milestone monday No. 4--grocery update & blogging

hey all,
i've been quiet for a few days, because the hubs was working on the computer for his master's class this weekend.
but, have no worries,..............

i'm baaaccckkk  (and with a new blog design, nonetheless!  what do you think?)   and so is "milestone monday."

these have nothing to do with this post, but just wanted to document his progress!

if you are new to milestones and memories, mondays are when i pick one (or two) of my milestones/goals for the future and share things i'm doing to help them become reality.  it also helps keep me accountable---which i need desperately.
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today i'm going to touch on two milestones:

1.  milestone: being debt free--groceries
you all know that i coupon, shop discount stores, and menu plan.  since this is the last week of march (can you believe that?!), i'm just going to give you the totals and see how we did on our budget of $350.00/month.  (this includes all food, pantry products, and household products like sponges, cleaning supplies, paper towels, etc.  it does not include toiletry items or baby products like diapers.)

week 1:  Aldi $195.33 
week 2:  Harris Teeter $38.45
week 3:  Harris Teeter Super Double coupons $38.19 (would've been $76.41)
week 4:  Harris Teeter Super Double coupons $ 28.14 (would've been $58.02) 

grand total for March:  $300.11


now before you get all sulky and depressed about your own grocery budget, i have to give some disclaimers.

first, Robro had surgery this month, so jon and i were at the hospital most of week 2.
second, my incredible friends (becky, christine, sarah, megan, and jenn generously provided meals for our family during weeks 3/4 post operation--what a blessing they are to me!).
third, harris teeter had super double coupons (any coupon up to $1.99 is doubled) and i used it for two weeks (it runs from wed-the next tues.).

all that to say, i'm not a hard core couponer, like some of you out there, and there will be worst weeks than this, but there may even be better ones.  either way, i hope this is an encouragement to you that it is possible to stick to a grocery budget (whatever amount works for you) and still provide healthy meals for your family.

homemade pesto chicken pizza

i'm excited, because now we can use that $50.00 extra dollars to pay for our car inspection and minor repairs that are going down tomorrow. 



2.  milestone: learning more about blogging--changing your blog background



anyone can make this easy change to your blog and it can really make a huge difference.   i learned this from a really cool blog decor site called Shabby Blogs, but lots of sites have similar application instructions/templates.  they have tons of backgrounds you can choose from.

once you find the one you want, just follow the instructions below:
1.  click on "get the code" under the desired background
2.  copy the code in the box at the bottom of the screen that opens
3.  open your blogger account
4.  click on the tab that says "Design" or "Layout"
5.  click "Add a Gadget" (it doesn't really matter where it is on the sidebar)
6.  click "HTML/javascript"
7.  under "content" paste the entire code that you copied earlier on the backgrounds page
8.  "save"
9.  enjoy your new blog's look!

here are a few other sites i recommend for finding beautiful backgrounds:

smitten blog designs    (you may have to click on free templates)

cutest blog on the block

i'll be working on my monthly meal plan guide for April this week in preparation for my Aldi trip on friday night!---you know you are old when you put an exclamation mark at the end of a get-to-go-grocery -shopping sentence.    
 hey, i get a night out of the house, dinner, and girl time with my friend, kelly.  i'm excited anyway!

the meal guide and my aldi shopping list will be posted by the end of this week or beginning of next.

if you change your blog background using my directions, let me know so i can check out the glorious changes you made.


merry monday, everyone!

milestone monday #3--tax return and ALDI!

here it is again,
another monday to highlight some things
we are doing to get closer to our goal of being debt free.

1.  this week, we received our tax return--Holy Humungo!
(thank you children and school)
and were able to put the majority of it
right back into jon's MBA school loan.
it felt great to watch that total number
 go DOWN dramatically!  Woot!

