Eat Better For Less!

Chicken Sandwiches

  

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

  These days I have been not only looking to save money on my grocery bill, but trying to choose meals that are lower fat and calories as well.  At first it seems difficult because of course it is much easier to focus on one goal at a time than two.  Usually you are on a mission to "Save Money", "Eat Healthy", "Lose Weight", "Spend Less".  When you pair two of these together they can sometimes work against one another.  For example, there may be a huge sale on starchy snacks this week which helps my wallet, but a bag of apples would help my waist. LOL  Now you can see how this can be a challenge.

For the past couple of weeks I have slowly made an attempt to be cautious of both causes.  Save Money. Eat Better.  With that in mind I started with chicken Breast.  A huge pack from Save A Lot  as well as a carton of chicken broth or Stock.  Add that to the crock pot on High for 6 - 7 hours and you have the base of a few healthy meals or lunches for your week.  I have a few ideas I used pictured in this post. All I did was take take the chicken out of the broth of the crock pot and shred with a fork.  It was sooo tender and juicy!  Next I divided chicken into portions for my planned meals.  

Chicken Fajitas!

Here is what I made this week:

1. Chicken Salad Sandwiches , Just add Chopped Onion and Light Mayo, Spread on Sandwich roll or bread.  

2. Chicken Spaghetti Casserole Use reduced fat soup and cheese, and I sprinkle cheese and reduced fat crushed Ritz Crackers on Top and heat in oven for a few minutes before serving. (you can use bread crumbs too, but I rarely have those on hand lately) 

3. Chicken Fajitas, Saute Chopped Onion & Peppers in pan with cooking spray, add cooked, shredded chicken, packet of Fajita Seasoning to your taste and 1/2 cup water, heat thru and serve on tortillas with reduced fat shredded cheddar and fat free sour cream. 

4. Corn And Chicken Chowder I used skim milk and reduced fat shredded cheddar.

5. Chicken Paninis- Okay, so I do not have a panini press BUT I have a waffle maker and next week I plan on using my shredded chicken with some roasted tomatoes and peppers, reduced fat cheese, Spinach on whole wheat bread, maybe some store bought pesto and making a yummy warm and toasted, "Panera Like" Sandwich" : ) This Recipe was my inspiration

5. Shredded Chicken Wraps  You can use any lunch meat really, any mustard, low fat mayo or fat free cream cheese, lettuce, spinach, chopped tomato and cucumber  YUM

6. Chicken Parmesan Sliders This recipe has mini chicken breasts, but I plan on using the shredded chicken.

So for now, I am on a "Shredded Chicken Kick", for its healthy qualities, as well as it being an economical purchase when buying in bulk at my favorite store.

Save Money on Back To School Basics

I know it is still only July but when the stores begin to put out the supplies I grab up what I need from each of my kids' school lists.  This year I will have two in elementary school.  It seems the older they get the more they need and when you double that, you have things like four packs of Expo markers on your list!  "Expo" is a specific brand of dry erase markers.  They run from $2.97+ depending on the count and style of marker you need.  When you need to buy four that is at least $12.00! Just for MARKERS!!  Craziness.  Anyways.....I'm not brand loyal, if it works, it works right?  Walmart did not have very many options of markers other than Expo and Crayola.  Not even a generic or store brand.  So I bought the items on my list that I found at reasonable prices and to do so I did not limit myself to the "back to school" isles.  I went over to the office supply isles too!  There I was able to find red pens for a little more than a buck, cheaper highlighters and a better price on glue sticks.
I also looked through the Dollar Tree to check for any items I needed, I bought Gallon Zip Top bags and Post It Notes.  The reason I didn't buy more is that I can find a folder for 15-30 cents and a 24pk. of crayons for $.25 cents at Walmart.
After the first School Shopping Trip, I had about 75%  of what I needed, so when we went to the $1.00 Movies at the Hagerstown Theater yesterday I decided to check Target's selection of dry erase markers, and they had another brand for cheaper!  "Board Dudes Dry Erase Markers" only $2.00ea.  Thank You Target!! lol  I would not have driven 30 min just to save a dollar per pack but since I was already across the street at the mall, it paid off to take a look.  All I have left to buy is Tissues and for that I have a small stack of coupons to use at The Dollar Tree and my list is finished. : )


So to recap, keep these things in mind...
1. Shop Around and take your time
2. Start Early
3. Don't be brand loyal
4. The Dollar Tree is not always cheaper
5. Check the stores nearby any upcoming errands or trips you may be taking

Good Luck!

I always think of this commercial at this time of year...

Teaching Your Kids About The Value Of Money

The other day we were in the car and I had to park in town along the road where you have to put money in the machine.  As I parked, my kid's got all excited that we had to find some change.  I briefly said.., "We only need 5 or 10 cents"  Next, my five year old says "Mom just use 5 cents, you don't want to waste any money"  Knowing that we only needed to park for a brief stop, this was a smart thing to say for such a young age.  While I do not want my kids to be afraid to spend money I also do not want them to waste any either.  You know that saying "Give a Man a fish and feed him for a day, Teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime".  I think that applies here.  I may not have a lot of physical things or money to pass to my kids.  But I can teach them how to be resourceful enough to stand on their own two feet when the time comes.

And by doing so I will start them at a young age.  They say a child's view of money begins in the first ten years of their life.  Imagine you had your first impression of how to save, give, spend and pay for items only as a child.  Of course spending habits can be changed as you grow older but why add on another challenge to this ever growing world of change, right?  So after much thought, and talk with my husband and mom, we have decided to open a bank account for each of my children and to request from grandparents less physical gifts for Christmas and Birthdays and more "deposits" for their bank.  I know I am not alone when every Christmas comes and you wrack you brain to think of the coolest items your kids will love only to find them scattered on the floor in piles and rarely being played with.  This makes me think, what if that $20.00 toy was instead a $20.00 bill put in an account to add up over time and even earn interest.  I think my kids will thank us later when they use the money to put towards their first car, help with college or even a new computer of their very own.  Like most parents we are still paying on our own student loans, and so this makes it difficult to think of paying for our children's college education. This is how I think we will lessen the financial burden on their future.  We will buy less and save more for them.  I will gift them their future instead of the newest "hot toy".

Another way we have begun to help our kid's 5 and 8, learn to spend properly is to give them their own amount of money from time to time and let them spend it or save it as they wish.  They may at first spend it all at once and then be sad when it is gone.  Don't fret, this is good, all a part of the process.  This will carry over to the next purchase where they will think twice and maybe find out how to stretch the money even further.  My kids have done this very thing.  A Proud moment came last year when each of my kid's received a $20.00 bill from their aunt.  Their first response, "I'm gonna save this for the beach!" BINGO  A simple lesson learned that will help them years and years from now.  Could even be life changing.
Hope this inspires or helps others out there maybe thinking along the same lines.

Good Luck!

Cheap trip to the movies! Only $1.00 Per Person!

Have you been to the $1.00 Movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays yet!? They Start at 10am!! Today I took the kids to see Smurfs and tomorrow they are showing Smurfs 2!!!  It is way exciting to ask for three tickets to a movie and then the total only be $3.00 for the kids and I to see a movie.  Now these are mostly last years movies but we have only seen about half of them on the list, so it is especially exciting for my kiddos.  We do not go to the movies often, because by the time you buy the tickets, drink and popcorn you are easily spending over $50.  And I just can't do that!  I just won't do that! lol  Call me cheap, but unless there is a deal, discount or coupon involved I am certainly gonna think twice about paying full price.  Another thing I like to do is make a quick run to the dollar tree.  They sell virtually the same candy for 1/5 of the price as the movies. In addition they also sell cute mini minute maid juice box multipacks.  So for $5.00  I can take the kids to the movies, and kill the summer blues.  Hope you feel inspired to do the same if you are looking for something cheap to do with your kiddos.  Makes for fun family time : ) 

Free Meal at Chick Fil A On Friday!!

I totally love this deal! On Friday July 11th. you can get a free meal for dressing like a cow!  Head over to Chick Fil A with your best Cow outfit and eat FOR FREE!  Here is the link to a "Printable" outfit of items you can tape onto your clothing to be more "cow like" : ) Be careful though, if you only come with a "cow accessory" such as just the ears or only a couple spots, you will only get a free entree.  I love this deal mostly for the kids, they have a great time and it doesn't cost me a dime!  I usually go to the Chick Fil A in Hagerstown, but there is also one in Frederick in front of their Target.  Good Luck!

Here is an old pic of my kids about to get their free kids meal, Summer 2012!

White Cloud Bath Tissue 4pk. Only $.98 cents!

   

Head over Here to print out this awesome coupon for Buy One Get One Free White Cloud Bath tissue 4pk.  It is listed under the "household" category on coupons.com and will get you two 4pks. of White Cloud toilet paper for only $.98 cents ea. That is only $.24 per roll, and anything cheaper than $.41 cents per roll is an awesome deal!

