Where does the Money go?

All money that comes in has a place....where is it all going?

DH brings home $339 a week, of that $240 automatically goes into our Money Market account so it can build interest, that is used to pay our mortgage, and the interest, well, that's savings, that I am being PAID rather than me having to add it in myself.

$20 of it goes in the gas tank (DH's car gets great mileage, we use about $60 a month in gas)
That leaves me with $79

Now to pay the bills, We pay out, on the 15th of the month, for Mortgage, $727.54 the overage that I stuck in The Money market pays the Utilities, leaving a mere $6 to continue growing (but we also got interest on the whole month of having the rest in as well.

We have No car payment, but the insurance is 181.96 per month this is taken out of the money added to the checking, and only comes out 11 months per year. This leaves us $214 for luxury and food. Our taxes and Insurance are put in a CD in April, so they earn money from our tax refunds.

Cheap Meal Sick Kids

Yesterday my bug spiked a fever of 102.7 she was miserable. A little Tylenol and a lot of sleep went a long way to make her feel better. The Generic versions of Tylenol work just as well. Even though Bug is 5 we are still using infant Tylenol and Baby size doses because we don't want her having a lot of meds and getting a high drug tolerance like her momma has.

On Wednesday I spent the day in the hospital having tests run to check on the function of my shunt. Before we left, I made dinner (although we didn't eat it when we got home because it stunk-Hospitals make everything smell bad) but Taco soup is one of the worlds Cheapest meals.

3/4 lb ground beef (1.34)
1 Can Kidney Beans (.50)
1 can Chili Beans (.50)
1 quart Tomatoes (1.00)
1 packet Onion soup mix (.39)
1 quart water (free from Drips)
1 can corn (.50)
1 packet Taco seasoning (.50)

throw all in crock pot undrained all day on low. Tastes best a day or two after its been cooked

$4.23 I get approximately 3 meals out of this, 2 soups and a taco Salad We serve the soup with either Home baked bread or Baked Potatoes. The salad, is just bagged Lettuce, 1 tomato and a bag of Doritos (making none of the 3 meals over $5 for our family and we get lunch the following day out of all three as well.

The Cost of a Loaf of Bread

How much do you pay for store bought bread?
Here, it cost about $2.19 for whole wheat bread (and thats the cheap bread)

Using Expensive whole wheat flour at $0.82 per pound 4 1/2 cups per pound
Yeast $1.93 lb 112 teaspoons per pound
Powdered milk $0.55 quart
Sugar $0.72 lb 2 1/4 cups per pound 108 teaspoons per pound
Bread Flour $0.82 lb 4 1/2 cups per pound
Butter $2.50 lb 32 Tablespoons per pound
Salt $0.33 lb 113 teaspoons per pound

At that rate,
Going through the recipe for a 1 1/2 lb loaf
1 cup of Milk $0.13
3 Tablespoons of Water (free from the drips)
4 Teaspoons of Sugar $0.027
1 Tablespoon Butter $0.078
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour $0.273
1 1/2 cups Bread Flour $0.273
3/4 Teaspoon Salt (do we really need to figure this one out?)$0.0029
1 teaspoon active Dry yeast (bought in bulk) $0.017

Now to add it all up, 80.09 cents per loaf
compared to 2.19 on sale, 1.49 is the Aldi price. so I think I better get to work making a loaf of Bread, since I can get the ingredients Cheaper than the prices I used in the example

Joyful Momma

While Highlighting the authors, bloggers, or websites that have blessed me by helping our journey, its time to highlight Joyful Momma.

I purchased a wonderful package that included some of Kimberly's work, I was very impressed. I actually met her through a weblist I no longer even read but I could so relate to her financial situation at the time. She had been through a lot with her husbands job and was asking for prayer. At this same time, the company my husband worked for decided that it was not in their best interest to pay their employees. We found a new job and Lost $2 an hour worth of income and all the overtime, after that job didn't last, my husband got a third job, at yet another $1 an hour pay cut. Now no matter where you live, pay cuts are not easy. We had Just bought our house that June and in 9 months went from making nearly $28,000 per year, to just over $20,000, I only wish that I had bought her book back then instead of waiting.

Thriving on One Income is one of the best books for those in need. It offers a good reality check as well as a lot of spiritual meat. She also has a book entitled Grow your Own Groceries which we already try to do, but now I have a lot more inspiration to keep trying, maybe one day my garden will actually produce enough to actually can (first I have to get it organized like she suggests)

Menu Plan for October 15-21

This weeks menu in No particular order since I only know What we are having Today and Wednesday at this point.

Monday- Tacos, Corn and refried beans (pantry Meal)
Tater Tot Casserole
Wednesday we are having Crock Pot Chili as we wont be home most of the day thanks to my tests.
Burgers with all the fixings and Potato Wedges
Taco Salad (fixed with leftover CHili)
Spaghetti with homemade sauce and Meatballs
Homemade Pizza

Looking at how they came out on the list, I think it just might stay this way as its a good progression to not havign nasty leftovers every day. And my total grocery list, includes nothing more than Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Doritos, I have EVERYTHING else we need already in the house, How cool is that. I can live on a $5 weekly budget, if only that were truly the case. Last week I got Better than excellent deals on Chicken, tortillas, Ground Beef and a whole lot of other stuff. So I stocked up with $72 worth of groceries, so for the next 3 weeks $5 is more like all I can really afford to spend. Although I do have some tucked away in case we get another fabulous sale....its not at Kroger or Meijer this week though.

Cindy's Porch

Shop at home is her motto. Dh loves her site as well because of how much learning to CHECK before we bought has helped us.

We have a grocery budget of only around $80 a month plus whatever DH gets in overtime in a month and how low I can keep the Electric and Gas bills as they are the only ones that move.
Every month, we print her Inventory lists and dig through the pantry, fridge, and freezers and make our lists. Last month I was so impressed since I actually had enough to make more than a weeks worth of meals just off of our stash at hand. I had forgotten most of that stuff was even there since the freezer had gotten buried with a laundry basket and forgotten about.

Hillbilly Housewife

I think one of the most frugal sites I have ever found for ANYTHING would be Miss Maggie's Hillbilly Housewife. Her site happens to be the one I recomend to almost anyone who asks for anything frugal. I have gotten ideas, recipes, and more inspiration from this site than Any others I have found in a LONG time.

I come across Lots and Lots of frugal findings almost every day. I usually file them away and can never find them again. This Blog is specifically so I can find what I have learned from and refer back to it at a later time.

Thank you to all the bloggers who have shared your frugal findings and blessed others with them already.