Saving Money Day 7-Grocery Time

All of the blogs I've read about saving money state it's imperative to cut down on grocery cash.  Some people only spend $25 per person per week.  This seems IMPOSSIBLE to me.  While I'm not sure if I'll ever make it to the $25 dollar mark, I did cut about $20 out of my grocery bill this week.  Here's what I've done so far:

1) Plan, Plan, Plan.  I have a menu written out on our refrigerator.  This is so unlike me.  I try to be a list person, but it seems that the list gods hate me.  I can never stick to them!  It seems to be working in this aspect of my life at least.

2) I've started adding more beans to our diet.  This way we don't have to spend as much money on meat, which is very expensive.  I searched for vegetarian recipes and picked out a few I thought Joel and I would like.  I will supplement them with chicken breasts which seems counter intuitive, right?  Why would I look up vegetarian recipes if I'm just going to add meat?  The beans/pasta in the recipes help supplement all of the meat I would normally use.  Now, instead of needing 3 chicken breasts for dinner, we'll be full on one.

3) I wrote a list of all the items in our pantry and spice cupboard.  This helps me determine what I have to use in meals.  It also keeps me from accruing multiples of one item.  This is a waste...especially when it comes to spices.

4) I started eating oatmeal for breakfast EVERY morning.  I like it and it is much cheaper than store bought cereal.  It's also better for you.  Joel's not into eating "hot food when it's hot outside" so I made him his own granola.

5) We're cutting down on soda.  I know I've said this since I was 20.  I do buy ONE case of soda/week, but that is all. We've started supplementing our soda habit with 2 liter bottles of seltzer water.  The 2 liter bottles are less expensive, and they give you that fizz you just need sometimes.  Seltzer water is also healthier than Diet Coke.

6) Coupons-I don't use them.  I've tried.  It seems to me they are only offered on name brand items that are unhealthy...like Cheetos.  Maybe I'm just bad at couponing.

Anybody have some more tips for me?

Saving Money-Day 6-Making My Own Granola

That's right folks.  I made my own granola.  It's really tasty and super easy to make.  For the most part I followed this recipe.  Since I was baking during the middle of Irene, I decided I would forgo the trip to the grocery store.  Here's MY recipe.
1 cup steel cut oatmeal, uncooked
1 cup rolled oats, uncooked
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional...I added it for fun and liked it)
pinch of salt
1/3 cup slivered almonds, chopped (I skipped this b/c I don't like nuts in my cereal AND we didn't have any)
1/4 cup honey, warmed to liquid
1/4 cup light olive oil (or 4TBS butter, melted)
1/2 cup golden raisins or other dry fruit (I skipped this because Joel's not a huge fan of raisins and we didn't have any other type of dried fruit)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and almonds.  In a glass measuring cup, warm honey until it is no longer viscous.  Add olive oil (or butter) to the honey and stir.

Drizzle the honey oil over the dry ingredients and mix to combine.  Spread the mixture on a baking sheet or in a 9 by 3" pan.

Bake granola until golden and crunchy, stirring once, anywhere from 15-25 minutes.  Stir in raisins.  Makes about 3 cups.

So, I mainly changed the type of oats from the other recipe.  Enjoy eating granola that does not cost $5 per package!  It's also a super yummy snack.

Our Little Sleep Monster

Ever wonder what your dog does all day?  Apparently, this is what Maddie's schedule consists of.  At times she is SOOO still, I poke her.  Sounds cruel, right?  I just want to make sure she is still breathing.....Funny how a creature that sleeps about 20 hours a day can bring me so much joy :)

These Little Girls....

These little girls (and their friends that are not pictured) have been on my mind a lot lately.  Their smiles are large, despite the fact they own so little.  They will likely end up working in rice fields with babies tied to their backs or selling handmade goods to tourists.  Despite this fact, I know their smiles won't fade.  Their mothers faces beamed, even though they faced grueling work each day.

These little girls will always be in my prayers.

30 Days of Saving Money-Day 4

Guess how much I paid for this BCBG dress?

these two Anne Taylor camisoles...

and this  J. Crew dress?

 $0.99 each.  That's right. I found brand new clothes for less than a dollar a piece.  I started volunteering at Ditto (an upscale retail store that benefits Joel's new place of employment).  I found these amazing deals among some others.  WoW!  I also bought Joel a Banana Republic shirt, and a pair of Gap Chino's for myself.  That's 6 pieces of clothing for LESS than $6.  

30 Days of Saving Money-Day 3

Win!  This month we saved over fifty dollars on our electric bill.  How did we do it?
1) We turned the water heater down...I was afraid someone was going to burn themselves anyway.
2) See Vampire Post.
3) We turned our air conditioning unit to a warmer temp.
4) I became a light turner offer Nazi.
5) I started to hang dry a lot of our clothes.  This keeps everything looking less used AND it saves electricity. PLUS, if you find a stain on your clothes after washing/air drying it...it's MUCH easier to get out!

So, if we continue this for 12 months we will save $600 in one year!

30 Days of Saving Money-Day 2

Entertainment.  I think there should be an entire blog devoted to thrifty diversions.  Joel and I noticed we were paying a lot of money for entertainment each month.  So, we budgeted a specific amount, withdrew it from the bank and started paying cash for "fun things."  (Our fun things included wine, eating out, bottles of Diet Coke, coffee and bagel stops and other superfluous items).  When the cash is gone, we don't allow ourselves to purchase ANY of the aforementioned items until the next month. I REALLY don't like cutting out fun things, so we've started coming up with some activities that are cheaper, but still entertaining.  Here you go...maybe our ideas will help you too.

1) Hors d'oeuvre Night.  Every Sunday evening we make yummy finger foods,  and treat ourselves to our favorite drinks.  It's like a restaurant night in our own home...w/o too many dishes (that's a huge plus for me!)

2) Hike.  There are lots of trails around us, so this is FREE and fun.

3) Movie night.  We've been watching Harry Potter every Friday night....(it's hard for us to agree on movies, so I don't know what will happen to this night when we are done with the series).

4) Bagel morning.  Bagels are amazing in NJ.  Every Saturday we grab two from our local bagelry and bring them home.  We use our own cream cheese since the kind in the shops are really expensive. This only costs a little over a dollar.   It's a fun little tradition.

5) Dog walks. I mostly do this by myself.  I find that it's really relaxing and entertaining.  My dog always does silly stuff that makes me chuckle.  So, if your bored...take your pooch for a walk.

What does your family do for free/thrifty fun?