March Mission -- Day 29

Great day, no thanks to me!

Breakfast: at home! Doughnuts from Grandma and Grandpa = FREE!
Lunch: School/work = FREE!
Dinner: Ham sandwiches using leftover ham from Sunday dinner. = around $3?

I had PTM tonight and was hoping to get to go out afterwards. No luck. Well, it's hard to be too disappointed when I know that it helped us spend less than $5 today, even after snacks and dessert.

Almost done with this challenge!

March Mission -- Day 24

I can't believe how quickly the month is going. Good grief, we're nearly done with March already!

Here's how the past several days have gone:
Sunday, 3/21
Breakfast -- home -- around $2
Lunch -- home (roast and rice) -- $8
Dinner -- frozen pizza -- $3

Monday, 3/22
Breakfast -- home -- around $2
Lunch -- school/work -- no cost
Dinner -- Five Guys in Mobile, AL (a special treat) -- $25 ish

Tuesday, 3/23
Breakfast -- home -- around $2
Lunch -- school/work -- no cost
Dinner -- Whataburger (an unplanned treat; that's what happens when you don't finish your business until 8:00 pm and the kids still haven't eaten.) -- $20 ish

Tuesday's dinner was not planned and not a good value. We had thought to go to Fazoli's for kid's meals for $.99, but we didn't get there before 8:00, when the kids' night ends. So, Whataburger it was. Too bad, too, because Fazoli's lets anybody get a kid's meal -- even the grown ups. So we could have all eaten for $6 or $7. Oh well.

This challenge has been so good for our family, financially. And so good for me, domestically. I have enjoyed getting to cook for my family, even if I don't enjoy the clean up. I am already thinking of carrying this over into next month (I did mention that in another post already, I know.). I'll have to think of something.

March Mission -- Day 20

Guess What???

No Sonic yesterday!

Even after the burned dinner, I managed to hold on to reason.

Here's the rundown for today (so far):

Breakfast:

Tupua family traditional Chik-fil-a breakfast -- nearly $20

Lunch:
Frozen pizza -- $1

Frozen popcorn shrimp -- $.59

Fresh strawberries -- $1

Chips -- $1

I haven't made lunch yet, but it's going to have to be these convenience foods because I have a MOUNTAIN of school work to get done before 7:30 Monday morning.

Dinner:

Probably more of the convenience foods from lunch, and Daddy may have to do it all. I have to leave the house and go somewhere else to work. Just too many cute distractions to deal with here. By 2:00, I should be at the Whataburger near PCA. If you stop by, I'll be easy to find; I'll be in the corner booth with piles of work around me. If I look like I am perishing, just refill my diet coke for me, and I'll be fine. :) I will probably have Whataburger food for dinner.

No savings realized today, I don't think.

I did some reading of my own blog posts, and I really think that we have passed that $200 savings mark. There are several days about which I didn't post but that were successful in our mission. So, for the sake of keeping track of our savings, and in an effort to not inflate said savings, I have determined that, as of 3/20, we have saved $200 this month. March Mission posts from here on through the rest of the month will build on that number.

Hmm, what name might I use for a similar April mission? April Avoidance? (That sounds like some kind of mental illness.) April Attack? (Too violent. Or sounds like an allergic condition.) No Dining Out April? (Borrowing from Kristin at couponingtodisney.com with that one. Not alliterated, and I like alliterated.) Ideas?

,

March Mission -- Day 19

Grr. I just burnt dinner. I don't know if I'll be able to stick to the March Mission today.
And it was going to be so good. I made taco rice with stew meat cut into smaller bits. I left the meat cooking so I could check something on the web. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was smelling burned dinner.
I may need some Sonic. (At least we have coupons!)

So far, here's how the day is stacking up:

Breakfast:

Jimmy Dean D'Lites for the grown ups -- $1.00
Frusion yogurt smoothies for the kiddos -- $.36
a couple muffins left over from the 2 batches I made for my students -- $.60?

Lunch:

School/Work -- no cost

Dinner:

taco rice -- $3.00?
Meat: free thanks to the overage at Publix when I used the Knox coupon
Rice: around $.50
Cheese: been in the freezer for a while, not sure how much I paid for it $.75
Veggies: $1.00 ish
Sauce: pennies

Sonic: ?? :)

March Mission -- Day 18

We've really done well this week, even though I haven't posted every day.
We did eat out -- just Talani and me -- after PTM on Monday. That was a nice treat.
That's the only meal we've eaten out this week!
Here's how the 18th went:

Breakfast:

Jimmy Dean D'Lites sandwiches for the grownups -- $1.00
Bought these on sale and with coupons last week at Publix. I'm glad we stocked up. They were $2 per box, and there are 4 sandwiches in a box. They are so convenient and SO tasty. They really have kept me out of Whataburger this week!

Frusion yogurt smoothies for the kiddos -- $.36
Also bought on BOGO sale, with both Publix coupons and manufacturer coupons. They usually go for $3.49 per 4-pack. We paid $.72 for a 4-pack!

Lunch:

School/work -- thanks PCA/PCC -- $0.00

Dinner:

Hamburger Helper -- $1.00
Ground beef -- $1.89
Fresh strawberries -- $1.25

Total for the day: $5.50!
A savings of at least $17.50!

