white meat....best chicken deals

Ah, the glorious chicken. Produces eggs and meat for us, and even feathers for our pillows. I LOVE chicken, and could eat it five times a week, but we probably average only once or twice. So what's the beat deal for the money??

Let me just start by saying that I rarely purchase meat unless it's on sale. I've often wondered what gives the most bang for the buck with chicken. Obviously, boneless, skinless breast is the easiest to prepare and usually the tastiest, but it is also considerably more expensive, upwards from $2.50 per pound. So, I did some experiments.

First, I purchased ten pounds of legs and thighs for a sale price of 59 cents a pound. I cooked, boned and skinned them and ended up with 3.5 pounds of edible chicken, which is about $1.70 per pound. Then I compared bone in, skin on breast to boneless, skinless. My conclusion was that, overall, pound-for-edible-pound, bone in, skin on breast is the beast deal. I often find this on sale for as low as 79 cents a pound, and when I do, I fill my freezer. Boneless, skinless is rarely less than $2.00 a pound, even on sale, and it is very easy to remove the skin and bones from the other, either before or after it is cooked. Little effort for a decent cost savings. You only lose about one pound in ten after removing the unedible parts. Of course, you have to consider what you are going to be using the chicken for in the first place.

So there's my very unscientific analysis...anybody have some good recipes to share??

New system...

Here's my new strategy after not even LOOKING at my blog for weeks....I plan to post on Mondays and Thursday for those of you who really want to keep up with me.

Coming posts: which diapers are best for the money and great chicken ideas (eating it, not growing it:)!!

Movies, movies, movies...best deals in town

Ah, the movies...gotta love them! What can be more relaxing than falling asleep watching your favorite flick?? With so many options these days, allow me to tell you about some of my favorites:

The library!!! Yes, my all time favorite place to pick up a good movie. Our library has thousands of titles and lots of good documentaries. And if your favorite isn't there, you can place it on hold and they'll call you when it comes in. Best place for a freebie (if you don't count your taxes, that is.....TANSTAAFL)

Netflix: You sign up for Netflix online. There are different levels, but basically the way it works is that you pay X amount per month and get to chose from thousands of titles. For $8.99 a month, you get unlimited titles. You indicate the movies you want, Netflix sends out one or more at a time (dependent on your level) and boom! they show up in your mailbox usually the next day. When you're done, you mail them back in a prepaid envelope. This is especially great if you are in a rural area, which was the reason we participated in Maine. They have a 1 month free trial...you have nothing to lose!!

Redbox: Like a vendng machine for DVDS, these things are showing up on every corner. Swipe your credit or debit card and select a video. You are charged a buck a night until you return it...and you can return the DVD to ANY Redbox, not just the one you got it from. After 20 nights, the billing stops and you own it. You can also reserve copies online if you want a certain show. Biggest negative: not a huge selection.

Family Video: SOOOO much better than Blockbuster or Hollywood video. Huge selection, and not to be outdone by Redbox, new releases are now $1.00 for FIVE nights!!! Free kid videos, too. Can't beat that!!

So go get a movie!!

Keep Climbing, cash for (fill in the blank....)

Somedays, you just have to keep climbing...know what I mean??? Here's a shot from along Knife's Edge at Mt Katahdin this summer....we all climbed this bad boy....can't even tell you how blessed I was to have all 4 of my kids stand at the top with me! When I think about that, other stuff seems rather trivial. So just keep climbing whatever mountain God has you on right now...

Here's a question: Is it ever moral to save money at someone else's expense? We've always taught our kids that if only one person pays for the salad bar, no one else can have even a bite. That the guy who keeps a cup from every fast food place in his car so he can get "free refills" any time is as much a thief as a bank robber. That if you are given too much money back at the grocery store, you should make a trip back to turn it in....you get the point. So when the government says they'll give cash for energy "defficient" junk (cars, now appliances apparently), with money that doesn't even exist, we teach our kids that it's wrong to save money at the expense of their grandchildren. It's just not the right thing to do. I'll keep my 80s fridge till I can save enough to buy a new one myself. I'll just trust God that doing the right thing will pay off in the end. Even if that's not in this age....

end of summer, back to school, Biltmore

Ahh, summer....here I am with my sibs and Mum in Maine...but as nice as this was, reality is, right now, I am back in NC and the kids are already back to school!

