What will you get?

• 5 dinner meal plans with recipes
• Complete grocery list
• Breakfast, Lunch, and Stockpile suggestions
• The best sales listed for you and connected to current coupons
• Color coded items on lists in case one meal is not for you
• The satisfaction of looking incredibly together in front of friends and family

What are you waiting for? Sign up today! ---->

Pop Quiz: What Should You Do With Your Life?

Remember scoring your life using those remarkably accurate quizzes in the back of Cosmo or TeenBeat magazines? [You there, in denial? I saw you checking off boxes in your Sassy mag!] Well, I know you've missed those days, so I've devised a trusty little quiz to help you determine what to do with your life! You can thank me later.

Simply answer the questions as quickly and honestly as you can. Be sure to keep careful record of your responses, as they could critically affect the path your life takes.

1. What is your sentiment regarding meal planning?

     a) Meal planning? What's meal planning?

     b) Ooh! I know someone who does that!

     c) I tried that once. Lost the paper. Quit.

     d) Love it, mean it!  But I don't have time.
         I'm busy, woman!

2. For which of the following would you use dinner times with your family?

     a) To get my kids off the phone/computer/video
         games

     b) To teach these pesky kids to try new foods

     c) To bond mightily as a family unit in the style of
         a 70s era sitcom

     d) Um, for eating? Hello?

3. What would you do with an extra $50 a week?

     a) Invest it responsibly in a variety of
         strategically diversified mutual funds

     b) Support my Starbucks habit

     c) Sink it into the betterment of my family and me

     d) Buy half of a tank of gas

4. What would you think if you were able to cut back on eating out?

     a) I'd have more green in my wallet!

     b) I'd have less muffin in my top!

     c) It would be nice if the drive thru cashier forgot
         my name.

     d) I'd feel satisfied, gratified and detoxified

5. Finally, what could an extra couple of hours a week do for your livelihood?

     a) Taking up knitting has always been a dream of
         mine...

     b) I could finally get to those baseboards.

     c) I could learn a foreign language: "¿Cómo se
         puede ahorrar dinero en la cocina, Mama?"

     d) Can anyone say salsa dancing?

I hope you have kept a careful tally of your responses to aid you in the highly scientific extrapolation of data collected in this analytical survey. Prepare yourself for the results of your quiz.

[thoughtful pause]

If you chose answers a, b, c or d to any of the above listed questions, you are the perfect candidate for Common Cents Meals! Your life can be simplified and your time and money saved by simply subscribing to this meal planning service. You can confidently walk into Publix with your pre-printed list and a fistful of coupons and OWN IT. Claim your savings and cook for your family. Bring it home, sister!

Congratulations, based on your responses, you are qualifed to enjoy weekly savings and meal satisfaction with Common Cents Meals. You can sign up just over here on the right with that shiny Subscribe button ---------->

Welcome, friends!

Who's In?

So, how are you liking those meals? Not too shabby, huh? Those of us in the know this week are noshing on shrimp, pork chops, roast beef and chicken. Oh, the variety! The simplicity! Clearly not all of these meats at once. That would just be wasteful, thus defeating my purpose in life: eat well while saving money! Not to mention unnecessarily carnivorous. But for an average of $2.50 a person, we're rocking pasta, BBQ, Mexican and Italian. Oh, I'm sorry....am I tempting your palate? Or your pocketbook? I like for those two things to be simultaneously satisfied.


Did I mention the easy recipes? The healthy options? Just slipped that right in, didn't I? In case you missed out on last week's menus, have a little look see:

August 11 Menu


Who's hungry? Who's ready to save big at Publix this week? Who's ready for me to stop saying "who's"? That's you! Jump on board! Once you sign up, we promise to stop talking about you at our Secret Savers Meetings. (If you plan to attend, please be aware that the meetings are strictly BYOC. My savings cape is just for me. You'll acquire your own after subscribing to this service.)

Save Money, Save Time!

Saving money at the grocery store is three part:

1. Meal plan: Planning meals around sales and seasonal produce to avoid eating out is a huge money saver.
2. Use coupons: There are so many coupons available for the products you use everyday that will save you money at the store!
3. Match sales to coupons: This step gives you what I like to call Wicked Big Savings. Getting one of these matches sets off my savings bell (I admit, the bell is only in my head, but if you could hear it, you'd be knocked off your feet.) and signals a stock up item.

Signing up for the Common Cents Meals service will take the work out of this process and deliver it to your inbox each week! Tied with a shiny red cyber bow! You will be the proud recipient of:

• Five (5) well-rounded dinner menus for your family
• Easy to cook recipes for each of the meals
• Tips for saving money by sharing ingredients between meals
• A complete grocery list pre-written for you with spaces to add your own items
• Weekly sales and coupon match ups sorted into breakfast, lunch, and snack items
• A suggested list of items worth buying at a low price to stockpile.
• An extra 1-2 hours per week that you don't have to spend figuring out what's for dinner and what you need at the grocery store
• A potential $200 monthly savings on your grocery bill

What more could you ask for? Check us out now for just $1 to see what it's all about!

Common Cents Math Lesson 'O the Day

Things are tight for everyone right now. I've heard from several people that they don't think they can swing an extra $14.99 a month. But then I throw on my money saving cape and map out my simple math problem.

You can save a significant amount of money using these meal plans, as they are based on sales! Let's say you can save an average of $30-$75 a week from your grocery bill. Call it $50? I'm not a mathematician, but let's take a little look see:

You pay $14.99. You save $50 a week. $50 times 4 weeks = $200. So, you have just gained yourself $185.01. Is this REALLY difficult math? If you'd like me to get into advanced math, we could place a value on your hourly time. And your sanity, which you will save by not having to plan meals. Or make a list. Or find coupons or sales by yourself. I could go on.

So, tell your friends! Try this line: "Hey, [glance around furtively] I know this place? Where you can put in $14.99 and take home $185.01. It's legal, I swear!" Let me know how that goes.

Happy saving!

It looks good, but....

....we're trying to watch our weight.

Well, who isn't? I try to choose recipes that are well-rounded in terms of integrating fresh produce and balancing cost. I'll be the first to tell you that in my house I'm going to be using the "light" version of sour cream, cheese, mayonnaise, and cream-based soups, but I am leaving the recipes as written for those who appreciate the original recipe. Personally, I cannot tell the difference in using these lighter alternatives, especially in a dish mixed with other great flavors!

Don't let the ingredients stop you....tweak them to meet your family's needs! Eating a healthy, home-cooked meal is going to be better on your waistline and your wallet than eating out every time.

Go Back to School with Common Cents!

Back to school time! How can you save time and money, AND cook well-rounded meals for your family? By subscribing to Common Cents Meals, of course! Five menus aligned with Publix's sales and a complete grocery list including breakfast and lunch items on sale? How could you go wrong? (Answer: Clearly, you cannot.)

Let me know if you would like to try the service this week for free! Email me at commoncentsmeals@yahoo.com to see what's cooking this week.