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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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Cucumber, Tomato and Red Onion Salad with a Kick

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Looking for something quick and easy to make for the coming week or for your next potluck or bbq? This cucumber, tomato and red onion salad with a kick is just the ticket. Serve it on a bed of chopped lettuce or just as it is {my favorite}. Here’s the recipe:

1 pound vine-ripe  tomatoes, chopped
1/2 seedless cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Soak the chopped red onion in icy cold water for 15 minutes. Remove onions from the water and pat dry. In a large bowl, add the onions, cucumbers, garbanzo beans and tomatoes and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and serve. This packs well and is great option for potlucks and picnics.

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 Mail – Karen from Hazel, Kentucky Shows Off Her Thrift Store Finds

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Hey! This is Karen from Hazel, Kentucky.

I just discovered your blog when someone shared your article on high thrift store prices. I’m so glad it’s not just me that noticed! We recently went to California and I was so excited to go to their local thrift shops. To my dismay, it was not as exciting as I had hoped! For example, one store had flat rate pricing on their shirts. A women’s Merona T-shirt was $5.99, but they were on sale for $5 at Target! Then there were the Ann Taylor wedge shoes… $19.99! I was in shock. I lived in California 14 years ago, and they’ve definitely experienced some thrift store inflation since then.

Luckily the local thrift stores here in Kentucky are much lower. I’ve included some pictures of some of my bargains. I hope you like them!

Sewing cabinet with working sewing machine – $10 at Angel’s Attic thrift store.

Large Pampered Chef Pizza stone and large Pampered Chef bar pan – $4 each at a yard sale and they’ve transformed my baking.

Small Pampered Chef bar pan (I’ve wanted one for so long! It fits perfectly in the toaster oven!) 75 cents at Angel’s Attic thrift store. I was very excited!

Dooney & Bourke bucket purse – $3.99 at the local Goodwill. Sure, it does have some marks on the leather, but between me and my kids cramming stuff in there, it would happen anyway. Usually my local Goodwill store will mark up the name brand items, but I’m guessing the person who was responsible for tagging this did not know the value of this brand of purse.

White dresser (originally brown) was $15 at Angel’s Attic. I spent more on the hardware than I did on the actual dresser.

White nightstand was $1.50 at Angel’s Attic. I bought this the same day I bought the dresser. While I was looking the dresser over the manager announced over the intercom that all furniture was half price. It was white, but I freshened it up a bit with a new paint job.

The little Precious Moments vase was brand new in the box at a yard sale. I bought two and they were $1 each. I gave one to my daughter and one to another little girl.

I am a mother of three children, ages 12, 10 and 8. I am also a school teacher that’s currently enjoying her summer. We have five chickens that are a little over a year old and a chihuahua that’s just five months old.

Thanks for your article, I enjoyed your wit and humor. I look forward to reading more from you!

Sincerely,
Karen

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

  • Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so,  show me some picture of how you are going about it.
  • Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
  • Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
  • Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
  • Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Things to keep in mind when you send me your stuff:

  1. You do not have to be a professional photographer, but your photos do need to be clear and well lit or I won’t be able to use them.
  2. All photos must be original, and they must have been taken by YOU.
  3. I won’t be able to use or get back to everyone–but just assume that whatever you sent in was awesome.
  4. Be sure to include a little information about yourself, like how long you’ve been gardening, raising chickens, ect. Also, please include your FIRST name and what state or country you are from.
  5. If you have a blog and would like me to link back to it, please let me know, I’d be happy too.
  6. Ideally I’d prefer about 5 pictures per submission, so the more the merrier just in case I do not select them all.

Send your garden, and chicken related pictures with stories via email  to onehundreddollarsamonth @ gmail.com {remove the spaces} and be sure and put Mavis Mail in the subject line. Thank you. I’m looking forward to your submissions.

Go HERE for the official rules.

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 – Freezing Avocados, Online Grocery Deals, AXE Deodorant, Cashew Bars and More

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Quote of the Day “There is tons of room at the top.” Margaret Thatcher

Hellooooooo Thursday. Only 2 more days to go until the weekend. YEE-HAW!

♥ 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 Deal of the Day for 6/15/17

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.

Cashew Almond Bars – These are like kind bars, only way more cost effective.  Plus, I am a pretty big fan of the grab and go option.

Home and Kitchen Deals

REI Garage Deal of the Day – $29.73 {was $60}

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}. 

Lane Bryant is offering Buy One Get One FREE Crops, Capris & Shorts through midnight tonight!

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.

If you find a great deal on avocados, remember, you can freeze them. Here’s how I do it.

Kid’s Stuff

Have an AWESOME 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.

11 Places to Find Free Moving Boxes

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Seriously. Why shell out your hard earned money for something when you can get it for free? Take moving boxes for example. Sure you can drop $1-$5 for a brand spanking new, never been used before box from The Home Depot, Target, or office supply store… Or, you can kick it old school and get all you could possibly want {and more!} for free.

Here’s a list of my all time favorite places to score FREE moving boxes:

Grocery Stores – Apple and Pear boxes rule! They’re thick, sturdy and PERFECT for moving fragile items like dishes and glassware.

U-haul Box Exchange – U-haul has a message board where you to search for free boxes in your area by your location.

Freecycle – This is a great place to find some free boxes as well as some other fun things. Type in your area and look at what people have to offer. If you can’t find any in your specific town, try another town close to you.

College Dorms – If you live in or around a college,  you’ll probably run into a few crazy students out way too late at night. However, around move in day, you’ll be able to find some boxes from the people coming into the dorms.

Office Buildings – Just go up to the front desk and ask if they have any boxes they need to get rid of. Chances are you’ll score some nice boxes.

Craigslist – You can almost always find free moving boxes when looking in the “free” section of this site. Try looking at the end of the week for more possible hits.

Local Retailers – Shipments come in to these places all the time, so they have to get rid of the boxes somehow right? Sure you could always go searching in their dumpster, but you should always ask them to snag some boxes instead. Good places include liquor stores, grocery stores, supply stores etc…

Libraries – Those new books that they get have to come in boxes, so next time you’re at the local library finding some great books to read, stop by the help desk and ask if they have any boxes that need getting rid of.

Apartment Buildings – People are always moving in and out of apartments, so chances are you’ll be able to find lots of boxes here to. Try checking around the end of the month. You could also ask who owns the complex if there are any boxes laying around. If you’re lucky, they’ll let you take them.

Recycling Centers – This seems like a no brainer, but if you have a recycling center in your area, this is probably the easiest place to find some free boxes.

Facebook Groups – With more of these groups coming out it’s likely that you will be able to find someone wanting to get rid of their boxes. Just look for the groups in your area that are more focused on freebies or bartering.

People Who Just Moved In – If you have a friend or family member that just moved, ask them what they plan on doing with all their moving boxes once they unpack. Or you could be creepy and wait for your new neighbors to move in. Then once they put the boxes outside next the recycling bin, go and snag them. 😉

How about YOU? Where have you had luck finding moving boxes?

~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.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy