Menu Plan Monday- Week of January 11, 2010

This week I am going to be participating in the Pantry Challenge... over at Money Saving Mom...which I "sort" of participated in last week with the exception of Football Sunday and going out and getting some stuff for a party...oops.


But this week, we actually really NEED to do this since my husbands work has been slowing down..time to SAVE.
And what better way to SAVE then to use what you already have.


I will be purchasing Milk, Eggs and Bread(If the loaf I make isn't edible) and trying to keep any purchases below $30 this week.

Here's what we have left from the Produce Share:

Broccoli Crowns

Carrots- About 3

Cilantro- 1 bunch

Red Leaf Lettuce

Cremini Mushrooms- 1/2 bag

Sweet Potatoes- 3

Garlic

Red Onions

Ruby Red Grapefruit

Kent Mangoes

This week menu plan:

Breakfasts: Oatmeal( Slow Cooker), Eggs & Toast, Pancakes

Lunches: Leftovers, Mac N Cheese, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, PB&J, Easy Snack Wraps

Snacks: Apple Squares, Muesli Bars, Veggies & Fruit w/ Peanut Butter, Quinoa Taboulleh

Dinners:

Monday: Leftovers from this weekend- Split Pea Soup and Pulled Pork( wasn't on menu last week, I added it!)

Tuesday: Garlic Broiled Chicken Thighs w/ Salad and Broccoli and Rice

Wednesday: Spicy Mango Sweet Potato Chicken over rice with Salad

Thursday: Almost Stuffed Peppers- Really QUICK and EASY!

Friday: Black Beans A La Olla (Vegetarian)- Real Pantry User! I'll add one chicken breast for more protein- served over rice

Saturday: Baked Empanadas with Quinoa

Sunday: Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken and Cornbread Casserole with Salad

Well, that's it...
I hope to use up many items in my pantry
seeing as I don't have to go to the store
to buy anything for this weeks menu..
wish me luck...
and why not give it a try yourself!

Thanks!

:

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Birthdays Without Pressure

Living here in South Florida forces you to feel pressure to
"Keep Up" with your neighbors...

birthday parties are no exception.

Whatever happened to the small 5 child party with
pin the tail on the donkey, cake and everyone went home?
Those days seem over, but I'm on the pursuit to bring it back!

And it looks like others are too!

Here is a website that deals with this particular issue.

Birthdays Without Pressure


Sometimes it's good to know that you don't HAVE to throw the same types of parties as your friends or neighbors, and that there are alternatives to the typical over-the-top birthday parties that are becoming more and more popular.

You may be interested in a previous post
that I shared on this particular issue as well.


If you have any of your own great frugal birthday ideas,
let me know in a comment.

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Update on Organic Grocery Budget....

I kept all of my receipts from this past week, and here they are...it's going to be close!!!

Salsa- All Natural- $3.99 for Lily's B-day Party
Organic Milk- $3.50
Water Refills- $2.32= 8 Gal
Lemons- Not Organic- for party to make lemonade- 9 ea.- $3.87
Pasta-All Natural- $2.09
Pasta- All Natural- $ 2.09
Shredded Mozzarella Organic- $3.89
Organic Canned Pineapples- $2.79
Cucumbers- Not Organic- They didn't have them- $ 1.50
Limes- Not Organic- $ 1.00
Jalapeno Pepper- $ .04
Organic Bananas- $ 2.28
Lemon Pepper Chicken- another Cheat...bad :( $ 7.39
Bulk Organic Cous Cous- $ 1.82
Pasta- All Natural- $ 1.19
Rudy's Organic Wraps- $ 4.99
Organic Kefir- $ 4.29
Organic Pasta Sauce- $ 2.99
Organic Unbleached White Flour- $ 5.49
Bulk Organic Carrots- $ 1.43
Organic Bananas- $ 2.85
Organic Frozen Peas- $ 2.39
Organic Celery Bunch- $ 1.99
Organic Zucchini- $ 2.50
Grass Fed Flank Steak- $ 13.43
Grass Fed Skirt Steak- $ 13.79
Water Refill- 2.32- 8 Gallons

Less Bag Refund- -.30

Total= $97.92 + Tax= $104.28

That brings my grand total to.......
$421.28......I failed!! Ahhhhh.

