Another quick point. It's important to understand where you're coming from. If you spend $15 a day on lunch at a cafe right now and you find something in the supermarket that's $10 and you're going to be happy eating it then by all means grab it. Sure $10 per day for lunch isn't cheap but it's a $5 saving over what you ate yesterday. My point is you don't have to go from $75 a week on lunches at the cafe to being Christine in one jump. You can do it in smaller steps and you can do it without feeling bad about it.
This is honestly THE best point. You don't have to go from 0 to 60 all at once. Take it a step at a time. Like your lunch example or making your own iced coffee instead of Starbucks. Those small steps WILL add up as time goes on. To eat out anymore is going to cost even 1 person $10+ (often $20+). So having a $5 frozen meal or pizza on hand already saves quite a bit. Cause some days cooking is WAY too hard.
@@ginadowd1713I'm not saying you should feel bad but the reality is that people can be hard on themselves and I'm just making the point that progress is progress even if it isn't where you want to end up.
Exactly! Pizza is a great example for this. Large pepperoni pizza for take-out in my area is about $20 (with tip). But, a large non-frozen pizza at Walmart is $10. A frozen pizza is about $7. But, I can make it fresh at home for less than $5. It's kind of a "good, better, best" idea.
If may add my 2 cents... Married 33 years I have always cooked most every night. And cooked enough for hubby to take lunch the next day me and the kids split what was left or scrounged up something. 29 years in I added up lunch at $5 a day saved us like 50 to 60 grand!! 😳. So spend a few more bucks at the store and eat a good lunch a few times a week.
Finally! A financially responsible young person making the effort to make her life better. Mega kudos to you, Kaitlyn!!! Christine....you were so kind and supportive of her. Kudos to you for taking the time to help and encourage her along her path to be more frugal. I love this concept for future videos.
That comment is rudely unkind and stereotypical, Multiladybug Assuming that most young folks are fiscally irresponsible? Where do you get off saying stuff like that? Be nice!
Because most of the younger generations have been raised to enjoy instant gratification. It was meant as a compliment to the young lady that was in this video. Relax your butt cheeks, sweetie.@@jadedgramma
You can compliment someone without mocking others. What you did was “compliment” someone while insulting everyone else of her age while relying on negative stereotypes about people her age. That’s not necessary.
I hope you do this AGAIN! This was fun to see you helping another family! I think she did a great job. I would ask that the room mate keep their things in their own cabinet. I wouldn't want to see what I couldn't have. Sorry but I couldn't do the same sandwich for a week lol. Your doing great Kaitlyn! We all need help to get ideas to change things up or save even more.
Roommates should absolutely use different cabinets! I could never deal with not being able to have things or wondering if my stuff was used, especially when on a tight budget! Also I agree about lunches, I could do 3 or 4 a week the same but not EVERY day. I usually take leftovers but leave my mom a lunch she doesn't need to heat up, it's easier with her mobility issues to not risk dropping something hot, so we'll have 2-3 options a week so she can rotate. PB&J as something that doesn't spoil & can be in the fridge & cabinet for weeks then occasionally I'll get a small package of turkey, or make egg salad from like 3 eggs for 2 lunches, or chicken salad if there is leftovers from a dinner, or a garden salad with leftover salmon or chicken or with chickpeas, ways to add variety without breaking the bank or wasting food.
I had to buy my own food for lunch in high school I made 1 can tuna last 5 sandwiches-lotsa mayo! A bag of apples lasted a week too. I think I bought milk at school. A treat was a slice of cheese for my sandwich lol (This was 1982)
you can save even more when you cook a roast or chicken and take a sandwich out ofit to work or make a plate from the items you had with the chicken or roast left overs dinner from some night you can freeze it and warm it up at work 15.00 lunch is a lot
Omg, can this please be a series? I would love to submit our grocery budget for help. We have a 2yo and I'm expecting our second and I am struggling to figure out why we are spending $800+, sometimes close to $1000 a month on groceries for 2 adults and a toddler in the Midwest. I'm sure I'm missing something really obvious but my pregnancy brain needs help 😅
Loved this format of a video. I'm pretty much love all the videos LOL, but I loved The way you kind of walked through this with her. It was great. Thank you Christine.
This was a great video! Thanks to Kailyn for putting herself out there and being a Guinea pig at getting Christine’s advice, and for doing a really good job. Half the battle, is just being aware, and you’re already using several good practices. Knowing prices and best places will come after time and experience
I am in awe of Kaitlyn and her husband being so focused on debt repayment. Here are some more tips: the 10 lb bag of chicken quarters is $7.72 at my Walmart, but will require a bit of prep work to package up in appropriate size portions. Canned salmon can be a good substitute in some bowl recipes, but not others. Frozen, pink, wild-caught salmon is often the cheapest of the non-canned choices (6.99) When we were young and penniless, it was very hard to make investment choices in bulk food, especially before we had built up a pantry. For snack items, my husband was nearly addicted to Mother's cookies and Diet Coke. We each had a fun money budget, and those items came out of that, not the grocery budget.
With roomates, more organization of food is needed. Like a box in the fridge and freezer, and a dedicated cabinet for food. Otherwise things get lost in the chaos of shared spaces.
Designated cupboards , shelves , boxes all help. I always had a hard time with roommates taking my food , it adds up especially when you are rationing things for meal planning then I’d have to just go without .
Bless this sweet girl’s heart!! She really is trying! Christine, thank you so much for helping her! She is going to learn so much from you and so quickly! I had to learn it all the hard way,( from the school of hard knocks, from poverty, and ‘The Tightwad Gazette’…Best book ever when struggling to feed your family and making ends meet, creatively!!), so you are so wonderful to share with her so she and her husband will have such a golden chance of being really successful!! 🌟🌟🌟! I’m so PROUD OF YOU!!
You should see the prices in Southern California where I live. But then your hair would turn white with shock. I love your frugal philosophy and your videos. You are teaching people what their parents failed to teach them.
It's unfortunate that most of us carry a lot of debt. But, Katelyn (sp?) is waaay ahead of a lot of people by actually setting up a budget and developing steps to maintain it!! Great job!!! Thank you Katelyn and Christine for sharing this!! I'll be praying for you all!!❤❤
I’m chiming in before watching the whole video- but definitely organizing and separating your food from roommates is a MUST. Not to be a grade A d*ck- but to get a clear picture yourself w/o stress of what you have and what you can create with what you have so you can be exact with your list and food decisions before you go to the store. And to be able to come to these decisions- quickly!
Totally agree, separate and decant your stuff into 1-2 cupboards, a few Dollar tree containers will go far, and then put your stuff together, and theirs together, so it looks more like you just organized yours vs separated theirs. Then you know what you have, and can budget accordingly. Love that you did all this instead of digging yourself into a big debt hole!
For Caitlin in Tempe... there is this great thing called. Produce on wheels and for $15 you can get 70lbs of great produce...also Market on the move, for $10 a week, you can get random things. They post the items twice a week, at times they have Starbucks coffee, Dr Squatch soap, and more..so worth it...Frys sends us weekly ad in the mail.. Buy meat and food during the sales. Hope this helps!! Love the fit and frugal mom video's...so helpful...
