My shopping and cooking day

You'd think that I would get nothing done today given the fact I didn't get out of bed until 1:30 and didn't get out of the house til 2:15. Alas, my day was busy, busy, busy. I know I have been a bad blogger too. This will change now that life is finally starting to settle.

I will assume that my readers also follow Moneysavingmom.com or hip2save.blogspot.com to understand why I buy the weird combos of groceries. If you don't follow these blogs, I suggest you do to cut your grocery bill significantly.

First I hit the bank to get cash for our little excursion this weekend then I hit WalMart.

Dry Goods:
1 box of instant white rice, 2 bags of brown rice, 2 bags of black beans, 2 bags of pinto beans, a bag of lentils and a bag of black eyes peas.

Breakfast:
2 boxes of Kashi bars, 2 bags of Natures Valley nut clusters and 2 bags of Bare Naked granola.

Dairy/Eggs/Meat:
4 dozen eggs, 4 half gallon jugs of milk and 1 lb turkey bacon

Total: $22.28

Then I went to my Mom's to see if there were any new deals while I was gone and to check Kroger's sale ad. There was some good stuff on the 10/$10 so I decided to hit it up.

Dry Goods:
2 boxes Barilla Piccolini penne, 2 boxes Barilla rotini and 1 box of lasagna.

Produce:
2 green peppers, broccoli, onion and carrots

Dairy:
2 small Nesquick shakes, 2 cottage cheese and 2 shredded cheese

Misc:
2 pouches of tuna and 2 cans of cooking spray

Total:
$18.28


So, for the week I am over my food budget by $0.56. I probably have that much change floating around my car or purse.

I made it home around 6 and had decided to have a cooking marathon.

My groceries covered most of the ingredients but I did have some stuff on hand already.

I made:
1-8x8 pan of Tuna Casserole
1-8x8 pan of Chicken Enchiladas
1-9x13 pan of lasagna
5-1 cup servings of Broccoli Alfredo
20 servings of breakfast quiche

I am wiped out and ready to hit the hay. Recipes and pictures to follow.

MGBY

Saving for a baby.... Why?

So, I'm ready to start my family. Now is the time to start trying and saving. I have used coupons for nearly 5 months and figure I have saved nearly $3000.00 so far. But, that is money I didn't have thus, it hasn't been "saved".

So, who am I? I'm Brittney, a 28 year old college student due to graduate from nursing school in October. Up until recently, my life has been too crazy and unstable to think about a family. I traveled a TON showing dogs, worked with a couple Search and Rescue groups, jumped from job to job, gone sky diving and rode a motorcycle. Not to mention now I am in a wonderful relationship and engaged. (I love you Amma)

I've had my fun, been free, enjoyed my 20's and now suffer from a hangover if I even think of alcohol. I have a nice place to live, a car that is paid off, almost completed my education and a future career that will pay the bills.

So, this is my radical plan. I am going to set aside $40.00 per week for groceries, household items and pet food. Luckily I have a good stockpile started already. My goal is to spend as little of that $40.00 as possible and bank whatever is left over. On top of that, I will be taking half of my earnings from my part time job to the bank as well. We have 16 weeks, starting today til the end of the year.

In addition to the above mentioned monies, I will also start selling the "junk" cluttering up what is now the spare bedroom.

So, My goal is to have $1000.00 cash by the end of the year.