Life changes...

my college part time job kid dropped out of college. We went to the school today to finally withdraw from classes, and return her books. They owed me close to 400 dollars for the two classes she was enrolled in. The books came back at about 100 dollars.

They have refunded my bank account 200 dollars as of yesterday.

I did my taxes and will receive about 1200 from the feds. Our state tax will be about 150. I am going to divide the state tax between the three kids and give them some cash to do what they wish with it.

The federal will go right into my savings account.

Jan 31 dinner

boiled hot dogs
last can of baked beans

It's sad, but I have to work tonight and go in early for overtime. I went to the grocery store today and will list everything I bought. The cost was 88 dollars and will go into February's budget of 300.00.

I don't like having a pantry that has things close to being empty. It worries me, and makes me feel stressed. I do have to make a trip to Aldi in the AM when I get off work. I stopped at Sharp Shopper this afternoon, but their meat aisle was lacking in a few things I consider staples.

Using it up continues....

I took the last container of Christmas ham out of the freezer. We are going to use some of the pancake mix we have lurking to make Belgain waffles. I will heat up the ham on my griddle, and use our waffle iron for the waffles. We have some pancake sryup to top the waffles, or a small bit of powdered sugar.

Belgain Waffles
Christmas Ham

What a good day....using things up.

My part time kid made chocolate peanut butter cookies.We are snack deprived here.

She used some flour, salt, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. OMG HEAVEN!!! The last batch is in the oven. It needed some moisture, it seemed dry, so I melted the package of chocolate chips we had in the pantry. I'm out of milk, and chocolate seemed like the wiser choice.

Going into February's Pantry Items.

Going into February's Pantry Items.

We are a family of five, with my staff nurse position in ICU as the means of income. I support a family of five, one kid who works part time, two teens in high school, a husband, two cats and a dog. 

Pantry:

3 boxes of oatmeal

1 box hot chocolate

cream of wheat
chocolate chips
pumpkin banana pancake mix
2 bread stick mix

1 container of olive oil
1/2 small container of veggie oil*
salt
baking powder*
brown sugar*
powdered sugar*
bread crumbs*
popcorn kernels*

pancake syrup*

tea bags*
3 lb spaghetti
some sugar*
egg noodles*

1 lone can of  tomato soup
yeast*

stuffing mix

2 cans of cream of chicken

2 cans of mushroom soup 

flour*

raspberry jam*

peanut butter*

ritz crackers*

Left overs:

Fruit Bowl:

3 onion

a lone potato

Open Condiments:

Ketchup*
mustard*

mayo*

Fridge Items:

Parmesan cheese *

cheddar cheese*

20 eggs

1 salad dressing

a few slices of cheese*

Freezer offerings:
tortilla shells

English muffins 

pork roast

5 boneless pork chops
3 colored peppers (red, yellow, orange)

Frozen Veggies:

5 lb corn opened*
2.5 lb peas
2.5 lb broccoli
2.5 lb green beans
1 lb mixed veggies*

1 lb squash

Hidden Surprises:

one container of beef veggie stock

one ham bone

3 quart mason jar of ham stock

four containers of chicken stock

roast/carrots/potatoes

7 cups of turkey broth

3 quarts of turkey broth

2 cups turkey gravy (packet inside the bird)

Spices:

lots!!

Using it up....frugal ideas.

One can of kidney beans (last one)
two cans of tomato sauce (last two)
1 lb ground turkey (last one)
half an onion (3 left)
two cloves of garlic
paprika
chili powder
3 containers of home made spaghetti sauce (with peppers, onion, sausage) from the freezer.
two handfuls of frozen chopped peppers
one lb of ground turkey (last one)



CHILI. I may also make a salad to go with it.

Dinner 1/28

Tomato soup
Grilled cheese sandwiches

It's time to get those lurking items used up.

Dinner 1/2

I had to work and my husband did not have a plan. I took out three large baking potatoes and heated up veggie oil. I peeled and diced the potatoes and put them in the heated oil. I added onion powder, garlic powder, and a small amount of seasoning salt. I let them cook until lightly browned. I took ten eggs and scrambled them, and added a little bit of colby cheese.

That was dinner folks.

January Low Spend, Pantry Challenge

We are a family of five, with my staff nurse position in ICU as the means of income. I support a family of five, one kid in community college, two teens in high school, a husband, two cats and a dog. 

I have a grocery budget of 300 dollars. I have 140 left for January.

