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Money Saving Mom

Money Saving Mom®

Saving Families Money Since 2007

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Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 22, 2010 comment

Reader Tip: Donate food daily for free through TheHungerSite.com

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Reader Tip: Donate food daily for free through TheHungerSite.com

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Your recent post about giving from our abundance made me think of a site I recently discovered — The Hunger Site. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, every day when you click on the site, you can donate 1.1 cups of food. Cool!

I’ve had fun teaching my little guy about the beatitudes and he loves to crawl up in my lap to help work the computer and donate food for the hungry. Every little bit counts!

There are also other links on the page, like one for giving life saving medicine to children. -Cher

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 21, 2010 comment

The Blessings of Giving

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The Blessings of Giving

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

When my husband and I got married seven years ago, we made a commitment to give a tithe of 10 percent of our gross income to our local church. While this has not always been an easy thing to do, it has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

For the first few years of our marriage, we were barely squeaking by on an income of $800 to $1,000 a month. Yet we made tithing our number one budget priority—even before paying our bills.

The blessings from making giving a priority have been amazing.

Read the rest of the article.

Note: I received an email from a reader who was very concerned that I’d write an article for a site sponsored by American Express. I just thought I should clarify that I had committed to writing three articles for Currency.com months ago — and just found out a few weeks ago, to my dismay, that this new financial site was going to be sponsored by American Express.

I would not have written the articles for them had I known of the AMEX sponsorship, as that would be a conflict of interest for me as I do not support or encourage the use of credit cards. However, the articles were already written and slated for publication so I am going to go ahead and share the articles here over the next week as I know some of you will enjoy them. I’ve closed off comments on this post to facilitate discussion on the main article should you wish to comment there.

photo by MindfulOne

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 20, 2010 comment

5 Ways to Repurpose Newspapers

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5 Ways to Repurpose Newspapers

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

New uses for newspapers

Guest post by Julia from Roots of Simplicity

Do you have a stack of newspapers sitting in your house or garage? Whether you like to read the articles, scan the comics or just clip the coupons (like me!), the daily paper is a versatile resource beyond the information it holds. Besides the recycle bin, there are several other uses for newspapers which can help trim your expenses.

1. Substitute newspapers for paper towels

For very messy clean up jobs, newspapers are an ideal choice. Though a paperless kitchen is a worthy goal, sheets of old newspapers can be very handy for lifting the bulk of big messes (eggs, oil, mud, etc.). The final swipe can be done with a wet cloth or paper towel if needed.

You can also prevent a huge countertop spill if you are pouring grease or oil by placing a sheet of newspaper under the container before pouring the liquid.

In addition, newspapers are a thrifty, streak-free way to clean windows and mirrors.

2. Make an eco-friendly newsprint gift bag

Newspaper gift bagGlossy gift bags are often an expensive addition to the cost of a gift. By using your own materials to create a gift bag, you can save cash and reduce consumption. Use a trimmed cereal box “wrapped” in newsprint for you bag. Poke holes and thread with ribbon (strung with pieces of plastic straws!) for your handles.

You can also customize the bag according to the recipient or what you are giving. For example, for a sports fan, use the sports section; for a general gift, use the comics; for a cooking-related gift, use the food section.

If the gift is too big to fit in a bag, simply use the newspaper as wrapping paper.

3. Use newspapers as a disposable table covering for picnics and crafts

Wrap a table in sheets of newspaper and secure with tape. Why buy a single-use tablecloth when you can easily get newspapers for free? I noticed that a popular food magazine (Rachael Ray) recently featured a brown paper table cover for a casual outdoor party.  Instead of buying anything, “go green” and reuse your newspapers for the same effect.

4. Make a party pinata

Using a cardboard box, some newspaper, tape and colored tissue paper, you can have fun making and then breaking your own pinata. Tape is easier and quicker than paper mache, but you can go whichever route your creativity and available time indicate. Homemade pinatas can become a fun, frugal, personalized tradition for birthdays and other celebrations.

5. Use newspaper as a disposable diaper changing pad

Changing the diaper of a squirming baby or toddler is not always a tidy affair. Using a newspaper is cheaper and more eco-friendly than buying disposable changing pads, but just as convenient.

Through being resourceful with the newspaper stack that you already have, it is possible to save money and reduce your need to buy specialty paper products.

