Shopping Day Adventures $50/$50 challenge

I am actually going to make this post my new $50/$50 challenge launch off. As my followers may know I am trying to buy all groceries (toiletries like toilet paper, shampoo, make-up ect are included in groceries) for $50.00 each week and buy all other house hold necessities (AOHHN) for $50.00 each week. If you have a challenge like this that you post or want to start your own (does not have to be $50/$50 it could be $60/$60 or $60/$40 or what ever you like just so long as it's x amount for groceries and x amount for all other necessitates.) sign the mr linky below. Please follow the directions below on how to post your link.

It is probably not a bright idea to post this week and my launch week at the same time as it is a bad week. See the first 3 weeks of this challenge seemed so easy...I should have known something was up. Well I went to my credit card account to see what I might have been missing (after my husband mentioned the total was a bit high) and sure enough I had missed some of the house hold items. I just forgot that those items are no longer in a separate budget. I am going to lay them all down here today and then start fresh this week with $50/$50

Don't Forget to Check out The Grocery Cart Challenge for more shopping day adventures!


So my shopping totals and my missed purchases:-highlights of my deals are in red

CVS:
Vitamin 2.99
Razor 7.99
Mouth wash .99
Make-up 16.95
2 Cascade soap 6.00
Candy .35
Razor .75
Total 36.00
-Coupons 10.00
-CVS cash 12.98
Total 13.92

Total of all items: 36.00
-Coupons 10.00
-ECB's 12.98
Total OOP 13.92
0 ECB's left

Walgreen's:-forgot to use my Colgate coupons-duh!

Colgate toothpaste 3.29 (earn 3.50 Walgreen's cash)
Wal-zyr allergy tabs 3.99 (rebate item)
Revlon eye shadow 4.99
Revlon eye shadow 4.99
4 mentos gum 1.69x4=6.76
Axe Shampoo 5.99 (rebate item)
-4.99 BOGO Revlon eye shadow sale
-2.00 Revlon coupon
-2.00 Revlon coupon (off the free one, cool huh)
-4.00 mentos coupons (4/$1.00)
Total: 18.11 (paid for with rebate gift card from last months purchases)
Total OOP 0.00

Total of all items: 25.02
-Coupons 8.00
-Gift Card 18.11
Total OOP: 0.00
Rebates earned: 9.98
Walgreen's cash: 3.50

Walmart:
Band-aid Bandages 1.18
2 Gillette Shampoo 7.00
2 Neosporin 1.50 (on clearance for .75 each!)
J & J Gauze Pads 1.56
Gillette body wash 3.50
Total: 14.74
-1.00 neosporin coupon
-1.00 neosporin coupon
-1.00 band-aid bandages
-1.00 J & J gauze
-2.00 Gillette coupon
-2.00 Gillette coupon
-2.00 Gillette coupon
Fireproof movie: 20.00
Total: 24.74

Total 34.74
-10.00 coupons
OOP 24.74+ tax

Target:
Cascadian organic granola bar 2.58
Kashi bars 2.50
Kashi bars 2.50
Kashi bars 2.50
Soup .54
Soup .54
Revlon nail 1.98 (clearance)
Revlon nail 1.94 (clearance)
Revlon nail 1.94 (clearance)
Revlon nail 1.94 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.52 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.52 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.97 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.97 (clearance)
2 Head and shoulders trial shampoo 1.94
Total 35.68
-10 $2.00 off Revlon coupons 20.00 (some only rung up 1.94 off)
-3 $1.00 off Kashi 3.00
-1 $1.00 off Cascadian 1.00
- .50 Target soup coupon .50
-2 1.00 Head and Shoulders 2.00
Total: 9.15
-5.00 gift card from last weeks transaction (toilet paper deal)
Total OOP: 4.15

Total for all items: 35.68
- Coupons 27.50
- Gift Card 5.00
Total OOP 4.15

Grand total: 42.00


Eating out: In town shopping all day-13 hours
McDonald's 4.20
Burger King 11.00ish
Village in 20.00 (had coupon BOGO or it would have been 8.00 more)
Grand Total: 35.22

Home School Swim and Gym:
Grand Total 6.00

Birthday gifts/food:
Food 4.46
Gift 30.00
Birthday eat out total: 18.02
Grand Total: 52.48

Missed house hold items:
$5.00 seed catalog for 4-H
$2.50 e-bay purchase for coupons
4.00 health bars
Grand Total: 11.50


Grand Total Groceries: 79.68
Grand Total AOHHN: 67.50
Grand Total for both 147.18 over 47.18!

Okay if you have a post or want to start one where you list a $50/$50 deal similar to mine (does not have to be $50/$50 deal just x amount for groceries and x amount for all other house hold necessities.) please sign the Mr. Linky below. Make sure to only link to your post on your deals and not your blog homepage. Also please link in your post back to me so that others can see this and other great challenges.

