ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Jan 17, 2014 13:15:23 GMT -5
I re-made one of my husbands favorite "mom meals" so it was actually healthier AND HE LIKED IT. I subbed out Mayo (which we don't buy ever) and used Fat Free Greek Organic Yogurt instead... and he ate thirds. I had to add a little Parmesan cheese to it, but Shrimp and Pea pasta can now happen in our household, which is good because it stretches pretty far and makes for a nice lunch option as a cold pasta if you pair it with some fruit... and you get the yogurt protein instead of whatever is in MAYO besides the fat.
All it is is thawed frozen peas and shrimp... a Chilled cooked box of pasta shells (Just rinse in cold water).... tossed in some salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, and the yogurt.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over it if your getting fancy.
Next time I'm going to try it with whole wheat pasta.
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Jan 17, 2014 19:22:52 GMT -5
This morning DH got the cable/internet bill and it went up from $120 to $125. We were already paying more with the $120 then when we first signed up. Apparently he got annoyed and called the cable company. They were running a special for double the channels that we have now for $100 a month. That also includes our internet. So he asked that they give us the current special and nicely, they set it up.
I am so proud
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grits
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Post by grits on Jan 17, 2014 21:24:11 GMT -5
I took leftovers to work, and a candy bar I got at bogo. If I can stay out of this little store on my route, it makes it easier for me to have no spend days.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2014 22:06:02 GMT -5
Tomorrow I'm making a big pot of soup with bits and pieces from the Thanksgiving turkey plus odds and ends of veggies like corn, green beans and peas from the freezer, part of an onion and some celery from the fridge, and some pasta I found in the back of the pantry. I'll grab a handful or two of greens from the garden to add in towards the last. Only thing I bought new for the soup was some rutabaga for $1.36.
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Jan 18, 2014 14:42:13 GMT -5
I took the day off of work yesterday and got a whole bunch of errands done that really needed it!
I had a bunch of work to be done on my car -- oil change, brake lights, and driver's side mirror that I might have smashed on the side of the garage door ... this obviously cost me money but the oil change was the last of my free ones from when I bought the car and I had a discount on all the parts they needed because I have a service plan.
I went and got my hair cut for the first time in 8 months, only cost me $25 with tip. I usually have a girlfriend do it for me at my house for $10 but I haven't heard from her in awhile and I haven't had my hair cut in an actual salon in years. I didn't think $25 was too bad.
I went to the grocery store and did few stock up purchases. Just by chance I was in the snack aisle looking for popcorn and saw sunflower seeds for $1.40 with a $1/1 peelie attached. DH umpires baseball in the summer and always takes these with him. I bought 6 bags at .40/bag. He was thrilled and thinks that will last him all summer. If they have more the next time I go back, I'll get a few more just in case.
At that same store I got my purchase down from $57.xx to $42.xx just with using coupons. I bought 2 boxes of popcorn shrimp, 4 bags of frozen fish, 4 packages of napkins, 10 lbs of potatoes, the 6 bags of sunflower seeds, popcorn, 8 greek yogurts, 8 regular yogurts, and bread. I was pretty happy with my savings.
I bought a new small garbage can at the dollar store for our guest bathroom.
This morning we made a big breakfast and then immediately without saying a word, got right to work. We are having friends over for dinner tonight and we cleaned every inch of the house. We use a woodstove to heat our house so things get dusty quick around here in the winter! All that's left is just to sweep the whole place and then we're ready to go!
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Jan 18, 2014 20:32:04 GMT -5
Decided to take back my new Dyson that we got earlier this month from Costco and buy it at kohls instead... and its gonna save us $177.83!!! I paid $525 after tax for ours at Costco (DC41 Animal) and it came with a bunch of extra attachements. At the time it was a deal, but after trying to use the extra attachements, I really only like the 2 that come standard with it.
Kohls: Original Price: $699.99 on Sale for 479.99. I had $20 in rewards that I had to use this month, taking the price down to $459.99 ... and then I used a 30% off coupon to make it $321.99 and with tax the total came to $347.75 with FREE shipping!!!!
A savings of $177.83 over costco... and I just got $60 in Kohls Cash... and I should get another $15 in kohls rewards because you get $5 for every $100 you spend.
