Homemade bread

I decided to try a new recipe last night. I have only made bread a handful of times and half of those were in the bread machine. I found a recipe on the Frugal Village forums and it had tons of great comments under it. So, I decided to make some white sandwich bread.

The worst part of making homemade bread is the time it takes to knead it and let it rise. Really between mixing and kneading, it only took about 15 minutes of actual work. The rest of the time was just letting it rise. The recipe I used, made 3 loaves (I had hubby grab a two more metal bread pans while he was out and about).

I have to tell you. This was the best bread ever!! It is still light and fluffy, but yet it stays together while you cut it. I can just imagine using this same recipe for rolls and buns. YUMMY!!!!

I just bought some more white wheat flour and the next time I make it I am thinking about using that. My plans are to make a batch every couple days. That way we don't have to buy store-bought bread anymore. Saving money and we're not eating preservatives. I will probably buy a few loaves though and just throw them in the freezer for when I do not have enough time to make more.

Savings by making own bread:
Flour - used 10 cups at $0.09 each = $0.90
Sugar - 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons = $0.21 a cup = $0.11
Yeast - 2 TBS = $0.13
Salt - less than $0.05
Butter - $0.50
Total Cost for 3 Loaves = $1.69
Total for each loaf = $.56

Walgreens and Rite Aid Deals

I didn't spend a lot of money, but I got some great deals:

Walgreens

Gain Liquid detergent = $11.99 - $1 coupon
Bic Soleil razors = $4.99 -$1 easy saver - $2 coupon = $1.99
Wal-Itin Allergy = $6.99 - $6.99 Rebate = FREE

** I also received a $3 Register Reward for the next time I go to Walgreens.
Total before savings: $36.33
Total after all savings: $10.34
Savings: $71.5%

Rite Aid

Newspaper = $1.50
Magnum Razor = $4.99 - $4.99 Rebate = FREE
Hershey's easter candy = $3.29 each = BOGO free = $1.65 each
Jelly Beans = $2.49 each = BOGO free = $1.25 each

Total before savings: $18.91
Total after all savings:$8.14
Savings: 56.95%

New Design Coming Soon

I am in the process of designing a new background for this site. I want something that will fit all seasons and look really nice, so I am being extremely picky. So, for now you are getting this background from One Cute Blog.

Shopping Deals Today

Me and my little girl went shopping today. We went to Walgreens and Rite Aid and then headed on down to Tops to get some great sales. Here are the pictures of our trip, along with the details.

TOPS

4 2-Liters of Pepsi $1 each (saved 89 cents on each)
3 coffee-Mate creamers *$2.25 for all 3 (saved $3.50)
2 gallons of milk *$1.69 and $2.15(saved 46 cents on one)
bananas $1.80
Kotex tampons *$1.00 (saved $1.50)
Kotex pads *$.50 (saved $2)
Freihofer whole wheat bread $3.89 for both -BOGO (saved $3.89)
2-Liter Diet Dr Pepper *Free (with coupon)
4 Post Cereals *$6.23 for all 4 (saved $7.30)
8 o'clock coffee *$3.29

**The coffee has a coupon in the package for $1 off so
I will use that next time. Also, for buying I had a coupon
from my last Tops visit for $3 off my next visit when I buy
4 Post cereals.

Total before savings: $54.99
Total after savings: $29.18
Saved: 53.06%







Walgreens and Rite Aid

Rite Aid
2 Eyeshadows $.99 cents each (on clearance - 75% off)
Huggies pullups $5.99 (saved $6.50)
Scrubbing Bubbles Wipes $3.98 for both (saved $4.98)
2 Pantene shampoo $2.24 for both (saved $10.74)
2 Secret deodorants $2.77 for both (saved $3.78)

Total Before Savings: $51.01
Total After Savings: $17.51
Saved: 60.8%

Walgreens
Honey bun (breakfast lol) $.99
Reynolds 75 sf aluminum foil $1.29 (saved $2)
2 Pantene Natural Care $4.58 for both (saved $5)
Bic soleil razor system $3.29 (saved $3.59)
Snuggle fabric softener $3.49 (saved $1.50)
Gilette Fusion Gamer $4.99 (saved $4)

I also received a $4 Register Reward to be used at a future visit.I used my rebate gift card from last month and after that I paid $10.28 out of pocket and $6.28 after rebates. I will give you totals without the Register Reward added in.

