1) Breakfasts - eggs, piece ham or chicken, raw veggies like cucumbers or peppers, banana, almond milk

2) Chili - 2 suppers

3) Scouse - leftover - 1 supper for 2

4) Meatloaf - leftover - 1 supper for 2

5) Burgers and roasted veggies - 1 supper for 2

6) Tuna Salad and side of veggies - 1 supper for 2

7) Salads with ham, chicken, or tuna - 4 lunches for me

8) Tuna and guacamole with carrots - 2 lunches for me

9) Lunch Out - 1 lunch for me

10) Stir with chicken sausage and veggies - 1 supper for 2

11) Salmon patties - 2 lunches for DH

12) Shepherd's Pie - 4 lunches for DH

13) 1 leftover lunch for DH

1) Pay off cc #1 by 12/31/2017. To do this, make at least $225.10 in payments monthly ($79.00 per payday from my paychecks and $67.10 from my husband).

I made some significant changes in my health insurance enrollment at work because health insurance premiums for myself and my husband went from $111.00 to $163.00 per payday and my dental went from $0.00 to $6.00 per payday. So, my husband asked me to take him off of my health insurance. This will result in about $80.00 less being taken from my pay each payday. My plan for this "extra" $80.00 is to send $40.00 to cc #1 and put $40.00 in medical savings for any out of pocket potential medical expenses.

2) Continuing contributing to savings as normal.

3) Contribute any survey money, rebates, coupon savings, and credit card rewards to cc #1 payoff.

4) Grow as much of my own food as I can. Buy as much other food from organic local sources. This will help me to eat as clean as I can.

5) I will continue to use a refill fountain cup as a way to challenge myself to spend as little as possible on beverages. I will funnel my savings to cc #1.

6) I will continue to use my pocket change as a way to pay part of my grocery store bill.

Hi, everyone. I overspent some last week, but I am determined not to let it get me down. I was sick with a sinus infection and eating badly, so I wound up buying things I probably did not need. I will be eating a lot of things from my garden for the next couple of weeks. I did use $0.42 pocket change to pay part of my grocery bill today. I will send that same amount to cc #1.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2040.94

$40.00 regular savings deposit
$50.00 cc #1 payment

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $2130.94

Here are my meals for the coming week:

1) Thai Curry Salad -

http://www.thecandidadiet.com/thai-cucumber-salad/

2) Cabbage Marsala and a steak - http://www.thecandidadiet.com/cabbage-masala/

3) Salad with mustard tarragon dressing and salmon http://www.thecandidadiet.com/spring-salad-mustard-tarragon-...

4) Thai Red Curry Chicken http://www.thecandidadiet.com/thai-red-curry-chicken/

5) Breakfasts - eggs, chicken, and smoothies with spinach, spirulina, almond milk, seeds, and stevia

6) Roast Beef and vegetables

7) Paleo Shepherd's Pie http://paleogrubs.com/simple-shepherds-pie

8) Baked Chicken and Vegetables

9) Chicken Stir Fry

10) Tuna Salad

We are a little low on funds this week, so I am setting up a food challenge for this week. I am attempting as much as possible to use food we already have in our cupboards and fridge. Here are our planned meals:

1) Breakfasts - eggs, smoothies, veggies, and piece of fruit. I already had 3 out of the 4 dozen eggs needed, butter, coconut oil, carrots, and almond milk. 7 breakfasts

2) Meatloaf w/ side of veggies. I already had sweet potatoes. 2 lunches for DH

3) Lunches Leftover From Last Week. 5 lunches for DH

4) Ham and Bean Soup. I already have the beans, herbs, seasonings, and homemade broth. 4 lunches for me

5) Salads with garbanzo beans. I already have the beans, kale, green onions, sea salt, black pepper, radishes, lettuce, and carrots. The kale, green onions, and lettuce are actually growing in my garden. 3 lunches for me

6) Turkey curry. I already have the seasonings. I will use a turnip instead of a parsnip because I already have it.

http://stupideasypaleo.com/2012/12/26/leftover-turkey-yellow... 1 supper for DH and me.

7) Meatloaf turned into stir fry. I already will have the meatloaf from making it for DH. I already have the seasonings and salsa. 1 supper for DH and me.

8) Tuna Salad. I already had leftover homemade mayo and 3 cans of tuna. 1 supper for DH and me

9) Baked Chicken w/ potatoes and green beans. I already have the herbs and seasonings. 1 supper for DH and me

10) Leftover Chicken. Haven't Decided What to Do With it Yet. 1 supper for DH and me

I think that will come close to meeting all of our food needs this week. I love Food Challenges.

