One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1497 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 12, 2013 · 3 Comments

When we first planned the road trip to St. Jude, the plan was to rent a MotorGnome and drive it one way from Seattle to Memphis and then drop the MotorGnome off and fly home.

But I soon realized that plan was not going to work after a quick call to the RV place. For starters, the closest place to rent an RV was Tacoma, Washington {not a problem} but since we only wanted to drive the RV one way, the nearest drop off site was TEXAS! Which totally didn’t make sense because by the time we got all the way to Texas, we would have already been half way home.

Then of course there was the sticker shock that RV’s tend to get about 8 miles per gallon of gas. Holy smokes, even if we would have parked the RV in a Walmart parking lot to save on hotel stays, the cost for the rental and gas {and per mileage fee} would have been though the roof.

So what did we do? Well, after some serious number crunching, we decided to go ahead and do a little flying and driving {mostly driving}. But the only problem was, the cost of renting a van or an SUV was ridiculously high. So we took our chances and placed reservations for intermediate vehicles in the hopes of the car rental agency offering us an upgrade for a few bucks more.

And it worked, 2 out of 3 times.

Without going in to too much detail, let’s just say none of us would ever {in a million years} buy a Hyundai Sonata.

Especially if we needed drive to the airport in one with 400 gnomes in the trunk, backseat, and in every available free space in the car. We survived it of course, but next time {will there be a next time?} I’m going to just pay a few bucks more when I make the reservation and get a van. Lesson learned.

Luckily, by the time we made it to Dollywood, we were out of extra gnomes, otherwise I think we may have tried to fill the train with them just so we could have some leg room.

Road trips are adventure, that’s for sure.

~Mavis

Have you ever tried to pinch pennies on a road trip before and had it backfire on you? If so, I’d love to hear about it.

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Dollywood – Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 12, 2013 · 7 Comments

Yesterday we headed to Dollywood all so Lola could cross it off of her bucket list. In fact, other than Lola belting out 9 to 5 the ENTIRE drive there, I think we were all ~~dreading~~ a little apprehensive about the whole Dolly experience. I was totally surprised though. It turns out it’s a great wholesome place for people to enjoy some quality time with the family. It had roller coasters and rides for those of us who are not obsessed with all things Dolly and of course, plenty of neon pink Dolly memorabilia for those who are {Lola only}.

This little house is a replica of the Parton homeplace where Dolly’s parents raised her and her 10 brothers and sisters. It basically consisted of a kitchen and a bedroom and was made by her brother Bobby. The cool part about the house was that most of the treasures inside we filled with original family items.

I don’t know how everyone would fit into this tiny little bedroom. What do you think? Ma and Pa in the bed, and little babies piled in and around?

They even had church services, since we were there on a Sunday. When is the last time you went to an amusement park that held church services?

This little school house reminds of Little House on the Prairie, Tennessee-style.

Inside was so simple. I wonder how modern-day kids would fair without computers and i-Pads?

You could buy these buggies for around $5000. How cool would that be to ride around town in a horse drawn buggy? I wonder if the HH would say yes to a horse or two to pull me around?

Overall, I think it was a great experience–and a total surprise. In the words of Lola, “You done good, Dolly. You done good.”

~Mavis

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Mondays with Mavis

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 12, 2013 · 5 Comments

We’ve been plugging away across the country with a junkload of gnomes in tow, and we’ve also been making quite a dent in our $125 we each have to spend. Amber found some of the most delicious french onion soup in Pigeon Forge.

We all caught a break with a the free continental breakfast this morning at the Music Road Hotel before heading out to Dollywood. We didn’t notice it until we sat down to eat but the eggs were fake. Yep, instant eggs. {Gross!}

Five Guys burger hit the spot when we were famished & exhausted from traveling. Some of the best burgers ever!

We ate Mexican food in Nashville. I know, I know. You’re wondering why we didn’t eat BBQ. Well we’re planning on stuffing our faces full of BBQ tomorrow in Memphis, so we held off.

We were so excited to see a Subway super late Friday night when we were on the road and still hours from our destination. Love Subway or hate it, when you’re starving and nothing is open for miles and miles, a Subway sandwich just might be the best thing you’ve ever tasted.

The Girl picked up some essentials when we hit Piggly Wiggly. The prices there were surprisingly good so it didn’t break her bank.

Overall I think we’re doing well. Here’s where we stand:

Lola has spent $50.50 just on food.
Amber has spent $83 on food and souvenirs.
The Girl has spent $52.51 just on food.
I have spent $61.12 just on food.

You think we’re going to make it? We have about 5 meals left and a day & a half of traveling. Can we do it?

~Mavis

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How to Make Ruby Red Slippers

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By Mavis Butterfield on August 11, 2013 · 7 Comments

Since we were headed through Kansas on our way to St. Jude, I thought I’d better whip up some Ruby Red Slippers. I know, I know, cliche, but who doesn’t love the chance to glitter anything? Plus, when I am done, I’m pretty sure I know some neighbor kids that would welcome the addition to their dress-up clothes.

I found these high heels on clearance at Target. So, I grabbed enough for The Girl, Amberlina, Lola and myself. Lucky for me, they had all of our sizes. I laid a board covered in tissue paper out in the lawn to work on–because I really don’t want to explain to guests why there is glitter all over my house.

I grabbed a can of high strength adhesive glue.

And a container of glitter. Now brace yourself, because here’s where things get really technical: I sprayed the shoes and then ~~dumped~~ sprinkled the glitter onto the shoes.

And while it’s true, there’s no place like home–now we can at least make the most of Kansas.

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.