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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.


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Daily Deals – Zaycon Fresh Closed for Business?

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Quote of the Day “Being passive is not the same as being peaceful. If you aren’t doing what you know, in your heart, you want to do, you are NOT going with the flow. You are going against the flow. Your reactions, emotions, desires, and talents are all part of the flow of life. Ignoring them is passive resistance. Let yourself go.” ~Vironika Tugaleva

Are you a Zaycon Foods shopper? Did you hear the news? Zaycon Foods has suspended their operations effective June 25th, 2018.  I am so disappointed! Not only did I have chicken breasts on order, but I was ready to place an order for their delicious turkey breasts and chicken thighs as well. If you have prepaid for something, be sure and call your credit card company and start a dispute charge so you’ll be able to get your money back. What a bummer! I have always loved their products and the fact that I could just drive up to one of their trucks and pick up a large order. 🙁

Tuesday, let’s do this!

♥ Mavis

*This deal post will be updated throughout the morning so be sure and check back for deals. * Amazon prices can change without notice. Please verify price before ordering. Amazon offers Free Shipping with a $49 purchase or Amazon Prime. {Sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30 day trial!}

Available Kindle Books I think look interesting…

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂Subscribe and Save Deals

Subscribe and Save prices reflect a 15% discount for ordering 5 or more items in 1 month.

I didn’t know this for years and I thought you might find it interesting, too. Check out the Difference Between Organic and Heirloom Seeds.

Home and Kitchen Deals

Pop on over HERE to get a Free Poise Starter Pack.

Add on Items

*These are all Amazon Add-on Items and they will ship with qualifying orders over $25 and are eligible for free shipping on $25 orders with Amazon Prime {or will ship FREE on $35 orders without Prime}. 

Looking for something fun {and inexpensive} to do with the kiddos this summer? Regal Cinemas is hosting the Summer Movie Express on Tuesdays & Wednesdays at 10 am for nine weeks. Admission is $1 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Will Rogers Institute. Go HERE to see movies listings in your area.

Kid’s Stuff

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping Trips – Week 25 of 52

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So this weeks post is going to be a little different, since taking pictures of dinners was the farthest thing from my mind last week. 😉 I did make a trip to Costco though to pick up my 2 new pairs of glasses and as I was leaving {with NO food purchases} I passed by two sisters pushing a cart of ciggies and meds out of the store when I spotted this box of samples in their cart. When I asked if I could take a picture of their loot, they told me it was for their 76 year old mother who wasn’t able to leave the house anymore, but missed her Costco samples dearly.

I told them that if you make it to 76, and are housebound, you are totally entitled to a box samples and told them well done for taking care of their momma.

Zaycon Foods is in the Northeast, did you know this? Granted they aren’t everywhere and you may need to work their delivery schedule into a day trip or something like I did but they are here. When I pulled into the parking lot to pick up our free pork chops {I had Zaycon credits} I asked the driver if he had a lot of customers at that particular location, and he said that so far he had only had about a dozen, but things were starting to pick up.

Panera Green Goddess salad. The first once since I’ve been here.

3 Quarts of local cherries from an ordinary roadside stand $36!!!!! {1 1/2 pounds in each box = $8 a pound!} HOLY CATS BATMAN

No, this stand was not on Martha’s Vineyard, not in the hippy dippy district of San Francisco, or even New York city. It was like, DOWN THE ROAD from my house. I had noticed they were asking $6.25 for a quart of strawberries, which I thought was a bit high, but hey you know, you are buying something direct from the farm, supporting the local peeps and there is ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON to an el cheapo box of strawberries you’d find at the grocery store that’s been trucked in from who knows where to fresh strawberries that were grown just down the street in local soil.

That being said, I didn’t see a price on the cherries and really didn’t think much of it {probably because Lucy was in the car and was in a hurry to get her home and settled}. I kinda sorta noticed the cashier telling the woman in front of me her total was $29 for some strawberries and a box of cherries but I don’t think the price really registered until the college aged cashier said “that will be $36.”

