Money Diet Day 7

Today I had to give in and go to the grocery store. The food situation was not good, it was time to replenish supplies. I saved $54.25 with coupons and sales. The savings was 20%, not bad, but not great either. I need to try to do better for my next trip. Other than my trip to the grocery store, I did not spend anything else today. My husband did not spend either. So, we are a quarter of the way through the month and have been pretty good so far.

Here is a list of things that we have done to save money this since June 1:

1. I trimmed my girls hair and my husband shaved his- savings of $45

2. Ate dinner at 2 cookouts last weekend, savings unknown

3. We made homemade pizza instead of takeout - savings $20

4. Movie night was Netflix movies

5. When not at a cookout, we ate dinner at home- savings $45

6. Had my son pay for a new soccer ball he wanted with his own $ - savings $20

7. Instead of paying for entertainment on a Sunday afternoon, my husband took the kids to a local park.

8. Brown bagged it to lunch

9. Used coupons at the grocery store

My kids are anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer. This last week seems to offer very little in the area of actual teaching and learning. Most of the school supplies have been sent home, so I am under the assumption that the kids are playing a lot of year end games and watching videos. No complaints from me, I think they are all ready for a break.

Money Diet Days 4, 5 and 6

The weekend proved to be successful in my quest to save and not spend. Friday and Saturday nights we were invited to cookouts that required a side dish, so we were set for 2 of our 3 weekend meals. Friday night I made deviled eggs (cheap!), Saturday was fruit salad (not so cheap!).

We spent Saturday at our kids soccer tournament. It was a very long day, but we enjoyed watching the kids play. Sadly, neither one of our soccer players was on a winning team. I try that old cliche "you have won if you had fun", but they don't buy it. My son made 2 goals, we are so proud of his accomplishments on the field. I am scared to see what next years soccer commitment will cost us, he is trying out for Select Soccer, I hear it is expensive and time consuming. Time and money are 2 currencies that I am not always happy to part with.

Our Sunday dinner was a nice surprise. While I was at work, my husband homemade pizza with chicken, goat cheese and roasted peppers. Yum!!

Next weekend will mark the first weekend of summer vacation. I am so excited to spend some uninterrupted time with my kids. I may not be the best mom at games and play, but when it comes to outings, I ROCK!! I make sure my kids have fun things to do nearly everyday. My list is growing, I know we will have to pass on some things again this year, but I can't wait to get started.

Have a great Sunday!

Money Diet - Day 3 and a free poetry reading

Today I spent $0.00!! I knew I could do it. My husband on the other hand bought some coffee for his boss and brought home a bag of coffee for the house. All and all, I think we did really good today.

In keeping with the spirit of saving this month, dinner was a concoction of vegetables and chicken, stir fried in my own homemade peanut sauce. It was very good if I do say so myself. I used the yucky (the kids words, not mine) peanut butter up in my sauce. They hate the natural, organic butter that I try to sneak into their diets. They always know, I have given up and now buy the Jif Natural instead. The chicken and vegetable were found in the back of my freezer and refrigerator.

I went to a lovely poetry reading today that was free. My daughter's 5th grade class read poems from poetry books they created as a end of year project. It proved to be highly entertaining and worthwhile. My own Hannah was the source of much of the entertainment. She comes alive when she is in the spotlight. No mumbling, quiet talking or blushing. She was really a star today. Bravo my sweet girl!

Tonight is a big night for me. The season finale of The Real Housewives of NYC is on. I am very sad to see the season come to an end. I watch very little TV, but this is a must see for me. Good night!

Money Diet - Day 2

So, I suck at saving money. I should not be Frugal Midwest Mom, I should be Spend Happy Midwest Mom. While I did not spend anything on myself today, I did make good on a promise to my son, soccer camp. Here is today's damage:

$8.00 - bread, tp, rice krispies (I have to make a treat for my daughter's class)

$215.00 - Soccer camp

My son is proving to be a talented soccer player, so we decided to let him participate in camp this year. Problem is, I kind of forgot that I didn't actually sign him up for it until today. Thus, leading to the huge expense on DAY 2! What will I do tomorrow? I know that I really have nothing I have to do tomorrow, so I should be immune from frivolous expenses. Time will tell.

Money Diet - Day 1

Today I spent a grand total of $1.50 with the change at the bottom of my purse

$1.00 - water bottle while at work. I usually bring my own in a stainless steel bottle, but I ran out and wanted ice cold water.

$.50 - handful of M&M's out of a machine outside my place of work. I have a sweet tooth after lunch!

Note to self: bring extra water and a cookie to work tomorrow and save $1.50!

Welcome Summer

Today is June 1st, I can't believe it, in my mind summer has arrived. With the new season, comes summer break from school and 3 months of bonding time with my kids. This summer we are not going on a vacation, instead staying home and hosting a foreign exchange student from France. I should mention that while we are not taking a summer vacation as a family, the kids are going to summer camp for a week in August while my husband and I go to a B&B in Door County for a couple days.

I am going to attempt to curb the major spending that has been going on over the last few weeks now that we know we are going to be home for the most part. I assume July will be an expensive month, so June will be the month that we try a "money diet". In other words, lets see how much we can save in June in preparation for the month that we host our student. It seems like this is a good day to start, it is the first of the month so I can start an accurate log of what we spend and save. My goal for today is to not spend any money, we have everything we need for food, my tank is half full and all bills are paid. Let's see if I can do it.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all of servicemen and women who have served our country with honor. I know that it times like these, politics tends to divide us, on this day however, that should not be the case. Republicans and Democrats alike honor and respect those who give of their country. So, on this day, let us all just be Americans.