GREEN & THRIFTY THURSDAY...the Most Green & Thrifty

There is something most anyone can do that will make you extremely Green & Thrifty.

It doesn't involve giving up bathing.

It doesn't involve going off the grid(=giving up electricity).

It doesn't involve selling your car and walking or biking instead.

It doesn't even involve giving up meat.

Very simply, it's this....

Go plant something that will provide you with food to eat.

One of the best things you can do for this old Mother Earth and for your own financial bottom line is to grow some of your own food.

Just take a trip down the produce aisle of your local grocery store.

See those squash, bags of lettuce, green beans?

See what those things cost??

With a little bit of a financial investment in some seed, and some time, you can grow your own and stop giving some of your money to the grocery store!

It's almost as good as having a Money Tree growing in your backyard!!

It doesn't matter where you live in most cases, you can grow food.

If you have some land, cultivate as much of it as you can take care of.

If you are planted in a suburb, convert a piece of your lawn or commandeer a flower bed to put in some crops.

If you live in a townhouse with no or little yard, get some pots and make a container garden.

If you are a city apartment dweller, chances are there is a community garden in your town that you can participate in. If there isn't, there SHOULD BE, so get out there with some friends and make one happen!

When I moved to this little subdivision in rural Teeny Tiny Town almost 9 yrs. ago, NOT ONE House here had a garden! Some homes had flowers outside in the flower beds(not many) but nobody grew food.

My motto is.....if you have a choice between growing something that's nice to look at or growing something that's nice to look at AND it can feed you, grow the one that feeds you!

Get some seeds.

Put then in the ground.

Water when & if it's needed.

Watch the plants grow, flower & produce food.

Pick the food.

Eat it.

Anyone can do it.

EVERYONE should at least try!

But what if you've never grown anything before?

Just do it!

Ask for help from someone who has done it before or find help from any of the many online resources.

And don't be afraid to fail.

That's how we learn. Failure often is the best teacher!

I've had seasons where things got washed out, or the birds or other little critters ate my seeds or starts, or bugs munched on the food before it got picked or it was too cold or not enough sun or the plants got some disease.

Yep, everyone has those things happen.

But don't let what might happen keep you from trying!

But I live in a community that restricts what I plant, or won't let me plant a garden?
Then go Commando! Sneak a pepper plant here, a tomato plant there amidst the 'proper' shrubs and flowers. No one will be the wiser....
Do like me and rip out the nasty overgrown landscaped shrubbery and put in a garden bed.....or rip out a chunk of lawn and convert the space to a melon or bean patch.
Be the subject of neighborhood conversation!

You might just start something GOOD happening in your town.

Sluggy

Recipe-CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE

Here's an easy crockpot recipe.

It's my take on a Schwan's product I use to buy, back when I spent too much money on things. It was called Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole, or something like that.

I can't find this item listed on their website anymore but it came premixed in a bag. You just had to dump it into a bowl and microwave or heat up in the oven.
They now sell the ingredients separately. They have a 'recipe' on the website that is similar to that product, that you can make, using their purchased ingredients.

It was a Chicken & Broccoli Casserole with Rice in a Creamy Cheesy Sauce. I think it went for about $7 a bag. I use to buy 2 bags to feed the 5 of us. That was $14 per meal for us 4 yrs. ago. So add for inflation and the cost now would be around $18-$20 if they still sold this item.

To make this Dish you need....

1 small Whole Chicken
1 Can of Chicken Broth
1 Can of a Creamed Soup(Cream of Chicken)
3 Cups of Rice(Any Type)
1-2 Bags of Frozen Vegetables
1 Block of Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup of Milk

To make my version of CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE, get out your crockpot and a small whole chicken. I like to use about a 3-3.5 lbs. bird. You can use a bigger bird if you want more chicken in your casserole.

Basically, turn on your crockpot to high or med. high, rinse off your chicken and place it in the crock. You can season &/or pepper it if you like. You really don't need to salt it, as the cheese and chicken broth you add will make this dish salty enough.

Put the lid on your crockpot and let the bird cook until it is tender, fall-off-the-bone done. My crockpot takes about 4 hours to get the chicken to this point.

When done, remove the chicken.

There will be alot of juices from the chicken in the crock. Leave the juices in there!

Add 1 can of chicken broth. You can also use chicken bouillion & the appropriate amount of water instead.

Fill your now empty chicken broth can with rice.

You can use any type of rice you prefer. Empty the can of rice into the crock. If you like more rice, add another half of a can of rice and 1 full can of water or more bouillion. Replace the lid and let it cook for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove lid & stir your rice.

Now add your frozen vegetables. I had broccoli and cauliflower mixture on hand, so that is what I added. I also put in a partial bag of crinkle-cut carrots. You can basically add whatever vegetable(s) you like to eat.

Add at least 1 bag, more if you like alot of veggies.

Debone your chicken and tear or cut the meat into chunks. Put chunks into the crockpot with your rice/veggie mixture. Replace the lid and let it cook for another hour.

After 1 hour, remove lid and stir the mixture. Turn off the heat, replace lid.

Open and add 1 can of Creamed Soup to a mixing/serving bowl(or into a sauce pan if you prefer to heat this on the stove). I use Cream of Chicken. You could also use Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery or Cheddar Cheese Soup if you prefer. Fill the can halfway with milk & add to soup.

Stir & heat over medium on stove or in microwave.

Grate 1 block of Cheddar Cheese.

Using a wisk, integrate grated Cheese into your Creamed Soup a handful at a time. This keeps the cheese & milk in your sauce from separating.

When the Cheese is thoroughly incorporated into your Soup, remove from heat and add to the Chicken/Rice/Veggie Mixture.

Stir and Serve immediately.

My cost breakdown for this meal.

1 Chicken on sale $3.52

1 block of cheese $1.00

1.5 bags of veggies $1.75

Rice-1/3 of a bag $1.33

1 Can of Soup $1.00

1 Can of Chicken Broth $.54

1 Cup of Milk $.25

Total $9.39

Makes 8 Generous Servings.

$1.17 per Serving

I was rushed toward the end of making this, as we had to attend #1 son's Awards Ceremony at the High School, so I didn't have time to take pictures of the last few steps and the finished product. I'll take some photos the next time I make this dish and add them to the recipe post.

Sluggy

Surprises Today...Beagle Seal of Approval!

So I'm out in the garage, trying to organize and take photos of some of the stockpile, and the UPS truck pulls up to the driveway.

Gee, whatever could this be??

My local friendly UPS man pulls a HUGE box out of the truck and lays it at my feet.

And after cutting the tape, I opened it to find.....

A 22.5 lb. bag of DOGSWELL DRY DOG FOOD!!

I had totally forgotten I had send away for one of these through their Bow-Wow Bailout(no longer available).

Also in the box was a Coupon good for $5 OFF an 11lb. or larger bag of Dogswell.

I will most definitely have to find a store around here to use this before it expires! Dogswell does have a website where you can purchase their products online if there are no stores that carry the line near you. It can be found Here.

I'll let everyone know what the doggies here think of this brand as soon as they give me the paws UP or DOWN.

Did anyone else send for this?

Sluggy

$60K Savings Challenge MAY Totals...Getting Traction on Saving!

I have posted my MAY End of Month 60K $AVING$ CHALLENGE Totals.
Check out the side bar to your right for the specific numbers.

I am once again able to say that we finished up MAY in THE BLACK!
Hoo-rah! It's not anywhere near my $5000.00 monthly target but it's all good. Every dime saved is a dime NOT SPENT!

While 1 month's of savings may not look like much when you are putting those dimes away, when you get some months of putting them away under your belt, and look back, it adds up quickly!

