Saving Families Money Since 2007
I was so honored to be interviewed on Dr. Meg Meeker’s podcast!
We talked about the pressures of being a perfect mom, how to how to fight the lies of feeling like you have to “do it all”, how to replace lies with truth, and what I’ve learned about authenticity in my blogging journey.
Welcome to my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip where I share our adventures along the way, how we’re doing this on a budget, honest reviews of attractions & restaurants we visit, and money-saving tips and ideas. If you missed it, read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, Day 7 here, and Day 8 here.
Okay. It’s official. I have fallen madly in love with Boston.
As in, I think I want to move to Boston. Or at least rent an apartment in the North End and visit for a week every month. (Hey, a girl can dream, right?? ;))
The coffee shops. The open air restaurants. The quaint streets. The scenery. The smells. I almost felt like I was back in Rome!
On Day 9 of our trip, we slept in and the drove to downtown Boston where we got all-day parking a block from Boston Common for just $15.
A few notes about parking and traffic:
After visiting the Boston Common, we headed out to walk the Freedom Trail. We LOVED how there was such an eclectic mix of modern and historical.
We were pleasantly surprised to notice how much cheaper the prices were in Boston compared to the prices we’d been seeing in NYC and DC! (For instance, tourist-y t-shirts were $10 and water bottles were $1.)
We loved getting to spend time at the Old South Meeting House, the site of the Boston Massacre, and Faneuil Hall.
We went to the Rose Kennedy Greenway halfway through our day and then came back to it near the end of the day because our kids loved it so much!
One of the things my followers on Facebook had told me that we had to do was to check out Mike’s Pastry’s and Modern Pastry. It seems like there might be a sort of friendly disagreement between locals as to which shop is the best.
Some locals said we HAD to go to Mike’s and others said we HAD to go to Modern. And most of the locals had a strong opinion as to which one we should go to! So we decided to go to both. 😉
We went to Modern first. The line was out the door and they had quite a huge selection of options but they line moved so fast that we had barely made our decisions of what we wanted to get by the time we got up to purchase. Note: They only accept cash.
Mike’s was PACKED. As in, there were 6 (?) long lines out the door, you couldn’t really see what they offered (though it was clear there was a LOT of cannoli options!) because there were so many people in front of the display cases.
While Jesse waited in line, the kids ate what some of we bought at Modern Pastry… which was probably completely against the “rules”, but they were hungry and the wait was long! 🙂
We got a cannoli and a scone at Mike’s and they were both so yummy!
We also walked to see Old North Church and Park Street Church.
And then we walked over the bridge to the USS Constitution. We LOVED getting to go on board this ship and couldn’t believe how they let people just walk around and touch almost everything!
A few things I wish had known ahead of time:
We walked back to Boston Common from the USS Constitution and saw Paul Revere’s house on the way.
We stopped by a SweetGreen to grab some salads to split for dinner and then had a picnic at Boston Public Garden where we fed the ducks and marveled at how perfect the weather was and how beautiful the evening was. This park is very worth visiting!
We hadn’t expected to stay in Boston until after dinner time, so my phone died for the last hour of the day so I wasn’t able to get all the pictures I would have liked to of the park, but we would highly recommend it.
We then headed back to our car around 7:30 p.m. and drove to New Hampshire (our first time there!) to be able to say that we’d visited the state and then headed to Albany, NY for the night and then it’s onto to PA!
To be continued…
Have you been to Boston before? Any suggestions for the best free or inexpensive places to visit there?
Guest post by Lisa of Lisa Tanner Writing:
Do you dream of lowering your grocery budget? Have you ever wander aimlessly through the kitchen, wondering what to cook? Are your kids always asking, “Mom, what’s for dinner?”
Yes…I can relate to all three of those questions! But don’t worry, I have a solution for you!
MEAL PLANNING!
I used to hate meal planning. In fact, I hated it so much I just didn’t do it. Then when meal times rolled around, the kids were hungry and wondering what we were going to eat… so was I!
I wasted so much time looking through cupboards, Googling recipes that use, “whatever ingredients I have in kitchen,” and then doing the actual cooking thing.
My grocery budget was out of control, because I wasn’t sure what I was going to cook — which meant buying a whole lot of everything, just in case. All that food sat in our pantry for who knows how long, and some of it eventually expired or spoiled. What a waste!
Thankfully, three years ago, I discovered a better way. I tried an annual meal plan and a corresponding shopping list.
Now I always know what I’m cooking, the kids know what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack on any given day, so they’ve stopped asking me, and I’m saving money because I’m buying with a plan! If I find a great deal on something on my master shopping list, I can stock up.
Creating an annual meal plan isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds! By using a combination of meal rotations and themed dinners, it comes together quickly.
I typically have my kids help me pick meals, because I’ve learned they complain a lot less if they have say in what we eat.
First, we tackle breakfast. Each child suggests a possible meal for breakfast. I mentally evaluate each of these options, looking for ideas that are:
If the idea meets all the requirements, I add it to our list. We keep brainstorming until we have seven, one breakfast for each day of the week.
On a piece of paper or a meal planner, I assign each breakfast to a day of the week. I try to match quick, or make-ahead breakfasts with days that tend to be busiest.
Lunch planning follows the same process, except I always have a day devoted to leftovers.
You can plan dinner the same way. But I don’t.
There’s something about eating the exact same dinner each week that I didn’t enjoy.