Hi, everyone. I get paid again tomorrow, so I have already allocated funds to go to savings, debt, and bills. My retirement comes out of my pay before I see it.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance $678.14

Deposit to Car Savings $20.00
Deposit to Regular Savings $40.00
Deposit to House Savings $20.00
Deposit to Professional Savings $20.00
Deposit to HVAC savings (eventual replacement) $3.00
Deposit to AAA/property tax savings $4.00
cc #1 payment $50.00

New 52 Week Challenge Balance $835.14

I found a penny in my desk at work today. I will use it to pay part of my grocery bill Saturday.

I am going to do a pantry challenge, as I think I have been spending too much on food and need to scale back to pay more on debt. I have been really busy and stressed out with a big project at work, the biggest part of which will not end until about the beginning of April. In an effort to keep myself sane, I need to get out of my building at lunch and think about something else. I need to find a way to do that involves buying less stuff when I do it. I can't do the usually obvious things like bringing a sandwich or some kind of pasta/rice dish from home, as I can't eat grains. I think I will try to do something like buying a vegetarian salad and taking a package of tuna and some fruit with me. That makes my salad at least $1.00 cheaper. I can also use my fountain card (I already do most of the time). This strategy should help me to still say sane and get a break from work while also not breaking my budget.

Hi, everyone. Here is my food plan for the next 2 weeks. I will need to buy more fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and almond milk in order to have enough food.

1) Eggs/Smoothies/Meat
14 breakfasts for me and my husband

2) Leftover Lunches Already Made Up (just have to be thawed out)
2 lunches for my husband

3) Salads with Beans or Tuna
14 lunches for me

4) Beef Stew
5 lunches for my husband

5) Meatloaf with side of veggies
2 suppers for me and my husband

6) Burgers with side of veggies
2 suppers for me and my husband

7) Chicken Soup
4 suppers for me and my husband

8) Baked Fish with side of veggies
2 suppers for me and my husband

9) Tuna Salad
2 suppers for me and my husband

10) Bean Soup
4 lunches for me

11) Lunches for my husband
7 more lunches for my husband (nothing specific in mind yet)

Hi, everyone.

It was payday yesterday for me, so I have already allocated for 1/3 of the mortgage (in a 3 payday month), allocated for car insurance, and paid the electric bill. I also found a penny on the ground outside a store today. I used $0.69 I had in pocket change to pay for part of my grocery bill.

I got my latest mortgage statement and I paid $155.36 in principal last month. Woo-hoo!

So, here are my update 52 Week Challenge numbers.

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $5592.82

$20.00 slush deposit
$40.00 regular savings deposit
$50.00 cc #1 payment
$155.36 principal paid on mortgage

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $5858.18

I will delay making more cc #1 payments until the end of the coming week because of some other expenses.

I will not be going anywhere for the holidays or having company. My challenge for the next two weeks will be to make as many meals as possible from the food I already have. I will have about $135.00 unexpected expenses at a chiropractor in the next two weeks and want to make sure that does not impact the food budget or other areas unnecessarily.

As part of my recent exercises in gratitude, I have come to realize that whatever my problems, I am incredibly blessed. I have a husband who loves me, friends, a job, a car to get around, money to buy what I need and some of what I want, and the ability to grow food. In the past six months, I have donated food, pet supplies, household goods, clothing, and other items to 1) my college campus's food pantry that serves students in financial need, 2) a local domestic crisis center, 3) the local humane society, and 4) my college campus's office that serves international students.

Hi, everyone.

After creating my budget for my 3 paycheck month, I decided to make a $100.00 payment to cc #1. Woo-hoo!

Old 52 Week Challenge Balance: $5471.68

$100.00 payment to cc #1

New 52 Week Challenge Balance: $5571.68

Today, I also used some leftover pocket change to pay for part of my grocery bill. It was a small amount and I can't even remember how much, but I try to do this every time as it lessens the amount coming out of the checking account for the purchase and empties my purse of excess change. Woo-Hoo!

I also plan to start my own seeds for a vegetable garden. I need to check on the exact time I need to start that, but I plan to plant the seeds in old egg cartons and put the cartons under a plastic container to make a mini greenhouse so they stay warm. Starting my own seeds will save me some money in the long run and also result in an increased harvest due to planting them earlier. I have not done this before, so I need to read up on it. This is a frugal activity, but requires some work on my part. Wish me luck.