Did you know you can save quite a bit of money if you wait to buy certain items during certain months throughout the year?
Check out this list of the Best Things to Buy in March!
Summer Bucket List
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Meet my older sister, Brigette
A number of you all have been asking recently, “Who is this Brigette person who posts her grocery posts every week?” She’s actually my very talented older sister and I asked her if she could write a post introducing herself and her family this week so you could know who the person is behind the grocery posts! -Crystal
Hi there! I’m Brigette Shevy, and my claim to fame is that I am Crystal’s older sister. She and I both love couponing, saving money, and getting a good deal. I’ve been doing grocery posts on her blog for a few years now, and several of you have been curious to know more about my family. So here you go!
I’ve been married to Eirik, the love of my life, for 13 1/2 years. We are exact opposites in almost every area!
He has a master’s degree in church music/voice, and currently works as an elementary music teacher at a public school in South Carolina. He also works part-time as the music pastor at our church.
Eirik is funny, outgoing, confident, opinionated, and the life of every party! When he’s not working, he is busy being an awesome husband and dad! He can fix, remodel, or build just about anything. And he’s an avid bow hunter (hello, free meat!).
I’m a stay-at-home mom and love (almost) every minute of it. I homeschool our four children, and feel so blessed to have my dream job! I have a master’s degree in music composition – I play piano and harp, and write music for The Wilds.
I am also very involved with the music at our church, as well as helping my children keep up with their practicing and performing. My other passions include close friends and heart-to-heart talks, long-distance running, freshly ground coffee, and any kind of chocolate!
I love baking, gardening, home decorating, shopping, and hanging out with my friends and family. I’m quiet and reserved (until I feel comfortable around you!), and a little bit moody. 😉
And yes, my hair is naturally this blonde – but once you meet me…you wouldn’t need to ask. Ha!
Cadence is 12 going on 21! She’s an amazingly talented violinist, and is currently concertmistress of the Preparatory Youth Orchestra of Charlotte.
She’s been teaching piano and violin lessons for 2 years. Since God knew I was going to only have one daughter, He made sure she loved ALL the girly things.
I now have a fashionista in the home who tries to help me with my makeup and clothes. She’s also a huge help with her younger brothers.
Hudson is my academic child. He excels at every subject in school, and is a nerd in the best sense of the word!
He also plays violin and piano and has read every single book at our public library that’s on the “parent-approved/age-appropriate” list. Well, almost.
Hudson enjoys hunting with Eirik and riding his hoverboard. He inherited my blonde hair, and my shy personality – but at 10 years old, he’s making the best of it. 😉
Jaron is my passionate kid with the loud, daring personality. He does everything BIG, and the fact that he’s still alive after 8 years is a testimony to God’s mercy!
I have more unbelievable stories about him than all my other children combined. He grudgingly practices piano and trumpet everyday, and also lets me know every.single.day how much he doesn’t enjoy it.
He wants to be a gold miner or a video gamer when he grows up…not sure how that’s going to work out for him.
Clayton is our wonderful surprise baby! He is always happy and laid back, and he is quick to make people laugh.
It’s hard to believe he just turned 5! He has been playing the violin for a few months, and is quite the little musician. He’s obsessed with coloring, legos, riding his bike, and giving hugs. I couldn’t ask for an easier child!
As a family – if we aren’t doing something music-related – we enjoy church activities, hiking, swimming, board games, food, movies, travelling, reading, and having people over to our house. We even attempt sports, but as a whole, we aren’t very coordinated. Our house is loud and crazy, and we love God most of all — I wouldn’t have it any other way!
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{This post is sponsored by Compare.com. Read our disclosure policy here.}
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I went through the process and it took about 5 minutes to do so and then they gave me 6 different rates 30 seconds after I clicked submit. I was happy to see that we are actually getting the same rate as the lowest rate option they had. That was encouraging — and it made me glad to have checked just to verify that we do, indeed, have a great rate.
(As a side note, we have our car insurance through SafeCo and we had only recently switched to them. They were amazing to work with when I had my recent accident and we only can say really, really good things about them. So if you find a great rate on Compare.com for SafeCo, we would highly recommend it.)
This is such a simple way to quickly check if you’re spending too much on car insurance and save money on a monthly bill! Be sure to let us know if you find out that you can get a lower rate on Compare.com!
