One of the things that upsets me about slashing our food expenses is that it can be so much more frugal to eat crap. I can buy a 20oz loaf of white bread at the local Walmart for $0.75. Which is the cheapest I can find – even cheaper than the local dollar store. Bread is a cheap way to fill up a hungry tummy on its own, help stretch a meal, or even become a meal in of itself:

• toast with butter and/or jelly
• french toast
• grilled cheese
• BLTs
• tuna melts
• pizza toasts
• buttered bread with soup or stew
• garlic bread
• sandwiches

I can have toast for breakfast, spread with margarine and jelly. I can pack a couple of margarine and jelly sandwiches with me to work each morning and allow them to serve as breakfast and lunch.

I can turn dry lightly toasted bread into tuna melts with a bit of tuna salad and cheese (real cheddar or cheese food slices) or into something like pizza with some jarred (or leftover homemade) pasta sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan and a slice of mozzarella. I can even make hot open faced sandwiches with leftover meat (beef, turkey, chicken) and gravy.

I can make traditional sandwiches with whatever I happen to have on hand:

• cheese – with mayo or mustard
• PB&J – or peanut butter & fluff
• butter & banana – my mom used to make these
• bologna – the cheapest cold cut
• tomatoes – with or without the lettuce and bacon
• salads – tuna, chicken, egg, or even ham

I can make traditional french toast or even monte cristos (ham and cheese dipped in an unsweetened batter and then fried as normal). I can make grilled cheese.

I can use bread as a base for a bowl of stew instead of noodles, or simply allow the family to eat buttered bread on the side of a bowl of stew or soup to make one serving as filling as having seconds.

I can even spread white bread with margarine, sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder (not garlic salt) and parsley and bake until golden as a garlic bread side for a pasta dinner.

I plan to try baking our own bread in the Fall/Winter and see if I can match this price with a higher quality product. But, for now, I worry about the impact on my electric bill (to bake the bread, and to cool down the house afterwards) to start “playing.”

The eventual goal is to actually have Accolan do the bread baking. But, for now the cheap supermarket white bread does the job.

Blessings

Jia

image thanks to 4cfxbg

Over the weekend I made large batches of both potato salad and pasta salad (recipes will be transcribed next batch). I turned less than $15 of raw ingredients into enough food to serve as light lunches and dinner sides through the rest of the week.

• 2 lbs. macaroni – $0.66
• meat from 5 lbs of chicken leg 1/4′s – $3.95
• half of a large bag frozen peas – $1.50
• 5 lb bag red skin potatoes – $3.99
• half of a large jar of mayo – $3.50
• onion – $1
• vinegar, water, seasonings – negligable

Not only is my home-made fare much tastier than the store-bought variety (if I do say so myself) but it can be had for a fraction of the price.  I can guestimate that based on the quantities of salads I prepared that I spent $10 on the pasta salad and $5 on the potato salad, with perhaps a total of $3 of it served tonight.

Add to that an 8-pack of hot dogs (1.88), an 8-pack of rolls ($0.99), condiments (negligible) and handfuls of baby carrots (purchased at Sam’s Club “cheaply”) for a token vegetable ($1?) and I fed a family of 5 for less than $7 with a hot dog and roll left over.

Not too shabby.

Blessings

Jia

image by TTT_Savethemole

We are still trying to cut back as much as possible.

I handed in the paperwork to cancel the health insurance.   It’s hard to know exactly how much this will actually save at the end of the day, as it will find me paying more in taxes each paycheck. But, with my premiums running about $250 a paycheck pre-tax, it should still be significant.  Unfortunately, some of this will be eaten up by us paying more out of pocket for monthly and semi-monthly doctor appointments.  I am hoping to save about $500 a month.

In the meantime, we got Reya in for her well visit (and last immunizations for a while), and got her and the rest of the family in for eye exams.  Sephoni has outgrown the hyper-focus issue she had when she was younger and no longer needs glasses.  Reya picked out new glasses and Accolan could get reading glasses if he wants (his prescription is low enough to be corrected with drug-store type) and since they are free with our plan I am encouraging it.

I am doing my usual once a week cooking and, with the heat wave in full force, turning my kitchen into a sauna.  I am focusing on dishes that I can cook today and then either eat cold later in the week, or simply heat in the microwave.  I am focusing on cheap filling food – potato salad, egg salad, chicken leg quarters, stir fry, vegetarian tacos, baked beans.

