5 Best Things to Buy at the Dollar Store

The husband and I have lived off a single income for the past couple of years. The high cost of living in Colorado (and in general!) has really forced us to be savvy with our spending and saving. One of the ways we save money is by purchasing certain things at the dollar store. 

I will be the first to tell you that not everything at the dollar store is a good deal. We bought foil there recently and you could hardly pull it out of the box without it tearing- no bueno. However, there are a handful of items that we regularly purchase there that are better deals than the grocery store. Check out the list below and see if there are any you would add! 

1. Greeting Cards 

I'll be honest with you- we are dollar card kind of people. I love the cute cards that I find at Walmart and Target but I just can't justify paying $4 for a piece of cardstock! The dollar card sections at these major retailers is usually pretty sad, so I prefer to shop at the dollar store. 

In my once a month run to the dollar store I try to pick up cards for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and any other festivities that might be coming up in the next month. A lot of the cards are even 50 cents and I think they have a pretty good selection. I can get 5-10 cards for the price of one- now that's a deal! 

2. Gift bags/tissue paper 

I love giving cute gifts but can't justify paying an extra $5-10 in gift bags/tissue paper at the grocery store. The dollar store usually has a wide variety of gift bags and paper that works great and is super cute. 

Along those same lines, I have bought wrapping paper at the dollar store and decided that it can be a better deal elsewhere. The quality of the wrapping paper isn't bad, but there wasn't much of it on a roll, so if you can find bigger rolls on sale somewhere that will usually be the better deal. 

3. Helium balloons

This is where I feel like I've really hit the jackpot on deals. If you go to the grocery store, you'll pay at least $4 for an inflated helium balloon. Many dollar stores have a wide variety of helium balloons and they're all only $1! I get Alex balloons a lot (I consider it the man version of flowers), and most of them have come from the dollar store. I've gotten balloons for birthdays, Valentine's Day, anniversaries, and coming home parties; it's so fun and I feel like I'm getting an awesome deal! 

4. Plastic ziplock bags 

We use plastic ziploc baggies sparingly because they're expensive. We try to instead put things in reusable containers and plastic wrap or foil. I have found a brand of baggies at the dollar store that is 50 for a dollar. This is wayyyy cheaper than anywhere else I've looked, and the box of 50 goes a long way in our house! 

5. Canned goods 

Many times canned goods are over a dollar at major retailers. Things like Rotel, canned fruit, and canned chili are well over a dollar. However, at the dollar store they're (guess) only a buck. Even though they may only be a little over a dollar (i.e. $1.32) at the grocery store, add that up for several cans of goods and it adds up to several dollars worth! Canned goods can vary from store to store, so browse their selection and pick up what you can before you head to the grocery store! 

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Depending on the trip I'll pick up other things at our dollar store including paper goods, cleaning supplies, and candy. The five above are the things that I regularly purchase. If you don't have a dollar store close to you, driving 20 miles out of the way probably won't be worth the savings, but if there's one close to you stop by and check it out sometime! I think you'll be surprised at the deals you find! 

Do you shop at the dollar store? What other deals have you found? 

How to Comfortably Live On a Single Income

As many of you may know, my husband and I have been living on a single income (mine) for the past two years as he finishes school. We live in a part of the country that is getting more expensive by the year (Denver is one of the top five growing housing markets in the country), with wages not necessarily growing in proportion to cost of living. Living on a single income has not been easy, but it is so worth it as we have continued to stay out of debt and built our savings little by little. Our single income will soon turn into two incomes as Alex has finished school and is looking for a job, but we are going to continue to live off of a single income, saving the entire other income in preparation for some expenses that we know are coming soon. Below, I've shared my tips for living comfortably on one income. I'm super passionate about this subject and love to share how we've done things so please comment or email me with any questions or comments you may have. 

1. Create a budget, and stick to it! 

This is probably the most important thing you can do if you want to successfully live off of one income. Setting a good budget includes sitting down and looking at exactly how much you make, and how much your expenses are. If you don't know this right off the bat, take a month or two to write down your expenses (you can use a spreadsheet like we do!) so that you can get an idea of your expenses. 

Once you get an idea of where your money is going, sit down with your partner (if you're married), and create several categories and assign dollar amounts to each of these categories. Some of these categories may include rent, car payment, electricity, entertainment, gas and groceries. 

Set a realistic amount, yet don't over budget- your goal here is to either break even with the single income or even come out with some savings. 

2. Get used to a new standard of living. 

This is super easy to write and super hard to do. If you're used to ordering Starbucks three times a week and going out to eat five nights a week, it's going to be hard to change those habits. But to successfully live off of one income, you're going to need to cut some stuff out. 

I suggest you start small and work your way into things. Cut down your Starbucks treat down to once a week while you learn to create your favorites at home using copycat Pinterest recipes. Start making one more meal a week at home than you normally would. Once you see how much you can save each month by adjusting your standard of living, you'll be more motivated to continue. (Example: 3 Starbucks drinks a week at $5 per drink = $15 a week, $780 a year. 1 Starbuck drink a week = $5 a week, $260 a year. That's a $520 difference! That's almost two extra car payments, an extra payment on a student loan, or $500 towards family vacation!) 

The key is moderation- allow yourself to have a treat once in awhile so you don't binge. For example, if you're a shopper and are a fan of "retail therapy", give yourself a $50/month budget instead of saying that you can't ever go shopping again. Make sense? 

3. Become friends with coupons and Groupon. 

My husband and I love going on fun dates- our monthly recap posts are proof that we don't just sit at home and watch Netflix. However, my husband is the coupon king, and we often go to places at a discount. We're not crazy couponers at all (don't I wish), but we'll glance through coupons that come in our mail and we're huge fans of the app Groupon. We'll often get discounts on mini golf, drinks, and meals because we take a few extra minutes to look. It's almost a challenge- can we do everything on a coupon? And using coupons forces us to try new restaurants we wouldn't normally try- a win win! 

4. Give generously. 

You may be surprised that this is on my list of ways to successfully live on a single income, but I am a huge believer in the power of giving your first fruits. In the Bible it says that we are to give a tenth of our first fruits back to the Lord and this looks differently for different people. Some think that this means giving back a tenth to your local church, to others it means giving to local charities, to others it means giving to both. To read one of the best posts I've ever seen on tithing, go ahead and click over to "Why We Tithe" written by my friend Amanda . 

Whether or not you believe in the Bible or in tithing, I think you'll find this principle to hold true. In our giving, we take the focus off of ourselves, and focus on blessing others. If you can find the right heart of joy in your giving (instead of doing it out of obligation or drudgery), I believe that you will be blessed in return. This may not be monetary blessing- it may be blessings in your health, family, or other ways in your life. I, personally have found that in generous giving, the Lord always provides the money when we need it the most.

Don't skip this step, friends, it's the most important. 

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For more resources that I've written, check out my Money page. In it, you'll find posts on how to create a budget and how to save on specific things including entertainment and groceries. 

Those of you that have lived off of a single income, what other tips you have? What questions do you have about living on a single income? 

{Linking up with Grammie Time for Tuesday Talk!}

5 Reasons to Hop Aboard a Cruise Ship

The hubby and I went on a cruise for our one year anniversary present to ourselves and we both absolutely LOVED our trip. It was his second cruise and my first, and let me tell you... I'm ready to hop on board again! 

Just so you guys know, just a couple years ago I was really against the whole idea of cruising. I basically thought that it was too many people crammed onto too small of a boat, all under the name of fun. Well, for the record... I was wrong, way wrong. 

There's people, a lot of them. But it's also a BIG ship, with a lot of things to do. And if you really are getting people'd out (like I get sometimes), you can always just head back to your stateroom and get some alone time. With further ado, let's get to the 5 reasons I think you should jump on a cruise ship (especially if you've never given it the chance!) 

1. Cruises are affordable 

If you haven't guessed by now, me and the husband man like to save money. Living off of a single income we also don't have a lot extra money, and we sure aren't going into debt just for vacation! Cruising seemed to be a good option on the money side of things, which is why we originally started to look into going on one. 

Depending on your cruise line, your length of cruise, and the location, you can pay less than $100 per person. This, of course, does not include port taxes (be careful with this- we didn't expect it and it raised our total price quite a bit), shore excursions, or flights if you don't live close to a port (which most of us probably don't). 

We cut costs for our cruise in three main ways: 

1. We used mileage points to get free plane tickets

2. We didn't go on the most expensive shore excursions

3. We kept our on-board spending to a minimum (this included no alcohol!)

(We did the whole thing with only carry ons which is 

another post for another time, but this saved us $100!

There are certainly ways to make a cruise expensive, but there are ways to make it affordable. Check rates often, go in the off season, book flights early, and choose your excursions wisely. Did we pay more than we would have if we chose to take a road trip to another state? Probably yes. Was it a lot more? Probably not. We felt that we got an awesome bang for our buck because of all the delicious food, entertainment, and places we got to visit. 

2. The fun atmosphere is unbeatable 

This reason seems obvious- of course a cruise is fun. But really, when I say that, I mean that the atmosphere itself is fun! People are there to have a good time and enjoy themselves making it a good environment to have a good time. 

Let me give you an example. The husband and I went to an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica for our honeymoon. One of the things that we were looking forward to most was the nightly dancing that they advertised. Much to our disappointment, the dancing was usually a bust- little to no one showed up, and when they were there most people just sat and watched instead of danced. The atmosphere on the resort was totally different- people were there to enjoy themselves, but weren't necessarily enthralled by the "activities" the place had to offer.

Um... basketball on the ship?? Yes, please! 

The cruise however, is ALL about the activities. You get a daily brochure that tells you what is going on where- it's awesome! Because the cruise was so activities oriented, you'd better believe that the night club was packed every night and that the dance parties on the deck were filled with every grandma, five year old, and everyone in between wanting to have a good time jigging out the Cha Cha Slide. 

I think the atmosphere of a cruise (even if it is slightly alcohol induced) is hard to beat, and we enjoyed that everyone got into all the activities so much more than they did at our honeymoon resort. 

3. You can make it what you want 

Part of my original avoidance of cruises was because I felt like you wouldn't have the freedom to do what you wanted if you were stuck on a tiny little boat. Also, I was very wrong in this. 

You can choose your excursions off shore (these cost extra, so choosing cheaper ones is a way to save money), and you can choose what to participate on the boat. Alex and I chose to splurge on one excursion and then go two cheaper options for our other stops, and then one stop we chose not to do an excursion at all. 

Our favorite excursion- swimming with stingrays!

On our next cruise, we agreed that we would probably do even less excursions. In most of the ports we stopped, there was shopping and places you could walk in the port. You could also stay on the boat and enjoy the emptier pools and attractions (one of our favorite days was the day that we chose not to do an excursion!)

On board, there were so many options of things to choose from. We went to a musical show and a comedy show every night followed up by one of our favorite things... soft serve ice cream! There were so many options for entertainment and dining that I really felt like I could design my day how I wanted... which I loved! 

You can make a cruise as relaxing or as busy as you want. You can choose when you go eat, choose what time of show you want to watch- it's really up to you and the flexibility is awesome!

Because what other type of trip would you see an immigration office in a 

portable shed one day and swim with stingrays the next?

