We Increased our Food Budget this Month

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Whew, Friends.  It is a BUSY week.  I’m in charge of 3 Christmas concerts and the doc temporarily increased my allergy medication which makes me slightly more functional than a zombie.  Two concerts are complete and the 3rd is tonight.  The rest of the weekend we are scheduled up to the minute with basketball games, church activities, and rehearsals/performances.  I’m not in charge of the rest of that (yippee!) I get to play taxi, read books, and cheer.  My favorite stuff.

I want you to know that we raised our food budget $50 for a total of $550 this month.  I thought we were doing ok on the old budget.  It was tough, but no one ever went hungry.  Then my 10 year old tried to give me $30 from his piggy bank (all he had.)  He noticed the cupboards were getting bare towards the end of the month and it concerned him.

I’m not ok with my kids worrying about family finances, or feeling the burden to provide themselves.  It was a no brainer for me to raise the budget enough to keep bread and milk in stock for his peace of mind.  At our new budget, counting 30 days in the month and 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack) it averages $.57 per serving per meal.  When you break it down like that it still looks like a crazy low number.

If you are new here, we are a family of 8 with 2 teenagers, 2 tweens, and 2 younger kids that EAT. I’m on a special diet for health concerns, and my husband eats and eats and never gains weight.  I’m sure you can relate. (I mean all except that last one—I’ll never understand how he does that.) In this season of life, I’m working 3 jobs and am not as available in the kitchen as I once was.  Our finances haven’t changed, so my desire to raise the food budget means we reduced other budget categories until we can increase our income.

You can read past posts about our food budget here: How to blow your budget and end up eating stuff like “Ox Tail” but not starve; December’s $400 challenge week 1; Eating $400 in December; $400 a month to feed 8; New Food Budget Recommendations

p.s. January is grocery budget makeover month.  You’ll get step by step support and real solutions to spending less, especially when you’re busy–right here.  You can click the green bar at the top to sign up for free if you aren’t already subscribed to get blog posts to your inbox.

Frugal Friday #4

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Frugal Friday

This is going to be a quick post!  I’ve got to get back to work so I can finish a present and run it over to a birthday party that’s already started.  I’m so happy that the party’s next door!  Having a best friend next door is every girl’s dream come true.

If you’re new here:  On Fridays I share a few frugal things I did during the week.  Then in the comments you to share a frugal thing or two you did during the week.  If you are a blogger feel free to link to your Frugal Friday post in the comments and we’ll come check it out.

  1.  I’m making a birthday present from items on hand.  Mine is a copy of this scarf with regular worsted yarn instead of super chunky.  As a bonus, I really needed some de-stress time and crocheting does that for me. We’re rounding out the gift with a fun new lip gloss from my Mary Kay stash.

Color Block Scarf Tangled happy

2.  We bought a car used with cash off craigslist.  We did a lot of research on KBB.com first and looked at all the available options.  We weighed things such as tire condition (a new set of tires is around $800) and when the next round of maintenance will need to be done–like replacing the timing belt.  Timing belts are around $1100 and if you don’t do it on time it can pop and act like a live grenade in the engine (a $3,000 mistake.)  We had our mechanic check it over for us before we bought it to make sure we knew what we were dealing with.

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It’s your turn. Inspire us with one of your frugal activities this week.

Bollstr Water Bottle Holder

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I got a new water bottle carrier from Bollstr a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been using it awhile to make sure it’s a good product, and I’m smitten.

The Bollstr

It’s sturdy enough that it doesn’t flop around while I am moving, and has a spot in the back to hold a smartphone with an ear phone eyelet so I can listen to tunes while the phone is zipped safely in place.  No more jogging my phone out of my pocket while I run!  It also has a second pocket to hold an ID or money and a caribiner to clip keys.

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It adjusts with velcro straps to hold most water bottles.  Just be careful with fabric on long sleeves that might snag easily.

The Bollstr varieties

They have two varieties, an over the shoulder strap or a waist strap version. The waist strap is more comfortable for my lifestyle, but I was nervous since I’m not a fan of fanny packs.  I was relieved when it came that it doesn’t look like a fanny pack at all, allows full range of motion and is super comfortable to wear, even with a full bottle.  Wearing it a little low on the hips is super comfortable and distributes weight well.

