Pennywise Meanderings

Buy the things you and your family use the most in quantity when on sale. Here's a good example of that. In December of 2005 a local store had rump roast on sale for .99 a lb. It had been awhile since I'd seen it at that price so I went to get some. They were out but I got a rain
check. The rain checks there always have a limit of three on them. A few days later, DH and I went to the store and there in the meat case was one roast. The butcher told us that they came in very large pieces and each one was cut up to make the roasts we normally see in the case. DH asked her to bring one of those large roasts out and she did. It was well over two feet long, close to 30 inches! He asked her if we could get 3 of those with the rain check;she said we could so we did.

For those three roasts we paid about $50. BTW, that was about $200 worth of meat! We brought them home and cut them up into smaller roasts suitable for our family and cut some into stew meat sized chunks for soup, stew, casseroles, etc. Unfortunately, no one around here has sales like that lately so we aren't eating roast as much now. But the principle is still alive and well.

Another thing you can do that will save you money and improve your health is to view meat more as a condiment rather than a main dish. Using it in casseroles, soups, baked with veggies and such is much
cheaper than serving slabs of it to your family. It's also better for weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure. Most of us eat way too much meat and it's hard on the body and the pocketbook. Practice cutting down that meat! I'm a meat eater so I know it's hard but it really does help the health and the money situation! It doesn't hurt to institute a meatless meal or two or three a week rule, either. We have several meatless meals a week and manage just fine. I'm trying to increase the number of meatless meals but it's not so easy when the household consists of meat lovers. Progress is progress, though. We take it one step at a time.

I don't know if you eat cold cereal but it's one of the worst buys for your money. It has very little nutritional value and is outrageously expensive, even when on sale. Instead of trying to fill up on cereal, eat eggs, oatmeal, cream of wheat, french toast, waffles and pancakes, breakfast casseroles, breakfast tacos, cottage cheese, yogurt, homemade muffins and breads, even leftover fried chicken...but think of cereal as a special treat, one that's very expensive. Because of our dietary restrictions, DH and I can't fill up on oatmeal, waffles, biscuits, etc. so breakfast is one of our more expensive meals. Every one is different and you have to work with what you're given.

Set rules about food and keep them. If it's acceptable to you to only buy meat when it's on sale, then make that a rule and stick to it. You can save a fortune if you do that, especially if you buy a large amount on sale. Only buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Not only are they cheaper, they're better for you. I prefer frozen vegetables over canned so I buy them when they're on sale and try to buy enough to last me til the next sale. But I know a deal when I see one and I buy canned veggies too, especially when they're on sale at a great price. Don't be afraid to buy and eat canned vegetables and fruits. They really can be part of a healthy diet.

Here's another rule a lot of families implement;limit kid's snacks and don't let them snack on sugary or expensive foods. Kids can eat you out of house and home, I know! I had two boys 13 months apart
and it was a nightmare to feed them at times. I encouraged them to have 2 to 3 fruits a day (a serving of grapes is 10 to 15 depending on the size of the grapes, not half the bag), celery with or without a filling like peanut butter or a bit of cream cheese, chunks of cheese in a bowl mixed with a few raisins and sunflower seeds, a container of yogurt, cheese/herb crackers, etc. Cookies and crackers were all homemade and were eaten fairly sparingly. Sugar, whether we like it or not, isn't good for us. We may love it, kids may love it, but we don't need it! We had desserts rarely on Saturday night or Sunday, not several nights a week like a lot of families. As a side note, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure run in my family so I was trying to teach my boys good habits. I think I succeeded.

A lot of families drink water more than anything. I do that, myself, but I keep diet cola around too because I get bored with water and tea. But a lot of people find that drinking water 99% of the time saves a lot of money and yes, it would! But that rule is a bit too much for me. I like my coffee and I drink iced tea now and then, too.

More to come!

This entry serves two purposes, one to just talk about my first day and the other to let those who responded to my "Wish Me Luck" entry know how it went.

First, it's a Starbucks in a store, not a free standing Starbucks. So, we don't get tips and our benefits are basically store benefits. But those seem to be good so I'm not complaining.

And wow, I don't know that I'll make it to Barista as I still haven't figured out how to mark the cups! lol It's all just very confusing for me but I'll get it with time and experience.

