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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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Mavis’ Almost Zero Waste Home in 29 Days or Less – Week 3

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masking tape

I was setting up to paint the trim work in our bathroom yesterday when I ran out of painter’s tape. Instead of running to the store to buy another roll, I just rummaged through the recycle bin and grabbed some newspaper and tore it into strips.

painting tipLuckily, I have steady hands and so when I was finished painting, I was able toss the newspaper back into the recycling bin. I couldn’t do that with the painters tape though because everyone knows you can’t recycle tape {unless you know something I don’t}. Then it hit me. It’s the little things, some of us can do without them, and others wouldn’t even consider it.

The more resourceful we are, the less stuff we need to actually buy. And the less stuff we need to buy, the less we have to throw away.
zero waste home

This week’s trash:

Potting soil bag
Painter’s tape
Butter wrappers
4 Lotion bottle lids
Sample size Q-Tip wrappers
Foil like cookie wrapper
Plastic bags, plastic wrap, plastic meat wrappers, plastic strips from packages
Tea wrapper, cocoa wrapper, salami wrapper,
Floss, dental pick, museum tags, junky printed ribbon
Salmon skin {I suppose I could have tossed it on to my compost pile but I didn’t want to attract critters}

zero waste home

This week I was able to stuff all our non recyclable trash into a quart sized baggie. Not too shabby if you ask me. This silly little challenge of mine, having an almost zero waste home in 29 days or less is going WAY better than expected. So well in fact I am beginning to feel a little guilty for all the stuff I was shoving in our garbage cans before I made a concentrated effort to recycle like a mad woman.

Maybe next week I should shoot for a sandwhich size bag. 😉

Have a great night everyone,

~Mavis

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Giveaway : Bee’s Wrap the Great Food Storage Alternative

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baguette1

As you know earlier this year I cancelled our trash service in an effort to reduce our household waste {and save $400+ this year}. After 3 weeks of living the almost zero waste lifestyle, my biggest hurdle so far is plastic wrappers and saran wrap. They seem to be integrated into every part of modern society, don’t they?

But then I remembered my friend Jane and her post about Bees’ Wrap she wrote a few years ago and that I actually bought a set of Bee’s Wrap when we lived at our old house.

They arrived. I tried them out and I’m not going to lie, they were AWESOME. I immediately began using them to wrap my pies and casseroles. And then I wrapped my cheese in them. And then my leftovers. And soon it was, “Move over plastic wrap. There’s a new food wrap in town.”

How could I have forgotten about them? Where did they go when we moved? Ga! Now I’m going to have to wait until next year to purchase a new set because I’m on a spending freeze this year. Boooo!

bees wrap

Bee’s Wrap is a crazy cool alternative food wrap. One that’s so kind to our environment and yet keep food fresher than ever.

The combination of organic cotton muslin infused with beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin makes for the perfect alternative to plastic for food storage. Plus the cloths are loaded with the antibacterial properties of beeswax and jojoba oil that not only help keep food fresh but allow them to be used again and again. Bee’s Wrap products are reusable, biodegradable and compostable. Three of my favorite things!

And guess what?

One of YOU, is going to win a set of 3 Wraps {small, medium and large} plus a Bread Wrap.

bee pollinating flower

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and answer the following question: If you were a bee, who would you most like to sting. 😉

That’s it!

Good Luck, I hope you win!

~Mavis

THE FINE PRINT:

1 entry per person/ip address. If you cheat, you will totally be disqualified.

This giveaway is available to anyone on the planet Earth.

This giveaway ends Sunday, February 21th, 2016 at 6pm PST and the winner will be announced Monday, February 22nd. You will be notified via email and have 48 hours to claim your prize. Prize will be forfeited within 48 hours.

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 7 of 52

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How We Spend Less Than $100 a Month on Groceries

My goal this past week was to avoid the grocery stores all together.

And I failed. 🙁

darigold butter

Fred Meyer $3.79

I was lured into Fred Meyer by the Darigold butter that was on sale for $1.99 and the promise of a free chocolate bar and a free V8 drink {both friday freebies}. I gave the HH the chocolate bar for Valentine’s Day and he gobbled it up before I had a chance to ask for a piece. 😉 I guess he liked it. Note to self: Next time you give someone a bar of chocolate, stay in the room and don’t wander off to make a cup of tea.

spouting seeds

Main and Vine $4.49

I stopped by the library to pick up some books and decided to check out the deals. Bananas were $0.59 a pound and sumo oranges $0.99 a pound.

greek gods yogurtMain and Vine $5.00

The real deal at Main and Vine this week though was the Greek God’s Yogurt for $2.50 each. The HH LOVE this stuff and for $2.50 a tub? Hello, I’ll take two.

zaycon

Zaycon Fresh FREE

I had some Zaycon Fresh credits and decided to spend them on bacon and breakfast sausages this time around.

