FREEBIES: Check out these great FREE offers from this week! (Please note: All offers were available at the time of publication, but are subject to change.)

FREE OFFERS

Key Lime Donut at Krispy Kreme (Smartphone Offer)

Free Slurpees and More at 7-Eleven (Smartphone Offer)

Free Homeschooling Grade-book

Hunger Games Mockingjay Call

60 Minute Workout Music Download

Thread Words Amazon Kindle Game

Customized Curriculum Planner

Homeschool Planning Resources

Still Available:

Craftsy: FREE Craft Classes!

Free Audiobooks and eBooks

A Passion for God by Lyle Dorsett (Audiobook)

Free Spring Printables From Paper Coterie

Free Printable Pantry Labels

10 FREE Online Workouts

FREE Printable Lunchbox Love Notes

FREE SAMPLES

Free U by Kotex sample pack

Tena Sample Kit

Roll of Scott Toilet Paper

Bottle of Pepsi Next

Eucerin Professional Repair Sample

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Sample

Nescafe Taster’s Choice Sample

Nacional Records Amazon Sampler 2013

Clear Scalp & Beauty Haircare Sample

KID STUFF

Ice Cream Printable Pack

Memorial Day Coloring Pages

Kindergarten Worksheets

Red Riding Hood Preschool Pack

We’re Going To The Zoo Unit Study

Printable Pond Preschool Pack

$10 from TD Banks When Kids Read 10 Books

Adventures In Odyssey Episode Download

Pottery Barn Kids Summer Reading Challenge: Earn a Free Prize (May 16-Aug. 26)

Click here to find out how I get $100 gift cards just for using this FREE checking account!

FREE E-BOOKS

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

The Ultimate Guide To Raised Beds

110 Ideas to Keep Kids Busy Without Technology

Home Vegetable Gardening -a Complete and Practical Guide to the Planting and Care of All Vegetables, Fruits and Berries Worth Growing for Home Use

5 of USA’s Best Trips: Our Favorite Themed Itineraries Across America (Regional Travel Guide)

Savvy Summer Entertaining (Savvy Entertaining)

Georgiana Darcy’s Diary: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice continued (Pride and Prejudice Chronicles)

COOKBOOKS

Seattle’s Best Summer Coffee Recipes

Quick and Easy Grilling Recipes

7 Days of Italian Cooking – Gracie’s Guide to Everyday Meals (Gracie’s Italian Living Series)

The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book: Great Dairy-, Egg-, and Nut-Free Treats for the Whole Family

Click here for more great DEALS & FREEBIES!

Thanks to Kathy from Savings Lifestyle for some of these offers!

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here for more information.

Friday Shopping Totals: Each week I post my grocery totals so you can see what I purchased for the week for our $125 Budget Weekly Menu here (feeding six people including three teens). Some weeks are better than others, but you will always see how I stick to a budget in real life.

WALMART Part 1   

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Grocery Saving Tip: If you are strapped for time, choose the store with the lowest overall prices for your area (or the one with the best sale prices for the week).  

The next two weeks are CRAZY busy for me, so I had to make one stop at Walmart for groceries and non-food items this week, rather than using my usual method of shopping sales at several different stores. I also did not take time to do any Ad Matches because I had 45 minutes to shop.

I knew I would be paying more for the groceries I purchased, so I planned some cheaper meals this week so I could keep the budget lower.

 WALMART Part 2–Total Spent $120.03

Weekly Total: $120.03

May Monthly Total: $403.94     

($125/week budget for six people including three teens. This monthly total includes last week’s total of $78.10 which I didn’t post because I was at a conference.)

Join us for The Peaceful Mom Save Money On Groceries Challenge! I share one tip to implement each week so you can start saving right away! Click here to see the current Save Money On Groceries Tips.

Read more about how I stick to a $125 a week budget in my Save More-Clip Less e-book!

Click here to see what others are saying.

Click here to see previous week’s shopping trips.

Were you able to stick to your budget this week? Leave a comment!

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This Week’s Menu

Money Saving Ideas

Easy Recipes

Sign up for the Betty Crocker email newsletter and you will receive up to $250 per year in coupon savings plus exclusive access to free samples each month.

Click here to sign up for FREE!

Click here for more DEALS & FREEBIES to help you save money!

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here for more information.

$125 Budget Weekly Menu –See how I feed my family of six including 3 teens and a twelve year old for $125 a week! Check back later today to see my shopping for this week.

Don’t miss any of my tips to help you save money, get organized and enjoy life! 

Click here to sign up for my FREE Weekly enotes and get FREE gifts including my Stress Free Meals ebook and my exclusive printable organizing labels!

