bag Lemons – $2.69

1 16-oz jar Pure Olive Oil – $2.49

1 pkg Radishes – $0.45

2 pkgs Baby Carrots – $1.18

2 pkgs Blueberries – $3.38

1 pkg Baby Lettuce – $1.89

1 pkg Fresh Garlic – $0.79

1 pkg Broccoli Crowns – $1.45

1 large pkg Organic Spring Mix – $3.79

1 16-oz pkg Mini Cucumbers – $1.69

1 pkg Strawberries – $1.39

2 4-lb bags Sugar – $2.38

1 bag Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – $1.55

1 bag Mini Marshmallows – $0.89

2 gallons Whole Milk – $2.72

1 box Graham Crackers – $1.09

4 dozen Eggs – $4.96

1 pkg Hot Dog Buns – $0.55

1 32-oz carton Half and Half – $1.59

1 16-oz carton Heavy Whipping Cream – $1.55

1 2-lb bag Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – $4.89

1 jar Strawberry Jam – $1.49

1 box Rice Squares – $1.79

1 box Honey Nut Oats – $1.15

1 64-oz carton Coconut Milk – $2.39

Total: $69.03

Harris Teeter

2 loaves La’Brea Petite Sourdough Bread – $2.98, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – FREE after coupons

1 pkg Sargento Cheese Slices – $2.50, used $0.75/1 Sargento Blends Slices – 4-8-18 SS (exp. 06/03/18) (doubled), plus receive $0.75 back from Checkout 51 – $0.25 after coupon and rebate

2 pkgs Butterball Fully Cooked Sausage Patties – $5.00, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled), plus receive $0.75 back from Ibotta – $1.25/2 after coupons and rebate

1 carton Juicy Juice – $2.00, used $0.75/1 Juicy Juice Product – 5-5-18 SS (doubled) – $0.50 after coupon

5 bottles Ken’s Salad Dressing (B2G3) – $5.98, used 2 $0.75/1 Ken’s Dressing – 5-6-18 SS; Includes 16 oz or Larger Only (exp. 06/15/18) (doubled), plus $0.75/1 Ken’s Simply Vinaigrette – 5-6-18 SS (exp. 06/15/18) (doubled), plus $1.00/2 Ken’s Dressings – 5-6-18 SS; Includes 16 oz Only (exp. 06/15/18) – FREE after coupons

2 cartons Florida’s Natural Lemonade – $4.00, used 2 $0.55/1 Florida’s Natural Lemonade – 5-20-18 SS; DND, Includes 59 oz only (exp. 07/14/18) (doubled) – $1.80/2 after coupons

Total after Coupons and Rebates: $3.80

Grocery Total for the Week: $72.83

Weekly Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfast. Choices include:

Cereal, Fruit, Oatmeal, Fried/Boiled/Scrambled Eggs, Veggie Omelets, Toast

Lunches

PB and J (on Hot Dog Buns), Carrots/Cucumbers, Apples

Build-Your-Own-Salad Bar (Lettuce, Chopped Fresh Veggies, Chopped Apples, Craisins, Hard Boiled Eggs, Shredded Cheese, Dressing) x 2

Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Blueberries, Carrots/Cucumbers

Leftovers x 2

Dinners

Crockpot Italian Chicken, Creamy Milk Rice, Broccoli, Watermelon

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Sourdough Bread, Apples, Green Beans (My husband will be gone at a work party, so the kids and I will have a simple dinner!)

Build-Your-Own Burritos (Refried Beans, Seasoned Ground Turkey Meat, Salsa, Shredded Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cilantro from a Friend’s Garden, Homemade Tortillas), Strawberries

Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage Patties

Homemade Cheese Pizza

Hamburgers, Corn on the Cob, Watermelon, Baked Potato Wedges

Meat Potato Quiche (I found one more bag of diced ham in the freezer that needs to be used up), Tossed Salad, Roasted Cauliflower

We also have several end-of-the-school year parties/recitals this week that I need to bring food to. I’ll use the lemonades and juice I bought, as well as make S’mores Bars and Angel Face Cookies

You can show hospitality even on a small grocery budget! This post is so inspiring!!
Shared May 25, 2018 comment

Hospitality on a $70 Budget + GREAT deals at Kroger this weekend!

Read More

Hospitality on a $70 Budget + GREAT deals at Kroger this weekend!

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and we will be compensated if you click through and sign up. Read our disclosure policy here.

One of the best parts of this $70/week grocery budget challenge is not that we’re saving a few hundred dollars every month (though I’m stoked about that!) nor is it the fact that I’ve been re-invigorated to fill our freezer with food (we currently have close to 15 meals in there and I’m slowly adding to the stash every week!).

The best part is that buying ahead and stocking up on the sales and markdowns and being more of a strategic shopper means we have a lot more food at our house at any one given time — which means that spontaneous hospitality is so much easier to pull off!

Wednesday morning, I had the idea to invite a mom and her four kids over for dinner. She just recently moved to the area with her kids and I well remember what a big move like that is like!

I looked in our fridge and cupboards and realized I had just bought 7 pounds of marked down meat the day before, plus I had corn on the cob, marked down potatoes, and some frozen broccoli.

So we invited her family over plus two other families from church. I texted everyone and said that I was just making what I already had on hand. It wouldn’t be anything fancy, but we’d love to have them!