This Bollstr was founded by Tamra Johnson, a friend I met 10 years ago at a training seminar for Spell to Write and Read.  She developed the Bolstr to help her daughter who received a kidney transplant. You can find out more about their story in the video below.

Even though I have 2 healthy kidneys, I still need plenty of water for adrenal support and weight management. I’ve made several water bottle holders from tutorials on pinterest, but none of them are as comfortable or effective as my Bollstr.   If you are looking for a health conscious gift, this is a good one.

Choosing Joy

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Choosing Joy

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.  Ours was lovely.  I was determined not to be stressed, and it worked out except for about a half an hour on Thanksgiving morning. That’s the half hour, I feel compelled to tell you about.

I already mentioned Friday that my dad was released from the hospital on Tuesday, then was right back in on Wednesday for more tests checking for complications.  My mom still planned on hosting Thanksgiving for 20 at her house.  It was easier to do that for my dad than to try to move him or make him spend the holiday alone.  I went over that night to help Mom carry the tables and set a few things up.  Nothing major.  Then I convinced her to let me bake the rolls and sweet potatoes to lessen her stress a little.  She still had the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, salad, and pies to do. That was still too much.

Master Bedroom winter 2015 2

I determined to get over there by 10am to help and had a perfect checklist in my mind.  Get up; make the bed all cute with my new allergy free bedding; turn on the parade; bake the sweet potatoes and then head over.  But no one in my house was cooperating.  Darren wouldn’t get out of the bed so I could make it. The kids complained about having to watch the parade (and I couldn’t’ see it from the kitchen), and when I looked at the sweet potato recipe, it was going to take an hour longer to prepare than I was counting on. There was no way I could get to my mom at 10 and I didn’t like leaving her alone with all the prep work.

I could feel things start to boil inside.  “Fine, you make the bed!” I yelled at my husband.  Muttering under my breath why he couldn’t grow up and help out a little.  He is a smart man, and he got up and made the bed.  It looked absolutely nothing like I had planned it to look.  I boiled up a little more.

He tried to tell me things would be fine.  “So we get there at 11.  What’s the big deal?” he wanted to know.  The big deal is my dad is sick, my mom is stressed, and the SOURCE of the irritation doesn’t get to say it’s not a big deal.

I stomped and huffed around the kitchen a bit and when he got too close I glared at him, “I’m angry at you because you made the bed and it looks STUPID.” And then the humor of the whole thing kind of hit me.

Who cares if the bed looks stupid?  My dad is alive.  My husband is alive.  My kids are healthy.  We have a big family to gather with.  Get a grip, Woman! I calmed down and apologized to my family and we had a really nice day.

I wish I could get a better handle on my emotions when things start to spiral out of control. It triggers when I have a goal and I think others are purposefully blocking my goal. Usually it’s because I didn’t communicate it clearly or early enough.  The reason really doesn’t matter.  What matters is that I understand that the only thing I can control is ME.  So, I choose JOY.  I want to influence others with my love and happiness instead of trying to control them with my anger.

Christmas Tree 2015 3

So Friday, when it came time to decorate the Christmas tree, I thought ahead of time about the things that matter to me (hang the balls towards the inside of the tree) and I communicated it clearly.  I decided on the things that didn’t matter and let the kids have free reign with them (put the silver and gold on this tree, but put it anywhere you want.)  I limited what mattered to me to just one or two things. The kids aren’t used to a pleasant Christmas decorating mama and they asked me a lot of questions about what goes where and what to do with this or that.   They were surprised with how much freedom I gave them and we all had a really pleasant day.

Christmas Tree 2015 2

Any time I had a strange feeling of “don’t put that there” well up in me, I swallowed it and reminded myself that I could change anything I wanted another day.  What I got in exchange was beauty.  Our decorations this year are so very human.  The kids will never be this age again and I loved watching them put things in places and step back to judge their work. It won’t end up in a designer magazine, but it’s a special collage of their current ages and thought processes represented in design.

Am I the only Mom out there that gets a little freaked out on special days?  If you haven’t seen it already, this video could have been taken at our house.

“If you haven’t made your bed already, throw it away.  It’s too late.”

