Budgets and Financal Planning, UHHHGGGGGGGG!!!

So, I have working on a few projects lately. I have been trying to re-do our family budget and get some things paid off, I worked on the yard some, I have a container garden going for the fall, and still have a list of projects for church. The budget is what I have spent most of the last week on. I have downloaded free programs or trials, and in-put in my info, but yet none still meet my needs. One program wasn't easy to use, yet it had a great list of budget line items to keep track of everything, even regular gifts and Christmas gifts. So, I tried to print the report with all of the line items, it wouldn't print!
Over the years I have used lots of different programs and books. None ever met my needs exactly, so I would stop using them and let them fall away. The best things I ever did was just to use a pencil and notebook, but even that has it's downfalls. (My handwriting is almost as bad as my spelling!)
Years ago, we had a bank account with a small local bank. It was totally free checking, but they had no ATM/debit card. They plain checks were free and no limits on writing them. But, they did not process digitally, so Walmart couldn't take them. The lobby was open 9am to 5pm M-F & 9-Noon on Saturday's and the drive-thru was open 7-7, M-Saturday! The plus to this, you might over spend by writing checks, but you couldn't over spend by hitting the ATM or with a swipe of the card. Back then, things were tight for us. To avoid over spending, we decided not to write any checks. We spent only cash, went to the bank to withdraw funds and got money orders to pay the bills. We could only spend what we had in our pockets, if we didn't have enough and the bank was closed.... oh well!
I had set up an envelope system back then for the bills. I would write the bill name, due date, and amount on the outside. I would “fund” the envelope throughout the month, as I added or took away money, I keep a running balance. I also put the months down, as I paid for each month, I crossed it off so I knew when the payday came around if I needed to fund that envelope or not. If emergency repairs came up, I would go to the different envelopes and decide if we could borrow from it for that month. Yes, I had entertainment envelope and other extra's so borrowing from them was easy. We both knew where we stood financially all the time.
Now a days, we have all the bills being paid by bank draft automatically, it's sometimes hard to keep track of and remember when they are supposed to hit! On top of that, there a few bills being paid by check, so waiting for them to clear and checking the bank balance has become an everyday job. After keeping up with all of that, I found we have forgotten to budget for the extra's. We don't have much in the way of college savings for the boys. I also don't have much of an emergency fund. I try, but sometimes it just gets treated like an extra windfall of funds to do something fun with.
I have been working on different parts of our finances over the last year. We have been working on our credit ratings, and improving them. We have opened some new lines of credit, paid off the car, and now I need to get the FULL budget planned. I challenged my church family to up their personal tithe's, we are doing that as well. We have enjoyed our summer and paid the bills, but we did not really follow a budget. Now it's time to buckle down!
I still have to plan some more of the budget out, but at this point I am going to tell you, we are going to live very tightly for awhile, so we can be free to enjoy more later on! My goal is to have at least $2500.00 in the savings account at all times. Yes, that's a lot of money, but when an emergency hits it's usually close to $1000.00! Also, that will be enough to cover the bills for 1 or 2 months. We have some credit card debit and a few other loans we need to just pay off and get off the books. We need to start saving for a new/2^nd car and would like to think about buying a house down the road. All of those we could get better rates and lower payments if we plan ahead and save for.
What financial challenge do you want to take on? Give yourself a goal for something, and make a plan to reach it. Small steps are just as good as large ones! Tell me about it, and I'll tell you about mine. I want to be held accountable and encouraged, I want to share in my celebrations. Put God first in these decisions and ask Him for direction, then listen and go for it. He will reward hard work.

Yard work!!!

So, we live in a rented townhouse. We have great space and like our neighbors. The problem is the HOA lawn care. It's awful and has been causing problems with bugs, ants in particular. The last time they trimmed between the driveways was in the beginning of July. The ants have been a huge problem and we have found them attacking dead bugs in the garage so it is safe to assume that any dead bugs in the grass/ weeds are also feeding the ant population. So, we have been treating the ground around the house with any bait stations, but they have become in-effective. While on a shopping trip to Lowe's/Home Depot, Marty purchased a string trimmer. He then spent a few hours cutting all the grass around the house and between the driveway.

Once he was done, I realized that he couldn't get everything really good because the neighbor had some pots with weed growth wrapped around them and making it hard to trim around. So, we left a patch un-trimmed and I talked to the neighbor a few days later. After being told that only 1 pot had a real plant in it, I asked if I could remove them and clean the area more. That started the fun. As I pulled a huge weed out of a half empty pot, I found out, (real quick) all the dirt had been replaced with a Fire Ant NEST! So, I quickly dropped the pot and weed, grabbed the ant/bug spray and soaked it all down. I did this several more times, after stirring up the dirty and pot more. Then I moved the 1 "plant", it was sitting up against the house and had what looked like a dirt piled up on 1 side. Nope, another Fire Ant Nest! So, more spraying and stirring.

Now, I started to find that we needed to do something bigger to control the weeds and the ants. So, I started to dig up some granite tiles the neighbor had put down years earlier, she was hoping to control the weed growth. Then I got out my landscape fabric and went shopping for rocks! The boys and I spent about 2 days and under $50 to clean up the space and cover it with rocks. We even washed the tiles off and re-used them. The color of the rocks looks great, after a good washing!
Yes, I used a fireplace screen to help hold down the fabric while pouring the rocks.


We are still trimming the space between the driveways, even went ahead and cut the neighbors weeds on the other side of their driveway, found another Fire Ant NEST over there, but we treated it quickly. Before the project, I was getting bit at least once per week while just sitting in my garage watching the kids play. I can report now, I haven't gotten bit since we did this work. That's $50 well spent!

Another great shopping trip!

So, about 2 weeks ago I did a marathon shopping day. I took Marty to work so we could have the car, Andy had a Eye Dr. appt. We did 5 stores. I spent $261.36 and have enough food to last 2-3 months. It's hard to say all of my exact savings were, lots of my shopping was just getting the best price, not using bunches of coupons. I did use some, and some stores will still give you the savings compared to their own regular prices. So here is some of the run down;
Albertson's, Total spent- $112.65, Savings calculations on the receipt- $203.47
Tom Thumb; Total $32.26, Savings $11.75
El Rancho; $57.90
Fiesta; $8.54- is what I paid for- 6 cans of spaghetti sauce, 35 oz of spaghetti pasta, 35 oz of elbow noodles, and 3 lbs onions.
Rio Grande; $50.01- 8 lbs of sugar, 10 lbs of potatoes, 1 loaves of bread, 3 pack tortillas, chip, 4 lbs bnls/skls chicken, 3 pks bologna, 4 pks hot dogs, 6 frozen pizzas, 2 heads of lettuce, over 2 lbs of pears, and over 1 lb bananas.

What did I get?????

Things like canned and frozen veggies, soups, cookie mixes, toilet paper, facial tissues, pizza rolls, biscuits, coffee, canned tomatoes, crackers, pork tenderloins, tilapia fillets, cheese slices and shredded, butter, BBQ sauce, mayo, canned chili (for hot dogs), salad dressing, bananas, pears, lettuce, tomatoes, pizzas, corn tortillas, flour tortillas, tortilla chips, sandwich bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, bologna, sugar, bnls/skls chicken, hot dogs, cantaloup, gr. peppers, onions, cilantro, cucumbers, bacon, smoked sausage, chorizo, gr. beef, cabbage, ketchup, cheeseburgers, turkey roasts, spaghetti sauce, pasta noodles, and potatoes.
Not bad..... not all are convenience foods but some are, we like to make quick lunches and I like to have a quick meal on hand if church runs late or we have other things going on.

The kids and I spent an afternoon making an inventory list of just the pantry and freezers. (Small deep freezer and refrigerator freezer.) For those who know me, I got a small deep freezer for $25 at the church yard sale, it works great! My list ended up being 4 pages long after I typed it up. We check off items as we use them and plan meals without opening the freezer. I have been doing this for years, of course usually its a smaller list. When we were still moving around, I would make the inventory list about 5 weeks out from a move, then plan meals to use it all up. I couldn't move the refrigerated or frozen stuff, and panty items just take up space and weight. I still deal shopped when we were moving, I just didn't stock up so much. Right now we have 8 large cans of tomatoes and 5 regular sized ones!

I have always said, if you want any help with shopping, just ask. I love helping others and am more than willing. I recognize that frugal shopping is a God given gift. I enjoy sharing that gift with others. Even if you don't live in the Dallas area, I can help you find the deals for your area.

I Love Containers!!!

Most who know me have found out I LOVE containers. Boxes, tubs, jars and baskets just to name a few. I might not be the neatest person, but I like to "contain" my clutter. I went shopping on Sunday afternoon with my son, Ryan. We went to Goodwill, Tuesday Mornings, Cost plus World Market and Pier 1. We had the best luck at Tuesday Mornings. I found the perfect box for what I wanted. The townhouse we live in is great, but the bathroom is not laid out ideally. I like to keep my feminine products near the commode and trash, that means keeping them in the open. So, Ihave been looking for the perfect container to house these items and found it!I now can keep these within reach. Yes I have lots of variety, I get samples and keep stocked up based on sales!

Speaking of bathrooms, what about TP? I have a couple of solutions. the first one I did for our bathroom was someplace to keep a few rolls in reach and a place to keep the reading materials. (We all have reading material in the bathroom!) I found a wicker magazine rack at a yard sale. It holds what I need it to and looks good doing it! Then the 1/2 bath, only need TP but easily found by guests. I found this tall metal flower can to work perfect.

The boys bath, their sink is close enough to keep it under that. Then came the stock-pile TP
storage, I am known to have lots when I find a good deal I stock up! The kids moved this need up the priority list when they ripped the packaging to shreds and left a pile of TP sitting in the hall. We don't have a linen or storage closet in this place. At Goodwill I found this box, no lid but it will work for the open shelves we have in our hall upstairs. I did find some great Plastic wicker containers at Tuesday Mornings after I found this one. I decided this would work just fine for what I wanted and it was only $3.00, so a great bargain!
 


 

 Now, since I was covering my favorite storage solutions, I thought I would share a few more! For those neat little laundry drop-in's, you can never get the bag to "zip" back closed and when less than 1/2 full they like to fall over. I bought this plastic container at Walmart in the food storage aisle. It holds 4 or more bags of the drop-in's and/or will hold the powder later on if I want. A word about the powder, when you store it in the box it comes in, it clumps or the kids spill it easily when helping. The container has a locking lid, so it reduces those risks.

 I even have a tub that I keep light bulbs in. Never worry about them dropping out of their packages, getting smashed when something gets stacked on them, and the kids can bring you the tub while not touching them. (The oils on your hands can make them burn out faster.)


 Next to the open shelves upstairs, I have a small chest. Andy has lots of medical supplies that he doesn't use on an everyday basis but he needs to be able to get to them. Also the first aid kit, ace bandages and medical gloves can take lots of room on a shelf, and look disorganized. All this stuff has found a home in this chest.
 

Another storage solution I have, those "over-the-door" shoe organizers. Mine has everything from peperoni packages and muffin mixes to bags of pasta and Ice Cream mix in it. But the best part, the bigger pockets at the bottom hold granola and protien bars for the boys. They can not only reach, but they can see in to choose. Any snacks that are for them, I put in the bottom pockets. I also keep gum and breath mints in upper pockets to grab on the way out the door for church or long car rides.

So, there you go. Some of my storage solutions and maybe an idea or 2 for you. If you have any other ideas, or need some ideas, let me know. I enjoy finding solutions!

Shopping and saving money????

Saving on shopping puts money in the bank!

Most of you know that I LOVE COUPONS!! Using coupons and finding deals, I have a small stockpile of a few items. I have enough laundry soap to last the next year, enough dryer sheet to last the next 6 months, deodorant to last a year, and a few other stockpile items. I don't do the extreme coupon shopping, just collect items that we use when they are at a good price. I don't have enough room to do a huge stockpile and don't like to invest that much time and effort into building it! I just try to get the best deal I can for items we use.


