Money Matters Thursday

It's Thursday! Yay! I would like to start a new segment today on ways to save money. Did you realize that Christmas is only 10 weeks away? Seriously?! I've barely had time to take in my Texas fall weather. This time of year I know a lot of people try to cut back so that they can save up to pay for those awesome Christmas/Hanukkah/ whatever reason you're purchasing gifts. I happen to also have 3 little nephews birthdays in the next two months and whatever else decides to show up on my calendar that I've forgotten about…joy.

I think this post collection will also help me think of more creative ways to save a dime and hopefully help you!

Addicted to Coffee

I am blessed with the luxury of working from home 80% of the time. While I have a morning "schedule", it certainly isn't a typical one. The first thing I do when I get up is turn on my Keurig and wish that it would warm up faster. In the mean time I put away dishes that dried overnight and as soon as I hear the Keurig's warm up wind down I head over and get the show rolling.

 

 

I could make it as simple as popping a pod in and hitting brew but a little over a month ago I had a small epiphany. While I am fully aware that buying a box of pods at the grocery store is still cheaper than getting a cup of coffee at coffee shop, I can still do better. With 2 coffee drinkers in the house, averaging 1 cup of coffee a day, equals roughly 60 coffee pods a month. That’s  a lot. Yes, I use to use coupons and at the very minimum I would pay $30 month. If I literally spend only $30 a month on coffee that $390 annually. I'm sure some of you at this point think I'm nuts but look, if I can spend half of that on a yearly basis that’s almost $200 back in my pocket. I have dreams of traveling the world!

 

The first month was pretty much a wash as I went out and bought another reusable filter so I had 2 and some coffee grinds. At the time I didn't realize that places like TJ MAXX and Marshalls had packages of 2 for around $5. I bought 2 for a reason because I have a tendency to leave the pod in the keurig and this way I have one for the next day. It's one extra step but over time I know it will be well worth it! Not to mention it's also "greener" since we aren't throwing these away any more. By the time the holidays roll around I'll have a little extra cash to spend on gifts.

Disclaimer: I am in no way being paid to write or review about Keurig or Keurig products. This post is solely my opinion on products I purchased.

Easy Hearty Sloppy Joe's

In my house, we try to get creative for weeknight dinners to try and keep it interesting. When we know we're making something yummy, we're less inclined to crave easy takeout. Once again, this is a great recipe to hide veggies in for those picky vegetable eaters I know a lot of us have in our home. While Ive tried some finely diced red and green bell pepper and a couple of other veggies, I've been wanting to add in some fresh corn! Now before I make myself any more hungry right before we're ready for dinner, I'm going to get this typed up for you and your families.

 

Hearty Weeknight Sloppy Joe's

Makes 4 filled sandwiches

 

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 small Onion, chopped

1 lbs. Ground Beef

1/2 lbs. Ground Turkey (optional)

3 tbsp Tomato Paste

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce

1/4 cup Ketchup

2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

Any Add in Veggies

Salt & Pepper

Sandwich Rolls

 

1. Heat Oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring till they turn translucent. Add beef and  ground turkey to skillet, stirring and breaking up till crumbled. Once cooked, drain excess liquid.

 

2. Stir in tomato paste, BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, pepper and salt to the skillet and mix well with meat and onion mixture. Let cook until sauce is slightly thickened.

 

3. Top your sandwich bun with your desired amount meat and top with extra goodies till your heart's content!

 

 

 

It just needed a facelift....

A few months ago I was over at my mother-in-laws house shuffling through some stuff with her in the garage. She has a lot of stuff and at the time she had more stuff in her garage because my sister-in-law, her husband and 3 babies were living with her while their house was being built. It's always fun going over there to see what's new and what creative project she's currently working on. While we finished up searching for whatever we were searching for in the garage that day she pointed to 2 lamps she had sitting on the golf cart and asked it I wanted them. I knew exactly where they would go but knew they were not going there in the condition they were in, not that they were bad just not my style. Spray paint has become my friend! With a little love and creativity I re-vamped these beauties to work perfectly in my decoration deprived bedroom.

DIY Halloween Wreath

I use to not really care about Halloween. Honestly, why would I? I'm to old to go trick or treating, don't have any kids and until we moved into our neighborhood I use to roll my eyes at those crazy apartment neighbors who would decorate for the ghoulish occasion. However, last October that all changed and I couldn't wait for the kids to come by our new home and pass out candy. Not surprisingly, I completely over bought and over paid for candy (this year, hello dollar store!), didn't realize that you should turn your outdoor lights on or even better, just stand outside, and definitely didn't have anything fun and friendly to show my "holiday" spirit. This year I'm actually going to add some Halloween decorations to my yearly fall decor and I'm very excited to post my first craft to my blog!

Halloween Wreath  

 

 

I will say while it's a decent picture of the wreath, It's so much better in person!

 

What You'll Need:

 

Grapevine Twig Wreath

Black Spray Paint

Glitter Spray Paint (optional)

Hot Glue Gun

Spooky Little Trinkets for Your Wreath

 

Step 1: Find a grapevine twig wreath. I found mine at JoAnn's for regular price $12 (always use a coupon to make it cheaper!)

 

 Step 2: I laid some old newspaper down to prepare for spray painting. Using a flat black spray paint, paint the wreath from several different angles to make sure its completely covered and let dry.

 

 

Step 3: Using Krylon's Glitter Blast Starry Night (JoAnn's), spray a light layer of glitter to give it a fun 3-dimensional look.

 

 

 

Step 4: Once completely dry, first glue on your words and secondly your spiders (hobby lobby). On the off chance that your trinkets have picks on the, as if to put in floral arrangements, use a pair of pliers to gently pull off, or if needed, cut off.

 

 

Step 5: Add a hook to display your wreath for all to see!