Dinner 11/29

We are pushing left over Thanksgiving foods tonight.

Turkey
gravy
mashed potatoes
sweet potatoes
salad
peas
corn
and a little bit of stuffing.

Thanksgiving Part 2

We steamed corn, peas, made a small salad, and made mashed potatoes. I took the sweet potatoes I had and baked then in the oven, with some cinnamon and brown sugar.

I used the turkey frame to make a crock pot full of stock. It was just awesome. We have lots of left overs, including a full serving plate of turkey.

Thanksgiving dinner Part 1

I made everything from scratch, hoping to keep my costs down and feed a bunch of empty bellies.

Last night I did the prep work for the stuffing/dressing. I browned a 1/2 pound of pork sausage, added one large onion, four stalks of celery, my last two cloves of garlic, some thyme, and sage until cooked through. (put the peelings aside for now). I added two cups of chicken stock, and one bag of Pepperidge farm herb seasoning. My daughter helped me with this prep work and she did a fabulous job. Place in fridge overnight.

I washed out our turkey this morning and found a gravy packet (when did they start that?) Put the gravy packet in the fridge after you wash the turkey guts off it. I put the turkey in the oven after wiping it down with a little real butter. Can you say YUMMMMMM??!! The turkey sits in the oven for four hours (a little over 11 pounds) stuffed (yes we stuff it, and have some more on the side not in the bird). Prior to stuffing the bird, I took out the innards (neck, giblet) and placed them on the stove top, simmering in a pan with those veggie peelings that we are not throwing away (FREE STOCK FOLKS!!!!!). The stock will simmer for a few hours, stirred at times, and when it's done, it will be strained and placed in the fridge to cool.

Shopping at Aldi today 11/27

I hit Aldi's this morning while the husband and kids were sleeping. 

24 count WATER x3

18 LB CAT FOOD 

4 MIXED FRUIT 

3 lb onions 

half gallon egg nog 

2 lb celery 

3 lb margarine 

2 4 count tiolet paper 

2 lb chicken drumsticks 

pork chops 2 lb

chicken tenderlion 2 lb

85% ground beef 2 lb

chicken thighs 6 lb 

20 lb russet potatoes 

plastic wrap 

parmesean cheese 

spag sauce  

9 lb shank ham

laundry soap , cream cheese, 2 pk tomatoes, 3 jars of turkey gravy (I made terrible gravy), 2 lb various cheeses, 6 cans of bean soup, 2 italian diced tomatoes, pecan short bread cookies, pancake mix, 4 cans of cream of chicken.andmushroom soup each, 6 cans of pork and beans, 3 lb sweet potatoes, 4 cans of pinto beans, tooth paste, 4 cans of kidney beans, ibuprofen, 2 gallons of skim milk, 2 boxes of stuffing mix, peanut butter, mayo, marshmellow cream, strawberry generic wheats, blueberry generic mini wheats, grape jelly, sugar, tea bags, mini marshmellows.

2 dollars off chicken thighs

2 dollars off chicken tenderlion

2 dollars off chicken drumsticks

5 dollar off coupon

Spent 135.69

pantry Listings going into December.

Pantry:
1 container of olive oil
1/2 small container of veggie oil**
three packets of cinnamon oatmeal
salt**
baking powder**
brown sugar**
powdered sugar
bread crumbs
some honey
2 cans of tomatoes
hot chocolate
popcorn kernels**

pancake syrup

tea bags
two jars of spaghetti sauce
two cans of veggie stock
8 lb spaghetti
four lb of sugar
1 package of taco shells
one opened bag of long grain rice
egg noodles
tomato soup
progresso soup
pinto beans
dry milk
yeast

Left overs:

Fruit Bowl:
2 lb  onions
6  carrots
1 head of garlic

Open Condiments:
Ketchup**
mustard**
Italian dressing**
honey mustard

Fridge Items:
provalone cheese

eggs

one gallon of milk

1/2 lb butter
half loaf of bread
two small containers of cinnamon butter
1/2 lb sliced turkey


Freezer offerings:
2 whole turkeys
shredded hash browns**
one package chicken thighs
1 lb sliced ham
1 lb  ground turkey
one whole chicken (0.95 cents a lb),
tortilla shells
bread

english muffins
popsicles

Frozen Veggies:
2 lb broccoli

2 lb carrots

2 lb corn

2 lb green beans

2 lb squash
 half lb peas

Hidden Suprises:
lots of chicken stock

2 containers of chicken soup (home made)

beef stew
taco meat
and a few other things I didn't label. 