We ended up having 18 people for dinner — and we had plenty of food! Meatballs, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, roasted broccoli, and the other women offered to bring salad, mac and cheese, and fruit.

It was simple, it was inexpensive, and it was an evening of laughter, great conversation, and games.

Hospitality doesn’t have to require a lot of extra time or special ingredients. It doesn’t even mean you need to spend more $$ to pull off.

Hospitality is about welcoming people into your real life and bringing your real, imperfect selves to the table. It’s about saying, “Welcome! I want to share what we have with you. Come as you are and pull up a chair!”

While I was working on making food for our guests on Wednesday, Kaitlynn made two dinners’ worth of Spaghetti Casserole. We just made up the recipe using pasta we had gotten marked down, cheese I got on sale, pasta sauce I got from Aldi, ground sausage I got marked down, and cottage cheese I had gotten marked down and had frozen.

Kroger has some GREAT sales this weekend! Download their digital coupons (they are good through Monday evening) to get Seedless Watermelon for just $1.99 each (you can purchase up to 5 watermelon in one transaction at this price).

They also have Kroger Ice Cream Sandwiches and Fruit Bars for just $0.99 per box with the digital coupon (you can get up to 5 boxes in one transaction at this price).

I got the watermelon to take to a picnic we’re attending tonight where we’re supposed to bring enough of a side dish to feed 15 people and I got the ice cream sandwiches for tomorrow evening since we’re having two families over for pizza!

My total for the 5 boxes of bars/ice cream sandwiches + the watermelon was $9.49 — bringing my grand total for this week in grocery expenditures to $68, $2 under my $70 grocery budget!

Total spent so far this week: $68 (Yes! $68 even!)

Total left to spend: $2

Rebates: $1.50 Ibotta rebate for buying the 2 Fage yogurts, $0.25 Ibotta rebate for submitting my receipt, + a second $0.25 Ibotta rebate for submitting another receipt.

See our $70 menu plan for this week. See all my posts about our $70 grocery budget here.

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Click here to sign up!
Shared May 24, 2018 comment

25+ Healthy Cheap Snacks for Kids

Read More

25+ Healthy Cheap Snacks for Kids

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Looking for cheap healthy snacks that are super simple to make for kids? Check out this comprehensive list of ideas, recipes, hacks, and more!

Julie wrote in with this great question:

I’m looking for advice on how to keep healthy snacks in stock for kids without breaking the bank? It’s so much easier to buy processed foods for them but I hate doing it. They love fruits and veggies but go through them so quickly that I am restocking often, which isn’t always feasible. Any helpful suggestions? Thank you!

Keeping healthy snacks in stock doesn’t have to be expensive, especially when you think outside the box and get creative! I personally save on healthy snacks by frequenting ALDI, shopping the markdowns at Kroger, making snacks from scratch, and keeping things simple.

If you’re looking for some really specific tips and snack ideas, check out this GREAT list that our readers helped put together in a recent Facebook post!

Practical Tips & Tricks

1. Snack planning. This is similar to meal planning, but with snacks! Try to buy the exact amount needed per week and plan your snacks around what’s on sale that week to make your money go further. There is always some sort of produce on sale for $1 or less. Stock up on whatever is cheapest each week. Most things will keep for several weeks in the fridge.

2. Choose a mixture of produce styles. Start with fresh fruit and vegetables and once that’s gone, move on to canned or frozen for the rest of the week. Bananas, cuties, celery, and baby carrots tend to be inexpensive favorites. Frozen fruit can go into a smoothie, a small bowl of oatmeal, or yogurt.

3. The freezer is your friend. Freezing fresh in-season strawberries, blueberries, and other fruits and vegetables is often cheaper than buying frozen. If your garden has a surplus or there’s a great sale at the grocery store, stock up and freeze them! You can also make double batches of healthy snack bars or cookies and freeze them for later.

4. Set limits. Limit snack portions and plan out designated snack times — maybe only offer an afternoon snack between lunch and dinner. Cut up and prepare kid-friendly snack portions and keep the snacks where kids can reach it. Let them choose the snack(s) they’d like during the designated time. Refrigerated stuff like yogurt or fruit cups can go in fridge bins and dry snacks like baggies of pretzels, crackers, or graham crackers can go in a reachable basket in the pantry.

5. Shop at ALDI. We love Aldi around here! It has saved us thousands of dollars over the years and they have great prices on produce and kid-friendly snacks.

6. Shop at Kroger. Kroger is a large retail grocery store chain that is well-known for offering great weekly in-store sales and clearance prices. Every store is different but most are pretty generous in how they will mark down soon-to-be expiring dairy products, produce, bakery products, and meat. It seems like most markdowns occur the morning of the new sale week so if the circular goes Wednesday to Tuesday, try shopping Wednesday morning and look for the yellow clearance tags!

7. Shop at Sam’s Club or Costco. If you buy in bulk, you can find some incredible deals at warehouse stores. Once you get it home, freeze whatever you won’t be using in the next week. And be sure to divvy things into portions, like creating snack bags of sunflower seeds and raisins!

8. Shop at Grocery Outlet. If you are lucky enough to have a Grocery Outlet near you, you’ll find brand-name groceries and farm fresh produce at up to 40-70% off conventional retail prices!

