Daily Dose

1 Corinthians chapter 7

Verse 4

The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to here husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.

A new grocery budget challenge...

I'm taking my grocery budget a step further... So what am I talking about? Well currently I spend around $55. per week for groceries. That includes everything (except hamburger).
Just recently we were able to get 50# of hamburger for $1.99/lb. from a local butcher so we stocked our freezer with that. I'm curious how long that will last. (I figure we use about 1 1/2 lb./week which would be around $3.)

Anyway I am now going to do an experiment and skip 1 week of groceries each month. Why you might wonder?? Well because I am continually getting more food than we eat in a week. So my stock just keeps building. It will also save me a morning each month to do something else, it saves gas, and of course will save another $45. or more per month.

I'm sure I will still have to get milk so I'm allowing myself up to $10. on the off week to get that. Depending on CVS deals I may not need all of that.

This will make my new monthly budget for groceries around $175.00 (55.+55.+55.+10.=$175.) I'm curious to see how long I can do this and if my stock will begin to go down.

I was reluctant to do this because I wasn't sure if I can do the coupon matchups and then not go and get the great deals. But in thinking about it there will always be more deals and if I don't go get more boxes of cereal or more toothpaste...I think we'll live!!

So this week I will NOT be going to get the deals, I will not be grocery shopping at all!! Which will work great since I'm potty training my 2 yr old this week. Be sure to check that post out tomorrow!

So there you have it, My new challenge! If you do something like this I'd love to hear about it. I'll keep you posted as to how this new challenge is going each month when I skip a week!

BTW if you were wondering, Yes this was inspired by Money saving mom and how she takes time off every so often to use what's on hand. thanks Crystal, I think this will be good for me!

Meijer 3-29

Meijer looks pretty blah this week to me. That's okay with me since I'm taking the week off. More on that later...

Here's what I see (my Meijer doubles to .50 cents)
***
Excedrin -- .99 cents -$1.MQ= FREE
Land o Lakes Butter -- $1.25 -.50MQ= .25 cents
Rice or Pasta a Roni -- 9/$10. -$1/4MQ= .86 cents
Pam Spray -- $2. -.35 MQ =$1.30
Yoplait Yogurt -- 10/$5. =.50 -.40/6MQ= .37 cents
Pillsbury $1.50 -.35MQ =.80 cents
Suave body wash --$1.79 -.50MQ= .79 cents
Suave sham or cond -- $1.50 -$1/2= $1.00
Meijer cheese -- $1.50
Doritos -- 1/2 off
----
Please leave a comment if you see a deal I missed.

Freebies and Good Deals at Menards 3-29

There are 3 freebies and a bunch of good deals after rebate this week at Menards.

This ad runs through Sunday April 5. If you didn't get the deals last week you can still get them. Go here to see last weeks deals.

Alley Cat Food -- FREE after $3.00 rebate -- limit 2

Deck Wash -- FREE after $3.00 rebate -- limit 2

Glue Traps 4 packs -- FREE after $2.00 rebate -- limit 2 packs

Inter-Activity Books -- $4.99 after $5.00 rebate -- limit 2

Sprint Saw Blade -- .77 cents after $4.00 rebate -- limit 2

Jelly Bird Eggs -- .29 cents after $.50 cent rebate -- limit 5 bags

Easter Candy (2 to choose from) -- .99 cents after .50 cent rebate -- limit 5

Easter Egg Color Kit -- .33 cents after $1.00 rebate -- limit 2

All- Purpose Wash -- .99 cents after $3.50 rebate -- limit 2

**************

When you purchase the freebies, you must purchase an additional $10. of non-rebated items to qualify for the rebate. **You can get a $10. Gift card if you don't need anything right now!** Your rebate will come in the form of a Merchandise Check. Which means you must spend it at Menards, (I just use mine for more freebies!)

******

You do not need to purchase any additional $$ if you are only getting the rebated items that are not free.

**********

To learn all about Menards and how to send in their rebates go here!

Just leave a comment if you have a question or see another good deal...

****

CVS 3-29

There is a couple of things you might want to pick up at CVS this week...or it may be another week to skip. I don't think the deals are near what they were a year ago. I hope they pick up soon!!
*********
**2 day sale only
Easter M&Ms-- $1.50 - $1/2 MQ= $1. per pack - lmt 6
--
Confect. Lane jelly beans - .50 cents- lmt 8
--
Paas Easter egg coloring kit-- $1.99 get $1.99 ecb= FREE -lmt 2
********
**Deals all week
Accu- check monitor - $9.99 get 9.99 ecb = FREE- lmt 1
--
Pepperidge farm goldfish - b1g1 $2.19/2-- makes them $1.10 each
--
Glade Sense & Spray - $5.99 -$4.MQ(exp 3/29) get 1 ecb = .99 each
***
Go here to see more deals. And go here to see the ad scans.

Walgreens 3-29

You can go here to check out the Walgreens deals this week. You might want to check out the Pepsi deal and you can get free chapstick. That's really all I saw worth mentioning. Let us know if you see something else exciting!!

Go here to see the ad scans.

Door Prize Winner...

Thanks to all who visited me from the Blog party. I had such a great time reading your comments and visiting your sites! I think you would agree that the Ultimate Blog Party was AWESOME!!! Be sure to join in on the fun next year if you didn't this year!!

Okay Okay The winner of my ladybug door prize is ...

#23 Congratulations Anoymous (you have herlan in your email), who said she would pick Raspberry Lemonade Scent...That's one of my favorites too!!

(Here are your random numbers:23
Timestamp: 2009-03-28 17:02:39 UTC)

I have sent you an e-mail and you have 48 hours to claim your prize. If you didn't receive it, please e-mail me at dailyessentialsanddeals @ gmail . com (remove spaces)

*****

Hope everyone's enjoying the weekend. I am except it's supposed to snow here tomorrow...BRRRR..Hope it is short lived!!

Daily Dose

1 Corinthians Chapter 6

Verses 19-20

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Weekly Grocery Haul...

No, this isn't all I got this week! I took a break from lining up all my groceries and just took a pic of this great deal! Yep I got all 5 packs of wipes for FREE!! Notice the packs say "Gentle Care" which means we can use the $5. printable. They are on sale at Meijer for $5. each this week. Awesome deal!!!

We should be stocked up for quite some time! Especially since we're potty training next week. Yes I'm taking the plunge and I think I'll blog about it to keep me accountable...Stay tuned to that mess!!! We'll just use the extra wipes for camping.... We can get a little messy diggin' in the dirt!

So in case you're interested here is the rundown of everything I got this week. Including 6 gallons of milk, which is more that we will need this week...

*******

At Meijer I spent $24.22 for 26 items

Kroger I spent $27.78 for 29 items

and Walgreens I spent $5.07 for 13 items

***************

Total was $57.07 which is just above my $55. budget, but I will get $5. back in rebates from Walgreens this week. So I am fine with being a touch over especially since I got some milk for next week!

----

How did you do? Leave a comment if you found any great deals.

I think my best deal was finding one of those gallons of milk for .64cents! Yep .64 cents, always keep your eyes open at Kroger and Meijer for their wonderful Managers Specials. It seems I almost always snag something for nearly free that is on Managers Special!

Kids Bathroom...Done!!

Sarah is hosting Spring Cleaning. Go here to check it out. We are on week 4 of 10 and would love for you to join in Monday for week 5. Posting about it really does get me motivated to actually get it done. I need a little push sometimes...cleaning is not one of my strong spots!!

This week I am cleaning the kids bathroom....If you missed my post with pics earlier in the week you can go here.

I didn't take any new pics because it really didn't look a lot different besides the counter and tub being clean. I managed to clean the walls, tub, sink area, floor, and of course toilet (yuk)!! Okay mark that one off my list, I'm done!!

How did you do. Go here to link up!

Daily Dose

1 Corinthians Chapter 5

Verse 6

Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?

Nacho Meat Sauce Recipe

Nacho Meat Sauce
This recipe is absolutely simple and it only takes 5 ingredients! Those are my favorite kind of recipes! We sometimes have this for dinner on Sunday nights.
****
1 can refried beans
1/2 lb. hamburger-- I even use a little less
4-5 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 - 1 cup ketchup -- this is approximate
2/3 cup brown sugar
***
Fry hamburger in skillet; drain grease: add other ingredients, stir; simmer 5 min.
----
I usually put it in a small dip crockpot and it's ready whenever. Serve with tortilla chips of course. ENJOY!!

For more recipes go here

Things I Love Thursday

I love being able to get out and play.... And so do my kiddos!!
I get so sick of being couped up all winter in the house and the kids get even sicker of it. It's finally time to get out and enjoy God's wonderful creation. And only wearing a sweatshirt makes it even sweeter! So get out and enjoy the fresh air. I know we are!!!

For more things I love Thurs. go here!