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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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Daffodils, 20 Pairs of Shoes, and What is the Deal with Yeti Tumblers?

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shoesI was cleaning out my closet the other day to see if there was any clothing I wanted to add to my yard sale pile. After I found a whopping 4 items to get rid of, I started to go through my shoes. Did you know the average female in the United States owns 20 pairs of shoes? Does that number seem high or low to you? How many pairs of shoes do you think you own?

spring flowers daffodils

Daffodils have got to be one of the happiest flowers on the planet.

kraft macaroni and cheese

No one will ever be able to convince me 1 box of Kraft macaroni and cheese has 3 servings in it. suave naturals

In case you were wondering, it took the HH and I exactly 75 days to go through 22.5 ounces of shampoo. That’s a little less than a penny a day for 2 people {I paid about $0.64 for the bottle of Suave}. Note to self: I think I am starting to go crazy. Because really, who else wonders about these things?

yeti tumblerAnd last but not least, Yeti tumblers. The HH and I were in the hardware store last week and noticed a Yeti Stainless Steel Tumbler priced at around $50. When I got home I immediately looked it up on Amazon to see what the big deal was and there were are over 2,000 reviews on the thing!!

The HH says the tumbler keeps beverages incredibly cold… But still. What am I missing here? Why would someone pay $50 for a coffee/beverage cup?

~Mavis

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Are We Entitled?

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Let’s be real:  saving money is hard.  It requires a level of self-discipline, that quite frankly, isn’t really built into our culture.  We are consumers.  It seems it is hardwired for us to shop our way into happiness.  Everywhere you turn, there is stuff {and I’ll admit, lots of it is really, really cool}.  It is affordable too, though, probably not in the quantities we consume it.  In fact, we have more stuff, more debt, more, more, more than any generation, and yet, we can’t seem to save MORE.

I ran across an article on treehugger recently that talked about frugality in previous generations.  They faced similar problems we face {low paying jobs, unemployment, health issues, lack of education, etc.}  and yet, they were way more frugal.  They saved for a rainy day.  They used all of their resources up before buying the latest and greatest.

Our grandparents had waaay less than we have–smaller houses, one car, no cable, no internet–and in some ways, maybe that made saving more simple?  There weren’t so many temptations?  We have Netflix, big box stores, 24 hour grocery access, gourmet coffee shops, iPhones, multiple cars, and the list goes on.  They simply didn’t.  Are all of those temptations causing us to spend our way into zero-balanced savings and retirement accounts?  Or are we missing something bigger, like the fundamental willingness to endure MINOR discomfort?  Treehugger called it an “entitlement problem”…our generation feels entitled to the finer things, even if they are adding up in ways we can’t afford.

This year, in my effort to not spend a.single.penny on something I don’t genuinely NEED, my eyes have been opened to how easy it is to “make do” with what you already have, when your ability to pop out and buy something goes bye-bye.  I like to consider myself pretty resourceful and innately frugal, but this is bringing out a resourcefulness in me that maybe has been laying dormant.  What if saving is like quitting sugar or caffeine?  It’s really hard at first, but then pretty soon you don’t even notice the discomfort?

I really don’t know what my point is on this one, so much as I thought this was an interesting article and really wanted to send it out to you for your thoughts.  So, what are your thoughts?  Are we entitled?  How do YOU fight this easy-to-fall into non-saving pattern?

~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.

How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries Week 10 of 52

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How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries

Do you ever have those weeks where it feels like you hardly bought anything but you still ended up spending a nice chunk of your grocery budget? Well, that’s what last week felt like to me. If I am going to get my spending back on track for the year I can only spend $90 in March. And last week, I spent $22. Gaaa! I need summer to hurry up and get here so I can harvest fresh veggies from the garden instead of buying them at the store.

harbor greensHarbor Greens $5.74

Broccoli, apples and zucchini were $0.99 a pound, avocados 2 for $1 and I think bananas were $0.77 a pound.

fred meyerFred Meyer $8.08

I found a few manager specials at Fred Meyer this week. 8 yogurts for $2.09? Yes please! Discounted lettuce and cottage cheese? I’ll take it. All my winter carrots have been harvested so I’ll have to buy them at the store {or farmer’s market} until late July when I get another crop in.

apple ciderAlbertsons $1.98

I LOVE warm apple cider. Don’t you?

tunaAlbertsons $6.64

Tuna was on sale for $0.69 and can and milk was $2.50 a gallon. It seems like the deals at the grocery stores are getting more far and few between. Sure each store has a handful of items {3-4 tops} on sale each week, but other than that, I think they days of extreme couponing are long gone, that’s for sure.