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Shared Feb 27, 2019
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Gretchen’s $67 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 5
Gretchen’s $67 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 5
Aldi
1 box Cocoa Rice Cereal – $1.45
1 box Snack Crackers – $1.69
2 Half & Half – $1.79 each
2 pints Blueberries – $1.39 each
1 gallon Milk – $1.19
2 pkg Red Grapes – 2/$4.48
1 pkg Tortilla Chips – $1.69
2 cans Cream of Chicken/Mushroom Soup – $0.49 each
2 Cucumbers – $0.49 each
1 pkg Applesauce Cups – $1.49
1 dozen Eggs – $0.58
1 pkg Yeast – $0.89
1 pkg Taco Seasoning – $0.29
1 pkg Flour Tortillas – $1.19
1 pkg Cheese Crackers – $1.49
1 pkg English Muffins – $0.99
1 loaf Bread – $1.39
10 lb bag Potatoes – $3.29
1 lb Butter – $2.88
1 pkg Shredded Cheese – $3.39
1 can Refried Beans – $0.79
3 bags Frozen Chicken Breasts – $5.99 each
Total: $54.91
Dillons
2 pkg Frozen Broccoli – $1 each
1 pkg Frozen Corn – $1
1 pkg Gravy Mix – $0.49
1 pkg Kroger Oven Roasted Turkey Breast – $2.69
2 Green Leaf Lettuce – $1.49 each
4 lbs Bananas – $1.96
1 can Enchilada Sauce – $1.89
Total: $13.01
Total for both stores: $67.92
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Eggs, English Muffins, Cereal, Bananas
Lunches
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Turkey Sandwiches, Tossed Salad, Mac & Cheese, Crackers/Cheese/Fruit, Leftovers
Dinners
Brown Bag Burritos, Chips, Rice
Pancakes, Eggs (We still have a couple dozen in our refrigerator from the last few weeks!), Fruit
Grilled Chicken, Butterhorn Rolls, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Tossed Salad (Company for dinner – they are bringing dessert)
Dinner with friends (I’m bringing lettuce and salsa for the taco bar.)
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (using venison), Biscuits, Steamed Broccoli
Hamburger Vegetable Soup, Crackers, Fruit
Easy Baked Ziti, Amish White Bread, Steamed Broccoli
How to Be Brave
I was kind of giddy about doing today’s interview… because I had listened to Melissa Radke’s audiobook, Eat Cake, Be Brave, and had fallen in love with her hilarious, tell-it-like-it-is honesty and couldn’t wait to get to talk to her in person (well, it was actually over Skype, but that was a big step up from just listening to her on audiobook!)
In our conversation, we dig deep into bravery, forgiveness, and rising above negativity. As Melissa explains, bravery doesn’t always mean jumping out of a plane, scaling Everest, or not feeling fear or nervousness in your everyday life.
Instead, being brave means to just keep showing up, even when things get hard. And she definitely understands things being hard! She’s gone through a lot of disappointment, hurt, loss, and heartache in her life. But she hasn’t let those hold her back from continuing to show up.
You won’t want to miss this powerful episode with a truly incredible guest. If you’ve been struggling with forgiveness, fear, anxiety, insecurity, and trying to be brave (and don’t we all struggle with those things sometimes?), I think Melissa’s wisdom will truly touch you deeply and offer you practical encouragement and inspiration on how to move forward.
Powered by RedCircle
In This Episode:
[01:57] – I talk about what’s saving my life this week: how I’m making time for reading. Listen in for my tips on how I’m typically fitting in 30-60 minutes of reading every day. Hopefully it will give you some ideas on how you, too, can fit in more reading time!
[04:16] – This parenting book is one I can’t stop talking about — and truly loved!
[07:46] – I think you are going to LOVE today’s guest, Melissa Radke! She is hilarious but is also such a truth-teller.
[11:14] – Melissa talks about bravery, how she’s facing her fears right now, and how she still struggles with being brave. She lets us in on what bravery looks like for her and the hard-won lessons she’s learned on how to be brave.
[14:18] – One of the parts of the book that was deeply moving to me was when Melissa shares about forgiving the woman who had an emotional affair with her husband. This woman also happened to be her very best friend. She shares openly about what this was like to walk through this — and to write about it in the book.
[19:25] – Melissa offers powerful words to women who are struggling to hold onto their dreams and goals despite critical words being directed at them.
[23:50] – We change gears to a much more lighthearted tone and talk about a book Melissa is reading that she assumed many other guests have talked about. (Surprise! No one has!)
[24:34] – And then we talk about bacon and air fryers… and you just might need to order one after you hear this part of the podcast! 🙂
[27:04] – Today’s Q&A question comes from Jeanette, who wants to know how to get teens to keep their room clean. I give some caveats before I share my thoughts on this!
Links and Resources:
- You Need a Budget (this episode’s amazing sponsor!)
- Melissa Radke
- Melissa Radke on Facebook
- @msmelissaradke on Twitter
- Melissa Radke on YouTube
- Eat Cake. Be Brave. by Melissa Radke
- Only Love Today by Rachel Macy Stafford
- Libby app
- 40 Books I Plan to Read in 2019 by Crystal Paine
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- My Favorite Things on Amazon
- CrystalPaine.com
- MoneySavingMom.com
- YourBloggingMentor.com
- My Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!)
- Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected]
How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show
The podcast is available on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can listen online through the direct player we’ll include in the show notes of each episode. OR, a much easier way to listen is by subscribing to the podcast through a free podcast app on your phone. (Find instructions for how to subscribe to a podcast here.)
Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.
Sponsor Spotlight
This episode is sponsored by YouNeedaBudget.com — the budgeting software we have personally used for the past two years and absolutely love.
We were introduced to this budgeting software by my brother-in-law, Justin, a few years ago. He and my husband, Jesse, are both what I would lovingly refer to as “nerds”.
You know the kind of people… those people who think spreadsheets are fun. And who geek out over features in Excel. Yup, those kinds of people.
You might as well poke my eyeballs out with a hot iron rod than get to me be giddy over creating spreadsheets. But nevertheless, I love Spreadsheet Nerds because they help keep people like me in line and on track!
Anyway, it was around Christmas time and Justin started telling Jesse about YouNeedaBudget — what we call YNAB for short. Jesse and I had both heard of this software before, but we had been using Quicken for so long that we’d not considered changing to anything else.
