WFMW : Pork Loin or Pork Chops

I shared how I save on lunch meat by having a whole boneless ham sliced.  This is a similar but different tip.

First, I know I could do this myself at home.  I'm not a fan of raw meat.  I don't like touching it or looking at it and anything with bones is the worst for me.  I spend last Wednesday Freezer Cooking.  With the warmer weather that is finally here, meals that we can grill out were a priority when I planned my freezer meals.

Pork Loin was on sale at Meijer last week for $1.69/lb but I wanted pork chops. So I took a pork loin to the butcher and asked to have it sliced into chops instead.  I was amazed when I opened the package of pork chops and found that the Pork Loin was cut into 20 chops.  I had no idea that I'd have that many. I portioned them out into freezer bags, added a marinade and put them in the freezer for upcoming grilled out dinners.  

So that's my Works for Me Wednesday tip.  Check out hundreds of others at We are That Family.

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Works for Me Wednesday - Save on Trash Bags

Last week I told you that I try but almost never remember to take my reusable shopping bags with me when I go to the grocery store. I really do try ...

However we make save by making use of the plastic grocery bags that accumulate from my shopping trips.

A few years ago I switched from a large kitchen trash can to a smaller one that fits under my kitchen sink.  At first I was buying trash bags just like I always had even though they were too big for the trashcan.  Then one day we were out of them.  (Yes even with my stockpile I do run out of things.)  I went to the handy dandy place where I store my grocery bags, put one in the can and was amazed at how well it fit.  The handles fit right over the sides of the can.  Ever since then I have stopped buying trash bags and we use plastic grocery bags instead.

Theoretically a smaller trashcan should mean that trash is taken out more often right?  How come we seem to stuff as much in before taking it out?  Oh that's a whole different topic!

Find lots and lots of Works for Me Wednesday topics at We are That Family.

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New to Us Means Savings!

Something old to one person can be something new to another.

That principle saved us $130 last week!  As much as I tried to resist it there is now a basketball goal in our driveway.  I know with 3 boys why would I resist it? Our driveway has a slight slope straight into the street and one of our cars is always parked in the driveway.  So our driveway isn't great for basketball... or so I thought.  I'm glad that I was wrong!  Moving the car to be parked on the street at the very end of the driveway has proven to be effective for keeping the ball from rolling down the street too often.

"It's put together and ready to be stood up."

2 of my boys have spent hours out there over the last week.  Our original plan was to buy a brand new basketball hoop.  The one we had picked out was $177 ... ouch!  My hubby had noticed sometime ago that a house around the corner from us had a basketball goal laying in 2 pieces in the driveway for quite sometime (years maybe.)  He took the initiative to knock on the door and ask if they were interested in selling it.  The answer was a resounding YES!  He paid $10 for it ... yes only $10!  He replaced a bent rim and torn net for another $37.  So we were going to pay $177 for a new one but instead spent only $47!!

Whether it's at garage sale, resale store, Craig's List, Ebay or simply knocking on someone's door you never know what treasure you may find and how much money you can save!!  Of course you can reverse the principle also to declutter your house and put a little extra cash in your pocket too!

See many other Works for Me Wednesday Tips over at We Are That Family!

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Save on Drinks

It's Spring Break time.  I know a few families who are at Disney World this week.  I have also seen several bloggers who are either counting down the days to or just planning a Disney Trip.  This time last year my family and I were at Disney.  My tip this week is something we did to save a little money while at Disney.  It isn't specific to Disney though.  We have a zoo pass, Kings Island passes and like to spend Spring and Summer days at the park picnic lunches.... and for all of those things one my biggest pet peeves is how much a drink costs.  Multiplied by 5 drinks alone for my family can cost around $12-$15 dollars.  I think that's crazy!  I'm happy with water most of the time but it's nice to have something else too.

We pack reusable drink bottles ... sports bottles, water bottles, blender bottles etc ... and individual drink mix packets.  Then use a drinking fountain to fill the bottles and mix our drinks.  My boys have fun shaking the bottles and I enjoy the savings.

Get lots of other Works for Me Wednesday ideas here!

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Save on Lunch Meat

My family goes through lunch meat like crazy!  My older 2 boys take a packed lunch to school 4 days a week.  Some of those days they take a PB&J sandwich but they also like ham sandwiches too.  They get to choose one day a week to buy lunch at school.  My hubby's office is our basement so on the days he is here he eats a sandwich for lunch around 11 am and then usually has another for a "snack" around 2.  When he is on the road he is very good about packing his lunch.  I like to dice up ham to put into scrambled eggs.  And of course my 3rd boy eats lunch at home most days too!

It's been a long time since I bought lunch meat from the deli but I remember that I couldn't get it for much less than $5.00 a pound and that the "good stuff" could be over $8.00 a pound.  (GULP!!) My grocery budget couldn't handle that!!

So to save I watch for Meijer and/or Kroger to run whole boneless hams on sale in the meat department.  On sale usually means they are priced around $1.49/lb. (Full price is usually no more that $2.79.lb) Hmmmm.... $1.49/lb or $8.00/lb???? It's a no brainer what I would choose!  I take the whole ham to the butcher and ask to have it cut into lunch meat slices.  In all but one experience my hams have been sliced at the butcher counter for me with no problem.  (Only at one store did the person at the butcher counter send me to the deli for it to be sliced only to have the deli send me back to the butcher ... but my ham did get sliced in the end.) 

It's is almost always then packaged all together in one big package.  I bring it home, separate it into freezer bags and freeze the extra until we need it.  Yes it freezes well!  So today I bought a 8.8lb ham for $1.49/lb or $13.22.  That's a huge savings over what I would could have paid at the deli!!

I was making Ham and Potato Soup for dinner. I asked for part of the ham to be left unsliced so I could dice it for our soup. It was delicious and very easy by the way!!

I've only done this with ham at Kroger and Meijer.  My aunt did the same thing with a whole Turkey Breast at GFS Food Market.  I don't remember how much it cost her but it was well below what Turkey Breast would cost at the deli counter.

What do you do to save on lunch foods??  See hundreds of other Works for Me Wednesday Tips!

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