Tag: budget

Family, Food, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women, workout

Delicious and Healthy Breakfast for the Family

Hannah Lucio

To start off, we are foodies at heart. I love to cook, bake, eat chips and sweets. But as we age it starts getting harder and harder to control our weight. Our bodies start to hold onto fat and weight easier, that means we need to be more aware of what we eat and how we workout. Both me and my husband are feeling it so I’m changing our food intake and we are working out better. Of course we are not strict but I’ve made a few changes. I firmly believe that diet should be a balance of 80% healthy 20% not so healthy. That way when you change the food you eat you don’t binge because you miss EVERYTHING. At least that is what I have been finding out for ourselves. So we have committed to changing our diets and it isn’t just a New Years resolution, it’s a life change. I am making more of an effort and really enjoying it so far. I absolutely love shopping at Costco, they have a far better selection and it really saves us money. Especially since we all eating the same kind of meals. I also should add that we are doing more low carb and higher protein meals. Here is a look at what our breakfast have been so far and we all haven’t gotten sick of it yet. It’s delicious!!

Husband gets:

2 whole eggs, 4 egg white

1 Tbsp Salsa (picture below)

1 Tbsp Almond Milk (picture below)

2 Sausage patties (picture below)

Cooked in 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter

Me:

1 Whole Egg, 2 Egg whites

2 tsp Salsa (picture below)

1 tsp Almond Milk (picture below)

1 Sausage Patty

Cooked in 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter

4 Year old boy:

1 Whole Egg

1 Sausage Patty

Cooked in 1/2 Tbsp Kerrygold butter

1 Year old:

1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Cup Frozen Blueberries

This is what works for us and may not for someone else but it’s something you can look at and try it out. Me and my hubby drink straight black coffee also. If you aren’t a fan of black coffee, I hear ya. But with a little patience and practice you can learn to love it! It is also way healthier than adding creamers and other junk. There are so many different brands, flavors, boldness and other factors to try out. I prefer Pete’s coffee or any other organic dark coffee. I also buy whole bean and grind it myself. Why? Because I have noticed the already ground coffee is oily and doesn’t have as much flavor. Just something to consider.

I also have to add, my 1 year old is extremely picky (shocking right?) and teething. He loves the blueberries because they taste good but also they help numb his teeth. He lives off of Dino nuggets and I’m fine with that….for now. That is why he eats cheese and blueberries for breakfast, don’t judge hahaha

Oh! Also, I started buying block cheddar cheese because it has way less ingredients. It seriously tastes SO much better! If you need quick stuff just pre-shred your cheese and put it in a glass container in the fridge. I won’t be going back to bagged shredded cheese ever again. It’s completely different and super yummy!!

I added pictures of the brands below that we made for breakfast. Of course it doesn’t have to be exact but this is what we use and it’s delicious. Everything is from Costco, it saves us a lot! I am usually not a fan of sausage but this is a no junk sausage patty. And the most delicious sausage patty I’ve ever had, seriously.

And always remember to mix things up. The day after I posted this blog post I made this:

I made our eggs with about 1 cup of cooked broccoli from last nights dinner and added avocado. Super delicious!

If you feel good, you look good.

debt, Family, money, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women

Minimalism And Getting Rid Of Debt Relieved Our Stress

Hannah Lucio

Minimalism is something I have loved pretty much my entire life. I grew up living in a cluttered house and it wasn’t enjoyable for me. It may not bother most people and I completely understand, I also understand that most people think minimalism is boring. It means less stress and a cleaner environment to me. I wanted to share a bit about what we have done recently and throughout our marriage. 

When we got married we had a lot of stuff! He had more stuff than me but it was a “we” team so that’s why I say “we” had a lot of stuff. Make sense? Ok, so…..we got pregnant two months after we got married. Fast, I know! Basically a year after we met, it was pretty stressful. We were still getting to know each other, you know? So anyway, we decided to buy a house. When we moved we rented a 29′ truck and had a few more trips with “stuff” and people put “stuff” in their cars and helped us. It was a lot! So we moved on in and it was a bit overwhelming trying to put things in places when you feel like it’s all just clutter. Well, we decided that getting out of debt was best for us. So we started following Dave Ramsey and we start our journey. First thing we did was put our budget and debt together and it was a shock to us! We were well over our heads with debt! And stuff! 

