Lots of driving this week with errands across town! But by combining trips, we were able to save on gas.
Busy in the kitchen this weekend making baby food peaches and squash. $3.96 in peaches (yes that's high, but I really wanted to see if she would like them) and 92 cents for a squash made 12 servings each. Make a batch of granola bars, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, and breakfast muffins for snacks this week.
Sliced my own meat for turkey sandwiches on homemade french bread for lunches at work this week.
Ryan cut Austin's hair.
My paycheck is $44 less thanks to the relinquishing of annual salary increases for teachers ($88 per month). My heart goes out to those I know who had just finished their master's degree and are losing nearly $400 a month.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Shopping this week!
When we were across town taking pictures with the in laws, we stopped by a custom tile shop where we found decorative tile on clearance for $6 a square foot. We had priced subway tile at Home Depot for our master bath remodel for $2.50 per sq ft and decided to do a simple strip of decorative tile that was $15 per sq ft as a nice touch that wouldn't cost a fortune. The clearance tile at the specialty shop was actually even prettier so we saved over 50%!
Went to Kohl's for a few things that the family needed. We had a 15% off coupon, $10 Kohl's cash and another $5 in store coupons, so the total was very low.
Started going to Winco on Saturday nights since my weeknights are busier now. Spent $52 for everything we needed this week which included diapers and a small turkey breast for lunch meat. The baby is getting close to growing out of size 2 so I don't want to buy a huge case at Costco until she's in size 3. I got Pampers brand as it was over 75 cents cheaper than Huggies. Fuji apples were 78 cents/lb and 3 pack of romaine lettuce hearts was $2.48 (higher than last week, but still below my $3 limit). Cream cheese went up 20 cents, but the sour cream I get went down the same so it evened out. Make sure you tell the cashier when you bring your own reusable bags, as you save 6 cents per bag. I usually bring at least 5 so I save 30 cents on that. My goal in March is to get my weekly Winco trip down to $40 a week and my total monthly budget for Costco down to $150.
Went to Kohl's for a few things that the family needed. We had a 15% off coupon, $10 Kohl's cash and another $5 in store coupons, so the total was very low.
Started going to Winco on Saturday nights since my weeknights are busier now. Spent $52 for everything we needed this week which included diapers and a small turkey breast for lunch meat. The baby is getting close to growing out of size 2 so I don't want to buy a huge case at Costco until she's in size 3. I got Pampers brand as it was over 75 cents cheaper than Huggies. Fuji apples were 78 cents/lb and 3 pack of romaine lettuce hearts was $2.48 (higher than last week, but still below my $3 limit). Cream cheese went up 20 cents, but the sour cream I get went down the same so it evened out. Make sure you tell the cashier when you bring your own reusable bags, as you save 6 cents per bag. I usually bring at least 5 so I save 30 cents on that. My goal in March is to get my weekly Winco trip down to $40 a week and my total monthly budget for Costco down to $150.
Monday, February 18, 2013
President's Day shopping deals!
It was a fun shopping day! Needed to stop at several stores, so chose Centennial Center so I could be close to all the places I needed to go.
Had the baby so I parked in a central location and walked throughout the shopping center with the stroller going to Home Depot, Children's Place, Ross and Dress Barn. I found a great suit for $20 for my upcoming interview at Ross and got two dresses on sale at Dress Barn (most of my dresses are now too big). Used my 20% off at Children's Place to get Austin a new shirt for church that will fit his thick neck and an outfit for the baby to wear for the upcoming family picture with my in-laws. Drove to Justice which was up the way a bit to buy a cute cheerleading practice outfit for my friend's daughter as a just because gift, the entire store was 40% of plus an additional 20% off that price.
After coming home to make lunch for everyone, I put the baby down for a nap and ditched the whole family to hit Target, Winco, and Costco.
Target has large boxes of Enfamil formula refill packs buy two, get $10 Target card this week, so I spent more than anticipated to take advantage of this deal. My weekly Winco visit was $41. I got my 6 cents off per reusable bag and finally got a decent price on romaine lettuce (3 hearts 1.78). Got a nice pineapple for 1.98 and fuji apples 78 cents/lb.
Costco has their monthly specials going on through the rest of this week. Got two 36 packs of Diet Pepsi for $8 each and got more of the Tyson chicken nuggets for $8.99 and Fruit by the Foot case for $7.89.
This week's jackpots February 17
Made baby food apples and pears. Apples 68 cents/lb, so $1.50 yielded 24 servings, $3 in pears also made 24 servings.
Made homemade body wash using 3 bars of the Dove soap that was on sale at Costco. For $2.34 I got 48 oz of wash. Just microwave soap 90 seconds and add to boiling water and cook till fully dissolved.
Made 4 loaves of french bread costs about 30 cents a loaf.
