Part of my job description of {stay-at-home-mama} is stretching our dollar. Jay works hard and I/we try to get the most out of our money, most of the time. Without cutting too much out of our lives.

I’m not going to lie, we’re feeling the results of this messed up {putting it lightly} economy, but we are still blessed beyond measure {!!!}.

I think we’ve all noticed that the cost of groceries AND gas are going up {duh!}. I tend to want to close my eyes at the pump when filling up.

So, since we’re constantly watching our pennies, I am always looking for a way to get the grocery bill down and make meals stretch. Fortunately our family is fine with leftovers! I usually will cook on Monday and Tuesday nights and then we’ll have the leftovers on Wednesday and Thursday. That way I get a break in the kitchen a couple nights a week when we have church or play dates or whatever. Fridays after dance class are either crock pot meals or Souplantation, usually.

Here are some links to marathon meals that can take you through the week {if you’re OK with leftovers!}…

Spaghetti

Chili

Taco Soup

Chicken Spaghetti

Turkey Tetrazzini

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Rotisserie Chicken ~ 2 recipes, 1 chicken

Southwestern Crock Pot Chicken

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

Greek Orzo

Frittata

Another way to save on your weekly food bill is to shop the sales. We get the ads delivered in the mail once a week and sometimes I assemble the meal plan based on what’s on sale. Also, I primarily shop at Ralphs and this enables us to rack up points on their rewards program to get the biggest rewards check after each quarter. I think their prices are better than Vons and definitely lower than Albertson’s! I also started shopping at Sprouts for produce a lot ~ again, selecting the fruits and veggies that are featured that week in the sale paper and building meals around them.

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I’ve also been trying to conserve gas by walking to school every day. This means I’m in extra drill sergeant mode every morning so we can get out the door in time so we’re not late. Because I don’t do late…if there’s drama and we’re running behind schedule, we’ll drive so we get there on time. Pet peeve of mine. Sorry. I may not get everything right, but I do have a record of zero tardies in the school office. I’ll take it.

I also combine errands and do them on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Holden is in school. His preschool is not real close to our house so there is no sense in me coming home while he is there. This is when I do all my running around. Mondays and Wednesdays are my at home days when I {try} to get caught up on things around the house…you know, blog reading laundry, vacuuming, Pinterest cleaning, picking up crap, etc. Yes, some days I do stay home as to not spend money! If I go out, I will spend money. Proven fact. Right, Jay?

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Saving money and stretching your dollar also mean saying “No!”.

This is the hardest one for me. I come from a place of “Yes!” {like my girl, Bethenny}. No, I have not read it, but want to.

We do have to say no to things and sometimes it’s not fun, but if the money isn’t there, it isn’t there.

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Turning off the cable.

We did this for about 6 months last year and, guess what, we lived to tell about it! NO Direct TV from February to August of 2011…I still watched all my faves, just a day behind. No biggie.

And we’re doing it again right now.

Direct TV on hold until further notice…..it’s all good.

We get a lot of Red Box movies, the kids both have iPod Touches, we have TONS of books, we live in So Cal where temps in February were nearly in the 90s……they’ll be alright.

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Bottom line is that we try to maintain a fine line between squandering our dollar and stretching our dollar without giving up too much. There are nights when Jay is like, “We’re going out to dinner!” because we always say we need to eat out less, which we’ve done, but I think we all know that once in awhile you need to get out and enjoy a nice family meal at one of your favorite restaurants.

This post is just the tip of the frugal iceberg! I won’t even get into how I almost never, ever spend full price on things. We’ll save that for another day!

How do you or does your family try to make the most of their money?

It’s hard.

But I do like the challenge.