I home school the boys, that means all meals are in the home! Marty does get lunch at work sometimes, but only about 2 times a week. That means I need food for 3 meals a day all 30 days of the month, for a family of 4. Over the years, I have worked out what my personal price point  (PPP) was for most items. Following that PPP and couponing, I can feed the family for around $300 a month. Lots of folks spend that each week. I stock up when the cost is lower than my PPP, and skip buying items when they're over my PPP. Simple, right?? Now that doesn't mean that each month I only spend $300, some months I might spend $400 other months only $100. By stocking up at the lower price, I have food to use up some months and only have to pick up a few perishable like milk or bread.

Here are some other basic rules I follow to keep that cost so low.

I try to keep the cost for every meal under $5.00 for the whole meal, not per family member. That means I have to be careful to buy meats at lower costs.
Buy in larger packages and make more than 1 meal out of it.
I don't meal plan for everyday or even for each week, I buy items that I can make into a meal at anytime. Our daily cravings change so having a variety of foods to choose from keeps everyone happy.
I buy items that I can make quickly or that I can put into the crockpot.
I will buy an item that is not on my list if it's a good deal!
I will shop at different stores to get the best deals. The savings can add up to more than the cost of gas.

So now, here are some of my Personal Price Points.

Meats- in general I try to stay below $3.00 per pound.
   Chicken- bone-in below $1.00 per pound
   Chicken- boneless below $1.70 per pound
   Ground Beef- below $2.70 per pound
   Steaks- below the $3.00 per pound
   Pork- chops and loin  $2.50 per pound
   Ham- bone-in below $1.50 per pound
   Ham- boneless below $2.50 per pound
   Fish- close to $3.00 per pound
Cheese-
   Block or shredded- below $4.00 per pound  (watch the package size and do the math)
   Slices- below $2.50 a pound
Dairy products- Butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese- below $2.00 a pound
Milk- Below $2.60 a gallon
Produce- all below $1.00 per pound or $1.00 per meals worth (That means some things like lettuce might cost $1.50 per pound but I can get at least 2 meals out of it.)
Canned Veggies- below $0.60 can (This is where shopping at the Dollar Tree can help.)
Canned Fruit- below $0.80 a can
Paper towel- below $0.50 per roll
Toilet Tissue- My real target is as close to $0.01 per sq ft. But lately the price is higher at $0.02 per sq ft. (This is easy math, 100 sq ft package= $2.00 or less)
Laundry soap- as close to $0.05 per load (34 load package= $1.70)
Condiments- Ketchup, BBQ sauce, salad dressings, ect. Below $1.00 per bottle
Dry Pasta- below $1.00 per pound
Mac-n-cheese- $0.35 per box

Frozen items is harder to put a PPP, they vary in meal size and value to your needs. This is where my meal cost price point comes into play more. If I still target under $5.00 for the meal yet am wanting to buy a frozen Lasagna for an easy meal night, I might look at coupons and sales to find one around $7.00 or less for the larger family size. Then I have to look at cutting my meal cost for the rest of that day to make up the difference. Lunch might be cheap sandwiches at a meal cost of only $3.00 to offset the dinners higher cost.

Shopping at different stores, what deals can you really get???

I enjoy shopping and saving money, I get more excited to see a total savings of 50% or more than opening gifts on Christmas morning! When Dollar Tree started taking coupons in the Fall of 2012, I was delighted. I was able to stock up on different products at a huge discount! They carry Hefty brand baggies, there are coupons out for $1.50 when you buy 2, that means paying only $0.50 for 2 boxes at the Dollar Tree.
I shop at the hispanic/ ethnic stores for great deals on meats and produce. They put dry pasta on sale regularly, it's usually a 7oz package size but at a sale price of 3 or 4 for $1.00. That make the price right around $0.60 to $0.75 per pound. I have gotten some great deals on cereal there too.
Drug stores are great for finding deals on paper products and cleaning supplies. I have also gotten awesome deals on frozen pizza and Splenda at these stores. Pay attention to their coupon books, you can "stack" at these stores as well for extra savings!
Big box stores, well I don't do much shopping at Walmart, yes they will price match but the hassle you might go through is now worth it. I can get a better deal elsewhere most of the time. Target is a great place to shop, but you have to know your prices and do your homework before you go. They offer coupons to print from online, and mobile coupons. You can "stack" coupons, use a "Red-card" for extra 5% savings, and bring your own bags for $0.05 off for each bag used. Another way to get extra savings is to fill your prescriptions there and sign up for the RX Rewards. For every 5 prescriptions filled, they mail you a 5% savings card. It is only good for 1 day, but multiple purchases in that day. The "Red-card" is either a credit card (you can apply online) or a debit card. The Debit card is easy to get, take a check into the service counter and ask for a Red-card, they will scan the check and issues you a temporary card, the card will come in the mail. You will use it like a debit card, mine used the same PIN as my bank debit card. I have noticed that it takes a few days for it to show up on my bank website, so be careful not to overdraw your account. The best of all, you can stack all these savings together!
Office supply stores can be good to find paper products and coffee. Sometimes you can get deals on cleaning supplies as well. And of course, paper and ink for printing coupons. I also sign up for the rewards programs and get coupons. I used one to buy a paper cutter to cut coupons.

Now, onto coupons!!!

Coupon policies are different for each store. But there are a few basics to remember, Use a coupon if it is a better deal, and don't buy something just because you have a coupon. Buy the products your family is going to use, exception is when you are buying free or close to free for donating. Check the expiration dates, but also if it is with in a day or so after expiration, ask the store if they will accept it. I have been able to use a few coupons for great deals after expiration by asking first.
Most of the time you will only get "face value" for your coupons, that is a $0.50 off when you buy 2 is worth $0.50. But when your store has a doubling policy, that coupon can be worth $1.00 off 2 items. In my area, Dallas/ Ft. Worth, there are 2 stores with doubling and tripling policies but there is a catch!
Tom Thumb, a Safeway store, will double coupons up to $0.50- i.e. worth $1.00, and will triple $0.39 or less coupons. The catch, only the 1st like coupon with double or triple. So, if you have 2 or more coupons that are exactly alike, only 1 will double. Now you can do separate transactions to make both double, but that doesn't work if the sale is a Buy 1 get 1 50% off! You also have to pay close attention to the numbers in the bar code of the coupon, sometimes the coupon might look different but have the same number, in that case the 2nd will not double.
Albertson's is another store the doubles and triples. They triple only $0.35 or less coupons, and double the rest up to $0.50. While they have a benchmark for triples at only $0.35, they triple like coupons up to 4. And I have never seen a coupon with an odd value of $0.39! Albertson's also give a bag credit of $0.05 per bag used, so bring your bags with you to save more.

Stacking??? What's that?

Some store put out their own coupons, you've seen them in the paper, gotten them in the store and can recognize them because they say "Store Coupon" at the top as opposed to "Manufacture Coupon". Some of those stores allow what's called "stacking". It means that if you have a store coupon for a product and a manufacture coupon for the same product, you can use both on the product. Recently, I had a Target coupon for $3.00 off when you bought 3 Bounce Dryer sheets. I also had a manufactures coupon for $3.00 off when you buy 3 Bounce Dryer sheets. Target had small packages containing 34 sheets, for $1.97 each. By stacking the coupons, I got all 3 packages for free.

Where to get coupons???

There are many sources of coupons, most known way is from the Sunday papers. These days you can also print them from on-line locations and get them from the stores themselves. In the stores you will find them at displays, tear pads and blinking machines, and even "peelies" (on the product where you peel and use at the check out.)
You can also get E-coupons, electronic coupons that are loaded to your store rewards cards. I do some of the e-coupons but am very careful about the coupon values. If I load a $0.75 off coupon to my Tom Thumb card and then find a $0.50 off manufactures coupon, it is a better deal to use the paper coupon since I know it will double. I primarily only load coupons with a value of $1.00 or more to my rewards cards. Even then you have to watch for them to be good off 1 product and not off 2 or more. Example, e-coupon value of $1.00 off when you buy 2 is not as good as 2 paper coupons valued at $0.75 off 1.
E-coupons can be loaded through a stores website and sometimes extras through Cellfire.com. You pick and choose your coupons and then load them, they usually are available for use within 2 hours.
I have asked folks at church to bring me their unused coupons. I even have 1 person that brings me her grocery ad's because she gets ad's for some stores I don't. I can then price compare and plan a shopping trip to a different part of town if the deals are good. That brings us to the next point!