You can earn Zaycon credits 2 ways:

  1. Referring people – You receive $5 the first time a person places an order and picks it up at a sales event and $1 every order after that.
  2. Helping out at a Zaycon event. A friend of mine worked at this particular bacon event in our town and had a great time earning credit towards free meat. I think I might join her next time.

Zaycon Fresh has great prices and I have been buying and cooking with their meat since I discovered them 3 years ago. If you’ve never bought in bulk before, getting together with friends to prepare Freezer Meals is a pretty fun way to “put up” a bunch of meals for busy weeknights.

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

Here are some of the meals we ate last week {minus snacks}:

cinnamon toastMonday

Breakfast – Strawberry Cream of Wheat
Lunch – 6 slices of Shirley’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread {toasted of course}
Dinner – Split pea soup and crackers

salmonTuesday

Breakfast – 2 slices cinnamon raisin bread, toasted
Lunch – Panera chicken cobb salad with avocado {gift card}
Dinner – Salmon and brown rice with spinach and mushrooms

stir fryWednesday

Breakfast – Steel cut oats with frozen strawberries and brown sugar
Lunch – Grilled cheese sandwhich
Dinner – Chicken stir fry and brown rice

chocolate chip cookiesThursday

Breakfast – 2 Chocolate chips cookies {Bad Mavis!}
Lunch – Leftover chicken stir fry and brown rice
Dinner – Pigs in a blanket

pot roastFriday

Breakfast – Fried egg sandwich with bacon and cheese 
Lunch – Split pea soup and toast
Dinner – Pot roast with bacon corn

nachosSaturday

Breakfast – Steel cut oats with frozen berries, banana
Linner – Chicken Nachos

big breakfastSunday

Breakfast – Big Breakfast with Valentine heart toast 🙂 
Linner – Beef Stew {I used the leftover pot roast} and grilled cheese sandwiches

How about YOU? What did you feed your tribe this past week? Did you find any good deals at the grocery store? I’d love to hear about them.

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $13.28

Total Spent in February $67.20 {I need to watch it if I’m going to stay on track!}

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.

Love and Respect, B&M Brown Bread, Men’s Health Magazine, General Tso’s Chicken Recipe and More

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quotes - correction does much, but encouragement does more

Quote of the Day “Correction does much, but encouragement does more.”

Hello Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend. I was able to make some serious progress in the master bathroom yesterday painting. I’m almost done with all the trim and I’m hoping to get the doors painted this week as well.

I love a good project! 😉

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 $35 purchase or Amazon Prime. {Sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30 day trial!}

pny sd card

Amazon Daily Deals for 2/15/16

dear caryAvailable 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! 🙂

audible

Right now Amazon Prime members can get a 3-month FREE trial for Audible!!! {I like to listen to audiobooks while I garden.} Over 150,000 titles to choose and you can listen with the FREE Audible app on your smartphone or tablet!

party cupsSubscribe and Save Deals

bm baked beans

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

The Best Foods for Eating Well on a Tight Budget

Your body’s a temple and all of that, but there is no need to break the bank feeding the temple.  Check out The Best Food for Eating Well on a Tight Budget.  

mens health magazine

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Men’s Health Magazine or Women’s Health Magazine for only $4.99 a year when you use code MAVIS at checkout. This deal will expire 2/16/16 at midnight EST.

brown bottlesHome and Kitchen Deals

A Lighter Version of General Tso's Chicken

Need a quick dinner that will make everyone happy.  Try my version of General Tso’s Chicken.  It’s packed with flavor and you can whip it up in under 1/2 hour.  {Pin it for Later.}

columbia jacket

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – Women’s Columbia La Moine Cone EXS Jacket $29.73 {was $75}

rei winter clearance

Be sure and check out the REI Winter Clearance Sale and find deals up to 50% off!

Dominos-Pizza

Through February 21st, you can get 2 Large Domino’s 2-Topping Pizzas for just $5.99 each when you place your order online and choose the carry out option.

smart potsAdd 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}. 

cents of style

Today only Cents of Style is offering their Striped Scarf AND Stone Necklace Set for only $12.95 shipped when you use code COMBO16 at checkout.

kiteKid’s Stuff

prime pantry february

Attention Amazon Prime Members...  You can get FREE Prime Pantry shipping {a $5.99 value} when you buy five qualifying items and use promo code PANTRYFEB at checkout.Shop Prime Pantry.

widget-book-02

Have you heard? I gathered all of the gardening knowledge I’ve acquired through the years and packed it into 11 monthly {and awesome I might add} gardening eBooks. An eBook for every month of the year, with month-specific planting guides, gardening projects and chores and of course, seasonal recipes.

If you’re looking for all of my very best gardening content in one convenient spot, those monthly gardening eBooks are a must.  Check out Dig for Your Dinner in February for ways to get a started on your garden, no matter what your climate!

evol-couponCheck 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.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy