Loving Life
Book: “Dining On A Dime” Cookbook by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper
If you could save $10,000 a year on food without cutting coupons would you be interested? I had the privilege of receiving Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper’s newest edition, November 2011, of their Dining On A Dime Cookbook Eat Better, Spend Less! The authors packed in more than 1200 great recipes and money saving tips in this cookbook. One of the challenges they gave is to see how much you could save in one year by cutting out just one thing. For example, by reducing the amount of meat you eat each week by 1.5 pounds you could save over $400 a year. They cover a variety of recipes and tips in their book, here are a few:
- How It Adds Up
- Basics of Frugal Cooking
- Beverages
- Breakfast
- Breads
- Soups & Sandwiches
- Vegetables, Beans, Pasta, & Rice
- Salads, Dressings, Pickles, and Dips
- Meats & Main Dishes
- Cakes, Pies, Candy, Cookies, & Desserts
- Mixes, Gift Baskets, & Jars
- Kids
- Cleaning Cents
- Pretty for Pennies
The authors challenge you to take small steps to change your life. Whether you start with planning your meals, organizing your home, or saving money it is the little steps over time that give you results. Their menu planning ideas include recipes you can make for picky eaters or quick dinners for those busy days. I like that they have sections on using up your leftovers, making your own cleaning & beauty supplies, gift baskets, and more. They use a good mix of great information and light hearted humor.
Here are a couple of quotes / tips that made me smile:
If you want to see a cup runneth over, let a child pour his own soda.
When your house looks like a bomb hit it and company calls from a block away set your vacuum by the front door and say, “Come on in! I was just cleaning”
You have two choices for dinner. Take it or leave it.
The problem – how to get 2 pounds of chocolate home in a hot car. The solution – eat it in the parking lot.
Some of the information and recipes made me laugh out loud…..”Elephant Soup” simply hilarious! One of my favorite non-food recipes was their “Recipe for a Happy Marriage” (loved that one). While they may not have convince me to try “Liver and Onions” again Tawra and Jill did a wonderful job putting together a useful and entertaining cookbook to have in your kitchen. The best part is their recipes only require a handful of ingredients and most (if not all) of the items you will find in your kitchen pantry.
At the end of the book they have separate indexes for looking up tips, leftovers, and recipes making it easy to look up what you want. I look forward to trying more of the recipes, tips, and seeing if these help our family save even more. This cookbook would be a great wedding gift or birthday gift for those who are beginning to cook or a novice. It offers practical tips, great recipes, and may even make you smile!
Please visit Dining on a Dime Cookbook’s website if you want to learn more about this book.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Our family was at a Conference (or preparing for the Conference) for the majority of the week. I didn’t have time to really do a regular grocery shopping run and we tried eating up items that we had in the fridge already but I did pick up a couple of items for a get together early in the week. It’s a very “quiet” week in terms of grocery shopping for our family. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Walmart
Walmart Groceries:
- $3.66 at Walmart for 1 bag Toastidos Chips and 1 bag Potato Chips for a couple events that we had earlier in the week.
This week I spent $3.66 on groceries. I was way under on my budgeted amount for the week because of the busy week with the conference and traveling so thankfully I have a little extra to use towards next weeks groceries. The only thing I purchased was for an event we had this week. I hope that next week is better week, back to normal, and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Box Tops for School
The girls are always on the look out for Box Tops for their school! A couple months ago I spent an evening with the girls gluing all our box tops onto the sheets. Every full box top sheet (50 box tops per sheet) gave the girls an entry into a drawing and a little special toy.Since I have two kids I wanted to fill at least two sheets. Each box top gives $0.10 cents to your child’s school so by filling up two pages our family would be helping the school get $10 to use. Since it takes our family awhile to build up our stash of box tops I typically do this activity once a year, but when the girls went to bed we only had 88 box tops, we were still 12 short of filling up 2 sheets (100 box tops). They were disappointed that we didn’t have enough for both sheets but went to bed hopeful.
After the girls went to bed I went through the pantry looking for all the extra box tops still on the boxes of food. And guess what!? I found 12 more to put onto the sheet for them to take to school. The girls were so excited to see the completed box top sheet on their bar stools at breakfast the next morning. Love being able to make my girls smile, even if it means removing the box tops off the items still in the pantry.
To get more information on Box Tops and how you (and your school can participate) can be found at Box Tops for Education.
Versatile Blogger Award!
I was excited to receive the Versatile Blogger Award from Save Green Being Green. Thanks! Please check out Jessica’s great blog when you have a chance!
The rules for this award are:
1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link back to them. (see above)2. Tell 7 things about yourself. (see below)3. Pass this award on to 10 newly discovered blogs and let them know that they’ve received an award.Seven Things about Bridgette:1. I started my first business Junior High School and second business in College.2. I grew up on a farm in Kansas (the closest Walmart was an hour away).3. I saw ocean for the first time in Aruba when I got engaged to my handsome man!4. I love traveling around the world but my favorite place is to be home with my family.5. I have fraternal twin daughters who light up my world.6. I know how to drive a Combine Harvester.7. I love playing board games with family and friends.10 Blogs that I have awarded the Versatile Blog Award are….
Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Take a minute to check out these neat blogs!
What Do You See – a Mess or a Race Track?!