It would help if I was a big coffee consumer but I'm not. Wait...I'm obsessed with coffee. I love the stuff! I drink Colombian daily and enjoy espresso now and then and even own a Moka pot (which I haven't used yet) and a French Press (which I've used many times). But I'm not big on coffee based drinks so much as I am just good, strong coffee. In fact, I just recently learned the joys of a Java Chip Frappucino, thanks to a Barista at the Starbucks where I now work. So the terminology is confusing but isn't that part of why one is trained? Yes, indeedy! I anticipate that bit of confusion clearing up pretty quickly. If it doesn't, I'm in real trouble!

I've already phoned my oldest son, the coffee shop freak and former Barista, and picked his brain. "Help! I don't know the difference between a Latte and a Cappuccino!" He was a lot of help and I'm sure I'll call him many times for information.

Fortunately, today was a slow day so I learned a lot about cleaning the store and basic sanitation and safety procedures. I also read over some training materials during quiet times.

I can see already a problem I have - engaging the customers in conversation. Starbucks wants more than "How are you today?" and "Are you enjoying this weather?" I felt really stuck a few times and it was awkward because I knew I needed to do more but wasn't sure just what to do. The customers knew it, too. The boss told many of the customers it was my first day of training and they were very nice about it which made me feel better. For those of you that frequent Starbucks, what do they say to you to get a dialogue going?

Broken Arrow, since I interviewed for the store first, the questions weren't Starbucks interview questions so that won't answer your question, huh? lol Sorry!

Paulette, I need to work on smiling more and I know it. I'll have to remember that!

Ralph, now you've gone and done it! I'd have a horrible time marking a cup for that! If such a thing even exists.

The boss said I did very well and one of the execs said to not let myself get overwhelmed, that there's a lot to learn there (he wasn't kidding!) and I won't learn it in just a few days. He stressed to just relax, learn, and have fun.

So, all in all I think it went well. I'm off tomorrow and am going to practice marking cups. I hope to go in Tuesday morning at least having that down pat!

Today is my first day of training at Starbucks. I'm a little nervous about it but am also kind of excited. I like to learn new things so this will be fun, I hope. But I can't help be nervous about it. So, wish me luck, y'all, and if you pray, say a little prayer for me that I'll do well and like it!

DH and I paid bills last night . Almost $1300 - gulp! But at least we had it to pay! It was great paying those bills and knowing we still have some money left.

I had a no spend day today and I really love those. The fact that it was warm today was a special bonus!

I got to work at noon and it was crazy busy. During my 15 minute break I drank one of the diet sodas I'd taken. Later in the afternoon I needed to eat but wasn't scheduled for a lunch period. I told my boss I was weak and shaky and needed to eat (I'm diabetic) and she let me sneak to the breakroom long enough to wolf down some chicken wings I'd brought from home and a couple of crackers. So no money spent there.

I got home and we had fish, green beans, and salad. No money spent there, either.

I have to be at work at 7:30 in the morning so I'll head to bed before too long.

But it was a nice no spend day. I hope I have many more soon!

By the way, I'd like some suggestions and feedback on this. DH's business is doing well considering that it's only 5 months old. It isn't paying all the bills yet but it's paying for itself and giving us a little extra. It's a mostly cash business so we have an almost daily cash flow now. And I'm working and get paid every two weeks. The last two checks have been good but the next check or two might not be so good as hours are being cut. However, we can handle that for a short while. The problem is that neither of us is good with money. We're like little kids with it - if we have it we want to spend it. We've used the envelope system before and we think we need to get back to it.

So, we set up envelopes for the business expenses (rent, advertising, electric bill, supplies, etc) and one for saving and each envelope has the budgeted amount for that expense written on the front. The plan is to sit down every evening and put cash that came into the business that day into the envelopes, $10 here, $30 there, and allow a small amount for his pocket. My checks are deposited into our account. I think if we do this regularly when it's time to pay the bills, voila, the money will be there. We can then deposit the cash into the account and write and mail the checks.

Does this sound like a reasonable way to handle it? We have to find a way to ensure the money for expenses is there and that we don't spend it. We know from experience that if it's in envelopes we won't spend it. If it's in his pocket we will!

Suggestions, input, and advice welcomed!

Gone are the days when grocery prices were like those in the image above but grocery spending is one area that really is flexible and one where we can see substantial savings with a little planning and work. Of course, sometimes you're already down to bare bones and eating beans and rice and little more. I've been there a few times and didn't like it but managed quite well.

I've managed to feed two adults for $100 to $150 a month and a family of two adults and four teen boys for less than $250 a month. Compared to a lot of the nation, food here is low in price so you might not be able to spend as little as I do but surely there are things you can save on, some way or another.

