About This Broke Mama

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I'm a new mom on a serious budget. I created this blog as a way to inspire other mothers to be a little more thrifty. If all else fails, I hope to provide some free entertainment, or just a place where you can seek comfort knowing that you aren’t alone. Broke Mamas Unite!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

the broke mommy's guide to: cheap exercising

This broke mummy took the plunge, and bought into the Beach Body Business. If you’ve ever wanted to try a Beach Body product after seeing one of their amazing infomercials, but quickly realized its way out of your budget, I’ve got the solution on how to do it on the cheap! Beach Body on demand is actually just a club membership for $2.99/ week that provides access to a lot of the popular Beach Body products. It’s all streamed via the internet, so it’s literally a mobile person’s dream come true. Beach Body bills quarterly, so you won’t see these charges on a weekly basis. Every quarter, you’ll be charged roughly $38, which isn’t too bad. If you have a gym membership, but never have time to go, cancel it! Avoid buying that expensive latte, or lunch once a week and you’ll more than have enough to make up the $38 quarterly cost!

I’m not one to buy into gimmicks. While I believe in the Beach Body brand and products, I don’t believe in the pricing. I always felt it was a little ridiculous to spend $100+ dollars on a product that comes with 15 different DVDs. I’m a busy mother. I don’t have time to sort through all of those DVDs to figure out what workout to do that day. On top of that, I most certainly cannot afford $100+ on a workout regime when I know what to do for free at home. I like a variety too. Spending that kind of money means I’m locked into that one product, but what if I want to try more? Using Beach Body on demand is giving me the ability to add variety into my nightly workouts. Now, I don’t need to plan what I’m doing that night with how many sets and reps. I can just pull up the website on my phone, click on any workout, and go! It’s so easy! P90x, T25, PiYo. The options are limitless. If I find that I don’t like a certain product, or routine, I can just select something else without absorbing another cost, or having to fish out another DVD. On top of that, with the beautiful weather, I could work out in my backyard if I wanted to. It doesn’t matter if I’m not at home. My workouts do not need to suffer. The flexibility is the biggest bonus of all.

I’m not here to sell you anything, or to encourage you to buy into something that will decrease your wallet. I’m simply here as a single mom on a budget who needed some workout options that wouldn’t break my bank, or take up too much of my time,  but wanted to share a great option. Let’s be real. I’m never going to have a sitter to go to the gym. Even though gym fees are relatively much cheaper than they used to be, it’s just a hassle. I’d rather ask someone to babysit when I have something important to do. I don’t view going to the gym as high on the priority list either. The gyms in my area do not offer childcare either, so that option is completely out the door. I don’t know about you, but after I work all day, the last thing I want is to have to put the baby back in the car to drive to the gym. Coming home after work, playing, having dinner, bath, then bed sounds a lot better. My spare time is after he’s shut his eyes for the night. Working out in my living room in sounds a hell of a lot better.

Hold yourself accountable to be healthy for your children. Plan to be around for the long run and avoiding health risks by being a little more active and eating a bit better throughout the day. I’m not saying you need to completely kill yourself, or change your life, but if you want a life changer , you can do it through a modified diet and using some of these kick ass exercises.  I know, you’re probably thinking “This skinny bitch doesn’t know what it’s like to be fat”, BUT YES I DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was there

11 Years ago, I changed for the better. I didn’t use a fancy workout system, pills, or shakes. I ate sensibly. I monitored my calorie intake and I walked every night. Eventually, I added in a more rigorous workout schedule, but that was my choice. I felt motivated and I wanted to get moving. I felt happy and I felt like I had my life back. When I got pregnant, I was afraid. I was afraid I’d lose all sense of control and the 86lbs I previously lost would find its way back to me. I was sensible while pregnant. I worked out moderately and I maintained a healthy diet, while still giving into my cravings. I didn’t gorge and overeat because I had an excuse of “eating for two”. I took care of myself and my baby. I knew it was important to maintain my health to ensure his.

My son is 15 months old now and I still maintain a healthy lifestyle. I look into his eyes every day and I know I want to be around forever. High cholesterol and blood pressure runs in my family. Why would I risk that? Why dance with the devil? Instead, I allow myself and my son those NO NO foods in moderation and I put health at the top of our list. We have dinner together every night. It all starts at the family dinner table. We need to get back to our roots and how things were “back in the day”.  Even if we’re having a quick meal, or we’re having a treat by having a NO NO  food item, we’re sitting down together and conversing. We’re talking and sharing. We’re making a bond.  Have these memories with your children and show them how to eat!  It starts with YOU!

