Saving through Menu Planning

Do you Menu Plan? I'm not great at it but I do find that when I have a solid plan my dollars go a lot farther at the grocery store.

I menu plan by Paycheck. We get paid twice a month so I do two week menu's at one time. You can do one week at a time or an entire month if you would like. My menu is mainly for dinner but you can adjust your menu to fit your needs.

Where to start? I start with my pantry and freezer. This paycheck specifically I wanted to try to cut our grocery bill down so I could pay another bill with some of those funds. So I took survey of what I already had in stock and went from there. I had pasta, Mahi Mahi fish, Tilapia, Mac & Cheese, Lasagna noodles and lots of seasonings. I started my menu with these items first. Then I filled in with our favorite dishes.

Above is the menu I came up with. I pick between 10 - 14 meals. I do not assign them to a day until a day or two before hand. That allows me some flexibility. Then as I make each dish I cross them off my list. But again if you need more structure than that feel free to take a calendar and pluck in those meals on the exact day you want to make them. Make your menu plan your own! Work with it change it and after a few times you will know what works for you.

Also on my list I have placed what side dishes I will be serving with that dish and the page number where the recipe can be found if it is in my cookbook.

My ideal and goal is to have a box on the side of my refrigerator that will hold all my recipes for that menu. However, I don't have that yet so this is what I did. I pulled all the recipes that were chosen and I just put them in the front of the cookbook that has a few of the recipes in it. This way they are easy and fast to find.

After you have your menu written down. Go through each recipe and write down all the ingredients that you do not have in your home to create your grocery list.

By using what we had in the house and being creative I was able to cut our grocery budget to $170 for two weeks. Now I won't be able to do this every paycheck but when your wanting to cut back try using more of what you already have in your pantry. I'll bet you'll be surprised what you can come up with.

My list gets hung on the front of the refrigerator where it's easy to see and it can't get thrown away or spilled on. My list is as simple as it comes. A piece of lined paper and hand written. But you can use spreadsheets, word documents, or even purchase menu planning kits online or in the store. Another idea I saw recently was to buy a dry erase board and use that to list your meals. Be creative and make it fun!

So what is on your Menu this month? And what creative way do you keep track of your meals?

Good resources & Tips
- Make your own marinades (we search allrecipes.com)
- Cookbook ~ Healthy Meals for Less by Jonni McCoy (Great-Tasting Simple Recipes for Under $1 a serving)

Half a Paycheck ~ Would you be ready?

Good Morning friends! My apologies for not posting much. Ever since our move I have been struggling with Coupons and saving big bucks! I've been saving but not like I used to or in ways I felt were worth posting. I've learned that the area you live in makes a huge difference when it comes to specials and great coupon deals.

My topic for today is Would you be ready if you were faced with a half a paycheck come next payday? As most of you know that's what my family and many other Military and Government workers were faced with this month. Thankfully that isn't going to happen but it sure got me to thinking more about it.

Ideal would be a 3-6 month emergency fund set aside for times like this. Realistically that is so far fetched for most people that instead of setting small goals and working up to that 3-6 month amount we instead don't do anything and stay in this state of being unprepared.

As Dave Ramsey would say "Get $1,000 in the bank asap". Well that can be hard for most people. They see that and think "I don't have that kind of money" so they don't do anything. I have heard this so many times I've lost count. My suggestion is to start where you are. If it means $10 a paycheck then make the commitment to put $10 each paycheck away. Instead of doing nothing start with something even if it is small.

Here is where you can start today so that down the road you can be prepared.

Set smaller Emergency Fund Goals:
1 - Save up 2 weeks worth of Grocery money
2 - Save up half a paycheck.
3 - Save up a whole paycheck.
4 - Save up two paychecks.
5 - Save up three paychecks.
6 - Save up four paychecks. (for us 4 paychecks is two months income)
7 - Three months income.
8 - Four months income.
9 - Five months income.
10 - Six months income.

Save your change. We save our change for rainy days and/or months I mess something up in the budget and we need milk three days before payday and the grocery money is all gone. (yes that happens to us all the time) Put all your change in a bucket, jar, or baggie and once a month turn it in and deposit it into your emergency fund. Even if this is the ONLY thing you deposit each month I'll bet you'd be surprised how fast you can get a small cushion built up.

Another recommendation coming straight from experience. Have a safe place for your emergency fund that is out of reach! We have an Ing Direct account for our Emergency fund. It is gaining interest and if we need the money it takes 2 days to get it. A regular savings account is too easy to get to for us. With the Ing account there is no grabbing out $20 for and "Emergency" trip to Starbucks or for Pizza because you don't feel like cooking. Having our Emergency fund slightly more out of reach has been key for us. I didn't realize how important that was until we set it up and started using it. **Note in most emergencies that you would need this money for you could wait 2 days for it.**

Having a stockpile of items on hand can also help if you are faced with a Half a Paycheck. I like to have 1-3 months supply of toiletries on hand. Along with things like pasta, canned veggies, cereal. Things where if faced with a shortage of cash I could pick up Bread, Milk, Eggs, and Hamburger and we could go a long way! Build up your stockpile slowly if needed. Start with buying two extra cans of Spaghetti Sauce or noodles on your next shopping trip. Stockpiling and saving money take time! Don't try to do it all at one time or you'll get overwhelmed.

One step at a time! One dollar at a time! One can of food at a time!

~ Melinda ~

Target

One thing I dislike more than flossing my teeth is paying Full Price for the floss!

I was able to make $.06 off each of these packages of Floss at Target! Keep you eye open on Coupons.com for $1/1 Reach Floss coupons. I had printed these coupons about a month ago and just waited until I was going to Target anyway to use them. My target is across town so I try to stop in when I'm over that way to save on the Gas I use.

Costs: $2.93
Coupons: $2.75
Paid: $.18 ~ 94% savings

The Sensodyne travel size was $.99 and I had a $.75/1 coupon from the 1/2 inserts. Unfortunately they only had one left otherwise I would have picked up more. I started keeping a toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse so these are the perfect size for that.

Realistic Stockpile!

This year I'm working on being Realistic in my Stockpiling.

I want to share with you all my Stockpile! I've NEVER totally opened up my entire stockpile for all to see. So this is a huge step for me. We Moved from Nevada to Texas this past August and with that move I had to get rid of a lot of my stockpile before I left town. So I'm working on building a "Realistic" stockpile! Here are the starting pictures.

Note: We live in an old home on base so my storage is literally EVERYWHERE! I stash it where I can find a place for it. I wasn't able to get the other pantry with the Cereal and snacks (I need to organize it first) or the Medicine Cabinet so I'll try to post those later.

What is a Realistic Stockpile? Well for me it's what I would need for 3-6 months on most items. Some items I am a little more picky about than others....for example...Toilet paper! Notice the rolls and rolls and rolls of toilet paper. I realized a few years ago that it was very traumatizing for me when we would get down to the last package of toilet paper. It would seriously stress me out and then it would kill me to have to pay full price for Toilet Paper....because you know it's NEVER on sale when you run out of it! So my Toilet Paper stockpile is usually more excess than most people would need.

Watch out for Toiletries when building your realistic stockpile. They can take over and become addicting! There are always great deals at Walgreens and CVS for Shampoo, Conditioner, body soap, deodorants, and shaving supplies so know what you need for a realistic stockpile and STOP when you've reached your limit! Trust me it will save you even More money!

One last disclaimer: The Mac & Cheese stockpile is TOTALLY my Husband! He LOVES Spartan Spiral Mac & Cheese and guess what....they don't sell it here. So every time we go back to Michigan or When my Mom sends a package we always stock up! You should have seen the shelf right after we got home in September it was crazy full! I figure if anything happens and we are really broke we will always have Mac & Cheese!

Anyway I hope you like the pictures and realize your stockpile DOES NOT have to look like the ones you see on TV! Make your stockpile work for you and your family in whatever way it can! This is just what works for us!

Thanks Friends!

~ Melinda ~

Commissary Shopping

Today was an Odd's and End's shopping trip for me so I went to the Commissary to see what I could get for under $30. Here is what I was able to get. (keep in mind I had a dollar budget so even though these are all great deals and I had enough coupons to get more of most of these items I had to only buy realistically.)

Total cost: $38.79
Coupons: ($14.60) 37% savings
Surcharge: $1.94
Paid: $26.13

Here are a few of the specific prices: (Sorry I didn't keep track of what inserts the coupons came out of.

