Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: Deck the Halls

Who doesn't love a fresh evergreen wreath on their front door during the holidays? Would you like one for free? You're in luck! I know a great way to get one for free.

First, gather together the following "free products" -- clippings from the bottom of your Christmas tree and some household or floral wire.

Add a little "elbow grease". Then, stick on random, leftover pincones and holly from your Christmas decor box. Grab a nice ribbon from your wrapping paper box.

Don't forget to tell your husband who put it all together, "Thanks Honey! You're the best".

Want proof? See the picture. That's what I call cheap and cheerful.

Total savings: up to $50. (See similar decor here.)

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Week 3

I have been so, so busy so I sent Mr. Cheap and Cheerful to Safeway for me this week! He gets an A+ for sticking to the list and saving almost $19 by taking advantage of Club Card specials. He spent $45.07 total and we will only need one fill-in trip to get us through the 3 more days this month that we'll be at home. It looks like we'll make the $300 cut this month but I imagine many of you are hosting Thanksgiving and we're not; I am sure November can get more expensive than most months.

We're making soup again this week, eating up our eggs and potatoes in a frittata, and also having pasta, tacos/burritos, and salami and sundried tomato pizza for dinners.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What is your favorite homemade soup? (We love pea soup and rosemary and white bean. Yum!)

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Week Two

I am happy to report that Operation (More) Organics was mostly a success. I purchased organic lettuce, apples, chives, carrots, peas, onions, chicken broth, milk, cheese, and yogurt and my grocery bill was only about 12% more than I anticipated spending.

My total for the week was $88.43. When you consider that I did not have to shop for one of my weekly dinners (lasagna), you can add that to your total spending but still come in under $100 for the week for the meals I planned.

For those taking the grocery challenge, please share your savings stories. Maybe $300 a month is too severe for your family but I know you are discovering new ways to stretch your grocery dollar and I'd love to hear them.

Also, I've got $124 left for November but we're staying with family for the week of Thanksgiving. Most likely, we'll spend less than $300 this month and coming in under budget would be great; I could use the money for treats on the Thanksgiving road trip, roll the money over into December for special holiday treats, or use it towards postage for our Christmas cards. How would you spend the extra cash?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: Gift Closet Guru

I am looking for a guest blogger. Is it you? Are you a gift closet guru? Do you have a closet or drawer of cheap and cheerful go-to gifts that you use all year? If so, I need your help. I'd like to feature gift closet finds each month. Come on, I know you're out there!

While I wait for you to let me know of your mad gift closet stashing skills, check out the adorable wallet pictured above. It's a great gift closet find from Target for just $8.99!

Come on, you know you're the one. Shoot me a message and I will give you more details.

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge, with a twist!

This month's $300 grocery challenge will add a twist. Encouraged by my friend Rebecca, I will buy only organic products during Week Two. If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, let me know! I'm thinking about starting Week Two with a trip to Trader Joe's and supplementing with fruits and veggies from the Farmer's Market.

Here's a run down of Week One:

Money spent: $88.75

Purchased:

12 rolls of toilet paper

8 rolls of paper towels

Cascade

pretzels

Goldfish

apples

corn

onion

brownie mix

canned tomatoes

tomato sauce

tomato paste

Four 1.5 pound packages of ground beef (but one, get one free)

pork shoulder

flour and corn tortillas

milk

wheat bread

ricotta

mozarella

lasagna noodles

5 lb bag of potatoes

eggs (free with registration in Safeway's new Just 4 U program)

and a couple other things I can't remember ...

On the menu for dinner:

The famous Ferrara lasagna, carnitas (due to our superstition about the Giants!), potato and egg fritatta, tacos, ravioli with homemade sauce, homemade pizzas, and white bean pasta salad. We may eat out (burritos) once this week and use the money from our small entertainment budget. We've also still got lettuce, green beans, and corn for sides, as well as frozen baguettes for garlic bread.

Our lunches will be soup and macaroni and cheese from the pantry as well as the usual sandwiches, fruit, crackers, etc. We've got blueberry muffins, yogurt, cereal, and smoothies for breakfast.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: There are lots of turkeys out in the store already. We may have to have turkey and other Thanksgiving food early! What are your favorite fall dishes?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- October, Week 4

We had $90 left in the October grocery budget and I spent $87.87 today. I was pleased especially since I stocked up on a few things that will get us through most of next month as well: coffee, Windex, Shout, Advil (free with coupon!), flat of bottled water (free with coupon!) and hand soap ($.79 with coupon!). I also got some cake and brownie mixes that were on a super sale, plus a 6 pack of beer for my husband.

