Thursday, April 30, 2015

Dollar Budget Eating: One Pan Meal Chicken and Potatos with Green Beans

 

I make this all the time. It's cheap, and we usually have all of the ingredients on-hand at all times.
What You'll Need:
9x13 Dish
Cooking Spray
Green Beans (fresh, frozen or canned)
1 Package of  Boneless  Chicken Breast
Potatoes
Minced garlic
Onion
Italian Seasoning
Salt 
Pepper
Butter or Margarine

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Spray your 9x13 dish with non-stick cooking spray. Dice the onions and potatoes. Add the green beans in a row length wise in the dish. Add the Chicken and the potatoes. Sprinkle the diced onions throughout the dish. Season with garlic, Italian Seasoning, Salt and Pepper. Add Tablespoons of butter throughout the dish. Bake for 1 hour, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Tax Returns and Becoming Debt-Free

 

When we were pregnant with our oldest son (currently 1 1/2 years) my husband and I were drowning in debt. We reduced our monthly expenses to only necessary items. Even cutting all un necessary expenses, we were still unable to afford groceries. We went to apply for Food Stamps, and we were told that we made too much money. It was one of the most stressful times in our lives. Now, we are almost debt free (not including student loans or the car payment) and we no longer worry about providing for our kids or paying for groceries, we are even in the process of getting pre approved so that we can buy our first home. We also took a Crown Financial Finance Class. 
With Tax returns being handed back, a lot of people spend the money un wisely, so I thought that I would share one of the first steps we took towards being debt-free and in turn cutting our monthly bills.
When we received our tax returns two years ago, Instead of spending the money, we paid off all of our credit cards and then destroyed them. We started with the credit card with the highest amount of interest each month and paid it off in full. This helped us to eliminate on of our monthly bills, leaving us with more money each month.
We thought we would never be out of debt, but we did it! and you can too! Below is a link to the Crown Website. Their materials and the Money map helped us a ton, and I hope it helps you too.