Week #3

Let me start by sharing...There are way more struggles with this new 'money diet' than I thought there would be!

It's funny how when you start trying to be extra cautious with the money the Lord has trusted you with, the devil finds a way to make things harder. 
Some of the struggles we faced the last 2 weeks:
*Lots of all day trips to grand rapids for multiple things....this is one of the hardest, how do you find something to do without spending money?  Or I have a huge problem planning far enough in advance to pack 5 people lunch and dinner in a cooler to eat along the way!  We have definitely spent our $10/week on non-grocery food purchases!  Good thing we had extra money from week #1 to carry us over :)
*Our washer decided it was time to retire.  With 4 kids (3 of which are messy boys, and 1 is a baby) and a husband with an extremely dirty job...I don't blame the washer for quitting on us! :)  So the struggles that came with that are #1) I spent $52 at the laundry mat on Monday #2) The purchase of a new washer and dryer on Thursday.
* With me being 'frugal' with my grocery shopping, there are some items I like to stock up on (that are a great deal, or don't go on sale often) and that requires me to have a freezer.  My grandpa gave us one a couple months ago, and the movers :) decided it would transport best on its back....that was a $220 repair.  But...I am still grateful for the freezer, the men who moved it, and the amazing repair man who fixed it!  If you ever need a repairman...let me know, I will be singing his praises for a long time :)


Now, let me tell you about my amazing shopping trip today to Meijer, with 4 kids may I add!  It started in the bottle return room, where I returned about $4 worth of bottles, which was a nice addition to my coupon stack!  Anyhow, in this room, something scared my sweet baby girl.  She started crying, with big crocodile tears and didn't stop until we reached the car almost 2 hours later.  My shopping trip also included 3 very 'active' boys who are so curious about everything around them :)  I tell you what though, I wouldn't trade it for the world!  I love these kids with all of my heart and if having them means disrupting Meijer on a Saturday afternoon for a couple hours, I am ok with that!!!

I did get some good deals this week!
My 3 favorite Meijer deals:

A-1 Sauce-
     Regular Price: $3.49
     Sale Price: $2.49
     Promo: Buy 5 get $5 off
     Another Meijer promotion: buy 3 or more bottles, get 8 ears of sweet corn free ($4 value)
     Manufacturer Coupons: $1.00 off each bottle
So I paid $2.45 for 5 bottles of A-1 and 8 ears of sweet corn

Dial lotion: (My FAVORITE, by far)
     Regular Price: $3.99
     Sale Price: $2.99
     Coupon: $2/ off 1
Final Price: $1

Ajax Dish Soap:
     Regular Price: $2.49
     Sale Price: $.89

My Meijer summery for this week is:  
Total Product Purchased: $446.17
Total Saved: $263.94
Total Spent: $192.23

This probably seems like a lot of money to a lot of you, but this kind of stockpiling is saving our family a ton of money in the long run.  Some weeks I spend $20-$30 but other weeks I may reach over $200.  But, for a family of 6 to eat, clean the house, and wash themselves and their clothes, I feel $300-$400/ month isn't too bad! :)