Wednesday, January 28, 2009

ColdWater Creek

I personally love Coldwater Creek clothes. They are having a sale right now. There is tons of stuff for less than 9.99 shipping isn't bad either.

Angel Food

I made the ribs last night for supper. The kids liked them. I added mashed potatoes and a salad to supper. They seemed to enjoy it. That made the meal about $4.00 for ribs for a family of 4. We did have some left over. It can feed a family with 3 teenage boys. :) My 12 year olds are really starting to eat a lot so I don't always know if I am making enough.

I am making no bake cookies today for a treat. This are realativly inexpensive for a snack and easy to do. My kids like them warm and gooy they don't wait for them to get hard. They would eat it right out of the pan if I would let them. My brother is the one who taught them that.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Cheap Beauty Tricks

Hair

Rinse your hair with apple cider vinegar. This clarifies and makes it shiny.
I found this about washing hair too much. You could use corn starch that all baby powder is.
"Most women only need to wash their hair every other day. Not only does this save on shampoo, but it also keeps your hair healthier since overwashing can dry it out. Pat baby powder on your roots to absorb any oil in between sessions." —Bumble and Bumble hairstylist Dennis Lanni

Facial

Brown Sugar and Milk Mask

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 - 2 tbsp milk, anything but skim
Instructions:
Mix the two ingredients well. Apply to freshly cleaned face and massage gently for a full minute - leave on for 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water and pat dry.

Lip Gloss Tinted
Any broken Lip stick
Vaseline or chap stick
Mix and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds put in a small container

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Angel Food Ministries

Well we got the box of food. It sure didn't look like much at first. :) But it had the chicken quarters in it, stakes, riblets, and a bunch of other food. I will make the first thing tomorrow night. I am not sure what to make but I will figure that out soon enough :) Next month's menu doesn't look like much I would use. I did find a website that had recipes and menues if you buy four boxes it would feed your family for 4 weeks with buying a little extra at the store.

The fruit and veggie box for $21 I don't know what I will do I may just wait till the next time to get a box depending on what it looks like

Friday, January 23, 2009

Leftovers?

Okay so you have this food left over in your fridge....WHAT do you do with it?



Well they are not left over they are planed overs



So what do we do. Planned left overs, If I make a chicken I will roast it and then serve it. I make Sticky Chicken in my Crock pot



I make Chicken Noodle Soup with the left over chicken



I take my left over chicken and chicken broth and then put it in a pot with my carrots celery. Then I add frozen noodles in it. It makes a easy meal and yummy.



Crock pot Roast Sticky Chicken Recipe

4 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large roasting chicken

1 cup chopped onion

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.When ready to cook chicken put the onions into the cavity, put the bird into the crock pot and do not add any liquid. As the cooking process goes on it will produce it's own juices. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours and it will be falling off the bone tender.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Cut the Cable

So how much do you spend on your cable? $100 per month? Can you live with out cable? Can you live with out a cell phone? Can you live with internet that is not as fast? If you can cut the cost even if it is for 6 months or a year. This saves you $600-$1200 per year. That can be put on a credit card. Imagine how much you save on intrest. Could you use $600 on one of your credit cards?



What about my children? What will they do for fun?



Maybe your children will play outside or get a new hobby. This could be good for them.

Save Money

Stop using your credit cards. Go on a spending freeze. Set up that you will spend 200 dollars this month on groceries and buy nothing else. Delegate how much you will spend on gas. Pay your bills. Do not go out to eat or anything. Then next month make a list of everything you spend money on see what you spend your money on. Then see what you can cut out.

Not using your credit card to buy things saves you interest. This makes it so your not robbing Peter to pay Paul. Even if something is on sale using your credit card does not save you money. You have to pay interest on this.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Bad little Habits

So what little habit do you have? Do you buy a coke every day? Do you buy an expensive cup of coffee every morning? Smoke a pack of cigarettes?

How much does this little thing cost you per day, week, month or yearly?

Lets say you buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks, it is $3.50. If you do this 5 days a week, I have a friend who does, it is $17.50 a week that is $70 per month or $910 per year! What can you do with an extra $900 a year? Put it towards a credit card.

