Weekly Wrap Up

I'm joining in on Jennifer's weekly wrap up and writing about my frugal or not so frugal week!

I had four no drive days! I think that might be a record.
It was warm enough for a couple days to turn our heat almost off for most of the sunny day.
Washed all laundry in full loads and with cold water.
Ate at home ALL week!
Planned my entire March menu
Planning on eating up some of the stockpile this month so we won't be so tempted to eat all the bad food once we all jump into the gluten free world!
We're still unplugging everything and sitting in the dark until we can't stand it anymore to save on electricity.

Our new school curriculum came and so far we're all happy with the purchases. My son actually already started his new creative writing book and is LOVING it! Hopefully these purchases will save money in the long run because we all love them and I won't feel the need to keep shopping for the perfect school books!

I also started spring cleaning and started going through our clothes to find the gaps...like shorts that are now way too short or finding almost one of my daughters has no shirts without stains on them. I'm making out my "need" list to start shopping our thrift stores until yard sale season begins!

How was your frugal week?

Special Diets on a Budget

How do you stay frugal when one or more of your children are diagnosed with allergies or food sensitivities? Our family has dealt with this for quite awhile however, now it's about to become even harder as we are in the beginning stages of going gluten free as well. My oldest daughter is extremely sensitive to artificial colors and other unnatural ingredients in most convenience foods. Another one of my daughters cannot have dairy or soy and we are now taking gluten out of her diet as well. Here are some ways we have found to stay on budget with all of our dietary restrictions.

When we first started avoiding all artificial colors and preservatives I went crazy buying all organic versions of our favorite convenience foods! It didn't take me long to realize that our budget could not handle that! My whole food budget was gone in one shopping trip and all I had to show for it was a few boxes of organic oreos and some organic teddy grahams. Something had to change. I decided it was time to spend more time in the kitchen and make all our snacks. For example, I'll spend one day a month and make a triple batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and freeze it in logs in the freezer for quick snacks. I'll also make up bags of brownie mix and muffin mix so all I need to do is add the wet ingredients when we want brownies. This one change significantly lowered our grocery bill.

The next thing I did was to really think about the think about the things my kids really love to have. Candy is one thing that I'm willing to spend a little more on. I have made it a policy to always have organic chocolate or suckers on hand so if they get candy that they can't have at church or Halloween or whatever they can trade it in for something they can have. Ice Cream is also something I like to keep on hand. Organic ice cream is expensive so I searched and found that Breyers all natural ice cream is dye and artificial flavor free and it goes on sale for $2 or less many times! For my daughter who can't have dairy or soy I buy her organic rice ice cream at the health food store for $6.85 a quart.

Breakfast is another budget killer if you buy only organic cereal or pop tarts. It can take a little more time each day to make something from scratch but it will really make a difference in your budget. For example, once a month you could make a huge batch of pancakes, waffles, or muffins and freeze them for later. We are using Pamela's Product for our waffle/pancake/muffin mix and it is worth it as my kids will actually eat this brand of gluten free food!

A great deal on some gluten free/dairy free food might seem like the perfect time to stock up however before you blow your budget on food you haven't tasted buy one first and make sure they like it!! We've found that many gluten free items on sale taste like a box and that's why they're on sale!

Lunch and dinner can be hard if you don't plan ahead. Dinners are my most easy place to save money. We usually have meat/rice/vegetable or meat/salad/vegetable. Occasionally we have bread but I don't give it to my daughter. Lunch is the hardest meal for me and the one that is taking the most time to figure out. Leftovers are great if we have them. If not we have baked potatoes, tacos, or finger foods like fruits, vegetables, and popcorn.

Here is a sample day of food at our house:
breakfast: gluten free pancakes/bacon
snack: apple cut up
lunch: tacos with corn shells
snack: cucumbers with salad dressing
dinner: chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
drinks are organic rice milk or apple juice or water.

If we're going somewhere and we need to pack a lunch I'll often make homemade lunchables with cut up lunch meat (turkey) and grapes and lays plain potato chips ( dairy and gluten free!)

Check out Biblical Womanhood for more frugal Friday tips!

Wendy's Coupon

Check this out, sign up for the Wendy's email list and you should receive a $1 coupon off anything on their menu.
Thanks moneysavingmom!

Long Term Menu Planning

As a stay at home/homeschooling mom I have to plan and cook three meals a day and I don't know about you but that job can get tiring! I find that if I try to fly by the seat of my pants our lunches aren't very healthy and my poor husband has to eat cookies instead of a nice warm lunch.