We have been slowly using things up. The starred items are almost gone. We have come into a little expense.  I have a roof repair that I'm waiting for an appointment. I can't imagine how much this is going to be. I called my home owners insurance and have a 1,000 deductible. 

* means items almost gone.

Pantry:

3 boxes of oatmeal

1 box hot chocolate

cream of wheat
mint baking chips
mini chocolate chips*
pumpkin banana pancake mix
2 bread stick mix

1 container of olive oil
1/2 small container of veggie oil*
salt
baking powder*
brown sugar*
powdered sugar*
bread crumbs*
popcorn kernels*

pancake syrup*

tea bags*
3 lb spaghetti
some sugar*
egg noodles*
4 cans tomato soup

yeast*

stuffing mix

2 cans of cream of chicken
2 cans of mushroom soup 

1 can pork and beans

1 cans of kidney beans

flour*

raspberry jam

3 jars of peanut butter*

ritz crackers*

Left overs:

Fruit Bowl:

4 onions *

4 potatoes*

Open Condiments:

Ketchup*
mustard*

mayo*

Fridge Items:

Parmesan cheese *

block colby cheese*
cheddar cheese*

20 eggs

1/2 gallon of milk

1 salad dressing

one 24 ct sliced cheese

Freezer offerings:

tortilla shells

English muffins 

pork roast

5 boneless pork chops
1 lb ground turkey

3 colored peppers (red, yellow, orange)

Frozen Veggies:

5 lb corn opened*
2.5 lb peas
2.5 lb broccoli
2.5 lb green beans
1 lb mixed veggies*

1 lb squash

Hidden Surprises:

3 containers of sliced/chopped ham

one container of beef veggie stock

one ham bone

3 quart mason jar of ham stock

3 containers of veggie sausage spaghetti sauce
four containers of chicken stock

roast/carrots/potatoes

7 cups of turkey broth

3 quarts of turkey broth

2 cups turkey gravy (packet inside the bird)

Spices:

lots!!

Dinner 1/25, 1/26

My husband bought frozen pizza for dinner on Saturday. My daughter made pasta with left over spaghetti sauce, Parmesan cheese. I had homemade veggie spaghetti sauce with my pasta.

Frugal things this week...

1. hung a lot of laundry to dry.
2. washed laundry in cold water.
3. opened blinds to let the sunshine in.
4. didn't turn up the heat (although I wanted to)
5. made a pantry list to work meals in.
6. cooked a turkey.
7. made numerous cups of turkey broth.
8. served left over turkey.
9. two meals of turkey salad (beginning to see a theme to all this).
10. kids did their chores.
11. husband did not complain about all the turkey.
12. shoveled snow, lots of it, two times for two days in a row (I don't dislike snow, I don't care for the nasty cold, not good for arthritis).
13. went through my "hidden surprises" in the freezer. They are starting to accumulate. Time to start using them.
14. Spent time with the family.
15. used pantry items, recycled the cans, jars,etc etc.

Dinner 1/23 and 1/24

We served a bunch of lurking left overs last night for dinner.
My husband made three turkey sandwiches. The girls each had a turkey sandwich. My son had a bowl of oatmeal. I finished off the potato salad. We still have turkey left, which is going to be made into turkey salad today for lunches (since the kids are home again from school, due to weather), and I can take it to work this weekend for my lunch time.

I have to get the turkey stock in the freezer. My daughter put it in the fridge the other morning.

Tonight's meal is the same. Second round of left overs to get them out of the fridge. What ever doesn't get used this afternoon will go into the freezer (such as lurking pork and beans, chicken thighs, carrots stuffing).

January Low Spend, Pantry Challenge

We are a family of five, with my staff nurse position in ICU as the means of income. I support a family of five, one kid in community college, two teens in high school, a husband, two cats and a dog. 

I have a grocery budget of 300 dollars. I have 140 left for January.

We have been slowly using things up. The starred items are almost gone. We have come into a little expense.  I have a roof repair that I'm waiting for an appointment. I can't imagine how much this is going to be. I called my home owners insurance and have a 1,000 deductible. 

* means items almost gone.

Yellowed items gone.

