Frugal Breakfast

Crystal at http://www.moneysavingmom.com asked for frugal breakfast ideas. So here are my ideas. In our household we have two favorites, baked oatmeal and chilaquiles(a mexican dish).

Baked Oatmeal(in slow cooker)
1/3 cup oil (I put a little less)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
2 cups dry quick oats
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
Pour the oil into the slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients. Mix well and then pour into cooker. Bake on Low 2 1/2-3 hours.

Chilaquiles
12 corn tortillas, cut into small strips or triangles
small amount of oil (it's a family recipes so I don't know the exact measurements)
can of Las Palmas Enchilada sauce
shredded cheese (your choice)
Fry the tortillas in the oil until they are crispy. Pour the sauce over it a little at a time(as much or as little as desired) add about 1/2 cup of water. Cover and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Top with cheese and enjoy. Yummy!

Weigh In Wednsday

Like mentioned in the previous post I want to lose weight, so I decided that I would weigh myself every Wednsday. So today was my first weigh in. The scale read 177lbs. :( So I have a lot of work to do.

Weight Battle

I was looking through some old pictures of my husband and my courtship. It was really nice to see how thin and well kept I was. Don't get me wrong I am not a mess(well not most of the time), but I did take care of myself a lot more. I am especially concerned about my weight. I have gained about 50 pounds since our courtship began and 30 since we got married. After having the boys excercise was on the bottom of my to-do list.
So, I decided to begin excercising again and become the "lovely young lady" my husband fell in love with once again. I will begin logging my progress every wednsday. I think that if I log it in I will feel more accountable and hopefully anyone else who is going through the same struggles of losing weight in the midst of children, housework, and other responsibilities can offer some words of encouragement, and maybe my journey can also offer some encouragement.

Black Friday

Well I experienced my first Black Friday. I had never gone shopping on that day so it was thrilling. I got up at 3:30am. and my first stop was JC Penny. I purchased some short square heeled boots, bath towels, bath rugs and undergarments. I then hit Old Navy I bought two sweaters and a shirt. Finally I went to The Children's Place (see my other post on the great savings at The Children's Place) there I bought 3 tops and a pair of pants. I spent about $160 but my sister had sent my son a $35 gift card for his birth day so I guess you can say I only spent $125.



I will add pictures later.


I then went to CVS. Here is a breakdown of my purchase (my best yet!)
1 Colgate toothpaste $2.99-$1 coupon
1 Bic razor $6.99-$2 coupon
1 Soy Joy bar(I was hungry :) $1.29
Total $11.68 minus $2/$10 CVS coupon, $3.50 MC.
Total after coupons $5.68 I used a 2ECB and a 3EC
OOP $1.68 (I could have used another ECB but I had a bad experience before, not at this CVS so I got scared. On my second transaction below, the cashier encouraged me to use them. Now I know where to go :). I used 5ECB and got 9.98ECB and a $4/$20 coupon. Not bad.

2nd transaction
2 bags of M&M's 2/$4.00-$1 coupons and $1.00 because he couldn't get a coupon to scan
2 colgate toothpaste $5.98-$1.50C-$1C
1 Johnson's & Johnson's lotion $5.69-$1C
1 Softsoap Body Wash $3.99(i had already printed the coupon for this item:(
1 pack Wrigley's gum(filler) $1.19
Total $20.85 minus coupons $4/$20 CVS coupon, $2/$10CVS coupon- $4.50 worth of MC
Total after coupons $10.35 I paid with 10ECB
OOP .35 and I got 17.66ECB

Thanksgiving and multi-generational vision

This year I have many things to be thankful for. I have two wonderful boys a great husband, supportive parents, the list goes on and on. This year I've been working on accepting God's life for me. I have learned to listen to His guiding voice and be patient and wait for his blessings.



I am also thankful for all the wonderful families and ministries that have touched my life and that of my family.



This past weekend we visited my husband's uncle who had a stroke. It was a small hospital and the lobby and room was full of people who were there to see him, pray for him and his family. The nurses had never seen such a united family with so much love, devotion, and a true desire to serve. His children took turns caring for him, they stayed the night and never left his side. His wife of course never left. Their daughter's brought in food and clothes for their mother.



They were blessed with 14 children and at this trying time their love was evident. As we drove (it is about a 2hr. drive) my husband and I discussed what great vision his uncle had for his family. It was wonderful to see this great patriarch surrounded by his children and grandchild. My husband did not have a great model for a father while growing up, so having his uncle has been such a blessing not only for him but for me also.



We hope that he continues to recover as quickly as he has been.



I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Money Making Monday-Melaleuca

I don't do this so I am no expert. A couple of weeks ago my aunt's niece (she is my aunt by marriage) invited me to a "party". It was actually a demonstration of Melaleuca products. According to her the products are natural/organic and safe for use in the home. From my understanding you get a percentage of what people you referred to the company buy. It sounded good but my husband is still a little aprehensive about it. We live in a small apartment and don't have much room for presentations and we don't think our family would be interested in products. You also have to buy certain number of points each month which total to about $40 a month, which would break my budget. But it may work for some of you it never hurts to look into it.

Children's Place Savings

My husband and I are trying to get out of debt so we have paid off all our credit cards and canceled them. The only two that we kept are Home Depot(my husband is a roofer and does some other construction jobs) and The Children's Place. I love this store, the quality of clothes is excellent and the prices are reasonable. I've looked at consignment stores and Goodwill but I never find anything for my boys (or myself for that matter, nothing seems modest or in my size). What I love about Childrens Place is that it has a program called Place Points, they give you 10% off every time you shop, add their coupons that they send you and Birthday club coupon and you can get a pretty good deal. On Friday I went shopping for my oldest, his birthday had just passed and he had gotten money from Aunts and Uncles and Grandpa and Grandma.



I got him 3 pairs of pants, 3 tops, 1 dressy sweater, and one jacket(thick with lining, really toasty and warm). The total would have been $147.37 but with my 10% Place points 20% birthday coupon, and a 10% coupon that they sent me and after sales I paid only $80.65. But since he had gotten $70 for his birthday I only paid$10.65! Even the sales clerk was surprised.



I "pay" the card before I go shopping online so I don't carry over balances or I just pay when I return from shopping. You must have a card to get the Place points so I think it is worth it. Also since I have two boys and they are close in age the little wears the hand me downs. The quality is so good that they don't look that used. I look at it as an investment.

Super Saturday Savings

This is my first post ever. I have always enjoyed reading other people's blog so I decided to start my own. I am new to all this but I hope that others who read this will enjoy it and be encouraged.

For my first post I would like to share my savings for the week. My husband and I are trying to save as much as possible to buy our home. We could'nt believe how much we were spending each month on groceries. I found Crystal's great site, http://biblicawommanhood.com and from there I was introduced to her other site http://moneysavingmom.com/ she has great tips on how to save money on groceries, I highly recommend both sites.

My trip began with CVS on Friday. This is what I got:

2 Garnier products @ 5.99 each =11.98

1Palmolive dish liquid @1.49

1CVS cotton swabs @1.99

Total 17.81(w/tax included)

My coupons:

2/$1 for Garnier products

.40 for Palmolive

$2 off for $10 spent CVS coupon

Total after coupons: 12.33

I used a 10ECB from a previous transaction

OOP $2.33

I got 13ECB back (10ECB for the Garnier products, 2ECB CVS swabs and 1ECB for the Palmolive) and I also got $4 off purchase of $20 or more coupon.

I also got the Hershey's Kisses, they were 2/$5. I used 4ECB and only paid .99 OOP. I received 3ECB for my next trip.

Now on to my other finds. I am very fortunate to have so many grocery stores so close to home so I get to shop all the sales without going out of my way. All the stores form a U shape aroung our home so I took my coupons and my list and began early in the morning( 8am, hubby stayed with our two boys :) )

Food 4 Less(Kroger owned)

Sara Lee Pies 2 @ 1.98 (Sale price other stores had them for 7.99!) $3.96

Cool Whip .98 (sale price)

Kraft dressing $1.68

2lbs. bananas $1.16

there is something else on the receipt for .98, but I can't remember what it was and the picture and receipt aren't helping job my memory.

After sales and coupons I only paid $6.06.

Albertson's

They had Pillsbury Grands Biscuits on sale for $1 and if you bought three they gave you 1 free. I had a .30 coupon. So I got 4 for only $2.70.

Ralph's (Kroger owned, I believe)

10lb bag of potatoes .97!

canned peaches 1.19

Last but not least

Vons

2 bags of Tostitos tortilla chips reg. price 3.49 on sale for 1.66

2 boxes of Wheat Thins reg. price 3.59 on sale for 1.66

2 gallons of milk 6.33 (the leas expensive I've seen)

Total before sales & coupons 20.49

Total after 10.55

This week we've only spent $23.60
Our pantry and freezer is full from previous weeks deals so we didn't get much this week. I did manage to keep our total to less than $25 which was my goal since last week we did spend a little more than my alloted $50 a week for groceries and household items. Oh by the way the soda, Apple Jacks, cookies, and napkins were free so I didn't bother to put a price on them.