Monday- Rosemary Chicken with egg noodles
Tuesday- Lasagna from the freezer
Wednesday- Whole Brick Chicken with mac and cheese or scalloped potatoes
Thursday- Parmesan Spaghetti with fried zucchini
Friday- Tacos
Saturday- Kielbasa/Take out Pizza or Chinese
Sunday- Burgers, Brats, and Dogs/??
My parents are coming into town for another flower adventure where my father tours the VA/MD area to help in every garden he can so dinner went from 2 to 4 with a few small changes. Not sure what we are having on Sunday night but I am sure that we will figure it out before then or end up eating all the leftovers in the fridge :) I am sure that some sale will pop up that I get and we will eat that exciting food that we have to eat on Sunday!!
Great place to share couponing stories, cooking and baking recipes, and lots of fun for families without spending a lot of money.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Weekly Goals 6/17
Last Week:
Family Goals
Family Goals
Family Goals
Spend time with my family- We had a great time all busy week!Storytime at the library- We had a great time at storytime and picking out booksPick up Aunt Lynn to the airport- Done, even though my son didn't stay awake through the tripBubbles Science and Storytime at the library- We were a little late getting there but we had a great time with bubbles and luckily I brought extra bubbles to play after and the boys had a great time.Go to the park with friends- There were many trips to the park and my son had tons of fun!Fire Safety Puppet Show at the library- Dylan laughed the whole way through this and enjoyed getting his hat and coloring book.- Movie at the library- We decided to skip the movie because it was Max and Ruby and I don't think that Dylan would sit still since he had never seen them before... so we went to the park again.
Read second half ofEmotional Currency: A Woman's Guide to Building a Healthy Relationship with MoneybyKate Levinsonand try to finish- I tried to get some good reading time in to make some progress so that I could try to move on to the next book....finally finished it Tuesday morning.Cut coupons (including pile from my parents and friend)- After almost losing a finger to my coupon cutting and filling the recycle bin, I finally finished all the old and new coupons are cut and organized!!! YEAH!!!Organize the coupon basket and get rid of expired one- I went through all the printed and newspaper ones and got rid of a ton of expired coupons which is sad because I went through the basket two weeks ago!!
Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 6 days of the week- I have kept the kitchen and the rest of the house clean this week. It was much easier to keep it clean when you do the dishes the night before :)Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning- I had a pile of dishes in the sink from cooking and baking on Monday night and I decided to do them all and get ahead of my list for Tuesday morning. I was super happy to get everything cleaned up in the kitchen and leave a clean kitchen when I go to bed. I wish that I could do this every night but I am so tired after a long day that it doesn't always work that way. I did them again on Wednesday night and Thursday night!!
Post one post everyday- Done. I think that this goal is getting easier and easier to do since I am working ahead and scheduling the posts.Schedule at least 5 posts so that can spend more time with family- Done. I got 7 posts scheduled already and I just have a few more posts to finish and schedule.Work on a few more weeks of Thrifty Thursday to get ahead- Done. I got this week and two more weeks done at the beginning of the week so I have the rest of the week to work on more posts.Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip- Done
Family Goals
- Spend time with my extended family
- Go to the park with friends
- Splash park for the first time
- Animals at the library
- Read Confessions of a Slacker Wife by Muffy Mead-Ferro
- Cut coupons
- Get ready for Super Doubles by making lists
- Shut off computer 3 nights to save energy
- Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 6 days of the week
- Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning
- Shop Super doubles at least three times
- Post one post everyday
- Write Book review of Confessions of a Slacker Wife by Muffy Mead-Ferro
- Schedule at least 5 posts so that can spend more time with family
- Work on a few more weeks of Thrifty Thursday to get ahead
- Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Easy Pumpkin Muffins
Ever wanted a baked treat but you though that it would be too much effort or you didn't have the ingredients? The easy pumpkin muffins are super easy to make and only takes two ingredients. One box of cake mix and one can of pumpkin!!! I got this recipe from my weight watchers leader years ago and I shared it with all my friends and family. It is super easy and quick to whip up a morning treat. I decided to make in a quest to clean out my pantry. I was looking for an idea for our Sunday morning breakfast and I saw a box of spice cake mix left. It was calling to me to make these muffins :)
The original recipe is as follows:
15 ox can pure packed pumpkin
One box Spice Cake Mix
Mix spice cake mix (dry) with pumpkin in bowl until smooth. Put in 12 greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
**NOTE: Don't use paper liners because dough will stick to and you will loose a lot of muffin
The dough will be really thick so mix with a fork to get through it all. The muffins will be nice and crispy on the top when they come out of the oven. However, when you store the muffins, the tops gets a little soft. If you don't like the soft top, stick them in the toaster oven or oven for a few minutes to heat up and the top will get nice and crispy again.