I needed a longer rotation period for dinner, so I decided to plan with themes. By picking four or five meals for each theme, I created a monthly rotation.
Wondering what themes to try? Here are some of my family’s favorites:
For noodle night, we might enjoy these meals throughout the month:
They’re all noodles, but it doesn’t feel repetitive!
NOTE: If you’re making your plan on the computer, I recommend linking to the recipes you find for each idea, to save time.
I’ve included copies of my own annual meal planner below — maybe it will help you get started!
- PDF version (it will open in a new window)
- Word Doc. (it will download to your computer so you can open and edit it with Word)
The real time and money saving magic happens through making your shopping list.
It typically takes me three hours, BUT then I’m finished for the year (except for a quick glance each month before I shop).
I go through each recipe, and write down every ingredient needed. By doing it in an Excel document, I don’t have to worry about writing something down twice, because I just filter out the duplicates.
I determine how much I need to buy each month of each ingredient, and put that on my spreadsheet. Using my best guess, I use another column to record prices for each. Then when I multiply the quantity by the cost, I have a pretty accurate budget for each month.
While taking the first shopping trip with the new list, I make sure to note price differences to update when I get home. I always round up to give myself a little buffer.
My favorite thing about an annual meal plan is that I only have to do it once every year! Other benefits include:
Give annual meal planning a try. It seriously saves time, money, and your sanity!
As a mom of 8, Lisa Tanner is skilled at finding order in chaos. She loves helping other moms find ways to minimize their decisions to maximize productivity and live the life they want. When she’s not homeschooling the kids or milking a cow, you’ll find her blogging at Lisa Tanner Writing, about balancing diapers and deadlines.
We’ve had a different-than-usual week with company here for several days (and they showed up bringing lots of food with them!) and several different generous friends stopping by our house with things like freshly picked peaches and home grown tomatoes! Yum! When I analyzed our refrigerator yesterday, I realized there was almost nothing we needed – except to eat up all kinds of leftovers. 🙂 I did make a Harris Teeter trip to snag a few good deals, but the main goal this week is to work on eating up what we already have.
ZayconThis is the first time I’ve bought 80/20 ground beef from Zaycon, and if you’re into grilled hamburgers – this stuff is GREAT! I already buy all my chicken from Zaycon, and I’ve tried their 93/7 ground beef – all of which we love! I decided it was time to branch out a little. 😉 We’ve been enjoying the meat all week! It comes in 4 10-lb packages, so I divided it up into around 40 freezer ziplocs before freezing it. It does take some work to get it freezer ready, but it’s worth it. It normally sells for $111.60 ($2.79/lb), but I waited for Zaycon to run a “deal” on it, which they run on all their products periodically. Our family loves Zaycon, and this mama loves not having to buy meat every week at the grocery store!
40lbs 80/20 Fresh Ground Beef – $87.05, used $62.31 in credits – $24.74
Total: $24.74
5 tubs Turkey Hill Ice Cream (B2G3) – $9.98, used $1.50/1 printable – $8.48 after coupon
5 ears Sweet Corn – $1.00
6 cans Tomatoes – $2.00
6 cans Green Beans – $2.00
3 boxes Rice Krispies – $5.01, used 3 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $2.01/3 boxes after coupons
2 bags Bird’s Eye Steamfresh Broccoli – $2.39, used $1.00/2 Birds Eye Varieties – 6-25-17 SS (exp. 08/14/17) – $1.39/2 after coupon
3 bottles Ken’s Simply Vinaigrette Salad Dressing – $4.47, used 3 $0.75/1 printable (doubled) – FREE after coupons
1 Annie’s Mac and Cheese Cup – $1.00, used $0.50/1 printable from annies.com (doubled) – FREE after coupon
2 boxes Community Coffee Kcups – $9.98, used $4/2 Community Coffee Coupon, RP 7/16, plus receive 2 $2 rebates from Checkout 51 AND a $3 catalina for buying 2 – $1.02 MM after coupons, catalina and rebate!
Total after coupons, rebates, and catalina: $15.86
Grocery Total for the Week: $40.60
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Peach Overnight Oatmeal x 2
Cereal x 2
Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Fruit x 3
Lunches
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwiches, Peaches, Carrot Sticks x 2
Lunch at Church – I’m bringing a big Tossed Salad
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Raw Veggies with Dip, Apple Slices x 2
Leftovers x 2
Dinners
Grilled Hamburgers, Baked Potato Wedges, Tossed Salad, Green Beans
Teriyaki Chicken, Rice, Broccoli, Peaches
Homemade Cheese Pizza, Watermelon
Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Grilled Veggies (Peppers, Zucchini, Onions and Mushrooms), Sliced Tomatoes
Egg Roll Bowl Recipe, Rice, Fruit Salad
Leftovers x 2
Looking for some fun dessert recipes that you can make ahead of time and freeze for later?
These are 7 of my favorite freezer-friendly dessert recipes…
1. Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies — This a staple dessert recipe in our family. It’s a hearty cookie that blends two of my favorite foods together — chocolate and peanut butter. And the whole-wheat flour and oats might help balance out the sugar and fat… or at least I like to tell myself that!
2. Better Than Mounds Bars — This delicious dessert from my sister is great for special occasions! If you take a plate of these decadent candy-bar-like cookies to a get-together or party, you will have people begging you for the recipe! They are very rich (which means one pan goes a long way!), indulgent, and an amazing addition to a plate of assorted homemade Christmas goodies.
