Breakfast

It seems like dinner gets the most money saving ideas. So I thought I'd share some of mine for breakfast today. Breakfast can actually be very affordable. Although, I think a lot of people are spending a lot more then they need to in order to have the convenience of a quick breakfast on their way out the door. Here are some ideas, that will save your budget, won't just give you a sugar high and get you to work and your kids to school on time! :)

-I grew up on oatmeal, eggs and toast. Most mornings my Dad made breakfast and that's what was served. It's basically a family tradition breakfast now. I serve it regularly to my kids too. Although I don't always do the eggs. It's very cheap and fast. You can buy a large (2 lb) tub of oatmeal for under $2 and that will feed our family a lot of breakfast! It's significantly cheaper then the average box of cold cereal, for sure.

-Eggs are a lot more in expensive then cold cereal too. I know several people who eat a hard boiled egg for breakfast. That's not my favorite kind so it's not usually my choice. But scrambled eggs are easy to make quickly and can be, if need be, reheated the next day for a quicker breakfast.

-If you like to do the frozen waffles, it's easy and cheaper to make the same thing at home. Buy your favorite waffle mix, make a whole bunch of waffles, freeze them separately (so you can take them out one at a time) and I'm certain it'll be much cheaper then the frozen boxed ones.

-Toast, bagels, english muffins are always easy to take on the go. Add some peanut butter for protein or your favorite toppings and it's a quick, easy breakfast.

-I've also made a batch of muffins or breads to use for a week for breakfast. Grab a piece of fruit to go with it and you've got a great breakfast.

-If you just can't get rid of the cold cereal all together, I understand! :) We don't either. There are just some days that's what you want to eat. Although we try to limit that. Here are some ways we stretch the cold cereal. For our kids, I serve it on vanilla yogurt which has a lot of benefits. 1. It doesn't make as much of a mess, when they are learning to spoon feed. 2. It fills them up better then just cereal and milk, so they can have smaller servings of cereal. 3. You use less cereal because their bowl is full of yogurt. 4. It has added nutrition too. I then serve them milk or juice in their cup to drink along side it. We actually use less milk this way too.

What are your money saving breakfast ideas?

Cheap Entertainment

One of the easiest things to do with your kids this time of year is to take them out to look at Christmas lights. We usually try to find out which neighborhoods have a lot of homes decorated or go to some of the nice ones we know about. We like to take along some snacks and hot chocolate, turn on some Christmas music and let the kids enjoy the view! Our kids LOVE it and it's a free way to spend the evening creating memories and spending time together.

If you live close to an airport, that too can become a cheap outing. You can do it a couple of ways. You can go to a parking lot close by and park so that you can watch the airplanes come in and out. Again, snacks and drinks make it extra fun! ;) You could always put on some fun music too. If you are open to paying a few dollars for an hour at the airport, you can take them inside and find a big window where they can stand and watch the airplanes go in and out up close. Either way, it's a fun and free way to have some time together. The kids, especially little ones, enjoy seeing the airplanes too.

A Guest Blogger

I think it would be fun to have some readers do a post with some of the ways they are saving money, living on a budget, a funny story about being thrifty, an idea they have had or tried, or anything else related to simplifying our lives. If you'd like to post something from your experiences on here, I'd love to have you over! ;)

Here's what you can do:
1. Write up a little description about yourself and how you came across this blog
2. Write a blog post that you think apply to the content of the blog
3. Email them to me through my profile
4. Watch to see them posted

I'd love to have more then one, so blog away!

Creative Gift Exchanges

I can't take credit for any of the ideas I'm about to share, but I never like to pass up an opportunity to share good ideas! :)

My friend, Sarah and her family, have come up with great ways to give gifts to each other that are meaningful, but won't break the bank. Here are some of the ones she's told me about:

*They drew names (I think by gender) and then made a gift for the person they picked. They had plenty of time to work on it and came up with really creative ideas that weren't just a cooking mix or hat. I'm not sure what they all were, but they were personal to the one they were giving it to, which made it all the more special.