How to read the ad's and find the deals!!

I sit down with a pad of paper and the sale ad's. As I go through the ad's I write down the store name, and then list items that I think we might need, things that are at my PPP or better, and things that I know we need. As I go through each store ad, I make a new column for each store. If I come across an item at a better price at a different store, I write down the new price under that store's column and then go back to the higher price and draw 1 line through it. Only 1 line! If later in the week when I am out shopping and find most of the items I really needed at other stores but still have 1 item listed at a great price at a store I haven't made it to, I can then make a decision if it is worth my time or gas to travel to that store or pick it up where I am at for a higher price. Example; I put tomatoes down for $0.88 per pound at Sprout's, but I have found everything I need at Albertson's and they have tomatoes for $0.99 per pound. I will probably pay the $0.99 a pound for tomatoes and not drive halfway across town to get only tomatoes at the cheaper rate.
The other thing to keep in mind is prices off multi packs. If you buy soda, you will see prices for 6, 12, 24 or even 30 packs. This is where you have to do the math. Take the price and divide it by the count. You might think your getting a better deal buying the larger count but in reality the better deal might be on the medium count package.

So, I have given you just the basics. If you have questions, PLEASE ask. It might, probably will, spark more helpful information.

Return to blogging! Now what?

Now that I have returned to the world of blogging, I wonder if this title/ blog name is the best? I can't seem to think of our family in any other way than, "The RN travel family!" So, for now, I am keeping the name the same. So many of our friends and family think of us as always on the move. We still are on the go alot, just more locally instead of cross-country!

 Storms out this afternoon, golf trip canceled! Andy was to have some simple lessons at Scottish Rite at 6:30 after a practice time at Top Golf. He is participating in a tournament on June 17th. I am adding a link to his fund raiser page! We have been trying to get him involved in sports/ activities that challenge him and help him gain confidence. He has been having trouble with a self-defeating attitude. Thinking that because of his Spina Bifida, that he can't do everything the same as other kids, so why bother. NO MORE! He is a highly intelligent kid that should be able to make his own way of participating.

So, other than all that.... This week is going ok. We have ants getting into the house, landlord supposed to come spray! AWANA at church is finishing up, now onto the summer program! I keep adding items to the shopping list, no idea when I will get to the store to get anything. Andy's birthday is on Friday, not made any special plans yet. I haven't even figured out what to get him! Ryan is easy, but Andy...... no so easy. I need to start on dinner, originally we were going to eat out in between golfing stops.

Tomorrow, I will try to focus on some of my frugal tips and shopping helps. I have been asked by different people to teach a class, so I guess if I start putting it together on here, you all can let me know what you think.

Over 500 words on bread!

I want to talk about breads! Yes, I have a few thoughts about bread and buns. I have been trying to find breads that my family will eat and enjoy without spending too much for them. I have found that some stores have ok buns but their breads are either dry or have a yeast flavor. Albertson’s bread and buns are good but Safeway, (Randall’s, Tom Thumb) buns are slightly dry and their bread is awful. Kroger (King Soopers) has very good buns but you have to get the home-style bread since the sandwich slices can be either coarse or yeast flavored. I really like buying the Sara Lee Soft and Smooth white wheat but it can be very costly at $2.00 a loaf. I find it at Costco for around $3.50 for 2 loaves and that helps. I do try to go to the bread outlet stores. I can save the most money there. While a loaf might cost $1.70, you can get a stamp card and earn free breads. Also, when you take in your own bag, you get a free loaf, as well as most have a free loaf with a certain $ amount purchased. I check out the “free” rack as I enter the store and plan my purchased items accordingly. Hostess has some outlet stores but they are few and far between, so you have to search them out. Here is the link for their stores with a search option; http://www.bakeryoutlets.com/
I like Mrs. Baird’s stores the best. I have the Sara Lee bread in their stores a lot. Here is that link; http://www.mrsbairds.com/company/outlet_stores.php
In some states Mrs. Baird’s has bought out Bimbo breads but you still have to search through the Bimbo site to find the outlet stores. http://www.bimbobakeriesusa.com/our_brands/outlet_stores.html