Pantry:

3 boxes of oatmeal

1 box hot chocolate

cream of wheat
mint baking chips
mini chocolate chips*
pumpkin banana pancake mix
2 bread stick mix

1 container of olive oil
1/2 small container of veggie oil*
salt
baking powder*
brown sugar*
powdered sugar*
bread crumbs*
popcorn kernels*

pancake syrup*

tea bags*
4 lb spaghetti
some sugar*
egg noodles*
4 cans tomato soup
dry milk*
yeast*

stuffing mix

pancake mix

2 cans of cream of chicken
2 cans of mushroom soup 

1 can pork and beans

1 cans of kidney beans

flour*

ketchup
raspberry jam

3 jars of peanut butter*

ritz crackers*

Left overs:

chicken thighs

little bit of pork and beans

turkey

potato salad

stuffing

carrots

Fruit Bowl:

4 onions *

4 potatoes*
2 lbs celery*

5 lb carrots opened*

Open Condiments:

Ketchup*
mustard*

mayo*

Fridge Items:

3 lb margarine*
cream cheese*

Parmesan cheese *

block colby cheese*
cheddar cheese*

20 eggs

1/2 gallon of milk

1 salad dressing

one 24 ct sliced cheese

Freezer offerings:
1 whole turkey
tortilla shells

English muffins 

pork roast

5 boneless pork chops
1 lb ground turkey

3 colored peppers (red, yellow, orange)

spaghetti sauce

Frozen Veggies:

5 lb corn opened*
2.5 lb peas
2.5 lb broccoli
2.5 lb green beans
1 lb mixed veggies*

1 lb squash

Hidden Surprises:

3 containers of sliced/chopped ham

one container of beef veggie stock

one ham bone

3 quart mason jar of ham stock

4 containers of veggie sausage spaghetti sauce
four containers of chicken stock

roast/carrots/potatoes

7 cups of turkey broth

3 quarts of turkey broth

2 cups turkey gravy (packet inside the bird)

Spices:

lots!!

January Challenges...Updated

Updates:

Our oldest cat had to go to the vet and be put to sleep. He was having complications from diabeties and not well. We have two other kitties that need their annual check ups and vaccinations.They are now stickily in house animals and don't go outside anymore. They are 3 and 1 year old. 

Our dog went to the vet, and got her yearly vaccination. She has a heart murmur and needs to have a chest xray done. I am not sure when this is going to happen (since things are tight this month). 

My car has a good inspection sticker, got the tires rotated, had a tune up, and oil change.

Both vehicles have their new registration stickers on the plates. 

My daughter has her tuition paid now. Only one more payment left. We need to discuss whether she is fully engaged in her college education. She can't really decide and her grades show that. I bought her textbooks and waiting for her to give me the cash for them. I offered to take 50 percent off, she would only owe me 90 dollars. GRRRRRRR. 

I got paid today, wrote a check for Feb's mortgage, paid the snowball payment to Wells Fargo, paid for car insurance, and my renewal for my RN license. I have about 300 dollars left, and need to get gas in the vehicles, groceries, and call the vet to get one of the animals in.

I have a few expense this month other than my regular obligations.

• The three cats need to get to the vet. 
• The dog needs to get to the vet.
• My car needs an inspection.
• My car and DH's car need to get their registration and obtain our yearly stickers done. 
• My college kid has a tuition payment due mid month. 
• My car needs an oil change. 
• College kid told me last night that she has no money to fund her textbooks. GRRR. She needs three books for two classes this semester. We will be renting and returning them in May. 

Jan 2014:

• Student Loan  15,000 now 14109.03
• Wells Fargo A 25,000 now 23,446.73 
• Mortgage 73,283.92 now 71,932.53

Emergency Fund 2,950 (includes living expenses) Goal 5,000. 

Snow Ball Plan:

•  I am working on Wells Fargo A. Interest payment, along with 600 a month.
•  I am paying 167 a month, and figured to make it to 170 a month. 
•  Mortgage 643.34 a month. No changes. 
• I would like to put 200 dollars a month into my savings account. 

Turkey

So, we all had some turkey last night. I used the veggie peelings and the neck to simmer in the crock pot for broth. I got seven cups for the freezer. I ended up putting the frame, skin, wings in the crock pot with some water and let it simmer over night. We have another 3 quarts of beautiful golden brown stock for the freezer!! It will help to have this when money's tight and makes use of all parts of the bird. I'm thankful. Not to mention, that we have a HUGE 13X9 pan full of white and dark meat in the fridge for this weekend meals.

Turkey....

I just put the bird in the oven with the last of the celery, carrots, and half an onion, some spices and a little water. I took the turkey neck, the carrot and onion peels, celery leaves, and some spices into the crock pot to make soup broth. It's gonna smell good in here soon!.

When we finish with the bird today, I will break it down, pick all the meat off, and put the frame into the crock pot for round two of turkey broth!