*Items marked with an asterisk were purchased in previous weeks in the $125 Budget and are in the pantry, fridge or freezer. 

Click purple links to go to recipes!

BREAKFAST

Organic Yogurt with Crockpot Granola* and fresh strawberries

Cereal with milk

Egg and Cheese Bagel

Homemade Freezer Waffles* with DIY Waffle Syrup*

Cheese Toast, banana

Cinnamon Raisin Toast*, Peanut Butter

Oatmeal* with cinnamon* and raisins

LUNCH

Homemade Pizza Bagels

Turkey Sandwich, celery sticks with ranch dressing* x2

Nachos, orange slices

Rice Cakes* with peanut butter and raisins

Leftovers from dinner

Easy Cheese Quesadillas, canned peaches*

DINNER

BBQ Pepper Jack Bacon Burgers*, Home Fried Potatoes*, Romaine Salad

Black Bean Chicken Chili*, cheese toast triangles

Birthday Party (food purchased separately from the grocery budget)

Grilled Cheese, Tropical Fruit Salad

Roast Beef, rice*, steamed green beans*

Spicy Black Beans*, rice*

Italian Pasta Salad with Chicken, garlic toast triangles

Read what we do about snacks here.

What are you eating this week? Leave a comment or link.

Please Note: I post my weekly menu to encourage menu planning and to give meal ideas, not as a nutritional standard. You should feed your family based on your priorities and values. You may not be able to replicate this exact menu for $125 because sales vary by region and you will have different items on hand, but you can save money just by using a menu. ) 

Read how I feed my family for less without extreme couponing in my Save More-Clip Less ebook!  

If you would like menu planning help, check out eMeals*–weekly menus including recipes and a grocery list! 

Plans start at just $7 a month for a 3 month subscription, and readers of The Peaceful Mom can get a 10% discount by using promo code PEACEFUL. Click here to see a sample menu.  

You May Also Enjoy:

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For more menu ideas, check out OrgJunkie Menu Plan Mondays.

*affiliate link– Read our disclosure policy here.

Money: What Works for You? Money management is very personal, but I think it can be helpful to read about how others make their money work for them, so that you can find what works best for you!

Today Julie shares how her family paid off $29,000 in debt on a $29,000 a year income!

Don’t miss any of my tips to help you save money, get organized and enjoy life! 

Click here to sign up for my FREE Weekly enotes and get FREE gifts including my Stress Free Meals ebook and my exclusive printable organizing labels!

_______________________________

Six years ago, my family had just made an out-of-state move in order for my husband to take a new position with a salary of $29,000 a year. I also found a job in our new town making about $25,000 a year. Two weeks after I started my new job, however, our son needed to be hospitalized for three days. I lost my new job because it required me to work for 60 days before taking any days off: sick or otherwise. I chose my son.

My husband and I decided that I would not seek other employment right away, so we became a one income family with one child and another one on the way and owing a total of $30,000 on 4 credit cards. We were not even bringing in enough money to cover the minimum payments. We decided to pay off the smallest debt right away with our tax return, so we paid off $1,000 and had $29,000 to go.

Daunting to say the least, and we didn’t have money hanging on the tree in our backyard!!

For 2 months, I quit making payments on the credit card with the largest balance. I called them at the end of those two months and asked if they could help. We worked out a 0% interest rate and a monthly payment that we could afford. Over time, I worked with the other two credit card companies to do the same.

We also became a cash only family. Our agreement with the credit card companies included closing the accounts and no longer using the cards. In order to pay those three credit card bills AND feed our two children, we had to start cutting back. This was not all immediate, but over time we:

• Nixed cable for netflix saving $53 a month.

• Moved, saving $400 month in rent.

• Started regular meal planning. ($50 a week early on, but we recently increased that to $70 a week.)

• Reduced cell phone by $40 a month. (Read here how to lower your cell phone bill.)

• Applied for a low income program with our land line company and reduced our bill by $25 a month

• Moved to a home with wood heat and cistern water. Electric and gas evened out, however, we have no water bill which saves us about $40 a month.

• Switched car insurance companies and reduced our bill by $40 month.

• Paid off the last of our credit card debt!!

So, compared to where we were six years ago, we have shaved off $1057 a month from our budget. (This number includes the monthly payments we used to be making on our credit cards.)

While we are still living on $29,000, we have enough at the end of the month to save for a few different areas and no longer live from paycheck to paycheck. I can not begin to describe how good that feels!

Do you have a money story? You could see it published on The Peaceful Mom!

