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Archive for January, 2012

Meat grinder and Foodsaver

January 28th, 2012 at 09:32 pm

On the forum Joan had a few questions about my meat grinder and foodsaver. The meat grinder was initially purchased by my hubby to process deer meat into sausage, but we also use it 2 grind roast that we buy on sale. I believe the name of the grinder is "The Grizzly." Purchase price was a little over $200.00 I believe. The Foodsaver was purchased for about $100.00 (or less). I got a really good deal with a sale and coupon code. It's normally around $200.00. When I ordered that I was automatically put on their email list and am alerted to sales. I recently bought the roll of "bags" for about $5.00/roll. Normally the price is way more than I want to spend so I stocked up and bought several.


Ground turkey????? Why had I never thought of that? (slaps forehead!) I love the idea of lower fat meats. You are awesome Joan...

Spendy week

January 25th, 2012 at 02:46 pm

A family member is going out of state where the weather is so much different than here. We had to shell out a lot of money for appropriate clothing and such. Time to look at the budget and slow the spending down.

I'm adding $96 to the challenge for coupon savings. Total is now $708.50.

I had a sweet elderly lady behind me at the checkout lane. I was doing my price matching and coupons and she was explaining to her husband what I was doing. They were both impressed how much I saved. She was chatting with me about how she used to do that and how the savings can be huge. I thanked her for being patient and understanding. Nice change from the usual impatient and rude people. Smile

New vehicle

January 12th, 2012 at 05:11 pm

Time for a new vehicle for the family member who was rear-ended a few weeks ago. The insurace company deemed his car a total loss as it would cost more to fix it than it is worth. We were givin one qoute if we were going to keep and another quote to relinquish it. We chose the latter. Now the car hunting begins...joy (can you hear the sarcasm?) The insurance is paying for a rental car for one week. That's not going to be enough time, but better than nothing I suppose. Wating on tow truck as we speak and on Fed Ex to pick up paperwork.

Adding $10.50 to the challenge for coupon saving bringing total to $612.50.



NSD's and savings

January 8th, 2012 at 09:47 pm

I have had five no spend days last week tho two of them were because I was under the weather. Adding $25.00 to the challenge for that. NSD's are quite a feat for me.
Also adding $37.50 for coupon savings. Challenge total is $602.50

Funny story... I was shopping at Wally World today and was doing my price matching and coupons and I could feel the lady behind me getting impatient. I tend to ignore people if they're pissy and just act oblivious. Smile After a few minutes her husband told her to calm down and be patient. haha. Most times people are nice and even will ask what I'm doing or how much I save, but not today.

I'm seeing more and more people with coupon binders and such. Being organised is the key. It does take a lot of time but so worth it in savings. With PMing and coupons, I went from a total of $137 to a total of $76. Not too shabby.



Lentils and rice

January 4th, 2012 at 03:10 pm

That's whats for dinner tonight. Frugal and nutritious. On the stove as I type. Recipe follows...

3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
4 chicken bouillon cubes (didn't use that much. not a big fan of salt)
2 tablespoons dry onion ( didn't have any so use fresh)
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon basil
4 cups water
2 tablespoons oil

Bring water and oil t a boil. Add everything else. bring to boil again. reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 45 - 50 minutes. The water will mostly be absorbed. Top with a little shreaded cheese and serve!



On another note a family member was in a car accident last week. Not their fault. They are fine but car isn't. Dealing with insurance people presently. Smooth sailing so far. Adjuster is supposed to call today so we can get the ball rolling with the repairs.

More with less

January 2nd, 2012 at 05:31 pm

Money is tight until payday so I am making a grocery list from my More with Less cookbook. Many great recipes with whole grains, beans, and vegetables. Meat and dairy are used in moderation so will be healthier also. I hope my two youngest kids will eat it. My oldest will as he likes the healtier things.

My printer went out on me so I am in the market for a lazer printer. Anyone have any sugestions on what I should look for? We have only had ink jet up til now so I know nothing about lazer printers.

Adding $30.00 to the challenge for using an online coupon code, $11.00 for store coupons, and $10.00 for not eating out (2 times) when we wanted to but came home to eat instead. Smile
Total challenge money is $540.00