We ordered it last night and i'll take ours back to Costco on Tuesday (after I vacuum) since our new one should come by the 29th and it would only mean a week at most without one.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 20, 2014 11:24:48 GMT -5
I've got the last of my turkey/chicken noodle soup for lunch today. And Marvholly, I love the idea of the broccoli stem soup; I'm going to make that next time I have some, and maybe add some potatoes and either bacon or ham to it!
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snapdragon
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Post by snapdragon on Jan 20, 2014 13:03:03 GMT -5
I've got the last of my turkey/chicken noodle soup for lunch today. And Marvholly, I love the idea of the broccoli stem soup; I'm going to make that next time I have some, and maybe add some potatoes and either bacon or ham to it! Nancy - that just sounds yummy!
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Jan 20, 2014 13:33:12 GMT -5
This weekend: Liquor store They allowed me to use the slightly expired 10% off coupon. I won a $25 gift card from a sales contest last month so I used that. Kroger Toothpaste: On sale for $1, had a .50 coupon which the store doubles up to $1 Christmas candy: On sale for 70% off. Bought DH two "cane" filled Reeses and Hershey's. They don't carry the energy drink I have a free download on my value card for. Wally World: Had a $20 gift card from buying the new HP all in one. Bought 3 candles, 2 picture frames, and some Zicam for a sick DH.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 20, 2014 13:36:04 GMT -5
I've got the last of my turkey/chicken noodle soup for lunch today. And Marvholly, I love the idea of the broccoli stem soup; I'm going to make that next time I have some, and maybe add some potatoes and either bacon or ham to it! Nancy - that just sounds yummy! Which one - mine or the Marvholly recipe with my additions?
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snapdragon
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Post by snapdragon on Jan 20, 2014 15:01:10 GMT -5
Yours to be honest. I like lots of filler in my soups. I even put pasta in my tomato soup to help bulk it up.
Marvhollys sounds nice but I have the feeling I wouldn't eat it just plain.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Jan 22, 2014 15:34:57 GMT -5
I've been able to make a home cooked dinner each night for the past week and a half (minus date night)... This is a huge accomplishment for me.
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Artemis Windsong
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The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Jan 23, 2014 11:51:27 GMT -5
This is the opposite of saving money. The cell phone money pit. My stupid Verizon plan is coming due. It has $57 on it and DH wants me the change phones. If he adds 3 more months I'll have nearly$100. I don't use the phone because I won't spend $1.99 per day. The other option was 25 cents per minute. DH said when I used my phone I would make a lot of calls so the $1.99 would be better. I could talk 200 minutes if I wanted. He says I cannot transfer minutes to anyone. All I could do is give them the phone. My other phone has a FL phone number but has Wifi. I want to run around screaming. $57 is a new pair of tennis shoes and way more. I hate you verizon.
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ambellamy
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Post by ambellamy on Jan 23, 2014 14:44:48 GMT -5
This is the opposite of saving money. The cell phone money pit. My stupid Verizon plan is coming due. It has $57 on it and DH wants me the change phones. If he adds 3 more months I'll have nearly$100. I don't use the phone because I won't spend $1.99 per day. The other option was 25 cents per minute. DH said when I used my phone I would make a lot of calls so the $1.99 would be better. I could talk 200 minutes if I wanted. He says I cannot transfer minutes to anyone. All I could do is give them the phone. My other phone has a FL phone number but has Wifi. I want to run around screaming. $57 is a new pair of tennis shoes and way more. I hate you verizon. have you looked into Trac Phone? We use that for my husband and he got a triple minute phone from amazon for $15 and just buys the 60 minute cards in the store and with triple minutes, he gets 180 minutes or 3 text per minute... It works great for him since he doesn't use it all the time. There are no daily fees. I have a verizon prepaid (I got an exception to the other options) because I need data and my work pays for it. Unlimited text and calls and 2 gigs of data for a flat $60 a month.
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Artemis Windsong
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The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Jan 23, 2014 21:08:35 GMT -5
My DH figures out what phones and plans to get. I like the trac phone plan on buying the cards.
I know, that's a cop out but I don't learn how to run the electronics. The real reason usually comes after the but.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Jan 27, 2014 11:35:22 GMT -5
Though I didn't want to spend any more $$ at the grocery store this month, I went cherry picking Friday evening:
$2.99 Kraft mayo .89 sour cream .49 BBQ sauce. On sale for .99, minus the buy 6 get $6 off - bought 2 .99 Philly cream cheese blocks-bought 3 .69 club soda
Used a $5 coupon for taking an online survey
Total $3.67 Saved 13.70 off my order or 79%
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Feb 2, 2014 14:59:40 GMT -5
We have been cooking up a storm here today!
