The Perfect Option

If you have read this blog for long, you know my son attends Ga Tech and is a member of the marching band. He showed me this video on YouTube today after returning home from Athens where Ga Tech won the game against the Ga Bulldogs. It is pretty funny.

Kroger 11/29

My hubby made a quick trip to Kroger this morning to grab some snack food for the Ga-Ga Tech game. I ask him to stroll through the meat department to see if there were any markdown. He got 5 fresh Perdue turkey breasts for $0.49/lb!

1 @ 5.65lb $2.77 (originally $16.89)
1 @ 5.67lb $2.78 (originally $16.95)
1 @ 5.81lb $2.83 (originally $17.37)
1 @ 6.32lb $3.10 (originally $18.10)
1 @ 6.70lb $3.28 (originally $20.03)

Total OOP $14.76 (originally $90.14)

Yay!!!

And Congratulations Ga Tech! Ga Tech 45 Georgia 42!!

CVS Thanksgiving Night

On the way home from a family gathering Thanksgiving night, I stopped at a local CVS to take advantage of the great free after ECB items. I was starting from zero--no ECBs, so I have a large OOP. But, I got some really good deals.



Transaction#1:

1 Hershey's bar $1
... received $1 ECB
1 Aussie shampoo $2.99
...- $1 MQ
... received $2.99 ECB ($1 money maker)
1 Aussie conditioner $2.99
...- $1 MQ
... received $2.99 ECB ($1 money maker)
2 Playtex tampons $3.99 ea
...- 2 $1 MQ
...received $6 ECB (FREE)
1 Johnson lotion $5.69
...- $1 MQ
...-received $5.69 ECB ($1 money maker)
1 Shick Quattro razor $7.99
... - $2 MQ
...received $7.99 ECB
2 Colgate toothpastes $2.99 ea
...- 2 $1.50 printable MQ
... received $5.98 ECB
1 Mineral makeup $8.99
...- $3 MQ
...received $8.99 ECB
1 Eucerine redness relief facial moisturizer $7.50 (clearanced)
...- $4 MQ
1 Neutragena foaming face wash $4 (clearanced)
3 Gatorade drinks $1.49 ea
...received $4.47 ECB
1 Covergirl smoothers makeup $7.99
...- $1 MQ
...received $7.99 ECB
1 Covergirl pressed powder $5.99
...- $1 MQ
... received $5.99
1 L'Oreal lip gloss
...- $1 MQ
...received $6.99 ECB

Minus $10/$50 CVS coupon
Minus $4/$20 CVS Beauty coupon

Total OOP $51.00

Received $57.00 (approx) ECBs


Transaction#2

1 Norelco electric razor
...Half price sale $28.99
...- $20 MQ
...- $7.99 ECB
...- $1 ECB

Total OOP $1.40

Nice. That is all the after Thanksgiving shopping I will be doing!

To see other great deals check out Money Saving Mom and Super Savings Saturday.

Also, go look at The Centsible Sawyer's CVS Superstars.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

Dave Ramsey $10 sale

Dave Ramsey is having a Thanksgiving Sale. All of his books and lots of CD's and DVD's are $10 each. They make great Christmas gifts. If you have read about our "get out of debt journey", you know we have done it by following God's way of dealing with money.
If you don't know our story, go HERE to read about our Financial Shape 2008.


Dave teaches the plan in a very relavant and practical manner. I highly recommend
The Total Money Makeover.

Menu Plan Monday 11/24

Well, here it is--Thanksgiving week! Yay! I am looking forward to working only Monday and Tuesday and having the rest of the week off to spend with family. I am trying to keep most days simple, since there are a lot of things to cook on Thursday. I also have to watch my son in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Monday
Hot dogs
baked beans

Tuesday
leftovers or
soup/sandwiches

Wednesday
spaghetti sauce and noodles
salad

Thursday--Thanksgiving!
I am making :
Stuffed Mushrooms
Cornbread Dressing
Macaroni and Cheese
Blueberry Crunch

Friday
Leftovers!

Saturday
Leftovers!

Sunday
Pork and rice
steamed veggies

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Lifehouse Everything Skit

If you haven't seen this skit, check out this video. It is a very moving skit.

#1 Christian Song for This Week

Click on the link below to view the #1 Christian Song this week. Great song.

Brandon Heath-Give Me Your Eyes

Blueberry Crunch

Here is a great and easy recipe. Take it to Thanksgiving Dinner and everyone will rave over it. Don't let them know how easy it is to make.

