Angel Food Ministries Update

In May, we talked about The Angel Food Ministires and the quality of the food.You can read about it here if you missed it. One of our readers who participates in the program has been graciously keeping up us to date and has kindly sent us a list as well as a picture of the food she got for $50!

Here is what Shawna wrote:

Picked up my Angel Food order today. For $50 I received:
32 oz 2% Bordon Milk
Family Size Salisbury Steak Entree (6 pieces)
Lean Pockets Chicken Artichoke
2 packages frozen broccoli spears
1 package frozen french-style green beans
Bean soup mix
Jiffy corn muffin mix
Pumpkin pie
1 dozen large eggs
Lean Cuisine brick-oven style mushroom pizza
1 all natural whole chicken
1 package beef and bean burritos (10)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 oz bacon wrapped fillets
4-6 oz bone-in pork chops
4 lbs breaded frying chicken
2.5 lbs breaded chicken breast fillets
2 lbs popcorn chicken
2 lbs breaded chicken tenders
1 lb chicken wings

Attached is the photo of the food. What I really appreciated was the fact that I could place my June order when I picked up my food today.

-Shawna

Shawna has had nothing but great success with this program and its definately worth the $50 for her family. With the economy nowadays I think this is really a great,frugal idea!

I must say that I am impressed and I think that I shall order if just to try it out!! If anyone else has tried Angel Food Ministries, I would love to hear about it!

Thanks Shawna for all your help, it was very much appreciated and I'm glad that you were able to share with us all!

Heaven Sent?

With all of the Buzz lately being about the rising costs of Gas & Food, the hot topic of discussion is how to cut down on costs these days. We, as the Frugally Gifted Sisters that we are, already know how to get the most for our money, yet we are always looking for new ways to save even more!

We already know about using coupons to our advantage and how to stockpile, but did you know about Co Ops and The Angel Food Ministires? I was watching the News last nite and came upon their Savings Segment (which I'm a BIG Fan of,lol!) and heard of a Food Program that I never knew about. The Angel Food Ministries sells boxes of restaurant quality food at a low money saving cost: you get $60 worth for only $30. After looking at the website, the food items are really worth the cost. For May, this is the example of the Menu what you'll get:

1.5 lb.Bacon Wrapped Beef Filet (4 x 6 oz.) 2.5 lb. Breaded Chicken Breast Filets
1.5 lb. Bone-In Pork Steaks (4 x 6 oz.)
28 oz.Salisbury Steak Dinner Entrée
2.5 lb. Beef and Bean Burritos (10 x 4 oz.)
2 lb. Popcorn Chicken
9.5 oz.Stouffer’s Flat Bread Pizza
16 oz. Cauliflower & Carrot Blend
16 oz. Corn Niblets
16 oz.Green Beans
2 lb. Fresh Onions
29 oz. Pears
32 oz.Borden 2% Reduced Fat Shelf-Stable Milk
9 oz. Breakfast Cereal
8 oz.Corn Muffin Mix
16 oz. Bean Soup Mix
1 Dozen Eggs
1 Dessert Item

You can also purchase other "Specials" with the purchase of 1 box listed above. There are no limits as to how many boxes you can purchase either.

To order, you would need to do so online and then pick up at the nearest host site. Note that there deadlines to place your order, I already missed mine for this month so I'll be sure to order next month just to try it out and see how it goes. I'll post when I do!!

To see more of the savings segment that was aired last nite, go here.

Updated:

Many of you are emailing as to whether the quality of the food is actually any good as they say. This seems to be as diverse in opinion as some do like the food and others not so much. I for one will certainly give it a try as I'm a good cook and can pretty much make good with what we have on hand and not at the expense of taste,lol! For me, its worth at least trying it out cause while one may not like it, others may. I'll never know if unless I try it myself:)

Sent in by Shawna:

The Angel Food Network is something we began doing when my husband lost his job a year ago. It is a great ministry and offers very high quality food.
- Shawna

Your Very Own Personal Shopper

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have our very own personal shopper. One who knows what sizes are just right, what kind of clothing we will actually wear, the brands we love and most of all-- Frugal Minded!

Sounds too good to be true? I've found a site that does all that and more for FREE. Are you looking to be Fashionable and Stylish all while saving money? Then read on:

From J.Crew to Old Navy and Gap to Levi's, Shop It To Me will email you as soon as the stuff you love becomes marked down or available at a significant discount. Whether it be bags or blouses, shoes or super-hot frocks, once you sign up for "sale mail," you're on your way to never paying full price again.

It's like having a personal shopper who gives a private heads up on all your favorite merchandise -- better than a sample sale! Perhaps best of all -- users, on average, save over 40% by using Shop It To Me.

Another great feature? The site is also great for Moms looking for great deals for Kids or Maternity clothing!

