Sign up for my newsletter and get a copy of my "28 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Budget"

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.


Instagram did not return a 200.

How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries Week 11 of 52

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By on · 15 Comments

How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries

Before heading out of town last week I stopped by Costco to pick the boys up a few treats to munch while I was away. When I leave on any trip I always make sure there are a few meals already plated up so all they need to do is pop them in the microwave {usually chicken, pasta and soup}. Sometimes they heat it up, and sometimes they eat their food cold like a bunch of savages.

Anything goes when I’m gone, so all I can do is offer a few grab and go options and hope for the best.

When we travel we use money from our vacation budget to buy food so I don’t include that in our monthly grocery talley. It keeps things simple for me and let’s us splurge a little while on the road.

costcoCostco $41.85

Maybe Haggen Daz bars, Naked Juice and croissants are the norm at your house but these are seriously luxury items at ours. When I got home all the juice, croissants and haggen bars were gone {except for the 3 bars I hid}.

The bananas turned brown {I tossed them in the freezer to make banana bread later} and they didn’t touch a single burrito. My guess is having to unwrap the burrito, put it on a plate, then in the microwave and having to wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds for the thing to heat up was just too much to ask of them. 😉

Here are some of the foods The Girl and I ate while on vacation {minus snacks}:

whole foodsMonday

Breakfast – Bagel with cream cheese and yogurt {free breakfast with hotel stay}
Lunch – Coffee and Tea at Bard Coffee in Portland, Maine
Dinner – Pad Thai, zucchini cake, garlic beans, pasta salad, pickled beet and quinoa cake from the Whole Foods Salad bar {I used the gift card my parents gave us last Christmas}

panera lunchTuesday

Breakfast – The best berry tart on the planet and tea at Chase’s Daily in Belfast, Maine
Lunch – Panera
Dinner – I have no idea

lils cafe kitteryWednesday

Breakfast – Tea and donut at Lil’s cafe in Kittery
Lunch – Ham and swiss sandwhich at JFK Presidential library
Dinner – Take out pizza on Cape Cod
pizzaThursday

Breakfast – 1 slice cold pizza, tea
Lunch – Larabar, 2 bananas
Dinner – Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and brussels sprouts at Heather’s

rug hookingFriday

Breakfast – Dunkin Donuts and tea at BOS airport
Lunch – Almonds, 2 bananas
Dinner – Chipotle chicken bowl

dinnerSaturday

Breakfast – Slept in til 11 am {Yes!!!!}
Lunch – Giant smoothie
Dinner – Business dinner date with the HH

fried potatoesSunday

Breakfast – Bacon, potatoes and homemade bread
Lunch – Smoothie
Dinner – Bean and cheese burrito

It was a great week of trying new cafes and eating lot’s of treats but I’m ready to get back to my regular routine. How about you, what’s your favorite food splurge when you’re on vacation?

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $41.85

  • Total Spent in March $64.29
  • 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.

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.

18 Rabbits, Chaco Sandals, 3-D Puzzles, Guinness Beef Stew Recipe and More

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By on · 3 Comments

kindness-when-given-away-keeps-coming-back

Quote of the Day “Kindness when given away, keeps coming back.”

lucy the puggle dog

Hello Monday!

Holy cannolis. The wind was blowing like crazy yesterday afternoon and early evening at our place. I thought for sure a tree was going to fall. Luckly though, there were only a few large branches to clean up.

Word on the street is we are suppose to have a couple of sun filled days later this week. And let me tell you Bob, I am looking forward to them. 😉

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!}

junior monopoly

Amazon Deal of the Day for 3/14/16 – Up to 40% off Toys for Easter

bissell onepass vacuumMore Amazon Daily Deals for 3/14/16

make fitness a priorityAvailable 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! 🙂

amazon audible

Don’t forget, Amazon Prime Members can get a 3-month FREE trial for Audible! Listen to audiobooks while you work around the house or in the car.

18 rabbits barsSubscribe and Save Deals

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

Testing the pH Level of Soil

Healthy gardens start with healthy soil.  Check your pH level now, so you can amend soil if needed before the real planting season begins.  Find more gardening tips on my Pinterest Board

chambrey shirt

Today only Cents of Style is offering their Spring Chambray Tops for just $19.95 shipped w/code CHAMBRAYLOVE at checkout.

nepresso red makerHome and Kitchen Deals

Guinness-Beef-Stew

St. Paddy’s Day is quickly approaching, time to plan that menu.  This Guinness Beef Stew is a great alternative to Corned Beef. {Pin it for Later.}

chaco sandals

The REI OUTLET has my daughter’s favorite Chaco Sandals on sale this week with savings up to 51% off and there are 6 styles to choose from.

purex

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}. 

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.

duplo trainKid’s Stuff

gymboree

Gymboree – The entire store $14.99 and under PLUS Free Shipping with code BUNNY at checkout through 3/15/16.

chop saw

Today only The Home Depot is offering up to 34% off Select Building Equipment, Tools, and Accessories. These items ship for FREE.

march ebook

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.
seattles best coffee coupons

Check out these New Printable Coupons:

Find More Printable Coupons

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.

How to Build Raised Garden Beds for Growing Vegetables

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By on · 17 Comments

How to Build Raised Garden Beds for Growing VegetablesYou know how once in awhile your spouse will do something for you that makes you ridiculous happy? That’s the case with these garden beds. The HH built these planter boxes for me and it literally saved my life. If there’s one thing I need, it’s dirt {Well, and a fence}. And I was starting to have serious dirt withdrawals until he swooped in, built these and made my life complete.

