School Days

As hard as it was to say good-bye to our lazy summer days I knew it was time to get back into our school routine. The night before our first day I set up as much as possible to make the morning smooth.

 

Ready or not 8th grade is here!

Our traditional breakfast bar.  In the past I had served crock pot oatmeal.  Honestly, it's too hot this time of year so I made a change this year.  

Megan loves these muffins.  When I woke her up she commented on how good our home smelled. *smile*

Breakfast was cleaned up and it's time to get down to business. 

 

School was finished around lunch time and we out to celebrate the first day of school. 

The first day went so well that I was able to treat Megan to a short fishing trip on the way home. 

I'm looking forward to watching my girl learn and grow this year.  Happy back to school!

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations... keep moving forward, friends. 

Penny Smart #10

This a place where I share how I've stretched a penny, saved a penny and in many cases spent no pennies.

I found broth on clearance for $0.33 a container.  I added 8 to my pantry.

Someone from church upgraded their refrigerator and chest freezer.   They asked Chuck if he wanted them for scrap.  When he picked them up he realized they were still working.  Our electric company allows you to turn in two working appliances a year and pays $50 for them.  We turned them in and receive a check for $100.

Our local Chick-fil-A offers free Chicken Minis every Tuesday.  We took advantage of them this week along a free hash round on my app.  Megan and I we're able to eat breakfast for $2.28.  The cost of drinks.

Said yes to free canning jars.

Hit a garage sale and Megan purchased all of these fishing items for $2.  A great price since the plastic containers go for over $3 new.  She was able to feed her fishing hobby obsession for little out of pocket.

Since we are taking about money lets talk debt also.  If you follow the numbers on the sidebar you may have noticed that we added to our debt.  It's medical debt from when I ended up in the ER with a colon infection and the ensuing test .  *bummer*  I'm not happy about it at all!  You do what you have to do to stay well.  

It's a great reminder to tackle our financial goals bit by bit. So there you go. I hope this encourages you to do things to save money. The old adage that every penny counts seems to apply more and more these days. I find it's much harder to stretch my pennies into nickles. *smile* I find it encouraging to hear about other frugal adventures and I hope you do also.

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations... keep moving forward, friends. 

New Month & Grocery Haul

It's seems that when August rolls around my mind starts drifting to fall. It still feels very summer like so it must be the start of school that puts me in this mindset. The area schools are all in session and I'm busy getting ready for our school year. Our tentative start date is the 12th.

Generally the first of the month means a monthly shopping trip.  I love to see hauls, so I thought I'd share mine.  Before I start lets be clear this is a NO judgement zone.  You don't like what you see then please be kind and say nothing. *smile*  

I went to Wal Mart, Sams and Kroger.  I did some stocking up at Meijer last week that I'm not including in this haul. 

I did forget to pull out a couple of things.  A container of ice cream and a couple of frozen dinners.  Chuck takes the frozen meals for lunch if there aren't leftovers.  

I don't buy meat every month.  This month I needed to add a few things to the freezer.  I purchased the ground beef at Sams and all else at Kroger.  My meat haul was $48.96.  Meat is expensive!  Thankfully I will get more then one meal from each package except the cubed steak. 

My total for the month is $234.  I will to make a run mid month for milk and fresh items.  The goal will be minimal spending at the grocery for the rest of the month.  Oh, in case you wonder how I can make a month worth of meal from this, remember that I have a well stocked pantry and freezer.  

Now to work on making a menu. 

Chuck and I will be working on the monthly budget.  I'm trying something new.  I will be using a calendar and making a new budget each pay period instead of one for the whole month.  I saw Megan at Debt Free Plus Babies work her budgeting this way on Instagram.  

I'll see if it works for us.  Yes, this is all we need to pay a month with the exception of every day expenses like gas, groceries, etc.  All of our debt payments come directly from Chuck's paycheck. Doing it that way makes for a check that must be stretched.  

How are you doing?  Do you have your budget made?  Are you making headway on your financial goals?  

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations... keep moving forward, friends.