Dinner 1/22 Using it up...

I took our last whole turkey out of the freezer on Saturday morning and let it thaw in the fridge. Well, it's thawed and we are going to roast it today for dinner. The kids are off from school and college kid is home due to weather, I am off work, and my husband is home. So, this is the perfect time to have turkey for dinner.

One whole roasted turkey (I am going to cut up a few carrots/celery to put in the cavity)
steamed green beans
boxed stuffing (from Aldi lurking in the pantry)


The turkey is going to be washed, put into the roasting pan, with some thyme, sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder, and butter. I will add the carrots and celery (both are in dire need of being used, since they are getting old, I don't want to throw them out), and some water. I will put it in the oven at 325 and let it bake until it's finished. The green beans will be steamed in our steamer, and I will make the stuffing on top of the stove and serve on the side.

The turkey that is left will be taken off the bones, put into one cup containers for future use. I will put the turkey frame in the crock pot with the celery leaves, carrot peelings, and some onion, poultry seasoning, and some water. It will be turned into turkey stock for the freezer (thinking soup).

Dinner 1/21

So, last night's dinner is a package of ten fish fillets that were frozen. I put them in the oven, made some potato salad (seven baking potatoes, five eggs, mayo, some mustard, onion powder, garlic, paprika), and steamed corn. The family ate without complaining and there's a small bit of potato salad left over.

January Low Spend, Pantry Challenge

We are a family of five, with my staff nurse position in ICU as the means of income. I support a family of five, one kid in community college, two teens in high school, a husband, three cats and a dog. 

I have a grocery budget of 300 dollars. I have 140 left for January.

We have been slowly using things up. The starred items are almost gone. We have come into a little expense. I filled four prescriptions for a guest at WATTS (my community service activity twice a week, was costly, but he needed them), and I have a roof repair that I'm waiting for an appointment. I can't imagine how much this is going to be. I called my home owners insurance and have a 1,000 deductible. Prior to 2006 and obtaining my nursing position, I used to have a problem with hoarding food. We were on food stamps and looking at losing our home. It took a lot of work on all parts to learn that we are making changes. I am beginning to get into panic mode thinking about the roof repairs. I tried to talk to my husband about it, but he doesn't understand that I tend to worry about things like that. On the other hand, I have received a statement from my 403 B retirement, and after 7 years, I've earned 24 thousand in it. I know it's not much, but it's the most I've ever had to my name for the future. I'm waiting out for tax time to boost up my savings account, and get some more cash paid into my Wells Fargo A obligation (my snowball step). I would like to drop a large amount to get the balance below 20K. 

Pantry:

3 boxes of oatmeal

2 boxes of hot chocolate

cream of wheat
mint baking chips
mini chocolate chips
pumpkin banana pancake mix
2 bread stick mix

1 container of olive oil
1/2 small container of veggie oil*
salt
baking powder*
brown sugar*
powdered sugar*
bread crumbs*
popcorn kernels*

pancake syrup*

tea bags*
4 lb spaghetti
some sugar*
egg noodles*
4 cans tomato soup
dry milk*
yeast*

2 boxes of stuffing mix

pancake mix

2 cans of cream of chicken
2 cans of mushroom soup 

1 can pork and beans

1 cans of kidney beans

flour*

ketchup
raspberry jam

4 jars of peanut butter*

ritz crackers*

Left overs:

chicken thighs

little bit of pork and beans

Fruit Bowl:

4 onions *

10  potatoes*
2 lbs celery*

5 lb carrots opened*

Open Condiments:

Ketchup*
mustard*

mayo*

Fridge Items:

3 lb margarine*
cream cheese*

Parmesan cheese *

block colby cheese*
cheddar cheese*

20 eggs

1/2 gallon of milk

1 salad dressing

one 24 ct sliced cheese

Freezer offerings:
1 whole turkey
tortilla shells

English muffins 

pork roast

5 boneless pork chops
1 lb ground turkey

3 colored peppers (red, yellow, orange)

spaghetti sauce

Frozen Veggies:

5 lb corn opened*
2.5 lb peas
2.5 lb broccoli
2.5 lb green beans
1 lb mixed veggies*

1 lb squash

Hidden Surprises:

3 containers of sliced/chopped ham

one container of beef veggie stock

one ham bone

3 quart mason jar of ham stock

4 containers of veggie sausage spaghetti sauce
four containers of chicken stock

roast/carrots/potatoes

Spices:

lots!!