Follow the guidelines here to submit your story. (Please Note: Not all stories will be published.)

___________________

Julie is a stay at home mom to 1 handsome devil, 3 little beauties and a wife to her husband of 10 years. She blogs over at Vibrant Designs, runs a small online business to help pay for the fun things in life, and loves to sew!!

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Gluten Free Coupons and Deals including Kind Bars for $1.14 each, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats deal and a $2/1 Van’s Natural Products coupon!

Please note: Amazon prices change quickly so you may want to take advantage of these soon. Check your local prices to make sure these are a good deal for you.

KIND PLUS, Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio + Antioxidants, Gluten Free Bars (Pack of 12) is $13.72 with Subscribe & Save, that’s $1.14 per bar.

Enjoy Life Caramel Apple Chewy On The Go Bars, Gluten, Dairy & Nut Free, 5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6) are $20.25 with Subscribe & Save, thats $3.38 per box.

Lundberg Gourmet Blend of Wild and Whole Grain Brown Rice, Gluten Free, 16-Ounce Bags (Pack of 6) Package May Vary for $15.35 with Subscribe and Save, that’s only $2.56 per bag of rice.

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain, Rolled Oats, 32-Ounce Bags (Pack of 4) for $15.76, that’s only $3.94 per bag of rolled oats. We use these for oatmeal and to make our popular Crockpot Granola (recipe here).

See more Amazon Gluten Free Deals here!  *Read more about Subscribe and Save here.

Check out our Favorite Gluten Free Products List here!

Sign up for Swag Bucks (read more here) and earn Amazon Gift Cards just for searching the internet!

NEW COUPONS

Coupons for Products Labeled Gluten Free

$1/1 Barbara’s GF Product (Mambo Sprouts)

$2/1 Van’s Natural Foods product (Facebook)

$0.75/1 Nasoya product (Mambo Sprouts)

OTHER GLUTEN FREE COUPONS

Make sure to check the ingredients on these products.

Beverages

Grocery

Other

Click Here to see last week’s coupons which may still be available.

Check out my GLUTEN FREE Pinterest Boards!

You can follow me to receive an update when I add new gluten free recipes, reviews or product information to my boards.

Please Note: This information is not intended as medical advice. Some products are included in this list which are not labeled “gluten-free”, but which may be acceptable for those on a gluten free diet. As always, check labels for information which pertains to your personal situation.

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Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here.

Save Money On Groceries!

Save money on your grocery bill, so you can spend the money on other priorities! Each week I’m sharing one simple tip that you can implement to start saving on your grocery bill right away.

Many of the tips will be familiar, but if you take the Save Money on Groceries Challenge with us, you will actually take the steps each week instead of just filing them in the “I should do that” file. [To join in, just leave a comment saying that you already use the tip of the week, or that you will start this week.]

[Click here to see all the tips in this series.]

 Today’s Tip:

Save money on produce by using these three easy tips.

Buy in-season.

The best way to save money on vegetables and fruit is to buy them when they are in season for your area. Prices are lower because of increased availability and lower shipping costs to get the produce to your local store.

The current in-season produce can usually be determined by looking at what’s featured on the front page of your local grocery store’s weekly sales flier or by checking this in-season produce chart, which lists what’s in season by state and month.

Choose organics wisely.

You have probably read that organic produce is safer to eat, but if you have a tight budget you can save money by being choosy about which organic produce you purchase. Read about specific ways to save on organic produce here.

Check local resources.

Check local produce stands, farmer’s markets and ethnic shops to find lower prices on produce, meat and other items. You may even be able to buy directly from farms or CSA’s in your area. Click here to use the Local Harvest CSA listings for your area. I just found a new location in my hometown.

Another great way to save is to preserve produce at it’s lowest price by freezing it. Click here to read more about Freezing In Season Fruit.

Click here to read my tips for using Over Ripe Produce.

Sign up here for The Peaceful Mom Weekly Newsletter to make sure you don’t miss any of my money saving tips PLUS get my $125 Budget Weekly Menu delivered right to your inbox along with other ways to save money, get organized and enjoy life!

You will also receive my exclusive 99 Ways to Jump for Joy Subway Art Print, my Customizable Organizing Labels and a FREE copy of my Stress Free Meals ebook.

For more ideas to save money on groceries, check out my ebook Save More–Clip Less: Feed Your Family For Less Without Extreme Couponing.

Click here to see what others are saying.

Have you used a local CSA or other ways to save on produce? Leave a comment.

Paleo Diet: The Quick & Easy Guide (Versatile Health Guides) This ebook gives a detailed explanation of the Paleo diet and includes a two week menu plan.