4. You don't have to see your wallet for a week

Probably my favorite thing about a cruise is the all inclusive piece of it. Before you board, they have you link a credit or a debit card to your room key. This can be super dangerous if you're not careful with your spending (like the couple we saw on the last day of the cruise who printed out their list of charges and looked at each other and asked how on earth they just spent $2000), but it is also really handy. I loved loved loved not having to carry around anything besides my room key all week.

I didn't have to worry about carrying my wallet around. All I  

worried about was which towel animal I would see next.

 Hello there, little bat.

I didn't have to look at prices on the food menu because it was all inclusive, and I loved going from show to show to kareoke to dancing all without a card or ID because it was included. A couple of souvenirs that we bought in port required us to bust out our wallets, but other than that we had our room keys and cell phone (for pictures only!) on us the entire week... this in itself helped me relax even more!

5. The food 

Need I say more? I LOVE food! In fact, a lot of times my day revolves around the next time I'll eat. Which is perfect when you go on a cruise that has soft serve ice cream, pizza, buffets, burgers, deli bars, and nice sit down restaurants around every corner. 

Besides enjoying more than my fair share of hamburgers and fries, I loved trying all the fancy things that you could order at our nightly sit down dinner (think lobster tail, squid, snail, tongue).

Lobster tail was probably the only 

adventurous thing I tried and actually liked. 

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Maybe our favorite part of the whole week was meeting people from all over the world. We loved getting to know our waiters from the Philippines and landed up becoming really good friends with the other couple that was at our dinner table. We hung out with these two the whole week, and get to see them again next week when they come out to Colorado for a business trip! 

So have I convinced you to go on a cruise? Have you been on one before? What did you like or not like about it? 

Meal Planning for a Month: FAQ & Tips

I've been talking about how I plan our meals a month at a time. Doing this requires two major steps: planning out your meals and then shopping for your meals. Since I've been telling people about my monthly meal planning endeavor, I get a few common questions. Below are my answers to these frequently asked questions and some tips that will make meal planning easier. These tips apply to meal planning in general- whether you're planning for a week or a month at a time. 

-FAQ-

What if you don't feel like eating what's on the scheduled day? 

I've gotten asked this question by almost every person I've told about our monthly meal planning. I'll be honest- this doesn't happen very much in our house. We love all kinds of food, as long as it's a hot yummy dinner, we both usually feel like it. 

That being said- some days we don't feel like it, we're too tired to cook, or we want to meet up with friends or family. When this happens we just switch that dinner to a different day. I'll usually just bump it to the next day or later in the week. At the end of the month there's always 3-4 dinners that I didn't land up making. I try to make these dinners that don't have a lot of perishable items- that way I'm not wasting ingredients and I have a handful of dinners to start my list with next month! 

What if I run out of food (i.e. no leftovers when you were planning on it or the recipe making less than you needed)? 

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I always have a few emergency dinners on hand. These things are usually frozen pizza, spaghetti, or breakfast for dinner- things that don't spoil and can be cooked up quickly when we're in a pinch. 

What do I do if I have leftovers and wasn't planning on it? 

We almost always take leftovers for lunch because I've developed a strong dislike for sandwiches. Sometimes a recipe will make just a huge amount and when that happens I try to freeze half of it and use it either later in the month or for the next month- you get two meals that way! I love unplanned leftovers! 

How do coupons and taking advantage of sales work with this system? 

To be honest, I haven't quite figured this out yet. I just can't seem to get into couponing (maybe one day!), so I can't speak to that. I will say that the veggies and fruit we buy for salads and lunches are the ones that are on sale. I also browse the sales ad for the two times that we do shop- that way if there is a good deal going on (particularly on meat), I will stock up. I still go for the sale items when we do shop, but it's not as big of a part of my meal planning as it used to be. 

You will still save money with this plan because you are in the grocery store so much less, resulting in less impulse buys. Also, I've made a commitment to only going to the grocery store twice a month, so if something runs out before then I make do without until the next trip to the store. We really try to use all of our food and not letting things go to waste, and sometimes that means being a little creative (especially towards the end of the month). Your commitment to staying out of the stores will serve you and your wallet well. 

Doesn't your food go bad if you don't shop that often? 

In short, no. I've found that almost all fruits and veggies will last two weeks. I look for later expiration dates on things like milk and yogurt to ensure that they'll last two weeks. I also will freeze breads and meats so they'll stay good for awhile. We do make one quick shopping trip in the middle of the month to replenish fruits, veggies, and milk.

-TIPS-

Keep a running grocery list. 

We have a spot on our fridge where I write the menu for the week. Underneath the menu is a section where we write a list of things we run out whether it be milk or foil. We write it as soon as we realize it's out, that way we don't forget anything when we're at the store! 

Get your recipes organized. 

Every time I add a recipe to my dinner repertoire, I make sure I put where the recipe is from (Pinterest, cookbook etc.) That way, when I want to make the recipe again, I don't spend a ton of time just looking for the recipe. 

Make Pinterest work for you 

Pinterest can be your best friend or your worst enemy when it comes to planning. If you have a general "food" board that has 200 recipes and you find one you like, trying to find it again can be a nightmare. I learned this the hard way, and decided to make separate food boards- one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for dinner. I also have separate ones for desserts, veggies & sides, drinks, and snacks. 

Perhaps the best board I've created on Pinterest is my "Meals This Month" board. This is where I pin recipes that I'm cooking that month. That way, when it comes to make a recipe, I can go straight to that board and that recipe. 

