The debt-free journey will have you cutting some real summer fun out of your budget. This will hopefully be my last summer on my debt-free journey and I want to go out with a good Hoorah! I have decided to cut my wine budget every month until we are a debt-free family. This means I will be doing some experimenting with cheaper wines, which I am definitely not used to. This week I tested out a Shiraz red wine from Trader Joe’s “$2 Buck Chuck” line now called Charles Shaw. Usually, Shiraz is known for being a sweet and full-bodied red wine. This Shiraz tasted more like grape juice with a light tint. This is not that great of a wine when you’re a wine geek, but It is when you’re cutting your budget.

When life gives you cheap wine, go make a cheap sangria.

I love sangria, but like most people, I don’t usually have all of the ingredients at home. Okay, specifically brandy, I don’t usually keep brandy at home. I only bought E&J brandy once, when I got my first apartment in college and needed to celebrate. So instead of going down memory lane and spending more money on alcohol, I just pulled out some sugar and fruits. This is my version of a cheap sangria without brandy.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 3-4 tbsp of white sugar
• 2 oranges
• 1 lemon
• Seriously any easy to cut fruit (blackberries, peaches, apples, strawberries)

Instructions:

1. Slice up one orange, the lemon and all other fruits. I like the fruit to look nice in the pitcher, so I only slice them and I don’t cut them into chunks of fruit. I also don’t slice the berries they just look way better whole.
2. With the second orange, I make an orange juice base and add it to the pitcher. **You could add some orange juice or apple juice if you don’t have enough oranges.
3. I now pour the wine into the pitcher and add the sugar. Then I mix and add more sugar if needed. **I don’t add the fruit in first, because I find it harder to mix and to taste if I need more sugar.
4. Once sweetened I add all of the fruit.
5. Chill for about 2 hours or serve with ice.
   

This cheap sangria will last up to 48 hrs.

I love sangria because it’s inexpensive and easy. Yes, sangria would be better with a shot of brandy, but I am a super lightweight drinker. I am also on mom duty, so one glass is good for me. This summer will be one to remember and with this inexpensive sangria, it won’t have to be all sacrifice.