(7/28/12) This Weeks $120 Meal Plan of 15 minute Dinners and Packed Lunches. Cheap and Quick!

Each Week, I sit down with my schedule book and plan out this weeks meals. Breakfasts are serve yourself from pre-made options, and snack bags for lunches are separated into snack baggies on shopping day (Sunday). I just grab 3 snack baggies for each of our lunches to toss in. We both pack our lunch every day, but I avoid luncheon meat since I'm pregnant. I often take leftovers from the night before since I now have a desk job with access to a microwave. I shop on Sundays, and then do food prep that day for the week.

This is this weeks menu plan and shopping list for the week ending July 28th 2012:

Breakfast Options for the Week:

                                        My Frozen Pancake Bundles, Ready to heat and eat!

1. Heart Healthy Pancakes with Butter, Strawberry Jam, and Maple Syrup.
*On Sunday, while I unpack the groceries, I preheat a pan on the stove. I mix Krusteaz Heart Healthy Instant Pancake Mix with water and make the pancakes while I unload. To avoid forgetting about the pancakes, I usually set a timer (either the Flylady timer if you have one, or the microwave timer) for 3 minutes per side to make it easy. I keep a plate in the microwave and load it up with pancakes as they finish. I then wrap the pancakes in stacks of 3 in wax paper and aluminum foil. When I wake up in the morning, I unwrap the aluminum foil but keep them wrapped in wax paper and microwave for 80 seconds. You can then top with butter (I use Land O'Lakes butter with canola oil because it doesn't have any sketchy ingredients and it's soft right out of the fridge), strawberry jam, and maple syrup.

2. Milk and Cereal.

3. Bagel and Cream Cheese.
* This option was added because Jon kept going to work and eating his lunch right away (at like 930am) and was starving by the time he heads home. That gives me two options, I can insist that he makes his own breakfast in the morning or I can just pack up a bagel and cream cheese the night before when I make our lunches and include it in his lunchbox so he can eat breakfast in the car. I know he doesn't skip breakfast to be difficult, it's because he's not exactly a morning person and he's always running behind in the morning. Making breakfast before you leave for work requires forethought and at least an extra 5 minutes. To make his life (and my life!) easier, I'd rather adjust our program to meet his needs than insist that he conform to the current program. Flexibility is the key to any program working for you.

4. Muffins.
* See note on #3. We have about 5 muffin mixes sitting in our pantry, so I've added muffins to our Sunday food prep schedule. I can leave a few out in our snack area, a few in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch and then wrap the rest in wax paper and aluminum foil and freeze. When I make lunches the night before, I can grab a frozen muffin and put it in the fridge with his lunch.

Snack Options for This Weeks Lunches:

1. Cookies (leftover from last week).

2. Beef Jerky.

3. Mesquite BBQ Potato Chips.
*Buy a large bag and then separate them into sandwich baggies and add to your snack box.

4. Baby Carrots and Ranch Dip (leftover from last week).
* Separate baby carrots into individual baggies and seal. You can add a dollop of ranch dressing right into the bag if you're okay with eating them with a fork, or if you have the small Tupperware cups (dip cups), then put the dressing in there.

Reminders for the Week:

Jon is O/C until Monday

Amy may come over for lasagna night on Sunday.

Almost out of sugar!

Grab an extra bottle of vegetable oil to replace stock oil.

MENU FOR THE WEEK:

Sunday:

     Breakfast: Milk and Cereal. Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese. 2 Links of Sausage.
* Scramble eggs over medium heat, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, and serve. Microwave 2 links of banquet sausage according to package and serve.

     Lunch: Chicken Patty Sandwiches with Pickles, Mayo, Salt and Pepper. Serve with Carrot Coins.
* Microwave chicken patties as directed on package. Serve on hamburger bun with mayo, salt, pepper, and sliced dill pickle. As an alternative, you can top with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese for a chicken parmesan sandwich. Place frozen carrot coins in microwave bowl and microwave according to package directions.

     Dinner: Lasagna, Mixed Salad with Ranch Dressing and Salad Topping, Garlic Toast.
* I only use San Giorgio Oven Ready Lasagna (or Walmart Oven Ready Lasagna, but I still follow the San Giorgio recipe) to make this an easy meal. This isn't a 15 min meal, but we make it on a day off because it presents nicely to guests, and gives us tons of leftovers. Create a salad by mixing up greens, ranch dressing, shredded cheddar cheese, little bits of any veggies you have hanging around, and salad topping. When lasagna is done cooking but cooling, toast buttered bread in the still hot oven, shake on parsley, garlic powder, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. This is the recipe for the lasagna off the San Giorgio Box:

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef

3 cups (about 28 oz jar) spaghetti sauce
1 3/4 cups (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
9 pieces San Giorgio Oven Ready Lasagna, uncooked, unsoaked
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375, 2. In large skillet, cook meat until browned; remove from heat. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce, if desired., 3. In a small bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, egg, basil and oregano
4. In a 13x9 inch baking dish, spread 3/4 cup meat sauce. 5. Place 3 pieces uncooked pasta crosswise over sauce. Pieces should not overlap or touch side of pan since they will expand when baked. 6. Spread about 2/3 cup ricotta mixture evenly over pasta. Spread 3/4 cup meat sauce evenly over ricotta covering pasta completely; sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. 7. Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times. Top with remaining 3 pasta pieces. Spread remaining meat sauce completely over pasta; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. 8. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; remove foil. Bake 10-15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Serve with additional sauce, if desired. 10-12 servings.

Prep for the rest of week: Make pancakes for the week. Bake muffins for the week. Brown ground beef mixed with half package of taco seasoning (leftover from last week) for taco salad tomorrow.

Monday:

    
     Lunch: Jon - Turkey, Muenster, and Pickle Sandwiches.
                Rowy - Leftover Lasagna

     Dinner: Taco Salad. (5 minute dinner!) (Prep: While eating, boil rice for dinner tomorrow).
* Rinse and spin a bag of lettuce, top with the ground beef you cooked last night, a can of corn, shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes (you can use a can or chop up your own beefsteak tomato), a dollop of sour cream, and salsa. Drizzle with ranch dressing and sprinkle with salad topping.

Tuesday:

     Lunch: Jon- Turkey, Muenster, and pickle sandwiches.
                Rowy- Leftover Lasagna

     Dinner: Chipotle Style Burrito Bowls
*Microwave Tyson's Frozen Grilled Chicken Breast according to package directions. Dice chicken and sprinkle with a little bit of taco seasoning (leftover from last nights taco salad recipe). Heat pan to medium high heat and add your frozen onion and green pepper strips. Every few weeks, I buy a bag of white onions and a club pack of green pepper, slice them all up and freeze in a gallon bag. That way, I can just grab a handful when I need them. If you would prefer black beans instead, then just heat a can of those. Microwave the rice you cooked last night with a lump of butter, a splash of lime juice and a sprinkle of cilantro (optional). Layer bowls (or burritos if you have some leftover from last week) with rice, chicken, onions and peppers, lettuce, diced tomatoes, corn, salsa, shredded cheese and sour cream. For most of these ingredients, I'm using leftovers from last nights taco salad. I serve the salad ingredients in separate bowls so that they are good for today's meal.

Wednesday:

     Lunch: Jon- Turkey, Muenster, and Pickle Sandwiches.
                Rowy- Either leftover Burrito Bowl or Leftover Lasagna.

     Dinner: BBQ Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli Spears.
*Boil water on high in a small covered saucepan. Microwave Tyson's Grilled Frozen Chicken Breast according to package directions, microwave frozen broccoli spears in a covered container as package indicates. Boil macaroni, drain, and add milk, butter, and cheese packet as package indicates.Serve chicken breast with barbecue sauce, sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning on broccoli and serve macaroni and cheese with bacon bits and extra shredded cheddar cheese.

Thursday:

     Lunch: Jon- Turkey, Muenster, and Pickle Sandwiches.
                Rowy- Leftover BBQ Chicken and Macaroni and Cheese

     Dinner: Chinese Chicken Stir Fry
*Heat a frying pan on medium high. Add Tyson's frozen grilled chicken breast. Add a few handfuls of frozen stir fry vegetables. When chicken thaws and begins to get hot, remove from heat, cut into chunks and return to pan. Add microwave rice or noodle kit (found in Asian aisle with sauce and sesame seeds, see the shopping list below), then add extra sauce from bottle.

Friday:

    
     Lunch: Jon- Turkey, Muenster and Pickle Sandwiches.
                Rowy- Leftover Stir Fry.

     Dinner: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce or Smorgasbord.
*By this point, we normally have a lot of leftovers, or Jon's dying for more chicken patty sandwiches. We can either eat leftovers, make something from ingredients we have left, or just boil spaghetti and mix with a jar of meat sauce. We have leftover frozen veggies from the week that we can microwave to accompany either meal. If we don't use the spaghetti- No sweat, It'll keep in the pantry for about 3-5 years!

