drumroll please...

brrrrr rum da da dum dum dum.....
I baked a loaf of bread...THAT ROSE. It is a whole loaf, not a two inch high door stop. I am so cocky i am thinking of trying for a whole wheat loaf of bread, if you can imagine. I go to pick up my angel food on March 28th. In the meantime I am going to be working on setting up a meal plan so I can take advantage of my food budget and make every dollar work for me. I have a 350 dollar food budget. That is for everything. Meat, cleaning supplies, pet foods, pantry staples, the whole shebang. So, on the first I take 120 dollars and buy four boxes of angel food (this is always for the following month, praise God that with our federal income tax return we were able to get ahead in this way) . Then I have 230 dollars left. I am planning on using 50 dollars to buy detergent, pet food, shampoos and personal grooming and toilet paper. I am going to have to give up my addiction to paper towels. I hear cheese cloth makes good window wash-ing equipment. anywho.....that will leave me with 180 dollars which I will spread over four weeks. That will be an additional 45 dollars a week to supplement the angel food. Which is why it is so important that I make menus. Otherwise I may end up buying things I just can't use. On second thought, maybe I should have a set amount of pantry stocking money as well. I am definitely going to need flour, sugar, oats etc. I will have to think some more. I will be working on my menus for the next few days. I will post as soon as i have them. I will also post my pantry and grocery totals for the first week. Maybe some of ya'll can use the information.
Well, have a great Saturday,
Talk at you all later,
Chris

My new freezer

Well, this may not seem frugal, but it will be in the long run. We went out and got a freezer this last week. I looked for a good while before settling on the one we did buy. It's a good size and we can put our angel food in it. We got three regular boxes and a special meat box, this coming month. This was only 113 dollars for ALOT of food. I have given myself a food budget of 350 dollars a month now. I think it's completely doable now that we have angel tree. I have a 50 dollar budget for animal food and soaps, shampoo and toilet paper etc. Which I also think is doable. I found 40 lbs of dog food for 20.40. Cat food for the month costs around 7.00. We can do this. We are going to take any extra income and use that as the Lord directs. We are going to pray over it and then talk about our needs and apply it that way. My kids have started wrapping up their left overs and placing them in the fridge. Waste not, want not. I am really starting to like saving money. I actually cringed the other day when I saw a lady pay a dollar thirty seven for a little pack of gum. It's the nickles and dimes that get you. Well, I think I will update my religion blog now. I have a lot to say lately. Talk at you all later. Oh, I am also blogging from home now. We ditched our cell phones and are currently using Vonage and high speed Internet. It is 25 dollars less a month than the cell phones alone. We have cut our phone bills, our car insurance, our food bill and many other items. It is incredible how much money you can save when you have to. I really feel badly for all the money wasted when we just weren't paying attention. God has given us every blessing, we should use each one wisely.
signing off,
Chris