From Budgeting Money to Budgeting Calories

I had a fabulous breakthrough in my diet this week, so I thought that you might all be due for an update on how this part of my life is going. After trying Atkins, Weight Watcher's, Skinny Bitch (yes this is a real diet) and a few other self defeating tactics I have finally found something that works for me. And Yes, I can stick to this one! It all happened after being prescribed a diet pill by my doctor, who's name I won't mention because his intention was to actually help me, per my request. Anyway, I took this thing for 1 day and thought that I was going to DIE!! Yes, I did. It was absolutely horrible. I was freezing cold all day, shaking, confused, and I had a massive headache. So, I never took it again. I was really depressed about it at first because I thought that this was going to be the answer to my prayers, even though I felt like it wasn't the right thing to do, but then I had a breakthrough. I was writing back and forth with another girl on sparkpeople.com and told her about my experience, when it dawned on me that if I could budget money so well, then I should be able to budget my calories just the same. So, I got online and decided on a calorie budget for myself of 1300 calories per day. I got myself a cute little notebook for $1 at Walmart and started tracking my calories. I quickly learned what foods had the least amount of calories, which helped me decide what would fill me up more for my allotted calorie budget. I also realized that I can eat whatever I want as long as I stay under budget! This weekend I even budgeted for 2 glasses of wine per night. Sound familiar? It's the exact same concept I use with my Budget Queen System. Who would have ever thought that it could work for your diet too? Well guess what? I've already lost 3.5 pounds and I'm still going strong. This is something that I can totally relate to, so I know that I am finally on my way to getting back to a healthy weight. I am so happy because after so many months of struggling I finally found an answer. Those terrible diet pills were a blessing in disguise and worth every penny I wasted! LOL! I hope that my breakthrough helps someone out there. I know that it's helped me! Have a great week and HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!

Happy Frugal Valentine's Day!!

Yesterday, I had the most frugal Valentine's Day I have ever had in my life and it was awesome! I am so excited to tell you how I did it. Well, my husband and I always take turns planning out special holidays, like Valentine's day, and this year was my year. I knew that I wanted it to be especially frugal because with our current economy, you never know what tomorrow might bring. So, I set out in advance to figure out how to have a basically FREE Valentine's Day.

At first I was going to make dinner at home and we were going to go out after, but I received an amazing gift! I met a girl named Chasity Hooks who owns Hooks and Associates. They put out a monthly newsletter which includes a trivia question. If you are one of the first 10 people to call in with the correct answer, you get entered into a drawing for a FREE $50 gift card to wherever they have listed for that month. I entered and I won a $50 gift certificate to Tsumani! So, guess where we went last night! Well, a few of my friends warned me that I wouldn't be able to eat there for under $50, so I set out to prove them wrong and I DID! First of all if you just order water to drink, you just saved $5. Second, if you just look at the prices of things on the menu, you can stay within your budget. Edemame was only $4 and there were several rolls that were $4 and $5, plus I had 1 glass of wine. So, to everyone who said I couldn't pull it off: I DID IT! I DID IT! LOL!

Next we went to the Art Walk, which is completely FREE and the galleries serve snacks and wine. There weren't that many galleries open because of the parade, but we enjoyed the ones that were open. We are huge fans of art! Then, we saw the parade. I have never been to a parade at night, so we walked to it and watched the whole thing. I was really dressed up because of our dinner, so I got tons of beads! I kind of stood out like a sore thumb, but I didn't care! I got some huge beads!

After the parade my feet were killing me, obviously. I had been walking around in high heals all night! So, we got in the car and drove to CC's and each got a free coffee with the CC's coupons that are in the "Guilt Free" guide. Then we went off on our next adventure which was to visit the places that we lived when we met. We drove around reminiscing and talking about old times. It was great, especially for me because I didn't want to walk anymore. We even visited our dream neighborhood. One day we will live there!

At the end of our adventure I was pretty tired and ready to go home, so we did. We cuddled up on the couch and watched movies and talked until we both fell asleep. I had rose pedals (from the Dollar Tree) sprinkled all over our floor. It was very romantic.

I hope to hear about all of your frugal and romantic Valentine stories! Have a great week and HAPPY SAVING!

One Busy Week!

The Kids at Home Depot

Whew! What a week! I am so exhausted, but feel so great at the same time! I have accomplished so much. I tried to take account of everything that happened this week so that I would have a lot to tell you about, so here goes:

Monday was my first day back to the endocrinologist. I know last week I explained the issue about the tumor, so this was the first time that I have been tested in a long time. I was super nervous. I cleaned my house all day and then went in the afternoon. (My house is super clean by the way, thanks to http://www.flylady.com/). Anyway, I had an assessment and blood work....$325. Yeah, that had to come out of savings. But, the good news is that all of my blood work came back completely normal and all of my vitals were perfect.

Tuesday was the coupon swap. I tried to spend as much time with the baby on Tuesday as I could. Tuesday is kind of the day that I like to really focus on him one on one. We play, read books, watch cartoons, and of course, I cleaned house as well. And that night was the coupon swap. The coupon swap is getting so big that I'm waiting for a manager to say something to me. But, I figure we are bringing them some business so they can deal with us for a while. If things get too big we may have to move altogether. I'm thinking that maybe the new library near there would be the perfect place! I did pass by there last night and they still aren't open, so I will wait patiently. After the coupon swap a few of us went on a field trip to the Dollar Tree across the street to check out their refrigerator/freezer section. I did get some tilapia there and we ate it tonight. It was perfectly fine. The pieced weren't all the same size, which is probably why they were so cheap, but it was perfect for us. We took the big ones and the kids took the little ones.

Wednesday the baby had to go back to the ENT to check his ears from his tube surgery. Everything was free and clear and I didn't even get charged for the visit. Thank God! My husband had to see a doctor that day for an infection and I had to have my MRI to check the size of the tumor. I'm sure the bill for the MRI will put me in a coma, but my husband's bill was $125. The cool thing about the MRI was that when I was leaving they gave me a $10 CC's gift card for my inconvenience. What inconvenience? I still haven't figured that part out. I mean, I did wait for a little while in the waiting room, but they had fresh baked cookies and every kind of drink or candy that you could imagine. Not to mention that they had a rack of magazines the size of my entertainment center and a public computer with internet! I wasn't inconvenienced at all....but, I got a gift card!! Yippee! Then I had to fill 2 scripts at CVS so I used my coupons and got 2 $25 gift cards! Rockin! After the injection from the MRI I was feeling kind of crappy, so instead of cooking, we went to Sicily's for dinner. I had a coupon for a FREE buffet, so all 5 of us ate for $10.30!!! I love that place. The kids love it more, so it works for me.

Thursday Lisa and I went to Rouse's and Albertson's for some grocery shopping. Thank God Lisa came because the baby was a handful. I also hadn't had any sleep the night before (the baby was sick and kept waking up) so I was a mess. I warned Lisa that I would be crazy, but she came anyway! I hope I didn't run her off for good. I was able to get $54 in groceries from Rouse's, including an 11lb brisket, and I think she spent $46. Then we went to Albie's to stockpile waffles, salad, and steam fresh steamer's from the sale. I spent around $12 there. While we were in Albies I got the call about the MRI. I am so happy to say that the tumor is completely stable and hasn't grown. I am so greatful! No treatment! No drugs!! WOOO HOOO! Maybe I won't have to worry about it ever again.

Friday was a little more relaxed. I had a meeting and brought Elise to dancing. She was cranky, so my mommy friend and I went to CC's for some FREE coffee. If you haven't gotten your coupon yet, check for the booklet on the counter at CC's. The coupons expire 2/28/09.

Saturday we went to the Home Depot for the FREE kids workshop. They LOVED it. They kept saying, "this is the best day ever!" Then we went to the mall to get Elise's ears pierced. After that we went flea market hunting for a desk for Elise. She actually sold her Little Tykes kitchen set to get one, so I was trying to find her the best deal possible. Unfortunately everything was overpriced. I saw a brand new one at Walmart for much cheaper, so the search continues.

This morning, I went to CC's, as usual, to get my coupons and FREE coffee. I went to CVS and got FREE toothpaste for the kids. We ran a few errands and enjoyed the lovely weather outside. It was a beautiful day. It feels like spring is finally here. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading about my week. I hope you have a great one.

HAPPY SAVING!

A Little Bit of Everything

Hello Frugal Friends,I hope that all of you are having a wonderful week. Last week was a pretty eventful one with quite a few meetings about TheBudgetQueen.com and all of our plans for growth. I am so excited that we are finally on our way to a new site. I met with the design team and was able to see a preliminary design for the home page. You are all going to love it! We are planning a launch party in March to introduce the new site. I'll let you all know the details as soon as I have some for you.

Today was my first day back at the endocrinologist since the baby was very little. I am starting my testing all over again. Incase any of you are out of the loop, I will explain the story. A few years ago I was diagnosed with a tumor called a pituitary adenoma. (Look it up, it's easier than explaining it.) It's on my pituitary gland right below my optic nerve. Trust me, it's not as bad as it seems! I was treated when I was diagnosed, but when I got a second opinion I was told that it wasn't necessary to go through all of the meds. So, the doctor has been keeping an eye on me ever since. I was told back then that it would be difficult to have children, and it was. We had been trying for 3 years with no luck. A little medication was all I needed and I was pregnant within 4 months with Liam. I was told then that the tumor could possibly become larger as a result of the pregnancy, so this is what I went to find out today. I had some blood work done and I will have an MRI. I have been praying that it will be completely gone when they do the scan. Wouldn't that be awesome?! This whole thing is going to cost me some big bucks, so I will be taking mucho money out of my savings account for this one. I have been putting off the testing for financial reasons, but now I am ready to roll. So, wish me luck!

Grocery shopping was great this week. With the grand opening of Rouse's and all of their great deals, I was able to stock up on a few of the things I use pretty often, like lunch meat, and freeze it for later. I did the rest of my shopping at Wal-Mart using price matching. I have really been loving the Piggly Wiggly sales. I have been price matching ground meat for $1.49lb for a few weeks now. The same goes for chicken breasts.

This week Walgreen's stole my drug store budget with their items that were free with mail in rebate. I pretty much spent it all there, so I didn't even bother going to CVS this week. I got Garnier Fructis Conditioner, Revlon foundation and lipgloss, and a few things for my mom. My mom, by the way, is a nurse who is usually stuck at the hospital all weekend, so she calls me if she needs anything. This week she needed some gel insoles for her shoes and dish washing liquid for the nurses’ lounge. She calls, I deliver. I don't mind, she does so much for me.

Last but not least, the entertainment budget was spent on Pete's. My husband had a craving for po-boys and homemade chips. Our bill was $27, which was more than normal, but he had to have those chips. They were awesome!

Have a great week! See you all at the coupon swap!!