I decreased my grocery budget from $180 to $175 for the next two weeks. I finished my shopping with $25 leftover for any random produce or dairy that I might need between now and the end of the month.
Here are my dinner meals for the next 2 1/2 weeks, with some of my random notes showing how I build my meals around what is on sale, and build my meals on top of each other:
1. Beef tips (stewing beef on sale $2.59/lb. at Fiesta) over brown rice (make extra rice for chicken fried rice), collard greens (always dirt cheap--0.79 ea).
2. Chicken fried rice (I have cooked chicken from last week in the freezer, and will use rice from yesterday, since the rice needs to be cold anyway), asian slaw (cabbage is the main ingredient, and it is 0.34 a lb--use only 1/3 of the head to save for later).
3. Polish cabbage & sausage dinner (sausage on sale at Kroger for $1, use another 1/3 of the cabbage) over mashed potatoes, corn (the frozen variety)
4. Meatless spaghetti & marinara, steamed broccoli (broccoli crowns on sale at Kroger for $1)
5. Asian lettuce wraps (Boston lettuce on sale at Kroger for $1, I already have some ground beef in the freezer, and I will use half a can of water chestnuts, saving the other half for later)
6. Manicoti a la Romana, garlic toast (bought at Save A Lot for $1.79), steamed broccoli (we are having dinner guests that night, so this is one of my fancy meals).
7. Potsticker skillet (I have no idea what to call this, it is a recipe that came about after a failed attempt at making potstickers--I'll use the last of the cabbage and water chestnuts, and sub in beef instead of pork, because I have ground beef on hand already)
8. Barbeque pork chops (pork chops on sale at Fiesta for $1.19/lb), baked potatoes, greens
9. Chicken noodle soup (I have chicken legs that I bought on sale at Fiesta on my last trip, I will save half the meat for a later meal, and 1 c. broth for a later meal).
10. Chicken enchilada casserole (using leftover chicken, and broth for the sauce that goes in the recipe), refried beans
11. Homemade bean and cheese burritos (well, halfway homemade--I'm going to use canned beans, but I'll make the tortillas myself), lettuce and tomato
12. Salmon skillet (salmon, new potatoes, peas, seasoned and cooked together in the same pot)
13. Six Layer dish (a simple meal from my More-with-Less Cookbook--haven't tried it yet, basically meat, potatoes, tomatoes, layered in a dish).
14. Baked potatoes and salad
15. Chili and homemade cornbread
16. Pancakes and sausage (using up the last of the milk before it goes bad, sausage on sale for $1 at Kroger)
17. Pantry/Freezer Meal
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Bread Outlet Store
One of my latest finds is the Mrs. Baird's Bread Outlet Store. They sell day-old loaves for 0.89 per loaf. That includes whole wheat, double fiber, and those kinds of varieties. I also buy my hamburger/hotdog buns, and hoagie rolls from them. It's only about 1.5 miles from my house, but I try to buy enough to last through two weeks, so I don't make trips very often. I normally spend a least $1.99 for a loaf of whole wheat bread at the grocery store (on sale!), so this is a really unbeatable price. They also give me a loyalty card, where after I fill out the card and spend a certain amount, I get two free items.
Monday, January 12, 2009
I feel dirty!
You know what will make you feel as dirty as haggling with a slimy car salesman for a new car? Shopping around for a new gym! I recently quit my job at the Y, which means I need a new place to work out. I first went to a local chain. They weren't too bad as far as the sleaze-factor goes. Their joining fee was a bit high at $60, but their monthly rate is only $20. It's a pretty basic place--cardio, weights, some classes. Not a lot of frills, but that's fine with me after working out at the Y for 2 1/2 years. Believe it or not, I'm not used to a lot of frills in my life ;)
The next place I went (intentionally toting my price info sheet from the previous gym) was the monstrous new L.A. Fitness. Oh my. That was an experience. After driving by the massive church-like structure that was supposed to be a gym, I should have known better. I walked in the door and was assigned a young, hot guy to first escort me around, before we sat down to "talk". He gave me the grand tour of the 90 pieces of cardio equipment, the acres of weights meant to work everything from my abs to my pinky finger, the locker rooms with wood-panelled lockers, the indoor pool, spa, and the childcare room with a McDonald's like play place and theater seating in front of a large screen T.V. I made the mistake of asking if they have anyone to assess body fat, as this is something I've been keeping up with for the past six months. Well, of course they did! And we could do it right now! Then I got the pleasure to meet "Toni", who was going to assess my body fat. Toni (a chick, if you didn't get that from the "i" in her name) asked me a few questions about my height, my weight (oohhh, she said, with a very surprised look on her fact), and then she had me stand with this contraption that read my body fat in three seconds. As she was telling me about how building muscle is what they do here at L.A. Fitness, I found her voice trailing off...I was mesmerized by her collagen enhanced lips, and wondering to myself just how many plastic surgeries this woman had had in her life. She looked strikingly similar to a plastic surgery addict I remember seeing on an old episode of Dr. Phil...but, I digress.
After my encounter with Toni, I got to sit down with whats-his-name hot guy (I honestly don't remember his name), and discuss just what we might do to "help" me today. This started out cordially enough. He started with one set of numbers...an exhorbitant joining fee of $150, and $59/month, or some other equally ridiculous amount. And then he sits back and says, "So, which of these do you think might work for you?"
"Neither", I said. He probed as to why I felt that way. "The joining fees are ridiculous." So he runs through a second set of numbers which I also rejected, and then a third (you see where I'm going with this). Then he says, "I see you went to [competitor's gym], what if I could meet their price, which would you choose?" I told him that I would probably choose L.A. Fitness, since it's more convenient to my son's school. "But we offer so much more VALUE than they do, to get you the results you want!"(I don't remember mentioning to him what results I wanted, I guess he inferred it from the diagnosis of my fat percentage). So I took that moment to level with him. I said, "Look, your gym is pretty, and new, but I, ahhh, don't really care. I'm not really impressed by pretty. I need a gym that's convenient, affordable, and that has good, safe childcare for my kids." Then he starts to get a bit testy with me. "Well, let me ask you something. If you liked [other gym] so much, why didn't you sign up when you went in." I think I made some kind of snorting sound, and I told him, "Because I'm smart with my money. I'm not going to sign up with the first gym I check out, without looking around to find the best value for my dollar. By the way, can I get a trial pass?" He begrudgingly agreed to give me a three-day pass, but assured me that I would lose all these great deals he had presented me with by not signing up today. I replied that I never had any intention of signing up today, and all of a sudden he became very aware of the next customer behind me. I don't think he actually ever said goodbye or anything...I just remember being somehow aware that our conversation was over, and meandering towards the door.
I don't even think I'll use the guest pass. I'm too scared of seeing that plastic lady again.
The next place I went (intentionally toting my price info sheet from the previous gym) was the monstrous new L.A. Fitness. Oh my. That was an experience. After driving by the massive church-like structure that was supposed to be a gym, I should have known better. I walked in the door and was assigned a young, hot guy to first escort me around, before we sat down to "talk". He gave me the grand tour of the 90 pieces of cardio equipment, the acres of weights meant to work everything from my abs to my pinky finger, the locker rooms with wood-panelled lockers, the indoor pool, spa, and the childcare room with a McDonald's like play place and theater seating in front of a large screen T.V. I made the mistake of asking if they have anyone to assess body fat, as this is something I've been keeping up with for the past six months. Well, of course they did! And we could do it right now! Then I got the pleasure to meet "Toni", who was going to assess my body fat. Toni (a chick, if you didn't get that from the "i" in her name) asked me a few questions about my height, my weight (oohhh, she said, with a very surprised look on her fact), and then she had me stand with this contraption that read my body fat in three seconds. As she was telling me about how building muscle is what they do here at L.A. Fitness, I found her voice trailing off...I was mesmerized by her collagen enhanced lips, and wondering to myself just how many plastic surgeries this woman had had in her life. She looked strikingly similar to a plastic surgery addict I remember seeing on an old episode of Dr. Phil...but, I digress.
After my encounter with Toni, I got to sit down with whats-his-name hot guy (I honestly don't remember his name), and discuss just what we might do to "help" me today. This started out cordially enough. He started with one set of numbers...an exhorbitant joining fee of $150, and $59/month, or some other equally ridiculous amount. And then he sits back and says, "So, which of these do you think might work for you?"