We saved up enough cash to purchase a new deep tub and fixtures for our master bath! Ryan searched for the best deals and we ended up buying supplies from two different sites to save on cost. Also had figured $800 would be needed for the tiling, but after shopping around, we found a thrifty option with using an accent strip of the "expensive" style we liked combined with basic white subway tile that will cost us about $250 total.
I waxed my own eyebrows.
Ryan changed the oil in his truck.
Made homemade body wash using 3 bars of the Dove soap that was on sale at Costco. For $2.34 I got 48 oz of wash. Just microwave soap 90 seconds and add to boiling water and cook till fully dissolved.
Made 4 loaves of french bread costs about 30 cents a loaf.
We saved up enough cash to purchase a new deep tub and fixtures for our master bath! Ryan searched for the best deals and we ended up buying supplies from two different sites to save on cost. Also had figured $800 would be needed for the tiling, but after shopping around, we found a thrifty option with using an accent strip of the "expensive" style we liked combined with basic white subway tile that will cost us about $250 total.
I waxed my own eyebrows.
Ryan changed the oil in his truck.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Savings Jackpots February 10, 2013
How did I save money this week?
Last weekend, we went out of town to visit family in Montana. I am grateful for my mom who really helped with the cost of the trip. She paid for most of our meals, paid for the hotel room and also bought me the most comfortable shoes I can wear to work at REI. Thanks mom, you're the best.
We saved on this trip because our dates were flexible with my personal days at work that could be used at anytime. I booked the flight with Allegiant back in September and searched until I found the cheapest round trip situation and it happened to be the end of January. The baby is a lap child, so she flew free. For the three of us round trip, plus the cost of checking a bag, we spent just over $300. It was worth every dime to be able to see our new little nephew and see several members of my extended family. Thank God the flight was on time and no bad weather!
I was busy every night this week, trying to catch up from being out of town:
I made a double batch of chocolate chip pancakes and oatmeal-banana muffins to freeze for easy breakfasts.
I made another batch of baby biscuits and figured out the price point: I can make 2 dozen for $1.08. At the store, I would probably pay at least $3.
I made baby food this week: peas, sweet potato, and applesauce. A large bag of frozen peas is $1.68 at Winco. This makes 48 small servings at 3 cents each. 4 of these servings for a cost of 12 cents equals the 2 pack of Gerber baby food that retails around $1.29! The sweet potato was 98 cents and made 12 servings, the apples were $1.50 and made 18 servings. Now that the baby is eating solids 3 times a day, she only has four 4-6 oz bottles a day which saves on formula.
I read the book "Total Money Makeover" on the plane. I am so excited to continue to "live like no one else so that later, I can live like no one else." Started a budget and set an amount per week for my grocery/misc purchases and will use the cash envelope system to stick to it.
Yesterday, I took the kids and met a friend at the Springs Preserve. I bought a family membership in July for $60. We've gone four times and attended two special holiday events so far this year, so it has already paid for itself.
After church today, I made a batch of granola bars, chocolate chip cookies, and breakfast muffins. I also made three batches of homemade laundry soap, recipe from The Prudent Homemaker click here for laundry soap recipe I used the Dove soap I got on sale at Costco instead of Oil of Olay. Shredding three bars of soap was exhausting but I figured I was burning off all the granola bars I consumed that afternoon! When you make these bars, you will never go back to store bought. Click here for recipe
Gotta give a shout out to the hubby, he has cut back to eating out at lunch only once per week this month. I am so proud of him that he is on board with me on this journey. He thinks I am crazy for doing all of this, but I have to say, I feel happier and relief from all the stress I used to have from overspending and having no money left in my account.
What other homemade items do you prefer over store bought?
Last weekend, we went out of town to visit family in Montana. I am grateful for my mom who really helped with the cost of the trip. She paid for most of our meals, paid for the hotel room and also bought me the most comfortable shoes I can wear to work at REI. Thanks mom, you're the best.
We saved on this trip because our dates were flexible with my personal days at work that could be used at anytime. I booked the flight with Allegiant back in September and searched until I found the cheapest round trip situation and it happened to be the end of January. The baby is a lap child, so she flew free. For the three of us round trip, plus the cost of checking a bag, we spent just over $300. It was worth every dime to be able to see our new little nephew and see several members of my extended family. Thank God the flight was on time and no bad weather!
I was busy every night this week, trying to catch up from being out of town:
I made a double batch of chocolate chip pancakes and oatmeal-banana muffins to freeze for easy breakfasts.
I made another batch of baby biscuits and figured out the price point: I can make 2 dozen for $1.08. At the store, I would probably pay at least $3.
I made baby food this week: peas, sweet potato, and applesauce. A large bag of frozen peas is $1.68 at Winco. This makes 48 small servings at 3 cents each. 4 of these servings for a cost of 12 cents equals the 2 pack of Gerber baby food that retails around $1.29! The sweet potato was 98 cents and made 12 servings, the apples were $1.50 and made 18 servings. Now that the baby is eating solids 3 times a day, she only has four 4-6 oz bottles a day which saves on formula.