While I don’t know them all, you can do a Google search and find one in almost any place in the US. Go in and check them out, you might be surprised at what you find. Also ask the folks working if you can’t find something. I asked once about the Bimbo pie’s that we used to get at another location and was told that this particular location they didn’t sell well but I could get them at another location and where that was. I also have found Southeastern Mills gravy mixes in most bread stores. I love buying these as they make 2-3 cups of gravy per packet and only cost $1-1.50 a packet. Also I buy their Cheddar Cheese sauce mix for casseroles and veggies. Be careful in buying the non-bakery items in these stores though. They can be more costly than you can find in the regular grocery store.
Now that I have told you how to save money on breads I am going to tell you that I will buy the really expensive bread 2-4 times a year at Great Harvest. http://greatharvest.findlocation.com/search.aspx
I love some of their fruit breads and the kids enjoy them as well. I don’t go in often since they are not very cost effective, but sometimes you just need a treat. Also the kids love going in and getting a free sample!
There you go, over 500 words about my take on breads!

What a week of Emergency Expenses!!

I don't know what has happened lately, but my week, well week and a half, has been plagued with unexpected expenses. First it was me hubby's phone, still haven't replaced that! Then came my crown, $214.00 there, then came my computer monitor, $107.00 there, and yesterday the car battery, $75.00 there! If I get hubby a new phone they first want $150.00 then mail in rebate for the $100.00, but it will take 10-14 weeks to get the rebate back! On top of that, we would have to change our plan from the $95 we pay now to the $130 plan. Yes we would get more minutes but right now if we are careful and don't go over our minutes, we don't need those extra minutes and the extra $35 expense.
The problem with all these "extra expense's" is not the fact that I had to spend the money, or that they were not items that would need replacing soon anyways. It's the time line, coming so close together right after some really great days of saving. So I went form a personal "High" from saving to a personal "low" of having to spend that money I just saved! It's enough to make a person feel defeated! I am going to change that feeling into a positive though. I am going to take it all as a challenge to build our savings account up higher! I am going to save, scrap, and pinch those penny's and listen to them scream!!!!
Today I am going to be filling this blog with all the things I can think of regarding pinching those penny's. I hope you all find some great idea's that can be helpful to you!

What we did Saturday.

OK, we picked up food ordered through SHARE, and free building class at Lowes. We watched an ice skate show, free and the skate for free for 1 hour!!! Then lunch at Qdoba, free kids meals, home and watched 2 movies while cuddling together on the couch. During the 2nd movie, we made frozen Lasagna (from the SHARE food). Total cost for the day together; 2 adult meals at Qdoba.

Great deals

I went to a local grocery store, purchased 20lbs of potatoes, 2.39lbs onions, 1.52lbs of apples, and 2 12ct pkgs of tortillas. Total spent... $4.82 just some great deals!

Dollar Tree: Hair Dye, Shampoo, Salt, Mustard, Storage containers= $5.82

Kroger: 48 brats, 10lbs Gr. Beef, 4lbs boneless Ham, 1 Bread, 1 mini pita, 12 hamburger buns= $44.29

Safeway: 6 12pks soda= $12.96

Albertsons: 2 whole pineapples, 3.17lbs Broccoli, 2 cupcake paper..., 1 chili powder= $7.34

Today's total= $76.23

Number of meals= 21 worth of meat alone!!

FREE finds

 I got some coupons together, $1 off batteries and $5 off Kodak camera, went to Target and bought; 4pkgs of AA batteries in 4ct each, 1 Kodak Fun-saver disposable camera. Used 3 battery coupons and the $5 off one. Total paid for all...... $0.23 just had to pay the tax.

Free Hair cuts

Got back from getting FREE haircuts for the boys and me! Found out that all Super Cuts have a training facility in almost every city. All you have to do is call the nearest store and ask for the number or location of the training facility. Then call them and ask when their free days are. The hours can be limiting, but heck, FREE Haircuts for the whole family!