If you haven't done so yet, start and keep a price book, at least for several months. Some people use them for years, some give them up after a few months. But they're marvelous and will help you keep track
of sales in your area. The whole purpose of that is to enable you to know what a good price is and how often certain things go on sale so when they do, you can buy enough to last until the next sale. Budgeting101.com has lots of information on price books, I believe. So does organizedhome.com. Mine is a spreadsheet on my computer but find what works for you.

Plan your meals around sales, loss leaders, and what's in your pantry.
Remember that loss leaders are the items usually (but not always) featured on the front page of the sales ads. They're put there to get your attention and lure you into the store to buy those loss leaders with the hope that you will buy other stuff while you're there.

When the sale papers come, sit down and mark the items that you will use that are priced right. This is where your price book comes in handy;you won't have to remember how much you paid for roast beef last time. Make a list with those items and seasonal veggies and fruits, canned items, to go with those dishes, etc. Get good rest the night before you shop, eat a good meal, get together any coupons you're going to use, grab your price book and list, and hit the stores! It's okay to go to one store for canned corn 5 for $2.00 and nothing else. It's okay to hit another when they have chicken leg quarters and pick up 15 lbs of quarters and nothing more. Take into consideration the amount of driving you have to do since gas is so high now.

Say what want about Wal-Mart's practices and ethics - I don't agree with some things they do, either. But we buy most of our groceries there because they price match the competing grocery store sales and it saves us time and driving. When you get to the stores, remember why you're there. You're not there to buy cookies, cakes, and soft drinks unless they're on your list or you have a real need for them. And come on, how often do you need those? You're not there to spend all the money you can. You're on a mission and that mission is to get the best, most nutritious food you can for the least amount of money!

Shop the perimeter of the store first because that's where the fresher,
healther food is, avoiding the inner aisles where the more expensive food is. If you need something on one of those aisles, go for it last, find it, get it in the basket, and leave that aisle quickly!

More to come!

You know, a lot of the blogs here deal with saving and investing and those things are so important. Some of the members are real financial pros in my opinion. I hope to be like Julie (Ima Saver) when I grow up and be able to save money seemingly with each breath and have investments for the future. But I'm not there yet.

It isn't just that I never learned how to save, though that is a factor. It's also that for most of my life I've lived at, just below, or just above the poverty level. I make minimum wage or slightly above and my other half has struggled with several failed businesses. Technically, we're poor. He tells people we're so poor that where we come from it's spelled poooor. He jokes but there's some truth to it.

The 2007 poverty guidelines show this for a family of two:

100% of poverty is an income of 13,690, 120% is 16,428, and 133% is 18,207. For the last few years I've generally been somewhere around these figures, sometimes a little higher. But you get the picture.

It's not easy to live day to day with that kind of income, much less save. Yes it's manageable but it can also be incredibly stressful and wreak havoc in lives.

I'm really working to improve the saving issue and am making headway on it. But it's an uphill battle because, simply put, after bills are paid, food is bought and gas is put in vehicles, there's precious little money to save.

There are things we do, though, that help us not just get by but get a little put back here and there. It's a work of progress, learning to save and the folks here at SA have helped me tremendously. Someday I'll need advice on investing and when I do, I know where I'll look. In the meantime I want to share some suggestions that can help anyone, rich or poor, get by just a little better. So my next entry will be Part 1 of Thrifty Ideas.

My challenge money is up to $30 now. I found some change in the truck and ate two meatless meals today so $30 it is.

I bought my $20 Target GC today and spent almost all of it! I forgot I had pictures being developed there that I needed to pick up. That was almost $8. And I bought three food items before heading home so that was another $8 spent. So now I have about $4 left on it. I didn't think $20 would be enough but I have to try it and see how it works. Of course, the food items and film could have been purchased with cash but I didn't have any on me. I might take what I spent from other areas and put it back on the card since that's supposed to be personal and not household money.

Anyway, I got paid today and it was a pretty decent check. Well, for retail in this area it was. Then DH and I went to Wal-Mart and spent about $75. Between putting gas in the truck and buying groceries, it seems like holding on to money is getting harder and harder!

Oh well, at least his business seems to be slowly growing and I have a job. We're making it!

Here's how I feel about it:

I started my challenge with $20 and yesterday added $4 to it. We both had meatless breakfasts so that was $2, then I didn't get a soft drink or snack while we were out and about so that added $1 and last night at work I did eat something from the grill but it was a meatless pizza so that's another $1. By the way, the pizza was purchased with a gift card I had $3 and some change on so I didn't spend money out of my pocket for that.