I also created a "Pinned it and Did it" board. This board is where I pin projects or recipes that I have actually done. Not only does it serve as a great motivator to actually turn Pins into reality, it allows me to write a little blurb of recipes I've tried and remind myself why or why I didn't like it. This board is also stores previous recipes that I've tried and liked so I can find them easily. 

The key with making Pinterest work for you is getting organized- use those boards to your advantage! 

Brainstorm the next month during the current month. 

Like I addressed above, I'll often have 3-4 meals that weren't cooked. These automatically go onto next month's meals as do any frozen leftovers from the current month. I'll also write down specific ideas or pins that I liked in my planner, that way I can remember them when it comes to plan the next month's menu. By the time I start planning for the next month, I usually have 4-5 meals already planned making it that much easier! 

Be creative. 

Towards the end of your two weeks or the month (before you go to the store again), you may start running out of some ingredients. Instead of making an extra trip to the store get creative with the ingredients you have on hand. We ran out of bread for sandwiches one month, and instead of buying more, we took crackers cheese and meat and made some delicious adult lunchables! The more creative you can get, the less food you'll waste and the more money you'll save. 

Give yourself some grace. 

In all of life you need to give yourself some grace, and that includes menu planning. Maybe one of your new recipes bombed. Maybe you ran out of food after a week. It's okay. This whole menu planning idea has a big learning curve and the point of it is to ease your stress not cause it. Maybe you try it for a month and decide you hate it- great, go to something that's easier for you! I will say that it's taken me a couple of months for the process to get easier so if you're in your first month and thinking that it's something you might like- stick with it! It gets easier I promise! 

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I think that wraps up our week talking all about meal planning! It's something that's worked well for me, and I hope it can work for you too! 

Do you think you might try to meal plan for a month?

Meal Planning for a Month: Shop

Once you've got your plan of meals, then it's time to make your grocery lists and then head to the stores to finish the process. I've messed this process up a couple of times so I hope you can learn from my mistakes. 

1. Make your ingredient list

I used to just go through every dish and write down the ingredient list. I landed up with a giant list of ingredients that I had to go back through and sort. The main reason this method didn't work was that three weeks into the month I had no idea which dish needed the green bell pepper. 

What I have started doing is getting four sheets of paper. Each sheet represents one week of the month. I write each individual dish down, underline it, and write down all the ingredients needed for that dish. By doing this method, I'm able to have the ingredient list for each dish at my fingertips. This way, I know which recipe needs that green bell pepper!

I should mention that at this point, write down ingredients that you need for breakfast and lunch.  I explained in the last post that breakfast and lunch for us is usually pretty repetitive, so it's easy for me to write down the few staples that we need.  

(You can see here I have week 1 and 2 in separate columns along with each dish and their

 ingredients written underneath each corresponding week).

2. Sort your grocery list

This is probably the most excruciating and terrible part of this process. Now that you have your ingredient list compiled, it's time to combine all the ingredients into a cohesive shopping list. 

I sort my grocery list by food group (dairy, protein etc.) because that's how I make sense of everything. I later sort it by store (that part is easy- don't get intimidated!) I go through all my ingredient lists and write down all the dairy items that are needed. If I need 4 cups of cheese in one recipe and 2 cups in another, I'll go ahead and combine them on my grocery list and write "6 cups cheese". That way, I know the total amount of that ingredient that I'll need for the month. 

The most crucial part in this step is note which fruits/vegetables/perishable items will be used in the second half of the month. We do go to the store once halfway through the month to replenish our fruits, veggies, and milk supply because some things just don't last the entire month! (But almost everything is fine for two weeks). If there's a particular ingredient that will be used in the second half of the month, I put a "2" next to it. By doing this, I'm able to easily see what ingredients I won't need to get on my first trip, and then I'm usually able to write a "second trip" shopping list really quickly.

(My master grocery list sorted by food group)

3. Figure out your stores 

Once you have all your ingredients compiled, it's time to sort the shopping list by store. If you shop at one store for everything, you can just skip this step and get shopping. We shop at three main stores- Costco, King Soopers, and Walmart (Sprouts on the occasion). 

Instead of re-writing every ingredient (because at this point I'm really just ready to shoot myself), I use a highlighter system to sort by store. I take my grocery list (sorted by food group), and highlight all the Costco items in yellow, Walmart items in blue, and King Soopers items in pink. 

I'm a super visual person so this system works for me. Figure out something that works for you, but don't make it too hard on yourself (as in, don't rewrite your whole list if you can help it).  

(My master grocery list sorted by food group and then highlighted by stores. Anything

that's not highlighted are items I already had or was going to purchase on my mid-month 

shopping trip).

4. Hit the stores

By now, you probably have a couple page long grocery list that is pretty and highlighted. You're also probably exhausted and ready to go to a bar instead of a grocery store. I'll be honest- I usually plan my menu on a separate day that I shop. Doing both in the same day is just too much. Muster your courage, and get out there and shop. A few hours later you'll come back with 2.3 million grocery bags, and you'll collapse on your couch. You're almost done my friend, one more step! 

(My shopping buddy this month. No, we didn't take a selfie in an 

aisle of Costco, why would you think such a thing?)

5. Finish food prep and put away groceries. 

We usually have a couple things to prep when we get home. The most common things we have to do is shred rotisseirre chickens and put them in individual freezer bags and separate the big packages of chicken breasts we buy into smaller freezable packages. Occasionally I'll cook some pinto beans and chop some fruit or veggies. Most of the times I'll do the chicken, put away all the groceries and call it a day. 

I also will take 5-10 minutes to go back through my grocery list and write down every ingredient that has a "2" next to it on a sticky note. That way, my grocery list for the middle of the month is already compiled and I don't have to worry about it!