Also if you still have your June issue of All You Magazine, there was a $1.00 off any White Cloud bath tissue coupon that will get you a 4pk. for only $.97cents. Yay!  (That was a deal I picked up today at Walmart)
Good Luck!

Extra Savings On Kellogg's Cereal and A FREE Movie Ticket! Here's how to do it!!

 

Have you seen the Kellogg's Cereal Boxes with Spiderman on the lower corner of the box?  Not every Kellogg's Cereal Variety or size has them but the ones that do have a code inside that you can enter Here. Three codes earns you free concession cash and six codes earns you a free movie ticket!  That's right you can print out a "Kellogg's Movie Ticket Coupon" Right from your computer and bring it to the movies and redeem for one free ticket!!  This is awesome because you figure when you have kids you are usually buying cereal anyway, and if you buy the Spiderman boxes you will end up with enough codes to save money at the movies!!  If you don't want to stock up on Kellogg's cereals and only care to buy a few for concession cash, there is another way to see a cheap movie.  Check Regal (Valley Mall) and Leitersburg Cinema's for their Summer $1.00 Movies on Tuesdays and Wedesdays @ 10am.  That option will get you a cheap movie with some FREE popcorn!

Another side note, Waynesboro Walmart has Kellogg's Cereal Boxes on sale for $2.00. The ones on sale are not in the cereal isle like you would expect but in a large flat in front of the milk coolers.  And if you head on over to the Kellogg's Website you can print a few coupons to save you money on that cereal!! If you get frosted flakes you can use the $1/2 coupon and get each box for $1.50! Plus you get the Code inside!!  Just make sure you pick the boxes with the Spiderman on them. Another great way to get Kellogg's coupons is to sign up at Kellogg's Rewards and they will send you weekly cereal coupons usually for $1/2 any Kellogg's Or Keebler Item and sometimes even Eggo frozen waffles etc.  This same website will allow you to enter rewards codes that come in all Kellogg's and Keebler brand boxes and can earn you points to redeem towards high value coupons i.e. $1.50 Off Rice Krispies Treats.  You can also find these codes through a google search where a lot of bloggers will list the current codes and values.

So in conclusion if you find multiple coupons from either Kelloggs, Coupons.com Or your sunday paper, you can get six boxes of cereal and One movie ticket for only $9.00!!!!!!!!!   That is the deal of the summer people!!! Not only is it cheaper on average just for the amount of cereal you are getting, but you cannot go to the movies for only $9.00 these days.
So Good luck and go get some cereal and I will see you at the MOVIES FOR FREEEEE!!!

Good Food On The Cheap : )

Lately I have been dividing my grocery needs between Save A Lot And Target. Save A Lot is hassle free. They only take insert coupons and even then it is random that a coupon will match up to one of their items.  But coupons are not necessary when shopping there because the deals are soo good!!  Two of my favorite items there this week were Pineapples for $1.99 and  Low Fat Cream Popsicle's for $1.99!  Major score there.

There are many great deals at Target as well, I like to combine my Cartwheel Discounts, with Target Mobile Printable and Manufacturer Coupons.  You really will drop your Price down low when you shop for the items that work with all three options.  A couple that I saved on today was Market Pantry Cheese, Apples and Strawberries.

The Market Pantry Shredded Cheese is on sale 2/$4, then there is a Mobile Coupon for $1/2 Plus Save 5%  with Cartwheel. Only $2.84 for both!!
Next Bagged Apples were $3.00ea. and Strawberries $2.49ea.  I Used a $2/$5 Fresh Fruit Mobile Coupon, as well as 5% Cartwheel Discount AND a $.50 Off  Discolls Berries Coupon.  So for a bag of apples and a 1lb. container of strawberries I Only paid $2.84!!!!  You can eat healthy for cheap, just do a little research : )

To Find the Target Mobile Coupons I used Text RECIPE To 827438 Good Thru 5/18
To get a great coupon for $10/$50 Drink and Grocery Purchase Starting 5/18 Text FOOD To 827438
Good Luck!!

Vidal Sassoon Shampoo For Only $.47 Cents!! What!? Yeah!!