So lets tackle b2s supplies. First of all...have you seen these lists that schools put out??? (Have to be careful here, my husband is the principal...and I really do love my school.!!!!!)Not just "dry erase markers" but "Expo brand, bold color, chisel tip, low odor dry erase markers." Wow. When I was in school, I bought a spiral bound notebook, and a pack of pens and pencils. Go figure....but I digress...what's an uber-mom to do? I mean, my kids get points off their grades if they don't have all 90 plastic page protectors turned in by a certain date...so I have to get them. First of all, I shop ahead. And when Staples has paper for 5 cents...I buy tons!!! But mostly, I reuse...yep, my kids use the same colored pencils and markers year after year. They've had the same LL Bean back packs for 5 years now (free with LL Bean coupon points from the credit card) and I always scrounge. When my daughter needed 90 page protectors, I tore apart my boys NC notebooks from previous years. No going out and spending $10.00 for me!! My son needed tabbed dividers. I found the ones I had 25 years ago in HS. I'm big on the "reuse" part of the three Rs. And of course, I shop around. As always, however, if I just gotta have...I go to Wal-Mart. Happy Shopping!!

And the Biltmore...OK, here's how you save on spending:)! For Christmas last year, I bought year passes for hubby and I @$99 each. For this, we get unlimited admission for a year, kids get in free and we get 10% off at the restaurants and gift shops. If I recall without looking it up, the cost for one adult admission is $37.00. We plan to go once a season. Yesterday, he and I had a great day-long date. We'll go again with the kids at Christmas.

Where have you been????

Well , hello blogger friends...sorry to leave you hanging in cyberspace. There really have been deals out there, I've just been trying to figure out what to do with my computer life...and, as usual, the summer has been crazy, but really grand!

As promised, I will send gift cards to 2 of my faithful followers (one for July and one for August)...I used a very reliable scientific system, I pointed and clicked So the winners are:

July, $10.00 Dunkin Donuts card: Jen Gaskill
August, $10.00 Target card: D Walters (who I'm assuming is Dave, let me know if I am wrong!)

I know where you worship...you will get your cards!

Some have suggested that this blog become more devotional/thoughtful....or at least a combination of that and "frugal stuff..."as I mentioned, I'm still trying to figure out what would be best....BUT I'M BACK!!! Suggestions please...

Had a yard sale Saturday so the kids could earn money....made $248.00, which was way more than we thought we would make. People will buy the strangest things!!

Kids start school next Tuesday and our Korean student flies back on Friday. We are frantically trying to finish "her" bathroom...Mike is, as I write, cutting trim and getting ready to plumb the sink and toilet. Best money save I have is my husband!!

Pictures soon....

ebay and vacations

"You ask and have not, because you ask for the wrong reasons."

Yes, I sell and buy on ebay...although lately, as with everything else, the cost to do so is getting greater. Still, I can usually make more money on ebay than I can at a yard sale. I recently sold 4 items, and after ebay and paypal fees, I made around $90.00. Chances are, if you are looking for something, you will be able to find it on ebay. When Abby was needing cans of tube feeding, the home care company charged $120.00 for a 24 can flat. I bought them on ebay, shipping included, for $12.00 a flat. WOW!

The back braces my kids needed cost our insurance company $545.00 each. The exact same brace, new on an ebay store, was $70.00. Of course, with the braces, I couldn't shop around because they cut off the cast and put the brace on. And yes, I will try to sell the used ones on ebay, though I doubt I'll be successful.

We leave tomorrow to go to Maine. I always clean the house before I leave. Sometimes I wonder if that's smart. We are going to Montreal and Quebec City before we hit Maine and I'm really excited about that part of it. This picture was taken in Quebec City last summer. Very quaint. Is there anyone who LIKES packing. Ugh. But I must go now and do the dreaded work. I'll let you know how the free hotels pan out.