A Case of the Mondays

Some Monday mornings are just blah.  This particular Monday morning has been straight up awful.  The one accomplishment I am patting myself on the back over is coming home from dropping Ash at school and making coffee, because believe me... I had convinced myself that stopping by Starbucks for a toffee nut white mocha was going to be the reset I needed for today.  BUT -- moving is not going to be cheap, even if the man's company helps us with some of the associated costs.  So, despite this morning getting off to a bad start, I came home, made a pot of coffee and wrote out my to do list. 

My goals for today include:

Call about activating Nasonex coupon
Call ItWorks (IT DOESNT) about the wrong item auto shipping
Pick up Ash at 12:45 from school
Menu plan for the week
Fold & put away the boys clothes
Clean the boys room
Attend mediation orientation meeting this afternoon

AND

Tackle the closet in our room.  Eliminate what we don't need to keep and box up what we're keeping but don't need to use on a regular basis.

I am hoping for an EPIC moving sale.  My goal is to have $500 saved up for extra moving expenses, whether it be earmarked for a pet deposit, setting up new utilities or filling our fridge/freezer/pantry.  The great thing about my goals is that I know they are reasonable, and better yet -- REACHABLE!  Its all about being productive and staying motivated.

With that being said, I'm going to pour myself another cup of coffee, allow myself another few minutes on facebook, and get my hiney in gear!

BIG Changes Coming Our Way!

Once again, I want to thank Bob's company, Cook Security Group, for being so awesome! 

After being passed up for the first position he interviewed for, he promptly submitted his resume and interviewed for another position, this time the Project Manager position.  While he was interviewing they mentioned that there was an open Service Technician spot in the Portland area.  He got a call later that afternoon that they needed someone ready to hit the ground running for the project manager position but wanted to offer him the open service tech spot! 

It is so exciting to see our long term plans being put into action!  Bob has accepted the position in Portland.  We are preparing to move when school is out this June as long as they have filled his current position here by that time.  It is so extremely exciting and overwhelming all at once!  Moving is a pain, but being closer to my family and out of the crazy summer temperatures will be oh so worth it.

We keep discussing what we want our life to be.  Will we live in Washington or Oregon?  Apartment/Townhouse or a single family home?  Country? Subdivision?  City?  Our options seem endless!  I can't wait to settle into our new life, regardless of what it ends up looking like.  Until then we continue to somewhat mark time here.  With possibly 2 months still until we move, its too soon to pack and too soon to find a new rental.  We can't make firm decisions quite yet, but we can dream..... and we are :)

Motivation (and a plan!)

Bob applied for a new position within his company last week.  I am so proud of him for having the desire to challenge himself, work towards promotions and continue to support our family.  I don't know what his chances are for getting this position, but what I DO know is that if it is offered to him we will be moving.  I am thrilled about the idea of living in the Southern Washington/Portland area again, but when I look around our house I'm not so thrilled with the idea of the actual moving process.  Last night I decided that I need to go through our home, room by room, and purge as if we are getting ready to move.  If he gets the position then I'm one step ahead on the process, and if he doesn't get the position then our house is neater, cleaner and more organized.

--On a side note:  I saw a banner for the Watershed Festival on Facebook this morning.  Toby Keith, Brad Paisley and TONS more country artists that I would love to see.  Tickets go on sale on Friday, March 15th.  A successful yard sale would totally offset some of the cost of tickets!  First order of business is to see if my parents would be willing to watch the kiddos and give Bob and I an amazing weekend away.  Hmm...

Anyway, back to the scheduled programing.  Purging.  I wrote out a list of each area in our house and came up with:

Bathrooms
Master Bedroom
Master Closet
Boys Room
Hall Closets
Ashlyn's Room
Living Room/Toy Area/Entry
Kitchen
Laundry Room
Garage
Backyard

11 areas total, some will require more time than others.  My plan is to give myself two weeks, starting today, and focus on one area at a time.  Two weeks will give me a cushion so that if I'm not able to work on an area one day, or if something takes more than one day (garage) I can devote more time.  I will go through each area and determine what we are keeping and what needs to go.  The "GO" items will be further divided into categories - yard sale/consignment, free or trash.  Whatever doesn't sell from the yard sale/consignment category will be donated.  Once I have committed to getting something out of the house I will make sure it goes, one way or another.  Wish me luck!

