Another Week of Food

The first menu plan I made worked out pretty good. I hope some of you tried those recipes. My family liked some of them, and didn't like others. So, I'm going to throw out the ones they didn't like (the curry stew), and keep the ones they did with the goal of making a family recipe book that all three kiddos can take with them when they fly the coop. I think this is going to be a fun project, and it'll give the kids a book full of (hopefully) good memories to look through regularly.

So, after asking everyone which recipes from last time they liked best, we'll be keeping everything but the curry stew. (Can I pick 'em, or what?!)

Here's my menu plan for this week:

Breakfast Menu

• Monday: Oatmeal w/fruit
• Tuesday: French Toast
• Wednesday: Rustic Applesauce w/Oatmeal
• Thursday: Fruit Smoothie
• Friday: Breakfast Burritos
• Saturday: Ham & Cheddar Waffles
• Sunday: Pancakes

Lunch Menu

• Monday: Refried Bean Tostadas
• Tuesday: Hot Dogs & Chips
• Wednesday: Leftovers (Choice: Asian Noodle Salad, or Red Beans & Rice)
• Thursday: Tuna Sandwiches on homemade Oatmeal Bread
• (I make mine with 1/2 all purpose, and 1/2 whole wheat.)
• Friday: Leftovers (Spaghetti Garlic Bread sandwiches)
• Saturday: Chef Salad
• Sunday: Leftovers (Choice: Chicken Thighs w/Carrots & Potatoes, or Chef Salad)

Supper Menu

• Monday: Asian Noodle Salad
• Tuesday: Cheese Tacos w/Pico de Gallo & Beef Tacos
• Wednesday: Red Beans & Rice
• Thursday: Spaghetti w/Garlic Bread
• Friday: Chicken Thighs w/Carrots & Potatoes
• Saturday: Twice Baked Salmon Potatoes
• Sunday: Coffee Marinated Chicken Drumsticks

Snack Menu

• Fresh Fruit
• Carrots & Celery w/Ranch Dip
• Cottage Cheese & Pineapple
• Cheese & Crackers
• Frozen Grapes, Strawberries, Melon Balls
• Homemade Granola
• Pickle Rolls
• Homemade Juice Popscicles

We'll see how this week turns out. I'm sitting here looking at all these recipes, and though I'm excited to try them, I'm also thinking, "WOW! That's a lot of cooking!" Wish me luck!

Cíao!
Steph

Things I'll be doing today: Cooking, watering the lawn, cleaning house, and prepping food.

It's Time to Start Saving (or at least give it a try!)

I have been searching for ways to try to save money on groceries for, it seems like, forever. But, I'm not the only one. Moms (and Dads) across the country are looking for new ways to save, and there are a TON of sites out there dedicated to just that. Here are a few I've found in just the last couple of days:

• Coupon Saving Family
• Sioux Falls Frugal Mom
• Coupon Saving Game
• Frugal Dr. Mom
• Hip 2 Save
• Passion for Savings
• Couponing 101
• Couponing to Disney (Yes, she actually saves enough for her family of 4 to make a YEARLY trip to Disney World!)
• Frugal Fun and Fortune

EACH of these sites are linked to OTHER sites that have resources as well. Check them out, I bet you'll be just as impressed (and dazed and confused) as I am!

So, that started me thinking... if they can do it, even though they're all in bigger areas than our family is, then there's no reason why I can't do it. Yes, I have to travel 35 miles to make use of a lot of the deals I've found, but I have to do that anyway if I want to shop at Walmart, Dillon's, or Target. Why not take advantage of these deals, and make a HUGE dent in my grocery savings?!

I'm sure all of you are thinking: "I already do this. Where has she been?", but I've never been a coupon clipper. Most of the time, I buy generic brands, and I've seldom seen coupons for generics. However, I keep seeing the word 'FREE' on these sites... over and over and over again. With the technique of 'stacking' coupons, these ladies are buying an entire grocery cart of food for $5 or less! Pretty amazing, don't you think?

Of course, these sorts of savings don't come without a LOT of preparation. These people spend lots of time gathering deals, printing and clipping coupons, organizing them, and planning menus. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type gal, but, hey, if it'll save me a couple hundred bucks a month then I'm all for it!

So, let's get started!

First, I've got to come up with a weekly menu plan. I don't know about you, but my family is picky! So, in order to please everyone, I've got to carefully plan around everyone's tastes. I borrowed a week's worth of supper recipes directly from Frugal Dr. Mom (with links) – they sound really good! And, I'll be adding breakfast, lunch, and snacks to the menu, too. I subscribe to Clean Eating magazine, and they usually have a great section on healthy, budget friendly weekly meal plans – "FIVE dinners for $50" – not bad! Who says you have to spend a mint to eat healthy?! I'll definitely be including those recipes, too!

My goal is to cut my grocery spending in half, and go from there. Here's my tentative menu plan for next week (at this point I expect lots of changes, tweaks, and revisions):

Breakfast Menu

• Monday: Apple Spiced Oatmeal
• Tuesday: English Muffin Bread with Spreads and Fresh Fruit
• Wednesday: Buckwheat Pancakes
• Thursday: Breakfast Smoothies
• Friday: Homemade Granola with Yogurt
• Saturday: French Toast with Syrup
• Sunday: Scrambled Eggs with Toast (ketchup optional!)

Lunch Menu

• Monday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Carrot and Celery Sticks
• Tuesday: Grilled Cheese with Tomato Dipping Sauce
• Wednesday: Hot Dogs & Chips with Fresh Fruit
• Thursday: Cheese Tacos with Pico de Gallo
• Friday: Leftover Cauliflower Cheese Soup (see below)
• Saturday: Grilled burgers with picnic fixings
• Sunday: Leftover Baked Potato Soup (see below)

Snacks

• Fresh Fruit
• Carrot and Celery Sticks
• Frozen Grapes, Strawberries, Melon Balls
• Homemade Granola
• Cottage Cheese
• Pickle Rolls
• Pretzel Sticks
• Homemade Juice Popscicles

Supper Menu

• Monday: Ground Chicken (or Turkey) and Chickpea Curry Stew with Yogurt and Cilantro
• Tuesday: Low-Carb Really Great Spinach Lasagna
• Wednesday: Crispy Rosemary Chicken and Fries
• Thursday: Cauliflower Cheese Soup and French Bread
• Friday: Tuna Muffins & Steamed Vegetables
• Saturday: Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Sunday: Florentine Chicken Alfredo

Please feel free to share your thoughts, tips and tricks, and ask questions! I look forward to hearing from you. Now, it's off to clip and organize coupons!

Cíao!
Steph


Things I'll be doing today: Clipping coupons, reading sales flyers, and spending hours in the sun at the pool watching my little one swim. More sunscreen, please!

April Fool's is Behind Us Now

It's Spring! Finally! One thing bothers me, though: We had no snow (or so little as to be nearly none) all winter, but now that it's Spring, we've had a BLIZZARD! Go figure!

I was reading an article about saving on Yahoo news this morning, (Here's the link: Yahoo Finance News) and I had to chuckle because most of the saving activities mentioned in the article are really sort of... trivial (at least for me). For example:

• dining out every day – we don't do this... not even once weekly or monthly. We may dine out occasionally, maybe 3 or 4 times in six months... maybe.
• dropped her $28-a-month land line – we dropped our land line years ago. Way back in 2001. It didn't make sense to have both, and cell phones are much more convenient.
• and her $65-a-month cell phone, and she now uses her work cell phone exclusively – Ok, first only a limited number of people have "work cell phones", mostly sales folks, technicians, and executives. Secondly, I'm willing to bet that those "work cell phones" are for work, not for personal use. This person could just be asking for trouble.
• And she scaled back satellite-TV service – we've never had satellite TV service, have never felt a need for it, heck we don't even have cable. Why have these pay services when we have Internet service that includes websites with free video services should we want them?
• save on formula, diapers and wipes by buying in bulk on Diapers.com – thank goodness we don't have a need for diapers anymore! I question the savings on this one because of freight costs. Buying store brand diapers is most certainly much cheaper than buying name brand in bulk when it has to be shipped.
• saved $460 per year by dropping her land line and using only her cell phone. She and her extended family saved $700 by consolidating their cell-phone bills with a family plan – again, we've done this. We have a cell phone plan, with 5 phones, that costs us less than $150 per month. (It's about $125.) Since we're all in different places all the time, it's important for us to be able to reach each other when we need to. Plus, my Mom only pays $25 or so per month for her phone on our plan. If she had her own plan, she would be paying at least twice that.
• Coupons from grocery circulars and Web sites, takes advantage of double- and triple-coupon offers, and tracks down coupon codes for online retailers – this only works if you buy crappy processed and boxed non-food food. Most coupons I find are for items I never buy. I want my family to eat and be healthy, so we buy fresh food: Produce, meat, grains. (BTW: this is also cheaper than using coupons for crap.) I stay away from buying boxed or canned food products for the most part. The items I do buy are store brand or generic brand items, and usually, you won't find coupons for these items.

There were some good points in the article, though:

• Costco membership got her a cheaper auto-insurance policy – great if you have a Costco nearby and can get a membership, but ask yourself: Do we have access to a Costco, how much is a membership and will I shop at Costco? We don't have a Costco anywhere within a reasonable driving distance, so for us it would be a waste of money. There's always online price comparisons, though. Something to look into if you think your car insurance is too high.
  
• using a flexible spending account for child care expenses – we used this when I was working, and it was great. I do recommend this one if you have a child in daycare. You see the savings immediately, not at tax time. But, remember, any money you don't use is gone at the end of the year, so only pay in what you're going to use.
• Slashing your mortgage interest rate – this one is worth looking into, and if you're able to do it, can save you significantly on your mortgage bill.
• invested in a programmable thermostat – we have one of these, and it has saved us quite a bit in utilities. I can't tell you exactly how much, but our gas bill has never been lower, even with the increased rates. I recommend you get one of these if you don't have one.

Ultimately, I think if you're trying to significantly reduce your monthly or yearly spending, you're going to have to cut much deeper than this article implies. Buy non processed foods that you prepare yourself, cut out non-essential items and services completely, find free alternatives for entertainment, find ways to make your essential services more cost effective (i.e. programmable thermostat, flex spending), and get rid of (pay off) high interest rate revolving credit accounts. Live in the now, not on credit.

One more piece of advice: Pay yourself first. It always helps to take a set amount of money out of available funds before you start spending it. Pretend it doesn't exist. After all, you can't spend what isn't there.

Ok, let me know what you think about my critique. Those of you who are able: Enjoy the Sunshine! Those of us who are still trapped in winter will be envious.