Challenge for July!

I am sitting at the desk thinking and working VERY hard. I knew this would be a difficult task, but I didn't know it would be THIS hard!

What am I doing, you may ask? I am attempting to make a MONTH long menu plan! Stephanie has been doing this and I always read her posts in complete admiration! I already admire this blogging mom of 3, but I truly admire her now..... I can say with confidence that I have successfully completed my first month long menu plan! Whew! It was a daunting task but done now!

Now the REAL fun begins- making a grocery list, shopping and then.... sticking to it! My flaw is the later! I can buy it and I can make a list (Yes, I am type A and enjoy list making!!) but sticking to it- NO MATTER WHAT my day has been like, is the hard part! I didn't incorporate as many meals with the crockpot as I would have liked. I know this will be easier to do once cooler weather comes to town. Yummy! Just thinking about cooler weather and chili and veggie soup with cornbread..... makes my bones happy!! I really wanted to stick to two meats- chicken and ground beef because I'm buying food for the month- all at once- so didn't want to stock up on a little of this and a little of that, etc. So, I stuck with two basics proteins and planned meals around that. I also have a huge bag of leftover ham from Easter that I decided to freeze. I planned lunches for Saturday and Sundays. During the week? I haven't gotten that far. I know I should and probably will write down a few ideas per week so that I will have the necessary ingredients.

I think having a meal plan definitely cuts down on "what should we do for dinner? talk" and ultimately will help the main goal of the month.... Cut our food budget bill down by $200. Can we do it? I sure as heck hope so! It would be AWESOME to have that extra money to put towards things we want to accomplish and do before Baby Bean comes. So, in order to do this, I broke up our food budget. I gave Hubbie some lunch money every week. I gave the boys and I a little lunch money every week. Then I made sure that our family was allowed to eat out one meal out a week. After that, with the reminder of the budget, I took out $10 a week for essentials- bread, milk and fruit. We are ALWAYS going to the store on Sundays, after church, for fruit. Never fails. Fruit does not last long in our house. (Hubbie has given up desserts and has been eating fruit as his dessert.) So, I took that away and will make sure that every week, we have that set aside.

The rest of the money is grocery store money. With what is left, I plan to go to the store on Tuesday, while the boys are at "school" and do a major shopping trip. I will get anything and everything that I will need. I will go to as many stores as I need to. I have realized that not only have we fallen off the wagon about a lot of things, but we also tend to go to the store more often than we use to. I use to be such a stickler for only going to the store once within a shopping trip period.... I really do think, the more you enter the store, the more you're gonna spend. Hubbie is REALLY bad about this. Whereas we use to make do without something until next shopping trip, he'll just stop and get it now. I hate that!!! We've got to stop it!!! So, I plan to get whatever we're gonna need for July 1st thru July 31st. Milk and bread and, of course, fresh fruits, I can't buy everything we're gonna use, because we don't have a big enough fridge/freezer.

I also think that I'm gonna make food a cash envelope system again. We stopped doing the cash part, but continued with Dave Ramsey's envelope system. We just kept track of what we spent. It wasn't hard because we've been doing it so long, but I do think the cash will hurt more at restaurants and at the grocery store. Maybe it'll stop me from buying the latest and greatest craving!!! Errr....hhmmmm.....maybe I should have added a "Momma Craving" category in the food budget! Ya think?! My hips would thank me if I didn't do this!

So, do you think we can do it?! Please say yes! I pray that its a easy and quick month and that it works out wonderfully. Thankfully I seem to have some energy again...well... at least more energy than I had. I'm pumped about getting the house situated and fixed and cleaned out before baby comes. Maybe I'm nesting early. What am I saying... I am always changing things up!!! Who cares!

Alright, so READY to tackle this challenge!!! Anyone else wanna do it with me?!

Pampers CHEAP CHEAP!

So, I've been doing the "CVS game" for a few months now...kinda off and on. Some weeks there isn't anything fabulous, so I hang on to my ECBs, but some weeks, like this week, its better good!

I don't usually post CVS things because there are a MILLION websites that post weekly stores sales and instead of being another one of those blogs, I figure, I can just link to them or have them on my blogroll.

Yesterday I opened my Google reader and saw that every single "money-saving-mom-blog" had CVS practically GIVING AWAY packages of Pampers diapers. I don't buy Pampers, but if I can get a package for $2.99, especially newborn, I'm gonna run in there! So, Hubbie and I went into a store yesterday planning on purchasing my limit-3 packages- for baby Bean, after ECBS and coupons, it would be $2.99 for each package! A steal! The store clerk had no clue and no where was it advertised in the store! I was bummed. We came home, looked back up on CVS.com and sure enough! it was advertised as an IN STORE sale. I called another local store. The guy checked around and NO CLUE. I couldn't figure out why no one was jumping on this sale and no store had any idea about it. I mean, diapers for $2.99, come on! Run people! So, I waited a few hours, tried calling the headquarters of CVS (they are closed on Sundays) and finally after dinner, I tried another store. Thankfully the girl that answered had JUST had a customer trying to buy the diapers and noticed no ECBs ringing up, so I thankful that NOW someone else in town was trying to buy them. The girl had no idea, but suggested that I call the headquarters tomorrow....so on the dot, 8 am this morning came and I was on the phone. Obviously I wasn't the ONLY one, because I was on hold for about 15 mins! Finally, a lady answered and I went through everything that I did and asked, what do I need to do to get cheap diapers?! She said that its a system issue, so if you go- 6/7 thru 6/13 is the sale- and your ECBs don't print out, call the headquarters and give them your receipt number. Within 48 hrs, your ECBs will be shown! Woo hoo!

So glad I got that taken care of. I am off to do my CVS'ing now! If I do it right, now that I probably won't get the ECBs from the diapers immediately, I should come out with spending over $20, but have $10 ECBs left over for next time! We'll see!

To see the sale, go here. I didn't list any of the "cheapie mom blogs" because I read about 10 of them and they all had it and I'm trying to run out the door to get my cheap diapers!!!


UPDATE: I went to one of the local CVS stores at 9:10 this morning. I am so glad I went at that time. They only had 4 packages of Newborn Pampers and only 3 packages of the old type- which has 4 more diapers in the package, so I was able to get the diapers. After shopping for my stuff, I got the store clerk to ring up my purchases. The ECBs did not ring up for the diapers. Going to call now.

I ended up spending $29.00 and once I get the ECBs from the diapers (15 ECBs) it'll come out to me spending $14 for all this stuff.....

- 3 packages of Newborn Swaddlers diapers- 40 diapers in each package
- Venus Razor- free with coupons and ECBs
- 2 bottles of Dawn dish detergent
-2 toothpaste tubs- I forgot that I went in to get 2 kids toothpastes- oh well- we'll use it
- 2 bottles of Pantene 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner
- 2 Degree deodorants
- 2 Dove deodorants (don't worry- i stocked up Hubbie a few weeks ago)
- 1 Dove shampoo
- 1 Dove Body wash

My thing with CVS is that I won't buy anything that I won't use and that isn't cheaper than anywhere else- with coupons and ECBs. So often drug store prices are ridiculous and I don't want to waste money. Its taken me a while to get use to "stocking up". I don't like stocking up because its using more money than I have "budgetted" for, for certain categories, but- it is true- some months I don't have to spend any money on toiletries because I have so much stashed away... so it does all work out....just took a little while for this frugal/cheap mama to get use to.

I went into the store with $16 dollars in ECBs. Not too bad.

Just called CVS headquarters and got my ECBs from the diapers added to my card, so I have $15 ECBs waiting on me for the next go around!

Also, I posted this on Facebook and my SIL asked if me buying these diapers means that we have decided to NOT cloth diaper Baby Bean (and/or Peanut). The answer? No, it doesn't mean that. We haven't decided yet. I am going to give prefolds another try since I'm not quite as sick to my stomach with certain smells. We'll see if it makes me gag again. Also, a soon to be "neighbor" who is moving to town, read my blog and suggested a site where you can get used diapers at a cheaper cost and you just swap after you're finished with the size for a larger size, so I'm also going to look into that too. With MOPS, the household chores and duties, nursing, Bubbie in school 5 days a week, a 22 mo old and a newborn, NOT sure I need to add additional laundry to that list, but I'm still willing to give it a try! Just want to make sure its the most frugal way of diapering my children.