Frugal Friday #3

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Frugal Friday

If you’re new here:  On Fridays I share a few frugal things I did during the week.  Then in the comments you to share a frugal thing or two you did during the week.  If you are a blogger feel free to link to your Frugal Friday post in the comments and we’ll come check it out.

  1.  My dad was hospitalized last weekend and had his gall bladder removed.  It was a little bit scary for awhile and Mom and I spent several hours together in the waiting room where they conveniently have a bistro/coffee shop.  We didn’t buy anything.
  2. It’s Black Friday and I’m staying home.  We don’t need anything, but really good deals tempt me anyway. That and the crowds make me cranky.
  3. I had to allergy proof my bedroom this week.  Turns out my intense rash was caused by breathing in fine dust particles created by dust mites.  They live everywhere, too small to be seen with the naked eye.  Some people are sensitive, some aren’t.  The doctor said if I was any more allergic I’d need to carry an epi pen, so everything in my bedroom was encased in dust mite proof wraps.  That itself was not cheap, but we saved hundreds by researching products online, reading reviews, and comparing prices.  One day I was mildly allergic, the next day SEVERE.  What causes a big swing like that?  Every doctor unanimously said, “Stress.”

It’s your turn.  What frugal things did you do this week?

This Changes Everything

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Two people in the exact same circumstances, one is happy and the other is miserable.  Why?

Attitude

The character quality that influences our happiness the most, is gratefulness.  Gratefulness is a seed that flowers into contentment and joy.

When we have it we spend less money. We smile and laugh more. We can rejoice in other people’s blessings.

There’s an herbicide that will kill it all.  It has the generic label Complaining but can be found under the brand names of Comparison and Envy.

DCF 1.0

Sometimes reading someone else’s grateful list brings up some jealousy.  This time of year, I wonder if I should share my grateful list or if it is better to tell it to God.  When I list off my list of things I’m thankful for, I naturally leave out the things that we are struggling with.  It would defeat the purpose to complain and be thankful at the same time. That can leave an impression that my life is perfect and make someone else wonder why theirs isn’t.

In this human experience we will all have trouble.  If it’s not happening now, it’s coming.  Our gratefulness is interwoven with tragedy. The contrast is beautiful.

autumn leaves

My goal is to become thankful no matter my circumstances.  It’s easy for me to be thankful when I look at those who are less fortunate.  If comparison is the thief of joy, then I want my gratitude to be independent from comparison .  There will always be someone better off or worse off than I am.  My joy and my gratitude has to be unaffected by circumstance.

There is one constant to be grateful for,  Jesus.  He remains unchanged no matter my circumstance. He lived and died and lived again so that whatever happens in this life is a blip in the scheme of eternity spent with Him.  If your Christmas tree is already up and you’re singing Christmas carols while you work, it doesn’t bother me.  It’s just another reminder of the reason for our gratitude this Thanksgiving day.

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours

I’ve sent up special prayers for those of you with family members who have already been welcomed into the arms of our Savior.  It seems like we miss them more on days like today.

 

The Ultimate Stocking Stuffer List

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This is the best stocking stuffer list ever because all your ideas are going to be on it. I’ve started with what I can think of, then I’ll come back and add your ideas up here after you put them in the comments.  You can’t leave the page without adding an idea, got it?

This year we are only giving one gift to each of our kids.  The kids drew names among each other, so they will each have 2 gifts to open. Then there’s the stockings.  I wrapped up smaller gifts for the stockings and spent a little more on some items–up to $15. The idea is that these are things my kids actually need and will use, and won’t be clutter.  The more expensive things are items they’ve been asking for and waiting to get for awhile, but things that weren’t so important that they had to have them right away.  Things like a wallet or a watch or gloves with texting fingers.  I’d rather do fewer gifts that were useful, than fill our house with bargain clutter.  Either way I spend about the same.

I’ve linked to some items for your convenience, but they aren’t affiliate links.  My state is on the list of states that Amazon won’t work with.  

A lot of the items are generic.  I didn’t want to put the same item on each list, so I stuck it on just one of them.  I’m sure girls would like Silly Putty too and I’d be as thrilled with a protein bar as Darren would.

