Back isn't feeling the greatest this
morning. Feels like my rubber band has
been wound too tight.
I don't have plans of going anywhere
today. Mom's got the gutter guy
coming over and installing a gutter
on the back of her house.
Then tomorrow I want to go back to
Meijer to get my refund on my lettuce.
They charged me for both and it was supposed
to be buy 1 get 1 free. This is why I
always say watch your receipts!
I also went through more coupons
to stock up on more of those
deals they had. Plus I have to
go to Kroger for a few things.
My weekly budget for groceries
is about $45. Doesn't seem like
a lot for a family of 4 with 2 pets.
My goal for about the next 2 months
is to fall under budget to be able
to save up a little money in the
bank account.
For 2 trips to Meijers and1 trip to Kroger my groceries total for
the week is $37.78
That's $7.22 under budget!
I won't have a before total
until I go to Meijers andKroger tomorrow.
I know $37.78 doesn't sound
like much to some to buy groceries
but I want to show you what I got
for that amount by watching sales
and combining coupons with them:
22 cans Spaghettios
2 Glade scented candles
4 packs of Danimal yogurts
12 cans Campbell's Select soups
2 pkgs Ballpark franks hot dogs
1 pound grapes
2 pkgs Dole Lettuce
3 pound bag of carrots
2 Uncle Ben's whole grain rice
2 bottles Lysol cleaner10 pkgs Kraft cheese slices
10 pkgs Kroger shredded cheese
2 boxes Captain Crunch cereal
11 two liter bottles of Pepsi
I really shouldn't add these
two below to our grocery budget
but did anyway.
2 pairs of shorts
1 17.5 pound bag of dog food
When you stockpile goods you onlybuy the best sale items that week.
One week will not look like
something you could live off of.
But eventually when you build
your stockpile up then you have
a variety of foods to make meals
from.
For example:
This week it was mostly
canned pasta, soups, yogurt and cheese.
Next week it could be cereal, milk
bread
and the next after that could be
Hamburger helper, biscuits,
sausage and other pastas.
Some weeks have good meat sales
or meat discounts while others
do not. When you find them stock
up the freezer.
Most of the time I do not plan
meals ahead of time and then
buy groceries for certain meals.
I have to get creative and see
what is in the pantry and freezer
and plan my meals that way.
The reversal of how everyone else
usually does it.
Today I got out my chicken breast
and thought I had stuffing to stuff
them with but did not. I had
to move on to plan B and find
something else. So instead of
stuffing they are getting stuffed
with rice.
5 boneless chicken breasts- FREE
1 can caramelized onion soup- .59 cents
1 pouch Uncle Bens Whole Wheat rice- .17 cents
1/2 pkg cream cheese- .75 cents
1/2 pouch of onion soup mix- FREE
4 large carrots- .50 cents
1 box instant mashed potatoes- FREE
Total cost for 5 servings: $2.01
@ .40 cents a serving.
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I just brought all the Depends
adult diapers in the house.
They are the kind that has
the velcro closures on the sides.
I think I have 29 packages of these.
In each pack is anywhere between
12, 16 or 24.
Man if there was a way to figure
out how to use these as baby diapers,
my cousin would be set for
quite some time!! She's due in
November. Don't know if that would
even be possible. Because looking
at the size of them, an entire baby
could disappear in them!
People don't understand how
costly diapers can be until it
comes time to buy them.
The cheapest route to go is cloth
but some moms don't want to mess
with that hassle.
Kendra & Dewaine came over.
Dewaine finished hanging the last
panel and secured the gate some more.
Kendra gave me almost 10 pounds
of chicken leg quarters!!
THANK YOU KENDRA!! That was very
thoughtful of you!!
The next thing we need to do, notice
I said need and not want, there is a
difference, is fix this back step.
I can't afford to jack hammer it
out and replace it with another.
I can't afford cement to do another.
So my idea was to watch on Freecycle
and Craigslist for some deck lumber
and just build a deck type step
over the existing concrete one.
Gonna play this by ear. Could
be this year, could be next.
If the fence and the step are the
biggest worries we've had in the last
2 years of owning our house, then
we're doing good.
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Sitting her thinking about anything
leftover that I have in the fridge.
The other day I bought a huge head
of cabbage for around $1.00 or so.
That one head of cabbage can be used
for about 3-4 meals whether as
side dishes or the meal itself.
I have already made fried sausage,
taters and cabbage.
Now thinking about some coleslaw
and cabbage lasagna.
Instead of using pasta for lasagna
use the cabbage leaves instead.
I could also do what I call
cabbage roll soup. Instead of
rolling the leaves around rice
I cut up the cabbage into small
pieces and use the cabbage roll
ingredients to make a soup instead.
Much easier and faster to make!
Also found a leftover package of
breaded chicken strips.
Think I'll slice those up
for a cheddar chicken italian
bread pizza.
Yes it seems we eat a lot of chicken.
Chicken is about the cheapest meat you
can buy.
Back in my younger days we ate
a lot of hamburger but cannot
afford it now at over $2 a pound!
When buying meat see how much bone
or fat you are getting in that package.
You are paying per pound for all
those extras that you won't use anyway.
It is cheaper to buy something with
bone in rather than boneless.
I also have half of a smoked sausage.
To make meals stretch further I try
not to make meats the main course.
Instead I use them in casseroles,
pastas and soups.
So that last piece of sausage will
get slice up thin and put into
a recipe-> RECIPE
I'll use penne pasta instead,
regular can of diced tomatoes,
garlic powder instead of cloves
and a can of tomato soup instead
of spaghetti sauce.
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When packing the kids lunch for
school and it requires a fork
and/or spoon, I always pack
plastic utensils.
I tell them to bring those
back home so I can wash
and reuse them. This is better
than using your good silverware
should they accidentally throw
them away. If I use any kind
of zip plastic bags I have them
save them also to wash and reuse.
_____________________________
I'm telling ya men are like
little kids. You know the kind
that tells mom that they need
5 dozen cupcakes by the next
morning. Well that's my hubby.
Calls me at 3:35PM and says he
needs a dish for a going away
potluck tomorrow. I say, oh did
they just now tell you they
were having a potluck tomorrow?
His response: I knew about it
for awhile now I just kept
forgetting to tell you.
^%$@*(&^%(*&^$#@##$%)!!!
Can ya hear me now????
Soooooo
What the heck am I going to make
tonight? I have no clue.
Racking my brain at the moment.
I think I got it!
I have a crap load of pork and beans
and have some hot dogs in the freezer.
All I need is some BBQ sauce.
I can go to Kroger tonight
and get that along with the other
things I mentioned today and it
would mean one less stop tomorrow
when out running around.
So here's my quick throw together
for Tony's potluck tomorrow.
2 cans vegetarian beans- FREE
2 cans pork & beans .58 cents
(from scrach & dent bin at store)
1 package of hot dogs- FREE
(I used 4, they were Omaha Steak
company kind and they were large.
And to think I made this with
gourmet hot dogs!)
1 bottle BBQ sauce- $1.00
1 small diced onion & green pepper .20 cents
TOTAL COST for potluck dish: $1.78
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Here's supper from tonight.
This is actually a lunch for Tony
on Friday considering he's having
potluck tomorrow.
The leftover onion gravy I made
will go into the freezer.
This will make a great starter
soup base.
When buying milk in the store
be sure to check the price of
the half gallons first.
Sometimes it is cheaper to buy
2 half gallons than a whole
gallon jug!
I was amazed to even teach my
own mom this to save money!
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I've been taking my Vitamin D3
daily. I don't know if this
is related to taking these or not
but thought I would mention it.
Anyway every time I would cough
or sneeze I would have a lot of
pain in my chest area. Almost
felt like a bronchitis pain except
that I didn't have any other
bronchitis signs like severe
coughing, tightness in chest,
shortness of breath
or phlem. But anyway since starting
these D3 pills it has disappeared
like it was never there at all.
And I've had this for the past
several weeks.
Did you know?
The skin produces approximately
10,000 IU vitamin D in response
20–30 minutes summer sun exposure—50 times
more than the US government's
recommendation of 200 IU per day!
(I currently take 2,000 IU each
day and will increase it to 4,000 IU
or more each day when the colder
weather gets here.)
That is why we are less likely
to get sick and develop colds
and flu during the warmer weather!!
Today while Dewaine was working
on the fence I was basking in the
sun since it was so nice out,
absorbing all that free vitamin D.
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When buying cans from the scratch
and dent bin you need to look first
at these two things before buying
them:
1. Make sure the edges of the
lid aren't dented so you have
a way to open it with a can opener.
2. Press your finger on the lid of
the can. If there is any give or
a popping sound DO NOT BUY IT!
I discovered one of my pork and bean
cans tonight had a flexible top
and immediately threw it out!
___________________________
Went to Kroger tonight.
My receipt said I saved $36.13.
So I am now up to saving $148.13
for the week!
I finally had to start moving
some of our food into mom's
freezer. Both my freezers are full!
That's good though, because I don't
really have to buy anything from
the store if I don't have to
considering we have enough
stocked up.
Here's just the cheese I stocked
up on this week and last.
When the normal price of cheese
is $3 a package and I can get
3 packages for the price of just 1
that's when I am stocking up
for the next couple of months.
Well y'all it's 9:00pm
and a new episode of
Ghost Hunters is on.
Gonna stay up and watch
that then head to bed.
Didn't get a nap in today.
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Tip for using Avon's
Skin So Soft on animals
It’s a great insect repellent for your pet.
(As recommended in "Outdoor Life"
and "Field and Stream")
Mix 5 parts water,
1 part SSS
and mist on animals.
Brushing it in makes their coats
gleam and keeps insects off so the
animals don't fidget.
Mix in your pet's bath water.
It takes the fleas off of them...
and in between sprays them with the same
mixture as in a 50/50 mixture to help
keep them off.
Rub on your hands before and after working
with your pets and farm animals.
It will remove the strong smells..
Black Fly Spray For Dogs:
Use as a spray or a dip.
1 cup SSS,
1/2 cup liquid detergent or the
Avon bubble bath will work as well
and 3 gallons of water.
For dog’s dry skin mix
1 tablespoon of SSS per gallon of water
and use as an after bath rinse.
You can wash your beloved pet with the
bubble bath also
Or spritz your pet's coat once per week.
If your dog should get tar or asphalt on
the pads of their feet rub on SSS and then
wipe off.
Flea Bath:
Use a flea and tick shampoo.
Rinse, rinse, and rinse so no soap residue
is left.
Follow with final rinse of
2 gallons of water mixed with
flea dip and 1 capful of SSS.
The SSS helps replace the oils lost
in bathing and has the added benefit
of repelling insects.
Flea Repellent:
Avon's SSS Bath Oil.
1-1/2 ounces per gallon of water;
used as a sponge-on dip (or as a spritz)
has been tested and proven to have
significant, but not complete,
flea-repellent activity for a 6-day period.
It should help those dry coats, too.
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I just signed up for a FREE
a pair of Graco Lite-up clippers.
Supposed to be here in 2-4 weeks.
This would be nice to add to
the diaper cake for a baby gift!
