considering a field

another time, another place

2009-03-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

"considering a field" has been considering another field of late. One that I have in fact, considered three previous times. It does not involve considering how much free mustard I can get at Kroger, what fresh produce is in season and on sale and only does it involve Walgreen's if the words "nausea medication and Cheetos" are the only items on the list. :)

Therefore, for the next year or two or ??, I will most likely be dropping the weekly updates to "good deals" around Memphis and ideas for how to use your imagination to snag some bargains. I'd encourage to visit Money Saving Mom and Hot Coupon World (especially the Walgreen's and Kroger-Delta forums) for alerts to good deals and assistance in making the most out of your bargain shopping.

So here's to being diligent with our time and energy, content with our finances and circumstances and using imagination to tackle life's obstacles and reap the rewards of being a faithful steward.

taking a break from shopping

2009-02-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

My freezers are full. My pantry is well-stocked. If you saw my guest room closet you'd think I have enough Cheerios to last until my youngest graduates (when in actuality they'll probably be gone in a month!)

Therefore, I'm taking a shopping break. Good timing. The deals all around (excepting the chicken breast at Kroger this week) are not that great. In fact, I think I would call them "severely lacking."

So, Walgreen's will have to do without me this week. I'll be shopping for a few things like milk, but other than that, nada.

Bargain Meal of the Week @ Kroger

2009-02-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

Kroger has a great price this week on Tyson Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast. The $1.88 per pound doesn't come around often, so it's time to fill your freezer. They also have Green Giant vegetables on sale and with the current coupons out (both in newspaper and online) you should be able to get some cheap veggies.

There are so many things you can do with chicken. Bake it now, cube it and freeze it for quick meals later or freeze the meat raw in meal-sized portions for easy dinners.

We eat a lot of chicken around here, so it was kind of hard to narrow down to one recipe. I decided on Coconut Chicken with Saffron Rice and Sweet Peas. The original recipe was, once again, inspired by the South Beach diet, but I've made my own adjustments for taste and price.

Coconut Chicken
Printable Version

2 T coconut oil
1 lb chicken breast; boneless, skinless
1 T chicken broth
1 med onion; chopped
2 clove garlic; minced
¾ tsp cilantro; dried
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp cumin
1 cup coconut milk
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tsp water
scallions; chopped

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until browned and no longer pink in the center. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Heat the broth in the same skillet. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, ginger, lemon juice and cumin and cook for 5 minutes or until onion is tender, but not browned. Stir in the coconut milk and black pepper (optional). (You can freeze the chicken at this point to pull out later.) Return the chicken to the skillet, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm. Do not discard sauce in the pan.

Evenly divide the chicken among serving plates. Top with sauce and garnish the the scallion. Serve with Saffron Rice and a green vegetable (sweet peas, broccoli).

Meal Cost for 4 adults ~ $6.62
(I would usually get the veggies for free using coupons, but I've included the cost of peas.)

Bargain Meal of the Week @ Kroger

2009-02-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

This week Kroger has boneless chuck Pot Roast on sale for $2.17 per pound. While it is above my $2.00 per pound buy price on meat, it's still cheaper than normal. (You really have to wait sometimes for beef that cheap!)

I thought I'd include a cheap, easy meal that we really love. Beef Burgundy, without the alcohol because, well, it's expensive. :-)

(Generally when I make a recipe I try to get the overall flavor of the meal and leave out the most expensive ingredients.) The original recipe was inspired by the South Beach diet, but I've made my own adjustments for taste and price.

Beef Burgundy
Printable Version

1 teaspoon oil
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
1-1/2 pounds beef chuck; cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 T flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 c. grape juice (or apple juice)
1 cloves garlic; crushed
¾ cup beef broth
8 oz tomato sauce
2 T parsley; chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. thyme (can leave out)
4 oz can mushrooms
2 T butter

Lightly brown the onions in the oil and remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Pat meat dry between paper towels and brown it on all sides in the same pot without crowding. You may have to do it in batches. Sprinkle browned meat with flour, salt, and pepper. Add juice, garlic, stock, tomato sauce and herbs. Over heat bring the mixture to a simmer and then cook it, tightly covered for two or more hours or until the meat is fork tender. Add the onions after one hour. Lightly saute the mushrooms in the butter and set aside. Add the mushrooms when done. Serve over cooked barley (or noodles).

To cook barley, add 1/2 cup barley to 2 cups boiling water (or broth). Add 1/2 tsp salt. Cook barley until tender, generally about 20 minutes.

Generally I make a double batch of this at a time so we have leftovers and some for the freezer. I'd say this meal is probably 4 adult-size servings (3 adults, 3 kids).

Meal Cost ~ $4.71

HINT: I also make this out of soaked venison and it is just as good and WAY cheaper if the venison is donated. (Thanks, bro!)

pennywise

2009-02-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

One of the "gems" of bargain shopping that I enjoy are freight-damaged goods stores. These are stores that buy items from big chains like Wal-mart and then resale below normal retail price. Often times a pallet of cereal, for example, will have one box that was smashed and therefore the whole pallet gets sold off to an outside buyer.

In the Memphis area, the one freight-damaged goods store that I've been able to locate is Penny Wise Discount Grocery in Olive Branch, MS. (If you know of any other stores, please leave a comment!) The availability of items varies, so you have to hit them at just the right time. I still do not know when that time is, but I do know you can call them ahead of time and ask if they've received a big shipment lately.

Today we were in the Olive Branch area, so we stopped by Penny Wise. I was pleased to find their shelves well-stocked! I got several cans of beans for .49 cents each as well as 28-oz cans of Organic Crushed Tomatoes at .99 each. Another find is Cascadian Farms Organic Granola - $1.75 for 13.5 oz. And one more deal worth mentioning, Mott's Natural No-Sugar-Added Applesauce cups - 6 cups for .79 cents.

Penny Wise is opens at 9am Monday - Saturday and generally always has a good selection of canned vegetables and breakfast cereals.

Schnucks

2009-02-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

Looks like Schnucks will be the place to shop this week! Hopefully I'll be able to get my shopping list together soon...sickness abounds around here.

Also, shortcuts.com just released a bunch of new e-coupons that you can load to your Kroger card.

my buy price on meat

2009-01-29T18:32:00.000-08:00

My "buy price" on meat is $2.00 per pound. What do I mean by a "buy price"? I generally only buy meat (beef, chicken, pork, etc.) when it is $2.00 per pound for meat (excluding skin, bones, etc.) And, if I find meat on sale for $2.00 or less per pound, then to me, it is a good deal.

I do make an exception for chicken nuggets. According to my recent research in comparing Sam's Club to Costco, I can get Tyson white meat chicken nuggets for $2.40 and for their convenience (both in preparation and the fact that my children gladly gobble them up) I'll gladly pay the extra $.40 per pound.

Another "convenience" meat this week that I'm buying is Armour Meatballs at Kroger. This is part of the Mega Sale that is continuing this week at Kroger, but the Armour Meatballs have an added bonus. Buy 4 of the bags of meatballs included in the Mega Sale (4 for $10.00). When you combine those with 6 other items that are part of the Mega Sale (for a total of 10 Mega Sale items), you'll get $5.00 off your order - or $.50 per item. Then a $2.00 coupon off your next order should print out at the checkout stand. This coupon, aka "catalina", is a thank you from Armour for your purchase of 4 bags of meatballs. If you have any of the .55/1 coupons from recent inserts, you'll have some very cheap meatballs on your hands.

Here's the first deal I did:

Buy 4 16 oz bags of Armour Meatballs (I bought "original" because they do not contain egg or milk - YEAH!)

So that's...
$10.00 (4 bags* $2.50 each)
- $2.00 ($.50 per bag from Mega Sale)
- $2.00 ($.50 per bag from catalina)
= $6.00 for 4 bags or $1.50 for a pound of meatballs

Here are the additional savings if you have the Q's
- $4.40 (4 $.55/1 coupons - doubled for $1.10 off each bag)

NET: $1.60 for 4 bags or $.40 for a pound of meatballs

And that, my friends, is what I call a good deal for meat.

Memphis Online Price Book

2009-01-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

I've started an online price book of stores in the greater Memphis area. Right now, it contains cost comparisons between Sam's Club and Costco on items that I buy the most. While I anticipate adding other stores pricing over time, it will be little by little. If you'd like to help me compile the prices I will glady accept!

On a side note, I was really surprised how many items were cheaper at Costco than Sam's. I just assumed everything was cheaper at Sam's and boy, was I wrong! One thing I like about Costco too is that they offer lots more organic items than Sam's does.

Anyway, if any of you would like to add Wal-mart, Aldi, Schnucks or Kroger prices please email me or comment on this post.

this week's menu

2009-01-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

Monday 1/26

Biscuits & Sausage

Baked Potatoes & Ham

Beef Cabbage Ramen with Carrots

Morning Snack: Crackers

Afternoon Snack: Yogurt

Tuesday 1/27

Cracked Wheat

Boiled Eggs

Chicken Nuggets & Chip

Hot Pockets (with leftovers)

Morning Snack: Fresh Fruit

Afternoon Snack: Cookie Bars

Wednesday 1/28

Muffins

Sausage

Mini Burgers,

Carrot Sticks

Armenian Chicken

Armenian Rice

Black Eye Peas

Broccoli

Morning Snack: Yogurt

Afternoon Snack: Crackers

Thursday 1/29

Scones

Boiled Eggs

Honey Chicken Bites

French Fries

Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Green Beans

Morning Snack: Fresh Fruit

Afternoon Snack: Yogurt

Friday 1/30

Cinnamon Rolls

Ham

Pasta with Sauce

Broccoli

Sausage Pizza

Morning Snack: Fresh Fruit

Afternoon Snack: Popcorn

Saturday 1/31

Pancakes

Sausage

Picnic

Italian Wedding Vegetable Soup

Morning Snack: Crackers

Afternoon Snack: Yogurt

Sunday 2/1

Cracked Wheat

Boiled Eggs

Chicken Pot Pie, Salad, Bread

Leftovers

clearance @ Kroger

2009-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

I stopped by Kroger today to for Take 1 of my Mega Sale shopping trips. The kids were desperately needing beyond anything else in all of existence GoldFish crackers (or so they said). Since I had planned my shopping trip in advance and had a nice recycled envelope filled with coupons, I quickly picked up 10 of the Mega Sale items and then headed for a quick glance on the "clearance" rack.

Most all Kroger stores have "clearance sections", though its location varies. Sometimes it's at the back of the store; sometimes near the front. Today, I picked up a 16 oz bottle of Newman's Own Organic Balsamic Vinegar for $3.39, some Pop-tarts for $.39 a box and some Gluten-free Thai Rice Noodles for $.89 for a pound box.

It nevers hurts to take a few seconds to check the clearance section and scout out those little orange and yellow tags. And, if you have your coupon stash with you, you can usually score some really great deals.

Mega Sale this week @ Kroger

2009-01-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

Kroger's having a Mega Sale this week!! These sales come around every so often. Basically, they have tons of items on sale. When you buy 10 of the featured items (mix and match) you automatically get an extra $5.00 off your order (so it's .50 off each item). You can do this deal three times per order (you can buy 30 featured items and get $15.00 of your order).

But, of course, for me, that's not enough savings. Make some really good deals by using coupons on the featured items. My weekly Kroger deals sheet highlights what I'm planning to purchase this week and you can find more match-ups by clicking on the links at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

I'll see you all at Kroger.

DIY Cleaning Supplies

2009-01-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

The Green Guide has a great article right now on how to make your own cleaning supplies. This certainly fits in with the theme of my day since I just finished making a big batch of my "All-Purpose Household Cleaner." My recipe contains a few more ingredients than the Green Guide has for their All-Purpose Cleaner, but I've tried their recipe and like mine much better. It seems to cut through grease and soap scum on shower walls much better than just the borax and water mixture.

In case you missed it, here's my recipe. This makes a gallon. I make and store the cleaner in a recycled vinegar bottle and then just refill everyone's spray bottle as needed. (Yes, we all have our own spray bottles!)

All-Purpose Cleaner

5T Borax
3T washing soda
2 cup white vinegar
3T liquid soap
Fill the rest of the bottle with hot tap water.

I pour all of this through a funnel placed on top of the bottle. Pour in borax, washing soda and vinegar (you'll probably get some bubbles out of this). Then pour in the hot tap water and leave about 2 inch space at the top of the bottle. Next, pour in the liquid soap (this time I finished up an old bottle of apple shampoo). Place the top on the bottle and shake, shake, shake. You're going to be making suds so after just a few seconds you might need to sit the bottle down, take off the top and let it breathe. Let the mixture sit out on the counter with the top off until the water cools. When the mixture is at room temperature, put the cap back on and store until you need it. Usually when I need to refill a spray bottle I'll give the mixture a little swirl just to make sure it's all still mixed well. You don't want to shake it like crazy or you'll have to wait for the bubbles to die down so you can pour it.

I use this mixture to clean countertops, shower doors and walls, to wipe off toilets and to mop floors (both linoleum and laminate wood floors). I do not use this to clean windows or mirrors as you have to keep wiping forever to not have streaks. You can make your own window cleaner...maybe later I'll share my favorite recipe.

Happy Cleaning!

Restaurant.com 70% off this week

2009-01-20T05:29:00.000-08:00

Through Monday, January 26, 2009, you can get 70% off your Restaurant.com order by applying the discount code "SAVE" upon checkout.

I mentioned this last week as a way that we frequently save lots of money in eating out. Be sure to check out Figaro's Pizza - it's our favorite!

Georgia's Spicy Almonds

2009-01-20T05:25:00.001-08:00

Georgia's Spicy Almonds were a great hit last week at the Ladies Fellowship. Here is her recipe compliments of delish.

Spicy Almonds

Ingredients

1 pound(s) natural almonds
1 tablespoon(s) butter, melted
1 tablespoon(s) honey
1 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake almonds 10 minutes on baking sheet. Combine butter, honey, cumin, and cayenne in large bowl; toss with hot almonds. Bake 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt.

deals of the week

2009-01-20T05:08:00.000-08:00

I've added several stores to the left sidebar which features "Deals of the Week". These deals are for stores in the greater Memphis, TN area, but some apply throughout Arkansas, Mississippi and nationwide. If you are subscribed to this blog via a feed reader (like Google Reader, which I recommend) you will not see updates to the "Deals of the Week" in your reader. I create my shopping lists in Google Documents and just link to those. So, if you're interested in the deals, you'll have to check back each week and see what's on sale.

Here are the stores I'm currently showcasing...

Aldi - This should be nationwide wherever Aldi is found.
Kroger - Delta Marketing region (this includes Memphis/Jackson, TN, Mississippi and Arkansas)
Schnuck's - These stores are located in TN and MO.
The Fresh Market - From their website, looks like stores in Memphis and Little Rock carry the same sales so the "deals" would apply to both.
Walgreen's - Nationwide deals
Whole Foods - Only the Poplar Ave store in Memphis, TN.

Occasionally I might mention a deal at Ike's Drug Store (aka USA Drug in Arkansas) and Superlo Foods in the Memphis area. Ike's generally has a good sale on spices once or twice a year (like .50 each for a big bottle - and they are really good spices with a huge selection). Superlo has good deals on meat every now and then and veggies (non-organic though they be).

And, comments are open! If anyone sees a deal that I've missed or has a question, I'll try to answer it as time permits.

The Fresh Market - cheap Blueberries

2009-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I went to The Fresh Market last night for the first time in a long time and I was once again impressed with the obvious quality of their fruits and vegetables. However, this time I was also impressed with their prices.

The best find was 6oz of fresh blueberries for $0.98. That's right, 98 cents for what Kroger is selling this week for $2.50 for 4 oz. This price is even cheaper per pound than you can find frozen blueberries at Sam's or Costco.

Other finds:

Organic Green Leaf Lettuce - $1.99 per head
Organic Braeburn Apples - $1.99 per pound (these are incredibly delicious!)
Slicing Tomatoes - $1.48 per pound (Surprise purchase in the middle of January, this was not only a good buy, but the tomatoes actually had color.)

I hope to be back at Fresh Market again soon. They're produce seems to be far superior in quality with local supermarkets and very comparable in price. Thanks for the tip, Stephanie!

photo from Kroger

What do I buy at Walgreen's?

2009-01-16T12:47:00.001-08:00

Here are some items that I've purchased at Walgreen's over the past 6 months. These are items that I either got free, made overage on or for which I paid much less than I would at a discount store. If it's not a great deal, I don't buy it at Walgreen's.