After shopping krogers for years i can tell you that they usually have certain food groups on sale at the same time each month. Like butter is on sale (cheaper than aldis ) towards the end of the month, around the first of the month is their buy one get one sale for proteins. It can take a couple of months to institute this practice but you can but you can buy enough till the next sale is on.😂
I always look for the clearance items at Kroger. I very seldom shop at Walmart. In my area, it is routinely higher than Kroger. I also have aldi and food lion all within a few miles of each other. I shop around and may go to all of the stores within the same week. Depends on what I need and wherever it’s the cheapest.
From someone who owned a coffee shop for years, the single best way to make iced coffee at home if you don't have the fancy equipment for it is freeze dried coffee made correctly. *Note, freeze dried is not the same as instant. Needs to be freeze dried, or it's really lackluster* You can get a container of what is basically the best quality available online for like $12 and it makes probably 30ish full size servings. The packages will say to use a teaspoon for 8 ounces, I find a tablespoon for 12 ounces (Of liquid, exclude the ice volume) to be my preference.) Mix with cold water, add whatever you want. It's so much better than anything else you can buy off the shelf of a grocery store premade. If you like it "Latte style" mix the grounds with 1-2 ounces of cold water and mix, top with milk. If you prefer your coffee hot always mix the grounds with a bit of cold water first to get it to dissolve, if you don't the boiling water will burn the coffee and it will taste bitter. As someone who is a bit of a coffee elitist after making it the correct way with the best machines money can buy for years, this is my go to method when I don't have high end equipment available. Graham method is slightly cheaper but we're still talking less than 50 cents per serving and honestly his way is disgusting lol.
Didn't know freeze dried was a thing! I make cold brew in a half gallon masson jar so it's less than buying pre-made at the store but more expensive than the super affordable at home methods. Is the freeze dried less acidic, like cold brew or does it give more of an iced coffee taste?
I'm a farmer and I raise laying hens. If you're scared your eggs have gone bad, do the egg float test. Look it up on RUclips and you will see exactly how to do it. Eggs really do last much longer than people think. And if you can manage to get fresh free range eggs from a farmer in your area you will be getting even higher quality and nutrition. My family of 4 eats a dozen eggs most days. But I know that's not possible for many people, we just get a lot of eggs from our happy hens. One of our favorite supper ideas is to make rice and put sunny side up eggs on top of the rice. Season it however you want and saute veggies of your choice (optional) and put them on top of the eggs. Frugal and healthy :)
ICED COFFEE = Make a pot of strong coffee. If you like it sweet add your sweetener while it's still hot. Let cool and refrigerate overnight. Shake and pour over ice and add milk/creamer of choice. I don't use the flavored syrups, but I do like to add just a few drops of vanilla extract. You can make ice cubes with the sweetened coffee to keep your drink from getting watered down, but I'm too lazy for that and drink it fast enough that I don't have any problems with that.
👏 Yes, love Ants On A Log! She's got a healthy & delicious snack there! It's also great with almond butter & dried cranberries for a change of pace, though a little more pricey.
C19 lockdown was a real eye opener for me when it came to how other people do things. The stories I heard of people who only buy 2 packs of toilet roll because they live alone, absolutely wild. Or they buy a 2 pack of bar soap. None of this stuff goes off so if you want to save some money and the 36 pack of toilet roll is on sale grab it. If you can afford it, grab 2! It can sit in the back of your cupboard for 12 months and be there when you need it. Any nonfood cleaning item or personal item like shampoo, toothbrushes, whatever. Never ever pay full price for them and if they're cheap and you can afford it, grab a few.
I used to do that all the time, but I have very little storage space in the place I live now, so I really have to pick and choose what I buy in a large size, it's a pain!
Thank you both for doing this for an audience. It is helpful to see a real person walk through changes in their groceries. It was eye opening for me, and helpful to see some of my patterns exposed.
Omg! The best crossover seeing Graham Stephan in this video, I love both of your channels lol. Love this type of video, I think it is SUPER helpful to see you review other people's grocery shopping & the tips you can give.
Kailyn, you are doing an awesome job! I know it’s tight right now, but you will get through it and be so happy you worked so hard to pay off your debt. Huge props to you and your husband! 👏🏻
I live in an apartment and I have a storage shelf in my room that holds extra items that I have on hand. I store containers with extra spices, salt, sugar, flour, oats, rice and more. This is the perfect solution for someone living in an apartment with roommates and you can store closed food items in tubs in other areas of your home. Use the linen or hall closet for extra food storage even if you need to.
Go Kailyn! I just wanted to add that I loved Arnold Palmer drinks for a refreshing summer drink, so I made them at home. It was very easy and so tasty. Just brew the black tea and make lemonade. I used lemon juice, sugar and water. The best part is you can make them more tea tasty or more lemony!!!!
Great job on debt pay off. 38 years of marriage here. We made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot. I promise you will never regret being low or no debt.
Great value mac and cheese is $2.23 for each box where I live. Avacado on sale are $2.59 each and dollar stores do not sell much food, certainly nothing fresh and usually cost as much or more than Walmart. Eggs are $7.40 - $9.98 per dozen, dollar tree tortillas are $3.50 per package. We do not have a budget that allows shampoo etc from somewhere else, just food, rent, bills. Your stores are much, much cheaper!!
Fun video! During the intro I thought it was going to be a video of your daughter shopping for groceries at college, which would be an interesting video as well.
Another way to save on soap is to try bar soap for at the sink and for showering. Bar soaps tend to last longer than liquid, so you do to not have to repurchase as often. Most brands are inexpensive. Also, if you have kids, they tend to use way more soap than they need to with liquid soaps, so the bar soap can mean less waste.
Kailynn....WELL DONE!! For the Hunts Pasta sauce...I add in my basil, oregano and mushrooms...if you like that. When I was newly married, we left the mushrooms out. I personally dislike store premade meatballs. I make my own and freeze them in groups of 30. So that might be a saving place....look at what's in the freezer section and figure out the cost if you made it yourself. Hidden $$$. Thanks Christine for this! I would TOTALLY shop with you. Im close to Moab...but on the Colorado side. I'm relearning to shop for two. My last child just left for college.
I also doctor up the Hunts pasta sauce. Since I have a pretty well-stock spice supply, I just add a bunch of spices (garlic, basil, oregano, etc). Also, a splash of balsamic vinegar gives it a really nice depth of flavor.
I love how nice you are, Christine. You aren’t judgy about what this young wife has in her pantry and fridge. You are helpful and lovely - and funny too! ❤️
I would challenge her to shop at Aldi for a couple weeks and compare to Walmart. I'd bet her grocery bill would be cut in half. It would be cool to see an update!
This gal was so brave and good to do this! How about planning meals with the ads/apps of stores before heading out to shop? I can figure out which store will be cheapest for items I need, and also shop/compare weekly ads right from my phone before I go shopping. Christine mentioned that she can also start stocking up foods they both like by planning meals, buying extra when on sale and building up her on-hand foods. I love "shopping" out of my own pantry if the ads aren't good that week. This was a terrific video!
Yes. And an Aldi just opened in Tempe this summer so she should check and compare. The only issue is there isn't a huge selection of items compared to Walmart. She could also try Food City in north Tempe that has really low cost items. The 99¢ Only store near the Tempe Walmart has really low cost produce. Or she could buy a weekly produce box from Produce Without Waste in Tempe/Mesa. You get about 60 pounds of produce for a $15 donation. Obviously this isn't an option for people who don't live in the area but would help her and her husband.