After lunch one Sunday the girls were instructed to pick up the newspaper after they were finished looking at it while Jake and I worked for a few minutes on our schedules for the upcoming week. After about thirty minutes or so I came back into the kitchen and this is what I saw…..my first thought was “seriously, what a huge mess!” Instead of picking up the papers they had spread all of them over the kitchen and dining room floors. When asked as to why they didn’t pick “up” the newspaper they told me “Well we decided that it would make a great race track!”Although the mess was big I had to hold back from laughing. It was a pretty cool looking race track even if it was a mess. They were quite proud of their “track”. So despite the fact the kitchen and dining room looked like they were carpeted with newspaper and ads I decided to let them enjoy it for the afternoon as long as they would pick it up before we left for Awana that evening.
The silly part is that they had a blast with the newspaper. Who would have ever thought that a newspaper could provide so much entertainment. They rebuilt the roads several times, added new vehicles, used it as a walking track, and several other silly things all in that one afternoon. In a matter of hours that newspaper got more love and provided more entertainment then all the other newspapers we have ever received put together. And the best part, when asked to pick it up (the second time) the girls did it happily and in a matter of a couple of minutes.
So was it worth me having to endure a messy house for a few hours? Absolutely! The girls had fun, they used their imaginations, were creative, and played well together. The problem is I don’t always “react” well when I see a mess someone in my family has created whether intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes I am more worried about the mess they are making that I don’t allow them to just have fun. Yes, having a clean has is important but if the house is always perfect then a race track would never happen.
It was worth a temporary messy house to hear the girls giggling together over a silly newspaper converted into a race track. Thankfully this time around I gave into just enjoying the fun moment and waited to clean up the mess later. What do you see – the mess or the race track?
Song: “Come, Now is the Time to Worship” by Phillips, Craig, & Dean
How much of my day do I spend in worship? Some days the blessings are easier to see and other days they are more difficult. Worship should be more then just a few minutes on Sunday morning in church. I like the phrase “Come, just as you are, to worship” you don’t have to be perfect to come before his presence and worship. Here is the chorus of the song:
Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are, to worship.
Come, just as you are, before your God.
Come.Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
I made some progress last week on my goals! Thankful for the opportunity move forward on my goals despite a busy 2012 first quarter. Since I have a conference for part of the week the list will be shorter.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everydayRead a book to the girls everyday- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week – the girls were sick this week
- Go on my Date Night with Jake (we got free movie tickets so excited to enjoy some time away together) – We gave away our free movie tickets because we had to cancel our Date Night, the kiddos got sick. 🙁 I am hoping to get it rescheduled soon.
Get the girls Birthday Party Details Started
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week– I did it again (victory dance). It has helped give me more energy throughout my days too!- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – was bad about this one, it was after 1 am one night
- Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk – still working on it
Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).Get my Travel Visa Application Sent
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – it was closer to 6 pm a couple of days
Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the officeUpdate Family & Friends Contact Information– glad to have this information updated 🙂
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my deskPlan new implementations for blog- Start working on 2011 business taxes – gathered the information and paperwork but nothing more yet
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – moving forward on this goal
Start working on our personal 2011 taxes
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Spend some time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
Business Goals
- Attend the Pro Ag Conference
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Your life is your message…..
Game: Wits & Wagers by North Star Games
In an earlier post I mentioned the Wits and Wagers by North Star Games that we received as a gift. On the box it says “The Most Award Winning Party Game in History.” This game quickly became a family favorite. We have played this game many times since receiving it and have shared it with several other family and friends as well. The game is based on facts, however, you don’t need to know all the answers in order to enjoy, participate, or even win the game.
Our family enjoys having games nights and are excited about finding great games we can play together. If you are looking for a fun family game you should check this one out or better yet come on over and play a round with us. The rounds go pretty quickly and you will be surprised at how much you’ll learn. You may just have a little fun along the way! 🙂
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time shopping the sales this week with all the extra stuff going on around here (including sick family members for a couple days), but I was able to go to a couple stores and pick up some stuff. Most of the stuff I stocked up on were items that we can use over the next few weeks. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles and Walgreens
Ingles Groceries:
- $27.93 at Ingles for 1 loaf Laura Lynn Bread, 2 boxes Act II HomePop Popcorn, 2 boxes Act II Light Popcorn, 2 boxes Act II Butter Popcorn, 2 bags Laura Lynn Oyster Crackers, 2 jars Vlasic Dill Relish, 3 bags Laura Lynn Shredded Cheese, 1 container Deans Onion Dip, 2 boxes Yogurt (clearance for 50 cents each), 1 block Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 2 bags English Muffins, 4 tubes Laura Lynn Texas Biscuits, 2 tubes Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, and 2 loaves French Bread. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance. I was able to pick up some more cheese on sale, and used some coupons for the items purchased!)
Walgreens Groceries:
- $7.27 at Walgreens for 2 gallons Milk, 1 box South Beach Granola Bars, 4 boxes Mountain Dew (12 packs), (everything was on sale, I used coupons, registered rewards, and I received $5.99 in Register Rewards back to use towards my next purchase.)
This week I spent $35.20 on groceries. Even though I was under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on some items at the same time. I was thrilled to stock up on bread and diary items as well as other great fridge & pantry items this week. I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
