I hope this finds you enjoying a good start to your week.
Instead of sharing a fun story or letting you in on some cool spiritual lesson I’ve recently discovered….today I need to turn the focus on you.
I need your advice 🙂
We recently found out some information from work that could potentially have a pretty big impact on our family and on our budget. This makes us no different than thousands of other families in the US right now – so chances are you or your loved ones are experiencing the same thing.
I was wondering…..
Do you have any cheap meal ideas that are still remotely on the healthy side?
Do you have any tips on how to cut corners and save more money?
A pretty broad topic, I know. But any and all advice is greatly appreciated from all of you savvy and sweet sisters (and misters?) out there :)I look forward to reading your ideas. I have a few budgeting ideas myself that I have been implementing for years now ….but I would love to hear yours! I need to hear yours! May you be blessed as you head into the rest of the week, friends.
“One of the greatest pieces of economic wisdom is to know what you do not know.” – John Kenneth Galbraith
I wanted to send you this recepie that I've been making lately that's real easy and pretty cheap…and enough to feed hungry boys! It might not be the most healthy meal, but it's not that bad for you. I'll send it to you via email!
These ladies have given you some great ideas. 🙂 And if you want to check them out, I have some blogs listed in my sidebar that are all about being frugal.
I will be praying for you and your family. I am so glad that our God is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord God our Provider!
Love to you,
K
Hey Kate, So glad to hear you're continnuing on with the clean house challenge.
As far as low cost meals:
Brown rice
Dried Beans
Lentils for soup
Hamburger on sale or wearhouse clubs for grilled burgers, spaghetti sauce, tacos wrapped in lettuce leaves, chili.
Chicken on sale can be marinated in lemon juice and Greek spices then grilled or baked. Leftovers are good on salad or a pot pie.
Let me think on this a bit more.
Aw, I'll be praying for you guys and hope that everything is okay! With our situation I've been pinching pennies to the max so that I can stay home. Here are a few of my tricks. I do most of my grocery shopping at Aldi now. The first few times I hated it, but now I think I'll always go there b/c I save SO much money. They don't have variety, but they have the basics. I buy ALL of our fruits, veggies, bread and other staples there. I have never had a problem with any of those things. There potatoes and onions are also WAY cheaper than regular stores. Here are some of the prices…bread:.84-1.18, 4 pears:1.99, 2 broccoli crowns: .79, head of lettuce: .89, mushrooms:.79, they have a bag of potatoes for 1.99 this week. Of course, all prices flucuate from week to week. A few of our favorites from there are the "fiber now" bars, any fruit or veggies, caramel coffee, salmon filets, southwestern style chicken patties (for when I don't want to cook!), and they also have this great frozen bagged chicken in strips for stir fry. I do the rest of our shopping at Meijer because they do double coupons which can save a lot.
Here is a little thing that I do, but doesn't save tons of money. I use bar mop cloths on Jackson instead of using paper towels or wipes to clean him up after eating. I just wash them after one use and have like 20 of them on my counter at all times. Paper towels aren't that expensive, but it all adds up!
I'll try and email you a couple of my cheap recipes soon. I want to go get in some reading time before Jackson wakes up!
My husband and i take one Saturday a month and cook. We make 6-8 pizzas, pasta sauce, soup, lasagnas, and casseroles. each month we pick one thing and make a whole bunch. you have to have a pretty big freezer. We also live in a town where there is a bread factory so we get the left over for real cheap. (I don't know anyone who eats more bread than my husband!) We also have a store that sells factory 2nds for cookies so we buy a case. (1 case has 32 boxes of cookies)I also make baby food. I think i calculated it for about .04 a jar. instead of .65 in the store. I also do cloth diapers. Not b/c i want to b/c my husband thought it was a great idea.
MEAT: gound beef: we go to the market for a good deal
pork: we buy a big pork loin and cut them into chops
buy in bulk. hope that helps.
barbara
So many of us are having to learn new ways to save money. You are so wise to ask for advice. So many people think they know it all and never ask!
Although I certainly don't have all the answers, one thing I do know. When you go shopping, be prepared in the grocery store. Bring your list and stick to it. Forget the impulse buys that are placed in areas where you're most vulnerable.
Do much of your shopping in the produce aisles. Fresh fruit and vegetables in season are usually a good bargain and they are healthy. Stir-fry can be fast and easy and you can use a variety of seasonal veggies.
Stay away from the easy packaged foods that are often high in hydrogenated oils that can raise your cholesterol. They may be quick to stick in the microwave or oven but not all that healthy.
If you plan properly, you could make a large batch of soup. Freeze some and use the rest during the week. My husband is great at taking our leftovers and throwing them in the slow cooker. I never know what creative ways he will come up with but it's always good. And it's fun to experiment together.
I hope this is of some help to you. I also started clipping coupons which is something I never used to do. I also try to conserve gas and stopped going grocery shopping so frequently.