So. My husband stopped by a restaurant last night on the way back from the airport to pick up some grub. He called and asked me to put in tater tots.

I thought to myself, this won't be too bad. He's getting some bar-b-que and we are doing some sides at home - no biggie.

Then I check the bank account and realize that this man spent $118 dollars at the restaurant.

Now, you might be thinking, "yeah, but that is for 9 people - not too bad" - except it was $118 for ONE BRISKET (And I don't even eat Brisket!)

I am sitting here thinking WFT - WE AGREED WE WEREN'T GOING TO DO THAT!

Ugh. I just want to punch him in the face. Is that legal? I mean, I know it may not be moral or ethical, but can I legally punch him in the face for spending $118 on ONE brisket that *I* won't even eat? (I am really kidding about punching him in the face - sorta :P)

On Wednesday my Brother in Law, his wife, and another couple we are friends with are coming into town to visit.

Well, specifically, they are coming into town for a wedding, and we are being used as a free place to stay (in 9 years we have lived here, none of them have come to visit).

I feel a certain kind of way about this and told my husband that while I am happy to see them, we are NOT spending hundreds of dollars on entertaining "guests". Food being the primary source of expenditure (even when we go back home to visit - which has been 8 times in 9 years - we end up feeding them because we either have stayed with them and bought groceries for our visit or we have rented a cabin and they have come over everyday to eat).

Husband agrees so we are looking at low cost meals for our family of 5 and the 4 of them.

So far I am planning on red beans and rice, chicken stew, and spaghetti. The couple has said they are going to bring steaks for the first night, so that is very nice. I will make potato salad and some baked beans to go with the steaks.

Any suggestions on low cost meals to feed 9 people?

We are now in a transitional time in life... we have three children - 21, 19 and 17.

Sometimes they are home for dinner. Sometimes not.
Depends on their work schedule and their social schedules.

However, I keep buying food like we are all there, all the time. (Well, I have gotten a little better).

We end up throwing so much away. It is hurtful. And drives my husband bananas.

Last Sunday, I made a roast and some beef stew to just have made for the week (plus we had chicken stew from Saturday night - so since Roasts don't last more than 15 minutes in my house, we basically had chicken stew and beef stew as options for dinner/lunches whatever)

As of last night, we still have too much chicken and beef stew left. I think my husband is going to toss it when he gets home. Question though - even if it has been in the fridge for a few days - can I just freeze it now or is it too late, I wonder?

I really need to just separate when I cook for fridge use and straight to freezer use. It will help cut down on food waste (which will make my husband happier than my wallet) and also allows for less "cooking" nights.

I used to meal plan real hard. As the kids starting aging up, I meal planned less and less. And it is still hard to do because I NEVER know if they are going to be home or not for dinner.

I really need to either get them to let me know when I should plan for them to be home to eat OR I should meal plan based on just my husband, my 17 year old and myself (because even if she is at work, I am still responsible for feeding her, lol)

Yesterday, I stumbled upon some old gift cards... ones that I know I used at some point, but I was curious as to what, if any, balances were left on them. (You know how it is - $25 gift card, you only spend $21.89 - balance just sits around)

To my surprise, both cards still had balances. One had a balance of $4.06 and the other has a balance of $16.45.

The $4.06 GC is a VISA card, which I can use anywhere. We needed milk in the house, so I used it last night to get two gallons of milk from the grocery store - spending $3.88, leaving me .18 on the GC. I am sure I will find somewhere to use it - every penny counts!

The other GC, in the amount of $16.45, is a Walmart GC, so I can only use it at Walmart. Which is totally fine, because I have some coupons to use there for some sale products - and the GC amount should more than cover what I am going to be getting for my stockpile.

So, if you have some old gift cards laying around, take a minute to call the number on the back to see if there is a balance - you may be pleasantly surprised!

Well - today I took the "plunge" and planted some veggies in a garden!

I planted onions, green beans, okra,green onions and bell peppers. I thought that was a good start - I would like to plant more - but I want to make sure my thumb is green enough before investing more into the endeavor.

I am excited to see when they start blooming so I can just pick some fresh veggies and use them in my kitchen! And, I guess I will be going "organic" - lol! Amazing!

Well, I made potato soup for the first time in my life tonight. And it was delicious. Why have I waited so long to try this?!

Well, I can't tell you why I have waited so long to try it - but I can tell you why I tried it today: the budget.

Paying closer attention to my budget has me trying to think outside of my normal box and getting me to try new things - all in the name of enjoying life while saving money.

The only snag I had while making the soup was the shredded cheese. I could have sworn I had shredded cheese in the fridge (from a previous purchase) but when I went to look for it - it wasn't there! Luckily, my mother in law had sent us blocks of cheese from Wisconsin not too long ago - so I had cheese on-hand to shred for the soup.

I am enjoying my more in depth journey into finding my financial freedom... it is starting to open up a whole new world of possibilities for me... which is awesome!

The penny kills me every time I see it. Only because it shows how pennies add up!

I wish the Kroger card savings tracker showed what was really saved, though. This is going off of their sale prices with coupons, not original prices, so I would assume my savings are actually closer to the $300 range.

In anycase, it is nice to have Kroger track the savings for me throughout the year so I don't have to. Hehe!

Here's to more savings in the future! Cheers!

A woman that I work with invited me to join her at her mom's group Coupon Club - and I had a blast!

Not only was I able to trade coupons that I will never use (my family is way out of the diaper stage!) and score bunches of coupons that we will be able to use, I also had the pleasure of meeting new people who share a similar interest!

Which is really nice, considering the only people I know in my town are ones that I work with. (Kinda new to the area... well, been here about a year and half - meeting people has gotten harder as I have gotten older!)

Now, off to cook up some stir-fry for dinner and get ready for the next episode of The Walking Dead!

I will disclose that I use coupons. I would not be what some would deem "extreme" - but I average about 50% savings. By using coupons in conjunctions with sales, I get to stretch my grocery dollars further, and from time to time, get to purchase some "treats" that we otherwise wouldn't get. Even when I was blowing off monitoring my funds, I still used my coupons.

This weeks grocery trip, I spent $37.21 and saved $26.07 - or 41%.

I wish I could have hit that 50% mark, but I gave a dollar to the food drive and had to purchase some other things that I did not have coupons for - such as bread, milk and eggs.

My weekly grocery budget is $63. So I am $25.79 under budget for the week! YaY!