Food Items

Breakfast items–doughnuts, muffins, fruit, cinnamon roll, or single serving fun cereal (so the kids can eat without waking mom and dad)

Pomegranate

Oranges

Favorite Candy

Beef Jerky

Nuts

Gum

Fun food they don’t normally get to have, like Spaghetti-o’s

Restaurant Gift Cards

Dark Chocolate

Dad

Watch

Hand warmers

Wallet

Texting Gloves

Lip Balm

Pocket Knife/multi tool

Unbreakable Combs–big pack that would be good to split with friends

Protein Bars

Cough Drops

Boy

Toy Handcuffs

Nerf Bullets–big pack to share with friends 🙂

Mini Nerf Gun

Matchbox Car

Silly Putty

Mini Lego Set (or a special piece from the lego store)

Art Supplies

Playdough

DVDs (check dollar tree for these too, or even garage sales)

Glow sticks

Sidewalk Chalk

Bubbles (if it’s cold enough they will freeze in the air)

Printed Duct Tape

Ear Buds

Toothbrush

Flashlight

Bandaids

Tape

Batteries

Girl

Magic Baby Bottles

Hair Ties

Lip Gloss

Fingernail Polish

Coin Purse

Mini Wet Brush — wet brushes are our favorite

Craft supplies

Fuzzy socks or Gloves (Dollar Tree)

Cute socks–for mis-matching

Travel size items for sleepovers

Cosmetic bags for organizing

Cute School Supplies

Sunglasses (snow glares)

Stickers

Journal

Stationary

Mom

Water Bottle Carrier–this is my friend’s company and it is really good quality.  I love mine!

Texting Gloves

Purse size tissues

Kitchen Gadgets

Slippers

Gift Card for a pedicure

Washi Tape

Fashion Scarf

Earrings

Necklace

Bracelets

Wax melts

Essential Oils

AntiBac gel from bath & body works

Fingernail clippers/Tweezers

Essential oil diffusing locket

Shaker Bottle for protein shakes

Yoga Mat Spray

Pretty Tea Towels

Hand Soap in her favorite scent

Frugal Friday #2

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Frugal Friday

Last week’s frugal friday was so much fun!  At first I thought no one would play along and then the comments rolled in.  That made me REALLY happy.  You inspired me to look for new ways to exercise my frugal muscles this week.

If you’re new here:  On Fridays I share a few frugal things I did during the week.  Then in the comments you to share a frugal thing or two you did during the week.  If you are a blogger feel free to link to your Frugal Friday post in the comments and we’ll come check it out.

I’ve been suffering with all over body hives for more than 2 weeks now.  My preliminary blood work shows “numerous active allergies” with more details to come.  In the past I’ve had an allergy to cats so they tested for that agin.  When the test came back negative my first thought was, “I need a cat.” My friend was giving away kittens on facebook—it would just take a second to send her a message….Then I saw this video on facebook.

  1. We didn’t get a cat.  Does that count as frugal?  Pet food, litter costs, extra cleaning, vet bills…..I’m saving big on those.  I really do love cats though.  We’ve been enjoying the friendly farm cats up at my in-law’s place.  There always seems to be a couple of kittens around there.  I’m reserving the right to splurge and get a kitten at some point…but for now, we are being frugal.  We also open our doors to family and friends for pet sitting.  Pet sitting is the joy of a pet for about as long as my kids have an attention span for them.

kitten

They are soooo cute though.

2.  Homemade hamburger buns.  I plopped a rump roast (bought over the weekend on a sale for $2.99 a lb) in the crock pot with a pinch of cloves, tons of garlic salt and a splash of red wine vinegar, for shredded beef sandwiches.  The original recipe is here at Taste of Home.  I was planning my day and how I would get to the day old store to buy buns and I thought—why not just bake my own.  It only takes a couple of minutes of hands on time.  Here’s my favorite recipe.  I saved around $5 and a whole lot of driving time.

homemade hamburger buns

3.  When I didn’t feel well, Instead of eating out we used some frugal convenience foods (Deli roast beef $5 lb, 3 cans crescent rolls $.99 each, and sliced provolone $2.50 for 12 oz) plus garden bell peppers to make Philly Pepper Steak Bundles.  I served it up with finger fruits and veggies on costco paper plates (bought on a coupon sale.)  I keep the plates on hand for the days I can’t cope with one more thing–on the wanna be takeout nights. The best part is the kids saw me making them and it looked so fun that they came over to help.

Philly Pepper Steak Bundles

4.  I used the library.  A blogger I really respect recommended a couple of books.  I was not sure if these books were ones I’d want to read once, or refer back to over and over again.  I requested copies from my library.  Once I read them I can decide if they are ones to buy for our forever library. Money saved $25

5. I used a discount prescription card.  With my Melaleuca membership, I could get a prescription drug discount card.  Our health insurance dropped prescription drug coverage last January to try to reduce costs and keep up with the new government mandates.  The discount card costs $5 a month ($60 a year) and covers all 8 of us.  I needed 2 prescriptions to fight my allergies.  Normally one was $40 and the other was $30.  With the discount card the new prices were $10 & $9. $50 saved and we’ve only had the cards 2 months so far :).

It’s your turn!  Inspire us with one of your frugal activities this week.

 

Roasted Autumn Vegetables

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Yesterday I made the most delicious shredded beef in the slow cooker.  I worked all day knowing I had that meal ready to go.  When it was almost time for dinner, I slid our homemade buns into the oven and realized I didn’t have a side dish.  Not one. I poked around in the freezer and the fridge and saw we had frozen brussels sprouts, half a butternut squash, a bag of radishes, and a bag of baby carrots.

I threw them all together in a pan–the colors were glorious! Then drizzled and tossed with oil.  Sprinkled and tossed with a tsp of sea salt, and cooked for an hour at 400 degrees.

Gorgeous right?  The only problem was last minute and bake for an hour don’t go together well.  I let the family eat the roast beef sandwiches and some canned apple slices and by the time the veggies were ready, they weren’t hungry enough to be adventurous.

Stage 3 of my plan to make my family Butternut Squash lovers backfired, but it was really delicious.  I’m super pumped to have leftovers.

The recipe is simple, trim and cut veggies into bite sized pieces, toss with a little oil, sprinkle with salt and roast at 400 (up to 450 if not in glass) for an hour or until fork tender and golden.  For best results stir after 30 minutes.  Serve while your family is still famished–unless they already know that gorgeous food can be delicious too.

Butternut Squash Fritters

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Remember yesterday when I told you I have a secret plan to make my kids like squash?  This is level 2.

We enjoyed these fritters (inspiration here) during last Sunday’s lunch with our oven baked chicken, but we kicked it up a notch in the evening by warming them back up in a skillet and melting cheese on the top.  We tried Monterey Jack which was good but sharp cheddar would have been even better. Next time I plan to stir cheddar right into the batter.  It might get crisp in the areas where the cheddar hits the griddle—there’s nothing wrong with that.

There’s quite a bit of shredding involved in these.  I decided that it was worth the hassle to get out the kitchen aid shredder attachment to do these.  I was so right.  It shredded up my giant butternut squash in less than 5 minutes.  If you try this by hand it will count as aerobic exercise.
If you don’t have an electric shredder (or food processor) then grab the kid who most recently used the word, “bored.”  Or the one who was asked to sweep the floor and then walked off with the chairs still pushed against the wall and the broom lying on the floor. He will love to shred the squash for you.  So will the one who made a sandwich and left the mayo on the counter with the knife still in it.

I didn’t have any trouble peeling my squash.  The hardest part was cutting it open.  I grabbed the longest, widest knife I had and that helped.  My regular vegetable peeler took the skin right off.  I’ve heard if your peeler is on the dull side, it could be more challenging.  Some have success stabbing the squash with a fork a few times, then microwaving it whole for 3 minutes.  That softens the skin without cooking the meat.

Butternut Squash Fritters

5 cups shredded butternut squash (deseeded and peeled but still raw)

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup flour (or 1/2 cup THM baking mix)

coconut oil for frying

Place your squash in a mixing bowl and sprinkle all over with salt.  Beat in eggs, then stir in flour.  Warm a griddle or frying pan and melt a little bit of coconut oil in the pan.  Use a level ice cream scoop to drop batter onto the hot pan and flatten with the back of your flipper.  Cook like pancakes letting the fritter cook halfway through and get toasty brown before flipping.  Then flip and cook the other side.

You know what else (besides cheese) would make these yummy?  Bacon. I’ve tried to think of things that bacon wouldn’t make better….like apple pie, pancakes, or ice cream.  Then I had to take it back, bacon would make those things better….