One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 809 of 2143 - 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.

Friday Night at the Movies – Pleasantville

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 19, 2015 · 7 Comments

Have you ever seen Pleasantville? It’s kind of an older movie that I like to re-watch every so often. It’s about a boy and girl {living a kind of under-whelming life} who get sucked into an old television program from the 50’s The program is set in a town called Pleasantville, where everything is “perfect” all of the time. It’s kind of a sweet story about how nothing is as it seems, and sometimes a little bit of messiness in life is a good thing.

Let me know what you think if you decide to watch it–or if you have already seen it.

Peace out Girl Scouts & have yourself a great weekend,

~Mavis

Looking for more movies?

Check out the full list of my Friday Night at the Movies Selections or click on over & look at all the movies on Amazon Instant Video. There are a ton of videos to choose from that will cost you absolutely nothing {nada, zilch, free-o} with Amazon Prime; like thousands of regular movies & TV shows & hundreds of documentaries {Wahoo!}. Get all the details 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.

My Goals for This Year – Week 25 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 19, 2015 · 12 Comments

1. Get Organized.

Our dishwasher sucks. So twice a day there is a pile of dishes drying on my kitchen counter. Oddly enough though it doesn’t make me crazy. I think the dishes make the space feel homier. I refuse to buy a new dishwasher because really, it’s not going to increase the value of our home when all is said and done. And, as a bonus, my hands have never felt softer.

2. Run, walk or crawl a Marathon, half marathon, 10k, and 5k race this year. Well, so I guess I’m doing this! I walked/ran a 5k last weekend with an old neighbor and had a blast. Even though my time wasn’t super great, I think I did okay considering the whole Living of a 30 day Emergency Food Supply Challenge I’m doing. I signed up for a local half marathon and I’m excited! 🙂

3. Remodel our Master Bathroom, Master Closet and Monkey Boy’s Bathroom. Done!

4. Finish Every Room in Our House.

When we bought the house last fall my original plan was to turn the guest room into an office/craft room for myself. But in an effort to declutter and simplify, I turned it into a proper guest room this past week. I didn’t have to spend a dime either.

Gladys Kravitz is under the impression it’s HER room and now spends her morning hours upstairs peering out the window at all the people walking by.

She’s living the suburbia dream, what more can I say?

5. Turn Spare Bedroom into a Cozy Home Office Space for myself. I stole my husbands office and decorated it all girly and stuff instead! 🙂

6. ~~Create a Vegetable Garden~~. Done!

7. Build a Path into the Hillside for Easy Access to the Upper Garden. We built a fence instead.

8. Limit my personal spending to $100 a month.

So far this month I’ve only spent $1.00 out of my personal spending money. How crazy is that? It’s mostly because I’ve become a shut in. 😉

In May I spent $26.50.
In April I Spent $18.46.
In March I Spent $42.44.
In February I Spent $32.52
In January I Spent $84.33

9. Purge… Weekly. Find 10 things each week to donate to the thrift store.

More crap for the garage sale.

10. Read 1 book a week.

I never knew how cool Candice Bergen was until I read her book A Fine Romance. I seriously LOVED reading page after page and could not put her book down {just ask my husband!}. What a life she’s had so far.

11. Slow Down.

I’m still puttering along on my rug.

12. Canning

So far this year I have canned blueberry, strawberry and raspberry jam. Yee-Haw! The pantry is filling up.

Did you set any goals for this year? If so, how are they coming along?

~Mavis

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Paper or Electronic? How do you Take Your Reading?

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 19, 2015 · 31 Comments

How many actual bookstores does your town have left? Other than Barnes and Noble {and our trip to Powells Books in Portland awhile back}, I don’t see many bookstores anymore. I think they are a dying breed. And, according to an article on NPR the other day, I think I might be right. Small independent bookstores are hanging on by a thread. People have moved to electronic sources for their reading. Maybe it’s because they travel well {several books on one small device versus lugging heavy books around}, they are instantly available, and they allow for magazines, books, and newspapers all in one convenient place.

Now that I’ve totally made electronic devices for reading sound amazing, I am going to go on the record and say I prefer paper. I love the smell, the feel of the paper, and best of all, there is no backlighting to hurt my eyes. Not to mention, I am a HUGE supporter of the library, where electronic versions aren’t always available.

The most fascinating part of the NPR article, though, was that we may not retain information as well in electronic format as we do with the same paper version. We are so used to “scanning” out emails, yahoo, Pinterest and Facebook headlines and tags, that we tend to allow that habit to bleed into our reading habits. I’ve never really stopped to consider whether or not one being more effective than the other. Do you think there’s any truth to the scanning theory?

So, how do YOU prefer to do your reading? Paper, Kindle, iPad, or some other electronic device?

~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.

Free Kindle Books, Amazon Subscribe and Save, Homemade Play Dough Recipe, Men’s Parka Deal, Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe and More

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By Mavis Butterfield on June 19, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Word of the Day: Recreant Definition: Unfaithful, disloyal, cowardly Used in a sentence: The recreant soldier was captured and court marshalled.

