Exercising your muscles not your credit cards...

While enjoying my Sunday paper this cloudy winter day, I noticed that most - if not all - of the sales revolved around weight loss equipment.  Sales on dumbells, kettlebells, ellipticals and scores of workout tapes.  A virtual cornucopia of products you NEED to buy if you want to get in shape. 

 

(Buy me!  cries the Total Gym, right before Chuck Norris roundhouse kicks you into submission.)

 

What these big stores DON'T want you to know is that you can do a lot of the exercises they are pushing WITHOUT the big equipment.

 

 

*******PLEASE NOTE:BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY NEW WORKOUT OR EXERCISE ROUTINE, SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR*******

 

Got a second floor to your house or a set of basement stairs?  Perfect, my own private stairmaster awaits me in the comfort and privacy of my home.  I just turn on my MP3 player and my cardio is done for he day.

 

Have some heavy bottles, cans or boxes?  Free weights for free!  My personal favorite is using the bottle of pancake syrup as a free weight.  36 ounces of buttery muscle building.  When I'm comfortable, I plan to graduate to a 12 pack of soda cans. 

 

 

 

(Beefcaaaaaake!)

 

 

If you are like me, you like people yelling at you to "Keep moving!" and "Don't give up!"  Exercise tapes can be fun and help you be successful, but they can also be expensive!  Most retail somewhere in the $15 range, though some can go as high as $30.  I'm not looking to spend any money on anything, whether I use it every day or not.  My local library is a great resource for all things, including VHS (yes, I know it is 2015) and DVDs.  Borrowing tapes is free, plus I get a variety of different kinds of exercises.  Free is for me!

 

So, my loyal readers (and hopefully you are out there) save some cash this Winter, and get creative while you get in shape!

 

 

 

PS - Still in the market for some "new" equipment?  Check out these sites for some great at home fitness deals and tips for those on a budget

 

 

www.freecycle.com - here you can find exercise equipment and or videos that people are looking to GIVE away.  check here before spending any money in the stores.  but buyer beware, and be careful folks!

 

 

www.youtube.com - a plethora of at home workout videos abound on this free site.  pick and choose to make your perfect workout

 

*****ONCE AGAIN PLEASE CONSULT A DOCTOR BEFORE YOU BEGIN ANY EXERCISE ROUTINE******

Welcome Back!

Welcome to 2015!  The  year went by super fast, and I can't believe what has and, more importantly, hasn't been done by the Smith Family. 

The DH and I have been talking recently about plans for the year ahead, and the ones after that.  We've never really been "planners" in the sense of writing things down and sticking to them.  We've always just flown by the seat of our pants and gotten by, even if getting by meant using a credit card to get what we needed/wanted and worrying about the cost later.

We've decided that this year we are going to work toward solvency.  We've got a hefty credit card debt that I'd like to see vanish.  We're not behind on our bills or delinquent, but I'd still like to stop paying interest on a bed I purchased 3 years ago.

(PS - I despise that bed, so still having to pay for it makes me ANGRY!!!!)

 

 

So once again, I invite you to join us on this journey as we work toward getting a better grip on all things financial in our household.

 

Throughout the year you will see posts about saving money, changing spending habits, couponing, and much much more.  So welcome to The Penny Pinchers!

 

Afterthoughts...

I've had some time to digest what I learned from the challenge.  The last few days of the challenge I had to attempt on my own, since my husband and children fervently said "No." to finishing.

What did I learn?  I learned that I am spoiled.  Over the course of the five days, I went out to eat at least one meal on two separate occasions.  I learned that I am NOT as strong as I thought I was.  There were a few sneak cheats during the period, possible because I had not cleared my pantry out before starting the challenge.

There were some positive outcomes.  I learned that I COULD trim my family's food budget down, if I really wanted to do so.  Shopping smart is something that can easily be done if you watch for sales and know how to store food properly - either by freezing, canning or just stock piling.

But not everyone has access to storage, or refrigeration, or the Mega-Sales that I encountered during my LBtL challenge time period.  There are people, both in our own country and in others, that don't have access to any of this.

My goal over the next year is to trim my food budget.  Shop smarter while hopefully eating better.  Processed food is where most of your money goes in a supermarket - things like potato chips, cookies, juices, snack packs, sodas etc.  Those things - for our family - can either be eliminated or made at home for less money with better ingredients.  I'd like to take the money I save and buy some much needed food pantry items to donate to our local pantry.

The point of this challenge was awareness.  To become aware of what many other people in the world have to experience.  As the great Yoda might say, "Aware, I am.  Thoughtful, I must be."

Today was my first day going it alone.  And it is 4:27 and I'm starving.  So starving I just made a peanut butter sandwich.  Don't worry, I haven't gone over my amount today.
*Italics indicate food that was not consumed

Here's the original plan:
Breakfast
1 cup milk  $0.18
1 cup cereal $0.14

Lunch
1 egg $0.13
Mayo $0.05
2 slices bread (wheat) $0.10
1/2 Banana $0.12

Dinner
2 hot dogs $0.13 ($1.00 package divided by 8 = roughly $0.13 per dog)
rice and veg $0.25
corn $0.20

For a grand total of $1.35 for the day.