$11K can accomplish alot if needed....a new roof(which we need), a "new-to-us" replacement car for commuting(hubby's car has 'issues'), a repair of the ceiling in the kitchen or the walls in the bathroom(which we can also use), or almost enough to pay for a full year's college tuition at a state school. That's our list of how to spent the Savings, I am sure you have a similar list. The "To Spend" items may be different but it's filled with needs that are no less important to you.

The MasterCard bill(which is paid off each month-NO BALANCE EVER!)was just over $800 this month. This is delightful but with some big unusual purchases like the CAR RENTAL(while my van was in the shop due to daughter's accident), the purchase from the local nursery for the garden and a few other things like #1 son needing all new jeans & pants(that boy is so compact that I haven't bought him clothes in 1.5 yrs!) added to the usual gas station fill-ups and hubby's online purchases, etc., June's bill is looking 'big scary'. bleh....

We had a bit of rolled coins as usual, but you will notice there is NO eBay income again for May. eBay is still not worth the effort/expense. Financially it is more advantageous for me to either sell the stuff at a garage sale or donate it & take the tax write-off. That may change in the fall, so I'll be holding off doing eBay until I can re-evaluate the situation at that time.

The only 'other' income I've been able to realize since stopping eBay selling is any rebate money that comes in during the month. The Staples rebates on all that printer paper helped boost the Rebate total this month.

A big Annual Vet Visit Bill for the 3 doggies & a $441 car repair for hubby's vehicle brought the NON-Credit Card, out of the ordinary expenses for May to $900.

On the recurring utlities front, we saw a $76 reduction in the cost of the electric bill since the heat has been turned off & no A/C is needed yet. The water bill went up by $21, as hubby has been dealing with opening the pool, meaning the use of more water for that. Gas purchases went up, as the price of gas at the pump rose.

The Food Budget costs for May are in another post, which is located Here. Those are still high but I am determined to bring them down in June. No or little stockpiling is necessary this month and if I can keep out of the grocery store, I should be successful in reducing the Food bill.

Five Months into this Challenge, & so far we have a Savings Total of $11,206.16 for the year.

Now is the PERFECT time to start saving money if you aren't already. Get started today!
Just doing 1 thing will get the ball rolling.
I'll be putting up a post concerning practical ways to save money later this week. Check back for that about Friday. I'll put a LINK to it in this post when it's up.

Check out Money Saving Mom's Blog May Financial Update Post to see how others are saving money and living more frugally Here. (Looks like Money Saving Mom's Financial Check-Up Post isn't up yet....give her a few days and then check the link.)

Sluggy

Rolling RRs at WAGS this Week....Drama follows me!

I had about $119 in RRs expiring on 6/3 & 6/6 so I had to head to WAGS on Monday.
Now this week the deals are pretty thin for rolling RRs, so I went to roll some but also to just burn RRs too on things for the kids and me.

I went to the store that's a bit of a ride as it was a nice day for a drive and I hadn't been there in awhile. That store also usually has better clearance stuff and sales items don't get cleared off of the shelves....the good stuff tends to disappear on Sunday at the other store closer to my house.

I did 2 Transactions at the 1st store....

#1 Transaction

Revlon Hair Dryer $12.99 (Suppose to be $19.99 but rang up $12.99)
2x Aquafresh Toothpaste on sale $.99 w/Wags Ad Q=$1.98
Mtn. Dew Lip Balm clearanced $.50

Ecotrin on sale $2.00

3x Duracell Batteries on sale $2.99 w/Wags Ad Q=$8.97

2x Water 12 pack on sale $2.49=$4.98 **only 1 pictured**

2x Lifesaver Bags on sale BOGO=$2.29

Ballpoint Pens clearanced $.50

Subtotal $34.21

Tax $1.38

Coupons Used
Ecotrin $2/1

2x Aquafresh $.75/1=$1.50

3x Duracell $1/1=$3.00

Coupon Total $6.50

$35.59-$6.50=$29.09

RRs Used

$10,$10,$4.50,$3
Total $27.50

$29.09-$27.50=$1.59 OOP put on GiftCard

Value of Items $60.36

RRs Received

Ecotrin $2, and NO $10 for the Hair Dryer!

So we go back and forth with the Cashier, then the Manager, then another Manager. It rang up $12.99, but the ad says it was suppose to ring up $19.99 and give a $10RR. They were thoroughly confused! In the end they refused to give it to me for $12.99 AND give me a $10 RR, but they would reduce the price to $9.99 for the Dryer. I know I got screwed on this deal but I took the $9.99 price deal, so I got a $3.18 refund on the $12.99+tax price I paid above. I know I should have fought harder or just told them forget it and refund it all but I just was tired of the DRAMA that always seems to come with at leat 1 transaction at WAGS.

Subtract my $1.59 payment from my $3.18 refund and my OOP for this transaction was Negative $1.59. I GOT PAID $1.59 to buy this stuff....or something like that.

#2 Transaction

2x Bottled Water pack on sale $2.49=$4.98 **only 1 pictured**
2x Chips Ahoy Cookies on sale 2/$5=$5.00

3x Duracell Batteries $2.99 w/Wags Ad Q=$8.97

3x Duracell Photo Battery clearanced $3.12=$9.36

4x Keebler Cookies on sale $10/4=$10.00

2x One a Day Drink Mix clearanced $.75=$1.50
Ecotrin on sale $2.00

2x Lifesavers Bags on sale BOGO=$2.29
4x Smucker's Jam on sale BOGO=$6.58
Mtn Dew Lip Balm clearanced $.50

2x Aquafresh Toothpaste $.99 w/Wags Ad Q=$1.98

3x Tresemme Shampoo on sale 3/$12=$12.00
Soleil Razors on sale $4.99

3x Butterfingers King Size clearanced $.42=$1.26 **only 2 pictured**

Subtotal $71.41

Tax $2.15

Coupons Used

6x Duracell $1/1=$6.00

One a Day $1/1=$1.00

Ecotrin $2.00

2x Aquafresh $.75/1=$1.50

Smuckers $1/3=$1.00
3x Tresemme $1/1=$3.00

Total $14.50

$73.56-$14.50=$59.06

RRs Used
$10,$10,$10,$5,$5,$5,$5,$2.50,$1,$1,$1

Total $55.50

$59.06-$55.50=$3.56 OOP on GiftCard

Value of Items purchased $116.59

RRs Received
$2 Ecotrin, $3 Chips Ahoy, $3 Keebler, $5 Tresemme, $1 Bic=$14RRs

I have to stop doing such larger transactions. Every time I do, the register won't take enough RRs in payment to get my total low enough. I should have been able to use another $1RR to get my total down to $2.56($2.15 of that $3.56 was tax so I couldn't get it lower than $2.56). I had enough items to let me use another few RRs/or Manu. Qs in my payment. I'll try to stick to smaller Transactions after today.

Off to my usual store for more transactions and MORE DRAMA!ACK!!

Transaction #3

Hair Dryer $12.99

Flavor Ice Pops $2.00
Water Balloons $5.00

2x Aquafresh Toothpaste $.99 w/Wags Ad Q=$1.98

Ecotrin on sale $2.00

4x Ramen Noodles=$1.00

Subtotal $24.97

Tax $1.08

Coupons Used

Ecotrin $2/1=$2.00

2x Aquafresh $.75/1=$1.50

Total $3.5o

$26.05=$3.50=$22.55

RRs Used
$9,$5,$5,$1,$1

Total $21.00

$22.55=$21.00=$1.55 OOP on GiftCard
Value of Items $37.14

RRs Received-$2 Ecotrin & again NO $10 RR for the Hair Dryer!!!

So here we go again......round and round with the Cashier, then the Asst. Manager(Kevin who's a cutie pie!) and then the Manager on Duty. First they try to tell me I had the wrong item....NOPE!lol Then they tried the old "the RR won't print because I used coupons" routine, until I pointed out it printed the Ecotrin RR....lolol Then they grilled me on what RRs I had used(figuring they'd explain it away with me using a Revlon RR to pay, so it wouldn't print a Revlon RR....but I had written down exactly what company each RR was from and surprise, surprise-No Revlon!