First thing we did to get out of debt was getting rid of our car payment, we do not and still do not ever need a brand vehicle. Nice looking but not worth it! Second, we went through our stuff and literally sold 90% of it. We were able to pay off half our debt with just cutting our car payment out and getting money for all of our stuff. When we were done selling our stuff our house looked bare and it was amazing!! We decided to move to Virginia and we were able move in a 12′ truck and that was with a toddler too! Our truck was literally half full when we moved and we picked up stuff from his mom in Texas. Well, that stuff was stuff we didn’t need. So, when we got to Virginia we sold that stuff too. We bought a huge and bulky couch when we got to Virginia and just yesterday sold it. Thankfully we are not people that hold onto our stuff and like to be minimalists. It feels great, it’s stress free and it looks nice! I want to encourae anyone that would like to be a minimalist to step back and look at their stuff. Is it stuff you really need? Do you use it? If you haven’t used it in 6 months max, get rid of it. I completely understand that it is overwhelming (for the most part) at the beginning but I swear….it gets easier. I am posting a few pictures of what it looks like for us. The kids have a huge area to play and it’s completely easy to clean. I love to decorate and I’m working on it. But since we are in a rental and I’m staying on a minimalist budget, it might take me a while. Plus, I am extremely picky when it comes to decorating so that’s typically the hardest part. If you have any questions on where to start, how to start or anything just ask. I’m very open and honest. 

Get out of debt

Oh and by the way. I’ve actually been attacked on my way of living recently. I was told that I feel my way of living is the best. Well, for me it is but it’s not for everyone. If you feel it isn’t for you then that’s fine. We all have our ways of thinking and I can’t convince anyone to do what they don’t want to do. I’ve seen people come and complain to me because they don’t have money and scraping by, needing to get a job but yet they go out and buy a brand new vehicle. To each their own, right? Like our pastor just said yesterday; Quit lookin’ for an easy life, look for a better life-New Life Church Chantilly. Also, don’t complain about something without wanting to fix it. If you don’t want to fix it, don’t complain about it. I’m just sharing what we have gone through and hope it helps someone out there. I literally do not a lot of stress in my life and typically have a clean house all the time. So if it helps you, awesome! If not, now worries! We are just changing our family tree 😍

Live Minimal

Live Happy

Live Simple 

debt, Family, money, post partum, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women, workout

One foot in front of the other

Hannah Lucio

Yesterday I opened up Facebook and saw a post about an Estate sale. On that post it had a Proform treadmill for $60. I have been dreaming of getting a treadmill again. I know….weird. Treadmills are my thing! I love cardio, I know….weird! I really do though. It helps me lose weight and it honestly makes me happy. On my way home from riding my bike for cardio fun, I stopped by this estate sale. It had just opened and I asked the lady if it really was $60. Long story short, they wanted $65. I checked it out and it looked, sounded and an great! I put a hold on it and came back with my hubby and a vehicle to take it home. I cleaned it super good and just had a chance today to run on it. 


Wow wow wee! I love it. This treadmill first cost $800 brand new and I get it for $60. It only had 443 miles on it and that’s nothing for a treadmill. In my opinion. Like I said in my last blog post, do what you love when it comes to exercise. Some people hate cardio, some people hate weights, some people just hate working out LOL Do something you love! I love cardio and taebo. Absolutely love. When I do those two workouts I feel my best! 

Get up and go! Start somewhere! And find something you will love to do. One foot in front of the other my friend! 

Happy Sunday everyone! 
Live positive

Live healthy

Live simple! 

debt, Family, Food, money, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women, workout

Let’s talk Mayo

Hannah Lucio

I went through a period of time where I was grossed out my mayo (mayonnaise). I literally wanted to throw a sandwich at a lady who nicely bought me a sandwich with mayo on it. Just because I hated mayo so much. I know….what I jerk I was for thinking it. I do not think that way these days and would kindly accept it now. She didn’t know. Time changes people right? Yes. Well mayo has a bad reputation, the old styles of mayo that is. I was grossed out by my weight gain (in my early 20’s) that I went to the extreme on dieting. No gluten(That was the worst), no meat (terrible), no junk foods and drinking diet tea that is very unhealthy. So you could imagine what it would have been like to add mayo to anything. Yuck.

