Manna from heaven

It's really hard on almost anyone when the bottom looks like it's going to fall out. You know what I mean - those little and big things that happen as part of life and home ownership that just come at ya when you are least expecting them.

That's what happened to us. And my frugality isn't what saved us. It was God. Just like He provided food for the Israelites as they wondered around the desert in the form of manna, He provided for us this week. And just like manna, which was provided just for that day with the instruction to not be greedy, not to store it or it would go bad, this gift was also just the right amount. In sharing this, I am only doing it to thank God and share our blessing with others. It's not in any way meant to be braggardly. We've been there, done that when it comes to financial woes. We've gotten by when the income was $1300 a month and rent was $800. It's not about us - it's about what God has provided.

I'll go back to the beginning of December. The first issue was our property tax. We pay these ourselves at the end of the year instead of having an escrow account (long story), but due to poor planning, well, we were in a lurch, but it was handled. Not great, but okay, we'll deal, we can make that bill.

One day in early December, I noticed an inch wide stream of water pouring down the wall in our bedroom during . Not good. Got a guy to come out and check out the problem. Turns out, the flashing on the roof at the chimney was not done correctly a few years back, resulting in a water seep. Great. Estimate - $1600. Yikes! And right at Christmas. We had someone else come and do a patch fix, and so far, it's worked okay, but not perfect. We've got to take care of the flashing soon. Ka-ching!

Then our most used TV went out. I know, I know, TV isn't a necessity. But it went out a few days before Christmas, and ironically, we had discussed forgoing presents for me and Dear Hubby and just getting a new one anyway. We decided to wait instead. Suddenly, the TV stops turning on, and there ya go.

Four days after Christmas, we got hit with the Big One. Our gas furnace that covers our main level and our basement stopped working completely. Get our regular company to come check it out, and we're told all kinds of stuff, including that to repair it, we're looking at $1K, but it couldn't be done for another week because the part had to be ordered. They couldn't get someone out for an estimate until the next day, and with the New Year holiday, that meant four more days without heat (and we've got lows in the teens right now). Got another company for the furnace estimate, and another long story somewhat short, we weren't given the whole story - there was actually a crack in the pan in the furnace, which was downright dangerous, and even if we did the $1K repair, we were at risk for a CO2 leak (and no, he wasn't just trying to get us to buy a new furnace - we already passed on the repair and were buying a furnace anyway). So, we got a new furnace. MAJOR ka-ching!!

Now to God's blessing. Dear Hubby has worked his tail off at work this year, but with the economy, things were down. It wasn't his fault, the work just wasn't flowing like normal. We didn't expect a bonus at all, but he got one. And you know what? When we add all of our expenses above up, it comes out to almost EXACTLY the amount of the bonus check that landed in our hands the day after the furnace died. YES!! God provided EXACTLY the amount we needed. No more, no less. Just like the manna from heaven. God knew what we needed. He knew that we were going to be in dire straits - we were looking at HAVING to go in to more debt, which just makes our stomach churn. Yes, he gave us some fun funds in there, too, but He provided. Thanks be to God!

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Just signed up for this. It's a site where you can earn freebies, trials, etc. Still working on exactly how everything works. You get "smiles" based on the number of missions that you complete. These "smiles" move you up through the ranks, thus earning you more opportunities.

Thanks MoneySavingMom!

Cooking from the Pantry

I've been inspired!

In January, MoneySavingMom is doing a month of cooking from the pantry. I've got a stockpile, I'm looking to cut my grocery bill even more, so I'm going to try! I'm not going to do it for a month, but maybe a week. I'm going to see how her first week goes before I try it, too. There's something intimidating about it to me for some reason. Why can't I cook from my pantry and my stockpile? We'll see how this goes!

Watch for updates...

My Savings Goals - 2010

I'm not really a resolutions kind of girl, but there's nothing wrong with setting goals, right?

In 2010, this is what I want to do to keep practicing a more frugal lifestyle:

*Raise my coupon savings to over $1000;

*Get our grocery bill to $100 or less a week. Currently budgeting $120 a week;

*Not get burned out on coupons and utilizing my resources;

*Reduce our non-mortgage debt by at least $7,000;

*We are having to buy a new TV soon since our main TV died last week, and I pledge to only pay cash;

*Only buy clothes that the kids really need, mainly for E Belle. I'm already seeing that she's got quite a summer wardrobe. She doesn't need a Gymboree spree;

*Look even harder for good deals.

As you can tell, I've got several food oriented savings goals. I feel like that's the easiest place for us to cut, and it's one of the areas that I have the most personal control over. We'll see how this goes! What are your goals?

Grocery Game - Second Attempt

Before the cashier hit the total key at Harris Teeter today, the screen read $183.30.

After she hit the total key and ran the coupons through, the screen read $98.38.

The Grocery Game is definitely helping me shop the sales at HT, but I was hoping to see more coupon usage as well. My coupon savings only totaled $8.15 today, which is kind of low for me.

But one of the couponing elements that I have a hard time with is when to use a coupon and when not to buy the item at all. Today, I'd guess that 90% of my coupons went with an item that was on sale, making the item free, nearly free or cheap. I've gotten burned in the past by using a coupon on an item not on sale, only to find it on sale the next week. So, my new guideline is only buy items with a coupon when they're not on sale if I absolutely need it for that week. Not just because I can.

The best sale today was the buy 1, get 2 free on chicken breasts. I saved more than $30 just on chicken alone today because I bought six packs. I'm up to my eyeballs on chicken, but it's a rich deal when you pay $16-ish for nearly 10 pounds of chicken breasts.

Of course, right in the middle of my free trial, I find out that I have won a subscription to a competing website called the Savings Angel! I'm very happy to have won, and I look forward to checking out the new site and being able to compare it to GG. We'll see!

The Grocery Game - First Attempt

I finally got talked in to trying The Grocery Game. You can get a month's trial for free, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I've been very hesitant about trying TGG because you have to pay to get the information. There's so much out there that's free, and since the point is to save money, I didn't want to spend money.

So, I signed up late last week. First of all, the lists go up on Friday, with a final list on Sunday after the coupons for the week are released. This allows for a list that contains unadvertised specials, not just the flyer specials, which is what the free sites have. The list is color coded to indicate which items are free after coupon, good deals and decent deals. It also includes original price, sales price, how many to buy, coupon match and percentage off.

I headed down to the local Harris Teeter this morning, list in hand. How did I do? Well, my end savings weren't much more than usual. However, I bought an absolute ton of groceries for $108, and my weekly budget is $120. I've got so much stuff to put in the stockpile I've been dreading it all day. The $108 also includes items I don't normal buy at the store unless I can get them for a steal like Ziploc bags, aluminum foil, etc.

TGG took a lot of the thinking out of the process for me today, and I appreciate that. If I think about what I would have bought this week without the list, I would probably have spent the same amount and got less stuff. I wouldn't have known that I could get a bag of steamfresh veggies for free, or a strip of yeast for free.

Right now, my monthly budget for groceries is $480 for my family of four. I'm trying very hard to get it down to $400. I'll update and let you all know if TGG is the secret to getting it down for us.

I've gone Deceptively Delicious

Yep, I've done it. I'm two years late to the party. And I've been taken in by none other than Jessica Seinfeld. Yes, I have issues with how she and Jerry Seinfeld married. I don't advocate getting married then wanting a divorce by the time you go on your honeymoon, then quickly marrying someone else. But no one asked me........

I was at the library a week ago and saw her cookbook. Again. I'd tried The Sneaky Chef but really didn't like it at all. I browsed Deceptively Delicious (hereafter called DD), and I decided to give it a shot. If you aren't familiar with the concept, you make a bunch of fruit and veggie pures and sneak them into food where people can't tell that they are there. Since me and E Belle are about the only veggie eaters in the house, I've been looking for ways to up our veggie intake.

I got home and pureed the almost 100% brown bananas sitting on my cabinet. The next day, I made the DD French Toast. What a hit!! Little Man and E Belle couldn't get enough. And it was soooo easy.

So I roasted some sweet potatoes and steamed some carrots, then pureed them. Now, I hate carrots. I despise carrots. I sometimes call them the Food of the Devil. No joke. I hate them that much. But if I don't know I'm eating them, then I'll do it.

I have since made chili (pureed carrot), applesauce muffins (pureed carrot) and Greek dip (pureed chickpeas and artichokes). And you know what? They've all been a success. What I like about her recipes versus The Sneaky Chef is that her recipes are, well, normal. I'd try just about all of the recipes if I could. Nothing out of the ordinary. No crazy ingredients other than some of the veggies. The recipes just read as if they make good food.

The cookbook has its detractors, and I think some of the criticism comes from people who haven't read it. Even when you're sneaking in the veggies and fruits, you don't leave them off the plate on their own, either. It's just another way to get some good nutrients in our bodies. You still should be serving veggies on the side, but you don't have to worry so much if your kiddos aren't eating all of their green veggies when you've got some stashed inside. It's also only deceptive if you make it that way - I don't hide what's in there from my kids. And finally, some say cooking DD is a lot of work for a little benefit. When you're only putting 1/2 cup of a veggie into something that serves 8, that doesn't break down to a lot per serving. But it's something. It's more than they were getting. And sometimes the veggies can sub for something in the recipe for something not so healthy, like using sweet fruits to replace some sugars or using veggies to thicken instead of something like corn starch.

And how is this frugal? Well, I found a use for those bananas instead of trashing them! Also, I've spent so much money on veggies that never make it into our bodies. This way, there's less veggie waste. I'm at least using what I'm buying. You can also use frozen veggies instead of fresh without sacrificing on taste or cooking prep, and that's a savings.

Of course, we don't eat DD every night, but I'm definitely sold on the concept!