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One Hundred Dollars a Month

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.


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Picture Posting Etiquette in a Digital Age

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A mom snaps a bunch of pictures of her daughter on her birthday, blowing out her candles while surrounded by a posse of her closest friends and family. One shot freezes the memory perfectly; lots of smiling faces and festive expressions. She posts it to social media and tags a few of the moms she’s friends with on Facebook.

A tourist sees a man dancing hilariously while walking down the street, whips out his phone and shares the experience with all of his followers, unbeknownst to the dancing man.

A group of friends dines together during a night out. One friend grabs her phone and documents everything, resulting in some unflattering, mouth-full-of-food shots which she plasters on social media.

These scenarios unfold daily all across the country. We live in a social media age where practically every move we make is documented. Recently, a reader left a comment on social media that made me pause:

Another thing that is getting RIDICULOUS: People stuffing their cell phones in your face and posting pics WITHOUT any sort of permission. Back in the day it was REQUIRED to have written consent prior to ANY photo was taken.  ~Molly via Facebook

Can you imagine what our feeds would look like if written permission was still required? They’d pretty much be blank with the exception of selfies!

What are you thoughts on posting photos without permission. Do you think it’s inappropriate? If someone is in a public place, it’s perfectly legal to snap a picture of them and post without their knowledge or consent. Do you care? Does it make you angry? Do you long for the days when privacy was a respected thing? DO you snap and post without permission because everyone is doing it? Do you always ask permission first? Do you avoid posting many pictures on social media because of safety or privacy concerns?

Curious what your thoughts are on this.

Talk to me,
~Mavis

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$250 a Month Food Budget – Groceries, Take Out and Date Nights July 3rd – July 10th

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Last week was a “no spend” week for us so instead of running around town buying groceries and running errands I pretty much stayed put for the most part and worked a lot on the yard.

How is your garden doing these days? Is it a bit overgrown? Well mine sure was. 😉  Yesterday the puggle princess and I spent 8 hours outside harvesting and then replanting both garden beds and a few containers on the patio.

If you haven’t thought about getting your fall garden in… Now is the time to do it. Yesterday we planted another round of zucchini, cucumber and beans. And for our fall garden we planted beets, green onions and carrot seeds in the garden. I also started kale, broccoli and cabbage under grow lights in the laundry room and in about another month I’ll start some lettuce, bok choy and radishes as well.

Who needs a rototiller when you’ve got a dog that loves to dig? 😉

Lately I’ve been making {and drinking} about 3 bottles of sun tea a day. I use recycled glass containers and if I had a few more of them I’d probably be drinking even more.

Red, white and blue potatoes!

I wasn’t going to dig up the ones I had in the garden beds until fall, but I wanted to get another round of zucchini and beans in the raised garden beds so I decided to yank them. We have potatoes growing in the front yard {hidden by a hedge} as well as sprinkled along the back fence so we should be fine as long as I don’t harvest anymore until late fall.

Fava beans. Have you ever grown them before? I only grow the giant beans every few years or so {they take up a lot of room} but I’m always happy when I do.

I think I’m going to make a summer salad with some of the beans and maybe dry the rest to put in soups this winter. That is if I can keep Lucy away from them. 😉

This years garlic was super tiny. I blame the potatoes {and the shady spot I planted them in} for a less than stellar performance. In years past I’ve been very successful growing garlic but with our current growing conditions it’s a bit harder to grow the giant bulbs we’ve been used to.

Food wise, we ate a bunch of weird combinations… Like blueberry muffins and eggs for dinner, chili and grilled zucchini and a plain vegetable stir fry and sausages and rice to name a few. It was really more of a what can I throw together real quick kind of week then well thought out meals. Summer. It does that to you.

The chicken curry was good though…

But The Girl said the potatoes I cooked on the grill tasted like “the city.” Dirty, smoggy and smokey. The HH didn’t say anything, he just sat there and ate them. HA! Lesson learned. Don’t cook potatoes in a grill pan over a bbq that needs to be cleaned.

Since last week was a “no spend” week for us when the HH brought home a flat of fresh raspberries a customer gave him at work, The Girl and I flipped out.

We gobbled about half of them up before deciding to whip up a batch of raspberry freezer jam to enjoy later this winter.

