• Get Organized for a Great School Year
    Organizing

    Get Organized for a Great School Year

    Are you ready for the kids to go back to school? Do you have to go back to school? It doesn’t matter who goes to school, your kids, you as a student, you as a teacher, your spouse or even grandchildren. The beginning of the school year affects almost everyone in some way. Getting organized can help you have a more successful school year. Back to School! Our school year has already started, it started a week early this year. I wasn’t ready and the kids really weren’t but it started none the less. On top of them starting school, I started a new job the same day, so it…

  • Dollar Tree
    Savings

    15 Things to Buy at Dollar Tree

    I have always loved going to Dollar Tree. How can you beat knowing that everything in the store is only $1. Some things they sell are not any cheaper than at other stores and sometimes the quality is not as good. But you can save money if you know what to buy. You need to know your prices at other stores to know if it is a good deal. There are a few items that we just like better than the ones at other stores. This post contains affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Orchard Park Hazelnut Coffee Creamer – I started buying it because it was cheap,…

  • Sweet Tea
    Cooking

    How to Make Sweet Tea

    If you grew up in the south like I did, you know that sweet tea is the most common drink.  Whether you are at a potluck, restaurant or a friends house you are usually offered sweet tea as a drink option.  Until the last few years, it was the only option at some banquets or parties I have attended, now water is also offered and sometimes unsweet tea.  My family loves sweet tea and we have went through a gallon each day in the past.  This was before my husband started trying to drink more water.  He doesn’t care for water and really prefers to drink tea, he will drink…

  • Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches Done Cheaper
    Cooking,  Savings

    Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches Done Cheaper

    My husband fell in love with these hot ham and cheese sandwiches at a friends party several years ago.  I looked the recipe up on line and we tried a few different versions until we found the one he liked best.  To view the recipe I use, click here.  I have made them several times since then but don’t make them often because they are so expensive.  They decided to have sandwiches and desserts at church after the singing on Sunday night.  I decided I wanted to do something besides buy bread and lunch meat.  I thought of these but really didn’t need to spend that much money this week. …

  • Tween Birthday Party
    Holidays,  Life and Family

    How to Plan a Tween Birthday Party

    My daughter just turned 12 on Saturday.  It was hard for her to decide how she wanted to celebrate her birthday this year.  She is too old for the traditional kiddie birthday party, but still young enough to want to make it a big deal.  She thought about going to the trampoline park or skating rink, but she also wanted all the family to be there.   Since she is one of the youngest of her cousins most of them would not participate for jumping or skating.  She thought about having a family party at a restaurant, but couldn’t decide on a restaurant and wanted to be able to invite friends…

  • Prom Time Why is it so Crazy These Days?
    Life and Family,  Savings

    Prom Time – Why is it so Crazy These Days?

    Why is Prom so crazy these days?  It just gets worse every year.  I remember when I went to Prom.  We had our prom in our cafeteria at school.  We decorated it, ate supper there and then danced and had fun until it was over.  There was a photographer at the prom, we all lined up and took our pictures in front of the themed background.  Everyone’s pictures were basically the same.  The main cost for prom was either your dress or tuxedo.  There were no limos, no fancy dinners, no professional photographers, we even painted our own nails, applied our own makeup and fixed our own hair. Now it…

  • Meal Planning My Way
    Cooking,  Savings

    Meal Planning – My Way

    I have said it before. I am not good about meal planning. Our life is crazy most of the time. I rarely know if we are going to be home for supper or at least how many are going to be home. I have tried to plan out meals, but it usually doesn’t work out. I like to have easy meals that I can throw together quickly, that is just what works for our family, but I still like to cook fairly wholesome meals out of real food when possible. I have a few tricks that help me with this. I buy ground meat in the larger amounts and prepare…

  • How I Save Money at Kroger
    Savings

    How I Save Money at Kroger

    Kroger is one of my go to places to save money on groceries right now.  I love that there are so many ways to save money there.  There are free items, digital coupons, paper coupons, weekly sales, and fuel points.  There may be more, but right now these are the main ways I save money at Kroger.  We have one of the largest Kroger Marketplaces, when it was built, they said it was the largest Kroger in the world.  There have been larger ones built since then.  A Kroger Marketplace is unlike any other store we had around here.  Not only is it a grocery store, but it has a…

  • I am Frugal
    Savings

    Not Cheap, Just Frugal

    I do not consider myself cheap, but I am frugal.  I combine store sales, paper or online coupons and money back apps to save as much money as I can on items we use regularly.  I stock up on items that we use a lot when there good sales, but things go on sale somewhat regularly so you really don’t have to buy too much at one time.  I have limited storage space so I try to only buy enough to last us until the next sale comes along. It takes good organization to not only store these extra items, but to be able to find them when we need…