Saturday:

     Breakfast: French Toast, Eggs, Potatoes O'Brien (left over from last week's cheddar broccoli soup).
* Heat frying pan, dunk bread in eggs with a splash of milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Cook bread around 3 minutes per side, then store on a plate in microwave until ready to serve. Wipe out pan with paper towels, add oil to pan, add frozen potatoes cook on high heat for about 8 minutes or until browned. Scoop out and onto plate, break eggs into pan and scramble quickly in oil until cooked. Serve with ketchup, maple syrup, and shredded cheddar cheese.

     Lunch: Cheddar Broccoli Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
* Heat a frying pan on medium and a saucepan on high. Pour 2 cans of condensed cheddar cheese soup in saucepan, along with 3 cups of milk and 3 cups of frozen broccoli, and 1 cup of Potatoes O'Brien (or less- I like about 1/2 cup), stir and wait for boil. When it boils, reduce heat to simmer and wait for 5 minutes. While soup is cooking, butter outsides of bread, fill insides with cheese and fry in pan. If you have leftover tomato, you can add that as well.

     Dinner: Cheeseburgers, Baked Beans, and Cauliflower with Cheese.
* Jon makes cheeseburgers on the grill. This week we'll have fresh buns because we just ran out of frozen, but you can wrap buns in aluminum foil, and heat them on the indirect part of the grill while you're cooking the burgers and they taste just as good as fresh! He'll make the baked beans in a saucepan on the grill side burner. I'll microwave cauliflower in a covered container according to package directions and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Then I'll sit on the swing and watch Jon slave over dinner. Hamburger nights are my favorite!

 

SHOPPING LIST:

 

Wegmans (All prices are current for Wegmans):

2 Beefsteak Tomatoes: $1.99
2 Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Salad, Fresh Garden: $2.58
2 Loaves Wegmans Bread, Homestyle: $1.58
1 Wegmans Sliced Hamburger Rolls, Club Pack: $1.99
1 Banquet Brown n' Serve Sausage Links, Turkey $1.29
1 Club Pack (6 pounds) Wegmans 80% Ground Beef: $12.00
Wegmans Food You Feel Good About, Soft Bagels, Plain: $2.59
Wegmans All Natural Muenster Cheese, Thin Slice: $2.49
Wegmans Cheese, Shredded, Low-Moisture Whole Milk Mozzarella: $3.49
2 Wegmans Cream Cheese, Original : $2.98
Wegman's Food You Feel Good About Eggs, Large (18 eggs): $2.23
**They aren't listed online, but I always find a club pack of 2 or 3 cartons of eggs for under $3.00, substitute this if you can find them**
Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Fat Free Milk: $2.47
2 Wegmans Mild Cheddar Cheese, Fancy Shredded $3.58
Wegmans Pickles, Sandwich Slices: $2.99
Wegmans Ricotta Cheese, Whole Milk: $1.99
Wegmans Singles, American Cheese, Yellow Slices: $1.99
Wegmans Turkey Breast, Oven Roasted, Thin Shaved, Club Pack: $8.99
Tyson's Chicken Breast Patties, 26 oz.: $4.99
2 Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Chicken Breast Fillets, Grilled: $19.98
1 Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Just Picked Broccoli Cuts: $.99
Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Stir Fry Vegetables, Far East: $2.69
Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Whole Kernel Corn, Canned: $.49
Wegmans Asian Classics Spicy Orange Sauce, General Tso's: $2.99
Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Pasta Sauce, Tomato Basil: $.99
Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Baked Beans, Brown Sugar: $.99
Wegmans Macaroni and Cheese Dinner, Spirals with Real Cheddar Cheese: $.39
Wegmans Memphis Barbecue Potato Chips: $2.00
Slim Jim Smoked Snack Sticks, Original: $3.49
Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits, Buttermilk, Homestyle: $1.99 (Not scheduled in menu, but I'm doing a blog on our home-made donuts and need this).

Total Cost at Wegmans: $99.20

Walmart:

2 Oven Ready Lasagna: $4.00 (buying two because Wegmans does not carry them, this way I can avoid the walmart trip next time).
Sugar: $2.49
Vegetable Oil: $2.00

Total Cost at Walmart: $8.49

Total Cost of Groceries This Week: $107.69

 

Already Have at Home:

Pancake Mix
Butter
Strawberry Jam
Maple Syrup
Cereal
Muffin Mix
Vegetable Oil
Cookies
Baby Carrots
Ranch Dressing
Carrot Coins (frozen)
Salad Topping
Mayonnaise
Salt
Pepper
Jar of Minced Garlic
Garlic Salt
Parsley
Cilantro
Minute Rice
Sour Cream
Partial package of Taco Seasoning
Frozen White Onion and Green Pepper Strips
Lime Juice
Salsa
Barbecue Sauce
Potatoes O'Brien
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
Frozen Cauliflower

                                    Broccoli Cheddar Soup - The easiest soup you will ever make!             
                                                                      Less than 15 minutes!

Review: Suave Rosemary Mint Shampoo (and how I learned the lesson to try out a cheaper brand)

We use approximately 384 ounces of shampoo and another 384 ounces of conditioner per year for both of us (these are the kinds of things you know when you keep a stockroom and track it psychotically). I had used Pantene Pro-V Classic Care shampoo and conditioner since high school. I loved it. When I went to my parents house to visit a few years ago, I had forgotten shampoo so I used what my mom had in the shower. It was Suave Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner (which I'm positive that Mom bought because it was cheap). I fell in love. I couldn't believe how great it smelled, and how soft it made my hair. I liked it better than Pantene! I went straight home, moved the Pantene to the guest shower and bought Suave Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner. I still love it, Jon loves it and not surprisingly, we've saved a bundle of money with the switch!

Pantene Pro-V Classic Care Shampoo and Conditioner each cost $4.97 for 22.8 ounces at Walmart. In one year, we would spend $167.41 on this shampoo and conditioner. (4.97 / 22.8 = .217 per ounce x 768 ounces per year = $167.41)

Suave Rosemary and Mint Shampoo and Conditioner each cost $2.74 for 32 ounces at Walmart. In one year, we spend $65.76 on this shampoo and conditioner. (2.74 \ 32 = .085 per ounce x 768 ounces per year = $65.76)

In total, we save $101.65 per year by using a product that we like better.

As a side note, if you are currently not using the supply closet method of shopping, and find yourself picking up shampoo at the grocery store, you would save much more. Read about the supply closet method of shopping here. At Wegmans, Pantene Pro-V Classic Care shampoo and conditioner are both sold in 12.6 ounce bottles for $3.89. If you bought that for a year, you would have spent $237.10.

By switching to Suave and using the supply closet method, you would save $171.34 per year.

And that my friends, is what Born Free is all about- saving money while improving your life. I'm not going to sacrifice something that I love. I want to spend more wisely and be conscientious of what I'm spending my money on so that I can buy the things that I really do love.

Mcdonalds or a Cruise? That is the Question....

One of the things that has struck me so amazingly since we've introduced the budget is how we can estimate our yearly spending on each individual item and figure out ways to reduce it. Which got me thinking about people in general and what they sacrifice for bad habits. One of my favorite people in the world is in the bad situation of being a smoker in New York State. She's tried to quit numerous times and has yet to kick the habit. An unfortunate decision that she made as a young teenager has had a major financial impact on her life, not to mention the health impact that we've been blessed to not see yet. In New York, the government has taxed cigarettes so that a pack costs $11.90 per pack (2011 price, versus $5.55 in Virginia).

Smoking is hardly the only bad habit that makes a significant impact on our lives. While smokers seem to be few and far between now a days, we have a new bad habit. Fast food can have a similar financial impact and thanks to our fast paced and unorganized lives can be just as hard to give up. This made me want to run a few figures:

BAD HABIT: SMOKING

Cost:
In New York:
      If you smoke 1 pack per day: $11.90 x 7 = $83.30 per week. $83.30 x 52 weeks = $4,357.60 would be saved in one year if you could stop smoking.

     If you smoke 1/2 pack per day: $11.90 x 3.5 = $41.65 per week. $41.65 x 52 weeks = $2,165.80 would be saved in one year if you could stop smoking.

In Virginia:
     If you smoke 1 pack per day: $5.55 x 7 = $38.85 per week. $38.85 x 52 weeks = $2,020.20 would be saved in one year if you could stop smoking.

     If you smoke 1/2 pack per day: $5.55 x 3.5 = $19.42 per week. $19.42 x 52 weeks = $1,010.10 would be saved in one year if you could stop smoking.

Let's say that you spend the next 15 years of your life smoking (most likely, if you smoke now, you've already spent 15 years smoking). If you live in New York and smoke a pack per day, you will have wasted $65,364.00 to this habit.

**As a side note, I believe the health tax on cigarettes in New York is a horrible idea. The number one reason that people can't quit smoking is stress. By impacting a smokers life in such a dramatic way, you have burdened that smoker with significant financial stress and the guilt that goes along with it. The tax makes it harder for them to quit. **

BAD HABIT: MCDONALDS

Cost:
     A Large Big Mac Value Meal with a Dr. Pepper purchased in Woodbridge, Virginia will cost you $6.81. If you routinely eat this meal (or a similar one) three times a week, you will have spent $20.43 in a week. Multiply that by the 52 weeks in a year, and your fast food is costing you $1,062.36 per year. If you and your partner are both doing this, this figure will double to $2,124.72 per year.

You might argue that McDonald's is actually cheap. After all, you would have to eat something right? What if you packed a lunch bag with a roasted turkey breast and muenster cheese sandwich and a side of potato chips on every day that you would be busy enough to be tempted into the herd line at McDonalds?

You would need to purchase the following:
A loaf of bread every 2 weeks - $.79 (current price at Wegmans) for a total yearly cost of $20.54
Shaved Turkey Club Pack every two weeks - $8.99 (current price at Wegmans) for a total yearly cost of $233.74
Muenster Cheese every 2 weeks - $2.49 (current price at Wegmans) for a total yearly cost of $64.74
Mayonnaise every 3 months - $2.49 (current price at Wegmans) for a total yearly cost of $9.96
Potato Chips every 3 weeks - $2.00 (current price at Wegmans) for a total yearly cost of $34.66

For one person, the above would cost you $399.52 per year. For you and your partner, it would cost you $799.04 per year.

By switching out the Mcdonalds trip with the "Busy Night Lunch Bag", a single person would save $662.84 per year and a couple would save $1,325.68 per year.

If that wasn't enough to convince you, then let me tell you that the money wouldn't be the most significant things that you saved. In a year, you will have saved 124,800 calories. While weight loss/gain has many variables (metabolism, height, weight, and physical activity), on average this could save you from gaining 35 pounds in a year!


I'm not telling you to stop smoking and eating fast food so that you can sock your money away in an investment fund and retire rich (although, that really would be the best bet - so if I could convince you of that, then let's pretend I did tell you that). I want you to live the most amazing life possible while your here. I want you to tour the Amazon, and safari in Africa. I want you to take your little rugrats to Disney World, and bring your parents to visit their homeland. I want you to have an 83 inch TV with surround sound in your living room, and a sailboat. I want you to learn how to fly a plane, and then buy a plane. Whatever your passions are in life, I want you to have those things. I want you to stay focused on the things that you want, and eliminate spending money on the things that don't matter to you. Because I can't envision being on my death bed and saying "You know what the best part of life was? All those Big Macs.. They were amazing."

13 Free iPhone apps to make your life much easier!

It's hard to believe how integrated the iPhone has become into my life. It's a fantastic tool that really supports me in organizing and making my life easier. However, for every amazing useful app, there are a thousand useless time suckers. Here's my list of  free apps that have really changed my life for the better.

FREE IPHONE APPS:

1. Moment Garden (also a website that can be found here):  If you love scrapbooking or journaling then moment garden is for you! You can start new gardens for different people in your life. You can upload short stories and photos so that you can remember them down the line. Moment garden makes a timeline for you that you can scroll through (see the screen shot below). You can send people invitations to have administrator rights in your garden so that they can also add stories, and photos. We started our garden when we found out we were having little Michael and everyone added stories and photos to his garden. It's a great way to stay connected with the important people in your life as well as a neat tool that he can look through later.

 

2. My Fitness Pal (also a website that can be found here): Pre-pregnancy, I had purchased several apps to track calorie intake. Most of them were very limited in the foods they had in their database, which meant you had to enter in the information yourself. This was too time consuming to actually keep up with every day. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found out that My Fitness Pal was free! It's so easy to use, it has a social aspect to help you stay on track, it has 10 times the foods stored in its database, and you can create and save your own meals! It also tracks your nutrition as you go, even telling you your daily recommended goals and whether you have met them. You can also track any exercises that you do, and it adjusts your calorie allowance to reflect your exercise. I can't say enough great things about this app and recommend it for anyone who either wants to lose weight, gain weight safely, or ensure that they are meeting their nutritional needs.

