Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Save Money on Coffee

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It’s a necessity, right? I mean, I thank God for it every morning as I sip my steamy mug and talk with Him. Sooooo good, and my time with Him is rich. Here’s how to save money on coffee.

Perhaps you read about the day I spent $7 on a coffee. It was tasty and fun, and then it made me do some calculating. I couldn’t help myself. :)

Turns out, at home I spend about $1.00 to brew an entire pot of high-quality coffee. How?

I recently spent $10.48 on this bag of coffee at Sam’s. I didn’t take the time to measure each scoop to see how many pots of coffee this one bag would make, but I’m making a conservative estimate that it gives us at least 10 pots of coffee. Likely more! But to keep it simple, let’s say 10+ pots, which means that one pot full of coffee costs $1.00.

A dollar.

For an entire pot. This, without having to buy a “cheaper coffee variety” that doesn’t taste as good (sorry Folgers).

We use big mugs at our house. :) :) So one pot fills 4 mugs. $0.25 for a cup of coffee!

Now, we all add a little something to our cup of coffee. I just add half&half. Matt and the big boys add a shot of creamer. So should we then estimate that our cup of coffee costs a total of $0.35-$0.45??

How to Save Money on Coffee

Well, it seems that the best way to save money on coffee is to make it at home. It’s crazy cheap!!!! And oh so good.

To make it even more fun for our teen/adult sons and their friends who come over, we keep a variety of creamers (just don’t read the ingredient list and all is well) and sometimes a can of whipped cream for them to spray on top. Even with those splurges, the savings are huge compared to buying at a coffee shop.

Ever tried making this Chocolate Whipped Cream and scooping some into your coffee? Oh, it’s good! Here are more fun homemade coffee additions you might want to try.

What do you like to put in your coffee at home?

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How to Host a Rockin’ Garage or Yard Sale {Plus a FREE Printable Checklist!}

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Hoping to clear out clutter from your house this summer? Here are some fabulous tips for hosting a ROCKIN’ garage or yard sale. Get rid of unneeded items from your home and make some extra cash too! (Be sure to get your Free Printable Checklist below!)

Kudos to my friend Kim (aka Garage Sale Queen) for providing all the wisdom for this post!

1. Prepare for your Garage or Yard Sale

Purge the House and Garage to Gather Sale Items

Several weeks before your sale, do a room by room purge. Check closets, cupboards, under beds, in storage places/tubs/shelves, etc. As you work your way through each room and see each item, ask yourself:

  • Are we using this?
  • Do we need it?
  • Can we do without it?
  • Would life be simpler if this was gone?
  • Is it more important to have a few dollars or cents in my hand or to still have this thing taking up space in my house?

If you see an item and hear yourself saying, “Why do we still have this?” – put it in the garage sale pile.

Prepare Your Sale Items

  • Wipe down everything that is dusty or dirty so they will look more appealing.
  • Put jewelry and other small items in ziploc bags to keep them from getting lost and so you can put a price tag on them more easily.
  • Group items in flat boxes so people can easily see what is inside.

Price Your Sale Items

If people cannot find a price, they will often choose not to purchase. In addition, most people do not like to “make an offer.” We recommend putting a price tag on everything!

  • Price items in 25 cent increments (eliminating the need for dimes, nickels, and pennies).
  • Use brightly colored stickers and large print to mark prices on each item.
  • Be willing to negotiate your prices if someone offers you a lower price that is still reasonable.

Put an Ad in the Paper or Online

It’s often worth the investment of putting an ad in the newspaper so more people know to come to your sale! What to consider when writing your ad:

  • Highlight major items like furniture, bicycles, appliances, unique items, homeschool curriculum, antiques and name brand clothing.
  • Think about what might make your garage sale stand out. Mention specific collectibles, children’s play equipment, tools, or outdoor furniture.
  • If you are doing a multi-family sale, emphasize that. It makes people more likely to come because there will be more things to see in one location.
  • If you are doing a moving sale and “everything must go”, say that because people know that you are more motivated to get rid of things.
  • If you are selling off baby equipment, make sure you say that. New moms are always looking for great deals on baby equipment- Grandmas and child care providers, too!
  • Include the specific dates and times you will hold your sale. Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday mornings tend to be the best times for most.
  • If your address is one that is hard to find, include directions in the ad.

This guy is incredibly excited to come to your sale after reading your ad.

Free Advertising: Post your ad to your local Facebook Selling Page. Consider posting it on your personal page.

A Note About Posting Online: People may ask about the prices of things and ask you to sell them “before” the sale, sometimes at a reduced price. While this can be nice, it can also make for some difficult situations, especially if you have already put that item in your newspaper ad. If someone came to your house specifically for that item at the beginning of your sale only to find that it is already sold, it can make for some not very nice exchanges.

Prepare a Cash Box

A bag, box, or drawer works nicely for your garage sale money. In advance of the sale, be sure to fill it so as to have change on hand for customers.

  • It is best to begin with about $20 in ones, $20 in fives, $40 in tens, plus at least one roll of quarters for making change. Keep track of what you began with so you have a more accurate total of your sales at the end.
  • Try to keep it organized throughout the sale. Keep ones together in front of fives, in front of tens, etc.
  • If your bag is getting full during the sale, take some inside your house (especially the checks and larger bills) and put it in a safe place.
  • Decide ahead of time: Are you willing to take checks? If so, do you have requirements? For instance, check has to be local and include a usable telephone number.
  • Most people are not set up to take credit or debit cards, but would you accept PayPal? This new way of paying is becoming more popular at garage sales, especially with the commonality of smart phones.

Collect Needed Items:

There are several items that are nice to have on hand before and during a garage or yard sale.

  • You might need masking tape to write on, to tape up signs, to mark prices, to hold boxes together, and group items together.
  • You might need scratch paper to make signs about prices, to write down additional information, etc.
  • Sharpies, both small and large point, come in handy.
  • Consider locating a tarps or two to cover sale items overnight.
  • Measuring tape is nice to have to lend to customers interested in specific items.
  • A calculator can come in handy unless you’re great at doing math in your head.

2. Setting Up Your Garage Sale or Yard Sale

  • Borrow and set up many tables to place sale items on. Tables are better than the grass or driveway in most cases because people don’t want to bend over. Make things easier for people to see and reach and you are more likely for them to sell.
  • Group things in categories:  kitchen, bath, kids toys, clothing, bedding, tools, books, curriculum, crafts, baby equipment, etc. Arrange furniture in nice groupings, if you can. Put the same size clothing and shoes together. Put bedding sizes together and mark them clearly.
  • Have a free box. If you don’t know how to price it and you’d price it super cheap, put it in the free box and watch it leave!
  • Make LARGE LOT deals: For example, “These books are 50 cents each or 12 for $5.” “This box of toys is $5 for the box.” “Clothing is “$1 each or 12 for $10.” It is amazing what people will take to make a great deal. The more they take, the less you have to deal with at the end.
  • Set furniture close to the street so it will attract buyers to your sale.

3. Running Your Garage or Yard Sale

  • Stick with your planned start and end times.
  • Ask for help. There are often times when you need two or more people to move a table, set up something quickly, get a drink, change the baby, or cover for you while you use the restroom.
  • Be less willing to negotiate at the beginning of the sale and much more willing to negotiate toward the end of the sale. If someone wants an amazing deal (like less than half the requested price), tell them you will think about it and call them back later. Get their number and give them yours. If it doesn’t sell later, call them and work on the amazing deal.
  • If someone wants to come back later to pay for something, consider that they might not come back and you might miss out on another sale. Get a phone number and give them a timeline. “If you are not back and/or have not paid for the item before XXX time, then I will make it available to someone else.”

Obviously the people helping you move furniture will be dressed in matching red overalls.

4. Other Considerations:

  • Larger sales are more likely to draw greater numbers of people. If you can plan a neighborhood sale or a multi-family sale, more people are likely to come.
  • If your sale is a multi-family sale, in advance make a sheet that includes the names of all the people who contributed to the sale across the top. Then, add their sold item prices to the list so you can keep a running total of their sales. Or have each family’s price stickers of a different color or mark price stickers with initials.
  • If you are not going to keep the money for yourself, but are raising money for a charity or event, let people know. People can be more generous when they know that their money is going to a good cause.

5. What to Do with Garage and Yard Sale Leftovers

Not sure what to do with items that don’t sell? Here are some ideas:

  • Put it on the side of the road and offer it for free. It will likely disappear.
  • Take it to a local thrift or charity store and get your tax receipt. That is not immediate money in your hand, but it might help with your taxes later on.
  • Donate appropriate items to a local rescue mission or women’s shelter.
  • List it online using a local buy, sell, trade page or your personal page. Use Craigslist or ebay, if you are savvy.
  • Put an ad in your local newspaper. Some newspapers offer one free ad after your garage sale if you advertised with them.
  • Put a notice in your church email or communication. You never know when the right person will be listening or know someone who “was looking for that.”

Get a FREE Garage Sale Checklist Printable.

Use this handy checklist to help you have a super effective garage or yard sale!

Get this free printable when you join our Heavenly Homemaker’s Savings Club. We love sharing great freebies, deals, and money saving tips with you!

 

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30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

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I couldn’t have done it without you. I asked what YOUR best real food money saving tips might be, and oh did you come through!

It was so fun to put all of our heads together and put together this great (FREE!) resource full of Real Food Money Saving Tips! There truly are many great ways to save money on real food groceries!

groceries august17

I love it when high quality meat is marked down!