I have tried a few other cake mix flavors and none of them are a yummy as the spice cake for me because of the great way the spice mixes with the pumpkin flavor. Although the chocolate cake mix is good, add a few mini chocolate chips to pump up the chocolate flavor. The yellow cake mix is good but I suggest adding a little cinnamon to up the spice flavor. The best part is that you are eating a really healthy snack because pumpkin adds a lot of vitamins and there is no added oil or fats. Feel free to customize the recipe to fit what you have in the house. I am sure that you will come up with your new favorite muffin.
I hope that you enjoy and let me know if you come up with anything that I need to try :)
15 ox can pure packed pumpkin
One box Spice Cake Mix
Mix spice cake mix (dry) with pumpkin in bowl until smooth. Put in 12 greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
**NOTE: Don't use paper liners because dough will stick to and you will loose a lot of muffin
The dough will be really thick so mix with a fork to get through it all. The muffins will be nice and crispy on the top when they come out of the oven. However, when you store the muffins, the tops gets a little soft. If you don't like the soft top, stick them in the toaster oven or oven for a few minutes to heat up and the top will get nice and crispy again.
I have tried a few other cake mix flavors and none of them are a yummy as the spice cake for me because of the great way the spice mixes with the pumpkin flavor. Although the chocolate cake mix is good, add a few mini chocolate chips to pump up the chocolate flavor. The yellow cake mix is good but I suggest adding a little cinnamon to up the spice flavor. The best part is that you are eating a really healthy snack because pumpkin adds a lot of vitamins and there is no added oil or fats. Feel free to customize the recipe to fit what you have in the house. I am sure that you will come up with your new favorite muffin.
I hope that you enjoy and let me know if you come up with anything that I need to try :)
Friday, June 15, 2012
Emotional Currency Book Review
Emotional Currency: A Woman's Guide to Building a Healthy Relationship with Money by Kate Levinson is a book about dealing with your relationship with money.
The book is broken into three parts. The first talking about understanding money and how it is an emotional currency by writing a money memoir. The second part was about exploring your emotions around money- fear, confidence, shame, pride and love. The third part was about transforming your relationship with money by healing your relationship to money and making a money action plan.
At the end of each chapter, the author poses questions. These questions would make great discussion points to talk over the book with others. In addition, they are supposed to help you write your money memoir. They are certainly thought provoking questions. Here are some examples from the end of the Love chapter:
It has some great insights into how everyone reacts to money differently. Two people grow up in the same environment and one decides that they should live frugally and one decides to live extravagantly. Growing up poor makes one child grow up and live frugally because they don't want to end up in the same situation. The other child spends every cent that they get to enjoy life. Dealing with the emotions around money is important because it has little to do with the money and more to do with the feelings associated with it. Both ways of living aren't healthy and we need to deal with the emotions in order to deal with the way we manage our money. Easy to understand and hard to fix :)
There is an story of a daughter getting an inheritance from her father after he passed away and the mother didn't get as much. In response, issues came between the mother and daughter and the mother was suing the daughter for the money she feels like she deserves. At a time when a family should be pulling together, money gets in the middle and then the emotion that they should be feeling turns towards the money instead of towards the loss.
There was another story about a daughter who was going to private school and her mother told her that she couldn't go there anymore because she was naughty. She had friends and loved her school so it was a tough change in her life and the additional burden that it was her fault was very hard. She overcame it and ended up going to college. Her mother told her that her parents were no longer going to support her going to school because they heard that she had tried alcohol. She continued through college and graduated. Years later after a very strained relationship with her parents, she talked to her father who said that both issues were because the family didn't have the money to pay for the schooling anymore. He didn't tell her this because the father felt his job was to provide for the family and he was embarrassed that he couldn't. The father's issues with money affected his daughters whole life. This made a big difference in her resolving the issue and coming to peace with the fact that she didn't think that she was worth spending money on.
After reading the whole book, I thought it was a little slow starting but a valuable book. I thought that it was directed at women that have found themselves in debt but it never really talks about debt. Then there was a section that I thought it was dealing with inheritance. Another section discussing dealing with money after divorce. I think that the book covered so many topics and life changes that cause people (women in particular) issues with money. I think that this is a valuable tool for all women to read. Regardless of your financial status, life status, or feelings towards money, I think that this book can lead you to think more clearly about money.
Please pick up this book at your local library or bookstore. Let me know what you think and if you learned anything!!
At the end of each chapter, the author poses questions. These questions would make great discussion points to talk over the book with others. In addition, they are supposed to help you write your money memoir. They are certainly thought provoking questions. Here are some examples from the end of the Love chapter:
- Was money used in your family growing up to express love, approval, or disapproval?
- Have you felt loved through gifts of money?
- If so, when and how?
- Was money ever used in an attempt to "buy" your love?
- If so, was it successful?
- Have you ever used money as a means of maintaining a relationship?
- Was anyone in your family given more than others were?
- Did you ever feel jealous of displays of love between other family members that involved money?
It has some great insights into how everyone reacts to money differently. Two people grow up in the same environment and one decides that they should live frugally and one decides to live extravagantly. Growing up poor makes one child grow up and live frugally because they don't want to end up in the same situation. The other child spends every cent that they get to enjoy life. Dealing with the emotions around money is important because it has little to do with the money and more to do with the feelings associated with it. Both ways of living aren't healthy and we need to deal with the emotions in order to deal with the way we manage our money. Easy to understand and hard to fix :)
There is an story of a daughter getting an inheritance from her father after he passed away and the mother didn't get as much. In response, issues came between the mother and daughter and the mother was suing the daughter for the money she feels like she deserves. At a time when a family should be pulling together, money gets in the middle and then the emotion that they should be feeling turns towards the money instead of towards the loss.
There was another story about a daughter who was going to private school and her mother told her that she couldn't go there anymore because she was naughty. She had friends and loved her school so it was a tough change in her life and the additional burden that it was her fault was very hard. She overcame it and ended up going to college. Her mother told her that her parents were no longer going to support her going to school because they heard that she had tried alcohol. She continued through college and graduated. Years later after a very strained relationship with her parents, she talked to her father who said that both issues were because the family didn't have the money to pay for the schooling anymore. He didn't tell her this because the father felt his job was to provide for the family and he was embarrassed that he couldn't. The father's issues with money affected his daughters whole life. This made a big difference in her resolving the issue and coming to peace with the fact that she didn't think that she was worth spending money on.
After reading the whole book, I thought it was a little slow starting but a valuable book. I thought that it was directed at women that have found themselves in debt but it never really talks about debt. Then there was a section that I thought it was dealing with inheritance. Another section discussing dealing with money after divorce. I think that the book covered so many topics and life changes that cause people (women in particular) issues with money. I think that this is a valuable tool for all women to read. Regardless of your financial status, life status, or feelings towards money, I think that this book can lead you to think more clearly about money.
Please pick up this book at your local library or bookstore. Let me know what you think and if you learned anything!!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Thrifty Thursday: Be Organized for Grocery Shopping
Make sure you have lists of your pantry, fridge and freezer- and this means not jut in your head! I keep one list for my pantry, one for my fridge, and one for my freezer (but you can combine them) so I know what I have and what I don't. After you make the list, make sure that you bring them to the store with you too :)
How many time have you been at the grocery store and passed the brownies and remembered that you needed to make some for a picnic you were going to so you grabbed a box??? Got home to put things away to find that you already had 4 boxes in the cupboard because you keep buying one every time you are worried that you might not have one. Obviously, you can always use another box of brownies :) but it means that you might have just paid full price to get that item and didn't wait for them to be on sale.
The best rule of thumb is to know what you have so that you can get what you need. At the end of the month, impulse purchases add up quickly to added money you didn't need to spend. If you have a little extra money to spend, you can get some of the great bargains at your store and stock up. It is also cheaper to buy more of something when it is on sale. The boxes of brownie mix go on sale for $1 during the summer picnic season so if you buy a few more boxes, you save a lot of money (and effort) later because you have what you need to make those brownies without running back out to the store.
Plus many Americans don't use the items before the expiration dates and end up throwing them away. If you keep track of what you have in the pantry, fridge and freezer then items don't go bad. You can use everything before it goes bad with just a little bit of planning. Many families can go at least a week without going to the store at a drop of the hat if they just use the items that they already have. It is a great challenge to see if you can do it! It might mean one night eating pasta instead of having tacos but I think in the long run it teaches both the adults and the kids in the family that not everyone has it as good as we do here in the states.
Did you know that there are certain things that are on sale at different times of the year? Summer is the season for ketchup, mustard, and pickles because it is the season for BBQs :) Winter holidays is the time to buy flour for half the price. If you have a little extra money in your budget, you can stock up on things that are cheaper for use later. I don't know about your family but we use ketchup and flour during the whole year. A few more items added to your cart when they are at the cheapest price can save your family lots of money through the year.
Stayed tuned for the next weeks posts on keeping a price journal in order to figure out when to buy and tracking family usage to figure out how much to buy :)
How many time have you been at the grocery store and passed the brownies and remembered that you needed to make some for a picnic you were going to so you grabbed a box??? Got home to put things away to find that you already had 4 boxes in the cupboard because you keep buying one every time you are worried that you might not have one. Obviously, you can always use another box of brownies :) but it means that you might have just paid full price to get that item and didn't wait for them to be on sale.
The best rule of thumb is to know what you have so that you can get what you need. At the end of the month, impulse purchases add up quickly to added money you didn't need to spend. If you have a little extra money to spend, you can get some of the great bargains at your store and stock up. It is also cheaper to buy more of something when it is on sale. The boxes of brownie mix go on sale for $1 during the summer picnic season so if you buy a few more boxes, you save a lot of money (and effort) later because you have what you need to make those brownies without running back out to the store.
Plus many Americans don't use the items before the expiration dates and end up throwing them away. If you keep track of what you have in the pantry, fridge and freezer then items don't go bad. You can use everything before it goes bad with just a little bit of planning. Many families can go at least a week without going to the store at a drop of the hat if they just use the items that they already have. It is a great challenge to see if you can do it! It might mean one night eating pasta instead of having tacos but I think in the long run it teaches both the adults and the kids in the family that not everyone has it as good as we do here in the states.
Did you know that there are certain things that are on sale at different times of the year? Summer is the season for ketchup, mustard, and pickles because it is the season for BBQs :) Winter holidays is the time to buy flour for half the price. If you have a little extra money in your budget, you can stock up on things that are cheaper for use later. I don't know about your family but we use ketchup and flour during the whole year. A few more items added to your cart when they are at the cheapest price can save your family lots of money through the year.
Stayed tuned for the next weeks posts on keeping a price journal in order to figure out when to buy and tracking family usage to figure out how much to buy :)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Quick Harris Teeter Trip 6/12
It was the last day of the sale so I thought I should go and get a few things. I jotted down a list earlier in the day but didn't make it out until after dinner...exhusted and unprepared.
There was a deal on Suave Body Wash (normally $2.29 each) to get for free with sale, coupon and evic so I couldn't pass that up. There was suposed to be a deal on the Newman's Own Salsa and Chi Chi's salsa but the Newman's wasn't listed on the shelf and my store doesn't carry Chi Chi's brand. The Hefty Value Pack (normally $4.59 each) were on sale B1G1 and there was a printable $0.55 coupon through their facebook page so both boxes ended up being $2.39 or $1.20 each.
The last deal was the Wanchai Ferry Frozen Meal (normally $8.45) was on sale B1G1 so it rang up $4.22. I had a $1.60 printable coupon and $1.50 Evic coupon so it ended up being $1.12. The big bonus is that there was also a Savings Star coupon for $1.50 that will be loaded into my Savings Star account so it will be a moneymaker when that comes through.
Total OOP $4.05
Total Savings $18.70
Total Monthly Spending $5.43
Total Monthly Savings $78.68
Super exciting news is that the rumor is that Super Doubles starts on 6/20. I am going to try to get prepared by going through my coupons and making a list of all the coupons that I might want to use. It was really helpful last time during triples!!! Hope that you are having a great shopping month too :)
There was a deal on Suave Body Wash (normally $2.29 each) to get for free with sale, coupon and evic so I couldn't pass that up. There was suposed to be a deal on the Newman's Own Salsa and Chi Chi's salsa but the Newman's wasn't listed on the shelf and my store doesn't carry Chi Chi's brand. The Hefty Value Pack (normally $4.59 each) were on sale B1G1 and there was a printable $0.55 coupon through their facebook page so both boxes ended up being $2.39 or $1.20 each.
The last deal was the Wanchai Ferry Frozen Meal (normally $8.45) was on sale B1G1 so it rang up $4.22. I had a $1.60 printable coupon and $1.50 Evic coupon so it ended up being $1.12. The big bonus is that there was also a Savings Star coupon for $1.50 that will be loaded into my Savings Star account so it will be a moneymaker when that comes through.
Total OOP $4.05
Total Savings $18.70
Total Monthly Spending $5.43
Total Monthly Savings $78.68
Super exciting news is that the rumor is that Super Doubles starts on 6/20. I am going to try to get prepared by going through my coupons and making a list of all the coupons that I might want to use. It was really helpful last time during triples!!! Hope that you are having a great shopping month too :)
Everything Meals on a Budget Book Review
The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook: High-flavor, low-cost meals your family will love (Everything (Cooking)) by Linda Larsen was an interesting book that jumped off the library shelf the last time that I was there.
This book has a short but good introduction to explain how people can work on a budget to make their grocery budget go further. I always think that it is a good introduction for people who haven't thought about some of these concepts before and in under 20 pages, it provides a great starting point to save money on food. Cooking from scratch saves money and allows you to make yummy fresh goods whenever you want them (when you have the time).
There were a ton of recipes that looked great to me which included peanut butter bread, crescent rolls, graham cracker strudel muffins, beer cheese soup, corn dogs, potato tacos, and lemon chocolate pie. The best part is they were things that my picky son and husband would also like ranging from snacks, breads, breakfast, soup, sandwiches, salads, meat and meatless main meals, and dessert. I found 63 recipes that looked like they were made with ingredients that I either had or normally bought. I am pretty excited to try some of these recipes and look forward to sharing them with you when I do make them!!
Pick this up at your local library or bookstore to see if you are interested. I hope that you like it as much as I did!!!
This book has a short but good introduction to explain how people can work on a budget to make their grocery budget go further. I always think that it is a good introduction for people who haven't thought about some of these concepts before and in under 20 pages, it provides a great starting point to save money on food. Cooking from scratch saves money and allows you to make yummy fresh goods whenever you want them (when you have the time).
There were a ton of recipes that looked great to me which included peanut butter bread, crescent rolls, graham cracker strudel muffins, beer cheese soup, corn dogs, potato tacos, and lemon chocolate pie. The best part is they were things that my picky son and husband would also like ranging from snacks, breads, breakfast, soup, sandwiches, salads, meat and meatless main meals, and dessert. I found 63 recipes that looked like they were made with ingredients that I either had or normally bought. I am pretty excited to try some of these recipes and look forward to sharing them with you when I do make them!!
Pick this up at your local library or bookstore to see if you are interested. I hope that you like it as much as I did!!!
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