Sonja Sarr, Author at Humorous Homemaking

8 Go-to Groceries I Buy at Costco, and Costco Grocery Price List Update

Hello all. Sonja here from Practical Stewardship.

First I wanted to share a few items that I can’t do without as a frugal, health-oriented mama.

Almost EVERY TIME I go to Costco, I buy these things:

Dave’s Killer Sprouted Bread: I believe it was this summer that Costco changed their brand of sprouted organic bread to Dave’s Killer Sprouted Bread. The other sprouted bread they sold previously was fine – a bit dry, but I would take it. I see (and taste) why Costco changed their sprouted bread supplier. THIS Dave’s Killer is a winner. At $6.99 for 2 loaves, we are in! [Read more…]

10 Portable Meals On-the-Go to Save Time and Money

In the Spring of 2014 we officially became a soccer family. And you know what time spring soccer games for 9 year old girls happen? If you guessed dinnertime, you are right! As a mom, and a frugal mom at that, I quickly realized that if we were going to avoid the Taco Bell Drive-Thru, I was going to have to think ahead and get some portable meals going.

Seriously, it adds up going through the drive-thru. Don’t deceive yourself thinking that you are buying something from the dollar menu. Each and every dollar adds up. You get in debt dollar by dollar, and you also get out of debt dollar by dollar. You can go buy a pack of tortillas, and a can of beans for a couple of dollars. And even though you can buy these foods pre-made, if you use these convenience foods to make burritos, it is WAY cheaper than buying a bean burrito at a fast food restaurant. You could make about 10 burritos for the cost it takes you to buy 2 or 3 in the drive-thru. [Read more…]

Four Week No-Spending Challenge Results

I just finished up my third 4-Week No-Spending Challenge. I am so thankful it’s over, too! While I love painting our family into a monetary corner occasionally. I love that we spend even less than our frugal selves normal spend. We always try to eat frugally, but during a no-spending challenge, we especially hunker down and eat through our pantry.

You can go here to read the exact parameters of the four week no-spending challenge. But I really only allowed myself to buy perishables for four weeks. We were to “shop” out of pantry and freezer for the month. I was a GREAT exercise, but it’s sure nice to be done. [Read more…]

4 Week No-Spending Challenge

A year ago I laid out and executed my first no-spending challenge. Go here to see the first no-spending challenge results. I liked it so much I thought I’d do it again around the start of the year since the new year is a fabulous time reevaluate spending habits and get a good look at the budget (really any day is a great day to do this don’t you think?:). Well, since the Sarr household is cruising into the lean months, we decided it would be a great time to take another no-spending challenge. [Read more…]

20 Unusual, Crazy, and Weird Ways to Save Money Part 2

Post by Contributing Author, Sonja Sarr of Practical Stewardship.

20 Unusual, Crazy, and Weird Ways to Save Money Part 2

I just posted 20 Unusual, Crazy, and Weird Ways to Save Money Part 1 over at my blog, Practical Stewardship. You can go there to find other strange and different ways to save money.

So today I am going to let you in on a few little secrets. Secrets of how we save money. Some of these ways to save money are unusual, some are crazy, some are weird, and some are even embarrassing…or maybe they are completely normal to you.

Anyway, each one of these ways to save in and of themselves are not a big deal. At all. Most of these ideas will just save a few pennies here, and a few pennies there. But you know what? If you are serious about saving money, you think differently than the typical person thinks. You think beyond the silly thing you are actually doing to save those pennies. What I am actually sharing is not these crazy and weird ways to save money. I am exposing my brain to the way the saver thinks. [Read more…]

How to Save Money Eating Out Part One

I’ll be honest. I try to avoid eating out at almost all costs…figuratively AND literally! I try to think ahead, use the crock-pot or make portable meals a lot (go HERE to see 80+ different and easy crock-pot recipes). Sometimes with our crazy lives eating out is unavoidable. You’ve gotta spend some money, but there are still ways to spend less.