Sure, I know some great ways I’ve learned to save money on real food through the years. But so many of you have different experiences and ideas from what I’ve learned. Putting so many of your tips together into this little booklet means we all get just that much smarter! (Just when we thought we knew everything about buying apples…)

Real Food Money Saving TipsYum

Ready to get started? You’ll find all 30 tips detailed in this absolutely FREE resource. Here are some of my favorites:

  1. Crystal: I only have a family of 3, but because of prices of grass fed beef and organic chicken, I only use half a pound when I make spaghetti or a casserole and I use 1 chicken breast when I make a noodle dish or casserole that calls for chicken. I’m always using less meat than called for as a way to stretch it. That way I can afford higher quality meat. It works for us!
  2. Nicole: Last year I switched around how I menu planned instead of finding recipes then going shopping for those ingredients I now hit the produce & meat area buying what’s on sale (and good quality!) then I come home and find recipes that contain those items. Now I don’t feel obligated to buy the higher non sale item because of the time I already have invested in menu planning.
  3. Melody: We have meatless Mondays, tuna recipes for Tuesdays, and I “shop” my pantry and fridge/freezer first, then the on-line ads, and make my menu plan from that. I make out my grocery list for just the items I will need to make the items on my menu. We also use less meat than a recipe calls for and add beans to stretch out the meat in meals like tacos or casseroles.
  4. Susan: My best money saving advice is the skip fancy recipes that require you to buy ingredients you don’t have on hand or use often. I often leave out or substitute a fancy ingredient for a more economical or practical ingredient. I can’t be a 5 star cook on my budget and some days I wish I had fresh herbs or a fancy vinegar, but running out to buy them for 1 recipe isn’t the best use of my funds. I have been sticking to simple real food recipes with basic cost effective ingredients. I make menus based on my own pantry and sale items. Also, I use leftovers for casseroles or soups (freezing them if I am not using them right away). Leftover or stale bread is used to make croutons.
  5. Christy: Twice a year we clean out the pantry and freezer. We buy only milk, eggs and bread until we are down to almost nothing in the pantry. The meals get interesting, but it is great for the budget and can be as healthy as what you originally put in there.
  6. Mary Beth E: Right now–and tomorrow– I am waiting for UPS and/or FedEx to drop off packages of grocery staple items I buy in bulk. Because I cook whole foods at home, this will cover all our bread, rolls, tortillas, rice, pies, cakes, spices, seasonings, and much more, even toilet paper. I will place another order about mid-year. When I see almost any recipe, I have on hand the basics. When I go to the grocery store–every other week–I mainly buy fresh or frozen produce, eggs, and dairy. Buying in bulk and thinking of your budget in terms of a year rather than a week, really saves a lot of money.
  7. Birdie: Garden and can, however you are able. A small plot in your yard, partner with others on a shared plots, help a neighbor with a plot, encourage your apartment/duplex owner to allow some of you to garden in the yard (check bylaws), talk to the college in your area to see if they would be interested in allowing community gardens. Even create a raised bed so you can sit and garden from a chair or wheel chair if you are not as mobile. Container garden on a balcony or deck (remember to water often).If you can’t garden, buy meat, fruits and vegetables in super sales, can, freeze, and dehydrate. Approach a few farmers and see if you can have shares in their live stock. Participate in butcher time and you may receive a great deal on meat. If you can get your hands on garden herbs and spices from others, dry and add lots of flavor to your cooking.

  8. Nedrda: One way I save money on quality meat is to partner with my sister and mom to buy a grass-fed/pasture raised cow or hog. We can buy those meats at $4.00 a pound and then split the meat between the three of us. We also do this for the bulk coconut oil through Tropical Traditions and other items through Azure Standard and Amazon. By doing this, I do not have to come up with total amount myself to buy the beef/pork/oil and I can enjoy the quality for a great price. It also helps with storage issues to split the order!
  9. Crissi: For most of our grains, frozen fruits, some fresh fruits, and odds and ends we use Azure Standard. We’ve purchased foods from them for well over a year now, I’d highly recommend them. They have excellent customer service.
  10. Cassondra: One thing I do when I run out of something like a spice or condiment or anything else is look online to see if I can make it from scratch with items here at home. For example, I make our taco seasoning but was out of chili powder…so I went online and found a recipe for chili powder, had all the ingredients for it and it turned out great. So now I have one more from scratch recipe on hand.

Want to read all 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips?

We’ve compiled them all into this simple-to-read FREE eBook!

30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

This great little book is full of tips I compiled when I asked you, “What are your best tips for saving money on real food?” Since we’ve been talking about Simple Meals on a Simple Budget this month, I thought it would be fun to remind you about this great free download. I truly loved compiling these tips and learned great new ideas to try as I work to save money while feeding my family well!

How to get 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips

Enter your email address here, confirm that you would like to receive this information, and the freebie will land in your inbox! Easy as that!

Bonus Freebie:

When you sign up to get the free 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips eBooklet, you’ll also get this free Heavenly Homemaker’s Top 10 Money Saving Recipes eBooklet! Don’t you love getting free books to help you learn more about saving money? It’s like we’re getting free grocery money! :)

Top 10 Money Saving Recipes

Want a sneak peek inside the 10 Money Saving Recipes eBook?? Here’s one of our favorites!

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola

(This recipe cuts the cost from $2.00/serving with store-bought granola to only $0.50/serving. Yep. The store-bought version really is that expensive!)

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
  • 4 cups rolled oats
  • ¾ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • ¾ cup honey
  • ¾ cup coconut oil
  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil and honey together.
  2. Stir oats, shredded coconut, and slivered almonds together in a large bowl.
  3. Drizzle on the honey/coconut oil mixture and stir well.
  4. Pour mixture onto a large, parchment paper-lined baking sheet (or two 9x13 inch dishes).
  5. Bake at 300° for 35-45 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes.
  6. Allow mixture to cool.
  7. Stir in dark chocolate chunks.
  8. Store granola in an air-tight container.
  9. Makes 10-12 servings.

Dark Chocolate Almond Granola - A Great Make-Ahead Meal

Saving money is fun when there’s chocolate involved.

I can’t wait for you to enjoy all of the money saving tips and recipes!

Sign up here and watch for these great free eBooks to hit your inbox!

P.S. Signing up for these great freebies will connect you to our free Savings Club so we can occasionally let you know of other wonderful food and homemaking deals we learn about!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

One of the Hardest Grocery Budget Questions I’m Ever Asked

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

A few months ago I shared about my family’s current grocery budget. Some of you felt a mighty relief that you weren’t the only one spending so much each month to feed your family . But others of you fell over with shock. (Sorry ’bout that.)

Before I get too far in to today’s post, allow me to catch you up on some grocery budget posts that will help you understand where I’m coming from here:

Long story short, we are a family of 6. We have four sons ages 19, 17, 15, and 12. Our oldest lives in the college dorm, but comes over from time to time (sometimes with friends). We almost never eat out, we don’t have cable, and we drive old vehicles. Our health care/insurance costs are amazingly low (praise the Lord!). But…we spend a boat load of money every month on groceries. Eeeeek!

groceries Lincoln

Almost every month, we fork out somewhere between $800-$1,100 dollars for food to feed our family. Yep, sounds a little scary to some of you. We used to get away with much less back when all four of our boys could share one apple for a snack and be fine until they ate their tiny little dinner.

Now it’s just not possible. Our four boys are teenagers now. They are tall. They are extremely active. We care about wholesome nutrition. Our grocery bill reflects all of this.

groceries725

One of the most difficult questions I’m asked by people is this one:

If you had to cut back on your grocery budget, what would you cut?

I open my mouth in an effort to answer, and nothing comes out. Of all our groceries, what would I not buy? What do I buy that’s a splurge that I could give up? How could I cut back?

Honestly, I’m not sure I have a good answer. I buy food. My family eats it. We waste almost nothing.

Okay, here’s one. Sometimes I splurge and buy juice. This is fun, but not a necessity. We could give that up, which would save, what? I buy La Croix sparkling water, and this is a total splurge. It’s a fun drink that I could give up. Again, this offers a savings of just a few dollars every month.

Could I (tearfully) give up on buying a grass fed cow every year? Maybe. But even with that, would I really be saving money? Buying our meat in bulk like this really cuts the cost down.

And speaking of cows, I really can’t skimp on the meat at our house, as far as quantity. I feed my boys plenty of rice, potatoes, and pasta to help fill them. But they never feel satisfied without substantial protein.

groceries 411

How about produce? The thought of cutting back on fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables makes me feel sick inside. Our bodies need nourishment from these, and I would hate to cut back. Fruits and veggies are a big part of our meals, and I believe the variety of nutrients they provide helps to keep my boys feeling satisfied, especially when compared to cheap crackers or whatever else I’d offer to fill in the gaps.

Also? I’ve already stopped buying “only organic.” I gave that up several years ago when I realized the cost was keeping us from eating enough fruits and vegetables. I buy organic when the price is reasonable, but otherwise, I trust that God is bigger and we just wash and eat the nourishing conventional produce. (I save a lot of money price-matching our produce, so I’m so thankful our Wal-mart still offers this!)

We already skip the milk. We buy one gallon each week (to use for cooking) from a local farmer, so it is organic and grass fed. But one gallon. For $5.00. It’s more expensive than store-bought, but the $20 I spend on milk each month doesn’t make or break my budget.

So I guess that brings me back to:

My family eats a lot of food.

That, and we feed extra people quite frequently.

Our grocery budget allows for including extras around our table regularly, and for that, I’m extremely thankful. I wouldn’t want to ever give that up, and God continues to provide so I don’t have to.

But truly, if I had to cut back on my grocery budget, I think my kids would be hungry.

Either that or I think they might get sick more frequently. There’s no way to know that for sure, I guess, but after so many years of filling them with nourishing foods, including a lot of fruits and vegetables, I really think their bodies are thriving on the nutrients. To cut back and substitute them with “filler foods” could potentially hurt them and make our doctor bills increase. Worth it? Absolutely not.

This is where I land for my family right now. If our income decreased and we would need to cut budget in order to make it, food would be one of the last things I would/could adjust. And I know, without a doubt, that God would provide for my family’s needs. He is God and we never need to doubt him.

If I had to cut back on my grocery budget

What are your thoughts on this topic? If you had to cut back on grocery spending, what would you/could you cut out?

A Freebie for you!

Here’s something exciting!

Want a recipe eBooklet full of my Top 10 Money Saving Recipes? Join our Heavenly Homemakers Savings Club, and we’ll send it to you for FREE! (Joining means we’ll also keep you informed of all the latest money saving groceries and homemaking items we come across. A win-win!)

Top 10 Money Saving Recipes

Sign up to join our Heavenly Homemakers Savings Club here.

Also for Savings Club Members, we just finished a project we started a couple years ago (no time like the present, right?).

Another NEW Freebie for you!

30 Real Food Money Saving Tips
If you’ve been reading here for a while, you might remember that about two years ago (I’m embarrassed that it’s been that long!) I asked all of you to submit your best ways of saving money on real food. I FINALLY compiled these into a fun downloadable resource for you!

This eBooklet is full of 30 Real Food Money Saving Tips. This resource is super practical and easy to read through. I bet you’ll find some ideas you hadn’t thought of before, some that you can work toward now, and some that might benefit you in a different season.

It’s free for all and it’s loaded with tips! Get it here —->

Sign up to join our Heavenly Homemakers Savings Club here.

What are your best ways of saving money on real food?

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Ideas For Food To Take On the Road

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When I was a college student traveling on our choir tour bus, we were given turkey sandwiches, chips, and an apple in a sack every day for lunch 11 days in a row. I was grateful for the sustenance, but I haven’t looked at a turkey sandwich the same way since. Even the cafeteria food looked good after that.

(I know, I know. First world problems.  Don’t go all you are a spoiled American on me. That was simply my earth shattering opening paragraph to grab your attention before I say, “Here are some non-sandwich ideas for food you can take on the road to save you money while you eat healthy.”

So here are some non-sandwich ideas for food you can take on the road to save you money while you eat healthy. See? See how much better that sounded after my introductory paragraph about turkey sandwich burn-out?

Consider the Traveling Casserole

 Remember the time I made a Cheesy Beef and Rice to take on the road?  It worked great, tasted great, and made for a very nice change from packed sandwiches. If you’re only going to be gone for a few hours, consider making a casserole and taking along some paper plates. Easy and tasty! (A meal like Easy Noodle Stir Fry also packs well.)

Love this carrier!

Soup in a Jar

My family thought I was a little crazy when I told them I was taking potato soup to eat on the road on our way to the tournament this weekend. What can I say? Potato Soup sounded really good to me. I made a full pot of soup, then filled jars and packed spoons. Soup with cheese and raspberries was surprisingly easy to eat on the road and everyone loved it!

travel food 3

Pudding Makes a Great Breakfast

We had a fridge in our hotel this weekend, so I made Tapioca Pudding and packed it up to eat for Matt and me to eat for breakfast. It was fun! I made a cup of coffee in the little coffeepot, then sat down with some fruit, my coffee, my Bible, and my tapioca. This also worked great to pack the pudding in our cooler for a snack in the afternoon. Don’t like Tapioca? Here’s my Vanilla, Chocolate, and Butterscotch recipes. :)

travel food 2

Somehow my sliced cheese made it into this tapioca picture and the soup picture above.
It’s like I wanted to really brag about how well I cut the cheese.

Some Obvious Non-Sandwich Ideas

You’ve probably already thought of several of these, but they are worth mentioning anyway:

Freggies Rule the World

Fruits and veggies are super easy to pack and eat on the road. From berries to apples to oranges to carrots to sliced cucumbers to mini sweet peppers. If you do nothing else, PACK FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. This is the only thing that keeps our stomachs happy while traveling. Do this.

travel food 1
Eating out while on the road is fun too, and our family likes to splurge on occasion! But I always love to figure out more road trip food ideas. So share yours! What do you pack to eat on the road?

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Stretch the Meat ~ Money Saving Monday

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This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

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Last week I made tacos. My family’s was ecstatic – as if I’d presented my family with a dinner of prime rib.

Why are tacos so exciting around here? They are a rarity. Easy as they are to make, and tasty as they are to eat – tacos are one of the more expensive meals I serve to my family of 5 men. It’s the meat.  The delicious, juicy, perfect-for-tacos meat.

I remember the days I could only use a 1/2 pound of hamburger meat to feed my family a meal. Now it takes 2-3 pounds of hamburger if we’re having a meal of something in which meat is the main component – like tacos. That’s over $15 for meat alone. Then add lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, cheese, guac, salsa, tortillas – all in large quantities.

Thus, meals like tacos are rare, and meals where we can stretch our meat a bit further show up on our table more frequently.

I never advocate for skimping on good food just for the sake of saving a buck. Nourishment it worth the cost – so don’t short yourself or your family on nutrients in an effort to cut food costs. But there are ways to stretch the meat you’re serving your family. You probably have some good ideas for ways to do this, so be sure and leave a comment sharing your tips. Here are the ideas I thought of to make your meat stretch:

Make Your Meat Stretch

Add Beans

Stir lentils, red beans, black beans, pinto beans – any of your favorite beans – into the ground meat you’re planning to serve. Note to self: If I did this more often, we could probably have tacos more often. How ’bout that?

Cut the Meat in Half

If you’re adding meat to a casserole, consider if cutting the amount in half will still fill and nourish your family. I find this easy to do in recipes which include chicken, which leads me to…

Let Meat Broth Pack a Punch

When I make chicken, turkey, or beef stock – it becomes a very healthy meat-product. (That sounds so fake, like “cheese product.” Homemade broth is sooooo not fake, it’s just something you make with meat. Thus, meat-product, right?)  Broth made with wholesome meats and lots of vegetables is so very flavorful! Therefore, I find that I can cut way down on the meat in recipes that use broth. Here’s a good example:

This weekend I made this easy Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole. I cooked the rice directly in my nutrient-packed chicken broth. There were so many veggies blended into my broth that it turned my rice orange. Plus, I knew that the chicken bones filled my broth with nourishment. Therefore, I only added about two cups of cooked chicken to two 9×13 inch casseroles. With such flavorful broth, no one even noticed the small amount of chicken in the casserole.

colorful plate

I love how colorful this plate is with all the great veggies!

Skip It

You all know I’m a meat lover. But even I have learned that I don’t have to eat meat all three meals every day. Two of our favorite meatless lunches are:  Easy Cheesy Bean Dip and Easy Noodle Stir Fry. We don’t even miss the meat when we’re eating meals like these.

Have Eggs Instead

Eggs aren’t just a great breakfast food. Scramble or fry some up to compliment your lunch or dinner. It doesn’t get any easier, and eggs are still an inexpensive protein to take the place of meat.

What are your ideas? What are ways you stretch meat at your house?

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What is Price Matching and How Does it Work?

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What is Price-Matching and How Does it Work

I’ve recently learned the art of “price matching.” Where has this been all my life? (Right under my nose. I just never looked into it before.)  This new practice has been saving me $10-$40 per week. That’s $40-$160 per month. That’s big savings for my family of big eaters!

What is Price Matching?

Wal-Mart offers an Ad-Matching Guarantee. This means that if another store within 50 miles is offering a specific food at a lower price (shown in their weekly ad), Wal-mart will honor that price. Read all the detailed information about their policy here.

It is important that you pay attention to the details of the grocery store ads. Price matching is only valid on items “pound for pound,” “ounce for ounce,” etc. I try to be very diligent about making sure I don’t accidentally pick up the wrong size item.

How Does Price Matching Work?

Sound complicated? It really isn’t. It took me exactly one shopping trip to work out all the kinks and learn how easy this practice is.

Before going shopping each week, I spend a few minutes looking at all relevant grocery store ads online. We have very few stores in my town, so I am thankful I can price match with the stores in our nearby cities which have 6-7 stores to price match with. I find the lowest prices from each store (mainly focusing on the produce), and make my list.

This week, my list looked something like this:

Aldi

~ Strawberries, 16 ounces, $1.29
~ Onions, 3 pound bag, 99¢
~ Red Potatoes, 5 pound bag, 99¢

Alert

~ Carrots, 2 pound bag, $1.19

Super Saver

~ Grape Tomatoes, 1 pint, 96¢
~ Blueberries, 18 ounces, $3.48 (our Walmart didn’t have this size, so I scratched that off my list)
~ Gala or Yellow Delicious Apples, 3 pound bags, $2.50 each

Wal-mart employees have been trained to quickly adjust the price of the items you are price matching. You simply tell them the price you found that was cheaper, and they ring it up at that price. Easy! I try to separate my price-match items from my other items to make it easier on the cashier.

Here is a sample conversation between the cashier and me…

Cashier:  You have such beautiful hair.
Just kidding. For some reason, the cashier never says that. Here’s the real conversation:
Me: These are my price-match items.
Cashier:  Great, we’ll start with the pears. How much?
Me:  99¢ per pound.
{Cashier rings up my pears at 99¢ per pound}  
Cashier:  Okay, now how about these onions?
Me:  99¢ for each bag

And so it goes until we work our way through all of my price match items. :)

How Much Can You Save?

Here’s an example of everything I bought and how much I saved through price-matching last week.

price matching

  • 2 bags of Yellow Onions priced at $2.98 for a 3 pound bag – I got for 99¢ each (saved 3.98)
  • 3 bags of Red Potatoes priced at $3.47 for a 5 pound bag – I got for 99¢ each (saved 7.44)
  • 1 pound containers of Strawberries priced at $1.99 – I got for $1.29 each (saved 5.60)
  • D’Anjou Pears priced at $1.67/pound – I got for 99¢/pound (saved 3.69)
  • 2 bags of Halo Clementines priced at $4.97 for a 3 pound bag – I got for $3.99 each (saved 1.96)
  • 2 bags of Carrots priced at $1.48 for a 2 pound bag – I got for $1.19 each (saved .58)
  • 2 bags of Gala Apples priced at $3.47 for a 3 pound bag – I got for $2.50 each (saved 1.94)
  • 2 bags of Golden Delicious Apples priced at $3.47 for a 3 pound bag – I got for $2.50 each (saved 1.94)
  • 2 pints of Grape Tomatoes priced at $2.98 per pint – I got for 96¢ each  (saved 4.04)

Price matching saved me $31.17 this week.  It took me about 10 minutes to sit at the computer and find the prices I wanted to match and make a list. Saving over thirty bucks in 10 minutes to feed my family real food? Yes, I think that’s very worth my time!

Watch that you don’t fall into the trap of snatching up good deals on processed foods. Those are out there too, so of course, I had to remind us all that those are just not worth the “price” we pay later. You’ll be surprised though at the great deals you can get on fruits and vegetables, meats and cheeses, often organics too!

One last note:

I try not to price-match from my hometown grocery stores. My town is small, so it doesn’t take much extra time to run into our local grocery stores to pick up the food I need. I like to support our local stores. Where price-matching really works well for me is offering me big city sale prices from bigger stores that would cost me an hour’s drive and a half tank of gas. :)

Share with us! Do you take advantage of Wal-mart’s price matching policy? How does it work for you? Have any other great tips to share about this?

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“So Laura, where do you grocery shop?”

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I didn’t think this was a difficult question with a complicated answer until I found myself answering a friend a few weeks ago. She was in my kitchen enjoying a meal with some of our basketball team families. That’s when she asked, “So Laura, where do you get your groceries here in York?”

I don’t think I have a complicated grocery shopping situation in the least, especially since I’ve been fine tuning it for years. But my answer was no less than several paragraphs long. I’m sure she was thinking, “Girl, just tell me what grocery store you like!”

groceries jan 5

Indeed, I do shop at our local grocery store and at Wal-mart (hooray for price matching, which I will explain in more detail soon!). Also, I:

  • Order beef, chicken, and the occasional package of bacon from a local farmer about an hour away.
  • Order from a food co-cop, Azure Standard, which delivers once per month.
  • Get several dozen eggs each week from a man from church who raises chickens just out of town.
  • Get milk once each week from a family who raises animals in a nearby town.
  • Order one lamb per year from the same family who provides us with milk.
  • Buy from the farmer’s market and grow/preserve our own produce during the summer.
  • Order food from Amazon – lots of it. (This shocks so many people. “You can order food from Amazon?” Oh yes you can!)
  • Order food from iHerb.com.
  • Order food from Vitacost.com.
  • Order food from TropicalTraditions.com.
  • And occasionally, when I’m in the city, I’ll shop at their bigger health food stores or regular grocery stores.

Um, hi. I have a dozen grocery purchasing sources. I really never considered how many different ways I have found for saving money and purchasing the best food I can get my hands on at the best prices.

Your food sources are going to look completely different from many of mine simply because of your location and options. My tip for you today is to think outside the box and find the sources that will work best for you as you find wholesome, nourishing food for your family! There are sources out there, you just have to find them. And if you’re in the U.S. I encourage you to look into the online resources I mentioned above. Online grocery shopping rocks!

You should know that our source for farm-fresh eggs has changed something like five times during the past nine years. I share that to encourage you that if one source falls through, ask around and search for another source!

With a bit of trial and error, you will find what works best for you as you seek ways to find quality, real food ingredients for your family. :)

Leave a comment and let us know where you grocery shop! Do you like shopping online?

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Cook Your Breakfast ~ Money Saving Monday

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Money Saving Monday Banner

Boxes of cereal, boxes of granola bars, boxes of poptarts, boxes of donuts, boxes of muffin mix – there are so many boxy choices. You’re probably assuming that I’m about to tell you that all the food that comes from a box is not very good for you. But I won’t say that. Nope, I’ll just purse my lips and produce a forced smile because I’m not going to tell you about the dangers of eating all those preservatives and additives and empty calories that give you no energy and keep you from concentrating all morning. After all, that would be a run-on sentence.

Instead, I’m here to express the joy of how making your own healthy, real food, preservative-free breakfast will save you lots of money.

I spent about 10 minutes on Saturday making 20 cups of Homemade Instant Oatmeal. This is huge money savings, in about 10 minutes. (It’s also healthier than what comes in a box, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.)

I spent about 30 minutes on Saturday mixing up three different kinds of wholesome muffins for the freezer. This is huge money savings, in about 30 minutes. (It’s also healthier than what comes in a box, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.)

My family can polish off 2-3 boxes of cereal in one sitting, easily. That can add up to being a $12 breakfast, and that doesn’t include the milk and fruit. Plus cereal only keeps them full for about two hours.

See, making a homemade breakfast does more than just save money. It satisfies my family’s need for nourishment, so they are full longer and are able to concentrate on their school work all morning. This must be because the breakfast is healthier, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today.

TIP:  Make breakfast the night before. I do this almost every day, making our mornings go so much more smoothly!

100+ Money Saving (and Healthy, shh!) Breakfast Recipes

You will find 90 real food breakfast recipes on my Bread and Breakfast page. I add more to it all the time. There are so many great breakfast options!

90+ Real Food Breakfast Recipes

We also have a free eBook for you:  Healthy Breakfast Made Simple. Download and enjoy!

breakfast_e-book cover_sm

Or, it’s as simple as scrambling or frying an egg, making a smoothie, or spreading natural peanut butter on toast. Make a homemade breakfast!! You will save all kinds of cash (and feel better too, but we’re supposedly not talking about that today).

What are your favorite homemade breakfast foods to make?

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Money Saving Monday: Clean out the Pantry and Freezer

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Ready to save some grocery money by cleaning out your pantry and freezer? You’ll be amazed at the great food hiding in there!

Since I’ve been doing my “eat from the pantry and freezer instead of buying groceries” challenge for exactly one whole day, I thought it was high time I posted an update about how it’s going so far. That, and I thought this idea of “using what you have” fit perfectly into our Money Saving Monday series. ;)

Money Saving Monday Banner

So there you have it. Today’s Money Saving Monday tip is:  Challenge yourself. Instead of running to the store for ingredients, try creating a few meals and snacks from what you have stored in your pantry and freezer. This can save you quite a bit of money in the long run!

So far, all one day of this challenge has been very fun for me. By the end of the month, I might not be as enthusiastic. Either way, this is a good practice to bless your grocery budget and to help ensure that you don’t waste food.

Sunday after church, we invited several college students over to eat with us. Matt and I worked together to make a mountain of Whole Wheat Waffles, scrambled cheesy eggs, Homemade Hashbrown Patties, and fruit. I was planning to make Peach Syrup but would you believe? We only found one little bag of frozen peaches in our freezer. (I guess the “eat all the frozen peaches” part of the challenge was completed before the month began.)

I decided instead to put that small amount of peaches into a pot with all the frozen berries I found hanging out in all my freezers. Therefore, using this Peach Syrup idea, I made a Peach-Strawberry-Raspberry-Blueberry Syrup. Matt declared it to be the best part of the meal. And now I’m completely out of frozen fruit (except for pineapple). Well that didn’t take long. :)

Here’s all that was left after our feast, but I’d say there are enough waffles there to give us an easy breakfast this week:

eat from pantry 1

For High School Huddle Sunday night, I made a huge pan of Apple Crisp from the bags of apples I’d sliced and frozen this fall. How easy was that?

eat from pantry 2

I will say that after just one day of this, I am really recognizing how much food we go through during a 24 hour period – especially when we invite others to join us. That’s the point though. We have plenty of food – and we are happy to share! If this challenge only lasts a week or two before I need to start stocking up again, so be it. That will be one or two weeks of grocery savings, and it all adds up!

Give this idea a try – I dare you. :)

Leave a comment, inspiring us with what you have creatively come up with in your kitchen when you’ve avoided going to the grocery store!

Budget-friendly recipes to make when you clean out your pantry and freezer

I’ll just bet you have the ingredients for most of these hanging out somewhere in your kitchen. If not, mix and match and get creative to see what you can come up with!

Out of mixes or condiments? Make your own!

condiments

You’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn how easy these are to make!

What are your favorite foods to make when you clean out your pantry and freezer?

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