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Shared Aug 16, 2016 comment

My Completely Honest Review of ThredUP

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 16, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Do you love name-brand clothing but hate paying the price tag? ThredUP is an online consignment store whose mission is to help customers afford the brands and designers they might not normally be able to.

ThredUP sells high-quality, practically new women’s and kids’ clothing and accessories, with a range of great brands to choose from at up to 90% off the original retail price!

We’ve ordered many, many clothes from ThredUP over the years and many of the clothes we’ve ordered have been items we’ve worn over and over again.

I love getting great deals and shopping secondhand, but honestly, at this season of my life, digging through racks at the thrift store or going to garage sales just isn’t really my cup of tea. So I love that there are options to shop secondhand clothes online. ThredUP is one of my favorite online sites to buy secondhand clothes.

Some of my favorite things about thredUP:

They have a HUGE selection. Seriously. It would take me hours and hours and hours to get through all the clothes they offer just in my size alone!
They allow you to search by size, color, and brand. Because they have such a massive number of options, I love that you can really drill down to very specific searches — you can refine your search in great detail if you choose: what colors of clothes you want, what brands you want, and what price range. This allows you to really find exactly what types of things you are looking for.
The box is always well packed. ThredUP prides itself on the “unboxing” experience. When you receive your thredUP box, all of the clothing items will be hand-folded with cute thredUP tags attached to each. The items are wrapped in nice tissue paper and delivered to your doorstep in a cute polka dot box. Kierstyn was SO excited to get a box from ThredUp in the mail and begged and begged for us to open them ASAP! She has already worn the dresses I ordered for her again and again!
They often offer coupons. Some of their normal prices are a little on the high side — especially when it compared to thrift store and garage sale prices. However, they often offer coupons which make it much more affordable.
They offer good deals on high quality items. One of my favorite ways to shop thredUP is to search for deals on high-quality brands I already know that I love and adore but would never pay full price for. You can often find name brand items that are in like-new condition (or even new with tags!) — for up to 90% off the retail price! I was really excited this time around to get the kids some brand-new with tags items plus a number of other items that looked like they were brand-new. Kaitlynn loves Altar’d State dresses and I found one way marked down that was still in like-new shape! They also had some really great prices on Lululemon, which is another of Kaitlynn’s favorite brands! I’ve found that they have especially good prices on name brand jeans for kids and women. I prefer to buy high quality jeans that will last a long time, so being able to buy them like new at a fraction of the cost is a huge win!
They have lots of items for $5-8 each. ThredUP has so many name brand kids’ items in the $5 to $8 range!

Have you tried thredUP before? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on your experience with it.

Shared Aug 16, 2016 comment

I can’t believe what I got for just $0.99 at ALDI!!

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 16, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I went to ALDI this weekend to do my grocery shopping and was really excited about one of the deals I found there…

I saw a cart that said, “Everything in this cart is just $0.99!” Of course, you know I had to go check it out! 😉

There were girls’ shorts that were perfect for Kathrynne. I was sure they’d gotten misplaced and weren’t really $0.99, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. And what do you know?? They really were just $0.99!!

And if you need another reason to shop at ALDI, check the above photo out! They have Pure Vanilla for just $2.49!

P.S. See what I got for just $83 at ALDI last week.

Shared Aug 15, 2016 comment

This Week’s $100 Menu Plan (+ school starts tomorrow!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 15, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

School starts this week! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, our kids are going to a 4-day Classical School this year.

After homeschooling for the past 7 years, it’s definitely going to be a new season of life for all of us — with a new schedule, a new rhythm, and new challenges. However, we’re also excited for this change and new season for our family. It’s a decision that was made with much prayer and thought and careful consideration and we truly have a lot of peace that this is what is best for our family (for many, many reasons) for this coming year.

(Though, trust me, I will likely be an emotional mess when we drop the kids off at school tomorrow! It’s like I’m doing the first day of kindergarten times three!!)

Since this is a 4-day school, Mondays are at-home days where they kids are assigned projects and homework to accomplish at home. The school does this with the desire to give families a true Sabbath on the weekends — which I love.

Tuesdays through Fridays, we need to leave by 7:30 a.m. Our plan is for Jesse and I to continue getting up every week day at 4:45 a.m. to work out from 5 to 6:30 a.m. in our garage “gym”.

We’ll get the kids up at 6:30 a.m. and they’ll have 30 minutes to get dressed and ready for the day (they are packing their lunches and taking showers the night before to make mornings smoother). 7 a.m. will be breakfast and family time and then we’ll leave for school at 7:30 a.m.

We’ve been prepping for this new routine during the summer to make the transition easier. So I’m hopeful that things will be pretty smooth this week. We’ll see how it goes!

Breakfasts

Breakfasts are a big deal at our house. Not necessarily because of what we eat, but because this is the one meal we’ve committed to eat together around the table pretty much every single day.

Dinners are often somewhat grab and go or brown bagged — especially on the 3 nights a week the girls have swimming and skating. But breakfast, it’s a given. We eat, we talk, we read together, we pray together, and we linger around the table. It’s been a beautiful addition to our schedule + a great way to start the day!

Choose from:

Oatmeal

Smoothies

Bacon/Eggs

Lunches & Snacks

We’re trying something for lunches during the school year. Our extra refrigerator is going to be 100% devoted to lunch items. We’re making up a big batch of freezer-friendly PB&J on the weekends and, in addition, I’ll have 4 different bins of items that the kids can choose one from — cheese sticks, snack packs, veggies, fruit, applesauce, chips, cookies, etc.

