My $60 Weekly Grocery Budget (November 27-December the 3rd)

Here are the groceries I bought today, I stayed on budget spending $35xx out of my $60 budget. I have $24xx left. I went to Harris Teeter and Wal Mart. They are both right together so I wasn't wasting gas running around.

 

I went to Wal Mart to get the AJAX laundry detergent because I had a $2 Q for it making it only .50 for 39 loads (great deal.) Today was the last day I could use it. I printed it a month ago and almost forgot it. I also got the sour cream and potato chips from Wal Mart.

 

Below is my receipt for Wal Mart. LOVE that $2 off coupon!

 

 

Here's what I got at Harris Teeter-

 

2 lbs. carrots -.99

1 Sweet Onion .89

1 gallon of Milk- $2.47

2 lbs. Ground Chuck 80 % -$5.97

2 loaves of bread -$1.94

2 doz. eggs -$1.98

3 Crisco Sticks (Used a .35 Q that doubled) .90

3 XTRA laundry detergents (50 loads) Used 3 $1 Q's -$3.00

(2)- 4 packs of batteries $2.98 - Used 2 $1.50 coupons

1 box of Little Debbie Christmas Snack Cakes (treat for my Daughter)- $1.67

 

 

 

Total Cost before sales and coupons $52.36

After Coupons & Sales $23.89

 

Very Blessed!

 

Have a blessed day in Sweet JESUS!

 

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

 

 

 

 



Left Over Turkey? Try This Easy Recipe

 

Left over turkey (or chicken) shredded

Taco Seasoning (I use SAM's Club brand)

Olive Oil

Garlic Powder

 

 

Cover the bottom of a frying pan with the olive oil. Heat slowly. You can also use vegetable oil but the olive oil adds a better flavor and seems less greasy.

 

 

Add shredded turkey (chicken)

 

 

Pour the taco seasons and garlic on the turkey.

 

 

 

Mix in well until thoroughly heated and covered. The amount you add will depend on your taste buds. More for spicy, less for a milder flavor.

 

 

All done!

 

 

Yummy!

 

 

Put into a soft or hard taco shell. Add lettuce, cheese, sour cream. Whatever your taste buds desire!

 

 

Roll up and enjoy!

 

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's For Dinner This Week?

 

 

 

Okay, its time to strategize again and come up with a weekly menu planner from what I already have in the freezer and pantry. Here is the plan for dinners only. We have sandwiches/soup for lunches and breakfasts are usually eggs, grits or toasts.

 

Friday- Left over turkey, stuffing, beans

Saturday- Homemade Lasagna & Salad & Garlic Bread

Sunday- Rerun of Saturday

Monday- Pork Chops, Baked Taters & Green Beans

Tuesday- Hamburgers & Ranch Oven Fries

Wednesday- Alfredo Noodles & a Veggie

Thursday- Pancakes & Bacon

 

What I will need to buy:

 

Sour Cream- $8xx for 5 lbs. (We use a lot of this and it will last a little over a month)

Eggs- $2 for 2 dozen (on sale @ Harris Teeter on their e-vic deal)

Potato Chips- $5

Milk- $2.47 (Harris Teeter e-vic special)

Hamburger 80% lean $6 for 2 lbs. (Harris Teeter e-vic special limit 2 lbs.) 

Crisco Sticks 3- .99 (with 3 Q's)

Total- $24xx

That leaves me with $35 left out of my $60 weekly budget.

 

I'll also be on the look out for marked down fresh turkeys. Heading out on Saturday for that *turkey hunt*.

 

 What a blessin'!

 

What's for dinner at your house?

 

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

Black Friday & Me

 

Okay, it the evening of Thanksgiving and I know a lot of people will be heading out to the stores soon. NOT me, not tonight. I will be heading out at 4:30 in the morning though to go shopping with my daughters. One of them is in need of a new coat. Noticed I said *NEED* ? That's the Black Friday deals I am looking for.

 

I'm not into electronics. Shoot, I am probably the only person in the US who doesn't have a flat screen tv yet. Don't need one though. As long as the old *box* is still working, we'll be blessed at not having to get a new one.

 

What I will be doing after getting a coat though is heading over to the grocery store. Now that is *Black Friday* to me. Using my coupons and finding the best deals to stock up on for my family. A lot of the deals from this week are the same for the rest of the week with a few exceptions.