So yesterday I added $4 to my $20! Go Denise, go Denise, go go!

Unfortunately, this morning I spilled coffee all over my white work shoes. They're not good for anything but gardening now so I'll have to spend money today or tomorrow for work shoes.

One step forward and two steps back!

DH wanted to open an account at a bank closer than the one we use now so we went out to do that. Although we didn't get that done, I did add another dollar to my savings amount.

We stopped at a convenience store and DH got a drink and 5 granola bars. He asked if I wanted something and I told him no thanks but that I'd like a dollar when he got a minute. He immediately handed me a dollar bill with this quizzical look on his face and said, "What do you want?" I told him I didn't want anything and he said, "Yes, you do." I think I was grinning!

When we got in the truck I told him about the challenge and that I wanted the dollar since I didn't get anything to drink or eat. He just kind of ignored me and started up the truck...

Men, gotta love em! And women, gotta love us, too!

So, I'm up to $3 so far for today!

I'd love to have $100,000 saved but the thought of doing that is just too big for me to even consider. I do much better if I break large goals into small ones I can manage. So, I don't even look at the large amount of money I'd love to have saved and focus on more manageable, reachable goals. Saving that amount of money is going to take me a long time and can't even get started until I tend to some other things on my plate. So, I'm in the process of emptying that plate!

One of my goals for this year is to have $2500 saved by the end of July. Right now we have about $1100. The thought of saving $1400 in six months is overwhelming to me so I have to break the goal into mini goals and minute steps. It might be pie in the sky to think I can come up with $1400 in six months but I don't think so. I'm going to give up just a few things in an attempt to meet my savings goal. Here's how I plan to do it.

I have 15 pay periods between now and the end of July. If I save $25 from each of those pay periods, I'll have $375 at the end of July. That helps but is a far cry from $1400. I don't think I can afford to save $50 from each check but if I push the limit a little and save $35 from each check, that gives me $525 at the end of July. Much better but I still need another $875.

I have to get creative with this and come up with ways to save a little more here and a lot more there. And it wouldn't hurt to throw in some things that will improve my health, too, so for every meatless meal DH or I eat, I'll add $1 to my savings. I generally eat at least 5 meatless meals per week but I can increase that to 10, I think, without it being a burden. There are 29 weeks between tomorrow and the end of July so If I do that, I'm $290 closer to that deficit of $1400 and now I need $585 more. As long as I'm thinking health and wealth, I'll add $1 for each time I don't stop for a soft drink or snack while out and about. If I can keep to that, I'll have a minimum of $5 more a week which puts me $145 closer. I still need $440 to meet the $2500 goal.

It's getting more complicated now as I have a husband who loves meat (hey, so do I!) and will only tolerate so many meat-free meals and thinks little about stopping at a convenience store for a drink and snack. However, this challenge is MINE, although the money is OURS. I'll reward the savings account with these small amounts of money even if he isn't really on board. As long as I don't indulge, I'm doing well.

While composing this, my stomach started growling so I prepared eggs with a slice of cheese, topped them with salsa, and added some avocado slices. And DH had scrambled eggs with toast earlier so cha ching, there's $2 so far today! I work late tonight and am taking vegetable soup so that's $1 more.

So, I still need to cut back somewhere to close that $440 gap. Any ideas on that?

I used to sell on ebay, half.com, and Amazon but those have petered out for me and I don't think I want to try them again. I might but I don't see it happening right now. I'm considering babysitting to earn extra money for the challenge but that's just a thought at present. Our cell phones are down to bare bones now and we don't have cable television or subscriptions or dues to cut. We eat very few items that we find coupons for so adding coupon savings won't help much though it will add a little. I do plan to learn more about CVS savings and if I get that rolling, the savings will be added.

If you have ideas on other ways I can shave a little here and a little there, please share!

I got this from a Yahoo group recently but don't remember which one. It's very good, though.

Linguine with Creamy Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
6 cups hot cooked linguine, cooked without salt
6 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh parsley

Mix the flour, garlic powder and pepper in saucepan. Stir in the broth until smooth. Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens and remove from heat. Stir in yogurt or sour cream. Toss with pasta and a few tablespoons of the parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining cheese. Serves 6.

This is very good with a salad and green beans.

Okay, I've given the $20 challenge some serious consideration and here's my plan.