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Phew, you made it friend. Planning a monthly menu is a lot of work. Now do you see why you shouldn't jump into it right away? The first time I did it, the whole thing took probably 8-9 hours. Now it takes me about 6 hours and I'm hoping to get even quicker. It's a lot of work but it gets easier every month. And I cannot tell you how much it is worth it. 

For the past year, Mondays usually were my meal planning and grocery shopping day. It would only take me 1-2 hours total but I had to do it every single week. Now I spend one Monday a month, and the other three are free for whatever else I want to do! 

My shopping trip in the middle of the month usually isn't longer than an hour, leaving me able to spend my days off not grocery shopping. 

This plan will save you money: less time spent in the grocery store = less impulse buys = money saved. It requires planning and time, but it is SO worth it. 

To finish off the series, I answered some FAQs and compiled a list of tips. Please always feel free to email or comment with any other questions you might have! 

Meal Planning for a Month: Plan

We've been covering the basics of meal planning and now are ready to tackle the big kahuna- namely, meal planning for an entire month (in one sitting). It took me 15 months of regular, weekly meal planning to feel like I could tackle doing an entire month at once. The principles of the planning are the same it just takes a little longer, but it is oh so sweet to have to only do it once a month. 

Before you plan your monthly menu make sure that you have: 

1. A minimum of 10-15 meals on your "dinner repertoire". These are recipes that you know that you and your family love, that are fairly simple, and that you feel comfortable cooking. This list should not include that super complicated dish that you made off of Pinterest a few days ago. This staple list are your tried and true recipes. Click here to learn more about making your own list.

2. Planned an occasional two or even three week menu

I think it's important to work up to planning an entire month so if you're feeling comfortable in planning a weekly menu, go ahead and try planning a two-week menu. The first "month" I ever planned was November 2013 and we were going to be gone for a week because of Thanksgiving. I had been comfortably planning weekly or biweekly menus at this point, and I was glad to have a three week plan to bridge me over to the full month.

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Alright, let's do this thing. 

Sit down, arm yourself with a blank monthly calendar, your staple dinners list, your computer (or cookbooks) if you're planning on trying some new recipes, some colored pens or highlighters, and a chunk of time. 

First off, back to the first step we covered in Meal Planning 202: 

1. Write down all the obligations that you are aware of
This includes date nights, Bible studies, meal groups, trips away, work days. Plan meals for these days first. I plan all my work day dinners first because like I mentioned in my earlier post, Alex  is usually responsible for getting dinner ready when I work. Staple meals (i.e. spaghetti & meatballs) or crockpot dishes (i.e. BBQ chicken sandwiches) are usually the meals that are scheduled for days I work because they're easy and delicious. 

If you know that some of your dishes will make leftovers, go ahead and pencil in "Leftovers" for the next day or later in the month (if you plan on freezing the leftovers). 

(This was my calendar for January- you'll note that I penciled in date nights, our meal group with church, and work).

2. Choose the new recipes you want to try and schedule them 

I usually only try 2-3 new recipes a month, sometimes less and sometimes more depending on how ambitious I'm feeling. Schedule these 2-3 new recipes on days that you know (or at least think) that you will have the time and energy to cook them up. My new recipes for the month are always scheduled on a day I don't work and usually earlier in the week when I'm more likely to have energy and motivation to be in the kitchen. 

3. Pencil in the days you'll eat out 

We try and go on 2-3 date nights per month that usually include dinner. I'll go ahead and write these into the schedule (usually on a Friday or Saturday night). Often our date nights change from when I originally schedule them, and when that happens I just move the meal that was originally planned for when we go out  to the day that was a planned date night. 

4. Pencil in meals for all remaining days. 
After adding all your nightly obligations, new recipes, leftover  and takeout days, you should only have a handful of days left. I pull out my staple dinners list and fill in the rest of those days with recipes that are already tried and true. 

A few last thoughts before we talk about the shopping part of this gig in the next post: 

-I try to plan meals that share ingredients in the same two week time frame. For example. enchiladas and smothered burritos are regular occurrences in our household and both need most of the same ingredients. Because of this, we'll usually have enchiladas one week and then burritos early the next week. This ensures that I can use any leftover ingredients that I may have from the first week's dish in the second week's dish (i.e. black beans, chicken, green chile). This takes practice- don't get frustrated if you can't work it out the first couple times around. 

-I try to have 2-3 "backup" meal ideas a month. These usually are frozen pizzas, sandwiches, or breakfast for dinner. These backup meals are just in case I don't have leftovers when I was planning on them or if I'm too tired to make what was planned. These backup ideas shouldn't need much prep or extra ingredients, that way if you don't use them, you won't be wasting any ingredients. 

I'm not going to lie, the planning part of this whole ordeal is the hardest part. Once you've got your plan (and your lists which we'll go into more detail about in the next post), the shopping usually goes really smoothly and quickly and then you are done for another FOUR weeks!

Once you've done your plan, it's time to learn how to organize your grocery list and shopping trip.

Is it overwhelming to plan an entire monthly menu at once? What other tips do you have? 

{Linking up with Tuesday Talk at Sweet Little Ones blog!}

Meal Planning 202: Planning Your First Weekly Menu

In Meal Planning 101, we covered how to begin your dinner repertoire. I explained how this step is critical in successful meal planning and should not be skipped. Today, we'll chat about what it looks like to make your first weekly meal plan.

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Write out your week on a sheet of paper

Include days that you work, any nightly obligations you may have, and any other events that would mean you won't be home for dinner (i.e. date night, dinner with friends). 

