In this fast paced life we all seem to be embracing, well okay kinda, having a resource for quick dinner ideas that are cheap and easy to make is an absolute necessity. Have no fear, that resource is free to you and available to everyone. Cheap Family Meals creates daily recipes and meal ideas to help you save money and time. Here are a few of the quick dinner ideas to make you life just a tad bit easier this week. (click on the link to see the recipe or meal idea in a new window, then return to continue reading the the greatest blog known to mankind, wait no mankind reading here, womankind!!)

• Easy Meatloaf Recipe - a easy meatloaf recipe for a $5 quick meal idea
• Easy 3 Can Soup – HOLY COW!! Dinner made with 3 cans and under $5 to make
• Goulash Recipe - yes, living in poverty can be delicious!
• Microwave Brownies – Forget the others this is all a mom needs!!

Have a great day and pass these recipes and ideas onto your friends and family. It’s free and then they can’t say you never gave them anything!

As I continue on with my on-line adventures I have this haunting voice in my head that keeps telling me, be practical and just go get a job. I’m am really starting to worry about our finances and getting tired of the day to day struggles just to makes ends meat. As a stay-at-home mom I dedicate a lot of time to budgeting, frugal shopping and any other resource I can tap into, just to buy some time with my 2 youngest children. Putting Jackson and Madison in daycare is not an option and not because I’m opposed to day care but because their needs are far greater than what I would expect a center or in-home caregiver to provide. For years I worked a night job, opposite of my husbands schedule but as the older kids started all day school, I never got to see them. I really missed them and if you saw the pictures of my oldest daughter with the “Alice Cooper” eye liner, she missed me too. My husband tried to maintain the kids, homework and the house but it was more than he could handle. Kourtnee, my oldest ended up being the 2nd mom to Madison and Jacob’s was falling behind in class reading and math levels. Even thought we needed the money, my kids needed me more.

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For the last year and a half I have been home. I have tried different methods for making money from selling on e-bay to my current endeavors with on-line blogging. I hated e-bay, but I truly love working on-line. I love researching for articles and helping people though my own trial and error. I could honestly spend 24 hrs. a day blogging and interacting with the on-line community. But in as much as I love it, there is no guarantee that money will be made, that the kind of success you read about will be achieved or that I have educated myself enough to make any of this work. No guarantees! When you wake up each day and go to work, the paycheck is a guarantee (usually) and stability is also a guarantee with a job. I live each day of faith and hope and pray each night for success to come. To the other mom’s out there I understand and respect the struggles you face. I wish you the best of luck and hope that all your endeavors become successful!
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Okay it’s that time of the week. Pull out the paper and pencil and plan out your meals for the week. If you are trying to become a frugal mom then this is something you have to do and you will get good at it, I promise. I have finally gotten to the point where I can actually plan, shop and prepare meals for 1 whole month!! Now I can also get very lazy and get myself in trouble if I don’t plan my meals out. And that is where I am at this week. I “robbed Peter to pay Paul” for the Holidays and didn’t give my monthly food budget the love it needs. All is good though check out Cheap Family Meals menu for the week to see how I save myself.

7 days of dinner meals for less than $27.00

• Monday – Spaghetti
• Tuesday – Chicken and Rice Bake
• Wednesday – BLT Sandwiches
• Thursday – Tater Tot Casserole
• Friday – Pizza Please
• Saturday – Crockpot Lemon Chicken
• Sunday – Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Here is the complete article link: A Cheap Family Menu For Less Than $40.00

See creating meals that are affordable and nutritious isn’t hard, you just have to 1-have the desire to do it and 2- find the tools to help achieve your food budget goals. I wish I could say I’m a coupon cutting mom, but I can’t. Before I started all my online ventures I did cut coupons and I did save a lot of money, but I also spent a lot of time doing it. I just don’t have that time anymore. So instead I focus on meal plans and staying out of the grocery store. I shop once a month. For the weekly milk and bread my hubby stops after work.  We have been able to save much better this way.