1. Eat an apple, banana, carrot or some other kind of fruit or vegetable or crackers or something so you aren’t as hungry when you eat out… [Read more…]

Costco Grocery Price List Update + 10 Frugal Convenient Foods to Buy at Costco

Post by Contributing Author. Sonja from Practical Stewardship

Do y’all have a Costco nearby? I sure hope you do, because shopping at Costco can save you LOTS of money…well, that is if you buy the right things. Honestly you have to be discerning everywhere you shop. You can’t just think, ‘since I’m shopping at Costco, everything is a great deal’. Simply not true. Cereals usually aren’t. Meats? Some really aren’t that great of a deal. You’ve really gotta know your target (not the store Target:) grocery prices so you actually know what a truly great deal is.

Thrifty Thinking

In order to keep updated on my target grocery prices, twice a year I update my Costco Grocery Price List which contains about 150 natural and organic foods. That way I can compare it to other stores and know, ounce for ounce, what a great deal is. I just finished updating my Costco Grocery Price List, so you can go HERE to see the latest Costco Grocery Price List. FYI I don’t buy all or maybe not even half of the foods I have on the list, but I provide it to help people compare prices and be good stewards of the resources with which God has blessed us (since I use the list to compare prices too!). [Read more…]

Frugal No-Candy Easter Basket Ideas

Frugal No-Candy Easter Basket Ideas. Hmm…by the title I am not saying “Frugal No-Fun Easter Baskets,” either. And I’m not saying there isn’t a place for candy. I just know that my kids will be surrounded by sweets, treats, and desserts from family, friends, and church. Anyone else in the same boat? In fact we have an old Easter basket bucket that we dump candy in from all of the holidays, and my kids still have candy in it from Christmas…2013. Oops! But they are just candy canes. Oh, they work their way through the basket, but there is no shortage of things to celebrate, and people often use candy as a go-to celebration tool. [Read more…]

What to Do When You and Your Spouse Don’t Agree About Money

Hello everyone! This is Sonja Sarr again, from Practical Stewardship thankful to be guest posting here on Stacy’s blog.

A few years ago it was apparent that it was time for the Sarrs to get a new-to-us family car. We bought our little white 1994 Toyota Tercel for $5000 cash in 1999 when we got married. We paid cash $4950 for our used Volkswagon Passat Wagon in 2006. By the time 2009 rolled around we had our third child. Before having our little guy, I made sure three car seats would fit in the back seat. We made it work, but it was anything but ideal.

Thrifty Thinking

By the time 2010 rolled around the car was falling apart little piece by little piece. We weren’t really excited about all of the little plastic parts disintegrating: the head rest, the glove box (several times-we ended up holding it in place with part of a plastic coat hanger), the locks, side mirrors, and just about anything else on the car’s interior that was made of plastic. To make it even more interesting, Jonathan (also affectionately known as JSarr) was virtually certain the engine was built around the alternator. Very strange. It was really strange, actually. It was time to get a new-to-us car.

We had already paid off JSarr’s $38,000 college debt, [Read more…]

3 Ingredient Crock-pot Bean Dip

Like Stacy, I love my crock pot. The crock pot is convenient, the crock pot is handy, the crock pot is economical, and I could go on and on, but I will stop before I bore you. In our house we have the following sized slow cookers: a 7 quart, a 6 quart, a 4.5 quart, maybe a 3 quart (my dad just gave to my 7 year old), 2-2 quarts (I had to buy one to use when we were road trippin’ to save money because I left mine at home), and 2 Little Dippers (bonus that I wouldn’t have bought myself). I’ll sometimes have 3 crock pots going all at the same time with things like yogurt in one, refried beans in one, and granola or practically free chicken broth in another. In fact I post two Slow Cooker Saturday recipes a month. Just call me Slow Cookin’ Sonja I tell ya’. [Read more…]