Latte

My Great Deals this week, saved $100.00!

Well my total on Friday for all items (well most all) being on sale or clearance $122 but I actually only paid $22! The deals were not as good as I had prayed they would be and I could not get some online coupons cuz they were gone but me still thinks me did pretty good overall!-especially considering I took my husband and kids on this all day shopping spree!

Okay here is the breakdown of what I got: (simple breakdowns are in red)

If you leave the Revlon deal out of transaction # 3 out my total OOP would have been 5.37 perfect for this CVS $5.00 challenge





CVS: -Had no ECB's (CVS cash) when I went in. OOP means Out of Pocket

First Transaction:
CVS vitamin D 2.99
OOP 3.19
Earned:
ECB 2.99

Second Transaction:
Gamer Razor 7.99
-4.00 coupon
-2.99 ECB from first transaction
OOP 1.07
Earned:
ECB 4.00

Third Transaction:
Act trial size mouth wash .99
5 cover girl eyeshadow
-5 $1 off cover girl coupons
-4.00 ECB from second transaction
OOP 9.55
Earned:
ECB 5.00
ECB .99

Fourth Transaction
Cascade 2.99
Cascade 2.99
-.50 coupon
-.50 coupon
-5.00 ECB
OOP 0.00
Earned:
0.00

Loaded car went back to get boys who were in the clearance isle and well they found some good deals so:

fifth transaction:
Disney suckers: .35
Schick quarto razor .75
-.99 ECB from third transaction
OOP .11

Total of all items: 36.00
-Coupons 10.00
-ECB's 12.98
Total OOP 13.92
0 ECB's left




Walgreen's:-forgot to use my Colgate coupons-duh!

Colgate toothpaste 3.29 (earn 3.50 Walgreen's cash)
Wal-zyr allergy tabs 3.99 (rebate item)
Revlon eye shadow 4.99
Revlon eye shadow 4.99
4 mentos gum 1.69x4=6.76
Axe Shampoo 5.99 (rebate item)
-4.99 BOGO Revlon eye shadow sale
-2.00 Revlon coupon
-2.00 Revlon coupon (off the free one, cool huh)
-4.00 mentos coupons (4/$1.00)
Total: 18.11 (paid for with rebate gift card from last months purchases)
Total OOP 0.00


Total of all items: 25.02
-Coupons 8.00
-Gift Card 18.11
Total OOP: 0.00
Rebates earned: 9.98
Walgreen's cash: 3.50





Walmart:
Band-aid Bandages 1.18
2 Gillette Shampoo 7.00
2 Neosporin 1.50 (on clearance for .75 each!)
J & J Gauze Pads 1.56
Gillette body wash 3.50
Total: 14.74
-1.00 neosporin coupon
-1.00 neosporin coupon
-1.00 band-aid bandages
-1.00 J & J gauze
-2.00 Gillette coupon
-2.00 Gillette coupon
-2.00 Gillette coupon
Total: 4.74

Total 14.74
-10.00 coupons
OOP 4.74+ tax




Target:
Cascadian organic granola bar 2.58
Kashi bars 2.50
Kashi bars 2.50
Kashi bars 2.50
Soup .54
Soup .54
Revlon nail 1.98 (clearance)
Revlon nail 1.94 (clearance)
Revlon nail 1.94 (clearance)
Revlon nail 1.94 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.52 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.52 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.97 (clearance)
Revlon lipstick 2.97 (clearance)
2 Head and shoulders trial shampoo 1.94
Total 35.68
-10 $2.00 off Revlon coupons 20.00 (some only rung up 1.94 off)
-3 $1.00 off Kashi 3.00
-1 $1.00 off Cascadian 1.00
- .50 Target soup coupon .50
-2 1.00 Head and Shoulders 2.00
Total: 9.15
-5.00 gift card from last weeks transaction (toilet paper deal)
Total OOP: 4.15

Total for all items: 35.68
- Coupons 27.50
- Gift Card 5.00
Total OOP 4.15

Grand total for the day:

Total's for all the stores 122.00
-Coupons 55.50
-Gift Cards 23.11
-Store Cash 12.98
19.41+tax= 22.00



I also got a movie and a birthday gift but I will be putting that on my 50/50 deals tomorrow.

Latte

how frugal will I be!?!

Okay today I am going to go shopping and my list total comes to just over $200.00 dollars. But my amount to spend is just over $9.00 dollars!

Come back on Monday and see how well I actually did!-oh and there might be a giveaway on my frugal blog involved!