I am cutting corners and pinching pennies, giving up more little things that surprisingly add up to alot:

• seltzer: purchased by the case at Sam’s for about 25cents a can – saving probably $35 a month, at home I am struggling to drink more plain water (which I loathe) and at work I am drinking tea, thanks to a generous birthday gift from Lady Rose
• K-cups: years ago we bought my dad a Keurig coffee maker and stopped using ground coffee; but we have an adapter that allows us to do so.  By Accolan and I giving up the convenience of K-cups we can save another $35 a month
• switched one of Accolan’s medications from a $40 a month co-payment drug to a $10 for 3 months generic at Walmart, saving $36 a month.

We are striving to keep the central air off as much as possible (and replying on fans).  We are staying home more (to save the gas as well as any unnecessary expenditures).  It is a constant exercise in cutting back and then cutting back some more.

What are your favorite penny pinching tips?

Blessings

Jia

We went to the hematologist today and received the best news possible. The doctor found my low platelets confusing in that the rest of my blood-work was pretty normal. He decided to re-run the CBC and it came back normal, perfect, just fine.

I am beyond relieved. Granted, slightly annoyed that it cost me an extra $40 to re-run a test that my own doctor probably should’ve done before passing the buck, but grateful that I do not have any of the things wrong with me that the initial platelet count seemed to point to.

While I do not want to cancel the health insurance, and worry about the whole pre-existing condition clauses that come into play even when we get coverage again in the future, it is the easiest way to increase our liquid monthly funds.

Still stressed, but feeling blessed.

Jia

image thanks to Tiffanysixx6

When Accolan lost his disability benefits the first thing we did, after some tears were shed, was look at what expenses we could cut.

So far we’ve

• scaled back the cable, saving about $50 a month
• cancelled the XM radio, saving $12 a month
• cancelled Accolan’s W.O.W. account, saving $15 a month
• cancelled the Proactiv quarterly auto-mail, saving $15 a month
• talked to the Taekwondo school and suspended the auto-pay tuition, saving $250 a month*
• agreed to eliminate snack food, junk food, and take-in, which will save easily $100 a month
• cut back the food shopping, striving for under $100 a week, which should save about $300 a month
• I put in an application to my local Hallmark store in hopes of a second job, and have more applications to put in as well
• I found a way that will hopefully bring in $150 a week, right now its on a week to week basis, and I’m hoping it lasts

Additionally we’ve

• started the application process for State low-income health insurance program for the kids
• researched cheaper alternatives ($4 Walmart prescriptions) for some of the medications we take
• decided to cancel my cell phone, saving $100 a month (after we pay a $200 early termination fee)
• decided that back to school clothing and supply shopping is going to have to be the bare minimum
• agreed that Sephoni’s back to school haircut (and special entering middle school highlights) will be done by me at home instead of at the salon
• determined that our annual trip to our friend Casey’s house in MD this coming October simply can’t happen**

The original plan also included cancelling our health and dental insurance, even while acknowledging how disastrous that could be both short and long term. The hope was that Accolan and I would simply pay out of pocket for our medical costs until the group insurance renews in December at which time I would only be covering the two of us (assuming we get the kids covered by state insurance) and hopefully be more able to afford it (hoping that we will be at least on our way to getting his disability reinstated).

While the dental insurance will still be cancelled (saving $80 a month) I can’t cancel the health insurance (even though I desperately need the $800 or so a month we spend in premiums). I recently went in for an annual exam at my primary during which he sent me for blood-work. Unfortunately, Accolan got a call from the office this week telling me that I need to see a hematologist.

It seems that I am anemic and my platelets are low. Not only is this, in of itself, worrisome, but (even more worrisome), while this could turn out to be “nothing,” this could be really really bad. I was lucky in that we were able to get me in to the specialist tomorrow. I don’t expect to get any answers (other than the seriousness of both conditions), but, I do expect to leave with a list of more tests that need to be run.

I will keep you posted

Blessings

Jia

* I will actually not save this much, as I will be paying what I can when I can (i.e. a little each week)

** But, happily, she will be coming up to see us instead.

image thanks to w3bw0rx