3. Oreo Ice Cream Cake –Need a quick and easy recipe for a hot day? This is such a simple recipe and pretty much everyone loves it! This cake is perfect for a summer birthday or get-together. Plus, it doesn’t heat up the house!
4. Pumpkin Bars — For as long as I can remember, this recipe has been a family favorite during the fall months. Since these pumpkin bars are easy to make and the recipe makes a huge pan, they are perfect for serving to company or taking to a party. They also freeze beautifully, thaw extremely quickly, and stay incredibly moist without getting soggy.
5. Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies — These buttery gems are crispy on the edges and soft and gooey in the center. Not too puffy, and not too flat. Perfect. It’s a pretty basic recipe with a couple of interesting additions. I don’t recommend making any substitutions or leaving anything out!
6. Peanut Butter Bon-Bons — These bon-bons only take a handful of ingredients, make a large batch, and store in the freezer very well. They look fancy and indulgent and taste amazing. Just one word of warning, though: these are extremely addictive!
7. World’s Easiest Christmas Candy — We used to have a yearly family tradition of making this Christmas Candy. It’s the easiest stuff ever to make, it is inexpensive, and it’s SO addicting! And I think this would be a fun dessert any time of the year. 😉
What are some of your family’s favorite dessert recipes? I’d love to hear!
Welcome to my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip where I share our adventures along the way, how we’re doing this on a budget, honest reviews of attractions & restaurants we visit, and money-saving tips and ideas. If you missed it, read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, Day 6 here, and Day 7 here.
Well, we had planned to get to Boston by late afternoon, but the day didn’t quite pan out like that…
We were just going to drive through Connecticut (our first time to visit the state!), but we stopped to buy a case of water (it’s SO much cheaper to buy water by the case than to buy individual bottles!) and 2 $6 footlongs to split at the Subway in Madison.
(Need an inexpensive but somewhat healthy meal option? We love to split footlongs — especially whatever is the special of the day priced at just $6 per footlong.)
We wanted to eat outside, but there was no place to eat outside at the rest stop. So we drove to the sign that said Hammonasset State Park and were going to pull in and eat at a picnic table there. Only it was $22 to park in the park — which we didn’t want to pay (of course!) since we were just planning to make it a quick 20-minute stop to eat our lunch!!
We found a nearby (free!) parking spot at the Shoreline Trail. There were signs about the beach and I just couldn’t really bear the thought that we were so close to a beach and couldn’t see it because of the trees. (If you know me well, you know that the beach is my happy place!)
I figured the beach must be super close so I asked Jesse if I could take the Shoreline Trail for a bit and go find it. Kaitlynn wanted to come with me. So off we went!
And I’m so glad we did — even if it ended up being a much longer walk than we had anticipated, because the beach was absolutely gorgeous!!! And the weather was perfect.
I called Jesse (who was still back at the trail head with Kathrynne and Silas) and was like, “I know we were only planning to stay here for 20 minutes, but this beach is AMAZING! Is there any way that you could walk here and meet us? I don’t think you’ll regret it!”
Always one for adventure, he walked to meet us at the beach and we all had fun playing in the water (well, as much as the kids could since they didn’t want to get completely drenched!) and just enjoying the beautiful view!
So much for the 20 minute pit stop! We were probably there at least an hour and half! But it was worth it!
We then drove on through Rhode Island (our first time to be there!) and made it to Massachusetts (another new state for us!) We stopped at Cape Cod for a short while (it was beautiful!) and then headed to Plymouth.
Plymouth was quite the hopping place, which somewhat surprised us — especially since it was past 8 pm on a Saturday evening. We got dinner at a total tourist-y place (Pebbles Restaurant) because it was the only place close and we were so hungry! But it ended up being great food and I got to try Fried Dough for the first time (yum!!)
We pulled into our hotel in Boston only to discover Jesse had booked it for the wrong night on accident and they were sold out. So 11 pm found us sitting in our car searching online for a hotel in a good area that was a good rate that didn’t charge $40 for parking! We finally found one and crashed there around midnight!
Have you been to Connecticut or Rhode Island before? Any suggestions for the best free or inexpensive places to visit there?
Welcome to my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip where I share our adventures along the way, how we’re doing this on a budget, honest reviews of attractions & restaurants we visit, and money-saving tips and ideas. If you missed it, read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here, and Day 6 here.
We had SUCH a fun adventure in NYC and I had a terrible time picking the pictures to share with this post, because there were so many I wanted to share!
It was my 4th time to be in NYC, Jesse’s 2nd time, and our kids’ first. The first time I came, I was overwhelmed. This time, it was still thrilling, but it felt much more familiar and much easier to navigate (even though the subway is still a challenge!)
Instead of staying in the city, which would mean we’d also have to drive in the city (something we wanted to avoid!), we took a bus from our hotel in New Jersey to the Port Authority Bus Station in Times Square. It cost $8.50 for a round-trip ticket for ages 12 to adult and it’s $4.25 for kids 11 and under.
This was our first time to stay outside the city and this worked really well. It was also much cheaper and simpler than trying to stay in the city ever would have been.
When the bus dropped us off at the bus station, we then walked to Times Square for a little while. Our kids basically stood in Times Square with their jaws dropped. “You see the pictures, but it’s nothing like actually being here!” Yup, that’s the truth!
After spending a little time in Times Square, we took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and spent the afternoon there. The memorial is beautiful and such a poignant reminder of the lives lost.