 This week I was seriously in need of shampoo! My stock was completely gone!  So I headed to Walmart with my shampoo coupons and spotted this deal. I was able to score Vidal Sassoon Shampoo for only $.47 Cents!!!  Yay!  And this is a good size bottle too, not a trial size.  I also bought some Herbal Essences Conditioner and hair spray.  (You can't be too brand loyal when you coupon, or the deals will not be as plentiful, unless its makeup of course!)
Anyway, Most of the Herbal Essences products run only $2.97 at Walmart, Versus the almost $5.00 at CVS this week, so again Walmart is the place for shampoo at the moment ; )   I had a $3.00 Off When you Buy Two coupon and that was like a BOGO Deal for me and so i popped them in my cart too!  So for less than $3.50 I was able to stock up on some much needed hair products!!
Since we are talking about hair, I have been in serious need of a hair cut, it was getting waaay too long, especially for my hair type. But I was not going to splurge on a hair cut if I didn't have to so I turned to Youtube! I always cut my daughters hair and also buzz cut my son and husband's hair. So why pay for mine either right? I watched videos on how stylists show you how to cut your own hair.  Now I don't recommend that everyone do this, you definitely run the risk of messing up your hair and that's not joke, but I went for it and it turned out great! One of my best hair cuts I've had and I will probably continue to cut it on my own from now on.


The last great deal I found was at CVS. (Not hair related lol)
I knew they had coke 12pks on sale for $3.00ea. and I had a store coupon for $3/$15, Plus a store AND manufacturer coupon that combined would get me a free razor plus $1.50 towards whatever else I bought. (This is called overage in coupon lingo)  Next I needed children's Zyrtec for my kiddos.  They were on sale for Buy 1 Get 1 50% off!!  With all of these deals together I bought two bottles of Zyrtec, two coke 12pks and one Venus razor for only $9.15!!!!!   One of the best trips I've done at CVS in a while.  So keep your eyes on those sale flyers and buy your papers at the dollar tree on Sundays for your weekly coupons!!!!!

This Week's Great Finds!

 When we get to the end of a season you can bet there will be great mark downs!!   I have been keeping my eye on kid's coats and finally found them on clearance in Walmart this week!  I bought two coats Originally priced at $17.97ea for only $9.00ea.!

 

 These cute clothes in the girls section of walmart were on clearance as well and at full price would have been $47.00, but I only paid $23.50.  I found four long sleeve shirts, two shorts and one Hello Kitty T Shirt! This was a great find for my soon to be 8 year old and she was very happy to see what I had picked out for her!












      My last frugal trip was to Save A Lot.  They usually have really low prices on their grocery items but this week was especially good!  I thought I was going to walk through with just a hand basket and get a couple things but when I spotted the Whole Chickens on sale for $.99/lb and Pillsbury Grands Biscuits for $1.00ea I had begun to wish that I had taken a cart in instead!!
     I had my coupons handy of course and quickly leafed through to find my $1.00 Off 3 Pillsbury Biscuits coupon making them only $.67 cents ea.  Then I spotted the Oscar Mayer Lunchables for also $1.00 ea. and bought two, one for each of my kiddos : )  
      The next fab deal was on General Mills Cereals.  I found Golden Grahams and Lucky Charms (huge favorites in our house for both the kids and adults) for only $1.99ea.  I made this deal even sweeter by using a $1.00 Off of 2 GM Cereals Coupon making them only $1.49ea!!
       This really was a fun week to shop smart!

A Week Of Good Grocery Finds!!

One of the biggest issues with the grocery bill is meat. The price of beef lately has been quite high and is suppose to get even higher in then next few months. Some of the ways I cut the price is to look for any newly discounted meat. That may seem gross or "risky" but make sure you check out the date and also the way the meat looks. The meats pictured above are a full day before their "use or freeze by" dates. This is totally in the safe zone because you can take them right home and portion them out with some plastic wrap and throw them in the freezer. Which I promptly did today!!  The other thing you want to be sure of when buying discounted meat or any meat for that matter is the meat's color. Your beef should be a good reddish color and you pork should be a nice pink. If they look grey or partly grey just in the package its a NO GO.  Now sometimes when you buy ground beef the center is a different color than the outside and that is totally normal and can just be due to packaging.  That even happens with fresh packaged meat.  So with those things in mind you will be able to pick a good meat at a good price.  

If you do not find a meat that is of good quality on discount or sale than you can try two other things.  Martin's has been rolling out some great register coupons for $3/$10 Meat purchase and they have "chili meat" On sale for $3.99/lb. this week.  I don't know about you but I don't Mind buying ground beef that is xtra ground to use for chili or anything else when I can get it for that price : )

Also Save A Lot is a great alternative when the previous options are not available.  I can usually find a great deal on any sort of meat type including Turkey Sausage or a family pack of pork chops.

