Done for the Year!

Let me start off by saying we had a fabulous Christmas this year and I hope you all did as well!  My dad came into town for Christmas and surprised the kids.  We spent the last few days eating, laughing, playing, and just spending time together.  I am so excited to actually be within driving distance from all of our family and look forward to more visitors throughout the year. 

Now onto the summary of 2011.  I did meet all my goals for savings this year and now it is time to make a new one.  I know we still have a week left for this year, but we have a bunch of sausage and fish that my dad brought with him.  Plus we have chicken and beef still in the freezer.  I am good on veggies (no fruit, but we have canned stuff for now) and I just got a free box of goodies (2 packages of hamburger buns, 1 loaf of bread, and 2 pizza crusts!) from Udi's so we are set on bread for the next week!

If you remember my goals for 2011 were:

1. Spend less than $100/week (actual $78.62)
2. Save 50% on my grocery spending (actual 54%)
3. Spend less than $5,000 on groceries in 2011 (actual $4,088.28)

You all know I love my coupons and saving money, but I have decided to take a different approach this year.  I will still use coupons and be aware of savings.  However, I am actually going to do my meal plan and then shop instead of relying on sales for my meal plan.  After a year of clipping coupons and catching the hottest sales I have noticed that many of the great deals are processed junk food in my opinion (not all of them and I understand that).  I want to freshen up our meals and bring more variety in.  So starting the first of the year I will be focusing on fresh meals and my goal is to spend no more than $75 per week.  This past week I have also been researching and finding many recipes for making your own household products for a fraction of the cost.  I have found ways to make my own "windex", laundry soap, "oxi-clean", general purpose cleaner and many other items that as soon as I try them I will post them and tell you how I feel about them.

I want to post more tips and tricks for 2012 and show people you can eat great meals while saving money.  I have my menu planned already for the first week of January along with my shopping list.  I will post a sneak peek  HERE for you to see my list and meal plan.  Make sure you keep an eye out for the actual recipes after I make them.  I will give you an honest review as to what my family and I thought of the recipe. 

Now onto the good stuff.  My actual resolutions for 2012 are as follows:

1. Spend $75/week on groceries
2. Provide healthier and fresher meals to my family
3. Learn how to make my own household products

I am excited for the new year and can't wait to see what 2012 will bring my family and me!  There are so many exciting things to try and fun crafts to try that I can't wait to see how they actually turn out.   

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