Well, when Jesse saw the features of YNAB, he was intrigued enough to sign up for the free trial. And it was pretty much love at first sight.
Truthfully, I can’t even begin to tell you how often I’ve heard him exclaiming to me, to friends, or just to himself something about, “How cool and helpful YNAB is!”
I’m such a pen and paper and cash girl, but after all his raving reviews, I finally gave in and downloaded it on my phone and had him show me how it works. It’s really, really impressive. I love how we can see exactly how we’re doing in every budget in just one glance.
And since we have multiple budgets for our businesses and personal, it allows us to track them all in one app. Which is so handy!
They usually only offer a 30-day trial, but they are giving you all a FREE 60-day trial so you can really get a feel for it and see how well it works.
Go here to sign up for your FREE 60-Day YNAB trial.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
5 things I got for FREE this week!
Like free stuff? If you do, be sure to follow along here every day because we post great freebies you can sign up for every single week!
Here are five freebies I got in the mail this past week:
- A free issue of Real Simple magazine. I got a free subscription through this offer here. (It’s not currently available for free.)
- A free issue of Better Homes & Gardens. I got a free subscription through this offer. (It’s still available!)
- Free coupons from Kroger. Make sure your address is up to date and hopefully you’ll get great coupons like this in the mail, too, if you have a Kroger or Kroger affiliate store.
- Free sample of Vichy Mineral 89 Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizer.This is no longer available.
- Free Inspire Proverbs Coloring Book. I got this free from My Reader Rewards Club. (Sign up here and you can easily earn one or two books for free.)
What free stuff has arrived in your mailbox recently?
By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the free things I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!
Shared Feb 25, 2019
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Sign up with Hilton to work from home as a full-time sales and customer service representative!
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Thanks, Hip2Save!
Our $68 grocery budget: What we spent and we ate
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.
Did you get your free Creamette Thick & Hearty Pasta at Kroger? We already have a lot of pasta, but I couldn’t pass up free pasta!
Here’s what I bought at Kroger this past week:
Kroger Shopping Trip #1:
- 4 boxes of Creamette Thick & Hearty pasta — on sale for $1 each, used $2/4 Kroger Digital coupon = $0.50 each + get $2 back from iBotta = Free after coupon and cashback
- 5 boxes of Kroger Instant Oatmeal — on sale for $1.49 each, used $0.50/1 Kroger coupon (could be used up to 5 times) = $0.99 each after coupon
- 2 packages of Simple Truth Ground Turkey — marked down to $2.79 each
- Kroger pork tenderloin — marked down to $3.49
- Kroger spinach — $1.59
- Kroger Asian Salad Kit — marked down to $1.49
- 3 dozen Cage-Free Brown Eggs — marked down to $1.19 each
- 3 loaves bread — marked down to $1.79 each
- Salad Kit — marked down to $1.49
- Bananas — marked down to $0.39/lb. = $2.06
- Kroger Juice — $2.49
- Kroger half & half — $1.79
- Kroger milk — $2.49
- Deerpark Water — $3.34 — used FREE coupon
- Total with tax: $40.96
Kroger shopping trip #2:
- 5 packages of Smithfield bacon — on sale for $2.99 each with Friday-Saturday Kroger coupon
- 1 bag of avocados — marked down to $0.99
- 1 bag of apples — marked down to $0.99
- 2 bags of King Arthur Flour — $2.99 each when you buy 5 participating items
- 3 bottles of Suave shampoo/conditioner — $0.99 each when you buy 5 participating items
- Total with tax: $27.49
I was hungry for Lasagna one day, so I got creative with what we had on hand. And mixed a pound of ground beef (from the freezer) with a can of tomatoes I had in the pantry.
I also had some cottage cheese in the freezer, so I mixed that with an egg, some salt and pepper and basil, and mozzarella cheese I had in the freezer.
And then I layered that with noodles and the meat sauce and topped it off with cheese… for a Lasagna-ish casserole! 🙂 
What We Ate This Past Week
Note: When you see the meals below, please remember this: I buy ahead often. Which means that when I find a great deal on something I know we’ll use, I buy as much as I can afford in our budget to have on hand.
This means that you aren’t going to see all of the groceries my shopping trip that I used to make all of the meals we ate.
Please also remember that I’m putting this out there and it’s not a perfectly balanced menu. This is just really what we ate — and I hope that it encourages you to see the real-ness and lack of perfection here.
Breakfasts:
- Brought to church brunch on Sunday: Egg Casserole & Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- Cereal, Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Hard Boiled Eggs, Peanut Butter/Banana Toast, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Bacon, Bananas
Lunches:
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Grapefruit, Avocados, Hard Boiled Eggs, Salads, Leftovers, Oranges, Apples, Cookies
Snacks:
- Oranges, Cookies, Bananas, Grapefruit, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dinners:
- Sunday — Fend for yourself
- Monday — Turkey Meatballs, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Salad
- Tuesday — Italian Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes, Peas
- Wednesday — Italian Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes, Peas
- Thursday — Lasagna Casserole, Peas
- Friday — Leftovers/Fend for yourself
- Saturday — Frozen Pizza, Apples
Total spent on groceries: $68.45
Cashback earned this week: 134 points for submitting my receipts to Fetch rewards+ $2.25 back from iBotta for buying Creamette Pasta and scanning a receipt.