Okay so we don't get the expensive coffee but the $1.00 cup ($5.00 per week or $20 per month or $240 per year) at the gas station. I have a problem when I stop at the gas station I always pick up candy.

So if you make the coffee yourself you can buy a nice reusable cup for $4.00 or a package of 15 throw away cups at Wal-mart for $2.50. Make it yourself and save yourself the money. All of that money that you will literally put in the toilet.

Maybe just use that special cup of coffee for a once a week treat, like loosing that extra 5 lbs. You get the idea.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

What is for dinner?

Well I was given this recipe by one of my online friends. VERY EASY

Crock pot Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Breast (I use one large one about $2.00)
Green Enchilada Sauce the large can ($1.50)
Put in a crock pot on low for 6 hours
Then shred with fork
Put in taco shells (.99)
Serve with cheese and sour cream if you like.
I serve with Mexican rice
I take 3/4 c water 1/4 c salsa bring to boil and then add 1 cup instant rice.
It is super easy meal.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Saving Money on Entertainment

Well what do you do when it is winter for entertainment? We want something fun and cheap!

Well if there is snow on the ground you can take the family sledding. It is good exercise and lots of fun. Remember to dress in layers and keep warm. When you come back home you can make hot coco.

Another fun thing is to rent videos and make home made pizzas. I like to make mini pizzas. EASY to do! You put some Italian seasonings, garlic and a little brown sugar in a can of tomato sauce (the small one) a topping, what ever is in the fridge and then some cheese.
Put in the oven till brown. Like 10 minutes at 350.

We rent videos from the library, it is free! But since our library was flooded out we have had to find something else to rent videos. I found the Red Box. It is only a $1 to rent videos even new releases! It is a great price. I can't wait for our library to get more videos back but Red Box will do.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Clean Your Oven

Well we were snowed in so I decided to clean my oven. How can you do it with out the chemicals and the expensive cleaners?

Once again BAKING SODA, I used baking soda and water to make a paste that I put on the bottom and the door of the oven. Then I let it dry. Added some more water, with a spray of water and baking soda. Then repeat. Do it again before bed. Let it dry over night. The next morning wipe out. Then I used a rag with vinegar in it and wiped out the rest of the left overs. It is dry and everything comes up. There is no smell. I love that.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Kitchen Cleaners

So what does it cost you to clean your kitchen?

What about using baking soda and vinegar? I use it to clean my garbage disposal. I dump some baking soda in and then some vinegar. No real recipe but till it foams. I let it sit and run hot water.

Clean counter tops and make them smell nice by using a rag soaked in undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Vinegar is awesome in a lime built up dish washer. I used to clean my dish washer weekly with one load of just vinegar water. I some times put my glasses in it when I wanted to get them really clean.

Vinegar is not only eco friendly but financially savvy too. How much does one big bottle of vinegar cost $2.00 in comparison to other cleaners that range $3 to $5 for a small bottle.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Laundry Soap

Laundry soap is $3.50 or more for 30 loads. That is expensive. Then you add in your fabric softener. I have to do my laundry at the laundry mat and it cost 3.00 per load. I use vinegar for fabric softener. And I use homemade laundry soap. My recipe is

Powdered Laundry Detergent
2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated - I personally use my food processor - only for soap to grate it all really fine)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

You have to look for Fels Naptha Soap. It can be difficult to find. I have had to ask for it to be ordered at my local grocery store. My Hy-Vee is great about that. They ordered it. Make sure it is washing soda not baking soda. If you buy all of this it saves you buckets of money going down the drain. This produces very little suds in your machine. It is great for those with problems with scents or dyes.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Eye Glasses

Okay so I broke my glasses. I hate to pay $100 or more for a pair of glasses. So I went to the internet. I found a pair of glasses with the lenses and the frames. They were $15.95 (they had frames starting at $8.00) I can buy 5 pairs for the price of the glasses store. There is also a large selection. I went to Walmart's optical, wearing my contacts and looked for frames I liked then found something similar in size and color to what I liked. I have to wear my contacts when I look for glasses because I am as blind as a bat. Shipping was 5.95 and you can get sunglasses and the bifocals. I also would suggest when you go to the eye dr they give you a perscription when you walk out. Any ways the website I ordered from is http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php I got mine in about 10 days.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Saving money if you eat out

Okay I will admit we eat out. Well I mostly eat out because of my work. Have you noticed the price of a drink? Some restaurants do not tell you how much a drink even costs. When I went out for work one of the drinks was 2.99. WHAT!?! Yea how can they charge that much for a glass of soda. I can buy a whole 12 pack for that price. So I have made the decision that we ask for water to drink when we go out. It is terrible to charge that much for a glass of soda.