 You can add your food and exercise intake into this screen.                                              

 My fitness pal advises you on your nutritional goals in this screen.                                  

 You can add friends and keep each other on track.                                                                

 Nutritional data can be tracked weekly as well so that you can make up for shortcomings

earlier in the week.

 My fitness pal also produces graphs and charts                                                                    

                                     to help you understand what you put in your body.

                                                                                            

3. Zoc Doc (also a website that can be found here): Zoc Doc isn't available everywhere yet but if you live in a major metropolitan area, then they probably cover your area. Zoc Doc lets you search for medical providers using your insurance information to ensure that the providers accept your insurance. You can book appointments online, even the same day! The app stores all of your info so that the medical provider already has it. Thanks to Zoc Doc, I started religiously making and keeping all of my routine care appointments. I could make appointments at 2 am, or look at their extended schedule for a date and time that matches up perfectly with my schedule. The service is completely free, but what really blows my mind is the phenomenal customer service that Zoc Doc has. At one point, I had scheduled an appointment online and gotten a call from the doctor's office apologizing and stating that the time slot I had selected was a misprint. They asked if they could reschedule. No big deal at all, since I could just go back to the app and choose a different date. About 5 minutes later, Zoc Doc called me and emailed me a $25.00 Amazon gift certificate and mailed me a free tee shirt for my hassle. I explained that they didn't need to do that since it was no trouble at all and I was extremely pleased with their company. But they insisted. To have customer service like that on a free service is nothing short of amazing.

 ZocDoc lets you find rated medical providers and book appointments right through the app!

4. Reminders: With the latest software update of iTunes, a new app called reminders is automatically loaded onto your phone. I use this app every day. In the morning, just after I've woken up, I run through my day in my head and think of what I would like to accomplish. I enter quick tasks into this app that I'd like to get done. As I complete them throughout the day, I check them off and they are immediately moved into your completed tasks area. My favorite part is browsing through my completed tasks when I feel unmotivated. Looking at the incredibly long list of things that I've accomplished in the week puts me right back on track. If your a natural "lister", this is just an easier way to do it!

Reminders lets you list your tasks for the day, and quickly check them off as they are  completed.

5. Cozi Calendar (also a website that can be found here): This is the only recommendation that I don't actually use. It's an online shared calendar that you can keep your daily schedule on. In addition, you can track every member of the family's schedule and color code each family member so you can easily separate them. You and your partner can each download the app and have access to each others schedules. There is also a shopping list feature that lets you separate by store, and a journal. It's an amazing tool for home management. I keep a written daily schedule book with me at all times (it fits in my purse) and find it therapeutic to write, doodle, and draw in it. I keep Jon's schedule for him and send him emails when he needs to be aware of something.  Cozi is a great system, but I would miss my old book. Most people would benefit from this system though.

6. Around Me: Around me is a GPS based app, that lets you search for anything using your current location to find the closest match. For instance, when we moved I wasn't sure where the closest Walmart was since I wasn't familiar with the local roads. Enter "Walmart" into Around Me, and it lists all Walmarts in the area and identifies how close each is. If you're on a road trip and would like to find a Sonic, just enter "Sonic" and it will find you the closest. Around me is free and a great tool when you're in an unfamiliar area. You can also search for broader categories such as fuel, shopping, and restaurants.

7. Overdrive or Kindle: Both apps are free. The kindle is an iPhone app that you can download ebooks onto. You can either pay for current ebooks or download one of their many free ebooks. Overdrive works through your library as a way to borrow ebooks or audio books for free and lets you play them directly through the app. You can read more about overdrive here.

8. Pinterest: Pinterest is an online pin board of creative inspiration. You can find tutorials, cheap projects, life hacks, and pretty much everything you could ever get out of a magazine... and all for free! The pinterest app is pretty glitchy, but I still end up on there often. You can find more info on how I use pinterest to save money here.

 You can click on each photo to see the original content (usually a tutorial).

9. Daily Feats: Daily Feats is a free app that rewards you for improving your life. You earn points for doing any of their feats, then you can take your points and apply it to rewards that they get through sponsorships. For instance, this months rewards are a $5 Ebay gift certificate for 2,500 points, a $10 Sears Gift card for 5,000 points, a $10 Fandango gift card for 5,000 points, and a $25 Spafinder gift card for 7,000 points. You can earn points for all sorts of accomplishments, like keeping calm on your commute to work, staying within your budget, playing with your pets, doing yoga, going to the doctor, and pretty much everything else that constitutes a "good deed". It's easy to get bogged down in searching for feats that you did, I recommend picking 10-15 that you would like to make routine and just tracking them. When they become second nature, you can add more or just track a new set of deeds. The app is slower than the website, so I normally just log my feats on my laptop, but the app is still pretty good.

