Menu Printables 2 and 3

Here are two more!

Happy Planning!

Kaylee

My groceries ate my wallet...

Groceries. They cost. Usually more than we would like to be paying. Okay, always more than we'd like to be paying. Is eating really that important anyway?

When we made the decision that I would stay at home we knew this also meant less eating out and more home-cooking. Up to this point meal planning was unheard of in this household. So the day we sat down,  jotted down some meal ideas and made an itemized grocery list... well, that was a pretty big day for us. The day I planned out our meals for a complete week I felt like a champion. :) {We won't discuss the fact it took a entire day.}

Somehow it seemed we weren't saving as much money as we had originally thought. So, we set a budget. Really I should call it a "suggested spending limit". My goal was to get everything I needed while trying to stay around  that limit. Pretty soon this was easy.

However, when sitting down to discuss and reevaluate our financial goals {as well as making our money "work for us"} once again that grocery budget was revisited.  So I found some other resources to help.

 Grocery University  - Caught this when it was on sale for $5 one day. Though I am not a "coupon-er" per say, I am  a person who occasionally uses coupons. This was great information for learning how to better use coupons, but my favorite part of this was the "Rock-Bottom Price List" that you can download. For those {like me} who aren't really certain what is a good deal - this will get you started. I also appreciate her view of a monthly budget rather than splitting it into weeks and her perspective on saving in your individual situation. Good info.

This got me thinking... how do I know that I am saving if I don' know what I'm spending? And if I'm getting a good deal or over-paying if I don't know the cost? 


So here is something new we are trying.


Using Money Saving Mom's printable Shopping List, I made my grocery list. Once at the store my husband would read it off, I would take us to the item and read him the price per pound/ounce {something learned from GroceryU} and then he would fill it in the empty price blank on the paper. At home we add those prices to the master Store Price sheet {also from MSM}. This will help me keep track of what our items cost and make me aware of any screaming deals.

Something else we're now considering:


Last night I used the price sheet to calculate just exactly what our dinner cost.

Tortilla Soup {Mom's Recipe}

• Chicken breasts- {amazing deal at Safeway- they we're $1.69/lb- I bought 8lbs}
• onion
• garlic
• spices {already had in pantry}
• Mexican style tomatoes
• Chicken Broth {oops.. not a great deal on these}
• Juanita's Chips
• Cilantro
• Lime
• Shredded Mozzarella

Total cost to make this pot: $8.87. Let's just say $9.00.
But wait, there's enough here  for at least three dinners. 9/3= $3.00 for last night's dinner. Can't beat that! And because we love it so much we're having leftovers tonight. :)

We're still learning. Still working through it. Still trying to find ways to whittle down our expenses.

What are your favorite money saving ideas? What are your favorite go-to resources for coupons/budgeting/planning? 

Summer = Watermelon

I love Summer.

I love the sights of summer: the flowers and freshly manicured lawns.

I love the sounds of summer: sprinklers running and neighborhood kids playing.

I love the scents of summer: BBQ's, bonfires, and sunblock.

I love the heat: you know that kind that makes you want to do absolutely nothing but drink water and eat cold fruit all day? 

I love that people are happy because it's sunny out, so they'll give you a friendly wave as you pass by.

I love that days feel longer and more productive because it stays light outside later.

I love the Iced Teas, both Green and Sweet. 

But mostly...

I love the watermelon!

I used to know nothing about picking out a good watermelon. Oh, I pretended to know {like everyone else around me} picking one up, looking it over carefully {for who knows what}, and then of course rejecting it before continuing on to another. Really I would just find one that looked pretty and hope for the best!

However, my good friend Susan recently taught me the trick..

How To Pick The Best, Sweetest, Juiciest Watermelon- 101:

First, look for the big yellow patch on the side of the watermelon. This tells you that the melon was actually laying in the field long enough to ripen.

Second, look for lots of black specks, almost dirt-like, at the tip where the stem used to be.This is the sugar coming out and tells you it's a sweet one!

Okay, so maybe you're a pro and already knew all of this? Well, it was news to me... and proved tried-and-true twice this week! {Yep, we eats lots of watermelon}

{Thanks, Sue!}

How do you pick your watermelon?