Do you reuse newspaper in a clever or frugal way? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!

Julia blogs at Roots of Simplicity. She is a stay-at-home mom of three children who employs her creativity in the kitchen and at the craft table with whatever she has on hand.

Get the latest coupons delivered right to your door for
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Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas Money Saving Mom® readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 18, 2010 comment

Super Savings Saturday: Aldi trip and beef stock-up

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Super Savings Saturday: Aldi trip and beef stock-up

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We made a trip to Aldi for most of our groceries and then picked up a big roast and three packages of Sterling Silver ground sirloin from Dillon’s (plus some ice cream!). All totaled, we spent right around $54 on groceries this week.

And that was that.

I’m planning to have another Mini Freezer Cooking Day this coming week and make another big batch of Homemade Oatmeal Packets, some Homemade Baking Mix (recipe coming later on this week) and meatballs and meatloaf for the freezer.

I’m also hoping to jump back into using more coupons this week after taking a break from them for a few weeks. The break was nice, but we’re getting low on some things, so I can’t slack for too long lest I end up paying full price for toothbrushes or something! 🙂

____________

Did you snag any great deals or bargains this week or save money in other ways? If so, be sure to post about them on your blog and leave your link below. Please remember that this weekly round-up is to share deals you personally got and/or money you were able to save this week. In order to keep this weekly round-up focused on helping and inspiring others in their efforts to save money, links which have little-to-no content other than promoting affiliate links, etc. will be deleted. Also, to make it easy for everyone to navigate quickly through the links, your link must link directly to your Super Savings Saturday post.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 18, 2010 comment

Becoming a Work-At-Home Mom: MoneySavingMom.com is born

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Becoming a Work-At-Home Mom: MoneySavingMom.com is born

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

After the success of the online Supermarket Savings 101 course, I started helping some local ladies with couponing and was putting together a list of the best deals at nearby stores for them each week. I kept thinking about how I was sure others could benefit from these lists outside of my circle of local friends.

At the same time, I felt like my personal blog was becoming too over-run with frugal posts and I wanted to have a place to freely share those. I looked for a blog which was covering the drugstore deals and teaching people step-by-step how to cut their grocery bill, and, surprisingly, I found none.

(Back in 2007, blogging was still a new phenomenon so while there were some finance and frugal blogs, to my knowledge, there weren’t any blogs which were specifically dedicated to sharing deals. And based upon the emails I was receiving, I knew that people were really looking for specific, detailed information on how to work the deals and get the best bang for their buck at the grocery store.)

So I kept feeling this nudge in my heart to start a blog dedicated to helping women with the nuts and bolts of using coupons, getting the best deals and also to just share things about finances and saving money we had learned during our lean law school years. I approached my husband about the blog idea and he loved it. However, we both sat on it for a few weeks as we wanted to make sure it was the direction God was leading and I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t biting off more than I could chew.

I also needed a name for the blog, if I were going to start one. We tossed around a lot of possibilities but finally landed on MoneySavingMom.com. I bought the domain and opened up a little Blogger blog. I didn’t even have a header designed for a few months and it was as barebones as it could be, but people started coming and coming and coming. Pretty soon, the blog was averaging around 5,000 visitors per day, then 10,000, then 15,000 and on and on it went.

MoneySavingMom.com has far exceeded my wildest dreams and I’m humbled that God would allow me to be apart of this. Many times when people ask me what is the key to this blog’s success, I’ll tell them, “Hard work and the blessing of God.” I have put a lot of time and effort into the blog and believe that the lessons I’ve learned through failure have been invaluable. However, I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that MoneySavingMom.com would not be anywhere near what it is without God’s blessing upon it.

For some reason, God allowed us to be at the right place at the right time. We didn’t know that the economy was going to go downhill just a few months after MoneySavingMom.com was born. Nor did we know that couponing and frugality were going to become extremely popular. In addition, I knew very little about SEO when I started (search engine optimization, i.e. how you get your blog to show up at the top of the list when people use a search engine).

I’ve made some major mistakes along the way. I’ve offended people by careless words and actions. I’ve struggled with having my priorities in order. I’ve unintentionally hurt people who are very close to me. I struggle with thinking I am somebody (and every time that happens, God will smack me right in the forehead to remind me how human and fallible I am!)

