Did I ever mention how incredibly hard it is to blog with 3 kids home for the summer? Well, I wrote this on the first week of summer and I'm finally posting it:
Hello World,
My mission continues.
I have to do a little catching up since I haven't written in 2 days. Thursday was the last time that we spent anything, so I will shoot you back in time to tell you all about it. Thursday the kids decided to go to the Incredible Pizza Company. We thought the King should be a part of that venture so we waited until he got off of work to go. Having been there in the past I was truly concerned about the cost. I thought for sure we were going to blow our budget, but I am always looking for ways to stretch the money, so I was still hopeful. First off, I had a coupon from my Entertainment book - 2 free kids buffets with the purchase of 2 adult buffets - so all of the kids got in free because they didn't charge for the baby. $22.42. Then, we found out that on Thursday's they double any of the game cards you purchase, so we got one for $20 that doubled to $40. Then they told us that everytime you spend $20 you get an extra $5 for free. So, for $20 we got $45 worth of games. So our total was $42.42.
We all ate our fill at the buffet, then off we went to play the games. The kids had a blast. They pretty much do the same things everywhere we go. Our eldest prince goes for the big games, our little proncess goes for all of the kiddie games, and the baby just runs all over the place looking at everything and bothering as many people as he possibly can. So, I pretty much chased him the whole time.
About a half an hour in, I realized that my big prince was running low on funds. Yet, he still ran around playing all of the games he could as fast as he could. Finally he ran out of credits. Then he latched onto his sister (only because he wanted something, right?) and they played games together until all of the credits were finally gone. Then comes the whining. My eldest comes up to me and sits next to me on the bench and says, "I'm bored." UGH!!!!! So, I told him that it was time for a lesson. I simply explained to him that he needs to check out the prices of the games before he plays them, because some of the are quite a bit more expensive than others. I went on to tell him that if he played the cheaper games it would last much longer. Up until that point I had considered giving them more money, but I felt that he needed to learn a lesson about finances at that point. So, we picked everything up and started to go towards the front to get icecream before we walked out the door.
Then he reminded me.....I forgot to give him his allowance last Friday....DARN IT! I reluctantly handed over the $5 and reminded him that he was supposed to be saving up for a video game. No luck. Off he runs, BUT he remembered about the double credits on Thursdays. So he goes to the register, buys the $5 game card and sees that the don't give him the extra $5. The King went with him to fix the issue and he got his $10 credit. Well, he must have paid a little more attention to the prices because he was in there for quite a while. He came out with a TON of tickets and we finally went home.
So, we still have $130 left for summer.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
My $220 Summer: Part 2
I'm not quite sure if I really explained my mission yesterday, but the $220 budget I am speaking of is to entertain my kids for the summer. Obviously, I am not even going to try to spend only $220 on groceries or anything else. It would be nearly impossible. Not that I couldn't do it, I am just not up to a challenge like that with 3 kids home for the summer, understandably.
Today was a great day on my mission to spend $220 this summer. I haven't spent a thing today, which is great! I still have $179 left in cash. Based on our activity so far, I am thinking that I really might be able to pull this off with a combination of coupons, deals, and sneaky tricks that not many people know about. But, I aim to tell all.
Today, we went to the pool at the gym. The kids had an absolute blast. There were so many people there that they had no chance to be bored. I packed a bag with clothes, towels, floaties, etc...and included snacks, sippy cups, and sports bottles filled with water. No money spent! YAY! $0. Although, I almost lost 5 bucks because I lost my earring in the pool. I told all of the kids that whoever found the earring would get the money. Fortunately, no one found it. Unfortunately, I am out of an earring.
Write again soon. TBQ
Today was a great day on my mission to spend $220 this summer. I haven't spent a thing today, which is great! I still have $179 left in cash. Based on our activity so far, I am thinking that I really might be able to pull this off with a combination of coupons, deals, and sneaky tricks that not many people know about. But, I aim to tell all.
