Saving Families Money Since 2007
Sign up for the free Moms & Money Summit to be held online December 6-7, 2013.
I’ll be giving a workshop on how to Say Goodbye to Survival Mode and live your life with intention and purpose. While the principles I’ll be sharing apply to many areas of life, we’ll specifically be talking about how you can be very intentional with your bank account.
Check your ALDI store to see if they are carrying some new healthier items. Annette emailed in and said:
I was at Aldi’s in MN and am excited to report I saw a lot of new, healthier items. And they were not special buys!
They had natural honey and Agave. In the produce section, they had Baby Kale tubs and Arugula for $2.49.
Also, they had fresh herbs like mint, basil, thyme, rosemary, and dill for $1.49 And they had a lot of specialty cheeses for the holiday. I also saw a natural granola and packs of applesauce similar to gogo applesauce.
Hope this will benefit you and your readers. -Annette
Have any of the rest of you found some of the same items at your ALDI store?
Aldi
1 dozen Eggs – $1.29
1 Cream Cheese – $0.89
1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.29
1 Celery – $0.59
1 Butter – $1.69
3 cans Beans – $0.59 each
1 Tortillas – $0.99
1 bag Spinach – $1.69
1 Cucumber – $0.59
1 Cauliflower – $1.69
1 Carrots – $.99
1 Corn Chips – $0.89
1 gallon Milk – $1.99
Total with tax ($1.17): $17.52
Dillons
Items a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 10, Get $5 off instantly):
4 Gillette Shave Gel – $1.49 each, used 2 $3/2 coupon from the 10/27 P&G insert – Free after coupons
1 Kraft Marshmallows – $0.69
1 Nabisco Rice Thins – $1.79, used $1/1 e-coupon – $0.79 after coupon
1 Yoplait Gogurt – $1.89, used $1/1 e-coupon – $0.89 after coupon
2 Nabisco Snak-Saks – $0.99 each, used $0.75/2 coupon from the 11/10 SmartSource insert – $0.62 each after coupons (These were on sale just in time for my little boy’s birthday party next week!)
1 Pace Salsa – $1.99
Other Items:
1 Kroger Ice Cream – $2.50
1 Pineapple – $0.99
1 Breyer’s Ice Cream – $3.29 (I splurged and bought the Breyers brand for one of the birthday parties.) 🙂
1 lb Ground Beef – $3.69
1 Marshmallow Matey’s Cereal – $2.99 (My husband has been asking for this cereal for weeks. I finally found it!)
1 Stacy’s Bake Shop Crisps – $2.99, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $1.25
1 Hunts Spaghetti Sauce – $1
2 Kroger Frozen Vegetables – $1 each
2.09 lbs Bananas @ $0.54/lb – $1.13
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99
Used $2 catalina reward from my last shopping trip
(Also, my $0.75/2 Nabisco coupon accidentally scanned twice. I went and told the manager but she said to just leave it.)
Total before coupons and sales: $59.49
Total with tax ($2.30) after coupons and sales: $23.93
Total for all grocery items: $41.45
Toast, Oatmeal, Fruit/Spinach Smoothies, Cereal
Leftovers, Tossed Salad, Cheese/Crackers & Fruit, Scrambled Eggs, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
Build Your Own Haystacks, Fruit Salad
Savory Crescent Chicken Pockets, Steamed Broccoli
Three-Bean Chili, 30 Minute Rolls, Veggies
BBQ Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Tossed Salad
Deer Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, Biscuits
Lasagna Casserole, Green Beans, Tossed Salad
Dinner with family
CVS Shopping Trip
2 Nivea Shaving Gel – $3.99 each (Buy 2 – Get $5 ECBs)
Used $3/2 printable1 CVS Men’s 5 Blade Razor – $6.99 (Buy 1 – Get $4 ECBs)
Used $3/1 printable1 Crest Toothpaste – $2.99 (Buy 1 – Get $2 ECBs)
Used $0.50/1 coupon from the 10/27 P&G insertUsed $11 ECBs from previous shopping trips
Total before ECBs, sales and coupons: $20.33
Total with tax ($1.07) after ECBs, sales and coupons: $1.53, plus received $11 ECBs back
If you do not have any ECBs but want to copy the ECB deals in this shopping trip, you can break it into 3 transactions and spend a lot less out of pocket. Here’s an example of how it would work:
Transaction #1
Buy 1 Crest Toothpaste – $2.99
Use $0.50/1 coupon from the 10/27 P&G insert
Pay $2.49 plus tax out of pocket, Get $2 ECBs back
Transaction #2
Buy 1 CVS Men’s 5 Blade Razor – $6.99
Use $3/1 printable
And use $2 ECBs from transaction #1
Pay $1.99 plus tax out of pocket, Get $4 ECBs back
Transaction #3
Buy 2 Nivea Shaving Gel – $3.99 each
Use $3/2 printable
And use $4 ECBs from Transaction #2
Pay $0.98 out of pocket, Get $5 ECBs back
So you would pay $5.46 plus tax out of pocket and have $5 ECBs to use next time.
Today’s question is from Angie:
My daughter is now a freshman in high school and needs a laptop. We want to get her one for Christmas, but our budget is pretty tight.
We probably won’t be able to take advantage of the Black Friday electronic sales because the quantities are always so limited. So I’m wondering, is it better to buy electronics before Black Friday or wait until Black Friday sales and hope that we can get something more affordable?
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Breakfasts
Oatmeal, Cereal, Eggs, and/or Fruit
Lunches
Mac & cheese, fruit
Snack-y lunch {veggies, cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers, etc.}
PB&J, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks
Leftovers x 3Snacks
Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Boiled eggs
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter CookiesDinners
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffles, scrambled eggs, fruit
Dinner with extended family x 2
Blender Pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup, fruit, veggies
Cheesy Chicken & Potato Chowder, Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins, fruit
Dinner out
What’s on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments or leave a link to your menu plan post.
Target Shopping Trip
1 bag (5 lbs) Potatoes – $1.99, used $1/1 Target mobile coupon (text PASTA to 827438) AND 15% off Cartwheel coupon – $0.69 after coupons 1 Jello Pudding – $0.75 AND 1 Cool Whip – $0.99, used $1.50 off Jello and Cool Whip coupon from the November All You magazine – $0.12 each after coupon 1 bag Cranberries – $1.79 – used $1/1 Target mobile coupon (text PASTA to 827438) AND $1/1 printable AND 5% off Cartwheel coupon – Free after coupons 1 Up&Up Mouthwash – $2.14, used $1.75/1 printable – $0.39 after coupon 2 Colgate Toothbrush – $0.94 each, used 2 $1/1 Target printable – Free after coupons Total before coupons: $9.45 Total after coupons: $1.32
Walgreens Shopping Trip
2 Suave Body Lotion at $3 – On Sale Buy 1 Get 1 50% off (2/$4.50)
Used 2 $1.50/1 coupon from the 11/17 RedPlum insert
Buy 2 – Get 2,000 points (like $2)3 Purex (33 loads) Laundry Detergent at $5.99 – On Sale Buy 1 Get 2 Free
Used $1.50/2 printable (no longer available)1 M&M’s – $0.99 (filler – This was supposed to be $0.58. The manager had already been called up front twice for my coupons and I was in a hurry so I just decided to let it go. I’ll stick it in my Christmas gift stash.)
Used $4.50 Register Rewards from previous shopping trip
Total before coupons, sales and Register Rewards: $25.78
Total with tax ($0.82) after coupons, sales and Register Rewards: $3.30
I had a really successful Freezer Cooking in an Hour session last week and I didn’t get a chance to post about it until tonight!
The Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffles turned out beautifully and they are SO good.
Definitely a winner recipe — and they freeze well, too!
The Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins were also a hit. The outside of the muffin is delicious and the inside jelly adds a fun surprise. These would make great lunchbox treats.
And finally, Kathrynne and Silas made the Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies all by themselves. I was quite proud of them for reading and following their very first recipe with almost no help from me.