It’s been a humbling and growing process to have the responsibility upon my shoulders of hundreds of thousands of people around the world reading what I write. You all have been gracious, long-suffering and incredibly kind to me along the way and I appreciate it very much.

I’m honored to be at a place now where I can completely choose my own hours to work and have a very talented team of people who do much of the behind-the-scenes work so that I can give the best part of my day to my husband and children. It hasn’t always been this way and if I were to do over parts of my life, I’d definitely seek, by the grace of God, to work less and have my priorities more in order.

Working from home can be a great thing, but if your family and friends are run over or short-changed in the process, it’s not worth it. At the end of my life, it won’t matter how many blog posts I wrote or how much money I made, but it will matter that I was faithful as a wife and mom! As I’ve often said, anyone can be a successful blogger, but only one person can be your husband’s wife and your children’s mom.

Over the next few weeks, I’d love to answer any specific questions you all might have related to working from home in my Saturday posts. So if you have a question related to working from home you’d love to see answered, please leave it in the comments here or email me. I can’t promise I’ll have an answer or that I’ll be able to get to every question (depending upon how many are asked!), but I’ll at least pick a few and give them my best shot!

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Click here to sign up!
Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 17, 2010 comment

In the Land of No Double Coupons: Use Overage to Your Advantage (Part 4)

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In the Land of No Double Coupons: Use Overage to Your Advantage (Part 4)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Clair Boone

This is Part 4 of Clair’s series, In the Land of No Double Coupons. Here’s Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

5. Use Overage to Your Advantage

Through rebate programs like CVS and Walgreens our family hasn’t paid for many toiletries in eight years. Yup, Walgreens’ Easy Saver program has been around a while and even when we were missionaries in Thailand for three years, my mother-in-law would stock up and then send it out with anyone who came to visit us!

The one question I get asked a lot is, “If it’s free but you know you can’t use it, would you buy it?” My answer most of the time is, “Absolutely, if I can not only get it free but use a coupon to make it better than free!”

If the Colgate toothpaste is going to be free after Register Rewards but I have a $1 coupon to use on it then it covers the tax and a little extra. Sometimes the deals are even better and when you stand to make overage of around $5, then I love doing those deals.

That means I can use my overage on necessities that are never free, like diapers. And if it’s not something I’ll use, I donate it.

In Closing

While it’s true that we’ll never be able to snag quite as much free food as the double couponers, there are stores that will enable you to get super cheap or free food like Meijer and Jewel. Those are two stores that I cover each week and if there’s free food to be had, I’ll let you know!

The bottom line is, while The Land of No Double Coupons makes you get more creative, it is a little easier to navigate because you don’t have to stress out about all those coupons. For now, this is Clair Boone reporting from a land far, far away.

She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack prompting her friends to ask her to start www.mummydeals.org to teach others how to save money. She loves to use her couponing powers to buy things and donate them. Originally from England, Clair Boone is wife to an amazing man, Mum to a toddler and lives near Chicago.

Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas Money Saving Mom® readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 17, 2010 comment

We Paid Cash! :: A Kitchen Faucet

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We Paid Cash! :: A Kitchen Faucet

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We paid cash!

A testimony from Jen

Up until a year ago I was working full-time at a job that paid pretty well. Our home, cars and budget were based on two good incomes. But after my son was born I struggled as a working mom and finally made the decision to stay home. While I don’t regret it at all, it’s meant some major budget overhauling.

Two months ago we read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and decided we were committed to becoming debt-free. As is always the case, life decided to hit us with a test to see how dedicated we were to our new plan.

Fixing the Leak

For the last month the spray nozzle on our kitchen sink has been leaking. We’ve had to leave it sit in the sink to avoid water damage to the cabinet underneath.

Over Labor Day weekend we decided to tackle the job of replacing it. We were told it would be a simple do-it-yourself job. We had a small gift certificate to Home Depot so we headed there to get the parts we needed.

To make a long story short, after three trips to the hardware store, and a visit from my dad (a general contractor), we found out we had to replace the entire kitchen faucet. The cheapest kitchen faucets run around $100, and that was NOT in the budget! So I got to work trying to figure out what to do.