(don't believe for a second, i didn't contemplate using it for a vacation or how many pairs of shoes i could buy,........ahh, a girl's gotta dream :))

2.  sunday was my, now, once-a-month trip to Aldi.
aldi is the grocery store that i can consistently get the best prices (without coupons) and always feel like i have a lot of food for a lot less than i expected to spend.   where i live, milk is $3.69, the local stores are always overpriced, and i seem to not be able to go in and leave with a receipt less than $70.00.  the produce is great tasting and remarkably cheaper than our local grocery stores.   how do they keep everything so cheap at aldi?  well, you pay for it in inconvenience and a little "leg work."  this is why, i do NOT take children with me on this particular grocery excursion.

my friend, kelly, and i are starting a monthly outing, including lunch/dinner and groceries--ALONE with no kids and nothing but some good ole' girl talk and money-saving adrenaline!

here are a few of the inconveniences differences

you will notice at Aldi:

you have to pay a quarter for your cart

(don't worry, you get it back when you return it safely before going home)

the products are stocked in a "warehouse" style, 

there is nothing fancy or beautiful about the store,

but, for the most part, 

the food is just as tasty as the beautiful displays you'll see elsewhere

this is a big one for some people,

aldi isn't a One Stop Shop.

they don't have things like cilantro, organic products, or tofu.

they sell their own brand of foods and so you can't use manufacturer's coupons either.

the checkout lines are super fast,

but you can't use check or credit cards.

(cash or debit only)

oh yeah, and the number one most inconvenient part is....

you bag your own groceries 

with your own bags 

or you can buy plastic ones for like $0.25 each

(think of it this way: 

you're helping the environment, right?)

you may be asking yourself, why do i shop there if there are so many inconveniences?  well, i believe that each aspect is meant to save me money and not to tick me off, so i appreciate it and don't begrudge it.
granted, i have to adjust accordingly to the differences, but i'm telling you what, this place SAVES ME MONEY!

and for that, i'm thankful. 

127 total items

this is only about half of what i got yesterday,

all of the cold/frozen stuff is already put away.

my cart was packed full of stuff and i brought home 10 big bags of product

the list of goods included: 3 gallons of milk @ $2.49, 3 bottles of wine, 8 cartons of stock,

cereal, bacon, toilet paper, tons of cans of diced tomatoes, rice, pastas, snacks,

vegetables, fruit, and much more!

Grand total:  $195.33

this will feed us for the whole month, based on my march monthly menu guide

(minus a couple gallons of milk and a fresh vegetable here and there).

so grab a friend,
set a date, and
try it for yourself.
with a little planning and a little leg work, you can save your family big money! 


if you want to check out the official aldi website,  click here.

milestone monday--becoming debt free #2

milestone monday is back!

if you missed last week's post, here it is.

this week's highlighted strategy that is helping us

reach the goal of paying off jon's 

MBA school loan and
therefore being mostly debt free is.....

(drum roll, please)

MENU PLANNING!

not as interesting as you may have thought?...

well, for a type A, listaholic, like myself,

menu planning is the best thing since 

reeses peanut butter eggs (licking lips :)).

notice they are all gone....it's just something about the perfect PB to chocolate ratio

you say it can be very overwhelming,

scary,

creativity-stiffling,

rigid, 

time consuming,

boring,

etc.

but i say, menu planning actually

saves me,

time,

frustration,

and 

money! 

so, what do i do to achieve these said promises?

so glad you asked!

**to make his doable for me, i only plan dinners and just wing breakfasts and lunches.

BEGINNING

1. at the very beginning of this process (you only have to do this once if you want) i made a big list of all the categories my dinners could fall into.  examples are: mexican food, italian food, casseroles, crock pot dinners, easy/fast, breakfast for dinner, asian, etc.

2.  i then typed up a master list of all the meals i regularly make and put each under the matching category.  again, once you do this the first time, you won't have to do it again.

 MONTHLY

3. each month, in my Monthly Menu Guide, i now choose 7 categories and put one with each day of the week (ie. Monday-mexican food, Tuesday-casseroles, etc.) ---(3 minutes)

 

4.  i like to have flexibility and structure at the same time.  so at the beginning of each month (or four week period), i fill out my Monthly Menu Guide.  i decide what my four weeks of dinners under each day and category are going to be and place it in the guide.  this is great because i'm not locked to a specific week, but i can plan ahead when grocery shopping at the beginning of the month or when there are super double coupons at harris teeter (like this week).  ---(maybe 20-30 minutes)

5.  now i make a basic grocery list that will fulfill the month's worth of dinners listed in my guide.  i can start looking for sales, coupons, etc that will match with that grocery list  ---(15 minutes or less)

6.  the guide serves as an outline for each week's meals.  i can pick whichever meal i want from "mexican mondays" and should have most if not all the ingredients ready and waiting to be served. 

in less than an hour per month, i can have a full outline of what we will be eating for dinner, have a grocery list, and peace of mind that my family will be eating healthy and wholesome meals each night for the whole month.  