Each bin will have something different so that when they choose one item from each, they’ll have a well-rounded lunch. I’m hoping this makes things super simple and easy for them to put together their lunches at night.

Jesse and I are in charge of our own lunches and I’m going to have items on hand to choose from: fried eggs, toast, chips & salsa, yogurt, refried beans & cheese, salads, fruits, veggies, and/or leftovers.

Snacks: Chocolate Banana Muffins

Dinners

Jesse and I splitting up the cooking responsibilities for dinner this week. He’s in charge of the first two nights (since I have busier work days on Monday and Tuesday this week). I’m in charge of everything else.

Vegan Haystacks

Smoked Chicken, Rice, Veggies, Fruit

Hamburgers, Veggies, Fruit

Breakfast for dinner: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes, eggs, fruit

Crockpot Taco Soup, Homemade Biscuits, Fruit

Dinner out

Taco Lettuce Wraps, Fruit

Freezer Cooking

I’m doing a Freezer Cooking session on Wednesday where I’m combining dinner prep with freezer cooking. This means that I’ll really only have to bake/cook one day this week. I’ll be making the meat for Taco Lettuce Wraps, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Crockpot Taco Soup, and Chocolate Banana Muffins. Look for more details on how that goes later this week!

We spent $100 on groceries this week from Kroger and ALDI. Look for my post tomorrow with full details on what all we bought and how much we paid for everything!

Come see a virtual peek into my Freezer Cooking Day!

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 13, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m back to freezer cooking and it feels SO good! It’s amazing the difference it makes when someone asks, “What is there to eat?” and I can list off options that are in the freezer!

On Thursday afternoon, I made 5 different recipes:

Here’s a little peek into how it all went down:

I started the afternoon by unloading the dishwasher and hopping on Facebook Live to give everyone there a rundown on my plan and show my pre-freezer-cooking kitchen that was all clean.

I found that doing live videos motivated me to make sure I kept the kitchen clean during the freezer cooking session. I always need this kind of motivation because stopping to clean up as I go is not really my first choice. But it makes such a difference at the end.

You can watch my Freezer Cooking video here to see a peek into my kitchen, if you’re interested.

I started off the Freezer Cooking session by making Homemade Energy Bites. This is one of those recipes that we’ve made over and over and over again and it’s family favorite.

It’s so easy to make, these are so versatile, and everyone loves them! Plus, not only are they a great snack, but they even suffice as breakfast in a pinch! 🙂

I almost didn’t make these, because as I was getting ready to make them, I realized that we didn’t have any honey — which is kind of a staple ingredient in this recipe! 🙂

I put on my thinking cap and rummaged through the cupboards and refrigerator and decided to try subbing maple syrup for the honey. It made the Energy Bites a little stickier and I ended up adding a little flour to the recipe, but it worked!

For those of you who might be interested, as you can see in the photos above, I set up my tripod and did a quick live video while finishing up making these. It was my first attempt at actually “cooking” while being on live video and I was happy with how it went.

We also had a funny conversation on the video about how I only have two kinds of looks — the dressed up look or the completely dressed down look — and I answered questions about why I was wearing a nice shirt to cook in. 🙂 Watch the video here, if you’re interested.

After I finished the Homemade Energy Bites, I then moved on to making Homemade Biscuits. I use the recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook — one of my very favorite basic cookbooks in existence and a cookbook I think every cook needs to own!

I accidentally mostly melted the butter, so instead of making cut-out biscuits, I made drop biscuits. They may not have looked as pretty, but they tasted just as delicious!

Next up, I made the Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. This was a new-to-me recipe and I was anxious to see how they turned out.

I used some of the marked down yogurt I got recently for the Greek yogurt the recipe called for. Mostly because that was all the yogurt we had, but also because I did not like the lime flavoring of these yogurts and was trying to use them up!

This recipe is made in the blender — which made it super easy! However, I also noticed that since the batter was a little thick, it got warmed up because of having to blend it for a few minutes on high.

This meant, that when I added in the chocolate chips, they melted somewhat due to the warmed up batter. It gave a sort of swirled look to the muffins — which was different than I was expecting.

Honestly, I might be weird, but I prefer chocolate chunks in my muffins to chocolate swirls, so I thought that was a drawback to this recipe.

The biscuits were delicious (of course I had to “taste-test” one warm from the oven!), but the Banana Muffins were a bit of a let-down. I think it’s because they are gluten-free and the flour in them is oat flour. It just isn’t as fluffy and yummy as it would be with regular flour.

Oh well. Not all recipes can be homeruns, right? And if you’re gluten-free, it’s definitely a pretty good recipe to try.

Next, I made the Carrot Cake Waffles. I devoted a whole post to these because this was the surprising favorite of the Freezer Cooking Day.

If you’re looking for a new twist on waffles, have some extra carrots to use up, or are looking for ways to sneak more veggies into recipes, go try this recipe! All my family really loved it!

And finally, I made Homemade Chicken Nuggets. (Can you believe it was my first time to make Chicken Nuggets?)

These were easy and quick to make, but I think that next time around, I won’t bother to cut them in chunks. My family would like them just as well if I just sprinkled all the ingredients on top and coated chicken tenderloins and baked them.

If you’re interested, you can watch my quick video here — complete with spilled muffin batter on my shirt! — where I show you all of the finished recipes!

I Need Your Feedback!

I’d love to hear from you! If you followed me along for this Freezer Cooking Day, could you give me your honest feedback? Did you like me posting on Snapchat and Facebook Live? What would you like to see more of? How would like for me to blog/post about these Freezer Cooking Days?

I’d love to hear your feedback and input and suggestions. So much has changed in social media since when I was regularly live-blogging my Freezer Cooking and I’m trying to determine the best way to conduct these sessions so that it’s fairly simple for me, but also fun and inspiring for you all. Let me know in the comments!

Shared Aug 13, 2016 comment

Carrot Cake Waffles

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 13, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

These waffles are easy, delicious, and packed with nutrients. They freeze well… and everyone will love them! Add them to your recipe roundup this week!

A while back, I had a Freezer Cooking Day and I tried a few new recipes — including a new recipe for Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles.

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure I would be impressed with the recipe. I really only made it because we had some carrots that needed to be used up.

I was pleasantly surprised when our whole family decided we loved these waffles!

Jesse especially loved them and kept raving about how good the waffles were. He was all, “Do we have any more of those Carrot Waffles and can I have them for breakfast tomorrow, too?”

Yes, these Carrot Cake Waffles are Amazing!

They have such a great texture, they are extremely hearty and filling, and they taste almost like dessert (especially if you top them with a little whipped cream!)

They are healthy and nutritious… but they don’t taste like it.

If you love carrot cake, you’ll love my spin on Carrot Cake Waffles!

Ingredients for Carrot Cake Waffles

1½ cup flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
1/4 cup sugar or coconut sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1½ cups unsweetened almond milk
¼ cup coconut oil
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1½ cups shredded carrots (about 4-6 large carrots)

How to Make Carrot Cake Waffles

1. In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.

2. In a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients (except carrots).

3. Dump dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

4. Fold in shredded carrots.

5. Spray hot waffle iron with cooking oil or brush with melted butter.

6. Bake waffles in pre-heated waffle iron for 3-4 minutes.

NOTE: The batter is quite runny, so you’ll want to bake these until they are completely browned — otherwise, you might struggle to get them off the waffle iron!

More Easy Waffle Recipes:

Recipe

Easy Carrot Cake Waffles

Author Crystal Paine

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

These waffles have such a great texture, they are extremely hearty and filling, and they taste almost like dessert (especially if you top them with a little whipped cream!)

Ingredients

1½ cup flour all purpose or whole wheat
¼ cup sugar or coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1½ cup almond milk unsweetened
¼ cup coconut oil melted
2 Tblsp maple syrup
1½ cups shredded carrots about 4-6 large carrots

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.
2. In a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients (except carrots).
3. Dump dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Fold in shredded carrots.
5. Spray hot waffle iron with cooking oil or brush with melted butter.
6. Bake waffles in pre-heated waffle iron for 3-4 minutes.

Notes

NOTE: The batter is quite runny, so you’ll want to bake these until they are completely browned — otherwise, you might struggle to get them off the waffle iron.

Nutrition

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Shared Aug 12, 2016 comment

Gretchen’s $64 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 12, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Aldi

2 pkg Blueberries – $0.99 each

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce – $1.19

2 dozen Eggs – $0.79/dozen

1 pkg Grapes – $1.58

1 pkg Spinach – $1.79

1 Frosted Flakes – $1.29

1 Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.89

1 pkg Roma Tomatoes – $1.49

1 can Pineapple Chunks – $0.99

1 pkg Taco Seasoning – $0.35

1 can Enchilada Sauce – $1.89

1 Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate – $1.19

1 can Refried Beans – $0.79

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup – $0.79

1 pkg Brown Sugar – $1.29

1 can Diced Green Chilies – $0.65

1 Cucumber – $0.59, used $0.25/1 Checkout rebate – $0.34 after rebate (This was accidentally placed in the Aldi picture.)

1 loaf Bread – $0.99

2 pkg Strawberries – $1.29 each

1 bag Tortilla Chips – $1.19

Total after rebate: $25.83

Dillons

2 Cottage Cheese – $1 each, used 2 $0.20/1 e-coupon – $0.80 after coupons

1 Sour Cream – $1, used $0.20/1 e-coupon – $0.80 after coupon

2 pkg Kroger Shredded Cheese – $1.49 each, used $0.65/1 e-coupon AND $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.04 each after coupon and rebate

1 Nestle Milk Chocolate Chips – $3.59, used Free e-coupon – Free after coupon

2 Smuckers Jelly – $1.49 each

1 Kroger Cream Cheese Bar – $1

1 Kroger Soy Sauce – $1.39

2 pkg Kroger Butter – $2.50 each

1 Kroger Peanut Butter – $1.79, used Free e-coupon – Free after coupon

1 Kroger Unbleached Flour – $1.79, used $0.40/1 e-coupon – $1.39 after coupon

2 lbs Sterling Silver Ground Beef – $3.99 each, used $0.20/1 Shrink rebate – $3.89 each after rebate

1 Annies Mac & Cheese – $1, used $0.50/1 e-coupon AND $0.50/1 SavingStar.com rebate – Free after coupon and rebate

1 Weber BBQ Sauce – $1.39, used $0.50/1 e-coupon AND $0.75/1 Ibotta rebate – $0.14 after coupon and rebate

2 Cascadian Farms Cereal – $1.99 each, used 2 $1/1 printable AND $1/1 SavingStar.com rebate – Free plus overage after coupons and rebate (Plus, a $1/$5 Natural Foods e-coupon came off of my Dillons card for buying these cereals and the Annie’s Mac and Cheese. Yay!)

1 pkg Chicken Drumsticks – $3.75

1 gallon Dillons Milk – $1.99, used $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.74 after rebate

1 pkg Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – $6.99, used $1.50/1 e-coupon – $5.49 after coupon

2.29 lbs Bananas – $1.35

1 Green Pepper – $0.79

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

Total after coupons and rebates: $38.25

Total for all grocery items: $64.08

Menu Plan for This Week

Breakfasts

Eggs, Spinach, Toast x 4

Oatmeal, Fruit

Cereal x 2

Lunches

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Grapes, Carrot Sticks

Grilled Cheese, Steamed Peas

Mac & Cheese, Fruit, Veggies

Baked Potatoes, Cottage Cheese

Tossed Salad & Leftovers x 3

Dinners

Crockpot Sweet & Sour Meatballs, Rice, Fruit Salad

Easy Cheesy Tex Mex Skillet, Spinach Salad

Baked Spaghetti, Amish White Bread, Steamed Broccoli

Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes

Warm Bean Dip and Chips, Fruit Salad

Green Chicken Chile Enchiladas, Chips, Steamed Carrots

Dinner with friends

Freezer Cooking/Snacks I Plan to Make This Week

Homemade Freezer Biscuits, Blueberry Muffins, No Bake Energy Bites, Double Fudge Banana Muffins

Shared Aug 11, 2016 comment

Who wants to do some freezer cooking??

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 11, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So, at l-o-n-g last, I’m bringing back the “live-blogging” of Freezer Cooking today. I’m not sure exactly how this is going to go down and I’m going to have to find my new groove, but we’re just going to jump out and try it and we’ll figure it out as we go, okay?

From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. this afternoon/evening, I plan to do some Freezer Cooking and I’d love for you to join me!

I’ll be making:

My hope is that I can get all of these made and the kitchen cleaned up in 2 hours. We’ll see! 🙂

I’ll be doing some quick videos on Facebook Live as well as sharing some videos/pictures on SnapChat. And then, when I’m finished cooking, I’ll do a wrap-up post with pictures and details on Friday to let you know how the Freezer Cooking went.

Want to join me? You can either just follow along vicariously by reading the post/watching the videos or you can actually join me in your kitchen and do some of your own freezer cooking. If you’re planning to do some freezer cooking yourself, leave a comment to let me know what you’ll be making. Let’s inspire one another and keep each other accountable!

And I’ll see you over on Facebook Live/Snapchat at 4:30 p.m.-ish!

Shared Aug 10, 2016 comment

When you feel like you’re not good enough & you don’t measure up

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 10, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

You look at her and wish you had what she has. You wish you had her life, her marriage, her kids, her figure, her house, her skills, her ability to make life look effortless… or whatever it is of hers that you wish you had.

You can waste hours of time and enormous amounts of energy wishing you had someone else’s life. But guess what? You won’t find happiness trying to chase after someone else’s life and success.

Contentment is the key to true joy. It’s also the foundation of financial stewardship.

It’s hard to enjoy living on a budget if you aren’t willing to be grateful for exactly where you are. It’s hard to stick with a financial plan if all you can think about is wanting more than you currently have.

As I told you recently, I’ve wasted much of my life pining away for a different time, a different season, a different set of circumstances. I also wasted a lot of time chasing after more.

In fact, looking back, I realized that I bought into the lie that more is always better. More money. More influence. More impact. More fame. More stuff. More friends. More. More. More. More.

While there can be good things with some of those “more’s”, it’s time we stop spending our life chasing after more and really stop and ask ourselves, “When is enough, enough?”

I’ve been asking myself the following questions:

Am I only feeling contentment when I’m doing a lot?
Is my joy and fulfillment coming from when I am having the biggest impact?
What does enough look like for me?
Would I be settled right where I’m at with what I have?
Would I be content if I knew that where I am right now will never change?

I’m committing to love my actual life. The one I’m really living. Right here. Right now. Today.

It’s sometimes messy. It’s sometimes disorganized. And I rarely get everything done that I hope to in a day, but that doesn’t mean I can’t embrace it, savor it, and fall in love with it.

It’s a gift. All of it. And the more I choose to see it as such, the more I notice the gifts and the beauty all around me.

We can’t change who we are, but we can make the most of our situation. We can’t choose the personality we are born with, but we can choose to be thankful–even in the midst of difficulty.

And we can choose to be intentional and purposeful in how we live our lives so that we make the most of all that we’ve been given instead of wishing we were someone else.

Get The Comparison Trap Devotional App for FREE!

If you struggle with discontentment, feeling like you’re not good enough, and feeling like you don’t measure up, I encourage you to check out The Comparison Trap devotional app. This is a 4-week FREE devotional app for women.

When you download the FREE Comparison Trap Devotional App, you’ll get:

Four 20-minute videos featuring Sandra & Andy Stanley–Watch & be inspired during the 4-week study.
28 mini-devotions by Sandra Stanley — Read one each day and be encouraged in your journey!
28 social media images — View and/or post these as extra reminders!
5 Worship Songs by North Point Music — Listen to these during the month to uplift you!

The free Comparison Trap Devotional app is available for iPhone or Android devices. Go here to download it FREE.

If you struggle with discontentment or feeling like you’re not enough in comparison to other women, The Comparison Trap is for you. There is SO much joy that comes from realizing your own worth, adopting a grateful attitude, and being content right where you’re at in life.

Want to go through The Comparison Trap devotional book with a friend?

I’m thrilled to be offering a special giveaway to go along with the FREE The Comparison Trap devotional app. The Comparison Trap devotional book is a companion guide to the app and can be used individually for personal study/quiet time, or you can utilize the discussion questions to go through it with a friend or in a small group setting.

I have 25 pairs of The Comparison Trap devotional book to give away to my readers! That means you’ll win TWO copies of this devotional book — one for you and one for a friend, so that you can go through it together! Use the box below to enter the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Shared Aug 9, 2016 comment

This Week’s $83 ALDI Shopping Trip

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 9, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We went to ALDI last night and got some GREAT deals! (Check out this post for the deals I found on coconut oil and eggs!)

Note: If you missed my post on Why I’m Back to Grocery Shopping, Menu-Planning, and Freezer Cooking, be sure to read it here.

Our Grocery Budget

We currently budget $125 per week for groceries for our family of 5. This does not include eating out once a week (we budget separately for that).

We also get some of our expensive groceries and personal products (such as makeup) via Amazon using credit earned from Swagbucks + we get the majority of our household products (cleaners, toothpaste, detergent, etc.) via credit earned from Grove.

I only spent $83, which leaves me wiggle room to buy markdowns at Kroger if I have time to swing by there later this week to see if they have some great markdowns. If I don’t have time or they don’t have good markdowns, I’ll roll over the extra $$ to next week.

Here’s what I bought:

Cucumbers — $0.39 each (got $0.25 back Checkout 51)
Milk — $2.29
Bananas ($0.29 per pound) — $1.32 total
Half & Half — $1.89
4 Plums ($0.25 each) — $1
2 bags of Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips — $1.39 each
Strawberries — $1.69
String Cheese — $1.99
3 cans Arizona Green Tea — $0.74 each
8 Kiwis — $1.98
2 cans Black Beans — $0.59 each
Blackeye Peas — $0.65
Macaroni & Cheese x 4 — $0.33 per box
Brown Rice — $1.49
2 packages cheddar cheese — $1.69 each
2 bags of frozen Chicken Tenderloins — $5.79 per bag
2 avocado — $0.79 each
Wheat Bread — $0.99
Cabbage — $1.19
Lettuce — $1.99
Feta cheese — $1.79
Butter — $2.49
10 lb. potatoes — $2.89
Whipped cream — $2.29
Grapes — $1.58
Tomatoes — $1.49
Bacon — $3.49
Cantaloupe — $0.99
Sweet Corn — $1.49
Natural peanut butter — $1.49
Sour Cream — $0.99
1 gallon water — $0.79
Organic chicken broth — $1.79
Refried Beans — $0.79
Sauerkraut — $1.69
Diced tomatoes — $0.55
Crushed pineapple — $0.99
Mandarin oranges — $2.49
Peppers — $2.89
Dried cranberries — $1.29
Total with tax — $83.80 (Plus, I uploaded my receipt to Yaarlo & earned a little cashback for doing so. If you haven’t signed up with Yaarlo, use my coupon code MONEYSAVINGMOM when you sign up to earn more.)

This Week’s Menu Plan

Interested in what we’re eating this week? You can see our menu plan for this week here.

I plan our menu based upon what we already have on hand, so I didn’t have to buy every single item needed to make everything on our menu. However, because we were out of town the week before, I had to restock a lot of perishable items, so I bought the majority of items for this week’s menu.

Struggling with menu planning? Check out this post on How to Be a Meal Planning Mama.

What is your family’s grocery budget? I’d love to hear (and remember this is not a competition; we’re here to inspire one another not guilt others into feeling they are doing enough!)

Shared Aug 8, 2016 comment

This Week’s Menu Plan (we’re trying 8 new recipes!!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 8, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We’re trying eight new recipes this week! Can you believe it?? That might be a record!

And it makes me happy because it’s a sign of how much I’m loving being adventuresome in the kitchen again! (If you missed my post on why I’m back to menu-planning and grocery shopping again, read it here.)

Breakfasts

Breakfasts are a big deal at our house. Not necessarily because of what we eat, but because this is the one meal we’ve committed to eat together around the table pretty much every single day. Dinners are often somewhat grab and go or brown bagged — especially if the girls have swim team or skating. But breakfast, it’s a given. We eat, we talk, we read together, we pray together, and we linger around the table. It’s been a beautiful addition to our schedule + a great way to start the day!

Overnight Oats

Pumpkin Pie Smoothies

Oatmeal x 2

Blueberry/Banana Smoothies

Bacon/Eggs x 2

Lunches & Snacks

During the summer, we’ve been doing Make Your Own lunches. I have some assortment of the following items on hand and the kids and Jesse and I are responsible for choosing from the list of items to make our own lunches. It’s worked well this summer — especially because the kids are getting better and better at cleaning up after themselves, too!

