Menu Plan Monday

I need to find one of those cute little signs for Menu Monday, but haven't taken the time to look for one.

Monday - Beef tamales and Spanish Rice

Tuesday - Chicken, black beans and LO rice

Wednesday - Overnight pancakes (the batter will be made in the morning and then I'll cook the pancakes in the evening) and bacon

Thursday - Chicken spaghetti, Parmesan muffins and broccoli

Friday - Hamburger steaks, gravy, and baked potatoes

Saturday - Chicken chili (using up LO chicken)

Sunday - Hot dogs and homemade mac and cheese

Inks Lake State Park visit

We decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Inks Lake State Park to go hiking. I think James wanted to check out the lake and it's fishing possibilities. We took Mary and our foster dog, Hobo, with us.

James, Mary and Hobo underneath the park sign. The beasts were looking at cars and people in the parking lot over to the side.

Me and the beasts at the start of the Pecan trail at the park. The trail was actually a lot more rocky and hilly than we thought it would be, but we still enjoyed it. I think we can hike anything after spending time at Big Bend.

The obligatory face shot of the two of us. This is usually the only way we can get a picture of the two of us since we are the only people ever around on our trips.

Hobo decided he wanted to walk in the water to get to some coots that were about 15 yards out. Mary is trying to drink algae infested water.

James demonstrating his rock climbing (or rock climbing "posing") skills.

We had a good time and are considering going back to camp. We'll have to do that without beasts though. There is something called the Devil's Sinkhole there. Apparently it is a deep spot in the lake surrounded by some cliffs that can be jumped off of. You know I will be trying that if we ever camp there! I might be able to talk James in to trying it, but I'm not going to count on it!

Experimental month

I've recently been trying different things to save money, from lowering my budget drastically to looking for free things. This month James and I decided to try something different. We know I can feed the family comfortably for $80 a month with extra money left over. However, we've noticed that we buy the things we like to eat the most often, but our pantry and freezer still have food left in them. This month our plan is to use our "pantry" and freezer more for our meals. As such, our grocery budget for the month of April (which we are starting this week) is only $25 + the $4.50 in rebate money I received on Friday for a total of $29.50.

Our plan is to only use the grocery budget money for things like eggs, milk, and baking supplies for the rolls and breads that I make.

Keep in mind we have a separate budget for my dogs in case they need food, which they will. We go through about 105 pounds of food in 2.5-3 weeks. Plus they also get a variety to treats which we may need to replace.

We also have a separate CostCo fund which we put $40 a month into and can only use that money. If we don't have enough in that fund, we can't make purchases at CostCo. I don't think we'll end up needing anything from this store this month.

Wish me luck!

Another thought provoking moment for me

As those of you who check in frequently know, I've been pondering the depths of my frugalness lately. How big of a frugal person have I become? I think I have gone to new levels of frugalness this week.

At work yesterday my boss was making chicken and sausage gumbo. He cooked up the chicken legs and thighs and was de-boning them, but catch this . . . he was throwing away the bones! I couldn't believe it. I said something and he asked me if I wanted him to keep the bones for me. In my mind I was thinking of all the broth I could make and what a ginormous waste he was creating, so I said yes. I walked out of the restaurant with a bowl of bones, put them in the crock pot with some water overnight and woke up this morning to nice flavorful chicken broth!

Is that a new low or a new high?

$16.70 at Walmart

Not all of this is from the grocery budget, but my total was $16.70. Dog treats and Epsom salts are not towards my grocery budget. The dogs have their own budget, which is WAY more than the human grocery budget. Depressing right!

2 Wrigley Gum: $0.96 each - free MQ = FREE
4 Milkbone treats: $2.84 each - 2 BOGO MQ = 5.68
1 Gold Medal Unbleached Flour (can't afford organic flour anymore) = $2.42
2 Pillsbury Brownie mixes: on sale from $1.38 to $1 each = $2
2 Mahatma yellow rice mixes: $0.76 each - $0.75/2 MQ = $0.77
3 Johnson & Johnson first aid kits: $0.97 each - 3 $1 MQ = overage of $0.09
1 Johnson & Johnson lotion: $0.97 - $1 MQ = overage of $0.03
3 Mentos gum (I didn't notice until I got home that I was only charge for 2, but she counted all three MQ): $1.28 each - 3 $1 MQ = overage of $0.44
3 Pace salsa products: $2.78 each - 3 $4 MQ (they were scaled down to $2.78) = FREE
1 Mahatma 2 Ib package rice: $1.96 - $0.50 MQ = $1.46
1 Epsom Salt = $3.12

Total before sales and Q = $40.36
Total sales = $0.76
Total Q = 24.19
Total OOP with tax = $16.70 (59% savings)

Technically I still have about a dollar left of my grocery budget, but I just put it all towards the grocery trip today.

Bzz Agent: Afrin PureSea

As a Bzz Agent, I am given the opportunity to try new things. I was offered the Bzz Campaign for Afrin PureSea. The PureSea product is advertised as "A new exciting way to cleanse your nasal and sinus passages so you can breathe freely." Additionally the following was written about it:

Afrin PureSea is clinically proven to gently and effectively wash away irritants. Plus, it's easy to use, convenient and sterile, unlike some other methods of cleansing your nasal and sinus passages. You control the flow and the speed of the purified sea water, there's no mixing of ingredients and you don't have to worry about boiling water, buying distilled water or rinsing out the entire vessel after every use.

I'm a good sport, so even though I've never used a product like this, I tried it once a day for 7 days.


If the picture below doesn't give it away, I was not fond of the cleansing. I never really got the hang of how to tilt my head correctly so that once I sprayed the liquid in one nostril, the fluid would come out the other. More often than not it came out the same nostril or went down my throat. I will say that even though I wasn't successful with the method of application, I did feel like I was breathing just a little more clearly after my misuse.


At the end of the seven days, I still had some of the bottle left, so I asked James to try it. We sterilized the applicator and he tried. On his first attempt, he had complete success. . in one nostril and out the other.

Here's the cleansing look from the other side. While he had good luck with the application, he said immediately after the use he felt clogged up, but that feeling went away.

I will probably not purchase this item, but only because I tend to not use this type of product. If you are interested in using Afrin Puresea, it is found in the cough and cold aisle. Email or post a comment if you are interested in receiving one of the $3 off coupons I received as part of the Bzz Campaign.

Awesome blog post!

I just read an awesome blog post! Erica tells you how to negotiate a better deal on your phone and or cable bills. Check it out here.

I printed out the script and gave it to James so he can call our cable company!

Menu Plan Monday

You are going to notice a ton of chicken this week because I roasted a chicken yesterday in the crockpot. (This might be TMI, but I also have one more chicken breast thawed and ready to cook since I had to boil a couple of breasts up for my digestively challenged foster dog.)

Monday - Chicken macaroni and cheese with broccoli for James

Tuesday - BBQ chicken turnovers and chips (need to use these up)

Wednesday - Chicken and yellow rice (I'll use some of the broth I made from the bones of the roasted chicken to cook the rice.)

** I am switching the Wednesday and Thursday meals because I got some cornbread at work and want to have it with the soup tonight. **

Thursday - Fiesta Chicken soup (again using broth)

Friday - Beef and bean tacos

Saturday - We are going to a party for our friend's 50th birthday!

Sunday - Pink pasta and parmesan muffins

I hope James doesn't get chickened out!

Ultimate Blog Party

I thought that I might get brave and try this! The Ultimate Blog Party is a way of connecting with other bloggers and non-bloggers.

Since most of you that visit my site will have never stopped in, a little about me. My name is Kat and I am loving life! I am a former teacher, but now a waitress in a local restaurant. My bosses are my bike riding pals so I have a lot of fun. I am married to the most wonderful, indulgent husband. We adopt and foster retired racing greyhounds and I post pictures of them frequently. You can see a picture of my current foster dog, Hobo, in a post below. I love to save money and find good deals, but struggle with the idea of spending money to save money. Lastly, although currently injured, I am an endurance athlete who participates in runs (when I can run), bike rides, triathlons and duathlons.

I blog about whatever is on my mind and I really hope ya'll enjoy your visit!

