The Crunch

I normally work 4-12 hours a week as a nurse at a nearby hospital. I've been there for almost nine years. Not only do I enjoy it, but it's nice to add a little cushion to the budget as well. Well, it appears that the recession has even hit the medical industry. Due to being grossly over budget on our unit, prn employees, like myself, are no longer being guaranteed the hours that are scheduled. For me this has translated into working only 4 hours in the last two weeks.

When I got the 4:30am call that my 12 hour shift had been canceled I had a bit of trouble going back to sleep. I found myself praying for those heads of households that are no longer working and the frustration they must feel. I thought of the people all over our country who are waiting for the phone to ring with news of a job opportunity. I was praying that God would use these hard times to draw people to Him, to know a Peace that is not circumstantial.

Once I did arise I set my mind to letting Sean work as undisturbed as possible on his freelance writing and purposed to "earn money" for my family in a different way. I took stock of the pantry (thankful for the leftover turkey) and printed off a few coupons for shopping.

With a trip to Kroger and Target I walked away with all of this for $34.67 and a savings of $52.48. Most of the money was saved with $1 off broccoli/cauliflower Target coupons making those $.33 a piece. Almost all the Kroger items were damaged/dented making them half off.


When I examined my receipt and discovered I had been charged $4.00 more than the advertised store tags, I debated about going back in. But since I had no kids in tow and my mission was to save money, I took the receipt to the customer service desk and received a 100% refund. I was just expecting to be refunded the difference.

And if that weren't enough, I learned that I earn 20 minutes on my cell phone for every $100 spent! Could I love this store any more?!

I spent the rest of the day steaming the vegetables and and making meals for the freezer. Whew! In the near future we'll be eating these meals:
(I'll have to space these out lest my family learn to despise turkey.)

Wild rice and turkey soup
Turkey and stuffing casserole
Italian chicken and white rice
Turkey Tetrazinni
Easy turkey pot pie
Banana Chocolate Chip muffins
Pumpkin rolls

I'll be posting some of these recipes this week on The Full Table if you are interested in what you might make from your leftover turkey.