Blueberry Crunch

Butter a 9x 13 baking dish. Spread the following in layers in this order:

1 (20 oz) can undrained, crushed pineapple
3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup sugar (optional) - we skip this
1 box yellow cake mix (dry from box)
2 sticks melted margarine or butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar, sprinkled over the top of the layers
(again, optional, we don't add this)

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes until it tests done and is brown on the top. If the berries are still frozen when put in the baking dish, the baking time will be increased.
Last step, Enjoy!

Head over to Mommy Stays Home and check out more recipes or, better yet, post your favorite recipe on Recipe Thursday.

Also, check Money Saving Mom for lot of Thanksgiving on a Budget ideas!

Free Home Heat...Interesting

Easy FREE Home Heat! - video powered by Metacafe

Making Pancakes by Candlelight

For some inexplicable reason, our power went out this evening. It was about 6:15 p.m. EST. The weather was perfectly clear and cold. My daughter was doing homework in her room, and I was at the stove cooking our dinner. Pancakes and sausage. After a brief stunned moment, I grabbed a lighter and my daughter and I found the candles and flashlights.

My pancakes and sausage continued to cook, since I have a gas stove. I managed to get enough light just in time to save the pancakes from burning. I continued cooking and the whole family ate pancakes and sausage by candlelight.

We then cleaned our kitchen by candlelight.

I needed to get a whole chicken on to cook for our dinner tomorrow night, so my hubby and I cleaned the chicken, chopped onion and celery and then got the chicken on to boil--all by candlelight.

The power finally came back on about 7:45 p.m. I am glad....it's gonna be cold tonight!

Never Thought We Would See This Again....

Here is something I didn't think we would ever see again--gas below $2/gallon. I have to say I am thankful for $1.82/gallon! What a difference it makes in our budget, considering I have a long work commute.

Menu Plan Monday 11/17/08

I need to keep this quick and simple tonight. My breakfast and lunch menus are practically the same as past weeks', so here are my dinner plans.

Monday
Pizza
fruit

Tuesday
Chicken Stew
Rice
steamed veggie

Wednesday
Crockpot wings
Potatoes
steamed veggie

Thursday
Pork chops in crock pot
Potatoes
steamed veggie

Friday
Grilled chicken breasts
potatoes
steamed veggie

Saturday
pancakes
sausage or bacon

Sunday
Chicken and rice
steamed veggie

I have lots of Steamers veggies and Betty crocker potatoes, so those are sides most every night. I need to keep using from my pantry.

Have a great week!

Walgreens 11/16

I went to Walmart today with my son to buy him a few clothing items. He is leaving Sunday to travel to New York with his marching band--Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Marching Band. The Tech marching band is going to be in The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We bought him some thermals, and a few other clothing items.

Be sure to look for my son while you are watching the parade Thanksgiving Morning!!
Hi Tommy!

On the way home we stopped at Walgreens. My son needed Benadryl and Blistex to take on the trip, and I stocked up on the cheese that was on sale.

Here is the transaction:

4 -- 8 0z. Deerfield Farms shredded cheddar cheese 2 for $3 ($6 total)
3 -- Blistex medex lip balm $0.99 ea
...- 2 $0.25 MQ
2 -- Benadryl 24 ct. $3.99 ea
...- 2 $1 MQ

Total OOP $16.21

Be sure to visit Money Saving Mom and check out other deals on Super Savings Saturday.

Also, go look at The Centisble Sawyer and check out Drug Store Divas for more money saving ideas.

Kroger 11/16

I went to Kroger for some regular "non-coupon" items. I found a few good deals and my e-coupons and cell-fire Qs helped a little.

1 Cottonelle $0.99
...- $0.50 MQ
...- $0.50 cellfire Q (FREE)
2 gallons milk $3.28 ea
1 lb bananas $0.58
1.66 lb pears $1.66
2 1 lb bags mini carrots $1 ea (sign said $0.79 ea)
...- went to customer service and told them about error got both FREE!)
1 bag onions $2.49
...- $1 fresh veg Kroger Q ($1.49)
1 2-pk duracell batteries $1
...- $1 Kroger
...- $0.50 e-saver Q (FREE + overage)
5 packages of markdown ground chuck
... $2.62, $2.43, $2.50, $2.82. $2.87
2 loaves Kroger bread mark down $0.59 ea
1 pkg Kroger honey ham lunch meat $3
...-$0.45 Kroger Q
1 64 oz. OJ $2.99
2 Pert Plus Dandruff shampoo $2 ea
...- $2 MQ
...-$2 Kroger Q (FREE)
2 Herbal Essence products (shampoo & conditioner) $2.49 ea
...- $2/2 MQ
...- $2/2 e-saver Q P&G
1 French's Worcestershire sauce $1.49
...- Free Worcestershire sauce Q *(FREE)
1 56 oz. Private Selection ice cream $3.33
...- Free 56 oz. PS ice cream Q (FREE)

Total OOP $36.51 44% savings. Pretty good for so much meat and produce.

This total goes over my weekly budget of $35 by $1.61. Combined that with my CVS trip this morning and I am over budget by $10.80. I may still make a trip to Walgreens for the cheese deal that Money Saving Mom posted about HERE. She has compared that price to the lowest she has found at Aldis and says it is a good time to stock up. I need cheese for making homemade macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving. Sometimes, you just have to bend the budget a bit.

So total spent this month so far for groceries and household products is $115.80. Still on track to be well below my lowest month of the year which was about $330. I have budgeted $40 for next week.

Check out Money Saving Mom and see Super Savings Saturday.

CVS 11/16

I went to CVS Sunday morning to grab a couple of deals. I had ECBs expiring this week. None of my transactions were spectacular but here they are:

Transaction 1:

4 Glade air fresheners 2/$5--$10
...- 2 B1G1 MQ
...- $3.99 ECB

Total OOO $1.43
Received $5 EBC

Transaction 2


1 Loreal Age Perfect Tinted Moisturizer $15.99
...- $1 MQ
...- $6.98 ECB
...- $5 ECB (from 1st transaction)
...- $1.69 ECB

Total OOP $1.48
Received $15.99 ECB

Transaction 3

I was really hoping to find the tearpad $5/2 coupon that I read about on MSM, but my CVS manager said she hasn't see them. I only had three MQ for Duracell, but I decided it was still a pretty good deal for batteries since we will be needing lots this time of year.


4 pks 8 ct Duracell batteries $5.99 ea
...- 3 $0.75 MQ
...- $15.99 ECB (from transaction 2)

Total OOP $6.28 (ouch!)
Received $15 ECB

Saving those for Black Friday Sales!

My total OOP for today was $9.19. This will put me over my $35/week grocery budget for this week by about $9.

Check out Money Saving Mom and see how others did on Super Savings Saturday.

Then go over to The Centisible Sawyer and check out CVS Superstars.

Super Savings Saturday 11/15

I went out Saturday night for some last minute deals. I had $26.48 left to spend out of my $35/week goal. I made three stops. Here is how I did:

Target

I specifically went to Target to get the Scrubbing Bubbles deal. They were out of the 1 bottle starter kit that was on sale for $14.99. There were two of the 2 bottle starter kits on the shelf, so I went to scan them and they rang up for $14.99 too! Yea!!! Here is my deal:

2 Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner kits $14.99 ea
...- 2 $10.00 printable MQ
...-2 $3.00 Target Q ($3.98 for 2 kits!)
4 Muir Glen tomato paste $1.09 ea
...- 4 $1 printable MQ

Total OOP $4.34 plus tax!

Rite Aid

Okay, I know this is a weird transaction, but I am very brand loyal when it comes to ketchup. I have to have Heinz. I rarely see Heinz coupons, but Rite Aid had a sale this week so I zipped in for my ketchup.

2 Heinz ketchup $1.99 ea

Total OOP $4.10

Kroger

I just had to go back to Kroger for the terrific Mega Event deals. The prices I am showing are after the Mega event deduction:

2 Land o Lakes butter $2.00
...- 2 $0.55 MQ ($1.45 ea)
6 Carnation evaporated milk $$0.50 ea
...- 3 $1/2 MQ (FREE)
1 Pam cooking spray $2
... thought I had a cell fire Q :-(
3 Viva paper towels $1.50
...- 3 $1 MQ ($0.50 ea)
3 Betty Crocker potatoes $1 ea
...- 3 $0.80 MQ ($0.20 ea)
2 Deer Park 3L water $0.50 ea
...- 1 $1/2 MQ (FREE)
2 Scotch brite sponges $0.50 ea
...- 1 $1/2 MQ (FREE)
2 Scotch Brite nail saver sponges $1.50 ea
...- 2 $1 ea ($0.50 ea)
2 Domino 5# sugar $2.00 ea
...- 2 $0.70 MQ ($1.30 ea)
2 Toaster Strudel $1.50 ea
..- 2 $1 MQ ($0.50 ea)
1 Kroger light syrup $1.00

Total OOP $17.57 75% savings.

So total OOP for the week $27.77. I went over budget by$1.29. Not too bad.

To see how more folks did this week, visit Money Saving Mom's Super Savings Saturday.