Make your own:

PB&J

scrambled eggs

hard-boiled eggs

leftovers

fruit

veggies

refried beans & cheese

chips & salsa

yogurt

smoothies

Snacks to have on hand: Energy Bites, Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

Dinners

Jesse and I splitting up the cooking responsibilities for dinner this week. He’s in charge of the first two nights (since I have busier work days on Monday and Tuesday this week). I’m in charge of everything else.

Grilled Chicken, broccoli, rice, fruit

Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos, fruit

Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets, Homemade Biscuits, green beans, fruit

Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl with avocado & sour cream, fruit

Breakfast for dinner: Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles, eggs, fruit

Crockpot Baked Potatoes with broccoli, cheese, bacon, & sour cream, fruit

Dinner out

Freezer Cooking

I’m doing a Freezer Cooking session on Wednesday where I’m combining dinner prep with freezer cooking. This means that I’ll really only have to bake/cook one day this week. I’ll be making Energy Bites, Homemade Biscuits, Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Waffles, Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets, and Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. Look for more details on how that goes later this week!

I earned 33.5 points with InstaGC this weekend!

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 8, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I told you all that I’m going to be sharing very practical ways you can earn cash and gift cards to help pay for some or all of Christmas (or anything else you’re currently saving for!)

One very easy way to earn free gift cards is through Swagbucks. If you’ve not signed up for Swagbucks, go read more about it here and then sign up here.

I’ve heard rave reviews of InstaGC — which I’ve been told is similar to Swagbucks — and finally had some time to check them out this weekend. The jury’s still out on my complete thoughts on InstaGC as I’m currently just experimenting with it, but I wanted to share what I’m learning as I’m experimenting.

Personally, I found InstaGC harder to navigate after I signed up. But I was excited to discover the Click section today and I am impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

There are quite a few offers under this section — easy ways to earn 1 and 2 points for a simple click. And it looks like most of these reset every single day!

Here’s what I’ve earned over the weekend:

As I get faster and understand how InstaGC works, I think I’ll start to see these numbers go up much quicker and be much higher every day.

Do you use InstaGC? If so, I’d love to hear your tips and also details on how many points you’re able to earn in a typical day.

5 Things I’m Loving This Week (+ pictures from our trip to Arkansas!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 7, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We spent this past week in Arkansas at Bull Shoals Lake with all of my extended family. This is a yearly tradition for us and it’s something we all look forward to.

We rent a boat and take turns going out in groups to do various water sports and swimming.

The kids LOVE getting to hang out with all of their cousins on my side of the family!

Grandpa (my dad) spends almost all day driving the boat so that his kids and grandkids can enjoy tubing, water-skiing, kneeboarding, and more!

Here are 5 things I’m loving from this past week:

1. Time Away

It was good to be away… we loved getting so much time to just be together as a family and to do fun things together. We made so many great memories.

Also, it’s amazing how much easier it is to travel now that our kids are older. This was the first time that we took a road trip where our kids completely packed themselves and I didn’t even check what they had packed! That was pretty incredible and made packing a complete breeze!

2. Kneeboarding

I learned how to kneeboard two years ago, but I actually fell in love with kneeboarding on this trip. I realized how much stronger I felt doing water sports now that I’ve been weightlifting.

3. Bowling

We went bowling while on our trip and, I’m not sure what happened, but I found some sort of winning stride and I ended up bowling the highest score I’ve ever bowled before.

{By the way, if you’re on Snapchat, be sure to follow me there. I post lots of photos and videos of behind-the-scenes things in our life that I don’t post on the blog or anywhere elsewhere online.}

4. Fishing

The kids were so excited about getting to fish. They jumped out of bed early every morning eager to go down to the lake to fish with Uncle Zachary.

{Uncle Zachary not only is great at helping kids fish, he also has impressive skills in taking photos… This catch looks pretty amazing until you look closer and see how tiny the kiddie fishing pole is! :)}

5. The Olympics

A list of what I’m loving this week wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Olympics. You all know I’m SUCH a fan of pretty much all the Olympic sports — especially swimming, diving, and gymnastics! If you need me the next week and a half, I’ll be in front of the TV. 😉

{We kicked off the Olympics by doing the activities in the Olympics-themed Surprise Ride box I got just for the price of shipping recently. Get your FREE box here (just pay $5.95 shipping!).}

What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!

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3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 6, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Now that I’m back to doing most of the menu-planning, grocery shopping, and cooking again, I’m having fun being creative in the kitchen and making do with what we have on hand.

To me, it’s like a game: to see what yummy recipes I can concoct using mostly ingredients we already have on hand or that I was able to get marked down. When you approach it like it’s an exciting adventure, it makes it much more fun and enjoyable.

{As I often say, your attitude makes or breaks every situation. And guess what? You get to choose your attitude! You can choose to embrace your life and make the most of right where you are or you can choose to hate your life and be miserable where you are. It’s your choice.}

When I’m planning our menu each week, I ask myself a few questions:

What do we already have on hand? I look through the cupboards, pantry, and fridge and freezer and see what we already have on hand — maybe items I got on a great sale or got marked down or items we didn’t use the week before.
What’s on sale at the store? Most stores post their sales on their websites or send their fliers in the mail. Look for what is advertised on the homepage especially as these are usually the best deals.
What recipes do I feel inspired to make based upon those ingredients? Need some help? Check out RecipeMatcher.com, SuperCook.com, and MyFridgeFood.com.
What can I substitute? Over the years, learning how to substitute ingredients has saved so much money and extra trips to the store. Here’s a great list of recipe substitutions. You can often Google for ingredient substitutions and get some great ideas.