Summer. It’s here and it’s chaotic and that’s okay. 🙂

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $0

 

  • Total Spent in January on Groceries $202.99
  • Total Spent in February on Groceries $143.94
  • Total Spent in March on Groceries $183.35
  • Total Spent in April on Groceries $205.67
  • Total Spent on Groceries in May $248.60
  • Total Spent on Groceries in June $147.47
  • Total Spent on Groceries in July $87.27

************

  • Total Spent in January on Take Out, Date Nights, and Bakery Treats $42.19
  • Total Spent in February on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $118.45
  • Total Spent in March on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $25.29
  • Total Spent in April on Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $62.50
  • Total Spent in May of Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $54.52
  • Total Spent in June of Take Out, Date Nights and Bakery Treats $119.15

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.

Daily Deals – Hoppy Balls, Online Grocery Deals, Blueberry Jam Recipe and More

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Quote of the Day “The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

Hello and Happy Monday! Gladys Kravitz spent most of her day yesterday watching all the walkers and landscape trucks wiz by and was deeply offend they didn’t stop to give her a cookie. She does’t give up though so I’m sure she’ll be back at the window again today, hopeful as ever.

Have a great Monday everyone, and please… Carry dog treats on your person. 😉

♥ Mavis

*This deal post will be updated throughout the morning so be sure and check back for deals. * Amazon prices can change without notice. Please verify price before ordering. Amazon offers Free Shipping with a $49 purchase or Amazon Prime. {Sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30 day trial!}

Amazon Deals of the Day for 7/10/17

Available Kindle Books I think look interesting…

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂
Subscribe and Save Deals

Subscribe and Save prices reflect a 15% discount for ordering 5 or more items in 1 month.

Looking for something to do with all those blueberries? This recipe for Blueberry Jam with Mint is delicious and it makes a wonderful hostess gift during the holidays.

Home and Kitchen Deals

Nordstrom has Hoppy Balls for just $10 shipped. These are so much fun and make wonderful gifts for kids who like to move about. 😉

Add on Items

*These are all Amazon Add-on Items and they will ship with qualifying orders over $25 and are eligible for free shipping on $25 orders with Amazon Prime {or will ship FREE on $35 orders without Prime}. 

Today only Cents of Style is offering their Kimono Vest for $13.95 + FREE SHIPPING w/code VEST17 at checkout.

Prime Pantry Deals

If you are an Amazon Prime Member, you can get FREE Prime Pantry shipping {a $5.99 value} when you buy five qualifying items. Shop Prime Pantry.

This Clothespin Wreath is a great way to store extra clothespins! Get the quick tutorial HERE.

Shop Now at Zaycon Fresh

Zaycon Foods is now taking orders for their upcoming events. Below are their offerings and prices in my area.Go HERE to find out what is available in your area.

  • Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $1.89/lb X 40.00 lbs| $75.60/case
  • Fresh 93/7 Super Lean Ground Beef $3.79/lb X 40.00 lbs| $151.60/case
  • Fresh 80/20 Ground Beef $2.79/lb X 40.00 lbs| $111.60/case
  • Wild Argentine Red Shrimp $7.99/lb X 20.00 lbs | $159.80/case
  • USDA Choice Chuck Roast $4.49/lb X 24.00 lbs | $107.76/case
  • 90/10 Ground Turkey $2.19/lb X 40.00 lbs | $87.60/case
  • Premium Hickory Smoked Bacon $3.99/lb X 36.00 lbs | $143.64/case
  • Premium Pork Tenderloins $2.99/lb X 32.00 lbs | $95.68/case
  • Boneless Turkey Breast Roast $4.29/lb X 24.00 lbs | $102.96/case

Have you signed up for my daily newsletter yet? Sign up HERE to get the daily deals {and other awesomeness} delivered to you each day via email. Because really, you never know what’s going to happen around here.

Have a Great Day!

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.

My 12 Goals for 2017 : Week 28 of 52

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My goals for 2017

Get 7- 8 Hours of Sleep Each Night

With the exception of 2 restless nights {1 night Lucy got sick and the other being July 4th} I think I did pretty good and managed to average about 7 hours of sleep. Which seems to be my normal these days.

Make Saving a Priority, Not an Idea

Free stuff, it’s EVERYWHERE this time of year. Mrs. HB and I went on a walk downtown and we found a free set of cabinets at the end of someone’s driveway {that would be perfect in a garage for extra storage}.

