Spreading The Link Love

I’m giving a shout out to Karen at Thrifty Mommy. She posted an excellent explanation on how to ‘play’ The Grocery Game!

Heather at Freebies 4 Mom has started a new series on Freebie Tips. I don’t know about you, but I love freebies!

It’s time for another “Blogging for Chocolate” contest over at Moms Talk Radio. This time, it’s a blogging marathon on Valentines Day. Post all day long about things you’ve read or heard on one of the shows at Moms Talk Radio. Head on over and read the full details. (I hope you choose to blog about something you’ve heard on The Household Helper Talk Show)

Chele is hosting a contest over at Moms Love Shopping – you can win a set of personalized place mats from Olive Kids!

And speaking of Moms Love Shopping, Chele’s podcast this week is about shopping for reduced energy costs. Take a listen and then head over to check out my new e-book How To Make Your House Energy and Cost Efficient. In my e-book, you’ll discover so many things on how to transform your house to being more energy efficient with little effort!

Episode #6

I’m switching gears for a few episodes and we’re going to discuss frugal living. This week I am joined by my friend, Kristine McKinley to discuss the current situation with the US economy. It’s basically a lesson in Economics 101 so we can better understand what the media is making such a fuss about.

We discuss how the media focuses on the negative, how the election year affects our economy and how does this all affect us. Kristine has some great information and explains to us what a recession is. She gives us some great ideas on what we should do now and what we can do to take advantage of the ‘down’ market. She also gives us a heads-up to a potential tax rebate check!

Kristine is a CPA and Certified Financial Planner. You can learn more about Kristine’s financial and tax planning services at her website www.beacon-advisor.com or her blog www.financialtipsforwahms.com.

We also take a moment to discuss Kristine’s new e-book Living Debt Free.

NOTE: The information in this show is Kristine’s opinion and advise. She is NOT predicting a recession nor depression. She is just explaining everything to us. Please contact your financial planner before making any decisions and changes to your portfolio.

My Tuesday Menu Planning & Grocery Shopping

Every Tuesday I plan my meals for the week using the sales circular for my store. Then I shop. Because I had plans to have lunch with friends today, I decided to splurge on the $10 fee to shop online and pick-up my groceries (I don’t do delivery because they can’t use your coupons for that order – they credit you for the next).

I just put everything away and reviewed my receipt again and I need to brag! Now, please keep in mind that I live in Northern New Jersey, where we live 56% ABOVE the National Cost of Living Average.

Total bill was $75.94 – take out the $10 fee and I spent $65.94 to feed my family all week. I saved $16.20 in coupons. Included in this total are deli meats and cheese, London Broil (yum) and a 20lb bag of dog food. It’s also the ‘can-can’ sale at my Shop Rite so I did some stocking up too!

Here’s my dinner menu for the week:

Tuesday – Roast Chicken, red potatoes and mix veggies
Wednesday – Left Overs (there’s a bunch so we have to eat it or trash it!) and salad
Thursday – London Broil, veggies & salad
Friday – Grilled pork chops with country gravy, mash taters and veggies
Saturday – No plans because hubby and I are going out! (It’s his company holiday party)
Sunday – Chicken Soup and homemade bread
Monday – Pizza (It’s only $10 with 2 toppings, delivered)

What about breakfast and lunch? Well hubby gets deli sandwiches made for him every night. Plus I’m make chicken salad with the left overs from tonight. As for breakfast, he can have cereal from the pantry or pick-up something on the way to work (he gets an allowance every week and can spend it however he wants).

Now for me and little man, we wing it. Breakfast can be cereal, waffles, pancakes or eggs. It depends on his mood, but all are available. Lunch can be deli sandwiches, mac & cheese, soup (some in the pantry and some homemade in the freezer), chicken nuggets, left overs, etc. And of course there is fresh fruit and veggies available and the usual Toddler snacks.

I’m looking forward to having a nice salad on Friday with some left over London broil and Caesar dressing! I also got a big enough chicken to have enough left over for use next week (I’ll just freeze it). Furthermore, I got a family pack of 8 pork chops – only need 4 for this week, the remaining will be frozen.

So that’s how I do it – not brain surgery. Just put a little effort into it each week and you’ll save money and your sanity. Want more information? Check out my e-book that gives you step-by-step directions on meal planning! Meal Planning for Busy Moms