Menu Planning (Monday) Tuesday - A Month of Menus

This is my basic meal plan for the month.  I may not follow this exactly to the date.  If I decide to make a certain meal ahead, I will just cross it off that date as I make it.  I also have several other meals I can make - If my leftovers don't go as far as planned.

Also, I will add in more fruit and vegetables to the meals with fresh ones I can get that week on sale.

Because I am making all these meals from items in my stockpile, I am free to use some of my grocery money to add to the stockpile with items that are on sale.  I will also use some of my grocery money to purchase eggs, fruit, and vegetables.

3/31- 4/4/09 --------------------------------

Tuesday - Tacos with black beans, salad

Wednesday - Turkey, baked potatoes

Thursday - Turkey, Stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn

Friday - Turkey Noodle Soup - Homemade Bread

Saturday - Ham & Cabbage w/ potatoes and carrots

Here is a picture of the planner that I use to plan my month of meals on.

4/5 -11/09 -----------------------------------

Sunday - Turkey Sandwiches (Lunch) Pizza (Evening)

Monday - Spaghetti and Sausage

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Beef BBQ Sandwiches (Crock pot), Roasted potatoes

Thursday - Turkey Noodle Soup - Homemade Bread

Friday -  Baked Fish, Twice Baked Potatoes

Saturday - Pizza

4/12 - 18/09---------------------------------

Sunday (Easter) - Baked Ham, Scalloped Potatoes

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Ham and Bean Soup

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Pizza

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Turkey Noodle Soup

   (Our Family's Favorite Meal - Turkey Noodle Soup)

04/19 - 25/09 ------------------------------

Sunday - Roast and Potatoes

Monday  - Meat pie - from Roast leftovers

Tuesday - Turkey and Rice and broccoli casserole

Wednesday - Baked Fish, Potatoes, veg

Thursday - Beef Stir-fry w/ veggies and Ramen

Friday - Pizza

Saturday - Out (date night!)

04/26 - 5/02/09

Sunday - Beef BBQ, Baked Potatoes

Monday - Baked Rigatoni Casserole, bread and veg

Tuesday - Turkey Noodle Soup, bread

Wednesday - Cheesy Enchilada Hamburger Helper and vegs

Thursday - Tuna Casserole, Peas, salad

Friday - Eat out as Family

Saturday - Pizza

For more of my menus go here.

More Menu Planning Monday here.

Tuesday Tip

Did you know that you can get a rain check at CVS?  If you go and the item you want to get for "Free with ECB" or at it's current sale price just happens to be out - ask for a rain check!

Sometimes, when a deal is really good, it is hard to find it in stock - unless you hit it at the right time.  When you get your rain check make sure that they note the $ and ECB's.  

CVS is able to go in and manually print ECB's when needed, which is what they do when you redeem a rain check.

CVS rain check's do not expire - which is really nice! 

If you would like more tips on CVS go here, for my Top 10 Tips.

Check out the new feature "Drugstore Deals" for CVS deals!

Coupons.com Welch's Juice B1G1 Coupon

Buy One Get One FREE
Welch's

There is a "Coupon of the Week" for Welch's Aqua Juice on Coupons.com.  You should be able to print 2 coupons.  Hopefully they will go on sale! 

To Print - click on "See All Coupons" and then on the Coupons.com image at the bottom to go to the website.  If you don't see a "See All Coupons" on the coupon printer, then just click on the box.

There are also Cottonelle .50 off coupons there too - doubled at Kroger -that's a free 4-pack. Print 2 of those too!

Baking and Cooking Day 3/30/09

Today is going to be a day of Cooking and Baking for us.  I have some Amish Bread starter that I needed to get baked and also I bought about 30+ lbs of Potatoes last week at Target for only $6.00. 

So far, I've baked 4 loaves of Banana Bread - very yummy - as you can see we had a sample!  