These are a great depth for planting root crops, and just what I wanted. But you could always add a few more timbers if you wanted to make the garden bed deeper. I also choose to stain the outside of the garden beds for the sake of prettiness. But they look just fine and are just as functional without the stain.

Supplies You’ll Need

(12) 4″x 4″x 10′ wood posts
Variable speed reversing drill with grip
7/8″ drill bit
(4) 3/4″x 48″ wooden dowels
Tape measure
Hammer
Extension cord
Skill saw
Pencil
Vacuum
Miter saw

4x4 postsDirections
Depending on your budget and the wood available in your area, you’ll need to select the wood you will use for this project. While cedar is ideal, Douglass fir is a great alternative and about half the price of cedar. Using a skill saw, measure and cut the following pieces to length:

(8) 4″x4″x10′ wood posts
(8) 4″x4″x5′ wood posts

building raised garden beds

Assemble the garden box on an even surface using the 10′ lengths on the sides and the 5′ lengths on the ends. Stack the wood four pieces high, staggering the corners as you go.

building garden boxes

Once you have your four layers of wood lined up, give your garden box a final check to make sure all the pieces are in place.

drill bit into wood

Starting in the corner of your garden box, use a 7/8″ drill bit to drill through all four pieces of wood. Be sure and keep your drill bit nice and straight as you drill through the wood.

It is helpful to have someone sucking up the wood shavings with a vacuum as you drill the holes into the wood. If you don’t vacuum the wood shavings as you go, the drill bit could get stick in the hole you are drilling and become difficult to remove.

pounding dowel into wood

Once you have your corner holes drilled, insert a wooden dowel. Using a hammer, pound in the dowel through all layers of the wood.

cutting dowel

Using a miter saw, saw the excess dowel so it is flush with the top layer of wood. Once you have the corner holes drilled and a dowel in place, drill another set of holes about 4 inches away from the center hole and repeat steps 7 though 9 until all the corners are secure.
diy wood garden box Once your garden box is finished, find the perfect place in your yard for it.raised garden boesThen give yourself a big fat thumbs up for a job well done.raised garden boxesI filled with lots of compost and I was on my way to growing some tasty little veggies in my fancy schmancy boxes! How to Build Raised Garden Beds for Growing Vegetables

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 2016 : Week 11 of 52

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosure
By on · 3 Comments

growing vegetables on the patio

1. Pay Down the Mortgage

We were able to knock 5 payments off our contract in March {1 regular payment and 4 extra “principal” payments}. I was able to use my “rug hooking money” to go towards the extra payments this month as well as move some money I had leftover for miscellaneous/household/car/clothing/medical expenses that were not used in January and February towards paying down our mortgage. Budget for the worst, hope for the best, and save the rest, that’s my motto this year.

bean boots2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year. 

As you know, one of my biggest goals for this year was to buy nothing new this year…. But back when I wrote my original goals for 2016 I did include a few exceptions, and travelling and Bean Boots were two of them. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I was able to use the LLBean gift card I received for Christmas at the LL Bean Outlet store in Freeport, Maine and found a pair of Bean Boots I liked for $15 off as well a wool sweater {brown, can you believe it!} for $20 {was $100}.

It felt nice to buy something new, even if I was using a gift card.

cape cod sign3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.

I’ll post some new travel tips I picked up later this week.

4. Try 52 New Recipes.

I didn’t try any new recipes this week.

5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.

So far this month I’ve spent $22.44 on groceries.

dinner

6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband 

I got back into town just in time to join the HH at a business dinner. Getting out of the house, dressing up and a free meal count as a date, right? 🙂

So far this year we’ve gone on 10 dates and spent $99.52 out of pocket for our “dates.”

rug hooking wool stash dorr mill store7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.

Even though I was out of town last week I still managed to sell 2 items on Ebay for a total of $139.94 {before fees and supplies were factored in}. I was also able to get a little rug hooking done on the airplane so I’ll work on getting those items posted later this week.

We also stopped by The Dorr Mill Store while we were in New Hampshire and I picked up a few yards {okay, 30} of wool. OH MY WORD.

Yada, yada, yada… I am WAY ahead of schedule on my goal of making $5,000 for the year {currently at $3065.97} and there is no way on earth I would have enough wool fabric to continue making/selling my hooked rug pieces at the pace I’m going. I’m having fun. So why not stock up on supplies and see just how much I can create/earn by the end of the year? As long as I come in under 25% for supplies and fee’s… I’ll consider it money well spent and a good investment.

So Far in March I’ve sold $424.78

In February I’ve sold $1077.27
In January I sold $1563.92

8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things. 

Since I was out of town last week I didn’t do any decluttering.

books9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

This past week I finished reading Making Home {mostly while sitting in the airport} have you read it? You should because there are oodles of practical tips in there.

tomato-seed-packets10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year. 

Would you believe I left the HH in charge of my tomato seedlings while I was gone and when I came home THEY WERE ALL STILL ALIVE? Stranger things have happened, I know.

So far this year I have harvested 6 pound 2 ounces of fresh veggies from our backyard.

Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 3 hours, 45 Minutes

11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.

While I was away the HH finally got around the hanging the giant Costco mirror on the wall I picked up ages ago. I’ll have to take a picture and show you because I’m really happy with the way it looks in the space.

12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.

I took the week off from making gifts.

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2016? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2016 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