Where Every Penny Counts
Click here to request the latest Home Made Simple coupon book – Organize in Style. The book contains over $35 in savings for popular brands such as Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Mr. Clean, and Swiffer. Even if you’ve requested the book in the past, you should be able to get another one using this new link!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
Tanga has another hot magazine deal – you can get a one year subscription to Reader’s Digest Magazine for just $2.99! My parents have subscribed to this magazine for as long as I can remember and I still flip through the latest issue whenever I am at their house. This is a great price and the lowest I have ever seen for a subscription!
To take advantage of this offer, go here and click the red “Buy” button and follow the instructions at check-out. You can pay using PayPal or any major credit card! If the $2.99 doesn’t show up automatically (it did for me), enter the promotional code “DIGEST“
Buy one for yourself and/or give it as a gift! If you are giving it as a gift also, you will have to do a separate transaction.
This is a limited time offer and is valid for 24 hours only. As more people take advantage of the offer, the price can go up or they can end the deal altogether!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
If you’re like me, your break is almost over. Take it easy and watch a free movie from Blockbuster Express! You can get a free one night rental when you enter the code XU14A at check-out. This code is valid through January 7th. You can also get a free one night rental when you enter the code SHTZFR1 at check-out. The code is valid through January 10th!
The codes can be used once per card. Search for a participating Blockbuster Express kiosk in your area here.
NOTE: You will be charged a fee of $1 per night if you do not return the movie by 9 p.m. on the night following your initial rental.
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
Put all of your memories from the holidays or the highlights from the past year together in a photo book! Right now, Target Photo is offering a FREE photo book (regularly priced at $9.99). You do have to pay shipping, which is $1.99.
Here’s how you can take advantage of this offer:
1. Click here to sign into your Kodak Gallery account (or create one if you don’t have one)
2. Click on “Shop Photo Books” (lower left hand corner) and chose “small book.”
3. Upload your photos.and finalize the order and design.
4. When you are ready, click on “Add to Cart” and then “Check-out.”
5. Enter the promotional code TGTFREEBOOK at check-out (there is a box in the lower right hand corner) and click on “apply.”
Your book should arrive in 4-10 days! You can also use the code to get $10 off a medium-sized book (makes it $10 before shipping)
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
Next to creating and sticking to a budget, which I discussed in this post yesterday, menu planning is the greatest recommendation I have when people are looking for ways to cut their spending.
I started getting serious about menu planning about two years ago. It took some time to get used to in the beginning, but it has definitely been worth it. Before I started menu planning, I would often get home from work too tired to even think about cooking and since I didn’t have a plan in mind, it was easier to just resort to fast food. Now that we’re menu planning, I am spending less money overall because we are not eating out as much and because we are using the food that we have. I’ve cut my spending for eating out and grocery shopping to 1/3 of what it was when I was starting out! I also love that we have time together as a family each night to talk about our day. Research has shown the kids who eat with their families on a regular basis have higher grades in school and are less likely to take drugs. It also is an important contributing factor in younger children’s language development!
Here are some times to help you get started with menu planning:
1. Make a list of your favorite family meals ~ Sit down as a family and let everyone share a few of their favorite meals. Make a list of everyone’s ideas so that you have something to start with! You’ll be amazed at how quickly the ideas come.
2. Don’t be afraid to try new things ~ Since I started menu planning, I have really enjoyed trying new recipes and finding things to add to our list of favorite meals! I like to try at least one new recipe each week to avoid getting in a cooking “rut.” Browsing recipe blogs, cookbooks, and other online resources really helps with this.
Here are some of my favorite blogs for dinner inspiration:
All Recipes – You can search for recipes by category or search by the ingredients you have. When I need some inspiration, this site is always a great resource!
A Year of Slow Cooking – I would be lost without my crockpot and this blog has some great recipes! She spent an entire year cooking every day in her crockpot! If you’re looking for gluten free recipes, so has tons! I got her cookbook for Christmas and love it!
Favorite Family Recipes – Lots of great family friendly ideas!
On My Menu – When I get in a “rut” and am looking for new ideas, Marci’s blog is always an inspiration for me. Plus, there are great pictures and our kids are similar ages, so I figure if her kids like a recipe, mine will probably like it too!
Our Best Bites – Our two favorites so far from this site are the Cashew Sweet and Sour Pork and the Spicy Honey Chicken. These recipes are practical and family friendly!
The Menu Planning Monday posts at orgjunkie.com are also a great resource because you can browse hundreds of meal plans each week!
Here are some of my favorite cookbooks right now:
The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Quick, Nourishing Meals that Are Easy On the Budget and a Snap to Prepare (I love this book because the recipes are practical and she makes suggestions for side dishes, too – she has a new book: The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook that I want to check out, too)
The $7 a Meal Slow Cooker Cookbook: 301 Inexpensive Meals the Whole Family Will Love
Biggest Loser Family Cookbook: Budget Friendly Meals Your Whole Family Will Love
3. When planning for the week, consider what you have on hand and browse your weekly grocery store ads to see what is on sale ~ I meal plan one week at a time using this method, which helps to cut down my grocery expenses. I usually sit down and plan for the upcoming week on Friday nights or Saturday mornings before I go grocery shopping so that my shopping list is based on the meals we are having during the upcoming week. Using this method helps me to rotate my stockpile and since I’m using items from my stockpile, I’m also spending less at the grocery store.
4. Plan a variety of meals ~ Plan a variety of meals each week rotating beef, chicken, pork, and pasta. Sometimes, we also have “theme” nights such as taco bar, potato bar, or breakfast for dinner. Planning a variety, keeps meal planning fun and helps you to avoid burn-out.
Here are some printable worksheets to help you with your menu planning: (all are free!)
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu planning form (includes room for a grocery list)
Printable Excel template menu planners (includes weekly and monthly worksheets)
Printable Weekly menu planner (includes room for a grocery list)
5. Be flexible and figure out what works for you ~ Your menu plan is just a guide. It doesn’t have to be an absolute. Sometimes what you have planned for Thursday sounds better on Tuesday and that’s OK. Some people don’t even menu plan for specific days. They just come up with options for the whole week. I usually do all of my meal prep work before I go to work (putting everything in the slow cooker if I’m using it that day or cutting up meat, veggies, etc. so I just have to cook it all when I get home), so things go quickly once I get home. Even during the summer, I like to do my prep work early in the morning, so I’m not as stressed trying to put dinner together in the evenings since that’s the time of day when my kids seem to go crazy!
*This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my disclosure policy for more information.
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