Here's the other stuff on my list:
granola
cheerios
yogurt
apples
bananas
corn
wheat bread
muffin mixes
milk
cheese: cheddar and mozzarella
everything for carnitas, including 60 corn tortillas for $1.69 with coupon
goldfish
and a few other things I can't remember

Our dinners for the week are carnitas, homemade pizza, pasta with meat sauce, paninis and soup, tamales/burritos, and more carnitas! We've got the usual peanut butter, yogurt, fruit, and pretzels/goldfish for lunch and lots of muffins, smoothies, and cereal for breakfast.

Now it is time to start thinking about November ... Should I try for $300 again?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: Got lids?

I can't let October pass by without talking about Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My grandmother died of breast cancer in 1986 so this is a cause near and dear to my heart. Yoplait Yogurt's Save Lids to Save Lives program has donated more than $25 million dollars to the cause!

I've always been a fan of Yoplait but had not been motivated to save lids. Well, I've changed my tune. After reading through the materials sent to me by MyGetTogether, I am now motivated to add my lids to this important effort.

I made myself several envelopes with the Save Lids, Save Lives address so I can just pop in my lids after I enjoy my yogurt. For the cost of a stamp, I can do my part. Also, you can find out more here.

Here's the address. Make your envelopes today!

Save Lids, Save Lives
P.O. Box 420704
El Paso TX 88542-0704

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What is your favorite Yoplait flavor? (I love Harvest Peach and Pina Colada!)

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Week 3.5

Hey, sometimes you just need a little ice cream. Oh, and a little hot fudge, too. Make that $90 left for the final week of groceries and some Halloween candy. I am pretty sure we'll still make it.

I've got some new recipes to try next week that I am really excited about but will fit with our budget. Think Butternet Squash Risotto and Crockpot Carnitas. Yum. Any other ideas out there?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Week Three

Another week and another less than $50 shopping trip. We still have $110 left for the month which will help us get our Halloween treats (including stuff for a class party) and possibly leave us some extra for a night of take out!

I spent $43.79 today and got ground beef, corn, lettuce, bananas, apples, two muffin mixes (huge sale on Krusteaz, plus $2 worth of coupons), eggs, yogurt, milk, pizza toppings, sour cream, bread, peanut butter (buy one, get one free), tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, pasta, pretzels, and a few other things I can't remember. (I am too lazy to get out from under my warm covers to get the receipt!)

Anyway, our dinners this week are taco salad, pasta with homemade sauce, huevos rancheros, homemade pizza, chili and cornbread, burgers/tacos/or tostadas (depending on what we feel like that night), and there will be plenty for leftovers. We've still got green beans and other frozen veggies for side dishes and several frozen sourdough baguettes.

Lots of frozen fruit for breakfast smoothies, plus plenty of cereal and yogurts and we'll make some muffins this week, too. My kids live and die for their daily peanut butter sandwich and we're all stocked up there, with pretzels, raisins, and frozen go-gurts on the side.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What are you eating this week?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge Continues -- October Week 2

The savings continue! I did my "fill in" shopping trip this week and picked up fruit, milk, vegetables, pretzels, crackers, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and pasta. I spent $40.60 and also used Self Checkout for the first time ever! I've got about $150 left for the rest of the month. Any ideas on what to make?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: And So It Continues ... $300 Grocery Challenge

So October is going to be a crazy month for us ... but I am continuing the $300 grocery challenge! My plan is to shop three times and spend $100 each time. Today, I got some great deals, stocked up on some of our favorite items, and only spent $104.91. So ideally, I'd spend more like $75 more on each trip and reserve some cash for a milk and fruit run if needed.

Here's the highlights of what I got:


4 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats (favorite cereal of 3 of 4 family members and on a buy 2, get 2 free promotion)


2 packages of ground turkey ($2.49 each) for burgers/tacos/chili


2 packages of italian sausage (buy one, get one free) for spaghetti sauce, etc.


cake mix and icing (used 3 different coupons) for Halloween cupcakes


lots of fresh fruit and veggies (grapes, apples, bananas, asparagus, corn, carrots, and celery)


lots of yogurt for snacks and smoothies (used 5 different coupons)


5 lb. bag of flour


chicken broth


tortillas


corn bread mix


wheat bread


... and more


Basically, I got about two weeks of meals during this trip and will do a quick shop for milk and maybe more fruits and veggies next week. We'll have pasta with spicy sausage sauce, chili and cornbread, risotto with asparagus, burgers and corn, and bean burritos this week.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What great grocery deals did you find this week?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge, Week 4

I did it! Week 4 saw me spend $59.10 at Safeway. So I came in $31 under budget for the month of September. Saving $100 (well, actually $131!) off our grocery budget in one month certainly wasn't easy and I learned a bunch of shopping lessons in the process. I did yearn for a little more fresh fruit (apples and bananas got a little boring) and my husband missed his Diet Coke. The kids probably wished for more Goldfish! I've decided to do the challenge again in October. I will be working on my menus this week and shopping next Monday.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: Are you in for October? And what's on your menu?

P.S.: Halloween candy does not count toward the $300. You can put that in your Entertainment column for your monthly budget. ; )

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Week 4

We're in the home stretch and I still have $94 to spend. My goal for week four is to spend only $50 at Safeway. If I can do it, I will come in $40 under budget for the month!

Here's my shopping list:

shrimp (Great coupon for $4.88 for a bag of shrimp)
milk
frozen strawberries
apples
bananas
lettuce
trash bags
flour tortillas
salsa
cereal
mozzarella
pepperoni
yogurt
granola
eggs
bacon
chicken
red onion
bread
pretzels

Here's the menu for the week:

lemon pepper pasta with shrimp and sage butter
beef and bean tostadas
homemade pizza
scrambled eggs and bacon
chicken caesar salad
Others: egg burritos, pasta salad, tamales and rice

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What's on your menu this week?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Week 3

So my week three shopping is complete! My goal was to spend $70 and I spent $71.95. I added in our soccer snacks since we're responsible for them next Saturday and still only went $1.95 over budget -- not too shabby! Price and selection wise, I was very pleased with my Target grocery experience. I will return to Safeway next week; we do get points towards school scrip at Safeway so we need to be consistent about shopping there.

We still had several dinners (raviolis, tamales, omelettes/waffles, chili, and tacos/burritos) on hand so this shopping list was focused on restocking breakfast and lunch items, plus snacks and a few toiletry items.

Here's what I got:
bagels
cream cheese
banana nut muffin mix
Honey Bunches of Oats
grapes
apples
yogurt
milk
wheat bread
sourdough bread
peanut butter
cheese
frozen pizza (great $2 coupon)
salsa
pretzels
Betty Crocker cookie mix (Matthew's treat request and had a great coupon)
Wheat Thins (great $2 coupon)
soccer snack: juice boxes, granola bars, fruit leathers, extremely green bananas
shampoo
Hefty bags

I think I am forgetting a few things, but you get the idea. Almost there!

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: How is the $300 challenge going for you?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Menu Ideas?

I've spent $134.21. This means I have $165.79 left to spend. I am thinking (because why not add a challenge on top of a challenge!) that I will grocery shop this week at Target. I need trash bags, body wash, and toilet paper in addition to food and I have several high value, Target specific coupons. So, my faithful readers, my goal is to spend less than $70 on groceries at Target. Any good menu ideas?

Here's what I will still have on hand that can "roll over" into next week:

1 loaf of wheat bread
1 package pita bread
3 boxes of pasta
2 cans of black beans
1 can of white beans
cheddar cheese (large brick)
18 eggs
tomato sauce
tomato paste
frozen green beans
frozen corn
frozen fruit (bananas, strawberries, blueberries)
a few packages of Shells and Cheese
the huge box of Cheerios that will not die
large box of Bisquick
(plus other odds and ends not worth mentioning like yogurts, applesauce, etc.)

Help!

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge

Any Target grocery shoppers out there? I got some Target coupons in the mail for produce, bread, and frozen food. Before I rule out using them, has anyone out there had good luck getting groceries at Target? If so, do tell!

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge -- Shopping Trip #2

On my grocery list for this week:

apples

bananas

red onion

green beans

cheddar cheese

corn tortillas

ground beef

white beans

milk

wheat bread

peanut butter

yogurt

eggs

snacks: pretzels, granola bars, peanuts, Goldfish

paper towels

My goal was to spend only $50. I came in at $48.79. Yay!

On the menu this week:

pasta salad: box of pasta, can of white beans, diced red onion, tomatoes and basil from our garden, parmesan cheese; toss with a dressing made from red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve with veggies or garlic bread.

tostadas: corn tortillas, seasoned ground beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce. Serve with sides of black beans, rice and corn (pantry and freezer items).

grilled cheese and soup (pantry item) -- not the most exciting dinner but great for after soccer practice on a Fall evening

homemade pizza -- We still have so many great, fresh toppings from the garden to use up!

ravioli (freezer item) and sauteed green beans OR tamales with leftovers from tostada night

"cheater" meal: We have an In and Out $20 gift card that my husband got as a birthday gift. We will be out of the house for most of the day tomorrow and will likely stop and get dinner there on the way home.

Breakfasts: We still have a massive box of Cheerios and a huge box of Kix. We also used a muffing mix from the pantry and made muffins yesterday so we will eat those. We also have pancake mix in the pantry and smoothie ingredients in the freezer.

Lunches: Peanut butter and jelly! Also, yogurt, applesauce, crackers and cheese, hummus and pita (still have lots from last week), plus all of the snacks we have on hand -- raisins, peanuts, goldfish, etc. I also have ingredients for another cold pasta on hand (lemon pepper pasta with sage butter and shaved parmesan) so we will make that for lunch if we need to fill in.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What's on your menu this week?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge Shopping Trip #1

I survived my first shopping trip for the $300 challenge. I even added three items (coffee, toilet paper, and cheerios) and came in under $90. Tonight is breakfast for dinner -- yum!

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: How did your first shopping trip go? What's on your menu this week?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: $300 Grocery Challenge begins tomorrow!

Ready, set, shop! The spend-only-$300-on-groceries in September begins tomorrow! Here's what I have planned for my first shopping trip. I estimate it will be about a $90 total.

2 gallons of milk
2 loaves of bread
2 dozen eggs (Buy one, get one free)
6 to 8 yogurts
peanut butter
applesauce
crackers
mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
apples
bananas
grapes
tortillas
potatoes
onion
pepper (from our garden)
tomatoes (from our garden)
lettuce
ground turkey
hamburger buns
kidney beans
spice packet for chili
cornbread mix

Our dinners will include homemade pizza and salad, turkey chili and cornbread, turkey burgers and oven fries, bean and cheese burritos, a breakfast for dinner night, a night of leftovers, and night of dinner from the freezer since we have raviolis and tamales frozen already. (I will also make a pasta salad with odds and ends we already have and use it for lunches.)

Of course, I've got some pantry items already like refried beans, cereal, granola bars, pasta, and pretzels that will round out our breakfast and lunch menus. Also, I've got cheddar cheese, hummus and pita, cheese sticks, and tomato sauce already in the fridge.

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: Are you up for the challenge? And what are you cooking?

Cheap and Cheerful Chatter: A Little Gap Love

When I first saw the Groupon post for the $50 GAP gift card for $25, I thought it was too good to be true. But it was a legitimate Groupon -- hooray! I snagged one the day it was offered and headed to the mall yesterday. To my delight, the Buy 1 Kid or Baby Regularly Priced ($19.50) jeans and get another Kid or Baby jeans for $10 deal was still in progress. I got two pairs of jeans and two long sleeved tops for the kids for $38 total, adding just $13 out of pocket after using the Groupon. Pretty sweet deal ... but it gets even better! When buying the jeans, the cashier gave me a 1969 Kids and Baby Jeans Club card and stamped it twice. Collect four stamps and get a free pair of kids or baby jeans! Then, just when you thought it could not get any better, the cashier gave me a We Love Wednesdays coupon book which has four 40% off one regularly priced item coupons that are valid on specific Wednesdays, September 8 - 29th. So, here's my plan: Buy two more pairs of kids or baby jeans -- one on Wednesday, September 15 and one on Wednesday, September 22 at 40% off and collect two more stamps. (I just called my local GAP to confirm that you can indeed "double dip".) Those two trips will earn me a free pair of jeans and the savings will be complete. My kids are growing like weeds and both just went up a size in pants so it was totally perfect timing! A little GAP love for not a lot of cash. And, last but not least, the cashier handed two We Love Wednesdays coupon books to my kids! So faithful readers, who needs a little GAP love? I've got two sets of coupons to share.