@@trafficispeople5750 60 lbs of produce is a lot. Since it goes bad fast, splitting it with her roommates and cutting the price to $7.50 or $5 each would be even better.
This is a great video, and thank you to your subscriber for putting herself out there and asking these questions! It is tough when we haven't been taught how to shop and cook with a meal plan and budget. My young adult kids (23 and 24) are at this stage and it is challenging for them to make meals rather than ordering expensive take out or delivery. They both learned to cook at home, but we all need to learn that discipline on our own 😃One thing I did was share a Google Docs mini cook book with them and their partners. I literally either wrote down or linked to recipes I know they like, so they can plan their groceries, and added comments about which recipes were best for what seasons, or what to look for on sale.
Arnold Palmer is a golfer who ordered a half iced tea, half lemonade. So, they named the drink after him. I buy the powdered for my kids instead of the pre-made one.
✋🏻 I love celery and peanut butter. I don’t go through the trouble of making ants on a log, I just dip celery in PB and raisins. I grew up in an ice cream house. My dad LOVED ice cream. We had 3-4 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer at all times because he loved his different flavors. He was 5’ 11”, maybe 150lbs soaking wet.
Kudos to you Kailyn!! I have learned so much from Christine, not only about saving money from groceries, and one powerful thing she had taught me is that living frugally is empowering, whether you’re being frugal with your time or money ;)
Great job Kaitlyn!!! That was fun to watch! I work for Ralph’s (a Kroger Co.) We have our department markdowns done by 9 am usually. But there are always lots of markdowns on a rack located in the back of the store. Most of these are items our store is just moving off the shelf to make room for new items. They are usually pretty cheap because they want them to move out fast. Or sometimes we are over stocked on items and we need to move it out also. Good job helping her out Christine!!
This is a great idea for a series. I hope someone from Australia sends one in. I think you'll be shocked how expensive it is here. You guys get some fantastic deals and prices. But I'm yet to find any in Australia. If any perth people on here sees this and has any suggestions please can you let me know
This is such a sweet video! Christine, I love that you're explaining everything and also giving me the best mom vibes! Kailyn, so brave for asking for help and WELL DONE putting your income towards those loans. WOO HOO!! Oh, and the gallon milk tip... never thought of that! LOVE!
So brave Kaylin, but I think they’re doing marvellous. If they don’t mind bulk prepping for easy dinners one night a week, it might take some stress off the day. It helps me anyway. 😊 I’m so proud of the debt goals. Tough job but will be so worth it. I’ve always slept better with no, or little debt.
Best alfredo EVER: Heavy cream and the cheap heavy cream cheese. Simmer and stir constantly while they combine, at roughly 2:1 ratio, adjust as needed. In the fridge it solidifies and will last for months! (If you dont eat it) I use heavy cream in my morning coffee, get the big one, and when it looks like its close to going out I take whatevers left and make alfredo with some of the cheap cheese I keep on hand to top pastas. Also, applause for Kaitlyn and Mike!
If you have a Dollar Tree or .99 cent store next to you, please go there. You’ll be surprised at what you can find at lower prices. I’ve learned to do this to be able to sort of stay on a budget. Example: a pound of cherries at Frys, Safeway, or Walmart was 2.99-3.59 a pound, at the 99 cent store I bought it for .99 cent a pound, and let me tell you they were bigger and tastier.
From Peoria, AZ here. Girl! You’ve gotta hit up Fry’s! I’ve got a Fry’s and Albertsons across the street from each other. Fry’s always has some great deals with the digital coupons and THE CLEARANCE STUFF is unbeatable! Then I hit up Albertsons to snatch their digital deals. I also hit up Winco, Aldi and Peoria Discount Grocery about once a month. I’m sure there’s a discount grocery in your area. I believe there’s one in Mesa. We are so fortunate to have so many options!
And some batch cooking. No one wants to start from scratch when you've just got in from work.... chilli, curry, lasagne, etc. Cook em up and make extra each time. Finding out rice could be frozen was a revelation for me! Game changer. Hope you get the debts paid down soon.
Have not seen produce besides frozen in dollar tree. Her hubby needs to suck it up with the sweet tea and make youself with a blender and make it home same with spaghetti sauce. Trying to help every penny matters.
I think the best way to cut expenses is to shop around the perimeter of a grocery store. And healthier as well, because everything in the middle comes in a bag or a box and is completely filled with sugar and a lot of bad fats. Snacks could be an apple with whatever peanut butter or sunflower butter that you enjoy. Snacks could be a salad with leftover meat. Stuff like that you'll lose some weight you'll be healthier and you will save money because processed food has no nutrition and it is expensive. I make mac & cheese for my son but it's the organic mac & cheese and I make sure there's spinach or broccoli with it. When my son wants Ramen noodles I don't serve too much of the liquid and add vegetables and meat, or an egg and an avocado with pepper on it. No matter what you eat always eat vegetables!
What a responsible young couple to start off the marriage with real goals in mind not falling into the going out to dinner trap a lot of young people do now. They are so far ahead by not waiting until they are in financial hardship to start learning these skills.
I'm so impressed with Katelyn's shopping and your fantastic suggestions. I love this Christine and hope it's going to be a regular feature on your channel. Yay! 🙂
I’ve been watching Christine’s videos for three years now and watching this I am reminded of all of the influence she’s had on my food shopping / storage habits. I’ve seriously saved so much and been so efficient in part because of her! Love this!
Hi..Hi..Hi 🥰!! Your friend, in this video; mentioned a can of Black Beans in her cupboard. I LUVLUVLUV Black Beans 😋😋😋! Mention to her, if your haven't already; that Black Beans are GREAT in Tacos, Salads, Stir frys, Soups, Chili, etc. They make a DELISH SOUP, all on their own (spices of course ☺️). Back to your video.
Cafe Bustelo instant espresso is amazing for iced coffee. It is the only instant I have found that dissolves in cold water and the flavor is great. A jar costs $5-6 and lasts the month. I use it for iced and instant coffee.
I had to pause it to come in to say that the most satiating food on the planet is actually potatoes, so maybe her husband can eat a baked potato every day! I eat potatoes every single day, and I’ve noticed it’s very satisfying and enduring. I eat fat naturally occurring in foods, not adding it via isolated compound, such as oil or even things like butter or margarine. All that stuff has been shown in verifiable studies to cause inflammation in the body and injuring endothelial cells.
I make a big batch of homestyle potatoes at the beginning of the week. I throw some nutritional yeast on top. We use the potatoes as a side, or throw in an egg and make breakfast tacos or use the potatoes and some cheese and make potato tacos. We love our potatoes ❤
Kaitlyn, Big Woo Hoo! 1st year of marriage is most interesting if you never lived on yr own. You are killing it. Keep U Great Work. Thanks Christine for helping out. You give back all the time, God Bless You and Your Family😇 Chris from Chicago ❤
Wow, Kailyn! I am super impressed by your openness and thoughtfulness in your grocery shopping. I loved every minute of this video. It gave me the vibes of the show What Not to Wear. It would be super cool to see someone's typical grocery trip like Kailyn's. Then have them get advice and pointers. Then, grocery shop again to see how it worked and what went well/was a challenge.