5 Ways to Save on Medical Bills
Are you looking for a way to save on medical bills?
Deb recently wrote in and asked: My family and I have had a recent deluge of medical bills and are expecting more in the near future. What advice do you have for paying down medical bills? -Deb
I posted this question on Facebook and got so many great responses. I compiled some of the most suggested responses into this post (if you’re interested, you can read all of the responses here):
1. Ask for assistance.
Apply for help from the medical company. Most hospitals have an assistance fund that is based on income. I know I qualify through our local hospital. I also get a major medication thru the manufacturer at no charge. I have to fill out an app and get my Dr to fill out the other half. Then fax in the required documents. Just ask. The worst they can do is say no. If all else fails, ask for a payment plan YOU are comfortable with. -Shandra
Ask for financial hardship paperwork. They can sometimes write off 25%-100% of the bill. I’ve used this myself years ago and my mother last year. -Amanda
Our health network has a financial assistance program. A lot of people don’t know about it. It’ll cover medically necessary procedures. You are eligible if you make under 400% of the poverty level, even if you have insurance. It may not cover everything, but it certainly helped me this past year with numerous health issues. Speak to the billing departments to ask about any help they offer. -Adelaide
For more advice, check out this post on What NOT To Do When You Get a Large Medical Bill
2. Look at every bill carefully.
My advice is to check over every single bill you receive. Make sure it’s legit and it ran through your insurance properly. Sometimes a hospital and the doctor may bill for the same service, or a service comes up out-of-network when it’s not. I have found thousands of dollars in mistakes in our bills just in the last six months. I call our insurance company frequently with questions. It’s confusing, but don’t let that stop you from asking if you see something you’re unsure about. -Susanna
My daughter’s ear tubes came back with a $3000 out of pocket. I always ask for a detailed bill and have a coding book and it had been coded plastic surgery. Really? Told a friend to go through theirs line by line and they caught thousands of dollars in discrepancies. Sometimes human error input of the details makes healthcare bills crazy. – Teresa
For more advice, read It Pays to Review Your Bills.
3. Talk to the billing office.
Call and talk to every office that bills you. Been there done that and after talking to each office and letting them know the magnitude of the situation, we were able to come up with a plan of payment. As long as we payed the agreed upon amount consistently they were okay with it. And I’m talking $25 to each office at most. Each time we paid one off, that amount was added to the next smallest bill and kept at it like that. -Terri
Definitely call the billing company, let them know your specific situation and see if they can lower the payment or adjust for a lower payment plan. One medical facility wiped out a $400 balance when I called to see if we could get on a payment plan. You never know what they can or will do, unless you ask. -Bridie
Go into the financial office in person and talk to them. Bring your tax return, pay stubs, and your budget. They are there to help you. -Jessica
If you don’t have the funds to pay it off when you call, I would speak to them about a low monthly payment. Then, as you get the funds, call again and ask if you were to pay today if they could give a discount on the amount owed. -Alicia
For more ideas, check out this post on How We Save Money on Health Care Costs.
4. Ask for a discount.
If you have any cash, call the companies and tell them you are trying to determine which bills to pay with the cash you have. Ask about a discount. I think we got 20 percent knocked off one bill. Then, ask about a payment plan. We also discovered when we requested detailed medical records that doctors we never saw in the hospital were charging for services. It didn’t impact the amount we owed but after alerting the billing company to the errors (and getting no results and they were very belligerent) I started calling the physician group. Took me a while to find phone numbers for principles but I think they were taken aback by the errors. -Kim
Call and ask for cash discounts. Our hospital has given several people I know lower prices when they offer to pay cash. -Shannon
I have had a lot of success calling and offering a one-time cash payment for a reasonable amount. My husband is currently paying for OP surgery; they gave him a price prior to surgery that was 2.5 times less than what it actually was. They haven’t been receptive yet to a lump payment, so he’s paying them $50/month for a year and then will call and try it again. -Jennifer
We’ve been able to consolidate all of our medical bills into one large sum and make monthly payments on it. Even if it’s $20 a month, it’s something. There’s no interest (at least where I live), and it doesn’t hurt your credit. -Katie
For more ideas, read this post on Cutting Down on Health Care Costs.
5. Don’t pay until you’ve verified everything.
Don’t start paying until you’ve verified all charges and confirmed your insurance has paid its part. Then you can call each one if you have the funds and make an offer to settle. You might end up settling or getting a discount. Then if you can’t pay in full set up a payment plan that you can manage. If you can’t pay $100 a month tell them in no uncertain terms that isn’t possible. Ask them what you can do to decrease the payments. -Julie
If you have insurance make sure all doctors and hospitals are in network otherwise some insurance won’t pay. You can also find out the cost of the procedure (sometimes, not always). If you have a deductible, have you met it? Have you met your out of pocket, copay? Depending on procedure/insurance and other things some don’t go toward totals. And maybe you’ve met your deductible/oop and insurance will cover the rest. -Melodie
Remember that huge medical bills may qualify you for a tax write off. Of course, that doesn’t help you in the moment but you may have a windfall come tax time when you can catch up financially as a whole. -Malinda
Do you agree with these suggestions? Do you have any advice or personal experience to share?