I've lost track of the month, but we're nearing the $200 if we haven't made it there already.
This challenge has been so good for our family!

March Mission -- Day 16

I can hardly believe it's the 16th already! Where has the month gone? We are almost done with the first quarter of 2010! What?!?!

We've done well over all. I will admit that my husband took me out for dinner last night. We've gone out, just the two of us, more lately than since before we had kids! We spent $25 on dinner.

Here's the rundown for today:

Breakfast -- at home, Jimmy Dean D-Lites for the grown ups and Yogurt smoothies for the kiddos. Both were bought at Publix on sale and with coupons. The Jimmy Dean sandwiches (which really help me not to miss Whataburger) cost us about $.50 each. The yogurt smoothies cost us about $.18 each! So, breakfast cost $1.36!

Lunch -- at school/work. Nothing major out of pocket. I did make Dianna's lunch today, costing about $.40.

Dinner -- at home -- Hamburger helper -- about $3.50, maybe less.

Snack at ballgame (Go, Phillies!) -- crackers, cheese, and cookies -- about $1.50.
Total spent today: $6.76 for the day!

On a typical Tuesday, we likely would have spent $23 or more eating out. So, we saved around $16 today!

March Mission -- Day 11

I am so thankful for this challenge! We have saved so much and it hasn't been too difficult. (Although I will admit to salivating yesterday just thinking of the chips and salsa as we drove by La Hacienda.)

Here's the rundown for today:
Breakfast: at home -- saved at least $5
Lunch: school/work
Dinner: at home -- saved at least $10

This brings our savings for the month to $107!
We are still planning on going out for our date tomorrow.
And still planning for our traditional Saturday breakfast with the kids at Chik-fil-a.
It's just amazing how much we've saved. (I have been estimating our savings on the lower side. I didn't want to inflate my recordings here. I estimated that our cheapest breakfast at Whataburger cost around $9 for the family, and that our cheapest dinner at Steak n Shake with coupons cost around $15. Then, I figure our grocery spending and subtract from that lowest eating out price to find our minimum savings. So that $107 is the lowest possible savings we've realized this month.)

March Mission -- Day 10

Today:
Breakfast at home, saved $5.
Lunch at school/work.
Dinner at home, saved $9.
Total saved today: at least $14.
Total saved this month: $92!

Yesterday:
Breakfast at Whataburger, spent $13 (I HAD to! I had stayed up until 1:00 am the night before doing school work. I needed the pick me up of a bacon bob and a diet coke.)
Lunch at school/work.
Dinner at home, saved at least $9.
Not counting anything as "saved" for the 9th, since we spent $13 on breakfast.

March Mission -- Day 8

Oh, how badly I wanted to eat out today!
But we resisted!
Breakfast and dinner at home; lunch at school/work (don't have to pay).
Subtracting the cost of our groceries for the day, we saved at least $14 today.
A total savings for this month: $78!

March Mission -- Day 4

No out of pocket expense today for meals, other than what was already spent on groceries.
Cereal with milk for breakfast
School/work lunch
Pizza for dinner (instead of going out)

Approximate spent on groceries: $4
Since we ate dinner at home instead of going out, I estimate we saved AT LEAST $11 today.
That brings our March total to $46!

March Mission -- Day 3

Our normal day would have involved breakfast at home, lunch at school/work, and dinner at a fast food restaurant. We would have spent at least $15 on dinner.

Instead . . .

Breakfast at home -- around $1.00
Lunch at school/work -- no out of pocket costs
Dinner at home -- around $3.50
Total spent on today's groceries: $4.50, plus a trivial amount on snacks.

Saved at least $10.50 today, totalling over $35 this month already!

March Mission -- Day 1

Fellow blogger and Disney enthusiast, Kristin, over at couponingtodisney.com, is having a challenge this month. I've decided to get on the band wagon by commenting on her daily posts this month, but I'm also carrying that over here.
For someone who calls herself a "wannabe cheapskate", I sure do allow myself to eat out a lot. And I mean A LOT!!! It's usually my idea, as opposed to my husband's prompting, although if he suggests, I go for it! We have been eating out so much lately! At least 4 times for breakfast and 3 times for dinner each week. We'd easily spend $75 per week just on eating out. Well, my mission for March, just like Kristin's, is to cut WWWAAAYYY back on how much we eat out.
I want to cut it down to 25% of our recent habits, leaving room for at least 1 meal out per week. (We have a Saturday morning Chik-fil-a tradition.)
We often choose Whataburger for breakfast on Mondays, but ate at home today for FREE! We saved at least $9! (Thanks to my sister, Mandy, for making a great breakfast! You made it easy for us today!)
We often choose a fast food restaurant on Monday nights -- a place like Steak n Shake. At least $15 spent there. Today we are having Hamburger Helper and ciabatta rolls. We spent around $5 for all the ingredients, so we saved at least $10 on dinner.
That's a savings of $19 in just one day!
Here's the challenge for you: Decide what changes you want to make to your family's eating habits (eating out less, eating more healthful meals, eating together more, etc.). Post your goal as a comment on this post. Then, each day on my post for the day, comment your progress. Let's see what we can accomplish in the area this month!