Today, we went to the pool at the gym. The kids had an absolute blast. There were so many people there that they had no chance to be bored. I packed a bag with clothes, towels, floaties, etc...and included snacks, sippy cups, and sports bottles filled with water. No money spent! YAY! $0. Although, I almost lost 5 bucks because I lost my earring in the pool. I told all of the kids that whoever found the earring would get the money. Fortunately, no one found it. Unfortunately, I am out of an earring.
Write again soon. TBQ
My $220 Summer: Part 1
Yesterday was officially the first day of summer for us because the kids were all out of school and the King was back at work. Being that this week is a holiday completely free of any camps or mother's day out programs, I have all 3 kids all to myself all week long. So, I thought...why not have a blow out week where I let the kids pick out whatever they want to do and we just do it! So, last week we made a list of all of the possibilities including: Chuck-E-Cheese, Kart Ranch, Incredible Pizza Company, The Children's Museum, the gym (to swim of course), and so much more. So, I decided to pull money out of their savings account for the week and just let them have a blast. So off to the ATM we went and pulled out $220. (The extra $20 is for summer workbooks). Anyway, when I pulled the money out, my frugal side finally kicked in and I thought...this is a lot of money....I wonder if I could stretch this out over the entire summer?
So, first things first, we went to the educational supply store to get some summer workbooks. With a 25% off coupon my total was $25. So, already a big dent.
Then, we went to the tourist information center. I thought that maybe we could find some free attractions that are both educational and fun for the kids to help fill in the gaps in our schedule. I let the kids pick out all of the pamphlets that they liked, but very few of them were actually free. However, I did get a ton of coupons there. The ladies at the tourist center gave the kids come bread to feed the fish and the ducks, so we ended up spending part of our day the the center just walking the grounds and feeding the turtles and fish. We talked about the trees and the wildlife. Great trip! $0.
Then off we went to Chuck-E-Cheese, their choice for the day. We ate lunch before we left so we didn't have to buy any food there. We also brought our Chuck-E-Cheese souvenir cups so that it wouldn't cost us any extra for drinks. (If you buy a 'souvenir' cup from Chuck-E-Cheese you can bring them back and drink for free.) I used a coupon for tokens which was $15 for 100 tokens, so our total spent was $15 even. Again, I was thinking about stretching the $220 so that it could possibly last all summer, so when I got the tokens I divided them in half in 2 separate cups in hopes that we could make another trip out of it. Within the first 15 minutes my first cup was looking pretty skimpy, so I was worried that my plan wasn't going to work. I didn't want to hold out on the kids either because they were having so much fun. Finally my oldest figured out that there was a whole other stash of tokens, so they started disappearing! I looked at my watch and realized that we had to leave soon, so I started rounding the kids up. So we were actually left with about 30 more tokens, which will work for a second trip. YAY!
Then came the drama. With three kids there is always drama. The baby was missing in Chuck-E-Cheese. Of course, I didn't really panic because he runs off pretty often, but this is a huge place, he is a small child, and here I am bogged down by my purse, diaper bag, sippy cups, tokens, and game tickets. It was an impossible task. So, I told the guy at the door that there was a missing baby in the restaurant and out of the wood works came the Chuck-E-Squad. All of a sudden there was a team of guys huddling together asking me for a description and off they went to find the baby. It took all of 60 seconds. He was standing next to the skee-ball game watching another kid play. He wasn't the slightest bit concerned.
So, now we are out of the door. I am still bogged down with our gear and trying to hold onto the baby. We finally get to the car and I have no keys. NO KEYS! So, now I am standing with the baby pinned against the car so he won't pull another one of his stunts and run in the street. I looked everywhere...NO KEY! I check the diaper bag, the purse, the car, and everything that I am carrying, but they were not there. So, I pick up all of the gear again, plus the baby, and the other two kids...and we go back in to Chuck-E-Cheese. AHH! Fortunately, the same guy was at the door and he found my keys. We turn around, go back to the car, get the kids and all of the gear in and we are finally on our way home. Phew.