 You can explore and set up feats that you would like to do everyday so that you can quickly add your feats.

10. Locate your iPhone: This is an app that is automatically added to your phone when you update your software. If two phones are on the same account, you can locate either of the phones through this app. I can't give you a screenshot of this since it would be a personal security issue, but you choose which phone you would like to find, then it shows you an exact location, either on a regular map, a satellite image, or a combined map. It's so accurate that I can see which part of the building my husband is in. You can easily disable this feature if it creeps you out. Unless neither of you are jealous at all, this is pretty much the worst idea ever. But it can be helpful it a lot of ways. If you can't get a hold of your partner and your genuinely worried about their safety, you can check on them. Jon has a high risk job, and it's oddly comforting to know that as long as his little marker moves on the map then he's ok (or a mass murder has left his body in a ditch and just took his cell phone). Since I often get home before him, I like to use it to time his dinner perfectly. I can see how close he is and make it so that dinner is set out just as he walks in. Obviously, Apple wasn't thinking of those benefits when they developed this. It's meant to protect you if your phone is stolen. You can give the info to the police to track the phone, remotely wipe the phone of all of your info, and disable the phone.



11. HuluPlus: (also a website that you can find here): Huluplus is a free app, but you need to pay $7.99 per month for the service (which also lets you watch shows through your xbox, computer, blueray player etc.). You can read here how we saved almost $1,000 in a year by using huluplus. Huluplus lets you watch TV directly from your iPhone. They have most popular shows, and many past shows that had a cult following. They have new episodes that air about 24 hours after the TV air time.

 With huluplus, you can browse popular content. categorized content, or search for specific content.

12. The Weather Channel: The iPhone comes with a weather app already installed, but in my opinion, The Weather Channel app blows it out of the water. You can get current, hour by hour, 3 day, and 10 day forecasts. You can also switch it over to the Doppler map to watch specific storms as they come in. It shows you severe weather warnings in an easy to use format. The Weather Channel app is free and an excellent resource.

13. Words with Friends Free: This is technically just a game and can't help you organize your life at all. What it can do though, is give you a rewarding social and gaming experience. I live far away from my parents and sister, but through Words with Friends, I can play scrabble with them every day. It's a turn by turn game where you take a turn and it sends the notification to the other player, Then they can take a turn when they get a chance and it notifies you that it's your turn. It's a fun way to stay connected to the people that you miss.

 With Words with Friends Free, you can play turn by turn scrabble with friends and family.

Saving Money through Pinterest Projects

I can still remember the day I found out about pinterest. It was described to me as an online pin board where you can pin the things you like. Honestly, it sounded like something that I would download onto my iPhone, play with for a week and then delete. I forgot about it shortly after hearing about it. At some point, I went to download it out of sheer boredom and found out that I couldn't join without an invite. This led to a 12 hour search of mass hysteria where I contacted every single person in my life (or former life, or that I once ran into at a party, etc) trying desperately to find someone who had an account that could invite me. The longer I spent trying to find someone, the more obsessed I became. I still wasn't even completely sure what it did, but I knew I had to have it. I finally started leaving comments on blogs that referenced pinterest asking for an invite. 12 hours later, I was in. Thankfully, pinterest was worth the wait. I mention this because if you're in the same boat I was (though I doubt it as pinterest is much more mainstream now), leave me a comment asking for an invite and you'll be my first priority. Don't forget to leave your email in the comment.

While spending hours looking through crafty people's inspiration is heaven on earth, we're not actually saving money unless we start doing the projects we see. More importantly, unless we start doing the projects that we need, or that replace things that we would have to spend money on. For instance, how many people joined pinterest, pinned like crazy and started doing ridiculously expensive projects that required a ton of time and equipment we didn't already have. Yeah, that would be me. There's nothing wrong with that if your looking at it as entertainment, but if you're trying to save money than let me introduce you to a different way to pin.