Here’s what I ate last week {minus snacks}:

Creamy-Cauliflower-and-Spinach-GratinMonday

Breakfast – Tea and scone
Lunch – Smoothie
Dinner – Baked salmon and cauliflower and spinach gratin

smoothieTuesday

Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Leftover bean soup
Dinner – Breakfast dinner {eggs, potatoes and bacon}

big saladWednesday

Breakfast – Smoothie
Lunch – Toasted tuna and cheese sandwhich
Dinner – Big Salad

Thursday

Breakfast – Oatmeal
Lunch – Macaroni and cheese
Dinner – Chicken and mashed potatoes

chickenFriday

Breakfast – Toasted bagel, tea and banana
Lunch – PB&J
Dinner – Chicken, beans and ravioli

whole foods salad barSaturday

Breakfast – Oatmeal with sliced bananas and brown sugar
Lunch – I have no idea
Dinner – Quinoa salad, pickled beets, garlic beans and meatballs {Whole Foods gift card}

doughnutSunday

Breakfast – Coconut donut
Lunch – Banana and a Fig Bar
Dinner – Chicken Caesar Salad

How did YOU do this week on your grocery budget?

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $22.44

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.

Green Toys, Sports Watches, Freezer Meals, Utility Carts and More

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no thief not matter how skillful

Quote of the Day “No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.”

rug hooking

Hello and Happy Monday! Did you watch Downton Abbey last night? How was it? Wait. Don’t tell me. I fell asleep before it started and so now I’ll have to watch it on the PBS site later today. All I know is I am soooo bummed the show is over. I just hope Edith gets her happy ending… that’s all I want.

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!}

green toys

Amazon Deal of the Day for 3/7/16 – 50% off Green Toys

iron man watch

More Amazon Daily Deals for 3/7/16

the gift of fear

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! 🙂

toothbrushes

Subscribe and Save Deals

hefty bags

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

gap code

For a limited time you can save 40% off at GAP and Banana Republic or 35% off at Old Navy when you used code SPRING at checkout.

march savings guide

Did you catch the March Monthly Savings guide last week?  If not, you can go HERE and read all about it.   Find more money saving tips on my Pinterest Board

dash egg cooker

Home and Kitchen Deals

Freezer-Meal-Recipe-Cilantro-Lime-Chicken

It’s time to stock up the freezer so that I can plan on spending more time in the garden.  Cilantro Lime Chicken is one of my all time favorite freezer meals.  {Pin it for Later.}

columbia jacket

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – Women’s Columbia Gotcha Groovin Jacket $49.73 was $125}

Plus, don’t forget, the REI Outlet is having an awesome possum clearance sale and through March 8th you can save an extra 25% off.

cabelas

Cabela’s is offering an additional 10% off + Free shipping on Cabela’s brand apparel and footwear orders of $49 or more with code 16CAB10 at checkout through 3/13/16.

dentek

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}.

playmobile

Kid’s Stuff

utility carts

Today only The Home Depot is offering up to 35% off Utility Carts and they 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.

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.

Zaycon-Chicken

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

  • Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $1.69/lb X 40.00 lbs | $67.60/case
  • Fresh 93/7 Lean Ground Beef $3.99/lb X 41.00 lbs | $163.59/case
  • Fresh 80/20 Ground Beef $2.99/lb X 41.00 lbs | $122.59/case
  • Old Fashioned Boneless Applewood Smoked Ham $3.29/lb X 20.00 lbs | $65.80/case
  • Wild Alaskan Cod Fillets $5.99/lb X 25.00 lbs | $149.75/case
  • Wild Alaskan Pollock Fillets $3.69/lb X 32.00 lbs | $118.08/case
  • Wild Argentine Red Shrimp $7.49/lb X 20.00 lbs | $149.80/case
  • 90/10 Ground Turkey — 1lb Chubs $2.79/lb X 48.00 lbs | $133.92/case
  • 90/10 Ground Turkey — 5lb Chubs 90/10 Ground Turkey $2.49/lb X 40.00 lbs | $99.60/case
  • Jumbo Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs $1.69/lb X 40.00 lbs | $67.60/case

Horizon™ Mac & Cheese coupon

Check out these New Printable Coupons:

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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