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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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Money Saving Tip – Substitute Dry Beans for Canned Beans in Slow Cooker

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Buying dried beans is so much cheaper than buying canned, it’s almost ridiculous. When you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table, sometimes the canned variety is worth the time savings, but if you have a crock pot meal, you should totally consider swapping dried beans out for canned.  They will have plenty of time to cook, and quite literally cost pennies on the dollar to their canned counter-part.

To make the swap, just substitute 3/4 cup of dried beans for each can of beans the recipe calls for.  By dinnertime, your beans will be nice and soft.

beans and riceIf you have the beans, beans the magical fruit issue, you may want to soak your beans before tossing them into the crock pot.  Just soak them overnight in water, and then, when you are ready to toss them into the crock pot, rinse them well.  Drain them.  Toss ’em in.

While you are only saving a dollar or two per meal, it will add up over the course of a year.

Saving money is rad.

~Mavis

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The Best Peep Show in Town

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baby chicks

On friday I met Mrs. Hillbilly and her son little HB down at Wilco to pick out chicks. The deal is, Lucy and I will raise the girls through the baby chick phase {her least favorite part} and then I’ll hand them over to them to raise in their backyard.

Our neighborhood doesn’t allow chickens {outside presumably} so I can’t have a flock of my own while we are here {yet another reason to move asap husband if you are reading this}.

dog with chicks

To say Lucy loves baby chicks… would be the biggest understatement of the year. When we had baby chicks at our last house she was checking in on them non stop. I knew this time around would be no different.

baby chickAnd I was right. About once an hour she walks into the laundry room {where the chicks are right now} and puts her paws on the washing machine so I will lift her up so she can check on them. It’s the cutest thing ever and I’m pretty sure she’d let them snuggle up to her if the chicks were allowed on the couch.

Light Brahma chick

This is our Light Brahma and she should lay brown eggs when she’s older. The last time I selected a light brahma from Wilco it turned out to be a rooster and we named him Pablo.

Sicilian Buttercup chickLittle HB named his Sicilian Buttercup …. are you ready for it? Buttercup. She is a rare breed from Sicily that lays small white eggs and has some serious glamour eyes going on.

Welsummer chickThis is Chip. She is a Welsummer hen and has the markings of a chipmunk. She lays large dark brown eggs and if we’re lucky, they might even be speckled. {Fingers crossed!}

White Cochin

And then there is the Silver Cochin. Although I’m thinking the chick was labeled wrong and it might actually be a White Cochin. We’ve had a white cochin before {white fatty} and she was the sweetest bird on the planet and loved to be held all the time.

Little HB thinks she might be a he because it’s the biggest chick in the bunch.  So I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

lucy puggle dog chicks

All I know is this…

Lucy and I agree it’s nice to be a chicken mamas again.

How about YOU? Will you be getting chicks this spring?

~Mavis

Everything you need to know about raising chicks

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How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries Week 12 of 52

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How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries

I was totally on target to stay on budget for the month until the HH picked something up at the store. He rarely makes or shops for food so I try not to freak out when he grossly overpays for something he thinks might taste good. Oh well. I’m sure once I am able to start harvesting some veggies from the garden {and shop less} everything will work itself out.

At Least that’s what I’m telling myself.

fred meyerFred Meyer $10.94

Last week Fred Meyer had their 18 count eggs on sale for $1.99, DiGiorno pizza $3.99, sour cream and cream cheese for $.99 each. I was also able to pick up 2 friday freebies; a Lindt truffle and a chicken pot pie for the boys.

milkAlbertsons $2.59

I try and wait to buy milk at Fred Meyer when they have it on sale for $0.99 a half gallon every two weeks but I was 3 days away and needed it for my tea {milk in tea is a necessity if you ask me}.

Costco – $16.69

Mr. Helpful stopped by Costco to pick up something for work and decided it would be a good idea to pick up dinner as well. Which was a nice thought… but when I am make the same thing at home for 90% less it makes me kind of crazy. 😉

Here are some of the foods we ate this week {minus the snacks}

smoothieMonday

Breakfast – Banana, strawberry and orange juice smoothie
Lunch – Lentils and Rice
Dinner – Chicken quesadillas

Roasted Butternut Squash with Feta and CranberriesTuesday

Breakfast – Oatmeal with brown sugar
Lunch – Chicken soft taco
Dinner – Chicken with Butternut Squash

lentil stewWednesday

Breakfast – Oatmeal
Lunch – Peach Smoothie and lentil stew
Dinner – Lentil Stew

irish soda breadThursday

Breakfast – Toasted Crusty Bread with peach jam
Lunch – 5 chocolate chip cookies. And they were good. 😉 No regrets
Dinner – Potato and Bacon Soup with Irish Soda Bread

Friday

Breakfast – oatmeal and a smoothie
Lunch – Leftover potato soup and Irish soda bread
Dinner – Leftover potato soup and Irish soda bread

berakfastSaturday

Breakfast – Bacon, eggs and pancakes
Lunch – Snacks
Dinner – Digiorno pizza

costco shepards pieSunday

Breakfast – Bacon, eggs and toast
Linner- Shepherd’s Pie from Costco

How about YOU? How did you do with your grocery budget this week?

