Groceries, Part III

Happy Sunday!

That means tomorrow it's Monday. Time to pack school lunches...time to make dinner...time to hopefully pack a lunch for me and the hubs.

In between birthday parties and soccer games and just hanging out with friends and enjoying our weekend...is there anything you can do that isn't a three hour meal prep for the week...

Here are my meal prep suggestions that help save you money and maximize your time....sorry if you're vegan or have specific dietary needs probably won't apply.

1) Hard boil a dozen eggs in the morning.  Takes about twelve minutes.  Place in bowl in fridge. Assuming your children don't ask for six "Eggs without the ball" you have a guaranteed high protein snack or salad or well...lots o'stuff...all week.

2) If you have a fridge at work - Pack up cold cuts, sliced cheese, some hearty fruit - like apples or oranges - some baby carrots and ranch dressing - to take with you to and leave in the fridge at work. This way you don't have to pack something every day.  You can also bring hard boiled eggs, but you also probably want to keep your job. And those eggs be a stinkin!

3) Defrost protein sources - place frozen chicken or fish in the fridge so it will defrost by the following day.

4) Set a menu for the week.  My mom (an amazing woman, may she rest in peace BH) taught me a long time ago to plan the same menu every week.

For example...totally making this up...but...

Monday -- Chicken with rice
Tuesday -- Pasta with salad
Wednesday -- Meatballs with pasta or rice leftover from previous nights
Thursday -- Oven roasted fish and potatoes
Friday -- Leftovers or grilled cheese

--you get the idea - fill in your favorite 16 minute meals or 30 minute meals - or you could plan the same few restaurants every day of the week..

The point is - you do the same thing every week.

Pick stuff your kids like too and try to make one meal for everyone.  I know it's boring. I know you'll get sick of it...but...you know exactly what you need every week - your grocery list never changes - and your kids will end up eating better because they are able to predict what will happen. Not to mention...both husband and wife know what to make when someone gets home earlier...so it makes it easier for the family to eat dinner on time.

You take the stress out of the what to eat...and you end up saving money, spending more time with family, and just happier.

When my mom shared this tip with me...it changed my life.  So I'm sharing it with you now.

Hope it helps.

Xo,
Penny

Cloudy with a chance of COFFEE

True confession...I drink a lot of coffee.

I have a Keurig at work and a nespresso machine at home.  Plus I have instant coffee and a french press.

I probably drink about four cups a day.

For me, coffee is more than just about waking up. It's a tiny break filled with memories. It connects me to my family - since they also adore coffee.  Needless to say, not only to I enjoy a good cup of coffee...it is also my way to honor my family.

But...I'm spoiled and the weak coffee that is 'free' at work isn't my preference. Now...because I'm a penny pincher...I'll drink it if I have to...but...I really like my dark coffee.

And...I really like Starbucks...but that's really expensive.

So...any viable alternatives to saving a little bit on my daily (FOUR TIMES DAILY) coffee pod habit?

First, let's examine current spending...so, I spend almost $3 per DAY on coffee...that's slightly higher than a single starbucks cup...but still...add to my lunches out...whoa that's a lot of spending!

	Cost per Cup	Current State	Current Cost
KCUP	$0.66	2	$1.32
NESPRESSO	$0.70	2	$1.40
STARBUCKS BREW	$2.10	0	$0.00
Total			$2.72

How to reduce cost:
1) Okay so...one obvious idea is to reduce my coffees to 3 instead of 4 and I'd save money and probably have better health. :)

2) Nespresso pods are pretty fixed prices and you can recycle them!...but perhaps I could get cheaper kcups?

Getting cheaper k-cups...so...if it isn't obvious there are several cheaper alternatives...

Costco sells them for about $.55/cup...
Amazon and Bed Bath and Beyond also have special deals...

So if I can get it down to $.44/cup it's not a bad idea to keep drinking...coffee...

Refined mom also has some tips on getting discounted kcups including a subscription service...

Happy savings and cheers to your next cup of coffee!

Making a few extra bucks

How do you make a few extra bucks?

First things first, start by selling old stuff you aren't using.

In our garage we had the following stored:

• An old kitchen island 
• An old ceiling lamp
• Older ride on toys and wagons that our kids outgrew
• Old bookshelves
• Old changing table 
• Random drawer thingys from IKEA

I honestly thought I would find a place/use for all these items so I should never throw them away. But it's been three years and it just makes our garage look cluttered.

Honestly, it's a ton of work to sell stuff...so...here are my recommendations.

1) Use your local facebook swap and sell sites to sell stuff. It may take more time, but it's a great way to sell to someone who actually exists. You could use craigslist...but...seems more complicated...

2) Take a picture of the object. Ideally clean it before the picture. Try to find decent lighting to make it attractive.

3) Price the item.

4) Sell it.

So far, I've done this with that kitchen island and made a few buckaroos.  Better than having it collect dust in our garage! Obviously, this has a limit...you don't have infinite amount of stuff you can sell.  But it is a good way to get rid of the clutter without having to organize a whole yard sale.  And if you meet in a public place it's way less creepy.

Next up...ceiling lamp...aka chandelier!

Off to sell I go!  Happy penny pinching big living!

<3 Penny

Saving money...with a new baby!

Congratulations!

You're expecting!

This post goes out to all the folks out there who are bringing new life into this world.  And wondering what even makes sense to buy...

Obviously, I'm not a financial planner and I'm not a child life specialist or anything in between...but if you want my $0.02 on what makes sense to have ready before baby comes here you go:

• Infant car seat
• Diapers
• Wipes
• A place to throw away diapers and wipes
• Burp cloths
• Rock'N'play/Bassinet (try to borrow one of these) or a clean bed
• Breast pump (nowadays, you can get this through insurance saving you $237)
• Bottles to store pumped milk or for formula
• Formula
• Baby clothes (try to borrow some)
• Swing (borrow)
• Swaddling blankets
• Baby bath tub
• Towel with a hood
• Baby nail clippers (Long pointy baby nails turn your baby into Wolverine really fast!

I think that's it. There's some other stuff...like a stroller and cute play mats and a high chair...but all that stuff is for later...not when you first get home.

My recommendation is to register pronto.  Even if you only want cash presents...it helps others who want to give you a present.  Because people love babies and everyone wants to give you a present...and they usually have no idea what you'll need. People like registries with multiple price options because then they don't have to guess or feel like they are buying you your twelfth blanket

Also,  when you register for items (for your wedding or your baby), any items not purchased off your registry are eligible for a 10-15% discount?

I know it's odd to borrow stuff for your baby...but recycle that $#!@^. Or buy used off craigslist and then resell.

How to buy used items?
Try craigslist or those facebook swap and sell pages or ebay.

Great success story?
A friend of mine had twins after already having a five year old. She had heard about this supercool infant seat called the mamaroo.  It's about $200 new!  She bought it for $100 used.  She only used it for about four months.  She then turned around and sold it on craigslist for...$100! Aside from the time it takes to do all this, she got her money back and had no clutter!

Congratulations, again!