I looked back at my purchases, and my largest purchases were when I was feeling lazy and bough pre-cooked chicken....that was about $15.00 worth of my money. And the last thing I did was buy the expensive grass fed beef, which totaled about $26.00. Those items right there put me over. I don't normally purchase those items, and it is now easy for me to see how when I don't stick to my plan, I can easily go over. We're not too far off, I am going to have to buy some more chicken from Costco before the end of the month.

Does it count that there were 5 weeks in the month? Didn't think so.... maybe I'll try this again next month.

Do you have a grocery budget? Do you stick to it? Do you include your paper goods and baby goods too?

Thanks





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Menu Plan Monday -Week of September 13, 2009

This week, I am continuing to share with you my receipts from food shopping. I went on a small trip this weekend, costs are below. So stay tuned for more receipts as I will have to go to the store at some point for more milk, eggs and pasta!
Here is what I will be receiving this week from the Organic Buying Club I belong to:

Orange Cauliflower
Red Cabbage
Spinach
Red Leaf Lettuce
Tomatoes
Acorn Squash
Sweet Onions
Cilantro
Cremini Mushrooms
Russet Potatoes
Garlic
Ginger
Gold Apples Yellow Nectarines Valencia Oranges Yellow Peaches Bananas
Fruit Share: Black Seedless Grapes, Honey Dew Melon and Sugar Baby Watermelon

Here is my meal plan for the week:

Breakfast: Eggs & Toast, Waffles, Pancakes, Oatmeal

Lunches: Leftovers, Quesadillas & Chicken Salad

Snacks: Play Group Granola Bars- SOOO GOOOOD I use Agave instead of Honey!

Dinners:
Monday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches- Leftovers from Sunday!

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas w/ Fresh Cilantro, mashed black beans, red peppers and rice.

Wednesday: Shepard's Pie

Thursday: Grilled Chicken Salad w/ homemade Rice Pilaf- EASY RECIPE I'll share this week! This will use the redleaf lettuce and tomatoes

Friday: Chicken and Dumplings w/ fresh crimini mushrooms from Better Homes and Gardens Cook book

Saturday: Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash but with Quinoa instead of Cous Cous like in the recipe. (Vegetarian)

Sunday: Cauliflower Hamburger Casserole



Well, that's about it. Depending on my monetary budget. I might add in a Rotisserie Chicken ( I know, cheating) to Saturday's meal, but you can get them at costco for about $4.


We'll see. I'll keep you posted.


Weekend Receipts: Frozen Organic Peas- $1.64 Tortillas- All Natural - $ 2.88 Rotisserie Chicken- $ 6.75 at Publix (Cheating Again) aahhhh

Total w/ Tax: $12.00

Added to Previous Receipts- Grand Total: $ 317.00

I am researching the closest Grass Fed Beef Farm to Florida. If I find anything I will post about it.

Thanks!

Preview

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Organic Frugal Food Budget- Week2

OK, just did the shopping for this week went a little more than I wanted to, but I needed to refill a lot of staples. I went to Whole Foods and Costco:

At Whole Foods:
Organic Tea- 4.69
Organic Beans- 3 ea. @ 1.69
Organic Balsamic Vinegar- 5.39
Organic Mustard- 1.69
Jason Power Smile Toothpaste- 2 ea. @ 6.99- large ticket item, but we needed two tubes.
Compromised on Chamomile Tea & didn't buy Organic but it was 1for 1- $2.99
Organic Potatoes- $5.23
Oatmeal Soap- 2 ea. @ 1.99
10 Gallons of Water Refill- $2.90
Organic Peaches- $2.33

Total: $49.30

FYI- Everything I buy is as minimally packaged as I can get it, and there are no preservatives in anything. This significantly lowers your food cost.