 Bread Can be a tricky item to find a coupon for. Usually you may have a certain brand or type of grain your family is use to. And when the bread coupons are limited this lowers your "bread couponing options" LOL
Therefore I like to keep an eye on the bread isle in Martin's!
Almost Every Other week it seems they have a sale for B1G1. When they do I like to buy two loaves and throw the extra in the freezer.  We go through a loaf of bread a week with our two kids and half price bread is always a good find!





Another find at Walmart last week was The Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!! They have a flat of 5pks near the frozen section for $4.50 with a Peelie coupon for $1.00 Off!! That beats the almost $1.00 Or sometimes more per box when you buy them in singles. So with two macaroni and cheese eaters at home I scooped one up! This Deal makes them ONLY $.70 Cents Each! : )

  Today at Walmart I found these on the clearance carts just before you go the the registers (in front of the women's clothing)  They had Air Wick and Glade Plugins at an unbelievable price!! Just check out this picture!! The Glade Plugin included TWO Scented oils!  Super Savings and I always need new plugins. So I stocked up and now my house will smell fresh for EVEN LESS! Yay!

Okay. Saving money on Pet food is a pain. I do not run to Petco or Petsmart where you can find some decent deals I am sure, because I only have one cat. So it is just easier to pick up her food as I see it. I was buying multi packs of Whiskas Pouches. Now just so you know I only feed these to her at dinner as an extra protein filled dinner. Otherwise she has dry food.  The multipacks of Whiskas run up to $6.00 for only 10-12ct.  Then I found these handy little individual containers for $55 cents ea. at Walmart and realized they hold more food in them than the pouches and so I can feed her 1/2 a container per night, which gives me 2 days out of each container. That's only around $.27 cents per dinner and beats the multi pack price for sure.  This is just one example of how to stretch your dollar and think "outside the box" or in this case "outside the multipack" LOL

Her dry food is the Purina Cat Chow which was on Sale this week at Martin's for only $4.50. And I had a coupon for $1.00 Off. So now I can give my cat her favorite food without taking a huge chunk out of our grocery bill to do it.  It's the small stuff that adds up folks. It's work but it's worth it.

Also Another Idea to try and stretch you meals out.  If you are having, tacos, nachos or burritos It is super tasty and cheaper to stretch your beef, pork, chicken or cheese when you add refried beans to it.  Adding the beans for only a $1.00 or less per can is much cheaper than adding on more of the meats or cheese.  For Example Velveeta cheese bricks for nacho dip can be a bit pricey. Even the generic option. That's why I like to buy the smaller size, and add a can of beans in with the Rotel as well. Just a thought : )

Ragu Only $.87 ea. Wyb2 @ Save A Lot!!

Be sure to grab your Sunday paper and clip the Ragu coupon for $1.25 off of two! Save A Lot has them on sale for $1.50ea.  Which makes for a great deal :-)

Martins coupons!!

Have you seen these great coupons printing out at the register!  It certainly has me coming in more often to make the most of my purchases. Today I scored free eggs with a $5.00 purchase. Be sure to stop in and see what savings print up for you!

Coupons = Money

If you really pay attention to your receipts and where you buy specific items you spend less.  I treat my coupons as money.  This lineup of coupons on my desk is as good as cash to me. They are what you call catalina coupons. aka those pesky printed papers the cashier hands you with your reciept.  This week Martin's and cvs have some good ones!!  They are coupons for items we will need and use and best of all I can coupon stack. For example, the cvs coupon is a store coupon good on cookies, chips and crackers. I happen to also have nabisco and pringles coupons that I can use in addition to save even more off of my grand total! With two kids in the house we go through snacks like crazy so these are as good as cash in my wallet.  :-)

Great deals at Save A Lot!!

Today I decided to take a look at Save A Lot.  They can have some great pop up sales with more than 50% off the price you may find at Martins and Walmart.  Today I found Perdue turkey sausage for ONLY $1.00!!!!!!  I was so surprised by the price I actually watched as the cashier rang it up just to be sure! 
Not only that but they had apples for only $1.43 per bag! Yay
These prices are so good!! I really need to shop at Save A Lot more often:-)   You should too!

Tonights Dinner: Turkey sausage and spaghetti.....apple crisp

Super Cheap Cereal Deal!!

I you are in need of cereal, head to Walmart and right infront of the women's clothing you will find Spooners cereal for $.50 cents a bag!!! Super great price. I could'nt pass up!! I bought four bags!!