Food

Breakfast cereal (Kashi, General Mills)
Juice (Mott's Apple Juice!)
Capri Sun drinks
Sodas (Coke Zero, Sprite Zero)
Candy (after holidays)
Mushrooms
Pineapple
Mandarin Oranges
Pop-tarts
South Beach High Protein Cereal Bars
Ragu Pasta Sauce
Pasta (Macaroni, spaghetti)
Ritz Crackers
Triscuits
Pringles
Cheezits
Coffemate Flavored Coffee Creamers
Microwave Popcorn
Spices (Garlic powder, italian seasonings, dehydrated onions)
Eggs
Chex Mix
Sugar
Peanut Butter (I don't actually buy this, but you can regularly get it cheap)
Celestial Seasonings Tea

Paper Goods

Paper Towels
Toilet Paper
Charmin Fresh Wipes
Diapers
Baby Wipes
Feminine Hygiene Products (free or .50 a pack is my "buy" price)
Kleenex
QTips
Cotton Balls

Personal Hygiene

Deoderant
Toothpaste!
Toothbrushes
Listerine
Mouth rinse for Kids
Kids Toothpaste
Kids Toothbrushes
Make up - base, mascara, eyeshadow, lipstick, nail color, powder, blush, etc. (mostly FREE if not overage)
Body wash
Cetaphyl Bar Soap
Cetaphyl Lotion
Razors
Razor Blades
Schick Intuition Razors
Shaving Gel
Shampoo (some organic)
Conditioner (some organic)
Hair Gel
Face Moisturizer

Cleaning Supplies

Dishwasher Detergent
Dish Detergent
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Toilet Cleaner
Scrubbing Bubbles auto-shower cleaner (free!)
Antibacterial sprays
Hand soap
Seventh Generation Spray for .19!
Laundry Detergent
Dryer Sheets
Glade plug-in type stuff

Health Stuff

Vitamins
Benefiber (money-maker)
Children's Tylenol (money-maker)
Children's cold medicine (money-maker)
Zyrtec (for my mom)
bandages
Tylenol, Advil, Excedrin

Misc Supplies

Dry Erase Markers
Computer Printer Paper
Pictures (2 free 8x10's, cheap 4x6's)
poster board
wrapping paper
tons of stocking stuffers (puzzles, coloring books, etc.)
Crayola markers
Crayola water color paints
tissue paper
Water Pitcher with Filter and extra filters
Foil
Wax Paper
"Ziploc" Bags (cheaper and better than Wal-mart!)
Hair Dryer (free!)
Scotch tape
Trash bags

ladies fellowship

2009-01-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight I've been asked to talk about "Money Saving Strategies to Help the Family Budget go Further" (long enough to be a Puritan title, I think). I'm looking forward to it and bringing along some fun door prizes that I've obtained for FREE during these past months of bargain shopping.

For anyone who couldn't make it, or is just interested in what we talked about, you can view a copy of the hand-out.

I also have a few printed copies left if you want to stop by my classroom on Sunday morning. I'm in the classroom on the right side of the hallway just before you get to the kitchen.

my story

2008-01-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

I well remember a time when it made me short of breath and little faint to spend $50 on an item (my college-dorm refrigerator, actually). Spending large amounts of money - or any amount of money, rather, was something that was not exactly in my DNA. I loved to go shopping - and still do - but for DEALS! This tendency toward frugality has turned out to be a great blessing. Though my Dad still says that I'm "so tight I squeak when I walk", being thrifty has enabled my husband and I to make ends meet the past few years and even save - while having 3 children in 4 years and making 2 career changes AND with no income for a whole year.

Here's our story: We were married 10 years ago this coming July. Unfortunately, before we got married we really didn't have any kind of counseling and we certainly didn't talk about how much should or should not be spent. As things tend to go, we started out kind of opposites in the whole money realm - me, freaking out when we paid full price to see a movie (and don't even THINK about buying popcorn) and him, being OK to charge purchases to a credit card. We were around $20,000 in debt starting out from various school loans, credit cards and family loans. He was still finishing up in school and was working minimum wage type jobs. I had a fairly decent job with an IT company in town. We did not have a budget. When we tried to implement a budget, we started out way too complicated. We agreed on the budget in theory, but not in practice. [Insert here a whole lot of yuckiness]

Fast forward to 3, maybe 4 years later. We began to start thinking about having kids. Knowing that we both wanted for me to stay home with the kids, we started looking at our finances to see how that would be possible. Though we had been putting a pretty good size chunk of my income toward paying off debt each month, we were still a long way from living just on his income and a long way from paying off our debt. By this time, the Lord had blessed and I was making substantially more than when I had begun in the industry. We still had school loans, (thankfully the credit card and the family loans were paid in full) and a new car payment. With the car payment we had increased our debt again to around $25K. One major thing going for us is that we both listened to Larry Burkett's Money Matters on the radio. Though Larry is with the Lord now, his teaching still continues (though a little watered down IMO) at Crown Financial Ministries. His insights and teachings were fantastic and really got us thinking better about being good stewards of what God had provided. Contrary to the popular culture, Larry also really stressed that being able to make it one income was possible. I started reading his book Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples: A Lifetime Approach to Spending, Saving and Investing. It was excellent material - simple and easy to begin implementing.

When Don and I established a simple spending plan and began sticking to it, it was one of the best things that happened for our marriage. When I think back now to our initial workable spending plan I see how much we still could have curbed our spending, BUT it was a step in the right direction and gave us a taste of how money did not have to be such a negative topic in our house.

Roughly two years after we started budgeting, our first son was born. By that time, we had paid off all our debt, had began purchasing a cute home (for $335 a month!) which we renovated debt-free, had purchased several nice pieces of furniture and God even blessed us with an unexpected reserve! God was truly faithful to provide for us and bless us abundantly.

When our son was about 4 months old, it seemed that the world fell out from under me. It was a VERY, VERY hard time, but also a life-changing-good time. My husband, who I thought was already a Christian, started confessing and forsaking his sin and trusting in Christ alone to save him. The whole "confessing and forsaking" was the hardest thing we have ever been through, but God is faithful and is still completing the great work He began in both of us. More than I could have ever imagined possible before, my husband is such a huge blessing to me and our family. What does this have to do with our financial story, you might ask? EVERYTHING! When Don started realizing Jesus was Lord of his life, it affected every area. We really started trying to live our life together based on the question "What does the Bible say about this?" knowing that God's will for our lives is revealed right there in Scripture.
Do you know that Jesus talks about money a LOT? There is much to say all throughout Scripture on dealing with your finances and being good stewards of the Lord's blessings. So out of a desire to live in a way that was pleasing to God, we started pursuing more diligence in the areas of finances.

Around this time, it was evident that to be a good provider for his family, Don needed to change careers. After four years as an service technician for Xerox, he was already topped out pay-wise and every time he got a "raise" some other benefit would be removed which would make our net take-home less (good indication a job-change is needed!). We went through the whole process of determining which field Don should go into and then started on the 2 1/2 year journey to get there. Don got a night job making less money so he could go to school during the day.

Three months in, we found out we were expecting baby #2! In December our daughter was born. Compared to our earlier budgets, the new budget at this time looked like it had been served at a hibachi grill - there had been so much cutting! However, we were still making it and even saving $50 a paycheck. Time, however, was the treasure in shortest supply. Don was gone from the house around 17 hours a day! I had a new baby, was suffering from sickness and had a rambunctious 2 year old. While we were striving desperately for Don to be accepted to Nuclear Medicine Technology school, we also had no idea how we were going to make it as a couple and family. NMT school was much more rigorous than the pre-requisite courses he had been taking. Not only would he be in school several more hours a day, he would have to spend time studying at night...and work a full-time job!? We started crunching numbers and praying hard.

Through some retirement savings I had set aside while working, some stock options I had cashed out the month I came home, our $100 a month savings for the past year, and the commitment to a bare-bones budget, we made the faith-filled plunge for Don to quit his job and go to NMT school full-time. By God's grace, we made it through a whole year of school plus was able to send Don to Canada for a graduation present fishing trip (and I got a KitchenAid mixer for a "graduation" present!) Let me say - it was by no means easy. We were not blessed with money falling out of the sky. We had no rich relative sending us money hand-over-fist. God blessed us with greater gifts. Diligence. Contentment. Imagination.

So, I'm starting this blog to explain how we did it and to chronicle God's faithfulness not just to overhaul our checkbook, but to overhaul our hearts. To give some tips and real-life advice on beginning a budget, setting goals and living frugally. And, also, in the midst of this time and budget craziness, our sweet daughter was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. So on my feed-the-family-for-around-$7-a-day food budget, I had to learn to cook allergen-free (basically throw out the cookbook and start all over). It was a challenge, a process and eventually a blessing to our family. I'll be including multiple tips, recipes and advice for living with food allergies (milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish) on my blog food allergy frugal.

I struggled for a while with wondering if I should invest time to this since there are so many good "frugal living" blogs out there. But, I think I will greatly enjoy doing this and even if no one else reads it, I will have the information handy to pass on my children one day. And if the Lord be pleased to use our story in anyone else's life to encourage them in their walk or challenge them to godliness, may it be so to His glory.