COSTCO Bill:

Organic Ground Beef- 3 lbs- $12.99
Pork Tenderloin- Not organic- Having a Football Party- But good deal- $13.13
Organic 8 pck Diced Tomato Cans- $7.99
5 lb bag of yellow onions- not organic- $ 5.99
All Natural Naan Flatbread- $5.99
Bananas- Not Organic, but Whole Foods didn't have any- $ 1.32
Craisins- Ironically, they are just cranberries and sugar, nothing else!- $ 6.99 for a 3 lb bag.
EVOO- Not Organic- $ 10.39 for 68 oz
Guatemalan Free Trade Coffee- Not Organic- $ 13.99 for 3 lbs
12 Grain Bread- $ 4.89 for 2 loaves
Canned Chicken- All Natural- $10.99 for 6 large cans
Diapers- 222 count- $42.69 = .16 per diaper
BBQ Sauce- 2 bottles for the Football party- $4.99
Cashews- $ 11.69 for 2 lbs

Total : $156.81

Grand Total for Today:

$ 206.11

Add $ 7.00 for Organic Milk and Eggs that I forgot oops.....

Grand Total for Month:
$ 305.00

Can I keep it under $420 this month? Stay Tuned :)

Thanks!




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Organic Frugal Food Budget

Recently, I went to Maine for a family reunion. One of my cousins was asking me how I could buy almost all organic, and not break the bank. I told her that almost every month, I can buy all of our food for $400.



Here's the breakdown of my budget:
$100 meat- Organic Meat- 6 lbs for $24, Ground Turkey(Not organic)- 4.5 lbs- $21, Organic Chicken Thighs- 2 pckgs- $45 = $90
$118 organic fruits and veggies from buying club - Always $118 per month
$100 staples- flour, butter, milk etc. - This varies, but I usually am right up there.
$100 - anything else I need for the month

My total is approx- $418 per month give or take a few dollars and depending on whether or not I need to buy diapers or large quantities of paper towels or toilet paper.

I am going to try to keep track of all the specifics I buy this month on this blog. And give you a running tally through out the month so you can see how close I am to my budget.

We have a lot of meat left over from last month when I was away, so that purchase will probably not take place until closer to the end of the month..

Here is what I have bought so far:
Produce: $59- All Organic- Good for 2 weeks
Eggs: 4 dozen @ $3.50 - All Organic- $14
Milk 2 Gal- $3.65 ea. - $7.30- Organic Whole We try to buy Organic Valley brand and not Horizon b/c of their animal practices:
Extra: Cold Cuts- Special for hubby's birthday lunch- 1 lb- $8.09
Bread: Whole Foods- Whole Wheat Crunch- $3.50- ( Not Organic)

Please note: There are some things that I buy that are not Organic, but are all Natural with no preservatives. I will specify if that is the case.

Total: $91.89 for week so far!

Some ways that I accomplish this goal is to buy as much as I can in the bulk section or at bulk stores like Costco. I try to buy everything all natural w/out preservatives or processing. If I want cookies, I make'em myself. This takes more time, but definitely saves money..plus it's more healthy!!

Let's see where these posts take us!
I'd love to hear your budget if you buy all or mostly Organic, and what you do or want to do to lower it!

Thanks!

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Try It! Tuesday- Making your Meat go Further

Well, I realized in my last post that I was making a lot of meals with chicken breasts, and not a lot of vegetarian meals. I guess in part this is because our family eats a lot, and even when eating a whole vegetarian meal, we end up still hungry in the late evening...wanting something more, perhaps a protein.

My husband ends up making what he calls..." a mess", which I think is literal for what he does in the kitchen, but also what he concocts in a frying pan with eggs, hot peppers, onions, and whatever else he can find.

So I decided to do a little research and try to find ways to make meat, since we are still eating a lot of it, go further.
Here are some things you can add to a meal to make your meat go further for your family aside from the simple fact of having an all-out vegetarian night:

• Slice your steaks to feed your whole family. Use the strips for a stir fry, or fajitas
• Include some sort of protein throughout your day and don't just rely on protein for dinner.- ie- eggs, nuts, beans etc.
• Try cubing your steak to make kabobs, or add to a heart rice meal.
• Try Casseroles- these usually include rice, or some sort of pasta and beans. You will end up using less meat than serving it separately
• Have a pizza night, where you use a lot of other ingredients and only one breast of chicken, or one link of sausage.
  
• Search around for less expensive cuts of meat. Often times if they are cooked correctly, they actually taste better and are more flavorful than the expensive cuts
• When making spaghetti, add a lot of vegetables to your sauce. This will make the sauce last well into leftover territory, which is what we want when we are trying to save!
• Make a soup! Last night I took all the leftover veggies from the past two weeks(even bok choy) and added it to some chicken stock. I had one extra chicken breast from the night before. I chopped it up and added it too. I then added some egg noodles and I had a pretty darn good soup! Don't forget to add a dollop of peanut butter (just make sure kids aren't allergic) for a great rich flavor and no one will even know you did it!

• Fill your plate with more veggies and starches, cut down the portion size if serving a piece of meat separately. I find that if we have chicken breasts, if I cut them into small pieces, I can use two breasts to feed us and our oldest child. This then leaves a whole breast to make another meal with the next day!!

• Add a second or third side dish. If you are used to having one veggie, one carb and one meat serving on your dinner table, why not try two veggies at night?
  

Here are some links that may be helpful and give you more information to cut your budget buy still eat and live healthy!!

5 Dollar Dinners- Blog- With Great Recipes!!

Healthy Frugal Dinner Recipes- Blog

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Porcupines Recipe- Meatballs w/ rice

Budget Friendly Recipes for Ground Beef- AllRecipes.com

Budget Friendly Meals- Allrecipes.com

Cuts of Meat that are Cheaper + Recipes

Vegetarian Meals w/ Beans and Rice


Thanks!


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Frugal Fridays: Budget- The Bottom Line

Well, I am adding another "catchy phrase" day on my blog...Frugal Fridays... which I am sure is already taken by someone out there, but I am determined to get some things off my chest about this topic. I like to say that my husband and I have been stuck in the spin cycle in our finances since we got married. It all started when we bought the house (one we couldn't afford but qualified for) and bought the beloved washer and dryer...that was when we got sucked into the laundry pile of people who lose control of their financial situation.

I am NOT making any excuses... firstly because I can't think of any.... we were young and ignorant in money making decisions and we are where we are now because of early spur of the moment decisions, no budgeting and the little rectangles of plastic which I now know are not play money....


About 5 months ago, I read the book by Dave Ramsey called The Total Money Makeover. You can read that blog entry here. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to finally accept responsibility, swallow a little pride, and get in touch with reality over their financial situation.


The book emphasizes the importance of a total budget, meaning EVERY penny is accounted for by the end of the month. Well this was fine and dandy for people who receive steady paychecks, buy for my family situation, it just about drove me insane. The reason I was going crazy is because our income is ever changing and I can't account for money that I don't know is going to be there or not. So I decided to create a Bottom Line Budget.

You can click here

and use it as a guideline for your own, or just use the same one. The Bottom Line Budget lets me know all of the bills I have for the entire month. I decided to put it in the order that they are due, not the order of the biggest bill.

The second portion of the BLB is the money that we have left over after all the bills and expenses are paid. I can then separate it in to categories to decide where I would like it to go. This will help me to get a grasp for that extra money and where it is going. With the budget example that the book gave, I was just waiting until the end of the month to see what I had spent all our money on, and not deciding ahead of time where the money will go.

This way, I can allot cash to all of the non-bill expenses we have - ie- food, gas, etc. and then put all the extra money into the specific categories of my choice. Not sure if this will help anyone else but our family, but I thought it might be helpful for people with similar income situations. Enjoy!!

Note: We are committed to getting ourselves out of the huge debt hole we dug ourselves in. This budget is one of the ways we slowly coming out of debt.

Thanks!

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Budget?

Almost every household runs their income and bills differently. As I mentioned in a previous post, our family has quit using credit cards, started a budget, and cut costs in almost every area of spending.

One way that we have accomplished this is to use a free online program to track our earnings, spendings, debt and assets. Mint.com is a great tool, easy to use and you can link most every online account you have to them to help track your money.


After reading the Dave Ramsey book...Total Money Makeover, my life, then my husbands was transformed into one of wanting to be debt free. We have a lot of debt, probably more than average, so it will take us a little while to get out of it. We are committed and I look forward to sharing with you when we hit certain goals. Thanks!










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Try It! Tuesday

Since this week is a kitchen cabinet week, I thought I would share a little tip with you. This tip is great if you have an item in your refrigerator that you want to use up, or a spice you have never used, or just want something different.



Its at allrecipes.com, and its their ingredient search. The site itself is amazing in finding great recipes, but if you dig a little deeper in their site, you can find their search page by ingredients. This is great for picky eaters too because it also has an "ingredients I don't want" section too. My husband, Brian doesn't like cheese-(I know, ridiculous, but nevertheless, we deal with it) so I always type in cheese on the items I don't want list.




If I have a lot of chicken, I will type that in the ingredient search, without cheese of course, and find some pretty great recipes with chicken.




I have also used it for spices- for example- I had garam masala and wanted to try it. I typed it in the ingredient search, and many new recipes came up....that's how I found the great Vegetable Masala recipe that I use.




So there's my thing to Try on Tuesday!!


Hope you like it!
Here's a direct link to the ingredients page:


Ingredients Search on Allrecipes.com

Otherwise, you can just click on the word ingredients at the top of the homepage for allrecipes.com


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Menu Plan Monday

This week is a kitchen cabinet week. This means I am not going shopping due to a tighter budget, and we are making due with whatever we have in our cabinets and fridge:

Last week I tried out the Mexicali Casserole which I attached the recipe to. I thought it was OK, just OK. I would definitely make it again and keep it in the fridge for an easy go-to lunch. We all ate it, but it was a little plain and bland. Thanks!

Monday: Spaghetti w/ meat sauce, broccoli and bread

Tuesday: Spicy Turkey Burgers (Recipe Below) w/ attempted homemade buns- usually served on whole foods buns...so good

Wednesday: Honey Mustard Chicken w/ String Beans and Rice

Thursday: Black Bean Chili w/ homemade corn bread and spinach

Friday: Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup- w/ a secret ingredient....recipe to come

Saturday: Picadillo w/ Naan bread, brown rice and mixed veggies...recipe to come

Sunday: Slow Cooker Thai Chicken


Spicy Turkey Burgers Originally got this recipe off of allrecipes.com, but I have tweaked it a little to fit our needs. I also have it doubled so I can save some in the freezer.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pounds lean ground turkey
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1.5 medium onions, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 2teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons Bragg's Amino Acids- (replacement for soy sauce)
  
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground dry mustard or even 2 tablespoons course mustard
  
• 2tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the grill for high heat.You can also heat a frying pan and put a little oil in it.
   
2. In a bowl, mix the ground turkey, garlic, ginger, onion, cilantro, salt, Bragg's Amino Acids, black pepper, paprika, mustard, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce. Form the mixture into 16 burger patties.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place turkey burgers on the grill, and cook 6 minutes per side, until well done.
   
4. Serve with Fresh Spinach, Tomato and your favorite condiment. I love to use mayo, but my husband uses a hot pepper relish which he loves....
   
5. Place extra patties on plastic wrap and individually seal them. When ready to use, place in refrigerator that morning or night before.
   