For us, this schedule would look like: 

Monday:

Tuesday: Sarah Work

Wednesday: Sarah Work 

Thursday: 

Friday: Sarah Work 

Saturday: Date Night 

Sunday: 

Knowing the days that I work are crucial to my meal plan because I am gone from the house for a total of 14 hours, and Alex is usually the one that gets dinner ready. He's a great cook but I try to make it easy on him by planning a crockpot dish, leftovers, or something simple for those days. 

If you know you are going to have an especially long and/or stressful day at work, consider making those dinners easier and simpler.  

Fill in the meals for each day. 

Once you have your weekly obligations penciled in, it's time to pencil in all your meals. When you start out, it's important to not go crazy with the plan and get yourself overwhelmed. This may mean that you only plan three nights of dinners and have leftovers or takeout the rest. Below is a very typical week of meals when we started out: 

Monday: Mediterranean Pizza Skillet (this would be my one, and only one, new recipe for the week)

Tuesday: (Sarah Work) Grilled Cheese and soup (Campbell's to the rescue, y'all)

Wednesday: (Sarah Work) Spaghetti & Meatballs

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: (Sarah work) Breakfast for dinner (this has been everything from pancakes to cereal)

Saturday: Date night! (We go out for dinner) 

Sunday: Leftovers/Family Dinner

You can see above that I only planned 4 meals per week. One recipe was new, the rest were easy to make and off my "Dinner Repertoire". We would go out, and often on weekends we would have one meal at my in-laws house. Don't feel bad about starting out small. Maybe you plan and cook two meals and have leftovers the rest of the week- great idea! The point is to start small, and work your way into more extensive meal planning. 

Write all your ingredients down. 

Here is where I go through each dish individually and write down all the ingredients. Make sure to include any spices that you might need. A lot of times you'll find that you have many of the ingredients on hand (you probably would have bread and cheese on hand for grilled cheese sandwiches) and you only need to buy a handful of other things. 

Once you're done writing down dinner ingredients, add breakfast and lunch ingredients. 

I'll be honest- I don't plan breakfast or lunch (ain't nobody got time for that!) We're okay with repetition on these two meals so we usually just keep some staples around. Breakfast staples include eggs, cereal, oatmeal, and toast. Lunch staples include sandwich makings, fruit, and yogurt (sometimes chips or crackers). Each week when I'm making my grocery list, I just glance through our pantry and refrigerator to make sure we have enough of the staples to last us the week.  

Get shoppin! 

When I lived in a small town, I grocery shopped at three different stores because they each had their separate good deals. Now that I'm in the middle of a city, I often find it's not worth the gas and time to go all over creation to a bunch of different stores so I try to figure out which one or two stores have the best deals for the week and only go to those ones. 

Make sure you take your list of ingredients with you! I find it easiest to sort my grocery list by store just so that I don't forget any ingredient. Find a way that works for you because nothing is worse than having to go to the grocery store more than once! 

Once you've done your grocery shopping- well done! Put everything away, turn on a show, grab a drink, and try to forget it ever happened.

{Ready to try and meal plan for an entire month? Head over to Meal Plan for a Month to find out how!}

What other tips do you have for meal planning one week at a time? Do you plan breakfast or lunch? 

Meal Planning 101: Creating a Dinner Repertoire

I've been meal planning consistently for almost a year and a half now meaning that I've gotten the hang of it but I'm still not an expert. I actually hate meal planning and grocery shopping (they're my least favorite chores), but I hate not having a plan for dinner even more. Knocking out my planning and shopping in one sitting is a pain but it also means that I don't have to worry about dinner the rest of the time. Trust me, the trade-off is worth it. 

My latest jam has been meal planning for the entire month at a time. Everyone I tell about this either thinks I'm crazy, thinks it sounds like a cool idea, or thinks a little bit of both. Instead of jumping head first into how I meal plan for a month, I'm going to start with meal planning basics and end with the monthly plan. 

If you've never meal planned before, I beg of you- don't try and meal plan for an entire month your first go at it. Trust me, you'll hate it and never meal plan again in your life. When I started, planning 4-5 days was overwhelming enough. It's a process, don't jump in too quick or it won't work. Let's get started with the basics.

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Think about what you're already eating. 

Grab a piece of paper and pen and jot down 4-5 meals that you are already eating on a consistent basis. If this for you means chinese takeout, mexican takeout, and Dominoes, then go ahead and brainstorm 4-5 simple ideas of dinners you could make at home. 

Some ideas from my list: 

-Spaghetti and meatballs

-Macaroni and cheese 

-Breakfast for dinner ("brinner")

-Sandwiches 

-Frozen pizza 

-Hamburgers

This is the beginning of your dinner repertoire or your "dinner idea" list. Once you have 4-5 ideas written down, go onto the next step. 

Think about what you would like to eat 

Now brainstorm 4-5 things that you would like to have in your dinner menu rotation. These may be dishes your Mom made, dishes you've heard of that sound good, or even a theme of food you would like to eat more of (i.e. Mexican). These ideas should also be simple. Do not add lobster tail to this list. 

We added a couple of dishes: 

-Enchiladas (something my Mom makes frequently)
-Tater tot casserole (another one of my Mom's dishes)

-Chinese (we both love it but haven't cooked it at home much)

You will add these to the dinner repertoire list you created above. Ideally, this list will have about 5 go-to meals when you start out (if you don't have this many when you begin, don't worry!)

Each time you make a new meal, you will add it to your dinner repertoire if you feel like you would want to eat it again. In order to make it onto our dinner list, the meal has to be delicious, simple, contain common ingredients, and something we would want to eat again. 

Do NOT go Pinterest crazy 

When I first started meal planning I felt like I had no ideas so I would hop on Pinterest to try and find dinner ideas for each night that week. Don't do this.  Too many new recipes all at once will almost guaranteed overwhelm you and make you feel defeated before you even start. I started limiting myself to one new recipe a week, and then drawing from my list of staple dishes (that you brainstormed above) for the rest of the dinners.