As a family we are giving up buying fast food for the next 40 days so I needed to prepare myself for cooking all our meals for that long! My first thought was just to feed everybody pasta for the next few weeks, it's quick, it's easy, and it's free from my coupons! However, I'd end up with an uprising after about two of those meals! Truthfully this will be an immense challenge for me, I get bored or lazy with my cooking and it is so easy to send out for pizza or have my husband run out for Wendy's. I need to prepare meals that will be easy, tasty, frugal, and liked by everybody! At first I was going to plan weekly menus and then shop the pantry/freezer and store for everything I needed but I realized I would be tempted to pick up extras every week that I don't need. I decided to plan a four week menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Here's a quick way to plan out a four week menu. First decide what types of meals you want to serve each week. For example, at our house Monday is chicken night, Tuesday is beef, Wednesday is something quick, Thursday is crock pot night, Friday is homemade fast food, Saturday is homemade pizza or leftovers, and Sunday is a fancy dinner. Once that is done you only need to pick out 4 different chicken recipes or four beef recipes. We eat a hot breakfast at our house each day so I planned a rotating schedule for that muffins/Monday, pancakes/ Tuesday, waffles/Wednesday, cereal/Thursday, muffins/Friday, big breakfast/Saturday, overnight coffee cake/ Sunday. That meal plan will not change at all during the 40 days. Lunches are a hard thing for me because my husband is home from work at a different time than when we eat so I need to plan something that be reheated quickly. I decided to also plan a weekly lunch plan that will not change and will only be used if we don't have enough leftovers from dinner. Some examples are chicken patty sandwich, hamburgers, grilled cheese/peanut butter, sloppy joes, tacos, chicken/fries, and other quick meals.

After writing down all my meals I then pulled out all the recipes for them. I assigned meals to different days and then put the recipe behind the menu sheet so it will be ready when I need it. My next task was to write down everything I would need for all the recipes, side dishes, and snacks. I originally wrote out weekly grocery lists based on my menus but I am in the process of switching to a monthly one.

This weekend I will be putting together my breakfast meal kits and doing a small once a month cooking session. I will also be gearing up for any of the monthly things I need but don't have on hand ( should be a small list thanks to my stockpile!) This should help cut down on my cooking time during our fast food fast and make it slightly easier to pass by the drive thru.

This works for me! Check out Works for Me Wednesday for other tips!

Sisterhood Award

I just received my first award Sara @ onemomfiveboys gave me this totally cool award. You should check out Sara's blog, I get a ton of great advice from her!! Sara does some really neat stuff with her sons for their school time.

Now it's my turn to share the love. Here are some of my favorite blogs that I feel are worthy of this award:

Sonshine @ glimpseofsonshine I always find encouragement when I visit her blog. She always has such a positive attitude about everything!

Gayle @ grocerycartchallenge her attitude about feeding her family on a small budget is contagious! Every time I read her blog I want to cut my budget even more!

Jennifer @ gettingahead she also has some fantastic ideas and is also very inspiring and positive about her cost cutting budget.

Andrea @ mommysnacks just blows me away, her posts always seem so happy and bubbly no matter what topic she's writing about.

Angie @ Bring the rain is the most powerful blogger I have visited. She is beyond awesome, check out her blog for so much inspiration!

The rules of this award are...
1. Add the sisterhood logo to your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Link to your nominees in your post.
4. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

Kroger Deals

Sorry this is late! Here are the best deals I see for this week...
- grapes .97 a lb
-certain Colgate toothbrushes 10/$10 use $.75 off any toothbrush in 2/22 SS F/REE

- Aquafresh toothpaste $1-1.99 use $.75 off any in recent0 insert Free or $.50
- Right Guard deodorant 10/$10 look for $.55 peelies which makes these free!
English Roast are buy 1 get 1 free
-Knorr side dishes 10/$10 use $.75/2 in 1/18 red plum pay $.25 each
-Bakin Miracle (like shake n bake) is $1.69 with a $.75 off peelie on it = $.19

That's all I saw that was awesome, did you see anything I missed?

Free Subs from Quiznos

Hurry to www.millionsubs.com and sign up for your free sub coupon. They're giving away 1 million so hurry before they're gone!!

Lent is Coming

My family has always given up something for Lent, this year is no exception, however it was difficult to decide what we were going to give up. We wanted it to be a sacrifice. As a family we have decided to give up eating out for the next six weeks. I'm giving up spending for the next six weeks as well. This is not about saving money but realizing what it really means to give up something that we value. I am not going to spend any cash at all so I am planning what we really need to make it without going to the stores. I will need some diapers and foil and cat litter but that's all.

This will be our hardest challenge yet. I will be making a list of specific things that will need to be purchased.

How about you? Are you giving anything up for Lent?

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what's cooking at our house this week!

Monday- ranch crispy chicken/ mashed potato/ vegetable
Tuesday- pizza party
Wednesday- herbed chicken and rice
Thursday- meatloaf/mashed potato/ rolls
Friday- homemade fast food
Saturday- pizza or homemade fast food
Sunday- should be illegal bbq ribs/ potato/rolls

Vaccine Clarification

I just wanted to clarify something that I wrote in a previous post. I said that our youngest two have not been vaccinated, it is NOT because we are trying to save money! Our family all has health insurance, we just do not go to the doctor for every cold they catch! I don't believe in stuffing them full of antibiotics for every sniffle they get. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I researched all sorts of things as to why some people get cancer and others don't and I found out there are many thoughts about vaccines and vaccines causing autism symptoms. I believe that it is up to each parent how they feel about this. My three year old did receive two years worth of the RSV vaccine because I felt it was well worth all the risks.

I don't want anyone to feel like I was saying to skimp on health care to save money. Never skimp on your health! I'm sorry if it came across that way. As a breast cancer survivor and a person with serious heart problems I would never say don't go to the doctor if you need it!!

Weekly Wrap Up

I'm joining Jennifer at www.gettingaheadblog.com for her frugal weekly wrap up. Our week wasn't super frugal since I ordered some of our homeschool curriculum for next year. However, I did only order what we needed and I'm trying to be realistic by purchasing things we'll use and not just have more stuff sitting around on the shelves.

I had four no spend days and three no drive days.
Our grocery bill was a little high this week because I'm working on getting my daughter's diet back into check again. I spent about $110.00 total.
We kept our heat at a warm 65 degrees all day.
We are still unplugging everything and sitting in the dark until we can't stand it anymore to reduce our electric bill even more.
I also spent the afternoon yesterday making a four week menu plan and shopping list. Here's to actually sticking to the menu. I'm gearing up for a month of no eating out!!

How was your frugal week?

Be a Blessing

As a mother of a semi-large family at times I find it difficult to take all my children with me to the grocery stores. I always try to remind my children that because there is more than two of them and because we're usually out during the day that we have a responsibility to shine for Jesus. Other people judge us whether we like it or not. I've tried to train my children to respond positively when people ask what they're doing out during school and I've tried to train myself to respond with a smile when people ask if they're ALL mine! I must admit that sometimes we fail miserably at this. The kids fight and whine and I huff when the fourth person says " wow you have your hands full!"

Yesterday we all headed to Kroger to get groceries and go to the bank. Our first stop was the Valentine clearance section, where the begging began. "Look at the cute stuffed animals! Can we get one?" As I was saying no I heard a voice say, " Are they all yours?" I turned and saw the cutest 85 year old women ( I know her age because she told me!!) who then told me she was one of ten children. She was only able to have two of her own but she loved children. She told me about her husband and her family. Meanwhile, my children had gathered around to hear her story and were all listening quietly! She asked me if I was married and I said yes and she told me how different things are today than when she was younger. We talked for about 15 minutes when she said, " I want to give something to the children", she pulled out five one dollar bills and gave one to each them. All my children were so grateful except my oldest who didn't want to take a little old ladies money!!

It would have been easier to smile and walk away than take the time to talk to her. But I would have missed being a blessing to her and being blessed by her. She wasn't appalled by my large family, instead she praised it. I have no doubt that God sent me that messenger to me to lift my spirits and encourage me. Take the time to speak to others even when your children are screaming and fighting. Take the time to bless somebody because you'll end up being blessed too!!

A Real Mom's Guide to Once A Month Cooking

I love the convenience of freezer cooking. I love the fact that I don't have to think about what we'll eat for dinner every single day. What I don't love however, is the time and the expense it takes to make 30 meals. Here are some ways I've made this more home school mom of many young ones user friendly.

My first task is to sit down and decide what I'd like to make for dinner for the next month or two. After I decide what I want to make I write down every single ingredient for all my recipes and then I "shop" our freezers and pantry. Once I know what I need I make our final grocery and meal list.

I prefer the thaw and dump method of freezer cooking, which is basically putting your meat in a bag and adding marinade or other sauces to then freeze. I found that for me with five young children it wasn't possible for me to cook all 30 different meals like many cookbooks recommend. I would spend the day frustrated and angry with my children and then I wouldn't want to even think about eating those meals that took so long to make!! So, I continued along trying various different ways to save time, money, and effort by freezer cooking when I stumbled upon a recipe that was so simple I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it! Just add raw meat and a variety of spices, juices, and other ingredients, freeze and when ready to eat, thaw it out and pour into a pan!! WOW! I had time to fit that into my schedule. My oldest can even make some of the meals this way! What a time saver. I just line up three freezer bags, have a child hold each one, while I add the ingredients to each bag. In less than five minutes I can put three meals into the freezer.

Another way I find time to cut the time of freezer cooking is by doing an all hamburger day. I will buy 5-10lb of raw hamburger, right away I'll start cooking at least 5lb on the stove. While that is cooking my oldest is mixing up a meatloaf to freeze in it's raw state. I'll mix up a batch of meatballs during this time too. In about one hour we can put up 10lb of hamburger.

I also cook huge batches of chicken in the crock pot and then shred the meat and freeze in about two cup servings. I use that in chicken noodle soup, shredded chicken sandwiches, enchiladas, and anything else that calls for cooked chicken.

Having ground beef and chicken pre-cooked and in the freezer is a huge time saver. You can put together tacos or chili or sloppy joes in less than 5 minutes!

I only spend about 3 hours a month putting meals away for the freezer. I just don't have time to spend all day in the kitchen at this point in my life. I talked a lot about my oldest helping me, he just turned 10 and has been helping me for over a year. He is finally at the point where he can put his own meals kits together with no help from me. I count this as home economics for him.

I find this works really well if your husband isn't a fan of casseroles or meals that have been completely cooked and then are being reheated. It is also a wonderful way to save money and very healthy. I haven't used any that need cream soups or other premade items like that. Most of my recipes are olive oil, lemon or lime juice, vinegars, and seasonings. It is very healthy if you avoid artificial chemicals in your food or are on a restricted diet like we are. You can also pick up most of your main ingredients in one large once a month shopping trip. I personally, buy a huge amount of boneless chicken tenders/breasts when they are less than $1.99lb and make all my chicken recipes for a month or more that way you know your meals are the most cost efficient. I'm currently in the process of putting together a once a month cooking meal plan and instruction guide with shopping lists, recipes, and even more time saving tips. If you're interested please let me know!!

Menu Plan Monday

Here's what's cooking this week!


Monday:
B- muffins/fruit
L- leftovers
D-vegetable soup

Tuesday:
B- pancakes
L- leftovers
D- baked potato bar/salad

Wednesday:
B- waffles/fried potato
L- leftovers/hotdogs
D- tacos

Thursday:
B- toast/eggs
L- sloppy joe
D- Shredded BBQ chicken/coleslaw/fries

Friday:
B-cereal/fruit
L- sandwiches/leftovers
D- homemade fastfood

Saturday:
B- cinnamon rolls
L- leftovers/sandwiches
D- homemade pizza

Sunday:
B-cereal
L-meatball subs
D-crispy ranch chicken/vegetables/rolls

CVS Deals

Since I am currently out of ECBs I thought this would be a good week to show any beginners how to use CVS. Here are my scenerios:
transaction #1 colgate total $2.99 use $1.50 coupon in March All You magazine or $1 coupon 2/1ss pay $1-$1.50 earn $2.99 ecb

transaction #2
Gillette Shampoo $4.99 ( use $2 off in recent proctor and gamble insert)
Colgate Total toothpaste ( use $1 off in 2/1 smart source)
total: $8.98- $2-$1= $5.98- 2.99 ecb= $2.99 out of pocket earn $3 ecb for shampoo and $2.99 for toothpaste to save for your next trip!

Weekly Sales Match Ups for Meijer & Kroger

Here's what's rockin' this week at Meijer:
FREE:
Quacker Rice Snacks 10/$10 use $1 coupon in 1/18 red plum
Trident single pack gum 4/$3 use $.75 coupon in 1/18 smart source
Green Giant Steamers 10/$10 use .50 coupon in recent insert

Other good deals
Lipton side rice/pasta 10/$10 use .75 off two coupon in 1/18 redplum pay $.50 for two
Stove Top Stuffing 10/10
Aunt Millie's Healthy Goodness bread $1.25 use .50 coupon in 1/11 redplum pay .25
Aunt Millie's Muffins $2 use .35 off any in 1/11 redplum pay $1.30
Breyer's Ice Cream pints 10/$10
Huggies wipes $2 use .50 off in recent insert pay $1


Kroger Deals:
grapes $.97lb
Ragu pasta sauce $1.69 use $.75/2 in 1/18 redplum
5lb potato $1.74
gallon milk $2
Lays All Natural Snacks $2.99

Living On Love

When I first became a SAHM my husband and I were making over $50,000 when I quit our income dropped to $26,000. A few months later my husband decided to change careers and our income dropped yet again to almost $20,000. We went from spending money on whatever we wanted whenever we wanted to counting spare change to put gas in our car. How did we make it?

I think the biggest help has been that we've always had just one car. We were lucky when I worked that we worked at the same place and the same hours. After I started staying home I just planned my errands around my husbands work hours. Having one car saves on car insurance and really saves by only having one or NO car payment!

Grocery shopping also became a challenge. Our monthly budget was about $200 for four of us and that included baby formula. I diligently planned our menus around what was on sale. My husband loves snacks so I started baking all his treats from scratch. I packed his lunch every day and my son and I ate leftovers.
My husband is a meat and potato kind of guy so we don't do the beans and rice diet. I just recently started using 1.5 lb of hamburger in our tacos and sloppy joes and that feeds six of us with leftovers! I also save all our leftover chicken no matter what flavor to make into chicken noodle soup. We do have meat usually at every meal. I buy pork tenderloin, boneless chicken breast, hamburger, roasts, pork chops, and steaks. I only buy beef or pork if it is under $2.99 a lb, I know some can find it much cheaper but here that is a great deal. I can find chicken at $1-1.50 a lb so that's what I aim for. Our side dishes are usually rice, a vegetable , and bread. I can often get frozen vegetables for free and rice is a cheap side dish. I try to make most of our bread from scratch but sometime I use Pillsbury frozen rolls if I can get them for $1 or less.
I also make breakfast and lunch for all of us because my husband works next door he eats with us,and since he is a meat cutter I try to always have a hot breakfast and lunch. I plan my menu for two weeks at a time for breakfast and lunch. I try to make lunch something in the crock pot so it's ready whenever he might get home. Some examples of our lunch menus are sloppy joes, tacos, meatball subs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets/fries, grilled cheese/soup, and baked potato bar.


I save on baby items by buying used or borrowing from friends. I also save all my girls clothes to pass on down. We love handme downs. I think homeschooling helps so they don't know what they're missing. My oldest daughter (7) and my son (10) are shocked when they see the prices of clothes at Walmart!! We do use disposable diapers, for a long time I only bought generic but then I found Cvs so now I rarely pay for diapers or wipes!! I only wish I'd found out how cheap the drugstores can be before I was on child #5!! I don't do a lot of baby food. I try to always have something I can smash to feed our nine month old every time we eat. I also buy jars of applesauce and divide them into smaller servings.
Our nine month old only has five sleepers and four "go to town" outfits. It is the same for the rest of us also, we each have "play" clothes to wear at home.

Another way we save money is by not going to the doctor every time we are sick. My youngest two have never had any vaccinations. We rarely use antibiotics. Now, I do have see my doctors regularly because of my health issues. If your family uses a lot of prescription drugs make sure you take advantage of all the gift cards offered by changing pharmacies!! You can easily make enough to buy groceries or household items this way! Don't be loyal to any pharmacy and change to whoever is offering a gift card each time you need a refill!

My husband and I have only had 1 credit card and it's limit was $1000.00 We have little debt so we don't have any debt payments. We currently do not own our home. Our rent is a little over $700 a month and our utilities run us about $300 a month. If you are struggling with debt I've heard great things about Dave Ramsey and Mary Hunt.

If you are still working and hoping to stay at home this is the best thing you can do... live off of your husband's salary and save all of yours! It will show him that it is possible without an argument. Show him how serious you are by cutting your grocery and utility bills now instead of later. My husband was hesitant at first, there were many things he didn't want to give up. We found ways to compromise. My husband loves his pop so I collect coke points to earn coupons and buy it when I can earn Extra Care Bucks at Cvs or Walgreens Register Rewards. I also "buy" him candy with my coupons, usually for pennies or free! I have learned not to fight about the satellite bill, we are on the cheapest package until OSU football starts and then we up it but it only lasts six months.

Our current income is still less than $25,000 and we are raising five children. It is hard. There are times when I wish I could buy whatever I want. I get tired of pinching pennies. You will have set backs and wonder if you have lost your mind when you chose this lifestyle. Other people will question you but stay strong. It does get easier the longer you are home. It is worth it!!

Weekly Wrap Up

I'm participating in Jennifer's weekly wrap up at www.getting-ahead.blogspot.com . Check out her blog for more getting ahead posts.

Here's how my frugal week went!
Meijer savings $148.00 not all of this was food, they were having an awesome clearance sale and I spent $30 on clothes for our baby and our seven year old! I also spent $25.00 on food.

I used a free boost kids coupon, free del monte no salt added tomato coupon, free baking mix coupon at Kroger. I also got five packs of Tuna for free after my $1 coupons.

We were without power for about 15 hours so that saved some electricity. I also hung out three loads of clothes to dry.

I asked my son for his opinion on some home school choices which hopefully will save time and money next year since he helped choose them he'll have to use them!!

I'm also making my list for next year's needs for our home school and really planning on what we need and a few wants to hopefully make it a great year.

How was your frugal week?

Freezer Biscuit Recipe

Here is the recipe I use:
4 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
2 T sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Work in oil. Mix in milk slowly. Dough will be firm but not tough. Roll 1/2" thick, cut, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 12 large biscuits.

You can make a double batch and flash freeze for later... after cutting them, put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer until they are fairly hard. Then place in freezer bags and put in the freezer. Place biscuits on cookie sheet while frozen and bake. It can take a few minutes longer to bake since you are starting with frozen biscuits.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Works For Me Wednesday

Mornings are a hectic time for any mom and it is especially so if you choose to make a hot breakfast for not only your children but also your spouse each day. We are a home school family so we aren't under the pressure of catching a bus but I do like to have school started by a certain time each day. I also like to have the house picked up before we start school combine all this and it sounds like a recipe for disaster doesn't it? Here are a few ways I have found to have a hot breakfast on the table in no time.


Once a week I will make up mixes in Ziploc bags. I mix all the dry ingredients for pancakes, muffins, waffles, and bread then in the morning all I need to is add the wet ingredients and it's ready in a flash. I also freeze all the leftovers for the mornings that we have co-op or Bible study, that way we still get a hot breakfast.

