The Sweet Life On A Budget

  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.       October USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $193.70 per week.  Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I will try to make this happen.    Cost-Saving Tip of the Week: Know your prices and check out the discount rack each week.  My grocery store has 3 discount rack areas: meat, bakery, and grocery.   Due to our health concerns, our ability to take advantage of these areas makes it a little more challenging to get bargains, but sometimes I hit the jackpot.    Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Banana Chip Muffins Make Lunch Soup Pre-cut vegetables Pre-cook rice Breakfast Options:  Banana Chip Muffins Yogurt Cereal Monday Grilled Chicken Salad Tuesday

  The Frugal Five: #70 With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet keeps going down.    Therefore, we must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     1- Took Advantage of FREE Food This week my school's PTO provided dinner for the teachers and there was a lot left over.     The teachers were able to make lunch the next day and since the large trays of salad and fruit were headed for the trashcan because it was Friday, I was permitted to take some salad and fruit home for dinner.     In addition, the school cafeteria was getting rid of a huge pile of bananas.    I picked up a few to add to the fruit salad and banana chip muffins.    2- Practicing Discipline and Restraint Last week, my husband indicated that we should pick up some LaCroix water for our son, but it would cost us the full price($4.99).   I knew the sale cycle was close to h

  Soup 101 Fall has finally arrived in my neck of the woods.  With the cooler weather coming in a nice hot bowl of soup makes for a great meal!   As a bonus, it is also very frugal and helps to reduce food waste.    Each week starting in the fall, I cook up a huge pot of soup to have for dinner one night and lunches for the next several days.        ** All soup recipes are linked to the pictures.  How can this humble meal save you money?  Prior to menu planning for the week, I take a look in my refrigerator to see which items need to be used up and would be good in a soup.   Then I make a soup that incorporates the majority of the items.   Finally, I add a little bit of ingredients from the freezer or pantry and the soup is ready.   Since I had already purchased the majority of the ingredients needed for the soup, I was able to feed my family for no added cost.     Taco Soup I can usually cobble together enough ingredients to make taco soup.    This is a family favorite and so easy to

  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.         June USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $194.10 per week.  Given our health concerns, we struggle to maintain this budget, but I will try to make this happen.    Cost-Saving Tip of the Week: Whenever there is food offered to take home, I always take a look and see what my family would eat.    Now, you need to be respectful and not take everything, but you can bring some of it home to help with the grocery budget.   Here is what we did this week to make our week easier:   Donated our harvest this week Last of Tomatoes Canning (gravy and salsa) Meal Plan based on Freezer Cleanout Pre-packed Lunches Pre-cut Vegetables Breakfast Options:  Egg Bake Yogurt Monday Breakfast for Dinner French Style Eggs

  The Frugal Five: #69 With inflation on the rise and salaries not increasing, our ability to make ends meet keeps going down.    Therefore, we must be more careful with our money.   The Frugal Five is a series where we celebrate the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     1- Using my Freezer, Refrigerator, and Pantry  This week the loss leaders are not items that we normally would purchase, so we saved the money would have spent on those items for another week.   Instead, we turned to our freezer, refrigerator, and pantry to plan our menu this week.   2- Discount on Hair Care My salon sent me a letter telling me that my hairdresser left, and offering me a 20% discount to reschedule with them.   When I phoned to reschedule, I happily discovered that my hairdresser was still there and I could still get the 20% next week when the appointment is.    In addition, I cut my husband’s hair which saves us about $35.00 twice a month.    It normally takes about 15 minutes