Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

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alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

I think I am not going to have to see the dentist. I have been working on my sinuses with acupressure and the pain is gone from the tooth area. Still need to work on my sinus problem with the steroid spray and the acupressure but things are vastly improved. Money saved for another day which is good since I am going to call the Vet tomorrow to see if I can get an appointment for Teddi to have an allergy shot on Monday. It is pricey $68.00 but the poor little guy is itching like crazy. He will be going to the groomers on Monday and the Vet's office is just a stone's throw from there. He has eaten better the last two days but it has been rotisserie chicken and boiled potatoes not his expensive dog food. I am going to try to sneak in some cooked carrots tomorrow by chopping them up and mashing them in with the other food. He needs to eat a more healthy balanced diet.

Making meals with what I have on hand. Except for fresh veggies and maybe some dairy, as needed, I am going to try to coast with what I have on hand until the 1st of Sept.

I was looking over grocery receipts for the month. On August 1st spent $30.32 but saved $29.56 by buying loss leaders and using the stores electronic coupons. My purchases on Aug 8th spent $21.04 but I saved $9.57.This store gives you reward points which I usually use towards buying a rotisserie chicken. They cost $6.46 but with the $2.00 from rewards it comes to $4.26. I can usually stretch a chicken 5 to 6 days depending on what I am using it for. Also cook down the bones and skin and make broth which is used to make soup or sometimes needed as an ingredient in Keto type foods. Sometimes I have cash from Pine Cone surveys which is $3.00 and I will combine the store rewards with it and the chicken is $1.46. I did this with the current chicken and will do so with the next chicken although I do need to spend a few more dollars to get the $2.00 reward. However with Teddi helping me to eat this chicken I may have to buy another chicken sooner. I do love chicken thank goodness.

I have also spent some money at Ruler but their prices are so low they rarely give a discount. So far have spent $8.42 which was for fresh produce and dairy items. They are the cheapest for milk .98 cent half gallon.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

I heard from my insurance adjuster today. We went over everything and he said he will call me tomorrow to give me the bottom line on the pay out. They already gave me a check for the roof replacement but this is something extra for depreciation recovery which my insurance covered. Also they will be paying for the ceiling repair in the dining room area of the Great room. Although the claim was not made on the same day as the roof damage it was secondary to the shingles being damaged by the storm earlier.

I put my rotisserie chicken in the crock pot this morning. It makes it easier to get the meat off of the bones. Teddi has had two meals with potatoes today and I had one meal off of it. Stripped all of the meat off and put the skin and bones back in the broth to cook overnight to make bone broth for soup and for using as an ingredient in keto cooking.

Dinner was chicken of course. I have a lot of odds and ends of leftover mashed potatoes from the freezer that I am trying to use up. This last bowl was somewhat watery after I thawed it out. Even after draining the liquid off and nuking it was still yucky. I had nuked a potato for Teddi and there was still half of a small potato left so I cut it up and then put it in the mashed potatoes and mashed them together. It was like eating freshly made mashed potatoes. I still have half of a small bowl left for dinner for tomorrow night that does not have the extra potato in it but will either boil one or nuke one to add to it. I had other things to eat but nothing exciting..lol Was looking for something for dessert and tired of canned fruit but remembered I had sliced bananas in the freezer to make banana bread. I chipped some out and let them thaw a little bit and to me it was like eating banana ice cream. I do have a vivid imagination..lol. Anyway it was satisfying and quick.
Janet Alliesmama
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Dgflorida »

Wow. I don't watch my grocery store purchases as closely as you do. What an inspiration you are. I am not wasting as much thanks to you. Trimmed the fibers off the thick stems of the fresh broccoli and will cook those like chunks of keto potatoes with dinner.
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Dgflorida wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 6:09 am Wow. I don't watch my grocery store purchases as closely as you do. What an inspiration you are. I am not wasting as much thanks to you. Trimmed the fibers off the thick stems of the fresh broccoli and will cook those like chunks of keto potatoes with dinner.
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Most of my bills are set in stone. Groceries and water are two that I can try to monitor and save money.

Some times I just cut the thick broccoli stems in to thin rounds and eat them raw as a snack.. I like the crunch. I do use a potato peeler to take the thick skin off if it looks too tough.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Heard from my insurance adjuster. They are going to pay for the repair in the ceiling where the leak was located. The really great thing is they will also pay for the entire ceiling to be painted. This is a Great Room combination living and dining room with a vaulted ceiling.I have been wanting to get the ceiling painted and to paint the walls but could not afford to do the ceiling. I figured I can do the walls a little at a time since they are half walls but the end walls are too high. I will get an estimate to do the end walls. The adjuster said that it was ok to combine things with the understanding they are only paying for the ceiling..woo hoo. So some good has come out of a bad situation.

Been using dibs and dabs up. I thawed out some leftover taco meat from a while back and had tacos the other day and a little taco salad. Still had a dab left but not enough to make a meal so I added some cooked pinto beans from the freezer and mashed everything together. It was a bit dry so added a little bit of canned tomato sauce. I was able to get 3 more tacos from the meat and beans.

I have ground chuck thawed out and will make as stuffed cabbage casserole and will use the leftover canned tomato sauce in it. I have a head of cabbage that needs to be used soon. I love stuffed cabbage rolls but they are a pain to make and the casserole comes out fairly close to the same taste. Need to find a recipe lost the one my sister gave me.

Finished the last of my dehydrated strawberries with some Greek yogurt. I was not wild about Greek yogurt but bought a small container to make something and did not get around to making it.. It kind of grows on you after a while..I still have dehydrated peaches so will be using them more. I saved the soaking water from when I hydrated the strawberries and added some stevia to it. Makes for a nice refreshing drink.

I was going to make some deviled eggs and tuna fish salad the other day and boiled some eggs and never got around to doing that so have had 2 hard boiled eggs for breakfast a couple of times and Teddi had one a couple of times too. I used the last of the eggs to make egg salad for dinner for tonight. I used 8 eggs at .59 cents a dozen..

I have almost used up an entire jar of pickled jalapeno peppers. I put the last of them in a smaller jar with a little bit of the juice and will use the last of some cooked cauliflower to make pickled cauliflower. I love the mix of pickled veggies from the store but it is just too expensive. I have some carrots that I will blanch and add to the juice as well.

On the fence as to whether or not to start to stock pile my medication again from the UK or stockpile foods here due to possible higher prices due to flooding and crop failure. I saw an article where the government in the UK is concerned about being able to keep supplies flowing when they exit the EU 10/31/19. Since I am not sure where the ingredients for my medication comes from I do not want to take a chance on not being able to get my medicine. The pills here in the US cost $7.00 a pill around $630.00 a month Yikes! I can get a month's supply from the UK for about $76.00. My insurance will not pay for it since it is not a recognized treatment for ALS. It works for me and other family members but since medical science says there is no cure or treatment for ALS insurance will not pay for it. It is not a cure but it does help with the tremors.
Janet Alliesmama
Dgflorida
Posts: 4381
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Dgflorida »

I love reading your posts.. Such an inspiration to do better.
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