Pretty up my Grocery Binder

So am I the only one that ALWAYS feels broke shortly after payday?? Yes? Anyone?

Well because I am sick of being broke I am (finally) taking charge. I have gone over our finances and made a budget for our family to stick to; one of the biggest things we needed to cut back on was food.

The hubster would buy lunch every day because we are too lazy to make it which is about $6-$10/day… no no boo boo, and of course I would go to the grocery store and spend way more than I should on stuff we didn't need.  

I have finally figure this out: I go to the grocery store, most likely Wal-Mart with both of my boys. They are chaotic. Lovebug can’t handle being in stores, his body freaks out. Turbo takes advantage of my attention being on shopping and keeping Lovebug contained in the cart while he is climbing out/throwing stuff/kicking me/whining and he in turns acts out by messing with his brother/jumping around/running into things/begging for everything. So now I have these two wonderful darlings creating chaos and instead of high-tailing it out of there, I subject myself to this torture by prolonging my shopping and go down every aisle looking at needless stuff thinking how much I could use that item to organize my chaotic life. Purchase said items and leave with $200 worth of junk, one night’s dinner and some snacks. THIS IS MY LIFE!! Still the only one?? Yes? 

So I am vowing to do better. And doing better is only fun if it looks CUTE! J

I made up my budget and gave myself $200 for groceries a week. Yes, I know that’s still a lot but I've got to work myself down. I also allotted $100/month for beauty and cleaning items.

I made this cute binder to make my grocery shopping easier. (I bought this really cute purple binder at Walmart for a couple of dollars and I had everything else on hand) I used 12x12 scrapbook paper of my picking, made up the labels on Word and glued it on, then stuck it inside the binders clear sleeve. So pretty now! 

The first thing in my binder is a clear zipper bag to hold my stuff:

•           highlighters (I buy most of my food at Walmart-yellow highlighter, and my fruits/veggies/chicken/deli meat at Publix-pink highlighter)
•   calculator
•             pens

The sheet directly behind that is a copy of my weekly dinner plan so I remember what I am making in case I forgot to add a side to the meal in my shopping list or something. I just made the dinner plan on Word. I wanted to add color to it so it was pretty but the hubster accidentally printed off a million papers and used all of my colored ink. waaa 

I added tabs to the next couple of sections.

The first tab is my grocery list. I got this from Organized Meg. She has some really cute AND free lists so go check her out! I love that it is sectioned off for me and most of it is written in already- who has time to write all of that EVERY time?! I highlight everything I need and then as I get it, I check it off the list. Here is where my highlighters come in handy. I highlight the stuff I am getting from each store in a different color. This makes it easier than writing stuff separately or forgetting what I already got! 

The Second tab is Notes. I just have some loose leaf paper in there. I write down items in a store ad to see if it’s a better deal than Wal-Mart. They price match and you don’t need the ad. So writing it down helps me remember so I can tell the cashier! Nothing fancy, just a quick note. J

                                 

  The third tab is a price book. Most of the time things are cheaper at Wal-Mart. But not always. I have not started my price book but I am going to. I will keep a list of the stuff I buy regularly and the price from Publix, Wal-Mart, Target, and Winn Dixie. That way when there is a sale, I will know the best price for it and where. This will also help with price match. I downloaded this price book sheet from here.            

                                                                   The last tab in my binder is Coupons. I do not do a lot of couponing. I don’t find a lot of coupons for the things I am buying and it is pointless to buy something just because I have a coupon for it. For me anyways. But I do find coupons I will use sometimes so I store them in these plastic baseball card sleeves. Pretty handy to see and flip through to find what I need.

    

So now that I have a cute binder to tote with me to the store, I KNOW I will be able to stay on budget! J

Oh yea, the hubster is off one weekend day a week so I have been getting up early and heading to Wal-Mart ALONE! Earphones in, binder with me, I ROCK these shopping trips now! And I come in each week under budget!! WooHoo!!!

 

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Making the Change

I am a stay @home mama, that's what I've been for most of my adult life. But with 3 kids, one with autism that requires speech, OT, and ABA therapy money is tight. All 3 kids will be in school full time soon so I am looking for a part time job to help supplement some income. And let's face it, I'm a girl so I like to shop, duh! So it would be nice to help lessen my husbands burden of bringing in the bacon.

I've also gone over our spending habits to find ways to save. Our biggest spender. The grocery store! There are so many little ways I am trying to save with this so I am hoping it adds up to big bucks! I shop at 2 places, sometimes 3... Walmart and Publix and occasionally Target. I started shopping at Walmart to save money but end up spending a ton more on things not on my list. Cool new toys, that art project I saw on pinterest, some yummy new shampoo or make-up. Next thing I know, I've spent $200 and I only got 2 nights worth of dinner!

So day 4 I forgot to get dinner, I'm exhausted and fast food/ordering pizza seems quick and easy, there goes another $20, the next day is a repeat because let's face it, I'm a procrastinator so there is another $20.

I finally make it to Publix for a quick easy in easy out and spend another $60-$80 on 2 more nights worth of dinner. Another quick fix fast food or going out to a restaurant and there is anywhere from $20-$80 dollars. I will also run to Target to pick up some snacks for the kids lunches and another dinner and come out spending another $100 on I really don't remember what. So all this adds up to me spending roughly $900-$1000. On food a month. We are a family of 5 but my 4 yr old is super picky and won't eat much. So really a family of 4 is eating for about $1000.

Yes, I agree, something has to change! That is hard earned money that could be going to new clothes. Ok fine, the savings account!

So I am making the change! I have done extensive drooling, I mean searching for dinner ideas. I wrote out a full 2 week meal plan that will also give leftovers for my husband's lunches (which cost us another $150 every two weeks.) Making the meal plan keeps me from spending extra at Walmart and Target on stuff we don't need too.

I am in the process of making a food price log so I can compare store prices for the cheapest. In the past I've relied on my memory, which lets face it, is withering into the abyss! This is taking some time so it's not quite saving me yet.

I made my grocery list today and ventured out to Walmart. I bought two weeks worth of dinners, breakfast staples, lunch foods and snacks. I didn't roam around Walmart. I went straight to the grocery and got my stuff and left! I did use a couple of coupons but nothing to be excited about. I walked out spending $203 on JUST food! I patted myself on the back! I don't usually shop at Winn Dixie but most of my dinners call for chicken and its Bogo at WD right now. So after dropping off my Walmart food, I left for WD. I spent $33 and got 8 packs of chicken breasts.

My wonderful, super amazing, darling dearest (in case he reads this later) husband cut up all the chicken while I wrote each meal on its own freezer bag. We then divided up the chicken accordingly. Some of the meals I could add all or some of the ingredients with the chicken.

So now i have almost 2 weeks worth of dinners in my freezer ready to be cooked! Another pat on the back is deserved!

I will have to go back and research where I found my meals so I can place correct credit to the person. So that will be for another day.

Do you have any extra savings at the grocery store ideas that you can offer? I'd love to hear it!

Yummy Goodness Baked Into a Cake

Today is my husband and his twin brother’s birthday! And birthdays mean CAKE! I am not a chef, cook, baker, or anything else that does anything in a kitchen. I mean I can follow a recipe and it will taste good. Sometimes I get crazy and will add some different spices. WHAT? I know, I warned you…crazy!

Well my in-laws love this certain pistachio pudding recipe that is more mousse-y than pudding-y (I know those are words) and of course I made this one night while my wonderful friend was over. She had the brilliant idea of turning it into a cake frosting…. So viola, birthday cake idea was made!

It was super easy and super yummy! Here’s what ya need:

     1.   1 box cake (I told you I wasn’t a baker!) I used Duncan Hines

     2.   The ingredients for the cake(3 eggs, 1 cup water, 1/3 cup oil)

     3.   3 boxes of pistachio pudding

     4.   2 cups of milk

     5.   Container of cool whip

     6.   Mini chocolate chips (if you want extra goodness, of course)

I mixed the cake according to box, adding one pack of the pudding mix to the cake mix.

Note: my cake was a little too thick so I added about a Tbs more water and a little more oil. Only if your mix is too thick.

I blended and baked the cake in two 8x8 round pans (or they were 9x9, I am not positive)

Because I wasn't sure what size they were exactly, I put the timer on for a couple mindless than the called for time. The toothpick was still messy so I cooked them for 5 more mins. Took them out and let them cool in the pans on a wire rack.Left for a couple hours to go play with my friend and then came home.

Time to make the mousse-y pudding-y frosting!

Dump the remaining two boxes of pudding mix in a bowl, add 2 cups of milk and a container of cool whip. Mix together and stick in fridge to chill. After a bout 15 mins, about the length of time it took me to get dressed for dinner, I took it out of the fridge and dumped in a handful of mini chocolate chips. OK fiiiine, two heaping handfuls! Then fold the chips into the pistachio pudding mix.

Now frost the heck out of your cake, layer your second cake on top, frost the heck out of that one and then it’s go time!

You should also have a heaping pile of pudding left in the bowl. Save that for when hubby is working late, kids are in bed, and you decide you want a yummy snack; suddenly remember the pistachio mousse pudding hiding in the secret part of the fridge (wait that should be invented! Secret compartments) and do your happy dance! 

If you make this I hope you enjoy it! Please leave me nice comments telling me so! If you don’t like it you can leave me nice comments telling me I smell nice and I’m pretty but you don’t care for the cake! ;-)

Love Always,

Angela xoxo