WFD: Chili & Latest Happenings

So glad to see Saturday has finally arrived. I've been busy working every day this past week and already have work lined up for Monday. I received my first paycheck for this school year this past week on Tuesday and it was a welcome addition to my budget! I was breathing a  lot easier after I paid all the bills due and won't have another one due until October 15, 2011. 

I've been busy today doing four loads of laundry, taking off the garbage today (saves on garbage service fees), and cleaning the house. I've had the oil changed in my car, topped off the gas tank, and have otherwise enjoyed a pleasant Saturday at home.

Dinner tonight is homemade chili, which we are eating in front of the TV watching the new Kennedy movie.  A very fun filled and frugal Saturday at our home. :)

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Dried Onion Soup Mix from Scratch

Dried Onion Soup Mix from Scratch

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dried onion flakes

2 Tablespoons beef bouillon granules or paste

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/8 teaspoon celery seed

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. 

Store in an airtight container. 

Use in recipes that call for one envelope of dry onion soup mix.

To make as a dip, mix recipe with one pint of sour cream.

First Place Winner

I've been busy working almost everyday, but just had to let you all know that my Pickled Grape Tomatoes won FIRST place in the county fair. 

I wrote about them here and here. :)

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Back Woods Home Magazine Website

The Back Woods Home magazine website is an excellent resource for Frugal Living.  They have a message board/forum dedicated to Frugal Living that, while not extremely active, is more hardcore frugal than some message boards and worthy of a look see.

My reason for mentioning Back Woods Home magazine is an article that came across my desk the other day called, Start Your Food Storage on $10 a week. This article explains one way of beginning to build a stockpile with a small amount of money per week and is definitely worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Little Debbie Thrift Store

Little Debbie, a company which makes snack cakes, has a thrift store located in Cleveland, Tennessee at 68 Mouse Creek Road. Cleveland is one of two towns where I normally shop for groceries. The Little Debbie stores not only sell snack cakes, but also crackers, some bulk foods, and some types of reduced priced breads like Pepperidge Farm and Sarah Lee. I had some time to kill this morning, so decided to make a stop and spent $12.49 and have plenty of sweets and bread to last a couple of weeks or more. Here is a picture of what I bought:

2 boxes of Red Velvet Cakes - 50¢ each

1 loaf Sarah Lee 100% whole wheat bread - $1.39

1 package Pepperidge Farm Goldfish bread - $1.39

1 box of 6 Cheese Danish - $2.00

1 box of 24 Nutty Bars - $2.35

1 box Fudge Cakes - $1.25

1 box of 12 Cosmic Brownies - $2.00

Total Cost: $ 12.49 with tax

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Crash and Burn Items 9-14-11

It's been over a month since I've been on a good grocery store run and I scored big in the crash and burn section today. I found two bags of cornmeal, two cans of chili, several cans of beans, tomatoes with green chilies, evaporated milk, brownies, and refried beans.  Here is a breakdown of what I found:

2 - 5 pound bags cornmeal - $1.40 and $1.20

2 - 28 ounce cans - Field Peas with Snaps & Onions - 90¢ each

6 cans - 15 ounce - Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies - 30¢ each (Score!)

2 - 15 ounce - cans Chili - 55¢ each

1 - 15 ounce can pinto beans - 30¢

1 - 28 ounce can refried beans - 95¢

1 bag Pillsbury Sweet Moments Fudge Brownies - $1.25

1 - 8 ounce - can corn - 35¢

1 can evaporated milk - 40¢

Have you been finding any crash and burn items lately? How about close out items or clearance grocery items?

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Price Matching, Sales, and Coupons

Made a run to Wal-Mart yesterday for needed supplies and did some price matching while I was there. One way I save money is by combining a sale item with a coupon, which is what I did yesterday. For example, Food Lion has the 50 ounce bottle of Wisk laundry detergent on sale this week for $3.99 and I had four coupons for $2.00 off one bottle. 

Wal-Mart normally sells this size bottle for $4.58, so I presented the Food Lion sale ad to the Wal-Mart cashier and asked her to price match the sale item. After that I handed her my four coupons, which she then deducted from my total. 

Also included in the picture are two bottles of Pantene conditioner, one can of Skintimate shaving gel, and one box from a ten pack of Minute Maid juice boxes, all paid for with free coupons. The cashier was happy for me and asked me where I got those coupons, and I was happy to share the information with her. 

The Wisk coupons came from the Sunday paper coupon inserts, while the other coupons came from liking companies on Facebook and then receiving coupons to try their products for free, which I have discussed in other posts here and here and here.  And finally, the Minute Maid coupon came from the Coke Rewards program, which I posted about here.

My total before coupons and sales was: $ 31.10

My total after price matching and coupons:  $ 7.96

Total savings:  $23.14

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

What's for Dinner: Salmon Patties

Dinner tonight was another meal I pulled together using food from my pantry. I used two cans of salmon and made Salmon Patties with them. I also had 3 leftover baked potatoes in my refrigerator, so I made them into a batch of home fries. I also made two rounds of  cornbread and used two cans of green beans from the pantry and doctored them up to make Green Beans with Onions in EVOO on the side.

What's for dinner at your house today?

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

When the Child Support Doesn't Show Up

I’ve been going over my budget for August and September.  My budget is smaller during the summer months because I have less income due to school being out of session. But in August I had even less income than I originally anticipated because my daughter’s child support was only 50% of what I expected to receive, which made for a rough month budget wise.  

The reality is that child support depends on the non-custodial parent working and that is oftentimes out of your control.  Sometimes even with a court order in effect, child support money may not be paid on time. This lack of payment can hurt the budgets of families who depend on these funds to run their households. 

One strategy to assist families in cases like this is to have a savings account or emergency fund that will cover at least one month’s expenses in case the child support money is not paid in a timely manner.  This is the strategy I was able to use this month. I was able to transfer some money from my savings account, which reinforces to me how important it is to save money because emergencies can happen when we least expect.

With careful planning we were able to withstand the lack of income although spending was down in all categories across my budget. As a result, I only spent $187.36 on groceries in August and $77.38 for gas. From the looks of my pantry we went through a great deal of our food that I had stockpiled, which is another strategy families can utilize as a way to protect themselves from an unexpected drop in income.

 

Belinda 

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving Money at the Gas Pump ~ Tips

Image Credit

Saving Money at the Gas Pump

Belinda

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2011. 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”