Tomorrow I'm going to put $20 on a gift card at Target. I think it needs to be $20 a week but I'll start with $20 for two weeks and see how that goes since the goal is to save, not spend. That's my 'at work' spending money. I don't shop there a lot but do get drinks and occasionally a snack when I'm on shift. I'll take drinks, dinner, and my snack in the attempt to spend less of that $20. What isn't spent during that two weeks goes into my savings jar. If there is none left at the end of two weeks, I won't be surprised. But this is an experiment so we'll see what happens.

By the way, I don't know if this is true at most retailers but if your Target gift card gets lost or stolen, the company will issue a new one if you have the original receipt for the card. So, if you buy Target gift cards, keep the receipts!

I'm also going to continue to put my change in the change jars, one for pennies, another for 'silver'. Once a week I take the quarters out and use those for laundry and that's a necessity so I won't change that but I'm going to not spend any of the other change and keep adding to it. Every two weeks I'll roll that and deposit it into savings.

Also, for every meatless meal I prepare and we eat, I'll add $1 to my challenge money. This won't be very easy as DH and I both are meat eaters and though we're happy to have meatless meals, he'll likely fuss if I serve too many. Right now he is eating a meatless breakfast so cha ching, there's $1! Ha ha, I just mentioned something about thawing ground turkey and he just said, "For sausage? That would go good with these eggs right about now." See?

I'm still thinking about this and will add changes as I figure them out.

For those who seek more vegetarian dishes for health or wealth, here are some of our favorite meatless dishes. I'm working more meatless meals into menu planning and maybe these will help someone else, too. In addition to beans, peas, and vegetable based soups, we love these dishes:

Southern Stewed Tomatoes and Okra

1/2 c. butter, margarine or olive oil
1/2 c. onions
3 lbs. cut okra
2 c. canned tomatoes
1/2 c. green peppers (I leave these out as DH and bell peppers don't get along too well)
1/2 c. chopped celery
Salt
4 pods garlic
1/2 tsp. cayenne (I reduce this a little)
1 tsp. thyme

Sauté onions in pot until tender. Add okra, tomatoes and green peppers, Cook 10 minutes. Add celery, salt, cayenne and thyme. Mix well. Cook until okra is tender.

Cabbage Lasagna

1 lb. TVP, cooked beans, or cooked rice
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1 medium head cabbage
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 small can tomato paste
8 oz. sliced mozzarella cheese

Cook tvp, beans or rice, onion, green pepper. Boil cabbage until tender then set aside, saving 2 cups of liquid. Combine 2 cups of liquid, oregano, tomato paste, salt and pepper and simmer, stirring often. Add meat mixture to sauce pan. simmer and stirring often. In a buttered 9x13 pan, layer cabbage and tomato mixture Top with mozzarella cheese slices as your very last layer only. Bake 400 for 30 minutes until cheese is browned. Serves 8.

Stuffed Mushroom Casserole Vegas Style

2 packages frozen spinach or 2 bunches of fresh spinach
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup green onion tops, chopped
1 & 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
12 giant mushrooms
1 lb tvp, cooked beans, or rice
nutmeg

Cook spinach briefly in hot water; drain and chop. Mix with sour cream, 1/2 cup each shredded cheddar, monterey jack, and parmesan cheeses, chopped green onion tops, 1/2 tsp salt and herb seasoning. Place 12 stemmed fresh mushrooms, cup side up, in center of large baking dish. Spoon spinach around edges. Saute sliced green onions and one tsp salt. Add tvp, beans or rice and mix well. Spoon over mushrooms. Top with 1/2 cup each shredded cheddar and monterey jack. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg. Bake covered in 350 oven for 25 minutes. Serves 4.

We didn't eat the fish fillets I'd planned on for New Year's Day. We had some things to do and picked up a couple of fish sandwiches while we were out. We ate those then later had black eyed peas.

We now have leftover red beans and leftover black eyed peas, just enough to feed two, so we'll have those for dinner tonight.

I work until 10:30 or 11:00 tomorrow night so dinner will probably be the Gorton's fish fillets or cereal for DH and the fish for me when I get in. Either way, it will be light and easy.

Grrr, it always upsets me a little when my weekly meal plans don't work out just so but such is life!

Just what is it? I read the 'what is this?' link but it didn't tell me a lot. Do most of you start with $20 and add to it? Or is the goal to get to $20 then put that in savings or what?

Now that I'm working and DH's business is paying most of the bills (giving us a little bit of breathing room financially), I'd like to join but ummmm.. I need to know what it is.

Thanks!

We went to a movie tonight, our third in 12 years!