All you have to do is sign up and then you get to pick which stores you would like to be notified of upcoming sales. You then pick the items that interest you, be it Jeans to Khakis to skirts and the like. You then pick your sizes and voila! You'll receive updated emails (you choose the frequency of the email alerts) with the items you chose when they go on SALE without ever leaving your home or scouring the internet!

And if you change a size or the kiddies grew over the summer, no worries, you can change your preferences/sizes/stores at anytime in your account.

For me, I've already gotten a few great deals at Old Navy that I otherwise would not have known about or even missed!!

If a store isn't listed that you are interested in, just keep checking back as I was told by them when I requested a certain store, that they are always looking for and adding new stores frequently!

Now go and treat yourself to your very own affordable luxury and then sit back and relax. Let someone else find the sales for you!

Money Saving Monday

A surefire way to help you save money is by making "to do" lists believe it or not. If you take the time to plan out your bills, shopping list, tasks, etc. you accomplish more things and become focused on what needs to get done effectively. There are different types of lists and each one can play a part in helping you to save.


Types of To Do Lists

The Shopping List:
Ultimately helps you save money by making out a list of what you need or on sale before going to the store to help you resist costly "impulse buys".

The Budget:
When you have a list made out of all your bills/payment dates/amount due/debts,etc. this helps you to keep track of your finances and gives you many opportunities to see where you can potentially save money and in what categories.


The Daily Tasks:
We all have things that need to get done on a daily basis and sometimes this can seem overwhelming. However,if you break them up into small tasks thru out the day/week you feel a sense of accomplishment and self worth. Checking off each item that gets done on the list just feels good and helps to keep your busy life on track.

There are numerous free online "To Do" Lists that offer pre made lists for all occasions and some even have added benefits such as email or sending text to your cell phone. Here are few worth taking a look at:

Tadalist offers a nice selection of simple list with the ability to share your lists with anyone.

Remember the Milk offers many ways to access your lists, even through google and makes adding a task easy wherever you are

Toodledoo this site has a special tool for procastinators to help customize a schedule to make the most of your time

While these are just a few ways to help you organize your time it helps in the overall savings strategy by helping you stay on track of it all.

What ideas have you come up with to save money? I'd love to hear about!

Money Saving Monday

An idea that me and my sister came up with was to save all of our loose change and we have doing this through the use of a "Money Jar". We actually bought those electronic jars that count the change as you put it in. I bought mine on clearance at Rite for under $10 while my sister bought herself a fancy one at Target for about $20. Since getting these jars, it actually has been fun, almost a race in fact. It feels great to see the money jar fill up, to the point that we WANT change (ok, NEED change, LOL) at the store.

Where once we scrambled through our pockets for that exact change to not break a dollar bill, we now just hand over the bills, knowing full well we have that .13, but all we see is that .87 that will go in the jar. See a penny on the floor, grab it and add it to the jar, every penny does count, literally:)

Our jars have such become a part of our goal setting strategy. If we want something or need to pay a bill,we keep adding change until we've reached that goal and only then do we touch the jar (we take it to Commerce Bank who will cash the change in for free) and then we start all over. The goal can be as small as reaching $20 for a day at Chuck e Cheese with the kids, or $60 to pay a bill, etc...

It is a fun idea and its amazing at how much you really WANT to save when you see the savings adding up so why not start your own Goal Setting Money Jar and watch the money grow!!

Do you have a Money Saving idea that you'd like to share? Post it in the comments field below.

Savings Tips

It pays to be nice and when you use a product that you love I only think its fair to let the Company of said product know. In this way,I have received many Free Coupons for their product or a pack of Coupons. I always like to email them on their site telling them how I love the product and why. Just today,I received a Free coupon for a 12 pack of Canada Dry Gingerale (I am a fanatic about Gingerale) just for dropping them a "friendly email".

This also works both ways too.If a product fails to perform or you just don't like it,let the Company know! I know with Pamper Diapers,I had gotten a package that had 3 diapers that were tagless,huh! That was 3 diapers less that I paid for. I actually called the Customer Service number and they apologized and explained the process of the machines and ratio and sent me a batch of coupons by the following week with 1 coupon being for a Free pack.

So go ahead,let those Companies know that you love them,they might just reward you:)

New Year's Resolution for 2008 :Learn How to Save on Groceries

Are you interested in learning on how to save even more on your groceries this upcoming year?Would you like to learn how to use coupons to buy the things that you already buy and pay less for them?How about learning how to feed a family on a budget of $35.00 a week? You can learn all this and more in Moneysavingmom's very informative and easy to understand e-books. Visit her site to learn more on how to save.

Click Here! To find out more about Supermarket Savings 101 for the complete beginner or if your like me and just need some more helpful tips and tricks!