Saving Cash - Day Whatever

The last week has been a long one for lots of health and personal reasons, pretty much rendering me brain-dead by the time there's enough peace in the house to think about blogging. We are definitely spending money again, but we haven't been monitoring it too closely. That could be terrible, I know, but I don't think we're really doing any "rebound" spending. After we get back on our feet again, and into some more normal routines, we'll take a look at everything. Maybe Thanksgiving morning will be a good time to catch up on our finances and we can give thanks that we stopped spending money for 2 weeks earlier this month!

I am still working on planning meals and sticking with the plans. Shopping lists are getting better organized.

We went out to dinner spontaneously with friends on Friday night, and spent way more than we really wanted. Have to say though, it was a big deal for me to be able to eat normal food again, after two weeks on the low iodine diet. And it was fun to be out with some friends!

Some of my upcoming blog ideas:
Holiday shopping - budgets and ideas for gifts with websites to make it less costly
Can we pull off another two weeks of not spending money?
How are we REALLY doing on saving cash?
What is the CVS game? Can I really get stuff for free regularly?
Can we really trim costs on our regular expenditures like insurance, utilities etc?

If you have anything you would like to see me blog about, let me know.

And after bringing up the thyroid issues over the last two weeks, I wanted to make sure I let you know that all the tests came back negative, meaning there's no sign of any cancer right now. Yea! Now if I can get my regular thyroid meds to get me over being hypothyroid, I could actually write a clever blog, clean all the clutter in my house, get the holiday shopping done before Dec 1, and still have time to eat bon-bons on the sofa... One thing at a time, I guess!

Saving Cash - Day 3 - Meal Plans and Grocery List

Before I start today's blog, I wanted to post the picture we finally downloaded of our freezer on Day 14 after spending no money for two weeks. Thought you might appreciate it. Usually, our freezer is quite full.

It's been an easy feat saving cash today. My husband spent no money today since he ate free cheese and crackers at work. I ate breakfast super early with a double espresso at home, only had a $10 co-pay at the doctors, mailed some letters with stamps I already had, and then went and bought our first two bottles of red wine since we started the "no spending money for two weeks" experiment. The wine was a splurge, for sure, but it tasted delicious with our homemade beef stew for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, I realized I never posted our meal plans for this week and next, and I also forgot to share my shopping list with you all. I'm still stuck with tougher meal choices this week because I have to continue eating a low-iodine diet for an upcoming body scan on Friday. Hopefully Friday night I'll be given the "ok" to resume eating normal foods. I had chicken on the menu for this week, but had to change it around because it was outrageously expensive at the store. I'll work more chicken and fish into the menu next week. (I can't eat any fish this week because of the iodine and have to make sure any chicken is salt and broth-free.)

By the way, my first big shopping trip to our local grocery store on Monday was a disaster. The kids were not at all patient with me as I carefully checked coupons and specific products for purchase. They spent a lot of time picking on each other, while I was trying really hard to follow my list, and find good deals. After we got through about 2/3 of the store, I gave up on my efforts at discipline, and checked out. I didn't buy everything I wanted to get, and I forgot to give the salesclerk my coupons worth about $7. At least most of the items were also discounted with my store fidelity card, which I did have on hand. Next time I do the "big shop" I will not take both kids for my sanity and to save money.

Two- Week Meal Plan: (I bought most everything we need for these meals)
Monday - Steak, salad, homemade vinaigrette and sweet potatoes.
Tuesday - Meatloaf, orzo rice, and sauteed mushrooms
Wednesday - Beef Stew with potatoes, turnips, celery, carrots, tomato sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar
Thursday - Kids will eat at our neighbor's house (I'll probably have stew)
Friday - Kids and husband will eat at International Night at local elementary school
Saturday - Going out to dinner to celebrate a family birthday in Baltimore (This will be our first meal out since we started the experiment!)
Sunday - Grilled Sausages, Potatoes, Salad, Sauerkraut

Monday - Chicken, sweet potatoes, veggies
Tuesday - Lasagna with veggies, Bread, Salad
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Thanksgiving - Take wine, cheeses, vegetable side dish
Friday - Dinner with family (my mom cooks...)
Saturday - Fish, rice, veggies
Sunday - Homemade chicken soup with corn, noodles and sandwiches

My husband helped me figure out how to post a link on the blog, so if you want to download my shopping list, you can! (We had trouble finding a way to post the link, so we are using a site we found; please do NOT pay any money to download it. As far as we can tell, it should be free. If you have any problems, send me a comment, and I'll try to solve any issues.)

My grocery list is more or less set up by aisles, so you can cut and paste it to suit your favorite grocery store. I also have notes on good prices I've found; feel free to edit them to your stores and region. It's one of my personal goals to note the best prices for all of these items, though some prices, especially for produce are seasonal. And of course, you should add in your own favorite foods and staples. Hopefully this will help you organize your trips to the store and save you some time with your planning. Typically, I try to have a few printed out at a time, and as we need items I'll just circle or highlight them on the list. Anything unusual that I buy which isn't worth typing, I just jot down in the margin. I do the meal planning on the back as I plan the shopping list or vice versa. At some point, I also try to put the final meal plans on a blank calendar and post it on the fridge. It makes me stay focused and I feel good about being organized!