I read the book "Total Money Makeover" on the plane. I am so excited to continue to "live like no one else so that later, I can live like no one else." Started a budget and set an amount per week for my grocery/misc purchases and will use the cash envelope system to stick to it.
Yesterday, I took the kids and met a friend at the Springs Preserve. I bought a family membership in July for $60. We've gone four times and attended two special holiday events so far this year, so it has already paid for itself.
After church today, I made a batch of granola bars, chocolate chip cookies, and breakfast muffins. I also made three batches of homemade laundry soap, recipe from The Prudent Homemaker click here for laundry soap recipe I used the Dove soap I got on sale at Costco instead of Oil of Olay. Shredding three bars of soap was exhausting but I figured I was burning off all the granola bars I consumed that afternoon! When you make these bars, you will never go back to store bought. Click here for recipe
Gotta give a shout out to the hubby, he has cut back to eating out at lunch only once per week this month. I am so proud of him that he is on board with me on this journey. He thinks I am crazy for doing all of this, but I have to say, I feel happier and relief from all the stress I used to have from overspending and having no money left in my account.
What other homemade items do you prefer over store bought?
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Costco and Winco deals week of Feb 4th!
Costco savings booklet valid January 31-Feb 24, 2013
There are some good deals this month! I went to Costco this week with only $75 budgeted for the trip. I got everything on my list, plus two additional things and spent $65. Some of the great coupons are: Mott's Medley's fruit snacks for $3 off and Quaker Granola bars $3 off (I didn't get these as I make my own gran bars and the way my son eats, I would rather buy him Fruit by the Foots). Cetaphil lotion (I can use this for the whole family) is $4 off. I paid $6.73 for the huge jar of moisturizing cream and can put it in little containers and throw one in my purse, one in my bathroom, one in the kids' bathroom and it will probably last us 6-8 months. The Tyson chicken nuggets are $4 off making them $8.99 for a 5 lb bag (for the cost of 3 happy meals, I can make 20 lunches for my son). Dove bar soap is $3 off making it $12.49 for 16 bars. This is the last ingredient I needed to purchase for making my own laundry soap. I am also going to try to use it for making my own body wash.
Costco produce has not been the greatest lately. But I did purchase some lovely asparagus that has just been stocked, 2.25 lbs for $4.99. That is the price for a pound at the grocery stores and it is not nearly as thick and fresh.
Over at Winco, the Del Monte pasta sauce and ketchup is still going on for 48 cents each. Broccoli crowns 68 cents a lb, Cucumbers 38 cents each. Apples are up to 98 cents a pound, so I just bought a few. I bought some produce, splurged on some Valentine candy, and got the rest of the basics on my list and spent $23.
It feels so good to simplify my shopping and save money based on the way I cook now!
There are some good deals this month! I went to Costco this week with only $75 budgeted for the trip. I got everything on my list, plus two additional things and spent $65. Some of the great coupons are: Mott's Medley's fruit snacks for $3 off and Quaker Granola bars $3 off (I didn't get these as I make my own gran bars and the way my son eats, I would rather buy him Fruit by the Foots). Cetaphil lotion (I can use this for the whole family) is $4 off. I paid $6.73 for the huge jar of moisturizing cream and can put it in little containers and throw one in my purse, one in my bathroom, one in the kids' bathroom and it will probably last us 6-8 months. The Tyson chicken nuggets are $4 off making them $8.99 for a 5 lb bag (for the cost of 3 happy meals, I can make 20 lunches for my son). Dove bar soap is $3 off making it $12.49 for 16 bars. This is the last ingredient I needed to purchase for making my own laundry soap. I am also going to try to use it for making my own body wash.
Costco produce has not been the greatest lately. But I did purchase some lovely asparagus that has just been stocked, 2.25 lbs for $4.99. That is the price for a pound at the grocery stores and it is not nearly as thick and fresh.
Over at Winco, the Del Monte pasta sauce and ketchup is still going on for 48 cents each. Broccoli crowns 68 cents a lb, Cucumbers 38 cents each. Apples are up to 98 cents a pound, so I just bought a few. I bought some produce, splurged on some Valentine candy, and got the rest of the basics on my list and spent $23.
It feels so good to simplify my shopping and save money based on the way I cook now!
Baby travel kit
I wish I would have set up something like this when I had my first baby! I hate lugging around a huge diaper bag when I'm just going out for a short time. So now I have created a set up of on-the-go diaper and feeding supplies that will easily fit into my regular purse.
I bought a set of 10 mini containers at Dollar Tree. I put formula in three containers labeled with the amount of water required to make the bottle and numbered them. I put rice cereal in three containers and numbered them. I have several of the travel Huggies containers that come with the Costco cases. I put one diaper, a small stack of wipes in a Ziploc sandwich bag, and two paper towels (still connected) folded up to use as a liner for the changing table. I decorated them with stickers and numbered them so I know when I've used the 3rd one, I need to refill them.
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