We saw "I Am Legend" and if you like Will Smith and/or apocalyptic type movies, which we do, you should enjoy it. I admit I shed a few tears during the movie, too, but we had a nice time and it was a great reward.

For what were we rewarding ourselves?

We have $1100 saved in our emergency fund!!

Now to some of you that might be nothing but to us that is a MAJOR deal so we splurged and spent $22 (not of the emergency fund, though!) for the movie, two drinks, some chocolate covered peanuts, and one bag of popcorn.

Another goal reached - go us, go us!!!

became a mother! I wish I'd known...

Just how tiring and painful having a new baby could be. I had no clue about sleepless nights, breastfeeding every two hours, cracked nipples, c-section recovery, and being emotionally and physically drained from childbirth.

To be more patient and loving with my toddlers. I scolded too often, yelled too much and didn't spend enough time just loving on them. I often put teaching them to keep their room neat above just rocking them and enjoying them. They turned out well in spite of me, though.

Just how fleeting our time with our little ones can be. I lost one daughter at birth and her identical twin died almost eleven years later. I spent those years as the mother of four, grieving for one that was gone and one that was severely disabled. Then she, too, was gone, gone way too soon. I still miss them both and wish I'd known how short our time together would be.

Just how wonderful my life would be as a mother and how precious those little ones are. The changes, good and bad, had much to do with who I am today. I'm thankful for them, all of them, and pray I keep that gratitude in place. But I can still wish I'd known then what I know now...

Part of my pre-New Year activities is taking an inventory of the food on hand and planning meals. Between the weird work hours I have now and the steadily increasing food prices, meal planning is more important than ever. So here's my inventory and the meals for the next week.

In the freezer:

6 whole chickens
5 lbs ground beef
10 lb ground turkey
3.5 lb chuck roast
2 packages of Gorton's fish fillets (the grilled kind, 2 fillets in each package)
3 lb turkey ham
2 lb turkey bacon
several varieties of shredded cheese
20 lb whole tomatoes
green beans, lima beans
mustard greens, collard greens, and spinach
broccoli and cauliflower

In the refrigerator:

eggs
1/2 gallon of milk
butter and margarine
country bob's sauce
worcestershire sauce
salad dressing and mayonnaise
baby carrots
green onions
several kinds of cheese, shredded, sliced and block

In the cupboard:

numerous cans of the vegetables we eat
a few cans of fruit
black and green olives
marinated artichoke hearts
canned marinated mushrooms and plain mushrooms
chopped garlic
cream of whatever soups and the ingredients to make homemade versions
chili (which I prefer for chili corn chip pie)
brown, white, and wild rices
dried beans and peas
plenty of spices and condiments

I also have 5 avocadoes and 4 bananas

Tonight we ended up getting a smoked chicken from the local grocery deli. There's enough left to use later in the week so it will get eaten quickly.

Tomorrow I'm preparing the Gorton's fish fillets and black eyed peas. Not so much because it's New Year's Day as because I like that combination.

The rest of the week we'll have, in no particular order:

Chicken & dressing casserole (made with the leftover chicken from tonight), tossed salad, and green beans

Leftover black eyed peas with tossed salad

Chili made with 1/2 lb ground turkey and Ranch Style Beans and served with tossed salad

Hamburger skillet dish (homemade) with broccoli and green beans

Super salads with several leaf lettuces, tomato, green onions, bean sprouts, and shredded cheese

I really have good intentions to blog regularly and I do try! But life gets in the way, I get busy, and the blogging slides until I get this wild urge to do it again. I'm sorry I'm such a lousy blogger. Forgive me, please.

So, what's new with me? Well, DH and I are getting counseling and working to save our marriage. That's a wonderful thing! He opened up a business after we split and it's doing well. We pray its successful and I believe it will be.

I got a job at the new Target store here. I really like it (I might be crazy but I LIKE retail!) but am switching to the Starbucks at that same Target on January 6th. The pay is a little better than cashiering and I hope I like it and do well at it. Hey, the coffee is a nice perk, too! Since finding a job was a goal for me, I feel great that I've found one that I like and pays halfway decent. Though I know I won't get rich in retail!

Tonight I've been planning our meals for the next week. Between having a job with irregular hours and the recent and ongoing increases in food prices, meal planning is more important for us than ever so that's something I want to get done. In a separate entry, I'll post our food inventory right now and the meals for the next week.

To Carol in Australia, who reads this blog regularly - would you please email me? I can't find your email address and want to email you.

