Frugaling

Frugaling is a verb that means: The act and the art of maximizing your budget and minimizing costs.  

It's a thoughtful and purposeful activity that helps your financial course see a better future.

This is my story and advice of getting back my freedom from credit card debt.    

 My journey of going back to square one= zero debt. 

So I took a hard look at my lifestyle and realized it doesn't take alot to make me happy. Spending time with my family makes me happy.

 I'm happy with home cooked meals and shopping weekly sales!

For example Albertsons's had a gallon of milk on sale for $1.99 so I bought two (thats a $2.00 savings.) Fry's had large eggs on sale for 99 cents a dozen which is another ($2.00 savings!)

My husband and I  I love eating out! I'm going to experiment with frugaling to see if I can eat out and enjoy saving at the same time.

This morning I went to Mc Donald's and brown bagged (in my case it's a cute pink insulated bag!) 

Ordered a Sausage Biscuit for $1.08. Brought my own little container of gravy frugaling my way into a $5.00 savings if I had ordered biscuits, gravy, and a sausage patty at a restaurant.

Brought my own iced tea for a $1.00 savings.

Have you signed up for your Circle K app? 

Today the freebie was a slice of lemon cake which saved me $1.40. 

Making my savings for Monday morning so far a grand total of $11.40. 

Money I can now throw at my credit card debt. And I still had fun eating out and shopping.

How about saving money by creative eating out? My favorite mexican restaurant is Los Compadres they have the best enchiladas. 

I ordered one pint of enchilada sauce for $1.75. At home for dinner I fried 10 corn toritillas, chopped up yellow onion, cooked some chicken tenders (marinated in italian dressing) on my George Forman Grill, shreded cheese and made Chicken Enchiladas.

If I closed my eyes I felt like I was at Los Compadres! 

10 enchiladas only cost me $1.75 rather than $30.00. Made my own fried rice.

Pizza Hut had a coupon this week for any size pizza, any number of toppings, and any crust for $10.00 carry out only. 

We ordered one large pan pizza with Italian sausage, peperonni, bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, black olives, jalapenos and pineapple. It pays to use coupons!

Found a coupon for Kentucky Fried Chicken $4.99 for four whole wings, mashed potatoes & gravy, biscuit and soda. 

So last night Chuck and I had take-out. I cooked around this making coleslaw and bqd beans. Saving on the sides while enjoying a fun meal.

My late brother-in-law saved every penny he earned. He would never go out to eat,  made a big pot of lentil soup and eat only that all week. He did save up $100,000 dollars but when he died didn't even have any enjoyment for all that money, only a big bank account.

So how can I have a happy lifestyle in the lowest amount of spending possible, while maximizing my savings?

Have you tried Frugaling it's fun!

Economic Eating Out

My husband I love eating breakfast out. I've been experimenting with ways to eat out and still live happily below our means. Today I found a way to enjoy biscuits & gravy with a sausage patty for $1.08.

Mc Donalds has a Sausage Biscuit on their $1.00 menu.

I ordered two Sausage Biscuits to go. When I got home made homemade gravy like this:

Put 1 Tablespoon of (saved) bacon grease in a pan...
added 2 Tablespoons of unbleached flour... (browned it)...
added milk, salt & pepper to taste.

Fried my husband and I two over medium eggs. And we had eggs, biscuits and gravy and a delicious sausage patty. For $1.08 each!

How about a healthy alternative when eating out? My biggest complaints is: "I don't have time to prepare a healthy meal I'm too busy!"

My sister Donna, is very creative when it comes to shopping and finding good buys. When I was first married and my girls were little she mentored me and taught me how to shop coupons, sales and grand openings!. Donna texted me a picture of her breakfast. She was at Whole Foods Market and took advantage of the Salad Bar for a healthy fast breakfast. In her container she had a scoop of Quinoa with coconut milk, a dip of kale salad, a boiled egg, almonds and a mandarin orange slice for only $2.50!

When I saw her breakfast choices at first I was puzzled? Why such a strange combination?

I Googled the benefits of Quinoa. It's a super grain loaded with nutrients. Gluten free, high protein, low in glycemic index, which prevents a sudden spike in blood sugar. Kale is fat free, high in fiber, lowers blood sugar, curbs overeating, high in antioxidants. Boiled egg is great source of protein, as are almonds to keep blood sugar stable. And Mandarin Orange slice is high in vitamin C, plus taste delicious.

Great choices for $2.50 for the body to start the day and NO COOKING it's all prepared for you! 

Wednesdays Whole Foods salad bar is on sale for $2.00 off it's regular price of $8.99 a pound. The trick is to just buy a third of a pound of fresh goodies!   

Think I'll try Whole Foods Salad Bar soon and see what healthy choices I can make for $2.50. Thinking I'd add a little mayonaise and mustard to my boiled egg to make it a deviled egg!