There are also prizes to be had, which I am super thankful for and hopeful about. Here are my choices in order:

1. USC 77 - Personalized water bottle and chain

2. 88 - $40 gift cert to Carrabba's Grill

3. 109 - $30 Stampin Up prize pack

4. 131 - Money Games by Randy Petrick

5. USC 16 - $50 gift cert to Kristen's Custom Creations

6. 113 - $25 gift cer to Office Max

7. 130 - $25 gift cert for Dove

8. USC 40 - Large Yankee Candle

I really appreciate the chance to win a prize!

Quick HEB trip

I had to make a quick trip to HEB to get bananas and yogurt to make frosties for me dogs. I also got James some strawberries. I spent $4.44 after sales and coupons. Not great, but it is HEB.

March budget - $80
Amount left - $9.16

Check out this giveaway!

Lindsay at Frugal and Fabulous is having an awesome giveaway! M. Avery Designs has several bags that are really awesome. Lindsay was given the chance to give away a bag from their "greenline". Check it out!

Sunday's trips

I had a few needs this morning and I needed to use up two Johnson Q that were going to expire soon. I did go to Walgreen's, but I only bought the Hunt's tomato sauce. I could have gotten some other stuff, like Glade plug-ins for close to free, but I wasn't going to use them so I didn't buy them.

Walgreen's
Transaction #1 & 2
13- Hunts Tomato sauce: $0.99 each, but used WAGs Q to bring to $0.39 each = $5.07 - $5 WAGs rebate = $0.07 total

( I should have been able to only buy 11 of them to get them for a total of $10.89 before Q and $4.29 after the Q and then still get the rebate, but for some reason the register was ringing up some of the cans as only $0.80 each. Some rang up as $0.80 and some rang up as $0.99. I'm not going to complain about $0.07 for 13 cans in any situation.)


Total before sales and Q = $10.78
Total sales = I'm not sure here.
Total Q = $5.71
Total OOP = $0.78 in change from my wallet (used my gift card for $4.51) (Will receive $5 rebate.)

Walmart
1 - Mahatma rice: $1.12 - $0.50 Q = $0.62
2 - Johnson buddies: $0.97 each - 2 $1 MQ = FREE with overage of $0.06
2 - Cascadian Farms granola: $2.92 each - $1/2 MQ = $4.84 (cashier wouldn't take one of my Q)
1 - Hostess donuts (total splurge): $1

Total before sales and Q = $9.90
Total sales = 0
Total Q = $3.50
Total OOP = $6.40

March grocery budget = $80, amount left = $13.60

I caved on the deals!

I was not going to go to Walgreen's until two things happened:

1) James mentioned that he would like some mouthwash and I noticed I was low on floss. I did a little research, and figured the deal going on at Wags was better than what I could get for just the two items.

2) My wonderful foster dog (see his picture below) has taken to accidentally stepping in poop so I am going through wet wipes like a fiend. (He usually steps in it about 5 minutes before I have to leave the house so I don't have time to give him a bath.)

Transaction #1:
1 - Listerine: on sale for $3
1 - One Reach Ultra Floss: on sale for $3
1 - Double pack for Reach toothbrushes: on sale for $3

Total before sales and Q = $11.27
Total sales = $2.27
Total Q = $3 ($3 off when buy one of each of the items listed above)
Total OOP with tax = $0 (applied $6.25 to gift card) (received $6 in RR)

Transaction #2:
3 - Wet Ones wipes: $2.79 each, used WAGs Q that brought each down to $1.99 for a total of $5.97 - 3 $0.75 MQ = $3.72
2 - Wrigley's mints (fillers): on clearance for $0.22 each = $0.44 total
2 - Reese's eggs (did not make it home for the picture): $0.69 each, used WAGs Q to make each $0.50 = $1
1 - Walgreen's Anti-diarrheal medicine (for poor Hobo) = $4.99

Total before sales and Q = $16.52
Total sales = $1.34
Total Q = $11.05 (includes $6 RR from first transaction)
Total OOP with tax = $0 (applied $4.15 to gift card)

Here's Hobo!

I finally got a good picture of Hobo, our newest foster dog. He is settling in just fine, despite his little quirks. He is absolutely adorable. As usual, if you are interested in retired racing greyhound adoption or giving a donation, please visit the GPA Central Texas site.

Is it worth it?

I've been doing a lot of pondering on how else we can lower our expenses, especially in the light of recent expenses:

1. Money in excess of $800 spent dealing with my recent medical issues. All that money to find out I have some form of tendinitis of the Achilles with significant swelling in which the only thing I can do is rest and take anti-inflammatory meds.