9. Shop at a scratch and dent grocery store. You can often get high end protein bars, canned fruit, beef jerky, etc. for pennies compared to the local grocery store.

10. Try the local produce store. Your local produce store can be amazingly cheap with slightly imperfect vegetables and fruits.

11. Garden. See if there’s a community garden in your area or plant one in your backyard. Can, freeze, or dehydrate what you grow and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor year-round!

12. Add protein. Try adding a protein to the snack so it will be more filling. Pair veggies with hummus or ranch dressing. Serve apples or pears with peanut butter. Add cheese slices next to some pretzels or crackers. Don’t Waste The Crumbs has lots of great savory and sweet hummus recipes if you want to make your own!

Cheap Healthy Snacks to Make

13. Smoothies. Smoothies are a frugal and easy way to get a daily dose of fruits and veggies in! This Pick-Me-Up Smoothie is delicious. If you make smoothies for breakfast, make extra and pour it into popsicle molds. Kids LOVE these healthy popsicles!

14. Breakfast as a snack. We LOVE breakfast foods around here — especially when it’s made ahead of time and ready in the freezer! Bowls of cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, and waffles make great after-school snacks.

15. Yogurt with granola or fruit in it. And did you know how easy and frugal it is to make yogurt in the crockpot?

16. Sandwiches. Sandwiches can be a great filling snack. If you have a Jimmy John’s nearby, you can often buy their day old bread for only $0.50 per loaf. Small subs are a great middle of the afternoon pick-me-up. You also can’t go wrong with good ole peanut butter & jelly!

17. Hard-boiled eggs. Kids can eat them as-is or you can use them to make deviled eggs for a filling and cheap snack. Don’t forget how easy these are to make in the Instant Pot!

18. Homemade muffins and granola/breakfast bars. Make pumpkin muffins, protein muffins, and granola bars throughout the month. Check out paleo snacks on Pinterest for breakfast bar recipes.

19. Energy bites. This Homemade Freezer-Friendly Energy Bites recipe is a family favorite. These are SO easy to make ahead of time, pop in the freezer, and have ready when you need a snack!

20. Freeze grapes for a yummy treat.

21. Popcorn. Buying popcorn kernels is often cheaper than buying microwaveable boxed popcorn. Make popcorn from kernels with an air popper, on the stovetop, or in a brown bag in the microwave. Drizzle with olive oil or butter and toss with salt. It is fast, wholesome, and cheap.

Cheap and Healthy Snacks to Buy

22. Dried fruit and nuts. Buy or put together trail mixes that have nuts, seeds, and dried fruit in them. If you have a Sam’s Club or Costco membership, you can get the dried fruits and nuts at a much better price.

23. Thomas’ mini whole wheat bagels with cream cheese. These go on sale about once a month for $1.50 at many grocery stores. They last in the fridge for a month or you can stock up while they’re on sale and freeze them for later.

24. Block cheese. Cut up your own block cheese into cubes or sticks. When you buy the larger blocks, it can be a lot less expensive.

25. Healthy cookies. Homemade breakfast cookies are great for busy mornings or afternoons. You could also try a breakfast cookie made of fruits, like this recipe.

26. Tortilla chips with guacamole or salsa. This is one of our favorite snacks to grab at ALDI.

27. String cheese.

28. Unsweetened applesauce.

Looking for more ideas?

What other suggestions do you have for Julie? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Shared May 23, 2018 comment

My $30 Kroger Stock-Up Shopping Trip (I got great deals on laundry detergent and barbecue sauce!)

Read More

My $30 Kroger Stock-Up Shopping Trip (I got great deals on laundry detergent and barbecue sauce!)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and we will be compensated if you click through and sign up. Read our disclosure policy here.

Kaitlynn had her end of school Awards Day all morning on Tuesday morning, so I didn’t get any freezer cooking done. But I did find some great deals at Kroger!

I was going to do the Buy 4, Get $4 Off Deal, but I only had 3 ALL laundry detergents and our store didn’t have the the razors I was going to buy, so I hopped onto KrogerKrazy.com on my phone in the store to see if there were any new deals that had popped up since the last time I checked.

And low and behold, there was a hot tip about how Kraft barbecue sauce was marked down (for one day only!) to just $0.25 each when you buy 4 participating items — no coupons needed!

So, of course, I grabbed some of them up! I decided to get 5 bottles because I think that will last us for at least 3-5 months.

Note to self: Always remember to check KrogerKrazy.com when I’m in-store so I don’t miss a hot deal tip!

Kroger Shopping Trip — $30.04

  • 2 lbs. Ground Turkey — marked down to $2.09 each
  • 4 pears — marked down to $0.99
  • 5 apples — marked down to $0.99 each
  • 3 jars of Oui yogurt — marked down to $0.59 each
  • 2 Dreaming Cow Grassfed yogurt — marked down to $0.59 each
  • Eggs — $2.79
  • 1 bottle of nail polish remover — $1
  • 1 gallon milk — $2.79
  • 5 lbs. of sausage — marked down to $1.69 each
  • 5 bottles of Kraft Barbecue Sauce — $0.25 each when you buy 4 participating items (offer no longer valid)
  • 3 bottles of ALL laundry detergent — $1.99 each when you buy 4 participating items (offer no longer valid), Used 2 $1/1 all Product printable
  • + $1/1 digital coupon (no longer available) = $0.99 each after sale and coupons
  • Total with tax: $30.04

Total spent so far this week: $58.51

Total left to spend: $11.19

Rebates: $1.50 Ibotta rebate for buying the 2 Fage yogurts, $0.25 Ibotta rebate for submitting my receipt, + a second $0.25 Ibotta rebate for submitting another receipt.

See our $70 menu plan for this week. See all my posts about our $70 grocery budget here.

This $70 Grocery Budget Challenge for a family of 5 is SO inspiring!! Follow along for all kinds of great menu planning ideas and savings tips!
Shared May 21, 2018 comment

This Week’s $70 Menu Plan + Saturday’s Kroger Stock-Up Shopping Trip

Read More

This Week’s $70 Menu Plan + Saturday’s Kroger Stock-Up Shopping Trip

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This $70 Grocery Budget Challenge for a family of 5 is SO inspiring!! Follow along for all kinds of great menu planning ideas and savings tips!

I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and we will be compensated if you click through and sign up. Read our disclosure policy here.

I had every intention of getting these Southwest Rollups done for Friday’s Freezer Cooking post. But alas I productively procrastinated on them and didn’t get them done before I had to get that post done.

But I did get them done! We had one pan for dinner that night and I put two bags of rollups in the freezer.

This is such a simple, frugal, and delicious recipe that we have loved for YEARS.

In fact, it would be fascinating to see how many of these I have made over the years. It’s probably an insane number! 🙂

Fun fact: This was a recipe that Jesse’s family loved and I love that it’s become one of our family favorites. These make such great quick lunches or snacks!

The freezer is filling up!! We currently have 9 dinners, 3 breakfasts, and 2 desserts in there. I’m aiming to have 30 meals in here by the end of June. We’ll see!

Kroger has been having fantastic Saturday only sales in recent weeks.

I was thrilled with the butter and water sale — two items that we use a lot!

You could buy up to 5 packs of butter for $1.99 each with the digital coupon — so, of course, I bought 5! We will stick these in the freezer and they should hopefully last us for two months (we usually use about 2 to 2 1/2 sticks of butter per week).

And I bought 3 cases of water — I found out later that the 32-packs were included in this sale. But they weren’t marked as such at our store, so oh well! We usually wash and re-use water bottles at least a few times before tossing them so this should (hopefully) last us all summer and will be so handy for time at the pool and road trips and other summer adventures!

Kroger Shopping Trip — $28.47

  • 5 packages of Kroger butter — $1.99 each with Saturday Digital Coupon offer
  • 3 cases of water — $1.99 each with Saturday Digital Coupon offer
  • 1 Larabar — FREE Friday Digital coupon offer
  • Chocolate syrup — $1.59
  • Disposable bowls — $2
  • 1 yogurt — marked down to $0.29
  • 2 Fage yogurts — marked down to $0.49 each (got $0.75 back per yogurt — Ibotta rebate)
  • 2 bags of apples — marked down to $0.99 each
  • 12 ears of corn — 4 for $0.99 each
  • 1 organic cauliflower — $0.99 each
  • Total with tax: $28.47

We had our Community Group (four other families) over for an Ice Cream Social. We provided bowls, cups, napkins, and spoons and chocolate syrup and cookies. Two families brought toppings and two families brought ice cream and we had a great get-together that was super simple and inexpensive for everyone!

Silas made some Homemade Oobleck last night and the kids had so much fun playing with it. This would be a great frugal fun activity for summer.

This morning, Silas and I made Homemade Pizza Dough on Facebook Live. I had planned to make a double batch and freeze half of it, but I realized that we were getting down the bottom of the flour jar. So we just made one pizza crust.

This boy loves helping me in the kitchen — and he just better and better at cooking and baking!

I hadn’t made dough on our new kitchen table until today. I wasn’t sure how it would clean up, but I’m so happy to say that it wiped right off. I continue be so happy that we chose this table for our kitchen. I just love how sturdy it is and how easily it cleans up!

Silas helped me knead the dough and I taught him what dough should feel like when it’s ready.

We couldn’t find our pizza pan and I’m guessing that somehow it disappeared in the move or that Kaitlynn may have confiscated it for some craft project and I just haven’t discovered it yet (she’s always making all sorts of crafts and projects and I try to encourage it as much as possible, thought I do sometimes have to tell her that my kitchen pans aren’t up for grabs — especially if they are going to get destroyed in the process of her experimentation! ;))

Silas made the pizza entirely by himself — from rolling out the dough, to putting on the sauce, to thawing the chicken from the freezer, to grating the cheese, to pre-heating the oven.

I only had to give a tiny bit of coaching! I am so excited with just how capable my kids are becoming and how much all those years of letting them help me in the kitchen had paid off!

Silas’ finished pizza! This will be our dinner tonight. Yum!

You can watch us make the Pizza Dough live in the video above.

This Week’s Super Simple Menu Plan

This menu is subject to change a little if I find some great deals or markdowns! ?