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $30.22

  • Total Spent in March $94.51
  • Total Spent in February $106.85
  • Total Spent in Janaury $105.36

Freebies we’ve been gifted or were earned in 2016:  $200

  • $100 gift card to Whole Foods {Christmas gift from my parents}
  • $100 gift card to Trader Joe’s {Christmas gift from my parents}
  • 22 packets of vegetable seeds

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

 

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Adidas Sportswear, Adobe Workshop, Papa John’s, Herbal Essence and More

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quotes - start where you are

Quote of the Day “Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can.”

lucy puggle dog legs

Poor little Lucy puggle. Yesterday the HH gave her a small piece of his bacon at breakfast.  Then off and on yesterday and throughout the night, she kept trying to clear her throat. At first we thought well, she’ll work it out and everything will be fine. But last night was like sleeping with a sick toddler so I’m going to call the vet this morning and see what they have to say.

Mrs. Hillbilly was over yesterday {more on that later} and said it might be kennel cough. I said no. Because for starters, she doesn’t hang out in a kennel {she does go to doggy day care about once every 2 weeks for a few hours to play though}. I think it’s because of the bacon. I just hope there is something the vet can give her to help clear her throat… I’d hate to have her have a scope down her throat.

Lesson to be learned here… Don’t give your dog bacon. No matter how small the piece. 🙁 What do you think? has this ever happened to your dog?

soaking peas in water

Other than the bacon episode, yesterday was another great planting day in the garden. Spring is here, and you can read all about it over on Dig for Your Dinner.

Have a great day everyone,

♥ 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!}

addidasAmazon Deal of the Day for 3/21/16 – 50% Off Select adidas Training Gear

adobe workshop 14Another Amazon Daily Deals for 3/21/16 –Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 $49.99

stepford wivesAvailable 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! 🙂

miso soup instantSubscribe and Save Deals

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

Flower Pot Candy Bouquet

Need an easy gift?  This Flower Pot Candy Bouquet always goes over well.  Find more cool projects on my Pinterest Board.

blue raffle ticketsHome and Kitchen Deals

recipe-bacon-pancakes

Are the kids home for spring break this week?  Surprise them with the best.pancakes.ever.  Bacon Pancakes combine two of the yummiest foods on the planet.  {Pin it for Later}

bubble mailersOffice Supply Deals

michaels-craft-storeCraft Store Coupons

free craftsy quilting classesCraftsy is currently offering 9 different Free Quilting Classes. Wahooo! The best part is that you can watch anytime and there are printable instructions with step-by-step directions.

Not a member of Craftsy? Go HERE to sign up.

sports chair

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – Crazy Creek Sports Chair $13.73 {was $29}

seed starting trayAdd 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}. 

prime pantry

If you are an Amazon Prime Member, you can get FREE Prime Pantry shipping {a $5.99 value} when you buy five qualifying items and use promo code PANTRYMAR at checkout.Shop Prime Pantry.

free papa johns pizza

Still available! Buy a $25 Papa John’s Gift card and get 2 Free Large Pizzas! Free pizzas must be redeemed by September 30th, 2016. New to Groupon? Join Groupon Here!

raccoon rumpusKid’s Stuff

dig for your dinner

If you aren’t really the winter gardening type, take heart, March kicks off gardening season for everyone!  If you’ve been waiting to try out my gardening eBooks, March is the perfect place to start.  It will walk you through everything you need to do to start your gardening season with a bang–both inside and outside the house.

If you really want to map out your next few months of garden chores, go ahead and grab April’s eBook now too.  That way, you can read about gardening, even when the weather is not nice enough to be outside gardening.  All the cool kids eat, sleep and breathe gardening.
redbox

Redbox is running 10 Days of Deals and you can get a Redbox discount code sent to your mobile device when you text PETALS to 727272 each day through March 27th.

mezzetta olives couponCheck out these New Printable Coupons:

Find More Printable Coupons

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Mavis Butterfield Etsy