Today, there will most certainly be another adventure in my $220 summer. So stay tuned and I will keep you informed. I have no idea if I can make the money stretch that long...but I am willing to try. I have $180 left, so we'll see what happens. I'll write again soon.
So, first things first, we went to the educational supply store to get some summer workbooks. With a 25% off coupon my total was $25. So, already a big dent.
Then, we went to the tourist information center. I thought that maybe we could find some free attractions that are both educational and fun for the kids to help fill in the gaps in our schedule. I let the kids pick out all of the pamphlets that they liked, but very few of them were actually free. However, I did get a ton of coupons there. The ladies at the tourist center gave the kids come bread to feed the fish and the ducks, so we ended up spending part of our day the the center just walking the grounds and feeding the turtles and fish. We talked about the trees and the wildlife. Great trip! $0.
Then off we went to Chuck-E-Cheese, their choice for the day. We ate lunch before we left so we didn't have to buy any food there. We also brought our Chuck-E-Cheese souvenir cups so that it wouldn't cost us any extra for drinks. (If you buy a 'souvenir' cup from Chuck-E-Cheese you can bring them back and drink for free.) I used a coupon for tokens which was $15 for 100 tokens, so our total spent was $15 even. Again, I was thinking about stretching the $220 so that it could possibly last all summer, so when I got the tokens I divided them in half in 2 separate cups in hopes that we could make another trip out of it. Within the first 15 minutes my first cup was looking pretty skimpy, so I was worried that my plan wasn't going to work. I didn't want to hold out on the kids either because they were having so much fun. Finally my oldest figured out that there was a whole other stash of tokens, so they started disappearing! I looked at my watch and realized that we had to leave soon, so I started rounding the kids up. So we were actually left with about 30 more tokens, which will work for a second trip. YAY!
Then came the drama. With three kids there is always drama. The baby was missing in Chuck-E-Cheese. Of course, I didn't really panic because he runs off pretty often, but this is a huge place, he is a small child, and here I am bogged down by my purse, diaper bag, sippy cups, tokens, and game tickets. It was an impossible task. So, I told the guy at the door that there was a missing baby in the restaurant and out of the wood works came the Chuck-E-Squad. All of a sudden there was a team of guys huddling together asking me for a description and off they went to find the baby. It took all of 60 seconds. He was standing next to the skee-ball game watching another kid play. He wasn't the slightest bit concerned.
So, now we are out of the door. I am still bogged down with our gear and trying to hold onto the baby. We finally get to the car and I have no keys. NO KEYS! So, now I am standing with the baby pinned against the car so he won't pull another one of his stunts and run in the street. I looked everywhere...NO KEY! I check the diaper bag, the purse, the car, and everything that I am carrying, but they were not there. So, I pick up all of the gear again, plus the baby, and the other two kids...and we go back in to Chuck-E-Cheese. AHH! Fortunately, the same guy was at the door and he found my keys. We turn around, go back to the car, get the kids and all of the gear in and we are finally on our way home. Phew.
Today, there will most certainly be another adventure in my $220 summer. So stay tuned and I will keep you informed. I have no idea if I can make the money stretch that long...but I am willing to try. I have $180 left, so we'll see what happens. I'll write again soon.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
This Week's Budget
Hello Frugal Fanatics!
I had such a great week with my budget that I just wanted to share. As many of you know my budget for the week is $100 for anything and everything and breaks down like this: $50 for groceries, $25 for drug store deals, $25 for entertainment. This week I spent $52 on groceries, no biggie because I made up for it with my drug store budget, and this is what I bought:
Super One: (Groceries)
10 boxes General Mills cereal @ $1.50 each
-minus 4 $1 off coupons (3 were $1 off of 3 and 1 was $1 off of 1)
2 gallons of whole milk $3.55 each
bread on sale $2
4 lean pockets on sale for $.98 each
bananas $1.53
crackers on clearance $.50
graham crackers $1.58
snack crackers $1.88
apple juice (Value Time) $.98
Spray and Wash - no sale or coupon : ( $2.99
flossers $1.89
Albertsons:(a little more groceries)
2 Good Day half gallon orange juice $.50 each
dozen large eggs $1
pork chops $1/lb $6.90
3 Fresh Express Garden Salads $1 each
2 Albertson's Frozen Waffles $1 each
Total Groceries with tax: $52.77
Walgreen's: (Drug Store Deals)
6 men's Speed Stick Deodorant (clearance) $.50 each
3 Men's Zone face wash (clearance) $.99 each
Huggies Swimmers Sale $6.99
-minus $1.50 off coupon
2 AA batteries BOGO $3.99
Fabric softener sheets $2.99 (no sale or coupon) : ( ...But, I cut these in half and they last me apx. 6 months.
-minus $1 Register Reward
Total Drug Store Deals: $19.04
Entertainment Budget:
1 ticket to the movies $8.50
1 free ticket to the movies from my mom $0
snacks from the dollar store to stock my purse for the movie $3.90
3 random cups of coffee from CC's at $1.94 each
Total entertainment spent: $18.22
YAY! I feel like the deals are getting better in all of the stores and we are doing very well with our budget. I hope that all of you are having the same success. If you need help don't forget to ask! Have a great week!
I had such a great week with my budget that I just wanted to share. As many of you know my budget for the week is $100 for anything and everything and breaks down like this: $50 for groceries, $25 for drug store deals, $25 for entertainment. This week I spent $52 on groceries, no biggie because I made up for it with my drug store budget, and this is what I bought:
Super One: (Groceries)
10 boxes General Mills cereal @ $1.50 each
-minus 4 $1 off coupons (3 were $1 off of 3 and 1 was $1 off of 1)
2 gallons of whole milk $3.55 each
bread on sale $2
4 lean pockets on sale for $.98 each
bananas $1.53
crackers on clearance $.50
graham crackers $1.58
snack crackers $1.88
apple juice (Value Time) $.98
Spray and Wash - no sale or coupon : ( $2.99
flossers $1.89
Albertsons:(a little more groceries)
2 Good Day half gallon orange juice $.50 each
dozen large eggs $1
pork chops $1/lb $6.90
3 Fresh Express Garden Salads $1 each
2 Albertson's Frozen Waffles $1 each
Total Groceries with tax: $52.77
Walgreen's: (Drug Store Deals)
6 men's Speed Stick Deodorant (clearance) $.50 each
3 Men's Zone face wash (clearance) $.99 each
Huggies Swimmers Sale $6.99
-minus $1.50 off coupon
2 AA batteries BOGO $3.99
Fabric softener sheets $2.99 (no sale or coupon) : ( ...But, I cut these in half and they last me apx. 6 months.
-minus $1 Register Reward
Total Drug Store Deals: $19.04
Entertainment Budget:
1 ticket to the movies $8.50
1 free ticket to the movies from my mom $0
snacks from the dollar store to stock my purse for the movie $3.90
3 random cups of coffee from CC's at $1.94 each
Total entertainment spent: $18.22
YAY! I feel like the deals are getting better in all of the stores and we are doing very well with our budget. I hope that all of you are having the same success. If you need help don't forget to ask! Have a great week!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Super Frugal Non-Fat Granola
5 C. quick cooking oats
2 T. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ C. dried fruit or nuts (optional)
¾ C. brown sugar
1/3 C. concentrated apple juice
½ C. non-fat dry milk
1/3 C. honey
Mix oats, cinnamon, salt, and fruit or nuts in large mixing bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, mix sugar, apple juice, milk, and honey and heat over medium heat only until sugar dissolves. Poor sugar mixture slowly over dry mixer and blend well, until oats are completely moist. Spread onto cookie sheet and bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
Cost per pound = $1.00
2 T. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
½ C. dried fruit or nuts (optional)
¾ C. brown sugar
1/3 C. concentrated apple juice
½ C. non-fat dry milk
1/3 C. honey
Mix oats, cinnamon, salt, and fruit or nuts in large mixing bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, mix sugar, apple juice, milk, and honey and heat over medium heat only until sugar dissolves. Poor sugar mixture slowly over dry mixer and blend well, until oats are completely moist. Spread onto cookie sheet and bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
Cost per pound = $1.00
Friday, May 15, 2009
Mini-date with the King
Hello World!
Long time no see, I know. It seems like I have been missing in action for a while....and mentally I may have been. LOL! It has been crazy busy in the world of the Budget Queen from classes, to articles, to television. Although, I hope that I am making a difference in people's lives. I know that I have had to sacrifice a lot to bring all of this information to everyone, so I truly hope that it is helping.
Tonight, the king and I went on a frugal outing. I was really excited because it has been a few weeks since we were able to do anything fun, since we put the house on the market. (Yes, we are selling our house.) My mom was able to babysit! ($0) Then, she gave us one free ticket to the movies ($0), so we had to buy just 1. ($8.50). We stopped at the Family Dollar on the way and bought snacks ($3.90)...and strategically stuffed them in my purse after dumping it's normal content. The movie was great! We went to the opening of Angels and Demons. I won't give the entire thing away, but some things were slightly different from the book. I think it was even better than the Davinci Code. So...go see it, or wait until it comes out on Red Box.
After the movie we popped over to Walmart to grab some supplies for the class I'm teaching tomorrow. WELL, there were yellow clearance balloons all over the store! So, we ended up getting a few things there as well. Polo shirt for the King ($3), t-shirt for the big prince ($1), and french bread ($1.50). So, if you are in Walmart you HAVE to check out the clearance. There were men's polo's t-shirts, sport shirts, and sports shorts...$3, boy's motocross t-shirts...$1, boy's Starter sports shirts...$1, baby and toddler t-shirts...$1, baby outfits...$3, women's pumps...$1!!!, women's sandals...$3-5, framed art...$1, etc, etc, etc. OH - espresso machine...$29 (down from $70), double toaster...$12.50...anyway, you just have to check it all out for yourself. I hope you have fun, I know I did!
Happy Saving!
Long time no see, I know. It seems like I have been missing in action for a while....and mentally I may have been. LOL! It has been crazy busy in the world of the Budget Queen from classes, to articles, to television. Although, I hope that I am making a difference in people's lives. I know that I have had to sacrifice a lot to bring all of this information to everyone, so I truly hope that it is helping.
Tonight, the king and I went on a frugal outing. I was really excited because it has been a few weeks since we were able to do anything fun, since we put the house on the market. (Yes, we are selling our house.) My mom was able to babysit! ($0) Then, she gave us one free ticket to the movies ($0), so we had to buy just 1. ($8.50). We stopped at the Family Dollar on the way and bought snacks ($3.90)...and strategically stuffed them in my purse after dumping it's normal content. The movie was great! We went to the opening of Angels and Demons. I won't give the entire thing away, but some things were slightly different from the book. I think it was even better than the Davinci Code. So...go see it, or wait until it comes out on Red Box.
After the movie we popped over to Walmart to grab some supplies for the class I'm teaching tomorrow. WELL, there were yellow clearance balloons all over the store! So, we ended up getting a few things there as well. Polo shirt for the King ($3), t-shirt for the big prince ($1), and french bread ($1.50). So, if you are in Walmart you HAVE to check out the clearance. There were men's polo's t-shirts, sport shirts, and sports shorts...$3, boy's motocross t-shirts...$1, boy's Starter sports shirts...$1, baby and toddler t-shirts...$1, baby outfits...$3, women's pumps...$1!!!, women's sandals...$3-5, framed art...$1, etc, etc, etc. OH - espresso machine...$29 (down from $70), double toaster...$12.50...anyway, you just have to check it all out for yourself. I hope you have fun, I know I did!