Uhhhhhhhh, okaaaaaaay. And I handed over my money and walked back to the car shaking my head and honestly, I think I even laughed out loud a little. Because seriously, what kind of person pays $8 a pound for cherries?

Amaretto $4.99

I knew I was going to make a cherry pie and some sort of batch of jam when I bought the cherries, but then I found a cherry jam recipe that called for almond liqueur, and well, being pretty much a teetotaler, that meant an awkward trip to the liquor store to buy a bottle {of the cheapest I could find} almond liqueur. All I can say is, THIS JAM BETTER BE FREAKIN’ AWESOME! 😉

And then if the $36 worth of cherries wasn’t enough of a budget buster, earlier in the week {before all of Lucy’s trips to the hospital} I paid a pretty penny for one of those New England Hot Dog Pans.  Which of course, I will test out over the July 4th holiday. I’m sure there is a cheaper pan out there, but I really like the quality of the USA PANS brand and hey, the reviews were fantastic and beans and weenies, it’s kind of a staple item in our house now. Whateva. Some weeks you rock it in the spending department, and other weeks you are off totally off your rocker. 

One last thing. I want to say THANK YOU for all your meal suggestions for Lucy, I think I pretty much tried them all. It was a tough week with her not eating for about 3 1/2 days, but she has her appetite back now and we couldn’t be happier.

In the end, the winners were plain boiled chicken and lean ground beef. 😉

Thanks for taking care of us, you rock!

~Mavis

Total Spent this week: $40.99

Total Spent in June $206.47 <- Attempting once a month grocery shopping
Total Spent in May on Groceries $216.50 <- Included a stock up trip to King Arthur Flour
Total Spent in April on Groceries $169.98
Total Spent in March on Groceries $306.75 <– Apartment life, moving across the country and settling into a new house
Total Spent in February on Groceries $259.81 <- Living in an apartment and buying a lot of ready-made meals
Total Spent in January on Groceries $240.15 <– Packing mode and not cooking from scratch as much

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

 

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Daily Deals – Pogo Sticks, Online Grocery Deals, Freezer Pancakes and More

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Quote of the Day “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” Coco Channel

This dog! She is on the mend. Yesterday she was out barking at the lawnmower and even chased a squirrel. No more shaking and her appetite is back. Yay Lucy!

Today will be a garden day…. Just look at those temperatures on the horizon! Oddly enough, we are getting our wood-stove installed at the end of the week and I’m a little bummed out we won’t be able to fire it up to test everything out. 😉 Oh well,I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time for that.

Have a wonderful day today….

♥ Mavis & Miss Lucy Puggle

*This deal post will be updated throughout the morning so be sure and check back for deals. * Amazon prices can change without notice. Please verify price before ordering. Amazon offers Free Shipping with a $49 purchase or Amazon Prime. {Sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30 day trial!}

Available Kindle Books I think look interesting…

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂

Subscribe and Save Deals

Subscribe and Save prices reflect a 15% discount for ordering 5 or more items in 1 month.

Freezer Pancakes are great for those summer mornings when the kids would otherwise go through an entire box of expensive cereal.  Make ’em now, and let them heat them up when they are hungry.

Home and Kitchen Deals

Each month, Amazon Prime members can download and keep one free book from their Kindle First selection of six pre-released picks. Here are this month’s selections:

Add on Items

*These are all Amazon Add-on Items and they will ship with qualifying orders over $25 and are eligible for free shipping on $25 orders with Amazon Prime {or will ship FREE on $35 orders without Prime}. 

Have a big space that is an eyesore?  Make Your Own Seed Bombs and fill that spot up with wild flowers.

Kid’s Stuff

 

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

My 15 Goals for 2018 : Week 25 of 52

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“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey 

My goals for 2018

Goal #1 – Write Like No One is Reading.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” ~  Barbara Kingsolver

Goal #2 – Slow Down

This week we were forced to slow down due to Miss Lucy Puggle. Her seemingly random symptoms starting coming on slowly last Saturday and by 2 am on Wednesday morning she was in the ER miserable, and getting a full work up done. She was discharged 4 hours later having tested positive for Anaplasmosis and the ER Dr. thought she could possibly have Addison’s disease based on her chem panel, but she couldn’t say for sure.

