2010 Goals

Yes, I know that 2010 started nearly 2 weeks ago. I have been meaning to share some of my goals with you, better late than never! In no specific order here they are.

Financial Goals

1. Pay off the van by the end of March. This will keep us on track with our total debt reduction. This will be met without difficulty I hope.
2. Reduce our monthly grocery bill by $40. That means we will be spending only $60 per week instead of the previous $70.
3. Payoff an additional 30% of our debt so it is reduced by 60% total. Why not pay off all of it you may ask. In our current situation I would say that it would definitely be possible. However, we are contemplating a reduction in hubby's hours at work in order to have him at home more. This would also mean less commuting as well. A final decision has not been made, but I want to leave room for the possibility in our budget for now.
4. Sell some old stuff on Craig's list. I have a list started for many things we no longer need that others may find valuable. Just need to get it done!

Household Goals

1. Replace the roof on the house. This is 2 years past due and we can not afford to put it off any longer.
2. Finish living room trim. The remodel was nearly 4 years ago and this still has not been finished. It is time.
3. Limit all purchases of new items. I would like to really ponder the need of all purchases and buy used or from Goodwill/garage sales as much as possible.
4. Try baking our bread. I have a recipe to try....I'll let you know if it is a success.
5. Purchase grass fed beef in bulk for the freezer. Just need to clean out the freezer more,
6. Expand the garden. We have many mistakes to learn from. Given that last year was our first year being serious about it, we now know some ways to improve it. Looking forward to plotting it out!
   

I think that about covers it. Some of them may be lofty goals, but I found after last year that by having my goals out and posted I am able to stay focused on the long term plan!

I am behind in my postings....

Fret not my friends. I have a couple posts that I am behind on, but life is throwing me a curve ball today.

I have a child that has been up vomiting all night and it hasn't stopped yet. So, I will try to get caught up later this weekend.

I apologize for the lack of info on the site, but bear with me.

Thanks.

Pierce's Highlights of the week

Another weekly ad is upon us. Now that the holidays are over, the ad schedule is back on track for Thursday through Wednesday. As always, check out the ad for yourself here (they will post on Thursday am).

Page one (including the little 1/4 page thingy)

• Surefresh bacon $1.98/lb
• Surefresh bread $0.98
• Surefresh potato chips $0.98
• Mikey's chicken breasts $3.98/2.5 lb pack
• Dole lettuce bags 2/$3, use the $1/2 IP
• Green Giant steamers $1.25, use $0.50 IP or $0.40 MQ
• Kraft salad dressing $1.50

Page two

• Hormel pork butt roast $1.28/lb (very cheap)
• Fresh wild cod filets $5.98/lb
• Sargento shredded cheese $1.50, use $0.50 MQ to make it the same price as store brand

Page three

• General Mills cereal 4/$9, use various MQ or $1/1 IP from last week
• Jif Peanut butter $1.88, MQ for $1 off when you also buy smuckers
• Smuckers $2, use $1 off when you also buy Jiff (less than $3 total for PB and J!)
• Surefine canned veggies $0.50
• Old Dutch Tortilla chips $22

Nothing on page four entices me so that is all. Is anyone else doing a Eat from the Freezer/Pantry challenge like us? Let me know via comment and tell me how it's going!

Kmart rewards

I got to realize a benefit of the Kmart Rewards card. I had a couple things to pick up there and imagine my surprise when after my card was scanned I was told I had $0.40 in rewards to apply towards my total!

Keep in mind the program has only been going for a couple months and I already earned a reward!

Happy happy joy joy!

Walgreen's deals of the week

I didn't go to Walgreen's last week, so I was ready for this week. I also had extra money in my Walgreens envelope for spending!!

Ok, I realized I didn't separate my orders in the pictures above. I did two transactions total that contain items from both pictures.

My first transaction was this:

• 4 Nabisco cookies $0.99 each, used (2) $1/2 MQ
• 3 Flintstones vitamins $6.99 each, used $1/2 MQ and earned $6 RR when you buy 3

My total was $21.08 out of pocket (a little high I admit, but I have been out of vitamins for awhile and with the flu season in full swing I need my kiddos to have them. After factoring in the coupons and rewards they are about $4 each bottle- a decent price). My coupon and ad savings was $7.53. Don't forget I also received a $6 RR which I used in my second transaction!