My plan:

I skipped breakfast, because I don't to eat in the morning, though I did steal about a handful of cheerios (the cereal that was purchased for the challenge) from my kids' bowls. 

For lunch, I didn't enjoy the banana, only eating the sandwich.  This left room for the PB sandwich I just ate.  I also had the milk that would have gone with the cereal with the sandwich.  The PB sandwich would cost me approximately $0.24, which is about what the cereal and banana would have cost me.  Dinner is still on track as is, so that should not change the outcome.

I do still have about $0.15 left if I get hungry.  Though I don't know what I could eat with that.  Maybe a slice of toast with some butter?  But I don't know.  Perhaps that 1/2 banana that I'm hiding away from my children...

I must say, my brain is not functioning.  Simple math problems that I could usually do in my head are harder, even after just one day.  Sad really, but the truth.  I'm very cranky and I've started to develop a migraine.  I also have no get up and go, which is why I chose PB as a snack, as it is a good source of protein. 

I've been drinking a ton of water to stay full, but it is repeating on my a bit.  Too much liquid, not enough solid I guess. 

Onward and upward, lovies!

Follow me on twitter @camp3082

Dissension in the ranks...

Over the weekend my family revolted on me.

While away on my weekly shopping trip, my husband was at home with the three kids.  He, during this time, had to change a messy diaper.  While he was doing this, he sent me a picture of the diaper and complained that the reason for the mess was because of the food we've been eating.  He also told me to bring home food.  Now.

So, as lofty as my ideals were, I've set them aside for my sanity.  I caved and brought home Taco Bell which was summarily devoured as we watched "The Great Muppet Caper" on VHS. 

I've decided to continue the experiment on my own.  I will eat on $1.50 a day for the next 2-3 days.  I'll see how long I can last. 

I will say that we have learned a lot in the few days that we've done this.  My husband constantly fighting back "But we're not poor!"  I've found that living in the US gives us an advantage.  We have access to clean, healthy food that often goes on sale.  We can have variety in our meals because of sales.  You CAN eat for a small amount each meal, day or week, as long as you have access to supermarkets with large variety and good sales. 

I went heavy on pasta products this week, thinking it would be a large amount of what we ate.  I could have saved a few of those dollars and gotten some meat or some fresh veggies. 

If nothing else, I've definitely learned to shop smarter for myself.  That smarter shopping will hopefully allow me the extra few dollars that I can then "pay forward" by donating to our local food shelf. 

So wish me luck, dear readers.  For I embark on the journey alone from here on out. 

Remember, follow me on twitter @camp3082 and keep reading!

Snacks....

My kids are used to having snacks at their finger tips.  We always stock the house with yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit snacks and granola bars.  (All healthy items of course)

So since we didn't have room in our budget for any of these items, I set out to do a "swap" for granola bars.  I'm taking approximately 6 cups of the cereal we purchased, some of the marshmallows and some butter to make cereal bars.  If I had my druthers, I'd throw in some raisins, but I am druther-free this week.

This treat is simple to make - following the recipe to make Rice Crispy Treats.  And it will take the place of the granola bars we can't have.  There is plenty of cereal left over for breakfasts this week, and maybe some lunches.  I'll be cutting the treats into bar shapes. 

Ingredients
6 cups of cereal
4 cups mini marshmallows
3 TBSP butter

Directions
Melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add marshmallows and heat on medium until completely melted, stirring constantly.  Add cereal.  Spread mixture onto a greased cookie sheet or waxed paper.  Press down until mixture covers the pan.  Allow to cool.  Cut into squares. 

Any leftover marshmallows we'll use to have an indoor campfire.  We "roast" the mini mallows over a lit candle using toothpicks.  It's fun and the kids make memories, one thing I hope will come out of this experience. 

Day 1...

Today was day one of eating on the challenge.  Here was our menu for the day:

Breakfast

Cereal with Milk

Lunch

Egg Salad sandwich

½ banana

Dinner

Hot Dog Noodle Soup

 

Here’s how I made the soup:

Ingredients

2 packages Ramen Noodles, beef flavor

1 cup canned peas

4 Turkey hot dogs, sliced

Directions

Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Add hot dogs and peas and allow to simmer until warm.

Thoughts for the day

I did not eat breakfast today, but the kids and my husband did.  They ate their normal breakfast, so it wasn’t much of a switch.

For lunch, it was odd not to have side dishes.  Normally, we’ll have some canned pineapple or peaches as well as some sort of treat like chips.  Today we just had the sandwich and a half of a banana.  It felt odd, but I ate slow and drank a lot of water to keep me full. 

The dinner menu did not go over so well.  My daughter had two bowls, but she was still hungry.  My 6 year old did not eat the soup, and was scrounging around for food while my husband put my other son to bed.  My 3 year old son did NOT eat dinner.  He’s a picky eater and will only eat certain things.  I’ve been instructed, in the past, by my pediatrician and his service providers that if he skips a meal here and there, he will be OK.  That he will eat when hungry.  So don’t think I am starving him on purpose, he chose not to eat. 

My husband has already said that the experiment is over.  But I’m going to try to stick it out till the end of the five days.  I think we can make it.  And we are getting the word out about this project. 

Remember to check my updates on twitter @camp3082. 

Have a great evening!