We also found a queen bed frame {If I needed one I would have taken it and spray painted it a brushed nickle color} and then there was an old tv which I highly doubt got picked up.

And then there was that pile of matchsticks I found after July 4th. Silly people. Leaving perfectly good matchsticks in the road. What were they thinking? 😉 So far this month we have paid extra on the mortgage, spent less on gas {thanks to me staying home more} and went another week without turning on the A/C. I’ve also cut back on watering the lawn too {which has saved us over $100 on our water bill over last year around this time}.

Live a little

I didn’t do anything exciting this past week, but hey, they can’t all be winners.

Visit 52 REAL Bakeries

I wrote about Butter Baked Goods in Vancouver, British Columbia and am now researching bakeries in Southern California because we may be going down there this fall to visit the HH’s family. My MIL loves sweets so I’m hoping to find a few good ones to try out.

Have 1 “no spend” week each month

This past week was a no spend week for me. No new groceries, wool, gas, household stuff or anything else. If you have never tried a no spend week, you should. I like how I don’t feel the need to leave the house as much and I figure it’s good training for when we live on the east coast and a blizzard rolls in and we are stuck at home. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

Although honestly, I’m pretty sure I could stay home for an entire month and not get cabin fever as long as I had the internet, food and a project or two to work on.

Start a Line of Rug Hooking Patterns

So far I have 8 rug hooking patterns listed in my Etsy shop with 3 more drawn out but not completed. I’m finding it hard to get much done right now {the weather is so nice!} and that’s okay. As long as I get 12 patterns done by the end of the year I’ll be able to mark this goal off my list.

Turn My Wool Stash into $2,500 Mission Accomplished

So far this year I’ve made $4355.31 in my Etsy shop and Ebay store this year. I didn’t sell a single item last week {which is typical for this time of year} but I am working on items to list this fall as well as dyeing wool to sell {and use}. The Girl and I found a new series to watch and I managed to complete 3 cat heads which I’ll stick on some old wooden bobbins when I get them all finished.

Play in the Dirt

Just call her the moss queen. 😉 This past week I worked on ridding the backyard of clover and moss {I’ve still got a few days to go} and the HH and I did something else which I can’t write about because the federales would be after us.

Purge 250 Items Including Selling Larger Items We No Longer Feel We Need

So I didn’t find anything to get rid of this week but I did manage to come home with a few items from the fashion shoot. I’m supposed to be getting rid of stuff, not bringing it home! The neighborhood garage sale is next week and I’m excited to finally get all those boxes out of our garage and re-home the treasures with other people.

Learn to Crochet Mission Accomplished 

Dote on My Husband Even More Than I Do Now.

This morning I served the HH breakfast in bed. On the menu… Creamy oatmeal and a cup of coffee. He put in a lot of hours this past week so I decided I’m not going to bug him with a project list today. But if he asks….. 😉 I’ve got a few ideas for him.

Lose the Muffin Top {again} Mission Accomplished

To quote NSYNC… Bye Bye Bye

Wear out {most of} the clothing I already own.

Working on it.

Try 52 New Recipes

I have plans to try out a new tomato salad this week and I still need to get all those other recipes Mrs. HB and I have tried out on the blog.

Read 52 Books

I downloaded Hillbilly Elegy and Kiss Me Like a Stranger from Hoopla this week. I am about 3 hours into Hillbilly Elegy and it’s really GOOD. I had Kiss Me Like a Stranger on request at the library for over 6 months and finally gave up and snagged the audio version for free.  I am always looking for book recommendations so if you’ve read a good one lately, please let me know in the comment section.

Give Back to 12 Different Organizations in My Community

January – Donated to Quilts from the Heart in Memory of my brother.
February – Donated to Empty Bowls Fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club.
March – Donated to my daughter’s mentor who was in a horrible car accident.
April – Donated again to my daughter’s mentor who was in a horrible car accident.
May – $100 Tip to a waitress on Mother’s day.
June – Started collecting men’s shirts to donate this winter.
July –

And then, there’s those top secret goals we’re not talking about yet.

  • Secret Goal #1 Sell East Coast House Mission Accomplished
  • Secret Goal #2 Chickens! Mission Accomplished
  • Secret Goal #3
  • Secret Goal #4

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2017? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2017 Goals HERE.

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.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy