Organizing and Grocery Shopping for $45-50 a week

Many people have been asking me how is it possible to grocery shop nowadays for only $45 a week? Do you have to peanut butter and jelly every day of the week? Are you able to eat healthy and fun all at the same time? No, we don't have to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day. Yes, a family can eat healthy and fun. It does take a little time and planning, but the end result is well worth the time! There are only three of us in our family, but if there are more of you there are still ways to shop for less than $100.
If the money is definitely going to be available, I try to shop for two weeks at a time. It saves time and money by having to run to the grocery store constantly. If the money is only available for a week at a time then I just shop for one week. I keep receipts every few times that I go grocery shopping. The receipts tell me how much the items are and that helps me plan the meals in my budget.
I start my meal plans by just jotting down whatever foods or meal ideas come to my head. Once I have that list finished I find the things that sound yummy and ideas that I might already have some stuff to go in it. This next part is where the receipts come in handy. I find the items and the prices from the receipts and I write that next to the items on my list. I use my envelope of coupons and I write a big C and the store next to the item. I play around with what meal ideas I can get for the $45-50 dollar. As I play around with the meal ideas I always keep in mind what I might be able to get 2-3 meals out of for leftovers.
Once I see and decide what will work the week or two weeks, I begin planning where to put those on my breakfast, lunch and dinner paper. Having the menu done and up on the fridge eliminates any of us asking "hey, what do you want for dinner?" "I don't know...what were you thinking?" "I really don't know, that is why I asked you." lol lol I just look at the list first thing in the morning and I can plan and see everything for that day. It may sound like it takes too much time, but it is time well spent. You would be surprised the yummy and healthy meals you can get for just $45-50. One example for us is homemade chili. It's very filling and we always have enough for the next day as well. Having breakfast for dinner sometimes is another way to save money. Pancakes and sausage with a cup of fruit is healthy, filling, and cheap.

Trick or Treating - Oct. 26 and Oct. 31

Joshua loved his costume this year that I made for him. We talked about a few different costume ideas and he decided that he wanted to be a scarecrow. I used a lot of things that I just had around the house and put a costume together for him. We like that where we live, trick or treating is done on the Sunday before Halloween. It is done in the afternoon so that it can be done as a family event. It was so cold and blustery, but he still loved going from house to house and getting tons of candy! :)

We also went out again on Halloween to the Johnson Creek outlet mall. The kids can walk from store to store and the employees pass out candy and stickers. Joshua walked into a store four different times and the employees loved his costume so much that they gave him extra candy and stickers. lol He was so proud! lol

A Broken Tongue

My son, Joshua fell at the park a week and a half ago and bit through his tongue. Dave and I were in disbelief at how strong that little boy is during pain. He only cried for a couple of minutes. I thought I was going to pass out when I saw his poor little tongue cut wide open. I thought I would share the gruesome photos with everyone! :)

Trying something new

I've noticed many of my friends have a blog spot so I thought I would try this out! I met my husband, David and we married in July 2002. I finished my degree at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in 2005. We are currently still living in Watertown, Wisconsin. We have a 4 1/2 year old son, Joshua. He is a blast! I've learned so much just from watching him. He is truly our miracle from God!

We have our house up for sale. This has been one challenge in our lives that we will be glad to overcome. It's been on the market for a year now. It has been so hard to learn to trust God completely! I'll admit that I haven't always been able to do so. We've seen time and time again that God places these trials in our lives to help us trust in Him. David and I have failed many times. We hope to sell the house soon and move on to what God has for us. We plan to move near Chetek, WI to help out at Camp Chetek. It's a great Christian camp that shares our love for the Lord. We will plan to move there as soon as we sell the house...unless God directs us elsewhere in the meantime.