Harris Teeter Triple Coupons!

Taking advantage of Harris Teeter's Triple Coupons days is just one of the ways I have reduced the cost of our weekly grocery bill. We currently spend $ 300.00 a month for four people. That amount also includes our paper products and cleaning products. That is 3 meals a day for all of us with the one exception being hubby who gets one free meal a day at work. We also go out for lunch after church on Sundays.

We have a variety of fresh fruits, meats and vegetables. The key is shopping smart and learning some kitchen basics! So get your coupons out and start clipping.

Free Stuff - Magazines

One of the first things to go from the budget when I was transitioning from full-time work to my part-time job was magazine purchases and subscriptions. I am an avid reader of all things. Magazines, books, papers, blogs, you name it! Most anything with the written word intrigues me. Lucky for me, while picking out some library books one day, think "Tightwad Gazette", I discovered our local library has a free magazine swap table. Awesome! I couldn't believe it!

Here is the way it works: patrons are allowed to drop off magazines and books for donation anytime the library is open. The books are sorted for cataloging or for the annual book sale to raise money for the library. The magazines address labels are removed and placed on a free swap table. Patrons can pick out whatever they want to take home. Returning or reciprocating is encouraged but not mandatory.

I was really surprised how many brand new magazines, ones that were still selling on newstands, were showing up on the free table. It is a great way to save money and it is a superb way to reduce waste going into our land fills. If your local library doesn't have something like this, just stop by and talk to staff. They may just start a table! Good luck!

Thrifty Threads

Up above you see my six year old posing for a quick picture just before heading off to church Sunday morning. I thought this might be a perfect introduction on how I have reduced our clothing budget substantially since my job change.

My mother and I, along with a few of my frugal friends, almost exclusively build our wardrobes from thrifting. We tend to shop our Salvation Army the most frequently, but there are several others we visit too. Even on vacation we tend to take at least a few hours to check out the thrift stores in the area. When we visited Orlando, we couldn't believe the size of their Salvation Army. It was like walking onto a football field of savings. The lesson there was to leave a little room in the suitcase when leaving on vacation. :-)

The dress she is wearing was purchased last year for $ 1.99. The little white shirt with the peter pan collar has been worn two years under jumpers and as a school uniform shirt. It was only $ 1.00. The pink bow was less than a dollar and the shoes were a gift. The dress and shirt are both boutique brands that would easily put this ensemble over $50.00 if purchased in a retail store. I spent less than $ 4.00, that is a 90% savings!! She by far is the easiest to purchase clothing for, especially special occasion clothing. I have a heirloom quality dress I will share with you later when we get chance to do some beach pics.

Please consider checking out the Salvation Army in your area. It might take a visit or two to get the hang of it, but in the long run you can acquire some quality clothing and keep more of your hard earned money in your own pocket. To find a Salvation Army in your area click here.

Swiss Cake Roll Trifle

This is a beautiful thing!! At least my family thinks so.....

This is adapted from a magazine recipe I ran across in 2007. It is a quick and inexpensive recipe. My girls love making and devouring this trifle.

This is what you will need:

A package of swiss cake rolls

2 3/4 cup of milk

2 small packages of your favorite chocolate pudding

container of whipped topping

Slice each cake roll into 8 slices. Line the bottom and sides of your bowl or trifle dish with the slices. Mix together pudding mix and milk. Pour pudding into trifle dish. Cover pudding layer with whipped topping. Garnish with any remaining cake slices and chocolate that may have fell off your cake rolls when slicing.  

Refrigerate 2-4 hours then dig in :-)

All the ingredients for this can be picked up at my local Dollartree for $ 4.00. Inexpensive and pretty enough to serve to company.

Check our more recipes on Tasty Tuesday at Beauty and Bedlam. Click Here.

Simple Pleasures

Flowers are one of those very simple pleasures in life. This beautiful single rose was retrieved from the ugliest, scrappiest looking rose bush on our property. Every year it yields only 2 to 3 gorgeous blooms. It is such a simple thing that makes me smile just walking by. It reminds me of my Dad and how he used to randomly bring my Mom fresh flowers handpicked by him. It reminds me of how he also handpicked me a beautiful bouquet of lavender roses and brought them to me at the hospital when I had my first baby. So much cooler than the ones you'd buy from a florist. It also makes me giggle because one year he picked the very first bloom from a plant in my current yard and took it to my Mom, thinking that no one would notice. Unbeknownst to him, I had noticed that morning and taken a picture of it. When I came home from work that day, it was gone. Knowing my family, I figured it could have only been one man's handiwork. After calling Mom, my suspicions were confirmed.

Just this afternoon my family spent a little time planting all kinds of flower seeds on our back patio. I can hardly wait to see the flurry of color and blooms. I can hardly wait to hear my youngest beg to start picking the blooms. It will brighten our days and create memories. All from a simple packet of seeds. No doubt about it they will brighten your life up, make you smile or at the very least perfume a room.

Fab Frugal Fun - Free National Park Week

National parks are a gift to the public. We regularly visit a State Park near our home to hike, picnic and attend educational programs. Parks provide great opportunities to learn and experience new things for free or next to free. I was glad to hear about this week and will planning my families next weekend around it!

Click here to find a park near you.

Fab Frugal Fun

One of the things you learn when cutting back is lots of ways to have fun for no cost or low cost. This past weekend we capitalized on two nearby functions. The first one was a Music and Arts celebration we stumbled upon while walking along our town's waterfront boardwalk. My oldest daughter was at a friend's house for a sleepover so I took my youngest to the library, then for a stroll on the waterfront. She loves checking out the water, waves, people and boats. So, starting on Saturday morning here is what we did:

• We stopped in the library for two books and two movies. Membership is free and so were the movies. Zero dollars spent.
• After the library visit we headed over to the waterfront for a stroll down the boardwalk and then headed back down Main street. While walking we were treated to live musical performances. In addition, we also visited with a few artist and saw some of their works displayed too! No money was spent, we enjoyed lots of fresh air and exercise, plus we made some new friends along the way.
• The next day after church my hubby wanted to hit a few balls at the driving range so we girls, including my mother, headed to a nearby Governor's Palace that was hosting a free garden weekend. We visited the gardens, took lots of photos, played lawn bowling the "Colonial" way, and listened to music on the front lawn of a beautiful historic home. Hubby's driving range cost was $ 2.00. Our cost was zero dollars again :-)
• Lastly, feeling a little warm from our garden exploration, we stopped in at the local "Sonic" for frozen fruit slushies. Yum! It was happy hour so all drinks were half price and Mom treated. Zero dollars for us, and she only spent $ 3.51 for four slushies.

All in all, we did a variety of things for under $ 6.00, maybe $ 10.00 if you consider gas used on Sunday and were very entertained. We enjoyed books, movies, music, art, architecture, landscaping, exercise, and quality family time.

My point is, check out your local resources. Your local Chamber of Commerce's website, the bulletin board at your library, your local cable channel, and newspaper are great resources for finding out what's happening near you.

Tuna Pasta Salad! Perfect for Spring and Summer, light on the Wallet.

Tuna Pasta Salad

• 
  
  1/2 box of 16 oz macaroni (or 8 oz of some kind of pasta)


• 
  
  1 can of tuna, drain it and flake it


• 
  1 large carrot, peel and grate it


• 
  1/4 cup of chopped onion


• 
  3/4 cup mayo


• 
  1/4 cup milk


• 
  
  
  1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice



• 1 tablespoon of your favorite seasoning, we used "No Salt" but lemon pepper would also be a great option too
  
• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper


• Cook the pasta and drain. In a large bowl combine pasta, tuna, carrot, and onion. Then combine the mayo, milk, lemon juice or vinegar, seasoning, salt and pepper in a seperate container. Whisk together until smooth. Pour over the pasta mixture and mix everything together. Cover it and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Then, enjoy

This is one of those go t0 recipes that make the best of items you have in the pantry. We adjusted a recipe located in an old "Taste of Home" magazine picked up from the free table at our local Library.

Feel free to substitute or add in your favorite veggies. I would have loved some roasted red pepper and green onions but I only had regular yellow onion on hand that day and my daughter is adverse to bell peppers. This is very cost effective, especially if you are someone who uses coupons. We hardly ever pay for pasta with all the coupons available for super double day or triple coupon day at our local Harris Teeter. I always stock up on tuna when it is on sale because we are big fans and it is a quick item to create subs and salads.

We pack this salad for lunch alot during warmer weather. Please adapt for your taste and family. Enjoy!

This post is a part of Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam! Click here to go there.

Packing Lunch Bento Style

As I mentioned in an earlier post one of the things I did to reduce spending was to start packing lunch for myself and my two daughters. My hubby is very fortunate and his job allows him one meal a day for free! Yay!

Below I will show you an example of lunch packed for a 6 year old and a 15 year old. My 6 year old has been using the same one dollar Disney princess container for two years and the 15 year old is using a piece I picked up from Salvation Army for a quarter.

If you have been in a lunch room lately you will notice alot of wasted food going uneaten in lunch boxes or even worse, going directly into a garbage pail. So taking a standard sandwich container divided into four sections works perfectly for Faith. We have a mini heart-shaped peanut butter sandwich in one corner, classic goldfish crackers in the upper right corner, fresh strawberries and carrot sticks in the remaining corners. A pretty balanced lunch that gives her variety without her feeling stuffed.

Now let's take a look at Nicole's lunch that day, which happened to mirror mine too. Her container is divided to hold a typical sandwich on the right and a side item on the left. What we ended up with was an Asian chicken salad on the right, with crispy romaine lettuce, radish and vegan chicken strips on top. On the left she has a mini chocolate chip muffin, a few dried kiwi slices, a little cheese and some crunchy topping for her salad. Her dressing was on the side to insure she didn't end up with Asian kiwi slices :-) after a journey in her backpack. All of the food also came from previous meals. Again, a nicely balanced meal.

My family loves Asian style food and our packing technique is somewhat "Bento" style. Something my teenager ran across during her many hours on the web. I could personally spend hours just looking at the images of true "Bento" lunches. Our packing technique is very simple and could be done by anyone with items in your own home. I estimate packing our three lunches saves us ten dollars a day and can be packed quickly while cleaning up after dinner. My daughters tell me they get tons of jealous tablemates at lunchtime.