 

 I am hoping to score some more turkey for the freezer. I will be looking for the marked down fresh turkeys. I noticed the other day that a lot of the stores *fresh* turkeys were dated until the 30th of November. So with that in mind, I am hoping to score a good mark down on meat clearance. If not tomorrow, than definitely this weekend.

 

 

Just got to keep the eyes open!

 

 

Yep, Black Friday means scoring turkey to stock up the freezer with. Strange? Maybe, but I have to be that way to make my grocery budget stretch.

 

Well, blessings to you all who will brave those crowds tonight and tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the quiet grocery stores and marked down meat.

 

Have a blessed one!

 

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

Homemade Sourdough Bread

I've been making this bread for a little over 10 years now. It's made with basic pantry staples and is absolutely delicious!

 

Here's a pictorial for you. Hope you enjoy!

 

 

Mix 1 1/2 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons instant potato flakes

1 1/2 cup warm water

 

Mix all these together and set aside for 90 minutes to rise.

 

 

It will be all bubbly after the time is up.

 

 

Stir down the mixture and add:

 

4 1/2 cups bread flour

2/3 cup sugar (1/2 cup works fine too.)

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup oil

1 cup warm water

 

 

adding dry ingredients

 

 

 

 

 

adding the oil

 

 

adding the water

 

 

mixing them all together

 

 

all mixed and ready to be kneaded

 

 

flour your counter and dump the dough onto it, it will be very sticky, add flour as needed to work the dough, knead for about 2-4 minutes or until very elastic in texture,

 

 

all kneaded and ready to be put into the bowl for its 2nd rise

 

 

another view

 

 

place into a well greased bowl for another rise (90 minutes)

 

 

cover while rising

 

 

this is after the 2nd rise

 

 

pour onto floured countertop and knead again for about 2-3 minutes

 

 

cut into 2 even halves

 

 

place into 2 well greased loaf pans

 

 

set aside for 3rd rise (90) minutes

 

 

risen and ready to be baked @ 375* for 40 minutes

 

 

HOT from the oven!

 

 

Side view

 

 

YUMMY!

 

 

Cooled for about 10 minutes and ready for consumption! YUMMY!

 

This bread smells so good while baking.

Easy and delicious.

 

You can also use whole wheat flour for the entire recipe or half white half wheat.

 

Enjoy!

 

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Thanksgiving Grocery Deals (Thanksgiving Week 2014)

 

 

WOW! It has been an awesome week for grocery deals. There are also a lot of coupons to match up with those deals. I did indeed spend more than $60 this past week on my groceries. I had to spend an extra $23 alone for a 22 lb. turkey. Then there were some great deals on items that I was in need of, so I went ahead and stocked up on them. It was a blessin' to be able to get such deals.

 

So here are  few of my favorite deals for the week:

 

 

4 (5) lb. bags of Harris Teeter Self Rising Flour .99 per bag

4 Sargento's Tastings Cheese Wedges .50 for 3.4 oz.

4 Xtra Laundry Detergents 50 loads

 

Total Cost- $10xx

Normally- $35xx

 

Detergent was BOGOFree $3.99 regular price. used a $1 off Q on each of the 4 I bought. Making the cost $4 for 4 bottles.

 

Harris Teeter Flour is normally $2 for a 5 lb. bag, On sale for $.99 a bag. Got 4 bags.

 

Sargento Tasting Cheese Wedge- on sale for 2.00 (normally $2.99 ) for 3.4 oz. Paid $2 for 4 wedges. Used a $.75 printable Q that doubled. That is a good price for that cheese. Just about $2 for almost a lb.of cheese

 

Here is the printable I used for the cheese-

 

It should be available still on coupons.com.

 

I also got a good deal on Pumpkin pies @ Harris Teeter and FREE Cool Whip to go with the pies.

 

 

Mrs. Smith's pies were BOGOFree. Regular $7.99. Paid $2.49 per pie using a .75 Q that doubled.

The whip cream was FREE with a Q when purchased with the pies. 1 per pie or 2 Q's used.

 

Pie & Whip Cream $2.49 per pie. The Q was for a $1 off and the Cool Whip was on sale for .99 making it FREE!

 

GREAT DEAL!

 

Here are the coupons (Q's) used for the pie deal:

 

 

Well, its back to the $60 grocery budget this week. We are pretty well stocked though thanks to the great deals the stores had this past week.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Last of the $60 Grocery Budget

 

Here's what I ended up buying today for $22.76

 

Crisco-.87 (3) used a .35/1 Q

Butter- 5.00 (2.50 each)

Mushrooms- $4.00 (2 pks.)