My second transaction contained the following:

• 1 Splenda $2.99, used $1 MQ
• 1 Vanity Fair bowls $1.50, used $1 MQ
• 2 Nabisco cookies $0.99, used $1/2 MQ
• 2 Nabisco crackers $0.99 each, used $1/2 MQ, also earned a $2 RR!
• 2 Quaker granola bars $2 each
• 2 All laundry soap $3.29, used $2 MQ

I used the $6 RR from the first transaction to pay here. My out of pocket on this transaction was $5.47 with a coupon/ad savings of $23.23. I also got a $2 RR for a future purchase.

In all, I am happy with my visit today. I came home with tons of stuff and don't feel like I had to spend a whole lot!

Healthy Choice coupons

Go to the Healthy Choice website and you can print a coupon for $5 off 5 Healthy Choice meals.

According to Tami (thanks!!) many of these are only $1.78 at Walmart. So you can pick up quite a few for only $0.78 each.

Quick easy meals for work or on the run. Enjoy!

January meal plan and challenge

Soooo, bloggers from all around the Internet are using January for an "Eat from the Pantry Challenge". This means trying to use this month to limit purchases of new food and using up what you have stockpiled in the freezer and pantry. You can save money by limiting how you buy and meal plan from what you already have on hand.

I haven't done an eat from the pantry challenge before, but I am doing one now! Just don't tell my husband because he might feel 'limited' even though he honestly won't notice a difference since I do the shopping and cooking. Our meals will look the same to him.

This is important to me for two reasons:

1. My freezer is FULL. I plan on buying bulk grass fed beef soon and I need to make room!
2. I want to decrease my weekly amount spent on groceries, and this will give me some leeway in the budget.

Right now we budget $70 per week in groceries for our family of five. This has been a very comfortable limit for us for the past year, but I'd like to challenge ourselves a little more in this department. That will give us more money to pay the bills!

I did an inventory of our freezers with the intent of posting it to share. However, I was totally embarrassed to discover we could feed a small country for a year easily. I made our monthly meal plan and realized we will only need to buy bread, milk and salad fixings for the entire month!

I am not going to make many rules for myself during this challenge as I don't want to miss out on any stockpiling opportunities that may arise. I do plan to decrease the weekly budget though as I mentioned before.

That said, here is the January meal plan (by date). Lunch is mentioned on weekends/holiday only. To throw a wrench in my plan, the oven died yesterday. Hope a repairman can fix it next week......

1. Lunch: grilled cheese or soup, fruit. Supper: spaghetti
2. Lunch: turkey, veggie and chips. Supper: hot dogs, mac 'n cheese
3. Lunch: sandwiches. Supper: beef stir fry, rice, peas
4. chicken breasts, green beans, ?rice
5. pork ribs, salad, corn, fries
6. beef stew with mixed veggies
7. pizza
8. breakfast for dinner: waffles, ?sausage braid or eggs
9. lunch: sandwiches. Supper: spaghetti
10. Lunch: pigs in a blanket, fruit smoothie. Supper: chili
11. chicken legs, mashed potatoes, beans
12. pork chops, stuffing, salad, veggies
13. hamburgers, baked beans, salad
14. pizza
15. turkey soup from mix, bread, veggie
16. Lunch: taco salads. Supper: sandwiches, fruit smoothies
17. Lunch: lasagna with garlic grands. Supper: sandwiches
18. chicken thighs, rice, veggie
19. tuna/cheese melts, veggies
20. grilled fish, peas and rice
21. pizza
22. tator tot casserole, broccoli
23. Lunch: turkey tetrazinni, Supper: sandwiches, fruit smoothies
24. Lunch: manwich, chips. Supper: whatever is in the fridge
25. chicken breast, rice, green bean casserole
26. pork steaks, salad, fries
27. homemade sub sandwiches, chips, veggie
28. pizza
29. fish sticks, fries, veggie
30. lunch: taco salad. Supper: sandwiches, fruit smoothies
31. Lunch: cheeseburgers, baked beans. Supper: spaghetti-Os

Ok, just so you are up to speed.....I have tons of frozen veggies and fruit in the freezer. So if I didn't list it exactly it is because I will just grab whatever I see that day. I may also have something fresh to use if it is on sale that week. Another given is that we may end up eating out 1-2 times during the month. If that is the case, the meal gets bumped.

Well, there you have it. My dirty little stockpile secret is out and I will try to pare down the stash this month. I will also re-post this meal list on Monday's for everyone that uses Monday for their meal planning!

Would you like to join in with the "Eat from the pantry challenge"? If so let me know. We can all share together!