Click here to download.

Gluten Free Cookbook [Second Edition] This ebook includes a good overview of the gluten free diet and several recipes to get you started.

Click here to download.

Please note that the price of these books is currently $0.00, but could change at any time. Verify the price before purchasing. 

Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul This book is not free, but is a steal at $2.99. Captivating encourages you to rediscover the dreams and desires you had as a little girl and use them to live the life God created you to live.

Click here to purchase.

These are Kindle books but you can download them to your computer or other mobile devices with the FREE Kindle Reading Apps here, including the Kindle Cloud Reader which I use on my laptop and home computer.

Click here for more DEALS & FREEBIES to help you save money!

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here for more information.

Earn money online: My Survey is now taking new applicants. With My Survey you earn points for every survey you take–even qualifiers! You can redeem your points earned for cash or prizes and every 1000 points equals $10.  (Available for Canadians too!)

Go here to sign up.

 Click here for a complete list of The Peaceful Mom’s recommended survey sites.

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here.

My daughter was looking through my Recipe Binder recently and found this Bacon Wrapped Chicken Recipe. Half of the family loved it, and half were not so impressed. We did find that it was even better reheated the second day.

Try it and let me know what you think.

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Summer Sanity E-Book

Make Money: Top 5 Online Survey Sites

Report Card Freebies for Students! Now that school is ending, check out this great list of Good Report Card Freebies that your child can receive. Be sure to call ahead to make sure your local retailer is participating.

Blockbuster- Get a free family friendly movie rental for A’s on your report card.

Cheryl’s Cookies – Get up to 3 FREE Cookies for A’s.

Chick-fil-A – Bring in your all A’s and B’s report card and receive a FREE 8 pack  of chicken nuggets.

Chuck E. Cheese – Free tokens for good grades.

Family Video – Free movie rentals based on report card.  (Thanks to Mission to Save.)

Krispy Kreme - Get a free original glazed donut for each A (up to 6 A’s).

McDonalds – If your child has a straight “A” report card, he/she can receive a FREE Happy Meal. This may vary by location so call ahead first!

Pizza Hut – Free personal pan pizza and a small soft drink for students with 3 or more A’s (available each marking period). You must present the official report card to the manager and offer is available for Elementary and Middle School students for dine-in only.

Topps – Bring in a report card and present it to the store manager to receive a trading card gift.

Homeschool parents can check out our list of FREE printable report card forms on our FREE Homeschool Resources Page here.

If you want to have a peaceful, enjoyable summer with your kids, be sure to get my ebook Summer Sanity: A Mom’s Guide to a Great Summer!

Click here and use promo code SUMMERFUN to get $2.00 off!

Don’t forget about our awesome Birthday Freebies List as well!

(Thanks to Kristi at Saving Dollars and Sense for this list!)

Q: My question is in regards to your food budget. Making “cheaper” meals for us tends to mean a lack of leftovers, which means my husband ends up buying lunch almost every day (not to mention he is rather picky about leftovers, which doesn’t help). He also works an outdoors labor-intensive job and as much as I may nag him about it, I can’t control his spending on snacks and drinks (he isn’t extravagant, but even $3-$4 a day adds up significantly!).

How does your food budget take into account your husband’s lunches? Thank you so much for sharing all of your helpful information. I look forward to hearing your advice!

A: Great Question! 

We are very blessed because my husband is able to eat lunch for free at his current job, so I only have to feed him lunch two days a week on his days off. This is obviously a big help to the budget. When he worked his previous job, I made enough for dinner to have leftovers for his lunch the next day, or he ate sandwiches.

As for your situation, you will need to be in agreement about what your financial goals are and how to get there. You may need to raise the budget to allow for him to buy lunch out, or have him make a list of affordable lunch ideas that you can purchase at the grocery store. Even buying snack foods in larger sizes and repackaging them for him will save money over him buying them at a convenience store or vending machine.

You might also find a cool lunch box (like this Lunchbox Cooler & Bottle Combo or this Black Dome Lunch Box & Thermos) to up the manliness factor. They are a little pricey, but worth the investment if using them will mean your husband takes lunch to work instead of buying convenience foods or lunch at a restaurant.

If he insists that his only option is to spend that money every day, then you have a bigger problem. I would suggest that if you can’t come to an agreement about your finances that you seek outside counsel from a pastor or trusted friend, or take the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class together. It saved our marriage!

Do you have an idea or suggestion for this reader? Leave a comment.

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*Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here.  

Living On Less: Can Minimalism Help?

If you have read my Living on Less Than $28,000 a Year series, then you know that our family has chosen to live on less so that we can be more available to our children now (rather than working multiple jobs), and have more money to give to people and projects we believe in as our income increases.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Joshua Becker of BecomingMinimalist.com about his family’s story of choosing to live with fewer material possessions which enables them to have room for their true priorities. I like Joshua’s interpretation of minimalism and his determination to simplify, so that he can focus on what is truly important in his life.

We also talked about some very practical tips to help you live with less so you can have a MORE life.

Click here to listen to the interview.

If you would like to learn more about how to live a simpler life, click here to purchase Joshua’s book Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.  

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Read our disclosure policy here.  

Get Organized! Simplify your life with a weekly plan.  

Each Sunday night I make a plan for the upcoming week to make sure that I am focusing on what is truly important in my life, rather than just crossing tasks off my to do list.

After trying many types of planners, my current favorite is to hand write my plan in my journal.

{Click photo to enlarge.}

I divide my plan into five categories: 

PERSONAL- habits that keep me healthy and happy

PEOPLE- activities that promote relationship with the people I love

PURPOSE- tasks that enable me to fulfill my purpose in life

PASSION- activities and experiences which enable me to enjoy life

PROJECTS- priority tasks that need to be finished this week

You can see last week’s plan here.  I attended a four day conference, so I had a smaller list of goals than usual. I was able to exercise a couple of days, but not as much as I had planned, so I am making exercise even more of a priority this week.

I did get the most important items done: date with my husband, time with my family and dinner with friends. Sometimes I have to remind myself (and my A Type personality) that relationships are eternal, not the other stuff on my list.

This week we are celebrating my son’s high school graduation. We will be hosting a party at our home, so it’s time to clean, decorate and prepare for the festivities. I will also be sneaking in a quick date with hubby, and hopefully have time for driving lessons and a fun outing with the 14 year old. I’ll report back on the state of my sanity next week–haha!

You can read about my daily “Brain Dump” here”and my Nightly Plan here.

As a gift to my readers, you can now print your own customizable Weekly Plan! Click here and “like” The Peaceful Mom on Facebook to access the download link.

Click the link and type in your info for the week. Once you are done, right click the form to print and check off each task as you complete it.

(You can see all of the FREE printable planners I have available here.)

What do you have planned this week? Leave a comment.

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Simple Gluten Free Weekly Menu. Gluten Free shouldn’t be difficult! Check out my daughter’s gluten free menu for this week. See our family’s $125 Budget Weekly Menu here.  

My new ebook Affordable Gluten Free Dinners is now available!

Inside you’ll find our favorite tips to spend less to eat gluten free, 12 tasty and budget-friendly main dish recipes complete with photos and serving suggestions, as well as five delicious side dish recipes. Subscribers to The Peaceful Mom Gluten Free Recipe Club can get it FREE!

Click here to get your FREE copy!

Click each purple link for the recipe or product we use! 

BREAKFAST

Ham & Egg Cups

Homemade Gluten Free Waffles with DIY Waffle Syrup

Oatmeal (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Steel Cut Oats) with raisins

Chex cereal with milk

Oatmeal Pancakes (from leftover oatmeal)

Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Toast with peanut butter

Fried Eggs with Spinach, orange slices

LUNCH

Banana Berry Smoothie, popcorn

Nachos with avocado slices

Rice cakes with peanut butter and banana slices

Leftovers from dinner

Easy Cheese Quesadillas (corn tortillas), canned peaches

Turkey Lettuce Wrap, orange slices

Homemade Pizza Bagels (gluten free bagel)

DINNER 

Ranch Chicken Casserole, steamed green beans, rice

Baked Potatoes with bacon, steamed broccoli and cheese

Burgers (we always just skip the bun), Sweet Potato Fries, Sugar Snap Peas

Hot Dogs (no bun), Baked Beans

Dinner with friends

Take Out Pizza (we order non-breaded wings for my daughter)

Chicken Enchiladas, rice, Tropical Fruit Salad

*Please note: This menu is intended to spark ideas for affordable gluten free meals, but in no way is intended as medical, nutritional or other professional advice.

If you would like menu planning help, try my favorite meal planning service eMeals*. They offer weekly lunch and dinner menus including recipes and a grocery list and they have a GLUTEN FREE Plan!

Click here for more info and use promo code PEACEFUL to get an additional 10% off their already low prices (starting at $7 a month when you sign up for a 3 month subscription)!

 See our Best Gluten Free Products List here.

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For more menu ideas, check out OrgJunkie Menu Plan Mondays.

I’m linking up to The Gluten-Free Menu Swap!

*affiliate link– Read my disclosure policy here.