Thank goodness it’s Friday. 😉

I’m not sure if it rained last night but the clouds look awfully grey this morning. I was planning on continuing to stain the fence… yikes! Oh well, I guess I’ll just continue to clean out the storage closet for our upcoming garage sale.

What are YOUR plans for this weekend? Having a Father’s Day BBQ? Going clubbing?

Have a great weekend everyone,

♥ Mavis

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day – 55% Off a Pyrex 18-Piece Food Storage Set $22.99

Available Kindle Books I think are cool…

33 Day Trips From London Free
The Fruit Gardener’s Bible $9.99
Along the Broken Road $4.99
Bacon & Butter: The Ultimate Ketogenic Diet Cookbook $2.99
Relationships: A Mess Worth Making Free
Money Is Everything: Personal Finance for The Brave New Economy $2.99
Yoga: 100 Key Yoga Poses and Postures Picture Book for Beginners Free
Dog Aliens Short Story: Kaxian Duty Free

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 Subscribe and Save Deals:

Secret Deodorant Shower Fresh Solid 2.6oz Great Valu Twin Pk $3.24 shipped with subscribe and save.
Hunt’s Tomato Paste, No Salt Added, 6 Ounce (Pack of 12) $7.87 shipped with subscribe and save.
CLIF ENERGY BAR – Oatmeal Raisin Walnut – (2.4 oz, 12 Count) $10.44 shipped with subscribe and save.
Pasta Roni Garlic & Olive Oil Vermicelli Mix, 4.6-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12) $11.40
LARABAR Fruit & Nut Food Bar, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Gluten Free, 1.7 oz. Bars, (Pack of 16) $14.35 shipped with subscribe and save
Dole Pineapple Chunks in Juice, 20 Ounce Cans (Pack of 12) $14.95 shipped with subscribe and save.
Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes, Fire Roasted, 14.5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12) $15.73 shipped with subscribe and save.

Macy’s.com has Reversible Bedding Ensembles for as low as $37.99. These are available in twin, full, queen, king and even California king. These would make a great gift for a collage student or for YOU! There are 12 styles to choose from.

6pm has all these Crocs Sandals and more priced at just $14.99 shipped!

Another fun {and crazy cheap} summer activity for kids: Homemade Play Dough Recipe! Find more cool projects on my Kid Stuff Pinterest Board.

Amazon has The Princess Bride on DVD for just $4.75!!! Amazon also has As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride in stock for $16.05 {Hardcover}. Perfect for the Princess Bride fan.

REI Deal of the Day – Men’s White Sierra Alpine Anorak $21.73 {was $55}.

A few years ago the HH gave everyone in our family tactical pens. I thought it was a little weird at first but they are actually great to carry in your purse for personal safety and right now the Vktech Tactical Pen aviation Aluminum Anti-skid is on sale for $4.83 with great reviews.

The Home Depot Special Buy of the Day – UP TO 30% OFF SELECT GARAGE STORAGE ITEMS

Out of checks? Right now you can order 2 boxes of personalized or regular single checks for just $8.95 shipped from 4Checks.com when you use code DWF140 when ordering. Yep, that’s right 250 checks for just $8.95 shipped {$5.05 for the checks and $3.90 for handling}! I LOVE this company. *This is for new customers only.

One of my favorite deals is back!!! Get 24 {12 purple and 12 blue} 3D Butterfly Wall Stickers for $1.99 shipped. I ordered these for my daughter’s dorm room last year and she LOVED them.

Amazon has Red, White and Blue bunting in stock! Get the Valley Forge 3-Foot x 6-Foot Pleated Full Fan Flag With Stars Bunting $23.29 shipped.

The U.S. Nylon US Flag 3X5 ft is just $7.71.

Get Dad a magazine subscription starting at just $5 for a 1 year subscription from Amazon.com.

Attention Fred Meyer and Kroger Shoppers… Today only you can download an eCoupon to your Fred Meyer/Kroger card valid for a ONE FREE ICE BREAKERS Cool Blast Mint Chews 0.8 oz. Simply load the ecoupon to your Fred Meyer/Kroger shopper card and claim your Juicy Fruit Gum by 7/5/15.

Get a case of 30 Rolls of Georgia-Pacific Paper Towels for $23.98. These ship FREE with Amazon Prime.

Looking for something awesome to make for dessert tonight? Check out my recipe for Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream. It rocks! Find more recipes on my Homemade Ice Cream Recipe Pinterest Board.

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.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $1.69/lb $67.60/case
Fresh Ground Beef, Lean {93/7} – 40 lbs $3.99/lb | $159.60/case
Carvemaster Boneless Applewood Smoked Ham $3.79/lb | $83.38/case
Meaty Back Ribs $3.79/lb | $136.44/case
Bacon-Wrapped Pork Fillet $4.69/lb | $46.90/case
USDA Choice or Higher Chuck Roast $5.79/lb | $208.44/case
USDA Choice or Higher Patio Steaks $6.49/lb | $214.17/case
Smoked Pulled Pork – 20lb $4.49/lb | $89.80/case

Check out the post on how we process so much Zaycon meat at one time.

Print a coupon good for $1.00 off any TWO (2) Wish-Bone Salad Dressings

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.