Another quick breakfast idea that I love is baking bacon. This is the best way to make bacon and the least messy! Line a cookie sheet with foil, place bacon on the foil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes give or take. I do my other morning chores while the bacon is baking.

We also enjoy biscuits and gravy. Once a month or so I'll make a huge batch of biscuits and freeze the dough so all I need to do is cook them on the morning we want them. It's cheaper and healthier than buying them!!

We are a dairy free and soy free home so I substitute organic vanilla rice milk in all my pancakes and waffles. It makes them much sweeter and more dessert like. Making mixes not only saves time it also saves money on buying special mixes for our dairy free diet.

Cut the Clutter Challenge

Spring is in the air here. The snow is gone and it's 50 degrees! The coming of spring always reminds me that I'm almost done with another school year. You know what that means? New curriculum! Let me tell you, I'm totally addicted to buying curriculum, I'm always looking for the perfect item for our home school. There are two down sides to this addiction the first is money and the second is the clutter. I have bought many phonics programs hoping to find the best one only to realize we now have five different phonics books!! Same thing for science, I buy what looks to be a really awesome program only to have my kids be bored to tears or realize that it's just way to much work for this time in our life.

I could easily open my own lending library with all the curriculum I have laying around! I realize that I could hold onto everything I have but then I can't get any new stuff! So, here's our challenge for the day. Go through those piles of curriculum you have, or those workbooks that you're holding onto. Have you completely changed your style of homeschooling? Then it's time to release the old way and books! Instead of trying to sell them just bless somebody, with this economy homeschoolers are struggling, think of what a witness you could be!

Meijer Deals

Meijer has a lot of deals going on right now. I'll give you a match up for the best deals in a little while but I wanted to alert you to their clothing clearance! Their winter clothes are already marked about 80% off but they are also reducing them an extra 50%!! I was able to pick up clothes for three of my daughters for under $30 and all the prices were cheaper than Goodwill.

They had winter coats that would be between $2-5 and many sleepers, pjs, and dressy clothes. It is worth a trip if you need to stock up on clothes for next year!

Big Lots Deals

I was in our local Big Lots yesterday and found a lot of organic cereals for under $2 a box. The experation date is not close either. They had Kashi, Annies, Mother Nature, and Bear Naked Granola ( the big bags were more).

They also had baby food for $.25 a jar and toddler cookies for $.50 a box- this is the cheapest I have found them without coupons.

Menu Plan Monday

Here is our menu for the week. It will be lots of easy foods because I am coming down with the cold my kids have had for weeks!

Monday- shredded chicken sandwiches/ chips/ fruit
Tuesday- homemade fast food
Wednesday- pasta/meatballs/garlic bread
Thursday- 3 packet roast/ mashed potato
Friday- homemade fast food
Saturday- lasagna/salad/ garlic bread

Can You Afford to Stay Home?

I have been a stay at home mom for seven years. During this seven years we have had many ups and downs. Lean times and times of plenty. How have we made it work when so many others have had to give up and go back to work?

Not long ago somebody told me that it must be nice to be able to afford to stay home. I wanted to say... You could do this too! Have a garden, make all your meals from scratch, buy all your clothes from yard sales, don't eat out, don't waste money on entertainment, etc. I didn't say that however because to her it was to radical! They didn't think they could live on less than $30,000 a year. We have never even made $30,000 a year since I have been home and we have five children, they only had one.

Making a choice to purposefully live below the poverty line isn't a choice many are willing to make. We have chosen this lifestyle and God has blessed it. Here are some things we have done to make our money s-t-r-e-t-c-h,

When we were "poorest" we didn't have Internet, cable, or cell phones. We also didn't buy clothes. We each had a couple "go to town" outfits and the rest were only worn at home to make the nice clothes last. I only hung our clothes out to dry. We did not eat out at all. We also didn't use our air conditioning so I would bake and clean in the morning and then we went outside if it was warm.

We have always been a one car family. NO, it isn't easy. We had to pass up many fun activities but it kept me from spending money just because I needed a pick me up. We also didn't have a entertainment budget. On payday we would go to the local ice cream place and get cones for under $5 and that was it. We used the library for videos and books.

I bought our toys at yard sales. Home school curriculum was only a phonics book and nature walks. Our children didn't get allowances, we couldn't afford it ( they all currently get $.25 a week and think they are rich! My oldest is ten... and it still works!) We have a yearly yard sale to buy extras for our school or fun books. We still buy 99% of stuff we want from yard sales or Goodwill.

I believe that God will bless your efforts in raising your children. It won't be easy. My husband has had many layoffs and injures that cost us months without any income but we have always stayed true to our calling. There will be times you want to quit. It is so worth it my friend. I wouldn't trade my time with my children for anything in the world.

When you feel like giving up or you're wondering what on earth you're doing God will reassure you. Just the other day it was one of those days, (you know the ones when you're wondering who are these kids and why are they calling me mom?) when my son says to me..." When Madison has kids they're going to think they're so lucky because she's going to be a great mom." It is worth whatever you have to give up to have those moments.

Kroger deals for Feb.9

Here are the best deals I see..

- dozen eggs $.99
-Tyson fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.99- $1 coupon in recent insert
-Starkist Tuna in 2.6oz pouch $.99 use $1 coupon from Vocalpoint = free

Many of the deals from last week are still going on so those match ups are still good.
Also in the Smart Source tomorrow there is a $.55 off any Mentos and they are $1 each which makes these free through tomorrow!!

Did you see anything I missed?

CVS Match Up for Feb.8

Here are the best deals I see this week...

Buy two colgate toothpastes Total at $1.99 buy one get one free use two $1 off in recent insert= free!

Ritz, Wheat Thins 5/$5 use 2/$2 coupon in Jan. insert = buy 2 get 2 free!

Venus or Fusion Power Razor $7.99 get $4 ecb back, use $4 off coupon in tomorrows insert = $3.99 or Free after ecbs!

Proctor and Gamble deal: buy $20 of Proctor and Gamble items and get $15 off Madagascar 2
Deal idea: 2 packs pampers @ 9.99, 1 dawn dish soap .99, and Madagascar- use the following coupons: $2 off pampers easy ups, $1.50 pampers diapers, .50 off dawn, $5 off Madagascar movie coupon in yesterdays paper= $16.97 for all that!!

Weekly Wrap Up

This week it was like Christmas in my mailbox! I received six coupons for free food and more samples with high dollar coupons. I'm hoping to have a free spree next week!

We didn't turn up our heat- it stayed at 65 even though it was freezing outside!
I stayed well under $100 this week at the grocery store.
I did NOT buy a beautiful blanket that was on clearance at Walmart!
We only ate out once and have lunch ready to go in the crock pot to eat between our kids games.

However, I did realize that I was a little free on spending money again. I'll be back on the self imposed spending freeze if it happens again!

For more check out http://www.getting-ahead.blogspot.com/

Madagascar Coupons in Dispatch Today!

Sorry this is late notice but today there are two coupons in the Columbus Dispatch one $5 and one $3 off Madagascar 2 - should make this free or really cheap at CVS next week!!

Goodies in the Mail

I hit the jackpot at the mailbox today! I received my free Woman's Day Magazine, free Prevention magazine, 3 free coupons from winning a Kraft game, and a free Boost nutritional drink! I love getting the mail now! I never know what might be waiting for me!

If you want to sign up for a FREE subscription to Woman's Day check out www.moneysavingmon.com for the link!

Have a Littlest Pet Shop Fan?

The girls and I made a trip to Walmart to pick up some Rice milk for Riley and of course we had to check out the clearance toys!! We found an Advent Calendar done by the Littlest Pet Shop, it has three pets in it and other surprises behind the doors...it's marked down to $5...even if you don't need it for Christmas it's a great deal for the toys alone. My girls were really excited to see that it has a purple penguin in it.

Walmart has some other toys marked down too. However, I saw much better deals on www.amazon.com right before Christmas. I've been so spoiled by deals that this clearance just isn't cheap enough yet.

I heard that this is a popular toy.... the Smart Cycle and they have it for $79 and a Dora house for $30 also lots of Hanna Montana I'm not sure what the price is as we don't do that show.

Cut the Clutter Assignment....

Here is a quick challenge... go through your sock drawer and toss all those holey items!! I found a bunch!

More Kroger Deals

I went to Kroger again last night and found some more deals.
-Reese's Whips 2/$1 use $1/2 coupon in recent Jan. insert = FREE candy
- Totino 15 ct pizza rolls are $1.59- $.30 Datona Discount- $.40 coupon doubled=$.49 ( and if you use the $.50 off www.shortcuts.com coupon it's free!
- Hefty 25 ct trash bags (30 gal.) $5.99- $.30 discount- $1 coupon=$4.69

Keep checking the Nature's Market section for more close-out deals...there is a lot of cereal and candy!

Testimony Tuesday...

I saw this on another blog ( sorry I don't remember which one!) and thought it was so neat, so I'm going to start hosting it also. I am going to share mine (or part of it) today.

I was diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer when I was pregnant with our fourth child. I was only 25. We had no history of breast cancer in my family. I found the lump right before I found out I was pregnant. Once I realized I was pregnant I just assumed the lump was from the pregnancy. This was the only pregnancy that my ob/gyn did not do a breast exam! I did not tell him or anybody else about the lump until I was 16 weeks pregnant, by this time I could no longer ignore the growth that was happening, my tumor was my entire right breast or about the size of a softball. When I finally told my ob his exact words were, " If it's cancer, it's too late, it will have spread everywhere by now." He sent me to a surgeon who performed a needle biopsy.

I knew I think deep down from the time I found the lump that it was cancer so I was already prepared for the diagnosis, my family wasn't. I remember my husband telling me on the way to find out that he knew it wasn't cancer because God told him. I thought, "interesting because God told me it WAS cancer!"

