Want to cut down on dinner prep for the summer and not use your oven as much? Check out this Crockpot Freezer Cooking session from Loving My Nest.
You can also read about her Crockpot Freezer Cooking Session #1 and Session #2.
2hr Cleaning Checklist
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100+ Free & Frugal Ideas for Summer Fun
Gretchen’s $50 Grocery Shopping Trip and Menu Plan
Aldi
1 Gallon Milk – $1.99
1 Strawberries – $0.99
1 Blueberries – $1.69
1 Flour Tortillas – $0.99
Total with tax: $6.07
Local Health Food Store:
6 Oranges @ 3/$1 – $2 total
3 Fruit/Veggie Shredz Snacks – Marked down to $0.99 each
1 Cheese Puffs – Marked down to $0.99
Total with tax: $6.40
Dillons
Transaction #1
2 Carefree Liners – $1 each, used 2 $0.50/1 printable – Free after coupons
2 Huggies Diapers – $9.49 each, used 2 $3/1 printable (no longer available) – $6.49 each after coupons
Total with tax: $14.44, Received $4 catalina and $5 catalina (for buying Huggies diapers)
Transaction #2
2 Huggies Diapers – $9.49 each, used 2 $3/1 printable (no longer available) – $6.49 each after coupons
Used $9 catalinas from Transaction #1
Total with tax: $5, Received $4 catalina and $5 catalina (for buying Huggies diapers)
Transaction #3
1 Bolillo Rolls – Marked down to $0.49 (will use this for sub sandwiches)
1.5 lbs Sweet Potatoes @ $1.09/lb – $1.64
2 VanCamp’s Beans – $0.50, used 2 $0.35/1 coupon from the 5/5 SmartSource insert (doubled) – Free after coupons
1 Lemon – $0.39
1 Dillons Hamburger Buns – $1, used $0.40/1 store coupon (from mailer) – $0.60 after coupon
1 Kellogg’s Cinnabon Cereal – Marked down to $1.21, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $0.21 after coupon
1 Kroger Natural Peanut Butter – $2
1 Nestle Drumstick Cones – $2.99, used $1/1 printable – $1.99 after coupon
1 Smart Balance Butter – $1.50, used $0.50/1 coupon from the 5/12 SmartSource insert – $0.50 after coupon
2 Ramen Noodles – $0.20 (My hubby loves it when I make sure we always have a few of these on hand.)
2 Scotch-Brite Sponges – $1 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 5/19 SmartSource insert – $0.50 each after coupon
1 Muir Glen Tomato Paste – $1.29, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $0.29 after coupon
1 Muir Glen Tomato Sauce – $1.49, used $0.75/1 printable (doubled to $1) – $0.49 after coupon
4 BeechNut Fruities – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 printable and 2 $0.75/1 printable (doubled to $1) – Free after coupons
1 Heinz Ketchup – $1, used $0.25/1 coupon from the 5/19 SmartSource insert (doubled) – $0.50 after coupon
1 King Hawaiian Rolls (4 ct) – $1.29, used $1/1 coupon from the 5/12 RedPlum insert – $0.29 after coupon
1 Kroger Cheese – $1.67
1 Kroger Applesauce – $2.19
1 Cucumber – $0.59
1.5 lbs Organic Bananas @ $0.59/lb – $0.89
1.26 lbs Broccoli @ $0.99/lb – $1.25
1 Kroger Lemon Juice – $2.05
1 Kroger Canola Spray – $2.18
Smoked Sliced Turkey Breast – $3.89
Used $9 catalinas from Transaction #2
Total before coupons and sales: $49.59
Total with tax after coupons: $18.70
Total for all grocery items: $50.61
Menu Plan for this Week
Breakfasts
Oatmeal, Applesauce, Cereal, Toast, Fruit
Lunches
Sub Sandwiches, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Scrambled Eggs (I get Farm Fresh eggs from my younger brother each week – yum!)
Dinners
Hamburgers (Crystal gave us a variety of frozen meats over the weekend – yes, I’m pretty spoiled to have her for my sister!), Baked Beans, Chips, Fruit
Chicken Spaghetti in Garlic Gravy, Rolls, Tossed Salad (Our garden is overflowing with lettuce right now!)
Lemon Salmon, Steamed Broccoli
Pancakes, Eggs, Hashbrowns
Lemon Chicken Fajitas, Strawberries (I just discovered today that our garden is bursting with strawberries, too!)