Creating your own repertoire of dinner ideas is the essential foundation to meal planning. This list has made meal planning so much easier, and is what ultimately allowed me to feel confident in planning meals for the entire month. Do NOT skip this step. 

(This is my dinner repertoire list. They are all simple and delicious recipes that we LOVE. Note that next to each dinner I put where it's from whether it's a cookbook or Pinterest. This list is right next to me every time I plan a menu).

Ready for the next step? Head on over to Meal Planning 202: Planning Your First Weekly Menu

Do you have a list of dinner ideas that are tried and true? If you do, what are some of the meals on it? If you don't, do you think creating a repertoire could help you start to meal plan? 

On A Budget: Saving on Groceries

One of the biggest budget killers in any household is the category of groceries. We all have to eat, and who doesn't like to eat good food?? With some practice, Alex and I have learned to get a handle of this category. Below are the ways we keep our grocery bill down. Grocery prices can vary drastically depending on region, but using the basic principles I've described below, you'll be able to save a lot of money regardless of where you're located. 

1. Have a plan 

This is probably the most crucial step in saving money on groceries. Planning a weekly menu will help you be organized-you know what ingredients you need and already have, and you can use some of the same ingredients in multiple recipes. All of these things will save you major bucks. I started planning weekly menus and now I'm up to planning for the whole month (more on that in January!) Start small- plan one or two meals a week and then gradually increase from there. 

2. Shop less 

Having a plan means that you won't be going to the grocery store multiple times a week. The less time you spend in a grocery store means you'll spend less money because there's less of a chance of impulse purchases. We go to the grocery store once a week maximum and that's only if I forgot to pick up a critical ingredient that I can't substitute. 

By having a grocery list when I do go to the store and not going additional times beyond that, our grocery bill stays low. 

3. Shop sales

While making a menu plan for the week, I sit down with my grocery store's ads and try to plan at least a couple of my dishes around what's on sale. The sales I especially pay attention to are the sales on veggies and meat since these are the most expensive (and important!) parts of our grocery list. If something calls for an ingredient that's expensive and not on sale, I'll often substitute the ingredient (i.e. green peppers for red pepper) or, if possible, leave it out all together!

3. Be okay with repetition 

We have a really good dinner menu and I try a new recipe at least twice a month. However, breakfast and lunch stays pretty standard for us. Breakfast consists of cereal, toast, or fruit (maybe an egg if we have time), and lunch is almost always sandwiches or dinner leftovers. Alex and I are okay with the repetition and that keeps our costs low. We're not spending boku bucks on frozen entrees for lunch or different kinds of cereal, pancakes, fruit, frozen waffles etc. 

4. Get creative 

One end of the spectrum is being okay with repetition but the other end of the spectrum calls for some creativity when designing your meal plan. I know a lot of families that have a couple of meatless meals a week to help cut down on the meat cost. The hubby likes meat a lot so we only do meatless meals a couple nights a month. However, we save on meat by using cheaper meats that you wouldn't ordinarily think to use. For example, we use pepperoni in a couple dishes a month- it's cheap but still fulfills the protein need that Alex has. :) Turkey bacon or deli cuts of lunch meat find their way into mac n cheese or chef salad. I'll substitute ground turkey for ground beef in a lot of dishes because it's healthier and cheaper. 

Creatively substituting proteins or going meatless can significantly bring your grocery bill down. 

4. Buy less junk 

You will {almost} never find our house with soda, frozen snacks, candy, or other prepackaged items (think cookies, chex mix etc.) We do buy a couple bags of chips a month but only pull those out for the Broncos game. We try to have healthier snacks around like yogurt, nuts, and cheese sticks. Pre-packaged stuff is expensive and we'd rather just not have the temptation around. 

By skipping a lot of the prepackaged snacks we're healthier and we keep our grocery bill down. If you think you or your family will have trouble cutting out some of their guilty pleasures, start slowly. Don't buy soda for a couple weeks, then the next couple weeks don't buy soda or cookies- so on and so forth. Gradually breaking yourself in is the way to do it- soon you won't miss those items and when you do get them it is a true splurge! 

How do you save on groceries? 

On a Budget: Not Letting Money Control You

We've been in this series about budgeting and discussing different ways to save money. Saving money is a passion of mine- it's something I love doing, something I love learning about, and something I love helping others with. Just as I have had to learn how to save money, I have also had to learn how to not let money control me. Sometimes, I get so passionate about money that I forget that it's just money. 

If you find yourself constantly thinking about money, stressing over it, and maybe obsessing about saving it (or spending it), you may be letting money control you. Read on to find out the 3 main ways I've developed to not let money control me. 

Keep money in perspective. 

In today's world, money is power and money controls things. You need money to survive in the world but it doesn't have to control you. Perhaps the best way I keep money in perspective is by remembering that my money is not my money. 

The Lord has given me the money in all my bank accounts and funds to steward and watch over. I believe the Lord wants us to save, live within our means and not be a slave to the lender (see Proverbs 22:7). I think we are also called to tithe, to give generously, and to use the money he has entrusted with us to enjoy our family and enjoy the life He has given us. 

When I see my money as simply money I was given to manage, it's a ton easier to give, spend, and save freely without losing perspective. 

Allow yourself a measure of grace 

Sometimes, Alex and I get so intensely focused on saving money that we won't spend hardly any money on doing fun things (a large part of why we instituted our monthly date night challenge). 