Enjoy!


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Menu Plan Monday- FINALLY on Monday!

Well, I have officially posted my menu for the week on the correct day! I even did my grocery shopping today which is my planned shopping day too! Yay! Here is this weeks menu:

Monday: Turkey Spaghetti w/ Broccoli and Garlic Infused Bread
Tuesday: Vegetable Masala w/ Brown Rice(soaked for 7 hours)
Wednesday: Leftovers for hubby and little ones b/c I'm having a girls night out!!! Brio here I come!
Thursday: Mexicali Casserole - new recipe I am going to try b/c I have all the ingredients!
Friday: Chicken Curry w/L/O Brown Rice and Mixed Veggies
Saturday: Black Bean Burgers which I will share as my Vegetarian Recipe of the Week!
Sunday: Breaded Chicken w/ Broccoli and Baked Potato

Whew, now that we're finished, feel free to comment and ask for any recipes of dinners that I have on here. I almost always start out with someone else's recipe and then try to either make it a little healthier, or change it to fit our likings. Thanks!
Oh, BTW- I just purchased for the first time the organic beef at Costco. I'll let you know how it is. I was 12.50 for 3lbs. Normally I buy the regular ground beef - 5lbs for 14.00, but this is one of my goals...to buy organic beef. Eventually I would like to buy from a local grass fed cow farm.

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Menu Plan Monday...on Thursday

I know, this is getting pathetic, but I promise to be back on track next week. We had family in town, four services of worship at church for Easter Weekend, and 2 sick children. There, am I off the hook? Anyway, I am just now getting to the shopping for the week, which prompts me to do the menu planning. So, here it is:

Thursday: Turkey Spaghetti w/ zuchini
Friday: Vegetable Masala w/ Rice
Saturday: Shepard's Pie
Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie

Ok, this week was tough. Sometimes I just sit and stare at my weekly list thinking, "What on earth should I make?" This is the first month that I haven't taken the time at the beginning to fill out the monthly meal plan. I really like doing this because it helps me prepare for the weekly meals in advance. I don't always have to use every single meal that I put down on the exact day I write it in, but it helps me to gather my thoughts and realize that I do have a lot of options to make dinner. I have also been contemplating making some more actual meals for lunches since we are going through a lot of our meals completely. More to come on the weekly lunch planning too!

Here are some topics that I am interested in posting about in the upcoming weeks:
1. Bread Making
2. Lunch Meal Planning
3. Soaking grains
4. Toddler Enrichment Activities
5. Library Books- see blog of www.thehappyhousewife.com
6. Organization Techniques
7. How do YOU do it? A special series on seeing how others do things compared to our family and possibly learning a thing or two! This is probably going to be a weekly meme ( blog hosting)
8. Budget Life- Yup, Budget is Life for us.... we have one if we do it, we lose everything if we don't !


Thanks!

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Menu Plan Monday...on Tuesday

Hello All! I have been menu planning for about 4 months now, and I love it! At the beginning of each month, I plan dinners for the entire month. Meal planning is very cost effective since you can know exactly what you need for the week and can make a detailed list for shopping, and it eliminates spontaneous grocery store splurges and extra trips to the store during the week. On this blog, I will post my monthly menu at the beginning of each month, and then every Monday, I will post my meals for the week!
This week, I have an extremely busy week with Easter, so I am planning on making some meals ahead of time that can be heated in the oven and we don't have to worry about it that night. Here you go!

MONDAY: Stuffed Peppers w/ Vegetable
TUESDAY: Vegetable Masala w/Soaked Brown Rice (vegetarian)
WEDNESDAY: Spicy Turkey Burgers - Recipe to Come!- Make ahead meal
THURSDAY: Turkey Spaghetti w/ Zuchini
FRIDAY: Black Bean Burgers w/ String Beans- (vegetarian) Make ahead meal
SATURDAY: Picadillo w/ Soaked Brown Rice and Naan/ Vegetable- Recipe to Come!
SUNDAY: Easter meal at In-laws Yay!