Shared Feb 23, 2019
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Brigette’s $88 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6
Brigette’s $88 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6
Aldi
2 bags Riced Cauliflower – $3.78
3 bags frozen Broccoli Florets – $3.27
1 bag frozen Organic Blueberries – $2.29
2 bags frozen Mixed Vegetables – $1.50
1 bag frozen California Medley Vegetables – $0.85
1 Cauliflower – $1.79
1 pkg Organic Romaine Hearts – $2.79
1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $3.99
1 3-lb bag Mandarin Oranges – $2.19
2 pkgs Blueberries – $2.98
1 10-lb bag Russet Potatoes – $3.49
4 cans Green Beans – $1.52
1 large jar Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.89
2 cans Diced Tomatoes – $0.70
1 can Tomato Sauce – $0.19
2 cans Chili Beans – $0.98
1 Garlic Powder – $0.95
1 Corn Syrup – $2.99
1 pkg fresh Chicken Drumsticks (@$0.69/lb) – $3.00
2 lbs Premium Sausage – $3.78
2 16-oz bags Shredded Cheddar Cheese – $4.15
1 box Frosted Flakes – $1.29
1 large box Crisp Rice – $1.15
1 large canister Quick Oats – $2.39
1 gallon Whole Milk – $1.31
1 gallon 1% Milk – $1.31
1 16-oz carton Heavy Whipping Cream – $1.55
1 64-oz carton Unsweetened Almond Milk – $1.69
1 32-oz carton Nonfat Greek Plain Yogurt – $3.29
1 24-oz carton Cottage Cheese – $1.59
2 bags Gluten Free Pretzels – $2.70
1 box Cheese Crackers – $1.49
1 pkg Plain Rice Cakes – $1.15
1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.65
1 pkg Hot Dog Buns – $0.59
2 5-lb bags All Purpose Flour – $2.15
1 can Biscuits – $0.85
2 dozen Eggs – $2.14
Total: $76.66
Harris Teeter
1 2-lb bag Carrots – $0.99
1 Colgate Toothpaste – $0.99, used $0.50/1 Colgate Toothpaste – 2-10-19 SS; Includes 3 oz or Larger Only (exp. 02/23/19) (doubled) – FREE after coupon
2 boxes Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese – $1.99, used $0.50/2 Annie’s Homegrown Product – 1-6-19 SS; Excludes Dressings, Marinades, and Condiments (exp. 03/02/19) (doubled) – $0.99/2 after coupon
1 large bag Limes, Reduced – $1.00
2 bags Lady Alice Apples (about 3lbs each), Reduced – $2.00
1 bag Plantains, Reduced – $1.00 (I’ve never bought these before! But I figured it would be a new, fun thing to try for $1! Does anyone have a recipe that uses them?)
2 16-oz boxes Mueller’s Pasta – $2.58, plus used 2 $0.50/1 evic and $0.55/2 Mueller Pasta – 1-6-19 SS (exp. 02/20/19) (doubled) – $0.48/2 after coupons
2 64-oz cartons Orange Juice – $1.99
1 Ragu Simply Pasta Sauce – $1.49, used $0.75/1 printable – FREE after coupon
2 boxes General Mills Churros Cereal – $5.00, used 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – $2.00/2 after coupons
2 Nabisco Snack Cups – $2.00, used $0.75/2 Nabisco Cookie or Cracker Products – 1-13-19 SS; Includes 3.5 oz or Larger Only (exp. 02/23/19) (doubled) – $0.50/2 after coupons
Total: $11.37
Grocery Total for the Week: $88.03
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:
Cereal, Fried/Scrambled/Boiled Eggs, Veggie Omelets, Oatmeal, Fruit, Yogurt, Smoothies
Lazy Monkey Bread, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs (Birthday Breakfast for my 5-yr old)
Lunches
Macaroni and Cheese, Oranges, Carrots
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Apples, Pretzels (Birthday Lunch)
Cheese Crackers/Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter, Applesauce, Steamed Vegetables x 2
Leftovers x 3
Dinners
Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks, Biscuits, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes
Pearl’s Chili (recipe from “Trim Healthy Mama” Cookbook), Tossed Salad, Cornbread
Baked Potato Bar (Leftover Chili, Shredded Cheese, Plain Greek Yogurt, Salsa, Cottage Cheese), Tossed Salad, Fruit Salad
Cheese Pizza, Broccoli, Cake and Ice Cream (Birthday Dinner)
Layered Broccoli Rice Casserole, To Die For Blueberry Muffins
Biscuits and Gravy, Applesauce, Mixed Vegetables
Leftovers
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Gretchen’s Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan
Dillons Trip #1
I grabbed a few items at Dillons and was planning to go to Aldi the next morning, but my husband offered to go grocery shopping for me since I have an extremely busy and stressful week and I said, “YES, please!” However, he refuses to shop at Aldi so he took my Aldi list and went to Dillons instead. 😉 So our groceries this week were a *little* bit higher than I planned, but I’ll just spend less than planned next week to even it all out.
3.15 lbs Bananas – $1.54
1 Half & Half – $1.79
1 box CheezIt Crackers – $2.99, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $2.49 after coupon (I got this as a special treat for my son who has been BEGGING for CheezIts for a long time!)
