Did My First CVS Deal!

I did my first CVS deal today! I earned 4 ECB! I started off small and purchased 2 Crest Pro-Health toothpastes. I was going to purchase the mouthwash as well but they were out! I know that Money Saving Mom said that there was a coupon available but I haven't started getting the paper yet and I don't have a printer to print coupons off. I am very excited to be starting out but also very intimidated. We don't have very much money right now so I will have to be very cautious when building up my ECB's. Let me know if you have any tips.

If you want some valuable information on shopping at CVS, go visit Money Saving Mom!

Thrifty Thursday's

Welcome to another Thrifty Thursday! I hope everyone's week is going well! My tip today has to do with eating less which hopefully will help you spend less at the grocery store. I unfortunately eat too much and so does my husband so even when it is just the two of us, we can go through a meal made for 4 very easily. Definitely need to work on that! So my tip today is to use smaller plates. Using a smaller plate will give you the illusion of more food and sometimes that is all you need! I tried that yesterday with rice and veggies and it worked! Now if I could only do the same thing with my meatloaf I would be good to go!

Go visit Thrifty Jinxy for more Thrifty Thursday tips!

Spending Way Too Much in Gas!

Gas has to be one of our budget busters! I added up what we spent in gas last month (this is an estimation because certain items in my checkbook I wasn't sure if it was for gas or if hubby got a drink and a snack at the gas station or had to buy wiper fluid.....need to start asking if after every transaction!) and it looks like we spent $432.67! And I don't work! So I rarely use the car for anything! Honestly the truck stays parked most of the time because it isn't working too good right now! That is ridiculous! It works out to be filling up about 2 times a week. Doesn't sound too bad I guess. Last month we did drive a lot because my best friend was getting married and she lives in Cincinnati (about 40 miles away). We also have to get the kids every other weekend and where we meet is at least an hour away. So we have to drive that Friday and Sunday every other weekend. The one thing that saves us is that Tim carpools to work. He drives every third week. But where he meets for carpool is like 9 miles away! Living in the country definitely has its drawbacks sometimes! It really scares me because I need to get a job for the time being and I'll have to drive a minimum of 20 miles roundtrip everyday! Our gas bill can't go up anymore! We really don't go anywhere else (now that my friend's wedding is over) besides Tim work, pick up kids, grocery store and church. Luckily our church is 5 minutes down the road! Sorry I'm just ranting but it helps me to see why we are struggling so much right now! I've always had a hard time adding up our gas bill for some reason and figuring out an average. I'm hoping that this is close to right so now we can start working on it and figuring out a more realistic budget. I really wish gas would go down! It makes it such a struggle for the average family! Well that's enough of my ranting for today! Have a great day!

Proverbs 31 Bible Study - Shattering the Myths

This week for our bible study we are shattering the myths of the Proverbs 31 woman. She is quite intimidating especially for a young wife and mother. To think that you have to do all of those things....I'd rather crawl back in bed! Just kidding! Amy shattered 3 myths which I would like to share with you.

1. Proverbs 31 was written about a compilation of women.

2. The Proverbs 31 was an actual wife at that time.

3. Proverbs 31 is a set of guidelines or a "to do" list for Christian women.

If you want these myths explained, please go visit Amy.

Next on the agenda was to think about Matthew 6:33 in relation to Proverbs 31. Actually, thw whole chapter but I will only post Matthew 6:33:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

My personal thoughts are that we should not be doing the tasks of homemaking because we want our husbands and children to bless us but because we want to do them for God. A blessing from our children and husbands is a result of our actions but cannot be the reason for our actions. What do you think?

Amy posted a question for us to ponder and that was which verse would you like to accomplish most out of Proverbs 31? For me that would have to be verse 27, "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness". I have a serious problem with laziness and being on the computer. I naturally do not like to work. I promise that I am getting much better but I still have a long way to go! Please pray for me as I pray about this daily.

You can join this bible study by visiting Amy at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31. Tell her I sent you!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm sorry it's been so long since I have posted my menus. Life has been crazy and although I've been trying to plan my menus it doesn't always work out that way. I also decided to join Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for her Menu Plan Monday's. They have tons of great menu plans over there if you need any help with getting started. Menu planning has been a life saver to me especially since we only have about $30 a week for grocery shopping right now! It's been essential! This week Laura is hosting a Family Favorites Edition of Menu Plan Monday! We are to share one of our favorite recipes! Well this is easy for me because my new favorite recipe is for my biscuits! Tim absolutely loves them. He would have me make biscuits every day if I could! I got this recipe out of the Doubleday Cookbook, which I highly recommend! It is very thorough and has cost saving recipes, time saving recipes and healthy recipes marked to help you out! I do a variation of the original recipe to make them extra rich.

Baking Powder Biscuits:

(The recipe says that it will make 1 1/2 dozen but I make my biscuits extra thick so if we have the kids I need to double the recipe. It only makes about 6 biscuits for me but it is worth it to Tim and me!)

Ingrediants:

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powdeer

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup chilled shortening

3/4 cup milk

Milk, melted butter or margarine (optional glaze)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sift flour with salt, baking powder and sugar into a bowl and cut in shortening with a pastry blender* until the texture of very coarse meal; make a well in center, pour in milk, and stir briskly with a fork just until dough holds together. Knead gently on a lightly floured board 7 or 8 times. Roll 1/2 inch thick** and cut in rounds with a floured biscuit cutter; reroll and cut scraps. Place on ungreased baking sheet - 1 inch apart for crusty-sided biscuits, almost touching for soft. For glistening brown tops, brush with glaze. Bake 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.

* I just use my hands to mix in the shortening

** I make my dough thicker than 1/2 inch but I can't honestly tell you how thick. It just depends. You'll have to experiment until you figure out what works for your family!

I hope you love this recipe as much as my husband and I do! Now for my menu plan this week:

Monday: Rice and Veggies

Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie

Wednesday: Stuffed Green Peppers

Thursday: Rice and Veggies

Friday: Manwiches on biscuits (recipe above) - this is my husband's favorite meal! I make the manwiches from scratch and serve them on biscuits instead of hamburger buns!

Tim gets paid on Thursday so I'll go grocery shopping on Friday for the weekend so I'm not sure what we'll have yet!

Go over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Menu Plan Mondays.