Some things you should know before visiting:
I would strongly, strongly encourage everyone to make going to the memorial and the museum a priority. I’m so glad we went — just like Arlington and the Holocaust Museum, it was a heavy sort of experience, but one that is an important piece of our history and that we want our kids to understand.
We then walked to the Staten Island Ferry to take a round-trip on it. It was almost 7 p.m. when we left, if I’m remembering correctly, so we got to see amazing views of NYC and the Statue of Liberty — at dusk and at night.
I would highly recommend making this Ferry Ride a priority if you visit NYC. It’s such a fun experience and it’s the best price: FREE!
We then took the subway back to Times Square and decided to let our kids get a little taste of NYC at night. We walked around with the eclectic masses of people for awhile and then splurge on Frozen Yogurt with toppings and a Tiramisu Crepe at 10:30 pm at night!
And then we road the bus back to our hotel and got in around midnight! I thought everyone would be ready to crash (I sure was!), but nope! The kids wanted to process the day and talk about their thoughts and feelings about the whole experience!
That’s one of the beautiful things about this trip that we didn’t really expect: the questions that our kids asked and the conversations that have resulted from all the experiences we had and the many varied and interesting people from all walks of life that we met and saw and interacted with.
I feel like it has expanded their horizons, deepened their appreciation for our country, and given them a very different taste of culture outside of Kansas and Tennessee!
Next stop: Boston!
To be continued…
Have you been to NYC before? If so, any inexpensive or free suggestions of places to visit or things to do?
Since we were out of town for two weeks, our fridge was really bare so I did a big shopping trip to stock back up for this week! Here’s what I bought at ALDI:
I also quickly stopped by Kroger to grab some cage-free eggs (our ALDI doesn’t carry them and these are what we use for scrambled eggs, etc.) and to grab some cottage cheese (because I forgot to buy it at ALDI). I also looked at the markdowns to see what they had.
I was excited with the deals I found:
All totaled, we spent $106.35 on groceries. We usually average around $125 in grocery spending per week (though recently, it’s been less — in fact, we set aside all of our extra grocery money from the past few months to use for our food spending on our recent vacation!), so I was excited to restock our fridge and have food for all of our meals this week and still stay under-budget!
Here’s what’s on our menu plan this week:
Breakfast — Cereal, Oatmeal, Toast, Eggs, Fruit, French Toast
Lunches — Turkey Sandwiches, Chicken Hot Dogs, Cheese Quesadillas, Caeser Salad, Yogurt, Fruit/Veggies, Chips/Salsa/Guac, Leftovers
Dinners — Baked Ziti, Corn Chowder, Haystacks, Breakfast for Dinner (French Toast/Bacon), Southwest Roll-Ups, Sausage & Peppers over Rice, Dinner Out
New to shopping at ALDI? Read how we save close to $1,000 per year by shopping at ALDI. Also, check out my post with my 25 Favorite Things to Buy at ALDI.
Want to see me break down my shopping trips and talk more about why I bought each item? Watch these videos:
Aldi
1 bag Chips – $1.19
1 loaf Bread – $0.89, used $0.25/1 Checkout 51 rebate – $0.64 after rebate
1 lb Ground Beef – $2.99
1 dozen Eggs – $0.67
1 bag Frozen Veggies – $0.99
1 bag Frozen Strawberries – $2.09, used $0.25/1 Checkout 51 rebate – $1.84 after rebate
1 bag Frozen Blueberries – $2.29
1 bag Flour – $1.25
1 bag Baby Carrots – $0.99
1 bag Shredded Cheese – $2.49
2 cans Cream of Chicken/Mushroom Soup – $0.49 each
1 bag Spinach – $1.49
1 bag Vine Tomatoes – $1.29
1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies – $0.45
1 bag Frozen Tilapia Fillets – $3.39
1 bag Red Grapes – $2.38
1 lb Butter – $2.59
1 Plain Yogurt – $1.89
1 Cantaloupe – $0.99
Total after rebates: $35.37
Dillons
I used ClickList again since I had 5 coupons for free items if I used ClickList PLUS $10 off $50!
2.94 lbs Potatoes – $2.91
1 Honey Nut Cheerios – $4.49, used Free ClickList coupon – Free after coupon
1 Hungry Jack Pancake Mix – $2.49, used Free ClickList coupon – Free after coupon
1 Klondlike Ice Cream Bars – $2.99, used $1.50/1 ClickList coupon – $1.54 after coupon
1 bag Kroger Frozen Chicken Breasts – $6.99, used $1.50/1 e-coupon – $5.49 after coupon
5 cans Green Beans – $0.39 each
1 Romaine Lettuce – $1.29
1 Martha White Muffin Mix – $1, used Free ClickList coupon – Free after coupon
1 Monster Muscle – $2.50, used Free ClickList coupon – Free after coupon
1 Nature Valley Granola Bars – $2.99, used Free ClickList coupon – Free after coupon
2 Oscar Mayer Turkey/Cheddar Trays – $2.50 each, used Buy One Get One Free ClickList coupon – $1.25 each after coupon
1 Perrier Water – $1.87 (I had a free coupon for this but it didn’t come off when I checked out.)
1 Quaker Overnight Oatmeal – $1.79, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Simple Truth K-Cups – $5.99, used $1.50/1 e-coupon – $4.49 after coupon
1 Talenti Gelato – $3.49 (I also had a free coupon for this as well but it didn’t work.)
Used $10/$50 ClickList order coupon
I also had a coupon to waive the $4.95 ClickList fee.
Total after coupons: $15.53
Total for both stores: $50.90
Toast, Eggs & Spinach x 4
Blackberry Coffee Cake
Cereal x 2
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Carrots Sticks, Grapes x 2
Mac & Cheese, Grapes
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tossed Salad x 2
Leftovers x 2
Lasagna Casserole, Rolls, Steamed Broccoli
Waffles, Eggs, Sausage
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, Chips
Grilled Tilapia, Mashed Potatoes, Tossed Salad
Cheesy Broccoli Chicken & Rice, Cantaloupe
Easy Beef Enchiladas, Chips, Fruit Salad, Steamed Veggies
Out to eat
Need some encouragement to take charge of your mornings? Kalyn Brooke has a GREAT post on Morning-Routine Success!
In it, she shares 3 quick tips to creating a routine, the pivotal ingredient to a successful morning, and a peek inside her personal morning routine.
And if you’ve never gone through my Make Over Your Mornings Course, she also has an exclusive coupon code to get my course for just $10 right now!
Love thrift store shopping? Don’t miss these great tips on how to find the best bargains!
Guest post from Beck
Well, it happened to me yet again.
One morning, I breezed into the office to pick up my mail, as I always do. As I thumbed through the envelopes, my colleague said:
“Wow, what a great outfit! Where did you get that dress?” It had a flashy geometric black and white design, and hit me mid-thigh.
“Believe it or not, from Goodwill,” I answered, smiling.
“WHAT? How much was it?” my colleague fired back.
“$4.50.” (I love that part!) I twirled so she could see the front and back of the dress.
“That’s amazing. How about your boots?” (My colleague was clearly astonished.)
“They were $6.50,” I said, trying hard not to sound too smug. “Also from Goodwill.” (They were a velvety-soft black suede with small kitten heels — a real find as I’d seen a similar pair in an expensive catalogue for around $250.)
“That’s it? You mean to tell me that everything you have on cost around $10? Why can’t I find those things at thrift stores when I’m looking?” she asked dejectedly.
This is a question I am asked time and time again.
As an experienced thrift shop shopper (some have even referred to me as “Thrift Queen”), I realize I do have certain strategies for finding great bargains.
If you’re a patient and dogged shopper, just follow these simple secrets to great bargains for next to nothing — including name-brand items.
That’s right. If you walk into a thrift shop looking specifically for something (a teapot, say), you more than likely won’t find it.
My best acquisitions have been when I have not been looking for anything in particular, and just happened to stumble across the exact thing I never knew I needed!
Staff at thrift shops are constantly restocking shelves and shifting around merchandise. I usually check out my thrift shops about once a week to see what might be there.
Many thrift shops have certain items on sale just like normal stores, especially at the end of a season. Think ahead, keeping in mind what you or your family might need in the next few months.
If you’re a busy working mother, time is a precious commodity indeed. Any type of shopping takes time, but this is even more an issue when shopping in thrift stores.
Some stores are organized by sizes (I call these “Size Stores”), so you can peruse all of the size 10 womens’ pants. Others are organized by color or type of clothes (I dubbed these “Type Stores”), rather than by size; you can therefore shop for all of the women’s’ jeans, for example, but they will have to look through all of them to find your size.
Focus is necessary in such an endeavor, and is probably best done when you are not in a hurry, or when it’s time for your baby’s nap.
Most thrift stores have a return policy posted, but it is best to ask the cashier what the store’s policy is before you buy the item. Some stores will grant a complete refund for returned items, while others will grant store credit.
Other stores will not accept refunds at all on personal items, such as bathing suits, intimate apparel, hats, or shoes. Find out before you buy so that you are not disappointed if you can’t return it.
Since most of the items in a thrift store are second hand, check carefully for any tears, scratches, holes, stains, or anything else that needs fixing. If it is an item of clothing you are trying on, look at it closely in the mirror from all sides. Take off the item, and check all of the seams in all hidden places, such as under the arms.
For me, the answer is much deeper than getting a deal or paying a certain price.
Of course, shopping at a second-hand store usually is cheaper than buying new, especially as far as clothes are concerned. Children’s clothes can be outrageously priced, and since my kids are constantly growing out of clothes (or destroying them by falling out of trees, spilling ketchup on them, barfing on them), continually buying new clothes is an expensive endeavor.
It simply makes more sense to buy something slightly used that my child can wear without complaining, “I spent twenty bucks on those pants! I can’t believe he tore out the knees again!”
Another reason to buy at a thrift store is that it helps the environment by recycling. Instead of throwing furniture, clothes, curtains, or housewares into a landfill, donate them to a local thrift shop.
Making any type of donation to a charity is tax-deductible, so ask for a receipt from a staff member, and when it’s time to do your tax return, make it part of the receipts you have saved throughout the year. You get extra space in your closet or attic, while the store makes money by selling your items.
Even more importantly, most thrift stores use their profits to benefit a certain organization. The Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries International, and the Humane Society have respect and recognition throughout the United States and the world. I love knowing that what I’m buying contributes to a cause.
I leave the store knowing I’ve helped others in my community who are in need of assistance, whether it goes toward getting a dog spayed, or helps provide someone a way out of poverty or addiction.
Finally, getting a good deal can be uplifting — and FUN! Searching through racks of clothes and finding just the right item has become almost a game for me.
Many times, I leave empty-handed. That’s fine, because I know I’ll be back again, and I’ll find the perfect coat, sweater, pajamas, mixing bowl, or end table.
Beck Lister is an associate professor of music at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA, where she teaches voice lessons, vocal literature, vocal pedagogy, and diction. In her spare time, she is a chauffeur for her two teenagers and a dedicated thrift shopper.
Guest post Dawn of Choosing Real
No matter where you are traveling, everyone has to eat — there is no way around that. However, with some advanced planning, you can save a lot of money on food and still have a great vacation the whole family will enjoy.
Here are 5 ways my family chooses to save money on food during family vacations:
Many chain hotels offer a free continental breakfast, or even a full complementary breakfast. My family tends to seek out hotels that provide a full complementary breakfast.
We are fans of staying at Drury Hotels. These hotels include a full breakfast plus an evening “kick back” dinner as part the hotel price. From our experience, Hampton Inns usually have a good breakfast as part of the hotel price, too.
The food offered by hotels is not exactly healthy food, but being able to save money on food for our family of four is a nice benefit.
It is not always practical to stay at a hotel that offers free meals. Hotels that have restaurants on site generally will not offer a free breakfast option. Plus, you still have to plan for lunches and dinners.
When packing meals, it is a big help to have a hotel room with a microwave and refrigerator. If you don’t know if you will have a refrigerator, you can pack a cooler and plan the meals that must be kept cold for early in the trip.
Check ahead of time to see if the places you’re visiting allow you to bring in outside food. While you might not be able to bring a cooler into the zoo, you may be able to bring in water bottles and outside snacks and leave the cooler in the car.
I enjoy saving money by packing picnic lunches. Here are some meal options I have successfully packed for family vacations:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
I love Crystal’s tip to freeze PB&J sandwiches in bulk. I make a bunch of sandwiches ahead of time and think about how many days we want to eat PB&J during our trip (usually no more than 1 or 2 meals).
Ham and cheese sandwiches
I usually plan ham and cheese sandwiches for our first picnic lunch of the trip so there is no risk of the meat going bad from getting warm.
Spaghetti
If you don’t mind eating cold spaghetti (my kids sure don’t mind), this is an easy meal to put in individual, stackable containers in a cooler and eat with forks at a rest stop while traveling.
Oatmeal
If you’ll have access to a microwave, you can cook oatmeal for breakfast in the hotel room, and it is a filling start to the day. I have made family-sized oatmeal packs by mixing 2 cups quick oats, 2 tbsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon in stackable containers. I also packed frozen strawberries in the cooler and bananas to slice into the oatmeal.
To cook the oatmeal, I pour an oatmeal pack into a 4-cup glass measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way with water and cook for about 3 minutes in the microwave. Then I served in individual bowls in our hotel room and stirred in strawberries and bananas. Just don’t forget to pack dishes.
Easy Sides
Individual applesauce containers travel well. Aldi often carries organic, no-sugar-added applesauce in different fruit flavors that I love to stock up on for summer. Grapes and sliced carrots in containers and served family-style also work great for picnics.
I never would have planned eating a picnic lunch in a parking lot, but looking at this picture and remembering that we did, makes me smile.
If packing a cooler is not your thing, at least pack your own snacks. This will keep you from making a last minute stop you don’t really need when everyone is getting hungry and cranky.
For long trips in the car, I like to pack flavored rice cakes, raisins, and graham crackers for snack options that don’t require a cooler.
For the times we are out and about walking, I like to pack individual snack packs in plastic baggies that I can fit in my purse. I’ve done this with peanuts and raisins and also walnuts, dried cranberries, and dried bananas. I love these options because the nuts give an energy boost and the dried fruit provides sweetness that feels like a treat.
If you and your family are staying well-hydrated, you will be less likely to feel like you have to buy extra snacks while traveling. We all travel with water bottles next to us in the car. Then we will refill our water bottles at drinking fountains when we stop at rest areas along the route.
I often look ahead of time to see if places we plan to visit will allow us to bring in our own water bottles. I like to freeze large bottles of water a couple of days before our trip and use those to keep the cooler cold.
As the bottles of ice begin to melt, we can use those to replenish our water bottles when we need to.
You don’t have to prepare every meal — after all, you ARE on vacation!
We tend to pack lunches and snacks, and then visit local restaurants for our evening dinners. We like to look for family restaurants ahead of time that will be near the sites we are visiting.
Chances are we will not be returning to that city for a long time. Because of this, we like to seek out restaurants in the area that are unique to the area and get great customer reviews. We don’t normally visit chain restaurants unless it is a chain we don’t have close to home.
Dawn is a wife and working mom of two. She blogs at Choosing Real, where she helps busy moms balance the chaos of everyday life so they can provide healthier meals and healthier homes for their families. She believes making healthy choices shouldn’t be a sacrifice.
Aldi1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $2.99
1 bag Classic Cole Slaw Mix – $1.29
1 3-pk Colored Peppers – $1.79
1 pkg Sliced Mushrooms – $1.69
1 bag Zucchini – $1.79
1 3-lb bag Sweet Potatoes – $1.29
1 16-oz pkg Roma Tomatoes – $1.49
1 pt Grape Tomatoes – $1.89
4 ears Sweet Corn – $0.20 (!!)
1 huge Cantaloupe – $0.99
3 Avocados – $2.37
1 16-oz bag Mini Cucumbers – $1.99
1 bag Red Grapes (1.92lb @ $1.49/lb) – $2.86
1 Cauliflower – $2.29
2 1-lb pkgs Cherries – $2.98
1 bunch Bananas (2.30lbs @ $0.44/lb) – $1.01
1 bag Radishes – $1.49
1 16-oz carton Egg Whites – $1.89
2 64-oz cartons Orange Juice – $3.78
1 64-oz carton Unsweetened Almond Milk – $1.99
1 16-oz carton Heavy Whipping Cream – $1.69
1 32-oz carton Half and Half – $1.69
2 cans Chicken Breast – $3.38
1 pkg String Cheese – $2.79
1 large jar Grape Jelly – $1.39
1 40-oz jar Peanut Butter – $2.89
1 bag Corn Chips – $0.89
Total: $52.78
Harris Teeter2 boxes Lucky Charms – $3.76, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $1.76/2 boxes after coupons
2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch – $3.76, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $1.76/2 boxes after coupons
2 boxes Honey Nut Cheerios – $3.76, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – $1.76/2 boxes after coupons
2 boxes Cheerios – $3.76, used 2 $0.50/1 printable (doubled), plus $1/2 evic – $0.76/2 boxes after coupons
15 Yoplait Yogurts – $5.55, plus used 3 $0.50/5 Yoplait Yogurt Cups – 6-25-17 SS (exp. 08/19/17) (doubled), plus $1/10 evic – $1.55/15 after coupon
PLUS, receive $5.00 catalina coupon for spending $20.00 on select General Mills Products – $2.59 for 8 boxes of Cereal plus 15 Yoplait Yogurts after Coupons and Catalina!!
6 Larabars -$5.28, used 3 $0.50/2 printable (doubled), plus $0.50/2 evic – $1.78/6 after coupons
1 Watermelon – $1.99
1 box True Lemon – $1.49, used $0.70/1 printable (doubled), – $0.09 after coupon
Total after Coupons and Catalina – $6.45
Grocery Total for the Week: $65.68
Weekly Menu Plan
Breakfasts
Cereal x 3
Yogurt and Fruit x 2
Oatmeal x 2
Lunches
Baked Potatoes with Cheese, Raw Veggies x 2
Chef Salad, Fruit x 2
Veggie Omelets, Fruit x 2
Leftovers
Dinners
(My children are at their Grandparent’s house most of the week – so my husband and I are taking full advantage of Date Nights this week since this only happens once a year! I’m only planning a few dinners, and the rest of the time we will eat out or do take-out :))
Hamburgers on the Grill (I’m picking up 40lbs of Ground Beef later today – I’ll post about it next week), Baked French Fries, Watermelon, Corn on the Cob
Taco Salad, Mexican Rice, Roasted Cauliflower
Grilled Chicken, Easy Whole Wheat Bread, Homemade Coleslaw, Baked Sweet Potatoes
Welcome to my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip where I share our adventures along the way, how we’re doing this on a budget, honest reviews of attractions & restaurants we visit, and money-saving tips and ideas. If you missed it, read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, Day 4 here, and Day 5 here.
How is it already Day 6 of our 14-day trip?!? I’m sad that time is going by so quickly!
This trip has been so good for us. We’re spending so much quality time together, we’re experiencing so many memories together, we’re having so many good conversations, we’re learning so much about history, and it’s just drawing us close together as a family.
There’s part of me who wishes we travelled full-time. But I’ll be quick to say that the other part of me loves our community in TN, the routine and rhythm of our simple life, and yes, and our own bedroom with a door that shuts! 😉
After a few full days in D.C., Day 6 was a laundry and travel day.
The 5-day clothes packing system is working really well! Today, we stopped by a laundromat in Alexandria to do our laundry and now have fresh, clean clothes for the next 5 days.
(Note: While we were really happy with how simple it was to use the laundromat and how clean the place was — we had looked up reviews online ahead of time — it took us quite a bit of extra time to go to the laundromat and wait for the laundry to get done. Next time, we’re going to try to plan it so we choose a hotel with laundry facilities as I think that will make it much easier and less time-consuming.)
While we were waiting for the laundry to run, I got in some blogging time. 🙂 I love that I can take my laptop with me and work pretty much anywhere.
Some of you have asked when I’m fitting in work on this trip. Well, I had initially thought that I’d work in the mornings and then we’d go explore and play in the afternoons. But I quickly realized that plan just wasn’t going to work without it meaning that my family was waiting around on me and I was feeling stressed that I needed to hurry up and get done.
So, for the most part, I’ve just been fitting in work where I can — which is usually when Jesse is driving or at night after the kids go to bed. And sometimes, like today, it was at the laundromat.
Before I left on this trip, I worked hard to make sure things were in good shape business-wise, we cleared my schedule so that I didn’t have any extra tasks while I was gone, and I decided to only focus on doing the basics + blogging/posting on social media about our trip while I was gone. This meant that I was able to cut back to only needing to work about 4 hours per day, instead of my usual 7-8 hours.
(I’m so blessed to have a team in place who works so hard behind the scenes so that I can take a two-week vacation and be offline for half the day — or more! — every day without me having to stress that things are falling apart or the work is piling up in my absence. For years, I tried to do so much of the work myself because I just didn’t have the courage to delegate and trust other people. The more than I’ve delegated and trusted people and focused on doing only those things that I can do/am good at, the more I’ve enjoyed life. Plus, I’ve been able to empower other people to use their gifts and skills to not only earn an income but to also make a difference through this blog/business.)
The kids made notebooks for themselves with travel games in them printed from MomsMinivan.com (yes, when your kids get older, they instigate this kind of stuff all on their own and just ask you for permission to do it!!).
They also came up with the idea — 100% on their own! — to implement a ticketing system. They printed these tickets here and then made one baggie for each child.
I set the timer for 30 mins and then hand out a ticket when the timer goes off to everyone who has had a good attitude. At the end of the day, whoever has the most tickets, gets to choose which show we watch as a family when we’re at the hotel.
This system has been very effective — especially on our longer traveling days!
The TollsThe tolls from D.C. to New Jersey are pretty crazy. We spent about $30 just in tolls today! We were definitely not prepared for that and it shocked us that about every few miles (it felt like!), we had to hand over more cash!
The traffic was also really bad in Maryland, so we ended up stopping at Barnes & Noble to take a break since some of us were really car sick. I had a $50 gift card I’d been saving and I whipped that out and we used it for special treats at the cafe plus letting the kids each pick one thing out to do while driving.
DelawareWe passed through Delaware — my first time in the state, if I’m remembering correctly! We didn’t stop anywhere, but at least I can now say I’ve been to the state!
New Jersey!We made it to New Jersey and are headed to spend the day in NYC tomorrow! I can’t wait for our kids to experience it! (This was my top pick for where we’d stop on the trip!)
What I Read TodayI read this fascinating book by Obama’s deputy chief of staff, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? (It has a lot of crass language in it and it has very mixed reviews on Amazon, but I personally found it to be a really interesting look at what it’s really like to work in the White House and the stress that comes with the responsibility riding on your shoulders.)
To be continued…
Want to follow along with our trip in real-time? Follow my personal Instagram account here where I’ll be sharing a daily recap + videos and photos via Instagram Stories.
Welcome to my 14-day series on our East Coast Road Trip where I share our adventures along the way, how we’re doing this on a budget, honest reviews of attractions & restaurants we visit, and money-saving tips and ideas. If you missed it, read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here, and Day 4 here.
Y’all. On Day 5 of our trip, I realized just how much I’ve changed in the past year, thanks to my Year of Rest and so much heart work.
Not only did I wear yellow shoes to walk all over D.C. (who knew that the color yellow would make me so happy??), but I randomly stopped into a little shop called Teaism and bought some Heart of Africa tea (Me? Spontaneously purchasing something? Just for fun?? And loving it? Who am I?), and then it poured rain and we got soaked to the bone at the Arlington Cemetery and I just laughed and took in the moment.
This road trip has had its hard moments, of course, but it’s been such a wonderful experience! I am so grateful that I’m so much less high-strung these days so that I can actually enjoy life — even when it’s pouring rain, I’m freezing, we have blocks to walk, and we didn’t bring an umbrella.
Today’s highlights…
Wow! I have long been interested in World War II and have read many, many books on the topic. So I was really wanting to go to the Holocaust Museum on this trip. I am so glad we went. However, I wish I had been better prepared for it.
Here are some pointers and things to know if you are considering visiting:
In the atrium, they have an area where you can sit down and talk to a Holocaust survivor. I thought this was such an amazing idea!
Like I said, there were a LOT of people there and it was pretty packed, especially in the first parts of the museum. We had to wait in line to be able to see things/wait for people so we could see certain exhibits.
Before you go into the museum, they have you choose an identification card from one of the victims of the Holocaust. I thought this was a beautiful way to make it much more personal and real — and to share the stories of some of the victims.
One of the areas that really impacted our kids was the section where they show the living conditions in the concentration camp barracks — including the bunks they slept on.
No words.
I told you in my last post all about the Newseum and how much we enjoyed it. Since our tickets were good for two days and we hadn’t gotten through all of the museum the day before, we went back because we loved it so much!
(I can’t recommend this Museum highly enough if you love current events, news, and/or politics!)
We spent most of our time at the 9/11 section. They did an incredible job of honor the media members who did the reporting of this horrific event — including the photographer who died.
The girls also loved getting to pretend they were reporters — reading from a teleprompter and reporting “live” on different new segments!
When dinner time rolled around, we started looking for some place to eat and we randomly found Chopt and stopped for dinner. We’d never heard of it before, but after just 10 minutes of being there, we promptly decided it was our new favorite restaurant.
(It’s so yummy and healthful and pretty reasonably priced, too! Highly recommended!)
We got to Arlington after dinner and made our way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which our kids were fascinated with. It’s so sobering to be there and to think of all the lives lost in order for us to enjoy the many freedoms we do.
We stayed for the final Changing of the Guards. In the middle of it, it started raining and didn’t stop. Which was just about the time we realized that we had forgotten something very important on this trip — umbrellas and/or ponchos.
Since the cemetery was closed after the final Changing of the Guards, we had to quickly walk the long way back to the entrance and back to the metro. By the time we got there, we were thoroughly soaked. But we just laughed and danced in the rain, because it was certainly a memory!
Plus, after spending the morning at the Holocaust Museum, how could we complain about a little rain? It really changes your perspective on life and the many, many blessings we have that we take for granted every single day.
Book read today: The Sacrament of Happy (beautifully written and inspiring to me!)
To be continued…
Want to follow along with our trip in real-time? Follow my personal Instagram account here where I’ll be sharing a daily recap + videos and photos via Instagram Stories.