Habitat for Humanity Restore

My friend, Lorrie, over at Mommy Stays Home, recently posted a great article on Struggling with Contentment. In this post she shows some of her home renovations and struggles with really wanting to finish other projects, but needed to get out of debt. I suggested to her that she check and see if there are any Habitat for Humanity ReStores in her area.

The Restores carry items that were donated but not used on Habitat builds. It varies on what you can get, but my sister has had good luck with tile.

So go and see if you have a Habitat ReStore in your area. It might be worth a trip.

Financial Shape 2008

I was inspired by Crystal at Money Saving Mom to post about our financial goals and accomplishment from this year. I have to admit that the idea of actually writing this down and posting it on the internet for the whole world and our families to see was a little scary! But, I think it is really important to be authentic about what we have been through, and I hope that some of you are inspired to embark on your own debt free journey.

First, I have to give you some background so you can understand how far we have come. In 2002, my husband was working as a retail manager with a very large big box store. He was nearing 10 years with that company, and the lifestyle was brutal. My husband worked long hours, most every weekend, and all holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas were a time that he just worked harder, not a time to enjoy God's Blessings or family time. I had taken a job as a nurse-manager and received a small raise, so I suggested that my husband quit the retail job and go back to school to become a teacher. He graduated May 2005 and began his career--with a whopping $28K in student loan debt!

Well, we didn't really worry too much about that, because he went to work in a low-income school and his concentration was in a high need area (math and science), so he would qualify for student loan forgiveness if he stays at that school for five years. All good, right?

Meantime, we really hadn't adjusted our lifestyle to one income. Also, I was working crazy hard and crazy hours in my management job. As a result, we ran up credit card debt.

Then, we decided that my husband really needed to get his Master's degree to be the most successful in his career. How did we pay for that? You guessed it...more student loan debt. ($8K)

By December 2006, we had the following debts:

Credit cards $25,000
Student Loan #1 $28,000
Student Loan #2 $8,600

I was starting have nagging feelings of anxiety, but I would brush them away. Then, December 28, 2006 at about 4:40 in the afternoon, I received a panicked call from my husband. He and my daughter had been at the movies, and my daughter had a seizure. A pediatrician was in the theater and I could hear her trying to arouse my daughter while my husband talked to me on the phone. Paramedics arrive to get her to the hospital. I was trying desperately to get to them, but I work an hour away. That day, Atlanta traffic was horrible and it took 1 hour and 45 minutes. When I arrived at the hospital, my daughter was stable and about to be taken in for a CT scan. As a nurse, I had been thinking the worst the whole way there. We were about to find out if anything obvious in her brain had caused the seizure. Fortunately, we were allowed to be with her during the scan. We waited anxiously after the test, surrounded by family and church family praying. Good new--no tumor.

There is a lot more to that story...many specialist visits. After all the visits, my daughter was diagnosed with partial complex seizure disorder and she is well now and on meds.

By March 2007, the medical bills started rolling in, and I started to feel a real panic about our finances. I had been praying about what to do. I talked with Christian friends at work. I told my friends that many times I don't feel like I know when God is sending an answer to my prayers. I even said "I really wish God would just put a big billboard in front of me--Here Lisa, do this."

Not long after that, while sitting in Atlanta traffic, I noticed a billboard advertising a radio show new to Atlanta. The Dave Ramsey Show. The billboard said something about getting out of debt--I immediately tuned my radio to 640 WGST. I started listening to Dave everyday. It changed our lives! We started our Total Money Makover by April 2007, and we took Financial Peace University in the fall 2007.

I would like to say that it has been totally easy since starting our Total Money Makeover, but it hasn't. There have been a lot of sacrifices. Also, we had what Dave would call Murphy move in with us. I called it Satan, trying to derail our plans of following God's way with finances. Both my son and my husband had medical issues. My husband ended up having an emergency appendectomy one week after starting Financial Peace University. In fact, I was the only member in our family not to have a CT scan in 2007! We have a high deductible insurance plan, so we had more medical bills. We stayed on course and kept our Total Money Makeover going. We were able to cash flow all of those medical events because of the knowledge we gained from Dave Ramsey and God's way of dealing with money.

We were also able to cash flow all of my son's college tuition, books, and dorm expenses. In addition, we have had to purchase a new range, replace a dilapidated fence and repair a car.


Here is what we have paid off/cash-flowed since April 2007:

Credit cards $25,000
Medical bills $8,000 (includes braces for daughter)
College for son $15,000
Misc other: $3,000


Total paid approximately $51,000 in 18 months!

Plus, we have $3,400 in an emergency fund.

Here is the debt we have left:

Student loan #1 $24,000
Student loan #2 $8,200

Again, my husband is still working in the low-income school and should have the #1 loan forgiven May 2010. We are actually on target to pay off the small student loan by Feb, 2009.

We do have other goals beyond these, but we will write those down and I will do a post in December about all of our 2009 goals.


Hint: I really want to come home or at the very least only work part-time....

Check out Crystal's blog and see more on Financial Shape 2008.

Happy 75th Birthday, Jim!

Sunday evening we met up with my husband Tom's family to celebrate his dad's 75th birthday. The ladies sang Happy Birthday accompanied by a drum and tambourine. (Hey, who's that good looking guy on the right? Oh yea, it's my hubby!)

Here is my father-in-law (Birthday boy) and mother-in-law.

The chef kept us entertained and the meal was really quite good.

Here is my shy girl with a couple of her cousins.

We had a great time, even if we did blow the budget. This expense counts in the entertainment budget--I think we have had all the "entertainment" we can afford for a while!

My Favorite Things 11/11

My Favorite Thing for this week is my favorite quilting magazine, The Quilt Sampler. This magazine features 10 quilt shops from around the country. There are pictures and descriptions of each shop and each shop submits a quilt pattern for the magazine. I enjoy reading the magazine and dreaming of owning my own quilt shop!

Making Your Home A Haven-Tidy

Monica over at The Homespun Heart is sponsoring Making Your Home a Haven this week. I wasn't sure about joining in since I work so much outside the home, but I decided I would participate as much as possible. I love the idea of this challenge because it will help hold me accountable and be a little more productive after work. Many times I am so exhausted that it is all I can do just to get the family fed and get to bed!

Here are some before and after pictures of a few small areas that I was able to tidy after work today. (I left work early because my daughter's school called--she has a sore throat and nausea--now I think I am getting sick, too!)












I also spent a few minutes sewing a costume for our upcoming Return to Bethlehem event at church. I have a goal to cut out and make one more villager costume this week.

Now I am off to make a cup of lemon tea, and spend a few moments reading Philippians Chapter 4 and praying.

See you tomorrow!

Menu Plan Monday 11/10

Still using up stockpile this week. I hope to whittle it down a bit during November. I have set a goal of $35/week for groceries. I went over a bit last week. Just can't seem to stay away from all the deals! HERE, HERE, and HERE. We will see how we do this week.

Breakfasts-cereal/milk, muffins, oatmeal, toaster strudel, eggos

Lunches-leftovers, soup, sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, carrot sticks, homemade cookies

Dinners

Monday
Pork Roast
mashed potatos
steamed veggie

Tuesday
Homemade Pizza made with THIS SAUCE

Wednesday
Crockpot wings
steamed veggie

Thursday
Pork Fried Rice (made with leftover pork roast)

Friday
Beans and rice
steamed broccoli
scalloped tomatoes

Saturday
Breakfast for dinner
eggs, toast, bacon, OJ

Sunday
Hamburgers
scalloped potatoes
steamed veggie

Have a great week!

Be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie to see more Menu Plan Monday ideas!

By the way, be sure to visit another great blog--Mommy Stays Home. Say hello to Lorrie and tell her I sent you! She has been a great inspiration to me and I think she is a "kindred spirit"!
She certainly is a sister in Christ.

Spaghetti Sauce

Here is my favorite recipe for spaghetti sauce. It is adapted from Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Lagerborg. I have added some things and changed it just a bit. This makes a large crock-pot full and it has a great flavor by using Italian sausage. It is also very frugal since there is only 1 lb. of meat and I often get tomato products free or nearly free. You can use it as spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or a base for lasagna. My daughter likes this so much better than traditional spaghetti sauce made with ground beef.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 12 oz can tomato paste
3 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes in puree
2 cups water
4 tsp minced garlic (4 cloves)
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
4 tablespoons fresh parsley (I often substitute dried)
2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

In a skillet, cook and stir the sausage with onions and garlic until the meat is brown, drain fat. Add meat mixture and remaining ingredients to crock pot and cook on medium 8 hours or high 6 hours. Stir occasionally.

Here are a few pictures from my most recent batch of sauce. As you can see, I substituted diced tomatos for some of the crushed that the recipe called for. Use whatever you have on hand or is the best price. Just keep the ounces the same or close. I substituted two 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes for one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.








I actually don't time this in the crock pot, I just let it go all day until it looks done. Use your own judgment.

I usually have this the first night as spaghetti and noodles and freeze the leftover sauce in containers the appropriate size for pizza sauce.

Try it and let me know what you think!