I decided to combine February's shopping summary with a bit of a life update. Why? Because it makes more sense why I am under budget this month. February Life Lately As I shared in my newsletter last month, we go the news that our transmission was going out on the van. It was not unexpected news and after weighing the pros and cons, we decided go ahead and replace it. Yes, it is a costly repair but it is far cheaper than buying a new vehicle - especially since we don't have any vehicle loans. We are hoping this repair can get us a couple more years out of this vehicle. That is to be seen, … Read More...

If you want an honest look at a grocery budget for an entire year for a family of 6, take a look at our frugal grocery budget.  2020 was a year for the books. Am I right? As much as I am a frugal shopper, 2020 threw my grocery budget through the ringer. First, there was the month early arrival of Caleb before I had finished stocking my pantry and freezer. Little did I know that would be the least of my worries! Ha. By the time I came home from the hospital and we brought Caleb home from the NICU, everything was shutting down. We did a big stock up trip or two - not worrying about prices. … Read More...

What a crazy past two months it has been! I went into labor a month early, and then things started quickly shutting down. Schools closed and we were under a stay at home order for almost 6 weeks. We are in phase 2 of opening things back up in Indiana which menas we can go out again! I haven't gone grocery shopping in over 2 months - since March 3! Andy's been doing the grocery shopping and we've been taking advantage of Walmart's grocery pick up. More on that below. I asked about this on Facebook and it seems that most of us had higher than normal grocery totals in March. With everyone … Read More...