Grocery Shopping

For the month of November I have 300 dollars, and have spent a total of 102.0 3. I'm hoping to come in under budget and put the left overs into my Savings account. 


I went to Aldi and spent 135.69. It's official. I'm over my budget. 

Total 300.00
Spent 102.03
Spent 16.00
spent 100.00
spent 135.69
Total Spent 353.72

Left for the month: -53.72

I guess for December, it's going to be make up time in the grocery department. 

got paid/snowball plans

Dave Ramsey's Plan.

Other than the posted credit, I only have the regular house stuff, like electric, cable, phones, car insurance, internet, etc etc. I worked hard last year and earlier this year to get my smaller "debt" paid off, like some medical bills, JCP card, car payment, and my husband's credit card.

I got paid this morning, sent out checks for the mortgage (December), paid 100 on the medical bill I have, and our cell phone plan. I have to get some cash into my kids lunch accounts, gas for two cars, groceries, and some holiday gifts for the needy (angels I chose form KMART Christmas trees). I am getting the kids each a winter coat today, and taking them to see a movie. 

Emergency Fund: 1,000.00 Goal!!!

3-6 Month Living Expenses 1719.15 (Goal 5,000)

Nothing added at this pay check time.

Wells Fargo  (A) 25,000 YIKES! My old balance is 23,948.74. 

 I give them their 90 dollars minimum payment, along with a payment of 527 a month (snowballed). I divide the payment up into two payments a month. I have been sending 300 every two weeks for two months.  Wow. That was above my snowball payment of 617 a month. The new balance is 23,348.74.

Student Loan 15,000 total another yikes!! Old balance is 14,430.84.

 I give them a 167 a month as their minimum payment. I made a payment 10/31/2013. My new statement was sent online for December. $14,160.57 is the new amount!!

 This is the old amounts posted:

Type	Principal	Interest Rate
Subsidized	$2,536.64	3.4%
Subsidized	$4,825.11	4.5%
Unsubsidized	$6,906.44	6.8%

Here is the new amounts that are current.

Type	Principal	Interest Rate
Subsidized	$2,517.51	3.4%
Subsidized	$4,788.71	4.5%
Unsubsidized	$6,854.35	6.8%

Mortgage was 90,000  total....643.21 a month. The old balance is 72,275.45.
 I paid the minimum and waiting on a new statement. The new statement came in for December is 72,104.42.  I sent in my mortgage payment today for December. 

403B Retirement Plan: I've started a retirement plan back in 2006 and was putting 6 percent of my pay check every two weeks. I am at a point in my financial planning, I put in 10 percent every two weeks since October 2013.

Been working...

I was in the middle of a four night stretch at work. On Saturday, I got take out. I fed the five of us Chipolte. It was a total of 44 dollars, totally worth it, as I was so tired. I took the left overs to work for my lunch. On Sunday, I forgot what we had.

I got out of work Monday morning, and started some community service to the homeless community. I help two nights a week until the end of March. For dinner last night, we had hot dogs on buns, with ketchup and onion, and we had homemade potato salad. That was dinner folks.

Work night two of four...and what's for dinner?

Ok. It's night two of four and I asked my husband to have a plan for dinner. We are going to have spaghetti and sauce for dinner, with a small salad and steamed green beans. I have two slices of meat loaf left over from yesterday. I'm going to cut them up small and add into the spaghetti sauce just to make sure I get rid of any lurking left overs. My husband was out and I called him when I woke up. He said, "I don't really have a plan for dinner". So, it's rigatoni and sauce, with steamed green beans, and a small salad. That's it folks!!