Faith

Menu Plan Day and Shopping Day Adventures

Don't forget below Menu Plan Day I show you how we live on $50.00 a week for groceries (that include personal care, toiletries and kitchen necessities) and $50.00 a week for all other house hold necessities (that include shoes, clothing, home school supplies, car filter and oil, etc)

I also have my total's for weeks past below along with my weekly average.

I have not started my candida diet yet. I think it's best to plan out my meals for the week (more than just the soup!) and make sure they are similar to my families meals. This way I am not tempted. I will keep you updated on when I start and how it's going.-I should be starting next week!

All recipes below will be substituted for all natural and or organic ingredients. I also use America's Test Kitchen recipes because our family just loves them.



Menu Plan Monday:

Breakfast:

Fluffy Dinner Style Omelet
French Toast
Strawberry Scones x's 2
Organic Cereal x's 2
Organic Oatmeal (vanilla and cinnamon)

Snacks:

Organic Popcorn
Brownies
Banana Bread


Dinners:

Korean Fried Chicken, rice-squash-rolls
General TSO Chicken, mixed veggies-rice
Skillet BBQ pork chops, squash- rolls
Pulled Pork Sandwiches, veggies, -fries
Chili, croissants
Tuna Salad Sandwiches, fries
leftovers

Need to make:

rolls x's 2
bread for tuna sandwiches
buns for pulled pork sandwiches
croissants

How my shopping week went:

This week will be bad for 2 reasons, #1 I found 2 receipts in my wallet from the past and we ate out once this week.


$50.00 for groceries:


The found receipts:
Sonic 5.39
Walmart: 3.92
Total: 9.31

Woods Grocery Store:
Grocery:
Navy Bean 1.25
Natural White Flour 3.59
Meat:
10lb Leg Quarters 3.90
1.28lb Gizzards 1.28
Produce:
1.48lb Grapes 1.32
Green Onion .59
Garlic .50
2.09lb Squash 2.05
Cilantro .99
8lbs Oranges 3.98
Banana's (day old) 1.56
Dairy:
2-1lb Butter 4.58
1 Dozen Eggs (running low on free range) 1.25
1lb cottage cheese 2.39
Frozen:
3lb corn 2.99
Total: 33.74

Eating Out:
Taco Bell 2.98
McDonald's 4.94
Sonic 2.12
Total: 10.04

Prairie Grove Farms:
Raw Milk 3.50
Total: 3.50

Price Cutter:
Organic Caesar salad dressing clearance .99
2 Gallon OJ 5.18
Steaks 4.49
Total: 11.07

Wal-Mart:
3 Johnson Ez grip soap 2.91-3.00 coupon (made .09 cents)
Shout gel clearance 2.68
Binder for coupons clearance 2.00
Gauze Pads 1.56-1.00 coupon .56
Total: 5.71
Grand Total for Groceries: 73.37


$50.00 for all other household necessities:

Well this week I actually put some 'grocery' items on here. I did so because I had to buy 50.00 worth!

Target:
Jet Dry 3.54
Jet Dry dishwasher cleaner 3.54
2 Cascade 2n1 20packets 8.00-$2.00 coupons
2 16pk mega roll (128 reg rolls) Charmin Toilet Paper 31.98-.25 coupon (got $5.00 gift card)
Total: 47.82+5.00 gift card for next visit

Wal-Mart:
Windshield wiper fluid for truck 1.50
2 Windshield wipers for truck 10.00
3 month Air Filter for house 4.58
Total: 17.24
Grand Total: 65.06

Overall Grand Total: 138.43
Over for the week: 38.43

I will try to make up that 38.43 next week.

First week:
47.73 groceries
60.00 spelling power book
Grand Total: 107.73

Second week:
49.72 groceries
40.00 shoes ( I did not include tax here because I did it on the jackets below since they were bought together)
Grand Total: 89.72

Last week:
53.83 groceries
56.30 jackets and car oil
Grand Total: 110.13

This week:
73.37 groceries
65.06 toilet paper, dishwasher detergent/cleaners, truck wipers
Grand Total: 138.43

My average over every week is: 11.50

If I only spend $46 total next week I will be caught up. Do you think I can do it?


Don't forget to see other menu plan mondays check out orgjunkie and to see shopping day adventures check out The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Latte

Menu Plan Day and Shopping day Adventures

Don't forget to check out shopping day adventures below (where I show you what I spent with my $50.00 grocery money and $50.00 everything else money) Also to get other great menu plan day posts go to orgjunkie or more grocery shopping day's go to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Well for me the next two weeks, no more eating good yummy America's Test Kitchen meals. I am going on a 2 week candida diet were I can't have anything except lean meats and low/no sugar fruits and veggies. It's going to be so hard! I am also using this diet cleanse and this fungal detox with my diet...and below is my main meal that I will be eating everyday all day. I actually like this meal so I am happy with it. I just hate giving up sweets! lol!