When I found out I was hosting thanksgiving dinner for 8 people, I wanted a way to make it special but frugal (without resorting to the dollar store paper turkeys). I had a few challenges though. I didn't have a large table, or enough chairs, our dinner plates were purple, and our budget was not representative of the impression that I wanted to make as a newly married couple. I didn't want to waste a lot of money on decorations that I would never use again. I searched pinterest for "Thanksgiving" and "Dinner Party", to see what everyone else was thinking. I came up with this:

I placed two smaller tables together to make one larger table and gathered chairs from all over the house to make it work. I decided that I can work the purple plates into a thanksgiving theme by pairing it with orange and brown. I bought 2 yards of fabric (using the 50% off coupon, making it 3.00 per yard) and used it as a table cloth. After dinner, you can wash the fabric and use it for other projects. I did hit the dollar store for the paper thanksgiving napkins, and scattered doily leaves.

I found a tutorial on pinterest to make a stick vase using sticks and an old coffee can. You can find the tutorial here. This was quick and fun to make, and actually got us outside for a walk to gather the sticks. Even better? I moved the vase and flowers to the front porch after the dinner, and they actually looked pretty good (though dried) for about a month!

I found a pin that used these dollar store votive holders and floated a fake flower in water. The pin went to a dead link and I wasn't a fan of the fake flowers, but I had leftover coffee beans that smelled amazing and tons of votive candles in our emergency supply. So I picked up a few votive holders, combined all and ta da! I still drool at the smell of coffee beans.

I picked up thin Hershey's bars for fifty cents a piece, added layered scrapbook papers and used them as place cards.



Total cost for my thanksgiving dinner decorations?
Hershey Place Cards: $4.00
Tablecloth: $6.00
Votive Holders: $4.00
Flowers and Vase: $9.99
Napkins and Scattered Leaves: $2.00
$26.00 total. 

I needed ideas for baby shower gift baskets. I found a pin for these little guys (and girls) to include in baby shower gift bags. They were really easy to make out of baby wash cloths, baby socks, and newborn diapers. You can find the instructions here.

We bought a refurbished sewing machine for $70.00 right around the time I got pregnant. My mom and Jon had been teaching me to sew. I happened across a pin for home made burp cloths and thought that would be a fun, cheap project. This has become my favorite hobby ever. I've made 25 burp cloths for our soon to be baby and have started making more for gifts. It's a really simple, easy, and confidence building project for a new sewer like myself. After about 10, you feel like a professional seamstress. I buy the flannel snuggle fabric from Joanne's (when it's either on sale for $2.99 per yard, or when I have a 50% off coupon), and pair it with either cloth diaper material or cotton terry (regular price is $6.99 but again- only buy when it's 50% off! Sign up for their emails and coupons come almost every other week). Each burp cloth costs about 90 cents to make and will make a great addition to gift baskets. Instructions can be found here.

One of our cheapest parties to host is poker night. It's a ton of fun (though it requires a bit of logistics and forethought to pull of well- more on that later). With a large table, 2 decks of cards, a mason jar to put the $10.00 tournament money in, and about $20.00 for snacks... You have yourself a party! One small issue- I'm the biggest germaphobe in the world.  A bowl of peanuts screams E. Coli and the thought of dipping in a communal dip bowl makes me feel physically ill (don't judge- we all have issues). You can imagine my delight and surprise when I saw a pin for mini plastic dixie cups filled with personal snacks. It cost me $2.00 for pretzels, $4.00 for peanuts, $1.00 for baby carrots, $1.00 for celery, $1.29 for ranch dressing, and $ 2.00 for the dixie cups (with tons of leftovers). Our party food cost less than $12.00! No germs! And it was easy to take the cups to your spot at the table without getting dip everywhere. The original post can be found here.

If you can ignore the horrendous nail polish in that last picture (now you can't look at anything else can you?), I can tell you that when I was packing my maternity "go bag" for the hospital, I was reaching for a Ziploc baggie to put our tooth brushes in. I remembered seeing a pin like this. I checked it out and found out that it linked to an etsy shop where she sells these for $10.00 (a great investment if you can't sew- these things are genius!), you can go to her shop from here. Since I'm getting pretty good with the sewing machine now, I decided to wing it and see what happened. It was really easy, took all of five minutes, and I had all of the materials handy. You just need a washcloth and a washable ribbon. You can fit a full size toothpaste in there as well if you would like. It keeps your toothbrushes sanitary. If it gets messy, just throw it in the wash when you get home. I don't feel comfortable posting a tutorial, since she had the original idea and she's selling them. But if you take a look, and you have any experience at all, I'm sure you can figure it out.

There are a million genius projects out there that can save us time and money. Pinterest is a life changing tool to help us think outside the box. If you found something on pinterest that saved you time and money, let us know!