Date Night (we ended up getting sick last week so we had to postpone our date night to this week)
Dinner with my parents
Clutter-Busting Challenge Day #21: I cleaned up the backyard!
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
I cleaned up the backyard today and found two items to get rid of, plus a few more kids’ books on our bookshelves we aren’t using anymore (I loved one of your comments that recommended getting rid of books you can easily get from the library and I think I’m going to slowly move more toward that direction with our kids’ books — especially when it comes to paperbacks).
- 4 kids’ books
- 1 marker that doesn’t work anymore
- 2 misc. items I found lying in the backyard
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
We Paid Cash: Rental Vehicle Repairs
A testimony from Teresa
My husband and I have long struggled with debt (a struggle we continue to this day). But recently, we decided to try not to put anything on credit cards. This was a big step, as our “emergency fund” had always been a credit card. Now, we are carrying a $1,000 emergency fund.
A couple months ago, our car was in the shop, and we rented a vehicle. While the rental was in our possession, the bumper got scratched. We had declined all the “additional insurance coverage” offered by the rental company, as it was extremely expensive, and our regular car insurance covers rentals.
When we returned the vehicle, we were required to pay a $500 down-payment toward the repair. We decided to wait until we got the estimate to decide whether to pay for the damage out of pocket or submit it to our insurance company. We did not want a small claim driving our insurance prices up.
Boy, am I glad we waited as the repair cost less than $300! We actually got $200 of our down-payment back — and it went right back into our emergency fund. Because of our emergency fund, we had the luxury of paying for the repair without having to pay higher insurance premiums or high interest in the long run.
We built our emergency fund slowly, over several months. We did not have the “wiggle room” in our budget to set aside any money for savings.
When we committed to building the emergency fund, however, we began to reevaluate. Here are my tips:
1. Call your service providers.
My husband was not willing to cut out our cell phone service or cable completely, but he was willing to negotiate lower prices. He got our cable cost cut in half and our cell phone bill cut by one-third, all without losing any of the channels or services we use. Save first.
2. Save first.
Even if there is no money in the budget for savings, do it anyway. It is more difficult to avoid paying a creditor than to avoid putting money in the savings account.
The savings account does not make collections calls! Basically, if there’s more month than money, I will find a way to pay the power bill, even if I have to sell something on Craigslist to make it happen. Likely, I would not be so vigilant about my savings.
3. Be proactive.
Use sites like MoneySavingMom.com to find ways to save on everyday things.
4. Most importantly, find a way to save.
It’s terribly difficult for most of us, but even if you can only save your change in a coffee can, it’s worth the effort. The savings will eventually stack up, and even if you only have $60 in savings when your next emergency arises, that will be $60 that doesn’t have to go on credit!
Teresa is a Christ follower, a wife to Steve, and a mom to Elijah, Grace, and two dogs. She has a full-time job outside the home. She is a Florida girl with a love for the beach, chocolate, and a good book.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
Ask The Readers: How can I stock my classroom for less?
Today’s question is from Melissa:
After a year of job searching, I was just offered a position as an interventionist at an elementary school. I am starting from scratch. I do not have anything to set up my room for the fall.
In my district, we get $200 to buy our supplies, however that will not be nearly enough to make my classroom. Classroom rugs cost nearly $400 and then I have to buy books for my classroom library, totes to store supplies, the supplies itself (pencils, paper, crayons, etc).
Is there a way I can somehow buy the necessary supplies for my classroom for less? -Melissa
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
Free stuff in my mailbox
Here are the freebies I’ve gotten in my mailbox in the past week:
::Coupon for a free bottle of International Delight
::Free Suave haircare samples
::Free Gain Fireworks sample
::Coupon for a free Tai Pei entree
What freebies have arrived in your mailbox this week?
By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!
Shared May 28, 2013
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52 Different Ways to Save $100 This Year: Ditch Your Landline {Week 21}
52 Different Ways to Save $100 This Year: Ditch Your Landline {Week 21}
Every week in 2013, I’ll be sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
In July of 2010, we ditched our landline for a year. It saved us $15 per month — and countless minutes of dealing with telemarketers! 🙂
It was really freeing to do it, although I readily admit it was also a little weird since we’d always had a landline. But it was a worthwhile experiment — and the $180 we saved that year was great, too.
Here Are Three Things We Learned
1. Calculate the Savings
When we dropped our landline, it was because our phone/internet company finally started offering a la carte packages. Up until that point, we’d priced things and it was actually less expensive to go with an internet, cell phone, and landline deal versus just an internet and cell phone package.
So if you’re thinking of ditching the landline, be sure that it’s actually going to save you something each month — and not end up raising your rates.
2. Check Your Options
When you’re calculating your savings, also check into your options. If you ditch your landline, how much will it cost you if you decide to add it back on? Would it be a better alternative to just cut back on the bells and whistles? There are so many things offered along with landlines that most of us don’t need.
Consider stripping down to the barebones instead of ditching the landline altogether. Many times, the call waiting, caller ID, and other features can cost as much as $10 extra per month, if not more. If you don’t really need these options, don’t pay for them!
3. Count the Costs
I really didn’t seriously consider some of the risks involved with dropping our landline until I blogged about it back in 2010. And so many people shared their concerns and reasons as to why they wouldn’t ever drop their landline (read the comments on that post here).
The biggest concern raised was that you need to always have very, very easy access to a phone to dial 911 in case of an emergency. Cell phones can sometimes be hard to find (or maybe that’s just a problem we have at our house sometimes! :)) and they also have to be regularly charged.
The last thing you want to have to do in an emergency is be running all over trying to locate a phone or trying to charge up a phone. In a life or death situation, those minutes spent could be devastating. It’s never worth it to risk safety just for the sake of saving money.
However, there are options out there for calling 911. For instance, Mary from OwlHaven commented on my post and said:
We solved at least part of this issue by keeping a cheap Tracfone plugged in AT ALL TIMES on the kitchen counter so it will be charged and easily located. My teens use this phone when I am gone or when my unlimited-minutes phone is otherwise unavailable. The cord is long enough to stand next to the outlet to talk, and unplugging it is against the rules. I think I’ll also type our street address on a card taped to that phone, so the address can easily be read off to dispatchers if my teens were ever too stressed to remember our address.
Why We Ended Up Paying For a Landline Again
We thought we wouldn’t end up bringing our landline back, but after a year of being landline-less and having a few times when I couldn’t find my phone and Jesse had no way of getting ahold of me nor me him, we decided it was worth the $15 per month to add the landline back in. In addition, because I do a fair number of radio interviews that require a landline, this gave us another reason to make it worth the expense.
But we don’t regret the year we went without a landline and if our budget is strapped sometime down the future, we know we could always cut the landline and just go with the Tracfone idea.
Do you have a landline? Why or why not?
Good Reads: Start by Jon Acuff
Jon Acuff is one of the most inspirational people I follow online. Not only does he make me laugh, think, and ponder, but he challenges me to action. It’s not enough to know what I’m about, Jon motivates me to do something about it — like going out and punching fear in the face.
Jon’s latest book, Start, is an amazing book. And I don’t say that lightly.
It’s easy to read since Jon has a way of drawing you in with his words and stories. But it’s not an “easy read” since Jon won’t let you lounge in your recliner and ponder your world-changing ideas for years on end. No, he makes you want to jump up and go make something happen.
My hands down favorite part of Start was Jon’s vulnerability. His candid stories of his own insecurity and failure will help you to know that you’re not alone in your crazy fears or mistakes. He’s been there, too. He gets you. And his stories will give you courage and hope.
I had high expectations for Start because I knew that Jon and the Dave Ramsey team had poured days, weeks, months, and years into it. But it far exceeded my expectations. It wasn’t just good; it was great.
Now, I do want to mention that if you’re looking for a clearly laid out game plan for launching a business or idea, this book is probably not the best one to pick up. It’s more an inspirational message than a step-by-step how-to. That said, I truly believe everyone can learn from and be inspired by Jon’s message.
Have you read any good books recently? Tell us about them in the comments.
May Giveaway Extravaganza: $100 Visa gift card, $25 Red Robin gift card, $10 iTunes gift card, books, food, plus more!
It’s time for another Reader Giveaway Extravaganza! This is just a little way for me to show my appreciation to you all for reading here.
This month’s prize pack contains a few books I’ve enjoyed recently, some of the read-aloud books we’ve been enjoying as a family, some other goodies, plus some gift cards!