Next I plan to make hash brown potatoes to put into the freezer and maybe french fries.

I'll let you know how it goes and if they turn out!

Here is the recipe I used for the bread, I doubled it and made a few adjustments which I noted.  I will try to post the starter recipe later too.

Homeschool Freebie of the Day 3/30/09

Finding Time To Do It All: Homeschool Moms Share their Time Management Woes and Solutions (PDF ebook) - In today’s resource, we went right to the source and surveyed over 400 homeschool moms to discover what Time Management concerns, secrets and suggestions they might offer if they could share their experiences with other families. The “real life” insights, frustrations, tips, and ideas that they share here address the unique time management issues that homeschool families face. Discover what Time Management solutions have worked for others, and apply them to your own household!

Click here to download today’s resource!

Here's the items for the rest of the week:

Tuesday, March 31:  Calming The Chaotic Life:
         How to Get Your Time Under Control

Wednesday, April 1:  97 Motivators to Help You Get Things Done

Thursday, April 2:  77 Time Saving Tips for Busy Parents and Families

Friday, April 3:  Great Time Management Tips & Ideas FOR YOUR KIDS!

If you would like to sign up for the Homeschool Freebie Of the Day go here.

To go to the "Homeschool Freebie of the Day"  Website go here.

Coupons and Couponing Information

Did you know that Meijer has coupons available on their website?
You can print them from the Meijer Mealbox above.

To Print Meijer Coupons:

1. Click on Specials.
2. You should see a list of coupons.
3. Click on the image of the coupon you want to print.
4. Click on Print - on the right side of the box.
5. A pop-up should open with the coupon to print.
6. Select Print.

Note:  I use Safari Browser and can not print from it.  I have to open my Explorer browser to print.

I have found some very good coupon to combine with sales at Meijer.  These coupons do not double, but they can be combined with manufacturer coupons.

I have also found that different Meijer stores double coupons differently.  The Meijer on East Washington Street, Indianapolis will double coupons up to $.50 and above $.50 it will take it up to  $1.00.  (ie.  a $.75 coupon gets another $.25 added to it.  

The Southport Meijer only doubles up to $.50 and nothing else. 

Here are some more coupons for you!




You might also enjoy these posts:

Coupon Clipping Method

Coupon Binder

Coupon Lists

Sunday Meditations

For the beauty of the earth,

For the glory of the skies, 

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies; 

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise

For thyself, best Gift Divine, 
To the world so freely given, 
For that great, great love of thine,
Peace on earth, and joy in heaven:
Lord of all, to thee we raise 
This our hymn of grateful praise.

The Grocery Get-Together, Ad Dates 3/29-4/4/09 (Sun-Sat) and 4/02-8/09 (Th-Wed)

(If you are looking for deals from the ads

dated 3/26-4/1/09, please go here.)

Welcome to "The Grocery Get-Together", hosted by Frugal Indy. I am excited to bring you this new feature that will connect Indiana shoppers with local Indiana bloggers and the great grocery deals they've found for you!

If you are an Indiana blogger, please link us to your grocery sales posts following these directions.

When you post your link:

• Link directly to the Grocery sale post for that week.
• Please include the name of the grocery store in the Mr Linky.
• If you have several posts covering several grocery stores, please link each one separately.
• Please link only to Grocery sales related posts (No CVS or Walgreens - that will be coming soon as another feature too!)

If you don't have a blog but have found a great deal that you want to share, leave it for us in the comments section.

If you have had a great shopping trip and want to share your photo's, link that up too!