1 Blue Bunny Ice Cream – $4.99 (For our at home date night!)
1 bag Kroger Flour – $1.49
1 Cucumber – $0.59
2 Green Leaf Lettuce – $1.69 each
Total after coupon: $16.27
Dillons Trip #2
2 pkg Kroger Frozen Chicken Breasts – $9.99 each
2 dozen Eggs – $0.59 each
1 pkg Ritz Crackers – $2.99
1 pkg Nabisco Premium Crackers – $2.49
1 Kroger Applesauce – $1.99
1 Kroger Half & Half – $1.79
1 lb Butter – $3.29
2 cans Cream of Chicken/Mushroom Soup – $1.25 each
2 pkg Kroger Shredded Cheese – $3.49 each
1 bag Frozen Broccoli – $2.89
2 pkg Strawberries – $2.50 each
1 box Nutri-Grain Bars – $2.99
1 pkg Grape Tomatoes – $1.49
1 pkg Mission Tortillas – $2.10, used $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.85 after rebate
1 loaf Bread – $2.49, used $0.50/1 e-coupon – $1.99 after coupon
1 pkg English Muffins – $2.79
2 Cucumbers – $0.59 each
Used $0.10/1 Ibotta rebate for receipt
Total after coupons and rebates: $63.27
Total for both stores: $79.54
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Cereal, English Muffins, Scrambled Eggs, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Lunches
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Tossed Salad, Cheese Quesadillas, Fruit/Veggies/Crackers, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Leftovers
Dinners
Salad Bar with Grilled Chicken
Chicken & Gravy over Rice, Leftover fruit from last week
Sour Cream Enchiladas, Tossed Salad
Savory Crescent Chicken Pockets, Steamed Broccoli
Homemade Cheese Pizza, Breadsticks
Pancakes, Eggs, Fruit Smoothies
Grilled Steak (from the freezer), Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Ice Cream (At home date after the kids are in bed!)
The Year That Changed the Trajectory of Our Lives
Guess what? Thanks to popular demand, Jesse is back on today’s episode of The Crystal Paine Show! And this time, he’s joining me for the entire episode. We didn’t really plan it… he was just sitting across from me when I went live and his mic was turned on. As you’ll hear… he jumped right in! 😉
We disagree about the weather, we talk about our new shower filter and how it’s made such a difference in our lives, and I ask Jesse to share about the books he’s been reading.
And then we pick up right where we left off in our story last time. If you remember back to our last episode, we told you about a hard place that we were in, both personally and financially.
Jesse had just lost his job, our second daughter had just been born, I was suffering from postpartum depression, and our marriage was on the rocks. That’s the point where we pick up the story today. In this episode, we share about how Jesse’s struggle to find a job and our desperate place of needing to pay the bills actually inspired us to do some outside-the-box things.
Little did we dream that what we would experiment with and set up during that dark time in our lives would end up changing the entire trajectory of our lives. In fact, there is a very good chance I wouldn’t have this podcast or run MoneySavingMom.com or be living in TN or have the opportunity to help and impact millions around the world or have the wonderful friendships here we do if it weren’t for that dark season of our lives.
You never know what how God might use a really difficult season in your life to prepare you for something bigger and greater than you could ever dream or imagine!
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In This Episode:
[01:48] – Jesse’s mic is live — surprise! (I didn’t even realize it when we went live. I thought he was just going to wait to go live until later on in the show. But nope… that’s not his style if he’s sitting in front of a live mic! And I loved that he got to jump in at various parts to share!)
[02:24] – My hair had been looking icky ever since we moved into our new house… I finally figured out what the problem was and share in this episode the inexpensive solution we came up with!
[06:39] – I asked Jesse to share what he’s reading right now. And we explain why I don’t ask him this question every month, unlike my other guests. I love how honest he is and how we are so different when it comes to books and reading.
[08:11] – Jesse and I talk about why we love You Need a Budget, this episode’s amazing sponsor, and Jesse shares more about how it works for him.
[11:09] – We recount the time in our lives when Jesse was unemployed and I ask Jesse to share more how it was for him to walk through that dark time.
[16:05] – I share about how that time in our lives propelled me to start MoneySavingMom.com — and how I envisioned it was just going to be this little extra thing I did on the side.
[18:02] – Jesse got a contract position at a big law firm right around the time I started MoneySavingMom.com and he shares more about that and how he grew so much from the various audiobooks and podcasts he listened to while doing pretty mindless document review at the law firm.
[18:56] – MoneySavingMom.com took off from the get-go and far exceeded our wildest expectations. Within a year, we were making a full-time income from it.
[22:34] – Jesse and I open up about how so many people expected us to buy a house right out of law school and how people thought we were kind of nuts to keep renting. But we look back and are so glad that we did.
[25:15:] – We share more about our crazy goal to pay cash for a house in 5 years and how this motivated us to continue to live as frugally as possible.
[26:08] – In hindsight, we can see so clearly how God used that difficult year to humble us, shape us, strengthen our marriage, and teach us to dream bigger. And to lead us on this journey we never anticipated… we’ll share more about that in our next episode!
Links and Resources:
- You Need a Budget (this episode’s amazing sponsor!)