My candida meal for the week: I will eat this all day including dinner

Lentil and Cabbage Stew (I am substituting the toovar dal with red lentils, not using ground fenugreek or black mustard seeds, and I am using curry powder instead of leaves...I am also doubling the recipe.

I also plan to eat:

Breakfasts:
Strawberry Limeade Smoothies (recipe below)
eggs

Snacks:
Celery and almond butter

Dinner:
along with my stew I will be eating steamed veggies (drenched in butter!)

My Strawberry Limeade Smoothie:
1/2 C frozen strawberries
1/2 C yogurt
2-3 T lime juice (more or less to your liking)
1/4 C water (you can use milk to make it creamer or oj for tartness but I can't have those)
1/4 t stevia
2-3 t Xylitol

add to blender mix and serve! Tastes yummy!

Don't forget I substitute a lot of the ingredients for all natural or organic or healthier ones. Such as sugar I use Xylitol or Honey, for flour I use whole wheat, spelt, or brown rice, for chocolate I use carob powder, etc. Also I use America's Test Kitchen Recipies and not the ones below.

My Families meals for the week:

Breakfast:
eggs and grits
cinnamon vanilla oatmeal
organic cereal

Snacks:
carrots and ranch
organic popcorn
all natural Cheetos
Chocolate banana bread (from really old bananas)

Dinner:
Toasted Turkey Subs, home fries, steamed veggies
Skillet creole chicken fricassee, rice, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies
Shrimp and scallop skewers with hoeisn-ginger sauce, rice, steamed veggies
Grilled chicken with sesame noodles,
Lemon chicken and rice soup
Mexican Chicken soup
Leftovers

How my grocery shopping went:

Well I have to go by memory but I think my husband spent around 13.00 on these items:

foil (err I can get it free at Walgreen's this week-oh well now I will have a lot)
brown sugar
3 3lb pork shoulder
Total: 13.00ish

I spent:

Akin natural food market:

2 Panda licorice for boys 1.30
agave nectar 3.99
3 Soda (stevia) 3.48
Total 9.00

Woods Grocery Store:



Grocery
tomatoes crushed 1.67
Produce
5.97lb grapes 5.26
2lb Mangoes 1.98
4.36lb cabbage 2.57
1 jalapeno pepper .14
6lb apples 4.00
Lettuce 1.19
Dairy
1lb butter 2.39
Frozen
2-1lb Brocolli Normanday 3.00
2-1lb Mediterrainan Veggies 3.00
Total: 26.39

Praire Grove Farm:
Raw Milk 3.50

Grand Total: 51.89ish

If you guys read my blog you know each week we have $50 for groceries and $50 for all other house hold and personal nessesities. Each week I have pretty much stayed right on the money.

First week:
47.73 groceries
60.00 spelling power book
Grand Total: 107.73

Second week:
49.72 groceries
40.00 shoes ( I did not include tax here because I did it on the jackets below since they were bought together)
Grand Total: 89.72

This week:
51.89 groceries
10ish oil and filters for car(husband got...don't remember total)
1.94 Walgreen's
46.30 jackets
Grand Total: 110.13


So it looks like I am over by about $7.58ish (depending on what my husband actually spent, which these totals should be right on the money-ish)

Not bad aye?

So do you have a frugal freak deal you would like to share? If so sign up to my Linky below along with your post of your frugal deal (be sure to only link your current deal post not your blog homepage)

Latte

Total should have been: 305-ish But I paid 88.24

I bet your dieing to know how I saved so much! Well I will tell ya...um mostly because I am just dieing to tell everyone!

NOTE: because of taxes my amounts might seem a touch off, but it should not be too much, if it is let me know...it was a lot of math for this girl to do! lol

Okay I went to CVS and EVERYTHING I purchased there was TOTALLY FREE, plus I have a 10 dollar rebate coming and 27.78 in ECB's left (13.08 of which are on gift cards so they don't expire)

I have to admit, at first this CVS/Walgreens shopping was so overwhelming! However I stuck with it and it is getting so much easier to do. These are the 3 things that kept me going:

1. The desire to save money-no matter my income
2. The time it takes to learn this which at first will take some time but once you do it, it gets much easier-it helps that so many mom's are willing to share
3. The effort to stay organized. I am not organized with a lot of stuff, but you have to be with this. It's just not an option or you will end up losing money.


