What happens when your world turns upside down....

We got some bad news last Friday. Really bad. After 11 years at his employer, my husband got laid off. No severance package. No nothing. Just that he was a "drain on resources" (ie the highest paid technician in his shop) and a "You can apply again in 6 months." It was not a complete shock due to his pay range, but he was employee of the month for May AND June. You just don't expect to be let go a week after an honor like that!

The good news is that because of our financial discipline and God's blessing, we didn't have to panic! Between my salary and his unemployment, we will be able to make ends meet. My husband already has a few good employment possibilities, so we are just trusting in God's plan for our family. He knows what we need better than we do, so we can rest securely in that. We certainly appreciate your prayers as we are transitioning through this phase in our family.

That being said, it is extra important that I stick to our budget! I did unfortunately go a little over our $50 budget, but as ALL snacks, quick eats, and our Sunday afternoon lunch out have been firmly CUT, I have to be able to feed this family! I figure it is more cost effective to go slightly over our grocery budget then to have to hit McDonald's, so I'm not beating myself up over it.

Here is what I got at Price Chopper,

 My pre-tax total was $32.17. I saved $50.26. (Not bad!)

This is from our Hy-Vee purchase (minus a very expensive gallon of milk,)

My pre-tax total at Hy-Vee was about $26.50. I'm not entirely sure how much I saved as Hy-Vee does not report savings totals.

I've only got a few things firmed up for our menu plan. I'm going to make the girl's cherry "cheesecake" popsicles for breakfast throughout the course of the week. Tomorrow's lunch will be a new family favorite, chili dogs with my homemade chili. I'll also make a small batch of chicken and rice, calzones, cavatini, and we will probably have crockpot cranberry chicken at some point. We'll have fruit salad on hand for snacks at the pool. Other meals will include, PB&J, frozen pizza, ham sandwiches and bean and cheese tostadas. All can be paired with the tons of frozen veggies I have in my freezer!

For more meal plans, see orgjunkie.com.