- AquaBliss High Output 12-Stage Shower Filter
- This $33 Shower Filter Changed My Hair
- The Dichotomy of Leadership by Leif Babin and Jocko Willink
- The Crystal Paine Show Episode 17: The Hardest Year of Our Marriage (with Jesse Paine)
- Dave Ramsey
- My Favorite Things on Amazon
- CrystalPaine.com
- MoneySavingMom.com
- YourBloggingMentor.com
- My Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!)
- Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected]
How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show
The podcast is available on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can listen online through the direct player we’ll include in the show notes of each episode. OR, a much easier way to listen is by subscribing to the podcast through a free podcast app on your phone. (Find instructions for how to subscribe to a podcast here.)
Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.
Sponsor Spotlight
This episode is sponsored by YouNeedaBudget.com — the budgeting software we have personally used for the past two years and absolutely love.
We were introduced to this budgeting software by my brother-in-law, Justin, a few years ago. He and my husband, Jesse, are both what I would lovingly refer to as “nerds”.
You know the kind of people… those people who think spreadsheets are fun. And who geek out over features in Excel. Yup, those kinds of people.
You might as well poke my eyeballs out with a hot iron rod than get to me be giddy over creating spreadsheets. But nevertheless, I love Spreadsheet Nerds because they help keep people like me in line and on track!
Anyway, it was around Christmas time and Justin started telling Jesse about YouNeedaBudget — what we call YNAB for short. Jesse and I had both heard of this software before, but we had been using Quicken for so long that we’d not considered changing to anything else.
Well, when Jesse saw the features of YNAB, he was intrigued enough to sign up for the free trial. And it was pretty much love at first sight.
Truthfully, I can’t even begin to tell you how often I’ve heard him exclaiming to me, to friends, or just to himself something about, “How cool and helpful YNAB is!”
I’m such a pen and paper and cash girl, but after all his raving reviews, I finally gave in and downloaded it on my phone and had him show me how it works. It’s really, really impressive. I love how we can see exactly how we’re doing in every budget in just one glance.
And since we have multiple budgets for our businesses and personal, it allows us to track them all in one app. Which is so handy!
They usually only offer a 30-day trial, but they are giving you all a FREE 60-day trial so you can really get a feel for it and see how well it works.
Go here to sign up for your FREE 60-Day YNAB trial.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
$68 Grocery Budget: What we bought & ate
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.
Kroger Shopping Trip #1
- 2 dozen Simple Truth eggs — marked down $1.19 each
- Kroger butter — marked down to $1.49
- Kerrygold butter — marked down to $1.59
- 3 cartons cage-free eggs — marked down $1.19 each
- 4 boxes Ronzoni Veggie pasta — $1 each, used $2/4 Kroger Digital coupon = $0.50 each after coupon
- 4 boxes Ronzoni SmartTaste pasta — $1 each, used $2/4 Kroger Digital coupon = $0.50 each after coupon
- 4 boxes Creamette pasta — $1 each, used $2/4 Kroger Digital coupon = $0.50 each after coupon — You can get $1 back from iBotta for buying two — which makes 2 boxes completely free!
- Whole Wheat Pitettes — marked down to $1.29
- 3 bags of grapefruit — marked down to $0.99 each
- Chopped spinach — $1.59
- Olive Oil Cooking Spray — $2.99
- 5 boxes Kroger Instant Oatmeal — $1.49 each, used $0.50/1 Kroger Digital Coupon = $0.99 each
- Sweet Tarts Ropes — free with Free Friday coupon
- Total with tax: $30.62
Kroger Shopping Trip #2
- Dannon Oikos Triple Zero — marked down to $1.89
- 1 bag of oranges — marked down to $0.99
- 2 Carmex Lip Balm — marked down to $0.29
- Organic Romaine Lettuce — $1.79
- Kroger Powdered Sugar — $1.49
- 1 bag of potatoes — marked down to $1.50
- Total with tax: $8.78
I also ordered a box of trash bags from Amazon because I saw that there was a great coupon available (I don’t think it’s still available? I can’t see for sure since I already used it!)
I used a gift card earned for free from Swagbucks to pay for this, but I still deducted the amount spent from my grocery budget to keep it fair for you all who are following along with our $70 budget.
I got some great freebies in the mail this week! Kroger sent me an envelope of coupons, including coupons for a free box of Cheerios and a free box of Quaker Granola Bars! (If you have a Kroger store, make sure your address is correct in your account. They send these out quite often!)
I also got my free Deer Park water coupon and my free Natural Calm sample. What did YOU get in the mail this week?
I complete forgot to take a photo of my last Kroger shopping trip… but I did do a video on Facebook that I shared above (you can click on it to watch it). Here’s what I bought:
Kroger Shopping Trip #3:
- 1 box of Cheerios — free with coupon mailed to me (see above)
- 2 packages of Jimmy Dean sausage — $1.99 each with Friday-Saturday coupon
- 5 packages of Oreos — $1.49 each with the Friday-Saturday coupon
- Jimmy Dean turkey sausage — $1.99 each with Friday-Saturday coupon — you can get $0.80 back from Ibotta, which made this just $1.19
- Vitamin D milk — $2.49
- 1 bags of oranges — marked down to $0.99
- 1 box of Quaker granola bars — free with coupon mailed to me (see above)
- Total with tax: $17.96
This was one of the salads I ate almost every day this week because it was so good: spinach, avocado, Swiss cheese, and dried cranberries.