One reader will win the following prize pack:
- Journal
- Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic
- Paddington at Large by Michael Bond
- Adventures in Odyssey Whit’s End Mealtime Family Devotions
- The Chance by Karen Kingsbury
- While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin
- Start by Jon Acuff
- Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea
- Plum Kids Organic Fruit Straws
- Plum Kids Organic Greek Yogurt Mashups
- Purex laundry detergent sample
- Eden Organic Wild Berry Mix (Nuts, Seeds & Berries)
- Himalania Dark Chocolate Goji Berries
- Organic Lemongrass hand soap
- Almond Hand & Body Massage lotion
- Melissa & Doug Dry-Erase markers
- Folgers Classic Roast single-serve packets
- $100 Visa gift card
- $10 iTunes gift card
- $25 Red Robin giftcard
- 3 Microfiber sponges
- Minted flat note-cards
- Blue Bird French press
- Prayers for Your Children keychain from MomLife
To enter to win this prize package, just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address. One winner will be chosen and posted on Tuesday. This giveaway ends Thursday, May 30, at 11:59pm, CST.
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
Clutter-Busting Challenge Day #20: 7 more things
Every week day in May, I’m challenging my readers to try to find at least 7 things to get rid of. These can be big or small things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you actually throw them out, sell them, donate them, recycle them, or find someone else who can use them. Think you’re up for the challenge?
Just when I think I can’t find anything more, I keep finding stuff!
- 1 vase
- 1 plastic container
- 1 plastic tube
- 2 pairs of beauty gloves that are really worn
- 2 kids’ books
How did your clutter-busting go today? Link up your blog post and/or Instagram pictures below. Or, leave a comment telling us how many things you got rid of. Let’s clear our homes of clutter so we can be more productive and efficient!
Shared May 28, 2013
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“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
Kaitlynn found this rag yesterday that was on its last leg — even as far as rags go. But instead of seeing it as something destined for the trash can, she immediately realized she could design a purse out of it as the ripped off fabric section would work perfectly as a handle.
She got to work at once sewing it and then using marker to “paint” it. Once it was finished, she’s been proudly using it as a purse.
While her creativity never ceases to inspire me, but that wasn’t all that I took away from her rag purse project. It made me think how often in our lives there are messy broken pieces. Hard things. Struggles. Hurts. Failures.
We see these things and we want to just get rid of them and pretend they never existed. But often, it’s those very things that can shape us into a person of character.
I don’t know what the hard things in your life might be right now. But I know each of you has at least a few really difficult things you’re dealing with.
Don’t give up! You never know what those hardships might be preparing you for. But it might be something more beautiful than what you can imagine.
Do It Yourself: Father’s Day Fishing Lures
CreativeGreenLiving.com shows you how to make homemade fishing lures out of dollar store materials.
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.
Shared May 27, 2013
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Freedom Isn’t Free: A Big Heartfelt Thank You to Our Military Families
Freedom Isn’t Free: A Big Heartfelt Thank You to Our Military Families
As we celebrate Memorial Day today, I am humbly grateful to the many men and women who have risked and given so much for the freedoms we enjoy in this country.
Thank you — from the bottom of my heart — to the many military families who are readers here. We so appreciate the sacrifices you make on a daily basis to protect and defend our freedoms. We don’t say it enough, but thank you!
10 Goals For This Week
We had a quiet week last week and we stayed home most of the week. It was wonderful and it allowed me the time and energy to get all of my goals crossed off (something that hasn’t happened in quite awhile!).
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1.Start reading The Trumpet of the Swan
to the children. Read three chapters of The Hardy Boys Book #1 with Kathrynne, read three chapters of Life With Lily with Kaitlynn, read a few picture books with Silas.
2. Go on a date with Jesse.
3. Start Library Reading Program with kids.Personal Goals
4. Memorize Romans 1:14. Review Romans 1:1-13.
5. Exercise five times — start Pilates program.
6. Finish reading: 24/6, Unstoppable, Operation Dinner,Candle in the Darkness, and When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box.
7. Get at least 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night.Homemaking Goals
8. Continue on with the Clutter-Busting Challenge.
9. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.Business Goals
10. Photo shoot for book cover.
This week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1.
2. Attend the homeschool conference here and buy our homeschool curriculum for next year.
3. Go to the circus as a family.
Personal Goals
4. Memorize Romans 1:15. Review Romans 1:1-14.
5. Exercise five times.
6. Read One Thousand Gifts, The Charge, Surprised By Oxford, and The Things We Cherished.
7. Get at least 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
Homemaking Goals
8. Finish the Clutter-Busting Challenge.
9. Work on my embroidery project for at least 30 minutes.
Business Goals
10. Finish tweaking recipes for the new recipes page.
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.