I (we) have had to learn that it's okay to go over on our entertainment budget by $20, or it's okay if we spend a little more than we were anticipating at dinner out with friends. Alex and I have both stressed over money so much that it gave us physical symptoms- stomach pains, headaches, back aches- you name it. 

When we release our money stress to God and allow ourselves a measure of grace (AKA "wiggle room") in our budget, our physical symptoms go away and we feel the weight lift off of our shoulders. 

Now, if you are a chronic spender and/or trying to pull yourself out of debt having a mentality of "spending an extra $100 is no biggie" can be dangerous and very unhelpful. However, if you are genuinely trying to curb your spending habits and slip a little, don't forget to give yourself grace in that situation. It's never too late to get back on track. 

Remember what is important 

Tying into the above idea of keeping money in perspective, it's also vital that you keep in mind what (or who) is important. Remember that it is often the who and when (as opposed to the what) that is important in life. 

Money does not make memories- people make memories. Is an expensive vacation more important than the people who are on vacation with you?   

Time is so much more valuable than money. Some of my favorite things that Alex has done for me have been gifts of his time and not his money.

There is incredible value to being on a budget and being wise steward of the money God has given you. But people, experiences, and simply life are so much more valuable than money, and money should never take priority over loving people, experiencing memories, or enjoying the precious moments of your life.

Not letting myself be controlled by money is a still a fairly consistent struggle for me- one that I am getting better at and praying through. 

Have you ever found yourself controlled by money? What are ways that you don't let money control you? 

On a Budget: Save on household items

Something we all have to buy are things that I've labeled in my budget "household items/necessities". These things include (but are not limited to) toilet paper, toiletries (shampoo, razors etc.), and medicines (i.e. ibuprofen, tylenol). This category also includes any sort of cleaning supply that I don't consider food groceries (laundry detergent, dish soap, miscellaneous cleaning supplies, paper towels, foil etc.) 

This category is one in our budget that is extremely difficult to set the proper amount for. Many months we'll spend little to nothing on this category, and the next month we'll run out of everything at once and blow the amount I have budgeted. I am still working out the kinks to this category, but along the way have learned 3 major ways to save in this area of our budget without using coupons.

Disclaimer: I know all you couponers out there are getting this kind of stuff for dirt cheap. I've always been somewhat of a coupon skeptic so these are the ways I've learned to save on these items without couponing. (For the record, I am dabbling in some couponing and will later post my success or failure with the endeavor. In the meantime, use these tricks to save today on items you need now.) 

Buy in bulk

I often suggest buying in bulk cautiously because a lot of times I think bulk purchasing is often disguised as a good deal when it's really not. However, we have found that our local Costco often has good deals of bulk purchases of certain personal care items including toilet paper and deodorant. 

For the sake of an example, lets examine toilet paper. We pay around $17 for a 30 count toilet paper at Costco. To make the comparison, we will compare sheet per sheet of the toilet paper roll because that is a better indicator of how big the individual rolls are. The Costco brand toilet paper claims to have 425 sheets per roll of toilet paper making the cost per sheet around $0.001 per sheet. A similar "mid-grade" toilet paper will cost you $11.97 at Wal-Mart for 24 rolls. Each of the Wal-Mart rolls claims to have 208 sheets making the cost per sheet around $0.002 per sheet. 

Okay, so we are talking about fractions of pennies here but if you notice- the Wal-Mart toilet paper brand is twice as much as the Costco brand of toilet paper when comparing sheet per sheet. This goes to show that in this instance, buying this particular item in bulk is a great deal. 

If you live in the middle of the Alaskan tundra 500 miles away from the nearest Costco, or simply don't have a membership, do not purchase a membership for the sake of a few items.

Instead, try to stock up when your favorite toilet paper is on sale, Google search for some basic coupons that will save you a couple dollars, and be willing to try new products that could be a little bit cheaper than the brands you are currently purchasing.

Hit your local dollar store 

This is really the main way we save money in the area of household necessities. In my pharmacology class in nursing school we learned that there is very little difference in brand versus generic medicines. Most of the time, brand names are more expensive because they are paying to use the actual brand name. If you compare a brand name with a generic brand of the same medicine, 9 times out of 10, the drug or active ingredient is the exact same. 

I have found a couple exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between. The fact that the drug or active ingredient is the same in most medicines, brand name or not, is why I frequent our dollar store for 95% of the medicines we use at home. I buy ibuprofen, acetaminophen (tylenol), and Excedrin all at the dollar store. We save a ton of money and the drugs work just as effectively than if we had bought brand names. 

I also frequent our dollar store for some household kitchen items that can be really pricey everywhere else. Things like plastic sandwich baggies and plastic wrap are all a steal at $1 each versus the usual $3-4 that you'll pay at a regular grocery store. 

Simplify cleaning routines 

I have learned to clean effectively without spending a ton of money on expensive cleaning products. Blue Dawn dish soap, baking soda, vinegar, and this cleaning product from our local dollar store are staples in my cleaning routine. Aside from those four items, I don't use much else to clean. I have found that the above products do a great job, are less toxic than most commercial products, and best of all are nice to my budget. 

If you find yourself spending boku bucks on expensive cleaning products that you love, maybe Google a DIY version of the same product. I will admit, some DIY products are just not the same as the real thing (I know from personal experience), but a lot of them do a great job. You won't know until you try it! 

This category can be a huge money sucker for most people, and one that I have personally struggled to save money in. By buying generic when you can, purchasing (wisely) in bulk, and simplifying what and how many products you use to begin with, you can cut the spending in this particular category. 

**I was not reimbursed for mentioning any particular store, brand, or product in this article. These are the items that have simply worked for me and kept my budget on track**

What other ideas do you have to save in the category of household necessities? Does anyone else struggle to cut this budget?