Tuition oops part 2

So, I heard back from the business office this afternoon by email. They have adjusted her balance due for tuition, and have placed a "do not drop" status on her account. She still is enrolled for Spring 2014 with two classes, and the cost has been reflected on the account. They did credit her tuition payment of 200 dollars, and since they are not able to credit my account the difference from yesterday's payment (that's fine), they have adjusted the next three payments due. Instead of owing 253.46 for three payments, I owe 120 and some odd change that will come out automatically direct debit on my bank account. It's easier to handle, and glad that I was persistent in contacting the correct employee who manages the FACTS tuition payments.

Thankful for the chance to keep my finances intact.

Dinner 11/21

I made a meat loaf for dinner tonight. What I did was thaw one pound of 80/20 ground beef I had in the freezer. I added the last of the whole oats to the meat (about two cups oats), two eggs, half cup of milk, 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, sage, thyme, parsley, and a small amount of mustard seed. I combined all this into a loaf pan and put a little ketchup on top.

I usually tend to add lurking items to the meat loaf. Makes my kids absolutely crazy. I used the last of the whole oats that have been sitting in the pantry. My daughter had half a cup of milk in the fridge. That went into the meat loaf mixture.

I also have a bunch of apples. I have three medium packets of organic cinnamon spice oatmeal that needs to be used. It's screaming a nice pan of apple crisp to go with our dinner. It will get rid of the apples, and the lurking cinnamon spice oatmeal that my kids don't care for. I will add a touch of butter to the mix and place it in the oven with the meat loaf.

We are going to have left over buttered corn from last night, and a small salad. That's dinner folks. I go back to work tonight. Four 12 hour shifts in a row. Loving it!!!

Tuition ooops.

So, my daughter signed up for Spring semester classes, and dropped one of three. She has two classes now, and I am paying for her costs, since she doesn't qualify for financial aid. Her total costs for tuition for 9 credits was 1209.35. OK I get that. No big deal, the payments were to be broken up into four payments, automatic withdrawn from my checking account.

I made a 200 dollar payment at time of enrollment. There are four payments of 253.45 coming out of my account. First was today.

She dropped a class. Brings tuition down to 812.90. Remember that 200 dollar payment?? Beings the costs to 612.90. The tuition payment should have been adjusted to reflect the changes.

I called and emailed the business office this morning. I'm looking for an adjustment in the payment plan, and/or the balance to reflect my records. I'm waiting on a response back either by email or phone.

Keeping track of my expenditures and making sure records are correct is a MUST for my finances.

11/20 dinner

I took out some hot dogs from the freezer to thaw out. I will put them on the griddle to cook, serve with ketchup and/or mustard on hot dog rolls. We will have some steamed corn, a small salad with Italian dressing, and some sliced apples.

I'm working on increasing the fruits and veggies that the kids will eat. I am beginning on serving more at dinner (since they eat breakfast and lunch at school), and make it kid friendly. It seems to be working. I gave them a choice last night, steamed and buttered green beans, salad, and bananas. They had to choose two. The green beans and bananas won. My husband and I had the salad, and green beans.

The steamed corn and apples will go tonight. The kids love both. The salad will be left for my husband and I. I'm OK with that. I will have to steam enough corn for the five of us.

Dinner 11/19

We had four thin chicken thighs I put into the oven with some spices. I made a small salad with lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumber. We had Italian dressing for the salad. I also steamed green beans, and I made home made french fries.

Grocery Shopping

For the month of November I have 300 dollars, and have spent a total of 102.0 3. I'm hoping to come in under budget and put the left overs into my Savings account. 

I went to the ad store the other day and bought 20 various bread items (bagels, muffins, loaves of bread) for 16 dollars. I also went to Sharp Shopper and spent 100 dollars on pantry items. I'm hoping to not have to get groceries (with the exception of milk, and maybe some produce) until close to December. 

