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February 3, 2015

February No-Spend Month Challenge: Day 3 Recap

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Hello again, savvy savers! So, for Day 3, and keeping with our I challenge you all to find new ways to Dine Out At Home!

For for me, I used today’s challenge to create a copycat meal, that could later be used with materials I had on-hand! Here’s my menu:

So, with items on hand, I would be able to pull this meal together, for my husband and I, for under $10.00! Compare this to the retail price of $64.18, minus gratuity and tax, for this same meal! This meal will be on my menu for my April no-spend month challenge, as my current meal plan is already in place!

As well today, I was also able to accomplish:

  1. I woke up at 6:45, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes, grudgingly. (Thanks, Flylady!)
  2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
  3. I finished one day of  clerking assignments.
  4. I read part of a new review book.
  5. I finished the last chapter of an awesome new book, “And Now I Choose,” by Tam Hodge.
  6. I finished today’s Day 3 No-Spend Challenge!
  7. I cooked from my pantry, three times.
  8. I finished five product reviews.
  9. Read my daily devotional.
  10. I organized my dining room.

So today I saved:

  • I was able to subscribe to a new, free magazine subscription, which will have a combined savings of $11.00.
  • I completed 2 surveys online via Ipsos-iSay, and earned a $1.00 towards my next Amazon gift code.
  • I eat at home three times today, saving our family $8.91. 
  • I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag. 
  • I reconstituted older Scentsy bricks into new wax melts, and saved $4.50.
  • I received $21.32 worth of product review items, which can be placed in my home gift closet!
  • I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.

So, overall today my family saved: $50.66

This months savings goal remaining: $757.75

 

Now that’s a full day! Stay tuned for the Day 4 Challenge tomorrow!

Here’s to saving,

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Challenge Links:

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10 Ways to Stay Healthier In Winter!

 

 

It’s winter, and that means Flu and Cold season! If you are anything like me, you are always thinking of healthy, affordable measures to help safeguard your family during this germapalooza each year! As a wife of a public educator, it’s one of my main missions to help not only keep germs out of my home, but to keep my family, my husband’s students as healthy as possible, and by proxy, myself, too!

We may not be able to protect ourselves from all the germs in public, but there are a lot of things we can do to keep our home healthy during winter.

For this week’s Tutorial Tuesday, I want to share with you a few of my tried-and-true Winter germ-fighting strategies to help you stay healthier this season. Here are 10 tips to get you started:

  • Change your furnace filters every three months. Filters capture allergens like pet dander, smoke, household dust from the air passing through the filter. Changing furnace filters seasonally keeps these allergens from both re-entering your home, and your families respiratory systems.
  • Stay away from those with visible signs of illness. If someone is displaying cold or flu-like symptoms in a public place, move away from them. Don’t touch them, or their belongings.
    Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, as germs can spread up to six feet in circumference!
  • Wash your hands frequently. Soap and water alone don’t remove the germs from your hands; friction removes the germs, so wash vigorously.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. According to the CDC, the majority of infections are caused by touching something that is contaminated with germs and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces bi-weekly. Examples would be door handles and knobs, toilet handle, sinks, refrigerator handles, railings, remote controls, telephones, and dining room tables; use commercial sprays, such as Lysol, and allow surfaces to fully dry for 1-2 minutes before using.
  • Change bedding weekly. Germs can be spread through shared bedding, so washing it often can prevent that. Duvets, bed skirts, pillows, and other items do not need to be washed but should be placed on a hot fluff cycle for 15 minutes to kill surface germs.
  • Don’t share eating utensils. Honestly, for me, this is a year-round rule!
  • Diffuse essential oils. Essentials oils, such as tea tree, grapefruit, lemon, and cedar oil can clear the air in under 30 minutes, helping to promote wellness in your home and ease sinus discomfort.
  • Eat your veggies! By eating nutritious whole foods, such as three servings of vitamins each day, you will help to build your bodies reserve of B-Complex, Vitamin k, and Vitamin C reserves, all natural agents which help your body stave off infection, and promote cell renewal!

Friends, those are my 10 tips for staying healthier this winter season. Now if you have any tips that you utilize in your own home to stay healthier each winter season, I’d love to hear them below.

February No-Spend Month Challenge: Day 3 (Dine Out At Home)

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Hello again, savvy savers! A new day, a new challenge! 

 

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Did you know, that the average American eats an average of 4.2 commercially prepared meals per week. In other words, as a nation, on average we dine out between 4-5 times a week. This number equates to 18.2 meals in an average month, nearly a 1/3 of our meals consumed!

What kind of money are we talking about here? Considering that the average American spends $12.75 per meal, may not sound too exorbitant, but wait until you see the real math… that is $232 a month, and $2,784.00 annually! 

What’s more staggering? Many low-fat, nutritious meals can be made for under $2.00 per person, per meal, a savings of nearly $40.00 weekly, all-in-all a 90% savings; all funds which could easily help you snowball debt!  So, for just this one budget change, you can pay for an entire months worth of couponed groceries, for a family of four! I know it can be done, I do it weekly! 

Now with that said, I still firmly believe in the idea that part of living well, spending less, and living frugally only means something if these measures help you, and your family, live freely! Yes, you should be able to splurge on meals from time to time, just not this month! And I am also aware of the upcoming Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day weekends vast approaching, and in the spirit of laissez bon temps rouler, I have devised today’s challenge!

So, for Day 3, and keeping with our I challenge you all to find new ways to Dine Out At Home!

That’s right! Come up with a list of a list of copycat meal options, restaurant-style fair, savory bits that can be made at home this month, from what you already have on hand!

  • Use your favorite search engine and find recipes that will help you empty your freezer, deep freeze, stockpile, and pantry items.
  • You should find a few meals, nothing crazy, just a few! 
  • Search for specific chain favorites; for me I love Applebee’s Walnut Bondies!
  • Have fun!
  • Be Creative!

Stay tuned for the Day 3 Challenge recap this evening!

Here’s to saving,

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Challenge Links:

17 Comments