First I must totally thank these ladies for helping me, if it were not for them I could not have done this. All of them plus many more helped me. note: you can check them out on my left side bar!

http://www.couponing101.com/
http://www.thethriftymama.com/
http://www.cvs-saver.blogspot.com/
http://www.ingoodcents.blogspot.com/
http://www.dealseekingmom.com/
http://www.drugstoredivas.blogspot.com/
http://www.kingdomfirstmom.com/
http://www.thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com/
http://www.centsablemomma.com/

Most of these ladies have great tutorial on how to be the best deal getter there is! Here are some of the tutorials I used:

http://www.centsablemomma.com/2008/09/coupons-101.html
http://thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com/2009/02/cvs-for-beginners.html

Okay now to explain a little about what I did:

First I went to these girls websites (above) and looked over the way they purchased their items and in what order they did there transactions. In order to get the best deals at CVS you must make multiple orders and then pay for it with your ECB's (extra care bucks that print at the bottom of your receipt-it's like cash that you can only use at CVS and it expires in roughly a month) I think I made 5 transactions (the girls above suggest no more than 4 at a time but the cashier was ever so helpful so I did not get back in line for each of them, she let me do them all in one visit)

Before I went to CVS, I wrote down the best scenario for our family. Then I printed all the coupons that the girls had listed that went with my transactions. I made sure to write this all down next to each transaction. Then I went to my coupon book:

and got out all the coupons that went with each transaction, put them with my printed coupons and separated them out by transaction. Before I left I made sure I knew and listed how much each item should cost, how much ecb's I would spend and how much ecb's I should be getting back. I also made sure to put my CVS ad in my binder with my coupons and list.

Just a note I put my coupons in the binder above in quart sized Ziploc bags (that I hole punched) and labeled according to the item's, mine are:

use this week
body products
face products (shaving cream, razors)
hair products
teeth products
make-up
food
deserts
drinks
cereals
cleaners/smell goods
laundry
bathroom needs (q-tips, toilet paper, etc)
kitchen needs (paper towels, foil, etc)


Then I headed to CVS. I took my time tring to make sure I got the right items (you have to be careful they put the signs in the wrong spot and if you don't get the right size/kind you'll be stuck in line and totally stressed out)This is what my transactions looked like, but keep in mind that I started with a $25.00 gift card for CVS that I got for filling my new prescription last week( I only had $16.46 when I started) , I also had about $25 .00 in ECB's, and a $10.00 gift card from a refund but I did not use that on this visit.

Transaction #1:

1 Colgate tooth paste 2.99
1 Colgate tooth paste 2.99
minus:
mfg coupon 1.00
mfg coupon 1.00
total: 3.98+tax 4.25
paid for with gift card made it:
FREE
plus got $5.98 back in ECB's

Transaction # 2:

Suave men's body wash 2.00
Suave ocean breeze body wash 2.00
Suave Sweet pea body wash 2.00
minus:
mfg coupon 1.50
-ECB 4.00
total: .50+ tax= .53
paid for with gift card made it:
FREE
Plus got back $2.00 in ECB's

Transaction #3

Wheat Thins 2.50
Wheat Thins 2.50
Cotton Swabs 2.50
Stay fresh pantie liners 3.99
Stay fresh pantie liners 3.99
Candy bar I had to get .67
minus:
15.98 ECB
Total .17+tax=.18
Paid for with gift card made it:
FREE
Plus got back $4.00 in ECB's

Transaction #4
Scope mouth wash liter 3.99
Herbal Essence Shampoo 2.99
Herbal Essence Shampoo 2.99
Herbal Essence Shampoo 2.99
Herbal Essence Shampoo 2.99
minus:
coupon .75
coupon 3.00
coupon 3.00
ECB 1.99
ECB 2.00
ECB 4.99
Total 22+ tax=.24
Paid for with gift card making it:
FREE
Plus got back $5.00 in ECB's

Transaction #5 the money maker:
Natural Dentist Mouth wash 9.99
Natural Dentist Mouth wash 9.99
Minus:
mfg coupon 2.00
mfg coupon 2.00
ECB 4.00
ECB 4.00
Total 7.46 with tax
Paid for with gift card making it:
FREE Plus got back 8.00 in ECB's Plus I have a $10.00 rebate mailed off!

To recap; all of this on sale would have cost me: 61.07(pre tax) but because I used coupons I saved $14.25 and because I used my ECB's I saved: 37.96 and the rest I put on the $25.00 gift card I got for my prescription last week. But I still have 13.98 in ECB's $3.08 left on my gift card, and 10.00 on another gift card from a refund. Making my total left to spend: 27.78

So I started with:
38.38 spent NOTHING and now have 27.78 in ECB's and gift cards left to spend, plus a $10.00 rebate!