The Grocery Get-Together Participants

1. NW Indiana Deals-Meijer 3/29-4/4 2. NW Indiana Deals-Wilco 3/30-4/5 3. NW Indiana Deals-WiseWay 4/1-4/7 4. Bargain Briana (Target Deals)

5. Bargain Briana (Walmart Deals Ongoing) 6. Bargain Briana (Meijer Deals 3/29 to 4/4 and 4/2 to 4/8) 7. Bargain Briana (Walgreens 3/29 to 4/4) 8. Bargain Briana (Kmart 3/29 to 4/4)

9. Bargain Briana (Kmart 3/29 to 4/4) 10. NW Indiana Deals-Ultra 4/2-4/8 11. NW Indiana Deals-Strack\'s 4/2-4/8

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Drugstore Deals 3/29-4/04/09

Welcome to the first weekly post for "Drugstore Deals".

If you are looking for the weekly drugstore (CVS, Walgreens) deals- check here.

If you are a blogger who would like to share the deals you have put together - link here!

When you post your link:

• Link directly to your drugstore (CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid) post for that week.
• Please include the name of the drugstore in the Mister Linky.
• If you have several posts covering several drugstores, please link each one separately.
• Please link only to drugstore related posts (If you have grocery store posts, please post a link to them here).

If you would like to learn more about "Drugstore Deals" go here.

Drugstore Deals Participants

1. IN Good \'Cents\' (CVS Preview 03/29-04/04) 2. IN Good \'Cents\' (Walgreens) 3. Saving with Sara (Walgreens)

4. Saving with Sara (Walgreens-Glade Soy Candles) 5. Saving with Sara (CVS Clearance) 6. NW Indiana Deals-Walgreens 3/29-4/4

7. NW Indiana Deals-CVS 3/29-4/4 8. Walgreens-Crazy Coupon Lady 9. CVS- Crazy Coupon Lady

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Story Time at the Indianapolis Zoo - 3/28/09

We have enjoyed these story times at the Indianapolis Zoo! If you have a Zoo membership these are free!

Story Time at the Indianapolis Zoo,
Presented by Dippin’ Dots and Macy's

March 28
April 11 & 25

Let your child’s imagination run wild during Story Time at the Zoo presented by Dippin’ Dots. Every other Saturday from 9am-noon, beginning February 28, celebrate the joy of reading as your child’s favorite PBS book or television program visits the Zoo.

Upon entering the Dolphin Gallery, you will pick-up a passport that will guide your family through a variety of activities. Collect stamps on the passport by playing games, viewing animal artifacts, and making two crafts. Each passport will also specify a timeslot to listen to the day’s story. Each half hour, Moriah Music’s Cindy Baney will share a story and sing songs from the featured character. All completed passports will then be entered to win a Zoo goodie bag.

A highlight to the event will be having your child meet the featured character. The characters are not shy, so please bring your camera. Here's this year's exciting lineup:

The remaining Spring 2009 Story Times are:

March 28 - Martha Speaks

April 11- Clifford

April 25 - Curious George

Enjoy great ways to expand your child’s imagination through storytelling, songs, games, and activities. There’s more to a good book then what’s between the pages!

This event is free for members and is included with regular Zoo admission.

In partnership with .

Muncie Children's Museum - Free Admission 3/28/09

Just about an hour North East of Indianapolis is the Muncie Children's Museum. This is a fun, small, family friendly museum. It is a nice change from the very large Children's Museum of Indianapolis where we normally go. My son loves it and asks often when we can go again!

On the last Saturday of the month the Muncie Children's Museum is FREE! Now that gas prices aren't too bad it would make a great day out with the kids!

If you go, take a dollar (at least that's how much it was last time we went) for the gift store and your child can make a fun sand bottle to remember his day. My son had a blast filling his bottle with fun colored sand.

During Free Saturdays at the Muncie Children's Museum visitors can come to the Museum free of charge all day, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Check out their website here.

Yard Sale Round-Up 03/26/09

If you are having or know about a:

Yard Sale
Garage Sale
Community Sale
Rummage Sale
Kids Clothing Sale

Let everyone else know too!

These are the guidelines to follow:

• List your sale in the comments section of this post.
• Please post Yard/garage sales for the upcoming weekend only.
• Start your comment with the type of sale and general location of the sale. (ex. Yard Sale - South side or Church Bazaar - Far North side)
• Post the location, dates and times.
• You may leave a link to your website or blog (or an email address), if there is more information or directions to your sale listed there.
• This posting is for the greater Indianapolis and surrounding areas.

I welcome postings for Community Sales, School Sales, Church Sales and such!

You can go here to check out the Garage Sale Ads in the Indianapolis Star.

Introducing......... Drugstore Deals!

Welcome to "Drugstore Deals"!  

I am so excited to introduce this new feature for you!  Are you confused about where to go to find the best deals for CVS and Walgreens?  Tired of clicking all over the Internet to check here and there?  If so, this feature is just for you!

If you post weekly deals on your blog for major drugstore chains like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid - please link to your weekly deal posts in the Mister Linky.

If you are a shopper looking for resources to help you plan your shopping trip, stop here to check out links to the weekly deals.

If you have had a great shopping trip during the week at a drugstore chain, please link that for us too!

If you don't have a blog but would like to share- please leave a comment!

The "Drugstore Deals" post will be available by Saturday morning for the following week's deals.  If you do a preview post - please post early for everyone to enjoy! 

When you post your link:

• Link directly to your drugstore (CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid) post for that week.
• Please include the name of the drugstore in the Mister Linky.
• If you have several posts covering several drugstores, please link each one separately.
• Please link only to drugstore related posts (If you have grocery store posts, please post a link to them here).

To get us started, I will post next the "Drugstore Deals" for 3/29-4/4/09, on Friday morning.  If you do a preview for CVS, please add your link then!

Super Deals at Target 3/26/09 - Spent 33.87 for Over $74 of Items.

Today I did a little shopping at Target.  I have to admit I've gone a bit over budget this week, but considering the deals that are going in to my freezer, I have no problem with that.  I will certainly make it up in savings later when I can take a week off shopping.

Finding good meat/protein sources at a low price seems to be the most difficult item for me. This is definitely a "Stockpile" price.  My target $ for meats is $1.00 a lb and for that it is usually ground beef that we eat.  So, I am very excited to get roasts for only around $1.00/lb.

I will be cutting a few of these into stew and soup cubes. and freezing that way too.

Some of these deals are only good until 3/28/09 due to expiring coupons.  So you might want to get them while you can.

Here are a few super great deals that I found.

You can find a good coupon match-up at IN Good Cents.

I like to print the Target coupons from A Full Cup.   If you are already registered for A full cup you can go to the Target coupons here.

9 Roasts  ($4-5 ea - $2.00 coupon ea.)

10lb Potatoes  (1.99 - 1.00 coupon)

7 Mini Loaves Artisan Bread (.99ea - 1.00 coupon ea)

18 Cans Soup (.54 ea - .50/2 coupon)

1 Blueberry Pie (1.50)

There is a $2.00 off Sutton and Dodge roast and steak coupon, making this roast only $2.66  You can find the coupon on A Full Cup.  Look under the coupon tab for the target Coupon Generator.

These mini loaves are .99 ea and there is a 1.00 off coupon making them free!

You can also find Target Deals with coupon match-ups at Money Saving Mom here and more here.

Update 3/27/09: The Southport  Super Target has decided to only let you use 1 coupon each per transaction.  So you can buy 1 of each item in that transaction and then you'll have to go back for the next.  Does anyone know the policy of the 96th St Super Target?

New Sidebar Features For You!

I have added 2 new features to the left side column of Frugal Indy.  The first is a list of Frugal blogs based in Indiana and the second is a list of Family Friendly blogs from Indiana.  If you would like to have your blog added to the list send me an email or leave a comment above.  

The content of your blog should either be savings based or contain family friendly content.  If you post weekly deals for grocery stores make sure you stop by the new weekly feature "The Grocery Get-Together", where we are bringing Indiana bloggers and Indiana shoppers together!  You can find a handy link to that in the left side column also!

Keep a watch for another new weekly feature making it's debut this week - "Drugstore Deals". You will find links there to bloggers who will share the best of CVS, Walgreens and maybe even Rite-Aid!

Kmart Grocery Deals 3/25-31/09

Here are a few grocery items worth mentioning at Kmart Super Center.  There is a Kmart Super Center located on East Washington Street, just west off the 465 exit.

American Fare Milk $1.77/Gallon

Green and Red Seedless Grapes  $.99/lb

4 lbs bag of Navel Oranges $1.99/bag

Westfield Farms Cheese, Selected varieties (shredded and block) $1.50 / 8-oz

Green Giant boxed Vegetables $.99/box

64-oz American Fare apple Juice cocktail  $1.00

48-oz SunnyD $1.00

You can check out the complete Kmart ad here.

(The Super Kmart in Indianapolis is NOT doubling coupons this week.)  When I was there last week, the East Washington St location was however, finally accepting Internet printable coupons. 

Here is a list of  Super Kmart locations in Indiana:

6780 W WASHINGTON ST
Indianapolis, IN - 46241
(317) 247-4771

7425 E WASHINGTON ST
Indianapolis, IN - 46219
(317) 357-8556

2715 MADISON AVE
Indianapolis, IN - 46225
(317) 783-6621

4651 S US HIGHWAY 41
Terre Haute, IN - 47802
(812) 299-3325

6050 US HWY 6
Portage, IN - 46368
(219) 762-0195

The Grocery Get-Together, Sales Ad 3/22-28/09 (Sun-Sat) and 3/26-4/1/09 (Th-Wed)

Welcome to "The Grocery Get-Together", hosted by Frugal Indy. I am excited to bring you this new feature that will connect you with local Indiana bloggers and the great grocery deals they've found for you!

If you are an Indiana blogger, please link us to your grocery sales posts following these directions.

When you post your link:

• Link Directly to the Grocery sale post for that week.
• Please include the name of the grocery store in the Mr Linky.
• If you have several posts covering several grocery stores, please link each one separately.
• Please link only to Grocery sales related posts (No CVS orWalgreens - that will be coming soon as another feature too!)

If you don't have a blog and have found a great deal, leave it for us in the comments section.

The Grocery Get-Together Participants

1. IN Good \'Cents\' (Baesler\'s Market 03/23-03/29) 2. IN Good \'Cents\' (Meijer 03/22-03/28 OR 03/26-04/01) 3. IN Good \'Cents\' (Target 03/22-03-28) 4. Frugal Indy - Super Kmart Deals 3/25-31/09

5. NW Indiana Deals-WiseWay 3/26-3/31 6. NW Indiana Deals-Meijer 3/22-3/28 7. NW Indiana Deals-Strack and Van Til 3/26-4/1 8. NW Indiana Deals-Ultra 3/26-4/1

9. Frugal Indy - My Target Shopping Trip 3/26/09 10. IN Good \'Cents\' (Kroger 03/26-04/01) 11. IN Good \'Cents\' (Marsh 03/26-04/01)

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New Weekly Feature - the "Grocery Get-Together"

I am so excited to bring a new weekly feature to Frugal Indy.  I have found by talking to many of you at the Savvy Savings Programs that there are many who want to save, but don't know where to look on a weekly basis for the local sales.

I would like to provide a 1-stop place for Indy shoppers to connect with local blogs and check for the current weekly grocery deals.

This week I am introducing the "Grocery Get-Together ".  If you are an Indiana blogger and post weekly sales, you will be able to link us to your weekly grocery posts.

When you post your link:

• Link Directly to the Grocery sale post for that week.
• Please include the name of the grocery store.
• If you have several posts covering several grocery stores, please link each one separately.
• Please link only to Grocery sales related posts (No CVS or Walgreens - that will be coming soon as another feature too!)