Total 300.00
Spent 102.03
Spent 16.00
spent 100.00

Left for the month: 81.97.

Off the plan today (sort of).

Menu Planning

• hot dogs, homemade scratch mac and cheese (white sauce, with cheese added, pasta), peas.
• Ham and and cheese quiche. (using sliced deli ham, provolone cheese).
• BBQ pork chops, long grain rice, peas.
• Home made pizza (cheese for the kids, tomato slices for us). I would make my own crust in the ABM, grate the cheese in my blender, and use canned tomatoes for topping. I have three jars of spaghetti sauce in the freezer with 1/4 cup in each. 
• Dirty rice (using a small amount of ground beef or ground turkey), peas

• Scrambled eggs, hash browns

• Spaghetti and sauce, meat balls with ground turkey, spices, egg, homemade breadcrumbs, veggies
• crock pot chicken thighs, carrots, celery,onion, long grain rice
• dirty rice (with chicken), broccoli.
• left over chicken thighs, egg noodles, veggies 
• Canned soup and sandwiches, veggies

• Home made waffles with syrup.
• Two nights of left overs.

I'm thinking that tonight we will have some home made chicken noodle soup. We have a bunch of stock in the freezer, along with various containers full of chicken/carrots/onion/celery in the freezer. It's best to start using these items (keeps expenses down), and get rid of some lurkers. I will also serve a small salad on the side. I'm thinking of combining the left over chicken and veggies meal with the soup. Home made chicken soup sounds good on a night where everyone is home together. 

Been working...

I was on vacation, but went back to work on Thursday evening. I worked Thursday, Fri, Sat, and I have some call time on Sunday godue to over time. I just got the phone call that asked me if I wanted to stay home tonight. I took it. I am tired, feel exhausted, and getting a little irritated with my husband. I go back to work on Thursday evening.

Dinner 11/17

I ordered two pizzas. One cheese for the kids, and one pepperoni for the adults. I'm tired from working three nights in a row, and don't care to deal with making a meal.

What's been cooking

Last night I made the rest of the blueberry pancake mix we had in the pantry.
My husband made dinner today. He put chicken thighs and veggies in the crock pot.

Dinner

• hot dogs, homemade scratch mac and cheese (white sauce, with cheese added, pasta), peas.
• Ham and and cheese quiche. (using sliced deli ham, provolone cheese).
• BBQ pork chops, long grain rice, peas.
• Home made pizza (cheese for the kids, tomato slices for us). I would make my own crust in the ABM, grate the cheese in my blender, and use canned tomatoes for topping. I have three jars of spaghetti sauce in the freezer with 1/4 cup in each. 
• Dirty rice (using a small amount of ground beef or ground turkey), peas

• Scrambled eggs, hash browns

• Spaghetti and sauce, meat balls with ground turkey, spices, egg, homemade breadcrumbs, veggies
• Home made waffles with syrup.
• Two nights of left overs.
• crock pot chicken thighs, carrots, celery,onion, long grain rice
• dirty rice (with chicken), broccoli.
• left over chicken thighs, egg noodles, veggies 
• Canned soup and sandwiches, veggies

Things are tight right now. My gas light is on, my husband's gas light is close to being on.

The cars now have full tanks of gas.

My daughter's new tuition payments start next week.

I made the first payment.

 She will need books.

She's buying her own books.

Dinner tonight is simple. Spaghetti with sauce, meatless, and steamed veggies. That's it. I am back to work tonight for one of four in a row shifts. 

Got paid

Dave Ramsey's Plan.

Other than the posted credit, I only have the regular house stuff, like electric, cable, phones, car insurance, internet, etc etc. I worked hard last year and earlier this year to get my smaller "debt" paid off, like some medical bills, JCP card, car payment, and my husband's credit card.

I got paid this morning, sent out checks for the electric bill, water bill, pest control, some cash for blood work I had drawn, and paid two bills for car taxes that are due in December. I paid for my kids lunches at school, went to the grocery store, and put some gas in my car.

Emergency Fund: 1,000.00 Goal!!!

3-6 Month Living Expenses 1,469.15 (Goal 5,000)

I would like to put in two hundred a pay period until the end of 2013.
I made a 250 dollars deposit this morning into my living expenses account. It brings the total up to 1719.15!!!!!!!

Wells Fargo  (A) 25,000 YIKES! My old balance is 24,300.00. 

 I give them their 90 dollars minimum payment, along with a payment of 527 a month (snowballed). I divide the payment up into two payments a month. The new statement came in for December came in yesterday. The new balance is 23,948.74. I paid them a whopping total of 630.60 in October!!! Wow. That was above my snowball payment of 617 a month. 

I just sent Wells Fargo A 300 dollar check this morning when I get my paycheck in direct deposit. The new balance is pending as of 11/14/2013. I plan on sending in my usual 300 dollars every two weeks. They take their usual payment of 90 dollars out at the end of every month. 

Student Loan 15,000 total another yikes!! Old balance is 14,430.84.

 I give them a 167 a month as their minimum payment. I made a payment 10/31/2013. My new statement was sent online for December. $14,160.57 is the new amount!!

 This is the old amounts posted:

Type	Principal	Interest Rate
Subsidized	$2,536.64	3.4%
Subsidized	$4,825.11	4.5%
Unsubsidized	$6,906.44	6.8%

Here is the new amounts that are current.

Type	Principal	Interest Rate
Subsidized	$2,517.51	3.4%
Subsidized	$4,788.71	4.5%
Unsubsidized	$6,854.35	6.8%

Mortgage was 90,000  total....643.21 a month. The old balance is 72,275.45.
 I paid the minimum and waiting on a new statement. The new statement came in for December is 72,104.42. 

403B Retirement Plan: I've started a retirement plan back in 2006 and was putting 6 percent of my pay check every two weeks. I am at a point in my financial planning, I put in 10 percent every two weeks. 

Snowball Plan.

Dave Ramsey's Plan.

Dave Ramsey's Plan.

Other than the posted credit, I only have the regular house stuff, like electric, cable, phones, car insurance, internet, etc etc. I worked hard last year and earlier this year to get my smaller "debt" paid off, like some medical bills, JCP card, car payment, and my husband's credit card. 

Emergency Fund: 1,000.00 Goal!!!

3-6 Month Living Expenses 1,469.15 (Goal 5,000)

I would like to put in two hundred a pay period until the end of 2013.
Nothing deposited as of 11/01/13.

Wells Fargo  (A) 25,000 YIKES! My old balance is 24,300.00. 

 I give them their 90 dollars minimum payment, along with a payment of 527 a month (snowballed). I divide the payment up into two payments a month. The new statement came in for December came in yesterday. The new balance is 23,948.74. I paid them a whopping total of 630.60 in October!!! Wow. That was above my snowball payment of 617 a month. 

Student Loan 15,000 total another yikes!! Old balance is 14,430.84.

 I give them a 167 a month as their minimum payment. I made a payment 10/31/2013. My new statement was sent online for December. $14,160.57 is the new amount!!

 This is the old amounts posted:

Type	Principal	Interest Rate
Subsidized	$2,536.64	3.4%
Subsidized	$4,825.11	4.5%
Unsubsidized	$6,906.44	6.8%

Here is the new amounts that are current.

Type	Principal	Interest Rate
Subsidized	$2,517.51	3.4%
Subsidized	$4,788.71	4.5%
Unsubsidized	$6,854.35	6.8%

Mortgage was 90,000  total....643.21 a month. The old balance is 72,275.45.
 I paid the minimum and waiting on a new statement. The new statement came in for December is 72,104.42. 

403B Retirement Plan: I've started a retirement plan back in 2006 and was putting 6 percent of my pay check every two weeks. I am at a point in my financial planning, I put in 10 percent every two weeks.