I brew extra coffee and then pour it into picture and keep it in the refrigerator. I used to try to make it cold brewed but it was so expensive because you have to use so much coffee grounds. I like the brewed coffee chilled just as well. I drink it every day. I also buy my “community coffee” online because I can get a cheaper than the grocery store.
Props to you, Kaitlyn (hope that's spelled right!) for your efforts! Please know one thing about brands: most of the time, store/house brands (like Walmart's Great Value) are actually manufactured by name-brand factories; a lot of the time, it's a matter of stopping the production line, changing out the labels, and continuing the run. Items that are actually recipes (such as soups, pasta sauces and the like) are not going to be the same as the name brands' recipes since they're copyrighted; but in many cases, they're just as good as, if not better than, the brands. When you buy name brands, very often you're mostly supporting their advertising budget. As far as "expiration dates" on products, there is no national standard for these dates. For shelf stable items, mostly these are dates by which the manufacturer wants the stock rotated, and the contents are still perfectly fine and remain so for quite a long time past that date. On perishable items, such as milk or eggs, the the dates given are not dates on which the food magically rots, but rather dates that they should be pulled from the shelf, once again based on the manufacturers' stock rotation requirements. As Christine said, eggs are good for several weeks past their sell-by date, and Kroger even guarantees that their milk products will be good for at least 2 weeks past the sell-by dates. Please take advantage of the fact that you have a number of stores to shop at; many areas are food deserts with very limited choices. I recommend an excellent app called Flipp which will show you the ads for stores in your area; be sure to read them carefully every week and take advantage of the sales that they hold. You are always free to walk in, buy just the sale items, and leave, and are under no requirement to do all your shopping at a single store. Also, as Christine pointed out, buy bulk packages of items you use frequently (such as rice) to take advantage of the lower per pound prices; do this as you can afford to. Please look back at Christine's excellent videos on setting up a pantry of food staples, as this will help on nights when you're just too tired to cook anything elaborate and wish to avoid the temptation of eating out. I wish you and your husband good luck in getting your debts paid off and living a life frugal enough to enable you to enjoy everything good!
This was a great video, so great job! And she was amazing!! My only comment about the salmon…, and I know I’ll probably get a lot of pushback, so okay. But, I go to Costco and get the big bag of frozen salmon fillets, which makes it more affordable. True, they’re not as great as fresh, but I cook mine in my air fryer rubbed in coconut oil and kosher salt along with some potatoes, onion and red, yellow and orange bell peppers and it comes out pretty darn tasty! The veggies are like eating candy when they’re air fried the same way in the coconut oil and kosher salt. Yes, the kind of oil and kind of salt makes a difference - at least with these it does.
I'd suggest if there is sufficient fridge space, may your own Arnold Palmer at home. It's just tea (either unsweetened or sweet tea, to each their own), and lemonade mixed half and half. Bonus, you can drink each separately.
1:23 into the video definitely need to give a shout out to our girl in Tempe! North Phoenix girl right here. I'm so glad there's other Phoenix ladies that follow this channel 😂❤ I love these videos!
Kailyn, I remember when my husband and I were trying to get out of house debt. I applaud you for doing what it takes! I remember very well what our budget looked like and what we ate (lots of hamburger helper). Keep at it Girl!!
Get your salmon at Costco there's one on every corner in the Valley, so much less expensive per ounce from Costco in the frozen section, get the frozen broccoli there too : ) I will be back in AZ next year I will help you and be your shopping buddy Catlin : )
This is a great video and KUDOS to Kaitlyn and her husband on their first year of marriage and sticking to that budget!! I do try to meal plan and buy according to what we are going to have. It’s just the two of us, so there’s almost always leftovers in the fridge. I do some batch cooking and freeze in smaller portions. Spaghetti sauce, chicken noodle soup, chili, and casseroles freeze well too. You could make some breakfast burritos with the tortillas and have those ready to grab and heat in the micro. Like Christine said, buy more eggs!! Great protein in salad or even make an egg salad sandwich. You could even make deviled eggs and have those on hand as a snack. I make a lot of rice too, I cook it in the oven in a 9x13 pan and when it’s cooled off, I bag it (2 cups) in qt freezer bags and freeze. So convenient to have on hand for an addition to a meal or as a base.
Another quick point. It's important to understand where you're coming from. If you spend $15 a day on lunch at a cafe right now and you find something in the supermarket that's $10 and you're going to be happy eating it then by all means grab it. Sure $10 per day for lunch isn't cheap but it's a $5 saving over what you ate yesterday. My point is you don't have to go from $75 a week on lunches at the cafe to being Christine in one jump. You can do it in smaller steps and you can do it without feeling bad about it.
No one said you should feel bad about it. Progress is the goal. Realistic evaluation is the key. And Christine keeps it real!
This is honestly THE best point. You don't have to go from 0 to 60 all at once. Take it a step at a time. Like your lunch example or making your own iced coffee instead of Starbucks. Those small steps WILL add up as time goes on. To eat out anymore is going to cost even 1 person $10+ (often $20+). So having a $5 frozen meal or pizza on hand already saves quite a bit. Cause some days cooking is WAY too hard.
@@ginadowd1713I'm not saying you should feel bad but the reality is that people can be hard on themselves and I'm just making the point that progress is progress even if it isn't where you want to end up.
Exactly! Pizza is a great example for this. Large pepperoni pizza for take-out in my area is about $20 (with tip). But, a large non-frozen pizza at Walmart is $10. A frozen pizza is about $7. But, I can make it fresh at home for less than $5. It's kind of a "good, better, best" idea.
Exactly. Baby steps can get you to your goal before you know it 👌
If may add my 2 cents... Married 33 years I have always cooked most every night. And cooked enough for hubby to take lunch the next day me and the kids split what was left or scrounged up something. 29 years in I added up lunch at $5 a day saved us like 50 to 60 grand!! 😳. So spend a few more bucks at the store and eat a good lunch a few times a week.
Finally! A financially responsible young person making the effort to make her life better. Mega kudos to you, Kaitlyn!!!
Christine....you were so kind and supportive of her. Kudos to you for taking the time to help and encourage her along her path to be more frugal. I love this concept for future videos.
I promise we exist!
There are a lot of us out here.
That comment is rudely unkind and stereotypical, Multiladybug Assuming that most young folks are fiscally irresponsible? Where do you get off saying stuff like that? Be nice!
Because most of the younger generations have been raised to enjoy instant gratification. It was meant as a compliment to the young lady that was in this video. Relax your butt cheeks, sweetie.@@jadedgramma
You can compliment someone without mocking others. What you did was “compliment” someone while insulting everyone else of her age while relying on negative stereotypes about people her age. That’s not necessary.
Hi Christine. By far, BY FAR, the best format I’ve ever seen you do. PLEASE more of this. Thank you!
I hope you do this AGAIN! This was fun to see you helping another family! I think she did a great job. I would ask that the room mate keep their things in their own cabinet. I wouldn't want to see what I couldn't have. Sorry but I couldn't do the same sandwich for a week lol. Your doing great Kaitlyn! We all need help to get ideas to change things up or save even more.