This morning instead of going out to breakfast we made big veggie omelets and home made home fries for breakfast.
This afternoon I put a huge stockpot on which is now bubbling away about 80% full with homemade beef and veggie soup. I made a roast in the crockpot last week that fed 4 adults dinner, a large pot of stew 2 nights later that fed 3 adults dinner and the rest was split up into 3 lunch containers, then I made a beef pot pie one night that fed 3 adults also. It's the roast that just keeps on giving! I diced it up today and threw half in the soup, and half in the freezer for the next batch of soup. I'm going to send soup home with my brother in law and some up to my grandfather who is having some health issues and needs to be eating fresh, healthy foods.
I also made a huge batch of hummus for the SuperBowl tonight. Total cost was less than $2 for 3 cans of beans, a few garlic cloves, two big scoops of tahini, and lemon juice. It filled a quart (I'm guessing here!) sized container. Homemade, super fresh, super cheap. I peeled, washed, and cut the veggies for it too later. BIL is getting some of this to take home, too.
I have a pork roast going in the crockpot right now in watered down BBQ sauce to make pulled pork sandwiches for the main course tonight. I threw in some pickle juice too, because it was waiting to get washed out for the recycling bin and I thought ... Why not? Vinegar is an ingredient in BBQ sauce! So we'll see how that goes. This will get several meals too -- I'll send some home with my BIL also.
My BIL just moved into the area and I'm trying to impress upon him the art of grocery shopping on a budget. Luckily he's a pretty good cook and eats just about anything so we're off to a good start. I'm sending him home with a small crock pot I have in the garage so that he has pretty mindless meals ahead of him!
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snapdragon
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Post by snapdragon on Feb 5, 2014 13:41:56 GMT -5
Drug myself to the GO by me. I got 2 cases of LUNA bars (15ct) for $8.99/case. My cost through work (food company) is $13.85. So a nice bit of savings.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Feb 5, 2014 14:21:05 GMT -5
Used a $5 off fuel/store card at the gas station today and bought 4 energy drinks for $2.40.
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Feb 9, 2014 16:58:50 GMT -5
We will be having a bridal shower at work for one of the girls next month. I used the .50/2 pepsi coupons from last week's circulars to buy six 2-liter bottles of soda for .27/each. This will be my contribution towards the food. We are all going in on a group gift so I will pitch in for that as well.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Feb 17, 2014 15:10:01 GMT -5
Office Max: I bought $28.78 worth of supplies for $5.60. I used $20 credit for recycling ink cartridges and a $5 coupon for taking an online survey last month. Once again, thank you donnafreedman for the recycling idea! Saved money for birthday party favors by shopping at the Dollar Tree. And Party Land had Disco Fever napkins and plates on sale for $1.50 per package. My hairdresser made a mistake in her scheduling, so she gave me a free deep conditioning hair treatment and a gift bag full of hair products for the inconvenience of me being at the salon longer than usual. Grocery deal highlights for the party: Hormel pepperoni personal price $2.69, club soda .59, and a free Aquafina Flavor. Used coupons for Bugles, Chex Mix, Kettle chips, Triscuts and Wheat Thins. Oh, and Little Smokies for the fondue.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Feb 18, 2014 17:11:31 GMT -5
Monthly grocery shopping last night. Highlights: Puffs tissue: Reg $2.49, on sale for $1.69 each, minus .75 and 1.00 coupons = $1.10 per box Farmland thick bacon: Reg $4.99, my Personal Price $3.59 Chuck roast: $3.99/lb Free Oikos yogurt Pork loin $5.99 Yogurt .30 each 8 oz shredded cheese: On sale for $2.99 minus a paper and e coupon = .92 2 Kraft dressings: On sale $2.69 minus $1 paper coupon and one for free coupon Gillette deod for DH: Reg 4.37 on sale for $3.99 minus a coupon = $3.49 Calcium: Buy one for $13.89 get one free - $1 coupon =$6.45 each Folgers: Reg $8.79 on sale for $6.49 minus an e coupon = $5.49 Overall saved 30% = $56.79
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skubikky
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Post by skubikky on Feb 24, 2014 9:53:07 GMT -5
I sure didn't save any money, but we just got in from a 4200 mile trip in the motorhome and it improved my mental health greatly.
I would have been very depressed sitting here in all that snow.
So how do you measure the value of something like that? Priceless!
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snapdragon
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Post by snapdragon on Feb 25, 2014 11:08:58 GMT -5
I had a potluck at my place over the weekend and it was under $40 for everything! The food was good and the company was fun. Always a great thing.
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coffeegrl
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Post by coffeegrl on Feb 27, 2014 20:44:37 GMT -5
I didn't know where else to put this so I thought I would share in this thread that I currently have $18.79 in my spare change box! Yay me! After deciding to save all my spare change this year, I've found myself more and more wanting to pay for things with cash so I have that change at the end of the day. Last weekend my mom and I got together. She treated me to lunch and then I treated her to ice cream later that afternoon. It was $5.05 and when my mom saw I was going to pay with $6 she offered me a nickel. I told her, "No no. This is $0.95 I can get for my spare change collection!" LOL
I was also a little disappointed that the $25 rebate I got from Ford's for some work I had to have done came on a debit card rather than in an actual check. I was planning on putting that $25 in savings! Then I had the idea of just using the card for groceries and other necessities and taking an extra $25 out of my checking and putting that in savings instead. I still got the "extra" $25. I just have to move some funds around to make sure it goes into savings.
Between saving my change, doing the 52 week money challenge (which may stall out at some point with no increase in dollar amount each week), and putting things like rebates and gift money in savings, I am hoping to have $2000 saved by the end of the year. That will pay off a private student loan I have and my Chase credit card. Then I can start socking that money away the next year and make bigger payments to my VISA credit card, with the intent of having that one paid off in the next two years.
Go me!
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Feb 28, 2014 11:25:10 GMT -5
Lately: Our refi went through! Woo hoo! 6.50 down to 3.75%. Received an escrow refund check, and all but $35 went into our EF. I took the $35 and cherry picked at the store last night: 2 pkgs of salami $1 2 pkgs pre cooked bacon $2.25 Jenny-O turkey, on sale, w/ $1 coupon: $2.99 96% Angus ground beef managers special $3.75 Various beverages $1 each Small bag corn tortillas $1.79 8 oz Monterey Jack $2.50 Blueberries $2.50 Similar to coffeegrl, I've been putting change in my piggy bank. I know it won't a significant amount when it's full, so I'll probably change it into dollar bills or a gift card and donate it. Or, perhaps I'll toss it in w/ the EF.
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TrixAre4Kids
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'Not all those who wander are lost' - J. R. R. Tolkien
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Post by TrixAre4Kids on Mar 2, 2014 22:26:26 GMT -5
I used a piece of carpet remnant to recover my cat's scratching post. Probably saved about $40 plus tax.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Mar 3, 2014 11:46:25 GMT -5
I bought $22.78 worth of Ester-C for $7.39 using 2 $2 of coupons on a BOGO deal.
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coffeegrl
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Post by coffeegrl on Mar 7, 2014 21:01:11 GMT -5
Well, this technically didn't save me any money, but I went to our city library's spring book sale. I got 17 books for $13. Does it help if I consider the purchase a monetary donation to the library?
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Mar 8, 2014 8:45:34 GMT -5
I made a Quilt of Valor quilt for DH, and yesterday he decided he wanted a quilt rack to display it on. Told him that you find those at antique stores or the junky stuff store. Off we went to Tonititown, Ar. (home of the Duggars) and found one for $15, offered her $10 and bought it for $12.50
Fast forward, we have just enclosed our patio area, have some furniture for it, but still need a TV etc. I happened to see what would be called a shabby chic dresser at the junky store, and I'm thinking it would be perfect as the media cabinet on the patio. Heat, sunshine & humidity isn't going to bother it.
I was planning on buying a large rack thing at Hobby Lobby for $139, but it needs assembly and would likely not hold up well outside. Besides, with all the xtra shelves on it, I'd be back to Hobby Lobby buying more stuff to decorate the thing....and didn't I just go thru a major downsizing? And now I need to buy more stuff?
I think it's back to Tontitown today to see how cheaply I can get this thing, bring it home and clean it up.
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