Feeding 3 on $164 a Month

Let me put this simply, this summer has not been good. I am now working 2 jobs in one day, double shifts people! Yet making no money. But this girl is not giving up. I am not ashamed to say I get food stamps. It sucks to be this poor but this is the life of a single mom that gets NO benefits. That $164 is for one person, no dependents. But watch me make it work for 3 people.

I did a lot of searching but came across how people do these budgets and feed their families. I will link this one lady's at the end of this blog. She helped me understand budgeting. 

At the end of June, I knew I had no money in July to feed Evie or myself and what about my brother! I have food stamps, WIC and the food pantry. Ok so that was what I was going to use. On July 1st, I went to the food pantry to see what we could get and to get us to the 10th, food stamp day.

By July 10th,  I was ready.  I planned our meals around what was on sale. Potatoes where on sale at Cashsaver for a 10 lbs for $1.64.Chicken was $1.99 a lb at Gerbes. That's not a great deal but good enough. I simply looked at the deals and went to those stores. But first, I was looking at what we had at home and building off that. WIC helped a ton! I used the fresh/ frozen check for frozen veggies. This is the best for your money, unless strawberries or something else is on sale. Because Evie doesn't eat the WIC stuff, I just buy her stuff with the food stamp money. We also go thru 1 and 1/2 gallons of milk every week. Just depends on Evie. We also drink koolaid and a lot of tea. This all needed to be in the budget.

I made a 2 week meal plan for us. The only exception was to go to the store for more milk and fresh bananas or produce if needed. Having a list and a plan helped so much and stopped impulse buys.

We planned all dinners. Then breakfast is what we have here, eggs, oatmeal, ect. Lunch is what we have/ leftovers.

Here is our meal plan for the 1st 2 weeks:

(***Chicken with Rice & poor man's stew did get taken off and turned into left overs/ pizza and stirfry)

Sunday: Meatloaf

Monday: Weeknight Stirfry

Tuesday: Burritos

Wednesday:One pan Enchilada Pasta

Thursday: Chili Dogs (already had dogs and frozen chili) Free Meal!!!

Friday: Chicken soup w/ Rice ( Scratched and made it a homemade pizza night, had everything)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Tacos (no recipe just my mom's taco salad)

Monday: Chicken & Yellow Rice

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Easy Beef & Gravy Over Noodles ( stew meat $4 for pack, on sale. I divided it into 2, 1 for this)

Friday: Crock pot Chicken & Stuffing, see picture, no recipe. Also I only used half of the stuffing to make it go further for another meal. 

Saturday: Poor Man's Stew ( Went to Weeknight stirfry)

Sunday: Leftovers

Alright also Evie is super picky, so she was given the chance to eat what we had or one of her foods like yogurt. So also I had to buy her food too. This 1st trip we spent a lot because I picked up extra meat and we needed some of the spices and things. The second week I did go back to CashSaver for the sugar deal, $1.10 for a 4 lb bag. I stocked up a little and Lipton Tea, $1.70 a box. Then Moser's had Koolaid, 8 for a $1.

For the last 2 weeks I freaked out a bit. We had so little left. How can I do the impossible? Well I pulled it off.

Cashsaver had whole chickens $.50 a pound!!! Omg people. I got 4 and looked up how to cut up a chicken. Then I made my list according to sales. I shopped at Aldis first, as they always have the cheapest things.Then made my rounds to all the stores. I shop all in one day and without Evie. We already had our meat so we just needed more veggies, Evie's food and my brother needed another box of tea. Also got Evie 3 lbs of yogurt, on sale, for $.99, got 2. Yogurt stays good and is ok after "expired". It really helped make our budget. We have $11 left.

These next two weeks look like this:

Monday: Roast Chicken

Tuesday: Chicken Quesdas

Wednesday: Catfish (all ready had fish)

Thursday: Volia Chicken w/ Peas

Friday: Weeknight Stirfry (mix up veggy choices)

Saturday: Poor Man's Stew

Sunday: Leftovers/ Evie's party

Monday: Mom is in town!!! So mom is cooking something awesome.

Tuesday: Mom still in town!!! But we making Creamy Cheesy Chicken Rice

Wednesday: Beef and Broccoli (have the little packet, stew meat and broccoli)

Thursday: Stir fry again, this time chicken

Friday: Enchilada pasta (frozen leftovers from last batch)

Saturday: More weeknight stirfry

Sunday: Crock pot Chicken and Gravy (using cream of chicken from not making chicken soap)

By Aug. 1st we may need more veggies, so WIC will help. Also we have to go till the 10th! So also food pantry will help get us there. It's just so fun to be poor, what a great country! But I did it. And you know this has been great, being fugal and also trying lots of new food.

Read more at this lady's blog.