Right before we went to the surgeon we stopped to get gas, as my husband was pumping my cellphone rang. It was my Ob/gyn " How are you doing? I can't believe this, don't worry the baby will be fine. You can do chemo" Meanwhile I'm trying to figure out what the heck he was talking about...finally I realize that HE knows I have cancer and thought that I knew I had cancer! I hadn't yet been told but I didn't want to make him feel bad so I played along. My husband got back into the van and asked who it was and I had to tell him that I had cancer. This was a double blow because HIS mom had just battled breast cancer two years before!

I wasn't able to have an accurate staging of my cancer because of being pregnant, however based on size alone it was a late stage 3 or early 4. I was also HER2 +++ which if you know about breast cancer you know you don't want this kind, it's very aggressive which is why my tumor grew so fast. I underwent four rounds of adromyicin/ cytoxin ( AC) while pregnant. We also had to have Kaitlyn two months early so I could undergo more chemotherapy.

Kaitlyn only stayed in the NICU for nine days. Today she is a healthy three year old.

I had chemo until 2/14/06 and double mastectomy and also had herceptin until June of 06 when it was discovered I had chemo induced cardiomyopathy. I have been cancer free since then. Praise God!

I was told after all was said and done by two oncologists that they did not think I was going to make it. If you ever want to know if God answers prayers just look at me. I'm living proof!

How about you? What's your story?

Kroger Deals this Week

Here are a few deals I found today at Kroger...
Manwich $.70 if you buy 10 then use $.55/2 coupon in 1/18 red plum and pay $.15 each can!

-Ragu spaghetti sauce is $1.39 if you buy 10 then use $.75/2 coupon in 1/24 redplum ( I think) pay only $.64 each!!

- Tyson fresh chicken wings or legs $.99lb use $1 off any tyson fresh chicken in smartsource 1/4 ( I think!) free or very cheap!!

-Kroger salad dressing use $.75 off one at www.cellfire.com with this coupon it's really cheap if you're doing the Daytona Deal

- Pepperidge farm garlic bread 40% off I think it was $2.09ish use $1 off coupon at www.smartsource.com or www.coupons.com

They also have Smithfield Bacon on closeout for $2 something use the $.55 off coupon in recent insert for some cheap bacon! Check out the cleaning supply aisle for lots of markdowns!!

Arnold bread is $2.19 use $.55 of coupon in a November or December insert $1.09

I think that's all I saw to be really hot deals, let me know if I missed any!

Free Cottonelle Toilet Paper!

www.coupons.com has a $.50 off any Cottonelle and at our Krogers it's only $.99 for a 4 pack, you only pay tax!!

Cut the Clutter Assignment....

Welcome to the Cut the Clutter Challenge!! February is usually a cold and snowy month so I decided that I would totally declutter my home, school, mind, and finances. I hope you'll join me to Cut the Clutter!

Since this is the first day of the month and it's Super Bowl Sunday, I chose to have a declutter your mind challenge. How do you meal plan? Do you "forget" each day that you have to make dinner ( or for us homeschoolers...breakfast, lunch, snacks, etc.)? Do you wait until you have tired and hungry children and husbands to think about dinner? If so this is your challenge! I find that worrying about meals can really clutter up my mind, and I don't know about you but teaching, training, cleaning up after all five kids and a husband I don't want anymore clutter in my mind!!

My solution to end my mind clutter of worrying about meals is to make a rough outline for the month. I personally don't plan each day but pick about 20 meals to make a month. I plan dinner first, chicken on Monday, Kid friendly on Tuesday, Wednesday is pasta day, Thursday is crock pot day, Friday is either homemade pizza or homemade fast food, Saturday is usually chili or fend for yourself, and on Sunday I try to prepare a more fancy meal. Then I move on to breakfast...unfortunately I have trained my family to expect a hot meal every morning so I have to plan this meal. Mondays are muffins ( I make the batter the night before and just bake in the morning during chore time), Tuesdays are pancakes ( again make the batter the night before), Wednesdays are bacon and waffles, Thursday is biscuits and gravy, Friday is granola bars or something else to eat on the way to Co-op, Saturday is a quick meal too during Upward season, Sunday I try to make something we all like. After I have those meals planned I move onto lunch. This is my hardest meal to plan, my husband works next door so he's home for lunch but his lunch is at 2:30 so I have to make two lunches or have leftovers from our lunch. Plus I'm usually still needed for school work until about 11 so I'm also rushed for this meal! I try to do once a month cooking for lunch. I buy about 10lbs of hamburger and cook it all and then I make sloppy joes, tacos, chili, etc. I also make grilled cheese and soup. I try to make a pot of soup once a week because I can leave it simmer on the stove all day so it's ready whenever my husband is ready to eat.

As you can see meals require a lot of thought and planning it out once or twice a month can reduce your stress and your grocery bill. Do you have any menu planning tips?