It may take a few weeks to work out when the best day of the week is to have our "Get-Together".  This is because some Indiana bloggers are on a Sunday- Saturday grocery sale schedule, while in Indianapolis we are on a Thursday - Wednesday grocery sale schedule.  

I will start by posting the weekly "Grocery Get-Together" on Saturdays, allowing for the Sun-Sat grocery posts to be linked early in the week - they will also serve as a good preview for those of us in the Indy market, since we share pretty much the same sales a few days later.  

To get us started,  I will go ahead and post the "Grocery Get-Together" for this week.  It will be covering the sale ad dates 3/22-28/09 (Sun-Sat) and 3/26-4/1/09 (Th-Wed).  Please look for that in a following post!

I look forward to hosting the "Grocery Get-Together" and hope you will join us weekly!

Do You Have A Spending Plan?

If you are not currently budgeting, I recommend that you listen to this radio program on "Starting a Spending Plan" from Crown Financial, featuring Dave Scobey.  

Here is an excerpt for the introduction of the show:

My guest today is Dave Scobey, National Seminar Director for Crown Financial Ministries. As you might expect, Dave's an expert on budgeting.

People are scared of budgets because they think of them as restrictive, putting yourself in a fence, capping your fun. That’s a reaction of the flesh.

The opposite is true for the spirit; a budget brings freedom. Dave will talk about the liberation that comes from a spending plan. A plan allows you to spend on purpose to accomplish your purpose.

While you are listening to the show, which is only about 25 minutes, check out the great resources that they have available on their website!

For more Crown Financial radio programs that you can listen to over the Internet go here.

Is the Column Problem Fixed? Help Please!

After removing a recently added item to my center column, I am now seeing the right hand column in IE (Internet Explorer).  If you are once again seeing the 3rd column please let me know.

Favorite Blogs #4

I enjoy reading Trent Hamm's Blog "The Simple Dollar".  He takes a common sense approach to handling finances for regular people.

He recently wrote a great article about traveling with children - I could tell you all about traveling with kids - but I'll spare you the details!  Or last trip ended with a marathon 16+ hours in the car!  And we all kept our sanity and our tempers!  

You can read Trent's ideas about "Saving Money on a Road Trip with Kids".

I recommend that you stop by and take a look at The Simple Dollar or add it to your blog-reader.  I think you will enjoy it!

I Need Your Help - Am I Seeing Things?

Hello to all of you who enjoy Frugal Indy. I really need your help. I noticed Saturday, when I signed on to the blog in IE (Internet Explorer) that the right hand column was missing. OOPS!

I normally use Safari as my browser because it never seems to freeze up on me like IE does. I can see all 3 columns just fine in Safari.

Here is where I am asking you to help me. Would you PLEASE leave me a comment and let me know:

#1 What kind of browser that you are using and 

#2 How many columns that you see. 

#3 Also, if you only see 2 columns - could you let me know if you EVER saw 3 columns.

If you have forever been missing the nice right hand column I am so sorry! I will do my best to get things straightened out as soon as I figure out the problem!

If there are any tech savvy readers out there who might have a clue - I'd love to know what you think!

Sunday Meditations

Song of Solomon 2:10-12

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Please join me in encouraging one another with a Sunday Meditation.  Just post a Sunday Meditation on your blog and link to it below.

If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave a verse or thought in the comments section below.

Coupon Insert Preview 3/22/09

  

 Here is a preview of this weekend's coupons from Sisterly Savings.

And here is the another coupon preview from Mom's Need to Know.

It doesn't look like a great coupon weekend - unfortunately!

You can check out the full list of coupons at Taylortown Coupon Preview.

CVS Preview 3/22-28/09

   

      

Here is a preview of the CVS Deals for next week from Sisterly Savings.

If you are new to CVS you  may want to check out my CVS top 10 tips here.

Walgreens Weekly Preview 3/21-28/09

     

Here is the Walgreens Preview for next week from Sisterly Savings.

New Feature - My Blog Reader List

If you don't know which blogs to read, I've added a new feature to the left-side column of Frugal Indy just for you!  

If you look far down on the left-side you will find the blogs that are in my Bloglines blog reader. You will find a snippet of the last post along with the title of the blog.  If you click on it you will be directed to that blog.

In the list, you will find the blogs that I check for the latest deals and coupons.  This is a good starting place if you are new to "Frugal Land".

The Yard Sale Round-Up - 3/19/09

Well,  the warmer weather is upon us and it is time to revive the Yard Sale Round-up.  

 

                   

If you are having a Yard/Garage Sale or if you know of a great community sale, rummage sale or the like - let everyone know about it!

These are the guidelines to follow:

• List your sale in the comments section of this post.
• Please post Yard/garage sales for the upcoming weekend only.
• Start your comment with the type of sale and general location of the sale.  (ex. Yard Sale - South side or Church Bazaar - Far North side)
• Post the location, dates and times.
• You may leave a link to your website or  blog (or an email address),  if there is more information or directions to your sale listed there.
• This posting is for the greater Indianapolis and surrounding areas.

I welcome postings for Community Sales, School Sales, Church Sales and such!

You can go here to check out the Garage Sale Ads in the Indianapolis Star.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

So what do you do with the leftover ends of bread and the 2 extra stale hot dog rolls you have when you buy 8 hot dogs and 10 rolls?  Make Breadcrumbs! 

I found this recipe for Homemade Breadcrumbs that I like a lot.  I have found making breadcrumbs to be pretty easy and a good use for the heels of bread.  

I just throw unused pieces of bread into a  bag in the freezer until I need breadcrumbs.  Then I take them out and make the breadcrumbs.

When they are cool, I store my breadcrumbs in a plastic container in the freezer to keep them fresh!

In this recipe they use a blender - which I do not have.  I use my food processor and it works well.

We use a kind of heavier weight organic bread (which I get for .49 cents at the bread store).  I have found that occasionally, I have needed to toast the finished breadcrumbs a bit more to get them completely dry - but be careful or the cheese will burn!

IMCPL Book Sale 3/20-21/09

This Friday there is a 1/2 Price Book Sale at the Library Service Center, from 12 noon until 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday there is the wonderful $5 a Bag Sale, from 10-4.

This is the normal pricing for the books.  So Friday will be half off this:

Adult Hardbacks $2.00

Juvenile Hardbacks $1.00

Oversized Paperback Books $1.00

Paperback Books $.50

Juvenile Paperbacks $.25

Records, Tapes & CDs $.50 - 1.00

DVD's $1.00 - $3.00

You cannot take strollers or carts into the center, so keep this in mind.  I suggest taking a heavy duty canvass bag. I have a canvass bag with wheels, that is not actually a "cart" so I use that when I go. 

Also, I would suggest going Friday if you can.  First thing Saturday it is quite a crazy zoo!  It thins out a bit as you get toward lunch time.  Several times I have dropped Hubby and kids off right up the street at the Children's Museum and went down to do my looking and then come back to join them when I was finished.

If you have been to the book sale and have any suggestions please post them below.

Dave Ramsey Budget Software Download

I have been looking for some new budgeting software. I've been using the same one for a very long time and although it has served me well, I would like a more updated and easier to use version.

Yesterday I came across this deal for Dave Ramsey's budgeting software for a $10 download. The list price is normally $29.95 - so this is a good deal. You can find out more by going here.

Note: It seems like the special does not come up at all in my Safari browser, but does in my Microsoft browser.  Let me know what you are seeing in your screen.

If you are not using a budgeting system to both plan and track your spending, you are not really in control of your finances. Some people like to plan on paper, I prefer to do it on the computer, it makes it very easy.