Dingo Dog

I still remember the day that I saw the black & white puppy at her house. He just would yap and whine and was so needy. He'd be out on the porch and just cry when he should of been going potty. At that time someone else was going to be his owner, top pick of the litter I believe. But because of ringworm they didn't want him.

This was the time when I had just gotten Moe. And the reason for being there was to work off the debt. I also wanted a dog too. There was one time when getting a ride home, I was dropped off with a dog (China). My dad sent the dog back. 

It was Easter time and we went down there to look at the little yappy puppy. My parents were not really going to let me have a dog. After all I had Moe. I remember having to do a lot of begging, I am guessing that worked since the puppy came home.

Oh man he was so tiny! When he was little I had to carry him off the bed just to take him potty. Being a toy rat terrier, he was too small to get off the bed himself. We went and got dog books and doggy stuff. He would grab his toys, shake them and growl. He was such a crazy dog and I named him Dingo because he was so wild.

I worked with him everyday, training him to do lots of stuff. We even did 4H shows. My dad helped me make him a jump set. What an amazing little jumper he was. Another past time of his was "playing" soccer. He'd grab that ball and shake it so hard and growl. And we'd chase him around the yard.

The day came for me to go to college. Of course he couldn't come and that was very hard. My parents would bring him up to visit and I was always back often. The second year, I rented a place and he was able to come more often, with my parents. I remember keeping him up there that summer. I wasn't supposed to have him but I didn't care. He enjoyed his stays with me but I knew he missed the farm. I moved back on campus the third year and even snuck him in the place that I stayed, for a short visit. Those were the days!

It was during these years he became my parents' dog, well sort of. They took him everywhere. Got him fast food, took him for walkies and spoiled him.

I should back up and share one of my favorite memories about Dingo. Right after getting him, I had to go on a band trip. What were we going to do with this puppy? Bring him of course. My parents brought him along and my dad even snuck him into the Union, under his jacket. Dingo farted. Silly dog. Since then he was the dog that went everywhere.

After leaving The Burg I went to CoMo. I still couldn't have a dog. By the time I moved into a place that allowed a dog, I was going to have a baby. I begged to have Dingo up here but the reality was his home was the farm. Another problem was he was a grouchy dog, not a kid friendly dog. So he remained at the farm.

I am so glad Evie got to meet him. And really he was very sweet towards her, just had to be watched. He even got to meet the dog I rescued last year. And they were best buds. I was afraid of fighting but they got along on the visits. 

For Christmas 2015, my parents actually made it up to CoMo. It was super special and and we went to the Magic Tree. It was storming that night. But I still got out and took Dingo to the tree and snapped a picture. That picture is priceless.

Spring came and went. Life was so crazy that I never made it down to Drexel. And my parents kept saying they'd be up soon. In March, Dingo wasn't doing well. Showing more signs of old age and stuff. But I didn't know it'd be the end.

Looking back, I see Dingo's whole life unfold. All the things we did, our adventurers and the journey his life took. Dr. Seuss said,"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." He will forever be the best little dog that this girl with big dreams could ask for and loved for 13 years. 

Evie's 1st Kitty

Back in May, I was back in Drexel. We decided to try out this thrift store that my mom said had a lot of stuff. It was there that we ran into the lady who I got Moe & Dingo from. She happened to have a bottle kitten that needed a care taker. I said yes without thinking how I'd get the kitten back to CoMo and all that. Plus I've never bottle fed a kitten before but I figured no problem.

Set my alarm early, did my pop pilates and I was ready for our new kitten ( that I would foster & give away). Went down and saw this adorable little fluff ball. Evie immediately had to see her and hold her. On the short trip back to the farm I already named her, Belle.

So she road on my brother's lap back home. Back in those days he had to help me fed her when I was at work. I would set my alarm, feed and cuddle her while the sun came up.

Within a few weeks it became clear that baby kitty would be Evie's first cat. They are double trouble now. Add my dog to the mix and you got a circus. Evie is so sweet and caring towards Belle. They are often cuddled up or playing together. It is so great to see Belle grow up and see her with Evie. A special kitty for a special girl.

The Stranglehold of Groupon

As I sit here with the bills piling up and wondering how I will feed everyone, I think back to when I started with Groupon and could I have done things different. But I believe the answer is already known.

I did tons of research before I signed up with Groupon and I decided I would treat them like VIPs and not like they were only paying me $22 for their massage. After all they could come back and tell their friends. I let them use my online scheduler and they were able to book any open spots. I even was working extra just to squeeze everyone in.

I had one Groupon who claimed she accidentally bought 2 (my limit is 1 and gift the other). But I thought about losing the money so I let her use both. I had a wife and husband, successfully scam me and use his package for her massage. I have had countless on the phone, text, email and in person threats from Groupons. And two bad reviews by Groupons that didn’t get their way. So here are my rules for running a Groupon. Keep in mind they are funny but serious suggestions.