I am LOVING those of you who are posting your salads on Instagram and sharing your pictures of salads with me. I thought the above message was really impressive and inspiring!
What We Ate This Past Week
Note: When you see the meals below, please remember this: I buy ahead often. Which means that when I find a great deal on something I know we’ll use, I buy as much as I can afford in our budget to have on hand.
This means that you aren’t going to see all of the groceries my shopping trip that I used to make all of the meals we ate.
Please also remember that I’m putting this out there and it’s not a perfectly balanced menu. This is just really what we ate — and I hope that it encourages you to see the real-ness and lack of perfection here. ?
Breakfasts:
- Cereal, Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Hard Boiled Eggs, Peanut Butter/Banana Toast, Bacon
Lunches:
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Yogurt, Grapefruit, Avocados, Hard Boiled Eggs, Salad, Leftovers, Oranges, Cookies
Snacks:
- Yogurt, Oranges, Cookies, Grapefruit, Chocolate Cookies, Chips/Guac
Taco Casserole, Chicken Tetrazinni/Grapefruit, Fend for Yourself, Chicken Tetrazinni/Grapefruit/Salad, Chicken/Roasted Potatoes/oranges, scalloped potatoes, turkey sausage, oranges.
Dinners:
- Sunday — Taco Casserole, Salad
- Monday — Chicken Tetrazinni/Grapefruit
- Tuesday — Fend for Yourself
- Wednesday —Chicken Tetrazinni/Grapefruit/Salad
- Thursday — Italian Chicken/Roasted Potatoes/oranges
- Friday — Scalloped potatoes, turkey sausage, oranges
- Saturday — Frozen pizza (for the kids), Dinner out with two other couples (Jesse & I)
Total spent on groceries: $68.41
Psst! Need some help with cutting your grocery budget? Check out my series: 5 Days to a Better Grocery Budget.
Cashback earned this week: 125 points for submitting my receipts to Fetch rewards+ $1.80 back from iBotta for buying Creamette Pasta, Jimmy Dean sausage, and scanning a receipt.
Shared Feb 16, 2019
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Brigette’s $88 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6
Brigette’s $88 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6
Aldi
1 gallon Whole Milk – $1.31
1/2 gallon 1% Milk – $0.78
1 32-oz carton Half and Half – $1.55
2 64-oz cartons Orange Juice – $3.38
1 pkg fresh Chicken Drumsticks (@ $0.69/lb) – $3.23
1 2.33lb pkg 85/15 fresh Ground Beef – $5.67
1 3-lb bag frozen Boneless Chicken Breasts – $5.39
1 16-oz bag Wild Caught Salmon – $3.99
2 cans Chicken Breast – $3.10
1 pkg Pepperoni – $1.95
4 dozen Eggs – $2.28
1 bag frozen Brussel Sprouts – $0.55
2 bags frozen Broccoli Florets – $1.98
1 16-oz bag Mini Cucumbers – $1.69
1 bag Flat Leaf Spinach – $1.19
2 Cauliflower – $3.98
2 cans Green Beans – $0.76
1 bag fresh Green Beans – $1.39
1 bag fresh Brussel Sprouts – $1.49
1 pkg Romaine Hearts – $1.79
1 3-lb bag Sweet Potatoes – $1.69
2 pkgs Baby Carrots – $1.50
1 pkg Mini Sweet Peppers – $1.39
2 pkgs Strawberries – $2.98
1 pint Grape Tomatoes – $1.19
1 bunch Bananas (@ $0.29/lb) – $0.79
2 pkgs fresh Zucchini – $2.48
2 6-ct pkgs Strawberry Applesauce Cups – $1.98
1 32-oz carton Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt – $3.29
1 32-oz bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese – $4.49
3 8-oz blocks Mozzarella Cheese – $2.97
1 pkg String Cheese – $1.49
1 8-oz pkg Cream Cheese – $0.65
2 24-oz cartons Cottage Cheese – $3.18
1 pkg Cream Cheese Spread Wedges – $1.29
1 jar Pasta Sauce – $0.85
1 pkg Semi-Sweet Morsels – $1.19
1 bag Plain Rice Cakes – $1.15
1 pkg Flour Tortillas – $0.65
1 loaf Sandwich Bread – $0.65
2 boxes Honey Nut Oats – $2.30
1 32-oz box Elbow Macaroni – $1.09
Grocery Total for the Week: $88.69
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:
Cereal, Oatmeal, Yogurt, Fruit, Boiled/Scrambled/Fried Eggs, Veggie Omelets, Smoothies, Baked Oatmeal
Lunches
Cheese Quesadillas, Carrots, Strawberries x 2
Pretzels, Cheese Sticks, Applesauce, Cucumbers x 2
Leftovers, Fruit, Veggies x 3
Dinners
BBQ Meatballs, Tossed Salad, Green Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, Butterhorns, Ultimate Double Chocolate Brownies (company for dinner)
Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks, Stir-Fry Zucchini, Biscuits, Sweet Potatoes Fries
Baked Salmon, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Rice
Chicken Gravy over Rice, Broccoli, Tossed Salad
Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, Green Beans, Cottage Cheese Pie (family recipe)
Crockpot Italian Chicken, Garlic Mashed Cauliflower, Broccoli, Easy Italian Breadsticks in the Bread Machine
Crustless Vegetable Quiche, Fruit, Biscuits