Week 3

Monday - breakfast-cereal, coffee
packed husband's lunch - egg salad sandwich, apple, yogurt, breakfast bar, water

Dominiks run:
Motts apple juice 99cent q -.55
eggs .99-.5q
milk 1.69
3 lb roast 6.07
1 lb banans 1.14
2 plums .73
2 pints blue berries 1.98
5 lbs potatoes .99q
8 oz mushrooms 1
cantelope .99q
deli sandwich - grilled chicken 3.99q
oop 17.66

kids camp snack - plum, bread, celery, water, raisins, cheese

was going to take sandwich to husband - he had sanwiches at work

Talked with DH later and somehow the office decided to order sandwiches and my husband paid because he was the only one with cash oop $25.55 (later recovered $12).

dinner - hotdogs, leftovers, cantelope, blueberries

Tues -
cereal, coffee, leftover pancakes, blueberries, cantelope, pop tart

kids lunch snack - banana, bread, water

jewel run:
3 -4paks yocrunch 1.25 x 3 = 3.75 x .7 store promo 2.625
3 - free tuna 2.5 oz pouches free w/q
1 4 pack cranenergy drinks 2.5 -1q *.7 = 1.05
1 sargentos salad toppers 2.5 - .75q *.7 = 1.225
6 dannon light and fit yogurts 3-.6-1 = 1.40
3 breyer yogurt 6 pks 7.50 - 2.25q *.7 = 3.675
6 bottles sterling wine @ 6.99 = 41.94 - 9qstore tags *.9 (10% disc) = oop 29.646- 25 mail in rebate
2 tony's frozen pizzas 5-1q *.7 = 2.80
1 whole fruit pops 2.5 -1 *.7 = 1.05
oop $43.07 grocery - 25 mail in rebate (+non grocery items on receipt 5.45)

walgreens
2 - snickers
2 - peanut mm
2 - reg mm
@.49 x 6 - 3qs = .06 overage for rest office supplies - (use candy for kids' incentives with learning numbers, letters with flash cards.)

Total so far:
17.66 + 25.55-12 + 43.07 -.06 = oop 74.22 - 25 mail in rebate

Tues - lunch - coleslaw, leftover ham

snacks - fruit pops
Dinner - brother was in town and brought elk meat - marinated it in soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame seed oil, cider vinegar, ketchup, garlic and later made a stir fry with some frozen vegetables, served with white rice.

PREPPED - browned leftover sausage for meals this week, cut up ham (sliced some for leftover snack, cut-up some for split pea soup, baked beans recipes, quiche, and pot pies), and cooked bones for ham stock.

Wed:
breakfast - cereal, coffee
packed DH lunch - yogurt, cranenergy drink, blueberries (plan to take him a hot sandwich from Dominiks deli)

Finding $500 Money Challenge

Every once in awhile it is a good idea to look for money. Here are my first suggestions:
1-have coin counted at the bank and deposited.
2-check www.cashdash.net to find unclaimed property
3-returns - Home Depot and other retailers
4-review credit card statements for automatic transactions that you don't use anymore ie dietary supplements, classmates.com...
5-review suppliers ie cell phone, internet, cable
6-checking out type - check with banker to see if you are in the right account
7-if you have paid off a vehicle recently, check that gap insurance is refunded.
8-if you have refinanced recently, check that you received your escrow check refund from previous lender
9-check with lender to see if you can refinance and save $150+/month www.abshomemortgage.com/bpiesz
10-do you qualify for real estate tax freeze (seniors)

Week 2 Menu Ideas

Mon -black bean veggy burgers
Tues - tilapia
Wed - farfalle pasta w/tomato cream sauce, sausage, green onions, sun dried tomatoes
Thurs -Chinese - spicy beef, asian vegetable mix, brown sauce, white rice
Fri - salmon
Sat - Little Italian Pizza - house crust, sausage and spinach
Sunday -grilled chicken and roasted vegetables

Menus - week 1

Monday - Teriyaki Shrimp, Birds Eye Asian Medley Mix, White Rice
Tuesday - Roasted Salsa Chicken and Broccoli Salad
Wednesday - Hillshire Farm Sausage and Rice Bake
Thursday - Vegetable Lasagna (spinach, homemade ricotta cheese, roasted red pepper, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella)
Friday - Tilapia w/Fiesta Rice - need to buy Tilapia
Saturday - Grilled Chicken and Roasted Vegetables - need to buy chicken
Sunday - Honey Glazed Ham and Sauteed Onions

Let's see how this goes.

Week #1 Prep

Saturday:

• cleaned out fridge
• chopped carrots, celery for salad topping, soup, casserole
• marinated shrimp skewers
• made puppy chow mix - peanut butter, butter, chocolate chips, fiber one cereal, cheerios, powdered sugar

Sunday:
grocery shopping:
Aldis
2 hamberger buns .79 x 2
white bread .79
chunk pineapple .89
whole grain bread 1.69
can mandarin oranges .45
5 lbs all purpose flour 1.79
peaches 4 x .39
grapefruit .69
corn tortillas .31
baby carrots .49
3 lb granny smith apples 2.99
sunflower seeds .39
total 13.86

Jewel
wild harvest organic 2% milk 64 oz 3.69 - coupon free
jewel water 24 ct .5 L 4.98 - coupon free
3.roma tomatoes 1.07
total 1.09

garden
3 heads of romaine lettuce
2 cucumbers
1 broccoli crown

prep
5 dinner salads (lettuce, celery, carrots, red onions, tomato, bacon bits, hard boiled egg
2 cherry yogurt bran quick bread - shared one with friend MAO
2 quiche - shared one with MAO
2 pot pies - shared one with MAO

In exchange for sharing, received help in kitchen, saran wrap and big box of raisins. -to supplement pantry.

Strategy

1 - Stockpile - will inventory and post
2 - From Scratch - recipes will post
www.hillbillyhousewife.com, www.recipe4living.com, and google for substitutions
3 - Couponing websites: www.coupontom.com, www.jillcataldo.com, www.mashupmom.com, www.moneysavingmom.com
4 - Store Loyalty Cards - Jewel's Avenue, Meijer's mealbox, Dominick's shortcuts
5 - Manufacturer coupons - currently receive 2 Sunday Chicago Tribunes and 1 Naperville Sun
6 - Garden - will post pictures of my two Naperville Garden Plots and will inventory harvest
7 - Menu Planning - 1 week in advance and to have 5 meals prep'd on Sunday evening for the busy work week.
8 - Nutrition - The garden and edible landscape will help. Will incorporate vegetarian dishes, legumes, and fresh fruit (in season) to list. www.sparkpeople has a nutrition calculator that will assist in validating nutrition component of menus.
9 - Creativity - Since I have an interesting stockpile of dried vegetables and fruits, it is possible to swap with friends for legumes or other items. There will be a component of gourmet flair that I want to hit. Some of this is by using 'luxury items' pine nuts, fresh fish, pesto, and goat cheese.