How We Saved

  1. I checked Craigslist and found a two-year-old kitchen faucet for $20. Turns out it belonged to the kindest older couple who had just re-done their kitchen and decided instead of throwing it away they would see if they could help someone out by putting it on Craigslist. What an answer to prayer!
  2. I crawled under the sink myself (my husband couldn’t fit!) and figured out how to remove the old faucet and put the new one in (which included 2 more trips to the hardware store for replacement pipes and connections).

When all was said and done we spent $28 on the faucet and replacement parts.

What We Gained

We paid cash for new faucetThe best part of this? Two days earlier we had received an unexpected $57 check in the mail from our mortgage company. A year ago we would have immediately blown that on a night out, but because of our new commitment to remaining debt-free, we tucked it away for a special need.  What great confirmation that we are making the right decisions with our money!!

My name is Jen, I am a stay-at-home-mom to a two-year-old son. I have been married for eight years to a wonderful man who supports me in all my endeavors, whether it be rearranging our budget, crazy-coupon-clipping or climbing under the kitchen sink!

Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 16, 2010 comment

Free Christmas Planning Ebook + Downloadables

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Free Christmas Planning Ebook + Downloadables

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

One hundred days and counting! Christmas will be here before we know it, and one way to keep the season merry is to plan ahead.

Mandi at Life… Your Way is offering some free resources to help us all do just that.

(photo credit)

View or download the free ebook here.

Choose from these free printables to customize your planner:

:: Address Book

:: Baking Planner

:: Budget Worksheet

:: 2010 Calendar

:: Cards Worksheet

:: Decor Inventory

:: Family Traditions

:: Gift Ideas

:: Gift List

:: Handmade Gifts

:: Master To-Do List

:: Order Tracking

:: Shopping List


Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 16, 2010 comment

In the Land of No Double Coupons: Plan a Menu (Part 3)

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In the Land of No Double Coupons: Plan a Menu (Part 3)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Clair Boone

This is part 3 of Clair’s series, In the Land of No Double Coupons. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

4. Plan a Menu

It’s 5:00 p.m. and your husband is due home in half an hour. The kids are going crazy, the baby is crying and you have spent the day cleaning up toys. Just when you think things can’t get worse you realize you have no dinner planned.

Although you could convince your husband to eat cereal or frozen pizza, is that what you want? Or what you want the kids to eat? With the way our lives are nowadays, we run around like headless chickens and try to fit in eating healthy.

If you want to eat healthy and live frugally there’s only one thing to it — you’re gonna have to start meal planning.

Meal Planning Defined

According to the Meal Planning Mommies, meal planning is “creating a flexible, livable schedule of family meals.”

Meal planning is:

  • Meant to take the stress out of dinner time and put the fun back in cooking family meals.
  • Going to help you plan a variety of healthier, cost-efficient meals based on your family’s needs.
  • Going to save you MONEY and TIME.
  • Individual to your family.

Meal planning does not have to be:

  • A rigid calendar of meals.
  • Meals that don’t suit your family’s tastes/lifestyle.
  • Costly.
  • Time consuming.
  • Stressful.

My Meal Plan

My meal plan is really simple. At the beginning of each week or sometimes every couple of weeks, I look at what’s already in the stockpile. My stockpile contains items I got for free, cheap or things that I already have on hand.

If we only have chicken in the freezer then I’m going to get creative. If I’ve got a variety then we’re in luck.

Once the meal plan is written using those ingredients, I write a list for the things I need to actually make those random ingredients into meals and then I run out to the store. Not before. Running into the store without a list will end up in copious amount of impulse buying, regretful decisions and the grocery budget up. I know it and I’m guilty.

So make a list and don’t back out.

Sometimes You Just Need to Improvise

A few weeks ago we were having friends over for dinner and I decided I was making chili.

As it was time for a grocery shop anyway, I wrote a list of everything we needed that week. We had ground beef around (hence my decision to make chili) and so I knew I needed chili seasoning. I went out, came home and started to cook.

About two minutes into it I realized I was missing a key ingredient: tomatoes! My friends were arriving in half an hour, I didn’t want to go back to the store and risk impulse buying so I can now attest to the fact that tomato sauce, tomato ketchup and a dollop of BBQ sauce makes a great chili!

In other words, if you forgot it at the store, improvise.

Stay tuned for Part 4 tomorrow…

She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack prompting her friends to ask her to start www.mummydeals.org to teach others how to save money. She loves to use her couponing powers to buy things and donate them. Originally from England, Clair Boone is wife to an amazing man, Mum to a toddler and lives near Chicago.

Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas Money Saving Mom® readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 16, 2010 comment

Ask the Readers: Where do you find good deals on maternity clothes?

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Ask the Readers: Where do you find good deals on maternity clothes?

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m 14 1/2 weeks pregnant with our first & now that things are starting to not fit anymore, I have been trying to do some maternity clothes shopping. But wow! I didn’t realize clothing yourself while pregnant was so expensive! Just curious to know if you had any ideas or thoughts on places to go for good deals on maternity clothes. -Eden

Maternity clothes can definitely be very pricey, but there’s no need to spend exorbitant amounts on a whole new wardrobe to clothe you while pregnant. Instead, take it as an opportunity to get creative and think outside the box. Here are some things which have allowed me to spend very little on maternity clothes over the course of my last three pregnancies:

Re-purpose Items You Already Have

I’m pretty petite, so the 30 pounds I always gain with each pregnancy mean I go up at least two to three sizes in clothing by the end of my pregnancy! Needless to say, I’m not one of those women who can wear her regular jeans the entire pregnancy (I wish!).

However, I’ve found that some things in my wardrobe can still be worn until at least six months. Sweaters, high-waisted blouses and items which can be layered work especially well for this. So start with what you already have in your closet and see if there are some items which can be re-purposed to work as maternity clothes — at least for a little while.

Borrow From Friends

So many friends have been kind to let me borrow their maternity clothes from them over my last few pregnancies. They’ve always offered to share and I’ve been more-than-happy to take them up on their offer. And I’ve been happy to return the favor to others now that I’ve built up my own “collection” of maternity clothes.

Buy Used

Before going out and buying anything new, definitely check out the possibilities available for used clothing. Craigslist, Freecycle, garage sales, eBay, consignment stores and many other sites online carry used maternity clothes — often at a fraction of the price of buying new.

Shop the Clearance Racks

Motherhood Maternity, Target and Old Navy usually have some pretty good clearance racks in the maternity section. If you keep your eye on them when you’re out shopping, you’ll likely be able to find some good deals. And if you can pair the clearance deal with a coupon (which are often released for Target and Old Navy) you might find a killer deal! In addition, you can occasionally find some great deals online at Kohl’s when they have $0.99 shipping and a coupon code.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

Since I’m a minimalist, I always find it easiest to just have a few classic pieces which mix and match. A few pair of jeans or capris (depending upon the season, a pair of really comfy yoga pants, a couple of skirts, a few casual shirts and a few dressy shirts. I go for quality over quantity and just wear the items over and over and over again during those four months or so when I’m in maternity clothes full-time.

I’ve found it’s best to buy shirts which have ties in the back as these can be adjusted with your growing belly. I like elastic-banded pants, jeans and skirts which go under the belly (like these) as I can wear them my entire last half of the pregnancy and then for a few weeks postpartum, too. Making sure you buy items which can be worn more than a few weeks saves a lot of time and effort.

What are your ideas and suggestions for saving money on maternity clothes? Tell us in the comments.

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

Click here to download!
Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 15, 2010 comment

In the Land of No Double Coupons: Skip Junk Food & Shop at ALDI (Part 2)

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In the Land of No Double Coupons: Skip Junk Food & Shop at ALDI (Part 2)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Clair Boone

This is part 2 of Clair’s series, In the Land of No Double Coupons. You can find Part 1 here.

2. Skip Junk Food

Research has proven that impulse buying increases your spending by about 20%. For me, that’s $40 per month of waste that could go towards bills or put into the savings account.

A major area where impulse buying occurs is junk food. Run into the grocery store hungry and you’re bound to grab a bag of chips to munch on in the car. While standing in line with fussy kids you cave into the pleas for candy and buy suckers.

Those items are only $1 each but if you impulsively put 10 such items in your cart, your bill just jumped $10.

One thing that’s helped us is to simply avoid junk food. Rarely do we have soda pop in the house and although we always have some snacks on hand, most of them are from ALDI where they’re very cheap.

As a mum, I’d rather give my child water or milk over soda pop any day of the week. Why wouldn’t I treat my body in the same way? Unless it’s a real treat (i.e. Dr. Pepper from a drive thru!) then I skip soda pop altogether.