WEEKLY

7.  each week, i then lock down the 5-7 meals we will actually eat that specific week and fill in any missing ingredients, etc in the beginning-of-the-week shopping trip.   i write this on the calendar in my kitchen and we go from there.

8.  on the Monthly Menu Guide, i cross off what we have eaten and leave the rest for the upcoming weeks.  i don't always make something EVERY night (especially on weekends), but it is nice to have a plan if we wanted to.

because of having this loose outline plan, 

i can wake up in the mornings,

and not have to stress about 

what i'm going to make tonight?

what ingredients do i still need?

and 

what things need to be defrosted
or prepared ahead of time.

with a little pre-planning
at the beginning of the month

and 

at the beginning of each week,

i save lots of time
during the weekdays,
money,

and 

much stress.

so i can have more time to do these fun things...

Home Goods bargains!

hope this was helpful and maybe a little step to helping you achieve your money milestones!

happy monday!





********30 second hug update:  like i mentioned in this post, this past week, i tried an experiment where i hugged my husbo for 30 seconds at least 3 times a day.  it was great, but i'm going to have to keep doing it to "make sure it's working ;)"


why don't you try it this week with your loved one?  let me know how it is improving your relationship!

milestone monday--becoming debt free #1

so every most mondays, i will do an update
on what our family is logistically doing
to meet our goals or milestones for the future.

like i said in a previous post,
i'm very much the "doer" of the family.
i like to plan, no actually, i adore planning,
making lists (ooh, i'm getting excited just thinking about it),
and making sure each detail is thought through.
this can be a good personality trait, but also
an annoying one (right, honey?).

anyhoo, i hope to share how we are doing--
good or bad,
on meeting our goals
and maybe you all will get a few tricks or tips
to help you meet your own.

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milestone monday--Becoming Debt Free #1

Couponing 

the use of coupons is a strategy that, for me, is a tangible way for me to see how i am saving money, protecting our budget, and working toward being a debt free family.  you might say, "i don't have time to clip, search, print, and match up coupons."  but really, you do.  here are some tips on what i do to make couponing easy, quick, and doable for my family.

Couponing Tips:
1.  i only get the sunday paper with all the coupons (if you want to go all out, get multiple copies)
2.  i clip them sometime during the week and only clip the ones i really will use
3.  i organize them in 4 easy categories: food, toiletries, household items (ie: cleaning supplies, etc), and baby needs.

4.  these are kept in an expandable envelope file booklet. i try to put the newer coupons in the back of that category's file, but you could even organize by expiration date, if you want.  wanna make your own?  check out this pattern for sewing up a quick and easy coupon organizer.
5.  then, i go to this amazing site, Southern Super Savers, and match up my coupons with the store(s) i plan to shop at that week.  jenny @ SSS matches all the deals and specials for the week, with the sunday paper coupons and printable coupons as well.  she has links to most printable coupons and you can print your list right then and there.  it really is a huge time saver!
6.  i mostly shop at harris teeter, giant foods, and target.
7.  pack the coupons you need, and off to the store you go!  a little time saver tip:  organize your shopping list and coupons according to the isles or flow of your grocery store.  this way, you don't have to go searching through the whole stack every time you come to an item you need.  i also mark on my shopping list, which items have coupons with a check just so i know quickly if i need to be looking for a coupon or not.
8.  i particularly use coupons when harris teeter has double super coupons (they will double any coupon that is $0.99-$1.99) and triple coupons (triple the value of any coupon $0.99 or less).  most grocery stores, around here, double coupons all the time as long as they are under $0.99. 
 9.  to also save money on groceries, outside of couponing, i often shop at Aldi foods, because they have really cheap dry goods and produce.  the only down side to that is that it is about 40 minutes from my house (and you have to bag your own groceries--the price you pay for cheapness).
10.  if you want more couponing tips, check out this site and do what works for you.

i believe that couponing is a way for me to be a good steward of the money we are blessed to have. 

my hope is that
couponing leads to
meeting our grocery budget
which leads to
saving extra money
which leads to
paying off more school debt
which gets us a whole lot closer
to living debt free!