Someone responded to one of my entries asking how I make homemade biscuits. I use a simple and straightforward recipe.

She also asked what Sticky Chicken is. The Sticky Chicken recipe I use is here:

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/recipes/Foolproof_Sticky_Chicken.htm

And here's the biscuit recipe I use:

Rod's Biscuits

2 to 2 1/2 c flour
3 heaping tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 to 1/2 c oil
1 1/2 c milk (powdered milk works)

Sift the flour, salt and the baking powder into a large bowl. If you don’t have a sifter, go buy one. They’re cheap and the biscuits will be much fluffier after sifting. Add the oil and milk until you have a fairly stiff mixture. If the mixture is too runny, you can add some more flour to thicken it.

In another bowl, pour some flour into the bottom (roughly 1/2 cup). With a large spoon, scoop out enough of the biscuit mix to make a 2" ball. Drop this into the small bowl and roll the ball of mix around, covering the outside with flour. Pat this into a 1/2 inch thick patty and place into a baking pan.

Repeat this until you have used up all the biscuit mix. Place this into a preheated oven at 325 to 350 and bake for 15-30 minutes or until biscuits begin to brown on top.

Yippeee! Not bad at all!

My mother and I went grocery shopping today and I made up for it. I spent about $130 on groceries today but I'm okay with that and here's why.

I bought a lot of meat on sale, enough to last at least a month, two if I'm very careful. Almost every item I bought was on sale for a very good price and none of it was unhealthy or something I won't use.

Tomorrow I'll repackage the meat in servings for one or two, label the packets, and pop them in the freezer. Over the next two to four weeks I'll need to buy milk, bread and fresh produce but that should be it.

Since I shouldn't have to spend much more on groceries for the next six weeks or so, all in all I think I did well. Now I just have to come up with menus for the next couple of weeks to make the most of the food I have.

I've been craving sweet and hot chicken wings for several days and since I don't have any wings and I'm experimenting with just how long I can eat on $50 (this is day 19, by the way) I don't want to buy any. I figured I could improvise and create something halfway palatable but I have to admit this recipe, if you can call it that, is a very tasty alternative that satisfied the craving.

I cut some boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips, cooked them in a little butter with some Louisiana Hot Sauce and put them in a baking dish with Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. I stirred them to ensure they were well coated and baked them for about 15 minutes at 300, then turned the oven off and let them sit for another 10 minutes, stirring periodically.

They turned out very well! Slightly hot and slightly sweet, just how I like them. And because I'm a frugal foodie (would that make me a froodie? or a frooglie?) I froze the butter and tiny bits of chicken in it and will use that savory concoction the next time I make chicken soup or casserole.

I had my Chicken a la Wings with steamed brussels sprouts and green beans and it was a fine and frugal dinner. There's enough left for lunch tomorrow and dinner another night this week.

Today is Blog Action Day and while I'm not the greenest person, I do try to take the environment into consideration when I drive, shop and cook. I do all I can to run errands one day a week, saving gas and the ozone layer, I limit items in disposable packaging and try not to throw out food so there's less waste to deal with. I have a garden when I can and love the produce from it. When I can afford it, I even buy products of environmentally conscious companies. I wish I could do more of that but most of the products are quite a bit a bit more expensive than their non-green counterparts...at least they are here in my part of the world.

In honor of Blog Action Day this morning I did some little things. It was raining pretty good so I didn't get as much done as I wanted but here are a few things I did:

I organized my seeds and containers for Spring. The more vegetables and herbs I grow, the less I buy and that makes sense financially but it also makes sense on a greater level. No, the few tomato plants I'll have won't make a huge dent in things but what if everyone did it? Well, we wouldn't all be driving to the local grocery for tomatoes now, would we? Things that make ya go hmmmm.

I organized the tiny kitchen cupboard that holds containers and lids I use for the refrigerator and freezer. If I can actually find a container and lid I need, I won't use a plastic bag and that bag won't end up in the trash can and eventually in a landfill. Again, it's a little thing but what if we all did that?

I finished taking myself off a ton of postal mail lists I'd been on and changed several subscriptions from postal to email only. This has been a project that's been going on awhile. What a waste paper flyers and circulars are! I even dislike paper magazines. I just throw most of that stuff in the trash and we know what happens from there. Once again it's a little thing but....well, you get the picture.

There are other things I've done this morning and they're all small and seem to not be important. But they're important to me and in a small way, they're important to our planet. And if we all did just a few things a day and continued to learn a few more new things we could do, wow, what a difference we could make!

I posted on September 30th that I'd spent most of the $50 I alloted for two weeks of groceries but that I was set on chicken breasts and a few other things.

Well, I'm happy to report that I haven't spent any more money on groceries since that date. And I still have chicken breasts, turkey ham and some other things I bought then! Instead of eating as I'd planned I decided to experiment in the kitchen to see just how frugal I could be.

I had scrambled or fried eggs a few times for supper, sometimes with a thin slice of turkey ham and a slice of cheese on a low carb english muffin, made beans twice, chili once, made soup twice, had grilled chicken a couple of times, and used the ground beef I had more as a condiment than a main dish. I even managed to turn one pound of ground beef into six meals. No, they weren't meaty meals but I don't need to have a lot of those, anyway, so that worked out well. I ate plenty of fresh and frozen vegetables and even had a little fruit. I think I did really well and the meals, though not perfectly nutritionally balanced, were pretty healthy.

I imagine I'll do some grocery shopping tomorrow or Tuesday as I'm out of milk, peanut butter, and a few other things and am almost out of several more. But I'm sure I can stretch that into three weeks of eating, possibly more with what I still have from the last grocery trip.

Okay, this might be addictive trying to figure out just how long I can eat fairly nutritious meals on a deliberately tight budget. Yeah, it's a new game for me. That's the ticket!

October 15th is Blog Action Day and even though I'm not nearly as green as I could be or should be, I have a few things planned to commemorate the day.

I'm going to organize my seed containers and seeds, try to organize my cupboard that holds freezer containers and do a few other little things. I'm also going to blog about what I do!

You can read about the event here:

http://blogactionday.org/

Do the rest of you have any plans for the day?

::all said in best Grandpa Jones voice:: "Well, we have three bean soup with green onions, garlic, and turkey ham cookin' on the front burner. We'll have 'em with homemade biscuits and butter! We also have boneless, skinless chicken breasts defrosting and those'll be baked in the oven, some with lemon pepper, some with Country Bob's sauce, and some with fajita seasonin'. They'll all be cut into strips and used for salads, stir fries and just eaten with fresh vegetables throughout the week!"

Denise and Bob the Cat reply with "Yummm yumm!"

Okay, so Grandpa Jones wouldn't have cooked the way I do but y'all get the picture. That's my basic cooking for today in preparation for the coming few days.

I had more no spend days this past week than I've ever had in my adult life, I think. There were four! Why? I planned better than I normally do.

I ran errands one day and took care of whatever I thought might come up during the week and that seemed to do the trick. I know it won't always work but if it works most of the time or even 50% of the time, it will be of benefit. I use less gas, spend less money, and have more free time. That's good all the way around.

I should get paid about $104 for miscellaneous online work I did this week. Most of it goes into the bank for November bills but I'll put $20 in savings. November is quickly approaching and it's time to start the cycle again!

Let's see. Today was yet another no spend day for me. I've had quite a few of those lately and I love it!

A friend came over tonight and brought dinner. It wasn't anything exciting, just a hamburger, fries, and a drink but it was my second free dinner this week and it was actually very tasty.

In the mail this week I've received numerous shampoo and conditioner samples, mostly Garnier Fructis and Pantene products. I really shouldn't need to buy hair care items for awhile.

I also received some Lipton noodle dinners, several of them. I rarely eat them but they'll be good for one of those times when company shows up unexpectedly or I just don't feel like cooking much.

The best freebie, though, was a $50 Target gift card. The electric company I use offered it as an incentive when I chose them. I'd have picked them, anyway, but it's nice to get the gift card. I don't know what I'll get with it but I'm sure I'll think of something.

and I really want to go back to school. Working retail and cleaning houses won't get me where I want to be. Well, it might but a college education would probably do more in that arena.

There are a couple of problems, though. I suck at Math. I mean I really do. Years ago, when my kids were young, I went to college for about two years. A good portion of that time was taken up by what I refer to as the "Developmental Math Disaster". I took that class five times and flunked it five times. I finally gave up and went back to being a full time homemaker and mom.

The other problem is that I don't know what I want to do! I really don't. And that's a major problem.

Now, here I am, on my own, with the kids grown. And I finally have time to go back to school. But now I'm terrified. I'll have to take that blasted DM again. Add to that the new required entrance tests and it makes me one nervous nellie.. no, terrified tammy!

Have any of you been through this? If so, what did you do that helped? There must be a solution but I haven't the foggiest what it is.