3. Shop At ALDI

Once an unclean, unkempt place with more MSG and high fructose corn syrup than is healthy for any normal person, ALDI has come a long way! If you haven’t stepped into an ALDI recently, you need to.

  • Planning a diet or just love eating healthy? ALDI has an inexpensive diet range named Fit n Active. With salad dressings galore, rice cakes, and great brown rice, there’s no need to spend more money on good food.
  • I’ve tried ALDI diapers and they work! At only $5.99 a pack, it’s worth experimenting on them.
  • You can’t find cheaper pie crusts, sugar or most other baking products anywhere else.
  • At around $1 for a giant bag of chips or tortilla chips, there’s no need to pay more for snacks.
  • ALDI has roses for $3.99 for six and bunches of flowers for about $2.99. If you’re rolling your eyes and thinking the quality lacks, then you’re just like me…until someone bought me some from a florist and at the same time Hubs came home with some from ALDI. No word of a lie the ALDI flowers outlasted the florist’s by a whole week!

Stay tuned for Part 3 tomorrow…

She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack prompting her friends to ask her to start www.mummydeals.org to teach others how to save money. She loves to use her couponing powers to buy things and donate them. Originally from England, Clair Boone is wife to an amazing man, Mum to a toddler and lives near Chicago.

Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas Money Saving Mom® readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 15, 2010 comment

My Freezer Cooking Accomplishments (and come link up yours!)

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My Freezer Cooking Accomplishments (and come link up yours!)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I did a mini-Freezer Cooking session last week and here’s what I ended up getting accomplished:

A triple batch of Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Three meal’s worth of Marinated Chicken

Two big bags of chicken cooked and chopped/sliced

One loaf Whole-Wheat Bread

Next week, I’m planning to tackle making a big batch of Homemade Baking Mix and plan to also make meatballs and meatloaf. I’ll share the Baking Mix recipe once we’ve tried it.

__________

Did you have a chance to do any baking or cooking this week? If so, post about it on your blog and leave your link below to your direct blog post. Thanks for joining us!

Money Saving Mom
Shared Sep 14, 2010 comment

In the Land of No Double Coupons: Skimp on Meat (Part 1)

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In the Land of No Double Coupons: Skimp on Meat (Part 1)

Published: by on   |  This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Clair Boone from Mummy Deals

In a land far, far away lives a group of people. While they’ve heard the stories of how others are getting free food by a practice known as “double couponing”, they’re not sure how it works. They’ve seen the phrase “Do Not Double” on select coupons but if asked to explain, they aren’t exactly sure they could.

Their budgets are stretched, their creativity is exhausted and when these “doublers” talk about their small grocery bill, the people in the land faraway roll their eyes and smile.

Welcome, folks, to the Land of No Double Coupons.

Whether it’s because I live right outside a big city or because the grocery store choices are too vast and therefore nobody needs to double, I’m not sure. But one thing is for sure: Nobody’s doubling around here, 35 minutes outside of Chicago.

A few months ago I participated in a focus group with Crystal and when asked the question, “What would you say if a big grocery store discontinued the double coupon program?” I didn’t hesitate and responded, “I’d say: Welcome to my world!”

Over the years I’ve learned to be creative with the budget, skimp and save. Even without doubles, our family of 3 lives on a weekly grocery budget of $50 including toiletries and diapers. For those of you in the same boat, here’s some food for thought:

1. Skimp on Meat

I have a man who loves meat and lots of it. Although my hubby would rather eat steak for every meal, it’s expensive and not healthy every night! I’ve learned how to skimp on meat without making it look like I’m doing so by stretching the meal. In other words, I add other cheap yet healthy ingredients and take out some of the meat.

  • I’ve been known to add rice or beans to a pan of taco meat to stretch it. I’m not a fan of beans but I know how good they are for me and disguising them in meat cuts down the cost and gets in some of the goodness.
  • Many people use Italian sausage for a whole variety of meals and yet by buying it as that, it’s more expensive than if you buy it as a whole sausage, take the casing off and cut it down.
  • Instead of defrosting a chicken breast/pork chop per person, if it’s going into a casserole I’ll add a little less and then just add more vegetables or side dishes.
  • Meatless Days are great to keep the budget in line and plain spaghetti with whole wheat noodles and homemade spaghetti sauce will bring a family of 4 way under $4 for the whole meal, even with salad!

