We’ve had a crazy week. A crazy month, actually. A bunch of stuff around the house has broken, including a car, so we’ve had to utilize time I would’ve spent cooking or baking looking for a new car, selling our old one, running around looking for an affordable microwave and getting cell phones replaced. Phew!
Since I haven’t had time to cook, we’ve had to eat out a good bit, unfortunately. One way we saved a little money was using a free pizza voucher from a game we bought earlier in the week. We’re trying to add to our game collection for when friends come over or on slow TV nights, so when games are on sale at Target, we grab one. The last two we’ve gotten had a free pizza coupon to promote Hasbro’s Family Game Night campaign.
We also ate at Chick-fil-A one night, but that’s not necessarily a cheap option. A good way to save there is to use a coupon for a free sandwich. They’re pretty easy to come by for us since my school’s football tickets have coupons printed on the back. If you don’t have a coupon, keep your eyes and ears peeled for special promotions. You may have to dress up like a cow, but it’s probably worth a free sandwich—and what a fun date night!
Tonight, we’re going out to eat on William’s parents’ dime, but earlier I made sweet & sour chicken I had kept in the freezer for just this type of situation (I stocked up because the Birds Eye meals were buy one get one free at Publix a few weeks back). It was a frozen meal that I modified (as usual), and was surprisingly delicious.
So my question is, how do you save money when there’s simply no time to cook during the week?
Posted by Lara Eller on December 1, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I am a freezer queen myself. when I have a free saturday, i get groceries and disposable tupperware and make meals for the next few weeks. Also, I use my crockpot a lot. It is so easy to just put a turkey breast on low for 10 hours or so (fill the pot’s halfway mark with water). Then, you can make turkey sandwiches, casseroles, soups…endless possibilities.