Step 1: Buy a burner phone or borrow a friend’s unused phone.

Why? Because you will need to screen all calls coming in. I no longer answer my phone because I want to hear why the people are calling and I also need to look them up and get the details on that Groupon.  So get you a cheap phone and list that number on your Groupon.  And if you can don’t get a text plan. These weirdos will be calling and texting you ALL hours of the day. I get calls in the middle of the night.

Step 2: Disable your online scheduler.

 For awhile I had a book online system but this didn’t work out. It allowed Groupons to just book spots they wanted and I ended up with tons and tons of people but no money. And then I had to block off spots so they couldn’t take all my time but then my regulars thought I was booked. What I mess. Defiantly don’t give these cheap people access to booking online.

Step 3: Get rid of your office hours online. 

Ok so I am kind of joking here but because the Groupons know my hours they will be showing up at the office during these times for a walk in or to see if they can get in sooner. Just hide those hours, they won’t know when you’ll be there so they can’t stalk you.

Step 4: Keep your office door locked.

Now this is my little joke, to always keep your door locked when at the business. But why? Because I’ve had so many Groupons walk in and harass me and want a walk in or they come hours early for their massage. It’s annoying.

Step 5: Schedule Groupons 1 per day, or 2.

But you say at that rate I’ll never see anyone. Yeah it sucks doesn’t it. But sadly this is what I have to do or my time will be wasted because we all know Groupons love booking massages and then no showing or last minute canceling. It’s just great. So they are booked 1 or 2, back to back at them end of my shift.

Step 6: Have iron clad policies.

This is no joke. I have dealt with so much bullshit with these people. Have a no show policy and take credit card numbers. I don’t allow late arrivals after 20 mins, at 15 mins the door gets locked. And yes, I did have someone show up 25 mins late and demand their massage. They all will whine “but we didn’t know about your no show policy”. False. I told you all on the phone. You have to really should hire Thor to be your Groupon bouncer.

So as you read some of this you may be are thinking how anti-business all this is. And you are right! Groupon will run your business in to the ground. Grouons rarely  come back and after they had to wait almost 2 months to see you why would they rebook. Sadly they have forced my hand to put up strict boundaries, to try to be fair for everyone.

This whole article is my way of laughing it off and showing you how to run your own deal. So get out there, nail the door shut and run your deal! Your business will be better the ever.

Worm Bin

It may only be February but Evie and I are already planning our garden. One of my goals this year is to go as urban homestead as I can. By doing a worm bin, it turns our waste into rich fertilizer for the garden. Plus as they make more worms I can put some out in the garden as well.

Today, we went out and got our supplies. It was a pretty easy project. You can follow along below to make your own!

YOU’LL NEED:

• Red worms
• 1 10 gallon Rubbermaid totes
• Power Drill
• Newspaper, cardboard & Dirt

Step 1: I drilled some holes up top, for air flow.

Step 2: Shred up paper. Then make sure to mist the paper, but you don't want to make it too wet.

Step 3: Put in your dirt, give that some mist. Then we chopped up some apple and added that. Then I poked some holes in the cardboard to lay that on top. I misted the cardboard too. It just helps keep their dirt and bedding moist Then add your worms.

Mommy & Me Project: Bird Feeders

What a nice day today was! I wanted to take a break from adult life and share a neat backyard craft with Evie. I was already refilling bird feeders and Evie wanted to help. I asked her if she'd like to make some our-self's.
To make your own awesome bird feeders follow along below:

Step 1: Tell mommy you need birdseed, collect toilet paper rolls, get the peanut butter and something to hang your feeder with. We used shoe laces.

Step 2: Have mommy put peanut butter all over the toilet paper rolls.

Step 3: Get your rolls ready to dip!

Step 4: Roll and sprinkle the bird seed on the rolls, then thread your string thru so you can hang them.

Then we took them outside to hang. Evie was so excited and loved choosing where to place them. What a great way to spend the day and I am sure the birds will be happy too.

DIY Training Pants

Evie woke up Sunday and decided she was finally going to use the big girl potty! I am so proud of my little girl. So today we headed to Walmart for some training pants. They had some for like $8 and you only got 3. So I decided to make my own with leftover diaper supplies and some undies.

Here is how:
Step 1: Get some underwear. I got size 8.

Step 2: I took left over pre-folded diapers and cut them into 3rds.

I then judged how much I needed for the underwear .

Step 4: I took my fabric and pinned it into the underwear and stitched it.

And there you go. All done!

Training pants are just meant to catch a little bit of the oh no pee. The ones at the store didn't feel like they had much absorption.

Mine came out at $.75 a pair. Pretty great I think.