After I use this new system for awhile, I will let you know how I like it! I have been using the Money Matters System from the late Larry Burkett's ministry for at least 10 years - so you can imagine the software is a bit outdated!



Here is some information from DaveSays.org

With Dave's Personal Finance Software, you'll be able to:

• Build your monthly cash flow plan
• Calculate how quickly you can pay off debt with the Debt Snowball
• Determine how much you need to save each month to have the retirement you want
• Plan for large annual expenses such as holiday spending or insurance premiums
• Balance your checkbook quickly and easily

System Requirements

• Only compatible with broadband connections
• Not Mac-compatible
• Pentium III processor
• Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, or Vista 32-bit (Vista users: click here for more info)
• Please visit our software Frequently Asked Questions for answers to the majority of software questions asked by our customers.
• Internet Explorer 5.01 or above (available on Microsoft’s Windows Update website)

Do -it - Yourself!

We have had several repairs needed around our place lately.  On the way home from Florida, the cover on the back driver's side tail light decided to just fall off.  

It was very strange!  We are just driving down the road and my husband looked in the side view mirror and saw it hanging and then it was gone.

We were traveling rather fast up I-75 or I-65,  I can't remember which, but it was too fast to stop and go back for a light cover that was probably smashed by now.

And then there was the toilet,  if you are at all closely familiar with the lovely inside of your family's "Throne" as it is lovingly known in these parts, you will know that the handle is attached to a do-hickey and that is attached to a thing-a-ma-bobber and that is then attached to a chain and a flipper-flapper.

Well our do-hickey broke right off the thing-a ma-bobber and the flipper-flapper went flop!

Well, back to the van - when we got home we got home we called the car dealership and we were told that they had to replace the whole tail light and the part was $200!!!!!! OUCH!

We have never done any of our own do-it-yourself car repair before,  but we decided it was time to take some things into our own hands - literally!  So, my hubby got the phone book and started calling parts companies and salvage yards.

We also went out to the van and tried to disassemble the light ourselves - we got it almost apart, but couldn't get the actual assembly off the car - so we called a friend for help, but he was unable to get it off either.

We were able to find a junk yard that you could scour around and if you found the part it would be $16 - a savings of $184.  Unfortunately, they did not have what we needed, but we did finally get the part at a salvage yard, already off it's previous ride for $54 - a savings of $146.

My hubby's next step was to go to Pep-Boys, they were willing to install the light for only $25, since we couldn't figure out how to get the old one off.  We knew we were missing something simple, but try as we might we couldn't get it off!

When he went to Pep-Boys, then mechanic was very nice and popped the old one off with a pick (we were trying a flat head screw driver).  He had it back together in a few minutes and didn't even charge my husband anything!

Well, now that we were safe from being pulled over for a broken light it was on to the toilet.  I was able to get a repair kit for Meijer for less than $3.00.  It was quick and easy to remove the old parts and replace it with the new ones.

I did have to bend the new do-hickey a bit to get it to fit our toilet - so I'm glad I bought the metal one instead of the plastic kind.  This was my first toilet repair, but it gave me the confidence to try a bit more in the way of DIY repairs.

Does anyone have a manual on fixing microwave ovens?

Sunday Meditations

Psalm 107:23-24

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.

Weekend Round-Up

I just wanted to let you know about the things going on this weekend.

Kmart's Super Double Coupon Sale - read about here.

YMCA Open House - through  3/16 - read about here.

Eiteljorg Museum Celebrates 20 years and Rolls back admission and membership prices to 1989 - today only.  Read about here.

Weekly Coupon Insert Preview is here.

Also don't forget that you can get your weekend papers today at the Dollar Tree for only $1.00 a paper.  

If you would like to see next week's CVS deals go here.

For next week's Walgreen's deals go here. 

If you go out shopping to day, ask your CVS if they have activated next week's ad - the store I shop at does that on Saturdays!  So there is an overlap where both ads are active!