Tell me who is the WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for my Walgreen's purchases:

Finesse Shampoo 3.99 B1B1 free
Finesse Shampoo 0.00
Charmin 6 double roll 4.79
Tooth paste (can't have more coupons than items so I had to get this) .99
minus:
mfg coupon .75
mfg coupon .75
mfg coupon .25
walgreens cash register reciept from last week 6.00
total 1.82+tax= 1.94
Paid out of pocket (oop) 1.94

Okay on to my next savings. My husband and I went to sears to get us some shoes that were on sale. While there we saw that jackets were on clearance. We always try and buy our boys jackets the season before so we can get them really cheap. This is what we purchased and our savings: Please note on the jackets we use to get these same jackets in years past for like 10-12 dollars but because of the high starting prices the clearance prices are just not that low any more (we received 50% off plus an additional 30% off of that)



Boys size 14-16 jacket 95.00 we paid 24.00 (Zero Xtreme w/hood and i-pod pocket)
Boys size 5/6 jacket 60.00 we paid 16.79 (Cars The Movie theme w/hood)
Mens Reebok shoe 39.99 we paid 19.99 (Trail wave ultra light -black, grey and red)
Women's Reebok shoe 39.99 we paid 19.99 (Trail wave 3-D ultra light- grey and purple)
Total: 234.98 we paid 86.30 after tax!

So to Recap today I spend around 88 dollars on items that would have cost around 305 dollars!~


Total saving 71%

So tell me, what fugal freak things have you done? If you have posted on it, sign my link down blow and put your blog in it. Make sure you just link to your most recent or favorite frugal freaky savings post. It's helpful but not necessary to link back here in your post.

Latte

Menu Plan Day and Shopping day Adventures

Well this has been one fun frugal adventure. I have been so excited to try and get good deals, and still stick to my semi-candida diet(more about that later in this post). My biggest problem has been the organic all natural part. My local grocery just does not carry much. I am planning on going to a local natural food market (that is 40 miles away, but on my way to the dentist office) later this week and see if I can shop there. I called them yesterday to see if they take online coupons-cuz that would just be so wonderful. We shall see.

To see other menu plan Monday's go to orgjunkie.com or to see other grocery cart challenges go to Grocery Cart Challenge and learn the best ways to be organized, and shop on the cheap.

Keep in mind I use America's Test Kitchen recipes as they are so perfect, we just don't want to try anything else, oh and your in luck I found 2 of the ATK recipes on recipezarr cool huh!

What I will be making this week:

Breakfasts:

Cinnamon and Vanilla Oatmeal

Eggs and grits

Organic pop tarts (I will be glad when these are gone cuz they are loaded with sugar)

Organic cereal

Dinners:

Lasagna x's 2 and freezing the other one for later in the month, salad

Chicken Quesadillas

Turkey, dressing, and bread stuffing

ATK Thai Peanut Chicken Salad wraps, fries

ATK Easy Minestrone bread, salad

Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew bread, salad

Leftovers

Snacks:
popcorn
yogurt
smoothies
fruit basket my mommy sent us for valentines day
apples
banana bread-bought too many apples last week

How my shopping week went: But first;

As you may know my shopping budget was cut in half from $100 to $50. However I still get the other $50 for home school purchases or clothing-that use to be in it's own budget which is now gone. So last week I bought this spelling curriculum with the other $50.00, ahem...well it was actually $60.00 but it covers 12 years of school and it's only one book but it comes with a DVD and a CD (I think) So this week we only have $40.00 left for shopping and Thor and I were thinking of getting these shoes not that we really need them right now, but my husband foresees it (um by it we mean the economy) getting worse as the years go by and we are wanting to stock up on things like clothes so we don't have to worry in the years to come.

Now on to my shopping week:

Well now to tell you about my candida diet. At this point I am not 100% doing the diet. I have given up white sugar(well I did have a few chocolates on valentines day;-) and white flour plus most carbs. I am taking an anti-fungal (that is working pretty well) and when it is gone I will do the full candida diet for 2 weeks along with a dieters cleanse. That should take care of most of it. I have noticed a huge change in how I feel after just one week. My lungs feel better, my vibrations (I have muscle vibrations) are all but gone (I had one bad night after eating large amounts of hunny sweetened brownies-so I must limit my daily hunny intake) I still have huge bouts of brain fog, and fatigue, but even those are getting better (I actually cleaned my house today)

So enough about me here is what I got or will get and what it cost me:

First let me start by saying I hardly had to purchase any fruits because my dear mom was so sweet and sent me this fruit basket for valentines day:

Grocery:
2-28oz Hunts tomato diced 4.00
Meat:
1lb ground beef 2.45 (this was suppose to be 1.99-err)
Produce:
4lbs cabbage 1.05
2.06lbs apples 1.81
garlic bulb .50
lettuce 1.19
Dairy:
8oz Kraft Cheese Mexican Blend 2.99
1lb Dannon plain yogurt 3.29
16oz Best Choice Mozzarella 4.99
1lb cottage cheese 3.19
6 yogurts 3.00-.80 coupon 2.20
Hiland Butter 2.00
Frozen:
oj 2.69(this was suppose to be 1.43 err)
5lbs frozen Strawberries 5.75

Total: 39.92-1.70 refund= 38.22

I am going to go back and get my extra money refunded I know it's sad because it's only a 1.70 'something', but I need all of it I can get!

I still need to get raw milk 3.50 and xylitol 6.00 and cannellini beans 2.00

Grand Total: 49.72! MANNN III'MM GOOOOODDDDD!

I know if I really tried, I have enough in my pantry that I could get away with spending less, but until I get better at this I am happy to just stay under budget. Here is what I plan to do next week to work on my costs so I can spend my $50.00 stocking up on more organic stuff:

Look up ingredients I have on hand in my recipe index to find better suited recipes (I have sort of been doing this, but more leaning toward what's in the ad than what I have on hand).

So tell me what have ya'll been doing to be frugal freaks?
Latte

My Frugal Just Got a Whole Lot More Frugal!

Well our home has now been hit by this economic downturn. It looks like our income might become 1/2 of what it was. Fortunately I am blessed with a wonderful husband who put every extra penny we have had over the last 7-10 years into getting the house and cars paid off, so thankfully no huge dept for us. It still is going to be tight! I don't know how those with dept will make it? I just don't know?...my prayers and love go out to those families.

Well My grocery budget was to be around $75-$100 a week, that IS going to change. I still get $100 but now it has to cover groceries(which has always included toiletries), clothing, and school supplies (we homeschool). So I am now going to have to try and keep my grocery spending around $50.00 every week. This will be such a feat because up until a few weeks ago I was probably spending $125-$150 a week...ahem or more. And that did not include eating out-which is out of the question now.

To make sure I am going to be able to stay within my $50.00 I hit my freezers hard. I went through them and wrote down everything I had. This gave me a great idea on how much meat I had and that I do not need to buy any unless it's dirt cheap. Because I wrote it all down I now know at a glance what is in the freezer...just so long as I remember to mark it off once we have eaten it.lol!

My new candida diet. Well it seems that for the last 4 years I have suffered from a server bout with Candida. I now have no choice but to do this candida diet. It sucks! I mean really really sucks! But I did get a cookbook to help me. And get this my husband is going to go on it with me! Is he not the sweetest or what! It will be hard to do candida sweets on $50.00 a week, but if I am careful I might get some homemade candida free brownies and muffins in once a week!

So here are my meals this week, plus my shopping trip!

Meals: Keep in mind I get almost all my recipes from America's Test Kitchen and I will be substituting anything not healthy or apart of my candida diet with healthy candida free ingredients.

Breakfast:
Omelet-bell pepper
oatmeal-cinnamon vanilla-homemade
organic cereal
organic pop tarts
french toast homemade candida free syrup
grits and eggs

Dinners:
pork chops, stir fry broccoli, spicy home fries
pizza-mozzarella and sausage, salad
BBQ Chicken, french onion soup, beans
Spaghetti skillet (homemade noodles), braised cabbage, salad
enchiladas
chicken pot pie, mashed potato casserole, rice casserole
leftovers

Snacks:
Bananas
Oranges
yogurt (homemade)
muffins (homemade)
baby carrots

Here is how my shopping trip went:



It is so neat to look at that picture and see all those fruit's and vegetables, especially considering my small budget. So here is what I got:

Dishwasher liquid sale 3.27-1.00 coupon 2.27
Vinegar 2.29
7lb bananas 5.00
9 oranges 3.29
4 green bell peppers 2.00
3 3lb bags of onions 4.50
1 green cabbage 1.85
1 red cabbage 1.73
1 bunch green onions .59
garlic bulb .50
cilantro .99
organic baby carrots 1.89
lettuce 1.19
8oz Monterrey jack cheese 2.99
8oz Mozzarella cheese 2.99
1lb butter 2.13
2lb frozen broccoli 4.38

Grand Total: 44.23

I think I still need to get milk which will take my total to 47.73 but that is still pretty good aye?

To see how others did check out the grocery cart challenge or orgjunkie

Menu Plan Day and Shopping day Adventures

Well, I am learning so much about how our family shops. This week I am not putting some food items on my list because they were for the Super Bowl Game, and we have a separate budget for that, it's called 'entertainment'. I will admit, for 4 people...we spent a lot on 'entertainment' this Sunday...but it sure was fun!

Don't forget most of my recipes come from the great books of America's Test Kitchen!