2. I got James involved in participating in fishing tournaments with a friend of mine. Right now it is $20 per tournament, and then James "had to have" some updated fishing equipment. This is money I don't mind spending because James is enjoying himself and he hardly ever asks for anything for himself, but it is an extra expense to budget for.

One of the things I was thinking about was my shopping at Walgreen's for all the deals. Is it really worth it? I try to buy only things we'll use, but I now have a huge stockpile of things. Should I keep buying things just because they are on sale or stop spending money to save money?

Several points about this kind of deal shopping that I've noticed:

1. If it is a food related item on sale it is almost always a processed food. We don't really enjoy eating processed products much, but I find myself buying them and eating them because they are a really good deal. I have donated some of the items I "purchased" but a lot of it has been consumed by us.

2. I can't help but think of all the extra packaging I am contributing to waste. A lot of the deals I get are individually packaged items . . . read that to mean a lot of packaging. Despite recycling everything I can, are we dealing the environment an extra blow by purchasing these items?

3. There are never ending deals on free or close to free shampoo, toothpaste, and deodorant. How much of this do I really need before it becomes a "just buying to buy" thing? We don't have a local facility to donate these items (although I have mailed some of the items to troops stationed overseas) so I'm just stockpiling them.

4. It is very easy to get addicted to the "getting things free" feeling. Those of you that do this a lot know what I'm talking about. Have I transferred my addiction to running to this shopping thing because I can't run anymore?

I guess I don't really have an answer to these questions. I will keep pondering the questions, and if I come up with answers I'll post them. For now, I am going to try to purchase items that we need, have wanted to try out, or that I can specifically donate. As proof, I have not gone shopping at Walgreen's this week, although I would like to take advantage of the Reach deal. I don't really need the items, so I'm not going to buy them.

Does anyone else run into these questions?

Back from another marathon trip to KY

I went with my mom on another marathon trip to KY. My aunt is moving to Hawaii and she needed some help cleaning. My mom also wanted to pick up some mementos that my aunt had from my grandparents. I was lucky enough to have my aunt save a bunch of stuff for me also. She saved a bunch of baking pans and paper products. I will also not have to buy any cleaning products in the near future! She was just going to through away all the cleaning stuff, so I said I would take it. I'm most happy about a Swifter wetjet setup and back up supplies. I haven't been able to talk myself into spending the money to purchase one. I still have to go through all the paper stuff, but my mom and I took care of everything else yesterday. Now I need a day of rest (well, other than the time I spend at work today) and then I'll get back in the groove of things.

Change of plans

I was going to spend some time today blogging about things I've been reading about and seeing on the news. Things like people living on $1 a day for a month. I find this very intriguing, but am currently having trouble talking my wonderful husband into a even trying a $50 a month grocery budget experiment. We are already at $80 a month, but he seems tentative about trying it. Anyway, my thoughts on this will have to be postponed as I need to do some house cleaning before my MRI and my mom's visit tonight.

Having a bad moment.

I am really frustrated today and feeling pretty bummed. I feel like I scrimp and save and do everything I can to save money, and then I get hit with big expenses. It's like I save a little up and then get pounded with some kind of expense. I know others go through this, but I'm feeling a little selfish right now.

I am getting a MRI tomorrow. Big deal right? The problem is that since I don't have insurance (as it would cost us almost $750 a month for James and I through his work and I am uninsurable for any decent cost through independent companies) it is going to cost us $800. This does not include the cost of having the MRI read by a radiologist. If it comes back showing tendon or cartilage damage, then we have to decide what to do with the information.

:(

HEB

I had to stop at HEB today to pick up Darla's meds and some diet Coke for my mom who is visiting this weekend. I'm going to give away the Dr. Pepper since neither James nor I drinks soda.

2 - Dr. Pepper - FREE with coupons
1 - Diet Coke - on sale for $2
1 - Cascade Crystal Clear - $3.14 = FREE with coupon

Total before sales and coupons: $9.21
Total sales: $1.09
Total Q: $6.12
Total OOP after tax: $2.17

Response from Walgreen's

I emailed Walgreen's about some rumors I'd read about in regards to the Easy Saver Program ending. This is the response I received:

Thank you for contacting us regarding our recent decision to evaluate the EasySaver program in its current form. Walgreens is always looking into the future. For this reason, we are looking at ways to revamp the rebate program to assist us in proceeding in an exciting direction. Although change is always intimidating we feel that it is time to develop a new loyalty program so we can offer our consumers new and improved services. You will continue to find the EasySaver Catalog in our stores through April. Please look for future advertisement regarding our new programs to come. We appreciate your patience during this transition and hope you will allow us the opportunity to continue servicing your drug store needs.

Thank you, Lisa Rainwater
Supervisor Rebate and Vendor Programs

Looks to me like things are about to change.

No menu plan this week

I am going on a trip this weekend so James will be by himself. I am not going to meal plan for the week since I'll miss four days of it.

Yesterday at Walgreen's

James was gracious enough to stop at Walgreen's yesterday after church.

2 - Breathsaver mints = $1.29 (fillers and I love these mints!)
2 - Garnier Fructis hair products = on sale for $2.99 each - 2 $1 MQ - 2 $2 WAG Q = FREE with overage
1- Vitamin water = $1.69 - $0.50 WAG Q = $1.19 (James' impulse buy)
2 - Kotex = on sale for 2/$6 - $0.75 MQ = $5.25
1 - Colgate toothpaste = $2.99 - $2.50 WAG Q - $1.50 MQ = Free with significant overage

*** At this point I had a refund of $1.10 from Walgreen's, but that causes too many problems so I bought two candy bars.***

2 - Candy bars = $1.58 (not pictured because they didn't make it home)

Total before sales and Q = $21.71
Total sales = $2.18
Total Q = $19.25 (includes $8 RR)
Total OOP after tax = $0.61 (tax was more than subtotal)

A new shopping market

We made a trip into Austin today to check out a new store called Newflower Farmers Market. It is in an old Hobby Lobby building on Manchaca Rd. The store specializes in fresh produce and organic products. If you buy only things on sale you can get really good deals. Peace granola is my favorite brand of granola, but it is outrageously expensive. They had it on sale at the store today!!!

Grapes - on sale = $1.83
Squash - on sale = $0.91
2 Peace cereal boxes on sale for 2/$5 (normally one box is $5)
Oranges - on sale = $0.58 - for anyone who knows me, this is a huge treat for James since even the smell of oranges makes me nauseous.

Total before sales = 17.97
Total sales = $9.34
Total OOP = $8.63

As usual we spent too much when we went to Austin. James is going to start fishing with a friend of mine and decided it was a great time to mention that apparently all of his fishing poles are broke and that he has no supplies. He spent $45.12 at Academy. I will give him credit for good luck though since the rod he found that he really liked turned out to be on clearance.

Then I decided I needed some Culver's frozen custard and James didn't want me to feel guilty about eating some by myself. . .there goes $5.50. Finally a stop at CostCo for some weed and feed, peanut butter, chocolate chips and a pizza (I knew we would not want to cook tonight) left us another $75.19 lighter. Good thing we don't go into Austin very often!

Grocery trip

Because I had some internet coupons to use we went to Walmart instead of my preferred HEB. There is a lot of processed food in this trip because I had coupons making the items free or I had very high value coupons that made things close to free. Normally I don't get this much processed stuff, but we already had all the basics at the house, and we just needed to fill in some stuff.


Total before coupons: $70.21
Total coupons: $35.37
OOP with tax: $35.30 (Will get a $2.08 rebate back for yogurt.)

I was most excited about the Chex Mix which is absolutely my little guilty pleasure. It was on sale for $1.48, down from $1.98. Then I had a Q for $0.50, bringing the cost of each bag down to a little less than a dollar!

Yummy Lemon Cake

This cake is from the Lemon-Cornmeal Cake from Woman's Day magazine. It was pretty yummy. I used fat-free yogurt instead of buttermilk. The cake itself is really yummy, but I think I would change the glaze a little. I think I would try using powdered sugar instead of regular sugar. It's just a little to grainy on the outside.

New Foster dog - Hobo

*** UPDATE*** I just got a picture of Hobo. This was as good as I could get at the time.

We got our newest foster dog on Monday. He is very skittish so I haven't been able to get a photo yet. He's very young and a former rabbit runner. Hobo is pretty skinny and beat up, but we'll get him into shape. He is slowly bonding with me, and taking even more time to bond with James, but things are progressing well. As soon as I can get him to stay still long enough to take a decent picture I'll post it.

As always, if you are interested in greyhound adoption in the central Texas region, please look up Greyhound Pets of America.

Menu Monday

We did awful last week. We had several things come up and weren't prepared for it so we ate out a couple of times. We plan on doing better this week. I'm also trying out a couple of new recipes that I read about on another blog.

Monday - Homemade pizza

Tuesday - Double Decker Tacos

Wednesday - Baked chicken and stuffing

Thursday - Waffles (extra batch made to put in freezer)

Friday - Crockpot sloppy joes

Saturday - Meatless pasta and Peasant bread

Sunday - Mexican skillet

1st day of March Savings/Spendings

Does anyone else think the deals at Walgreen's this month aren't real impressive?

Walgreens:

Transaction 1:
1 - Blink Tears: $9.99 on sale for $7.99 - $2 MQ = $5.99

Total before sales/Q: $9.99
Total sales: $2
Total Q: $2
Total OOP: Zero ($5.99 on gift card) and received $8 RR ($2 bonus!!!)

Transaction 2:
1 - Blink Tears: $9.99 on sale for $7.99 - $2 MQ = $5.99

Total before sales/Q: $9.99
Total sales: $2
Total Q: $2
Total OOP: Zero ($5.99 on gift card) and received $8 RR ($2 bonus!!!)

Transaction 3:
1 - Axe shampoo - $5.99 (will receive ESC rebate for $6)
2 - Hershey Mix bags of candy - on sale for 2/$4- $2/2 MQ = $2 ($1 per bag)
2 - Nabisco Ritz crackers - BOGO for $1.99 - $2/2 MQ = Free (with $0.01 overage)
2 - Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup - used wag Q to get the cans to $1 each - $1/2 = $1 total for 2 cans
1 - Colgate toothpaste - $2.99 - $2.50 ESC - $0.75 MQ = Free (overage of $0.26)

Total before sales/Q: $19.54
Total sales: $1.99
Total Q: $16.83 (includes $8 RR)
Total OOP with tax: Zero ($0.72 on gift card) If I include the rebate, I actually made $5.28 on this transaction!

Transaction 4:
2 - Hershey Mix bags of candy - on sale for 2/$4- $2/2 MQ = $2 total ($1 per bag!)
2 - Nabisco Ritz crackers - BOGO for $1.99 - $2/2 MQ = Free (with $0.01 overage)
1- Walgreens Headache relief - on sale for $2.99 (will get rebate for this)
1 - Colgate toothpaste - $2.99 - $2.50 ESC - $1 MQ= Free (overage of $0.51)

Total before sales/Q: $13.96
Total sales: $1.99
Total Q: $7.50
Total OOP with tax: $0.18 ($4.29 on gift card) If I deduct the $2.99 rebate, the total cost would be $1.30 - 91% savings).

Walmart:

I did this in 2 transactions, but am going to combine them. I needed to have the soup on a different receipt for a rebate.

1 - can of Progressive soup: $1.50 (will receive $1.50 rebate so will be free minus a stamp)
2 - Beggin dog treats - total of $4.48 - BOGO free Q = $2.24 total for 2 (my babies haven't received a new treat in awhile, and they've been so good with our foster guests!)
1 - bunch of bananas = $1.15
1 - Hillshire Farms Deli Select sliced chicken: $3 - $0.55 MQ = $2.45 (will receive $3 in a rebate so I made $0.55 on this purchase)
1 - Band-aid box: $2 - $1 MQ = $1
1 - First-aid gauze pads: $1.63 - $1 MQ = $0.63 (we go through these like crazy with our thin-skinned greyhounds)


Total before sales/Q: $13.76
Total sales: some things were on sale, but I didn't catch their original cost
Total Q: $4.79
Total OOP with tax: $8.97 (take off rebates and cost would be $4.47)

I don't know what happened with today's items, but no tax was on any of my Walgreen's receipts. Weird.

March grocery budget:
Start = $85 (I had $5 LO from last month when rebates came in.)
Used = $8.97 (I'll add the rebate value back in the budget when it is received)
Left = $76.03