*This year they are each bringing a book from their "library" that has meant something special to them this year and want to pass it on so someone else can be inspired, taught or encouraged like they have been through that book. They'll do a "white elephant" exchange for the books.

*Last year they went with DVDs, not sure all the details on that one, but again, another simple idea and reasonably priced too.

Another idea I heard recently would work well for a gathering of friends or colleagues. Every one brings a $10 wrapped beverage (alcoholic or non-alcoholic or a combination would be decided by the group) and a "white elephant" exchange takes place. Everyone walks out with something special!

What creative ideas have you heard? I think we're going to have to try some of these! :)

The Simple Pleasures

This week I was thinking back on some of the moments that just made my heart smile this week, most of them didn't cost any money, didn't take much time and/or effort. They were essentially, the simple pleasures of each day.

-Snuggling with the kids in bed before getting started with our day.
-Baking cookies with my daughter
-Decorating cookies with friends
-Making and building new friendships
-Getting to sleep in
-Having a family lunch out
-Listening to the funny things my daughter says
-Watching my kids love each other, play together and laugh with each other
-My husband coming home from work an hour earlier then usual
-Having the money to cover all our car expenses without causing extra stress
-Making plans for a girlfriend outing
-Getting extra hugs and kisses from my kids
-Getting everything done in time!
-Enjoying a lovely cup of coffee, catching up with a friend
-Getting a free Starbucks holiday drink

It's amazing how each day there are moments that make our lives full of blessings. What simple pleasures are you enjoying this week?

Ham Lessons

I've learned a few things about the ham world this week. Judging from my past post you can probably tell that I was clueless about all things--ham! But not anymore, thanks to my money saving mission, I've learned quite a few new things and of course, I have to share them with you! :)

1. Hams come fully cooked! That saves me that step!
2. Hams come pre-sliced (Spiral Sliced)--Another step saved.

So here is what I did. I bought a ham for $1.39/lb that was spiral sliced, brought it home and then followed the directions to add the honey glaze to it that it came with. Once that was finished I took the slices off the bone and placed them in small freezer bags for lunch meat. With the rest of it, I took it off in large chunks and diced it or shredded it to add to casseroles, soups or dishes. I packed them all up for freezing & labeled them for future use. It turned out to be even easier then I thought it would be!

**Sidenote: If you're seeing a lot of sales happening at different stores and don't want to go to each of them, most stores honor their competitors prices. All I do is take all my ads in with me and while checking out, hand the check out clerk the ad for the items I'm buying and they ring it up for the sale price. It'll save you a lot of money and time by using that trick on your grocery shopping days! :)

Gifts with a Purpose

Every year we've gone to the store at 4 AM on Black Friday along with thousands of other Americans to buy our Christmas gifts. It's a fun tradition and we've gotten amazing deals and usually taken care of all our shopping in one day. I've loved it and it's been awesome! But this year we're doing things a little different. This year, I've shopped a little along the way and enjoyed the opportunity to buy things that will go to a better cause. Some of the ways I've done that this year have been to buy from local vendors in order to support their home business or a hobby job for a stay at home mom. We've also bought gifts through Samaritan's Purse in honor of some of our family members, who I know will be blessed to know other people's needs will be met in their honor. I haven't bought all our presents this year from those sources, but it's the first year we've done more of that then just buying everything from the store. I'm liking it. Maybe it'll be a new tradition! :)

Have you bought or made gifts that are fulfilling a great purpose this year? What kinds of things have you done?

Feeling Behind...

I haven't had the stomach flu in who knows how many years...until yesterday. Yuck! It was awful. I didn't do much other then sleep, which set me further behind on housework and Christmas preparations. I've done laundry every single day this week and have PILES to put away. Between both of the kids having some stomach trouble too, it's been at least a load of laundry a day.

On one hand it's been a crummy week, but on the other hand, it's been a very slow, relaxing week! On Wednesday the kids and I enjoyed a lot of snuggle time and rest since we just weren't feeling so great. Then yesterday, it was more of the same. Today we seem to be moving a little more quickly again and I'm working on tackling the housework that has been neglected. At least we're all rested up now! :)