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.        May USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $184.90 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:  This week milk, almond milk, and lunchmeat were at rock-bottom prices, so I picked up enough for two weeks.    In addition, I picked up ready-made chicken wings that were on sale for $20.00 for 5 pounds.   Since this is a special product and not normally available at my store, I only picked up one to try.    I estimate that this bag will cover 2 nights of wings.        Here is what we di...

  The Frugal Five: #62 With inflation on the rise and our salaries being unable 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 the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     1- Free-Bee Pickup  This was a great week to pick up some Freebees.   I was able to get Meijer’s chicken broth (48 oz), 4 makeup items, 2 deodorants, and 2 arts and crafts items for free.     I am trying to work ahead with my holiday gifts and personal care items.     2- Pantry Cooking  We work really hard to stock our pantry with items when they are at the lowest price.     Therefore, to maximize our money, it is important to use these products in our weekly meal plan.   This week, we are using pasta and canned tomatoes from the pantry and sausage from the freezer.         3- Company Picnic...

  This year we were able to pick up 167 free items.  High inflation and the economy is making finding freebies more challenging.   However, I have set a goal to beat last year’s number (247). My goal for 2023 is to find 252 FREE Items, which works out to 21 freebies per month.    As always, I can secure these items through Kroger incentives, Drug Store (Walgreens/CVS)  Rewards programs, sales, Pinch Me, Smart Source, Meijer’s sales/store coupons, sample requests, and Rebates Programs (IBOTTA/SavingStar).    January (33 items)  February (43 items) March (22 items)  April 2023 (15 Items) May 2023 (24 Items) June 2023 (3 Items)  Here is my July 2023 list of Free-Bees!   July 2023 ( 27 Items)  2 liter Dt. Coke- Kroger Store Coupon Mush Overnight Oats- Kroger Store Coupon Kraft Buffalo Mayo Sauce- IBOTTA Nurishh Cream Cheese- IBOTTA  8X10 Photo- CVS Photo Code 2 Covergirl Eyebrow Pencils- Coupon, ECB 3 Revo...

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.       May USDA Low Food Plan According to this plan, our family would have a budget of $184.90 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: Our family loves fruit as a snack and to round out meals. We always look for the price per serving or the lowest price per pound when we pick up the fruit.    One key thing to look for is the fruit that is in season.   Right now cherries are in season, so there is more supply than demand thus lowering the price.   This past week, Meijer had a flash sale on cherries which made them only $0.99 per pound.   Another tip is to pick up extra...

  The Frugal Five: #61 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 the daily or weekly activities that help us live a frugal life.     1- Haircut Savings Since haircuts are $30 per cut plus tip, each time my husband asks me to cut his hair, I am happy to.    This is a huge savings!   He gets his hair cut every other week, so on average, we save $60 per month on just his haircuts.    2- Abundance of Squash We have an abundance of squash from our garden this year, so I am looking for different ways to use it up.    I found a variety of recipes for the yellow squash bread recipe, squash casserole, steamed squash or grilled squash.     In addition to squash, I checked my tomato plants and found them heavy with fruit.     Although they are not ready t...