Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

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gaylejackson2
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Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by gaylejackson2 »

alliesmama4 wrote: Thu Jan 03, 2019 7:38 pm So much for the no spend challenge.. I just bought a food dehydrator. I belong to another forum and one of the ladies posted there was a clearance at Walmart, online, for food dehydrators. I bought a $222.14 dehydrator for $59.89. That included $7.00 for a three year extended warranty. The wonderful thing is that I had $10.00 in gift cards for Walmart and $ 30.00 cash for the sale of my diabetic testing strips. So total cost for everything was $19.89. I do have a very old dehydrator inherited from my Mom but I am not sure if it even works properly. She has been dead since 2003 and she had it for years before that. She use to make some very yummy food with her dehydrator. I am hoping to dry more of my peaches and apples and some of the mulberries that I will forage. A few years ago all of the mulberries I picked were lost when my fridge died and I had frozen berries and fruit in the freezer. I have a ton of canning jars from my SIL so it will not be a problem to put the dried produce in the jars. I like the idea of dehydrating for prolonged storage. It takes less space to store things. The grocery store I go to the most, Ruler, sells their bananas for only .18 cents a pound. I would love to do a stock up from them and dehydrate some bananas. They can be added to cereal and used for making banana bread and eating out of hand as a snack. Money spent but for a good cause.
Janet Alliesmama
I;m excited for you to have this new dehydrator, not only because of the way you were able to pay for it (HURRAH for your ca$h & giftcards!), but also because of your plans for it. I must admit that I love LOVE home-dried fruit much more than commercially dried fruit.. it just tastes better to me.
alliesmama4
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Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

gaylejackson2 wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 5:35 pm I;m excited for you to have this new dehydrator, not only because of the way you were able to pay for it (HURRAH for your ca$h & giftcards!), but also because of your plans for it. I must admit that I love LOVE home-dried fruit much more than commercially dried fruit.. it just tastes better to me.
Thanks Gayle. They said it can be used to dry meat as well. Not so sure I will use it for that but it might be fun to try to make some jerky of some sort just to see how it works. Janet Alliesmama
Janet Alliesmama
Momof2Still
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Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Momof2Still »

I went ahead and did my grocery shopping today since I was out – needed to go to the Post Office. I had $12.28 carried over from the first 4 days of January’s grocery budget, and added tomorrow’s $25.00 to the mix. I spent $27.53 at the grocery store, and $4.00 on Amazon for Tamarind Paste since the grocery store does not carry it. I have $5.75 left for anything I may need between now and the 12th. I may pick up a chopped salad kit from Aldi as well as a garden salad mix for my rabbit- she loves salad with her nightly carrot. I like to take a salad kit to work on Mondays to have to eat with my lunch, or to eat on the fly when I am too busy to heat up my lunch. I figured $.65 isn’t bad considering I do not have to take anything else in with the kit, it is all included. I usually get 4 meals out of one kit. Most of the veggies I bought today will have left-over that will be used in the following week’s menu plans, so not much money out the next time I go shopping. I have my menu plans made up for the rest of the month- may need to change things to use up some things so that they do not go bad.

I paid all the bills that are due between now and next pay day. I also took out the cash I will need, or at least the amount I designated for each envelope- I am hoping to not spend it all, but if I do, it is budgeted. A positive is I am going to be tutoring for a couple of hours on Saturdays, or most Saturdays. I was not sure if I was going to be doing that, so when I made up my budget, I did not include that money. I will save some, but some I will use for my travel plans. That makes me feel a little more at ease for traveling. If things are more expensive than I planned, I will not have to take money out of savings.

Tonight I used the rest of the salad kit that has been in the fridge for a while. I am lucky things stay good for a while in my fridge, or at least they have to this point. I made a pizza, and froze ½ of the dough for the next time. I still have 2/3 of the pizza left for lunches the next couple of days. Since I had the oven on, I made a ½ recipe of corn muffins. I have some black-eyed peas and spinach left from New Year’s Day, so will have one with that and freeze what I do not eat within the next couple of days.

I bagged the bananas that I prepped and froze on a cookie sheet a couple of days ago, and washed and placed some blueberries, grapes and a pkg. of blackberries in the freezer to use in smoothies with the bananas. That leaves a few apples and some Sugar Belles as the fresh fruit to use next week. Oh, and a couple of pears that a friend gave me. I am not sure they are still good, but I will try to use them within the next day of so if they are.

I am having hot dogs tomorrow night for dinner, so that is certainly a low cost meal. Well, off to get the animals ready for the night.
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Jackielou
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Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by Jackielou »

alliesmama4 wrote: Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:41 pm Thanks Gayle. They said it can be used to dry meat as well. Not so sure I will use it for that but it might be fun to try to make some jerky of some sort just to see how it works. Janet Alliesmama
It has been awhile since I used my dehydrator to make jerky. Tasted way better than the bought stuff. There should be a recipe for it with your machine. You just need to remember to cut your meat very thin so it dries properly and quickly.
Jackie
http://inthelandofthelivingskiesii.blogspot.ca/
alliesmama4
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Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Jackielou wrote: Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:59 am It has been awhile since I used my dehydrator to make jerky. Tasted way better than the bought stuff. There should be a recipe for it with your machine. You just need to remember to cut your meat very thin so it dries properly and quickly.
Thanks Jackie.
Janet Alliesmama
alliesmama4
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Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Our 2019 No Spend Challenge

Post by alliesmama4 »

Momof2. Sounds like you are off to a great start.

I use to have a rabbit.. Ginger Bunny. She was so much fun. I do miss her.She was a great little companion when I was a traveling therapist.

Janet Alliesmama
Janet Alliesmama
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