Happy Saving!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Spending Dilemma: Women vs. Men
The Spending Dilemma: Women vs. Men
Teresa Theriot, Founder of www.thebudgetqueen.com
There is a common complaint that I receive from male clients about women spending too much money. Yes, it is true that women do the majority of the shopping for the household, so men assume that they are the one's spending everything, especially when all of the money is gone at the end of the month. However, men make up for the daily spending with their large purchases, such as flat screen TV's and four wheelers. From experience with many clients, men and women are equally responsible for their financial status. So, they both need to make a commitment to be part of the solution.Women are generally responsible for the groceries, household supplies, and items for the kids. They seem to spend so much money, because they do, just not much on themselves. It is rare that women actually buy anything for themselves because they hold a level of guilt about spending money when their spouses never seem to. Aside from the occasional clothing item, in general women are fairly frugal. Men never seem to need anything, they appear to be very low maintenance, and seem as if they never spend a thing. However, what a man doesn't spend on a day to day basis, he makes up for with his large purchases. In reality, men do just as much damage as women.Although their spending habits are different, a simple budget can be the solution to financial success and happiness. A budget is necessary to ensure that couples are on the same page and working towards a common goal. For many couples a mediator or financial adviser is necessary to get through building a budget and financial discussions, but is worth the investment. If you can get through it, you will reap the benefits for many years to come.
Start by listing your bills by the due date. Add them all up and decide if you are spending more than you make or making more than you spend. You or your spouse may need to acquire another source of income to make up the difference. Cut out little wasters of your money like book clubs, magazine subscriptions, and gym memberships that are rarely used. Once you have trimmed the access fat off your budget, consider your long term goals and calculate what you should be saving each month. Add that into your budget.
Whatever income is leftover can be divided into an allowance for each person. Then the woman will know exactly what she can spend on her self each month and the man can save for his allowance for his big boy toys. Once you start to put your budget into action and enjoy the benefits, you will feel at peace knowing that you have control of your finances.
Teresa Theriot is a stay at home mother of three children. She is an expert on saving money and founder of www.thebudgetqueen.com.
Teresa Theriot, Founder of www.thebudgetqueen.com
There is a common complaint that I receive from male clients about women spending too much money. Yes, it is true that women do the majority of the shopping for the household, so men assume that they are the one's spending everything, especially when all of the money is gone at the end of the month. However, men make up for the daily spending with their large purchases, such as flat screen TV's and four wheelers. From experience with many clients, men and women are equally responsible for their financial status. So, they both need to make a commitment to be part of the solution.Women are generally responsible for the groceries, household supplies, and items for the kids. They seem to spend so much money, because they do, just not much on themselves. It is rare that women actually buy anything for themselves because they hold a level of guilt about spending money when their spouses never seem to. Aside from the occasional clothing item, in general women are fairly frugal. Men never seem to need anything, they appear to be very low maintenance, and seem as if they never spend a thing. However, what a man doesn't spend on a day to day basis, he makes up for with his large purchases. In reality, men do just as much damage as women.Although their spending habits are different, a simple budget can be the solution to financial success and happiness. A budget is necessary to ensure that couples are on the same page and working towards a common goal. For many couples a mediator or financial adviser is necessary to get through building a budget and financial discussions, but is worth the investment. If you can get through it, you will reap the benefits for many years to come.
Start by listing your bills by the due date. Add them all up and decide if you are spending more than you make or making more than you spend. You or your spouse may need to acquire another source of income to make up the difference. Cut out little wasters of your money like book clubs, magazine subscriptions, and gym memberships that are rarely used. Once you have trimmed the access fat off your budget, consider your long term goals and calculate what you should be saving each month. Add that into your budget.
Whatever income is leftover can be divided into an allowance for each person. Then the woman will know exactly what she can spend on her self each month and the man can save for his allowance for his big boy toys. Once you start to put your budget into action and enjoy the benefits, you will feel at peace knowing that you have control of your finances.
Teresa Theriot is a stay at home mother of three children. She is an expert on saving money and founder of www.thebudgetqueen.com.
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