"Neither", I said. He probed as to why I felt that way. "The joining fees are ridiculous." So he runs through a second set of numbers which I also rejected, and then a third (you see where I'm going with this). Then he says, "I see you went to [competitor's gym], what if I could meet their price, which would you choose?" I told him that I would probably choose L.A. Fitness, since it's more convenient to my son's school. "But we offer so much more VALUE than they do, to get you the results you want!"(I don't remember mentioning to him what results I wanted, I guess he inferred it from the diagnosis of my fat percentage). So I took that moment to level with him. I said, "Look, your gym is pretty, and new, but I, ahhh, don't really care. I'm not really impressed by pretty. I need a gym that's convenient, affordable, and that has good, safe childcare for my kids." Then he starts to get a bit testy with me. "Well, let me ask you something. If you liked [other gym] so much, why didn't you sign up when you went in." I think I made some kind of snorting sound, and I told him, "Because I'm smart with my money. I'm not going to sign up with the first gym I check out, without looking around to find the best value for my dollar. By the way, can I get a trial pass?" He begrudgingly agreed to give me a three-day pass, but assured me that I would lose all these great deals he had presented me with by not signing up today. I replied that I never had any intention of signing up today, and all of a sudden he became very aware of the next customer behind me. I don't think he actually ever said goodbye or anything...I just remember being somehow aware that our conversation was over, and meandering towards the door.
I don't even think I'll use the guest pass. I'm too scared of seeing that plastic lady again.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
College Education on a Budget
I realized I never blogged that I graduated from college last month. :) I earned my B.S. in government, and graduated Magna Cum Laude.
One of the things about going back to school that I am most proud of, is that I did it without any student loan debt. I went back to community college in August 2005, and at that time we were so poor that I got way more financial aid than I even needed to go full time, buy books, etc. I am now a huge proponent of community college, and will encourage my children to go to community college after high school. Some of my professors were really wonderful, and you just can't even compare the cost. When I went to school in 2000-2001, I made the financially dumb decision to go to a private university. Neither of my parents went to college, and I honestly never realized that there was a difference. So imagine my shock when I found out that a class at a community college costs $200, instead of $4,000! What a deal! Especially since I can honestly say that the education I received at the private school was just not worth that much more than the community college education. In the Fall of 2007, I transferred from community college to a state university. I got a part-time job and started feverishly saving money to pay for what financial aid I didn't get. I was determined not to take out loans--we are done with that. The first two semesters I had to pay out about $1200 plus books. I also got very creative about purchasing books--I NEVER went to the college bookstore. For the most recent summer and fall semesters, I had enough money in grants and scholarships to pay for everything I needed and then some. I made a hobby out of finding scholarship money. In my last semester I still needed a math class, so I made the decision to take it at the community college, saving a bundle. I was also able to take that class online, saving gas money.
Me and my brood on graduation day:
One of the things about going back to school that I am most proud of, is that I did it without any student loan debt. I went back to community college in August 2005, and at that time we were so poor that I got way more financial aid than I even needed to go full time, buy books, etc. I am now a huge proponent of community college, and will encourage my children to go to community college after high school. Some of my professors were really wonderful, and you just can't even compare the cost. When I went to school in 2000-2001, I made the financially dumb decision to go to a private university. Neither of my parents went to college, and I honestly never realized that there was a difference. So imagine my shock when I found out that a class at a community college costs $200, instead of $4,000! What a deal! Especially since I can honestly say that the education I received at the private school was just not worth that much more than the community college education. In the Fall of 2007, I transferred from community college to a state university. I got a part-time job and started feverishly saving money to pay for what financial aid I didn't get. I was determined not to take out loans--we are done with that. The first two semesters I had to pay out about $1200 plus books. I also got very creative about purchasing books--I NEVER went to the college bookstore. For the most recent summer and fall semesters, I had enough money in grants and scholarships to pay for everything I needed and then some. I made a hobby out of finding scholarship money. In my last semester I still needed a math class, so I made the decision to take it at the community college, saving a bundle. I was also able to take that class online, saving gas money.
Me and my brood on graduation day:
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
$327 Snowball to Discover
Our Discover Card is our last little bit of consumer debt. The balance stands at $2800. We'd like to have it paid off by March. It's got a big minimum payment of $150, and it will be awesome to free that amount up every month. My goal is to send them a total of $1100 this month. We divide our budget up in half, since Michael gets paid twice a month. I just sent them the extra $327 that we had in the first half of the month, and I'm hoping to send them $785 from the back half of the month (barring anything unforeseen).
We've already paid off:
My Car
A family debt to Michael's brother
A family debt to my grandparents
Capital One
American Express
Michael's Car
Once we pay this last consumer debt, we're left with two private student loans, and one big hairy federal student loan that's going to take a while to pay off.
We've already paid off:
My Car
A family debt to Michael's brother
A family debt to my grandparents
Capital One
American Express
Michael's Car
Once we pay this last consumer debt, we're left with two private student loans, and one big hairy federal student loan that's going to take a while to pay off.
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