Coupons...Our paper had coupons for a buy one meal get one free at Ruby Tuesdays. This is great. One word of caution be prepared for the meals to be $15 dollars each.

My children are now getting old enough they can not eat on the children's menu. I loved it when they could eat on the children's menu and they had .99 children's meals on specific days. That is when we would plan our birthday meals out.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Hambuger or Ground Turkey

I think that I have mentioned that I use ground turkey instead of ground beef. It has nothing to do with the fact that it is better for you.

It is cheap. I have found it between .69 a pound to 1.25 then compare that to ground beef, I haven't been able to get ground beef less than $1.50 a pound. I know there are somethings that ground beef is just better in. Another option is to use one lb of ground beef one of ground turkey cook together. Then use 1/2 one night and 1/2 another night. The family may not notice this change as much as if you just switch to ground turkey. I switched way back when my kids were little and the do not know the difference.

I have also found the recipes with beans in them are even less expensive.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Budgeting?!?

Okay I know to some budget is a bad word. But it really isn't that bad.

So you plan where your money goes every month. I am figuring up how much I spent in Christmas presents this year. I am budgeting how much I need to put in my Christmas Savings Account for the next 11 months to be ready for Christmas. I feel it is important to save money. How many times can I say this. I guess I am a big saver. It is best to put the money some where that it is hard to get to. With online banking it is really easy to pull it out. I have a seperate savings account for the savings. I do not have a bank card for it or checks. I must go to the bank and deposit and withdraw the money. I chose a bank a little out of the way so it is not convenent for me to with draw money. I did not choose the bank at the local Walmart or Hy-Vee (a grocery store) So I figured if I put away $25 every pay check I should have Christmas payed for. If you do not have the extra $25 then start with $5 or $10. What every you can afford. Savings is good. But you need a regular saving account on top of your Christmas account. It has been suggested one should have 3 months of savings built up in case of an emergency or job loss. With such tough economic times and jobs being harder to come by I think 6 months maybe even better. I am say enough to pay the house payment, and car payment and a little for groceries. The necessities not the wants you have every month.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Earn a little extra Cash

My bank offers a High Interest Earning Checking account. My bank is actually a credit union. I found that I have had better luck with a credit union than banks. The are not out to make the profit that banks are. My bank has this High Interest Earning Checking account. I switched over and earn 5%.

From my Bank's Website
5% APY* on your checking account balance up to $25,000
A refund of all ATM fees you have paid during the month
Plus there are no monthly service charges, no minimum balance requirements, unlimited free debit card use at retailers and unlimited free check writing.

Earning these rewards is easy. Simply utilize the four free services listed below each month, and you’ll earn the reward rate and have all of your ATM fees refunded.
1) Activate online banking
2) Make 12 signature-based debit card purchases (choose “credit” instead of “debit”)
3) Receive e-statements Receive at least one direct deposit

Honestly this was the easiest thing I have ever done to put a few extra dollars in my pocket every month. I also save money because I am not being charged for ATM fees. This can be a killer for some people.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Grocery shopping

Okay I am the first to admit that I HATE to grocery shop. We are buying things to just flush them down the toilet. Literally. Anyways.

So what is a tip to save money on your groceries.

Make a menu of what you want to make for the week. I go shopping on Mondays. It is habit. I buy the things we need for the week. I look in the freezer and the cupboard to use what I have. I then get 7-10 meals out of it. Remember you have to make lunch for the kids on the weekends. I have to cook 2 large meals and breakfast on the weekends. My boys have hallow legs. This means they are always eating and I am always cooking. Add side dishes or anything you need to make.

Look ahead at your schedule. Do you have Wed. night church and need an easy meal that night? Do you have to work on Thursdays and need a crock pot meal?

I also check the ads to see if there is anything on sale that I can use. I try to work my meal plan around the sales.

Then make a list of the food you need.

First eat before you go to the store. If your hungry you buy everything in sight. If I have a bad case of pms and want only chocolate I try to wait a day to do it and eat from the cupboard. Or have a candy bar before I go to the store. So now you are not hungry when you shop and you can stick to your list.

I am also trying Angel Food ministries. I will check back with that next month. Basically you order a box of food for $30 and it feeds a family of 4 for a week. We will see about the quality. I have tried it before. It was kind of hit and miss but I am willing to try it again.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Supper for $3.00

Yesterday I made Cabbage Casserole. I figured it cost under $3.00 for this meal and it was fairly easy to make. My children will eat just about anything so that is good. My prices are from Aldis this week. This was served with rice. It is getting harder and harder to make it supper for under $3.00. I use tround turkey because I can get a roll of it for under a dollar. It is one pound of meat.

If we had gone out for supper we could have easily spent $20. I rarely eat out with my children. If we go out to supper my children order water. Soda is so expensive and not good for them.

Cabbage Casserole

1 lb of ground turkey (.99)
1/2 onion chopped (.25)
1 head of cabbage chopped (1.00)
1 can tomato soup (.50)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook ground turkey and onion.
Cook the cabbage for 3 minutes in boiling water.
Spray the liner of a crockpot.
Layer in crock pot.
I cooked for 4 hours on low. If you are going to cook it longer I would add a little water.

I served this with rice.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

What do you do with your change?

I have 2 quarters in my car. One for parking downtown and one for the cart at Aldi's. What about the other change you have? I am the first to admit that I don't use much cash. It can be a pain to use. I never seem to have enough or I end up with change.

I admit that you do need to have cash on hand. Like when I went to Subway and they didn't have their credit card machine working.

Anyways you buy something with cash and you have 56 cents left. What do you do with it? Leave it in your coat to get lost?
Well we have the cheap method get a jar and put it in. Or something like a piggy bank, it is covered and you can't tell how much is in it. It is more difficult to take money out of it. The goal is to save this money.

Last year we saved an extra $50 by putting this money in a piggy bank and then went we went on vacation we used it as extra spending money. I am trying to teach the children to save. Our country has gotten away from saving. We as parents need to teach our children how to save.

For Christmas I got all of my children new piggy banks. They were at Target for 9.99 they got to paint them and put their names on it. We lost our piggy banks in the floods of 2008 so we are slowly rebuilding what we lost. When they get money they put it in there till it is decided what they will do with it. They each have a savings account at the bank to put away money.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Saving money on your utilities

One way to save money is to cut the cost of your utilities. Not only does it save your money but it can help the environment.

1. Turn down the thermometer in your house. By doing this it can cut the cost of your monthly heat bill.

2. Turn off the lights.

3. Change your light bulbs to the energy efficient bulbs.

4. Unplug your toys from the wall. It is said that they still suck up the electricity while not doing any thing. One tip is to put it all on an electric plug in bar and turn it all off in one flip.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Save money on photo reprits

I have tried several places to save some money on my photo reprints. Christmas is over and I have lots of pictures to develop.

PEPhoto.com is a great place to develop your pictures. They have many different products. The best part is a 4x6 is .06.

Artscow.com is also a great place to get your photos developed. The shipping is a little high. It does come from China. I have many codes for artscow.com when you sign up for an account you get 600 reprints for just shipping. I ordered 12 16x18 pictures and it was free but shipping was $20.00

Does printing your pictures off yourself save money? I don't think so. It is more than having some where print them for .06 the quality is not always as good and they don't last as long. You also have to buy the paper.

Save a dollar a day

I am starting this blog to help others and myself save a little bit of money. In our tough economic times we need to save a little extra money. My goal is to find a way to save money or a way to earn money I will add it also. This is the first of the year and one of my goals is to save more money.