The Sweet Life On A Budget

  The USDA food plans represent a healthy diet at four different cost levels. (thrifty, low-cost, moderate-cost and liberal-cost)  The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) utilizes the thrifty level of the USDA food plans.   Each food plan specifies quantities of food and beverage categories that can be purchased and prepared to make healthy meals and snacks at home.   This year, we decided to use the Official USDA Plans: Cost of Food Reports to guide our food budget this year at the thrifty level.    December 2022 Report Per Week  Male (14-18) = $68.60 Male (51-70) = $64.10 Female (51-70) = $57.60 Total = $190.30 NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Cost Saving Tip of the Week:  Sunday Prepping  A little bit of preparation goes a long way in keeping us away from ea

  The Frugal Five: #35 With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     Last week was a little hard to get anything accomplished, so I needed to give myself grace.   Although I did try to be as frugal as possible, I also needed to keep my life together.      1-  Freezing Leftovers We took a short trip this week, so we took a hard look at our perishables to see which ones we needed to eat up and which ones we could save in the freezer.    This will help to keep our future grocery bills down.     We froze Italian bread, mussels, macaroni and cheese, and greens.     Our fruit, such as clementines and apples,  milk and cheeses didn’t need to be frozen.       2- Packed Snacks for the Road Trip  As part of our refrigerator clean out, I cleaned and cut all of our vegetables (cel

Last year's word was resilience which was a great word for 2022.   First our family decided to move to another part of the state for my husband's job, so I needed to resign from my position.   This was very scary and really affected me in ways that I did not expect.  However, I was fortunate to have found a wonderful position that allows me to grow and continue to teach children.      This year I am claiming my word of the year to be BALANCE. This year I do not just want to survive but to flourish.   The world talks a lot about recession and a host of events around the world that seem dark and troublesome.   I recognize that I am unable to control the world and most of the things that are going on, but I can control my little piece of the world and bring balance to my life and support my family to find balance.  Not everything is bad or hurtful and there are still opportunities to bring beauty, love, caring and hope to our lives.   Therefore, I am seeking balance this year.    

  The Frugal Five: #34 With inflation on the rise and our salaries not being able to keep up, it seems like we have taken a pay cut and must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate our daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     Last week was a little hard to get anything accomplished, so I needed to give myself grace.   Although I did try to be as frugal as possible, I also needed to keep my life together.     1-  Sold my son’s old Swim Parka My son needed a new Swim Parka because his old one was 6 years old and too small for him.  We were able to pick up his new Swim Parka for $70.00.   This is part of his Christmas presents.   However, his old swim parka was still in great shape.   Therefore, I offered it up to his swim club and a member purchased it for $35.00.      2- Cashed in Rewards for Christmas Presents I had several registered rewards and extra care bucks that needed to be used.   Everyone at my school was giving g

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.       NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Hard Boiled Eggs Egg McMuffin Sandwich Cereal Monday Cajun Sausage Salad Tuesday Pasta Chicken Parmesan Salad Bread Wednesday Sandwiches Thursday Leftovers  Friday Steak Salad Saturday Tacos Salad Chips w/ Salsa Sunday Potato Soup Salad M- Sushi Bowl T- Kielbasa  W- Hamburgers Th- Left Overs  Fri- Bratwurst  Sat- Fruit Di Mare Pasta Sun- Pasta Bake * Indicate that the reci

  Meal planning is essential to eating healthy, keeping the grocery bill down, and maintaining your sanity throughout a workweek.   In addition to meal planning, I try to prepare meals as much as possible over the weekend.   This helps to lower my stress during the week.    However, if we have a busy weekend, I try to plan simple or crockpot meals.       NOTE-  1- Click on the picture and get a link to a post sharing the recipe.  2- Although all prices were correct at the time of the blog postings, the current cost of preparation of these dishes may be higher due to inflation and/or location.      Breakfast Options:  Hard Boiled Eggs Egg McMuffin Sandwich Cereal Monday Stir Fry Tuesday Kielbasa Peppers and Onions French Fries Wednesday Tacos Salad Chips w/ Salsa Thursday Sandwiches Friday Buffalo Wings Pizza Salad Saturday Eating Out Tacos Sunday Sandwiches M- Pulled Beef Sandwiches T- LO Beef Tacos W- Taco Night Th- Pasta Fri- Sandwiches Sat- Sushi Bowl Sun- Crockpot Chili  * Indicate

  So far this year we were able to pick up 228 free items.   With inflation rising, the deals are minimal and hard to come.   We are grateful for everything we are able to pick up, mainly because we are only going to the store when we need a list of items.       As always, I am able to secure these items through Kroger incentives, Drug Store (Walgreens/CVS)  Rewards programs, sales, Pinch Me, Smart Source, Meijer’s Buy 10 get the 11th free sale, and Rebates Programs (IBOTTA/SavingStar).    January (13 items)  February (5 items)  March (5 items) April (29 items)  May (11 Items)  June (13 Items)  July (34 Items)  August (44 Items)  September (18 Items) October 2022 (26 Items)  Here is my November 2022 list of Free-Bees!   November (30 Items)  Air Wick Essential Kit- Coupon, IBOTTS, Walgreen Bonus Arm & Hammer Toothpaste (6 oz)- IBOTTA, Walgreen Bonus 2- Crest Toothpastes (6 oz)- Coupon, Walgreen Sale and Bonus Good Good Jelly ( oz)- Free Product Coupon  Sara Lee Bread- Kroger Coupon