Orange Juice- $1.50

Flour Tortillas- (20) 1.29

Large Garden Salad- $2.10

Dog Chow- not shown- 8.00

 

Leaving me with $6xx

 

The flour tortillas were $1.61 cheaper than I planned. Which was a blessing. I got them at Wal Mart. It's the first time I've seen them in some time.

 

I usually don't buy dog food with my grocery money (its kept separate) but I needed to use it because the dogs are eating more now that it is getting cold. So that bill will be going up to about $14 a week for 2 dogs. (ouch!)

 

Things didn't go exactly as planned with what I wanted to stock up on but I got what I needed with $6xx left over and I didn't go over the $60. Happy Dance!

 

Tomorrow starts a new cycle with the latest grocery sales. I will have to add $25 extra to my grocery budget because I need a 23 lb. turkey for Thanksgiving. Praying for some really good sales!

 

Blessings,

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

 

 

My $60 Weekly Grocery Trip

 

Here's what I got when I went shopping this weekend. I paid $25 xx for all of this using coupons and matching sales. The cost would have been $75xx without the sales and coupons. That is a huge savings!

Here's the receipt:

 

 

Here's the item breakdown:

 

6 No Yolk Noodles- Used (3) $1/2 Q and they were also BOGOFree

10 cans of Del Monte Green Beans- Used (2) .40/4 Q's on sale for b2g3free

3 Minute Maid Orange Juices- Used (3) .75/1 Q's (printable) on sale for $2.99

3 Tetley (24 ct.) Tea Bags all 3 FREE with (3) .75 Q's

10 (8) oz. bags of shredded cheese on sale for b2g3free no coupon needed.

 

I also bought a gallon of milk and a lb. of butter earlier last week and that was $5.50.

So I have a total of $29xx left. When I go out tomorrow, I'll get-

 

Mushrooms $2.50

Onion-$1

Soft Taco Shells- $3

Tomato-$1 (missing my garden already)

Orange juice -$4.50

Tea- FREE

Crisco Sticks- (3)-.87 using a coupon for .35 (doubled) off 1

10 cans of green Beans $3.70

 

$15.57 before tax

Leaving me with $13.43

 

I may use the $13 to get some butter that is on sale or get more cheese. I know that the cheese I get now will last at least a month and a half. That's about the next time it will go on sale again.

 

It's already Monday and so far so good on the grocery budget!

 

Blessings,

Amanda

Matthew 6:33

 

 

 

 

 

The Envelope (Cash) System for Paying Weekly Bills

I was very blessed this week tom spend time with some fantastic ladies who taught me so much. They challenged me as well in the area of finances. The reason I started this blog was to *get control* of my budget and after having talked to these ladies this week, I am so inspired to put these into practice.

The one thing one of the ladies talked about was using the *envelope system* for paying your weekly bills. So this week I did just that by getting cash out of the ATM and dividing it up to pay our bills.

Here are the bills that are due this week:

Groceries
Gas
Car Payment
Animal Feed

The grocery money is where I have the most problems. $60 a week is usually sufficient to get us through the week. Though there are times when I want to spend more when I really don't need it at the time. That's when I pull out the debit card and swipe it. BAD!!!! Did you notice that I said I *WANTED* something extra, NOT needed it? That's the problem.

I definitely need to be more disciplined when it comes to wants vs. needs. Having that mindset will keep me on track. It's really all about discipline like a friend of mine mentioned this week.

Anyway, that's just one of the ways I was inspired this week with my finances. Now to put it into practice.

Here's a website you can go to that tells more about the details to using the envelope/cash only option.http://moneysavingmom.com/2008/08/budgeting-101-1.html or http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/envelope-system-explained

Here's to better finances and pleasing GOD with what HE has entrusted us to.

Have a blessed weekend in sweet JESUS!

Amanda <><
Matthew 6:33

Week of November 13th-19th Grocery Store Deals

I LOVE the 2 weeks that precede Thanksgiving, So many sales are going on now for Thanksgiving dinners. I usually use this time of year to stock up on canned items, things like *cream of* soups and canned veggies.


Butter is also starting to go on sale for the holidays. Since our cow is now dry. I am having to buy butter again and can't believe how expensive it has gotten to be. $4.50 for the store brand of butter is ridiculous. I have seen it for $2.50 this week at the local Piggly Wiggly which is better than $4.50 a lb. I hope see the price at $1.99 or below per pound before I stock up. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

This is a really good deal without coupons, at Dollar General, It only runs one more day though. .33 for a can of veggies is AWESOME!

Harris Teeter also has a good deal on canned veggies, Using their b2g3free on Del Monte canned veggies, you can score their veggies @ .51 a can or use a coupon and get the veggies for .36 a can. The coupon was in the paper about 2 weeks ago. Coupon or not its still a good time to stock up on veggies.

I like to purchase shredded cheese when I can find it under $3 a lb. Harris Teeter has it's B2g3free sale going on for their 8 oz. shredded cheeses, it comes out to $2.60 for a lb. of cheese. Which is a major stock up price for me. I need 3 pounds but will probably end up getting 6 pounds because we use a lot of cheese around here.

Xtra laudry detergent is on sale at Wal Greens for .99 after a printable $1 off coupon found on coupon.com.You can also get it at that price at Rite Aid with the coupon.  This deal ends November the 14th 2014.

Well, these are some of the deals that I will be going after  I plan on posting my complete shopping trip before the weekend is over.LORD willin' I will stay on budget.

Have a blessed weekend in Sweet JESUS!

Amanda <><
Matthew 6:33

Grocery Shopping on $60 a Week for a Family of 4

I thought I'd start this first real blog post with what I am dealing with today. Being Friday, (the day after Hubby gets paid) that means looking through the menu planner (made up for at least 3 weeks worth of meals) and going to the pantry to see what I will need for this weeks menu.

I need to tell you that to get a 3 week menu (3 meals and dessert) you need to have a decent pantry that is already well stocked. It has taken some time but I have managed to get a pretty good pantry built up by using coupons and shopping only the weekly store sales. If its not on sale, I won't get it.

I use the coupons and match them up with the weekly sales to get items usually up to 50% off the regular price. It takes time but by using my time wisely, I am able to save money when grocery shopping and get great deals for now and also for later use.

(This *way* of thinking different didn't happen over night but through a series of BAD financial decisions that were made over the years. But that's another post all together. )

So here is what I will NEED to have to complete my weekly menu:

onion -$1
orange juice-1 gallon (Using a Coupon found here - http://www.coupons.com/) @ Harris Teeter
mushrooms- 1 lb.- Harris Teeters every day low price of $2.50 a lb.
mozzarella cheese (3 lbs.) $1.30 per 8 oz. @ Harris Teeter when you buy 2 and get 3 free.
soft taco shells (20 ct.)
tomato- $1

All of this will cost about $17. I have everything else needed. So I spend $17 out of $60 and now have $43 to *stock up* on the other things that are on sale and I will need later on. So by doing this I won't pay full price on future items so long as I stay ahead of the game and plan ahead accordingly.

Here's what we will be eating this week-

Breakfast are homemade biscuits or toast or eggs
Lunches are sandwiches and chips.

Dinner

Friday- Burgers and Ranch Fries
Saturday-Homemade Pizza & Salad
Sunday- Rerun of Saturday
Monday- Homemade Dutch Potato & Bacon Soup and Homemade Cheddar Cornbread
Tuesday- rerun of Monday
Wednesday- Pork Chops, Baked Taters and Corn from the summer garden
Thursday- Pancakes & Bacon

I need to get a good sale on sweet onions but I don't use but about 2 a month if that, so buying a large bag is not feasible. If I do come across a good deal, I will go ahead and purchase it and store accordingly.

There are quite a few good sales going on now for Thanksgiving Dinners. I'll post what I know about tomorrow and try to link you up to a coupon if available.

Well, got to go. Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Amanda <><

Proverbs 19:14- House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

A New Blog to Keep Me on Track

Okay, so today is a whole new day for me to start keeping a better track on my finances. Writing it down daily sounds like an awesome way for me to stay accountable to my financial goals. Here are some of the ways that I will try and inspire myself and (LORD willin'-) others who are wanting to save money and make what they have S-T-R-E-T-C-H further.

(DISCLAIMER: I am just a wife and Mama of 3 who desires to make our families finances pleasing to THE LORD. I seek to be diligent and worthy of all that HE entrusts to this family. Praise HIS Holy name, Sweet JESUS!)

Topics-

Menus
Couponing- Weekly deals in my area
Weekly/Monthly Budgets
Things I've learned
Inspirations
Stocking a Pantry
Savings
Trying to live debt free

That's just a few of the topics that have been floating around my head that I would like to delve into. Well, I need to get that first post down on what is going on this day and since its my husbands' payday, that means our weekly budget payouts and the weekly menu planner.