While I’m not completely sure that they did everything exactly right, the end results were more than edible. And they were incredibly excited that their cookies turned out so well. I was thrilled to see them stepping up and taking on new responsibilities — even though it’s bittersweet to realize that I’m working myself out of a job!
Last week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1.Read 2 chapters of The Magician’s Nephew to Kathrynne. Read 3 chapters of Caddie Woodlawn with Kaitlynn. Read a few picture books with Silas.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.Personal Goals
3. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-24.
4. Run 8 miles.
5. Read
Daring Greatly, Leaving Yesterday, Bread & Wine, and What’s So Amazing About Grace?
6. Work for 30 minutes on my embroidery project.
Business Goals
7. Write three articles for book launch.
8. Finalize book launch team.
9. Write one post for the 52 Ways to Save $100 a Year series.
10. Put together media information for my book publicity team.
This week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Play a game with the children.
4. Write thank you notes/birthday cards.
Personal Goals
5. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-24.
6. Run 8 miles.
7. Read Leaving Yesterday, Bread & Wine, and What’s So Amazing About Grace?
8. Work for 30 minutes on my embroidery project.
Business Goals
9. Write handwritten notes to go out with book launch packages.
10. Write one post for the 52 Ways to Save $100 a Year series.
How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives!
You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
Carissa from Pretty Hungry emailed in the following:
I recently had a unexpected overnight visit from my father and aunt who had to come to town suddenly to care for my sick grandmother. I was delighted to have them stay with us, but I was slightly unprepared food-wise. I had already done our grocery shopping for the week a few days earlier, and unfortunately it had not involved a very extensive spread of breakfast options suitable for company.
We had one box of off-brand cocoa puffs, some eggs, some turkey bacon, a few small slices of Swiss cheese, and some vegetable odds & ends in the crisper. I could definitely see the makings of a decent quiche… except for one problem. I didn’t have any butter to make a pastry crust!
But did I give up and go back to the grocery store? No! Because I remembered something I did have that just might be the perfect substitute for butter… Frozen, reserved sausage fat!
I had been saving reserved fat from breakfast sausage for months in ice cube trays because it’s wonderful to have on hand for sautéing vegetables and making gravy. I have found that saving fat like this really helps me save money because I don’t pull out the expensive bottle of olive oil nearly as often.
I had never tried substituting it for butter in pie crust before, but I had a hunch that frozen sausage fat would taste amazing in a quiche crust and would work just as well as butter. And I was right!
The resulting crust was perfectly flaky with a wonderful savory taste. It was lovely!
Here is the recipe I created:
Ingredients:
Directions:
In a mini food processor, pulse the flour and salt to combine. Add in the frozen, cubed sausage fat and pulse until incorporated. (Mixture will look like coarse crumbs.)
Add in the water gradually, pulsing until the mixture comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
Roll out to fit the pan of your choice. Transfer to the pan, taking care not to stretch dough. Trim edges and crimp as desired, and bake according to individual recipe directions.
Makes a single pastry crust.
I hope this inspires you to think outside the box before resorting to going over-budget! I LOVE the way reducing our budget has made me more resourceful, more grateful, and more financially aware. And so far, there have been no complaints from my family. 🙂
These delicious pumpkin bars are perfect for fall, or really any time of the year. The fluffy cream cheese frosting is the perfect compliment to the moist pumpkin bars.
I’ve made these several times in the past month, and have gotten rave reviews and recipe requests everywhere I’ve taken them!
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
For as long as I can remember, this church cookbook recipe has been a family favorite all year long, but especially during the fall months.
In fact, we like them so much that these delicately flavored sweet-but-not-too-rich bars have been a welcome addition to our Thanksgiving (and Christmas) dessert table on many occasions.
Since these pumpkin bars are easy to throw together and the recipe makes a huge pan, they are perfect for serving to company or bringing to a party.
And… they freeze well too!
For the Bars:
For the Frosting:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease an 11″ x 16″ jellyroll pan and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs pumpkin, oil, and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended.
4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well.
5. Stir in nuts (optional).
6. Pour into greased pan and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until done.
7. While the batter bakes, mix all frosting ingredients together (adding more or less milk to achieve desired consistency) and set aside.
8. Once the bars are fully cooled, spread frosting overtop.
9. Refrigerate after 2 hours or freeze for later.
Here are a few tips for storing your pumpkin bars (if you somehow end up with leftovers!)
Since the frosting is made with cream cheese, it’s best to refrigerate pumpkin bars after 2 hours. Many people prefer the taste of cold cream cheese frosting as well.
Refrigeration can dry out baked goods, so if you plan to store your bars for more than a few days, they will taste fresher if you freeze them instead.
Yes, they freeze beautifully and thaw extremely quickly.
Simply pop the whole pan in the freezer (covered with aluminum foil and/or plastic wrap) and they should be good for a couple of months. And yes, you can freeze the bars already frosted!
You can also freeze individual bars (with frosting) in small containers for a portion-perfect dessert.
When you’re ready to serve the bars, simply remove them from the freezer a couple of hours in advance. It should be incredibly moist, but not soggy (I’ve had excellent results after freezing this recipe).
Well, if you can keep people away from eating them long enough, they should easily last for a week or more in the fridge.
That said, they should still taste fresh after a couple of months in the freezer — so you really could make these well in advance!
No, you should refrigerate the frosted bars after 2-3 hours as cream cheese is a dairy product that could spoil.
One benefit of using cream cheese frosting (besides the delicious taste) is that it freezes quite well.
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 6, 4, and 2). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
Meal time just got so much easier!
I’m honored and excited to be guest posting over at DaveRamsey.com today on how to be an online shopping ninja. Here’s a snippet:
Shopping online is not only convenient, but it also saves you money—especially if you’re armed with my secrets for sleuthing out super deals. Here are three of my favorite ways to get the best bang for your buck online:
1. Use a Coupon Code
My husband and I have a policy to never purchase anything without first finding a coupon code to use. I’ve tried a lot of different coupon code websites and I’ve also tried Googling for coupon codes, but in my opinion, nothing compares to RetailMeNot.com. They are the best coupon code website in existence right now.
All you have to do is go to their homepage, search for the store you’re planning to shop from, and ta-da! you have a long list of coupon codes that have been rated by their large community of users. More often than not, I’m able to find at least one coupon code from the long list that works for me. And, for possibly one to two minutes of effort, that coupon code will usually save me at least 10% off my order—sometimes even as much as 25%!
If you find it helpful, would you do me a huge favor and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest? I’d love to bless the folks at Dave Ramsey for their kindness to share my post today. Thank you so much!
Today’s Swagbucks success story is from Nikki:
I’ve been a loyal Swagbucks user for several years. I’ve bought Christmas gifts, groceries, and more with the gift cards that I’ve earned in the past. But recently, I’ve turned my focus into DIY projects around the house.
I’m a full-time student, wife, and mother. Needless to say, I’m on a very tight budget.
My husband and I bought our starter home 15 years ago and never moved out. We’ve always lived paycheck to paycheck, and never had money left over to upgrade our house. Fast forward 17 years into our marriage, and now that we’ve learned a lot of things about budgeting and style, we have desire for changes and upgrades, but no budget for it.
That’s where Swagbucks comes in. Swagbucks allows me to buy light fixtures, windows, paint, and more to slowly upgrade my house.
I’m currently remodeling my children’s bathroom and my most recent purchase was a new bath exhaust fan. Because I had a $100 gift card from Swagbucks, I only had to pay $5.93 out of pocket! WOW!
My Daily Swagbucks earning tips:
It generally takes me 3-4 months to earn 10,000 Swagbucks or a $100 gift card to my local home improvement store. But it is so worth it, when I can walk into my local home improvement store, and buy that big purchase and hardly have to pay anything out of pocket. I’m currently saving up to buy a new bathroom countertop!
HappyClippings.com shows you how to make a homemade tissue paper stained glass turkey.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