Then the 2 Managers disappear into the back for about 10 mins. leaving me just cooling my heels. I guess they were calling someone to find out what to do. I was all hyped up this time and wasn't leaving there without my RR AND the $12.99 price! Why should I pay the higher price if they have 2 conflicting prices/deals going on the same item, right?

Finally, Kevin, the Asst. Manager came back with my receipt, my hair dryer and a $10 RR. I got my RR and the lower price w/out a fight...yay! I noticed they had taken down all the signage on the hair dryers the next time I went down that aisle.lol I wonder what's going to happen the next time someone tries to buy one of the hair dryers.....

So RRs Received update for Transactions #3=$12RR

Back to the Pharmacy and they had a Meter...

Transaction #4

Bayer Meter on sale $10

Ecotrin on sale $2

Subtotal $12.00

Coupons Used
Bayer $30 adjusted down to $10

Ecotrin $2/1

Total $12.00

$12.00-$12.00=$.00 OOP

Value of Items $83.48

RRs Received

$2 Ecotrin, $10 Bayer=$12RR

Transaction #5

2x Starbucks Drinks $2 w/Wags ad Q=$4.00

Bic Soleil Razors $4.99

Veggie Cream Cheese clearanced $.45
Ecotrin on sale $2.00

Subtotal $11.44

Tax $.30

Coupons Used

Ecotrin $2/1=$2.00
Bic Razors $1/1=$1.00

Total $3.00

$11.74-$3.00=$8.74

RRs Used $5,$3

Total $8

$8.74-$8=$.74 OOP on GiftCard
Value of Items $16.75

RRs Received

$2 Ecotrin, $1 Bic=$3RR

Transaction #6

Bic Soleil Razors $4.99
Ecotrin on sale $2.00

Bug Repellant Pin $.99(WHY did I buy this for a filler?LOL)

Subtotal $7.98
Tax $.36

Coupons Used
Ecotrin $2/1=$2.00
Bic Razors $1/1=$1.00
Total $3.00

$8.34-$3.00=$5.34

RRs Used
$4.50

$5.34-$4.50=$.84 OOP on GiftCard
Value of Items $10.83

RRs Received
$2 Ecotrin, $1 Bic=$3RR

Transaction #7

2x Ramen Noodles $.29=$.58
Bic Soleil Razors $4.99
Ecotrin on sale $2.00

Subtotal $7.57
Tax $.30

Coupons Used
Ecotrin $2/1=$2.00
Bic Razors $1/1=$1.00
Total $3.00

$7.87-$3.00=$4.87

RRs Used
$4.50

$4.87-$4.50=$.37 OOP on GiftCard
Value of Items $10.36

RRs Received
$2 Ecotrin, $1 Bic=$3RR

Transaction #8

Ecotrin on sale $2.00

Subtotal $2.00
Tax $.00

Coupons Used
Ecotrin $2/1=$2.00

$2.00-$2.00=$.00 OOP

Value of Items $3.49

RRs Received
$2 Ecotrin

GRAND TOTALS

OOP $5.47 ($8.65-$3.18 refund on Hair Dryer)

Value of Items $339.00

Savings of 98.4%!

RRs Earned $51

The cashier at the 2nd store was the same one who I had rung me out back when the Colgate Visible White Toothpaste RR was rolling a couple of Saturdays ago. We chatted up for a bit today. She's a coupon hound like us & was commiserating with me on how bad the deals were this week.lol I still had about 8 Ecotrin Qs left but I was tired of going through and using them(yes, I was tired of making free money!lol) plus I wasn't coming back while the Ecotrin was giving RRs, so I offered them to her to use. Hey, it's never a bad idea to treat the cashier nice, right? It might help me out at some point in future hounding. ;-))

So I am done with Wags until mid to late next week when I have $50.50 in RRs expiring.

I sure hope they have some better things to roll these RRs into then.

Sluggy