Roommates should absolutely use different cabinets! I could never deal with not being able to have things or wondering if my stuff was used, especially when on a tight budget! Also I agree about lunches, I could do 3 or 4 a week the same but not EVERY day. I usually take leftovers but leave my mom a lunch she doesn't need to heat up, it's easier with her mobility issues to not risk dropping something hot, so we'll have 2-3 options a week so she can rotate. PB&J as something that doesn't spoil & can be in the fridge & cabinet for weeks then occasionally I'll get a small package of turkey, or make egg salad from like 3 eggs for 2 lunches, or chicken salad if there is leftovers from a dinner, or a garden salad with leftover salmon or chicken or with chickpeas, ways to add variety without breaking the bank or wasting food.
I had to buy my own food for lunch in high school
I made 1 can tuna last 5 sandwiches-lotsa mayo! A bag of apples lasted a week too. I think I bought milk at school.
A treat was a slice of cheese for my sandwich lol
(This was 1982)
Kaitlyn is so admirable for putting that debt in the forefront and taking care of it! So impressive!
you can save even more when you cook a roast or chicken and take a sandwich out ofit to work or make a plate from the items you had with the chicken or roast left overs dinner from some night you can freeze it and warm it up at work 15.00 lunch is a lot
Omg, can this please be a series? I would love to submit our grocery budget for help. We have a 2yo and I'm expecting our second and I am struggling to figure out why we are spending $800+, sometimes close to $1000 a month on groceries for 2 adults and a toddler in the Midwest. I'm sure I'm missing something really obvious but my pregnancy brain needs help 😅
you can email me at swimmerturnedtriathlete@gmail
Thank you so much! I just sent you an email 😊
Oh my gosh I would totally love to watch that! I just had a baby but still in the thick of it!
Please make this a series! Really fun watching this. Kaitlyn is so brave for doing this.
🐜🪵 My grown up “ants on a log” is cream cheese and dried cranberries on celery. It’s really tasty.
I like that idea!! Thanks! I'm not a big fan of raisins for the original.
Loved this format of a video. I'm pretty much love all the videos LOL, but I loved The way you kind of walked through this with her. It was great. Thank you Christine.
This was a great video! Thanks to Kailyn for putting herself out there and being a Guinea pig at getting Christine’s advice, and for doing a really good job. Half the battle, is just being aware, and you’re already using several good practices. Knowing prices and best places will come after time and experience
I am in awe of Kaitlyn and her husband being so focused on debt repayment. Here are some more tips: the 10 lb bag of chicken quarters is $7.72 at my Walmart, but will require a bit of prep work to package up in appropriate size portions. Canned salmon can be a good substitute in some bowl recipes, but not others. Frozen, pink, wild-caught salmon is often the cheapest of the non-canned choices (6.99) When we were young and penniless, it was very hard to make investment choices in bulk food, especially before we had built up a pantry. For snack items, my husband was nearly addicted to Mother's cookies and Diet Coke. We each had a fun money budget, and those items came out of that, not the grocery budget.
And I will add leg quarters go on sale often for cheaper than that so stock up then
The idea of a fun money budget is really good. Don’t take out of your Grocery monies things that have no nutritional value
With roomates, more organization of food is needed. Like a box in the fridge and freezer, and a dedicated cabinet for food. Otherwise things get lost in the chaos of shared spaces.
Totally agree! I need the visual organization too
Designated cupboards , shelves , boxes all help. I always had a hard time with roommates taking my food , it adds up especially when you are rationing things for meal planning then I’d have to just go without .
I thought about that too
I have a bookshelf in the hallway for extra pantry storage. Gotta carve out some space where you can.
@@Detroitstarlightkeep stuff in ur room and don’t buy bulk of perishables they eat
Sucks to have thieves in the house. I’ve lived it.
AGAIN BEST VIDEO EVER!!!!! MORE LIKE THIS PLEASE 🎉🎉🎉🎉!!!!!😊😊😊
Bless this sweet girl’s heart!! She really is trying! Christine, thank you so much for helping her! She is going to learn so much from you and so quickly! I had to learn it all the hard way,( from the school of hard knocks, from poverty, and ‘The Tightwad Gazette’…Best book ever when struggling to feed your family and making ends meet, creatively!!), so you are so wonderful to share with her so she and her husband will have such a golden chance of being really successful!! 🌟🌟🌟! I’m so PROUD OF YOU!!
I love the tightwad gazette.
You should see the prices in Southern California where I live. But then your hair would turn white with shock.
I love your frugal philosophy and your videos. You are teaching people what their parents failed to teach them.
The Tightwad Gazette was so important to me to get me to think about my spending in a new way.
The Tightwad Gazette was huge for me -- and hugely entertaining. I can't thank Amy Dacyczyn enough.
It's unfortunate that most of us carry a lot of debt. But, Katelyn (sp?) is waaay ahead of a lot of people by actually setting up a budget and developing steps to maintain it!! Great job!!! Thank you Katelyn and Christine for sharing this!! I'll be praying for you all!!❤❤
I’m chiming in before watching the whole video- but definitely organizing and separating your food from roommates is a MUST. Not to be a grade A d*ck- but to get a clear picture yourself w/o stress of what you have and what you can create with what you have so you can be exact with your list and food decisions before you go to the store. And to be able to come to these decisions- quickly!
Totally agree, separate and decant your stuff into 1-2 cupboards, a few Dollar tree containers will go far, and then put your stuff together, and theirs together, so it looks more like you just organized yours vs separated theirs. Then you know what you have, and can budget accordingly. Love that you did all this instead of digging yourself into a big debt hole!
For Caitlin in Tempe... there is this great thing called. Produce on wheels and for $15 you can get 70lbs of great produce...also Market on the move, for $10 a week, you can get random things. They post the items twice a week, at times they have Starbucks coffee, Dr Squatch soap, and more..so worth it...Frys sends us weekly ad in the mail..
Buy meat and food during the sales. Hope this helps!! Love the fit and frugal mom video's...so helpful...
After shopping krogers for years i can tell you that they usually have certain food groups on sale at the same time each month. Like butter is on sale (cheaper than aldis ) towards the end of the month, around the first of the month is their buy one get one sale for proteins. It can take a couple of months to institute this practice but you can but you can buy enough till the next sale is on.😂
I always look for the clearance items at Kroger. I very seldom shop at Walmart. In my area, it is routinely higher than Kroger. I also have aldi and food lion all within a few miles of each other. I shop around and may go to all of the stores within the same week. Depends on what I need and wherever it’s the cheapest.
Man. In Ontario Canada, our KD is now $1.50 ON SALE. Avocados are $2 each if you are lucky.
From someone who owned a coffee shop for years, the single best way to make iced coffee at home if you don't have the fancy equipment for it is freeze dried coffee made correctly.
*Note, freeze dried is not the same as instant. Needs to be freeze dried, or it's really lackluster*
You can get a container of what is basically the best quality available online for like $12 and it makes probably 30ish full size servings. The packages will say to use a teaspoon for 8 ounces, I find a tablespoon for 12 ounces (Of liquid, exclude the ice volume) to be my preference.) Mix with cold water, add whatever you want. It's so much better than anything else you can buy off the shelf of a grocery store premade. If you like it "Latte style" mix the grounds with 1-2 ounces of cold water and mix, top with milk. If you prefer your coffee hot always mix the grounds with a bit of cold water first to get it to dissolve, if you don't the boiling water will burn the coffee and it will taste bitter.
As someone who is a bit of a coffee elitist after making it the correct way with the best machines money can buy for years, this is my go to method when I don't have high end equipment available. Graham method is slightly cheaper but we're still talking less than 50 cents per serving and honestly his way is disgusting lol.
This is AWESOME! THANKS FOR THIS!!!
Wait what?! Coffee is life! Googling Organic freeze dried coffee!
Great tips thank you!
Didn't know freeze dried was a thing! I make cold brew in a half gallon masson jar so it's less than buying pre-made at the store but more expensive than the super affordable at home methods. Is the freeze dried less acidic, like cold brew or does it give more of an iced coffee taste?
Hi, what's your take on the liquid coffee concentrates on the market now? have you tried any?
I'm a farmer and I raise laying hens. If you're scared your eggs have gone bad, do the egg float test. Look it up on RUclips and you will see exactly how to do it. Eggs really do last much longer than people think. And if you can manage to get fresh free range eggs from a farmer in your area you will be getting even higher quality and nutrition. My family of 4 eats a dozen eggs most days. But I know that's not possible for many people, we just get a lot of eggs from our happy hens. One of our favorite supper ideas is to make rice and put sunny side up eggs on top of the rice. Season it however you want and saute veggies of your choice (optional) and put them on top of the eggs. Frugal and healthy :)
ICED COFFEE = Make a pot of strong coffee. If you like it sweet add your sweetener while it's still hot. Let cool and refrigerate overnight. Shake and pour over ice and add milk/creamer of choice. I don't use the flavored syrups, but I do like to add just a few drops of vanilla extract. You can make ice cubes with the sweetened coffee to keep your drink from getting watered down, but I'm too lazy for that and drink it fast enough that I don't have any problems with that.
👏 Yes, love Ants On A Log! She's got a healthy & delicious snack there! It's also great with almond butter & dried cranberries for a change of pace, though a little more pricey.
C19 lockdown was a real eye opener for me when it came to how other people do things. The stories I heard of people who only buy 2 packs of toilet roll because they live alone, absolutely wild. Or they buy a 2 pack of bar soap. None of this stuff goes off so if you want to save some money and the 36 pack of toilet roll is on sale grab it. If you can afford it, grab 2! It can sit in the back of your cupboard for 12 months and be there when you need it. Any nonfood cleaning item or personal item like shampoo, toothbrushes, whatever. Never ever pay full price for them and if they're cheap and you can afford it, grab a few.
"and you can afford it," that is the big variable here in biden's America
@@SuperSaltydog77he has definitely put everything and everybody in the sewer
@@peggypeters6676 Warren Buffet says the wealthy are believing the stock market will crash, Buffet is rarely wrong
Just stop
I used to do that all the time, but I have very little storage space in the place I live now, so I really have to pick and choose what I buy in a large size, it's a pain!
Thank you both for doing this for an audience. It is helpful to see a real person walk through changes in their groceries. It was eye opening for me, and helpful to see some of my patterns exposed.
What a great concept for a video! I'd love to see more like this one.
Omg! The best crossover seeing Graham Stephan in this video, I love both of your channels lol. Love this type of video, I think it is SUPER helpful to see you review other people's grocery shopping & the tips you can give.
Kailyn, you are doing an awesome job! I know it’s tight right now, but you will get through it and be so happy you worked so hard to pay off your debt. Huge props to you and your husband! 👏🏻
I totally agree 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
👏👏👏👏 to Catlin!! Well done.
I live in an apartment and I have a storage shelf in my room that holds extra items that I have on hand. I store containers with extra spices, salt, sugar, flour, oats, rice and more. This is the perfect solution for someone living in an apartment with roommates and you can store closed food items in tubs in other areas of your home. Use the linen or hall closet for extra food storage even if you need to.
Go Kailyn! I just wanted to add that I loved Arnold Palmer drinks for a refreshing summer drink, so I made them at home. It was very easy and so tasty. Just brew the black tea and make lemonade. I used lemon juice, sugar and water. The best part is you can make them more tea tasty or more lemony!!!!
Great job on debt pay off. 38 years of marriage here. We made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot. I promise you will never regret being low or no debt.
Great value mac and cheese is $2.23 for each box where I live. Avacado on sale are $2.59 each and dollar stores do not sell much food, certainly nothing fresh and usually cost as much or more than Walmart.
Eggs are $7.40 - $9.98 per dozen, dollar tree tortillas are $3.50 per package. We do not have a budget that allows shampoo etc from somewhere else, just food, rent, bills.
Your stores are much, much cheaper!!
Fun video! During the intro I thought it was going to be a video of your daughter shopping for groceries at college, which would be an interesting video as well.
👏👏👏👏👏👍🏻👍🏻 you got this Kaitlyn!
Another way to save on soap is to try bar soap for at the sink and for showering. Bar soaps tend to last longer than liquid, so you do to not have to repurchase as often. Most brands are inexpensive. Also, if you have kids, they tend to use way more soap than they need to with liquid soaps, so the bar soap can mean less waste.
I loved this format! Kudos to this young woman putting herself out there!
Kailynn....WELL DONE!! For the Hunts Pasta sauce...I add in my basil, oregano and mushrooms...if you like that. When I was newly married, we left the mushrooms out. I personally dislike store premade meatballs. I make my own and freeze them in groups of 30. So that might be a saving place....look at what's in the freezer section and figure out the cost if you made it yourself. Hidden $$$. Thanks Christine for this! I would TOTALLY shop with you. Im close to Moab...but on the Colorado side. I'm relearning to shop for two. My last child just left for college.
I also doctor up the Hunts pasta sauce. Since I have a pretty well-stock spice supply, I just add a bunch of spices (garlic, basil, oregano, etc). Also, a splash of balsamic vinegar gives it a really nice depth of flavor.
I love how nice you are, Christine. You aren’t judgy about what this young wife has in her pantry and fridge. You are helpful and lovely - and funny too! ❤️
Great job Kaitlin! Work those muscles and buy the 20lb bag of rice 🙃!
Bar soap probably costs less and lasts longer than body wash. Also less plastic packaging.
For sauces. Make a large batch from scratch and freeze extra in meal size containers!
I would love to see a follow up, to see how FFM's Tips helped and how their meal planning/shopping has changed/improved ❤
I would challenge her to shop at Aldi for a couple weeks and compare to Walmart. I'd bet her grocery bill would be cut in half. It would be cool to see an update!
Came here to say this. Aldi for the WIN!
This gal was so brave and good to do this! How about planning meals with the ads/apps of stores before heading out to shop? I can figure out which store will be cheapest for items I need, and also shop/compare weekly ads right from my phone before I go shopping. Christine mentioned that she can also start stocking up foods they both like by planning meals, buying extra when on sale and building up her on-hand foods. I love "shopping" out of my own pantry if the ads aren't good that week. This was a terrific video!
Not only that but Aldi’s quality is amazing. So much better than store brand’s. I love Aldi’s and so much cheaper.
Yes. And an Aldi just opened in Tempe this summer so she should check and compare. The only issue is there isn't a huge selection of items compared to Walmart. She could also try Food City in north Tempe that has really low cost items. The 99¢ Only store near the Tempe Walmart has really low cost produce. Or she could buy a weekly produce box from Produce Without Waste in Tempe/Mesa. You get about 60 pounds of produce for a $15 donation. Obviously this isn't an option for people who don't live in the area but would help her and her husband.
@@trafficispeople5750 60 lbs of produce is a lot. Since it goes bad fast, splitting it with her roommates and cutting the price to $7.50 or $5 each would be even better.
I make my own iced coffee all the time. Absolutely love it. Feels so much better drinking knowing that I have saved so much making it myself.
This is a great video, and thank you to your subscriber for putting herself out there and asking these questions! It is tough when we haven't been taught how to shop and cook with a meal plan and budget. My young adult kids (23 and 24) are at this stage and it is challenging for them to make meals rather than ordering expensive take out or delivery. They both learned to cook at home, but we all need to learn that discipline on our own 😃One thing I did was share a Google Docs mini cook book with them and their partners. I literally either wrote down or linked to recipes I know they like, so they can plan their groceries, and added comments about which recipes were best for what seasons, or what to look for on sale.
How did it work out?
Yay! GREAT JOB GIRL FRIEND 👏🏻👏🏻🙌🏻
Great job Cailyn and hubby! Debt free = stress free. Keep up the debt payoff. ❤
Kaitlyn did a great job! Christine, Tillamook is the BEST ice cream (especially peach) and I will fight you. Haha
Kaitlyn your food choices were great. Yes, Salmon may be expensive, but just think about how well you are treating your body and brain. Great job!
I loved this video. It would be great to see a weekly video like this.
Arnold Palmer is a golfer who ordered a half iced tea, half lemonade. So, they named the drink after him. I buy the powdered for my kids instead of the pre-made one.
Gotcha! That sounds like a better buy than the cans!
You can test the eggs.. if they float they are bad.
✋🏻 I love celery and peanut butter. I don’t go through the trouble of making ants on a log, I just dip celery in PB and raisins. I grew up in an ice cream house. My dad LOVED ice cream. We had 3-4 half gallons of ice cream in the freezer at all times because he loved his different flavors. He was 5’ 11”, maybe 150lbs soaking wet.
It is a great snack!!!
@@julieredstone-lewis6473yes! Sometimes I’ll use craisins instead of raisins.
I'm with you on that. Most days that's the lunch I take to work.
🤚 loved this video…more please!
Kudos to you Kailyn!! I have learned so much from Christine, not only about saving money from groceries, and one powerful thing she had taught me is that living frugally is empowering, whether you’re being frugal with your time or money ;)
Woo hoo Kaitlyn. Job well done. 👏
Great job Kaitlyn!!! That was fun to watch! I work for Ralph’s (a Kroger Co.) We have our department markdowns done by 9 am usually. But there are always lots of markdowns on a rack located in the back of the store. Most of these are items our store is just moving off the shelf to make room for new items. They are usually pretty cheap because they want them to move out fast. Or sometimes we are over stocked on items and we need to move it out also. Good job helping her out Christine!!
This is a great idea for a series. I hope someone from Australia sends one in. I think you'll be shocked how expensive it is here. You guys get some fantastic deals and prices.
But I'm yet to find any in Australia. If any perth people on here sees this and has any suggestions please can you let me know
This is such a sweet video! Christine, I love that you're explaining everything and also giving me the best mom vibes! Kailyn, so brave for asking for help and WELL DONE putting your income towards those loans. WOO HOO!! Oh, and the gallon milk tip... never thought of that! LOVE!
Congrats Kailyn 💐
So brave Kaylin, but I think they’re doing marvellous. If they don’t mind bulk prepping for easy dinners one night a week, it might take some stress off the day. It helps me anyway. 😊 I’m so proud of the debt goals. Tough job but will be so worth it. I’ve always slept better with no, or little debt.
Best alfredo EVER: Heavy cream and the cheap heavy cream cheese. Simmer and stir constantly while they combine, at roughly 2:1 ratio, adjust as needed. In the fridge it solidifies and will last for months! (If you dont eat it) I use heavy cream in my morning coffee, get the big one, and when it looks like its close to going out I take whatevers left and make alfredo with some of the cheap cheese I keep on hand to top pastas. Also, applause for Kaitlyn and Mike!
If you have a Dollar Tree or .99 cent store next to you, please go there. You’ll be surprised at what you can find at lower prices. I’ve learned to do this to be able to sort of stay on a budget. Example: a pound of cherries at Frys, Safeway, or Walmart was 2.99-3.59 a pound, at the 99 cent store I bought it for .99 cent a pound, and let me tell you they were bigger and tastier.
It sounds like she's only two miles from a 99¢ Only Store and that one actually has a bigger selection of produce compared to their other locations.
From Peoria, AZ here. Girl! You’ve gotta hit up Fry’s! I’ve got a Fry’s and Albertsons across the street from each other. Fry’s always has some great deals with the digital coupons and THE CLEARANCE STUFF is unbeatable! Then I hit up Albertsons to snatch their digital deals. I also hit up Winco, Aldi and Peoria Discount Grocery about once a month. I’m sure there’s a discount grocery in your area. I believe there’s one in Mesa. We are so fortunate to have so many options!
You should do a follow up when she goes to Fry's!! She is doing great but I would work on
starting a pantry and maybe get an apartment chest freezer.
And some batch cooking. No one wants to start from scratch when you've just got in from work.... chilli, curry, lasagne, etc. Cook em up and make extra each time. Finding out rice could be frozen was a revelation for me! Game changer. Hope you get the debts paid down soon.
fry's and 99 cent store and even dollar tree are gonna be your best friends too within the produce and hair products
Have not seen produce besides frozen in dollar tree. Her hubby needs to suck it up with the sweet tea and make youself with a blender and make it home same with spaghetti sauce. Trying to help every penny matters.
Kailyn you ARE AWESOME. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR HARD WORK. I have learned that it IS possible to pay off bills AND eat.
Graham Stephan has great frugal real time activities! Thank you Christine for this video I always enjoy your channel
I definitely use the canned spaghetti sauce. I have heard a few people rave about RAO sauce. At Walmart it is between $6-$8!!!!!!
I think the best way to cut expenses is to shop around the perimeter of a grocery store. And healthier as well, because everything in the middle comes in a bag or a box and is completely filled with sugar and a lot of bad fats. Snacks could be an apple with whatever peanut butter or sunflower butter that you enjoy. Snacks could be a salad with leftover meat. Stuff like that you'll lose some weight you'll be healthier and you will save money because processed food has no nutrition and it is expensive. I make mac & cheese for my son but it's the organic mac & cheese and I make sure there's spinach or broccoli with it. When my son wants Ramen noodles I don't serve too much of the liquid and add vegetables and meat, or an egg and an avocado with pepper on it. No matter what you eat always eat vegetables!
Go Kaitlyn! Love to see you and your spouse focusing on this goal of eliminating debt!
@17:15 💯 #facts - A good tip for shopping Kroger-owned stores is to look for the produce in the red mesh bags which are $1 each. Good luck, Kaitlyn!
It was fun shopping with both of you!
Anyone else checking out the Fry’s ad for her today 😂. Chicken, ground beef, bertoli pasta sauce, grapes, milk…all great deals! 😀
What a responsible young couple to start off the marriage with real goals in mind not falling into the going out to dinner trap a lot of young people do now. They are so far ahead by not waiting until they are in financial hardship to start learning these skills.
This Girl needs Homemaking 2023 ASAP !!!!!!! She will soon be A "Great Thrift Shopper"" Go for It ASAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so impressed with Katelyn's shopping and your fantastic suggestions. I love this Christine and hope it's going to be a regular feature on your channel. Yay! 🙂
My dad was a production foreman for Foremost ice cream. We definitely had an ice cream house.😁
I’ve been watching Christine’s videos for three years now and watching this I am reminded of all of the influence she’s had on my food shopping / storage habits. I’ve seriously saved so much and been so efficient in part because of her! Love this!
Hi..Hi..Hi 🥰!! Your friend, in this video; mentioned a can of Black Beans in her cupboard. I LUVLUVLUV Black Beans 😋😋😋! Mention to her, if your haven't already; that Black Beans are GREAT in Tacos, Salads, Stir frys, Soups, Chili, etc. They make a DELISH SOUP, all on their own (spices of course ☺️). Back to your video.
Way to go Kaylin 🎉🎉 love this video
She did SO much better than I did at that age. Brava!!!
Katelyn congratulations on your shopping and trying to pay off your loans so aggressively. Great job!
Kailyn, you are doing so well. Budgeting takes time to learn. Being aware of your grocery budget is a skill that benefits you for a lifetime.
As someone who has an aldi most of their cheeses in our Aldi are at our under 2 dollars for 8oz blocks and the shredded is usually under 3 for 8oz
Cafe Bustelo instant espresso is amazing for iced coffee. It is the only instant I have found that dissolves in cold water and the flavor is great. A jar costs $5-6 and lasts the month. I use it for iced and instant coffee.
Whoohoo! Go Kaitlin!!! 👏👏👏👏
I had to pause it to come in to say that the most satiating food on the planet is actually potatoes, so maybe her husband can eat a baked potato every day! I eat potatoes every single day, and I’ve noticed it’s very satisfying and enduring. I eat fat naturally occurring in foods, not adding it via isolated compound, such as oil or even things like butter or margarine. All that stuff has been shown in verifiable studies to cause inflammation in the body and injuring endothelial cells.
I love potatoes as well!
I make a big batch of homestyle potatoes at the beginning of the week. I throw some nutritional yeast on top. We use the potatoes as a side, or throw in an egg and make breakfast tacos or use the potatoes and some cheese and make potato tacos. We love our potatoes ❤
Kaitlyn, Big Woo Hoo! 1st year of marriage is most interesting if you never lived on yr own. You are killing it. Keep U Great Work. Thanks Christine for helping out. You give back all the time, God Bless You and Your Family😇 Chris from Chicago ❤
Wow, Kailyn! I am super impressed by your openness and thoughtfulness in your grocery shopping. I loved every minute of this video. It gave me the vibes of the show What Not to Wear. It would be super cool to see someone's typical grocery trip like Kailyn's. Then have them get advice and pointers. Then, grocery shop again to see how it worked and what went well/was a challenge.
I brew extra coffee and then pour it into picture and keep it in the refrigerator. I used to try to make it cold brewed but it was so expensive because you have to use so much coffee grounds. I like the brewed coffee chilled just as well. I drink it every day. I also buy my “community coffee” online because I can get a cheaper than the grocery store.
I love community coffee or Luzianne. So grateful they’re available here in Maine
Props to you, Kaitlyn (hope that's spelled right!) for your efforts! Please know one thing about brands: most of the time, store/house brands (like Walmart's Great Value) are actually manufactured by name-brand factories; a lot of the time, it's a matter of stopping the production line, changing out the labels, and continuing the run. Items that are actually recipes (such as soups, pasta sauces and the like) are not going to be the same as the name brands' recipes since they're copyrighted; but in many cases, they're just as good as, if not better than, the brands. When you buy name brands, very often you're mostly supporting their advertising budget. As far as "expiration dates" on products, there is no national standard for these dates. For shelf stable items, mostly these are dates by which the manufacturer wants the stock rotated, and the contents are still perfectly fine and remain so for quite a long time past that date. On perishable items, such as milk or eggs, the the dates given are not dates on which the food magically rots, but rather dates that they should be pulled from the shelf, once again based on the manufacturers' stock rotation requirements. As Christine said, eggs are good for several weeks past their sell-by date, and Kroger even guarantees that their milk products will be good for at least 2 weeks past the sell-by dates. Please take advantage of the fact that you have a number of stores to shop at; many areas are food deserts with very limited choices. I recommend an excellent app called Flipp which will show you the ads for stores in your area; be sure to read them carefully every week and take advantage of the sales that they hold. You are always free to walk in, buy just the sale items, and leave, and are under no requirement to do all your shopping at a single store. Also, as Christine pointed out, buy bulk packages of items you use frequently (such as rice) to take advantage of the lower per pound prices; do this as you can afford to. Please look back at Christine's excellent videos on setting up a pantry of food staples, as this will help on nights when you're just too tired to cook anything elaborate and wish to avoid the temptation of eating out. I wish you and your husband good luck in getting your debts paid off and living a life frugal enough to enable you to enjoy everything good!
Great comment!!
This was a great video, so great job! And she was amazing!! My only comment about the salmon…, and I know I’ll probably get a lot of pushback, so okay. But, I go to Costco and get the big bag of frozen salmon fillets, which makes it more affordable. True, they’re not as great as fresh, but I cook mine in my air fryer rubbed in coconut oil and kosher salt along with some potatoes, onion and red, yellow and orange bell peppers and it comes out pretty darn tasty! The veggies are like eating candy when they’re air fried the same way in the coconut oil and kosher salt. Yes, the kind of oil and kind of salt makes a difference - at least with these it does.
I'm ok with it as long as it's not from China!!
I'd suggest if there is sufficient fridge space, may your own Arnold Palmer at home. It's just tea (either unsweetened or sweet tea, to each their own), and lemonade mixed half and half. Bonus, you can drink each separately.
1:23 into the video definitely need to give a shout out to our girl in Tempe! North Phoenix girl right here. I'm so glad there's other Phoenix ladies that follow this channel 😂❤ I love these videos!
Kailyn, I remember when my husband and I were trying to get out of house debt. I applaud you for doing what it takes! I remember very well what our budget looked like and what we ate (lots of hamburger helper). Keep at it Girl!!
Get your salmon at Costco there's one on every corner in the Valley, so much less expensive per ounce from Costco in the frozen section, get the frozen broccoli there too : ) I will be back in AZ next year I will help you and be your shopping buddy Catlin : )
This is a great video and KUDOS to Kaitlyn and her husband on their first year of marriage and sticking to that budget!! I do try to meal plan and buy according to what we are going to have. It’s just the two of us, so there’s almost always leftovers in the fridge. I do some batch cooking and freeze in smaller portions. Spaghetti sauce, chicken noodle soup, chili, and casseroles freeze well too. You could make some breakfast burritos with the tortillas and have those ready to grab and heat in the micro. Like Christine said, buy more eggs!! Great protein in salad or even make an egg salad sandwich. You could even make deviled eggs and have those on hand as a snack. I make a lot of rice too, I cook it in the oven in a 9x13 pan and when it’s cooled off, I bag it (2 cups) in qt freezer bags and freeze. So convenient to have on hand for an addition to a meal or as a base.