My New Favorite Store

Thanks to my Mom, I recently discovered an unimaginably cheap grocery store which is also simultaneously not a scary place to shop. My favorite buy = 1 lb. strawberries for $.99. Doug's favorite buy = 1 package of ramen for $.05. These were sales but the everyday prices are about as cheap as (or cheaper than) the sale prices at the store I usually go to. This makes it possible for me to stock up on food storage while also sticking to my food budget. I'm hooked for life.

Whoa!

Check out this homemade toothpaste recipe. I didn't even know this was possible. Since I rarely buy toothpaste for more than a dollar a tube I don't know if this would be cheaper for me, but I thought it was blog worthy. Just fyi, if you want to try this you need to get the liquid glycerin which they sell at CVS or Rite Aid (look in the cosmetics section), not the solid kind they use for soap.

Valentine's Day

So how did we do for Valentine's Day? I'd say pretty good.

We had a great time AND we spent less than 15 dollars.

I didn't have the supplies to make cards so instead I made little heart bags 

(which I had everything on hand for) and attached notes to them. They got filled with homemade mini chocolate covered pretzels and hung in various spots around the house for Doug to find.

In the evening went on a family V-Day expedition:

 flying kites and a picnic in the park at sunset. 

We did spend around 7 dollars on new kites but I don't really feel guilty since we used a gift card to buy them (nice rationalizing, right?)

It was cold, but beautiful out and surprisingly stress-relieving.

After that we put the baby to sleep at Grandma and Grandpa's house so that Doug and I could go out alone, which hardly ever happens. 

We had planned on going star-gazing but it was too cloudy 

so we just went to Valley Forge Park and talked.

Sounds simple but it was one of the most wonderful evenings I've had in awhile.

No News is Good News

I haven't posted in three weeks, but this is mostly because things have been going well. I stayed within my strict food budget in January and this month I have even been able to stock up on food storage while staying within the budget. Additionally, in the last two months we have put a significant amount of money towards our credit card debt (I won't tell you how much because it's kind of embarrassing that we would even owe that much). So HOORAY us.

In other news I got these in the mail yesterday from my wonderful brother and sister-in-law, Miah and Missy:

Yay! Cloth napkins! Can I just say what a perfect gift this is for us. Our stash of paper napkins in the pantry is dwindling and it was highly questionable as to whether they would last us to the end of the year. 

Stay tuned for Valentine's Day on the cheap...

Amazingness

So I was browsing blogs today and I found an awesome post on my cousin's blog. She successfully made her own laundry detergent...and it actually works...and she says it costs close to $.01 a load. Intrigued? Here's the link.

Ups and Downs

I was doing so good until yesterday. 

Under extenuating circumstances (a howling hungry baby, my own headache from low-blood sugar, laundry still waiting for us at the laundromat, not much food left at home) I blundered yesterday while we were out running errands. I figured it would be ok to stop by Acme to get some food for us to eat while we waited at the laundromat for our clothes to dry. Not until I was out in the car did it really strike me that getting a cup of hot soup at Acme is the same thing as getting a cup of chili at Wendy's. Sad day. I don't know if that is considered eating out but there you have it. Doug thinks that as long as it fits into our food budget for the month it's no big deal. So I'll have to shave another $4.65 off of our budget for next week's food (that's leaves us a whopping $52.10 folks).

Now for the "ups". This week a friend gave me 5 pairs of shoes that she no longer wanted. She told me she doesn't like wearing flats anymore. Previously my attitude towards used shoes has been an unqualified "NO!", but I feel better getting them from someone I actually know. Don't worry I will be disinfecting them.

Wonderful Aunt Abby made Jacob some handy mittens on a string.

These were both items that I needed and now I don't have to worry about buying them. Also, it turns out that between both Doug and I we only need to buy one textbook this semester and I was able to get it used on half.com. Victory for the little people!

Free Loot!

With the Spring semester fast approaching I have been slightly worried about how we will get the school supplies  we need without buying anything new. Then I found the jackpot. A very nice lady was giving away her son's old college notebooks on criagslist. Yes they are used but all the old notes have been torn out, and as you can see they are perfectly usable. My next mission: computer paper.