My point of this blog is that you can do it on a fixed budget. You can have your health, you can have exercise and a healthy diet without killing your wallet. I’d absolutely love to buy organic, but I can’t afford to. Instead, I make healthy selections for my family by choosing a lot of fruits and veggies to pair with every single meal. Water is a staple in our household too. We do not drink soda, juice, or any other sugary beverages because we don’t NEED to! Why are you?! It’s a bad habit that you start for your child. You set them on the path of obesity. You set them on the path of body shaming and low self-esteem. Don’t do it! You’re making YOUR habit THEIR habit! How you feel about yourself is how your child is going to feel about themselves. If you couldn't ever imagine hurting your baby, then why are you?! I could preach on about this all day, but I’ll stop. I just want you to know that you don’t have to spend an ungodly amount of money to be healthy. My soul hurts when I see a child gnawing on a piece of candy, or pounding down a cup of soda.  There are so many more things you could give them. They can’t miss what they’ve never had.

If anyone is debating on spending massive amounts of cash on a set of workout DVDS that’ll just end up collecting dust on your TV stand, don’t! Buy Beach Body On Demand. There is a 30 day free trial and you can cancel your subscription at any time. This will alleviate any dust collecting, or a lot of money wasted if you don’t like the product. You’ll have variety and flexibility too. I’m constantly being asked for recipes and tips. This is probably the biggest tip I’ve given to date. I firmly believe anyone using this product will have results if they stick to it and stay dedicated and motivated. Let me know how it goes after you’ve signed up and what workouts you’re doing. I’d absolutely LOVE to have some support and to motivate others. Just a side bar, I am NOT  A Beach Body coach, or profiting at all if you decide to use this product. I am simply a consumer giving my honest opinion and review of this product, and I think it’s effin great, especially for a mom on a serious budget!!!!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

The broke mommy's guide to meal planning

Meal planning has always been the first thing I do before attempting to make my grocery list. It makes it a lot easier to wrap my mind around what the heck we need for the next two weeks. I don't know where I'd even begin without completing this step first. Anyway, the last two weeks have been more of a free for all. We've been eating the most random meals. Mostly on the fly and quick, low maintenance recipes aka hot dogs and nuggets. We need to get back to some normalcy, so I took my meal planning more seriously this time around.

Because pasta is ridiculously cheap, yet filling, I made sure to incorporate that into a few meals. One box goes a long way and usually makes 2 meals in my house with leftovers for lunch. Rice is another staple-Cheap and filling. I'm telling you, it's limitless what you can do with rice and pasta!!!! Get some and experiment. You'll thank me later!! Whole wheat pasta and brown rice are healthier alternatives, which is what we buy!

So, what's on my meal plan the next two weeks? Read below!!

Tuna noodle casserole with garlic bread
A 1 pan casserole of green beans, chicken, and potatoes
Spaghetti with garlic bread
Chicken stuffing with potatoes and veggies
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn 
taco casserole with rice
Hot dogs mac and cheese and baked beans
Chicken ranch pasta with garlic bread 
burgers, fries, and veggies
Broccoli, rice, and chicken 

Garlic bread is one of Emerson's favorite foods and a filling, cheap side to pair with pretty much any meal. 1 box goes a long way in my house!! I know I only listed 10 meals, but stated I was making 14 meals for $35. Some of these we will be able to have 2 times due to left overs. We wouldn't eat an entire pack of hot dogs in one night! Come on now!

The trick is to use like ingredients to make a variety of meals. I use the same ingredients, but I cook it a different way, or add a different sauce /topping to make it a new recipe. Everything is relatively healthy too. We use ground turkey, turkey dogs, and always grill our chicken. We use no butter over our veggies either. I always buy the lighter versions of dressings and condiments too. Additionally, we don't use buns for our dogs or burgers. I know that sounds crazy, but I don't have extra money to buy buns, so we usually use whole wheat bread for our burgers and go bunless for the dogs.

The list that corresponds to the above:

2 boxes of pasta:$2
1 can tuna:$2
Cream of mushroom soup-$1.50
Frozen peas-$1
Green beans-$1
1 bag frozen chicken breast-$7
1 bag potatoes-$3
Pasta sauce-$1
Garlic bread-$1.50
Ground turkey-$5
Stouffers stuffing-$1
Tortilla shells-$1.50
Rice-$1.50
Salsa-$1
Hot dogs-$1
Mac n cheese$.50
Baked beans-$1
Ranch dressing-$1
Fries-$2
Frozen broccoli-$1
Frozen veggies-$1

This list comes to $37.50, but I luckily already have rice and tuna in my cupboard!!!!