by Leanne Ely

Dear Friends,

If you're going to FACE the music, so to speak, you need to know where to go to come up with the money to throw on to some of your debt. I can think of no finer place to do that than the grocery store.

I learned a few tricks and some great treats to make that didn't take much time. I gave myself a few rules for groceries (like I'll never pay over .10/ounce for dry cereal, for example) and I stuck with them. That helped me cut grocery store dollars way, way down and gave me the much needed boost I needed to be able to put money into something else, other than food. It was amazing how drastically I cut my costs!

One of the places you can do that is with those packaged mixes. I am particularly fond of taco seasoning mix, although less fond of the cost and the MSG that is inevitably in there. I still use it on occasion, but I've also made this mix before and it's terrific and easy to make:

Taco Seasoning Mix

There was a time when I actually fed my family of four for $100 a MONTH. I didn't do it with coupons (I used some, but not many), I didn't do it going to grocery store outlets out in the boonies (although I've done that too). The consistent way I was able to buy groceries so inexpensively was due to my PLAN: I had a menu for the week, I had the appropriate groceries and I cooked. Just that simple! If making a menu and grocery list is just too overwhelming for you, go to my web site for a sample menu with healthy recipes and an accompanying itemized grocery list, http://www.savingdinner.com

If you want more mixes to save you money, check out some more listed below!

Love,
Leanne

More homemade mix recipes:

Noodle Mix
Homemade Shake and Bake
Dry Onion Soup Mix
Homemade Flavored Rice Mix
Vegetables Rice Mix
Spanish Rice Mix
Long Grain and Wild Rice Mix
Teacher Rice Mix
Onion-flavored Rice Mix
Chicken-flavored Rice Mix
Mexican Rice Mix
Vegetarian Rice Mix