Fast forward to better eating habits. I started eating vegenaise which tastes good but it is hard to find. I had been eating that brand for many years. When we moved to Virginia I wanted to find it, so I looked everywhere over here. I couldn’t find it so I was on the hunt to find a better for you mayo. Well I found it and wanted to share. The brand I found is Just mayo. Truly delicious and better for you.  It even tastes better than the vegenaise brand I used to get. Yes I could go with the trend of using avocado as my mayo, but sometimes I just don’t want to use avocado for everything. After all, avocado is HELLA EXPENSIVE now. I would have to spend $20 a week to add avocado to everything. Moderation is key when it comes to avocados. Especially the price. We are on a beans and rice, rice and beans budget now. Ok, so anyway. This just mayo brand is truly the best price, taste amazing and healthier. My main thing that I look for with eating healthier is Non-GMO and no high fructose syrup. This is a Non-GMO mayo. So if you are looking for a better mayo to use, look no further. Just mayo Is perfect!


I also found an affordable, delicious and healthier bread made by a big brand. It is called Whole Grains with Omega 3 ALA made with Flax, Sunflower and sesame seed. It has no High Fructose Corn Syrup or Artificial colors or flavors.  I haven’t looked at the local store for it yet but have been able to buy it at Costco. It tastes amazing with Just Mayo and healthy shredded chicken. Chicken sandwiched are super yummy, higher protein and you get your great grains included! My husband and toddlers love it also. Its a win for all. Hope you get to try out these two brands and let me know how you like it or if you have tried these two brand yet.

 

Have a Wonderful day!

Live Happy

Live Healthy

Live Simple

debt, Family, Food, Hair, money, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women, workout

Baby step 2….get really mad it works wonders! 

Hannah Lucio

Let’s talk about getting out of debt for a few. If you have read, listened or taken the class for financial freedom with Dave Ramsey’s program you should know what I’m talking about today. When my husband and I got married we had a lot of debt going into our marriage. We had the simplist wedding in Vegas with literally a few people. So that was a super smart move on our part to start with. So we didn’t start with wedding deb like the normal couple. I got pregnant 2 months into our marriage. Not a super shocker but it took us by surprise. Fast forward to 7 months pregnant. We wanted to buy a house so bad we went through 22 offers on homes in California just to get one. We moved in at 8 months pregnant and finally when I took leave I looked at our finances. I haven’t really been good with finances my whole life but it was time to grow up and look. We were trying to figure it all out before I stopped working for good. We had a huge decision to make but in the end it wasn’t a question, I had to quit working and stay at home to raise our boy. So I wrote down our finances with my husbands pay only. Well I almost had a heart attack but really I had a mega panic attack. We needed $1000 extra a month just to break even, without groceries. Uh, I freaked. When my husband drove home after a 3 hour commute I told him I had no idea what to do. He mentioned that he had heard about this guy Dave Ramsey and that I (we) should listen to his podcast. That night I downloaded it and started listening to it the next morning. From the first moment I started listening I was hooked. I started googling about getting debt free and came up with a plan. The first thing we started with was listing our debt from largest to smallest. Since I was going to get my paid leave for a few months I told him we HAVE to use every penny to pay off debt. Little by little and almost every week we paid off more and more little debts starting with the lowest debt. I cancelled, closed and shredded every credit card we had. Store credit cards are rip Offs by the way! You think you are saving by their rewards? Nope. Guess what? You have to spend to save…..think about it for a moment. So everything was gone! The next step….get rid of the horrendous new Honda Pilot I fleased, yes it’s a lease and the worst kind of car payment you can have. You are renting a vehicle and really burning a hole in your pocket. That’s why it is called a flease in Dave Ramsey’s terms. My husband looked shocked! He thought I was a little crazy to want to return this brand new vehicle I loved. It wasn’t important to me, what was important was changing our family tree. Taking stress off my husbands shoulders. He was the main and only money maker in the house now and I had to cut things out. Getting my hair done, not anymore. I go maybe once a year now instead of every 4-6 weeks. Going out to dinner, nope. Mindlessly spending, nope. That year we paid off thousands of dollars and so much that we actually had $1000 extra cushion in our budget! Love, love, love! 

Let’s fast forward a bit. We got an offer to move to Virginia that I didn’t want to pass up. People were thinking we were crazy to move from “beautiful, sunny San Diego” to Virginia…..but we didn’t. We wanted out of our mortgage anyway. The area was closing in on us with pot growers also and I really wanted a safer environment for all of us. We put our the little house on over an acre on the market and sold it within 1 week! We were shocked and just ready! We packed up, moved to Virginia. We put our debt free on hold so we were comfy to move and wanted to start back when we got here. Well……we went backwards. We “needed stuff” when we got here. New bed (needed a king not queen size) , couch (all we had was a small leather couch),  tv (ours broke within a month of moving), went out to eat and those sort of things. One thing we did well was biking everywhere which saved us mega! We only filled up once a month on gas and that was amazing. Instead of every week in California. So, 3 months after we moved I got pregnant again. So guess what? We kept the debt free on hold longer until he was born. It’s what you are supposed to do anyway in case something happens. Right when we were going to start back on our debt free journey we decided to move to a bidder house and better area. Prolonging our journey but honestly it was the best move ever for us. Oh and we also bought a Jeep. Ha! We don’t have share a vehicle anymore, which actually helps a lot. It’s older also, not brand new and it was not expensive, thank goodness. 

So here we are two years after we move to Virginia. One kid was born(paid in cash), moved(paid in cash) , lots vet bills( paid in cash), dr bills (paid in cash) and acquired more debt(not paid in cash 😦   ). 

Last week I got what Dave says, “I got mad at debt, like really pissed off”. Last week I told my hubby, “that’s it! Beans and rice, rice and beans. I’m done!”. He completely agreed and so here we are….. Mad at debt! Not prolonging it anymore and getting after debt once again. 

A question people ask or what I’ve heard people complain about is that they don’t want to eat beans and rice. I had some say they don’t want to eat crap. Um, did you know that brown rice, black beans, ground turkey, bell peppers, zucccini and broccoli is not crap. It’s yummy and health. We eat more than just that though, just smarter eating. And Um, he doesn’t mean you have to literally eat beans and rice. What he means is cut your grocery bill down. I eat super healthy and defenitetly healthier when we are getting out of debt. I lose weight and feel amazing. It truly is such an amazing lifestyle to eat healthy. And no, health food isn’t more expensive, it’s something you shouldn’t over think about. Stop drinking you fattening, super sugary Starbucks drinks. I bet you’ll cut your waistline down by just stopping that. And your wallet will thank you. 

Here is our action plan:

1. My goal is to cut our grocery bills in half and use cash. Using cash scares me because I typically pick up items I believe we need but really we don’t. I don’t want to look stupid at the register and go over our allotted cash amount. Well, sometime you need to do things that are scary to succeed in life. So that’s what I am going to do. Also, I love Costco. Like absolutely love costco, but I seriously spend like $200 a week easily there. Then go to a grocery store and buy more. That is not necessary. So, I’m going to try to do away with Costco for the time being. Also, until winter hits and it’s is to cold, I will ride my bike to the grocery store to save money also. You can’t buy a bunch riding s bike, HA! 

2. No more eating out. We don’t do this a lot anyway, but it’s gone completely for now. 

3. I unsubcribed to all the clothing stores I get emails on and any other emails from regular stores as well. It will keep my mind in check on things we “need” but really don’t need. 

4. I’m getting back to doing my surveys to get extra money. Recently I did surveys and bought my husbands PS4. He absolutely loves it! I typically buy our extra things with survey money. So I’m getting back to that. 

5. Listen to Dave Ramsey podcasts. This is one way to getting my brain retired back to saving, it really has helped us a lot. 

6. Encourage others to get debt free and feel less stressed. I see and hear a lot of stressed out people working for money just to buy things. It’s not a fun way to live. So if I can even help one person get on track to getting out of debt, I’ve done something life saving. 

7. Get back to working out and look into personal training option. I have a passion for working out and really think it may be time for me to put it into action. 

7. Practice making cakes and cupcakes, especially in the design area. I also have a passion for cakes, cupcakes and decorating. I really think it’s time to put my skills to work. Who knows, maybe it’ll help me reach out to others more and make a few bucks. As long as I can bring a smile to others that is a job well done. 
If you have any questions one getting out of debt, just ask. I’m here for anyone who may need some help learning about it all. Join me on this journey, you (we) can do it!! 
Live happy

Live debt free

Live simple

debt, Family, Food, money, Uncategorized, Women

So much for sticking to our budget this week….

Hannah Lucio

We set our budget and goals for last week and it didn’t go as planned. Thankfully we are on a budget and do not live paycheck to paycheck. I truly believe that if we lived paycheck to paycheck then we would have to have credit cards. Did you know that living paycheck to paycheck is actually considered normal? Yikes! I understand why people have credit cards as their “back up plan” but it in not the lifestyle we want to have. Thankfully.

Our oldest dog had to go to the vet because we believe she has a UTI. We took her in and an hour later and finding out she has arthritis (not really surprising at age 12) we spend $300. We will know her test results this coming up week. An hope it will not cost anymore for us.

Then, Friday around 4pm my husband and son were chasing each other around the house and rough housing. I was making brownies and I heard some “calm” talking from his room. I was going to go in but I typically like to have my husband and son have “guy time” and just let them be. Well, about 5-10 minutes later my husband came in and said we need to take Maverick to the hospital. I do not like those words but I know it’ll happen because boys love to play. I’m so thankful this is the first time. And I know it will not be the last. He was a trooper and so good for the dr’s and nurses. I wish he was that way with us all the time ha ha. Anyway, we found out he hyper extended his arm/elbow and the dr was able to pop it back into place. It was night and day after he popped it back into place. Once Maverick found out he could move his arm again he wanted to give me a hug and kiss. Gosh I loved that! We put his shoes on and he wanted to take a “tour” of the ER. So we walked around and came back in time to get discharge papers and we were out of there. It was really a great experience there and we were in and out in less than 3 hours. We are so thankful. So that was another $135 co-pay.

Going into this week we were thinking we were on track to save a lot this month by keeping under our $60 grocery budget. Things happen. We are saving an average of $120 a week on groceries and I feel lighter 🙂 Did I mention that being on a budget and making sure you get the right health foods you can lose weight? That is how I lost weight with the first kid and plan to do so with this second kid. I know we did not stick to budget because two emergencies came up with week. But it is such an amazing feeling when you can pay your co-pays or emergencies with money you actually have. And, not have to stress or worry how we are going to afford it. Or charge it on credit cards. Thank the Lord for opening our eyes and ears to a more positive way to live.  Thank you Dave Ramsey for showing us the way to financial freedom.

On to this week….goals will be met and positive thinking will be done!

Live healthy

Live less stressed

Live financially free

and

Live simple

 

 

Food, Uncategorized, Women

Easy flour tortilla recipe

Hannah Lucio

Our family absolutely loves flour tortillas. But, we do not all the ingredients in the store bought tortillas. I found a recipe that I altered a bit and it’s so yummy! 

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. softener butter

1 1/2 cups water
Directions:

Mix flour, salt and baking powder in mixing bowl. Mix butter with fingers or wisk until it looks like cornmeal. Add water and mix with wooden spoon until it comes together. Sprinkle a half cup of flour on dry surface and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Divide into 26 pieces and roll each one into a small ball. 

On stove, Preheat pan on medium heat. On lightly floured surface, Roll each ball out into thin 7 inch round tortillas. (Do not over flour the pieces) Place into preheated pan and cook for about a minute on each side. It needs to bubble before you flip it to the other side. (Do not leave in the pan for to long or else it’ll turn out hard.) I put them immediately into foil to keep warm and so they do not get hard. When I put them immediately into a foil wrap all together they stay soft and amazing for at least a week. If you have a tortilla water that’ll work great also, we just do not have one. 
 

flour, salt and baking powder
  
what it looks like after butter was hand mixed
  
Smooth and elastic after kneaded
  
divided into 26 pieces (only 24 shown here)
  
rolled out into 7 inch round (I do not make them “perfect”)
  
cooked and in the foil wrap
  
Maverick approved! He loves them!
 

Enjoy! And live simple! 

Food, Uncategorized

Beans and rice, rice and beans

Hannah Lucio

If you know anything about Dave Ramsey you know exactly what I am talking about. If you haven’t heard of him then I highly recommend googling him and listen to his podcast. Me and my husband have been on his Financial Peace program for almost two years now. We have had a lot of ups and downs and have not been “perfect” on getting out of debt. But, we are constantly learning and striving to get there.

So you might be asking, so what the heck does beans and rice, rice and beans have anything to do with this. Well, it is a way of eating when you are strapping down and getting out of debt. Does it mean you literally have to eat beans and rice all the time….no but it is healthy 🙂 I personally have noticed that I feel better eating beans and rice. I guess it can technically be a vegetarian “diet” but we do add meat in small amounts to mix it up. Over the next few posts I will be providing easy recipes that have beans and rice in them. I have gotten pretty creative with our meals and they turn out pretty darn good. I also have been learning tricks on spreading our meals “thin” to make the most of our food and money. Our family loves it and it is less expensive than most meals out there. Oh and pennies compared to fast food! We do like to eat out occasionally but that is normally to Chick fil a and Texas roadhouse . We still live but just limited to spending a ton of money.

Tonight I will be cooking one of our “mega” beans and rice meals and will be posting that tonight or tomorrow so you can see what I am talking about. Stay tuned, this is very exciting for me  to share our beans, rice and other sort of recipes. And also, stay tuned for our first football food night this Thursday and family homemade pizza Friday’s. This is ONE very exciting week!