By Friday morning Lucy was still shaking, miserable and not eating, so she was booked for a full day of tests at the veterinary hospital which included being hooked up to an IV and getting cultures and tested for Addison’s disease.

Saturday morning we got the call that she had in fact tested positive for Addison’s and it was a big relief to finally have an answer. Although there is no cure, the disease is manageable with monthly injections and medication. Lucy had her first injection around noon on Saturday and we started her pill regimen at 5pm {pills need to be given every 12 hours for the first 5 days}.

Although she still had the shakes last night and was a little lethargic, she was able to eat a little bit of boiled chicken. This morning the shaking seems to be a little less and again, she was able to get a little food in her tummy. The vet said she could be back to her trouble making self in as early as 48 hours, or it could take up to a week. We’re just thankful we were able to catch this in time to save our sweet little puggle princess. Thank you everyone for your helpful tips, comments and emails. Lucy is one loved pooch! 🙂

Goal #3 – Shop Small

On the way back from the vet’s, we stopped at a road side stand and bought 3 quarts of cherries. The price of shopping small though…. I’m still shaking my head over the price I paid. {I’ll tell about it on Monday}.

Goal # 4 – Have a Designated Meal Prep Day It’s Not for Us.

I threw in the towel early on this one. Meal prep, and cooking in mass quantities is just not for my family at this stage in our lives.

Goal #5 – Install a Vegetable Garden

I barely stepped foot outside to work in the garden but it’s amazing how fast everything is growing.  Cooler temps are in the forecast for the next two days {with a little rain!} before it heats up again so if I’m going to get any weeding done, I’ll need to get out there soon. I’ll do a proper post and show you around in the next few days.

Goal #6 – Clear Land for a Chicken Coop and Future Raised Garden Bed Area 

Last night Lucy and I went out to lock up the chickens when we noticed this black and white polka dot feather on the ground. Which is really odd seeing how none of our chickens have this type of feather.  Does anyone know what kind of bird this is from? Or how it could have gotten in our yard? So weird!

Goal #7 – Grow 500 Pounds of Vegetables

I didn’t harvest any vegetables this past week but I know I need too. 😉 I’m planning on setting up my little vegetable stand later this week and I’m pretty excited about that. We don’t really have a ton of homes on our road so it will be interesting to see what, if anything sells.

Goal #8 – Hook 100 Rugs

This month I’ve been working on a few Americana pieces for my Etsy shop, and plan to add more listings in my next shop update on June 30th.

Goal #9 – Make a Set of Dolls

I plan to make a set {or two} of primitive dolls later this year after the garden has been put to bed.

Goal #10 – Make a Sampler, Frame it and Hang it on the Wall Done!

Goal #11 – Visit 22 Bakeries

Not this week. But you can see all the bakeries and lobster shacks we’ve visited so far HERE.

Goal #12 – Start a Collection

I picked up a few more furniture pieces this week from the lady we bought the dining room table and hutch set from. I put the bench and cupboard in the craft room, the red cabinet in Monkey Boy’s room to use as a nightstand, and the other odds and ends around the house.

Goal #13 – Read {or listen to} 26 Books

I have 6 books I’m waiting to listen to on Overdrive {one of the books I’m 88th on the wait list!} and so this week Lucy and I pretty much just watched The Walton’s on Amazon Prime instead.

Goal #14 – Try 12 New Canning Recipes

Later today I’m going to can something special with the {insanely overpriced} cherries I picked up yesterday. It will be a new recipe so I’m a little nervous, but I’m sure it will turn out great. Plus, it’s kind of nice to try new things…. right?

Goal #15 – Secret {for now} Holiday Project

I did get some “creative” hours in this week on my secret holiday project and although I have a long way to go until I have something to show you, {probably September} I am having fun experimenting and working out the kinks.  The HH isn’t shy about giving me feedback either which I find amusing. Constructive criticism is a good thing. Whether you think you need it or not. 😉

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2018? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2018 Goals HERE.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy