Throwing a 40th birthday party on the inexpensive...

Can it really be done?! I've just finished balancing the checkbook, entering in our spending for February so far and overall I'm pleased with where we are (in spite of the yearly vet visit, baths for dogs and other dog related expenses... it is the month of dogs here!!). February will be a slightly larger step than January and since we are improving I'm going with it :)

Regardless, dh turns 40 in a few weeks and we've decided that is the perfect opportunity to host our first party in the newly finished basement. I'm excited and now I have to set a realistic budget. This is the tricky part! Here is what I know we'll need:

• alcohol (mostly beer and wine - maybe a flavored vodka too - we have plenty of other liquor)
• heavy appetizers
• paper products
• decorations
• cake

I will bake the cake so that will help with the expense. I need to see what kind of 40th cake designs I can find on the web. Paper products will probably just be large paper plates and plasticware. I have plenty of leftover napkins (from our wedding almost 13 years ago!), appetizer size plates and plastic cups. Decorations may just be some black, gray and silver balloons and I should be able to find a coupon for Party City before we need them.

This brings me to heavy appetizers. Here is what I'm thinking so far:

• Baked brie covered in pepper jelly and wrapped in dough - serve with crackers.
• Meatballs (isn't this a standard app?!)
• Mini quiche - I have a recipe from Southern Living for this.
• Vege tray
• Queso dip with tortilla chips
• 7 layer dip with chips
• Hummus with bagel chips

This seems light to me (we have 12 people so far with about 10 more we're waiting to hear from). I was thinking of serving a spiral sliced ham or sliced turkey breast with sandwich fixin's too.

So, after reading all of this, what do you think my budget should be? How inexpensive could you do it? Please share your party-planning wisdom with me! Hosting a kids' birthday is easy and can be inexpensive... hosting a grown-up birthday party is a new adventure for me :)

January wrap up

Whew! I find it hard to believe that it is already February... I just don't know where January went. I wanted to sit down and evaluate how my first month of 2009 went... I have big plans to save $5K in our cash fund so I need to keep myself accountable each month.

While January went better than any month over the last year, we have a long way to go to get to our savings goal! I've decided to look at it as a good first step for 2009 :)

We stayed well within our food and gas (auto) budget. Due to our deposit for the new couch (for the basement), our household expense line was a bit over budget. That being said, I will not have to move any money out of savings to cover the deposit on the couch. We did decide to do a year of no payment-free financing and we'll pay it off next February. We have the money in savings and could have paid cash, but there was no incentive from the store to do that. So, we'll hold onto our cash, let it earn interest and pay it off in a year.

So, what does this mean for my savings goal? Well, nothing went into our savings for the month of January because I'm paying off some spending that went on in December. Good news is that I will not need to pull from savings to cover it. I did put $125 into our Christmas account, made the girls' college account payments and our 401K contributions stand at 15%. Like I said, good first step.

So, for February my biggest goal is to put $500 in our long-term savings. My smaller goals include putting $100 into Christmas savings and to save $60 of my allowance to offset summer camp costs for the girls (I saved $60 in January).

Weekly wrap up #5

Another week and time for another frugal wrap up for the week over at Getting Ahead. A sick day and snow days actually made this week more frugal than I anticipated!!!

1. No shopping.
2. Ate all meals at home.
3. Sent dh to store for grocery essentials to tide us over until I can shop this weekend.
4. Turned heat down each night.
5. Made baked goodies from items already in the house for habitat club bake sale at girls' school.
6. Barely used any gas since we didn't go anywhere for 3 days.
7. Paid cash out of our allowance for a party gift this weekend.
8. Entering tax information into Turbo Tax as we receive it. As soon as we get the last piece I'll file!!!!

Overall, it was one of the most frugal weeks we've had in a while. And it helped end the month of January on a financial high... more to come on that this weekend.

Snow Day!

Turns out a snow day will help me stay within my overall budget for the month of January :) I needed to hit the grocery store yesterday, but my oldest was home with a stomach bug. I planned to go last night after dh was home, but I had myself convinced I didn't feel well. I feel fine this morning but it is snowing and I don't like to drive in the snow :) So... I emailed dh the short list of must-haves from my grocery list and he'll be picking everything up on his way home from work!

Now we can enjoy a few good romps in the snow today without worrying about driving anywhere! We'll have a bunch of different leftovers for lunch, bake some brownies we have in the freezer from a fundraiser for after snow snacks and have sloppy joes, homemade fries and veges for dinner. Got to love a good snow day!

Weekly Wrap-up #4

I am participating in Jennifer @ Getting Ahead's weekly wrap up to hold myself accountable for my frugality (or lack thereof) each week. Time to wrap up this week. So, here goes!

• Packed food and water for our drive to SC last weekend.
• Inlaws bought me a tank of gas while we were in SC.
• Dh did not charge anything this week.
• Dropped gas heat at night and during the day when we weren't home.
• Dropped electric heat (upstairs) during the day since we tend to stay on the main level.
• Did not go to the grocery store this week.
• Paid bills online.
• Made banana chocolate chip muffins using overly ripe bananas this morning.
• Pulled dinner from the freezer last night and avoided the temptation to eat out.

A decent week considering we were traveling for most of it (dh was home)!

Cooking once, eating twice

We're back from a weekend getaway to SC where we were hoping for warmer weather. We didn't get warmer weather, but we did have a nice time! I wanted to share how cooking once and eating twice can save your budget as well as your meal planning...

I made meatball subs 2 weeks ago. While that is nothing extraordinary, I did double the batch and freeze half of it to use at a later date. Well, the "later date" is today! I did not have to go to the grocery store after returning from SC to pick anything up for dinner... I already have it thawing in the fridge. Oh happy day! I'll put it in a pot on the stove later to heat up, crinkle cut some potatoes for fries, cut up some bell peppers and carrots for a side and serve it all up with rolls that were in the freezer for dinner. All this on my busiest day of the week!

You should always consider cooking once and eating twice since it does not take extra time to do. Whether you cook a whole chicken and use it for multiple meals in the same week or double a batch of something and freeze half for later, it just makes good simple, frugal sense!

Weekly Wrap up #3

It is time again to look at my week and sum up my frugal activities. Here goes:

• Made a large batch of chili and froze leftovers for later use.
• Used my crockpot to ensure that we had dinner ready to eat to control impulsively eating out.
• Avoided CVS and Target.
• Made a comprehensive grocery list and stuck to it.
• Paid bills online to avoid using stamps.
• Dropped thermostats 3 degrees when we were leaving the house for errands.
• Planned food for our road trip this weekend. We won't be eating fast food along the way. I will stop at Starbucks for a treat for me and use a gift card.
• Also planned and shopped accordingly so dh would have food while we're gone and not be tempted to eat out.
• Used $20 reward certificate at Children's place and only spent the $20 plus tax... paid for tax out of my allowance.
• Used breadmaker to make fresh bread for our comfort meal last night (meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn). Yummy and it made excellent toast this morning for my breakfast!

For more great tips on Frugal Living be sure to visit Jennifer at Getting Ahead.

Staying inspired in spite of things

I was pondering how to stay inspired to not only stick to our budget, but to actually come in under so we can put more money away and rebuild our fluid savings. Life tends to happen and before you know it you can be right at budget or over.

One great way to stay inspired is to read other blogs about frugality, pulling yourself out of debt and simple living. I've only scratched the surface of wonderful blogs (there are so many!) and I plan to update my list of favorites soon. I also read a couple of boards about frugal living at iVillage (it is still free!). Frugal Living has a large follwing and covers tons of topics. There are lots of great and knowledgable women on this board, but be warned that sometimes you have to dig through the chatter to find the really good info :) Shoestring Budgeting is a smaller board at iVillage and it is full of great information. I have always loved this board and will always check in to see what new ways this great women have found to stay frugal.

My desk is a HUGE source of inspiration for me right now. It has always been a hot spot in my house regardless of how many times I cleaned or organized it. But now that I am tracking everything we spend it is not only organized but clear of clutter! For 2 whole weeks! I get giddy every time I pass the office and see it :) I still have a few more things to find a home for, but overall this has been a wonderful side effect of getting our budget back in shape!

I think the biggest way for me to stay inspired this year is to take baby steps and remember that setbacks will happen and they will help me learn ways to avoid the same mistake. Frugality and simple living are a mindset... one that I am fully embracing!

It was a crockpot weekend

My budget and waistline were saved by my crockpot this weekend! Friday night I made pizza and a very yummy chocolate pudding from scratch (recipe from allrecipes.com - great site!).

I had plans for Saturday's dinner... I was going to make the turkey breast that had been thawing in the fridge for a few days. I decided to make it in the crockpot since we were going couch shopping again (I think we'll officially finish that up on Tuesday - whew!) and put it in, sprinkled it with pepper, minced garlic and minced onion, and then covered it with 1/4 cup honey mixed with 1/4 cup OJ. I turned it on and off we went. We shopped the better part of the day and passed so many restaurants that all sounded so good! Temptation was running thick but we made it home to our turkey which was just about ready. I added some sweet potato fries and corn... it wasn't Chinese takeout but it was very good and much nicer to my diet.

On Sunday we had to head back out for a couple of hours to sell some girl scout cookies, pick fabric, see my daughter's poster at the local mall and take my oldst daughter to Borders to use her gift card to purchase a book for a book club that she is participating in. Knowing the temptation that we had faced the day before and knowing that we were pushing dinner because of our late start, I made a point to put chili in the crockpot. When we got home I put 2 batches of cornbread in the oven and dinner was ready! Perfect ending to our weekend!

Let me just say... thank goodness for my crockpot!

Weekly Wrap Up #2

It is Friday again - woohoo! Time to post my weekly wrap up at Getting Ahead detailing how I was frugal this week... I'm actually happy with my week for a change!

We resisted the urge to eat out this week... everything was cooked at home from scratch. I even spent time cooking up ground beef and freezing it for future meals. Then I really got a bee in my bonnet and made 8 "egg mcmuffins" to put in the freezer for dh to take to work in the mornings. I had already froze some breakfast enchiladas that were leftover from New Year's morning so now he has a nice variety for a while. No impulse buys at McDonalds for him! We also set up the coffee pot and timer each night so we had nice, hot coffee to wake up to... very nice.

I made it through the grocery store for $98 this week. It took me a while to plan my meals and make out the list, but I am very happy with the results! I also made it through my monthly Costco trip on $126 - that included all my meats for the month. I won't have to go to the grocery store until Sunday :) And I fully expect to make it out of the store on Sunday for less than $100!

I hit Target and CVS this week to round out our needs for the month of January for just $50. This included all of our toiletries and household needs (like soap). I should not have to see the inside of Target or CVS until February.

I ordered the dogs' heartworm meds online and used coupons, got free shipping and paid way less than the vet's office. Of course this savings will be eaten right up tomorrow when our oldest goes for his yearly shots (very late!). I scheduled the younger dog to go in February.

I have kept up on tracking so I know exactly what we have (and don't have) in the budget. I've condensed shopping trips this week, stayed home on my days "off" instead of craving to the urge to just get out to a store, and I've submitted receipts for our flexible spending medical and work. All in all... frugal week (and like Jennifer, I'm leaving out the not so frugal parts for now!).

Good deals

I wanted to share a couple of really great deals I've found over the last few days. The first is for anyone with a Giant Food local to them... they are offering a 14-day supply of the most commonly prescribed generic antibiotics FREE through March 21st. While I hope we don't need to use this service, you'd better believe I'll use it if someone comes down with strep throat! Thankfully this is one of the stores I normally shop.

This next one is local to the Frederick area. Our local newspaper, The Frederick News Post, is offering a "Deal of the Day". A local business is giving away something each day through a coupon in the paper... I've seen some great little things (like a jar of salsa at the local organic store) but I feel like I can only take advantage of it if I am headed that way already... wasting gas to get free item suddenly costs me money! But still, if you are in the area of the free item... this is a great deal!

And I wanted to provide a quick thumbs-up to the Kleen Kanteen company! We have 3 reusable water bottles from Kleen Kanteen and the largest one broke at the seam when it was dropped. I emailed their customer service and explained what happened and asked if it was covered under warranty. Because it was obviously a welding defect, they replaced the bottle for free and gave me a credit for the shipping that I paid to get the bottle to them. I will order a bottle for myself before summer, but I was thrilled with their service and willingness to make a customer happy. They are excellent water bottles as well!

I love finding good deals!

January challenges...

I can't believe it is already January 6th - time is already flying!! I really wanted to try and put extra money away this month and now we'll be working hard to stay within budget. How did that happen 6 days in you may wonder?! Well, we ordered a couch for the basement and put a deposit down to order it.

I decided to put the deposit under our monthly household expense to force us to cut spending (dh is all about the bottom line so I'm tweaking it a bit LOL). We have $120 left in our household budget for January... the good news is that we don't need much and I've already bought dog food and heartworm meds so dog expenses are complete for this month. We're stocked on TP, paper towels and most other household items. I have a specific list for Target and CVS and should be able to get through both for $50 at the most (hopefully less). I won't hit those stores until later this week when I'm on that side of town.

I did sit down and create menus for 3 weeks. These menus take me through most of January. I shopped for the next week (with some sales extras included) yesterday at the grocery store and spent $98. This total included Lean Cuisines for dh while the girls and I are away for 5 days later this month ($12 for 6 plus a free container of skinny cow ice cream treats). The Lean Cuisines are healthier and cheaper than dh eating heaven knows what while we're gone! I also stocked up on yogurt for dh and I since it was on sale and I had coupons. I was pleased with my grocery total.

I also made it to Costco and stocked up on ground beef, chicken, bread, OJ and organic chocolate milk boxes for the month. The chocolate milk boxes will last for a few months since they are a Friday lunch box treat - the girls drink water at lunch during the rest of the week. I spend $126 for the month. I should not have to walk back in... and the best part was that I stuck to my list and did not buy anything that was unplanned! Mission accomplished.

I did take an hour or so yesterday to separate and prep the ground beef for freezing. I cooked up 5 pounds of it and separated out an additional 1.5 pounds to freeze uncooked for meatloaf. I'll use the 5 pounds of cooked meat in chili, pasta sauce, casseroles or tacos. And the best part is that it is already cooked which will make meal prep easier down the road. It took some time up-front, but I multi-tasked and got some other things done in the kitchen at the same time.

We did go out to eat over the last week in spite of my goal to avoid that very thing. The only good thing I can say about it is that dh and I used our allowance money to pay for it so nothing came out of the budget. I am hopeful we can avoid eating out over the next week and I've planned menus and lunches to avoid that very thing!

My goals for the following week are to avoid eating out and to exercise 3 times (baby steps). I also need to work on cooking and freezing "egg mcmuffins" for dh to have at work for breakfast. Right now he doesn't eat anything for breakfast, eats a normal size lunch and eats WAY too much for dinner and snacks later in the evening. We're working to balance it out better for our overall health and food budget health :) I'm also looking forward to my Friday wrap up at Getting Ahead!

Home made always tastes better!

I was so very tempted to run to the store and buy convenience food today. Thankfully I overcame that temptation and cooked since I'm really watching our budget! Breakfast was chocolate chip pancakes for the girls and blueberry pancakes for Ron and I (the girls don't care for blueberries). Lunch was a hodge podge of leftovers and sandwiches with chips. Dinner was rather good, imo :) We had home made pizza with apples on the side. I make my pizza crust in my breadmaker:

1 cup water
2 Tbs. Olive oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour (or bread flour)
2 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. bread machine yeast (or active dry yeast)

I also throw in some garlic powder and oregano and sometimes parmesan cheese and put it on the dough cycle. So very yummy!

I also use a home made pizza sauce inspired by Kelly's recipe at Shoestring Budgeting:
1 sm. can tomato sauce
Worcesteshire sauce
Parmesan Cheese
Sugar (I use brown sugar)
Garlic powder
oregano
I do this to taste so I don't have exact measurements anymore.

Put it all together and bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the top just begins to brown. We all love pizza!

Finally, since my oven was hot I made Apple Butter bars for lunches and snacks this week.
1 1/2 C All-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 C uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 C sugar1 C melted butter
1 1/2 C Apple Butter
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in butter.
2. Press 1/2 of mixture into a greased 9x13 inch pan; top with apple butter.
3. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture and press gently with the back of a spoon.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until lightly browned.
5. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 3 dozen.

And we even put away all the Christmas decorations today! The best part is that we were so busy today that we were not tempted to go anywhere and spend money :)

Weekly Wrap-up #1

I've decided to participate in Jennifer's weekly wrap-up over at Getting Ahead. Here is my weekly update on living frugally (and simply for me)...

I'm going to start by saying this was NOT a very frugal or simple week for us since the annual New Year's eve celebration was at our house, but I did try to cut some corners to make it a bit less expensive. We had ham on Christmas and I had a ton of leftovers, so I used 2 new recipes to stretch the ham into the NYE celebration. I made scalloped ham and potatoes for a side and breakfast enchiladas for breakfast. I also used a dessert (brownie pie kind of thing) that I bought in October from Costco and froze for this very purpose (huge, yummy and only $9).

Other frugal things this week... I revamped our budget for 2009, set my goals for the year and I'm working on my January goals. I ordered a gift card for TGI Fridays from my Discover rewards to use on a night that I'm suffering from burn-out. After talking about some of the items we need in our newly finished basement (trash can in the bathroom, paper towel holder and other little odds and ends), I ordered a gift card for Home Goods off my Discover rewards. When that comes in we'll go shopping with free-to-us money since we pay off our Discover bill each month.

We've been turning the heat down at night, turning out lights when we leave the room, running full loads in the dishwasher and using all of our leftovers instead of letting them go to waste.

Thanks to Jennifer for reminding me that the little things in frugality count!