Meal Planning & Money Saving

I've started this entry twice already, and also discovered TWICE that the auto save function wasn't working.  Third time's a charm, right?  

I have finally found a meal planning method that works for our family!  I save money on groceries and sanity at 5 o'clock.  I'd call that a win-win for sure!  This is a peek into how I do meal planning now.  Its been some trial and error, and what works for me might not work for you.  I think the key here is to be purposeful and flexible at the same time.  Don't keep forcing yourself to do something that isn't working.  For me, staring at the fridge/freezer/pantry and thinking, "Ok, whats for dinner tonight" was one of those things that just wasn't working.  Now I can glance at the list on my fridge, consult the man to see what sounds good to us both, and pull meat out in time to defrost or begin any other prep that might need to be done. 

Step 1:  Go shopping.  I shopped on Saturday at Safeway this week.  I have found that the best way for me to save money in combination with meal planning is shopping first and buying whats on sale.  Everyone has a general idea of what their family likes to eat and will eat, pick from those main ingredients that are on sale.  Build your meals around what you can pick up at the store, not by finding recipes and then purchasing all the ingredients necessary (unless you know from your store's weekly ad what is on sale... then pick your recipes and build your meals around what you have on hand and what you can pick up on sale.)

 This is a picture of Saturday's grocery haul, and the following items are what I intend to use for our meals this week and next.  I spent a total of $141.24, with 48% savings that breaks down to $90.55 card savings, $19.97 Just For U savings and $14.95 paper coupons redeemed.

I also want to quickly highlight the Just For U deal on Ranchers Reserve beef, $5 off a $20+ purchase.  I was able to add this offer to my card and it has a limit of 1 per day, good from 2/27-3/5!  I was able to find 3 packages of Ranchers Reserve beef that added up to $20.02 which equaled paying $15.02 after the offer was applied.  Safeway also frequently runs a deal where you receive a $10 Catalina (the type of coupons that print out with your receipt, and are good to use on your next purchase) on a $75+ purchase and this past weekend was one of those offer periods.  Since the Ranchers Reserve deal is good through tomorrow, I sent my $10 Catalina coupon with Bob to work today and gave him instructions to stop by Safeway on his way home and pick out $20 worth of Ranchers Reserve beef.  Depending on how close he gets to $20 without going over, the Just For U offer will take $5 off, and after using the $10 catalina coupon he will pay $5 (or slightly over) for another $20 worth of beef!  I'm anxious to see what he picks.....



The Meat:
6pk boneless skinless chicken breasts - 2.49/lb for a total price of $7.25 (my target price for chicken breasts is $1.99/lb, but we had used all of our chicken in the freezer and I wanted to add some variety to our mostly beef menu this week!)
2 Hilshire Farms Sausages -  B1G1
Ranchers Reserve beef strips - $5/$20 Ranchers Reserve purchase with my Just For U offers
Ranchers Reserve stew beef
Ranchers Reserve london broil

The Supporting Roles:
1pk egg noodles
1 family size herb & spinach ravioli - on clearance for $2.99
2 bell peppers
2pks frozen corn Green Giant Steamers - $1.98 for both after Just For U savings
asparagus (made a great addition to our pulled pork and potato salad on Sunday night!)

Step 2:  Assess what you have on hand, and what you were able to purchase.  Come up with 5-8 meal ideas that you can make with what you have.  I say 5-8 because its likely that you will have enough for a leftover night, you may be accounting for a meal at friends/family or ordering pizza/eating out.  (or those nights where nothing sounds good so you just eat a bowl of cereal.... hands please, who else has done this?) 

I have tried meal planning that assigns specific meals to specific days, but there are times that my "assigned" meal just doesn't sound good.  I like having the flexibility of picking something off the list and knowing that we have everything needed to prepare the meal.  Which brings me to step 3....

Step 3:  As you create your meal list for the week, make a separate grocery list that includes the few items you might have forgotten at the store or that you are now determining you need to round out your meals.  This shopping trip should only have to be a few items because you have already done the bulk of your shopping.

Some of the items on my menu are utilizing things we had available (creamy wild rice soup base, 1lb ground beef, spaghetti sauce & noodles, tortillas) and some of the items from my grocery shopping trip won't make it on this week's menu.  Are you seeing the trend with being flexible?  I like being flexible! 

Since the man's schedule can vary, I like to include a crock pot meal, a few quick and easy meals and a grilling meal or two.

Our Menu:

-Stroganoff in the crock pot & frozen corn (using the egg noodles and stew beef)

- Fajitas (using beef strips & bell peppers)

- Grilled chicken and twice baked potatoes

- Creamy chicken wild rice soup with homemade bread, hopefully.

- Sausage & poatoes with frozen corn (Hilshire farm sausuages)

- Spaghetti & meatballs

What $100 in Groceries Looks Like to my Family

For all of us that like visuals -- here it is!  This is what $100 in groceries looks like in our household.  Well, $115.85 to be exact.... or.. $111.33 (after my Endorse rewards) to be exactly exact. 

I do a big-ish shopping trip generally once each weekend to make sure we have what we need for the coming week, though I do generally end up running to the store mid week to get milk and those few items that we need to round out our meals (which is why you don't see any milk pictured here!)

This was my shopping trip at Safeway this weekend.  I want to highlight how its possible to save money on groceries without going all "Crazy Couponer" or running from store to store to store.  This was one store, maybe 15-20 minutes of before shopping prep time to check the contents of our fridge/freezer/pantry, and maybe 10 minutes to load savings onto my Just For U account and check to see what the others in blogisphere were saying about Safeway deals this week!

I stock up on items I know we will use when prices are low.  This may not look like a "complete" shopping trip, but that is because I always try to use what I have at home.  Sometimes I buy more meat, sometimes I buy more canned goods... the way I shop is dependent on the sale cycles.

Here is a breakdown of this shopping trip:
3 boxes of honey nut cheerios medley
1 box of peanut butter cinnamon toast crunch
1 box of Safeway brand graham crackers
2 bottles of Safeway brand apple juice
1 47.8oz jar of Safeway brand applesauce
4 boxes of Safeway brand pasta
1 box of Safeway brand fruit snacks (Star Wars, yeah baby!)
2 bags of soup mix (B1G1)
2 boxes of Quaker chewy granola bars
2 boxes of Better Cheddar crackers
1 family size Oreos
2 pouches of McCormick chili seasoning
2 boxes of Capri Sun roarin waters
1 Mrs Butterworth syrup
2 Plum Organic tots pouches
4 4pks of Angel Soft tp
1 box of Kleenex
2 Kraft Fresh Take cheese/seasoning mixes
18 ct eggs
2lb sharp cheddar cheese block
2lb shredded medium cheddar cheese
1 container blue cheese crumbles
1 16oz container sour cream
1 package of Challenge stick butter
3 3pks of Dawn scrubbers
1 package Mom to Mom (Safeway brand) diapers
1 package Monster High erasers (clearance priced for 99 cents)
1 loaf white bread
3.7lbs hamburger
4lb pork shoulder roast
2.6lbs bananas
1 cucumber
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
1 onion
2 avacados
1 bag baby carrots
5lb box of Cutie oranges
1 bag salad mix
1 bag spinach
1 bottle of Maries salad dressing
1 package tortelloni (clearance priced at $1.99)

My savings breakdown shows the value of shopping sales and using store cards:
Total Saved - $97.95 or 46%!
(Card savings - $62.18, Just for U savings - $20.67, paper coupons - $15.10)

I think this shopping trip shows that you don't need to make couponing a full time job in order to see savings, the smartest way to shop is paying attention to sales and cycles and building your menu around what you are able to pick up at the grocery store and already have on hand.  I know the food we eat isn't always the healthiest, but I try not to buy a lot of processed foods.  There may not be a lot of coupons for produce and whole foods, but they DO exist, and store sales and club card savings can really help you in those areas!  The key is being flexible with your shopping trips and menus.

As always, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about couponing.  Happy Shopping, go save some money!

Pay Period Review {Feb 1-14}

We interrupt this regularly scheduled review to admit that the budgeting attempts went out the window!  I find that its harder to budget and be responsible when we have more money than we are used to having.  Now that our tax refund has been mostly spent/enjoyed/earmarked for bills, and we have made it past two birthdays and Valentines Day we are actually happy to be back to our normal financial situation.

Pay Period Review { Jan 18-31 }

Budgeting should be a four letter word.

Its a challenge and disappointment, a goal and a curse.  I need to continue to remind myself that this is a work in progress and that even at a minimum, having a budget outlined and tracking our spending is a HUGE step and better than doing nothing at all.

Our "monkey wrench" during this period and our current pay period has been Ashlyn's birthday and receiving a hefty tax refund.  Some people see having a big influx of money as a good thing.  Personally, it scares the heck outa me!  I can be so impulsive at times that I stress over purchases and how to spend and be responsible at the same time... but more on that to come with the next review!

Ashlyn turned 10 yesterday!  It makes me feel old to be the parent of a ten year old... the fact that I'm on the brink of 30 doesn't phase me, but a 10 year old daughter seems monumental!  I wanted to make sure we celebrated this birthday in a big way, so we invited Ashlyn's best friend from our neighborhood to spend the night with us at the new Holiday Inn Express here in Red Bluff.  We had a great time at our girl's night slumber party/pool party!

All in all, including the cost of the hotel room, pizza, snacks & birthday gifts I think we were able to keep Ashlyn's celebration in the $150 range.  I love being purposeful with gift giving, planning ahead and shopping for deals.  We were able to get an outfit from Justice (Yikes! Expensive!) for Ash to wear to dance rehersals.  It was $30 for a pair of yoga type pants and a cute top, and that was after I used a $25 off $50 purchase reward card that I got for free from a lady on Red Bluff Needs.  Now, had it not been her birthday I probably would have searched the thrift stores for an outfit or two, but birthdays deserve something new!  We also gifted a pair of Monster High Earbuds (free through Amazon when I redeemed some swagbucks, an American Girl book called The Care and Keeping of You that I found at a yardsale last summer, an American Girl craft kit that I got on super clearance at Michaels and an 8x10 print of the fruits of the Spirit with a cool frame also found at Michaels. 

Now, onto the regular scheduled programing:

Groceries/Consumables:
Initially budgeted: $300
Actual spending: $349.87
Hmmm.. Over again.  I need to determine a better way to work within this category.  I think I do pretty well with the grocery part in seeing big savings, but this will be something I focus on continuously.  Using coupons, shopping sales and menu planning is helping us tremendously.  We need to get back to using cloth diapers more frequently, and maybe be a little more selective with the drug store deals I'm doing.  I know the way I shop saves us money in the long run, but I need to do better at keeping the budget in mind WHILE I'm shopping!

Eating Out:
Initially budgeted: $50
Actual spending: $18
It seems like this can't possibly be right.  Did we actually not get pizza, or anything else with the family?  This $18 included $9.11 at Sonic for an afternoon ice cream treat one day, and $8.89 for a late night Mom & Dad McDonalds run.

Gas:
Initially budgeted: $50
Actual spending: $45!
Yep, loving our van (and Safeway's gas reward program) more and more and more!

Spending Money:
Bob's budgeted: $50
Bob's actual spending: $79.81
Bob's spending was mostly eating out while he was working.  This number is crazy to me, I would think he might want some of his spending money to actually spend and buy himself stuff he wants.  Granted, he filed an expense report and will get about $50 back from his per diem allotment when he had to spend the night on the coast for work.  Still... definitely need to work on this area for the budget AND our health.

Hailey's budgeted: $100
Hailey's actual spending: $84.01
I am so proud of myself!  I really thought this would be a bigger challenge, and I'm sure there are times where it will be, but it helps to be aware of this category and be more specific and conscious of my purchases.

We had a lot of "extras" during this period:  $10 at the mobile vet clinic to get Dallas utd on his rabies shot, $45 for Ashlyn's dance costume for the recital coming in June, $55 for Dannon's soccer registration and $40 to some friends of ours.  I was thrilled to be able to raise the $100 for the kid's activities by selling items on Red Bluff Needs and Craigslist. 

Part of my yard sale/thrifting hobby is knowing what I can buy for cheap and resell.  When Ashlyn and I were in Sacramento during the beginning of January I found a like new pair of women's K2 inline skates.  The beauty of owning a smart phone is that I could look up the specifics on the spot. I ended up buying the skates for $8.99 when I realized they retailed for $120+ and successfully sold them on craigslist for $50! That one ten dollar purchase ended up paying Ashlyn's costume fee.  Bring on yard sale season!