Tomorrow, I'll post a recipe from this week! There are a lot of good ones in here, so stay tuned!

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Deciding to be a SAHM

Deciding to become a "mom" for a living has been one of the best and most difficult decisions of my life. Coming from a family who had two working parents, going to college and having typical "wants" on this earth, I have definitely felt the pressure of going back to work in these difficult economic times. But I have to look to God and what He wants for me and my family, and when I do that, the decision is easy, I want to be a mom, the best mom to my children, and for me (not everyone else), that is staying at home and providing for my children from there. I just wanted to share some amazing things that have gone on in my world since moving to Florida in order to make it through this tough economic time on one income: 1. Brian and I have started to adhere to a tight budget and do not use credit cards for purchases anymore. 2. I have cut our food bill by $400 a month just by making what I like to call..."all things mine" meaning, I do not buy anything that is already made, in a box, or needs to be microwaved to be eaten, yes this includes all snacks, cookies, cereals etc. 3. We have gone vegetarian....well, sort-of- I make 2-3 vegetarian meals a week now to save on the cost of meats. 4. We buy all our meats at Costco now, which is a little compromising since I would love to be eating all organic local farm raised meats, but that is for another budget...not ours-yet (read on to see my future goals) 5. If I want something sweet- like a cookie, I make it myself, if I want it that bad, then I definitely can put out the effort of 45 minutes to make a cookie. 6. No more Bottled Water! That's right, I HATE the water down here in Florida...I feel like it makes me sick. But I have given up the bottle. We purchased three large non-leeching plastic containers that I bring to Whole Foods every week and fill up for .30 a gallon. This lasts us for about 5 days and I refill again. This one is eco-friendly and money-friendly 7. No more coffee-- well, no more coffee out.... When I started budgeting, I found out that over a 3 month span, I had spent $125 on coffee!!! Ridiculous! So I vowed to never get Starbuck's again unless I paid for it in loose change.... FYI- I've had about 3 in the last 5 months :) Yay me :) 8. Monthly Meal Planning- yup, I plan for all of our meals for the month, which allows me to know exactly what I need from the grocery store. I have also stopped buying anything for lunches since I always have leftovers from the night before. I totally recommend meal planning... I still purchase food weekly, but am going to attempt to purchase food bi-weekly at some point. Now that I have told you some of the ways I am already saving, I want to share a little about my future goals: 1. Cloth Diapers- This is a big one for me...Having 2 in diapers right now costs about $125 a month. This is what it would cost me up front to purchase the cloth diapers, but from that point on, I wouldn't be spending but about $4 a month more in washing costs. 2. Making my own bread- I know, I have been working on this one for a while, but it takes a lot of practice. I am already baking bread, but my goal is to make bread that is truly edible on a daily basis...tee hee 3. Join a local Co-Op- this is where I would get our fresh fruit, veggies and eggs while supporting local growers and farms in the Florida area. 4. Start a garden, a good garden- not just an insect restaurant, but a garden that is maintained, actually grows and is edible. Our garden now consists of already eaten carrots, spinach, cilantro, and possibly growing peppers that seem to not be liked by the bugs. Got some good tips from friends as far as eco-friendly dish soap for bug repellent. 5. Purchasing beef from a local farmer. This is expensive, but I think it is worth the money if you can afford it. The health benefits are huge. 6. This kind of goes with 4, but I want to start a compost bin. I just recently learned how to make one pretty simply for about $15. This would cut down our waste as well as allow us to have really good soil for growing veggies. 7. Buy more in bulk. Eventually, once I have mastered the art of breadmaking, I will be going through a lot of flour. I would love to create a bulk system in my home with some items in large bins in the garage, and glass jars in the pantry in the kitchen. I use a lot of flour, rice, lentils, and beans. Hopefully throughout this blog, I will take an aspect and talk more in depth about it.. Thanks for reading and joining me on my journey!

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