Snack packs ~ $.79 used $.60/3 coupon = $.59 each
Honey Mustard ~ $1.59 used $1/1 coupon = $.59
Yakisoba pasta ~ $.67 used $.50/1 coupon = $.17 each
Chef Boyardee ~ $.85 used $.35/3 coupon = $.73 each
Healthy Choice Soup ~ $1 used $.50/1 coupon = $.50 each
Rice ~ $1.26 used $1/1 coupon = $.26
Oatmeal ~ $.95 used $1/1 coupon = $.05 MONEYMAKER
Cinnamon Toast Crunch ~ $1.99 used $1/2 coupon = $1.49 each
Soft Soap ~ $.90 used $.35/1 coupon = $.55 each
Paper Towel ~ $1.49 used $1/1 coupon = $.49 each
(not my best deal but I needed paper towel!)
Clorox Wipes ~ $1.49 used $.50/1 coupon from store = $.99 each
(again not my best deal but I needed this item)
Cheese - was on special for $3.35 for the double pack
Frosted Flakes & Fruit Loops ~ $2.25 used $1.50/2 = $1.50 each
Splitz ~ $1.49 used $.50/1 coupon = $.99 each


I'm not sure how many of you are Commissary Shoppers but I wanted to share a few things about Coupon shopping at the Commissary.

#1 ~ Don't go on the 1st or the 15th of the month! I know that's a given but when your a coupon freak like me I tend to make mistakes when there are too many people in the store and those are the two busiest days for the Commissary.

#2 ~ Know your prices! After couponing for over a year and a half I know what kind of deals I can get off base at the local stores. I know what my Cereal Price range is. This will help you when it comes to using your coupons on base. If with a coupon the cereal is still over $2 IT'S NOT A GOOD DEAL! and I won't buy it.

#3 ~ Not all the prices at the Commissary are good prices even with a coupon! Even though most of the toiletries items at the Commissary are cheaper than off base on a regular basis they are not cheaper than the sales you can get at CVS and Walgreens. So again refer back to #2 and know your prices!

#4 ~ When looking at your total savings on your receipt Don't get discouraged! The Commissary doesn't list your savings if items are on sale or cheaper than say Walmart. So even though you may only save 30% on your over all bill if you had received those prices off base you probably would have saved around 50% on your bill. (This part always frustrated me. I knew I got Awesome deals but the numbers on the receipt didn't show that.)

#5 ~ Don't spend more than you have! Remember it's only a great deal if your family will use the item! If your family doesn't use the item your wasting your money buying it. As I clip my coupons I know what items we don't use and I automatically give those away to others that will. No use in keeping them or even using them on a great deal if my family doesn't like that product.

#6 ~ Don't Overstock! I know that seems crazy but I go by a 3 month rule. If I have enough of an item to last us about 3 months then I don't stock up on that item until I'm down to about a 1 month supply. It is hard sometimes to walk away from a Great Deal but when you Overstock your over Spending! Another sale will come along I Promise!

~ Melinda ~

Saved $80 Today!

Total Shopping trip today - Save a total of $80.68! Here is what I got!














CVS Trip

Got lots of stockpile goodies from CVS! Here are the totals for the above picture.

Cost : 90.55
Store Savings : $31.30
Coupon Savings : $20.88
ECB used : $20.00
Paid out of pocket : $18.37

This was done in three transactions. I did the Excedrin first and used two free coupons I got in the mail for those and then got a $10ECB. Then I paid for the Wisk, used 5 $2/1 coupons from today's paper and the $10ECB from the first order. Typically I would save my ECB for next week's deals but we needed drinks so I decided to use my second $10 voucher for those.



















Walgreen's Trip

Finish Gelpacs! Love these!
I was only able to get two of these but as soon as I can order some more coupons I'll have a full stockpile of them to share! (long story I had issues with the coupons in the papers I purchased)

I paid $2.68 for two boxes of Finish Gelpacs and I have $3 in RR to use on my next purchase! Awesome Money Maker!


What great deals do you plan to get this week?

Coffee Deal - Keep a look out!

Keep a look out for Dunkin Donuts Holiday Coffee's to be on mark down at your local stores.

I found these at our Commissary and they rang up as $2.68 and I had some coupons from last month that were good until January 7th I believe for $2 off 2 so I paid $1.68 for them! I stocked up! I had enough coupons to get 6 of them!

My husband drinks coffee every morning so this will come in handy!