3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand

You can see last week’s menu plan here. (Next week’s menu plan is coming on Monday. We were in Arkansas on a family vacation with my extended family this week so I didn’t make a menu plan because my sister made the menu and we all pitched in on the cooking and clean up together).

Here are three recipes I made that were classic examples of “using what you have on hand” to feed your family:

French Toast Bake — I had gotten a bunch of eggs marked down and bread and hot dog buns marked down, so I used those as the inspiration to make two pans of this.

I made a lot of substitutions: I used almond milk instead of regular milk, half almond milk/half half & half instead of cream, the marked down bread and hamburger buns, coconut sugar + brown sugar (because I didn’t have much brown sugar), and coconut oil instead of butter (because we were out of butter). The final result was still really yummy!

Sweet Potato Hash — I had gotten sausage marked down and had some sweet potatoes and onions that needed to be used up. So I turned it into a Sweet Potato/Sausage Hash and it was SO good! I’m a big fan of hash — it’s basically some kind of meat (ground beef or sausage), some kind of veggies (peppers, onions, or even squash), and potatoes or sweet potatoes.

I brown the meat first (if it’s meat that’s not already pre-cooked, like some sausage is) and then throw in the chopped up veggies and potatoes and fry until done. We sometimes serve it with ketchup or hot sauce, depending upon what kind of hash it was. (You can also do all sorts of variations of this: Ground Beef/Peas/Potatoes, Sausage/Sweet Potatoes/Onions, Ground Beef/Onions/Potatoes/Corn, etc. The possibilities are pretty endless!)

Berry Cream Muffins — When I was planning our menu, I saw that blueberries were on sale for $0.99 and I looked in the fridge and saw we had some leftover sour cream from a taco night we’d had with friends. So I knew I should make these muffins!

I substituted coconut oil for butter since we didn’t have any butter on hand and I used coconut sugar instead of sucanat because that’s what I had on hand.

As I expected, these were incredibly delicious!

Have you concocted any recipes with what you had on hand? What are your favorite things to make when you feel like you “have nothing on hand”? I’d love to hear!

5 Fancy Habits That Are Actually Frugal

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 6, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Erin of The No Drama Mama

Fancy and frugal don’t seem to go together, but they certainly CAN go hand in hand quite nicely. I don’t consider myself to be a fancy person at all, but I am very frugal and have learned how to make money-saving habits feel rich.

If you want to treat yourself, here are five habits that might look fancy, but are actually frugal.

1. Using Your Good China

I find that even using simple washable dishware makes everyday meals feel fancier than if I had used paper plates. Don’t wait for special guests to come over. Treat your family as the special people they are by grabbing the good china and make a special meal on an ordinary week day. Even macaroni and cheese will feel fancy on nice dishes.

My husband and I have been using the same dishes for 14 years. That’s 14 years of not buying paper plates every single month. We are fortunate to have a dishwasher with a delay setting so we’re able to set it to run after midnight when the electric rates go down and wake up to clean dishes.

2. Using Cloth Napkins

I often think one of the tell-tale signs of a fancy restaurant versus a non-fancy one is if they use cloth napkins. I started using cloth napkins about four years ago and took one more disposable item off my grocery list.

Not only does it save money, but it makes meal-time feel special just like eating at a fancy restaurant. Plus, they hardly take up any space in the washing machine.

3. Having Your Clothes Tailored

When you save a ton of money buying second-hand clothes, you can afford to get your clothes tailored to fit you. When my husband was up for a job promotion he found a $30 suit at a thrift shop and spent $10 to have it tailored. He ended up getting the promotion without breaking the bank on a new suit.

You can check out thrift stores in the expensive areas in your community and score really great work and special occasion attire, which you can have tailored to make you look like you spent a million bucks.

4. Celebrating With A Fancy Meal (At Home)

Americans love to celebrate special occasions by going out to dinner… and while that’s fancy, it’s not exactly frugal.

Instead, get that expensive dish you’re craving by stopping by your local grocery store or butcher shop. Some grocery stores will even steam a fresh lobster for you. You can find great cuts of meat at the butcher or even reduced for quick sale at the grocery store.

The internet is chock full of recipes for any dish you can dream up. I’m no expert chef, but I’ve learned that I can be extremely good at following directions. So have your steak and lobster on occasion, but do it at home and save a ton of money.

Better yet eat it on your good china with real cloth napkins, wearing your custom fit party dress. Now that’s fancy!

5. Giving Generously

Nothing makes you feel more like a million bucks then being able to give back — whether it’s to your favorite charity, your church or even a friend in need.

You don’t need to have a lot of money to give generously. Living frugally has taught me to use my money-saving skills to help others. I’ve used coupons to purchase food and household items for local homeless shelters and the troops stationed overseas.

Giving generously could be as simple as giving a couple with kids some free babysitting so they can have a date night or inviting an elderly neighbor over for a fancy dinner at your house. When you remind yourself of your blessings by being a blessing to others, you are rich indeed.

Living richer has more to do with the state of your heart, than the state of your wallet. So go ahead and treat yourself to a life of contentment where the fancy choice is often the frugal one.

Erin Johnson is the author of “So, You’re Broke? 18 Drama-Free Steps To A Richer Life.” She also blogs at The No Drama Mama.

photo source

Grocery clearance items can save you SO much money, but be sure to ask yourself these important questions before buying those markdowns!

Shared Aug 2, 2016 comment

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Clearance Items

Published: by Crystal Paine on August 2, 2016 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As I’ve posted about buying markdowns at the grocery store recently, a lot of people have asked me questions on buying markdowns and how to know if a clearance item is still good and worth buying.

Before I buy something that’s marked down at the store, here are 5 questions I ask myself:

1. What is the Sell By date?

Look at the Sell By Date. Is this item good for a few more days? Will we be able to use it up by the Sell By Date?

If you can’t use it up by the Sell By Date, is it something you can freeze? You can freeze so many different things — like most fruit and veggies, bread, milk, meat, cheese, cottage cheese, butter, and so much more. Here’s a great list of 31 Things You Can Freeze.

2. Does it still look fresh?

Check to make sure that it still looks fresh. Are there dents or holes in the can or package? Do you see any mold or spots going bad?

If it’s fruit or veggies, if the price is really great, you might be okay with buying those bananas with black spots on them or those sweet potatoes growing eyes because you’re going to freeze the bananas to use in smoothies or just cut off the eyes.

For other things, like bread or cheese, you definitely don’t want to buy it if there’s mold on it! One of my Facebook Live viewers told me that she bought some garlic bread that was in a foil package marked down to a great price only to discover that it was moldy inside. Yuck!

3. Is this something my family will eat?

This might seem like a no-brainer question to ask, but I think sometimes it’s easy to get so caught up in something being a “great deal” that we forget that it might not be something our family would even eat!

So be sure to stop and ask if at least a few people in your family will eat the item before you just get all excited about a cheap, cheap price on something no one in your family will touch with a ten-foot pole!

4. How much will they eat before the Sell By date?

If your family will eat it, how much will they eat before the item goes bad? Be realistic here! For instance, when I found the eggs marked down to $1.49 per dozen recently, I wanted to buy all 20 dozen that were marked down. But I knew that was being unrealistic because the Sell By date was in less than a week.

Instead, I thought through what we could make over the next week, what we could make and freeze, and what was realistic. I ended up buying 7 dozen and we had no trouble going through that many.

Tip: One thing to keep in mind is that Sell By dates are just that — when a store needs to sell an item by. They aren’t necessarily Eat By dates. 🙂 Items will still often be good to eat a few days or even weeks after the Sell By date.

5. Do I have room in my budget?

This might seem like the first question you should ask, but I really think putting it at the end is best. Why? Because sometimes, we allow ourselves to think something is a good deal just because it’s a great price and we can afford it. 😉

Do yourself a favor and make sure you convince yourself that something is worth buying, still good, your family will eat it, and you know how much your family will eat first. Then, if you haven’t already talked yourself out of the purchase, you can determine if there’s room in the budget for it.

Note: You may have some room in the budget, but not enough room to buy multiples. Don’t stress over the fact that you don’t have enough room in your budget to buy as many as you wish you could, just be excited that you were able to buy some!

It’s better to leave some great deals on the shelf and walk away knowing you stuck to your budget, then to bust your budget in the name of “getting a great deal!”

More Grocery-Saving Resources:

31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget
How I Lowered My Grocery Bill By 60%
How to Cut Your Grocery Bill by Buying in Bulk
Books: Miserly Moms, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, and Family Feasts for $75 Per Week
Cookbooks: Good Cheap Eats and Good Cheap Eats: Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

FREE Summer Bucket List!!

Have you tried thredUP before? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on your experience with it.

Breakfasts

Lunches & Snacks

Dinners

Freezer Cooking

Related Menu-Planning Posts:

What’s on YOUR menu this week? Tell us in the comments!

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Yes, these Carrot Cake Waffles are Amazing!

Ingredients for Carrot Cake Waffles

How to Make Carrot Cake Waffles

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Easy Carrot Cake Waffles

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Menu Plan for This Week

Breakfasts

Lunches

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Freezer Cooking/Snacks I Plan to Make This Week

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Our Grocery Budget

This Week’s Menu Plan

What is your family’s grocery budget? I’d love to hear (and remember this is not a competition; we’re here to inspire one another not guilt others into feeling they are doing enough!)

Breakfasts

Lunches & Snacks

Dinners

Freezer Cooking

Related Menu-Planning Posts:

What’s on YOUR menu this week? Tell us in the comments!

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

Other Links You Should Check Out:

1. Time Away

2. Kneeboarding

3. Bowling

4. Fishing

5. The Olympics

What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!

3 Recipes I Made Recently Using What We Had on Hand

Have you concocted any recipes with what you had on hand? What are your favorite things to make when you feel like you “have nothing on hand”? I’d love to hear!

Related Menu-Planning Posts:

1. Using Your Good China

2. Using Cloth Napkins

3. Having Your Clothes Tailored

4. Celebrating With A Fancy Meal (At Home)

5. Giving Generously

1. What is the Sell By date?

2. Does it still look fresh?

3. Is this something my family will eat?

4. How much will they eat before the Sell By date?

5. Do I have room in my budget?

More Grocery-Saving Resources:

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