Also do not forget to browse their clearance room in the front of the store. I was able to score some super cute hair accessories for my daughter that I will be using as stocking stuffers!!
Good Luck:-)

Finding Hidden Coupons!

Sometimes couponing can be a scavenger hunt. You never know where one will pop up! I bought this Smart Balance butter for only $1.00 at Martin's yesterday and when I opened it up I found a buck!  Yes I know it clearly show $.50 , but at Martins it doubles to a buck and right now Smart Balance is only $2.00!   Be sure to keep a look out for those hidden dollars ;-)

This Week's Grocery Shopping.

When trying to stick to my $50 per week grocery budget I have to say it was not easy.  I managed to spend less than my average weekly shopping trip but more than my goal. I spent $90.  I figure as long as I stick to my goal and spend less than my previous average, I'm making some sort of progress right? LOL.

I used about $15 in coupons and made sure to buy the cheapest version of the items I needed.  The meals I had planned include:

1.Homemade pizza. I have a left over frozen dough ball in freezer from a previous week and only had to buy Great Value Brand Sauce for $1.00 and Cheese for under $3.00

2. Spaghetti. (I had noodles stocked up from Target's Market Pantry Pasta Sale I bought weeks prior for 3/$2.  I only had to buy a jar of Ragu.

3. Chicken Patty & Tater Tots. I already had a few frozen Chicken Patties, I bought a bag of Tater Tots for $2.00 and a Pack of Schmidt's  Potato Rolls.

4. Creole Pork Chops. I already had the rice, but I had to buy Worcestershire sauce for under $2, 4 Thick Pork Chops for around $5 and a Can of Tomato Sauce for less than $1.00.

5. & 6 Beef Vegetable Soup. I needed about 5 different canned veggies, bag of carrots, Potatoes, Celery, Beef Broth, Beef Cubes - Let's Just say this took up a bigger part of my budget with all that goes into making it but the good news is that it makes so much that we can have it for dinner two nights in a row AND Freeze some for the next week to have for dinner as well!

7. Hot Dogs & Macaroni & Cheese, I bought Macaroni & Cheese for less than $1.00 and already had the Hot dogs in the freezer from a previous week. (SEE how the freezer can really SAVE you money!)

The rest of my bill was for lunches where I bought deli meat, salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, rolls, Fruit, bread and some juice, water and soda. 

I will say I didn't buy much of anything I wasn't certain I would use.  And I kept it minimal with the snacks for the kids. They don't need too many choices at once anyway!
Keeping my fingers crossed I can do as good or better shopping for groceries next week : )

Grocery Shopping Challenge: $50 a Week!!

It seems like every time I go grocery shopping I spend at least $75 per trip. Even using coupons!!! Sometimes I feel like I haven't even really bought much of anything to have spent that kind of money!  I will say that now, that my kids are starting back to school it will be much easier to stick to a certain budget when I can shop ALONE!!  If you have little ones you know what I mean, when they pick a special snack or food item that they think they just cannot live without! LOL

So I have decided to take part in a Grocery Challenge.  Maybe this will only last a week or two but I'm ready to give it a try.  I have read on many money saving sites that there are a lot of households attempting this challenge and I am super motivated to find a smaller food budget that will work for my family of four.  I will post my shopping trips on here and let you know how I do, if I go over or under budget, how many coupons I've used or left out and where I have purchased my items. 

This is going to include a lot of planning on my part for sure, and discipline!!  Sometimes your favorite picks are not always on sale! Also I will have to make an effort to distinguish what it is that we absolutely need now. For example a gallon of milk versus say a box of cookies when we already have other snacks at home to choose from.

I will also have to plan meals more efficiently and choose recipes that do not include several ingredients.  Hopefully this will get easier as I go!  Will you be attempting to Challenge your grocery budget? 

Here are some ways I plan on making it easier to stick to a tight budget:
1. Shopping at Aldi and Save A Lot
2. Sticking to store brand when they are available
3. Using coupons
4. Paying extra attention to store ads and double coupons at Martins
5. Taking my $50 (in cash) with me so that I do not go over budget!

Save $5.00 on your Next Oil Change at Jiffy Lube!!!

Every so often you must take your car in for an oil change.  This weekend my husband's car was due and before he walked out the door I handed him this coupon for $5.00 off your oil change.  Every little bit helps : )   This coupon comes directly from the jiffy lube site and our local Waynesboro Jiffy Lube has accepted them every time!!

So the next time your car is due for an oil change, be sure to print this coupon out and bring it with you to save!!