Price Check on Aisle 1

Ronnie and I were eating dinner last night (grilled cheese and chips) when he noticed something quite interesting......please note the price tag on this family size bag of doritos.  And no that is not a type-o!
And oh yeah, the only gas pump we saw yesterday the price was $6.65 a gallon for regular.  Now let me all hear you say it.......WOW! Yep shocking I know.  More to come....see ya soon.

E-Mealz, It's Worth a Try!

I've bought groceries every way imaginable.  I bet you have too. 

I've made menus for 2 weeks at a time, constructed my grocery list from the menu, then bought the items needed.  I've shortened the menus to 1 week at a time and done the same thing.  Most frighteningly, I've even walked in the grocery store with no menu and no list and just waited for inspiration to strike as I strolled the aisles.  This, I can tell you, is not the smartest way to do it. 

I heard someone say once that they don't mind cooking, it's the figuring-out-what-to-cook that becomes a chore.  I totally, whole-heartedly agree! 

Enter e-mealz. 

I heard Dave Ramsey endorse e-mealz on his radio show.  I once saw a lady with an e-mealz grocery list shopping in Kroger.  And last, a teacher-friend at work was telling us how she signed up for it and so far is liking it. 

So I made the plunge.  I signed up, for $5 a month, for someone else to plan my menu and make my grocery list.  Yes, you heard right.  For $5 a month (and you have to pay three months at a time), e-mealz will send you a 7-day meal plan and a coordinating grocery list to go with it.  The plan is posted every Sunday which works out well for me since I usually buy my groceries on Monday anyway. 

Of course, you can still pick and choose what meals you want to make.  For instance, one of the meals this week was cheesy enchiladas, but we just had enchiladas a few nights ago.  So I marked that meal off the list.  Each meal is numbered, and on the grocery list, beside each item, is the coordinating meal number.  Just say cheesy enchiladas was meal #4.  I went to the list and marked off any item that had #4 beside it.  Also, I rarely, okay never, cook 7 big meals in a row.  We are not afraid to eat leftovers, so my family could probably make 5 meals last for 7 days. 

E-mealz generates the meals from what your chosen store's sales are for that week.  Saving money will be nice, but the convenience of it all will be even nicer!

I can't wait to see if this actually works for me.  If it doesn't, I'm out $15 bucks.  If it does, I've saved my sanity! (and hopefully some money as well!)

Cycles

There are cycles in life - we all know that. Things come. Things go. People come. People go.


Money comes. Money goes.

And that's the cycle I hate most. I like the money coming part. I hate the money going part. If you know us, you know we are not extravagant people. I am not a shopper, and we do not have the best of everything. My kids do not have the latest brand-name clothes, gadgets, movies, video games, etc., and we all wear hand-me-downs. I am not ashamed of this, no, just the opposite. I want my kids to understand there are more important things in life than the things money can buy. I also want them to see two parents working hard for the few nice things we do have.

Another cycle is the bill cycle. You know, the monthly bills that arrive like clockwork every month. It is around this particular time of month that I feel rather, well, poor. Every month after writing out the check for our mortgage, I feel this way. If you are blessed enough to live in a house that is paid for, please never take it for granted. Oh, the things we could do if we didn't have a house note!

In my despair, I turned to the scripture. God and God alone is enough for me and my family. Why do I worry? Why do I worry about tomorrow? Why do I worry about next month or the next?

It ought to be enough for me to look back and see the goodness of God evidenced throughout my entire life and the lives of each one of my family members and never doubt God's sufficiency again. But, I'm not that strong. Or maybe I should say I'm not that faithful. And for that I am ashamed.

You know one of my favorite devotion books is "Strengthen My Spirit" by Charles Spurgeon. I will leave you with today's devotion which is once again ever so appropriate.

You are my portion, O Lord. Psalm 119:57

.........but what is gold compared with God? You could not live on it; your spiritual life could not be sustained by it. But you have God, and in Him you have more than gold or riches could ever buy. Some have their portion in that which most men love-applause and fame-but is not God more to you than that? There are griefs in life that wealth cannot alleviate, and there is the deep need of a dying hour for which no riches can provide. But when you have God for your portion, you have more than all else put together. In Him every want is met, whether in life or in death. With God for your portion you are rich indeed, for He will supply your need, comfort your heart, ease your grief, guide your steps, be with you in the dark valley, and then take you home to enjoy Him as your portion forever.

Charles Spurgeon