Breakfasts

Cereal, Baked Oatmeal, Eggs, Fruit, Toast

Lunches

Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, Chips, Fruit, Veggies, Capri Sun, Cream Cheese Blueberry Muffins, (for the kids) Leftovers, Eggs, Yogurt, Pita Pocket Sandwiches, Salad (for me & Jesse)

Snacks

Whatever I Find on Sale/Marked Down (That works for snacks!), Ice Cream (our friends left the rest of the ice cream at our house from the ice cream social!), Yogurt, Cereal, Fruit, Popcorn

Dinners

Monday — Homemade Chicken Salsa Pizza, Apples
Tuesday — Spaghetti Casserole, Peas, Naan
Wednesday — Meatballs, Corn on the Cob, Homemade French Fries
Thursday — Haystacks
Friday — Picnic at Kathrynne’s School — we’re supposed to bring enough of a side dish to feed 15 people — I’m thinking of doing Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes since those always seem popular at potluck style dinners and I have all those potatoes that I got marked down. I may change my mind depending upon what markdowns I find.
Saturday — Takeout Pizza (we’re having friends over for dinner but we’re going to be gone all day long so I’m keeping it crazy simple!)
Sunday — Snack-y Dinner (fend for yourself — cereal, leftovers, etc.)

Total spent so far this week: $28.47

Total left to spend: $41.53

Rebates: $1.50 Ibotta rebate for buying the 2 Fage yogurts, $0.25 Ibotta rebate for submitting my receipt

Shared May 21, 2018 comment

What I Read & Watched This Past Week

Read More

What I Read & Watched This Past Week

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly Book-ish post where I share what I’ve been reading and watching recently. If you missed it, you can see my Reading Goals for 2018 and 44 Books I Plan to Read This Year. 

(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

We may be some of the last people on the planet to do so, but we finally started watching The Crown. And everyone was right, it IS so good!

Jesse and I are watching it first to decide whether it’s something that our girls can watch (we’ve heard there is one episode that is especially not family-friendly in Season 2) and we are loving researching everything while watching to see how historically accurate it is.

I feel like I’m getting this huge history lesson — in the form of a really engaging show! That’s totally my kind of learning! 🙂

Have you watched The Crown? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

And of course, we watched the Royal Wedding. We didn’t get up super early to watch it so we only saw the tail end of it live, but then we watched them share all of the highlights and give commentary on it. It was pretty interesting!

We also watched the final episode of Season 2 of Timeless. And now I really hope they are going to make a Season 3!

I finished One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler this past week and truly loved it. If you are a mom who also works or you are a mom who wants to figure out a way to pursue your passions while also being a mom, I think you’ll enjoy this book.

I loved how Jennifer talks about embracing the chaos instead of trying to make everything perfect or ideal. I love how she shares so openly about the real struggles involved with trying to have a business and be a mom. And I loved how she showed that the seeing setbacks and delays that came with motherhood actually made her stronger as a writer and business owner.

The last chapter of this book was so good and just really encouraged my heart. There are some days when this path I’m on of being a full-time work-at-home mom who both loves my kids and loves my work can feel lonely. Jennifer’s book made me feel less alone and less crazy and it really reinforced a lot of the places that God has brought me to and the peace I have with what our family dynamics look like — even though they are so different than so many other families we know.

When I Find Time to Read

People are always asking me how I find time to read. Honestly, it’s because I love to read, because I’ve chosen to prioritize it, because I don’t have a lot of other hobbies, and because I can’t not read. Also, when you love something, you usually can find ways to get creative to find time to fit it in — even if it’s in the little nooks and crannies of life.

I wrote a post on 3 ways to find more time to read — even when life is busy. And here are 7 more ways to find time to read.

Shared May 20, 2018 comment

A Peek Into Our Life This Past Week (+ an update on our goals for this week)

Read More

A Peek Into Our Life This Past Week (+ an update on our goals for this week)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly post I share a peek into our lives, talk about things I’m loving, share links to interesting articles or helpful ideas I’ve collected throughout the past week, and just talk about whatever is on my heart! ?

(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

Silas’ flag football team made it into the championship game!

And their team ended up winning. He was THRILLED, as I’m sure you can imagine!

I made some yummy food this week, including Baked Oatmeal.

Which Silas and Jesse were especially excited about since they LOVE this breakfast!

And I also made Crinkle Fries.

I also went to ALDI for the first time in a long time!

I got a GREAT deal on butter.

I made a big batch of Southwest Rollups.

And I filled up the freezer some more!

Silas helped me organize underneath the bathroom cupboard — something I’ve been meaning to do ever since we moved!

We bought some organizational shelves on Amazon…

…Took everything out from under the sink…

And then re-organized it. It makes me so happy to see it all organized now!

A few years ago, the thought of having teenagers scared and overwhelmed me. But you guys, I’m *loving* this year as the mom of a teen.

Kathrynne asked if she could take me out to dinner for her Mother’s Day gift to me (her treat). We decided to go to Blue Coast Burrito — a restaurant we had never been to and had been wanting to try.

We had so much fun together. Laughing, trying out the different salsas, splitting a HUGE burrito, and just talking about life.

I love spending time with this girl and I love that she wants to spend time with me! She wants to talk to me about what she’s struggling with. She wants me to get to know her friends. And she cares about what’s going on in my life, too.

Instead of dreading what’s to come, I feel like the best is yet to come! ❤️

It’s so easy to get frustrated when things aren’t growing or moving or progressing as quickly as we’d like.

We’re not saving money as fast as we’d hoped. We’re not able to pay off debt as aggressively as we’d hoped. Our business isn’t taking off at the pace we had dreamed it would.

Life is full of setbacks, interruptions, and unexpected roadblocks. But just because we aren’t moving along as rapidly as we’d wanted to doesn’t mean we aren’t making progress.

Sometimes, the greatest growth happens in the seasons of waiting. Oftentimes, my most valuable lessons have come as a result of those unexpected roadblocks.

Focus on the progress you are making — even if it feels microscopic. Moving forward — even at a snail’s pace — is still moving forward!

Thank you to @thelatestkate for this image!

2018 Goals Update

Personal Goals

1. Read 100 non-self-help books that will build me up/encourage me/inspire me/recharge me. (Fiction/story-driven/biographies/inspirational living books/devotionals.) See the list of 44 books I plan to read this year.

**Progress: 22 books read so far this year

2. Read through the entire Bible.

**Progress: I’m using the Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan and am all caught up— yay!

3. Write one handwritten note to someone every week.

**Progress: 25 notes written so far this year

4. Run 500 miles.

**Progress: 178 miles run so far

Marriage Goal

5. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.Jesse and I went to NYC together in January.

Family Goals

6. Read 10 books aloud with the kids.

**Progress: I’ve finished one book so far.

7. Take the kids to South Africa.

**Progress: We bought our tickets!

8. Go on a family road trip.

**Progress: We’ve been researching and planning for some road trips we want to take this summer. Stay tuned!

Financial Goals

9. Save up to pay cash to finish off an office for me and workout room for Jesse and me in the basement in our new house.

**Progress: We started finishing out the workout room this past week.

10. Replenish our Emergency Fund (we dipped into it to replace my car when it got totaled because of the carpet beetle infestation.)

Business Goals

11. Increase our gross income from the business by 8%.

12. Launch 5 new courses.

**Progress: We launched 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life launched in January, Content Creation 101 in February, 4-Week Blog Coaching Program in March, Email List Setup 101 in March, and Make Over Your Mornings LIVE in April.

Links You Should Check Out

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Click here to download!
Shared May 19, 2018 comment

Slow Day: Week 20

Read More

Slow Day: Week 20

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to my weekly Slow Day post, inspired by Monica from The Homespun Heart. My Word for 2018 is Slow and, in the spirit of that word, I’m taking one day each week (Wednesday) off — I’ll be unplugged and offline and plan to move at a slower pace, take time to do things that refresh me, and just really focus on being present and savoring the moment.

Each week, I’ll be sharing a photographic peek into my Slow Day — and I’ll let the pictures almost 100% speak for themselves, instead of giving many explanations. Enjoy a little peek into our lives!

(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

The perfect way to start a Slow Day! I finished this book and really loved it!

I picked up my FREE photo at Walgreens.

I started this book and am anxious to see what I think of it!

We went to the UPS store to pick up our mail and I got my FREE Revolution Math Kit. Have you gotten yours yet? See what was inside of mine here and find out how to get yours.

After we picked the girls up from school (Silas is already out of school for the summer), we went shopping for furniture for our library.

The girls had a blast dreaming of ideas for Kathrynne’s room (she still hasn’t picked out furniture — she just has a mattress and a dresser. I told her she had to make this a priority as soon as she gets done with school for the summer at the end of this week.)

We didn’t find what we were looking for at the first store, so we headed to another store.

The kids LOVED the kid’s section of Rooms to Go.

We decided to go with this chair and a half for the library — we wanted something that wouldn’t take up a ton of space but that would be super comfortable and could seat two kids curled up. We also wanted something that was simple and would match the rest of our house decor. I have a feeling that all of us will spend many hours curled up in this chair with a good book!

We ended up taking way more time furniture shopping than we expected, so we decide to bump our dinner plans for the night and use our one Dinner Out night. I was having a friend over and wanted to get a few cleaning projects done before she came, so Jesse dropped me off at our house and then he took the kids out to Sonic.

Shared May 19, 2018 comment

Brigette’s $74 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Read More

Brigette’s $74 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Aldi

3lbs 80/20 Fresh Ground Beef – $6.85

1 pkg Deli Sliced Cheese – $1.19

1 pkg Cheese Sticks – $1.65

1 2-lb pkg Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – $4.89

2 12-oz pkgs Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese – $4.30

2 1-lb boxes Butter – $3.98

1 pkg Gluten-Free Taco Mix – $0.79

1 16-oz pkg Sliced Deli Meat – $2.55

1 pkg Nacho Chips – $0.75

1 14-oz pkg Whole Almonds – $4.55

1 gallon Whole Milk – $1.36

2 64-oz pkgs Orange Juice – $3.38

1 32-oz carton Half and Half – $1.59

1 64-oz carton Almond Milk – $1.89

1 1-lb pkg Strawberries – $1.45

1 Pineapple – $0.89

2 pkgs Artisan Baby Lettuce – $3.78

1 3-lb bag Pink Lady Apples – $3.39

1 pkg Broccoli Crowns – $0.95

1 16-oz bag Organic Mini Cucumbers – $1.69

1 Cauliflower – $1.85

1 bag Radishes – $0.49

1 bag Spinach – $1.49

1 3-lb bag Sweet Potatoes – $1.49

1 Mango – $0.49

1 bag Organic Mini Peppers – $2.89

1 bag Zucchini – $0.99

1 pkg On-the-Vine-Tomatoes – $0.99

1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.65

1 pkg English Muffins, reduced – $0.75

1 pkg Hamburger Buns – $0.65

1 pkg Hot Dog Buns – $0.59

Total: $65.19

Harris Teeter

1 5-lb bag Pillsbury Bread Flour – $3.39

1 bag Red Seedless Grapes (2.23lbs @ $0.99/lb) – $2.21

1 jar Polaner Fruit-Only Jam – $2.00

2 jars Vlasic Pickles – 2.74, used $1.00/2 Vlasic Pickles, Peppers or Relish – 5-13-18 SS (exp. 07/14/18), plus receive $0.50 back from Checkout 51 – $1.24/2 after coupon

Total after Coupon and Rebate: $8.84

Grocery Total for the Week: $74.03

Weekly Menu Plan

Breakfasts

Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:

Toast, Scrambled/Fried/Boiled Eggs, Cereal, Oatmeal, Fruit, Veggie Omelets, Glazed Cinnamon Scones, Fruit

Lunches

Sub Sandwiches, Cucumbers/Peppers, Apples x 2

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Grapes, Cauliflower with Dip x 2

Build-Your-Own-Salad Bar (Chopped Lettuce, Spinach, Nuts, Craisins, Shredded Cheese, Hard Boiled Eggs, Assorted Chopped Fresh Veggies and Fruit)

Leftovers x 2

Dinners

Taco Salad, Mexican Rice, Pineapple

Barbequed Meatballs, Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes, Tossed Salad, Green Beans, Make Ahead Butterhorns, Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies (making this meal x 2 and taking to a friend who just had a baby)

Individual Pizzas (English Muffins, Sauce, Cheese, Assorted Toppings), Easy Italian Breadsticks, Tossed Salad

Burgers on the Grill (I use a combination of ground venison and ground turkey and seasonings), Roasted Parmesan Broccoli, Sweet Potato Fries

Pancakes, Bacon, Fruit Smoothies

Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Biscuits

Leftovers

Shared May 18, 2018 comment

Freezer Cooking: Baked Oatmeal & Turkey Meatballs

Read More

Freezer Cooking: Baked Oatmeal & Turkey Meatballs

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories.

I had planned to do a Freezer Cooking Day earlier this week, but life happened and I ended up only getting two different recipes made. Sometimes, you just do the best you can do, right?

The good news? At least our freezer filled up a little more with yummy food!

I made 4 pans of Baked Oatmeal. This is a family favorite and my kids (and Jesse!) were so excited that I made it since it’s been quite awhile since I’ve made it.

I made the Baked Oatmeal on live video — only I forgot I was supposed to double it! So I ended up making a single batch on video and then another batch when I got off live video.

I also used the ground turkey I got marked down to make a double batch of Turkey Meatballs. I joked on Instagram Stories that I should call these Clean Out the Fridge Meatballs because I literally used odds and ends of thing we had on hand and needed to use up — including some rice.

We ate one pan for dinner this week and then froze the second pan. (I lined the pan with plastic wrap and then popped it out and stuck it in a freezer bag so that I could have this pan back. 🙂

See last week’s freezer cooking post here: Freezer Cooking Day: Crockpot Sausage & Peppers, Slab Apple Pie, Apple Pie Filling, Muffins, Ziti, and Taco Meat

Shared May 17, 2018 comment

My $32 ALDI Shopping Trip + Homemade Crinkle Fries & an easy way to earn $0.50!

Read More

My $32 ALDI Shopping Trip + Homemade Crinkle Fries & an easy way to earn $0.50!

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).

For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories.

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and we will be compensated if you click through and sign up. Read our disclosure policy here.

I had planned to do a full Freezer Cooking Day on Tuesday, but I only ended up making a double batch of Turkey Meatballs and 4 pans of Baked Oatmeal.

I’m planning to make a double batch of Southwest Rollups tomorrow and then I’ll share more about my freezer cooking this week in tomorrow’s post (and show you an update on how our freezer is filling up!)

Remember those potatoes I got marked down? I turned half a bag of them into Oven-Baked Crinkle Fries — which we all LOVED! I made them similar to my Sweet Potato Fries recipe, only I used Olive Oil and then sprinkled them with salt and garlic pepper.

(My friend, Melissa, gave me this Crinkle Cutter and it is the best EVER. It makes chopping and eating veggies and fruits so much more fun and interesting!)

Thursday’s ALDI Shopping Trip — $32.42

  • 1 gallon water –$0.79
  • 3 lb. boneless chicken breasts — $5.99
  • 2 cans refried beans — $0.75 each
  • 1 bag onions — $0.99
  • Iceberg lettuce — $0.85
  • 1 bag of mini cucumbers — $1.99
  • Milk — $2.69
  • 2 bags of frozen peas — $0.95
  • Baby lettuce — $1.89
  • Baby carrots — $0.99
  • Radishes — $0.49
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil — $2.99
  • 2 bags frozen broccoli — $1.19 each
  • Pasta Sauce — $0.99
  • 1 can black beans — $0.55
  • 1 can diced tomatoes — $0.45
  • 3 boxes of Mac & Cheese — $0.33 each
  • Pure Cane Sugar — $1.95
  • Total with tax — $32.42

Total spent so far this week: $68.60

Want to hear more of why I shop at Kroger more often than ALDI + all sorts of other interesting tidbits, including what I do when a troll shows up on FB live? Watch the video above.

Make $0.50 in a Minute!

READER TIP: “Just wanted to give you a heads up. You might already know this but every Thursday there is a video you can watch to receive money for on Checkout 51. Today there were two. The videos are usually at the very bottom along with rebates for Sam’s club. I watched mine and remembered that one time I didn’t and I missed the rebate. You’ll get $0.25 for each video today. – a reader” Sign up for Checkout 51 here. (I just did this and it totally worked!)

Curious what we’re eating this week? Check out this week’s $70 Menu Plan here.

New mom on a budget? Save money with these 5 simple tips!
Shared May 16, 2018 comment

5 Easy Ways to Save Money as a New Mom

Read More

5 Easy Ways to Save Money as a New Mom

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

New mom on a budget? Save money with these 5 simple tips!

Guest post from Heather of Happy Humble Home:

Becoming a mom is exciting for so many reasons. You created a person! Life doesn’t get much more amazing than that.

But being a new mom can also be challenging for your finances.

There’s a new person in your family. And that person is going to need some stuff! Between diapers, nursery supplies, and all the adorable baby outfits, the cost of your new bundle of joy can really add up.

These 5 easy ways to save money as a new mom will help you to stop stressing about costs and focus on the important things – like snuggling with your little one!

1. Graciously accept hand-me-downs.

Hand-me-downs are a win-win for everyone involved.

Moms love to pass their gently used baby stuff on to new moms. They have paid for baby items that may have only been used a few times and they love for those things to get used again for another child in their lives. And the mom receiving the hand-me-downs gets free baby stuff!

Except for a few special outfits, all of my 5 month old’s clothes are hand-me-down. Some close friends of ours were moving away and gave us all of their baby boy clothes from newborn to 2T. The clothes were beautiful and barely used! I was so excited that I was raving to a friend about it and that reminded her that she had a bunch of baby clothes she was hanging on to and she offered me hers too.

Another close friend of mine passed down her Ergo 360! That saved me $180 that I was able to spend on something else I needed for my little guy.

This doesn’t mean that you have to go around asking your friends and family for their leftover baby goods. Just casually mention that you’re so grateful for the hand-me-downs you’ve received and I’ll bet you end up with a closet full of previously-loved baby loot.

2. Buy used.

If you aren’t able to collect enough hand-me-down baby clothes, buying used is the next best thing. There are many consignment and thrift stores dedicated to recycling baby items. Even if you don’t generally buy used in other areas of your life, used baby clothes are the way to go!

Just think about how quickly babies outgrown their clothing. Many outfits only get worn once or twice. So, many of the clothes in these second-hand stores are really almost new.

You will probably find a ton of other hardly-used treasures in your local thrift stores as well. From baby carriers to strollers, or even baby swings, the possibilities are endless!

3. Buy in bulk

Think about all those baby things that you feel like you’re using a million of. Those are the things you should be buying in bulk.

Diapers, wipes, and formula are a good place to start. But don’t stop there! Think about household supplies that you use every day and go through quickly, like laundry detergent, too.

There is a larger upfront cost to buy the bulk sized item but over time you’ll have significant savings.

Buying in bulk will also mean less shopping trips, which is always a big perk for a new mama who is adjusting to shopping with baby in tow.

4. Take advantage of rewards programs

There are so many rewards programs out there! From diapers to formula, and even baby clothes, there is a rewards program for just about everything you buy for baby.

Huggies and Pampers both have rewards programs that let you earn you free diapers just for entering a little code that comes inside your diaper box.

Similac and Enfamil both send you free boxes of formula in the mail when you sign up for their rewards, plus you get great money saving coupons in the mail.

There are several baby clothing stores that offer valuable rewards programs too. Carter’s, Gymboree, and The Children’s Place all over rewards once you spend a certain amount.

If you’re buying all those baby supplies without participating in the rewards program, you are missing out on free baby stuff that could save you tons!

5. Think long-term.

When you’re deciding on those big-ticket baby items, think about how you will repurpose to reuse them in the future.

If you’re planning to have more children, you want to be able to keep using those big items again for all your future little ones.

So, aim to purchase quality products in gender neutral designs.

Of course, there’s no rule that says you can’t use a pink crib for a boy. But you are much more likely to actually reuse things that are gender neutral.

Stick with grey, white, aqua, red, or yellow. These colors usually work regardless of the child’s gender.

You also want to consider ways that you can reuse a baby product for the same child.

Many baby products are convertible and can grow with your child, like cribs, strollers, and car seats. The initial investment in these items is a little higher, but they’ll save you in the long run when you don’t have to replace something that your child has quickly grown out of.

Now start saving!

These money-saving strategies can definitely bring you huge savings – but only if you actually use them! Soon, you’ll be enjoy being a new mom without having to stress over how much it costs.

Heather is the founder of Happy Humble Home, where she helps women take control of their finances and have fun being frugal. Heather struggled financially for years before she finally learned how to save money without suffering. Now, she is passionate about sharing her frugal tips with women who need them.

photo source