Okay my meals for this week are:


Breakfast:

Eggs and grits x's 3
organic pop tarts
oatmeal with honey vanilla and cinnamon (and a touch black strap molasses) x's 2
organic cereal

Snacks:

leftover guacamole and chips
celery and peanut butter
grapefruits
bananas

Dinners:

Brats
Garlic Shrimp
Pulled Pork
BBQ chicken legs
Deer stew
Chili
leftovers

Okay now how my shopping week went:


Dillons:
Brats 6.00
2-2 lb Shrimp 9.98

Subtotal: 16.20

Woods:
2 Hot dog Buns .89 (forgot to make homemade ones and had to go back to store for last week)

Subtotal: 1.86

Millers Country Store:

Raw Honey x's 2 16.55
1lb Xylotol 6.99
Flax Seed Oil 9.99
Organic Tea for making shampoo 4.99
Natural Soda 1.99
yeast 3.18

Subtotal: 47.71

Dutch Store:

Black Pepper corns 1.92
Carob powder 1.70
Sea Salt 2.70
Black Strap Molasses 2.25

Subtotal: 8.85

Dutch Market: receipt does not say what I purchased...winging it.

4 organic pop tarts .70 each
4 organic cereal 1.20 each
Amish butter cheese
5 dozen free range eggs 2.50 each
3 candy bars .30
2 pretzels .10 each
4 toms natural mouth wash (lemon lime) 5.60
1 toms natural toothpaste (spearmint) 1.20
hamster food 1.50
other stuff

Subtotal: 42.66


Grand Total: 117. 31

This total is a tad high because I hit markets that are 30 miles away-and I only go to the once a month or less, so if they have many good deals, I get more...like with the toms natural mouth wash and eggs.

For more ideas, recipes, and tips on being organized you can go to:
The Grocery Cart Challenge or Orgjunkie

Menu Plan Day and Shopping day Adventures

This week should be a lot better! I will still be over my $70 mark and a lot closer to my $100.00 mark but we had to buy a lot of meat that was on sale (we cook in bulk so we must buy in bulk)

First I will list my menu then my shopping trip. Everything in blue I had to buy ingredients for. If it's half blue and half red then I had to buy the ingredients for some or all of it and I posted a link for the recipe to it for you.

Don't forget all my recipes are usually from America's test kitchen, I just use zaar and all for you.

Breakfasts:

Organic poptarts
Organic cereal
Eggs and Bacon (free range eggs, and nitrate free bacon)
Oatmeal
Banana Bread
Grits x's 2

Snacks:
celery and peanut butter
Banana Bread
Strawberry muffins I always use honey in the place of sugar with my muffins
apples
guacamole (my recipe below) and chips
Salsa and chips


Dinners:
-Pulled pork, fried potatoes, Caesar salad
-Chicken enchiladas (my oldest likes Mexican so I try to give it to him now and again), Nachos
-BBQ Chicken- Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad, pinto beans (with leftover pork fat)
-Pulled pork, stuffed baked potatoes (instead of cheddar I am making Boursin cheese and I am not adding the peppers)
-Brats, leftover sides
-Crispy garlic chicken, caramelized carrots,
-Leftovers

Recipes I must make this week to stay all natural and frugal:
Sandwich bread x's4
BBQ sauce
Salsa
Shampoo
Boursin cheese
Dishwasher Detergent


Guacamole Recipe:
4-5 avocados -very ripe
2 cloves of garlic minced-sometimes I add 3!
1 roma tomato very small dice
1/2 small onion very small dice
salt to taste

mash avocados add other ingredients, chill and serve.


Okay how my shopping trip went:

Woods:
Sea salt 2.25
tomato sauce 1.79
chili cheese sauce (for nachos) 3.34 (this was suppose to be $2-I will have to go back)
Tortilla chip 1.69
Corn Chip 1.69
Corn meal 3.15
flour 3.59 (for when I can't use wheat berries)
chipotle peppers 2.25
10lbs leg quarters 4.90
Boston pork roast (like 10-15lbs) 12.84
5 tomatoes 3.43
10 avocados 5.00
6 apples 3.28
organic celery 1.99
5lb grapefruit 2.99
10lb russet 2.28
1/2 gallon OJ x 2 2.38

Subtotal 61.62


Save A Lot:

vinegar 2.19
cream cheese x's 2 2.38
Baking soda .43
sour cream x's 2 1.98

Subtotal:
7.31


Wal-Mart:

Freezer bags 1.38
storage bags x's 2 2.76
120 Ziploc lunch bags x's 2-1.00 coupon 5.68
Degree x's 2 - 1.00 coupon 4.24

Subtotal: 14.06+tax=15.15

Prarie Grove Farm:

Raw Milk x's 2 7.00

Dillon's:
Brats x's 2 6.00

Subtotal: 7.24

Total: 98.32

This should be much lower next week for two reasons! #1 I plan on hitting discount stores next week and #2 I won't be stocking up on too much meat or other stuff such as flour, corn meal and salt type stuff...I pray. This week I just ran out of a lot of have to haves all at once!



Don't forget to check out The Grocery Cart Challenge for other menu plans and shopping trips! Plus great recipes~