A lot of these tips are depression era tips that I’ve learned from a group of older ladies at a Bible Study I attend. Back then, skimping on food and yet trying to be healthy was a way of life.

To be continued tomorrow…

She bought diapers for 20 cents a pack prompting her friends to ask her to start www.mummydeals.org to teach others how to save money.  She loves to use her couponing powers to buy things and donate them.  Originally from England Clair Boone is wife to an amazing man, Mum to a toddler and lives near Chicago.

Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas Money Saving Mom® readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

Looking for ways to spread frugal blessings? Try freezer cooking for the elderly!
Shared Sep 13, 2010 comment

Freezer Cooking for the Elderly

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Freezer Cooking for the Elderly

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Looking for ways to spread frugal blessings? Try freezer cooking for the elderly!

A guest post by Jody

My grandmother is ninety-eight years old, and until she fell six months ago she was still living relatively self-sufficiently at home. Her independence was important to her, and so she was still making most of her own meals.

Like the ideal farmer’s wife, she had spent a lifetime making spreads of pot roast, mashed potatoes, applesauce, green beans, corn, gravy, rolls, apple pie, pecan pie, butterscotch pie and cherry pie – the woman could make some pie!

At ninety-eight she just didn’t have it in her to do all that anymore. About twice a week she would make enough Cream of Wheat to last for a few days. For lunch and dinner she resigned herself to making simple things like a grilled cheese sandwich or bread and butter. Besides that, she just couldn’t eat very much, so it seemed pointless to cook an actual meal. She had been about 5’9” in her “prime”, but now she was barely able to make the scale read 100 pounds.

During this time she started paying a service to provide meals a few times a week, but couldn’t quite boast of the flavor. We knew it was bad when during a visit, my parents’ dog (who eats everything from cupcakes to coffee cans full of bacon grease) got left in the car with one of the meals. They found that the side dishes had been consumed, but he had refused to touch the main course. When even the dog won’t eat your meat, you know it’s bad!

Living over fifteen hundred miles away I was at a loss as to how to help. I was concerned that she was not getting enough variety or nutrition in her diet, and I knew that it was quite a feat for her to pull together the simplest of meals.

The main factors were:

  • Lack of variety
  • Lack of nutrition
  • Lack of energy
  • Lack of appetite

An Idea!

Last November when I was there for Thanksgiving, we had our usual feast at her house, though the kids and grandkids did the cooking. Despite the gluttony, there were still plenty of leftovers. That’s when I had an idea.

I pulled out her muffin tins and went to work. Using one leftover at a time, I filled the muffin tins with all the typical Thanksgiving fixings. When a tray was full I put it in the freezer and pulled it out a couple of hours later. I would let it sit a couple of minutes to loosen the food from the edges, then I would dump out the cubes, put them back into the freezer and move on to the next leftover.

I thought about putting all of the little circles into Ziploc bags according to what they were, but then decided that would be too complicated for her to get all of those bags out for one meal. Instead, I utilized her endless collection of empty cottage cheese containers. I put a cube of each item into each container, so that all she would have to do would be to pull one container out of the freezer, arrange the items on a skillet or a plate for the microwave and presto! She would have a nutritious meal of very little portions with plenty of variety and hardly any work to get it.

I happened to be there at Thanksgiving, so I didn’t need to do any extra food preparation for this, but I started wondering if other people would want to incorporate this kind of thing into their freezer cooking days. It could be helpful for the elderly or even a single person who wouldn’t likely be able to eat an entire lasagna or casserole if it was offered to them.

Extra Tips

Some tips I would have for doing this would be to:

  • Be sure of dietary restrictions.
  • Label the container with large print.
  • Attach any directions.
  • Write a note of encouragement or a smiley face.

Compared to all of the meals my grandma has made me over the years, I know this is just a drop in the bucket, yet I hope to bless her as she has blessed me.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”  James 1:27

Jody loves cooking in huge portions and is still learning to try a recipe out in a multiple of one before doing eight batches at once – and then realizing it’s not such a good recipe – and then eating that from the freezer for a very long time.

Do you have an idea for a guest post? I am always looking for high-quality, original (i.e. not published anywhere else online) content with tips and ideas MoneySavingMom.com readers can use. If you would like to submit a guest post, please follow the Guest Posting Guidelines.

photo by ex libris