Total Before Savings: $37.86
Total After Savings: $6.28
Saved: 83.4%

First Unemployment Check

Well, dh received his first unemployment check today. We had it direct deposited into our bank account. Supposedly the extra $25 will be in there tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about all of this. I wish dh's work would call him back. It's nice to have the money to help us survive but I am already wishing he was still working. People when they are unemployed get a little depressed and even dh has been feeling it. He is mostly over it now and wants to get his resume done up and start looking around for something. He is still not in a rush to get another job, because he would rather go back to his old one. He is willing to wait a while, but at the same time he is keeping a look out for any really great jobs that he may be qualified for.

The biggest thing that I miss now that he isn't working, is the time to myself. I used to have three days a week where, after the kids were in bed, I could do my class work, watch tv or do whatever I wanted to. Now, it seems the only time I have on my own is when I go up to the college for my classes, and that isn't really 'me' time. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my husband, but we all need time for ourselves and our creative outlets.

I am hoping now that the weather is starting to get nicer, that he will be spending more time on our land and getting the garden in. Or maybe playing baseball with our older son. There really is a ton of things around here that need to be done (spring cleaning, basement organized) and I'm hoping he will start doing some of those things soon.

Planted Tomato and Pepper Seeds

Since we aren't able to get our house put on our land, we decided that we could still use some of our land to plant a garden. We have bought quite a few seeds, along with onion root and strawberry root. We are hoping that the veggies will do well and we will have tons of food to can and freeze. Of course, I will need to learn how to freeze fresh veggies and get some type of canner.

Yesterday, my husband and two year old daughter planted a bunch of tomatoes and peppers in containers. We will be keeping them inside until it's warm enough to put them in the ground. My daughter had a lot of fun helping daddy. We are going to be getting the area ready for planting just as soon as the weather is nice again.

New Phones for our Family

We had phones through Verizon Wireless which were costing us about $76 a month for 400 shared minutes. We knew this was an area where we could cut our costs quickly. We really don't use our cell phones all too much, so we were wasting minutes a month because we didn't have a rollover plan.

I researched online for several hours and had it narrowed down to either TracPhone or Net10 (which are actually owned by the same company). We went to several different places and found that WalMart had both types of phones. We stood at WalMart comparing prices and phones for about an hour. Even with the double minutes for life you get with TracPhone, we decided that it would be cheaper for us to go with Net10 phones.

We bought dh a $40 phone that came with 300 minutes (so the phone was actually about $10). We took it home, went online to have the phone number transferred, and charged it. By the next day the number had transferred and we were ready to finish setup. I went over to Family Dollar the next week and bought myself a different flip phone for $40 with 300 minutes. I went online and my number was transferred that night! So, this change will save us about $45 a month!! Plus our minutes roll over!

My Introduction

Hello. I would just like to introduce myself and tell you why I started this blog. I am a stay-at-home mom of three who also takes computer classes at the local community college. Up until two weeks ago my husband worked a great job where he only worked weekends from 7pm to 7am. He worked 36 hours, but got paid for 40 and he was home all week to spend time with his kids.

That Friday he came home at 11 pm and I knew something was wrong. The company let them finish up their work week and also were paying them their vacation with that week's pay. They had laid off 10 salary and 10 hourly employees a few weeks prior so we had already been concerned that this would happen. Him and 34 other employees were laid off that night.

We did not freak out about the money situation. Mostly because we had done up an unemployment budget just as a plan B, hoping that we would never have to use it. Unfortunately, we did. In a future post I will share with you my unemployment budget so that you also can be prepared.

We were supposed to be closing on our modular to put on our land by the end of this month. We were going through Rural Development and had applied last May for approval. It was a very long process and we were at the end of it finally when this happened. Unfortunately with the layoff we have to start all over again. I think this was the most depressing part of it. It was a huge disappointment and were both semi-depressed over it for a few days.

We were waiting to do our taxes until after we closed on the house, because we would be able to get over $12000 back and be able to pay off our credit cards and so much more. Fortunately we still got a little over $4k, so that will help keep us going for quite some time. I have done up a spreadsheet and we have more than enough with our return and unemployment to make it at least until November. Although, if dh is not back to work either at his former job or a new one by fall, I will have to look at finding a full time job.

I hope to use this blog to share with my readers how we are doing financially and, of course, emotionally. I will try to share as much as I can with you all. Thank you for reading my blog...