What do we spend?

I have been doing coupons & rebates for about 11 months now. I laughed at my friends(shame faced honesty here) as they were doing coupons because I truly didn't think it made a difference($ saved/time invested). Well I am still seeing how it all comes together but I do know that we are able to purchase things for free & VERY discounted prices at times. I also have a much bigger stock pile of food & necessities now than I did a year ago. Also as for the time investment--I have recruited my daughters as my helpers and that has helped save me time in getting coupons clipped & such.

After reading multiple blogs about how much people were spending per week/month on groceries & household items, I began to get curious about how 2009 has gone for our family. I am a big believer that month to month things will fluctuate but over a longer period of time you can get a good picture of your average spending. I know that we have stayed for the most part under our budget each month on groceries & household. So here is how we've made out so far. Remember we have a family of 6 & 2 teens. :)

Grocery average is $557 our budget is $588
Household average is $362 our budget is $555(we save up for some bigger items this way)

At the beginning of the year my $ spent was MUCH higher than say last months spending--$50 more. So I think that using coupons & rebates are definitely paying off! AWESOME!

I want to start to shave those numbers even more--maybe just 10% to start. We will see how Nov & December affect things as we do more cooking & such during those months. However we will be able to use some of the stockpiled items and perhaps off set the additional purchases for the holidays!

Getting organized

I am tired of the whole putting food on the table process. It just seems to be one more chore right now. Normally I like cooking and all that is involved in that. I am not sure why my attitude has changed. That said I also know if I have a plan then I won't be panicking when suppertime rolls around. This week here is the plan

B'fasts

Oatmeal, Yogurt & granola, waffles w/ applesauce, & cereal

Lunches

Fast Frittata & biscuits, Broccoli & Rice soup, Mac & Cheese, Chili

Suppers

Teriyaki Chicken
Tilapia Vera Cruz
Crockpot Swiss Steak
Italian Hotdish
Meatloaf

So I have a plan now just have to find some excitement. Maybe I will just go make cookies!

Regrouping!

It has been a really long time since I felt inspired to post. A lot happens in September and October for our family! Soccer gets in to full swing--Steve & Michael coach 2 teams so it can be crazy. Every Saturday from the end of August to the end of October is spent at the soccer fields. So after a couple of weeks I am finally surfacing from recovering!


We also took a break from school in the middle of October for a couple of weeks. Steve & I traveled to Hilton Head, SC for his continuing ed conference. I am so blessed to get to go along & take my scrapbook stuff so I can work happily while he's in class. We've done this for 7 years & my fabulous mother & father-in-law keep the kids so we can do this!


This year, however, we didn't really count on the swine flu! We never got the kids tested but they came down with something that was pretty ugly(grandma was calling her house the infirmary!). Everyone survived & we made it back home safely(and I got 40 pages done!).

Then a mere 4 days after we returned I left for a Getaway Scrapbook Weekend. Unfortunately, 3 days after we returned I caught a cold and wasn't feeling 100%. Still got some pages done & had a blast with my new & old girl friends. They are crazy & fun!


Once home it seemed to take another couple of weeks to settle in. We are back to school full time & liking the routine. Here is what our week--normally--looks like.

Monday--HOME--this is the only day we have guaranteed at home(unless something comes up) so it a laundry, clean house, school, catch up day!

Tuesday--School in the morning, girls & I in town for their Bible study & my errand running.

Wednesday--Steve's day off--ANYthing goes!

Thursday--School in the morning & piano lessons in the afternoon-every other week we have Bible Quizzing in the evening.

Friday--School & guitar lessons before noon. Then the girls have a science club that they are in from 1 -3 so J & I run more errands.

Michael is on his own schedule for his ASL class & English class. It all flows pretty well & we are getting things DONE! That is such a great feeling.